Parents of Israeli-American hostage returned from Gaza mark a week of freedom
For two days after Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander was released from 19 months of captivity from Gaza, he couldn't eat anything. Then, his mother, Yael Alexander, put a burger and fries in front of him, and Edan dove in. It was one of many dizzying surprises his family has experienced since learning eight days ago that he would be freed after more than a year and a half in captivity in the Gaza Strip. (AP Video: Ami Bentov)
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Brian Wilson interview: "I don't like SMiLE any more. I got so tired of it and did it so many times"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In 2007 Brian Wilson played six nights at London's Royal Festival Hall with a concert repertoire featuring the world premiere of a newly commissioned suite, That Lucky Old Sun (A Narrative). As he prepared for the show, Brian spoke to Classic Rock about the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and more. Over the past few years, Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson has been inducted into both the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the UK Rock Hall of Fame. He's released his first solo Christmas album and duetted on recordings with Neil Diamond and Burt Bacharach. He's guested on American TV shows, played with his stellar band in Berlin at Live8, and released a two-song CD to benefit Hurricane Katrina victims. And now he's returning to play in England, the country he describes as his 'spiritual home away from home'. Having Al Jardine on stage with you now brings additional heritage and legacy to your repertoire. It feels very, very good to have him there right next to me. It's emotional security. Al got used to playing with us right away. And it's worked out okay. The band has gotten better and better all the time. Every year they get better and they're at the point where they are at the absolute best they can get to. I see a bunch of gifted musicians who know how to make that music come alive. It's a big sound! Every time you perform God Only Knows it brings a standing ovation. Why? Because we've had a little practice [laughs]. Second of all, Carl [Wilson, former Beach Boy] is gone. Third, I have to carry what he used to carry. I don't remember the recording session of it. Too far in the past. The record spoke for itself. And it was a religious experience. Carl and I held prayer sessions in our house on Laurel Way. 'Dear God. Please let us bring music to people.' It happened. A lot of people say that Pet Sounds got them through high school or college. Can you tell us about teaming up with lyricist Tony Asher for Pet Sounds? A cool kind of guy. A little more soft-spoken. His attitude is just right for creativity and just right to work with. I might call him up, as a matter of fact. That might be a good bet for me. Just before we began collaborating on Pet Sounds I asked him what it was like writing commercials for an advertising company. It seemed like interesting work. I said: 'You should be good with words if you can do that.' And he said: 'I'm pretty good with words.' Out of nowhere I said: 'Would you like to work with me on some songs and write some lyrics?' 'I'll give it a try.' Then, Pet Sounds. 1966 was a very big year for the Beach Boys. What about collaborating with Van Dyke Parks on SMiLE? Working with him is not easy at all, because he is a perfectionist. So he wants it his way and the right way. I've always liked what he's come up with. That's the thing. Always. He's a gentleman and a scholar. A very bright person. Do you remember where you were the first time you heard The Beatles' I Wanna Hold Your Hand? I sure do. My mother-in-law [at the time] goes: 'They're called The Beatles. They are the biggest new things in radio.' You once told me that when you heard The Beatles for the first time they flipped you out and you viewed them as competition. They didn't scare me, but made me jealous. Because they got a lot of attention we didn't get I was so jealous I could have cried. You still enjoy Paul McCartney's work. Actually, I'm working on a song, Beatleman. I've written it with Scott Bennett of my band, and he has a high level of creativity. Is it about Paul? You and Paul, two composer/bass players born two days apart from each other? In a certain way I'm addressing it to Paul. He cried when he saw SMiLE. You debuted SMiLE at London's Royal Festival Hall, and this summer you premiere a new piece at the same venue. Have you ever really thought about why Britain has become your spiritual second home and why it embraced your work more widely than America did? Because they appreciate good music more than Americans. The music goes to their heart. The people are more in tune with and more grateful to hear music than America. Tell us about the new That Lucky Old Sun (A Narrative), which you'll debut in London. It's five narrative stories, and That Lucky Old Sun re-occurs five times. Toward the end there's a one-minute piece, a shorter piece. Quick things. You seem to be really happy performing Good Vibrations on stage these days. Why does it still thrill audiences so much when you play it live? Because the damn thing is so together and cohesive. It comes together so beautifully that people can't resist loving it. The first time I heard Good Vibrations on the radio I cried my eyes out. How does it feel to be doing selections from SMiLE now in concert, and even celebrating the accomplishment of SMiLE reaching an audience? You know what, I don't like SMiLE any more. I got so tired of it and did it so many times that I've forgotten the damn thing! I said: 'I don't want to remember it. It's done.' I like the band I played it with. Tell us about your new habit of drinking mineral water with each meal… What happened was I drank soft drinks for five years and it fouled up my sleeping schedule, screwed up my thought process, fucked up my nerves – the sugar and caffeine. Two months ago I got off of it and feel 20 times better. What a lesson to learn. The Beach Boys: An American Band was just released on DVD, with live performances and interview footage with you. Do you like talking about yourself on camera? Yes, I love to. I'm not as shy as I used to be. And I was afraid of people. And I still am. Do you remember the first day you walked into Capitol Records in 1962? Yes. I remember walking into the building with my father and Gary Usher. We met the A&R man, and he listened to our demos and he signed us right on the spot. I just wanted to make records. I didn't know how big it would get. I didn't think it would. This interview originally appeared in Classic Rock 110 (September 2007)
Yahoo
