Entertainment Writer Rick de Yampert and Fanboy Tom Iacuzio take a look into their crystal ball to see what the future holds for POP CULTURE IN 2009
It's Bono, Biggie and the Boss
Rick de Yampert
"Bono takes time out from saving the world, gets back his old job -- rock music."
"Forget Elvis sightings -- hip-hop fans spy the late Notorious B.I.G."
"Zeppelin gets the Led out again."
"Daytona's Diplo lands Grammy."
Those are just some of the headlines music fans may see, or will see, in the coming year. Here's a look at what's in store on the music scene for 2009:BONO COMES DOWN FROM HIS CROSS. We kid him because we love him.
It's official: U2's new album, "No Line on the Horizon," will be released on March 3. It's the Irish rock band's 12th studio album and their first since 2004's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." (Remember when the Beatles used to rewrite the history of rock with a new album every nine months?)
In recent years, St. Bono has been busy cajoling people, and nations, to contribute cash to his charities that fight AIDS and hunger in Africa. That's truly a noble effort.
It's Bono, Biggie and the Boss
Rick de Yampert
"Bono takes time out from saving the world, gets back his old job -- rock music."
"Forget Elvis sightings -- hip-hop fans spy the late Notorious B.I.G."
"Zeppelin gets the Led out again."
 Diplo |
Those are just some of the headlines music fans may see, or will see, in the coming year. Here's a look at what's in store on the music scene for 2009:BONO COMES DOWN FROM HIS CROSS. We kid him because we love him.
It's official: U2's new album, "No Line on the Horizon," will be released on March 3. It's the Irish rock band's 12th studio album and their first since 2004's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." (Remember when the Beatles used to rewrite the history of rock with a new album every nine months?)
In recent years, St. Bono has been busy cajoling people, and nations, to contribute cash to his charities that fight AIDS and hunger in Africa. That's truly a noble effort.
Meanwhile, U2 fans can fork over mucho doubloons to another charity of Bono and his band mates -- their bank accounts. "Horizon" will be available in 5five different packages, with the priciest -- a "deluxe limited-edition collectors item" -- bum-rushing your wallet for a list price of $95.98. That set includes the CD, two posters, a hard cover book and a DVD of a film by Anton Corbijn.
For that price, I assume Bono will come to my home and do the laundry for a month.
BTW: A new U2 album usually means a new U2 tour. A number of past U2 tours began (and often doubled back and ended) in Florida. Fearless prediction: U2 will step across the Sunshine State's horizon in '09.DIPLO DIPS INTO GRAMMY SCENE.Wes Pentz, a former Daytona area resident, now works as an international club deejay and music producer under the name Diplo. He and M.I.A., that hot Sri Lankan-born pop/hip-hop artist, received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year for "Paper Planes," a song they co-wrote and Diplo produced.
Find out if Diplo scores the hardware when the 51st annual Grammy Awards are televised at 8 p.m. Feb. 8 from Los Angeles (on CBS, Ch. 6).BIGGIE ON BIG SCREEN. "Notorious" is due in theaters on Jan. 16. No, not that 1946 Alfred Hitchcock flick. This "Notorious" is the new bio-pic on the life and death of rapper Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace).
Look for the Biggie bio to be packed with as much intrigue as Hitch's work. After all, any film about Biggie must also address his infamous beef with Tupac Shakur. Both their murders, less than seven months apart in the mid-1990s, remain unsolved.
Whatever the film implies, or fails to address, about their feud is bound to set today's hip-hop world aflame.Pearl Jam counts to "Ten" -- and then some. St. Bono, all is forgiven. Compared to Pearl Jam, you are a Mother Teresa and you live by eating fried flour. Pearl Jam has announced their 1991 debut album, "Ten," will be reissued in four new and expanded editions. Fans can pre-order the "super deluxe edition" now through the band's Ten Club at pearljam.com.
All four editions will be available at retail on March 24. Price tag for the deluxe set at the P-Jam Web site: $140. Yes, the deluxe includes two CDs, one DVD, four vinyl LPs and one cassette. But I assume that price also includes lawn service at my home by Eddie Vedder for a year.THE BOSS -- A WORKING CLASS HERO.Bruce Springsteen's new album, "Working on a Dream," is due out Jan. 27, and will be available in deluxe and regular versions. Price tag for the deluxe: $22.98, with Amazon's pre-order price currently discounting it to $12.99.
Hey Bruce, that dream you're working on? I hope it's not to fob uber-priced deluxe sets on your fans.WILL LED ZEPPELIN FLY AGAIN?Like a lead balloon, most likely. Ever since Led Zeppelin performed a one-show reunion at the end of 2007, rumors have flown that the band would regroup and again pillage the world during a full-fledged tour.
