Chrome

Girl, interrupted She drinks chai, doesn't watch television, spouts Scientology and is scared of the female form. Now she has decided to reinvent herself as a punk princess. Can anyone figure out Juliette Lewis? Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk has a go Friday July 16, 2004 The Guardian Just for licks: Lewis in rock-star mode "One time," Juliette Lewis says, "I wanted to get to know someone better by writing down questions to him ... These questions are more telling about me than anything I could write in a diary." Juliette says this on an antique sofa in a rented house in the Hollywood Hills, a very white and vertical, Getty Museum house - stark and modern but full of her antique furniture - a house she's renting with her husband, Steve Berra. She's holding a handwritten list she's just found, and reads: "Did you ever stab someone or cut them intentionally with a sharp object? Do you like asparagus? Do you have a middle name?" She drinks chai. She doesn't watch television. She loves playing cards. She uses fancy toilet paper that feels like you're using a cashmere sweater. In the basement is Steve's severed head - a very realistic replica left over from a skateboard video and made by the same team that made Juliette's pregnant stomach for the movie The Way of the Gun. From the list, Juliette reads: "Do cats frustrate you as pets, or do you admire their independence?" Over the past 24 hours, she's talked about her family, her father (Geoffrey Lewis), her career, the Scientology thing, getting married, and writing songs. The songs are important because after years of being scripted, these are her words now. She is focusing her career on her band: Juliette Lewis and the Licks. From her list, Juliette reads: "Did you ever break a guy's nose? Would you say you won more fights than you've lost?" In her kitchen, grinding coffee beans, Juliette says: "When I was growing up, what influenced me were all these musicals, like Fame. That was my dream. If I could have a school where they just sing and dance. So, Fame and Flashdance and Grease. Did you ever see the movie Hair? I was sobbing. That's a musical that kills me. "Before being an actress, I was going to sing. And I always thought I'd maybe act on the side. I want to sing still, so I wrote songs with a friend who's a musician. The biggest fun thing is it's my words." From her list Juliette reads: "Was there a time when you were mystified by the workings of your penis? Do you look more like your mother or father?" She says:"Even at 18 I'd go, 'Where is the hidden rule book that says I have to be made up?' Because they'd have this hair and all this makeup. I was, like, 'Can't we just take a picture?' That's why all my magazine pictures from earlier are not made up and they're not raw. They're in-between, and what shaped me is what they called the 'alternative girl' or the 'kookie girl' because I couldn't vamp up at the drop of a hat. "When I was younger, they'd have a rack of clothing I'd never wear ... They'd have a makeup person ... And I'm supposed to represent myself ? It was like this weird thing. I'd always wanted to be like my male predecessors, like Brando or De Niro. You take a man, and you just document him in a picture. "What you exude, your sexuality, is just a part of oneself. So a manufactured sex appeal that includes an open mouth and lip gloss and bright colours, this is this American porn sex appeal that has nothing to do with sex. It's like blowup dolls. I could do that, very easily. It's not like I can't. It's just never been my objective. "Now I realise you're selling things. So you basically become a rack." She reads: "Did you date an older woman and what did she teach you? What's the first image you have of the female body? Does the respect factor drop when a woman has breast implants?" Juliette says: "I had two dreams about De Niro when I was working with him. I think it was all in anticipation of this scene. Because this, in my head, was the big scene. In one dream, we were underwater in a pool and we'd come up for air. He'd go underwater, and I'd go underwater, and we'd glide past each other deliberately, like kids would play in a pool when they like each other. Like a flirtation. But I woke up from that dream, and I had a crush on him. "In that scene, the little tango between our characters, all I knew was he was supposed to walk up to me, and then say, 'Danielle, can I put my arm around you?' He's supposed to kiss me in the script, but all Scorsese said was, 'Bob's going to do something. Just go with the scene.' "Before that scene, I knew we were going to film the kiss part. I had just eaten lunch. It was catfish or something, and I was, like, 'Should I rinse my mouth out?' But I didn't want to, because that would let him know I thought about it. I don't want to act like I thought about the kiss. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. So I didn't. I didn't do mouthwash. "And then I get to the set, and Bob is right near me, and I smell mouthwash. And then it dawned on me in that moment - I felt like such a little kid - because I thought, 'He's being professional. He's being considerate of me. He's being courteous.' But by then it was too late to go back to the trailer. I don't know if I was offensive or not. "When you watch it, that's the first take. We did it twice. He puts his thumb on my lips. It's very intense because we're only this far from each other, and I'm looking right at him. He starts to put the thumb in my mouth, and she moves it away. And then he persists, and she allows it. And people after that kept talking about the sexuality and burgeoning sexuality at that age, and I never looked at it that way. I looked at it as: before he did the thumb thing he was listening to her, he was validating her in a way that her parents weren't, and then he did this sexual thing. But what you see in my eyes is, after she sucks the thumb and it gets pulled out, she's looking at him like, 'Was that good? Did you like that?' It's a pleasing thing." She says: "His thumb was very clean." From her list, Juliette reads: "Did you go to sleep-away summer camp? (Because some of my greatest childhood memories are from summer camp.) Do you like roller coasters?" Steve Berra says: "A long time ago, I was on tour, skateboarding, and I bought Kalifornia at this gas station. I remember trying to imitate a laugh that she did in one of her scenes. It had blown me away. Just this one little laugh the character Adele did. It was so natural and truthful, and I remember trying for 10 minutes to laugh however she did it. I didn't know her. I couldn't figure out how the hell this person was so good." A video of the movie is playing in their living room, and Juliette laughs, pointing out all the lines she just ad-libbed in the moment. Juliette says: "On the page, my little character, Adele, had maybe a sentence here and there in a scene. So I met with Dominic Sena [the director] and was really taken with his energy and his vision for the movie. He let me create that character. Ninety per cent of what I do in that movie I made up there. That was like a turning point for me, acting-wise, because I had to really come to the table with something, really invent something. My first official character, that little Adele." She reads: "What do you imagine happens to someone after the body dies? And do you believe that you are a spirit with a body or just a brain? The follow-up question is: How do you explain Mozart writing symphonies at seven? (Because I think that's a prime example of creative ability being spirit generated.)" Juliette says: "When you have good actors to work with, you just sort of create this alternate universe of pretended reality. Sometimes, you want to put in an aside that goes, 'By the way, audience, it was really three in the morning when we did this scene. It was 30 degrees outside. And I brought you all of this despite all of that.' "That Night was a movie I did before Cape Fear had come out. It was this 1962 love story, with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. Very endearing, very sweet. I was supposed to meet him in the middle of the night on a pier in Atlantic City. It was freezing, but it was supposed to be summer. You know, those hot nights. Meanwhile, I'm kind of blue. My lips go, 'Brrrrrrr.' So I had to hold them so I'm not chattering, plus be in a summer dress. You'd be in your parka until they said, 'OK, we're ready for you.' Then you'd take it off and say, 'Gosh, I'm so in love.' "When I worked on From Dusk Till Dawn, the vampire movie, with George Clooney, he said, 'Gosh, all my friends keep asking, "Ooo, so you're working with Juliette. Is she really psycho? Is she really intense?"' And I'm the most opposite from intense. Maybe when I was young I was a bit brooding. Maybe I'll cop to that. My work is really a light process. I go in and out of it. When the camera's going, I'm on. When it's off, I'm off." From her list, she reads: "Did the female anatomy ever mystify and scare you? (Because it did me, and I'm the owner.)" Driving past the Scientology Celebrity Centre, she says: "The whole thing in Scientology, the big motto is: What's real for you is real for you. So there's not, like, a dogma. It's simply an applied religious philosophy. And there's little courses, like the Success Through Communications course. They have things you can apply to your life, but not like a falsity, not like a robot thing. "You can see if it works, and if it doesn't. If it works, it works. It's something that has helped me a great deal." From the list, she reads: "Have you ever been caught in a natural disaster? Did you ever own Birkenstocks?" Just outside her bedroom door, looking at a framed, poster-sized picture of herself and Woody Harrelson from the cover of Newsweek, Juliette says: "With Natural Born Killers, I've appreciated as times goes by how that movie is satire and my character is a caricature, although I filled it with some real human emotion. But to me it's kind of campy. It's silly. It's exaggerated beyond what's real. I just had to give it some energy, like that whole beginning sequence - how sexy am I now! - where she's yelling. I have a big voice, so I can turn the volume up, but when we'd cut, it felt silly. Everyone thought I must've been so disturbed, but I wasn't." About how people reacted to the movie and its violence, Juliette says: "You could homogenise everything, but you're still going to have your exploders, your guys who explode. And why is that there? I think since the 1950s, the increase in psychiatric drugs has turned that into a landslide. I did research - I actually spoke at some Senate meetings. But the drugs would be a much bigger problem for them to deal