Madonna on The Huffington Post

James Gavin: Barb Jungr And The New Standards: When Rockers Age Gracefully

2009-11-24T17:06:43Z

Loving cabaret as I do, I'm used to audiences who genuflect at the feet of great elderly singers -- those vessels of wisdom and experience, whose wear-and-tear offers proof of lives fully lived. But in the world of rock, passing 50 is seen as a betrayal, and it can turn critics' pens into machine guns. "I guess I'm just tired of geezer rock stars who won't hang up their leather pants," groused Time managing editor Richard Stengel some years back. The Stones were set to embark on a new tour, but why, asked Stengel, would anyone want to see Mick Jagger's "emaciated self" doddering around?

Once she reached middle age, Madonna had hell to pay. One foe called her a "ridiculous old bag" in the London Telegraph. Advised a poster on totallyupyours.com: "Look at Madonna's old granny hands and arms. The veins are prominent and horrible looking." Good Lord! For stars of all kinds, especially the most privileged and envied, growing older can be like entering a lion's cage without a whip. The word "aging" is applied to them condescendingly, as though we're not all aging at the same rate. Many people can't stand to see their youthful heroes turn gray; it's like a disturbing look in the mirror, an announcement of mortality. Shoot those aged offenders!

How's a poor rocker to weather the years? The superstars just soldier on, braving insults as they collect millions on tour and thrill their loyal fans. If you have the high-flown aspirations of Elvis Costello, who was always a favorite of the critical elite, you can team with string quartets, write songs with Burt Bacharach, and marry Diana Krall. And if you're Rod Stewart, you can exploit nostalgia and record CD after platinum CD of wedding-friendly chestnuts. To a lot of elder rock stars those songs mean class, even if, like Stewart, they end up mangling them.

Far more interesting, though of course less famous, is the work of Barb Jungr, a former punkster from England, and The New Standards, a Minnesota-based trio of ex-alt-rockers. They're local favorites on the rise, and are out to prove that the Great American and British Songbooks didn't end when rock and roll reared its scary head.

This Friday, November 27, myself and their other New York fans will be at Le Poisson Rouge to hear The New Standards, whom I discovered three years ago at Joe's Pub. Onstage I saw three very serious, forty-something men in dark suits.

They sang and played piano, bass, and vibes, but looked more like an angry accounting firm. Later I learned that they'd worked with bands I barely knew, like the Suburbs and Semisonic. Now they were offering artfully jazzy, gently belligerent interpretations of songs normally drowned out by distortion: Mott the Hoople's hit "All the Young Dudes," Roxy Music's "Oh Yeah," Beck's "The New Pollution."

All three members have distinct personalities. Thuggish-looking Chan Poling plays piano and sings gruffly, with some of Lou Reed's punkish sneer. Nimbly plucking the upright bass is John Munson, a ladykiller-type with an earring. Steve Roehm looks like a slightly sinister nerd, but he's a virtuoso on the vibraphone, which gives the group's music an otherworldly chill. Surely their show at Le Poisson Rouge will include lots of songs from their recent CD, Rock and Roll. I hope they include their version of Outkast's raunchy hip-hop hit "Hey Ya!" as well as The Clash's "London Calling," where they make doomsday sound like fun.

I never saw Barb Jungr in her punk-singing youth, when she wore silver-spray-painted boots, Jello-colored tights, and bangs with a red stripe dyed in them. Now past fifty, she's still a bit of a ragamuffin, but she's turned her probing eye toward such hallowed midnight poets as Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Jacques Brel.

Features about Jungr in the New York Times and Time Out New York have brought her the same cult esteem here that she has in England. She's even gained entrée into the Café Carlyle, the most elitist and pricey of cabarets. According to her website, she'll be back there from February 25 through March 6, 2010. And the cover charge should be reasonable.

Her dulcet voice and elegant diction are the only ladylike things about Jungr, whose fierce expressiveness might look silly on a lesser singer. She pores over lyrics to find their truths, and never hesitates to sing songs (like Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman") whose protagonists are male. That's sometimes the case on her newest CD, The Men I Love: The New American Songbook, forthcoming on February 1 from Naim, a British audiophile label. You won't hear the hilarious autobiographical stage talk that lifts things up amid some heavy songs. But The Men I Love kept me riveted. Slowed way down and accompanied sparsely, the Monkees' "I'm a Believer" is a touching hymn to eternal love. Jungr's British arranger and pianist, Simon Wallace, is a master who can play in any style, from New Orleans boogie (on Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere") to the billowy, impressionist waves that back Jungr on "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads. "Wichita Lineman" is full of lonesome cowboy atmospheric. (You can download it from Naim for free.)

These songs deserve such stark examination. Like Jungr herself, they're aging well.

Mike Ragogna: HuffPost Reviews : Beyonce, Rihanna, Buddy Holly, The Doors, Susan Boyle, and More

2009-11-23T00:12:31Z

Beyoncé - I Am...Yours

"You had me at hello," sings Beyoncé Knowles as the soul-pop diva embraces scores of outreached hands while working her way to the stage through a crowd of 1500 at the Wynn Hotel's Encore Theater in Las Vegas. Thus begins her new two-hour plus concert CD/DVD I Am...Yours taped in August that is meant to be an intimate, elegant framing of the singer, although that intimacy will seem super-sized when the program is broadcast on ABC-TV this Thanksgiving. This "concert" is a staged, stripped-down reconfiguration by Beyoncé and co-director Nick Wickham (filmed by Ed Burke) of her current touring extravaganza that covers her biggest hits (like "Halo," "Sweet Dreams," and "If I Were A Boy"), and even shoehorns-in a Destiny's Child tribute as she whisks us through her career highlights in two tidy acts plus an "intermission" that is nothing of the sort (it's a jazz medley with a dance payoff).

Beyoncé's performances are backed by her Suga Mama ensemble plus an orchestra whose satin interpretations pump lush over pomp (much like her Thierry Mugler wardrobe), and the retro, mood-lit platform casts the vocalist in a Diana Ross light--a comparison to the latter artist being an obvious intention. Beyoncé's I Am...Yours is a satisfying decade-and-then-some retrospective that reveals the artist's interesting back story with a personal warmth not always emphasized by our current cast of pop stars.

Start Here: "Halo," "Destiny's Child Medley," and "That's Why You're Beautiful"

Tracks:

CD 1
1. Hello
2. Halo
3. Irreplaceable
4. Sweet Dreams Medley
5. If I Were A Boy
6. Scared Of Lonely
7. That's Why You're Beautiful
8. Satellites
9. Resentment
10. Déjà Vu Jazz Medley
11. Déjà Vu

CD 2
1. I Wanna Be Where You Are
2. Destiny's Child Medley
3. Work It Out
4. '03 Bonnie & Clyde
5. Crazy In Love
6. Naughty Girl
7. Get Me Bodied
8. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
9. Finale

DVD / Blu-ray
Act One - Intimate...
Scene One: Hello Introduction
Scene Two: Halo
Scene Three: Irreplaceable
Scene Four: Sweet Dreams Medley
Scene Five: If I Were A Boy
Scene Six: Scared of Lonely
Scene Seven: That's Why You're Beautiful
Scene Eight: Satellites
Scene Nine: Resentment

Intermission
Déjà Vu Jazz medley
Déjà Vu
Tap Sequence

Act Two - Storytelling
Scene One: I Wanna Be Where You Are
Scene Two: Destiny's Child
Scene Three: Beyoncé
Scene Four: Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Finale And End Credits

Bonus Feature
What Happens In Vegas... (Behind The Scenes)

FYI - Beyoncé just won Best R&B/Soul Female Artist at the 2009 American Music Awards

Rihanna - Rated R

Debuting tonight on the ABC-TV network is the Anthony Mandler-directed video for "Russian Roulette," the first single from Rihanna's new studio album, Rated R. The track--produced by label mate Ne-Yo--as well as the album, deviate from the path A Girl Like Me and Good Girl Gone Bad hip-hopped along, though familiar collaborators such as Chase & Status, Justin Timberlake, Tricky Stewart, and others reappear to lend support.

In many ways, especially after Chris Brown's alleged brutal attack earlier this year, the 21-year-old has every right to let loose the angry, and Rated R takes a walk on the primal side to achieve this. Actually, if these songs were any darker or more pointed in attitude, this album might have had to have been titled Rated NC-17. In some places, her Caribbean accent seems thicker than on her previous albums, perhaps due to this being more of a catharsis than a stab at six or more U.S. pop hits. "Hard" hits exactly in that way, though the Timberlake original "Cold Case Love" resides on the other end of the emotional spectrum.

Of course, guests include many producer/songwriter contributors, plus the eternally cool Slash adds a solid but whack guitar part on "Rockstar 101," an absurd track that normally wouldn't fit on an album like this but does because almost no musical stone is left unturned. From this perspective, Rated R succeeds for its guts and spilling of them, and it's nice that Def Jam allowed this artist to record the album she needed to as opposed to another volume of potential greatest hits.

Start Here: "Mad House," "Russian Roulette," "Cold Case Love," and "Stupid In Love"

Tracks:

1. Mad House
2. Wait Your Turn
3. Hard
4. Stupid In Love
5. Rockstar 101
6. Russian Roulette
7. Fire Bomb
8. Rude Boy
9. Photographs
10. G4L
11. Te Amo
12. Cold Case Love
13. The Last Song

Buddy Holly - Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings And More

With this six-disc box set, the final and best statement has been made on the music of Buddy Holly. Over the 203 preserved tracks, compilation producer and Holly authority Andy McKaie unites the early rocker's Brunswick, Coral, and Decca recordings with quite a few alternate takes, previously unreleased leftovers, every classic hit and b-side, and those now-famous apartment tapes...in short, everything. Additional remastering has been done expertly by sonic genius Erick Labson, and the 80-page book features annotations, important photos, and liner notes that couldn't be better by rock 'n' roll aficionados and wordsmiths, Billy Altman and Bill Dahl.

This is the type of box that deserves a Grammy, regardless of it being a mere six CDs as opposed to the dense, over-100-disc gatherings of past awards. Buddy Holly is not arguably one of the most important chapters of and most influential figures in music's recorded history, he simply is. And there's also no argument that Buddy Holly is the creative inspiration for generations of musicians both famous and obscure that have followed. If by some bizarre reason there isn't at least a nomination, then the oh-so-important Grammy board needs to collectively resign.

