Friday, January 12, 2007
Here come the Globes!
So, what's so special about the Golden Globes? After all, it's not Oscar. Isn't this the awards show where Christine Lahti nearly missed out on her acceptance speech because she was stuck in the bathroom?
Well, yes, but it's also a big deal. It's the first big opportunity to break out those outrageously expensive designer dresses. Moreover, the press surrounding this event is enormous. If you're part of a TV show or in an upcoming film, this is the place to be seen. (And if you wear a gorgeous outfit, you will be seen.) Besides, the perks are irresistible (for the stars, anyway). There's a fortune in gifts given away every year -- the "swag." The IRS is threatening to make this tradition all but extinct but, somehow, I don't see celebrities walking away empty-handed. In all seriousness, though, for an actor or actress a Golden Globe can put them on the fast track to Oscar gold. One industry insider told me that winning a Golden Globe becomes the centerpiece for that all-important Oscar campaign. Your chances of taking home an Oscar become greater if, every time an Academy Award voter hears your name, it's preceded by three words: "Golden Globe winner." And you can bet your bottom dollar that the studios will make sure those words are repeated constantly. Oh, and one last thing. If you're a "Grey's Anatomy" fan, the steamy McDreamy (drum roll, please!), Patrick Dempsey, will be there. 'Nuff said! Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Quick takes
Please, make them stop.
(2:20 p.m.: If you'd like to comment, please click the "Add a comment" link under this entry. We're getting quite a few under any number of other posts, and "non sequitur" doesn't do justice to seeing them there.) * * * * * When I saw "Children of Men" a few weeks ago, I thought that, despite its brilliance, it had no chance at the box office. I'm glad to be wrong -- at least for a week. * * * * * Bill James once described the Baseball Hall of Fame as (I'm paraphrasing, poorly) a self-defining institution that has resolutely failed to define itself. The same can be said of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What is a "Hall of Famer"? An influential artist? A big seller dominant in its time? A beloved commercial powerhouse? All of the above? Because once you induct AC/DC and Aerosmith, why not Kiss? If Hank Ballard and Lloyd Price, why not Lowman Pauling? Are any bubblegum musicians ever going to make it? Now we have R.E.M., Patti Smith, Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash and the Ronettes. I tip my hat to all of them, put on a few of their records ... and go back to ignoring this whole "hall of fame" thing. (As for baseball, I'm still waiting for Jim Kaat.) * * * * * Say it isn't so. * * * * * Best record I've heard lately: Jim Noir's "Tower of Love," which came out early last year. Imagine Emitt Rhodes with a Brian Wilson fixation, along with a little Roy Wood, and you've got Noir's gorgeous creation. Monday, January 08, 2007
Still the Man
The final figures are out for the top-selling musical artists of 2006, a category which includes sales of the artist's entire catalog.
Most of the entries are exactly what you'd expect: active musicians who released new, best-selling albums during the year, such as Nickelback and Justin Timberlake. Rascal Flatts, which had the No. 2 album of the year, "Me and My Gang," was the year's No. 1-selling artist. But also on the list -- and at No. 2, yet -- is Johnny Cash. The late Man in Black's 2006 album, "American V: A Hundred Highways," did hit No. 1, but it wasn't one of the 10 best-selling albums of the year -- which means that the majority of Cash's sales came from his catalog, including best-of collections. His 4.83 million albums sold overall put him ahead of Nickelback, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Mary J. Blige and Timberlake, among others. Score one for the master, and the depth of his terrific work. Incidentally, No. 5? The Beatles. The complete top 10: 1. Rascal Flatts; 2. Johnny Cash; 3. Nickelback; 4. Carrie Underwood; 5. The Beatles; 6. Tim McGraw; 7. Andrea Bocelli; 8. Mary J. Blige; 9. Keith Urban; 10. Justin Timberlake. Figures are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. (For the top 10 albums, and other top 10s, click here.) |
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