1. Wolfgang Van Halen (who’s replaced the recently shitcanned Michael Anthony), it must be said, could use a little of mom’s Jenny Craig action. But hell, he’s only 16 so we’ll call it baby fat. Decent enough bass player, but really, who even knew Van Halen had a bass player anyway? 2. Say goodbye to Diamond Dave, say hello to Gold Brocade Dave. Simon LeBon‘s closet is short a jacket. 3. Alex Van Halen: Still rocking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles headband. Ya gotta give the guy props for sticking by his guns. For some the Flashdance look was passing […]
PHILLY MAG: Why Ask WHYY? Here’s Why…
BY STEVE VOLK PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE STAFF WRITER Marty Moss-Coane hadn’t planned on saying anything, but the longer she listened, the more it seemed that a particularly significant issue just wasn’t being raised. The occasion was a company-wide meeting in the summer of 2006 to discuss morale at WHYY, and the longtime host of the popular call-in show Radio Times felt she had some idea what was making her co-workers angry. So she finally stood up, both literally and figuratively the heft of her role at the station allowing her to say something to CEO Bill Marrazzo that maybe no one […]
MAILBAG: Wake Me Up When It’s Over
Dear Phawker, Even though it’s amusing to read all these baby boomers working up a froth every time the Bossman releases another disc I have to give in to the truth that I’m never going to get back on his bandwagon. I find the whole shtick terribly corny (see above photo) and tired. Steve Earle has done a better job at being Springsteen than Springsteen himself has over the last twenty-four years (when is the last time Bruce has written something as good as “The Devil’s Right Hand”?). Modern day Bruce, like modern day Stones, just depresses me. It’s like […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
MESSAGE TO YOU, RUDY: Guiliani outside the House That Joey Vento Built, 8:30ish RELATED: Joey Vento In Bed With Southern Agents Of Intolerance, Oh My! RUDY GOES TO JOEY’S: Click For Slideshow [photos by JONATHAN VALANIA]
HEAR YE: Do You Believe In Magic?
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO* BY ED KING ROCK SNOB WHERE: The Teenage Junglelands of New Jersey WHEN: Indian Summer 2007 WHY: I took a spin with a friend in his vintage 1980 Camaro Z28 — chromewheelfuelinjectedandheadingoutovertheline — with an advance of Magic, in the back pocket of my best ripped jeans. The first song and lead-off single is “Radio Nowhere,”which sounds too close to Tommy Tutone mining one of Graham Parker’s 3rd-rate music industry rants for comfort. No great shakes, that. The next song, “You’ll Be Comin’ Down,” was pretty cool. It’s anthemic but very poppy. I could see my […]
NPR 4 THE DEAF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
FRESH AIR Wes Anderson has been called an auteur,[1] heavily involved in every aspect of his films’ production: writing, cinematography, production design, music selection, etc. Influences Anderson has acknowledged that French New Wave directors Francois Truffaut and Louis Malle influenced his penchant for sympathetic tragicomedy, unconventional mis-en-scene, and personal approach to filmmaking. He often cites Mike Nichols‘ The Graduate as a recurring inspiration. Anderson is also noted for drawing on famous works of American literature, particularly those of F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger. Fitzgerald’s famous quote, “There are no second acts in American lives,” applies to many of Anderson’s […]
NEVER FORGET: The NAZIS Burned Books
Sponsored by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, and a variety of other groups, Banned Books Week (Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2007) celebrates the first amendment right to free speech, which includes the right to read and write books that are considered unorthodox or controversial. A banned book is one that has actually been removed from a library or school system, a “challenged” book is the attempt to ban such material. THE 10 MOST CHALLENGED BOOKS OF 2006 And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell Gossip Girls (Series) by Cecily Von Ziegesar Alice (Series) by […]
NEWSWEEK: Blackwater Massacre Unprovoked
Sept. 30, 2007 — Since the fatal Sept. 16 Blackwater USA shooting in Baghdad’s Nasoor Square, officials from the private security company have insisted that their guards were responding to fire from “armed enemies.” Yet an extensive evidence file put together by the Iraqi National Police and obtained by NEWSWEEK — including documents, maps, sworn witness statements and police video footage — appears to contradict the contractors’ version of events. A confidential incident report, which has been provided by Iraqi National Police investigators to American military and civilian officials, concludes that the Blackwater vehicles “opened fire crazily and randomly, without […]
RUDY: It’s A White Thing, You Wouldn’t Understand
UPDATE: Rudy Guiliani will be reaching out to white English-only voters tonight at The House That Joey Vento Built.
HOT DOCUMENT: Radiohead Goes Post-Music Biz
Radiohead.com is open for business with pre-orders having begun today for their 7th studio album In Rainbows, which will be available from October 10 as a DRM-free MP3 download. Also available to pre-order from now is the Discbox, a special edition box set, details of which are below. Radiohead’s fan service, WASTE, is currently taking advance orders for two formats: the album MP3 and the Discbox, which includes double vinyl and CD versions of the record and a second, enhanced CD with additional new songs, artwork, and photographs of the band, all exclusive to the box. Anyone purchasing this deluxe […]
INSTANT KARMA: We Are With You In Myanmar
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Hunkered down in their war rooms hundreds of miles from mass protests, the aging, hard-line generals in Myanmar are known as a suspicious lot who view the West with disdain and depend on browbeaten advisers and astrologers to guide them. The demonstrations are the stiffest challenge to the ruling junta in two decades, a crisis that began Aug. 19 with protests over a fuel price hike then expanded dramatically about two weeks ago when Buddhist monks joined the protests.Since Wednesday, soldiers and riot police have clubbed, shot and detained demonstrators in Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, […]
GAYBO EXTRA: And Iran So Far Away
Adam Andy Samberg, with Adam Levine, on SNL.
FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK, WE SALUTE YOU!
PHILADELPHIA – Believe it, Philly. The Fightin’ Phils are going to the playoffs. Considered all-but-out of contention just 2 1/2 weeks ago, the Philadelphia Phillies overcame a huge deficit in the standings, caught the Mets and won their first NL East title since 1993 on the final day. [via ASSOCIATED PRESS]