Mid November 2003
- Let it be? Never: Elvis and the Beatles return, just in time for Christmas
By ANTHONY VIOLANTI
(Salt Lake Tribune, November 9, 2003)
The big fight is on: Dead Elvis vs. the Old Beatles. It's the annual holiday season album battle brought to you by the music industry and nostalgic record buyers. Presley died in 1977, and the Beatles broke up in 1970. Both John Lennon and George Harrison are gone, but death or band break-ups never stop record companies from cashing in. As usual, with Christmas around corner, Elvis and the Beatles have new CDs featuring revamped material.
Ironically, the Beatles are stripping down their sound, while Elvis is getting some heavy techno production on an old single. Those are the selling points for the Beatles "Let It Be . . . Naked" and "Elvis 2nd To None." Presley's CD was released in October and is a best seller. The big single is a dance remix of an old Elvis' tune called "Rubberneckin.'" Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, along with Lennon and Harrison, are back on Nov. 17 with the "naked" version of "Let It Be." All that's missing is producer Phil Spector.
Long before his current legal problems, Beatle fans thought Spector was guilty of the crime of ruining "Let It Be." It was the last album released by the Beatles, and they split soon after it came out. Basically, the Beatles turned over hours of studio tapes to Spector. He dubbed in violins and a singing chorus to such songs as "The Long and Winding Road," "Let It Be," and "Across the Universe." The new CD is "the de-Spectorized" version," Starr told Rolling Stone. It's about getting back to basics.
Not so Elvis. Last year the long-gone King had a surprise smash single with a techno remix version of one of his obscure songs, "A Little Less Conversation." DJ Paul Oakenfold produced that single, and also "Rubberneckin'," which sounds like a cross between Elvis and the Chemical Brothers. So, open those disc store cash registers and let the games begin. Now we offer our own take on the fight for Christmas shopping dollars between Elvis and the Beatles.
Why buy the CD?
Beatles: To see if there is life after Phil Spector.
Elvis: In addition to "Rubberneckin'" there is also an unreleased song "I'm a Roustabout." It's from the dreadful Elvis movie, "Roustabout" and just might show Presley wasn't wasting all his time on such movie turkeys.
Winner: The Beatles, no (Spector) strings attached.
Most surprising track
Beatles: "Don't Let Me Down"
Elvis: "I Forgot to Remember to Forget"
Winner: The Beatles. Elvis' twangy '50s country sound is sweet, but "Don't Let Me Down" wasn't on the original "Let It Be" album and Lennon's vocal soars.
Do we really need to hear this again?
Beatles: "Two of Us"
Elvis: "Moody Blue"
Winner: Elvis. Although the King's mid '70s decline was in full flower, "Moody Blue" beats the Beatles sugar-sweet, "Two of Us."
Song that still rocks
Beatles: "Get Back"
Elvis: "Promised Land"
Winner: Elvis. A vintage cover of the old Chuck Berry song. ...
- Web spoof of Mormons spawns a paper edition
By Thomas Burr
(Salt Lake Tribune, November 11, 2003)
It's by Mormons, for Mormons, about Mormons and it could be landing in mailboxes soon. For a small fee, this publication will provide insight and news about the LDS Church and its culture, with items such as:
- Seagulls attack Main Street Plaza protesters.
- Deseret Book schedules 'book burning.'
- Gold plates discovered on Titanic wreckage.
- Bishop storehouses now stocking Prozac.
OK, it isn't the Ensign. Nor the LDS Church News. Nor a ward newsletter. It's The Sugar Beet -- a satirical Web site that has been lampooning Mormon culture for nearly two years -- and is now going to print.
So will Mormons subscribe? Right now, they can view the not-so-saintly spoof from the privacy of their computers. A hard-copy edition could be spotted by a spouse, a parent, a child, a neighbor or, heaven forbid, the bishop. ... Now, after 25 editions, the Beet goes on. The past few Web issues carried "scoops" about Elvis' posthumous baptism, Walt Disney's honorary sainthood and an elderly couple's mission to Crossroads Plaza. Oh, and the gospel now comes in a "refreshing mint flavor," the LDS Church has patented "Holy Ghost," and the Fox network is debuting a sitcom titled "The Polygamist." ...
