Entertainment News - Friday, 27 July, 2001

Entertainment News - Friday

Update

     The 4 actors, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford and John 
Spencer, received a pay increase, and agreed to stay with the show for an 
extra year (though its 7th season).  Their salaries will be within $70,000 
per episode range (a little less than the $90,000 they wanted).

     Also, Stockard Channing (Mrs. Bartlett), sealed a deal to move from 
recurring part to a regular on the series.

     To read more on 'The West Wing', visit The West Wing

Thanks for the Update, Alex

Fun Link

In The News

Bonnie Raitt, Others, Arrested in Illinois Protest

     Police on Wednesday arrested 20 peaceful activists, including singer Bonnie Raitt, who 
were demonstrating against logging practices outside an office products company.  The protesters, 
who also included former Doors drummer John Densmore and activist and author Julia ``Butterfly'' Hill, 
staged a well-orchestrated sit-in outside the headquarters of Boise Cascade Office Products in Itasca, 
a suburb of Chicago.
     They were handcuffed and led away and later charged with disorderly conduct, a crime punishable 
by a small fine, and released from the city jail.

To read more, Bonnie Raitt

Fun Link - Warning: Vulgar Language, But, It's OK....It's Larry King

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More on 'Charlie' (the Musical)

VINCENT Bugliosi, the Charles Manson prosecutor who penned the blockbuster "Helter Skelter" 
about the gruesome murders, is set to produce a big-budget movie based on his classic 
true-crime tome. Bugliosi says it will have "at least a $50 million budget" and feature "A-list" stars 
playing Manson, Squeaky Fromme, Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate and Bugliosi himself. 

To read more, NY Post-Page 6

Fun Link

Reader Review

The Best Albums You Never Heard

1.	The Subhumans - Incorrect Thoughts and/or Pissed Off (with Good Reason)
                These guys meant it, maaaaaan. Arising from the relative backwater of Vancouver, 
           B.C., in 1979, the Subs recorded one great album, one lesser record, a handful of 
           singles and, in the '90s, a rerecorded compilation album with live tracks from a reunion 
           tour.  They took on the Kristian Koalition gang (Firing Squad, Inquisition Day), freepers 
           (Death to the Sickoids (or Death to You) and Model of Stupidity), American imperialism 
           (America Commits Suicide, Let's All Go Down to Hollywood (and Shoot People), the 
           stultifying effect of the capitalist system (I Don't Fit in the Big Picture and 
           Googleplex), sexism (Slave to My Dick) and dozens of other topics. If they received 
           any notoriety outside a small, rabid audience, it came when bass player Gerry Useless 
           (nee Hannah) served five years when his radical ecological group bombed a power plant 
           on Vancouver Island and a military contracting plant owned by Litton Industries 
           outside Toronto.
                Hannah, singer Wimpy Roy (Brian Goble, later to join D.O.A) and drummer Dimwit 
           (the late Ken Montgomery) wrote most of the songs, and the band's crunchy Clash-like 
           punk remains, in its purity and pungent social criticism. "Don't be surprised when 
           they close down the schools and take their children away," they sang in Inquisition 
           Day. "It's gonna be painful when you realize you're not immune from the fascist disease." 
                Their records go in and out of print, but for good, tuneful punk with amazingly 
           prescient lyrics (most of their material was recorded in 1979 and 1980), you can't go 
           wrong seeking the Subs out.

2.	Forever More - Words on Black Plastic. 
                Country label RCA struck it rich with the Jefferson Airplane, and immediately 
           searched out unsigned rock acts, which it promptly failed to promote, and most failed. 
           Including this Scottish version of the Beatles, which later mutated into the Average 
           White Band. Featuring two strong singer/songwriters (guitarist Mick Travis and bassist 
           Alan Gorrie). Their first effort, Yours Forever More, bore one of the tackiest covers 
           ever developed for a rock record, a kitschy valentine replete with cherubim and hearts 
           and cut-out blurry photos of the band, and it sank without a trace. Except a friend 
           bought it and gave it to me. The cleverly named Words on Black Plastic was released in 
           1970, and bears a certain resemblance to the Beatles' Abbey Road, understated but 
           highly musical. It too sank without a trace and neither record has ever been rereleased 
           on vinyl or CD. Lovers of clever, sophisticated and tuneful pop music will adore either. 
           I prefer Words.

3.	Ed Kuepper - Everybody's Got To. 
                Actually, this is just one of many from Ed that I could recommend.  The former 
           Saints (the Australian Ramones) guitarist has become his own cottage industry, 
           spinning out a bewildering series of releases from his home studio in Melbourne, 
           most available on his website for some ridiculous price. This was his first 
           and only U.S. release, and it is a surprisingly accessible essay into languid blues and 
           rock. He and frontman Chris Bailey had the usual rancorous split, with Bailey retaining 
           the Saints brand name (Kuepper, in revenge, formed The Aints for a time), and both have 
           continued to produce interesting, varied music. If your idea of fun is covers like a 
           slow-blues remake of the Kinks' "The Last of the Steam-Powered Trains," give Ed a look. 

