I had high expectations for the humor and low expectations for the story. The results were almost reversed for me.

First, the soundtrack. The movie opens with Autograph’s “Turn Up The Radio.” Excellent choice. Then I noticed, this appeared to be a re-recording. It was OK, but I would have preferred the original. (I assume that would have cost a lot more money.)

The movie makes excellent use of the hits of the 80s without being TOO obvious in their choices: Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” is used in a couple of places to hilarious effect; I don’t know that I had ever seen anyone air-drumming toss and catch their drum stick before. We catch clips of Nu Shooz’s “I Can’t Wait,” INXS’s “What You Need,” Scritti Politti’s “Perfect Way,” and numerous other 80s classics throughout in a way that helps set the mood rather than distract (or worse, mock).

Did somebody say guest appearances? Holy cow, every time we turned around it felt like we were seeing somebody from the 80s: Chevy Chase, Crispin Glover (McFly!!!), and the band Poison all take their turns in front of the camera. None of them are working too hard at being “cameos,” which I think is a good thing. I was glad to see all of them.

The story was more thoughtful than I expected. So your life hasn’t turned out like you planned… if you have a chance to go back and do it again, do you change it and risk the consequences, or try to walk in exactly the same footsteps? Maybe more importantly: what happened to those high school friendships we SWORE we would never break?

The humor has some serious laugh-out-loud moments, but I wouldn’t call this a laugh-fest. The gaps between belly laughs sometime seem to stretch out quite far, but it’s not as much because of failed jokes as it is the more serious aspects of the underlying story. There’s an element of “Groundhog Day” to this movie, a need to figure out what went right & what went wrong, and work your way through your past.

It wasn’t a perfect representation of the 80s, and the “villain” in the movie has more in common with 80s movie villains than anybody I ever went to school with. Still, considering how overboard they could have gone, I thought the movie handled the decade with fairly gentle hands.

There are breasts in a couple of places, one vomit scene, and one scene of fairly unbelievable brief “gore,” but none of these things kept me from enjoying the movie… and I’m not one for gross-out humor or gore, so unless you just have zero tolerance, you should be OK.

I’ve described this movie as good, and it was. What it wasn’t, was great. It felt like there was tremendously unused potential in the environment, that the characters could have been further fleshed out, that there were bigger and longer jokes to be made… it just didn’t seem to reach the potential of the scenario.

I’d also like to think that my generation is a LITTLE more mature than the guys in this movie. True, we all knew guys like this in school… but even the guy I know who reminds me most of the “loose cannon” in the movie has matured and settled down a bit from his “wild-child” days. One problem facing this group is that they not only need to move on, they need to grow up.

As a child of the 80s, this is near-required viewing. It’s funny, it’s nostalgic, and maybe it says something about how we turned out as adults. Arguably, it is out generation’s “Back To The Future.” However, it is not the classic “Back To The Future” is. It’s worth viewing, but I would catch it on Redbox, PPV, or Netflix.

I’d also wait to purchase it until you’ve seen it; you may end up agreeing that “hot Tub Time Machine” was a good idea, under-utilized.

TAMPA, Fla. — Lionel Richie is still rocking and rolling strong at 62, but he happily embraces the word “grandfather” – or as his grandchildren by daughter Nicole Richie call him, “Pop Pop.”

“They always figure out their own name,” Lionel told Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson of little ones Harlow & Sparrow. “I thought G-Pa might have been really the right thing but, no, no ‘Pop Pop,’ is &, by the way, they melt me when they walk in the door.”

When Shaun asked Lionel if he spoils the little ones, he said his daughter gets in the way.

“She puts these rules down & then she gets Harlow and Sparrow to tell on me, ‘Did Pop Pop do this?’” he recounted, imitating his famous daughter’s words.

“[Do] you give them treats?” Shaun asked at the HSN event to promote the network’s live concert series & global launch of Lionel’s “Tuskegee” duets album on March 16.

“I’ll try to go, ‘Here’s some candy, my brother.’ C’mon, I mean, the candy is the best way to go. ‘No, Pop Pop,’ & then [Harlow] goes back & tells Nicole, ‘Pop Pop tried to give us candy!’” Lionel said.

Nicole may be a tough momma bear now, but she had tough times in her younger years, something Lionel addressed when Shaun asked him about the passing of his friend, Whitney Houston.

“There was one side of me that was absolutely shocked [by Whitney’s death] & then the other side of me was more disappointed,” Lionel said of losing the superstar singer, who he also co-starred in “The Preacher’s Wife” with. “I went through this with Nicole, you know, where there’s a point in time, when you go through the rehab program & your little girl walks down the hall this way & you walk down the hall that way & I kept saying, ‘Why are we here?’ & they said, ‘The parents & the loved ones are here, we are here to save your life, from them,’ because you’ll otherwise be an enabler forever.

