Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2006 > December > 26
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Cool Yule, hot radio
Music: Holiday album of the year? Most assertively Bette Midler’s “Cool Yule” (Columbia), which features the Divine One’s still pristine pipes and fluidly layered production qualities. She alternates ultra-smooth ballads with her usual lively brassiness.
Runner up? Manhattan Transfer’s “An A Cappella Christmas” (Rhino), which revives all sorts of long-neglected harmonies, even if it sometimes reminds one of the “Mad TV” sketch about the scatty jazz combo playing the Santa break at the mall.
Music 2: Tired of holiday tunes, we switched to radio on the way back from the Woodlands, where my family met at the home of gracious sister Elizabeth (who displays more than 150 Christmas-related figurines).
If you missed these chart toppers on the radio, you can download MP3s.
Mary J. Blige
Top 10 Most Played Songs on the Radio 2006 (Nielsen sata from Jan. 1 to Dec. 18, 2006)
1: “Be Without You,” Mary J. Blige (395,995 radio plays)
2: “Unwritten,” Natasha Bedingfield (336,276)
3: “Temperature,” Sean Paul (324,555)
4: “Me & U,” Cassie (312,073)
5: “Hips Don’t Lie,” Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean (308,903)
6: “Promiscuous,” Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland (292,264)
7: “Bad Day,” Daniel Powter (291,256)
8: “Check On It,” Beyoncé featuring Slim Thug (290,231)
9: “So Sick,” Ne-Yo (277,958)
10: “Over My Head (Cable Car),” the Fray (276,601)
Permalink | | Categories: By Michael Barnes
Reporting on ‘Colbert’
TV: Recall that we reported here first — well, on the TV blog, then in Newsmakers — that “The Colbert Report” was taping a spot at Bikinis Bar & Grill on Interstate 35.
The “No Fact Zone” blog picked up the tip and interviewed manager Jason Landtroop afterwards:
“The shoot revolved around a gentleman named Brett. The theme of their part of the segment is ‘Guy’s Night Out.’ … The film crew followed Brett around all day in a ‘Day In The Life’ type theme, filming him both at home doing the dishes as well as at Bikinis… . At one point, Brett and his group of friends were watching Bikinis Bar & Grill’s two 50-inch plasma-screen televisions. And what were they watching? The Home Shopping Network.”
The segment is aimed for a late January airing.
Permalink | | Categories: By Michael Barnes
Big changes for ‘Big River’
Theater: Just days before opening, Danny Herman and Rocker Verastique are out as director and choreographer, respectively, of TexArts big concert version of “Big River,” the Roger Miller musical based on Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn.”
Fran Dorn, head of the acting program at the University of Texas, comes to the rescue as director, while TexArts in-house dance-master, Robin Lewis, will do the choreography honors. For tickets to the Paramount Theatre shows Jan. 5-6, call (866) 4GET-TIX, or go to www.austintheatre.org.
Permalink | | Categories: By Michael Barnes
