You might not spend $16,000 for a bottle of 1978 Romanee Conti in a London restaurant and hang around with Rolling stones bad boys Keith Richards and Ron Wood, but you can spend a week or two living like Johnny Depp in a French Chateau.

He spends 6 months a year when not filming living happily in a village in France with his wife Vanessa Paradis former Chanel girl and their 2 children, Jack and Lily-Rose.

Depp fell in love with France while shooting the Ninth Gate here in 1998. Today, locals regularly spot him picnicking with his family, shopping for veggies at the village market and riding around the countryside on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

“Each morning, I can go to the little village not far from my chateau, have a cup of coffee, sit there with my girl and not worry about the paparazzi,” he told reporters in 2001.

“I love America. I love going back, seeing my family and friends – but it’s wonderful to get back to France and be living in a tiny village with nothing around. There is still the possibility to live a simple life. You can go to the market, walk about, buy fruits and vegetables – the things they did 100 and 200 years ago. We have moments when we’re sitting in our house and our kids are playing, and we look at one another and think, ‘Thank God we escaped.’ “

He says he is shocked by the gun violence in American schools and feels it is far safer raising a family in France. “I want to raise my baby away from all the weirdness.”

Neighbours say “He’s someone who will join us old men for a friendly game of Boules on a Sunday afternoon then have a drink at the bar,” Depp, Paradis and their two kids generally go marketing on Thursday mornings and can be seen on many Sunday mornings wandering around an open-air flea market. It is a very normal family life.

“Johnny often has a little chat with us in French. He’s good, but not fluent yet.”

At 40, Depp loves to play loud electric guitar, wears clothes that could use a cleaning, occasionally orders $16,000 bottles of wine in restaurants, and pals around with Rolling Stones bad boys Keith Richards and Ron Wood. He also has a large collection of guns, (a paparazzi deterent) a habit he got from his father.

Depp is also known for his love of French wines. He recently confessed to having his “Winona Forever” tattoo abbreviated (via laser) to read “Wino Forever.”

He announced to Figaro that Chateau Calon-Segur, a Saint-Estephe third-growth, is his favourite wine. In addition to plugging Calon-Segur as his favourite tipple because it’s both a great value and delicious, he’s admitted to admiring grand estates Petrus and Chateau Cheval-Blanc, in addition to Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, purveyor of the most high priced wine in the world.

That Adam Lambert, he’s a sneaky devil.  He sucked us into his little glam-fisted world as a contestant on Star Search…um, American Idol (sorry about that I always get those two mixed up, Paula Abdul reminds me so much of Ed McMahon you know), and he almost won.  I wonder what kind of prizes they give to runners-up?  A microwave?  A throw-rug?  A double-headed…sorry I’m  tangentizing again.  The reason for my distraction is that I’ve spent the last couple of days at stately Brown Tweed manor with my good friend Internet.  What have I been doing, you ask?  Well, only solving the MOST PERPLEXING MYSTERY KNOWN TO MAN!  You know what that is, right?  No?  Oh lawd, pop a squat my friend and let me lay some truth on you.  And yes, by “truth” I mean “conclusions drawn from completely unrelated facts that are loosely connected by my ever-degrading mind”. 

So anyway, I know ya’ll been hearing my boy Internet make a big fuss about Adam Lambert’s recent homosexual hijinx right?  If not, go visit Master Lowhorn’s recap here and catch up with the rest of the world.  Ever since his ill-fated AMA performance, Monsieur Lambert has had some difficulty getting back on TV, at least on ABC.  In response, Lambert accused ABC of censorship, having a double-standard, and homophobia.  It appeared at first as if the glam-banger was going to fight for his right to simulate oral sex on prime-time network TV.  Then, all of the sudden, Glambert tweeted that he was taking another look at how he presents himself and that he wants to “focus back on the music.”  What?  How did the unrepentant king of kink suddenly get all Kanye-after-the-VMA’s?  That’s the mystery friends, and once I recognized the enigma I was determined to solve it.

In order to adequately explain Mr. Fancy Pants’ actions, we’ll need to travel half-way across the globe to Surrey, England, home of The Rolling Stone’s very own animated cadaver and guitar player Ronnie Wood.  I’m not sure how many of you know that Wood is sixty-two (that’s 62) years old and that he has a twenty-one (yep 21) year old girlfriend from Russia named Ekaterina Ivanova.  Not too long ago, Wood was arrested for physically assaulting his mail-order sweetheart after a night out on the town.  After checking him for a pulse, police dragged the former Faces guitarist to jail, where he was bailed out the next day.  Immediately upon leaving jail, Wood broke up with Ivanova and reportedly kicked her out of his home.

What does all this have to do with ALam?  Let’s think about this, shall we? First off, we all know that Ronnie Wood is a sick, boozing pus-filled blister of a man who I doubt has a sixpence to his name.  If you don’t believe me, ask yourself why he would be trying to organize a Faces reunion without the most recognizable Face of them all, Rod Stewart.  Dude, Wood is straight up po.  So, given his beleaguered finances, how did homeboy get outta jail?  You guessed it (just like me):  Lambert-ghini.  The next question is why would the little guy want to bail out a past-his-prime girlfriend-abuser?  It’s simple, genius.  Using my keen powers of intellect to connect dots that no one else can see but me, I have discovered that Adam Lambert is really the love child of Ronnie Wood and Mick Jagger.  That’s right, using some weird science that would make Thomas Beaty cringe, Mick and Ron managed to turn what seemed at first like a drunken night of debauchery into the beginnings of a Star Search almost-champion.

How do I know this?  Well, take a look at their pics. 

Ronnie and Mick.

Adam Lambert. 

One more time.

Adam Lambert.

Ronnie Wood.

If you can’t spot that resemblance, then I bet you’d have a hard time figuring out who this is. 

Now that you know the secret of Lamberto Mussolini’s heritage, the rest of the pieces kind of fall into place, no?  Lambert secretly brings daddy back to the States, where he knows that he’ll have to support Ronnie’s massive drug and booze habit.  Baby boy realizes that he needs to make some more cash fast, and thumbing his nose (and other body parts) at the networks isn’t really helping his pocketbook any.  So, he decides to make nice to keep the green stuff flowing while he tries to figure out what to do with Darth Vader.

I’d like to thank the Internet for providing me with the tools to solve this perplexing problem and some well-timed email spam for feeding my paranoia to the point where I actually think this scenario is possible.  Also, I couldn’t have done it without my good friend Lack of Sleep, who always to make the zaniest things sound completely plausible.  Now please excuse me while I go back to work on my latest “Jon Gosselin uses body language to take photos of Lady Gaga as a child while Miley Cyrus uses rubber band facial piercings to communicate with Missoula hobos” theory.

