Obsessively blogging about pop music, pop videos, pop stars, and pop culture from inside the MTV headquarters in Times Square. We also have a slight Jonas Brothers problem. And a little fixation with Tokio Hotel.
+ Kelly Clarkson reminds you that if you're talking about her weight, you're the one with the problem, not her! We tend to agree, but remind her that bell-bottom stretch pants and silk triangle tops are never okay. (US Magazine)
+ HOT PHOTO ALERT: We're loving watching Britney looking as good as she's looking lately. AND she's got a performance at the Teen Choice Awards right around the corner? <lick> (Daily Mail)
+ The rave reviews of the $200+ million G.I. Joe are pouring in like manna from heaven (nevermind that they're via Heidi Montag's Twitter). Bahahahahha! (PopWatch)
+ P.S. if you're in the market for a not-nude -- yes, you read that correctly -- Playboy spread of Heidi, you're welcome. (NY Post)
+ And while we're talking about G.I. Joe, here's Ciara and Aubrey O'Day looking hot (separately, but together) at the premiere. (Rap-Up)
+ Gossip just dropped a new video for "Love Long Distance," complete with balloon-head people, roller skates, and spandex body suits. Beth Ditto will you marry me please? Yes I know you're gay. (The Rad Report)
+Something tells us that if Fergie isn't willing to slow to down to give Josh Duhamel a babezorz, there are a MILLYUN guhls who would KILL for that job. Tick tock, Fergs. You better step it up! (Hollywood Rag)
+ Never mind that Britney released "Blackout" two years ago, and that the song "Radar" was featured not only on that album but also on her most recent album "Circus" -- the song will now be her next single. Wonder if she's going to make a video for it? (Dean Kelly)
+ Uh oh. Amy Winehouse is scheduled to perform in St. Lucia today. Do you think our favorite thirsty turtle will make it all the way through without fainting? (People)
+ Nudie photos are all the rage these days. First there were Cassie'snibbly bits on parade. Now, is that really Rihanna? Her bum looks all sorts of hot, but that don't mean you should go snappin' pics of it! (The Blemish)
+ Forget about Skipper or Teenage Prom Maxi. Who needs those shallow plastics when you can have your very own PLUS-size Beth Ditto doll complete with Victoria Principal bob and blue eyeshadow?! (The Frisky)
+ Lady GaGa's "Lovegame" video has been out for a while, but here's some pretty cool behind-the-scenes footage from the set. (Towleroad)
+ Yesterday, it was the girl from the "Thriller" video claiming she's owed royalties. Today, it's his old publicist. How many hundreds upon thousands of people will continue to sue ole frail-n-pale Michael Jackson before SOMEone, ANYone realizes that he DOESN'T. HAVE. ANY. MONEY?!?! (MTV News)
+ Solange Knowles has been tagging along with sister Beyonce on her I Am tour, singing at special afterparties and the like. Here she covers (perfectly and uniquely) Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet." (Neon Limelight)
+ In case you're wondering what Katy Perry would look like as a midge, here you go! (Best Week Ever)
+ As cheesy as she may be, you have to give Paula Abdulsome credit for turning it out on last night's American Idol. She was a'jumpin' and a'flippin' and a'whippin' that mic stand around like a rag doll, all while in 5" heels. Our favorite part was when she gets flipped over that guy like when Britney goes flying through the air in "Oops...I Did It Again." You know the part? You know the part. (Pop On The Pop)
+ Thursday LOLz courtesy of your favorite pint-sized rapper Lil Kim, who danced up on Regis Philbin during yesterday's Live With Regis And Kelly. (Rap-Up)
+ Theresa Andersson: Swedish artist Theresa Andersson is already racking up fans on YouTube with the sunny, '60s-soaked sophisti-pop sounds she recorded in her kitchen. And because she's an overachiever, she hand-crafted 1,500 individual CD jackets for her I the River EP.
+ Defy Tomorrow: Mike Oliver and Marissa Mishelle trade speedy rock licks, angst-driven lyrics and possibly hair products in the vein of Paramore. Catch them this summer on the Warped Tour, and catch Marissa on Exiled this August, when bratty My Super Sweet 16ers you love to hate (and love to watch) go to far-away places where they don't even accept platinum cards!!
But trash talk aside, the group itself is something to be talked about. Gossip (formerly The Gossip) first electrified tastemakers with "Standing in the Way of Control," (a song about the U.S. government's anti-gay marriage stance), which features Beth's powerhouse, tent-revival vocals, and landed on NME's 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever list. Then they reached just about everyone else with their MTV Artist of the Week spots a few weeks back.
In our exclusive interview, Beth, along with guitarist Nathan Howdeshell and drummer Hannah Blilie, talk about dropping the "the" from their name, how Beth toured with a broken foot, and their new CD/DVD Live in Liverpool.
In a celebrity-obsessed age of product placement and plastic pop stars, Gossip are arguably the realest band in rock 'n roll. Led by the Arkansas-born Beth Ditto, an often naked, unapologetically overweight outspoken feminist named NME's coolest person in rock, Gossip have been breaking boundaries with their fiery soul-punk since 1999. Not because they're bleeding heart activists (although they do wear their politics on their sleeves) or out to shock people, but because they just are who they are -- not out to please anybody or make a million fans -- totally real. As guitarist Brace Paine, original drummer Kathy Mendonca (now replaced by Hannah Blilie) and Beth put it, way back in the beginning, "We started a band 'cause we were bored. Our mission is to make you dance, and if you're not gonna dance, just stay at home and listen to the oldies station."
Let's get back to Beth a minute because she deserves way more than one run-on sentence. One of the music world's fiercest individuals, the powerhouse has appeared nude on several magazine covers under unflaggingly punk circumstances. In interviews she has admitted everything from a distaste for deodorant to having eaten squirrels (although she later claimed it was her cousin who ate the critters). But she's not all outrage all the time. What her philosophy really comes down to may have been revealed in her regular Guardian column, "What Would Beth Ditto Do," where she said, "Women aren't cats, we aren't pets, we are just people trying to cross the freaking street to get an ice-cream."
Although obviously not your average spotlight stealers, Gossip have more than earned their infamy. Formed in Arkansas back in '99, they relocated to Olympia, Washington where they signed with Calvin Johnson's legendary indie label, K Records. Their big break came six years later by way of third full-length, Standing In The Way Of Control. The title track, an all-out anthem, quickly hit #1 on the UK charts and became the unofficial theme song of British teen melodrama, Skins. This was a particularly major breakthrough because the song was written as an angry response to the US government's refusal to allow gays the right to marry. Again, not your average spotlight stealers.
Since then the band has been signed to a division of Sony Records where they're in the midst of work on a major label debut. They also closed the Glastonbury Festival and spent last summer touring North America as part of the True Colors Tour 2007, a star-studded event thrown to raise money for the Human Rights Campaign. For that reason and so many more, the fearless trailblazers are taking over MTV for the week. Watch as they go back to high school to play a totally punk prom and talk some frank trash about growing up weird. Warm up with the samples below and catch the full show here. ALSO: Be the first to see Gossip's exclusive MTV photo shoot.
