(TIME- WARP) The Death of River Phoenix Happened 26 years ago TODAY!

On the evening of October 30, 1993, Phoenix was to perform with his close friend Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers onstage at The Viper Room, a Hollywood nightclub partly owned at the time by actor Johnny Depp. Phoenix had returned to Los Angeles early that week from Utah to complete the three weeks of interior shots left on his last project Dark Blood, a film that was finally completed in 2012. His younger sister Rain and brother Joaquin had flown out to join him at the Hotel Nikko (now the SLS Hotel) on La Cienega Boulevard. Phoenix's girlfriend, Samantha Mathis, had also come to meet him. All were present at the scene of Phoenix's death, according to Wiki.

(Blank on Blank) Hunter S. Thompson on Outlaws!

“I keep my mouth shut now. I’ve turned into a professional coward.”
- Hunter S. Thompson in 1967

As told to Studs Terkel (http://studsterkel.org)

Hear more from this rare interview: http://blankonblank.org/hunter-thompson

(Blank on Blank) B.B. King on The Blues!

"I don't like to feel that I owe anything. I like to feel that I pay my own way, no free lunch."
- B.B. King on September 5, 1986, as told to Joe Smith

Mr. B.B. King. The blues legend says he played 300 nights a year for four-plus decades. That’s just ridiculous. We’re talking about nearly 15,000 shows. King turns 90 this year and you still just might be able to see him on stage. So what's his secret? We heard some keys to living life to its fullest in a 1986 interview that had been unheard until now.

In this animated film created from B.B. King's interview with legendary music executive, Joe Smith, the musician explains how he approaches an audience, how a fire at a juke joint led to his naming his guitar "Lucille", why the blues isn't just being down on your luck, and why compliments don't mean it's time to stop practicing or perfecting your craft.

(Blank on Blank) Larry King on Getting Seduced!

"I'm playing these records. The phone rings and I pick it up: 'WAHR'. And this lady's voice--I can still hear her voice--she goes: 'I want you.'" - Larry King

(Blank on Blank) Nina Simone on Shock!

" I feel more alive now than I ever have in my life. I have a chance to live, as I've dreamed." - Nina Simone in July, 1968

As told to http://lilianterry.com

Lilian Terry had a national radio show in Italy--everyone from Ray Charles to Duke Ellington appeared on her show--and there was one person she always wanted to interview: Nina Simone.

But Lilian had heard Nina didn’t enjoy speaking with white people. Thankfully Lillian had a confidant in Max Roach, the legendary jazz drummer, who introduced Lilian to Nina at the Newport Festival in 1968.

“Lilian Terry comes from Egypt, ” Roach said. The was was true; Lilian was born in Cairo to a father from Malta and a mother from Italy.

With that simple introduction, Nina waved Lillian over. Soon they were talking about nefertitti and the pharoahs.

Nina even told Lilian she thought she’d been in Egypt in a previous life.

A few days later Lilian went to Nina’s house in Mt. Vernon, New York. They sat by the pool, the tape recorder was turned on, and the conversation continued.

(Blank on Blank) Dolly Parton on Getting Dirty!

"Mama just always said, 'you be what you are and you don't have to worry about nothing'" 

- Dolly Parton as told to Lawrence Grobel on March 13, 1978

Dolly Parton was not your typical model to appear on the cover of Playboy magazine. But that's just what Dolly did in 1978. She wouldn't take her clothes off, yet that issue still became one of Playboy's most popular issues of all time.

Inside that issue of Playboy was an amazing interview done by Lawrence Grobel. The recording of this interview has never been heard until now. Dolly was at the height of her stardom. She was in her early 30s. And what we loved hearing were her stories about growing up with 11 siblings in Tennessee. They slept four to the bed. The little ones often peed on her at night. In the summertime everybody bathed in the river. And Dolly was into tight clothes and makeup even as a little girl. It's quintessential Dolly. There is nobody in show business like her.

(Blank on Blank) Ayn Rand on Love and Happiness!

" I have no faith at all. I only hold convictions."
- Ayn Rand on February 25, 1959, as told to Mike Wallace

Recording from Mike Wallace Collection @ Harry Ransom Center
The University of Texas at Austin

(Blank on Blank) Dustin Hoffman on Duplicity and Famosity!

"I did as much as I could do at that time in my life ... I tried as hard as I could and I couldn't do better"- Dustin Hoffman in 1971

Interview by Milton Hoffman from the Pacifica Radio Archives

Hear more from this rare interview: http://blankonblank.org/dustin

We came across this rarely heard interview with Dustin Hoffman recorded in 1971. It's such a thoughtful, unrushed conversation from a Hollywood icon when he was just a few years into becoming a star. He was still catching his breath and asking the questions that so many of us wonder when professional careers and a family life are beginning to take shape.

Even though Hoffman was only 33 at the time of the interview, he said Hollywood already viewed as an old timer, part of the establishment. This despite the fact The Graduate, Hoffman’s breakout film, had been released a few years earlier. That was followed up by his role as Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy -- the X rated film that won an oscar for best picture.

Listening to this interview tape, we were drawn to this idea of the struggles that pop up between different generations and the questions one confronts internally as he or she gets older.

(Blank on Blank) Beastie Boys on Being Stupid!

