Posts

Showing posts from December, 2005

Bob Dylan to Host XM Satellite Radio Show

Here's the AP story: http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/news/wire/sns-ap-dylan-radio,0,3703865.story?coll=sns-ap-entertainment-headlines NEW YORK -- Bob Dylan will host a weekly music show on XM Satellite Radio, the first time the rock star has had his own radio show. Dylan will select music for the hour-long show, which will debut in March on XM's deep album rock channel, the station announced Tuesday. He'll also offer comments on music and other subjects, interview guests and answer e-mail from XM subscribers. "Songs and music have always inspired me," the 64-year-old Dylan said in a statement. "A lot of my own songs have been played on the radio, but this is the first time I've ever been on the other side of the mic."

The Rock Star: INXS DVD

First off, let me apologize for reporting some time ago that the Rock Star: INXS DVD was going to be released on December 6th. I was going by Amazon.com's release date (again). It actually was released a week earlier, on November 29th. Maybe they moved the date up at the last minute, but in any case, the DVD was released two weeks ago. How is the DVD? It could have been much better, but for $10 (that's what I paid), it's a good-enough-for-now souvenir to remember the show by. If you expect to see performances by the show's early eliminatees, you'll be disappointed. Only the last six finalists (J.D., Marty, Mig, Suzie, Jordis, and Ty) are showcased here. But good performances were selected to represent them. Among the 17 clips are: Jordis' stunning performance of "The Man Who Sold The World", Marty's bold acoustic rendition of "Mr. Brightside", Ty's flawless "No Woman No Cry", and Suzie's sensational "Bohemian Rhapso

INXS "Switch"

The much-heralded INXS CD Switch, the first to feature new lead singer J.D. Fortune, was released last Tuesday. I've listened to it a number of times since, and I have to conclude that it's a decent effort with mixed results. Some of the time, the band seems to be sticking to its '80's dance-rock formula, sometimes too much so. For example, the opening track "Devil's Party" sounds very much like "Original Sin", and Fortune's vocal sounds slavishly like Michael Hutchence, the band's late original frontman. Fortune still sounds Hutchence-like on the single "Pretty Vegas", the song he co-wrote with Andrew Farriss. (Songwriting credit is also given to Marty Casey and Jordis Unga for that song; am I remembering that Rock Star: INXS episode wrong?). But it's a solid song -- after all, it helped J.D. get the job. "Hot Girls" duplicates Hutchence's brand of sexual panting. "Hungry" and "Perfect Strangers

Valerie Bertinelli Divorcing Eddie Van Halen

It's actually happening this time. After 24 years of marriage (and on/off divorce rumors), actress Valerie Bertinelli has filed for divorce from Eddie Van Halen. How do we know it's true this time? Bertinelli's publicist confirmed it yesterday. The AP story is here: http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/news/wire/sns-ap-people-bertinelli,0,1697589.story?coll=sns-ap-entertainment-headlines It's a shame it has to happen. Still, it's (sadly) surprising when a celebrity marriage lasts nearly a quarter-century, especially after the divorce rumor was rampant so many times in the past.