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80s Movie Music, Minus The Bear, Cutout Bin, Dogupuncture |
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Friday, October 17, 2008 - 08:00 AM Posted by: Karl
THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE: ...with THE TOP 80 MOVIE SONGS OF THE '80s! Almost all with Tube links, so I'll limitmyself to a few personal faves, like "Positively Lost Me" from the Rave-Ups (Pretty In Pink); the re-do of "Crying" as a duet by Roy Orbison and k.d. lang (Hiding Out); the re-do of "Pretty in Pink" by the Psychedelic Furs (Pretty In Pink), which I actually prefer to the original (it's the sax, I think -- and my link is a better version, too); Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" (Purple Rain - which is missing a link from the blog); "A Million Miles Away" by the Plimsouls (Valley Girl) and The Bangles cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "A Hazy Shade of Winter" (Less Than Zero). BONUS: Joe Jackson backed Suzanne Vega on "Left of Center" (Pretty In Pink - though he's not in the clip), which is not on the list. THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle talks to the Denver Post about contemporary artists he admires. Like Amy Grant. MINUS THE BEAR stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR. ALBERT HAMMOND, JR.: The sometime Stroke did a Lillywhite Session you can stream on demand via NPR. STEVIE WONDER is kinda homeless; his Porter Ranch-area house went up in flames earlier this week, destroying all of Stevie's memorabilia, photos, musical instruments, history, clothing, and furniture. BILLY BRAGG talks about love, pop politics and Wilco with the Ithaca Journal. THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN calls out the instigators. Because there's "Something In The Air." LESTER BANGS, widely regarded as the greatest rock critic of all time, gives an interview from beyond the grave via Glide magazine's Hidden Track. DAVID BYRNE talks to The A.V. Club about outgrowing anxiety, letting the message dictate the medium, and why there will probably never be a proper Talking Heads reunion. THE DEATH of the ROCK STAR: Carrie Brownstein eulogizes. THE BASEBALL PROJECT is running a World Series contest. CUTOUT BIN: From the Turtles to the Dead Milkmen, from the Gang of Four to the Dells, from CCR to the Embarrassment, from the New York Dolls to XTC, to the Creation, Todd Rundgren and Of Montreal covering Nirvana, plus more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM. NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include Max Payne, currrently scoring 17 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; the comedy Sex Drive, currently scoring 43 percent; Oliver Stone's W, scoring 54 percent; and The Secret Life of Bees, which is at 57 percent. MADONNA, with a £75million looming, couldn't resist suggesting that hubby Guy Ritchie is "emotionally retarded" during a concert in Boston. Because she's classy, what with the faux British accent and all. CHRISTIE BRINKLEY's ex Peter Cook apparently has a sex tape featuring his then his curvy teen office worker Diana Bianchi. JEN ANISTON & JOHN MAYER: A number of Ansiton's closest pals -- including "Friends" co-star Courteney Cox and her husband, David Arquette -- are upset about the renewal of the tumultuous Aniston-Mayer fling. The reunited couple celebrated Mayer's 31st birthday at a cigar club. MICHELLE WILLIAMS & SPIKE JONZE were... wait for it... caught canoodling after a screening of their new film, Synecdoche, New York in Manhattan. DAVID DUCHOVNY & TEA LEONI separated not because of his sex addiction, but after he discovered explicit text messages on her cellphone from Billy Bob Thornton? Billy Bob's rep denies it, natch. JENNY McCARTHY claims she cured her six-year-old son of autism. The American Academy of Pediatrics is not amused. Dr. David Gorski saw this story coming in August. TIM BURTON talks to the L.A. Times about "Alice in Wonderland," "Dark Shadows," "The Dark Knight" and... "Sanford & Son"? STAR TREK: The Entertainment Weekly piece on the J.J. Abrams reboot is now online. ZACK & MIRI make a movie that is tough to advertise. AFGHANISTAN: The international effort in Afghanistan is falling short, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned, stressing the need for a better integrated approach to stabilizing the country. In what is taking shape as a substantial policy shift, the US wants to use tribes to bring law and order to the vast areas of the country beyond the government's authority. IRAQ and the US negotiators have reached a final agreement on a draft security pact that would require US forces to withdraw from Iraq by 2011. Iranian officials have attempted to bribe Iraqi members of parliament not to vote for the agreement. Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani seems to trust Iraqis and their political leaders to decide on what to agree to and rely upon. DOGUPUNCTURE: Let's go to the video. UNRULY SWINE undeterred by the sheriff's stun gun. The porker remains on the lam. PUNCH-DRUNK PONY has to be rescued from a swimming-pool. THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Militant squirrels are developing an immunity to the squirrel pox virus. Better Red than Dead for squirrels. FROG: It's what's for pizza. MUSKRAT LOVE: Scientists try to explain it better than the Captain and Tennille.
