Freditorials

As a child of the 70s, the soundtrack to my formative years comes from listening to my sister’s stereo blaring out the sounds of Queen, Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac. Probably more than any other song from that era, Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” epitomizes the sound of the 70s, with its soft-rock sensibilities and Raphael Ravenscroft’s incredible saxophone (one of my …

caption id=”attachment_304″ align=”alignright” width=”291″ caption=”The Vampire Chronicles”][/caption] After taking some time off, I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and to a brighter 2011! During one of my deadline-free days, I was channel surfing and found myself stopping at a documentary about Anne Rice. As I was watching, I was reminded how much I loved …

Well the fourth season of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” is in full swing, and, love it or hate it, it is a fascinating expose of the pitfalls of both fame and notoriety. While I am not a big fan of the majority of reality shows, many of which I find insult viewer intelligence, the draw of “Celebrity Rehab” for …

Prologue: OK, in my last blog I accused someone of being dead that wasn’t, so this time I made sure. I was saddened to hear about the passing of Leslie Nielsen yesterday. Using his deadpan talent to create unforgettable roles in “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun” series, he was one of the last great comedic actors from my youth (so …

a href=”http://www.everetthicks.com/freditorials/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2010/11/ladyantebellum.jpg”>I can admit it. I am ashamed. I am hanging my head and hissing “Bad Fred!” as I write this. Why? I am and have always been a big fan of the Alan Parsons Project. Whether it is the experimental Edgar Allen Poe masterpieces, the creepy instrumentals, or the shameless pop of “Don’t Answer Me” and “Standing on Higher …

Just because someone may not want to find Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus under their tree this year, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t want great music to listen to on cold winter nights. While the manufactured kiddie-pop music floods the stores and the Internet, more obscure new releases from classic artists are bound to offer a lot more in the …

When an entertainment institution reaches the age of 35, as Saturday Night Live has, you can begin to examine its history to see certain trends and patterns develop. When you are talking about a show with as many ups, downs, rebirths and renovations as SNL has had, you can spot some interesting things. Last night, I caught part of the …

caption id=”attachment_142″ align=”alignright” width=”300″ caption=”Helter Skelter, 1976″][/caption] Okay, I originally intended to continue my rant on pathetic, inferior, mindless, exploitative, stupid, inane remakes of horror movies that seem to be the trend these days, but after doing a little yoga, I decided to put a positive spin on things and offer some of my own suggestions for Halloween viewing instead. …

photoshop cs6 mac download At the risk of sounding a little flaky, I am going to stray from the usual format of my blog and relate something that recently happened to me while on a story assignment. Last week, The SyFy show “Ghost Hunters” aired an episode dedicated to Alton’s reputedly haunted Milton School, and I was covering it for …

On Aug. 14, 1975, a film adaptation of a little-known British musical opened to tepid audiences and lukewarm reviews. The film featured no big name stars (yet), a low budget and a ridiculous plot. A movie about a “sweet transvestite” from the planet of Transsexual, Transylvania? Nobody would pay to see that freakshow! “Great Scott!” I have many fond memories …