- Hard Rock Cafe Falls Hard for Detroit
By Kelley L. Carter
(Hotel Online / Detroit Free Press, November 7, 2003)
Elvis never even entered the building. Neither did the Beatles. Folks like Smokey and Iggy and Stevie and Madonna and Diana and Eminem got first dibs when it came to choosing the pieces for Detroit's Hard Rock Cafe, which opens on Monday. Welcome to the 313, HRC. ... The Hard Rock Cafe is known for the rare musical artifacts -- records, original contracts, stage clothing, guitars, etc. -- that it displays in its restaurants across the world. In cities like New York, Chicago and Orlando, the restaurants are a destination spot, a place celebrities frequent and where patrons soak up an eclectic musical atmosphere through the memorabilia that's hung, framed and encased in the eatery. ...
- Meetup.com Builds Offline Community: Web Site Connects Fans of Elvis, Hockey, More
(editorandpublisher.com / Associated Press, November 7, 2003)
From Elvis fans to supporters of a presidential hopeful, Meetup.com is bringing together people with a common interest, taking the talk out of the chatroom and back into the real world. It was at a crowded 2001 opening of the movie, Lord of the Rings that 31-year-old Scott Heiferman found himself surrounded by strangers, yet inspired by a sense of community.
That experience and others led him to launch Meetup.com, an Internet venture in which people with shared interests meet online to plan offline gatherings in their own communities. "I think people involved in the Internet were obsessed with this idea that the Internet was global," said Heiferman, Meetup's co-founder and CEO. "They loved the idea that you could now be best friends with a fellow Chihuahua owner in the United Kingdom. ... Well, what about grabbing a beer, grabbing coffee, having a gathering of the Chihuahua owners in town?"
The site was launched in June 2002 with $1.25 million in startup money. The company, with its staff of 16 people, is "turning the corner right now on profitability," Heiferman said, and succeeding in ways he and his co-founders hadn't imagined.
... Meetups on a particular topic occur on the same day in communities all over the world. For instance, the Elvis Meetup Day is the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. local time for each city involved. ...
... Other than a prohibition on topics about sex, or those that could be discriminatory and hurtful, "the bar to have a meetup topic isn't all that high," said Myles Weissleder, the company's vice president of communications. The topics, however, must be sufficiently broad. "We can't slice and dice topics too much because it would cannibalize it," he said. "We have Elvis meetups; we don't have skinny Elvis meetups versus fat Elvis meetups." ... Kevin Kedzierski, 56, an electrical engineer in Tonawanda, N.Y., hosts his area's Elvis meetup. It's been so successful that he and some of those he met want to arrange an Elvis festival in the Buffalo area. "It's a good way to meet friends," he said. "We just keep coming, and we just have fun."
- Let it be? Never: Elvis and the Beatles return, just in time for Christmas
By ANTHONY VIOLANTI
(Buffalo News, November 9, 2003)
The big fight is on: Dead Elvis vs. the Old Beatles. It's the annual holiday season album battle brought to you by the music industry and nostalgic record buyers. Presley died in 1977, and the Beatles broke up in 1970. Both John Lennon and George Harrison are gone, but death or band break-ups never stop record companies from cashing in. As usual, with Christmas around corner, Elvis and the Beatles have new CDs featuring revamped material.
Ironically, the Beatles are stripping down their sound, while Elvis is getting some heavy techno production on an old single. Those are the selling points for the Beatles "Let It Be . . . Naked" and "Elvis 2nd To None." Presley's CD was released in October and is a best seller. The big single is a dance remix of an old Elvis' tune called "Rubberneckin.'" Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, along with Lennon and Harrison, are back on Nov. 17 with the "naked" version of "Let It Be." All that's missing is producer Phil Spector.
Long before his current legal problems, Beatle fans thought Spector was guilty of the crime of ruining "Let It Be." It was the last album released by the Beatles, and they split soon after it came out. Basically, the Beatles turned over hours of studio tapes to Spector. He dubbed in violins and a singing chorus to such songs as "The Long and Winding Road," "Let It Be," and "Across the Universe." The new CD is "the de-Spectorized" version," Starr told Rolling Stone. It's about getting back to basics.
Not so Elvis
Last year the long-gone King had a surprise smash single with a techno remix version of one of his obscure songs, "A Little Less Conversation." DJ Paul Oakenfold produced that single, and also "Rubberneckin'," which sounds like a cross between Elvis and the Chemical Brothers. So, open those disc store cash registers and let the games begin. Now we offer our own take on the fight for Christmas shopping dollars between Elvis and the Beatles.
Why buy the CD?
Beatles: To see if there is life after Phil Spector.
