Oh, those divas. Always snarking over each other. Or not. It depends on the mood apparently, and there appears to be a fair amount of flip flopping. Madonna, Celine, Whitney, Christina, Mariah - Oh, Mariah. Lady Gaga on the other hand, seems to love everyone. In their defense, as is pointed out in the following clip, the media practically forces them into it sometimes.
Some genius over at a blog called fourfour put together a nine minute video of divas on divas.
It comes with the explanation: “the practice of female singers being asked to comment on their peers (or taking it upon themselves to do so) is endlessly fascinating...So here are a bunch of clips of divas talking about divas. I gave myself an organizational rule when assembling this: The person speaking in each clip must have been talked about in the preceding clip.”
Some of the best snarks are about Madonna, including:
Mariah Carey: “I haven’t paid attention to Madonna since I was in 7th or 8th grade, when she was popular.” Snap!
Janet Jackson: “How do I put this? I think what I do has class to it.” Zing!
And, the ultimate, Cher on Madonna: “She’s unbelievably creative. She’s not unbelievably beautiful, she’s not beautiful, but she’s...rude.” Booyah!
Barry Llewellyn, a founding member of the Heptones has died at age 63 (some reports say 64).
No cause of death was given, according to the Jamaica Observer. Fellow Heptone Earl Morgan reportedly said Llewellyn was rushed to hospital on Tuesday, complaining of not feeling well, and died at 3:15 the following morning.
Morgan founded the reggae-rocksteady trio, The Heptones, in 1965 in Kingston. Llewellyn joined up next, and then Glen Adams, who was replaced shortly afterwards by Leroy Sibbles.
Morgan apparently got the group name from a discarded tonic bottle. They recorded a number of Jamaican radio hits throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
They saw a resurgence in popularity during the third ska wave of the 1990s, alongside groups like the Skatalites.
Morgan said, "Barry was a lively person who loved to party. He was a girl's man and very popular among them.”
The Observer reports that Llewellyn is survived by his wife, Monica, and several children.
But I realize I just have to get over it, as little kids are now essentially grown ups. (At a recent event that was attended by several generations, my husband turned to me and asked "When did 13-year-olds start dressing like the real housewives of Orange County?") And they're not my kids, so it's not my business. But when I DO have kids, they're only gonna listen to Raffi and dress in little sailor suits.
Anyway, here's Jaden's little sister Willow, 11, doing a snippet of her own rendition because she "loves" what her brother and The Bieb did with the song.
More of than not, a good song trumps a good video. Seldom am I driving around blasting music wishing I could see the videos of my favourite songs.
But that’s certainly not the case with the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ highly original and wholly refreshing new imagery to go with the latest single off their new record, I’m With You. I’d much rather watch this video (below) on mute than hear the song without the visuals.
Young Money rap star Nicki Minaj has a punch line on her Pink Friday song “Did It On ’Em” that offended Cher when brought to the icon’s attention.
“If you could turn back time, Cher/ You used to be here, now you’re gone, Nair,” raps Nicki on the tune.
One of Cher’s followers heard Minaj’s song and tweeted the 65-year-old Oscar winner: “@cher did you know thatb**** @NICKIMINAJ dissed you in her song DIDITONEM.”
Cher responded to the fan: “Ive see lots of people come & go! No biggie!”
Beyonce seems to drop a new video every week for album number 4, but this one is the steamiest of the lot.
The curvy R&B singer gets all Jessica Rabbit in this sexually charged visit to the detective’s office.
Shot in black and white with film-noir motif, “Dance for You,” which is only a bonus cut on the album, captures a pre-baby-bump Beyonce strutting around and looking amazing. I would write more, but it’s difficult to type when you’re biting your knuckles. Wow.
Another track from the posthumous Amy Winehouse album Lioness: Hidden Treasures has hit the web. This one is titled "Halftime" and is a beautiful, Stevie Wonder-esque piece of classic 70‘s style soul with flute and tinkly keys.
The song, produced by Salaam Remi and recorded in 2002, is one of the many unreleased tracks featured on Lioness: Hidden Treasures, which drops December 5 (some reports say December 2). Other songs include “Our Day Will Come” and “Like Smoke.”
Winehouse died July 23 at age 27. Hear the song below.
Lady Gaga sent a video message to a 17-year-old Toronto student congratulating him on his efforts to put an end to bullying.
Jacques St. Pierre is in Grade 12 and student council president of the Etobicoke School of the Arts. According to the CBC, after he was bullied in elementary school, he decided to do something to raise awareness about the issue.
"I got called the gay kid, the fag, because I liked to be in the school plays," Jacques told the CBC's Melanie Nagy. "I lost my best friend because he joined in with the bullies. It's not fun, I've been there, I've been bullied. Before that, I didn't know bullying could affect people so severely."
Weeks after the release of her critically acclaimed new album, Metals, comes Toronto native Feist’s official video for lead single “How Come You Never Go There.”
This stark black-and-white clip finds the singer-songwriter all alone in the forest with the wind and a ridiculous amount of hair. Like, Movember for your head.
The bare imagery matches the lonely simplicity of the song nicely. But it feels see-your-breath cold in those woods.
The 26-year-old U.K. pop star has good reason to, uh, smile. Lily and her husband, Sam Cooper, welcomed their first child, a daughter, into the world on Nov. 25.
“Sending out love to lily, sam and mini cooper…… YES,” tweeted Allen’s friend Sam Chew.
October 2011
