Empire - NME awards 2007

Um, Senator Reid?

Senator Lieberman is NOT a Democrat.

He's an Independent. An actual Democrat, Ned Lamont, beat him in the primary. Therefore, and I'm going out on a limb here, I don't think he should give the Democratic radio address this week. Because he's not a Democrat.

Bootlicking pissant, yes.

Democrat, no.

Thanks,
Phoebe

Girls just wanna have fun

Looks like Nicola and Sarah had a good time at the NME awards, bless them.

Modfather for versuscancer

FUCK ME! This is going to be a hell of a show!

MODFATHER Paul Weller is the latest legend to sign up for Manchester charity extravaganza Versus Cancer.

The former Jam and Style Council frontman, who has topped charts over three decades with tracks like The Eton Rifles, Shout to the Top, and Wild Wood, will join a star-studded line-up at the MEN Arena show.

The March 30 concert, organised by former The Smiths' bassist Andy Rourke and his charity the Great Northern Aid Trust, promises to raise thousands for cancer research, with charities like Christie Hospital set to benefit.

Stone Roses singer Ian Brown, Echo and the Bunnymen, and nineties soul-rockers McAlmont and Butler are already confirmed, and Paul Weller is expected to team-up on stage with Charlatans singer Tim Burgess.

Random Ten

1. Bad Reputation- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
2. Goodbye Earl- Dixie Chicks
3. Round Round- Sugababes
4. Half The World Away- Oasis
5. Can't Get Out Of Bed- Charlatans
6. Take Me To The River- Al Green
7. Mr. Brownstone- GNR
8. Hot Soft Light- The Hold Steady
9. The Winner Takes It All- ABBA
10. Ruby- Kaiser Chiefs

Bonus-
11. Judy Is a Punk- Ramones
12. Out On the Tiles- Led Zeppelin
13. Sound Of the Underground- Girls Aloud
14. Strict Machine- Goldfrapp

Scream Team with special guest....

Mick Jones! See previous post as to why Conor McNicholas presented the Screamers with the award.

Primal Scream have bagged the prestigious Godlike Genius prize at the Shockwaves NME Awards tonight (March 1) - and they celebrated by offering up a major surprise during their live performance.

The band's name was announced at London's Hammersmith Palais by NME editor Conor McNicholas and Clash legend Mick Jones.

Jones then joined them onstage to play a version of The Clash's legendary 1978 single '(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais'.

The band also performed their classic singles 'Movin' On Up', 'Country Girl', 'Rocks' and 'Swastika Eyes'.

During their acceptance speech, frontman Bobby Gillespie thanked new bands such as The View and The Gossip.

Snicker

No comment-

Pete Doherty and his model girlfriend Kate Moss left the Shockwaves NME Awards 2007 early tonight (March 1).

The couple were were asked to leave the ceremony by security after a series of incidents at the ceremony held at Hammersmith Palais.

According to a source who spoke to NME.COM on the condition of remaining anonymous, the couple got into trouble after becoming too amorous for the security personel's liking.

The source said the loved-up pair were first caught trying to get into the venue's toilets together and were later caught in an alleyway at the back of the building together.

The anonymous source said: "Pete and Kate were trying to get into the premises' toilets but they were removed by the bouncers and told to go back to their table.

"Later they were both caught in a dark alleyway at the back of the building. So we got their own security guards to put them in a car and take them home."

For the record

I think it's freaking ridiculous that I'm still using my heavy duvet and electric blanket, and we're supposed to have thunderstorms, potentially severe storms, tonight. It's 35 degrees.

FUCKING SNOW ALREADY! NO MORE OF THIS ICE SHIT.

Thank you.

NME awards

To say that there is some potential for mayhem at the NME awards tomorrow, is a massive understatement. There's an open bar and rock stars. Tewtelly cool.

Oscar fashion roundup

My thoughts are as follows:

Trends
a- Navy blue and aubergine (Emily Blunt and Reese Witherspoon)
b- One-shouldered dresses (Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett)
c- straight hair is back (Mrs. Urban and Mrs. Martin)

Unfortunate mishaps
a- Jennifer Hudson being led astray by Andre Leon Talley (Vogue) and Oscar De La Renta. I think Andre took his weight off too fast, and this resulted in his thinking that it was Studio 54 in the late 1970's, not the Academy Awards in 2007.
Mr. Talley, let's just put it this way- Bianca Jagger ain't going to be riding a horse through this after-party.

And Mr. De La Renta? He dresses skinny socialites, wives of Dr. Strangelove (Annette Kissinger) and SJP, who haven't consumed actual food since, well, Studio 54 in the 1970's. It's not J-Hud's fault.

b- I've said for a while that Chanel and Valentino were slipping. And now, this is being shifted from theory to scientific (fashion) law. Case in point- Kirsten Dunst and Cameron Diaz's respective dresses.

Kirsten's was couture. I get couture. It was still weird. And Cameron's looked like an odd combo of the curtains in my posh Aunt Sandy's front living room (the one where you can't sit on the furniture) and my junior prom dress. Only my prom dress wasn't a Valen-Freaking-Tino.

And I'd like to state for the record, I want to look like Helen Mirren when I finally grow up.

Hookerific

Why am I not terribly surprised that Steve Jones is the only one who doesn't deny knowing the madam? Once a Sex Pistol, always a Sex Pistol.

That was awful. My apologies.

In "Secrets of a Hollywood SuperMadam," an autobiography due in bookstores Thursday, Gibson names two dozen celebrities she says patronized her call-girl service.

Many of the names also appear in her phone books, a payment log and other records from the case that have been unsealed by Los Angeles Superior Court and can now be viewed in unredacted form.

