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Rotten
to the Core
by
Ben Fong-Torres
AsianConnections
is proud to present the adventures of Ben Fong-Torres, our Renaissance
man: author, broadcaster, and former senior editor and writer at
Rolling Stone Magazine. This guy's our hero!
Ben
was a featured character in "Almost Famous," the Oscar and Golden
Globe-winning film by Cameron Crowe.
- AC Team
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When I was on Wheel of Fortune, one of the first puzzles
I solved, on my way to almost $99,000 in cash and fabulous prizes,
was:
TURNABOUT
IS FAIR PLAY.
I suppose. For a guy whose entire career is based on interviewing,
quizzing, and probing other people - most of them celebrities -
it seems only fair to agree to the occasional request for an interview.
When the producer of Johnny Rotten's Internet radio talk
show called, however, I was stunned. What could Rotten, the former
leader of the Sex Pistols, a lightning-rod character in the history
of punk rock, one of the most caustic critics of?�well, of everything
- want with me?
It turns out that he'd read Not Fade Away, my compilation
of past articles, and wanted to have me on for an hour or so.
And, when we began talking, it was apparent that he'd really
read Not Fade Away. Years ago, when I sat with Larry King
to talk about Hickory Wind, my biography of Gram Parsons,
I learned quickly that King deserved his rep, for not reading
the books of his guests. On the air, he read part of the dustjacket
aloud, then came up with questions based on what he'd just read.
Johnny (real name John Lydon) was the flip side to Larry
King. Rotten not only read most of the 30-plus pieces in the book,
but had specific insights on everyone from Neil Diamond and Elton
John to Marvin Gaye and Tina Turner. He astounded me with what he'd
gleaned from these profiles, and he sparked fresh illuminations,
discoveries we made together, on the air, in cyberspace. Yes, he
was acidic as ever - he is truly a man who, unlike Will Rogers,
has never met a man he's liked - but we had a blast.
Check it out. Due to some technical problems in the studio, he - we
- didn't get going for maybe five minutes, but hang in there and you'll
get a really Rotten experience. Our interview is archived on www.eyada.com.
Either click the Rotten icon or go to "Entertainment" and the "Rotten
Radio" show, and, after going to "Archive," choose August 5.
____________________
Ben Fong-Torres,
long-time writer and editor at Rolling Stone magazine, is the author
of four books, including his memoirs, The Rice Room: Growing Up
Chinese-American, and his latest, Not Fade Away: A Backstage Pass
to 20 Years of Rock & Roll. He is Editorial Director of myplay.com,
an Internet music site that offers free Web space, where users can
grab, store, mix, play, and share music of all kinds.
Click to Ben
Fong-Torres Articles Index
Visit Ben's official site: www.BenFongTorres.com
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