Lookin’ at me, lookin’ at you

Ah Betty ... how could you?

Just a few weeks ago we were all bothered about yet another female celebrity caught naked, after someone hacked into her private cellphone stash. I still can’t figure what’s the problem – she took the pictures herself and obviously wanted somebody besides herself to see them (otherwise she could have just used a mirror to look at her own ass).

Maybe she doesn’t want us all to see these photos; maybe she just doesn’t want us all to see these photos for free. Maybe she would rather we pay 10 bucks for a movie ticket to get a glimpse of her ass … I don’t know.

The news said the FBI is investigating to find out who stole the pictures and leaked them; maybe the actress wants to give him a commission for getting her name out there. Wow, good to know there aren’t more dangerous criminals that the FBI should be looking for.

We live in a world of self absorption and technological privilege. The internet has opened up our lives with a huge picture window that isn’t always so easy to close.

Meanwhile, we fuel the gossip whores by listening and watching. Somebody’s always watching – and it’s no wonder, because somebody’s always putting something out there to watch.

MP3: “Sirius/Eye In The Sky” by the Alan Parsons Project

MP3: “TV Eye” by The Stooges

MP3: “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morrisette

MP3: “Private Eyes” by Hall and Oates

MP3: “You Lookin’ At Me Lookin’ At You” by Ozzy Osbourne

MP3: “Peek A Boo” by Devo

MP3: “I Turn My Camera On” by Spoon

MP3: “Infatuation” by Rod Stewart

MP3: “The Boy In The Bubble” by Paul Simon

MP3: “Every Breath You Take” by the Police

The Day We Took the Giant Step

I remember I was in ninth grade … and the pictures came in black and white on TV.  The men on the moon jumped, worked and shuffled through the lunar dust.  They placed a flag on the moon and left behind a plaque with their names and the name of the President of the United States.  So someday some space traveler will find some pristine junk on the airless lunar surface with the names of the three great explorers – and Richard M. Nixon.

Friday is Boss’ Day: The First Four Singles

It’s quite unusual to release four singles more than a month before an album is released, but in this day and age of “no radio airplay,” Bruce Springsteen is evidently going to do whatever it takes to get his music to the masses.

A few days after NBC Sports played a lame clip of highlights over “Working On A Dream,” we were able to download it free (for a day) on iTunes.  I really like this tune.  While it doesn’t rock like anything on Magic, it has a great melody and uplifting message.  It reminds me of when he went from a rocking album (Born In the USA) to the acoustic/melody driven single “Brilliant Disguise” on his next studio album (Tunnel of Love).

Next up is “My Lucky Day,” which came a few days after Thanksgiving.  The song rocks like the  stuff on Magic, has a great hook, but sounds more like it would have been the B-side of “Working” if 45s were still on the market, instead of the second single.

The third single is “The Wrestler.”  This one is clearly the best of the bunch.  The string instrumental at the beginning sets the mood for a dark ride.  It has the feel of “Dead Man Walking,” but it has a much better melody, better instrumentation and a much cooler ending.

The fourth single, “Life Itself,” sounds like it could have been on Tunnel of Love.  It reminds me of a song you would listen to alone with the top down while traveling on the lonely roads of West Texas.  The guitar solo is also something you don’t normally hear on a Springsteen tune.

Any chance he’ll release the entire album before it’s supposed to come out?  We can only hope.

On another note:

Many Springsteen bloggers have been bitching about the upcoming greatest hits package being available only at Wal-Mart.  Like I said earlier, with little or no radio airplay, Springsteen has to do whatever he can these days to sell CDs. Wal-Mart worked beautifully for the Eagles, Journey, and AC/DC, so why shouldn’t he follow their lead?  They’ll probably sell the disc for under $10 and thousands of people who had never heard his music before will pick up the disc after seeing him at halftime of the Super Bowl (Big Game, sorry).  From a marketing standpoint, it’s a genius move. How many times have you been in Wal-Mart and said “hey, I’ll pick that up for 10?”

I’ll bet Guns and Roses and The Police wish they had chosen Wal-Mart over Best Buy to sell their latest projects.

Review: “Certifiable,” The Police (CD/DVD)

I saw The Police in Houston last year and the first thing I thought as they were ripping through “Message in a Bottle” was “Man, I’m glad I didn’t pay $250 to sit on the floor.” Technically, the show was great. Sting had perfect pitch, everybody played well, but I can’t remember when I’ve been more bored watching a concert. Now, I get to re-live the monotony all over again on their latest live CD and DVD, Certifiable.

