In recognition of the 25th anniversary of Andy Kaufman’s departure, Comic Relief is presenting “The Return of Tony Clifton.” Along with with his Katrina Kiss My Ass Orchestra (ten cutting edge Gulf Coast musicians) and the Cliftonettes (three sexy, talented backup singers/ dancers), Clifton is set to kick off a national tour to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina on June 27th 2008 at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA. Could there be better timing for the triumphant return of this “international singing sensation”?
Remember back in February when Hypeful asked you to help bring This American Life to a movie theater near you? Good news - it worked!!! On May 1st, acclaimed radio and television host Ira Glass will bring his wildly popular show to the big screen for a one-night only event. Broadcast live from New York via satellite and presented in HD and Cinema Surround Sound, Glass will debut never-before-seen extraordinary, funny and true stories from everyday life, show outtakes, feature special guests and answer audience questions. Tickets go on sale April 4th and you can see the complete list of participating theatres here. If you’re planning on going, you can also submit a question via email for Ira Glass in advance.
Remember back in November when Carl Barât claimed that he and Pete Doherty might collaborate on a musical? At the Shockwaves NME Awards last week, Barât revealed that the duo have been commissioned by London’s Donmar Warehouse theatre and will start writing next week at Doherty’s new house in Marlborough, Wilts. Scheduled to begin in early 2009, the show is said to be about the struggles of an up-and-coming rock band (familiar territory for the former-Libertines members) and will contain about 20 new songs. Despite this reunion of sorts, Carl added, “We’ve agreed that it’s not a good idea to reform the Libertines just yet…”
Here’s the deal - This American Life is planning a stage show that would be filmed and sent live—live!—via satellite to movie theaters across the country. It would include host Ira Glass performing a radio piece, never-before-seen stories and outtakes from the second season of the excellent TLA TV series, an audience Q&A via satellite with theater attendees, and much more. No other public radio program has tried this before, which makes it a very exciting event. But to make it happen, TLA needs to know if you’re interested (which you most definitely should be). TLA is asking for your input on how to craft the event by taking this very short survey (it’ll take less than two minutes).
As if you need more convincing to take the survey, here’s a trailer for the first superb season and an audio clip from last year’s live tour featuring Ira discussing “radio on TV,” his love of The O.C., and Mates of State performing The O.C.’s theme song (”California”).
MP3:
Ira Glass & Mates of State - “Radio On TV and The O.C.”
VIDEO:
This American Life TV Series First Season Trailer
Director David Fincher told MTV.com in a recent interview that he’s interested in marking the 10-year anniversary of Fight Club by bringing his 1999 film to the stage as a musical. Trent Reznor has expressed interest in developing the music and Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk is keen on the idea. Fincher has previously expressed interest in the project asking, “Can you imagine people in New Jersey paying $120 to drive to the city and watch a musical about anarchy?” In lieu of shirts or programs, maybe they’ll sell Tyler Durden soap as souvenirs!
Are musicians suddenly struck with an outbreak of musical fever because of Glen Hansard’s performance in Once or is writing a musical really just the next logical step after your lead singer has published a book of food essays? Franz Ferdinand recently had such a good time creating music for the film Hallam Foe, they’ve expressed interest in writing an entire musical once their new album is complete. Franz frontman Alex Kapranos elaborated on the possible project telling the Daily Record:
“After we’ve finished this album, we’re definitely going to look more at doing some other things. Writing for Hallam Foe was a lot of fun. We hear Belle & Sebastian were working on a musical film and possibly I’d like to write a musical too. Who knows? Maybe I’ll write one for the stage rather than for film. I wouldn’t play the romantic lead. I’d need to get somebody else to do that.”
As mentioned by Kapranos, God Help The Girl is the title of the Belle & Sebastian musical film Stuart Murdoch has been developing over the last year. Not to be left out, the same article features ex-Libertine and current Dirty Pretty Things frontman Carl Barât’s claiming he and Pete Doherty might collaborate on a musical comedy for the stage. Maybe Doherty is looking for someone to help him finish up the musical he was allegedly writing with Kate Moss.
Sadly, still no word Stateside when we’ll see Yoshimi battle pink robots on Broadway. In the meantime, practice your jazz hands and check out the two tracks below. “Perfection as a Hipster” is a demo composed by Stuart Murdoch from his forthcoming God Help The Girl. “Hallam Foe Dandelion Blow” is the aforementioned Franz soundtrack contribution that inspired the band to discuss doing a musical.
MP3s:
Belle & Sebastian (ft. Gary Olson & Catherine Ireton) - “Perfection as a Hipster”
Franz Ferdinand - “Hallam Foe Dandelion Blow”
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MP3s are for sampling purposes only. If you like what you hear, please support the artist by buying albums, attending shows, and spreading the word about them. If you have a complaint about a track's ownership, please contact Hypeful and I will remove it immediately. You may also contact me about artists, albums, etc. you would like to see featured on Hypeful.
