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The King, Son Volt, New PJ Harvey, Dancing Sheep   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Thursday, August 16, 2007 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

ELVIS PRESLEY remains a global pop phenomenon on the 30th anniversary of his death.  Canada's Star-Phoenix, which discusses ten important parts of Elvis history worth reliving, notes: "His was a sequined coat of many colours: '50s Greaser Elvis. Military Elvis. Hollywood Elvis. Aloha from Hawaii Elvis. Vegas Elvis. And, ultimately, Dead Fat Elvis."  The BBC has friend and aide Sonny West recall life with The King, while London's Mirror has Elvis recipes.  The Belfast Telegraph lists 30 weird and wonderful Elvis facts. iAfrica pays tribute to Elvis in numbers.  Good Morning America surveys his film career, a decent chunk of which is airing today on Turner Classic Movies

ACTION NEWS 5 has posted its local coverage from Aug. 16-17, 1977, on the Tube, where you can also see funeral footage from the BBC Archive.  Here's read the obit that ran the next day in the Washington Post. Elvis Presley News recaps the international headlines from the event and links to the eulogy at his funeral.  Geraldo Rivera had national coverage that night, though he would later wallow in the King's drug habit.  On a happier note, check out what is likely the first footage taken of Elvis, with backstage shots of Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly in 1955; shades of Walk The Line!  You can also see him play "I Got A Woman" live o­n his first TV appearance in 1956. I also include his performance of "Hound Dog" o­n The Milton Berle Show six months later, not o­nly because it's historic, but also because Paul Miller and I often reached for it when we would stumble into our KUSR shift at the last minute -- on the record, Uncle Miltie vamps for awhile, which gave us time to pull records for the show.  He was also iconic in "Jailhouse Rock" that year.  Elvis sang a mashup of "Love Me Tender" and "Witchcraft" with Frank Sinatra when he got back from the Army.  All of his movies -- such as "Viva Las Vegas" --made money, but his musical career stalled in the 1960s until he electrified and charmed the public with his televised '68 Comeback Special, which you can see uncut and unedited on the Tube.  1970 finds him singing "In The Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds" in the jumpsuit, though pre-bloated.  I'm going to throw in "Little Sister" just 'cause I like it.  Sadly, in a few short years, bloated jumpuit Elvis would be delivering a wacked-out take on "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" -- though to be fair, this audio-only version from 1969 is even more demented and he knows it.  I would rather remember Jumpsuit Elvis for the signature horns that open "See See Rider."  a tribute to his enduring legacy as the fact that he could hit the charts decades after his death with a remix of "A Little Less Conversation," a video subtly recalling "Jailhouse Rock."  And I've heard Paul Oakenfold's remix of "Rubberneckin'" in at least two movie trailers this year.  Indeed, this year even saw the bizzare CGI Elvis duet with Celine Dion on American Idol, which will likely make tomorrow's posthumous duet with daughter Lisa Marie seem almost normal by comparison.  Had The King not keeled over in the crapper 30 years ago, just imagine what Rick Rubin could have done for him.

ELVIS, INC.:  The King may be gone, but the brand lives on, making millions and recruiting new fans under the watchful eyes of Elvis Presley Enterprises and CKX, Inc.  The WaPo covers it all, from the Disney licensing to the Elvis Reese's Banana Creme Peanut Butter Cup to the 250-million-dollar renovation plans for Graceland and its visitor center.  The Chicago Sun-Times notes that TCB helped open the doors of Graceland to the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist competition this week -- the estate's first recognition of the folks they don't like to call impersonators.

TEGAN & SARA play a four-song acoustic mini-set and talk about Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Meg White for Spinner.

LINDA THOMPSON talks to the New York Sun about the crucial role son Teddy and daughter Kamilla played in the making of her new album

SON VOLT frontman Jay Farrar stopped by The Current for a conversation and a mini-set you can stream via MPR.

MAXIMO PARK frontman Paul Smith explains his onstage book reading to the Sydney Morning Herald, later adding, "I think I was probably more rock'n'roll before we were successful."

PJ HARVEY:  Prefix is streaming a broadcast rip of "When Under Ether," the first single from her upcoming seventh album.

THE B-52s:  Domino Rally is streaming some nuggets a bit further off the beaten track from the band's back catalog.

 

BRITNEY SPEARS:  To bolster his side of their child custody battle, Fed-Ex has been collecting stories from the pop tart's employees about her alleged bad parenting and it seems they have plenty to say, with tales of drunken exhibitionism and allegedly asking a nanny to sleep in the same bed with her and son Sean.  On the night when she drunkenly seduced a college student in a hotel swimming pool, Spears allegedly ended up kissing and fondling former assistant Shannon Funk, according to an article set for publication in OK! magazine.  Funk has denied a romantic relationship with Spears.  The ever-reliable Life & Style Weekly reports that kid sister Jamie Lynn Spears is taking Fed-Ex's side in the child custody dispute.  The also-reliable National Enquirer claims Fed-Ex plans to use video from the 15 security cameras that were installed in their Malibu home, including a clip of Spears allegedly whacking Fed-Ex with a frying pan -- life imitates cartoons.

LINDSAY LOHAN is getting sued for assault and negligence by a passenger in a car the actress allegedly chased while drunk last month.  TMZ has the complaint, which alleges the cops drew their guns during the incident.  The site also has the first photos of Li-Lo on a break from rehab in Orem, Utah.

MADONNA shocked passengers on a recent transatlantic flight after witnesses claim she whipped out a needle and started injecting herself... with vitamins.  Other celebrities who are rumoured to use the energy boosting shots include rehabbers Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears.

