GINA VIVINETTO'S "EARFUL OF COOL"

BANDS BEYOND THE BREAK-UP

2007-07-29T12:48:00.001-05:00

From Sparky's Nightmare to Fleetwood Mac, a bunch of rock'n' roll bands carry on even after the couple within them collapses. For example:

* JOHN DOE and EXENE CERVENKA of X
* GWEN STEFANI and TONY KANAL of NO DOUBT
* SONNY and CHER
* CARRIE BROWNSTEIN and CORIN TUCKER of SLEATER-KINNEY
* LINDSAY BUCKINGHAM and STEVIE NICKS (and STEVIE NICKS and MICK FLEETWOOD) of FLEETWOOD MAC
* BOY GEORGE and JON MOSS of CULTURE CLUB
* possibly BOB MOULD and GRANT HART of HUSKER DU (though it's difficult to confirm they were a couple, despite rumors)
* ANNIE LENNOX and DAVE STEWART of THE EURYTHMICS
* JACK WHITE and MEG WHITE of THE WHITE STRIPES
* MAC and LAURA OF SUPERCHUNK
* LAURYN HILL and WYCLEF JEAN of THE FUGEES
* RICHARD and LINDA THOMPSON of FAIRPORT CONVENTION (who toured while they were gettting a divorce)

AGONIZING CONFUSION ABOUT THE BUFFAY FAMILY TREE

2007-07-19T17:54:00.000-05:00

On "Friends" DVD Marathon: Day Two, I'm wondering why in some episodes Lisa Kudrow's character Phoebe has only one sibling, her twin sister Ursula (also played by Kudrow) and in other episodes her only sibling is goofy pyromaniac Frank, played by Giovanni Risbisi.

I'm watching an episode right now from Season 5 wherein Phoebe's long last father returns and he's talking as if he only had two children, Phoebe and Ursula.

Am I unaware of a plot point?

"La Vie En Rose"

2007-07-08T00:51:00.000-05:00

Saw the new Edith Piaf bioflick last night at the historic Tampa Theatre and while I thought it contained some singulalry beautiful scenes and great acting, it was edited into a non-linear hodgepodge of horric incidents in Piaf's life, one after another, which frankly, made it a really jolting, depressing experience.

So...go see for yourself.

The number one song on the day I was born was George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord"

2007-07-08T00:44:00.000-05:00

which is, conveniently, my favorite song of all time.

Find out the song that was number one on your special occasion (s) by consulting:

http://www.bobborst.com/popculture/numberonesongs/

and thanks to the radtacular Christine O' Brien for making me hip to this site.

GORE VIDAL ON AMERICAN POLITICS

2007-07-04T16:20:00.001-05:00

"There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party . . . and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism than the Democrats, who are cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt — until recently... and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand. But, essentially, there is no difference between the two parties."

-GORE VIDAL

HAPPY INDIE DAY!

2007-07-04T16:14:00.000-05:00

Think about what it means. Don't be a slave to big business, government, celebrities or technology.
Read a book. Pet your cat. Kiss a sweetie. Love your mom.

Sissy Spacek as LORETTA LYNN, etc

2007-07-03T14:49:00.000-05:00

(Whispering) I'm right now watching "Coal Miner's Daughter," the great LORETTA LYNN biopic starring Sissy Spacek who not only nails the acting part, but manages to sing the tar off the roof of all Lynn's hits. (Beverly D'Angelo also does a convincing job portraying Lynn's buddy PATSY CLINE in the film).

Hands down, Spacek is my all-time favorite actor-portraying-a musical -legend. She is peerless.
Spacek's portrayal is on one end of the spectrum with Dennis Quaid's cartoony JERRY LEE LEWIS at the other.

Here's a list of other actors playing musical types. Give me your thoughts on your faves (and non-faves). Add more.

* Jessica Lange as PATSY CLINE
* Tom Hulce as WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
* Joaquin Phoenix as JOHNNY CASH
* Reese Witherspoon as JUNE CARTER CASH
* Diana Ross as BILLIE HOLIDAY
* Gary Oldman as SID VICIOUS
* Jennifer Lopez as SELENA
* Lou Diamond Phillips as RITCHIE VALENS
* Gary Busey as BUDDY HOLLY
* Jamie Foxx as RAY CHARLES
* Angela Bassett as TINA TURNER
* Val Kilmer as JIM MORRISON
* Phillip Seymour Hoffman as famed rock critic LESTER BANGS
* A bunch of actors have portrayed ELVIS PRESLEY including Jonathan Rhys-Meyer, Kurt Russell, and Michael St. Gerard

And in Todd Haynes' new "I'm Not There," (2007) seven actors and actresses including Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Cate Blanchett portray BOB DYLAN in all his various eras.

I

TOP 10 ECO-FRIENDLY CITIES IN THE WORLD

2007-07-02T15:57:00.000-05:00

According to Veg News magazine (June 2007) the Top 10 Global Green Urban Hotspots are:
(1) AMSTERDAM, which spends $40-million a year on its cycling infrastructure. Thirty-seven per cent of Amsterdam's residents commute by bike. The city is filled with bike paths. The city also has community cars and an expert recylcing system.

(2) CHICAGO where supergreeen Mayor Richard Daley aims to make his city the most eco-friendly in America. The city has planted half a million trees since 1989, implemented greening city rooftops to conserve energy and filter rainwater. The mayor passed the Environmental Action Agenda to replace 130 city vehicles with hybrid automobiles and installed 10,000 bike racks. Cycling is one of the most popular transit options as well as the city's superb public transportation system.

(3) CURTIBA in Brazil was transformed by its architect-mayor Jaime Lerner in the 1970s. With a population boom in the 1970s, Lerner redesigned the city for people not cars, building parks and creating lakes to ease flooding and closing the main street to traffic making instead a pedestrian-only plaza. The city also has an economical and environmentally friendly bus system with entire roads, highways and lanes allocated exclusively for buses.

(4) FREIBURG near the Black Forest of Germany. The city's residents in the 1970s planned a mass civil disobedience event to protest a planned nuclear power plant, raising environmental awareness and discussion about the city's energy future. Three decades later, Freiburg is a solat city with photovoltaic panels soaking up the sun's rays from the roof of Central Station, the hospital, the soccer stadium, city gardens and the local brewery. Citizens uses the bicycle as a means of transportation on one-third of their trips. The city has also reduced its grabage disposal by two-thirds since 1980.

(5) KATHMANDU, though its architecuter is medieval, its mindset is modern and eco-friendly. The capital of Nepal, the city of Kathmandu uses solar energy and solar water heaters and limits its buildings to nine feet and utilizes bulding rooftops for gardens and activity.

The rest are LONDON, REYKJAVIK, PORTLAND (OREGON), SINGAPORE, and TORONTO.

I'M A REBEL (BECAUSE I SING SO)

2007-07-01T23:55:00.000-05:00

A few years ago while hanging wih some friends watching bands at New World Brewery in Ybor City, I spotted a guy inside with a T-shirt with the word "REBEL" (in all caps) written across his chest.

That seemed odd to me - would a real rebel, say Marlon Brando, wear a T-shirt proclaiming him thus?
And, what makes one a real rebel?
Remember Brando in "The Wild One"? When asked what he was rebelling against, his character simply muttered, "What have you got?" I'm not sure Brando ever came out and declared himself a rebel. It all makes me think about the handful of rock 'n' roll artists who feel the need to depict themselves in song as iconoclasts and are therefore suspect to real rebels. These include:

(1) BILLY JOEL, who spent his entire pre-paunchy youth telling us what a badass he was in songs such as "Only The Good Die Young," in which Joel taunts that nice Catholic Virginia to come out and have sex with him. Don't forget "You May Be Right," wherein Joel sings about riding his motorcycle in the rain. "You may be right,' Joel sings, "I may be dangerous." Whoo, dangerous indeed.

(2) MICHAEL JACSKON never tires of telling the world want a tough guy he is, but his rebel declaration rings most clearly on the anthemic "Bad," wherein he demands the whole world needs to answer right now just to tell you once again who's bad. (Um, you?)

(3) According to JOHN MELLENCAMP's "Authority Song", he's always fighting The MAN. But, he laments, he just can't win.

