vain, selfish & lazy.

Friday, August 18, 2000

vacation time!: as of 1:00 est today, i will be on vacation. where am i going? i do not know. what will i be doing? i can not say. when will i be back? it's not for me to say.

actually, i'll be back on the 28th. so, while i'm away, i'm opening up posting to those who have access to this site. right now, i'm going to set a topic of "why do you blog?" let the world know why you do this thing and discuss blogger itself (particularly their new inventions) and the blogs you love and don't. everything is fair game, and the more controversial your statements, the better my hits are.

i'm not leaving yet, but i don't know how much more blogging i'll be doing today. if i don't say it later, i hope you all will be back when i return, hopefully with some stories to tell.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

new poll!: as anyone who reads this blog regularly knows, i don't watch survivor. it's "road rules" on a deserted island to me; maybe it is my loss, but that's my private pain to deal with. anyhow, as all the world knows, this week's episode is the last. so the question must be asked: who's going to win? let the voting commence!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

hulk hogan files lawsuit: "hulk hogan has filed a defamation suit against the world championship wrestling, accusing the wcw's creative director of berating him on national television after a ring appearance."

his heart's not made of stone, you know. he feels too.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

jon bon jovi slams oasis: stinging criticism from bon jovi! after all, what is oasis except equal parts beatles and bon jovi?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

courtney love accused of slander: "the hole singer allegedly called a production employee on the set of her new film 'a whore.'" love retorts, "well, she is a whore. how is that slander?"

well, not really.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

human humbles horse in race: zippy chippy is the losingest horse in the history of thoroughbred racing. if he were only mediocre, instead of really bad, he would've been glue years ago now. where i come from, we'd shoot horses for less.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

the cell / **** (r): well, it should come as a surprise to no one that roger ebert gave this film four stars. as i've said, his reviews have been a bit odd lately, but keep in mind that he loves a good sci-fi pic and he loves special effects: remember, he gave dark city four stars also.

now, i've not seen the cell but, boy, have i prejudged it! it strikes me as a film that has very flashy and possibly even good effects, but one that also values those effects over substance. early reports indicate that the plot is flimsy and full of holes. based on how gory it sounds, i doubt i'll ever find out.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

Thursday, August 17, 2000

oh, josh: josh is talking about jean-luc godard, and he seems to like him. it doesn't surprise me that josh would like him, though i wish it did. now, don't get me wrong, i do like josh and, hey, i like godard in theory -- he's made a handful of good films but i can't stand him as a man or thinker. it's just that, knowing josh's taste in music, it doesn't surprise me that he'd like a director who, this side of antonioni, is the one i despise most. so predictable.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

three farm workers die in manure tank: you know, every time i read one of these kind of stories, i say, "i can't imagine a worse way to go." but, honestly, i can't think of a worse way to go than in an 18,000 liter liquid manure tank. can you?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

ra ra ra: so i'm telling tom that i'm getting sick of many weblogs and he tells me about the ones he visits. he suggested ra ra ra and since i'd never been, i decided to investigate. well, what should the first post be about but my beloved magnetic fields. so let me comment, then.

basically, there's some discussion about whether or not 69 love songs should be your first mf purchase. while i do agree that it's their best, i didn't always think that. i had all of the albums (plus the house of tomorrow ep) before 69ls. for the longest time, get lost remained my favorite and i'm still very fond of it: its production certainly presaged the sound heard on 69ls as did the very mature songwriting. i'd gotten into the fields maybe about a couple of years ago -- "born on a train" was the first song of theirs i heard and, quite predictably, i hated it at first -- and i bought the albums in chronological order. while i do think the band has gotten progressively better, i think hearing them evolve from experimental synth-based band to classic pop band makes for an intriguing listen.

so what the hell am i saying? if you want their best album, buy 69ls but you have to be willing to commit at least a year to it because even now i'm discovering gems i'd previously overlooked. if you want a quick (and much more affordable) primer, buy get lost. i'd buy those two and then work my way backwards, but that's just me. ;)

just as i thought i couldn't possibly find a new blog to read, ra ra ra comes in and changes everything. maybe they'll restore your faith too.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

OUTKAST - "BOMBS OVER BAGHDAD"

