A talk with Antony, on the occasion of his Walt Disney Concert Hall show

British-born artist Antony Hegarty creates the kind of songs that paint, with just a few strokes, the profound but confusing nature of the world, to which being an androgynous, spiritually roaming seeker is seemingly the best response.

He and his band of soft-handed musicians released a self-titled album in 2000, but it wasn't until 2005, with the release of "I Am a Bird Now," that Antony stepped out of the New York art scene where he had gathered steam with his performance-art group Blacklips. A delicate yet resilient album with guest spots from Devendra Banhart and Hegarty heroes Lou Reed and Boy George, it won the Mercury Prize and expanded Antony's cultish audience of cabaret sages and faint-hearted beauties.

Since then, he's collaborated with several musicians and artists, including Björk, lending his quavering tenor to her song "Dull Flame of Desire," which appears on "Volta" from 2007. For his old friend Andy Butler in Hercules and Love Affair, he transformed his ghostly voice for the disco floor, which wasn't, it turned out, all that much of a stretch.

For the last couple of months, Antony has abandoned his beloved East Village for orchestral shows in Spain and Italy, entrusting the arrangements of his compositions with Nico Muhly, boy-wonder of the avant music scene. He's also released "Another World," an EP with another of Hegarty's idols on the cover, butoh dancer Kazuo Ohno. This precursor to "The Crying Light," the highly anticipated full-length due in January, only shares the title track with the longer work, but Antony sees the songs as united by themes of discovery.

On the occasion of his show tonight at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Antony spoke by phone a couple of days ago about working with an orchestra and dealing with the pressures of creating new work.

You’ll be working with a 20-piece orchestra Tuesday, and you’ve been performing with various orchestras around the world for the last couple of months. How’s that been going?

It’s been fun. It’s rare to get to to make music with such a large group of people. The orchestras have ranged from 20 to 50. The biggest increase in numbers occur in the string section, not wind or horns. It’s like you can never sweeten the pot enough.

Famed rock 'n' roll photographer Bob Gruen, known for some of the most iconic shots in rock history, is in town this week for the opening of his first-ever solo show at the Los Angeles Morrison Hotel Gallery. We talked to the native New Yorker on Thursday a bit about his photographs of the New York Dolls (many of which were shot in L.A. during the Dolls' first trip to California), about 10 of which will be on display at the exhibition (opening Saturday at 6 p.m. and running until Nov. 11). Gruen, 62, will attend the event to sign copies of his fantastic, just-released book, "New York Dolls: Photographs by Bob Gruen," from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Our brief chat with the photographer follows after the jump...

As fellow L.A. Times blog All Things Trojan reported last night, Michael Balzary -- better known as Flea 'round these parts -- is indeed a freshie at USC. I interviewed the bassist last week about Hullabaloo, the upcoming benefit concert for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which he founded with childhood friend Keith Barry in 2001, and we got a chance to gab about his classes, his upcoming solo work and whether or not things will be resuming with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

--Margaret Wappler

So you're taking classes at USC. What brought that on?

I’m glad my music education has developed the way that it has, but it’s so much fun to learn this stuff because I never knew anything. I played trumpet in the school bands. I learned things I liked to play on my trumpet but I didn’t learn why this note goes with this note and why it produces that sound. Or how to create tension in the composition. The Chili Peppers did that in our song structures but all based on emotion and intuition as opposed to knowing the math and academics of it. Knowing the structure is really fun.

What classes are you taking?

I'm taking three: theory, composition and jazz trumpet.

Australian native Nick Cave is an artist so distinctive that to hear a catch of his sonorous voice, a moment of his fragile or vehement lyrics, a sight of his inky hair swooped over his pale cheek, can alight an instant frisson in his legions of fans. At age 50, he hasn’t let his fascinations lull him into a static place. His latest album with the Bad Seeds, the boldly punctuated “Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!” isn’t the retracing of territories he’s already plumbed. It’s a shining new city in his mythic land, rich with dark humor, redemptive visions and no-apologies idiosyncrasies.

While the new album has reinvigorated the Bad Seeds, Cave has also found fresh blood in Grinderman, his staunch outfit with three other members of the Bad Seeds -- Warren Ellis, Martyn P. Casey and Jim Sclavunos. Last year’s debut was a controlled, blackened fit of rock and roll, most scabrously in the song “No Pussy Blues.” The band, which opened a handful of dates for the White Stripes in 2007, has performed at a few festivals in Europe this year, including the Roskilde Festival, and is at work on a new album.

And then there are Cave’s explorations into film and fiction, the latter of which Cave is mostly close-lipped about for now, confirming only that he’s at work on a second novel. A contributor to the soundtracks of many of Wim Wenders’ films, including “Wings of Desire” and “Faraway, So Close!,” Cave also wrote the score with Ellis for “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” They are now at work on “The Road,” based on the Cormac McCarthy book and directed by another of Cave’s co-conspirators, John Hillcoat. The two most notably teamed up on “The Proposition” in 2005, a grizzly Australian Outback western written by Cave.

The father of four children, Cave lives in Brighton with his wife, Susie Bick, and their twin boys, and also has an apartment in London. For the first time in more than five years, Cave & the Bad Seeds will play L.A. on Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl and he promises not to go easy on the crowd. We chatted over the phone when Cave was on a break from recording music for “The Road” at a London studio.

-- Margaret Wappler


You have a pretty set work routine at home, where you write in a studio every day. Does that process differ from what you might have done with the Birthday Party?

I always sat down at a desk and wrote, since I started doing this kind of thing. I write on tour as well. I’m kind of writing all the time these days. I write when I wake up, on the bus, when I get back from the gig. And I’m writing a novel at the moment; I work on that everywhere and anywhere. Though my sleeping has gotten really strange lately -- I just don’t do very much of it. But sleep deprivation is kind of a creative force in itself.

Does inspiration factor into your work habits?

I’ve never been concerned with inspiration. I talk to musicians about this sometimes and...

There's some show on Bloomberg Television called "Night Talk" and tonight the guest is a Grammy-winning star who apparently prowls the stage like a sex panther:

“The thing that I think about when I play is that I’m trying to make every girl in that audience want me, and think she can have me," he said. "That’s my goal every night.”

Who is this man of molten desire? Answer after the jump ...

Nike's Human Race event drew well over 12,000 red-shirt clad runners to the L.A. Coliseum last Saturday, even a running Elvis. It was the last leg of Nike's ambitious fund-raising event, which made the most of new technologies in running (participants were given a computer chip that logged their miles, contributing to a global mileage meter for the event) and music (certain Nike running shoes, for instance, can sync to an iPod or other devices).

The 6.2-mile race had already hit several countries around the globe, including Germany and Japan, with proceeds going to environmental organizations and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave some opening comments, as did Councilman Bernard Parks, as runners stretched and warmed up.

The runners were there to compete, but there was no doubt that the closing performance by Kanye West, Mr. Nike Air Yeezy himself, was on everyone's mind. It was one of the benefits of finishing the race, which went up Figueroa Street with turns at Adams Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard, as fast as possible, though many participants played their own personal soundtracks on earbuds or enjoyed the entertainment provided en route -- dance and music, including Chinese lion dances, Brazilian capoeira dancers, Japanese taiko drummers and Mexican mariachis.

If you haven't yet seen "Hamlet 2," the joyfully ridiculous comedy centered on Dana Marschz, a high-school drama teacher short on talent but overstocked with ambitions, the time is nigh. With the summer season officially over and "real life" back in full swing, we need a humbling reminder that our most precious of pursuits -- for Steve Coogan's Marschz, it's acting! in the most James Lipton sense of the word -- can often be undone by what we lack (talent, good sense) and elevated by the teamwork of several wastoid Tucson teens (or whatever strange details apply to your own life). The overarching life lesson is to enjoy it all, though life lessons are exactly the kind of earnest fluff that gets torn to pieces in "Hamlet 2," but in a giddy, sly John Waters way.

