This is why

I adore The Wire- he's just a big cross-dressing fanboy...

Nicky Wire, Manic Street Preachers

Patience, Take That

This is not an ironic choice. It's the greatest comeback single in history. If Neil Young had written it, people would be calling it a masterpiece. I've always liked Take That, too. They looked so brilliant back in the day and did everything right, but this is something else. It's got such a dark lyric: "My heart is numb, has no feeling/ So while I'm healing/ Just try and have a little patience". There's also a maturity about it that suits the boys all grown-up. Gary Barlow is a genius; I won't have anyone argue against him. When Alex Turner slagged off Take That at the 2006 Q awards for getting an award, I nearly lost it. James [Dean Bradfield from the Manics] was grabbing me by the arm, saying: "Don't lose it, Nicky." You get so many alternative bands banging on about how to make perfect pop, and this kicks all their arses.

Typical

British understatement in regards to this picture from the Brit Awards-

Girls Aloud were very pleased to win the award for Best Single

You don't say.

"Can I just say - it's about time!" screamed Girls Aloud's Sarah Harding, before adding: "I think I just wet myself."

I love you, Sarah.

Girls Aloud- 'The Loving Kind'

"You're gonna make me, make me love you"

Girls Aloud have claimed the number one spot in the UK charts with The Promise, the group's first in four years.

And this is just too cool-

All of the group's 18 singles to date have made the UK top 10.

Speaking of Burt,

Baby girl Adele will be performing with him at the Electric Proms on Wednesday.

Legendary American songwriter and performer Burt Bacharach opens this year's BBC Electric Proms at the Roundhouse in London. He performs with the BBC Concert Orchestra accompanied by guest vocalists, Adele, Beth Rowley and Jamie Cullum. Burt's unparalleled six-decade career has defined romantic song with cherished hits such as Walk On By, The Look of Love, and I Say A Little Prayer.

Rock on,

Burt Bacharach...

"I was never political, not until George W got in office and the way the election was stolen from Al Gore. I've got these two young kids and I'm worried about the world they're growing up in. I'm scared to death now. I wish that England and France and Germany and Italy could vote. I want Obama to win so badly. I don't understand what's going on with Palin who is against abortion; against abortion on incest, against abortion on rape. I just can't understand how you could feel that way."

And he's so right- Aretha Franklin's take on 'Say A Little Prayer' is far superior to Dionne Warwick's (which is brilliant).

Girls Aloud- 'The Promise'

Cool vid. Sarah looks fierce, Nicola like a Barbie and Chezza is impossibly pretty. Kimba and Nadine look cute as well.



via

One of my

fav photogs, Mark Seliger, gets the royal treatment at Vanity Fair-

Seliger is an editor’s favorite because he can find content in a genre—celebrity portraiture—which all too often comes off as empty, tacky, humorless, and cliché-riddled. His pictures, often rendered in a rich palette, tend to be cinematic. They seem to freeze a moment while implying a much bigger story.

Love this shot of Mos Def.

This one of Anne Hathaway is utterly gorgeous.

Sugas

Love the 'Babes....

The secret of the Sugababes' success, if there is one, involves a formula based on such variables as luck, talent, timing, personality, management, image, production and, in particular, some irresistible hit singles (Freak Like Me, Round Round). From the moment the trio appeared in September 2000, with the skewed, R&B-flavoured pop of their debut single Overload, it was clear they were strikingly different from the UK pop norm. In contrast to the shiny happy entertainers Steps and S Club 7, here were three sullen teenagers barely able to raise a smile between them. More importantly, here was a pop act that actually produced music worthy of attention. NME named Overload its single of the week, and the band have continued to make fresh, credible, memorable pop ever since.

'Can't Speak French'- Girls Aloud

Oh HELL YES (part 2)

Girl Power was back with a bang in the UK this weekend as Posh, Sporty, Baby, Scary and Ginger spiced up the lives of fans in London - and performed together in the UK for the first time in almost a decade.

A star-studded audience, including celeb chef Gordon Ramsay, Peaches Geldof, singer Will Young and Roberto Cavalli - who designed the girls' costumes for the tour - saw Geri Halliwell wow the 20,000-strong crowd in a replica of the iconic Union flag dress she donned for the 1997 Brit Awards.

