From 'TBH Politoons'
Great Site!
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Review
Music from the Andes
By Dave Romm
As an offshoot of the rise of Latino Music, which is basically pop music in Spanish, a return to the roots of the music of the Andes is surging at the local level. There's a lot of it and I can only comment on a few. Most people are familiar with the music of the area from Simon and Garfunkel's El Condor Pasa for which they wrote new lyrics and is about as authentic mountain music as Ritchie Valens' La Bamba is Mexican. Andean music has gone through the folk process, as music must to grow, and here are a few to start you off.
Karullacta is a local Minneapolis group (!) and I see them at various local events. The one CD I have is simply called Karullacta Traditional Music from The Andes and is lush with pan flute, bandolin and chakchas. Most cuts are instrumentals, with the occasional lyric (in Spanish, I presume). While my favorite cut is Jueves de Otoño, they do a credible cover of Uriah Heap's Lady in Black and several cuts are tuneful and upbeat. Get the CD from them or link from CDDB.
One day I was walking in New York City near Times Square and stopped to hear the street musicians, in full Andean dress with racks of flutes and harps and a suitcase of CDs. The group turned out to be Ch'uwa Yacu Bolivia and I picked up Tinkunakama, Instrumental Music From The Heart Of The Andes Vol. II. Once again, the best word to describe the music is "lush". Well-produced with superb music. The flutes and guitars are augmented with nifty effects, such as the storm on their version of El Condor Pasa. While all instrumentals, you can tell the musicians get into the spirit of things by the occasional enthusiastic yelling as in Yamor. Unfortunately, wherever these guys came from, they have disappeared into the ether, or at least don't have a net presence, though you can hear a bit of their music and find contact info here. Let me know if you get to them that way.
A bit more ambitious is Up, Bustle, and Out (what a name!) with the Light 'Em Up, Blow 'Em Out. "Funked up fusion is the flavor of our disk" claims the liner notes. The tunes range from Coca Conga, a tuneful conga with a beat to Coffee at Senor Rudi's, another tuneful mostly instrumental cut with good drums to Compared To What, driving rap jazz to Y Hora Tu, a hip-hop jazz instrumental. Their web site is full of information and if you don't want to order from the UK you can go to amazon.com.Also on amazon.com, in near the bottom of a long list of South and Central American music, is LaserLight's El Condor Pasa. For a cheapo series of knocked off CDs in the late 80s/early 90s, LaserLight managed to produce a good range of music, though the CDs vary in quality. This is one of their more successful efforts, and I liked all the songs with their arrangements for harp, flute and guitar. Traditional and unadorned; enthusiastically played. A good introduction to this area of the world: Andean music for cheap.
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 (again), Dave!
Fun Link
Jesus Of The Week
Jesus of the Week 2002
And check out the link to the right - 'select a jesii'
Thanks, Michelle (in AZ)!
From Alex
Great Quote
BC always has quotes, here's one for you...this one is from Jimmy Fallon,
from SNL:
FALLON: "It was announced this week that Nicolas Cage will be the first
inductee into the Italian American Hall of Fame. Which I'm guessing means
Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino, Martin
Scorcese, Marisa Tomei, James Gandolfini, Susan Lucci, Joe Pesci, Danny
DeVito, The Olive Garden, Luigi & Mario, Chef Boy-Ardee, Louis Prima, John
Gotti and Luca Brassi all said no. Cage will be present for the ceremony at
the Italian American Hall of Fame, when they tape his Polaroid up between
the soda machine and the empty pizza boxes."
~~ Alex
Go check out Alex's Site. He's got a
lot of nifty stuff to peruse.
Hey, Alex - As my Italian grandmother would have said 'soma beetch!'
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The PTA booksale had a much better attendance today. Also had 2 attempts at shoplifting. One kid just wanted to see if he could get away with it,
but the other kid just wanted the book. Not a lot of books at his house, so after a talk, ended up buying the book for him.
Went to CostCo/Price Club to buy some film, and for those of you who have the card, it's 'Exotic Tequila' month. Chinaco was the
highest priced, at $39.99! Want to open the damn thing, but, figure it'll travel better unopened.
This page will be 'going dark', April 27 & 28th. And tomorrow's issue may be a little thin, too. Lot's of things to take care of, including
making one eyebrow become 2.
TV bit tonight (if it had sucked, it might have served a purpose). Sweeps start Thursday! (Thank Koresh)
Tonight, Thursday, it's all fresh on CBS. Could sweeps have anything to do with it...LOL. First up is
'Survivor:Marquesas', then 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' and 'The Agency'.
