Frank Miller To Director ‘Buck Rogers’

The producers behind “The Spirit” obviously have a lot of faith in Frank Miller, because they have just handed him another directing gig. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miller is in the final negotiations to direct “Buck Rogers” for Oddlot Entertainment and Millennium Films.

“Buck Rogers,” for those of you feeling lost, was one of the first major sci-fi stories. In fact, it was the very first sci-fi comic series, kicking off with its first strip in 1929, and it ran until 1967. The series followed an ordinary American and former Air Force pilot who was exposed to a gas that put him in a state of suspended animation for 500 years. He wakes up in the future, where he’s eventually recruited to help battle intergalatic menaces to Earth.

It had a brief revival in the ’80’s (E.T. gets the idea for his communicator from a Buck Rogers strip), and the character has been adapted numerous times for radio, television, and movies.

Miller has been rumored to have the directing job for months. He will be writing and sketching his own version of Buck Rogers and not surprisingly, it’s expected to be dark, with his usual focus on corruption, sex, and violence. As the original Buck Rogers was good, clean, all-American fun, you can expect a fair amount of controversy when his take is revealed.

It’s really quite surprising that Miller would get another directing job before “The Spirit” even hits theaters. Buzz on the comic legend’s debut has been mixed, and negative reviews are beginning to hit the press as we speak. Will Oddlot and Millennium regret they didn’t wait until the critical reviews and box office numbers were tallied?

Are you interested in seeing Miller’s take on Buck Rogers? Or should he just stick to comic books?

Guitarist says no Smiths reunion

Johnny Marr, former guitarist with The Smiths, has quashed rumours that his old band are to reunite.
The legendary 80s group, fronted by Morrissey, were rumoured to be reforming for American festival Coachella. “The stories circulating about a Smiths reunion are as usual untrue,” explained Marr in a statement. The guitarist is a member of Wakefield band The Cribs and is set to record an album with them in 2009. “I’m very excited about writing and recording with The Cribs for a new album, to be released next summer,” added Marr, “and we’re playing shows in February, so going back in time isn’t in my plans.” The Smiths split in 1987, just before the release of their fourth album Strangeways, Here We Come, and have so far resisted any offers to reform.

Original Village People Vocalist Undergoes Surgery

Victor Willis, original lead singer of the Village People, underwent surgery July 8 in San Diego to remove benign nodules from his vocal cords, according to a press release. Willis, who was scheduled to hit the road Aug. 9 as part of the 2008 Disco Dance Tour, is expected to fully recover and return to the stage by October.

According to the press release, Willis' voice originally became hoarse in 2007 after he played several concert dates. His doctors advised vocal rest, forcing the cancellation of European and Canadian tour dates scheduled for March and April of this year.

Willis began rehearsing again in June in preparation for his upcoming US tour but when his voice began to get horse again, surgery was recommended.

Boy George's US tour is cancelled

Boy George has just announced tour dates in South America

Boy George has cancelled his North American solo summer tour days before it was due to start because he has been denied a work visa by US officials.

The former Culture Club frontman had been scheduled to kick off his 24-date tour on 11 July in Las Vegas.

The singer said he has been banned because of a forthcoming false imprisonment trial in London.

Speaking to US news programme The Today Show, the 47-year-old said: "It's a disaster because of the fans."

'Kind people'

He was arrested last year after a 28-year-old male escort from Norway accused the singer/DJ of false imprisonment by chaining him to a wall and assaulting him, claims which the star denies.

The singer - whose real name is George O'Dowd - has promised fans he will return to the US early next year for the tour.

"If I have to wait it'll be even better," he said.

I love America and I am really sad that it appears that I am not allowed to visit a place I have called home at various times in my life

Boy George

In a message posted on his website, George said: "I am getting my life together and was really looking forward to performing in concert for all my loyal fans.

"I love America and I am really sad that it appears that I am not allowed to visit a place I have called home at various times in my life.

"But what has happened to me has nothing to do with the American people - they are kind people with big heart."

Tom Casey, a spokesman for the US State Department, told reporters immigration files are confidential.

He added: "There often are difficulties for individuals who either are currently subject to criminal charges or otherwise may have criminal records."

Meanwhile, George has announced six autumn tour dates in South America, starting in September in Brazil.

Bucks Fizz Back Together Again?

Since their heydey in the early ‘80s, Bucks Fizz has performed in a variety of mystifying incarnations. Jay Aston was the first of the classic line-up to leave (in 1985), to be replaced by Shelley Preston. Various other members came and went in the succeeding years and, for a while, David Van Day (formerly of Dollar) joined. later David left, teamed up with ex-Bucks Fizz singer, Mike Nolan - and suddenly there were two Bucks Fizzes!
The current line up of ‘The Original Bucks Fizz’ http://www.myspace.com/originalbucksfizz is Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Shelly Preston. According to another Bucks Fizz site on MySpace ‘Buck5Fizz recently starred in the Comic Relief video with Peter Kay & Matt Lucas..."It's the first time Cheryl & Jay had been in the same room for 20 years. We are all hoping to put all our differences aside and tour later this year as a five piece. We are all very excited at the prospect" ‘....
Interesting to see if that really happens. In the meantime, your next chance to see the ‘Original BF’ is on the Gay Pride Main stage on 24th May in Birmingham. The group will share a bill with Sonia, Brotherhood of Man and Scooch. Sounds good to me. And here, to get you in the mood, is the ever-popular Making Your Mind Up...

