“Election Day” to play in Election Year
By Jon Chattman

Nick Rhodes, longtime keyboardist for Duran Duran, told thecheappop.com that the band plans on rehearsing “Election Day” soon and include it in their current Red Carpet Massacre tour. The song, which the band has never played live, was a big hit on Rhodes’ 1985 side project Arcadia, which featured Duran Duran bandmates Simon Le Bon and Roger Taylor. The band only recorded one album (So Red The Rose, which went multiplatinum), but has never toured together.

“Funny enough,” Rhodes told the pop humor website that Duran Duran guitarist John Taylor actually came up with the idea for the band to include it in their set list.

“John said recently he’d really love to do ‘Election Day.’ We sort of prepared it and figured out what certain things are and what sounds we need and all these kind of things. We haven’t rehearsed it yet [but] yeah that’s going to be coming into the battalion.” Read the rest of this entry »

Delightfully reeking of awkwardness
By Jon Chattman

Whether it’s the appeal of its ultra-eccentric stars or the hilarity of sketches involving such gems as hidden camera prankster Spaghett or father-obsessed singer Pierre , Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! has provided a belly of laughs on the Cartoon Network since it debuted last year. While the show continues to gain momentum, the truth is Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim have been splitting sides for years on the ‘net long before they took to the Adult Swim airwaves.

Thecheappop.com recently interviewed the wunderkinds behind “The Christmas Wish” and countless other examples of overall hilarious awkwardness, and found them super nice and, um, eccentric. Fittingly, the interview will play out the same. It will be uncomfortable for everyone involved while, at the same time, quite funny. With that in mind, for the first time ever, I will go against journalistic integrity and transcribe the interview in real time as I write this story in a wonderful and honest play-by-play style that would do Vin Scully proud if he knew who I was. Since it’s in real time, I will not rewind the tape. I’m a fast typer so I’m not worried about not capturing authentic soundbytes. If I do, however, I’ll simply paraphrase what either Tim or Eric said while keeping their statements true. We’ll start the interview as soon as I jump out of my office, and scream “Spaghett!” Done and done. Read the rest of this entry »

Nobody puts Patrick Harris in a corner
By Andrew Plotkin

Neil Patrick Harris, one of the stars of the new movie Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, never would have expected that his Hollywood renaissance would have resulted from playing a cocaine-snorting, lap dance-loving, degenerate named…Neil Patrick Harris. But that’s exactly what happened in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Following his unforgettable turn as “Neil Patrick Harris” (note the quotation marks, because the real-life NPH won’t hesitate to point out the ways that he differs from his punctuated counterpart), the actor previously best known for playing a medicinal prodigy was cast on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, currently in its third season. On that series, he plays Barney Stinson, a suited up, catch-phrase spewing, only slightly less vulgar adaptation of his role from H&K. NPH even garnered an Emmy nomination last year for the role. Read the rest of this entry »

Easy On The Ears: An Interview With Wild Sweet Orange’s Taylor Shaw
By Nell Alk

Wild Sweet Orange possesses a sweet, wild sound you won’t want to miss. Fortunately, you won’t have to. WSO embarks on their second tour of 2008 on May 5, kicking off in Portland, OR. We recently spoke with guitarist Taylor Shaw towards the tail end of their first leg. At the time, I lamented the fact that I’d missed their stop in NYC. Well, lucky for me and other fans from New York, they’ll be back – at Bowery Ballroom May 21.

From Birmingham, AL, these boys know what it takes to make music that’s not only original, but also addictive. Their songs are at once lyrically lofty as well as undeniably catchy in their instrumental elements. Read the rest of this entry »

A cool, refreshing slice of (water)Meloni.
By Andrew Plotkin

He’s been packing heat on Law & Order: SVU for almost a decade. He’s also shown audiences what he’s packing in his pants, thanks to the many shower scenes in HBO’s Oz. Plain and simple: Christopher Meloni has proven himself to be one of the greatest dramatic TV actors of the 1990s and today.

But in addition to being able to display the necessary gravitas required by a cop who’s just discovered a murder/castration victim, Merloni has, with his turn as a puppet-toting pediatrician in an episode of Scrubs and his smaller roles in films like Runaway Bride and this Friday’s Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, shown himself to possess incredibly gifted comedic timing. After his scene-stealing turn as a profoundly disturbed summer camp cook in Wet Hot American Summer, reports of sweater fondling and the general molestation of garments in the U.S went up 83%. (Statistics for refrigerator humping were not available.) Read the rest of this entry »

Photo/Nell Alk
Rare Form
By Nell Alk

Making music since “2002-ish,” The Forms’ first album, Icarus, dropped in 2003. Their more recent, self-titled release hit shelves in 2007. The New York based band is currently touring the U.S. and they next take on the Midwest. I was fortunate enough to catch up with them in Brooklyn before they departed the Northeast to head down South. Lead singer Alex Tween dedicated time before their show to answer some questions, and to ask a few of his own. As an added bonus, he divulged why he considers The Forms to be a closet pop band. Read on to learn more… Read the rest of this entry »

