“Los Angeles cops are investigating the 32-year-old’s sudden death, but a coroner official said it “appears to be natural.”"

More from the New York Daily News.

Burning Question: Why is the douchebag-to-normal human being ratio so high in the Hilarious Hijinx world of commercial radio?  It’s one of the great unanswered questions, like “Why do we need sleep?” and “How does Uwe Boll sleep at night?” 

In another display of commercial radio facepalmery, those marketing whizzes at Cox Communications decided to change the format of WPUP, 100.1 FM, Athens’ “Home of Concerts and World Class Rock” out of the blue.  What took its place?  Why Obama Radio, of course. 

Claiming victim to an Obama-led government takeover of the station –- perhaps Obama’s armies of ACORN and Americorps warriors are behind it. The new format is nothing but Obama speeches juxtaposed with soul/R&B/novelty pop and Hawaiian music (get it?).  Listen here.

Great idea, guys!  Feed the government takeover frenzy that dominated our national “discourse” this summer!  And, hey, Obama’s black, so let’s play a bunch of “black music” and pop music and stuff!  Because white folks would never dig that!  Playing pop/soul/R&B music is funny because it’s not to be taken as seriously as the sterling rock music they used to play on WPUP.  You know, classic bands like BTO and Golden Earring.

Me, I like the change in format.  I just heard “Superfly” on the radio for the first time in quite a while.  Also: Chic, The Dazz Band, and Hot Chocolate.  And Peaches & Herb.  And Tony! Toni! Tone!  I’m down with that.  I’ll jam Rick Astley over Lifehouse any day of the week.  Furthermore, who doesn’t like the ukulele?  I say keep Obama Radio going, just with fewer speeches.

CNN’s chief medical correspondent and Atlanta resident, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, however contracted the disease while in Afghanistan.

Read more about the incident from USA Today.

Swayze had quite the resume of films — The Outsiders, Dirty Dancing, Ghost, Donnie Darko. More about his passing and remembering his career from NY Daily News.

Dear friends and loyal advertisers:

I write this today to share with you some exciting news about the future of Creative Loafing.

As of Aug. 25, 2009, with the purchase of the six-newspaper Creative Loafing organization by its principal creditor, Atalaya Capital Management, the company has exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It emerges as a revitalized organization with strong financial backing and strong leadership.

I wanted to contact you personally, to assure you that the purchase will not affect our core operations, our product, or the value of our audience to you as an advertiser. In fact, this is a very positive development for many reasons:

Your valued Creative Loafing Account Executive, and all employees you have come to know and trust, will continue with the organization. You will see no interruption in any of the services we provide for you. Our paper will continue to hit the streets every week, just as it has since 1972. The Creative Loafing/Atlanta web site will continue to provide 24/7 coverage. And we’ll continue to reach over 900,000 readers and 400,000 unique online visitors.

Atalaya is committed to investing additional resources in Creative Loafing to better serve its readers and advertisers. Our new owners have retained the services of seasoned newspaper professionals, both on the editorial and advertising side, with strong knowledge of and commitment to alternative newsweeklies. Their objective is to enable Creative Loafing to become an even stronger resource for the advertisers and communities it serves. See our September 2nd feature story for more information on our new owners and our advisory board.

I’m confident and excited that this transition marks the continuation of an era in which Creative Loafing will remain an indispensable asset, through our award-winning journalism, our comprehensive listings, and our commitment to connecting readers to advertisers and their community. We appreciate your past support and look forward to continuing to serve you.

With kind regards,
Luann Labedz
Publisher, Creative Loafing/Atlanta

That’s refreshing to hear, isn’t it?

AJC reports that the Creative Loafing chain is officially up for auction.

His family’s empire of alternative weekly newspapers headed to the auction block next week in a Tampa bankruptcy court, Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason said Wednesday he’s confident his bid will prevail.

“I think we are absolutely the best bid,” Eason said in a telephone interview from Tampa, the headquarters of the struggling six-newspaper chain that was founded in Atlanta 37 years ago by his mother, Deborah Eason, who sold her interest to her son and a group of investors in 2000.

“Any bid has got to have cash, management and know-how, and be in a position to run the business and pay off debt,” said Eason. “We have all of that.”