O guitarrista do Rolling Stones, Ronnie Wood, 62, foi preso na noite de quarta-feira (2), na Inglaterra, por ter supostamente agredido a namorada, Ekaterina Ivanova. O músico passou a noite na prisão e depois foi solto após pagamento de fiança.
Em entrevista à “AP”, o assessor de imprensa dos Rolling Stones, David Rigg, confirmou que o guitarrista foi preso na região de Claygate, em Londres.
Ronnie Wood separou da mulher Jon, com quem estava casado há 23 anos, em julho do ano passado, depois de conhecer a namorada russa, que na época estava com 19 anos.

Fonte: Abril

 Ron Wood is 62 for goodness’ sake! If a 62 year old woman dated a 20 year old Russian blond people would laugh.

He isn’t an oil painting either. Looks more like a prune than the dish I had for breakfast…..mmmmm now let’s see, was it his charm she was after…..no I don’t go for that either.

Yes, got it, $$$$$$$$. OK darling, I guess for a few thousand $ you have to take the odd elderly punch, and shut up (pla-eeze).

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Rolling-Stones-Guitarist-Ronnie-Wood-Arrested-For-Assaulting-Girlfriend-Ekaterina-Ivanova-In-Esher/Article/200912115489327?lpos=UK_News_Carousel_Region_4&lid=ARTICLE_15489327_Rolling_Stones_Guitarist_Ronnie_Wood_Arrested_For_Assaulting_Girlfriend_Ekaterina_Ivanova_In_Esher

Mixtape Maestro Report:

Click here to go to MM to check VV Brown covering the Rolling Stones “Miss You”

Sorry!  Link is fixed!

Well this is it then, my 100th post and as promised here are the 100 songs currently in my top 10 (ok I know that sounds stupid, but regular readers will understand!) If I were to do this again say for the 200th post there would be quite a few differences. This list is in no particular order, although Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” probably still remains my most favourite song ever! I would love to see your comments on the list; is there anything you really like or really don’t like on here, is there anything really embarrassing perhaps. What is your top 10 or top 100? Incidentally I can already think of many more that didn’t make the cut!

As usual you will find the usual trivia content or comment along with the songs

No Woman No Cry        Bob Marley – Obviously I love this song but it has to be the live version and then preferably the one from the 1975 London Lyceum concerts. That album was called simply ‘Live’ and I wore out my vinyl copy completely

Police And Thieves        Junior Murvin – A classic reggae song, well covered by the Clash. Sadly the song is still all too pertinent today

Licking Stick     Desmond Dekker – Fun reggae at it’s best from the late great Mr Dacres

Cottage In Negril           Tyrone Taylor – Don’t ask me why but this is probably one of my favourite reggae songs ever. It makes me want to go to Negril

Rebel, Rebel     David Bowie – The first single from the wonderful Diamond Dogs album. A glorious Rolling Stones pastiche on which, unusually, Mr Bowie plays lead guitar

Heroes  David Bowie – Inspirational and also a song that I will have played at my funeral in 50 years. You should check out the versions he recorded in both French and German

Strawberry Letter 23       Brothers Johnson – Regular readers will know just how much I love this song. ‘Nuff said

I Want You Back           Jackson 5 - That opening piano run still sends shivers down my spine and frankly how can you not want to dance to this

Superstition      Stevie Wonder – Stevie rocks out more than many on this one which was originally written for Jeff Beck. More than enough to forgive Mr Wonder for “I Just Called To Say I Love You”

White Man In The Hammersmith Palais    Clash – In my humble opinion the finest song by the finest band ever!

London Calling  Clash – If my memory serves me well this is the only Clash song ever to feature in a Bond movie

Complete Control          Clash – A venomous attack on CBS, far more venomous than the Sex Pistols “EMI” in my view

Don’t Let Me Down        Beatles – My favourite Fab Four song which in fact was only a B Side! Also a song that I sing very badly at full volume when I’m drunk

Revolution        Beatles – Another moptops classic that I also sing very badly whilst under the influence of alcohol

Instant Karma    John Lennon – Karma is a powerful thing and Instant Karma is a powerful song!

Do Anything You Wanna Do      Eddie And The Hot Rods – In my teens this was probably one of the most meaningful and uplifting songs I knew. Even at the old age of 50 it still does it for me

Gary Gilmore’s Eyes      Adverts – For subject matter alone this would be in the top 100. Mr Gilmore was executed in the US in the mid 70s and he donated his eyes to an anonymous someone. That someone is the subject of the song!

Theme From A Summer Place    Percy Faith Orchestra – You might say that this is one of my guilty pleasures, well maybe, but it is a beautiful piece of music. It was also used to great effect in the TV adaptation of Stephen King’s Rose Red

Wild Is The Wind           David Bowie – Not a Bowie original but one written for a 50s movie, perhaps more of a torch song and one of Bowie’s best ever cover versions. It certainly makes up for his bloody awful cover of the Beach Boys “God Only Knows” in the 80s

What’s Going On?         Marvin Gaye – Great song from a great album, such a shame that it still rings true after nearly 40 years

September        Earth, Wind And Fire – E, W & F at their best, probably my favourite Saturday night song

God Save The Queen    Sex Pistols – Fear and conspiracy kept this from the number one spot in the Queens Silver Jubilee week in 1977. For me this is a major contender for the UK’s new national anthem!

Public Image     Public Image Limited – So many people thought that Lydon would do nothing after the Pistols, how very wrong they were.

Suspicious Minds          Elvis Presley – Elvis gets his mojo back after all those years of shit movie songs

She’s Gone    Hall & Oates – Taken from the Abandoned Luncheonette album, one of the saddest songs I know. I always play this when I’m in a melancholy mood. I also believe that Daryl Hall has the finest white soul voice in history. And what the bloody hell is a luncheonette?

Mack The Knife   Bobby Darin – I love story songs and this is easily one of the best. You have to tap your feet and click your fingers to this don’t you?

Karma Police    Radiohead – Probably the best band in the world today

Bernadette        Four Tops – Levi Stubbs RIP, I believe Mr Stubbs was the finest soul singer there ever was and ever will be. is this the only song about a Bernadette too?

Still Water (Love)           Four Tops – Relaxing, powerful, beautiful, ethereal, there simply aren’t enough words to describe this gorgeous song

Into My Arms    Nick Cave – As love songs go this might be quite strange but it is undoubtedly beautiful too

Talk Show Host    Radiohead - My favourite song from the ‘Head by a long way. just a B Side and als on the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Romeo And Juliet’ movie

Take Me Girl I’m Ready  Junior Walker – My favourite ever juke box record. In the late 70s this was number 77A on the jukebox in the Windmill pub in Ruislip

Woman To Woman        Shirley Brown – A real torch song, sets the hairs on the back of my neck on end

If Loving You Is Wrong   Millie Jackson – and the classic soul torch diva has to be Ms Jackson. I saw her live at the Victoria Apollo in the 70s

Ms Jackson      Outkast - Talking of Ms Jackson (although this is actually about Erykah Badu’s Mum) here is my favourite Outkast song. Don’t you think it sounds a little reminiscent of ‘Strawberry Letter 23′?

