Jack Antonoff has almost single-handedly made modern pop into a glorious safe space, an expansive, sensitive, creative biosphere where the biggest artists in the world — from Taylor to Lana to Lorde — can chase their wildest ambitions and find their most real inner selves while still making blockbuster records. Most A-list superproducers are pop scientists. Antonoff is a pop humanist.
Bleachers is the project where he works out his band side. The three previous Bleachers LPs have highlighted an Eighties-tinged refusal to acknowledge that there should be any distinction between hook-ninja slickness and unrepentant sentimentality,...
Bleachers is the project where he works out his band side. The three previous Bleachers LPs have highlighted an Eighties-tinged refusal to acknowledge that there should be any distinction between hook-ninja slickness and unrepentant sentimentality,...
- 3/6/2024
- by Jon Dolan
- Rollingstone.com
Bringing free instruments and rockin’ lessons to kids in underprivileged public schools across the county.
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Little Kids Rock has 62 known supporters, including Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, and Slash
Areas of work ChildrenCreative Arts Read more about Little Kids Rock's work and celebrity supporters. Related articles Metallica And Ozzy Donate To CharityClarence Clemons' Charity LegacyTaboo Helps Little Kids RockLady Gaga Honors Clarence Clemons At Charity EventNew Jack Johnson Songs To Benefit Charity
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Celebrity supporters
Little Kids Rock has 62 known supporters, including Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, and Slash
Areas of work ChildrenCreative Arts Read more about Little Kids Rock's work and celebrity supporters. Related articles Metallica And Ozzy Donate To CharityClarence Clemons' Charity LegacyTaboo Helps Little Kids RockLady Gaga Honors Clarence Clemons At Charity EventNew Jack Johnson Songs To Benefit Charity
Feature your company alongside thousands of celebrities, charities & causes →
Copyright © 2023 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this via email or in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be grateful if you would contact us.
- 12/14/2023
- Look to the Stars
Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well-known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features saxophonist Eddie Manion.
If you say say “Bruce Springsteen’s saxophonist” to most rock fans, their minds understandably go to Clarence Clemons or his nephew,...
If you say say “Bruce Springsteen’s saxophonist” to most rock fans, their minds understandably go to Clarence Clemons or his nephew,...
- 3/27/2023
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Over the past five decades, Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band have set the bar for live rock’n’roll shows. Their epic performances regularly steam past the three-hour mark, with their longest ever set, a 2012 gig in Helsinki, Finland, clocking in at a staggering four hours and six minutes. Earlier this month, Sir Paul McCartney was asked why his own solo shows have grown ever longer in recent years. “I blame Bruce Springsteen,” the former Beatle told the Fly on the Wall podcast. “I know him and I said to him, ‘It’s your fault, man’… the rest of us look measly if we do an hour.”
Springsteen’s stellar live reputation doesn’t just come from quantity, of course, but sheer crowd-pleasing quality. In a 2011 poll, Rolling Stone readers voted Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band the greatest live act of all time. To witness Springsteen...
Springsteen’s stellar live reputation doesn’t just come from quantity, of course, but sheer crowd-pleasing quality. In a 2011 poll, Rolling Stone readers voted Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band the greatest live act of all time. To witness Springsteen...
- 10/19/2022
- by Kevin E G Perry
- The Independent - Music
The Killers welcomed surprise guest Bruce Springsteen onstage for their entire three-song encore Saturday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
With the E Streeter in tow, the band performed a pair of Springsteen classics, “Badlands” and the concert-ending “Born to Run” — both assisted by saxophonist Jake Clemons, the nephew of the late Clarence Clemons — as well as the Killers’ 2021 version of “A Dustland Fairytale,” a Springsteen collaboration and remake of a track off their 2008 LP Day & Age.
In 2021, following the release of “Dustland,” Flowers spoke to Rolling Stone about the collaboration,...
With the E Streeter in tow, the band performed a pair of Springsteen classics, “Badlands” and the concert-ending “Born to Run” — both assisted by saxophonist Jake Clemons, the nephew of the late Clarence Clemons — as well as the Killers’ 2021 version of “A Dustland Fairytale,” a Springsteen collaboration and remake of a track off their 2008 LP Day & Age.
In 2021, following the release of “Dustland,” Flowers spoke to Rolling Stone about the collaboration,...
- 10/2/2022
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
A curious thing is happening online: Out of seemingly nowhere, Lady Gaga’s 2009 VMA performance of “Paparazzi” is a trending sound on TikTok. If you watched it live 13 years ago, it always stuck with you. It was one of the most shocking and sensational star-making performances of any pop artist’s career.
Onstage at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium Thursday night, Gaga performed the song in a palace-like setting. After performing an extended, dramatic piano interlude, she emerged with fake blood covering her white bodysuit, belting the chorus like her life depended on it.
Onstage at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium Thursday night, Gaga performed the song in a palace-like setting. After performing an extended, dramatic piano interlude, she emerged with fake blood covering her white bodysuit, belting the chorus like her life depended on it.
- 8/12/2022
- by Brittany Spanos
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Virgil Films has acquired worldwide rights to Surviving The Silence, a documentary revealing a long-hidden story from the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” era.
Directed and produced by Cindy L. Abel, the film revisits the case of Army hero Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, who was expelled by Col. Patsy Thompson because she was a lesbian. What was previously unknown is that Thompson was also a lesbian. The way she handled the military trial, however, led to Cammermeyer’s re-instatement via federal court and eventual change in military policy.
The “don’t ask don’t tell” policy was instituted by the Clinton Administration in 1994. While it was intended as a progressive measure, the updated rule prohibited gay, bisexual or transgender people from speaking about or disclosing same-sex relationships during their time in the armed services. It faced numerous legal challenges and ultimately was phased out in...
