2009 – The official Roadrunner Records web site has been updated with top-album picks for 2008 from a number of artists that are signed to the label, including members of MACHINE HEAD, MEGADETH, DEVILDRIVER, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and TRIVIUM. A few of the selections follow below. The entire list can be found at this location.
Shawn Drover (MEGADETH)
01. CYNIC – Traced in Air
02. TESTAMENT – The Information Damnation
03. MESHUGGAH – Obzen
04. CHILDREN OF BODOM – Blooddrunk
05. OPETH – Watershed
06. EVERGREY – Torn
07. BLOTTED SCIENCE – The Machinations of Dementia
08. AIRBOURNE – Runnin’ Wild
09. INTO ETERNITY – The Incurable Tragedy
10. BRAIN DRILL – Apocalyptic Feasting
Frédéric Leclercq (DRAGONFORCE)
01. GUNS N’ ROSES – Chinese Democracy
02. DISTURBED – Indestructible
03. SLIPKNOT – All Hope Is Gone
04. CYNIC – Traced in Air
05. CRADLE OF FILTH – Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder
06. ULTRA VOMIT – Objectif Thunes
07. SEBASTIEN TELLIER – Sexuality
08. ALICE COOPER – Along Came a Spider
09. MOTLEY CRUE – Saints of Los Angeles
10. METALLICA – Death Magnetic
Matt Heafy (TRIVIUM)
01. COLDPLAY – Viva La Vida
02. COLDPLAY – Prospekt’s March
03. MAXIMUM THE HORMONE – Tsume Tsume Tsume
04. LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – Mozart’s Requiem
05. GOJIRA – The Way Of All Flesh
06. AMON AMARTH – Twilight of the Thunder God
07. SLIPKNOT – All Hope Is Gone
08. OPETH – Watershed
09. METALLICA – Death Magnetic
10. TRIVIUM – Shogun
Robb Flynn (MACHINE HEAD)
01. ALL SHALL PERISH – Awaken The Dreamers
02. METALLICA – Death Magnetic
03. TRIVIUM – Shogun
04. WINDS OF PLAGUE – Decimate The Weak
05. LIL WAYNE – The Carter III
06. LA COKA NOSTRA – A Brand You Can Trust
07. SLIPKNOT – All Hope Is Gone
08. WHITECHAPEL – This Is Exile
09. MESHUGGAH – Bleed
10. BLEEDING THROUGH – Sister Charlatan
Joel Stroetzel (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE)
01. KINGS OF LEON – Only by the Night
02. RYAN ADAMS AND THE CARDINALS – Cardinology
03. RADIOHEAD – In Rainbows
04. TOMMY EMMANUEL – Center Stage
05. ALL THAT REMAINS – Overcome
06. NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
07. Augustana – Can’t Love (Can’t Hurt
08. IN FLAMES – A Sense of Purpose
09. NADA SURF – Lucky
10. RAY LAMONTAGNE – Gossip in the Grain
Paolo Gregoletto (TRIVIUM)
01. METALLICA – Death Magnetic
02. MACHINE HEAD – The Blackening Special Edition
03. COLDPLAY – Viva La Vida
04. GOJIRA – The Way of All Flesh
05. SLIPKNOT – All Hope Is Gone
06. AMON AMARTH – Twilight of the Thunder God
07. PROTEST THE HERO – Fortress
08. AC/DC – Black Ice
09. OPETH – Watershed
10. TRIVIUM – Shogun
Max Cavalera (SOULFLY; CAVALERA CONSPIRACY; SEPULTURA)
01. BAD BRAINS – Build a Nation
02. DISFEAR – Live the Storm
03. GOJIRA – The Way of All Flesh
04. GOGOL BORDELLO – Gypsy Punks
05. TURBO TRIO – Turbo Trio
06. INCITE – Divided We Fail
07. AGNOSTIC FRONT – Warriors
08. AMON AMARTH – Twilight of the Thunder God
09. AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED – Insect Warfare
10. HIRAX – The New Age of Terror
Justin Foley (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE)
01. CYNIC – Traced in Air
02. MESHUGGAH – Obzen
03. CULT OF LUNA – Eternal Kingdom
04. SIGUR ROS – Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
05. GOJIRA – The Way Of All Flesh
06. MOGWAI – The Hawk Is Howling
07. NINE INCH NAILS – The Slip
08. UNDEROATH – Lost In The Sound Of Separation
Michael Spretizer (DEVILDRIVER)
01. THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE – Walking With Strangers
02. AMON AMARTH – Twilight of the Thunder God
03. MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE – If
04. ALL THAT REMAINS – Overcome
05. GOJIRA – The Way of All Flesh
06. IN FLAMES – A Sense of Purpose
07. CHILDREN OF BODOM – Blood Drunk
08. OPETH – Watershed
09. RAUNCHY – Wasteland Discotheque
10. TESTAMENT – The Formation of Damnation
Jonathan Miller (DEVILDRIVER)
01. IN THIS MOMENT – Dream
02. GUNS N’ ROSES – Chinese Democracy
03. SLIPKNOT – All Hope Is Gone
04. SHINY TOY GUNS – Seasons of Poison
05. ENYA – …And Winter Came
06. ALL THAT REMAINS – Overcome
07. METALLICA – Death Magnetic
08. ALL SHALL PERISH – Awaken The Dreamers
09. MUDVAYNE – The New Game
10. TRIVIUM – Shogun
2006 – Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav finds love with Deelishis on the final episode of Flavor of Love‘s second season. 7.5 million people watch the outcome.
2006 – American Idol contestant Derrell Brittenum surrenders to the Georgia police. Along with his twin brother Terrell, Brittenum performed on the hit show while being wanted on theft and forgery charges.
Terrell and Derrell Brittenum caught in new ‘American Idol’ controversy
By Christopher Rocchio, 01/17/2008
One American Idol mini-controversy apparently wasn’t enough for Terrell and Derrell Brittenum, the Memphis twins that were disqualified from the show’s fifth-season Hollywood Round after identity theft charges surfaced.
On Wednesday morning, the brothers’ newly-signed independent record label boldly announced that although American Idol had advanced them to the show’s Hollywood Round after they’d attended Idol’s seventh-season Atlanta auditions this summer, the twins had decided to “decline” the offer and instead release a debut album. The only problem is it wasn’t true.
“We thought long and hard about joining American Idol for season seven. Although it’s a great opportunity, we feel The Brittenum Twins are a group and only one of us can win and if I can’t do it without my brother I don’t think it would be a true win,” Terrell stated in the release. “Also, we have done it before, we know some of the techniques the judges use and don’t want anyone think we have an unfair advantage over the other contestants.”
However during a subsequent Wednesday afternoon interview with Reality TV World, Derrell and Terrell admitted that, despite the boastful announcement, it wasn’t their decision to not participate. Instead, the fact that they had already been 29-years-old at the time of their August audition meant that they were technically ineligible to compete in American Idol’s seventh season. (Idol 7 hopefuls were required to be between 16 and 28 years old as of July 28, 2007 — meaning that all applicants must be born on or between July 29, 1978 and July 28, 1991 in order to be eligible.)
“We auditioned with flying colors… They passed us through to [executive producer Ken Warwick]. Ken Warwick was like, ‘What do you guys think you’re doing? You’re 29-years-old. You know the limit is 28,’” said Terrell. “We were like, ‘We just want a second chance to show the world we’ve been through a lot…’ We just really viewed it as a second chance, and when we sang for Ken, he agreed.”
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Following their meeting with Warwick, Derrell and Terrell claim they were sent to audition for Idol judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, who all agreed the twins “do possess the talent to come back to the show” and thus awarded them a ticket to the season’s Hollywood Round.
“But before we could go to Hollywood Week — one week before we leave for Hollywood Week — they tell us there’s a possibility that we might not be on the show because our age is posing a problem for the legal department,” said Derrell. “So we fly out for Hollywood Week, and they tell us that we cannot do the show.”
When pressed, the brothers also acknowledged that despite their press release comments, they wouldn’t have declined the chance to participate if producers had waived the age requirement.
Terrell and Derrell Brittenum
“We would have been on… It’s a wonderful vehicle,” Terrell admitted.
“I think I would have taken it,” added Derrell. “You just can’t beat the Idol machine.”
When contacted by Reality TV World, a Fox publicist could not immediately confirm or deny any of the twins claims. In addition, the publicist couldn’t state whether Terrell and Derrell will be featured in American Idol’s seventh-season Atlanta auditions broadcast, which is scheduled to air Tuesday, February 5 at 8PM ET/PT.
