In Memoriam: The Beloved Actor "Dennis Haskins" Best Known For His Role As "Mr. Belding" Has Died Aged 75

 

Dennis Haskins, the actor best known for his role as principal Richard Belding on the high school comedy series "Saved by the Bell," has died, his agent said Monday. Haskins was 75. The cause and manner of death were unavailable.

He made his network television debut in 1979 on "The Dukes of Hazzard." Haskins also appeared on "Archie Bunker's Place," Magnum, P.I.," "7th Heaven," "Hot in Cleveland" and nearly 100 other shows as an actor and voiceover artist.

 

His death was confirmed by his longtime friend and caretaker in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. No cause of death has been announced. Some reports say Haskins was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. 

 

Haskins was honored with The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Most Distinguished Alumni of 2000 award and has a regional high school academic decathlon named after him, The Dennis Haskins Open.

 

In recent years, Haskins traveled the country, visiting many Minor League Baseball stadiums in the summer, greeting fans, signing autographs and taking pictures. 

 

Haskins first played Mr. Belding in "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" on the Disney Channel in 1988. The show was renamed "Saved by the Bell" the following year and became a defining sitcom of the 1990s. His greeting of “hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?” became one of the sitcom’s most recognizable running bits and remains instantly associated with the character decades later.

 

Haskins’ role on the show, which aired from 1989 to 1993, would come to define him for millions of fans. "Everyone loved Mr. Belding and those of us who got to know Dennis, loved him even more.

 

Haskins was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he reported for the student newspaper, acted in campus productions and was a founding member of the community theater group known as the Harlequins, according to his university biography. As a young man, he worked as a music manager, agent and concert promoter and boasted Tom Jones and Gregg Allman among his clients.

 

His acting career was boosted by his portrayal of Mr. Belding on Disney Channel's "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" in 1988, according to the university bio. The next year, NBC aired the show as "Saved by the Bell"; it ran until 1993. He reprised the role on "Saved by the Bell: The New Class," which aired Saturday mornings from 1993 to 2000 on NBC. After the show’s end, he found work in several movies and television shows, including "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

New Music: Helen Keller

           

Placebo shares a surprising new single "Helen Keller. The track takes its cue from hidden 1996 instrumental "H.K. Farewell", while the band begin their 30th anniversary tour today. The new track was a hidden instrumental from the era of their self-titled 1996 debut, using its eerie keyboard melody as the foundation for an otherwise entirely new song. Recorded in London earlier this year, "Helen Keller" was produced by Placebo and Adam Noble, with the latter also handling mixing. It retains the spectral atmosphere of "H.K. Farewell" but pushes the idea into a heavier, more anguished rock setting. This is a new rock song inspired by the piano melody from "H.K. Farewell" and named after one of my favourite people from history, Brian Molko said of the track. Keller was the American author, disability rights advocate and political activist who became deafblind as a young child and went on to become an internationally renowned writer and campaigner. Describing the project as a director’s cut, the band said it allowed them to bring three decades of performing the material back into the recordings while maintaining the spirit of the originals.

New Music: Stone Fruit

           

Sabrina Teitelbaum aka Blondshell shares a new single "Stone Fruit" the fourth single taken from her latest 3rd., studio album "Violins" released last 25 September via Partisan Records. The track was written by Sabrina Teitelbaum and Sam Stewart and produced by Yves Rothman. The accompanying music video was directed by Sabra Binder. The artist commented about the song: This song is supposed to rip. So the one thing is just I hope you like the main guitar riff. That's kind of it, and the groove. That's one of those songs that I didn't set out to write. I just was kind of like I need to say all of this. I wrote it when I was on tour last summer. We were in Slovakia when I wrote it. And I think I just felt like, I don't know. I bring a small 'baby tailor' (small acoustic guitar) with me everywhere I go, and I don't usually use it, but I have it in case I feel the need to write. I brought that with me, and I felt like, 'Okay, I have something to say,.' And I didn't expect the song. And I think that's why it feels lived in because it was just unintentional.”

New Music: Waiting For Fisher

           

The Dublin post-punk band Gurriers released a new single and the video for "Waiting For Fisher" to land the same day as their second album, Nobody’s Coming To Save You, is out now. The title nods to two reference points at once — Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and the late cultural critic Mark Fisher, whose writing on capitalist realism has become something close to a touchstone for a certain strain of UK and Irish post-punk. Frontman Dan Hoff has said the song grew out of his friends’ frustrations with the working-day grind, and that context is audible in every bar of it: the guitars from Ben O'Neill and Mark MacCormack don't so much build as clock in and out, distorted and repetitive in a way that mirrors the routine it's complaining about, while Pierce Callaghan's drums keep pushing the tempo like a shift that won't end. The video has been shot by Director Thomas James who portrait a visceral, surreal, grenade of a satire.