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'Mats, Alejandro Escovedo, AC/DC, Jolie Holland, Monkey Man |
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Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 08:00 AM Posted by: Karl
NEIL HEFTI, jazz trumpeter and soundtrack composer, died in Los Angeles. Idolator hooks you up with the themes to The Odd Couple and the Batman TV show. THE REPLACEMENTS: Captain's Dead has posted the Boink! bootleg of outttakes, alt--takes and B-sides in two parts for your streaming and downloading pleasure. ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR. AC/DC is advance streaming their new album via VH-1. THE 100 GREATEST AMERICAN ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME, courtesy of Blender. JOLIE HOLLAND talks to Paste about her new album (and M. Ward's true role in it), as well as upcoming projects. And she actually went to "Mexico City" to celebrate the day of the Dead for the video. OKKERVIL RIVER frontman talks to the Toronto Star about songwriting on tour and Canadian Thanksgiving. MAGNETIC FIELDS: Stephin Merritt talks to the Denver Post, which finds him in a delightfully gloomy mood. GUNS N' ROSES: If the long-awaited (but reportedly awful) Chinese democracy album appears before the end of the year, Dr Pepper plans to make good on its offer to send a free can to "everyone in America" except Slash and Buckethead. RON SEXSMITH discusses the Exit Strategy of the Soul with JAM!, noting the Cuban horns and percussion were not his idea. MADONNA & GUY RITCHIE are getting divorced after nearly eight years of marriage but have not agreed on a settlement yet. It is believed the couple did not sign a pre-nuptial agreement, which could put Ritchie in line for up to £150million. Gwyneth Paltrow spent the past few months desperately trying to convince her best friend Madonna to reconcile for the sake of the couple's three children. Speaking of which, Lourdes reportedly wants to spend more time in the US, but Rocco and David have roots in London. A source close to the singer tells Usmagazine.com she and Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez "are definitely romantic." KIRSTEN DUNST reportedly parties hard in Hollywood, just months after leaving rehab. BRITNEY SPEARS made a record-breaking jump to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 -- her first No.1 since her debut single "...Baby One More Time" in January 1999. JENNIFER ANISTON & JOHN MAYER shared a romantic dinner in West Hollywood on Tuesday. ANNE HATHAWAY's con man ex-boyfriend tries to blame her for his fraud. Classy. STAR TREK: The J.J. Abrams reboot has released production pics to several movie sites, like Aint-It-Cool, in advance of the Entertainment Weekly cover story Friday. Meanwhile, Abrams clears up confusion over the absence of a Shatner cameo. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 4? Not so fast, says original screenwriter Terry Rossio. ISLAMISM in the UK: BBC director general Mark Thompson has admitted that the broadcaster has to tackle Islam differently to Christianity and is reluctant to broadcast jokes about it. AFGHANISTAN: Blogger Michael Yon has a new dispatch on The Road to Hell. IRAQ: In Mosul, US troops acting on a tip killed the No. 2 leader of AQI. MONKEY MAN is paid around 7 US dollars a day to scare monkeys away from a train in India. Let's go to the video. THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A militant squirrel attacked an Iraq vet in Springfield, IL. A flaming squirrel sparked a brush fire in Redding, CA. BAST^RD DOVE with a strange coo can still find a mate. EXOTIC SPIDERS invade the United Kingdom. PUPPIES are chivalrous.
