THE #1 SONG 25 YEARS AGO TODAY WAS.....

....Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin. I know! I can't believe it was a #1 song either!!! This was the very first a cappella song (was there another one after this???) to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and it stayed there for two weeks. The song was released in conjunction with the masterpiece Tom Cruise Elisabeth Shue Gina Gershon movie Cocktail and originally only reached #88, but later in the year, after the movie gained momentum, it was re-released and rode that shit all the way to #1, guuurl! Thanks, Gina!! Bobby and the song went on to win Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards in 1989. Not too shabby. The video, on the other hand, can only be described as insufferable, IMO. I'm sorry. I can't with Bobby, Robin Williams and Bill Irwin each bucking for a "Most Obnoxious Actor in a Music Video" Grammy. Hey, Hammy! Overact much? Anyway, the song is still pretty enjoyable on its own, so close your eye holes and listen to the soothing sounds of Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry, Be Happy....and then take that advice.

80s BAND BERLIN HAS A NEW ALBUM OUT....AND IT'S AWESOME! READ AND LISTEN.

Berlin was a pioneering electro-pop band. It wasn't called "electro-pop" then, it was called New Wave, but they were still what I just said, so calm down, beyotch. They started gaining their initial momentum in 1980 when 19-year old Terri Nunn and the boys released the controversial prototype for all slut songs, Sex (I'm A...) and followed it up with the EP Pleasure Victim (I TOTALLY CAN with that title). The songs that followed rocked the dance floors around the world and lit up a new little channel you might know as MTV (yes, they used to show videos); The Metro, Masquerade, No More Words (my fave). The band found its biggest hit, and eventually its downfall, with a song from the Top Gun Soundtrack, Take My Breath Away. That song, written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock, was a monster hit all over the world, reaching #1 on Billboard Hot 100 and winning an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Original Song. It was also such a powerful love song that it got known lesbians Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis to crave opposite genitals in the movie!! The band was very split on the success of TMBA. Lead singer Terri thought of it as a way to reach a wider audience and wanted to use that to catapult the band to greater success, but the rest of the band resented it as it was not written by them. Eventually the tension and the failure of the follow up album, Count Three & Pray, lead to the dissolution of the band. Terri released some solo work, but never quite found her place in the market. Flash forward to 2000 and the band reunites on VH1's Bands Reunited (what a clever name, huh?) and start touring again. They opened for INXS and did shows around the world. Now it's 2013 and they are back with an awesome electro-pop record that takes them right back to their roots. Animal is made for the clubs. Sure, there are a couple of ballads thrown in for good measure, but the majority of the album is full throttle dance. Terri is in MORE than fine voice and still looking pretty hot as well. Animal available on iTunes HERE and you can listen to the remix of the title track below. Check out the album and maybe click on the links on the songs above and check out some the old songs you know and love by Berlin while you're at it. Enjoy!!

TRAILER FOR ROCK OF AGES

The jukebox musical is once again hitting the big screen, this time with Rock of Ages. I saw this show on Broadway and I love it, love it!!! It's funny, of course the music is great, and it's "nothing but a good time". I'm not overwhelmed by the trailer, but it's okay. It seems to be taking things a bit more seriously. Hmmm... Alec Baldwin looks funny, Catherine Zeta-Jones is working her best Sarah Palin, but they don't even show the leads and keep Tom Cruise all secrety. (Of course, Tom is the expert at keeping secrets, so..) C'mon, give us the goods!!! I'm still gonna see it, don't get me wrong. Hope it's as fun as the show. The movie is set to be released on June 1, 2012. We'll see a lot more before then I bet.

KATIE HOLMES IN NEW YORK MAGAZINE

Katie Holmes if featured on the cover and in the pages of New York Magazine and this picture in particular is stunning. Katie is lovely, if less than interesting, but this little interview is pretty good. She talks about her clothing line Holmes & Yang, with her stylist Jeanne Yang ("I always loved clothes growing up"), Suri ("Whatever she wants to do, I know she'll be amazing at it. I've already started my applause, and I will be applauding for the rest of my life.") and whether she and Tom will work together ("Well, we do collaborate on everything at home.") Katie has a couple of movies coming out (The Extra Man, The Romantics, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark) and is starring as Jackie Kennedy in a History Channel mini-series. Go, girl. Now ditch your gay husband.

DIRECTOR QUITS SCIENTOLOGY OVER ANTI-GAY STANCE ON MARRIAGE

Paul Haggis, Hollywood director (Oscar for Crash) and now hero, has quit the "Church" of Scientology citing the "church"'s opposition of gay marriage and financial support of Prop 8 as the last straw. In a kick-ass letter addressed to the spokesman for the "church" Tommy Davis, Haggis spoke of the failure of the "church" to distance itself from homophobic statements made by its San Diego branch in 2008. "I called and wrote and implored you, as the official spokesman of the church, to condemn their actions," Haggis wrote. "You promised action. Ten months passed. No action." "The church’s refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent," he added. Haggis and his wife were also forced by the "church" to cut ties with his wife's parents after they left the "church" last year. This is an interesting inside look at the "church" who among it's members counts LONG TIME suspected homos like Tom Cruise and John Travolta. We'll see what those to ladies have to say about all this. Good for you, Paul Haggis. (PS....by "church" I mean cult, and by cult I mean happy hour at any gay bar) [source] [picture]

JONATHAN LIPNICKI: THEN AND NOW

Remember that cute little kid from Jerry Maguire? He grew up and is trying to bring the sexy back. What do you think?