Good word

"The Sex Pistols became successful because they failed; if they had succeeded, they would have sold out, or become diluted or commercial. I saw Johnny Rotten a few years ago at Sundance, still failing, and it made me feel proud of him."

-- Roger Ebert

Vive Madeleine Lebeau

In a year of too many sad celebrity deaths, let's be grateful for the memory of Madeleine Lebeau, the last surviving cast member of "Casablanca." She died May 1 at age 92. You'll remember her as the character who cries while singing "La Marseillaise" and shouts "Vive la France!" A moving scene in a wondrous film.

Dolly dish

On Wednesday, Dolly Parton disclosed big news about Dollywood, her Pigeon Forge, Tenn., entertainment complex: a $300 million investment that will yield a 300-room resort hotel, among other upgrades. Here's my Mountain Press report on the announcement, and here is my interview with Parton about the development.

Back to school

In Sevier County, school started on Friday. Here's my Mountain Press report from Seymour Primary and Mrs. Clark's first grade class.

"Does anyone know what a clock is?" asked Mrs. Clark.
A little girl raised her hand. "Yes?" said Mrs. Clark.
"It's like a round circle," the little girl said, "and it has clock stuff on it."

Music business people

Here's my Mountain Press interview with Sevier County native Lisa McCarter, of the Americana group Runaway Home. In the 1980s she and her sisters performed as the McCarters and notched top-10 country hits like "The Gift" and "True and Timeless Love."

The sisters moved to Nashville in 1987. "We were scared to death," Lisa said. "We had never been around music business people. We would travel home to Sevierville every weekend."

Father's daughter's son

Here's my Mountain Press article about Chas Hartman and his book "Daughter of a Park Ranger," a biography of his mom. Her father spent a career in the National Park Service, including a stint as superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Good word

"An alien race that looks like a cross between Jabba the Hutt and Harold Bloom."

-- Roger Ebert

Good word

"Got up went to Twickenham rehearsed until lunchtime — left the Beatles — went home, and in the evening did King of Fuh at Trident studio, had chips later."

-- George Harrison

Summer scenes

The middling summery comedy "The Way, Way Back" opens this week in Knoxville. My review in the alt-weekly Metro Pulse is here.

For better or worse, "The Way, Way Back" owes a lot to "Meatballs," including a nerdy character who gets picked on by the cool people because he’s just such a nerd. On behalf of nerds everywhere, I protest.

Song man

Here's my latest Mountain Press column, inspired by the buskers of Knoxville's Market Square. Did you know I've done some busking?

On a pleasant day, playing music outside is fun. It’s nice to see people smile when they hear a song they like. At places like State Street and Market Square, people tend to be in a festival mood, so impromptu singing and dancing may break out.

Good word

"According to David Lee Roth this was because critics accused him of writing about nothing more than partying, sex, and cars, but Roth realized that he had yet to write a song about cars.[citation needed]"

-- Wikipedia

Today's top story

Grad Student Band's Bio Intellectually Impoverished

Tennessee folkies

The Maryville, Tenn., folk duo of Sparky and Rhonda Rucker perform this weekend in the Sugarlands Visitor Center at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My Mountain Press preview is here:

Sparky worked as a schoolteacher after he graduated from the University of Tennessee. He also worked for the Council of the Southern Mountains, “doing social-change work,” he said, “basically trying to make Southern Appalachian lives better – fighting mountaintop removal, getting benefits for black lung disease, trying to get unions organized in various areas. I’m quite a rabble-rouser.”

Good word

"I'm not generally a fan of movies spun off from TV animation. 'The Flintstones' and 'Ninja Turtles' moved me only marginally."

-- Roger Ebert

Good word

"Obviously, people from other planets are going to have extra powers that Earth people don't have. Anybody who has ever watched television knows that."

-- Daniel M. Pinkwater

Good word

"I hate Woodstock. There is the birth of one of the most destructive myths shoved down the throats of Generations X and Y ever."

-- Jim DeRogatis

Good word

"He never quite forgave his father for being an admiral."

-- Roger Ebert on Jim Morrison

Musical youth

Nice pieces have run in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times on the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. I wrote about the organization in The Mountain Press a while back when I profiled a Sevierville high school kid who is touring with the group. Inspiring stuff.

Good word

"Among schoolmates, informal, faddish, well-meant salutations that do no physical damage should not be condemned."

-- Miss Manners

Good word

"For years I have wondered, during 'Don't Cry for Me, Argentina,' why we were not to cry. Now I understand: We need not cry because (a) Evita got everything out of life she dreamed of, and (b) Argentina should cry for itself."

-- Roger Ebert