Off The Record...

MC5

The Big Bang! Best of the MC5

Anyone who knows their rock history can tell you that the genesis of punk in the 1970s is largely due the influence of the MC5. This groups' brave, often misunderstood work during the late '60s and early '70s collectively embodied virtually everything for which punk later became infamous. The MC5 rarely get the credit they deserve, which makes the appearance of this terrific and long overdue retrospective such a welcome event. For this listener, the entire MC5 saga boils down to Fred Smith's solo on American Ruse where, with a downstroke of his smoking guitar, he nonchalantly ties together The Battle Hymn of the Republic and Johnny B. Goode. If that isn't the very definition of the land of the free and the home of the brave, I don't know what is.

At The Movies...

Snow Day

What's the only thing better than a snow day? How about a second snow day? That's the plan for ten-year-old Natalie (Zena Grey), who's ready to do battle against the dreaded Snowplowman to keep the school closed for an extra 24 hours. But her older brother Hal (Mark Webber) is too busy chasing the girl of his dreams to help his little sis. Snow Day is a kid's movie through and through, where adults are either evil or dumb and nothing is funnier than flatulence. This won't win any awards, but what fun movies do?

On Video...

Stigmata

This chilling thriller stars Patricia Arquette as a young Philadelphia woman whose mother sends her a package containing the rosary of a dead priest from a small town in Brazil. Suddenly she starts having visions and exhibits the symptoms of the stigmata: bleeding from wounds similar to those inflicted on Christ during his crucifixion. Gabriel Byrne plays a scientist/priest sent from the Vatican to investigate the events, who inadvertently uncovers a plot to stifle the discovery of a missing gospel written by Christ himself. Intelligent and scary.

The Buzz...

The game show bride from the top rated Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire program said on Wednesday she had made a terrible error in judgement and would get her television marriage annulled.

After a much-publicized leave of absence, David Letterman got a hearty welcome back to The Late Show on Monday night, with an estimated 19 million viewers watching all or part of the show.

Gary Oldman and Sean Penn will appear in the Russo-British production of The Final Journey, a big-budget feature that will be partially shot on the Mir space station.

Universal Pictures has bumped up the release date of The Flinstones in Viva Rock Vegas to April 28. The live-action sequel to the 1994 comedy was originally scheduled to premiere May 12.

Tim Burton has emerged as the frontrunner to direct the remake of the 1968 science fiction classic Planet of the Apes. The director of Batman and Sleepy Hollow is said to be in final negotiations with 20th Century Fox for the job.

The Blair Witch Project opened to big audiences in its Italian premiere. The low-budget thriller earned $4.7 million in its opening weekend at 430 screens.

Writers are working on a film based on the life of Ed Gein, the Wisconsin farmer whose erratic behavior during the 1950s inspired the creation of such horror film characters as Norman Bates, Michael Myers, Jason, and Hannibal Lector. It was in the 1950s that Wisconsin police found Gein's farmhouse filled with lampshades made out of human flesh, a human skull being used for a bowl, and similar atrocities.

The U.S. market for recorded music climbed to $14.6 billion in 1999, up 6.3% from the previous year's $13.7 billion, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Whitney Houston and The Artist Formally Known as Prince have been selected as Soul Train's Male and Female Artist of the Decade.

Tour Organizers are hopeful the upcoming KISS Farewell Tour can parlay into more than $40 million in grosses. The tour, which begins March 11th, is billed as the last for the four original members. VH1 is the media sponsor.

ABC and the Miss America Organization have announced that Donny and Marie Osmond will host the Miss America Pageant in October, their second appearance on the broadcast. 

Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton and Lauryn Hill were among friends and fans of the late Curtis Mayfield attending a two-hour song and prayer service honoring the soul and funk musician.

Charlie Sheen has agreed to step into Spin City to replace Michael J. Fox, who is leaving at the end of the season.

Download Tear Sheet