A historic meeting on Tuesday night in Los Angeles: Paris Jackson met Paul McCartney. It’s 35 years since Paul and Paris’s dad, Michael Jackson, recorded together– and Paul mentioned to Michael that the Beatles catalog was for sale. It’s (roughly) 35 years since Michael called his lawyer, John Branca, who swooped in and bough the Lennon-McCartney songs for $47.5 million in 1985, thus creating Sony Music Publishing. And from that investment, Michael borrowed and borrowed and borrowed, spending like a drunken pirate, paying off settlements and odd deals until he was just about bankrupt. The wear and tear would lead him to agree to perform 20 shows in London, and then…For all 35 years Paul chased the catalog until now, he finally has it back, Michael is gone, and his estate no longer owns the catalog that weighed on him for a quarter century. Paris says she cried like a baby. I’ll bet Paul did, too.
CNN Cleans Up at Trump’s Fake News Awards, But GOP Site Crashed, is Back, and without Awards
I don’t really know what’s going on here. Donald Trump posted his Fake News Awards to the GOP website. The site crashed and caused pandemonium. I took the time off to watch David Letterman’s exceptional interview with the real president, Barack Obama. Obama was so erudite and insightful that I forgot all about this crap.
Now the GOP site is back, without mention of the awards. Gateway Pundit, another group of numbskulls, posted a list of 12 awards. CNN, the New York Times, and ABC News did very well. It’s amazing to me, and no doubt to you, that Trump had time for this but not to reassure the people of Hawaii, or to do something other than play golf on Martin Luther King day, or to try and correct the impression that he labelled a huge part of the world a “shit hole.”
Could it be that he’s trying to pay off Melania in advance of Friday’s release of a diary from a porn star about their affair? Anyone who knew Donald Trump as we did n the New York press in the 80s, 90s, 00s, and 10s is sickened by him. But this what that clown did today:
Donald Trump Gets His Own Gennifer Flowers in Stormy Daniels– Even Better, She’s a Porn Star and Now She’s Talking
Stormy Daniels.
She told her story to In Touch Weekly years ago, they declined to publish it, but now they’ve gone with it.
Stormy is Donald Trump’s very own Gennifer Flowers but better, so much better. She’s a porn star. Trump’s lawyer paid her $130,000 to keep her mouth shut that in 2006, when Melania was pregnant with Barron, Stormy and the Donald had an affair.
Unlike Marla Maples, who said in 1992 that her time with Donald was “the best sex of my life,” Stormy says the sex with Trump was “generic.”
At one point in the first evening they spent together, Stormy told In Touch, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. “When I came out, he was sitting on the bed and he was like, ‘Come here.’ And I was like, ‘Ugh, here we go.’ And we started kissing.” After having sex, Stormy said, “We hung out for a little while and he just kept saying, ‘I’m gonna call you, I’m gonna call you. I have to see you again. You’re amazing. We have to get you on The Apprentice.’”
“We had really good banter,” Daniels told In Touch. “He told me once that I was someone to be reckoned with, beautiful, smart, just like his daughter.”
Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, denies any of this happened. He doesn’t say whether it happened in a shit hole or not.
We’ll have to wait for the long version of the story to hear if Donald shouted out “Covfefe!” in a moment of ecstasy. Or if they dined on McDonald’s.
Today Show Ousts 30 Year Executive Producer Amid Matt Lauer Scandal, Replaced with a Woman
The Matt Lauer scandal has finally taken its toll on the Today show’s top of the masthead.
After 30 years, Don Nash is out. He’s being replaced with Libby Leist, who’s produced the 7am news hour of “Today” for the last five years.
Nash issued a statement saying he wanted to be at home with his children. If you believe that, you also agree that Donald Trump weighs only 239 pounds.
Almost by coincidence, former Today show anchor Ann Curry appeared today on CBS This Morning and said she wasn’t surprised by the Lauer scandal from late last year. Curry was on Today for 15 years until she was ousted by Lauer.
“I can say that I would be surprised if — if — many women did not understand that there was a climate of verbal harassment — that existed. I think it’d be surprising if someone said that they didn’t see that. So it was p — a verbal — sexual –,” she said.
