In conjunction with a project that I’m working on over at my much-neglected personal blog, all this week I’ll be bringing you different songs that I think come under the banner of a “Room Clearer.”

A Room Clearer is not easily defined. It’s a song that is quintessentially unhip. It’s embarassing, it makes you cringe, but often there’s a piece of you that loves it. Part of you wants to run and hide from it, while another part wants to dance wildly and sing along.

A Room Clearer is often supremely dated, often ridiculously poppy and cheery. A Room Clearer is often specific to my generation, which endured a 1990s adolescence.

I’ll bring you one video from each day’s playlist (check the other blog for the full ten-track disc). It’ll be fun, amusing and painful for all.

Here’s the first video, from the “Party Time” mix. It’s Escape Club’s “Wild Wild West,” which is notable for:

• freakish detached female limbs playing the tambourine.
• the Rastafarian/Mexican breakdown.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/23nqInkEDTc" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Get it? Because meat is a food and Top Chef is about cooking food.

Set phasers to I’M AWESOME!

Anyway, Top Chef starts next week guys! Not to gloss over the finale of Project Runway (although it’s time to just let Christian win and put this season out to pasture), but we’ve got to get oriented about our new cast members. Otherwise we’re just going to go through the whole season premiere forgetting who everyone is.

Through the week, I’ll be bringing you bite-sized servings of new Top Chef contestants (I’m making a conscious decision to avoid usage of the word “cheftestant” — it’s a bit too Bravo establishment at this point). I’ll include real biographical information as well as ill-informed snap judgments.

Here’s your first crop:

Andrew
Age: 30
From: Fort Lauderdale
About him: He seems to be a bit of a culinary citizen of the world — drawing influences from all over the place.
Ill-informed snap judgment: I think he looks like he could be a long lost Fiennes brother. Am I crazy? It’s something about the eyes.

Manuel
Age: 33
From: Laredo, Texas
About him: A pretty accomplished chef who has worked with Molto Mario
Ill-informed snap judgement: Judging by his audition video, he’s probably too nice to give us any good drama. Good for him, though.

Spike
Age: 27
From: Williamsburg, NY by way of Clearwater, Florida (hipster Scientologist perhaps?)
About him: He’s trying to open a restaurant chain that focuses on hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and milkshakes. In other words, The Lord’s Work.
Ill-informed snap judgment: Again, with the hats? I’m against for a few reasons — it makes me think of the ska concert in the movie Clueless (which is wonderful, but has quickly become very dated) and because we already went through it last season with Mr. Malarkey.

• The new episode of Project Runway in 60 Seconds is up
• It’s Battlestar Galactica in 8 and a half minutes! And for no reason, the cast of Battlestar Galactica in The Last Supper
• Huge article on Amy Sherman-Palladino and her awesomeness
• Fox bringing Spaced and Outnumbered across the pond
• The Family Guy is working on a spinoff starring Cleveland Brown
• Reality Blurred rounds up the spring reality show schedule