Every weekend I’ll be rounding up tasty music & entertainment nuggets and serving them to you buffet-style… Best to wash them down with a pint. Enjoy!
In the video for new single “Gypsy,” Shakira takes a cue from Enrique Iglesias and casts a tennis hottie co-star. I’ll take Spanish stud Rafael Nadal over Anna Kournikova any day! No surprises there.
Vampire Weekend’s new tennis-themed video for “Giving Up the Gun” features a random selection of celebs including Joe Jonas, Lil Jon and Jake Gyllenhaal. The ultra-modern video looks like it cost a pretty penny, too — what a difference a No. 1 album makes!
Peaches‘ plot to put on a one-woman performance of Jesus Christ Superstar in Berlin was foiled by the German powers-that-be. You mean that musical doesn’t involve massive dildos and fake blood??
But will Christina Aguilera return to chart glory when Bionic is finally released in April? The singer has racked up an impressive list of collaborators for this project including Sia, Goldfrapp and Le Tigre, so there’s no telling what sort of material has come of it. Only time will tell.
Retro U.K. girl group The Pipettes recently returned with “Our Love Was Saved by Spacemen.” And yes, contrary to popular opinion, I think the song & video are just as ridiculous as the title implies. These girls have seriously lost the plot, I am sorry to say. At least we’ll always have “Pull Shapes”…
Every weekend I’ll be rounding up tasty music & entertainment nuggets and serving them to you buffet-style… Best to wash them down with a pint. Enjoy!
It’s Grammy night, and Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Black Eyed Peas are all up for multiple awards. But I doubt anyone can match the insanity of Fever Ray’s Karin Andersson, who accepted an accolade in Sweden last week looking like something straight out of The Fifth Element. It was gleefully twisted, to say the least. Top that, Lady GaGa.
Mimi strikes again! The unpredictable diva, who released 2 new music videos this week, prank-called hubby Nick Cannon’s radio show on Tuesday. Posing as Debbie from Long Island, Carey sang the praises of hard-core porn, claiming that she and her boo loved watching it together. PS. The clip for “Up Out My Face” is a disastrous masterpiece.
Hipster-fag fave Sia has just announced her You Meaning We North American tour in support of forthcoming disc We Are Born. Kicking off April 10 in Vancouver, the 2-month trek criss-crosses North America until a Big Apple swan song punts the show across the pond. If we’re lucky the “Buttons” singer’s handsome girlfriend, Le Tigre’s J.D. Samson, will tag along and treat audiences to some impromptu performances. Unfortunately the tour bypasses the Southeast entirely…
Shock horror! The new Jennifer Lopez single is actually halfway-decent. “Everybody’s Girl” attempts to erase the memory of the embarrassing “Louboutins” (including that hysterical tumble she took on the AMAs!) by replacing mediocre R&B with something decidedly more stylish and electronic. I’m pretty sure it won’t resuscitate her music career, but its definitely the best thing she’s done since “Play.” But I suppose that’s not saying much.
Every weekend I’ll be rounding up tasty music & entertainment nuggets and serving them to you buffet-style… Best to wash them down with a pint. Enjoy!
U.K. rapper Lady Sovereign has finally admitted that she likes the ladies, even discussing it on television during her recent stint on Celebrity Big Brother. The rumors were swirling for years, but the pop star had never publicly discussed the issue. Personally, I’ve never been a major fan of the side-ponytail-sporting pipsqueak, but kudos to her for finally admitting the truth. Perhaps this is just the sort of jolt that her flailing career needs.
In shameless douche news, John Mayer appears on the cover of the latest Rolling Stone in which he gives a particularly ridiculous interview. The increasingly annoying singer-songwriter commented on the public perception of his break-up with Jennifer Aniston while also waxing poetic about his obsession with porn and masturbation. Among the pearls of wisdom: “If Tiger Woods only knew when to jerk off. It has a true market value, like gold bullion.” Somebody please wake me from this nightmare!