“I really wonder if they’re going to air the footage… It was funny, it’s hilarious, it’s a story, it’s a message,” said Terrell. “It’s all of that in one. I really think even though [executive producer Nigel Lythgoe] said they’re not going to use it — I believe that that’s not [going to be] the case. I really believe that they’re going to use it this year, even if we’re not going to be on the show for Hollywood… We make good TV. They know that.”
The Brittenum brothers are no strangers to being uninvited from Idol’s Hollywood Round. They attended Idol 5′s Chicago audition in September 2005 and both immediately impressed the judges with their smooth, soulful voices, earning them a ticket to the season’s Hollywood Round.
However shortly after Fox aired their Idol 5 audition in January 2006, it was revealed the twins were being charged with forgery, theft by deception and financial identity fraud for allegedly buying a 2005 Dodge Magnum using another man’s identity.
While they were released from police custody shortly thereafter, their invite to Idol 5′s Hollywood Round was rescinded by the show’s producers, ending their Idol journey before it ever really began.
They then had a tentative deal with rapper Jermaine Dupri’s SoSo Def Records soon after the controversy, but they claim a lawyer representing them “messed the deal up.”
“We’re sort of trying to U-turn the bad decision we made about stealing the car, just trying to get our lives right,” said Terrell before adding they unfortunately found trouble again. “So we get locked up [in jail] again for an address change in July, and Idol was coming back to Atlanta on the fourteenth. We already planned to audition again for Idol at [age] 29.”
“We just thought let’s just give it another go,” added Derrell. “Maybe we can overturn the bad press and sort of make it good. let people know we made stupid decisions in life — but we still are talented… Just because we made bad decision doesn’t mean we have to stay down in the mess that we’re in. We can always pick ourselves back up and start over again.”
Terrell and Derrell’s first single off their “The Come Up” debut album is scheduled to be released in February via TSG Records, an Atlanta-based company that is home to several R&B singers and rappers. In addition, Terrell and Derrell have launched a foundation called U-Turn where they visit high schools to mentor youth.
Regardless of whether they appear in next month’s Atlanta auditions broadcast, the twins say American Idol viewers may still not have seen the last of them.
“They did give us an opportunity to come back to the show as far as guest appearances,” said Derrell. “So we’re thinking if the single does climb the charts, we’ll call American Idol and I’m sure they would love to put us back on the show.”
2004 – In the midst of the Halloween season when the 1960s novelty hit “Monster Mash” is annually revived, the song’s singer and co-author rewrites its lyrics to protest President George W. Bush’s environmental policies. Bobby “Boris” Pickett reprises his infamous Boris Karloff imitation on “Monster Slash.”
2004 – as the third season of American Idol was aired on US TV a memo was leaked showing a list of songs banned from being performed at this year’s auditions that included, Elton John’s ‘Candle In The Wind’ and ‘Fallin’ by Alicia Keys. Also all songs by Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, No Doubt, R. Kelly, Tom Petty, Korn and Linkin Park were not allowed after concerns over the cost of securing rights for the song’s use, (or the composers not wanting their song’s to be performed on the show).
2003 – MTV gives viewers a glimpse into the holiday season at the home of Ozzy Osbourne and his family with “The Osbourne Family Christmas Special.” A wide range of celebrity guests join in on the festivities, including Jessica Simpson, who duets with Ozzy on “Winter Wonderland,” and newlyweds Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra, who are shown baking holiday cookies.
2003 – What do pop strumpet Britney Spears, rock behemoths Aerosmith, soul sista Mary J. Blige and punk brats Good Charlotte have in common? Football, apparently. All four appeared at a concert on Washington, D.C.’s Mall to kick off the NFL season.
1999 – Korn debuts its new single on the season premiere of “South Park.” Korn members Jonathan Davis, James “Munky” Shaffer, Brian “Head” Welch, Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu, and David Silveria lend their likenesses and voices – as well as the song “Falling Away From Me” – to the episode.
1997 – The original lineup of the Zombies – Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, Chris White, Hugh Grundy, and Paul Atkinson – play onstage for the first time in 30 years. The reunited members perform their hits “She’s Not There” and “Time Of The Season” to a cheering crowd in London’s Jazz Cafe.
1993 – George Harrison and David Crosby make guest appearances on the fifth season premiere of the Fox animated comedy series “The Simpsons.”
“Homer’s Barbershop Quartet” is the first episode of The Simpsons’ fifth season. It features the Be-Sharps, a fictional barbershop quartet founded by Homer, whose story roughly parallels that of The Beatles. The episode was written by Jeff Martin, directed by Mark Kirkland, while George Harrison and David Crosby guest starred as themselves, and The Dapper Dans as the singing voices of “The Be-Sharps”.