Start Here: Anywhere You Want

Tracks:

CD 1
1. My Two-Timin' Woman
2. I'll Just Pretend
3. Take These Shackles From My Heart
4. Footprints In the Snow
5. Flower Of My Heart
6. Door To My Heart
7. Soft Place In My Heart
8. Gotta Get You Near Me Blues
9. I Gambled My Heart
10. You And I Are Through
11. Down The Line
12. Baby, Let's Play House
13. Down The Line
14. You And I Are Through
15. Baby, It's Love
16. Memories
17. Queen Of The Ballroom
18. Memories
19. Moonlight Baby (aka Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight)
20. I Guess I Was Just A Fool
21. Don't Come Back Knockin'
22. Love Me
23. Midnight Shift
24. Midnight Shift (false start/alternate)
25. Don't Come Back Knockin' (alternate)
26. Don't Come Back Knockin'
27. Blue Days, Black Nights
28. Love Me
29. Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight
30. I Guess I Was Just A Fool
31. It's Not My Fault
32. I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down
33. Changin' All Those Changes
34. Rock-A-Bye Rock
35. Because I Love You

CD 2
1. Rock Around With Ollie Vee
2. I'm Changin' All Those Changes
3. That'll Be The Day
4. Girl On My Mind
5. Ting-A-Ling
6. Rock Around With Ollie Vee
7. Modern Don Juan
8. You Are My One Desire (false start)
9. You Are My One Desire
10. Gone (incomplete)
11. Gone
12. Gone (alternate take)
13. Have You Ever Been Lonely (incomplete alternate)
14. Have You Ever Been Lonely (alternate)
15. Have You Ever Been Lonely
16. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
17. Good Rockin' Tonight
18. Rip It Up
19. Blue Monday
20. Honky Tonk
21. Blue Suede Shoes
22. Shake Rattle And Roll (partial)
23. Bo Diddley
24. Ain't Got No Home
25. Holly Hop
26. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
27. Bo Diddley
28. I'm Looking For Someone To Love
29. That'll Be The Day
30. Last Night (undubbed)
31. Maybe Baby (first version)
32. Words Of Love
33. Mailman Bring Me No More Blues
34. Not Fade Away (alternate overdub)
35. Not Fade Away
36. Everyday

CD 3
1. Ready Teddy
2. Valley Of Tears
3. That'll Be The Day (greetings to Bob Thiele)
4. That'll Be The Day (greetings to Murray Deutsch)
5. That'll Be The Day (greetings to Bill Randle)
6. Peggy Sue (alternate take)
7. Peggy Sue
8. Listen To Me
9. Oh Boy (undubbed)
10. I'm Gonna Love You Too
11. Send Me Some Lovin' (undubbed)
12. It's Too Late (undubbed)
13. Oh Boy
14. An Empty Cup (And A Broken Date)
15. Rock Me My Baby
16. Rock Me My Baby (alternate)
17. You've Got Love
18. Maybe Baby
19. Send Me Some Lovin'
20. It's Too Late
21. Tell Me How
22. Little Baby
23. (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care
24. Look At Me
25. Mona (rehearsal)
26. Mona (version 1)
27. Mona (version 2)
28. Mona (version 3)
29. Rave On
30. That's My Desire (two false starts plus undubbed master)
31. Well...All Right Well...All Right
32. Fool's Paradise (alternate take 1)
33. Fool's Paradise (alternate take 2)
34. Fool's Paradise (undubbed master)

CD 4
1. Think It Over (false start & rehearsal take)
2. Think It Over (undubbed alternate)
3. Think It Over (undubbed master)
4. Take Your Time (false start & alternate take)
5. Take Your Time
6. Fool's Paradise
7. Think It Over
8. Lonesome Tears
9. It's So Easy
10. Heartbeat
11. Love's Made A Fool Of You (undubbed)
12. Early In The Morning
13. Now We're One (fragment)
14. Now We're One
15. Come Back Baby
16. Reminiscing (undubbed)
17. True Love Ways (mono mix)
18. True Love Ways (stereo mix)
19. It Doesn't Matter Anymore (mono)
20. It Doesn't Matter Anymore (stereo)
21. Raining In My Heart (mono)
22. Raining In My Heart (stereo)
23. Moondreams (mono)
24. Moondreams (stereo)
25. You're The One
26. That's What They Say (w/fragment)
27. What To Do
28. Peggy Sue Got Married
29. That Makes It Tough
30. Crying, Waiting, Hoping
31. Learning The Game
32. Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie

CD 5
1. Slippin' And Slidin' (slow version #1)
2. Slippin' And Slidin' (slow version #2)
3. Slippin' And Slidin' (fast version)
4. Drown In My Own Tears (fragment)/Buddy & Maria Elena talking in apartment
5. Dearest (alternate take)
6. Dearest
7. Untitled Instrumental (a/k/a Buddy's Guitar/listed as "Tremolo Instrumental")
8. Love Is Strange
9. Smokey Joe's Café
10. Peggy Sue Got Married
11. Crying, Waiting, Hoping
12. That's What They Say (version 2)
13. What To Do
14. Learning The Game
15. That Makes It Tough
16. Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight
17. Because I Love You
18. Changin' All Those Changes
19. I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down
20. It's Not My Fault
21. Rock-A-Bye Rock
22. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
23. Bo Diddley
24. What To Do
25. Peggy Sue Got Married
26. Crying, Waiting, Hoping
27. That Makes It Tough
28. That's What They Say
29. Learning The Game
30. Reminiscing
31. Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie
32. Dearest (version 2)
33. Slippin' And Slidin' (slow version 2)

CD 6
1. Baby Let's Play House (I Wanna Play House With You)
2. Down The Line
3. Wait Til' The Sun Shines Nellie (overdub version 2)
4. Reminiscing
5. Flower Of My Heart
6. Door To My Heart
7. Soft Place In My Heart
8. I Gambled My Heart
9. Gotta Get You Near Me Blues
10. Gone (version 3)
11. Rip It Up
12. Honky Tonk
13. Blue Suede Shoes
14. Shake Rattle And Roll
15. You And I Are Through
16. Baby It's Love
17. Memories
18. Queen Of The Ballroom
19. Love's Made A Fool Of You
20. Wishing (mono)
21. Wishing (stereo)
22. Maybe Baby
23. That's My Desire
24. Have You Ever Been Lonely (version 1)
25. Good Rockin' Tonight
26. Blue Monday
27. Ain't Got No Home
28. Holly Hop
29. Slippin' And Slidin'
30. You're The One
31. Love Is Strange
32. (Ummm, Oh Yeah) Dearest
33. Smokey Joe's Café

The Doors - Live In New York

Appearing in New York City for the last time before Jim Morrison died, The Doors blues-rocked for four nights at the Felt Forum, a smaller-than-the-Garden arena whose acoustics were preferred by the band after having played the larger venue in the previous year. Live In New York is a six-CD sprawl that presents all of the performances, those concerts having gone down as some of the band's most significant live works (over the years, only a few selected songs have been released across their box set and the album Absolutely Live).

These shows included takes on classic blues numbers and some of their oldest material as the band revisited their roots for revitalization, and the concerts also launched songs such as "Roadhouse Blues," "Ship Of Fools," and "Peace Frog" whose studio counterparts would later make up the core of the Morrison Hotel album. Each night's set list was altered at the time for freshness (the last night including John Sebastian sitting-in), and with Bruce Botnick's new mixes, the recordings themselves sound as immediate as if you were at the Forum during those legendary concerts.

Start Here: "Roadhouse Blues," "Light My Fire," "Little Red Rooster," and "Back Door Man"

Tracks:

CD 1
Start Of Show
Roadhouse Blues
Ship Of Fools*
Break On Through (To The Other Side)*
Tuning
Peace Frog
Blue Sunday
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
Back Door Man*
Love Hides*
Five To One*
Tuning/Breather
Who Do You Love
Little Red Rooster
Money
Tuning
Light My Fire*
More, More, More
Soul Kitchen*
End Of Show

CD2
Start Show 2
Jim How Ya Doing?
Roadhouse Blues
Break On Through (To The Other Side)*
Ship Of Fools
Crawling King Snake
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
Back Door Man*
Five To One
Pretty Neat, Pretty Good
Build Me A Woman
Tuning/Breather
Who Do You Love*
Tuning/Breather
Wild Child*
Cheering/Tuning
When The Music's Over

CD3
Tuning/Breather
Light My Fire*
Hey, Mr. Light Man!
Soul Kitchen*
Jim's Fish Joke
The End
End Of Show

CD 4
Start Show 3
Roadhouse Blues*
Ship Of Fools*
Break On Through (To The Other Side)*
Tuning/Breather
Universal Mind*
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) - False Start*
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)*
Back Door Man*
Five To One
Tuning/Breather
Moonlight Drive
Who Do You Love*
Calling Out For Songs
Money*
Tuning/Breather
Light My Fire
More, More More
When The Music's Over*
Good Night - End Show

CD 5
Start Show 4
Roadhouse Blues*
Peace Frog*
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)*
Back Door Man
Five To One
We Have A Special Treat
Celebration Of The Lizard
Alright Let's Boogie
Build Me A Woman
When The Music's Over*
More, More, More

CD 6
Soul Kitchen*
For Fear Of Getting Too Patriotic
Petition The Lord With Prayer
Light My Fire
Only When The Moon Comes Out
Close To You
The Encore Begins
Rock Me*
What To Do Next?
Going To N.Y. Blues*
Tuning/Breather
Maggie M'Gill*
Tuning/Breather
Gloria*/End Of Show

*previously unreleased

Susan Boyle - I Dreamed A Dream

It was lots of fun over this past year to read everyone's quick-witted and dim-witted blogs about Scottish singer Susan Boyle, the 48-year-old housewife who amazed millions of British and YouTube viewers with her renditions of "Cry Me A River" and Les Misérables' "I Dreamed A Dream." That title says almost everything you need to know about the self-proclaimed "wee-wifey," Boyle successfully having challenged convention while following her heart's desire by appearing on Britain's Got Talent. And when the middle-aged pop idol appeared on America's Got Talent, her eerily good take on The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" earned her a standing ovation, that performance expanding her presence in U.S. households beyond the internet.

This new album--naturally, titled I Dreamed A Dream--features a few of Boyle's most internationally popular reworks including the above-mentioned as well as covers of John Stewart's original "Daydream Believer" (the old Monkees and Anne Murray hit), and a touching version of Madonna's "You'll See." With faith playing a major role in her personal life, Susan Boyle's "Amazing Grace," "Silent Night," and "How Great Thou Art" were necessary inclusions, as were the self-confident and assertive "Who I Was Born To Be" and the song "Proud" that practically is an anthem for anyone who is, well, proud of their lives.

This will be an album to watch because it could very well shake up the Top Ten based on interest from mature and Christian demos as well as the extremely curious. You've got to root for the underdogs when they're this honest about their convictions, and Susan Boyle is like a singing Rocky of her generation on both sides of the pond. Sure, her vibrato warbles in spots, her read sounds a little lost when tackling lyrics that get wordy, and this will be a tough listen for anyone without ears for the easy listening format. But makin' rekkids is a new experience for Boyle, and she did it pretty well this time out without a trace of Mrs. Elva Miller on the microphone. In a year when Barbra Streisand can have one of the biggest albums of her career, Susan Boyle comes to the plate ignoring the signals. Watch her point the bat at us with an evil grin then proceed to hit a homer.

Start Here: "Wild Horses," "You'll See," and "I Dreamed A Dream"

Tracks:

1. Wild Horses
2. I Dreamed A Dream
3. Cry Me A River
4. How Great Thou Art
5. You'll See
6. Daydream Believer
7. Up To The Mountain
8. Amazing Grace
9. Who I Was Born To Be
10. Proud
11. The End Of The World
12. Silent Night

An Interview With The Jimmies' Ashley Albert

Mike Ragogna: How would you best describe a "Jimmie"?

