Salon.com > Pop http://www.salon.com Mon, 20 May 2013 02:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Opening statements set for Jackson civil trial http://www.salon.com/2013/04/29/opening_statement_set_for_jackson_civil_trial_ap/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/29/opening_statement_set_for_jackson_civil_trial_ap/#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:43:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13284520 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson's mother's allegations that the company promoting his comeback failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted in his death are at the center of a civil trial opening Monday.

Jurors will listen to remarks from attorneys who hope to frame the issues before testimony begins in the months-long trial.

Lawyers for concert giant AEG Live contend the company did nothing wrong and could not have foreseen the circumstances that led to Jackson's death in June 2009 at age 50.

The case will focus on the last few months of Jackson's life and his overall health and financial history. Jurors will also hear evidence throughout the case about Conrad Murray, the former cardiologist convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter after giving him doses of the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid.

Millions, and possibly billions, of dollars are at stake. Any award in the case will be determined by a jury of six men and six women who have agreed to hear the case, which may last 90 trial days.

Lawyers for Katherine Jackson and the singer's three children have said AEG failed to spot red flags about Murray's finances and created a conflict of interest for him between a major payday and maintaining the superstar's health.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/29/opening_statement_set_for_jackson_civil_trial_ap/feed/ 3 Was an ex-girlfriend trying to out Whitney Houston? http://www.salon.com/2013/03/05/whitney_houston_had_even_more_drama_than_we_knew/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/05/whitney_houston_had_even_more_drama_than_we_knew/#comments Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:55:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13218954 As if it weren't enough that she had an overbearing mother who shooed away her best friend (and possible girlfriend), an erratic husband, and an out-of-control drug problem, the troubled late singer Whitney Houston was also battling a crazed fan and a blackmail plot that threatened to expose personal details about her private life, it was revealed on Monday, when the FBI released and posted 128 pages from its file.

The FBI file on the cases — which were opened at the pinnacle of the Grammy winner's career — was released through a Freedom of Information Act request, reports Reuters, documenting over a decade's worth of threats against the singer, from 1988 to 1999. The pages, however, are so heavily redacted — names and details — that they're nearly inscrutable.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/05/whitney_houston_had_even_more_drama_than_we_knew/feed/ 5 WATCH: New David Bowie video “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” http://www.salon.com/2013/02/26/watch_new_david_bowie_video_the_stars_are_out_tonight/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/26/watch_new_david_bowie_video_the_stars_are_out_tonight/#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:56:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13212238 They may look alike and perhaps you've never seen the two in the same place at the same time until now, but androgynous doppelgängers David Bowie and actress Tilda Swinton appear together in the glam-rock icon's latest video, "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)," the second track to be released in advance of his long-anticipated album, "The Next Day," which comes out on March 12. (This joint appearance of Bowie and Swinton, reports The Guardian, is bad news for the bloggers at  Tilda Stardust, exploding their theory that the two are in fact the same person. Alas.) Early reviews, which so far have only appeared in the U.K., are resoundingly positive, praising Bowie's brave introspection and reflection on his past — musical and lyrical allusions to his Ziggy Stardust and Berlin years — and his dystopic view of the future.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/26/watch_new_david_bowie_video_the_stars_are_out_tonight/feed/ 2 Forty years later, Garfunkel is still bitter after all these years http://www.salon.com/2013/02/12/forty_years_later_garfunkel_explains_troubled_waters_with_simon/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/12/forty_years_later_garfunkel_explains_troubled_waters_with_simon/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:15:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13198488 Art Garfunkel, 71 years old and still reeling decades later from the breakup of the musical act that made him a household name, is now saying that one of the reasons Simon & Garfunkel broke up was because of Mike Nichols' 1970 film adaptation of Joseph Heller's "Catch-22." In the late 1960s, he says, the two were cast in the film, and while Garfunkel managed to hold onto his fourth-billing role, Simon ended up on the cutting room floor, reports the Guardian.

Garfunkel was speaking at the Paley Center for Media in New York last Wednesday, as part of a screening of Charles Grodin's 1969 Simon & Garfunkel documentary "Songs of America." According to the Hollywood Reporter, both the singer and Grodin implicated Nichols. Recall that Nichols featured Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" and "Scarborough Fair" in "The Graduate," his now-iconic 1967 film that won him an Oscar for best director.

