Blender Blog Main Kid Rock Keeping August Interesting

The last week of August is usually as slow as slow news periods get, but Mr. Michigan Kid Rock has been keeping himself busy, wrapping a tour with rebel legends Lynyrd Skynyrd and even launching his own American Badass beer at two summer shows in Detroit.



For most rockers, that'd be enough, but Bob Ritchie has had quite the eventful August. For example, he's:

...Announced His Own Cruise

You heard right. Grab your American flag swim trunks and Jack Daniels trucker hats, as well as your goggles and whatever the hell else you take on a cruise and get ready to, um, go on a cruise. The thing is being called Kid Rock's Chillin' The Most Cruise, and it set to run (float?) from April 29-May 3, 2010. What can you expect? Let's ask the cruise's website (look at that amazing first line):

The seas should brace themselves. Kid Rock is about to stick it to them with his inaugural Chillin the Most Cruise, headin' out from Tampa, Florida, to Grand Cayman for a 4-day fun fest on board the Carnival Inspiration. Give a toast to the sun, drink with the stars, mack like Mayors on the craps table... and that's just the beginning! Kid Rock will be rockin’ the boat from coast to coast with around the clock concerts from choice artists and DJs, parties, activities, contests, and everything that makes this party Kid Rock’s party.

Mack like Mayors on the high seas! Hell yeah. [Detroit News]



...Sent Money To A Guy Who Was Beaten

What the hell is wrong with people? Harry Colyer, a Cincinnati Papa John's delivery man, was severely beaten last month while on the job. The beating left Colyer near death and needing reconstructive surgery on his face. When he finally left the hospital this month, a check for $1,500 from Kid Rock was waiting for him. Kid Rock had read about the story when in Cincinnati for a July 22 show. He later refused comment on the situation, though his publicist noted that Kid regularly helps out those in need. Nice one. [Enquirer]



...Engaged In A Retail Turf War In Detroit

This is a little complicated, so pay attention: Years ago, Kid Rock purchased the Made In Detroit clothing brand from its creator. That man, Robert Stanzler, went on to develop a new brand, Detroit Manufacturing. Stanzler is now saying that Made In Detroit, backed by the full power of the Kid Rock machine, is muscling Detroit Manufacturing off of retail shelves, demanding exclusivity from Detroit-area shops. The irony? Stanzler and Kid Rock were once close friends. The fact that Made In Detroit is no longer made in Detroit, but rather in the burbs, is another irony, one pointed out by Stanzler. Guys, guys, if southeast Michigan is as bad off as everyone says, why the fighting? Can't we all get along and party? [Crain's Detroit]



...Announced A New York Club Show

It's not every day that Kid Rock performs a club date. And while New York's Terminal 5 may not be tiny, it's no amphitheatre, and hey—it's for a good cause. The show, officially titled "The Music Has Power," will benefit the New York-based Music And Neurologic Function, a music therapy foundation. The show happens on Wednesday, September 2nd, and $50 tickets are still available. Be a badass for a goodass cause. [KidRock]

CMT Insider Interview: Reba McEntire Releases 31st Album

Our nation was celebrating its bicentennial when Reba McEntire charted her first country single. That first single, "I Don't Want to Be a One Night Stand," didn't exactly ignite her career, but success came soon enough after a series of Top 10 records led to her first No. 1, "Can't Even Get the Blues," in 1982.

Now 33 years into her career, her new album, Keep On Loving You, arrives in stores Tuesday (Aug. 18). One of the tracks, "Consider Me Gone," was the highest-debuting single on last week's Billboard country songs chart. She co-produced the project with Tony Brown and Mark Bright.

In a recent interview with CMT Insider's Allison DeMarcus, McEntire talked about her new album and some of the good-natured creative differences she has with husband Narvel Blackstock, who is also her manager.

CMT: This is your first album for the Valory Music Co. You were with MCA Records for years. How has this new group of people affected your music?

Reba McEntire: I think it's affected me in a very positive way. They're very enthusiastic. Part of the team over at Valory has been with MCA before, so some of us have all worked together. We're familiar. They know my work ethic, I know theirs. So it's fun to get reunited and go at it again.