At the center of "Hamlet 2," the movie and the musical inside the movie, is "Rock Me Sexy Jesus," a middle finger of sorts to the high-school board that canceled drama. It involves Jesus in a tank top and jeans, strutting his "swimmer's bod" to the squealing admiration of a coterie of girls and bi-curious guys. You can watch a little bit of it above.

We talked with music supervisor Ralph Sall, who wrote the music for "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" and other songs from "Hamlet 2," such as the inimitable "You're as Gay as the Day Is Long." His background includes producing for Paul McCartney, Jane's Addiction and the Ramones; and writing tracks for musicians as diverse as Liz Phair and George Clinton.

So, writing "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" was just another day in the life -- almost. If you don't count that gospel choir that was hanging around...

Since Sunday, Las Vegas has been filled with clothing designers, hip-hop musicians and clothing buyers from around the world for the second in the twice-a-year fashion trade show known as MAGIC.

For the first time, however, rock star designer Christian Audigier took his quickly expanding empire out of the usual trade show environment at the Las Vegas Convention Center and created his own elaborate star-studded event just a few miles down the road at Caesar's Palace, taking over the casino's entire convention space and featuring performances from Macy Gray, T.I., Dave Stewart and Snoop Dogg, all of whom have their own signature lines under Audigier's lifestyle umbrella.

T.I.'s Tuesday afternoon performance, staged inside a boxing ring, had all the energy of a prize fight. T.I.'s general rawkus behavior, as he ran through a quick set of his most recent hits, caused the crowd to bounce and bob their heads. The self-proclaimed "King of the South," whose well-publicized court trouble and house arrest took no sting out of his lively stage presence, thrilled the crowd of young models, wholesale clothing buyers and guys with mohawks. Hits like "Big Things Poppin (Do It)," and "What You Know," were greeted with serious woots and hollers from the crowd. T.I. closed the promo set with a couple tracks off of his upcoming "Paper Trail" album, including the groovy Jim Jonsin-produced ode to the ladies, "Whatever You Like."

Robin Thicke's recent conversation in Billboard touched on some hot topics: racism; his struggle to shake the shadow of his parents, actors Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, and find his own place in the pop world; and the ever-problematic category of "blue-eyed soul." I also had a chance to chat with Thicke not long ago, and when we connected, he talked mostly about music. Which is sensible, because "Something Else," Thicke's third album (out Sept. 30 on Star Trak/Interscope) presents his musical vision more coherently and cohesively than anything else he's done.

Here's what Thicke had to say about the sound and creative soul expressed on "Something Else."

-- Ann Powers

AP: The new album is more assertive, to my ears, than anything else you've done. Tell me about the motivation behind it.

RT:  After coming off the road for so long, we really wanted the new album to be entertaining as much as soulful. I was trying to find some good grooves and bring back the sounds of Michael Jackson, Gamble and Huff, Motown....

AP: What does Michael Jackson's music mean to you?

RT:  When I was 7, he was the biggest singer in the world. No one had done what he had done before. I was just inspired by his music and his dance moves, and then I went over to Prince, and after that I got into rap and gospel music and R&B.

Brian Wilson’s relationship over the years with his legacy as the driving musical force in the Beach Boys has been tumultuous at best. Internal squabbles that contributed to his withdrawal from the band, and effectively from life for many years, didn’t make the prospect of equanimity toward his past seem very likely.

He doesn’t shy from playing the group’s hits at his own concerts nowadays, but when I spoke with him recently, whenever I’d ask a question about “his music,” he’d quickly make the distinction: “Do you mean the Beach Boys' or my music?”

So the surprise, even though Wilson has been sued in recent years by his cousin and former songwriting partner Mike Love — Love lost — and despite cautioning me at the outset of our talk that he wouldn’t field any questions about the Beach Boys, he spoke warmly about the group on his own from time to time.

NYC photographer Bob Gruen brings N.Y. Dolls pics to L.A.

Famed rock 'n' roll photographer Bob Gruen, known for some of the most iconic shots in rock history, is in town this week for the opening of his first-ever solo show at the Los Angeles Morrison Hotel Gallery. We talked to the native New Yorker on Thursday a bit about his photographs of the New York Dolls (many of which were shot in L.A. during the Dolls' first trip to California), about 10 of which will be on display at the exhibition (opening Saturday at 6 p.m. and running until Nov. 11). Gruen, 62, will attend the event to sign copies of his fantastic, just-released book, "New York Dolls: Photographs by Bob Gruen," from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Our brief chat with the photographer follows after the jump...

As fellow L.A. Times blog All Things Trojan reported last night, Michael Balzary -- better known as Flea 'round these parts -- is indeed a freshie at USC. I interviewed the bassist last week about Hullabaloo, the upcoming benefit concert for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which he founded with childhood friend Keith Barry in 2001, and we got a chance to gab about his classes, his upcoming solo work and whether or not things will be resuming with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

--Margaret Wappler

So you're taking classes at USC. What brought that on?

I’m glad my music education has developed the way that it has, but it’s so much fun to learn this stuff because I never knew anything. I played trumpet in the school bands. I learned things I liked to play on my trumpet but I didn’t learn why this note goes with this note and why it produces that sound. Or how to create tension in the composition. The Chili Peppers did that in our song structures but all based on emotion and intuition as opposed to knowing the math and academics of it. Knowing the structure is really fun.

What classes are you taking?

I'm taking three: theory, composition and jazz trumpet.

Australian native Nick Cave is an artist so distinctive that to hear a catch of his sonorous voice, a moment of his fragile or vehement lyrics, a sight of his inky hair swooped over his pale cheek, can alight an instant frisson in his legions of fans. At age 50, he hasn’t let his fascinations lull him into a static place. His latest album with the Bad Seeds, the boldly punctuated “Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!” isn’t the retracing of territories he’s already plumbed. It’s a shining new city in his mythic land, rich with dark humor, redemptive visions and no-apologies idiosyncrasies.

While the new album has reinvigorated the Bad Seeds, Cave has also found fresh blood in Grinderman, his staunch outfit with three other members of the Bad Seeds -- Warren Ellis, Martyn P. Casey and Jim Sclavunos. Last year’s debut was a controlled, blackened fit of rock and roll, most scabrously in the song “No Pussy Blues.” The band, which opened a handful of dates for the White Stripes in 2007, has performed at a few festivals in Europe this year, including the Roskilde Festival, and is at work on a new album.

And then there are Cave’s explorations into film and fiction, the latter of which Cave is mostly close-lipped about for now, confirming only that he’s at work on a second novel. A contributor to the soundtracks of many of Wim Wenders’ films, including “Wings of Desire” and “Faraway, So Close!,” Cave also wrote the score with Ellis for “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” They are now at work on “The Road,” based on the Cormac McCarthy book and directed by another of Cave’s co-conspirators, John Hillcoat. The two most notably teamed up on “The Proposition” in 2005, a grizzly Australian Outback western written by Cave.

The father of four children, Cave lives in Brighton with his wife, Susie Bick, and their twin boys, and also has an apartment in London. For the first time in more than five years, Cave & the Bad Seeds will play L.A. on Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl and he promises not to go easy on the crowd. We chatted over the phone when Cave was on a break from recording music for “The Road” at a London studio.

