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COVID is still wreaking havoc in the live music world.
Today ex Fleetwood Mac star Lindsey Buckingham announced he’s cancelling his European tour because he’s still suffering the effects of COVID. His band is also infected.
Last week, Aimee Mann — who postponed her tour last winter but resumed it this spring — had to cancel the rest of her tour because two of her band members fell ill.
Mann wrote: “I was chastised early on when lining up for my vaccination. Musicians like ourselves are often exposed to a variety of bugs, being in such tight social spaces. I’ve blown my nose through entire sets, did a week with a torn Achilles but this is clearly another level. Being a solo performer, the stress level is extremely high. If I were to contact Covid in the midst of a tour, not only would my health be compromised, potentially in a long term way that could hinder my lung power or mind, but I would then suffer the financial injury of lost dates, travel costs – a fate that gives me even greater pause! The weight of an entire band makes my head spin. Still there’s a push for all of us in this business to take the plunge, regardless of continued denial, current infection rates and relaxed health measures. The joy of playing again is undeniable but it’s more of a gamble than ever to tour. Hoping for a smooth recovery for Paul and everyone else.”
Kudos to big tours like Paul McCartney who are carrying on. This is no fun for anyone. It’s also the reason that Patti Lupone took down that audience member the other day. All performers are afraid of becoming ill, and for good reason!
There’s no question that “Top Gun: Maverick” is an exciting throwback of a hit. For some it’s the sequel they’ve been waiting for since the original film in 1986. It’s actually much better than the original, so that’s the good news.
“Maverick” picks up 35 years after we last saw Tom Cruise as ace flyer Pete Mitchell. His pal, Goose, played by Anthony Edwards, of course, is dead. His other pal, “Iceman,” in the form of Val Kilmer, is now the Admiral who’s been protecting Maverick all these years when other, less tolerant Navy brass (Jon Hamm, Ed Harris) would like to kick him to the curb.
But now they need Maverick to train some young bucks for a new mission: an provoked attack on an unnamed country’s cache of weapons. We never learn what country it is, and you must suspend disbelief here. If this happened in real life, the US would be starting World War III. But this is a fantasy where logic doesn’t matter as much guts and heroism. For a couple of hours, why not?
The new kids are either literal or poetic descendants of the old ones. Goose’s son, “Rooster,” has a chip on his shoulder and is ready to fight Maverick. That’s Miles Teller, giving it his all. Glen Powell is the wide grinning cocky “Hangman,” who thinks he’s the best flyer ever and has persuaded others to believe it, too.
In the original movie, Cruise had a romance with Charlie, played by Kelly McGillis. There’s no mention of what happened to her, or why Maverick has never settled down, married, had a kid, or what his life has been like. He returns to his old base to find the gorgeous Jennifer Connelly playing a part — Penny — who was mentioned in the first movie but never seen. She’s supposed to be an old girlfriend. She’s a single mom who runs the base bar, and in short order you know they will hook up.
Most everything is as it seems in “Maverick,” which is comforting right now. Some names and faces may have changed, but the idea is the same for the first 90 minutes. Everyone’s attractive the dialogue is corny, and everything looks good on paper.
I recommend you take your bathroom break before the last half hour because that’s when this well oiled, 80s kind of studio movie gets interesting. There are two twists that make even the stunning aerial acts we’ve seen along the way jump several feet. Here is where “Maverick” pulls a fast one or two, and you will actually be stirred out of a reverie into fascination. It’s a cool plot trick from writers Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer (with help from Cruise’s “Mission Impossible” partner, Christopher McQuarrie).
A lot has happened since “Maverick” wrapped three years ago. It was supposed to be released two years ago but Paramount wanted to stream it day and date with its theatrical release because of COVID. Cruise said no, which caused a toppling of the studio hierarchy. Frankly, the flying sequences and cinematography must be seen in theaters, preferably IMAX. They are pulse racing. They are helped, too, by Harold Faltermayer’s score, with help from Hans Zimmer, and of course Lady Gaga’s song.
There are many nods to the past. Val Kilmer, whose speaking voice has been ravaged by cancer, has an incredibly moving scene with Cruise. His story, and Edwards’ (who is not seen), are woven into the new plot very cleverly. We see flashbacks of Meg Ryan as Goose’s late mother. At its conclusion the movie is dedicated to late director Tony Scott. (The new director, Joseph Kosinski,, no matter how much revising was done, gets kudos for keeping to the blueprint he was given.)
If “Top Gun Maverick” doesn’t bring people back to theaters in droves, then nothing will. It’s got everything: a hero played by a movie star, new young heroes who are very appealing, an old fashioned nod to the sense that America can lick any foreign problem with ingenuity and pluck, and a beautiful woman to come home to. Tom Cruise may have a strange persona life (yes, we know, we know) but he and producer Jerry Bruckheimer get an A plus for showing that the last 35 years of movie myth-making weren’t for naught.
“Top Gun Maverick” plays the Cannes Film Festival next week. The review embargo lifted this morning, two weeks before the US opening. You know Paramount knows it has a massive hit to let the reviews out now. Well played.
Hard to believe, but “Exile on Main Street” turns 50 today.
It was preceded by a hit single, “Tumbling Dice,” that climbed up the charts and stayed on the radio all spring and summer. It’s never gone away.
“Tumbling Dice” wasn’t the only single from “Exile on Main Street.” The follow up was Keith Richards’ “Happy,” which wasn’t quite the same size hit. But “Exile” wasn’t meant to have hits, particularly. The Stones didn’t know it, but it was pretty much the first punk rock album.
Coming off the very polished “Sticky Fingers,” this new album– recorded right away — was raw. The whole thing is down and dirty, full of blues and double entendres. You can listen to it now, five decades later, and discover new pleasures and inside jokes. You’ve got everything from the grungy “Sweet Virginia” and “Turd on the Run” to the majesic “Shine a Light” to the tear down of “Ventilator Blues.”
And to think– one year later, the Stones gave us “Goat’s Head Soup” followed by “It’s Only Rock and Roll.” The group had already had a classic run from 1965 to 1970, then started an unprecedented second chapter. And that’s what made them the Greatest Rock and Roll Band of All Time.
I know everyone is getting ready for the “Top Gun Maverick” reviews. They’re coming tomorrow morning at 9am.
In the meantime, I can tell Lady Gaga fans that you will have to wait through the whole movie for the hit song, “Hold My Hand.” It’s worth it. Despite a source telling me a few weeks ago that the song “comes too late” in the movie, it’s actually right on time. The placement will put a lump in your throat. It also guarantees an Oscar nomination next year for Gaga, if not a win.
The production has said that neither Kelly McGillis nor Meg Ryan, who were in the original movie, were invited back. But you will see nostalgic clips from the first “Top Gun” of Ryan as Carole, from 1986. Ryan had just had her breakthough on “As the World Turns.” By the time “Top Gun” hit, she was off to the races. “Sleepless in Seattle” came in 1989.
McGillis’s Charlie isn’t mentioned, or thought about. There are no clips of her. McGillis went on to big hits with “Witness” and “The Accused,” and worked steadily through the 1990s and 2000s. Over time, she’s slowed down her career. But her role in the first “Top Gun” remains iconic.
Madonna, never one for subtlety, is auctioning off 3 NFTS today. They’re animated 1 minute films she narrates in which she’s naked, legs open, with a lot of different objects grow from her nether parts.
I’m being modest in my description because Google will censor me if I get more descriptive.
The whole this is called Mother of Creation. It can be found here.
Madonna collaborated with something called Beeple. She says on the website: “When Mike and I decided to collaborate on this project a year ago, I was excited to have the opportunity to share my vision of the world as a mother and an artist with Mike’s own unique point of view. It’s been an amazing journey building this together from an intellectual idea to an emotional story, giving birth to art. I wanted to investigate the concept of creation, not only the way a child enters the world through a woman’s vagina, but also the way an artist gives birth to creativity. Most importantly we wanted to use this opportunity to benefit mothers and children who are most in need right now.”
Three charities benefit from the sale of the NFTs: The Voices of Children Foundation, City of Joy, and Black Mamas Bail Out. A crypto company called Moonpay is also contributing $100,000 to each charity. Moonpay just secured $86.7 million in funding with help from Jared Kushner’s brother, Josh, and a roster of celebrities (who probably didn’t invest anything) including Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo, Bruce Willis*, Paris Hilton, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Matthew McConaughey. (*I’m sure has no idea what this is.)
