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Dame Joan Collins 'couldn't resist' having 15th godchild
Celebrity News

Dame Joan Collins ‘couldn’t resist’ having 15th godchild

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Dame Joan Collins “couldn’t resist” becoming a godmother for the 15th time.

Dame Joan Collins has 15 godchildren

The 92-year-old acting legend was thrilled when celebrity nutritionist Gabriela Peacock, 46, and her husband, financier David, asked her to be their cute nine-month-old son Felix’s spiritual guide and mentor.

Joan told the new issue of Britain’s HELLO! magazine: “When Gabriela and David asked me to be godmother to their son, I was delighted.

“Even though I already had 14 other godchildren, this tiny little baby was so adorable, full of light and laughter, even at a few months old, that I couldn’t resist.”

The Dynasty icon said Felix was exceptionally well-behaved at his recent christening, which took place in the Cotswolds, England.

Joan – who joined Felix’s parents, their relatives and famous pals, including Princess Beatrice, 37, and her 41-year-old husband, property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi – continued: “He was perfectly behaved at his christening and never even so much as yelped as he was passed from Mummy to Nanny and Granny to godparents.”

Gabriela – who helped prepare Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, 41, and 44 year old Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s wedding, as well as Princess Eugenie, 35, and 39-year-old marketing executive Jack Brooksbank for their nuptials, both in 2018 – and Joan have been close friends for years.

And Gabriela is delighted that Joan agreed to be Felix’s godmother.

The nutritionist said: “It’s such a privilege to have Joan as a godmother.

“Her warmth, wisdom and generosity of spirit make her the most wonderful guiding presence for Felix.

“We feel truly lucky to have her in our lives.”

Joan has two daughters – writer Tara Newley, 62, from her marriage to Anthony Newley, actress Katyana Kass, 53, from her third marriage to the late record executive Ron Kass – and a son, artist Alexander ‘Sacha’ Newley, 60, from Anthony.

Last month, Joan was “overjoyed” as she watched Alexander marry singer-songwriter Sheela Raman in a stunning Alpine backdrop, lakeside castle ceremony in Salzburg, Austria.

It comes as the couple had become engaged in 2019, but their original plans for a wedding in the south of France were cancelled the following year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Joan – who has been married to her fifth husband, 60-year-old film producer Percy Gibson, since 2002 – said online: “It was a magical three days.”

Sheela replied: “It was so wonderful to celebrate with you.”

Sheela – who has a three-year-old daughter called Deia Shanaya with Alexander – performed the track Feeling Good, which was written by Anthony Newley for the 1964 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd, during the reception.

And she and Alexander also serenaded one another in front of their guests.

Captioning photographs of the ceremony, which were posted on Instagram, Sheela wrote: “What a gift to stand side-by-side, surrounded by our beloved friends and family, as we step into this new chapter together.

“Our wedding day was more than a celebration, it was a reflection of the creative life we’re building together, full of music, laughter and love, and our little girl, who makes every day more glorious as she blossoms.

“We’re so grateful to our family and friends who travelled from near and far, held us in joy, and communed with us on this sacred day. It will live with us always.”




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Joan Baez Farewell Angelina
Music

Reissue of Classic Folk LP Shows Joan Baez in Transition » PopMatters

by jummy84
written by jummy84

American folk music legend Joan Baez’s interpretive skills are undervalued. Many know her through her one-time partner, Bob Dylan, and, to a lesser extent, from her remarkable, vibrato-heavy soprano and decades of political activism. However, some of her best-known covers, especially her 1971 hit version of the Band‘s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down“, can feel woefully inappropriate, with or without botched lyrics.

Still, a new reissue of her 1965 album, Farewell, Angelina, shows Baez in generally stronger form singing work by Dylan, Donovan, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie, bolstered by Kevin Gray’s new all-analog mastering, cut directly from the original tapes. Pressed on heavyweight (180 gram) vinyl in a faithfully replicated jacket, the LP sounds warmly inviting and enveloping, providing a welcome alternative to listening on CD or streaming.

