As Kenny Powers (presumably) rides off into the sunset this Sunday night, we pay homage to HBO’s best-kept secret. By James Montgomery Danny McBride in “Eastbound and Down” Photo: HBO “Stevie, you weak mother—-er, you listen to me right now. You have made an ass-ton of stupid choices in Myrtle Beach; this is the moment of truth. Now is not the time to lay on the ground like a bald f—ing baby. Now is the time to be a f—ing man.” That was Kenny Powers on last Sunday’s penultimate episode of “
New video chronicles the duo’s return to rockdom and announces their third studio album, Rize of the Fenix. By Kevin P. Sullivan Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass and Jack Black Photo: Columbia “Some call them kings. Others call them gods, but one thing that everyone agreed on was that Tenacious D was more talented than the Beatles, Stones and Zeppelin combined.” Those are the immortal words of “Extra”‘s Maria Menounos, retelling the tragic story of the greatest rock band to ever rock, Tenacious D . Members Jack Black and Kyle Gass apparently fell on rough times after the box-office failure of their film, “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny.” But after years in a mental hospital and “lots of drugs,” Tenacious D has returned with a brand new video and news of their third studio album, Rize of the Fenix. The new video shares the story of the lost years of Tenacious D. After a nervous breakdown, Gass spent years locked away, only to escape in hopes of reuniting with his former bandmate, Black, now going by the name “Hollywood Jack.” Entitled “To Be the Best,” the video chronicles D’s climb back to the top of all of rockdom. In traditional Tenacious D style, the boys have some of their famous friends stop by to join in on the fun. In an interview recalling D’s spectacular fall from grace, Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins shared his memory of Gass’ battle with his demons. “Kyle couldn’t take the pressure,” he said. “It was no more Kyle. It was only Rage Kage.” The most tragic part of the return of Tenacious D comes at the expense of Val Kilmer ‘s life. The method actor takes a bullet fired by Gass and meant for Black, but his death was not in vain. The incident spurred the Tenacious D reunion fans have been begging for since 2008. Unfortunately, during their hiatus, both Black and Gass forgot how to rock. Thankfully, Dave Grohl , Josh Groban and two books, “Blowing F—ing Minds for Idiots” and “Impregnating Ears for Idiots,” were there to help out. Rize of the Fenix will be in stores on May 15. Are you excited for Tenacious D’s return? Leave your comment below. Related Artists Tenacious D
R&B diva’s rep Kristen Foster confirms singer has died. By Rebecca Thomas Whitney Houston Photo: WireImage/Getty Whitney Houston , a multiplatinum pop/R&B singer who ruled the charts for decades beginning in the mid-1980s, has died. Houston was 48. While details such as cause and location of her death are still unknown, Houston’s publicist Kristen Foster confirms to The Associated Press on Saturday (February 11). Houston had recently staged a comeback in 2009, after a tumultuous divorce from singer Bobby Brown in 2006 after 14 years of marriage. The ex-couple have a daughter together, Bobbi Kristina. Brown and Houston battled substance abuse issues throughout their marriage, and their travails were well-publicized. But in recent years, Houston had made attempts to revive her once thriving music career only to find that her show-stopping voice had gathered some rust. At her height, Houston was the music industry’s reigning diva, releasing chart-topping albums well into the late 1990s, and earning her place as one of the best-selling artists in the world. Her unparalleled voice and All-American beauty propelled her onto the silver screen as well, with roles in the “The Bodyguard” and “Waiting to Exhale.” The soundtrack for the former film yielded a string of hit singles and broke myriad chart records as well. Her influence can be heard on a generation of young singers who cite her as an inspiration, from Mariah Carey, Brandy and Monica to Christina Aguilera and Beyonce. But Houston was dogged by her demons. In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey she detailed the years of addiction and the toll they had taken on her personal and professional lives. Related Artists Whitney Houston
New music from Ja Rule “F*ck Em All” and the Mpire squadron, Harry-O and Merc Montana. I told you all a bid was not going to keep Ja Rule from dropping new music. The Mpire crew is holding it down for Rule York while he finishes up his prison time. Harry-O’s Angels and Demons is currently available for download . Check out the audio below. WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT Recent Post: Ja Rule “Pain Is Love 2″ Album Release Date Ja Rule Gets 28 Months Added To His Sentence