And Emma Bunton, who suffered a sprained ankle during the fivesome's Las Vegas gig and has been receiving treatment from David Beckham's doctor, soldiered on wearing an ankle support for the show - though she had to pull out of some of the more demanding dance routines.

The London gig has been dubbed the girls' raunchiest to date. However, earlier on in the week it was strictly a family affair for the Beckham family, as Victoria was joined by her footie-ace husband and three sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz for a festive spin on the ice-rink at Hyde Park.

OOOOOOO!

The amazing rock snobs at The Guardian love Girls Aloud's new album.....I want!

You're left pondering an album that by any standards seems pretty irresistible. It's witty, diverse, experimental and viscerally thrilling: what more do you want pop music to be? Frankly, the sort of person who claims they find nothing to love here is like the sort of person who claims to hate the Beatles: they're either posturing or they're an idiot. Either way, you should pay them no mind.

Well, this sounds promising

The pop snobs at Popjustice have heard the new Girls Aloud album, and LOVE IT.

Story filed Wednesday, 31 October 2007
1. This is the sleeve for the promo

2. 'Girl Overboard' is a massive Euro rave-up extravaganza and should be a single unless there is a tragic event involving a girl falling off a boat or maybe if there is some sort of real-life version of the hilarious Goldie Hawn film 'Overboard' in which Goldie Hawn actually died instead of just amusingly lost her memory because then Radio One wouldn't play it due to 'concerns over the public mood etc'.

3. Every time it's been on in the office 'Sexy! No No No...' has been mercilessly skipped and after we'd finished listening to it the first time there was literally an argument over which song we'd listen to again first.

4. 'Fling' is sort of like 'Wake Me Up' from the year 2012.

5. There are NO BALLADS and NO COVERS.

6. "I can't speak French, so I let the funky music do the talking, talking now." That is a good lyric.

7. We've listened to it 180 times and it's only been in the office since 9am.

8. It's the best Girls Aloud album of all time and is better than the Sugababes, Kylie and Britney albums although we've just done a review for someone giving the Britney album 5/5 so we suppose that probably makes 'Tangled Up' a 6/5 album. Which our calculator tells us is 1.2. Which is 120%. "They've really given it 120%" etc etc.

9. It's out at some point in November and would make the ideal Christmas present for someone who likes amazing pop music.

10. There you go.

'About You Now'- Sugababes

I'd listen to Keisha Buchanan sing the alphabet.

'Denial'- Sugababes

The backing track is so 'Without Me'



via Pop Justice

I would love to see this!

Though not really in keeping with my Cinderella-esque existence, this would make a wonderful birthday present for me.

So cool!

Cheap Trick are set to perform The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' in Los Angeles from start to finish in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the landmark album.

The performance will take place at the Hollywood Bowl on August 10 and 11.

The American rockers will be accompanied by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra as well as Aimee Mann, Joan Osborne and other special guests.

In addition to performing the entire album, the artists will play several Beatles favourites including 'Magical Mystery Tour', 'Norwegian Wood' and 'Eleanor Rigby'.

So funny

Two items from that bastion of journalistic integrity, The Sun.

NATALIE PORTMAN stars in PAUL McCARTNEY’S new video for Dance Tonight, thanks to her friendship with his designer daughter STELLA.

Macca says: “I rang her and said, ‘I’m Stella’s dad’. Luckily, she was between films.”

and

Hold on to your skirts, ladies. A bulletin from RUSSELL BRAND on my MySpace page tells us his comedy gigs will act as “freedom rallies” so he can “establish a society of hanky panky”.

He welcomes “women aged between 18 and death”.

For the record

Should there ever be an American counterpart to Ms. Kylie Minogue, I think it will be young Hillary Duff.

For example-

1. Began career as a beloved young actress- check
2. Started dating slightly inappropriate boys- check
3. Albums started taking on a Europop, dance-y feel- check
4. Started to realize that the gays* are her core audience- check

So, by this logic, young Hillary will have her gold hotpants or similar featured in an exhibit at the Smithsonian when she hits her 30's.

*not that there's anything wrong with that