Pop Culture Buzz

Below I have collected some streaming music from some bands and musicians that will be playing at Coachella this year that I am not familiar with. I will be posting day #2 and day #3 soon. For now check out some of these music stars that are bubbling under or are about to get their big break at Coachella. Either way they are new to me and it is fun to listen to this stuff before the actual festival. Consider this homework and I am your teacher, have fun.

WE ARE SCIENTISTS - “NOBODY MOVE, NOBODY GETS HURT”

PEEPING TOM - “WE’RE NOT ALONE (REMIX)”

GILLIAN WELCH - “REVELATOR”

TOKYO POLICE CLUB - “CITIZENS OF TOMORROW”

AMY WINEHOUSE - “BACK TO BLACK”

DIGITALISM - “ZDARLIGHT”

TILLY AND THE WALL - “BAD EDUCATION”

NOISETTES - “DON’T GIVE UP”

DAVID GUETTA - “LOVE DON’T LET ME GO”

STEPHEN MARLEY W/ ERYKA BADU - “I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU”

BUSDRIVER - “IMAGINARY PLACES”

NICKEL CREEK - “THIS SIDE”

JULIETA VANEGAS - “ME VOY”

Here are the Oscar nominations. First off, where is Jack Nicholson? And no Best Picture nomination for Dreamgirls? At least Eddie and Jennifer are up there. I am so glad to see “An Incovenient Truth” nominated for two awards. I am very happy with all of the “Little Miss Sunshine” attention, that movie is just too sweet to not get the recognition it deserves. I am hoping that “Babel” doesn’t sweep and get the best picture award, I was not happy with that movie. Check out all of the drama below. This year was much more easier to predict than last year. The winners seem pretty obvious too, I guess we will have to wait and see.

1. Best Picture: “Babel,” “The Departed,” “Letters From Iwo Jima,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “The Queen.”

2. Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “Blood Diamond”; Ryan Gosling, “Half Nelson”; Peter O’Toole, “Venus”; Will Smith, “The Pursuit of Happyness”; Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland.”

3. Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Volver”; Judi Dench, “Notes on a Scandal”; Helen Mirren, “The Queen”; Meryl Streep, “The Devil Wears Prada”; Kate Winslet, “Little Children.”

4. Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, “Little Miss Sunshine”; Jackie Earle Haley, “Little Children”; Djimon Hounsou, “Blood Diamond”; Eddie Murphy, “Dreamgirls”; Mark Wahlberg, “The Departed.”

5. Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, “Babel”; Cate Blanchett, “Notes on a Scandal”; Abigail Breslin, “Little Miss Sunshine”; Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls”; Rinko Kikuchi, “Babel.”

6. Directing: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Babel”; Martin Scorsese, “The Departed”; Clint Eastwood, “Letters From Iwo Jima”; Stephen Frears, “The Queen”; Paul Greengrass, “United 93.”

7. Foreign Language Film: “After the Wedding,” Denmark; “Days of Glory (Indigenes),” Algeria; “The Lives of Others,” Germany; “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Mexico; “Water,” Canada.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Sacha Baron Cohen and Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips, “Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”; Alfonso Cuaron and Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, “Children of Men”; William Monahan, “The Departed”; Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, “Little Children”; Patrick Marber, “Notes on a Scandal.”

9. Original Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga, “Babel”; Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, “Letters From Iwo Jima”; Michael Arndt, “Little Miss Sunshine”; Guillermo del Toro, “Pan’s Labyrinth”; Peter Morgan, “The Queen.”

10. Animated Feature Film: “Cars,” “Happy Feet,” “Monster House.”

11. Art Direction: “Dreamgirls,” “The Good Shepherd,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “The Prestige.”

12. Cinematography: “The Black Dahlia,” “Children of Men,” “The Illusionist,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Prestige.”

13. Sound Mixing: “Apocalypto,” “Blood Diamond,” “Dreamgirls,” “Flags of Our Fathers,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”

14. Sound Editing: “Apocalypto,” “Blood Diamond,” “Flags of Our Fathers,” “Letters From Iwo Jima,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”

15. Original Score: “Babel,” Gustavo Santaolalla; “The Good German,” Thomas Newman; “Notes on a Scandal,” Philip Glass; “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Javier Navarrete; “The Queen,” Alexandre Desplat.

