Last week's announcement that Shania Twain and hubby-producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange are splitting up is sad, if not utterly a shock. After all, if anything is part and parcel of country music tradition, it's D-I-V-O-R-C-E. Nevertheless, it's always hard to hear about a marriage that's failed, doubly so when there are kids involved. Of course, celebrity splits are practically a daily occurrence, the baggage that comes with fame and fortune astronomically amplifying the challenges every couple faces in trying to nurture love over the long term.Yet what immediately went through my mind when I heard the news was her 1998 hit "You're Still the One."
Look how far we've come my babyWe mighta took the long wayWe knew we'd get there somedayThey said, "I bet they'll never make it"But just look at us holding onWe're still together still going strong When it went to No. 1 on the country chart, it was a quintessential crystallization of country's shift away from songs that rapple with life's struggles to those that are eager -- perhaps overeager -- to revel in its victories.No doubt country radio stations will continue to play "You're Still the One" when programmers are waxing nostalgic over those halcyon days of the late-'90s, and it probably won't lose its appeal to country fans marking golden wedding anniversaries. But I always marveled that this ode to romantic stability topped the chart shortly after she and Lange celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary. Twain's song doesn't simply highlight country's forsaking of reality for fantasy, but the wish to treat fantasy as reality. It's not as if anyone would care that Twain hadn't been in this relationship long enough even to outlast one of the toasters they surely received as a wedding gift.Contrast this cut-to-the-happy-ending tune with the time-weathered love songs June Carter and Johnny Cash sang to each other in the final years of their lives, after nearly half a century of marital ups and downs.When George Jones sang about "living and dying with the choices I've made" at Stagecoach this month, there wasn't an ounce of calculation or wish fulfillment at work. It's why real people shed real tears as they listened.Music, of course, needn't always be 100% factual any more than all film should be cinéma vérité. But it needs to be rooted in truth, and country music especially thrives on believability. "You're Still the One" might have worked coming from someone like Loretta Lynn, who married Oliver "Mooney" Lynn in 1948 and put her career on hold while caring for him before his 1996 death, despite the considerable shortcomings as a husband and father he'd displayed during their marriage. As Twain moves on with her life and career, here's hoping that the fizzling of the fantasy might just open the door to an honest song about failure.randy.lewis@latimes.com
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Pete Doherty admits cheating drugs tests
Rocker Pete Doherty has confessed to cheating drugs tests before he was locked up in prison.
The ‘Babyshambles’ frontman — who was recently released from London’s Wormwood Scrubs Prison after serving 29 days of his 14 week sentence for breaching probation — said he used to submit other people’s urines for testing before his jail stint, but insists that he legitimately received a certificate indicating he was free of drugs upon his release.
He told the NME: “I was pretty much back into the [heroin] cycle. I was banging it. The only time I tested clean was when I used someone else’s piss. It was a fair cop [going to jail for breaching probation], really.”
See Also
David Lynch Talks About Transcendental Meditation, Red Ants In Space, By Kurt Loder
FAIRFIELD, Iowa — You know you've arrived in Fairfield, a town of some 9,000 souls situated amid the flat corn and soy fields of southeastern Iowa, when you see two great golden domes swelling up into the sky. These mark the site of the Maharishi University of Management, the educational center of the Transcendental Meditation movement founded by the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an Indian spiritual entrepreneur who died in the Netherlands in February. Beneath the domes, separated into contingents of men and women, hundreds of TM adherents arrayed themselves around the floors, practicing group meditation. A TM veteran told me that the domes were also once said to offer vertical maneuvering room for those adepts who achieved a state of levitation, although the possibility of actually rising up into the air, which is still as improbable as ever, is something that's downplayed nowadays.
We arrived in Fairfield just in time for David Lynch Weekend, a tribute to TM's highest-profile exponent. "Transcendental Meditation" (like "TM," a trademarked term) became famous in the 1960s when it attracted such celebrity spiritual seekers as the Beatles and Donovan, both of whom traveled to India to meet the Maharishi in person. The Beatles soon fell out with him, and moved on in a huff; Donovan stuck with it, but today his vintage hits, like "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and "Sunshine Superman," are most widely heard on movie soundtracks. And so now it is Lynch, the director of such singular films as "Eraserhead" and "Blue Velvet," who is the movement's most energetic proselytizer, traveling the world to talk it up, and even publishing a book recently — "Catching the Big Fish" — about his 33 years of TM practice.