You have such a strong and loyal fan base. Do you feel any pressure when you go into the studio to really create something special for them?

I always go into the studio with that same formula: try to find the best songs possible and entertain them the best I can. I mean, that's the way I've always done it, and I probably will always do it that way. Thank God, the songwriters let me have some of their best songs. I love them. I'm really excited for the fans to get to hear this new album.  
 Martina McBride has told us before she has found it harder and harder to find subject matter and songs that she really hasn't sung about before. Do you find that to be troublesome as well?

You know, I never thought about that. ... When a song touches me in some form or fashion ... whether it's emotional, happy, sad, whatever ... when I sing it, hopefully it will touch you. And that's an example when I found the song, "She Thinks His Name Was John." I was over at Bluewater Music Company and they played me about 10 or 15. I took a few, and they said, "Hey, before you go, let us play you one song because we know there's probably nobody else that would sing it but you. And they played me "She Thinks His Name Was John." I said, "I want it." And I recorded it. At the time, I didn't know anyone affected with AIDS, the HIV virus, but I just knew if I could sing about it, hopefully, more people could talk about it and it would bring light to a very unfortunate situation and might help a lot of people. I'm open to any kind of situation in a song as long as it touches my heart.

You actually co-wrote one of the songs on the album, "She's Turning 50 Today." Is that your personal anthem?

I wrote that song, well I started it out when I just turned 50. I e-mailed [songwriter] Liz Hengber, and I said, "Liz, I've got an idea for a song," and I gave her the first two lines. I said, "See what you can do with it." So two years went by, and I had forgotten about it. And then when this album was coming up I said, "Hey, what did you ever do with that song?" She said, "OK, Tommy Lee James and I are gonna start working on it. She e-mailed it back to me, put it in MP3. And I listened to it and loved it. And when I got into the studio, Narvel and I talked about it. By the second verse, I wanted it a little more personal. And so I rewrote the second verse. It is a little bit of an anthem for me. Because when I left, after my divorce, when I left Oklahoma, I never looked back. It was the future. It was looking forward from then on.

You often do songs with some very serious subject matter, and yet you're so lighthearted and fun. Is that just kind of an avenue to get that side of you out?

That's my dark side. (laughs) Yeah, yeah, I think it is. I always like story songs, Dolly Parton,Tom T. Hall,Mel Tillis, Red Stegall, when they'd do their story songs. I was totally enthralled. They had my 100 percent attention. And so, to find a story song, I've got to record it. That's why "Fancy" is my favorite song.

All of your female fans love to see your CD covers and just what your look is going to be next. Do you try to pattern that after your music at the time or where you are in your life? How do you determine what that look is going to be?

After we get done with a photo shoot, Narvel always says, "You don't need to look at any of these pictures." Well, of course, I'm going to be like, "Why? Do they look that bad?" He said, "No, because you don't pick out the right ones." I said, "I pick out the pictures for the way I want to look." He said, "Yeah, but you don't look like that."

That's good and bad. Probably bad because that's the way I want to look and he said, "You look more like this." I said, "Oh, I don't like that one. I like this one over here." So we had like World War III over picking out the album cover and lots of arguments about it, but I'm very tickled with the one we did choose. -Agencies.

Chris Brown And Rihanna Reportedly Had Previous Domestic Disputes

Just hours after Chris Brown was formally sentenced to five years' probation on Tuesday (August 25), TMZ and Us Weekly have reportedly obtained court documents claiming that Brown was involved in two previous "domestic violence" incidents with Rihanna before the February altercation.

According to a probation officer's report filed with the court for Brown's sentencing, Us reported, the incidents "related to domestic violence."

The report claims the first incident allegedly occurred in Europe last year, when Brown and Rihanna were in a "verbal dispute." She slapped him, and Brown responded by shoving her into a wall, according to the report.

And three weeks before Brown's arrest in February, the former couple were in Rihanna's native Barbados and got into an argument while driving. The report claims that Brown got out and broke both the driver's and front passenger-side windows. However, no one was injured, and the incident was not reported to authorities.