(4) "Wanted Dead or Alive" let us know that JON BON JOVI was a cowboy* , but metaphorically so, since it was "on a steel horse" he rode. What is that? Like, a car?

(5) It takes a a special guy to sing that he's "Bad To The Bone." GEORGE THOROGOOD is so -b-b-b-b-bad, he also drinks alone. (see; "I Drink Alone.')

* All country music fits into this category. Singers of that genre are constantly lauding their own rebelliousness.

ON BEING "NEUTRAL":

2007-07-01T19:32:00.000-05:00

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."

--BISHOP DESMOND TUTU

Discussion about indie rockers in movies:

2007-06-29T03:38:00.000-05:00

PUNK ACTORS IN FEATURE FILMS. I'll start, you add.
(Not regular ol' rock stars, but from the punk and indie rock crowd.)

* IGGY POP in "Cry Baby" with DEBBIE HARRY, and a few others.

* JOHN Doe of X appearing on the screen in everything from "Great Balls of Fire" to various episodes of "CSI" and "The West Wing."

* RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS bassist FLEA making his screen debut in "Suburbia" and appearing in a dozen or so from then to now including "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," and "My Own Private Idaho"

* ANN MAGNUSON of BONGWATER was a regular on the 1980s Jamie Lee Curtis/Richard Lewis sitcom "Anything But Love." She's also had small roles in "Panic Room," "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon," "Making Mr. Right" and "The Hunger." Magnuson was also on episodes of Nickelodeon's great "The Pete & Pete Show."

* JACK WHITE of the WHITE STRIPES in "Cold Mountain."

* COURTNEY LOVE, beginning way back with a bit part in "Sid & Nancy," to her critically-acclaimed turn in "The People Vs. Larry Flynt" and several others.

* HENRY ROLLINS has been in a bunch of cruddy action movies.

* JOAN JETT (She has punk cred via The Runaways) opposite Michael J. Fox in the horrid "Light of Day."

I've also seen in movies JANE WEIDLIN of the Go-Go's, ELVIS COSTELLO, GRACE JONES, LOU REED, SUZI QUATRO, CYNDI LAUPER, and DAVID JOHANSEN of the New York Dolls.

Observations on revisiting "Desperately Seeking Susan"

2007-06-29T03:18:00.000-05:00

Today I watched again "Desperately Seeking Susan," the 1985 Susan Seidelman-directed flick showcasing the best of Madonna's acting abilities.

The movie is cool and nostalgic, jam-packed with Big Apple early '80s street cred by featuring cultural hotspotsof the time Danceteria (where everyone dances to Madge's "Into the Groove") and the (still-thriving) Greenwich Village vintage store Love Saves The Day.

The movie also features underground New York musicians in bit parts including Richard Hell (of Richard Hell and The Voidoids) as the thug "Meeker", No Wave pioneer Arto Lindsay as a newspaper clerk and Bongwater chanteuse Ann Magnuson as a cigarette girl.

ELEVEN CLUES YOU ARE A HIPSTER*

2007-06-29T03:04:00.000-05:00

(1) You graduated from a liberal arts school whose football team hasn't won a game since the Reagan administration.

(2) You frequently use the term "post-modern" (or its commonly used variation "PoMo") as an adjective, noun, and verb.

(3) You carry a shoulder-strap messenger bag and have at one time or another worn a pair of horn-rimmed Elvis Costello-style glasses.

(4) You spend much of your leisure time in bars and restaurants with monosyllabic names like Plant, Bound, and Shine.

(5) You have one Republican friend who you always describe as being your "One Republican friend."

(6) Your hair looks best unwashed and you position your head on your pillow at night in a way that maximizes your cowlicks.

(7) You own records put out by Matador, DFA, Definitive Jux, Dischord, Warp, Thrill Jockey, Smells Like Records, and Drag City.

(8) You bought your dishes and a checkered table cloth at a thrift store to be kitschy, and often throw vegetarian dinner parties.

(9) You enjoy complaining about gentrification even though you are respinsible for it yourself.

(10) You have refined taste and consider yourself exceptionally cultured, but have one pop vice (ElimiDATE, Quiet Riot and Entertainment Weekly).

(11) You have kissed someone of the same gender and often bring this up in conversation.

* All of it cribbed from Robert Lanham's insightful "The Hipster Handbook." ( wwwfreewilliamsburg.com)

ALSO, CAN SOMEONE PRAISE ME

2007-06-29T03:00:00.000-05:00

for my amazing prescience when way back in March I linked to the Journey "Don't Stop Believing" video??

Someone from "The Sopranos" probably reads "Earful of Cool," but then again, probably not since only like 300 people have checked out the Little Blog That Could.

QUOTE:

2007-06-29T02:57:00.000-05:00

"One of my heroes is Barbie. She may not do anything, but she always looks great doing it."
--PARIS HILTON

OTHER WEIRD ROMANTIC UNIONS:

2007-06-18T12:57:00.000-05:00

Gene Simmons + Diana Ross

Gene Simmon + Cher

Mike Tyson + Robin Givens

Brad Pitt + Robin Givens

Frank Sinatra + Mia Farrow

ANNA WINTOUR'S 1970s AFFAIR

2007-06-18T12:38:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted in ages - of course, you've all been busy with your own blogs- but I just read something today that freaked me out as much as I was stunned when I learned that Faye Dunaway was married in the early 1970s to Peter Wolf, lead singer of the J. Geils Band.

It's this:
Anna Wintour, the icey editrix of American Vogue, the woman who reportedly inspired a former assistant to write the biting memoir "The Devil Wears Prada," (played brilliantly in the comic flick by Meryl Streep)

Anna Wintour, she of the fur coats and bangy bob,

had a week-long affair in the 1970s with BOB MARLEY!!

IT'S BRIAN ENO'S BIRTHDAY!

2007-05-15T03:14:00.000-05:00

enoenoenoenoeo enoe eno enoenoeno eno
eno enoen eno en en eno
eno eno en eno en en eno
eno eno en eno eno eno eno
eno eno en eno eno eno eno
eno eno en eno eno eno eno
enoenoenoeoeno eno en eno eno eno eno
eno eno en eno eno eno eno
eno eno en eno eno eno eno
eno eno en eno eno eno eno
eno eno en emo eno eno
eno eno en eno en en
eno eno en eno en en eno
enoenoeoenoenoe eno enoeno enoenoeno eno

Just because:

2007-03-10T19:40:00.000-05:00

Throw your fists up in the air:

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2794656

Creepy flashback: Naomi and Michael Jackson

2007-03-10T12:59:00.000-05:00

is right here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVLkHhHx03U&NR

Naomi + cell phones = scary

2007-03-10T12:50:00.000-05:00

Supermodel Naomi Campbell will begin her court-ordered clean-up duties in New York any day now. Naomi was convicted of doing bodily harm with a cell phone to a SECOND personal assistant. (Six years ago, she chucked her cell phone at the head of a previous assistant).

Right here is a link to footage from the latest attack:.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdYRA2ZnkRk&eurl=

I kind of don't understand why these women are complaining. If Naomi Campbell crammed her Blackberry into my teeth, I would brag to all my friends. NAOMI ROCKS!

Wouldn't it be terrific if she started doing ads for Cingular?

Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham: Satanic?

2007-03-10T12:44:00.000-05:00

Victoria Beckham (aka Posh Spice), wife of soccer giant David Beckham, told London's "Sunday Mirror" last year that she has never read a book. IN HER LIFE.

Somehow, this doesn't surprise me. It just confirms a hunch I've had about her. Victoria traded her soul to the devil.

Because, I have also been monitoring her entire life to gauge exactly how many times she's smiled and it's seven.

Seven times. Well, six and a half, but I rounded up.

P.S. Buffy's dad...

2007-03-09T18:08:00.000-05:00

Hank Summers was played by actor Dean Butler, the same fella who portrayed Almonzo Wilder on "The Little House On The Prairie," the nice man who marries Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert).

Or, as some of us remember him, "Manly."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER"

2007-03-09T17:51:00.000-05:00

Ten years ago a little show called "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" debuted on the now defunct WB. Seven seasons later and after amazingly innovative episodes such as "Hush' (aka the Silent Episode) and "Once More, With Feeling" (The Musical), the Scooby Crew saved the world by destroying the dastardly Hellmouth in Sunnydale, CA and the series was over.