Directed and produced by Cindy L. Abel, the film revisits the case of Army hero Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, who was expelled by Col. Patsy Thompson because she was a lesbian. What was previously unknown is that Thompson was also a lesbian. The way she handled the military trial, however, led to Cammermeyer’s re-instatement via federal court and eventual change in military policy.
The “don’t ask don’t tell” policy was instituted by the Clinton Administration in 1994. While it was intended as a progressive measure, the updated rule prohibited gay, bisexual or transgender people from speaking about or disclosing same-sex relationships during their time in the armed services. It faced numerous legal challenges and ultimately was phased out in...
- 8/30/2021
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
From sax solos by Clarence Clemons to the glorious oddness of “Judas” to the super-powered power ballad “You and I,” Born This Way was the moment Lady Gaga ascended to superstardom. To celebrate 10 years of the instant-classic album, Brittany Spanos and Rob Sheffield joined host Brian Hiatt — who was in the studio with Gaga for a Rolling Stone cover story as she finished recording Born This Way — for a new episode of the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast. They break down the album’s greatest moments, put it in context of pop at the time,...
- 6/4/2021
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
Ralph Schuckett, a keyboard player best known as a member of Todd Rundgren’s Utopia as well as an in-demand session player and producer and, later, composer for “Pokemon” and other animation projects, died Sunday at 73.
No cause of death was immediately given, although he was known to have been ill. When a Utopia reunion tour was announced in early 2018, Schuckett was announced as part of the lineup and even met with other members for a publicity photo, but he was forced to withdraw shortly before rehearsals began.
Among his early studio credits prior to joining Utopia were Carole King’s first three albums, including the landmark “Tapestry.”
“Ralph Schuckett was a sweet guy, a great friend, and a very talented cat,” King said in a statement Wednesday morning. “That’s his sparkling piano on ‘Smackwater Jack.’ Rest In Peace and love.”
#RalphSchuckett was a sweet guy, a great friend,...
No cause of death was immediately given, although he was known to have been ill. When a Utopia reunion tour was announced in early 2018, Schuckett was announced as part of the lineup and even met with other members for a publicity photo, but he was forced to withdraw shortly before rehearsals began.
Among his early studio credits prior to joining Utopia were Carole King’s first three albums, including the landmark “Tapestry.”
“Ralph Schuckett was a sweet guy, a great friend, and a very talented cat,” King said in a statement Wednesday morning. “That’s his sparkling piano on ‘Smackwater Jack.’ Rest In Peace and love.”
#RalphSchuckett was a sweet guy, a great friend,...
- 4/7/2021
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Virgil Films has acquired the worldwide rights to 7 Yards: The Chris Norton Story, which tells the true, viral tale of a college football player who rebuilds his life in spectacular fashion after a devastating on-field injury.
The film will be released through on-demand platforms in February.
Norton was 18 when he suffered a spinal cord injury during a football game at Luther College in Decorah, Ia. Doctors gave him almost zero chance of ever moving again, and he began years of intense medical therapy and physical training. Norton’s triumph over his injury became a viral sensation in 2015 after he successfully walked across the college graduation stage with the help of his fiancée, Emily. (Check out a video clip above.)
The couple then set the ambitious goal of walking seven yards, side by side, down the aisle at their 2018 wedding. Video of Norton’s graduation walk has been viewed more...
The film will be released through on-demand platforms in February.
Norton was 18 when he suffered a spinal cord injury during a football game at Luther College in Decorah, Ia. Doctors gave him almost zero chance of ever moving again, and he began years of intense medical therapy and physical training. Norton’s triumph over his injury became a viral sensation in 2015 after he successfully walked across the college graduation stage with the help of his fiancée, Emily. (Check out a video clip above.)
The couple then set the ambitious goal of walking seven yards, side by side, down the aisle at their 2018 wedding. Video of Norton’s graduation walk has been viewed more...
- 1/12/2021
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s been three decades since Ringo Starr founded his All Starr supergroup and took the stage with some of rock and roll’s biggest luminaries, creating an exceptional legacy of performances of some of the greatest hits of all time culled from Starr’s extraordinary catalog as a solo artist and as Beatle, as well as the All Starr Band members’ substantive songbook.
In celebration of this milestone, and just in time for the holiday season, a new limited-edition retrospective hardcover book titled “Ringo Rocks: 30 Years Of The All Starrs,” will be sold online exclusively beginning Wednesday, December 16 at juliensauctions.com.
This not to be missed commemorative photo memoir features some never-before-seen photos of the All Starr Band’s 30 record-setting years in the spotlight and life on the road, compiled by Henry Diltz and Jill Jarrett (who have followed Ringo Starr’s All Starr career since 1989), as well as...
In celebration of this milestone, and just in time for the holiday season, a new limited-edition retrospective hardcover book titled “Ringo Rocks: 30 Years Of The All Starrs,” will be sold online exclusively beginning Wednesday, December 16 at juliensauctions.com.
This not to be missed commemorative photo memoir features some never-before-seen photos of the All Starr Band’s 30 record-setting years in the spotlight and life on the road, compiled by Henry Diltz and Jill Jarrett (who have followed Ringo Starr’s All Starr career since 1989), as well as...
- 12/22/2020
- Look to the Stars
Bruce Springsteen might never get old, but he sure as hell isn’t getting any younger. Seventy-one this past September and fresh off a sublime Broadway run that saw him burnish his own myth by stepping out of its shadow, the Boss still looks like he’s 45, reflects on the past like he’s 90, and plays the guitar like he’s immortal. And yet time is catching up with him all the same, if only through his friends. E Street Band co-founder Danny Federici died in 2008, followed by saxophonist Clarence Clemons in 2011; when former Castiles legend George Theiss succumbed to lung cancer in 2018, Springsteen became the last surviving member of his first band.