Ashley Albert: "Jimmies," in the northeast, are sprinkles that you put on ice cream. "The Jimmies" had become my company name...what I like about it is that their only purpose on ice cream is to add a little extra fun. They have no nutritional value, they're not even particularly delicious, and there's no reason for them to be there except if you want to add a tiny bit more fun than what ice cream already offers. So I like the idea that The Jimmies are just there for a little extra fun. Make that a lot more fun.

MR: Yeah, and you can't say the word without smiling at the end of it. Nicely played!

AA: I'm a namer, like in general, and people come to me when they have babies, new businesses, books, or products, that's my thing. I would actually start a company that did that if I could think of a good enough name for it.

MR: There seem to be many Jimmies, but it's also your persona. How does that duplicity work in Jimmies World?

AA: Originally, when The Jimmies came about, it was just me. I got a record producer and made the album with him, then I had auditions in New York and cast the band. I'd never been in a band before, I didn't know anything, I just sort of went like, "I don't know, what's in a band...a bass player, a keyboard player, a drummer," so I sort of picked those instruments. It's always been a work-for-hire kind of thing, and I now have a stable of great guys I can call upon at any moment.

MR: You have a couple of different projects, the DVD/CD Trying Funny Stuff and the older CD Make Your Own Someday that's been out for a while, right?

AA: Yeah, that's been out for about three years, but it's never gotten any national distribution. So once I made this deal with Barnes & Noble, we decided to re-release it. It had been a pretty underground record, and it won a bunch of "Best Album Of The Year" raves and a bunch of awards, but really, only the parents who were in the super-super in-the-know had heard the record. Since the DVD was sort of a companion piece to the CD because it's all the music from it, we decided to release them both at the same time.

MR: So Barnes & Noble saw the genius of your Jimmies?

AA: Yeah, which is incredible because we did it independently. Usually, a big place like Barnes & Noble isn't interested in working with an independent artist, they want to work with major labels and distributors. It's very difficult, in general, for an independent artist to get brick-and-mortar stores. They really only want the franchise stuff that's on TV that's already guaranteed to sell. It's amazing, they have it on their overheads, and someone told me when they walked in the store, we were playing on their sound system. We're their "gift" buy, and they even have us on their end-cap...they've really gotten behind it. I get on the phone with them all the time, and for such a big company, it feels very personal and they're good people. So, I'm completely blown away, excited, and grateful that they're taking a chance on us.

MR: It's like you're trailblazing for independent artists as you elevate your presence there.

AA: Now we just have to get people to buy it so that more independent artists will be able to get in there!

MR: And even with a Barnes & Noble backing projects like these, artists like yourself who create children's music have a tough go of it since parents don't necessarily know what they're looking for. Like for most genres, touring seems to be the best way to support a project.

AA: We have a great booking agent, the same as The Imagination Movers, which is amazing. There are times when people call for them and when they can't afford paying for them, they kind of slide us into that slot if they still need a musical act.

MR: Who takes care of the details for your tours?

AA: I do everything myself from the negotiations of the contract to packing up the bubble machine to getting us hotel rooms.

MR: Taking the show that's on Trying Funny Stuff must be interesting to recreate on the road since there's a lot going on.

AA: It's a tremendous effort to get out there and tour, and like you said, it's so hard to get the awareness out to parents, even to come out to the shows. They just don't have time...if it's not on TV or they just don't know about it, you can't ask parents to do the investigative research to find out. So, I'm focusing on trying to find alternative ways to get in front of families, and that's more effective than doing one-off shows here and there.

MR: Making music for children that aren't super-young also must be challenging.

AA: The challenge for us, and also one of the great things, is that we're one of the few kid bands out there that are making music for elementary school-aged kids. A lot of the kids bands are aiming at the younger toddlers and pre-school kids, and there's not a lot of contact made with elementary school kids. The problem is the older kids will watch the young stuff until they get old enough, and then they move on to the Hannah Montanas and Jonas Brothers of the world. So, no one has to make music for that age group, they just get buckled-in, they just have to hook the older kids and the younger kids, then the middle kids will follow.

MR: Is there has to be a lot of satisfaction in directing music at that age group?

AA: I love that we're doing it for them, they're the best kids. They're not only the ones that are still young enough to be silly and laugh and have fun, but they're old enough that they have a sense of humor, a sense of language, and they're able to follow the nuances of puns and my style of ridiculousness.

1. What's That Sound?
2. Bedhead
3. Spanimals
4. The Peanut Butter Polka
5. Cool To Be Uncool
6. Do The Elephant
7. Teeth
8. What's On Your Shirt?
9. Punxsutawney Phil
10. Somebody's Birthday
11. Taddy
12. Huptsha Huptsha
13. Soaper the Scaredy-Bot
14. Tuesday Blues
15. Googlie Mooglie

INTERMISSION: Hey, check out the new Paramore video, "Brick By Boring Brick"!:

Pressing Press Releases:

MySpace Music Invites Fans to GET CLOSE TO LADY GAGA with New Contest

Site Premieres New Album from Adam Lambert Titled For Your Entertainment

Win a chance to meet Lady Gaga, attend her rehearsal and "Monster Ball" concert in Boston all while capturing it on camera. MySpace Music announced today an exclusive contest with international pop superstar Lady Gaga to win the chance to film the first U.S concert of her tour on December 1st in Boston, MA; the video will be edited and featured on the homepage of MySpace. The Fame Monster herself will be choosing fan-submitted videos claiming why they deserve to "get close" to the superstar. The contest kicks off today at Lady Gaga's official MySpace profile at: http://www.myspace.com/ladygaga. The chosen fans will be flown to Boston, equipped with cameras, to document her performance and share their experiences. The day they arrive they will head to the venue to watch Lady Gaga rehearse and meet and interview her. At the end of the night, the winners will hand in their cameras and their footage will be edited together into a comprehensive concert piece fully shot by her biggest fans and, in essence, creating three new official live videos for Lady Gaga.

In addition to the aforementioned contest, music fans can listen to Adam Lambert's highly anticipated debut album, For Your Entertainment, in full and for free exclusively on MySpace Music (http://www.myspace.com/adamlambert) and iLike (http://www.iLike.com/adamlambert) . The exclusive album stream will be available on MySpace Music and iLike a week in advance of For Your Entertainment's release on November 23, 2009.

GLEEFUL NEWS! - CAST VERSIONS OF "BOOTYLICIOUS," "IMAGINE," "TRUE COLORS," AND CAST MASH-UP OF "HAIR/CRAZY IN LOVE," AMONG SONGS FEATURED IN "GLEE" WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, ON FOX

Columbia Records and Twentieth Century Fox Television today released select songs on iTunes featured in this week's episode of GLEE, including cast versions of Beyonce's "Bootylicious," John Lennon's "Imagine," Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" and a cast mash-up of "Hair" from the musical and Beyonce's "Crazy in Love."

In this week's all-new episode, airing Wednesday, Nov. 25 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX, WILL (Matthew Morrison) is concerned that SUE (Jane Lynch) is up to no good, so he pays a visit to an instructor of a competing Glee Club (guest star Eve) to see what information she might be leaking, which leads to the club getting a look at their hair-rising competition. Meanwhile, KURT (Chris Colfer) gives RACHEL (Lea Michele) a makeover to impress FINN (Cory Monteith), but he may have ulterior motives in the "Hairography" episode of GLEE.

In addition to these new songs, cast versions of Diana Ross and Lionel Richie's "Endless Love," The Pretenders' "I'll Stand By You," Jennifer Paige's "Crush," Paul Anka's "(You're) Having My Baby," Bill Withers' "Lean On Me," cast mash-up of The Police's "Don't Stand So Close To Me" with Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's "Young Girl," Ike & Tina Turner's "Proud Mary," "Defying Gravity" from Broadway's "Wicked," Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself," Young MC's "Bust A Move," Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," Sisqo's "Thong Song," Jill Scott's "Hate On Me," The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown's "No Air," Avril Lavigne's "Keep Holding On," Queen's "Somebody To Love," Heart's "Alone," Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," "Maybe This Time" from "Cabaret," Céline Dion's "Taking Chances," Rihanna's "Take A Bow," Carrie Underwood's "Last Name," Jazmine Sullivan's "Bust Your Windows," Kanye West's "Gold Digger," REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling," Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" and Duffy's "Mercy," as well as mash-ups of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" with Usher's "Confessions Part II" and Beyoncé's "Halo" with Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine," are also available for purchase via all digital service providers.

"Glee: The Music, Volume 1," which features music heard in the first season of the series, is currently available for purchase. Released on November 3, the album sold in excess of 113,000 units in its first week alone and garnered an astounding No. 4 spot on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. And for fans who just can't get enough of GLEE's high-spirited music, "Glee: The Music, Volume 2" hits stores on Tuesday, Dec. 8.

GLEE, the genre-defying new musical comedy series, follows an optimistic teacher who - against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach - attempts to save McKinley High's Glee Club from obscurity while helping a group of aspiring underdogs realize their true star potential. Starring Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz, GLEE is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers, while Ian Brennan serves as co-executive producer.

NORMA JEAN PERFORMING NEW SONG "KILL MORE PRESIDENTS" ON THE EXPLOSIONS 2009 TOUR

CREATING LIVE MUSIC VIDEO VIA FAN VIDEO CLIPS WITH PRIZE PACK GIVEAWAYS

NEW ALBUM OUT SUMMER 2010

Calling all Norma Jean fans--get your video phones & flip cams charged and ready to record the live performance of their new song, "Kill More Presidents," for their current EXPLOSIONS 2009 Tour. The band is asking fans to use their portable digital cameras to film the band playing the new song live and then upload to a microsite after the show. Norma Jean will then create a live music video with all material coming from fan submissions.

For those who submit video clips, Norma Jean offer a hefty set of prizes from such sponsors as Monster Energy, Activision/Tony Hawk RIDE, Alternative Press Magazine, Denny's, Keep A Breast, Rockett Clothing and Hot Topic. Those without a digital video camera can still submit their email address for the Norma Jean mailing list and enter to win the second tier prize pack. Winners will be chosen at random.

Norma Jean will be playing "Kill More Presidents" live on the 2009 EXPLOSIONS tour with support from Horse The Band, The Chariot, and Arsonists Get All The Girls. A new Norma Jean album is slated for summer 2010.