Well, I'd sooner that hellmouth pop up somewhere else and get Buffy and her crew back in action.

Genius creator Joss Whedon has been working on some other project since "Buffy" went off the air - oh by the way, THANKS A LOT, Sarah Michelle Gellar for quitting and kaputting the whole enterprise -- but nothing as addictive as "Buffy."

Yes, you can get "Season 8" now in comic book version, but nothing compares to a weekly hour with Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, and their various mates - Anya, Tara, and let's not forget Buffy's little sis Dawn who grew to be about four inches taller than Buffy in the two and a half seasons she was on the show.

FAILING MISERABLY AT THE VH1 "WORLD SERIES OF POPULAR CULTURE"

2007-02-20T14:57:00.000-05:00

Our team (Big Fun) didn't make it past the first round (the written test) at the Orlando try-outs for the VH1 "World Series of Pop Culture."

I personally did not know Shakira's name was Arabic for "graceful" something or other.

We did get to spend the rest of our evening galivanting through Unviversal Studios' many genre-specific and ethnic-based nightclubs: the Latino club, the reggae club, the Irish pub. I half-expected to stumble on a tavern playing all Greek music and, next, a Japanese massage parlor. Where were the bagpipes? Scottish people party. I'm not going to be sated until every nationality is represented at Universal.

TWO-THIRDS OF THE JAM?

2007-02-19T16:05:00.000-05:00

According to this article on Billboard.com,

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003547305

two-thirds of the legendary late 1970s/early '80s British pop group The Jam (bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler) are reuniting. The one-third not particpating is lead singer and guitarist Paul Weller - the Jam's principle songwriter.

That's idiotic. Like serving a cafe latte without the coffee.

Any Jam fans out there? Would you pay to see a line-up sans Paul Weller?

LET'S NOT EXHAUST THE BALD THING,

2007-02-19T00:20:00.000-05:00

but here is the link to a funny website about bald male celebrities who wear wigs, toupees, hair pieces, and bad comeovers.

http://www.moviestar.nu/articles/baldmoviestarsenglish.html

In short, these famous men -- including Ben Affleck and Ed Norton -- have lost (or are losing) their hair and trying deperately to fool you.

OTHER FAMOUS BALD PEOPLE

2007-02-19T00:11:00.000-05:00

The brouhaha over Britney's baldness reminds me of several other chrome-domed celebs, including:

* KOJAK
* SINEAD O' CONNOR
* UNCLE FESTER of "THE ADDAMS FAMILY"
* NATALIE PORTMAN (for her "V FOR VENDATTA" role)
* ex-spouses DEMI MOORE (in "G.I. JANE") and BRUCE WILLIS (all the time)

ON BRITNEY SPEARS' BALDNESS:

2007-02-18T22:42:00.000-05:00

If I hear another newscaster use the kooky pun "Britney Shears" one more time, I'm gonna lose it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOKO ONO

2007-02-18T18:34:00.001-05:00

The intrepid Yoko Ono celebrates her 74th birthday today.

QUOTE

2007-02-12T21:18:00.000-05:00

"The equation of truth-telling with betrayal is one of the more powerful ways to promote silence."
-bell hooks

"JAZZONIA" by Langston Hughes (1923)

2007-02-08T18:28:00.000-05:00

Oh, silver tree!
Oh, shining rivers of the soul.

In a Harlem cabaret
six long-headed jazzers play.
A dancing girl whose eyes are bold
Lifts high a dress of silken gold.

Oh, singing tree!
Oh, shining rivers of the soul!

Were Eve's eyes
In the first garden
Just a bit too bold?
Was Cleopatra gorgeous
In a gown of gold?

Oh, shining tree!
Oh, silver rivers of the soul!

In a whirling cabaret
six long-headed jazzers play.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH

2007-02-08T18:16:00.000-05:00

Reality TV star and former model Anna Nicole Smith was found dead today in a Florida hotel room and I'm more upset than I thought would be about it.

Anna was way too young - just 39 - to die. But it's more than that. Anna was like the super id of celebrities - reckless, daft, inappropriate. She was from trash and yet she brought herself up to "greatness" (Playboy, Guess, "The Anna Nicole Show"). Anna wasn't white-washed and fancy. She wasn't bred to be a star. She was just a hick who struck it rich and wanted to keep the party going forever.

As much as we were all bemused by Anna's antics - marrying the octegenarian, appearing drunk or drugged on television, the little girl voice, the paternity confusion surrounding her newborn baby girl - we were all rooting for her. Weren't you saddened by the death last summer of her son? I was.

And now I'm sad that Anna's gone.
Because even though I was laughing at her, I got a kick out of her.
Secretly, all along - -

I guess I liked her.

PLEASE SUGGEST A CAPTION-

2007-02-05T19:19:00.000-05:00

for this utterly bizarre picture:

http://www.hard-wood.org/pix/siegroy.jpg

MORE MUSIC ON "BUFFY"

2007-02-05T11:33:00.000-05:00

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" made music an integral part of the show from the very first season. Throughout each episode, music is used to express characters' emotions, foreshadow events or just add texture to the tone of an episode.

Many unknown bands were featured on the shows' soundtracks, but from Seasons One to Four, I heard the following:

THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE
ASH
ECHOBELLY
SARAH MACLACHLAN
LUSCIOUS JACKSON
THE CURE
MOBY
FASTBALL
NERF HERDER (who also composed and performed the "Buffy" theme song)
LISA LOEB
BLINK 182
a song called "Jodie Foster" by THE PINEHURST KIDS
LOTION
LOU REED
CHER
VERBANA
PATSY CLINE
SUPERGRASS
CRACKER
CREAM
DAVID BOWIE
FATBOY SLIM
BARRY WHITE
CRACKER
THE MUFFS
THE SUNDAYS
SID VICIOUS'S "My Way"

"BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER" musical notes

2007-02-04T23:11:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in days because I've been sucked into the hellmouth of Sunnydale.

Yes, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

I never watched the show when it was a big hit (or even when it wasn't), but, I recently watched the first three seasons and I'm settling into season four.

Hey, were there a bunch of famous indie rock bands on that show, or what? I've already seen episodes with Cibo Matto, Bif Naked and K's Choice all playing at the The Bronze, Sunnydale's teen hangout. I'm looking forward to the much lauded episodes featuring Aimee Mann and the Breeders (who play the "Buffy" theme song).

(1) Does anyone know the names of some other bands that played the Bronze?

(2) For mega bonus points, what musician did Alyson Hannigan (Willow) date in real life before marrying Alexis Denisof (the fella who played Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Buffy's "other" watcher)?

TYRA BANKS GAINED 30 POUNDS

2007-01-30T14:16:00.000-05:00

and she's on the cover of "People" and on "The Larry King Show" discussing it and everyone's reaction to it.

I gained around 10 pounds over the holiday season. So far, it hasn't really made much of a hoopla. Perhaps the public is still deciding how it feels about it.

DIAMOND DAVE BACK IN VAN HALEN

2007-01-28T00:56:00.000-05:00

Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth are going to try it again: suppress their personalities and their personal hatred for each other to tour as Van Halen one more time. The two are in the process of negotiating a deal for a summer tour.

I predict the animosity will be worse than ever this go 'round, with Van Halen's son, Wolfgang, playing bass (Van Halen senior kicked out original member Michael Anthony. Hey, there's a reason the band's name is eponymous: this guy runs the show).

Can you imagine if Junior's ego is as big as dad's?

Can you imagine Dave giving constructive criticism to either one? Or Dave talking to Wolfie as if he is, indeed, a 15 year old?

The last time I saw David Lee Roth live, it was 15 minutes before I realized it wasn't Carol Channing. Physically, he may not be the same Diamond Dave, but he yelped and jumped around a lot.

But, you know, any thing David Lee Roth does with Van Halen kicks the ass of "Van Hagar" anyday. Sammy Hagar isn't rock 'n' roll, he's a bumper sticker: I CAN'T DRIVE 55. And his hair looks like freakin' Shirley Temples'.

