‘By the time it comes out, I’ll almost be 21, so … I want it to be older,’ she tells MTV News of When the Sun Goes Down follow-up. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Cory Midgarden Selena Gomez Photo: MTV News Selena Gomez took a little break from music to expand her film r
Throughout the ’70s and into the first part of the ’80s, it was hard to ignore singer/songwriter/actor/sometimes talk show host and best-friend of the Muppets Paul Williams. He won Grammys and even an Oscar for hits he wrote including “We’ve Only Just Begun,”, “Rainy Days on Mondays,” “Evergreen,” “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song” and “Rainbow Connection.” Barbra Streisand, The Carpenters and even Kermit the Frog are among the artists he wrote super-hits for. Below, Paul Williams gives us his top ten movie songs of all time and dishes insight on Stephen Kessler’s documentary about him, Paul Williams Still Alive , about his raging ascent and crashing fall and return to form… Johnny Carson first brought the artist onto the Tonight Show as the swinging ’70s were just beginning. He did television, movies, concerts. If there was a group of “It-guys” in that crazy decade, Williams would surely have been a part of that cadre of people at the center of all that spectacle. But as the ’80s wore on and into the ’90s Paul Williams all but disappeared from the center of it all. Drugs and booze did him in for a while, though he came roaring back though via a less flashy route. Enter fan and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Stephen Kessler. He had long been a fan of Williams as a teen growing up in Queens, NY and his songs which he described as about “depression, loneliness and alienation,” and set out to find Williams and make a documentary. Williams said ‘yes’ but he was hardly a willing participant, at least initially, as Williams told Movieline. “By the time I decided to go along, he had spent a lot of time and a lot of money. I didn’t want to flat out say no and didn’t know how to say no.” Williams added that he thought there was nothing worse than some older famous guy trying to reach for that last bit of notoriety. Kessler is very present in the film, which goes against most documentary standards unless you’re Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock. With Williams reluctant initially to open up and only providing limited access, the story unfolds interweaving a treasure-trove of ’70s pop culture which Paul is at the center and Kessler’s desire to get at his core and open up. I’m an actor, I can ignore the camera if I want to. But it’s exhausting to try and pretend I don’t notice the camera,” said Williams. “I didn’t want to do that, it seemed ridiculous.” One thing cameras caught and the film surfaces, decades later, is footage of Williams, high, while doing late night talk shows. Now 22 years sober, it’s a painful reminder of his past life and he even said during the film that he didn’t want his daughter to see that. But he relents and said he hopes it will help others. “I became a shallow ride and my behavior was totally unacceptable. One of the best things I did was to say to keep that footage in the movie. I think by leaving in you get a sense of how bad it got,” he said. “[There is] a sense of real disappointment and leading edge of shame. In a certain context it’s hard to watch, but you get a sense that recovery works. You see the yin and yang of the whole deal and you see that now, my life is such a gift. I hope I can make a difference… I love my life. And I’m blown away by the reaction.” PAUL WILLIAM’s TOP 10 MOVIE SONGS: Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley, Blackboard Jungle (1955) Main title theme by Elmer Bernstein, The Man with a Golden Arm (1955) Lose Yourself by Eminem/Bass/Resto, 8 Mile (2002) When You Wish Upon a Star by Harline/Washington Pinnochio (1940) The Man That Got Away by Arlen /Gershwin, A Star is Born (1954) With a Song in My Heart by Rodgers/Hart, With A Song in my Heart (1954) Somewhere by Bernstein/Sondheim, West Side Story Moon River by Mancini/Mercer, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) Alfie by Bacharach/David, Alfie (2004) Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen, Philadelphia (1993) Born To Be Wild by Dennis Edmonton AKA: Mars Bonfire, Easy Rider (1969) And what are your favorites? Paul Williams Still Alive opens in NYC today. Follow Brian Brooks on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