The terms of Brown's plea deal, which the singer agreed to last month, include 180 days of community labor work, a year of domestic-abuse counseling and five years' probation. The judge, however, did not lift the protective order issued against Brown, warning him that he must stay away from Rihanna for five years, until August 25, 2014, when his probation period is over.

Scotland's Calvin Harris at NO.1

DJ-producers hold sway on the new U.K. sales charts, published by the Official Charts Company Sunday (Aug. 23). Scotland's Calvin Harris entered the album chart at No. 1 with his sophomore set "Ready For The Weekend" (Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment) while France's David Guetta secured his second U.K. No. 1 single in just nine weeks with "Sexy Chick" (Positiva/Virgin/EMI), featuring Akon.


Harris has just had a No. 3 hit with the title track from "Ready For The Weekend" and before that a No. 1 with "I'm Not Alone." That's also featured on the album alongside "Dance Wiv Me," the Dizzee Rascal track on which Harris collaborated, which had four weeks at the top of the U.K. singles chart last year. His first album "I Created Disco," which reached No. 8 in 2007, fell 41-46 on the new chart.


"Grime" star Tinchy Stryder scored a No. 2 debut on the new survey with his second full-length album "Catch 22," which includes his recent singles bestsellers "Number 1" and "Never Leave You," the latter featuring Amelle Berrabah. With Beyonce's "I Am...Sasha Fierce" (Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment), Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies)" and Polo Nutini's "Sunny Side Up" (Atlantic/Warner Music) all down a place each in positons 4-6, the seven-week reign of "The Essential Michael Jackson" (Epic/Sony Music Entertainment) came to an abrupt end with a fall to No. 6.

There were top 40 album chart debuts for up-and-coming bands Vagabond "You Don't Know The Half Of It," Geffen, No. 27, the XX ("XX," Young Turks, No. 36) and Simian Mobile Disco ("Temporary Pleasure," Wichita, No. 39).

41-year-old Parisian Guetta's 21-1 singles climb sets up today's (24) release of his fourth album "One Love," which also includes his previous British chart-topper, "When Love Takes Over" featuring Kelly Rowland. That led the way for a week in June and was a big hit around much of Europe. Last week's No. 1, Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling," dropped back to No. 2 while Little Boots climbed 10-6 with "Remedy" (sixsevenine).

Dutch-born pop artist Esmee Denters debuted at No. 7 with "Outta Here" (Interscope/Universal). Denters is the first signing to Tennman, Justin Timberlake's joint venture label with Interscope. London-born  Just Jack, best-known for his early 2007 No. 2 U.K. hit "Starz In Their Eyes," entered at No. 11 with "The Day I Died" (Mercury).

Jackson is still dominating Billboard's European Top 100 Albums, where for the second time in recent weeks, one of his compilations succeeds another at the top, "King of Pop" (Epic/Sony Music Entertainment) resuming its reign ahead of "The Collection." Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" (Ultra/B1) is the top title on Eurochart Hot 100 Singles for a fifth week.

Coroner Rules Michael Jackson's Death Homicide

A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that the Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide.

The finding makes it more likely criminal charges will be filed against the doctor who was with the pop star when he died.

The official says the coroner determined a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson hours before he died in his rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been publicly released.

Forensic tests found the powerful anesthetic propofol in Jackson's system along with two sedatives, the official says.

Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician, is the target of a manslaughter probe headed by Los Angeles police.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SPEARS' SONS STUN ONLOOKERS

LOS ANGELES: Britney Spears' sons, three-year-old Jayden James, shocked onlookers by repeatedly shouting "Oh S**t!" in public last weekend.
 The Radar singer took her sons to a 'swag suite' where yuests are invited to select a variety of goods for free- for the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles last weekend when the boys repeatedly shouted "Oh s**t!", One onlooker told the New York Daily News newspaper,"We were all surprised by their potty mouths, but it was actually pretty funny." Although their bad language attracted the attention of those around them, Britney didn't apppear to notice her sons were using offensive words. The onlooker added "She was too busy picking out freebies to chastise the boys for misbehaving."
Britney,27, has previously spoken about her children cursing, claming they picked up the foul phrases from their father, her ex-husband Kevin Federline. She to learn words like 'stupid',and Preston says the F-word now sometimes. He doesn't get it from us. He must get it from his daddy. I say it, but not around my kids."-Agencies