But reluctant singer Robert Plant told the press yet again last week that he'd rather stick to singing gothic bluegrass with Alison Krauss (their album "Raising Sand" received five Grammy nominations).
Meanwhile, rumors are flying that Zep guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones are shopping for a singer to step in for Plant. Among the rumored possibilities: Aerosmith's Steven Tyler or Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy.
Jones told the press: "Robert doesn't want to do this, at least for the moment. He really doesn't want to make loud music anymore. We do."
Will Alter-Zep or Aero-Zep be coming to a nearby venue?
Oscar for Heath, a howl for Del Toro
Tom Iacuzio
Today we welcome the New Year, and for most of us that means exciting new things we are looking forward to in pop culture.
From Biggie and Bono to "Watchmen" and "The Wolf Man," here is a look at what we're waiting for in 2009.
HEATH LEDGER'S OSCARAfter watching "The Dark Knight" twice since buying the DVD, bringing my total viewings to four, I am more convinced than ever that Ledger deserves to bring home a trophy for best supporting actor when the Oscars are presented in February.
His performance tour de force as the Joker stands out in this writer's mind as not just the best acting job performance of the year but he could go donewn as quite possibly one of the best acting jobs performances ever. The way Ledger disappeared into the role was astounding. That wasn't an actor up there terrorizing Gotham City, it was the Joker. And you can be sure that all the hype that surrounded the role will translate into an Oscar.
LOOKING OVER THE "WATCHMEN"Barring some earth-shattering catastrophe, The "Watchmen" will be released on March 6. The film based on the classic graphic novel by Alan Moore has found itself is mired in the legal system just months before it's supposed to be open at the box office.
With the film being released by Warner Bros., Fox has stepped in to say that they actually own the release rights to the film and at least temporarily, the courts agree. My guess though, is that both studios know how much money this thing will make so they will surely come to some kind of agreement on the film's release. At least we all hope so.
FERRELL GETS "LOST"Who didn't love "Land of the Lost" growing up? Whether you were a kid in the '70s or were around for the remake in the '90s, the Sid and Marty Krofft classic was one of the best things about Saturday mornings. Now the show is getting the Will Ferrell treatment on the big screen with "Tropic Thunder's" Danny McBride and Anna Friel, formerly of "Pushing Daisies."
Slated for a June 5 release, the film will again follow the lives of three adults people sent back to the land of the dinosaurs and the evil Sleestaks. And yes "Land" lovers, Chaka, the weird talking monkey boy thing, is back too.
AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE "ENEMIES"Independence Day weekend is always a big one at the theaters and this year will be no different. But perhaps the biggest of the bunch is Michael Mann's "Public Enemies," a story about the government's assault on famed criminal John Dillinger and his gang.
If the story alone waisn't enough to make you shell out $10 for a ticket, the cast should help ease the pain caused on the your wallet. Stepping into the role of Dillinger is Capt. Jack Sparrow himself, Johnny Depp. Still not enough? How about watching Depp get chased by Batman?, Eurr, Christian Bale. Thrown in Oscar winner Marion Cotillard with a slew of other recognizable names and you have yourself a surefire hit.
DEL TORO GETS HIS FULL MOONI usually hate remakes but how could you not be intrigued by the idea of Benicio Del Toro as "The Wolf Man?"
Joined by a cast that includes Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving, Del Toro stars as a Lawrence Talbot, a man lured back to his family estate after the disappearance of his brother. in the film to be released The film opens on Nov. 6.
As Talbot searches for the truth, it's pretty obvious to the rest of us that a wolfman is behind it. I mean, it is the title of the film. But be sure that if this film is done right, it could be a new classic.
For that price, I assume Bono will come to my home and do the laundry for a month.
BTW: A new U2 album usually means a new U2 tour. A number of past U2 tours began (and often doubled back and ended) in Florida. Fearless prediction: U2 will step across the Sunshine State's horizon in '09.DIPLO DIPS INTO GRAMMY SCENE.Wes Pentz, a former Daytona area resident, now works as an international club deejay and music producer under the name Diplo. He and M.I.A., that hot Sri Lankan-born pop/hip-hop artist, received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year for "Paper Planes," a song they co-wrote and Diplo produced.
Find out if Diplo scores the hardware when the 51st annual Grammy Awards are televised at 8 p.m. Feb. 8 from Los Angeles (on CBS, Ch. 6).BIGGIE ON BIG SCREEN. "Notorious" is due in theaters on Jan. 16. No, not that 1946 Alfred Hitchcock flick. This "Notorious" is the new bio-pic on the life and death of rapper Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace).
Look for the Biggie bio to be packed with as much intrigue as Hitch's work. After all, any film about Biggie must also address his infamous beef with Tupac Shakur. Both their murders, less than seven months apart in the mid-1990s, remain unsolved.