New Music: Broken Heart

           

The Dutch iconic darkwave/goth band Clan Of Xymox has just released a brand new double AA "Broken Heart"/"Fire". it is the first new music by the group since the release of their "Exodus" album in mid-2024. Clan of Xymox co-founder and frontman Ronny Moorings describes "Broken Heart" as "a journey through heartbreak, desire and emotional combustion." Driven by haunting synths, a hypnotic pulse and melancholic vocals, his aim with the song was to capture the tension between losing someone and still being consumed by them. 

New Music: The Centre Of My Everything

           

Shed Seven have released "The Centre Of My Everything", their latest single from their upcoming 7th., studio album. The eponymous LP, arrives on January 8, and it serves as the follow-up to their 2024 chart-topping albums "A Matter Of Time" and "Liquid Gold". On the track, lead singer Rick Witter says: That feeling when love is all there is, when two are entwined as one, when nothing else matters apart from the other, when you can’t imagine a life lived alone, when you truly think of someone as being ‘The Centre of My Everything'". The band also said in a separate statement: "We are excited to announce the imminent arrival of our seventh studio album which is eponymously titled Shed Seven to honour the fact. We have taken great care in making this album what we believe to be our best yet, and we hope these songs are taken to people’s hearts."

Rocktrospectiva: The Game-Changer "Nevermind" Turns 35

 

Released on 24 September 24, 1991, "Nevermind"—the second studio album by the US alternative rock band Nirvana—shook up the music industry and defied the status quo; this release signaled the end of pop music's dominance, as the album managed to knock Michael Jackson's Dangerous—no small feat—out of the number one spot on the Billboard 200. The album spawned four singles, the widespread hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Come As You Are", "Lithium" & "In Bloom."

Two years earlier, the band had released "Bleach" on the independent label Sub Pop, achieving some success in the United Kingdom and catching the eye of DGC, a more powerful multinational label. It was at this point that Butch Vig—a man to whom the album owes much of its massive success—entered the picture. Suggested by Sub Pop co-founder Bruce Pavitt, the idea appealed to Nirvana, as they were familiar with the work Vig had done with the band Killdozer. 

Consequently, in April 1990, the band traveled to Smart Studios—owned by Vig in Madison, Wisconsin. Although the song structures were already complete, Cobain constantly tweaked his lyrics, and the band struggled with self-doubt until they recorded the first eight tracks: "Immodium" (later retitled "Breed"), "Dive" (which became the B-side to "Sliver"), "In Bloom," "Pay to Play" (later renamed "Stay Away" with new lyrics), "Sappy," "Lithium," "Here She Comes Now," and "Polly."

Unfortunately, Cobain's voice had deteriorated after recording "Lithium," forcing them to halt the recording sessions. Things stalled for a while after that, as the band drifted away—despite having told Vig they would return—and he heard nothing from them for quite some time. Meanwhile, the band circulated a demo to major labels, sparking interest from producers like Scott Litt and David Briggs; ultimately, however, the band chose Vig because they felt more comfortable with him than with other producers who made more demanding requests. A budget of $65,000 was set, and the band headed to Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, California, between May and June of 1991. 

One anecdote recounts that, to pay for gas for the trip to Los Angeles, the band played a show where they performed "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the first time; that song, along with "Come As You Are," appeared on the demo they had sent Vig to prepare for the sessions. After all that, the band finally threw themselves fully into the work, spending eight to ten hours a day in the studio. 

Having rehearsed the songs extensively, the process was smooth and required few takes; Novoselic and Grohl finished their bass and drum parts in a matter of days. Cobain, however, had a heavier workload due to guitar and vocal overdubs, as well as lyrics that were often still being tweaked in the studio. Indeed, his performance style was so consistent that Vig decided to layer takes to create overdubs—a process Cobain didn't always enjoy. Vig often had to use a bit of trickery to keep Cobain’s spirits up, particularly given his temperament, which could swing wildly from immense joy to withdrawing into sullen silence.  

