Sunday, June 08, 2008
(On My) Radar
This single cover artwork looks less authentic than the Madonna artwork but, again, who knows if any or either of these photos are genuine. It's not a bad pic either way ... I guess we'll find out soon enough. [Source]
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Lady Spirit
I absolutely love anything with Frank Miller's name on it so I am eagerly awaiting this film. Sin City did wonders for Jessica Alba's career, I'm hoping that The Spirit does the same for Eva Mendes. We need a lot more hawt latina actresses in big roles like this ... Eva is a beauty and I can't wait to see her in the role. [Source]
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Earth Angel
Photo credit: Wireimage
"American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks makes his Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated revival of Grease at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre June 6. Hicks, who was the Season Five "American Idol" winner, succeeds Stephen Buntrock as Teen Angel in the summer-lovin' musical. The Alabama native is scheduled to stay with the production through Sept. 7. In a recent statement "Idol" winner Hicks said, "I am incredibly excited to be a part of one of my favorite musicals. The Soul Patrol's gonna invade Broadway!"
Now see ... I know that Taylor Hicks isn't all that old (he was born in 1976) but he normally looks pretty old with all that grey hair ... this Grease hairdo doesn't do much to make him look any younger. Nonetheless, I'm sure that Taylor Hicks will do a fine job on Broadway. He is a talented singer, which puts him ahead of the game of some of the other celebs doing stints on Broadway. I find him way more talented than Clay Aiken, so he gets my vote for Idol on Broadway. [Source]
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Give It 2 Me Artwork Revealed ... I Think
There really has been no official confirmation of this cover artwork's authenticity (official confirmation comes out this week) but it looks pretty genuine ... tho, the InterWeb does make it very difficult to ascertain what is real and what is fake these days. Nonetheless, I think it's worth posting so ... enjoy!! [thanks Kevin]
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The TV Guide: Say Cheese!
There was a bit of stress getting everything coordinated but once we got in front of the cameras we had a blast! The pics came out so well, I couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. We ordered all of these pics in various configurations so I can't wait to see the final products.
In between shoots, some of us sneaked away to take our own fun pics around the Sears Portrait Studio:
If you can believe it, I ordered one of the group shots (the one with the paint buckets and brush) be made into a full-size, knit throw blanket! Ha! I can't wait for it to be made :)
After the shoot, Paul had to jet off to meet up with Corey but the rest of us went out to dinner at Baja Cantina in Venice, CA for dinner:
Yes, that monstrously large coconut margarita was all mine for the drinking ... and it was well worth the numerous brain freezes to get to the bottom of that massive tub o' booze.
After dinner, Kirsten ran off to meet up with some boys (hopefully to smooch on) and Mike peaced out for home ... then the rest of us went over to Darion's place to play a little Rock Band ...
... cut to 4 hours later, I'm still shrieking on the mic, David was kicking ass on the drums and Darion was rawkin' out on the guitar. Poor Steph and Alek ... they looked like they wanted to shove sharpened pencils into their ears with every song we did. We had a blast tho, as these pics can attest.
This afternoon, David and I are hoping to head over to Adriana's place for her birthday shindig and then we're thinking about meeting up with some of the guys to see a movie. David hasn't seen Sex and the City yet ... and I know that we'd be happy to see it again with him :) I hope all y'alls weekend is going well ... we are having a blast!!!
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Les News: Warren G Busted, Snoop Gives B-Jay Advice, Patrick Back To Work
- Warren G got busted for marijuana possession.
- Snoop Dogg advises Beyoncé and Jay-Z to "make some babies".
- Patrick Swayze is doing well and gettin' back to work.
- Paul McCartney to give up the road?
- Hulk Hogan to shack up with his young new Brooke Hogan look-alike girlfriend?
- Brokeback Mountain: The Opera.
- Kanye West is 30, Julianna Margulies is 41, Keenan Ivory Wayans is 50 and Nancy Sinatra is 68 years old today. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.
