Before Sting decided to reunite The Police for a high-profile summer mega-tour, the eclectic musician tackled a much more low-key project: interpreting a set of lute-based songs by Elizabethan 16th-century composer John Dowland. The resulting CD, Songs from the Labyrinth, became a surprise hit on the classical charts. Tonight, Sting channels Dowland once more on PBS' Great Performances (check local listings), an almost spiritual hour of music and conversation that shows the singer in a more intimate setting than the stadiums and arenas he'll play in a few months. We spoke with Sting just days before he and The Police opened this year's Grammys.
TV Guide:
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Undoubtedly elating Sonya, my unrequited high-school crush whom I haunted with "Every Breath You Take" more than one too many times, Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland announced on Monday that The Police will reunite for a tour kicking off May 28 in Vancouver, hitting Europe, then swinging by the States for dates in such cities as New York, Boston, Denver and Las Vegas. Recalling the genesis (oops, wrong '80s group) of this reunion, Sting tells the AP, "I woke up one morning about three months ago and this lightbulb went off: 'I'm going to call Andy and Stewart and tell them we should tour.'" As for the differences that splintered the trio in 1984, Sting dismisses them as artistic, not personal. "[They] were all about music. Also, hairstyles." The group, meanwhile, sidestepped questions about a new CD possibly being born of the tour.
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House Sting advises, "If you love someone, set them free." House's rendition includes banishing all thoughts of the love you threw away, so to distract himself, he:
induces migraines in himself and in Comatose Man,
destroys his med-school rival's clinical trials,
drops acid and
entertains a call girl.
All of these, of course, are disguised as clever means to work-related ends. All except the prostitute. Whether House is exposing the bad math of the doctor who got him kicked out of Johns Hopkins 20 years before or waking up his teenage burn patient to take a medical history, it's all about going to the extreme to avoid his own pain. "Nothing can hurt my heart," House says, though we all know that's a lie. Wilson, as
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American IdolAnother season of American Idol begins with double the twin action. Does anyone agree that two sets of male twins plus the small-town Barrettsmith sisters might be overkill in the family-drama department? It smells a touch gimmicky, but at least all the siblings can back it up with their voices. So can single-named diva Mandisa and Gina, the tongue-pierced, fishnet-wearing dental assistant who managed a decent Celine Dion vocal. But really, we don't tune in to see the true talents this early in the season. There will be plenty of time to see how they fare. No, the premiere episode is all about the truculent train wrecks, and Chicago was full of 'em. Here's a hint for future Idol wannabes: When the judges r
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American IdolAnother season of American Idol begins with double the twin action. Does anyone agree that two sets of male twins plus the small-town Barrettsmith sisters might be overkill in the family-drama department? It smells a touch gimmicky, but at least all the siblings can back it up with their voices. So can single-named diva Mandisa and Gina, the tongue-pierced, fishnet-wearing dental assistant who managed a decent Celine Dion vocal. But really, we don't tune in to see the true talents this early in the season. There will be plenty of time to see how they fare. No, the premiere episode is all about the truculent train wrecks, and Chicago was full of 'em. Here's a hint for future Idol wannabes: When the judges r
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