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Associated Press
8 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Judas Priest, Rick Springfield, John Oates and Bob Geldof reflect on 40 years of Live Aid
NEW YORK (AP) — Forty years ago, the legendary Live Aid concerts aimed to do a lot of good — helping to raise over $100 million for famine relief in Ethiopia and inspiring worldwide awareness for a cause it might otherwise have ignored. Simulcast from Philadelphia and London on July 13, 1985, Live Aid was the most ambitious global television event of its time: 16 hours of live music in two different continents featuring Queen, The Who, a Led Zeppelin reunion and more. A lot has changed in the years since. 'Live Aid, '85 to now, is the same distance as the Second World War from Live Aid,' notes Rick Springfield, laughingly. 'That's how long ago it was.' Artists who performed at Live Aid — Springfield, organizer Bob Geldof, Hall and Oates' John Oates and Judas Priest's Rob Halford — reflected on the event and its impact in interviews with The Associated Press ahead of the 40th anniversary on Sunday. Here's what they had to say: Reflections on an unprecedented event At John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, Springfield performed between Run-DMC and REO Speedwagon — just a taste of the diversity of performers featured on the transnational lineup. 'Run-DMC, I remember thinking, 'What is this? Three guys talking over a record player. What is that? Little did I know that it was about to change the whole game,' he says, laughing. He remembers playing an electric set — no 'Jessie's Girl,' because 'back then, it was just my first hit. ... It hadn't gone on to become this cultural thing.' Hall and Oates' John Oates had a different experience. His band also played in Philly — their hometown — and in 1985, his band was one of the biggest on the planet. They played near the end of the night, joined by the Temptations' Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin and remained on stage to back the Rolling Stones' dynamic frontman Mick Jagger. The British rockstar had a trick up his sleeve. 'He didn't tell us that he was bringing Tina Turner out,' Oates says. 'We had rehearsed a certain amount of songs with him. But then when he brought her out, it just jacked up the level of energy like you can't believe.' Judas Priest singer Rob Halford counts 'Mike and Tina, of course,' as one of his Philly Live Aid highlights. 'Led Zeppelin, too.' But most exciting of all for the heavy metal frontman? Meeting folk hero Joan Baez. The band had previously covered her classic 'Diamonds and Rust.' 'I thought, 'Oh my God, she's gonna come and kick me in the ass for wrecking her beautiful song,'' he recalls. 'She gives me a quick hug and goes, 'The reason I'm here is because my son said to me, if you see Rob Halford from Judas Priest at the Live Aid Show in Philadelphia, will you tell him from me that I prefer Judas Priest's version to my mom's version?' ... It was a display of such kindness.' From Live Aid to Live 8 and beyond Twenty years after Live Aid, Geldof organized Live 8 — an even larger undertaking in the new internet era, with 10 concerts happening simultaneously and across the globe. If the trend were to continue, there should be another event taking place this year. Notably, there isn't. Geldof says that's because there couldn't be a Live Aid-type event in 2025. He cites social media as a cause. In his view, algorithmic fracturing has made it impossible to create monolithic musical and activistic moments. Instead, he views the current media landscape as bolstering 'an echo chamber of your own prejudices.' For something like Live Aid to work, 'You need rock 'n' roll as a creature of a social, economic and technological movement,' he says. 'And I think the rock 'n' roll age is over. ... It did determine how young people articulated change and the desire for it. ... That isn't the case anymore.' Springfield agrees. 'I think we are too divided,' he says. He believes the world wouldn't be able to agree on a single cause to support, or even which musicians to back. 'You could never do a thing with the size of Live Aid unless it was some kind of universal thing of, 'Let's bring everybody together.'' 'Never say never, but I highly doubt it,' says Oates. 'The landscape of music and entertainment in general has changed so drastically.' He points to 'We Are The World,' the 1985 charity single for African famine relief that included the voices of Michael Jackson, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon and many more, as an example. 'The idea of that happening with the stars of today all in one place, I can't even imagine that. And plus, who would they be? ... How many songs are released every day?' Hope for he Live Aid's legacy to continue Halford echoes the other's sentiments. There's an undeniable 'extremism in the world right now,' he says, that would make a Live Aid event challenging to pull off in 2025. But he doesn't think it's impossible. He uses January's Fire Aid — the LA wildfire benefit concert featuring Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder and a Nirvana reunion — as a recent example. 'There will always be empathy from people,' and in the right hands, maybe another event like Live Aid could take place. 'It was a tremendously beautiful, humanitarian example ... that provided us opportunity to do something ourselves to help.'
