Slash gives his first interview since starting reformed Guns N’Roses tour: “It’s all cool”
Hands up if you didn’t think Guns N’ Roses would last this long into 2016. That’s what age, money, management and curfews will do for you. Slash has given his first interview since the Guns N’ Roses reunion kicked off with a handful of dates in April. The guitarist talked to Aerosmtih drummer Joey Kramer on Boston’s WZLX, and it sounds like things are going great between him and his old bandmates so far.
According to Slash, “Everybody’s playing great — playing nice,” he told Kramer. “Everybody’s getting along and everybody’s playing great, and the shows have been awesome. We all were pretty positive that that would never happen, so it’s still sort of blowing our minds. It seems so surreal to me, you know. But everybody’s really getting along great and I think everybody’s come a long way, and it’s all cool.”
That Time Arsenio Hall Didn’t Back Down From Gay-Rights Protesters Live On His Talk Show
Back when Arsenio Hall was hosting his own TV show, several gay rights protesters appeared on the show. Arsenio had no time for this sort of anger and stood his ground.
Blondie’s Debbie Harry and James White & The Blacks Cover Chic And James Brown
This will make you feel good, huh! Here’s Blondie’s Debbie Harry guesting onstage with James White and the Blacks at the Hurrah’s nightclub in New York City in 1980.
https://youtu.be/c20V2a-t1qE
https://youtu.be/Zyz6NO3IFjw
Courtney Love’s audition tape for the Alex Cox film, Sid and Nancy
In 1985, Courtney Love submitted an audition tape for the role of Nancy Spungen in the Sid Vicious biopic Sid and Nancy (1986), and was given a minor supporting role by director Alex Cox. She wanted the role Nancy Spungen, but it went to Chloe Webb instead.
Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed’s Three Rules Of A Happy, Fulfilling Life
Lou Reed talks about ‘NYC Man’ (his retrospective album), Andy Warhol, while Laurie Anderson talk about their amazing relationship.
None of us can be Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson; every couple is happy, or unhappy, in their own way. But what, in the grand tradition of mining celebrity couple’s lives for advice, can we learn from them? I guess the overall message—as Anderson herself suggested in her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame acceptance speech for Reed (above, in shaky audience video)—is this: keep it simple. Kansas State English Professor Philip Nel points out Anderson’s “wise… thoughtful” words on the subject of living well, delivered in her speech at the 8:55 mark:
I’m reminded also of the three rules we came up with, rules to live by. And I’m just going to tell you what they are because they come in really handy. Because things happen so fast, it’s always good to have a few, like, watchwords to fall back on.
And the first one is: One. Don’t be afraid of anyone. Now, can you imagine living your life afraid of no one? Two. Get a really good bullshit detector. And three. Three is be really, really tender. And with those three things, you don’t need anything else.
Crowd Source: Inside the company that provides fake paparazzi, pretend campaign supporters, and ounterfeit protesters
Crowds on Demand, he [founder Adam Swart] says, serves several clients a week, sometimes a day — most in L.A., San Francisco, and New York but an increasing number in smaller cities like Nashville, Charlotte, and Minneapolis. When people inquire about a potential event, Adam guides them through the possibilities and the approximate costs: $600 for fake paparazzi at a birthday dinner; $3,000 for a flash mob dancing, chanting, and handing out fliers as a PR stunt; $10,000 for a weeklong political demonstration; $25,000 to $50,000 for a prolonged campaign of protests. According to Adam, protests have become the company’s growth sector, and just as with advertising, repeat impressions are key. “When the targets of our actions see that we’re going to be back, day after day, they get really scared,” he says. “We’re in it for the long haul, and the problem’s not going to go away on its own.”
A crowd means something matters, that it has value. Bands know they get more buzz from selling out a smaller venue than from having a cavernous space half-full, even if the bigger venue means more people are able to attend. The crowd out on the street who couldn’t get in is an advertisement of the band’s rising fortunes. You know how it goes. You’re on a road trip. You find two Japanese restaurants side by side. One has a dozen customers, and the other is desolate. Which place has better food? No need to check Yelp — just follow the crowd. Accurate or not, its presence tells a story of its own.
The Movie “Ghost” Without Music Is Pretty Great
Musicless music video maker Mario Wienerroither turns his talents to a classic movie scene, making the already uncomfortable pottery-making sequence between Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in Ghost just that much more unsettling.
Bob Dylan At 20 Talks About Working At A Carnival, Writing Songs, And His Debut Album
“I‘m never going to become rich and famous” – Bob Dylan in 1962.
Dylan was just 20 years old when he appeared on the Folksingers Choice radio program on WBAI FM in New York City. He’d arrived in Manhattan just a few years earlier and was playing in the coffee houses of Greenwich Village, at one in particular he was paid “a dollar plus a cheeseburger.”
During this hour-long interview with Cynthia Gooding, Dylan played some of his own songs (“The Death of Emmett Till”, “Standing on the Highway”) and covers of classics by Howlin’ Wolf, Hank Williams, and Woody Guthrie. We scored this Blank on Blank with Dylan tuning up his guitar and playing his harmonica.
It’s a wonderful snapshot in time, with a young Dylan before he was famous and before he even released his debut album. He’s nervous and funny. He’s just a guy with a guitar with a little mischief underneath.