I Know What I like (In Your Wardrobe)     Genesis – Personally I think Genesis went downhill after Peter Gabriel left, what do you think? But this Gabriel era song is just sublime and what a fantastic title too

Metal Guru        T Rex – A song I used to mime to with my tennis racquet as a teenage wannabe rock star. So why did I go on to become a bloody accountant?

One Nation Under A Groove       Funkadelic - The ultimate dance song. I saw them live with companion band Parliament in 1978 at the Hammersmith Odeon. Still one of the best concerts I have ever seen

I Can See Clearly Now   Johnny Nash – This man has the voice of an angel, why are so few of his albums available on CD. Definitely one of my heroes, I reckon I would be lost for words if I met him

There Are More Questions Than Answers            Johnny Nash – A Texan singer that sings reggae? it shouldn’t work should it? But it does doesn’t it?

Solsbury Hill     Peter Gabriel – If I ever feel a bit down this is the song I play to pull myself back up. Written about his decision to leave Genesis just before they went towards mega stardom

I Was Watching You      Rosanne Cash – Regular readers will know that I have mentioned this song before. I do cry most times I listen to it and although it was released after his death it makes me think of my Dad

Hurt      Johnny Cash – Mr Cash covers a Trent Reznor off of the Nine Inch Nails song. You must be pretty hard if this doesn’t make you at least a tad emotional

The Man Who Sold The World    Lulu – One of the better covers of a Bowie song. If their respective labels had sanctioned it Mr Bowie was ready to record a whole album with Lulu. Sadly that didn’t happen

All The Young Dudes     Mott The Hoople – The greatest Bowie cover, in fact one of his greatest songs and he simply gave it to Mott!

Wishing Well     Free – Forget all the stuff he’s done with Queen, this was one of Paul Rodgers finest vocal performances

You Get What You Give        New Radicals – One of the most short-lived bands of the 90s, but what a legacy. Gregg Alexander also wrote (or co wrote) Ronan Keating’s ‘Life Is A Rollercoaster’ which I kind of like!

A Town Called Malice    Jam – Paul Weller. probably the greatest English rock star of his generation. I saw him live at the MEN in Manchester last year and he is even better in concert. Indeed he played this Jam classic too

The Look Of Love         ABC – For all my criticism of the 80s this song and the album it comes from (The Lexicon Of Love) is one of my favourites. Produced by the great Trevor Horn

Sheena Is A Punk Rocker          Ramones - 1, 2, 3, 4 and off da bruvvers go. Hey Ho Let’s Go is there really anything else to say?

Wuthering Heights         Kate Bush – Oh Kate my Lionheart, I love this woman and want to have her babies

The Man With The Child In His Eyes        Kate Bush – OK maybe I wouldn’t really do the male pregnancy thing with Kate, but she is definitely my favourite female singer

5.15      Who – My favourite song from the Who from my favourite of their albums, the classic ‘Quadraphenia’

Sugar Sugar      Archies – This was the first single I ever bought. I got it from Uxbridge market in 1969

Suedehead       Morrissey – For me Stephen can be a bit hit or miss but this is definitely on the hit side

William It Was Really Nothing     Smiths – How could I not include the Smiths in this list and yes I am being just a tad egotistical with this choice

New Years Day  U2 – The piano refrain is haunting in a rock kind of way. Also more ego coming out here too, my birthday is on new years day!

Justified And Ancient    KLF and Tammy Wynette - There will never be anyone like the KLF. Were they a band or just art terrorists? Who knows and frankly who cares when they left songs and collaborations like this behind!

You Got The Love         The Source Featuring Candi Staton – Another uplifting song, although personally I tend to ignore the religious aspects! Recently Florence And The Machine have recorded a great cover of this song

Gimme Shelter  Rolling Stones – For me this song, especially the riff, evokes the 60s

It’s Only Rock N Roll     Rolling Stones – Now this is another I used to mime to as a teenager, well ok I still do! It might not be a pretty sight but I love doing it!

Hurricane          Bob Dylan – Dylan at his best, when riled or when he gets political he is untouchable. This song was about the plight of wrongly imprisoned boxer Reuben Carter

You Wear It Well            Rod Stewart – Most people I know would opt for Maggie May from his early 70s hits, I always preferred this one. Possibly even worth forgiving him for the awful ‘Baby Jane’ for

Wish You Were Here        Pink Floyd – One of the Floyd’s greatest and another song that gets me just a little emotional

You Can Make Me Dance Sing Or Anything        Rod Stewart And The Faces – I bet you can’t not dance to this. It’s one of the last songs the Faces recorded before Ron Wood and Rod the Mod left. It shows them going in a direction which I think would have been so good

Itchycoo Park    Small Faces – I actually remember hearing this on the radio as a kid. I didn’t have a clue what the lyrics were about then and I don’t think I’m much wiser now! Don’t go near the atrocious cover version by M People

Lowdown          Boz Scaggs - Taken from the excellent Silk Degrees album from 1976 and the track I use to soundcheck any new hi-fi equipment even now

I’m Your Puppet            James And Bobby Purify – This was actually a rerecording of their original 60s song. Guilty pleasure or great soul song? I’ll let you decide, but either way I love it!

Olympian          Gene – probably the best of the ‘Britpop’ bands, well in my opinion anyway. Sadly the band are no longer around, but I did manage to see them three times while they were. Another song that I will have played at my funeral in the very distant future too

Born To Run      Bruce Springsteen – I was always going to include something from the Boss and it was always going to be this song

Lose Yourself   Eminem - In my opinion Mr Mathers is the greatest rapper, although Jay Z does push him close

Too Late To Turn Back Now       Cornelius Brothers And Sister Rose – It took me more than 20 years to track down this song and now when I listen to it I reckon it is definitely a guilty pleasure

Stay Together   Suede – The most Bowie influenced of the 90s British bands. The combination of Brett Anderson’s lyrics and vocals along with Bernard Butler’s guitar is truly awesome

Skin Trade        Duran Duran - A Duran Duran song in my top 100? Yeah that surprised me too

1999     Prince – I love a lot of Prince’s stuff, but this remains a great party track

Susan’s House  Eels – Mark Everett is a superb songwriter and this for me is one of his best. His autobiography is bloody good too

Take A Look Around      Temptations – A terrific Norman Whitfield production and that intro still blows me away!

