October 29th, 2011
05:52 PM ET
Barry Manilow helps tornado ravaged townBarry Manilow not only writes the songs, he makes sure kids can too. The singer-songwriter visited tornado ravaged Joplin, Missouri, Thursday and donated $300,000 in musical instruments to the town's schools through his non-profit Manilow Music Project. “I know firsthand how invaluable music can be to get you through life’s tough times," Manilow said in a statement. "It is an honor and a privilege to help these kids after such a disaster." Signs like "Barry is our Man-ilow" and "Joplin has hope cause of Barry" ringed the Eagles football field for the presentation. Students, teachers and townspeople gathered to watch three truckloads of instruments arrive which included pianos, brass and string instruments. The donations will benefit not just the high school band, but also the pep club, the middle school, the choir and the orchestra according to Rick Castor, music director for Joplin High School. FULL POST 
October 29th, 2011
11:54 AM ET
Rita Wilson releasing an albumBillboard reports that actress Rita Wilson has announced she’s becoming a singer, releasing her first album this February. Earlier this week, Tom Hanks’ wife popped in to the Billboard/Hollywood Reporter Film & TV Music Conference and discussed her upcoming debut album, titled "AM/FM." Wilson, 55, told the conference crowd she’s “always felt more comfortable with music than with acting,” and shared that her album is inspired by childhood memories. "We used to sit in the back seat of our parent's car, hear songs on the AM radio and sing along," Rita said of her Los Angeles upbringing. 
October 29th, 2011
11:04 AM ET
‘Chuck’ is working out some kinksTeam Bartowski is back in business for what NBC has promised is the final season of “Chuck.” Last night’s premiere picked up with the nearly wholesale reboot that ended season four. Just to catch up: Chuck and Sarah are married. The team has been fired by the CIA and has decided to branch out on its own as freelance spies. Chuck’s sister knows about the intersect, but Chuck doesn’t have the intersect anymore. Morgan does. So we’re jumping into a completely new dynamic among the characters, but I’m not so sure it works. We’ll get back to that later. 
October 29th, 2011
10:16 AM ET
'Grimm' a genre hybrid that doesn't quite workOn Friday's series premiere of "Grimm," we were introduced to our second take on fairy tales in less than a week's time, this one a little more of a police procedural. Nick Burkhardt is a detective who suddenly finds himself having inherited the power to see certain people's "true selves": creatures from Grimm fairy tales. This first episode saw him pursuing a monstrous predator who went after women and young girls wearing red (gee, I wonder which fairy tale that's about?).  |
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