The disc, recorded live in Buenos Aires, features the same set list I saw at the Toyota Center, which right off the bat, turned me off. “Truth Hits Everybody” at half-speed is brutal. “When the World is Running Down” is sing-songy, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” is boring, “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” sounds like it’s being done by the city’s best cover band. Shall I go on?

I’ve been a Police fan for more than 25 years and to say this is disappointing is an understatement. The only redeeming value might be for women who will feel a tingle when Sting speaks Spanish, but if I had to describe this collection in one word it would be “innecesario.”

MP3: “Truth Hits Everybody”

The Police Official Website

New Show: “Spectacle: Elvis Costello With…” – Sundance Channel

On December 3 at 8 p.m. CST, the Sundance Channel will debut “Spectacle: Elvis Costello With …” It’s being billed as a unique talk show experience that “fuses the best elements of talk and music television and invites the enjoy intimate conversations between Costello and his guests.” This should be good.  Costello was great a few years back when he filled in for David Letterman, throw in some special musical appearances, and you have the makings of a great show.  Some confirmed guests include “Sir” Elton John, Lou Reed, Tony Bennett, The Police and former President Bill Clinton. I hope he doesn’t bring the saxophone because he’s much better when someone else is doing the blowing.

Sundance Channel Official Website

Update: Does Journey Stay in the Top 25 Without Wal Mart?

Journey, with new lead singer Arnel Pineda , has been in the Top 25 on the Billboard Album chart for nine weeks with their latest, Revelation. This week they are at number 23 on the Top 200 Album chart and number 1 on the Independent Album chart. They are still outselling new releases by Alanis Morissette, Nine Inch Nails, Motley Crue, Jason Mraz, Usher, Weezer, The Offspring, Jewel, Vanessa Hudgens from High School Musical fame, and yes, Alice Cooper.

As we have said before, the Wal Mart strategy was genius. Radio refuses to play any new stuff by guys like Journey, so there is no way Revelation would be in the Top 25 for one week, let alone nine, if it didn’t get the push it received at the store. 

We here at 30 Days Out are very interested to see if this same strategy will be successful for AC/DC, who is coming exclusively to a Wal Mart near you in the very near future.  The Police will be selling a live CD/DVD from their “last” tour exclusively at Best Buy, but honestly I don’t think it’s going to have the same impact.

I really can’t wait to walk into Wal Mart and hear AC/DC blasting all over the place. The Aussie rockers might just knock out the remaining teeth of most of the customers. Don’t Stop Believin’.

MP3: “Change For The Better” by Journey

YouTube: Faithfully (with Arnel Pineda)

YouTube: Don’t Stop Believin’ (with Arnel Pineda)

Journey Official Website

Lost Classics! “Become What You Are,” Juliana Hatfield Three

 

When a sexy female singer utters the line “the highest grade piece of ass” right out of the box you know the CD is going to be good. “Supermodel,” a tune that makes fun of all of us men for ogling “perfect” women in magazines, kicked off Become What You Are.

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Juliana Hatfield grew up in Boston listening to punk bands like X, but also had a jones for Olivia Newton-John and The Police. She earned a songwriting degree from the prestigious Berklee School of Music, and made it perfectly clear in all of her interviews and even on the inside of her CDs that she was the guitarist, not some guy.

Her 1992 album, Hey Babe, was one of the top independent selling discs of the year, and for her next disc she recruited a rhythm section and called the band the Juliana Hatfield Three. The result was Become What You Are, a disc filled with cool guitar licks and even catchier melodies.

The aforementioned track, “Supermodel,” has great lyrics like “five thousand dollars a day is what they pay my baby for her pretty face.” The first single, My Sister, as told from the point of view of a little brother, was her biggest hit, and “Spin the Bottle,” a nasty little ditty on the old game, was featured in the movie Reality Bites. The disc, produced by Scott Litt (REM), rocks from start to finish and is one of the forgotten masterpieces of the brief alternative era of the early 1990s.

After Become What You Are, Hatfield was signed to a major label, but her record company did what most record companies do to successful indie artists….they change them, and most of the time not for the better. Her next release, Only Everything, didn’t have the same feel and I kind of lost track of what she was doing after that. However, if you are looking for a collection of tunes that you won’t soon forget, Become What You Are by the Juliana Hatfield Three, will more than do the trick.

MP3: Supermodel

MP3: Spin the Bottle

YouTube: My Sister

Juliana Hatfield Official Website