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Bruce Springsteen sang this afternoon at the No Kings Rally in memory of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Springsteen performed his song “Streets of Minneapolis” in that city, introduced by Governor Tim Walz.
Bruce said of the two people murdered by ICE in the Twin Cities: “Their names will not be forgotten.”
Springsteen opens his tour in Minneapolis this week. He was so incensed by what ICE did this winter, he wrote this song in one day and recorded it the next, and it released it in with 24 hours.
Bruce is a hero. He stands up for what he believes. Where are the stars of THIS generation to support him? We’re waiting for young people to stand up, too.
“The Bride” has run away. After three weeks of cliches and metaphors, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s wedded drama has taken off to parts unknown.
It’s a sad story. “The Bride” is now playing in one theater in the NY tri-state area. She’s holed up at a drive-in theater in Amenia, New York.
You think I’m kidding. She’s got one show tonight at the Four Brothers Pizza Inn, at 9:05pm. I didn’t know there were any drive-ins left!
Seriously, there should be 90 theaters across the country where the bedraggled spouse is still playing maybe one show a day. Warner Bros. is no longer reporting numbers after three weeks. Maybe we’ll get to see it on HBO Max soon.
For the record, the domestic total was $12.6 million, with another $10.5 mil in some other countries.
Meanwhile, “Project Hail Mary” made $14.7 million last night, bringing its 9 day total to $124 million.
Compare that to $129 million for Disney’s “Hoppers” in 23 days. “Mary” is hopping right past the animated feature.
“Mary” still hasn’t had big international runs yet. This is only the beginning.
I finally caught up with Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes’s appearance on Jimmy Fallon last night. It was from a week ago, and boy oh boy, that was the promotion of a lifetime. Very cute and heartfelt. I meet each of them for the first time years ago, and they could not be nicer. Mazel tov!
Was it really worth killing off NCIS director Leon Vance?
The producers of “NCIS” thought they’d reap a big ratings reward by doing in Vance, played by Rocky Carroll for 18 seasons.
According to the producers, this would be a “special” way to celebrate the 23 year series’ 500th episode.
Alas, the gain wasn’t much.
Vance’s death episode turns out to be the 7th highest rated episode of the season so far, putting in the middle of the 14 broadcast episodes so far in 2026.
Total viewers came to 5.5 million, which was up 12% from the prior episode and up 29.6% in the key demo.
But those increases were a low achievement since this episode isn’t nearly as high as six others in 2025-26 season.
Vance’s death, and Carroll’s exit, were for budgetary reasons, not ratings. Too bad for the actor. So great how TV producers rationalize killing off characters. At least “Grey’s Anatomy” is letting Teddi and Owen live when they’re written off.
Speaking of “Grey’s,” its ratings are much lower than CBS shows “Watson” and “DMV.” But the latter shows were cancelled today, and “Grey’s” persists like an infection that can’t be resolved. Go figure.
Developing… UPDATE: Crunchy’s address is indeed in Greenville, SC. The person at the bottom of all this might be someone named Dallas Little. His/her email is care of their mother. No one answers phones or emails. I wish they’d return messages. This is quite a saga.
Who is Eddie Dalton?
He’s not a real person, for one. He’s AI generated.
But “Dalton” — a silky voiced R&B singer who sounds like Otis Redding and an amalgam of blues stars like BB King — has three hits in the iTunes top 10. One of them is number 1. One of his YouTube videos has ONE MILLION views.
“Eddie” may also be related to an AI country singer named “Dallas Little.” There are others, too, all suspected of being AI including (love this name) Cody Crotchburn, and Cade Winslow.
All of this computer generated material comes from a company called Crusty Tunes. Their copyright on their website says c2035! LOL.