Click here for the contest microsite: http://www.normajeannoise.com/video/

PATTY GRIFFIN TO RELEASE GOSPEL-INSPIRED ALBUM

DOWNTOWN CHURCH TO BE RELEASED JANUARY 26, 2010

EMI/Credential Recordings is excited to announce that Patty Griffin is set to release Downtown Church, a gospel-inspired set on January 26, 2010. It is Griffin's seventh album and was produced by Buddy Miller. Downtown Church was cut live in The Downtown Presbyterian Church on 5th Ave. N. in Nashville over the first week of January 2009 with Griffin singing from the pulpit. It features vocal support from Emmylou Harris, Raul Malo, Jim Lauderdale, Shawn Colvin, Mike Farris, Buddy and Julie Miller as well as Regina and Ann McCrary, whose father was one of the founding members of the legendary gospel group the Fairfield Four. The musicians are bassist Dennis Crouch and drummer Jay Bellerose who played with Miller in the Alison Krauss/Robert Plant touring band, as well as long-time Griffin guitarist Doug Lancio, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, John Deaderick on piano and Russ Pahl on steel guitar among others.

The idea for Downtown Church started with EMI's Peter York suggesting to Griffin that she should consider doing an album of gospel songs. His suggestion grew out of a version of "Waiting For My Child," the song Griffin recorded with Mavis Staples for the Oh Happy Day compilation. Griffin's answer was simple: "That would be great, as long as Buddy Miller is producing it." She continued, "I still feel like black gospel music, what's come out of the United States from slavery, is really the foundation for almost everything that I love. I'm talkin' Beatles and everything. That, to me, is just basic. The foundation."

When Miller and Griffin started work on the record, the producer sent the singer his favorite gospel songs. "Buddy dumped so many songs onto my iTunes that it crashed," Griffin said. "That was a year before we even started making the record. And then he sent me a couple of CDs. There were like 100 songs to start. It was pretty fun going through all that stuff; I got through the first 50 and had everything I needed."

Like Griffin's previous six albums, Downtown Church is stylistically diverse, focusing not only on the black gospel tradition but also on the white Southern gospel songs of Hank Williams and Alfred G. Karnes (one of the dozens of artists not named Carter or Rodgers who were recorded by Ralph Peer in Bristol, TN, during the late 1920s), and one beautiful nod to Hispanic gospel traditions. Alongside, two Griffin originals and a closing hymn attributed to St. Francis of Assisi round out the record.

Her own contributions came after listening to a goodly handful of Bob Dylan's religious work. "Buddy sent me a lot of that stuff," she says. "It's just not my point of view. The songs I'm singing, I'm just interpreting someone else's ideas, and I'm not tied to those ideas. Listening to Dylan, who's contemporary, and who's in my genre, if I may be so bold as to say that, I felt like I really had to write my own and put a couple in there that feel like me."

Griffin and her band will be touring throughout 2010.

NORMA JEAN PERFORMING NEW SONG "KILL MORE PRESIDENTS" ON THE EXPLOSIONS 2009 TOUR

CREATING LIVE MUSIC VIDEO VIA FAN VIDEO CLIPS WITH PRIZE PACK GIVEAWAYS

NEW ALBUM OUT SUMMER 2010

Calling all Norma Jean fans--get your video phones & flip cams charged and ready to record the live performance of their new song, "Kill More Presidents," for their current EXPLOSIONS 2009 Tour. The band is asking fans to use their portable digital cameras to film the band playing the new song live and then upload to a microsite after the show. Norma Jean will then create a live music video with all material coming from fan submissions.

For those who submit video clips, Norma Jean offer a hefty set of prizes from such sponsors as Monster Energy, Activision/Tony Hawk RIDE, Alternative Press Magazine, Denny's, Keep A Breast, Rockett Clothing and Hot Topic. Those without a digital video camera can still submit their email address for the Norma Jean mailing list and enter to win the second tier prize pack. Winners will be chosen at random.

Norma Jean will be playing "Kill More Presidents" live on the 2009 EXPLOSIONS tour with support from Horse The Band, The Chariot, and Arsonists Get All The Girls. A new Norma Jean album is slated for summer 2010.

Click here for the contest microsite: http://www.normajeannoise.com/video/

THE AVETT BROTHERS ANNOUNCE 2010 SPRING TOUR

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS PERFORMANCE ON JANUARY 23rd

The Avett Brothers are thrilled to announce their 2010 spring tour dates. With their album I and Love and You debuting at number 16 on the Billboard charts and selling over 40,000 units during the first week alone, these North Carolina rockers haven't shown any signs of slowing down.

On the heels of an extremely successful 2009 year with their critically acclaimed Rick Rubin produced album I and Love and You, and an extensive electrifying US tour, The Avett Brothers gear up to remind fans just how powerful a musical force this quartet is. Beginning their spring tour on February 4th in Athens, OH the band will travel throughout the US and end up in Cumberland, MD on May 28th (see below for full itinerary).

The Avett Brothers recently taped a special performance for PBS' Austin City Limits. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in American television history. With this performance, the Avett Brothers join the celebrated ranks with music legends and innovators from every genre including the likes of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino. This momentous performance will air January 23rd on PBS.

This year, the brothers have been wowing late night audiences across America with performances on The Late Show with David Letterman , The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and more recently, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon where they debuted their second single "Slight Figure of Speech."

The video for "Slight Figure of Speech" premieres today on the comedy site, FunnyOrDie.com, with a guest appearance by funny man Andy Daly. The video was directed by fellow North Carolina native Jody Hill, the brain behind HBO's cult classic "Eastbound & Down".

Paste Magazine hails I and Love and You as one of the "Best Albums of the Decade". The Boston Globe calls The Avett Brothers' live performance "electric energy of rock 'n' roll with the spirit of old-fashioned storytelling". The Village Voice affirms they play "with the ferocity of a punk band, strumming them out with a hard locomotive chug, hopping in place, harmonizing in one moment and screaming hoarsely in the next." Esquire Magazine proclaims, "If they are sex, they are sex with the lights on."

THE AVETT BROTHERS 2010 SPRING TOUR DATES:

1/01 Atlanta, GA, Fox Theatre
1/03 Dallas, TX, Granada Theater
2/24 Athens, OH, Ohio University
2/26 Ithaca, NY, State Theatre
2/27 Cleveland, OH, House of Blues
2/28 Indianapolis, IN, Egyptian Room @ Murat Centre
3/02 Columbia, MO, Missouri Theatre
3/03 Midwest City, OK, Rose State PAC
3/05 Minneapolis, MN, First Avenue
3/06 Milwaukee, WI, Turner Hall Ballroom
3/07 Chicago, IL, House of Blues
3/09 Ann Arbor, MI, Michigan Theater
4/17 Oakland, CA, Fox Theater
4/18 Reno, NV, Grand Sierra Theatre
4/20 Boulder, CO, Boulder Theater
4/21 Boulder, CO, Boulder Theater
4/23 Tucson, AZ, Rialto Theatre
4/24 Mesa, AZ, Mesa Arts Center/Ikeda Theater
4/25 Indio, CA, Stagecoach Festival
4/27 Sacramento, CA, Crest Theatre
4/28 Santa Barbara, CA, Arlington Theatre
4/29 San Diego, CA, House of Blues
5/02 Wilkesboro, NC, MerleFest
5/28 Cumberland, MD, Del Fest: Allegany County Fairgrounds

THE GUESS WHO'S SO LONG, BANNATYNE (1971) AND ROCKIN' (1972) REISSUED ON CD

LIMITED EDITION REISSUES CONTINUE ICONOCLASSIC RECORDS' ACCLAIMED GUESS WHO REISSUE PROGRAM

First time on CD in U.S.

So Long, Bannatyne releases December 8, 2009; Rockin' releases January 12, 2010

Iconoclassic Records announces the latest releases in the label's continuing reissue program of the original albums by The Guess Who. SO LONG, BANNATYNE, originally released in 1971, will be reissued on December 8, 2009; ROCKIN' (from 1972) will follow on January 12, 2010. Both releases are now available for pre-order. Each album has been digitally remastered from the original master tapes by Grammy®-winning engineer Vic Anesini and features extensive liner notes with new interviews and song commentary from all of the living band members as well as producer Jack Richardson. Each CD edition is limited to 3,000 non-numbered limited edition copies.

The Guess Who proved they could weather a significant personnel change with 1970's commercially and artistically triumphant Share The Land, welcoming guitarists Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw onboard as replacements for Randy Bachman, with the guitarists joining long-standing members Burton Cummings (vocals, keyboards), Jim Kale (bass) and Garry Peterson (drums). The 1971 follow-up to Share The Land, SO LONG, BANNATYNE saw the band branching out, embracing more eclectic and less polished and commercial material, much of it with a considerably darker hue than the band's earlier hits and heavily influenced by John Lennon's visceral Plastic Ono Band.

Unprepared at the time for the band's latest evolution, at the time of its release BANNATYNE was saddled by many fans and critics alike with the tag of being the beginning of the end for the band as a vital hit-making proposition. But to a fresh set of ears, a fascinating lyrical continuity emerges that reveals a band and its principal writers burdened by success, cynical, tormented; the result being a kind of ad hoc concept record centering around themes of desperation, anger, disillusionment, resignation and an interminable bleakness, topics frontman Burton Cummings would continue to explore throughout the rest of The Guess Who's lifespan.

Iconoclassic Records' limited edition reissue of SO LONG, BANNATYNE appends the contemporaneous "Albert Flasher" b/w "Broken" single as bonus tracks, making this the definitive edition of a landmark album.

ROCKIN', originally released in 1972, represented a back-to-basics album for The Guess Who. Recorded and mixed in just 4 1/2 days of what were often live-in-the-studio sessions, ROCKIN' captures the band at its loosest, cracking jokes, remembering songs from their youth, and demonstrating the casual brilliance that marked one of rock's finest and most underrated ensembles. Frontman Burton Cummings recalls ROCKIN' as "the best GW time of my entire GW time...we started getting drum sounds about noon on Monday, and we turned in the finished, mixed masters about 3 p.m. on Friday."

The twin-guitars of Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw power one of The Guess Who's hardest rocking releases. Yet in true early '70s Guess Who fashion, ROCKIN' features an all-inclusive definition of rock, from the heavy riffs of opening track and single "Heartbroken Bopper," the '50s-styled boogies "Get Your Ribbons On" and "Running Bear," the harmony-driven "Smoke Big Factory," the socially conscious "Guns, Guns, Guns," and the psychedelic multipart suite that closed the original album.

A longtime cult-favorite among their fans, The Guess Who's ROCKIN' has been augmented with two previously unreleased bonus tracks exclusive to this limited edition release, including "Lost Sheep," a dry run for the "Hi Rockers!" medley that arguably betters its originally released counterpart.

Motion City Soundtrack Announce US Headlining Tour in Support of Major Label Debut

My Dinosaur Life - Due Out January 19th on Columbia Records

Tour Kicks-off with a Hometown Show on January 23rd at First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN

Motion City Soundtrack announce a US headlining tour in support of their highly-anticipated new album and major label debut - My Dinosaur Life - due out January 19th on Columbia Records. The tour kicks-off with a hometown show at First Avenue in Minneapolis and Motion City Soundtrack will be joined by fellow rockers Set Your Goals, This Providence and The Swellers for the entire tour. Tickets for the shows listed below go on sale at 10AM this Friday, November 20th.

