Idolator: huey lewis

Will Bret Easton Ellis Help Bring Eric B., Rakim, And M/A/R/R/S To Broadway?

Maura Johnston — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:30:00 EDT

A group of Broadway producers is apparently all gung-ho about bringing Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho to Broadway, because nothing says "fun for the whole family" like a musical that chronicles the adventures of a murderous, sex-obsessed, status-obsessed Wall Street dude who, did I mention, also happens to be a murderer. Oh well, if the final product bases the music for the show on the film's soundtrack, at least we'll see some awesomely campy interpretations of classic jams like Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid In Full," Information Society's "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)," and M/A/R/R/S' "Pump Up The Volume." The Hollywood Reporter also claims that producers are really excited to get some piece of Huey Lewis & The News' catalog into the staging as well, but they'd better pay him in full if they want him to play:

Lewis okayed the song's use in the film (Patrick Bateman lectures a man on the meaning of ''Hip to Be Square,'' then kills him) but got in a dispute over its use on the CD. ''They tried to pull a little showbiz thing on me, which left a bad taste in my mouth. Because of that, I've never seen it. People tell me it's a really cool scene.''

Well, at least he's come clean about that "dispute" not being about the film's violence. Upon rewatching—that link is probably NSFW if your workplace frowns on watching people get killed, BTW—I forgot how much I loved the parts of Psycho that involved protagonist/murderous sonofabitch Patrick Bateman spouting off bits of music "criticism." Read them and wonder if a new-millennium update of the book would involve him having a blog.

"American Psycho" Heads To Broadway [Hollywood Reporter]
Huey Lewis' favorite music in films [EW]
American Psycho - Hip To Be Square [YouTube]

Idolator's Tribute-Video Treasury Has Its Night In Court With Huey Lewis

Kate Richardson — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:15:00 EDT

Do you believe in: a) the sheer animal magnetism of John Larroquette in a three-piece suit, b) situation comedy, c) the power of a tribute video to make you feel complete, d) love? If you answered "all of the above," join me after the jump.

Audio: "Do You Believe in Love" by Huey Lewis and the News
Visual: Clips from Night Court

While so many tribute videos shine by virtue of their incongruities, this one succeeds because the audio/visual combination makes absolute sense. What better accompaniment to a goofy '80s sitcom than the master of goofy '80s pop hits? Maybe goofy isn't the word I'm looking for.

I think this tribute video demonstrates an important principle: sometimes a particular media item can only be described and defined in terms of another, very specific piece of media. In this case, for instance, we see that the tone, pace, and general atmosphere of Night Court cannot be expressed in words, but rather only through the equally dated music of Huey Lewis and the News. That's why you feel so complete when you watch this video; a noun and its unique modifier are united in a single multimedia experience that brings together Harry Anderson and a red-hot sax solo. What more could you possibly want?

Night Court - Do You Believe In Love? [YouTube]

Huey Lewis Soars To New Heights

Maura Johnston — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:55:00 EDT

Well, Huey Lewis' title-track contribution to the Seth Rogen/James Franco stoner comedy Pineapple Express has made its way to the Internet, and like much of the output from that arm of Hollywood, the good idea at its core ("hey, let's have Huey Lewis write a sequel to 'The Power Of Love' with pot jokes!") gets stretched out and beaten so thin that even the memories of liking its early bits go up in smoke. Pros: Like all Huey/News tracks, it does have the requisite sax solo; Lewis still sounds like Lewis. Cons: The saxophone solo and the smoking-up solo probably weren't both necessary; the song on a whole sounds somewhat wan, almost as if it's been beaten down by studio notes dictating what lyrical jokes should be punched up and the exact length of the whole "smoke it if you got it" bit. It's streaming at the soundtrack distributor's MySpace page. (Warning: Click quickly after the song's finished, or you might be subjected to Mike Myers singing Steve Miller.) After the jump, a clip of the song that Rogen and Franco should have probably used in the first place.

Lakeshore Records [MySpace; HT The Playlist / Stereogum]
Huey Lewis & The News - I Want A New Drug [YouTube]

Taylor Hicks, You're Breaking My Heart

Anthony Miccio — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Repeatedly I've risked mockery by suggesting that Taylor Hicks is the man America needs to bring back Huey Lewis style bar-rock. Give this champ an undeniable song, a video full of football players and a well-placed saxophone, and everybody's gonna yell "Fore!" But my pleas in the name of aging alcoholics who don't want to go country or metal have potentially fallen on deaf ears, as the leader of the Soul Patrol is taking his pipes to Broadway. Hicks will be playing the "Teen Angel" in Grease for three months over the summer, amusing and delighting Great White Way visitors of questionable taste who wouldn't know quality Spuds-rock if it bit them in the news. Tay, dude, you're above this!

"It's a big number, and, you know, I've made some pretty grand entrances before," Hicks told The Associated Press on Thursday. "And this one is probably the grandest entrance I've had in my career."
..."If you're gonna be a great entertainer and you're gonna be a great performer, than these are the things that you have to do to season yourself in that manner," said Hicks, who views this "opportunity of a lifetime" as a way to improve his "Idol"-tested skills.

...Hicks' self-titled, post-"Idol" album, released in December 2006, has sold a respectable 702,000 copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan data. But it didn't reach the 1 million mark or register a hit song, unlike previous "Idol" winners.

This summer, Hicks intends to finish up a follow-up album — on his own terms.

"I've had the creative freedom and the time to write some of the best music that I've ever written in my whole life. ... The options are unlimited and there has been some great interest now that I'm a free agent, so to speak," he said.

Taylor, the road to success is laced with synth-horns. Trust me!

Soul patrol!

Taylor Hicks to play Teen Angel in Broadway's `Grease' [AP]
ERIC CLAPTON - Pretending (Edit)(Album Version) [YouTube]

Doin' It All For My Babybel

Maura Johnston — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:30:15 EDT

Today's semi-amazing factoid that may be true, via Popbitch: "Huey Lewis's grandfather invented the red wax sealant you find on certain cheeses." First person to make the "cheesy music" joke in comments gets banned! [Popbitch]

CMT Blog Thinks CMT Music Award Nominations Are Just Dandy

Dick Malone — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:30:43 EST

After noting that the just-announced CMT Music Award nominees include rockers (or "rockers") Robert Plant, Bon Jovi, Huey Lewis, and the Eagles, the CMT blog says this is nothing to get worked up about. Really, Huey Lewis is just nominated for songwriting because Garth Brooks covered him (!). And Plant, of course, is there because of his duet with Alison Krauss. As for the other two? Well...

Substantial promotional effort was involved in marketing the Eagles and Bon Jovi to the country audience, but that's simply part of the music industry machinery. I can't imagine that either group sat down and said, "Let's see what we can do to pander to the country audience."

I don't follow country nearly as closely as I would like to, and I'll admit that it does seem to be the genre of choice for just the kind of aging white dudes who make up Bon Jovi and the Eagles, so their intentions were probably at least a little sincere. It just seems to me that the opportunistic incursion of dinosaur rock acts into a still-evolving genre can't be good for that genre's evolution.

CMT Music Awards Nominate Rock Acts [CMT Blog]
CMT Music Awards: Nominees [cmt.com]