"DUDE!"

basically, that was my first reaction to this, the new outkast single. several listens in now, i'm still trying to digest it all. andre only has time to get out an a capella "yeah" before the concussive melange of beats kicks in. from the jump, they grab you by the jugular and hang onto it for five incredible minutes. early reports about their new album, stankonia, indicate that this should be their most radical-sounding album yet: those southern boys, for whatever reason, are more open to other genres of music and incorporating those sounds into their own. if "bombs over baghdad" is anything to go by, we're in for a hell of a ride.

i've often said that outkast compatriots the goodie mob were the new version of public enemy: in their message, they remain so, but with "bombs over baghdad," outkast presents a 21st-century take on the p.e. sound. neither andre or big boi possess the vocal authority of chuck d. but both of them are more nimble and are more suited to the bpm's utilized on this track. "b.o.b." sounds like a collaboration between timbaland and the bomb squad: the former brings his knowledge and skill with cutting-edge sounds while the latter bring the apocalyptic noise. i've looked at the hip-hop newsgroup, and some have taken to labelling this booty music: sure, you'd likely here the drum programming on one of those tracks, but touches like the droning organ, guitar solos, and the prince-like synth bass are what differentiate "b.o.b" from your average luke record.

the song certainly justifies its length. it moves deftly from verse to refrain: outkast have proven in the past that they know the value of a strong chorus and on "bombs" it's no different as they employ gospel choir to sing the infectious hook. as they did with "rosa parks," outkast change up things midway through the song. they themselves are not heard within the last two minutes; instead, they give way to a spotlight on the drum programming, dueling guitars and some well-placed scratching. the song wraps up with a chant by a gospel choir: i have no idea what they're saying but it's catchy as all hell and is the perfect ending for what may be the best single i've heard this year. since their debut, every time outkast dropped product, they've blown minds; they're the rare group that just keeps getting better and better. "bombs over baghdad" promises much and i can only hope that stankonia delivers on it.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

karen ejected from `big brother': first off, to the residents of the big brother house, I HATE ALL OF YOU ! YOU ALL SUCK!

last night, they had the opportunity to watch the video of the nominations plus a "surprise" and they refused to do so. oh, the great tv that could've been! God, they suck. so karen got kicked out -- big surprise. she got about 78% of the vote: it's never really close in these votes; the audience obviously latches on to one person that they want gone, and that person is always the one who has the most interesting. over the next two weeks, i imagine curtis and cassandra will be kicked out, so maybe that streak will be broken as both of them are known for being mild-mannered and respectable.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

'the simpsons' take british stages by storm: when i saw the headline, i thought those wacky brits were staging a musical of "the simpsons"! but actually, it was just the cast doing script-readings. alas, i'll continue to dream.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

more manson: click on the link and you'll hear another clip from his new album and some more artwork. this one's called "cruci-fiction in space" and it's not very promising.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

beck...and winona ryder?!: you seriously have to doubt her taste these days. matt damon, beck, autumn in new york...
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

eminem files for divorce: he just couldn't take the verbal and mental abuse anymore, i guess. poor fellow.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

british may amend ban on human cloning: leave it to the british to defy mother nature. but while they're just talking about cloning, the japanese are doing it. they cloned a pig named xena which they say stands for xenotransplantation, but you know what it really stands for.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

mccain diagnosed with skin cancer: he must be thinking to himself, "God, what a sucky year!" and he's right: first he loses the nomination to george w. and then has to do the loyal soldier thing and support the nimrod, and now he has skin cancer again. and let us not forget, he was locked up in a tiger cage for five years or so in vietnam! hopefully it all will work out for him because he's a great american.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

madonna materializes in l.a.: so hopefully this night on the town will dispel the rumors that the baby is having health problems.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

Wednesday, August 16, 2000

canada pm gets pie in the face: could you imagine anyone in this country being able to get that close to the president and throwing a pie in his face? not that he'd mind. BURN!!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

police capture giant teddy bear: well, hey, if i saw something that big in my backyard, if i had one, i'd call the cops too. why the hell do they even make teddy bears that big? though i guess the best question is why was someone leaving big teddy bears in peoples' backyards?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

so about this michael daddino...: as some of you may know, i've known mike for nearly three years now. recently, we've been finally trying to move up, now that i live in new york. we tried to meet up at a kelis show; we tried again with the magnetic fields; and we tried one more time last night at the roni size show in central park. imagine my amusement, then, when our rendezvous point was cordoned off.