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Twilight Tattoo shines ahead of the Army's 250th birthday
ARLINGTON, Va. - It was a powerful showcase of what the army has stood for throughout its 250-year history—honoring soldiers past and present. Twilight Tattoo dates back to before World War 2 – it was the call to quiet down and hit the bunks – it happens each Wednesday throughout the summer — but tonight's was extra special as birthdays tend to be. Marked by a Black Hawk flyover and the Golden Knights parachuting in. The performance—put on by the army's elite 3rd Infantry Regiment, also known as the old guard—tells the story of American soldiers from the revolutionary war to today. Each year features a new show—with tryouts beginning in February for what is a highly sought after and visible assignment in D.C. And that visibility will peak this Saturday—as the world tunes in for the parade. "All the different things that we have in the army, from musicians to infantry, anything that we have, will be on display on Saturday, and we will be able to share that message and that story to the American public is really special," said Staff Sergeant Jay Healy. "What it means to history: I am going to be a part of history forever. I'm going to be able to demonstrate our skills with the United States Army parachute team for the army's 250th birthday and that is the most special thing in the world for all of us," said Josh Evan with the Golden Knights. Nearly 3,000 people were in attendance tonight—families, veterans, tourists, and students from across the country. And if you missed it—there are more events Thursday and Friday leading up to the parade on Saturday.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
‘Materialists' review: A matchmaker is torn between Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans
After too many mediocre rom-coms messing with us, can our own questions about romantic love and long-range sustainability ever be entirely free of either practical considerations or the other stuff — the stuff you can't take to the bank? Writer and director Celine Song's second feature, 'Materialists,' ruminates on the subject within the broad outlines of a romantic-comic triangle. That's the geometric shape of it, kind of. There's insight and wit here, coexisting with handy contrivances Song uses, somewhat sheepishly, to get her story to end up where it's going. How it gets there, and in what mood, makes it interesting. Two years ago, the Korean Canadian filmmaker gave us 'Past Lives,' which, like 'Materialists,' could be described as routine romantic triangulation, subverted. With that beautiful achievement, Song's supple feature debut made the near-impossible look easy, in a story of the people we were before the people we become, and the bargains and longing and compromises connecting past to present. 'Materialists' is another tale of a decision point. It is Lucy's story, if not quite Dakota Johnson's movie. Rare for an American film of any sort, we learn what this Manhattanite earns annually (around $80 grand) as an employee of a classy, higher-end matchmaking firm called Adore. This puts her somewhere in between the two men in her life. One is her ex, the struggling, somewhat tetchy actor/caterer John, played by Chris Evans. The other is Lucy's discreetly persistent suitor, the private equity dreamboat Harry, the one with an inhumanly clutter-free, $12 million pad in Tribeca. Pedro Pascal shifts into stealth mode for this portrayal, artfully suggesting forlorn corners of a determinedly curated personality. Lucy meets Harry at the wedding of one of Lucy's former clients, who is marrying Harry's brother. Briskly, 'Materialists' plops John, catering the wedding, into the equation as he delivers Lucy's preferred drink in the same instant she tells Harry what she's ordering. He's the Radar O'Reilly of this scenario, and a reminder to Lucy of her own struggling years as an actress. Her past life with John, as we see in flashbacks, was full of wearying arguments about money. She called it off. He's still in love with her. in it. Filmmaker Song, who worked for a while as a matchmaker, plays with different ideas and conflicts as Lucy falls gently into Harry's world of exquisite luxury and enticing worry-freeness. Once too often in the screenplay, Lucy reverts to discussing her clients' relationships and her own wariness in clinical terms, with each new prospective mate checking a certain number of boxes. Her cynicism is borne of experience, with John as well as what she has seen, and often personally arranged, on the job. There's a narrative swerve in 'Materialists' involving a client's sexual assault, on a date arranged by Lucy. It's not handled as a drastic tonal shift or a melodramatic convenience (it's all about the aftermath), but there is a queasiness, intentional yet a mite dubious, to its story presence as a life lesson for Lucy as much or even more than for her client. Song has little interest in romantic comedy fizz, at least here. Besides the triangle premise, 'Past Lives' and 'Materialists' share a somewhat mysterious and valuable weight class: They're neither heavy nor light, but there's a deftly handled seriousness of purpose in the telling that worked unerringly in 'Past Lives' and more intermittently this time. Johnson has been effective and affecting in many roles, and without her disarming naturalism, the entire 'Fifty Shades of Grey' trilogy would've collapsed underneath its own dreckiness. There is, however, a thin line between relaxed and not quite enough, and while Johnson and Evans relish the chance in 'Materialists' to play quasi-real people with reality-adjacent concerns, their scenes feel a little underpowered. By contrast, Pascal, even while playing a restrained version of a golden movie archetype, is so innately compelling on screen the movie can't help but lean his way. The world needs more mixed-up, legitimately searching romantic serio-comedies; even when we forget the narrative particulars, we remember the emotional surprises, the way the Chicago-set Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston film 'The Break-Up' (nearly 20 years ago!) lingers in the mind. In that movie, conventional formula fought hard with unconventional detours and some useful audience discomfort, and the result was a hit despite itself. I bring this up only because 'Materialists' is similarly conflicted, and intriguing. It may not be what 'Past Lives' was but already, it's lingering a little for me. It may make true love look all too Hollywood-easy in the end, but en route it's still a Celine Song film. 'Materialists' — 3 stars (out of 4) MPA rating: R (for strong language and brief sexual material) Running time: 1:49 How to watch: Premieres in theaters June 13
