So, I watched Taylor Swift host Saturday Night Live last weekend and I thought she did a pretty good job.
Of course, this is the kind of confession that's going to get me shunned by my peers, banned from certain websites and dropped by all my Twitter followers that aren't porn. (Thanks for sticking with me, '@Watch_me_ride_me_Misty.")
The Internet is abuzz this week with news of Rhianna's 20/20 and Good Morning America interviews (Jodi also wrote about Rhianna speaking out about her domestic violence experience here), the ones she's giving in conjunction with the release of her new album, Rated R. Now, on the eve of those media appearances, a few additional people are speaking out about what specifically happened to Rhianna and about domestic violence in general.
So, last month the entire original Beatles catalogue was released in fully digitally re-mastered form. I don't actually know what that means, but I think that I can say that it's a good thing and that everyone will just nod their heads, except for maybe a small handful of vinyl enthusiasts who will swear to their dying days that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band can never be fully understood unless it is listened to on LP in a wood-panelled basement.
ANYHOO.
We don't have the entire digitally re-mastered Beatles catalogue to give away, BUT, we do have two limited edition lithographs! Of the Beatles! Back when they were cute! YOU CAN HAS.
All you have to do is leave a comment, sometime between now and midnight next Wednesday, naming your favorite Beatle and/or your favorite Beatles tune.
Extra street creed to anyone who can justify Ringo as their fave.
WINNERS! Bitchilla and Suzy Q! You'll be hearing from us! CONGRATS!
In a stunning piece of news that might've slipped beneath your usually impeccable radar, it's October. I'm not even kidding — you could look it up. In even more stunning news, the end of October means Hallowe'en, a night of trick-or-treating fun and stupid-ass parents who like to pretend they're stuffed scarecrows sitting in a chair next to the front steps until some cute little kid comes along and suddenly they jump up and scream bloody terrifying murder and scare the living bejeezus out of some sweet boy or girl who's been waiting all year to go out as a fairy princess or Superman. I fucking hate those parents.
What were we talking about? Oh, right... Hallowe'en, October... blah blah blah. More pertinently, October is the month where all right-thinking Americans (and the occasional right-thinking Canadian) choose to celebrate the dimming of the day and the fleeting popular embrace of ghosts, witches, demonic were-creatures and other critters not usually welcomed into genteel society by engaging in the time-honored tradition of watching lots and lots of horror movies. Why? Because, unlike children, we can make the conscious choice to be scared — because we understand and experience it as entertainment, as 90 minutes of escapist fun that frees us from the dreary bonds of our day-to-day and provides us with the vicarious thrill of gambling with our lives.
And just when we thought the Usher and Tameka divorce was going to be civil. Wait, did we ever think that?
Usher has just released a new song and it is all about his divorce. Because what makes a better song than a divorce?
The song even references firing his mother as his manager because Tameka wanted him to. "I gave my heart and turned my back against the world 'cuz you were my girl," he sings, continuing, "I done damn near lost my mama/I done been through so much drama/I done turned into the man I never thought I'd be/I'm ready to sign them papers." Ouch.
You can hear the full song after the jump.
After a blistering row with his she-could-be-his-granddaughter-girlfriend, Ronnie Wood packed up a little suitcase and went to stay in an apartment near the home he shared with estranged wife, Jo Wood. Cops were called to the home he shared with his mistress, Russian cocktail waitress Ekaterina Somethingorother, after she screamed about committing suicide because he wanted to have dinner with his estranged wife, their daughter Leah, and his infant granddaughter.
Todd Snider is at it again. In the wake of East Nashville Skyline, The Devil You Know, and the Freak Flag flying, Peace Queer, comes his latest, and perhaps Greatest effort, The Excitement Plan. The gloves are off - if they were ever on at all. With the help of the legendary Don Was (Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, Paul Westerberg, etc.), Todd comes out bare knuckled, championing the Common Man, and, quite possibly, high on, er, Life? And, weed. I can dig it.
Have you ever played that Music Trivia Game? Aw, hell. You know the one. 'Name One Song that Best Relates to You.' Or some such. Until The Excitement Plan I always drew a blank. Well, maybe that one Divinyls song. But most everyone can lay claim to that one. So I kept searching.
This has been a big week for the Beatles. Their new game (see insanely cool commercial below) The Beatles: Rock Band is on the top of many a gift list and their entire UK catalog (plus Magical Mystery Tour and Past Masters) has been remastered and rereleased with a depth and a clarity that so many of us are missing in our lives right now. Yes, once again we have found ourselves in times of trouble and the Beatles come to us. Words of wisdom and all that.
Whooooooooa buddy, were the VMAs out of control this year. By now everyone's heard about Kanye's douchebaggery, but trust me, that wasn't the only OMG moment, by far. There were a lot of missteps at the VMAs, as there are every year, but there also were some highlights, so let's go through the show and dissect the chaos, shall we?
In case you missed it, from tonight's MTV VMAs:
Kanye West was then escorted from Radio City Music Hall. Shortly thereafter, the following appeared on his blog: