Karl THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE…
…with the 5-6-7-8's playing “Woo Hoo,” along with “I Walk Like Jane Mansfield” and “I'm Blue” on TV and in a bar. It's like being at the club from Kill Bill Vol. 1 without Uma Thurman lopping your head off. BTW, “Woo Hoo” is a cover.
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS' in-store performance at Easy Street Records in Seattle was blogged by all-time Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings: “For some reason, when Darnielle’s not singing falsetto, his warm, nasal tenor reminds me a lot of Kermit the Frog. So he’ll be singing about addiction, divorce, abuse, and heartbreak, and you keep thinking he’s going to break into 'The Rainbow Connection' at any time…” (Thanks, LHB!)
LOSING THE KNACK? Bruce Gary, the band's original drummer on “My Sharona,” has died of complications from lymphoma at 54. Gary also worked with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills, Jack Bruce, Rod Stewart, Sheryl Crow, Harry Nilsson, Spencer Davis, Albert Collins, Albert King and John Lee Hooker. Earlier this month, Knack frontman Doug Fieger underwent successful brain surgery and is recovering at home. Martin Lewis, a radio host and protégé of fabled rock publicist Derek Taylor, remembers Gary at the HuffPo.
THE SHINS frontman James Mercer tells Billboard.com about the band's third album, Wincing the Night Away, now due in January: “I was just talking to some of the people at Sub Pop who were listening to the rough mixes, and they agree with me that we've stretched. We're trying some different styles.”
THE POLYPHONIC SPREE is releasing a stopgap EP Sept. 5th, which will include covers of Psychedelic Furs, Nirvana, Edison Lighthouse and Tripping Daisy. You can hear a new original at the band's newly-upgraded website.
(photo courtesy of the multi-talented Kathryn Yu.)
DAVID BYRNE is going country. No, really. Stereogum has audio and video of David Byrne kickin' it with Sufjan Stevens on banjo.
CUTOUT BIN: More fortuitous finds from the Hype Machine, including: Rolling Stones (w/ Beatles?) – Drift Away (extremely rare); Keith Richards – Wicked as it Seems; John Lee Hooker – Crawlin' Kingsnake (with Keef); Lucinda Williams – Can't Let Go (live at KBCO); The Thirteenth Floor Elevators – You're Gonna Miss Me; Bow Wow Wow – I Want Candy (Live); Ian Dury & The Blockheads – Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick; Adam And The Ants – Los Rancheros; The Kinks – Where Have All The Good Times Gone; Art Brut – Emily Kane; Sebadoh – Gimme Indie Rock; The Dead Milkmen – Bitchin' Camaro; Jim Reid (of the Jesus & Mary Chain) w/ Sister Vanilla – Song For A Secret; Soul Asylum – Cartoon; Tobin Sprout – It's Like Soul Man; Let's Active – Fell; Tommy Keene – Places That Are Gone; The Beach Boys – Let Him Run Wild (Alternate Take); Sweet – Ballroom Blitz; Rush – The Spirit of Radio (Live; a friend and fan of Simon and Garfunkel never caught the allusion); Journey – Just The Same Way; Diamond Nights – Destination Diamonds; and Cobra Starship – Snakes on a Plane (Bring It).
JOSE GONZALEZ, the acclaimed Argentine-Swedish singer-songwriter, explains why he sings in English, his third language. Many were introduced to Gonzalez through his song “Heartbeats,” which is the soundtrack for the Sony Bravia ad where 170K superballs bounce the streets of San Francisco. Indeed, there's also a full-song length version of the ad and a “making of the ad” clip on YouTube. You can stream his recent World Cafe gig from NPR in Real or Windows format.
MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine is so angry with the United Nations that he is naming the band's next album United Abominations.
PETE DOHERTY-KATE MOSS UPDATE: When the supposedly sober supermodel invited the troubled singer to Bali for some sort of rumored wedding ceremony, did she know that Bali is a drug haven, where psychedelic mushrooms are considered its salads? Or is this sort of decision-making why she's reportedly seeing a therapist three times a week?
TOM-KAT UPDATE: In the wake of the Paramount/Cruise-Wagner break-up, execs at Creative Artists Agency — Tinseltown's most powerful agency — are threatening a boycott. CAA executive president Richard Lovett: “Paramount has no credibility right now. It is not clear who is running the studio and who is making the decisions.” Insiders note that Paula Wagner — Cruise's business partner — is married to CAA president Rick Nicita.
NOW SHOWING: This weeks widest release is Beerfest (currently scoring 34 percent on the Tomatometer, 33 percent among the “cream of the crop” critics). Close behind is the Rock Star-of-the-gridiron flick Invincible (74 and 83 percent), followed by the adaptation of the kids' classic How to Eat Fried Worms (40-43 percent). Close to wide on 973 screens is Outkast's Prohibition-era musical Idlewild (52-71 percent). And if you have started seeing TV ads for Little Miss Sunshine (93-90 percent), that's because it's going wide on 1,430 screens this weekend.