A review of the court file shows that Gibson listed actor Bruce Willis; former Dodgers Manager Tom Lasorda; Steve Jones, the Sex Pistols guitarist and KDLE-FM (103.1) radio jock; and the late film producer Don Simpson, among others.

via Salon

V Festival lineup

I'm dying here, people! Lookit this! Kasabian, Basement Jaxx, Amy, Lily, KT and OH MY GOD, HAPPY MONDAYS! AND PRIMAL SCREAM????

The Killers
Foo Fighters
Snow Patrol
Kasabian
Pink
James
Basement Jaxx
The Kooks
Amy Winehouse
Manic Street Preachers
The Fratellis
Primal Scream
Lily Allen
Damien Rice
Babyshambles
Happy Mondays
Paolo Nutini
KT Tunstall
Mika
James Morrison
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
The Coral
The Fray
The Proclaimers
The Goo Goo Dolls

Am I crazy?

I just downloaded the Kaiser Chiefs's new single, 'Ruby,' and I swear that the guitar solo sounds familiar. Not ripped off (though there's nothing wrong with that, a long-honored rock tradition), maybe just the same key? What the hell does it sound like? This will make me crazy.

Oh God, to me, it sounds like the guitar in 'The Final Countdown' by Europe. My hair-metal fan past rears it's ugly, Rave-hairsprayed head again.

Good song, though. Ricky Wilson is a hot ginger.

Housekeeping

For my fives (maybe tens:) of readers, as of yesterday, I will be posting regularly at Oh, Beehave, in addition to my ramblings here.

It's nice to know that I'm not the only Anglophile in the U.S.

This? Kicks Ass

This is ridiculous-

Worried that a negative stereotype of the sorority was contributing to a decline in membership that had left its Greek-columned house here half empty, Delta Zeta’s national officers interviewed 35 DePauw members in November, quizzing them about their dedication to recruitment. They judged 23 of the women insufficiently committed and later told them to vacate the sorority house.

This is disgusting-

The 23 members included every woman who was overweight. They also included the only black, Korean and Vietnamese members. The dozen students allowed to stay were slender and popular with fraternity men — conventionally pretty women the sorority hoped could attract new recruits. Six of the 12 were so infuriated they quit.

But then, it gets REAL interesting-

If you read in between the lines of the news story, it's fabulous: they kicked out a computer science major with the research skills to go track down evidence of past discrimination in the library; a junior with the organizational skills and chutzpah to put together an open meeting at the student union to tell the DePauw student body what had really happened; and the editor of the DePauw student paper (what were they thinking?!?).

I love it when college women make trouble, don't you? Rock on, ladies.


via Broadsheet

Storm, trois

This is what it looks like all over SE Iowa. Ice, snow & collapsed electric poles.

The storm, part two

I actually left the house today (my day off) and ran into town for a while. There are trees snapped in half all along the road, and the storm fence (to prevent snow from drifting) along Hwy. 61 had collapsed in places. I kept thinking, "Chet's going to declare a state of emergency." And so he did. Thanks, Gov. Culver.

Most of my hometown* should get power back tomorrow, but the rural areas are especially hard-hit. There's a 2-3 mile stretch that might not get power back till several days into March. This includes my friend Jen and her hubby's dairy farm. And let me tell you, cows do not understand that the electric is out. I'm so glad they have a generator.

Y'all, it's Iowa at the end of February, and it's cold here. This is not good.

*My mom's flower shop avoided disaster. When the power went out in town, my dad went in and pulled all of the flowers out of the cooler and put them in the garage. In a few hours, the temp went from 36 degrees in the cooler to 45**. Again, not good. We were almost physically ill thinking about if this had happened at Valentine's Day.

**That still may sound cool, but believe me, flowers are picky little bitches who are constantly having hot flashes. You want that temp cooler than cool. Ice cold, if you will.

LDN, live

Oscars commentary at the Guardian

This post by Xan Brooks is the funniest damn thing I've read in days.....

7.40pm: "I was just backstage drinking with Jack Nicholson and Al Gore," says George Clooney. "I don't think he's running for president."

Clooney is here to hand out the Oscar for best supporting actress. His line is funny, but it is effortlessly trumped by the response of Dreamgirls' Jennifer Hudson, which is purely hilarious. "Oh God," she screams. "Look what God can do."

Needless to say this raises all kinds of theological issues. Principal among these is that if God's greatest miracle is His ability to bestow supporting actress Oscars on losing American Idol contestants, then one wonders if He is using His time as wisely as He might.

What God cannot do, apparently, is extend J-Hud's time at the podium. The music soars and drowns out her tears.

Eat your Wheaties

Now with added Beckham!

Until now "Brand Beckham" has not been as strong in the US as in the rest of the world, but all that appears to be changing since the iconic athlete signed to promote Wheaties. By appearing on packaging for the product, which dubs itself "the breakfast of champions", Becks follows in the footsteps of one of his greatest sporting idols, Michael Jordan.

I didn't realize

that vintage LaBelle stage costumes were acceptable Oscar wear.

picture from Reuters

Note to idiot commentators on E!

J-Lo's Marchesa dress? Not vintage.

The storm

Meteorologist Donna Dubberke predicted additional ice and snow accumulation overnight.

"Saturday in the Burlington area there were lots of reports of 1/4– to 1/2–inch ice," she said. "It was mostly rapid rain accumulation that caused all the damage going on down there."

This, kiddies? Is a cautionary tale.

Shaun's life so far

Born 23 August 1962, in Salford, Greater Manchester, eldest son of a postman and a nursery nurse. One brother, Paul.

Early Life Left school at 15 and, until the age of 28, could not get past the letter H in the alphabet. Sacked for stealing credit cards from his first and only non-music job as a messenger for the Post Office. Heroin-user since 18; moved on to crack but is now clean.

Career 1981 Formed Happy Mondays, a band at the forefront of the Madchester scene notorious for their heavy drug use.

