Via WaPo: Well, kids, the rumor was true, and the Boss will be playing somewhere in the immediate vicinity of the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, along with a crazy lineup of pinko-commie-Islamofascist-fake-America-lib’ral-leftist artists. Start time is T.B.D.2 p.m., and it’ll show on HBO from 7 to 9 that night. The performers list includes the likes of:
Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am and Stevie Wonder. …
Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington will be among those reading historical passages. The Rev. V. Gene Robinson will give the invocation.
I know where I’m spending my Sunday afternoon. I’ll hopefully have some pictures up this time next week, when – oh yeah – I’ll be getting dressed for a little shindig at the Air & Space Museum. Gonna be an awesome weekend.
Via DCist: HBO is taping airing (presumably live) the Opening Celebration for the 56th Presidential Inaugural on Sunday January 18. Rumor is that Springsteen will be headlining, but given that HBO is onboard, even if the Boss skips out, you can bet somebody good will be there. And did I mention that the concert will be on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial? How do you spell badass?
New feature time! Much like VH1’s Where Are They Now?, our own What the Hell Ever Happened to… will track down the celebrities of our youth, using what limited resources are available to us – mostly our devilish good looks, and Wikipedia. The inspiration for this feature was the following music video, which prompted the question you see above: What the hell ever happened to Soul For Real? [So, apparently embedding has been disabled for every version of this video residing in the tubes. It will have to suffice for you to link over to YouTube to watch. Apologies, but seriously, go and watch.]
Soul For Real. Man, what an awesome group. I mean, when I was a kid, they were like Jackson 5 meets Boyz II Men. I remember watching them lip sync Candy Rain on Nickelodeon’s All That when I was a kid. (All That, coincidentally, may be the subject of a future What the Hell Ever Happened to….) They could sing, they could dance, and they were the bomb. I mean what 13-year-old didn’t want to be in a singing and dancing heartthrob group with his older brothers? (Anybody?)
…and then nothing. They had the one song that got them onto a tween-targeted sketch comedy show, but that was it. I for one never heard anything from them again, outside of that song many, many times over the intervening years, thanks to the wonderful (seriously) All That: the Album. I mean, this was the group that kept the teenage-heartthrob-boy-group-who-sing-and-dance vibe going through the early 90s. I won’t say they paved the way for Backstreet, Blackstreet, *NSYNC, and 112, but they definitely performed routine highway maintenance. Find out what happened to this most important one-hit-wonder pop-soul boygroup of the mid-90s, after the jump.
So, a comedian, a politician, and a wrestler walk into a Senate race… looks like Jesse Ventura is running after all. [Wonkette]
The KSK guys are huge Judith Light fans. Really. [KSK]
After moving Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth to make cap room, Elton Brand is a Sixer! The city of Philadelphia is happy, but I’d imagine that Baron Davis is a bit pissed. [ESPN via The 700 Level]
If you are into jazz, there is a ton of stuff going on this week in the D.C. area. [DCist]
And today’s Bill Simmons Real World Story of the Year: Kevin from Season One is running for Congress! The United States Congress! The one in D.C.! (Yes, those are horses you hear behind you, and, yes, Death, Pestilence, Famine, and War are riding them.) [Gawker]
This is as funny as any link we will ever post on Culturegeist, in my humble opinion. I won’t tell you what’s on the other side of it, but I promise it’s safe for work and it has no volume… until you start laughing. [USA Today]
This guy will be the first person on the planet with an iPhone 3G. That either makes him very cool or absolutely, tragically not at all cool. I’ll let you decide. [Gizmodo]
Last night, Adam Eaton sucked for the Phillies. Just ask him. [The 700 Level]
You know the whole pay-what-you-want thing for music that’s doing so well for artists like NIN and Radiohead? Let’s just say Oasis isn’t on that bandwagon and Noel Gallagher has strong thoughts on the issue. (I’m sure you’re all shocked.) [NME via OhNoTheyDidn’t]
A few months ago, a friend and I were talking about NBA free agency. He said the Sixers should go after Elton Brand. I agreed, but said that there was no way it would work out for cap reasons and, frankly, why the hell would Brand want to play in Philly? Well, then the Sixers had a mini-resurrection, made a plan to clear cap space, and now they think Brand might sign. [ESPN]
And one more serious note… Sometimes we take that whole First Amendment thing for granted… and then we read a story about political bloggers in Egypt being tortured and killed. Ugh. [Daily KOS]
I’m honestly kind of played out on fireworks. The coolest thing about them at this point is the kids’ amazement at the big booms and colorful sparks. This firefighting stuff in So-Cal, though, seriously cool stuff. [The Big Picture via Gizmodo]