16. Original Song: “I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth,” Melissa Etheridge; “Listen” from “Dreamgirls,” Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven; “Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls,” Henry Krieger and Siedah Garrett; “Our Town” from “Cars,” Randy Newman; “Patience” from “Dreamgirls,” Henry Krieger and Willie Reale.

17. Costume: “Curse of the Golden Flower,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Dreamgirls,” “Marie Antoinette,” “The Queen.”

18. Documentary Feature: “Deliver Us From Evil,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Iraq in Fragments,” “Jesus Camp,” “My Country, My Country.”

19. Documentary (short subject): “The Blood of Yingzhou District,” “Recycled Life,” “Rehearsing a Dream,” “Two Hands.”

20. Film Editing: “Babel,” “Blood Diamond,” “Children of Men,” “The Departed,” “United 93.”

21. Makeup: “Apocalypto,” “Click,” “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

22. Animated Short Film: “The Danish Poet,” “Lifted,” “The Little Matchgirl,” “Maestro,” “No Time for Nuts.”

23. Live Action Short Film: “Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea),” “Eramos Pocos (One Too Many),” “Helmer & Son,” “The Saviour,” “West Bank Story.”

24. Visual Effects: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “Poseidon,” “Superman Returns.”

Here is a multi-clip montage of the whole “Grey’s Anatomy” cast drama. First off Isaiah Washington is a douche bag for even trying to lie, let alone for calling a gay man a “faggot”. Does anyone else think that it is odd that in this wacky age of racist celebrities that a African American actor saying these things is pretty lame? It is a shame that the whole thing went down at all, but I am glad it all happened on camera! Check out the drama yourself. Thank god for Katherine Heigl and Ellen they are the best!

I do not like Angelina Jolie at all, there I said it. This clip of her on the red carpet says a whole lot about her fake personality. I get it Angelina, you are at the Globes to support Brad and you don’t talk about your private life. But come on girl, just a few years ago you were making out with your brother and wearing Billy Bob’s blood around your neck. And honey, we can still see that hideous tattoo under all of that make up. Besides managing to never put out a single decent film, she has some how become a major star. Her attitude and recent decision to play Daniel Pearl’s wife who is half black is outrageous if not just out right lame. And no one, I mean no one talks shit about Madonna and gets away with it. The backlash has started already, look for 2007 to be pretty anti-Jolie and Pitt in Hollywood.

Good god I am so excited for Coachella this year. Last year definately had a much better line up. But I am really excited for the addition of a third day. Here is a list of some of the scheduled acts so far. Last year there were a lot of last minute additions like Madonna, so lets hope we see Morrissey added in there at some point. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gwen Stefani was added as well. So, here is a list of my favorites in order of how much I want to see them (the first being the most anitcipated).

1.) Bjork
2.) Lily Allen
3.) Manu Chao
4.) Regina Spektor
5.) Rufus Wainwright
6.) Travis
7.) Air
8.) Felix Da Housecat
9.) The Jesus And Mary Chain
10.) Faithless
11.) The Arcade Fire
12.) Tiesto
13.) Peaches
14.) Benny Benassi
15.) Brazilian Girls
16.) Paul Van Dyke
17.) Happy Mondays
18.) Willie Nelson
19.) Soulwax
20.) Infected Mushroom

“Stomp The Yard” has stomped the competition once again this weekend. “Night At The Museum” has crossed the 200 million dollar mark, which baffles me. And poor Madonna cannot make a good movie to save her life with “Arthur & The Invisibles” . Not even Luc Besson could make a hit out of this odd looking animated family film. Now that award season is in full swing little movies like “The Queen”, “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Children Of Men” are holding strong in the top ten. Once the Academy Awards nominations are released tomorrow look for the whole box office to change.