1992 Happy Mondays split after four albums.

1995 Formed Black Grape with Mondays sidekick Bez and rapper Kermit.

1998 Black Grape split.

1999 Happy Mondays re-formed for one year.

2005 Co-wrote, with Damon Albarn, and rapped on Gorillaz' single 'DARE'.

Family Three children by three different women.

Ice, ice, baby

Y'all, we are in the middle of an Ice. Storm. Trees are down all over the place, power lines have snapped and we still have power. For now. On my way into work this AM, I almost went into the opposite ditch twice. While driving 25 miles an hour.

This? Is not good.

I fumble for the clock

alarmed by the seduction.

The Jam - STRANGE TOWN

my fav Jam song

The Jam -Eton Rifles- Live Granada TV

Good Times

In 1977, disco bestrode the globe like an afro-haired, stack-heeled colossus. There had been disco records before, notably Donna Summer's Love to Love You Baby and George McCrae's Rock Your Baby. But by 1977, disco - dance music's logical next step after the orchestrated, soul-based Philadelphia sound of the early 70s - came to seem less like a series of wonderful flukes and more like the soundtrack to a pop era. The Trammps and Tavares, Thelma Houston and T-Connection, the Brothers Johnson and the Fatback Band were all over the radio and the charts. The real indicator of its popularity was that other artists latched on and began to "go disco", with Marvin Gaye one of the first to succumb with Got to Give It Up, Abba following suit, and even behemoths of white rock - notably the Rolling Stones, Kiss and Rod Stewart - getting in on the act.

The year also saw the debut British chart entries from disco's prime movers, Chic and Earth, Wind & Fire. And, in March, the Bee Gees' manager, Robert Stigwood, made a phone call to his charges that cemented forever the popular perception of disco: he asked the Gibb brothers to provide new songs for the soundtrack to his latest project, a movie called Saturday Night Fever. Finally, there was a bolt of sequencer-driven electro-disco strangeness called I Feel Love by Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, one of two trailblazing singles from summer 1977 that transformed the way people thought about popular music - the other being God Save the Queen.

Someone I aspire to resemble

in both form and function is Heather B. Armstrong from Dooce. She is, quite simply, a fantastic writer, and this piece regarding Britney is so compassionate and knowing, that I wish I was her (Heather's) friend.

You wouldn’t have ever found me out at night flashing my bare vagina, but so what? I did things that were far worse, a lot of yelling, a lot of walking away, a lot of wishing I had never had a child. But I forgive myself for all of that because I was sick. I am not that person anymore. I wasn’t that person before my breakdown, and I’m doing everything I can to not ever become her again.

And while I understand that Britney Spears is not everyone’s cup of tea, that to most people she’s just a spoiled celebrity who has more money than sense, I would hope that other women and other mothers are looking at her with a little bit of compassion right now, if only for the sake of those two baby boys who are innocent in all of this. She is their mother. I had too many people pulling for me when I went through it to not extend that sympathy to her or to any other woman who might feel out of control enough to start sabotaging her life.

Random Ten

1. Me and Mr. Jones- Amy Winehouse
2. Let's Make Love and Listen To Death From Above- CSS
3. Tempted- Squeeze
4. We Can Work It Out- Stevie Wonder
5. Detroit- Primal Scream
6. Mardy Bum- Arctic Monkeys
7. Shame For You- Lily Allen
8. She's Lost Control- Joy Division
9. Sally Cinnamon- The Stone Roses
10. I'll Stand By You- Girls Aloud

Bonus-
11. It's Not Unusual- Tom Jones
12. Pump It Up- Elvis Costello
13. Valerie- The Zutons
14. Age Of Consent- New Order

Awwweeesome

I just got a new ringtone. 'Rehab.' From The Winehouse's myspace page. Tewtelly awesome.

That is all.

I Heart Posh

Posh was by far my favorite Spice Girl, and I still adore Victoria Beckham. Yeah, I had a favorite Spice Girl. What's your point? Oh, alright, I loved Ginger. And Baby, too.

She was, by all accounts, not the most talented, yet she snagged a footie GOD, and has a profitable sideline in fashion design. And she should know fashion. MAJOR clotheshorse.

This interview with VB is totally adorable. She smiles and laughs, things that I didn't know she was capable of. And her interaction with the little boys is too cute. Again, she should know, as she has 3 little guys.

via Pop Sugar

Manchester v. Cancer*

I love that the versuscancer website looks like the classic Factory posters. Headliners so far- King Monkey, The Charlies and Echo and the Bunnymen.

*annual concert put on by Andy Rourke (Smiths) to benefit the Christie Hospital in Manchester. Last year's performers included Doves and New Order- who did an entire Joy Division set.

T headliners

Killer lineup, with more to be announced later. Bands heading to Kinross, Scotland July 6-8 include:

Friday (July 6)

Main Stage
Arctic Monkeys
Bloc Party
The Coral
Lily Allen

Saturday (July 7)

Main Stage
The Killers
Razorlight
Arcade Fire
James
James Morrison

Radio 1/NME Stage
The Kooks
My Chemical Romance
Babyshambles
CSS

King Tuts Tent
The View
Klaxons
Jamie T

Sunday (July 8)

Main Stage
Snow Patrol
Scissor Sisters
Kings of Leon
The Fratellis
Paolo Nutini
Goo Goo Dolls

Radio1/NME Stage
Kasabian
Interpol
Maximo Park
Mika

King Tuts Tent
Editors

Pet Sounds Arena
Damien Rice
Amy Winehouse
Tori Amos

Slam Tent
Dave Clarke
Slam

How appropriate is it that Diamond Lil is on Friday night?

20th Century Boy

The reason I do not care for Radiohead

is because of associated memories of an assclown ex-boyfriend who listened to them. Constantly. I mean, ALL THE TIME. And he was a total jerkface/stupidhead. (Yes, I'm 10)

So, when I make fun of Thom Yorke, this is the reasoning behind it. That, and I truly don't give a fuck about Radiohead. The only whiners* I like? The Smiths and Moz.