What do we want? FiOS! When do we want it? As soon as practicably possible! Yeah! [Examiner via DCist]
You wouldn’t think that making city streets safer for pedestrians would be a contentious issue. It’s actually not. Just don’t tell that to the Post, who just ran another stock “War on Commuters” piece. Let’s take them to task, shall we? [Greater Greater Washington]
Twenty-Five Great Historical Events! (As depicted by five-year-olds.) [Cracked]
Name your own price is all the rage with new albums apparently. That and giving it away for free. [Girl Talk; NIN]
Contrary to some of today’s posts, we’re all class here at Culturegeist. And to prove that, enjoy a preview of July’s theatre offerings in the D.C. area. [DCist]
I’ve had Weezer’s newest effort, Weezer (The Red Album) for a month now and I can’t decide if I love it or hate it. Rob Harvilla has written a review that does a great job of describing how the album ranges “from terrible to terribly affecting.” [The Village Voice]
We all depend too much on Wikipedia. You do it, I do it… it’s just so easy. Well, sometimes things like this can happen. And no, Steve Jobs is not actually the second coming of Jesus Christ. [Macenstein with credit to Culturegeist Field Reporter TheFuture]
If you’re a political dork, Slate’s “Choose Your Own Running Mate” interactive feature is as fun as it sounds. If you’re not a political dork… it’s probably just as fun as it sounds to you too. [Slate]
Very, very sneaky! Silly gays and their subversive attempts at holy matrimony! A couple of guys in Virginia decided to cheat the system by… asking politely for a marriage license… and it worked (for a while anyway)! [Wonkette]
And just to bring the day full circle, another link to the magical (?) story about Mutt and Ginny. [OhNoTheyDidn't]
Wasn’t that fun? Another busy weekend for me and AL. Not only did we manage everything on the Weekending, we also managed to get royally sunburned (or at least I did). At any rate, this weekend saw…
the D.C. and L.A. premieres of a truly wonderful documentary about the 2006 Homeless World Cup, Kicking It. Seriously, if you live in the District, get down to E Street and watch, even if you don’t like soccer. Or Homeless People.
the OuterNational Music Tour’s stop at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in scenic Columbia, Md. And rain. Lots of rain. Right in the middle of TV on the Radio’s set. Good times, nonetheless. I’ve never really listened to Thievery Corporation or Ladytron, but they weren’t bad – definitely better suited to a club setting than the big, open, outdoor vista. Though I think that there was plenty of chemical indulgence going on regardless of the venue.
and the highlight of the weekend, D.C. United’s utter dismantling of David and the Beckhams. 4-1. The Black-and-Red head into their “international break” with an even .500 record at 7-7-1, and sit 8 points shy of the top of the table, even after their completely abysmal start to the campaign. They have one league match scheduled for the month of July, and it’s a makeup game against Houston that was deluged out originally. United will be occupying their time playing in the SuperLiga, a cash cow joint venture between MLS and the Mexican Premiera Division.
A review of the Dave Matthews Band show I attended at Nissan Pavilion on Saturday. The review is pretty fair, but I might have some thoughts of my own to share later in the day. [InRich]
How the hell do you get a stress fracture in your sternum?!? Everyone is saying the right things at the moment, but this could be bad for Team USA, considering the limited number of bigs on the roster. But, really, more than that… how do you get a stress fracture in your sternum?? [ESPN]
The South will rise again! And by “rise,” I mean “vote for Obama?” Being from the Deep South, I am pretty cynical about any plan he has to win states down there, but Virginia, North Carolina, and even Georgia might really be in play. [NYT via Wonkette]
I love stories about Amy Winehouse. She is absolutely my favorite walking train wreck right now. So… did you see her take a swing at a fan? Really. While you watch, take note of how bad the performance is. It’s really beyond words. [TMZ and TMZ Video]
Saturday was the second birthday of Kissing Suzy Kolber. One day, we hope Culturegeist sees a second birthday, but right now we’re still hoping for a one month anniversary. [KSK]
Here’s a really solid review of Wanted. Take a look at it, because we’re posting a long piece on the film in an hour or two. [UGO]
Have you seen the trailer for Pineapple Express? I don’t want to sound too ridiculous, but when I watched this, I thought it had a chance to be Lebowski-esque. [IMDB]
Finally, just because I’m in a good mood, here’s one of the great Family Guy adaptations. It should totally help you avoid a case of the Mondays.
I meant to work on this more, but I promised you a Weekending, so here it is…
Movies! Documentary about the Homeless World Cup that you may have heard something about somewhere, plus the cutest little robot since R2D2. Kicking It, exclusive to E Street Cinema and WALL-E, playing most everywhere.
