#Whaddup for 09/08/22

 Yo, kids. How's it goin'?

You know the big news- it's all over the place by now: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, best known as Queen Elizabeth II, has died at age 96. Her eldest son is next in line for the throne.

I've been around a while, but she had already been queen of England for nearly two decades before I was born. The problem a lot of people have with that (or royal families in general- I always thought the Queen would have been a blast to sit down and have a chat with, despite my own feelings vis-a-vis the British royal family) is that monarchies stand on a foundation built on the backs of their subjects- subjects that historically haven't always benefited from the... grace... of their protectors. And then, there's that whole colonialism thing. Something England still hasn't completely cut ties with. There's a reason the bad guys in Star Wars were called the Empire- and the British Empire was a pretty good example of why.

Still, in the time of her reign, British monarchy evolved. Britain evolved. Perhaps not far enough, but they did evolve. Perhaps Charles, should he decide to become king, will nurture that evolution. He has some big shoes to fill, though.

Rest in peace, ma'am.

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Coldplay's Music of the Spheres tour is coming to the big screen. The band announced yesterday that they'll broadcast their October 28th concert from Buenos Aires' River Plate stadium to movie theaters in 70 countries. Tickets go on sale September 15th at 10 am.

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Billboard headline: "Courteney Cox Claps Back At Kanye West for Saying ‘Friends’ Wasn’t Funny"

I think the end times might be upon us, kids- I actually agree with Kanye about something.

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Ricky Martin has filed a $30 million lawsuit against his nephew, who accused him of sexual assault. Martin calls the allegations "completely false."

In the  eight-page complaint, Martin alleges the young man is harassing him via Instagram- with messages sent as recently as August 14.

The lawsuit says the defendant "has threatened and extorted (Martin)" and says he "will continue with his campaign to assassinate his reputation and integrity, through false and malicious imputations." 

The filing also says the man's claims at a July hearing that Martin sexually assaulted him have led to a loss of nearly $30 million in economic and reputational damage to the singer's "previously impeccable reputation... through his long artistic and altruistic career."

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Nickelback has a new album coming out. 

Okay then.

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Came across this in the midst of my online meanderings, courtesy of actor Jason Isaacs: "Farewell your majesty. Nothing about the royal family makes sense in the modern world and yet this queen, our queen, sat atop our unwritten constitution and stopped our country from fragmenting completely: it was her government, her army and she was our fairy godmother." 

"It never made any sense having a queen and yet she, Elizabeth, somehow rose above all the debate around privilege or political controversy in a life stoically devoted to public service and duty. Eight decades of public life. A woman of importance."

Spot on. 

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AC/DC singer Brian Johnson’s autobiography. The Lives of Brian, will finally hit shelves next month after a year-long delay.

Originally slated for release last October, the book is now scheduled for release next month- on the 13th of next month in the UK and the 25th in the US.

The memoir is said to follow Johnson’s life and career from his UK childhood through his leaving AC/DC due to hearing issues in 2016, and his recent return to the band.

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Like most "new" artists, I wouldn't know Rihanna if she knocked on my door selling magazine subscriptions or whatever, but I'm a fan of her as person- from her founding of the Believe Foundation in 2006 to her multimillion dollar donations various Caribbean charities fighting climate change earlier this year. 

Then, there's this- after asking staff at a New York eatery to remain open so that she and her companions could have a late night dinner, a witness says she stayed after they were done eating to help "the waitstaff clean up and push the bar stools back into place..." according to reports from Page Six.

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Don't forget to join us for another rip-roaring edition of Saturday Night Karaoke, this week at the Iron Horse Tavern. 

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Birthdays today include: Sal Valentino of The Beau Brummels (80); drummer Mick Brown (66); Michael Lardie of Great White and Night Ranger (64); Aimee Mann of 'Til Tuesday (62); David Steele of The Beat (62); Neko Case (52); Gabrial McNair of No Doubt (49); Troy Sanders of Mastodon (49); P!nk (43); and Wiz Khalifa (35). #MusicalBirthdays