Picture this: It's 1980, you are 13 years old working in a cleaners in South London and you like to sing,the next thing you know Malcolm McLaren comes into the shop and offers you a record contract; naturally you take it and in no time at all you are on "Top of the Pops" and MTV everyone knows your name and your name is Annabella.
True Story!
Annabella Lwin has lived every punk rock girls dream. Her story is the ultimate 1980's punk rock dream come true. The stuff of an early Gary Oldman movie! Discovered while in high school Malcolm McLaren made her the lead singer for the band Bow Wow Wow. He took her from the streets to international stardom almost over night. They charted with several singles including "I want Candy" and then she really knew fame when she appeared nude on the album cover for their first full length record "See Jungle..."
Three years later she was booted form the band and made an attempt at a solo career. She did record but never achieved the success that she had seen with Bow Wow Wow. In 1997 the band reformed and went on a North American tour with No Doubt.
Annabella still performs and has been doing so with some minor success. She is now 47 years old.
It has been nearly ten years since the Pixies released any new material but today that has changed. "Bagboy" was released today on the bands website. The good news for Pixies fans is Kim Deal is on the recording even though just weeks ago she said she would no longer be with the band. Bagboy has that gnawing Pixies sound with lead vocals by Black Francis and backing vocals by Kim Deal. What would a Pixies song be without Kim Deal?
Will there be more soon?????
She's back, Courtney Love is roaring back to life! Mrs. Cobain started her "I'm Still Alive" tour in Philadelphia and is playing several cities on the east coast. All of this is in an effort to promote the release of her upcoming autobiography. This is not a Hole reunion and Courtney is, as you can imagine, pointedly clear about that. Her shows will consist of covers and rare songs in her repertoire.
As for her book she is co-writing with Anthony Bozza. Poor man he must a pillar of strength.
Will this be Courtney's version of "Just Kids"? Time will tell if she really does pull it off.
Arturo Vega the designer of The Ramones famous presidential seal logo has died. He reportedly went all but two Ramones shows during his time with the band. Not only was Mr. Vega the logo designer he also was their lighting designer and ran their light board and created several of their album covers.
The Ramones lived for a time in Vega's New York loft they were there enough that it became known as the Ramones Loft when in fact it was Vega's. Not only did he do all of this work for The Ramones he also ran their website (RamonesWorld.com). Mr. Vega was 65 years old.
I recently came across a video for an e-cigarette starring Courtney Love. The product is Njoy an electronic cigarette hitting the market right now. They are apparently after the tough chick market as they have Courtney as their star. Her attitude in the commercial is 100% Courtney Love, over dressed and pissy. This is the kind of commercial that hits a niche and hits it hard.Normally one thinks of commercials as sell outs but this is one that seems real. Courtney would smoke these and if she got them for free she totally would.
Rock on Courtney Love!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SFs761eEFk
I got invited to see the ultimate Ska band the other night. I went to see the Specials at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. To be 100% honest I really only saw about 7 or 8% of the show live. I watched what I saw of the show on monitors in the VIP lounge. Frankly, I think the people on the floor had the best experience. We could watch the show live from some seats looking down onto the show and the floor. They just seemed to Theater-y for us. The Specials really are a great bar band. As a show band they're kinda whatever. They should been seen from the floor and in a "joint" not the theater the Grammys are doled out.
Here's my next beef: The ticket price was $75 and then a beer was $14. Come on let's just ream everyone shall we! It seems the only people seeing The Specials in LA were members of the upper middle class or comped rock writers. I truly think The Specials would be better in a smaller club playing for maybe 3 or 4 nights. They'd make the same money and maybe build a younger and vibrant fan base.
Am I glad I "heard" them live, yes. They totally rocked and the band was nice. Its not like I spent a lot of time with them but the minute or two I was in there sphere; I found them to be nice guys.
It is amazing but it is true Shane MacGowan is still alive! If anyone should be dead it is Shane MacGowan not because he is a bad person but because he has lived life well over the top. If there is a drug Shane has used it and abused it. Sinead O'Connor, not the usual voice of reason, turned him into the cops for heroin use! He claims to having started drinking at age 4 and was drinking whiskey at 10. His antics both on and off stage are legendary. He once stopped singing on stage and vomited on to the people in the front of the house. That's punk rock!
He is known to only perform drunk and his interviews are usually incoherent. But some how he soliders on. His band the Pouges kicked him out for a while because of his behavior. But he still wakes up everyday. The luck of the Irish?
Patti Smith, the grandmother of punk is back on the road and she is making some money too! Tickets to her shows in Los Angeles and San Diego start at $59. That is for the back of the house she is playing in. This is not punk rock this is big business! Punk rock is a bar or a club not a huge theater with corporate rock prices. Punk rock is DIY. Patti Smith is punk rock no more. So sad to see one of the pioneers selling out like this. Sure artists deserve to be paid for their work but being paid and being PAID are two different things. The "Rock and Roll Nigger" is now a big business.
If an effort to prove he is still punk rock and not pop Billie Joe Armstrong went on an obscenity laden tirade during the iHeartRadio Festival in La Vegas. Of course it is hard to still be punk rock when you are playing in a festival hosted by Ryan Seacrest but Billie Joe sure did try. Apparently Usher went over by 25 minutes and this cut down on the time Green Day was allotted. Setting Armstrong off was an illuminated sign telling them they had one minute left. Billie Joe used that one minute to swear continuously and remind the crowd he has been around for a long time. "I'm not fucking Justin you mother fuckers!" Then he boke a guitar. Wow he is punk rock.
