Morning Report - News from June 29, 2002

MUSIC

Silence Not Golden, Producer Discovers

Mike Batt, a British composer and producer, has discovered that silence doesn’t come cheap.

While putting together an album for a group called the Planets, he composed variations on several classical pieces, including Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” He also included a track titled “A One Minute Silence”--a nod to John Cage’s silent composition “4:33,” in which musicians put down their instruments and let the audience take in the ambient sound around them.

That last track was credited to Batt/Cage--just for a joke, the composer told London’s Independent newspaper. But he wasn’t laughing when Cage’s publisher sent him a letter demanding royalties. The silent track, the newspaper reported, had “enraged representatives of the avant-garde, experimental composer.”

“My silence is original silence,” Batt retorted, “not a quotation from his silence.”

Gene Caprioglio, a representative of Cage’s American publisher, explained that the British organization that collects royalties had sent its standard license form to Batt. No one had sent a letter to Batt, he maintained--enraged or otherwise.

“The article tries to make us sound ridiculous for taking this position,” he said. “Batt [was the one who] listed Cage as the composer.”

Phone Breakthrough: No More Bells Ringing?

Tired of those cell phones ringing at the most critical point of a production? Take hope. A team of researchers has developed a wood filled with magnetic particles that can block phone signals. It’s perfect for theater doors and walls, says the team leader, Hideo Oka, of Iwate University in Morioka, Japan.

The invention works by sandwiching magnetic nickel-zinc ferrite between layers of plywood, enabling 97% of microwave transmissions to be blocked, he told the New Scientist, adding that it may be on sale soon.

Until now, there have only been two ways of keeping cell-phone mania under control: signal jamming, which is illegal, and reminding customers to turn the machines off--seemingly beyond the capability of some.

*

THE ARTS

Yoko Ono Receives Unorthodox Film Pitch

British director Tony Kaye has never been one to pull his punches. His legendary bizarre behavior includes a battle with New Line Cinema over “American History X” in which he ran trade ads berating the studio and unsuccessfully petitioned the Directors Guild of America to have the movie released with a director’s credit of “Humpty Dumpty.”

Once again, the former conceptual artist is taking an unorthodox approach when it comes to practicing his craft--pitching the idea of a film on Yoko Ono at an exhibit by the artist at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Placing a poem on a pile of rocks entitled “Mound of Joy,” he requested that he be given a shot at capturing the frequently misunderstood artist.

I would like to make a film about you, Yoko;

One that would make you seem sane, not loco.

I thought this would be a good way of making the pitch ...

You know, getting to know you in an interesting way,

Yours sincerely, Tony Kaye

Ono, who attended the opening last week, has yet to respond.

*

POP/ROCK

Entwistle Memorabilia Scooped Up on EBay

A series of four serigraphs created by Who bassist John Entwistle, who died Thursday of an apparent heart attack, sold Friday for $1,986 in a Sotheby.com auction hosted by EBay.

The four caricatures Entwistle drew of himself and his three original Who bandmates--Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon--had gone up for auction nine days before he died in Las Vegas, just before the group was to start a U.S. tour.

More than 100 items of Entwistle memorabilia, from autographed photos and CDs to a check bearing his signature, signed guitars and pieces of his artwork, turned up on EBay in the hours after he died. The most expensive: an autographed bass guitar that Entwistle designed but never played. The top bid: $3,400 on Friday with three days to go before the close of the auction.

Harry Connick Sr. Salutes Ol’ Blue Eyes

Move over, Harry Connick Jr. Your dad is in the wings.

Harry Connick Sr., a 76-year-old New Orleans district attorney, will be in New Jersey tonight to sing tunes such as “Come Fly With Me” and “The Lady Is a Tramp” in “A Salute to the Music of Frank Sinatra.”

An inveterate music lover, Connick Sr. took the spotlight in 1989 while singing in New Orleans’ French quarter with his son. Since then, he has performed in nightclubs in his hometown and at concerts across the country. In March, he announced that he wouldn’t run for a sixth term.

*

QUICK TAKES

Rosemary Clooney’s publicist confirmed Friday that the 74-year-old singer’s cancer has returned. She is said to be in serious condition, undergoing treatment at home. Doctors at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic removed the upper lobe of Clooney’s left lung in January. The surgery was considered successful and no chemotherapy or radiation was ordered.... Minnie Driver is set to play teacher Annie Sullivan in a Broadway production of “The Miracle Worker,” the Helen Keller story. Rehearsals begin in January, USA Today reports.... Jerry Springer will host a late-night talk show, “Jerry Springer Saturday Night,” in South Africa later this year, similar to the program he hosts in England. The show, featuring a monologue and celebrity interviews, is expected to air in more than 40 African countries by satellite.... The Geffen Playhouse is extending “Oscar & Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple,” Neil Simon’s update of his Tony-winning comedy, through July 27.