SirGeorge.us

Square Pegs on DVD May 20th 2008

 

In 1982, long before Sex and the City, and before roles in films like Honeymoon in Vegas, Flight of the Navigator and Footloose, Sarah Jessica Parker first came to national attention in the short-lived CBS series Square Pegs. The show co-starred Amy Linker (D.A.R.Y.L.), and the cast also included Jami Gertz (Twister, ER, Still Standing), Tracy Nelson (Father Dowling Mysteries) and Merritt Butrick (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock). The show's theme song was by The Waitresses, who appeared in the first episode.
Other guest stars in the program's 20-episode run included Don Novello (as "Father Guido Sarducci"), disc jockey Richard Blade, John Densmore (the drummer from The Doors), popular '80s music group DEVO, Tony Dow (Leave It To Beaver), Martin Mull (Mr. Mom, Roseanne, Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Bill Murray (Saturday Night Live, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters), Steve Sax...and the rest of the Los Angeles Dodgers!
With Sarah Jessica Parker back to theaters soon in Sex and the City: The Movie, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has finally decided that it's time to bring Square Pegs - The Complete Series to DVD! All 20 episodes are coming to a 3-disc set which includes an exclusive new interview with Parker, along with a couple of "minisodes" (3-6 minute super-short versions of regular Sony-owned television episodes from classic primetime shows).
Cost will be $29.95 SRP, and the street date is May 20th (about a week and a half before Sex and the City: The Movie hits the box office). Video is full-frame, audio is English - Stereo, and Subtitles will be in French. Running time is approximately 460 minutes. It's still a few weeks before the folks at Sony formally announce this, so all info is taken from an early heads-up sent to retailers, and is subject to change.

SirGeorge.us

White Lion - Return of the Pride

If you feel that what music needs the most is sappy ballads, screeching guitars and more rock and roll, then Return of the Pride will fill that hole in your heart. In the everything old is new again category is the return of 80’s hair band White Lion.  Yeah, that’s right.  I said White Lion has a new album.  It took seventeen years to get a new album released but the band is back…we’ll Mike Tramp, the lead singer, is back with a new group that carries the same name. The good news is they haven’t gone the pop country way of their contemporary Bon Jovi.  White Lion is here to rock out with their…well you know…on Return of the Pride. Rock music has become neutered over the past decade thanks to bands like Nickelback and Fallout Boy.  To hear an honest to God rock band these days seems like a cool drink of water in the desert. White Lion isn’t going to quench your thirst but they will wet your lips and make you remember what rock music sounds like. There has been some debate over the fact that Mike Tramp is dusting off the White Lion name and parading back out into the market place.  After all, is a band really the same if only one of the original members is still performing…Alex Rose says yes.  White Lion isn’t the first name that jumps to your mind when you think of hard rocking 80’s hair bands.  The two songs (“Wait”, “When The Children Cry”) they’re most known for are more of the ‘anthem’ softer sound that was so popular in the late 80’s.  Surprisingly, White Lion developed a harder sound and bring their A game to their return album. Does that mean you’re going to find the new White Lion trying to redo “Wait” or “When the Children Cry”?  Not really, lead guitarist Jamie Low fills the boots of Vito Bratta with scorching guitar solos (and would hair metal be without guitar solos?).  Return of the Pride opens with the intense “Sangre de Christo”.  It’s an epic song that lasts and full 8-minutes.  It kicks off the album and sets you up for the rest.  “Live Your Life” is a kick in the ass wakeup call that hair metal fans will air guitar to. Then there is the obligatory ballad with “Never Let You Go”.  Tramp waxes poetic about love, of course. Your enjoyment of Return of the Pride will largely depend up on your love of 80’s hair metal.  If you think it’s crap, odds are you’re really not going to enjoy this CD at all.  If you feel that what music needs the most is sappy ballads, screeching guitars and more rock and roll, then Return of the Pride will fill that hole in your heart. 

Whatever Happened To: Dennis Haskins

Dennis Haskins played "Mr. Belding" on the TV shows "Good Morning Miss Bliss," "Saved By The Bell," and "Saved By The Bell: The New Class" between 1987 and 2000. Here's a picture of Dennis Haskins from his early days on Saved By The Bell:

When Saved By The Bell went off the air in 2000 Haskins struggled to find acting work and he undoubtedly felt pigeon-holed in his role as Mr. Belding. In an attempt to change his image Haskins grew a mustache. Haskins eventually shaved his mustache and became a party animal trying to pick up college-age women at bars. He currently enjoys life and eats every piece of greasy and fatty food in sight as shown in the pictures below.

TMZ.com recently posted some pictures of Dennis Haskins partying in Las Vegas with women who appear to be strippers. Apparently Haskins is still a huge (literally) party animal!

Ronson teams up with Duran Duran

Ronson, who recently revealed he was working on a potential Bond theme with Amy Winehouse, is currently in the studio crafting the remixes.

He said Duran Duran "were the only band I ever idolised" and admitted he "used to take a picture of [bassist] John Taylor with me to the barber shop".

The gig will take place at La Cigale in Paris on 2 July.

Ronson will also play a set with his own band, the Version Players, with Simon Le Bon taking a guest vocal slot.

In a statement, Le Bon called Ronson "one of the biggest talents to have emerged in recent years".

"He's taking popular music in a new, exciting and fresh direction," he said. "He also looks great in a well cut suit, and has the blood and voice of an Englishman."

Although the musicians did not reveal which tracks they would be collaborating on, Duran Duran's hits include Save A Prayer, Wild Boys and Rio.

The group, renowned for their trend-setting widescreen promo videos, picked up a lifetime achievement award at the 2004 Brit awards.

Ronson has also been the recipient of a Brit prize - taking home Best British Male at this year's ceremony.

Their collaborative concert is invite-only, but will be filmed and shown around the world, according to sponsor Smirnoff.

Rubiks Cube alarm clock is retro cool

This clock looks awesome and it reminds you of the 80’s immediately and the fact that you couldn’t solve this thing to save your life. Have no fear, this one will be easy to solve since only the top row twists to switch between time, temperature, alarm and date modes.

