Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
Glee, God, Gays and Grilled Cheesus
It’s hard to think of a primetime U.S. network TV show (not to mention a comedy) that has managed to combine philosophical arguments about God, teen sexual angst, parents, mental disability with music by Barbra Streisand, The Beatles and Billy Joel into an hour of entertainment — and still get in a few laughs along with the tears.
But “Glee” managed to pull it off in its “Grilled Cheesus” episode, and without apparently offending any of the above mentioned groups. And the show did it just a week after the fun-filled exuberance of its Britney Spears themed tribute.
We got Kurt railing passionately against a God (or at least a Church) that made him gay but then seemed to exclude him from its belief system. Finn offering up juvenile prayers for sporting success and sexual conquest to the apparent face of Jesus burned into his grilled cheese sandwich, and Sue questioning a God that could give her beloved older sister a mental impairment.
Not for the first time in the short history of the TV show, the drama overshadowed many of the musical cover versions – with the exception perhaps of Kurt’s touching rendition of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” as a slow ballad, rather than the bubbly 1960s Beatles original.
Not surprisingly perhaps, the “Glee” cast has now overtaken the Fab Four for appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts with their cover versions of pop, jazz, Broadway and hip-hop tunes. And it took them just less than 17 months to do so.
How do you like your “Glee”? Dark or light? And could the TV show really end up being more successful than The Beatles in the history of pop music?
McCartney “in contact” with Lennon, Linda
Paul McCartney says he is “kind of in contact” with his late collaborator John Lennon and late wife Linda when he sings.
The 67-year-old spoke of what he felt when he performed at a Q and A session in London late on Wednesday. “If I’m doing something like ‘Something’ — the song — obviously I’m thinking of George (Harrison),” he said in comments quoted in the British press. He was promoting his new live CD and DVD “Good Evening New York City”.
“It’s great actually. I really like it. In a way I’m revisiting them … Similarly with John and Linda. In a way you’re kind of in contact with them again you know. And it’s sad, it’s emotional.”
John Lennon was killed in New York in 1980 at the age of 40. Linda McCartney died of breast cancer in 1998 aged 56.
“Sir” Paul McCartney is a pathetic joke and a talentless being, it’s no wonder he sings the legendry Beatles songs it’s because his own songs were a failure with no original substance and not considered anything worth listening to. McCartney’s claim to fame is by the association of the greatest legendry genius and a peace advocate who changed and inspired millions of people around the world John Winston Ono Lennon.answer this; How does any artist let alone McCartney compete with “MOTHER” “WORKING CLASS HERO” “LOVE” “IMAGINE” “BEAUTIFUL BOY” ETC…..????? …………..
from MediaFile:
Beatlemania re-surfaces on eve of Apple event
Britain's Sky News caused a bit of a stir on the blogosphere on Tuesday after it cited John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, as saying the Beatles back catalog was finally going for sale on iTunes: seemingly confirming a longstanding rumor that had gained momentum ahead of a widely watched Sept 9 Apple music-entertainment event.
But the report by the 24-hour news service, spotted by 9to5Mac and TechCrunch, among others, was stricken off the Sky News Web site hours later and discredited by a numner of other media outlets including Cnet. In response to Reuters' queries, EMI, which owns the master recordings, sent us this from Ernesto Schmitt, EMI's global catalog president:
"Conversations between Apple and EMI are ongoing and we look forward to the day when we can make the music available digitally. But it's not tomorrow," Schmitt said in comments first made to the Financial Times. Apple declined to comment.
Mind you, the arrival of the Fab Four on the world's most popular online music sales portal will be no less than a seminal event. Hence the unrelenting speculation from Apple's legions of rabid fans who stand rapt at the consumer electronics giant's every move, and the intense interest from the band's own not-unimpressive cohort of faithful followers.
On Sept 9, the same day Apple is expected to unveil a new line-up of iPods with digital cameras (with potentially master showman and CEO Steve Jobs set to make his first public appearance since taking leave in January to undergo a liver transplant), "The Beatles:Rock Band" video game will debut for sale from North America to Australia.
The game's debut will mark the Fab Four's first leap into the world of digiral music. And their launch on iTunes -- currently held up by fears of digital piracy, among other issues -- may indeed soon follow.
Just perhaps not on Wednesday.
from UK News:
Are The Beatles overrated?
A framed handwritten report card from 1950 on the wall of Mendips, John Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool, states:
"John has worked quite well this term. His oral work is very good, his written work is good, but he chatters far too much."
Lennon, born in 1940, had been living on Menlove Avenue with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George for five years when that report was issued.
In retrospect, the remarks may have hinted at Lennon's later prolific songwriting talents.
Despite his aunt's academic encouragements, Lennon left Liverpool's Quarry Bank High School in 1957 without qualifications, but with the foundations of his musical career established in his skiffle group the Quarry Men.
He met Paul McCartney, who lived not far away at 20 Forthlin Road in 1957, and the two turned their talents to composing songs. The rest is history, as they say.
I like the episode “Grilled Cheesus” , but I thought it was a little bit disrespectful. Kurt was criticizing God and the Catholic religion. As a full Christian, I thought it was bad when he said that Jesus (or God) is just a “Santa Claus for adults”. But as a gleek, I still, of course, loved the episode because it was heartwarming but comedic at the same time.