“I don’t wanna cause more pain. But no, I’m — you are asking me a very direct question. I’m an honest person. I wanna tell you that it was. Yes. Period,” Curry replied.
Before Lauer was fired, NBC tossed his executive producer Matt Zimmerman. It’s clearly a new day on Today.
EXCLUSIVE The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz is Still a Believer in Grammy Lifetime Honoree Neil Diamond
The Grammys are coming Sunday January 28th on CBS. Micky Dolenz wrote this about Neil Diamond, who was recently named as a Lifetime Achievement honoree. He wanted to share this with us exclusively.
special byline: by MICKY DOLENZ
I first heard Neil Diamond’s “I’m A Believer” in mid-October 1966, when his producer, Jeff Barry, played it for me and the other Monkees, the phenomenal track that Barry had recently cut with Neil on acoustic guitar. Neil had already had a couple of hits on the radio that year—“Cherry, Cherry” and “Solitary Man”—but this was to be one of the biggest records of both his and my career. It came out just a few weeks after I sang the lead vocal; and by Christmas of ’66, it was headed for the #1 slot on Billboard, Cash Box and Record World. It went on to become a worldwide smash in 1967 for The Monkees. A timeless classic, Neil brought it back to the charts in his own re-recorded version in 1971, but these days I mostly have to tell kids that I sang it long before Shrek! Smash Mouth, of course, took “Believer” to the top as a part of that movie in 2001.
Neil also wrote “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow),” which was on The Monkees’ second album, More of the Monkees, and the success of that and “I’m A Believer” inspired him to write our next single. “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You” was recorded in late January 1967, and became a huge hit just a few weeks later. My late great buddy, Davy Jones, sang the lead on “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You,” and I honor him and Neil by singing it now at all of my solo shows. Always taking time to mention how blessed we were to work with so many gifted songwriters, like Neil.
And that brings us up to present day. The final Neil Diamond song written for The Monkees was one called, “Love to Love.” After two back-to-back Neil Diamond smash singles, The Monkees went on to record and play our own album, Headquarters. With the group’s hectic schedules at that time, we never finished “Love to Love.”
In 2016, however, Michael and Peter and I reconvened to finish the track that Neil had started with Davy and producer Jeff Barry forty-nine years earlier! It ended up being a standout song on our Top 10 album, Good Times; our last Neil Diamond classic, and my last chance to sing with Davy Jones. Thank you, Neil, for giving me and everyone else so many good times and great hits throughout the years.
FLASHBACK Let’s Read the 1993 Connecticut Report on Woody Allen: “Dylan Farrow was not sexually abused by Woody Allen”
I think it’s time to re-read the 1993 report from the State of Connecticut and Yale New Haven Hospital regarding Woody Allen and charges that he may have molested his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow.
The report concluded that Dylan Farrow was not sexually abused by Woody Allen. Would it be too hard for the actors who’ve been railroaded into denouncing or renouncing Woody to read this? This is not fake news. This was real. What was fake was Mia Farrow’s manipulation of the situation. So agrees another of her adopted children, Moses Farrow, now a therapist, who has detailed his own abuse in the Farrow household.
I’m afraid the actors who are speaking out — and donating their fees, etc from Woody’s movies — are skipping the facts and being swept up in the emotion of #MeToo. Some of these actors– like Mira Sorvino– would not have careers without Woody.
Just about every single subject of the #MeToo campaign has had multiple accusers. Woody Allen had just one– his ex girlfriend, Mia Farrow, furious that he’d left her for her adopted daughter, Soon Yi (who was of age). Woody and Soon Yi have been together for 25 years. They have two of their own daughters. They’re a happy family. There has never been another peep from anyone about Woody — except for Mia and her brood.
Meanwhile, Mia Farrow’s own brother serves a 10 to 25 year prison sentence for child molestation. None of the Farrows have ever expressed remorse or sympathy for the victims.