Elvis: In addition to "Rubberneckin'" there is also an unreleased song "I'm a Roustabout." It's from the dreadful Elvis movie, "Roustabout" and just might show Presley wasn't wasting all his time on such movie turkeys.
Winner: The Beatles, no (Spector) strings attached.
Most surprising track
Beatles: "Don't Let Me Down"
Elvis: "I Forgot to Remember to Forget"
Winner: The Beatles. Elvis' twangy '50s country sound is sweet, but "Don't Let Me Down" wasn't on the original "Let It Be" album and Lennon's vocal soars. Do we really need to hear this again?
Beatles: "Two of Us"
Elvis: "Moody Blue"
Winner: Elvis. Although the King's mid '70s decline was in full flower, "Moody Blue" beats the Beatles sugar-sweet, "Two of Us."
Song that still rocks
Beatles: "Get Back"
Elvis: "Promised Land"
Winner: Elvis. A vintage cover of the old Chuck Berry song.
Possible publicity boost
Elvis: Lisa Marie, Elvis' daughter, remarries Michael Jackson.
Winner: The Beatles. Paul becomes a 61-year-old, cool rocking daddy.
Disc cover
Beatles: The film-negative style close-ups of the four Beatles creates an eerie but cool atmosphere.
Elvis: A close-up of the young Elvis faces the white numeral 2, against an all-black background.
Winner: The Beatles by a negative hair.
Most heart-tugging number
Beatles: "The Long and Winding Road"
Elvis: "Memories"
Winner: Elvis gives a two-Kleenex performance.
Most silly love song
Beatles: "One After 909"
Elvis: "Rock-a-hula Baby."
Winner: Elvis, by a hula-hoop.
Say that lyric again?
Beatles: "I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I, do a road hog"
Elvis: "You know he's gone, gone, gone, hip shaking King Creole"
Winner: The be-be-be-be-be-be-Beatles
So which CD should you buy?
This is America so do the patriotic thing: support Elvis. Then, next Christmas, you can buy the Beatles CD when the record companies come out with more releases by the Fabs and the King.
What it all means
We leave it to Sir Paul McCartney to explain why Elvis and the Beatles will never go away:
"People will keep thinking about a Beatles reunion until we're dead," he once told Rolling Stone. "And then they'll probably hope for a reunion. They'll offer us $2 million to reunite with Elvis."
- Why royal behaviour is irrelevant
By Roy Hattersley
(Guardian Unlimited, November 10, 2003)
Even if Prince Charles were a saint, the monarchy should be abolished. Last week some newspaper columnists advanced a novel constitutional theory. They announced that, were the rumours about the Prince of Wales true, the throne itself would topple. The idea that the future of the monarchy might be determined by the behaviour of Prince Charles - or any other member of the royal family - is absurd and should be resisted by republicans. If a badly behaved heir-apparent justifies a revolution, a well-behaved one validates the continuation of the present system.
The arguments in favour of replacing the hereditary sovereign with an elected president concern the rival merits of institutions, not the conduct and character of individuals. Those arguments are worth repeating, for they put into perspective the current tabloid frenzy about accusations I find as fascinating as the parallel rumours that Elvis Presley ate himself to death and Howard Hughes refused to shave for the last six years of his life. The monarchy enshrines and encourages the idea of a hierarchical society - with one family at the top of the heap because of birth and blood. It encourages the whole nation to look backwards towards the glorious past rather than forward to an uncertain future. And it requires otherwise sensible people to do and say silly things. ...
- Heavy security at Carquinez bridge opening
By Sean Holstege
(Oakland Tribune, November 9, 2003)
Dick Zampa Jr. sliced a heavy chain with an acetylene blowtorch, and with that the bridge over the Carquinez Strait named for his grandfather opened to the public on Saturday. Cars, however, will have to wait until at least Monday morning -- and maybe later depending on Mother Nature -- to make the southbound crossing on four new lanes over the strait on Interstate 80. ... The one-mile-long bridge is California's first suspension bridge since the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge went up in the 1930s and the first of its kind in the United States since 1973.
... The event came off under menacing skies and heavy security. The California Highway Patrol deployed 90 officers as precaution against heavy traffic, crowds estimated at around7,000, political protests and the possible lure to terrorists of a governor and a new landmark. Friday, counter-terror officials had received unsubstantiated reports of a plot to crash cargo jets into bridges, but it didn't change plans, CHP Sgt. Wayne Ziese said. CHP officers guarded the hatches into the two towers, and others atop those towers watched with binoculars and cameras as a helicopter circled continuously overhead.