"That was the beginning of their split-up," said Grodin. "You don't take Simon & Garfunkel and ask them to be in a movie and then drop one of their roles on them."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/12/forty_years_later_garfunkel_explains_troubled_waters_with_simon/feed/ 56 Salon’s 2013 Grammy Awards liveblog http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/salons_2013_grammy_awards_liveblog/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/salons_2013_grammy_awards_liveblog/#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:55:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13195018 [liveblog id=63]

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/salons_2013_grammy_awards_liveblog/feed/ 0 The Grammy Awards: Who won? http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/the_55th_grammy_awards_the_winners/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/the_55th_grammy_awards_the_winners/#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:30:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13194823 RECORD OF THE YEAR

Lonely Boy - The Black Keys

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson

We Are Young - Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe

WINNER: Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye Featuring Kimbra

Thinkin Bout You - Frank Ocean

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift

 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

El Camino - The Black Keys

Some Nights - Fun.

WINNER: Babel - Mumford & Sons

Channel Orange - Frank Ocean

Blunderbuss - Jack White

 

SONG OF THE YEAR

The A Team - Ed Sheeran, songwriter (Ed Sheeran)

Adorn - Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)

Call Me Maybe - Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen)

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly Clarkson)

WINNER: We Are Young - Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe)

 

BEST NEW ARTIST

Alabama Shakes

WINNER: Fun.

Hunter Hayes

The Lumineers

Frank Ocean

 

BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE

WINNER: Set Fire To The Rain [live] - Adele

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/the_55th_grammy_awards_the_winners/feed/ 0 Cobain is rolling in his grave http://www.salon.com/2013/02/06/smells_like_a_bad_idea/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/06/smells_like_a_bad_idea/#comments Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:03:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13192412 O, the sacrilege!

It's hard to say who is the bigger culprit in this crime against rock humanity: ESPN magazine or the Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte. The publication released this video of its just-completed, inexplicably timed photo shoot with the megalomaniacal swimmer, whom they cast as the floating baby to re-create the iconic cover of Nirvana's best-selling 1991 album, "Nevermind." Or as Lochte puts it, "the iconic Nirvana blah-blah."

As if the concept alone isn't enough to make all of Seattle sink into the Earth with a collective, massive cringe, just wait until they hear Lochte explain why the album's imagery resonates with him. "When you look at the baby, he's definitely happy in the water. And that's what I am. Whenever I step foot in that water, I'm happy." Lochte crinkles his nose, the soundtrack in the background blaring ESPN's idea of Kurt Cobain's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"-esque guitar riffs (how many ways can they kill a dead man?). "And he's chasing after a dollar bill," Lochte continues, "so he's always on the grind."

Though the photo shoot was easy, according to the Olympian, in order to be true to his subject, he had to forgo the goggles. He hopes that, "when everyone sees it, they'll be like, 'Dang, look at that guy!' I honestly think I nailed the shot." Smells like ... oh, never mind.

 

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/06/smells_like_a_bad_idea/feed/ 11 David Bowie makes a surprising return http://www.salon.com/2013/01/08/david_bowie_makes_a_surprising_return/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/08/david_bowie_makes_a_surprising_return/#comments Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:23:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13164411 The glam-rock god has taken a break from his informal retirement — following his massive heart attack in 2003 — to release his new single, "Where Are We Now?," and announce his first new album in years, entitled "The Next Day," in March. This will be his 30th studio recording. The news comes as especially welcome relief for fans, because his self-imposed seclusion over the past decade, the cancellation of concerts, and the reissuing of his backlist, has sparked years of speculation about his health.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/08/david_bowie_makes_a_surprising_return/feed/ 2 Study: Solo rock stars die young http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/study_solo_rock_stars_die_young/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/study_solo_rock_stars_die_young/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:15:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13151665 Pacific Standard Do you dream of being a rock star? Do you hope to live a long life?

If so, you’d better start prioritizing—or, at the very least, join a band. Because from Elvis Presley to Amy Winehouse, solo pop superstars are disproportionately likely to die young (although not necessarily at age 27).

That’s one finding of a study just published in the British journal BMJ Open,which takes a close look at mortality among rock and pop icons of the past half-century. And just like the rest of us, it finds, famous musicians are more likely to die from substance abuse if they had troubled childhoods.

A team of researchers led by Mark Bellis, director of the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, looked at the mortality rates and childhood experiences of 1,489 rock and pop stars who gained fame between 1956 and 2006. Comparisons were made across the decades, and between European and American musicians.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/study_solo_rock_stars_die_young/feed/ 3 Nirvana without Kurt is not Nirvana! http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/nirvana_without_kurt_is_not_nirvana/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/nirvana_without_kurt_is_not_nirvana/#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2012 20:45:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13147201 Of all the bands that seemed ripe for reunion, Nirvana had to be near the bottom of the list: The death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 left the trio without a singer, songwriter or guitarist, and replacing him, really, was unimaginable.

