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בית הספר הצפוני של מחול מודרני: מכללת סנטרל סנט מרטינס לאמנות ולעיצוב

המשכן לאמנויות הבמה; scenography

אני מ האקני ואת אמא שלי התעקשה שאני צריך לעזוב את לונדון במשך כמה שנים וללמוד להיות עצמאית, כך התרגשתי באמת להשיג מקום בבית הספר בצפון, בעיקר משום שרק 50 אנשים התקבלו מתוך 2,000 מועמדים , כך שכולנו הרגשנו באמת מיוחד.

זה לא היה חיים תלמיד רגיל. השתתפנו שיעורים כל היום, חמישה ימים בשבוע, ובגלל זה הכל על אימון אישי שלך, אתה לא יכול לקבל יום חופש. לאחר מכן עבדתי בתור רקדן לילה אחד בשבוע בפאב שלושה לילות בשבוע, ולכן ביליתי את רוב חיי הסטודנט שלי מותש. כמו רקדנים לא היה לנו את הדבר אלכוהול - היינו למעלה 07:00 ללכת על מאמן הנגדית לפני הכיתה. אני לא חושב שאני יכול וחגגו גם: היה לי התמוטטות עצבים.

כולנו חיים בדירות משותפות. כמו רוב האנשים, גם אני הייתי מסוגל בשום דואג לעצמי בשנה הראשונה. אני זוכרת שהתעוררתי יום אחד עם דלקת הלחמית ו סתם שוכבת במיטה שלי צועק "אני עיוור! אני עיוור! "בסופו של דבר flatmates שלי בא ולקח אותי לבית החולים, תודה לאל.

לא הייתי מודאג מדי לגבי קבלת חברים - אני פשוט התיידד עם מוזרים אחרים. אני חברותית מאוד, אבל אני תמיד נמשכתי מבחוץ. Russella מלכת דראג היה בקורס שלי ואנחנו עדיין חברים.

אבל לא היה לי זמן מדהים על הקורס שלי, אם אני כנה. אקדמית, זה לא היה מה שציפיתי. מצאתי את זה די כובל הנרקיסיסטי כי בילית את כל היום בחדרי מלא מראות התמקדות הפגמים שלך - הייתי prpretty מוזר albumed ודקר הרבה, אבל לא היה לי הרבה זמן לפתח את דעתי או את היצירתיות שלי.

אני רוצה להפסיק לעשות משהו אחר, אבל הרגשתי שאני צריכה להוכיח לכולם שאני יכול לעשות את זה. אני עקשן כמו שד. וזה נראה מגוחך עכשיו, אבל בעצם זה לימד אותי מה אני מסוגל.

כאשר סיימתי, ידעתי שאני צריכה לקבל עוד סיכוי החינוך. עושה תואר שני בסנט מרטינס היה הדבר הטוב ביותר. היא פתחה את דעתי על כל כך הרבה דברים. הקורס היה מלא אנשים מתחומים שונים אשר היו מעוניינים בביצועים, כך עבדתי עם שחקנים, אדריכלים, במאים, מעצבים מכל רחבי העולם, אשר היה מאסיבי השראה. זה פתח עולם של ספרים, תיאטרון וקולנוע, ואני חייב להשקיע שנה שלמה לחשוב על מצבו של האדם, ויצא הרגשה שיש לי משהו לומר.

במבט לאחור, אני לא יודע אם אני צריך משיטת לרקוד או לא. אם אתה לא מרוצה על הקורס שלך יש כל כך הרבה דברים מדהימים אחרים שאפשר לעשות. אבל מצד שני אני לא מאמין מוותרת, ואני מרגיש תואר הריקוד שלי לימד אותי דברים כשחקן. אני מרגיש בטוח באמת על הבמה, ואני יודע מה צורות הגוף שלי עושה - וכל זה בא מן האימונים לרקוד.

טיפ למעלה: אתה צריך לתת לדברים זמן. אמא שלי נהגה לומר שאתה צריך ללכת על חמישה תמרים עם מישהו, כי אתה לא יכול להגיד אם אתה אוהב אותם אחד אחרי, וזה נכון גם לגבי האוניברסיטה.

