In his 60+ years on Earth, Mick Farren has worn many hats. He’s one of the founders of the “underground” press in Britain, he was the doorman at the psychedelic UFO Club (where Pink Floyd and the Soft Machine got their starts), a political activist, a well-respected science fiction novelist, a TV and media columnist, a poet, and, not least, he was the lead singer of the proto-punk band, The Deviants. His autobiography Give the Anarchist a Cigarette is an indispensable volume in any library about the ‘60s and ‘70s. In short, the man is a counterculture legend, and one of the last of the “gonzo” journalists.
Saturday night, Farren will be reading at La Luz de Jesus Gallery from his recently published anthologyZones of Chaos (which features an introduction by sci-fi great Michael Moorcock) accompanied by fellow Deviant, guitarist Andy Colquhoun.
La Luz de Jesus Gallery, 4633 Hollywood Blvd, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2009, 6 ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú 9 p.m., (323) 666-7667
It was a noble experiment, giving us talent like Rachel Maddow and Al Franken, but now progressive/liberal radio talker Air America has gone kaput:
It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our Board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the Company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business.
The very difficult economic environment has had a significant impact on Air America’s business. This past year has seen a “perfect storm” in the media industry generally. National and local advertising revenues have fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or seek bankruptcy protection. From large to small, recent bankruptcies like Citadel Broadcasting and closures like that of the industry’s long-time trade publication Radio and Records have signaled that these are very difficult and rapidly changing times.
Those companies that remain are facing audience fragmentation as a result of new media technologies, are often saddled with crushing debt, and have generally found it difficult to obtain operating or investment capital from traditional sources of funding. In this climate, our painstaking search for new investors has come close several times right up into this week, but ultimately fell short of success.
With radio industry ad revenues down for 10 consecutive quarters, and reportedly off 21% in 2009, signs of improvement have consisted of hoping things will be less bad. And though Internet/new media revenues are projected to grow, our expanding online efforts face the same monetization and profitability challenges in the short term confronting the Web operations of most media companies
Meet Mini Daddy, reggaeton’s littlest superstar and the future of pre-adolescent Hispanic gangsta rap. Did the evil geniuses of the music industry concoct Mini Daddy in a laboratory experiment as a deeply subversive—and cynical—marketing ploy: “Hmmm…. let’s get a kid, a little kid—no, wait, a fat little kid—to dress up in gangster gear and gold chains, we’ll put some “fly” 7-year-old girls in the video as his hootchie backup singers ... He’ll be the Lil’ Bow Wow of reggaeton!”
Or is this tyke a self-created sensation, tailor-made for the “Age of YouTube,” who just walked in off the streets, and is worth his weight in gold records? He’s unstoppable, this Mini Daddy. Forget Ke$ha and Lady Gaga and meet the future. Your future.
Alleged alter-ego to both the late great Andy Kaufman and Kaufman’s longtime writer/co-schemer Bob Zmuda, meta-comedianTony Clifton‘s still alive, well and wonderfully profane. (Sample: Why is it that Mike Tyson cries after sex? Well mace will do that to you.)
The Onion’s AVC is carrying a lengthy, frequently hilarious interview with the man dubbed “the worst nightclub singer you’ve ever seen or heard.” In it, Clifton dishes on Sinatra (a moody bastard) and New Orleans cops (crazy motherfuckers).
And when he’s not frolicking with prostitutes or updating his blog, Clifton’s making the club rounds. He also recently played a string of Comic Relief gigs to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Some footage of Clifton in action follows below. The clip also attempts to tease out Clifton’s “true” identity, an effort that, as it has for years now, quickly becomes a hall of mirrors.
Fox is developing the cult hit Dr. Who spinoff show “Torchwood” for American audiences. I bet you five bucks they will get Adam Lambert to play Captain Jack. If nobody’s thought of this yet, consider the idea my gift to the dark machinery that runs Hollywood.
Huge news for sci-fi fans: Fox is developing a stateside version of the U.K. hit series ?¢‚Ǩ?ìTorchwood.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù
The project is from BBC Worldwide Prods., with original series creator Russell Davies writing the script.
A more straight-faced spinoff of ?¢‚Ǩ?ìDoctor Who,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù ?¢‚Ǩ?ìTorchwood?¢‚Ǩ¬ù is about a covert group that investigates and fights alien activity. Two series aired domestically on BBC America as well as last year?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s well reviewed stand-alone miniseries, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìChildren of Earth,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù which broke all ratings records for the network. (If you’re a fan of serious sci fi such as “Battlestar Galatica” and haven’t seen “Children of Earth,” rent it. You don’t need to know anything about the series. And I know the previews for “Torchwood” can look silly. Trust me, it’s terrific. Like “24” with aliens).