by extreme luck, then, we did see each other. i saw him and thought it could be him so i looked at him as he approached, trying not to make it seem like i was staring. he caught a glimpse of me and said "fred solinger!" and extended his hand.

our meeting spot was blocked off because last night's show, unlike any of the others i've seen this year, had the people lined up. and oh, what a line! size must've looked out at the crowd and wondered why his record sales didn't correspond to the number of people in the audience. i consider tricky a more popular artist and his show wasn't even remotely like this -- maybe people were tipped off that he'd just be reading that night. basically, we didn't have a prayer of getting inside and i don't like size enough to wait on that line. so, like many others, we plopped down on the grass right behind the venue.

i intended on bringing you a review of that concert today. well, that's not going to happen because we left just as size was taking the stage, and the sounds we heard as we walked off to get some food weren't good enough to bring us back. we had been there at 6:30 and listened to the dj set -- my belief that drum n' bass makes for good aural wallpaper was proven last night as we talked right over the unobtrusive beats -- and then anoushka shankar treated us to her very quiet sitar stylings for the longest time. she seemed to be on for at least an hour. then someone we thought was size came on and i commented on how his music seems like it's incorporating more indian elements to it...but then we were told it wasn't size at all. so, it's 9:00 and we're hungry and mike's gotta leave soon so we head over to senor swanky's for some mexican food.

so who is this mike daddino, then? well, he's not as tall as i thought and the morrissey/elvis 'do was unexpected, but other than that, he's what i thought. he did impressions of stephin merritt and of morrissey doing "girls just wanna have fun" and he screamed and made faces and didn't seem to care what anyone thought. he's very animated and uses a lot of gestures. we got on very well, i think: there was no real awkwardness, for me at least, probably because we've talked on the phone for a while and i've just known him for so damned long. we discussed rock criticism, websites, pee-wee's big adventure (that was me, really), caffeine, drum & bass, the magnetic fields, frogs in boiling pots (him), and PUPPETS (because some kid whacked out on e was doing a puppet show, making them dance to the music. i really hoped that he actually had puppets for hands, but that wasn't the case sadly). whatever came up, we talked about and the conversation flowed very well. what i'm saying, then, is that he's a good man to know and i'm glad i do know him -- i certainly hope he feels the same way. see, kids, not everyone you meet on the net is insane. well, insane enough to chop you up into bits and then put you in a bag, at least.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

coming soon on mtv: al gore: what's wrong with the world when the republican candidate seems more rock n' roll than his democratic counterpart?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

ronan keating and paul oakenfold team up: ...for pinocchio. that's right, as in the fairy tale. as i said earlier, after a promising first single, it's all gone off the rails for ronan.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

"big brother" webcast allows you to see more...a lot more: which isn't necessarily a good thing. like the other night when karen was flipping out and kept opening the bathroom door as she was sitting on the toilet. or when she bent over and pulled down her pants to reveal (gulp) a thong -- luckily it was mostly censored. sisqo, what have you wrought?!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

clinton chows down at mcdonald's: i saw the picture of him leaving the mcdonald's this morning and i remarked, "that is the happiest i've ever seen that man look." and it's true.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

eve 6 encourage fans to "steal" songs: "i wouldn't pay for that crap either!" says lead singer max collins.

well, no, he doesn't say that, but he does advocate napster use. and, hey, i have to agree with what he says, despite the fact that i hate his music.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

couple names baby after web site: it's comforting to see that, even in these days where money is everything, parents still have their children's best interests at heart. at leas they're not naming the kids "yahoo." God knows we've seen enough of that.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

is the scooter trend boosting injuries?: oh, God, i can only hope so.
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Tuesday, August 15, 2000

my desktop: ...for those interested. i love this little image; it gets the most curious looks. there are many more like it at the great disturbing auctions site. for a larger image click on the thumbnail.

