CALENDAR PHENOM--WOW ! (NOTICE THE MATH IN EACH COLUMN)

"THE JOY OF DISCO" (2012) (youtube)

 

WATCH IT ON youtube

  (I love how it's summed up:
"IT WAS THE BIRTH OF A NEW DEMOCRACY")

A documentary about how a much-derided music actually changed the world. Between 1969 and 1979 disco sound tracked gay liberation, foregrounded female desire in the age of feminism and led to the birth of modern club culture as we know it today, before taking the world by storm; with contributions from Deney Terrio, Nile Rogers, Earl Young, Nicky Siano, David Mancuso, Robin Gibb, Kathy Sledge, Edmund White, Ian Schrager and Rollerena, just to name a few.

I never knew this existed; produced by the BBC.

Personally my disco experiences started in the New Jersey parties and straight bars in 1972 and peaked in the 1980's. This pop explosion just morphed later on to house music, tribal and other danceable pop music.

My first gay disco was " THE ROUND TABLE" in Midtown NYC-I was 15 years old (yay fake ID's).
It was also the first time I saw men in drag.

Of course the top NYC discos we frequented in the late 70's and 80's (and we'd later refer to them as dance clubs to sound cooler; silly us.) were: "The Gallery",  "Studio 54" , "Xenon". "Infinity", "12 WEST", "The Barefoot Boy", "Flamingo", "The Anvil", "Les Mouches", "Ice Palace 57", "the Paradise Garage"and the epitome of all dance clubs, "THE SAINT".

Other cities had comparable dance clubs: Los Angeles had "Studio One"; South Florida had "COPA", "Salvation" and "Backstreet"; Atlanta had "Backstreet" as well.

And Philadelphia brought a unique sound the world embraced. It took soul, R&B and Motown to create timeless, danceable sounds still influencing artists today.

While the Salsoul Orchestra created the hybrid of soul, Latin and disco.

Any dancer worth his self respect danced the Latin hustle-not the "Saturday Night Fever" more Anglo style. This movie & soundtrack by The Bee Gees took disco to the mainstream (as Madonna's song "Vogue" did for voguing; another established underground phenom-watch "Paris is Burning" to explore its genesis).

(And screw the backlash of "DISCO SUCKS" in July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago--most of the music THEY were listening to REALLY SUCKED...it was pure homophobia & racism..hate at its most vile !)

DISCO LIVES!

A seminal work into this musical, transformative phenomenon is:

My Life in the Paradise Garage: Keep On Dancin'

by Mel Cheren, Gabriel Rotello

"TOWELHEAD" & OTHER "WTF" FILMS

 




I JUST ADDED A NEW FILM TO MY "WTF" WAS THAT FILM COLLECTION.

I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THIS FILM EXCEPT IT HAD THE HOT AARON ECKHART IN IT & IT WAS A HUMAN INTERST STORY; I HAD NO IDEA IT WOULD BE SO TWISTED.

GLAD I SAW IT ALTHOUGH IT MADE ME UNEASY AT TIMES...

"TOWELHEAD" (2007 DIRECTED BY ALAN BALL)

Not for the faint of heart.
It's a bit "LOLITA" 2.0.
I was not expecting this to be so sexual-- (this is from a semi-autobiographical book of the same name by ALICIA ERIAN)
I suppose I should have had a clue knowing this is the same director of "SIX FEET UNDER", "TRUE BLOOD" AND "AMERICAN BEAUTY"
The actors are great, except the overacting of  Peter Macdissi (he's Ball's lover & is in many of Ball's projects/good looking man though).

 PAVEL-8-2 reviews it best (although, unlike PAVEL, I do believe the main character, Jasira, knows the power of seduction; however, he describes it well:

"I can see why many reviewers hate this movie. It's cringe-worthy to watch the sexual awakening of a pubescent teen, when her parents and other important adults are childishly self-centered, in contrast to her own childlike innocence, honesty and vulnerability. That contrast and that cringe are what make it real and relevant. An unnerving part of the story is that the protagonist is never a victim..."

Other films I recommend if you're into the head game, off-beat types are:

1.         "HARD CANDY"
Before "Juno" Ellen Page gives a riveting performance in this nail-biting "Misery" type movie.

2.          "TO DIE FOR"
For my money it is Nicole Kidman's best performance ever. A young Joaquin Phoenix is in it too.

3./4./5. Three Lee Daniels' films:

3.         "THE PAPERBOY"
Again Nicole Kidman is unrecognizably magnificent. John Cusack is sick & Zak Efron adorable. This movie is INTENSE!

