The Beach Boys, where else would they be?

Originally, brothers Brian, Dennis and CarlWilson, with cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine, performed barbershop quartet and mellow harmony for friends and neighbors. When they decided to become professionals, they called themselves Carl and the Passions, then became Kenny and the Cadets. In 1962, they finalized their sound and name and released their first single “Surfing Safari” by the Beach Boys. The California surfing sound was born.

Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine, who are now 69, 70 and 69 respectively, are putting the band back together and hitting the road. Dennis accidently drowned in 1983 and Carl died of cancer in 1998. Replacing them will be Bruce Johnston (69) and David Marks (63), who have been with the band almost from the beginning. Marks replaced Jardine in 1962 when Jardine left to study dentistry. Johnston, who bears an almost spooky resemblance to the Wilsons, was with the band from 1965 to 1971, replacing Glen Campbell, who had replaced Brian, who had had a breakdown.

Over their fifty years, the band had a variety of sounds, from the simple surf and car anthems to the layered, complex work of Pet Sounds. They went through multiple personal and professional traumas. They swung back and forth between loving each other and hating each other, collaborating and suing. They also wrote a song that, quite accidently, became deeply associated with the gay rights movement and the fight for same sex marriage, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?” Cartoonist Gary Trudeau had it playing in the background as his character, Andy Lippincott died of AIDS in 1989 in his tilted bedroom after the Loma Prieta earthquake. Andy had had his dying wish fulfilled…a newly released CD of Pet Sounds. He reappeared as a angel to give the world the message, “Brian Wilson is God.”

Wilson Phillips - Chynna, Wendy and Carnie

Brian’s daughters Carnie and Wendy, with friend Chynna Phillips (daughter of The Mamas and the Papas founders John and Michelle Phillips) formed their own short-lived band in the late 1980s.

The Beach Boys are releasing a new album next year, and Mike Love gave a statement Friday about the dynamics of the reformed group. “Music has been the unifying and harmonizing fact of life in our family since childhood. It has been a huge blessing that we have been able to share with the world. ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ to do it again? Absolutely!” The saving grace about rock reunions, compared to some pop and country singers of late, it’s usually pretty hard to tell if the voices have gone bad with age.

Touring in 2008

The band will be appearing at the February 12 Grammy telecast in Los Angeles, and have promised a surprise for that event, and their first concert is scheduled for April 27 in New Orleans at the Jazz & Heritage Festival. There are 50 dates planned for 2012 across the globe.

My children used to claim that the most dangerous combination on the highway was a four-on-the-floor and “Good Vibrations,” and, of course, their mother. The Beach Boys have been responsible for many of the timeless classics of the rock era and if other reunion tours are an indication, their audiences will be out of their seats and dancing through every song.

One last thing — this can’t possibly be their 50th anniversary.  I’m not old enough!

Related articles

• Beach Boys To Tour In Honor Of 50th Anniversary (lezgetreal.com)

A Very Gaga Holiday EP

The thing about writing for a small blog is we don’t have someone to sub for us so we can take time off. We risk losing readers if we don’t post daily. It’s a situation that leads to burned-out writers.

After almost a year of doing this full-time, even on days when I have to work at my paying job, I desperately needed a vacation. We go to Georgia every year to spend Thanksgiving week with my younger daughter and her husband. I don’t own a laptop and I can’t take my computer with us, so this was a perfect excuse to take ten days off and hope the world didn’t implode over the holidays. It didn’t. Very little happened that wasn’t an extension of the stories we’ve been covering for the past year. Today and tomorrow will be taken up catching up a few stories, and hopefully there will not be anything earthshattering before December 1^st. I really, really need to take an hour or so and restock my empty frig.

We also had an absolute deadline over the holiday. Bridgette had to submit her Master’s thesis, and then do the revisions. Since it seems that she has been working on this Master’s Degree for eternity, that took precedent over the blog. If she missed these deadlines, I would have done serious damage to her person.

Obviously, the Thanksgiving to New Year’s arc is not a time of world-wide holidays. Christmas to New Year’s comes close, but Thanksgiving is uniquely American. Nonetheless, this month to six weeks tends to be fairly calm internationally unless there is a natural disaster.

So, by way of thanks for sticking with us while we scaled back or did nothing for eleven days, a small piece of news…..

Lady Gaga has released an EP over iTunes called A Very Gaga Holiday. It is four songs from her Thanksgiving special – “White Christmas,” “Orange Colored Sky,” “The Edge of Glory” and “You and I.” Though some people have objected to Gaga expanding the lyrics of “White Christmas,” the rendition is excellent. One thing needs to be remembered about “White Christmas” – it was written for a movie called Holiday Inn. The length of the song was determined by the script for the movie, not by the normal three-minute duration for songs of that era. The song was an introduction to an unveiling of a snowfall just in time for the Christmas celebration. No one ever asked Irving Berlin if he felt the song was half-done, in part because it was common at that time for small, bridging songs to be inserted in musicals. One of the best examples is a less-than-one-minute song called “The Touch of Your Hand” from Roberta. Beautiful song, just not something that people remember because it is a very short dramatic bridge.

Judging from comments on news stories about A Very Gaga Thanksgiving, the show impressed a lot of older people who, like me, had ignored Stephani Germanotta’s music because of Lady Gaga’s stage persona. This show was a good beginning of a career transition. Eventually, Lady Gaga may be left behind, just as John Cougar and The Rock have been left behind by John Mellencamp and Dwayne Johnson.

Enjoy the EP. It’s worth the $3.99 not just for Gaga, but also as a nice introduction to some classic jazz. That’s a weird idea – that Lady Gaga could do what Rod Stewart, Harry Connick, Jr., and Michael Buble haven’t been able to do, convert a lot of younger listeners to the classic American songbook.

Now, on to the pile of stories sitting in my inbox……

Related articles

• Gaga Stuns For The Right Reasons (lezgetreal.com)
• Lady Gaga Releases Holiday Songs (justjared.buzznet.com)
• Distract Yo’ Self: Lady Gaga’s “White Christmas” (thekenyonthrill.wordpress.com)
• Lady Gaga Releases Holiday Mini-album (socyberty.com)

30 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

We will not be seeing any same-sex couples on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars (At least as far as we know right now), even though the Israeli version already did that, but we will be seeing a trans man dancing there. Chaz Bono, the son of Cher and Sonny Bono is joining the show as will gay stylist Carson Kressley. The two will be appearing in this upcoming season. This comes even as Isis King, who is a trans woman model, and Kayla Ferrel, who is openly lesbian, will be returning for the all-star run of America’s Top Model.

GLAAD’s Senior Director of Programs, Herndon Graddick, stated about these developments:

“With both gay and transgender contestants represented, ABC and the CW have created primetime firsts that reflect the growing acceptance of gay and transgender people in America today.”

“At a time when transgender representation in the media is sorely lacking, Chaz Bono joining the cast of a series like Dancing With the Stars is a tremendous step forward for the public to recognize that transgender people are an important part of the fabric of American culture. His documentary, ‘Becoming Chaz,’ was a great chance for viewers to meet the man behind the headlines. Appearing on such a high profile show will allow millions of Americans to get to know him in a whole new light.”

Both networks have been getting strong praise from GLAAD for their LGBT inclusive prime time programming. ABC Family has also been getting praise as well. ANTM will premiere on 14 September and DWTS will start its next run on 19 September.

Good luck to the contestants.

29 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

Last night at the MTV Video Music Awards, the big winner was an unknown named Jo Calderone….oh wait….sorry, the big winner was Lady Gaga who performed as her male alter ego Jo Calderone and won several awards, including for the LGBT rights anthem “Born This Way”.  Gaga spent the entire evening in character.    Her song even beat out many other songs in the category “Best Video with a Message”.

While accepting best female performer, Gaga, who was still in character, stated “I feel so blessed to be here.  It doesn’t matter how you are — gay, straight, bi, lesbian, transgendered — you were born this way.”

Gaga as Calderone introduced Britney Spears as the winner of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.  The two kissed, but other than there being a kiss it is nothing major since both have been seen kissing women in the past.

Here is Lady Gaga opening the VMAs with a performance of “You and I”:

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, 2008

Jerry Leiber and Nick Ashford were icons of very different musical genres, but they died only hours apart, leaving immortal legacies of era-defining music.

In the early days of rock and roll, singer-songwriters were extremely rare. They were more commonly found in folk music than in rock. Instead, rock artists were dependent on a relatively small corps of exceptionally talented songwriters. The duo of Leiber and Stoller were at the pinnacle of that group. Jerry Leiber died Monday at the age of 78, unexpectedly of cardiopulmonary failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.  (In photo, Mike Stoller on left, Jerry Leiber on right)

Name the artist in the 1950′s, and he or she sang Leiber and Stoller – Elvis, Dion and the Belmonts, the Coasters, the Drifters, Ben E. King. Their songs ranged from 1953′s “Hound Dog” to Peggy Lee’s 1969 “Is That All There Is?” Coming out of the pop-swing music of the 1940′s, Leiber and Stoller brought an orchestral, melodic sense to the new music form which was growing out of a fusion of rhythm and blues, jazz and country-western swing.

Jerry Leiber was born in 1933 in Balitmore to Polish Jewish immigrant parents. He moved to Los Angeles with his mother in 1950 and met Mike Stoller shortly after that. They started collaborating and formed their own Spark record label in 1953.

Their music earned 15 #1 hits and were recorded by Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Otis Redding. They provided some of Elvis’ biggest hits – “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock,” though they preferred Big Mama Thornton’s original recording of “Hound Dog.” In the 1990′s, their songs were brought together into the Broadway revue Smokey Joe’s Café, which won an original cast Grammy award in 1996.

Leiber and Stoller retired from popular music after 1969, feeling that they were tapped out in that genre, though they continued to work together right to the end. Their more serious music never reached the same kind of audience acceptance as their early work, but that never bothered them. Their joint memoir, Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography was published in 2009. In addition to his musical partner of 61 years, Leiber was suvived by his three children and two grandchildren.

Nick Ashford and Valarie Simpson, 2009, getty images, Jason Kempin

On the other side of the country, and a genre away, Nick Ashford also died Monday at the age of 70 after a long battle with throat cancer. He was married for 38 years to Valerie Simpson, his songwriting partners. Like early rock and roll, Motown had few singer-songwriters, and Ashford & Simpson provided hits for Diana Ross, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (which they originally wrote and recorded for themselves) and “Reach Out And Touch Somebody’s Hand,” Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “You’re All I Need To Get By,” and Chaka Khan’s and Whitney Houston’s hit “I’m Every Woman.” They also broke through the barrier and recorded their own music, most famously, “Solid As A Rock.”

Nick Ashford was born in 1942 in Fairfield, South Carlina. Valerie Simpson was a Bronx, New York native born in 1946. They met at the White Rock Baptist Church in Harlem in 1963. Their earliest success came at Phil Specter’s label where they wrote “Never Had It So Good” for Ronnie Milsap, “One Step At A Time” for Maxine Brown and Ray Charles’ #1 hit “Let’s Go Get Stoned.” They moved on to the Motown label, where they enjoyed their greatest successes.

Their recording career was never as successful as their songwriting, but their place in the pantheon of Motown artists was assured. They had continued performing until just recently. The couple were also owners of the New York City restaurant Sugar Bar, which served as a performing venue for both top names and new talent. The couple had two daughters.

