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The Pipettes, Legion of Rock Stars, Cutout Bin, Cats & Dogs   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Friday, June 08, 2007 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE PIPETTES!  I just got back from seeing them play a packed house at the Empty Bottle in Chicago (previewed by Jim DeRogatis for the Sun-Times) and boy, are my arms tired!  That's because the lovely lasses from Brighton want you to finger-wag, clap your hands  and wave your arms in the 90 degree heat, just like they do... and if you can give the proper shout-outs in various songs so much the better, as they really feed off a crowd.   They opened with a new song, which I would guess is called "You Won't Forget Me," but it wasn't very long before they pulled out "Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me" much like this clip from  the Black Cat in DC.  Sometimes they seemed more excited about their new material, but they did really cook on crowd faves like "Dirty Mind" and the climactic "Pull Shapes" (like these clips from Lee's Palace in Toronto, but hotter and sweatier, with the crowd yelling, "What will you do when the music stops?").  The encore was "We Are the Pipettes," which is likely the first song you would hear streaming from their website.  BONUS:  What you see above is Gwenno, Rosay and Becki out of their signature polka-dots playing "Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me" unplugged at the CMJ offices in NYC.

PLUS:  The second band on the bill was the tween indie sister act Smoosh, so I'm tossing in their catchy "Find A Way," as well as their live cover of Bloc Party's "This Modern Life," so you can see they have their even younger sister sit in on bass for a couple of numbers. You can also stream a few at SmooshSpace.  Monster Bobby, the ladies' guitarist and collaborator, was third on the bill, with songs like "Let's Check Into the Hospital Together," and "One Moonlit Night" (which featured an Elvis sample singing backup).  BTW, I let Gwenno and Becki stand in front of me to catch the end of Smoosh's set, just as Asya was standing nearby to see the end of the Pipettes' set.  Also, when Smoosh plays soccer at the end of the "Find A Way" clip, that's not just for show -- it's also what they were doing around the corner when I showed up to the Empty Bottle.  FYI, I didn't interrupt, as it would have seemed just too darn creepy.  And I can confirm the Wikipedia entry stating that the Pipettes' drummer plays court musician Thomas Tallis on Showtime's The Tudors.

DANIEL JOHNSTON talked to Glide magazine about his current work and the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, which has turned up on cable recently.

I'M FROM BARCELONA:  The 28-member Swedish band is streaming a song about Britney Spears.

INSTANT KARMA:  The John Lennon tribute disc for Darfur is due next week, but you can stream it now via VH1.

FOUNTAINS of WAYNE co-founder and songwriter Adam Schlesinger is asked by Eye Weekly: "What is it about power-pop that seems to appeal exclusively to neurotic 20- and 30-something white guys?"

THE LEGION of ROCK STARS listen to classic rock and pop songs on 30dB noise-blocking headsets, play along, and record the results.

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS played a "secret" gig in Germany Tuesday night that included a a question and answer session.  When asked why he chose the German word Zeitgeist for the band's new album, Billy Corgan replied, "Because the word Hasselhoff was taken."

DAVE DEE, DOZY, BEAKY, MICK & TICH play "Hold Tight" on a carnival-themed set for Top of the Pops.  And it is almost carnival season...

THE ROSEBUDS did an interview and mini-set at the World Cafe, which you can stream via NPR.

WHY THE HIPSTER MUST DIE, according to TimeOut New York.

KEREN ANN talks to the Boston papers about her eclectic songwriting and her nomadic lifestyle.  You can hear some of the former streaming at HerSpace; I'm partial to the Velvet-y "Lay Your Head Down."

PETE TOWNSHEND talks to France's Metro about his songs (old and new) and the artists and bands he's digging now.

THE CUTOUT BIN:  This Friday's fortuitous finds on the ol' HM are: The Beach Boys - All Summer Long; Free - All Right Now; The Hues Corporation - Rock the Boat; The Pretenders - Talk of theTown; Old 97's - Question; Blondie - Heart of Glass; Cheap Trick - Oh, Candy; Stevie Nicks - Edge Of Seventeen; The Go! Team - Huddle Formation; Pavement - Cut Your Hair; Beck - Devil's Haircut; The Breeders - Cannonball; Yo La Tengo - Big Day Coming; The Beach Boys - The Warmth of the Sun; Locksley - The Past And The Present; Meat Loaf - You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night); Cream - White Room; Electric Light Orchestra - Roll Over Beethoven; and The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations.

BRITNEY SPEARS is dating her drug counselor?  They both deny it, but Fed-Ex insists they're dating and her mother is thrilled the two are supposedly seeing each other, according to the ever-reliable National Enquirer.

THE FRENCH HOTEL may be ordered back to the Graybar Hotel.  Hours after she was sent home under house arrest Thursday for an undisclosed medical condition, the judge who put her in jail for violating her reckless-driving probation ordered her into court Friday morning to decide if she should go back behind bars.  UPDATE:  Someone got all weepy being hauled to the courthouse in handcuffs!  UPDATEGo to jail.  Go directly to jail.  Do not pass "go."  Do not collect 200 dollars.  The Associated Press brings the drama.

NOW SHOWING:  This weekend's wide releases are: the summer's fourth threequel, Ocean's 13, currently scoring 75 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; the can-we-have more-penguins animated flick Surf's Up, scoring 77 percent (albeit on 13 reviews) and Eli Roth's Hostel, Pt. II, scoring 86 percent (albeit on six reviews).

