Britt Plunkett runs his forearm across his head, pushing sweat off his brow. “I actually took a picture of the thermostat,” he says. “I just had to record it: 99 degrees.”For Paul Rudd, the decision to star in Jay Roach’s new comedy, “Dinner for Schmucks,” was an easy one. “I thought the script was really funny,” he says. “That was it. It was kind of a no-brainer.” Of course Rudd, who’s built an impressive resume of smart comedies, was just as enamored of the man behind the camera. Though Lilith Fair returned from an 11-year hiatus to a very different musical landscape, it is one that Sarah McLachlan and Co. helped lay the blueprints for more than a decade ago.Although facts on the famed Clinton-Mezvinsky wedding, which is rumored to happen this weekend, are tighter than Hillary Clinton’s smile, some details have leaked out. Sources report that groom Marc Mezvinsky has “hurt” his father’s family by not inviting them to the wedding (Ed Mezvinsky pleaded guilty in 2002 to swindling investors out of $10 million.He may play the part of a high-end gigolo in “The Extra Man,” but offscreen, Kevin Kline continues to be quite a charmer.
When it comes to singing, it’s no exaggeration to say that few can match the Welsh.
“It’s something in the language,” muses one of the most famous Welsh vocalists, veteran pop idol Tom Jones. “It’s a tradition: the male voice choirs; the singing room in the pubs. All you needed was a piano and someone to play it. It’s the cheapest way to hear music,” he adds.
Since the mid ’60s, the 68-year-old has belted out such memorable songs as “It’s Not Unusual” — “The most important song; my first hit.” — and “What’s New Pussycat?” — “Burt Bacharach told me, ‘It’s a nutty song for a nutty movie.’”
In later years, Jones notched up iconic covers like the kitsch version of Prince’s “Kiss,” which revitalized his career in the ’80s. His latest album, last fall’s “24 Hours,” includes the left-field choice of Bruce Springsteen’s lesser-traveled “The Hitter.” The upbeat new record paired Jones with London-based producers Future Cut (Lily Allen, Katy Perry), who sampled his older song “I’ll Never Let You Go” for the newly written “If He Should Ever Leave You.” However, the disc includes a fresh new songwriting voice: his own. For the first time, Jones is co-credited as a songwriter. This late-life writing foray wasn’t a need for reflection, though. It was a necessity.
“Nothing was exciting me,” Jones says. “It was time to get involved.”
It was another hookup that proved to be the catalyst Jones needed: After a night carousing in a Dublin pub with Bono and the Edge, the U2 front men turned the ribald tales Jones had regaled them with into the fun, semibiographical cut, “Sugar Daddy.”
“That’s what sparked me off,” confirms Jones, who began to look at his own experiences for songwriting inspiration, including something that was long overdue for a tribute: Over 50 years of marriage to wife Linda, which inspired the dance beat driven “The Road.”
“Linda listened to the record and said, ‘What a beautiful song.’ I said, ‘Listen a bit closer. It’s about you.’”
Linda Laban
Tom Jones now shuns the infamous panty throwing that marked his early performances, but some things in his show never change. Expect to hear his biggest hits: “Delilah,” “It’s Not Unusual,” “What’s New Pussycat?” “Green, Green Grass of Home” and “She’s A Lady.”
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In the July MMMpod, Young Veins talk about breaking away from Panic! at the Disco, Keith Lockhart talks about Buckwheat Zydeco throwing the Boston Pops for a loop, Zooey Deschanel talks about how Roy Orbison inspired a She & Him song, Derek Miller of Sleigh Bells talks about how awesome Funkadelic is, and we talk about how awesome Jimmy Cliff is, who in turn talks about Sam Cooke and divine intervention. An explosive show for July! Oh yeah, and we also test your knowledge of America songs in the MMMPod medley.
