Fall Out Boy were breaking up, then they were not breaking up, now they're taking an "indefinite break," which a lot of people are taking to mean they're breaking up.
This is, of course, very unlikely. Bands on hiatus very rarely stay on hiatus. Even bands that break up don't stay broken up any more. They all come back. Just ask Genesis, the Police, Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, Van Halen, The B 52s, The Spice Girls…Oh, and by the way, did you hear? The Red Hot Chili Peppers are making a "comeback." If you, like many, did not notice they were missing, they apparently went on "hiatus" last year. But they're back now. So. Yeah. I guess you can go about your daily lives as usual.
You couldn't pay a band to stay broken up these days. I give this break one year max.
In what has to be the best quote of the day about the perils of putting on a live Mariah Carey show, a source told Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, "We did manage to source the doves that we were going to release into the sky, but the kittens proved terribly difficult."
Of course they did.
It seems Mariah wanted to make an upcoming London event extra special but her requests have been refused. She wanted 20 white kittens and 100 doves to be released into the air.
Reports thatTaylor Swift is suing an Idaho sports bar are all over the web. TMZ started it with the very weird post claiming that she "has attached herself to a copyright infringement lawsuit spearheaded by BMI -- the enforcer of music royalties."
The story is that in "a sting operation," BMI deployed an "agent" to go on a "recon mission" at The Sports Cellar bar sometime last year, and the agent noticed the bar was playing music, Taylor's music -- that they hadn't paid for the right to play.
There was karaoke involved. But I thought there still must be more to this story. So I called the The Sports Cellar bar in Lewiston, Idaho (though I first called something called The Sports Cellar in another Idaho city, which turned out to be a sports STORE and not a bar. They said that Taylor Swift was not suing them and they didn't even have karaoke. I said they should. I'd totally spend more time in sports stores of there was karaoke), but they did not return my calls. I did manage to speak to someone at BMI though.
Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, was reportedly booed during a concert in Dublin, Ireland, on Sunday.
The Irish Times says "a small section of the audience, and a number of individuals shouted crude language" at Islam. It seems the trouble began when, one third of the way through the show, the singer introduced a preview of his upcoming West End musical, Moonshadow.
The Times says, "A cast of 10 actors took to the stage and sang some of his best known hits - including Matthew and Son, Wild World and Father and Son," (which sounds awesome) causing some audience members to leave, "hurling personal abuse" at Islam on the way out.
In the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone magazine, Adam Lambert calls Gene Simmons a d*ck.
It seems that, back when Adam "came out" (and by that I mean "enlightened the gay-dar impaired on what was blaringly obvious to the vast majority of the population") last spring (also in Rolling Stone, accompanied by a big, crotchtacular cover shot) Gene gave an interview to AOL and said the following:
"He's enormously talented, best talent 'American Idol' has had, but I think he killed his career because now the conversation is not about his talent but about his sexual preference. He's done. You're forcing people to deal with issues they may not be interested in. Life is unfair, and the masses don't all live in L.A. They live in Wisconsin and Nebraska, and you're on crack if you think the same rules apply there. My advice is still the same, shut the f*** up, just sing and let people say whatever they want. But I do wish him the best because he's got all the talent in the world. If only the world was not homophobic, but it is. I would be the first one to vote for equal rights for gay women and men, and get the church and the state to stop telling everybody how to lead their lives, but do I think he's killed his career? Oh, in an instant. I hope I'm completely wrong. I hope he becomes the next Beatles and proves me wrong."
Lady Gaga sees acting as the next extension of her career and reportedly has big movie plans.
The break-out star, whose latest video 'Bad Romance,' was helmed by 'Constantine' and 'I am Legend' director Lawrence Harris, has her eyes on a rock opera. This should not surprise anyone. Contact Music says she is "determined to pursue her dramatic ambitions further and has set her sights on a big-screen musical adventure."
Someone who might know something reportedly said, "One idea she has is for a rock opera which would be a huge, big budget movie made to her own very unique ideas. But she is also keen on straight dramatic roles."
Britney Spears has spoken out over the lip-sync controversy that has apparently blown up in Australia. According to Rolling Stone, she said in a statement, "I hear there is a lot of controversy in the media about my show. Some reporters have said they love it and some don't. I came to Australia for my fans."
So, there you have it. End of story? Probably not.
The Aussie press has been claiming that concertgoers have been walking out of Brit's concerts by the hundreds upon the discovery that she is, in fact, lip-syncing – or "miming" as they insist on calling it. The controversy was taken up a notch when the fair trade minister of New South Wales proposed a law requiring performers to mark tour tickets with a disclaimer saying if a show is lip-synced or prerecorded.
Couple du jour Russell Brand and Katy Perry have reportedly recorded a duet together. Apparently they were "messing around" in a Los Angeles studio, where they recorded a version of Edward Lear's 1871 poem 'The Owl and the Pussycat.'
