The history of rock is full of “Eureka!” flashes of brilliance. Chuck Berry had the idea to fuse country with the blues. Bob Dylan took folk music electric. Nikki Sixx realized that the line “I’d say we’ve kicked some ass” could rhyme with “I’d say we’re still kickin’ ass.” For the Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner, the big light bulb idea came in 2005: Get huge by thinking small. Write scrappy little Brit-punk tunes about the humdrum town you’re stuck in, the pissy little pubs you can’t get into, the local girls who aren’t desperate enough to dance with you. Give… Read more »
Chris Brown was formally sentenced today in Los Angeles after pleading guilty June 22 to assault charges stemming from his Feb. 8 altercation with Rihanna. As expected, Brown was sentenced to five years of formal felony probation, 180 days of community labor and the completion of a 52-week domestic violence counseling program. The sentencing was originally scheduled for August 5, but the judge presiding over the case wanted a clearer picture of Brown’s hard labor schedule before handing down the official penalty. Brown will fulfill his sentence in his native Virginia. Brown was also fined a total of $2,960. The… Read more »
Slowly but surely partners for the next season of “Dancing With the Stars” are being announced, and Kelly Osbourne is the latest contestant to have her dance partner revealed prior to Monday’s official announcement. “Access Hollywood” reports that when the season starts on September 21, Osbourne will be dancing with Louis van Amstel, who has partnered with Priscilla Presley and Monique Coleman in past seasons. The pair will begin rehearsals this week. According to a tweet by Osbourne, she’s been told by the show’s producers to get a bit tanner for the premiere next month. “Just met with wardrobe, hair,… Read more »
Lady GaGa becomes just the third artist in the 16-year history of the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart to collect three No. 1 songs from a debut album. “LoveGame” (Interscope) rises 2-1, marking Lady GaGa’s third No. 1, following “Just Dance” (two weeks) and “Poker Face” (five weeks). The three songs appear on her top five Billboard 200 album, The Fame. The set has sold 1,162,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The singer-songwriter born Stefani Germanotta joins just two prior artists in accomplishing the triumphant triple play. In 1993-94, Ace Of Base reigned consecutively on Mainstream Top 40… Read more »
Lenny Santiago has a rich history in the rap game. His hands have been in almost all Roc-A-Fella Records releases (sans Kanye West’s), and now he is running things over at Def Jam as vice president of A&R. He signed DJ Khaled and also spearheaded the A&R work on Jadakiss’ The Last Kiss and Fabolous’ upcoming Loso’s Way (due July 28th), and his big fall project is the new one from Ghostface Killah. But hold up: There’s been some controversy over whether Ghostface will really live up to early descriptions that the record that will be an R&B album. Tony… Read more »
In early 1984, when Epic Records executives presented their slate of upcoming releases at the convention in Hawaii of parent company CBS Records they couldn’t resist playing up the success they were experiencing. So between the pitches for new albums, Epic inserted stock footage of semi trucks and a voice-over that thunderously announced, “There goes another load of Michael Jackson’s Thriller albums!” Trucks weren’t really leaving the warehouse every few minutes, but Thriller was still shattering expectations more than a year after its November 30, 1982, release. Epic was selling more than 1 million copies per month in the United… Read more »
Alberta rockers Nickelback may have picked up a leading three trophies at the MuchMusic Video Awards last night, giving music critics across the country another reason to groan, but in the end it was all about Lady Gaga’s “flaming boobies.” The critically unpopular group, who picked up three Juno Awards back in March, went into the televised street-oriented awards show – which saw thousands of fans take over the blocks surrounding MuchMusic’s Toronto Queen and John Sts. headquarters – with a leading five MMVA nods, tied with R&B Toronto newcomer Danny Fernandes. Nickelback’s trio of trophies were for best video… Read more »
Michael Jackson has hit out at his London O2 Arena gig bookers, saying he believed he only signed up to play 10 shows — not the 50 he is scheduled for at the venue. Speaking to fans outside the Los Angeles dance studio where he is rehearsing for the gigs, the singer admitted that he might not be physically well enough to complete all 50 shows. “I don’t know how I’m going to do 50 shows,” he said of the gigs, which kick off in July. “I’m not a big eater — I need to put some weight on.” The… Read more »
TV stations across the U.S. started cutting their analog signals Friday morning, ending a 60-year run for the technology and likely stranding more than 1 million unprepared homes without TV service. The Federal Communications Commission put 4,000 operators on standby for calls from confused viewers, and set up demonstration centers in several cities. Volunteer groups and local government agencies were helping elderly viewers set up digital converter boxes that keep older TVs functioning. Any set hooked up to cable or a satellite dish is unaffected. “When you’re alone like me, that’s my partner,” Patricia Bruchalski, 82, said about her TV.… Read more »
In one of the strangest collaborations this year, Lady Gaga has recruited Marilyn Manson to contribute vocals to the remix of her dance-floor anthem “LoveGame.” As of now, Perez Hilton is streaming the hyperactive remix, and posted some photos of the pair in the studio. Word first caught when Manson showed up at a recent photo shoot, absinthe in hand, to throw morbid pickup lines at Gaga and to proclaim his love of the diva. “I was most impressed by her paparazzi shots. I thought that it looked the way that rock stars should look, as exciting as something that… Read more »
