Artist: Lust Of Decay
Genre(s):
Metal
Discography:
Purity Through Dismemberment
Year: 2006
Tracks: 9
A 'Cuckoo Bananas' Idea
Monday, 30 June 2008
Lust Of Decay
Artist: Lust Of Decay
Genre(s):
Metal
Discography:
Purity Through Dismemberment
Year: 2006
Tracks: 9
A 'Cuckoo Bananas' Idea
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Serial - 7/1/2008
Martin Mull is a little-remembered comedian of the ’70s and ’80s, best known for TV’s Fernwood 2-Night and the HBO series The History of White People in America (with collaborator Fred Willard, since then a fixture in Christopher Guest movies). Mull achieved greatness only with Serial, an underrated mainstream comedy with moments of Albert Brooks-like social satire.
Based on a novel by Cyra McFadden about the wacky California hot-tub culture of the late '70s, Serial expanded on the novel's Marin County setting to skewer the entire decadent nation. Mull plays a working stiff whose wife (Tuesday Weld, in an excellent performance) leaves him to find herself. His teenage daughter joins a cult, and Mull tries to adapt to a single lifestyle while wanting his family back. The supporting characters include a psychologist (Peter Bonerz) who encourages Mull's best friend to drown himself in the Bay to achieve oneness with the universe, and Tom Smothers as a hippie priest who begins a wedding by apologizing for being part of a society that "kills whales."
The film uses these wacky characters to comment on the emptiness of cultural orthodoxy, and I can't think of many films that have done it better. Subsequent ’70s spoofs (The Ice Storm, Boogie Nights, That 70s Show, etc.) have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, but Serial was one of very few films (along with Network, of course) to ridicule the empty self-indulgence of the decade while it was still going on. Though some of its one-liners miss, the film's more pointed observations are often spot on; and even some of the broader gags are well done (like a scene where Mull tiptoes through an orgy).
The ending descends into silliness, and like any film designed to capture a specific time and place, Serial feels dated (especially the opening scenes). Still, Serial deserves a lot of credit for daring to throw sacred cows on the grill. Sure, America has moved onto different fads, and feminism and psychoanalysis are not the unassailable cultural forces they were back then. But beneath the one-liners, Serial is really about the emptiness of narcissism and self-deceit. And Americans are just as self-absorbed, and almost as politically correct as ever, if not more so.
Besides, if those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, then a print of Serial should be preserved in perpetuity along with other '70s artifacts (Styx records, the Jungle Room at Graceland, etc.) to make sure we never forget the Me Decade.
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Monday, 16 June 2008
Stones deny label move from EMI
LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones have played down a weekend report that the band planned to ditch long-term record company EMI to join concert promoter Live Nation.
But industry experts still believe the British group could soon part ways with the label, which was taken private in 2007 and has struggled to keep some of its biggest artists.
"We are not in talks with Live Nation in connection with any record deal," London-based Rolling Stones spokesman Bernard Doherty said on Monday, reading from a brief statement.
EMI was not immediately available for comment.
The Observer weekly newspaper reported on Sunday that the Stones were on the verge of ending their relationship of more than 30 years with EMI and were "close to clinching a deal with Live Nation". It quoted unspecified "sources".
The report also said the band, a hugely successful touring act estimated to have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, would allow Live Nation to market its back catalogue, depriving EMI of about three million pounds ($5.9 million) a year.
Live Nation Inc already has deals with Madonna and Jay-Z, reportedly worth $120 million and $150 million respectively, as artists look beyond traditional recording deals to tap into increasingly lucrative touring and merchandising revenues.
Profits from music sales have been badly dented by online piracy, and record companies are struggling to come up with answers to declining demand for physical CDs.
EMI lost two of its biggest acts in 2007 -- Paul McCartney and Radiohead. The former Beatle struck a deal with coffee retailer Starbucks while Radiohead offered their album "In Rainbows" online in a "pay-what-you-want" scheme.
But industry experts still believe the British group could soon part ways with the label, which was taken private in 2007 and has struggled to keep some of its biggest artists.
"We are not in talks with Live Nation in connection with any record deal," London-based Rolling Stones spokesman Bernard Doherty said on Monday, reading from a brief statement.
EMI was not immediately available for comment.
The Observer weekly newspaper reported on Sunday that the Stones were on the verge of ending their relationship of more than 30 years with EMI and were "close to clinching a deal with Live Nation". It quoted unspecified "sources".
