Peace, Love and Understanding

Seems to fit the events of this evening...

Flippin' Sweet

Challenger Ned Lamont appears to have defeated Lieberman by more than 10,000 votes, according to unofficial vote returns. With 95 percent of the precincts reporting, Lamont led Lieberman 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent. The vote tally was 139,496 to 129,271. Forty two percent of registered Democrats voted in the hotly contested primary, which many considered a referendum on the Iraq war.

The Divine Ms. Lily

Ooo- I like this. A lot.

Friday Top 10

In no particular order...

1. Galvanize- Chemical Brothers
2. Fairytale of New York- The Pogues
3. Strict Machine- Goldfrapp
4. Suedehead- Morrissey
5. Volcano- Jimmy Buffett
6. Nitty Gritty- Primal Scream
7. These Days- Nico
8. More Than a Woman- Bee Gees
9. You Do Something To Me- Weller
10. Tied Up Too Tight- Hard-Fi

Bonus-
11. The Importance Of Being Idle- Oasis

I want to see this movie so badly, it hurts

Will Ferrell has a knack for playing self-important boobs who get ahead in the world by sheer bluster, and the fictional NASCAR champ he plays in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" may be the most inflated of them all. When Ferrell's Ricky Bobby boasts to an interviewer, "I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence," the not-so-subtle subtext is that he's a winner with juice to spare.

Marr-y Mouse

Oh, my!

We’ve known for a while that Modest Mouse leader Isaac Brock and former Smiths guitarist/genius Johnny Marr were collaborating on MM’s next record. But guess what? Marr is now officially a full-on member of Modest Mouse, Brock recently told us. According to Brock, Marr’s membership is so unequivocal, he will tour with MM in support of their next record, tentatively titled We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank and tentatively due this fall.

Britpop perfect storm

The band- Oasis.
The song- "Roll With It."
The show- Top Of The Pops.
'Singing' lead- Noel.
'Playing' guitar- Liam.
Introductions by- ROBBIE WILLIAMS?

*I'm under the impression that most, if not all, TOTP performances were canned. This particular performance, hysterical. Especially the tamborine. And Robs wearing a tank top. Oh honey, NO.

Blue Monday

Now this is cool. A covers project.

From the ashes of Joy Division, after the suicide of Ian Curtis, arose New Order. "Blue Monday", released in 1983, is often seen as a very important crossover tracks of the 1980s electronica scene. Synthpop had already been a major force in British popular music for several years, but "Blue Monday" brought the influence and sound of the New York club scene over seas.



And I'd be remiss if I didn't include the Peter Saville album sleeve

Should anyone be curious

as to what I'm reading today, this would be it. God Bless the NME digital edition.

The Charlatans, Manic Street Preachers and The Prodigy have described Oasis' massive Knebworth gigs as a pivotal moment in musical history, 10 years on from the Gallaghers' biggest ever shows.
With the band supported by all three acts in front of 250,000 people over two historic nights, the event was one of the defining moments of the Britpop years.


And, Jen? That's what Noel looked like BEFORE he got his choppers fixed. Thank God for dentistry, eh?

Potter-verse with added Jon Stewart goodness!

MuggleNet was in attendance earlier tonight at the first of two charity readings co-hosted by JK Rowling. The show opened up with celebrity actress Whoopi Goldberg praising children for their interest in reading. Next, actress Kathy Bates provided a detailed introduction for Stephen King. She talked about her obsession with King, along with the roles she's played in his film adaptations.

A surprise appearance by Jon Stewart stoked the crowd up when he came on stage to introduce JK Rowling. Typical Jon Stewart, in his speech, he described how his five-month-old son has been standing outside of a bookstore waiting for Book 7 for three months now. At the end of his speech, he said he should be sitting out there with all of us.

Delightfully mouthy

Oh, I think I could get on the Lily Allen bandwagon. Especially after this comment.

And when asked for her thoughts on You’re Beautiful singer James, Lily put it bluntly: "It rhymes with his surname.''

Chicks. MSG.

Sounds like a great show.