It’s also very affordable at $24.98. Just think, now when you wake up, if you are out of it enough you might think it’s the 80’s again, just for a second or two. Just thank your lucky stars that it doesn’t require you to fully solve it in order to shut it off. If that were the case, it would have to hit the wall very hard one morning.
What On Earth

Woman faces Cusack stalking trial

A 33-year-old US woman must stand trial on charges of stalking actor John Cusack, a Los Angeles judge has ruled.

Emily Leatherman, who had previously been ordered to stay away from the Better Off Dead star, was recently arrested outside his Malibu house.

Ms Leatherman faces up to three years in prison if convicted of stalking. She is also charged with petty theft.

Cusack was granted a restraining order in 2006 that stated she must stay at least 500ft (152m) away from him.

In court papers, Cusack said Ms Leatherman was "showing unusual interest by stalking, throwing long letters of interest over my fence in bags with rocks and screwdrivers inside".

She was arrested at the beginning of April after a taxi driver alerted police that she did not have enough money to pay her fare.

According to police, Cusack approached officers and said Ms Leatherman had been following him.

Queen plan second stage musical

Queen guitarist Brian May has revealed a sequel to the stage musical We Will Rock You will be bought to the stage.

"We are planning the sequel," he said. "It is a real challenge."

The 60-year-old said about two million people had seen We Will Rock You, written and directed by Ben Elton, since it opened in London in 2002.

May also said the band were preparing for their autumn tour and new album. "The long arm of Queen has pulled me back in at the moment. It is a beast."

He added: "We've pressed the button to go on tour this autumn so already the preparations are very consuming.

"We've chosen our set, we've chosen our environment on tour. It is very exciting, very exciting indeed. Very time consuming but Queen always was consuming."

Productions of We Will Rock You, based on the songs of Queen, have since opened in Australia, Spain, Russia, the US, Japan and Germany.

Vanilla Ice released after arrest

Rapper Vanilla Ice has been released from jail after being arrested for allegedly pushing his wife.

The 39-year-old - real name Robert Van Winkle - was held on Thursday night at the couple's home in Florida.

Police said his wife called emergency services, saying she had been kicked and hit during an argument. Later she told officers the star only pushed her.

The rapper denied pushing her, according to police, and he was charged with simple domestic battery.

He was freed on Friday after appearing in court. His agent, Tommy Quon, said he had not heard about the arrest and could not comment.

Mr Van Winkle, who sold 15 million copies of the single Ice Ice Baby in 1990, spent a night in jail in 2001 after being arrested following a domestic dispute. Hooked is the debut album by American rapper Vanilla Ice, released in 1989.

New York Mets fall victim to Rick Astley online prank

For many years the Mets were New York's underdog team, the scrappy poorer cousins of the wealthy Yankees. Now, it seems, they have unwittingly chosen an underdog of their own, a long-neglected 1980s English pop star, to represent them.

When the baseball team asked fans to vote online for a new eighth-inning sing-along tune, five million voters bypassed classic American hits like Jon Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer and Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, instead writing in ballots for a chart-topper from a 1980s Lancastrian pop star.

New Yorkers, it seemed, thought Rick Astley’s 1987 hit Never gonna give you up would best rally their team.
It was only when chatrooms and blogs began buzzing with reports of the 42-year-old Lancastrian’s surprise success that organisers realised they had been “rickrolled”.
The baseball team has become the latest victim of the online prank that aims to play the song, which topped UK charts for five weeks in 1987, as often as possible.
Shortly after the Mets posted the poll on their website last week, online communities including fark.com and digg.com rallied their readers to vote for Astley’s song, swamping the team's website with votes for the 1980s hit.

Rather than commit to the results, however, the New York team will stage a run-off of the top six songs, including Livin’ on a Prayer, Sweet Caroline, The Monkees' I’m a Believer, Billy Joel's Movin’ Out, and Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations.

Rickrolling started as an online in-joke: community members posted links with enticing titles, luring readers in with offers of celebrities or sex, or both, but the link was, in fact, directed to YouTube clips of the camp pop star’s dated music video.

As the phenomenon has grown, the song has been revived as a widespread in-joke in the real world, too, and has been played at sporting events and protests alike in “live rickrolling” events. Last month four women's basketball games at Eastern Washington University were rickrolled, and anti-Scientology protesters blasted the song from boomboxes in London, Edinburgh, New York and Washington.

Rickrolling is only the latest, and perhaps most popular, example of the Internet “meme”, the repetitive transmission of ideas across the web, and follows the more rudimentary duckroll, in which readers were re-directed to an image of a duck on wheels.

The 42-year-old Englishman seems slightly bemused by the rickrolling phenomenon.

“If this had happened around some kind of rock song, with a lyric that really meant something -- a Bruce Springsteen, 'God bless America' ... or an anti-something kind of song, I could kind of understand that,” Astley told the LA Times Web Scout blog.

“But for something as, and I don’t mean to belittle it, because I still think it’s a great pop song, but it’s a pop song; do you know what I mean? It doesn’t have any kind of weight behind it, as such. But maybe that’s the irony of it.”

Astley fans' rush hour 'flashmob'

Fans of pop star Rick Astley descended on London's Liverpool Street train station for a "flashmob" event.

The "flashmob" - where a group of people assemble in a public place for a brief period of time - happened just before 1800 BST.

Some of the fans donned Astley masks in honour of the 1980s hitmaker, before the crowd sang his trademark hit Never Gonna Give You Up.

Police said the incident passed peacefully - if not quietly.

'Really funny'

Witness Paras Barot, 22, from Golders Green in north London, said he heard about the event on social networking site Facebook and decided to head to the station.

"I got there with some friends just before 6pm, and there were lots of people there - the whole station was at a standstill."

He said he thought there were some 300 or 400 people taking part in the event.

"There was a countdown from 5.59 to 6pm. Some guys put their masks on, and a lot of them started singing the song.

"For those of us who knew what was going on it was really funny."

Mr Barot said he did not join in the singing. "I don't know the words."

A British Transport Police spokeswoman said: "We monitored the incident. There were no problems, no arrests. They did what they had to do and then left."

An estimated 13 million internet users have been tricked into watching the video for Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up in recent weeks.

Blondie tour to mark anniversary

US pop band Blondie are to embark on a tour to mark the 30th anniversary of their album Parallel Lines.

The group will play a string of US dates in June before moving on to the UK in July, performing in Glasgow, Liverpool and the Guilfest festival.

The album propelled Blondie, fronted by Deborah Harry, to stardom, spawning hit singles including Heart of Glass and Hangin' On The Telephone.

Parallel Lines topped the charts in the UK and reached number six in the US.

The tour will kick off in Baltimore on 5 June and the US leg will wind up at Milwaukee's Summerfest on 28 June.

The band enjoyed global success in the late 1970s and early '80s

The band will co-headline their concert in Liverpool on 22 July with The Stranglers and are also due to perform two gigs in Norway at the start of August. More shows are expected to be added.

After five UK number one singles and six studio albums, Blondie split in 1982.

They reformed in the late 1990s and returned to the charts after an absence of 17 years with a sixth UK chart-topper, Maria, in 1999.

The band were inducted into the US Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

Nicolas Cage is No Chihuahua Thief!

Cage took action against Turner after she alleged he was arrested twice for drunk-driving while they were making the 1986 film Peggy Sue Got Married.

Turner also alleged he was arrested for stealing a Chihuahua.

Cage accused Turner of "defamation, libel and slander" by including the allegations in her recent book, Send Yourself Roses: My Life, Love and Leading Roles.

The action was brought in the UK because an extract of Turner's book was reprinted in the Daily Mail and on its website.

'Gratified'

Cage's UK solicitor Simon Smith said the Oscar-winning actor was "extremely pleased" with the outcome of the case "since he has never been arrested for drink driving, dog theft or anything else".

"As an actor who stars in many family-friendly films and who has a young child and teenager of his own, Mr Cage was understandably upset at having been wrongly depicted as condoning that sort of reckless, dangerous and criminal behaviour."

The actor, he continued, was "gratified that the defendants have done the right thing by acknowledging their errors and making amends".

The donation will be made to the National Adult Protective Services Foundation, a US charity which benefits vulnerable adults.

The Daily Mail has agreed to publish an apology and remove the article from its website.

Headline has also agreed to insert a correction and apology into copies of Turner's book.

McConaughey to play Magnum P.I.?

I'm a fan of Magnum P.I..

As one of the most iconic television shows of the 1980's, I'm glad that I was there to see it first time around. Tom Selleck was the definitive Thomas Magnum, He was Magnum! To show how much of a fan I am... I have a Tom Selleck section in my DVD collection!

For the past decade or so Universal Pictures have been trying to bring Magnum P.I. to the big screen, as usual names such as George Clooney and Ben Affleck had been mooted for the part, but now Entertainment Weekly state that the script for the Magnum film has been passed to the world's most famous bongo player Matthew McConaughey.

My thoughts on this as a Magnum fan?

Frickin' awesome!!!

Why?

Read on.

There was once a time when I hated Matthew McConaughey. The guy was seen as the next big thing, and there is nothing that I hate more than being told that you should like somebody because the press tells you to. It makes me want to turn and run in the opposite direction.

A few years and a couple of bombs later, McConaughey was almost Hollywood's next has-been. Then he was arrested for playing the bongos too loud in his own home. Not only was he arrested for playing bongos too loud, but when they arrived at his house he was prancing around his living room. Check the photograph with this article for his mugshot.

I play like to play the bongos, I will be honest... I've never conducted any naked dancing that was bongo related, but one can get carried away with the rhythm!

Anyway, before I get side tracked, that was the moment that I thought that McConaughey might be cool. He followed this arrest up with Ed TV, U571, Frailty and Reign of Fire (the best ever post-apocalyptic dragon film). I also really like Sahara, and I'm furious that it never made enough money to warrant a sequel. Shame on you movie goers!!

As much as I like Clooney and Affleck I feel that McConaughey is the best fit for the role.

In fact a couple of years ago I once said that he was my dream casting for Magnum. So I'm over the moon with this news. It's pure McConaughey material. He's a man of action, laid back, he hangs on the beach and the chicks love him. If it wasn't based on a television show I'd swear that it was McConaughey's autobiography.

There is no word yet on whether or not "Bongos" McConaughey will accept the role, or even if he will grow Tom Selleck's trademark mustache. I just hope that he does both.

The script has been written by Dodgeball writer/director Rawson Thurber.

I will keep you posted on any future developments. However, in the meantime I think I'll just watch some of my Magnum series box sets.

Commando on Blu-ray

I not-so-fondly remember watching the John Cena film "The Marine" a while ago and detested the picture for its mindless screenplay and unimaginative action sequences. I wondered to myself, "Who watches this garbage?" Then, I found myself watching "Commando," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. A realization swept across my conscious that the answer to my question was "I do." "Commando" is a nearly quarter-century old film where the governor of California goes on a seemingly impossible raid to save the life of his daughter. When I compare the script and the action of "Commando" to that from "The Marine," this film really doesn´t improve much over that horrid Cena picture. However, there is something that makes "Commando" infinitely more likable.
The answer to that puzzle is simple. "Commando" features Arnold Schwarzenegger, a far more likable and entertaining action hero. Arnold (bad style, but we´ll use first name instead of retying Schwarzenegger a large number of times) and his heavy Austrian accent made cheesy one-liners cool. He made poorly-scripted dialogue fun. And! We didn´t care about how many rounds of ammunition were left in his clip and how many bullets amazingly didn´t hit the very large man when a dozen enemy soldiers were firing at him in full auto. We didn´t care because watching Arnold kick some serious ass was something that made the Eighties cinema truly remarkable. He is an action hero. Cena is a wrestler. There is a world of difference.
"The Marine" had the Camaro of Doom. That car was nearly indestructible. It´s resilience bordered on absurdity. I know. I have always owned Camaros and I know they have not-so-bullet-friendly bodies. The car was hurt, but it kept going. I felt the entire chase that revolved around that car and its amazing re-inflating (they were not Goodyear Runflats) tires was simply ludicrous. However, I find myself loving and rooting for the Austrian of Doom in this film. He has amazingly re-inflating biceps, but I never once found myself stopping to question how he could handle a very physical encounter after being shot in the arm. Arnold isn´t a car, but his resilience in this film is just as absurd as the Camaro. Again, I didn´t care because Arnold is a prototypical action hero.
In this film he portrayed retired Special Forces commander Colonel John Matrix. Matrix lives an overly happy and peaceful life with his daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano in her second role). One day that peace is compromised when his former boss General Franklin Kirby (James Olsen) shows up and tells Matrix that his entire former unit has been killed. Of course, the bad guys have impeccable timing and show up as soon as Kirby is safely away. Jenny is kidnapped and Matrix is told that he must help Arius (Dan Hedaya) attain a presidency by assassinating the current president. Matrix learns that his former war buddy Bennett (Vernon Wells) is not only wearing the worst shirt in Hollywood history, but also helping Arius attain his goals. Arius and Bennett are aided by Sully (David Patrick Kelly) and Cooke (Bill Duke).
With Arnold now running the state of California and nobody stepping up to replace Schwarzenegger, Stallone or Willis, box office heroes have been in short supply in recent years. I enjoy Brendan Frasier and think the "Mummy" films are homage to the action films of the Eighties. Somebody along the line seems to have misplaced Vin Diesel. There simply is nobody with the same action charisma and physical presence as the Governator and this is a big chunk of why a film like "Commando" can succeed and the far more recent "The Marine" fails to entertain. There was a time when Hollywood had a good grasp on how to make silly action films entertain and they are trying hard to recapture that magic, but it is Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis that are forgoing the retirement home and still doing their own stunts.
Bullets fly. Bad guys die. Arnold survives. And I never care to ask any questions regarding the feasibility of anything contained in this film. I could care less that the character portrayed by Rae Dawn Chong is about as convenient a plot device as you could ever find. Matrix needed a pilot and he found one in a sexy flight attendant. Sure, it seemed like he was just as capable of flying the seaplane as Cindy was, but that would have limited the testosterone producing abilities of the film and not provided the pre-requisite love interest for our favorite action hero. Nobody could possibly remain as unscathed as Matrix during the assault on Arius´ compound. It is just impossible. But, it just doesn´t matter. "Commando" is escapist fun. It is a film about Arnold kicking ass and flexing his big muscles. It is about over-the-top thrills and bad dialogue sounding good.
"Commando" could be called a dumb film with a paper-thin plot and silly action. Those deriding the film with such harsh words are not sitting back and enjoying the film as it was meant to be. It isn´t intended to tell a provocative and award-winning story. It is not meant to deliver realistic warfare. That would hardly fill nine minutes, let alone ninety minutes if one man took on an entire terrorist camp. "Commando" was a film solely created to showcase the humor and muscles of its star, which was slowly rising through the box office stratosphere when "Commando" hit theaters. Arnold Schwarzenegger embodies the muscle-bound action hero of the Eighties and Nineties and this film was created to showcase his physique and talents. It is meant to be enjoyed as something to laugh at and enjoy the heroics of a superhero-type protagonist. It was never meant to be taken seriously.

George Michael ready for retirement?

At the height of his comeback, George Michael now says he's ready for retirement.

According to the always reliable Indo-Asian News Service, Michael says his upcoming U.S. tour will be his last, so he's urging fans to make the most of it.

"I want to divorce myself from pretty much everything public after the tour," Michael said. "In the future, I don't want to be making and releasing physical CDs, and I don't want to be charging people for my new music."

It's odd timing -- George is hot right now. He just announced he'll tour the U.S. for the first time in 17 years, starting this June. And his frequent acting and singing appearances on TV's "Eli Stone" has expanded his fan base further.

In addition, his latest album -- "Twenty-five" -- hits stores today. And he only recently announced a multi-million deal to write and publish his autobiography.

Rickrolling - Rick Astley

Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up

To the list of inexplicable web phenomena that spring up—only to disappear just as quickly—that includes severely grammar-impaired felines and some truly awful doings involving two girls and one cup, you can now add Rick Astley.

Astley, 80's one hit wonder of British soul, has lately been used as a punchline for a particular web joke called Rickrolling, wherein a disguised link sends unsuspecting web surfers down the blandly soul-inflected rabbit hole of his 1987 Lite-FM staple "Never Gonna Give You Up."

An article in Monday's New York Times addressed the trend via a YouTube video of a public Rickroll that Mediabistro's FishbowlNY insists is a fake. (A prank in an article about a prank! Is it April Fools' Day yet?) After musing about Rickrolling--"Rickrolling is a descendant of an older Internet joke called duckrolling. A Web site or blog post would offer a link to something popular — say celebrity photos or video gaming news — that led unsuspecting viewers to a bizarre image of a duck on wheels"—the Times' Evelyn Nussenbaum, writes, "It is not clear what Mr. Astley himself thinks about rickrolling."

After a long day's wait, readers of The Los Angeles Times' Web Scout blog now know just what Mr. Astley thinks about his namesake prank: "I just think it’s bizarre and funny," the surprisingly good humored singer told the Web Scout. "I think it’s just one of those odd things where something gets picked up and people run with it... But that’s what brilliant about the Internet." Yes, brilliant. Until the next thing.

