74th Academy Awards
Whoopi's Open
Host Whoopi Goldberg gives her opening monologue at the 74th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 24, 2002, in Los Angeles. It is the fourth
time the Oscar-winning actress has hosted the event.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian
Reader Review
Steeleye Span: Part V
By Dave Romm
Merely listing all the albums by members of Steeleye Span would be a daunting task, so I'm just going to mention a few of Maddy Prior's efforts. Many of her recordings are available at from her British catalogue site. You can still find the lyrics to almost all SSpan and Prior songs here..
Silly Sisters was originally just a epynomous CD done by June Tabor and Maddy Prior in 1977 while Steeleye Span was on hiatus. Maddy and June are two of the finest singers around, with very different styles, but their voices blend so well, and in such unlikely keys. They're backed by some great musicians, including Martin Carthy and Nic Jones. The songs range from British Isle politics to a wife (June and Maddy alternating in a duet) bemoaning My Husband's Got No Courage In Him and other barely concealed baudy imagery. The centerpiece of the album, to me, is The Grey Funnel Line, referring to the British Navy. A sad, melancholy song of an impressed sailor too long at sea. This is not the usual celtic album of drinking songs or men having a quick one with a young maid. Many of the songs are slow, and most of them are earthy and all of them are gorgeously sung and performed. It's been one of my favorite albums for a long time.
Somewhat to everyone's surprise, twelve years later Prior and Tabor got together and released a second Silly Sister's album, No More To The Dance. At first, I didn't think highly of this one, since the first was such a large part of my life, but it's been growing on me. A more upbeat album overall, it still has nice long slow ballads and sad songs. No one comes to woo the daughter of the Hedger and Ditcher, and two people can't do the round Cakes and Ale any better (and probably not in that key). Not the first album one should get as an introduction to this style of music, but definitely worth getting to fill out a collection.
Maddy Prior really gets into the religious music of Gaudete and The Seven Joys of Mary. She's recorded four albums (that are listed here) with the Carnival Band, but they're imports and I could only afford one so went with A Tapestry of Carols. Most of the songs are done well, including God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, with traditional instruments and arrangements. The psaltry (I think) and sweet fiddle in Ding Dong Merrily On High and the country fiddle in Angels From the Realms of Glory will cleanse the musical palate from too many elevator rides and shopping mall visits too close to Christmas. This isn't really my kind of music, but if it were, this would be my kind of album. Reverent and playful; I assume the other Carnival Band collaborations are similar.
Maddy and SSpan basist Rick Kemp are married, so it seems only natural they have an album called Happy Families. The music isn't celtic and hops effortlessly from style to style. My favorite song is Alex, slowly and lovingly sung by Maddy, about letting go of her son. It feels like a vanity album done by some exceptionally talented people.
Next up, taking a break (possibly for a long time) from the rest of the Steeleye Span discography: The Flash Girls and some of their friends.
Dave Romm is a conceptual artist with a radio show and a web site and a very weird CD collection. He reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E here.
Thanks, Dave!
He's Been At It Again!
The Worried Shrimp
Have a look at the new National ID for CHICKEN HAWKS!
CHICKEN HAWK ID
That's our Worried Shrimp, growing the chicken hawk data base higher... ; )
Thanks, TWS!
74th Academy Awards
Sally Kirkland
Actress Sally Kirkland arrives for the 74th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 24, 2002, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Laura Rauch
From 'TBH Politoons'
Great Site!
Thanks, again, Tim!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Watched the Oscars. 'Nuff said.
But, I listened to Erin's online radio show, too.
Tonight, Monday, CBS is all fresh with 'King Of Queens', 'Baby Bob',
'Raymond', 'Becker', and 'Family Law'.
NBC is also fresh with 'Fear Factor', 'Just Shoot Me', 'Colin Quinn',
and 'Crossing Jordan'.
ABC fills an hour with another god-forsaken rerun of something they consider 'America's Funniest Videos',
then the series premiere of 'The Bachelor', followed by a rerun of 'Crossing Jordan'.
The WB has a rerun '7th Heaven' and a fresh 'Glory Days'.
Faux has a rerun 'Boston Public' and then a fresh 'The American Embassy'.
UPN has a fresh night with 'The Hughleys', 'One On One', 'The Parkers', and 'Girlfriends'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
74th Academy Awards
Uma Thurman
Actress Uma Thurman poses for photographers as she arrives at the 74th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 24, 2002, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Doug Mills
The Tale Of The Necklace
Whoopi Goldberg
Oscar host Whoopi Goldberg had a bit of trouble this week with her outfit for the awards ceremony. The comedienne was all set to wear
the ornate, one-of-a-kind necklace Nicole Kidman wore in "Moulin Rouge" - an 18-carat white-gold confection studded with 1,308 diamonds.
But there was one small problem. "Whoopi's neck is twice the size of Nicole's," said a necklace expert. The million-buck bauble - dubbed
"Satine" after Kidman's character in the big-screen musical - was sent back to the maker for "surgery," and more diamonds had to be found
to make it several sizes larger.
