Expelled uses John Lennon’s “Imagine,” doesn't say please
The filmmakers of the documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed have apparently used John Lennon’s “Imagine” without consent. Ben Stein spearheaded the film, which hits select theaters today. In an article from the Wall Street Journal, Yoko Ono’s lawyer said, “It was not licensed. We are exploring all options.” Any legal resolutions are unknown at press time. The filmmakers confirmed that they did use the track without permission, but they insist that their legal counsel told them it was fair use protected under the First Amendment due to the fact that they only used 25 seconds of it. When the initial... read more
Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz team up for Broken Embraces
After the success of their collaboration on Volver (Paste's #6 film of 2006), Pedro Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz are once again working together, this time on a film entitled Los Abrazos Rotos ("Broken Embraces"). "To be specific: Broken Embraces is an original script and it is not inspired by any novel," Almodóvar writes on his blog. "It's inspiration comes from darkness." He goes on to explain that following the promotion of Volver, he suffered a period of persistent migraines and photophobia that left him necessarily in the dark a lot of times. "It was those moments of darkness that gave... read more
Ratatouille director Brad Bird honored with lifetime prize
This week, the WGA West's Animation Writers Caucus honored Oscar winner Brad Bird, director and writer of Ratatouille and The Incredibles, with a lifetime achievement prize. As has become standard in the entertainment industry, Bird has been awarded this award before his entire life is, in fact, up. (He's only 51, folks. Worry not.) This will come as good news to fans of his animated creations, as well as those who are looking forward to his first live-action feature 1906. In celebration of his award and the fact that he is still alive and kickin', today we bring you a... read more
Tori Amos-inspired Comic Book Tattoo set for July release
The music and comic book worlds have converged once again to create Comic Book Tattoo, a 480-page compendium of 50 story arcs based on songs by Tori Amos. Several notable comic book artists collaborated in the four-color adaptation of Amos' discography, ranging from young illustrator Jason Levesque—who illustrated the cover, seen above (left)—to seasoned award-winning artist Ted McKeever. Neil Gaiman—author of The Sandman comic saga—wrote the introduction to Comic Book Tattoo. Also a close friend to Amos, Gaiman has often compared her to his comic book character Delirium, while Amos herself references The Sandman in several of her songs. Coming... read more
Black Crowes, Avetts, many more to play Newport Folk '08
Jimmy Buffet, the Black Crowes, the Avett Brothers and Cat Power will take center stage at the 49th annual Newport Folk Festival, organizers announced this morning. Paste editor-at-large Jay Sweet is co-producing this year’s festival, which will take place August 1-3 at Fort Adams State Park in Rhode Island. This year’s lineup is a mix of traditional folk artists and newer, more mainstream acts the festival’s organizers hope will revitalize the historic festival, which has only achieved half to two-thirds of its 10,000 person capacity to date. “For me the theme was bridging the gap,” Sweet told The Boston Globe.... read more
Roskilde returns with too many great acts for one headline
Roskilde, Denmark: heard of it? Perhaps not. Allow us to bring to light this town (which, by the way, was founded by Vikings) that annually hosts a golden nugget of sonic aggregation so great, it actually has us contemplating flying halfway around the world to see it. In a day where music festivals seem to be spawning into multitudes, Roskilde manages stay relevant while upholding a tradition that is 37 years strong. Starting with Bob Marley in 1978, Roskilde has hosted quite a few greats at their height, including the Talking Heads in 1979, U2 in 1982 and The Clash... read more
Outkast talks new album in 2009
There is a debate of sorts concerning when the last true Outkast album was released. Was it 2006’s Idlewild soundtrack, or does it go all the way back to 2000's Stankonia? And can you really count 2003’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below as an Outkast album since it was just two solo albums packaged together? Gah. It’s time to call the whole thing off, though, because a new Outkast album (keyword: collaborative) will be out in the beginning of 2009. In an interview with MTV News, Big Boi told the network, “Outkast are stronger than ever,” and laughed about any rumors... read more
Stan Lee creating new superhero franchise, Legion of 5
And the comic fans rejoice once more... Stan Lee (creator of such recognizable characters as The X-Men, Iron Man and Spider-man) is certainly keeping busy these days. As previously reported, he's put three projects into motion with Walt Disney. Meanwhile, he's further taking his talents to the silver screen in a deal with Rainmaker Entertainment and Brighton Partners. Lee is developing a CG animated film through his company POW! Entertainment starring a new group of heroes called the Legion of 5. Details of the new characters are scant at this time. Lee is best known as the Editor in Chief... read more
SAG/AMPTP negotiations off to shaky start
Two months after the conclusion of the Writer's Guild of America contract strike, television is finally back to normal and film production is steamrolling forward. Already, though, the next big set of Hollywood negotiations are underway, as the Screen Actors Guild began its own series of contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers this past Tuesday. Variety reports that though both parties began from a more amicable start than the WGA situation, the talks have already been a little bit rocky. Oddly, this came not from the AMTP but instead the SAG's sister organization, the American... read more
Sub Pops!: Iron & Wine, Wolf Parade, more to play SP20
On April 1, this showed up on SubPop.com: "Today, and this is no April Fools joke, is Sub Pop Records’ 20th Anniversary. When I asked Jon Poneman, aka The Jonald, how it feels to turn 20 he responded, 'The company maintains bowel movements at regular intervals so we’re not nearly as grouchy as some other labels our age.' I couldn’t put it better myself, but this is coming from a man who has never once used the bathroom in the office." If that's not cause for celebration, we don't know what is. So then, the indie rock name-makers, "in an... read more
