Love Makes The World Go Round

by Will 'The Cranky Music Man' Golightly

There's so much love in the air I can barely stand it. Or maybe it's just the stench of money and publicity I smell, but either way something is up. Continue, gentle reader, if you think you have the stomach for it.

I'm not of an apocalyptic bent, but this must be a sign that doomsday's just around the corner: Guns N' Roses are back. And who else would have them but Las Vegas, Nevada. The House of Blues there is hosting GN'R's first live show in seven years. At least, I think it's GN'R. The only remaining member of the band you and I knew and loved is Axl Rose. But he of the skinny arms has put together a group of musicians to go through the back catalog and, supposedly, some new material off the much delayed Chinese Democracy. Some of the new members are the former drummer for Primus and the former bassist for the Replacements. That's not bad, but Axl's star power must be on the wane. If the best he can do is the drummer from Rush's cooler kid brothers and the bassist of America's Most Talked About Garage Band, perhaps he should have hung it up altogether. The band is taking the stage after midnight, following what will surely be a rockin' set by the Goo Goo Dolls. How the mighty have fallen.

If that's not enough for you, and it shouldn't be, two more seminal bands are reforming for live shows in the near future. Television and the Soft Boys are back, and they're older than ever. The Soft Boys' claim to fame is lead singer Robyn Hitchcock, a man who has made a career out of asking the difficult questions, such as "Do policemen sing?" Their claim to shame is Katrina and the Waves, formed by the guitar player. Who's not named Katriina at all, the little liar. The Soft Boys are maybe most famous for bringing some psychedelic influences to punk. Don't worry, though; they kept the sitar to a minimum on their albums. All bets are off for this new incarnation, however.

Television did it right: make one monstrously good album and disappear. Well, they released a second one, but history has done it's best to keep it under wraps. And then there was the one made by a partially re-formed Television a decade or so after they first broke up. But that album is only troubling the world's used record bins now. So Marquee Moon it is, then. It was the first punk album to feature guitar players who knew, and cared, what they were doing; but that is doing Marquee Moon a disservice. Guitar players are a dime a dozen. What Television's debut album is most remarkable for is some of the finest drum playing you've ever heard. Best of all, the CD is budget priced. If you're like me and don't really care that they're playing together again, either go out and buy Marquee Moon or dust off your old copy. Living in the past isn't as bad as some would have you believe. And there's none of the heartbreak that inevitably results from bands getting back together.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Madonna news you have certainly heard about: she's getting hitched. Again. She and British director Guy Ritchie are tying the knot in Scotland. The day after the news broke, haggis stock prices shot through the roof; but then the world came to its senses, and the prices dropped back to worthless again. Madonna and beau tried to keep it hush-hush for as long as possible, but it seems Scotland had something to say about it. Scottish law requires that all intended marriages be logged at the registry of the area in which they take place. December 22 has been earmarked for the pop star and filmmaker. With Madonna soon to be setting up a proper family, perhaps Rupert Everett will have the time to actually read the scripts before deciding on movies he wants to be in.