Showbizspy says a source told Britain's The Sun newspaper, "Russell was just messing around in the studio with Katy.
"He was pretending to sing into the microphone and started reciting the poem, ‘The Owl And The Pussycat’, with the lines, 'Oh lovely Pussy! Oh Pussy my love, what a beautiful Pussy you are.'"
The poem is apparently a private joke between the pair. The source said, "They often use the nicknames Owl and Pussycat. Russell is 'Owl' because he's wise and, well, it's fairly obvious that Katy's a sex kitten, isn't it? [well, actually I think of her as more like the human incarnation of a surreal, highly inappropriate children's television program and Russell seems not so much "wise" as "oily"]
Remember that $400 billion lawsuit against Bon Jovi that was filed last year? And remember how we laughed and laughed about it because $400 billion is a really stupid amount of money to sue someone for, even if the song was stolen? Man, those were good times. I love to laugh. I wish we could bring those times back, you know what I mean? I mean, I miss those old days and time is fleeting and you gotta appreciate the good times and…oh, wait. What's this?
Well, what do you know?... It seems the Massachusetts man, whose name is Samuel Bartley Steele -- but who I think I am going to call The Massachusetts Man, or TMM for short, because I like the ring of it – is pursuing the suit, according to Reuters, which got it from the Hollywood Reporter.
Lady Gaga posted a new video this week. After a one day delay -- that apparently had so many people frantically refreshing her site that it crashed -- the Francis Lawrence directed clip for 'Bad Romance' appeared.
Lawrence has directed videos for Britney, Shakira, JT and Gwen Stefani, as well as the sci-fi flicks 'Constantine' and 'I am Legend.'
In developments that are not unlike the classic A.A, Milne poem, 'Twice Times,' Ashlee Simpson, formerly "Simpson the Lesser," keeps getting more and more respectable work while Jessica just can't catch a break.
Sure, Ash got canned from the new Melrose Place but now reports are that she will be making her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in 'Chicago.' And Broadway productions are so much more respectable than rehashes of 90s TV shows.
Ashlee already starred as Roxie in a London West End production of 'Chicago' in 2006, where she reportedly received "rave reviews." They say she was physical, energetic and "cheeky." The people at Hello magazine even called her performance "flawless."
So, everyone's talking about Chris Brown and Rihanna, because she just opened up last week about the time he beat the tar out of her last February (timing the big reveal to coincide with the release of her album 'Rated R), while HE has been talking for months, via interviews and tweets, about how awful the experience has been for him.
And MTV asked "domestic violence experts" to weigh in on the former power couples' demeanors and attitudes.
MTV says Brown, who pleaded guilty to a count of felony assault in connection with the attack, has done two previous interviews in which he spoke in general terms about that night, and "in 'Chris Brown: The Interview,' a sit-down with MTV News' Sway Calloway that aired on Friday, the 20-year-old singer provided his most in-depth thoughts on the incident to date. Just hours later, more from Rihanna's interview with Diane Sawyer aired on '20/20.'"
Gwen Stefani would like you to know that she did NOT meet a gin-soaked bar room queen in Memphis and it's NOT the Honky Tonk women that give her the Honky Tonk blues. You got that?
Posted by Elizabeth Bromstein
No Doubt is suing Activision over the recently released Band Hero game.
It seems they are very angry over the fact that their avatars can be made to sing other people's songs and are claiming the game has "transformed No Doubt band members into a virtual karaoke circus act."
Australian politicians are targeting Britney Spears and making her the poster girl for a proposed law that would force music stars to disclose whether they plan to lip-sync during their shows.
The Daily Telegraph says measures being considered by the State Government of New South Wales include performers being required to alert fans on tickets or posters if they plan to "mime." (I wish they wouldn't use the word "mime," which is "farce or mimicry" or communication through gesture and facial expression, without speech. I suppose it is technically correct but it really applies more to the theatrical artform and conjures up images of guys with painted white faces pretending to be trapped in boxes and tugging on imaginary ropes.)
In one of the more bizarre news items to emerge in the neverending media glut off all things Michael Jackson all the time, TMZ is reporting on an "explanation as to why Michael Jackson's 1993 accuser could identify the discoloration on the singer's genitals ... Michael liked to pee for an audience."
Oh? You don't say…
It seems the gossip site obtained files from the 1993 molestation investigation and found it noted that the young accuser was able to describe, in explicit detail, a discoloration on Jackson's genital area.
It's all Rihanna all the time this week as she gears up for the release of her latest album 'Rated R.' You know, while it should go without saying that nobody should EVER get the tar beat out of them by their dirtbag boyfriend, I do have to say that the woman is really using that whole unfortunate incident to her advantage.
By waiting until now to give interviews on the subject she is, of course, getting the record just that much more attention. Plus, she's riding the whole Woman in a Dark Place Because of a Terrible Thing That Happened to Her as far as she can stay astride that sucker.