The Edge of the Eighties A Nice Box set

There are so many 80s music collections being released these days that I must admit to being more than slightly bored by most of them. The trouble is, so many of them are either padded out with singles that are so obscure that I can’t even remember them or they have the same repetitive handful of hits from the likes of Culture Club, Duran and Dead Or Alive. If I get one more CD with ‘You Spin Me Round’, I swear I’ll tear up my leotard!
I’m glad to say that the newly released Edge Of the Eighties (3 CD) set is a good deal better than the average. It begins magisterially with two of the truly great songs of the early ‘80s, Ultravox’s Vienna and Visage’s Fade To Grey… But then it branches out into some less obvious highways and byways of 80s music. There’s Soft Cell singing the wonderful ‘Torch’ rather than the more frequently anthologized ‘Tainted Love’. There’s David Bowie singing the far from obvious ‘Up The Hill Backwards’ - and there is, inevitably, Dead Or Alive but (for a nice change) singing one of their other hits - ‘That’s The Way (I Like It)’.
There is a pretty good mix of 80s music here, as a matter of fact - ranging from the super well-known performers such as Adam and the Ants and Siouxsie and the Banshees to the unjustifiably forgotten (by all but their fans, that is!) bands such as Telex and Swansway.
Here is a full track listing.
Disc: 1

1. Ultravox - Vienna

2. Visage - Fade To Grey

3. Soft Cell - Torch

4. Passions - I'm In Love With A German Filmstar

5. Japan - Quiet Life

6. Landscape - Einstein A Go-Go

7. Simple Minds - Glittering Prize

8. Adam & The Ants - Dog Eat Dog

9. Bow Wow Wow - Go Wild In The Country

10. Altered Images - Don't Talk To Me About Love

11. Fiction Factory - Feels Like Heaven

12. Furniture - Brilliant Mind

13. Lotus Eaters - The First Picture Of You

14. David Sylvian - Red Guitar

15. Associates - Party Fears Two

16. ABC - That Was Then

17. Haysi Fantayzee - John Wayne Is Big Leggy

18. Haircut 100 - Favourite Shirts

Disc: 2

1. New Order - Temptation

2. Propaganda - Duel

3. Swansway - Soul Train

4. Joy Division - Atmosphere

5. Cocteau Twins - Pearly Dewrdrops\x{2019} Drops

6. Mobiles - Drowning In Berlin

7. Pretenders - Talk Of The Town

8. Susan Fassbender - Twilight Café

9. Art Of Noise - Beatbox

10. SPK - Metal Dance

11. A Flock Of Seagulls - I Ran

12. Tears For Fears - Pale Shelter

13. Blue Zoo - Cry Boy Cry

14. B-Movie - Remembrance Day

15. Thompson Twins - In The Name Of Love

16. Blancmange - Living On The Ceiling

17. Men Without Hats - Safety Dance

18. H20 - I Dream To Sleep

Disc: 3

1. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Dear Prudence

2. The Cure - The Walk

3. Scritti Politti - Absolute

4. Talk Talk - It's My Life

5. Japan - Life In Tokyo

6. David Bowie - Up The Hill Backwards

7. Devo - Whip It

8. Our Daughters Wedding - Lawnchairs

9. Bauhaus - Kick In The Eye

10. Spear Of Destiny - Liberator

11. Echo & The Bunnymen - The Back Of Love

12. Bow Wow Wow - Chihuahua

13. Dead Or Alive - That's The Way (I Like It)

14. Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way

15. Stranglers - European Female

16. Telex - Moskow Diskow

17. Laurie Anderson - O Superman

Duran Duran World Tour Off To Wobbly Start

Duran Duran's world tour got off to an awkward start in New Zealand on Wednesday as singer Simon Le Bon forgot the lyrics and bassist John Taylor stormed off stage, according to a published report.

"Duran Duran, f---ing up in style," Le Bon, 49, told the crowd at the Vector Arena in the northern city of Auckland, according to the New Zealand Herald's review the next day.

Taylor, 47, abandoned his instrument and walked off stage, apparently in reaction to a segment in which the group's members donned matching satin suits and headsets to play a medley on keyboards and an electric drum set.

"I could not dance to that. These people came here to dance," Taylor said, after he returned to the stage, according to the Herald.

Le Bon forgot the words to "Hungry Like the Wolf," one of the band's biggest hits, the Herald reported.

Still, the paper said the crowd -- dominated by screaming women in their 30s -- did not seem to mind the snafus.

Duran Duran, rounded out by keyboardist Nick Rhodes, 45, and drummer Roger Taylor, 47, next heads to Australia for seven shows, beginning on Friday in Sydney.

After the Asia-Pacific leg ends, Duran Duran will begin a North American tour in Vancouver on April 29.

The band, which was formed 30 years ago, is promoting its latest album, "Red Carpet Massacre," which bombed in the United States and Britain last year.

More 80's on American Idol

The Top 10 American Idol contestants took to the stage last night to sing songs from 'The Year they Were Born' ... which obviously means more songs from the 80's!
A few weeks back the contestants sang 80's songs and there were great performances as there were lousy ones!
But ... how did the Top 10 do last night?

The first to go was Ramiele Malubay and she sang "Alone" by Heart from 1987.
The judges thought she did kinda' fine and may survive this week.
The second to go was Jason Castro and he sang "Fragile" by Sting from 1987.
He did good, but hasn't offered anything new for a couple of weeks now ... he might be in danger!
The third to go was Syesha Mercado and she sang "If I Were Your Woman" by Gladys Knight from 1987.
She did great! Even the judges thought that was her best ever performance yet!