Let’s Get It On   Marvin Gaye – This great song has recently been sullied by it’s use to advertise pizzas on UK TV (I think it might have been Dominoes) But it still remains a great song for seduction and lurve

The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage          Smokey Robinson And The Miracles – Bob Dylan once described Smokey as the worlds greatest living poet. Listen to this song and you can see why!

Gimme A Little Sign       Brenton Wood – A great example of 60s soul and the song I sing most in the shower (along with the Monkees ‘I’m A Believer’)

The Love You Save       Jackson 5 – Another classic written for the boys by the Motown house writers billed as the Corporation

Staggerlee        Lloyd Price – Another story song and I reckon the best version by far

Once In A Lifetime         Talking Heads – The ‘Heads finest moment for me. This song has everything and makes me happy everytime I hear it

Pyjamarama      Roxy Music – Roxy before they became bland and frankly shit!

Song 2    Blur – Funny isn’t how the songs with barely any lyrics often sound so good. Whoo Hoo indeed!

Double Barrel    Dave And Ansel Collins – Another slice of superb reggae. For years I thought these guys were brothers, they’re not. Actually it’s Ansel Collins and Dave Barker.

Sorted For E’s And Whizz          Pulp – Jarvis Cocker is a lyrical genius and this is Pulp’s best example of his way with words

Spinning Around           Kylie Minogue – OK so there is a certain appeal to the gold hot pants, but as modern disco goes this is brilliant. Gotta love Kylie!

Love Rollercoaster        Ohio Players – One of my favourite funk songs, expertly covered by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers but it wasn’t a patch on the original

Hey Hey My My        Neil Young – A great song and one which found a degree of infamy as it was quoted in Kurt Cobain’s suicide note

Grace     Jeff Buckley – How big a star would he have been had he lived? Probably one og=f the biggest I think

Satellite Of Love           Lou Reed – Taken from the Transformer album which was produced by Bowie and Mick Ronson. Listen carefully and you’ll hear Bowie on backing vocals

Hey Ya      Outkast – The ultimate party record of recent times, a great video too

Since I Left You            Avalanches – Aussie DJs/ dance act, I can’t believe that this wasn’t a bigger hit

Seven Nation Army        White Stripes – Jack White has recently been named man of the decade by some UK publications, perhaps with some justification. The riff alone on this is worth the top 100

White Horses      Jacky – OK clearly this theme from a 60s TV show (strangely enough it was called White Horses) is very much a guilty pleasure but I really love it. I think Jacky’s only other hit was ‘Rupert The Bear’

D’Yer Make ‘Er  Led Zeppelin – Taken from Houses Of The Holy and in many peoples opinion Zep’s worst song. But I like to be different and this piece of cod reggae is wonderfully irreverent

Wild Wood        Paul Weller – England’s finest living rock star perhaps? Well after Mr Bowie anyway

Stay With Me    Lorraine Ellison – How much emotion can you squeeze into a song, not much more than Lorraine Ellison does in fact. Ignore the David Essex cover of this song at all costs!

Young Americans    David Bowie – What he himself described as plastic soul and one of the songs I can recite the whole lyric of

Guiño al tiempo de Keith Richards- Fotografía sin autor conocido

Las arrugas en los rostros de Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts y Ron Wood son la celebración de una vida imposible. ¿Qué puede ser más contradictorio que ver a estos cuatro ejemplares de la raza humana en perfecto estado de descomposición? Surcar sus rostros es aconsejar mal a nuestros hijos. Sus Satánicas Majestades han cumplido casi cinco décadas desafiando a las generaciones que piensan que la sangre nueva es la que debe fluir. No es así. Leyendas aparte, hay una banda que se sube a un escenario y transmite ganas de envejecer. De la mejor forma posible, la de hacer lo mejor que se sabe y disfrutar con ello. Ahí los ven flacos, pasados y con presencia desafiante. Mick Jagger, la diva, con su ritmo frenético, ombligo desvergonzado y sus contoneos de estrella a la que no le invitarán jamás a desaparecer. Cuenta en el documental “Shine a light” de Scorsese, recién lanzado a la fama, que su objetivo no pasaba por perdurar en el tiempo. Siempre vigilado por la moral del siglo veinte, por otro lado más arriesgada que la del actual, y llevando sus morros icónicos a la extenuación de una voz que no se apagará más que muerta. Baila con Christina Aguilera y la penetra toda la senectud por las nalgas firmes. ¿Se puede ser más soberbio? Y atrás Charlie Watts, el batería mudo, el que arranca con fatiga y después encuentra su ritmo constante. Detrás de su mirada quizá no hay más. Nunca dijo nada y tal vez no tuvo qué decir o se lo calló o ninguna de las cosas. El único que dejó sus canas libres al ritmo de una batería discreta, como si fuera una figura del museo de cera. Sonrisa enganchada y saludo con el aplauso final. Ron Wood, niño abuelo, juega con Keith. Lo mira con admiración. Sigue su compás y lo reta en un duelo de gigantes. Richards se ha ido acartonando como un pirata invencible. Sus gestos muestran a alguien que vive de milagro y que se mueve por el escenario creando complicidades. Con el público, al que mima y guiña el ojo o regala una púa. Tiene ese gesto que atrapa por la bondad del más malvado, el canalla que todos deseamos ser y que matamos por timidez o frustración. Ese tipo debería ser el más antiguo del cementerio para contar todos los excesos que llevan a la tumba y es al revés, la fosa se muere de hastío echando al cielo la más aburrida flor. Un cigarro prohibido vuela escupido por su boca y fabrica un solo de simpatía por el diablo. Y viéndole ¿Quién va a sentir lo contrario? Sólo cuando acaba el último bis con el Satisfaction pide desesperado su bata, muerto de frío, como un cadáver que se mira a un espejo. Después los cuatro van a sus camerinos, acaban su trabajo y se separan rumbo a sus casas, restaurantes de moda, antros o prostíbulos de lujo. Han cumplido su contrato y seguirán haciéndolo hasta que el rock and roll sea un sueño que un día ocurrió. Antes de que se les despegue la piel de la cara la música les cartografiará por siempre jamás.

José Ramón Huidobro

Página web Rolling Stones

On the grounds of adultery, the divorce was granted. However, as Rueters points out, “divorce documents made public did not name the person with whom the star committed adultery.”

But we all know who that mystery adulteress is. If you don’t, click here.

Maybe now Ronnie can get back to focusing on music. READ: Call Keith!

Les Stones pourraient reprendre la route en 2010. C’est ce qu’aurait laissé entendre le guitariste Ron Wood lors d’une interview accordée à BBC 6 Music.

“Tout va très bien. J’ai vu Mick (Jagger) et Charlie (Watts) la semaine dernière. Tout est formidable. ” explique t-il en ajoutant qu’il est confiant pour que le groupe parte en tournée l’année prochaine : ” Espérons-le ouais !”