It is difficult sometimes to remember that sound recording is a relatively new technology. Thomas Edison only invented the phonograph 134 years ago, 14 years before he patented the earliest movie picture device. Magnetic tape for recording didn’t become widespread until after World War II, removing the need to create perfect recordings in one take, opening up the way for multiple tracking that allowed for layering of sound and isolation of the singer from the musicians. The work of Jerry Leiber and Nick Ashford will remain with us forever because of recording technology, and especially because of our ability now to remaster and preserve what has come before. That’s an immortality that Beethoven never dreamed of.

Related articles

• Two great American songwriters die (telegraph.co.uk)
• From Leiber and Stoller to Lennon and McCartney: the alchemy of the duo (guardian.co.uk)
• Jerry Leiber, RIP (brooklynvegan.com)
• Robert J. Elisberg: Standing by Jerry Leiber (1933-2011) (huffingtonpost.com)
• Music Icons Nick Ashford and Jerry Leiber Have Died (towleroad.com)

23 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

If there is anything in this world that is a certainty, it is that we live in a day and age when my childhood is being repackaged, reworked, resurrected, and remade. So, why should the Muppets be any different? This November, the Jason Segel-driven reboot of the Muppets will be hitting the big screen, and what is a show or movie without a theme song?

The group OK Go has done a version of the Muppet Show Theme Song for the film, and released a music video for the single which is off of the “Green Album”, which is a lot of the more famous and familiar songs done by contemporary artists. The album has a version of “The Rainbow Connection”. That particular song has always been one of my favorites, and I even have the version done by the Carpenters.

And here is the original from the Ruth Buzzie episode.

Jailhouse Rock

It was August 16, 1977, my niece’s third birthday. We were all putting on brave, happy faces for her party because her Daddy was a continent away fighting a raging forest fire in California. The phone rang and we all hoped against all hope and reason that it was my brother-in-law calling his little girl. Instead, it was my sister’s best friend, hysterical, sobbing, barely comprehensible – Elvis was dead!

So, here we are 34 years later. Someone in Michele Bachmann’s entourage had noted the news reports of “Elvis Week” in Memphis and assumed it must celebrate something, so they pipelined the info to Bachmann and she started off a campaign speech in South Carolina with a shout out of “Happy Birthday to Elvis Presley. We played you a little bit of ‘Promised Land’ when we pulled up. You can’t do better than Elvis Presley.”

Well, actually you can. I prefer Dwight Yoakum’s version of “Suspicious Minds,”even if it makes me want to scream ARTICULATE! at the radio.

I have always assumed that Memphis made a big deal over the anniversary of Elvis’ death because even in Tennessee it’s freaking cold in January. I can’t see a lot of people doing a candlelight vigil in winter anywhere north of Atlanta, and even Atlanta might be a mite chilly.

Oh well, we’ve heard worse from her: Americorps is a re-education camp, Congress should be investigated for anti-Americanism, the Revolution started in New Hampshire, the Founding Fathers fought on until slavery was abolished – about half a century after the last one died. At least she didn’t pull this gaffe in Memphis – they’d have chased her down Beale with tar and feathers.

In the meantime, 9 p.m. Eastern on TNT tonight, season finale of Memphis Beat. If you haven’t caught this one yet, give it a try. There is no way this show, knowing in advance when it would be aired, will not do something about Elvis. The show tends to be quirky, eccentric and funny, with occasional moments of crime drama.

Related articles

• Bachmann gives Elvis birthday wishes on the anniversary of his death (politico.com)
• Michele Bachmann’s Elvis Birthday Message Comes On Anniversary Of ‘The King’s’ Death (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
• Elvis Presley PHOTOS: 12 Timeless Images Of The King To Remember Him By (huffingtonpost.com)
• All shook up: Bachmann flubs Elvis birthday (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• Michele Bachmann Confuses Elvis’ Birthday And Date Of Death, On Anniversary Of King’s Death (dekerivers.wordpress.com)

08 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

There was a feud between Britney Spears and Lady Gaga? Um…ok. Who knew. I’ll bet that Britney Spears showed up with her head shaved and ready to rumble while Lady Gaga showed up in a cat suit that could poke your eye out.

Oh, the feud never happened. Ok. Apparently this video is being used to put the rumors or the feud to rest with extreme prejudice.

06 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

Adam Lambert has changed agents. This is not necessarily an uncommon occurrence. Recently, JK Rowling parted company from hers. Still, Lambert’s decision comes right before his sophomore album is set to be recorded and right before his VH1 Behind The Music Special (see clip below) is set to air. Lambert has signed with Direct Management Group.

DMG handles the ‘80 group The Go-Go’s as well as Katy Perry. In signing with DMG, Lambert parts ways with 19 Entertainment, which is the company that has exclusive rights to American Idol contestants in the beginning. Others have started their careers with 19 Entertainment before moving on.

Still, 19 Entertainment gets a cut of the royalties from Lambert’s next five record release as well as merchandise sales.

Tomorrow, Lambert’s Behind The Music premieres on VH1. The special will detail his life, and this clip which was first posted by Entertainment Weekly goes into his very early years. The special airs tomorrow night at 10pm.

Source

02 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

ATTACK!!! Sigh, that seems to be what has been said by those opposed to equality with regards to Miley Cyrus’ latest tattoo. The tweet that she showed of the equal sign tattooed on her ring finger drew a lot of heat from people on Twitter.

Cyrus, who is a Christian, was asked by someone who did not like her tattoo, that she says means “all love is equal,” where in the Bible it says that homosexuality is alright, she fired back with “Where does it say in the Bible to judge others? It doesn’t. GOD is the only judge, honey. God is love.”

Recently, some scholars have pointed out that the wording used in the Bible about homosexuality means that it is not universally to be denied or seen as an abomination. Still, Cyrus is not angry with people who disagree with her. She said “Everyone is entitled to their opinions. If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything.”

Cyrus has been a strong supporter of the LGBT Community. Back in March 2010, she told Parade magazine that she quit Twitter back in 2009 largely because she supports LGBT rights. She said at the time “I said on there that I believed in gay marriage because everyone should have the right to love each other. I got such hate mail about being a bad person.”

Cyrus is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus. She starred in the series Hannah Montana where she stared her career as a singer and actress. She has faced some criticism for her rather wild antics of late.

Related articles

• Cyrus Under Fire for Tweeting, Tattooing Support for LGBT Rights (hrcbackstory.org)

01 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

While “Outlaws of Love” might be the first song known by his fans to be on the new album, Adam Lambert is keeping mum on what the real first single will be. He recently tweeted “#outlawsoflove is NOT my first single. It will def be a track on my upcoming album, but the first single is still a mystery!!” Lambert is playing the big tease ahead of the release of his sophomore album, which is set to come out in October.

Lambert worked with California born singer-songwriter BC Jean (Britney Jean Carlson) on the single that he debuted at the St. Agathe festival in Quebec, Canada recently. The question as to whether or not BC Jean had helped write the song came up when she tweeted “@adamlambert #outlawsoflove love it!”

Here is the song that he debuted this weekend:

Lambert has become a sensation of late given that he is a very strong singer. It has been revealed that this album will be far more of his own crafting rather than crafted for him. That means a far more intimate album. Currently there are some eighteen to twenty different tracts expected to be in this album.

Not only are his fans, but many people in the LGBT Community and on the staff of LGR hoping that this upcoming album will be spectacular and successful.

31 July 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

Adam Lambert had this one right. In the lead up to his new song “Outlaws of Love”, he said it would appear on YouTube, and man, he was right. It appeared on YouTube, and now, it appears here. It is a little hard to hear the song clearly in this clip, but it does sound pretty good. In fact, one site even pointed out that this may be best saying “Considering the contrast of his powerful AI performances of Season 8 and the “meh” quality of his debut single “Whataya Want From Me?”, following his own vision might be the best for connecting with fans, not to mention record sales.”

The song is pretty much stripped down to the bare minimum, and it is slow and will probably sound a lot better without the noise of a less than professional recording. The new song is one of twenty that he has written or co-written for his upcoming sophomore album.

Given Lambert’s talent and ability, it would actually be interesting to hear him attempt a song intended for, say, Freddie Mercury. It would be especially delightful to hear him sing the song “Who Wants To Live Forever” especially given the way his voice can make love to a song.

Lambert did tell the crowd at the St. Agathe en Feux Festival in Quebec: “All of the things I’ve been talking about over the past year, all of it boils down to acceptance and this is a song that I wrote about how it feels, that no matter where you go or where you turn, sometimes it feels like you’re just running from the law.”

He has also said about the new album “I’m writing most of the material with people myself this time. I’m really involved. It’s really exciting because I think I’m making my dream album. I know that sounds a bit clichéd, but I’m making exactly what I want to listen to.”

So, here is the song. Enjoy everyone, and if this is a sample of what is to come, I can’t wait for the new album. (thanks to a reader for the better video, which I put in, it is still a bit rough because it is, well, a concert, but enjoy, and thanks LJ)

7/27/2011

Gaga and Midler in feud?  How did that happen??

Bette Midler became one of the biggest female talents on the face of the earth when she first performed her cabaret act at famed gay men’s club, The Continental Baths, in the 70′s with piano accompaniment from Barry Manilow.  Lady Gaga Became one of the biggest female talents on the face of the earth when she released her first album, The Fame, in 2008.  What else do these lovely ladies have in common?  They have now both pulled out a character that can only be explained as a swim-impaired mermaid with a lack of water.

When Gaga revealed her wheelchair toting mermaid character, Yuyi, at a performance in Sydney, Australia, Midler was not the happiest person.  She was upset at the thought that someone was using, and copying, an act that she has perfected by performing for more then 20 years as wheelchair toting mermaid, Delores DeLago.

“I’ve been doing singing mermaid in a wheelchair since 1980,” Midler said in a livid response, “You can keep the meat dress and the firecracker tits–Mermaid’s mine.”

Gaga responded with timeliness.

“I had no idea that she did that and I’m a huge Bette Midler fan.” Gaga explained after hearing the accusations, “It was not a Midler tribute in the beginning…because I didn’t know that she’d done it, but I do now and I think it’s great.  Obviously I feel connected to women in theater and women from the past.”

Gaga also added, “Maybe we’re just cut from the same cloth.  I couldn’t hop around in that tail so I just stuck myself in a wheelchair.  All I’ll say is that I admire her and find her to be one of the most brilliant and incredible performers, so that’s all I’ll say.”

24 July 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

For the most part, the winners and losers on American Idol get forgotten. Still, those that do make it do pretty well. Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert and Clay Akins have all gone on to have pretty good careers, with Lambert and Underwood raking in the money. By and large, Underwood is making the most money at $20million with Chris Daughtry and Adam Lambert making $6million apiece. Of course, Lambert may be about to make a lot more when his sophomore album debuts later this year.

These calculations are based on before taxation and before subtraction of agent and manager fees.

According to Adam Kluger, the president of brand partnership company the Kluger Agency, “[American Idol is] a money-making machine. It’s like having the Super Bowl every week.”

According to Showbiz Spy:

Earning an estimated $20 million, Underwood, 28, has five Grammy Awards to her name, and in 2010, made her feature film debut in Soul Surfer. Having recently surpassed Kelly Clarkson as the best-selling Idol of all time, Underwood’s most recent disc, Play On, has sold more than 2 million copies in the U.S. since its 2009 release. (Clarkson ranked fifth on the current Forbes list, with estimated earnings of $2.5 million.)

