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It’s not a good week for Shia LaBeouf. Now he’s got a famous woman with a rhyming name– Sia, the pop star– saying Shia “conned” her into “adulterous relationship claiming to be single.” See below. “I believe he’s very sick and have compassion for him AND his victims.”
Yikes. This comes as a response to performer FKA Twigs filing suit against LaBeouf for abuse.
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler is 44, Shia LaBeouf is 34. How they met is a good question that Sia doesn’t elaborate on.
Will more former LaBeouf “victims” turn up? Stay tuned…
I too have been hurt emotionally by Shia, a pathological liar, who conned me into an adulterous relationship claiming to be single. I believe he's very sick and have compassion for him AND his victims. Just know, if you love yourself- stay safe, stay away. https://t.co/2NNEj9w8b1
Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” is going to become Folklore– and more.
Swift’s second surprise album of the year sold a whopping 134,000 copies on Friday, including around 85,000 CDs and downloads. That’s the one day sale only.
Additionally, “Folklore” sold around 9.2K copies on Friday including streaming and sales.
Taylor is currently taking up 7 slots on the iTunes top 100 albums. She has the top 2 singles on the iTunes charts, plus 7 or 8 other spots on that chart. The single, “Willow,” is number 1 and a remix version of it is number 2.
Listening to the “Willow” remix I realized it’s not so much Joni Mitchell that Taylor sounds like, it’s Suzanne Vega. I think there should be a Suzanne Vega Renaissance in light of “Evermore” and “Folklore.” The influence is quite direct.
But there’s no denying the Taylor Swift tsunami. And she’s even got that boyfriend writing lyrics!
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band looked so happy to be playing live last night on “SNL” and they sounded great. They performed “Ghosts” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams” from the new “Letter to You” album. Their demeanor was actually ebullient. It was like a Chanukah gift!
The show had very good sketches last night including The Dionne Warwick Talk Show– right on the money, very funny– and a parody of Newsmax with Beck Bennett and Timothee Chalamet. There were some political sketches but the show was a lot more even handed last night, less reliant on bashing Trump as we transition into the Biden era. Great to see Cecily Strong back, but Aidy Bryant and Kenan Thompson seemed AWOL.
Charley Pride performed just a month ago on the CMA Awards. Today he has passed away at age 86 from COVID.
He was a superstar, in country music, in black music, in popular music of all colors. Pride transcended all definitions and crossed musical, cultural, and political lines. His influence cannot be underestimated.
His hits included “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’,” “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone,” and “Mountain of Love.” He won the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award in 1971, its top male vocalist prize in 1971 and 1972, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.
Condolences to his fans and friends and family around the world.
The official obit:
Charley Frank Pride was not the first Black artist to make important contributions to country music — DeFord Bailey was a star of the Grand Ole Opry from 1927 through 1941 — but Pride was a trailblazer who emerged during a time of division and rancor.
After a stint in the Army, time working at a Missouri smelting plant, and some unsuccessful attempts to break into big-league baseball, he came to Nashville in 1963 and made demonstration recordings with help from manager Jack Johnson.
Those recordings languished for two years until Johnson met with producer Jack Clement, who offered songs for Pride to learn. On August 16, 1965, Clement produced Pride at RCA Studio B, and the results of that session impressed RCA’s Chet Atkins, who signed Pride to a recording contract.
In 1967, Pride’s recording of Clement’s “Just Between You and Me” broke into country’s Top Ten, and Pride quit his job as a smelter. Iron ore was behind him, and platinum records lay ahead.
Between 1967 and 1987, Pride delivered 52 Top 10 country hits, won Grammy awards, and became RCA Records’ top-selling country artist. His musicality opened minds and superseded prejudice.
“We’re not color blind yet, but we’ve advanced a few paces along the path and I like to think I’ve contributed something to that process,” Pride wrote in his memoir.
Today, Black artists including Allen, Rucker, Mickey Guyton, Rissi Palmer, Rhiannon Giddens, Yola, and others add new chapters to country music’s story. Charley Pride’s impact is evident and important to all of them, and also to every other country performer who builds bridges with melody and sincerity.
Charley Pride escaped the cotton fields, where labor hurt his hands, back, and knees. He transcended and ascended through connection. Through fortitude and artistry, he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry and a beloved American icon.