Concert of the weekend: Thievery Corporation, Ladytron, TV on the Radio, and more! The OuternationalMusic Tour; Saturday, 5:30 doors, Merriweather Post Pavilion.
This guy David Beckham is in town for some kind of a game where they don’t use their hands. There may be tickets still available even, though 32,000+ have been sold. D.C. United vs. Los Angeles Galaxy; Sunday, Noon, RFK Stadium (ABC).
There you go, kids. Now get out there and enjoy the summer weather before the rains come!
I am a graduate of Lousiana State University. I lived in Orlando in the early 90’s. My favorite athletes are the ones who say too much and who provide post game comments that don’t sound like they were written by their PR person.
So yes… Shaquille O’Neal is, quite simply, my favorite athlete on earth. I love the Big Aristotle, the Big Cactus, the Diesel, Wilt Chamberneezy. I loved when he was dominant on the court and I love what he says off the court… you know, like this stuff (after the jump!):
Can you still call Nats Park “green” if ExxonMobil is a major sponsor? Survey says… [DCist]
As a fan of D.C. United, I want them to build that stadium at Poplar Point. As a fan of sustainable development, I think that United and the city can work out a way to build the stadium that will benefit both the team and the residents east of the river. As a fan of the environment, I think Marc Fisher is full of it. You can expect me to write more on this at some point. [Raw Fisher]
Speaking of soccer, as a fan of the Colts and of the Dutch, how did I let this guy beat me to the punch on this explanation for the Oranje collapse against Russia Saturday? [Dave's Football Blog via Deadspin]
You know you’ve been wondering what this year’s “song of the summer” is. Well, you can stop worrying your pretty little head. Luke Burbank & Co. have done all the heavy lifting for you. And the winner is… [TBTL]
As you all know from my post on Friday, I spent the weekend in Athens, GA with AL at this cool, not-so-little thing they call AthFest. We weren’t down there for the full time, but we were around long enough to get basically a front row spot for the headliner of the weekend, Modern Skirts on Saturday evening. I’d only listened to a little bit of their stuff, and even then, only on Friday afternoon. Still, it was good – really, really good – especially if you’re into Ben Folds-sounding stuff.
Ideally, I’ll have some sort of Weekending post on Fridays going forward, but that will have to wait this weekend because I’m heading to the Dirty South for a wedding, some boozing, and some live tunage. Going to see a band AL likes to talk about down in Athens, GA – called Modern Skirts. From their website:
It all starts with our Charlotte Speed Street Fest apperance on Sat May 24th, then we headline the mainstage at our hometown festival ATHFEST: Athens, GA Music & Arts festival on the night of Sat June 21st. Then, wait a minute it gets even better, we fly over to the UK to perform at the Glastonbury festival on Sat June 28th, open for freakin’ R.E.M. in Amsterdam on Wed July 2nd, play on Thu July 3rd at the Werchter Rock Festival in Belgium (opening for Vampire Weekend, The National), then close it all out with an appearance at the 02 Wireless Festival in London (performing on the MTV stage)in Hyde Park. We’ll be playing to some of the biggest crowds of our short career and are extremely thankful for everyone’s help and support in getting us to this point. Be sure to check out our tour schedule page for more details on the shows.
I haven’t had much of a chance to listen to them yet, but they seem to be getting some good gigs, and I’m seeing ‘em, so give them a listen and let us know what you think. I’ll have my verdicts after the weekend. Enjoy, kids.
UPDATE: After taking my own advice and listening to a few Modern Skirts songs on their website, I’m definitely enjoying the sound. It’s very reminiscent of Ben Folds. So, for those of you who enjoy that particular flavor of music, fire up the old iTunes and start making your ISP mad by clogging those tubes.
Via WaPo: Well, kids, the rumor was true, and the Boss will be playing somewhere in the immediate vicinity of the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, along with a crazy lineup of pinko-commie-Islamofascist-fake-America-lib’ral-leftist artists. Start time is T.B.D. 2 p.m., and it’ll show on HBO from 7 to 9 that night. The performers list includes the likes of:
Posted by The AMT 
Posted by The AMT 
Soul For Real. Man, what an awesome group. I mean, when I was a kid, they were like Jackson 5 meets Boyz II Men. I remember watching them lip sync Candy Rain on Nickelodeon’s All That when I was a kid. (All That, coincidentally, may be the subject of a future What the Hell Ever Happened to….) They could sing, they could dance, and they were the bomb. I mean what 13-year-old didn’t want to be in a singing and dancing heartthrob group with his older brothers? (Anybody?)
Posted by The AMT 
The AMT
Juice