It should be noted that Underwood has a four year head start on Lambert who released his first album, For Your Entertainment, in 2009 and is finishing up work on his second album. This was the first time that Lambert made the list, in fact. It should be expected that, by next year, his star will have risen further given that his is becoming a rapidly better known star thanks to his work on behalf of LGBT youth, his talent, and his image. Compared to the other big names from Idol, Lambert has had the fastest rise.

Here is the full list. Hopefully by next year, Lambert will have gotten a higher total:

1. Carrie Underwood: $20 million
2. Chris Daughtry: $6 million (tie), Adam Lambert: $6 million (tie)
3. Fantasia Barrino: $4 million
4. Jordin Sparks: $3 million
5. Kelly Clarkson: $2.5 million
6. Jennifer Hudson: $2 million
7. Kellie Pickler: $1.8 million
8. Clay Aiken: $1.5 million
9. Katharine McPhee: $1 million (tie), David Archuleta: $1 million (tie), David Cook: $1 million (tie)

18 July 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

It is beginning to look like Justin Bieber is starting to mimic the bad behavior of his predecessors…or at least Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. This weekend, Bieber and his girlfriend Selena Gomez, who has a movie coming out soon, crashed the party of a newly married couple celebrating nuptials in Malibu.

So, of course, it was on YouTube about as fast as a cat runs from thunder.

So, Bieber was busy hugging attendees, posing for pics with the Bride and Groom, and explaining that they stopped by because the heard his song “One Less Lonely Girl” being sung. The Bride’s cousin said on the YouTube page

“Last night at my cousin Jeanine’s wedding reception, out of nowhere, Justin Bieber shows up while one of his songs was being karaoked by one of the wedding guests.

“He stated that he was driving by the reception in Malibu and heard a party and his song being sung so he decided to check out the event and ended up making a celebrity appearance, posing for pics with the bride and groom. Then took pics with some fans and then ran off with Salena [sic] Gomez, who was waiting off to the side, back to his car.”

Justin Bieber, while not exactly for women’s rights, has supported the It Gets Better Project, even though he appears to see homosexuality as a choice. Hopefully he’ll learn soon that it is not.

Source

16 July 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

He’s young, he’s gay, he is for some reason a celebrity who is actually a very nice guy, and Adam Lambert is in the process of crafting his sophomore album. This is an important album since many a new artist has gone on to obscurity after releasing this particular album. Many of Alanis Morrisette’s fans, for instance, were not pleased by her second album.

Well, Lambert, who will be thirty net year, sat down with a Japanese magazine in order to discuss the upcoming album. Well, by sit down, we mean that Yuko Kato from the magazine In rock called Lambert up for the interview. This means that it is only in Japanese except where translated by some of Lambert’s fans who speak both languages.

It is being reported that:

Adam disclosed tha this next album will be more personal than For Your Entertainment. He also said that it will be more realistic and “closer to the earth” than his debut album, which was kind of “in the universe.” According to Adam, For Your Entertainment was his homage to glam-rock in the 70s and 80s.

Lambert appears to be tacking more to the present and not pulling from the past where he seemed to often be channeling the likes of Freddie Mercury who fronted the group Queen until his untimely death in 1992 of AIDS. Lambert does acknowledge jitters about the second album jinx, but so far, he has already recorded some 25 songs for it, and that he expects the album to be ready by October.

So, what little news there is about the album is certain to excite Lambert’s fans. With luck, the album will not be subject to the sophomore curse. We here at LGR would certainly like to see Lambert keep on going.

The question of “what is in the garment bag?” was answered when Princess Catherine stepped from their limo onto the red carpet outside the restored Belasco Theater in a pale lavender, elegant, classic Grecian gown, with boat neck, cap sleeves and a matching beltby Alexander McQueen. She definitely made some of the guests look under-dressed and over-exposed.

The “Brits to Watch” event hosted by BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) was a red carpet to match the Oscars. Prince William opened the event with “I would like to thank Colin Firth for my perfect opening line – I have a voice,” quoting from The King’s Speech, the Oscar winning film about his great-grandfather, George VI. The gathering was an opportunity for the power players in Hollywood to meet 42 new British actors, producers, writers and videogame designers. “Please give them the opportunities that you have always extended to some of the brightest and best that Britain has to offer. When American and British creative talent gets together, magic happens. Let’s continue the winning formula.”

Writer-actor Stephen Fry, who has a recurring role on Bones as Gordon Gordon, expressed the opinion that promoting British talent while the royals were in town was brilliant. “Royalty creates a glamour, prestige and luster that trumps anything Hollywood can produce.”

The guest list was formidible – Barbara Streisand and James Brolin, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Jack Black, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Garner, chef Gordon Ramsey, James Gandolfini, Piers Morgan and dozens of stars, producers and executives. It was also a charity event, with a table going for $25,000.

Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Princess Catherine, Nicole Kidman, Prince William

Following the event, the couple took a few minutes to mingle with the fans gathered outside.

The BAFTA event and the reception Friday night at the home of Consul-General Dame Barbara Hay were the only celebrity-filled events planned for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Today they will be visiting a youth center in Los Angeles’ Skid Row, an area of old LA known as the homeless capital of America, and a job fair for discharging military personnel.

"Fantastic Four" Ioan Gruffudd and wife Alice Evans

Related articles

• Polo And Tinseltown For The Royals (lezgetreal.com)
• William and Kate leave stars starstruck at Los Angeles dinner (guardian.co.uk)
• Prince William and Kate Middleton Mingle With J Lo, Jennifer Garner, Tom Hanks, and More Inside BAFTA’s Brits to Watch Event (popsugar.com)
• Nicole Kidman – BAFTA Brits to Watch Gala (justjared.buzznet.com)
• Kate Middleton and Prince William Hit the BAFTA Red Carpet in Black Tie (popsugar.com)
• Blake, Jennifer, J Lo, Nicole, and More Get Glamorous With Kate and Will at the BAFTA Brits to Watch Event (popsugar.com)
• Hollywood stars meet Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (independent.co.uk)
• Royal visitors walk the red carpet in downtown Los Angeles (latimesblogs.latimes.com)

8 July 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

He might not agree with her politics, but apparently Tim Pawlenty is a fan of Lady Gaga…something that, somehow just seems so inconceivable. While in Iowa, Pawlenty did an interview with the Washington-based pop culture blog Glittarazzi in which Pawlenty was asked about his favorite musicians and he mentioned Bruce Springsteen and a variety of country singers. Of course, has he ever actually listened to what Springsteen wrote? Pawlenty then turned the question on the interviewers asking “But I’ve got a question for you guys? Are you ready: What’s your favorite Lady Gaga song?”

After the interviewers listed theirs, Pawlenty then said:

“Well you know, in terms of the beat, I like ‘Bad Romance.’ I gotta say, even though she’s a little unusual, ‘Born this Way’ has got some appeal. Now, she’s actually very talented. If you go to the end of the HBO special, the Lady Gaga HBO special, and you watch her sing a cappella, ‘Born This Way,’ she can sing. She can definitely sing — she’s talented — and she does it a cappella.

“So, you know, interesting, talented — a little weird. But you know, if you had to limit your artistic choices to just conservatives, we wouldn’t have a lot of choices. You’ve gotta be willing to tolerate different politics.”

Pawlenty, though, favors amending the US Constitution to enshrine religious-based bigotry against lesbians and gays, so, perhaps he shouldn’t be rushing off to see a Lady Gaga concert any time soon.

Here is the video:
Source

6 July 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

Lady Gaga has been hit for, basically, being seen as using LGBT rights issues to sell records. This is especially true since her song “Born This Way” hit the airwaves. She has also called for same-sex marriage legalization, led Pride parades, lobbied both politicians and companies with regards to LGBT rights, and pushed for the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

She spoke to the Advocate where she said that this criticism was “ridiculous”.

She said:

“To say that I would use the gay community to sell records is probably one of the most ridiculous statements anyone can make about me as a person.

“I would say the top thing I think about every single day of my life, other than my fans, loving the music, and my family being healthy, is social justice and equality.”

She also pushed back against the criticism by explaining an anecdote about a young gay soldier she met in Best Buy. She said

“He was afraid that he would be discharged and that he would be judged or found out. [He said] that the fight in America against ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and the fight for equality made him feel stronger and made him feel safe, and he gave me his service jacket.”

“And we just held each other and cried. Anyone who says that I’m not genuine is not interested in overcoming this fight. That was such a pure and wonderful moment that we shared, and I remember thinking, There’s no album sale, no number 1, that could compete with this moment. That is what the f**k it’s all about. What the f**k it’s all about is if I can write one song that could change one person’s life.”

It might be said that Lady Gaga chose to show support for her core fans, who were there before she began pushing for LGBT rights.

Source

6 July 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

There have been a lot of heated reactions to the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial. From Nancy Grace to Kim Kardashin, the reactions have been those of disbelief and horror at the fact that Anthony was found not guilty. Of course, what people forget is that this probably would never have gone to trial had it not been for the media circus that surrounded the whole sorry affair. The prosecution had little in the way of evidence of any kind of murder, so the case was flimsy at best. Now, Miley Cyrus has decided to weigh in on this issue, and she has tied it to marriage equality in California.

The 18-year-old is a strong supporter of marriage equality, but one has to wonder about her judgement after she tweeted “You know the world is skewed when people get away with murdering children but we cant get gay marriage legalized in the state of California.”

If it had not been for the fact that the media inflated the death of Caylee Anthony into a national media circus, the fact that the police made a major blunder early in the case that allowed the body to go unfound for six months pretty much doomed the case from the start.

Back in 2009, Cyrus strongly supported Perez Hilton in his feud with Carrie Prejean. At the time, she tweeted “Jesus loves you and your partner and wants you to know how much he cares! I am a Christian and I love you — gay or not. Because you are no different that anyone else! We are all God’s children!”

Related articles

• When The Circus Comes To Town- The Media, Casey Anthony, And The Judicial System (lezgetreal.com)

Back in the 1990′s, Jill Sobule released a song called “I Kissed A Girl.” The song sounded rather innocent and was more about experimentation and the potential of blossoming lesbian love. A decade later, Katy Perry released a similarly titled song, but rather than being the innocent sounding song, this song played off the whole faux lesbian theme common to male fantasies of being able to get in there and convert lesbians into heterosexuality.

Perry, who seems to be more known for her supposed looks rather than any musical talent, did try to invite Prince William and Princess Catherine (the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) to one of her concerts while the royal couple were on tour of Canada. Perry posted to twitter “In Ottawa! Heard Prince William & Kate are here, come to the show!!! (Kate – bring the McQueen!)” The last bit was a reference to Princess Catherine’s wedding dress, which is probably put up in their home or is hidden away at Buckingham Palace. It is unlikely that Princess Catherine carries it around everywhere she goes.

It would have helped if Perry had checked the royal itinerary and found out that William and Catherine were already in Quebec dealing with a smattering of protests.

While Perry might be disappointed that the royal couple were not able to make the concert, William and Catherine should be glad that they avoided it.

The biggest problem with being a parody artist is that, well, you are only as good as the music that has come out in the time that you have had to write the album. Unfortunately, Alpocalypse is not one of Yannkovic’s better albums. Other than the rather fun parody of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”, several of the songs fall a bit flat. “Party In The C.I.A.” never quite seems to gel properly, and “TMZ” is a little weak compared to some of his best songs, but this may have more to do with the genres that the originals (“Party in the U.S.A.” Miley Cyrus and “You Belong With Me” by Tyler Swift), which tend to be a bit more on the bubble gum side of music these days.