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Tegan & Sara, Halloween Radio, 1-Hit Wonders, Anjana |
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - 08:00 AM Posted by: Karl
TEGAN & SARA played "Call It Off" for Dave last week, where he made them seem even tinier than usual. HALLOWEEN RADIO, courtesy of Slacker. THE WATSON TWINS: Leigh Watson surveys their career so far with the Louisville Courier-Journal. JENNY LEWIS talks to The A.V. Club about the recording of her new Acid Tongue album -- and using ProTools like analog tape. AQUALUNG played the World Cafe on Friday; you can stream the gig now via NPR. AFAIK, snot is not running down their noses. FEIST tells the Canadian Press she's taking a break when her tour ends in November; she's as tired as dirt. 25 UNFORGETTABLE ONE-HIT WONDERS -- most from the past 20 years -- courtesy of Entertainment Weekly. Somewhere in the middle of that unordered list is Semisonic's "Closing Time," which is a good excuse to relink Semisonic's fab predecessor, Trip Shakespeare. RYAN ADAMS: According to Rawkblog, the upcoming Cardinology album "sounds like f***ing Phil Collins... And I kinda love it. Sigh." Live previews at the link. MARNIE STERN talks to Pitchfork about her long, convoluted path to becoming a guitar goddess, her songwriting process, the pros and cons of not having a debut album until after she turned 30, and the significance of the title of her sophomore release, This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That. CROOKED FINGERS: Eric Bachmann talks to Crawdaddy about self-releasing his latest "band" album. JOHNNY CASH'S AMERICA: The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports on a new documentary featuring interviews with Bob Dylan, Al Gore, US Sen. Lamar Alexander, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Sheryl Crow, Jon Langford of the Mekons, producer Jim Dickinson, Ozzy Osbourne and Snoop Dogg. The film debuts next Thursday on the Bio channel; here's the promo. JENNIFER ANISTON & JOHN MAYER are giving their relationship another chance, meeting up last Friday for a Ray LaMontagne concert. GERARD BUTLER ("300") has been... wait for it... caught canoodling on camera with model-actrass Shanna Moakler. Pals claim the two are just old friends, but the video at that link shows a bit more than talk. LINDSAY LOHAN's alleged diva behavior has gotten her dropped from her role on Ugly Betty, even though a script including her character has already been written. MADONNA has been branded ‘uncaring' by a British murder victims' group after she controversially stepped out at the premiere of her new movie wearing a pair of shoes with handgun heels. FOREIGN BOX OFFICE is something I occasionally mention in reporting the weekend box office, but it's worth noting the global appeal of Eagle Eye and Wall-E, two examples of films that probably do well worldwide due to the relative lack of dialogue to dub or subtitle. And Mamma Mia is a tribute to the global appeal of ABBA. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS: Veterans of Kill Bill and Death Proof join the cast of Quentin Tarantino's WWII movie. IRON MAN 2: Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes, apparently because Marvel is cheap. BAMBI has been named the best tear-jerker of all time, in an unscientific poll by Pearl and Dean, which is getting a lot of press for some reason. Top Ten Tear-Jerkers at the link. SUMNER REDSTONE's National Amusements Inc. said that it had sold 233 million dollars' worth of Viacom and CBS stock to raise cash to comply with debt covenants. NORTH KOREA: At Slate, Anne Applebaum notes that North Korea may be off the terror blacklist, but little has changed. "For the record, North Korea has sold missile technology to Syria and Libya, has assassinated diplomats, and has kidnapped Japanese and South Korean citizens and refuses to give a full accounting of their fate. North Korea also keeps untold numbers of its own citizens in concentration camps, which are direct copies of those built by Stalin, and knowingly starves many of its citizens to death as well. By any normal definition, North Korea is still a "terrorist" state, and everyone knows it..." AFGHANISTAN: US military successes in Iraq have forced sophisticated and well-trained insurgents to pour into Afghanistan instead, the Afghan defense minister said Tuesday. IRAN: The New York Times reports: "Former President Mohammad Khatami, a moderate under pressure by political allies to challenge President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in elections next year, held a high-profile event here on Monday that many saw as a possible first step in his return to the political arena." In this context, "moderate" is a highly relative term -- for example, Khatami does not think Hezbollah is a terror group, compares Pres. Bush to Osama bin Laden, and has a lame record on democracy and human rights. IRAQ and the US are working on backup plans that would allow US troops to stay beyond Dec. 31st if a security pact is not finalized by then. A British Foreign Office minister thinks reaching that a pact is critical to UK forces remaining there. Iraq's Kurdish leader plans to meet a Turkish delegation in Baghdad, for the first direct talks in four years. ANJANA the CHIMP befriends a white tiger cub; she has also raised leopards and lions. Awww...some pics at the link. KBUCK the MINI-HORSE will get a shot at being a show horse after receiving a prosthetic eye. SKIPPER: One part "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," one part "Body of Lies." ELEPHANTS text-message rangers in Kenya. PANDAS lounge in a tree. Awww...some pics at the link.
