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From 'TBH Politoons'
Great Site!
Thanks, again, Tim!
The Best Of Dave Romm's Reviews
Tribute Albums
By Dave Romm
Okay, so you're Rondellus, a renouned Estonian band that plays medieval and renaissance music. Who would you like to pay tribute to in your 14th century stylings? Of course, Black Sabbath.
Quote from their web site: "Sabbatum is a tribute album like no other - 12 Black Sabbath classic songs played by early music band Rondellus and sung in Latin language." (Sorry no links; I tried to access a Black Sabbath site and it crashed my browser...). Frankly, I'm hampered by not being familiar with the Black Sabbath oeuvre. Everyone I've played this CD for those who IS familiar with the group shake their head and mutter, "different arrangement". Even without knowing whether they're good covers or not, I can tell you: The songs are very pretty; gorgeously sung and wonderfully played. Sure, they're in Latin and sure they're arranged for instruments like psaltry and bagpipe when they're not solo voices or intertwining vocal harmonies. Of course.
You can order the CD through them, and they'll ship in the US. While I was initially attracted to them for the novelty (try playing the CD for your friends and asking "what is this a cover of?" None of my radio listeners could guess), I like the songs. Not enough to get me to listen to Black Sabbath, but enough to seek out more medieval music from Rondellus.
Richard and Linda Thompson are considered by many to be the best rock group that never made it big. Richard has been floating around the British folk/rock scene since the Fairport Convention days, and went out on his own with his wife Linda, and then she retired from performing and he settled into a solo career. Beat The Retreat is a tribute album to the songs of Richard Thompson, and like most such compilations the quality varies and which ones are good is probably a matter of individual taste. In retrospect, it's easy to see why Richard Thompson didn't hit the big time but he's loved by his fans: Most songs play to the modalities of sight or sound, and Thompson writes for the modality of kinesthetics. Most of his songs are about movement; to him, life is one big balancing act. My favorite song on the CD is The Great Valerio by (surprise!) Maddy Prior and Martin Carthy. A long, slow, song that I can't listen to frequently but is just the thing when I'm in the mood. June Tabor does well with the title song and Graham Parker and David Byrne to well on The Madness of Love and Just the Motion respectively. Many people contribute, from R.E.M. to Bonnie Raitt, even zydeco from Beausoleil. How much you like each cut is affected by how much you like the style of the individual artist, as well as your feeling for the original song. Definitely recommended for the diehard Richard Thompson fan; probably not the best introduction to his music for the uninitiated. He's worth checking out, but start with Shoot Out the Lights or perhaps the Best of.You can get a video of Simply Mad About the Mouse, but I haven't gone that far. The CD is "A musical celebration of imagination", in other words covers of Disney songs. My favorite cover is Ric Ocasek doing Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, though other versions are worthwhile such as Billy Joel singing When You Wish Upon A Star, Bobby McFerrin singing both parts of The Siamese Cat Song andLL Cool J asking Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. You may like how Harry Connick Jr or En Vogue do their songs; much is individual taste. Perhaps this is more Disney marketing to take over shelf space, but it works. Not really a children's album; more for adults who remember the magic of the songs.
There are many tribute albums, such as For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson and Roger Daltrey: A Celebration, the music of Peter Townshend and the Who that work if you like the originals and appreciate the artists doing the covers. Usually, I prefer originals to earnest covers but prefer creative covers over standard arrangements. Your mileage may vary.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.
Another Update!
'the worried shrimp'
Harken Oil
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Good old Coastal Eddy was doing his job til early afternoon. To have a blanket still on the bed, in Southern California, this time of year, is a great thing!
The bachelor boys were well-fed & sent home with left-overs. All went well, but....this house was built in 1937. We're talking original plumbing, and only 2 electrical outlets in the
kitchen. Nights like this I'd love to be feeding the garbage disposal & then feeding the dishwasher. Sadly, I'm old enough, and rurally-raised enough, to have known people who didn't have
indoor plumbing at all. And grateful to be this far along. When I was 6, one of my sets of grandparents finally gave into a septic system & went porcelain instead of a trek to the outhouse. At the time, I was bummed -
if it was dark, it seemed to be quite an adventure. And, I got to have my own flashlight, and it could be used to read under the covers. Jars of fireflies did not suffice.
Going behind the Orange Curtain to the county fair today. I love fairs. Orange & LA County fairs are a whole lot bigger ticket events than the Elk, McKean & Clearfield county fairs I grew up with. It seems the smaller
the county the cheesier the midway, but the better the food.
