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| December 15, 2006 |
| Ennio Morricone: The Good, the Bad and the Oscar |
Cue the coyote howl. One of cinema's most iconic music men is finally getting his due.Ennio Morricone, the Italian maestro behind such memorable soundtracks as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and The Untouchables, has been tapped to receive an honorary Oscar at this February's Academy Awards.A five-time nominee for his scores to The Untouchables, Days of Heaven, The Mission, Bugsy and Maléna, Morricone has never won a statuette, even though his music is among the most recognizable committed to celluloid.
The 78-year-old composer was cited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for his "magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music" and will be on hand to accept his golden guy at the 79th Annual Academy Awards Feb. 25 at Hollywood's Kodak Theater."The board was responding not just to the remarkable number of scores that Mr. Morricone has produced, but to the fact that so many of them are beloved and popular masterpieces," Academy president Sid Ganis said in making the announcement. |
posted by viraks @ 8:27:00 AM  |
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| Leonardo DiCaprio : 'Babel' leads Golden Globes with 7 nods |
Helen Mirren, Leonardo DiCaprio and Clint Eastwood were among the multiple Golden Globe nominees Thursday, while the multinational ensemble drama "Babel" led contenders with seven nominations, including best dramatic picture.Also nominated for best dramatic picture: the Robert Kennedy story "Bobby," the mob tale "The Departed," the suburban drama "Little Children" and the royalty-in-crisis "The Queen."A few surprises cropped up among nominees for the 64th annual Globes, Hollywood's second-biggest film honors after the Academy Awards and traditionally a solid forecast for how the Oscars might play out.
Among them: Sacha Baron Cohen's unexpected $100 million hit "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." The satire of American culture was nominated for best musical or comedy film, while Cohen got a bid for best actor in a musical or comedy. |
| posted by viraks @ 8:22:00 AM |
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| Sara Evans : to perform on 'Dancing' tour |
Country singer Sara Evans, who abruptly dropped out of "Dancing With the Stars" in October, will join the ABC reality show's road tour, promoters said Thursday.
Also on board will be talk show host Jerry Springer, they said. Other celebrities include Harry Hamlin, Drew Lachey, Joey Lawrence, Joey McIntyre and Lisa Rinna, along with professional dance partners.Springer plans to perform in five cities, including his hometown of Cincinnati. Evans will perform only in Nashville, on Jan. 21.
"I can't wait to see everyone again and be a part of the show," Evans said in a statement released by promoter AEG Live. "Hopefully there will be some down time so I can take them to some of my favorite places in Nashville."Springer said last week he was quitting his syndicated radio show after two years, in part because of new work generated by his appearance on the popular "Dancing With the Stars."After Evans dropped out of the show, she filed for divorce from husband Craig Schelske. Proceedings continue in Williamson County, Tenn., where she lives, with back-and-forth allegations of adultery and other inappropriate behavior. |
| posted by viraks @ 8:17:00 AM |
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| Bruce Springsteen : CBS reviving namesake music label |
CBS Corp. has launched a new recorded music label — reviving the name of long-defunct CBS Records — through which the company plans to release music and promote artists on its networks' stable of television shows.
CBS Records aims to market its artists and their music in television shows produced by CBS Paramount Television and aired across several broadcast and cable networks, including CBS, The CW, NBC and USA Network, New York-based CBS Corp. said Thursday."With more consumers choosing the online download model as the preferred way to purchase their favorite songs, we have an opportunity to use our unique and broad collection of media platforms to create a new music label paradigm for a small price of admission," Leslie Moonves, president and chief executive of CBS Corp., said in a prepared statement.
Outside of television, CBS Records will release music online through its own Web site and retailers such as Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music Store. The label has completed a deal with Apple to sell music, videos and other content, and expects to seal similar agreements with other online music services, CBS said. |
| posted by viraks @ 7:42:00 AM |
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| Bruce Springsteen : CBS reviving namesake music label |
CBS Corp. has launched a new recorded music label — reviving the name of long-defunct CBS Records — through which the company plans to release music and promote artists on its networks' stable of television shows.
