Category: General

Langhorne Slim & The Law Interview — ‘The Way We Move’

Photo by Todd Roeth

It’s my secret agenda in every interview to befriend my subject. And Langhorne Slim certainly made the list. His real name is Sean Scolnick, and he might be the most normal, down-to-earth guy I’ve ever interviewed. In doing my research for his new record, The Way We Move, I realized that we have a lot in common, which is a data-point that will surely help in our future friendship. We’re both Jewish, and we both exited five-year relationships that were subject to long distances apart. Because I’m egocentric, I made sure to ask about these commonalities, along with questions about his joyful, dance-worthy style of music that I’ve fallen in love with. Read below.

Do you refer to yourself as Langhorne, or do your friends call you Sean?

It’s different. Some call me Sean, some call me Langhorne, some call me Seany Boy, some call me Slim. I’ve got lots of names. It just depends on who’s talking to me.

Is it true you wrote this album while mourning a breakup?

I wrote a few of the songs after my wonderful ex and I broke up, but a lot of the songs were [previously] written. [When] we went into the studio to record the record, we had already broken up.

Is it difficult to record in such an emotional place?

It was a difficult period, but it was amazing to have that kind of release, and to feel it in such a raw, immediate way. Instead of leaping off a cliff, I had this creative outlet.

I assume “Someday” is directly about the breakup, right?

The funny thing is . . . we were still together. Maybe you’re breaking-up before you realize it.

Do you ever get a call from an ex who is combing through your songs and wants to know if it’s about her?

They know that it is. I’m a man that hasn’t been with very many women. The last fifteen years of my life I’ve been in relationships. My ex knows exactly what songs are about her, because she heard me writing them.

Is it hard to sing songs that remind you of the time when you wrote them?

When I listen to [this record], it takes me very much back to that time and place, and I think that it always will. But it’s freeing. Even if you’re singing about pain, it’s a blessing to be able to create something that gets me through it. I don’t feel the heartbreak, I feel the release.

You raised the money for this album through PledgeMusic, which requires you to fulfill some very random promises to fans you’ve never met. I know you’re Jewish, and if I told my over-protective Jewish mother about the promises I’d have to fulfill, she’d kill me. Was your mother concerned?

I’m ten years into [my career], and my mother embraces it. [But] I remember the first time we ever got booked in Europe, she said, “Okay, wait a second. You’re going to Italy to play for some random people? How do you know they’re not going to kill you?” [laughs]. Now [my family] gets it. They knew I wasn’t cut out for a conventional job. Thankfully, they supported [me]. [They’re] still neurotic though.

You’ve toured with some heavy-hitters. Before you go on tour, do you think about whether you’ll get along on a personal level?

At this point it’s a little different. We’re in a position of picking who we tour with. [But] when we were going out with other bands, it wasn’t random. It already comes with a bit of a connection. There’s already a respect.

What about in your own band? Is it tough to be in close quarters for an extended period of time?

You learn each other’s eccentricities. It’s very much like a romantic relationship, but the romance is creative and musical.

How do you sustain a romantic relationship when you tour for 8 months out of the year?

I don’t know. People have told me it’s not feasible. But I did it the entire time I was a touring musician. It’s difficult to connect on a day-to-day basis, but I believe in it still. I’m a big, sappy believer in love. I feel like it’s just as difficult in different ways to have a 9to5 job and come home to each other every day. It’s a different set of challenges.

Do you have a favorite song on your new record?

The song that’s really meaningful to me is “A Song for Sid.” I wrote it for my grandfather. I’m very happy with it. You were asking if I’m brought back to the heartbreak or pain of a song that I wrote, and I am brought back [with that song], but in a beautiful way. It’s a tribute to him that he would probably feel proud of me for writing.

Watch below to see the video for Langhorne Slim & The Law’s single, “The Way We Move.” And thanks to Sean for proving that you can be talented and normal at the same time.