with, considering that you have six million kids from six on up on Ritalin. So they don't even want to look at it. They'd rather just say, 'Could you guys just please be less violent in the movies?' "Here you have the famous Son of Sam guy, the killer. He said why he killed was the dog barking was giving him messages. Was the Devil speaking through the dog. OK, so do we lock up all dogs? Because of what that criminal says?" From her list, she reads: "What was your favourite expression growing up? Or what was it closer to: That's so fresh; that's so bitchin'; that's so wicked; that's so rad; or that's so hot." Juliette says: "To me, the three hardest things to do in acting are: one, sobbing, because I so rarely do that in my life. I may well up, but I don't sob. Laughing hysterically is another, where it says, 'She can't stop laughing.' And the third one is being surprised or being scared, like, 'Gosh, you scared me!' You have to think backward, like, 'When I get scared, what happens?' Oh, maybe my hands shake after the initial shock. It takes a minute to get your breath back. You work on getting to that place. "To sob, I usually use the pressure or the fear that I have to do it, and if I don't do it, I'll fail. I'll fail myself. I'll fail my director. I'll fail the movie. People have this faith in me to produce. The frustration that I can't cry will lead me to tears." She says: "I was doing Natural Born Killers, with Oliver Stone, and it was this scene with Woody Harrelson up on a hill, and we're arguing. And I'd just gotten my period that morning, and didn't sleep very well. I'd gotten about an hour's sleep, plus the pain of the woman thing, and we're arguing, and we cut. "Woody's like, 'You want to do it again? I want to do another take.' "And Oliver's like, 'Yeah. How about you, Juliette? You want to do it again?' "And I go, 'Why? It sucks. What's the point? I suck. I don't even know why I'm doing this. I'm not going to get any better! It sucks! It's terrible!' "And they look at me, and Oliver pulls me aside and says, 'Juliette, nobody wants to hear how you suck. Nobody here cares that you think you suck.' And from that point, I stopped doing that. It was such a turning point. Such a very good thing he did. He stopped me from catering to that little shit." She reads: "Did you ever fall in love with an animal in a way where you wished you could talk like human friends? (Because I would fall in love with my cats and wish that we were the same species so we could relate.)" At a party in Westwood, actress and screenwriter Marissa Ribisi watches Juliette and Steve eating chicken and says: "They're so cute together. They're like a coupla dudes." Leaving the party, under a full moon, they take fortune cookies and get the same fortune: "Avenues of Good Fortune Are Ahead for You." Driving home from the party, Juliette says: "All I thought about for a wedding was to have a view. We were outside on a cliff. It was the first time I saw him in a suit, and he was dashing. My view - because I had to walk this little trail that came out of this tunnel, because there was this park, then a tunnel, then this cliff - and as I was getting closer it was just this silhouette of this man with the sun behind him. It was incredible." She says: "I kept thinking, 'Should I have the veil down or veil up? Veil down? Veil up?' I loved the idea of a veil, because inside it's like a dream. And that's what wedding days are like." Steve says: "I didn't have shoes. All I had time to do was buy a suit so I didn't have shoes that would go with it. So I had to borrow my friend's shoes. We just swapped them on the cliff. For the pictures." The VCR in their living room breaks, so they're watching Steve's skateboard videos on the bedroom television, and Juliette says: "When I first saw his skateboarding videos, I welled up in tears. First of all, the music is so beautiful, and he chose the music, the piano. It is so aesthetic to me, his gliding and jumping and defying the physical universe. Because that's not supposed to be done. You don't take an object with wheels, and jump off a structure. It's a defiance. It was the first time I was able to be awed by a partner in this way." Upstairs, looking at a photo of Marilyn Monroe, Juliette says: "People have reduced Marilyn to a sex symbol, but the reason she had so much power is she made people light up. She had a joy. When she's smiling in a picture, she's a blend. She's in a female body, this beautiful woman form, but she has that child-love shining through, this kind of child-light that makes other people light up, too. I think that's what's special about her. "There's a word for it in Scientology. What's common to children is they give off ... how they're able to uplift, their joy, it's called 'theta'. It's what's innate to a spirit. So in Scientology, a spirit is called a thetan, and what a spirit would give off is theta. It's what I would call magic." Reading from her list of questions left over from that long-ago romance, she says: "Do you feel that we are all potentially Christlike? Do you have hope for humanity? And if not, how can you honestly keep on going in the face of that hopelessness?" She stresses: "There are no right answers to these." · This is an edited extract from Chuck Palahniuk's latest book, Non-fiction, published on August 5 by Jonathan Cape, priced £10.99. © Chuck Palahniuk.

