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Katy Perry didn’t take her “Dark Horse” defeat by lying down and playing dead.
She’s got a catchy new single called “Small Talk,” which popped onto the charts at midnight. She wrote “Small Talk” with Johan Carlsson, Charlie Puth and Jacob Kasher Hindlin. Johan Carlsson and Charlie Puth produced the track with Peter Karlsson producing the vocals.
The short, punchy song should do a lot to assuage the loss last week over a plagiarism suit over “Dark Horse,” a hit single that was ruled infringed on a little known record. “Small Talk” also follows an earlier summer hit, “Never Really Over,” which took hold and still on the charts.
The question is, what is going on here? Is Katy aiming for a new album? Will all this work cohere into something important? I hope so. I loved her single “Chained to the Rhythm.” She needs more of that kind of song. Not so easy, but I like the idea of her working with Charlie Puth.
I do think, by the way, that being on “American Idol” is hurting Katy. She’s smart, and could take that time to really develop some musical ideas. She has to have enough money by now. Get back to the music!
Sound the alarms. Something must be done quickly about the CBS soap, “The Young and the Restless.” The bottom has literally dropped out of the ratings.
For the week of July 22-26th, “Y&R” hit its all time low– 3.5 million viewers. They are down 760,000 fans since a year ago last week. All three of the other daytime dramas are way off, too, this summer. But “Y&R” sets the pace, and they are in real trouble right now.
The show has been adrift since former executive producer Mal Young got rid of a lot of the veteran actors and tried to replace them with new characters. It didn’t work. In the melee, many important names– Eileen Davidson, Christel Khalil– left the show. They have not returned. The show has lost its main focus. Also missing, except for guest appearances, is Emmy winner Jess Walton.
Newer executive producer Anthony Morina so far has not won back the viewers who left, and the erosion is now significant. Summer is always a slow time for soaps– kids are out of school, people are on vacation. But this is serious. Morina has got to restore the old order of the show pronto. For one thing, the stories move like glaciers. They’ve got to pick up the pace.
Just to compare: two years ago, “Y&R” was headed toward 4.8 million viewers by the end of 2017. Where did all those people go?
Meanwhile, “Bold and the Beautiful” is off by more than 400K viewers from one year ago, and “General Hospital” is down by over 300K. “Days of Our Lives” is down by 200K.
The networks don’t need much incentive to cancel all the remaining soaps. If the ratings don’t improve drastically, they will use them as an excuse to fill the time with reality programming or talk shows. Someone had better tell the EPs of all the shows to make some swift, and positive, changes.
There were a lot, I do mean a lot, of women packed into the Hudson Theater tonight to see two guys tell stories on stage. Of course, the men were Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge, each of whom has a following among the ladies. They are both, also, at the top of their current class of actors, ages 38 and 33, respectively, and the top of their game.
Everyone’s talking about Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt right now in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” But once upon a time in New York, we’ve got our own pair of star actors doing the heavy lifting 8 shows a week.
The guys appear each in two monologues: Sturridge in Simon Stephens’s “Sea Wall,” and Gyllenhaal in Nick Payne’s “A Life.” They’re good plays, but without heavily talented actors with drawing power they’d be just as well seen off Broadway. Recently, Carey Mulligan and Billy Crudup each had similar situations down at the Minetta Lane Theater. A little further back, Laurie Metcalf and also Judith Light had their monologues at the Lucille Lortel Theater.
“Sea Wall/A Life” had an acclaimed run at the Public Theater, so why not try it out uptown for a few weeks? It turns out it was a good idea. The box office is better than booming, and when reviews hit on Thursday night, empty seats will be gobbled up.
The monologues are a good match– stories of young men dealing with death and life. Each one is a little predictable and slightly on the nose, but the delivery is so adept that the material is elevated. The actors are a good match, too. They each come from theater families. Sturridge’s father,. Charles, is an acclaimed British director. His mother, Phoebe Nicholls, is known to American audiences from “Brideshead Revisited” and “Downton Abbey” (she played the wife of annoying cousin Shrimpy).
Gyllenhaal– well, you know his sister, Maggie, his talented screenwriter mother, Naomi Foner, their father director Stephen Gyllenhaal.
So there’s a lot of energy bouncing around the stage at the Hudson, and a lot of confidence. Sturridge doesn’t have the film resume of Gyllenhaal but it’s coming if he wants it. Even in the 2013 Broadway production of “Orphans,” Sturridge owned the stage. He was just 27 then. He’s even better now, making the slight “Sea Wall” epic and poignant. There are also lighter moments before a terrible catastrophe occurs, and it’s nice to see Sturridge smile.
Gyllenhaal is doing something few of his movie counterparts will try– he performs on stage all the time. Before “A Life,” he was triumphant in “Sunday in the Park with George” in the same theater. (It seems like he’s aiming for stage/movie career a la Henry Fonda.) He’s a STAR, he has real charisma and ease, and is never boring.