The Chicks sent out “White Trash Wedding” to Mel Gibson. “You know how it is,” Natalie said. “You get drunk, you say things … All our controversies probably would have gone away if I checked into rehab the next day.” One fan held up a sign that said, “I’m gay but I love Chicks.” “Aw, that’s sweet,” Natalie said. “I’m straight, but I love gay people!”

Southwest France

Salon has an ongoing feature called The Literary Guide to the World. As a geography geek, I love the interactive map. Doesn't this trip in southwestern France sound great? I am definitely checking out the books cited here. I've read "The Three Musketeers," but it's been a while.

If you tell people you're taking a trip to southern France, they're likely to assume you mean the South of France -- that land of pastis, sunflowers, celeb-swarmed film festivals, and sunburned Brits. It's an honest mistake; though the Côte d'Azur and Provence have long been celebrated by tourists (and romantic chateau-restoring writers) for their improbable mix of big-money glamour and precious country charm, few American travelers realize that the towns and villages along the western half of France's rolling southern border offer a great many picturesque pleasures of their own. Ribboned with three of France's great rivers, penned in by the Pyrenees to the south, hollowed by some of the world's most remarkable caves, and -- in parts -- populated by more geese than people, the limestone Causses and green valleys of Gascony, the Dordogne and the Lot feel continents apart from the crowded beaches and high-rise hotels of their Mediterranean neighbors.

Call me crazy

But I really like the new Mrs. Gillespie's wedding dress. And look at the cool Nudie-esque embroidery on Bobby's suit! Lovely, appropriate for the persona, unique. Fleurs look fantastic, too.

Rubin

List of artist worked with? Unbelieveable....

Over the past 12 months, the words “Produced By Rick Rubin” have graced the backs of CDs as disparate as Dixie Chicks’ Taking the Long Way, Shakira’s Oral Fixation Vol 2, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Stadium Arcadium (all US No 1s) and the aforementioned 12 Songs by Neil Diamond (No 4, a 40-year career best).

TOTP

Top Of The Pops, the Brit music show, will make its last broadcast soon. The Guardian interviewed musicians that played on the show. The following is from Paul Ryder, bassist for the Happy Mondays.

When we played Hallelujah in 1989, we never realised that us and the Stone Roses appearing on the same Top Of The Pops would become a seminal moment. But I do remember getting back to Manchester and people telling us all the bars had set up screens specially to watch it, so it was a big deal. I'd wanted to be on Top Of The Pops ever since I was eight and saw David Bowie performing Starman with a blue acoustic guitar. I remember bumping into Tina Turner. We'd been given £1,000 each by the record company to buy new clothes; I spent £300 and pocketed the rest. I think everyone was heavily "sedated". I vividly remember being sat in the BBC garden and Shaun [Ryder] and Ian [Brown] were chuckling, plotting to swap drummers. I think the BBC rumbled it.

Cee-Lo IS Danny Zucco

Then it was over to Avalon, where, for the second night of the stand, 'Grease' was the word. Yes, in keeping with their tradition of dressing up as movie characters, the entire band donned leather jackets, jeans and white T-shirts. Coming out on stage to the strains of the theme song from the '70s classic, Cee-Lo introduced himself as 'Fon Travolta.'

Dear God, I love them. Surely they must be Brits;)

Culture Vulture

Every week, The Guardian arts blog, Culture Vulture, has a post on songs about a particular topic. This week, one-night stands. It's fun to watch the rock snobs attack each other's taste in music.

Imagine my delight when I discovered lyrics from a Tenacious D song, 'Double Team. ' When I was in college, JB (Jack Black) and KG (Kyle Gass) were our late-night, post-bar DVD-friends of choice.



"You step into our room, and then you smell the perfumes,
You lay upon our roundish bed, and then you feel a tickling on your head,
It's KG with the feather, the french tickler, look out baby he's got the tools!
And then you feel something down by your feet,
It's me! It's JB! I'm sucking on your toes!"

KT, Jackson 5

Ooo, I like her version of the J5 classic.

Dead Parrot