4.          "SHADOWBOXER"
 When an assassin is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she decides to carry out one final killing, assisted by her lover and stepson, Mikey.  Nuf said !

 

  5.        "THE WOODSMAN" Kevin Bacon gives a harrowing performance.

Of course there's "Precious" -by Daniels too- bet you've seen this one. It's his most popular except for his misstep with "The Butler" last year ( it was so safe it was kinda of yawn for me).

So if you want chick flicks stay away from these but if you want your  mind f___ked  then by all means check them out. 

DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU...

Kirstie Alley's new show : "KIRSTIE"

( I MAY HAVE OVERSOLD THIS--SORRY FOLKS. I STILL WATCH IT BUT THE FIRST EPISODE WAS STILL THE BEST ONE)


TONIGHT'S PREMIERE: "KIRSTIE" on TV Land, starring Kirstie Alley--
LOVED IT!
In many ways an homage to "ALL ABOUT EVE" (thank you). The cast is good but as usual Rhea Pearlman steals every scene (she is obviously named after the most legendary scene stealer of them all from "All About Eve", Thelma Ritter). Alley is really comfortable in this role. I hope the future episode are just as funny and well written. CATCH IT!

Alley was very smart to cast the right people:

Michael Richards for physical comedy & stereotypical male point of view
Rhea Peralman as the wisecracking maid and best friend with a heart (and common sense)
Gilles Marini for the eye candy
Christopher  McDonald as her male diva counterpart

Eric Peterson who starred in "SKREK the MUSICAL" & other Broadway shows reminds me of a young Jackie Gleason; he's the everyday man (her son). He DOES need to catch up on his screen  acting, however..I think he will
Kristin Chenoweth playing the Eve role with a brassy sense of humor (but really, what can't this woman do?)

Kirstie Alley's character is just an exaggerated version of who we see in her interviews or on "Dancing with the Stars"-- a diva who is bold, funny & self deprecating

We need to just have faith in the writers.

I had noticed the nod to "ALL ABOUT EVE" even before the show aired but when Alley wore an exact replica of Bette Davis' dress in the party scene in "All About Eve" at the end of her show I knew I had nailed it...

Good luck Kirstie, you're a hard working, funny woman (and a Scientologist? Huh?)

USHIP.COM--AMAZING !! /////// THE "HOLLYWOOD" SIGN

 I WAS TRYING TO GET SOMETHING DELIVERED FROM NYC TO NJ AND RANDOMLY CAME ACROSS THIS SITE; uship.com

THEY ARE AMAZING!
THEY ARE BONDED & INSURED.

THIS IS HOW IT WORKS:
YOU PUT IN ALL THE INFO & THE MOVERS START A BIDDING WAR...

DAY 1--THE BIDS WERE $283.00
AS OF TODAY THEY WILL DELIVER MY SOFA FOR $104.00

WHAT???
AMAZING HUH?
 TRY IT NEXT TIME YOU NEED ANYTHING TRANSPORTED
_______________________________________________________________________

 


BTW:
THE ICONIC "HOLLYWOOD" SIGN TURNED 90 YRS OLD THIS WEEK (MANY THANKS TO HUGH HEFNER & OTHERS WHO HELPED WITH $$$ TO RESTORE IT TO ITS NATURAL GLORY)

(MINUS THE "LAND" PART --YES AT ONE TIME IT READ "HOLLYWOODLAND")

EVERYONE KNOWS I WANT MY ASHES SPREAD THERE WHEN I SAY BYE BYE TO THIS EARTH (AND WE'RE BOTH VIRGOS--LOL)

EX-SCIENTOLOGIST,LEAH REMINI, TO PEN BOOK

 

 

Leah Remini penning a memoir about her life, time in Church of Scientology: ‘It will include everything’ 

The ‘King of Queens’ actress has already received a number of offers for her memoir, sources say.

By Chiderah Monde / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 

 

Leah Remini is writing a tell-all memoir about her life, which will include her time with the Church of Scientology.

Now that Leah Remini has parted ways with the Church of Scientology, the "King of Queens" actress is planning to write a memoir about her life.

"It will include my experiences, everything that's taboo to talk about," Remini, 43, told US Weekly.
RELATED: JENNIFER LOPEZ SUPPORTS LEAH REMINI AFTER SCIENTOLOGY SPLIT

Speaking to the magazine at a July 27 event in Malibu, the actress said her upcoming book would tell her side of the story, referring to her split with the church, though she did not indicate how much of the book would be about the situation.