And yet there were Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and touring guitarist Pat Smear, onstage at Madison Square Garden last week with substitute frontman Paul McCartney, storming through a new song called “Cut Me Some Slack” — the first time the surviving members of Nirvana had performed together in public since Cobain’s suicide. And there they were again, on “Saturday Night Live,” in what seemed more like a plug for Grohl’s upcoming documentary “Sound City,” about the beloved (defunct) Los Angeles recording studio of the same name. (“Cut Me Some Slack” is on the soundtrack, don’t you know, and — what a coincidence! — available for purchase right now.)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/nirvana_without_kurt_is_not_nirvana/feed/ 32 Ke$ha ditches the party girl act, more or less http://www.salon.com/2012/12/04/keha_ditches_the_party_girl_act_more_or_less/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/04/keha_ditches_the_party_girl_act_more_or_less/#comments Tue, 04 Dec 2012 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13113171 I recently caught a subdued cover of an old country song, "Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You," on YouTube, a song made famous by Dolly Parton when it reached No. 1 on the Billboard country singles charts in 1980. This new cover features minimal piano and percussion, and a vulnerable female vocalist, who brings deep pathos to the lyrics. The performer of this understated YouTube cover? The daughter of the song’s co-writer, Pebe Sebert, a musician better known by her blinged moniker, Ke$ha.

Certainly, the performance is a sincere tribute to her mom. But on a broader scale, the "Old Flames" cover (which appears on the new "Deconstructed" EP, which is itself a companion to the new "Warrior," Ke$ha’s second full-length album) represents a savvy bit of marketing. Both "Warrior" and "Deconstructed" aim to legitimize the 25-year-old as a pop artist on par with Lady Gaga or Pink, both of whom are respected for their talent and envelope-pushing. Although Ke$ha’s rabid fans (known as “Animals”) need no convincing about their idol’s vocal and songwriting skills, plenty of others have never gotten beyond her first hit "Tik Tok" — in which she portrayed a sloppy, debauched party denizen brushing her teeth “with a bottle of Jack” — and her don’t-give-a-fuck demeanor.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/04/keha_ditches_the_party_girl_act_more_or_less/feed/ 6 My AIDS memoir soundtrack http://www.salon.com/2012/12/01/my_aids_memoir_soundtrack/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/01/my_aids_memoir_soundtrack/#comments Sat, 01 Dec 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13110644 In the spring of 1972, the sexual culture was cracking open. David Bowie released "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust" and Lou Reed released "Transformer." Openly bisexual, the two musicians infused pop culture with a kaleidoscope of strange beauty. Along with Iggy Pop, they were an androgynous space-age force in silver lamé and black nail polish. Listening to "Ziggy Stardust" and later "Transformer" — on which Reed sang, “We’re coming out … out of our closets” — Dad was energized by the possibilities of post-Stonewall homosexuality. He didn’t see his wife and small baby girl as an impediment to sexual liberation. As the student government president at Emory University in Atlanta, he wrote a column for the student paper in which he publicly came out and urged his straight brothers and sisters to join the cause for gay rights as they had joined to fight the war. My mother supported him. Both took lovers on the side. They were living the revolution.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/01/my_aids_memoir_soundtrack/feed/ 7 Lana Del Rey, the joke’s on us http://www.salon.com/2012/11/19/lana_del_rey_the_jokes_on_us/ http://www.salon.com/2012/11/19/lana_del_rey_the_jokes_on_us/#comments Mon, 19 Nov 2012 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13073311 Andy Warhol famously remarked that the president and Liz Taylor drink the same cola as the bum on the corner: “All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good.”

On the year’s most controversial album, "Born to Die," (released in a “Paradise Edition” last week), Lana Del Rey proclaims “My pussy tastes like Pepsi Cola.” It’s not enough for 2012’s most-talked-about pop star (did people really discuss Carly Rae Jepsen?) to enjoy corporate excess or bemoan it from a human distance; she has to physically bond with it. Why carry the designer bag when you can get the logo tattooed?