1.) Stomp the Yard $13,300,000 / $41,564,000

2.) Night at the Museum $13,000,000 / $205,840,000

3.) Dreamgirls $8,711,000 / $78,118,000

4.) The Hitcher $8,234,000 / $8,234,000

5.) The Pursuit of Happyness $6,700,000 / $146,511,000

6.) Freedom Writers $5,564,000 / $26,882,000

7.) Pan’s Labyrinth $4,725,000 / $10,155,000

8.) Children of Men $3,700,000 / $27,481,000

9.) The Queen $3,700,000 / $35,857,000

10.) Arthur and the Invisibles $3,105,000 / $9,296,000

** 1/2 STARS

I love the original movie “The Hitcher”. If you have not seen it then you should rent it first, then go see this movie if you so desire. When the first movie came out it was an underground video hit. This movie doesn’t look like it will cause that much of a stir at the box office, but if you are looking for a great suspenseful film this would be an o.k. choice. The movie is short and sweet but it is also pretty intense in some scenes. If you are one of those kind of people that is easily grossed out, then I would pass on this film it has some pretty harsh parts towards the end.

The only reason why I did not love this film I think is because I loved the original so much. Sean Bean does a bang up, terrific job as the hitchhiker with a taste for revenge and blood. The movie keeps a fast pace and holds onto the suspense after we are introduced to Bean’s character. The relentless feel that he projects keeps the film at a great exciting pace. Sure some of the scenes are unrealistic and the hitcher does come off as invincible, but that is part of the scary fun. You need to suspend disbelief a while when you see either this or the original.

This low budget re-make will most likely do well, but not great at the box office this weekend. What this film did do was get me excited to see the original once more. I have not seen that movie which stars C. Thomas Howell in over ten years. I would love to see if it holds up to the test of time. I remember that movie being so twisted and the surprise ending drove me crazy! This movie is a great DVD rental though, I suggest you check out when you can. If you like the chills and thrills of a scary film than the original is your best bet, the re-make is good for a bit of suspense on a dark dreary night. Just make sure you lock the windows and doors and keep a light on…it’s that intense.

** STARS

I do not get Dane Cook’s sense of humor or comic stand up style. His whole frat boy stand up tour thing he does doesn’t work on me. I have tried to watch his tour on HBO but just do not laugh much because his delivery and style get on my nerves. Although I am not giving a great rating for this movie, I did like some parts of it. Let me be more specific, it made me laugh a few times and that is about it. I also want to make it clear that Jessica Simpson did not make me laugh once, but some cute moments with the other supporting cast did.

The story is lame it is like your basic 80’s comedy with tits and ass humor, slapstick physical humor and sight gags. Dax Sheppard does a fun job as Dane Cook’s rival. They both work at a Costco like bulk store in which Dax’s character wins “Employee Of Month” every month. Then walks in new employee Simpson and the comedy starts, well kind of. We get a lot of back and forth barbs from Cook and Sheppard as they create the set up for the feud bewteen the two of them. Dane Cook tries to go from box boy to check out king in a month, and of course we get a few cheesy montages in between.

All in all this was a silly little movie with no real redeeming qualities, just a few laughs. I would recommend you rent this for the “tweens” in you rlife, or just catch it when it comes on cable. Or if you must, just get it at the video store when there is nothing else to rent. Think of this as brain junk food or a stoner movie. It is not high art, but isn’t exactly trash either. At the very least it made me like Dane Cook a little more, and made me hate Simpson even less. So check it out, or don’t it is that unremarkable of a movie…you decide.

I have been a huge fan of Robbie Williams for ten years now. And if you have read this blog before then you know that I push his music on anyone who will listen. Some of you are pretty sick of it I am sure, but I will quit pushing his c.d.’s when I finally get to see him live in concert. He is a huge success everywhere on the planet but not here in the good old USA, so what the hell is the deal? Here are some rarities, remixes and personal faves of my own for you to listen to. His influence is pretty big in Europe so the selection below may give you an idea on how many fans he has and how versatile he can be. I could go on all day, you can just listen for yourself.

ROBBIE WILLIAMS - “KING OF THE BONGO” (RUDEBOX)

ROBBIE WILLIAMS & NICOLE KIDMAN - “SOMETHING STUPID” (SWING WHILE YOU ARE WINNING)

ROBBIE WILLIAMS & MAXI JAZZ - “MY CULTURE” (1 GIANT LEAP)

ROBBIE WILLIAMS - “TRIPPIN HOUSE REMIX” (INTENSIVE CARE)

ROBBIE WILLIAMS & KYLIE MINOGUE - “KIDS” (SING WHEN YOU ARE WINNING)

ROBBIE WILLIAMS - “BEYOND THE SEA” (SWING WHILE YOU ARE WINNING)