Laugh now, but it's only a short step from "The Best Week Ever" to this ...

Basie's Centennial to be Celebrated by Swing Fans Worldwide -- Yehoodi.com and Jelly Roll Productions Reunite Basie Alumni to Celebrate 100 Years of Swing! On Oct 9th, 2004, in New York, Frank Foster and his 12-piece Swing Plus Band will be joined by Junior Mance, Earl May, Barbara Morrison, Benny Powell, Irene Reid, Dennis Rowland, Clark Terry, Frank Wess and Joe Wilder to celebrate Count Basie’s Centennial at The Basie Centennial Ball. This incomparable lineup will reunite Basie's music with the dance it inspired: the Lindy Hop -- the original swing dance that evolved in Harlem during the late 20's. New York, NY (PRWEB) June 23, 2004 -- On Oct 9th, 2004, Columbia University's Roone Arledge Auditorium will be the setting for a magical trip back in time as Frank Foster and his 12-piece Swing Plus Band are joined by several Count Basie Orchestra veterans and other jazz greats including: Junior Mance, Earl May, Barbara Morrison, Benny Powell, Irene Reid, Dennis Rowland, Clark Terry, Frank Wess and Joe Wilder. The event is the Basie Centennial Ball where this incomparable lineup will reunite Basie's music with the dance it inspired: the Lindy Hop -- the original swing dance that evolved in Harlem during the late 20's. 900+ dancers and jazz aficionados are expected to attend. "Count Basie's music is made for dancing. It's more than just playing notes on a page," says Frank Foster. "We feed off of what the dancers are doing on the floor and they pick up on what we're doing on the bandstand, and next thing you know the night has flown by and you've never played better." The evening is being co-produced by Jelly Roll Productions, a group of dancers committed to cultivating both lindy hop and live jazz by providing high quality dance events at affordable costs. They've produced events with influential jazz musicians such as the Junior Mance, Ray Bryant, Benny Powell, Earl May, Eddie Locke, Dave Glasser and John Bunch. Their ultimate goal is to reunite the music and the dance by making great live jazz music accessible to dancers and introducing (or reintroducing) jazz artists to the unique creative outlet of playing for dancers. "This is a minor miracle what Yehoodi.com and Jelly Roll Productions are doing," said jazz historian and WKCR radio personality Phil Schaap, who is also on the Basie Centennial Ball Advisory Board. "To have a beautiful ballroom filled with hundreds of dancers of all ages dancing to the sounds of Basie is something I did not think would happen again on this grand a scale. I'm excited to be a part of it personally and I'm proud that WKCR is a sponsor." This occasion also marks the sixth anniversary of Yehoodi.com, which has for the past six years dedicated its efforts to fostering the global lindy hop community, online and off. Founded by dancers for dancers, Yehoodi.com receives thousands of visits a week from around the world and is now managed by a volunteer staff of over seven administrators and various technical advisors covering news, calendar events, a discussion board and a 24/7 internet radio show, all focused on this classic, American dance. "We're thrilled to be celebrating our sixth anniversary with this once-in-a-lifetime event," said Manu Smith, co-founder of Yehoodi.com. "To have the legendary Frank Foster lead a band made up of so many living legends is a dream come true for jazz aficionados and dancers alike." The Roone Arledge Auditorium is located at Columbia University in Alfred Lerner Hall, 2920 Broadway (114th Street) and features a 9,000 square-foot dance floor. Admission is $40 online at www.Basie100.com until October 4th and $49 at the door. Admission for students and seniors (65+) is $30 and must show ID at the door. This event is produced with the kind support of Columbia University Swing, Legacy Recordings, Verve Music Group and WKCR NY and the William J. Basie Trust. Contact: Frank Dellario, Yehoodi.com, (718) 599-2591 / frankyboy@yehoodi.com

