Slumgullion #7

Photo from David Tennant's Facebook Fan Site.

Another Friday collection of various items from the world of entertainment.

He took you to every corner of the universe, and now he wants to sell you a t shirt. Actor David Tennant, who just wrapped up his tenure on Doctor Who, has designed a t-shirt to be sold exclusively through Headway Essex, an English charity that helps people with brain injuries. Tennant’s design, a sort of scribbled self-portrait, looks like he might have seen a few of John Lennon’s doodles. The shirt is available in black or white, comes in either a male or female fit, and sells for £22. The bad news: so far it looks like only people in the U.K. can order them. By the way, the next season of Doctor Who, with Matt Smith now in the lead role, kicks off on BBC America on Saturday, April 17th.

I’m sure I was just one of the many people who learned about Alex Chilton’s death by reading about it on Facebook and Twitter. There were dozens of posts, as musicians like Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies, Matthew Sweet, and Vicki Peterson of The Bangles mingled with fans in expressing their surprise and sorrow. It was a touching tribute to Chilton, who started out as a teenager with The Box Tops, and went on to inspire the birth of power pop through his work with Big Star.

Chicago is delivering a well-deserved honor to home town hero Steve Goodman by naming a post office after him. Goodman, who died of leukemia in 1984, penned “City Of New Orleans,” which was a hit for Arlo Guthrie, and also recorded classic satirical songs like “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request” and “Lincoln Park Pirates.”

Singer-guitarist Kevin Lee’s new EP, Dusk Till Dawn is the follow-up to his impressive 2006 full length collection of catchy power pop tunes, Flip The Switch. He and his back-up band, The Kings will be celebrating its release with a performance tonight at The Elbo Room, located at 2871 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. The Kings include bassist Dann Morr, drummer Erik Strommer, and guitarist Johnny Million, formerly of Big Hello.

SOPRO will be hatching its 23rd Annual Easter Parade All Star Blues Revue on April 3rd at Tommy’s Place in Blue Island, Illinois. It’s the Spring sibling of SOPRO’s annual Thanksgiving Blues Bash. Headliners The Chicago Horns play traditional jazz, and have released some critically acclaimed CDs, as well as a DVD. Also on the multi-artist bill are vocalists Vivian Vance Kelly and Deb Seitz; singer-harmonica player Doug Lee; guitarist-singer Billy King; and guitarist-singer Joe “Guitarzilla” Jammer. Jammer also has a show tonight (March 19th) at the Voodoo Lounge in Burbank, Illinois. Tommy’s Place is located at 12237 South Western Avenue. 708-389-7810

Midas Touch - The Very Best Of The Hollies was released in England in late February, where it immediately nabbed the #23 slot on the official BBC Albums Chart. The two-disc set has 48 tracks, including live recordings of “The Baby” and “I Would Fly.” Cool looking CD cover, but those of us who already own about 50 Hollies compilations might hold off.

Doctor Doctor

Photos from the Doctor Who website

The cover of a recent issue of the U.K. publication Doctor Who Magazine proclaimed exciting news for Anglophiles and sci-fi fans: Tom Baker will once again play the time and space traveling, universe-saving alien known as the Doctor. Alas, his performance won’t be one we’ll see on TV or in a movie. Baker is reprising his most famous role for a BBC Audio Series called The Hornets’ Nest.

Still, the interview (the first he’s granted the mag in 12 years) is funny and informative, and should delight anyone who loved the actor’s charismatic work on the cult series back in the 1970s. Baker’s was the fourth, and for many, the best incarnation of the Doctor; a character a friend of mine once described as “the coolest guy in the universe.” Flashing a toothy grin in the faces of terrifying villains, the Doctor used his wits to thwart their diabolical plots. Doctor Who could be a violent show, but its hero always sought peaceful solutions. Describing his take on the Doctor, Baker tells Doctor Who Magazine, “I prefer a kind of benevolent lunacy . . . because I’m an alien.” 

Now 75, Baker seems to dismiss the specter of old age with the same irreverence he used on Daleks and Cybermen. He gets a kick out of fans who approach him with photos they took with him when they were children. “Well, it amuses me no end, when I’m looking at a bald, middle-aged man who’s worn out with domesticity, then there he is in the picture, sitting on my knee. But it’s all about the happy memories, isn’t it?”

Baker is well aware of the current buzz surrounding actor David Tennant ‘s work as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor. Tennant seems to be having a blast, and his winning mix of strength, compassion, and youthful looks have placed him in several publications’ most popular or sexiest male entertainer polls. (To me, he looks like a cross between John Lennon and Elvis Costello, but that might be because I always thought Lennon would have been a great choice to play the Doctor.) In a 2006 Doctor Who Magazine reader survey, Tennant replaced the usually unbeatable Baker in the Best Doctor category. But Baker is not about to be mastered by the green monster of envy. “We all owe David Tennant a great debt,” he says in the recent DWM, “because, with his style and brio, he has revitalised the whole thing!”

There are similarities in the way Baker and Tennant handle the role, but one major difference is that Tennant’s Doctor had a romantic connection with his female companion, Rose Tyler while Baker worked in a more innocent era. “We didn’t think of that,” Baker recalls, looking back on companions like Leela and Sarah Jane Smith. “So, for my part, I played the Doctor without any sexuality at all.”

Just as Tom Baker eventually left Doctor Who, Tennant will wrap up his tenure this year. Each actor will always be remembered as the coolest guy in the universe.