TURNS OUT, "PAN'S LABYRINTH" IS NOT A KID'S MOVIE

2007-01-26T12:37:00.000-05:00

My friends took me the other night to see the Oscar-nominated "Pan's Labyrinth," explaining it was a "kids' movie."

Very quickly, we realized this "fairy tale" story, set in fascist Spain of the 1940s, is no kiddie flick. Granted, I got through most of the really gorey segments by stuffing my face firmly behind my girlfriend's shoulder and putting my fingers in my ears, but I did get to witness the bludgeoning (to death) of a man by numerous thrusts of a broken bottle into his face, the widening of a fascist captain's mouth via kitchen knife, and some gross things done to a prisoner war with common tool shed implements.

What have we learned here?

"Pan's Labyrinth" is not for children, and even if it were, you don't need fancy military weapons to maim and kill. A simple stroll through your kitchen and garage - hello, pliers! - will suffice.

TARGETS OF TEEN-AGE HOMICIDE RING: Oprah, Tom Cruise, Energizer Bunny

2007-01-26T12:13:00.000-05:00

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (AP) -- Six girls at a rural high school were charged with homicide conspiracy after their principal found a list of 300 names and officials discovered online postings suggesting they kill people, authorities said Thursday.

School officials said the list, discovered in a classroom trash can, mostly named students and faculty members but also included Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey and the Energizer Bunny.

(Do you suppose they had a problem with longevity?)

IN RELATED NEWS

2007-01-18T17:40:00.000-05:00

Comedian, author and former "Saturday Night Live" writer and performer Al Franken recently announced he is seriously considering running for Senate (Democratic ticket) in Minnesota.

"It's unknown how people will respond to a comedian running for the Senate," Franken, 51, told reporters, "I need to figure out a way to let people know I'm extremely serious about Minnesotans and their lives"

Franken is the author of "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations," among other comic tomes.

BILL O'REILLY & STEPHEN COLBERT

2007-01-18T17:15:00.000-05:00

Even though conservative pundit Bill O'Reilly refused to interview Sacha Baron Cohen in character as "Borat", he's willing to interview Stephen Colbert in character (unless, of course, O'Reilly doesn't realize that's a character Colbert is playing).

Tonight, Colbert, who stars in Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," a show he's said was modeled after O'Reilly's, will appear on the Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" at 8 p.m.

At 11:30 p.m., O'Reilly will appear on "The Colbert Report."

TODAY'S CELEBRITY NEWS: ISAIAH, LINDSAY

2007-01-18T12:02:00.000-05:00

The day has just begun, but so far the leaders in celebrity scandals for January 18 are "Grey's Anatomy"'s actor Isaiah Washington and Holywood bad girl Lindsay Lohan.

GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has asked for an apology from Washington for (1) calling castmate T.R. Knight (who is gay) a "faggot" on the show's set during an argument with another castmate and (2) denying to a reporter that he called Knight a "faggot" (but saying the dreaded word again) at this week's "Golden Globe Awards."

What do you suppose Washington's apology will sound like? "I'd like to sincerely apologize to all the dykes and faggots of the world..." He just doesn't seem to get it, does he?

As for Ms. Lohan, she has checked herself into a rehab. I guess carrying around that AA book at L.A. nightspots hasn't done much for her sobriety. This is the girl who recently admittted she was in AA, but added she had not stopped drinking.

The "Earful of Cool" team wishes both Washington and Lohan success in turning a new leaf.

PAULA ABDUL, STRAIGHT UP DRUNK:

2007-01-17T18:14:00.000-05:00

Speaking of "American Idol" judges, if you haven't seen it yet, here is a link to the most recent television clip of Paula Abdul really drunk:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eeAQu9I0wfM

A WINONA JOKE

2007-01-17T17:20:00.000-05:00

A fan asked Johnny Depp if it's true he had altered his legendary "Winona Forever" tattoo.

"Well, yes, I did change it," the actor replied, explaining how he wanted his ink to better reflect life since the couple's split.

"Now it says 'Winona ForEveryone.'"

WHICH REMINDS ME - WINONA!

2007-01-17T17:09:00.000-05:00

Winona Ryder, who's named after a city in Minneapolis, once dated Paul Westerberg of the Replacements. My friends and I like to list all of Noni's indie rock boyfriends from over the years, but admittedly, it's an astounding feat.
I'll attempt to do it here, but please add any you recall:

* PAUL WESTERBERG
* BECK
* RYAN ADAMS
* DAVE GROHL (Foo Fighters)
* DAVE PIRNER (Soul Asylum)
* PETE YORN
* RHETT MILLER (the Old 97s)
* CONOR OBERST (Bright Eyes)
* PAGE HAMILTON (Helmet)

"AMERICAN IDOL" IN MINNEAPOLIS

2007-01-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

So, "American Idol" kicks off its 7th season this week in Minneapolis, one of the greatest music cities our nation's ever offered. And the celebrity guest judge is Jewel.

A better idea is having celebrity judges from each city in which the show makes a stop. If not for comedy alone. Can you imagine these little novice tarts being critiqued by, say, Bob Dylan- if you could even undertand his weird ramblings and mumbles.
Or Prince. Husker Du. All great musical acts from Minneapolis.

How about the Replacements? Let's hear it for someone on the judges' panel more wasted than Paula Abdul. Pick any of the Replacements who, in their prime, could barely hold their instruments, let alone play a show, due to drunkeness.

Hey, I know great televison.

WHY IS RENEE ZELLWEGER SO SHINY?

2007-01-17T16:34:00.000-05:00

Enough has been said by celebrity gossip hounds about Renee Zellweger's shiny appearance over the years, which begs the question, why don't her handlers give her some nice face powder?

Zellweger - who has dated White Stripe Jack White and been married to country crooner Kenny Chesney- was all spruced-up and shiny again at Monday's "Golden Globe Awards".

Really, even Target sells Sonia Kashuk compacts now.

Can't someone leave one on her dressing table in her trailer on her next set?

BOB DYLAN: MORE PROLIFIC THAN WE KNEW

2007-01-17T13:01:00.000-05:00

This is a pretty funny video by a sketch comedy troupe that calls itself the Post Show. I found it at SuperDeluxe.com:

http://www.superdeluxe.com/sd/contentDetail.do?id=D81F2344BF5AC7BBCB527A16E29DBD1B3E00117445392387

GOLDEN GLOBES - STRESSFUL SEATING

2007-01-16T18:43:00.000-05:00

As I watched last night's Golden Globe Awards, I was struck by how many former couples were seated - apart - in the venue.

Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz.
Ben Affleck and J.Lo
J.Lo and Puff Daddy
Reese was there (but was Ryan?)
Brad was there, with Angelina, which most likely troubled Jennifer Aniston pal Courteney Cox, who was there with hubby, the truly trippy David Arquette.
Prince, who used to sleep with Kim Basinger, was there, so I hope Alec Baldwin (Kim's notoriously jealous ex-husband) didn't get near his table.

I would hate to be the poor scrub whose job it is to make the seating charts at Hollywood awards shows.

Of course, all of Hollywood rotates lovers like the players on a volleyball court, but still, wasn't it tacky when show organizers played that Madonna song over the Warren Beatty montage of films? Camera operators should have panned right to Annette Bening when the tune began. But she's too classy to react - and thank god, since her husband is Warren Beatty and she probably is faced with an ex-lover of his everytime she hits an L.A. Starbucks.

(P.S. However, I did think it was a riot that they struck up Madonna's "Vogue" as Meryl Streep took to the stage for a win for "The Devil Wears Prada," which is widely rumored to be about Vogue editor Anna Wintour.)

"THE YOUNG ONES" - SOME GUESTS

2007-01-16T18:38:00.000-05:00

I don't remember every espisode I've seen of "The Young Ones" (see previous post to understand that I'm not pulling this out of nowhere), but some quick research indicates that the show also had guest stars who would later become so famous, even we Yanks recognize them, including:

* Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders
* Stephen Fry
* Hugh Laurie (who's now winning Emmys on "House")
* Emma Thompson

"ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS" - GUEST SPOTS

2007-01-16T17:43:00.000-05:00

I spent the weekend catching up with "Absolutely Fabulous" - rewatching all the seasons (or "series" as they say in the BBC) and some bonus bits on DVD.

I came away astounded by two bits of info:

* Jennifer Saunders, who plays "Edina" and solely writes every script for the show, is married to Adrian Edmundson who some of us former New Wavers remember as "Vyvyan" on the 1980s BBC smash "The Young Ones." The couple has been married for more than 20 years and have three daughters.

* In the recurring dream sequences of Patsy's childhood, we see Patsy's mother, an over-the-top poet/artist gone mad (in the 1940s, or so) who's constantly espousing bohemian drivel about her need to be free and how she will not let her children spoil her freedom. (A classic scene depicts her giving birth to Patsy and immediately crying, "Bring me another lover!")

This woman is played by the reknown feminist author Germaine Greer. Which is sort of like having Betty Friedan or Gloria Steinham playing a crazy aunt on the program.

Other cameos and guest spots include:
* Helena Bonham Carter (playing Edina's dream version of Saffy);
* Richard E. Grant
* British '60s pop star Lulu (of "To Sir, With Love" fame)
* American comedian Mo Gaffney
* Christopher Ryan, who plays Eddie's ex-husband Marshall (recognize him as Mike from "The Young Ones"?).
* Adrian Edmunson (Vyvian on "The Young Ones")
* Britt Eckland
* Anita Pallenberg (who plays the Devil)
* Brit rock star Marianne Faithful (who plays God)
* Twiggy
* 1970s rocker Suzi Quatro
* Mandy Rice-Davies - yes, the girl from the 1960s British Parliament scandal
* Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton, in a recurring role as herself
* British thespian Miranda Richardson
* Naomi Campbell
* Dawn French of the famed BBC comedy series "French and Saunders" (she also co-created "AbFab")
* Whoopi Goldberg
* Debbie Harry
* Rufus Wainwright
* Nathan Lane
* Kristin Scott Thomas
* Laurie Metcalf ("Roseanne")
* Minnie Driver
* Elton John

MUSIC

2007-01-16T17:40:00.000-05:00

"Music is noise submitted to order by wisdom."
- Puccini

THE SKINNY ON SKINNY IN "BUST"

2007-01-13T09:34:00.000-05:00

I'm browsing through the current issue of feminist magazine "Bust" - the one with Gwen Stefani, of all people - on the cover. There's an interesting op-ed piece on skinny Hollywood stars by Wendy McClure with a blurb reading, "When it comes to skinny celebrities, we're really thick-headed."

The author points out some crazy cultural stuff such as the inanity of Vh-1 hosting a "20 Skinniest Celebs" special with all the snarky speculation from a gaggle of pop culture "personalities," trying to guess who's naturally thin and who's, in fact, sick.

She also suggests something is very very wrong in a culture that ten years ago raised eyebrows over the weights of just a handful of famous young women - specifically Kate Moss, Laura Flynn Boyle, and Calista Flockhart. In 2006, however, the worry bell rang for no less than a dozen Hollywood ladies including Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Ritchie, Keira Knightly, Mischa Barton, Ashlee Simpson, Sienna Miller, Brittany Murphy, and Hilary Duff.

How sad. Even sadder, as the author points out, we regular folks frequently address the problem by cringing and remarking, "She doesn't even look good."

And the even more asinine, "That's not even what guys like."

Please. This has so little to do with men. It's just about control and body image and the media glorifying a sickness.

Maybe all the tabloids and celebrity mags SHOULD STOP PRINTING THEIR DAMN PICTURES. And stop printing their weights. Why do I know that Nicole Richie weighs 87 pounds? Why?

Don't bombard our culture, the check-out lines and the minds of little girls everywhere, with these f-upped images of stick-thin ladies. Stop paying the paparazzi to get shots of them. And stop showing the footage of Calista with her ribs and collarbones jumping out of her skin at the Emmys.

Do you suppose there was much anorexia in the days before the media?

IT'S "THE SIMPLE LIFE" FOR ME

2007-01-10T07:31:00.000-05:00

Two friends and I have been accepted to compete in the "Vh1 World Series of Popular Culture," which takes us to a preliminary try-out in Orlando in February. For more than a month now, we've been "in training." We've been reading "Entertaiment Weekly," "People" and "Us" even more obsessively, playing trivia games on pop culture, having our friends grill us whenever we get the chance, and most importantly, finally giving a chance to all the lowbrow films and televison shows we stuck up our noses at initially.

This means Paris Hilton.

Last night one of my teammates and I watched the entire first season of "The Simple Life," wherein Paris Hilton and her then BFF, Nicole Richie, went to live in that small, rural Arkansas dairy town and tried to do mundane small-town things like work at the Sonic hamburger jont and meet cute guys.

Well, we both thought the show was hilarious. I had a particular soft spot for Nicole, who seemed sweeter than Paris (even though she lied about her cat dying to the man whose credit card she used to buy the bird house for her host mom - long story.) Also, Nicole was a normal-sized girl then, not yet letting the ravages of her eating disorder make her scary thin. She also doesn't appear to be on heroin or vicodin, her reported drugs of choice. Plus, there was just something about her laugh, and the episode where she made the middle-aged man repeat after her and shimmy while singing "Sa sa sa sa" in a high-pitched voice, which is now one of my favorite moments of television, ever.

Nicole Richie! If you need a new BFF, I'm available. And I'm not just using you to win the "World Series of Pop Culture," though knowing you wouldn't hurt.

CARRIE BRADSHAW DRESSES LIKE RHODA (Or how I realized "Sex In The City " cribbed from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show")

2007-01-08T18:43:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine got me every season of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" available on DVD for my birthday. The minute I started watching the show, which aired from 1970-78, I realized it was the influence for single-gal-about-town blockbuster series "Sex and the City." That's a polite way of saying, "Sex In The City" ripped off MTM.

Maybe you, too, notice similarities:

* Mary is 30 at the beginning of the series..
* She is single and dates scores of idiosyncratic men.
* She works in the media (as an "executive producer" for the WJM Minneapolis news).
* She surrounds herself with other kooky females: Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) who plays the obnoxious married-with-a-kid friend, and the absolutely one-of-a-kind Rhoda Morgenstern, Mary's witty, neurotic Jewish friend from Queens.
* Rhoda, Phyllis and Mary are all fashion nuts.

In fact, on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," Rhoda is a window dresser for a department store, but several years later, when she gets her own series( "Rhoda"), Ms. Morgenstern blossoms into a fashion maverick, moving back to Manhattan, opening a boutique and wearing badass gypsy scarves that twenty years later Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw would try to pull off as her signature look.

Face it, "Sex in the City" is the same show -- except Mary and Rhoda needed only two characters to tell the same stories.

Proof: Check out the episodes: "Toulouse-Lautrec Is One Of My Favorite Artists," the show in Season One where Mary accepts a date from a guy and then realizes he is nearly a foot shorter than she is. (Didn't this happen to Samantha (Kim Cattrall) on "Sex"?) Or the episode where Mary starts dating the IRS man who is auditng her. (So very Carrie). Or "Just A Lunch", wherein Mary falls for a dashing foreign correspondent who's - naturally- married.

ROCK 'N' ROLL BIRTHDAY - JANUARY 8

2007-01-08T11:01:00.000-05:00

If you're really devoted to rock 'n' roll, like me, you managed to orchestrate things so you would be born on January 8. That way, you could join all the other important people in rock born on this day.

Give a big birthday hug to me and the following folks today, if you happen to see us:

* ELVIS PRESLEY aka THE KING
* DAVID BOWIE
* ROBBY KRIEGER of the Doors
* LITTLE ANTHONY of Little Anthony and the Imperials.
* TERRY SYLVESTER of the Hollies
* R. KELLY
* SHIRLEY BASSEY
* BILL GRAHAM (the late concert promoter and Grateful Dead buddy).

Let's not forget JEREMY GLOFF, Tampa's queer rock innovator.

REPUBLIC OF DREAMS - with a trivia question!

2007-01-08T10:37:00.000-05:00

I'm reading a big ol' book called "Republic of Dreams Greenwich Village: The America Bohemia, 1910-1960" (by Ross Wetzsteon, who wrote for The Village Voice for more than 30 years).