Eventually, the album was finished and the mixing stage began; after a few days, neither Vig nor the band was happy with the results, so someone else was brought in to oversee the mix. After reviewing a list of potential candidates, Kurt chose Andy Wallace—who had worked on Slayer's 1990 album Seasons in the Abyss—and since the band wanted a heavy sound, they agreed to the choice. 

Wallace applied his own touch, adding various effects and tweaking the drum sound; the result satisfied both the band and Vig. However, years later—and before his death—Cobain expressed embarrassment over the polished sound given to Nevermind during mixing, noting that it sounded more like a Mötley Crüe record than a punk album.  

The album was mastered on August 2nd at The Mastering Lab in Hollywood by Howie Weinberg. It is recalled that Weinberg ended up doing much of the mastering work himself, as neither the band nor Wallace and Gersh showed up at the scheduled time. This explains why the unreleased track "Endless, Nameless"—which followed "Something in the Way"—was left off the first twenty thousand copies of the album. When the band realized the mistake, Cobain called Weinberg to fix it; Weinberg complied, but the track ended up being ten minutes long instead of three. 

Following these peculiar anecdotes, the album was released with limited stock in the United States and a slightly larger shipment for England, where Bleach had enjoyed greater success. Expectations were that the band would sell a total of 250,000 copies—matching the performance of the album Goo—and perhaps achieve gold record status the following year. Such were the hopes for success, but everything was about to change when the single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released on September 10th, but the decisive boost came when the Samuel Bayer-directed video premiered on the MTV's legendary show 120 Minutes. From there, the network began airing it during the day—a move that proved crucial to the success of both the song and the album. 

It was an unusual, dark album—yet one possessing a power and charm that left its mark on an entire generation. It became a pop-culture icon, significant not only for the grunge genre but for alternative rock, effectively ending the dominance of "hair bands" and, of course, pop music. Yet, it also ushered in the darkest period of Cobain's life, marked by drug abuse, depression, and other troubles that would ultimately lead to the band's demise and the lead singer's suicide. 

Cobain himself quoted that "Nevermind" was a misunderstood record; he felt the public never grasped its message. The people who made the album a hit—teenagers and college students influenced by MTV—sadly failed to understand his critique of the "youth spirit." Despite this, and despite Cobain's own complaints, the album became a massive commercial and cultural phenomenon, eventually dethroning Michael Jackson's Dangerous in early 1992. 

MTV capitalized on the phenomenon by putting subsequent singles like "Come As You Are," "Lithium," and "In Bloom" into heavy rotation, making the band more popular than ever. This did not sit well with Cobain; he had become exactly what he had always hated—a massive, commercially successful artist—and things had spiraled out of control. Despite this, the 13-track album was and it is undoubtedly a gem; it may be overproduced, but the songs are incredibly sincere and beautiful, and its furious message—filled with hatred, sadness, and disillusionment with the status quo—still resonates and remains more relevant than ever, thirty years after its official release.

Nevermind Track List:

 

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit

2. In Bloom

3. Come As You Are

4. Breed

5. Lithium

6. Polly

7. Territorial Pissings

8. Drain you

9. Lounge Act

10. Stay Away

11. On A Plain

12. Something In The Way

13. Endless, Nameless

Rocktrospectiva: The Widespread Acclaimed "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" Turns 35

 

Released on 24 September 1991, yes the same day as iconic "Nevermind", "Blood Sugar Sex Magik", was the 5th studio album by the US rock band Red Hot Chilli Peppers its success was a key factor in the revolution on alternative music that took everyone by surprised in the early 90s. Produced by Rick Rubin, the album introduced a notable changes of their previous "Mother's Milk" where the use of heavy metal riffs was reduced, giving way to accented melodies, funk, rap and of course alternative rock sound, to cover themes that were about sexual concepts and references to drugs and death, lust and exuberance. 

Five singles were released from the album, among them the hits that today are all classics such as "Under The Bridge", Give It Away", "Breaking The Girl" and "Suck My Kiss", which helped propel the band's popularity to the rock stratosphere. Curiously, this did not please guitarist John Frusciante since for him, this was overwhelming, contrasting with Kiedis' opinion that he had always sought success for the band and was now having it. 

In the end, Frusciante resigned to the band the following year, but would return in 1998.  After the band's release of thei fabulous "Mother's Milk" in 1989, they band gained some success, managing to perform and developped that sound between hard rock and funk, so what they needed was a hit, and they would come with this album, for which they were ready, Kiedis was clean of drugs and they had achieved Rick Rubin as its producer. Legend has it that Rubin convinced them to move to his mansion, they said it was haunted and that was why Smith did not stay, although he later said it was because he lived 20 minutes from the place, the thing is that there was a good vibe, so good that Frusciante stood out in style in terms of compositions, Kiedis opened up much more and wrote much better and more intimate lyrics, which talked about his old drug addiction and love relationships. 