Scheduled on a fresh Dave are Ashton Kutcher and Cee-Lo.
Scheduled on a fresh Craiggers are The Rock and Milas Kunis.
NBC starts the night with a fresh 'Friends' and then follows with a rerun 'Friends'. Then, it's fresh
for the rest of the night with 'Will & Grace', 'Just Shoot Me' and 'ER'.
Scheduled on a fresh Jay are I don't know. And I don't know if I'll be able to update today...argh.
Scheduled on a fresh Conan is Ted Danson.
Scheduled on a fresh Carson Daly are John Leguizamo and Unwritten Law.
ABC spends 2 hours with 'The Bachelor'. The first hour, the rejectees dis the situation. The 2nd hour, he gets to nod approval at
the woman that was most willing to be who she thinks he wants. Ewwww. Disney pride, and it's showing. It's followed by 'PrimeTime Thursday'.
Scheduled on a fresh Bill Maher is Ralph Nader.
The WB has a 'special', but fresh hour, ''N Sync: Bigger Than Live' followed by a fresh 'Charmed'.
Faux kills it's regular programming & airs the 2nd movie in the 'Star Wars' franchise (but turns out to be # 5 of 6), 'The Empire Strikes Back'.
UPN devotes the night to 'WWF SmackDown!'.
An episode of 'The Osbournes' airs at 8pm (edt).
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Being Dissed By Jim Brown Via Spike Lee
Richard Pryor
The wife of Richard Pryor would like to clothesline pro football great Jim Brown because he bad-mouthed the legendary comic in Spike Lee's new documentary.
In "Jim Brown All-American," the ranting running back says Pryor fired him as the head of Indigo Inc. production company in the 1980s because of
pressure from racist execs at the label's parent, Columbia Records.
"The fact is, Jim Brown was a bully and a control freak who tried to take over Richard's business, so Richard took it back," Jennifer Lee Pryor tells PAGE SIX's Ian Spiegelman.
"For him to say it was a race issue is just insane. But Jim loves to do that. He loves to rewrite history and make himself a victim."
Pryor finds Brown's charge of victimhood particularly odious because, she says, "He is a terrible abuser of women. He basically date-raped me."
Pryor first made that shocking allegation in her 1992 autobiography "Tarnished Angel." Brown, currently serving a six-month sentence for vandalizing
his wife's car, has always denied the charges.
He also denies that he threw a woman off a balcony some 30 years ago. In Lee's movie, the woman explains that she fell off while running from Brown
while he was beating her.
The Pryors first learned of Brown's screen comments from comic Paul Mooney, who appeared in Lee's controversial "Bamboozled."
"Paul was in Hawaii with Eddie Murphy when he saw it. He's been our friend for years, so he knows the real story. He called and said, 'This is
ridiculous. You've got to set the record straight.' "
Pryor, meanwhile, has just won another personal battle. Last month he and Jennifer won a lawsuit against the son of a one-time record producer who
claimed to own the rights to a great deal of Pryor's early comedy recordings. Now the couple are getting ready to release a box set in time for Christmas.
"It will cover his work from the late '60s up to 1977," Jennifer says. They've also just hired a new writer to work on the screenplay of Pryor's life
story, and are close to making a deal.
As for Pryor's struggle against multiple sclerosis, Jennifer says: "The doctors are continually amazed that he's as strong and healthy as he is."
Pryor works every day with physical and speech therapists.
His wife concludes, "He has a good quality of life, believe it or not. He's got a sense of humor and a sense of hope. We're preserving his
legacy - that's the big picture."
Richard Pryor
Big Dog Watch Continues
Bill Clinton At The Apollo
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks at "A Night At The Apollo", a Democratic National Committee fundraiser at New York City's landmark Apollo Theater in the
Harlem section of Manhattan April 24, 2002. The star studded event, which included a performance by pop singer Michael Jackson, was held to kick off the the DNC's
nationwide voter registration initiative.
Photo by Mike Segar
Egg Boy Got One Right?
Peter Jennings
ABC's "World News Tonight" host Peter Jennings may no longer be a $10 million man. Indeed, the veteran newsie, whose contract expires in August, could
be facing a salary reduction.
An insider at the Disney-owned network said a pay freeze was more likely in store for Jennings.
Under that scenario, Jennings could take on more responsibilities or assignments to justify his salary. This summer, for example, he will be going on
the road for a six-part series, an assignment that falls outside his regular demands at the newsdesk.