THE FRENCH HOTEL has sold her Spanish-style 1920s mansion in ten days for 4.25 million, having paid just 2.9 million for it two years ago.  And we learn that Cameron Diaz was one of those complaining about the tumult the heirhead brought to the neighborhood after violating probation on her DUI conviction.

SIENNA MILLER, after being romantically linked to co-star Sean Bean earlier in the week, is also said to have fallen for co-star Matthew Rhys on the set of the Dylan Thomas biopic The Edge Of Love.

EVAN RACHEL WOOD:  The 19-year-old actress tells GQ that kissing 38-year-old boyfriend amid raining blood for the "Heart-Shaped Glasses" video was "one of the most romantic moments of my entire life,"  Wood claims the video does not contain actual sex -- despite reports to the contrary.

JOHN MAYER and MANDY MOORE a couple?  They were spotted having lunch, which is enough for people to start gossiping, anyway.  Moore is laughing it off:  "Oh my goodness. John and I have been friends for years, no romance."  Indeed, US Weekly claims Mayer has been... wait for it.... caught near-canoodling with Cameron Diaz?

DON IMUS reached a settlement with CBS radio that allows him to return to the airwaves at a new station four months after he made a sexist and racist remark about the Rutgers women's basketball team.  Industry experts say broadcast executives can have a very short memory if it means boosting ratings which Imus can still deliver.  Others may have longer memories.  Kia Vaughn, star center for the Rutgers Women's Basketball team, has filed a lawsuit against Imus for libel, slander and defamation.

JACKO continues to accumulate lawsuits.  The latest have been filed by celebrity super-lawyers Lavely & Singer for unpaid bills and by Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who claim Jacko is reneging on their agreement to make a CD and start a record company.

BRADGELINA:  Pitt's spokeswoman is denying reports Pitt and Jolie are planning to adopt a fourth child from Africa.

MICHAEL VICK, the embattled NFL QB facing federal charges related to his alleged participation in dogfighting, has been hit with a 63-billion-dollar lawsuit filed by a South Carolina inmate who alleges Vick stole his pit bulls and sold them on eBay to buy missiles from Iran.

KARL ROVE:  The departing White House deputy chief of stafftells the WaPo that his biggest regret was going to the White House Radio and Television Correspondents' Dinner in March and performing as MC Rove.  It's a funny answer, but was Rove also taking an evil jab at those who think he should have bigger regrets?

NANO-BATTERY:  It's waffer-thin, like an after-dinner mint (NSFW).

VENEZUELA:  Hugo Chavez wants to be President-for-Life.  Shocka!  Couldn't have seen that one coming; after all, Sean Penn loves the guy.

IRAN: Pres. Ahmadinejad believes that Islamic rule is mankind's only way for salvation and that Pres. Bush has dispatched the CIA to hunt down the Islamic Messiah.  In the meantime, Ahmadinejad is attempting to rebrand himself as a listening politician by establishing a hotline for ordinary voters, to be run by aides in the presidential office.

IRAQ:  Gen. Petraeus is expected to propose removing US troops soon from several areas where commanders believe security has improved, possibly including Al Anbar province.  The L.A. Times adds that "it does not necessarily follow that Petraeus would call for reducing the overall number of troops in the country," though realistically, the "surge" will likely end by next April, based on already-stretched troop rotations.  Indeed, Gen. Petraeus believes the US footprint will have to be "a good bit smaller" by next summer.  Former insurgents are being targeted by AQI.  Italian anti-mafia investigators busted up a huge backdoor arms deal negotiated through an intermediary for Iraq's interior ministry.  The Oil Ministry confirmed the abduction of Fmr. Undersecretary Abdul-Jabbar Al-Wakaa alongside other officials.  Iraq and Jordan have agreed to share more intell to fight al Qaeda and other militant groups waging terror attacks across the region, Iraq's national security adviser says.  Embedded blogger Wesley Morgan's squadron got a visit from the Counterinsurgency Academy, a small institution whose mission is to help prepare arriving commanders to take over their areas without going through too disastrous of a transition period.  Blogger Michael J. Totten writes about the prevalence of Mahdi Army sympathizers in the Iraqi Army.

IRAQ II:  The death toll in the suicide bombings Tuesday in northern Iraq has risen to at least 500, local officials in Nineveh province said, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in Iraq since the US invasion in 2003.  Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon said the coordinated attacks were a "trademark al Qaeda event" designed to sway US public opinion against the war.  Last month, Gen. Petraeus warned that the summer may see a mini-Tet offensive designed to push US politics over the brink.  A glance at iCasualties suggests AQI would have to launch several more such attacks to cause as many civilian casualties as there were in April or May, let alone February or March.  Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and John Warner (R-VA) have gone to Iraq to tell its leaders that they must accept responsibility for their country.  Prime Minister al-Maliki appeared to clear the way for a "crisis council" that seeks to save his crumbling government.

THE DOG OF DOOM:  Following in the pawprints of Oscar the Cat, Scamp the Schnauzer lives at The Pines nursing home in Ohio - where his owner, a staff member, claims he has been present for the death of virtually every patient for the past three years.

MASSIVE PARROT HEIST:  Forty-five parrots worth more than 1,000 dollars each have been abducted from a Long Island, New York, pet store.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT:  California ground squirrels have learned to intimidate rattlesnakes by heating their tails and shaking them aggressively.

OLIVER the MONKEY having made his second breakout from behind bars in less than a month, was recaptured and secured in a cage with with triple chains and locks in Tupelo, Miss.

A BLACK WIDOW IS NOT A GOOD PET:  In Dortmund, Germany, police broke in to Mark Voegel's apartment to find spider Bettina along with 200 others, several snakes, a gecko lizard called Helmut and several thousand termites had gorged on his body.

A TROUPE of DANCING SHEEP have been stranded hundreds of miles from home for 11 days in the wake of a foot and mouth alert in Britain.

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