Tommy James & The Shondells - Crystal Blue Persuasion

The greatest television show ever is down to its final episode and oh boy is it gonna be good! Over six enthralling seasons (technically 5 as that season was split into two 8-episode parts) we saw the transformation of Walter H. White, a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer, from normal family man to drug kingpin. As the title goes, Walt "Broke Bad" as he continually did more and more bad things in order to keep up with his new lifestyle; a lifestyle that he only ever started because he thought it was a way to earn a lot of money in a short period of time that he could leave to his family before the big C claimed him. I've set up the main premise and will not go any further as most of you know the whole story. And for those of you who do not I strongly suggest you start watching, like yesterday.

What I really want to talk about is how this damn thing is gonna end. What we know: according to the two flash forwards that begin the fifth and sixth seasons Walt is now 52 (he celebrated his 50th birthday in the first season), he has left his safe haven in New Hampshire and is back in New Mexico, he has a huge ass gun, he is still coughing a lot, he returns to his former home in Albuquerque to find it boarded up, spraypainted with "Heisenberg" and teenagers using the empty pool as a skate park and, finally, he goes back to the electric outlet to get the ricin poison he left behind the panel months ago. So now two big questions come to the surface: a) who does he plan to use the gun on and b) what is he going to do with the ricin?

a) My gut tells me that he's going after Uncle Jack, Todd and their whole crew. This would explain the need for a huge ass gun and he already revealed to Saul that he wanted to get his revenge for them killing Hank and taking most of his money. I feel he will get Uncle Jack and his guys but not Todd. Todd, along with the neurotic Lydia, will be the main two characters to get away unscathed.

b) Now for that ricin. This one I truly have no real idea for but I'm gonna say that he wants to use it on Jesse. The two will meet in a final confrontation near the end of the episode/series and only one of them will walk away. I think/hope that Jesse kills Walt. It would be a fitting end to a spectacular series.

Now everything that I have just guessed can be tossed out the window. This is because, from what has happened so far this final season, whatever you think is going to happen, the complete opposite will actually happen. Enjoy!

"Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James & The Shondells appears at the end of season five during a montage that shows Walt and Todd cooking up a storm while Lydia distributes it to the Czech Republic and a shitload of money is exchanged and counted. Check out the video below for the whole scene, a great piece of cinematography (something that Breaking Bad has come to redefine the necessity of for television shows) and camera trickery. The song itself is brilliant. From the backbeat bongos and pulsating organ to the lovely spanish guitar and James' magnificent singing this track has everything. It fits the show perfectly in talking about "crystal blue" and the Spanish guitar for the New Mexico setting (lot's of Spanish music appeared throughout the series). The song is from 1969 but sounds incredibly relevant and timeless.

Black Seeds - One By One

Here's another great track from the great show. This one comes from season two when Walt and Jesse are heading out to the middle of bumfuck nowhere in the New Mexico desert in the RV to cook. The song has a super laid back, good times vibe, which is fitting for this period of the show, before anything very dark occurs. Also the song is sung by Bret McKenzie who is one half of the comedy singing duo Flight of the Conchords. Pretty neat! The majority of the Breaking Bad soundtrack is amazing and features a wide variety of genres and music styles. Also the songs are typically unknown gems which is always great for discovery. Some guy has even created torrents of every single song that has appeared on the show so far so be sure to look for that on isohunt if you're interested.

Now we wait...

Washed Out - All I Know

Washed Out played a sold-out show at Fortune Sound Club this past Tuesday. Washed Out is a band created by Ernest Greene, from Athens, Georgia that specializes in the drowsy, distorted dance-pop that bloggers dubbed "chillwave". He started out making recordings in his bedroom at his parents' house and caught some major attention from those same noteworthy bloggers that began sharing his myspace music. Alongside peers such as Toro Y Moi, Neon Indian, and local upstart Teen Daze, Washed Out has been at the forefront of this easy-listening and mellow yet danceable genre for the past 4 years.

Before I arrived at the venue I was trying to figure out how he would perform. Knowing that Greene does his own vocals I figured it would be pretty hard to sing and DJ at the same time, especially with the vocals being so distorted. It turned out that I was completely wrong as he performed with a full 5-piece band and played everything live. This turned out to be most excellent as they were able to make the songs much more upbeat and full of life while still sounding very similar to the solo-made recordings.

Washed Out played a great mix of their three most prominent records, 2010's excellent EP Life Of Leisure, 2011's major label debut Within And Without and this year's brilliant Paracosm. Opening with the first single from the latter album, "It All Feels Right" the band sounded incredible, the lights were wonderfully trippy and colourful, and Greene was great as a frontman, engaging with the crowd a lot and really letting loose on his vocals, something he has shied away from in the past due to shyness and thinking that he didn't have a good voice. Other highlights included an even more upbeat and rockin' "Get Up", an even more chilled out and subdued "Feel It All Around", and the sublime "Amor Fati" which was the set closer and my personal fave. The above song was played near the end of the set and sounded beautiful with the band nailing the intricate percussion and synth layerings. The entire crowd was digging it, bobbing along to the catchy chorus. If you've never listened to Washed Out I'd highly recommend it the next time you're relaxing, especially outdoors.

I was only able to catch the final few songs from opening band HAERTS. The Brooklyn crew have been one of the year's most buzzed bands with only two tracks available online and their debut album slated for release later this month. I didn't get to hear either of those songs, "All The Days" and "Wings" but they are both incredible and have been on repeat ever since I heard them. Lead singer Nini Fabi has incredible pipes and the rest of the band play superb indie-pop. This is one of those bands that has the potential to become even bigger than the band they opened for. I am very excited to follow their career.

HAERTS - Wings

The instant I heard this song I absolutely loved it. Fabi's emotive singing is gorgeous, especially when she hits those high, sustained notes. The video is really cool too, showing ordinary people and using a cool flying camera. Be sure to check out "All The Days" (their only other song on YouTube) as well, but beware: you will be listening to it nonstop for the rest of the week.