... Many people stared up at the 420-foot concrete towers and the red cables and just gawked. Others waved to the security spotters. Some whipped out their Sharpie and scribbled Kilroy-was-here-style graffiti onto the reflector dots in the new road. There were political signs and Elvis impersonators and dogs. They came from all over the Bay Area and were shuttled from Crockett in a steady stream of buses. ...
- From Valley's Elvis to Philippine fugitive
By Stephen Magagnini
(Sacramento Bee, November 8, 2003)
Roger Lawrence Strunk has played many roles in his 63 years: singer, actor, husband, fugitive. The shy kid from the Central Valley town of Tracy had a face that made women look twice and a voice they couldn't forget. By the early 1960s he had gone Hollywood, where talent scouts projected him as the new James Dean or maybe the next Elvis or Sinatra. ...
- Superheroes are the spice of life for artist Alex Ross
By FRANK DECARO
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer / NEW YORK TIMES, November 8, 2003)
Forget the hearse parked in the driveway and the fog machines belching smoke around the gargoyles crouching on the front porch. The twin Batman logos projected onto the garage last weekend let revelers know what kind of fun was in store. As if they hadn't known. In a quiet neighborhood in suburban Chicago, Alex Ross -- one of the most influential comic book artists working today -- and his wife, T.J., celebrated Halloween by turning their house into Superhero Central.
The scene was Gotham City and Metropolis rolled into one, as 200 elaborately costumed guests piled in. Nightwing and Green Lantern compared notes on Batman over drinks with Catwoman, Scarecrow and the Penguin, and the Green Hornet and Kato mingled with intergalactic warriors from "Battle of the Planets." The Rosses' yellow Labrador, Indiana, was there as Underdog.
... None of this Halloween hullabaloo distracted from the Rosses' permanent collections of action figures and superhero memorabilia, which fill nearly every room. ... "There are a couple of artists at his level of popularity -- Jim Lee and Frank Miller," said Chip Kidd, who, along with Geoff Spear, wrote "Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross," published by Pantheon last month. "But there are very few who fit the bill of comic book artist as rock star, and Alex is definitely one of them." His original paintings go for as much as $25,000. "It was, like, 'Elvis is in the house!"' Kidd said, recalling Ross' appearance in San Diego in July at Comic-Con, the largest comic book convention in the United States. Fans treated an autograph session with Ross as if Superman himself had flown in. ...
- Sony and BMG merge
(The Star Online / Reuters, November 8, 2003)
TOKYO: The merger of Sony Music and BMG could bring a whole new stable of recording artists to listeners hooked on Sony Corp's electronics, but analysts say the alliance is more about minimising risk than seeking gain. The proliferation of file-sharing services such as KaZaa and a weaker retail market pushed Sony's music business - 8% of group revenues - into the red, with an operating loss of 8.7 billion yen (US$79mil) in the year to March 31.
... Sony and German media firm Bertelsmann AG announced yesterday they had signed a non-binding letter of intent to form a 50:50 music joint venture to be called Sony-BMG, pending regulatory approval. The joint venture combines No. 2 Sony, which includes such artists as Beyonce Knowles and Bruce Springsteen, with No. 5 BMG that is home to Britney Spears and Elvis Presley. It creates a powerhouse that rivals leader Universal Music Group. The merged unit would grab a 25.2% share of a global music market valued at US$32bil in 2002. Universal Music has a 25.9% share. Analysts, however, dismissed the notion that this would lead to a major bump in earnings. ...
- Britney, Bruce Make Beautiful Music
by Julie Keller
(E! Online, November 7, 2003)
Music pirates beware. Two music giants have just announced plans to form a powerful alliance in the fight to save the recording industry. New York-based Sony Corporation and Germany-based Bertelsmann AG have announced initial plans to form a jointly owned music company dubbed Sony BMG. Each company will own exactly 50 percent of the new venture. Should the merger get approval from industry watchdogs, Sony BMG will become the second-largest music empire in the world behind Universal Music Group, potentially pulling in a whopping $8 billion in global revenue and controlling 25 percent of the market.
this allows us to manage our way through the difficulties."
... Sony BMG will merge the recorded music business from each company. The companies' music publishing, distribution and manufacturing businesses will be kept separate. Should the deal pass regulatory muster, Sony BMG will have a powerful arsenal of talent at its fingertips. BMG's labels, including RCA, J Records, Jive and Arista, are home to Elvis Presley, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Dido, OutKast, Rod Stewart, Sarah McLachlan, the Strokes, Avril Lavigne, the Dave Matthews Band, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken. Sony's Columbia and Epic Records' rosters feature the likes of Beyonce Knowles and Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez, the Dixie Chicks, Celine Dion, John Mayer, Pearl Jam, Jagged Edge, Train, Ricky Martin, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, AC/DC, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.