“So you have to know that, & it’s up to them to save their own lives. You have to want that for yourself & what she had around her was… the desire not to want it, No. 1, & No. 2, she had enablers around her that allowed her to go that route,” Lionel continued, seemingly turning his talk to Whitney. “So, you know, we can sit here all day long & point the finger, but actually at the end of the day it’s a tragedy because somewhere along the line, she lost her footing & just couldn’t get back.”

Lionel said Whitney’s death brought back memories of another of his friends – the late Michael Jackson.

“I watched it happen with my dear friend, Michael, & Michael & I [had] talked about this forever in our career – ‘[This will] never that happen to us…’” Lionel told Shaun.

The singer told Shaun that he & Michael actually spoke about not going down the troubled road when they were breaking out as big solo stars in the 1980s.

“We saw so many other artists go through it, & we just made a promise to ourselves back in the early ‘80s, we would never let that happen to us, & then it just takes one little thing — in his case — it was just the burning of the scalp, just a little bit [during the Pepsi commercial] that changed what we now know was the big slippery slope,” Lionel said.

When Shaun asked Lionel if he feels like the “lucky one” to have seen his own daughter turn around & thrive, now a hip designer and a mentor on “Fashion Star,” he said it he is thankful for how things turned out.

“It could have gone it could have gone either way. This is not a guarantee, this is not — a life is, unfortunately, it’s not rehearsed, so you just don’t know what that happy ending is going to be or whether it’s going to be a silver lining,” he said. “You just don’t know, but when it does turn, ‘Hallelujah.’”

And the crooner is getting a real kick out of watching his daughter on NBC’s “Fashion Star.”

“She has a sense of timing that you can’t teach anybody, she just has that wit that I’m in love with,” Lionel said. “You don’t know what she’s gonna say next. I would love for her to kinda give me a clue give me a secret.”

“Well, she was giving it back to some of those contestants who thought that she didn’t know what she was talking about,” Shaun pointed out.

“I can tell you right now, I never thought, in my life, I would ever be intimidated by two 7-year-olds — Paris [Hilton] & Nicole & her little band… & I’m dressed to go to whatever awards show & they were sitting there going, ‘You’re not going out looking like that, are you dad?’” Lionel laughed. “Now just imagine two 7-year-olds [turning] me around to go back upstairs to change my clothes. She’ll do just fine on ‘Fashion Star.’”

Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston, & Michael Jackson all play daily on your free 80s internet radio station: BlackLight Radio!

In appreciation for the town that nursed him back to health, he has added a Vienna show and donated 1,000 tickets as a special thank you to the medical staff who cared for him so well while he was in hospital.

On his webpage, George Michael says, “I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you first to the doctors & nurses who saved my life & took such great care of me & to all my fans, family & friends for their love & support. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone.”

George will be the first pop artist ever to perform a special gala charity concert at the Palais Garnier Opera House in Paris when his tour arrives there September 9th.

It has been confirmed that all original tickets will be valid for the rescheduled dates. Any ticket holders requiring a refund should contact their point of purchase as soon as possible; all refund requests must be received by Monday, April 30, 2012. Any returned tickets will be available to purchase from the venue box offices.

Here’s the new schedule for George Michael’s Symphonica tour:

September 04th: Vienna, Austria
September 06th: Vienna, Austria
September 09th: Paris, France
September 14th: Amsterdam, Netherlands
September 16th: Birmingham, UK
September 17th: Birmingham, UK
September 21st: Manchester, UK
September 23rd: Glasgow, UK
September 24th: Glasgow, UK
September 29th: London, UK

October 01st: Sheffield, UK
October 03rd: Newcastle, UK
October 05th: Cardiff, UK
October 06th: Cardiff, UK
October 09th: Manchester, UK
October 10th: Liverpool, UK
October 13th: London, UK
October 14th: London, UK
October 17th: London, UK

George Michael (& his previous band, “Wham!”) play daily on your free 80s internet radio station: BlackLight Radio!

Although initially not excited about going back in to the studio so soon after his last album (“The Union”), he ended up writing six songs a day for two days, laid down the twelve tracks in just four days, & then picked 10 tracks to make the final cut for the album. “It just came flooding out,” Elton told Rolling Stone Magazine. “Quickest record I’ve ever made.”

