PopSugar

Damon Albarn's A Blur On His Bike

PopSugarUK — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Damon Albarn was spotted out and about on his bike in London yesterday, cycling up on the pavement, with a rather girly looking bag slung over a shoulder. Damon played DJ on Radio One earlier this month, taking over for Zane Lowe while he's on holiday, and took the opportunity to play three new Gorillaz songs - "Electric Shock", "Broken" and "Binge". He also played a ten minute extract of Blur's John Peel's Peel Acres session from 1997, and talked about the upcoming Blur reunion he said, "I'm going to have to work hard to get back to that standard." I'm so excited about it!

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Buzz News Roundup, 11/14

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:42:14 -0800

Variety has news on the sequel to the Thomas Crown Affair, which will again star Pierce Brosnan, though Rene Russo will not reprise her role.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Steven Spielberg will receive the Cecil B. DeMille award at this year's Golden Globes, while Rumer Willis has been named Miss Golden Globe.
ComingSoon reports that Kate Bush will write a song titled "Lyra" for the closing credits of The Golden Compass.
Jay-Z jumped over the Eagles and Britney to obtain the No. 1 spot with his American Gangster album, writes Billboard.
Variety reports that Jada Pinkett Smith will be making her directorial debut with the drama The Human Contract, which she also wrote.
Speaking of Star Trek today, according to ComingSoon, two more have joined the JJ Abrams project: Chris Hemsworth and Clifton Collins Jr.
According to NME, there will soon be a Gorillaz documentary called - what else? - Bananaz.
Rosemary's Baby writer Ira Levin has died at age 78, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
Bravo is planning a Top Chef holiday special; what few details there are can be found at The Futon Critic.

Damon Talks of Tuneful Travels

PopSugarUK — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Damon Albarn - of Blur, Gorillaz and The Good The Bad and The Queen - has spoken to Paste magazine this month about his world travels and the musical inspiration he's gleaned on his journeys. Here's a few excerpts from his interview:

On our new eating habits in the UK: “Do you know we’re eating squirrels in England? It’s become a new lean-meat sensation.”
On his travels to write Monkey: Journey to the West, the score he wrote for the Chinese opera: “We heard a lot of tribal music up in the mountains, where these people get out their blades of grass and start playing these strange and ancient grass-generated tunes. It felt very organic.”
On recording with a team of Chinese musicians and keeping it traditional: “I was looking at a five-point star and I put the notes of the pentatonic to each point on the star. I had this great image of stars rotating. It was a very simple music system that could alleviate some of the anxiety of pastiching it.”
On payoffs: “Sometimes you hit the ball true, and you do really well. It’s like, what do you do at that point? What do you do when you make money? It’s all compost. Money should be compost.”
On the world music section of record stores: “World music. I don’t subscribe to that. It’s all music. It’s a very bad tagline because it does suggest that we’re somehow living on a different planet.”

The new issue of Paste magazine - featuring Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward on the cover - is out now, and you can read the rest of Damon's interview in there!

Claudia and Couples Quaff Champagne

PopSugarUK — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:00:00 -0800

Claudia Schiffer was the hostess with the most-ess in her Christian Dior dress and Louboutin heels at the Dom Pérignon Party at The Landau yesterday. Her face was plastered all over the walls of the swanky restaurant, as the Karl Lagerfeld shots of the supermodel play a key part in the campaign. Celebrity couples - including Billy Zane and Kelly Brook, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Richard Jones, and Nicky Clarke and Kelly Hoppen - were out in force for the launch of the latest Dom Pérignon vintage. They were treated to glasses of the vintage champagne and music from The Gorillaz. Sounds like a very civilised evening to me. Bottoms Up guys!

For more photos of Claudia and the happy couples, just read more

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Images include: Claudia Schiffer, Billy Zane, Kelly Brook, Nicky Clarke, Kelly Hoppen, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Richard Jones

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P.L.O.W. - It's all About the Stars

FitSugar — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 03:00:00 -0700

There's nothing like looking up at an endless summer sky, gazing at the stars and hoping for a meteorite to blaze on by.

When I'm taking an evening stroll with my dog, or looking up from my sleeping bag, I always feel a sense of crisp serenity and peace like nothing else.

This play list is a tribute to those nights...

"Lucky Star" - Madonna, 5:37
"Vincent (Starry Starry Night)" - Don Mclean, 4:03
"Star" - Erasure, 3:38
"Summer Nights" - from Grease,
"Star" - Bryan Adams, 3:42
"Shining Star" - Earth, Wind & Fire, 2:50
"Lonestar" - Norah Jones, 3:06
"Starshine" - Gorillaz, 3:31
"Star" - David Bowie, 2:46
"Good Morning Starshine" - Oliver, 3:38
"Stars" - Alison Krauss, 2:54
"Stars Fell on Alabama" - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, 3:36
"Starlight" - The Wailin' Jennys, 4:43

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Confessions of a Reformed Vegetarian

YumSugar — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 10:33:12 -0800

Maybe this post is going to be of no interest to anyone else, but I have to share it anyway.