The fourth to go was Chikezie and he sang "If Only for One Night" by Luther Vandross from 1985.
He sang well but his performance wasn't anything special or anything so impressive!
If he wants to stay in the game, he should start performing better!
The fifth to go was Brooke White and she sang "Every Breath You Take" by The Police from 1983.
She sings and plays the piano ... but her performance became wobbly when the band joined in towards the end. But she did good and will make it through to next week.
The sixth to go was Michael Johns and he sang a bit of "We Will Rock You"and a bit of "We Are the Champions" by Queen from the year 1978.
Michael did Grreat! His best performance and maybe the best of the night too!
Simon said: "Michael, this is the first time with you that I've seen star potential. You just got it right. For me, it's the only memorable performance of the night so far".

The seventh to go was Carly Smithson and she sang "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Jim Steinman from 1983.
She tried her best but there was something off about her performance! As for the final note ... I think it was a wrong choice and that ruined the song!
The eighth to go was David Archuleta and he sang "You're the Voice" by John Farnham from 1990! Gosh! 1990 is like yesterday!
A strange choice that sounded like something out of a cartoon musical!
But David did his best and it wasn't a disastrous performance!
The ninth to go was Kristy Lee Cook and she sang "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood from 1984.
She chose THE right-est song to sing! Who's going to vote her off American Idol when she sings God Bless the USA?
The last to sing was David Cook and she chose to sing Michael Jackson's Billie Jean from 1982.
He reflected his own character on the song, so it wasn't giving off a Jacko spirit anymore!
Which was very smart and brave of him.
Simon told him: "David, that was brave. It could have either been insane or amazing, and I have to tell you, it was amazing".

So, who will be leaving tonight? Will Chikezie go home? Or will it be a girl this time? Maybe Carly Smithson?

Richie Sambora DUI, but will Bon Jovi go on?

Bon Jovi is still scheduled to perform at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 12 at 8 p.m.

But that might not be enough time if guitarist Richie Sambora re-enters rehab.

Sambora (mugshot above) was arrested Tuesday night for driving while intoxicated in Laguna Beach, Calif. He was with a young woman along with a 10-year-old daughter whom he shares with ex-wife Heather Locklear.

He's expected to appear in court May 7 under DUI and charges with endangering the lives of children.

George Michael's "25 Live" tour

I told you it was just a matter of getting his ducks in a row: George Michael's "25 Live" tour has finally and officially announced its dates for North America.

The tour begins June 17 in San Diego and wraps up Aug. 3 in South Florida.

Click here to see the full schedule. Ticket sales begin April 6 on Ticketmaster. Also, Michael will release a 2-disc CD set called "Twenty-Five" on April 1. The set features 29 songs; a DVD will have 40 videos.
Trying to decide if this tour is worth the money? Here's the set list for his recent tour stops in Europe:

• Waiting Intro
• Flawless
• Fast Love
• Father Figure
• Star People
• First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
• Praying for Time
• Too Funky
• You Have Been Loved
• Everything She Wants
• My Mother Had a Brother
• Shoot the Dog
• 20 Minute Intermission
• Faith
• Spinning the Wheel
• Jesus to a Child
• An Easier Affair
• A Different Corner
• Amazing
• Too Funky (reprise)
• I'm Your Man
• Outside
• Careless Whisper
• Freedom 90

Top 10 Songs of 1980

The year that chaotically bridged the '70s and its latter trends of disco and punk with the new decade, 1980 was a dynamic and intriguing year for pop music. Accordingly, the best tunes from this year tended to contain elements of the decade just passed even as they forged new paths, such as the blending of disco beats with heavy use of synthesizer, an instrument that would play a huge role in the '80s.

1. Blondie-"Call Me"

Smack dab in the middle of Blondie and frontwoman Debbie Harry's most pervasive period, it's difficult to pinpoint one song from 1980 as the band's best of that year. Even so, this tune ultimately stands out because it so deftly blends prevailing styles like disco, punk and pop into a punchy, nearly perfect two-minute single. "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture" were likewise huge hits in 1980, but each suffers from a stylistic imbalance not found here.

2. Olivia Newton-John-"Magic"

In terms of pure loveliness, few melodies in the '80s could match this chart-topping offering from one of pop's finest, most enduring female pop singers. Another entry from a film soundtrack, this tune again blends disco rhythms with primo keyboard work, to excellent effect. Meanwhile, on full display are Newton-John's impressive vocal chops, which never sounded quite so transcendent as they do here. Before she got memorably "Physical" a year later, Newton-John was unforgettably ethereal.

3. Air Supply-"All Out Of Love"

Though much-maligned in the quarter-century since their peak era, this Australian duo crafted some rather inescapable melodies. This tune, perhaps more than any other, takes the art of the sappy love ballad to some kind of heretofore undiscovered stratosphere. The vocals of Graham Russell during the verses gently and liltingly imbue the song with emotion, while Russell Hitchcock's somewhat cloying presentation of the chorus gives new meaning to the term "over the top." Still, a great love song.

4. Queen-"Another One Bites the Dust"

You have to hand it to Queen, a band known pretty much as a hard rock band before, for the boldness of this unabashedly disco tune. Containing one of the most memorable bass lines in rock history, the song was utterly omnipresent in 1980, and somehow it still stands up after all these years as a startling blend of Freddie Mercury's trademark showmanship and Brian May's constantly inventive guitar work. Perhaps never has guitar been so important in a dance-pop tune.

5. Kool & the Gang-"Celebration"

Though it's not necessarily a positive critical endorsement of a song when it becomes standard fare at sporting events, such a phenomenon certainly cements a piece of music as a permanent part of the zeitgeist. Such is the case also with this tune, a party song that doesn't mess around with subtlety or complexity. Maybe it was also the last hurrah for this former funk band, before the group resorted to somewhat lamer pop stylings for its chart survival.