Crusty describes themselves: “We believe technology is a tool for creative expansion, not something to be resisted. Crusty Records actively embraces emerging platforms and production methods to help artists move faster, reach wider audiences, and retain ownership. Progress isn’t the enemy – stagnation is. ”
But what does this mean for actual musicians, humans? And will Crusty try to get Grammy Awards? Based in Greenville, South Carolina, it looks like Crusty has been releasing AI music for the last couple of years. But “Eddie” is their first number 1. He also has 230,000 followers on Facebook!
Maybe there’s a budding super couple coming to “Days of our Lives.”
The Peacock soap got a shout out from Ryan Gosling this week during an interview for “Project Hail Mary.” He praised star Deidre Hall, especially, for her infamous Satanic possession story line.
Hall responded by inviting Gosling to the set. See below.
Now Ryan has accepted the invite. He says “Days” was his “OG acting inspiration” adding “Not Marlon Brando or On the Waterfront.”
“Days” shoots 10 months in advance. But they’ve got to write Gosling in when he gets there. Maybe he can perform an exorcism!
Little by little, the Oscars are being whittled away.
News today: starting in 2029, when the Oscars turn 101, they will move from a custom made theater in the heart of Hollywood to a dreary theater in a tacky downtown mall.
The Oscars used to presented in the Shrine Auditorium or Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The latter is a beautiful venue, a real theater with some soul.
In 2002, the show moved to Hollywood and Highland’s Kodak Theater, owned by Philip Anschutz of AEG. The theater was renamed for Dolby when Kodak mostly disappeared. And there the Oscars have thrived for 24 years.
Today the Motion Picture Academy announced the Academy Awards leaving the Dolby, which is in the center of Hollywood. Where are they going? To another much less glamorous property.
The Peacock Theater is in the middle of LA Live, a tacky mall and food court that abuts the former Staples Center aka the Crypto.com Center. The Peacock is where the Emmys are held, and the pre-Grammys event. It has no history and the charm of a big box.
Anschutz — no longer the owner of the Dolby, long story — obviously wanted the Oscars back in one of his properties. This also suggests that the Oscars Governors Ball will be held in the cavernous LA Convention Center, like the Emmys after party and the Grammys’ Musicares gala. Glamorous is not a word that comes to mind.
LA Live can be a two hour drive from Beverly Hills at rush hour. It’s as far from the hot center of Hollywood and its history as Des Moines. Shutting the whole 23 acre campus down for the Oscars should be a challenge. That is, unless the Oscars don’t mind civilians in shorts and Rush t shirts finishing their Smashburgers and wandering over to the red carpet.
AEG says it’s going to fix up the Peacock Theater — formerly the Nokia and also Microsoft Theater — to make it more acceptable to the Oscars. Maybe they will. One thing’s for certain– the Peacock has twice the capacity of the Dolby at 7,100. Maybe I’ll be able to get a ticket again. In that case, this is a good plan!
“Days We Left Behind” is such a lovely, poignant song. Paul McCartney’s voice is wistful. He’s going to have fans singing along to this beautiful piece. “Days” might be the best song he’s written in 20 years.
Trump is live now giving a rambling talk at the cabinet meeting. This is just part of the insane stuff spewing out of his head. He’s just railing against everyone. When it’s all over, the entire video will be a classic in mental instability.’
He seems to be retreating on changing the Kennedy Center’s name, adding his own. He says he can’t add “Trump” because “we’re getting sued.”
Of course, he’s had the logo changed and the sign outside. But he is being sued, and he’s angered everyone.
Trump is delusional! He just spent almost 10 minutes of his cabinet meeting talking about how he saves a little money by buying cheaper pens. Meanwhile he just spent over $30 billion on a war in Iran.
Paul McCartney’s new producer is Andrew Watt, the star who’s made great records with the Rolling Stones, and Elton John and Brandi Carlile, among others.
The new album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lane,” hits us on May 29th.
Here’s a bit from the press release on Paul’s site, plus the track titles:
The Boys of Dungeon Lane was first brought into existence five years ago when Paul met producer Andrew Watt for a cup of tea and an exchange of ideas. While playing around on the guitar during the meeting, Paul happened upon a chord that even he didn’t recognise. Undeterred and driven by his experimental nature, Paul carried on changing one note, then another, until he had a three-chord sequence, which Watt suggested they should record.