Throughout my college years, I was a die-hard Blur fan (Damon Albarn of Gorillaz fame's other band) and I am no stranger to bassist Alex James' wacky wits. He's now living the country life in England and has recently published a story on why, after 17 years, he's "given vegetarianism the chop."

Chopping up my first lamb stayed vividly on my mind for a few days. The anatomy of a sheep is pretty similar to our own, really. I couldn't scratch my ribs without the image of that immaculate carcass springing to mind. I thought about it involuntarily as I lay in bed at night. But, boy, those chump chops were good.

I was a vegetarian for about 17 years. Now here I am, butchering and eating one of my own lambs.

How could a vegetarian of 17 years talk so effortlessly about slaughtering lambs? To find out, read more

Turns out he bought a farm, rented the land out to sheep farmers, had a problem with birds taking over and was forced to do something about it.

Killing rooks [crow like birds] is not nice at all. There are no neat boxes for exterminating them; shotguns are the only thing that work and it's a pretty medieval and messy business, which I don't enjoy.

But I felt I was acting for the greater good. It was a hard decision for a vegetarian to make, and the moment I made that decision was the moment I became a farmer.

So there you have it, 17 years of vegetarianism can be undone by a gang of wild birds.

James' entire essay is lengthy, but goes into a lot of detail about his own country house experiences, as well as UK agriculture and farming practices. Even if you don't know (or care) who Alex James is, it's still a pretty interesting read.

Come Party With Me: New Year's Eve - Music

YumSugar — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:02:08 -0800

The day of a party is always packed with excitement and millions of last minute details to complete. Once the candles are lit, the drinks on ice, and the party outfit gracefully draping your body, the last thing to do is to turn on the tunes. Music is a vital component to any party and like everything else involving your event (the invitations, the menu, the decorations), you should plan ahead. Lucky for me (and you!) I asked BuzzSugar to help me come up with a play list for my New Year's Eve bash. To see her picks and my tips, read more

When I began to think about hosting this party I asked BuzzSugar if she had any suggestions for a playlist. Since she is so incredibly nice, she offered to come up with an entire playlist of songs.

Good Weekend - Art Brut
New Years Eve - The Walkmen
Where It's At - Beck
Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz
Kiss - Prince
Portions for Foxes - Rilo Kiley
Use It - New Pornographers
Good Rockin Tonight - Elvis
Midnight Show - The Killers
Wild Night - Van Morrison
This Will Be Our Year - The Zombies
It Hurts to See You Dance So Well - The Pipettes

Along with her list, I plan on mixing good dancing music, both old and new (Kylie Minogue, Beyonce, Nelly Furtado) with a little rock (RHCP, Coldplay, the Killers), rap (Jay-Z, Akon), and Latino (Paulina, Mana). Ultimately, it's your party so play what you want to listen to. Remember to keep it upbeat and to vary the type of music you play. Plan a couple of hours worth of songs to avoid repeats throughout the night.

Know a song I forgot to add to the playlist? Tell me about it below so I can be sure to bump it at my party!

Get Ready for The Grammy's

PopSugar — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 07:01:57 -0800

I'm not usually that excited for the Grammy's but all the hype this year has definitely intrigued me. USA Today reports that there are so many performers that they may have to skip the actual awards just to fit it all in. It's basically going to be a concert with lots of combined performances. Here's more:

Creative combos, which are now a Grammy signature, include U2 and Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z and Linkin Park, Faith Hill and Keith Urban, and Mariah Carey with a full choir (her five octaves aren't enough?). Then there's Madonna joining animated band Gorillaz in what Recording Academy president Neil Portnow calls "one of the most complicated production numbers we've ever undertaken."

Also on tap are an all-star New Orleans jam and a tribute to Sly and the Family Stone featuring Maroon 5, Joss Stone, John Legend and possibly the reclusive Sly Stone himself, who is not confirmed. Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen (with a surprise guest) and Coldplay are on the bill, and the grapevine is abuzz over a rumored Cream appearance.

Check out some of the gang at rehearsals.

Lots more pics so read more

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Grammy's goes 3D

PopSugar — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 08:17:35 -0800

Grammy's goes 3D
Madonna will sing with the Gorillaz, who will be appearing in 3-D animated color. So does this mean Madonna gets the stage to herself?

Madonna Loves America

PopSugar — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 07:11:17 -0800

People may think that fake British accent of her makes her love England more than her home country but NO WAY. Madonna has chosen to perform at the Grammy's instead of The Brit Awards.

Not only will she be the openning act at the Grammy's but it will be a collaboration with the Gorillaz. Sounds exciting to me. I guess the musical artists wanted us to realize just because the Oscar nominations were announced yesterday doesn't mean we should forget about their show next week. The Grammy's are on Feb 8th so expect some other last minute surprises to be announced this week.