‘I’ve played my new record for my label and will be announcing my new Album Title in September!’ Gaga tweets. By Jocelyn Vena Lady Gaga Photo: Joe Scarnici/ WireImage Wondering what Lady Gaga plans to call her next album? Well, you’re going to have to wait through the summer to find out. The singer, currently on her controversial Born This Way Tour , tweeted that she will make the announcement this fall. “Exciting news little monsters! I’ve played my new record for my label and will be announcing my new Album Title in September! X,” she wrote. Gaga has, in fact, been playing the record for her bosses and inner circle. She also revealed on Twitter that she spun the new music, her follow-up to 2011’s Born This Way, for her longtime pal Lady Starlight. And her co-manager Vincent Herbert had some of his own teases for Little Monsters in an interview he gave late last month. “[It’s] just [an] insane, great record. She’s on tour right now, but it’s just going to be a great record. Look out for the unexpected when it comes to her,” he said. “We’re doing it on the road right now, so it’s a little hard, but it’s going to be great.” Though it’s unclear how far along in the recording process she is for the release, in an interview with MTV News in December, she already had the highly anticipated album title in mind. “I’ve started writing it and I have the name for it and all the concepts are beginning to flourish and take place,” she said. “I’m excited to put it out, but it’s not done yet. So I’ll put it out when it’s done.” Her producer, Fernando Garibay, confirmed in a separate interview last year that Mother Monster would be working on the album while on tour. “I get a little bit of anxiety thinking about that right now. I wanna just always try to outdo ourselves, our songs. They’re already incredible songs. But I feel like she’s so young,” he said, adding that at the time, the record was in its early stages and that “there’s a lot of room to grow.” “The last record we made in bus stops and hotel rooms,” he said. “Wherever she’s at, we’ll make it.” Related Artists Lady Gaga
‘It all sounds ridiculous to me,’ drummer David Prowse says of the critical acclaim heaped on their second album. By James Montgomery Japandroids’ Brian King Photo: MTV News The best rock record of 2012 is not some overwrought, double-disc affair, nor was it presided over by a studio pro like Rick Rubin or Butch Vig, and it doesn’t contain a single instance of dubstep . Rather, it is an eight-song, 35-minute fist-pumper called Celebration Rock, the second (barely) full-length from Japandroids , a pair of unassuming everydudes from Vancouver. And what Celebration Rock lacks in general grandiosity, it more than makes up for in sheer sonic wallop, featuring thundering drums, rousing riffs and more top-volume “Woah-oh-ohs!” than any record in recent memory. Much like the duo that made it, the record is a brazenly blue-collar, proudly scruffy thing, a revelatory, celebratory disc that seems tailor-made for beery, cheery sing-alongs and all manner of drunken debauchery. It is meant to be played very loud, very often and very late at night. It doesn’t quit, and it never really slows down to catch its breath either. And it has, in the weeks leading up to its release, earned all manner of critical acclaim, including a Best New Music designation from Pitchfork and a recent review on Grantland that compared it to the Who’s Who’s Next, Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction, the Replacements’ Let It Be, Nirvana’s Nevermind and the White Stripes’ White Blood Cells … all in the space of a single paragraph. And if that last bit of praise seems a bit, well, unbelievable to you, you’re not alone. Not surprisingly, the guys who actually made the album are having a pretty hard time wrapping their heads around all the adoration Celebration Rock has received. “It all sounds ridiculous to me,” drummer David Prowse laughed. “I mean, come on. ” “We love all those records, and I don’t think it would be out of the realm of reality to say you could hear those influences on our record, but to compare them in a quality sense is pretty ridiculous,” guitarist/singer Brian King added. “Especially given the fact that a lot of those records weren’t hailed as masterpieces, like, the day after they came out. They had to earn their place in rock history … obviously, we’re nowhere near that yet.” Yet, they’re definitely appreciative of all the attention. After all, making Celebration Rock was a true task in every sense of the word. Burned out after two years of touring behind their