Lydia Lunch's Teenage Jesus and The Jerks & other: May 2008

Thursday, 29 May 2008

Reviews Are In For Indiana Jones

The first public screening of 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' has concluded at the 61st Canne Film Festival, with reviewers predominantly giving the action adventure flick the thumbs up. Following intense scrutiny about whether the series warranted a new addition, 19 years after the last film was made, central star Harrison Ford and filmmakers Steven Speilberg and George Lucas were all smiles as the movie commenced its first public screening. Variety reports that the film "met with a 3½-minute standing ovation - nowhere near a festival record, but a reaction of respect, appreciation for the film's craftsmanship and its nostalgic sensibility and style." Christie Lemire from The Associated Press wrote that although "draggy and repetitive in the middle", 'Kingdom' "dives headfirst into the iconography of the franchise, which will bring a smile to your face and warm you with nostalgia. It's admittedly a pleasure to see Harrison Ford back in the role." The Los Angeles Times' movie critic, Kenneth Turan states, "When you think about it, all the pre-release interest the film has generated is not completely rational. Given its cast, crew and pedigree, it was likely to fall within a very narrow range in terms of quality, and be either a worse- or better-than-average Indiana Jones film. It turns out it's one of the good ones, and everyone involved can breathe a sigh of relief."Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm.

Saturday, 24 May 2008

Korn - Korn Star Hints At Full Reunion

KORN frontman JONATHAN DAVIS has given fans the hope that the group's original line-up is set to reunite by confessing he has been talking to born-again former guitarist BRIAN`HEAD' WELCH.

Welch and Davis seemingly fell out when the guitarist suddenly quit the group in 2005 to devote his life to Christianity.

But the pair has started talking again, according to a response to a fan's question in an online chat on Korn's official chat room. He said, "Head doesn't want to come back yet. I miss him sooooo f**kin' bad, but I don't think he is ready to be put back in the element he ran from. Drugs are everywere, and I think he's not ready to be around it yet."

But the rocker feels sure that bassist Reginald `Fieldy' Arvizu will be able to help Welch return to the band for a full reunion - because he's a fervent Christian too.

Davis adds, "I think Fieldy can help him a lot because he's Christian and sober and does fine... So maybe, one day, you will see Head up there with us, I hope."

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Rhydian hoping to put X Factor behind him

'X Factor' runner-up Rhydian Roberts has said that he wants to put the talent show behind him.
The Welsh singer said he cried with disappointment after coming second, and added that he believes there was a "technical fault" on the voting lines.
Speaking to Real Radio Wales' breakfast show from a cottage in Oxfordshire, Rhydian said he was trying to distance himself from the press and wished winner Leon Jackson "the best of luck".
Referring to complaints from fans who say phone lines were jammed, Rhydian said: "How I see it is, it's obviously a technical fault on the night, and it might have affected all three competitors. I can't really complain."
Despite his disappointment, the 24-year-old from Sennybridge, mid Wales, said he believed his career could actually benefit from him not winning the ITV contest.
Commenting on Leon's victory, he said: "He's a talented boy and has his niche with swing music. I wish him the best of luck."
He denied reports that both he and his father believed the show was a fix, and said: "I can categorically say that I have not said any of that. I've stayed well clear - it's not what I believe. The only disappointing thing for us as a family was that they got my dad's age wrong. They said he was 60, so he's livid. He's only 58."
Rhydian said he didn't go to the after-show party because he was "absolutely drained". Instead, he went to see a performance by an orchestra with his family.
Rhydian, who said the interview was his first since Saturday's live final, said: "It's Leon's week and he should be celebrating and I don't want people coming up to me saying 'you were robbed', although it's nice. I didn't want to pull focus."
Rhydian, who is going on a two-week holiday to Mexico with his family on 27 December, added: "All I can say is I want to put that all behind me now - 'The X Factor'. My life is going to go on and I fully intend to record an album so watch this space and thanks so much to everybody."
More than 1,000 people have complained to UK regulator Ofcom, claiming they couldn't get through to vote for Rhydian during the final, but ITV have said Leon won fair and square.

Miley Cyrus' Mom Gets Parenting Tips From Dina Lohan

Lindsay Lohan’s mother is dishing out parenting tips to the mom of scandal-hit Disney starlet Miley Cyrus.

Dina Lohan – recently named ‘Top Mom’ by Long Island networking group Mingling Moms – was asked if she had any advice for Leticia Cyrus, following her daughter’s so-called ‘nude scandal.’

She reportedly replied, "I don't know Miley's mom, but you know, just say strong and keep your head up. And she's talented [Miley] and stay focused."

She added as an apparent afterthought, "You know, and be her mom."

That's almost as bad as being offered parenting advice from Britney's mom...

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Kelly Trial Jury Selection Completed With Rape Victim

LATEST: A former rape victim and an immigrant from communist Romania will be among those deciding whether or not R+B star R. KELLY is guilty of child pornography charges against him.

The odd couple is part of the 12-person jury which was selected to oversee his upcoming trial on Thursday (15May08).

The rape victim, who was one of the last jury members selected, convinced Judge Vincent Gaughan she would be able to put her own sexual experience behind her and offer fair judgment in the Kelly trial.

Defense attorneys asked to have her dismissed, based on the rape, but Gaughan rejected the request, stating, "She looked at Mr. Kelly and said she could give him a fair trial."

