The Music Sucked at Woodstock

Mixed reviews for 1960s coming-of-age flick

(NEWSER) - Taking Woodstock isn’t really about the music: it’s more about coming of age on the outskirts of the festival. Critics are lukewarm about Ang Lee's latest effort:

• “You can’t deny the smiling mood that wafts through the film like incense,” admits Anthony Lane of the New Yorker, “and to that extent it honors the original three days; but not once does a character’s show of feeling stir you, send you, or stop you in your tracks.”

Singer suffered fatal heart attack

(NEWSER) - Monkees frontman Davy Jones died of a heart attack this morning in Florida at the age of 66. Jones had the heart attack in his home, and was taken to Martin Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, a spokesman tells TMZ . He gave what turned out to be his final performance just 10 days ago in Oklahoma. More»

Do today's female artists still need a festival?

(NEWSER) - Seven years after her last all-original album, Sarah McLachlan is back—and she’s bringing Lilith Fair with her. Since the last Lilith, McLachlan has had two daughters and split from her husband, and female artists have gone from being underrepresented to dominating the Top 40. What does that mean for the all-women music festival? Even McLachlan, who’s headlining, admits “there’s not so much of a need” anymore. More»

Playful 60s love/music comedy is more party than plot

(NEWSER) - Critics agree that the soundtrack of Pirate Radio can't be beat, and the top-notch cast is a joy. So when it comes to the shaky plot and pacing, some can turn a blind eye:

• "There’s no denying the comic energy of the cast," Peter Travers writes in Rolling Stone. "Couple that with blasts of Brit rock from the Beatles and the Stones to Dusty Springfield and David Bowie, and the ship is unsinkable."

White House concert helps revive popularity

(NEWSER) - Earth, Wind & Fire is back on top again in its 40th year, playing stadiums for the first time in a quarter-century. And their resurgent success, the band tells Newsweek, is based on a mixture of '60s idealism and the good favor of the president. Barack Obama has always been a huge fan, and he invited the funk pioneers to play at his first formal White House dinner in February. “What it did,” says member Verdine White, “it validated us in this era.” More»