As with his more recent albums, though, some of his strongest work comes in the form of style parodies. For instance, the song “Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me” pokes fun at the rather operatic style of Jim Steinman, and though it is not quite up to that level, it is not bad. The song “Craigslist” does a very good job of capturing the style of the Doors. The song includes keyboards by Ray Manzarek of the Doors. The song “Ringtone” also does a really good job of capturing the style of Queen.

All together, the album is not bad. It is probably not his best work, but it is far from being the worst he has done. Several of his albums from the mid-90′s were very weak with parodies and original songs not gelling at all. In this case, his original works pull their own weight very well even if the parodies just never quite hit it off entirely.

The video for “Craigslist”:

And just a quick bit of fun with his appearance on Conan O’Brien’s show:

6/30/2011

I remember when I was young, going to piano classes that my mom would pay for, and enjoying it so much.  The feel of the keys beneath my fingers and the harmonious sound of the notes that filled the room as I practiced.  My instructor always told me I was a really fast learner, and playing the piano quickly became a favorite pastime of mine.  Throughout the years I have drifted away from playing, however the memories still rest deep in my mind of those wonderful days sitting in front of the worlds most beautiful instrument.

From Beethoven to Fiona Apple, many people, gay and straight, have embraced the beauty of the piano’s sound.  Thanks to British artist Luke Jerram thousands of people in NYC can join the musicians around the world by sitting at a piano and performing for the public for free.

Jerram, sponsored in New York by the non-profit arts group “Sing for Hope,” has placed 88 decorated pianos around NYC for public display and use.  Debuting in 2008, the artist’s musical project has been touring the world ever since.  The decorated street pianos have been seen, so far, in eight cities around the world, with more to come.

What is awesome about this display is that all 88 pianos have been decorated differently by well known, and not so well known, visual artists.  There are pink pianos, rainbow pianos, spatter painted pianos, abstract pianos, flower power pianos, and many more.

“A blank slate for everyone’s creativity” is what Jarram is calling his piano installments.  Which is a very true statement.  Each host city the project hits is given brand new pianos that are painted, and designed, by local students and artists, and then placed randomly around the city.  After the instillation is shut down, the pianos are donated to schools and community centers so the music never stops.

People throughout NYC were skeptical about playing the pianos at first, but not for long.  Soon enough sounds of Beethoven, Billy Joel, Bach, Elton John, Mozart, Alicia Keys, and many more pianists started to flow through the summer air through strange fingers.  These sounds will probably never leave.

The piano instillation will soon be seen in other cities such as Cincinnati, San Jose, and Grand Rapids later this year.  The NYC instillation can  be seen, and played, through July 5th.

Tom Petty

It has been 11 years since Tom Petty informed the Bush campaign that they did not have permission to use his music in their rallies. Just how dense does a party need to be not to understand that, after 11 years and multiple complaints from recording artists. Poor Tom just had to tell Michele Bachmann to knock it off. This is ridiculous.

So, Republicans, here’s a suggestion - Put up a huge sign in the Republican National Committee office. Then send out a memo to any campaign organization, officially announced or not minimally in 30 point font. This is the law….

IF IT WAS WRITTEN AFTER 1923, DON’T USE IT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION. IT’S UNDER COPYRIGHT UNTIL 2018.

We’ll get back to you in 2018 for the more complicated stuff, such as songs written between 1923 and 1978 and those written after 1978. For now, this is all you need.

By the way, you might want to put up a sign that says TOM PETTY IS A DEMOCRAT. That might help get the message across.

Related articles

• Michele Bachmann Uses Tom Petty’s Song Again (littlegreenfootballs.com)
• Tom Petty Demands That Michelle Bachmann Stop Campaigning With ‘American Girl’ (beatcrave.com)
• Tom Petty Not Thrilled About Bachmann’s Use Of American Girl (rightcelebrity.com)
• Right-Wing Nutjob Quotes (kaystreet.wordpress.com)

6/29/2011

There are so many parodies of Lady Gaga they can’t be counted.  However, there are some that just excel over others.  Sherry Vine, a drag performer with a hunger to parody such vocalist as Madonna, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga, has flooded the internet with her amazing, one of a kind, talent.  Her bleach blonde hair, lack of dance ability, and hilarious sense of humor have definitely put her on the map as one of the most original performers out there.

Born in “the Amish Country,” as Vine says, she found out she was adopted, and is Jewish, at the age of 16.  However, that didn’t keep her back from chasing her dream of being a performer.  According to sherryvine.com, “She ran away from home and became a ‘show girl’ in Las Vegas before relocating to NYC where she has established herself as one of the leading ladies performing her all live singing and comedy show internationally on stage, TV and film.”  She has also appeared in several films, theatrical shows on Broadway and beyond, and cabarets around the world.  Ms. Vine’s was voted Entertainer of the Year by her peers, and was honored with the first Glammy Award, HX Drag Queen of the Year, in 2007.

Many other celebrity figures in the gay, lesbian and transgendered world have praised her for her talents.  “You are gorgeous!” says Madonna, and “…Sent shivers down my spine.  Fabulous!” says Boy George.

In Vine’s recent years she has moved on to the wonderful world of parody.  So far she has parodied various popular songs such as Gaga’s “Alejandro”, Katy Perry’s “Firework”, and Madonna’s “4 minutes”.  With these parodies, and many others, she has come to be known as the queen of poop jokes.  Her parody of Gaga’s “Bad Romance” known as “Shit my Pants” proves that she deserves this title more than anyone else out there.

Some of her parodies have proven to be quite offensive, but her fans outnumber the offended.  All of her videos posses flamboyant fashion statements, poop jokes, raunchy lyrics, and gut clenching humor.  All of these put together are bound to offend someone.

Some other parody titles that can be found on her website Sherryvine.com, and YouTube, are listed below.

Katy Perry’s “Firework” = “Firecrotch”

Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” = “You’re a Homo”

Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” = “Coz my Hole is so Deep”

The album is “much more vocally up to par with what I’ve always been capable of,” Said Gaga, “It’s more electronic, but I have married a very theatrical vocal to it. It’s like a giant musical-opus theater piece.”

Born this Way, the first single released off of the 17 song recording, pushes the meaning of believing in oneself on all of her fans, and the world.

Her song explains, “Don’t be a drag, just be a queen, whether you’re broke or evergreen, you’re black, white, beige, chola descent, you’re lebanese, you’re orient, whether life’s disabilities, left you outcast, bullied, or teased, rejoice and love yourself today, ’cause baby you were born this way.”

As a search on Youtube.com, Born this Way has proven to the world that self-acceptance is most important in life. With more than a thousand fan video’s and cover’s, made by little monsters all over the world, it has become somewhat of a theme song to every personality listed within the song.

“I was always drawn back,” said Sarah Wideawake of Brandon Vermont, “she has made me more confident, and gave me a stronger sense of mind.”

Judas, the second single released, has received many different mixed views on the meaning of its lyrics. Many believe that it has anti-religious themes and is offensive, and some say “it’s just a metaphor and is only about a rivalry between ex-boyfriends” says a little monster who would like to remain unnamed.

Lyrics including “I’m still in love with Judas,” and “In the most biblical sense, I am beyond repentance, fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind, but in the cultural sense I just speak in future tense, Judas kiss me if offense, don’t wear your condom next time,” it seems she wants to make someone angry.

“She is trying to rip off Christian idolatry to shore up her talentless, mundane and boring performances. Another ex-Catholic whose head is turned around…” said Bill Donahue, president of The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, “Is this the only way to jet up her performance?”

There are so many ways to interpret this song. The lyrics seem to tell many different stories. For example the lyrics “I wanna love you, but something’s pulling me away from you, Jesus is my virtue, and Judas is the demon I cling to.” Some of her little monsters out there even say she is speaking about being a lesbian.

“She is saying she loves a woman not a man because of her past,” said Desiree Toms of Rutland Vermont, “it tends to happen to every other woman that has had bad past relationships or abuse from men so they would rather love a woman. It’s like Judas is the opposite of Jesus, and gay is the opposite of straight.”

We all expect, at this point, for Gaga to cause controversy with her words. “Born This Way” has put a new face on teenage rebellion and worldwide controversy. She allows under privileged children and teens around the world to except themselves for who they are, and gave the gay, lesbian, and transgendered population around the world hope for the future. What will she do next?

So, tonight, enjoy the full video of “Perform This Way”.

Related articles

• A Sneak Peek At Weird Al In a Meat Dress Performing “Perform This Way” (lezgetreal.com)

While there are those who are screaming about globalization and the rise of a supposed one world government, let us all be rather honest that the days of being able to control what people see and hear is starting to wane. There is no better proof of that then the latest album by pop sensation Lady Gaga. Her latest album has been banned in Lebanon due to its alleged insults to Christianity and what the Lebanese government is describing as all around “bad taste”.

The Lebanese government has already banned her song “Judas” from the airwaves, and is impounding copies of Born This Way.

Of course, there are those who are already attacking the Mama Monster herself here in the United States. Catholic League President Bill Donohue, who constantly reminds us with his blind devotion to the Pope of the origins of the term ‘holy shit’, attacked Lady Gaga’s “Judas” stating “This is a stunt…Lady Gaga tries to continue to shock Catholics and Christians in general: she dresses as a nun…she swallows the rosary. She has now morphed into a caricature of herself.”

Which, of course, is the usual pattern of words said by someone who wants to pretend that they don’t listen to her while hiding in their closet.

The Malaysian government has banned the song “Born This Way”, which is about homosexuality. To that, Lady Gaga said “What I would say is for all the young people in Malaysia that want those words to be played on the radio, it’s your job and it is your duty as young people to have your voices heard.”

The album went platinum its first week out, and crashed the Amazon servers.

Here in is the problem for Lebanon, and indeed, the world today. One Lebanese blogger has come out and stated that he has already downloaded the album through Amazon. In fact, the songs exist safely in the vast nebulous cloud of the internet.

Given the economic damage done to Iran when they shut down their internet, and the fact that Syria was not able to do that for more than a day, the realization must be growing that the flow of information is going to be nearly impossible to stop in the near future.

Source

New York, Hot 97 host, Mister Cee (aka Calvin LeBrun) entered a plea of guilty from his March 30 arrest for engaging in oral sex with Lawrence Campbell in Cee’s parked car in Manhattan.

Courtesy of Getty Images

This comes as not much of a surprise being that this isn’t exactly Cee’s first offense. He was popped on October 8th in Manhattan for a similar charge and the famed rap DJ ended up pleading guilty to that case as well.

Even though, both Cee and Funkmaster Flex (Cee’s friend and colleague at Hot 97) came out strongly defending Cee’s “manhood.” Flex even entered into radio beef with another DJ from a rival NY station to squash rumors of Cee’s same-sex dalliances – currently, there is no word on how Flex took Cee’s recent guilt admission. Unfortunately for Flex and Hot 97, whom also supported Cee through all this – their reputation might be dinged due to Cee’s deceit and selfishness. Hot 97 has released no comment since the entering of Cee’s guilty plea.