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, I like big, dumb rock and roll.

Trolls, BEGONE.

*all perspective, mind

Good Lord

The dress Emmy Rossum is wearing? A dead ringer for one my grandmother wore. To my mom and dad's wedding. In 1973. When she was 53 years old.

Again, in 1973. When she was well into her middle age. And the mother of the bride.

Dancing With The "Stars"

I know the term 'star' is used VERY loosely here, but let me get this straight.

The contestants for this season of "Dancing With the Stars" include the fat dancer from N*Sync, Clyde the Glide, Leeza Gibbons, Achy Breaky Cyrus, Steve Sanders, Mrs. Ric Ocasek, Big Pussy and Heather Mills? HEATHER MILLS? HEATHER MILLS?

Holy crap. This I gotta see.

I'm forseeing lots of ballgowns and trainers

And big jewelry!

Lily Allen is set to design a "capsule wardrobe" for high street clothes chain New Look, to be titled 'Lily Loves'.

Known for her quirky dress sense and penchant for gold jewellery and vintage pieces, the range will feature six dresses, two pairs of shoes and assorted brightly coloured accessories.

Speaking about Lily Allen's individual style, New Look's head of fashion communications Sarah Walter explained: "She's an absolute dressaholic."

The collection is due to hit UK stores in May.

Aspens

Aspens. Fall Colors, Colorado, originally uploaded by bridgepix.

In honor of the Scooter and Judy show

Happy birthday, Ian!

King Monkey is 44 today. Doll, talk to John already, please?

Exactly

As a female who likes a drink or two, it really twists me when I see headlines cautioning women about the risks of drinking, because you might be "taken advantage of." However, you never see similar headlines cautioning men to not drink to excess because they might "take advantage of someone."

So I loved this-

Which clearly means the onus is on women to protect themselves. Sigh.

Some alternate headline suggestions:

Men warned to stop raping drunk women

Men warned of rape drink risk

Stop getting drunk and raping women, asshole

via Feministing

New Order - Blue Monday

I Don't Feel Like Dancing at the Brit Awards

LFW

that La Moss was doing a collection for TopShop.

Indeed, the whole thing might have been something of a loss if Topshop hadn't chosen Thursday afternoon to unveil the first samples of their Kate Moss collection, which will launch on 1 May. Everyone was required to sign an agreement forbidding them from publishing a word about it until late April. 'But it will be a massive hit,' a loose-lipped editor assured me. 'Kate's stuff is gorgeous.' It seems that this season's London Fashion Week will be remembered mostly for the collaboration between a high-street giant and a supermodel with a magnificent and dubious reputation

More Amy

She sang "Rehab" with a sweet uncertainty, hitching up her red frock to mid-thigh level, but delicately, carefully, as though primly fastidious about revealing her knickers. Her acceptance speech, far from being a rant about the awfulness of Dido or the rapacity of A&R men, was a little-girl stutter of "ers" and "ums" before she declared "I'm just glad my mum and dad are here" and exited, probably for a lovely family night out. It was hopeless. "They tried to make me go to rehab?" More like, "They tried to persuade me to have a small sherry and enjoy myself, but I said no, no, no...". At this rate, we'll soon have to stop waiting for her to self-destruct, and start listening to her singing.

I love riders

you know, the list of items that bands require backstage to prepare them for their performance? Oasis's from the Brits included:

six bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne, 100 bottles of Becks lager, 12 bottles of wine and a THOUSAND Marlboro Lights.

Oh and eye masks from Estee Lauder (to prevent puffiness). I don't judge.

via Queen Bee

"You're the whore!"

As you may have deduced, I truly enjoy badly-behaved celebrities of the not-shaving-my-head- in-a-desperate-cry-for-help form.

And as an unrepentant Anglophile, I particularly enjoy British badly-behaved celebrities. This article contains all of my girly favorites.

For example, La Winehouse-

Her adventures in vodka and rickstasy (her favourite drink, containing three parts vodka, one part Southern Comfort, one part banana liqueur, and one part Baileys) have landed her in the soup too many times to mention.

And Diamond Lil-

When asked last year how she would celebrate if her single "Smile" reached the top of the charts, Allen replied "gak" (grade A cocaine)

But don't forget Sarah Harding, my favorite Girls Aloud member (and she runs around with my Darling Mani, the bitch :)

Hard-drinking Harding, 25, who has been linked romantically with Calum Best of Celebrity Love Island fame, the T4 lothario Steve Jones, the Liverpool footballer John Arne Riise and the actor Stephen Dorff, is now in a "serious" relationship with the Daily Star showbiz columnist Joe Mott. But don't expect to hear the peel of wedding bells. "Love?" she said in a recent interview when asked about the nature of her relationship. "I think you mean lust."

And Charlotte Church, whom Americans know as the "Voice Of An Angel." Girlfriend can hang with the big dogs, y'all-

When Charlotte Church's ex-boyfriend, Kyle Johnson, sold stories about their sex life to a Sunday newspaper, the Cardiff singer dealt with him in her own, forthright way. Bumping into him in a nightclub, she said he was a "stupid little shit". He called her "a slut". She then punched him in the face, with the departing line: "You're the whore!

And the crazy aunt of them all, La Moss-

Perhaps the best example of Moss' hedonism is the 30th birthday party she threw herself in 2004, which ran with a suitable theme, the Beautiful and the Damned.

The drinking started at midday, where Kate and friends downed several thousand pounds' worth of champagne at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Then, the party moved on to a seventh-floor suite at Claridge's, where Kate changed into a blue evening dress and a £300,000 necklace - a personal gift from Louis Vuitton - and guests ate, among other things, 30lb of Beluga caviar.

