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St. Vincent, Snow Patrol, Jon Spencer, Etta James RIP, Zebra Attack   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Monday, January 23, 2012 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

ST. VINCENT played "Cheerleader" on Conan, with an allusion to Elvis Costello's classic Saturday Night appearance.

SNOW PATROL stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION stopped by KEXP for a session on video.

THE BIG PINK plays four cuts for a 4AD Session.

POLICA stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

CULTS are profiled by the Boston Phoenix and play "Abducted" for Fallon.

ETTA JAMES, whose powerful, versatile and emotionally direct voice could enliven the raunchiest blues as well as the subtlest love songs, most indelibly in her signature hit, "At Last," died from leukemia complications on Friday morning in Riverside, Calif. She was 73. NPR has four more James picks with commentary. The Guardian expands the list to 10.

CRAIG FINN and the break his solo LP makes from the Hold Steady are essayed at the New York Times.

LUCINDA WILLIAMS talks to the L.A. Times about the moment Bob Dylan entered her life.

THE HORRORS' Faris Badwan talks to Drowned In Sound about writing and recording Skying.

PAUL McCARTNEY's cloud-based archive is impressive.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Underworld Awakening tops the chart with 25.4 million; it's the second highest opening of the series, likely due to the 3-D premium and the return of Kate Beckinsale in her catsuit.  With a 72 million budget, this should be modestly profitable once worldwide receipts and home video is accounted for.  Red Tails places with 19.1 million.  George Lucas self-financed the 58 million production budget and 35 million in ancillaries.  Bringing the Tuskeegee Airmen to the big screen may be a noble effort, but it may not be profitable, given the limited appeal it is likely to have overseas.  Contraband shows with 12 million on a sizable 50 percent drop; having recouped its budget opening weekend, this is gravy.  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close expanded to the fourth slot with 10.5 million; the budget secrecy suggests that's likely not enough.  Haywire rounds out the Top 5 with 9 million, which was about as predicted, but middling against a 23 million budget; the international cast will likely be the key profit factor. Way below the fold, The Artist rode awards buzz to a 99% increase in business.

HAYWIRE: Steven Soderbergh's spies-gone-wrong picture  is well-executed, but I did not find anything particularly compelling about it.  The action pieces are interesting -- Soderbergh leaves out the music that normally scores such things, making them seem more realistic in the process, which has both an upside and a downside.  The cast is as uniformly good as you would expect from the names -- Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, and Ewan MacGregor to name a few.  Fmr. MMA fighter Gina Carano holds her own against these relative heavyweights, but it remains to be seen whether she can grow beyond this sort of role.  Ultimately, the story was rather pedestrian and rarely gripping.  It's not a bad movie, but I could have waited for cable.  I note that most critics disagree with this assessment, while the oft-maligned CinemaScore gave this a D+, so it would appear I am a man of the people on this one.

HEIDI KLUM & SEAL are not headed for divorce court just yet, their reps are busy telling people.

KRISTIN CAVALLARI & JAY CUTLER are expecting a baby jerkface.

BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD and husband Seth Gabel welcomed a daughter on Thursday.

KATY PERRY unfollowed RUSSELL BRAND on Twitter, in case you were hoping for a reconciliation.

TWO'S COMPANY: Suzanne Somers knocks on Joyce DeWitt's door after 30 years of bad blood.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR really spun out of control after Jack Wagner called off their engagement, as many expected.

SYRIA: The Arab League extended its monitoring mission for another month and declined an opposition request to refer the matter to the UN. Saudi Arabia withdrew from the mission, saying the "Syrian government did not execute any of the elements of the Arab resolution plan."

IRAN warned Saudi Arabia against raising oil production to replace embargoed Iranian oil. Iran also asked India to pay for oil in yen to help circumvent sanctions.

AFGHANISTAN: Pres. Karzai said that he has negotiated with members of the Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin.

PAKISTAN: Taliban terrorists released a video showing the execution of 15 Pakistani soldiers whose bodies were found earlier this month after they were kidnapped in northwestern Pakistan.

WHEN ZEBRA ATTACKS: Let's go to the video.

DEXTER the CAT rejoins his family after four years missing.

DAY OF THE DOLPHIN: If Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Navy has a backup plan to save one-fifth of the world's daily oil trade: send in the dolphins.

KALA: The Gene Simmons of bears.

2574 Reads

Pretenders, Sharon Van Etten, Yuck, Crooked Fingers, Springsteen, Pazz & Jop   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Friday, January 20, 2012 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

....wtih THE PRETENDERS! Circa 1981, via one of Pate's two fab drummers, Jon Hahn.  Your setlist includes "The Wait," "The Adultress," "Message of Love/Louie Louie," "Talk of the Town," "English Roses," "Birds of Paradise," "Kid," "Stop Your Sobbing," "Private Life," "Day After Day," "Jealous Dogs, " Up the Neck," "Tattooed Love Boys," "Bad Boys Get Spanked," "Precious," and "Brass In Pocket/MysteryAchievement."

