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LATEST
MAKE SIR PAUL GREAT AGAIN [MPGA]
Taken from Sir Paul McCartney's most recent album, 'McCartney III: Imagined' - a reworking of last year's McCartney III - the "Find My Way" visuals see a digitally de-aged McCartney dance the halls of a hotel before being transported to various other locations. The colourful, disco-inspired video - which has a big reveal at the end - was directed by Andrew Donoho (Janelle Monae, The Strokes) and co-produced with Hyperreal Digital, which specialises in the creation of hyper-realistic digital avatars.
"The technology to de-age talent and have them perform in creative environments like this is now fully-realised, even with one of the most recognised faces in the world," Hyperreal's CEO Remington Scott said of the technology used in the video.
More 'fake' technology to deal with.
THIS WEEK'S WTF MOMENT
ERIC CLAPTON SLAMS VACCINE PROPAGANDA AND, IN TURN, IS CHASTISED
Eric Clapton won't play any venue that discriminates its audience and requires Covid passports as an entry requirement. Here's why.
The legendary guitarist said he had a "disastrous" reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine and blamed "propaganda [that] said the vaccine was safe for everyone" after he was left fearing he'd "never play again."
"I took the first jab of AZ and straight away had severe reactions which lasted ten days. I recovered eventually and was told it would be twelve weeks before the second one," Clapton said in a letter to architect and anti-lockdown activist Robin Monotti Graziadei, which was shared with Clapton's permission.
Clapton, who received the AstraZeneca shot in February, added that he was later offered the second dose after six weeks, which he accepted only because he had "a little more knowledge of the dangers."
"Needless to say the reactions were disastrous, my hands and feet were either frozen, numb or burning, and pretty much useless for two weeks, I feared I would never play again," Clapton wrote. Clapton noted that he "should've never gone near the needle" because of his "peripheral neuropathy" but added the "propaganda said the vaccine was safe for everyone."
"I continue to tread the path of passive rebellion and try to tow the line in order to be able to actively love my family, but it's hard to bite my tongue with what I now know," Clapton wrote.
Clapton's next scheduled concerts in the UK are at the Royal Albert Hall in London, in May 2022. His remarks sparked a backlash from many who accused him of ignoring the science that shows vaccines significantly reduce risk of infection and hospitalisation from coronavirus, including the faster-spreading Delta variant, which is currently driving the cases surge in the UK.
Here are four reactions from fans and celebrities.
I don't need to hear Dr Fauci play guitar, and I don't need to hear Eric Clapton give medical advice.
- Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) June 14, 2021
Eric Clapton is an asshole.
- Ellen Barkin (@EllenBarkin) July 22, 2021
If you attend an Eric Clapton rally, you are playing Covid roulette. Just saying.
- Star Trek actor, George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) July 22, 2021
This works out quite nicely as I'm refusing to go to venues that have Eric Clapton in them.
- Sam (@SamAnorac) July 22, 2021
In the '60s, Eric Clapton was God.
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COLLECTING DUST
BOB'S BOOTLEGS VOL 16 'SPRINGTIME IN NEW YORK'
'Springtime In New York: The Bootleg Series Vol 16 (1980-1985)' focuses on Bob Dylan's albums 'Shot Of Love', 'Infidels' and 'Empire Burlesque' and will come complete with previously unreleased outtakes, alternate takes, rehearsal recordings, live performances and more. Due from Columbia/Legacy on September 17. It will be released as a deluxe 5CD boxset (with book, memorabilia, photos and more) as well as 2CD and 2LP sets.
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READING ROOM
BEDTIME FOR BEZOS
"Was the conquest of space then a potential chariot of Satan, the unique and grand avenue for the new totalitarian?"
- Norman Mailer, Of a Fire on the Moon
Five planets in our solar system are adorned with rings. The rings around four of these planets (Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune) are composed of dust and ice. The ring that encircles earth is made of trash, the detritus of the launch-it-and-leave culture of the new generation of space junketeers.
We are witnessing the last great enclosure, as the billionaire rocket-set greedily stake their claims on space - once a universal commons, a kind of dreamscape that since the beginning of humankind has been available freely to all, owned by none.
Bezos's rocket looks like it was designed by Barbarella's workshop, a stubby white vibrator, which is the most extravagant manifestation yet of that favorite pastime of the American elite, Ostentatious Onanism.
There can be no doubt that Ham, the first chimpanzee in space, would have made a more evocative and intelligent description of his suborbital flight than the vapid mutterings of Bezos, who didn't even have the sense to hire a professional peddler of pomp, like Jon Meacham or Peggy Noonan, to script a few uplifting lines of homespun doggerel.
Bezos, the US$207 Billion Manchild, blurted out after his 10-minute ride: "I want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all of this. Seriously, for every Amazon customer out there and every Amazon employee, thank you from the bottom of my heart very much. It's very appreciated."
The median salary of an Amazon worker is $29,007 in 2020. The CEO-to-worker pay ratio at the company is 58:1.
By Jeffrey St Clair
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THE LAST WORD on 'REBEL'
"I've been a rebel all my life, against tyranny and arrogant authority, which is what we have now. But I also crave fellowship, compassion and love... I believe with these things we can prevail."
- Eric Clapton about the song 'Stand and Deliver', a collaboration with Van Morrison released in December 2020.