האלבום החדש של פיית 'פלומה, "האם אתה רוצה את האמת או משהו יפה?" הוא יוצא עכשיו. היא סיורים בבריטניה באוקטובר ובנובמבר.

ד"ר כריסטיאן Jessen
הדוקטור מגיש מביך גופים

UCL 1996 - 2001

רפואה, פס

הייתי מבוהל למדי ביום הראשון שלי. היה לנו הרצאות המבוא, אשר היה על איך אנחנו הולכים לעבוד קשה באמת - אין לחץ שם - ואז הרפואי מבוגר התלמידים שיחקו הרבה טריקים, כולל מספרים לנו שאנחנו הולכים לשתות שתן.

אני גר אולמות ממש מתחת למגדל BT (בלונדון) בשנה הראשונה שלי, ופירושו של דבר אני אף פעם לא הלך לאיבוד. הייתי לחסום כמו קבוצה של חבר 'ה שהיו בלהקה. היינו מתעצבנים באמת, כי הם היו תמיד במסדרון משחק הגיטרות שלהם. אם רק הייתי יודע שהם הולכים להמשיך להיות קולדפליי!

ממש נהניתי כמובן שלי, אבל הייתי שובב מאוד - אני לא באמת הולכים להרצאות. למעשה, נהגתי ללכת ימים מבלי ללכת להרצאות, בין השאר משום יצאתי הרבה יותר של קריאת ספר. אני גם עשה הרבה דברים לא חובש - הייתי בתזמורת UCL, ועל המון מחזות.

אני חושב ללמוד רפואה הוא מפחיד במיוחד. זה כזה מחויבות גדולה, ואתה יודע עמוק בפנים, זה יהיה קשה לעזוב אם זה לא מה שאתה רוצה לעשות. ובאמת, מה שאתה לומד הוא לעתים קרובות מחריד למדי - ברגע שאתה מגיע, אתה נתון הגוף הראשון שלך לחתוך, ואתה מתחיל ללמוד על איך לספר החולים הם מתים.

טיפ למעלה: זה יישמע קצת חנוני - אבל אז אני רופא. יש המון לחץ לשתות המון ויש להם המון סקס, אבל לומד לומר "לא" "הוא החלק החשוב באמת של השבוע" freshers.

אני יכולה רק לבקש? מאת ד"ר כריסטיאן Jessen (חי בית, 12.99 £) יפורסמו ב -1 בנובמבר.

ג 'סיקה אניס
Heptathlete

שפילד, 2004 - 2007

פסיכולוגיה, 2.2

למדתי באוניברסיטה בעיר הבית שלי כדי שאוכל להמשיך בלימודים שלי בלי לפגוע האימונים שלי. אתלטיקה היה היעד המרכזי שלי, אבל אני חושב המאמן שלי היה חרד, לדעת מה סטודנטים יכולים להיות כמו! אבל ההורים שלי היו מאושרים באמת מצאתי דרך לשלב את שניהם.

למרות שאני שוהה שפילד, אני עדיין רוצה לעזוב את הבית. החלטתי לחיות באולמות יהיה יותר מדי הסחות דעת, אז אני גר בבית עם שני חברים מ אתלטיקה. אני חושבת שאני כנראה היה שבוע freshers "שונה מאוד רוב האנשים - אני לא מבלה את כל השבוע לצאת ולהשתכר, כי אני עדיין צריכה לקום ללכת אימונים. אבל אני נהנה עצמי די הרבה בזמן השישית, ולכן בדרך הרגשתי שאני כבר עשה את זה. ולמרות שאני לא יוצא כל לילה זה היה באמת קל לפגוש אנשים על הקורס שלי, אשר היה נהדר.

הייתי כנראה הרבה יותר מאורגן וממושמע על לוח הזמנים שלי יותר מאשר תלמיד ממוצע, אבל החלק הכי גרוע בשבילי היה עושה מצגות. אני נהיה עצבני כשאני להתחרות, אבל עומד מול החדר של האנשים לשאת נאום היה הרבה יותר מפחיד.