SHARON VAN ETTEN stopped by WNYC Soundcheck for a session.

YUCK plays a session at Laundro-Matinee.

CROOKED FINGERS stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

ELBOW stopped by WFUV for a session.

PORCELIN RAFT is advance streaming Strange Weekend.

JESSIE BAYLIN: Whitney Matheson compares Baylin's Little Spark LP, which boasts arrangements by Jimmy Haskell and Richard Swift, to prime Dusty Springfield.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Two advance tracks from Wrecking Ball. Commentary at The Record, including a Flock of Seagulls reference.

FRANKIE ROSE drops "Night Swin" ahead of Interstellar.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: New tracks from Leonard Cohen, Magnetic Fields, Lambchop, White Rabbits and more highlight the latest edition of the long-running series.

WE FIVE: Because "You Were On My Mind," natch.

PAZZ & JOP 2011 is posted at the Village Voice.

WILCO: Jeff Tweedy talks to Arizona Central about  the 10-year anniversary of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, The Whole Love" and that line about setting the kids on fire in "I Might." John Stirratt talks to the Phoenix New Times about the band's Grammy nomination (Best Rock Album), the new album, the current Wilco lineup, and why people didn't seem to enjoy "happy" Wilco. (Thx, LHB.)

CRAIG FINN talks to the NYP about songwriting in his Brooklyn home, where he keeps a shrine to Paul Westerberg.

FLEET FOXES drummer J. Tillman has left the band.

SMASHING PUMPKINS: 20th anniversary assessments of Gish at Aquarium Drunkard.

MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle talks pop and politics with the Austin American-Statesman.

JOHNNY OTIS, R & B pioneer, bandleader, producer, radio and TV host and composer, died on Tuesday at his home near Los Angeles. He was 90 years old.

CUTOUT BIN: From REM to the Isley Bros, from Dropkick Murphys to Barry White, from Glen Campbell to Camper van Beethoven, plus Paul Westerberg, Rockpile, the Cardigans, the Lyres and more  -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are Underworld Awakening, which has not been screened for critics; Red Tails, which is currently scoring 31 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Haywire, which is scoring 87 percent.  Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close expands wide at 49 percent.

MARK WAHLBERG apologized for saying he could have overpowered the 9/11 terrorists.

JOHNNY DEPP & VANESSA PARADIS: Already living separate lives?

DEXTER stars Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter getting a second chance at love? They were... wait for it... caught canoodling earlier this week.

ADELE sets the record straight about her boyfriend.

CHRIS HEMSWORTH and wife Elsa Pataky are expecting their first child.

ZOE SALDANA rushed to the aid of an elderly woman who had reportedly gotten into a car accident in Culver City, CA.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR had a blowout altercation with ex-fiancé Jack Wagner, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.

KELLY OSBOURNE has fallen off the wagon and is back to boozing, according to RadarOnline.

MICHAEL FASSBENDER talks to THR about shooting nude, being poor, and his Oscars date.

YEMEN: A tribal leader whose brother, Tariq al Dhahab, took control of the town, said senior Yemeni leaders conspired with al Qaeda to take control of Rada'a.

SYRIA: Britain called for harsher sanctions on Syria, while Russia said it would work with China to block efforts at the UN.

LIBYAN forces freed the governor of the Algerian province of Illizi, who was captured yesterday by three purported al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters.

AFGHANISTAN: The former leader of Taliban's Jaish-ul-Muslimin Movement, Sayed Mohammad Akbar Agha, said on Wednesday that the continuation of secret talks between the US and the Taliban could yield positive results for both sides.

A DOG saved two girls from a venomous snake.

BURMESE PYTHONS may soon be banned from import to the US. So if you were in the market for one, time is running short.

ZOO ELEPHANTS kept together with help from Bob Barker.

ALASKAN DOG SLED RACE called due to weather.

2995 Reads

My Apologies   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

KarlSORRY, but I have an ongoing tech issue here. I should have a full (or close-to-full) slate for y'all Friday.

2463 Reads

Howler, Screaming Females, Matthew Sweet, Sheep   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES TODAY. HERE'S WHAT i HAVE FOR YOU NOW...

HOWLER stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

SCREAMING FEMALES plays a new song during a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR offices.

THE LUMINEERS get a folky twofer from World Cafe: Next.

