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Kanye West’s “SNL”: Wears Perrier Bottle, MAGA Hat, Changes Name, Fails to Launch Promised New Album

Roger Friedman
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Kanye West’s “SNL”: Wears Perrier Bottle, MAGA Hat, Changes Name, Fails to Launch Promised New Album


It was another Saturday night for Kanye West.

He dressed like a Perrier bottle for one song, wore a MAGA hat for another, changed his name to Ye, and failed to deliver his promised new album.

Kanye had Tweeted he was dropping an album called “Yandhi.” Not only did he not do that, he didn’t perform any of the songs from it on “Saturday Night Live.”

Instead, he presented three other musical entertainments. In one he wore a Trump-ian Make American Great Again hat and made a pro-Trump speech. A performance with Teyana Taylor was an embarrassment.

In the other, he wore a Perrier bottle as a Halloween costume.

UPDATED Global Citizen Concert: $7 Million in Salaries, No Grants to Poor People, Chris Martin Keeps Fans From Freaking Over Fallen Barrier

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED Global Citizen Concert: $7 Million in Salaries, No Grants to Poor People, Chris Martin Keeps Fans From Freaking Over Fallen Barrier

SUNDAY Chris Martin did show up, and to his credit he kept the crowd near the stage in Central Park from freaking out after a barrier fell. The fans thought it was gunshots. For a group that’s supposed to be about knocking down barriers, they didn’t seem to get the metaphor. That was on MSNBC. On FoxNews, Trump proclaimed he’s fallen in love with Kim Jung Un. Really. This all happened at the same time.

SATURDAY It’s time for the annual Global Poverty Concert, now called Global Citizen.

Here’s the rundown of main salaries. On their 2016 Form 990, Global Citizen spent $7 million totally on salaries, of the $11 million in revenue. And the revenue was down $5 million from 2015.

Global Citizen DOES NOT give money to poor or hungry people. I don’t know why no one gets this. They spend money to PERSUADE governments or corporations to give money to those people. If the governments or corporations were helping poor or hungry people anyway, Global Citizen takes the credit.

They spend another $7 million or more on rock concerts, for which they get sponsors. The sponsors’ money goes to Global Citizen’s expenses– like travel, food, rent, and salaries.

Their founder and leader, Hugh Evans, is making upwards of $300,000 a year. So is their chief operating officer. It’s a good gig.

Anyway, how can you trust a concert that bills The Weeknd before Janet Jackson?

Do notice the absence, live, for the second year in a row, of Chris Martin from Coldplay. He’s supposed to be Global Citizen’s ambassador.  The group is not on tour. Last year, Global Citizen overlapped with the I Heart Radio festival. Not this year. In 2015 he said he signed on to the organization’s “curator” for 15 years. Maybe he’s finally figured out what’s going on.

Read my story from this past July.

Off Broadway: Dana Delany, on a Break before CBS’s “The Code,” Puts on Boxing Gloves for “Collective Rage”

Regina Weinreich
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Off Broadway: Dana Delany, on a Break before CBS’s “The Code,” Puts on Boxing Gloves for “Collective Rage”

You know that you are dealing in the abstract when the five characters in a single play are called Betty, as in the MCC production of Jen Silverman’s “Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties” at the Lucille Lortel Theater on Christopher Street. Betty #1, a svelte urban housewife, rages about the news, a continued anxiety unrelieved by her philandering husband. Betty #2 is babyish and impossibly lonely learning to find her pussy using a mirror; #3 a motor-mouthed lesbian uses the word pussy until the word loses its oomph, and #s 4 and 5 are preoccupied with mechanics, one tattooed, the other a Latin lover recently released from prison who owns a boxing gym.

When #1, a sublime Dana Delany, wants to have a dinner party, a red chair drops from the rafters. This absurdist world will explore, as an author’s note boasts, pussy as if it were Antarctica and you are Shackleton. Along the way, an attempt at theater—“thea-tah”– will bring this group to Midsummer Night’s Dream tropes, with Betty #4, the usually hilarious Lea Delaria, somber, playing the Wall. Adina Verson, Ana Villafane, and Chaunte Wayans fill out this cast. Much happens along the way ending in a wild party, and the ultimate “Dream” solo performance.

Whew! There’s a lot to unpack in this loud, in-your-face, queer drama, under Mike Donahue’s direction. You may not experience Shackleton’s sense of adventure. Antarctica may not be your ultimate frontier. After a performance this week, an exuberant audience sprang to standing ovation, and one viewer had already seen it twice. Clearly, the Betties are speaking to someone. Maybe it’s just semantics, but when did we stop talking about vaginas?

RIP Marty Balin, 76, Magnificent Lead Singer of Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship

Roger Friedman
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RIP Marty Balin, 76, Magnificent Lead Singer of Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship

Marty Balin was the magnificent lead singer of the original Jefferson Airplane. He left after making five seminal albums with the Airplane, in 1969, but returned to sing with Grace Slick on the Jefferson Starship in 1974. He also had solo hits. He’s dead today at 76. Jefferson Airplane was such an important group, they started the San Francisco movement that came to include the Mamas and Papas, Hot Tuna, Lovin’ Spoonful, Big Brother and the Holding Company etc.

What young people don’t know now is that Rolling Stone, a much different publication in 1967, launched out of San Francisco featuring these groups, and Bill Graham’s Fillmore. For kids in New York, it was like they were all from outer space, and so fascinating to read about. Marty Balin and Grace Slick were like gods, and their bluesy folk sound was intoxicating. Kanter died two years ago, and now Balin is gone. Slick — one of the greatest female vocalists of all time– retired a while ago.