Whoopi Goldberg
74th Academy Awards
Gwyneth Paltrow
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow poses upon her arrival for the 74th Academy Awards March 24, 2002. Paltrow will be presenting at this year's awards.
Photo by Fred Prouser
Health News
Kathleen Turner
Actress Kathleen Turner says she's recovering after being stricken with the painful illness, rheumatoid arthritis.
She says she's taking drugs to control the symptoms and has launched a Web campaign with drug manufacturer Immunex to encourage people
to get an early diagnosis.
Turner, the star of such films as "Prizzi's Honor" and "Romancing the Stone," is returning to the Broadway stage for an adaptation of "The
Graduate," opening April 4.
Kathleen Turner
74th Academy Awards
Sharon Stone
Actress and presenter Sharon Stone waves as she arives with her husband, newspaper publisher Phil Bronstein, at the 74th annual Academy Awards on
Sunday, March 24, 2002, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Laura Rauch
Pretty Vs. Smart?
Chris Kattan
Chris Kattan is sick of his pretty cohorts at "Saturday Night Live." After sharing so much spotlight with hunky Jimmy Fallon and lovely Tina
Fey, Kattan fumes in the upcoming issue of Gear, "It's 'SNL,' not 'Friends'! . . . There's an aspect of 'SNL' that's turning into Seventeen
magazine and maybe losing a little of the humor. I don't think there's ever been a better-looking cast. I don't think John Belushi was a sex
god, and I don't think people tuned in to see what Chevy Chase's hair looked like from week to week."
Chris Kattan
74th Academy Awards
Randy Newman
Song writer Randy Newman poses with wife Gretchen after arriving to the 74th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California on March 24, 2002.
Newman won Best Original Song for his music 'If I Didn't Have You,' from the film 'Monsters, Inc.
Photo by Win McNamee
Great Site
Our Friend, Maru
Weblog of Evil
74th Academy Awards
Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand
Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand pose for photographers with Redford's honorary Oscar trophy during the 74th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 24, 2002 in Los Angeles.
Photo by Doug Mills
Directing Promos For E!
Robert Altman
A decade after he skewered Hollywood with The Player, Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning director Robert Altman has signed on for another inside-Tinseltown gig,
this time directing TV promos for E!
The 30-second promos will pay homage to classic moments in movie history, featuring the stars in everyday settings reenacting famous scenes: Hoffman will recite
lines from his role in The Graduate while staring at himself in a bathroom mirror and pulling back his facial skin to make himself look younger; McCormack will
deliver lines from The Godfather's Don Corleone as he prepares dinner in his kitchen; Driver will play Hannibal Lecter in a scene from The Silence of the Lambs;
and Rhames will do his best Bobby De Niro for a scene from Taxi Driver.
The spots, which are said to be the legendary (and maverick) filmmaker's first commercial work in the United States (he directed a European spot last
year), will debut during E!'s pre-Oscar show. The Academy Awards Countdown kicks off at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT, and Joan and Melissa Rivers' live red-carpet
coverage will air from 6-8 p.m. ET/3-5 p.m. PT.
Robert Altman
74th Academy Awards
Halle Berry
Halle Berry reacts to winning the Oscar for Best Actress during the 74th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood March 24, 2002. Berry won the Academy
Award for her role in the film "Monster's Ball."
Photo by Gary Hershorn
Oops, She Did It Again!
Britney Spears
Apparently pop princess Britney Spears came pretty darn close to burning down--well, not the house--but a New York City apartment building a few days ago.
The tidbit comes courtesy of the latest edition of Lynne's Corner, a diary written by Spears' mom that appears on the singer's Website,
BritneySpears.com.
According to Ma Spears' weekly update, published Wednesday, Britney nearly torched the apartment she was staying in by leaving a candle burning while she
and a pal went out.
Spears was in town for a four-day vacation with one of her friends (identified only as "Jenny" on the Website). The two spent the time hopscotching around
Manhattan, taking in the best that teenybopper stardom can buy.
"Brit had left a candle burning in front of an air vent," Lynne Spears recounts. "The wall caught on fire, and the fire department had to come to put it out."
When Britney and buddies returned, says Lynne, "they all came [home] to a real mess!"
While the damage wasn't extensive, it was a case of oops!-I-did-it-again for the budding pyro.
Spears' mother reveals that Britney's candle fetish sparked an earlier fire in the family's Louisiana home. Lynne Spears says her famous kid
somehow set her bathroom aflame with a misplaced candle.
"She has really learned a lesson this time," says the Spears matriarch. "I love candles, too, and I have to remind myself to really be cautious with them."
Britney Spears
74th Academy Awards
Whoopi Goldberg
Host of the Academy Awards Whoopi Goldberg covers a statuette of Oscar while joking the Attorney General had called claiming it was distracting him, during the
74th annual Academy Awards Sunday, March 24, 2002, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian
Moving To The Back To The Big TV Refrigerator
'Watching Ellie'
Sure, fewer people are actually Watching Ellie these days, but the new NBC comedy is not--we repeat, not--getting canned because of poor ratings.