As it stands, fellow ABC News correspondents have been asked to accept 25% pay cuts, and the 63-year-old Jennings, who is negotiating his renewal with ABC
News president David Westin and Walt Disney Co. president Robert Iger, apparently would be no exception.
Last month, the Mouse House was caught red-faced when it was discovered that Disney bosses had made an end run around Westin, trying to replace Ted
Koppel's "Nightline" with yakker David Letterman.
Another Fine Example Of Disney's Version Of Loyalty
Likes Telling His Stories
Aaron Sorkin
As "The West Wing" gears up for a re-election battle next season, the show's creator is preparing fictional President Bartlet to run against a character
that sounds an awful lot like President George Bush.
"I want to have two characters in which I can dramatize that conflict [between] the know-it-all and the guy without gravitas who somehow relates to the
everyman," says creator Aaron Sorkin.
The fictional Republican opponent is Florida Gov. Robert Ritchie, who has been mentioned several times but never seen - and so far not cast.
Sorkin says he's "uncomfortable getting into personal politics" and calls his interest in the current president narrow.
Sorkin insists he isn't courting controversy. He says he had his fill of that after criticizing the news media for "waving pom poms" instead of providing
objective news coverage of the Bush administration.
"I have a story to tell every week. . . . I just like telling my stories."
Aaron Sorkin
BartCop TV!
Nominations Announced
MTV Movie Awards
Hobbits and elves rule this year's MTV Movie Awards, with "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" receiving a leading six nominations.
Elijah Wood was nominated for best male performance for his portrayal of the hobbit Frodo Baggins. Orlando Bloom, who played the archer elf Legolas,
was nominated for male breakthrough performance.
"The Fellowship of the Ring," the first installment of the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, is up for best movie, as well as best villain (Christopher Lee),
best action sequence and best fight.
Other best movie nominees announced Tuesday are "Black Hawk Down," "The Fast and the Furious," "Legally Blonde" and "Shrek."
"The Fast and the Furious" and "Rush Hour 2" received five nominations each, and "Moulin Rouge" and "Shrek" got four apiece.
The irreverent awards show, with categories including best kiss and best on-screen team, will be taped on June 1 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los
Angeles. It's scheduled to air on MTV at 9 p.m. EDT on June 6.
Nominations Announced
MTV Movie Awards
Lawsuit Filed
Dick Clark & the Queen Mary
Dick Clark is suing the operator of the Queen Mary alleging fraud and breach of contract prevented construction of a $150 million music-themed museum.
The Superior Court suit filed this month by Delaware-based Dick Clark Communications claims Queens Seaport Development breached an October 1999 agreement
to develop and maintain "Dick Clark's Great American Music Experience."
The project was to include the refurbishment of the adjacent Queen Mary Hotel and the development of nearby shops, restaurants and attractions, the suit
said, adding Queens Seaport agreed to give Clark's firm $15,000 in monthly consulting fees for seven years.
Queens Seaport Development president and chief executive officer Joseph Prevratil refused Tuesday to comment on the suit.
The suit asks for $2.8 million in damages plus interest, and $10 million in punitive damages. The museum was proposed as part of a $150 million complex around
the Queen Mary, the transportation relic converted to a harbor tourist attraction. The complex also was to have a 7,500-seat events venue in the former Spruce
Goose dome and a science fiction hall of fame, according to the suit.
Dick Clark & the Queen Mary
Since I live in Long Beach, gonna follow this one closely. Not a fan of Joe Prevratil, but the Sunday brunches are fabulous.
Networks Cheap Out On May Sweeps
Reunions Galore
With the start of May sweeps Thursday, the networks as usual have supercharged their lineups with their most competitive, irresistible fare.
But more than ever before, it will take the form of reunion specials and anniversary salutes — in other words, old stuff masquerading as new.
This kind of tribute is easy and cheap, and it doubles as a puff piece for the network that mounts it.
Is anything too dumb or worthless to disinter? No, judging by "`That's Incredible!': The Reunion" (ABC, May 21), which reunites John Davidson, Cathy Lee Crosby and Fran
Tarkenton with the series that, in the early 1980s, pioneered reality TV at its skankiest.
And look out for "Laverne & Shirley Together Again" (ABC, May 7), an absurd enterprise if only because, on a May night seven years ago (which already was a dozen years
after the hit sitcom ended), ABC presented its first "Laverne & Shirley Reunion."
NBC, reaching back even before TV to its first radio transmission in 1926, is mounting the month's most extravagant retrospective with "The NBC 75th Anniversary Special,"
a live, star-studded infomercial with co-hosts Bill Cosby, Tom Brokaw, Kelsey Grammer and Jerry Seinfeld airing May 5.