Fun Link

Where's Jenna?

     Just because Jenna Bush's driver's license was suspended after she pleaded no contest 
to underage alcohol possession and using false ID to obtain a margarita, it doesn't follow 
that the First Daughter has to stop having a good time.

     And that's what witnesses said she was having Saturday at screenwriter Robert Towne's 
house in Los Angeles. The 19-year-old twin is working as an intern at high-powered Hollywood 
management firm Brillstein-Grey, and on Saturday she attended a 21st-birthday party for 
Towne's daughter, Kate. Actors Jared Leto, Balthazar Getty and Danny Masterson were there, 
along with some female strippers, according to eyewitnesses.

     Bush seemed to be having a really swell time, sources said, while her Secret Service 
detail sat outside Towne's house in a parked car. 

Reps at the White House declined comment.
New York Daily News

Reader Review

"Ben Folds, "Rockin' The Suburbs"


Trey Rates It:                89 out of 100

	"Everybody knows it sucks to grow up," sings Ben Folds to his son on "Still Fighting 
It", and so epitomizes a general theme of despising maturity that permeates Folds' brilliant, 
original, and engrossing new solo album. As Folds' voice softly echoes over every piano piece 
on Rockin' the Suburbs, his lyrics cut like a knife with every word containing a unique emotion. 
Rockin' the Suburbs is less twelve different songs, as it is twelve different stories. "Fred 
Jones Pt. 2" tells the story of a man lamenting his imminent retirement. A "textbook hippie-man" 
suffering a mid-life crisis is asked "How's it feel to be the man?" after years of fighting power 
on "The Ascent of Stan." And so Suburbs dishes out case after case of people wrestling with the 
pain of aging. Strangely, the only weak song on this album is the title track and first single 
"Rockin' the Suburbs", not because it's a poorly crafted song, but because it seems completely 
out of place being a guitar-driven rock song.

Not only is Folds an incredibly talented songwriter, he can also play a mean piano that rivals 
such modern-day pianists as Elton John and Billy Joel. Somehow Folds is able to throw in peppy 
piano hooks while playing throughout his festival of agony, and some of the melodies will take 
weeks to pry out of your mind. Take Folds' fun and catchy ride through distress and come out 
feeling healthier on the other side. -- Trey Beats (July 23, 2001)

Fun Link

Reader Review

Courtesy of NBC

Law & Order

     "In the Criminal Justice system, the people are represented by two separate but equally
important groups: the police, who investigate the crime, and the district attorneys, who 
prosecute the offenders.  These are their stories."

	In 1990, NBC picked up a new drama series entitled "Law and Order".  The show is a 
criminal drama.  Each episode follows a crime.   In the first half of the show, police 
investigates the crime and apprehends the suspect.  In the second half, the district 
attorney's office prosecutes the offenders.  The story always concentrates on the crime 
at hand, and the investigation.  The characters of the show are never really given personal 
lives, only professional.  The show quickly became a huge success.  Over the years it has 
won a number of awards.  In 1997 they picked up an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, and 
have been nominated a record 10 times for that award.  In 1994 GLAAD Media Award for 
Outstanding Drama, and also a handful of Edgar Allan Poe Awards for Best Television Episode. 

	What attracts views to the show week after week, year after year?  In my opinion it's 
the reality of the show.  The storylines that are presented to us every week are taken 
straight from the headlines.  Let's look at some of the stories told by the writers and 
actors of "Law and Order".   Last season there was an episode about a woman being murdered 
by mistake.  The bullet was actually meant for a report investigating election fraud.  
An episode in May dealt with a shoot out in a New York high school.  One of the February 
episodes covered an investigation of a hate crime murder.  A woman is murdered, after 
many others are assaulted during a parade.  And there are many more others.

	In 1999 "Law and Order" created a spin-off series.  "Law and Order: Special Victims 
Unit" quickly became a hit.  It was the only rookie series from the 1999-2000 season to 
get a multi-year contract, through May 2002.  This fall the viewers will be introduced 
to yet another "Law and Order" franchise: "Law and Order: Criminal Intent".   As 
"Law and Order" prepares to enter its 12th season, it holds the title of the longest 
running television drama series.  Currently, the show is renewed until May 2005.     

	Over the year "Law and Order" has gone through many cast changes.  The only 
original member of the show, Steven Hill (DA Adam Shiff), left the show in 2000 and 
was replaced by Dianne Wiest as DA Nora Lewin.  Most recently, many viewers (myself 
included) were saddened by departure of the wonderful Angie Harmon (ADA Abbie 
Carmichael).  She will be replaced by Elisabeth Rohm (ADA Serena Southerland) starting 
this season.  The other cast members include: Jerry Orbach (Det. Lennie Briscoe), 
Jesse L. Martin (Det. Ed Green), S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren), and 
Sam Waterston (EADA Jack McCoy).