- Ann-Margret: Hollywood legend Ann-Margret brings her stage show to Turlock
(Modestee Bee, November 7, 2003)
For a girl from a 150-person Swedish town, Ann-Margret hasn't done too badly for herself. The redheaded actress-singer-dancer has starred opposite some of the screen's most famous leading men -- from Elvis Presley and John Wayne to Jack Nicholson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. While sometimes typecast as the sexpot, Ann-Margret attended Northwestern University and twice has been nominated for an Academy Award. Her first starring role came opposite Bette Davis in 1961. She went on to act in dramas, comedies and even a rock opera (1975's "Tommy.") Her friendship with Elvis Presley continued after they filmed "Viva Las Vegas" together. Reportedly, he sent her flowersbefore the opening of all her stage performances until his death. ...
- Elvis video banned by US court
(itv.com, November 7, 2003)
"The king is dead, his legacy, and those who wish to profit from it, remain very much alive" - Judge Richard Tallman. A court in America has ruled that a film documentary about singer Elvis Presley, which cost more than £1 million to make, cannot be sold to the public because saying it made improper use of copyrighted film, photo and musical material. The case centered on a video called "The Definitive Elvis" a 16-hour documentary that retailed for £60. It had cost the company which made it - Passport Video - more than £1.2 million to create. "The king is dead," 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Tallman wrote in the decision. "His legacy, and those who wish to profit from it, remain very much alive." Elvis Presley Enterprises, entities that owned the rights to various Presley television appearances and Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote the hits "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog," objected to the documentary's use of their material. "It would be impossible to produce a biography of Elvis without showing some of his most famous television appearances for reference purposes," the court wrote. "But some of the clips are played without much interruption, if any. The purpose of showing these clips likely goes beyond merely making a reference for a biography, but instead serves the same intrinsic entertainment value that is protected by the Plaintiff's copyrights." But one member of the three-judge panel did not agree. Judge John Noonan wrote the court did not properly take into account the public interest in the Presley biography and called the decision "a miscarriage of justice."
- Walking on Memphis
(iol.co.za, October 28, 2003)
Memphis is a town with a quirky mixture of claims to fame: it was where Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, and where Elvis Presley spent much of his life and where he died in 1977 at the age of 42. It is also the home of the blues, the place where the first music of this type was published in the days before the First World War. This was the work of the legendary black composer, W.C. Handy (1873- 1958). King was shot dead in the Lorraine Motel. The motel, a few blocks south of the centrally placed Beale Street, has been turned into a museum which is a showcase for the civil-rights movement in the 1960s. Presley lived at a place known as Graceland for about 20 years, and this has been turned into a somewhat gaudy memorial. The living room is all in white, there is a five-metre couch and an interior waterfall and carpet on the ceiling. Visitors can watch a film narrated by Priscilla Presley, Elvis' ex wife. On January 8, Memphis celebrates Elvis Presley Day.
Visitors can go to the famous recording studio founded in the 1950sA statue has been erected in memory of Handy in a park on Beale Street, which is in the middle of town. Concerts are often held here. Not far away is the shack where Handy lived with his six children. Memphis, a riverboat town on the banks of the Mississippi, is named after the Egyptian city on the Nile. It profited from the cotton trade centred on the Mississippi delta to the south. Memphis was virtually abandoned by whites after a yellow-fever epidemic in 1878, when 5,000 people died and, as a result, it became virtually a black town. Whites started to return as the cotton and hardwood industries picked up. At the turn of the century, the entire character of the city was changing. Beale Street catered for the influx of cash and the street was lined with bars, music joints and brothels.
The civil-rights movement was strong in the region. The Sun Studio cut records for both black and white singers. Other studios were set up. Racial integration happened in the 1960s. In 1968, Martin Luther King was shot dead when he came to town to demonstrate support for striking black workers. Visitors can go to the famous recording studio founded in the 1950s, the Sun Studio, where recordings were made of Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. The visitor can hang around in the tiled rooms for about half an hour listening to old songs. The infamous Beale Street fell into decay, but has now been restored in a comprehensive redevelopment plan. Night clubs and souvenir shops now dominate in place of the less savoury establishments of the old days.
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