In the twilight of a career that’s always been punctuated by songs that sound like ghost stories of one kind or another — “The River,” “The Rising,” and “American Skin (41 Shots)” are just a handful of a hundred examples,...
In the twilight of a career that’s always been punctuated by songs that sound like ghost stories of one kind or another — “The River,” “The Rising,” and “American Skin (41 Shots)” are just a handful of a hundred examples,...
- 10/16/2020
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Over the past half a century, Bruce Springsteen has played down-on-their-luck working men, wide-eyed youngsters growing up too quickly, local-circuit rockers who can only dream of playing stadiums, Cadillac ranchers tearin’ up the highway for cheap kicks, and on and on in his songs. Although he was playing roles in his songs, the same sense of hope for the future and desire to live a simpler life has connected his characters since the beginning, and those threads have only become more apparent as time has gone on. Now on his 20th album,...
- 10/15/2020
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
For a movie in which the world could end at any moment, “Bill & Ted Face the Music” is awfully sweet and cheery.
And for that, we have to thank Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan, who 30 years ago were the sweetest and cheeriest of teen heroes and are now hanging onto that into middle age. They’re not the smartest of heroes, of course, but they know what works for them: As Ted says at one point in this movie, “Maybe we should always not know what we’re doing!”
But “Bill & Ted Face the Music” does know what it’s doing, which is to preserve the essence of the characters played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves even as it dumps a most unpleasant midlife crisis and an even more heinous threat to reality as we know on their still-shaggy heads.
Written by original “Bill...
And for that, we have to thank Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan, who 30 years ago were the sweetest and cheeriest of teen heroes and are now hanging onto that into middle age. They’re not the smartest of heroes, of course, but they know what works for them: As Ted says at one point in this movie, “Maybe we should always not know what we’re doing!”
But “Bill & Ted Face the Music” does know what it’s doing, which is to preserve the essence of the characters played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves even as it dumps a most unpleasant midlife crisis and an even more heinous threat to reality as we know on their still-shaggy heads.
Written by original “Bill...
- 8/27/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Betty Wright, the R&b and soul singer behind the hits “Clean Up Woman,” “Tonight Is the Night” and “Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do,” has died at the age of 66.
Wright’s family confirmed to Essence that the singer died Sunday, with Billboard adding that Wright died from cancer in her native Miami. On May 2nd, Chaka Khan tweeted that Wright was “in need of all your [prayers].”
After growing up in a gospel-singing family, Wright released her first solo album — 1967’s My First Time Around — when she was just 14 years old,...
Wright’s family confirmed to Essence that the singer died Sunday, with Billboard adding that Wright died from cancer in her native Miami. On May 2nd, Chaka Khan tweeted that Wright was “in need of all your [prayers].”
After growing up in a gospel-singing family, Wright released her first solo album — 1967’s My First Time Around — when she was just 14 years old,...
- 5/10/2020
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
The newest chapter in Bruce Springsteen’s monthly live concert download series is a show he played at New Jersey’s Brendan Byrne Arena on July 9th, 1981. The show can be downloaded on MP3 for $9.95 ($12.95 for lossless) and all net proceeds will be given to the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund.
The concert took place at the beginning of the third and final U.S. leg of The River tour when Springsteen and the E Street Band played six consecutive nights at the newly-opened Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford,...
The concert took place at the beginning of the third and final U.S. leg of The River tour when Springsteen and the E Street Band played six consecutive nights at the newly-opened Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford,...
- 5/1/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
The newest release from Bruce Springsteen’s monthly concert download series is a gig he played with the E Street Band in Gothenburg, Sweden, on July 28th, 2012.
It was a special, rain-soaked show that featured tour premieres of “Lost in the Flood,” “Frankie,” “Where the Bands Are” and “Jungleland.”
The emotional highpoint of the evening was “Jungleland.” It hadn’t been played since Clarence Clemons died the previous year and many fans presumed it was the one song that would never be done without him. “As you know, Clarence was a special part of Sweden,...
It was a special, rain-soaked show that featured tour premieres of “Lost in the Flood,” “Frankie,” “Where the Bands Are” and “Jungleland.”
The emotional highpoint of the evening was “Jungleland.” It hadn’t been played since Clarence Clemons died the previous year and many fans presumed it was the one song that would never be done without him. “As you know, Clarence was a special part of Sweden,...
- 4/6/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
A 2019 video of Robbie Robertson playing “The Weight” with Ringo Starr and musicians from all over the world went viral again this week for reasons that aren’t quite clear, but maybe people isolated in their homes just needed something uplifting to watch. “This started circulating on Twitter again a couple days ago,” Robertson wrote on Facebook on Monday. “Hopefully it can bring the Fb community a bit of joy in these difficult times. Blessings to all.”
It wasn’t the first time that Ringo had performed a Band classic...
It wasn’t the first time that Ringo had performed a Band classic...
- 3/24/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Over the decades, a diverse array of musicians sat in with the Grateful Dead — everyone from Bob Dylan and Neil Young to Ornette Coleman and Daryl Hall and John Oates found themselves on the same stage with the band, attempting to fit in as best they could. But even in light of that list, Clarence Clemons remains one of their more surprising jam pals.
When the E Street Band went on hiatus at the end of the Eighties, Clemons, who by then had moved to the Bay Area, went in...
When the E Street Band went on hiatus at the end of the Eighties, Clemons, who by then had moved to the Bay Area, went in...
