Thursday, December 11, 2014

من خطرناک هستم:  Here's a delightful -- if occasionally frightening -- story about bootleg video in Iran in the 1980s:
Watching movies, Iranian and foreign, as well as American television, had been a favorite pastime among the middle class before the revolution. As a young girl I had loved watching The Six Million Dollar Man, the American series that ran throughout the mid-1970s and which in the years before the revolution re-ran on Iranian television constantly, dubbed into Persian. When Khomeini came to power and Western media was banned, Iranians’ love for it didn’t disappear — the ban just caused many people to turn to theblack market, and to young video-men like Masoud.

Read the rest.  No indication of how to say "You can be my wingman anytime" in Farsi, however.
JUDICIAL HOLDINGS DESK: As part of a post-trial opinion concerning alleged misuse of the Beastie Boys' music by Monster Energy drink, Judge Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York analogizes the five Beastie songs that appeared in the video ("So Whatcha Want," "Pass the Mic," "Sabotage," "Looking Down The Barrel of A Gun," and "Make Some Noise") to Beatles songs, noting (in a footnote) "Had Phillips chosen as the video’s soundtrack songs by The Beatles
that were comparably prominent within that band’s body of work, he might have chosen 'Love
Me Do,' 'Yesterday,' 'Let It Be,' 'Here, There and Everywhere,' and 'Hey Jude.'"  Is Judge Engelmayer correct?  Discuss.

Disclaimer:  I have, in the past, worked with counsel to the Beasties in this matter, but not on this matter or any other Beastie matter.
SLEEPING BAGS WERE ONLY THE BEGINNING:  Ladies and gentlemen, the Potauntaun.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

PIXAR'S HERMAN'S HEAD:  A new trailer for Inside Out is available.
DOES THIS MEAN A JONAH HILL RAP SONG? At the end of 22 Jump Street, we were offered a (joking) peek at the future of the franchise.  However, Sony's real plans (revealed due to the massive hack of Sony Pictures computers) are even more bonkers, and involve crossing over Jump Street with another franchise.
WAIT. SOMEONE SAW THE JUDGE? Nominations for the Screen Actor Guild Awards have been announced; if you've been following the awards beat there aren't many surprises other than the complete shutting-out of Selma, while Jake Gyllenhaal and Jennifer Aniston have been recognized.

[Golden Globe nominations tomorrow.]
ALOTT5MA ANDEAN TRADE PREFERENCE ACT DESK:  In January, General Mills will roll out a new Cheerios + Ancient Grains cereal, with "small amounts of quinoa, Kamut wheat and spelt along with the traditional oats."

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

SONGS FOR MUMBLIN' LOVERS:  Next spring, Bob Dylan will release Shadows In The Night, an album made up of 10 covers of songs made famous by Frank Sinatra.  No word on what The Sinatra Group thinks.

Monday, December 8, 2014

BOO:  The Veterans Committee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame has elected no one from this year's Golden Era (1947-72) ballot, with Dick Allen and Tony Oliva falling one vote short, Jim Kaat two.

Our voting for the main ballot worked out as follows:
Would Induct (75%+): Randy Johnson (60/62 votes), Pedro Martinez (59), Jeff Bagwell (53), Craig Biggio (47)
Painfully Short of Induction: John Smoltz (46), Mike Piazza (45), Tim Raines (42)
The Problems: Roger Clemens (33), Barry Bonds (32)
Beloved, and Hopefully Patient: Curt Schilling (26), Mike Mussina (23), Alan Trammell (24), Edgar Martinez (19).
Remaining on the Ballot: Larry Walker (9), Mark McGwire (7), Jeff Kent (4)
Would Fall Off The Ballot (under 5%): Nomah! (3), Don Mattingly (3), Gary Sheffield (3).
ROLLIN', ROLLIN', ROLLIN' IN THE COURTROOM: The fight between John Fogerty and his former band over who can use "Creedence Clearwater" where and when has returned to federal court.
MY ANACONDA DON'T? MY ANACONDA DO?  Spoilers on what happened on Discovery's Eaten Alive special, which aired last night.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

EXPURGATION DESK:  Tove Lo's "Habits (Stay High)" has been getting a lot of radio play.  What's odd to me is that I've heard at least three different versions of how to censor the song--most notably the early lyric in which she proclaims "Then I go to ___ clubs, watching freaky people getting it on."  The original version, which I've heard on some radio stations, is "sex clubs."  Less common, but out there, is "strip clubs."  The typical expurgation is "sick clubs."  Oddly, never is the "freaky people getting it on" lyric censored.  Any rhyme or reason here?
WE'RE GONNA SHOOT IN MINNEAPOLIS IN THE WINTER:  NPR interviews journalist Alan Light about his new book on the making of Purple Rain, including this tidbit:
Prince had this big bodyguard, this guy Big Chick who you might remember had a big Santa Claus beard and was with him everywhere. And the first time he heard them play that in rehearsal, he ran in I think to Alan Leeds' office and said, "You gotta hear the song the boss wrote last night. Isn't this song so good? Willie Nelson's gonna cover it." So the fact that it came from that very American place, almost a sort of a country and western song... And Prince, what inspired him to write "Purple Rain" was that when they were touring on the 1999 tour, he was following Bob Seger into a lot of arenas, and was really interested in why was Bob Seger such a big star, especially in the Midwest. And Matt Fink, the keyboard player, remembers that he was talking to Prince and said, "Well, it's these big ballads that Bob Seger writes. It's these songs like 'We've Got Tonight' and 'Turn The Page.' And that's what people love." And Prince went out to try to write that kind of arena-rock power ballad that resulted in "Purple Rain."