Tabloid Gossip — Weekend Rundown

  • Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul is engaged. People
  • Kelly Osbourne kicked Kris Humphries out of her club because of her Kim Kardashian loyalty. NYP
  • Melrose Place’s Grant Show is engaged. E! Online
  • 23 year old Spy Kids star, Alexa Vega, filed for divorce after 650 days of marriage. Perez Hilton
  • Were Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler fired from American Idol? Radar Online
  • Is Anne Hathaway pregnant? PopCrunch

‘Step Up Revolution’ — Behind the Scenes

I received the video below in my inbox, and my love for the Step Up franchise meant I had to post it. The newest installment, ‘Step Up Revolution,’ takes place in Miami, and according to my press release, here’s what it’s about: “Emily (Kathryn McCormick) arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer and soon falls in love with Sean (Ryan Guzman), a young man who leads a dance crew in elaborate, cutting-edge flash mobs, called “The Mob.” When a wealthy business man threatens to develop The Mob’s historic neighborhood and displace thousands of people, Emily must band together with Sean and The Mob to turn their performance art into protest art, and risk losing their dreams to fight for a greater cause.” If that plot doesn’t strike your fancy, it doesn’t really matter — the story is always secondary to the dancing anyhow. Watch below.

Christie Brinkley Combats Lyme Disease With Guinea Hens

This story was just interesting enough to post. According to the New York Post, there’s a hot demand amongst the Hamptons elite for guinea hens. Christie Brinkley and Billy Joel started the craze in 1990 when they conducted an experiment on their property, which “showed the correlation between guinea fowl and reduced deer tick populations.” The craziest part of this story is the idea that Christie Brinkley and Billy Joel worked well enough together to conduct an experiment. The second craziest part is the vision of a bunch of rich, crazy celebrities with hens running all over their property.

Real Housewives of OC Reunion: Don Cheated on Vicki for 20 Years!!!??

Part two of the Real Housewives of Orange County reunion will likely be one of the best in history when Vicki reveals that Don cheated on her for 20 years of their marriage. I found this to be especially shocking considering that Vicki often looked like a villain and yet she avoided the opportunity to drag his name through the mud. But she finally hit her breaking point when her daughter exposed that Vicki and Brooks’ relationship went further back than anyone realized. Watch below.

Steven Tyler Quits American Idol — Returns to Real Music

This is a hit I never saw coming. Steven Tyler officially announced that he’s leaving American Idol, saying, “I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I’m back.” It’s rumored that Jennifer Lopez is on her way out also, which is mostly attributed to her recent career resurgence. I can’t help but wonder if his announcement is a fancy way of saying, “they didn’t ask me back,” but I’ll squash my internal cynic for a moment and make an even more cynical comment: His exit is completely irrelevant. His “everyone-is-wonderful” attitude didn’t add much to the show, and it only served to hurt his rock-star brand. So welcome back to the real world, Steven. We missed you over here.

Mike Fleiss v. “Reality Steve”: ‘The Bachelorette’ Spoiler War

If you’re a fan of ‘The Bachelorette,’ then you know that every season of ABC’s show is met with spoilers from an internet blogger known as “Reality Steve.” It’s been the bane of ABC’s existence for years, and last year ABC received a long-awaited gift in their inbox when they discovered that Steve Carbone encouraged show contestants to violate their contract, which finally gave ABC cause to sue. They reached a settlement, but that settlement may or may not have banned Carbone from future spoilers. My guess is it didn’t, because he’s still spoiling the ending, and no one is stupid enough to so blatantly breach a contract with a big network. But according to Twitter, series creator Mike Fleiss thinks differently. Fleiss ranted about Carbone, calling him a “parasite,” and insisting that his spoilers hurt his show because, “no one wants to know who won the Super Bowl before sitting down to watch the game.” Although I understand Fleiss’ frustration, his example is sub-par. Viewers like to watch the show with knowledge of the final choice so they can look for the clues they might not have noticed otherwise. And furthermore, Mike Fleiss is a generally creepy dude that should probably stay off twitter. He likely has limited knowledge of the legal system and what would constitute a breach of contract, so in the end, he’s needlessly exposing his ignorance.

Quote of the Day — The Actors Didn’t Understand the Ending of ‘Lost’

“I was very confused just because I never saw the show. I saw the pilot, you know, because you have to have some knowledge of the piece that you are in, but I never saw an episode of Lost . . . . So, you know, when the end came, I had people like Marilyn Manson, of all people, trying to convince me that they had resolved it really well and it all made sense. He’s a real fan… He’s almost like a deranged fan. Almost.” ‘Lost’ star Naveen Andrews, also known as “Sayid Jarrah,” on whether he understood the show’s ending, and his friend Marilyn Manson’s take on it making sense. As an aside, did he seriously admit to never watching the show? That’s some acting talent. Perhaps he also skipped the pages of the script that didn’t involve his character.

