August 29 - UCLA Extension catalogue instructor bio

Checking out the new courses in the latest UCLA Extension catalogue, came across Instructor Laurie Foos biography stating she wrote a book called Before Elvis There Was Nothing.

August 29 - CMT'S Greatest City Songs - 3 Mentions

In the CMT Special 20 Greatest City Songs Elvis shows up three times: 1) as an Elvis impersonator in Faith Ills' Let's Go to Vegas video, 2) As a fact about Memphis regarding Pam Tillis's Memphis song and 3) As some sort of RCA selling statistic fact in the Charlie Pride section.

August 28 - Toby Keith concert review

In a review from The Patriot-News entitled "Keith makes it good to be bad, Raunchy songs neatly balance flag-waving," there is a surprising reference:

Keith closed the set with two defiant, in-your-face songs -- the poppy shuffle of "How Do You Like Me Now" (in which his voice closely resembled Elvis') and the raw, boisterous blast of "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action," which had many of the ecstatic women in the audience singing along.

August 28 - Brooks & Dunn Homecoming CMT special

In the new CMT special Brooks & Dunn Homecoming, Ronnie's mom mentions Elvis as the reason Ronnie's country music career didn't take off and Kix mentions Elvis performing at Shreveport's Louisiana Hayride (and there's a quick shot of the Elvis statue at the location).

August 27 - CAMP CMT promo

Had to watch the season finale of the Warren Bros. show on CMT on tape and accidentally left the commercials playing, where I saw a promo for upcoming programs on "Camp CMT" including Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock.

August 26 - Elvis impersonators on Henry Rollins' IFC show?

Caught the very end of Henry Rollins film show on IFCwhere he was reviewing the new Bill Murray movie. Stayed thru the credits where there was a listing of Elvis impersonators. Didn't see the part with the Elvis impersonators, but am quite curious as to what that may be!

August 26 - Patrick Swayze Update in Entertainment Weekly

This week's Entertainment Weekly cover story catches up with 90's era celebs. Patrick Swayze comes thru with an unexpected Elvis mention:Even before Ghost became 1990's No. 1 film — and a VHS tape we actually paid $99.95 for a year later — crystal-ballers were telling Patrick Swayze that spirits were watching over him. ''There's always been these psychics saying, 'Elvis is watching over Patrick Swayze. Elvis is trying to save Swayze from himself,''' the actor with the second-most-famous pair of swiveling hips explains from the California homestead he nicknamed Rancho Bizarro. ''I still get psychics calling me saying, 'Don't give up, Patrick. You're meant for big things — and it's in some level of ministry.'''

August 25 - Nixon photo on Gawker

In a post entitled You Too Can Be a Federal Agent at large, Gawker used the photo of Elvis & Nixon when Elvis got his DEA badge.

August 24 - Hal Ketchum lyrics

Watching VH1 Country, saw an old Hal Ketchum video for Small Town Saturday night, which starts with the lyric "There's an old Elvis movie on the marquee sign..."

August 24 - Cigarette case display at Aron's

Buying the Cowboy Troy CD at Arons, noticed while waiting in line a locked display case featuring cigarette cases -- one with the Beatles and the other with Elvis.

August 23 - Eminem song lyrics

Heard Eminem's "Without Me," which twice mentions Elvis.

August 22 - Springsteen Article

From the Chicago Tribune: ROCK 'N' ROLL REFLECTIONS
The long run with Springsteen
Bruce is The Boss of the road and our dreams

By Louis P. Masur, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of American Institutions and Values at Trinity College
Published August 21, 2005

Thirty years ago, Bruce Springsteen's album "Born to Run" thundered onto the American scene to remarkable reviews. Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone declared "You've never heard anything like this before, but you understand it instantly, because this music ... is what rock 'n' roll is supposed to sound like."

In The New York Times, John Rockwell praised the songs as "poetry that attains universality. ... You owe it to yourself to buy this record." Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times would later observe that "`Born to Run' breathed with the same kind of discovery that made Elvis Presley's `Sun Sessions' and Bob Dylan's `Highway 61 Revisited' the two most important American rock albums before it."