A little Rev. Ryder for your Saturday Night

Happy Mondays, originally uploaded by modena_musicrock.

Guuuuuh, Bourdain

Oh but I have a bit of a thing for Anthony Bourdain. He curses, smokes and drinks too much and eats things that there is NO FUCKING WAY that I'd ever consider consuming. And he can write.

I actually WATCH Food Network now and again, more often than not drawn in by the progressive horrors on screen. I find myself riveted by its awfulness, like watching a multi-car accident in slow motion. Mesmerized at the ascent of the Ready-Made bobblehead personalities, and the not-so-subtle shunting aside of the Old School chefs, I find myself de-constructing the not-terrible shows, imagining behind the scenes struggles and frustrations, and obsessing unhealthily on the Truly Awful ones. Screaming out loud at Sandra Lee in disbelief as she massacres another dish, then sits grinning, her face stretched into a terrifying rictus of faux cheer for the final triumphant presentation. I mourn for Mario..and Alton...Bobby and yes--even Emeril, nobly holding the fort while the TV empire he helped build crumbles like undercooked Bundt cake into a goo of Cheez Wiz around him.

See, I occassionally find non-British, non-musicians attractive!

via The News Blog

MWWAAAAHHH!

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I LOVE this man. Go read all the quotes. What a distinctive voice.

On Tony Blair

"It was a big deal, the landslide and all that, and everybody got carried away. We thought it was going to be John F Kennedy and for a year or two it was. Unfortunately for this Labour Government, they are going to be saddled with the Iraq war and nobody can get around that."

On Labour

"Politics is like football for me. Labour is my team and even if you don't like a striker you don't give up supporting the whole team."

On the United States

"Whenever there is a conservative, Bible-waving half-wit ruling in the White House - whether it's Bush, his father or Reagan - there is war."

On Liam

"He is Abbott to my Costello, he is Cannon to my Ball, he is Little to my Large."

On Britney

"'Hit Me Baby One More Time' is a classic tune, but she didn't write it, she just mimed it on telly a few times. I don't get the Britney thing."

On Live8

Correct me if I am wrong, but are they hoping that one of these guys from the G8 is on a quick 15-minute break at Gleneagles and sees Annie Lennox singing 'Sweet Dreams' and thinks, 'Fuck me, she might have a point there, you know'. It's not going to fucking happen, is it?"

On his own work

"'Wonderwall' - that's virtually every bird between the ages of 30 and 36's favourite fucking song... 'Live Forever', in 1993. That changed everything. Before that everything sounded indie."

This does not sound good

Anthony Wilson, the man behind some of Manchester's most well-known bands including Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays, has been diagnosed with cancer and has undergone emergency surgery to remove a kidney, he revealed yesterday. The 56-year-old underwent emergency surgery last month and will begin chemotherapy treatment at the Christie hospital in Withington next week.

Mr Wilson is largely responsible for shaping Manchester's hugely popular music scene and was the founder of the Hacienda nightclub and Factory records. He was impersonated by Steve Coogan in the semi-fictional film 24 Hour Party People. The cancer was diagnosed during a routine visit to his family doctor after he had felt ill for some time.

Random Ten

Post-Valentine's Day exhausted edition

1. Tiptoe- Goldfrapp
2. Darker- Doves
3. Reach Out (I'll Be There)- Four Tops
4. Don't Leave Me This Way- Thelma Houston
5. Acquiesce- Oasis
6. Living For the City- Stevie Wonder
7. Rebel, Rebel- David Bowie
8. Country Girl- Primal Scream
9. Tied Up Too Tight- Hard-Fi
10. Never Ever-All Saints

Bonus-
11. Dolphins Were Monkeys- Ian Brown
12. Shoot The Runner- Kasabian
13. Money- Girls Aloud
14. Holiday- Green Day

Fwaaah, Mr. Simm

Oh, he's lovely. And he used to date Baby? his I did not know!

One of the best actors of his generation, and long a cult star and unlikely sex symbol, Simm, 36, has been threatening to hit the big time for a while. State of Play raised his profile. But it was the time-travelling cop show Life on Mars that put him on the map. Not only did the show pull in more than seven million viewers, the DVD became one of last year's biggest sellers. In November, Life on Mars won Best Drama Series at the International Emmy Awards. And Hollywood producer David E Kelley (of Ally McBeal fame) is planning to make a US version.

Bit worried about that last part. Great, Kelly will try to redeem the Gene Genie, Sam will talk to an imaginary baby and Annie will be anorexic in the US version. Yay. Go America.

Awful

Reading shit like this makes me want to go out and kick puppies or something. The hell that Amanda and Melissa went through? I can't even imagine it. I sincerely hope that Donahue has a rent-boy in his past, and rehab is in his future.

Looking back, the detail that astonishes me the most is the sheer amount of ink, air time, and energy devoted to keeping this phony scandal going until McEwan and I felt we had to resign. One question that's hard to avoid is how much of the venom had to do with the fact that McEwan and I were young women entering into a field (Internet communications) that's viewed as almost monolithically masculine. From my vantage point, it appeared that sexism was one of the primary motivating energies behind the campaign. Even before Donohue stepped in, various right-wing bloggers were obsessed with my gender and sexuality. As I noted at the time of my resignation, the majority of the hate mail I was receiving was from men, and almost all the e-mails made note of my gender or suggested that I would be a more pleasant woman if I wasn't so "angry." Bluntly put, I find it hard to believe that many men would end up being denounced on TV for using words like "fuck" or "cunt" on their blog and expect to receive piles of e-mail offering an opportunity to suck the sender's dick.

Oasis at the Brits

Cigarettes, Meaning of Soul and Morning Glory. God, I love YouTube. This clip is missing Don't Look Back In Anger and Rock and Roll Star. Dammit.