I’m anxious to see what happens. What would Atlanta do without an alternative weekly? I don’t really feel like The Sunday Paper fills that category. What are your thoughts?

Let’s kick this week off with a ticket giveaway, eh?

De La Soul, Big Pooh, Psyche Origami
Friday, August 7
Masquerade
7:00PM | $25 | All Ages

To win a pair of tickets to see De La Soul at Masquerade on Friday, August 7, enter via email with your full name and tell me why you should win the tickets. One winner will be chosen at random from the rule abiding contestants and notified via email by 3PM on Wednesday, August 5. Upon confirmation, the winner will receive two tickets which they will receive at Will Call. You must be able to confirm by noon (12PM) EST on Thursday, August 6.

Margaret Cho: Hi! How are you?
Lucas: I’ve got this recording thing and it makes me sound like a robot, I think.
Cho: You sound kind of like a robot!
Lucas: I’m not a monotone talker, but it sounds that way…
Cho: That’s okay!
Lucas: If you want to make the interview better maybe you can pretend you’re talking to a robot.
Cho: A hyper-intelligent robot, android being?
Lucas: From the future, if you want.
Cho: Ooooh.
Lucas: From France. There was a band I knew who said they were from France of the future.
Cho: That’s like the coolest; that’s like the band Air.
Lucas: Daft Punk? They’re French, right?
Cho: They’re French.
Lucas: And they wear robot heads!
Lucas: Anyway, Drive A Faster Car is an Atlanta-based blog, so we wanted to ask you about some Atlanta stuff. You’ve got a new show called Drop Dead Diva, and it’s filming in Peachtree City. What are your impressions of it, what with the golf carts and the strange retirement communities.
Cho: Well, I have yet to see any people of color. I don’t where they are! I’m the only one, apparently. No, I did see some people of color! I did go into a Chinese restaurant, and they were so excited to see me that they asked me to go play cards with them! They were super-excited.
Lucas: So no black people… no Hispanics?
Cho: No! I don’t know where they are. I don’t know what they did with them. Where are they? What’s going on? [laughs] I’m the whole ethnic minority here. And, you know, I don’t think there are any gay people here, which is a little disturbing to me, too. But then, there are plenty of people of color and plenty of gay people in Atlanta proper. So, I find myself there every weekend, if not during the week as well.
Lucas: It certainly has a large African-American population, and, take away Miami, I’d say it’s probably the gayest city in the Southeast. Growing up in nearby Alabama, I remember coming to Atlanta and being astounded by how gay it was, being a kid. People around me used to call it the San Francisco of the Southeast.
Cho: It is incredibly gay. And it’s also a very multicultural, very diverse city. Thankfully, I still have Atlanta, and I’ve been going there. I’ve going to Mary’s, El Myr… El Myr is sort of my hangout. Also, the Porter a lot. And going to shows. Lots of shows at Lenny’s… I’ve been going to so many shows. In the last couple of weeks I’ve been to the Kills, and Jane’s Addiction, and Nine Inch Nails, which was crazy. Any show. If it’s Hall and Oates or Coldplay, I’m down.
Lucas: Did you go see Hall and Oates?
Cho: [laughs] I made it almost all the way there, but I got caught in a… hmmm… I can’t really explain it, but you know the way traffic is. Sometimes you can’t do anything, and you just shut down. If I get in that kind of traffic, I just shut down, and I should be used to it, but I’m not.
Lucas: Atlanta traffic is particularly soul-crippling. You’re from San Francisco… I got into a traffic jam on the 101 there, but it was kind of a nice. I was looking out over the Mission District, and it was interesting and even pretty. In Atlanta traffic, you’re often looking at the ugliest parts of the city. It’s soul-crushing.
Cho: It is! It’s really soul-crushing; it’s really hard. Sometimes you just can’t deal with it, and you turn around and go farther out of the Perimeter because it’s too much.
Lucas: So no Hall and Oates.
