Icon For A Reason: Our Interview With David Cassidy

I got the rare chance to talk with a truly iconic figure this week, David Cassidy! Most of us remember his role in The Partridge Family fondly, and David Cassidy continued his long, successful career writing, producing, acting, and of course, singing. In fact, he just released a new single, "UFO (U Fine One)" on iTunes, and he paired up with Cree8 Group to feature the song on a new iPhone game called iSlinky Squashin' Martians. Talk about nostalgia!

Today David dishes (and I mean, dishes!) with me about the '80s, the beginnings of his career, his kids, and life in the industry.

Hi David, how are you doing today?
I'm doing great, thanks. Now what type of site is Culture Brats?

Well, Culture Brats, we're a pop culture site. We're all kids of the '80s, so we basically cover pop culture items from the '80s to today. We do some things that we grew up with; we do some current stuff, and mainly we try to support artists.
That's a beautiful thing. I did have a hit in the '80s that people in the U.S. don't know or remember, it was actually in the top charts in the U.K. and all over Europe and Australia. I wrote it with a great writer/producer, Alan Tarney. We worked and lived in the U.K. for about eight months out of the year in '84. And then I did a tour there in '85, and it was great. I really enjoyed it.

I'm still proud of the record. In fact, a little known fact, it was George Michael who I began working with and co-producing some stuff with and actually sang background on it, and he did a great job. He's a terrific artist. At the time, he was just leaving Wham! It was right before his first solo album got gigantic and I enjoyed working with him.

Book Review: The Hunger Pains

I am a big fan of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games. There's a lot of hype surrounding the big movie adaptation coming out in a couple months, and judging from the trailers, it's going to be great. But Collins's dystopian novel is filled with action and enough teen angst and love triangles to keep adults and teens turning the pages.

And of course, as with anything that's immensely popular, leave it to The Harvard Lampoon to make fun of it. Really, you haven't made it big until your work is made into a parody. First, they took on Twilight with their own version, Nightlight. And then there was Bored Of The Rings, a funny take of Lord Of The Rings. And their latest comedic creation, The Hunger Pains (Simon & Schuster), is sure to make all you Hunger Games fans crack up.

Before I even cracked the book, I was already laughing at The Hunger Pains' caricature of all the characters from the original.

The Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen
The Hunger Pains: Kantkiss Neverclean

The Hunger Games: Peeta Mellark
The Hunger Pains: Pita Malarkey

The Hunger Games: Gale Hawthorne
The Hunger Pains: Carol Handsomestein

The Hunger Pains follows the same basic story of the original, with the country divided into districts and ruled by the authoritarian government known as The Capital. They hold the Hunger Games, an event that involves throwing a bunch of kids into an arena in order to kill each other until only one remains.

Katkiss and Pita come from District 12, which is the telemarketing district. Fans of The Hunger Games will easily recognize many of the events, people, and places the Harvard Lampoon is poking fun of. But it's obvious this book is targeting all that teen melodrama prevalent in Young Adult Literature these days.

For example, my favorite quote from this book: "In the back of my mind, I wonder who my heart will belong to in the end. Will it be Carol, with his perfect body and unparalleled hunting skills? Or Pita, with his giant head and flabby stomach? It's a tough call."

Obviously, Kantkiss isn't very smart. When she sees Badge Underwear wearing a pin that says, "THE CAPITAL SUCKS," she wonders if it means anything.

If you loved The Hunger Games, you will certainly have a lot of fun with The Hunger Pains. You can grab your own copy February 7th.

Ferris, You've Returned?

An intriguing thing popped up on the internet:



What does it mean? The long rumored Ferris Bueller 2? A tease for some sort of commercial campaign? A viral marketing stunt gone awesome?

I guess we'll have to wait another few weeks to find out.

Fun., "Carry On"

Man, I can't wait for this album to come out next month!

From 2012, here's Fun. with "Carry On."

Enjoy!

Seven Questions In Heaven With Brandon McHose

While he may not be a household name yet, Brandon McHose seems to possess that rare quality that all singer/songwriters secretly wish they had: the ability to move back and forth between softer material and shredding guitar licks.

Originally based in Austin, he now makes Chicago his home and after listening to tracks from his two CDs, we asked him to to take a break from his touring and recording schedule to sit down and answer Seven Questions In Heaven.

Describe your music for our readers who may not be familiar with you.
"John Mayer dipped in a country river and a little heavier" (someone said that to me once). A lot of emphasis on the guitar. My music has variations of contemporary rock and is very regionally influenced (i.e. Southern rock), but has west coast flare at times as well.

Who are your musical influences and idols?
Joe Walsh, John Fogerty, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Brad Paisley, Brandon Boyd/Incubus, Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits, Vince Gill, Sting, Foo Fighters, Stephen Stills/CSNY, Johnny Rzeznik, Matchbox 20, and others.

What was the first album, cassette or CD you bought with your own money?
Red Hot Chili Peppers, One Hot Minute. STILL LOVE THAT RECORD! My two favorite songs on it were "My Friends" and "Aeroplane."

G.I. Joe: Restallionation

You know what's better than the new G.I. Joe 2 trailer? The G.I. Joe 2 trailer recut to include... My Little Pony.



I'm pretty sure this is why the internet was created.

Welcome Back, Adrian Lyne!

Let's talk about Adrian Lyne for a minute shall we? As a director, he's managed to stay relevant even though his meager output has seen him helm only eight feature films during his long career. But what an impressive eight films they are:

Foxes, Flashdance, 9 1/2 Weeks, Fatal Attraction, Jacob's Ladder, Indecent Proposal, Lolita, and Unfaithful.

He offered up one of the best sexually deviant romps ever put on film (9 1/2 Weeks) and then threw cold water on the fire by frightening an entire generation of young guys with a cautionary tale of exactly what could happen after a few drinks and an unhinged one night stand (Fatal Attraction).

Doris, "Ladybug Luck"

From 2012, here's Doris with "Ladybug Luck."

Enjoy!

Katherine Heigl's Been Grouponed

Katherine Heigl's new film One For The Money hasn't even opened yet and it's already being heavily discounted:



What gives? Is the movie bad or is Hollywood looking at the bottom line? Here's her career as a leading lady (all numbers taken from The Internet Movie Database):

Date	Film	Opening Weekend	Total Gross
June 1, 2007	Knocked Up	$30,690,990 ($10,690/screen)	$148,734,225
January 20, 2008	27 Dresses	$27,442,040 ($8,974/screen)	$76,808,654
July 26, 2009	The Ugly Truth	$27,605,576 ($9,579/screen)	$88,915,214
June 6, 2010	Killers	$15,837,266 ($5,539/screen)	$47,000,485
October 10, 2010	Life As We Know It	$14,506,464 ($4,605/screen)	$53,358,964

So what do you think this Groupon offer means?

Beatles, Bands, And Chief Brody: Our Interview With Alexander Newton

PHOTO CREDIT: Bobby Quillard

One of the things that distinguishes just another pretty face from the throngs of attractive newcomers that storm the entertainment industry on a daily basis hoping to be the next "It" girl or guy is a certain something that often defies explanation. Some would say it's a combination of stars aligning, raw talent, hard work, and who you know. Others would argue that it's a hit-or-miss game full of pain, rejection, and the ripped-up shards of a thousand broken dreams.

Either way, every once in awhile someone ambles through the door and makes enough of an impression for us to sit up and take notice. Alexander Newton is one of those people.

The multi-talented actor and musician will star alongside the late great Roy Scheider this spring in what turned out to be his last film role as well as release his single "Lost In Forever" which hits ITunes on April 18, 2012.

We spoke to him about music, movies, and the pitfalls of being dubbed the next Robert Pattinson. (Not that I think that hurt.)

Okay, let's preface this with the fact that at the tender age of 19 you are already ringing all the bells with the film and the music. Now when I took a look at this movie you are in, IMDB had changed the title close to three times. So can you tell me officially what we will be calling it when it hits theatres?
Yes, confusing I know. Iron Cross is the working title and Justice Vengence is the big billboard title.

Another fascinating tidbit about this whole thing: it's Roy Scheider's last film. And the performances are getting a LOT of buzz.
Yes, I know. Are you a big Roy Scheider fan?

Huge fan of the man. So sorry when he passed away. One thing that not many people know is that your father Joshua Newton wrote and directed this movie.
He did. He's the writer-director and he edited it too. A pretty talented guy all around.