The album immediately elevated Springsteen to a cultural icon, and he was hailed as the savior of rock 'n' roll. That October, he appeared on the covers of Time and Newsweek during the same week, and his image--laughing, scruffy, guitar pointed ever upward--perfectly reinforced the message of his music: Life is a continuous journey in search of salvation and love.
On the album cover, a smile lights up Springsteen's face as he leans on his saxophonist Clarence Clemons, whose image carries over to the back. Attached to his guitar strap is an Elvis Presley fan club pin. Springsteen once observed that Presley freed our bodies and Dylan freed our minds. For my generation, Springsteen freed our souls.

I turned 18 in 1975, when Presley was a Vegas lounge act, and the rock revolution ushered in by Dylan's appearance at the Newport Folk Festival and the recording of "Like a Rolling Stone" was a decade in the past. Bruce belonged to us; we were part of the legend from the start. No more older siblings bragging that they saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium or attended Woodstock. I first heard Bruce in 1973, and I followed him and the band to clubs and small theaters, where I soaked in long sets that left me feeling exhilarated.

"Born to Run" gave voice to my dreams of escape and search for meaning. Of course, taking to the road to find yourself is a classic American theme. Bruce and Clarence on the cover are part of a cultural history that includes Herman Melville's Ishmael and Queequeg at sea or Mark Twain's Huck and Jim lighting out for the territory. But each generation conducts its search in its own way and out of its own imperatives.

Mine was something of a post-heroic generation, too young to have participated fully in the cultural rebellions of the 1950s and the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s, yet socialized and politicized by those impulses and seeking direction. Richard Nixon resigned, the Vietnam War ended, and I ached to get away from home. Somehow, national and personal malaise mixed.

In the opening track, "Thunder Road," Springsteen sings "So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore." The line was written by a 24-year-old, and it resonated among teens who feared what all youth fear: boredom, emptiness, meaninglessness. Redemption and love were to be found out on the road, away from "a town full of losers." "Climb in," the narrator insists, "I'm pulling out of here to win."

The song "Born to Run" opened the second side of the album. In this day of single downloads and sideless CDs, it is worth remembering that the best albums of the 1960s and 1970s had movement and drama: We listened to all the cuts and thought about the sequence. Those first few notes invite us on a journey to "get out while we're young" from a town that is "a death trap," "a suicide rap." Suburban comfort and social conformity sapped the soul. "Tramps like us, baby we were born to run," Springsteen declares. The chugging guitar and pounding bass lead us away.

He is striking the same cultural chords as any number of artists: Walt Whitman, Charlie Chaplin, Woody Guthrie and Jack Kerouac, to name a few. But Springsteen has made the highway and the American dream his own. The recording, which took three months in the studio to get pitch perfect, still sounds immediate and vital. Asked recently to identify the one song that embodies his ideals, Springsteen named "Born to Run."

If "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run" offer promises of escape, others songs are less hopeful. Springsteen understands that tragedy stands alongside triumph as a central riff in American culture. On "Backstreets," the summer is "infested," and the characters are "filled with defeat." In "Jungleland," "the street's on fire in a real death waltz," and "lonely-hearted lovers struggle in dark corners."

The themes of love and heroism are reprised throughout, in the poetic words and the soaring arrangements. Those themes re-emerged with new poignancy on Sept. 11, and Springsteen was struck by the references to his work in the Times' "Portraits of Grief." After the service for one victim, mourners sang "Thunder Road" and remembered their friend who "taught us all a lesson in unconditional love." I wonder how many of my generation have left instructions, as I have, for Springsteen to be played at their funeral services.

We may not find everlasting love, and we may turn out not to be heroes. Each of us is "a scared and lonely rider" seeking connection.

"Born to Run" ponders whether somewhere out there "love is wild, ... love is real" and if we keep searching we may eventually "get to that place where we really want to go and we'll walk in the sun." Until then--and pump your fist as you shout it--baby we were born to run.

August 22 - Elvis granddaughter article in USA Today

USA Today has an article about Lisa Marie's model daughter:

Elvis' granddaughter, in the house
By Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY
Riley Keough is not your average 16-year-old.
In 2004: Riley Keough, granddaughter of the late Elvis Presley, got all dolled up in Dolce & Gabbana for Milan's fashion week.
By Patrick Hertzog, Getty Images via AFP

Other teens might earn summer cash by folding T-shirts at the Gap. Elvis Presley's granddaughter, meanwhile, is the face of Christian Dior's Miss Dior Chérie perfume. The scent, which was launched this summer and retails for $65 and $85 at Saks Fifth Avenue, counts Julia Stiles, Emmy Rossum and Marcia Cross among its fans.