6. Pat Benatar-"Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

Sporting one of the all-time great rock guitar riffs (no, I'm not kidding), this song orchestrates a brilliant maximization of both Benatar's sex appeal and her ability to strike a relatively believable feminist pose. The combination is irresistible, and although the tune merely scraped the bottom level of the Top 10, it remains a significant document of its time as well as a timeless rock song. It does what great rock and roll should: combine sexuality with bold theatricality.

7. Christopher Cross-"Ride Like the Wind"

Owner of one of 1980's biggest albums, Cross made an evocative sort of melodic soft rock that could have resided within any number of decades. With a singer-songwriter sensibility that simply isn't capable of rocking too hard, Cross ensured himself of chart success with high, soaring vocals and memorable melodies. This tune also features a galloping rhythm, precise instrumentation and a well-placed Michael McDonald on backing vocals.

8. The Manhattans-"Shining Star"

Boasting a significant amount of rather soulless dance pop as the '80s did, it was rather refreshing when old-school soul found its way onto the charts. This song is a gem on many levels, obviously in its clear, soaring vocals and indelible melody but also in surprising ways. In fact, one of the most elemental pieces of the song's fabric is the gentle acoustic guitar flourish that repeats itself through the verses and chorus. As lovely today as when first released.

9. Irene Cara-"Fame"

Perfectly encapsulating the youthful exuberance on display on the TV show of the same name, this memorable single charts the hopes and dreams of anyone striving for the top. Well, something like that. A great karaoke selection for the ages, Cara's first major foray into soundtrack music simply works from start to finish. It's a great melody well executed, and any year in any decade could use a few more of those.

10. John Lennon-"(Just Like) Starting Over"

Any list that attempts to summarize the year 1980 musically must include a celebratory though sober nod to John Lennon, so cruelly taken away from us late that year. This song is a painful reminder of just how much more Lennon had to offer musically and as a human being. It is simply one of the most touching and beautiful love songs of all time, and it's matched with characteristically innovative songwriting from one of the greatest craftsmen of all time.

Soleil Moon Frye AKA Penelope 'Punky' Brewster

Soleil Moon Frye has just had a baby girl along with her husband, Jason Goldberg.

Top 6 Spinal Tap Songs

Though some of the music featured on the soundtrack to the 1984 mockumentary classic This Is Spinal Tap is purported to be from the '60s and '70s, the majority of tunes on the disc highly reflect the hard rock styles rampant during the early '80s. Such detail proves that the band's alter egos (Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner) certainly possess a healthy grasp of rock music history and, especially, the hard rock subculture.

1. "Hell Hole"

As both a perfect parody of early-'80s hard rock bombast and a quality example of such music, the lead-off tune from the soundtrack for This Is Spinal Tap comes close to being a genuine classic of the genre. Built on raw, energetic riffing from guitarist David St. Hubbins and a rare, even soulful lead vocal performance from lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel, the song makes an intriguing use of its central concept. Lyrically, the track brilliantly alternates between typical rock and roll poetry and outrageous hilarity, teaching us the surprising but important truth that "in a hell hole, folks lend a hand."

2. "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight"

Another solid riff introduces this uproariously redundant rock anthem, a song that particularly showcases Tufnel's utterly unique if not always on-key soloing style. Also, usual lead singer St. Hubbins shows why he does most of the group's heavy lifting behind the microphone, as he delivers diatribes about his anatomical gifts without a trace of irony. Of course, a certain amount of self-awareness always informs the music of Tap, allowing Tufnel's amateurish but spirited guitar licks to say as much about the sense of fun often missing from the technical wizardry of "actual" heavy metal as anything else.

3. "Rock and Roll Creation"

An always grin-inducing send-up of hard rock's long-standing fascination with mythology and mysticism, this track deftly combines crunching power chords with an effective neo-progressive display of keyboards and synthesizers. Of course, merely hearing the song fails to do it much justice, thanks to its indelible association with one of This Is Spinal Tap the film's best sight gags. In keeping with the tune's hilariously confusing mish-mash of religious and secular ideas about the origins of life, the band's onstage struggles to emerge from prop pods help make this one of the group's most cherished fan favorites.

4. "Big Bottom"

Though clearly indebted conceptually to champions of bombast Queen and the anthem "Fat Bottomed Girls," this song actually spends most of its energy poking tremendous fun at the tendency of hard rock to employ moronically souped-up instruments or techniques onstage. Multiple-neck guitars and all, Tap makes this track truly special by enlisting three bass guitars, perhaps to emphasize the good vibrations of the lyrical subject matter. St. Hubbins takes every opportunity to raise the tent of derriere worship, especially with observations like, "The looser the waistband, the deeper the quicksand."

5. "Sex Farm"

Just to be certain Spinal Tap would earn its hard rock merit badge, the group had to take a headlong dive into ridiculous sexual innuendo, which this pastoral masterpiece was more than happy to do. The inventive nature of the double entendres and euphemisms cultivated from this tune seems to have no limit, as "Gettin' out my pitchfork, pokin' your hay" certainly confirms. Of course, having no limit also quickly propels a rock and roll band into offensive territory, but Spinal Tap relishes that role as any rockers should. Consider, if you dare, when St. Hubbins sings of "sniffin' your feed bag." Sorry I brought it up.

6. "Stonehenge"

This epic number is one of Spinal Tap's several thinly veiled jabs at Led Zeppelin, the hard rock kingpins who always displayed an absurdly earnest fascination with ancient mystery and magic. Tufnel's spoken-word sequences throughout the track lampoon this kind of puffed-up self-importance, though Nigel himself certainly doesn't realize it ("No one knows who they were, or... what they were doing"). Musically, the song features some of Spinal Tap's most prominent keyboard arrangements, but who can forget the mandolin solo and, of course, Smalls' primal scream capable of invoking the Druids' wrath?