It was with great trepidation that I tuned into the Olympics closing ceremonies concert late last evening. It was bound to not rock, but I can’t resist any chance to see what’s left of The Who, and somewhere I saw a rumor that Kate Bush would perform, which would have been quite a rare thing.
What did you think of it? Was anything worth your while? Who was lip syncing? Here’s my jar full of 2 cents:
I watched some of the Olympics off and on. The track and field is my favorite. I am amazed at the power of the sprinters and the sustained pace of the distance runners.
Overall: A strange trip. It was as bad as you might expect but worth a few moments. Fortunately the fast-forward button worked. God Save the Queen.
In what may be our shortest Last Man Standing contest ever, I present the following: Songs that reference real-life newspapers OTHER THAN The New York Times.
I’ve got “Letter to the New York Post” by Public Enemy, and that’s it. Oh, I thought of one more, but that’s for you to list.
Of course, I imagine days of discussion over whether it’s “I read the news today oh boy” or “I read the News today oh boy.”
As always, for those of you playing along from home, please limit yourself to one entry per post.
The inclusion of the original web source of this Philly.com article that recently appeared in the print edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer does not do this piece justice. Imagine, if you will, coming home from a long day at the office, being the Elvis Costello fanatic that I am, and seeing Elvis’ face peeking out above the Entertainment section that was loosely buried in the middle of the pile of the day’s newspaper.
“Hmm,” I said to my wife, as she put the finishing touches on dinner, “this looks cool.”
“Yeah, I meant to show you that,” she said, somehow knowing which article I was turning to as she stirred the zucchini and tomatoes from her garden in the saucepan.
The title of the piece was something like, Everyday I Write the Book: Elvis Costello’s Memoirs Are Among the Best by Any Rock Star. There was nothing specifically in the headline about this piece being picked up from Slate. That detail was only listed after the author’s byline, which I did not notice until I had read two thirds through the article and was, regrettably, fairly annoyed.
But good luck finding them. After the Rhino reissue series, Universal Music bought the rights to Costello’s first decade of recordings and reissued them yet again, essay-free, under their Hip-O Select label. Rhino has since stopped releasing even the other ’80s and ’90s records that included Costello’s writings; if you want to own them now, you’ll have to find used copies or pay anywhere from $30 to $80 for new ones on Amazon.
I read the first column of the piece, which ran through the “Books by Eric Clapton, Gil Scott-Heron, Jay-Z and Bob Mould …” paragraph that appears online.
“This thing’s taking a while to develop,” I mumbled across the kitchen as I waited for the piece’s surely buried lead to emerge.
Halfway through the second column I asked, “What is the purpose of this article? What’s the newsworthiness? What’s the commercial angle?”
“I thought it was pretty good,” my wife said, still not realizing the antisocial zone I was entering. “You can buy it now on Amazon.”
“No,” I said as nicely as possible, knowing exactly what antisocial zone I had entered, “the article says you can buy the out-of-print reissues with the liner notes on Amazon.”
I had entered the Rock Nerd Zone, that place where not even sane lovers of music like my wife want to enter.
Last night Bruce Springsteen invited Paul McCartney to join him on stage for his show’s fantastic finale in Hyde Park in London. Despite the enormity of this musical event, representatives from City Council pulled the plug while Bruce, Paul, and the band were still playing because it was getting too late! It’s like a soundman giving Jesus the “2 more minutes” sign while he’s delivering the Sermon on the Mount.
What’s the appropriate use of a lyric, album title, etc. to create the Daily Mail’s morning headline for the story? I’m going with ‘Because the Night’ ends at 10:30. Others?
I was never a fan of Deep Purple. Despite not fully liking anything by them but “Hush,” organist Jon Lord was A-OK in my book. Now he’s dead. That’s a shame. It’s only fitting that we give him his proper send off.
The new Chuck E. Cheese that launches this week will be voiced by Jaret Reddick, the lead singer for the pop-punk band Bowling for Soup. The Chuck E. Cheese Facebook page now shows a silhouette of a cartoon mouse playing a guitar.
A rat mascot for a kids’ food joint. A spokesman who’s sung a jokey love song to his “bitch.” Dirtbag Nation, if you ever doubted that Chuck E. Cheese was the place to hold your kid’s next birthday party rest assured: your trash is welcome. But don’t let that perv Pee-wee and his act anywhere near the children!
I’ve received yet another unintentionally hilarious press release. Or maybe it’s just me. That second sentence is especially potent. (And
grammatically a little ambiguous, although the comma makes it mostly okay, I guess.) Ah, the life of an Oliver!
Aerosmith Keyboardist Russ Irwin’s Love Letter to NYC
The *NY Daily News* premiered Aerosmith touring member Russ Irwin’s video for his first single, an ode to his hometown called “Manhattan” from his new solo record ‘Get Me Home.’ Irwin told them about the inspirations for his “retro modern piano record that takes a lot from the blues,” and his recent appearances on *The Real Housewives of NYC. *Read more and see the official video here: http://nydn.us/NulL6g
AOL’s Noisecreep spoke with Irwin about his early career and reveals that he co-wrote Aerosmith’s next single, “What Could Have Been Love” (from their forthcoming album ‘Music From Another Dimension!’). “It’s a hard rock ballad and it’s very McCartney-ish. I think people are gonna love it,” Irwin says. Read the full interview here: http://aol.it/OAffZL