And it has Riley's face on the poster. Seeing her face staring back at her in magazines is "a little weird, but it's cool, too," Riley says..

The teenager is a veteran in front of the camera. She appeared in a Vogue cover with her mom, Lisa Marie, and grandmother, Priscilla Presley, last August and has ad campaigns for David Yurman and Dior fashion under her belt.

For now, Riley says, she's just enjoying the ride and not making future plans — including following her family's musical legacy (dad Danny Keough — pronounced KEE-o — is also a musician) by releasing her own album.

She says, "I was lucky. I got this amazing opportunity so young, but I have lots of things I want to try and want to pursue, and I guess, lots of things yet to learn."

She already has mastered the catwalk, making her runway debut for designers Dolce & Gabbana in Milan in February 2004.

A month earlier, she had hooked up with Dior.

"I remember my mom said they wanted me to do the campaign," Riley says. "They invited me to come and see the couture show, in January 2004, and then we shot the first campaign right after."

That's the only reference allowed to Lisa Marie, who is eschewing attention because she wants the spotlight squarely on her daughter.

When she's not modeling, Riley says, she keeps it simple: "During the week, I don't really wear makeup. On the weekends or going out, I wear some mascara and lip gloss, but I keep it fairly natural."

Her earliest makeup memory?

"Probably when I was 11. My friends and I were into lip glosses, the kind you buy in the drugstore. I went through a phase when I would go a little crazy with the pressed powder."

August 21 - two pages in a novel

On page 25, a scene set at a wedding, the couple have Elvis's "Can't Help Falling In Love" as their first dance song, and then other characters talk about Elvis and weddings for two pages!

August 20 - Paperback back cover description

Flipping thru the paperbacks at the Beverly Hills Library, came across a fun paperback entitled She Woke Up Married. Here's the description from the back of the book:

Paris James has come to Las Vegas to take the sting off turning the dreaded "Three-O." But one glass of bubbly leads to another -- and when the redhead wakes up the next morning, she finds to her astonishment she's in bed with ... Elvis! The good news is it's the young, sexy Elvis. The bad news is there's a diamond ring on her finger. Sometime during the evening she actually married The King of Rock 'n' Roll! Well, what happened in Vegas better stay in Vegas, right?

August 20 - Pretty Woman rough draft

Reading a rough draft of Pretty Woman, came across this dialogue on p. 100:: EDWARD
Vivian. I'm paying you to be
you. Be you.
(a beat)
Have you? Ever been in love with
anyone?

VIVIAN
You mean, besides Elvis?

Did this make it into the final movie?

August 19 - Country Weekly article & ad

Country Weekly makes sure Elvis lives every week. This week's issue arrived today with a full page ad for some sort of "illuminating stained glass panaorama measuring 2 Feet Wide!" showing artist renditions of Elvis in his gold lame suit (2). his early 50's Hollywood look (2), his 68 Special black leather (1 - center), and two 70's era concert poses wearing the blue peacock jumpsuit (interesting choice instead of the more common place Aloha suit!). -$135!

Plus a full page article on Ronnie McDowell, who sings like Elvis, entitled King-Size Career.

August 19 - Steve Jones mention on Indie 103.1 6PM Rebroadcast

Missed who Steve Jones was talking to on his show Jonsey's Jukebox on the rebroadcast at 6:00 tonight, but I think he said it was a guitarist who worked with Roxy Music. Anyway, he asked the guy if he liked the old stuff, "Not like Elvis, but the ..."

August 18 - Fools Rush In Press Kit

Rearching Romantic Comedies at the Academy Library, got the press kit for Fools Rush In -- which begins with a quote from Elvis -- the lyrics that contain the phrase Fools Rush In.

August 18 - Elvis Presley Passed Here book

Killing time at the Academy of Motion Pictures library, checking out the new books on the new books shelf, the very first book was Elvis Presley Passed Here, a book about famous pop culture landmarks.

August 17 - Turner Classic Movies August Promo

The August promo for TCM features a brief shot of Elvis and Ann Margret doing the dance in the UNLV gym from Viva Las Vegas.