MAD MEL UPDATE: Gibson is reportedly phoning showbiz execs with whom he's worked to apologize for his anti-Semitic rant the morning of his DUI arrest.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S marriage to second wife Patti Scialfa is on the rocks, with the two virtually living separate lives, according to the New York Post. Indeed, Page Six claims that “Part of the problem seems to be a friendship Springsteen developed with a stunning 9/11 widow The Boss is said to have met when he organized the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon.” Insert the Rising joke here.
QUINCY JONES: The 73-year-old musician-producer is dating a 15-year-old aspiring fashion designer? That would be beyond James Woods — more like Tony Randall.
BRITNEY SPEARS' tell-all coffee table book is finally a bestseller… in 99 ¢ only stores. Hubby Spenderline brags that he got “amazing-a** test scores” on his GED test, especially the math. How did we know it wasn't on the vocabulary section? Oh well, at least it's not like he's trying to make a living as a songwriter.
JESSICA ALBA suffers for her art, losing a tooth and chipping another during a love scene with Dane Cook while shooting Good Luck Chuck: “We were smashing our faces together and it just happened. It's not the slowest, most romantic of love scenes. Dane's a wild one.”
DENISE & HEATHER & RICHIE & CHARLIE & DAVID: Despite a recent spotting of David Spade with Carmen Electra, the latest gossip is that the comedian intends to propose to Heather Locklear once her divorce from Richie Sambora is finalized: “I'm so in love, it's ridiculous. Never in my life did I think I'd be with someone so gorgeous and successful…” These of course are the foundation of any successful marriage.
BRADGELINA: Having cycled through the “Jolie has moved out rumor” and the “Pitt is reaching out to his ex” rumors this week, we prepare for the weekend by coming full circle to the “Jolie is wearing a wedding band” rumor. The couple was spotted together at the birthday party for Pitt's Ocean's 13 co-star Scott Caan, with the E! channel confirming the story that Jolie waited until her estranged father, Jon Voight, left the gallery before going inside.
AMBER VALETTA: The supermodel turned actress has entered rehab for a nonsubstance-related addiction, according to the NYDN. Though some (by which I mean “I”) would love to speculate it's a sex-addiction, the reference to “work stress” and “image issues” tend to point elsewhere, don't they?
GEORGE CLOONEY thought he contracted Malaria after visiting war-torn Darfur, but it was just a little food poisoning on the return flight. And maybe a small case of TMI.
ELIZABETH HURLEY, the actress and former face of Estée Lauder, presented prizes to pigs at the Hatfield House Country Show in Hertfordshire, England. How's the career, Liz? Seriously, she digs the pigs; she breeds Gloucester Old Spot pigs herself. I'm sure there's a punchline in that last bit.
BLACK CHILDREN TOLD TO SIT IN THE BACK OF THE BUS by a white driver who designated the front seats for white children. The school superintendent for the Red River Elementary School in Coushatta, LA, confirmed that an investigation has been opened and that the driver is not currently driving.
“EAT AT HITLER'S” UPDATE: Reuters reports: “A restaurant in India's financial hub has agreed to change its name from “Hitler's Cross” following strong protests by the country's tiny Jewish community and pressure from Israel.” “Tiny.” “Pressure.” You almost get the sense that Reuters doesn't approve.
IRAQ in the MEDIA: Last Friday, I had a little blurb about The New York Times cherry-picking US casualty statistics, based on a glance at the long-term numbers. Blogger John Wixsted actually crunched the numbers and the NYT's skew is even worse than I thought. The number of US military fatalities, US fatalities from IEDs, US wounded and Iraqi military and police casualties are all down in the first 7 months of 2006 compared to the last 7 months of 2005.
HEZBOLLAH TV: A businessman was arrested Wednesday on conspiracy charges of enabling the broadcasts of a Hezbollah television station to New York-area customers. Prosecutor Stephen A. Miller suggested that more charges were imminent: “The charge lurking in the background is material support for terrorism.” Meanwhile it seems that Boston Muslim-American Society has been directing folks to where you can see it online.
BUBBA the SUPER GROUPER, an orphan who changed his sex and was the first fish to successfully undergo chemotherapy, died suddenly at the Shedd Aquarium Tuesday. Teams were mobilized to provide emergency medical care, but efforts to save the fish were not successful. “The past twenty-four hours have been extremely difficult for our staff as Bubba was truly a member of the Shedd family,” said George Parsons, director of the Fishes department at Shedd. “Bubba overcame some incredible odds over the years, and that’s what made him so special to us. His story of survival inspired so many of our guests and the public that followed him.”
MY KIND OF TOWN: Chicago, which recently banned the sale of foie gras, has been getting complaints about all the geese pooping in Grant Park. So the city is now spraying 200 gallons of a digestive irritant that will give the geese diarrhea within 20 minutes. Video at the links.
A PANTING, HALF-DEAD PITBULL was rescued from a dumpster in Lancaster, PA.
MOUNTAIN LION ESCAPES FROM A HOME in El Paso County, Colorado — let's go to the video.
POLAR BEARS reportedly have shrinking genitals. Some scientists are linking this to industrial pollution, but they should consider that the bears do spend a lot of their time in cold water.
