SNEAK PEEK: Radiohead (live From The Basement)

Here's a special sneak peek preview of the highly anticipated "live from the Basement" special which will be broadcast by BBC beginning July 1. It will be a 55-minute long recording of their album "The King of Limbs," which will also include songs not on the LP, such as "Staircase" that's shown in the video.

Other songs rumored to be performed are "Supercollider" and "The Butcher" which were both released as singles as part of Record Store Day 2011.

I'm really, really looking forward to "live from the Basement," especially following the success of their previous program with "In Rainbows" using the same format. It's a truly special performance because of its' intimacy; no host or audience members - just the band doing what they do best. Let's hope Thom brings his dance moves!

Ryan Dunn - First "Jackass" Fatality

Here is a video of the late "Jackass" star, Ryan Dunn, chugging a bottle of tequila in front of a live audience. Dunn died this morning in a terrible car accident where he lost control driving his Porsche, hit a couple of trees, where his car consequently lit up in flames. The other passenger also died. Just a few hours before the accident, he had posted a picture of him and his buddies having drinks at a bar. It's not too difficult to connect the dots here.

Dunn was one of the stars of "Jackass", an MTV show that centered around a couple of guys doing extremely stupid and outrageous stunts. He was best known for shoving a "toy car up his rectum", as quoted in an obituary found online.

Celebrities have not kept quiet about this. Most of them are sympathetic, and are sending prayers. But some, like film critic Roger Ebert, are using this incident to bring light to a broader issue; drunk driving. Ebert wrote on his Twitter account, "Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive."

Others think its too soon for those kind of comments, primarily celeb blogger Perez Hilton. He dedicated a post to Ebert's Tweet, "We think there's no reason that anyone should be pointing fingers or poking fun at a truly tragic situation. Everyone makes mistakes, and this is somebody's son. Too soon, Roger."

Perez's fans don't think so. One responded with, "Totally true statement, I don't see anything wrong with it." Another writes, "It wasn't just Ryan who died, the dude actually killed someone, so stupid!"

There is actually a rumor going around cyberspace saying that his death is a prank for an upcoming movie. If it's true, that would be a sick and disgusting antic, but would anyone be surprised coming from the Jackass star? People have been saying on Twitter, "RIP, you were my hero!".......really? A guy who consciously hurts himself and others has become a model for living? Again, the standards of this society should be questioned.

So what it boils down to is an issue of respect. This guy was someone's friend, son, brother, cousin, and he died in a violent accident at the age of 34. But he also drank an entire bottle of Tequila for entertainment, rolled down rooftops, and jumped in front of cars.

Did he have it coming?
What do you think?

America Loves Weiner

Here's the video of Congressman Weiner resigning today. It gets pretty funny in the middle when a heckler yells out, "Was it 7 inches?"

For the past few weeks, Congressman Weiner's weiner has been in the spotlight in America. He sent pictures of his privates to a girl on Twitter, proceeded to say that his account had been hacked, and ultimately confessed that it was him. This was followed by the release of other photos of Weiner that he had sent to additional women. The photos were of Weiner's body taken in a Congressional gym (I wonder how many dirty things happen in there).

From the get-go, Weiner said he is not going to resign. Obama initially didn't condone it either, but the story got so popular and mainstream, that he later deemed it as a major "distraction" and called for his resignation. He resigned today.

But here's the thing....America NEEDS distractions. We strive off of them. So many politicians have been in the center of sex scandals that have constantly made headlines. Doesn't our government have the power to prohibit the public release of these stories? Can't they only exist among the few people involved, including a secret resignation? You can say that these stories are just examples of transparency that the government tries to practice, but why is sex scandal transparency given priority over war, oil prices, or things that should actually matter?

We live in a country where people can name all eight members of the Kardashian Family, but not the name of our Vice President. So Congressman Weiner, thanks for contributing an adult "sexting" story that we can all be distracted by, your country thanks you.

Tracy Morgan; Moral Compass or Comic?

"What did one tomato say to the other as they were rolling down the hill? Go ahead, I'll ketchup!"
"Why did the football coach go to the bank? To get his quarterback."

Now let me ask you, would you ever pay $20 to see a comedian at the Improv say these jokes? No, because they are not racist, sexist, or homophobic (and that's the truth).

Tracy Morgan recently said that if his son were gay, he'd stab him with a knife, and that women should be in the kitchen cooking rather than becoming CEOs. Michael Richards told his security to get rid of the "niggers" in the audience during his well-documented rant. Although these statements took place in the context of a comic routine, these specific instances have been repeatedly highlighted within mainstream media, carrying the heavy power to completely destroy the comedians reputation while consequently ending their careers.

Yeah, they might have been on the extreme side, but that's what comedians do. Their content revolves around making fun of the world we live in, which includes different races, genders, and sexualities. After a long day at work, people want to kick back and see some guy talk about something NOT politically correct, something that might be on their own mind but obviously not expressed for societal reasons.

In the wake of Morgan's recent scandal, does he deserve to be treated by the media with statements like "anti-Gay tirade," "homophobic rant," or "violent and disturbing"? If we're following these standards and protocols, shouldn't every comedian be put under the spotlight after every act?

Here are similar jokes by comics that probably didn't make it to the 5-o'clock news.
Carlos Mencia: "It's never a good idea to sit next to KHHKH on an airplane. Those fuckers hate us, and if you see a KHHKH flying the plane, don't be surprised if he comes on the intercom and says the planes going to fly into a building...it's what they do!"
Dane Cook: "I was swerving in my lane and as I was stopped at the red light, the guy tells me 'can you please not swerve anymore?', but if he was black he'd say, 'stop that motherfucker!"
Sarah Silverman: "I was raped by a doctor, which is so bittersweet for a Jewish girl."

Ultimately, you can't punish Richards if you're not gonna punish douchebag Dane for his (unfunny) jokes against black people. And if you're looking at a comedian to act as your moral compass, do our society a favor and move to Canada.