-- Margaret Wappler


You have a pretty set work routine at home, where you write in a studio every day. Does that process differ from what you might have done with the Birthday Party?

I always sat down at a desk and wrote, since I started doing this kind of thing. I write on tour as well. I’m kind of writing all the time these days. I write when I wake up, on the bus, when I get back from the gig. And I’m writing a novel at the moment; I work on that everywhere and anywhere. Though my sleeping has gotten really strange lately -- I just don’t do very much of it. But sleep deprivation is kind of a creative force in itself.

Does inspiration factor into your work habits?

I’ve never been concerned with inspiration. I talk to musicians about this sometimes and...

There's some show on Bloomberg Television called "Night Talk" and tonight the guest is a Grammy-winning star who apparently prowls the stage like a sex panther:

“The thing that I think about when I play is that I’m trying to make every girl in that audience want me, and think she can have me," he said. "That’s my goal every night.”

Who is this man of molten desire? Answer after the jump ...

Nike's Human Race event drew well over 12,000 red-shirt clad runners to the L.A. Coliseum last Saturday, even a running Elvis. It was the last leg of Nike's ambitious fund-raising event, which made the most of new technologies in running (participants were given a computer chip that logged their miles, contributing to a global mileage meter for the event) and music (certain Nike running shoes, for instance, can sync to an iPod or other devices).

The 6.2-mile race had already hit several countries around the globe, including Germany and Japan, with proceeds going to environmental organizations and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave some opening comments, as did Councilman Bernard Parks, as runners stretched and warmed up.

The runners were there to compete, but there was no doubt that the closing performance by Kanye West, Mr. Nike Air Yeezy himself, was on everyone's mind. It was one of the benefits of finishing the race, which went up Figueroa Street with turns at Adams Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard, as fast as possible, though many participants played their own personal soundtracks on earbuds or enjoyed the entertainment provided en route -- dance and music, including Chinese lion dances, Brazilian capoeira dancers, Japanese taiko drummers and Mexican mariachis.

If you haven't yet seen "Hamlet 2," the joyfully ridiculous comedy centered on Dana Marschz, a high-school drama teacher short on talent but overstocked with ambitions, the time is nigh. With the summer season officially over and "real life" back in full swing, we need a humbling reminder that our most precious of pursuits -- for Steve Coogan's Marschz, it's acting! in the most James Lipton sense of the word -- can often be undone by what we lack (talent, good sense) and elevated by the teamwork of several wastoid Tucson teens (or whatever strange details apply to your own life). The overarching life lesson is to enjoy it all, though life lessons are exactly the kind of earnest fluff that gets torn to pieces in "Hamlet 2," but in a giddy, sly John Waters way.

At the center of "Hamlet 2," the movie and the musical inside the movie, is "Rock Me Sexy Jesus," a middle finger of sorts to the high-school board that canceled drama. It involves Jesus in a tank top and jeans, strutting his "swimmer's bod" to the squealing admiration of a coterie of girls and bi-curious guys. You can watch a little bit of it above.

We talked with music supervisor Ralph Sall, who wrote the music for "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" and other songs from "Hamlet 2," such as the inimitable "You're as Gay as the Day Is Long." His background includes producing for Paul McCartney, Jane's Addiction and the Ramones; and writing tracks for musicians as diverse as Liz Phair and George Clinton.

So, writing "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" was just another day in the life -- almost. If you don't count that gospel choir that was hanging around...

Since Sunday, Las Vegas has been filled with clothing designers, hip-hop musicians and clothing buyers from around the world for the second in the twice-a-year fashion trade show known as MAGIC.

For the first time, however, rock star designer Christian Audigier took his quickly expanding empire out of the usual trade show environment at the Las Vegas Convention Center and created his own elaborate star-studded event just a few miles down the road at Caesar's Palace, taking over the casino's entire convention space and featuring performances from Macy Gray, T.I., Dave Stewart and Snoop Dogg, all of whom have their own signature lines under Audigier's lifestyle umbrella.

T.I.'s Tuesday afternoon performance, staged inside a boxing ring, had all the energy of a prize fight. T.I.'s general rawkus behavior, as he ran through a quick set of his most recent hits, caused the crowd to bounce and bob their heads. The self-proclaimed "King of the South," whose well-publicized court trouble and house arrest took no sting out of his lively stage presence, thrilled the crowd of young models, wholesale clothing buyers and guys with mohawks. Hits like "Big Things Poppin (Do It)," and "What You Know," were greeted with serious woots and hollers from the crowd. T.I. closed the promo set with a couple tracks off of his upcoming "Paper Trail" album, including the groovy Jim Jonsin-produced ode to the ladies, "Whatever You Like."

Robin Thicke's recent conversation in Billboard touched on some hot topics: racism; his struggle to shake the shadow of his parents, actors Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, and find his own place in the pop world; and the ever-problematic category of "blue-eyed soul." I also had a chance to chat with Thicke not long ago, and when we connected, he talked mostly about music. Which is sensible, because "Something Else," Thicke's third album (out Sept. 30 on Star Trak/Interscope) presents his musical vision more coherently and cohesively than anything else he's done.

Here's what Thicke had to say about the sound and creative soul expressed on "Something Else."

-- Ann Powers

AP: The new album is more assertive, to my ears, than anything else you've done. Tell me about the motivation behind it.

RT:  After coming off the road for so long, we really wanted the new album to be entertaining as much as soulful. I was trying to find some good grooves and bring back the sounds of Michael Jackson, Gamble and Huff, Motown....

AP: What does Michael Jackson's music mean to you?

RT:  When I was 7, he was the biggest singer in the world. No one had done what he had done before. I was just inspired by his music and his dance moves, and then I went over to Prince, and after that I got into rap and gospel music and R&B.

Brian Wilson’s relationship over the years with his legacy as the driving musical force in the Beach Boys has been tumultuous at best. Internal squabbles that contributed to his withdrawal from the band, and effectively from life for many years, didn’t make the prospect of equanimity toward his past seem very likely.

He doesn’t shy from playing the group’s hits at his own concerts nowadays, but when I spoke with him recently, whenever I’d ask a question about “his music,” he’d quickly make the distinction: “Do you mean the Beach Boys' or my music?”

So the surprise, even though Wilson has been sued in recent years by his cousin and former songwriting partner Mike Love — Love lost — and despite cautioning me at the outset of our talk that he wouldn’t field any questions about the Beach Boys, he spoke warmly about the group on his own from time to time.

Flea, USC freshman, talks about his upcoming solo record

As fellow L.A. Times blog All Things Trojan reported last night, Michael Balzary -- better known as Flea 'round these parts -- is indeed a freshie at USC. I interviewed the bassist last week about Hullabaloo, the upcoming benefit concert for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which he founded with childhood friend Keith Barry in 2001, and we got a chance to gab about his classes, his upcoming solo work and whether or not things will be resuming with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

--Margaret Wappler

So you're taking classes at USC. What brought that on?

I’m glad my music education has developed the way that it has, but it’s so much fun to learn this stuff because I never knew anything. I played trumpet in the school bands. I learned things I liked to play on my trumpet but I didn’t learn why this note goes with this note and why it produces that sound. Or how to create tension in the composition. The Chili Peppers did that in our song structures but all based on emotion and intuition as opposed to knowing the math and academics of it. Knowing the structure is really fun.

What classes are you taking?

I'm taking three: theory, composition and jazz trumpet.

Australian native Nick Cave is an artist so distinctive that to hear a catch of his sonorous voice, a moment of his fragile or vehement lyrics, a sight of his inky hair swooped over his pale cheek, can alight an instant frisson in his legions of fans. At age 50, he hasn’t let his fascinations lull him into a static place. His latest album with the Bad Seeds, the boldly punctuated “Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!” isn’t the retracing of territories he’s already plumbed. It’s a shining new city in his mythic land, rich with dark humor, redemptive visions and no-apologies idiosyncrasies.