- It's a Wonderful Life no more. Actor Bob Anderson peaces out.
- Amy Winehouse shocks (but not really) with a new video Click HERE to watch Amy sing a racist song while hanging out in a purported "crack den".
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Hot Dude Of The Week: Nick
Photo credit: All American Guys
SoCal has finally warmed up to the point where one can take regular trips to the beach to soak up the sun and/or go for a swim in the surf ... and with enjoyable sights like Nick to sweeten the pot, well, you can see how much of an alluring prospect that is. As much fun as it is to see mere photos of Hot Dudes like Nick, I bet it's much more fun to actually meet them in person ... which I why I'm very excited that a few of the Hot Dudes from All American Guys will be coming to my Pink is the new Blog Relaunch Party this Wednesday night :) Because the gents will be coming to the party as guests, I suspect they'll be wearing actual clothes (boo) ... but there will still be fun pics to share, I'm sure ;) Woot!!! [Source]
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Sometimes They Grow Up
Photo credit: X17
I have to say ... it's really remarkable how much things have changed in the world of Hollywood "It" Girldom and celebrity overall. Gone are the days of the wild parties and the crazy antics for ladies like Nicole, Britney and even Paris. I never thought I'd see the day where the "It" Girls would grow up and become responsible mothers. I must admit, tho, that I kinda miss the halcion days when the "It" Girls would do some whacky stunt or whatever, allowing us to laugh along with them. It really seemed to me that the "wackiness" jumped the shark around the time that the wardrobe malfunctions started up (and really spiraled downward once they started getting arrested). Once it became de rigueur for a boob or a naked crotch to be the talk of the day (not to mention the latest mug shot), things stopped being fun and started getting trashy. Who knew that the women were mere months away from really cleaning up their acts and settling down with children or serious relationships? Even Hollywood "It" Girls can grow up and mature, imagine that. While those whacky days of yore were fun, I much prefer seeing the ladies settle down with their families. Now we can look forward to seeing new baby pictures rather than new mug shots. [Source]
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The Dynamic Duo
Photo credit: X17
I'm pretty surprised how much ado everyone has been makin' over nothing when it comes to these two ladies. The pair have been really good friends for a very long time so I don't really get why everyone is all agog that they seem so close lately. To me they seem like just another pair of besties where one is a superstar DJ and the other is a Hollywood "It" Girl ... you know, your regular ol' run-of-the-mill sort of friendship. I'm convinced that the ladies are having a fun time watching everyone fall over themselves to try and "figure out" what is going on between the two of them. I think it's brills and totally fun. I can't wait to see where the friends will show up next ... and how many photogs will be tripping over themselves in their wake. [Source]
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Trent Reznor Does The New York Times
"This one's on me," Mr. Reznor announces on that Web page. The album was downloaded more than a million times before the end of May, according to him. A retail CD version of "The Slip" is due shortly before Nine Inch Nails starts its tour on July 25 in Vancouver. "Aside from any kind of monetization of it, I'm glad to know that a million people have it on their iPods," Mr. Reznor said. "If you paid for it, great, but I want everyone to hear it, you know? I want to blow people's minds." He has joined the superstar exodus from major labels. Acts with large audiences and established brands like Radiohead, Madonna and the Eagles no longer need the labels' star-making clout. They have calculated that they can do better, and have more options, outside the old system. Now that Mr. Reznor has finished his contract with Interscope Records, he is following his impulses on when to release music. "I don't have to ask permission," he said. The situation suits his business sense and his temperament. In "Head Like a Hole," the climax of countless Nine Inch Nails concerts, he sings, "I'd rather die than give you control." Mr. Reznor, 43, is an unlikely combination of recluse, showman, tortured Romantic, workaholic and tech geek — which may just be an effective personality for a musician in the digital age. His songs have become perennial adolescent anthems because they