T Bone Burnett (“Truth Decay,” “”I Wish You Could Have Seen Her Dance”,” “When the Night Falls”) is the producer of Elton John’s new album, and it was T Bone’s suggestion that Elton record the tracks as a three-piece combo consisting of Elton on piano, Raphael Saadiq (who played alongside Prince on his “Parade” tour) on bass, & Jay Bellerose on drums. On two of the songs, the trio is augmented by guitarist Doyle Bramhall (who has toured with Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters & was second guitarist in Eric Clapton’s band in the 2000s).

Drummer Bellerose played on Elton’s last album “The Union” & has worked with John Mellencamp, Ray LaMontagne, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.

John calls it “the most exciting solo record I’ve done in a long, long time.”

In addition to the new album, John is working on a book of reminiscences from the Aids epidemic. Plans are also advancing for a proposed biopic, which could star Justin Timberlake. “We’re searching for a director,” John’s partner, David Furnish, recently told E! “There’s no race to make this. We’re just going to take the time to make it right.”

When “The Diving Board” is released, BlackLight Radio will plan a special weekend to mix Elton John’s new tracks in with the 80s internet radio you’ve grown to expect from us; keep checking back for details!

–

Information for this post was gathered in part from this Rolling Stone article.

Former Wham! frontman George Michael (“Careless Whisper,” “Faith,” “One More Try”) is back in the recording studio after his life-threatening bout of pneumonia in Vienna.

The singer flew from Australia to the UK last week to present Adele (“Rolling In The Deep,” “Someone Like You,” “Set Fire To The Rain”) with one of her Brit Awards and is said to ‘adore’ the singer.

Both musicians have had spells of bad health recently and have taken time out, but both have apparently made full recoveries.

The British songstress picked up two awards at the recent Brit Awards, following her six awards at the Grammy Awards last month.

Both George Michael & Adele are working on albums at the moment, it is unclear whether a collaboration will appear on both albums.

There will be those that believe a millionaire rock star singing about poor people & hard work, as Bruce Springsteen so passionately does on his powerful new album “Wrecking Ball,” to be the height of hypocrisy. But to do so would be both shortsighted & uninformed. First, as a pedigreed Jersey shore rat raised in economically depressed Freehold, N.J., Springsteen knows a thing or two about economic frustration. And, secondly, anyone who has seen Springsteen perform at any one of thousands of shows over the past 40 years, with or without his E Street Band, is well aware that he packs his lunch pail every night & welcomes overtime.

“Wrecking Ball,” Springsteen’s 17th studio album, finds the artist exploring familiar working class territory, but with a vigor and fearlessness not seen since 2002′s equally-inspired “The Rising.” Produced by Springsteen with Ron Aniello, the characters that populate most of the album’s 11 tracks are generally having a pretty tough go of it, to say the least. While sometimes not above contemplating crime & murder, as with the anti-heroes in 1980′s thematically similar “Nebraska” would have opted, the protagonists of “Wrecking Ball” more often just want to put in an honest day’s work. With its gritty portrayal of the danger at hand when lives are lived on the edge of collapse, “Wrecking Ball” does indeed recall “Nebraska,” though the newer record is far more complex musically & more pointed in its observations.

There is a pervasive element of desperation in “Wrecking Ball,” but nobody here is giving up. “Hold tight to your anger,” Springsteen snarls on the title cut. The characters here seek self-respect & purpose, & they maintain their pride if not always their identity. “Stand back, son, & let a man work” Springsteen advises in the pounding “Shackled And Drawn,” & the inability to do so provides the backdrop for the album’s primary struggle. Bankers & other vaguely-defined power brokers draw ire, & the tender ballad “Jack Of All Trades” becomes decidedly less tender as the song draws to a close, with the singer expressing an unnerving willingness to “shoot the b_____ds on sight.”

This is Springsteen with his work boots on, & the music on “Wrecking Ball” follows suit, alternating between loud, percussive, Seeger Sessions-on-steroids romps & steely, subdued dirges, with detours in a wide range of directions. The sound blends contemporary production with familiar Springsteen-esque guitars & drums, while varied influences including gospel, blues, country & even rap surface throughout, often in unexpected ways.

More than anything, “Wrecking Ball” is a record with heart. Worth noting in the liners is the artist’s poignant tribute to his longtime band mate Clarence Clemons, the beloved E Street Band sax man who died last year. This should be considered Springsteen’s definitive take on the Big Man’s legacy, proclaimed here as “Too f____n’ big to die.”

Click here for a track-by-track take on “Wrecking Ball”.