ממש נהניתי הפסיכולוגיה בעולם אידיאלי זה היה נחמד שיש לו יותר זמן להתרכז בלימודים שלי אני בהחלט צריך להקריב, חסר הרצאות מועדים להתחרות. אבל זה היה ממש נחמד לעשות משהו שונה ולא להתמקד בספורט כל הזמן. וכאשר היה לי בחינות, אני יכול לשבור אותו על ידי הולך אימונים.

טיפ למעלה: תוריד את הידיים שלך על המפה. שפילד היא עיר הבית שלי ואני עדיין לאיבוד!

ג 'סיקה אניס הוא אלוף העולם heptathlon האירופי אלוף העולם קרב חמש פנימית

קייטי Derham
שדרן

קיימברידג '1988 - 1991

כלכלה, 2.2

הדבר הכי משמעותי כשבוע "freshers ב מגדלן קולג 'בשנת 1988 היתה השנה הראשונה הנשים התקבלו מגדלן קולג' - זה היה האחרון של המכללות ללכת מעורבת. אני עלתה בשבוע מוקדם כדי לעשות אודישן, אבל פירוש הדבר עבור חמשת הימים הראשונים הייתי הבחורה היחידה שם. היה לי זרם קבוע של אנשים לדפוק על הדלת והודיע להם "לבוא לראות את הילדה מגדלנה"!

אני לא יודע כי הכלכלה תהיה כל כך במתמטיקה מבוססי - נדהמתי לראות כמה מרצים רבים דיברו גרפים במקום משפטים. אבל אני באמת נהנה התואר שלי. מצאתי את המשמעת העצמית מאתגרים (אתה לא הולך להרצאות ... ואז לממש במועד הבחינה כי הם עלולים להיות שימושי למדי) ואת רשימות הקריאה המכריע, אבל עד מהרה למדתי רק לקרוא את הדברים שאני צריכה.

אני לא לפגוש את כל החברים הקרובים שלי מיד. זרקתי את עצמי לתוך כנראה הרבה יותר מדי, ומכאן 2.2. קיבלתי מעורב ועדות בידור אור החברה, ועל כן שירה במכללה המון ספורט. אני לא להאיר על כל דבר, אבל היה לי ללכת על הכול.

טיפ למעלה: ודא פח ביסקוויטים שלך מלא - כאשר אתה פוגש חברים חדשים yvour הטוב ביותר או האיש בחלום אתה יכול להגיד: "בוא לחדר שלי לקפה - יש לי עוגיות!"

קייטי Derham יהיה להציג לחיות מן Proms עבור BBC2 ו Radio3

Huw ויליאמס
הסולן, מלודיקה, מלודי ואני

לידס, 2006 - 2009

פילוסופיה ההיסטוריה של הפילוסופיה של המדע, 2.1

הגעתי אולמות שלי די מאוחר ביום הראשון, אז זה היה מאוד מטורף, עם כולם בבירור עצבני מאוד והרבה אנשים כבר ידידותי אחד עם השני. יש לך את אותה שיחה שוב ושוב, אומר איפה אתה מ ומה הנושא שאתה עושה.

העצה של אחי היה "לך מה שקורה לך לפגוש אנשים אחרים שלא אוהבים את זה, גם". אז בלילה הראשון שלי הלכתי בלילה במועדון קרא לי מין אהבה. כשהגעתי לשם, מצאתי את עצמי עומד רק אחד בפינה לא נהנה מזה. לקח לי כמה חודשים טובים כדי למצוא את האנשים שאני אוהבת. במבט לאחור, אם הייתי הצטרף החברות, אני אצטרך למצוא אנשים בעלי דעות דומות הרבה יותר מהר.

מוסיקה היתה חלק נכבד מזמני. התחלנו את הלהקה בבית הספר, אבל כל הלך באוניברסיטאות שונות, כך שיש לנו להופיע הרבה ערים שונות.

הקטעים הטובים ביותר היו דברים שאתה לא יכול לתכנן. בשנה השנייה שלי, אני גר בבית גדול עם להקה ceilidh - שמנו על מיקרופונים פתוחים למדתי המון על מוזיקה עממית מסורתית כושונים האירי. התחלתי להסתבך מסעות, ואני רצתי ההקצאה עם חבר כחלק סטודנטים לידס פעולה ירוקה.

