Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em

...when you take the stage with Vanilla Ice!!! That's right folks, I'm a little late to the news-flash party but a Feb. 27 MC Hammer/Vanilla Ice gig scheduled to go down at the McKay Events Center. I think it's part of the Get My Ass Out Of Debt tour. Local band/Portia Early favorite Love You Long Time is also scheduled to appear. Expected attendees include that kid who sat next to you in 7th grade science and everyone with a soft spot for 80s kitsch, er, serious art.


(Jamie Gadette)

KRCL's Artist of the Week: Nick Drake

[Music] I noticed KRCL 90.9 has been playing a lot of Nick Drake recently--this afternoon Ebay Hamilton spun "One of These Things First," a lovely tune. It's been good to hear the beautiful finger-picking goodness of this morose, tragic English folkie. (Drake OD'ed on antidepressants in the 1970s, and his music did not become widely appreciated until sometime in the '80s.)

So I checked the playlists to make sure this wasn't just a trick of the imagination. Apparently, I wasn't dreaming: Drake is KRCL's "artist of the week." Until now, I didn't even know KRCL had an artist of the week, and I'm curious to know how this artist is selected.

But good on 'em for this week's fine selection.

(Brandon Burt)

The Senatorial Scene

[Hatchography] Sen. Orrin Hatch is so excited about John McCain's presidential bid, he was moved to compose a love song titled "Together Forever." (Apparently, Chris Matthews was quite enamored with it; The Trib broke the story late Thursday evening.)

I especially like the "destiny / history / majesty / all to see" rhymes. Very masculine.

While it's unclear in what sense Hatch "wrote" the song (dual credit goes to Philip Springer, who is most known for having cashed countless royalty checks over the past 50 years for the vaguely dirty Christmas favorite "Santa Baby"), the lyrics seem to have the soaring grandeur that Hatch is known for. How many states can boast such a multitalented statesman?

A McCain spokesman was suitably wowed: "We'll see Barack Obama's Bruce Springsteen endorsement and raise them an Orrin Hatch." Yeah, take that, Springsteen!

Something about the title, though ... wasn't it ... oh, yeah! Orrin, you got Rick-Rolled! (Brandon Burt)