BTW, I'm saddened to see so little mention that 33 years ago American astronauts were walking on the moon. I remember the TV on in the background, a beautiful summer night. Turning up the volume & sitting on the 'stoop', and looking at the moon. The promises that
the future held, and what could be accomplished.
Tonight, Monday, CBS reruns 'King Of Queens', 'Yes, Dear', Raymond', and 'Becker'. '48 Hours' follows.
Scheduled on a fresh Dave are Haley Joel Osment, author Bill Scheft, and Dashboard Confessional.
Scheduled on a fresh Craiggers are Oakland A Barry Zito and Chris Isaak.
NBC has a rerun 'Fear Factor', then a fresh 'Dog Eat dog', and then the series premiere of 'Meet My Folks', a new 'reality' show.
Scheduled on a fresh Jay are Michael Caine and Tina Fey.
If it's Monday, Conan is a rerun, and scheduled tonight are Ethan Hawke, Dave Chappelle, and Anthony Bourdain.
Also a rerun tonight is Carson Daly (from 4/17/02), with Sheryl Crow.
ABC opens the night with 'M. Night Shyamalan's Signs Of Fear', where the director/author hosts a look at the most common phobias, and it's followed by
part 2 (of 3) of the tv-version of Stephen King's 'The Shining'.
The WB has reruns of '7th Heaven' and 'Smallville'.
Faux has 2 hours of reruns of 'Grounded For Life'.
UPN here bails for Ruperts Doggers to visit the Sandy Egg-O Padres.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
'Concert of Colors' In Detroit
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Masekela, of South Africa, warms up before performing at the Concert of Colors Saturday, July 20, 2002, at Chene Park in Detroit. The free concert is a
three day music and cultural festival devoted to cultural diversity.
Photo by Paul Warner
Hiring Harmed Dennis Miller
John Madden
Had it not been for John Madden, Dennis Miller may have kept his job on ABC's "Monday Night Football."
The program was planning to go "full-speed ahead" with Miller, Dan Fouts and Eric Dickerson for a third year and was optimistic about the season, producer Fred Gaudelli said Wednesday.
"But when John suddenly became available, I think ABC seized that opportunity to get the very best and that's why the change was made," Gaudelli told the Television Critics Association.
Given the chemistry between Madden and Michaels, "We just decided it was best just to go with those two," Gaudelli said.
Madden left Fox Sports to join ABC under a four-year, $20 million deal.
Then-producer Don Ohlmeyer pulled a surprise when he hired comedian Miller, not known for his football expertise, for the sportscasting job.
Madden's debut is scheduled for the Aug. 5 Hall of Fame preseason game between the New York Giants and first-year Houston Texans. ABC will air the 2003 Super Bowl, Madden's ninth as a broadcaster.
Thank You, John Madden
Interesting Link
Disguises
Disguises
Hemingway Look-Alike Winner
Ron Thomas
He likes fishing and bullfighting and has a white beard, but it took artistry and a lot of sweat to look like Ernest Hemingway.
Ron Thomas donned a cream-colored, wool fisherman's sweater in upper 80-degree temperatures to win the look-alike competition that highlights the Hemingway Days festival.
The Phoenix cartoonist, who also owns a men's hairstyling shop, used his barbering talents to refine his Hemingway look.
The 149 contestants assumed sportsmen's attire and Hemingway-esque machismo for Saturday night's competition at Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West.
The five-day festival, which ended Sunday on the 103rd anniversary of Hemingway's birth, celebrates the late author's Key West lifestyle and literary prowess. This year's event also
commemorated the 50th anniversary of the publication of "The Old Man and the Sea."
Ron Thomas
To Undergo Chemo
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne's colon cancer has spread, and she will begin chemotherapy at the end of this month. The forty-nine-year-old wife of Ozzy Osbourne, and matriarch/star of MTV's
hit show The Osbournes underwent surgery on July 3rd, and a statement issued on July 9th said that she was expected to make a full recovery. However, this week, Osbourne revealed
to People magazine that a lymph node removed at the time of the procedure tested positive for cancer, meaning that the cancer had spread beyond Osbourne's colon.
There is no word yet as to whether Osbourne's three-month chemo treatment will affect this summer's Ozzfest tour. The first two dates of the roving hard-rock festival were postponed when she had surgery.
Plans are for portions of her treatment to be filmed for use in the second season of The Osbournes. The news of her condition came one day after The Osbournes received an Emmy nomination
for Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Reality) by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Sharon Osbourne
Frankfurt, Germany
Christopher Street Day
Wearing neon-pink wigs a group dressed as flight attendants pose at the annual Christopher Street Day gay and lesbian demonstration in central Frankfurt, western
Germany, on Saturday, July 20, 2002. Several thousand participants joined the march through the Frankfurt city center. Seen in background are the Maintower building,
right, and the Deutsche Bank building, left.