Amy at The Brit Awards

Love, love the dress. Girlfriend needed a bit more hairspray, though.

A Hard Day's Night

Seemed appropriate, as I've had a hard day's night, and have indeed been working like a dog. Also, I have pictures from the Marylebone tube stop in LDN from my History of British Rock and Roll study abroad program. Who would have thunk it? Snerk.

Brit Awards

I'm so very badly in need of sleep that I can't bring myself to recap the Brits. Seriously. I can't believe I just wrote that. My hands hurt so badly that I need to apply Bud Light, STAT, to relieve the pain. I think I did between 15-20 rose arrangements today (dozen roses). That's just me, mind, and not counting all the other floral arrangements I did.

But I'm looking at this picture of the cheeky Monkeys dressed up as the Village! People! and this quote from My Beloved Noel from the show, and imagining all the clever things I'll have to say after I get my nap on.

Before a five-song set that included Rock'n'Roll Star, Don't Look Back in Anger and Cigarettes and Alcohol, Noel Gallagher said: "Thank you very much. It's been a fucking pleasure."

Oasis - Whatever/Octopus's Garden

In honor of My Beloved Noel, Our Kid and associated Oasis members receiving the Lifetime Achievement award at the Brit Awards today, presented by Ringo Starr, here's the brothers from Burnage at Knebworth Park on August 11, 1996.

With Big Brother singing the Beatles bit. I'm in fookin' heaven. My 21st birthday. Obviously, Noel and I are written in the Starrs. Hee hee.

"In my mind, my dreams are real"

Elle (UK) Style Awards

Doesn't La Winehouse look darling? Nice dress, Amo. Very fitting with your Ronette-era look, yet totally modern with the tats. And you can't see her shoes in this photo, but they are Awesome.

Paul Smith show at London Fashion Week

I love the neon, but then my formative years were during the 1980's. Also, the Sherlock Holmes trenchcoat? I MUST have it.

Yellow Submarine

Let me let you in on a secret

from a floral designer to a customer, during this happiest of times.

1. The floral warehouses raise their prices during peak demand times, and most shops do not grow their own product. My boss (also my mother, natch) is not trying to take your arms and legs from you. She runs a business, see. Making money is good. Repeat customers? Also good good, double good. We want you back. Just like the Jackson 5.

2. Don't bitch about delivery charges. Just don't. You sound like an asshole. For God's sake, take a look at Exxon's profits from the last quarter. Not to mention that the shop owner has to maintain a vehicle (gas, insurance, labor). Again, a business is for making money.

3. We're happy to help you, and yes, we do know what we're doing. Being a floral designer is a skill. Would I want to change the oil in my auto guy's car? Hell to the N-O. Would I want my mechanic to create my Valentine's bouquet? Again, hell to the N-O.

4. While it is rewarding to be creative and express yourself, I don't think I'm overstepping to say that most floral designers would be glad to hear the last of the following statements:

"Oh, It must be so fun/relaxing to work with flowers"

Or my own personal favorite-

"Valentine's Day is so commercial/was created by florists/is a waste of money."

For the first, yes, it is fun to create arrangements that make people happy/feel comforted, etc... But don't kid yourself, it's hard fucking work.

First of all, you need to have inventory on hand. Flowers? Perishable. So it's a total crapshoot on whether you need the product, getting the product (providing that your warehouses have said items on hand at the moment), and hoping that you use the product before it fucking DIES and becomes moldy.

And I'm not even mentioning the constant maintenance that the flowers require.

And for the second, Spanky, let me get my bitch boots on. You see, most florists know, WE FUCKING KNOW that Valentine's Day is commercial. We thank Jesus, Buddha, Allah, Shiva, David Beckham, the deity, or non-deity of your choice, that it is commercial. Why?

Because most shop owners aren't in this for shits and giggles. Money is good. And many times in the fiscal year of a florist, the cash ain't coming in. (Summer months tend to be particularly dire. Exception- weddings). If we don't have money, there is no product. None. We need it. You have it. Such is the symbiotic relationship between producer and consumer. If you don't like it, take it up with a fucking economist. See if you can hug it out.

This is because of many reasons, but let me put this to you. You have a cooler full of perishable product, and you know, you fucking know, deep in your heart just like you know that funerals come in threes and that Lisianthus are a bit dodgy, that 2 times in a year, you'll be able to get rid of it. The flowers.

Maybe you'll be able to pay off your overdue bill at the floral warehouse. Maybe you'll be able to pay off the credit card that you used to pay off your other credit card. So that the next time someone comes in expecting a masterpiece for $15, it won't burn as badly. So that my mom won’t wake up with panic attacks regarding financials.

Those days? Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.

We depend on those days to get us through the shitty ass days of July and August.

And you want us to, because if we don’t, what the hell are you going to do the next time you forget your bosses birthday, and need to suck up, real quick? You accidentally say "Yeah, a little" to your girlfriend's query, "Does my ass look big in these pants?" Your best friend finds out something that happened, and words won't cut it? Your grandma calls you, sounding depressed? The next time your wife hears you say the wrong name at an inopportune moment?

You need flowers, arranged by a professional. We can help. And we're glad to. *Smiles*

My, Rick Rubin had a good night

The big question, though, was what to do next. And for that they turned to a very unusual man indeed - the prolific and highly eclectic record producer Rick Rubin, who made his name with rap and heavy rock acts during the 1980s and early 1990s. It might not have sounded like a good fit at all, except that Rubin had also earned a reputation for rescuing the careers of more seasoned artists looking for a new direction - everyone from Johnny Cash to Tom Petty and Neil Diamond. One of Rubin's clients once described him as a "song doctor", and that's exactly what the trio from Texas now needed.

Just look at the list of artists he has worked with. Amazing.

