Wednesday 1/25/12 

Springsteen tour dates. McCartney will perform as long as there's an audience. Pete Townshend publishing deal. Mick Jagger drops out of World Economic Forum. The Doors theater roots. FB Timeline. World's most expensive hotdog. Sex meters. Talking after sex. Can you answer your kid's science questions? Things you should never say to a woman with short hair.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band has announced the first 20 dates of their upcoming U.S. tour. The trek -- which is the band's first public dates since 2009 -- mark their first since the death of Clarence Clemons -- will kick off on March 18th in Atlanta and, as of now, wrap up on May 2nd in Newark, New Jersey. Along the way, Bruce and the band will take in multi-night stops in Philadelphia; New York City; and East Rutherford, New Jersey. There has been no mention as to how the band will address replacing Clemons, if at all.

Springsteen will release his new album, Wrecking Ball on March 6th. The album, which is "The Boss's" 17th studio set, features 11 new Springsteen recordings and was produced by Ron Aniello and Springsteen, with longtime manager Jon Landau serving as executive producer.

No Houston date announced yet.

PAUL MCCARTNEY

Paul McCartney says that as long as there's an audience -- you can be sure he'll be on a stage in front of them. When promoting his upcoming album, Kisses On The Bottom, in London last week, he was asked about being one of rock's elder statesman. McCartney explained, "That's the perspective of youth, y'know? We thought 30 was really old. Now I think it's amazingly young. The guys who came out of college at 24, we felt sorry for them. But they're so young. I must admit, I didn't expect to be singing and playing at the level I am now. It keeps things interesting. We were in South America last year and the crowds were amazing -- the best. You come out to that, and it's hard to say 'no' to that . . . even though I am over 30. I always say at the end of all my concerts, 'See ya next time.' And I mean it. I'll do it as long as they'll let me."

McCartney shed some light on teaming up with Stevie Wonder on of the two originals found on the mostly standards collection coming out on February 7th: "We had this song, 'Only Our Hearts' which is very '30s, '40s genre, that I'd written on purpose to be in that style. The producer said, 'What about Stevie' and I was like 'Wow.' It was a bit in left field. He agreed to come along, I met him after recording all those years ago, I've seen him off and on, but to record with him, we hadn't done it in a while. But he's such a genius. That's one of the great things about this album. Everyone is such a great musician."

Although once on the road his set lists don't vary much from night to night, McCartney says that at the start of each tour he likes to throw a few unproven rarities in to shake up the mix: "I just like doing it, and whenever I go out on tour it's exciting to stick a few things in that I haven't done before, just 'cause then it's sort of like there's a bit of a nervous edge to it, which is quite cool -- except on the first night when you think 'Why did I do this? Why didn't I stay safe?'"

PETE TOWNSEND

Pete Townshend has signed an exclusive, new publishing deal with Spirit Music Group to administer and promote his past and future songwriting catalogue. The pact also includes a long-term publishing agreement for Townshend's upcoming projects, including new songs composed for potential solo and Who releases -- as well as songs from Townshend's upcoming musical dramatic piece, Floss. Also announced in the press release are "a series of retrospectives for the Who's most celebrated albums are expected over the next two years leading up to a global celebration of the band's 50th anniversary in 2014."

Townshend said in the statement announcing the publishing deal, "I am very excited about my new relationship with. . . Spirit. I feel that my song catalogue is at last consolidated with one guiding company, and I'm optimistic that Spirit will keep my music in the public mind. Further, the deal provides me with the resources to start all over again in my creative career -- most songwriters don't get this kind of opportunity, a chance of creative renaissance. I am passionately committed to new projects for rock and for music theater and I can't imagine a better company with which to be building a new creative life for myself."

The Who's reps, Bill Curbishley and Robert Rosenberg of Trinifold Management, added, "We are delighted to be starting a long relationship with . . . Spirit Music. We feel that they will be of great benefit to Pete's work both past and future, will focus not only on better known songs but also on the wealth of lesser known gems and prove to be an invaluable creative partner for Pete in his upcoming projects."

MICK JAGGER

Mick Jagger dropped out of the upcoming UK event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland claiming that he feared he would be used as a "political football." The BBC reported that following various reports that the Jagger was a supporter of conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, which is why he would be making trip to kick off the international campaign for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Jagger issued a statement saying: "During my career I have always eschewed party politics and came to Davos as a guest, as I thought it would be stimulating. I have always been interested in economics and world events. I now find myself being used as a political football and there has been a lot of comment about my political allegiances which are inaccurate. I think it's best I decline the invitation to the key event and curtail my visit."  

Keith Richards says make no bones about it, Jagger is hardly the funky, living-on-the-edge kind of guy he's portrayed himself to be: "Yeah, he can fool ya, can't he? Yeah, he's a conservative (laughs) in every way except when he works. He's a very, very conservative guy. Y'know, and when he's shagging -- that's another thing, I wouldn't know, y'know, what I mean?"

THE DOORS

Ray Manzarek says that had Jim Morrison lived, the Doors would've fully embraced their theater roots. While publicizing the Doors' new L.A. Woman: 40th Anniversary Edition, Manzarek told Music And Musicians magazine, "My guess is we would have done more theater venues, playing smaller places for a week at a time, preparing the theater with laser lights and speakers under the seats so that we could swirl the sound throughout the auditorium. We would probably have done theatrical presentations that included dancers and actors with recitations. We would have combined film and music. We all had big ambitions. I wanted to make movies starring the band."

He went on to say that unfortunately the more decadent aspects of Jim Morrison's life often overshadow what a talent and a visionary he was: "People don't want to hear about how smart he was, how he was a real poet. They just want dirty stories."