Baby for Hudson

LOS ANGELES: Singer Jennifer Hudson has become proud mother fo a baby boy. The Grammy award-winning singer gave birth to son David Daniel otunga Jr on August 9."The Baby is beautiful and perfect. His parents are ecstatic,"People magazine quoted Hudson's rep Lisa Kasteler as saying.
Throughout th duration of her pregnancy, Hudson refused to confirm or deny that she was an expectant mother.-Agencies

MJ helps LL write songs

           
LOS ANGELES:Rapper LL Cool J claims the word to his remix of Michael Jackson's hit Billie Jean were penned by the late singer himself.

LL Cool J claims Michael Jackson came to him in a dream. The 41 year old musician told Billiboard magazine,"Michael was one of my childhood idols and has always been a great inspiration to me. After hearing the tragic news of Michael Jackson's death, the lyrics for the Billie Jean remix came to me in a Dream."

The rapper scribbled down the song as soon as the woke up and decided to call it BIllie Jean Dream: Written by Michael Jackson. He recorded the songs days later and released it on his official blog on August 10.

He has also invited his fans to submit their own Jackson tribute songs. The entries will be judged by a panel of music industry professionals headed by himself and the winner will be promoted on his website.-Agencies

Kenny Chesney's Music Videos

On stage, Kenny Chesney is a prancing dynamo who draws his energy from applause and spotlights. But in most of his 30-plus videos, he's more like a casual observer of life, even when he's the guy with the guitar. Behold a few of the best examples.








"The Tin Man" (1994) -- Kenny in chrysalis. His resonant, reassuring voice is emerging, but at this early stage of image development, the singer is clad in a form-shrouding sport coat and wearing his hair longer in the back. The close-ups show a man who's keenly in touch with the emotions he sings about.






"That's Why I'm Here" (1998) -- Chesney throws himself into this one literally as he sprawls on a grimy restroom floor in a drunken stupor. The song is the cry of a man who's trying to kick his alcohol addiction while simultaneously pleading for understanding from his aggrieved wife or girlfriend. The video is permeated by dark, sickening, institutional colors that offer no ray of mental relief. Here, in the service of authenticity, Chesney exposes his receding hairline. After all, falling-down drunks rarely succeed in keeping their hats on.






"How Forever Feels" (1998) -- Welcome to the tropics. This video introduces us to Chesney's passion for sunny beaches and soothing waves, and it's the first to show his sculpted bare chest. In one scene, he even wears a parrot on his shoulder.






"The Good Stuff" (2002) -- After a dustup with his old lady, Chesney C-clamps himself to a bar and asks for some liquid relief -- the "good stuff." But the wise old bartender (played by Chesney's longtime manager, Dale Morris) knows what the kid really needs is some philosophical perspective on his debilitating self-pity. The drunker you are, the more profound this one will seem.






"There Goes My Life" (2003) -- Country songwriters love nothing better than taking a catchy phrase and working it into different and even contradictory contexts. Here, it's "there goes my life" because my girlfriend's pregnant, followed by "there goes my life" because my little baby girl is what I hold most dear. And, finally, "there goes my life" because my beloved grown-up daughter is leaving home. That's the story this video tells. Chesney relates the action but does not participate in it.






"Anything but Mine" (2005) -- Of all Chesney's beach-themed videos, this is my favorite. The scene is a seaside or lakeside amusement park near the end of summer. While Chesney and his band play off to the side, the two young lovers try to pack as much joy into their final day together as the imagination allows. Wistful and beautifully bittersweet.






"Who You'd Be Today" (2005) -- The poets Robert Frost and John Greenleaf Whittier each spoke of roads not taken and opportunities lost because of fear, caution or arbitrary choice. "For of all sad words of tongue or pen," Whittier wrote, "the saddest are these, 'It might have been.'" This video dwells on the theme of potential cut short by tragedy: the playground friend later killed in a war and the promising young life that's snuffed out in a car wreck. Again, Chesney sings on the periphery as the sad scenes unfold.