טיפ למעלה: העצה אחי נתן לי היה טוב - לשמור על עם זה, תפגוש אנשים שאתה אוהב.

מלודיקה, מלודי ו Me של הסינגל הראשון, "Piece אותי בחזרה ביחד", הוא יצא עכשיו

מארק ווטסון
בדחן

קיימברידג ', 1998-2001, אנגלית, ראשון

כמעט כל הופעה היה לי שבוע "freshers היתה שלילית. לא היה לי ביטחון כלשהו שאני הולך להיות בסדר. חשבתי לפגוש אנשים כמוני באוניברסיטה, אבל האנשים שפגשתי לא היו דבר כמוני. רק מאוחר יותר, כי הבנתי שאנשים כמוני היו בחדרים שלהם מהורהר - לא פלא לא הצלחתי למצוא אותם.

בשורת freshers "הוגן נרשמתי המון דברים (כמו שאני כותב את השם שלי, הייתי תופס את עצמי חושב" אני לא רוצה לעשות את זה "). פניתי אל החברה הגרמנית מקווה לתרגל את הגרמנית שלי. זה היה מביך להסביר בגרמנית שאני לא ממש גרמני. לאחר שני ליטרים ו שעה שמדברים על ידי הגרמנים מין, עזבתי. למרות שאני אף פעם לא היה האומץ לבטל את המנוי מיילים.

הדבר השני כשבוע "freshers ככה זה חושף את חוסר הכישורים האישיים. הגברתי את הפיקוח הראשונה שלי מכוסה בדם, כאילו אני בא ישירות משדה הקרב. למעשה, היה לי דימום מהאף בדרך, לא היה לי כל הרקמות לא היה לי מושג איפה החנות הקרובה ביותר היתה. באותו זמן חשבתי שאני אצטרך לעזוב את העיר, אבל למעשה זה היה משהו שאנחנו בסופו של דבר לצחוק עליו.

בסופו של דבר התיידדתי, אזרה אומץ להיבחן הזרקורים והחלה ליהנות התואר שלי. אבל השבוע 'freshers היה אלבום באמת מוזר למדי - העצה שלי היא להתעלם כמעט כל דבר שקורה.

טיפ למעלה: הערה על קלוי כריך למקבלי: לעזוב את הכריך להתקרר לפני שאתם אוכלים אותו. ומה לעשות לנקות את הטוסטר או תצטרך לקנות חדש בסוף השנה.

מארק יהיה לסיור ברחבי בריטניה מאוקטובר; www.markwatsonthecomedian.com

ג 'ימי דוהרטי
חקלאי

אוניברסיטת מזרח אנגליה 1995-98

זואולוגיה, 2.1

הייתי אובססיבי עם חרקים, כך מידת היתה תשוקה אמיתית. תקרית אחת, כי מקלות במוחי היה פרופסור קפדנית באמת ששנא מישהו לאכול בהרצאותיו. הייתי לועס עוגה חזיר כשהוא נכנס אני נבהל ודחף את העוגה לתוך החלק העליון של המקרן. שתי דקות לאחר מכן, מקרן המשיך והיה זה פאי בשר חזיר ענק על המסך.

המשפחה שלי גרה אסקס רציתי להמשיך לעבוד בגן חיות בר שעבדתי מאז שהייתי 13, אז אני גרה חצי בבית וחצי ב UEA.

טיפ למעלה: בצע את התקציב. כאשר עשיתי את עבודת הדוקטורט שלי אני חי עם בחור צרפתי והיינו תמיד ללכת לשוק ומבשלים מאפס. בבעלותנו הלחם שלנו אפוי וזה חסך לנו הון תועפות.

ג 'ימי תארח פסטיבל ג' ימי הקציר בחווה שלו ב 11-12 ספטמבר; www.harvestatjimmys.com

בריג 'ט Phillipson
MP עבור Houghton ודרום סנדרלנד

אוקספורד 2002-2005

היסטורית, 2.1

אחד הדברים הראשונים שלמדתי באוקספורד היה שאם פספסת ארוחת ערב באולם היית די snookered - אם כי תמיד אפשר להשתמש בטוסטר בחדר משותף. בחודש הראשון, כשחזרתי בשעת לילה מאוחרת, ושרפו את הטוסט שלי, הגדרת את האזעקה עשן מקבל את כולם מהמיטה.