“A Life” juxtaposes life and death for its narrator, Abe, who’s becoming a father and losing one simultaneously. Because “A Life” is a little lighter than “Sea Wall,” Jake can run into the audience as part of the show, and say audibly to an audience member, “Sorry if I woke you up.” Breaking that fourth wall makes a nice connection to the audience, who already feel they know Abe.
By the time, “A Life” is over, we feel like we know both characters from both stories. Director Carrie Cracknell adds a little twist at the end, tying the two performances together, that’s very sweet and haunting. But the two monologues will forever be linked because of it.
A really terrific Bruce Springsteen song has never been included on an album– until now. “I’ll Stand By You Always” was featured in a Harry Potter movie (“Sorcerers’ Stone), but never made it to that soundtrack album. The song has always been available on YouTube, and so it is below.
It’s now featured in the new film, “Blinded by the Light,” which is like the Boss sequel to this summer’s hit, “Yesterday.” In that one, an Indian kid obsessed with the Beatles knew all their songs when others suddenly forgot them. In “Blinded,” a Pakistani kid obsessed with Bruce Springsteen…you can guess the rest.
There are 12 Springsteen songs on the “Blinded” soundtrack album.
I told you a couple of weeks ago, Universal Pictures is looking to slap some Prince songs into this kind of movie. David Bowie shouldn’t be far behind. We’ve already had Queen, and ABBA (twice). How about a Rolling Stones movie like this? Two Indian kids think they’re Mick and Keith. And don’t forget, an Elvis movie is coming…and a Bob Dylan musical is coming to Broadway…can the Monkees movie be far behind?
For Bruce, who hosted a premiere last night in Asbury Park, this is a great year. His Broadway show taped for Netflix is going to win an Emmy. His new album, “Western Stars,” has been a huge hit and should get some Grammys, and his “Western Stars” movie is debuting at the Toronto Film Festival. Not bad!
Everyone is canceling their Soul Cycle and Equinox memberships. Why? Because their owner– or “passive investor” Stephen Ross is hosting a massive fundraiser for Donald Trump this weekend in the Hamptons.
Funny how times change. In February, Ross told New York magazine: “I don’t like Donald, okay, we can stop there. We’d be here all day.”
That’s when the Detroit born Ross, self made and said to be work-obsessed, was interviewed about the monstrosity known as Hudson Yards. He built that, too.
Canceled gym memberships won’t hurt him. He’s worth $7.7 billion. He also owns the Miami Dolphins.
Meanwhile, Equinox and Soul Cycle have disavowed Ross, saying he’s a passive investor and isn’t involved with them. Well, that’s like when Home Depot distanced themselves from their own passive investor, their co-founder Bernie Marcus. a billionaire Trump supporter. And what about New Balance shoes? (Oh wait, they turned against Trump.)
What will happen next spring? Will there be a boycott of the Tribeca Film Festival because the Murdoch family is their main investor?
Also Pizza Hut is closing 500 restaurants. I’ve never been there, or to Soul Cycle or Equinox. My boycott was ahead of the curve!
If you’re a fool for Tool, the intellectual heavy metal band, you’re in luck. They’ve just released their first single in 13 years and it’s already at number 1. IN fact, “Fear Inoculum” is 10 minutes, 22 seconds. So crazy!
On top of that, Tool is now occupying a huge chunk of the iTunes albums and singles charts with old releases. They’ve got five singles in the top 10, and five albums in the top 20. They knocked Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” off the top spot, which means Lil Nas is going to make a remix with them! (Just kidding.)
The “Fear Inoculum” album is coming, too. And it has a wild cover that includes an HD screen and speakers. (I don’t know how that will work!)
It’s a little unclear if Tool is on a label. Their own label, Volcano, is part of Epic/Sony, so maybe that’s it. Their old albums are on Sony Legacy. If so, Sylvia Rhone is going to have a great August!
Hey, thanks to everyone who gave this column credit for breaking the “Abbey Road” 50th anniversary box set story yesterday. (LOL).
Anyway, now we can “Come Together” over “Something.” I’ll “Carry That Weight” by myself.
All remixed, and souped up for 2019. The only extra track we haven’t heard before (except for a friend of mine who has every single outtake ever) is a group cover of “Come and Get It,” which Paul McCartney gave to Badfinger, and was a massive hit. Another version was featured on the Beatles’ Anthology 3. (See below.)
