Tuesday 24 June 2008

J.Lo's School Show

Students got loud for Jennifer Lopez and she sure heard them!

The new mom put on a special concert Tuesday when she performed at a Staten Island elementary school's graduation ceremony.

A group of eight 10- and 11-year-olds at P.S. 37, a school for autistic children, fell in love with J.Lo's tune "Let's Get Loud" after teacher Kathy Amati played the video in class.

After watching the video daily, the students, who learned the lyrics and Jennifer's funky dance moves, wrote to the 38-year-old in hopes of getting an autograph.

What they got instead was a performance of their favorite jam at graduation.




See Also

Sunday 22 June 2008

Pierce Brosnan -- Talk to the Sand!

Pierce Brosnan was shaken and stirred in Maui yesterday -- thanks to one misstep on a stand up paddleboard that threw him face first into the drink.
Pierce Brosnan: Click to watch





See Also

Friday 20 June 2008

Albert Hammond Jr. Announces Live Date

Considering Albert Hammond Jr. is due to release second album '�C�mo Te Llama?' in less than 4 weeks time, The Strokes man has yet to announce any promotional tour dates - until now that is.


On July 11th, three days after the record is released Stateside (July 8th), Hammond Jr. will perform at the Spaceland venue in Los Angeles for a one-off show. More dates - possibly a full length tour - is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.


For more details on '�C�mo Te Llama?' in the meantime, including the tracklisting, check out this news article.




See Also

Pretty Ricky: Get Ready For Joy, In Bigger Than The Sound




There are many benefits to spending 13 hours a week on an airplane. I just can't think of any of them at the moment.

This is probably because I am on an airplane right now, winging my way from New York to Los Angeles once again, for another episode of "FNMTV," Pete Wentz's Friday night video show that I am rather inexplicably a part of. For the next, oh, 10 weeks, that means I will effectively be bicoastal, an official jet-setter and the kind of guy who gets to lounge about in Admiral's Clubs all day long.

That all sounds very glamorous, but I assure you it's not. Because it also means that I always feel tired, jet-lagged and half-drunk (without the whole "getting drunk" part, unfortunately); that I have neglected my duties as general manager of three fantasy-baseball teams; and — perhaps most troubling — that I don't have the slightest idea what is happening anywhere in the world. At all.

I missed the whole "terrorist fist jab" thing, I had no idea Tim Russert had died, and I completely spaced on both the Celtics' Game 4 comeback and Tiger's heroics at Torrey Pines. I am basically like a 5-year-old at this point, blissfully unaware of anything, constantly amazed by everything. You could probably distract me just by jangling a set of keys in front of my face. In fact, if you see me, please don't attempt to do this.

Of course, being a confused, punch-drunk toddler isn't all bad. Come to think of it, it's pretty much the only good thing about spending so much time on airplanes. For one, I can safely say that my appreciation for Pretty Ricky is currently at an all-time high.

Confused? Let me give you a bit of backstory. Late last month, just as all my "FNMTV" hysteria was ramping up, Pretty Ricky — the hyper-libidinous, barely literate R&B quartet perhaps best known for wearing matching "Phantom of the Opera" costumes and inspiring a series of YouTube tribute clips in which shirtless young men summarily ravage furniture — unleashed the epic (and episodic) "21 Days Of 4Play" series, a collection of clips designed to hype both their upcoming album, 80's Babies, and their newest member, a bulgy, preening lover-man who goes by the name of 4Play (you can probably also guess what his primary interest is). As is the case with everything PR do, the videos are low-budget, nonsensical and, of course, obsessed with all things coital. They are full of dramatic soliloquies, shirtless games of craps and grammar lessons given from the back of an SUV. There are impromptu performances filmed on back porches with insane jungle motifs, rambling odes to females delivered from what appears to be King Tut's tomb (or a rec room), and speeches about naked recording techniques given by a gentleman wearing only a wife-beater and jockey shorts (and a 20-pound dookie chain, of course).

The series is, if you haven't gathered, perhaps the most amazingly overwrought bit of lo-fi celluloid to hit the small screen since R. Kelly's legendary "Trapped in the Closet" was foisted upon the unsuspecting masses. It is that good. Probably even better.

Of course, since I was traveling so much, the series came and went without me even noticing, and it wasn't until last week, when my alarmingly brilliant co-worker — and fellow Ricky obsessive — Jim Cantiello sent me a hyperbolic e-mail about it (sample line: "Holy crap. I just can't even contain myself. You must watch them. All of them") that I actually got around to watching all 21 Days. And suffice to say, my reality hasn't been the same since.

