The legacy of Lester Bangs

Rock critic Lester Bangs died 25 years ago today. He remains an essential figure in journalism and rock 'n' roll, and his work feels as passionate and electrifying now as it did when it was published.

The Chicago Sun-Times offers this appreciation of Bangs, calling him "a great thinker and a philosopher." PopMatters delivers an open letter to the critic, saying, "You know full well that the world went right down the toilet as soon as you disembarked the tour bus."

For a trip down memory lane, read what Richard Hell had to say about Bangs in 2003 or Jim DeRogatis' interview with Bangs shortly before he died. (DeRogatis is the author of Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic.)

As for original writing, tons of stuff can be found on Rock's Back Pages if you join the site. Here's a link to Bangs' thoughts on Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and his interview with Brian Eno. Of course, you can also catch Philip Seymour Hoffman's interpretation of Bangs in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous.

Make The Donald's head pop off

I just spent a bunch of time punching Donald Trump's face with this online game that pairs Trump's bobblehead with Dwight's bobblehead from The Office. Either The Donald has an unfair advantage here, or I'm just a really terrible player. (I'm inclined to think the latter is true.)

At least I'm not Chewie ...

Pop readers Tracy S. and Phil Y. sent me the link to this Star Wars personality test today, though both warned me that it may not be so accurate. (It told Phil he was Queen Amidala, and Tracy says she's not very Han Solo-esque.)

Sure enough, I answered all of the questions only to find out that I'm most like ... Anakin Skywalker? Seriously? Well, I guess that's better than Darth, but I'm still going to feel a little bummed for the rest of the day.

And, speaking of Star Wars, if you're going to be in L.A. for the 30th anniversary celebration next month, please let me know. I just booked my flight, and I'd love to meet up with some Pop Candy readers while I'm there.

Update: If you liked that quiz, check out this similar Spider-Man personality test. I'm Aunt May. Aggh!

Would you air this show?

The Sci Fi Channel has posted clips from a new TV pilot online and wants to know whether we think it should be added to the network's lineup. Go here to preview Outer Space Astronauts.

The comedy blends live action with animation and looks completely different from other Sci Fi series. So far reaction has ranged from "My husband would TiVo every episode" to "Worst crap I've seen in a long time," so there's no telling what the network will decide.

Personally, I thought the show looked OK, though it might fit better on Comedy Central, Adult Swim or YouTube. And while I enjoyed watching short clips, I can't imagine watching 30 minutes of Astronauts in one stretch. Why not just leave it as an online series?

The Dude abides

OK, you know I'm getting out my credit card right now for these Big Lebowski action figures. Pop reader Zack S. tells me they're available for pre-order (estimated arrival: October), and I love that the "Urban Achiever Set" comes with accessories, too.

Among the set's extras: bowling bags, Walter's removable glasses, Walter's ex-wife's dog, a coffee can, and a White Russian. For $33.99, it should really tie the room together.

Mini horses and Stonehenge bling

I just mentioned where you can watch some Tribeca shorts, but I forgot to add that you can see the buzzed-about short film featuring Spinal Tap right here. (The feature was shown at the start of the fest.)

As you've probably heard by now, Spinal Tap is reuniting at this summer's Live Earth concert in London. The short brings us up to speed on what each member is doing now: While Nigel (Christopher Guest) dreams of racing miniature horses, David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) now produces rap records. Thanks to James S. for the tip.

Tribeca on your computer

Here's something to watch during lunch: New York magazine has posted five short films from this year's Tribeca Film Festival online. They range from a Chinatown love story to an Iraq war documentary to a corporate drama.

Expand them to full screen and enjoy. (If you work in a conservative environment, however, you may want to watch some of them at home. Lawrence, for instance, contains a scene with a man sitting on a toilet.)

The Coachella aftermath

It sounds like Coachella '07 was a success, and, while AT&T's Blue Room hasn't posted archives of last weekend's performances, I suggest you do a simple YouTube search to find dozens of amateur videos of the bands you missed.

One talked-about moment is Scarlett Johansson's performance of Just Like Honey with the Jesus and Mary Chain. (As you may recall, the song achieved some renewed popularity after it surfaced in Lost in Translation.) You can see a shaky video here.

I've posted my favorite Coachella pic on the left; Bjork definitely rocked the best wardrobe of the bunch. Brooklyn Vegan and Stereogum offered cool coverage all weekend, so check out those blogs for more pics, video and reviews. If you want to flip through thousands of photos on Flickr, here you go. Feel free to share your own post-fest findings.

Early buzz: Tons of new music, 'Transformers' and more

Howdy! I hope you all had excellent weekends -- I spent mine speaking at a journalism conference, seeing some art, reading on the porch, watching Jeff Bridges movies and eating lots of eggs.

Alas, it's time to get back to work. Some headlines:

- Ain't It Cool News has posted a review from a test screening of Transformers. (Warning: There are spoilers galore.)

- The ashes of actor James Doohan were launched into space last weekend.

- Sunday's L.A Times featured an interview with comics/film master Frank Miller.

- AOL is streaming Tori Amos' American Doll Posse, the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack and more this week.

- NME.com is streaming Bjork's new album.

- And one more: The new Dinosaur Jr. album is up on MySpace.

- MSNBC has added a couple new comic strips to its online offerings. See them here.

- Blender examines "Songs You Didn't Know Were Covers."

- You know I love hearing about another Seth Rogen movie ... and this one stars James Franco, too!

- Cracked.com has posted an interview with The Daily Show's Samantha Bee.

- Director Jon Favreau has posted more details about the Iron Man suit on his blog.

- We'll probably see second seasons of Dirt and The Riches.

- Now that Buffy comics are on shelves, it's time for Angel season 6 comics. Here's where you can add your two cents.

- GQ has put an internship on eBay. Bad idea.

- Here's a look at what Alicia Keys and other celebrities will look like when they're old.

- And finally, stop the presses: Madonna has a new 'do.

The Candy mailbag: Answering your questions

It's time to rip open up the mailbag again! Send your questions, and I'll do my best to plow through what I have in the next couple hours. What I don't have time for today I'll tackle next week.

Let's get started:

I was just notified that the April issue of Premiere magazine was the last. As a subscriber, they sent me notification of the fact that I would be recieving US Weekly instead (for the remainder of my paid issues). This is crazy! I'm in need of some suggestions of other movie mags that actually focus on film instead of celebrity antics. -- A.Cornell

Ooh, what a disappointing replacement. It's obviously more general, but Entertainment Weekly has good movie coverage, and I like what Interview offers, too. My husband likes Film Comment, though that's a little indie-focused and doesn't come out as often as you may like. MovieMaker magazine is also worth checking out. Also look at more culture-y mags, like Black Book, Paper and Stop Smiling. They might feature music and books as well, but you always come away learning something new.

Your post about the Buffy The Vampire Slayer special on Amazon (which sold out just as I was placing my order!) made me remember the Buffy comics. I totally forgot these were coming out. I've never purchased comics, so it was a real bummer when I found out that all of my local comic book stores are sold out of the first issue. Do you know, will the Buffy comics get released as a graphic novel down the line? If so, about how many issues are published before they release them as a novel? -- Myluna

They're planning a lot of issues in this series (yay), so I think it's inevitable that we'll see trade volumes crop up in bookstores. The thing is, only two comics are in shops now, so it's going to be awhile before you'll see Buffy packaged in a graphic-novel format.

Ideally, we'd see about six months' worth of comics in a book, which means you have a bit of a wait. It's up to you, but I'm reading this series in individual issues. (You can always order online, too.)