CBS Records aims to market its artists and their music in television shows produced by CBS Paramount Television and aired across several broadcast and cable networks, including CBS, The CW, NBC and USA Network, New York-based CBS Corp. said Thursday."With more consumers choosing the online download model as the preferred way to purchase their favorite songs, we have an opportunity to use our unique and broad collection of media platforms to create a new music label paradigm for a small price of admission," Leslie Moonves, president and chief executive of CBS Corp., said in a prepared statement.
Outside of television, CBS Records will release music online through its own Web site and retailers such as Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music Store. The label has completed a deal with Apple to sell music, videos and other content, and expects to seal similar agreements with other online music services, CBS said. |
| posted by viraks @ 7:42:00 AM |
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| December 13, 2006 |
| The Supremes : Dreamgirls" recalls rise of girl groups |
Set in the 1960s and `70s, "Dreamgirls" doesn't profess to be a literal history of Motown or any other music scene from the past.But the film, which is loosely based on Detroit chart-toppers the Supremes, does examine the issues that confronted many girl groups over the years. In this case: a calculating manager, relentless ambitions and ego-driven clashes among the artists.Motown Hall of Famer Martha Reeves says she's glad that the film, which opens Friday in New York and Los Angeles and Dec. 25 across the country, is shining a spotlight on the sound, glamour and elegance of girl groups.
"Being a performer, I could identify with the development of the talent, our personalities and opinions and how judgments are decreed," said the 65-year-old former leader of Martha and the Vandellas, whose hits included "Dancing in the Street" and "Heat Wave". "But I couldn't say there was anything (in the film) like my experience in Motown."The film, adapted from the 1981 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name, chronicles a fictional three-piece girl group known as the Dreamettes. Its two main members — Deena Jones (Beyonce Knowles) and Effie White (Jennifer Hudson) — were inspired by the Supremes' Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, respectively.The three, who are rounded out by Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose), are discovered by manager Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx) and offered a job as backup singers for hit-maker James "Thunder" Early, played by Eddie Murphy. |
| posted by viraks @ 11:08:00 PM |
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| Taylor Hicks' debut |
Taylor Hicks, "Taylor Hicks" (Arista)
Why did Taylor Hicks win "American Idol"?
Well, it wasn't just his soulful voice or Clooney-esque silver hair. It was his unbridled, passionate delivery and goofy charm (plus those spastic dance moves, of course).
Hicks still has that amazing voice — somewhere between gruffness and sweetness. But the quirky appeal and fiery performance style that led him to be the unlikely king of this year's "Idol" unfortunately is in rare supply in his overproduced, self-titled debut.
Hicks, an Alabama-bred crooner with a penchant for soul, attempts to cover the hallowed ground of his forefathers: legends like Ray Charles and musicians such as Ry Cooder, Michael McDonald and Joe Cocker.
Does he succeed? Yes ... and no.
Sleekly produced in L.A. by Matt Serletic (Santana, Willie Nelson), Hicks' album plays on typical themes entrenched in the soul-blues tradition: heartache, journeying, more love loss.
He pays homage to Charles on such songs as the funky "Heaven Knows," which samples a riff from Charles' "What I'd Say." |
| posted by viraks @ 11:05:00 PM |
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| Paris defends Britney |
Paris Hilton has jumped to the defense of her friend Britney Spears.
The pair have been splashed across the global press on a series of high-profile night outs in recent weeks, after the pop icon split from her husband Kevin Federline. However, Hilton has dismissed suggestions that Britney's antics have made it impossible to be a proper mother to her two children.
Speaking in a posting on her MySpace, Hilton said: "Britney loves her kids to death, and I know for a fact that it truly hurts her when she sees these cruel things being written about her. She goes home every night to her babies and partying has not come in the way of her parenting. For people to call out her parenting skills on behalf of her partying ethics is appalling. |
| posted by viraks @ 11:03:00 PM |
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| Dolly Parton pledges $500,000 to hospital |
Honoring the country doctor who delivered her, Dolly Parton pledged $500,000 to a $90 million hospital and cancer center in her Smoky Mountains hometown.
