Mandatory News

Saturday, May 21, 2016

John Berry: Beastie Boys founder was much more than a punk rock footnote

Beastie Boys - (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)

Yesterday, John Berry, a founding member of the Beastie Boys passed away of frontal lobe dementia at 52. To some, his name could be considered merely a footnote in the history of the groundbreaking musical unit since he quit three years before the success of their debaucherous debut full-length Licensed to Ill.

Related: John Berry, founding Beastie Boys member, dies aged 52

But to those who were there on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the early 80s witnessing the punk scenes shift from the narcotic-fueled nihilism of the likes of Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers into the boundless youthful energy of hardcore, Berry was a vital part of the transition. Along with his fellow Beastie Boys he was right there with bands like Bad Brains and the Stimulators critiquing Ronald Reagans Morning in America armed with their guitars and an unshakable angst.

Berry established the band under its original moniker of The Young Aborigines in the late 70s alongside Michael Diamond (Mike D) and future Luscious Jackson drummer Kate Schellenbach. Besides being immersed in creating music, John was also known as something of a rapscallion on the club scene of New York at the time, like the time when he (allegedly) pelted snowballs at British proto-goth rockers Bauhaus during their debut US performance at the Rock Lounge.

Bauhaus: victims of Berrys snowballs, maybe. Photograph: Fin Costello/Redferns

Young Aborigines played a few gigs before John changed their name to the Beastie Boys. In some bizarre form of self-promotion, the band would repeatedly call into the only Hardcore Punk radio show in New York at the time Tim Sommers Noise The Show and request their own material, even though the Beasties had not recorded or performed yet. The band eventually recorded some four-track demos in Berrys loft on 100th Street, which Sommer played and pushed very enthusiastically on the show. The band returned the favor when they interspliced segments of Sommers read-backs from his radio show on the collection of their early Hardcore material Some Old Bullshit released in 1994.

Besides playing guitar in the Beastie Boys, Berry also moonlighted as the vocalist for another band that existed in the embryonic stages of New York hardcore punk scene, the chaotic Even Worse. Jack Rabid, the drummer as well as the editor of the long-running underground music publication The Big Takeover remembers how John got the gig one summer day in 1980. We had a gig at the bandshell in Tompkins Square Park one Saturday afternoon and our vocalist John Pourdias didnt come and we had no singer. Nick goes Thats OK! and pans the crowd, sees a guy and says to him: You look like Johnny Rotten! Come up here and be our singer! So thats how John Berry became our singer. Berrys tenure as Even Worse vocalist lasted until the end of 1980 when he went on to concentrate solely on the Beastie Boys.

Related: From Bad Brains to Cerebral Ballzy: why hardcore will never die

The only recorded output Berry would appear on in the time of him being in the band was their debut 7in EP, Pollywog Stew from 1982. Johns guitar playing on the record is just as spirited and shambolic as any of the players who were his peers on the hardcore punk scene in the 80s, but there was something about it that made it singular in its recklessness. Not necessarily burly enough to be a forerunner to what New York hardcore would be known for a decade later with the likes of Biohazard, but still delivered with enough mischief to make you p***k up your ears and take notice.

For me, Berrys playing and the famous photo of the band sitting curbside from the back of the EP are one in the same. In the image, Berry sits looking pensively with his hands on his knees eyeing something in the distance as if hes about to leap into attack mode once the photo is taken. An angsty weisenheimer quick with a joke, John Berry is yet another important piece of the puzzle in the history of Americas hardcore punk scene of the early 80s gone and, hopefully, never forgotten.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/20/john-berry-beastie-boys-founder-punk-rock-new-york

An Agent Once Told Ashley Graham To Lose Weight While Waving Money In Her Face

EXCLUSIVE: Behind-the-Scenes of DNCE"s New Music Video, Featuring Ashley Graham!

Maybe 2016 should just rename itself theYear Of Ashley Graham. So far this year,thegorgeous model has takenthe fashion world by storm by posing on the cover of the 2016Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, rocking the cover of Maxim, and modelingin designer Christian Sirianos first plus-size runway show.

Back when the28-year-old was first starting her career, however, she wasnt always treated with the respect she deserves. I had agencies telling me that I had to lose weight, Graham recently revealed to People. I had one that waved money in my face and said, If you lose more lbspoundsyou can make a lot more of this, and he was waving $20 bills in my face. Wow, rude much?