Episode no. 82
Prod. code 9F21
Orig. airdate September 30, 1993
Show runner(s) Al Jean & Mike Reiss
Written by Jeff Martin
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Chalkboard “I will never win an Emmy”
Couch gag A trio of couch gags: The family shatters into pieces, the family combine into a multicolored blob, and the family explode.
Guest star(s) George Harrison as himself
David Crosby as himself
The Dapper Dans as the singing voices of “The Be-Sharps”.
DVD
COMMENTARY
Matt Groening
Mike Reiss
Al Jean
Jeff Martin
Hank Azaria
Jon Lovitz
Mark Kirkland
Plot
At the Springfield Swap Meet, Bart and Lisa notice Homer’s face on an album cover. Homer explains that he, Principal Skinner, Barney, and Apu recorded a barbershop quartet album in 1985, which catapulted them to national fame.
This development came after an agent, Nigel, offered to be their representative on the condition they expel original member Chief Wiggum, who was “too Village People.” After rejecting many auditions for a fourth member, the barbershop trio returned downheartedly to Moe’s Tavern, where they recruited Barney after hearing him sing in a beautiful Irish tenor voice. The group considered “Handsome Homer Simpson Plus Three” (suggested by Nigel), finally calling themselves “The Be Sharps.” They had decided their name should be initially witty, yet become less funny each time you heard it.
Back in modern times, Homer brags that he sold a spare tire at the swap meet; unfortunately, on the way home their tire blows out. While Marge begins her long walk to a gas station, Homer continues the story. He tells Bart and Lisa that after Marge bought a “Baby On Board” sign, Homer wrote a song inspired by the fad. “Baby on Board” appeared on their first album, Meet the Be Sharps, and became a hit. The group performed the song at the Statue of Liberty’s centennial in 1986. The Be Sharps also won a Grammy for “Outstanding Soul, Spoken Word, or Barbershop Album of the Year”, and Homer met George Harrison. Meanwhile, Wiggum’s singing career (now dead) was being mocked by numerous talk show hosts.
At home, Homer explains that the Be Sharps were on merchandise (similar to the Beatlemania craze) – such as lunch boxes, mugs, posters, etc. When Lisa pulls out a bottle of Be Sharps Funny Foam, Homer says that it was pulled off the market when it was discovered to be poisonous. The name of their second album was Bigger than Jesus. While the Be Sharps were becoming popular, Marge was having problems raising the children, and the Be Sharps also had their own issues. Creative disputes arose when Barney began dating a Japanese conceptual artist, and Barney left the group in all but name. The two recorded a song in which his girlfriend repeatedly says “Number 8″ over tape loops of Barney’s belches (a nod to the Beatles song “Revolution 9″). Ultimately, the group realizes they had lost their popularity and were no longer hot, according to the latest issue of Us Weekly’s What’s Hot and What’s Not, and splits up. Principal Skinner returns to Springfield Elementary School, and Homer returns to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
At the end of the episode, the group reunites to perform a concert on Moe’s roof singing their number one hit “Baby on Board”. Many passers-by stop to hear them sing their comeback concert, including George Harrison who remarks, “It’s been done.”
Deleted scenes
The following can be seen on the Season 5 DVD set:
* The group announces a new Record Label called “Donut Records” (in a parody of the Beatles’ creation of Apple Records) at an empty press conference. Homer then mentions a point when yodeling was threatening their popularity.
* After Homer mentions the band breaking up and going their separate ways, it originally cut to Principal Skinner returning to his mother’s home. She asks if he was with any women, and he replies no. She then horrifies him by asking him to give her a bath and laughs maniacally. The scene then cuts to the outside of their home, which resembles the Bates Motel from Psycho. This is one of several one-off jokes in early seasons to equate Mrs. Skinner to Norman Bates’ mother, before developing her into a full character later on.
Cultural allusions
Beatles references
* Moe’s Tavern has changed to Moe’s Cavern, a reference to the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool where The Beatles frequently performed in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
* When Barney first preforms with the group the audience chant “Wiggum forever, Barney never” in reference to when Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best, where the audience chanted “Pete forever, Ringo never.”
* Chief Wiggum’s replacement in the band by Barney is a parallel to Pete Best being replaced as The Beatles’ drummer by Ringo Starr. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon having to change his name to Apu de Beaumarchais may also be a reference to Ringo Starr having changed his name from Richard Starkey.
* Their name shares the same first syllable as the Beatles, and, like the Beatles, carries a double meaning.
* Homer having to cover up his marriage to Marge is a parody of John Lennon having to conceal the fact he was married to Cynthia Lennon and had a child in the early years.
* After consoling Marge about hiding her from the press, Homer says “It’ll only be until the end of our tour of Sweden”, in reference to when the Beatles went on their tour of Sweden, shortly after their English tour, and before their tour of America.
* After finishing their record “Baby on Board”, their manager Nigel tells them, “Gentlemen, you’ve just recorded your first number one record.” This is a direct reference to what the Beatles’ producer George Martin said after they recorded their second single, “Please Please Me”.
* The peaceful scenes during the airtime of “Baby on Board” is a reference to the allegation that there was no crime during the appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.
* The first Be Sharps LP, Meet the Be Sharps, is a direct reference to The Beatles’ first American album Meet the Beatles!, featuring the quartet’s faces in black-and-white contrast on the cover.
* The press conference at the airport is a direct reference to the questions the American press asked the Beatles when they first arrived in New York.
* The cover of Bigger Than Jesus, the Be Sharps’ second album, features the group walking on water. It is a direct parody of the art on The Beatles’ album Abbey Road. At the end of the episode the back cover is revealed, on which we see Homer turned away from the camera, as opposed to the rest of the band. This is a parody of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band LP reverse, in which Paul McCartney is in the same position, allegedly as part of the “Paul Is Dead” hype. “Bigger than Jesus” is a reference to a controversial quote made by John Lennon in 1966. Bart references this by asking “What did you do ? Screw up like the Beatles and say you were bigger than Jesus?” to which Homer replies “All the time, that was the name of our second album”.
* According to Matt Groening in the DVD commentary, the shots of the band in the recording studio where they decide to break up were based on pictures from the Let It Be sessions.
* Barney’s Japanese conceptual artist girlfriend is a parody of Yoko Ono, and the two record a song which sounds similar to Lennon and Ono’s “Revolution 9″. Additionally, the scene in which Barney plays the song for Homer pays homage to a picture of Lennon, Ono, and McCartney in the studio.
* The group performing atop Moe’s Bar at the end of the episode is a parody of The Beatles’ impromptu concert on the Apple Corps rooftop during their Get Back recording sessions in 1969 — hence George Harrison’s line, “It’s been done.”
* Homer’s comment “I’d like to thank you on behalf of the group and I hope we passed the audition,” is the last piece of dialogue, said by John Lennon, on the Beatles Let It Be album, taken from the Apple rooftop concert.
* When Chief Wiggum fails his audition as Dr. Doolittle, he says, “This bird is going to fly,” which is similar to the Beatles song “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).”
Other cultural references
* At the swap meet Homer rakes up a box with items that cost 5¢ each. These include the United States Declaration of Independence, a copy of Action Comics #1, a complete block of Inverted Jenny misprint postal stamps and a Stradivarius violin.
* When onlookers turn away from the Human Fly climbing up a building to watch the B-Sharps on top of Moe’s Tavern instead is a reference to the “Human Spider” Alain Robert.
* Principal Skinner tries on a prison mask with the number 24601, which is famous for being Jean Valjean’s prison number in Les Misérables.
* Homer buys Grampa a pink Cadillac, just as Elvis Presley did for his mother.
* This is the second consecutive appearance by David Crosby.
Music
* “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (sung by Melvin and the Squirrels, a spoof of Alvin and the Chipmunks)
* “Hello! Ma Baby”
* “Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby”
* “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (sung by Grampa at the audition in the style of Frank Sinatra as he recorded it on his 1961 album All the Way)
* “Downtown” (sung by Groundskeeper Willie at the audition, whose title he pronounced as “Doon-Toon”)
* “Theme from A Summer Place” (sung by Jasper at the audition with lyrics he made up)
* “Talk to the Animals” (sung by Chief Wiggum at the audition disguised as Doctor Dolittle)
* “Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral” (sung by Barney in the bathroom at Moe’s)
* “Sweet Adeline”
* “Baby On Board”, a song written by Homer, who also attempted to write songs about the opening of Al Capone’s vault, Mr. T and then-Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.
and TRIVIUM. A few of the selections follow below. The entire list can be found at this location.
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