The report also said the band, a hugely successful touring act estimated to have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, would allow Live Nation to market its back catalogue, depriving EMI of about three million pounds ($5.9 million) a year.
Live Nation Inc already has deals with Madonna and Jay-Z, reportedly worth $120 million and $150 million respectively, as artists look beyond traditional recording deals to tap into increasingly lucrative touring and merchandising revenues.
Profits from music sales have been badly dented by online piracy, and record companies are struggling to come up with answers to declining demand for physical CDs.
EMI lost two of its biggest acts in 2007 -- Paul McCartney and Radiohead. The former Beatle struck a deal with coffee retailer Starbucks while Radiohead offered their album "In Rainbows" online in a "pay-what-you-want" scheme.
Friday, 13 June 2008
David Cook reflects on "Idol" experience
At the beginning of "American Idol [ tickets ]" season seven, Judge Simon Cowell called eventual winner David Cook "cocky" and "pompous." However, during the finale, Cowell did a 180 and dubbed Cook one of the most sincere contestants he's ever met. Cook explained, during a teleconference with journalists Friday (5/23), that he wasn't the one who changed over the eight-month period from auditions until he was crowned the "American Idol" on Wednesday (5/22). "I didn't really change much of anything, as strange as it is," said Cook, 25. "I didn't have any expectations as to what the show was going for do me, or what I was going to do for the show. I went into it as an opportunity to expose myself musically to a large audience. And so my confidence level never really wavered, and maybe that's what got misinterpreted as cocky and arrogant. But I think maybe as the season went on, he saw the work I was putting in--not just to my own stuff--but really to make it a positive working environment for everybody."Cowell's opinion wasn't the only thing that changed during the "American Idol" season. It seemed that each time Cook covered a song, judge Randy Jackson said he should walk in those artists' shoes when recording his debut. But Cook had a simple answer for his debut's expectations. He said he wants to create an album that makes the hair on the back of people's necks stand up. "I'll probably end up putting out a rock record because I feel that's the kind of music that I enjoy playing," Cook said. "But that was the exciting thing about the show--I loved knowing there were things I could do that people would never expect I could do. I'm going to try to recreate that energy within this record. I want people to feel they got taken on a trip from beginning to end. I've got my work cut out for me, but it should be fun."The road from the beginning of Cook's "Idol" trip was one that was meant to be, he said. He didn't plan on auditioning for the show. Instead he was merely accompanying and cheering on his brother, Andrew."He really wanted me to audition with him, and I was just hesitant," Cook said. "Not for any negative association with the show, I just didn't really see this as my path, for whatever reason. But 5:30 in the morning in Omaha, standing in line and it's raining, the sun hasn't come up. And a producer comes by with a camera and interviews my brother and then turns to me. I say, 'I'm not auditioning.' And he says, 'You are now.' Life has a weird way of working itself out sometimes."Cook and this year's other Top 10 finalists will be appearing on the upcoming "American Idols Live [ tickets ]" tour, which gets underway July 1.
Smits joins Dexter as assistant DA
Former NYPD Blue star Jimmy Smits has joined the cast of Showtime's drama series Dexter, which begins its third season in the fall.
Smits will portray Miguel Prado, an ambitious, charismatic assistant district attorney who comes from one of Miami�s most politically powerful and beloved families.
Dexter (Michael C. Hall), a blood-spatter expert for the Miami Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer, will join forces with Prado, who has risen in the ranks because his aggressive stance against crime, in the pursuit of a murderer who affects both of their lives directly.
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Freakmind
Artist: Freakmind
Genre(s):
Electronic
Discography:
Six Degrees Of Separation
Year: 2007
Tracks: 11
Robert Michaels
Doherty's money a shambles
TROUBLED rocker Pete Doherty has reportedly been holding crisis talks with his band Babyshambles and their management to find out where the group's cash is going.
Doherty, 29, said: "I've got a few concerns at the moment over issues with management - where the money has been going and distribution of wealth. Babyshambles need to sit down as a band and talk about the future. After two years of a**ing about, we could actually make money out of this job." There could be other troubles on the horizon for the band though, as guitarist Mick Whitnall, 39, is apparently planning to quit, as he is tired of Pete's wild lifestyle. The guitarist worked with Amy Winehouse on demos while Doherty was in prison last month on drugs charges and could leave Babyshambles to join Amy's touring band full-time. In May, it was claimed Winehouse, 24, had been cheating on her jailed husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, with Mick. A source said: "Mick says they've slept together a couple of times. It's always supposed to have happened when they've been out drinking. He's told people about her birthmark in an intimate place, which is his way of proving it happened."
