
Amoeblogger Brad Sheldon was absolutely right Memorial Day when he predicted that R. Kelly's new album would likely be a hot seller at Amoeba Music upon its release the following day. Go back and check it if you missed this informative AMOEBLOG which gave a real good history of the ever-popular & controversial R&B star plus a link to his video "Careful" with Sparkle. Equally, if not much more to some, entertaining is the Dave Chappelle video "R.Kelly: I'm Gonna P*** On You" included on the about to be released DVD "The Best of Chappelle's Show (Uncensored): Top 25 Sketches" (Comedy Central/Paramount). Available instore on Tuesday, June 5th the other 24 sketches include (among others) the sidesplittingly funny 'A Night With Wayne Brady' and 'The Ni**ar Family' sketches plus the played-to-death so that its well-past-expiration-date funny 'Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories: Rick James." While I want to own this new DVD, truth is that I have already seen all of these skits a zillion times so right now I prefer to go back and re-watch that surprsingly engaging, ever-revealing James Lipton interview with Chappelle on Bravo's 'Inside the Actor's Studio'
One of the best videos to surface in the past week or so online is the fun, fast-paced video mashup "Shatner Woo Remix" - posted by YouTube user "smudgeorama" who took a recent Conan O'Brian interview segment with William Shatner and chopped up and mixed interview portions with clips from a video of renaissance man Shatner driving a car at 160 MPH and remixing it with a cool electronic track into a mind-dazzling 2 and quarter minute video.













The legendary 




that a jaded ex film theory student like myself is blown away like that, and although I do truly always love Dame Judi, this was the penultimate character for her I thought. 
with her seemingly abused 15 year old student, Steven. Lonely and intense fellow teacher Barbara befriends Sheba, who she alternatively loves and hates for her beauty and bourgeois sensibilities, and she uses their closeness to pull Sheba further and further into her web of neediness when she discovers the affair.



The day after a big holiday Monday is usually a very sad day for music new releases. All the music distributors and shippers shut down on Monday holidays. Because of this, the labels traditionally keep the Tuesday releases pretty slim the day after the holiday. So R. Kelly and Perry Farrell are both pretty lucky with two new albums out today. Without much competition, the albums might do a little better than they probably should. Most Janes Addiction fans would probably appreciate it if Perry Farrell just stopped making music. He managed to make some brilliant albums in the late 80s and early 90s. He even did pretty good with his post Jane's Addiction band Porno for Pyros. "We'll make great pets" is still repeating in my head after all these years. It was a super catchy song.
the tapes blasting in their cars and I swear that I probably heard Jane's Addiction at least once a day, somewhere. The band became known as the symbol for alternative music. Back when alternative actually still meant something. Perry Farrell also went on to create the alternative music festival known as Lollapalooza. This was a pretty exciting festival for kids who had never experienced anything like this before. Perry Farrell also released the movie "The Gift" in 1993. While this may be one of the worst films ever released, it remained one of my favorites for many years. 

So I saw
do anything for their Lisa. And it seems she would do anything for her fans. She really does give back all the love to her audience. You can just feel the love in the crowd. I really do love seeing Dead Can Dance perform with all their magical different instruments. Its also great to see the vocals of both Lisa and Brenda Perry go back and forth. But it was nice to see Lisa all by herself last night. She was joined by one of the members of Dead Can Dance, John Bonnar on keyboards. She was also joined by the guy who plays on the new album on keyboards and piano.
Her shows really are very magical. The feeling you get from the show stays with you years later. Her voice is amazing and really takes over the whole theater. I was literally staring at her trying to imagine how she makes her voice do the things it does. Her voice quickly changes tones and styles in mid song. Its like a whole chorus is coming out her mouth. She played a mix of her new album and her previous solo albums. The best of which is her first solo album, "The Mirror Pool."






BJ: Janis Joplin, "Mercedes Benz" and lots of Willie Nelson, lots of The Doors, Fleetwood Mac. Basic 70's things that are very important to my formative years.
Why lie, you know?










movie has a meditational feeling to it. By that, I mean while you watch it there is so much silence and there are so many moments of a quiet kind of reflection that when you finish watching it you really do feel like you went somewhere else on a journey.
The film definitely sparked my own memories about
similar experiences. It got the awkward silences right for sure. Mark is the Reformed And Now Responsible Guy and Kurt is the Wild Dude That Never Grew Up Totally. Kurt is still flying by the seat of his pants and Mark is uncomfortably wearing his like Urkel. I read a review a few weeks ago that said how the viewer sees both Mark and Kurt by the end of the film will say a lot about how that viewer sees life in general and I think that is a fair and interesting comment. 