Kelly, who was in court for the duration of the jury selection, is accused of videotaping himself having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

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Skater Vegans No Age Make Beautiful Noise With Nouns, By John Norris

A punk band that wants everyone from kids to grandparents at their shows? A punk band that demonstrates no trace of nihilism, even embraces that dreaded concept of "positivity" and still manages to be cool? Well, yeah. Or maybe they're not punk, by your definition of the word. But what No Age definitely are is one of the most exciting bands in America, one that's been building awareness for the past year and who look to build that following even further with this week's release of the album Nouns.

(No Age are one of several bands refreshing punk with a lo-fi sound.)

"Punk" is certainly the term The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones used to refer to the band in a profile last fall of the L.A. scene that gave rise to No Age, a scene centered on the all-ages downtown space known as the Smell. And punk — at least their understanding of it — is a word guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/vocalist Dean Spunt have no problem with.

"We take it from the D. Boon [long-departed member of seminal Cali band the Minutemen] idea of punk — the aesthetic where punk is what you make it, that you should be able to do anything," Randall said. "I think that's why a place like the Smell really embodies the true sense of being a punk. It's not about youth culture and Mohawks. It's about believing in yourself and expressing yourself in any unique, personal form you want to do it."

Which is why, Spunt said, as their name suggests, this is a band that's happy to play for very mixed crowds. "I think when we play in L.A., and really all over, it's like the term 'no age' really is true. There's kids who say, 'I like you because it's energetic,' and older people who are like, 'We like it because it reminds us of the '80s or the punk scene.' " He added that the following only expanded in the wake of the aforementioned New Yorker piece: "I mean, we were getting e-mails from people ... women who were, like, 60 and said, 'I just read about you and I just heard your music. You're my favorite. I don't even know what punk rock is, but, wow!' "

Wow, indeed. No Age have had a few "wow" moments in the past couple of years. Spunt and Randall launched the band after the implosion of their previous, decidedly more aggro outfit Wives, bonding over their love of bands like Crass and Captain Beefheart, and vowing to finally make what Spunt calls "the kind of music we really want to listen to, all the time." That music first came out in the form of a series of small-release singles and EPs, and those songs — two-minute blasts of beautiful noise like "Everybody's Down" and "Boy Void" — were compiled and released last year as the band's debut album, Weirdo Rippers. An L.A. reputation for explosive live shows was cemented in October with a performance during CMJ week in New York, again in February with an unhinged set at the newly opened Brooklyn all-ages (of course) venue Market Hotel and the following month, during South by Southwest, where No Age left their mark on Austin, Texas, playing multiple shows, including a late-night mob scene on a pedestrian bridge.

Earlier that day, I caught up with the band to talk about Nouns, a record that may be slightly less left-field than its predecessor, but is every bit as brilliantly raucous — tight pop melodies buried, and sometimes not, in a pounding sheen of sound. That's right, pop — the other "p-word" that No Age are equally at home with. "When we first started the band," Spunt said, "we discussed music, and one of the things we agreed on is, we like catchy songs. We like pop music." They cite Hüsker Dü as inspirations, and even Squeeze, though it took them some time to warm up to the new-wave icons. "I remember when we started listening to their 45's and Under compilation, we felt like cheese balls," Spunt said. "And we were like, 'Guys, listen to this! No, it's awesome!' "

As is Nouns, from its most slamming moments, like "Sleeper Hold" and "Teen Creeps," to the percolating "Things I Did When I Was Dead" and the bright and lively "Here Should Be My Home" and "Cappo." It's sometimes hard to believe this much sound is coming from two guys.

"I feel like you can't just make the same record twice, and we just want, as artists, to continue to evolve and do what we're doing better than we did it last time," Randall said. "So as soon as we finished Nouns, the next day we went back to our home studio and kept writing. Because we were like, we just learned all this stuff making this record — let's make the next one!"

Besides evolution, other principles this principled band is committed to include DIY — motivated again by Mike Watt and the Minutemen's "econo" approach, No Age prefer to handle most of their touring, merch and related concerns themselves — and veganism.

And whatever happens for No Age this year, Randall said any sort of success is all gravy, albeit vegan gravy. "You grow up in L.A., playing the kind of music we do, kind of noise music, and finding that first your parents are nice enough to listen to it, then your friends want to hear it, then you find a community like the Smell, where kids are willing to come listen to you on a hot summer day, and it just kind of keeps growing and growing. And I keep scratching my head, going, 'Maybe the world isn't that big after all.' "

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Madonna Sells Handbag For Half A Million Dollars

Madonna's Chanel handbag sold for almost half a million dollars at a charity auction at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday.
The pop superstar handed over the black alligator-skin diamond bag she had taken to the amFar Cinema Against Aids benefit in the French resort, complete with most of its contents, including lip gloss "that actually touched my lips"; lip balm; a mirror and throat lozenges.
She removed her two cell phones, insisting, "I'm not going to give up my Blackberry and phone because that's too expensive for you."
But it still sold to a mystery buyer for a staggering $471,000 proving more valuable than even a smooch with silver screen idol George Clooney - which sold for $300,000.
Actress Sharon Stone was one of the night's biggest givers, handing over a $100,000 personal donation and then auctioning her own vintage Porsche 911 Targa for $810,000.
The event raised more than $10 million for amfAR's life-saving Aids research programs.