debut (2009’s Post-Nothing ), Prowse and King returned home to begin work on the album, only to find, well, they had nothing left in the tank. And the situation certainly didn’t improve over the next few months. So, riddled with doubt and no record on the horizon, they decided to leave the city and head all the way across the continent, to Nashville, where they isolated themselves and decided to make an album that would give them an excuse to head back out on the road. “I think, in general, the first record was about being stationary and not wanting to be stationary, and this record is actually about being on the move and liking being on the move,” King explained. “When we wrote the first one, we were just a local band. We had never been on tour, we had no fans, so you’re just kind of writing the songs for yourselves, for fun. But having played a couple hundred shows in between writing this one, you now have a brand-new thing to take into account when you sit down to write a song. You have an audience, you play shows every night, you know when you play songs what works and what doesn’t. And you can apply that to the songwriting process. “And having played all those shows, we’ve known what songs garnered the kind of reaction that we wanted,” he continued. “And it was sort of like, ‘Let’s just write a whole album of those kind of songs, so when we play a set, instead of it being kind of like peaks and valleys of energy and excitement, it’s just one big peak the whole time we play.’ ” So far, Japandroids have basically done nothing but play the songs on Celebration Rock, and the end result has been shows that match the album’s exhilarating scope — “On a good night, it’s just a big, sweaty mess,” Prowse laughed — and they’ll remain on the road until the end of the summer. And then, perhaps, they’ll actually take a minute to bask in their accomplishments, and prepare themselves for the album’s inevitable conclusion on year-end “best of” lists. But then again, maybe they won’t. “Maybe when all the touring is done, we’ll enjoy it. Everything has been happening so fast, and when we’re on tour, the focus is on the shows, and everything else goes right through you,” King said. “It’s only when you get an extended break, you get a chance to breathe … and you can kind of take a load off and let it sink in. But even then, you know, we probably still won’t believe it.” Related Artists Japandroids
Detainees at Guantanamo Bay subjected to Sesame Street music for days on end in efforts to break their will, according to an Al Jazeera documentary. In the film, called “Songs of War,” detainees at the U.S. Naval base have been forced to wear headphones blaring Sesame Street music on repeat. All in the name of messing with them so badly that they’ll talk. Al Jazeera World – Songs of War The award-winning Sesame Street composer Christopher Cerf (2:00 mark above) tells Al Jazeera, “My first reaction was ‘this just can’t possibly be true.'” “I didn’t care for the idea that I was helping break down prisoners, but it was much worse when I heard later that they were actually using the music in Guantanamo for long-term interrogations and obviously to inflict pain on prisoners so they would talk.” Wow. Elmo can get a little annoying after awhile, but really? Note to CIA operatives: LFO’s “Summer Girls” would work a lot better, or anything by that rumored hermaphrodite Lady Gaga . The extremists HATE her.
The mother of an 8-year-old girl presented with a “Catastrophe Award” for the best/most excuses for not doing homework believes her child was humiliated by her teacher. Christina Valdez said her daughter, Cassandra Garcia, came home one day from class at Desert Springs Academy in Tucson, Ariz., with the paper award. The document, which looks like a colorful card, says: “You’re Tops! Catastrophe Award . Awarded to Cassandra Garcia. For Most Excuses for Not Having Homework!” The teacher signed and dated the card, which included a smiley face. Eight-Year-Old Wins ‘Catastrophe Award’ The teacher announced the award in front of Garcia’s entire third grade class, while other students laughed at her daughter, Valdez told KGUN-TV in Tucson. When she called to complain, the principal “blew me off,” Valdez added. “She said it was a joke that was played and that the teachers joke around with the children.” Valdez told KGUN that she didn’t find any of it funny. “I think it’s cruel and no child should be given an award like this. It’s disturbing,” she said, adding that she was unaware of any problem with homework.
