Now That's What I Call Indie Covers! Volume 1

Thanks to another great find by Stereogum.com I present to you a compilation of Indie bands covering the best of pop music's Top 40. This terrific arrangement is presented to you by You Ain't No Picasso. Click here to find it at my my pick for BLOG OF THE WEEK! The Ted Leo cover of Since U Been Gone/Maps has been a song favorite of mine for months now, check it out!

Rock band hits hurdle with 'Olympic' name

Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune
July 28, 2005


In its race to become the Twin Cities' most popular new rock band, the Olympic Hopefuls ran up against a hurdle.

The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) contacted the tracksuit-wearing pop-rockers and asked them to change their name -- or risk legal action. Turns out, the word "olympic" was trademarked in a little-known 1950 congressional act.

So, meet "the Hopefuls."

"We're trying to be good sports about it -- no pun intended," quipped Nathan Roise, manager of 2024 Records, the band's Minneapolis-based record label.

The band has had its share of laughs over the prospective David-vs.-Goliath battle, including a suggestion that it play the next Olympics for free as a tradeoff for using the label. Nevertheless, the group took the threat seriously.

"It was like someone telling me I couldn't live in my house anymore, that I would have to find a new house," said singer-guitarist Darren Jackson.

The change adds a sour taste to the Hopefuls' recent sweet success.

They just came off a busy month that put their name in front of new audiences at the Basilica Block Party and the Taste of Minnesota.

Ironically, the band chose its name after deciding that its old moniker, Camaro, would raise a red flag for trademark lawyers.

It's not uncommon for bands to run into trademark disputes, but the conflict is usually with other groups -- resulting in doctored-up names such as Dinosaur Jr. or the Charlatans U.K.

A similar case arose recently between the pop duo the Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Service, but it was amicably resolved: The band will perform at a USPS convention in November.

Darryl Siebel, spokesman for the USOC in Colorado Springs, Colo., said his committee is required by law to protect the Olympic trademark.

Major corporations such as Coca-Cola and McDonald's pay millions of dollars for rights to the Olympic name, and that money is used in turn to support the U.S. teams. "If the [name] is overused and watered-down, it could hinder our efforts to raise the money that's vital for supporting our great U.S. athletes," Siebel said.

The band's lawyer, Dennis Pelowski, said it considered fighting the committee after receiving the initial letter this spring but backed down when he read up on the matter.

"The law is pretty clearly written," he said.

Paul Kosmides, who owns an electric-wiring company in Plymouth, is well aware of the law. The USOC nearly took his family to court in 2002 over the name of its business, Olympic Electric Co., which was established by Kosmides' father, a native of Greece.

The name was changed to OlympiaTech.

"It was a hassle and very expensive, and it never really made any sense," said Kosmides. During a recent trip to Greece, he said he recounted the story of his legal battle. The Greeks "found it amusing that the [USOC] thinks it owns the name," he said.

The Hopefuls' attorney was more sympathetic to the Olympic committee's action.

"They've actually been pretty good to the band," Pelowski said, noting that the committee hasn't required the band to stop selling its well-received album "The Fuses Refuse to Burn," which displays the old name on the front.

The USOC even showed a bit of humor, Pelowski said. One representative reportedly pointed out that the Hopefuls' colorful stage outfits are Puma tracksuits and not Adidas, the official supplier for U.S. Olympic athletes.

"I'm sure the band will be just as good with the shorter name," said the USOC's Siebel.

But will they have to sacrifice their trademark look now that they're no longer "Olympic"? For now, the tracksuits will stay -- if only to help salvage the band's identity, said co-leader Jackson.

"We're still the same band; we just have to get the word out to the public that we're just the Hopefuls now," he said.

Look for the Hopefuls Aug. 19 at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis and Aug. 20 at the Minnesota Zoo.

Chris Riemenschneider is at chrisr@startribune.com.