Charley Pride was the son of Tessie Stewart Pride and Mack Pride, Sr. He was the husband of Ebby Rozene Cohran Pride. His children are Carlton Kraig Pride, Charles Dion Pride, and Angela Rozene Pride. His grandchildren are Carlton Kraig Pride, Jr., Malachi Pride, Syler Pride, Ebby Pride, and Arrentino Vassar. His two great-grandchildren are Skyler Pride and Carlton Kraig Pride, III. he is preceded in death by brothers Jonas McIntyre, Mack Pride, Jr., Louis Pride, Edward Pride, and Joe L. Pride, and by sister Bessie Chambers. He leaves behind siblings Harmon Pride, Stephen Pride, Catherine Sanders, and Maxine Pride, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to The Pride Scholarship at Jesuit College Preparatory School, St. Philips School and Community Center, The Food Bank, or the charity of your choice.
There’s no one better than Dionne Warwick, celebrating her 80th birthday today. Happy Birthday, Dionne!
Dionne’s sultry voice and delicious presentation came to us in the 1960s with hit after hit by Hal David and Burt Bacharach including “Walk on By,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and dozens more. Through the 1970s she stayed on the charts, starting with her Spinners hit, “Then Came You,” that showed her voice just aged like fine wine.
In the late 70s and early 80s, Dionne was one of Clive Davis’s original hits on Arista Records with songs like “Deja Vu,” “I’ll Never Love This Way Again,” and my favorite, the Bee Gees-written, “Heartbreaker.” It was Dionne who put together “That’s What Friends Are For” with Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John, a humongous hit and an them for the war on AIDS.
She comes from a musical dynasty, too. Dionne’s mother and Cissy Houston were sisters, and Whitney Houston was her cousin. Dionne’s sister, Dee Dee Warwick, was a knockout singer who had plenty of R&B hits and was beloved.
Now Dionne is a Twitter sensation. She’s jumped in with the help of her niece and she’s a welcome presence on social media. She doesn’t hold back, either. Dionne tells it like it is!
So happy birthday, Dionne! We’re so glad no one “made you over.” You’re an original, an independent force!
New York’s most prestigious and one of its oldest eateries, the 21 Club, is not dead. It’s just closed for the time being.
Last night there was a flurry of anxiety over a story — in the NY Post, where else? — that 21 was closing for good. But in reality it’s been shuttered since last March and next March 2021 the owners have filed to release the staff. That doesn’t mean it’s over. It’s just in floating in the ether until the pandemic is over.
The 21 Club, at its current location of 21 West 52nd St. since 1930, is currently owned by Belnord, aka the Orient Express Company. I knew the second generation owners of the original families from the 1980s. In 1983, I helped put together an episode of the Merv Griffin Show there. It was a week with the chef Pierre Franey, whose best selling cookbook “The 60 Minute Gourmet,” was my task to promote at Ballantine Books. That began my long association with the famous restaurant and its secret wine cellars, and so on.
In the last decade or more ’21’ was a regular gathering spot for lunches and dinners to promote movies and Broadway show openings, events for films in the Oscar race and so on put on by Peggy Siegal. I think it always startled the corporate regulars downstairs on the first floor, in famed bar, to see movie stars trooping upstairs. And they loved it.
Strangely, the building does not have Landmark Commission status from New York City. I don’t know how that’s possible since the edifice is one of a kind and has important historical significance — not just the exterior with the jockeys but the inside with the dining rooms and the wine cellars that extend in the basement. But Belnord assures me that “in recognition of its iconic status, the company is exploring potential opportunities that will allow 21 Club to remain a viable operation in the long term, while retaining its distinctive character.” Indeed, ’21’ is the only vestige of the architectural history on that block.
What that means, I hope, is that once the vaccine has been distributed and indoor dining resumes, the 21 Club will brush itself off and get back on track. The 21 Burger, according to the menu, is still a bargain at $36! I can’t wait to bite into one ASAP.
I’ve been lucky to be listening to “McCartney III” for a few days now. To catch you up: “McCartney” in 1970 turned out to be a masterpiece of its time. “McCartney II” in 1980 was dreadful and I try never to think about it. “McCartney III” is a great success, and shouldn’t be compared to either of its predecessors, especially the second one.
But here’s a new rub in the long running saga of the Beatle: the new songs are credited to “James Paul McCartney.” That’s a change, a first, a twist for Paul at age 78. Of course, that was his birth name. But is “James Paul McCartney” a different person than the one who’s written around a thousand songs?