Remini has not divulged her exact reasons for leaving the Church of Scientology, but her sister Nicole Remini publicly spoke out saying the actress was reprimanded for questioning the church's leaders.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/leah-remini-penning-memoir-include-article-1.1417167#ixzz2b6AJ3mI0

CUBAN COMIC DIES "NOW, HE WAS FUNNY!"

 

 

Cuban Comedian Alvarez Guedes Dies 

 Exiled comedian was known for his 'Cubaneo' jokes... (as a youngster I was exposed to this hysterical comic with his saucy humor with both records & books)--always funny, always original, often copied; rumor has it that outside of his legendary persona he was a very humble, educated & kind man. Thanks for the laughs "compadre"--RIP)

MIAMI -

Comedian Guillermo Álvarez Guedes, who was beloved among Cuban exiles in Miami, died in his Kendall home Tuesday.

Family friend Delio Regueral said Guedes had been at Doctor's Hospital in Coral Gables earlier this month after experiencing a stomach ache that was later diagnosed.

"He was a  genius in acting and comedy," Regueral said in Spanish. "Even though he was a comedian, he was a very serious man."

Guedes, also an entrepreneur, co-founded Gema Records in 1975, formerly in Sweetwater. He helped to launch the careers of Rolando Laserie, Celeste Mendoza and other stars.

"He helped a lot of people," Regueral said. "People would come and knock on his door and if he could help, he would."

MY EXPERIENCE AT "THE VIEW"

 

YESTERDAY WAS A FUN DAY; I WENT TO SEE  'THE VIEW".

SINCE I AM BEYOND PUNCTUAL, I ARRIVED IN LINE AT 7:30 AM. MY LETTER HAD ASKED WE BE THERE BY 9--LOL. I WAS THE 8TH PERSON IN LINE.

AFTER WAITING 15 YRS , I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD GREAT SEATS & I DID : FRONT ROW BY BARABRA WALTER'S CHAIR -4TH CHAIR IN--AWESOME! YOU CAN SEE ME IN YESTERDAY'S SHOW (JULY 9, 2013) IN LONG SHOTS. I'M WEARING A GRAY SUIT & A RED SHIRT.

AS YOU CAN IMAGINE THE WAIT WAS EXTREMELY LONG-REALLY LONG!

I DIDN'T THINK THEY COULD REDEEM THEMSELVES BUT THEY DID. THE ENTIRE CHECK-IN STAFF WAS GREAT--ESP. THE AUDIENCE COORDINATORS. 

ONCE INSIDE THE TEMP WAS COLD IN THE STUDIO-PERFECT! IT WAS A HOT DAY OUTSIDE.
THEY GREETED US WITH CRANBERRY DRINKS & SWEET POTATO CHIPS.
THE MOOD WAS JUBILANT --EVERYONE WAS SMILING & EXCITED. THE STUDIO IS MUCH SMALLER THAN IT APPEARS ON TV ( SO WERE THE HOSTS & GUESTS--THIS I KINDA EXPECTED).

THE WARM UP GUY (TOM KELLY) WAS NOT ONLY ADORABLE--TOO BAD HE'S STRAIGHT- AND VERY FUNNY. IMMEDIATELY HE HAD US LAUGHING & DANCING.

THEN WE WENT ON AIR.

IMPRESSIONS OF HOSTS:

CO-HOST-CHIQUI RIVERA-DAUGHTER OF THE LATE & GREAT JENNI RIVERA, SHE'S BEAUTIFUL & ARTICULATE. SHE SPOKE EMOTIONALLY ABOUT HER MOM, THE PLANE CRASH, THEIR RAPES AND UPCOMING BOOK, "UNBREAKABLE"

BARBARA,  AT 83 YRS OLD, LOOKS GREAT FOR HER AGE (THE LAST TIME I MET HER WAS MANY, MANY YEARS AGO AT CARNEGIE HALL WHEN SHE TAP DANCED WITH GLORIA STEINEM-I KNOW, RIGHT?)

JOY LOOKS THE SAME, BUT SINCE I'VE MET HER THROUGHOUT HER CAREER I HAD A CLEARER IDEA OF WHAT SHE LOOKS LIKE IN PERSON.

 WHOOPI GOLDBERG LOOKS THINNER & HAD KILLER SHOES, AS USUAL (SHE WAS THE MOST ENGAGING WITH THE AUDIENCE ON BREAKS- SHE DEF. CAME OFF AS THE MOST LIKABLE).

JOY WAS HYSTERICAL--WHEN I WATCHED THE SHOW BACK YOU CAN'T REALLY HEAR HER NON SEQUITURS UNDER HER BREATH--SHE WAS GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO PERSONALLY WAVE HELLO.

