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"As a Film Junkie, you cannot tamper with greatness?" Why Fuck with the Great Gatsby?

This I just don't get. I mean, I just don't fucking get.  I understand Spielberg with his Scientology infused War of the Worlds.  I understand comic book inspired spiderman and xmen and fantastic 4 and the ultimately inferior ironman and incredible hulk. All of thes movies sucked, but the first two franchises inspired unlimited sequels to fuel the coffers of the studios rather than nurture and infrastructure bank for low budget and indepentent films.

  But the remakes of the Tim Burton/Joel Shumacher Batman films...were equally frivilous and follow my statement about filling the coffers of the studios who produce and distribute the films.  Which brings me to my point.

What really shocked me though, was the greenlight of the early 1970's classic "the Great Gatsby", that featured Robert Redford, Paula Prentiss and Mia 'Farrow and a wardrobe by Ralph Lauren that ignited his career.

Now according to Paste Magazine below you can see the theme that a new Great Gatsby will take:  How Sad.  Even though, it is revived for modern times

Baz Luhrmann's latest cinematic offering might not have been as well received as he would have liked, but that's hardly going to stop him: he recently purchsed the rights to a film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece The Great Gatsby.

Luhrmann told the Hollywood Reporter in an interview why he's decided to adapt the great(est?) American novel: "If you wanted to show a mirror to people that says, 'You've been drunk on money,' they're not going to want to see it. But if you reflected that mirror on another time they'd be willing to. People will need an explanation of where we are and where we've been, and The Great Gatsby can provide that explanation." (Fitzgerald's novel was actually published a full three years before the Great Depression, but details, details.)

Besides juxtaposing the Roaring Twenties with the recent stock market collapse, The Great Gatsby will also spend far less time incubating in the studio, Luhrmann says: "I'm going to move faster than I have before. I'd be surprised if it's another seven years." Gatsby will be the second of Luhrmann's three planned epics, although he recently confided that "I was a fool to say I was doing three epics because one has nearly killed me." (To hear the denizens of Australia tell the story, it sounds like they wish it had.)

"But what I will say is this - I do have them. I have a room full of things I want to make before I shuffle off this mortal coil and they're of varying sizes

Finally, they are Close to Fine...Indigo Girls Launch own imprint and abandon major league record labels

I have always liked the sexually ambiguous Indigo Girls, who hail from the (US) state of Georgia.  Growing up, I had the opportunity to see them in both clubs and in coffee houses with crowds ranging in size from 5 to 500.  But these chicks never gave up and in 1989 published what I consider to be a seminal folk rock album that included the hit single "Closer I am to Fine" and "Are you on Fire, with backing vocals with Michael Stipe."  it was one sweet record.  Anyhow, according to paste.com, the Indigo Girls have broken the shackles of Corporate Rock and have become independent rockers once again.

Courtesy of Paste.com:  The article follows

After 10 albums with major labels (nine with Epic, one on Hollywood), the Indigo Girls will launch their own imprint, called IG Recordings, through Vanguard Records. The launch of the imprint coincides with the release of their next full-length, Poseidon And The Bitter Bug, on March 24.

"I feel a great sense of freedom in finally being rid of the major-label world," Amy Ray said in a statement. "I am overwhelmingly excited to be independent because it really is where the heart of music sits for me. I don't have many regrets about the major-label life of the band because we certainly got a lot out of it. We were lucky enough to be on Epic when Pearl Jam and Rage Against The Machine were our label-mates and the company was developing bands with the intent of creating catalog artists... Beyond that, it never fed my soul the way an independent career can."

The new album was recorded in Atlanta and features something new for the Indigo Girls, a second, acoustic CD. The second disc includes acoustic versions of all the songs, plus a bonus track, "Salty South."

"It's basically like two perspectives of the same song," Ray told Billboard. "It gives everybody both sides of the equation."

Keep an eye out for the group's Spring/Summer tour.

Related links:
News: New Indigo Girls record set for early 2009 release
Feature: Catching Up With... Amy Ray
News: Indigo Girl Amy Ray readies Kinder album

After the success of the RockStar video game corporate America raids college campuses to find last captive audience

College campuses are frequently fertile music playgrounds, and the birthplace of innumerable acts.  Getting the memo is AT&T and Gibson Guitar, a duo now spearheading a 45-college contest known as Campus MusicFest.  According to information shared Wednesday with Digital Music News, the companies are now bringing the MusicFest tour bus into leafy campuses nationwide, and coordinating contests between aspiring bands.  Finalists will be funneled into face-offs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Orlando, Atlanta, New York, Boston, and Washington, DC.

Also involved is OurStage, itself an online battle-of-the-bands; and Blue Maze Entertainment, which is producing the event.  The MusicFest is part of the broader Campus MovieFest, also an AT&T-led initiative that empowers and selects the best student filmmakers.  The action on both the MusicFest and MovieFest culminates in June of 2009 in Los Angeles, the perfect backdrop for aspiring filmmakers and music groups.
The Campus MusicFest will officially be announced over the next few days.  College groups can submit profiles and enter the contest at www.campusmusicfest.com.

The headline was just a gimmick, this is actually a pretty cool idea if my kids were seriously into film or could play an instrument this contest might make it worth paying this years tuition.  Thanks to Les Paul for putting Gibson on the map and Cingular for making AT&T profitable again.

Alt-Rock Legend Bob Mould to release Tell-All Autobiography

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Bob Mould founded the trio Husker Du in Minneapolis in 1979, powerfully reshaping America's rock scene. Husker Du LPs like Zen Arcade and New Day Rising won over critics and fans by welding melodicism, tenderness, and literary seriousness to punk's rage, volume, and speed. Influenced by the Ramones, the Beatles, and classics like "Eight Miles High," their cover of which was a college radio hit, Husker Du created new classics of rage and alienation like "Celebrated Summer," "Makes No Sense At All," and "Hardly Getting Over It." Determined to create music that mattered both artistically and politically, they released eight albums in seven years and toured relentlessly before drug addictions, a suicide, and artistic and personal differences led to the band's implosion in 1988.

The memoir will, for the first time ever, delve deeply into Mould's life as a musician and his experiences with Husker Du, as a solo artist, and in his most commercially viable and successful work as leader of '90s indie rock kingpins Sugar. He will also tell the story of his other lives, including his internal struggle with his sexuality, the coming-out process, and his subsequent embrace of, and service to, the LGBT community; his work as a creative consultant / director in the world of pro wrestling; his work as a record producer, including seminal projects by Soul Asylum and Magnapop; and his foray into electronic / dance music, including the popular BLOWOFF club events held nationwide.

Bob Mould said, "For many years, people have asked if and when I would write my autobiography. I have always looked forward to this point in time, where I could tell my stories, to answer the many questions about the music and the lifestyle, and how they inform the creative process. I have not been alone on this ride: friends and foes, mentors and associates, peers, lovers, all traveling by my side. The ride so far has been incredible, and I hope to do my memory right in documenting the journey."

"The gorgeous rage of Bob Mould's music seemed like the best possible response to the Reagan '80s for many music-loving young Americans," says Michael Pietsch. "To hear firsthand what it was like to make that music, and to build the indie rock world that eventually brought us REM, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Green Day, and much of modern rock, is something that music lovers have awaited for years."

The tome is being published by Little, Brown and Company and as of this post no official date of publication was given according to our sources as the ink on the contracts is still wet and our sources were in the room in New York.

Not so hot...

Is there no end to the dangers of the iPod?!  First they've caused hearing loss and now the damn things are bursting into flames.  Danny Williams of Douglasville, Georgia nearly had a case of flaming testes when his iPod Nano caught fire and melted in his pocket.
Can you say "out-of-court-settlement"?
If Apple knows what's good for 'em they'll make people sign a liability waiver before they can buy one of these little health hazards.

PLUG A GUITAR INTO A VW

Firtsact the guitar maker famous for making children's guitars for Wal-Mart and making one offs for artists like  Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Franz Ferdinand has entered into a promotion with Volkswagen giving away a guitar with the purchase of free guitar with every car sold between October and December and you will be able to plug in the guitar straight into your VW car stereo and JAM!!!!
Makes you want to buy a VW don't it!
Check it out

TOP OF THE POPS TO BE CANCELED

BBC's Top of the Pops first show aired on New Years Day, 1964 in an old church in Manchester, England.  It's first host, DJ Jimmy Savile, hosted the first show and introduced that first lineup of artists: The Rolling Stones ("I Wanna Be Your Man"), Dusty Springfield ("I Only Want to Be With You"), Dave Clark Five ("Glad All Over"), The Hollies ("Stay"), Swinging Blue Jeans ("The Hippy Hippy Shake") and The Beatles who performed their hit "I Want to Hold Your Hand".  One great show that kicked off 42 years of music history. 
This July 30th Top of the Pops will air it's last show.  Despite it's long and illustrious run, the show's ratings have suffered from competition with cable music shows and satellite music channels.  While BBC will add a new music show in the coming season, "The Seven Ages of Rock", Top of The Pops will be remembered for showcasing some of the best acts in rock and pop over four decades. 
That last show is only a few weeks away and I'm hoping they'll try to end ToTP's run with as many heavy hitters as they started.

MUSIC TO KICK A BALL TO

There must be a real dearth of decent music out there if annoying, ready for ring-tone, football (soccer) anthems have become so popular.  As if some of the songs aren't just downright silly, now that damn 'ding ding' Crazy Frog is back and making it onto music charts.  God, what's next, the Chipmunks version of We are the Champions?  Oh, but you'd like that wouldn't you?

MEAT LOAF'S BEEF

Meat Loaf (Marvin Lee Aday), has filed suit in L.A. Federal Court charging Jim Steinman, his former songwriting partner, with unfairly filing a patent in 1995 for the phrase "Bat out of Hell".  For his part, Mr. Steinman holds that he alone came up with the phrase, wrote the song and suggested the trilogy. 
I'm sorry, but I can't believe that this guy just pulled that phrase out of his butt all by himself.  Hasn't 'bat out of hell' been around forever?  This reminds me of when, a few years back, Leonardo DiCaprio tried to have his name trademarked.  Just stupid.  I can see, if this guy collaborated on the song, his getting his fair share of royalties.  But claiming it all for himself?  Buddy, if Meat Loaf hadn't sung it, there wouldn't have been a nickle for you to claim.

iPOD SNEAKERS

Technology is invading our clothes
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