August 16 - Letters to Blender

Today the new issue of Blender came in the mail. It is not the pictured one, but the one with Kayne West on the cover (the Blender site isn't updated with the new cover). I nteh letters pae on p.22, Rob Studebaker of Cleveland, TN writes a letter headlined "E.T. Has Left the Building": I was reading your piece about Elvis Presley's believing he was an alien..." Must have missed this article in the issue with the Family Guy characters on the cover.

August 16 - Elvis post-it article

My friend forwarded me a link to an article about an Elvis art tribute made out of post-its. Happy Elvis Death Day!

August 15 - Mention by Lynyrd Skynyrd on CMT's Crossroads

On CMT's Crossroads with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Montgomery Gentry, one of the original members of Lynyrd Skynyrd said the reason he wanted to be a musician was seeing Elvis and then the Beatles.

August 14 - Elvis impersonator photo in People Magazine

In this week's People Magazine, there's an article about a group of women who pooled their money to buy an expensive diamond neckless which they time-share. One of the women is pictured with a gold lame-suited young Elvis impersonator in Vegas at teh Hollywood Wedding Chappel in Vegas. The caption reads: "Osborne (with husband Richard and Elvis look-alike) wore Jewelia at her July 25 wedding vow renewal in Las Vegas."

August 14 - All Shook Up Soundtrack review in LA Times

Today's Sunday Calendar sectin on the LA Times had a review of All Shook Up:

Elvis is found, now the play is missing

"All Shook Up"
Original Broadway cast (Sony BMG)* 1/2
WOW, check out the songs: "Hound Dog," "Blue Suede Shoes," "Jailhouse Rock," "Burning Love." Sounds like a great Elvis compilation, right? Just one problem: There's no Elvis.
Oh, sure, he's the organizing principle here. His recording catalog has been ransacked to provide the score for this Broadway musical, for which playwright Joe DiPietro ("I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change") devised a Shakespeare-meets-"Footloose" story line. Twenty-five songs associated with the King have been divided among the inhabitants of a stuffy little 1950s town and the leather-jacketed, motorcycle-riding stranger who teaches them how to wiggle their pelvises.
"Love Me Tender" is sung in the shimmering soprano of a young woman (Jenn Gambatese) yearning for romance. "Heartbreak Hotel" is performed by a choir of townspeople lamenting their lonely lives. "I Don't Want To" is delivered by the stranger (Cheyenne Jackson) once he realizes he's in love with Ed — who's really the soprano in disguise.
Little of this context is evident in the recording, however. The listener just hears familiar songs being performed by unfamiliar voices — nice voices, mostly, especially Jackson's propulsive rock baritone, but unfamiliar nevertheless.
Some of the musical settings — by Stephen Oremus — feature new combinations of '50s-era sounds, but with the exception of those numbers now pumped full of gospel energy, the results do little to help us hear the songs afresh.

August 14 - Patty Loveless song lyrics/DJ mention

Came in on the very end of Patty Loveless's old song "I think about Elvis" on the country music station, and then heard the DJ go "That was Patty Loveless thinking about Elvis, Thank You Very Much."

August 14- Deanna Carter video

In her latest video, Deanna dresses up like an Elvis impersonater and also sings "thanks to Elvis and Kurt Cobain, life will never be the same."

August 13 - Robbie Williams & Elvis

Watching the Albert Hall DVD intro, where Robbie explains his Elvis Serenity prayer, and then flipping thru his Somebody Someday book, he has his Elvis quotes.

August 13 - Black Velvet on the radio

On the country radio station KZLA, they played Black Velvet -- the country version by Robin someone -- and the DJ said he played it because of Elvis week.

August 13 - Maxine Brown story on CMT. Com

On CMT.com, because of Elvis week, a story about a country music woman named Maxine Brown's experience with Elvis back in the day.

August 13 - Elvis movies on CMT

On CMT, they're doing a marathon of Elvis movies. Came across It Happened at the World's Fair first.

August 12 - Eric Idle's iTunes Playlist

Looking thru celebrity's iTunes list. Elvis not appearing on anyone's so far except Eric Idle, who says about "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" - "Went #1 in the UK which shows how smart Brits are." I choose to believe he is not being sarcastic. He also picks Roy Orbison's In Dreams and says "Love Him, Best Voice in Rock, not me, Elvis said that."

P.S. Billy Idol picked "Promised Land," saying "I play this when I just want to feel good." And Andrew Lloyd Webber picks Jail House Rock "Still hitting number one in the UK in 2005 -- what more can I say?"