This session yielded the album’s opening track, As You Lie There. Encouraged by his new producer, Paul would flesh out the new track, playing the majority of instruments – much in the spirit of his 1970 solo debut album, McCartney. So began the journey of what became Paul’s 18th studio album credited solely to Paul.
Paul’s packed schedule meant that the album was recorded in tight and efficient sessions between legs of global tour dates spanning five years and alternating between Los Angeles and Sussex. With no record label pressure and no deadline, the pair were able to make the album to their own timeline and satisfaction.
The Boys of Dungeon Lane is musically eclectic and sees Paul across an array of instruments and styles showcasing his broad musicality. There’s Wings style rock, Beatles style harmonies, McCartney style grooves, understated intimacy, melody driven storytelling, character songs.
Track list:
As You Lie There
Lost Horizon
Days We Left Behind
Ripples in a Pond
Mountain Top
Down South
We Two
Come Inside
Never Know
Home to Us
Life Can Be Hard
First Star of the Night
Salesman Saint
Momma Gets By
Paul McCartney has never written a real memoir. It seems like now he’s going to sing one.
I told you two days ago that McCartney had a new album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lane.
This will be his 19th solo studio album (including Wings) since the Beatles broke up in 1970. Fifty six years of solo Paul.
Now McCartney’s announced it formally. He says: “Looking back on your life, you go, ‘Wow, did we really do that?’. All of that comes flooding back… it’s like a dream.”
Dungeon Lane is a street in Liverpool, like Penny Lane, where the Beatles grew up.
McCartney, who is almost 84, is in a reflective mood. For the last few months he’s been celebrating his other group, Wings.
But now he’ll put the Beatles’ early days before 1962 into an album. He’s only done this once before, really, with a great song called “My Ever Present Past.”
It’s likely he’ll include a song that’s never been on an album, called “In Liverpool.” (See below.)
Paul says on his website that the title comes a line in one of she songs: Speaking about Days We Left Behind, “This is very much a memory song for me. The album title, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, comes from a lyric in this track. I was thinking just that, about the days I left behind and I do often wonder if I’m just writing about the past but then I think how can you write about anything else? It’s just a lot of memories of Liverpool. It involves a bit in the middle about John and Forthlin Road which is the street I used to live in. Dungeon Lane is near there. I used to live in a place called Speke which is quite working class. We didn’t have much at all but it didn’t matter because all the people were great and you didn’t notice you didn’t have much.”
Tomorrow night and Saturday night, Paul plays the small — for him — Fonda Theater in Los Angeles. Maybe he’ll play some of the new songs.
Lyrics:
Spent my early life in Liverpool
Something I’m not likely to forget
No, no, no
People blend with places
And faces that I know, but never met
Upstairs on the bus there sits a man
He’s talking to himself, or so it seems
Listing names of old comedians
And laughing at ’em
Down the pierhead where the speakers meet
Each of them, his own imagined crowd
Giving us his version of the book
God has written
I spent my early life in Liverpool
Something I’m not likely to regret
No, no, no
People blend with places
And faces that I know, but never met
And in the street, before they built the road
Raising jam jars for a worthy cause or two
Prince the dog, with one eye to his name
Wants to follow
I spent my early life in Liverpool
Something I’m not likely to forget
People blend with faces
And places that I know, but never met
People blend with places
And faces that I know, but never met
Walking with the boys of Dungeon Lane
Aimlessly towards the cast iron shore
Swapping tales about the Chinese farm
And getting caught
Swapping tales about the Chinese farm
And getting caught
Down the sports field of the Institute
Lives Soft Sid, the harmless village fool
Greets the kids who pass the other side
Saying, “Hello, children”
I spent my early life in Liverpool
Something I’m not likely to forget