The upcoming 2010 tour will be Motion City Soundtrack's first trek in over a year and first in support of their new album My Dinosaur Life. Produced by Blink-182's Mark Hoppus and mixed by Andy Wallace, this will be the band's fourth studio album and major label debut. Fans can pre-order the album now and the band is offering a special deluxe edition only available through the MCS store which you can access via the band's web site www.motioncitysoundtrack.com.

As the band gears up for the new album and tour ahead, fans and critics alike can follow Justin Pierre on the "Dino Trail" at www.mydinosaurlife.com and catch the guys when they join up with Weezer in December.

Check out www.motioncitysoundtrack.com for the most up-to-date information.

CASH MONEY FOUNDERS WILLIAMS BROTHERS & HIT ARTIST JAY SEAN TO APPEAR AT PACE UNIVERSITY FOR 'WHERE DO I SIGN?" SEMINAR NOV. 23rd

Professor Vernon J. Brown's class to spotlight relationship between entertainment lawyers and their clients

It's back to school for Cash Money CEOs and co-founders Ronald "Slim" Williams, brother Bryan "Birdman" Williams and their latest hit artist Jay Sean.

The principals behind the historic, New Orleans-based hip-hop label will take part in "Where Do I Sign?," Pace University School of Law Professor Vernon J. Brown's Entertainment Law class on the White Plains, N.Y., campus Monday evening, Nov. 23, from 6-8 p.m.

"The goal is to give my entertainment law students practical knowledge in working with their clients and interacting with label executives," Brown explains. "What artists expect from their attorneys and what they should expect from their clients. The class is like Inside the Actor's Studio for lawyers, offering practical advice for the way things actually work in the real world."

Brown has invited a number of his clients to address his class over the past four years, with the discussions focusing on how resolving legal issues has shaped the individual artists' and label executives' careers, with an extensive question-and-answer session. "My long-range goal is to give a similar class to junior high school and high school students, to make them aware of other careers that exist in the entertainment world other than as performers," he says.

The Williams recently marked the 10th anniversary of their distribution deal with Universal Music Group for their groundbreaking label, which over the years has produced hit albums by Lil Wayne, Drake, Jay Sean, Juvenile, B.G., Turk, Big Tymers, Mannie Fresh, Hot Boys and Baby/Birdman, two of Bryan Williams' hip-hop alter egos. Jay Sean is the label's latest success, with a chart-topping single in "Down" and his U.S. debut album, All or Nothing, hitting stores on Monday (11/23).

Brown, who has been Cash Money's business manager and attorney for 14 years and one of the industry's leading business managers for more than two decades, is a graduate of City College of New York, a licensed Certified Public Accountant who earned his law degree from Pace University, where he has taught Entertainment Law for the past four years. As Chairman/CEO of V. Brown & Company, he represents clients in all areas of entertainment, including fashion (supermodels Jessica Stam, Marisa Miller, Miranda Kerr, Coco Rocha), sports (Allan Houston, Charlie Ward, Ty Law, Michael Redd, Clinton Portis and Dwight Freeney), recording artists (Notorious B.I.G., Erykah Badu, Brian McKnight, Ne-Yo), film producers, performers (Steve-O) and directors (Harold "Hype" Williams).

TREY SONGZ GETS "READY" FOR THANKSGIVING BY ASSISTING HIS COMMUNITY
PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA IN HIS "FEED FOR LOVE CAMPAIGN"

R&B SUPERSTAR'S "SONGZ FOR PEACE FOUNDATION" TO GIVE 500 TURKEYS TO FAMILIES;
CHARITY EVENT SLATED FOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24th;

*STUDENTS HAVE BEEN PRE-SELECTED*

Songbook Entertainment/Atlantic recording artist Trey Songz will celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday by giving turkeys to families in his home state of Virginia. The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter's philanthropic "Songz For Peace Foundation" - in partnership with Richmond's 106.5 The Beat! - will give Thanksgiving turkeys to 500 families on Tuesday, November 24th in Petersburg, Virginia, beginning at 10:30 am. The 500 turkeys will be given to the families of children attending the 9 different schools in Trey's hometown of Petersburg, Virginia. 50 children will be selected from each school, with 100 children being selected from the singer's alma mater.

Trey's new album, "READY," made a phenomenal chart debut earlier this fall, entering Billboard's "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums" tally at #2. The album - which includes the hits "I Need A Girl," "LOL :-) (Feat. Gucci Mane and Soulja Boy Tell 'Em)," and "Successful (Drake & Trey Songz)" - also exploded into the #3 spot on the overall SoundScan/Billboard 200.
Trey is also becoming a major online superstar, with his www.TreySongz.com currently ranked as Atlantic Records' #2 most trafficked artist pages. Furthermore, Trey's loyal army of Twitter followers at @songzyuuup is nearing 500,000 and growing.

Who Do You Think Should Pose For Playboy? (PHOTOS)

2009-11-06T15:30:04Z

Chelsea Handler is doing it for December, Marge Simpson has done it, and Heidi Montag proved you can do it without actually getting naked at all. So who do you wish would pose for Playboy next?

Remember, when asked what man should pull a Johnston and strip for Playgirl, readers voted strongly for Ryan Reynolds and David Beckham. Will their wives match their popularity? YOU decide.

And if there is someone you wish for that isn't included in the below, include her name in the comments and we'll add some more dream girls in.

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Shawn Amos: Adam Lambert and the Greatest Gay Musical Icons of All Time

2009-11-06T15:22:33Z

The countdown has begun to Adam Lambert's new album release. "For Your Entertainment" hits stores November 23, just in time for all of those Thanksgiving raves.

The album is an exercise in production overload and musical ADD. Lambert (and his handlers) want to make sure no part of the Lambert army is left unsatisfied. "For Your Entertainment" bounces between Euro-disco, rock bombast, power ballads, and '80s synth attacks. It's an album seemingly made by a focus group instead of musicians.

Despite the musical hopscotch, one thing is consistent: Lambert's gayness. "For Your Entertainment" is unmistakably an album meant for gay greatness. The Glambert has joined the ranks of the great gay icons. In fact, with this album (and what is certain to be an insanely overblown tour), Lambert is staking his claim as THE gay musical icon. The cover alone should secure his spot. It's a pretty gay cover.

It's also a bold move. Clearly, Lambert senses a changing of the guard is imminent, as the top tier of iconic gay performers -- Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler, Cher anyone? -- has gone unchallenged for years. He even brought in fellow contemporary gay icon Lady Gaga (on her song "Fever") to help him claim his throne.

Who's the gayest musical icon? [Poll]

Gay icons are different from any other icons in one key respect: they don't have to be gay. Yes, it helps, just like being black helps anyone wanting to be the first black President. Still, actual gayness is not a prerequisite to being adored by the audience. These musicians -- gay or straight -- all share one thing that makes them iconic (aside from a good dance beat): tolerance. It's a lesson we could all use.

As performers, they are the great uniters. Admit it, all of you breeders: you love a little Village People when no one's looking. You've sung "Macho Man" in the shower at least once. All of you closeted jocks singing "We Will Rock You" at the stadium -- you feel a little gay, right? No? Is that just me?

While the Glambert reaches for his crown, here's a reminder of the legendary artists he'll have to beat back. It's sure to be a struggle. I don't know any gay icon who'd give up his or her crown easily.

Freddie Mercury (Gay) 
The beloved Queen frontman is the Susan B. Anthony of gay rock icons. Mercury consistently denied rumors of his homosexuality until a day before his death in 1991 from AIDS complications. This, despite his years of romps at gay bathhouses, an affair with a male record exec, and a five-year live-in relationship. Still, his classic rock defiance is a rallying cry for gay and straight alike (and he looked good in those short-shorts).

Madonna (Not Gay)
Madge is the First Lady of gay icons. She fought hard for her spot with more than 20 years of girl-on-girl kissing and dominatrix wardrobe changes, not to mention her army of waxed, bare-chested dancers. She has something for every gay-loving music fan, and at age 51 she's still able -- barely -- to fend off Lady Gaga in a staged cat fight.

Rufus Wainwright (Gay)
Loudon's little boy is the icon for the downtown New York hipster set. His mastery of baroque pop and love of Judy Garland (he re-created her 1961 Carnegie Hall album in the same spot) alone would cement his stature as a gay icon. But earlier this year, Rufus went further than any other previous gay pop star when he debuted his first opera. It was met with mixed reviews, but it still brought him one step closer to gay icon immortality.

Barbra Streisand (Not Gay)
Babs is hands down the grand dame of gay icons. She was part of the gay community from the start of her 50-year career. She staged her first act in 1960 at a Manhattan gay bar called The Lion, and her 1961 television debut was the result of Orson Bean discovering her while she was performing at another gay club. Streisand's musical drama, famous bitchiness, and unbridled diva-ness are unparalleled. She's the gay icon's icon.

Elton John (Gay)
Elton John is a gay icon late bloomer. During his closeted troubadour days in the '70s, John was a hero to every sensitive, wannabe singer-songwriter within 100 miles of a coffee house. But as the glitter became more prevalent and the costume changes more flamboyant, the folkies fled. A new head of hair and a civil partnership with David Furnish has given John a new level of confidence in his gayness.

Out of the closet: Which gay icon gets you groovin'? [Poll]

Richard Walden: A Note to Bill Gates, Oprah, Madonna: size isn't everything!

2009-11-01T17:51:22Z

Madonna recently announced that she was helping to build a $15 million girls school in Malawi; She apparently does not know that former Malawi President, Hastings Banda, an anglophile, built an exact replica of Eton in rural Malawi, complete with black tie & tails for each boy and to worldwide derision. This follows Oprah's $40 million girls "leadership academy" in South Africa which is experiencing growing pains and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation making grant after grant in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars to mega-groups whom they feel will provide a greater "global impact" than the odd individual or small group-with-a-good-idea.

The Grameen Bank's Nobel Peace Laureate, Muhammad Yunnus, started with just $300 and an idea that a small loan to the poorest of the poor might yield positive returns. That has grown into what is now tens of millions of borrowers from not only Grameen Bank but from hundreds of microfinance institutions large and small following Yunnus' model and that of emBay's Pierre Omidyar and other "social venture capitalists" whose focus is not on the poorest of the poor but the better educated "most likely to succeed".

Would a letter or email from a "new Yunnus" with a new idea ever reach the New Philanthropists?

I asked just that question to Bill Gates, Sr., Bill Jr.'s dad and one of their Foundation's triumvirate, which also includes Melinda Gates, a couple of years ago at a private meeting he held in Los Angeles with local foundation presidents and philanthropists. If a communication in any form with a Grameen-like "new idea" was received by The Gates Foundation, would it:

A. Survive the mail room and go north from there?

B. Get anywhere near the "three who decide"?

C. If it came from an unknown individual or small group of individuals, would they be considered worthy if they only asked for a few thousand or tens of thousands of dollars to implement a small project with great potential?

"Sadly, no" was his direct quote. That left many observers audibly surprised or even shocked.