הצטרפתי הלייבור אוקספורד מועדון week.I הראשונה באמת נהניתי לפגוש אנשים ממגוון רחב של רקעים - לרבות מן השמרנים האגודה. זה ממש עזר לי לחדד את הטענות שלי. יש בהחלט דמיון בין שבוע "freshers ואת השבוע הראשון שלך בתור חבר פרלמנט - לא לפחות שכולם שואל את השם שלך, הבחירה שלך הרוב שלך. אולי אני צריך לשאול מה-רמות לכולם יש!

טיפ למעלה: קבל על ולהצטרף דברים. שיחקתי רוגבי הנשים למשך שנתיים - זה מסיבי התחייבות לא הייתה, אבל זה היה טוב כיף פגשתי אנשים מכל המכללות האחרות.

החיים הסודיים של בנות

20 אוגוסט 2010

פביולה Carletti

צוות עיתונאי

הם בהנאה שיש קהל. הם לעקוב אחר כל רכישה, תלבושת ואת האהבה כלבלב. העור שלהם עבה. ברוכים הבאים לחיים כפי שהם נראים על ידי בלוגרים ילדה העשרה

אתה לא צריך להיות גאון במתמטיקה כדי לדעת כי 13 הוא מספר אלבום די מוזר. חלקם אפילו לקרוא לזה מזל אחד. אבל בניגוד לבעלי הבניין באמונות תפלות, הבנות להיכנס העשרה שלהם לא יכול לדלג על הרצפה 13.

הזן הבלוג: פלטפורמת עוצמה שניתן יומן או מחברת או אלבום או משהו ... נראה. נערה יכולה עכשיו מסמך משפטי שלה ניצחונות ב הכרונולוגיה הפוכה, מה שהופך לגדול תהליך ציבורי מאוד.

טבי Gevinson, 13, יודע הכל על בלוגים. עצמי מוצהר סגנון רוקי הוא אולי פרופיל למשל הגבוה של ילד שלא מפחד להיות הרים, או שנהרסו, על ידי הכפר הגלובלי.

היא התחילה את הבלוג שלה במארס 2008, כאשר מסגרת ושרירי שלה עדיין מאוד לזה של ילד בן 11, ואת צילום האופנה שלה יורה נראה יותר כמו משחקים התחפושות. של טבי לכתוב את הבלוג הראשון נראה מבטיח סוג של פינוק מדבקה אלבום עצמית, אך לאחר מכן ערכי יכלול ניצני לה אידיאלים הפמיניסטית ואת מכתבי ביקורת על מגזינים עם הגדרות צרות של יופי.

"בשלב מסוים במחצית השנייה של כיתה 8, נעשיתי עצוב יותר וזועמים," כתב טבי ביולי 2010. "כדי זה אני לא teenagerdom אשראי, או חרדה או כל הורמונלי מה, רק ללמוד, ולא מהסוג שאני אמור לקבל מבית הספר."

זה כבר עשרות שנים מאז שקספיר הפקיד ג 'ולייט 13 בן עם דיאלוג דרמטי כזה. כעת, רבים של בלוגרים הנקבה הצעירה, בקושי מצליח להדביק-העשרה לגיל שלהם, חושבים בקול רם ויצירת מחברת היומן-hybrids לקרוא על ידי אנשים מכל רחבי העולם.

יליד שיקגו, עכשיו 14, מילאה את הבלוג שלה עם המלצות נע בין עגמומי אל הנשגב. סופר מחונן עושה הצהרות נועזות הפניות תרבותית כי הם יותר מבוגרת ממנה. למעשה, הציניקנים כמה שקשה להאמין שהיא עושה את זה בכוחות עצמה.

אבל בלוגרים 13 בן השני נשמע כמו מתבגרים מקשקשת כי לקרוע דרך שתיקות באוטובוס.