Or so the Peacock network tells us, after it confirmed it's yanking the new Julia Louis-Dreyfus series from its schedule. NBC reps announced this week
that Ellie will wrap up its run on April 2, to be replaced on Tuesday nights at 8:30 p.m. by reruns of Will & Grace and original episodes of Three Sisters.
Despite a promising February 26 debut--averaging 17 million viewers--the Seinfeld alum's quirky real-time show has taken a dive. Tuesday's turnout was
down some 40 percent from its premiere, nabbing 9.5 million viewers and marking the show's third week in decline.
But NBC--ever wary of that dreaded "Seinfeld curse" talk--insists it had always planned to wrap Ellie early, shelving seven episodes from its original
13-episode order. Dreyfus has only agreed to produce 15 shows per year, and execs were supposedly hoping to save the extra episodes and add them to next
season's 15-episode order, thereby making a full season.
Of course, NBC never announced those plans publicly. But whatever the case, it's clear that more people are going to have to start watching Ellie if it's
going to make it to season two. The comedy, starring Dreyfus as an Elaine-esque Los Angeles lounge singer, has also taken a slide in the ratings among
adults 18-49, the demographic craved by advertisers.
In other cancellation news this week, the ratings-starved ABC announced it's pulling The Wayne Brady Show and My Wife and Kids from its schedule.
The network is planning to unveil several new shows next week, including The Bachelor on Monday, The Court on Tuesday and The George Lopez Show on Wednesday.
'Watching Ellie'
74th Academy Awards
Halle Berry
Halle Berry gives one last thumbs-up gesture as she and Denzel Washington leave backstage at the 74th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 24,
2002, in Los Angeles. Berry won best actress for her role in "Monster's Ball" and Washington won best actor for his role in "Training Day."
Photo by Mark J. Terrill
Boycotting Cincinnati
Whoopi Goldberg
Actress Whoopi Goldberg has become the latest celebrity to support an economic boycott of the city of Cincinnati.
The comedian canceled her sold-out June 12 speech as part of a lecture series about women with unique lives, said Bob Benia, producer of the series.
He said Goldberg requested information about the boycott after he told her about it.
Goldberg joins a growing list of black artists who have backed out of performances in response to the boycott, including actor-comedian Bill Cosby,
jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and R&B singer Smokey Robinson.
The call for a boycott began after riots broke out last April when a white police officer fatally shot an unarmed black man fleeing police.
Boycotting Cincinnati
An Independent Man
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings was remembered for his independent spirit Saturday, with friends like Kris Kristofferson and Travis Tritt singing the praises and
songs of the iconoclastic country music star.
Tritt praised Jennings' "refusal to do anything other than his own way, his ability to put one foot firmly in the realm of traditional country
music, and the other in the middle of rock 'n' roll, and stand his ground."
Tritt, Kristofferson, Billy Ray Cyrus, David Lee Murphy and the band Stargunn — led by Jennings' son Shooter — were among the performers at
Saturday's memorial service at the Ryman Auditorium.
The stage was draped with the black backdrop with silver "W" logo from Jennings' road show. His black guitar was displayed topped with his black
cowboy hat, and red rose pedals were strewn nearby.
Video montages showed Jennings at various times in his career, and statements were read from Paul Simon, Graham Nash, Neil Diamond and other musicians.
The two-hour service ended with the last song Jennings wrote and recorded, titled "The Dream."
Jennings, 64, one of country music's most enduring and distinctive hitmakers, died Feb. 13. He had suffered diabetes-related health problems for years,
and had his left foot amputated in December.
Jennings, whose career stretched back to his days playing bass for Buddy Holly in the 1950s, shed the clean-cut image of his early career for an unkempt,
dangerous aura. His music included rough-hewn but good-natured odes like "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," "Luckenbach" and "Good Hearted Woman."
Among the artists Jennings influenced were Tritt, Charlie Daniels and Steve Earle. Many young people were introduced to Jennings in the 1970s when he narrated
the popular TV show "The Dukes of Hazzard" and sang its theme song.
Jennings recorded 60 albums and had 16 No. 1 country singles in a career that spanned five decades. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October.
Waylon Jennings Tribute
Waylon Jennings site
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In Memory
R. Mowry Mann
R. Mowry Mann, the advertising executive who created the "crying Indian" television campaign in the early 1970s, died Thursday. He was 57.
Mann ran Greenwich Publishing Group Inc., which published corporate histories of Eddie Bauer, Kimberly-Clark, the New York Stock Exchange and other companies.
Mann started his advertising career at Marstellar Inc., where he created his signature ad featuring Iron Eyes Cody for the country's first
Earth Day in 1971. The ad showed Cody, an actor who was the son of Italian immigrants, paddling a canoe along a polluted stream.
Cody, who reacted to the dirtied stream by shedding a tear, was credited with helping launch the modern environmental movement.
R. Mowry Mann
BartCop TV!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