For more information, visit Law & Order
 

'Thinking Inside The Box'


     I dunno. As a rule, I don't care for box sets. Usually, I have most of what's 
on offer on vinyl or CD, and I'll be damned if I'm going to shell out $70 for six 
b-sides and that rare first single and a booklet written by some sycophantic rock 
critic looking to pick up a few bucks on the side.

     Does the world need a Tom Petty box? If you like him, just pop on the CDs and 
hit shuffle play. Same effect.

     Of course, there are boxes and there are boxes. Of the 15 or so I have purchased, 
only 3 have reached the level of essential, but those three are totally essential. 
They are, in order, the Smithsonian Institute's "Harry Smith" set, Lenny Kaye's 
"Nuggets" collection, and "Datapanik in Year Zero," by Cleveland's ridiculously 
prolific and terminally odd Pere Ubu. (Sorry, jazz fans, I know your genre is 
knee-deep in great boxes, but that falls outside my ken.)

     Until recently, you had to be Elvis Costello (who owns one copy) or be willing 
to forgo a new car to own the Harry Smith set. Smith wandered the American south in 
the 1930s, picking up obscure local recordings, often purchased from jukebox owners 
or culled from rural radio stations, and eventually compiled them on a set of LPs 
in the early 1950s. The enormous size of the set meant that only the wealthy or 
larger libraries could afford copies and only 1,000 or so were ever pressed. While 
some of the artists represented (Mississippi John Hurt, for one) are still well-known 
today, most are lost to us and their contributions on this box may be the only work 
that survives. And what work it is. From hardcore country to deep Delta blues, the 
set ties together the roots of rock'n'roll in a way that would be impossible to 
recreate any other way. For those without the bucks, former New York Doll David 
Johansen recently released a CD of cover versions of his favorites from the set, 
with an all-star band dubbed the Harry Smiths. Also recommended.

     Nuggets was a revolutionary album when it was released on Elektra in the early 
70s. The work of sometimes critic, more times St. Mark's Sounds record clerk Lenny 
Kaye, who later found fame with Patti Smith, the double album sold respectably and 
was later rereleased as a budget set. It featured, primarily, well-known "artyfacts 
from the psychedelic era" including the Remains' Don't Look Back and the Seeds' 
Pushin' Too Hard, along with a few regional obscurities, like Mouse and the Traps' 
Dylanish "A Public Execution." Original copies of the set quickly became minor 
collectors' items. The box, however, blows the original release away. If you have 
never heard the Nightcrawlers or the Elastik Band or The Mystery Trend, well, 
there's three additional discs full of scuzzy, disaffected, barely competent but 
STOMPING garage rock made by scuzzy, disaffected and barely competent teenagers. 
Bad attitude times three chords can be exhilarating, and nothing brings that home 
like this Rhino box set. Take this, move back in with mom, and drive her crazy all 
over again. 

     Pere Ubu, Cleveland's finest, are more admired than listened to. I happen to 
have their early singles, released on their own Hearthan label, but outside the 
midwest, these guys were just considered weirdos instead of the geniuses they 
were, or rather, are. David Thomas, the squeaky voiced singer and main songwriter, 
stumbled around the stage, beating a wheezy accordion, and every song threatened 
to dissolve into chaos. Their recorded output, almost all on obscure or self-owned 
labels, never tore up the charts, or even got college radio play. Too quirky, too 
difficult and even in the open-minded world of punk, not guitar-driven enough for 
the hardcore. But today, their music sounds refreshing, coherent and eminently 
satisfying. They might be compared to a punk-rock Captain Beefheart, who also 
failed to sell records during his brief but brilliant recording career. This box 
collects 96 tracks on five discs, including early singles, album tracks, live 
recordings and the work of precursor bands like Electric Eels and Rocket from 
the Tombs.  Selling for about $45, it's a bargain. Start anywhere and prepare to 
be amazed at the innovation and sheer creativity of one of America's best and 
longest-lasting alterna-art rockers. 

     Coming soon is what is sure to become the fourth indispensable box in my 
collection. Robert Quine, who is best-known for his work with Richard Hell and 
the Voidoids and later as Lou Reed's touring guitarist, began life, evidently, 
as the Velvet Underground's unofficial recordist, at least when they were on tour 
near Quine's Dallas home. The double LP, Velvet Underground, 1969, probably arises 
from Quine's tapes. And, evidently, there were many more. A box set of these 
previously unavailable live recordings is due next month, and if the 1969 
recording is any indication, these were meticulously recorded. Rumor has it 
that there are recordings dating back to shows with original bassist/violist 
John Cale in the band. More news as it emerges.

Do you have a great album no one's heard? 
How about a favorite TV show, movie, book, play, cartoon, or legal amusement?  
A popular artist that just plain pisses you off (Britny and N'Sync don't count, 
they piss off EVERYONE)? 
A box set the whole world should own? 
Vile, filthy rumors about Republican musicians?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors? 
A picture of yourself clad only in panties and sitting on Ben Affleck's lap? 
This is your place.

Send it to this Marty

Don't send it to BC....

Or send it to this Marty


Do NOT send it to BC!
Thank you.



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