And then there is Moses, an eyewitness to what went on in Mia Farrow’s house in 1992. He brings up a good point here– three of his siblings are dead. No one asks the Farrows about that either.
As I'm facing the lingering psychological and emotional effects of child abuse, I'm sadly reminded of the painful memories of my 3 dead siblings, last of whom shot himself just the next town over from where our mother lives. Futures that will never be lived. #truthislouder
— Moses Farrow (@MosesFarrow) January 11, 2018
“Sopranos” Sequel, Not a Scorsese Movie– Manhattan US Attorney Indicts 10 Mobsters (with Nicknames) Associated with the Bonnano Crime Family
Doesn’t “The Sopranos” sound like something from TV? “The Godafather”? Well, guess again. Today the US Attorney’s office rounded up 10 frightening sounding members of the Mafia for a massive indictment. They include the acting boss of the Bonnano family (still in business in 2018) and nine other mobsters, all charged with racketeering and “related offenses.”
This is REAL. This is NOT a Martin Scorsese movie set in the distant past. Gangsters with nicknames– Joe Valet, Porky, Mr. C., Grumpy, Al Muscles, Joey Blue Eyes, Butch, Boobsie. All of them including– no nickname, he’s 85 years old — a Dominick Miniero– are all “presumed innocent” until their trials. And listen, then there’s no guarantee they’ll be convicted.
The Mafia is still going strong, a hundred years later. Unbelievable.
from the release:
The indictment charges eight members of the Bonanno Family – Acting Boss JOSEPH CAMMARANO, JR., Consigliere JOHN ZANCOCCHIO, JOSEPH SABELLA, GEORGE TROPIANO, ALBERT ARMETTA, DOMENICK MINIERO, JOSEPH SANTAPAOLO, and SIMONE ESPOSITO – with racketeering conspiracy involving a wide range of crimes, including extortion, loansharking, wire and mail fraud, narcotics distribution, and conspiracy to commit murder.
Genovese Family member ERNEST MONTEVECCHI is charged with participating in that conspiracy as well. Several of the defendants and Luchese Family member EUGENE CASTELLE are charged with conspiracy to commit extortion. ARMETTA is additionally charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering, and aiding and abetting the same.
You realize it’s 2018, right? (And all we really want to know is: what’s their favorite Italian restaurant, and can we get in?)
The release continues:
La Cosa Nostra (“LCN”), also known as the “Mob” or the “Mafia,” operates through entities known as “Families.” In the New York City area, there are five LCN Families, namely, the Bonanno Family, the Genovese Family, the Luchese Family, the Colombo Family, and the Gambino Family. Members and associates of one La Cosa Nostra family at times work together with other La Cosa Nostra families in jointly undertaken criminal ventures.
The Bonanno Family, like other LCN Families, operates through a group of individuals known as “crews,” each of which are led by a “capo” or “captain.” The crews are composed of “made” members, called “soldiers,” and trusted non-members called “associates.” Above the Capos are the highest-ranking members – the Boss or Acting Boss, the Underboss, and the Consigliere, or counselor – who oversee the Family.
At times relevant to the Indictment, the defendants held the following positions with their respective LCN Families: CAMMARANO was a captain and the Acting Boss of the Bonanno Family; ZANCOCCHIO was a captain and the Consigliere of the Bonanno Family; SABELLA was a captain of the Bonanno Family; TROPIANO was a soldier and an acting captain of the Bonanno Family; ESPOSITO was the Consigliere of the Bonanno Family; MINIERO, SANTAPAOLO, and ARMETTA were soldiers in the Bonanno Family; MONTEVECCHI was a soldier in the Genovese Family; and CASTELLE was a soldier in the Luchese Family.
Count One of the Indictment charges CAMMARANO, ZANCOCCHIO, SABELLA, TROPIANO, ARMETTA, MINIERO, SANTAPAOLO, ESPOSITO, and MONTEVECCHI with participating in a racketeering conspiracy. Count Two charges ARMETTA with assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering, and aiding and abetting the same. Count Three charges CAMMARANO, ZANCOCCHIO, SABELLA, TROPIANO, MINIERO, and CASTELLE with extortion conspiracy.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason M. Swergold and Jessica Greenwood are in charge of the prosecution.