Amid the booming folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s, 18-year-old Baez and her dulcet voice first came to public attention when she performed at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival. In the years that followed, she became known for championing young songwriters like Dylan and for marching alongside activists like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Farewell, Angelina provides a transition between Baez’s early acoustic work and her more electric and orchestrated recordings of the near future. The album was recorded the year Dylan went electric at the same festival, and it is the first Baez record to feature an electric guitar. Whether Baez’s new direction was more commercially or artistically motivated (if such a separation is possible), the album shows Baez changing with the times, however tentatively such work might suggest today.

The title track, the first of four Dylan songs, is gorgeously understated, opening Farewell, Angelina with a gently apocalyptic omen. Baez sounds more in her element, regardless of instrumentation, than on some tracks. Another acoustic track, the traditional “The Wild Mountain Thyme“, sounds less muted but also has Joan Baez sounding like she’s at her most comfortable.

On the other hand, the electric guitar might have been a novelty in American folk music at the time. Still, despite the loveliness of the instrument’s accompaniment on “Daddy, You Been On My Mind,” it sounds more like an accessory than a necessity today.

In addition, with hindsight, some potentially exciting tracks sound out of place: a chipper, strident rendition of Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” is the most awkward track. Other versions of Baez singing the song, like on Live at Newport, sound steadier and more naturally performed. In contrast, the version with a louder electric band on Baez’s underrated 2005 live album, Bowery Songs, is interpretively superior to either version.

The most haunting moment on Farewell, Angelina is “Sagt Mir Wo Die Blumen Sind“, a German translation of Pete Seeger’s “Where Have All the Flowers Gone“, recorded two decades after the end of World War II. Though it lacks the cultural cachet of the Dylan covers, “Sagt Mir Wo Die Blumen Sind” is the album’s greatest track, in its subdued mourning.

In fact, to my ears, the record’s ending is stronger and more startling than its more celebrated beginning, as mentioned in the three consecutive Dylan covers. “Sagt Mir Wo Die Blumen Sind” and a sparely electrified, but declarative closer, Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall“, rivet the listener and bring Farewell, Angelina full circle with the apocalyptic specter of nuclear war on the opening title track.

The reissue’s sensitive mastering brings out the acoustic bass and the high tremors of Baez’s voice well, and the record sounds excellent in this incarnation. The album, especially in this reissue, is strong enough to warrant repeated listenings. However, at times, Joan Baez sounds as if she’s in a transitional state—not only with the electric guitar behind her, but also with her interpretive skills. However, the reissue is nuanced enough to appeal to many fans of (mostly) acoustic music, not only American folk music of the time.

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Neil Young, Joan Baez Not Playing TPUSA Halftime
Music

Neil Young, Joan Baez Not Playing TPUSA Halftime

by jummy84
written by jummy84

For anyone eagerly awaiting an “alternative” to the Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny, the “All-American Halftime Show” appears to be on, and for the same day, Feb. 8.

But contrary to what you may have seen on social media, Joan Baez and Neil Young, at the very least, will not be part of it.

AI slop continues to seep into social media, with Boomer-era musicians continually depicted in false photos. As Rolling Stone has previously reported, bogus images of classic rockers in hospitals or singing at the graves of other rockers have flooded the internet — fooling some fans in the process and provoking laughs in just as many. (No, Steven Tyler did not visit Robert Plant in a hospital after he “collapses on stage.”)

The lineup for Turning Point USA‘s “All-American Half-Time Show” — “celebrating faith, family and freedom” — hasn’t yet been announced. (One can, however, go to TPUSA’s website to vote for which category of music you’d like to see and hear, which includes, tellingly, “Anything in English.”) But that hasn’t stopped the AI machine from churning out at least one fake TPUSA half-time ad announcing that Baez and Young will be co-headlining “a heartfelt and patriotic alternative to the Super Bowl 60 halftime event” that will “honor the enduring legacy of Charlie Kirk.” To ram home the point, a football field and large American flag are shown in the background. In overblown language familiar to anyone who tracks such things, the post adds, “With Joan’s golden voice and Neil’s grace-filled harmony, the All-American Halftime Show will turn the world’s biggest stage into a moment of hope and homecoming.”

