andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Bollywood debut was so awkward I could barely watch, but I couldn’t look away either.

There has never been any mistaking Harper for a cool guy; an Obama-type personality. Harper belongs on TLC, not MTV, and that isn’t news. But his appearance on India’s version of So You Think You Can Dance reaffirmed that there really isn’t much personality under his tough conservative skin.

In early October, Harper performed on stage with famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Harper’s rendition of The Beatles’ With a Little Help From My Friends was actually…not too bad. It was the first time that many had seen Harper peek his head out of a Conservative shell that he’d been hiding in since he became Prime Minister. I started to cut him some slack.

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Imagine all the stories…

A preview for the upcoming film about the Beatles’ John Lennon has been released, reports NME.com. The film, entitled “Nowhere boy,” is about Lennon’s childhood and adolescence. It features Kristin Scott Thomas and screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh.

The film is based on the book, “Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon” by Lennon’s half sister Julia Baird. The movie is also said to feature music from Goldfrapp.

“Nowhere boy” premieres tonight (Oct. 29) as part of the London Film Festival’s closing night. It has a general release date in the United Kingdom slated for Dec. 26.

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Madonna’s greatest hits album, Celebration, has reached number one on the charts in the United Kingdom, reports Perez Hilton. This is the eleventh time the songstress has reached the top spot across the pond, tying her with Elvis and putting her right behind The Beatles for most number one albums.

The most successful female solo artist of all time has also entered the British record books for spending more weeks than any other female solo artist- 29 – at the top of the Official UK Album Chart and having the most number one singles for a female solo artist – 13. She has had the number one album and single simultaneously four times, a record for a female solo artist.

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For a generation of people who missed out on the 1960s and the advent of rock’n'roll, we sure are getting to be well-versed. Yet another biopic is slated for release this October, this time in the name of John Lennon.

Nowhere Boy is based on the book Imagine This: Growing Up with my Brother John Lennon by Lennon’s half sister Julia Baird, according to Pitchfork. The screenplay was written by Matt Greenhalgh, author of the Joy Division film Control. The film will focus more on Baird’s experience growing up with the rising star, perhaps offering a unique insight into what transformed Lennon into one of the most idyllic artists of our time.

On board to direct in his feature film debut is Sam Taylor Wood, whose repertoire includes the BAFTA-nominated punk short Love You More.

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The ultimate remastered edition of the Beatles catalog is probably going to be the big-ticket Christmas item this holiday season.  Alongside this cornucopia of creamy Liverpool goodness is The Beatles: Rock Band, most likely the other big ticket Christmas item – if the stores have any left after the initial sellout.

And to provide the third stabilizing leg to this triumverate of old-meets-new deliciousness is a brand-new The Beatles: Rock Band Xbox 360 model.   Featuring psychedelic designs by the same animators who will blow your minds via the intro cinematic sequence to the new Rock Band cash-cow, this model also has another feature that I’m sure the boys from across the pond would be proud of – every unit sold has all proceeds benefiting Doctors Without Borders.

Finally, as if the above trinity of Beatlemania wasn’t enough, All You Need Is Love is now available as an Xbox Live download, once again with proceeds going to DWB.

To find out more information, head on over to http://www.xbox.com/en-CA/games/splash/b/beatlesrockband/ where you’ll have the chance to join the Fab Four Mystery Tour, an “interactive look at the Beatles and the many twists and turns of their legendary career.”  Check it out, Jude, don’t let me down.

Cheers!

The Beatles are releasing their entire remastered catalogue on September 9th, the same date as the release of “The Beatles: Rock Band” video game. This is the first time the Beatle’s catalogue has been digitally remastered.

andPOP is giving away a Beatles lithograph (click here to see what it looks like).

All you have to do to enter is email contests@andpop.com with your complete mailing address by 10/11/2009. One winner will be chosen at random.

For more, visit:
www.thebeatles.com

George Harrison may have been known as “the quiet Beatle,” but the late musician will be the toast of the town when he gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this month.

Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001 at age 58, will receive the tribute on the world-famous sidewalk on April 14, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced Friday. The ceremony will be attended by his widow, Olivia Harrison, and his son, Dhani.

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Neil Aspinall has died in hospital at the age of 66, after a battle with lung cancer.

Aspinall was called “The Fifth Beatle.” As a childhood friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he was the band’s first tour manager and continued to work with them throughout their careers. According to the BBC, Aspinall “remained fiercely loyal to the group, looking after their business interests and taking legal action on their behalf.”

Aspinall was a chief executive of Apple from 1970-2007, ensuring that the Beatles continued to make money.

He played various instruments in songs like Magical Mystery Tour, Within You Without You and Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite, and created the albums Beatles Anthology and Beatles One.

In a statement, Ringo Starr said that, “I’ve known Neil many years and he was a good friend. We were blessed to have him in our lives and he will be missed.”

Aspinall has five children with wife, Suzy.

“Meet the Beatles,” an album signed by all four members of the famous British band, has brought in more money in an auction than what was originally expected.

CBC Arts reports the album sold for US$115,228.82 at an auction in New York. It is believed the price is an all-time high.

The record was sold by George Harrison’s sister, although it is not clear who bought it yet, as the auction was done through the site ItsOnlyRockNRoll.com.

All four Beatles signed the record with personal messages to Harrison’s sister, Louise, while they were on tour in 1964.

U2?s Bono recently filmed his role in ?Across the Universe,? an upcoming musical romance which features classic Beatles music and stars Evan Rachel Wood (?Thirteen?).

According to MTV, the singer plays a spiritual character named Dr. Robert, who will deliver several pivotal lines and sing ?I Am the Walrus.?

Set in the ?60s, the movie will feature 18 songs by the Beatles and characters from those numbers, but it will not be about the legendary group. Wood plays Lucy (as in ?Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds?), an American girl who meets a young man named Jude. Jude, played by British actor Jim Sturgess, has arrived in New York from Liverpool and winds up protesting against the Vietnam war.

Julie Taymor, who helmed the hit stage version of ?The Lion King,? directs the movie.

The film is currently in production and will hit theatres in 2006.

This is Bono?s biggest movie role to date. He previously had a fleeting cameo as Man in Hotel Lobby in 2000?s ?Million Dollar Hotel.?