BARRY WHITE/ROBBIE WILLIAMS - “ROCK DJ/IT’S ECSTACY WHEN YOU LAY DOWN NEXT TO ME” (MASH UP)

ROBBIE WILLIAMS & OASIS - “WONDERWALL” (ACCOUSTIC LIVE IN CONCERT)

ROBBIE WILLIAMS - “A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS” (JOHNNY ENGLISH SOUNDTRACK)

I don’t know what to think about this movie. One could say it is a teeny bop version of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” Shia Labeouf has been a ton of movies lately, he is growing up to be quite the cute guy. This movie could have some real genuine moments of thrills but the jury is still out on if I will go see it in the theater or not.

Robbie Williams new c.d. “Rudebox” keeps on growing and growing on me. Once again Robbie has released a video that is a head of its time and completely original. That said, he looks terrible in drag. I wish that he was just as big here in the states as is he EVERYWHERE else in the WORLD. He is a true talent and because he has no thit it big here, the odds of him touring here are small. What a shame.

Last night NBC aired the best episode of their hit show “Scrubs” ever. The plot surrounded a patient who heard people singing as if they were in a musical, so the doctors do a bunch of tests to figure out what is wrong. This premise is so inventive and made for a pleasant and sweet episode. The songs seemed as if they were plucked right off of Broadway, the lyrics and musical arrangements were fabulous! Here is a clip from that episode with Turk and J.D. singing “Guy Love”. This is so funny you may want to make sure no one is arround to hear you snort when you laugh. You have been warned.

Amy Millan is a great talent. Her single “Skinny Boy” is one of the best songs of 2006. She tends to sound like a softer version of Mazzy Star, which I love. This soft, melodic soothing sound is much better than any Nora Jones c.d. This video is a sweet piece of pop culture fluff. Enjoy!

I am tired of this part of the show already and it is only episode two. Yikes. Thank god we only have a few more weeks of this torture. Sure I laugh sometimes but some of these people need help they are so delusional. It has become a freak show just to laugh at it seems. I thought Simon making jokes about the two guys who were obviously mentally slow was a bit harsh. Simon said one of them looked like a “bush baby”. This was an all time low for this show just when you think it could not have sunk any lower.

Once again they pulled the locked door trick on people as they exited the audition room and this time it wasn’t as funny. This part of the show is tragic and a waste of my time. I wish we would be able to skip all of this part of the audition process. It is like watching a torture session, these people are clueless. I think Paula is so high she has become less sensitive and nice. So all we get are Simon’s barbs and Randy’s non-stop giggling. I miss Jewel already!

Here is a list of this episodes most talented:

Thomas Daniels (Afro Guy):
This is Thomas’ 3rd time trying out for Idol, and it looks like this was hi slucky day. I don’t see this guy advancing after Hollywood.

Blake Lewis (Crunchy Spiked Hair Dude):
This guy sang a Seal song, and actually did a great job. Though his hair is a bit much, I think he may do well in weeks to come.

Shyamali Myalakar (The Indian Sister):
This girl and her brother showed up to try out together. They are a pretty sweet looking and acting pair. I have high hopes for this Indian family to go far.

Sanjaya Myalakar (The Indian Brother):
This boy blew his sisters audition away, and the cute part was he didn’t tell his sister that the judges thought he was better. And he was.

Rudy Cardenas (The Last Guy In Seattle):
This tall cute latino boy was the last to try out in Seattle and impressed the judges enough for him to go to Hollywood. I think he may do o.k.

Jeremy Piven is NOT dating “America’s Next Top Model” runner-up Melrose Bickerstaff, even though reports had them “canoodling” at a Golden Globes after-party. But still what a funny couple! Piven is a notorious playboy and is rumored to be much like his “Entourage” character in the ego department. The photo below seems to be all the proof I need for it to be true enough for me to post a blog entry about it.

If any of you watched the most recent cycle of “Americas Next Top Model” you remember what a pill Melrose is (her real name is Melanie Rose, ewww). So this may be a perfect match, for the moment. Lord knows that relationships in Hollywood have a shelf life of at least 3-5 years. It looks like Tyra is a stepping stone for bigger and some what better things if you count sleeping with a celebrity a step up.