- 3/10/2020
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
The latest release in Bruce Springsteen’s ongoing live download series is a show he played with the E Street Band at Long Island, New York’s Nassau Coliseum on May 4th, 2009. This was the first leg of the Working on a Dream tour and it features many live rarities including “Kingdom of Days,” “Rendezvous,” “The Wrestler” and a cover of the 1967 Soul Survivors classic “Expressway to Your Heart.” The show marks the only time Springsteen has ever played it live.
Early in the show, Springsteen spoke about the connection...
Early in the show, Springsteen spoke about the connection...
- 2/7/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Up until late Saturday afternoon, the odds of Bruce Springsteen showing up at the annual Asbury Park charity concert Light of Day seemed pretty miniscule. He was a regular (unannounced) guest at the show – which raises money to fight Parkinson’s Disease – most every year from its inception in 2000 through 2015, but he missed the past four consecutive shows. This year, he was booked to host an equestrian event in Wellington, Florida 24 hours before the start of the Light of Day festivities. Making matters worse, a winter storm just happened to...
- 1/19/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: A documentary about the problematic legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge told through the perspective of its then-closeted gay star Mark Patton has been acquired by Virgil Films & Entertainment.
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street recounts Patton’s difficulties making the 1985 horror sequel, which put him through a range of salacious on-screen ordeals designed to whet the homophobic appetites (conscious or otherwise) of 1980s audiences. Directed by Jack Sholder and written by Scott Chaskin based on Wes Craven’s characters, the film was shot for just a few million dollars but grossed $30 million, extending what would become a half-billion-dollar global franchise.
Critics largely dismissed Freddy’s Revenge, but in the decades since, the film’s unique status as an unintended cultural artifact has made it something of a cult classic. The Advocate has described it as “the gayest horror film ever made.”
Virgil,...
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street recounts Patton’s difficulties making the 1985 horror sequel, which put him through a range of salacious on-screen ordeals designed to whet the homophobic appetites (conscious or otherwise) of 1980s audiences. Directed by Jack Sholder and written by Scott Chaskin based on Wes Craven’s characters, the film was shot for just a few million dollars but grossed $30 million, extending what would become a half-billion-dollar global franchise.
Critics largely dismissed Freddy’s Revenge, but in the decades since, the film’s unique status as an unintended cultural artifact has made it something of a cult classic. The Advocate has described it as “the gayest horror film ever made.”
Virgil,...
- 1/9/2020
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
In 2014, Jack Antonoff began hosting a yearly concert for the Ally Coalition, a non-profit started by his band Fun. that provides funding to on-the-ground organizations who support at-risk Lgbtq youth. Over the past half-dozen years, Antonoff’s Ally Coalition Talent Show has blossomed into a star-studded night of surprise musical collaboration, with previous special guests and performers including Taylor Swift, the National, Kacey Musgraves, Lana Del Rey and Lorde.
Thursday night’s show was no different (“Our best year yet,” Antonoff said at the conclusion), featuring mini-sets from Jason Isbell...
Thursday night’s show was no different (“Our best year yet,” Antonoff said at the conclusion), featuring mini-sets from Jason Isbell...
- 12/13/2019
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
On December 7th, 2010, about 60 lucky Bruce Springsteen fans crammed into the Carousel House on the Asbury Park boardwalk to watch a special live concert of songs from the new Darkness on the Edge of Town box set The Promise. It was the last time Springsteen would play with Clarence Clemons, the E Street Band’s saxophonist. Clemons died in of complications resulting from a stoke in 2011.
The last song the band played was “Blue Christmas” — a sad tune about missing your loved ones at Christmas. Clemons had to sit throughout...
The last song the band played was “Blue Christmas” — a sad tune about missing your loved ones at Christmas. Clemons had to sit throughout...
- 12/12/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
In a March 6, 1973, review of Blood, Sweat & Tears at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Variety briefly praised the opening act: Bruce Springsteen was “a young man with a hot guitar from Asbury Park, N.J.” If you substitute the word “ageless” for “young” — the Boss turned 70 on Sept. 23 — the description still fits.
Springsteen’s first mention in Variety occurred when reviewer Fred Kirby caught a 65-minute set at Kenny’s Castaways in New York and accurately predicted, “Bruce Springsteen, 22, appears ready to make his impact.” Just three years later, Variety noted that the singer-songwriter “hits it big with front covers this week on both Time and Newsweek. It’s the first time in recent memory that a pop artist has been doubly front-paged.” Springsteen’s documentary “Western Stars” debuted Sept. 12 at the Toronto Film Festival, and Warner Bros. opens it wide Oct. 25.
In Variety’s Jan. 7, 1976, anniversary issue, Kirby summed...
Springsteen’s first mention in Variety occurred when reviewer Fred Kirby caught a 65-minute set at Kenny’s Castaways in New York and accurately predicted, “Bruce Springsteen, 22, appears ready to make his impact.” Just three years later, Variety noted that the singer-songwriter “hits it big with front covers this week on both Time and Newsweek. It’s the first time in recent memory that a pop artist has been doubly front-paged.” Springsteen’s documentary “Western Stars” debuted Sept. 12 at the Toronto Film Festival, and Warner Bros. opens it wide Oct. 25.
In Variety’s Jan. 7, 1976, anniversary issue, Kirby summed...
- 9/27/2019
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Blinded by the Light co-writer/director Gurinder Chadha knows firsthand what it feels like to be an outsider. Born in Kenya when the country was a British colony, she grew up part of the Indian/Asian diaspora who made their way from East Africa to London. For that reason, the 59-year-old’s movies has always dealt with the immigrant experience, and her latest is no different, telling the story of a Muslim Pakistani teenager growing up in Thatcher’s England whose narrowly structured life is saved when he’s turned on to the music of Bruce Springsteen during the late ‘80s National Front/dole queue era. It serves as a poignant parallel to the xenophobia of today.
Likewise, Chadha is a huge Springsteen fan, who pursued her dream of making a movie about The Boss’ music based on the true-life memoir of co-writer (and fellow diehard) Sarfraz Manzoor. It took...
Likewise, Chadha is a huge Springsteen fan, who pursued her dream of making a movie about The Boss’ music based on the true-life memoir of co-writer (and fellow diehard) Sarfraz Manzoor. It took...
- 8/17/2019
- by Roy Trakin
- Variety Film + TV
It would be easy to assume that the new movie Blinded by the Light — which squeezes maximum uplift out of the tale of a 1980s British-Pakistani teen in the gritty U.K. town of Luton who finds liberation in the music of Bruce Springsteen — is part of the current Hollywood wave of classic-rock-sploitation (Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, Yesterday, and soon, no doubt, Styx and Kansas biopics). In reality, while the trend certainly didn’t hurt its buzz at Sundance earlier this year, Blinded by the Light is a low-budget British independent film,...
- 8/16/2019
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
Bruce Springsteen was the guest of honor at the Wednesday night (Aug. 7) premiere of “Blinded by The Light” at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Springsteen walked the red carpet with his wife, Patti Scialfa, and stopped to take a photo with stars Viveik Kaira and Aaron Phagura, writer/director/producer Gurinder Chadha, and screenwriter/author Sarfraz Manzoor, whose story is the basis of the film.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was seated inside the theatre with 1,500 guests to screen the movie, which is set for release on Aug. 16. The film follows a Pakistani-British teenager and his life-changing journey through Springsteen’s music.
“It was so cool watching it with Bruce,” Chadha said to the audience. “We want the whole world to understand the music and the words of Bruce Springsteen. … The reason why I wanted to make this film is because of what is happening in the world.
Springsteen walked the red carpet with his wife, Patti Scialfa, and stopped to take a photo with stars Viveik Kaira and Aaron Phagura, writer/director/producer Gurinder Chadha, and screenwriter/author Sarfraz Manzoor, whose story is the basis of the film.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was seated inside the theatre with 1,500 guests to screen the movie, which is set for release on Aug. 16. The film follows a Pakistani-British teenager and his life-changing journey through Springsteen’s music.
“It was so cool watching it with Bruce,” Chadha said to the audience. “We want the whole world to understand the music and the words of Bruce Springsteen. … The reason why I wanted to make this film is because of what is happening in the world.
- 8/8/2019
- by Michele Amabile Angermiller
- Variety Film + TV
Rolling Stone, in partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures, hosted a special screening and panel discussion for Blinded by the Light — which opens in wide release in the U.K. on August 9th and in the U.S. on August 16th — in New York City on Tuesday night. Following a screening the upcoming 1980s period drama featuring the music of Bruce Springsteen, Rolling Stone senior writer Brian Hiatt sat down with director Gurinder Chadha and screenwriter Sarfraz Manzoor. Hiatt’s book, Bruce Springsteen: The Stories Behind the Songs, tells the tales...
- 8/7/2019
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Truly Tasteless Jokes, a series of slim paperbacks that became a publishing juggernaut in the 1980s, is the subject of a new documentary feature just acquired by Virgil Films.
Tasteless, directed by Jeff Cerulli and Matt Ritter, traces the history of not only the books themselves but the way the material — much of it crude and controversial — has aged over the decades. The author of the books, Ashton Applewhite (who used the pen name Blanche Knott), later became a feminist and activist. She conceived of the original volume while making $8,500 a year as an entry-level employee in book publishing.
In a 2011 reminiscence she wrote for Harper’s magazine, titled “Being Blanche,” Applewhite reprised many of the jokes that filled the books, the first of which was the best-selling mass-market title of 1983. The punchlines started fairly PG-rated — “What’s the difference between garbage and a girl from New Jersey? Garbage...
Tasteless, directed by Jeff Cerulli and Matt Ritter, traces the history of not only the books themselves but the way the material — much of it crude and controversial — has aged over the decades. The author of the books, Ashton Applewhite (who used the pen name Blanche Knott), later became a feminist and activist. She conceived of the original volume while making $8,500 a year as an entry-level employee in book publishing.
In a 2011 reminiscence she wrote for Harper’s magazine, titled “Being Blanche,” Applewhite reprised many of the jokes that filled the books, the first of which was the best-selling mass-market title of 1983. The punchlines started fairly PG-rated — “What’s the difference between garbage and a girl from New Jersey? Garbage...
- 7/8/2019
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
"Find your own true destiny and purpose in this life, while the book is still open..." Virgil Films has debuted the trailer for Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am?, a documentary about musician Clarence Clemons. Also known as "The Big Man", Clarence played saxophone and was a part of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band for many years. This new Who Do I Think I Am? (I like the twist from "who do you" to "I") documentary highlights the life of the beloved E Street band member, while also showing another side not many saw when he was away from stage. "It's an intimate portrait of a man who searched for enlightenment at the unknowingly final years of his life." With the help of producer Joe Amodei, the film has become more than just a document of Clarence's spiritual journey - it's biography for his life and...
- 6/23/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen’s longtime saxophonist, is set to be the subject of a documentary feature that will arrive this summer.
For 40 years, Clemons was a widely celebrated musician, playing with Springsteen until his death in 2011. Directed by friend and filmmaker Nick Mead, Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am? shows a different side to the legendary member of the E Street Band, not only chronicling his career with Springsteen, but the “transcendent awakening” he experienced before his death when Mead joined him in China after the E Street Band’s 2003 Rising tour.