Denise Richards Stripper-Dances on ‘Watch What Happens Live’

Andy Cohen’s ‘Watch What Happens Live’ after show is extremely underrated, and I’ve posted the clip below to prove my point. It’s not every day you see a chick as hot as Denise Richards do a stripper dance on television. Plus, she’s seems cool enough to also have coffee with. You can’t beat that. Watch below to see her turn Andy straight.

Did Dr. Drew Deliver Distortions About Drugs For Dollars?

Written by: Rik Sault, Contributing Writer

Early this month, drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline pled guilty and agreed to pay a record $3 billion settlement for fraudulently promoting unapproved uses of the depression drugs Wellbutrin and Paxil, as well as the diabetes drug Avandia.

One of the claims against Glaxo is that it used a “network of paid experts, speaking to doctors and to the press,” to tout certain uses, or benefits, of the drugs which were never approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

And Dr. Drew (Pinsky) – a board-certified internist who is firmly embedded brand includes best-selling books and three shows — was one of the hired hands peddling an unapproved use for Wellbutrin. Although he was not charged in the Glaxo case, the Justice Department’s complaint alleged that Dr. Drew received $275,000 from the company in 1999 to promote Wellbutrin for its ability to sexually enhance (or “at least not suppress”) the patient.

In the 1990s, Wellbutrin was being shadily promoted as a drug that would not only treat depression but also enhance a patient’s sex life and lead to weight loss; Glaxo’s sales reps occasionally referred to it as the “happy, horny, skinny pill,” according to the Justice Department. As part of his deal with Glaxo (which sells somewhere around $44 billion worth of drugs annually), Drew took time on ‘Loveline’ to explain that he prescribed Wellbutrin to patients suffering from depression because it might “enhance or at least not suppress sexual arousal” like other antidepressants. Dr. Drew then went on a national radio program, ‘David Essel Alive!,’ with a 34-year-old woman who claimed that she had 60 orgasms in a single night. Essel asked Drew, “What type of a medication would increase someone’s orgasmic potential, where they go from three or four to 60?” Dr. Drew’s response: Lots of antidepressants might do the trick, but he advocates Wellbutrin because it “may enhance or at least not suppress sexual arousal” as much as other drugs. A memo from Glaxo’s PR agency indicated that Dr. Drew effectively “communicated key campaign messages” on the Essel show, including that Wellbutrin “is recommended for people experiencing a loss of libido.”

Problem # 1:
In both instances, Dr. Drew endorsed Wellbutrin but failed to disclose that he was paid by the company to do so.

Problem # 2:
The FDA approved Wellbutrin for treating depression, not as a sexual enhancement. In fact, Glaxo never even received FDA approval for advertising Wellbutrin as having fewer sexual side effects than other antidepressants. Therefore, Dr. Drew was at least suggesting, if not squarely promoting, the drug for an unapproved, off-label use. And putting the name Wellbutrin next Ms. 60-in-one-night is a pretty strong endorsement, right?

Dr. Drew told CBS News that everything he said about Wellbutrin back in 1999 was both lawful and accurate based on his medical experience. However, Drew did not reveal whether he has any current financial deals with drug companies or advocacy groups. According to Glaxo and HLN, the channel that airs the “Dr. Drew” program, he recently made a deal to promote Nicorette, which is used by patients trying to quit smoking.
Many health-care reform advocates have long stressed the necessity of disclosure and transparency. The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) includes a provision requiring pharmaceutical companies to disclose their payments to physicians. And the nonprofit organization ProPublica has collected such disclosures from various drug companies; its database reflects more than $760 million in payments for services such as consulting, speaking, and research.

“You deserve to know who [doctors are] working for,” says John Santa, head of the Consumer Reports Health Rating Center. “You think they’re working for you. But they might not tell you all the side effects… [and] [t]hey might not tell you the benefits of other drugs.” Many viewers rely on Dr. Drew as a competent, legitimate medical authority (and Andy Dick goes so far as to use him as a primary care physician). As such, maybe Dr. Drew should let us know about his pharmaceutical endorsement deals at or near the time he is recommending a particular product.