Guest TSMAdmin Report post Posted October 2, 2002 Ah, here we are, once again. I've never been a fan of non-news related pieces clogging up news columns–something many a wrestling columnist is guilty of--let's get down to it: What I am listening to as I write this: The Smiths' s/t debut album. For the longest time, I never could get past Morrissey's preening, whiny persona to actually give the Smiths–a band held in high regard by many people who's taste I respect and admire–a fair shake, and it wasn't until fairly recently that I dropped my guard and listened to them. Guess what? They are/were a good band, and I regret all the years I never gave them a chance. Now I must wonder if they ever recorded a better song than "Reel Around the Fountain." Hell, I gotta wonder if there was a better song recorded in the whole of the 1980s. (Yes, an argument can be made that what I have just written contradicts what I said in the first paragraph, but since I was talking about music, and wasn't boring you with a long and drawn story of what me and my friends did the other day, it gets a pass.) Now, the actual news: MTV Video Music Awards were last night. Eminem acts like a bratty 12-year-old. I almost watched this program, but I realized the tax it would put on my sanity was far greater than the worth of writing about it, so I didn't bother (though, knowing MTV, it will be repeated 30 times this weekend). What little I did see saw the Olsen twins (wearing horrid eyeliner) bombing with some unfunny bit, and the White Stripes accepting the moonman for Best Breakthrough video for "Fell in Love with a Girl" (dude, that white suit Jack White wore was SWANK~! I gotsta get me one of them). By all accounts, it was your typical MTV affair, with appearances high--Rudy Giuliani, and an emotional speech by the surviving members of TLC, upon the dedication of an AIDS scholarship in the memory of the last Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes–and low–Olsen twins = not funny, and Eminem, when picking up his award for Best Male Video, calling Moby a girl, and threatening to punch a man with glasses (said man went unnamed, but all signs point to the bespectacled vegan)–and in the middle, with Guns ‘N' Roses making a surprise appearance. As to whether that's a good or bad thing, I'll leave it to the reader to decide. But with the Eminem situation, I've read that it was either a good deal of the crowd booing, or Moby alone (the latter seems unlikely, but I'm in the dark here). If anyone out there saw it and can clear this up for me, I will be much obliged. Anyway, here's a full list of the winners, copied-and-pasted from Billboard.com: Best video of the year: Eminem, "Without Me" (Web/Aftermath/Interscope) Best male video: Eminem, "Without Me" Best female video: Pink, "Get the Party Started" (Arista) Best group video: No Doubt, "Hey Baby" (Interscope) Best rap video: Eminem, "Without Me" Best R&B video: Mary J. Blige, "No More Drama" (MCA) Best hip-hop video: Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule, "I'm Real" remix (Epic) Best dance video: Pink, "Get the Party Started" Best rock video: Linkin Park, "In the End" (Warner Bros.) Best pop video: No Doubt, "Hey Baby" Best new artist in a video: Avril Lavigne, "Complicated" (Arista) (OMGAvril!) Best video from a film: Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott, "Hero" (from "Spider-Man") (Columbia/Roadrunner) Viewer's choice: Michelle Branch, "Everywhere" MTV2 award: Dashboard Confessional, "Screaming Infidelities" Best direction in a video: Eminem, "Without Me" Best choreography in a video: Kylie Minogue, "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (Capitol) Breakthrough video: the White Stripes, "Fell in Love with a Girl" (Third Man/V2) Best art direction in a video: Coldplay, "Trouble" (Capitol) Best cinematography in a video: Moby, "We Are All Made of Stars" (V2) Best special effects in a video: the White Stripes, "Fell in Love with a Girl" (Third Man/V2) Best editing in a video: the White Stripes, "Fell in Love with a Girl" (Third Man/V2) (Credit: Billboard.com) I hope the guy with the afro loses. His hairstyle makes me want to punch someone whenever I see him. Speaking of things I don't/didn't watch, the 30 semifinalists of the Fox network's highly successful "American Idol" program are set to reunite in a Sept. 23rd two-hour special, to be taped before a studio audience at the MGM Grand casino/hotel in Las Vegas. The show, tentatively titled "American Idol in Las Vegas" (I'd question why they couldn't come up with something better, but what should I have expected?), is set to feature performances from the former contestants, though there's no word yet as to how this will go. With so many people to use, what are they going to do? Can we look forward to a multi-person, Broadway-style song-and-dance number, straight out of Cats? We can only hope. That, however, is not all. Not only do we have the Vegas special to look forward to, we cannot forget the grand finale coming this Wednesday. And if that weren't enough, the winner's album (I thought it was suppose to be a single first, but Billboard says album) hits stores November 26th courtesy of RCA Records, and there's a compilation album scheduled for release on October 1st, with selections of performances from the 10 finalists. PLUS, one week after the comp disc's release, there is going to be a tour! That's right, an unspecified number of finalists will be hitting the road for a six week jaunt across the U.S., performing at many of this country's most notable arenas. As of press time, it is unknown if Ryan Starr will be a part of this tour, but if she is, flyboys across this great land will stand up and cheer. Here's some copy-and-paste, tour date action: Oct. 8: San Diego (Cox Arena) Oct. 9: Phoenix (America West Arena) Oct. 12: San Antonio, Texas (Freeman Coliseum) Oct. 13: Dallas (American Airlines Center) Oct. 14: Houston (Compaq Center) Oct. 16: Chicago (Allstate Arena) Oct. 17: Detroit (Fox Theatre) Oct. 18: Cincinnati (US Bank Arena) Oct. 19: Nashville (Gaylord Entertainment Center)Oct. 21: Atlanta (Philips Arena) Oct. 23: Tampa, Fla. (Ice Palace) Oct. 24: Sunrise, Fla. (NCR Center Oct. 27: Uniondale, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum) Oct. 28: Worcester, Mass. (Centrum) Oct. 29: Albany, N.Y. (Pepsi Arena) Nov. 1: Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (First Union Arena) Nov. 2: Atlantic City, N.J. (Mark Etsess Arena) Nov. 3: Washington, D.C. (MCI Center) Nov. 5: St. Louis (Savvis Center) Nov. 7: Indianapolis (Conseco Fieldhouse) Nov. 8: Cleveland (CSU Convocation Center) Nov. 10: St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center) Nov. 12: Denver (Magness Arena) Nov. 15: Anaheim, Calif. (Arrowhead Pond) Nov. 16: Sacramento, Calif. (ARCO Arena) Nov. 17: San Jose, Calif. (Compaq Center) Nov. 19: Portland, Ore. (Rose Garden) Nov. 20: Seattle (Key Arena) (Credit: Billboard.com, again) Hmm. I'm stopping here, but with only two actual pieces of news content. The trick to writing this type of column is that I either cover a lot of news happenings in a very brief manner, or select a couple of pieces and write a bit on them. What say you? Either email me or catch me in the forum with suggestions on how to improve. I'm willing to listen. Anyway, I'll see you folks next time. Matt D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