Our meeting was just after Warren Buffet committed an additional $30 billion to the Gates Foundation, bringing their annual grant-making to $3 billion and he expressed great distress at how they were ever going to give away that much money without a 2000-strong staff and a number of offices throughout the world. I replied that maybe the Gates Foundation's rapid growth was an albatross because they would likely miss out on Grameen-like ideas and only work through high overhead universities and mega-charities. These large organizations would be happy to soak up their funds in administrative costs and imaginary expenses with no greater likelihood of success -- and likely far less -- than individuals or small groups of individuals initiating change.

I also suggested that the Gates Foundation hire a diverse group of what Disney calls "Imagineers" to screen these odd over-the-transom communications for a kernel of an idea they could invest in.

I appreciate the Gates family's, Oprah's, Madonna's, Bono's and Brangelina's work -- don't get me wrong -- but there's a huge world full of local talent, new ideas and smaller-scale projects crying out for funding. Most often, these philanthropists meet a few such people through the larger groups they habitually fund... but not always. They must remember how they made their money in the first place and the creative challenge they again face in giving it back to humanity.

Ethan Hawke Praises Madonna For Supporting Gypsies

2009-10-31T23:24:02Z

BUCHAREST, Romania — Actor Ethan Hawke on Saturday praised Madonna for her boldness in speaking out against discrimination against Gypsies, words that provoked boos from thousands of fans at her concert in Romania.

Hawke, visiting Romania to help promote his mother's charity supporting education for Gypsy children, placed the pop superstar alongside Bob Marley and John Lennon as part of a tradition of artists speaking out against racism.

Madonna Leaves Malawi After A Week

2009-10-31T23:08:27Z

LILONGWE, Malawi — Madonna has left Malawi after a nearly weeklong visit with her family, airport and charity officials said Saturday.

Officials said Madonna flew out of the southern African country on Friday. The 51-year-old celebrity arrived in the impoverished country on Sunday accompanied by her four children – daughters Lourdes and Mercy, and sons Rocco and David. Mercy and David were adopted from Malawi.

Read more: Malawi, Madonna, Entertainment News

Regina Weinreich: "Who Shot Rock & Roll" at the Brooklyn Museum

2009-10-31T10:37:20Z

The iconic and infamous cover the walls at the Brooklyn Museum's fine exhibition (on view till January 31, 2010), "Who Shot Rock & Roll."

Yes you will see many old favorites, like John Lennon wearing a New York City sleeveless tee in Bob Gruen's contact sheet from the familiar 1974 shoot. You will see him again in Richard Avedon's 1967 formal portraits of the Beatles, their mop hair newly coiffed. And again in Allan Tannenbaum's shot of John and Yoko in bed, NYC, 1980 just two weeks before he died. The text explains that Lennon liked Tannenbaum's work: "You really capture Yoko's beauty."

And that sums up the essence of this show's raison d'etre as curated by Gail Buckland who also edited the excellent catalogue, to focus on the photographers, how the subject inspired them and the photographic arts.

What fascinates is remembering the B-52's as in George DuBose's 1978 photograph, or Ike and Tina in Memphis in 1962, as in Ernest C. Withers' photo that shows Ike's eagle eye trained on her wailing at the mike, or Amy Arbus' 1983 black & white Madonna in a boxy coat before Kabbalah and before she was buff juxtaposed with the dizzying 2001 "Madonna I" by Andreas Gursky emphasizing the pop star in the marketplace, that is, 15 combined exposures taken over a period of days from the same vantage point at the same moment in a concert with a tiny well-lit singer to the bottom left, when lights flash, confetti falls, and people hang upside down from scaffolding mechanically lowered from the stage. Epic-scale, monumental, the celestial shot overwhelms.

Buddy Holly on the bus in a 1958 Lew Allen photo, Dennis Hopper's James Brown in 1964, a wistful Elvis at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis by Lloyd Shearer in 1956, David Gahr's 1968 Janis Joplin, Jill Furmanovsky's Joy Division in 1979 and her 1977 Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, Ray Stevenson's Sex Pistols on Carnaby Street in 1976, William "Popsie" Randolph's shot of the Brooklyn Paramount where Alan Freed staged his rock and roll shows in 1955, Godlis' 1976 Patti Smith outside CBGB and Stephanie Chernikowski's 1978 "Debbie Harry CBGB NYC" take you down Memory Lane.

On opening night last Thursday, the museum featured photographer Josh Cheuse DJing, while many of the photographers--Godlis, Marcia Resnick, Bob Gruen, Allan Tannenbaum among them--milled about with a film crew in tow. Bob Gruen had a birthday party a few nights before where Bebe Buell performed songs from her new CD "Sugar" with Ronnie Spektor in attendance.

On this night, with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrating across the river, the Brooklyn Museum rocked with Blondie: Debbie Harry in black wig and black satin suit with red glitter, performing her hits: "Call Me," "Heart of Glass," and "One Way or Another"; her cover of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop" was evocative, like the rest of this show, of a rich, remarkable, and resonant music history.

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Ben Eagle: "Who Shot Rock And Roll" Opens at the Brooklyn Museum

2009-10-30T15:55:24Z

If rock photography is a "silent window into the world of sound," then "Who Shot Rock & Roll, A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present," curated by Gail Buckland, is the loudest exhibit ever. Opening last night at The Brooklyn Museum, "Who Shot Rock" explores intimacy, passion and the countless other reasons we all love rock and roll in the first place.

Featuring over 175 works, the exhibit is organized into six sections: images taken behind the scenes, performance images, snapshots of musicians at the beginning of their careers, images of crowds and fans, album covers and conceptual images.

Courtesy of Henry Diltz

The images of crowds and fans and the behind-the-scenes shots are the ones that resonate the most, if only for their stark dichotomy. "Madonna, I" taken by Andreas Gursky is a massive picture of Madonna playing before a crowd that seems endless. While Gursky used a computer to edit this image, the effect remains: Madonna and her concerts appear otherworldly. Elsewhere, Amy Arbus depicts Madonna standing alone with a bowling bag on a street in New York City. Relatable yet confident, Madonna looks surprisingly human -- something that's easy to forget in Gursky's picture.

The exhibit claims to not be a history of rock and roll and its stars, but rather of the "men and women who have photographed it and given the music its visual identity."

Unfortunately, the show has trouble living up to this goal. Moving from one section to another, viewers largely find themselves star-struck. A young Jimi Hendrix looking startlingly sober as he plays backup guitar for Wilson Pickett distracts the viewer from the interesting blurb about the photographer (William "Popsie" Randolph) next to the photo. Jean-Paul Goude's sparse decoration and cut-up Ektachrome would be good studies for any young photographer, but when looking at his photographs of Grace Jones, it's hard to find artistic nuance beyond her goddess-like figure.

Not every photograph, however, is like this. Albert Watson's photographic process begs to be demystified when you view his inexplicable Mick Jagger/leopard amalgamation or his portrait of Michael Jackson that is fractured and reflected numerous times over. Both of these portraits are all the more impressive when you realize they are printed without the aid of computers.

Courtesy of Albert Watson

David LaChapelle, who has two photographs in the exhibit, also draws attention to the craft with his elaborate staging and use of props. You recognize his distinctive work instantly, but in an exhibit full of intimacy and raw energy, his pieces come off as fake and cartoonish.

For a real emphasis on the supposed "handmaidens" to the rock-and-roll revolution, one has to read the book, Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present, published by Alfred A. Knopf. The book itself actually preceded the exhibit and is divided solely by photographer and, surprisingly, no other theme. Within its friendly confines and jarring images, a reader can't help but linger over the photos and their accompanying descriptions.

"Who Shot Rock" ended its opening night with a fitting tribute to rock and roll: a performance by Blondie. Front-woman Debbie Harry (sporting jet-black hair almost as an affront to the numerous blonde pictures of her within the exhibit) crooned the audience with all the Blondie hits -- "Call Me", "Rapture" and "Heart of Glass" -- and even a Michael Jackson tribute. And the audience, even though they were strictly told no photographs, snapped pictures throughout the entire performance.

Who could blame them? They just wanted to capture their own shot of rock.

Courtesy of Jerry Schatzberg

Madonna: Raising Malawi: Will You Join Me?

2009-10-28T14:06:49Z

This week, my family and I are in Malawi to attend the ground breaking ceremony for Raising Malawi Academy for Girls.

I am making a straightforward request.

I'm writing to urge you to join me in saving the lives of some of the world's most vulnerable children. And I'm asking you to do it right away.

Raising Malawi, the organization I co-founded in 2006, is dedicated to ending the poverty and hardship endured by Malawi's one million orphans. By donating to Raising Malawi, you can literally transform the future for an entire generation. To encourage your involvement, I've pledged $100,000 to match your contributions dollar-for-dollar.

Why Malawi?

Seven years ago I might have asked myself this very same question. Why not Afghanistan, or India? There are impoverished children, desperate for health care and education, everywhere in the world. Something about Malawi's children connected with me and their hardships were too much for me to ignore. So I started learning more about Malawi, and, little by little, I began working with Malawians to improve their communities.

Visiting Malawi can be a very humbling experience. In the face of such overwhelming challenges, it's easy to feel helpless. At the same time, it is impossible not to recognize how much we can do to improve the lives of vulnerable children. Right now, I am particularly concerned about Malawian girls whose lives are made even more difficult simply because of their gender.

In 2008 Raising Malawi announced the creation of an all-girls boarding school, the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls. Architects have drawn up plans. We've identified a plot of land. And some of Malawi's poorest girls are eager for the opportunities that a comprehensive secondary education will bring them. But we're still in need of additional funds to complete this project, and there's no time to lose.

My own daughters will each have a solid secondary education. They have a family that assures them that they can be anything they want to be, that they are not limited in any way. I believe that the same should be true for girls in every part of the world, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. The girls of Malawi are bright and resourceful. They are eager to learn and grow. When I look at my girls and see them thriving, it is my greatest wish that the girls in Malawi will have the same chance for happiness.

This is where you come in.

Please join me in supporting the work of Raising Malawi. Every dollar we collect will make a huge difference in a child's life. By matching your donation, dollar for dollar, I will personally ensure that your contribution has an even greater impact. That's a promise.

This is my call to you: Give an opportunity to a child who would otherwise have none. Support the work of Raising Malawi.

Will you join me?

Please visit www.raisingmalawi.org/madonnamatch to contribute and learn more.

Madonna Plants A Tree In Malawi

2009-10-26T15:17:43Z

LILONGWE, Malawi — Madonna marked the start of construction of her school for girls in Malawi on Monday by planting a tree at the planned site of the $15 million school.

The 51-year-old celebrity arrived in the impoverished southern African country on Sunday accompanied by her four children – daughters Lourdes and Mercy, and sons Rocco and David.

Madonna & Children Return To Malawi To Launch School

2009-10-25T16:18:23Z

LILONGWE, Malawi — Madonna arrived in Malawi Sunday to visit the girls school she is building in the impoverished country where she adopted two children, an official for the star's charity said.

The official who could not be named because he was not authorized to speak on the matter said Madonna arrived at about 2:30 p.m. (1230 GMT; 8:30 a.m. EDT) on Ethiopian Airlines.

