Two Lumps has a good comic today.
I never really thought about it before, but there are actually a lot of bands out there named after food. (Software is even worse. My brother didn’t realize that hamachi is actually the Japanese word for ‘yellowtail tuna’ until we went to the sushi restaurant last week.)
I suppose that this is why bands (and software) should never be named when the people responsible for the choice are hungry.
Open auditions are being held for the Toronto production of Rock of Ages. (The full story is available at Blabbermouth.net.)
If you’re in Canada and like to sing hair metal, this might be your chance to break into show business.
This also increases my hopes that a touring production of Rock of Ages will be formed in the United States. There’s a theater near me that runs a lot of touring shows, so I’ll finally get to see this live. While I know that there is going to be a Rock of Ages movie, movies are never the same as actually seeing a show first-hand. (Well, actually, I have the VHS of Cats, and that’s pretty much a straight-up video of the stage show. But that’s the exception, not the rule.) Musicals, like Rock of Ages, especially tend to have extra punch when you get to see them on stage.
There is a preview of the When We Were Beautiful book available at the HarperCollins site.
I checked it out. I’m not sure if the same photographer is responsible for all of the photos in the book, but at the very least, whoever selected photos for it seems to have a thing for Jon’s rear end. I count no less than three ass shots in the preview (counting the cover).
Before I buy this, though, I think I’m going to want to see an actual copy of the book at the bookstore. The content of the interview sections provided didn’t seem to have enough new content to justify the purchase on the basis of the interview content.
The photography and photo selection of the book, however, seem to be of a fairly high quality. (Not least because whoever selected the photographs seems to have a pretty good handle on what the female fans want.) While many of the photos are in black and white, at least some of them are in color, which was more than I was expecting.
Hopefully, at least one bookstore in my area will have this, so that I can take a look at it and determine if I really want to buy this.
Well, last night I stopped playing the Ghostbusters game on the Xbox and tuned in to actual television.
I caught the Access Hollywood segment at 7:30. I hadn’t heard much about it, and I had kind of figured that it was a promo more for the tour. I only have basic cable, so I had forgotten that When We Were Beautiful airs on Showtime tonight. (I’m pretty much figuring on waiting for the DVD on this.) I was totally not expecting to hear Richie’s issues rehashed again.
While I could have done without another discussion of Richie’s stint in rehab, the segment was otherwise pretty good. It’s definitely good to hear that Richie has got his life back on track and is looking to move on. He deserves to have a good family life like Jon has.
Also, I still think Jon needs to get some highlights. His hair had been looking better for awhile, like the ‘We Weren’t Born to Follow’ video. Now it looks like it’s back to being that unfortunate flat dark brown. He really needs to get some highlights put in, both because he looks better blond, and because they make it look more natural. The dark brown color just screams ‘dye job’.
I also caught the ‘Superman Tonight’ USA promo during White Collar. Unfortunately, I didn’t really enjoy the show. (I will probably give it another chance; I think when it’s in standard hour-show format and they have to be more concise, it won’t drag so much.) Also, I found the promo to really be too short for me to get any real feel for the song. At this point, I’m still kind of ambivalent about it; hopefully it winds up being a ‘grower’ or being better when heard in its entirety. I just feel I can’t really review it in any meaningful way without having access to more of the song.
(No, I didn’t get watch the video on Ausiello’s blog yesterday; I had my lunch cut short.)
The song ‘Superman Tonight’ from The Circle will debut tonight on USA during ‘White Collar’, which starts at 10 PM Eastern. With this and Access Hollywood tonight at 7:30, I don’t think I’m going to get to finish the Ghostbusters game tonight.
I was kind of interested in watching ‘White Collar’ anyway, but most likely I would have forgotten about it by 10 PM tonight. (The less TV I watch, the more I tend to forget to tune in at specific times, and lately I’ve really pretty much stopped watching TV.)
Ausiello’s full article, and a preview of the video are available at Entertainment Weekly.
I’ll post more about the video tomorrow, after I see it on TV.
Bon Jovi has announced the tour dates for the upcoming tour for The Circle. (Reuters has the complete list of the dates announced so far.) Fortunately, there are at least two dates within easy driving distance for me, so I am now officially looking forward to the upcoming tour.
It will be interesting to see how things pan out during this tour. The last several shows in this area that I was able to make it to, I went with friends. Since then, my mother has not let me forget this. (Mostly, she likes to point out all of the concerts that she took me to–at my insistence–during my teenage years. Let’s just say they weren’t her first choice in musical entertainment.) So, most likely Mom is going to want to come with me to at least one.
At least I’ll stop hearing about how she got left out on the last tour.
Rock of Ages, the hair metal Broadway musical, is on its way to a theater near you, according to WeAreMovieGeeks.
With the success of the film adaptation of Mamma Mia, this should not really be a surprise. Jukebox musicals, like Mamma Mia or Rock of Ages come with a ready-made audience that already know all of the songs. You have the instant ability to do sing-along showings, without having to rely on the theater crowd to lead the way.
With how badly movie theaters have been doing of late, events are one of the best ways to pull in people. A mass sing-along is not an experience that can be had in the home theater.
It will be interesting to see how this film works out in the theaters. I suspect that much like Mamma Mia before it, it won’t necessarily be a critical darling. But I bet it will be fun, and fun sells tickets.
The Soul Foundation is building a playground in Camden today. (There’s more details at one of the blogs at Philadelphia Weekly.)
Supposedly, Jon is going to be there, so if you’re in Philadelphia or Camden you might be able to get to see him at the event. (Unfortunately, I’m too far away to even think about making it to Camden and back on my lunch break.)
Hopefully there should be some pictures out tomorrow from this event, since it should be making all of the Philadelphia news outlets.
Artist: Cinderella
Album: Once Upon A…
If there ever was a song made for singing along in the car, this is it. Something about this song, for me at least, tends to unleash the inner hair metal diva. This song is just plain fun to rock out to, even if doesn’t sound like the stereotypical hair metal single. I can’t help it.
Sometimes the most trite observations can be the most strangely meaningful. Even though the lyrics of this song descend into cliched sayings here and there, and mostly aren’t much more special, the message that everyone has their own way of taking away their pain. Maybe it’s the fact that there’s no apology here, just a celebration of how people manage to get through their lives.
(Yes, I know that this song is little more than a swipe at the PMRC–after all, that’s what the whole second verse is about. But hey, if you can’t express your contempt with style, why bother? And Cinderella does deliver it with style here.)
Tom Keifer’s voice really brings this song to life. It’s almost impossible to imagine this song without his gritty, raspy voice. It helps bring home the power of the song.
We all have vices. It’s just rare to hear them celebrated this way.