Karl THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:
… with THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED. It's 50 winters later, but the passing of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson in a plane crash outside Clear Lake, IA is still bringing people (including Los Lobos, Graham Nash, the Crickets, Pat DiNizio and others) to the historic Surf Ballroom, as well as the Riverside Ballroom, where the Winter Dance Party made its penultimate stop. And the tributes to Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens are already being printed again, in advance of the true anniversary on Feb. 3rd. So it's worth linking to an MPR audio feature on the Winter Dance Party, plus rare footage of Holly playing "Peggy Sue" and "Oh Boy!" in 1958. There's little video of Valens, outside this lipsync of "Ooh, My Head!", but there's rare live audio of "La Bamba" and "Donna" on the Tube. And no survey would be complete without the Bopper's signature song, "Chantilly Lace." The tragedy has echoed through the years in movies like The Buddy Holly Story and La Bamba. The latter featured Los Lobos, who would make "La Bamba" a hit again almost 30 years later, and Marshall Crenshaw as Holly, who can be seen here covering "Crying, Waiting Hoping" with Dave Edmunds. And the legacy doesn't stop there — M Ward's upcoming album includes a cover of "Rave On." Indeed.
HUNDREDS OF FREE MP3s are posted at Amazon, including tracks from Apples In Stereo, the Gaslight Anthem, OMD, The Raveonettes, King Khan & the Shrines, My Morning Jacket, the Black Lips and many more…
LAURA MARLING stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set streaming via NPR.
M WARD has a two–part interview with Drowned In Sound.
THE 100 GREATEST DEBUT ALBUMS, according to ChordStrike, which somehow omitted Please Please Me (and even Meet The Beatles).
WEEZER: "Buddy Holly," natch. What, did you think I was going to hit you with Don McLean?
A.C. NEWMAN talks to Paste about his new album, working at home, and what comes next.
THE PERFECT POP SONG: From Jarvis Cocker to Donovan, stars tell Will Hodgkinson the stories behind their hits – and why musical ability is over-rated.
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING VIDEO: How the Internet has affected how music videos are shot.
THE CUTOUT BIN: From Buddy Holly to the Psychedelic Furs, from The Clash to Lulu, from Wilson Pickett to Gary Wright, plus Junior Walker & the All-Stars, Sniff 'N' the Tears, Modern Lovers, REO Speedwagon and more — this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.
SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY appeared on Colbert Nation and accused the Dalai Lama of cannibalism in an emergency. Elsewhere,, the Cute One spoke out on his bitter divorce from Heather Mills, saying: "I've been through a dark place."
NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are the Liam Neeson action flick Taken, which is currently scoring 56 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; The Uninivited, currently scoring 43 percent, and the rom-com New In Town, which is scoring 11 percent. Yes, it's January.
JOAQUIN PHOENIX is serious about his rap career, according to his rep, fwiw.
MADONNA: Guy Ritchie's father has welcomed Madge having ‘lots of boyfriends' since the divorce from his film director son last year.
AMY WINEHOUSE plays topless Scrabble in the Caribbean.
ANGELINA JOLIE wore her gown backward at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, for reasons that I think have something to do with motherhood.
MICKEY ROURKE will not wrestle WWE superstar Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania, according to his rep. His Wrestler co-star, Evan Rachel Wood, denies having a thing with him.
THE 10 FUNNIEST SUPERBOWL COMMERCIALS, according to Spike.
THE OSCARS: Film critics David Denby and A.O. Scott discuss their problems with the 81st Academy Award Nominations on the Charlie Rose Show.
THE FBI has cut off contacts with the Council on American-Islamic Relations amid mounting concern about the group's roots in a Hamas-support network. The decision was made quietly last summer as federal prosecutors prepared for a second trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, an Islamic charity accused of providing money and political support to the terrorist group Hamas.
IRAQ: Encouraged by security improvements throughout the country, thousands of women are running for council seats in the provincial elections. The elections could also ease tensions in Iraq's most violent province.
CAT SCRATCH FEVER: Let's go to the video.
HAPPY COWS produce more milk, according to researchers at Newcastle University.
AN IMMORTAL JELLYFISH is swarming through the world's oceans, according to scientists.
A PREHISTORIC SHARK was photographed alive; then it was caught and died almost immediately.
SPINNER SHARK freestyles with surfers off Hutchinson Island, FL. Video at the link.