Unlike U.S. adaptations that have gone awry, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìTorchwood?¢‚Ǩ¬ù fans can take comfort that the original producing team is on board. In addition to Davies, exec producers include Davies?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ producing partner Julie Gardner (former head of drama at BBC Wales for the show?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s first season) and Jane Tranter (another BBC vet, now exec VP programming and production at BBC Worldwide Prods. in the U.S.).
Also, some of the current cast ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù most likely John Barrowman, who plays the immortal Capt. Jack Harkness ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù might star if Fox orders ?¢‚Ǩ?ìTorchwood?¢‚Ǩ¬ù to pilot.
Dangerous Minds pal, Chris Campion’s fascinating liner notes for More Of Cake Please
Three teenage girls are discovered singing along to records in a New York night club by two hotshot managers. They are rushed into a recording studio, signed up to a major label deal and whisked off to Hollywood in a matter of weeks where they are treated like stars and consort with rock royalty. It sounds like a story spun from myth. But all this did happen and more. The story of The Cake is one of the last great untold stories of the 60s; a real life ‘Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls’.
The Cake were the daughters of Sgt Pepper, a girl group baroque who wrote psychedelic madrigals and sang blue-eyed soul with rock ?��Ǩ��n?��Ǩ�Ѣ roll attitude. This trio of brash and beautiful teenage New York City girls ?��Ǩ��� Jeanette Jacobs, Barbara Morillo and Eleanor Barooshian ?��Ǩ���jumped onto the rollercoaster of the 60s music scene just as it hit its peak and spiraled into a downward curve. The Cake were formed in ?��Ǩ�Ѣ66 and baked by ?��Ǩ�Ѣ68, releasing 2 albums that have been cherished ever since by music enthusiasts as curios of the time. But their importance goes far beyond that.
Creatively, stylistically, and in terms of sheer attitude, The Cake were way ahead of their time. They were the first girl group to write original material as a group, and the first to have it released on a major label. This was not just a novelty at the time it was completely unheard of. They were also the first to break free of the stylistic yoke imposed by producers, songwriters and managers. In doing so, they bridged the gap between the pliable male fantasy of 60s girl groups and the advent of 70s girl bands who were doing it for themselves. The Cake are the missing link between The Ronettes and The Runaways, the Shangri-Las and the Go-Gos.
Accepted as equals by their peers in the rock world, The Cake palled around and were partnered with Jimi Hendrix, Skip Spence and members of The Animals. They also sang with Dr. John and The Soft Machine. Songs were not only written by them, but about them! The group had its origins somewhere far more mundane.
The Cake were formed in a New York bathroom; two bathrooms, in fact, located several months apart in the heady summer of 1966. The first is somewhere in Manhattan, where 16-year-old Jeanette Jacobs and 18-year-old Barbara Morillo find themselves sharing a mirror in an apartment that both of them are strangers to.
?��Ǩ��Being teenagers, both of us had stayed over at someone?��Ǩ�Ѣs house,?��Ǩ�Ѣ Barbara recalls. ?��Ǩ��Me, after hanging out at a disco. I don?��Ǩ�Ѣt know where Jeanette had been and we weren?��Ǩ�Ѣt even sure whose house it was. We just both woke up and were kind of in the bathroom at the same time. We hit it off really well; there was a chemistry immediately.?��Ǩ�Ѣ (Cont)
The actress darts through the forest, crawls through a cave and ends up swimming out to sea wearing frocks by Pringle of Scotland. McGinley says his inspirations included The Goonies and Grafteful Dead albums covers.
What if you took Angelina Jolie, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Cuthbert, Hilary Duff, Jennifer Love Hewitt. Jessica Alba, Jennifer Biel, Kiera Knightly, Kate Bosworth, Kristin Kreuk, Mandy Moore, Megan Fox, Monica Belluci, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, put them in some kind of a sci-fi DNA blender and mixed them altogether? Her, apparently, the winner of the genetic sweepstakes. You can see all the intermediate steps to creating the most beautiful girl in the world here.
Opening this weekend in Frankfurt, Germany, the new musical, Hope: The Obama Musical Story. A bilingual production, H:TOMS features the characters of Barack Obama, John McCain and Sarah Palin, who apparently belts out a number accompanied by a bevy of scantily clad go-go dancers. She’s matched up, I suppose, against a hot-looking Hillary Clinton.
Germany’s Der Spiegel reports that the plot follows a group of residents in an apartment-sharing community—a disillusioned and unemployed Puerto Rican, an ultraconservative widow of German heritage and an African American political activist. Gradually, the characters become galvanized by Obama’s message of hope and change.
From today’s Los Angeles Times, the little known tale behind the famous photo of Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon, including the top page of the letter Presley wrote to Nixon that led to the meeting:
“Dear Mr. President, First I would like to introduce myself. I am Elvis Presley.”