Them Crooked Vultures, the supergroup featuring Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones released a free single online this week, 'Mind Eraser, No Chaser.' It's riff heavy with Grohl and Homme sharing vocal duties. Crank it up to 11.
Also, Undercover.com points out that "Dave Grohl will be competing against Dave Grohl and Dave Grohl on the charts in coming weeks."
Jack White turned down the chance to guest on Slash's coming solo album because he didn't want to sing. In an interview with Musicradar.com (found via Spinner), The Great Axe-Wielding Wearer of the Top Hat said, "I wanted to get Jack White to sing on something, but he didn't want to sing. He said 'I'll play drums, I'll play guitar, but I don't wanna sing.'"
Seriously? Has he no respect? When Slash asks you to sing you SING. I don't care if you are a tone deaf topophobic who has taken a vow of silence. There are just things you don't turn down: foot massages, box seats at the opera, free mojitos, eternal life, opportunities to meet Nelson Mandela and invitations to perform on Slash's freakin' album.
Do we smell a catfight between two British pop starlets?
Joss Stone said this week that Lily Allen is "not a singer" and that's why she is anti-file sharing. Lily has been pretty outspoken lately about file sharing and she came out in favour of proposed UK legislation that would cut off the Internet connections of people caught downloading copyrighted material three times.
This, says Joss, is because Lily is "more of a personality than she is a singer."
Hulk Hogan dreamed of playing bass for Metallica and would have given up wrestling for the opportunity.
Talking to The Chicago Tribune to promote his memoir, 'My Life Outside the Ring (which might be interesting if it's anything like the doc 'Beyond the Mat'), the Hulkster said, "When Metallica was looking for a bass player, I called and never heard a word back from them either. I would have quit wrestling in a heartbeat to be a bass player for Metallica." Aw. They should have at least called back with a thanks but no thanks.
And Metallica isn't the only band to whom he offered his bass playing services. Hogey (I feel like that's a great name for him. Does anyone call him "Hogey?") also said he sent word of his talents to the Rolling Stones.
MTV says Rihanna will appear on 'Good Morning America' this Thursday (This is according to a video promo someone saw) in support of her new album 'Rated R.' She will also reportedly appear on Friday's edition of ABC's '20/20.'
This will be her first interview since Chris Brown attacked her in February and beat her face until it was black and blue and grossly swollen, and apparently BIT her (an incident that everyone else is calling 'her altercation with Chris Brown')
"Rihanna: Music superstar. Pop sensation. Now for the very first time, Rihanna tells her story," the promo voiceover promises. This presumably means she is about to open up and address the incident. I wonder how her people will have her spin it -- evasive about details, noncommittal, condemning, yet forgiving, is my guess.
Illegal downloaders are helping keep the music industry alive. No, really.
A new UK survey seems to suggest that people who illegally download music spend more on official releases than anyone else. This is via the Daily Mail, which says the study, published by think-tank Demos, "found those who admit to file sharing spent an average £77 ($130) a year on singles and albums - £33 more than those who claim never to have wrongly accessed music for free."
Researcher Peter Bradwell said companies and politicians might want to pay attention here and 'wake up to the changing nature' of the music industry. The findings also suggest that the British Government's plan to disconnect illegal downloaders from the internet in a 'three strikes and you're out' rule is potentially counterproductive.
Adam Lambert's new single, 'For Your Entertainment' off his debut album is now streaming online. You can also get it at his site.
He says the electro-pop tune is "dance music with a glam-rock shuffle beat, in the style of T-Rex and 'Rock & Roll, Part 2." I guess I can kind of sort of maybe hear the Gary Glitter (why on Earth would you ever invite people to even look for that comparison though?) but the T-Rex is totally lost on me.
And I have to say that if you didn't tell me this was Adam "Let's See How Much I Can Draw This One Out By Wailing All Over It" Lambert, I don't think I would have known. You kind of have to listen for the shrieking. Not what I expected.
Here's a sample lyric: "Can you handle what I'm about to do/It's about to get rough for you/Because I'm here for your entertainment."
So, here is a cake of Lil Wayne's head. Apparently it was for the daughter of Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin, Ireland, who has been locked in a ridiculous public custody since her parents split in 2001. Not sure which parent got her the cake, which has licorice dreds and chocolate sunglasses but holy moly it's creepy and awesome and probably delicious (weird that there's no lollipop sticking out anywhere though). Pitchfork says it was made by Rosebud Cakes, which does great work. This inspired me to look around and see if I could find any more awesome musician cakes and guess what…
It's that time of year again, when everyone is making lists of all things scary. In Honour of Halloween, here are my top ten TEN (imagine we're saying it in the Sesame Street Count's voice) Halloween themed videos! Hahahahahahaha! (Count voice again)
Note: We're going to stick to mostly pop music since dipping into acts like Tool, Aphex Twin and Cannibal Corpse is going to lose a few people. And I've only embedded the ones that are 100 % safe for work.
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