Back to Black singer’s story littered with substance abuse and arrests. By Jocelyn Vena Amy Winehouse ‘s success as an artist was equally matched by her trouble with substance abuse and the law. Shortly after releasing her star-making 2006 album, Back to Black , the London-born singer became a tabloid fixture, with the press constantly covering her professional ups as well as her personal downs. On Saturday, the singer was found dead in her London apartment. While she had been a staple of the British music scene since releasing her debut album, Frank , in 2003, it was her 2006 album that launched her as an international star and ushered in a new sound that harked back to the girl-group days of the ’50s and ’60s, leading to a number of copy-cat artists releasing albums around the same time. 2007 On her 2006 track “Rehab,” Winehouse chronicled her love of partying hard and her defiance to seek help for it, setting a course for the issues in her personal life. Midyear, Winehouse’s camp began denying the singer had a substance-abuse problem, as she began to cancel dates , a string of events that would become commonplace in her short-lived career. Even as the issues in her personal life began to cause speculation, her music career was thriving, with accolades flowing in from rappers like Jay-Z, who began remixing her songs, broadening her appeal to a wider spectrum of audiences beyond retro-leaning hipsters. But her legal troubles would make just as many headlines as her award wins and chart-topping success. In August 2007, she was arrested for marijuana possession , with her equally troubled husband, Blake Fielder-Civil , by her side in Norway. Before the year’s end, she would also have Visa problems and health issues , making shows hard to keep. 2008 As professional accolades flowed in, evidence of her drug problems became more and more evident. In January 2008, a video surfaced allegedly showing the singer smoking crack . Weeks later, she would check into rehab . In February, she wasn’t be able to attend the Grammys after her Visa was denied, however she did appear via satellite . At the show, she took home five trophies, including the big prize, Record of the Year . As 2008 rolled along, authorities continually questioned the singer in a number of cases, including an assault case in April and a drug-related arrest in May tied to the video of her allegedly doing drugs. Those charges were later dropped. In June of that year, she went public with the news that she had an early stage of emphysema , as her confirmed by her father, who became her mouthpiece and her biggest supporter in the face of her personal adversities. Later in the year, she hit the stage again in shows that were both redeeming and disastrous . 2009 Things did not slow down for Winehouse in 2009. Her husband filed for divorce in January of that year, and in March, she had to cancel her Coachella set after being charged with assault in connection with a 2008 incident. Regardless of her legal and health issues, she kept booking gigs, though not necessarily to successful results. She walked out early on a gig in St. Lucia in May. By July, she was officially divorced and acquitted on the 2008 assault charges . Her big public appearance was at the U.K.’s V Festival in August. However, by December, she was once again charged with assault in connection with another incident at a theater in the U.K. where she heckled a performance of “Cinderella” and reportedly assaulted theater manager Richard Pound, who complained that Winehouse had pulled his hair, punched him and kicked him when he asked her to move seats. 2010 After laying low for a good part of 2010, Winehouse appeared at a gig for her producer Mark Ronson in London, where she messed up the lyrics to their track “Valerie” and was seen drinking and being boisterous offstage. Despite the antics, she promised new music by early 2011 , a promise she did not keep. 2011 Her last stint in rehab was reportedly in May 2011, however, her attempts to get clean never truly helped her battle her demons. At a disastrous show in Belgrade in June, she showed up more than an hour late, then repeatedly left the stage mid-performance, forgot lyrics to her songs and even dropped a microphone. Shortly after, the singer canceled more tour dates . On Saturday, Winehouse was found dead at age 27, just five weeks after her last show, leaving behind a legacy of fame for both her musical influence and her troubles. How will you remember Amy Winehouse? Tell us on Facebook. . Related Videos Amy Winehouse Remembered Related Photos Amy Winehouse: A Life In Photos Related Artists Amy Winehouse