Perhaps it's because I am jet-lagged, exhausted and relatively brain-dead, or maybe it was just the result of having nothing else to do, but I have spent basically every waking minute living Pretty Ricky. In airport terminals, hotel rooms and taxi cabs, I have watched and rewatched the series, taking breaks only to eat, sleep and fire off agitated e-mails to my wife about Pretty Ricky (she does not, shall we say, share my excitement). I know every scene, line and location by heart. I have become obsessed with the lives, sartorial choices and idiosyncrasies of the group members, so much so that I find myself wondering why Slick'Em spends most of Episode 13 running a lint-roller over his pectorals, or counting the number of times Spectacular licks his lips, or even marveling at Diamond Blue's commitment to the whole 80's Babies concept, which is so deep that he's taken to dressing like all three members of Bel Biv DeVoe simultaneously and delivering lines like, "I like girls with one toe, five toes, 10 toes" with a straight face (Blue is 100 percent the MVP of the entire "21 Days" series). To be honest, I don't care that much about 4Play, but I'm even willing to give him the benefit of repeated viewings.

And, like I said, the reason for this is probably because of my current situation and mental state (Pretty Ricky are the jangliest of keys, it would seem), but I am OK with this. In fact, I'm glad I'm this way. There is some sort of joyous ridiculousness to the entire series, something I'm sure I'd miss (or at least try to overthink) under so-called "normal" circumstances.

Because as a music journalist, I know I would let my head get in the way of all this. Perhaps I would feel guilty for liking it so much, because, you know, it's the lowest form of art, and maybe Pretty Ricky aren't smart enough to realize the joke's on them (I did the exactly this with Kelly's "Trapped" series, penning a hand-wringing "open letter" to him in an edition of Bigger Than the Sound that ran last year). Or maybe I'd spend hours trying to contextualize the entire series, to attach some sort of higher meaning to it all rather than just enjoy it.

And I'm glad I'm not doing that here. "21 Days of 4Play" is amazing simply because it's amazing. And the same goes for Pretty Ricky. There are probably deeper reasons why I love them both so much, but who needs that? Why use statements like "post-ironic" or "unintentionally hilarious" when simplicity will do? I happen to think super-horny dudes delivering salacious come-ons while wearing Versace silks (or relaxing in an Egyptian-themed room) are hilarious. I am OK with this.

Because, trust me: It's best not to think about it. Just sit back, turn you brain off, and get ready for joy.

You don't have to be a 5-year-old to figure it out. Or maybe you do.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Hit me up at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.






See Also

Carey & Cannon Plan $4 Million Wedding

Mariah Carey and her new husband Nick Cannon will stage a $4 million wedding ceremony in New York when they renew their vows later this summer, according to reports. The pair wed in secret at Carey's Bahamas retreat last month, and the pop superstar has been desperate to walk down the aisle for an encore. The extravagant public event will boast a guest list including supermodel Naomi Campbell, according to MSNBC.com. A source says, "(Mariah) wants over 2,000 guests and the budget will be well over $4 million and she'll have at least 14 bridesmaids. It's going to be held in New York City in the next six weeks. Picture a wedding on the scale of Liza Minnelli's (to David Gest) and you'll be right on track." The hitmaker announced plans to host an annual ceremony with Cannon last week while talking to TV show host Ellen DeGeneres. Carey married her first husband, music executive Tommy Mottola, in a star-studded New York ceremony in 1993. The pair divorced in 1998.


See Also

Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld

Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld   
Artist: Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld

   Genre(s): 
Soundtrack
   



Discography:


Ghosts of the Civil Dead   
 Ghosts of the Civil Dead

   Year: 1989   
Tracks: 14




 






Philip Riley

Philip Riley   
Artist: Philip Riley

   Genre(s): 
New Age
   



Discography:


Pattern Of Lands   
 Pattern Of Lands

   Year: 1996   
Tracks: 7


Visions and Voices   
 Visions and Voices

   Year: 1994   
Tracks: 11




 






Corrie star Haworth expecting first child

'Coronation Street' star Julia Haworth has revealed that she is pregnant with her first child.
The actress, who plays Claire Peacock in the soap, is due to give birth in July.
The actress revealed she found out the news in November but wanted to keep it quiet until her 12 week scan.
She told The Mirror newspaper: "We haven't stopped smiling. It's such a special time and I feel so lucky we're going to share it."
Haworth added that her character's postnatal depression following the birth of son Freddie had helped "prepare" her for being a mother.
The 28-year-old married accountant Jon Wormold in May 2006 after a two-year romance.

Wallace Roney Quintet

Wallace Roney Quintet   
Artist: Wallace Roney Quintet

   Genre(s): 
Jazz
   



Discography:


The Wallace Roney Quintet   
 The Wallace Roney Quintet

   Year: 1996   
Tracks: 13




 






Thursday 19 June 2008

Amy Winehouse performed a private show in Russia which reportedly earnt her a personal fortune of �1 million.


The singer gave a live show at the launch party for the Garage Centre For Contemporary Culture in Moscow, performing to 300 people inside a converted bus station.


Winehouse sang for an hour after being personally invited by Daria Zhukova - the girlfriend of Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.


A statement following the show says, "Amy was very happy to play her part in the restoring of such a great building to its future use as a space for contemporary art."


Amy Winehouse will soon be performing at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday party concert at London's Hyde Park on June 27th alongside acts like Leona Lewis, Sugababes and Razorlight.




See Also