blurt out frustration, fury and self-loathing in a dramatic balance of pop melodies and ominous, lacerating noise. And in conversation, he doesn't hide negative thoughts. "Fear has governed my life, if I think about it," he said. "I don't even know why I'm saying this in an interview situation, but I always feel like I'm not good enough for some reason. I wish that wasn't the case, but left to my own devices, that voice starts speaking up." He wonders, in the songs on "The Slip," whether he is irrelevant. The music revives Nine Inch Nails' past, from stomping hard rock to dance-club beats to piano ballad to inexorably building instrumentals. Yet amid walloping drums and distorted guitars — the sounds of angry youth — Mr. Reznor ponders his place in the present. "Start it up again like it matters anymore/I don't know if it does," he sings in "1,000,000." Nine Inch Nails, Mr. Reznor said, is "an aggressive, honest, naked, angry, ugly thing. I don't hear anybody doing anything like that right now that I'm aware of. Maybe there are, but it doesn't seem like it's the flavor of today." As a musician and fan, Mr. Reznor is an old-school rocker who is devoted to the album as a creative unit to be savored and pondered as a whole. But he has also reinvented himself as a digital-era adept. Unlike the Eagles and Radiohead he's not taking years to make albums; he has recognized that while he grew up treating an album like a novel, younger listeners, freely downloading music and setting their iPods on shuffle, are more likely to treat it like a magazine. Mr. Reznor lets his music travel freely at Internet speed, extending album concepts into parallel online universes. He's familiar with file-sharing sites and music blogs, including those that irk him by taking potshots at Nine Inch Nails. Playing live, his laptop now replaces pedals and effects. Mr. Reznor even posts online all the raw digital tracks from Nine Inch Nails albums for anyone to remix. "I'm done with them," he said. "Why not?" "Ghosts I-IV" grew out of ideas after a 2007 tour, which Mr. Reznor set out to record "with very little forethought," he said. He released the album in March, making it available in multiple formats, from a bargain downloadable version for $5 to standard CDs and LPs to a luxury $300 limited-edition boxed set of CDs, vinyl, DVDs and artwork. (The 2,500 copies of that set sold out immediately, for a quick gross of $750,000, and now fetch $500 on eBay.) "The Slip" was knocked out in three weeks of studio time after a month of songwriting. During the sessions he sent one song, "Discipline," to rock radio stations, which have given it Top 10 airplay. The new music, Mr. Reznor acknowledged, relies more often on reflexes than does an album like "The Fragile" (1999), on which every sound is painstakingly shaped; he said he expects his next project to take more "editorial time." With "The Slip," however, he finished recording the songs on a Wednesday and completed mixing, mastering and graphics to release the album five days later. "That was fun," Mr. Reznor said. "You never could have done that before." To release "Ghosts I-IV" and "The Slip" online Mr. Reznor found he needed software to distribute digital files, assemble databases and connect easily with other applications. That too will soon be available free. "We've spent the money to make it," Mr. Reznor said. "Take it." Going independent "was a weird feeling," he said. "It was bittersweet. It was happiness: 'We're finally, finally free of this bureaucracy. Oh, no, now what are we going to do?'" ... Mr. Reznor has no global solution for how to sustain a long-term career as a recording musician, much less start one, when listeners take free digital music for granted. "It's all out there," he added. "I don't agree that it should be free, but it is free, and you can either accept it or you can put your head in the sand." He knows what he doesn't want to do: make his music a marketing accessory. "Now just making good music, or great music, isn't enough," Mr. Reznor said. "Now I have to sell T-shirts, or I have to choose which whorish association is the least stinky. I don't really want to be on the side of a bus or in a BlackBerry ad hawking some product that sucks just so I can get my record out. I want to maintain some dignity and self-respect in the process, if that's possible these days." Nine Inch Nails was a multimillion-selling band throughout the 1990s and has steadily replenished one of rock's most loyal followings, filling arenas on tour ... Before the full band's first rehearsal, at a complex in Burbank, Mr. Reznor had an hourlong conference call with Moment Factory, a high-tech production