Note: all three are Brits. What does that say?

Finally an American -- Rufus Wainwright picks "Mystery Train" saying "No matter how many times I hear this (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) I'm transported to the nether regions of music."

August 12 - Elvis in movies round up

This is cheating, but it's Elvis week, and the Memphis paper rounded up all the references to Elvis in movies:


Film references and hints of The King attest to his pop culture staying power

By John Beifuss
Contact
August 12, 2005

To paraphrase that earlier exemplar of musical royalty, Duke Ellington: "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got the King."

Okay, that's a gross exaggeration. Even so, writers and directors continue to believe it's advantageous to include Elvis in their movies, even if the king of rock and roll makes his presence known only through brief bits of set decoration or dialogue.

This is our ninth annual "Elvis Allusions in the Movies" survey. Our findings: Presley, who died in 1977, was referenced in 23 films that played on Memphis movie screens between Elvis Tribute Week 2004 and Elvis Tribute Week 2005.

That's pretty much equivalent to last year's results. However, four of this year's titles are film festival specials of less than an hour in length, so one could argue that the King's mainstream Hollywood influence actually diminished this year.

Even so, what this informal survey demonstrates year after year is Elvis's staying power; if this year's total falls short of the 1996-97 season, when Elvis "appeared" in 26 new films, it also represents a leap over 2002-2003, when I found evidence of Elvis in only 14 productions.

As usual, the name of Elvis was invoked for its complex cultural associations as well as for a cheap laugh. The name was dropped in one of the year's most self-consciously intellectual dramas ("Yes") and in one of the year's most self-consciously down-and-dirty splatterfests ("The Devil's Rejects"). In death as in life, Elvis continues to infiltrate high and low culture.

Here's this year's roundup:

When a drowning Clive Owen is rescued from a tar pit by beautiful Devon Aoki in "Sin City," he offers this in-ascending-order-of-importance homage to his savior: "You're an angel, you're a saint, you're Mother Teresa, you're Elvis, you're God."

In "Racing Stripes," a children's film about a zebra that becomes a race horse (produced by FedEx founder Fred Smith's Alcon Entertainment company), a goat voiced by Whoopi Goldberg makes this comment when the zebra slides a victory garland over the shaggy head of a miniature pony: "You know, the roses make you look very Elvis. Very Elvis, very Elvis '75..."

With dialogue spoken entirely in rhyming iambic pentameter, Sally Potter's "Yes" chronicles an adulterous post-9/11 affair between a scientist who represents the West (Joan Allen) and a surgeon-turned-cook who represents the Middle East (Simon Abkarian). In one scene, the Lebanese man invokes the name of Elvis to shame his Western culture-centric lover: "From Elvis to Eminem, Warhol's art,/ I know your stories, your songs by heart./ But do you know mine? No, every time/ I make the effort, and I learn to rhyme/ In your English. And do you know a word/ Of my language, even one? Have you heard/ That 'al-gebra' was an Arabic man?/ You've read the Bible. Have you read the Koran?"

The year's most amusing and protracted Elvis exchange occurs during "The Devil's Rejects," Rob Zombie's gross-out love letter to the homicidal hillbilly movies of drive-in yore. After several gruesome episodes, a movie critic and "self-proclaimed Marx Brothers expert" (Robert Trebor) is consulted by law enforcement officials for clues to the identities of the killers, who have named themselves after Groucho Marx characters (Spaulding, Flywheel, etc.). Incensed by the deputies' lack of familiarity with Groucho, the expert launches into a tirade against Elvis, calling him the "sneering, rotating, gyrating pelvis son of a (gun)" who stole Groucho's thunder by dying three days before the comic (Elvis died on Aug. 16, 1977; Groucho died on Aug. 19, 1977). At this, Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe) becomes equally upset, but more menacing. "What'd you say about the King!?" he barks. "You ever say another derogatory word about Elvis Aaron Presley again, I will kick the living (bejeebers) out of you." (Incidentally, "Deputy Coggs," played by Memphis actor Chris Ellis, is present throughout this exchange.)

The voice of Elvis rises from the bayou when the King's 1968 recording of "If I Can Dream" is heard during the closing credits of the ghost story "The Skeleton Key," which opens today.