Cee was ordered to complete 3 months (equal to 12 sessions) of counseling with a doctor as punishment for his second offense. Let’s hope that male chauvinism aside that Cee finally owns up to who he really is and becomes comfortable with himself, in order to live his life freely.

Related articles

• Out Of The Closet?? Mister Cee Pleads Guilty To Getting Some “Becky” From A Brian In Disguise (bossip.com)
• DJ Mister Cee — I’m Guilty in Prostitution Bust … Again (tmz.com)
• STREETSMADEME.COM: DJ Mister Cee Pleads Guilty To Public Lewdness and Exposure Charges (streetsmademe.com)

Well, short of beaming over, there’s not much she can do to impress people…oh wait, she used a zipline to get to the state. Perhaps she was auditioning for the latest incarnation of Monty Python’s Flying Circuis.

And here is the title track off of her new album:

And the parody by Weird Al Yankovic, which I personally prefer. It’s off his upcoming album Alpocalypse out on 11 June.

Related articles

• Lady Gaga Arrives by Zipline for ‘GMA’ Concert (abcnews.go.com)

Ken Jeong hosted tonight’s MGM Grand in Las Vegas, 2011 Billboard Music Awards with Taylor Swift the big winner taking home three trophies including Top Artist. Justin Bieber as New Artist was no surprise – lame speech and all- “i am only 17, I am only 17 and thank you God” in whichever order you choose!

The List of Nominees and winners

Top Artist:
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
WINNER: Taylor Swift

Top New Artist:
WINNER: Justin Bieber
Taio Cruz
Ke$ha
Bruno Mars
Nicki Minaj

Top Male Artist:
Justin Bieber
Drake
WINNER: Eminem
Bruno Mars
Usher

Top Female Artist:
Ke$ha
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry
WINNER: Rihanna
Taylor Swift

Top Duo/Group:
WINNER: The Black Eyed Peas
Bon Jovi
Lady Antebellum
Linkin Park
U2

Top Billboard 200 Artist:
Justin Bieber
Susan Boyle
Eminem
Lady Antebellum
WINNER: Taylor Swift

Top Radio Songs Artist:
Drake
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
WINNER: Rihanna
Usher

Top Touring Artist:
Bon Jovi
Michael Buble
Lady Gaga
WINNER: U2
Roger Waters

Top Social Artist:
Akon
WINNER: Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna

Top Streaming Artist:
WINNER: Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
Shakira

Top Digital Media Artist:
Akon
WINNER: Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna

Top Rap Artist:
Drake
WINNER: Eminem
Lil Wayne
Ludacris
Nicki Minaj

Top Country Artist:
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Lady Antebellum
WINNER: Taylor Swift
Zac Brown Band

Top Dance Artist:
The Black Eyed Peas
David Guetta
WINNER: Lady Gaga
LaRoux
Rihanna

Top Christian Artist:
Casting Crowns
MercyMe
Skillet
tobyMac
WINNER: Chris Tomlin

Viral Innovator of the Year:
WINNER: Cee Lo Green

Fan Favorite of the Year:
WINNER: Justin Bieber

ALBUMS AWARDS:

Top Billboard 200 Album:
Justin Bieber — “My World 2.0″
Susan Boyle — “The Gift”
WINNER: Eminem — “Recovery”
Lady Antebellum — “Need You Now”
Taylor Swift — “Speak Now”

Top Pop Album:
WINNER: Justin Bieber — “My World 2.0″
Black Eyed Peas — “The E.N.D.”
Ke$ha — “Animal”
Lady Gaga — “The Fame”
Katy Perry — “Teenage Dream”

Top R&B Album:
Monica — “Still Standing”
Rihanna — “Loud”
Sade — “Stronger Than Love”
Trey Songz — “Passion, Pain & Pleasure”
WINNER: Usher — “Raymond v. Raymond”

Top Rap Album:
Drake — “Thank Me Later”
WINNER: Eminem — “Recovery”
Nicki Minaj — “Pink Friday”
Lil Wayne — “I Am Not a Human Being”
Kanye West — “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”

Top Country Album:
Jason Aldean — “My Kinda Party”
Lady Antebellum — “Need You Now”
Sugarland — “The Incredible Machine”
WINNER: Taylor Swift — “Speak Now”
Zac Brown Band — “The Foundation”

Top Rock Album:
The Black Keys — “Brothers”
Jack Johnson — “To the Sea”
Kid Rock — “Born Free”
Linkin Park — “A Thousand Suns”
WINNER: Mumford & Sons — “Sigh No More”

Top Alternative Album:
The Black Keys — “Brothers”
Jack Johnson — “To the Sea”
Kings of Leon — “Come Around Midnight”
Linkin Park — “A Thousand Suns”
WINNER: Mumford & Sons — “Sigh No More”

Top Dance/Electronic Album:
Daft Punk — “Tron Legacy (Soundtrack)”
WINNER: Lady Gaga — “The Fame”
Lady Gaga — “The Fame Monster”
Lady Gaga — “The Remix”
Owl City — “Ocean Eyes”

Top Christian Album:
MercyMe — “The Generous Mr. Lovewell”
WINNER: Skillet — “Awake”
tobyMac — “Tonight”
Chris Tomlin — “And If Our God is for Us”
Various Artists — “WOW Hits 2011″

SONG AWARDS:

Top Hot 100 Song:
WINNER: Taio Cruz — “Dynamite”
Eminem Feat. Rihanna — “Love The Way You Lie”
Bruno Mars — “Just the Way You Are”
Katy Perry Feat. Snoop Dogg — “California Gurls”
Usher Feat. will.i.am — “OMG”

Top Digital Song:
B.o.B Feat. Hayley Williams — “Airplanes”
WINNER: Taio Cruz — “Dynamite”
Eminem Feat. Rihanna — “Love the Way You Lie”
Bruno Mars — “Just the Way You Are”
Katy Perry Feat. Snoop Dogg — “California Gurls”

Top Radio Song:
Taio Cruz — “Dynamite”
Eminem Feat. Rihanna — “Love the Way You Lie”
WINNER: Bruno Mars — “Just the Way You Are”
Usher Featuring Pitbull — “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love”
Usher Feat. will.i.am — “OMG”

Top Streaming Song (Audio):
Taio Cruz — “Dynamite”
Eminem Feat. Rihanna — “Love the Way You Lie”
Lady Antebellum — “Need You Now”
Bruno Mars — “Just the Way You Are”
WINNER: Nelly — “Just A Dream”

Top Streaming Song (Video):
WINNER: Justin Bieber Feat. Ludacris — “Baby”
Eminem — “Not Afraid”
Eminem Feat. Rihanna — “Love the Way You Lie”
Lady Gaga — “Bad Romance”
Shakira Feat. Freshleyground — “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)”

Top Pop Song:
WINNER: Taio Cruz — “Dynamite”
Bruno Mars — “Just the Way You Are”
Katy Perry Feat. Snoop Dogg — “California Gurls”
Katy Perry — “Firework”
Katy Perry — “Teenage Dream”

Top R&B Song:
Alicia Keys — “Unthinkable (I’m Ready)”
Rihanna Featuring Drake — “What’s My Name”
Trey Songz Feat. Nicki Minaj — “Bottoms Up”
WINNER: Usher Feat. will.i.am — “OMG”
Usher — “There Goes My Baby”

Top Rap Song:
B.o.B Feat. Hayley Williams — “Airplanes”
B.o.B Feat. Bruno Mars — “Nothin’ on You”
WINNER: Eminem Feat. Rihanna — “Love the Way You Lie”
Far*East Movement Feat. Dev & The Cataracs — “Like A G6″
Nelly — “Just a Dream”

Top Country Song:
The Band Perry — “If I Die Young”
WINNER: Lady Antebellum — “Need You Now”
Miranda Lambert — “The House That Built Me”
Sugarland — “Stuck Like Glue”
Taylor Swift — “Mine”

Top Rock Song:
The Dirty Heads Featuring Rome — “Lay Me Down”
Florence + The Machine — “Dog Days Are Over”
Mumford & Sons — “Little Lion Man”
Neon Trees — “Animal”
WINNER: Train — “Hey, Soul Sister”

Top Alternative Song:
Florence + The Machine — “Dog Days Are Over”
Linkin Park — “Waiting on the End”
Mumford & Sons — “The Cave”
Mumford & Sons — “Little Lion Man”
WINNER: Neon Trees — “Animal”

Top Latin Song:
Enrique Iglesias Featuring Juan Luis Guerra “Cuando Me Enamoro”
Pitbull — “Bon Bon”
Shakira — “Gypsy”
Shakira Feat. El Cata — “Loca”
WINNER: Shakira Feat. Freshleyground — “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)”

Top Dance Song:
Lady Gaga — “Bad Romance”
Lady Gaga Feat. Beyonce — “Telephone”
La Roux — “Bulletproof”
WINNER: Edward Maya &Vika Jigulina — “Stereo Love”
Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup — “We Speak No Americano”

Top Christian Song:
Kris Allen — “Live Like We’re Dying”
MercyMe — “All of Creation”
Sanctus Real — “Lead Me”
tobyMac — “Get Back Up”
WINNER: Chris Tomlin — “Our God”

Brandi Carlile in Concert --Taken by Monik Schiller

In days when all that seems to flow through your speakers is the synthesized notes of brainwashing corporate agendas, also known as Hollywood to the stars, you find yourself becoming numb. Good music is traded like barters along the road of hard travels, and only the strong survive. Then there are moments where a gift comes along, packaged in beautiful lyrics, and a soulful voice. In this case the gift is Brandi Carlile, who is a reminder that true artists survive under the shiny bubble wrap, and still find the strength to carry on the message of passion to all.

The lights dimmed, and to the rise of voices of anticipation, Brandi Carlile enters the scene. With the air of Elvis, the soul of the Indigo Girls, and an in process canvas that was uniquely hers, the stage welcomed her entrance. Her demeanor brought back memories of Iggy of Fried Green Tomatoes, and she smiled with the side grin of Marilyn Monroe. She moved forward, and as if her every move was in sync, she pulled her mouth closely to the microphone, and greeted Dallas. The voice that exuded was as if a Cuban cigar was laced in silk.

She began to sing with the intention of a poet, speaking from the heart of the connection, which exists amongst us all. She enchanted the audience with her songs that weaved together the stories from where they were inspired. In a move that has long become shunned from the music industry, Brandi unplugged her fellow musicians, and herself, and shared a divinely intimate moment with her audience. The unexpected surprise was enough to etch itself into the hearts and minds of all who were there to share in her music. What Brandi brought to the table, was a nicely aged, fine glass of wine, for all to share, and embark on this journey together.

What can confidently be said of this incredible woman, is that her predecessors would be proud, and that one day in the future, she will be noted with the greats

Do yourself a favor, and take the time to meet Brandi Carlile.

Vanessa Geiger is a writer, journalist and founder of Alpha Girl Productions. You can learn more about Vanessa at http://alphagirlproductions.blogspot.com

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Image by Getty Images via @daylife

05/17/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

Recently, Sara Quin of the indie music duo, Tegan & Sara wrote an open letter to the music industry about the state of misogyny and homophobia in the industry. Her main frustration seemed to be with Tyler the Creator, a rapper associated with the group, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, who has recently been making waves in the underground music and social media circuits.

During the course of the letter, Quin hones in on Tyler’s music, most notably his first solo album, Goblin asking them [the industry] why he is getting praised, when he is facilitating stereotypes in music.