בחלל באמצע הדרך בין הילד לבין הבוגר הצעיר, הבנות להיות מודעים יותר לעצמם. פתאום, הם כבר לא מתאימות הנחות הילד, אבל אפשר לראות סרטים שנחשבו הולמים עבור 12 ילדים בני שנה. קסם עם המוחות שינוי שלהם גופים הזינה הכל סדרת ספרים בריאים, כגון סירה של המועדון , על סרטים שנויים במחלוקת כמו עסיסי הדרמה שלוש עשרה .

באחד לכתוב בלוג יציב , לורדס "לולה" ליאון כותב, "הרבה אתה שאל אותי איזה צבע אני גוסס השיער שלי וזה באמת הולך להיות כמו סוג של שחרחר בובי thingy דובדבן. אוי ואבוי DAIZ. "משם, נוגע לולה על החמור של שרק (" רק האגדי friggin haaaaaaa soooo "), בסלנג הבריטי (" LOL var var ") וכן שחקני כדורגל ספרדי אשר" PFH (freakin די חם). "

קוראים רבים לציין כי לולה, אשר קורה להיות הבת של מדונה, נראית כמו ילדה רגילה. ואף על פי קולה שונה באופן דרסטי מ טבי, הן נידונו את אותם משתנים: תיכון, גיל ההתבגרות, התודעה בסגנון. הנערה חומר מיני רק התחלתי בלוגים ביוני.

אם אתה מוצא את זה חביב או מעצבן, אתה לא יכול לצפות למצוא unselfconscious כגון כתיבה מחוץ מחזור בתיכון.

אליסון לואיס, מורה לאנגלית בחטיבת נעימה הצג הזוטרים של טורונטו, התרגל בדרך רבים 13 ילדים בני שנה לכתוב.

"זה לקח לי זמן לחבק את הכאוס מבינים מה הם שמים בעמוד בדיוק שיקף את המתרחש בראשם בזמן," היא אמרה, "אני חושב שיש חספוס אמיתי כדי לכתוב בגיל הזה, אני לא מדברת רק על האיות חובה שגיאות דקדוק, וגם את הפערים עצומים ההיגיון. "

לואיס מוסיף, "זה סוג של כנות - לפני שהם למדו על הספה המילים שלהם מטאפורה, רשמיות המרחק הרגשי - הוא באמת מיוחד."

אבל, באופן לא מפתיע, חלק מהקוראים מבוגרים מעדיפים ההורה מאשר שבחים אלה הסופרים הצעירים.

לונדון מבוסס קמילה Ackley קיבל משוב אנונימי על אופנה בבלוג שלה " לחיק . "כרגע 14 בן התחיל בבלוג שלה ביולי 2009.

"אלוהים, אני לא רוצה לבוא עם טיפש כאשר 'אני' היה בגיל שלך ויכוח, אבל באמת, כשהייתי בן שלוש עשרה, אמא שלי היתה הורגת אותי כגון להתלבש," כתב את הקורא. "כמובן, שאת כל מסוגנן מאוד, יפה מאוד וכל זה, אבל זה לא מה ילדותי (כן, אתה עדיין ילדים) כל העניין."

commenter סביר יותר מתייחסים עם ניו יורק מגזין "של אמילי נוסבאום, שהיה חותם ביומנה מילולי עם מנעול ו מודה שהוא לא נוח עם החשיפה," עצמי לאחרים. ובכל זאת, תכונה בשם " אומר הכול , "נוסבאום מגיע שלוש מסקנות עליה מעצורים יורשיו: הם חושבים את עצמם כבעלי קהל, יש להם בארכיון ההתבגרות שלהם; ו, הדבר המעניין ביותר, העור שלהם עבה יותר שלך.

"ילדים שונים לבחור ילדות שונות. יש לבחור את הספורט, כמה לבחור מוזיקה, כמה לבחור האופנה ", מסביר קמיל. "הילדות לא חייב להיות על ריצה על 24 / 7, זה למצוא את מי אתה."

קמילה אמר הכוכב כי בלוגרים בני נוער עשויים להיות פגיעים יותר הערות מזלזלות, אבל היא לוקחת את זה כמובן מאליו.