Ian MacKaye
"We were before just barely breaking even," said MacKaye in an interview with me on WFMU last week (
Whatever your flavor, order your Margarita “Rocas con sal”. That’s the way to have it. Blended just doesn’t cut it, ever. I like the cross section of people that go to El Conquistador. Leather Daddies in chaps sitting next to the Altera-moms with their babies in carriages, sucking down margaritas trying to forget motherhood for a few. Retro-rockers looking like they stepped out of a
So last night we went down to the beautiful Cafe Du Nord to see the brilliant
jaunty cap with a feather. He came out with a blue wig, shiny gold suspenders and little school boy shorts. He reminded me of a young Liza Minnelli mixed with Mccauley Culkin's version of Michael Alig. Maybe with a little Marc Almond and high school musical thrown in there. He even made a costume change half way through the show. He was joined by three young men on stage. Stand up bass, drums, and of course electronics. His violin player had gone back to England because of the "weather." The songs sounded great live and he was quite the little show man. He interacted with the crowd and told some great little stories.
came Erasure with such brilliant albums as "Wonderland, "The Innocents," "Wild," and "Chorus." Erasure has actually surprised me a couple times over the past couple years by creating some still brilliant songs. They basically invented synth pop back in the 80s. I can't really imagine where I would be without them. They have wrote some of the catchiest songs of the period that still remain great songs.
This new album is about their 13th full length album. Maybe their 15th if you count "Crackers International" and the brilliant ABBA cover album "ABBAesque." They have continued to make accessible dance albums over the years. However, with 13 or 15 albums there are bound to be some ups and downs. "I Say I Say I Say" really marked the end of the great Erasure albums, for me at least. Some might say it ended with 1991's excellent album "Chorus." In 2005 they ended up making a great comeback album, "Nightbird." I have to admit that I am still impressed with Erasure and their new album "Light at the End of the World." It may not have as many great songs as their albums of the past. But Andy Bell and Vince Clark still have the magic to make a catchy pop album. It is easy to find yourself singing along to most of the songs on the album. It might just be my memories of albums past that has kept me an Erasure fan after all these years. But they still have me under their spell. They created a lasting genre that has affected millions and influenced many. 




So yesterday started off really good. My old friend from
View other than work at Google or go to a show at Shoreline. But we did manage to find In-N-Out. So did everyone else it seemed. So we ate our meatless hamburger with hundreds of other Bjork fans. I don't ever eat fast food, but In-N-Out is my one exception. Even though the employees seem to be all part of some weird religious cult, they do make good food. And it is nice that nothing is frozen. They also don't look at you weird when you order an animal style grilled cheese!
collegiate hermit era. His music has meant a lot to me, so this week's release of New Moon was sad and happy at the same time for me. I think that's how his music always is too, rolling opposites into one, simultaneously delicate and strong. It's one of the best things about his songs and no small part of what makes them classics.
His songs are so unbelievably rich and evocative. I think the detail in every aspect of every song is nearly unparalleled. His songs are fantastic top to bottom, from the lyrics to the chords to the melody. Even the covers he chose over the years are flawless. One of my favorites, "Thirteen" by Alex Chilton, is included here at last. I feel like my meager writing can't do the tracks any justice, so i don't have too much to say except that I am sad that he's not around any more and I am hopeful that more and more people will find his music. And that you should listen to Angel in the Snow cause it's one of the best songs he ever wrote. It is so funny and also telling that Elliott's throwaways are usually better than what 90% of people putting out music ever write. He must have been very hard on himself.






I finally picked up a copy of the Angel Collection on DVD. Not the Buffy spin-off but the classic 80s teen prostitute saga, "Angel." The original Angel starred
movie made in 1994 "Angel: Undercover." I have never seen this one but I can only imagine how horrible it is. Although, I would not pass it up if it ever shows up on cable. Angel is played by a
different actress in each movie. The best of the bunch is for sure the first. Unfortunately you will not find any much needed commentaries or documentaries. But they do at least give you some deleted scenes and the original theatrical trailers.





nightmare, but I quite enjoy it. I see the tape deck as a challenge and a chance to listen to things I normally would have forgotten all about. I actually really love having the deck. There's nothing like going through your parents' old tapes to find Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye, or my early childhood Holy Grail: Born In the USA.
Much like other supremely enjoyable records, there isn't really a crappy track on the album. Sure, the production is insanely overdone, but Springsteen manages (unbelievably) to rise above even synths and all the 80s trappings to come out of it all seeming like someone we can all relate to: He misses those "Glory Days", he's had his "Downbound Train" bad times, he's a man "on fire." Even as a young child I hafta say the energy and earnestness of the music resonated with me. It sounds so triumphant sometimes and so resigned others. There was a nostalgia there but also, the record is FUN; I guess the record kinda takes you on a journey through a man's past musings and present confusion. I love it. Every time I put it on I am channeled back to my parents' green