Teen who threw up on teacher sentenced to clean vomit from police cars

Associated Press
July 27, 2005

OLATHE, Kan. -— A high school student convicted of battery for vomiting on his Spanish teacher has been ordered to spend the next four months cleaning up after people who throw up in police cars.

Johnson County Magistrate Judge Michael Farley said during the sentencing Tuesday that he considered the boy's actions "an assault upon the dignity of all teachers.''

The teen, now 17, vomited on teacher David Young as he turned in his textbook on the last day of classes at Olathe Northwest High School. His attorney, Brian Costello, said the student vomited because he was nervous about his final exams.

But two other students testified that the teen said he threw up intentionally. One girl said he told her in advance that he planned to throw up on Young on the last day of school. The girl wasn't in class when the teen threw up, but she testified that the boy later told her, "You missed it. I did it.''

Young said the student, who was failing his class, made no effort to avoid throwing up on him. "I was just sort of stunned,'' he said.

KCRW Podcasting "Morning Becomes Eclectic"

Rob Kleckner reports:
For those of you who aren't music nerds, you might want to learn a little lesson about Podcasts. I know what these things are, but I have no idea how to explain them. The Wikipedia, however, can: "Podcasting is a method of publishing files via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed to receive new files automatically. Podcasting enables independent producers to create self-published, syndicated radio shows, and gives broadcast radio programs a new distribution method."

Um...so you can download radio shows and listen to them later, without having to tune in at a particular time. Which is awesome, because really, who under the age of 30 even knows how to operate a radio knob anymore? Hell, I have a hard enough time adjusting my clock radio to the right station and have just come to grips with waking up to La Ley 107.9 every morning (which reminds me: me encanta el chokolate en la mañana!).

Well, on July 21, Los Angeles's favorite public radio station KCRW (89.9 FM) began podcasting segments of its popular music program, "Morning Becomes Eclectic", which is hosted by Nic Harcourt. The premiere podcast was a 40-minute performance/interview featuring Los Angeles' own Goldspot.

The podcasts will be available for download both at KCRW.com and from the latest version of iTunes. They'll be available for two weeks with new and past shows will be added frequently. Harcourt says, "Since we began offering our non-music programs as podcasts, we've been inundated with requests to make music programming available. While the major labels are still figuring it out, the independent artists understand the value of this type of promotion, and I'm happy we're launching 'Morning Becomes Eclectic' podcasts with an L.A. group."

Happy podcasting.

* KCRW: http://www.kcrw.com/

Finley gives verbal commitment to UND

July 21, 2005

Joe Finley, a 6-7, 240-pound defenseman from Edina, has made a verbal commitment to play hockey for the University of North Dakota.

Finley did not play high school hockey last year -- it would have been his junior season -- opting instead to play for Sioux Falls of the USHL. He has been taking online classes this summer with the intention of graduating early.

"Most schools had me on their recruiting list for 2006," Finley said. "North Dakota didn't care. A year early or not, I was still their top defensive recruit."

Finley also strongly considered the Gophers before choosing North Dakota.

Best of North Dakota

Here are the results for North Dakota on ESPN.com's pole promoting their 50 States in 50 Days tour. I have reason to believe that some geek at NDSU is sitting in their dorm room this summer voting for everything Fargo. Can Fargo be anymore envious of that big-little town of GF an hour north? My answers are highlighted.

1) Most memorable sports moment?

81.9% Roger Maris hits 61 home runs to establish new MLB single-season record (1961)
12.6% University of North Dakota wins seventh NCAA hockey title (2000)
2.6% North Dakota defeats North Dakota St. 28-21 in OT in Nickel Trophy game (2003)
2.1% University of North Dakota wins first Div. II football national title (2001)
0.8% Doug Smail ties record with four goals as UND wins NCAA hockey title (1980)

2) Most popular sport?

61.6% Football
27.1% Hockey
4.6% Baseball
4.1% Basketball
1.0% Fishing
0.7% Soccer
0.5% Auto racing
0.3% Golf

3) Favorite pro team?