MATTHEW SWEET, Live at Grant Park, July 4, 1993.

CRAIG FINN talks to Pitchfork about what it means to be a 40-year-old singer in a rock band, the perils of depression, and whether he envies the characters in his songs.

VETIVER'S Andy Cabic traces the band's evolution at the San Francisco Chronicle. (Thx, LHB.)

SXSW's lineup expands significantly.

MTV's SURVIVING ORIGINAL VJs -- Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn are prepping an "uncensored" oral history of the music channel launched in 1981.

LINDSAY LOHAN cut it close before her second probation report. Also, Li-Lo now faces competition from Megan Fox to play Liz Taylor in a biopic.

ELTON JOHN & MADONNA: More on their Golden Globes feud.

PAULA DEEN: Why she didn't tell anyone about her Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

AVRIL LAVIGNE has split from her boyfriend of nearly two years, Brody Jenner.

MICHELLE WILLIAMS, who just won the Golden Globe for her movie portrayal of Marilyn Monroe, is profiled by GQ.

QUENTIN TARANTINO's Favorite Films of 2011, including various other honors.

TERROR in the USA: Kareem Ibrahim, an imam who provided religious and operational support to a group planning to set off explosions under JFK Airport in 2007, was sentenced to life in prison. Ibrahim had sought to involve Iran and also to use suicide bombers.

EGYPT: Leading Egyptian political parties will back a senior figure in the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party for the assembly's speaker, with another Islamist group and a liberal party taking the deputy posts.

IRAN: Europe is expected to agree to ban the import of Iranian oil by the end of the month. Saudi Arabia said it could make up for the loss of Iranian oil exports. Iran warned Gulf Arab states they would suffer consequences if they raised oil production to replace Iranian oil.

A SHEEP-POWERED RICKSHAW is all the rage in northern China.

A PET KANGAROO treated like a child has the owner fleeing town.

A CAT had to be rescued from 50ft above the M4 Motorway.

3398 Reads

New Releases, Real Estate, Lemonheads, Arcade Fire,   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

WILCO: This video for "The Whole Love" was directed by Spencer Tweedy and stars Joey Tweedy.

NEW RELEASES from Kathleen Edwards, Ani DiFranco, Matthew Dear, and more are streaming this week at Spinner.

REAL ESTATE played a full gig at World Cafe Live, streaming on demand.

FIRST AID KIT is advance streaming The Lion's Roar.

THE LEMONHEADS: Live at the Taste of Chicago, 1994.

ARCADE FIRE's entire Austin City Limits gig is available to stream for a way more than Twofer Tuesday.

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER talks to PopMatters about Fiery Furnaces and her solo work.

WIPERS: The Portland punks are profiled by Pitchfork as part of Underscore, a new feature surveying undervalued artists/eras/scenes of the past.

THE ALABAMA SHAKES are profiled at the Austin American-Statesman.

INDIE ROCK's slow and painful death?

THE KARDASHIANS: Kris Humphries has told his inner circle Kim Kardashian planned his wedding proposal to her for TV, according to RadarOnline.

MADONNA: David Furnish called her victory speech at the Golden Globes "embarrassing in its narcissism."  Coming from a dude married to Elton John, that's sayin' something.

KATY PERRY & RUSSELL BRAND: She is expected to resurface at Marc Cuban's SuperBowl party; he claims he's "quite well, thank you."

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & JESSICA BIEL: She had no engagement ring at the Golden Globes.  The ever-reliable National Enquirer claims his proposal is a clever way of avoiding an actual marriage.

GENE HACKMAN was briefly hospitalized with bumps and bruises Friday after a pickup truck hit him from behind while he was riding a bicycle in the Florida Keys.

ALBERT BROOKS surveyed his career during a Q & A at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, including the story of how Sly Stone ended his stand-up comedy.

YEMEN: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula took control of the town of Rada'a in Baydah province, killing two policemen. The attack was led by the brother-in-law of Anwar al Awlaki.

IRAN: As the US and European Union move to cut Iran's oil exports, China, Japan, India and South Korea are having to tread the fine line between international relations and national needs.

AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban claimed to have shot down a civilian helicopter in Helmand province; three people were killed in the crash. ISAF said there are no signs that the Taliban has infiltrated the Afghan security forces.

HORSE on a HIGHWAY: Let's go to the video.

FUGITIVE NATIVITY GOAT UPDATE: With frigid temps forecast for later in the week, concerned citizens are chipping in money for a reward that will be offered to anyone who can catch and return Curly, a black angora goat that wriggled out of his leash and ran from the manger out front of Bethleham Church.

DON'T THROW A CAT in a marital spat.

BABY GIRAFFES are still pretty large.

2776 Reads

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