We spoke to Lynch on April 26 at the typically cheerful little bed-and-breakfast inn where we were staying. (There are no hotels in Fairfield, and as best we'd been able to ascertain the previous evening, there's only one bar.) The director arrived wearing his usual black suit, its lapels endearingly dotted with cigarette ash. Since he's lately become committed to the use of low-end video cameras in making his movies (the most recent being 2006's "Inland Empire"), one of our group had brought along a tiny new vid-cam in the hope that Lynch might shoot some footage for us. Which he did, bless him. And since one of the reasons he loves this new digital technology is because it allows him to get right in among his actors with performance suggestions and dialogue adjustments while he's shooting, we shot him, too, while conducting the interview. All pretty exciting, for us at least.
That night there was a concert in Lynch's honor in a gymnasium on the university campus that had been fitted out with very professional video, audio and stage-lighting rigs. The show opened with a brief set by a remarkable singer named Chrysta Bell, a sleek blond woman whose lushly atmospheric songs recall the whispery sound of an earlier Lynch collaborator, Julee Cruise. (Bell sang on an "Inland Empire" track called "Polish Poem.") Bell was followed by Moby, another TM practitioner, who did an acoustic set assisted by a second guitarist and a powerful female singer whose voice was reminiscent of Janis Joplin. (After the show, Moby and company headed over to the local high school's prom — which was being upstaged by the Lynch-fest — to perform some more, unannounced.) Topping the bill was Donovan, who has retained the extraordinary vocal vibrato that featured on his old hits, which he ran through at length, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar.
Earlier, Lynch himself had come out onstage to address the crowd — if "address" is the word. Actually, the director had no set speech to give; he only took questions from the audience. This brilliant stratagem allowed him to talk about whatever he wanted, pretty much, and he used his answers to the various inquiries to extol TM's usefulness in relieving stress and unleashing what would probably have to be called positive consciousness. ("Negativity blocks creativity," he said. And "Know everything within and you'll know everything without.") TM has its detractors — killjoys who call it an exploitative cult. (You can Google them.) Lynch, however, has clearly found the practice of meditating for 20 minutes, twice a day, to be valuable in his work, and he would like to see TM taught in schools — as it is, of course, at Maharishi University.
Unsurprisingly, he got no arguments from the students on hand for his address, who were uniformly adoring. A girl in the audience, an aspiring filmmaker, asked Lynch to free-associate some of his characteristic Lynchian imagery. He came right up with a bunch, including "a bowling ball in space filled with red ants" and "a Buick with 16 15-year-old girls." (Very D.L., that last one.) The girl was impressed. "Awesome," she said.
See Also
Boyz II Men stand up for Simon Cowell
Boyz II Men have defended Simon Cowell over his remarks on 'The X Factor' and 'American Idol'.
The male vocal harmony group told Now Online that they believe Cowell's direct approach is beneficial to those hoping to make it in the music industry.
The said: "He's not always right, but his approach is dead on. He's the most truthful. You have to be very straightforward in this business."
"You gotta learn to speak your mind because if not you get cluttered with everybody else."
"Eventually you start lying and you don't have an identity any more. Whether he's right or wrong, his opinion is his opinion. But a lot of the time he's dead on."
The male vocal harmony group told Now Online that they believe Cowell's direct approach is beneficial to those hoping to make it in the music industry.
The said: "He's not always right, but his approach is dead on. He's the most truthful. You have to be very straightforward in this business."
"You gotta learn to speak your mind because if not you get cluttered with everybody else."
"Eventually you start lying and you don't have an identity any more. Whether he's right or wrong, his opinion is his opinion. But a lot of the time he's dead on."
Tonium Launches Pacemaker Community - The Next Step in the Evolution of Social Networking
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 19 -- Tonium, the Swedish tech
company behind Pacemaker, the pocket-sized DJ system, has announced the
launch of the Pacemaker music community. Hosted on http://www.pacemaker.net , the
Pacemaker music community allows members to upload and legally share the
mixes of their music, created by them using a Pacemaker or the free
Pacemaker Editor software. The Pacemaker music community is the next step
in the evolution in social networking.
