2009: the year of the geriatric rockers

Look, we’re not going anywhere today, not for a while. So sit back and waste some time at work or at home with stories about Bono, Springsteen, Paula Abdul and Mickey Rourke.

And no, I will not go back into my Delorean, drive 88 miles per hour and go back to 1985!

I heard about this a while ago, but it was just rumors at the time so I didn’t bother posting it. Now, it’s official, U2 will put out another album on March 3. In no way do I consider myself a U2 fan, and Bono can be one of the most annoyingly political voices in the entertainment industry. But I respect them like crazy for two reasons: 1. U2 has managed to stay together — with no breaks and no replacement guitarists or drummers — since the late 70s. I’m not sure what the al-time staying together record is and who would have it, but if it’s not U2, it’s darn close. AC/DC maybe? 2. The very reason I can’t stand Bono, all that activism and politics, is exactly what he made fun of on The Simpsons episode they guested on. I love people who can make fun of themselves. It’s just too bad he didn’t provide the voice of the Bono that crapped the biggest log in history on South Park.

Is 2009 going to be the year the old folks take back rock? Just 15 months after releasing Magic, Springsteen has a new album out to coincide with the E Street Band playing halftime of the Super Bowl. I’m a little wary of it, since it’s songs that didn’t make Magic. Might as well add one more to the list for those of you who grew up depressed and lonely on The Smiths.

New albums mean new tours. When they’re announced, The Agenda will keep you updated on when they’ll be around here and our weekly list of concert tickets going on sale will help you be the first in line.

End of shameless plug.

The funniest part of this link is the picture of Paula Abdul. I picture her in some cockney accent screaming, “Clean yo’ chimney, govneh?” like the cockney routine Conan does. After that there are some interesting predictions.

A perfect link to coincide with The Wrestler coming out. Since this one speaks for itself, let me again take the opportunity to say Mickey Rourke turned down the opportunity to be interviewed by us to promote this movie, even though he trained locally for the part. The good people at Fox Searchlight said it was because he “doesn’t do” phone interviews, which is preposterous in this day and age, and that he wouldn’t be doing any one-on-one interviews, except with the AP. I’ll probably mention this about 30 more times before the Oscars, so get comfortable.

Uh oh, more people turning down Sharp/Pocono Record interviews. These guys have a better reason since they’re in NEW EFFING ZEALAND, but it still hurts that they can’t talk to me to promote the show I promoted like crazy in 2007. Maybe next time.

I’m not ready to make out the gravestone just yet like this jabroney, but I am willing to listen to arguments supporting his position. I kinda made this point last week when I talked about the Leno thing, but I don’t think I went this far. The desperate acts of a mightily struggling network are not enough for me to say “TV is DEAD!” And should British people really be talking about the death of American TV anyway? Make your own TV and stop relying on us to send you stuff. And it better be better than Torchwood!

This may sound weird coming from a fan of action movies, but I’ve never seen a Jack Ryan movie. If you are a fan, though, it looks like the next installment is picking up steam.