BARBARA PERSONALLY THANKED THE AUDIENCE & HOPED THERE WOULD BE TIME FOR QUESTIONS FROM US--THERE WASN'T, UNFORTUNATELY.

 (WHILE OTHERS WERE MINDING THE COMIC DURING BREAKS I WAS TRANSFIXED WITH WAS GOING ON ON STAGE & WALTERS WAS THE MOST CONCERNED TECHNICALLY WITH TIME & OTHER DETAILS-JOY LEFT TWICE TO TEXT/PEE/WHO KNOWS?).

I MISSED BIBLE-THUMPING SHERRI-SHE HAD A DAY OFF- BECAUSE SHE IS SO DAMN FUNNY!

ELISABETH HASSELBACK DID NOT EVEN LOOK AT THE AUDIENCE OR TRY TO  ENGAGE AT ALL-SHE CAME OFF AS A SNOB. TODAY I READ SHE IS LEAVING THE SHOW TO JOIN "FOX (FAUX) NEWS"--MAYBE SHE WAS PREOCCUPIED WITH THAT--BUT REALLY, NOT A WAVE? SCREW YOU! SHE WAS DRESSED NICELY & HAS KILLER LEGS BUT IS RAIL THIN--TOO THIN FOR MY TASTE. IRONICALLY, SHE ANNOUNCED LATE YESTERDAY ABOUT HER MOVE TO FOX BUT RUMORS HAVE IT THAT SHE WAS FIRED A FEW MONTHS BACK BY WALTERS--GOOD MOVE BARBARA, THOUGH I DO THINK A CONSERVATIVE POINT OF VIEW IS NEEDED IN THIS FORMAT.

 NOW 3 SPOTS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER;  THE NAMES BEING THROWN AROUND ARE BROOKE SHIELDS & JENNY MCCARTHY AS REPLACEMENTS.

THE GUESTS:
ANDREA SYRTASH & JEFF WILSER SPOKE ABOUT THEIR DATING BOOK (THE AUDIENCE WENT HOME WITH IT). JEFF DANIELS TALKING ABOUT HIS CAREER (WE GOT SEASON 1 OF "THE NEWSROOM"). THE STUNNING BERNADETTE PETERS WAS THERE TO PROMOTE THIS WEEKEND'S "BROADWAY BARKS" TO ADOPT PETS IN THE THEATER DISTRICT THIS SAT FROM 2:30-6:30 AT SHUBERT ALLEY. SHE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY ADORABLE, ADOPTABLE DOGS--OMG! SHE WAS VERY SWEET TO US AFTER THE SHOW AS WELL. SHE LOOKS AS HOT AS EVER!

I RATE THIS & "ANDERSON" AS THE MOST FUN SHOWS I HAVE EVER BEEN TO, FOLLOWED BY "THE WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW". ELISABETH REMINDS ME OF HOW DISGUSTED I WAS WHEN GERALDO RIVERA HAD HIS SHOW & HOW WOODEN & DISENGAGING HE WAS TO HIS AUDIENCE--THEY ARE OF THE SAME ILK. DON'T THEY KNOW WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE A CAREER? IDIOTS!

 SOME WAITING IN LINE WERE RUMORING  THAT TYRA BANKS PUTS HER HEAD DOWN ON BREAKS NOT TO LOOK AT THE AUDIENCE--WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?. A REPORTER I KNOW HAD LUNCH WITH HER & SHE TOOK HIM TO ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE RESTAURANTS IN NYC & MADE HIM PAY THE BILL--HE THOUGHT SHE WOULD. AFTER ALL, SHE'S LOADED, HE ISN'T. IT WASN'T EVEN FOR HIM TO GET A STORY.

MOST STAND-BYS GET IN "THE VIEW" NOW (HARDER IN THE FALL)---GET THERE EARLY OR SEND IN FOR TIX. THE WAIT IS ABOUT 2YRS OR LESS.
 ______________________________________________________
UPDATE: (JULY 15, 2013):

Done deal: Jenny McCarthy is joining The View.
The comedian-actress will fill one of the open slots on ABC’s popular daytime talk show this fall.
Longtime The View fans already have some sense of what she’s like on the panel. McCarthy, has made 17 previous appearances on the show, including eight as a guest co-host. For months the media has speculated that McCarthy is likely to fill a vacancy on the show.
The View saw the departure of longtime co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck last week to Fox News, while Joy Behar will leave next month. Founding co-host Barbara Walters has announced she will leave the show next summer, but will remain on the show as a producer.

BOB DYLAN ADMITS HE CAN'T SING--DUH!