That agents terrible attitude was apparently an attempt to push Graham into dropping pounds quickly, but she wasnt having it. I was peaking at a size 18, and in the plus size fashion industry, models go from a size 8 to a size 16/18, she explained to People. So if youre on the smaller size or the bigger size, youre not going to work as much as if youre in the middle. So he was trying to encourage me to lose weight but it didnt work, because I was that person where if you told me to go on a diet and lose weight, Im just going to gain weight.

Graham, who grew up in Nebraska, shared with the mag that whileher classmates sometimes teased her for her size, her mom always fostered a positive body image at home. Things gottougher emotionallywhen Graham moved to New York City at age 17. I had gained a lot of weight because my mom wasnt cooking for me and I wasnt working out, she told People. I started to really hate myself. I would literally just look in the mirror, and I would be disgusted. It was a constant degrading of my body. Youre fat. Youre ugly. Youre worthless. Im surprised youre a model, are some of the things I would say to myself.

Years ofnegative thoughts started to crushGrahams spirit. Eventually, she hit a wall and grew determined to be kind toherself, no matter her sizeand that sent her careeron a more positive trajectory than ever before. A lot of taking care of my body and my mind and my soul had to do with talking to myself and actually giving myself affirmations, she told the magazine. It got me out of my funk. I still had cellulite, I still had back fat, I still had jiggly arms, and I decided to love every part of it. Heres to taking a cue from Graham and choosing to loveevery part of our bodies. Life is too short for anything else!

This Hair-Flipping Gent Is The Real Star Of Ashley Grahams Sultry Video

Ashley Graham And Danielle Brooks Were Stunning On Christian Sirianos First Plus-Size Runway

Ashley Graham Wants You To Drop Your Cover-Up And Show Off Your Swim Body

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Source: http://www.self.com/trending/2016/05/an-agent-once-told-ashley-graham-to-lose-weight-while-waving-money-in-her-face/

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, "Pretty raunchy, pretty funny, pretty Zac Efron"

The Meddler Official Trailer #1 (2016) Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne Comedy Movie HD
LAS VEGAS (KSNV News3LV)

NEIGHBORS 2: Sorority Rising (2016)

4 STARS (out of 5)

SORORITY RISING is a surprisingly good movie. Zac Efron gives one of his best performances and his comedy timing is flawless. Like so many raunchy comedies, there is sweetness at the end of the film complete with a strong moral message.

The raunchy, politically incorrect, groaning out loud moments, are all still there. There are lots of those moments but while screening this film I could tell, the audience had a good time. The difference between NEIGHBORS 1 and 2 is Mac (played by Seth Rogen) and Kelly (played by Rose Byrne) together with their young daughter, now have purchased a beautiful new home. Teddy (played by Zac Efron) has not yet found himself and is without a roof over his head. Instead of life in the fraternity, we now find young college girls in a sorority who just want to have fun.

At first blush, Zac Efron has plenty of opportunities to take off his shirt and show off his famous physique. The movie really belongs to him, but not because of his body. Under his leadership, he provides the moral compass. Everyone involved in the film seems to grow and gain a more mature perspective on what is important in life. Whether as young college students, as elders or those in-between, we all eventually grow and mature. In doing so, we not only find ourselves, but we find our place in the world. We become neighbors in the truest sense of the word.

THE ANGRY BIRDS (2016)

2 STARS (out of 5)

It was a real struggle for me to fall in love with a film whose premise is to search and destroy. For those not familiar, the movie is based on a video game adventure where flightless birds are launched by a slingshot to destroy all the pigs on the playing field. In the movie, the pigs have a devious plan to take over Bird Island and commit mass murder of all the stolen unhatched eggs.

The transition from video game to the big 3-D screen brings a disturbing reality to this animated carnage. The birds could not be cuter. The pigs could not be deadlier. With this movie, unfortunately, my age is showing. Disturbed, I took the time to listen carefully to the scores of kids and their parents giving their reactions while filing out of the theater.

"Best movie ever!" said one child.

"Awesome!" said another.

"Clever!" "Funny!" "Great!"

Finally, I heard a few mild objections coming from the adults. "No objection to content, but uncomfortable with the repetition of one inappropriate word," said one adult.

Way back in 1961, the great Oscar-winning film, WEST SIDE STORY, pushed the Catholic Legion of Decency envelope in ending the Officer Krupke number with the gang shout out of "KRUP YOU!"

Some fifty-five years later, "PLUCK YOU" doesn"t sound so dirty anymore. At least, not for angry birds.

THE MEDDLER (2016)

4 STARS (out of 5)

THE MEDDLER is yet another beautiful art film that will be lost to any mass audience in 2016. That is a shame. Just as with Don Cheadle"s Oscar worthy performance in MILES AHEAD, Susan Sarandon"s astonishing performance in THE MEDDLER will be missed.

