a href=”https://www.dailyegyptian.com/contactus.html”bDE Staff Reporter/b/abrspan class=”realsmall”bDaily Egyptian/b/span

‘Good and cheap’ does exist

Aerosmith and KISS have joined forces to launch a mega tour. When KISS reunited, the leather-clad demi-gods were heavy contenders with Aerosmith for the title of “touring champion.” Now they’ve realized that it’s much more lucrative to join forces than fight for venues and tour dates. Combine ticket prices into one-way, over-priced entrance fees and concertgoers will be none the wiser. It’ll seem like they’re getting two for the price of one.

Of the major summer music festivals, Lollapalooza ’03 still seems to be the most appealing. Since its unveiling, it has added The Donnas and A Perfect Circle to the list of Jane’s Addiction, Audioslave, Incubus, Queens of The Stone Age and Jurassic 5. Lollapalooza ’03 will roll into the UMB Bank Pavilion in St. Louis on July 9 and into Chicago at the Tweeter Center on July 12.

Ozzfest and Warped Tour are old news. Where they were once meant to showcase some of the best in their musical genres, they are now reduced to being nothing more than showcases for what the record companies have deemed worthy. It’s a way of ensuring that what an executive saw as a gamble or a risk doesn’t end up becoming a drain on company finances, ending up in the dreaded “bargain bin.”

The remaining members of the Grateful Dead are reuniting this summer and are touring under the name The Dead. It’s respectable that they no longer want to refer to themselves as The Other Ones, which is a name that infers that they aren’t as significant in the history of the Grateful Dead as original singer/guitarist Jerry Garcia.

But suggesting that shortening the name to simply The Dead is ineffective. They may as well tour as Grateful Dead. Having a father who is a fan of the original group and some friends who are as well, it is understood that Grateful Dead and The Dead are interchangeable terms. They are one and the same. So for the remaining members to think that they are dispelling any confusion by changing the name is rather humorous. In a way, they are simply adding to it.

My new DVD player is meeting every one of my expectations and then some. I was recently able to get the Clint Eastwood classic “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.” Before I got it on DVD, if I wanted to rent it, it would come on two video tapes and I would get charged as if I were renting two videos, yet it was the same film.

Now, I get the complete two hour and 41 minute film on one DVD. Not only that, but it also comes with roughly 10 minutes of extra scenes previously unreleased in the United States that are still dubbed in Italian. The film is considered by many film critics to be one of the most epic, well directed and well written westerns of all time. I was able to purchase this gem locally for just over $10. I can’t remember the last time I was this happy with a purchase.