 

 

 

Published On: Wed, May 8th, 2013

By The Global Edition

Bob Dylan Acknowledges 50-Year-Long Hoax: My Lyrics Don’t Make Sense

 (NOTHING NEW TO ME--I NEVER GOT HIS SCREECHING-AT TIME I GOTTA ADMIT HE WROTE GOOD LYRICS)

Rock and roll legend, Bob Dylan, acknowledged in a recent interview that he has perpetuated an elaborate hoax on the public for more than fifty years. “I can’t sing, half of the time I don’t even say real words, I just mumble, and my lyrics make no sense.”

Dylan, born Robert Zimmerman, said it began innocently in a concert at the New York Coffee House, “The Bitter End” in 1962. “The audience was so stoned that when I started to play ‘This land is My Land’ for the eighth time, I started to mumble sounds. The audience went crazy. The critics said I was the ‘future of rock and roll’ so who am I to disappoint them? I was just giving the people what they wanted. 

”Dylan, often referred to as a “poetic genius”, claims he never knew what people were talking about. How profound is ‘don’t want to be a bum, you better chew gum. The pump don’t work ‘cause the vandals stole the handles’?” 

I just made up simple rhymes. Any child could have done what I did.

”The Rolling Stone interview was a promotion for the star’s recent autobiography “Buy This Book and the Charade Will Continue”.

The confession has had no apparent impact on the singer’s popularity, with his new book topping Amazon’s best-seller chart this week.

“Apparently, Lincoln was wrong. You can fool all of the people, all of the time,” Dylan added.

By TGE correspondent Jello Marx

DESIGNER MISSONI BELIEVED DEAD

 

 Plane carrying Missoni fashion director found off Venezuela

By Joe Sterling, CNN

 

(CNN) -- Nearly six months after it went missing off Venezuela's coast, authorities have located the small plane that was carrying Italian fashion boss Vittorio Missoni and five others, the country's Interior Ministry announced Thursday.

The aircraft disappeared on January 4 as it left Los Roques, an archipelago and resort, for the international airport outside Caracas, about 90 miles away. Vittorio Missoni, his wife, and four others -- including a pilot and copilot -- were all on board. All are presumed dead.

The private company, based in Milan, Italy, has estimated annual sales of between $75 million and $100 million.

The brand, first created in 1953 as a knitwear workshop in Gallarte, Italy, has expanded from apparel to housewares, a fragrance line and a chain of hotels.

Stefano Tonchi, editor-in-chief of W magazine, called the Missonis "one of the most important Italian fashion families," crediting their move to Milan in the late 1960s with helping make the northern Italian city the fashion hub it is today.

Vittorio Missoni and his siblings took over the brand in 1996 with an eye toward marketing to a younger consumer.

The fashion house partnered with Target in 2011 to produce a more budget-friendly collection for the discount retailer, which caused Target's website to crash due to the high demand.

 Missoni, 58, ran the famed Missoni fashion house with his siblings, Luca and Angela. Neither sibling was on the plane. 

( WHEN I WORKED AT SAKS 5TH AVE IN THE MID 80'S, MISSONI WAS ONE OF OUR BIGGEST SELLERS.  THE INTRICATE, COLORFUL PATTERNS ON SWEATERS AND SUCH WERE THE RAVE FOR THE UPPER CRUST. MISSONI WAS NEVER AS COMMERCIALIZED AS SOME OTHERS BUT THOSE IN THE KNOW ALWAYS REQUESTED MISSONI )

HIDDEN "MILDRED PIERCE" INDIE FILM

JENNIFER LAWRENCE PLAYED THE YOUNG DAUGHTER IN A FILM LOOSELY BASED ON THE CLASSIC "MILDRED PIERCE".
IN 2005, FIVE YEARS BEFORE HER BREAKOUT ROLE IN 'WINTER'S BONE", SHE WAS PART OF THIS MICROBUDGET INDIE FILM "THE DEVIL YOU KNOW".

ON JULY 9, 2013 THIS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON ITUNES OR AMAZON.
THE STARS ARE LENA OLIN & ROSAMUND PIKE.

DIRECTED BY JAMES OAKLEY.

IT TALKS ABOUT A RECLUSIVE STAR (SOUNDS MORE LIKE "SUNSET BLVD."--FOR "MILDRED PIERCE" IS NOT ABOUT THAT--WE'LL SEE). I'M STILL INTERESTED IN THE FILM SINCE I'VE BEEN A HUGE "MILDRED PIERCE" FAN FOR YEARS.