55.4% Minnesota Vikings
15.9% Green Bay Packers
15.7% Minnesota Twins
7.0% Minnesota Timberwolves
1.9% Minnesota Wild
1.7% Chicago Cubs
1.2% Dallas Cowboys
1.2% New York Yankees

4) Favorite North Dakota team?

57.2% North Dakota State (football)
31.5% Univ. of North Dakota (hockey)
4.4% North Dakota State (basketball)
3.6% Univ. of North Dakota (football)
1.6% Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks (baseball)
0.8% Dakota Wizards (basketball)
0.5% Univ. of North Dakota (basketball)

5) Best rivalry?

54.0% North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State (football)
38.3% Univ. of North Dakota vs. Univ. of Minnesota (hockey)
4.8% North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State (basketball)
2.9% Univ. of North Dakota vs. Univ. of South Dakota (football)

6) Best homegrown product?

56.0% Roger Maris (baseball)
20.3% Darin Erstad (baseball)
11.2% Rick Helling (baseball)
9.0% Phil Jackson (basketball)
2.4% Virgil Hill (boxing)
1.1% Lute Olson (basketball)

7) Should the University of North Dakota change it's current "Fighting Sioux" nickname?

76.2% No
23.8% Yes

8) Better place to watch a game?

64.5% Fargo Dome, North Dakota State football
35.5% Ralph Engelstad Arena, North Dakota hockey

9) Favorite personality or historical figure?

36.5% Lawrence Welk (musician)
26.1% Angie Dickinson (author)
22.2% Louis L'Amour (author)
12.7% Jonny Lang (musician)
2.5% Peggy Lee (singer)

10) Have you been to North Dakota?

73.7% Yes
26.3% No

Total Votes: 13,767

'Cooter' urges fans to skip 'Dukes' movie

Associated Press
July 14, 2005

ATLANTA -— If a former star of TV's "Dukes of Hazzard'' has his way, fans of the show will skip the movie version.

Ben Jones, a former Georgia congressman who played the mechanic Cooter on the series, says profanity and sexual content in the film essentially trash what was a family-friendly show. He read a script of the movie, which comes out next month, and likens it to taking "I Love Lucy'' and turning Lucy into a "crackhead.''

Jones called the film a sleazy insult in an open letter posted on his Web site. He's urged fans to "hold their noses'' and stay away unless the studio cleans up the movie before its release. A spokesman for Warner Brothers did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Abortions in state hit 30-year low

Maura Lerner, Star Tribune
July 13, 2005


The number of abortions performed in Minnesota dropped to a 30-year low last year, to 13,788, state health officials reported Tuesday.

The annual total dropped below 14,000 for the first time since 1975, down from a high of 19,028 in 1980.

The report, from the Minnesota Department of Health, did not speculate on the reasons for the decline. But it showed that the abortion rate also dropped, to 11.6 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age, the lowest rate since 1975, the first year the state began tracking abortions.

"We are pleased to see the number of abortions in Minnesota continue to drop," Dianne Mandernach, the state health commissioner, said in a statement released Tuesday. "We hope the numbers will continue to drop in the years to come."

The report, which is published annually, found that the majority of abortions - 58 percent - occurred among women 20-29 years old.

Only one late-term abortion, during a woman's third trimester, was reported.

Maura Lerner is at mlerner@startribune.com.

Blog of the Week

Click here to read the ranting of a pathetically love deprived young woman in this week's Blog of the Week. My Life in Meals is a wonderful story of Jenny in a sociological experiment where she aimlessly searches for love in all the wrong places. Internet chat rooms and corporate affairs keep this blog rolling with the warm intensity of a trying to sleep Mid-Summer in a brick house in Minnesota lacking air-conditioning. Anonymous posts are not allowed with this blog, therefore one can't attack her writings in the manner she is so quick to judge others anonymously. Read and be amazed at the ignorance of expectations within a slough of love affairs and make-out sessions. mylifeinmeals.blogspot.com