Whether you find Lana’s, ahem, product placement to be appalling or novel, chances are excellent that you paused to take it in, because it’s not the sort of thing that a pop star — or any kind of celebrity really — would say. It sounds like a funny detail from a satirical dystopian novel. If you read it on the page and remove it from the funereal, laughless tone imbued by the woman formerly known as Lizzy Grant, it could be an inside joke from a yearbook quote. Suddenly it’s not weird. It’s an icebreaker from someone who, if she did nothing else in 2012, learned to smile at herself.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/11/19/lana_del_rey_the_jokes_on_us/feed/ 33 Have hip-hop’s commercial aspirations alienated its consumers? http://www.salon.com/2012/11/15/have_hip_hops_commercial_aspirations_alienated_its_consumers/ http://www.salon.com/2012/11/15/have_hip_hops_commercial_aspirations_alienated_its_consumers/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 21:57:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13060479 Eminem once rapped "My first year in 9th grade, can't forget that day at school/ it was cool till your man MC Shan came through/ And said that Puma's the brand 'cause the Klan makes Troops." He isn’t the only one who bought a pair of shoes because a rapper said it was cool. Years before, in 1986, Adidas become popular thanks to Run-DMC’s hit “My Adidas,” which was probably the first time rap music become an (accidental) commercial vehicle for a product. Nearly 20 years later, not as many rappers are spittin’ about shoes as they’re talking about more opulent things. Like the Maybach Benz. Even someone who isn’t familiar with rap has probably heard of the car, one of the most ubiquitous status symbols in rap. And because it is also the most expensive, it's become a commercial failure that will be discontinued in 2013, after a 16-year run on the market.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/11/15/have_hip_hops_commercial_aspirations_alienated_its_consumers/feed/ 5 Not Gangnam’s style: The kitsch and soul of Kim Jong-Un country http://www.salon.com/2012/11/09/radio_pyongyang_the_kitsch_and_soul_of_kim_jong_un_country/ http://www.salon.com/2012/11/09/radio_pyongyang_the_kitsch_and_soul_of_kim_jong_un_country/#comments Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:10:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13060497 I was thinking about North Korea — officially, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — as South Korean megahit “Gangnam Style” made its rounds. Culture watchers have already dissected the video, pointing out that Gangnam is the wealthiest neighborhood in Seoul, the iconic showcase of South Korea’s rise. But people haven’t said much about the literal meaning of “Gangnam.” The word means “south of the river,” more precisely the Han River that runs across Seoul like an ugly, more turgid Seine. As K-pop rapper PSY's music video suggests, the southern half of the capital is ritzier and cooler than the northern half — a sad but accurate encapsulation of the Korean peninsula itself.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/11/09/radio_pyongyang_the_kitsch_and_soul_of_kim_jong_un_country/feed/ 0 Duran Duran’s John Taylor: “I was driven to my knees!” http://www.salon.com/2012/10/16/duran_durans_john_taylor_i_didnt_have_the_off_switch/ http://www.salon.com/2012/10/16/duran_durans_john_taylor_i_didnt_have_the_off_switch/#comments Tue, 16 Oct 2012 20:09:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13041730 I've bumped into the Duran boys quite a few times over the years, but it wasn't until recently that I've managed to spend more than five minutes with any of them. In a weird twist of fate, I've gotten to know John Taylor, Duran Duran's bassist and one of its founding members, in recent years, since my wife, Frances Pennington, took a job as the head of marketing with Juicy Couture, a company started by John's wife, Gela Nash (together with Pamela Skaist).

Although Duran Duran and Tears for Fears come from different musical backgrounds — Tears for Fears, which I founded with Roland Orzabal, were from the shoe-gazer school, and Duran Duran were from the celebration school — I can honestly say that these men are some of the nicest and most genuine people I've met, which is such a rarity in the cutthroat entertainment industry. Still, when I was asked to interview John about his memoir, "In the Pleasure Groove" (Dutton), I was admittedly a little skeptical, as I thought it may turn out to be a grandiose tome about how big Duran Duran were.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/10/16/duran_durans_john_taylor_i_didnt_have_the_off_switch/feed/ 11 Justin Bieber throws up on stage, fights on http://www.salon.com/2012/09/30/justin_bieber_throws_up_on_stage_fights_on/ http://www.salon.com/2012/09/30/justin_bieber_throws_up_on_stage_fights_on/#comments Sun, 30 Sep 2012 18:59:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13026274 "Will you love me, even though I'm throwing up on stage?" Justin Bieber asked screaming fans in Glendale, Ariz. Saturday night. The star had already lost his lunch in front of the audience during one track and ran offstage during another, but heroically pushed through to finish his set.

If you would like to watch Justin Bieber throw up, the video is below, via E! Online:

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