"אם בלוגרים לקח כל עלבון ללב, לא יהיה כל אחד מאיתנו", היא מציינת, "קל לראות את ההבדל בין ביקורת בונה ולא הצקה."

לעתים קרובות אנו שוכחים עד כמה גמיש צעירים יכול להיות - פשוט שם את הזמן והמקום.

מאיה אנג 'לו התחיל לדבר בגיל 13, לאחר שש שנים של שתיקה דרבן ידי אירוע טראומטי בילדות. ז 'אן דארק היה 13 כשהיא התחילה לשמוע קולות שמימיים. אנה פרנק, שקיבל היומן איקוני שלה בגיל 13, כלואים אחד החשבונות האישיים המפורסם ביותר של השואה.

דוגמאות נוספות כוללות האחרונות ליידי גאגא, שכתב את הפסנתר הראשון שלה הבלדה ב 13, ואת בתו של סוורן סוזוקי דוד אשר בייש נציגי האו"ם מטעם קבוצת הילדים של איכות הסביבה.

למרות קולות שונים שלהם, הבנות כל יש לי משהו לומר לעולם במילים שלהם.

ילדה בלוגרים מרחבי העולם

• הטירון סגנון ידי טבי

• חומר ילדה אוסף הבלוג שמציעות בלורד "לולה"

• לחיק ידי קמילה Ackley

• דפי כתיבה ידי Meghna

• Fallie של Scrapbook ידי Fallie

• Ravn מאיה ע"י מאיה

• PaulinaBelle ידי פאולינה

• נווד אופנתי על ידי אלמוני

• המוח פלסטיק ידי Eleonara

sFabiola Carletti

העורך בוחר

שתי חליפות שריון מימי הביניים לשלוט באולם הכניסה של מבצר הגבעה כי רחל ספקטור שיחות הביתה. אחד עומד מול ציור שמן של הביטלס, שאת האלבום האחרון, Let It Be, הופק על ידי בעלה הנעדר שלה, פיל, בשנת 1969. השני, כמה מטרים ימינה שלו, נשען על חרב גדולה. מאז הקסם של פיל עם נשק מסוכן לאחרונה נחת לו בכלא, אתה עלול לתהות אם הם עושים בשביל לחלוטין קישוטים המתאימים. אבל בתוך כמה שעות אני מבלה עם רחל, יחד עם כמה מקרים שבהם אנחנו מדברים בטלפון, אני מגיע למסקנה חליפות שריון למעשה סכום אותה די טוב: היא בחורה קשוחה, ואת עור עבה, יותר מדי.

רחל מברך אותי על מפתן הדלת, איפה הייתי מתפעל אישית
צלחת מספר SUV לקסוס שלה (אותו קורא: "אני הייתי פיל"). ליד
במבט ראשון היא נראית מדהימה בלונדינית עם שיער, עיניים כחולות והוא מבעבע;
במבט שני, הבלונדינית מגיע בבקבוק, והיא לובשת בהיר
עדשות מגע בצבע טורקיז. אבל קצת שמפניה אמיתית. בעוד היא נגיסות ל
the kitchen to fetch a drink, I look around her enormous dining room. זה
decorated in the style of a Berni Inn: all dark wood and moody lighting. בתוך
the corner sits a huge piece of paper on which Rachelle, perhaps at the
behest of a psychiatrist, has drawn a flow chart mapping her “life goals”.
They revolve squarely around two inter-related entities. One is Phil; the
other, her pop career.

These are, as it happens, the exact subjects I'm hoping to talk about. עבור
years, this famous 30-room house, which is called the Pyrenees Castle, and
situated in Alhambra, a charmless suburb of east Los Angeles, has stood as a
neo-Gothic monument to the eccentricities of the great Phil Spector. It was,
according to rock'n'roll folklore, a Xanadu-like mansion, where the
extraordinarily wealthy record producer, who had made a slew of the most
uplifting pop songs in history (from “Da Doo Ron Ron” by the
Crystals, to “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes) but suffered from the
depression which afflicts many a genius, had retired from the record
business to wallow in a twilight world of darkness and paranoia.