Mayoral Proclamation Recognizes October 9, 2004 as Count Basie Day -- Yehoodi.com’s Basie Centennial Ball to Celebrate his Music through Dance New York City Mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg recognizes the tribute paid by the swing and jazz fans of William (Count) Basie by proclaiming October 9, 2004, "Count Basie Day". New York, NY (PRWEB) July 14, 2004 -- New York City Mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg recognizes the tribute paid by the swing and jazz fans of William (Count) Basie by proclaiming October 9, 2004, "Count Basie Day". Close to a thousand dancers and jazz aficionados are expected to attend the Basie Centennial Ball to experience the transcendent power of Basie’s music and its reunion with the dance that it inspired, the Lindy Hop. Lindy Hop evolved in the late 1920’s in Harlem and has been continued in New York and around the world since. This occasion also marks the 6th Anniversary of Yehoodi.com, which has for the past six years dedicated its efforts to fostering the global Lindy Hop community, online and off. With support from Jelly Roll Productions and Columbia University Swing, Yehoodi.com will be hosting the Basie Centennial Ball at Columbia University’s Roone Arledge Auditorium on October 9, 2004 to celebrate Basie’s musical gift to his generation, our generation and generations to come. Following is an excerpt of the Mayor's proclamation: WHEREAS: In a fitting birthday tribute to their musical hero, the Lindy Hop enthusiasts at Yehoodi.com have helped organize The Basie Centennial Ball, which will be held at Columbia University’s Roone Arledge Auditorium. Channeling Basie’s genius will be the 12-Piece Frank Foster Swing Plus Band, which will feature guests including such jazz legends as: Clark Terry, Frank Wess, Benny Powell, Joe Wilder, Irene Reid, Dennis Rowland, and Junior Mance. Their music will accompany one of the most recognized swing dance competitions in the world, Hellzapoppin’. As if this were not enough, there will also be dance tributes to the Count performed by nationally renowned swing dance troupes. While it might be impossible to top seeing Basie himself live at the Roseland, this year’s festivities are sure to prove that while musical styles have certainly changed in the last One Hundred Years, New York City still knows how to swing. NOW THEREFORE, I, MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, in recognition of this important event, do hereby proclaim Saturday, October 9, 2004 as “Count Basie Day”. The Basie Centennial Ball will celebrate the vitality of Basie’s music that drives his audience to dance. Hundreds of dancers of all ages will have the opportunity to swing to the sounds of Basie recreated by his most trusted composer and arranger, Mr. Frank Foster and an incomparable lineup of musicians consisting of many Count Basie Orchestra alumni. "To have a beautiful ballroom filled with hundreds of dancers of all ages dancing to the sounds of Basie is something I did not think would happen again on this grand a scale. I'm excited to be a part of it,” says jazz historian and WKCR radio personality Phil Schaap, who is also on the Basie Centennial Ball Advisory Board. This is an evening not to be missed by any jazz or swing enthusiast. Tickets and more information about the Basie Centennial Ball are available at www.Basie100.com.

Lifestyle causes myopia, not genes 16:07 08 July 04 Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues. Contrary to popular belief, people in east Asia are no more genetically susceptible to short-sightedness than any other population group, according to researchers who have analysed past studies of the problem. The epidemics of myopia in countries such as Singapore and Japan are due solely to changes in lifestyle, they say, and similar levels could soon be seen in many western countries as lifestyles there continue to change. "As kids spend more time indoors, on computers or watching telly, we are going to become just as myopic," says Ian Morgan of the Australian National University in Canberra. Myopia is on the increase in most places, but in countries such as Singapore it has reached extraordinary levels. There, 80 per cent of 18-year-old male army recruits are myopic, up from 25 per cent just 30 years ago. Employers such as the police are having problems finding people who meet their requirements. There is also an increasing incidence of extreme myopia, which can lead to blindness. There is little doubt about at least one underlying cause. Children now spend much of their time focusing on close objects, such as books and computers. To compensate the eyeball is thought to grow longer. That way less effort is needed to focus up close, but the elongated eye can no longer focus on distant objects. Religious texts The argument is about why the rate of myopia is so much higher in east Asia than elsewhere. The conventional view is that people from the region have genetic variations that make them more susceptible. But after reviewing over 40 studies, Morgan and Kathryn Rose of the University of Sydney argue that there is no evidence to support this. The pair, whose work will be published in Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, use several lines of evidence to debunk the idea that genes can explain the Asian epidemics. For instance, 70 per cent of 18-year-old men of Indian origin living in Singapore have myopia, while in India itself the rate is roughly 10 per cent. Another study found myopia rates of 80 per cent in 14 to 18-year-old boys studying in schools in Israel that emphasise reading religious texts. The rate for boys in state schools was just 30 per cent. "The simplest explanation is that you have a massive environmental effect that is swamping out the genetic influence," says Morgan. In other words, given the wrong lifestyle, everyone is susceptible to myopia. Play sport And it looks as if those lifestyle changes are beginning to be felt in some western countries too. In Sweden, for instance, 50 per cent of children aged 12 now have myopia. It is expected that when these children reach 18 the rate will be more than 70 per cent. "It is an impressive piece of work," says Karla Zadnik of Ohio State University College of Optometry in Columbus. But if the increase really is due to too much reading, she points out, then lenses that eliminate the stress of focusing on near work should help stop myopia getting any worse. In fact, studies show the lenses are of little help. But that might be because we have not identified all the lifestyle factors involved, including ones that protect against myopia, says Morgan. For example, children who read less also tend to spend more time outdoors, where better light may reduce the need to focus precisely for near vision. Studies show that children who play sport are less susceptible to myopia. One group of researchers has even proposed that diet is one of the factors contributing to the rise in myopia. They argue that eating too much refined starch affects the growth of the eyeball (New Scientist print edition, 6 April 2002). But even if there are no big differences between population groups, genetic studies are important, says Christopher Hammond of St Thomas' Hospital in London. There might be some people whose vision remains perfect whatever their lifestyle. "If we can identify the genes involved, we have a better chance of understanding the mechanisms involved and developing treatments," he points out. In a study of 506 pairs of twins, Hammond found that when you take environment out of the equation, genes account for 87 per cent of the variation in short and long-sightedness. The team has identified several genes that may be involved, including PAX-6, which is known to be important in the development of the eye. Journal reference: The American Journal of Human Genetics (vol 75, p 294)