Scottish alternative act Biffy Clyro performed an earnest cover of Cheryl Cole’s “Fight For This Love” on Radio 2 recently (Click here to listen!). Given the band’s image I’m surprised at the cheesetastic choice. Who would have guessed that these lads had a soft spot for the X-Factor judge and erstwhile Girls Aloud diva? Even bearded rock stars have guilty pleasures, I suppose, which almost makes my fondness for S Club forgivable. Yeah, not quite.
¡viva la graham! favorite Dragonette announced several North American tour dates this spring in support of electro-pop singer Little Boots. The two-month jaunt kicks off March 6 in Seattle, and I have made it my personal mission to attend in either Atlanta or Chicago. As an added bonus, to accompany the news the band offered up a Van She remix of “Pick Up the Phone” which you download for free here. Brilliant.
Every weekend I’ll be rounding up tasty music & entertainment nuggets and serving them to you buffet-style… Best to wash them down with a pint. Enjoy!
Can Beyonce help Alicia Keys score a proper hit from The Element of Freedom? After brief chart appearances by the first two singles, Keys’ label is rushing “Put It in a Love Song” to radio, hoping Beyonce’s star power will have the same effect Jay-Z did when he recruited the singer-actress for the chorus of “Empire State of Mind.” I’m not so sure the tribal track will do the trick…
Swedish singer-songwriter Erik Hassle shot another video for “Hurtful.” This is the fourth clip for his pensive debut single, and it features stylish visuals, a rugged desolate cityscape and quick snippets of some steamy bedroom action. This does not change the fact that the talented Hassle, even in a smart leather coat, does not look like your typical pop star. How many videos will they film before this fact is acceptable?
Travis’ Fran Healy recently completed work on his debut solo effort, Wreckorder. No official release date has been announced, though the lovable Scot promises to tour in support of the new project, which features Paul McCartney and Neko Case among others. Healy insists the departure from Travis is temporary, claiming that he is merely “on holiday” from his regular job as the rock band’s frontman.
Less than 24 hours after canceling a performance at Purdue University due to exhaustion and dehydration, Lady GaGa worked yet another ridiculous hairpiece while appearing on Oprah. Spiky crowns aside, the invincible pop queen came off as humble, inspiring and incredibly genuine on the day-time talk show. Her inevitable tearful moment came when talking about fans: “I want them to celebrate the things they don’t like about themselves, the way that I did.” Kudos, Stefani.
¡viva la graham! is proud to introduce a brand new column today called Sunday Roast. I constantly come across humorous and/or informative news bits which scarcely warrant an entire blog entry — but at the same time they could be of interest to you.
So every weekend I’ll be rounding up tasty music & entertainment nuggets and serving them to you buffet-style… Best to wash them down with a pint. Enjoy!
Britpop band Blur — one of my all time-favorites — recently received a stamp of approval alongside numerous other U.K. acts. The artwork for the group’s definitive early album, Parklife, was selected to appear on Her Majesty’s first class postage alongside records by Coldplay, New Order and The Rolling Stones, to name a few. I’m sure it gives Mr. Albarn a sense of enormous well-being.
A tipsy Mariah Carey accepted an award for Breaththrough Actress at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for her role in Precious last week. Mimi winning any acting award is amusing enough, but watching her admit to being “fucked up” makes for one of her most hysterical moments since that Glitter-era TRL striptease. Loves it.
NME reports that Nashville’s Kings of Leon will make a surprise appearance opening up for The Features next month at legendary Music City rock venue Exit/In. The Murfreesboro-based indie band’s latest disc, Some Kind of Salvation, was re-issued last year under a KOL imprint of Bug Music, a division of Sony. Secure your tickets now.
Santigold’s highly-anticipated sophomore effort has been delayed slightly so the sassy songbird could produce the forthcoming LP by post-punk ’80s fave Devo. Tentatively titled Fresh, it will be the band’s first album in 2 decades. “I made them pull out the red hats and pose for a picture,” Santi told Paste magazine. Classic!
Welcome to ¡viva la graham!, a music blog dedicated to top pop, rock, dance, soul and indie from around the globe -- with an occasional dose of pop culture and gossip thrown in for good measure.
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