Ed Sheeran’s Plagiarism Problems Are Getting Worse: Latest One Exposes Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
We all like Ed Sheeran. He’s a nice guy, lots of fun, and a seemingly serious musician.
So why why why does he have such a bad problem with plagiarism?
His latest involves a song called “The Rest of Our Life,” which he gave to country superstar husband and wife Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. The song sounds so much like Jasmine Rae’s 2014 hit “When I Found You” that its Australian writers, Sean Carey and Beau Golden, have filed suit against Sheeran, et al. And yes, the songs are very much alike.
So what is going on here, Ed? It was only earlier this year that Sheeran had to add the songwriters of TLC’s “No Scrubs” to the credits of his massive hit “Shape of You.” Indeed, the shape of Sheeran’s song came from “No Scrubs” and there was no debating it.
And that wasn’t the first time Sheeran stepped in it. Another massive hit, “Thinking of You,” has caused a lawsuit from Marvin Gaye’s family. They hear the classic “Let’s Get it On,” when Sheeran’s song is playing, and frankly, I always did. Sheeran took some of the song and most of its feel for his hit. The Gayes had already won a big lawsuit against Robin Thicke over “Blurred Lines,” so they’re not strangers to this situation.
This kind of thing happens occasionally. Sam Smith had to add Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty to his “Stand By Me” because it was lifted right out of their “I Won’t Back Down.” In 1971, George Harrison conceded that “My Sweet Lord” was influenced by “He’s So Fine,” which led to a decade of litigation. There have been plenty of other examples. In the 80s, Michael McDonald thought he’d written a pop hit with “I Keep Forgetting” until someone pointed out that he’d just re-written the Chuck Jackson hit from the 1960s. Famed pop authors Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller wound up sharing credit.
There are lots more of these. Sometimes the music publisher doesn’t want to deal with it. I don’t think Curtis Mayfield’s estate has ever gotten satisfaction from John Mayer, whose “Waiting for the World to Change” is completely lifted from Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” and “We’re a Winner.” (A lot of Mayer is based on Mayfield.)
And this is different from sampling, which is Alicia Keys’s hobby to be sure. This is more like what Mariah Carey did in her heyday with Tommy Mottola– just taking the music and waiting for the lawsuit. (Mariah settled plenty of them in her day.)
What’s frustrating is that Sheeran seems capable of not doing this. All he has to do is ask someone over 30, “Does this sound familiar?” And it when it does, you scrap it. Otherwise, it’s back to the courts.
Cranberries Singer Dolores O’Riordan Dies Suddenly at Age 46, Suffered from BiPolar Disorder
Dolores O’Riordan, the popular singer and front woman for the Irish band the Cranberries, has died suddenly at age 46.
Condolences to her family, friends, and fans.
Last year, O’Riordan announced that she suffered from bi polar disorder. But there’s no word yet on her cause of death. She had a beautiful voice. It’s just much too young. What a shame.
Fans are posting to Twitter right now in disbelief.
I’m really shocked that #DoloresORiordan has passed so suddenly
– I was talking to her a couple weeks before Christmas she seemed happy and well – we even spoke about maybe writing some songs together – unbelievable god bless her pic.twitter.com/Pk2QyAaaBw— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) January 15, 2018
I once met Delores O’Riordan when I was 15. She was kind and lovely, I got her autograph on my train ticket and it made my day. She had the most amazing voice and presence. So sorry to hear that she’s passed away today x
— James Corden (@JKCorden) January 15, 2018
Trump Hotels in NY, DC, Vegas on Yelp! Reduced to One Star Ratings with “Sh*thole” Reviews
Trump properties– like the Trump Hotel in Columbus Circle and the one in Washington DC– are being reduced to rubble on Yelp! with bad reviews. (You can read them here, they’re pretty funny.)
Hundreds of new reviews are calling the hotel a “shithole” and knocking the average star rating to 1 or or 2.
The Washington DC hotel is also suffering:
As is Las Vegas:
