Sad news today. Bee Gee Robin Gibb has died at age 62.
Gibb had been battling colon and liver cancer since last year and fell into a coma for a week in mid-April aftre falling gravely ill with pneumonia. He emerged from the coma and, according to reports, was making an impressive recovery. But Rolling Stone reports that he has lost his battle.
A statement from a spokesperson says. "The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time."
Gibb had been ill for months and in November, 2011, Robin revealed that he had been battling liver cancer - which had spread from his colon - for several months.
The Austin guitarist and music instructor has just broken the world record for longest guitar solo, according to Time.com. How long is the longest guitar solo? Funny you should ask. It's now 24 hours and 55 minutes, surpassing the previous record of a piddling 24 hours and 18 minutes. DiDonato, who plays guitar in a metal band called Modok, accomplished the feat on stage at Austin venue Red 7.
He started playing at 7 p.m. last Sunday night and was allowed a five-minute break every hour. The whole thing was streamed on UStream.tv. Amusingly, Time reports that DiDonato offered $25 to anyone willing to watch him perform the entire solo but does't say how many takers there were.
Here's three hours of it. I know you're going to watch the whole thing. Enjoy.
The Austin guitarist and music instructor has just broken the world record for longest guitar solo, according to Time.com. How long is the longest guitar solo? Funny you should ask. It's now 24 hours and 55 minutes, surpassing the previous record of a piddling 24 hours and 18 minutes. DiDonato, who plays guitar in a metal band called Modok, accomplished the feat on stage at Austin venue Red 7.
He started playing at 7 p.m. last Sunday night and was allowed a five-minute break every hour. The whole thing was streamed on UStream.tv. Amusingly, Time reports that DiDonato offered $25 to anyone willing to watch him perform the entire solo but does't say how many takers there were.
Here's three hours of it. I know you're going to watch the whole thing. Enjoy.
The type of cancer that caused Donna Summer's death has been revealed. The disco singer died of lung cancer, according to CNN.
A representative for her family said that Summer was not and had never been a smoker.
Summer's family issued the announcement in the wake of how "various reports currently surfacing about the cause of Ms. Summer's death are not accurate."
TMZ is claiming Summer blamed her cancer on breathing toxins like asbestos and mercury from 9/11.
"Obviously, numerous factors can be attributed to the cause of cancer in general, but any details regarding the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of Ms. Summer's case remain between her family and team of doctors," the rep, Brian Edwards said in a statement.
Her family said in a statement Thursday, "Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith. While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy."
Summer sold millions of abums and was a five-time Grammy winner.
Oh no, you guys! Are Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber splitting up?
That would be terrible. Because we all thought they were/think they are going to last forever!
Perez Hilton is reporting that The Bieb posted a cryptic message on his Twitter account that he allegedly deleted just moments later. But Perez got a screen shot of the alleged tweet, which reads, "Thank you for the time I had with you, but I have to move on now .." See?
Also, Selena apparently deleted her Instagram account this week. The account apparently was full of pics of the happy couple canoodling and stuff (so, I hear. I never looked at it...OK, ONCE, but it was to find a picture of Selena's dog). She also apparently took to a shooting range for some target practice, posting the message on Twitter "Released some stress today." And you know that means she's mad at her boyfriend, right?
Say it ain't so!
Well, Gossip Cop says exactly that, reporting that The Bieb told them "exclusively" (italics theirs) that the tweet Perez posted is a "fake tweet — never on his account or from him."
And you know celebrities never lie about these things. So, phew, right?
And I know you don't care and you wish I'd report some REAL NEWS but you totally clicked the link anyway.
Oh, dear, as if emo kids didn’t have enough problems, what with being emo kids and all.
Word in Tasmania is that your emo hair can damage your eyesight.
This is according to Australia’s The Mercury, which featured a sobering report this week on the hidden dangers of “long lopsided fringes.” HIDDEN DANGERS!
I am really looking forward to the Rock of Ages movie. Some people seem to be sneering at the casting of Tom Cruise as glam rock star Stacee Jaxx but that reaction doesn't make sense to me. Tom Cruise is a really good actor AND it's meta casting, as he was an actual sex symbol during the era the film is referencing. So, it's funny and sharp. If you want to Tom singing some Def Leppard, head on over to Kim Hughes' rock blog and have a listen!
Meanwhile, here's another clip from the flick, of Mary J. Blige covering Journey's "Anyway You Want It." The scene is set in a strip club in the eighties. My main concern is whether they got the hair right, and I can't really tell...but I'm thinking no, because a lot of it appears to be moving. And eighties hair didn't move, no matter how long it was. At least it didn't move much.
Rock of Ages is, of course, the story of two kids with big dreams on the Sunset Strip in 1987. It stars Cruise, Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand - and I guess MJ Blige is in it too.
Sort of. What he actually says during this interview with Ellen DeGeneres is “I love her as a human being, but sometimes when you’re in a relationship I suppose it doesn’t work out, does it? But that doesn’t mean I regret it or anything… I was very happy to be married to her, she’s such a beautiful human being, and I only have love and positivity for her.”
Oh, brother. I hate phrases like "I have only positivity for her." It's what people say when they've rehearsed their lines and couldn't care less about the person in question.
He then goes on to wonder why 36-year-old men can't breast feed. The question for the ages.
Sadly, Donna Summer died today from cancer at age 63.
The Queen of Disco's musical legacy is huge, and she helped shape what pop music has become.
Before it was standard, Summer pushed the envelope by moaning in ecstasy on her track "Love to Love You Baby" (the story goes that the studio lights were dimmed and she recorded the noises lying down in the studio, with disco producer extraordinaire Giorgio Moroder at the controls). She also was the first winner of the Best Female Rock Vocal Grammy for her 1979 hit "Hot Stuff," off the album Bad Girls. At that time, she had become known as the "First Lady of Love."
She later renounced her ecstatic past when she became a born-again Christian - but had apparently taken to performing "Love to Love You Baby" again in later years.
Here we look at the six greatest songs of the Queen. R.I.P. Donna. Love to love you, baby.