For 40 years, Clemons was a widely celebrated musician, playing with Springsteen until his death in 2011. Directed by friend and filmmaker Nick Mead, Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am? shows a different side to the legendary member of the E Street Band, not only chronicling his career with Springsteen, but the “transcendent awakening” he experienced before his death when Mead joined him in China after the E Street Band’s 2003 Rising tour.
- 6/9/2019
- by Ilana Kaplan
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Clarence Clemons, the celebrated saxophonist who played with Bruce Springsteen for 40 years before his death in 2011, is the subject of a documentary feature that will get a theatrical and home entertainment release this summer.
Virgil Films & Entertainment, which has released films like the Oscar-nominated Glen Campbell … I’ll Be Me, is producing and handling theatrical and digital for Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am? Music Video Distributors will put out the DVD of the film August 17, day-and-date with digital, after a July theatrical run in select cities.
Featuring interviews with President Bill Clinton, Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren and Jake Clemons, among many others, the film details Clemons’ life as a musician and member of Springsteen’s E Street Band. But rather than staying in the usual music-doc groove, the film also explores Clemons’ spiritual quest later in his life. Director Nick Mead traveled to China with Clemons,...
Virgil Films & Entertainment, which has released films like the Oscar-nominated Glen Campbell … I’ll Be Me, is producing and handling theatrical and digital for Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am? Music Video Distributors will put out the DVD of the film August 17, day-and-date with digital, after a July theatrical run in select cities.
Featuring interviews with President Bill Clinton, Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren and Jake Clemons, among many others, the film details Clemons’ life as a musician and member of Springsteen’s E Street Band. But rather than staying in the usual music-doc groove, the film also explores Clemons’ spiritual quest later in his life. Director Nick Mead traveled to China with Clemons,...
- 6/7/2019
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
My new book, Bruce Springsteen: The Stories Behind the Songs, tells the tales behind every officially released studio recording of Bruce Springsteen’s career so far. In addition to my years of Springsteen reporting, including five interviews with the man himself, the book draws on over 60 hours of brand-new interviews with musicians, producers, and other collaborators from throughout his career (including Max Weinberg, Roy Bittan, Nils Lofgren, Soozie Tyrell, Tom Morello, David Sancious and many, many more). I’m proud to debut this exclusive excerpt here at Rolling Stone, where...
- 3/31/2019
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
Ringo Starr is hitting the road next year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his All Starr Band. Joining him will be Toto’s Steve Lukather, Santana’s Gregg Rolie, Men at Work’s Colin Hay, multi-instrumentalist Warren Ham, drummer Gregg Bissonette and Hamish Stuart. It’s essentially the same lineup as the 2018 All Starr Band, though Stuart (who toured as an All Starr in 2006 and 2008) is taking the place of 10cc’s Graham Gouldman.
The All Starr Band tours began in the summer of 1989 when Ringo went out with Joe Walsh,...
The All Starr Band tours began in the summer of 1989 when Ringo went out with Joe Walsh,...
- 11/12/2018
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
It’s hard not to worry a little about Bruce Springsteen. He revealed in his memoir last year that he’s battled depression on and off for decades. And in recent photos (if you’re the kind of fan who notices such things), he looks, well, haunted. Is it just the state-of-the-world despair that’s going around these days? Or something darker?
Springsteen on Broadway, his extraordinary new stage production, won’t set your mind at ease. Dressed all in black, the showman known for exuberant stadium marathons delivers a two-hour performance — part storytelling, part singing — almost entirely without cracking a smile.
Springsteen on Broadway, his extraordinary new stage production, won’t set your mind at ease. Dressed all in black, the showman known for exuberant stadium marathons delivers a two-hour performance — part storytelling, part singing — almost entirely without cracking a smile.
- 10/17/2017
- by Kim Hubbard
- PEOPLE.com
"You talkin' to me?"
It's the 40th anniversary of "Taxi Driver" (released on February 8, 1976), the movie that gave Robert De Niro his most famous line, put Martin Scorsese on the map, proved that the pre-teen Jodie Foster was an Oscar-worthy thespian, and (most notoriously) was cited by John Hinckley as an inspiration for his assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
In honor of the film's anniversary, here are 25 things you need to know about how Travis Bickle came to be.
1. The script, by Paul Schrader (pictured, left), was semi-autobiographical. After a divorce and a break-up with a girlfriend, he wrote the movie while living in his car, feeling suicidal, obsessing about guns and pornography, and having spoken to no one for weeks. As he recalled in 2013, "Taxi Driver" was "an exorcism through art," and it worked.
2. Martin Scorsese saw the script as early as 1972, but didn't yet have the clout to make it,...
It's the 40th anniversary of "Taxi Driver" (released on February 8, 1976), the movie that gave Robert De Niro his most famous line, put Martin Scorsese on the map, proved that the pre-teen Jodie Foster was an Oscar-worthy thespian, and (most notoriously) was cited by John Hinckley as an inspiration for his assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
In honor of the film's anniversary, here are 25 things you need to know about how Travis Bickle came to be.
1. The script, by Paul Schrader (pictured, left), was semi-autobiographical. After a divorce and a break-up with a girlfriend, he wrote the movie while living in his car, feeling suicidal, obsessing about guns and pornography, and having spoken to no one for weeks. As he recalled in 2013, "Taxi Driver" was "an exorcism through art," and it worked.
2. Martin Scorsese saw the script as early as 1972, but didn't yet have the clout to make it,...
- 2/5/2016
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
I bought it for myself, but this was my Christmas present, arriving in the mail from England on Christmas Eve: a fifteen-cd set containing five epic Springsteen concerts from the legendary Darkness on the Edge of Town tour. When the Cleveland deejay who emceed the show for Wmms-fm introduced the band by saying, "Round for round, pound for pound, there ain’t no finer band around," he wasn't just rhyming, he was telling the truth.
Why, you ask, did this set come from England? Well, it's an unauthorized collection of bootlegs, but in Europe, radio recordings are public domain, so this is actually a legal release.
The word went out through the fan network I ordered it on Amazon U.K. before the release date. Perhaps Bruce doesn't get a penny out of this, but I've seen it suggested that writers' royalties would still have to be paid. Either way,...
Why, you ask, did this set come from England? Well, it's an unauthorized collection of bootlegs, but in Europe, radio recordings are public domain, so this is actually a legal release.
The word went out through the fan network I ordered it on Amazon U.K. before the release date. Perhaps Bruce doesn't get a penny out of this, but I've seen it suggested that writers' royalties would still have to be paid. Either way,...
- 1/16/2016
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Late last Saturday night, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey said their goodnights on SNL and threw it to Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, who belted out a rousing version of "Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town." Everyone on stage looked absolutely giddy, from Maya Rudolph dancing around in a fabulous cocktail dress to Kenan Thompson, singing the late Clarence Clemons' old "better be good for goodness' sake" part. By the time Little Steven Van Zandt waved surprise guest Paul McCartney over to his microphone, the whole performance started to feel like a benediction.
- 12/21/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Music and Sex: Scenes from a life - A novel in progress by Roman AkLeff (first installment can be read here; second here (the last paragraph of which was moved into this part).
After the show, Walter took Norman to the West End, where Norman marveled at the broad beer selection. As they slowly worked their way through a small percentage of the fifty-plus on offer, Walter lamented how inferior college was making him feel.
"Screw that," rejoined Norman. "Just have fun and keep learning and next year's freshmen will feel inferior to you. If you already knew everything, you wouldn't have to go to college in the first place. Don't tell me about that, tell me about all the cool stuff you've been doing."
"Well, during orientation there was a great band playing outside for free called So What. I know you're not that into fusion, but they were hot.
After the show, Walter took Norman to the West End, where Norman marveled at the broad beer selection. As they slowly worked their way through a small percentage of the fifty-plus on offer, Walter lamented how inferior college was making him feel.
"Screw that," rejoined Norman. "Just have fun and keep learning and next year's freshmen will feel inferior to you. If you already knew everything, you wouldn't have to go to college in the first place. Don't tell me about that, tell me about all the cool stuff you've been doing."
"Well, during orientation there was a great band playing outside for free called So What. I know you're not that into fusion, but they were hot.
- 1/26/2015
- by RomanAkLeff
- www.culturecatch.com
New York (AP) — Kiss made up, but its music went unheard. Nirvana used four women rockers to sing Kurt Cobain's songs. And Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band — predictably — turned its honor into a marathon. The three acts were ushered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Thursday in a colorful induction ceremony at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. They were joined by the blue-eyed soul duo Hall & Oates, British rocker Peter Gabriel, 1970s folkie Cat Stevens and the absent Linda Ronstadt. Nirvana was the emotional centerpiece. The trio rooted in the Seattle-area punk rock scene was voted into the hall in its first year of eligibility. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" hit like a thunderclap upon its 1991 release, but the band was done after Kurt Cobain committed suicide 20 years ago this month. "Nirvana fans walk up to me every day and say thank you for the music," said Krist Novoselic,...
- 4/11/2014
- by AP Staff
- Hitfix
source // Uncut
There are few names in the music business who can successfully maintain a level of greatness throughout their career (as unpopularly argued in another article of mine), particularly when the artist in question is a member of the elite of their genre. But for his troubles, and despite a couple of dodgy efforts, Bruce Springsteen is a fully deserving member of such a club.
This month will see the release of the Boss’ eighteenth studio album, High Hopes, and comes as Springsteen and the E Street band are riding on the crest of a wave, following their incredibly successful Wrecking Ball tour. Springsteen has always been a phenomenal live performer, and, despite the deaths of band members Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons, continues to produce a good standard of music, recruiting yet more top musicians to fill the void, whilst leaving emotional and tasteful tributes to his fallen colleagues.
There are few names in the music business who can successfully maintain a level of greatness throughout their career (as unpopularly argued in another article of mine), particularly when the artist in question is a member of the elite of their genre. But for his troubles, and despite a couple of dodgy efforts, Bruce Springsteen is a fully deserving member of such a club.
This month will see the release of the Boss’ eighteenth studio album, High Hopes, and comes as Springsteen and the E Street band are riding on the crest of a wave, following their incredibly successful Wrecking Ball tour. Springsteen has always been a phenomenal live performer, and, despite the deaths of band members Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons, continues to produce a good standard of music, recruiting yet more top musicians to fill the void, whilst leaving emotional and tasteful tributes to his fallen colleagues.
- 1/7/2014
- by Stephen Kennedy
- Obsessed with Film
When Steve Van Zandt's Lilyhammer premiered on Netflix in February of 2012, few people realized it marked the beginning of a brand new era of television. Although the show originally aired in Norway, it was the first time that Netflix offered exclusive content. The experiment worked, paving the way for hugely acclaimed shows like Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards and the long-awaited fourth season of Arrested Development.
See Arrested Development's Funniest Running Jokes
"Netflix completely shook up the world," says Van Zandt. "They've been willing to invest...
See Arrested Development's Funniest Running Jokes
"Netflix completely shook up the world," says Van Zandt. "They've been willing to invest...