"I have wonderful, wonderful memories of Dr. (Robert F.) Thomas," Parton said Tuesday in a surprise appearance at a dinner hosted by health care provider Covenant Health to celebrate state approval of the new hospital.
"I know the grand vision of this hospital would have made Dr. Thomas proud," the country music star said of the physician who delivered her in 1946.
"Daddy paid him with a sack of cornmeal," she laughed. "And I've always joked that I've been raking in the dough ever since."But she hasn't hesitated to share that wealth, particularly with her native Sevier County.Parton, 60, is honorary chairman of the Dr. Robert F. Thomas Foundation, which plans to raise $10 million for a 79-bed hospital and cancer patient center in Sevierville.
Dolly Parton: http://www.dollywood.com/ |
| posted by viraks @ 11:00:00 PM |
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| Princes, Elton Honor Diana |
Princes William and Harry have confirmed earlier reports that they will honor Princess Diana this summer with a tribute concert designed to raise money for their late mother's favored charities and mark what would have been her 46th birthday.
The benefit concert, dubbed Concert for Diana, is due to take place on July 1, Diana's birthday, and will be followed by a memorial service on Aug. 31, the 10th anniversary of her death.The royal brothers announced plans for the all-star concert Tuesday, offering a "flavor" of the lineup. Elton John, Duran Duran, Joss Stone, Pharell Williams, Bryan Ferry, the English National Ballet and a medley of Andrew Lloyd Webber's showtunes have all so far made the bill, though many more names have reportedly signed on.
"Loads of people coming from far away and across the ocean and things like that," William said. "We don't want to name everyone because we want to keep a surprise." |
| posted by viraks @ 4:09:00 AM |
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| Shakira, Garcia Marquez start foundation |
Shakira joined with fellow Colombian and Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez on Tuesday to launch a star-studded foundation to fight child poverty in Latin America.Backed by the two Colombians and other luminaries of entertainment and finance, the Latin America in Solidarity Action — whose Spanish acronym is ALAS, or "wings" — took flight with a promise to tackle poverty that kills 350,000 children each year in the region.
Spanish singer Miguel Bose will serve as executive director of the foundation, conceived about a year ago by Shakira, who also heads the Colombia-based nonprofit foundation Pies Descalzos, or Barefoot, which helps the child victims of violence in that South American country.The ALAS promoters said the foundation doesn't seek to replace other organizations that work with children or eliminate the obligation governments have to eradicate poverty, butOn the Net:
http://www.fundacionalas.org to strengthen existing efforts. |
| posted by viraks @ 4:04:00 AM |
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| Clay Aiken : Clay Aiken reads, sings to Pa. kids |
Two girls fell out of their front row seats when "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken strode on stage at the school assembly. Lower Nazareth Elementary School students gathered Monday at the district high school's auditorium to celebrate 19 classmates who wrote, "Our Friend Mikayla," published earlier this year by the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which works on behalf of children with special needs.
Mikayla Resh, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, was the subject of the biography, written and illustrated by her third-grade classmates two years ago. Her mother, Kimberly Resh, arranged the all-school assembly to thank them. The students were wide-eyed when Aiken, co-founder of the foundation, appeared.
Aiken, who was appearing Monday night at the State Theatre in Easton, read to the student body of more than 680 from the book, talked with the 19 authors, and posed for many photographs. To Mikayla, he sang a few lines from "When I See You Smile." Then he announced a final treat: limousines to take the students back to Lower Nazareth Elementary.In the cars, boys popped open cans of soda and girls giggled. "Is this a dream?" said one boy, Michael Allen. "It is like the first time I'll be in a limo. It is so awesome!"
___
Information from: The Express-Times, http://www.pennlive.com/expresstimes |
| posted by viraks @ 3:59:00 AM |
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| Paul McCartney : Stella McCartney fashions a baby girl |
Stella McCartney has given birth to her second child, a girl, the fashion designer's spokesman said Tuesday.