Madonna SUED By Neighbor For Loud, Stomping Dance Sessions

2009-10-17T08:37:38Z

NEW YORK — One of Madonna's New York neighbors says the superstar's loud music and frequent dance sessions are causing a commotion.

Karen George, of Manhattan, lives above Madonna in a building on Central Park.

Jay Michaelson: An Introduction To Kabbalah, Part 1: What Is Kabbalah?

2009-10-15T09:46:22Z

I first encountered Kabbalah eighteen years ago, as a student at Columbia College. I had no idea that its obscure texts and abstruse concepts would one day become a central part of my life -- let alone Britney's, Madonna's, and Demi's.

Despite all the fame, or maybe because of it, it's often quite hard to get a clear answer to what Kabbalah actually is. It seems to depend on who you ask. A scholar will tell you it's a library of medieval texts. A contemporary teacher might tell you it's the secret to getting everything you want. Someone else might try to charge you to learn more.

Over the next few weeks, I'll try to give a thorough, objective, and uncompromising introduction to Kabbalah. I'll do so as a scholar (I'm currently finishing my Ph.D. in Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University, focusing on Kabbalah), a spiritual teacher, and a cultural critic (I've written and spoken about the Kabbalah Centre many times, and have much to say about it). My goal? To give people interested in Kabbalah, either personally or simply as spectators, an introduction to this strange system of thought that is often distorted, often vulgarized -- yet frequently quite beautiful.

Let's start with the word itself. What does "Kabbalah" mean? Here are four answers (fans of Kabbalah will already have noticed that I've used some significant spiritual numbers... all just part of the fun):

1. Literally, it means "receiving," as in a received tradition. Some Kabbalistic teachings go back thousands of years, and were passed from master to disciple. Others were invented yesterday. Kabbalah was an oral tradition, and even once books were written, they were often concealed from the general public. You had to "receive" Kabbalah from a teacher.

2. Figuratively, it also means "receiving," as in receiving the truth of what is happening right now. One core of that truth is that everything is God -- you are God reading about God on a screen which is God. Of course, most of us don't really "receive" that truth fully, because of how our mind, body, and heart works. The forms of Kabbalah can help you receive more of it.

3. Historically, "Kabbalah" refers to an ancient, fascinating, and complex system of Jewish mysticism and esoteric knowledge. Rich in symbols, myth, and literary merit, the Kabbalah "library" contains thousands of books written over many centuries. Scholars generally date the beginning of this written literature to the 12th century, with additional "waves" in the 16th and early 19th centuries.

4. Literarily, Kabbalah may be understood as a way of reading texts, and the world, on multiple levels of depth. Kabbalah is all about levels of reality, and balance among them. We strive not to move from "lower" to "higher" but to integrate them; not to favor one side of our lives over another, but to balance them. Reading and seeing deeply enables us to do that.

Now, Kabbalah is rooted in the Jewish tradition, which speaks of the One in terms of "God." Yet as you will see if you learn Kabbalah, that word does not mean what you think it means. The "God" of the Kabbalah does not exist -- it is Existence Itself. But it is also not the same as the Brahman or the Tao or the All: the God of the Kabbalists is also a mythic, sexual, anthropomorphic family of personalities; a dynamic structure of energies and potentials; and very, very unlike the Old Man in the Sky we know from Sunday School. In large part, Kabbalah is about the multiple levels of reality, from Oneness to Multiplicity and back, and about balancing the various energies of reality on all those different levels. So it includes both "all is one" and "all is many." More on this in a future post.

Scholars often define Kabbalah as "Jewish mysticism." Mysticism means a direct experience of Ultimate Reality -- which in Western religions means, a direct experience of God. Rather than reading about God in the Bible, or praying to a God we don't experience, a mystic meets God "face to face." That scholarly definition -- Jewish mysticism -- is about half right. Kabbalah does contain accounts of mystical experiences, and techniques for having them yourself. These techniques work, in my experience, and you can try them too. We'll get to some of them later. But Kabbalah is more than just accounts of, and guides to have, mystical experiences. It also contains what might be called "esotericism," or, deeper readings of texts and life. It contains folklore, magic, legend, myth, philosophy, guides to meditation, music.

Some of the questions Kabbalah has asked over the 800 years of its existence include: What is the world? Who are we? What is the significance of our lives and actions? What is God? How can we come to know ultimate reality in our own experience? How do the body, heart, mind, and spirit fit together? And what are the roles of myth, ritual, morality, eroticism, meditation, ecstasy, sacred text, and prayer on the spiritual path? There is no fixed canon of Kabbalah, and different texts give different answers to these questions. But they do tend to focus on these sorts of topics more than others.

So -- if this has struck your interest, there'll be more here next week. I look forward to your questions and feedback. Stay tuned!

Tim Mohr: Music: The Warm Sounds Born of Extreme Darkness and Bitter Cold (Includes Free MP3s!)

2009-10-14T11:46:09Z

The northwesternmost outpost of the Hanseatic league--the drizzly harbor town of Bergen, Norway, nestled on the country's craggy west coast--is an unlikely hotbed for new music. But that's what it has become over the last decade. Now the band that kicked it all off, Kings of Convenience, return with their third album, Declaration of Dependence.

Sonically the duo falls somewhere on the arc connecting Simon & Garfunkel and Belle & Sebastian, deploying a double acoustic guitar attack and vocal harmonies and supplementing that with only an understated horn flourish here or a hushed drum line there. Their debut album was called Quiet is the New Loud and inspired something approaching a movement--not only in Norway but elsewhere, with bands like Turin Brakes hopping aboard in the UK.

Between Quiet and a remix version of the LP titled Versus, featuring rethinks from then-of-the-moment combos like Ladytron and Four Tet, the Kings of Convenience attracted enough attention abroad to open the door for what turned out to be a treasure trove of musical talent in Bergen, from the atmospheric trip-hop of Slowpho and the slinky dubadelica of Ralph Myerz & Jack Herren Band to the mournful alt-country of Ai Phoenix. Several of the acts--Royksopp, Sondre Lerche, Annie--also did well not only beyond the nearby fjords but across Europe and the US.

This year has turned out to be another watershed moment for the city, with five other significant Bergen artists all releasing albums alongside the Kings of Convenience. So how is the Bergen scene faring? Here's a rundown of this year's six-pack of Norge-pop.

Kings of Convenience, "Boat Behind"
The lyrics here--"We meet again after several years, several years of separation"--may well be a nod to the disparate lives members Erland Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe have led since breaking internationally. Erland moved to Berlin and put out a series of side projects, one of which, The Whitest Boy Alive, looked for a time as if it might become his main project, causing speculation about the demise of the Kings. But they're back together and as tuneful as ever, quickly reminding us with their delicate harmonizing, intricate acoustic guitar interplay, and hum-able melodies why they made such an impression in the first place.

Datarock, "Give It Up"
This is a jittery indie dance-pop act obsessed with track suits and the Talking Heads. The latter so much so, in fact, that on their recent Red LP they did a song called "True Stories" using as its lyrics only Talking Heads song titles. Their debut album featured the goofball party anthem "Fa Fa Fa"; Red, their second album, is another successful display of the band's ability to balance a winsome playful streak with crisply produced 80s-inspired tunes.

"True Stories" is offered as a free download via the widget below.

Annie, "Loco"
The early output of this cheeky electro-pop queen with indie cred included a song sung over a loop of Madonna's "Everybody" and another where she talked about spitting out boys like "Chewing Gum." Don't Stop, the follow-up to her debut Anniemal, will finally appear in mid-November after a five-year lag. In the meantime, of course, the world has come to Annie--UK acts Little Boots and La Roux stormed the charts there with a very similar aesthetic, for instance. What once seemed unique--sassy lyrics and indie-kid cool harnessed to unapologetically poppy synth-pop--now must sink or swim entirely on the tunes. There is some rehashing on Don't Stop: "I Don't Like Your Band" is almost a rewrite of "Chewing Gum." On some other songs she wisely seems to have learned from the recent competition, breaking out Ladyhawke-like guitars on "Bad Times"; the rolling breakbeats of "The Breakfast Song" hew closely to Ladyhawke's "Paris Is Burning." And while Don't Stop isn't as good as Ladyhawke's stunning self-titled debut, there are plenty of cute, pulsing tracks on it ("I Want To Take You Home," "Songs Remind Me Of You," "My Love Is Better") to keep you whistling along.

A free download of the catchy non-album single called "Anthonio" is here.

Sondre Lerche, "Heartbeat Radio"
Lerche is a classic singer-songwriter who composes on guitar and crafts peppy pure pop tunes reminiscent of 1960s jangle-pop acts, 1970s AM radio hits, and 1980s one-hit wonders like A-Ha. After a few musical diversions including a jazz album and a somewhat harder-edged LP, his latest record, Heartbeat Radio, released last month, marks a welcome--and successful--return to the pretty, unselfconscious guitar pop of his brilliant first two albums, Faces Down and Two Way Monologue.

Royksopp, "Happy Up Here"
The electronic duo struck a chord with the whimsical instrumental "Epel" from their 2001 debut, Melody AM. Another familiar track is "Remind Me," featured in a Geico TV ad (it's the song playing in the airport as a caveman drifts past a Geico ad on a moving sidewalk), with Erland Oye from Kings of Convenience singing on it. They've used any number of guest vocalists since, and their latest album, Junior, released earlier this year, features two Swedish it-girls, Robyn (who appears on "The Girl and the Robot") and Karin Dreijer Andersson of the Knife and Fever Ray (on "This Must Be It"). The upbeat Junior will be followed late this year by a mellow, wintry counterpart called Senior.

Casiokids, "Fot I Hose"
This is the leading edge of Bergen's next generation. Taking a page from the German indie scene, where the local language is the only way to go, this eclectic bunch sing in Norwegian--and, somehow, they are nonetheless being tipped as the next big thing on the strength of a recent series of gurgling, ticking singles that might best be described as afrobeat-meets-New Order. In addition to squelching proto-house synths, angular guitars and funky circling beats, their live performances also include puppets and projections, creating a wonderfully freaky blissed-out party vibe.

Download a free remix of this track here.

Madonna Donates Dior Shoes To Gypsy Charity

2009-10-13T10:25:24Z

BUCHAREST, Romania — Madonna is putting her shoes where her mouth is.

The Queen of Pop has offered one of her favorite pairs of Christian Dior shoes to a charity supporting Gypsy child education. Organizers said Tuesday the skyscraper gold heels, which are autographed by Madonna, will be sold at the Ovidiu Rom annual ball later this month.

Zandile Blay: The Luxe Supper: Paper , Penelope, Madonna and Casa Lever

2009-10-13T10:15:22Z

I was raised a good old fashioned Christian. But, alas, living in New York has converted me into a faithful follower of two alternate religions: Fashion and Food. I was generously rewarded for my disciplined dedication to both on Saturday night, when I scored an invitation to walk amongst my saints.

Madonna, Beth Ditto, Jeremy Scott , Cynthia Rowley, Debbie Harry and Jean-Marc Houmard, co-owner of Indochine, were just a handful of the boldfaced names who gathered at the newly reopened Casa Lever. They were brought together by my editors, Kim Hastreiter and David Hershkovitz of Paper Magazine in honor of their close friends: actress, Penelope Cruz and director, Pedro Almodóvar.

