Morning Report - News from Sept. 19, 2001

POP/ROCK

Punk Makes Noise on Hall of Fame Ballot

The punk movement of the 1970s may be adding some grit and attitude to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Sex Pistols and the Ramones are among the acts that have made it onto the final ballot for induction in the hall, joining other first-time nominees such as the Talking Heads, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Gram Parsons, Gene Pitney, Isaac Hayes and the Chantels.

The ballot also includes previous nominees such as AC/DC, Patti Smith, Black Sabbath, Jackson Browne, Brenda Lee and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Artists are eligible to be inducted into the Cleveland hall 25 years after their first record was released. The inductees probably will be announced next year.

Album Cover Evoking Terror Attacks Pulled

Retailers have pulled the album “Live Scenes From New York” by prog-rock group Dream Theater off the shelves because its cover art depicts the New York skyline engulfed in flames and perched atop a huge apple bound in barbed wire. The album from Elektra Records arrived in stores the same day as the terrorist attacks in Manhattan and Washington, and will be repackaged and reissued, label officials say.

Dream Theater isn’t the only act dealing with unfortunate coincidences: The rap duo the Coup has scrapped cover art for a November release that depicted a member pumping a detonator in front of an exploding World Trade Center, and the avant-garde New York duo that called itself I Am the World Trade Center has truncated its name to I am the.

Houston Does Her Part for the Relief Effort

Arista Records is re-releasing Whitney Houston’s soaring version of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which became a unifying song for Americans during the Gulf War, in response to last week’s terrorists attacks.

The single already is on the radio, and Arista hopes to have it in record stores by next week, spokeswoman Laura Swanson said. Proceeds will benefit the New York Firefighters Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Fraternal Order of Police.

Tape of Beatles’ 1963 Interview Found

A long-sought-after appearance by the Beatles on the British TV show “Juke Box Jury” in 1963 has surfaced, the BBC reports. A viewer recorded the program on a reel-to-reel audio tape deck and, after an appeal by the BBC, handed the tape over to the broadcaster, which did not have the appearance in its archives.

On the tape, the Beatles are heard giving their opinions on then-current chart singles by Elvis Presley, the Swinging Blue Jeans and the Chance, the BBC said. “I love his voice and I love all the records like ‘Blue Suede Shoes,’ but I don’t like the songs now,” Paul McCartney says of Presley’s “Kiss Me Quick.”

STAGE

Woes Mount: Four Shows Closing

Broadway faces grim economic prospects, with four shows putting up closing notices this week in the wake of last week’s attack on the World Trade Center. “Stones in His Pockets,” “Rocky Horror Show,” “If You Ever Leave Me, I’m Going With You” and “A Thousand Clowns,” starring Tom Selleck, will close Sunday.

Also closing is “Blast!,” which had previously announced the end of its limited run. Many other shows are said to be on the endangered list, including such perennials as “Phantom of the Opera” and “Les Miserables.”

Receipts for all Broadway shows were down last week, some by as much as 90%. “Les Miz,” for example, which had been grossing in the mid-$400,000 range, took in $150,429.

MOVIES

Festival Gala on Guard After Iran Jails Director

Security will be tight this Sunday at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City as the fourth annual AFFMA International Film Festival holds its gala dinner honoring a number of Armenian and non-Armenian films.

One of the foreign filmmakers in competition is Tahmineh Rezayi Milani, a top Iranian female movie director who was recently jailed in Iran on charges of supporting anti-revolutionary groups in her latest film, “The Hidden Half.” The film tells the story of a married woman who reminisces about a romantic affair with a rebel after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Milani, who was released on bail earlier this month, has been accused by Tehran’s revolutionary court chief, Ali Mobasheri, of admitting she had links with counterrevolutionary groups in the past.

Milani had been scheduled to attend this weekend’s festival but was unable to leave Tehran. A festival spokesman said her film, “Two Women,” has been smuggled out of Iran and will be shown Saturday at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood along with other films in competition.

QUICK TAKES

Barry McComb, a former director of entertainment for Caesars and Sheraton resorts in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, has been named executive director of the Alex Theatre in Glendale. He starts work Sept. 24, replacing Ellen Ketchum, who stepped down in July.... Rosie O’Donnell has made a $1-million donation to the American Red Cross to aid in the relief effort on the East Coast. Rapper and producer Dr. Dre has contributed a similar amount via a fund set up by local radio station KPWR-FM (105.9).... The Rhythm & Blues Foundation has postponed its annual Pioneer Awards, which had been set for Oct. 4 at the Apollo Theatre in New York, where Al Green, Big Jay McNeely, Dee Dee Sharp, the Emotions, Sly & the Family Stone and others were to have been honored. A new date has not yet been set.