Em plays two versions of himself in eerie clip co-starring porn star Sasha Grey. By Rob Markman Eminem on the set of his “Space Bound” music video Photo: Eric Ford / On Location News Just when we thought Eminem had fully escaped his demons following the release of his multiplatinum 2010 album Recovery, Marshall Mathers takes his own life with a single gunshot to the head in his new “Space Bound” video, which is now available on iTunes. The video is a gut-wrenching look into another of Eminem’s tumultuous relationships, much like the one exhibited in the video for “Love the Way You Lie” — this time with deadly results. Filmed in Los Angeles in February, the Joseph Kahn-directed clip starts with our leading man walking down a foggy road in the middle of the night. Obviously perturbed, a sullen Em marches on, hands in his pockets, until a passing car picks him up. In the driver’s seat is the Detroit rapper’s love interest, played by porn star Sasha Grey. Things clearly aren’t all peaches and cream. Eminem jumps in the front passenger seat, with a pensive look on his face, while another, more cynical version of Em rides in the back. The differences between the two Shadys are apparent. The front-seat version is calm, with his eyes darting back and forth between his girlfriend and the gun that sits in the glove compartment. The other Em is riled up, hurling insults at Grey, though she is unaware of his presence. As the couple pulls up to a pit stop, Grey exits the vehicle first with a gun in her back pocket, while Em follows her. They enter a diner, Grey first and the rapper a few steps behind. Here, the director splits the screen and the two Eminems go their separate ways, one to the counter and the other to the booth where his girlfriend sits, texting on her cell phone. Eminem grows suspicious of the texts and checks his girl’s phone after she gets up to go to the bathroom. The rapper apparently finds what he has long suspected: His woman is cheating. Throughout the video, Eminem follows Grey like a lost puppy. It’s when they check into a motel room that the drama unfolds. Closing the door behind him, Eminem begins to attack his girlfriend before realizing that she wasn’t even there in the first place. Left at the end of his rope, Eminem pulls out the gun, puts it to his chin and fires a single shot through his own head. Blood splatters, and Shady falls to the floor. Simultaneously, the alternate Eminem, who is still seated at the counter, is struck by the bullet as well, falling back off of his bar stool before the clip rewinds back to the beginning of the 4:30 video, where we once again see our leading man walking down that foggy road in the middle of the night. Did Eminem imagine the entire ordeal? Or did his cheating girlfriend metaphorically kill the hopeless romantic, leaving only a distrustful version of himself? The image is jarring; the interpretation, however, is up to you. How did you interpret Eminem’s “Space Bound” video? Tell us in the comments. Related Artists Eminem
Yesterday I came across a HelloBeautiful article on Halle Berry in which she states that she is not the “marrying kind”. My heart sank as I read the following passage, “My father left us when I was young and that did affect my life. If I had a good father in my life, growing up, then I do not think I would have made the mistakes I made. I would not have been lost in love.” Halle Berry Is Pretty In Pink At Silver Rose Auction [PHOTOS] It struck me hard reading that because I too had the privilege of experiencing abandonment by my father at an early age. I carried the anger and confusion around for years. I would be lying if I said I did not try to find him in the men that I’ve dated. He wasn’t there. However some of my ex-lovers carried my father’s ugly traits, so that I could remember exactly who he was. I have thought of and uttered aloud the statement Halle made about her father not being there. Longing for my father to come and patch up the past followed me like a plague allowing myself to be victimized by everyone and everything. Author Electa Rome Parks’ Newest Erotic Drama, ‘True Confessions’ It was easier to blame my father not being there as a reason for my failures in life and relationships, but deep inside I did not accept that as my truth. Every woman is capable of developing healthy and balanced relationships with men if she chooses to, despite her upbringing. I reconnected with my father by fluke at my aunt’s funeral last year. Every emotion you could feel, I felt on that very day. I recognized that there was an important reason why he came back into my life at the time he did and rolled with the punches. I am taking my time to reconnect, but I realize that we will not have a picture perfect father-daughter relationship, and that’s fine with me. At some point we all have to face our demons and Halle may need the support of counseling to meet hers head on. So your father was a no-show, sometimes as adults in order to reach our full potential in life we have to learn how to parent ourselves. This means taking responsibility for our decisions and working diligently to break bad habits in love and in life. Telisha Ng is a freelance writer and author of the Goddess Intellect blog from Toronto, Canada. Follow her on twitter @goddess_I