-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

hear robbie williams's new album!: lightening things up a bit, if you click on the above link, you'll be taken to the music page on robbie's website. he's putting up a different track from his new album every day up until its release on august 28th. today's offering: "supreme." it has a string sample and lyric nick from "i will survive" and features a big chorus in true robbie fashion. it's actually pretty good, so check it out.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

so this democratic national convention thing...: well, it looks like it's al gore's turn for the spotlight...that is, after the clintons have had their night. thankfully for al, they got it over on the first night of the convention. a note before starting: chelsea clinton deserves a lot of credit for turning out to be a decent human being. it's hard enough being a president's daughter, but when you're dad is having inappropriate meetings in the white house with interns not much older than you...well, it's amazing that she's still alive. and she's also grown out of her awkward phase into a nice-looking young woman, HOWEVER! your dad is the leader of the free world; you can get any hairstylist in the world to cut your hair. WHY, oh, WHY, then, is chelsea sporting a shirley temple 'do?! that look only works on precocious 5 year-olds: i'd have dad deport the guy who did that to you. it's within his power, you know.

anyhow, hillary. it should be pointed out that cbs dropped the ball on this one. just as she took to the stage, they went on a commercial break. when they returned, dan rather did his best to stress that she "just started." actually, the cbs coverage was a blessing in disguise: all they really missed out on was a three-minute standing ovation for hils, and you know she wasn't going to try to settle them down. she approached the stage to the strains of "new york, new york." yeah, i know. there were delegates holding up placards with one letter on them; together, the spelled out "senator hillary." unfortunately for mrs. clinton, these delegates were from colorado.

on to the speech. hillary really is a poor public speaker. oh, she doesn't stumble or stutter or what have you, she's just horribly average. her voice is monotonous and lacks a drop of sincerity: even if she really means what she's saying, you'd never know. it was almost painful to have to hear her speak for that amount of time, and this isn't even taking into account what she's saying.

her speech can be summed up this way:
- talk about how great the country is now thanks to "bill & al."
- her paragraph about gore and lieberman:
"i love (insert candidate's name). he is a great man and will make a wonderful president! his wife, (insert wife's name), is a very good friend of mine and she'll make a fine first lady. i've known (insert vp candidate's name) for a long time now, and let me tell you, he's a decent man. (vp candidate) believes in a woman's right to choose! (applause). his wife, (vp wife's name), is an upstanding woman and i'm glad i've gotten to know her."
- talk about me and what i've done for america.
- talk about why i should be a senator.
- "thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." that ought to hold the little s.o.b.'s.

right after hillary left the stage, film footage of her hubby was shown. watching these clips only highlights all of hillary's flaws as a speaker: you can understand why he became president of the united states and why she's just a lawyer. no matter what you think of the man or his politics, clinton is dynamic and charismatic. he knows how to make you believe what he's saying: he may be the best actor we've had as a president this side of ronald reagan (and that's not the only thing clinton picked up from reagan. read this interesting article from george for more).

his speech was good, but i think it was a tad too long. yeah, yeah, he's president and all and he should have as much time as he wants, but c'mon. he looked incredibly comfortable on stage: actually, with the way he was just sort of leaning on the podium, he seemed like he had a bit to drink before it. maybe he was just very happy to get this final chance to address the convention as president and to brag about his record and how good of a president he feels gore would be. unlike hillary, who seemed to make a trade off with the convention to mention gore in her speech if she got to talk about herself, clinton seemed generally interested in telling people about gore. in fact, gore shouldn't make his own acceptance speech, he should have clinton do it for him. instead, both he and hillary should be taking notes.

looking at clinton, you see a man who paid a price to become who he is. as i said last night, he's gone from russell crowe to jeffrey wigand in only eight years. he got the crowd excited last night and it'll be interesting to see if they can keep up that momentum. he ended his speech with a thank you to hillary for all she's done; you have to wonder if she was a little annoyed about being upstaged. and wherever gore is, you have to wonder if he's thinking the same thing. you can see why his people were wary about having the clintons around: he's going to look more wooden than ever after clinton's lively speech -- for God's sake, this is a man who had to take guy lessons from a chick! -- and he's lucky there's going to be a few days' gap between them. the problem with gore is that he's a hard candidate to get excited about, to rally behind, but hopefully for the democrats, he can maintain clinton's fire.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