Doherty, 29, said: "I've got a few concerns at the moment over issues with management - where the money has been going and distribution of wealth. Babyshambles need to sit down as a band and talk about the future. After two years of a**ing about, we could actually make money out of this job." There could be other troubles on the horizon for the band though, as guitarist Mick Whitnall, 39, is apparently planning to quit, as he is tired of Pete's wild lifestyle. The guitarist worked with Amy Winehouse on demos while Doherty was in prison last month on drugs charges and could leave Babyshambles to join Amy's touring band full-time. In May, it was claimed Winehouse, 24, had been cheating on her jailed husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, with Mick. A source said: "Mick says they've slept together a couple of times. It's always supposed to have happened when they've been out drinking. He's told people about her birthmark in an intimate place, which is his way of proving it happened."
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' lawyer send cease-and-desist threat to Petit Tresor
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' lawyer has sent a cease-and-desist threat to the owner of posh baby boutique Petit Tresor for allegedly giving the tabloids bogus info about their spending habits.
In a letter to owner Samantha Winch, dated May 12, the couple's attorney, Aaron J. Moss, accuses the store's employees of both violating their clients' privacy and giving out "simply false" information that Holmes and Cruise spent between $350,000 and $400,000 in their stores to Life & Style magazine "for the purpose of enhancing [the store's] image and obtaining a commercial advantage."
However, a Petit Tresor spokesman says they were asked by a reporter for an estimation of how much the Cruises have spent on gear for their 2-year-old daughter Suri, but they "never mentioned that this $350-$400K figure included anything purchased at Petit Tresor."
But Cruise's reps feel differently.
"Petite Tresor is trying to get publicity for themselves by telling the press that celebrities are shopping in their store when they're not," a rep for the Top Gun star told E! News.
"To the credit of Life & Style, they tried to verify and chose not to run inaccurate information."
And the lawyer is now advising the store to keep to its word and "not talk about" their clients.
"Please do not say anything (whether true or false) about Mr. Cruise's and Ms. Holmes' shopping habits, consistent with your representation to the New York Daily News in December 2007 that 'We don't talk about any of our clients," Moss' letter concludes.
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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Jago Quits Brmc For A Second Time
BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB have split with drummer NICK JAGO for a second time.
Despite the fact that Jago's ill-timed departure comes as the group plans to launch a European tour, the drummer's bandmates insist there are no hard feelings - and they will welcome him back at any point.
In a statement on the group's MySpace.com website, founders Robert Levon Been and Peter Hayes admit they "look forward to playing" with Jago "in the future".
The post continues, "We just feel Nick needs time to sort out exactly what he wants right now.
"His heart and all his energy and attention is on his own solo project and he needs to see that through. We welcome his singing and songwriting in BRMC, but his focus, at least at the present time, is on doing his own thing and we wish him the best."
In a recent MySpace post, Jago admitted, "Maybe playing drums for BRMC all the time is not my calling and there is something else I'm supposed to do. We will see."
Jago previously quit the group in 2004 but he returned the following year.
He will be replaced on drums by Dead Combo star Leah Shapiro.