"You Save Me" (2006) -- The East Tennessee native does some fine understated acting here. He plays the weary, mysterious stranger who's coming home to his lover, the one person who truly understands and accepts his "gypsy soul." As he stares out the side window of the cab he's riding in, his face is a palette of dark and unexplained emotions. But all his pain is swept away when he's finally frolicking in the arms of his woman. (CMT.com also offers a director's cut of this video that goes a long way toward explaining the cause of Chesney's angst.)






"Don't Blink" (2007) -- After his interview with a 102-year-old man reminds him that life is fleeting, a TV newscaster begins to rethink his own hurried existence. Even if you do blink, you won't miss this didactic story line.






"Out Last Night" (2009) -- The only difference between this poolside panorama and Chesney seaside epics (e.g., "Old Blue Chair" "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven," "When the Sun Goes Down," "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem," "I Lost It," "How Forever Feels") is that it features a lot more babes than drinking buddies

Machael Jackson hits to be remixed

Some of the biggest producers in urban music will remix MJ's work for an upcoming Universal Motown project titled Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite. The 20-plus-song set will focus mainly on the Jackson 5 catalog of hits. A bundle of the songs were leaked last week, and Salaam Remi was among the first producers to rework the tunes with his reggae-flavored version of "ABC."


Dallas Austin ("I Wanna Be Where You Are") and the Neptunes ("Never Can Say Goodbye") are among the other musicians to take on some of the late pop icon's hits. Austin's (TLC, Pink) take on the classic Jackson 5 tune is quirky, with loopy synths; while the Neptunes "Never Can Say Goodbye" features the duo's space-age sound.

Iron Maiden frontman enjoys being airline pilot

NEW YORK – Bruce Dickinson likes to fly some heavy metal — about 240,000 pounds of it — when he's not performing as Iron Maiden's frontman.
On the band's 2008-09 tour — showcased on the new DVD "Flight 666" which was voted best music documentary at the South by Southwest Festival — Dickinson pulled double duty as lead singer and chief pilot on the band's customized Boeing 757, named "Ed Force One" with Maiden's zombie mascot "Eddie" on the tail fin.
He'd wear his Astraeus Airlines uniform — white shirt with epaulets and pressed trousers — when flying between tour stops. Then, he'd leap around the stage in outlandish costumes — putting on a red 19th-century British army tunic while singing "The Trooper" or a feathered mask for "Powerslave."
As the band's "designated driver," he'd refrain from late-night carousing, turning in early and avoiding any drinking to meet aviation industry regulations for mandatory rest periods and zero blood-alcohol content.
But Dickinson didn't mind "being a party pooper" since the tour offered a chance to combine his passions for flying and rock music.
"The only caveat is that I was working much harder than everybody else," said Dickinson. "But I never get tired of going to work because I just think that singing with Iron Maiden and flying a jet airliner are the two best jobs in the world."
The British heavy metal band wrapped up its tour in early April after performing before nearly 2 million fans in 38 countries. Maiden's other members — founder-bassist Steve Harris, drummer Nicko McBrain, and guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers — took a monthslong break with plans to begin work later this year on a new album due out in 2010.
But Dickinson quickly returned to his day job as a commercial airline captain for Astraeus, which leases planes to other airlines. He's been making regular runs to such far-flung locales as Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone and Djibouti.
It's not as if the 51-year-old Dickinson needs his pilot's salary. Iron Maiden remains one of the most enduring and successful heavy metal bands with record sales of more than 70 million since their 1980 debut album.
But Dickinson finds that being in the cockpit offers a welcome respite from the frenzied life of a touring rock star.
"Music always follows you around. especially when you're on tour ... and I think that comes out on the DVD," said Dickinson, speaking by telephone from his London home. "There's no escaping the fury that surrounds Iron Maiden in these places and we are essentially prisoners in our hotel rooms unless we want to go out and cause a riot. ...
"But as a pilot one of the nice things is that you get to shut the door," he said with a laugh. "It's just you, the airplane and the sky and going where you're going and it's quite pleasant. It's quite a nice little Zen moment."
Astraeus Chief Executive Mario Fulgoni credits Dickinson for "possessing both a high degree of professionalism and intense enthusiasm for flying."
"His rock star status in no way detracts from his performance as an airline captain," Fulgoni said.
Dickinson said his passengers, who recently included the president of Sierra Leone, rarely make the connection with his rock star persona. It's hard to imagine that the pilot who reassuringly talks about a little turbulence is the singer whose screaming on songs like "Bring Your Daughter ... to the Slaughter" earned him the nickname "The Air-Raid Siren."
Dickinson's passion for aviation goes back to childhood. His godfather and uncle were engineers in the Royal Air Force, and he'd attend air shows and build model airplanes. But Dickinson became enamored with rock as a teenager and began singing with the first wave of British metal bands in the late '70s, eventually joining Iron Maiden in 1981.
Dickinson — who had left Maiden in 1993 to pursue a solo career before rejoining the band in 1999 — began taking flying lessons in the early '90s while on a family vacation in Florida, going on to earn his private pilot's license and a license to fly commercial jets.
Dickinson landed a pilot's job with British World Airlines in 2000, and when it folded after 9/11, signed on with the newly formed Astraeus. He continued to fly even though Maiden has enjoyed a resurgence, releasing new albums such as "A Matter of Life and Death" (2006) and putting their old hits on video games like "Rock Band" that have attracted a new generation of fans. On their latest tour, Maiden revisited highlights from their '80s albums so their young fans could hear them performed live.
"We love what we do and we've never compromised with the demands of media industry or musical fashion," Dickinson said.
Dickinson does see a link in the precise teamwork required to get a plane to its destination or to pull off an intricately staged rock show.
"Obviously as a pilot ... everything seems to be in control," said Dickinson. "But people look at rock musicians and think they're wild and crazy and it's all out of control up there. ... But you have to be very disciplined to do what we do in Iron Maiden ... It just looks like it's crazy."