WATCH TRAILER NOW ON AMAZON

LET ME KNOW WHET YOU THINK KIDS...

(ARTICLE IN "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY" HIS WEEK)

NEIL PARTICK HARRIS AS "HEDWIG"

Neil Patrick Harris Is Coming Back To Broadway In Hedwig And The Angry Inch!!!

ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE SHOWS--YAY!!!

(Hedwig: My sex change operation got botched; my guardian angel fell asleep on the watch; now all I got is a Barbie doll crotch; I've got an angry inch!)

NY TIMES:

By ERIK PIEPENBURG

"Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris has made no secret that he wants to return to Broadway after his long run as the womanizing Barney Stinson on TV’s “How I Met Your Mother” wraps up.

Now he’s making good on the promise, aiming to star in a Broadway production of the musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” in the spring of 2014, the producers of the show announced on Monday.

Mr. Harris, who has won raves — and an Emmy Award — as the tireless host of the Tony Awards, will play the title character, an East German-born, transgender rock singer. The production will be the first Broadway mounting of the show, which features a book by John Cameron Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask. Mr. Mitchell starred as Hedwig in the original production Off Broadway in 1998 and recreated his role when he directed the 2001 film adaptation.

David Binder, a producer of “Legally Blonde” and “33 Variations,” is the lead producer for “Hedwig.” A creative team, additional casting and a Broadway theater are still to be announced. Mr. Harris was last on Broadway in the 2004 revival of “Assassins”; his other Broadway credits include “Proof” and “Cabaret...”

 

Breaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs

Read more about Breaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs by broadwayworld.comBreaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs

Read more about Breaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs by broadwayworld.com

Producer David Binder has just announced that Neil Patrick Harris will star in the Broadway premiere of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's musical HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH in the Spring of 2014. The remaining creative team members, additional casting, and the theatre will be confirmed at a later date.
Update 4:30 PM - Tony winner Michael Mayer will direct the production.
The announcement that Neil Patrick Harris will play 'Hedwig,' follows his recent triumphant engagement as the host of the 67th Annual Tony Awards (the highest rated Tonys broadcast in more than a decade).

Read more about Breaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs by broadwayworld.com

Breaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs

Read more about Breaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs by broadwayworld.comBreaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs

Read more about Breaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs by broadwayworld.comBreaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs

Read more about Breaking News: Neil Patrick Harris to Star in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway - Spring 2014! Update - Michael Mayer Directs by broadwayworld.com

VINYL IS NEW AGAIN

 





SOMEONE CLOSE TO ME JUST ALERTED ME TO THIS GREAT ARTICLE IN THE NY TIMES:

Weaned on CDs, They’re Reaching for Vinyl

___________________________

( I LOVE MY VINYL COLLECTION SINCE A LOT OF THAT MUSIC HAS NEVER BEEN RELEASED ON CD, ONLINE, ETC. 

I HAVE ALSO HEARD IN THE RECENT PAST THAT MANY YOUNGER KIDS ARE FINDING VINYL TO BE "COOL" & LIKE WORKING WITH THEM FOR THE CHANGES IN SOUND & INTEGRITY. 

LIKE THEY SAY: "EVERYTHING COMES BACK AGAIN"-BUT WHEN ARE CROCS & UGGS GONNA BE GONE ONCE & FOR ALL?)

________________________

By ALLAN KOZINN MUSIC

"There were always record collectors who disdained the compact disc, arguing that an LP’s grooves yielded warmth and depth that the CD’s digital code could not match. 

But the market largely ignored them. Record labels shuttered their LP pressing plants, except for a few that pressed mostly dance music, since vinyl remained the medium of choice for D. J.s. 

As it turned out, that early resistance was not futile, thanks largely to an audience of record collectors, many born after CDs were introduced in the 1980s. 

These days, every major label and many smaller ones are releasing vinyl, and most major new releases have a vinyl version, leading to a spate of new pressing plants.

When the French electronica duo Daft Punk released “Random Access Memories” in mid-May, 6 percent of its first-week sales — 19,000 out of 339,000 — were on vinyl, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which measures music sales. 

Other groups with a predominantly college-age audience have had similar success: the same week, the National sold 7,000 vinyl copies of its latest album, “Trouble Will Find Me,” and 10,000 Vampire Weekend fans opted for the LP version of “Modern Vampires of the City.” When the Front Bottoms, a New Jersey indie band, posted a photo of their players carrying stacks of LP mailing boxes on their Facebook page recently, their label, Bar/None, racked up what Glenn Morrow, who owns the label, described as “phone orders for $2,000 worth of LPs in 10 minutes.” 