In five pages, Elvis explains he loves his country and wants to give something back and, not being “a member of the Establishment,” believes he could reach some people the president can’t if the president would only make him a federal agent at-large so he can help fight the war on drugs.
“Sir, I can and will be of any service that I can to help the country out. . . . I will be here for as long as it takes to get the credentials of a federal agent. . . . I would love to meet you just to say hello if you’re not to [sic] busy. Respectfully, Elvis Presley.”
Picture of Elvis and Nixon is worth a thousand words (Los Angeles Times)
Sleep Talkin’ Man is one of the hottest “viral” sensations on the Internet and Twitter these days. It’s as funny as Shit My Dad Says but in a different vein. What STM is all about is simple, it’s the day to day transcriptions of what one woman’s “mild-mannered English husband” spouts while he’s sleeping at night, utterly hilarious “surrealisms” to savor:
Jan 12 2010
“I’m making pillows. Burn them slowly, keeps them fluffy! Mmmmmm, pillows.”
“Potato bags. I can’t find my potato bags. I need them! [desperately] Who’s got my potato bags? Oh, fuck it! I’ll have to use something else.”
“Dogs’ scrotums. They stretch.”
“Pork chops are most satisfying. Mmmmmmm. Dangle them from the ceiling.”
Wife’s note: After we listened to the recording, Adam turned to me and said, “I’ve never had pork chops.”
Sadness in the streets! The Bodhi Tree, one of the best bookstores, period, and THEE very best New Age and Spirituality bookstore anywhere on the planet is closing. Although in recent years I’ve not gone there nearly as much as I used to, in the mid-90s, I went to the Bodhi Tree every single Saturday morning without fail and poured over the shelves of the used books annex. There I found Leary first editions, tons of rare Crowley and even signed firsts of Terence McKenna’s The Invisible Landscape and True Hallucinations. I’d comb through this store sometimes twice a week. For book hounds into the occult and weirdo culture in general, the Bodhi Tree was like an intellectual candy shop. I felt great pride to see my own books and DVDs for sale there. But sadly, those days have passed. With Amazon and Barnes & Noble taking massive bites out of the profits of niche booksellers—Shirley MacLaine probably shops on Amazon—it’s hard to run a business on fumes. Even storied operations like the Bodhi Tree, in the end have their life cycles. I wonder what it will reincarnate as?
Owners Phil Thompson and Stan Madson informed their staff last Wednesday that the cozy Melrose Avenue shop, a nationally renowned and much beloved spiritual center, will be shutting its doors in a year’s time.
After some eight months of discussion, Thompson and Madson decided to sell the property to a local business owner who leases space to several other nearby retailers. The Bodhi Tree opened in 1970. Land values in the area have risen dramatically since then. Meanwhile, the business of selling print books has been on a steady decline. For years, real estate agents had been circling the Bodhi Tree like vultures. In the end, selling the property became a much more profitable option than continuing to sell books.
Thompson and Madson started the bookstore when they were in their 30’s. They are now both in their early 70’s. They were aerospace engineers who left a life of science for one of contemplation and meditation.
“Twenty years ago we felt like it was an expanding situation,” says Madson. “We were concerned the store was getting too big. We had a staff of 100. Publishing was expanding. Spirituality was expanding. But what changed was that the market became widely dispersed.”
I WANT YOUR STORY
Who was your first turn on?
How old were you two, four, six?
What did he look like?
What was she doing exactly that stopped you dead in your tracks?
That secretly affirmed your romantic future, your love life, the person you married?
Sit down, write one page, re-inspire yourself.
Be part of an exciting book series I’m putting together.
(Note to myself readers of Dangerous Minds: while Julie Newmar is OK with using Catwoman as “your object of desire,” she’d prefer your fantasy involve something more than claws, whips and leather.) Ms. Newmar’s very first appearance in the role that came to define her follows below:
A report on the LA Now blog indicates that police in So Cal are dealing with a group of criminals who “think different”:
The suspects sought by Manhattan Beach police had a specific method of operation, Brown said. They stake out an Apple store and choose their target. Then they follow their prospective victims when they drive to another shop or a parking spot near their home. If computers are left unattended inside the vehicle, the thieves strike.
His department issued a warning to consumers Tuesday not to leave computers or other expensive items in their vehicles in plain view.
“It’s a highly preventable crime if people don’t leave computers in their cars,” Brown said.
But law enforcement officials said despite the arrests in Orange County, they believe these follow-away burglaries are the work of a larger ring that has taken more than 100 computers in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties.
I was trying to come up with a punchline about Justin Long, but couldn’t and you just don’t want to force these things.