It's got all the dirt on many of the interesting characters who inhabited that one square mile in New York that has contributed more to American culture - particularly theatre, literature and music - than any other I can think of. The book discusses the lives of Max Eastman, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Henry James, Eugene O'Neill, e.e. cummings, Bob Dylan, Jackson Pollock, Sherwood Anderson, Upton Sinclair and scores more. Including interesting bits of trivia.

For instance, did you know the poet Hart Crane pursued his career in letters despite that his father, C.C. Crane, wanted him to join him in the family candy-making business? And what famous "candy with the hole" did the senior Crane invent?

Life Savers.

This is the snooty, literary equivalent of the rock geek's old favorite: "Who invented Liquid Paper?"

MY SO-CALLED BAND (ACTORS TURNED MUSICIANS)

2007-01-05T13:42:00.000-05:00

The same issue of Entertainment Weekly (Jan. 12) features a profile of actor-turned musician Jared Leto who fronts the band 30 Seconds to Mars in all his newby Ziggy Stardust garb. (Leto was previously found portraying hearthrob Jordan Catalano on the brilliant "My So-Called Life".)

Let's not poke fun at just Leto for (temporarily) trading the screen for the crummy stages of tiny music venues. Plenty of other actors have given music a shot - with varying results - including:

* RUSSELL CROWE (in the aptly named 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts, which is some kind of doo doo slang)
* JULIETTE LEWIS (Juliette Lewis and the Licks)
* BILLY BOB THORNTON (who recorded that song about his then-wife Angelina Jolie)
* DAVID HASSELHOFF (Hell yes, The Hof is huge in Europe)
* BRUCE WILLIS (Remember? He got all blues rocky in the 1980s.)
* KEANU REEVES (played bass, badly, in Dog Star)
* LINDSAY LOHAN (who sings about as well as she acts)
* EDDIE MURPHY ("My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time...")
* WILLIAM SHATNER ( who actually just talked and didn't much sing or play an instrument on the now classic album "The Transformed Man," featuring covers of "Lucy And The Sky With Diamonds" and other tunes.)
* LEONARD NIMOY
* TELLY SAVALES
* KEVIN BACON (The Bacon Brothers)

and some have been less laughable:

* former child star JENNY LEWIS who fronts Rilo Kiley and her own solo band.
* RIVER PHOENIX who played guitar and sang in the pretty good 1980/90's Gainesville, Florida band Aleka's Attic with sisters, actors Rain and Summer Phoenix.

WHITNEY HOUSTON GARAGE SALE

2007-01-05T13:36:00.000-05:00

According to Entertainment Weekly, newly single former pop star Whitney Houston is being forced by the courts to have a yard sale next Tuesday, January 9. The singer is broke and needs the dough that will come from selling memorabilia including a Versace catsuit and a church pew. (A church pew?) The sale will take place in Irvington, New Jersey.

This actually soothes the scared part in me that envisions Whitney cashing in wigs, furs and Grammys at a nearby Southern Pawn store.

"MUSIC" BY RILKE

2007-01-04T19:36:00.000-05:00

Take me by the hand;
it's so easy for you, Angel
for you are the road
even while being immobile.

You see, I'm scared no one
here will look for me again;
I couldn't make use of
whatever was given,

so they abandoned me.
At first the solitude
charmed me like a prelude
but so much music wounded me.

--Raina Maria Rilke

MEN WHO LOOK LIKE KENNY ROGERS

2007-01-04T09:31:00.000-05:00

can be found at:
http://www.menwholooklikekennyrogers.com/

ROCK 'N' PROSE---ANOTHER LIST!

2007-01-04T09:19:00.000-05:00

Searching around the internet for a list on the subject, I found this old story of mine, which appeared in the Oakland Tribune (reprinted).

Put on your thinking caps--add more.

ROCK, POP AND PROSE COMBINATION IS NOTHNG NEW
Oakland Tribune, May 30, 2004 by Gina Vivinetto - ST. PETERSBURG TIMES

Tell me, do you notice a trend with these recent news items? British rocker Elvis Costello announced in March he's penning not one but two books for Simon & Schuster: (1) a story collection inspired by his songs due in late 2005 and (2) a "comic philosophy" tome on how to play the guitar. R&B singer-pianist Alicia Keys has let folks know she's in talks to create a series of children's mystery books called "Alicia Keys' Street Mysteries," with each novel named after one of her tunes. Esquire introduces pop singer- guitarist and Grammy-winner John Mayer as the writer behind the new monthly column, "The Resident Rock Star," beginning in June. Is it me or are a whole lot of pop stars picking up pens and laptops?

Nothing to cringe about

Alas, this phenomenon isn't so new. It called to mind rockers in the past with published prose. It also reminded me that some of it wasn't half bad.

Including:

* RICHARD HELL, punk-rock guitarist and leader of Richard Hell and the Voidoids, in 1996 published the critically acclaimed novel "Go Now," which dazzled, among others, cyberpunk author William Gibson. (Hell has published other works, too.)

* KINKY FRIEDMAN, once the leader of Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, a beloved quirky country band, is now better known as a mystery author.

* HENRY ROLLINS, former Black Flag and Rollins Band leader, is so in love with the printed word he created 2:13:61, a grass roots publishing company to release his and other maverick authors' books.

POP POETS

When it comes to poetry, look out. Seems every rock and pop lyricist under the sun considers himself well-versed enough to be published. The bards include:

* JIM MORRISON of the Doors, because he was the Lizard King, and as such, he could do anything, including writing "Lords and New Creatures."

* The voice of his generation, BOB DYLAN, whose song lyrics have been printed as poetry in many collections. As has:

* LOU REED, former leader of the Velvet Underground and disciple of poet Delmore Schwartz, Reed's professor at Syracuse University. Several of Reed's songs are dedicated to Schwartz.

* LYDIA LUNCH (once the frontperson for the 1970s act Teenage Jesus and the Jerks), who has had many journals and books of poetry published.

* PATTI SMITH the Godmother of Punk, acolyte of Dylan, the Stones and Rimbaud, who has been published in many forms.

* JEWEL, the little folkie who penned the god-awful "A Night Without Armor."

* ED SANDERS and TULI KUPFERBERG of the Fugs, both published poets.

* TUPAC SHAKUR, whose lyrics have been published as poetry.

And let's not forget JOSEPH SIMMONS, better known as RUN of pioneer rap group Run-DMC. In April, Simmons entered himself as a candidate for poet laureate of Queens, N.Y. (He didn't win.)

CRITICS OR STARS?

A special category features folks who pulled off both tasks. These are the music writers and pop-music critics who wrote about other performers and played music in bands of their own:

* CHRISSIE HYNDE of the Pretenders

* NEIL TENNANT of the Pet Shop Boys

* IRA KAPLAN of Yo La Tengo

* PATTI SMITH

* LENNY KAYE of the Patti Smith Group

* And of course, famed Creem critic LESTER BANGS, who led Lester Bangs and the Delinquents.

NOVEL ROCKERS:

In a very special domain, we place noted fiction writers and aspiring rockers STEPHEN KING, AMY TAN, DAVE BARRY, KATHI KAMEN GOLDMARK and BARBARA KINGSOLVER, who together call themselves the Rock Bottom Remainders and perform occasionally.

The band, which features King and Barry on guitar and Tan on lead vocal, got started back in 1992. The Remainders even embarked on a tour, dubbed the "Three Chords and an Attitude" tour, and released a "Stranger Than Fiction" CD.

How good are the Rock Bottom Remainders? On the band's Web site, Barry says, "The band plays music as well as Metallica writes novels."

HOW ABOUT MUSICIANS OF COLOR?