But what about "? and the Mysterians"??

In somewhat of the same vein, any Morcheeba fans out there?

The Philadelphia Experiment ... that's a cool disc.

You don't think Clemens would TRY to throw a couple of 59-ft. fastballs hoping for some interesting bounces, do you?

I recently picked up a great disc at Border's Outlet, and, even though it's not jazz, it's certainly worthy of a recommendation IMHO. It's a 1998 release by the Wailing Souls called Psychodelic Souls. It's reggae-ish remakes of 1960s hits like "Like a Rolling Stone," "Whiter Shade of Pale," etc. I know the concept sounds kind of tired, but boy do they pull it off. I also have their disc "All over the World," and that's another big winner. Here's the AMG blurb, FWIW: Psychedelic Souls Artist The Wailing Souls Album Title Psychedelic Souls Date of Release Sep 15, 1998 AMG Rating: 4.5 stars Genre Reggae Styles Dub Time 43:48 Jamaica's indebtedness to the U.S. music scene has been long noted and acknowledged. R&B was the backbone of ska, Motown was well plundered during the rocksteady years, American pop fueled reggae, roots nodded to prog rock, while even dancehall had some tenuous links to hip-hop. Yet, Jamaican artists virtually ignored straight-up rock & roll. And while a guitar god like Eric Clapton covered Bob Marley and Mick Jagger dueted with Peter Tosh, this was pretty much a one-way street. That was until the Wailing Souls decided to turn the tables on the classic rock world. Psychedelic Souls delivers up covers of ten of the '60s' greatest hits by the Doors, Bob Dylan, the Who, Procol Harum, and so on down the list of the period's most glittering stars. Of course, any idiot can reggae-fy a rock song — just substitute a one-drop rhythm — but the Wailing Souls have something far more creative in mind. They were determined to reinvent the songs while simultaneously keeping the '60s' atmosphere intact. Donovan's magical "Mountain Song" is particularly inspired, set to the heaviest of rhythms, shot through with scything guitar solos, yet Spanish-laced acoustic guitar seeps through, helping the song maintain the lacy lightness of the original. "Love Her Madly" is delivered up, dare one say it, Two Tone style, but even as it reaches a crescendo of mad skanking, the psychedelic keyboards pull the song stateside. "My Sweet Lord" is remodeled Rasta-fashion through a slight rewrite of lyrics and nyabinghi drumming, "Whiter Shade of Pale" is served up in slowly simmering dancehall style, while "Love the One You're With" counterpoints dancehall beats with an acid trip's worth of psychedelic electronic effects. Out of time, but not out of place, is the group's own composition "War Down at the Pawnshop." This deeply cultural number, presented in heaviest roots fashion, features guest stars Sublime, and the soaring solo guitar slots nicely into the '60s theme. The acid test for a cover is that the listener never looks at the original in quite the same way again, and once one experiences Psychedelic Souls, the entire decade is guaranteed to appear in an entirely new light. — Jo-Ann Greene review 1. Love Her Madly (Densmore/Krieger/Manzarek/Morrison) - 3:50 2. Like a Rolling Stone (Dylan) - 4:11 3. My Generation (Townshend) - 4:01 review 4. Whiter Shade of Pale (Brooker/Reid) - 4:16 5. Mountain Song (Adams) - 4:40 6. May This Be Love (Waterfall) (Hendrix) - 3:47 7. My Sweet Lord (Harrison) - 2:55 8. Tomorrow Never Knows (Lennon/McCartney) - 3:39 9. For What It's Worth (Stills) - 3:35 10. Love the One You're With (Stills) - 3:49 11. War Down at the Pawnshop (Matthews/McDonald) - 5:05

