Megaptera & other

Aimee Mann continues 'Smilers' jaunt

Currently enjoying a short break, Aimee Mann [ tickets ] will soon launch into the second leg of her North American tour, and she's added more than a dozen new dates to the itinerary.The singer/songwriter, who's been on the road since early this month, will resume the outing July 9 in Boulder, CO. She's scheduled to visit US and Canadian cities from coast to coast through mid-September. Stops added to the trek since last check include Boston, New York City, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and a two-night stand in Philadelphia. Details are listed below.Mann is supporting her seventh studio effort, "@#%&! Smilers," which surfaced earlier this month and came in at No. 32 on The Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the magazine's Top Independent Albums chart. The record follows 2005's concept album, "The Forgotten Arm," and Mann's 2006 holiday collection, "One More Drifter in the Snow." The sound tends toward fuller, richer arrangements than the performer's previous offerings."For this one, we wanted to use a different palate, thus replacing electric guitars with distorted Wurlitzers, Clavinets, and analog synthesizers," Mann explained in her bio. "We wanted the rhythm section to sound full and organic with detailed, interwoven keyboards on top. We also knew we wanted to have real string sections and horn arrangements for select songs."All of the album's 13 tracks were penned by Mann, with the exception of "True Believer," which she co-wrote with fellow singer/songwriter Grant Lee Phillips. The lead single, "Freeway," is streaming at Mann's MySpace page, which also includes a link to the video. A humorous Bobcat Goldthwait-directed video for another track, "31 Today," is streaming at the YouTube website.

Madonna joins Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Madonna was among the artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York last night. To see our gallery from the Hall of Fame ceremony, click here.
Inducting Madonna into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Justin Timberlake said: "She's done it by working harder and being smarter than everybody else. As she made MTV the place to be seen, she racked up the greatest track record in music history - 47 Top 40 hits. She became the biggest name on the planet the old-fashioned way - she earned it."
During her acceptance speech, Madonna said: "It is a great honour to receive this award, and I'm grateful and appreciative for the acknowledgement that this implies."
She also thanked those who had helped her launch her career and quoted from the Talmud.
"I have gone on to do so many things in my life, from writing children's books, to designing clothes, to directing a film. But for me it always does, and it always will, come back to the music, so thank you," she said.
The other stars who joined Madonna on the honour roll were John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, the Dave Clark Five and the Ventures.
Blues great Little Walter was posthumously inducted in the sideman category, while production and songwriting legends Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff received the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice performed Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah" at the ceremony.

Steve Nash, Kids in the Hall among new inductees to Canada's Walk of Fame

NBA star Steve Nash, comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, singer kd lang, model Daria Werbowy and filmmaker James Cameron are among the latest inductees to Canada's Walk of Fame.

But of all the stars set to be recognized for their impressive contributions to the worlds of sports, entertainment and the arts, the Walk of Fame's founding director said one star had far and away the most nominations for this year's honour - Frances Bay.

The 90-year-old actress is affectionately known as "Hollywood's Grandma" for her string of old lady characters.

"We received a signed petition of over 10,000 names for Frances Bay, including personal letters from Adam Sandler and Jerry Seinfeld and David Lynch and Henry Winkler, Monty Hall among many others, all making a very compelling case for Frances and they were right," Peter Soumalias said.

The Winnipeg performer didn't start acting until age 60, but has racked up an impressive resume that includes film and TV roles in "Happy Gilmore," "Seinfeld," "ER", "Road to Avonlea" and "Hannah Montana."

"Corner Gas" star Brent Butt helped announced the lineup Tuesday and said he was particularly excited to see comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall among the inductees.

The funnyman said he used to be the warm-up act when the Kids' taped their eponymous sketch comedy show for CBC-TV in the mid-'90s.

"It was a sweet gig, it was easy money," Butt said of the stint.

"Because everybody was so jazzed about seeing the Kids in the Hall. There were rabid Kids in the Hall fans and one of the Kids would come out and introduce you as being a friend of theirs, so everybody liked you - they wanted you to like them.

"Normally, you know, when you're a young comic, 99 per cent of the shows you're just dodging ashtrays, people hate your guts. And this was the one gig where, 'Oh, people are excited that I'm here!' "

Also set to attend this year's ceremonies are rocker Bryan Adams and actor Michael J. Fox, who were both previously named to the Walk, but couldn't attend the induction festivities.

Adams was an inaugural inductee in 1998, a year that Soumalias notes hardly attracted anyone to the then-little-known gala. Fox was inducted in 2000, but didn't learn of the honour until after the gala because Walk of Fame organizers had such a hard time notifying him.

"In the early years we got a lot of 'Who? What? Why?" Soumalias said of the Walk's early days, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

In 2003, organizers announced 13 inductees thinking "five or six would show up".

"But all 13 of them came," Soumalias said. "Which was wonderful in some respects but we didn't budget for 13. So it became a challenge for us."

He said the event's stature has grown considerably since then, with more than 40 per cent of this year's nominations coming from countries other than Canada.

To qualify, candidates must have been born in Canada or spent their formative or creative years here and must have a body of work recognized for its impact on Canada's cultural heritage.

Fans can lobby on behalf of their favourite athlete or artist, but the final decision is made by Walk of Fame organizers.

Previous inductees include Alanis Morissette, Paul Anka, Jim Carrey, Shania Twain, William Hutt and Wayne Gretzky.

To date, 107 Canadians have been honoured.

The new list of inductees will be celebrated during a gala on Sept. 6 in Toronto.

-

www.Canadaswalkoffame.com

News from �The Canadian Press, 2008

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Pete Doherty - Doherty Shown Dead In Art Exhibition

A Scottish artist has commissioned a macabre new exhibition which shows troubled rocker PETE DOHERTY slumped dead in a range of disturbing poses.

Contemporary painter Peter Howson paints Doherty with his eyes closed and a sickly pallor, giving the impression the Babyshambles singer has passed away.

And Howson insists he is using Doherty as an example - as he hopes the controversial collection will steer the rocker's fans away from drugs.

Howson, who has battled drug and alcohol addiction himself, says, "Pete Doherty is someone who has really interested me over the last few months. His spiral downwards reminds me of what I went through myself and I can identify with the way he is acting.

"Me wanting to paint him dead was pointing the finger at him and saying 'You can influence a whole generation'. He could, if he wanted to, become the right kind of hero."

A spokesman for the Babyshambles frontman says, "Peter Howson has never met Pete as far as I am aware, so I don't know where he's getting his inspiration from. We have not seen the drawings and I don't see how Peter knows that much about Pete's lifestyle."

Last month (May08), Doherty walked free from London's Wormwood Scrubs after serving 29 days of a 14-week prison sentence for probation violation and drugs offences.

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