Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from the good of Lilith Fair switching things up, and new albums from Amy Grant and Christina Aguilera, to the evil of having to hear more from Paris Hilton and Perez Hilton, and Green Day's alleged thievery, and since it's Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* Before I get to all the good and evil of the week, a news story broke that was past the deadline for Pop Shots, but was far too big to let slide until next week, and that was, of course, Ricky Martin's not-so-shocking announcement that he's gay. One of my buddies wondered why Martin didn't go for a big money payout for his coming out but I have to wonder if any tabloid would have given him a significant chunk of change for making an announcement that was akin to "the sky is blue." Despite everyone having at least an inkling as to Martin's sexuality I'll still applaud him for his courage to announce it so publicly. The height of his popularity was years ago and he probably could have just rode off into the sunset with a male partner and no one would have been the wiser. Something tells me he's preparing to make his way back into the public eye again, but this time as one heck of a gay rights activist.
* The Lilith Fair is getting a facelift with its relaunch this year. After eleven years of laying dormant (barefoot and pregnant?) the tour that traditionally featured some of the leading ladies of music is back, and this time around it's expanded its musical offerings far past their usual lesbodacious acts of the past (I'm trademarking "lesbodacious" as you're reading this). Proof of this are the two latest additions to this year's tour; teen queen Selena Gomez, and all around dirty girl, Ke$ha. Both are vast departures from the normal Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan fare Lilith Fair has offered in the past. Props to them for realizing they have to reach out to another generation. That being said, I really hope they keep Gomez and Ke$ha on separate busses. I don't want Ke$ha corrupting my favorite witch from Waverly Place!
* Simply because the apocalypse MUST be rushed, Paris Hilton is working on another album. Apparently the non-existent sales of her 2006 release, Paris, weren't enough to get her to step aside as she recently uploaded a "raw" snippet onto YouTube of a song titled "I Need You," which is supposedly off of said sophomore album. This not only begs the question, how many computers can be involved in something and still have it be labeled as "raw," but also, can I handle working in a music industry where Paris Hilton will have released only one less album than Fiona Apple?
* Moving from one no talent fame whore to another, Perez Hilton, the man who rode Paris Hilton's coattails, at least nomenclature-wise, to the top of the MS Paint penis drawing, fake rumor, world, has announced he's launching his own weekly music countdown show. According to Billboard his goal is to offer "a cooler alternative to (On-Air with) Ryan Seacrest." Part of this "coolness" will include asking celebrities silly questions and playing up songs from some of his favorite artists in-between chart toppers. What he still hasn't figured out, however, is that the majority of the people who go to his site don't actually like him, while the millions and millions of viewers of American Idol DO like Seacrest. It's gonna take a lot more than Hilton's fanboyness and ugly accusations to push "Seacrest out."
* Green Day are some straight up thieves! This according to L.A.-based artist Dereck Seltzer, who filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the band. The suit is for up to $30k, or $150k if the infringement is found to be willful, which really isn't for that much money when you consider the fact the he's suing one of the biggest rock bands in the world. According to a Hollywood Reporter article on the story, Seltzer said "Green Day chose my original artwork as the backdrop for all of their promotional materials and concert performances with absolutely no consideration for 'Scream Icon's' copyright... They added the cross, but my artwork was clearly and deliberately used. Even after I complained, they continued to use it, offering me concert tickets in settlement." If Green Day is found guilty they'll embody a whole new definition of "American Idiot."
* Yesterday marked the triumphant return of everybody's favorite good girl gone God, Amy Grant. The "Baby Baby" singer released her first album since 2003, titled Somewhere Down The Road, on Tuesday, and according the label it's doing even better than they expected. Reuters reports, "a week before its release, the label ran out of CDs, EMI CMG director of catalog development Bryan Ward says. ‘We're having to make some as fast as possible because the orders quadrupled,' he adds. ‘That's a great sign.'" No, no, no, Ward, "The Sign" was Ace of Base, and damnit, we need a new album from them, too!
* In more triumphant return news, Christina Aguilera has announced she'll be releasing her next album, titled Bionic, on June 8th. With a name like Bionic, if there isn't a collaboration with Lindsey Wagner on it there should be. Then again, Wagner could be too busy adjusting the firmness of her Sleep Number Bed.
* Finally, I have a video for you that's way too cool not to pass along. Check out Fredrik Larsson performing 22 different TV theme songs accompanied by... Fredrik Larsson. Yup, that's not double vision you're experiencing, it's him on both the guitar and the keyboard. Video editing rocks!