Whatever the film implies, or fails to address, about their feud is bound to set today's hip-hop world aflame.Pearl Jam counts to "Ten" -- and then some. St. Bono, all is forgiven. Compared to Pearl Jam, you are a Mother Teresa and you live by eating fried flour. Pearl Jam has announced their 1991 debut album, "Ten," will be reissued in four new and expanded editions. Fans can pre-order the "super deluxe edition" now through the band's Ten Club at pearljam.com.
All four editions will be available at retail on March 24. Price tag for the deluxe set at the P-Jam Web site: $140. Yes, the deluxe includes two CDs, one DVD, four vinyl LPs and one cassette. But I assume that price also includes lawn service at my home by Eddie Vedder for a year.THE BOSS -- A WORKING CLASS HERO.Bruce Springsteen's new album, "Working on a Dream," is due out Jan. 27, and will be available in deluxe and regular versions. Price tag for the deluxe: $22.98, with Amazon's pre-order price currently discounting it to $12.99.
Hey Bruce, that dream you're working on? I hope it's not to fob uber-priced deluxe sets on your fans.WILL LED ZEPPELIN FLY AGAIN?Like a lead balloon, most likely. Ever since Led Zeppelin performed a one-show reunion at the end of 2007, rumors have flown that the band would regroup and again pillage the world during a full-fledged tour.
But reluctant singer Robert Plant told the press yet again last week that he'd rather stick to singing gothic bluegrass with Alison Krauss (their album "Raising Sand" received five Grammy nominations).
Meanwhile, rumors are flying that Zep guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones are shopping for a singer to step in for Plant. Among the rumored possibilities: Aerosmith's Steven Tyler or Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy.
Jones told the press: "Robert doesn't want to do this, at least for the moment. He really doesn't want to make loud music anymore. We do."
Will Alter-Zep or Aero-Zep be coming to a nearby venue?
Oscar for Heath, a howl for Del Toro
Tom Iacuzio
Today we welcome the New Year, and for most of us that means exciting new things we are looking forward to in pop culture.
From Biggie and Bono to "Watchmen" and "The Wolf Man," here is a look at what we're waiting for in 2009.
 |
His performance tour de force as the Joker stands out in this writer's mind as not just the best acting job performance of the year but he could go donewn as quite possibly one of the best acting jobs performances ever. The way Ledger disappeared into the role was astounding. That wasn't an actor up there terrorizing Gotham City, it was the Joker. And you can be sure that all the hype that surrounded the role will translate into an Oscar.
LOOKING OVER THE "WATCHMEN"Barring some earth-shattering catastrophe, The "Watchmen" will be released on March 6. The film based on the classic graphic novel by Alan Moore has found itself is mired in the legal system just months before it's supposed to be open at the box office.
With the film being released by Warner Bros., Fox has stepped in to say that they actually own the release rights to the film and at least temporarily, the courts agree. My guess though, is that both studios know how much money this thing will make so they will surely come to some kind of agreement on the film's release. At least we all hope so.
FERRELL GETS "LOST"Who didn't love "Land of the Lost" growing up? Whether you were a kid in the '70s or were around for the remake in the '90s, the Sid and Marty Krofft classic was one of the best things about Saturday mornings. Now the show is getting the Will Ferrell treatment on the big screen with "Tropic Thunder's" Danny McBride and Anna Friel, formerly of "Pushing Daisies."
Slated for a June 5 release, the film will again follow the lives of three adults people sent back to the land of the dinosaurs and the evil Sleestaks. And yes "Land" lovers, Chaka, the weird talking monkey boy thing, is back too.
AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE "ENEMIES"Independence Day weekend is always a big one at the theaters and this year will be no different. But perhaps the biggest of the bunch is Michael Mann's "Public Enemies," a story about the government's assault on famed criminal John Dillinger and his gang.
If the story alone waisn't enough to make you shell out $10 for a ticket, the cast should help ease the pain caused on the your wallet. Stepping into the role of Dillinger is Capt. Jack Sparrow himself, Johnny Depp. Still not enough? How about watching Depp get chased by Batman?, Eurr, Christian Bale. Thrown in Oscar winner Marion Cotillard with a slew of other recognizable names and you have yourself a surefire hit.
DEL TORO GETS HIS FULL MOONI usually hate remakes but how could you not be intrigued by the idea of Benicio Del Toro as "The Wolf Man?"
Joined by a cast that includes Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving, Del Toro stars as a Lawrence Talbot, a man lured back to his family estate after the disappearance of his brother. in the film to be released The film opens on Nov. 6.
As Talbot searches for the truth, it's pretty obvious to the rest of us that a wolfman is behind it. I mean, it is the title of the film. But be sure that if this film is done right, it could be a new classic.