Photo by Bernd Kammerer
Interesting Link
Time To Change Jobs?
highest-paying occupations that require only on-the-job training and no degree
OK With Scheduling Conflict
Bernie Mac
Bernie Mac said he can live with Fox's decision to set up a showdown between his sitcom and ABC's "My Wife and Kids," two of the few TV series starring blacks.
He said Fox made a business decision that was not his concern in moving "The Bernie Mac Show" to 8 p.m. EDT Wednesdays, opposite "My Wife and Kids" starring Damon Wayans.
Wayans called and tried to enlist his help in the matter, Mac said.
"That's not my fight," Mac said he told Wayans. He suggested there could be room for both comedies because they attract different viewers.
Bernie Mac
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
To Build Shanghai Park
Disney
The Walt Disney Company has signed a letter of intent with the thriving commercial city of Shanghai to build its third Asian theme park there, the Hong Kong Economic Times reported on Friday.
Citing unidentified sources, the newspaper said details were under discussion and construction of the Shanghai park -- to be built in the city's newly developing Pudong district -- would take
less time than Disney's Hong Kong project.
Sources familiar with the project said Disney had yet to decide with local authorities whether it would be in the capital Beijing or Shanghai, China's richest city.
If the Shanghai park goes ahead, it would be Disney's third in Asia, after the planned Hong Kong theme park and Tokyo Disneyland, which opened in 1983.
The Hong Kong Economic Times report is certain to raise eyebrows in Hong Kong, which hopes its planned US$1.8 billion Disney park will be a magnet for visitors from mainland China, rejuvenate
its flagging tourism industry, provide jobs and motor related sectors such as tourism and retail.
While taxpayers are forking out a HK$22.45 billion (US$2.9 billion) for the park and accompanying infrastructure, Disney will be investing only a fraction of that, or HK$2.45 billion.
Walt Disney Company
Not Just The Zoo Conditions Need Improving
Kabul Zoo
Afghan women in burqas stand in front of a monkey cage in the Kabul zoo, Afghanistan, in this July 19, 2002 photo. China is preparing to send more animals to
Kabul's dilapidated zoo, but some experts say conditions there need to be improved first before subjecting newcomers to such hardships. The sign on the cage
reads: "Monkey."
Photo by Sergei Grits
Ted Koppel's Visit
Dave Letterman
After landing "Late Show" host David Letterman for a rare interview last week, "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel returned the favor Friday by appearing on Letterman's CBS show.
First off, Koppel joined Letterman and band leader Paul Shaffer in playing a silly game called "Will It Float?" Each of them tried to predict what would happen to
a 15-pound bag of charcoal when it was dropped into a tank of water.
Koppel alone guessed it would sink. He was promptly proved wrong.
In March, Letterman rejected an offer to jump to ABC, where his show would have displaced the 22-year-old "Nightline," at the time judged by ABC network execs to
have insufficient youth appeal and diminished relevancy.
Friday, Letterman asked Koppel if there was anything he wanted to say about the incident.
"I've forgotten about it completely," said Koppel, then joked, "my twin brother Kenny is still harboring some resentment toward you."
Dave Letterman
BartCop TV!
Tiny Tidbits
Emmys
It's all the small things that make the Emmys fun. Here's a look at some of the more curious factoids surrounding Thursday's noms:
= People and Us Weekly editors are in heaven: Both Jennifer Aniston and hubby Brad Pitt snagged Emmy nominations Thursday. Aniston snagged a comedy best actress nod for having a baby
on "Friends"; Pitt scored for a guest turn on the skein. Spouses Bradley Whitford ("The West Wing ") and Jane Kaczmarek ("Malcolm in the Middle") are also both up for statuettes.
= For a 13-episode documentary series, R.J. Cutler's "American High" has got more than its share of notice from the TV Academy.
= "American High" garnered its second consecutive nomination in the outstanding nonfiction program (reality) category thanks to a fluke in scheduling. The critically acclaimed series originally
aired on Fox in August 2000 before being pulled due to disappointing ratings. It was revived in spring 2001 on PBS and garnered enough attention to score a nomination last year. Thanks to two
original episodes from the PBS run that aired after June 1, 2001, "High" was eligible for this year's Emmy nominations as well.
= Things just got a little tighter in the race for outstanding supporting actor in a drama. Due to a tie, six actors have been nominated in the category rather than the traditional five. It
was not revealed who tied for fifth.