We all know someone like Marnie (played by Susan Sarandon) and her daughter Lori (played by Rose Byrne). It is profoundly devastating to lose a husband or a father. Grief remains the most challenging and difficult emotion to get through, but it is the one that everyone faces. Credit goes to film writer and director Lorene Scafaria for bringing an adult film with such honesty, such authenticity, and such tenderness to the big screen.

Marnie is lost and adrift in her sadness. What she does not get from her daughter, she finds with strangers. We all know someone like Lori, who feels that her mother is smothering and intrusive. So like many of us, this child builds a wall.

Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (as Zipper) continues to shine in a most touching and beautiful performance. No doubt, this is absolutely the number one movie that I recommend for you to see this week. From out of such darkness, we can find light and hope and love.

In the end, THE MEDDLER is uplifting.

Connect with Bob Fisher on Twitter @BobFisherNv and on Facebook!

Source: http://news3lv.com/news/local/neighbors-2-sorority-rising-pretty-raunchy-pretty-funny-pretty-zac-efron

Secret Service shoots gun-wielding man near White House

President Obama Speaks at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner

WASHINGTON A U.S. Secret Service agent shot a man who brandished a gun near the White House on Friday while President Barack Obama was out golfing, and the man was taken to a hospital in critical condition, officials said.

The Secret Service, which protects the president and his family, briefly locked down the White House as a precaution, and Vice President Joe Biden was secured within the White House complex during the lockdown, a White House spokeswoman said.

Authorities later said there appeared to be no link to terrorism.

The shooting took place just off 17th and E streets, near what is known as the South Lawn outside the home and offices of the president.

A man carrying a gun approached a checkpoint shortly after 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) when uniformed Secret Service officers ordered him to stop and drop the weapon, the Secret Service said in a statement.

"When the subject failed to comply with the verbal commands, he was shot once by a Secret Service agent and taken into custody," the statement said.The man was taken to hospital in critical condition, the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department said.

Authorities said they were investigating the motive.

"At this time, based on a preliminary investigation, there is no known nexus to terrorism," security agencies said in a joint statement.

A man who appeared to be in his mid-20s walked to a gate of the White House holding a silver-colored gun pointed at the ground, said Brett Polivka, a 26-year-old visitor from Texas who was near the south side of the White House.

"A couple officers drew their guns, went right at him and within two or three seconds we heard a gunshot," Polivka said.

The Secret Service, which also guards other top dignitaries, said all those under its protection were safe, but it did not say if Obama"s family was home at the time.

"Everyone in the White House is safe and accounted for," a White House official said.

The shooting followed several incidents that raised questions about the Secret Service"s performance.

In September 2014, a knife-carrying man jumped a fence and ran into the White House itself in one of the worst security breaches during Obama"s tenure.

That episode led to the resignation of the Secret Service"s director.

In March 2015, two Secret Service agents capped off a night of drinking by driving into a White House barricade inches away from a suspicious package that investigators were examining.

In 2011, a man hit the White House with automatic rifle fire, though damage to the building was not discovered for several days.

(Reporting by Megan Cassalla, Jeff Mason and Eric Walsh in Washington; additional reporting by Joseph Ax and Gina Cherelus in New York and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Tom Brown and Jonathan Oatis)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-whitehouse-shooting-idUSKCN0YB2L0

REVIEW: The Meddler

Chevelle- The Meddler (Hats Off to the Bull)

Review by Dustin Heller

The Meddler is a new dramedy starring Susan Sarandon which was written and directed by Lorene Scafaria. Scafaria is best known for her adapted screenplay for the excellent Nick & Norahs Infinite Playlist and also her directorial debut Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Along with Sarandon, the film stars Rose Bryne, J. K. Simmons, Cicely Strong (of SNL fame), Lucy Punch, and Jason Ritter. Opening in Indianapolis on May 20, The Meddler is rated PG-13 for brief drug content.

Marnie (Sarandon) is a recent widow who has recently moved from New York to Los Angeles in order to be closer to her daughter, Lori (Byrne). Having a lot of time on her hands and more money than she will ever need, Marnie spends her days and nights meddling in her daughters affairs. This drives Lori crazy and when an opportunity with her job allows her to go back to New York for a while, Marnie is lost.

While Lori is gone, Marnie begins to plug into the lives of some other people who need help as well. Whether its needing money for a dream wedding or just giving someone a ride when they dont have a car, Marnie is always helping out. Through this, she meets a former cop named Zipper (Simmons) who she really likes, but cant let go of her deep love for her late husband. While Marnie does a great job of making the lives of everyone around her better, she starts to realize that she needs to find her own happiness and take care of herself as well.

