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There’s almost no chance that Taylor Hicks will turn his American Idol win into a lasting high-profile career. His identity isn’t distinct enough to slice through the media clutter. But he’s a likable guy. So yes, Taylor, rest assured, you’re making someone proud.
Straight-ahead rock, no chaser. Okay, it’s not Great Art, but it’s a good addition to an exercise music mix — it’ll keep those legs a-turnin’.
The central trope of King’s latest is quite funny: that cell phones will drive their users mad, turning them into zombies who travel the country like crazed pack dogs. King works in plenty of clever digs at our cell-obsessed culture. (And he makes it clear on the back flap that he himself doesn’t own a cell.)
The first half is a lot of fun, then the story peters out. The main character has to travel by foot through the Northeastern U.S., dodging the cell phone zombies while trying to rendezvous with his son. King attempts to invest this journey with great emotion –- and his prose is graceful and colorful as always — but he didn’t succeed in making me care.
On most tunes, this American Idol runner-up is as bland as day-old margarine, but she does justice to this venerable chestnut. Anyone who can sing an interesting version of this Harold Arlen classic has a place in my heart.
If you’ve been near the radio, you’ve heard this talented Brit emote through this hyper-catchy pop tune: “No one else can feel it for you / only you can let it in…” Check out the special bonus: throughout the lyrics runs the metaphor of a book being written. For a pop tune, that’s brainy.
On a hipness scale of one to ten, this Dick Dale knock-off is easily pushing a nine. As you listen, you’ll feel your head bobbing with the groove, your feet will begin to move, and before you know it you’ll be in a full-bore sweat.
I had a blast being a guest on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. (We spoke about my book American Bee.) Being interviewed by Stewart is easy because he does all the work – I was amazed at his ability to riff in the moment. He didn’t know what I was going to say but instantly found a fresh comic response. Chatting with him in the green room ahead of time, I realized he’s as funny and interesting in person as he is on TV. Here’s a video clip.
Trivia point: the gift bag given to guests is pretty nice, in an odd Daily Show kind of way. The tote bag contains a bottle of Boru Vodka, a pair of women’s earrings made by Avon (dangling, turquoise and garish), a box of Atkins Advantage Granola Bars (high protein), a box of Party Smart herbal remedy pills (intended to fight hangovers), a passel of gift certificates (including one for a pair of Rockport Shoes – clearly the high point) and a bag full of every flavor of Altoid mints ever made.
Oh, and a cocktail shaker made by Gran Centenario Tequila, with an offer for three free bottles of Tequila. I’m in no danger of running out of Tequila.
They’re sassy, they’re opinionated, they’re hated on Country radio, and…they’ve got a hit! And a well-deserved one. The tune is a feel-good, stand-up-for-what-you-believe-in anthem. You go, Chicks.
Sebastian Junger really knows how to tell a story. The author of The Perfect Storm once again provides strong narrative drive in this nonfiction account of the Boston Strangler murders in Boston in the early ’60s. He has an odd connection to the tale in that a man who may have been the real Strangler briefly worked as a handyman for his family.
The story flashes between several venues, including a Boston courtroom and the prison life of a man who Junger suggests was wrongly convicted of a Strangler-like murder. The book isn’t quite at the level of Perfect Storm – it feels less immediate, even though, like Perfect Storm, it’s a story of life or death. But it’s a highly enjoyable read nonetheless.
Turning on the news is a sobering event these days. An entire swath of the planet is at war. Israel and Hezbollah bombing each other, North Korea shooting “test” missiles, our forces suffering constant casualties in Iraq. In the early ’90s Rodney King asked, “Can’t we all just get along?” The answer – definitely – is “absolutely not.”
The raging conflagration in the Mideast points out what a stupendous blunder it was for us to invade Iraq. We are there (supposedly) to foster a stable democratic society in the Mideast. The current hostilities make it clear that that’s like trying to build a house of cards in a windstorm.
I’m not sure what to do about Iraq. If we leave, it will disintegrate into chaos, but my hunch is that long term it will anyway, whether or not we stay. I wish we could get some professionals in office – not the current clowns who are floundering around - to take an enlightened look at what our best course is. America desperately needs some competent leadership - for a change.
Simpson channels ’80s vintage Madonna for this tired if not unpleasant example of generic club pop. Warning: may cause drowsiness. Don’t operate a motor vehicle while listening to this.
This is surely one of the best novels of the last few years. The Civil War story of Inman (played by Jude Law in the film) and Ada Monroe (Nicole Kidman) pulls the reader into a vivid alternative universe. The level of sensuous detail is profound. We see, hear, smell and feel Inman’s stoic journey across the South to rejoin Ada, and Ada’s struggle to adapt from a pampered city girl to a self-sufficent farm owner.
Before starting the book I was amazed. I knew it had sold more than a million copies, and when I realized it’s 450 pages of dense prose, I thought, wow, I guess there’s a mass audience for serious fiction — I had no idea. (And obviously the film drove most of those sales.) Making commercial success even more unlikely, the first five pages are slow — Frazier refuses to hurry his storytelling.
But then I became immersed in the world he creates and it became clear: Frazier is a magical writer. No wonder this book sold so well. I can’t wait for his next one.
By the way, the novel’s ending is more realistic yet also more poetic than the film’s. Hollywood created a smile-faced ending which isn’t as satisfying.
Bon Jovi does a nice job of goin’ country, proving that not all country is pre-fabricated noise made by guys and gals in cowboy hats. A good beat.
This tune is the real thing. In a sea of shiney corporate product, this R&B flavored version of U2’s megahit is medicine for the soul.
James Carville wrote a great rah-rah piece in the Washington Post about how Hillary can win in 2008. He makes the point that Bush won over Kerry in 2004 due partially to a nine-point shift among Hispanic voters.
Which leads me to my Hillary-Bill Richardson thesis. If Clinton were to choose Bill Richardson as her running mate, those nine points would swing back to the Democrats. Not only is Richardson Hispanic, he’s got serious foreign policy chops, he’s well-spoken, grounded, and telegenic.
Clinton-Richardson, 2008. Yup, that sounds really good.
I’ve read Lauren Weisberger’s novel — it’s frothy, low-cal fun — but I was still surprised by the film version. They’ve reworked the book thoroughly, giving it a clearer, more direct plot and stronger secondary characters. It’s a rare case in which the film is actually better than the book.
The story of how the fresh and innocent Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) copes in the bitchy, image-obsessed world of New York magazines is funny and decidedly lightweight. The one factor that pushes this film into the “recommended” category is Meryl Streep, who’s virtuosic as the boss from Hades. When she’s onscreen this is truly a good movie. Could it be that Streep is actually getting better as an actress?
The cover of this week’s U.S. News & World Report touts an article about “Secrets to a Stress-Free Summer,” including one nugget entitled “How To Relax.” The subject, apparently, is one we need detailed instruction about. “Vacation isn’t about output,” cautions U.S. News.
It’s nutty — as a country we’re drowning in debt, yet we live such frenetic lives that we need guidance in how to chill out. Strange, huh?
One day historians will be sifting through the wreckage of our civilization and they’ll come across this article, with its droll litany of helpful hints, like “a vacation shouldn’t be a forced march.” They’ll shake their heads in amazement, and retire to the Relaxation Pod for a good laugh.
It’s good old fashion rock ‘n’ roll (dressed up as “alternative”): real guitars, pounding drums, impassioned male vocals. Like, cool, dude.