Kid Rock Talks About Playing for the Troops

The Pentagon Channel went to Las Vegas to talk with Kid Rock about performing overseas for the military and the thrill of headlining a hometown stadium show in Detroit.

The "White Obama" Makes the Case Against "Don't Ask Don't Tell"

No one, least of all Sacha Baron Cohen, expected that Borat would become such a beloved character after his movie's huge success back in 2006. 

Instead of enjoying the mainstream success, Cohen made Brüno, another fake documentary that replaces Borat's clueless foreigner lead character with a desperate gay fashion reporter. 

Snoop Dogg describes Bruno as the "white Obama" in a "We Are the World" parody that also features Bono, Sting and Chris Martin from Coldplay.

Bruno's attempts to seduce Congressman Ron Paul end with Paul storming out of the room, declaring that Bruno is "queer as the blazes."

When the movie was released in theaters last summer, the box office numbers took a nosedive after the first weekend. The DVD came out this week and the bonus features included a detailed commentary from Cohen and director Larry Charles where they explain exactly how they set up each scene and what happened after the cameras stopped rolling. 

Cohen doesn't seem to have any regrets about the film's commercial failure and takes some real pleasure in how much Bruno pisses everyone off.

There are lots of extras, including this deleted scene where Bruno convinces Pete Rose to use his gardener as a chair.

Them Crooked Vultures Remind Us (Me) What We're Supposed to Be Doing Here

Here we are, about seven months into this blog. We've now got lots of statistics and data about what you people like to read and the evidence is compelling: nobody wants to read what we've got to say about music. 

If we come up with a story about waterboarding or birth certificates or first-person shooter games, the pageviews go through the roof and we get lots of comments.

The good news (for me) is that we're in the middle of a site redesign that will make it easier for us to post things and easier for you to see what our popular posts are.

So, back to the music. I enjoy writing about Andy Williams' politics every bit as much as you like commenting on them, but it would be nice to occasionally generate some response with something that everyone could agree on.

All you people (at least the ones who've ever purchased any kind of rock music released in the last 50 years) should be able to agree on the new album by Them Crooked Vultures, a band put together by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones that features Dave Grohl (playing drums!) and John Homme from Queens of the Stone Age.

The album's songs blatantly rips Zep every which way, in a fashion purely designed to remind you that Jones created almost all of the atmospherics that made Led Zeppelin sound so mysterious.

"New Fang" is the single, but the standout songs here are "Nobody Loves Me & Neither Do I" and "Elephants."

So, our new page design is coming. We're going to use it to get back to writing about the actual movies and music in addition to writing about how Glenn Beck believes this record proves that the President is a space alien. 

Oh, yeah. You can buy Them Crooked Vultures at Amazon or iTunes.

Ice Hockey Meltdown

The head coach of minor league hockey team the Louisiana IceGators trashed his own bench and dumped the contents onto the ice during a loss to the Penscacola Ice Flyers on November 6th.

Coach Brent Sapergia earned an indefinite suspension from the league and, since he's also the team's general manager, hired another coach to take over the team, possibly ending his coaching career in epic fashion. (via NHL Fanhouse)

Alice in Chains Finds a Way to Carry On

Alice in Chain's guitarist Jerry Cantrell talks to the Pentagon Channel about how growing up as the son of a Vietnam Veteran inspired him to write "Rooster." 

The band just released an excellent album called Black Gives Way to Blue, its first since Layne Staley's overdose death back in 2002. New singer William DuVall (formerly of 80s Atlanta hardcore band Neon Christ) sounds just enough like Layne (and just enough not like Layne) that the album still sounds like the band but things don't get creepy, kind of like when Brian Johnson replaced Bon Scott in AC/DC. Check out the new video for "Check My Brain."

A Veteran's Day Gift from Deer Tick

Back in July, we posted a Pentagon Channel clip about Deer Tick and I said the band's music was a lot better than their interview skills. 

Today, Michael Winneker over at the Pentagon Channel sent me a link a free download from the band and their label Partisan Records.