While the new album has reinvigorated the Bad Seeds, Cave has also found fresh blood in Grinderman, his staunch outfit with three other members of the Bad Seeds -- Warren Ellis, Martyn P. Casey and Jim Sclavunos. Last year’s debut was a controlled, blackened fit of rock and roll, most scabrously in the song “No Pussy Blues.” The band, which opened a handful of dates for the White Stripes in 2007, has performed at a few festivals in Europe this year, including the Roskilde Festival, and is at work on a new album.

And then there are Cave’s explorations into film and fiction, the latter of which Cave is mostly close-lipped about for now, confirming only that he’s at work on a second novel. A contributor to the soundtracks of many of Wim Wenders’ films, including “Wings of Desire” and “Faraway, So Close!,” Cave also wrote the score with Ellis for “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” They are now at work on “The Road,” based on the Cormac McCarthy book and directed by another of Cave’s co-conspirators, John Hillcoat. The two most notably teamed up on “The Proposition” in 2005, a grizzly Australian Outback western written by Cave.

The father of four children, Cave lives in Brighton with his wife, Susie Bick, and their twin boys, and also has an apartment in London. For the first time in more than five years, Cave & the Bad Seeds will play L.A. on Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl and he promises not to go easy on the crowd. We chatted over the phone when Cave was on a break from recording music for “The Road” at a London studio.

-- Margaret Wappler


You have a pretty set work routine at home, where you write in a studio every day. Does that process differ from what you might have done with the Birthday Party?

I always sat down at a desk and wrote, since I started doing this kind of thing. I write on tour as well. I’m kind of writing all the time these days. I write when I wake up, on the bus, when I get back from the gig. And I’m writing a novel at the moment; I work on that everywhere and anywhere. Though my sleeping has gotten really strange lately -- I just don’t do very much of it. But sleep deprivation is kind of a creative force in itself.

Does inspiration factor into your work habits?

I’ve never been concerned with inspiration. I talk to musicians about this sometimes and...

There's some show on Bloomberg Television called "Night Talk" and tonight the guest is a Grammy-winning star who apparently prowls the stage like a sex panther:

“The thing that I think about when I play is that I’m trying to make every girl in that audience want me, and think she can have me," he said. "That’s my goal every night.”

Who is this man of molten desire? Answer after the jump ...

Nike's Human Race event drew well over 12,000 red-shirt clad runners to the L.A. Coliseum last Saturday, even a running Elvis. It was the last leg of Nike's ambitious fund-raising event, which made the most of new technologies in running (participants were given a computer chip that logged their miles, contributing to a global mileage meter for the event) and music (certain Nike running shoes, for instance, can sync to an iPod or other devices).

The 6.2-mile race had already hit several countries around the globe, including Germany and Japan, with proceeds going to environmental organizations and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave some opening comments, as did Councilman Bernard Parks, as runners stretched and warmed up.

The runners were there to compete, but there was no doubt that the closing performance by Kanye West, Mr. Nike Air Yeezy himself, was on everyone's mind. It was one of the benefits of finishing the race, which went up Figueroa Street with turns at Adams Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard, as fast as possible, though many participants played their own personal soundtracks on earbuds or enjoyed the entertainment provided en route -- dance and music, including Chinese lion dances, Brazilian capoeira dancers, Japanese taiko drummers and Mexican mariachis.

If you haven't yet seen "Hamlet 2," the joyfully ridiculous comedy centered on Dana Marschz, a high-school drama teacher short on talent but overstocked with ambitions, the time is nigh. With the summer season officially over and "real life" back in full swing, we need a humbling reminder that our most precious of pursuits -- for Steve Coogan's Marschz, it's acting! in the most James Lipton sense of the word -- can often be undone by what we lack (talent, good sense) and elevated by the teamwork of several wastoid Tucson teens (or whatever strange details apply to your own life). The overarching life lesson is to enjoy it all, though life lessons are exactly the kind of earnest fluff that gets torn to pieces in "Hamlet 2," but in a giddy, sly John Waters way.

At the center of "Hamlet 2," the movie and the musical inside the movie, is "Rock Me Sexy Jesus," a middle finger of sorts to the high-school board that canceled drama. It involves Jesus in a tank top and jeans, strutting his "swimmer's bod" to the squealing admiration of a coterie of girls and bi-curious guys. You can watch a little bit of it above.

We talked with music supervisor Ralph Sall, who wrote the music for "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" and other songs from "Hamlet 2," such as the inimitable "You're as Gay as the Day Is Long." His background includes producing for Paul McCartney, Jane's Addiction and the Ramones; and writing tracks for musicians as diverse as Liz Phair and George Clinton.

So, writing "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" was just another day in the life -- almost. If you don't count that gospel choir that was hanging around...

Since Sunday, Las Vegas has been filled with clothing designers, hip-hop musicians and clothing buyers from around the world for the second in the twice-a-year fashion trade show known as MAGIC.

For the first time, however, rock star designer Christian Audigier took his quickly expanding empire out of the usual trade show environment at the Las Vegas Convention Center and created his own elaborate star-studded event just a few miles down the road at Caesar's Palace, taking over the casino's entire convention space and featuring performances from Macy Gray, T.I., Dave Stewart and Snoop Dogg, all of whom have their own signature lines under Audigier's lifestyle umbrella.

T.I.'s Tuesday afternoon performance, staged inside a boxing ring, had all the energy of a prize fight. T.I.'s general rawkus behavior, as he ran through a quick set of his most recent hits, caused the crowd to bounce and bob their heads. The self-proclaimed "King of the South," whose well-publicized court trouble and house arrest took no sting out of his lively stage presence, thrilled the crowd of young models, wholesale clothing buyers and guys with mohawks. Hits like "Big Things Poppin (Do It)," and "What You Know," were greeted with serious woots and hollers from the crowd. T.I. closed the promo set with a couple tracks off of his upcoming "Paper Trail" album, including the groovy Jim Jonsin-produced ode to the ladies, "Whatever You Like."

Robin Thicke's recent conversation in Billboard touched on some hot topics: racism; his struggle to shake the shadow of his parents, actors Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, and find his own place in the pop world; and the ever-problematic category of "blue-eyed soul." I also had a chance to chat with Thicke not long ago, and when we connected, he talked mostly about music. Which is sensible, because "Something Else," Thicke's third album (out Sept. 30 on Star Trak/Interscope) presents his musical vision more coherently and cohesively than anything else he's done.

Here's what Thicke had to say about the sound and creative soul expressed on "Something Else."

-- Ann Powers

AP: The new album is more assertive, to my ears, than anything else you've done. Tell me about the motivation behind it.

RT:  After coming off the road for so long, we really wanted the new album to be entertaining as much as soulful. I was trying to find some good grooves and bring back the sounds of Michael Jackson, Gamble and Huff, Motown....

AP: What does Michael Jackson's music mean to you?

RT:  When I was 7, he was the biggest singer in the world. No one had done what he had done before. I was just inspired by his music and his dance moves, and then I went over to Prince, and after that I got into rap and gospel music and R&B.

Brian Wilson’s relationship over the years with his legacy as the driving musical force in the Beach Boys has been tumultuous at best. Internal squabbles that contributed to his withdrawal from the band, and effectively from life for many years, didn’t make the prospect of equanimity toward his past seem very likely.