Mark Sultan aka BBQ to tour with Clinic
Mark Sultan is a musician's musician. He's earned his rock 'n' roll stripes multiple times over, performing with so many side projects it's hard to tell if he ever had an original band. He's headed up Les Sexareenos as well as the The Spaceshits, collaborated with the likes of The Deadly Snakes and Jack Oblivian, run Sultan Records, and has put out some damn fine garage tunes with King Khan and the BBQ Show. The reason Sultan hasn't become more famous is one of those rock 'n' roll injustices that makes idealistic music writers turn to the sauce on cold,... read more
Peter Gabriel launches recommendation site The Filter
Peter Gabriel has launched a new website dedicated to helping users find music and movies to fit their taste. The Filter is described as a discovery service: tell it the movies, music and web videos that you enjoy, and it will make daily recommendations of new material you might like. The site will not go public until next month, but users can register with the site right now to participate in its private beta testing phase. Gabriel told CNET that his vision for The Filter was to help people find quality films and music that they ordinarily might not come... read more
Feist and Constantines offer "Islands in the Stream" cover
Winking covers of cheesy '80s tunes by established indie artists are a dime—or, on Amazon, $18.97 new and $8.99 used—a dozen these days. Still, Feist and Constantines' cover of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s 1983 hit "Islands in the Stream" is really quite stunning. With nary a bit of cheek, they've stripped the song down to the quietly earnest acoustic slow-jam it should have always been. Better still, Bryan Webb and Leslie Feist sound like they actually wanna make love to each other, which is not the impression we get from this chummy, vintage Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton performance…:... read more
Download-to-own Juno on iTunes
A few years ago, everyone was talking about Google taking over the world. They seem to have settled for most of our streets and outer space, but don’t panic. iTunes is filling any void in the plight for world domination, taking over everything that isn't nailed down and marked with a big, colorful "G". And they might have a shot at it, thanks to a pregnant teenage Minnesotan and an mailbox full of red Tic-Tacs. According to Variety, Fox treaded new waters by offering Juno as downloadable-to-own on iTunes yesterday, the same day it came out to rent at, say,... read more
Vampire Weekend, Hold Steady amongst Capitol Hill line-up
[Above: Blue Scholars at last year's block party] The Stranger and KEXP are rewriting the books on what constitutes the quintessential block party. Needless to say, Aunt Gertrude’s green-bean casserole isn’t getting anywhere near this thing. “This ain’t no burnt-wiener-and-potato-salad kind of block party,” the Seattle Weekly said in a recent statement. “No, this one is more like a sweaty, boozy, scaled-down version of Sasquatch, only during the dog days of summer and right in our own backyard.” The event takes place over July 25-26, with over 50 bands appearing on four stages. The line-up displays a penchant for northwestern... read more
Record store doc to feature Noam Chomsky, Thurston, more
Will the independent record store survive this age of big-box music retail, electronic commerce and homogenized radio content? Brendan Toller has made a documentary called I Need That Record!: The Death (Or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store exploring this question, and has asked both those influenced by and those deciding our record store doom. The roads by which the public at large acquires music and information these days, Toller writes on his blog, "squash new ideas, new innovations, and new possibilities as the future of recorded music, a commodity that supports the artist, vanishes." "Through found footage, expository... read more
Mötley Crüe '08 tour announcement liveblogged by Paste
Do you long for the days of economy-size Aqua Net and sticky backstage meet-and-greets? Well, hide the small mammals and rip some holes in those fishnets, because Mötley Crüe—featuring the entire original line-up, no less—is going on tour. Not only that, but the band has dreamt up its very own Ozzfest-style traveling rock event, and is bringing along Buckcherry, Papa Roach, SIXX:AM and Trapt. They're calling it Crüe Fest and you can get tickets right now. The band made the formal announcement last night, and Paste's Mark Krotov liveblogged the event. If his musings get you longing for your very... read more
Songs for Kids Foundation hosts 10-night event
While many acts of charity can be a little less than fun (not that that's the point), not many organizations capture the joyful spirit of giving quite like the Songs for Kids Foundation. Started in Atlanta, the organization focuses on bringing music to kids who have to endure extended hospital stays. Not only do they bring artists in to entertain the tikes, they also have music engineers and producers who visit with the children so that they can have the opportunity to write their own music. The kids involved also have the chance to cut their own CD recording. Want... read more
Duffy takes a Rockferry to the States
Soulful songstress Duffy has finally announced a U.S. release date for her album Rockferry. The songbird from Wales has already conquered her homeland with her '60s throwback song, "Mercy." Check out the video right here: The rest of her funky folk tunes will land in the States on May 13. Those hoping to catch a live gig can either make their way to New York City on May 12 hit up Europe this summer or wait for her to announce additional dates.. Related links: IAmDuffy.com Duffy on MySpace YouTube: Duffy - "Rockferry" Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com. ... read more
Neil Diamond announces summer tour dates
After releasing album 29 of his career, Neil Diamond will tour across the U.S. and some of Canada this summer. As expected from anyone with a body of work that massive, the man has done quite a bit so far in his life: written a lovesong about a Kennedy, talked some shit at Bob Dylan backstage during The Last Waltz, won the very first Worst Actor Razzie Award for his leading role in a remake of The Jazz Singer ... the list goes on. So what's another tour for this legend? Dates: July 19 - St. Paul, Minn. @ Xcel... read more
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