company in Montreal. Mr. Reznor's eye for technology keeps colliding with his budget. "I don't make any money because I spend it on the production," he said. "But I can't afford to go lose money to play shows." With his longtime graphics co-conspirator, Rob Sheridan, at his side and an e-mail memo on his Mac laptop screen, Mr. Reznor went through a prospective set list, song by song, with Moment Factory, explaining where three giant video screens would be and which disorienting effects he wanted from the programmers and hardware makers — like being able to move a video frame across a musician that also changed the sound of his guitar. "What I'm trying to do is use the stage as an interactive instrument," Mr. Reznor said. "I'm in the world of science fiction now." Nine Inch Nails has been on the arena circuit since the mid-1990s. As Mr. Reznor’s audience grew, so did his ambitions and his self-destructive side: alcoholism and heroin addiction. He went through rehab in 1997, but he backslid as he labored over "The Fragile" for two years. "'The Fragile' ended me," he said. After the tour for "The Fragile," Mr. Reznor went silent for half a decade. He has been sober, he said, since 2001, but he did not release another album until "With Teeth" in 2005. He had feared that without his addictions he'd no longer be creative; he had also feared obsolescence. "I know how old I am," he said. "I'm not trying to fool anybody." ... "These days I work too much, I think, because it makes me feel good," Mr. Reznor said. "I don't know how to do that in a relationship. I don't have a family. I'd like to have one. I just haven't somehow gotten around to it yet. But I know that if I work, it's likely I'll come up with something I'm proud of and that gives me a sense of worth. Not for money or fame — it's, I feel good about it. So like any good addict, if I find something that feels good, if that feels good, maybe doing twice as much feels twice as, you know. ..." His day was just beginning. There was a photo shoot, a band rehearsal, more stage plotting. "Make me look cool," he said by way of goodbye. He caught himself, and laughed.
Brilliant. This has to be one of the most insightful profiles on Trent Reznor that I've read in a very long time. To be honest, I don't recall knowing that he suffered with a heroin addiction in his past (tho, I could just be forgetting) but I've always been impressed with the man's integrity and his commitment to staying true to his beliefs. I've been a huge NIN fan since 1988 and it is just really effing cool that they are still going strong after all these years. I can't wait to see NIN on tour later on this year ... it's been far too long since I've ventured into the depths of a mosh pit. Yes, I realize that that sounds horribly 1994 but it's really the only way to really experience Nine Inch Nails live ... so that is where I'll be. [Source]
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Britney Plans Her Next Step
Photo credit: X17
Britney Spears' former manager Larry Rudolph has confirmed the star will be hitting the streets of London to shoot the promo for her upcoming single Radar. The Toxic star is set to film the video in the capital next week, and is determined to get her career back on track by taking a director's role on-set. Rudolph tells the New York Post , "The theme is her and her girlfriends are going to be looking all around London trying to find a boy who she met in a club. Every time they think they have him, it's someone else. "She will be behind the camera as much as possible; she wants to make sure it's exactly right." In April Rudolph, who was reportedly dismissed by the singer after he joined her parents in forcing Spears into rehab last year, told reporters how the star is gearing up to make a triumphant return to the charts, saying, "She's in an amazing position for a comeback right now. She could end up being the biggest comeback in history."
Britney and Larry make an amazing team. He absolutely knows what it takes to make her a star (after all, he's already done that very thing at the start of her career) so I have total trust in his plans for Britney. Brit's last album, Blackout, was such an amazing album ... especially when you consider that she made the whole thing while she was, well, crazy. I can't even imagine how good her next album will turn out now that she's uncrazy AND working with Larry on her side again. The future looks very bright for our dear Britney ... I can't wait to see her climb back to the top of the heap again to show all the wannabe beyotches who have tried to take her place how it's done. [Source]
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