= The longform best actress competition is shaping up to be a battle of the Oscar nominees. Angela Bassett, Laura Linney, Vanessa Redgrave and Gena Rowlands have all been up for Academy Awards.
= Call it Emmy's version of a "Fatal Attraction" reunion: Michael Douglas and Glenn Close both snagged guest acting Emmy noms for turns on "Will & Grace." NBC is guaranteed to win in
the guest actor in a comedy competition: all five nominees appeared on NBC programs.
= Stockard Channing is a double nominee this year, for "The West Wing" and the NBC TV movie "The Matthew Shepard Story."
= Posthumous nods include John Frankenheimer, who was nominated as outstanding director for a miniseries, movie or special for his work on "Path to War."
= "Wolf Lake" was a ratings dud for two networks -- CBS and UPN. But it also snagged more nominations than "Ally McBeal," earning a pair for titles and main theme. Another critical bomb
that got a mention from the Academy: NBC's short-lived "Emeril," up for art direction.
= In perhaps the most obscure sweep, PBS landed all four nominations in the outstanding classical music-dance program category.
Emmys
The Cadillac Grand Prix
William Shatner
An unidentified Star Trek fan, left, tries to get a peek at actor William Shatner, right, as Shatner gives an interview in a closed-to-the-genereal-public tent about his practice race
car run outside RFK Stadium, Friday, July 19, 2002, in Washington. Shatner prepared for the Celebrity Pro-Am race, one of the Cadillac Grand Prix events this weekend.
Photo by Kenneth Lambert
The Shuttle Calendar
NASA Eyes the Stars
As NASA moves toward getting its shuttle fleet up and flying again, mission planners must ponder the stars -- as in pop stars and shooting stars -- before drawing up a new
launch calendar, the space agency said on Friday.
NASA's four space shuttles are currently grounded by fuel-line cracks and repairs are under discussion, but program managers expressed confidence the fleet will fly again this
year, possibly completing all three missions previously scheduled before the end of December.
But that means planning around two upcoming events. The first is the launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft destined for the International Space Station, with boy-band heart
throb Lance Bass of 'N Sync penciled in for the flight.
The other event to work around is the Leonid meteor shower on Nov. 19.
Traditionally, NASA has never wanted to expose its spacecraft to the biggest meteor storm of the year, but Dittemore said the agency might reassess the risk this year
and fly if the debris storm is expected to be light.
If all goes well, he said the shuttles, first grounded in June, could be flying again by Sept. 26.
For more, NASA Eyes the Stars
Plotline Overhaul
'Drew Carey'
Executive producer Bruce Helford is plotting a complete overhaul of "The Drew Carey Show," which took a ratings hit last season on the struggling ABC
network and is moving to 8 p.m. Mondays in September.
Among the changes: actress Christa Miller (Kate) is departing the show, and Carey's character will get a new job when the Winfred-Louder Co. is taken over by a dot-com.
Miller's exit will open the door for the introduction of a new female character, an old friend of Drew's who pops back into his life. Helford is talking to a
well-known actress about the part, but a deal has not yet been inked.
Plotlines expected to play out throughout the season include the following:
= Drew will set a date in May by which he expects to meet a new girlfriend and get married.
= Mimi ( Kathy Kinney) will leave her husband and set out on her own as a single mom.
= Several new recurring thesps will be brought in to play the young dot-com employees.
"Drew" still has two seasons remaining as part of a three-year deal ABC struck with producer Warner Bros. TV for the series. Helford said it's important for the
series to get a makeover now so that it ends its run the way it began.
'Drew Carey'
Sued By Private Investigator
R. Kelly
Charles Freeman, who claims R. Kelly hired him to recover a "performance" tape, is suing the entertainer for $75,000, according to published reports.
Kelly, who is allegedly featured having sex with a 14-year-old girl on videotape, was charged last month with 21 counts of child pornography.
Freeman, who reportedly filed a suit against Kelly in Illinois' Jackson County Circuit Court, maintains that Kelly's private detective Jack Palladino agreed to
compensate him $100,000, and as much as $40,000 in expenses to find and return a stolen videotape.
Freeman, who resides in Kansas City, Missouri, said he was only paid $65,000 for the job for which he was hired in August 2001.
Freeman said he was given two days to get the tape to Palladino, and agreed to pass a polygraph test afterwards to assure that he was not aware of any additional
copies. Freeman also agreed to keep the matter confidential.
R. Kelly
'The Osbournes'
Freshly updated - 'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2 !
Coming Soon - Page 3!
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