bowie's a dad insane!: madonna's not the only superstar giving birth...um...becoming a parent again. david bowie's wife iman gave birth to their daughter, alexandria zahra jones, today right here in new york. thankfully, it seems both mother and child are doing just fine. congrats!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

gwyneth sings!: hear gwyneth paltrow take on smokey robinson's "cruisin'" with huey lewis (!) here, and read the whole sordid story here.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

ugh.: from salon:
"According to the U.K. Sun, Posh Spice and her soccer-star husband David Beckham are entertaining a $300,000 offer to pose together au naturel for the thinking man's skin mag [ed. - playboy is the mag in question]. (Territory mapped out a decade ago by Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson.) "
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

marilyn manson inspired by gary glitter on new album: he doesn't really get into it much in this story. the song is called "disposable teens" and will be a single: hopefully when he says "inspired by," he means his music and not his pedophilia. it could go either way, really.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

moby collaborates with kelis on new single: first off, i can't believe that "honey" hasn't been released as a single yet. secondly, it seems like we have a battle here: fatboy slim & macy gray vs. moby & kelis. the lines have been drawn.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

new beatles track!: sort of. it's a collaboration between paul mccartney and the super furry animals. it's a collage of sounds of everyday liverpool people mixed in with beatles chatter from an "eleanor rigby" session. sounds, um, good. when paul mccartney says, "it's a little side dish not to be confused with my other work," you have to wonder just how bad it is that he wouldn't want crap like standing stone confused with it.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

grodin to join "60 minutes ii": ugh, charles grodin! you know, there was a reason why his show was cancelled.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

fox drops "american high": like i said the last time, you don't put your unproven reality show up against "big brother." it's quite unfair. if it was on any other time besides wednesday at 9, i'd have watched it.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

man's eye removed in punishment for crime: in saudi arabia, a victim refused compensation of $200,000 so that his attacker's eye would be removed as punishment. it's hard for me to say which way i would've gone with this. yes, $200,000 is a lot of money, but how thrilling would it be to have the power to have someone's eye removed?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

madonna's baby in intensive care: according to a "hospital source," so take it with a grain of salt; her p.r. people call the claims "ludicrous." on the other hand, prince's people said the same thing about his child and, sadly, those reports turned out to be true. whatever the case, best wishes go out to both mother and child.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

dominatrix in bizarre death case: "police say a man missing for more than a month died during a sadomasochistic sex game, then was hacked up and stuffed into a trash bag by his panicked partner." yes, but how do we know that this too wasn't part of the sex game? s&m can be pretty rough. BELIEVE me.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

amazing larry dot net: is this something you can share with the rest of us, amazing larry? well, apparently it is. sadly, it's not really hosted by amazing larry, but it's informational nonetheless, and you can hear a .wav file of that classic line!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

victory is mine!: for a brief shining moment, i, or rather chase hamilton, topped the list at ratemypicture.com meaning that i, er, chase hamilton, is the BEST LOOKING MAN ON ALL OF THE INTERNET! and here's the proof!

-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

Monday, August 14, 2000

dumb luck: no offense intended, but i bet elastico has never had a hit day as good as today -- no, i'm not going to give them any more, thus no link. again, it's nothing personal. the blogger update list has apparently been stuck since midnight on the same ten blogs. normally, i wouldn't make note of this, but since stb! isn't in that ten or on the fresh list, i had to say something. ;)
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

new mixtape: i'm thinking of killing the playlist page: the first step is just to post my latest tape on the blog as i make it. secondly, i may just move the current playlist back to the side table where it had been previously. i'm not sure yet, though. anyway, here are the contents of the tape i made yesterday.

