We Stand On Guard For Thee!
Hey, it's Canada Day, our nation's 135th birthday! Once known as Dominion Day, July 1 is the day that in 1967 Canada became a country.
I love my country, but instead of me waxing poetic about The Great White North, let me share this hilarious essay about our country that is guaranteed to make to smile.
It will also make you remember Phil Hartman, a Canadian who is missed.
Happy Canada Day everybody!
What Is The Song Of The Summer Of 2002?
Who will let the dogs out this year? In the race to steal the summer's airwaves, there's always one break-out single that finds its way into every nightclub, car, shop and ballpark in town.
So far this year, it's shaping up to be a battle between Eminem's "Without Me" and Nelly's "Hot in Herre" off "Nellyville."
Eminem seems to be king of the hill for the moment, though the overall race is too close to call.
Of course, there's the chance that neither could win.
Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation," the G-rated dance remix of a 1968 tune, grabbed the top of the charts in London and got big radio play in North America last week.
Watch out, Elvis is in the building.
Record sales really are stuck in a downward groove
In record sales, last year's down is starting to look up. Mid-year totals point to a far sharper decline than the 3% dip in 2001, the first no-growth year since Nielsen SoundScan began tabulating sales in 1991.
As of June 23, retailers had sold 299.2 million albums, compared with 331.4 million during the same period in 2001, a 9.7% drop. The total for albums and singles: 305.7 million, a 12% drop. The picture darkens against figures from 2000. This year's haul trails by 18% against the 372.6 million copies tallied by June 25, 2000.
"What we saw at the end of 2001 isn't as alarming as what we're seeing now," says Geoff Mayfield, Billboard 's director of charts. "Last year's decline had more to do with the cassette dying out than anything else. Except for Easter, there hasn't been a week where business was up over the same week in 2001, and that's far more disturbing than the decline of one configuration."
Despite predictable sales spikes, starting with this week's expected opening figure of 500,000-plus for rapper Nelly's Nellyville, a recovery by year's end, even to a break-even point with 2001, "is a long shot," Mayfield says. "The easiest thing to blame is CD burning, but we may be fighting more than one demon."
Mayfield compares the current nose-dive to the early '80s, when a dreary economy, rapid extinction of the eight-track and a dearth of fresh sounds contributed to a pop music crisis.
Evidence that the lack of compelling music is a culprit today can be found in the proliferation of oldies on non-oldies radio stations. "I'm getting the sense that programmers think the old stuff is better than the new stuff," says Airplay Monitor editor Sean Ross. "During the top-40 doldrums of '92, you had records by Nir vana, Snoop Dogg and others selling without airplay. There was a feeling that something was going on. There's not that feeling this year."
More indications of a slump:
* Fewer runaway hits. Eminem's The Eminem Show is the 2002 leader with 3.3 million copies, trailed by Alan Jackson's Drive with 2.2 million and three discs at 2 million each: the ninth volume of Now That's What I Call Music!, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Celine Dion's A New Day Has Come. Only 20 albums this year have registered sales of 1 million or more, compared with 34 at this time last year.
* Softer sales at the top. Billboard's top 10, typically stacked with brand names that serve as retail magnets, shows a weakening punch. In early May, when Big Tymer's Hood Rich entered the chart at No. 1, the top 10 accounted for sales of 1 million albums. The comparable week in 2001 yielded a top-10 tally of 1.8 million.
The industry's growing conservatism and reluctance to gamble on innovative artists or pour dollars into promotion make recovery unlikely anytime soon.
"There's definitely been a scaling back and a tendency among labels to believe they can save their way to prosperity, which isn't likely to happen," Ross says.
ALL YOU NEED IS STANDARDS
Paul McCartney writing to the 100 top shareholders of McDonald's, asking the fast-food chain to apply its U.S. animal welfare standards to all of its restaurants around the world. "Although McDonald's has made laudable efforts on behalf of farmed animals in the United States and United Kingdom, it now needs to do the same in other countries," he wrote.
George Michael on Dangerous Ground with New Song
British singer George Michael releases his latest single on Monday and admits the political satire is his most controversial career move to date.
"Shoot the Dog," in which the singer presents his views on the state of world affairs, is openly critical of the "special" relationship between President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"I know this is dangerous territory," he told the Mirror newspaper on the eve of the song's release. "But I really feel this is such a serious time for us all that being silent is not an option."
The song, which was originally written before the September 11 attacks on the United States but shelved until now, is an attempt by Michael to get people thinking about what is really happening in the world.
He said his inspiration came from watching late-night news shows on television.
"I noticed a lot of stuff about the growing fear of a war between the secular world and the fundamentalist world," he told the tabloid.
"The more I learned, the more fearful I became. And I simple wanted to write a song that said to everybody, 'people lets be aware of this situation and understand that there are some very pissed off people out there'."
"Shoot the Dog" also takes a critical pop at Bush and Blair, labelling the British prime minister "a poodle."
The cartoon video sees Bush on the White House lawn petting a smiling poodle-shaped Blair and also depicts the two leaders dancing the tango, Blair in a flowing dress.
The song's release is bound to spark controversy and by the singer's own admission could "make my experience with a certain policeman in Los Angeles look like a tea party."
It was in 1998 that Michael was arrested in an LA toilet after exposing himself to a police officer.
That incident provided a much needed boost to his flagging pop career, but the singer is less than confident that his new song will have the same effect.
"I've been advised that radio stations which rely on government licenses might ban it," he said. "It could get slated, it could land me right in the shit. But I hope it just gets people debating."
They Must Need The Money!
The replacement used to tour with Paul Young.
She Is George Clooney's Aunt
Hollywood star Rosemary Clooney has died at the age of 74.
The Scene With The 7 Cats May Be The Funniest Thing You Will See This Summer
Adam Sandler's MR. DEEDS tales the Weekend Box Office Crown.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Mr. Deeds," $37.6 million.
2. "Lilo & Stitch," $22.2 million.
3. "Minority Report," $21.6 million.
4. "Scooby-Doo," $12.2 million.
5. "The Bourne Identity," $10.8 million.
6. "Hey Arnold! The Movie," $6 million.
7. "The Sum of All Fears," $4.8 million.
8. "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," $4 million.
9. "Windtalkers," $3.6 million.
10. "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones," $3.56 million.