"There's a way we talk and it includes profanity. We never figured we'd be arrested for it."
- Mike "Mike D" Diamond

Interview by Rocci Fisch for ABC News Radio
1985, Washington, D.C. Cassette Tape

(Blank on Blank) Fidel Castro: the Lost Interview!!

"If this Revolution falls, what we will have here in Cuba is a hell. Hell itself." - Fidel Castro

Interview by Clark Hewitt Galloway
1959, Havana

Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Animator: Patrick Smith
Translator: Sebastian Betti

Hear the full 35-minute interview with Castro with english translation:
http://blankonblank.org/interviews/fi...

(Blank on Blank) Roger Ebert on Ego!

"I have innate confidence that I am right. Partially out of conviction and partially as a pose." - Roger Ebert in 1990

This episode contains excerpts of Lawrence Grobel's extended interviews with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in 1990. The famous duo worked side-by-side from 1975 until Siskel’s death in 1999, co-hosting the acclaimed, nationally syndicated show Siskel & Ebert. They remained together despite–or perhaps because of–their famously tumultuous relationship.

We focused on the ideas of ego and cultural taste that bubbled up throughout the interviews with Roger Ebert. They are essential to both creatives and the people who critique them. Was Ebert a genius? A blowhard? You be the judge.

(BLANK on BLANK) Jimi Hendrix on The Experience!

"When things get too heavy just call me helium--the lightest known gas to man."
- Jimi Hendrix in his final interview

Interview by Keith Altham, September 11, 1970

GIFs and more episodes @
http://blankonblank.org

(Blank on Blank) David Bowie on Stardust!

"I never really felt like a rock singer or a rock star. I always felt a little bit out of my element"
- David Bowie

GIFs and more Bowie @ http://www.blankonblank.org

Interview by Joe Smith

(Blank on Blank) Tupac Shakur on Life and Death!

"If I was white I would have been like John Wayne... I feel like a tragic hero in a Shakespeare play" - Tupac Shakur

Interview by Benjamin Svetkey
March 1994
Microcassette recorder
Related profile appeared in Entertainment Weekly

(Blank on Blank) Ray Bradbury on Madmen!

"Nobody else is going to give a damn what you're doing, so you need a few other people like yourself" - Ray Bradbury as told to two college kids on road trip in 1972

In the autumn of 2012, Lisa Potts rediscovered -- literally, behind her dresser -- a taped cassette of a long-lost interview with author Ray Bradbury that she made as a college student journalist back in 1972.

The recording was made in a car plying the Los Angeles freeways between Bradbury's home in West L.A. and Chapman College in Orange County. Potts and a fellow student named Chadd Coates were taking Bradbury to present a lecture. Bradbury had a lot of advice for Lisa and Chadd.

On tape we get to hear Bradbury telling the students about the keys to friendship, why he was afraid of himself and would never drive, his keys to writing and telling a story, why Mars was the center of his fascination, what's the secret to love, and why he called himself "a madman".

(MATT BAUME WEEKEND) Is Mary Poppins a Witch?

Happy Halloween! I hope you enjoyed an evening of treats and tricks. In this week's feedback we give an important witch her due, examine the occult trappings of a certain practically perfect nanny, address the erasure of male witches, take in some luscious cosplay, and more!

You can send me comments and feedback on the social things:

http://twitter.com/mattbaume
https://www.facebook.com/mattbaume/

(MATT BAUME) Your Top Halloween Movies!

Happy Halloween! By all means, go out and party. But what if you're a grumpy loner like me and all you want is a nice quiet spooky evening at home? Well, what better way to spend a dark and stormy night than with a creepy, scary, or generally disturbing movie. Last week I asked a bunch of folks on Twitter and Facebook to recommend some of their favorite Halloweeny films, and I get some spooktactular suggestions. I gathered up my favorites, threw away the raisins, and now here are your best bets for a scary film fest.

http://facebook.com/mattbaume
http://twitter.com/mattbaume

(Blank on Blank) Michael Jackson on Godliness!

"My singing… i’ll just say it simple as possible: it’s just godly."
- Michael Jackson in January 1980

Michael Jackson's rules: the interviewer had to ask his questions to 13-year old Janet Jackson who then relayed them to Michael.

Interview by John Pidgeon - Hear the full conversation http://rocksbackpages.com

Get the backstory on interviewing Michael Jackson: http://blankonblank.org

(MATT BAUME WEEKEND): Feedback: Rocky Horror, Your Favorite Witches, & Adult Toys

 

Well, I can't say I didn't ask for it: dozens of viewers pointed out the witches I neglected to mention in my previous video. Here are a few of the most popular ones (including Sabrina, the ladies of The Craft, Harry Potter & friends, etc). Plus! Apparently the internet thinks I’m a sewer expert now, and it’s possible that I am. And the story of how I accidentally arranged for Sears to send tweets to a company that makes dragon and werewolf dildos.

http://facebook.com/mattbaume
http://twitter.com/mattbaume

(MATT BAUME) Rocky Horror: Give Yourself Over to Absolute Pleasure!

It was literally a dark and stormy night when the Rocky Horror Picture Show taught me to give myself over to pleasure. Like Brad and Janet, I'd been caught in a storm -- a blizzard, not a downpour. But otherwise my night was strangely similar to theirs: I spent it in a mansion. At a party. With a hunky man. And by the time I watched the sun come up in the morning I'd been stripped of nearly everything I'd arrived in.

http://twitter.com/mattbaume
http://facebook.com/mattbaume