Then, Rubin decides to choose a poem that talked about the times when Kiedis narrated his turbulent time of drug abuse wandering the streets and hiding under a bridge, he gives it to Frusciante who decides to compose the incredible intro of the song, and then move on to something a little more moving until reaching the climax, and which would be the guilty song of the 7 million copies that the album would sell and eventually his own frustration. Another good song was "I Could Have Lied" where Frusciante stood out with a great guitar solo, and which narrated the curious and brief relationship of Kiedis with Sinead O'Connor, there were also the two tributes to the fallen Hailel Slovak in "Suck My Kiss", and "My Lonely Man", aggressive and liberating, another incredible song was "Breaking The Girl", seasoned with a 12-string acoustic and with a beautiful psychedelic tone Let's not say the video, in addition to the fact that the song was accentuated with the use of the mellotron, the song "Soul To Squeeze" is mentioned where Kiedis narrates his fight with drugs, another great and incredible song but that in the end was left out, and would be used until 1993 as part of the soundtrack of the film "Coneheads" and it is true because the song is not only good but it keeps a lot of the sound of that time, and that would change from 1995 onwards with Dave Navarro on guitar. 

Another highlight was the hybrid between rock and rap in the bizarre but great "Give It Away" and also "If You Have To Ask", or "Sir Psycho Sex", not to mention "Funky Monks", or the song that opened the album as intensely as "The Power Of Equality" where they winked at the legendary Public Enemy, and that was how they gave shape to an album that not even in their strangest dreams imagined would go on to sell millions of copies, making them one of the most important bands on the planet, and as part of the alternative rock revolution that was changing the musical landscape of that time.  

The critics acclaimed the album and received widespread critical acclaim and propelled the band into worldwide popularity, definitely Rick Rubin's cold precision was evident on the record across the 17-track featured a clinical but writhing state-of-the-art fusion of funk, rap and metal scrapings. The album has been considered "The Red Hot Chili Peppers' best album for many reasons: John Frusciante's guitar was less overpoweringly noisy, leaving room for differing textures and clearer lines, while the band overall is more focused and less indulgent, and the variety that helped to expanded the group's musical and emotional range.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik Track List:

1. The Power Of Equality

2. If You Have To Ask

3. Breaking The Girl

4. Funky Monks

5. Suck My Kiss

6. I Could Have Lied

7. Mellowship Slinsky In B Major

8. The Righteous & The Wicked 

9. Give It Away

10. Blood Sugar Sex Magik

11. Under The Bridge

12. Naked In The Rain

13. Apache Rose Peacock

14. The Greeting Song

15. My Lonely Man

16. Sir Psycho Sex

17. They're Red Hot

Rocktrospectiva: The Uncomprenhend But Finest "Don't Get Weird On Me Babe" Turns 35

 

Released on September 24, 1991—though some sources cite on September 16—"Don't Get Weird On Me, Babe" was the second solo offering from the iconic Lloyd Cole. It is regarded by critics and fans with such sophisticated taste as one of the best albums of the 1990s, filled with smooth melodies, sophisticated lyrics, and refined arrangements. For many, the album was perhaps a decade and a half ahead of its time; and if it would had it been released in 1996, it would might have enjoyed greater commercial success across the boards, the album spawned the singles "Butterfly", "Weeping Wine" & "She's A Girl And I'm A Man."

 

Another great recording arrived on the same magical day as other major albums like, "Nevermind", and "Blood Sugar Sex Magik". It was considered one of the artist's finest works, divided into two parts—the first dedicated to the United States and the second to the rest of the world. 

 

Its sound wandered between rock tunes featuring jangly pop guitars—highlighted by tracks like "Tell Your Sister" and the rocker "She's A Girl And I'm A Man"—and the orchestral, jazz-infused atmosphere of "Margo's Waltz." Indeed, that was the essence of the album: a rock side and an orchestral side, both seasoned with refined pop. The orchestra was conducted by Paul Buckmaster, and the project featured other excellent collaborators—such as Suzie Katayama, Matthew Sweet, Robert Quine, Fred Maher, and Blair Cowan—who helped make the album a bold, solid release in that impeccable 1991. 