Stephane Jaspar said Bailey Linda Olwyn Willis was born Dec. 8 in London, weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces.
McCartney, 35, and her husband Alasdhair Willis, 36, have a 22-month-old son, Miller.
McCartney, who heads a rapidly expanding fashion label, is the daughter of Paul McCartney. Her mother, Linda McCartney, died of breast cancer in 1998. |
| posted by viraks @ 3:54:00 AM |
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| December 11, 2006 |
| Flaming Lips seek New Year's Eve dancers |
The Flaming Lips want fans to audition for the chance to join them onstage at a show on New Year's Eve in Los Angeles.
Wayne Coyne's band have invited people to film themselves dancing to their favorite track by the Lips and submit their performance.
the winner will be chosen by the band themselves and receive tickets for the group's gig with Gnarls Barkley at the USC Galen Theatre in Los Angeles, California on December 31.
Included with the prize will be an alien costume and access to the stage, where they will be free to join in with the group.
For more information, go to www.theflaminglips.com. |
| posted by viraks @ 11:20:00 PM |
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| Kid A': The Symphony |
Radiohead's Kid A is to be played by an orchestra next weekend.
The group's acclaimed fourth album will be reinterpreted by the Charity Symphony Orchestra in London on Sunday.
Their arrangement of the record will be performed alongside Prokofiev's Peter And The Wolf and a new Jazz Piano Concerto.
The show takes place at London's Bancroft's Great Hall, with all proceeds going to Diabetes U.K.
Meanwhile, an exhibition of artwork by Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood spanning the recent history of Radiohead has opened in Barcelona.
Visual material from their Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail To The Thief albums is on display at the Iguapop Gallery in Barcelona until |
| posted by viraks @ 11:13:00 PM |
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| Roberto Alagna : Tenor walks off stage at La Scala |
Tenor Roberto Alagna broke his contract by walking out of a performance of Franco Zeffirelli's "Aida" at La Scala after being booed, and he will not sing for the remaining scheduled performances, a spokesman for the opera house said Monday.
Alagna stunned the audience and his colleagues by marching off the stage after the audience booed him following the opening aria "Celeste Aida" on Sunday night. An understudy in jeans took over immediately.
Despite his reaction, Alagna told a news conference Monday that he intended to sing as scheduled Thursday. But management at the famed opera house said that would not happen.
"It's been brought to our attention Roberto Alagna's intention to return to La Scala for the next performance," spokesman Carlo Maria Cella said. "His behavior has created a rift between the artist and the audience, and there is no possibility of repairing this relationship."
Cella said Alagna had technically broken the contract, and that the legal office would evaluate what action to take.
"He did not leave because he was sick; he left voluntarily," Cella said. |
| posted by viraks @ 10:56:00 PM |
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| '50s pop singer Georgia Gibbs dies at 87 |
Georgia Gibbs, a versatile singer who starred on the popular show "Your Hit Parade" and reached the top of the charts in the 1950s with covers of songs by black artists, has died. She was 87.Gibbs died Saturday at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, family friend Leslie Gottlieb said. The cause was complications from leukemia.
Among her 15 Top 40 hits, mostly for Mercury Records, was the tango-based "Kiss of Fire," which went to No. 1 in 1952.But she is known historically — and controversially — as one of the whites who gained success in the 1950s covering rhythm and blues hits by black artists, sometimes upstaging the original versions with sanitized lyrics.
"Tweedle Dee," an adaptation of LaVern Baker's R&B hit, reached No. 2 in 1954, while "Dance With Me Henry," another R&B cover, reached No. 1 in 1955 with cleaned-up lyrics.
The original, "Roll With Me, Henry" or "The Wallflower," was by Etta James as an "answer song" to the hit "Work With Me, Annie."
"At that time you weren't allowed to say 'roll' because it was considered vulgar," James said in a 1987 Associated Press interview. "So when Georgia Gibbs did her version, she renamed it 'Dance With Me, Henry' and it went to No. 1 on the pop charts."