Cho: Yeah, I missed Hall and Oates because of the traffic. I just couldn’t take it. And I feel like in the future — or in the France of the future? — I could take my car and park it in a garage and sit there, and it would be the same as sitting on 85.
Lucas: I grew up off 85, and I can honestly say there’s not a nice part of it anywhere.
Cho: It’s very utilitarian, and it does what it’s supposed to, which is clog up the whole city.
Lucas: You travel a lot for your comedy tours, do you think Atlanta traffic is different or worse?
Cho: LA traffic is bad, but I like it okay because I have my car. I don’t have my car here. I have a horrible rental and I despise it. It’s cheap, and it’s just not a good car. I think what you’re sitting in has a lot to do with how you experience it. In LA, my car has a great stereo, and I love to listen to music, which is a joyful thing for me, so I don’t mind the traffic so much. But here, I don’t have anything in my car, and it’s awful.
Lucas: Speaking of traffic, or lack thereof, have you ridden in a golf cart yet in Peachtree City?
Cho: I have seen them quite a lot. They are everywhere here. They are prevalent, the number one choice for transportation. I have not ridden in one myself. I have not explored that possibility because I actually have a car, and I want to go to Atlanta, so I’m not going to drive to Atlanta in a golf cart.
Lucas: What’s weird about Peachtree City is that there are black people and other minorities and I’m sure gay people there, but they seem to be hidden on this other side of the town. It’s like you have to access them a different way.
Cho: I haven’t seen any evidence of them. I don’t know where they are.
Lucas: I’m conflicted about the golf carts because they are symbols of affluent white people and yet they’re environmentally friendly because they’re electric. In the end, I decided they were weird when I saw everybody pulling up to a Chili’s in one.
Cho: They have preferential parking next to the handicap spaces. But they’re not as bad as the Segways. There are quite a lot of them here. And that’s disturbing to me. I had a boyfriend who had one, and he was really proud of it, and, well, yeah, we broke up. It just looks so dorky and stupid. It looks like you’re delivering a speech from a podium, but you’re also in motion. It’s horrible.
Lucas: So, the TV show, Drop Dead Diva, is a body-switching type of thing, except not with Fred Savage or Judge Reinhold. A model passes away and is reincarnated as a lawyer, is that correct?
Cho: Yeah.
Lucas: I have a sci-fi nerdy question for you. Is this a new person or has this person been around? Do they share personalities?
Cho: The dominant personality is the model personality, but she still has the knowledge of the lawyer in her brain. It’s like she has a hard drive of all of the lawyer’s information. She has the body and mental capacity of the lawyer.
Lucas: The show hasn’t debuted yet, so obviously I haven’t watched it, but the crux of it is that they use the term “plus-size” for the main character’s new body. The press materials talk about it in terms of “she’s brainy… and plus-sized!” as if that could never happen in the real world!
Cho: I know, but I think [the show] does a great job of showing that women are really valued in our society based on they how they look, and if they look a certain way, there’s a higher value placed on that. It’s a very interesting dissection of the way women are viewed and how value is placed on it.
Lucas: I assume with your politics and books and comedy works that you wouldn’t sign onto a show that took a facile look on this sort of issue. I’m kind of a fan that you use the term “zaftig,” right?
Cho: Uh-huh!
Lucas: I’m kind of a fan of women like that, and when I went and looked at pictures of the star Brooke Elliott on the web, I thought she was very pretty.
Cho: She’s just beautiful. I think of her as beautiful, and I think people are going to fall in love with her. People assign values on people based on how they look, and we’re going to take a look at that.
Lucas: You just have to read message boards on Dlisted or Perez Hilton, and you see the kind of vitriol spewed out at people who are 10 pounds overweight or something.