 

The style changed from the modern indie-rock sound of "Tell Your Sister" which reached No. 6 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and the 60s-influenced "Weeping Wine"—along with "The One You Never Had" and the raw "To The Lions"—to the mellower "Pay For It." Then it was the hit "She's A Girl And I'm A Man," which hit No. 7 on the Modern Rock chart, paving the way for orchestral songs like the friendly-sounding "Butterfly"; "There For Her," another track that could have been a radio hit; the exquisite "Margo's Waltz" (soft and delicate); and "Half Of Everything," with its fine string arrangements, before moving on to "Man..." ...Enough"—which many consider the album's weakest track—and finally the melancholic "What He Doesn't Know," bringing to a close a great album—the kind that doesn't come along often—but one that was unfortunately misunderstood and, consequently, underrated at the time.

 

Critics were mixed at the time, by some considered the album as a rare album that somewhat surprisingly offered some Cole's sharpest, smartest-writing since Rattlesnakes. Others called the album as a great pop record featuring Lloyd's perennial concerns all set to great, big-screen arrangements" One of the most genuinely nervy and idiosyncratic major-label rock albums of the year, and therefore it was considered as a masterpiece" and "a breathtaking record full of inspired writing, smooth melodies and eloquent instrumentation. It was clearly one of Lloyd Cole's finest albums so far. 

 

Don't Get Weird On Me, Babe Track List:

1. Tell Your Sister

2. Weeping Wine

3. To The Lions

4. Pay For It

5. The One You Never Had

6. She's A Girl And I'm A Man

7. Butterfly 

8. There For Her

9. Margo's Waltz

10. Half Of Everything

11. Man Enough

12. What He Doesn't Know

Rocktrospectiva: The Top-Seller "Waking Up The Neighbours" Turns 35

 

Released on 24 September 1991, yes the same day such as "Nevermind", or "Blood Sugar Sex Magik." "Waking Up the Neighbours" was the sixth studio album by Canadian artist Bryan Adams, the album was a global succesful, which was already guaranteed by the success of the ballad/single "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" which had become a global hit, this significantly boost the album's performance and making it the second best-selling record of his career, following the success of 1984's "Reckless". But the album also spawned the singles "Can't Stop This Thing We Started", "Thought I'd Died And Gone To Heaven", "All I Want Is You", "There Will Never Be Another Tonight", "& "Do I Have To Say The Words?."

Produced by the legendary Robert "Mutt" Lange—who helped Adams write and refine the songs—the album featured the standout track originally composed by Michael Kamen in the 1960s. Lange assisted with the lyrics, and they added a distinctive touch using medieval instruments, as the song served as the theme for the Kevin Costner film "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves".  

However, there were other great tracks as well, such as the second single, "Can't Stop This Thing We Started"—a more upbeat, rock-oriented song that reached No. 2 and received heavy rotation on MTV. Next came "There Will Never Be Another Tonight" which didn't get much airplay althought it was originated from a late-80s collaboration between Adams and Jim Vallance, followed by the power ballad "Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven," which was the fourth single and another Top 20 hit. Later came "All I Want Is You," "Touch the Hand," and the brilliant "Do I Have To Say The Words?"; the latter received heavy MTV rotation and was a genuine hit worldwide. 

The album was a massive global success, driven by the famous Robin Hood's  theme song—which ranked in the top five tracks of 1991 in many countries worldwide—and cemented Adams's status as an international global star. 

However, it also sparked controversy in his home country due to Canadian content regulations; despite being Canada's biggest album, it was produced and created with non-Canadians, meaning it did not qualify as a "Canadian" record. Adams boycotted the Juno Awards as a result, a move that ultimately led to a review of the policy. 

The album likely marked the end of Adams's era of massive commercial dominance, as he never again achieved success on the same scale. Unlike the alternative acts at the time, Adams was already an established artist, so his trajectory—and the reach of this album—followed a completely different path.

 

Waking Up The Neighbours Track List:  

 

1. Is Your Mama Gonna Miss Ya?

2. Hey Honey, I'm Packin' You In!

3. Can't Stop This Thing We Started

4. Thought I'd Died And Gone To Heaven

5. Not Guilty

6. Vanishing

7. House Arrest

8. Do I Have To Say The Words?

9. There Will Never Be Another Tonight

10. All I Want Is You

11. Depend On Me

12. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You

13. If You Wanna Leave Me (Can I Come Too?) 

14. Touch The Hand

15. Don't Drop That Bomb On Me