“If any of the bands whose records are held in similar esteem as Goblin had lyrics littered with rape fantasies and slurs, would they be labeled hate mongers? I realize I could ask that question of DOZENS of other artists, but is Tyler exempt because people are afraid of the backlash? The inevitable claim that detractors are being racist, or the brush-off that not “getting it” would indicate that you’re “old” (or a faggot)? Because, the more I think about it, the more I think people don’t actually want to go up against this particular bully because he’s popular. Who sticks up for women and gay people now? It seems entirely uncool to do so in the indie rock world, and I’ll argue that point with ANYONE.”

Tyler, after reading or having someone tell him the excerpts responded to her post via his Twitter on Sunday.

“If Tegan And Sara Need Some Hard Dick, Hit Me Up!”

In all honesty, with all that is out there about Tyler – his response; I hope wasn’t too much of a surprise. At the same time, Tyler doesn’t see himself as a homophobic, the rapper who views himself similar to the Sex Pistols and The Doors discussed some of the homophobic accusations with The Guardian.

“Somebody called me a homophobe. I’m not homophobic. I just say ‘faggot’ and use ‘gay’ as an adjective to describe stupid shit.”

Of course, you would Tyler.

My issues with this scenario are two-fold. Yes, there is an issue of misogyny and homophobia throughout hip-hop and yes – the music industry propels a lot of that to make money. Yet, at the same time, Quin is adding more fuel to the fire than extinguishing the flames.

Quin believes that Tyler gets a “pass” because others are afraid to stand up because there will be some type of backlash. She then lists racism, age and not being “with it” as reasons why the backlash may occur. Now, is she implying that Tyler gets a pass because if someone were to come after him, he’d [Tyler] be quick to pull the “race card?” Which is somewhat doubtful being that Tyler is about shocking his critics, bringing up race wouldn’t give him that punch he so desperately craves.

Also, I hope Quin is aware that Tyler is not the only one in the crew that deserves to be called out. In a story recently published in The Guardian, the crews’ sound engineer, Syd tha Kyd, an open lesbian discussed why she felt the need to join OFWGKTA.

“When I first started really fucking with Odd Future heavy, my dad was like, ‘Really? They talk about some crazy shit and as a female, you’re slapping a lot of women in the face.’ I’m like, ‘That’s what I do. I slap bitches.’”

Your girlfriends are lucky women, Syd. I don’t know about you but having a lesbian align herself with Tyler and his gang would probably upset me more, instead of some copycat rapper craving attention.

Misogyny and homophobia run prevalent in the music industry. It’s sad but true and being that I’m also a gay, black female that LOVES hip-hop – trust me, I feel the brunt of it.  Even though Quin is releasing her frustration and may feel that her heart is the right place – her way of addressing the issue may be a bit misguided.

Black rappers are forced tow the line just as much as any other racial group in the music industry; I would even go as far to say that they are put out there much more than other racial groups. Now, do I agree with what those rappers say – no, I don’t but I also make the choice not to indulge in certain artists. If others don’t have it in them to do the same, that is a personal choice. Even if the musical industry decided to stop promoting those with anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-whatever rhetoric – there would always be someone there willing to step in and make money off of that part of society that finds it acceptable and with this being the era of Youtube, the likelihood is high.

Should we be upset? Yes, but addressing your concerns to a corporate machine that is more concerned with making bank over preserving the souls of those that listen and purchase their artists’ music – instead of trying to talk about – actions need to start coming into play.

What irks me about this open letter is that in addressing Tyler’s inane rap lyrics (which are slightly reminiscent of an early Eminem – yeah, that guy), she is giving Tyler, his fan base and the media industry what they want – a reaction. Not to toot my own musical horn but I’m pretty savvy in both mainstream and underground music but (perhaps, it is due to my current location) Tyler and his crew didn’t even register on my list of things to listen to – but with all the interest surrounding Quin’s dislike of Tyler and the music industry that upholds him (not to mention the countless articles on the topic, mine included) – I had no choice but to listen to see what the fuss was about.

Unfortunately, that is the issue because I’m probably not the only one that had that same idea, and as a result, Tyler has probably picked up a few more fans and allies in all this. Especially if they find Quin’s narrative condescending and hyper-emotional, lumping her article together with any other privileged, white woman (even, if she’s a lesbian) rants that they may have come across.

After all, for every Tyler there is a Lil B and Angel Haze (a bi-sexual, Californian teenager) out there trying to challenge our views on love, sexuality and ourselves. Tyler’s shtick has been done before (and better) so his fame is probably short-lived at best. So, instead of focusing our attention on him, let us discuss those that are attempting to change the game – even if they are taking it one step at a time. At least then we are choosing change and progress over rewarding bad behavior.

Related articles

• Sara Quin Bashes Tyler’s “Sickening Rhetoric” (spin.com)
• Sara of Tegan and Sara Takes on Tyler, the Creator (pitchfork.com)
• Despite Slurs, Rapper Says He’s Not Homophobic (advocate.com)
• Tegan and Sara Are Pissed About Tyler the Creator’s Homophobic Raps. But What About Nicki Minaj’s New Insult? (queerty.com)
• Tegan and Sara finally take a stand against Tyler the Creator and his hateful gimmick (hipsterrunoff.com)

Image via Wikipedia

05/13/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

Legendary Queen front man, Freddie Mercury is still causing a ruckus, even though he’s been dead for close to 20 years. Principal Dwight Probasco of Wasilla High School in Alaska decided that after hearing from a graduating seniors’ parents that Mercury was gay, decided to pull the jazz choir‘s rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” for senior graduation. Not sure who originally chose the song but at least it shows a great taste in music.

Perhaps the parents felt that the gay would rub off during the course of the performance, either way, Probasco was quick to ban the song in order to appease the parents.

Unfortunately, several of the choir’s students didn’t like that idea and decided to not take the banning lying down. One particular choir member, Casey Hight was so outraged by Probasco’s decision because she felt “…like the school was discriminating for sexual orientation,” which is not allowed in her book.  Hight decided to contact a prominent LGBT group in Anchorage, they urged her to contact an attorney within the American Civil Liberties Union that would be able to tell her some more options regarding this matter.

However, once Probasco received word of possible involvement by the ACLU – he quickly changed his tune and allowed the song back in. Even still, he plans to omit a portion of the lyrics where Mercury refers to “killing a man.”

Well, as Mercury so eloquently put it, “The show must go on.” And for the jazz choir at Wasilla High School, they plan to do exactly that.

Related articles

• Wasilla High School Bans Jazz Choir’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Performance Because Freddie Mercury Was Gay (towleroad.com)
• Wasilla High School Bans Freddie Mercury Song (bilerico.com)
• Wasilla High School Principal Bans Bohemian Rhapsody Because Freddie Mercury Was Gay [Controversy] (gawker.com)

05/09/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

A source linked to famed singer Whitney Houston has let it slip that The Bodyguard star is back in rehab. The source told TMZ that Houston reportedly entered the program 10 days ago, in order to “cleanse” herself for an upcoming movie. The star was seen last weekend with her daughter (who has also been rumored to have a drug problem) at a Prince concert. Houston seemed to be enjoying the time spent with her daughter, she even got up on stage with Prince towards the end of the night.

This the third stint for the “Crack is whack” songstress but the first time she’s been admitted since 2005. It is sad that drug use has already taken a toll on her gifted voice, let’s hope she can get it together to get some of her credibility back.

Image via Wikipedia

05/05/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

If you haven’t already heard, Lady Gaga’s Judas was uploaded onto Youtube by LadyGaga Vevo on May 3rd.

Not quite sure what to make of it but I’m sure her “Little Monsters” probably couldn’t scrap themselves away. It seems to be typical Gaga – slow motion, Gaga posing – this time she has incorporated a bicycle gang – so I guess that is new.

From what Gaga has said about this video, she [Gaga] is playing Mary Magdalene and her pretty posse are modern day disciples.

In a interview from Popjustice, Lady Gaga first explained the song.

The first time Lady Gaga played us the tune she told us that in broad terms it was about being in love with the worst guy you’ve ever met, but as you might expect there’s more to it than that. “It’s about leaving your darkness behind in order to come into the light,” she added the other day. “I have a lot of things that have haunted me from my past – choices, men, drug abuse, being afraid to go back to New York, confronting old romances – and Judas represents, for me, something that is bad for me that I can’t escape. I keep going back and forth between the darkness and the light in order to understand who I am.”

Word on the street is that there is a longer 7 minute version on the way but this is supposed to tie you over until that one is leaked released.

Image via Wikipedia

05/05/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

It appears that country singer and The Voice judge, Blake Shelton apologized via his Twitter account today over the homophobic, re-worked Shania Twain song lyric that he posted on his account last night.

Seems that some of Shelton’s fans aren’t into his bashing the LGBT community, even if he was “playing around.”

Commenting on several of the anti-gay tweet responses that followed after his tweet, Shelton had this to say:

Such Maturity

Instead of taking the time then to explain himself, he resorted to name-calling, due to the fact that he was being misunderstood. How do you expect complete strangers to know about you, when -like what Shelton explained – his friends or family. Doesn’t sound like he’s sorry or remorseful at all. In fact, he was betting that it would blow over. He even went as far as to laugh off GLAAD’s initial response for him to apologize. Yes, Shelton sounds like someone who is anti-gay.

Of course the tweets didn’t stop. So Shelton – like the mature, responsible individual that he is – took to his Twitter again!

He's still running with it.

GLAAD posted on their blog today:

“As GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios states, ‘Following outrage from community members and allies, Blake Shelton took the right step in speaking out against anti-gay violence and sending an important message to his fans and viewers of The Voice.’”

Right.

So now, it’s cool to blast totally homophobic content but put it within the parameters – it is meant to be from a girls point of view?  Still, if he was writing from the point of Shania Twain, shouldn’t he have said “Rewriting my fave song….” Afterward, ending it with Twain’s name – so people would know that it was taken from her point of view?  Well, it sounds like Shelton didn’t want to get caught out there – so he covered his tracks. Like most in the entertainment business, I’m sure they’ll let him now that he’s on a very popular NBC show.

Recently, The Voice judge, Blake Shelton took to his Twitter account attempting to be clever in masking his homophobia. Shelton took to his Twitter and decided to show his lyrical prowess by rewriting a line from a Shania Twain’s song “Any Man of Mine”. The country star tweeted this:

“Any man that tries touching my behind He’s gonna be a beaten, bleedin’, heaving kind of guy…”

Twitter Post

Not sure if Shelton was trying to be funny, even though (it appears) comedy doesn’t seem to be his thing. During the 2011 Country Music Awards, he along with co-host Reba McEntire had this little exchange involving Taylor Swift’s – at that time – recent breakup with Jake Gyllenhaal.

“Reba: She writes songs about guys who break up with her, which I don’t understand in the first place. She’s beautiful, she’s talented, she’s sweet. What in the world was Jake Gyllenhaal thinking?

Blake: “Wait a minute… He was in Brokeback Mountain!”

Tyler Robinson

Yes, because a movie role depicts how you would date in a real life.

So this appears to be par for the course for Shelton and being that he is in country music – it probably doesn’t cause such a fuss.Either way, Shelton’s recent tweet is in poor taste and being that is evident that several contestants on the show are LGBT – it paints him as rude and offensive. Makes you wonder if something happened between the scenes of the newly popular NBC show – after all, he did choose openly gay singer, Tyler Robinson to work with.

