Search Results for: when we were young

The minute he heard that Beatle George Harrison was dead, George Metropolis rushed to Hollywood Boulevard Friday to say goodbye – to his look-alike. There, Metropolis, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the “Quiet Beatle” who died on Thursday of cancer, joined teary-eyed fans, many of them middle-aged ex-hippies, who gathered near the Beatles’ star on Hollywood’s “Walk of Fame” to leave flowers, candles, and silently pray for the rock icon who was so much a part of their youth. “I met him once in 1979. He walked into this bar and saw me and said to his bodyguard, ‘That… Read more »

Britney Spears, a former Mousketeer, is at the center of an aggressive drive into the movie business by a handful of young pop stars molded by the music industry and MTV. Not since the 1960s, when singers like Elvis Presley, Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Johnny Cash crooned their way onto movie screens, have studios produced as many star vehicles to showcase the hip-shimmying musical talents of the day’s teen idols. Their holy grail is “The Bodyguard,” starring Whitney Houston, which grossed $122 million and relaunched a pop song that became a perennial hit. The soundtrack is one of the best… Read more »

The architects of the government’s post-Sept. 11 propaganda war may well want their MTV on the frontlines in the Arab world. Rushing to shift perceptions of the United States in the Islamic world, Washington and Hollywood are now brainstorming about how the entertainment business might help convey a wider – and more positive – range of perceptions about America. And no demo is more crucial to the future of Islamic-Western relations than the 15-30 age group. That’s where MTV comes in. The potential to intersperse messages between programming segments – as with the “Rock the Vote” campaign, for example –… Read more »

Headliners in their own right, singer Gwen Stefani and her bandmates in No Doubt were so eager to showcase their forthcoming album, “Rock Steady,” they started touring as an opening act two months before the CD was due for release. Back on the road after an 18-month hiatus, No Doubt will be playing warmup dates for veteran Irish rockers U2 into early December. But far from feeling overshadowed by Bono and friends, Stefani sees the U2 gig as the perfect way for No Doubt to bring itself back in public view and prepare for the Dec. 11 release of its… Read more »

As showbiz celebrities and hired models watched in awe, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger let it loose during a rare solo concert at a tiny Los Angeles club Thursday. Jagger’s new album hits stores next week, and he chose the 770-capacity El Rey Theatre near Hollywood as the venue for his only concert performance to promote the release. “This is the world tour for this album, ‘Goddess in the Doorway,”‘ Jagger, 58, told the invite-only crowd. “You can say you were at every gig, OK?” Wearing a sleeveless red T-shirt emblazoned with the Statue of Liberty over the slogan “Liberte,”… Read more »

For P.O.D. this week, Youth of the Nation (the tour) had to take a backseat to “Youth of the Nation” (the song). The spiritual rap-rockers canceled a gig in Madison, Wisconsin, Wednesday and flew to Los Angeles to shoot a video for the tune, the second single from Satellite. “Youth of the Nation,” a powerful number written the day of the Santana High School shootings in the band’s hometown of San Diego earlier this year, is scheduled to hit radio and video outlets next month, according to Atlantic Records. The track includes the verse, “Maybe this kid was reaching out… Read more »

No Doubt songs produced by hip-hop producers Timbaland and the Neptunes, recently pulled from the final sequencing of the group’s upcoming album Rock Steady, might still see release at a later date. No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont noted that the songs “didn’t fit in,” but tells LAUNCH that it doesn’t mean they’re not quality. “They’re good songs that I’m sure will find the light of day at some point,” he says. “They were just a little more hip-hoppy and didn’t feel right with the rest of the songs we had for the record.” The Timbaland song is called “It’s A… Read more »

Cue ear-splitting shrieks from millions of preteen girls. For Lance Bass, as most adults don’t know, is one-fifth of ‘N Sync, the mega-selling boy-band that has helped keep the music industry afloat in recent years. It’s hard to imagine ‘N Sync winning a Grammy Award for its lightweight pop. So – strange but true – Bass is setting his sights on winning a coveted Academy Award from stuffy Hollywood for his role as a moonlighting movie producer. The 22-year-old Mississippi native set up a movie production company earlier this year, naming it A Happy Place, and is holding meetings like… Read more »

More than 25 artists – from boys (of the Backstreet, ‘NSYNC and O-Town variety) to men (elder statesmen such as Aerosmith, James Brown and Rod Stewart), from vocal queens (Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey, Carole King) to the King of Pop – took the stage Sunday at RFK Stadium for the all-day United We Stand – What More Can I Give benefit concert for victims of September’s terrorist attacks. Themes of unity and perseverance permeated every performance, with artists often thanking the sold-out crowd for the message they were sending to the rest of the country – that no matter the… Read more »

Over the course of four solid albums and the better part of a decade on the concert trail, Detroit punk quartet the Suicide Machines have proven superior to much of their more popular competition, with Saturday’s excellent hourlong set at the packed Whisky just the latest local example. So the same big question continues to dog the band: What’s it going to take for these guys, who were equally impressive at the Roxy last year, to break through to more than small club gigs and barely there retail sales? Opening fast with the two-toned “Break the Glass,” a favorite from… Read more »