Cho: I feel really bad that we have that kind of consciousness and that people are so judgmental about it. Why do these standards have to apply to people? It’s weird.
Lucas: You’re playing the assistant, the “Moneypenny” character.
Cho: It’s cool. It’s a great part. I give her assignments for the week. I think that in future scripts, she’s going to be allowed to get a lot wilder than we initially thought.
Lucas: It’s a long commitment, shooting a show like this. Was it hard to make that decision?
Cho: Yeah, we’re shooting for five months. It’s quite a long shoot. I love it. I’m very happy to do it. I love the show, and I love the role. I think it’s a really great thing to not have to carry the whole show, to be able to be a supporter. I love my strong presence there. To me, it’s a little bit of a break. It gives me a chance to work on my acting and have fun. I loved the script and I just jumped right into it because I thought it was such a great project. It’s nice to see real people on TV, and I think it’s going to be very big.
Lucas: Atlanta… what do you think your favorite thing is about it?
Cho: I like the porch-sitting. That to me is a lot of fun. It’s a big benefit to be able to sit out on your porch. There’s a game that we play. We sit out on a friend’s porch – he lives right off of Little Five, off of Euclid – and we watch people walk by every day and we yell out names at them to try to guess their names. We have about 10 seconds to do it for each person. If we get it right, usually they’ll come up and say hi. It’s called The Trick Game. We try to find tricks that way!
Lucas: Is it like Wheel of Fortune? Instead of R S T L N E, do you start off with James or John?
Cho: I start real basic, but then I go into real Southern names like Trey and Travis. I usually win.
Lucas: Are the people friendly when you get their names right?
Cho: Yes, because they think you know them from somewhere.
Lucas: Do they recognize you?
Cho: Sometimes yeah.
Lucas: I notice that you twittered/tweeted? that you thought biscuits in the South were good.
Cho: So good…
Lucas: … but that Southern accents reminded you of racism.
Cho: Yes.
Lucas: We’re not all racists, really, but I’ve lived in the South for 34 years, and when I want to make someone sound racist or dumb, I affect a Southern accent.
Cho: I know plenty of non-racists! The kind of accent I’m talking about is the one you see on Channel 2, on fishing shows and stuff, where you cannot even understand what people are saying. They are so country. It’s like another dialect, a different language. Only when I Channel 2.
Lucas: Why do you have this association?
Cho: I think it’s from being a city dweller my whole life and the stereotypes we all have about the South.
Lucas: I swear we’re not all racist.
Cho: It’s only the ones where I can’t understand. I assume they are talking about racism.
Lucas: Those fishing shows are just a coded language of transferring secret messages between KKK members.
Cho: That’s what is!
Lucas: I’ve met as many racists in Michigan and the North as I have down here… well maybe not.
Cho: Oh, they’re everywhere, but the stereotype is Southern.
Lucas: You have a real world-class bigot on your hands in Carrie Prejean.
Cho: Oh, she’s horrible.
Lucas: She went on James Dobson’s show that Satan tempted her but then she made the right decision to honor God and Jesus or something.
Cho: I hate that she is representing California and that’s really disgusting to me.
Lucas: People think California is all San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Cho: It’s not. It’s not. And that’s why Prop 8 passed.
Lucas: One more thing: I was wondering what your plans are for your collaboration with Girlyman. Are y’all going to release stuff soon?
Cho: I am working on a really great song with Girlyman. Will most likely be playing with them at some point this summer at Eddie’s Attic…
Lucas: Is it just for fun or do you see music as something that you could be moving towards?
Cho: It is for fun, but I will be releasing a record next year of all the music I have put out so far.