Of all the month's time trips, "CBS: 50 Years From Television City" seems among the most promising.
Airing Saturday at 8 p.m., this three-hour special balances self-promotion with a bit of genuine history as it focuses on the network's West Coast production center, which, since
November 1952, has occasioned the familiar kickoff line on so many broadcasts: "From Television City in Hollywood ...!"
George Washington never slept there, but, originally billed as "a multimillion-dollar TV temple" and built to withstand an atomic blast, Television City has housed Danny Kaye,
Judy Garland, Red Skelton and Sonny & Cher among many others, and such series as "Playhouse 90" and "All in the Family" down to today's "The Young and the Restless" and "The New Price is Right."
Reunions Galore
I can remember the first time I ever saw CBS Television City. It's sort of across the street from what is quaintly called the 'Farmer's Market'. Yeah, I love LA!
New Programs To Be Added This Summer
TV Land
Looking to build on this season's ratings success, TV Land will raid the libraries of its Viacom siblings next fall with new franchises from "Entertainment
Tonight" and "60 Minutes."
At Wednesday's joint upfront presentation to advertisers by TV Land and its Nick at Nite sibling, the former announced plans for "ET in TV Land" and "TV Land
Legends: The 60 Minutes Interviews," weekly series that will draw upon the video vaults of the veteran shows.
"ET in TV Land" will be an updated behind-the-scenes look at popular TV shows, such as "Friends, "MASH" and "Dallas." It will use footage from "ET's" weekend
edition, which focuses on where-are-they-now reports.
Other highlights of TV Land's upcoming programming slate include:
= The launch next spring of "The TV Land First Annual Classic TV Awards," which will salute classic and contemporary TV stars and make inductions into the TV Land hall of fame.
Its Future Classic award, which has been handed out to promising freshman shows since 1998, will now be included in the kudocast.
= The addition of 20 Screen Gems titles to the schedule. Some, such as "Burns & Allen," "Hazel," "Square Pegs," "Soap," "The Monkees" and "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," will be
introduced this June via themed blocks "Better Living Through Television" on Sunday mornings and "Kitschen" after midnight each weekend. The latter, a selection of offbeat
series, will be hosted by Martin Mull and Fred Willard.
= After the positive reception of February special "Inside TV Land: African Americans in Television," the channel has added four installments, focusing on cops, fashion,
theme songs and taboo TV.
TV Land
First Time In Nearly 40 Years!
Britpop Is A Flop
It's official -- Britpop is a flop in the United States, with not a single act on the U.S. industry barometer Billboard chart for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Pop pundits insist that the disappearance of UK acts from Billboard's top 100 singles chart is just a blip, but it follows a long decline in sales which
critics say reflects the flood of manufactured bands on both sides of the Atlantic.
R&B act Craig David dropped out of the Billboard list on Tuesday, making it a Brit-free zone.
There are big names in the music industry who blame the slump in U.S. sales on the proliferation of manufactured bands on both sides of the Atlantic.
Elton John is a leading critic of record companies he accuses of making a quick buck from young acts like Britney Spears and S Club 7,
likening them to "packets of cereal."
Britpop Is A Flop
Can Understand The Sentiment
'Stop Nazis'
People gather inside the European Parliament as they create a wall of people to prevent France's presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen from entering a room
where he was to meet the media at the parliament in Brussels, Wednesday April 24, 2002. Le Pen did not show up for the news conference.
Photo by Thierry Charlier
Auction News
NBC Stuff
Walk-on roles on 10 TV series including "Will & Grace" and "Scrubs" were fetching bids in the thousands of dollars in an online auction for charity.
Bidding was highest for a "Will & Grace" appearance and had reached $6,900 on Wednesday, according to the eBay auction site. Bidding on "Scrubs" was up to $3,550.
Roles on 10 NBC series along with show props and autographed scripts were up for sale, with proceeds to benefit charities selected by the
hosts of "Today." The auction continues through April 28.
The NBC auction raised about $60,000 last year. This year's charities include the National Colorectal Research Alliance, Hospice of Palm Beach County, Samaritan
Foundation and St. Peter Indian Mission.
NBC Stuff
eBay-Today Show Auction Site
New Ads By Known Directors
Gap, Inc.
Gap Inc., the largest U.S. apparel chain, this weekend will debut three television commercials by renowned film directors as part of a bid to revive sagging sales
of denim, khakis and white shirts.
