Tonight I watched Anti-Flag play in the Jimmy Kimmel parking lot as it is right down the street. It was awful experience, beginning with the Blue Blockers rapper bugging me in line and ending with Anti-Flag being as shitty as ever. A recent MRR poll asked punks what band shirts they would be most embarrassed to wear. Anti-Flag were near the top along with Against Me and Leftover Crack. The kids at this TV taping obviously don't read Maximum Rock n' Roll. Hillary Duff was on hand. I saw her in the parking lot, but she did not come out to watch Anti-Flag from the side of the stage. What gives? She's on the Warped Tour, right?
There was a time when a band would have to take a pick. Stay in the underground and get respect from the punks. Or you take off and make some videos and play some stadium, yet you can never go back home, the punks - having felt betrayed - now hate your guts. That was the way it was for some time, but not anymore. Anti-Flag can have their cake and eat it too. Everybody loves them but me and some MRR readers who are stuck in the 90's. These "punks" lucked out.. for now...
I was out of town this weekend, visiting the California central coast. We were gonna go to Big Sur, but did not have time. It would have been nice because I just watched the 1965 occult picture, Incubus, the other night. It was filmed at Big Sur. Speaking of Incubus, it was mentioned on that Roast of William Shatner I attended last Sunday and saw on TV in my hotel room this Sunday. The roast was funnier live, though they saved Andy Dick's Vulcan act with the editing. It was a trainwreck live. I was disappointed that they cut the Clint Howard clip a bit, they showed us more footage at the taping. All the talk about the Tribble was gone, probably because Jason Alexander made a tasteless joke about it involving a deceased Star Trek actor. That one did not go over too well live and I particularly did not like it.
Also cut was a bit with one of the comedians, I forget who, making fun of the young man in the front row with the cowboy hat, calling him a "Brokeback Mountainer" and what not. Jason Alexander's joke about Incubus aired, but I know that another comedian, again I forget who, had said it was an awful movie, but this was cut from the broadcast. I think Incubus is awesome by the way. It blows away The Devil's Rain (1975), which was featured in quick clips in a montage along with Incubus and other Shatner movies.
I had a great weekend, or Sunday and Monday rather, you know those nights are cheaper in hotels. I will admit that we watched a lot of TV including the practically the whole season of Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. One episode was extremely funny, the one with the Virgin Megastore fashion show. This episode showed that you really should not try to be cool when your coolness is in question, as you might fall flat on your face. Virgin has been trying to get into the clothes business as far as retail goes, since they just plain suck at selling CDs. I know, I worked there. The corporate aim is to go with an Urban Outfitter's vibe, selling a lifestyle, not an album or a movie. It ain't working - cause they don't know what the fuck they are doing, maybe their buyers are too old, but whatever, this Janice episode showed the rest of the world what I already know, Virgin ain't cool. First they pick this girl Niki, who I met before when managing a small Boutique in Hollywood, to put together the "fashion show". One time, when Niki come into my store (she was a particularly annoying stylist), she mentioned doing a pilot for the style network. I thought "yeah right, she is too dumb and unattractive to be in TV", yet obviously I was wrong. She did end up on TV... as cannon fodder for Janice Dickenson! I found it super funny to see Janice read her the riot act and tell her she was not competent. I don't think I've ever seen someone so humiliated on a reality show... no really. Her ideas were crap too, the "kiss my ass" move on the runway, how corny is that? But, to be fair, she was just delivering the kind of tacky "rock n' roll" crap that Virgin embodies. Maybe she was doing her job just right. The real chump is that Virgin corporate guy who was with her. Man you think you are a rocker working in the record industry? Your a corporate pussy and you sell crap clothes to yuppies. I've seen this guy around in the real world too. He's too chicken to talk to anyone.
Yeah, the Virgin fashion sucks. Take a band shirt, make it one color ink and all distressed, screen it on a hot pink shirt, and slap a $40 price tag on it. Put it on, get your ass laughed at when you go to "rawk out" you stupid dick.
Biting the hand the fed - another one: Tower Records, I read this today, filed for bankruptcy again. Some analysts say this might mean closing the stores and liquidation. Hell yes!
I realize I did not write about horror movies much this post, but I did write about the industry - you know, store and sluts and shit. I am going to post another mostly non-horror entry about stars' gift bags at film festivals and the like. I think it is relevant, so look forward to that.
1 comment:
Long blog. Longer then the show and that movie but cool.
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