It was quite the night for Rubin all round. He had produced one of the other nominees for album of the year, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' hit Stadium Arcadium, and produced two of the tracks on a third - Justin Timberlake's Future Sex/Love Sounds. And that's not to mention Neil Diamond's big comeback, 12 Songs, and the last, posthumous instalment of Johnny Cash's American Recordings series, A Hundred Highways. Both were released during the Grammies' eligibility period, which runs from October to September, rather than the previous calendar year.

Not too many people outside the music industry have heard of Rubin. And even the Chicks themselves weren't too sure who he was. They just noticed his name on a lot of the albums they were listening to. Among those he has worked with, he is regarded with deep awe and reverence. And it's quite some list by now, spanning everyone from Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys to Slayer, System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine, by way of Mick Jagger, Donovan and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

I am so excited

Yes, this article contains the magic words, "Life On Mars" and "new series!" WHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

By way of heralding its much-anticipated return to BBC1 tonight, Matthew Graham, the co-creator of drama series Life On Mars, is recalling the show's genesis (its working title, he recalls, was Ford Cortina), and evoking a world with which readers of a certain age will probably be all too familiar. The year is 1973, and John Simm, a 21st-century detective with 21st-century sensibilities and morals, is stranded in a time when the police, as Graham puts it, were "a state within a state" and ethics came a poor second to nailing villains. Most of the cars on the road seemed to be brown. Britain gave off a funny aroma, equal parts cigarette smoke, overcooked vegetables and what connoisseurs of aftershave knew as "the great smell of Brut".

DIXIES!

Congrats on the 'Song of the Year' Grammy, ladies!

Update- AND 'Country Album of the Year!' They apparently kept the Chicks away from Reba McIntire backstage, as Reba didn't appear to have 3 awards jammed up her ass when she presented the next category. (She made a nasty comment about them at the CMA's)

Oh, Matt

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Ramones - California Sun

Scorsese

To Lisa Robinson's list of great songs used by Scorsese, I'd like to add the piano coda from "Layla" during the scene where all the Lufthansa heist crew start turning up dead, and "Baby, I Love You," from GoodFellas.

They all laughed last year when I suggested that Three 6 Mafia's catchy "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," from Hustle & Flow, should get the Oscar for best song. Three 6 Mafia laughed loudest when they won. This year's most exciting movie song? Boston-based punk band Dropkick Murphys' "I'm Shipping Up to Boston," from the Martin Scorsese masterpiece The Departed. The song has an intensity that embodies the guts and energy of the movie and is another in a long list of music that the director—a renowned music fan—has brilliantly utilized in his work. He's made impeccable choices: the Ronettes in Mean Streets, Bernard Herrmann's Taxi Driver score, the Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo in Raging Bull, the Rolling Stones in GoodFellas, Mickey and Sylvia's "Love Is Strange" in Casino, just to name a few. The Dropkick Murphys number, originally on the band's 2005 CD, The Warrior's Code, was inspired by an unpublished Woody Guthrie lyric and has a hard-core bagpipe stomp that puts other bands who consider themselves punk rock to shame. It's included on the Departed soundtrack CD—along with songs from the Stones, the Beach Boys, the Band, Van Morrison, and LaVern Baker. Kudos to Scorsese.

You've gotta say what you say

don't let anybody get in your way....

Let's hope this has a more Mad Fer It outcome this time!

A new website is ambitiously trying to set chart history wrongs right, by organising fans to download back catalogue singles simultaneously, in an attempt to push them to the top of the charts.

7digital, the company behind www.itshouldhavebeennumber1.co.uk, are taking advantage of new chart rules that mean download sales alone, can now be counted towards chart positions.

A number of classic singles that missed the top spot are being targeted. First up is the loser in the great Britpop battle of 1995, Oasis’ “Roll With It”. The Gallaghers and co were pipped by Blur’s “Country House” that June, but maybe now they’ll be able to grab the coveted No 1 slot.

American v. Brit humor

Simon Pegg, writing in the Guardian about perceived differences in what Americans and Brits find amusing.

Although it is true that we British do use irony a little more often than our special friends in the US. It's like the kettle to us: it's always on, whistling slyly in the corner of our daily interactions. To Americans, however, it's more like a nice teapot, something to be used when the occasion demands it. This is why an ironic comment will sometimes be met with a perplexed smile by an unwary American. Take this exchange that took place between two friends of mine, one British (B), the other American (A):

B: "I had to go to my grandad's funeral last week."

A: "Sorry to hear that."

B: "Don't be. It was the first time he ever paid for the drinks."

A: "I see."

Now, my American friend was being neither thick nor obtuse here; he simply didn't immediately register the need to bury emotion under humour.

I find British comedy more amusing than homegrown stuff, but that's mainly due to childhood exposure. Every Sunday, before Mass and Sunday School, I'd get ready and watch "Monty Python's Flying Circus" on PBS (which was only on Sunday AM).

This explains more about my personal and emotional development than I'd like to think about.

One Love

Sounds12Aug89, originally uploaded by Linda Jacqueline.

Nice kisser, Mani. Guh. GUH. Oh, the things that I think about him. Bit dirty, actually.

For the record

pop music doesn't get more perfect than 1:47 into 'This Is the One' by The Stone Roses. As with all the SR songs, John's guitar is absolutely buoyant above the bubbling rhythm section. I can't think of a song that I enjoy more.

Amy in NYC

Again with the lucky bastards..... I do think she's going to get real big, real fast here. Love it, love it,

Live from London, headlined by Amy Winehouse, will return to New York on 13th March 2007.

With its unique blend of showcasing and industry networking, the event highlights the boundless creativity of the UK capital's music scene.