2006-12-30T17:27:00.000-05:00

Help me out here, there's gotta be a ton more:

GREEN:
Green Day
Al Green
Green on Red
Green Apple Quick Step

BROWN:
James Brown
Brownsville Station
Foxy Brown

RED:
Simply Red
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Redman
Red Elvises
King Crimson

MAROON:
Maroon 5

BLUE:
Blue Oyster Cult
Moody Blues
Indigo Girls
Blue Angel

BLACK:
Black Flag
Black Uhuru
Black Sabbath
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Blackilicious
Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
Black Crowes
Big Black
Black Francis
Black Grape
Black Oak Arkansas
Clint Black

PINK:
Pink Floyd
Pink
Pink Lincolns

YELLOW:
Yello
Yellow Magic Orchestra
the Yellowjackets
Yellowman

WHITE:
the White Stripes
Barry White
Whitesnake
White Lion
White Zombie

SILVER:
Silverchair
Silverfish

GOLD:
Golden Earring
Golden Palominos

PURPLE:
Deep Purple
New Riders of the Purple Sage

ORANGE:
Agent Orange
Orange 9mm

BANDS ON THE MENU

2006-12-30T10:38:00.000-05:00

Someone reminded me the other day of a parody I wrote a while back for a local weekly in which I grouped dozens of bands by their names and related food groups. I can't find the story (on the internet--and, I'll be damned if I'm going upstairs to search through my, ahem, archives.)

So, let's just play a little game together, grouping bands and musical artists as we see fit. Please add your observations.

FRUIT:
the Raspberries
the Cranberries
Blind Melon
Bananarama
Neneh Cherry
Fig Dish
Moldy Peaches
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Tangerine Dream
Orange Juice Jones
Fiona Apple
the Lemonheads
Moby Grape
Virgin Prunes
Apples In Stereo

CARBOHYDRATES:
Wheat
Bread
Limp Bizkit
Flour

ANIMAL (AND ANIMAL-BY) PRODUCTS:
the Meatmen
the Meat Purveyors
the Meat Puppets
Lambchop
Tenderloin
Fishbone
Phish
Butter 08
Meat Loaf
Pork
T-Bone Burnett
T-Bone Walker
Meat Beat Manifesto

VEGETABLES /LENTILS:
Korn
Black Eyed Peas

CONDIMENTS:
Salt & Pepa
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Spice Girls
the Jam
Peanut Butter Wolf
Green Jelly

SNACKS:
Cake
Vanilla Ice
the Blow-Pops
Alice Donut
Chocolate USA
the Devil Dogs
Jawbreaker
Sugar
Sugar Ray
the Sugarcubes
Humble Pie
the Mighty Lemon Drops
the Wondermints
The Candy Butchers

AFTER-DINNER DRINKS:
the Coctails
Whiskeytown
Gin Blossoms

SADDAM HUSSEIN IS DEAD

2006-12-30T09:51:00.000-05:00

Saddam got the noose last night over in Iraq - we know this because there are pictures of it all over the internet. Cnn.com has pictures of him seconds before death, looking grim, without the noose, then with the noose...

You know, I'm surprised that nobody took the last 12 weeks or so and made a reality show out of it on television. Ending with the execution.

That's the logical next step to that kind of programming: "Death Row: The Final Countdown."

JAMES BROWN, GERALD FORD - R.I.P.

2006-12-27T16:27:00.000-05:00

Wow, what polar opposites being laid to rest this week. If there is a dance floor in heaven, I'm trying to imagine the Godfather of Soul and former President Ford, spoofed constantly for his lack of grace, both dancing on it at the same time.

I don't like generalizing, but have any of our presidents been good dancers? Could Clinton dance? He sure couldn't play the sax, but he gets points for at least being attracted to a badass instrument.

Does anyone know? Could Lincoln do the "Centipede"? I picture Lincoln doing an okay "Robot," but that may be from one too many trips to Disney World's "Hall of Presidents."

MISS NEVADA GIVES UP HER CROWN

2006-12-23T17:49:00.000-05:00

I just read that Miss Nevada has given up her crown after some "racy" pictures of her surfaced on the internet. Just days ago we were chastising our current Miss America for boozing it up (and smooching a girl! Gasp!) in a bar. What's wrong with these pageant girls? Didn't we all learn from Vanessa Williams back in 1983?

I'm not saying any of these young women has done anything shameful, but they all need to get the memo: THE PAGEANT PEOPLE ARE GONNA FIND OUT. Whatever you did. They're gonna hear about it, see a cell phone video of it, see grainy pictures on the internet.

It's a sad, sad fact of life, but there it is: if you've ever done something smutty, DO NOT ENTER A BEAUTY PAGEANT. Avoid the public shame and humiliation. Forgo the weepy speech wherein you apologize and give back the crown.

Or you'll end up like Vanessa Williams:

With a lead role on a top-rated network television show after getting parts in movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Samuel L. Jackson. Recording several popular R&B albums as well as duets with Tony Bennett- on a CHRISTMAS album, no less. Winning a bunch of parts in plays on Broadway. Marrying an NBA player.

Obviously, Vanessa Williams will never be the same after the public humiliation of losing her crown two decades ago.

Learn from her mistakes.

DON'T LET THEM TAKE YOUR TIARA!

COMPILATION OF INTERVIEWS

2006-12-23T15:46:00.000-05:00

Long ago, before I became a journalist and then a fired journalist, I was a fiction writer with a few published stories and a nice agent-boy on Broadway named Giles.

I haven't written a word of decent, cohesive fiction in a nearly a decade. But, now, I'm going to try to find an agent to help me publish a compilation of some interviews I did for the media.

So far, I've interviewed a lot of famous people and in all but one case, published them. (Ryuichi Sakamoto - sorry, fella, no one at the paper I worked for cared about your solo career or your days in Japan or Yellow Magic Orchestra).

The list includes:
TORI AMOS
KEVIN BACON
MARCIA BALL
HARRY BELAFONTE
TONY BENNETT
SANDRA BERNHARD
CLINT BLACK
FRANK BLACK (of the PIXIES)
CHRIS BOTTI
GARTH BROOKS
CARRIE BROWNSTEIN (of SLEATER-KINNEY)
WILL CALHOUN (of LIVING COLOR)
BELINDA CARLISLE (of THE GOGO's)
EXENE CERVENKA (of X)
JIM CARROLL
DEANA CARTER
DAVID CASSIDY
TRACY CHAPMAN
MARGARET CHO
HARRY CONNICK, JR.
ALICE COOPER
ELVIS COSTELLO
LENNY DEE
C.C. DEVILLE (of POISON)
BETH DITTO
KEVIN DUBROW (of QUIET RIOT)
BARBARA EDEN (of 'I DREAM OF JEANNE')
ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO
JAY FARRAR (of SON VOLT)
WILLIAM FINN
DAN FOGELBERG
ARETHA FRANKLIN
CHRIS FRANZ (of TALKING HEADS)
JANEANE GAROFALO
AMY GRANT
KATHY GRIFFIN
PETE HAMMILL
KATHLEEN HANNA
MICKEY HART (of GRATEFUL DEAD)
RICHIE HAVENS
CHRISSIE HYNDE (of THE PRETENDERS)
CHRIS ISAAK
DANIEL JOHNSTON
CHERRY JONES
WYNONNA JUDD
ALLISON KRAUSS
K. D. LANG
CYNDI LAUPER
TOMMY LEE (of MOTLEY CRUE)
HUEY LEWIS
LITTLE RICHARD
L.L. COOL J
LISA LOEB
MIKE LOVE (of A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS)
DAVID LOWERY(of CRACKER and CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN)
BARRY MANILOW
MARILYN MANSON
MIKE MC CREADY (of PEARL JAM)
BRETT MICHAELS (of POISON)
MOBY
JOHNETTE NAPOLITANO (of CONCRETE BLONDE)
VINCE NEIL (of MOTLEY CRUE)
YOKO ONO
DONNY OSMOND
JEAN-LUC PONTY
MIKE RENO (of LOVERBOY)
NICK RHODES (of DURAN DURAN)
LEE ROCKER (of STRAY CATS)
HENRY ROLLINS
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO (of JAPAN, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA)
CARLOS SANTANA
PETE SHELLEY (of the BUZZCOCKS)
NIKKI SIXX (of MOTLEY CRUE)
PATTI SMITH
JILL SOBULE
STEVE - O (SUM 41)
BEN STILLER
JOHN TESH
RICHARD THOMPSON
LILY TOMLIN
PETER TORK (of the MONKEES)
JASON TRACHTENBERG (of THE TRACHTENBERG FAMILY SLIDESHOW PLAYERS)
ROBIN TROWER
CORIN TUCKER (of SLEATER-KINNEY)
IKE TURNER
UNCLE KRACKER
LARS ULRICH (of METALLICA)
JIMMY VAUGHAN
JOHNNY VEGAS (THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES)
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
BILL WARD (of BLACK SABBATH)
GENE WEEN (of WEEN)
ANN WILSON (of HEART)
BRIAN WILSON
KAIA WILSON (of TEAM DRESCH and THE BUTCHIES)
STEVE WINWOOD
TRISHA YEARWOOD
WARREN ZEVON

REGGAE AUTO REPAIR SHOP

2006-12-23T15:13:00.000-05:00

If I did still work for a local daily or weekly newspaper, the first story I would pitch would be a piece about the terrific Reggae Auto Repair Shop on Central Avenue around the 28th street light in St. Petersburg. No, it's not really called the Reggae Auto Repair Shop, but it could be. The building is painted in huge blocks of green, red, and yellow and reggae tunes blast from it in the early evening when the crew is cleaning up. I haven't seen the guys who work there, but I imagine they are a dread-locked bunch.

