Vol. 8  No. 41

Pick Hits

Caught in the Act

Andrew W.K.

No matter what city or town you live in, do not miss this show. Andrew W.K. is full of big guitars and sing-along rock anthems as the band uses its special brand of head thrashing rock and roll to bash you senseless. The quintessential fans band, short, tall, big or small you will feel

embraced, energized and appreciated for being a part of the experience. Don’t use age as an excuse not to party hard, because once the music starts everyone turns into a 15-year-old kid. A.W.K. never stops jumping, kicking, or thrashing, treating every concert like it was his first. And if you want to meet the man behind the band, fear not, he is very approachable, and takes the time not only to sign autographs, but to personalize them as well. It’s refreshing to see someone so in touch with the fans. A truly amazing experience.

At The Movies

Rules of Attraction

This movie tracks the lives of three college students that attempt to make sense of their respective love lives. Sean, is a womanizing drug-dealer, but has now fallen for Lauren, a virgin whose pining for her boyfriend to return from European, while Paul, who likes to hit on straight men, now has the hots for Sean. Their paths cross a bevy of other lost souls during a college break week. The dynamics of the boy-boy-girl triangle are ultimately less crucial than the film itself as a collection of signs and gags, which individually point to everything that is wrong with college experience. Don’t let your parents see this film; if they do they will likely think twice before sending you off to college.

On Video

Scooby Doo

The television cartoon hero goes CGI in this crowd pleasing big-screen adaptation of Scooby Doo. Two years after a clash of egos forced Mystery Inc. to close its doors, Scooby Doo and his clever crime-solving cohorts Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Velma are individually summoned to Spooky Island to investigate a series of paranormal incidents at the ultra-hip Spring Break hot spot. Concerned that his frightfully popular resort might truly be haunted, the owner tries to reunite the meddling detectives to solve the mystery before his supernatural secret scares away the college crowds. Scooby and the gang have to overcome their personal differences and forget everything they think they know about fake ghouls and phony creatures to crack the case, save themselves and possibly the world. A fun outing with many sly digs at pop culture.

The Buzz...

Nicolas Cage has signed on to star in the sci-fi thriller Back Up. It stars Cage as a murdered police officer who is brought back to life 90 days after his death. Technology allows human memories to be backed up onto a computer. With a gap in his memory, Cage sets out to track down his murderer and find out what he did that caused his wife to leave him.

Five hundred photographs of the Beatles, many of them unpublished, were discovered in the archives of a Scottish university, where they have been gathering dust for more than 30 years.

Jackie Chan is receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. To show his appreciation, the action star jokingly said he promised to make better movies.

The WB picking up a full 22-episode season of its new drama Everwood, making it the first fall drama on any network to get a back nine order.

Kid Rock recently joined forces with Lynyrd Skynyrd to record a version of the latter's Gimme Back My Bullets. The track will appear on the next Skynyrd record, which is due next spring and is currently untitled.

The Foo Fighters will embark on an eight-city U.S. tour later this month. Dubbed The Brandtidos trek, the tour is sponsored by Sirius Satellite Radio and comes in support of the group's fourth album, One by One, due October 22nd.

David Letterman's office was robbed, with a thief making off with $4,000 from a desk inside the Ed Sullivan Theater.

Mick Jagger has donated 100,000 pounds ($150,000) to help youngsters at his old school.

A posthumous CD is planned for Aaliyah, the singer and actress who died in a plane crash in August 2001.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield has recently completed work on a contribution for the forthcoming Waylon Jennings tribute album.

The stars of CBS' forensics drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have recieved some killer pay hikes. William Petersen, who plays crime-lab honcho Gil Grissom , is pulling down $225,000-$250,000 an episode, up from the $100,000 he received last season.

Snoop Dogg has been cut from the final version of the latest Muppet adventure, A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, to air on NBC in December.

Elvis Presley's first guitar, Michael Jackson's first signed contract and what's being billed as the world's oldest guitar are going on the auction block this weekend. Guernsey's auction house is taking bids on the grand piano Liberace played in concert, a piano from the Motown studios and guitars that Jimi Hendrix, Waylon Jennings and B.B. King owned as well.

Negotiators for the record companies and webcasters reached a deal on a royalty payment scheme for music streamed over the Internet that carves out a lower rate for small webcasters.

Ed O'Neill has stepped in to play Joe Friday in Dick Wolf's remake of Dragnet for ABC and Universal Network Television.

The WB Network has posted double and triple-digit ratings increases over the same period last year with help from Smallville, Gilmore Girls, Everwood, 7th Heaven and a resurgent Dawson's Creek.

Val Kilmer will play late porn king John Holmes in Wonderland, a movie about the 1981 involvement of Holmes and his teenage lover in a quadruple homicide, to be distributed by Lions Gate Films.

U2 frontman Bono is set to receive the 2003 MusiCares Person of the Year award, presented by the Recording Academy for his accomplishments as a musician and as a humanitarian. A special tribute dinner will be held in New York City in February.