The new 30-second commercials -- shot by Academy Award winners Cameron Crowe and the Coen brothers and emerging director Roman Coppola in black and white -- were
created under Lisa Prisco, the creative director behind "Khakis Swing."
In one of the new ads, directed by the Coen brothers, Christina Ricci is beating Dennis Hopper in a poolside game of chess. Crowe's commercial stars Kate Beckinsale
of "Pearl Harbor" and Orlando Bloom of "The Lord of The Rings" as a couple pursued by admirers during a stroll.
Coppola's spot features a cast of young rising stars -- Zooey Deschanel of "Almost Famous", Scarlett Johansson of "Ghost World," Ashton Kutcher of "That 70s Show" and
Jay Hernandez of "Crazy/Beautiful" -- riding bicycles on an empty city street.
The ads debut April 28 in the United States during "Law & Order," "Criminal Intent" and "X-Files." Throughout May, they will air during episodes of "24," "West Wing,"
"Friends," "ER," "Will and Grace," "Felicity" and the NBA playoffs. They will also run in the United Kingdom and Canada.
Gap, Inc.
Developing New 'Dragnet' Series
Dick Wolf
Here are the facts, ma'am: Emmy-winning "Law & Order" supremo Dick Wolf is developing a primetime take on the classic cop drama "Dragnet."
Wolf is expected to write the pilot and serve as executive producer of the Studios USA Television project, which wouldn't be ready until sometime in 2003 at the earliest.
No network deal has closed yet, but multiple outlets have expressed interest in landing the rights to the series.
Given Wolf's involvement, Studios USA will likely have no problem landing a buyer for the new "Dragnet." Indeed, it's possible a pact with a network could be completed by
month's end -- assuming Studios USA and Wolf Films are able to work out a deal that satisfies all sides' financial requirements.
It's expected Wolf's show will be more of a revisualization of "Dragnet" as a modern-day Los Angeles cop drama rather than a simple remake of the old series. The
idea is to marry Wolf's proven ability to create franchise crime drama hits with another already recognizable brand name.
Dick Wolf
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
G4 - The 'Video Game Channel'
'Pong' Marathon
G4, a new cable channel devoted exclusively to video games that went live on Wednesday, plans to broadcast a live game of "Pong" -- widely considered
the first consumer video game -- for seven days straight.
G4, backed by a $150 million investment from cable giant Comcast Corp., flipped the switch at 3 a.m. EDT with a total of 3 million subscribers on digital
cable platforms from Comcast and midwestern operator Insight.
The channel plans to offer 13 original weekly series, focusing on topics like sports games, gaming reviews, and hints and tricks for winning at
popular video games. It is expected to have 350 to 400 hours of original content per year.
The launch comes at a time when the video game industry is at the beginning of a multi-year growth cycle, with some analysts estimating the
industry will see more than 20 percent growth for at least the next two years.
'Pong' Marathon
May 15 - 26
Cannes
This is a handout picture made available Wednesday, April 24, 2002 of the poster for the 55th Cannes Film Festival which will take place from May 15 to May 26
in Cannes, southern France. A healthy dose of perennial favorites and some promising new faces are among the directors bringing their work to this year's Cannes
Film Festival, which also acknowledges the simmering Mideast conflict with an Israeli and a Palestinian film presented as "acts of peace."
Another Night To Be Disney-Proud
'Bachelor'
Who says a "Bachelor" can't beat up on "Friends" and even take a shot at a bunch of island-bound scheming "Survivors"?
That's exactly what the ABC television network will try to do on Thursday when it puts the finale of its recent hit "The Bachelor" against such ratings giants
as NBC's "Friends" and CBS' "Survivor" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
"Bachelor" began its run quietly on Monday nights last month, bringing together a Harvard-educated management consultant with 25 single women in an elaborate
game of courtship that saw the field narrowed each week.
The show has built up a devoted following over that time, rising steadily in the ratings to finish 24th among all programs last week and 15th among
advertiser-coveted 18- to 49-year-old viewers.
In a brash move to bolster its flagging place on the airwaves, ABC, a unit of The Walt Disney Co. has decided to put on a two-hour Thursday night extravaganza
for the show's finale, starting at 8 p.m. at the same time as "Friends" and "Survivor."
'Bachelor'
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Still Seeking Volunteers
'The Osbournes'
Very Recently updated.
Put up a page devoted to 'The Osbournes'
C'mon....send your thoughts, your impressions, your views, your favorite quotes...
Scroll down for lots of addys to pick from (or 'from which to pick', for the truly anal retentive).