It's a bright, happy anomaly in the Grand Central District, which used to be so grass roots and colorful, but - like most of downtown St. Pete - has now become a yuppiefied strip of upscale shops and antique stores - "quaint" little shops that the Snell Isle set can stroll through dropping major dime on the same crap you find at the Metro Thrift Store a few blocks east.

Do I sound bitter? Rich folk came in and bought the Bombshell building to make it a big, fancy affair so tenants like me will never inhabit it again. Gentrification is not a new story, so let's skip it.

But, keep your eyes peeled for the great Reggae Auto Repair Shop - not in your local paper, because most editors and reporters at those don't actually leave their "cubicles" to go out and find stories. Drive down Central yourself and enjoy it before it turns into a Starbucks.

CELEBRITY MELTDOWNS IN 2006

2006-12-22T16:28:00.000-05:00

We're finishing up the year but there's still a week for a few more celebrities to lose their shizzle. This was the year of the celebrity meltdown, like everybody took a cue from Maria Carey a few years ago showing her boobies on TRL and flipping out in that hotel room. Just think: Carey has bounced back, winning three Grammy awards ths year for "The Emancipation of Mimi" - the awards were not the televised kind, but she's come a long way from the "Glitter" backlash.

This year's MARIAH MELTDOWN AWARD goes to: Well, it's a tie.

MICHAEL RICHARDS: "Seinfeld''s Kramer has a thing about Black folks - or make that "Afro-Americans," as Richards called them in a videotaped apology following a bizarre racist rant at a comedy club in Los Angeles. (What the hell does "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a fork in your ass" mean, anyway?)

MEL GIBSON: Whoever's shocked by Gibson's drunken anti-Jew rant needs to be reminded of Gibson's anti-gay AIDS rants throughout the 1980s. Gibson is a schmuck, but calling that policewoman "Sugar Tits" was funny in a mullety "Lethal Weapon" kind of way.

Runners-up:
Britney's incessant crotch shots (Save it for your ob-gyn!); Lindsay Lohan carrying the AA books around with her at, like, discos; Danny Devito shitfaced on "The View;" Rosie thinking if you shoo someone's hand away from your mouth, you're a homophobe.

MOST REDUNDANT: Supermodel Naomi Campbell chucking her cell phone at the maid. Has ever a year passed without Campbell bitchslapping somebody?

AUDREY HEPBURN FOR THE GAP?

2006-12-22T00:58:00.000-05:00

Is anyone else a little freaked out by those GAP commercials with Audrey Hepburn dancing around to AC/DC's "Back In Black"? Sure, the piece is creative - ahem, but what would the oft Givenchy-(not GAP)-clad Ms. Hepburn, who spent the last decades of her life working for UNICEF, think of her image being used to shill clothes made by cheap labor in some parts of the world?

It just freaks me out that the GAP continues to use the images of deceased idols to pimp their threads. Jack Kerouac? REALLY? Jack Kerouac wore GAP khakis? Maybe in his last few years when he was a bloated alcoholic hermit who never left the living room of his St. Petersburg house because he was waiting for "The Beverly Hillbillies" to come on television. But even still, no he didn't. Not, at least, when he was rebelling against conformity and living on amphetamines, out of a "rucksack" proselytizing about Buddhism and trying to get "real gone" black chicks in Harlem to sleep with him.

But, you know who did wear GAP?
Gandhi.
And, Amelia Earhart.
Pontius Pilate wore the GAP because he was a badass.
And come to think of it, didn't the Rat Pack wear GAP?

P.S. Jesus's swaddling clothes? Baby GAP.

THIS YEAR'S DISCOVERIES (LOCAL)

2006-12-22T00:07:00.000-05:00

I had a pretty uneven 2006, like many people I know. Some creative types around here weren't lucky enough to make it to the end. Myself, I saw much too much of the insides of hospitals and operating rooms and they are nowhere as sexy as "Grey's Anatomy" depicts them. The year started with a bang-- well, we got a headstart, really, on Dec. 30, 2005 with the "Bombs Away!," the grand opening of Bombshell Gallery. And what a night - the first band to ever play the gallery was the now ubiquitous Giddy-Up, Helicopter! My own band, the Peabodies, featuring the Tampa Tribunes' pop music critic Curtis Ross on guitar and THE Jeff Wood on drums played a short set next. (Our bassist -for a long time on and off- was that night the truly gifted Mark Pezzo, who is now playing in Auditorium when not teaching psychology courses at the University of South Florida). The final act for the evening was Unrequited Loves who were fronted by the late, great Mike O' Neill.

MUSIC
I was dazzled by Giddy-Up, Helicopter! as I continue to be each time I catch a live show. I know the band (who are not five women - have you noticed Conner's, uh, "evolution"?) has recently finished recording an album and I'm excited to hear it. Other musical acts who impressed me: Hey There, Battleship! (what is this with the commas and the exclamation marks, folks? Save some for the underprivileged grammarian set.) the lovely and talented Geri X, Dry County - a great band that I can't ever seem to catch playing all together, all at once. Also: Disco Nap, Palantine. Candy Bars - who ended up on NPR a few months later. I finally saw the Heathens, the terrific alt-country band from Orlando.

ART
The art scene was as vibrant as ever. Bombshell proudly hosted a joint show between photographers Mitzi Gordon (yes, the editor of Orange) and Bradley Paul Valentine. It was really neat to see what the two of them can do with narrative in their pictures. Such talent. I was absolutely blown away by new painter about town (and Ringling School of Art student) Anthony Zollo, who some recognize as Geri X's drummer. Zollo's paintings are mostly steeped in realism - a nice breath of fresh air from the constant collage/pop art (which I love) that hangs on every wall from the Emerald's grass roots shows to big shindigs at the now defunct Covivant Gallery.

Photographer Marina Williams got herself to St. Pete (she lived previously in Sarasota) and got everyone worked-up with her exquisite photographs of her travels around the world. And her cheeky tie fashions - all the clothes are made out of recycled men's ties. Then, she split. Williams is currently over in merry old London getting a Masters in Art and cavorting with the likes of Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons - at least at one exhibit, as her pictures back home indicate.

So many exciting new discoveries...

WELCOME TO EARFUL OF COOL

2006-12-21T23:46:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my new blog, Earful of Cool. I had to bid farewell last month to my beloved Bombshell Gallery, the greatest arts space Central Avenue ever saw here in sunny St. Petersburg. My happiest time in the Tampa Bay area - so far - has been owning and operating Bombshell. Some of you remember me as the former pop music critic of the St. Petersburg Times. I also wrote, briefly, for the Times' (then) weekly, tbt* and cohosted the internationally popular podcast "Stuck In The '80s." You'll find a few of my postings on the blog for the program, but, admittedly, my cohost Steve Spears did the majority of the blogging. Spears' new cohost is the amazing Cathy Wos, who is a good friend, and, also, my teammate in the upcoming Vh1 "World Series of Pop Culture" try-outs in Orlando in February 2007. Our third teammate is funny girl/writer Shannon Breen. Our team's name: Big Fun. Esoteric, and clever. Just how we like it. Wish us luck! In the meantime, check in with Earful of Cool to hear my latest musings on pop culture, music, and art. xoxo.