The full track lists:
SUPER DELUXE [3CD+1Blu-ray set; digital audio collection]
CD ONE: 2019 Stereo Mix
1. Come Together
2. Something
3. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
4. Oh! Darling
5. Octopus’s Garden
6. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
7. Here Comes The Sun
8. Because
9. You Never Give Me Your Money
10. Sun King
11. Mean Mr Mustard
12. Polythene Pam
13. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
14. Golden Slumbers
15. Carry That Weight
16. The End
17. Her Majesty
CD TWO: Sessions
1. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) (Trident Recording Session & Reduction Mix)
2. Goodbye (Home Demo)
3. Something (Studio Demo)
4. The Ballad Of John And Yoko (Take 7)
5. Old Brown Shoe (Take 2)
6. Oh! Darling (Take 4)
7. Octopus’s Garden (Take 9)
8. You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)
9. Her Majesty (Takes 1–3)
10. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Takes 1–3 / Medley)
11. Here Comes The Sun (Take 9)
12. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Take 12)
CD THREE: Sessions
1. Come Together (Take 5)
2. The End (Take 3)
3. Come And Get It (Studio Demo)
4. Sun King (Take 20)
5. Mean Mr Mustard (Take 20)
6. Polythene Pam (Take 27)
7. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Take 27)
8. Because (Take 1 – Instrumental)
9. The Long One (Trial Edit & Mix – 30 July 1969)
(Medley: You Never Give Me Your Money, Sun King, Mean Mr Mustard, Her Majesty, Polythene Pam, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End)
UPDATE THURS 4:50PM FROM WILLIE:
Update: Willie is resting and feeling better. The tour will resume on September 6 in Gilford, NH. Thanks to all the fans for the continued
WEDS NIGHT:
Country music legend Willie Nelson, 86, has abruptly cancelled his summer-fall tour which was supposed to begin this weekend.
He wrote on Twitter: “To my fans,
I’m sorry to cancel my tour, but I have a breathing problem that I need to have my doctor check out.
I’ll be back
Love,
Willie”
Willie — whose tour started on August 1st– was supposed to play on Friday in Grand Rapids, Michigan and finish up with a bunch of dates in late October in Las Vegas with a family show. Allison Krauss is his opening act. The tour is still on sale on ticketmaster.com, so the decision to cancel must have been last minute. He had Farm Aid lined up as a star attraction, and OutlawFest.
This isn’t the first time that Willie has cancelled shows without warning. In January and February 2018 he pulled the plug on tours. In May 2018 he walked off stage citing breathing problems.
The last few weeks, Willie and daughter Paula Nelson have had a hit on iTunes with their duet of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” from the HBO series “Big Little Lies.”
Willie has certainly smoked a lot of weed, but he’s a true Legend, a fine person and someone we can’t live without. Feel better, Willie! Take care of yourself, young man!
Meantime check out Willie’s son Lukas and his band Promise of the Real.
To my fans, I’m sorry to cancel my tour, but I have a breathing problem that I need to have my doctor check out. I’ll be back Love, Willie
UPDATE I told you yesterday the announcement was coming. And this morning, The Beatles made their announcement. Here’s the video.
WEDNESDAY: September 26th is just around the corner, and you know what that means. It’s the 50th anniversary of “Abbey Road.”
Even though there’s been no official word yet, I am told that the announcement of a box set is forthcoming. Ringo Starr as much confirmed it a few days ago in an interview wit Billboard. He told Gary Graff: “I’ve loved all the re-releases because of the remastering, and you can hear the drums, which got dialed down in the old days. I get a bit fed up, personally, with all those, like, Take 9 or Take 3, the odd takes that we didn’t put out, but that’s part of the box set and you have to do stuff like that.”
What we should be getting is “Abbey Road” remixed for the first time in its entirety by Giles Martin. This would replace the most recent remaster from the 2009 “black box” set. I’m sure we’ll get outtakes as well. Apple and Jeff Jones and Capitol Records have done a great job with all the 50th reissues. This should be no exception.
As for Ringo’s take on box sets, and his drums: the more you listen to Beatles music, the more you hear how exceptional Ringo’s work was. I love listening to “Ticket to Ride” or “A Day in the Life” just for him. His pinnacle may be on the side 2 medley of “Abbey Road.” The remix should be spectacular.
So hold on, kids, “Abbey Road” is coming. And then, next spring, “Let it Be.”
The Motion Picture Academy has its first casting director as president. David Rubin now steps in as head of the Oscars, and it’s about time. Casting directors are the heart of the movie business. Bravo! Rubin’s credits include “The English Patient,” “Men in Black,” “Hairspray,” “Lars and the Real Girl,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Get Shorty,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” and “Fried Green Tomatoes.”
The other elected or re-elected board members are:
Lois Burwell, First Vice President (chair, Awards and Events Committee)
Sid Ganis, Vice President (chair, Museum Committee)
Larry Karaszewski, Vice President (chair, Preservation and History Committee)
Nancy Utley, Vice President (chair, Education and Outreach Committee)
Mark Johnson, Treasurer (chair, Finance Committee)
Bonnie Arnold, Secretary (chair, Membership and Governance Committee)
And so we get ready for another Oscar season, with some potential nominees already getting in place. Labor Day, here we come!