There were always record collectors who disdained the compact disc, arguing that an LP’s grooves yielded warmth and depth that the CD’s digital code could not match. 

But the market largely ignored them. Record labels shuttered their LP pressing plants, except for a few that pressed mostly dance music, since vinyl remained the medium of choice for D. J.s.

As it turned out, that early resistance was not futile, thanks largely to an audience of record collectors, many born after CDs were introduced in the 1980s. (JOBS????WE NEED THEM!!!)

These days, every major label and many smaller ones are releasing vinyl, and most major new releases have a vinyl version, leading to a spate of new pressing plants.(GREAT!!!)

When the French electronica duo Daft Punk released “Random Access Memories” in mid-May, 6 percent of its first-week sales — 19,000 out of 339,000 — were on vinyl, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which measures music sales. 

Other groups with a predominantly college-age audience have had similar success: the same week, the National sold 7,000 vinyl copies of its latest album, “Trouble Will Find Me,” and 10,000 Vampire Weekend fans opted for the LP version of “Modern Vampires of the City.” When the Front Bottoms, a New Jersey indie band, posted a photo of their players carrying stacks of LP mailing boxes on their Facebook page recently, their label, Bar/None, racked up what Glenn Morrow, who owns the label, described as “phone orders for $2,000 worth of LPs in 10 minutes.” 

A growing number of classic albums — including the complete Beatles and early Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan catalogs — have had vinyl reissues in recent years as well. 

Michael Fremer, who monitors the LP world on his Web site, Analogplanet.com, said: “None of these companies are pressing records to feel good. They’re doing it because they think they can sell.”

About a dozen pressing plants have sprouted up in the United States, along with the few that survived from the first vinyl era, and they say business is so brisk that they are working to capacity. Thomas Bernich, who started Brooklyn Phono in 2000, says his company makes about 440,000 LPs a year, but a giant like Rainbo Records, in Canoga Park, Calif., turns out 6 million to 7.2 million, said Steve Sheldon, its general manager. 

One plant, Quality Record Pressings, in Salina, Kan., opened in 2011 after its owner, Chad Kassem, grew impatient with delays at a larger plant where his own line of blues reissues was being pressed. His company, which runs four presses — acquired used, but modified to run more efficiently — now makes LPs for all the majors, and lists Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Nirvana reissues among its recent projects. He is currently pressing 900,000 vinyl discs a year.

 And the buyers, Mr. Bizar said, are by no means boomer nostalgists. 

“When you look at the sales for a group like Daft Punk,” he said, “you’re seeing young kids collecting records like we did when we were young.” 

“We never expected the vinyl resurgence to become as crazy as it is,” he said. “But it’s come full circle. We get kids calling us up and telling us why they listen to vinyl, and when we ask them why they don’t listen to CDs, they say, ‘CDs? My dad listens to CDs — why would I do that?’ ”

 

ESTHER WILLIAMS DIES IN HER SLEEP-91

TO CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD FANS, SUCH AS MYSELF, IT IS A SAD DAY.
HOLLYWOOD MERMAID, ESTHER WILLIAMS, LEAVES  THIS WORLD FOR THAT GIANT POOL IN THE SKY. I'M SO GLAD IT WAS IN HER SLEEP.
BORN IN LOS ANGELES-WHEN INGLEWOOD WASN'T SO SKETCHY; SHE DIED THERE AS WELL.

 R I P (AUGUST 8, 1921-JUNE 6, 2013)

THE PASSING OF ESTHER WILLIAMS REMINDS ME OF SO MANY HAPPY TIMES.
FOR INSTANCE, THE FIRST TIME I HEARD "BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE" WAS IN HER MOVIE, "NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER" (TO THIS DAY IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE ROMANTIC COMEDIES). THE MOVIE OFFERS GLAMOUR, COMEDY , LOVE AND UNBELIEVABLE SWIMMING CHOREOGRAPHY. MY SISTER & I STILL QUOTE IT.

AROUND THE TIME OF THE 1994 GAY GAMES & CULTURAL EVENTS IV IN NYC-THE FIRST TIME I DARED TO DO STANDUP- ESTHER WILLIAMS INAUGURATED THE POOL/SPORTS ARENA USED FOR THE SWIMMING MEETS/COMPETITIONS. IT'S WHERE I FIRST SAW GREG LOUGANIS FLY IN THE AIR AND MAKE REPEATED, PERFECT DIVES AND MY HIGHLY SKILLED PERSONAL FRIENDS TOOK HOME THE GOLD & SILVER MEDALS, (TODD & MIKE RESPECTIVELY).