In "Because of Winn-Dixie," a family film about a lovable mutt, rock star Dave Matthews plays a guitar-strumming, pet store-managing ex-con. When a goat and a goose from his inventory get loose and comically harass a dimwitted deputy, the officer cries to the troubadour for help: "Hey, Elvis!"

Unsurprisingly, "Stranded in Canton," a 75-minute feature "sculpted" by local author and filmmaker Robert Gordon from some 35 hours of documentary footage shot on video in the 1970s by Memphis photographer William Eggleston, includes several Elvis references, including brief concert footage of the King singing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," apparently shot from the audience by Eggleston.

Elvis, Babe Ruth, Abe Lincoln and others appear on a sort of historical timeline of famous faces that flaps through the mind of Jason Schwartzman when he experiences sensory deprivation in "I Huckabees."

In "Gunner Palace," a documentary about American soldiers in Baghdad, the G.I.'s of Charlie Battery nickname their Iraqi interpreter " 'The Great,' aka 'Elvis,' '' perhaps because of his impressive hairdo.

In the impressionistic Bobby Darin biopic "Beyond the Sea," this flirtatious exchange occurs when pop idol Darin (Kevin Spacey) romances Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth). Bobby: "What kind of things does Sandra Dee like?" Sandra: "Long walks on the beach, crossword puzzles... Elvis..." Bobby: "Hey!" Sandra: "Just making sure you're paying attention."

In the weird psychological suspense film "The Machinist," Christian Bale adopts a Southern accent to flirt with a pretty waitress at an airport coffee shop: "I'm Elvis Presley. I ran away from home to pursue my blue-collar aspirations." Responds the waitress: "I thought you looked familiar."

An Elvis impersonator is seen at a costume party in the cheeky British comedy about disabled youth, "Rory O'Shea Was Here"; the impersonator even takes part in a karaoke singalong to "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."

In "End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones," the swinging legs of an Elvis wall clock are seen behind Johnny Ramone during an interview at the guitarist's home. Also, the famous cover of Elvis's first album for RCA in 1956, simply titled "Elvis Presley," is shown while vocalist Joey Ramone reminisces about the music he loves.

Elvis's 1957 recording of "Blue Christmas" plays in a liquor store during "Christmas with the Kranks"; later, Dan Aykroyd sings the song at a party.

In an "Elvis has left the building" gag, one of the chapters in the documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" is titled "Jeffrey Has Left the Building," in reference to the suspiciously sudden departure of Enron CEO Jeffrey K. Skilling, who later was indicted on charges of fraud and insider trading.

In the digitally animated DreamWorks feature "Shark Tale," the JXL hit remix of Elvis's 1968 semi-hit "A Little Less Conversation" is heard during the staged fight between a jive-talking "street" fish (voiced by Will Smith) and a vegetarian shark (Jack Black).

Chris McCoy's "Automusik Can Do No Wrong," a "Spinal Tap"-esque mockumentary about Memphis's only Germanic art-dance band, includes the video for the band's cover of "Hound Dog," directed by "Dr. Otto Von Stroheim." Later, band manager Sky Derringer, visiting Sun Studios, fails to identify anyone in the famous "Million Dollar Quartet" picture except Elvis.

Many other Elvis photos are seen on the walls at Sun; and when Automusik performs at Midtown's P&H Cafe, they stand beneath a poster-sized Elvis painting.

In the New Orleans music documentary "Make It Funky!," the camera catches sight of the Elvis Presley section as it surveys alphabetized-by-artist rows of old albums in a scene shot inside Jim Russell's Records, a famous vinyl record emporium.

In the digitally animated half-hour IMAX holiday spoof "Santa vs. the Snowman," an Elvis elf (or is it an elvish Elvis?) with a pompadour and Presley glasses pops up during a musical number at the North Pole toy factory. "Yeah, Santa is the bestest guy I ever knew," he sings.

Several less-than-feature-length productions screened during the Indie Memphis Film Festival in October paid homage to the Bluff City's favorite son.

Directed by John Boyd West, son of Elvis crony and co-star Red West, the hourlong Mafia spoof "Almost Made" featured Red himself as a bartender at the Stage Stop, where an Elvis poster is on display. Also, Elvis's recording "If You Talk in Your Sleep" -- co-written by Red West and recorded in 1973 at Stax-- plays during opening credits.