As these icons of, media, music and more mingled through out the room, a sumptuous Italian meal was served. Dimitri Paulini and Gherardo Guarducci, of Saint Ambroeus restaurant, crafted a fine menu including a light, buttery risotto, pan seared fish and a sun-flower bread I will be going back for again and again.

The dinner culminated in a stunning three parter: a) a hazlenut desert so delicate, rich and delicious that -- don't judge me -- I had three b) a performance of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and c) everyone in the room -- Madonna included -- singing happy birthday to Paper's Editorial Director, Mickey Boardman, also known as Mr. Mickey.

It was all heady stuff for this devout foodie/fashionista. As I teetered towards a cab in my Glory Chen platforms and Haleh wrap dress I meditated on my blissful evening. Food and fashion may not be considered the traditional path to spiritual enlightenment. But they sure make one feel good.

Amen.

Tracy Anderson, Madonna's Former Trainer, Sued By Ex Boyfriend For $1M Swindle

2009-10-13T08:00:00Z

AN ex-boyfriend of Madonna's former trainer, Tracy Anderson, claims she swindled him out of $1 million and drove him into bankruptcy.

Anderson -- who, as we revealed Saturday, has been ditched by the Queen of Pop -- is being sued by creditors of Glynn Barber, who was persuaded to invest in her company.

Madonna Drops Celebrity Trainer Tracy Anderson

2009-10-11T09:07:06Z

Madonna's drama with ubertrainer Tracy Anderson has come to a head. Anderson, who also trains Gwyneth Paltrow and opened a $900/month gym in Tribeca earlier this year, will no longer help the material girl sculpt her famous arms.

"Madonna had grown tired of the baggage that Tracy always seemed to be carrying with her. Tracy had grown to be more of a distraction than anything else," a source told the New York Post.

Last month Philippe van den Bossche, then head of Madonna's Raising Malawi charity, resigned to live with Anderson in New York. Anderson reportedly skipped out on the final leg of Madonna's tour to be with van den Bossche. Madonna's freakishly chiseled appearance has also raised eyebrows this summer.

"This is not true. After working together for three years, Tracy and Madonna mutually parted ways because Tracy wanted to look after her son," said Anderson's publicist.

Here is a video of Tracy putting Gwyneth through one of the grueling workouts that Gwyneth says allows her to eat anything she wants.

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Guy Ritchie: Madonna Is Retarded

2009-10-07T19:05:55Z

Guy Ritchie still loves Madonna, they do share two sons, but the director recognizes her limitations.

A year after their divorce, Ritchie tells the November issue of Esquire that his ex-wife is "retarded":

"She's a manifester, if there ever was one," he says. "First-rate manifester. Madonna makes things happen. Put Madonna up against any twenty-three-year-old, she'll outwork them, outdance them, outperform them. The woman is broad."

"Broad," I say, repeating the word of the day.

"And, of course, here you go: I still love her," he says. He takes a breath, drives through a red light. If no one is ahead of him, Guy Ritchie does not typically stop. "But she's retarded, too."

It's rocky getting a divorce, innit? I say.

"You can't tell someone when they're getting divorced that their pain is an illusion," he says. "I'm fucking telling you, I feel it, I've been through that. You have, too. No one can say you don't feel that."

You can read the whole Esquire interview here.

Ritchie directed the upcoming version of "Sherlock Holmes" with Jude Law and Robert Downey, so look for more fun quotes throughout his press junkets.

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Madonna Accepts "Substantial" Damages From British Paper Over Stolen Wedding Photos

2009-10-06T08:44:46Z

LONDON — Madonna has accepted damages from a British newspaper for publishing pictures of her wedding to Guy Ritchie that she said had been stolen from her home.

The singer wasn't in court Tuesday, but her lawyer confirmed that she had accepted "substantial" damages from Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Mail on Sunday.

Rachel Sklar: SNL: Gaga for the YouTube Moments, but God Is in the Details

2009-10-05T18:37:05Z

What's more important to SNL, comedy or buzz? To the writers, players and guest hosts, it's probably the former; to Lorne Michaels and the suits at NBC, it's ultimately probably the latter. The show can't exist without being funny, at least some of the time -- that's its raison d'être. But it's also not on at 2:00 PM Saturday on Comedy Central for a reason: this isn't just about people being funny, it's about which people are being funny. A punchline knocked home by Sarah Palin is a knockout heard 'round the YouTube-o-sphere; it takes a little longer for the quality work of a Kristen Wiig or a Jason Sudeikis to penetrate.

But don't take that for granted, not for a second -- because surrounding those "OMG" YouTube moments (Madonna wrestling with Lady Gaga! Jenny Slate dropping the F-Bomb!). There's a reason last season was a banner year for SNL.

Short-term, the buzz will get people tuning in -- Who's the host? Who's the musical guest? Might this be one of the fifty episodes where Justin Timberlake cameos?). Long term, though, the repeat viewer will be drawn in by the quality, too (think "SNL isn't funny" vs. "Bill Hader/Andy Samberg/Fred Armisen/Kristen Wiig cracks me up, dude"). When the parade of cameos is over, at the end of the day there's got to be something else there to keep viewers giving a damn.

This episode is a terrific example of just that. The Madonna-Lady Gaga girlfight was the take-away moment of the "Deep House Dish" sketch -- but it also featured Wiig and guest host Ryan Reynoldsdo two of their own funny bits. Reynolds was an excellent, team-player of a host -- happy to play support and ensemble roles rather than being a greedy frontman -- and it showed. It was a big improvement over last week's slightly bland effort starring Megan Fox (maybe that's what happens when your sketches aren't all excuses to dress the hot host in sex-kitten outfits).

If you missed it -- you do have a life! -- here are all the clips from the episode, with my thoughts on what made them great. Darrell Hammond as Arnold Schwarzenegger or the "Family Feud" sketch riffing on Mackenzie Phillips didn't get the ink of Gaga or Madonna, and that's to be expected, but they were among my top moments in an pretty stellar episode ("So You Committed A Crime And Think You Can Dance" was another). Videos and recap below.

Cold Open: Obama on his Track Record

Ouch. Scathing sketch on what Obama has/has not accomplished in his 8 months in office (though realizing we're a month shy of the one-year-anniversary of his election is a shock). Armisen's Obama impression, which I've always liked but which others have impugned, is a little lax to start, but since he nails the "Nnno!" and that word gets lots of play during the sketch, it's a win. Also a win for the truth-hurts subject matter. (Though of course, to be fair, re: the Olympics and health care and even Afghanistan, who wants a president who signs on just because it's easy and he's sure he'll win? Come on.)

Ryan Reynolds' Monologue

Ryan Reynolds was a terrific SNL host. Did he have those break-out YouTube moments? Nope - that's because he was a total team player, through and through. There was no insistence on self-promo, no star-turn diva moments - he was there to partcipate and play parts across types and support the sketch as a whole, not just his screen time. The monologue is decent but I'm going to turn what I just said on its head because it's the one place he deserved that star turn - Reynolds has been effortlessly carrying scenes since Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place (once on the WE network right after Felicity - so yes, I watched it) - he would have been equal to anything they threw at him, and happy to do it. A musical number, a battling-Wolverine bit, or at least using the women in the cast to underscore his romantic lead status (a Definitely, Maybe nod?) -- amping up the energy would have made the monologue pop more. Still, perfectly decent.

70's Family Feud with the Osmond and Phillips Families

Yes, incest and child abuse is not a joke. Obviously. But how could SNL ingnore the Mackenzie Phillips story -- especially when she put it front and center on Oprah and across the rest of the dial? This handling of it was pitch-perfect, placing the joke within a larger context that allowed so much more opportunity for jokes subtle (sets, costumes, Osmonds) and and not so much ("Things You Do With Your Father!"). Hader was at his best creepy weirdo here, too; glad they played Mackenzie down; better to focus on the Osmond-love between Reynolds and Abby Elliott. Loved Sudeikis as Richard Dawson too. Only thing missing was the kissing (for you young 'uns - host Dawson used to kiss all the ladies).

Porcelain Fountains! With Scarlett Johanssen

Nice - bringing back Scarlett Johansson to reprise a sketch she did when she hosted SNL. Happy marriages are good for SNL ratings.

I Threw It On The Ground (Digital Short - Andy Samberg)

I am sure people out there got this -- I didn't, but I am not the target demo of the patented Lonely Island rap parody. (Confession: When I first saw, "I'm On A Boat!" I was like, this is stupid. Yeah, I'm in touch with the kids, all right.) I did double-take at Elijah Wood though. Frodo! Frodo on a boat would be even more fun. Free Willy!

>>>MORE: Weekend Update, Plus Madonna Taking Down Gaga By The Throat

More Sketches From The 10/3 SNL:
Deep House Dish, feat. Lady Gaga and Madonna
Mostly Garbage Pet Food (Commercial Parody)
Update: Darrell Hammond as Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger
Update: Mr. & Mrs. Ahmadinejad
Update: Charles Barkley
So You Committed A Crime...And Think You Can Dance
Norwegian Actor's Playhouse
Lady Gaga and Andy Samberg Wear The Same Outfit (and Kiss)
Lady Gaga: Paparazzi
Lady Gaga: Bad Romance/Pokerface/Love Game Medley

This post is a slightly modified version of one which ran earlier at Mediaite.com

Crazy Stage Costumes: Which Is The Greatest? (PHOTOS, POLL)

2009-10-05T07:31:43Z

An insane stage wardrobe can transform a talented performer into a cultural icon. Who would the Material Girl or Ziggy Stardust be without their costumes? But sometimes sartorial creativity works in the other direction, making the whole performance look like a big, loopy mess. Which of these bold statements are great ones?

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Madonna & Lady Gaga's SNL Catfight (VIDEO)

2009-10-04T08:17:44Z

Madonna and Lady Gaga faced off on Saturday Night Live this week. Gaga was the musical guest, the show host was Ryan Reynolds.

Halfway through the "Deep House Dish" sketch, about a fake music talk show, Gaga and special guest Madonna came out to perform together, looking shockingly identical from behind.

The hair pulling, name-calling results are below.

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Madonna On Letterman: I 'Would Rather Get Run Over By A Train' Than Marry Again (VIDEO)

2009-09-30T23:24:27Z

Madonna returned to David Letterman Wednesday night, riding in on the shoulders of NY Rangers, and joked about smoking a joint before a previous appearance, her recent dalliance with Alex Rodriguez, and her recent divorce from Guy Ritchie.

Of her eight-year marriage to Guy Ritchie, she said it was "the Bush years... a good time to be out of America."

But she won't marry again. "I think I'd rather get run over by a train."

Letterman later found something that she had never done before - eat a slice of New York pizza. She claimed it's because she's 'not a cheese person.' The pair then walked next door and were served pre-ordered slices of cheese-less pie with olives, which she even took a bite of on camera.

Highlights below.

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