Some quick news items and links this week – however, I have some good things are cooking for the end of the month. Next week I’ll be gone on a trip to Arizona for my bfs birthday and to shop for silver wedding rings. We’re excited about staying at an old refurbished Harvey House hotel.
Meanwhile Cher has been shopping in Kailua Hawaii.
Cher and well-known L.A. interior designer Martin Bullard made a stop last Thursday with their entourage at Kailua's Lanikai Bath and Body — known for its all-natural, made-in-Hawaii collections of lotions, creamy butters and sea salt and cane sugar scrubs. The two picked up lavender lotion with essential oils of lavender plumeria lotion and body butter, Tahitian gardenia butter, lip balms, Hawaiian bath salts, poi dog shampoo, naupaka massage oil and pohaku body wash.
Sweet…lavender. But now I predict Franz will be demanding poi dog shampoo now.
Cher last week Cher also filed suit against Universal Music Group for trying to hide her royalties:
Although it must be a major pain in the tukus to deal with litigation, this actually rocks that Cher is fighting back for her cash. As an established artist with some money and heft to hurl, she might break ground for many other artists currently getting screwed.
Among other things, the suit claims:
… the label's creative accounting has shortchanged her and the heirs of her late ex-husband Sonny Bono to the tune of $5 million. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims an audit of UMG's accounting to the singer-actress from 2000 to 2003 showed that UMG execs "engaged in wrongful tactics" designed to hide revenue from two hit compilation albums.
….breach of two recording contracts Cher had with UMG predecessors, one with MCA division Kapp Records in 1972 and another 1987 deal with the David Geffen Company. Cher claims that those deals entitled her — and, in the case of the 1972 deal, Bono — to receive up to 50% of net royalties received by UMG. But the complaint alleges that UMG later made a deal with Warner Music U.K. to distribute a 1999 compilation called "Cher The Greatest Hits," then funnelled the money through UMG's international arm to conceal the amountof royalties owed to Cher and the Bono heirs.
Cher also challenges accounting on a second compilation, 2002's "The Very Best of Cher." UMG allegedly allowed the album to be distributed by a division of Warner Music Group but accounted to Cher on a royalty basis as though UMG had sold the records itself, thus decreasing her share.
When Cher and Bono divorced in 1977, they agreed to split revenue from the songs recorded together. When Bono died in a ski accident in 1998, one-third of his interest passed to wife Mary Bono-Mack, and one-sixth interests were split amongst his kids. Bono-Mack, as well as Cher's daughter with Bono, Chastity Bono, are plaintiffs in the case, as well as Bono children Christy Bono, Chianna Bono and son Chesare Bono.
Music producer Snuff Garrett is also a plaintiff. He claims he is entitled to a 50% pro rata share of royalties from some of the recordings based on a producers deal with MCA Records.
This reminds me of reading the story of Allman Brothers earlier this year (which I need to review soon) and Cher’s many attempts to get Gregg and the Gang to investigate and stand up for what money was due to them and they weren't getting paid. They didn't heed the advice for a long time and were royally screwed. It's great that Cher is ON it.
Other news:
Cher’s Augustus Pugin chandelier is up for sale again if anyone has 24,000 spare dollars. Is that the chandelier…to the right?
Phil Spector was sentenced last week: 19 years to life.
A blogger apologizes to Cher and Adam Lambert.
Sonny & Cher's ‘Stangs have been harshly critiqued –- but hey, what wasn’t tacky in the 1960s? The link has lots of pictures of the interiors.
We get it, the times were weird, everybody was experimenting with things other than music, and free expression was the mark of the day, but stuff like Bobcat fur upholstery is way too much for our tastes.
From a sheetmetal perspective, the cars are basically identically modified. Each gets a twin grille, Frenched Thunderbird tail lights, relocated and flush-mounted door handles, rolled and flared fenders, faux hood scoops and 40 coats of hippy-tastic paint. Each was a 289 car with the automatic transmission, but there the similarities end. Inside, the "Sonny" car has some nasty shag "Bobcat fur," antique leather and funky suede. Cher's car got Ermine fur and Scottish leather upholstery, trimmed in pink suede, oh and a white fur trunk. Gag, times two.
The two cars are being sold as a pair with an asking price of… get this… $400,000.00. We could have named this post "Nice Price or Crack Pipe: Columbian Drug Lord Edition."
Columbian Drug Lord Edition–very funny. But what's up with this chandelier and these mustangs being resold? Are these former Cher items haunted or something? 
And last for news/links, dearly departed Estelle Getty and Bea Arthur do a Golden Girls send-up of Sonny & Cher.
While I spent that last two weeks coughing, sleeping in delirium and getting more and more depressed about the money I'm losing being off sick from work, I heard the Ramones' song "We Want the Airwaves" and I thought it was kind of a shame Cher didn't record with them. I don't know if this was my fever talking, but at the time I thought they would all sound very good together. And what a rebellious thing to do from everyone involved. 
