From the three albums planned for this fall/winter to the two corresponding band documentaries, one just isn’t enough for Billie Joe Armstrong and Co.: “Filmmakers Tim Lynch, a producer of Green Day: Bullet in a Bible , and Tim Wheeler, a co-producer and editor of The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights , are creating a documentary on the making of the three albums, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tre! A second documentary is being created from vintage footage from their pre- Dookie days. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong tells Billboard.biz that ‘the two Tims’ have shot the band performing in clubs, rehearsing and recording over the last year and a half. ‘It’s not going to be the sitting down, head shot of me going “we started out blah blah blah,”‘ Armstrong says. ‘We wanted to get into lifestyles of rock’n’roll and playing rock’n’roll and letting the story kind of tell itself rather than create revisionist (history).'” Sundance premieres are planned, naturally. [ Billboard via The Film Stage ]
Say what you will about Michael Jackson. He was the self-anointed King of Pop, but legions of fans around the world were his willing subjects for decades, crossing generations. So there is at least a reasonable in-house audience just itching for more about the moon-walker and Spike Lee is just the man to deliver. Lee and Jackson were friends in life and the filmmaker, whose Red Hook Summer opens next month, is working on a documentary tied to the 25th anniversary of the release of Jackson’s Bad album. And Lee has apparently come across a lot of material for the film-in-progress. He told the A.P. it’s a “treasure chest of findings” including footage the star shot himself from behind-the-scenes. “We had complete access to the vaults of Michael Jackson,” Lee said. “He wrote 60 demos for the Bad record. Only 11 made it. So we got to hear a lot of that stuff, too, so it was just a great experience.” Still untitled, Lee said that the film will be appealing to those who are not Michael Jackson fans. The doc will also show a personal side of the pop legend. “He had a great sense of humor and he was funny,” said Lee who interviewed Kanye West and Mariah Carey for the film. He also spoke to Sheryl Crow who was a background singer during Jackson’s Bad tour. “We really divided it into two things: Artists today who were influenced by Michael and then people who worked side by side…” Loyalists and new converts have been gobbling up Michael Jackson’s music since his death in 2009 at age 50 and the powers-that-be are very happy to oblige. The follow-up to the singer’s Thriller album, Bad includes hits “Smooth Criminal” and “The Way You Make Me Feel.” It will be re-released with additional tracks, a DVD and other goodies September 18th. Jackson would have turned 54 on August 29th. [Source: A.P. ]
This is hot tip came in last night, but I was too busy trying to rip my eyes out of my head after seeing a horrible movie I can’t believe ever got made, then drinking my pain away, because I am easily affected by things like this…it must be my autism… Her name is Lene Nystrøm and she’s the singer from Aqua, the worst band to pollute my brain in the early 2000s and she’s in a Danish mag that only hits stores thursday and she’s going to be naked in it…because that’s what you do when you’ve fallen off….and the dude who sent it in was supposed to send in the other nudes but he hasn’t yet….but you can get a taste of her bush and implants….which may be something you’ve been waiting for since jerking off to Barbie Girl…
After a week and a day of waiting, the second part of the America’s Got Talent quarterfinals arrived with a bit of a whimper. There were only five strong acts overall, while a majority were clearly not prepared for the big stage. But let’s give them all a grade anyway, shall we? LionDanceMe – There was an awkward fall in the practice but the group performed a clean act. The routine still looked like a lot of the same. I’m not discrediting that jumping on small posts takes talent and accuracy; there should be more. Grade: B- Turf – I would have been more impressed if the producers had the endless camera as he was performing during the whole routine instead of just during one section. The moves continued to be great, the only problem was when he casually walked from the side of the stage to the center. I agree with Sharon that there needs to step up, I’m not sure if that means better dancers or better pants. Grade: B+ The All Ways – They took a chance with “Telephone” and I got to say that their version doesn’t work for me. Both “Rolling in the Deep” and “Fighter,” their previous songs, had a better sound. It was the rock undertones to the prior songs. The lead singer this time sounded out of his league. If they went down half a step then it would have helped a lot. Grade: C+ Hawley Magic (pictured)- The act seemed pretty standard: place a woman on a pole and “magically” float her around. There’s a few magic based waving and stabbing of the partner. After the “Floating Wife” act from the Vegas round, this illusion was okay, but a bit too old school for me. Grade: B- Lisa Clark Dancers – Whoever decided to give the group Jedward hair did a disservice to them. The act felt like a recital even though the group’s movements were clean. The bubble popping sound effect in the song threw me off. I was shocked that only Howie buzzed the group, they didn’t deserve to finish their whole routine. The girl saying “America loved it” was wrong. Grade: D- Aurora Light Painters – They claim to be doing “something different” by doing a “Monsters under the bed” theme. The setup of the bed and the sleeping girl was interesting. The eyes took a bit too long to load. The balloon eyes at the end didn’t work. Aurora was original, but this time I didn’t get it. I liked the mermaid and the more spaced out themes, but the monster theme didn’t work. They lacked pizazz. Grade: D Danielle Stallings – I give Danielle credit for singing with braces without her lips being ripped off. She chose “It Will Rain” and she had fear in her voice. She didn’t have her breath right and she didn’t have the attack on her high notes. The song choice threw me off the most. On a night of crappy acts, she stood out. Grade: B Donovan & Rebecca – The act started off pretty simplistically with a swing, until Donovan got on and was hanging. There was something ironic about choosing a song about “laying” and flying on stage. There was something special about watching the degree of trust from the couple and the final trick was both dangerous and beautiful to watch. Grade: A Big Barry – Big Barry was given a package that emphasized his short stature. He sang “Feeling Good” and immediately Howard buzzed him; Sharon followed. A modeling runway show didn’t help. He ended up getting sympathy claps. Watching Nick lift him up was the funniest part. Grade: D- Tom Cotter – After 25 years, Tom still needed his breakthrough; he emphasized having a lot of laughs per minute. He tried a “break a leg” joke and then decided to analyze other phrases. Some jokes like the “party pooper” worked while “bend your ear” didn’t. The fact that he went so rapid-fire with the jokes covered the weaker ones. Grade: A Ben Blaque – The adventure junkie started over the judges’ table, but it was such a huge balloon that it wasn’t an issue. While the rose was a nice middle section, he spent way too much time setting up his 4x crossbow and his balloons grew in size from his practice shot where he missed two normal-sized balloons. Grade: B+ Tim Hockenberry – The traveling singer/rehab survivor has a great story even though he sounds a lot like Michael Grimm. He decided to pick an anti-Joe Cocker artist: Katy Perry. His take on “Part of Me” was interesting, but now he sounded like Michael Bolton. Grade: B+ Of the acts I can see Donovan & Rebecca and Tom Cotter automatically making it through. The final two spots could be between Tim Hockenberry, Ben Blaque, Turf or Danielle Stallings depending on how America judges danger and bone-breaking. If they can’t stand either, Danielle and Tim would grab votes.
Finally, it was all about the music for Frank Ocean this week. Following the artist’s much- publicized gay admission – which was followed mostly by notes of support, most recently from Beyonce – Ocean left the controversy behind this week on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon … and he simply killed it. With his first-ever solo album, “Channel Orange,” available in hard copy on July 17, the singer gave fans a taste with the following rendition of “Bad Religion.” It marked his debut television performance. Give it a look and give it a listen now. What do you think?
Singer performed ‘Bad Religion’ with male pronouns a week after big revelation about his sexuality. By Gil Kaufman Frank Ocean on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” Photo: NBC
Seal is tryin’ something new… Via TMZ reports : Seal’s officially done mourning the death of his marriage to Heidi Klum … ’cause the singer has moved on to a smokin’ hot brunette who looks damn good in a bikini … and TMZ has the pics. Just 3 months after Heidi filed for divorce, an extra-sweaty Seal was spotted on a yacht in Italy this week … gettin’ all kissy kissy with a mystery babe after a quick workout session on the deck. There was cuddling … there was smiling … but there was no sign of Seal’s wedding ring. TMZ broke the story, Heidi decided to break off the marriage because she got sick of Seal’s explosive temper. The couple later released a joint statement saying they had simply “grown apart.” Looks like brunettes do it better. Sorry, Heidi.
Industry experts weigh in on whether the hip-hop community will accept the singer following his admission about his sexuality. By Rob Markman Frank Ocean Photo: Getty Images