Pop Charts: Stars are Re-Born as Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper Duet Debuts at Number 1, Cher’s ABBA Album is Number 2

Roger Friedman
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Pop Charts: Stars are Re-Born as Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper Duet Debuts at Number 1, Cher’s ABBA Album is Number 2

Here comes “A Star is Born.”

A week ahead of the release of the Bradley Cooper-Lady Gaga movie, their duet from the film– called “Shallow”– debuts on iTunes at number 1.

This will be a monster single, and the first of many from the soundtrack that also releases next Friday. Watch this soundtrack soar on the charts and the radio as the movie booms.

Another big release today is Cher’s ABBA album. “Dancing Queen” blew onto the iTunes album chart at number 2, behind Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter V.” They have totally different audiences, of course. Cher hasn’t had a new album in years, and this one has potential to last a long time.

The two performers have little in common on the face of it– they’ve each paid high prices to be celebrities. Lil Wayne has spent a lot of time in jail on drugs and weapon charges. Cher was married to Sonny Bono.

“Murphy Brown” Ratings: Revival Easily Wins Time Slot, Beats “Grey’s Anatomy,” NBC Line Up

Roger Friedman
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“Murphy Brown” Ratings: Revival Easily Wins Time Slot, Beats “Grey’s Anatomy,” NBC Line Up

“Murphy Brown” came back last night, and people watched.

Candace Bergen’s revival of her TV show garnered 7.4 million total viewers. The show beat “Grey’s Anatomy” numbers for the night as well as all of the NBC schedule.

The whole CBS lineup won the night, with “Big Bang Theory” and “Young Sheldon” scoring 11 and 10 million viewers respectively. “Murphy” did similar numbers as “Mom,” the CBS show that preceded it. And that’s pretty good since “Murphy” hasn’t been on the air in over a decade and “Mom” is a current hit. “Greys” did better in the key demo while “Murphy” skewed older– but not so much.

Meanwhile, the 20th season premiere of “Law and Order SVU” brought in lower numbers than expected with about 5 million watching. Much worse was a show I (I’m sorry) don’t understand, “The Good Place,” with 3 million.

NFL Football on Fox was the most watched programming between 9 and 11pm, with an average of 10 million.

Roman Polanski is Back! Controversial Film Maker Set to Direct Epic Dreyfus Affair Film “J’Accuse”

Roger Friedman
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Roman Polanski is Back! Controversial Film Maker Set to Direct Epic Dreyfus Affair Film “J’Accuse”

Controversial Oscar winning filmmaker Roman Polanski is back in a big way. He will direct “J’Accuse” with Oscar winner Jean duJardin as the little known espionage officer who proved that the Jewish Captain Alfred Dreyfus had been wrongly accused of spying for the Germans in 1894.

This will be maybe the last epic film for Polanski, who has spent the last twenty years making smaller films. He’s wanted to make a movie based on “The Dreyfus Affair” for years.

The French title of the film — the working title in English is “The Dreyfus Affair” — comes from the famous open letter written by novelist Emile Zola in support of the captain, lambasting the French government for its anti-Semitism.

After Zola defended Dreyfus, he was forced into exile in England for a decade.

The film will be in French, with actor Louis Garrel playing Dreyfus, and will also much awarded actor Mathieu Amalric (“Diving Bell and the Butterfly”) and Polanski’s wife Emmanuelle Seigner.

Will this be a late career masterpiece for Polanski? I think so.

UPDATE: Hillary Clinton Kept the Secret She Was On “Murphy Brown” Premiere from Friends, Family

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE: Hillary Clinton Kept the Secret She Was On “Murphy Brown” Premiere from Friends, Family

Hillary Clinton was the surprise guest on the premiere of the “Murphy Brown” revival last night. The secret was really kept close to the vest. In the last few days, Hillary, according to my sources, had seen a lot of family and friends and told no one. Even Bill, who was with her, didn’t say a word. She applied to be Murphy’s secretary– there were legions of them on the old show. She was very good at sending herself up– she told Murphy she had a lot of experience with email.

The first three “Murphy” episodes didn’t get great reviews from the critics. I’m hopeful they improve as the series moves along. This morning we’ll see how the ratings were.

Ariana Grande Tells Twitter Followers She’s Having a Bad Day: “Nothing Will Ever B OK”

Roger Friedman
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Ariana Grande Tells Twitter Followers She’s Having a Bad Day: “Nothing Will Ever B OK”

Singer Ariana Grande is having a bad day. She sounded so miserable on Twitter I thought she was on tour, and exhausted. But she’s not on tour. Presumably she’s in her $16 mil apartment with fiance Pete Davidson. She has had a rough time, especially since the suicide of her former boyfriend Mac Miller– and of course, the tragic shooting at her Manchester, England concert. But Ariana has a hit album out, and lots to look forward to. But these Tweets– someone give her a hug.

Kanye West Doubles Down On Recent Album Sales Failure, Will Release A New One While He’s on “Saturday Night Live”

Roger Friedman
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Kanye West Doubles Down On Recent Album Sales Failure, Will Release A New One While He’s on “Saturday Night Live”

Kanye West isn’t satisfied with the low sales of his recent “Ye” album– released June 1st, sold approximately 244,000 copies.

So we’ll get a new Kanye album this Saturday night. It’s called “Yandhi,” which maybe is his Kanye’s take on Gandhi. Anyway, he’ll be the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live,” so this will be an occasion.

This is less expensive than dragging journalists to Wyoming, as he did for “Ye.”

Kanye’s already causing trouble at rehearsals. He tweeted this afternoon: “I’m at SNL rehearsal and we’re “trying” to have the performance shot on an IPhone Were receiving some push back.”

 

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