side a:
guns n' roses, "welcome to the jungle"
brian eno, "needle in the camel's eye"
david bowie, "suffragette city"
guns n' roses, "paradise city"
moby, "feeling so real"
abba, "dancing queen"
john cale, "paris 1919"
magnetic fields, "all my little words"
magnetic fields, "the luckiest guy on the lower east side"
janet jackson, "love will never do (without you)"
guns n' roses, "sweet child o' mine"

side b:
kid rock, "wasting time"
thieves, "unworthy"
morrissey, "everyday is like sunday"
future bible heroes, "lonely days"
stevie wonder, "where were you when i needed you?"
scott walker, "big louise"
shangri-las, "past, present and future"
magnetic fields, "busby berkeley dreams"
beach boys, "girls on the beach"
magnetic fields, "asleep and dreaming"
rolling stones, "let it loose"
stevie wonder, "i believe when i fall in love (it will be forever)"
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

hear new go-betweens' song!: click on the link and then proceed to download. i'm in the middle of downloading my copy, but as soon as i hear it, i'll let you know what i think. hurry up and get it because it'll only be up for today!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

NIGHTS OF CABIRIA - dir. federico fellini
nights of cabiria is showing in a dazzling restored print at the film forum, so i went and saw it on saturday. i hesitate to call giuletta masina's performance one of the best comedic displays i've ever seen: no, not because it isn't good enough, but because i fear it's too limiting. she's certainly very funny, but the role of cabiria, the "night walker" who's looking for true love, demands a performance that is both hilarious and poignant, one that makes you laugh until you cry and then makes you cry until you can't anymore.

masina reminds me of an italian lucille ball, except good ol' lucy never lit up the big screen quite the same way. like her character in la strada, masina seems to be always attracted to loutish figures, beginning with giorgio, a beau who steals her purse and then pushes her into a lake. he's followed by alberto lazzati, a fading star, who picks her up for the night and seems genuine in his interest until his girlfriend pays him a visit and cabiria spends the night locked in the bathroom.

cabiria strikes you as someone who never really wanted to get into the "business," but ended up falling into it anyway. she desperately seems to want out of it, to find a good man to lead her out of it, to give herself over to religion, but both of these avenues fail. one fateful night at a hypnotist's show changes all of that, though. a fling with a man she meets after the show seems like it could be real love...but is it? the ending is incredibly emotional and the final two minutes of the film serve as a haunting conclusion to masina's masterful performance.

the film is very much what we'd expect from fellini, even though it is from his early period. many of his trademarks on are on parade here: the spectacle, the religious imagery, and the whole ethos of life as one big carnival. his direction is fluid and artful: the images he captures are quite amazing and the restoration process lets you see all of them in their full glory; rome remains, as ever, an incredible place to film. what does set this apart from his later works is the naivity of it: whereas his later films give off a cosmopolitan air, there is something just downright provincial about nights of cabiria.

cabiria, i believe, is an underrated film: it certainly deserves to be right up there in fellini's canon and it's definitely a better film than the overlong la dolce vita. cabiria is about faith and hope in the face of all odds, it's a tribute to the human spirit. above all, though, i believe it's a tribute to the director's wife, masina. he captures her with the eye of a loving husband and, thankfully, he also captured her for the whole world to see.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

lopez in brain conundrum: that tumor lodged in her pituitary gland certainly hasn't stopped her ass from growing.

and the only reason i joke is because the story comes from the star. if it's true, my sympathies go out to her.

and don't tell me you weren't thinking it too.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

ratemypicture.com: thanks to kate for pointing this out to me. it should come as a surprise to no one that i joined. oh, this is only the greatest thing since..."making the band" or the huge head in pee-wee's big adventure. if you click here, you can see my profile and vote! (before you ask, i like jack steele better than my real name.) also, you can vote by utilizing the little applet on the left table on this very page. it's the greatest form of validation known to man: anonymous people (teens, mostly, i'd bet) rate you based solely on how you look! what more can someone who needs constant reassurance ask for? besides positive voting, i guess.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

making the band!: it's been a while since i talked about this one. mainly because i had missed a couple of episodes. so i tune in friday and find out that ikaika is leaving the band!! it really comes as a surprise to no one: lou pearlman had to know that this kid was a little fucked up in the head, but on the other hand, they needed a good-looking one. he fit the role of the george michael type: the quiet one who wants to be more than just a teen heartthrob.

