Happy Together, again: rocker relives glory daze

By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - They say that if you can remember the '60s, you weren't really there.
But Howard Kaylan, the lead singer with the psychedelic pop band the Turtles, found himself in the center of the action, cavorting with the likes of the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.
And his memory is undiminished. In fact, he is about to release a DVD dramatizing the Turtles' 1967 adventures in "Swinging London" shortly after his band attained its own short-lived stardom with the No. 1 hit "Happy Together."
Kaylan, 61, hopes the comedic film, "My Dinner with Jimi," set for a June 23 release via Rhino Entertainment, will be merely the first of many stories he gets to share about his psychedelic exploits.
"As long as I have the will power and love power to tell these stories, I'll try. I want to share some revealing stories about those people in those days without getting my legs broken," he joked.
Kaylan, who lives in Seattle and plies the oldies concert circuit, began writing "My Dinner with Jimi" in 2001, aiming to show how a "fat little American kid" got to mix with rock 'n' roll royalty. The low-budget movie, directed by Bill Fishman, hit the film-festival circuit two years later.
"We met Graham Nash, Donovan, Brian Jones and the Beatles all on the same night," Kaylan recalled. "I wound up having dinner with Hendrix at 4 a.m."
The first half of the film shows Kaylan and bandmates muddling through the Los Angeles club scene and running into the likes of Jim Morrison, Mama Cass and Frank Zappa. After "Happy Together" tops the charts, they venture to London, reuniting with their old friend Nash.
In an intriguing sequence, Nash plays them an advance copy of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" and introduces them to the Fab Four. But the Turtles also find themselves on the receiving end of John Lennon's acrid wit, to the embarrassment of his bandmates.
Kaylan's "bleary-eyed 20-year-old self" is portrayed in the film by Justin Henry. Actor Royale Watkins offers a convincing turn as Hendrix, while Turtles co-founder Mark Volman is played by Jason Boggs, and Lennon by Brian Groh.
Kaylan is finishing up a memoir, "How Not to Be Me," which he hopes will be turned into another film. It would depict his encounters with Bob Dylan and Zappa, as well as the band's historic yet chaotic 1970 White House performance at the request of first daughter Tricia Nixon.
"We didn't want to do it because we were so anti-Nixon and so anti-war, but our manager, who was Bill Cosby at the time, said it was like an invitation to sing before the Queen," said Kaylan, noting the president was not there for the performance, which he describes as a "social nightmare."
FLO AND EDDIE
The Turtles dissolved in litigation over the ownership of the band's name and rights to master tapes later in 1970.
Kaylan and Volman went on to join Zappa's Mothers of Invention under the names "Flo and Eddie" since the litigation prevented them from using their names. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Sirius XM slated to launch iPhone app

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sirius XM Radio subscribers will be able to download software on June 18 that lets the satellite radio service's programing play on Apple Inc's iPhone.
"Beginning tomorrow, the (iPhone) App will be available," a customer service representative for the New York-based company said on Wednesday.
The iPhone service, which can also be used by iPod Touch Wi-Fi users, will be free for Sirius customers who subscribe to its Internet option. Others will have to pay about $3 month, the representative said.
The move is seen an important way for Sirius to gain and retain subscribers, by providing easier access to its news, talk, music and sports programing through means other than its traditional satellite-based platform.
Sirius already has about 19 million subscribers to its pay radio system, but its biggest source of new user is the when consumers buy cars with satellite radios built-in.
But last month, Sirius attributed a quarterly decline in customers to poor automotive sales, and predicted a "noticeable hit" to its subscribers in the current quarter for the same reason.
Sirius faces both big opportunity and tough competition in Apple's App store. Apple has sold more than 40 million of its iPhones and music-playing iPod Touches to date, with a substantial portion in U.S. where Sirius's nationwide broadcasts are concentrated.
But several of the most popular applications available in Apple's App store include free Internet music services such as Pandora and Slacker, as well as iheartradio, which is supported by the terrestrial radio industry.
Sirius, whose subscribers pay a fee of about $13 a month, had previously said the App would launch in the second quarter of this year. An official spokesman for Sirius, one of the largest U.S. subscription services, did not immediately return requests for comment.
Shares of Sirius rose in afternoon trading, climbing to 34.8 cents a share, up about 8 percent.
(Reporting by Franklin Paul; Editing by Derek Caney)