Aussie band Wolfmother comeback

SYDNEY (Reuters) – One of Australia's most successful rock music exports, the Grammy-winning band Wolfmother, is back, with a new single out this week and its second album due to be released in October.
The trio behind Wolfmother won international acclaim for their self-titled debut album in 2005, which took home a number of awards, among them a Grammy for the single "Woman."
Wolfmother was the first Australian band to pick up the music industry's top honors since Men at Work in 1983.
But last year two of the original three band members, bass/keyboard player Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett, quit due to "irreconcilable personal and musical differences," leaving singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale to find a new lineup.
In a statement on Tuesday the band said it is back, with Stockdale joined by bassist/keyboardist Ian Peres, guitarist Aidan Nemeth and drummer Dave Atkins.
The new lineup's first album, "Cosmic Egg," will be released in October. Its first single, "New Moon Rising," makes its radio and online debut this week.
"It's been a long road back," the band said in a statement. "'Cosmic Egg' is, in short, the sound of the Wolfmother world being rethunk and cracked wide open."

Taylor Lautner Introduces His 'New Moon' Wolf Pack

UNIVERSAL CITY, California — In last year's "Twilight," cute little Jacob Black got pushed around a bit. Bella gave him the dreaded "just a friend" treatment, Edward stared him down at the end of the movie, and he barely got a "thank you" after working so hard on that damn truck.
But in November's "New Moon," a bigger, buffer Black will be back — and this time, he's bringing along some friends.
"He's pissed off a lot in this movie," laughed Taylor Lautner, looking spiffy at Sunday's Teen Choice Awards in a multi-buttoned vest that he told us "took an hour" to put on. "He is pissed off for many different reasons."
As Twilighters know, "New Moon" gives us a rapidly developing Jacob, now with the power to transform into a werewolf. It also introduces us to Jacob's Quileute friends, a group of sometimes-shirtless hunks who've already set the fandom on fire with glimpses of them in pictures and on Burger King crowns.
"We've got Sam Uley, who leads the pack. We all follow him. He's the alpha," Lautner said, introducing us to his wingmen. "And then we've got Jared and Paul — Jared is a funny guy, a real jokester — and Bronson [Pelletier], who plays him, in real life is the same way, so he does that well. Paul is the hothead. He goes out with my girl, and I tear him to shreds. And then there's Kiowa [Gordon] who plays Embry — he's my best friend."
And speaking of Jacob's friends, Lautner also told us that one of his favorite scenes in the "New Moon" movie is something that didn't occur in Stephenie Meyer's novel. It's a moment revolving around the newly glimpsed character of Quil Ateara and his smoothness with the ladies — or lack thereof.
"I loved shooting the scenes with Embry and Quil," he revealed. "Tyson [Houseman] plays Quil, and he's just kind of a funny character.
"Me and Bella — I'm sorry, Bella and I — are working on the bikes, and Embry and Quil come in," Lautner explained of the scene. "Quil's checking out Bella [and trying to be smooth] and is like, 'Hey, I'm Quil. Quil Ateara.' It's a really funny scene, and the two were really great in it."