Thanks to a unique licensing agreement with music rights societies,
STIM ( http://www.stim.se ) and IFPI ( http://www.ifpi.se ), Tonium is the only company
in the world to be allowed to legally stream any music uploaded to the
Pacemaker music community by users. This allows a unique creativity and
freedom of expression that can be shared between members across the world.
The Pacemaker music community represents a new generation of
music-driven social networking. Members can create their own profile, make
friends with other members, listen to each other's mixes (saving their
favorites within their profile), join fan clubs, post bulletins and leave
comments for each other. With plans to extend the social element further in
the near future, the Pacemaker music community is social networking based
on positivity, creativity and passion, reflecting the ethos of Tonium.
The concept behind Pacemaker and the Pacemaker music community is to
give everyone the ability to interact with their music and share it with
anyone who wants to listen -- where music fans can share their musical
tastes with the world and also find new music and influences -- with just
the right people in just the right place.
Tonium has made this ability to express yourself through your music
available to everyone, not just those who own a Pacemaker. They have
created the Pacemaker Editor: a free, downloadable PC and MAC compatible
application that allows you to play music, edit and create mixes. You have
complete freedom to be as forward thinking as you like with your music.
Create a mix that reflects your mood, call it what you like and publish it
to the listening world. Then sit back and wait for your music to connect
with other music lovers everywhere. The Pacemaker music community allows
for music interaction like never before.
About Tonium:
Tonium is a Swedish company, established by a tightly knit group of
passionate people with a background in music, design and engineering. With
a flair for innovation, Tonium exists as a company dedicated to promoting
the sharing of musical tastes in a socially engaging context.
http://www.tonium.com
See Also
company behind Pacemaker, the pocket-sized DJ system, has announced the
launch of the Pacemaker music community. Hosted on http://www.pacemaker.net , the
Pacemaker music community allows members to upload and legally share the
mixes of their music, created by them using a Pacemaker or the free
Pacemaker Editor software. The Pacemaker music community is the next step
in the evolution in social networking.
Thanks to a unique licensing agreement with music rights societies,
STIM ( http://www.stim.se ) and IFPI ( http://www.ifpi.se ), Tonium is the only company
in the world to be allowed to legally stream any music uploaded to the
Pacemaker music community by users. This allows a unique creativity and
freedom of expression that can be shared between members across the world.
The Pacemaker music community represents a new generation of
music-driven social networking. Members can create their own profile, make
friends with other members, listen to each other's mixes (saving their
favorites within their profile), join fan clubs, post bulletins and leave
comments for each other. With plans to extend the social element further in
the near future, the Pacemaker music community is social networking based
on positivity, creativity and passion, reflecting the ethos of Tonium.
The concept behind Pacemaker and the Pacemaker music community is to
give everyone the ability to interact with their music and share it with
anyone who wants to listen -- where music fans can share their musical
tastes with the world and also find new music and influences -- with just
the right people in just the right place.
Tonium has made this ability to express yourself through your music
available to everyone, not just those who own a Pacemaker. They have
created the Pacemaker Editor: a free, downloadable PC and MAC compatible
application that allows you to play music, edit and create mixes. You have
complete freedom to be as forward thinking as you like with your music.
Create a mix that reflects your mood, call it what you like and publish it
to the listening world. Then sit back and wait for your music to connect
with other music lovers everywhere. The Pacemaker music community allows
for music interaction like never before.
About Tonium:
Tonium is a Swedish company, established by a tightly knit group of
passionate people with a background in music, design and engineering. With
a flair for innovation, Tonium exists as a company dedicated to promoting
the sharing of musical tastes in a socially engaging context.
http://www.tonium.com
See Also
Property Problems As Stars Fail To Sell
Los Angeles' struggling property market is beginning to give the celebrities a headache - many are struggling to sell their homes.
Sharon Stone, Angela Bassett and Frankie Muniz have each been forced to lower the asking price on their properties in a desperate effort to sell them.
