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  • Youngest Judd Does Hoops With Mystics, Lyfe Entertains


    In Washington, D.C.’s Verizon Center, International YouthAids Day got quite a push from some star power.

    The WNBA’s Mystics (that’s women’s basketball, gang) played to a relatively sparse, but enthusiastic crowd. How interesting to see the same arena crammed to the gills for Paul McCartney and other big acts with empty seats.

    Ashley Judd, a famous fan of U of Kentucky’s Wildcats baseball spoke with authority about outlet passes totterred about the audience at times, going braless and slightly slurry. Judd (pictured here) took no prisoners during a post-game interview with WNBA All-Star Alana Beard, taunting the crowd with GLBT references. Finally, she introduced her “big sister, Wynonna”. As more than one woman remarked, “If that bitty little thing called me anything, I’d bitch-slap her.” The elder sister did sound in good voice, and the band seemed sharp for taking the stage with a sound check too many hours in advance.

    Lost among the commotion was a halftime performance of Sex by Lyfe Jennings. Jennings, fresh from major label attraction, is ready to burst through the charts this summer. Watch for him.

  • October Is The Day To Mark On Your Calendar!

    This is like the Clash of the Titans, but with power chords and backbeats. Jet and The Killers are both releasing their sophmore efforts on October 3.

    The Killers look to be out of the chute first, having already released the first single, When You Were Young. They’ll follow the release of the album Sam’s Town with a tour. The same sequence has worked with hundreds, if not thousands of other releases, including The Killers’ own Mr. Brightside.

    Led by the Cester brothers, Jet is releasing Shine on the same day and also hitting the road to support the album. Their 2003 Get Born featured Are You Gonna Be My Girl, a bit of frantic rock that made the rounds from television to radio and was even featured in that year’s edition of the Madden football game from Electronic Arts. If alt-rock radio and John Madden are pushing your single, the stars have aligned somehow.

    Get yoru pre-orders in now. These are going to sell fast.

  • Floyd Founder Dead From Diabetes At 60

    Most rock fans don’t know who Syd Barrett was. Like Peter Green with Fleetwood Mac or Dave Shogren being replaced on bass just before The Doobie Brothers hit, Cambridge-born Barrett formed Pink Floyd when he was only 20. This week he died at age 60, leaving a void in a chapter of progressive rock.

    Barrett only significantly contributed to The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the first Floyd album. He wrote or co-wrote every track, leaving Roger Waters firmly in the shadows and David Gilmour somewhere on a Cambridge streetcorner. Barrett led his Pink Floyd troupe through Abbey Road on a drug-induced series of recording while The Beatles worked on a little concept album called Sgt Something or Other.

    Although drug issues forced Barrett to leave the band, his influence remained an impact on Pink Floyd for years. The band members said in a statement, “Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire.”

    Barrett suffered from diabetes for years. The American Diabetes Association offers a free, anonymous online screening tool for those who think they might either have diabetes or be at risk.

    Spinning In The CD Player Today
    Nothing. Go take the diabetes screening test above.