‘As tragic as that is to watch, almost 20 million people are living in recovery,’ Robert J. Lindsey says of ex-Alice in Chains bassist’s death. By Ryan J. Downey Mike Starr in 1990 Photo: Marty Temme / Getty Images The death of ex-Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr raised a number of questions for his fans , as the loss of anyone who publicly struggled with drugs or alcohol often does. Why wasn’t his treatment, documented on VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab” and “Sober House,” a success? Why can’t someone like Starr just stop using drugs? “[The addiction] literally hijacks the person’s brain and takes over,” Robert J. Lindsey, president and CEO of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, told MTV News on Wednesday (March 9). “For somebody who has become physically and emotionally addicted, stopping and staying stopped is the hardest thing in the world to do. “The first thing to understand about alcoholism and addiction is that it’s similar to other chronic illnesses, like heart disease or diabetes. It’s chronic, it’s progressive and it’s fatal if it’s untreated,” he added. “Some people, despite the best efforts on their part and others, will die from their addiction. It’s our hope that Mike’s death will serve for many as the opportunity for them to either seek help for themselves, a friend or family member.” The NCADD estimates that there are more than 23 million people in the United States who are addicted to alcohol and other drugs. “That’s almost 10 percent of the population,” Lindsey pointed out. And while Starr’s death made headlines, as the seemingly endless relapses of other celebrities do as well, he’s quick to illustrate the growing picture of treatment. “It’s equally important to highlight the fact that we estimate that maybe 20 million individuals and family members are living lives in recovery today.” The history of Alice in Chains is unfortunately tied to drugs, specifically heroin, in many ways. The group wrote several songs about it and regularly disappeared from the limelight while singer Layne Staley battled his demons . He eventually died of an overdose of heroin and cocaine in 2002 while living as a virtual recluse. Starr had been gone from the group for nearly two decades already, reportedly fired for his inability to manage his own drug habits. In more recent years, he seemed to be doing well on “Celebrity Rehab” and “Sober House.” He was living in Salt Lake City, Utah, and reportedly making music with Days of the New when he was arrested on suspicion of drug possession during a traffic stop last month. TMZ reported on Wednesday that Starr had been mixing methadone and anxiety medication just hours before his death, according to his roommate. The report maintains that Starr was using the drugs as part of his effort to stay clean and had been “doing a pretty good job.” “In terms of recovery, for most that are successful, it starts with abstaining completely from the use of alcohol or other drugs,” countered Lindsey. “At the same time, we certainly have had some experience that in some cases some medications can be very helpful in people’s recovery. But it needs, absolutely, to be managed by a physician who is both specifically trained, experienced and certified in addiction medicine. This is not something that can or should be done by the individual or done with a physician who is not certified in addiction medicine.” So what separates someone like Starr from rockers like Keith Richards or Lemmy from Mot
Maybe instead of soliciting advice from Judd Apatow , this year’s Academy Award co-host (and new Twitter user ) James Franco should be asking an actual former Oscar host for advice. Like Chris Rock, who in a new interview admitted that he almost got into a fight because of his stage material. Fortunately, Courtney Love was there to save him.
“It was one of the most magical times ever,” recalls Anthony Kiedis of the 1980s Los Angeles punk scene that gave birth to bands like his Red Hot Chili Peppers amidst a haze of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. But for indie rock icon Bob Forrest, lead singer of the post-punk band Thelonious Monster, the freely available substances that liberated the scene also sent him into a spiraling drug dependency that ruined his career. After years of battling his demons, Forrest became a renowned drug counselor helping others, and his struggle formed the basis of the documentary Bob and the Monster .