Does the fact that Bonds is still hitting like crazy affect how anyone thinks about the steroids stuff? I mean, I can't believe he'd still be taking them now, yet he doesn't seem to have lost much, if anything. Any thoughts?

I visit a number of auto forums for my work ... check out this nightmare: Dealer drops 'Vette off lift

My bad ... not having visited that thread too often, I always thought it was just for people buying/selling from their own collections and stuff like that.

Jazzbo: Have you read "The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick"? It's a collection of his essays and miscellaneous "stuff" that was pretty interesting. It was my first glimpse of what Dick had to say about his own writing, especially his "Exegesis." He was one far-out kinda guy.

Just wondering ... what do people think about adding some kind of "marketplace" thread here? Something specifically for posters such as "marissam" who are trying to sell their stuff? I hate seeing that stuff crammed into the other threads and it's obvious from most people's responses they feel the same. With some kind of specialized forum, we'd have better chance of keeping it in one place. Plus, it's conceivable some of these people would become "good" posters here if they weren't hounded for spamming the board where it's not wanted.

I never thought of myself as a "typical Organissimo poster," but after seeing Tyra,* I couldn't resist this ... I'm in the "Keep it real" group: sometimes there CAN be too much of a good thing ... plus, the whole artificial enhancement angle kind of bothers me, too. It seems "unfair" or something. *And I can't tell with her.

I'm a big PKD fan, but I read a pretty terrible review of this ... would love to hear what you think. As for me, I just started "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann.

Not jazz, but I've got Memphis Slim's tribute to Big Bill Broonzy on a Candid disc, and it's great if you're into the stripped-down approach to the blues ... if I remember correctly it's just Slim on piano supported by a guitar and harmonica.

From the "bizarre coincidence" file, Muddy Waters' real name was McKinley Morganfield ...

For some reason, Ellington was the first musician that popped into my head for this. Not necessarily anything particular, but definitely Duke Ellington!