He doesn’t shy from playing the group’s hits at his own concerts nowadays, but when I spoke with him recently, whenever I’d ask a question about “his music,” he’d quickly make the distinction: “Do you mean the Beach Boys' or my music?”

So the surprise, even though Wilson has been sued in recent years by his cousin and former songwriting partner Mike Love — Love lost — and despite cautioning me at the outset of our talk that he wouldn’t field any questions about the Beach Boys, he spoke warmly about the group on his own from time to time.

A conversation with Nick Cave: 'Our intention for the Bowl is simple -- to tear everyone's heads off'

Australian native Nick Cave is an artist so distinctive that to hear a catch of his sonorous voice, a moment of his fragile or vehement lyrics, a sight of his inky hair swooped over his pale cheek, can alight an instant frisson in his legions of fans. At age 50, he hasn’t let his fascinations lull him into a static place. His latest album with the Bad Seeds, the boldly punctuated “Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!” isn’t the retracing of territories he’s already plumbed. It’s a shining new city in his mythic land, rich with dark humor, redemptive visions and no-apologies idiosyncrasies.

While the new album has reinvigorated the Bad Seeds, Cave has also found fresh blood in Grinderman, his staunch outfit with three other members of the Bad Seeds -- Warren Ellis, Martyn P. Casey and Jim Sclavunos. Last year’s debut was a controlled, blackened fit of rock and roll, most scabrously in the song “No Pussy Blues.” The band, which opened a handful of dates for the White Stripes in 2007, has performed at a few festivals in Europe this year, including the Roskilde Festival, and is at work on a new album.

And then there are Cave’s explorations into film and fiction, the latter of which Cave is mostly close-lipped about for now, confirming only that he’s at work on a second novel. A contributor to the soundtracks of many of Wim Wenders’ films, including “Wings of Desire” and “Faraway, So Close!,” Cave also wrote the score with Ellis for “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” They are now at work on “The Road,” based on the Cormac McCarthy book and directed by another of Cave’s co-conspirators, John Hillcoat. The two most notably teamed up on “The Proposition” in 2005, a grizzly Australian Outback western written by Cave.

The father of four children, Cave lives in Brighton with his wife, Susie Bick, and their twin boys, and also has an apartment in London. For the first time in more than five years, Cave & the Bad Seeds will play L.A. on Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl and he promises not to go easy on the crowd. We chatted over the phone when Cave was on a break from recording music for “The Road” at a London studio.

-- Margaret Wappler


You have a pretty set work routine at home, where you write in a studio every day. Does that process differ from what you might have done with the Birthday Party?

I always sat down at a desk and wrote, since I started doing this kind of thing. I write on tour as well. I’m kind of writing all the time these days. I write when I wake up, on the bus, when I get back from the gig. And I’m writing a novel at the moment; I work on that everywhere and anywhere. Though my sleeping has gotten really strange lately -- I just don’t do very much of it. But sleep deprivation is kind of a creative force in itself.

Does inspiration factor into your work habits?

I’ve never been concerned with inspiration. I talk to musicians about this sometimes and...

There's some show on Bloomberg Television called "Night Talk" and tonight the guest is a Grammy-winning star who apparently prowls the stage like a sex panther:

“The thing that I think about when I play is that I’m trying to make every girl in that audience want me, and think she can have me," he said. "That’s my goal every night.”

Who is this man of molten desire? Answer after the jump ...

Nike's Human Race event drew well over 12,000 red-shirt clad runners to the L.A. Coliseum last Saturday, even a running Elvis. It was the last leg of Nike's ambitious fund-raising event, which made the most of new technologies in running (participants were given a computer chip that logged their miles, contributing to a global mileage meter for the event) and music (certain Nike running shoes, for instance, can sync to an iPod or other devices).

The 6.2-mile race had already hit several countries around the globe, including Germany and Japan, with proceeds going to environmental organizations and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave some opening comments, as did Councilman Bernard Parks, as runners stretched and warmed up.

The runners were there to compete, but there was no doubt that the closing performance by Kanye West, Mr. Nike Air Yeezy himself, was on everyone's mind. It was one of the benefits of finishing the race, which went up Figueroa Street with turns at Adams Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard, as fast as possible, though many participants played their own personal soundtracks on earbuds or enjoyed the entertainment provided en route -- dance and music, including Chinese lion dances, Brazilian capoeira dancers, Japanese taiko drummers and Mexican mariachis.

If you haven't yet seen "Hamlet 2," the joyfully ridiculous comedy centered on Dana Marschz, a high-school drama teacher short on talent but overstocked with ambitions, the time is nigh. With the summer season officially over and "real life" back in full swing, we need a humbling reminder that our most precious of pursuits -- for Steve Coogan's Marschz, it's acting! in the most James Lipton sense of the word -- can often be undone by what we lack (talent, good sense) and elevated by the teamwork of several wastoid Tucson teens (or whatever strange details apply to your own life). The overarching life lesson is to enjoy it all, though life lessons are exactly the kind of earnest fluff that gets torn to pieces in "Hamlet 2," but in a giddy, sly John Waters way.

At the center of "Hamlet 2," the movie and the musical inside the movie, is "Rock Me Sexy Jesus," a middle finger of sorts to the high-school board that canceled drama. It involves Jesus in a tank top and jeans, strutting his "swimmer's bod" to the squealing admiration of a coterie of girls and bi-curious guys. You can watch a little bit of it above.

We talked with music supervisor Ralph Sall, who wrote the music for "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" and other songs from "Hamlet 2," such as the inimitable "You're as Gay as the Day Is Long." His background includes producing for Paul McCartney, Jane's Addiction and the Ramones; and writing tracks for musicians as diverse as Liz Phair and George Clinton.

So, writing "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" was just another day in the life -- almost. If you don't count that gospel choir that was hanging around...

Since Sunday, Las Vegas has been filled with clothing designers, hip-hop musicians and clothing buyers from around the world for the second in the twice-a-year fashion trade show known as MAGIC.

For the first time, however, rock star designer Christian Audigier took his quickly expanding empire out of the usual trade show environment at the Las Vegas Convention Center and created his own elaborate star-studded event just a few miles down the road at Caesar's Palace, taking over the casino's entire convention space and featuring performances from Macy Gray, T.I., Dave Stewart and Snoop Dogg, all of whom have their own signature lines under Audigier's lifestyle umbrella.

T.I.'s Tuesday afternoon performance, staged inside a boxing ring, had all the energy of a prize fight. T.I.'s general rawkus behavior, as he ran through a quick set of his most recent hits, caused the crowd to bounce and bob their heads. The self-proclaimed "King of the South," whose well-publicized court trouble and house arrest took no sting out of his lively stage presence, thrilled the crowd of young models, wholesale clothing buyers and guys with mohawks. Hits like "Big Things Poppin (Do It)," and "What You Know," were greeted with serious woots and hollers from the crowd. T.I. closed the promo set with a couple tracks off of his upcoming "Paper Trail" album, including the groovy Jim Jonsin-produced ode to the ladies, "Whatever You Like."

Robin Thicke's recent conversation in Billboard touched on some hot topics: racism; his struggle to shake the shadow of his parents, actors Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, and find his own place in the pop world; and the ever-problematic category of "blue-eyed soul." I also had a chance to chat with Thicke not long ago, and when we connected, he talked mostly about music. Which is sensible, because "Something Else," Thicke's third album (out Sept. 30 on Star Trak/Interscope) presents his musical vision more coherently and cohesively than anything else he's done.

Here's what Thicke had to say about the sound and creative soul expressed on "Something Else."

-- Ann Powers

AP: The new album is more assertive, to my ears, than anything else you've done. Tell me about the motivation behind it.