Drop Dead Diva premieres on Lifetime on July 12 at 9 PM.

For Immediate Release

70+ Artists Donate Rare Tracks to Launch
The Save Paste Campaign

Paste Magazine appeals to readers for financial help

(Decatur, Ga. – May 13, 2009)
Today, Paste Media Group, publisher of the two-time National Magazine Award nominee Paste Magazine & PasteMagazine.com, will launch an online fundraiser to keep the magazine functioning in the midst of the global financial recession.

As a completely independent magazine, Paste has struggled for the past nine months as advertisers have decided to wait on buying ads in response to the recession. Last month, cash received unexpectedly reached an all-time low, and turned a tough situation into a short-term crisis.

Rather than shut its doors, Paste is launching a reader appeal today to help save the magazine. Many of the artists who’ve been covered by Paste over the years—folks like Neko Case, The Decemberists, Of Montreal, She & Him, Josh Ritter, The Avett Brothers, Brandi Carlile and the Indigo Girls—have donated rare and exclusive tracks to give to anyone who donates to the cause. Two of the tracks were recorded specifically for the campaign. Plus Sixthman has donated an ocean-view cabin on next year’s Cayamo Cruise, and bands like R.E.M. and Band of Horses have donated signed posters to be given away to random supporters.

While the current situation is dire, long-term, Paste expects to emerge from the recession in good shape. 2008 was the magazine’s best year across the board—print subscribers, print ads, online readers and online advertising were all at record levels. PasteMagazine.com consistently draws more than 900,000 visitors each month, and the magazine has grown into the third largest rock magazine in the world. Meanwhile new advertisers have come on board and more are ready to begin doing business when their advertising budgets return.

“We’ve adjusted our business plan, implementing several cost-cutting measures and creating a robust online business that’s among the best in the industry,” says publisher Nick Purdy. “If we can get through this immediate cash crunch, we can weather the rest of this economic storm.”

“The response from artists has been humbling,” adds editor-in-chief Josh Jackson. “We put out an appeal for rare tracks to thank our donors, and all these really cool songs started pouring in, as well as the warmest words of encouragement.”

As singer/songwriter Cary Brothers puts it, “Times are tough in the music industry, and now more than ever we need people like the team at Paste looking out for artists on the fringe of the mainstream.”

Donations can be made at http://www.pastemagazine.com/savepaste.

…
To schedule an interview with publisher Nick Purdy or editor-in-chief Josh Jackson, please call Kevin Keller at 404-483-5564 or email kevin@pastemagazine.com.

A list of artists contributing songs for the Save Paste Campaign so far:
A Camp, Ari Hest, Army of Me, Arrested Development, Ben Folds, Ben Wakeman, Betty LaVette, Bill Mallonee, Birdmonster, Bloodkin, Bob Mould, Brandi Carlile, Cara Luft, Cary Brothers, Cowboy Junkies, Dan Zimmerman, Derek Webb, Duncan Sheik, G. Love and Special Sauce, Gomez, Greg Laswell, Indigo Girls, Islands, Jamie Lidell, Jason Harrod, Jennifer Daniels, Jesse Sykes And The Sweet Hereafter, Joe Henry, John Doe, John Roderick (The Long Winters), Josh Ritter, Josh Rouse, Keller Williams, Liam Finn, Loney Dear, Luke Brindley, Marc Broussard, Matt Nathanson, Matthew Caws, Matthew Sweet, Meiko, Neko Case, Of Montreal, Ortolan, Over the Rhine, Passion Pit, Patterson Hood, Portastatic, Robert Pollard, Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, Rosie Thomas, Samantha Crain, Sandra McCracken, Shawn Mullins, She & Him, Slow Runner, Soul-Junk, Southeast Engine, State Radio, String Cheese Incident, Switchfoot, Thao, The Avett Brothers, The Clarks, The Decemberists, The Jayhawks, The Low Anthem, The Minus 5, The Rosewood Thieves, The Spring Standards, Umphree’s McGee, Venice Is Sinking, Welcome Wagon, William Fitzimmons

Paste Magazine is one of the fastest growing independently published entertainment magazines in the country, named “Magazine of the Year” at the 2007 and 2008 PLUG Independent Music Awards. Providing thoughtful analysis on the best in film, books and other aspects of popular (and alternative) culture, Paste is the premier magazine for people who still enjoy discovering new music, prize substance and songcraft over fads and manufactured attitude, and appreciate quality music in whatever genre it might inhabit. Now in its seventh year, Paste is available on newsstands all over the U.S. and Canada.

I have received a few emails in response to my earlier blog post in regards to Paste Magazine’s financial situation. I wanted to respond to the email above on the site, in case others have interpreted my earlier post similarly. I also am not able to respond to this via email because it is from an Anonymous email address that bounces.

To Anonymous:

The information and some of verbiage used in the article was sent to me from someone pretty close to the Paste situation as well. I fully understand the gravity of the situation and the piece was meant to do nothing but support, not mock, their financial situation. The phrase “next issue” was intended to refer to Paste’s future — not literally the very next issue of the magazine.

I plan on posting a follow-up with the contents of the letter that is being sent out by Paste this evening to better clarify why they are launching their “Save Paste” initiative. I am looking to report nothing but fair and supportive coverage.

Thank you for reaching out and letting me know that the article came across as it did. If you have any other concerns, please feel free to do so again.

Best,
Tessa

Tessa Horehled
Drive A Faster Car – Editor
tessa at driveafastercar.com

Update: Official Announcement directly from Paste: Save Paste Magazine: Official Announcement