Source: Reuters

Gay activists wary about flamboyant "Bruno"

By Alex Dobuzinskis
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. gay activists are worried that comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's new film, "Bruno," could reinforce negative stereotypes about homosexuals just as they are making gains in the fight for rights such as same-sex marriage.
Cohen, who scored a surprise hit in 2006 with "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," portrays a flamboyant gay Austrian fashion reporter in the new film that premieres on Wednesday in London and opens in the United States on July 10.
The studio releasing "Bruno" says the film's intent is to satirize homophobia, but some gay advocates are wary.
"We do feel the intentions of the filmmakers are in the right place -- satire of this form can unmask homophobia -- but at the same time it can heighten people's discomfort with our community," said Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
With that in mind, GLAAD asked in vain for Universal Pictures, the studio behind "Bruno," to add a message from Cohen addressing the importance of gay rights and tolerance.
Universal says in a statement it believes most moviegoers will understand the film's "positive intentions."
"'Bruno' uses provocative comedy to powerfully shed light on the absurdity of many kinds of intolerance and ignorance, including homophobia," the studio said.
The movie comes out as U.S. same-sex couples have won the right to wed in six states amid a fierce debate on gay marriage that has seen California voters approve a ban on such marriages.
HIT? OR MISS
"Bruno" is expected to be a hit, although there remains a big question about whether the young men who make up a core Hollywood audience will turn out for a movie about a gay man.
"It's going to be interesting to see if a bunch of teenage boys actually care to go", said gay activist Cathy Renna.
But one thing is certain -- Cohen has a huge fan base. Men and women flocked to "Borat," a fake documentary about a Kazakh journalist traveling across the United States that used comedy to expose bigotry. It earned $128 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices and $133 million in other countries.
Like its predecessor, "Bruno" is a mock documentary that covers the fashion reporter after he loses his job in Austria and goes to America looking to become a celebrity. Bruno wears mesh shirts, talks with a lisp and has a penchant for dropping his pants.
His unscripted encounters with everyday Americans and prominent figures, who think he is real, often devolve into people's disgusted reaction to Bruno's in-your-face sexuality.
In one scene, for instance, a martial arts teacher shows Bruno how to guard against gays. GLAAD's Robinson said another scene worried him that shows Bruno appearing to have sex with a man in a tub, while his adopted baby sits nearby. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Sean Penn giving up Hollywood for family

By Borys Kit
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Sean Penn is taking his Oscar and going home.
The "Milk" star has dropped out of two high-profile films: "The Three Stooges" and the crime thriller "Cartel," taking an extended leave from Hollywood so that he can focus on family matters. Sources have said the absence could last up to a year.
In May, Penn filed for a request to dismiss his legal separation case from wife Robin Wright Penn. It is the second time he has rescinded divorce proceedings.
The dilemma for "The Stooges" is potentially more serious. Writer/directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly have spent the better part of a decade trying to get the MGM film off the ground, and in March they pulled off a major casting coup: Penn as Larry, with Jim Carrey as Curly and Benicio del Toro as Moe.
Now they need to decide whether they will wait for Penn or seek to find a new actor.
Time and availability are the issues: "Stooges" was eyeing a late August start date, and MGM has slotted it for a 2010 release. If the studio does wait, it could risk losing Carrey and del Toro. On the other hand, half of Hollywood would poke their eyes out for the part.
Universal and producer Imagine Entertainment, meanwhile, plan to move ahead on "Cartel" without Penn and will recast the part. The script, which is still being worked on, follows a man who journeys to protect his son after his wife is murdered by Mexican drug cartels. Asger Leth is directing. The movie had no start date or release date.
Penn has two movies in the can, Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" and Doug Liman's adaptation of Valerie Plame's political memoir, "Fair Game."
(Editing by Dean Gooodman at Reuters)