Jenelle Evans just got engaged to Gary Head , and already, rumors are flying that the Teen Mom terror may expecting a second child she has no interest in. The Oak Island, N.C., product has “put on 20 lbs. recently,” according to a source because she is pregnant with another baby … supposedly. Allegedly. Hey, at least she’s in a “stable” relationship at this point. Her engagement to Gary Head has already lasted two whole weeks, beating analyst expectations. Is she actually pregnant though? We doubt it. It’s just hearsay. Still, “she’s so irresponsible, it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s pregnant,” says an insider. “But for her to want another child would be crazy, because it doesn’t seem to bother her at all that she doesn’t have custody of [2-year-old son] Jace.” Who said anything about wanting one? Anyway, baby or not, Gary is stoked he gets to see Jenelle Evans nude for the rest of his life, or at least until their engagement ends this summer. “She just broke up with Kieffer [Delp] a week before the engagement and immediately got back with Gary,” the insider explains. “Gary is thrilled, because he had asked her to marry him before and she said no. I guess she changed her mind.” Guess so.
Demi Lovato is currently judging X Factor auditions and will kick off a summer tour on June 12 in Del Mar, California. In other words: she’s very busy these days. But give the singer about a decade and she’ll be ready to settle down. “I want to be married with kids in 10 years,” Lovato tells the latest issue of Cosmopolitan , which is apparently all about sex and nudity for a change. With what kind of man will Lovato end up? She can’t say for certain, of course, but she does dish on one deal breaker:’ “I know one quality I won’t tolerate: I would never be with a guy who is controlling.” That point of view has to do with the problems has Lovato encountered throughout her teenage years, issues related to depression and eating disorders. She tells Cosmo she felt “relieved” when she was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 2010. “I felt relieved when I found out. Like I’m not completely crazy; there’s a medical reason for all of it. It’s a daily thing; you don’t get time off from it. And if I feel myself slipping back into old patterns, I have to ask others for help, which is hard for me to learn, because I really like doing everything on my own.”
The title of Justin Bieber’s latest single is ” Die in Your Arms .” Now we can only hope this won’t be the singer’s fate as he tries to navigate his way through the streets of Norway. Bieber is in Oslo to perform four songs outside that city’s famous opera house – as part of Justin Bieber: All Around the World , a special that airs June 21 on NBC – but crazed followers from around Europe have created a positively chaotic scene that has led police to nearly declare a state of emergency. Justin Bieber Fans Flip Out in Norway With Justin in a secret, secure location, authorities are urging him to hurry up and take the stage so they can then clear the streets – but so far the Biebs has simply responded to the mass hysteria via a Tweet that reads: “…for the show to happen u must all listen to the police. we are all concerned for your safety and i want what is best for u. please listen.” This is far from the first time that overly enthusiastic Justin Bieber fans have caused violent problems. Heck, fans in New Zealand once trampled his mom ! Seriously, people, try to relax. His hair isn’t that adorable.
The title of Justin Bieber’s latest single is ” Die in Your Arms .” Now we can only hope this won’t be the singer’s fate as he tries to navigate his way through the streets of Norway. Bieber is in Oslo to perform four songs outside that city’s famous opera house – as part of Justin Bieber: All Around the World , a special that airs June 21 on NBC – but crazed followers from around Europe have created a positively chaotic scene that has led police to nearly declare a state of emergency. Justin Bieber Fans Flip Out in Norway With Justin in a secret, secure location, authorities are urging him to hurry up and take the stage so they can then clear the streets – but so far the Biebs has simply responded to the mass hysteria via a Tweet that reads: “…for the show to happen u must all listen to the police. we are all concerned for your safety and i want what is best for u. please listen.” This is far from the first time that overly enthusiastic Justin Bieber fans have caused violent problems. Heck, fans in New Zealand once trampled his mom ! Seriously, people, try to relax. His hair isn’t that adorable.
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