Besides a stint on "Your Hit Parade," the radio and TV show that showcased the most popular songs each week, Gibbs was a regular on programs hosted by Garry Moore, Jimmy Durante and Danny Kaye and was a frequent guest on other radio and early television variety shows
Other memorable Gibbs recordings included the novelty "If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd've Baked a Cake" in the early 1950s, and her last Top 40 record, "The Hula Hoop Song," in 1958.
Gibbs, along with Pat Boone, Connie Francis and others, was profiled this year in the book "Great Pretenders: My Strange Love Affair With '50s Pop Music," by music critic Karen Schoemer.
In a review for The New York Times, singer Nellie McKay called the book's subjects "seven of the most neglected performers of the 20th century." |
| posted by viraks @ 10:49:00 PM |
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| Quincy Jones named `Mentor of the Year' |
Quincy Jones' stockpile of awards is about to grow higher — he's been named "Mentor of the Year," by Harvard University's School of Public Health.
The music mogul, 73, is the inaugural recipient of the honor, which will be presented during National Mentoring Month in January 2007.
"Quincy Jones' entire life is a testament to the power of mentoring," Jay Winsten, associate dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, said in a statement Monday. "He has served as a role model for using the power of celebrity to improve the lot of humankind."
National Mentoring Month, now in its sixth year, aims to recruit volunteer mentors to work with young people. The theme of the month is "Pass it on. Mentor a child." The monthlong effort also includes "Thank Your Mentor Day" on Jan. 25. |
| posted by viraks @ 10:36:00 PM |
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| JeT : Slash, Chris Robinson, Steve Jones join Jet onstage in L.A. |
On January 22, 2003, Jet played their very first U.S. show at the 260-capacity club Spaceland in Los Angeles. And nearly four years and a couple million album sales later, the Australian rockers returned to the venue that gave them their American start--although this time, they brought a few high-profile friends with them.
Jet started last night's intimate, semi-acoustic Spaceland show on their own, performing Get Born hits like "Move On," "Are You Gonna Be My Girl," and "Look What You Done" as well as songs off their sophomore CD, Shine On, like "King's Horses," "Shiny Magazine," and "All You Have To Do."
Midway through their set they were joined by their first special guests, soul singers the Waters Sisters, who sang backup on Shine On (and, as Jet drummer Chris Cester proudly pointed out to the audience, also appeared on Michael Jackson's Thriller back in the day).
The Waters Sisters' mighty vocals garnered great applause from the Spaceland audience, but it was the emergence of former Guns N' Roses axeman Slash--resplendent in his backwards baseball cap, trademark bushy locks, and KISS T-shirt--that elicited the craziest crowd reaction of the night. Spectators' camera phones went into overdrive as Slash lent his signature, stadium-worthy guitar licks to Jet's cover of the Rolling Stones ballad "Salt Of The Earth." |
| posted by viraks @ 4:58:00 AM |
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| Bushes join 'Dr. Phil' at Christmas show |
President Bush enjoyed a lively set of Christmas music Sunday night, swaying and bobbing his head as music stars like Taylor Hicks and Gretchen Wilson belted out classic carols.
TV host "Dr. Phil" McGraw and his wife, Robin, emceed the annual "Christmas in Washington" concert at the National Building Museum. The event benefited the Children's National Medical Center.
"Since this event began a quarter of a century ago, 'Christmas in Washington' has become one of the most cherished holiday traditions here in our nation's capital," Bush said.
As Americans gather with their families over the holidays, Bush said, U.S. troops abroad "must know that our nation is grateful for your service."