Source: Reuters

Palin accepts Letterman apology, protest goes on

Letterman apologizes for Palin joke
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin accepted late-night TV host David Letterman's apology over a sexually charged joke about her teenage daughter, but it was not enough to stop a protest outside the comedian's studio on Tuesday.
"Of course it's accepted on behalf of young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve," Palin said in a statement late on Monday night.
"Letterman certainly has the right to 'joke' about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction," she said.
On the occasion of a Palin trip to New York, Letterman joked on June 8 that New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez had "knocked up" Palin's daughter during a family trip to a baseball game. The comedian apologized for the joke on his show broadcast on Monday night.
Letterman has said the joke's intended target was Palin's daughter Bristol, an 18-year-old unwed mother, but Palin and others have said it was aimed at her younger daughter, 14-year-old Willow, who was at the baseball game in New York.
In his apology, Letterman said the joke was "beyond flawed" and apologized to Palin and both her daughters.
Still, more than a dozen protesters held up banners outside Letterman's Times Square studio as Tuesday's show was being taped, but they were outnumbered by spectators and media.
Several said they found Letterman's comments degrading to women. Protest organizer and Los Angeles radio host John Ziegler of firedavidletterman.com said Letterman's apology was not enough and Letterman should donate his salary from last week to a charity of Palin's choice.
But some spectators said Palin and the protesters had lost their sense of humor. "He made a joke, what is America coming to?" said spectator Bailey Wallace, 17.
Palin last year was the vice presidential nominee on the Republican ticket, running alongside Arizona Sen. John McCain.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis In Los Angeles and Christine Kearney in New York: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: Reuters

Youssou N'Dour film explores music and Islam

By Edith Honan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pop singer Youssou N'Dour's 2004 album of Islamic music earned him a boycott by some Muslim fans, but in a new documentary about the album, "Egypt," he says the music has encouraged a deeper appreciation for Islam.
"Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love," a documentary by Chai Vasarhelyi that opened in New York on Friday, contrasts the enthusiastic response the Grammy-winning album "Egypt" got during a tour in Europe and Asia with its cold reception in his native Senegal, where it was the subject of a boycott.
"I was frustrated. The music wasn't speaking to people," N'Dour told Reuters about the reaction in his home country.
"When there's a break with tradition, or something changes, people can't accept it right away. It takes a little more time," the 49-year-old singer said, speaking in French through a translator.
"I felt that the album could be a positive contribution," he said. "My music ... it says that Islam is tolerance and peace."
The film explores the controversy over the album, following N'Dour on tour and after he won a Grammy for "Egypt" in 2005.
In Europe, N'Dour's performances of songs like "Allah," performed in the Wolof language with a classical Egyptian orchestra, were met mostly with dancing and standing ovations, and only a few complications.
At a concert in Ireland, N'Dour, who describes himself as a devout Muslim, discovered that audience members were drinking beer. He delayed his performance for a half hour with a plea that it be alcohol-free.
In Senegal, newspapers accused N'Dour -- who has collaborated with Bono and Peter Gabriel, and is known for his annual all-night concerts in Paris and New York and at his club in Dakar -- of insulting Islam, arguing that pop and religious music should not mix.
When N'Dour joined other members of the Mouride brotherhood, a branch of African Sufi Islam, on the annual pilgrimage to Senegal's holy city of Touba, he was shunned.
Descendants of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, a Muslim mystic, poet and pacifist who founded the Mouride brotherhood in the 1880s, even threatened N'Dour with a lawsuit, though the threat was later called a misunderstanding.
The controversy was largely forgotten after N'Dour, the highest-selling African artist, won his first Grammy for the album. N'Dour went on to perform religious music with one of Senegal's most famous praise singers.
"It was also an opportunity to say to our community of religious singers that we all are doing music. We can sing together," N'Dour said.
DELAYED AFTER SEPT. 11 ATTACKS
In recording "Egypt," N'Dour said he was inspired to introduce a global audience to music that "praises the tolerance of my religion" and showcased West Africa's contributions to Islam. Continued...
Source: Reuters