“In honor of Veteran’s Day, Deer Tick would like to offer all troops, active and non-active, an exclusive free download of a live version of their song ‘Baltimore Blues No. 1’. Thanks to all those serving or who have served. Love, John & Deer Tick”

Unlike some other bands who've offered free downloads to us, Deer Tick make great music and the song's lyrics aren't insulting to people who've died in action.

Right-click here to download "Baltimore Blues No. 1."

Sesame Street Now Part of the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy

Your tax dollars at work: the geniuses over at Big Hollywood have uncovered hidden messages in a two-year-old episode of Sesame Street, comparing the show to radical leftist brainwashing of the 1940s practiced by folksingers like Pete Seeger. 

Oscar starts his own news channel (GNN, the Grouch News Network) and invites CNN's Anderson Cooper on as a guest reporter. PBS sticks it to Fox News with a call from a female grouch who complains about his show and declares,  "From now on, I'm watching Pox News. Now there's a trashy news show."

There are a few issues here: When did Sesame Street get a female grouch? Did Sesame Street make puns and jokes as lame as this when we were kids? Can a joke as bad as this one even qualify as liberal indoctrination of our children?

Chad Ochocinco Wants to Show You the Money

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco seems a little unclear on the concept: in Jerry Maguire, Rod Tidwill asks his agent to "show me the money." 

In yesterday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, Chad tried to buy off a referee who ruled that he caught a pass out of bounds. The ref ignored him. No word yet from the National Football League about what punishment Roger Goodell is thinking up in his corporate office.

Note to commenters: We're going with the league's spelling and making "Ochocino" one word, even though Chad prefers "Ocho Cinco." If you want to complain that his real name is Chad Johnson, please contact the judge who allowed him to make the legal name change in 2008. 

Tragedy at Fort Hood

Full coverage on our front page at Military.com.

Absolute Proof That the Cold War is Really Over

Here's something from the "Stuff Your Grandparents Would Never Believe" File: The Moscow Ballet is offering free admission for children of U.S. military personnel to their 2009 Great Russian Nutcracker touras part of a "Buy One, Get One Free" admission for all active, reserve and retired men and women. 

Details are listed in the full press release below:

Military Kids Free to the Great Russian Nutcracker! 

A Holiday Gift From the Moscow Ballet

(PITTSFIELD, MA) – In honor of Veterans Day and the commencement of the 2009 Great Russian Nutcracker Tour, Moscow Ballet is proud to announce an incredible gift for military personnel. While supplies last, Great Russian Nutcracker tickets will be distributed for free to kids from military families with love from the producers, employees and dancers at the Moscow Ballet. 

All active, reserve and retired men and women will enjoy a ‘Buy One, Get One Free’ ticket deal for the November and December performances of the Great Russian Nutcracker. To qualify, individuals must bring a copy of their military ID, kids must be under the age of 18 and discounts can be redeemed at the venue’s box office. 

With the holiday season approaching, Moscow Ballet is excited to extend their hand of gratitude to those who presently serve and previously served to protect the life, liberty and love of our country. Akiva and Mary Talmi, the producers of the Great Russian Nutcracker, have come together with the entire Moscow Ballet family in welcoming this generous offer. 

“The Great Russian Nutcracker story takes place in the land of Peace and Harmony. In the performance itself, the classical story conveys the character’s desire for tranquility among mankind. The armed forces of the United States share the same aspiration for our country and we couldn’t be more grateful,” Akiva Talmi explains. 

Acclaimed for beautiful dancing and elegant costumes, critics rave that Anatoli Emelianov’s Great Russian Nutcracker is “flawless,” “breathtaking” and “dazzling.” With exquisite classical ballet dancing, beautiful handcrafted backdrops and world-renowned life sized puppets, this holiday classic is sure to mesmerize and captivate audiences. 

 The Moscow Ballet is looking forward to seeing you at the show and spreading holiday cheer to audiences in 70 different markets and over 100 performances! For more information and a full list of tour dates, please visit: http://www.nutcracker.com.

*Offer applies to all United States Great Russian Nutcracker performance cities excluding: Cedar City, UT; Easton, PA; Leavenworth, KS; La Miranda, CA; Nacogdoches, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Sheboygan, WI; Springfield, MA; and Stephensville, TX.