RT:  After coming off the road for so long, we really wanted the new album to be entertaining as much as soulful. I was trying to find some good grooves and bring back the sounds of Michael Jackson, Gamble and Huff, Motown....

AP: What does Michael Jackson's music mean to you?

RT:  When I was 7, he was the biggest singer in the world. No one had done what he had done before. I was just inspired by his music and his dance moves, and then I went over to Prince, and after that I got into rap and gospel music and R&B.

Brian Wilson’s relationship over the years with his legacy as the driving musical force in the Beach Boys has been tumultuous at best. Internal squabbles that contributed to his withdrawal from the band, and effectively from life for many years, didn’t make the prospect of equanimity toward his past seem very likely.

He doesn’t shy from playing the group’s hits at his own concerts nowadays, but when I spoke with him recently, whenever I’d ask a question about “his music,” he’d quickly make the distinction: “Do you mean the Beach Boys' or my music?”

So the surprise, even though Wilson has been sued in recent years by his cousin and former songwriting partner Mike Love — Love lost — and despite cautioning me at the outset of our talk that he wouldn’t field any questions about the Beach Boys, he spoke warmly about the group on his own from time to time.

Who said it? 'I’m trying to make every girl in that audience want me'

There's some show on Bloomberg Television called "Night Talk" and tonight the guest is a Grammy-winning star who apparently prowls the stage like a sex panther:

“The thing that I think about when I play is that I’m trying to make every girl in that audience want me, and think she can have me," he said. "That’s my goal every night.”

Who is this man of molten desire? Answer after the jump ...

Nike's Human Race event drew well over 12,000 red-shirt clad runners to the L.A. Coliseum last Saturday, even a running Elvis. It was the last leg of Nike's ambitious fund-raising event, which made the most of new technologies in running (participants were given a computer chip that logged their miles, contributing to a global mileage meter for the event) and music (certain Nike running shoes, for instance, can sync to an iPod or other devices).

The 6.2-mile race had already hit several countries around the globe, including Germany and Japan, with proceeds going to environmental organizations and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave some opening comments, as did Councilman Bernard Parks, as runners stretched and warmed up.

The runners were there to compete, but there was no doubt that the closing performance by Kanye West, Mr. Nike Air Yeezy himself, was on everyone's mind. It was one of the benefits of finishing the race, which went up Figueroa Street with turns at Adams Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard, as fast as possible, though many participants played their own personal soundtracks on earbuds or enjoyed the entertainment provided en route -- dance and music, including Chinese lion dances, Brazilian capoeira dancers, Japanese taiko drummers and Mexican mariachis.

If you haven't yet seen "Hamlet 2," the joyfully ridiculous comedy centered on Dana Marschz, a high-school drama teacher short on talent but overstocked with ambitions, the time is nigh. With the summer season officially over and "real life" back in full swing, we need a humbling reminder that our most precious of pursuits -- for Steve Coogan's Marschz, it's acting! in the most James Lipton sense of the word -- can often be undone by what we lack (talent, good sense) and elevated by the teamwork of several wastoid Tucson teens (or whatever strange details apply to your own life). The overarching life lesson is to enjoy it all, though life lessons are exactly the kind of earnest fluff that gets torn to pieces in "Hamlet 2," but in a giddy, sly John Waters way.

At the center of "Hamlet 2," the movie and the musical inside the movie, is "Rock Me Sexy Jesus," a middle finger of sorts to the high-school board that canceled drama. It involves Jesus in a tank top and jeans, strutting his "swimmer's bod" to the squealing admiration of a coterie of girls and bi-curious guys. You can watch a little bit of it above.

We talked with music supervisor Ralph Sall, who wrote the music for "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" and other songs from "Hamlet 2," such as the inimitable "You're as Gay as the Day Is Long." His background includes producing for Paul McCartney, Jane's Addiction and the Ramones; and writing tracks for musicians as diverse as Liz Phair and George Clinton.

So, writing "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" was just another day in the life -- almost. If you don't count that gospel choir that was hanging around...

Since Sunday, Las Vegas has been filled with clothing designers, hip-hop musicians and clothing buyers from around the world for the second in the twice-a-year fashion trade show known as MAGIC.

For the first time, however, rock star designer Christian Audigier took his quickly expanding empire out of the usual trade show environment at the Las Vegas Convention Center and created his own elaborate star-studded event just a few miles down the road at Caesar's Palace, taking over the casino's entire convention space and featuring performances from Macy Gray, T.I., Dave Stewart and Snoop Dogg, all of whom have their own signature lines under Audigier's lifestyle umbrella.

T.I.'s Tuesday afternoon performance, staged inside a boxing ring, had all the energy of a prize fight. T.I.'s general rawkus behavior, as he ran through a quick set of his most recent hits, caused the crowd to bounce and bob their heads. The self-proclaimed "King of the South," whose well-publicized court trouble and house arrest took no sting out of his lively stage presence, thrilled the crowd of young models, wholesale clothing buyers and guys with mohawks. Hits like "Big Things Poppin (Do It)," and "What You Know," were greeted with serious woots and hollers from the crowd. T.I. closed the promo set with a couple tracks off of his upcoming "Paper Trail" album, including the groovy Jim Jonsin-produced ode to the ladies, "Whatever You Like."

Robin Thicke's recent conversation in Billboard touched on some hot topics: racism; his struggle to shake the shadow of his parents, actors Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, and find his own place in the pop world; and the ever-problematic category of "blue-eyed soul." I also had a chance to chat with Thicke not long ago, and when we connected, he talked mostly about music. Which is sensible, because "Something Else," Thicke's third album (out Sept. 30 on Star Trak/Interscope) presents his musical vision more coherently and cohesively than anything else he's done.

Here's what Thicke had to say about the sound and creative soul expressed on "Something Else."

-- Ann Powers

AP: The new album is more assertive, to my ears, than anything else you've done. Tell me about the motivation behind it.

RT:  After coming off the road for so long, we really wanted the new album to be entertaining as much as soulful. I was trying to find some good grooves and bring back the sounds of Michael Jackson, Gamble and Huff, Motown....

AP: What does Michael Jackson's music mean to you?

RT:  When I was 7, he was the biggest singer in the world. No one had done what he had done before. I was just inspired by his music and his dance moves, and then I went over to Prince, and after that I got into rap and gospel music and R&B.

Brian Wilson’s relationship over the years with his legacy as the driving musical force in the Beach Boys has been tumultuous at best. Internal squabbles that contributed to his withdrawal from the band, and effectively from life for many years, didn’t make the prospect of equanimity toward his past seem very likely.

He doesn’t shy from playing the group’s hits at his own concerts nowadays, but when I spoke with him recently, whenever I’d ask a question about “his music,” he’d quickly make the distinction: “Do you mean the Beach Boys' or my music?”

So the surprise, even though Wilson has been sued in recent years by his cousin and former songwriting partner Mike Love — Love lost — and despite cautioning me at the outset of our talk that he wouldn’t field any questions about the Beach Boys, he spoke warmly about the group on his own from time to time.

Watching Kanye and chatting with Common at the Nike Human Race

Nike's Human Race event drew well over 12,000 red-shirt clad runners to the L.A. Coliseum last Saturday, even a running Elvis. It was the last leg of Nike's ambitious fund-raising event, which made the most of new technologies in running (participants were given a computer chip that logged their miles, contributing to a global mileage meter for the event) and music (certain Nike running shoes, for instance, can sync to an iPod or other devices).

The 6.2-mile race had already hit several countries around the globe, including Germany and Japan, with proceeds going to environmental organizations and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave some opening comments, as did Councilman Bernard Parks, as runners stretched and warmed up.