Poster/New Line Cinema
4:20 on 4/25
By Andrew Plotkin

Few actors in Hollywood can display true skill in both their comedic and more serious endeavors. Even fewer people on Earth would probably spell Kal with a ‘K’ instead of a ‘C’. For these and many other reasons, Kal Penn, co-star of the upcoming Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and TV’s House, is more of a badass than you are.
Penn is one half of a film duo (John Cho is the other half, but he thought I smelled funny and walked out of the room, so we never got the chance to talk - none of that happened) that many have dubbed this generation’s Cheech and Chong, even though he admitted to never having seen any the iconic films, which is one of those things that he thinks “the fans find disappointing.” (Penn also says that he doesn’t smoke pot. And those burgers he so righteously scarfed down in the first film? Veggie.)) It’s a good thing Penn didn’t reveal any more personal info during a recent press trip to NYC to promote the flick, lest his fans actually abandon him. (When I added more personal info to my FaceBook profile, three people un-friended me.) Read the rest of this entry »

Stashwick on staches and ‘buffers’
By Jon Chattman

“It’s not TV. It’s HBO.” Everyone remembers that slogan, but ever since Tony Soprano faded out to onion rings and the Fisher Funeral Home closed its doors, that tagline only somewhat rings true now. As a matter of fact, a better slogan these days might be “It’s not TV. It’s cable television.” Wow, that is a totally lame slogan, but think about it. The best shows on the tube today aren’t on the major networks nor restricted to Home Box Office. Case in point: Look no further than TNT’s The Closer, AMC’s Mad Men, and FX’s Damages and The Riches. And that’s just some examples.
For the purpose of this article and to cut a long-winded opening short, let’s focus on the The Riches, which is arguably the best of the bunch. The series, now in its second season, is an off-beat and awfully well-written show about a family of cons led by Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver, who assume the identities of a wealthy suburban family in the south. Todd Stashwick portrays Dale Malloy, an emotionally unstable cousin who knows their secret and all of this season has blackmailed them into getting a piece of the action.

We recently spoke with the Chicago native, who’s arguably best known for countless guest appearances on acclaimed shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek Voyager, and Weeds, about his role on the show, the series itself, and naturally we asked Stashwick about ‘staches. Read the rest of this entry »

By Mike Johnson

As a form of entertainment, professional wrestling has taken a chair shot to the face since the days when The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin spearheaded the industry to unprecedented success in the ratings and the consistent packing of arenas. Steroid scandals, premature deaths, and other horrible stories outside the ring have soured a formerly built-in audience and left the wrestling industry with about as much repair work to do as Kenny Rogers’ plastic surgeon. Fortunately for wrestlers and wrestling fans, these things tend to be cyclical, and much like baseball and hockey after player strikes, salvation is achievable with the right marketing scheme and an exciting blend of stars. And ratings, by the way, are up so people do still watch sports entertainment – just not me.

TNA (Total Nonstop Action) wrestling is one of the companies striving back towards the wrestling peak, and Samoa Joe is perhaps the company’s brightest star. Jewish Johnson was able to catch up with Samoa Joe a couple nights before a main event pay per view showdown with former Olympic medalist Kurt Angle on TNA: Lockdown, and Joe was switched on from word one. Read the rest of this entry »

Shillue= Funny ha-ha
By Jon Chattman

Tom Shillue is considered one of the finest comedians in the country, and I’m not just saying that. He’s been lauded in numerous publications, and has appeared on Conan O’Brien,The Daily Show, and if it were still on the air, I’d venture to say he’d be a frequent guest on Thicke of the Night. In addition to stand-up comedy, you’ve likely seen him in a bunch of commercials from Snickers to Audi, a couple of flicks, and various web shows. He’s also a staff comic at one of our fav sites DailyComedy, and hosts a popular website: tomshillue.com.

thecheappop recently interviewed this Massachusetts funny guy, and found him, wicked funny, wicked awesome, and a wicked pisser. Read the rest of this entry »

Rocker on Selig, steroids, and being misunderstood
By Jon Chattman

J.R. Ewing. Lindsay Lohan crotch shots. Avocados. There are some things in life we love to hate, and if you were a New York sports fan – especially a Mets fan like me - in 1999 and the early 2000s, there was no one you hated more than John Rocker.

The former Atlanta Braves player was a dominant closer, but made more headlines for riling up the city crowd and making outspoken ethnic/racist (whatever you want to call it) comments against New Yorkers– notably in a 2000 Sports Illustrated interview in which he compared the Big Apple to Beirut and trashed 7 Train riders.

While those comments led to a suspension and a few batteries tossed at him at Shea Stadium games – not to mention countless “ass….hole” shout outs by Mets fans, it was an injury – not his mouth - that ended Rocker’s career. After playing for the Braves, Indians, Rangers, and Devil Rays, Rocker left the bigs in 2003. While he tried to make a come back in 2005 with the Independent League Long Island Ducks, the pitcher’s more or less shifted his focus away from baseball.

In 2006, he appeared in an indie horror comedy, a year later he appeared on Spike TV’s Pros vs. Joes, and currently, he’s also running his own real estate business in Atlanta. He’s also heavily involved in various charities, and is currently penning a book.

Still, Rocker’s not out of baseball entirely, and his mouth is anything but shut. He sometimes serves as a radio analyst (Sporting News radio, etc), and his name recently resurfaced because he was named on the infamous Mitchell Report. In this interview and various ones before it, Rocker has admitted to using Human Growth Hormone to rehab from injuries. We spoke with Rocker last week, and asked him if he’s misunderstood, whether he has any after effects from using ‘roids, and what he thinks of Bud Selig. As always, Rocker spoke his mind. Read the rest of this entry »