THIS WEEK'S MOVIE REVIEW "King of the Corner"  by Mike Smith

ODDSERVATIONS "Live 8" - What a Sad, Sorry, Rotten Joke  by Andy Lalino

CREATURE'S CORNER NolanCon  by John Lewis

MATT'S RAIL London Bombings .... Masters of Horror Update  by Matt Drinnenberg

MIKE'S RANT Cowards....Did You Say Eddie?...Blondie!!!..Passing On....The Juice Is Still Loose....Jaws: The Story, Part 24  by Mike Smith

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"Live 8" - What a Sad, Sorry, Rotten Joke
St. Bob, God knows I luv 'ya, and you've certainly enriched my life with your work in the Boomtown Rats and your fantastic 1986 CD "Deep in the Heart of Nowhere" (released directly after the original Live Aid); but screw your head on straight, man - you royally botched what could have been a triumphant 20-year follow up to the original Live Aid. The world gave a collective "ho-hum" to your pathetic effort.

In 1985, cool, art-rock bands; Duran Duran and Adam Ant among them, graced the stages of Wembly and JFK. Now, well, we've got 'The Black Eyed Peas', 'Destiny's Child', and 'Robbie Williams'. What's wrong with this picture? The only great bands/artists this time around were Roxy Music, Sting, U2, and the reunion of Pink Floyd (did that ever happen?). Supposedly the Pet Shop Boys were performing too, but I'm sure it would take an act of God for the cable networks to actually air their performance in lieu of commercials. How did they get mixed up in this drek? Were I Paul McGuinness, I'd want U2's contract torn up for "Live 9".

Look, Mr. Geldof, the rock scene today is no 1985. Not by a long shot. This is the era of Britney Spears, and a time when the British music wave is more like a slow drip. There's no point in even doing a "Live 8", unless you were to call back the original line-up of rock groups, such as Simple Minds, Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, Culture Club, The Thompson Twins, etc. Anything else seems like Britrock royalty pandering to today's Generation Nowhere - and that doesn't sit well with venerable, old New Wavers from the '80s generation (Generation X).

Of course, the PC crowd are out there, telling us what to think again - screaming that there were not enough black artists represented. If that means adding more rappaz, hell; I'm easily against that, too. Here's the cold, hard truth, PC skum: New Wavers don't like rap. We never have and never will. It don't mean we hate black people (I'm trying to fend off hate mail here...). Suggesting that it's racist not to like rap is an insipid argument, and if you honestly believe that, you forfeit your right to express your opinions to anyone, lest to seek to purposely embarrass yourself in public. If there was indeed a shortage of black artists, pluck 'em from the reggae, SKA, or world music arena (New Wavers love those genres). I'd love to see Ranking Roger up there as much as anybody.

I love this - this is great...did anyone see one of the host segments on MTV? The crowds had dispersed, and I can't tell you how much litter was covering the ground; so much that one couldn't even see the grass. It was a sterling example of just how superficial these efforts are; they think they're trying to sway the opinions of the young, while reality dictates that all young people want to do is party, and litter like there's no tomorrow in the process.

I read in the St. Pete. Times that MTV was too busy airing commercials while certain bands performed overseas (I'm certain the PSB were pre-empted). And they say the '80s was the "me" generation?

The message, of course, got lost in the boredom; not that I agree that throwing money at Africa will solve that continent's problems (I love the way people talk of Africa as if it's a country). (Umm...I think it's a country and a continent, isn't it? Like Australia? --N)

Maybe next time around, Bob Geldof will consider re-signing the bands who were in the original line-up, so people would actually watch the show. I don't see that happening.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to VH1 Classic. I have Morrissey and Kate Bush videos to watch.