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
* Before I get to all the good and evil of the week, a news story broke that was past the deadline for Pop Shots, but was far too big to let slide until next week, and that was, of course, Ricky Martin's not-so-shocking announcement that he's gay. One of my buddies wondered why Martin didn't go for a big money payout for his coming out but I have to wonder if any tabloid would have given him a significant chunk of change for making an announcement that was akin to "the sky is blue." Despite everyone having at least an inkling as to Martin's sexuality I'll still applaud him for his courage to announce it so publicly. The height of his popularity was years ago and he probably could have just rode off into the sunset with a male partner and no one would have been the wiser. Something tells me he's preparing to make his way back into the public eye again, but this time as one heck of a gay rights activist.* The Lilith Fair is getting a facelift with its relaunch this year. After eleven years of laying dormant (barefoot and pregnant?) the tour that traditionally featured some of the leading ladies of music is back, and this time around it's expanded its musical offerings far past their usual lesbodacious acts of the past (I'm trademarking "lesbodacious" as you're reading this). Proof of this are the two latest additions to this year's tour; teen queen Selena Gomez, and all around dirty girl, Ke$ha. Both are vast departures from the normal Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan fare Lilith Fair has offered in the past. Props to them for realizing they have to reach out to another generation. That being said, I really hope they keep Gomez and Ke$ha on separate busses. I don't want Ke$ha corrupting my favorite witch from Waverly Place!
* Simply because the apocalypse MUST be rushed, Paris Hilton is working on another album. Apparently the non-existent sales of her 2006 release, Paris, weren't enough to get her to step aside as she recently uploaded a "raw" snippet onto YouTube of a song titled "I Need You," which is supposedly off of said sophomore album. This not only begs the question, how many computers can be involved in something and still have it be labeled as "raw," but also, can I handle working in a music industry where Paris Hilton will have released only one less album than Fiona Apple?
* Moving from one no talent fame whore to another, Perez Hilton, the man who rode Paris Hilton's coattails, at least nomenclature-wise, to the top of the MS Paint penis drawing, fake rumor, world, has announced he's launching his own weekly music countdown show. According to Billboard his goal is to offer "a cooler alternative to (On-Air with) Ryan Seacrest." Part of this "coolness" will include asking celebrities silly questions and playing up songs from some of his favorite artists in-between chart toppers. What he still hasn't figured out, however, is that the majority of the people who go to his site don't actually like him, while the millions and millions of viewers of American Idol DO like Seacrest. It's gonna take a lot more than Hilton's fanboyness and ugly accusations to push "Seacrest out."
* Green Day are some straight up thieves! This according to L.A.-based artist Dereck Seltzer, who filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the band. The suit is for up to $30k, or $150k if the infringement is found to be willful, which really isn't for that much money when you consider the fact the he's suing one of the biggest rock bands in the world. According to a Hollywood Reporter article on the story, Seltzer said "Green Day chose my original artwork as the backdrop for all of their promotional materials and concert performances with absolutely no consideration for 'Scream Icon's' copyright... They added the cross, but my artwork was clearly and deliberately used. Even after I complained, they continued to use it, offering me concert tickets in settlement." If Green Day is found guilty they'll embody a whole new definition of "American Idiot."* Yesterday marked the triumphant return of everybody's favorite good girl gone God, Amy Grant. The "Baby Baby" singer released her first album since 2003, titled Somewhere Down The Road, on Tuesday, and according the label it's doing even better than they expected. Reuters reports, "a week before its release, the label ran out of CDs, EMI CMG director of catalog development Bryan Ward says. ‘We're having to make some as fast as possible because the orders quadrupled,' he adds. ‘That's a great sign.'" No, no, no, Ward, "The Sign" was Ace of Base, and damnit, we need a new album from them, too!
* In more triumphant return news, Christina Aguilera has announced she'll be releasing her next album, titled Bionic, on June 8th. With a name like Bionic, if there isn't a collaboration with Lindsey Wagner on it there should be. Then again, Wagner could be too busy adjusting the firmness of her Sleep Number Bed.
* Finally, I have a video for you that's way too cool not to pass along. Check out Fredrik Larsson performing 22 different TV theme songs accompanied by... Fredrik Larsson. Yup, that's not double vision you're experiencing, it's him on both the guitar and the keyboard. Video editing rocks!
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
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Adam BernardWelcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from why Miley Cyrus shouldn't be anywhere near your mouth, to why Justin Bieber might be at the BET awards, to why two 80's icons have been spending a lot of time in hospital beds, and since it's Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude. * Read More ...
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