Tony nominee Patti Lupone gets my vote for this eviscerating of a fan at the after show talk back for “Company.”
Patti, who’s had COVID at least once (maybe twice) does not suffer fools gladly. When she saw a member of the audience with their mask below their nose, she hit the ceiling, and rightly so.
The audience member tries to fight back, but Patti is the Muhammad Ali of Broadway. She’s also a New Jersey girl who loves Bruce Springsteen. You’re not going to win.
Yikes. I know “The Simpsons” isn’t getting ratings. But “SNL” is having its own troubles.
On Saturday they had the star of a movie that made $187 million over the weekend– Benedict Cumberbatch. They also have a beloved rock band, Arcade Fire. And still that did nothing to light up the TV sets.
Ratings for this past Saturday were 4.5 million, about average for the last few weeks and nothing special. Also, last year at this time Elon Musk hosted with Miley Cyrus as musical guest. The ratings were 7.2 million.
Overall, ratings are on a down trend since the season opener- 4.9 million– and highs of over 5 million during the winter.
I was walking down Broadway in the 50s last week and came across this tableau: a boarded up Bad Boy Records. Brown paper covered the windows. The whole signage looked like it was falling apart.
Once, Bad Boy — when it was part of Arista Records — ruled the world of hip hop and rap. Then it all went away.
Back in 2006, I went to see Sean P Diddy Puffy Combs when he was making a new album, his first in many years. Combs was already very rich but had been out of the music business for a while. When the new album finally came out, it was a bust. But Sean had made a deal with Ciroc Vodka, found other endorsement situations, and made a fortune.
But the siren call of hit records never leaves you once you’ve experienced it. So Combs has made a deal for something called LOVE Records through Motown at Universal. He says there will be a new album this summer.
The press release for LOVE Records lists Diddy’s past artists as “Mary J. Blige, The Notorious B.I.G., Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Boyz II Men, Britney Spears, Kanye West.” But there’s no mention of the real Bad Boy stars like Faith Evans, Mase, or The Lox. Where did they go?
Mase, whose real name is Mason Betha, just release a new track trashing Combs in March. He’s been saying for the last couple of years that Combs has refused to sell him back his master recordings, and has made a fortume while Betha has made a pittance. So potential artists should take notice. Combs does not spread the LOVE around.
Mase wrote on social media:
“Your past business practices knowingly has continued purposely starved your artist and been extremely unfair to the very same artist that helped u obtain that Icon Award on the iconic Bad Boy label,” he wrote. “For example, u still got my publishing from 24 years ago in which u gave me $20k. Which makes me never want to work w/ u as any artist wouldn’t.”
Stephen Colbert can blame Anna Wintour’s “Med Ball” for shutting down his show all week.
Last week, Colbert’s bandleader, Grammy winner Jon Batiste, tested positive for COVID after performing at the Met Ball Gala. Now it seems Batiste may have passed the COVID to Stephen Colbert. The show announced on Twitter this afternoon that COlbert is experiencing a recurrence of COVID.
Comic actress Amy Schumer has also admitted to testing positive for COVID after attending the jam packed celebrity party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. None of the guests wore masks and they carried on like they were invulnerable. Turns out they were wrong.
It’s unclear how many others who went to the Med Ball are infected.
Stephen is experiencing symptoms consistent with a recurrence of COVID. Out of an abundance of caution for his staff, guests, and audience, he will be isolating for a few additional days. The Late Show will not be taping new episodes until further notice.
Last night, “The Simpsons” fell in fast overnight ratings to just 804,000 viewers. That’s a 22% drop in one week.
Even if delayed viewing adds 100,000 more viewers (I;m being charitable) something bad is happening at the 33 year old series.
This would be the fourth week in a row under 1 million.
There’s no sports for competition, so that’s not the problem. And “American Idol” is also down over at ABC, by 26% to a season low 4.6 million. And that’s as “Idol” heads into its finalist shows.
Where have the “Simpsons” fans gone? And are they going to come back?