The Meddler is all about Susan Sarandon and she gives one of the best performances of her career. She is so charismatic and charming that you fall in love with her character from the opening frame. She is literally in every scene of the film and shows so much range as an actor. The film is somewhat of a feel-good movie that is targeted towards females and more specifically towards mothers. To that point, Im still confused by the films Indianapolis release date as this would have been the perfect film to take your mother to on Mothers Day a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, the film has a big heart and is actually quite funny at times. The storyline is good and well-written but probably plays it a little too safe at times, but its forgivable. I cant say enough about Susan Sarandon in this movie and I sure hope there are more roles like this in her future. Whether it is a special night out with mom or even a girls night, The Meddler is a worthwhile and rewarding time at the movies.

Grade: B

The Meddler opens in theaters on Friday, May 20

Source: http://fox59.com/2016/05/20/review-the-meddler/

Founding Beastie Boys Member John Berry Dies at 52

Beastie Boys - Sabotage

Founding Beastie Boys member John Berry has died at the age of 52.

His stepmother, Louise Berry, tells The Associated Press that Berry died Thursday morning at a hospice in Danvers, Massachusetts. She says Berry suffered from frontal lobe dementia and had been in declining health for several years.

His father, John Berry III, says Berry helped found the Beastie Boys in the early 1980s after meeting future bandmate Mike Diamond at the Walden School in New York. Berry III says the band used his Manhattan loft for their first practices and shows. Berry left the group after playing guitar on its first EP. His father says the band was becoming more professional and Berry "wasn"t up for that rigor."

The family plans a public celebration of life in the fall.

Published at 8:28 AM EDT on May 20, 2016

Source: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/Founding-Beastie-Boys-member-John-Berry-dies-380241561.html

Morley Safer Hated Contemporary Art. He Also Made Paintings. He Once Sent a Bundle of Them to Me.

Morley Safer, 60 Minutes journalist, dead at 84
Photo: Courtesy of Morley Safer

Morley Safer, the legendary TV newsman, died Thursday at age 84. So why am I, an art critic, writing about him? Like a lot of people in the art world, I feel I have a sort of history with him.

I don"t mean to be speaking ill of the dead instantaneously, and I intend this more as a begrudging compliment: To us, Safer was a persistent pain in the a*s, most famously in his September 1993 quarter-hour hit piece for 60 Minutes on the whole culture of contemporary art, snidely titled "Yes, But Is It Art?" In the segment, which quickly became insider shorthand for all the ways the wider world misunderstands and sometimes disdains contemporary art, the irascible Safer dressed in an almost-tuxedo and dripping with disdainful innuendo that implied that all of this was just a sham attacked high prices (or what seemed then like high prices), the infamous "political" Whitney Biennial, and, of course, Jeff Koons. And even though every potshot he took seemed slanted, one-sided, his arch insinuations got under the art world"s skin a sign of different times, I guess, both for art and for television news. I remember how miffed I was when, two weeks after his hatchet job hit the airwaves, I spied him drinking free Champagne at that season"s Whitney Museum benefit dinner. In 2012 he more or less repeated the drive-by, sauntering down the aisles of one of the grossest souks on Earth, the Art Basel Miami Beach Art Fair, for another segment, all the while drolly pointing to this or that fashion victim or crapola work of art, cluelessly assuming that all art was like this.

What most people don"t know about Safer is that he was himself an artist. Or, at least, he made art. In the 1990s I"d heard he made watercolors of motel rooms, and I continuously tried to coax him into allowing me to mount a show of them. I don"t even know if my requests ever got to him, as I never heard from him or CBS. That changed last year, when I was writing an article on art by celebrities. Somehow he must have heard about it. Out of nowhere I got the dearest email asking if I"d consider writing about his work. He offered to send a package to New York Magazine. Before I could say "OMG! The bear is coming out of the woods," a carefully wrapped bundle of small original works arrived at our offices. I don"t believe they"ve been published, or possibly even seen publicly before.

UNICODE Photo: Courtesy of Morley Safer

I didn"t hate them. What I saw had a certain earnest pathos, someone being an artist in a mid-20th-century Sunday-painter way. The work seemed influenced mainly by a very conservative idea about plain modernistic surfaces, depiction, and color. Safer was a careful drawer, and his colors stayed within lines. His subjects were ordinary landscape, portraits, churches, tourist sites, and the like.