Forbes
17 minutes ago
- Forbes
LACMA Builds Its Future
David Geffen Galleries at LACMA; exterior view southeast toward Wilshire Boulevard with Tony Smith's Smoke (1967) in foreground, photo © Iwan Baan, courtesy of LACMA 'The superstructure is the structure,' said Michael Govan, director and CEO of the Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA) said of the new Peter Zumthor-designed building that recently opened for a press preview. There is no art in the building yet, and the official opening isn't until April 2026, but Govan wanted a moment of celebration for the completion of this 110,000 square feet gallery with no columns for which three of LACMA's original buildings were demolished, and which snakes across Wilshire Boulevard, where there will be a new a cafe, a restaurant, a family education center, and a 300-seat theater. It is hard to believe that Los Angeles didn't really have a contemporary art museum before LACMA opened in 1965. Over the years the William Pereira designed campus meant to invoke an 'art acropolis' with gleaming modernist buildings each named for leading donors such as Bing, Ahmanson, and Lytton (later renamed for Armand Hammer) created no excitement and no cohesion. For the last several decades, as long as I've lived in Los Angeles, there have been plans to come up with a master plan for LACMA. Over the years this has involved building the additions of the Renzo Piano BCAM building with its Pompidou like outdoor escalator – which originally might have held the Broad Collection but, as I predicted at the time, proved too difficult to execute to Eli Broad's satisfaction, and the Resnick Pavillon, which in many ways became LACMA's permanent temporary exhibition space. Several starchitects such as Piano made proposals, several were announced, none were built. Then came Michael Govan. Director and CEO of LACMA. Govan's detractors like to say he has an 'edifice complex.' Which I repeat because it's such a good line. However, it is also true that he was working for Thomas Krens at the Guggenheim at the time they built the Frank Gehry Bilboa branch of the museum, and then when leading the DIA art Foundation, he opened DIA Beacon, which is a terrific space. So, like many a bromide, there is a grain of truth to it. LACMA was in need of a unified campus (and some of its buildings needed to be torn down for reasons of seismic safety). Govan's solution which was both maximalist and in some ways minimalist, involved what seemed an outlandish idea, a Peter Zumthor-designed one story columnless pavilion with floor to ceiling glass, an amorphous amoeba like shape, that would cross Wilshire Boulevard, and would cost $720 Million dollars. The critics were many. Complaints included that the new structure offered no more exhibition square footage (perhaps even less) than the former buildings; that the floor to ceiling windows on all the sides of the structure would absorb too much heat and would make showing art inside difficult if not impossible; and that the use of such construction materials as concrete was not environmentally sound. Having a structure that crossed Wilshire Boulevard seemed a folly. Critics found the Zumthor building design itself was undistinguished, looking more like a spaceship that had landed on the tar pits than a museum-worthy building. But all that was before construction was complete. I will make a little detour here to speak about the Barnes Collection in Philadelphia. The Barnes, like the Gardner in Boston, and the Frick in New York, was one person's collection displayed in the collector's home, arranged by them. At a certain point, a group controlling the Barnes decided to build a new building so the collection could be better seen and preserved. Lawsuits ensued as well as a very good documentary, The Art of the Steal , which was made before the new building opened and which made a very compelling argument that doing so was a travesty. Now, if you've been to the Barnes recently, you know that reality proved the naysayers wrong. However, before it actually opened, no one could imagine how great the newly installed Barnes was going to be. I bring this up because clearly LACMA believes the same is true for their new building. Given that there were so many objections to the building, it was very canny of Michael Govan and LACMA to offer a walkthrough of the building itself before even one piece of art is installed inside. The reality of the building doesn't quell all objections, but it does prove that Govan could raise the necessary funds to build it, and that he got the building completed. As an optimist, here's the good news: The new Geffen Galleries, as they are called, are definitely a statement building. If Los Angeles is a city where distinctive architecture is also outdoor sculpture, then LACMA, like Disney Hall, will become a destination that, like it or not, tourists and residents alike will want to see. The long outdoor steps leading to the galleries may become a place where people hang out, like the steps of the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York. Or you could have LA health enthusiasts 'doing the stairs' as they do in Santa Monica. In demolishing the prior buildings, they reclaimed three-and-a-half acres that becomes public space. Going to LACMA may gain the buzz as a public square as well as the locus for an inexpensive date or a family outing. There will be new large outdoor public sculptures that promise to be as instagrammable as Chris Burden's collection of street lamps. Finally, the completion of the new LACMA building, together with the opening of the metro stop there will complete the transformation of that stretch of Wilshire Boulevard into an arts district that stretches from the Tar Pits on the East Side of LACMA to the Academy Museum and Petersen Auto Museum on the West. David Geffen Galleries at LACMA; view northwest at dusk from exhibition level toward Resnick Pavilion, photo © Iwan Baan, courtesy of LACMA As for the interior of the building itself, there are also several positives to report. The overhangs create shade, and custom created light-porous chromium curtains filter the sunlight and the heat. The buildings' floor to ceiling windows do afford many new views of Los Angeles, not just of the rest of the LACMA Campus and the Academy Museum but also the Hollywood Hills, as well as new view over the LA Brea Tar Pits that will increase the land available to that institution. There is a gorgeous new view of the Bruce Goff designed Pavillon for Japanese Art that makes new that unique building's design, as well as of the tar pits. Finally, when standing on the crossover above Wilshire Boulevard, the view West is incredible and will surely become a selfie and Instagram magnet. On the south side of Wilshire where the building ends will also be a new 300 seat theater where films can