Michael Jackson’s posthumous concert-rehearsal documentary This Is It had an OK opening weekend here in the United States—it was the highest-grossing movie from Friday to Sunday, although the $21.3 million it pulled in was below expectations. (It’s raked in $32.5 million here since opening on Wednesday—way lower than the $250-million-in-five-days figure that concert promoter AEG Live had touted in the run-up to the movie.) Over the weekend, This Is It distributor Sony Pictures announced that it had decided to keep the movie in theaters for longer than its initial two-week run, spinning the move as such: MORE »
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cunning stunts
This Isn’t It After All: Michael Jackson Will Be At Your Movie House For Thanksgiving
cunning stunts
Cox Flips The Athens Dial To “Obama Radio”: Well, It’s Better Than “The Pole”
So a station in Athens, Ga., has celebrated “April Fool Plus Six Months Day” by switching from its classic-rock format to “Obama 100.1 Athens Government Controlled Radio,” in a bit of jokey-not-funny programming that’s reminiscent of that awful “Stripper Radio” switch that took place in Denver a few months ago. As you can tell by the picture taken from the site at left, which refers to Obama as Keith Urban, this little prank was not very well-thought-out, and as such is probably temporary. Which is kind of a shame, because the playlist—which they’re mixing with speeches by President Barack Obama and segments that are allegedly simulcast from the Cox-owned Hawaiian station KCCN—is pretty awesome, even if it was probably concocted by a bunch of snickering frat boys who think “Disco sucks” is still a good comedy line. MORE »
cunning stunts
Lil Mama’s Run-In: The Stage Crash That Didn’t Make Anyone Forget About Kanye
Hey, did you hear about that hip-hop artist who showed up on stage unannounced at last night’s VMAs? No, not Kanye West, the other one. Lip-gloss aficionado/MTV dance competition judge Lil Mama also made herself an unwelcome presence on the Video Music Awards’ stage, joining Jay-Z and Alicia Keys as they closed out the show with “Empire State Of Mind.” As the song ended, she got up on stage and, after fruitlessly trying to get Jay’s attention, just sort of stood there. Video after the jump, at around the five-minute mark. MORE »
cunning stunts
Five Reasons Why Jay-Z’s Attendance At Yesterday’s Grizzly Bear Show Wasn’t All That Surprising
Yesterday, the harmonizing, indie-kid-beloved Brooklyn band Grizzly Bear played an outdoor show on its home borough’s waterfront, and at around 6 p.m. Twitter lit up with news from the show—not about the band’s performance, mind you, but about the appearance of Jay-Z and his lady Beyonce in the crowd, as documented by the above blurry cameraphone shot. Reactions included “!!!” and “OMG” and “Dammit!”, but honestly, why were people surprised? Five reasons why you all should have seen this coming after the jump. MORE »
cunning stunts
Another fun thing to read: The comments on Chuck Eddy’s post envisioning an alternate Woodstock, in which a bunch of artists on the bill are swapped out for Eddy-preferred alternatives (sample trades: Loretta Lynn for Joan Baez; Jackson 5 for CSN&Y). Tucked among the “ARE U CRAZY” and “WITHOUT THE MAGIC OF ALL THOSE ARTISTS IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN WOODSTOCK!!” rantings of Boomers who don’t want to “alter” anything (uh, except the chemical composition of their brains?) is my favorite line: “If this guy wants to change history, let him work on my first marriage.” Oh, zing. [Rhapsody; HT @nedraggett] MORE »
cunning stunts
The “Lady GaGa Is A Hermaphrodite” Rumor Is A Sign That We’re All Just Doomed
Like the Timex Social Club, I spend a lot of time lamenting the rumors that surround me every day. How do they get started? And where do they get crazy? In Truthmonger, I’ll try to suss out the kernels of truth in the rumors that are taking up airspace in gossip columns, blogs, and our tips inbox.
THE RUMOR: OMG, you guys! Lady GaGa has a penis!
TRUTH THRESHOLD: Oh, why don’t you just guess. MORE »
cunning stunts
Mariah Carey’s Lambs Will Not Remain Silent In The Face Of Their Heroine Maybe Flopping
Mariah Carey’s comeback single “Obsessed” has stalled on the charts after two weeks thanks to soft demand from digital-singles buyers. And this fact is not sitting well with her “lambs,” a.k.a. her biggest fans. So what are they going to do? How about holding a good old fundraiser—with some people ponying up as much as 80 smackers—so multiple copies of “Obsessed” can be bought, and Mimi can be restored to her rightful position on the charts. MORE »
cunning stunts
Get Ready For Another Miley Cyrus Photo Shoot-Related Controversy
Even though Elle is ostensibly a magazine for adult women, 16-year-old Miley Cyrus is on the cover of its August 2009 issue. Perhaps the editors at Elle wanted to provide its readers over drinking age some mirth in these tough times by showcasing Cyrus’ ability to say things like “Because, like, literally this is going to be good for, like, Middle America, and it will be great for kids that really want to be in fashion but that don’t have it available” about her upcoming Wal-Mart clothing line, and produce those quotes while wearing a straight face? Or (more likely) maybe they just wanted to bask in the glow of controversy-stoked publicity from Cyrus’ photo shoot, which—like Annie Liebovitz’s Vanity Fair pictorial from a few months back—places the Disney star in some age-forward outfits and positions, like the bustier she’s wearing on the issue’s cover? MORE »
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Confide’s Postal Service Cover Proves That Taunting Indie Kids Still Makes For Great Publicity
“The Worst Band, Worst Song of 2009?” the music-aggregation site The Daily Swarm wondered about the Christian scream-core outfit Confide and their new single “Such Great Heights,” which is a cover of the bubbly, UPS-approved single released by indie-blip outfit the Postal Service a few years back. The song starts off as a pretty straight cover, but then the vocals kick in and, well… let’s just say that lead singer Ross Kenyon’s style of singing was definitely not influenced by Ben Gibbard. Clip after the jump. MORE »
cunning stunts
Adam Lambert Fans Get Faked Out By An Old New Song Of His
Sure, Adam Lambert might have only signed with American Idol stud farm 19 Entertainment a few weeks ago, but his debut album is apparently coming out… soon? Well, no, not exactly. On With The Show, which is set for release later this summer, is indeed a collection of recordings by Lambert. But the 11-song album is a semi-unauthorized collection of material the theatrical Idol runner-up recorded in the middle of this decade, way before he had his Ecstasy-fueled Burning Man epiphany that led him into millions of American homes. Those technicalities aren’t stopping Wilshire Recordings, which is putting the album out in conjunction with Hi Fi Recordings, from releasing the first single from the album tomorrow–and letting people know via press release that Lambert actually had a hand in writing eight of the 11 songs on the disc. Can you picture Adam writing something like the super-inspirational “Want,” which is located after the jump? MORE »