Random ten

1. No Parking On the Dance Floor- Midnight Star
2. Fat Bottomed Girls- Queen
3. Cruel To Be Kind- Nick Lowe
4. Get Ready- Rare Earth
5. The Drugs Don't Work- The Verve
6. There Is a Light That Never Goes Out- The Smiths
7. I Want You Back- Jackson 5
8. No Good Advice- Girls Aloud
9. Bus Stop- The Hollies
10. You Know I'm No Good- Amy Winehouse

Bonus-
11. You've Really Got a Hold On Me- LaBelle & Laura Nyro
12. Orgasm Addict- Buzzcocks
13. Red Dress- Sugababes
14. Breaking Into Heaven- The Stone Roses

Oh, Noel

You do love me!

Noel Gallagher has launched blistering attacks on Bono and Thom Yorke in a new interview.

The Oasis star accuses the U2 and Radiohead frontmen of using political issues too readily at concerts, when they should concentrate on playing the hits.

Speaking about Bono, Noel ranted to a UK newspaper: "Play 'One', shut the f*ck up about Africa."

Meanwhile, moving onto Radiohead, Noel said: "Thom Yorke sat at a piano singing, 'This is f*cked up' for half-an-hour. We all know that Mr Yorke. Who wants to sing the news?

"No matter how much you sit there twiddling, going, 'We're all doomed,' at the end of the day people will always want to hear you play 'Creep'. Get over it."

For the record, I don't think my beloved Noel is apolitical, but Jesus, who doesn't get sick of Bono talking on, and on, and on, and on about poverty, when U2 are U.K. tax exiles. Along with James fucking Blunt.

As for Radiohead, I think that I'm not quite smart enough to 'get' their music. And yes, Thom should shut up and play 'Creep.'

Again with the for-the-record thing, the setlist for Oasis next week at the Brits? This is what I think it will include-

Live Forever
Acquiesce
Wonderwall
Lyla
Don't Look Back In Anger
Cigarettes and Alcohol

Valentine's Day or not, Jen and I will be hitting F5 on the computer at work to see the Brit Award updates. Yeah, we're fans....

Diamond Lil does America

Go, honey! Get down with your bad self!

I totally would have gone to the Chicago concert, but as I'm a floral designer, and we have a little holiday coming up next week, you know, Valentine's Day, it wasn't in the cards.

We've 'Alright, Still' on constant rotation at the flower shop, though. Along with 'The Sound of Girls Aloud,' 'Overloaded' (Sugababes greatest hits), 'The Very Best Of The Stone Roses,' and 'Back To Black' (Amy Winehouse)..... Oh yeah, the Virgin Megastore LOVES me.

Lily Allen's bid to break America is gathering momentum, after her debut album entered the Billboard chart.

"Alright, Still" has charted at Number 20, having shifted 34,000 copies in the first week of release Stateside.

The success of the LP is thought to have been assisted by Lily's appearance on coveted US TV show "Saturday Night Live" last week.

Confession

I honestly do not give a crap about the Police reunion. Sting annoys me.

Girls Aloud & Sugababes - Walk This Way

John?

Mr. Edwards? If you cave into these people- who would not vote for you even if Jesus came down from Heaven and told them to- about Melissa and Amanda? You are done. I'd vote for my dogs over you. At least Daisy and Rosie don't submit to whackjobs with agendas.

And this pains me, as I really, really like your wife, Elizabeth. She seems to be the salt of the earth.

Reach Out, I'll Be There

How Soon Is Now?

Salford Lads Club to be given historic status?

Salford Lads Club and the real Coronation Street could soon be given conservation status.

The area they are in, known as the New Barracks estate, was built in the early 1900s and was Salford City Council's first local authority housing scheme.

The authority now wants to protect the area, as it says it has "maintained much of its original architectural appearance and character".

A formal conservation scheme will go out to consultation later this year.

Proof that

even if you're a freaking astronaut, your significant other can make you GO THERE sometimes.

I hate encouraging the reporting on this nonsense of the missing-white-woman nature, but seriously, crap like this makes me feel positively normal.

Lucky bastards in LA

Look at this setlist. LOOK AT IT!

'Out Of The Sinking'
'Peacock Suit'
'Hung Up'
'Shout To The Top'
'From The Floorboards Up'
'Paper Smile'
'All The Pictures On The Wall'
'Above The Clouds'
'Thick As Thieves'
'Speak Like A Child'
'English Rose'
'Headstart For Happiness'
'My Ever Changing Moods'
'Running On The Spot'
'Porcelain Gods/I Walk On Glided Splinters'
'Roll Along Summer'
'The Butterfly Collector'
'Thinking Of You'
'A Very Deep Sea'
'Here's The Good News'
'Come On/Let's Go'
'The Changingman'
'Whrilpool's End'

Encore
'Sunflower'
'I Wanna Make It Alright'
'Broken Stones'
'Town Called Malice'

Amy, Amy, Amy

In the WaPo.

For now, at least, all seems well at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, a small venue downtown where Winehouse's label, Universal Republic Records, has set up a showcase. Inside, the Dap-Kings, her backup band, are serving up old-school soul. Outside, hipsters are lining up in the cold, hoping to snare a scalper's ticket to the late show, which sold out within hours, same as the early show did. In the audience are Mos Def and Nona Hendryx, Citizen Cope and Dr. John, all wanting to be the first in on the secret. Folks are clapping and woo-hooing and proclaiming her brilliant. Backstage, Mos Def -- her musical hero -- will scrawl his number on her jeans, invite her to hang out. Her producer, Mark Ronson, who's worked with Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera and Radiohead, will stop by to lend his support. Jay-Z will stick around after the late show to tell her how much he loved her record.

Alfie

In honor of Diamond Lil's performance on SNL tonight (wow, she's quite good- and knows how to work the camera), here's her new video for "Alfie," the song about her puff-smoking little brother. Trippy.

Also, Lil's Christian Louboutin stilettos that she wore tonight? Were to DIE FOR. Gorgeous. As was her party dress.

Well done, Ms. Allen. Here's hoping you manage to successfully storm fortress America.