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Morning, y’all, and good Veterans Day. If you’re the remembering type, check out the Big Read radio show episode about The Things They Carried. Top of the news pile: The writing at Idolator sucks now, after only a day; Lady GaGa’s new music video, not so much. The FLOBOTS, makers of one of my favorite music videos of 2008, have announced they will play Towson and Richmond, but not D.C., on their fall tour. Sad face.
Green Day on Broadway, sex trafficking, shit-ton of Muppet love, Playgirl and Levi Johnston explained, fall vinyl giveaway, and more, after the jump.
– The Vinyl District is giving a way a shit-ton of vinyl as part of “TVD’s Fall Vinyl Giveaways Week.” Here’s the best part: to win, you simply need to make your case for winning in the comments section of whatever album you’re jonesing for (as of now, you can choose from the debut LP from Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Damon and Naomi’s 1001 Nights, AND AND Gossip’s Music for Men). So far, ONLY ONE PERSON HAS COMMENTED! DO NOT LET THIS PERSON WIN ALL THAT VINYL! SUPPORT DISTRICT VINYL BY FIGHTING AMONG(ST) YOURSELVES!
– Tonight, pour some out for an icon, y’all: “Sheldon Dorf, who founded the world famous Comic-Con International comic book convention, died Nov. 3 in San Diego of kidney failure. He was 76.”
– Sesame Street was the only show I was allowed to watch growing up, until my mom disconnected the TV in the fall of 1995, and then I was not allowed to watch anything. Still, I got three or four good years of SS before a Luddite fog settled over our house, and yet I do not remember most of these characters on Mental Floss’ list of “9 Muppets Kicked off Sesame Street.” The only one I do remember is Don Music, the pianist who is constantly slamming his head into the keys in frustration, and who I remember thinking was being abused by his handler in a not funny way. BUT the most important character on this list is Roosevelt Franklin, a black, hip Muppet “who had his own school (named Roosevelt Franklin Elementary School)” and “often taught the class important lessons about things such as the geography of Africa and how to avoid drinking poison.” Why is this significant? Because I think Ron Howard (or somebody) may have “borrowed” the concept of Roosevelt Franklin and turned him into Franklin, Gob Bluth‘s black puppet on Arrested Development (UPDATE: Wikipedia has confirmed my suspicions!)
– American Idiot (the play) will be soon moving to New York from California. Will any of you go see it?
– Jessanne Collins, former managing editor of Playgirl, knows the real reason why the magazine has pushed so hard to get Levi Johnston naked: “From day one this has been little more than a publicity stunt orchestrated on behalf of two fallen icons: a floundering brand that’s completely lost its identity and a teenager who’s trying to define his, in the wake of his incidental introduction to the bright, bizarre lights of American quasi-celebrity.” Zing!
– This video is disturbing:
OK, short roundup today. Go to work, everybody, and remember to stop by the Arts Desk throughout the day for more of what you love: me arts coverage!