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The National, New Releases (and R Hitchcock), Flaming Rat |
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - 08:00 AM Posted by: Karl
THE NATIONAL rolled out a cover of the Velvet Underground classic, "What Goes On," at New York Magazine's 40th Anniversary Party. With horns, even. RELATED: The Guardian Music Blog covers John Cale's tribute to Nico at Festival Hall. NEW RELEASES: Hand-picked David Bowie, I'm From Barcelona, Ray LaMontagne, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, Ingrid Michaelson, Secret Machines and more are streaming in full this week via Spinner. Lucinda Williams releases Little Honey. ROBYN HITCHCOCK appears in Jonathan Demme's "Rachel Getting Married," as well as having two songs on the soundtrack, including the previously unreleased "Up to Our Nex." BLACK KIDS do the three free songs thing for Daytrotter. ROBERT POLLARD: The Memphis Flyer surveys the career (so far) of Mr. Prolific. KISS is branching out into a line of branded Mr. Potato Head dolls. Pics at the link. ANDREW BIRD is trying out songs from the upcoming Noble Beast album on tour Stereogum has your Fourfer Tuesday. DRIVE-BY TRUCKER Patterson Hood explains to the Charleston City Paper why his solo album is held up. LIZ PHAIR is looking to write a book of fiction. JULIANA HATFIELD talks to the Chicago Sun-Times about the relationship of her memoirs to her songwriting. JON BON JOVI is being sued by musician Samuel Bartley Steele for 400 billion dollars. Sounds like Dr. Evil to me. JOHNNY DEPP has been named the Sexiest Man in the World by the UK version of Cosmopolitan magazine, as girls go ga-ga for older fellas. Only three men in their 20s make the Top 25. MARSHA, MARSHA MARSHA: Maureen McCormick's memoir comes out today, covering her romance with Brady Bunch sibling Barry Williams, dates with Michael Jackson and Steve Martin, cocaine binges and parties at the Playboy Mansion and the home of Sammy Davis Jr., an unwanted pregnancy and trading sex for drugs. LINDSAY LOHAN & SAMANTHA RONSON have reportedly hit a rocky patch in their relationship - just weeks after going public with their romance. BRADGELINA: The W magazine article with the buzzwothy cover is now online. NATALIE PORTMAN has been quietly visiting sick children at an L.A. hospital three days a week. JESSICA SIMPSON wants to have six babies. Perhaps more interesting is that -- in a single interview -- she can say both "I'm pretty good at blocking negativity" and "A lot of people live in denial because it's easier, but I've learned it's not easier in the long run." TWILIGHT: The final trailer for the teen vampire book adaptation is now online. J.J. ABRAMS, creator of Alias, Lost, Fringe, Cloverfield and the Star Trek reboot, engaged in a webchat with fans for the Guardian. NORTH KOREA: Pics of a healthy-looking Kim Jong Il actually look to be months old. Shocka. THE STANS: A 20-year-old American man was arrested late Monday at a checkpoint near the Afghan border in a tribal region where Pakistani troops are fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda. NATO Commander Gen. David D. McKiernan disagrees with media reports claiming we are losing in Afghanistan. IRAQ: Gen. Ray Odierno says that Iran is working publicly and covertly to undermine the US-Iraq security pact. Ryan Crocker, US Ambassador to Iraq, is interviewed at the Long War Journal. The Iraqi Interior Ministry fired 20K policemen and officers through the past two years along with firing ministry personnel to reach a professional performance for the ministry. FLAMING RAT sets house ablaze after prank goes awry. Video and pics at the link. DEER HITS HIPPO in Blair County, PA. OVER 20 THOUSAND COWS have gone missing in the UK. NEITHER RAIN NOR SNOW, nor ratllesnake bite will deter Florida mail carrier Efraim Arango from his appointed rounds. HEY, IS THAT SIX LOBSTERS IN YOUR PANTS, or... oh, it is.