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Bronski Beat
Artist: Bronski Beat
Genre(s):
Other
Dance
Dance: Pop
Pop
Discography:
Rainbow Nation
Year: 1995
Tracks: 12
I'm Gonna Run Away From You (Single)
Year: 1990
Tracks: 3
Truthdare Doubledare
Year: 1986
Tracks: 13
Hundreds and Thousands
Year: 1985
Tracks: 10
The Age Of Consent
Year: 1984
Tracks: 11
London's Bronski Beat will be remembered for a number of things. Anyone world Health Organization has seen the video for "Smalltown Boy" -- which remains fascinating and sobering decades afterward -- privy likely remember at least unrivaled of its scenes in vivid detail. It was only Bronski Beat's number one single, just it became the group's best-known, arrival the top of Billboard's U.S. dance chart while peaking at number trey on the U.K. pop chart. More importantly, the strain was distinctive for the grouping in that it centered on isaac M. Singer Jimmy Somerville's experiences as a pres Young gay homo. It as well exemplified the group's helen Newington Wills electronic-pop levelheaded and introduced a number of mass to a voice that continues to sound like no other -- ane that can soar into a unique falsetto patch drawing from a deep pool of emotions that ranges from acute internal strife to bliss.Somerville, mate Glasweigan Steve Bronski (keyboards), and Londoner Larry Steinbachek (as well keyboards) formed Bronski Beat in 1983. They performed at venues in and about London, and scored a major takeover by landing an opening gig for Tina Turner. The London label before long swept up the grouping, and the bandmembers near immediately became pop stars in the U.K. "Smalltown Boy" proved to be a brobdingnagian breakthrough. The Age of Consent, supported by that single, "Why," and a cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love," went over extremely well. Not only did the record album win attending for its combination of compelling songwriting and club-friendly pop; the inner sleeve listed the legal geezerhood of consent for homophile acts in respective countries across Europe. Somerville boldly left the radical a year later, earlier it was able to criminal record a followup; he started the more than overtly political Communards with Richard Coles. Bronski and Steinbachek continued with vocaliser John Jon, world Health Organization had antecedently been in Bust. The new version of Bronski Beat was quite successful as well, notching club hits in the U.K. and afield; Truthdare Doubledare, the 1986 sophomore record album, went Top 20 in the group's base nation, and "Hit That Perfect Beat" rivaled "Smalltown Boy" in high chart placements. Before the year's final stage, John Jon left the grouping, which eventually disbanded. Steve Bronski brought a new card together in the mid-'90s -- including vocalist Jonathan Hellyner -- and recorded Rainbow Nation for the German ZYX label. Somerville enjoyed modest success in the Communards and has recorded periodically as a solo creative person since the late '80s.
Mayhill Fowler, how big is your tape recorder?
James Rainey's article about the "gotcha" perpetrated against Bill Clinton by amateur journalist Mayhill Fowler says the tape recorder Fowler used to capture Clinton calling writer Todd Purdum a scumbag was "candy-bar-sized."
If it's true that Fowler's recorder is about the size of, say, a medium Snickers, it might make you think Clinton is pretty un-savvy about just whom he shares his invectives with.
Even if Fowler didn't identify herself as a reporter, the presence of a Snickers-sized recording device ought to be enough to signal Clinton--a man who's been dealing with worldwide media for decades--that he wasn't talking to an interested housewife.
But what if Fowler's tape recorder was, as she says in this post from last September, more like the size of a "Band-Aid?" An object that small would be much more difficult to spot, especially if you're in busy crowd.
Maybe Ms. Fowler can send along a photo of her recorder to settle the question?
Not to say Clinton's comments are defensible even if he didn't know he was being taped. If you tell a perfect stranger that someone you don't like is a "scumbag" and a lie propagator, you're definitely tempting fate whether or not the stranger is a reporter.
But have the rules changed so much that there's no such thing as "off the record" anymore? Where anything you say to anyone, anywhere, any time can be used to skewer you, whether you think you're in "public" or not? Let's face it, we've all got recording devices of some kind, and more embarrassing moments of all kinds are going to be caught on tape. Trying to fight that tide is a fool's errand.
And that's all well and good, it just means that from now on, whenever a person of interest talks, they're going to be offering a message that is tailored to everyone, to offend no one. Which human being can reasonably talk like that all the time? So it'll be sayonara nuance, adios personal touch, and hello talking points.
Maybe Clinton is trapped in a happier time, when there was still such a thing as a private conversation. Face it, Bill, everything you say can and will be used against you.
Related:
How Mayhill Fowler got online scoops on Obama and Bill Clinton (LAT.com)
Gina Gershon and Angelina Jolie hired the same lawyers? (The Dish Rag)
VF backs reporter, Clinton Camp apologizes, Gershon demands retraction (The Dish Rag)
Vanity Fair links Bill Clinton to actress Gina Gershon (The Dish Rag)
Did you hear that? Bill Clinton's head explodes over Obama and Vanity Fair (Top of the Ticket)
Barack Obama can thank 'citizen journalist' for 'bitter' tempest (LAT.com)
Obama: No surprise that hard-pressed Pennsylvanians turn bitter (Huffington Post)
image courtesy Goran Zec
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