No word from NBC or Shelton regarding his actions. Being that the show is doing rather well – I’m sure the powers at be will try to bury this, in order to keep the ratings intact.

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04/23/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

Lady Gaga didn’t want to get any trouble with any of her “Little Monsters” and others that support the oft-controversial music star due to her use of the word “retarded” during a recent NME interview.

During the interview, Gaga was asked questions pertaining to the rumors that “Born This Way” is a blatant copy of Madonna’s “Express Yourself”.

Gaga was not too pleased.

“I’m a songwriter. I’ve written loads of music. Why would I try to put out a song and think I’m getting one over on everybody? That’s retarded. What a completely ridiculous thing to even question me about.”

Due to her choice of words, she has incited some followers and critics because to many, the word “retarded” is seen as offensive and degenerating – since the pop star likes to celebrate diversity, many were taken aback by her word choice.

In order to clear her name, the pop chose to discuss her feelings with Perez Hilton – after all, if he can’t get it out there, no one can.

“I consider it part of my life’s work and music to push the boundaries of love and acceptance. My apologies for not speaking thoughtfully. To anyone that was hurt, please know that it was furiously unintentional. An honest mistake requires honesty to make.”

Afterwards, she quoted a line from her single “Born This Way.”

“Whether life’s disabilities left you outcast, bullied or teased, rejoice and love yourself today.”

Thus proving that even Gaga – Queen of all that is different – puts her foot in her mouth. Unlike the others that have come under public scrutiny as of late, it is probable that Gaga will make good on her word.

Related articles

• Lady Gaga Apologizes For Using The “R” Word (now100fm.radio.com)
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• Lady Gaga apologizes for saying “retarded” (blastmagazine.com)

Rapper Lil B’s upcoming album, “I’m Gay” is proving to not be a hit with all of his fans. MTV News has reported that several fans

Lil B

have sent the rapper death threats using different types of social media.

“People been hitting me up like, ‘I’m gonna bash your head in,’ ‘you f—-t,’ ‘I’m gonna kill you,’ ” the rapper told the entertainment news source.

Lil B, who insists the album is not a gimmick, explains that even though he is a heterosexual man – to him, “gay” means “happy” not homosexual. His goal is to break down the barriers that exist between the straight, rap lovers and the LGBT community.

“I got major love for the gay and lesbian community, and I just want to push less separation and that’s why I’m doing it. I hope GLAAD sees that I’m taking initial steps to breaking barriers.”

While some fans have turned against him, he is adamant that he will release his album under the “I’m Gay” title. The album is scheduled for release on iTunes within the next couple of months.

Lil B announced the upcoming name of the album, last weekend during his performance at Coachella.

Related articles

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• “I’m a gay, heterosexual male.”-Lil B (redbeardedoctopus.wordpress.com)
• Rapper Lil’ B Announces New Album Will Be Titled “I’m Gay” (lezgetreal.com)

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04/21/2011 by Cynthia S. Wright

Ted Nugent, a rock star whose celebrity stems more from his outrageous antics over any musical talent, has decided to speak out against the NBA’s judgment on Kobe Bryant against the “most protected” class in the United States – the gays. In an article to the Washington Times, Nugent comes out against Bryant’s fine, because the gays and their political correctness are getting in the way of boys being boys.

“Gay rights groups applaud the decision of the NBA, which must make all the homosexual basketball fans feel peachy and special. Who knows, maybe the NBA will use Mr. Bryant’s $100,000 to buy courtside seats for gay basketball fans. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Show some gay pride, NBA.

Those among us who work tirelessly to shut down (and shout down, if the need arises) speech they disagree with must also be absolutely gay with pride and satisfaction over this fine.”

Nugent tries to use some of his “Uncle Ted” logic to make his point but due to his foolish rhetoric fails to make any sort of concrete sense. Nugent, who finds homosexuality “morally wrong” lets it be known that gay rights are of no importance to his “pro-American” lifestyle. This isn’t about Bryant, per se but it is more about giving Nugent a chance to chime in with his two cents about what he feels is wrong with America – again.

“Think of it: $100,000 for calling someone a name. A simple apology from Mr. Bryant to the referee obviously wasn’t good enough for the NBA.

I doubt Mr. Bryant would have been fined 10 cents had he referred to the referee as a useless Christ on a crucifix soaking in a vat of urine.

No, the real reason Mr. Bryant was fined was because he used an anti-gay term to describe the referee. One has to wonder how much the NBA would have fined Mr. Bryant if, before the game, he had told the referee he ‘looked quite gay’ that night.”

The problem with Nugent’s reasoning – again, is that Bryant demeaned someone by using an insulting slur; which is akin to any other racist word out there. If the “gays” were the protected sect in society, we wouldn’t be having this issue with Bryant because he would have known better. Nugent doesn’t seem to understand  or acknowledge this because it wouldn’t appeal to his “white male privileged” sense of being. So what does he do? He lashes out because he has nothing else going for him. After all, he is the “Nuge” – he is what defines Americana and he is here to defend the rights of all the “moral” citizens.

It is amusing that a figure like Nugent would dare point fingers and cast stones with his very checkered past. How quickly he would like for us to forget that he is a self-admitted Draft Dodger, at first painting himself as an anarchist hero only later to be found out that he applied for student deferment for one year by enrolling in college. A college that he bothered to never attend; instead he opted to go out on tour with his band, never fulfilling his studies or his duty to his “beloved” country. There there was the time in 1978, when Nugent began a relationship with a seventeen-year-old female and that due to age difference they could not marry, so (with the parents consent) he signed papers to become the teenager’s legal guardian. Does that sound like a moral, upright citizen to you?

At the same time, has Nugent ever been held accountable for anything morally wrong that he has ever done? Of course not, because (as much as he would like to not admit) he is a privileged, heterosexual, somewhat famous, white male. One that continually gets a “pass” just like most in the entertainment industries – so, of course he feels threatened by what Bryant is going through because he’s done what Bryant has done and much worse. This is more about Nugent realizing that his foolish daily antics might soon be numbered – which has been long overdue for this crazed rock star.

Related articles

• Rocker Ted Nugent Rips NBA for Fining Kobe Bryant’s Anti-Gay Slur (towleroad.com)
• Quote Of The Day – Ted Nugent (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Uncle Ted’s Douchebag Fever (passthedoucheys.com)

Brandon McCartney, better known in the rap game as Lil B, announced yesterday during his performance at Coachella that he plans to

Lil B, the "Pretty Boy" himself

name his new album, “I’m Gay.”

The self-proclaimed, heterosexual soon explained his reasoning to the crowd during his set on why he decided to go with that particular title.

“I’m gonna do the most controversial thing in hip-hop. Y’all heard it hear first. And I’m gonna just show y’all that words don’t mean s**t. I’m gonna make an album called ‘I’m Gay.’ Now I’m gonna tell y’all why I’m the first person to do it in hip-hop and why y’all are the first people to know my reason…First of all, gay means happy. I like women, I love women, you feel me? But it just shows me, no matter what you do, live life, you only got one life to live, be happy. F*ck the hating.”

Of course, somewhere Busta Rhymes is silently yelling about this – if that is even possible.

Lil B is no stranger to controversy; the 21-year-old rapper has put out songs titled, “I’m a Faggot”, “Ellen DeGeneres”, and “Wanton Soup”. Even though, he has been asked if he is subconsciously fascinated by homosexuality, Lil B has discussed that it is not about that because he knows who he is.

Yet, it is hard to tell if Lil B is being serious or whether he is using the recent hype surrounding homophobia in hip-hop to drum up interest in his upcoming album. Even though, time will tell – at the same time, Lil B has discussed his opinions on the LGBT community in a questionable way – even if he has been more open than most in the industry. During a Complex interview last summer,  Lil B discussed his feelings about homosexuality and the rap game.

“It’s a touchy subject. I respect the hell out of gays and the gay community. I’m not a gay man. I don’t agree with sex with another man or f**king another man or giving blowjobs to another guy. That’s not my thing. I’m breaking down these barriers of society. Society says you’re supposed to do this, and you’re supposed to do it this way, you know you’re supposed to look like this. We’re a new generation of people. We need to be happy. We need to love each other. We need to accept each other for who we are and stop judging each other. Live life and love. Stop judging just to keep yourself secure. Look deeper. There’s always something deeper than what it is.”

So it seems, Lil B wants to open up doors and break down barriers. Although, at the same time, he claims “not to agree with same-sex relationships between men” – allowing only women to get a pass.  Showing, that he feels like he is more involved than most in the rap game, due to the fact that  he feels like he is challenging the status quo. It’s an admirable quality, even if it is quite off base.

Justin Bieber (sheez can’t believe I am writing about him – and when we do they flock to the site – so here goes…) criticized the paparazzi in Israel on his Twitter account, took a one second break from tweeting so that he could vacation with his family before his performance on Thursday,

And – AFTER Tuesday

when he took to Twitter to call out the paparazzi for trying to snap photos of him while he was in Israel taking in the sights. “Staying in the hotel for the rest of the week u happy?” he wrote. “People wait their whole lives for opportunities like this, why would they want to take that experience away from someone. They should be ashamed of themselves. Take pictures of me eating but not in a place of prayer, ridiculous.”

He tweeted  after his show,

“AMAZING NIGHT … AMAZING PLACE … AMAZING SHOW!!” he tweeted. “NEVER GOING TO FORGET THIS ONE. #BLESSED”

Apparently he was equally impressed with the Israeli Fans as they were with him! Well that works -

The Hollywood Reporter reported that the young Bieber played to an estimated 35,000 fans. While most of the show sounded like standard Bieber fare, at one point Bieber’s music director, Dan Kanter, played the country’s national anthem, “Hatikva.”

Bieber then played his inspirational track “Pray,” and even paid homage to manager Scooter Braun’s grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who was in the audience. “It was perhaps the one awkward moment in the show, if only because the next line he uttered enthusiastically was, ‘Who wants to be my ‘Baby?!’ ” the writer noted in her review.

(LOL) okay he is only a kid…. he tried to be a big boy…

source:  http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662034/justin-bieber-israel-concert.jhtml

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
Facebook Melanie
twitter @oblogdeeoblogda

Cover of 50 Cent

04/07/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

50 Cent, the rapper with a knack for ruining or dinging many a notable rapper career (hello, Ja Rule and Officer “Ricky” Rick Ross) has come out in support of Hot 97 DJ, Mister Cee. During a brief interview with Miss Info right before the screening of his movie, “All Things Fall Apart” he discussed his thoughts on Cee, homophobia and the rap game.

“It’s only entertaining because he means that much to hip-hop culture. I recognize Mister Cee as the guy who offered us Biggie, so he means that much to the culture. And a lot of the kids that hear the radio don’t see him the same way. … How about if you say, “I’m Rick James, bitch?’ How about if you say ‘I don’t care’? Who is to judge you when there’s an audience — that is probably one of the strongest audiences, if you look at Lady Gaga’s career — that says that that’s fine? … If you say it’s not fine, you’re gonna get attacked. You’re gonna write apology notes.”

(Which 50 Cent knows a lot about.)

Not sure if Mr. Cent has been drinking some equality water lately (I’m sure he’d trademark it if he was) but for someone that seems to thrive on controversy, his opinion is very perceptive.

He also discussed that Cee’s alleged orientation has nothing to do with his abilities as a competent DJ.