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MGMT, Magnetic Fields, Brian Wilson, Mutant Catfish |
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Monday, October 13, 2008 - 08:00 AM Posted by: Karl
MGMT: It seems like "The Youth" just walked off the set of Xanadu, but ELO and ONJ are nowhere to be found. THE MAGNETIC FIELDS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on dmand via MPR. JUST LIKE HEAVEN: The Cure tribute album is streaming in full via ALR Music. BRIAN WILSON perfomed a mini-set for the World Cafe you can stream on demand via NPR. RA RA RIOT played the Black Cat in DC last night; you can stream the gig on demand via NPR. LAMBCHOP: Kurt Wagner plays a Tiny Desk concert -- starting with a Bob Dylan song from Blood on the Tracks called "You're a Big Girl Now" -- for NPR. AL GREEN talks to the Times of London about the South, religion and r-e-s-p-e-c-t.LUCINDA WILLIAMS talks to Newsday about her new, happier, more rockin' album (due tomorrrow). BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE: Brendan Canning explains to the Mpls Star-Trib whether the BSS solo albums are more like the KISS solo records or the Wu-Tang Clan's. ROCKERS OF THE WORLD, Unite. NEW PORNOGRAPHER Carl Newman tells the Sydney Morning Herald about having to explain his job to a co-op board in Brooklyn. WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Beverly Hills Chihuahua repeats at No.1 with 17.5 million, beating the debuts of Quarantine and Body of Lies, which made 14.2 and 13.1 million, respectively. That's a double embarassment fro Body of Lies; Quarantine cost only 12 million to make while Body of Lies had a 70 million production budget, DiCaprio, Crowe and director Ridley Scott. Eagle Eye dropped to fouth place, and looks like it may recoup its 80 million budget. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist rounds out the Top Five with 6.5 million; it has already made 20.8 million on a ten million acquisition cost. The Express opened in sixth place, making only 4.7 million on a 40 million budget. City of Ember openend in tenth, making only 3.2 million on a 38 million budget. LISA MARIE PRESLEY and husband Michael Lockwood welcomed twin girls on Tuesday. CHRISTIE BRINKLEY claims that ex-husband Peter Cook breached the confidentiality agreement in their divorce settlement by appearing on 20/20 with Barbara Walters. BRADGELINA: Experts think Jolie's W mag cover may inspire more new mothers to breast-feed. JAMIE LYNN SPEARS pregnancy rumors again in the ever-reliable National Enquirer. BRITNEY SPEARS is having steamy text messages with Fed-Ex, according to the uber-reliable News of the World. SOUTH PARK: The season premiere - which featured George Lucas and Steven Spielberg allegedly "raping Indiana Jones" -- set ratings records, but caught corporate sibling Paramount off-guard. COLUMBUS DAY: I get it as a holiday, so I thought a few words might be in order. Over the course of my life, I have seen the image of Columbus swing from unvarnished hero to genocidal criminal. Locales like Berkeley, CA have renamed the day "Indigenous Peoples Day. The ever-reliable Wikipedia contains allegations of genocide from Hugo Chavez , though the bogus accounts from Ward Churchill have been removed since his dismissal from Colorado University. Columbus was certainly no sweetheart, but at the end of the 15th Century, it is fair to say that Europeans often did not treat each other all that well. Moreover, before the furriners showed up, Native North and South Americans engaged in slavery, tribal massacre, infanticide, scalping, human sacrifice, and the ritual skinning of slaves for their priests to wear. It was a far less civilized time all 'round. But the West is civilized today in part because of Columbus. Some four centuries-plus later, we all are still struggling to become more civilized, but focusing criticism on the more-civilized while giving the less civilized a pass is not particularly useful to that struggle. IRAN may have the capacity to produce up to 60 nuclear bombs within two years, according to a leading US non -proliferation expert. And the nation has set two preconditions for holding talks with the US: Troops must leave the Mideast and stop supporting Israel. IRAQ: The nation's major stock market index went up 40 percent last month. Expat Kurds want to reform the ruling party in the north. A FEARSOME MUTANT CATFISH has started killing people after feeding on human corpses, scientists fear. FRISKY MOOSE UPDATE: The red pickup truck parked at the Windsor Institute in Hampton, NH, wasn't the first Ford targeted by an amorous moose last week in the town. THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A militant squirrel ignited a fiery chain reaction that led to a power line collapse, car fire, natural gas fire and a power outage in northwest Spokane, WA. DAY OF THE DOLPHINS: A leaping 9-foot, 400-pound dolphin hospitalized two boaters when it landed in their laps as they traveled in the Intracoastal Waterway near New Smyrna Beach, FL. Pics and video at the link. SHEEP GAS: Global warming researchers will be measuring sheep belching, but the sheep will not be forced into plastic pants to measure the other end.
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3442 Reads |
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