March 4th: Orlando, Florida at the WMMO Downtown Concert Series

May 18th: Fort Wayne, Indiana at the Foellinger Theater
May 20th: Prior Lake, Minnesota at the Mystic Lake Casino
May 22nd & 23rd: Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Northern Lights Theater @ Potawatomi Casino

July 4th: Blue Ash, Ohio at Red, White & Blue Ash

August 24th: Henderson, Nevada at the Green Valley Ranch Resort
August 26th: Salt Lake City, Utah at the Red Butte Garden / University of Utah
August 27th: Ivins, Utah at the Tuacahn Amphitheater

September 12th: Spokane, Washington at the Spokane County Interstate Fair
September 15th: Goldendale, Washington at the Maryhill Winery
September 16th: Woodinville, Washington at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery

In another perfect example of record labels biting the hand that feeds them, Rogers’ lawsuit claims that under his contract, he is owed 50 percent of net royalties for the licensing of his master recordings to third-parties like iTunes and Verizon Wireless.

Mr. Rogers says that Capitol Records owes him more than $400,000, accusing the label of incorrectly counting downloads as “sales” instead of as “licenses,” which pay a higher rate.

The suit says Capitol, an EMI division, also owes him at least $2,518.77 for record club sales & $10,880.18 in video costs, as well as unknown amounts from settlements in industry lawsuits against file-sharing services like Napster, Kazaa and Grokster.

Rogers is far from the first artist to accuse his record label of collecting royalties “in the name of the artists” and then not actually paying any of it to the artist: Cheap Trick, Whitesnake, and the estate of Rick James have all also gone after their labels in court.

In the lawsuit filed last week on Monday the 13th, Rogers is asking for restitution as well as compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees & interest.

I, for one, hope he gets every penny he is asking for… and that the record labels don’t pass the expense on to us, their music-purchasing public.

No word yet on the cause, but Houston’s death was reported by the Associated Press who quoted Houston’s publicist, Kristen Foster.

TMZ says Dionne Warwick & Cissy Houston spoke with Whitney Houston by phone just before she died and say Whitney seemed fine.

Whitney’s mother, Cissy Houston, spoke with her daughter 25-30 minutes before she died & nothing seemed unusual. We’re told they talked about attending the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party.

Dionne Warwick, Whitney’s cousin, called as well several hours before Whitney died to make sure they were sitting at the same table at Clive’s party. And again there were no signs of trouble.

Beverly Hilton hotel employees tell TMZ Whitney Houston was found dead in the bathtub of her room. Whitney’s bodyguard found Whitney Houston dead in her 4th floor hotel room.

Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen told reporters outside the Beverly Hilton that police received a 911 call from hotel security about Houston at 3:43 p.m. Saturday, and paramedics were already at the hotel because of a Grammy party. Paramedics unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate the singer, the lieutenant said.

Rosen also said members of her entourage tried to perform life saving measures, but were unable to revive her.

“There were no obvious signs of any criminal intent or trauma at this time,” Rosen said.

Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. in her room on the fourth floor of the hotel. Her body remained there & Beverly Hills detectives were investigating.

No illegal drugs have been found in the hotel room where Whitney Houston died, but prescription drugs were present, & it’s possible the singer drowned in the bathtub. Beverly Hills cops (who were still searching the room at the time TMZ posted this story) found various pill bottles. There was no evidence that Whitney was drinking alcohol in the room.

TMZ says when EMTs arrived Whitney’s body was already removed from the bathtub so it will take an autopsy to determine if she OD’d, drowned or died from some other cause.

Whitney’s body has now been removed from the room on a gurney. It will go to the morgue for an autopsy to determine cause of death.

Trendwire is reporting Whitney was going to perform a Diana Ross tribute Saturday night at the Beverly Hills Hilton for Clive Davis’s Gala, singing two Diana Ross songs & one of her own. Now the tribute is for Whitney.

Links to the news stories:

Associated Press

TMZ

At last check, Whitney Houston’s official website was overwhelmed with visitors.

An article from just Friday indicated she was being offered a seat as a judge on the television show “X-Factor”: The Hollywood Reporter

TMZ had also reported spotting Whitney out just last weekend with on-again/off-again beau Ray-J.

What ended up being her last performance was Thursday night at the Kelly Price & Friends Unplugged: For The Love Of R&B Grammy Party at Tru Hollywood. She sang a bit of “Jesus Loves Me” with R&B singer Kelly Price.

A short fan-recorded video of part of that performance can be seen by clicking below:

Whitney Houston played Jordin Sparks mother in a new film, “Sparkle,” that was shot in Detroit in November 2011, & is currently in post production. The film was to be released in August 2012. This was Whitney Houston’s first film role since 1997, & now, of course, her last. Sparkle is about 3 sisters who form a successful singing group & must deal with the fallout of fame & drugs. The story is likely to hit painfully home for many Whitney Houston fans, many of whom already suspect the coroner’s report will indicate this was in fact what finally took her own life.

