The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Country’s Burns & Poe tell lawmakers ‘I Need A Job’ Posted: 24 Sep 2011 07:14 AM PDT  Burns & Poe: "Straight to the point." — Reuters pic "I need a job/not a government plan/all I want to do is work with my two hands," the pair sing in a video posted on YouTube. Keith Burns and Michelle Poe, formerly of the trio Trick Pony, pulled the song and video together in just over a month, something almost unheard of in today's country music industry. Then again, desperate times — marked by a stubborn 9.1 per cent unemployment rate — call for fast action. "I just thought that was a great thing to say, straight to the point, I need a job," Burns told Reuters. "Don't want welfare or a hand-me-down. You know, a job is more than a pay cheque. It is dignity, respect and all those things that come with it. Hopefully we got that out." He penned the tune with his friend John Ritter on a day when the two of them did not have a topic in mind. Burns said the idea popped into his head as Ritter was telling him about his brother, who is one of millions of Americans out of work. Burns and Poe went into the studio the next day to record "I Need A Job", and one week later shot the video. Although it had not yet gone viral on the Web, and the song had not officially been released to radio, stations in 30 major markets were already playing "I Need a Job", Burns said. Early on, the duo has found that people either love it or hate it. "The ones who hate it like the administration the way it is; the ones who love it don't like what's going on in Washington right now," Burns said. The song hits close to home for Poe, whose brother graduates from college in December. "He has nothing lined up, no work," she said. "But my sister says the song and everything it stands for (is bad). She says if we ask the government for more jobs, then you're calling for more government." Added Burns: "We didn't write it to draw political lines, it is just about the people who are out of work but who want to and are willing to work. The bottom line is the song is getting a reaction, and that is what we wanted it to do." Burns said the two were seeing a lot of messages on their Facebook page that said "Great song, very timely, you had me in mind when you wrote it", or "Great song, thank you so much, I'm one of those people who needs work". Fans also say things like "You wrote this song about me" or "You are talking to me". "I think as the song gets played more and more we will begin to hear more personal stories, because people will start opening up to us and talking to us a little more," Burns said. — Reuters |
| Actor Sean Penn worked to get Americans from Iran Posted: 24 Sep 2011 03:57 AM PDT CARACAS, Sept 24 — US actor Sean Penn engaged in attempts to secure the release of two Americans freed by Iran this week, flying to Venezuela to ask President Hugo Chavez to intervene with Iran's leader, a source close to the release process said yesterday.  Sean Penn calls in an old friend: President Chavez, with whom he is seen after their meeting at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, March 5, 2011. — Reuters pic Venezuela's deputy foreign minister told Reuters on Thursday that Chavez brought up the case with his Iranian ally Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after being alerted to the Americans' plight by friends in US "intellectual circles". "The American 'intellectual' who took up the case with him was Sean Penn," the source told Reuters. "Penn was very committed to the case," the source said. "He flew to Caracas several months ago to raise it with Chavez and he kept on it." Penn's spokeswoman in the United States confirmed this account, but would give no further details. The two Americans had been in Iranian custody since their arrest in July 2009 on the border with Iraq, where they said they were hiking. They were jailed for espionage. Penn, known for his political and social activism, won best actor Oscars for his roles in the Clint Eastwood-directed drama "Mystic River" in 2003, and as slain gay politician Harvey Milk in the 2008 movie "Milk". The actor, screenwriter and film director was sharply critical of the administration of former US President George W. Bush, and was involved in humanitarian efforts following Haiti's earthquake and Hurricane Katrina. In January, Chavez joked that Washington should end a diplomatic stand-off with Caracas by appointing either Penn, Bill Clinton or director Oliver Stone as its next ambassador to Venezuela. "We have a lot of friends there," Chavez said. The source said the State Department had been aware of Chavez's involvement in the attempts to free the hikers and did not try to block it. On Thursday, a State Department spokesman said only that they were happy Fattal and Bauer were safe. — Reuters |
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