Néanmoins, aucune déclaration sur un possible nouvel album…

En rappelant que la dernière tournée “A Bigger Bang” des Rolling Stones avait débutée en automne 2005 et s’était achevée en août 2007.  Celle-ci s’est révélée être la plus lucrative de l’histoire de la musique avec une recette atteignant les 500 millions de dollars.

Plus d’infos dans les prochains jours sur cette éventuelle tournée.

Source : ClashMusic

DAVID BOWIE Official, FRIEND Of FRED VIDAL On Youtube LovE On EartH’s ROCK Channel: SILLY 100 VIP Views Today, PIN-UPS! 110 Views in 48 hours now!

2:10AM (back from HEROES) on Twitter: BREAKING NEWS: WARNER BROS and TOM CRUISE Follow FRED VIDAL On Twitter!!! SILLY, The Song Gets 111 Views in 48 hours!!

2:22PM On Twitter: http://twitter.com/fredvidal 

12:15PM Written on Youtube: A viewer: Vidal, a mix between Wilko Johnson and Mick Jagger in this video.” 95 Views. (105 just after!!!)

7:30am: Monitoring: 89 views, guys!!!!!!!!!! (in less than 2 days) I must go now, am I a Rock hero?? See you this later! (Fred) Watch it!!

Fred Vidal Message: “I’m on the Set today guys for a great TV show, a famous one, and I want to tell you before how I appreciate our connection and THANK YOU YOUTUBE, You R-O-C-K!!@!! Next week, I begin auditions/interviews/meetings for the cast/LINEUP of LovE On EartH, I S/W/E/A/R! It will be the second week of NoVeMbEr 2009.
Rock on!! Baby! (SILLY… song!)
Fred Vidal, PhD”

7:00AM: Breaking News! BAR LIGHT (the Halloween song!), and LOVERS ARE BEGINNERS soon, Celebrate 50 (Fifty) VIP Views!
http://www.youtube.com/bramstocker77

5:18am: Historic! Fred Vidal sent SILLY music video to Punkrockers.com, back to the Punk Com site’s BRAMSTOCKER profile page and their 122 friends  after a few months break.

http://www.punkrockers.com/bramstocker

SILLY YOUTUBE URL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hk33wgc7pU

Post it on your blog, your com page, where you want!!

SILLY YOUTUBE HTML:

<object width=”425″ height=”344″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/2hk33wgc7pU&hl=en&fs=1&”></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/2hk33wgc7pU&hl=en&fs=1&” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”425″ height=”344″></embed></object>

SILLY: 100 Vip VIEWS, it’s for today from Los Angeles to the whole United States (100% viewers are Americans!).

Details: there were no rehearsals before the recording of SILLY for Youtube, just the songwriting session, it’s a miracle Fred got all that Guitar riffs inspiration. The secret: it was in the afternoon, not the evening!! And maybe some Keith Richards-Ron Wood helping feelings!!

Indian Reservation: The song is for Pamela Courson too, all-time Love of Jim Morrison, who passed away in 74. The second verse does not mean the singer sings from “another world” after death, but from the future, the 2000’s to them in the 60’s, anyway it can be understood as an eternal message of people who left for them who stayed or left. IN MEMORIAM for George, Jim and PAMELA. Fred wants to mean he’s alone without them, but not totally.

Like Tin Machine, LovE On EartH will be a Concept band And Oriented To Rock History, meaning the 60's-70's, With A Bowie Pin Ups Vision of The post-Beatles Era.

 http://www.davidbowie.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialDavidBowie

Pic: Jim Morrison And Love Pamela Courson. What if Jim listened To INDIAN RESERVATION in UCLA at the beginning of the 60's? It would have been the same but it's a funny idea. The Song for the memory of Pamela who passed away in 74. Fred's acting on Hollywood Set today 11/6, before new recording of SILLY supporting song!

Fred Vidal used to live many years close to Jim last home in the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, in Menilmontant where he finished his PhD in Semiotics, the very emotional INDIAN RESERVATION is dedicated to Fred and Jim’s Paris friends too!

One of our all-time favorite musicians and all-around great guy Ian McLagan brings his Bump Band to Houston for a free concert today (Oct. 15) at 6:30 p.m. in Discovery Green park.  McLagan is, of course, the greatest rock keyboard player in the world who’s played on albums by the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Thin Lizzy, Robert Earl Keen, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, the Georgia Satellites and many more.  He’s prominently featured on the new live James McMurtry CD/DVD, Live In Europe.

His latest album is Never Say Never, probably his best solo work.  And we’re saving the best for last – “Mac” will team up with some of his old mates from the Faces on October 25 in London for a fund-raising concert.  Billed as a sort-of Faces reunion, McLagan will join ex-Faces members Ron Wood (Rolling Stones) and Kenney Jones (the Who) for a show that will certainly spotlight attention on the gone-but-not-forgotten Ronnie Lane, original Faces bassist who died in 1997 from multiple sclerosis.  Former Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman will fill Lane’s spot, and instead of original Faces singer Rod Stewart (who won’t be there due to prior commitments), vocals will be handled by people like Mick Hucknall (Simply Red), Melanie C, Paul Carrack (Squeeze), Lee Mead, Mark King and Mike Lindup (Level 42), Andy Fairweather Low, Kiki Dee, Chris Difford, Georgie Fame, Jan Akkerman, Albert Lee and Martin Taylor.  Read more about it here.

Ian McLagan will also play a solo gig at Dallas’ Belmont Hotel on Oct. 22, and will return to Texas for a number of dates in November and December.  Here is his itinerary.  We hope to talk to Mac after the big Faces show, and we’ll take some photos at the show tonight.

Ian McLagan official website

YouTube: Ian McLagan performing “Never Say Never” on “Late Show With David Letterman”

YouTube: Someone’s not happy that “Big Nose” isn’t going to play the Faces reunion

Licorice Pizza Report:

Click here to go to Lp to check a batch of live Rolling Stones circa 1978  “Let It Rock”, “All Down The Line”, “Honky Tonk Women”, “Star Star”, When The Whip Comes Down”, “Miss You”, “Lies”, Beast of Burden”, “Shattered”, “Just My Imagination”, “Respectable”, “Far Away Eyes”, “Love In Vain”, Tumbling Dice”, “Happy”, “Hound Dog”, “Sweet Little Sixteen”, “Brown Sugar”, “Jumping Jack Flash”….pretty nice set there kids.

By Michael MacLeod

ROLLING Stone Ronnie Wood says alcohol splits his personality like Jekyll and Hyde.

The wrinkly rocker has “accepted the fact it is never going to go away,” but says he still struggles with a “lack of self-esteem” when it comes to putting down the bottle.

The 62 year-old granddad guitarist opened up about his struggle with booze in a weekend interview.