Manzarek told us that the L.A. Woman sessions only gained steam when the band's original producer Paul A. Rothchild backed out of the project, leaving the Doors and engineer Bruce Botnick to produce the album themselves: "And then Morrison said, 'I don't wanna do it in Sunset Sound (Studios), either.' Jim said, 'Can't we go somewhere else?' (We said) 'Hey, can we do it in our own rehearsal studio? That'd be great! We know the sound, we feel comfortable, we've been playing there for the last three years.' And that's what happened. Bruce said, 'Noproblem, man. I will do it! I'll bring all the equipment from Elektra Records and we'll set it up right in the Doors' workshop."

FACEBOOK USERS SOON WILL BE FORCED TO SWITCH TO TIMELINE

 Facebook is going to start requiring users to switch their profile page to the new Timeline format, a change that had been voluntary since its introduction a few months back. Beginning yesterday, Facebook is telling some users that they have seven days to clean up their profiles before Timeline gets automatically activated. The requirement will be rolled out to everyone over the next few weeks. Timeline is essentially a scrapbook of everything users have ever done on Facebook. A week is given to "curate" the Timeline, with users able to adjust privacy settings, hide photos, etc. on their past Facebook activity before their Timeline goes public.

WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE HOTDOG?

A $100 hot dog -- infused with cognac and served on a bed of Kobe beef and lobster -- has debuted at a hot dog restaurant in Vancouver, Canada. The founder of Dougie Dog restaurant named the item Dragon Dog in honor of the Chinese New Year but said he will offer the dish as a regular menu item year-round. He describes the creation as a hot dog nestled in Japanese Kobe beef, seared in olive and truffle oils, lobster shreds and a special picante sauce with secret ingredients. The previous most-expensive hot dog costs $69 at New York City's Serendipity restaurant. (UPI)

SEX METERS ARE A SUCCESS IN GERMANY

Officials in Bonn, Germany said they collected almost $20,000 in prostitution taxes last year through curbside sex meters. The city shelled out $11,575 to install the meters. They also hired security guards and built "consummation areas" in the form of wooden garages. The new program meant that prostitutes must pay $8.65 for a "spot" on the street so they have a place to solicit clients. A city spokeswoman told reporters, "We are satisfied with that and plan to continue levying the tax." (AFP)

MAKE SURE YOU TALK AFTER SEX

 Apparently -- the key to relationship happiness may be in your pillow talk. Scientists have found that women whose partners turn over and fall asleep after sex are left feeling insecure and craving affection. Psychologists at the University of Michigan said cuddling and talking after sex is a crucial way for a couple to express their commitment to each other. In relationship terms, they say it could be just as important as what happens before sex, or even the act itself. One of the researchers explained, "A woman could be pregnant. Although with contraception that may not be the case anymore, we still have this psychology, and the post-coital time is when the couple makes promises to each other and establish commitment." (Daily Mail)

 66% OF PARENTS CAN'T ANSWER KIDS' SCIENCE QUESTIONS: Two-thirds of parents admit to being baffled by science questions from their children such as 'Why is water wet?' and 'Why is the sky blue?' Just under a quarter - 24 percent of a survey of 2,000 parents - admit to being frustrated and embarrassed, and 26 percent believe their children know more about math and science than they do. 21 percent admit that they make up answer -- or say, 'Nobody knows that.'

THE MOST DREADED QUESTIONS

1. Why is the moon sometimes out in the day?
2. Why is the Sky Blue?
3. Will we ever discover aliens?
4. How much does the earth weigh?
5. How do airplanes stay in the air?
6. Why is water wet?
7. How do I do long division?
8. Where to birds / bees go in winter?
9. What makes a rainbow?
10. Why are there different times on earth?

. . . AND THE ANSWERS

1. The moon can be lit up by the sun, depending on where it is in the sky. If it reflects the sun's rays, we can see it, even during the day. It all depends on its angle towards the Earth.
2. Sunlight arrives on Earth in every color, but it hits particles in our air that 'shine' blue.
3. No one knows.
4. The earth weighs 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000kg - weighed by its gravitational attraction to nearby objects.
5. Planes lift up by 'driving' air downwards using specially shaped wings - the 'push' from the air flow is stronger than gravity.
6. Wet is a word that people use for liquids - primarily water - and the way they feel. Not all liquids behave the same way.
7. On paper, preferably.
8. Bees stop flying and birds flock together or migrate.
9. Sunlight going through water droplets in the air 'splits' into all the colors.
10. People decided to have 'time zones' so that it would be light during the day everywhere on Earth - if we didn't, some people would have midday in the middle of the night.

THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY TO A WOMAN WITH SHORT HAIR (TheStir.com)

• 1. Whoa, so what does your husband think? He actually let you do that? -- What is this "let" you speak of?
• 2. You must have a lot of hats! -- Why? Do I have hat hair? Quick, get me a mirror!
• 3. You wouldn't be so cold if you grew your hair. You lose most of your heat through your head. -- Actually, scientists debunked that one years ago. I'm cold because it's 12 degrees outside, and you won't shut your trap so I can just walk into the post office and get my mail!
• 4. I'd love to do that with my hair, but guys don't really like chicks with short hair. -- Wait, back up. Did you just say what you think you said?
• 5. Are you a lesbian? -- Yes! Didn't you know that the minute a set of clippers touches your scalp, you instantly develop a preference for girls? Your hairdresser may say she is just trying to trim the stray stuff around your ears ... but she's really a secret operative from the lesbianese army!

Thanks for listening to The Eagle while you work. Keep it fabulous, Houston!

xoxo,

Jennifer Tyler

Fabulous Mid-Day Diva