- 12/5/2013
- Rollingstone.com
Lilyhammer, Netflix's quirky mob comedy starring E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt, will return for its second season on Friday, December 13th. Van Zandt, a veteran of The Sopranos, stars as fixer Frank Tagliano, who relocates to Lillehammer, Norway after entering the witness protection program. In this advance clip ahead of the series' new episodes, we find Tagliano looking to settle matters after a yellow Ferrari goes missing from the parking lot of his Flamingo nightclub.
See Steven Van Zandt's Favorite Mob Movies
Season Two again finds Tagliano,...
See Steven Van Zandt's Favorite Mob Movies
Season Two again finds Tagliano,...
- 12/3/2013
- Rollingstone.com
Commercials are generally something you fast forward through while watching television. But when they are at least ten years old, they become kitschy and entertaining. Take a break from your Pre-Halloween horror movie marathon and watch some commercials. I've picked ten of the weirdest, funniest, and kitschiest Halloween commercials from the 1990s I could find.
Leslie Nielsen for Coors Light, 1990
Not to be outdone, Miller Lite had their own Halloween party in 1990, with Clarence Clemons
Zima, 1993 - Zima was a long-running joke in the 1990s, notably because of its spokes-douche. Judge for yourself.
Pizza Hut, mid-1990s
Fruity Pebbles, mid 1990s
Dunkin' Donuts, 1995
McDonald's, 1995. Nothing is scarier than that clown.
Toys 'r Us, 1996
Duracell, 1999-ish
This one may have been from the early, early 2000s, but it is quite scary for a candy commercial.
Leslie Nielsen for Coors Light, 1990
Not to be outdone, Miller Lite had their own Halloween party in 1990, with Clarence Clemons
Zima, 1993 - Zima was a long-running joke in the 1990s, notably because of its spokes-douche. Judge for yourself.
Pizza Hut, mid-1990s
Fruity Pebbles, mid 1990s
Dunkin' Donuts, 1995
McDonald's, 1995. Nothing is scarier than that clown.
Toys 'r Us, 1996
Duracell, 1999-ish
This one may have been from the early, early 2000s, but it is quite scary for a candy commercial.
- 10/31/2012
- by Alyse Wax
- FEARnet
New York -- The night busted open in New York City as Bruce Springsteen and other Rock and Roll Hall of Famers helped Steven Van Zandt celebrate his Big Man of the Year award.
Darlene Love, Elvis Costello and Dion were among the performers Tuesday night at a rollicking benefit for Little Kids Rock, an initiative that rescues music education amid public school budget cuts.
Springsteen had some fun while presenting the award – gleefully detailing their roommate days and Van Zandt's lack of housekeeping skills.
"What a liar," Van Zandt retorted with a grin.
Amid the musical blowout, Van Zandt and the other stars discussed the arts' role in fueling young minds and shaping character – tasks accomplished through the thousands of musical instruments and the lessons made possible by Little Kids Rock.
Costello, before going onstage, waxed eloquently on the "mundane and magical" aspects of music, and its transformative effects.
Darlene Love, Elvis Costello and Dion were among the performers Tuesday night at a rollicking benefit for Little Kids Rock, an initiative that rescues music education amid public school budget cuts.
Springsteen had some fun while presenting the award – gleefully detailing their roommate days and Van Zandt's lack of housekeeping skills.
"What a liar," Van Zandt retorted with a grin.
Amid the musical blowout, Van Zandt and the other stars discussed the arts' role in fueling young minds and shaping character – tasks accomplished through the thousands of musical instruments and the lessons made possible by Little Kids Rock.
Costello, before going onstage, waxed eloquently on the "mundane and magical" aspects of music, and its transformative effects.
- 10/18/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
A stage, seats full of international journalists and the “Boss” comprise a new documentary Wrecking Ball, which focuses on Bruce Springsteen’s latest album of the same title and how his life has shaped him as an artist. The video made its debut yesterday via CNN. Springsteen sits center stage as journalists ask questions about the patriotic messages inherent in his music and also also the passing of Clarence Clemons, former saxophonist for the E Street Band....
- 6/19/2012
- Pastemagazine.com
I know what you're thinking. B.o.B. O.A.R. Together at last. And for an Olympic theme song, to boot. The corporate sponsored-song "Champions" has an accompanying video interspersing sports clips with the two artists in the studio and their entourage nodding in the control room. O.A.R. is already known for their songs-with-a-message. It's just that so few of those end with a saxophone line, a la Clarence Clemons. Otherwise, this song seems to have been crafted in a lab, so be inspired at least by the science of entertainment. My favorite part is where Bobby Ray puts his fists up in the...
- 5/8/2012
- Hitfix
Everyone knows that Bruce Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball" tour is on one level a months-long traveling memorial service for saxophone player and Springsteen muse Clarence Clemons, who died last June, and organist Danny Federici, who succumbed to melanoma in 2008. Springsteen has said that he hopes the tour lets the E Street Nation mourn together. It wasn't until I saw the show a second time - and from the legendary "pit," where the blessed few gather and commune, literally at Springsteen's feet right below the stage -- that I understood what a thoroughgoing, transcendent exercise in communal grief and joy it has become.
- 4/27/2012
- by Salon.com
- Huffington Post
Something old (like Michael Jackson's "Human Nature") and something new Taylor Swift's "Safe & Sound") are all sharing space on People Music Editor Chuck Arnold's playlist. Check out what he has to say about the songs - and click the playlist to hear them on Spotify! "Get Right" by Jennifer Lopez I'm not loving the new J.Lo single "Dance Again," but this James Brown-sampling Jam from '05 - the funkiest thing she's ever done - is still righteous. "This Time" by Melanie Fiona This banger kicks off The Mf Life - the stellar second set from this...
- 4/14/2012
- PEOPLE.com
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