Reps for Young and Baez declined to comment, much like reps for Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, and others who have passed on making statements about AI imagery that’s hoodwinked whatever percentage of their fan bases.

The inclusion of Baez and Young, two particularly devoted Trump bashers, is especially amusing in light of Young’s new anti-Trump protest song “Big Crime” and Baez’s criticisms of the president. And let’s not forget their participation in the L.A. stop of this year’s Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, where they were also joined by Maggie Rogers. There, Baez sang the folk song “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” with updated Trump-era lyrics ( “Ain’t gonna let no white supremacists turn me around”) and Young led the crowd in a sing-along of “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

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Another bogus post claims that “six legends” of country, including Willie Nelson, will be partaking in the same bizarro-universe halftime show. “More AI horseshit about Willie,” a rep for Nelson tells Rolling Stone. “They obviously don’t know anything about Willie, do they?”

To quote one commentator on the Young-Baez fabrication: “I don’t think so, but nice try, dingbats.”

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Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple on
TV & Streaming

Why ‘Golden Bachelorette’s Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple Paused Wedding Planning (Exclusive)

by jummy84
written by jummy84

It’s been more than a year since Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple got engaged on The Golden Bachelorette, but they’re still not in any rush to walk down the aisle. In fact, Chapple tells Swooon that the wedding plans are currently on hold right now.

The insurance executive, who is partnering with Inspire® therapy after a personal struggle with obstructive sleep apnea, and his bride-to-be have had fans worried about their relationship due to increased amount of time spent apart in recent months. Is it starting to take a toll on their wedding plans?

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Joan Shelley: Real Warmth Album Review
Music

Joan Shelley: Real Warmth Album Review

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Home is not just a point on a map. In the music of Joan Shelley, it’s often embodied by the people who make up a place. For a long time, Shelley’s musical (and literal) home was Louisville, where she was born and raised, where she absorbed so much of the folk music that still inspires her, where she caught her first glimpse of musical community, and where she has collaborated regularly with local players and artists. In the years between 2022’s The Spur and last year’s Mood Ring, however, the woman who once daydreamed about spending humanity’s final moments in her beloved Kentucky, “holding my dear friends and drinking wine,” relocated much further north, to small-town Michigan, with her partner Nathan Salsburg and their daughter.

Throughout her career, Shelley has brought that conception of home wherever she’s gone, whether to End of an Ear Studio in Louisville, where she recorded songs for Mood Ring, or to Wilco’s Loft in Chicago, where she made 2017’s Joan Shelley with two generations of Tweedys. Most recently, she brought it to Toronto, where she fell in with a crew of local musicians to record her sixth album, Real Warmth. Working closely with Ben Whiteley, who plays bass for the Weather Station and Jake Xerxes Fussell and who produced the new record, Shelley and this community of artists devise musical palettes that help bring out new rhythmic elements in her music.

Her collaborators make their presence known immediately. On opener “Here in the High and Low,” they lend a fresh counterpoint to her lilting melodies, the electric guitars and spry percussion churning up an assertive energy. It’s an invocation, meant to welcome and rouse you. There have always been jazzier undercurrents running through Shelley’s music, but here they come to the forefront, especially when Karen Ng’s saxophone flutters around the edges of “On the Gold and Silver.” Real Warmth indulges more instrumental passages, like the coda of “Field Guide to Wild Life,” although sometimes her fellow musicians crowd out the deft picking that has always been a hallmark of her albums.

Generally, these Canadians help chase down Shelley’s idea of home as something to protect, as a place full of people whose pain she would readily bear for them. “God, if I could guard you, take your fire, then burn me now,” she sings on “Everybody”; she might be addressing her partner or their daughter, or her band, or anyone listening to the song. Whiteley and their crew—which includes Weather Station singer Tamara Lindeman, Doug Paisley, Salsburg, and Shelley’s daughter—make her songs sound a little less solitary. In turn, she invites the listener into the music: “Join in the song, join in the band,” she sings on “Here in the High and Low.”

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