This is hilarious. It’s poetry, too. This man is a genius. Give him his own TV show!
Here’s what it says about him on WIkipedia:
Koichi Toyama (?•¬§‚Äì?•¬±¬±?¶¬Å‚Äô?§¬?‚Ǩ, Toyama K?Ö¬çichi?, , born July 26, 1970) is a Japanese street musician, an “anarchist-fascist”] political activist who was a candidate for the governor of Tokyo in 2007. He was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, and lives in Fukuoka. He gained notoriety with his fervent election speech, which was posted on the American based website YouTube. Out of fourteen candidates in the election, Toyama placed eighth with 15,059 votes (0.27 percent of total votes cast).
Described by the announcer as an “Extreme Left Anti-Establishment” figure, Koichi began his controversial statement by denouncing Japan as a “horrible nation” and rejecting any possibility for reforms. Declaring most of the voters to be his “enemies”, Koichi calls upon a minority to rise up. He closes his speech by calling for the overthrow of the Japanese Government and making an obscene gesture toward the camera.
Another Koichi video, from 2008, saw him giving a monologue in which he claims as the United States has a global hegemony, it is an injustice that despite being a citizen of what he calls one of America’s “51st states” (“America”, he claims “literally encompasses the entire world”), he is not eligible to vote, let alone stand as a candidate, in the election.
The cannabis prohibition dominoes keep falling. One by one, they’re falling. This just in from Bloomberg:
New Jersey lawmakers approved a bill that would make it the 14th U.S. state to allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for patients suffering from cancer and other debilitating diseases.
The legislation passed the Assembly 48-16 with one abstention. The measure already cleared the state Senate, which voted 25-13 to approve restrictions in the Assembly version, including a list of ailments for which the drug can be prescribed and a prohibition on the growing of marijuana by patients.
“This is a wonderful beginning,” said Nancy Fedder, 62, of Hillsborough, who spoke outside the Assembly chamber and said she has been illegally smoking marijuana for more than a decade to alleviate pain from multiple sclerosis. “It’s something that needed to happen a long time ago; sometimes I have to go to bed and stay there for days, and when I smoke marijuana the pain comes right down.”
The plan was among 100 today that went before both houses of the Legislature in the final day of its session. The Senate and the Assembly, which are both controlled by Democrats, are getting ready to share power with the first Republican governor elected since 1997.
Tara and I used to live in NJ (don’t ask) and it’s a pretty state, to be sure, but it’s not exactly cool there. When we were living there, just a few years ago, it was still a zero-tolerance state! So this is big news.
Isa Dick Hackett, daughter of Philip K. Dick, who wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which Blade Runner is based on (although the title itself comes from William S. Burroughs), is claiming Google is using names taken from her father’s work to brand its Nexus One telephones. She is threatening to sue Google for infringement of intellectual property rights. Something tells me there is going to be a nice payday in this for her. Google IS using names from her father’s work:
She has sent a letter to Google demanding that the online giant changes the name of its new phone, which was launched as a direct rival to the iPhone.
She said: ‘Google takes first and then deals with the fallout later.
‘In my mind, there is a very obvious connection to my father’s novel. People don’t get it. It’s the principle of it.
‘It would be nice to have a dialogue. We are open to it. That’s a way to start.’
The new product is based on Google’s Android technology, launched two years ago as a way of gaining a share in the mobile phone market.
Family of sci fi author Philip K. Dick to sue Google over name of Nexus One phone (Daily Mail)
Sunday night at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angles, Cinefamily has invited showbiz great Neil Hamburger to pay tribute to one of heroes. Read on:
Now that James Brown (R.I.P.) has hung up his crown, legendary stand-up comedian Neil Hamburger has surely earned the title of “The Hardest Working Man In Show Business.” For the past thirty-seven years, Hamburger has logged thousands of shows in all four corners of the world, appearing in engagements everywhere from the prestigious “Fire & Ice” room at the Doubletree Inn in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to the Phoenix Greyhound Park racetrack in Phoenix, AZ. One of Hamburger’s idols and mentors has been one of the celebrity offspring greats and an enigma in the world of popular music, Frank Sinatra Jr. Hamburger says: “Frank Jr. has an intense stage presence unlike any I have ever encountered. Like his father, there is a lifetime of regret, disappointment, and longing in every note that comes out of his mouth—but with a career shattered by unjustified critical malevolence and public indifference, Frank Jr.‘s experiences are drawn from a completely different well. To hell with today’s slovenly singer-songwriter scam-artists! If you’re looking for an amazingly gifted vocalist who puts every ounce of his experience into every word he sings, Sinatra Jr. is your man.” In honor of Frank Jr.‘s birthday, Hamburger has assembled this evening of rare, vintage Frank Jr. TV variety specials and film appearances!
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