Michael Jackson Trial and Triumph On Demand

08/11/2009 .(MVD) RockCity Entertainment, Elbow Grease Productions, and MVD Visual are pleased to announce the debut of Micheal Jackson The Trial and Triumph of The King of Pop on cable and internet Video-on-Demand (VOD) platforms across North American in up to 50 million homes. Over 100 operators and digital destinations are offering the film including, Apple iTunes, Amazon VOD, Charter, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon FiOS. The documentary raises and debunks the various charges, trials, and conspiracies surrounding Michael over the last 17 years. The film features director/hostess Pearl Jr. talking to dozens of Michael's fans and interviews with Michael's trial lawyer Tom Mesereau as well as his brother Jermaine Jackson. Also included are celebrity well wishers Kanye West, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Jon Voight, Fantasia, Mo'Nique, Aphrodite Jones and Linda Deutsch. The film also features Michael's final riveting press conference in London in March of 2009. Even in death, Michael Jackson is the world's biggest superstar, but his achievements almost came crashing down during his child molestation trials. This film goes behind the scenes of those sometimes chaotic and outrageous trials. MJ's fans all over the world always believed his innocence. Wilson Ebiye, President and CEO of Rock City Entertainment states, "Michael Jackson was the greatest entertainer of all time. We want to help preserve his legacy of love and kindness that is evident in his music. Our goal with The Trial and Triumph of The King of Pop was to clearly establish the fact that Michael was found not guilty of child molestation in a court of law. The King of Pop will continue to live through his music."Long considered one of rock/pop's biggest stars, Jackson first rose to prominence as a member of the Jackson 5, before launching a massively successful solo career, which culminated in one of the biggest-selling blockbuster albums of all-time, 1983's Thriller, which spawned such hit singles/videos as "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and the title track. Jackson was on the comeback trail at the time of his passing, as multiple dates of proposed Jackson performances at London's 02 Arena had sold out. Director Pearl Jr. noted, "Elbow Grease Productions is continuing on the same path as before the death of the King of Pop. We have always believed the world deserves to know the true facts in the cases against Michael Jackson... that mission will continue."

Stone Roses debut was 'rite of passage'

By Greg Cochrane Newsbeat music reporter
The 20th anniversary legacy edition of The Stone Roses' legendary debut album is released today. Bassist Gary 'Mani' Mounfield says the music is as relevant now as it was then and the album remains a rite of passage. The Stone Roses performed Fools Gold on Top of the Pops in 1989

World music sales charts launched

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu scored the album chart's first number one
The firm behind the UK's official pop singles and albums charts has launched two new monthly world music countdowns.
The Official Charts Company (OCC) revealed its first world music album and world music compilation album charts on Monday.
The inaugural number one in the new album chart was Australian aboriginal singer/songwriter Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu with his album Gurrumul.
The Cuban Funk Experience collection topped the compilation chart.
The world album chart top 10 will be published each month in specialist magazine Songlines.
OCC spokesman Phil Matcham said: "As the UK's Official Charts compilers, we work to highlight music of all kinds.
"We are delighted that, in conjunction with Songlines, we are able to spotlight the best-selling world music albums going forward."
The OCC said it hoped to compile the charts on a weekly basis in the future.