Girls, step aside: It's 'Guys Gone Wild' NEW YORK (AP) -- Harvey Keitel has done it. Ewan McGregor has done it at least four times. Now all red-blooded American males can drop trou for the cameras. Introducing "Guys Gone Wild," an all-male version of the "Girls Gone Wild" video series, which promises "the hottest, wildest, most beautiful real co-eds," stripping for the cameras during spring break and doing things they'd never do back home. " 'Girls Gone Wild' has been around about seven years, and every person who's been involved with it on many different levels has been asked once or multiple times, what about a 'Guys Gone Wild'?" said Bill Horn, spokesman for Mantra Entertainment, which produces the videos. "It was about seeing something different for a different audience," Horn said Thursday. "We took the mirror image of what we had been doing with 'Girls Gone Wild."' Starting July 13, three titles will be available on DVD and video through a Web site and an 800 number: "Guys Gone Wild," "Guys Gone Wild: Spring Break" and "Guys Gone Wild: Frat Boys." The stars are young, good-looking guys who aren't shy about taking it all off and letting it all hang out. They gyrate like strippers, do push-ups and, in one memorable scene, bounce up and down on their hotel room beds while tossing a football back and forth. Hike! Yikes! So who exactly would shell out $19.99 to see this? "Based on the reactions I've gotten, college-age girls, maybe older," Horn said. "I think it's going to be a big gag gift, bachelorette kind of gift." (A recent screening for a group of friends -- male and female -- elicited squeals of appalled laughter, followed by embarrassed fascination, followed quickly by boredom and shutting off the VCR.) But Horn also expects the videos will to appeal to gay men. "There's a certain amount of gay women who purchase 'Girls Gone Wild,' " he said. 'We were there to capture the reality' The big difference between the male and female versions, though, is the absence of kissing. Much of the allure of the "Girls Gone Wild" series, with titles such as "Girls Who Like Girls" and "Mardi Gras Co-eds," is the fantasy it dangles before its viewers -- the possibility that the wholesome girl next door could, on a drunken spring break whim, tear off her T-shirt and make out with one of her sorority sisters. "Let's face it -- there's a double standard when it comes to guy-on-guy as opposed to girl-on-girl," Horn said. "It's sexy to see two girls making out. It's not considered sexy to see two guys making out. That's just the reality and we were there to capture the reality." Misty Nicole, a member of the "Guys Gone Wild" crew, wrangles guys for the series. Misty Nicole, a 24-year-old aspiring actress, did just that as a member of the all-female "Guys Gone Wild" production crew. At sunny destinations including Cancun, Mexico, and South Padre Island, Texas, Nicole scoured the parties and sweet-talked the guys into appearing in front of her video camera. "I look for cute guys," she said Thursday. "I go up to them and I go, 'Hey, you're cute. How crazy and wild are you?' They'd be like, 'I'm pretty wild.' Then their friends would come over and they'd see the camera, they'd see the shirt and they'd go, 'Oh, my God, you're with 'Girls Gone Wild!' " From there, getting them to take off their shirts and yell "Guys Gone Wild" is pretty easy, she said -- but about half the time, it requires a little coaxing to get them to go further. "Some of them, they just need reassurance," she said. "They just gotta talk to you a minute." 'Sometimes they get out of control' Another occupational hazard: being hit on constantly. "Sometimes they get out of control," Nicole said. "Sometimes they try to get my camera and pull me into the shot. I have to deal with about five or 10 minutes of, 'What are you going to do for me? I'll show you mine if you show me yours."' A bodyguard always came along to protect the female crew, she said. When a male production team went to a vacation spot to shoot footage for "Girls Gone Wild," a second female crew would go along to grab video of guys, Horn said. "If there's going to be a good party there for 'Girls Gone Wild,' odds are it's going to be a good party for 'Guys Gone Wild,' as well," he said. But sometimes, Nicole found, there's a hangover of regret once the party's over. "There are a few people who come up to me the next day or later that night and say, 'You know what? I'd really prefer that you not use that. My dad is the governor of blah-blah-blah.' Or 'I'm planning on going into politics.' Or 'I'm going into the army,' " she said. "I lost some really good footage, but I can't do that to them."

Anyone else ever search the word "jazz" using the Google "News" function? I've done it a couple times, and often find some cool, uh, news. It's interesting to see what kind of coverage the music gets in today's media. Today a feature on Ron Carter showed up. Something from the Boston Globe in advance of his appearance in the area. This interesting tidbit was from the article: "But all that [Carter's great jazz career] might not have happened had the legendary conductor Leopold Stokowski not snubbed him for an orchestra slot in 1959. At the time, Carter was a student at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. He already had switched from cello to bass at his Detroit high school, to take advantage of the graduation of the school orchestra's only bass player. But he found it difficult to get serious consideration for his bass playing at Eastman. "They would have auditions for orchestras," Carter recalls on the phone from New York, "but they wouldn't post them until they had already taken place. And then one of the conductors, Stokowski, told me he'd love to have me in his orchestra -- at the time he was down there in Houston, I think -- but said the Houston board directors weren't ready for a `colored guy' playing classical music." That was the last straw for Carter, who refocused his attention on jazz. "I would have been one of the best classical bass players there ever was," says Carter, a boast backed up by two of his releases, "Brandenburg Concerto" (1996) and last year's chamber-like trio disc, "The Golden Striker.""

Just in case he's thinking of changing it ...

What's that "Brubeck and Rushing" disc like? Sounds like an interesting mix.

Yesterday at Borders Outlet I picked up: The Quest - Mal Waldron w/Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, Ron Carter (on cello!), Joe Benjamin, Charles Persnip Music Matador - I'm having trouble figuring this one out ... it's on the Fresh Sounds label and shows the players are Eric Dolphy, Clifford Jordan, Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons, Richard Davis and the "Bossa Tres," a Brazilian rhythm section. I can see on AMG there is a listing for a "Music Matador" by Dolphy, but it doesn't seem to exactly match up with the disc I just bought. What I have looks like it might be some kind of mix of sessions, with not all players playing on all tracks (I haven't actually listened to it yet). I also picked up The Philadelphia Experiment with Uri Caine, keyboards; Christian McBride, bass; Ahmir Thompson, drums; and guests including Pat Martino. Total cost = $15!