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Off The Record...
Barenaked
Ladies
Maroon
The sixth album by the
witty Canadian quintet Barenaked Ladies, Maroon is a grown-up album, still full
of clever wordplay, but also dealing with dark and sometimes disarming matters
of adulthood. Themes range from relationship woes to self-doubt to fatal car
crashes and even a light dollop of politics. But it's not all deadly serious,
and fans of BNLs carefully crafted pop tunes, rich in harmony and hooks, are
sure to be delighted. Maroon is a collection of sharply executed gems that
proves its predecessor, the multiplatinum Stunt, was no fluke.
At The Movies...
Almost Famous
Almost Famous is a movie full of affection, a quality writer-director Cameron
Crowe seems to have in abundance. The film is a fictionalized memoir of Crowe's
bizarre adolescence. As a 15-year-old, he hobnobbed with legendary rock writer
Lester Bangs, began writing for Rolling Stone magazine, and went on tour with
Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers. William is Crowes surrogate, and we watch
through his eyes as he enters the world of rock and roll, circa 1973. Almost
Famous is a triumph of personal filmmaking, not so much because it is overtly
autobiographical, but because it exhibits the care and specificity of an artist
working through his own mind, not through a committee's idea of what a movie
should be.
On Video...
High Fidelity
A savvy post-modern movie about love, work and
commitment to music and life and the central role music plays in defining who we
are. John Cusack plays the proprietor of a vinyl record store in Chicago aided
and abetted by his music junkie employees whose passion for Top 5 lists extends
way past the world of music. When his current girlfriend walks out on him, he
begins to confess to the audience his Top 5 relationships in an effort to
understand his past and present.
The Buzz...
Michael Jackson and
Paul Simon have both already been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, as members of the Jackson 5 and Simon & Garfunkel, in 1997
and 1990, respectively. But they were nominated for spots once again, this time
for their achievements as solo artists. Other nominees this year include
Patti Smith, AC/DC, the New York Dolls, Lynryd Skynyrd, Bob Seger, and
rockabilly-country great Brenda Lee.
An Academy Award will be auctioned for the first
time online. People can put in their bids for the best-actor statuette James
Cagney won for playing George M. Cohan in the 1942 movie Yankee Doodle Dandy
at the auction gallery Doyle New York or on Ibidlive.tv.
Rocker Melissa Etheridge and her girlfriend,
director Julie Cypher, announced Tuesday they were ending their
relationship after 12 years. The couple has two small children together.
NBC's ratings for the Sydney Olympics have
been disappointing - and they aren't likely to get better. The Nielsen numbers
have yet to approach what NBC told advertisers they would. The first three days
of taped telecasts have averaged a 14.5 national rating in prime time.
Advertisers were told the prime-time average would be at least a 16.1.
Yahoo! Inc. will end its partnership with
Amazon.com Inc., the top online seller of books, and will create a much
larger link with Amazon rival barnesandnoble.com.
Coyote Kate's Slot Parlor, a new addition to the
Wild, Wild West casino at Bally's Park Place, features a 30-foot clock
tower in the middle of the room. It's the only clock in any of Atlantic City's
12 casinos.
Stan Lee Media, Inc. announced that it was teaming up with
the estate of the creator of Star Trek to develop an animated series
based on Gene Roddenberry's Starship.
Mattel will release an Elizabeth Taylor doll as part of its Timeless
Treasures line of dolls. Although the company already released a Taylor as
Cleopatra doll in the spring, the new doll will appear in a sleeveless
chiffon violet gown with a crystal drop necklace.
The soundtrack to the upcoming new movie Dracula 2000 will feature new
songs from Slayer, Pantera, Static-X, Disturbed, Powerman 5000 and many
others. The horror flick will be out in November through AGM/Sony.
Sony's Screen Gems is plotting to resurrect John Carpenter's Vampires
through a modestly budgeted sequel. Sandy King will produce John Carpenter
Presents Vampires: Los Muertos from a script by Tommy Lee Wallace.
NBC has decided to not schedule Steven Spielberg's military drama series
Semper Fi as a midseason replacement. Instead, the network has decided to roll
over its 13-episode commitment to Semper Fi to a future DreamWorks TV project.
Columbia Pictures has purchased a horror story idea from Jurassic Park 3
screenwriter John August. The story concerns three explorers who discover
the terrifying true cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs. |
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