i feel sorry for the kid because it's obvious that his family have him on a string. when he went, it was only because his family told him to do so, that there was a lot of money to be made in it. he finally started enjoying what he was doing until brother haku came back onto the scene. (which reminds me, do you know that pop singer hoku's name is hoku ho? hmm.) in the first episodes, ikaika stated that his older brothers had dreams of making it in music: well, haku seems content just to travel with the band. basically, he tried to get a job as the band's security guy: something that, not only did the other guys not know about, but that they wouldn't have approved if they did know. that basically fell through and so haku came to reclaim ikaika who, when asked by the guys, "why?", let his brother do all of the talking.

the guys decided to try it as four but, when erik's voice (his name is erik estrada, btw) essentially died trying to do ikaika's part, they realized they had to be five, but both mike and bryan, the guys who got cut, have voices that are too low to replace ikaika's. lou started auditioning guys and to look at them, you know that he realizes that the good-looking one is gone and they need someone to fill that role. the o-town guys decide that there's only one guy who can take ikaika's place: dan miller. dan, poor fellow, is not very good looking and, based on the clips from next week's show, he's not working out very well. you have to feel bad for him: yes, he's getting a shot at fame but he's got to get up to speed with guys who have been doing nothing but practicing for months now. i once said i swore off this show after the band selection, but who was i fooling? i love this damned show and i can't wait to see how it all turns out!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

ERYKAH BADU - "BAG LADY"
erykah badu makes her return to the musical landscape with this, her new single. the queen of the retro-soul movement releases her new platter in the same year that the movement's progenitor released his: badu isn't the sloth that d'lo is but, comparing their "comeback" singles, if you will, her new single unfortunately lacks any real impact.

when badu's "on and on" hit the air, there wasn't another song on the radio like it. it was jazzy but it was also very of its time -- her similarities to billie holiday are coincidental and so there were no conscious efforts to update that style. the album which followed certainly had its highpoints, but it was often plagued by dullness. "bag lady," with its sampled guitar lick from dr. dre's "xxplosive," sounds right at home on contemporary radio...and this is not a good thing. add the requisite "uhh, come on"s from puffy and it's bad boy-ready.

badu had a definite niche in the market with her last work; with "bag lady," she doesn't come off distinctive at all. the lyrics are fine, about letting go of your emotional baggage, and thankfully aren't marred by any feel-good sentiments but this doesn't change the fact the song itself isn't memorable. the beat is fine though it feels more at home on the dre song it's sampled from; the melody is fairly generic, and even badu's vaunted vocals add very little to the song.

i realize that this review is fairly short and lacking in insight, but i feel so underwhelmed by this single that i haven't been able to muster up much. when i end up calling something "disappointing," i always add, "hopefully the album will be better" or something like that and it's the same here. with commercial disappointments by all of the leading lights of the sound, the retro-soul movement is crumbling: if it's to survive at all, badu's new record is going to have be more inspiring than what she's put forth here.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

timbaland to produce papa roach: on friday, i mentioned timbaland working with beck and my bemusement with it. well, now, i'm desperately trying to keep my head from exploding as i contemplate the timbaland/papa roach collaboration.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

soccer star beckham sings on spice wife's single: aw.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

rob reiner likens gore to nixon, johnson: okay, never mind any of that. i'm by no means a gore supporter, but this article reveals that spike jonze put together film footage of gore out on the campaign trail. if this gets screened at the convention, i'll have to watch it.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

sting plans free central park concert: this concert, on the other hand, i won't feel bad about missing at all. never understimate the power of a car commercial: just look at what it did for nick drake, and it's worked even greater wonders for sting -- it lifted his new song into the top 20 and got him back on top 40 radio!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

lamb unveil new songs at free new york show: damn, i should've gone to that show after all, i guess...but on the other hand, if i had gone to that i probably wouldn't have rented pee-wee's big adventure. more on that later!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

madonna underwent emergency op: so madonna had a detached placenta and had to have an emergency c-section. i wonder if any of these complications were brought on by ritchie's wishes to induce early labor so that the birth wouldn't coincide with the premiere of his upcoming film? you'd like to think that this wasn't the case.

secondly. rocco? i knew exactly one rocco in my life and, boy, was he a rocco. does anyone know if madonna has any relatives named rocco that she's honoring with the name? it's a very strange pick for a name; actually, it sounds like something kid rock's child would be named, but even he's not that ridiculous.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss