Shut Up About The Ending!!

For the next week or so we can all expect to hear a lot about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; the final book in the JK Rowling series. Thousands of people are already waiting outside their local bookstores for the clock to strike 12:01am so that they too can receive their copies of Hallows. There are many news stories out there about people who received the book just a few days early.

One woman in Chicago received a package that said "Do Not Open Until July 21." Obviously, not obeying the note her children opened the package and finished the book while a distraught mailman came to her house twice to try and take the book back. He did this but not before one of her children finished the book. Of course, the article ends with a statement from one of the children that she would not give away the ending of the book.

That statement seems to be what all of the news media is talking about. Who is going to leak the ending of this book. Who and why would anyone do that?? It's bad enough people spoil the endings of movies, but this is the most anticipated book of our generation, and no one has the right to take that away from these fans.

I talked to a few people and asked them how long they thought it would be before the ending of this book was all over the Internet. One friend said to me "12:15 a.m." and he's probably right. It's a sad truth. The news media is not helping by trying to get the ending out of a child that's giving an interview either. It's a retarded question to ask a child. Yes, I am calling certain reporters retarded.

Other news organizations are taking things a bit far. I will not say the name of the news organization but they wrote a piece about how children are going to cope with the loss of the "Potter" series, even going as far as talking to a child psychiatrist. I think this is the most benign article ever put together by a news media. Yes, children will be sad that the series is over, and they may have to deal with the loss of their favorite character.

The article goes on to say, "Keep in mind most kids under six don't understand that death is permanent." How about doing a story on how many six-year-olds might actually read this book? Or, if a six-year-old genius child has read all of the other books already, and is ready to read this final installment? That, frankly, is a much more interesting story than how they will understand the death of a character. This is fiction, and if it causes some sort of psychological damage to their characters later in life, well they probably believe they will go to college at Hogwarts anyway.

Just Gimme Some Truth!

Reuters, an American news organization, took a poll that suggested 40 percent of Americans would change their driving habits if gas were to rise over $3.50. Since the gas prices have gone up almost all Americans have been effected in some way. We have been dealing with rising gas since President Bush took office in 2001 when gas prices were $1.31, but that's not even what makes me mad. It doesn't even make me that angry that an average gas price in 1980 was $1.25, a difference of 6 cents in 21 years.

No, what makes me mad is that we were told we were going to fight a war in Iraq to help bring democracy in Iraq. Then the American public decided that this was a war over oil and people were outraged when Haliburton owned the contracts to the Iraqi oil fields, as was I. I was outraged we were fighting a war to own the oil. So, we went to war in march of 2003 and the gas prices went up to $1.72 and by the next summer it was up to $2.27. Now this year we are stuck in the $3 range with no relief in sight.

The government tells us it is about supply and demand, that we do not have the oil supply to fit the demand. Then they tell us that our oil refineries are not running at full capacity, but there is no way that there is a $2 difference of supply and demand between 2001 and 2007. Where did all this oil go? Did the H2 actually suck up all our gas?

At this point I say that the American people are being had. We're in a war for nothing. What do we get out of this deal? Christ, at this point just tell me it's a war about the oil!!!

ALL YOU NEED IS "LOVE"

It's been a while since I've actually written a blog entry and for all three people who probably read this blog, my apologies. I happened to be in Las Vegas for the beginning of the month where I was able to see the Beatles Cirque Du Soleil show "Love." I have been waiting for a year to see a performance of this show and I must say it was definitely worth the wait.

My God, I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life as the show "Love." The audience is completely engulfed by the Fab Four's phenomenal music, but the experience of the show itself is purely breathtaking. Every moment that I sat in the audience I knew that I was coming that much closer to the end of the show and if there is a heaven it will look something like what I saw that night.

The Mirage theater was constructed for this show, each seat complete with its own surround sound in the headrest as well as the back of each seat. There is not a bad seat in the house, for the theater is in the round. Clips of the show can be found on YouTube, so I do not have to rack my brain as to how to describe the extraordinary things that I saw.




"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," was one of the most extraordinary moments of the show, as well as the beauty portrayed in the interpretation of "Something." During "Tomorrow Never Knows/Within You Without You," a bed with children sitting atop rises through the air while bed sheets stream out the sides and roll over the entire audience in a wave of white chaos.

I cannot wait for this show to tour so I one day have a chance to see it again.

A Bittersweet Reunion

Way back in 1998 as a junior in high school I was in a little play called "Our Town" by Thorton Wilder. We had great times in those days. My best friend Andrew Beard and I were the troublemakers on the set, though we weren't too much trouble in the scope of things. We had our own scene together and since the scene only consisted of about 60 lines, most of our time was spent roaming the halls of River Hill high school talking for hours on end about the rising British music scene and our favorite bands. We were different from the other drama kids. We were pretentious and felt we had a sense of the world and art and music. We were... little wankers.

Though I was only a junior I was a complete Anglophile. I had returned from England the year before obsessed with all things British. Oasis were my favorite band in the world followed by Blur. Of course being an 11th grade kid in a rich, pompous school in the suburbs about 10 people knew who Blur even were, and any jock can tell you those who listened to Blur were "fucking faggots."

My assumption was that they had no clue as to what they were talking about and they could go back and listen to their Creed CDs. There was, however, one other band I was obsessed with and that was a little known band called 'The Verve.'

The Verve were led by Richard Ashcroft and just by looking at his heroin sunken face you knew he was for real. By 1997 The Verve had made their splash in the United States mainstream with their single 'Bittersweet Symphony.' By this point in the story you may be wondering what this has to do with the play 'Our Town?'

Well, one November night as the play rehearsals neared their end it was announced that The Verve would be playing at the 9:30 Club in DC. Drew and I were ecstatic and could not wait to drive down there and see our new favorite band. I had already seen Blur earlier in the summer and was well aware that Oasis would be arriving shortly. Instead, Mrs. Land our director decided to hold a second rehearsal that evening, leaving Drew and me shattered and heartbroken. "It's OK," Drew said. "They'll come back again."

Three weeks later the Verve split and Richard Ashcroft went on to make some of the shittiest solo records I have ever heard in my life.

Today it was announced that The Verve are in the studio, reunited and recording a brand new album followed by a tour in the fall. Those three weeks may have just turned into a measly 10 years, but hopefully it will be worth the wait.

Oh Billy, How Could You?

It was announced that the new Smashing Pumpkins will be releasing their new album 'Zeitgeist' with four different versions; one through iTunes, Best Buy, Target and one for independent record stores across the country. However, only fans that buy the album at Best Buy, Target or iTunes will receive the bonus tracks on the album, and you have to visit all of these outlets to get the four different versions.

Those of us that decide to buy the album at an independent store will not receive any of the bonus tracks. This might not seem like a big deal, but I really feel it is a slap in the face to all independent music stores in this country that try so hard to compete with the likes of Best Buy and Target. These stores don't even focus on music anyway. Best Buy's CD collection has depleted to a small section in the corner of the store. They only carry the latest of corporate cookie cutter crap and probably still have 200 copies on their shelf of Kid Rock's 'Cocky' album.

While Smashing Pumpkins may feel that they're going to extend themselves to a bigger audience they might just lose the fans that got them there by pulling a corporate stunt like this. I am curious as to what my independent music store employee friend will think of this move. He defends the Smashing Pumpkins like a Republican defends Bush. I'll pester him later today.

The Last Dance
It's the most remarkable sight I've ever seen. An 80-year-old man suffering from congestive heart failure singing Coldplay's "Fix You." When I heard that there was a video of a bunch of old folks singing Sonic Youth's "Schitzophrenia," of course I had to chuckle.

What I took as a joke actually turned out to be the most heartbreaking video I have ever watched. These people are from the Young At Heart choir. A group consisting of 23 people all aged 73-92.

It's not as funny as it might sound, because when you hear an 80-year-old sing a song like "Fix You," it transforms the entire meaning of the song. This man knows he only has a short time left on this earth and his voice will crumble you to weeping pieces.




To read more on the group visit wusa9.com.

Target Hit The Mark With New Tee Trend

An original Pink Floyd concert t-shirt from 1972 might cost upwards of $300 to $1,000 according to What Comes Around Goes Around retailer in New York City, but now Target stores are offering their own replica t-shirts for young hipsters from $9.99 to $12.99. Targets, for just over a year, have offered a plethora of vintage t-shirts to keep up with the growing trend started by other hip stores such as Urban Outfitters and Wolfgang's Vault.

Target offers t-shirts from Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles to help keep a young interest in these legendary bands.The vintage t-shirts are not only restricted to classic rock bands. Consumers can also find their favorite television heroes from the 1960s.

Target offers t-shirts with Mr. Rogers, the original Batman logo from the hit series starring Adam West, as well as Captain America and the Amazing Spiderman. “We are simply trying to provide our guest with the trends they want and when they want them, and at a better value that other retailers,” said Amy von Walter of Target Media Relations.

The tees offered are exact replicas of the originals, and are only available at Target stores. "The original Pink Floyd t-shirts are extremely rare and not many were made back then," said Christina Dennstedt PR coordinator for What Comes Around Goes Around.

What Comes Around Goes Around are the largest retailer for vintage t-shirts on the east coast. The store also teamed with author Johan Kugelberg and released the book "Vintage Rock T-Shirts" in February. "The book features images of some of the rarest t-shirts still around -- which were mainly donated from the WCAGA co-owners Gerard Maione and Seth Weisser's private collection," said Dennstedt. The book is available through Amazon.com or by visiting their site whatcomesaroundgoesaround.com .

Screaming Mimi's a vintage store in New York City sell concert tees anywhere from $125 to $150, "we price our t-shirts very modestly," said saleswoman Kirin Wachter.

Other chains such as Urban Outfitters have offered such replicated t-shirts but at an inflated price. On average their t-shirts can be found from $24 to $28. “We take inspiration from a variety of sources and are always on the hunt for the next big thing,” said von Walter.

Teens have already taken notice of the change in Target’s fashion line, “Target guests are known for being on-trend and fashion conscious, which is why we work extremely hard to provide the latest styles and fashions,” said von Walter.