be shown, performances staged, conversations held. And the building has been constructed in such a way that it can actually move and lessen the impact of an earthquake and aftershock. Aerial view of LACMA buildings, including David Geffen Galleries in context of Miracle Mile, photo © Iwan Baan, courtesy of LACMA Now, as to my reservations. Disney Hall is a thing of beauty, poetry even. The Broad Museum with its concrete veil is certainly striking. LACMA's Geffen Gallery may be exciting, interesting, but a thing of beauty? Maybe not so much. I have read one critic say the building looks like an airport air terminal. That's not completely wrong. It is eye-catching, and even elegant — a minimalist work done in a maximalist size. But that is not the same as a thing of beauty. Inside the building is all one large columnless space with grey concrete floors and walls, with several rooms, most of which struck me as too small for separate exhibitions and somewhat claustrophobic. The Galleries have been purposely designed so as to have, in Govan's words, 'no one in the front and no one in the back.' No given place to begin viewing and no end. The buildings floor-to-ceiling windows are meant to signal transparency from the outside world, and from the galleries looking out to LA. Govan wants with these galleries to 'Reinvent Art History for the 21rst century.' The art will be installed in such a way that one can wander and make discoveries at every turn, without a given beginning or end. There was some mention of grouping works 'by Ocean' (I'm not sure if that is accurate). What most concerns me is that if there is no set beginning or end to how the works in the collection are displayed, no collection of old and contemporary masters on permanent view, no progression in what we see, no visual and didactic narrative informing the viewer... Will the visitor be lost? Will making everything of equal importance mean that nothing matters? It could take LACMA several years of trial and error to find their way. Time will tell. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 26: Kamasi Washington performs during the LACMA First Look Reception on June 26, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo byfor LACMA) Getty Images for LACMA In the meantime, LACMA threw a memorable party for its new building. LACMA estimates some 6000 people showed up over several viewings. The art world turned out in force, including Charles Gaines, Ed Ruscha and Alison Saar. LACMA members also attended in great numbers, marching up the new stairs four deep. Kamasi Washington performed, leading some 100 musicians staged in various corners of the new structure. It was the kind of night that is too rare in LA, and I was happy to be there. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 26: Guests attend the LACMA First Look Reception on June 26, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo byfor LACMA) Getty Images for LACMA When LACMA opened in 1965, it was LA's first contemporary and modern art museum. Since then, the Pasadena Art Museum became the Norton Simon, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) opened downtown, The Skirball, The Getty Center, the Hammer, and more recently The Broad, have all taken root. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open next year. To regain its prominence as a cultural destination, perhaps what LACMA needed was a hard reset. And a big dream. In the new LACMA it has both.
Digital Trends
28 minutes ago
- Digital Trends
3 rom-coms on Netflix you need to watch in July 2025
The romance section on Netflix has some heavy hitters in July. What's more romantic than The Notebook? The beautiful drama starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams has not aged one bit. Trust me, crying remains mandatory, especially at the end. Speaking of tears, A Star Is Born will have you riding the entire wave of emotions from start to finish. While those two movies are undoubtedly charming, they will leave you in a puddle. This article features three rom-coms that should put you in a better mood. Check out our picks and their streaming information below. Recommended Videos We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on HBO Max, and the best movies on Disney+. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016) Nia Vardalos introduced the world to the loveable and chaotic Portokalos family in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Fast forward 14 years, and the family returns for more comedic antics in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. After getting everything she wanted in the first movie, Toula (Vardalos) is falling apart in the sequel. Toula's marriage to Ian (John Corbett) is stuck in the mud, while the relationship with her teenage daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) is on life support. When her father, Gus (Michael Constantine), learns his marriage license was never signed by the priest, Toula must bring the entire family back together for another wild and crazy wedding. While the story is inferior to the original, the family charm remains at an all-time high in this feel-good movie. Stream My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 on Netflix. Life or Something Like It (2002) Sandwiched between two Tomb Raider movies, Angelina Jolie starred in this 2002 forgotten rom-com, Life or Something Like It. Superficial television reporter Lanie Kerrigan (Jolie) receives a grim prediction from Jack (Tony Shalhoub), the self-proclaimed prophet. Jack says that Lanie will die in seven days. When Jack's other predictions come true, Lanie freaks out as one should. Material possessions can't save her or change her happiness. After getting a pep talk from a cameraman, Pete Scanlon (Edward Burns), Lanie takes the phrase 'live like we're dying' to the next level and starts to reevaluate her life. Life or Something Like It doesn't reinvent the rom-com formula, but a talented performer like Jolie at the center of the story elevates this predictable story. Stream Life or Something Like It on Netflix. Empire Records (1995) Empire Records is not a typical rom-com. It's more of a coming-of-age tale infused with some romance and comedy. That's good enough to make this list. The movie follows a day in the lives of the employees at Empire Records, an independent music store in Delaware. One of the employees, Joe (Anthony LaPaglia), learns that the owner is selling the business to a national record store chain. So begins a day of debauchery, confessions, and love. While Joe tries to keep the store independent, many of the store's employees use their time to be honest, including A.J. (Johnny Whitworth), who wants to woo his crush, Corey (Liv Tyler). Come for the early performances from Tyler and Renee Zellweger, and stay for the terrific soundtrack. Stream Empire Records on Netflix.