“I’ll get rid of Whoo Kid and make Cee my DJ any day if he’s ready…. because he’s a better DJ,” he admitted.

If more rappers like 50 Cent would acknowledge that LGBTQ people exist – even in a industry as sexually driven as hip-hop, others would probably start to follow suit. Hopefully, this symbolizes that hip-hop will be in for a real rude awakening.

Queerty Article

Funkmaster Flex, famed hip-hop DJ has come out in support of his friend, Mister Cee who was recently caught engaging in a sexual act with a transgendered prostitute in Manhattan’s West

Cover of Funkmaster Flex

Village last Wednesday. Flex, who also DJ’s at Hot 97 took to the airwaves Monday night when he heard that rival station, Power-105’s morning talk show host Charlemagne addressed Cee’s dalliances on air.

Apparently, Flex didn’t take too kindly to his friend being discussed on the morning radio show, leading him to “address” the situation later on during his music set. During his late night radio show, Flex spent five minutes going in abo

ut how the charges against Cee were untrue (even though there are mug shots of the two online), while continually launching that if certain people kept saying otherwise, that payback would be coming. Flex didn’t end there, during his thinly veiled attacks, he said, “I know everything that goes on in that building… You know who I’m talking about. You know the shot I’m sending today. You know the gun I’m loading up today. The choice is yours.”

Clearly, Flex was gearing up for some sort of radio beef and being that Charlemagne feeds off that stuff, he wasted no time in returning his opinions. At the same time, Flex never directly hinted that he was aiming his coded attacks at the Power-105’s morning crew.

Yesterday, during his radio show, Charlemagne prepped his response by first playing back Flex’s late night attack while dubbing the older DJ, Flex Hogan (a play on Hulk Hogan, due to the fact that Wrestlemania happened on Sunday). He then launched into the charges surrounding Cee, mentioning that this is not the first time Cee’s antics have caught up with him. “Don’t get mad at us. Get mad at him. Tell him, I don’t care if you like men, but you got to move a little better,” he said.

Of course, Charlemagne had to engage in some thinly veiled punches of his own, warning the older radio DJ by stating, “If we’re ready for war…the pictures we got can break up a happy home.” Adding insult to injury, he then scolded Flex for not being direct with his attacks, instead of relying on subliminal messages.

This radio beef, as entertaining at it might be, still doesn’t seem to address the question at hand. With Cee’s business put out there, hip-hop has to acknowledge that not everyone is straight within the business and some people like certain things outside of heterosexual partnerships. Instead of resorting to bashing each other on air, why not address the reasons why Flex is willing to support his friend, even though there is hardcore evidence against him. Obviously, they have the fan base that would listen, so instead of worrying about veiled attacks and who said what; why not address hip-hop and why it insists on keeping homophobia alive and well – instead of trying to cater to the male ego.

As first reported on the Show and Tell blog and NY Daily News.

Mister Cee

One of New York’s Hot 97 DJ’s, Mister Cee (government name: Calvin Lebrun) was arrested last Wednesday for taking part in a public sex act involving 20 year-old transgendered prostitute, Lawrence Campbell.

Gay Socialites.com has reported that the two men were engaging in public sex in Manhattan’s West Village, known by police as the location where men go to engage in gay sex.  Not a smart move, if the DJ wanted to keep his illicit rendezvous under wraps.

Although, this wasn’t the first time that the DJ has been linked with said activity. Gossip queen, Wendy Williams alluded to another incident involving Cee and another transgendered man during her radio show on Kiss FM back in 2007.

Cee of course is denying the whole incident and took to defending himself on his Twitter account.

“Time to clear my name NY. Stand Up Brooklyn they shootin (Haters) this is my city you can’t hurt me lets gooooooooo.”

The problem is why does Cee need to take to defending his honor? Even though, engaging in said act publicly is illegal – whom he chooses to engage with is his own business and not something that needs to be justified. Unfortunately, in hip-hop and the extremist machismo that governs its way of thinking, Cee feels he needs to protect his manliness.  Even so, it seems that even with Cee’s denial, along with famed DJ’s Funkmaster Flex (who works at Hot 97) and Ed Lover coming out in support of Cee’s innocent – the damage may already be done.

During his recent tweets, Cee also alluded to the “rumored” NYPD squad that seems to be attacking hip-hop stars and DJ’s.

“Time to get this sh*t cleared up so make it quick cause I ain’t feeling this Twitter sh*t NYPD has a detective squad after all Rappers & DJ’S.”

How the NYPD would benefit by attacking DJ’s – remains to be seen.

What seems to be clear though, that this incident, more than likely, will be etched in Cee’s legacy. Should this shadow a DJ, that at one time scratched for the likes of Big Daddy Kane and served as associate executive producer on Ready to Die, the debut album of Notorious B.I.G., an album considered a classic by old and new hip-hop heads alike. Cee’s perceived sexual orientation shouldn’t but in an industry rife with homophobic tendencies, along with with how Cee is conducting himself during this particular time shows how far hip-hop has to go to even consider anyone being openly gay within their ranks.

DADT has nothing on the secrecy and shame of hip-hop homophobia – hopefully that will soon change.

Related articles

• Hip-Hop DJ Arrested for Public Gay Sex (advocate.com)
• DJ MISTER CEE ARRESTED FOR A ‘LEWD ACT’ w/ A TRANNEY! (thehiphopconsultant.com)
• OOPS! Hip-Hop DJ Arrested for Public Gay Sex (redbeardedoctopus.wordpress.com)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking in to a second of Madonna’s charities over alleged financial mismanagement. According to several sources within the Department of Justice, agents with the FBI’s Los Angeles field office have been investigating “several irregularities and suspicious activity” surrounding the educational charity Success for Kids, which Madonna chairs.

Also part of the FBI investigation is the LA-based Kabbalah Center, which has received millions of dollars from Madonna in the past. Sources were not clear the extent to which Madonna is involved in the investigation, but she has donated $671,000 since the charity was founded in 2001.

She has also persuaded a string of celebrity friends to give generously and the non-profit charity has attracted donors like Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom Cruise and Alex Rodriguez.

This development comes a week after it was revealed that the Madonna had to abandon plans to build a girls school in Malawi due to financial mismanagement at Raising Malawi, another of her charities and an IRS investigation and Federal Grand Jury probe into all of her charities. Madonna, 52, is also allegedly facing a suit filed last month in Malawi by eight workers at the failed school project, who say they were never paid.

The school, despite $3.8 million being raised for its opening, was never built and has since been abandoned by the entertainer. An audit conducted on behalf of Raising Malawi reportedly could not show where all the money had gone.

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By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
Facebook Melanie
twitter @oblogdeeoblogda

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“Imma Homo”, a song produced by Rainbow Noise, a record label with bases in both Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington that represent LGBTQ artists that typically emulate a mainstream musical appeal. Compared to what passes as music these days, “Imma Homo” isn’t the worst thing out there but like most rap songs, it relies more on a catchy, repetitive hook and stereotypically inspired lyrics. In other words, outside of the rappers admitting that they are indeed, in fact, gay – they seem to use the same type of style  that heterosexual rappers seem to promote within their music.

Being that the LGBTQ musical scene seems to cater itself more towards the dyke rock subset – this song definitely stands out among the masses – whether you become a fan of it or not – it definitely makes an impression.  If only because – the rappers – not only embrace (at times, border on flaunting) their gay prowess but they try their best to have at least one person from each major ethnic group spit a verse. I only wish that there was one femme in the group (outside the singer) that contributed to the song – instead of reducing it to only having the gay boy and studs get their rap game on. Ideally, it is a nice gesture (and shows that even in rap, equal opportunity is not that dead) but it does cause the song to dwindle on longer than needed.

At the same time, there is nothing wrong with showcasing solidarity and LGBTQ pride – we do need it in our community and by having this song performed by a multi-ethnic rapping group shows how diverse the LGBTQ population really is. Even still, as much as the song is catchy – the lyrics by some of the rappers leave little to be desired.

Here is an excerpt from one of the more talented rappers in the song:

“Hate on me, hate on we
LGBT, reppin’ for my faggot family.”

“So I got eight bars
To verbally rape
those that hate
Put tape on their face
Til they say gay is okay.”

“Next time you see me in the club
Don’t forget the butt plug
Six colored click
Come holler at a real thug.”

Even though, in comparison to heterosexual rap with its misogynist history; this song doesn’t promote the healthiest imagery, especially when compared to the dyke rock that permeates the gay airwaves. Still, one would think that since this song is coming out representing the LGBTQ community, it would come out a little less stereotypical. Artistic expression, after all is very subjective but with the subject matter already being pretty taboo – it would make a better impression if they tried to incorporate some type of message instead of relying on the “shock factor”.  After all, that is what the heterosexual rap market is for.

Image via Wikipedia

3/24/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

Chris Brown, after the release of his new album, F.A.M.E. decided to go to BET’s 106th & Park to discuss his album and the “interview gone postal” that he recently experienced with Good Morning America.

Brown started off: “First of all, I want to apologize to anybody who was startled in the office, anybody who was offended or really disappointed in my actions because I was disappointed in the way I acted.”

Of course, he’s sorry after the fact. That is usual of Brown, the issue with him is how he fails to see how his actions don’t show that he’s sorry because he keeps resorting to violent tendencies when he feels that things aren’t going his way.

“A lot of people don’t know what went down. When I do shows or when I do interviews we send out like a talking point sheet. And if the network or whoever isn’t compliant with what we want to do so that we can equally accomplish a goal, we usually kind of back out and wait until it’s a better situation,” Brown discussed.

In other words, Breezy doesn’t want to talk about anything involving his past because “that is not what he wants”.  So he threw a “little baby posing as an adult” temper tantrum and was allowed to get away with it.  If anything, talking about the event would be the chance to show how much that he has grown but I guess that is too hard a grasp for Brown to comprehend.

He continues:

“So when we actually did this event, everything was cool. … Everything that was sent to me was about the album. That’s what we were talking about. So when the interview proceeded, I was thrown off. I felt like, ok, they told us this to get us on the show and exploit me. I took it very, very hard. I kept my composure throughout the whole interview. … And when I got back I just let off steam in the back. I didn’t physically hurt anyone. I just wanted to release the anger inside me. I felt like I worked so hard for this music. … I got very emotional.”

Emotional doesn’t mean you have to destroy public property, Breezy – own up to your destructive behavior. Just because you didn’t physically hurt someone (this time) doesn’t make it any less traumatic. This just paints the picture that it doesn’t seem Brown is willing to take full accountability for his actions. He clearly does say that he is sorry but, at the same time, he is trying to throw the spotlight off him by playing victim.

He closed his interview by saying that he wished for his fans not to send threats to Robin Roberts because “We need to be more positive and focus on the real issues in life.”

No, Breezy – you need to focus on your issues and the fact that you flew off the handle because your immature, “emotional” ego couldn’t handle the attack. More than likely, the only reason this “apology” was released because you wanted to attempt to rebuild that bridge that you smashed into pieces.

Related articles

• Chris Brown: I’m Sorry (huffingtonpost.com)
• GMA Must Want Seconds ‘Cuz Chris Breezy Might Be Back (lezgetreal.com)
• What Outburst?: GMA Would ‘Love’ To Have Chris Brown Back on the Show (newsfeed.time.com)
• Why Chris Brown Won’t Ever Learn (lezgetreal.com)