NOT LONG AGO I  WAS GLUED TO HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY "THE MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID" . SHE REVEALED A LOT: HER ABUSIVE EX HUSBAND , LORENZO LAMAS; HER AFFAIR; DABBLING IN LSD; OLYMPIC CONTENDER; BUSINESS WOMAN AND HER CROSS DRESSING BOYFRIEND, JEFF CHANDLER, AMONG OTHER TIDBITS.

ESTHER WILLIAMS HAD A MESMERIZING BEAUTY WITH A NON-TRADITIONAL WIDER SHOULDER PHYSIQUE! SHE WORKED AS A MODEL FOR I.MAGNIN THEN PARLAYED THAT SENSE OF STYLE & BEAUTY TO HOLLYWOOD.
THE CAMERA EMBRACED HER BEAUTY AND CAPTURED UNHEARD OF SWIMMING STUNTS PRODUCED IN HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE.

A WORLD CLASS SWIMMING CHAMPION! DISCOVERED BY BILLY ROSE, SHE BECAME A SENSATION AT HIS SHOW "AQUACADE"

MGM SNATCHED HER UP. SHE BECAME FOR SWIMMING WHAT SONJA HENIE HAD BECOME TO ICE SKATING IN MOVIES.

WE WILL MISS YOU & NOW THAT "LIFE" COVER I HAVE FRAMED OF A VERY WET YOU WILL BE LOOKED AT WITH WARMER EYES AND A SENSE OF GRATITUDE FOR ALL THOSE GREAT MOVIES IN WHICH YOU SO BRILLIANTLY ENTERTAINED ME AND THE WORLD.

HOBOKEN LOSES "MAXWELL'S"

 

 

 

 

Opened	August 1978
Renovated	July 26, 1998

Maxwell's, a Hoboken rock institution, to close at the end of July...

WTF?

I remember as a kid I wasn't allowed to cross into Hoboken because it was, according to my mom, full of trash. I gotta say the population was sketchy at best. Later, when I was old enough to drive I noticed that "trash" was turning to trendy and the rest is history. Today, I think I'm considered the trash -lol.

(FROM NJ.COM NEWS ONLINE):

Maxwell's, the Hoboken corner restaurant and rock club with an international reputation, is closing its doors at the end of July.

The lease to Maxwell's, which has been at the heart of the rock scene in Hudson County for decades, is up at the end of July. But the decision to close the club at 1039 Washington St. isn't the landlord's.
"We were offered a renewal with rates that weren't necessarily onerous," says Todd Abramson, the club's booking agent and co-owner.

"But after much thought, given the changing nature of Hoboken and the difficulties of trying to run a business in this town, we decided it was time."

Maxwell's, says Abramson, will invite back some old friends to finish its remarkable run.

"On July 31, I think we're going to go out the way we came in — with the band 'a'." a, which featured members of the Bongos and Glenn Morrow, who'd later found Hoboken's Bar/None Records, was the first act to ever take the stage in the restaurant's back room. (The Bongos will also perform on July 31.)

ALMODOVAR'S NEWEST: " I'M SO EXCITED! "

 


 FROM "THE GUARDIAN" 
Philip FrenchThe Observer, Saturday 4 May 201

"I'm So Excited!" is more of an Almodóvar film than a pastiche of anyone else's and begins with a brief prologue on the ground beside the emblematically named Peninsula Airways' airbus.

 The movie's only major stars, Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, make cameo appearances as a pregnant wife and her uxorious husband, working respectively as a baggage truck driver and chocks inspector. They're involved in a minor accident beside the shiny, pristine plane before cheerfully leaving another ground staff member to clear up.

This innocent negligence leaves the undercarriage seriously damaged and Peninsula flight 2549 from Madrid to Mexico City is on the route to disaster. Fifty years ago last month, in my first Observer film column, I reviewed a Hollywood movie about the adventures of three airline hostesses called Come Fly With Me, taking its name from the Sinatra number sung over the opening credits. I'm So Excited! might well be called "Come Die With Me".

Shortly after take-off, the discovery of the undercarriage problem is covered up and the passengers in the packed economy class are drugged into a deep sleep. The theatrical red curtain between them and the business class passengers is kept drawn. There are only seven people in business class – a famous dominatrix (the Argentinian Cecilia Roth), a rich lothario, a honeymoon couple, a clairvoyant (Lola Dueñas), a mysterious Mexican and the inevitable decamping financier. They soon get to know of the plane's problems because the chief steward is incapable of telling a lie, having been traumatized some years before by helping conceal the accidental killing of a deranged passenger..."