The runners were there to compete, but there was no doubt that the closing performance by Kanye West, Mr. Nike Air Yeezy himself, was on everyone's mind. It was one of the benefits of finishing the race, which went up Figueroa Street with turns at Adams Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard, as fast as possible, though many participants played their own personal soundtracks on earbuds or enjoyed the entertainment provided en route -- dance and music, including Chinese lion dances, Brazilian capoeira dancers, Japanese taiko drummers and Mexican mariachis.

If you haven't yet seen "Hamlet 2," the joyfully ridiculous comedy centered on Dana Marschz, a high-school drama teacher short on talent but overstocked with ambitions, the time is nigh. With the summer season officially over and "real life" back in full swing, we need a humbling reminder that our most precious of pursuits -- for Steve Coogan's Marschz, it's acting! in the most James Lipton sense of the word -- can often be undone by what we lack (talent, good sense) and elevated by the teamwork of several wastoid Tucson teens (or whatever strange details apply to your own life). The overarching life lesson is to enjoy it all, though life lessons are exactly the kind of earnest fluff that gets torn to pieces in "Hamlet 2," but in a giddy, sly John Waters way.

At the center of "Hamlet 2," the movie and the musical inside the movie, is "Rock Me Sexy Jesus," a middle finger of sorts to the high-school board that canceled drama. It involves Jesus in a tank top and jeans, strutting his "swimmer's bod" to the squealing admiration of a coterie of girls and bi-curious guys. You can watch a little bit of it above.

We talked with music supervisor Ralph Sall, who wrote the music for "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" and other songs from "Hamlet 2," such as the inimitable "You're as Gay as the Day Is Long." His background includes producing for Paul McCartney, Jane's Addiction and the Ramones; and writing tracks for musicians as diverse as Liz Phair and George Clinton.

So, writing "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" was just another day in the life -- almost. If you don't count that gospel choir that was hanging around...

Since Sunday, Las Vegas has been filled with clothing designers, hip-hop musicians and clothing buyers from around the world for the second in the twice-a-year fashion trade show known as MAGIC.

For the first time, however, rock star designer Christian Audigier took his quickly expanding empire out of the usual trade show environment at the Las Vegas Convention Center and created his own elaborate star-studded event just a few miles down the road at Caesar's Palace, taking over the casino's entire convention space and featuring performances from Macy Gray, T.I., Dave Stewart and Snoop Dogg, all of whom have their own signature lines under Audigier's lifestyle umbrella.

T.I.'s Tuesday afternoon performance, staged inside a boxing ring, had all the energy of a prize fight. T.I.'s general rawkus behavior, as he ran through a quick set of his most recent hits, caused the crowd to bounce and bob their heads. The self-proclaimed "King of the South," whose well-publicized court trouble and house arrest took no sting out of his lively stage presence, thrilled the crowd of young models, wholesale clothing buyers and guys with mohawks. Hits like "Big Things Poppin (Do It)," and "What You Know," were greeted with serious woots and hollers from the crowd. T.I. closed the promo set with a couple tracks off of his upcoming "Paper Trail" album, including the groovy Jim Jonsin-produced ode to the ladies, "Whatever You Like."

Robin Thicke's recent conversation in Billboard touched on some hot topics: racism; his struggle to shake the shadow of his parents, actors Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, and find his own place in the pop world; and the ever-problematic category of "blue-eyed soul." I also had a chance to chat with Thicke not long ago, and when we connected, he talked mostly about music. Which is sensible, because "Something Else," Thicke's third album (out Sept. 30 on Star Trak/Interscope) presents his musical vision more coherently and cohesively than anything else he's done.

Here's what Thicke had to say about the sound and creative soul expressed on "Something Else."

-- Ann Powers

AP: The new album is more assertive, to my ears, than anything else you've done. Tell me about the motivation behind it.

RT:  After coming off the road for so long, we really wanted the new album to be entertaining as much as soulful. I was trying to find some good grooves and bring back the sounds of Michael Jackson, Gamble and Huff, Motown....

AP: What does Michael Jackson's music mean to you?

RT:  When I was 7, he was the biggest singer in the world. No one had done what he had done before. I was just inspired by his music and his dance moves, and then I went over to Prince, and after that I got into rap and gospel music and R&B.

Brian Wilson’s relationship over the years with his legacy as the driving musical force in the Beach Boys has been tumultuous at best. Internal squabbles that contributed to his withdrawal from the band, and effectively from life for many years, didn’t make the prospect of equanimity toward his past seem very likely.

He doesn’t shy from playing the group’s hits at his own concerts nowadays, but when I spoke with him recently, whenever I’d ask a question about “his music,” he’d quickly make the distinction: “Do you mean the Beach Boys' or my music?”

So the surprise, even though Wilson has been sued in recent years by his cousin and former songwriting partner Mike Love — Love lost — and despite cautioning me at the outset of our talk that he wouldn’t field any questions about the Beach Boys, he spoke warmly about the group on his own from time to time.

'Rock Me Sexy Jesus' channels John Waters' outrageous spirit

If you haven't yet seen "Hamlet 2," the joyfully ridiculous comedy centered on Dana Marschz, a high-school drama teacher short on talent but overstocked with ambitions, the time is nigh. With the summer season officially over and "real life" back in full swing, we need a humbling reminder that our most precious of pursuits -- for Steve Coogan's Marschz, it's acting! in the most James Lipton sense of the word -- can often be undone by what we lack (talent, good sense) and elevated by the teamwork of several wastoid Tucson teens (or whatever strange details apply to your own life). The overarching life lesson is to enjoy it all, though life lessons are exactly the kind of earnest fluff that gets torn to pieces in "Hamlet 2," but in a giddy, sly John Waters way.

At the center of "Hamlet 2," the movie and the musical inside the movie, is "Rock Me Sexy Jesus," a middle finger of sorts to the high-school board that canceled drama. It involves Jesus in a tank top and jeans, strutting his "swimmer's bod" to the squealing admiration of a coterie of girls and bi-curious guys. You can watch a little bit of it above.

We talked with music supervisor Ralph Sall, who wrote the music for "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" and other songs from "Hamlet 2," such as the inimitable "You're as Gay as the Day Is Long." His background includes producing for Paul McCartney, Jane's Addiction and the Ramones; and writing tracks for musicians as diverse as Liz Phair and George Clinton.

So, writing "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" was just another day in the life -- almost. If you don't count that gospel choir that was hanging around...

Since Sunday, Las Vegas has been filled with clothing designers, hip-hop musicians and clothing buyers from around the world for the second in the twice-a-year fashion trade show known as MAGIC.

For the first time, however, rock star designer Christian Audigier took his quickly expanding empire out of the usual trade show environment at the Las Vegas Convention Center and created his own elaborate star-studded event just a few miles down the road at Caesar's Palace, taking over the casino's entire convention space and featuring performances from Macy Gray, T.I., Dave Stewart and Snoop Dogg, all of whom have their own signature lines under Audigier's lifestyle umbrella.

T.I.'s Tuesday afternoon performance, staged inside a boxing ring, had all the energy of a prize fight. T.I.'s general rawkus behavior, as he ran through a quick set of his most recent hits, caused the crowd to bounce and bob their heads. The self-proclaimed "King of the South," whose well-publicized court trouble and house arrest took no sting out of his lively stage presence, thrilled the crowd of young models, wholesale clothing buyers and guys with mohawks. Hits like "Big Things Poppin (Do It)," and "What You Know," were greeted with serious woots and hollers from the crowd. T.I. closed the promo set with a couple tracks off of his upcoming "Paper Trail" album, including the groovy Jim Jonsin-produced ode to the ladies, "Whatever You Like."