"American Idol" winner Hicks led off the show with "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." Country singer Wilson performed "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," while 12-year-old "America's Got Talent" champ Bianca Ryan sang "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Pop-opera quartet Il Divo performed "White Christmas." The lineup also included soul singers Chris Brown and Corinne Bailey Rae. |
| posted by viraks @ 4:57:00 AM |
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| Velvet Underground rarity sells on eBay |
Forty years after it was made, The Velvet Underground's first recording has become a financial hit — in cyberspace. Bought for 75 cents four years ago at a Manhattan flea market, the rare recording of music that ended up on the influential New York band's first album, "The Velvet Underground & Nico," sold on eBay for a closing bid of $155,401.
The buyer is a mystery, only identified by the eBay screen name: "mechadaddy."
But a greater mystery endures: How did the 12-inch, acetate LP end up buried in a box of records at a flea market?
Warren Hill, a collector from Montreal, bought the record in September 2002 at the flea market, according to an article written by his friend, Eric Isaacson of Mississippi Records in Portland, Ore. in the current issue of Goldmine Magazine.
Isaacson helped Hill decipher the nature of the lucky find.
"We cued it up and were stunned — the first song was not 'Sunday Morning' as on the 'Velvet Underground & Nico' Verve LP, but rather it was 'European Son' — the song that is last on that LP, and it was a version neither of us had ever heard before!" Isaacson wrote |
| posted by viraks @ 4:54:00 AM |
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| Prince to perform at Super Bowl halftime |
McCartney, Jagger and now Prince.
For the third year in a row, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act will headline the Super Bowl halftime entertainment. This time it's Prince.
The Purple One, winner of six Grammy Awards and nominated for five more this year, will play at the game in Miami on Feb. 4.
The Super Bowl, which will be televised by CBS, is annually television's highest rated show. An estimated 141 million people watched last year's game between Pittsburgh and Seattle.
The Rolling Stones headlined the halftime show for that Super Bowl, and two years ago it was Paul McCartney.
The NFL has tended to take a more cautious approach since Janet Jackson's widely criticized "wardrobe malfunction" at halftime of the 2004 game. That game also was televised by CBS.
Last year, Mick Jagger's microphone was silenced as he sang sexually suggestive lyrics in a couple of songs the Stones performed.
Prince gained attention early his career with raunchy lyrics and racy performances, but has toned down his act somewhat in recent years. |
| posted by viraks @ 4:49:00 AM |
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| Prince to perform at Super Bowl halftime |
McCartney, Jagger and now Prince.
For the third year in a row, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act will headline the Super Bowl halftime entertainment. This time it's Prince.
The Purple One, winner of six Grammy Awards and nominated for five more this year, will play at the game in Miami on Feb. 4.
The Super Bowl, which will be televised by CBS, is annually television's highest rated show. An estimated 141 million people watched last year's game between Pittsburgh and Seattle.
The Rolling Stones headlined the halftime show for that Super Bowl, and two years ago it was Paul McCartney.
The NFL has tended to take a more cautious approach since Janet Jackson's widely criticized "wardrobe malfunction" at halftime of the 2004 game. That game also was televised by CBS.
Last year, Mick Jagger's microphone was silenced as he sang sexually suggestive lyrics in a couple of songs the Stones performed.
Prince gained attention early his career with raunchy lyrics and racy performances, but has toned down his act somewhat in recent years. |
| posted by viraks @ 4:49:00 AM |
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| Babyshambles : Police question Doherty on party death |
The family of a man who fell to his death at a party attended by troubled singer Pete Doherty have called for a full police investigation into the incident. Actor Matt Blanco, 30, was found injured outside an east London apartment building where he had attended a party on Dec. 3 and died later in hospital.
Doherty and others at the party have been interviewed by police, who reportedly do not consider the singer a suspect. They have said they believe Blanco fell from a balcony.
Blanco's sister, Emma, said the family wanted to know why Doherty and others reportedly left the scene before police arrived.
"We're finding it very difficult to do any grieving as we're so busy trying to find out the truth," she was quoted as saying by The Independent on Sunday newspaper.
"We want to know what happened that night. This is not about us assigning blame on a pseudo-celebrity. We just want the truth." |
| posted by viraks @ 4:25:00 AM |
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| December 10, 2006 |
| Pink : Not Dead NoT stupid |
Compared to her pop peers, Pink's no "Stupid Girl" — so why does her new hit feel like a comeback? Why did she languish in limbo with her last album, Try This, and what's pulled her out of pop purgatory? If it were just a matter of a failed punky experiment or bad single choices before, Pink's hit the jackpot with "Stupid Girls," the first single from I'm Not Dead, due April 4. Her spoofs of singers and starlets make us laugh, so we're buying. But what's Pink really selling now?
People are going to think, "You're supposed to be a feminist, you're supposed to be supporting women," but I just can't support that, what the majority of these women are doing — or not doing, more like. It's just this mindless consumer culture, and it's such a wasted opportunity. Every time I see myself lying on that hospital gurney [in that video] I sort of wince. It's a $150 billion cosmetic industry, and what does that say about how we feel about ourselves? It's sort of pushing this image — shop, drink, party, don't think, shop, don't think. I just can't do that. |
| posted by viraks @ 6:47:00 AM |
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| Danity Kane : Biography |
The third group to be put together through the reality television series Making the Band -- O-Town being the first, Da Band being the second -- Danity Kane's membership includes five women who beat out hundreds of hopefuls. Chosen by music mogul and Bad Boy Records CEO Diddy, members Aubrey, Aundrea, D. Woods, Dawn, and Shannon sang, danced, and watched their competition stumble over two seasons of the series. By the end of the second season, Diddy decided this was the quintet who fit his dream of creating the next En Vogue or Destiny's Child. A third season chronicled the recording of the band's first album and the process of naming the group. During a June 2006 appearance on MTV's TRL, it was announced the group would be called Danity Kane, a reference to a superhero Dawn had created and sketched in the studio during downtime. The TRL appearance also announced the group's debut single was the club cut "Show Stopper" featuring fellow Bad Boy artist Yung Joc. With tracks from big-name producers Scott Storch and Timbaland, their self-titled debut hit the streets in August of 2006. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide |
| posted by viraks @ 6:28:00 AM |
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| Velvet Underground rarity sells on eBay |
Forty years after it was made, The Velvet Underground's first recording has become a financial hit — in cyberspace. Bought for 75 cents four years ago at a Manhattan flea market, the rare recording of music that ended up on the influential New York band's first album, "The Velvet Underground & Nico," sold on eBay for a closing bid of $155,401.
The buyer is a mystery, only identified by the eBay screen name: "mechadaddy."
But a greater mystery endures: How did the 12-inch, acetate LP end up buried in a box of records at a flea market?
Warren Hill, a collector from Montreal, bought the record in September 2002 at the flea market, according to an article written by his friend, Eric Isaacson of Mississippi Records in Portland, Ore. in the current issue of Goldmine Magazine.
Isaacson helped Hill decipher the nature of the lucky find.
"We cued it up and were stunned — the first song was not 'Sunday Morning' as on the 'Velvet Underground & Nico' Verve LP, but rather it was 'European Son' — the song that is last on that LP, and it was a version neither of us had ever heard before!" Isaacson wrote.
The recording turned out to be an in-studio acetate made during Velvet Underground's first recording over four days in April 1966 at New York's Scepter Studios. The record reportedly is only one of two in existence; the other is privately owned, with rumors circulating about the owner's identity. Columbia Records rejected the album.
"I immediately took the needle off the record, and realized that we had something special," Isaacson wrote. Hill and Isaacson photographed the album, made a digital backup copy of the music, and decided to put it up for auction. The first bids, which began Nov. 28, rose $20,000.
Velvet Underground left its musical stamp on hundreds of other bands.
The band, named after a book about edgy sex practices in the 1960s, was fueled by Moe Tucker's hard-driving drumming, John Cale's anxious viola, and lead singer Lou Reed, whose lyrics spoke of drug-induced beauty and gritty Lower East Side realities.
The first album featured Nico, the European model-actress-singer in a first and last recorded appearance with the band.
by yahoo.com |
| posted by viraks @ 5:57:00 AM |
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