The 56-minute documentary "Still Life with Donuts: Natural History of a Neighborhood" finds an Elvis impersonator -- complete with pompadour, Elvis glasses and a tattooed portrait of Elvis on his bicep -- living in the eccentric Belmont neighborhood of Charlottesville, Va.

The Memphis-made short "Das Corpse" includes a scene in which the devil visits Graceland and writes "Satan Was Here" on the graffitied wall outside the mansion.

And Tommy Foster's mysterious short "This Must Be My Lucky Day," in which a man ferries a boatload of discarded children's rocking horses to their new home, gives each toy horse a name in the end credits; one is listed as " 'Elvis' the Wonder Horse."

Finally, here's an Elvis onscreen allusion that might have been: The "deleted scenes" included on the DVD edition of last year's remake of "Dawn of the Dead" include a sequence in which the human refugees from a zombified world are sitting at the dinner table inside their fortified shopping mall and discussing what place they'd most like to visit. Says an old guy: "Graceland, I guess." Affirms an attractive woman: "I'd go to Graceland." Adds the hero: "Graceland's 500 miles away. You can do it in seven hours if you're really moving." Yet even with the promise of this road trip in the air, the characters still hang around the mall to become zombiefood.

August 11 - Records on display at Amoeba

Climbing the stairs from the garage at Amoeba, immediately notice Elvis's 2nd LP on the wall as part of the wall of record covers. Another album displayed over the cash register. And in the book section, a book on display about actor's first movie experience and Elvis's photo on the cover (among other stars).

August 10 - Book entitled Love So Tender

Wandering the aisles in the bookstore in the mall, caught a familiar outfit on the cover of a paperback. Yep, it's an Elvis-themed romance novel called Love So Tender.

August 10 - Elvis Stamps Advertized in Country Weekly

Yes, it takes me a full week to get thru Country Weekly -- so while flipping thru it again I noticed a half page ad for Elvis stamps. Not as fun as the one pictured here, but boring 25th Anniversary Mint Stamp sheets.

August 10 - old Shania Twain video

Watching CMT... the old Shania Twain leopard-skin outfit in the desert video, "That Don't Impress Me Much" mentions "So what do you think you are, Elvis, or something?"

August 9 - HBO Young Comedian comedy routine

In an old HBO Young Comedian's Special from 1995, a Canadian comedian named Eric Tunney (?) had a three-minute bit on Elvis and his spoken word part in the song "Someone once said all the world's a stage."

August 8 - Bill Maher HBO special

In Bill Maher's I'm Swiss on HBO on Demand, he talks about someone's pill use being Elvis-level.

August 7 - Items for sale at Duck Soup

Dropped by the Westwood Duck Soup after dinner, noticed Elvis chia pet hair sculpture things prominently displayed and an Elvis puzzle for sale.

August 7 - old Country Weekly cover

In this week's Country Weekly, Keith Urban is on the cover, but inside on p. 54 they have what was on the cover 9 years ago: Elvis, with the headline "He's Still the King".

August 6 - Todd's Compilation CD

Searching through compilation CDs made by Todd for cover songs, noticed on his "Satan Rocks" CD "Devil in Disguise" by Elvis Presley.

August 5 - Elvis singles in display case in Record Surplus

Walking into Record Surplus to kill a few minutes before picking up a friend, noticed right away in the display case at the front of the store two vintage Elvis singles displayed alongside Rick Nelson singles.

August 4 - Good Housekeeping cover story on Wynonna Judd

Wynonna Judd is the cover girl on this month's Good Housekeeping, and in the story on p. 160 she's reported as wearing "her bowling shirt imprinted with images of Elvis." and there is an accompanying picture on p. 163 she's pictured at the Lilo & Stictch premiere wearing the said shirt.

August 2 - Exhibit at Academy Library

Killing time waiting for material at the Academy Library, looking at artifacts in their exhibit on fans and stars, spotted the photo of Elvis signing an autograph for some teenage girls on the head of their younger brother. P.S. The link isn't to that photo, which was pre-1960.

August 1 - Defamer headline

From today's defamer:

Dirtiest Elvis-Related Headline Of The Day
READ MORE: news

It’s a good thing that we find the Queen’s English impenetrable, otherwise this completely innocent headline from across the Pond might seem a little filthy.

* Man fingers daughter in Elvis eBay cock-up [channelregister.co.uk]