Robin Thicke's recent conversation in Billboard touched on some hot topics: racism; his struggle to shake the shadow of his parents, actors Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, and find his own place in the pop world; and the ever-problematic category of "blue-eyed soul." I also had a chance to chat with Thicke not long ago, and when we connected, he talked mostly about music. Which is sensible, because "Something Else," Thicke's third album (out Sept. 30 on Star Trak/Interscope) presents his musical vision more coherently and cohesively than anything else he's done.

Here's what Thicke had to say about the sound and creative soul expressed on "Something Else."

-- Ann Powers

AP: The new album is more assertive, to my ears, than anything else you've done. Tell me about the motivation behind it.

RT:  After coming off the road for so long, we really wanted the new album to be entertaining as much as soulful. I was trying to find some good grooves and bring back the sounds of Michael Jackson, Gamble and Huff, Motown....

AP: What does Michael Jackson's music mean to you?

RT:  When I was 7, he was the biggest singer in the world. No one had done what he had done before. I was just inspired by his music and his dance moves, and then I went over to Prince, and after that I got into rap and gospel music and R&B.

Brian Wilson’s relationship over the years with his legacy as the driving musical force in the Beach Boys has been tumultuous at best. Internal squabbles that contributed to his withdrawal from the band, and effectively from life for many years, didn’t make the prospect of equanimity toward his past seem very likely.

He doesn’t shy from playing the group’s hits at his own concerts nowadays, but when I spoke with him recently, whenever I’d ask a question about “his music,” he’d quickly make the distinction: “Do you mean the Beach Boys' or my music?”

So the surprise, even though Wilson has been sued in recent years by his cousin and former songwriting partner Mike Love — Love lost — and despite cautioning me at the outset of our talk that he wouldn’t field any questions about the Beach Boys, he spoke warmly about the group on his own from time to time.

Christian Audigier, Dave Stewart and T.I. talk clothes and music in Vegas

Since Sunday, Las Vegas has been filled with clothing designers, hip-hop musicians and clothing buyers from around the world for the second in the twice-a-year fashion trade show known as MAGIC.

For the first time, however, rock star designer Christian Audigier took his quickly expanding empire out of the usual trade show environment at the Las Vegas Convention Center and created his own elaborate star-studded event just a few miles down the road at Caesar's Palace, taking over the casino's entire convention space and featuring performances from Macy Gray, T.I., Dave Stewart and Snoop Dogg, all of whom have their own signature lines under Audigier's lifestyle umbrella.

T.I.'s Tuesday afternoon performance, staged inside a boxing ring, had all the energy of a prize fight. T.I.'s general rawkus behavior, as he ran through a quick set of his most recent hits, caused the crowd to bounce and bob their heads. The self-proclaimed "King of the South," whose well-publicized court trouble and house arrest took no sting out of his lively stage presence, thrilled the crowd of young models, wholesale clothing buyers and guys with mohawks. Hits like "Big Things Poppin (Do It)," and "What You Know," were greeted with serious woots and hollers from the crowd. T.I. closed the promo set with a couple tracks off of his upcoming "Paper Trail" album, including the groovy Jim Jonsin-produced ode to the ladies, "Whatever You Like."

Robin Thicke's recent conversation in Billboard touched on some hot topics: racism; his struggle to shake the shadow of his parents, actors Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, and find his own place in the pop world; and the ever-problematic category of "blue-eyed soul." I also had a chance to chat with Thicke not long ago, and when we connected, he talked mostly about music. Which is sensible, because "Something Else," Thicke's third album (out Sept. 30 on Star Trak/Interscope) presents his musical vision more coherently and cohesively than anything else he's done.

Here's what Thicke had to say about the sound and creative soul expressed on "Something Else."

-- Ann Powers

AP: The new album is more assertive, to my ears, than anything else you've done. Tell me about the motivation behind it.

RT:  After coming off the road for so long, we really wanted the new album to be entertaining as much as soulful. I was trying to find some good grooves and bring back the sounds of Michael Jackson, Gamble and Huff, Motown....

AP: What does Michael Jackson's music mean to you?

RT:  When I was 7, he was the biggest singer in the world. No one had done what he had done before. I was just inspired by his music and his dance moves, and then I went over to Prince, and after that I got into rap and gospel music and R&B.

Brian Wilson’s relationship over the years with his legacy as the driving musical force in the Beach Boys has been tumultuous at best. Internal squabbles that contributed to his withdrawal from the band, and effectively from life for many years, didn’t make the prospect of equanimity toward his past seem very likely.

He doesn’t shy from playing the group’s hits at his own concerts nowadays, but when I spoke with him recently, whenever I’d ask a question about “his music,” he’d quickly make the distinction: “Do you mean the Beach Boys' or my music?”

So the surprise, even though Wilson has been sued in recent years by his cousin and former songwriting partner Mike Love — Love lost — and despite cautioning me at the outset of our talk that he wouldn’t field any questions about the Beach Boys, he spoke warmly about the group on his own from time to time.

Robin Thicke talks about making "Something Else"

Robin Thicke's recent conversation in Billboard touched on some hot topics: racism; his struggle to shake the shadow of his parents, actors Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, and find his own place in the pop world; and the ever-problematic category of "blue-eyed soul." I also had a chance to chat with Thicke not long ago, and when we connected, he talked mostly about music. Which is sensible, because "Something Else," Thicke's third album (out Sept. 30 on Star Trak/Interscope) presents his musical vision more coherently and cohesively than anything else he's done.

Here's what Thicke had to say about the sound and creative soul expressed on "Something Else."

-- Ann Powers

AP: The new album is more assertive, to my ears, than anything else you've done. Tell me about the motivation behind it.

RT:  After coming off the road for so long, we really wanted the new album to be entertaining as much as soulful. I was trying to find some good grooves and bring back the sounds of Michael Jackson, Gamble and Huff, Motown....

AP: What does Michael Jackson's music mean to you?

RT:  When I was 7, he was the biggest singer in the world. No one had done what he had done before. I was just inspired by his music and his dance moves, and then I went over to Prince, and after that I got into rap and gospel music and R&B.

Brian Wilson’s relationship over the years with his legacy as the driving musical force in the Beach Boys has been tumultuous at best. Internal squabbles that contributed to his withdrawal from the band, and effectively from life for many years, didn’t make the prospect of equanimity toward his past seem very likely.

He doesn’t shy from playing the group’s hits at his own concerts nowadays, but when I spoke with him recently, whenever I’d ask a question about “his music,” he’d quickly make the distinction: “Do you mean the Beach Boys' or my music?”

So the surprise, even though Wilson has been sued in recent years by his cousin and former songwriting partner Mike Love — Love lost — and despite cautioning me at the outset of our talk that he wouldn’t field any questions about the Beach Boys, he spoke warmly about the group on his own from time to time.

Brian Wilson reflects on the Beach Boys

Brian Wilson’s relationship over the years with his legacy as the driving musical force in the Beach Boys has been tumultuous at best. Internal squabbles that contributed to his withdrawal from the band, and effectively from life for many years, didn’t make the prospect of equanimity toward his past seem very likely.

He doesn’t shy from playing the group’s hits at his own concerts nowadays, but when I spoke with him recently, whenever I’d ask a question about “his music,” he’d quickly make the distinction: “Do you mean the Beach Boys' or my music?”

So the surprise, even though Wilson has been sued in recent years by his cousin and former songwriting partner Mike Love — Love lost — and despite cautioning me at the outset of our talk that he wouldn’t field any questions about the Beach Boys, he spoke warmly about the group on his own from time to time.