Houston had one child, Bobbi Kristina, with husband Bobby Brown. Houston & Brown were married from 1992 to 2007. Her death is immeasurably sad for her daughter Bobbi Kristina, her mother Cissy, sister in law & manager Pat Houston & the rest of their family, as well as her mentor Clive Davis, who has counseled Whitney & stood by her through thick & thin. As recently as last year Davis guided Houston back into rehab with her personal counselor & took extreme care to make sure she was alright

In a statement, Recording Academy President & CEO Neil Portnow said Houston “was one of the world’s greatest pop singers of all time who leaves behind a robust musical soundtrack spanning the past three decades.”

“Her powerful voice graced many memorable and award-winning songs,” Portnow said. “A light has been dimmed in our music community today, and we extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, fans and all who have been touched by her beautiful voice.”

Some celebrities have expressed their grief through Twitter:

Paris Jackson: “R.I.P. Whitney Huston, I’ve always idolized her and her amazing talent <3"

LaToya Jackson: "I can’t fathom the fact that #whitneyhouston has died! My heart goes out 2 her mother, daughter & her love ones. #Whitney U will be missed!"

Adam Shankman: "I choreographed I’m your baby tonight miss you angel"

Gloria Estefan: Shocked we’ve lost the immensely talented Whitney Houston! Sending prayers of peace & solace 2 her family, friends & fans! Such a loss!

L.A. Reid: "I am completely devastated by the loss of the greatest voice of all time! R.I.P. Whitney Houston. I will always love you!"

Goldie Hawn: "I am so very sad to hear of Whitney Houston's passing. She was one of our great artist that graced us all. May she rest in peace."

Rosie O'Donnell: "Dear God ... There is a grief that can't be spoken #DEVASTATED"

Russell Simmons: "R.I.P. Whitney Houston, really can't believe this"

Sam Harris: "I am just so so sad. I can’t believe the news about Whitney Houston. I first saw her perform when she was about."

Joan Rivers: Whitney Houston. What a sad tragedy - the end of the life of an incredible talent. RIP to an amazing singer and legend.

Lenny Kravitz: "Whitney. Rest in peace. There will never be another like you. Lenny"

A great voice has been stilled; she will be missed.

This is news?

Yes, yes it is. Stay with me on this one.

Actually, the song (“Girl Panic!”) and the album (“All You Need Is Now”) were both released last year. Same with the video (November 8th, 2011).

However, (thanks to Music TeleVision no longer playing music videos) people are just now discovering this unusual production.

The video is actually a nearly 10-minute production featuring interviews with the band members and the song, laced in and out of the presentation. In addition to insight on where Duran Duran has come from, where they see themselves now, and where they plan on going, it also provides a quick retrospective of Duran Duran’s use of supermodels in their music videos.

…Which is key in this video, because all of the members of Duran Duran are played in this video by supermodels!

Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Eva Herzigova, Helena Christensen and Yasmin Le Bon all take on the characters of the band, including answering interview questions in first-person as the band-mate they are portraying. It makes for a very alternate-reality sort of experience, where you know they’re talking about a group of guys… but it’s a group of girls talking with authority about the band! While my eyes showed my puzzlement, I couldn’t keep a smile off my face as I watched these supermodels convincingly play the dopplegangers of these 80s heart-throbs.

The male members of Duran Duran show up for brief cameos here and there: as a reporter, as a bell hop, as an elevator attendant, as a chauffeur… but they are not the stars at any point in time. The girls are the focus… they ARE Duran Duran: good, bad, and… well, OK, none of these ladies are UGLY…

Speaking of the ladies and their appearance: while technically not showing anything, I’d still have to label the video “Not Safe For Work” due to the near-constant sexual content. The supermodels are all in lingerie of varying degrees of coverage (or un-coverage), and there are scenes of the band members making out with female groupies… which might not have been such a big deal if it were really the guys, but since it’s lace-attired supermodels in girl-on-girl kissing… let’s just say if you’re watching this at lunch, you may end up with a crowd around you.

So-o-o… what about the song? That’s the best news: it’s great! I really like “Girl Panic!”. It reminds me of some of their best work in the 80s. Upbeat, catchy… the boys are in fine form.

This video left me smiling, not because of all the skin, but because of the excellent acting work of the models, the band member cameos, and the great tune. Duran Duran has put out some odd musical experiments over the years… this is a decidedly commercial release, a return to the fine form of their 80s hits. Highly recommended!