“McCartney III” was supposed to be released today. December 11th. But there are many iterations of colored vinyl and extra tracks and whatnot that it was postponed til next Friday, December 18th. So consider it a Christmas present from Sir Paul, as I do. There are 11 tracks, he plays most of the instruments, wrote it all himself. You know Paul is a savant, in a way. He can’t stop himself. The music pours out of him. Thank goodness.
If the 11 tracks, I’d say 6 are among his very best, the other 5 are very good. Considering “Egypt Station” is just two years ago, that’s quite a compliment. But Paul is a professional. He’s not dithering around with us even though he says he is. He demurs. Just once, in the last couple of years, I heard him break down in an answer to a Stephen Colbert question about how he’s written all these songs and made all these incredible records. “Maybe I’m a genius,” he said, half-joking. Well, he is. That’s it.
“McCartney III” is surprisingly extra-economic, even when it’s self indulgent (a long 8 minute piece called “Deep Down Feeling” that’s really an improv, a jam that grows on you). McCartney loves a hit, and he’s got a half dozen of them: “Find My Way,” “Kiss of Venus,” “Women and Wives,” “Slidin’,” “Seize the Day,” and “When Winter Comes” all qualify. One track is just odd, that’s “Pretty Boys.” And another one, “Lavatory Lil,” addresses a golddigger who Paul must have dated before he happily married Nancy Shevell. It’s a rare bit of McCartney-esque spite and gossip.
But I’m concentrating those half-dozen gems that support the album foundationally. The melodies are just as beautifully shaped as anything Paul has done before. I’ve found myself humming them after a couple of plays. You will, too. They are also quite clever, especially “Women and Wives.” Paul’s had three wives, and marriage has been a constant in his life. And there’s a keen observation about outsiders looking at couples: “What we do with our lives/Seems to matter to others.”
“The Kiss of Venus” is one of those McCartney gems that just seems perfectly formed around a lilting vocal and a disarming hook. “Find My Way” would be a single, if there were still such things. “Seize the Day” is also a pop earwig, again, deceptively simple but a lovely Beatles throwback. And the album ends on a very “Ram” like lilting melody that could have been included on the White Album. “When Winter Comes” is no throwaway. It’s a gentle thing that sounds simple and isn’t. It’s actually a very melancholy recall to those early solo days when it was Paul and Linda living on the farm.
Next Friday can’t come soon enough– and I look forward to finding out what the extra tracks are on all those coloured vinyls!
Shia La Beouf can’t catch a break. He’s been sued today by an ex girlfriend, singer FKA Twigs — real name Tahliah Barnett — for abuse and harassment. A former girlfriend has chimed in in interviews, and Shia has had to issue a mea culpa kind of apology.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Yesterday a new Indiana Jones movie was announced, the fifth and last in the series. LaBeouf co-starred with Harrison Ford and Karen Allen in the fourth movie. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” several years ago. His character, Mutt, was hinted at as being the son of Indiana Jones and Marion, but it was left as an unanswered question. With this latest revelation, it really seals the deal that Mutt will not join the Jones lineage.
LaBeouf has been plagued by substance abuse issues and mental illness but always still admired as a talented actor. The autobiographical movie he wrote and starred in last year, “Honey Boy,” won him accolades and respect. This came after a string of incidents. But a current appearance in the movie “Pieces of a Woman” also helped to put bad news behind him. Today’s announcement — he’s innocent til proven guilty — would certainly cinch no return to Indiana Jones and puts his career in jeopardy once again.
It’s hard to review an album on the spot. But my first impression of Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” is that she wrote a ton of songs last spring, and now here’s the other 15 after “Folklore.”
I kind of like this group better than “Folklore,” despite my love for “Betty” from that album. So far on “Evermore” the songs that seem stronger and standout are the ones with guest vocals. With the Haim sisters she has a really catchy and clever murder mystery called “No Body, No Crime.” I look forward to playing that one again. With Bon Iver she sings the title track, “Evermore.”
There’s also an excellent duet called “Coney Island” with the National’s Aaron Dressner, who co-wrote most of the songs here. All Taylor’s story songs are intriguing and hearken back to the great singer songwriters who were more interested in the lyrics than the hooks. Taylor reminds a lot of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell, which ain’t bad. I remember being so impressed with her lyrics on the “Red” album, and “Evermore” reminds me of that record.
There’s no one better than Dionne Warwick, celebrating her 80th birthday today. Happy Birthday, Dionne!