And he says sticking with his 21 year-old Russian girlfriend Ekaterina Ivanova makes him feel like “a permanent teenager.”

The Stones stalwart shrugged off reports he was trying to win back his ex-wife Jo after dumping her last year.

Neighbours claimed Wood and Ivanova had a blazing row last weekend which ended with her threatening suicide.

Wood admitted there had been “harsh words” between himself and Ivanova at their mansion in Belsize, Surrey, but denied reports the pair were splitting.

He said: “There were a few harsh words that night between me and Kat but the point about Belsize is it’s like an echo chamber.

“You raise your voice and the neighbours hear everything.

“If we have another argument, this time we’ll have it in the middle of a field.”

He met the girl 42 year his junior in 2008 after a shock separation from his wife Jo, who is currently starring in BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing show.

Wood insists the pair have “moved on.”

He said: “I’m a permanent teenager. The older I get, the younger I get.

“Me and Kat, it’s been this great adventure and I’m having fun.

“It’s a new life for me, I’m in a different place to where I was 30 years ago. Jo and me, we just moved on.

“She’s gone her way, I’ve gone mine.”

But he admits he is struggling to move on from alcohol.

He said: “I tried to have a drink but I can’t find a balance.

“When I do, Mr Hyde comes out, and the older I get, the worse I get.

“I suppose once you accept the fact it’s never going to go away then it’s easier to live with.

“But a lack of self-esteem, that’s always been my biggest problem. Always putting myself down.”

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

As regulars here know by now, Lucid Culture HQ is undergoing some big renovations and for that reason we have to leave this site more or less in limbo until about the middle of October  when we  return with more of the stuff you may have grown accustomed to: the NYC live music calendar, cd and concert reviews, Song of the Day and our Tuesday Top Ten Songs list. This will also serve as a test of sorts to see how much traffic we get while there’s not much going on here. In the meantime, here are the songs of the day that we’d scheduled to appear, a new one every day through October 15, 2009  as the countdown to #1 on the Top 666 Songs of Alltime list continues.  If this isn’t enough to satisfy your curiosity, look around a little, browse the index above and we’ll be back before you know it.

304. Joy Division – Walked in Line

“All dressed in uniforms so fine/They drank and killed to pass the time/Wearing the shame of all their crimes/With measured steps they walked in line.” Nazis as metaphor for conformity as a whole, stepping to a ridiculously simple, potent descending punk riff. An early, 1977-era song released on the posthumous 1981 Still lp, available in a ridiculous number of live and studio versions: peek around.

303. Dick Dale – Misirlou

The lefty guitar genius and surf music pioneer is Lebanese-American and probably heard this iconic Greek melody as a kid in the 50s. Nice to see him healthy again and back on the road. New York Greek party rockers Magges also do a tremendously fun version.

302. The Dog Show – If I Laugh Anymore I’ll Break

Blistering and catchy, sort of a cross between the Dead Boys and 50s R&B. One of the more obscure tracks here, this is on a rare ep by the NYC mod punks from 2003 or so and well worth seeking out, whether on a live bootleg (they exist) or otherwise.

301. Elvis Costello – Riot Act

One of Steve Nieve’s finest, most poignant moments in the band with all those hauntingly restrained piano arpeggios. From Get Happy, 1980; mp3s are everywhere.

300. The Grateful Dead – Days Between

Every now and then, Jerry and co. would pull out the gravitas and this is a prime, extremely poignant example from right before the end, an elegiac epic that in its dark, determined way might just be their best song. Not that it really mattered, but the Dead never released it during their lifetime as either a studio or live recording. So you need to go to dead.net or archive.org, where this 12-minute gem resides in several places.

299. The Go-Betweens – You Can’t Say No Forever

Haunting, percussive janglerock cautionary tale about the dangers of succumbing to the lure of marriage. An apt companion piece to the Fun Boy Three’s Tunnel of Love…and a million blues and country songs. It doesn’t sound much like anything the artsy New Zealand pop band ever did before or after. From 16 Lovers’ Lane, 1989; mp3s are everywhere.

298. The Rolling Stones – Black Limousine

A poignant requiem for a good time, Ron Wood’s warmly fluid blues solo one of his finest moments in the band over a neat hesitation-step series of basic blues changes. From Tattoo You, 1981; mp3s are everywhere, and don’t be shy about downloading it because like all major label releases, this one will never make the band any more money. Not that they need it anyway. The link above is a spirited live version from the tour of the same year.

297. Telephone – Au Coeur de la Nuit

The title translates as “heart of the night,” which to songwriter Jean-Louis Aubert’s credit transcends cliche here. One of the most iconic songs in French rock, it’s a blistering requiem, title track from the Parisian rockers’ 1981 lp. Which you can download all over the place; the link above is a careening live version from German tv.

296. Zager & Evans – In the Year 2525

OK, some of you may find this cheesy and over-the-top. But we think the 1969 one-hit wonder is spooky in a psychedelic California Dreaming kind of way. Whatever you think, the video above is hilarious – and it screams out for someone with a little more depth to cover the song and bring out all its apocalyptic angst. By the way, the song was a last-minute addition to the band’s first album (if you find it, pick it up, it’s rare). Available for taping off your favorite oldies radio station as well as all over the web.

295. Randi Russo – Wonderland

Arguably the iconic indie rock siren’s signature song, this is a bruised, towering anthem about being left behind. And the injustice and cruel irony of it. From her classic Solar Bipolar cd, 2000; the link in the title above is the considerably faster but still dangerous version from the Live at Sin-e album, 2005.

294. Amy Rigby – Rode Hard

Culture shock has seldom been more amusingly, or more poignantly portrayed: fearless big city girl goes south and she doesn’t understand the natives any better than they understand her. She might be jealous of their brightly lit homes and seemingly secure lives, but she’s not sure. And are there any eligible guys within a hundred mile radius? Is there one? From the Sugar Tree cd, 2000, which you could download, or you could get at her site, she’s an independent artist so none of your money will go to any sleazy record label exec.

293. Erika Simonian – Bitter & Brittle

Best song on the classic 2003 All the Plastic Animals cd by the NYC underground songwriter/chanteuse and Sprinkle Genies guitarist, grimly yet wittily contemplating a fullscale breakdown with one of her characteristically gemlike lyrics.

292. Elvis Costello – Love Went Mad

“Do you know how I feel? Do you have a heart, do you have a heart of iron and steel?” the King inquires with a savage amphetamine insistence. A fast, anthemic smash from Punch the Clock, 1983, driven by Steve Nieve’s incisively bright piano. Mp3s are everywhere.

291. Curtis Eller – After the Soil Fails

Apocalyptic opening track on the fiery NYC banjo rocker’s 2008 cd Wirewalkers & Assassins:

This time the dream is a Russian oil tanker

Fidel Castro and Cuban sugarcane

Richard Nixon’s having the same old nightmare

Jack Ruby’s black secret crawling up through the drain…

When the hurricanes finally take out New Orleans

And scarlet fever has finally left Philadelphia bare…

There’s a ghost that we remember hanging in the air

290. Ninth House – Your Past May Come Back to Haunt Me

Catchy, swaying Nashville gothic existentialist cautionary tale: “I know all your secrets,” frontman Mark Sinnis intones ominously. From Swim in the Silence, 2000.

289. Elena Zazanis – Stingray

The highly regarded indie film actress is also a terrific singer and songwriter, with a powerful alto wail and a haunting chromatic edge that reflect her Greek heritage. For a few years during the early part of the decade, she led a first-rate, dark New York powerpop band and this is their finest moment, a towering anthem vividly depicting a surreal nightmare scenario that doesn’t end well. Never recorded, although live bootlegs exist.

288. REM – Find the River

Arguably their best song, about as far from their indie roots as they ever got, lush and anthemic with a string section. It’s about getting old, and failure, and death. “All of this is coming your way.” From Automatic for the People, 1992. Click on the video in the link above.

287. Latin Quarter – Truth About John

For about a year the British rock press were all gaga over this lyrically brilliant, Costelloesque band who were one of the first to bring Afropop flourishes into rock. This is probably their most straight-up rock song, a bruising anthem about Albert Goldman’s hatchet-job John Lennon bio. From the Modern Times lp, 1985. The Pip Hoyle style organ solo out is luscious. Frontman Steve Skaith now fronts his own band, continuing to play and record intriguingly polystylistic, lyrical songs. The link in the title above is the stream at imeem.

286. Flash & the Pan – Restless

A few years after their legendary 60s garage-pop band the Easybeats had run its course, Australians Harry Vanda and George Young led this pioneering, truly extraordinary dark new wave studio project best known for their big 1979 hit Hey St. Peter. This apocalyptic number sets a haunting Middle Eastern melody to a fast, hypnotic dance beat, the lyrics as offhandedly disconcertingly as ever. From the classic Lights in the Night lp, 1980, more easily downloaded than you would think – the link above is a torrent.

285. The Room – Naïve

Best song on probably the best ep ever made, the Liverpool new wave legends’ 1985 release Jackpot Jack. This updates noir 60s pop with a jazzy tinge and haunting Hammond organ, Dave Jackson’s ominously breathy voice and characteristically biting lyrics. It’s also a great drinking song – who knew beer goggles could be so lyrical. Jackson and bassist Becky Stringer would carry on in the equally captivating Benny Profane and currently the Nashville gothic act the Dead Cowboys.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/translator_collapsed_during_khadafy_EAHR9j2jHOt8Y6TFRhrcQM

I know the feeling, I mean how many times have listened to something like this and you just want to teleport yourself anywhere . . . *ANYWHERE* . . . other than where you are at the moment. I am sure Ron Wood would have the same affect if he employed a translator.

I mean it can be entertaining to be a spectator to such a trainwreck but poor guy! To be an unwilling participant.

There was no denying that, by 1975, popular music was undergoing another change.  The advances of the late 1960s had sunk in, and rock had already gotten over the Beatles by introducing bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Foghat.  The second wave of hard rockers were honing their chops in 1975, and names like Aerosmith, Boston and Van Halen were waiting in the wings.

But the pop charts were showing a different shade: black.  Black artists had always been a part of pop music, of course: names like Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross regularly appeared on the Top 40, as did Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and the Staple Singers.  By 1975, soul music and R&B had been influenced by psychedelic guitar music, and the new music born from that was called funk.

Curtis Mayfield

One of the big artists of the early Seventies was Curtis Mayfield, who soldiered through the 1960s as the mastermind behind the Impressions and their groundbreaking hits like “People Get Ready,” “Keep On Pushing” and “We’re A Winner.”  Mayfield left the group in 1970 and as a solo artist he helped put black music on the top 40 with his classic soundtrack to the blaxploitation movie Superfly.   In 1975 Mayfield took his own label, Curtom, to Warner Bros., and he anchored the first sampler from that year, All Meat.  In 1990 Mayfield would be seriously injured by falling stage lighting, and he was paralyzed from the neck down.  After nearly a decade in this condition, Mayfield died in 1999.

By the mid-1970s it seemed Warner/Reprise was no longer the trailblazer it was just six years earlier.  The label seemed to be happy milking the singer/songwriter formula (James Taylor, Seals & Crofts) and sponsoring the Southern branch of the hard rock movement (Capricorn Records‘ stable including the Allman Brothers and Wet Willie).  All Meat reflected this situation: Elvin Bishop, Wet Willie, Grinderswitch rocked their newest material while James Taylor offered “I Was A Fool To Care” and the Doobie Brothers begged “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me).”  Gary Wright was about to break big, evidenced here by “Dream Weaver,” and Jimi Hendrix is long gone but not forgotten as he turns up on All Meat with the newly discovered track “Captain Coconut.”

Emmylou Harris made her debut with “Bluebird Wine,” from her first album, and the disintegrating Faces (billed as the Faces/Rod Stewart) promised “You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything.”  Super producer Phil Spector brought his own label to Warner Bros. and his newest was a duet between Harry Nilsson and Cher, doing “A Love Like Yours,” which was written by the ex-Motown team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.  And finally, Curtis Mayfield bows on a sampler with “So In Love.”  Black music is also represented by Allen Toussaint doing a solo song and producing Labelle (with an odd version of the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”!) and Earth, Wind and Fire makes an appearance on a 1969 track from the Warners vaults, “Moment Of Truth.”

The Force, another 1975 two-LP sampler, marched to much of the same beat: rock, pop and a little funkiness.  Jethro Tull surfaced with the radio hit “Bungle In the Jungle,” the Doobies offered their monster track “Black Water;  Deep Purple, Trapeze and Montrose represented the hard rockers, Kenny Rankin and John Sebastian the singer/songwriter contingent.  One singer/songwriter making a splash at the time was Leo Sayer, a Brit who first made it big by writing a hit song for Roger Daltrey (“Giving It All Away”).  Sayer had his own solo hit with “The Show Must Go On,” later covered by Three Dog Night, and the hits kept comin’, with “One Man Band,” “Moonlighting” and “Long Tall Glasses,” which appeared on The Force.  Sayer would hit his peak in 1977 with a pair of monsters, “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” and “When I Need You.”  Sayer today continues to make music that occasionally reaches the U.K. charts, he now lives in Australia.

The Force also featured a couple of novelties: “Laurel and Hardy,” by the surfin’ duo of Jan & Dean, was a 1968 single that tried to bring the duo into the psychedelic era; it is presented here as a not-available-anywhere-else rarity.  And then there’s “Norton,” a track from the first solo LP from Mike McGear.  McGear had a few hits in England but was best known as the brother of one James Paul McCartney, who himself was a member of a British pop group.   Mr. McCartney  co-wrote “Norton” with his brother, produced Mike’s album and plays various instruments throughout – this is almost certainly his guitar work on the song.  Bringing up the funk and soul are Graham Central Station with “Feel The Need,” Tower of Power with “Only So Much Oil In The Ground” and Percy Sledge with “I’ll Be Your Everything.”

Rod Stewart’s solo success spelled doom for his former band the Faces, and guitarist Ron Wood put out his own solo LP in 1975, pointedly titled I’ve Got My Own Album To Do.  “I Can Feel the Fire,” on The Force, is like “Norton” in that it most likely features some star guest performances, possibly from one of Ronnie’s mates like Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Ian McLagan, Andy Newmark or Willie Weeks.  Despite having his own album to do, Ronnie would offically become a member of the Rolling Stones in 1976, a position he retains to this day.

Next: More from 1975!

MP3: “A Love Like Yours” by Cher & Harry Nilsson (from All Meat)

MP3: “So In Love” by Curtis Mayfield (from All Meat)

MP3: “Moment Of Truth” by Earth, Wind & Fire (from All Meat)

MP3: “Captain Coconut” by Jimi Hendrix (from All Meat)

MP3: “Long Tall Glasses” by Leo Sayer (from The Force)

MP3: “Laurel and Hardy” by Jan & Dean (from The Force)

MP3: “I Can Feel The Fire” by Ron Wood (from The Force)

MP3: “Norton” by Mike McGear (from The Force)

Inside the WB/Reprise Loss Leaders at Dustbury.com

30 Days Out’s series on the WB/Reprise Loss Leaders

Los Blues Brothers: Dan Aykord y John Belushi

He leído recientemente Como una moto, la biografía de Bob Woodward sobre John Belushi publicada este año en castellano (“sólo” 24 años después que la inglesa). Si ya sabía que los 33 años que vivió el actor y cantante de los Blues Brothers fueron efectivamente como se titula el libro, después de su lectura pude comprobar la desbocada velocidad con la que circuló esa moto. Me quedaría corto si lo contase en unas pocas líneas (para saber todos los detalles tenéis el libro) pero para que os hagáis una idea os contaré el final, el resultado de su autopsia. Antes de hacerlo, os pondré en antecedentes. Los últimos días de su vida Belushi los pasó encerrado en el Chateau Marmont (Sunset Boulevard) donde estaba intentando terminar el guión para su próxima película titulada Noble Rot (Podredumbre Noble). En esa época, su nivel de adicción a diferentes sustancias había aumentado considerablemente. La finalización del guión le tenía obsesionado y para acabarlo se dio un atracón continuado de cocaína, heroína, marihuana, Quaaludes, y alcohol que acabó con él.

John Belushi, Dan Aykrod y Bill Murray en SNL

En el momento de la autopsia el cadáver tenía 4 o 5 marcas de aguja en los brazos. El cerebro pesaba 1620 gr, 300-400 más que lo normal pero habitual en casos de sobredosis. La vejiga contenía 750 cc de orina, 250 cc más de lo que podría soportar una persona normal, algo también corriente en este tipo de muertes. Su corazón pesaba 460 gr, una cifra exagerada incluso para alguien del peso de Belushi (140 kilos), y que indicaba una hipertensión o una primera fase de elevada presión sanguínea.

El forense analizó además una muestra estandar de 100 miligramos cada una de su sangre, orina y bilis con el fin de detectar el consumo de drogas. En la sangre encontró 0,407 miligramos de cocaína y derivados y 0,002 miligramos de morfina (en lo que se convierte la heroína después de ser inyectada). La cantidad de morfina superaba lo que en un hospital se daría como calmante pero probablemente no era letal. En la bilis descubrió 0,279 miligramos de cocaína y la de morfina 2,1 superaba más de cien veces el nivel de la sangre, una cantidad que se habría acumulado en las últimas 48 horas de su vida. En la orina encontró 55,72 miligramos de cocaína, una cifra exagerada que se habría acumulado durante días. La mezcla de heroína y cocaína, determinó el informe del forense, tuvo un efecto acumulativo en el cerebro que propició la ralentización de su respiración, provocando finalmente el fallo respiratorio.

La biografía de John Belushi

Este espeluznante informe da una idea de lo que fue la vida alocada de Belushi, pero no muestra su potencial como actor ni como integrante de un grupo sin igual como los Blues Brothers. Es lo que más rabia da al leer su biografía. Una vez más la historia de un gran talento tirado por la borda por culpa de las drogas. Se hizo famoso en el programa de televisión Saturday Night Live, transgresor y pionero en su género. Alcanzó la popularidad en el cine con Desmadre a la americana (originalmente titulada Animal House). Se ganó a todo el mundo con Granujas a todo ritmo (The Blues Brothers) junto a su amigo del alma Dan Aykrod. Protagonizó la película 1941 de un joven Spielberg allá por 1979 y si no hubiese muerto hubiera trabajado con el director francés Louis Malle. Una carrera que empezaba a despegar y que prematuramente se terminó.

John Belushi y Chevy Chase en SNL

Al leer su biografía hay otro aspecto que no pasa desapercibido. La cantidad de droga que se movía tanto cuando hacía en la NBC el Saturday Night Live como en Hollywood, así como los numerosos actores y músicos que consumían junto a él o por su cuenta. Robert de Niro, Bill Murray, Robin Williams, Chevy Chase, Carry Fisher, Dan Aykrod, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, James Taylor…Precisamente este último, marido por aquel entonces de Carly Simon, cantó en su funeral That Lonesome Road. Con esta canción terminamos este homenaje a John Belushi, una moto sin duda desenfrenada.

Ten reasons why rock’n'roll will never die at my house...

 True Blue – Ron Wood and Rod Stewart from the good old days – always better together than apart.

Generation Upstart – The Diamond Dogs, the closest thing we have to The Faces these days.

Mona Lisa Smiled – The Quireboys are no slouches either. Spike rules!

Natural Born Boogie – Peter Frampton and Steve Marriott were great together in Humble Pie.

White Lies - I’m glad that Jason and the Scorchers are still rocking!

Big Time – Webb Wilder covers the Ian Hunter song.

All The Way From Memphis - …and from Queen and Def Leppard as well, Ian!

Pretty Vacant - Sex Pistols, with Glen Matlock and on television! Something is wrong here.

Radio Radio – Elvis Costello and The Beastie Boys re-enact one of the best moments in rock television history.

Under My Thumb - In the early days, Brian Jones was The Rolling Stones

Party on, Garth!