BRADGELINA:  Jolie tells Marie Claire magazine how Pitt gets her out of her reserved shell: "I don't know how he does it, but...I talk a lot in the bath. It's easier to talk when you're naked...Get naked with me, and I'll talk!"  As it happens, Jolie was in town last night for an Ocean's 13 premiere, so I was sorely tempted to test that theory... but I already had tickets for the Pipettes.

GEORGE CLOONEY sympathizes with young Tinseltown's train-wrecks:  "If I were as famous as some of those kids who are on the magazines right now at 21 years old, I'd be shooting crack under my eyeball..."

JENNIFER ANISTON will be thrilled to learn that everyone notices her new beau's resemblance to her ex, Brad Pitt.  An Aniston friend says that Jen "is dating a bunch of guys" and hasn't settled on Mr. Right quite yet.

MAKING THE SHINING:  A 1-2-3-4 part behind-the-scenes documentary shot by Vivian Kubrick (daughter of Stanley).  And there are spoilers.  Plus the kid talking about what he's getting paid, and Jack Nicholson being Jack Nicholson (yet seeming more sane than Shelley Duvall).  BONUS:  I cannot help but re-link to the Shining trailer remix.

THE McCARTNEYS:  Sir Paul talks about not talking about his divorce on Good Morning America.  Video at the link, too.

ROSIE O'DONNELL:  New NBC programming chief Ben Silverman is telling friends he will do anything to get O'Donnell onto the network, and not just in daytime. Silverman is talking to O'Donnell about hosting a prime-time game show he has up his sleeve as well as a daytime hour a la The View.  Of course, it's easy to say you'll do "anything" for Rosie when you know she won't be interested in having sex with you.

DENISE & HEATHER & RICHIE & CHARLIE:  Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora entered an undisclosed treatment facility on Wednesday, a rep for the band tod People magazine.

PIRATES:  Slate's Explainer separates fact from fiction.

GRADUATION SPEECH:  Mike Philbrick of ESPN has composed an address of nothing but quotes from sports movies.  Just don't tell Baz Luhrmann.

THE SOPRAN-OHS:  As the historic series draws to a close Sunday, it's worth watching a few minutes of "ohs," "heys" and -- of course -- assorted bits of profanity.

GLOBAL WARMING:  Greenland -- the biggest island in the world -- is a wind-raked place, gripped by ice over four-fifths of its land, prowled by polar bears, its coastlines choked by drifting icebergs and sea ice. Many of its 56,000 people, who live on the fringes of its giant ice cap, see the effects of global warming -- and cheer it on.  BTW, for those freaking over the nearly 11 degree rise in average temperature there from 1991-2003, it should be noted -- as Freeman Dyson has: "The effect of carbon dioxide is more important where the air is dry, and air is usually dry only where it is cold. The warming mainly occurs where air is cold and dry, mainly in the arctic rather than in the tropics, mainly in winter rather than in summer, and mainly at night rather than in daytime..."

INDIA:  A caste of farmers and shepherds went on a rampage throughout northern India in support of their demand to be reclassified as the lowest of the low, so they can get government jobs and university spots reserved for such groups.

IRAN:  According to ABCNews, NATO officials say they have caught Iran red-handed, shipping heavy arms, C4 explosives and advanced roadside bombs to the Taliban for use against NATO forces in Afghanistan, in what the officials say is a dramatic escalation of Iran's proxy war against the US and Great Britain.

IRAQ:  IraqSlogger looks at conflicting reports in the Iraqi media regarding both Turkish incursions into the Kurdish north and the state of the opposition bloc former Prime Minister Allawi is trying to form.  While the US has called on Turkey to not invade northern Iraq, recurring limited incidents of hot pursuit of PKK terrorists are unlikely to draw opposition from the US, or from Baghdad for that matter.  The first Iraqi police academy in Anbar province has opened; it's in Habbaniyah, where former Marine Gene Blanton blogs the return of Sheikh Khamis and a meeting at the city's "neighborhood watch" center.  Michael Yon forwards an e-mail about the situation in Hit from LTC Doug Crissman, who arrested the once-heroic Gen. Hamid there.  The North Shore Journal blog has graphs of US and terrorist deaths this year that you probably won't see anywhere else.

...AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:  A cat that uses a fork, spoon, and chopsticks to eat.

PET HOARDING:  This time, it's more than 100 pet rats, dozens of rabbits and other animals including several birds, seized from the home of an 81-year-old woman in L.A.

GONNA NEED A BIGGER MARRIAGE:  Frank Maloney, his cousin Ed and friend Chuck "Tuna" Meyer caught a 9-foot bull shark, weighing over 600 pounds, after a three-hour struggle... but the real struggle is with Frank's wife, who is a card-carrying member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PEPPER the PIT BULL saved her family.  For now, anyway.

DOGS:  New research is adding to the growing evidence that man's best friend thinks a lot more than many humans have believed.

CHIZ-WHIZ, the world's most famous chinchilla, has died in his Plymouth home at the age of 21.  Yeah, I had no idea who he was either; he was the public face of the globally-known Chinchilla Chat Line website.  Yeah, I had no idea about that, either.

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