Stone fears she'll have to let her Beverly Hills home go for a loss, relisting it at $10 million (GBP5 million) - that's $1 million (GBP500,000) less than she paid for the property, according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
The actress never actually lived in the mansion she renovated, according to the publication.
Meanwhile Bassett and her husband Courtney B. Vance have drastically reduced the asking price on their Hancock Park home, which features five bedrooms and its own hair salon, from $6 million (GBP3 million) to $4.6 million (GBP2.3 million).
And former Malcolm in The Middle star Muniz is struggling to sell his Hollywood Hills property after placing it on the market for $3.7 million (GBP1.85 million) - almost $200,000 (GBP100,000) less than his original asking price late last year (07).
See Also
Timbuktu
Artist: Timbuktu
Genre(s):
Rap: Hip-Hop
Discography:
Oberoendeframkallande
Year: 2007
Tracks: 15
The Botten Is Nadd
Year: 2003
Tracks: 12
Timbuktu has earned a reputation as Sweden's most influential political hip-hop and tap crossing creative person, called by some "the rapper fifty-fifty your grandma knows." Born January 11, 1975, Jason Michael Robinson Diakite's African-American father and Swedish mother played out clock time living in both Sweden and Chile. His multiethnic and transnational upbringing open him to a wide variety show of melodic styles and influences. He began rapping in the early '90s, quickly becoming a fixture in the Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Malmö live rap music scenes. Writing lyrics in Scanian and English, Timbuktu teamed up with a Danish rapper in the mid-'90s to form the multilingual yoke Excel. The partner off released unitary album, entitled Lustrous Lights Big City, earlier disbanding. Timbuktu's solo life history was initiated by the release of T2: Kontrakultur in 2000. Refusing to weewee down his lyrics for commercial success like so many of his American counterparts, Timbuktu chop-chop earned a reputation as a voice of political dissent and challenge. His confrontational lyrics and inclusion of musical influences like common people, megrims, reggae, and West African styles made the music both hard to categorise and wildly pop. An brutal chart presence and regular performance schedule over the track of several age made Timbuktu Norway and Sweden's most famous urban voice. By the 2007 sack of Oberoendeframkallande, Timbuktu had racked up foursome original album releases backed by his possess Juju Records.
Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse recording 'a truckload of stuff'
Pete Doherty has confirmed that he is currently recording with Amy Winehouse.
The Babyshambles frontman also explained why the two posted a video of themselves handling newborn mice on the internet.
Claiming Winehouse is currently "recording loads of new stuff", Doherty told BBC News: "I kind of took a bit of a back seat. She said: 'Listen to this new song, listen to this new song, record this, record this'.
"I've got a truckload of some of her stuff and I'm going through it."
Commenting on the controversy surrounding the pair's YouTube video, which they dubbed 'Winemouse', Doherty said: "One of the mice gave birth, didn't it? I think it was Jennifer. She was really fond of them."
The Babyshambles singer also explained how he wished to take a small break from performing after his release from prison, but then performed with the band at London's Kentish Town Forum shortly after (May 13), saying: "I thought I was going to have a bit of time doing nothing at all. That was the plan but I was straight back into things."
Babyshambles also took part in the charity Soccer Six football tournament this weekend (May 17-18), but lost 3-1 to Faithless in the final.
The Babyshambles frontman also explained why the two posted a video of themselves handling newborn mice on the internet.
Claiming Winehouse is currently "recording loads of new stuff", Doherty told BBC News: "I kind of took a bit of a back seat. She said: 'Listen to this new song, listen to this new song, record this, record this'.
"I've got a truckload of some of her stuff and I'm going through it."
Commenting on the controversy surrounding the pair's YouTube video, which they dubbed 'Winemouse', Doherty said: "One of the mice gave birth, didn't it? I think it was Jennifer. She was really fond of them."
The Babyshambles singer also explained how he wished to take a small break from performing after his release from prison, but then performed with the band at London's Kentish Town Forum shortly after (May 13), saying: "I thought I was going to have a bit of time doing nothing at all. That was the plan but I was straight back into things."
Babyshambles also took part in the charity Soccer Six football tournament this weekend (May 17-18), but lost 3-1 to Faithless in the final.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)