That was the Castle's reputation, at least. But lately, Spector's old friends
(and even his enemies) have been describing him as a man transformed.
reason: Rachelle. Bright, amenable, and one-third his age, she burst on to
the scene some time in 2003, and turned him from an obsessive recluse, whose
controlling nature once sparked ugly lawsuit after ugly lawsuit, into a
gentle old man with a renewed appetite for life, love, and the pop game. אני
want to find out how Rachelle managed this. And to get to the bottom of
whether she arrived on the scene too late to prevent the tragedy that may
now overshadow the rest of his natural life.

Rachelle returns. We adjourn to the wood-panelled dining room, and sit at a
long antique table, in front of some framed photos of their wedding, which
took place in the foyer of the Castle in September 2006. She was 24, and
wore a traditional white gown. Phil, who was then 66, and marrying for the
third time, opted for a straw-coloured wig, teamed with a black silk shirt,
dark suit, and an impish smile. “Philip and I are many generations
apart, but we do have an incredible amount in common,” says Rachelle. "אנחנו
both wanted exactly the same thing: a small ceremony, at home, with a
minister and just a couple of guests. That's how it ended up. Perfect.”

Today, the Spectors profess to remain as deeply in love as they were that day,
and though they make an pretty odd album-looking couple, I have no reason to doubt them.
But life is no longer quite so perfect. Since April 2009, Phil has been an
inmate at California State Prison in Corcoran, three hours' drive north of
Los Angeles. According to Rachelle, it's “disgusting”. He spends
23 hours a day in a shared cell measuring five feet by nine feet, and has
little to do with his time except read, and sweat. “Recently,” she
says, “the prison has been cutting off its power supply, and air, for
one day a week, to save money. Temperatures up there can reach 120F. He's 70
years old. It's gross.”

פיל נעשה פושע בגלל אירוע עכשיו לשמצה שהתקיים רק
מטרים ספורים מהמקום שבו אנחנו יושבים. ב -3 בפברואר 2003, חודש לפני שהוא
נפגשו לראשונה רחל, לאנה קלרקסון, שחקנית ב-הסרט שאותה כנראה
נפגשו במועדון לילה בהוליווד לקחו הביתה למשקאות, נורה בפניו
במסדרון של הטירה. היא מתה מיד. פיל, אשר עשויה או לא עשויה להיות
עדים לאירוע, ואשר הוא בהחלט האדם החי היחיד אשר עשוי
יודע מה שהתרחש בפועל, נדחתה על ההדק. אבל חבר מושבעים בלוס
אנג 'לס Superior בית המשפט ראה את הדברים אחרת. בחודש אפריל 2009, היה
הורשע פה אחד של רצח מדרגה שנייה ניתנה 19 שנים לחיים.

גזר הדין עזבה רחל הממונה על החיים של פיל ספקטור, ואת מורשתו.
היא מעבירה את ביתו, קטלוג גבו, עסקי רב מיליון דולר שלו
אינטרסים. כיום היא בתכנון ערעור נגד הרצח שלו
ההרשעה, וגם מספק על הקשר היחיד שלו המשפחתי הרגיל אל
מחוץ לעולם: שלושת הילדים שהוא אימץ בשנות ה -1970, שני הן
רוני (בן, Donte, שומר על קשר). בתו היחידה ששרדה,
ניקול, אשר הוא בערך בגילה של רחל, מבקר מדי פעם. אבל
היא גרה בניו יורק, נסיעה של יום שלושה אזורי זמן מכאן.

עבור רחל, זה גורם לקיום עצוב לפעמים, מנוקד קטן
מדגיש. רישום מגיע רק אחרי 02:00 בימי חול, כאשר פיל מותר
לעשות שיחת טלפון של 15 דקות (כשהוא מחייג, רחל של BlackBerry המפוח: "פיליפ
קורא! "). אחרים קורה כל שבת, כאשר היא עולה בשעה 1:00 ו
כונני ל Corcoran להיות הראשון בתור כדי לקבל גישה למבקרים "
האזור. היא רצועת-חיפוש, וגם לקחת בחשבון הקנטינה ספרטני. יש, פיל
מותר בדרך כלל לנשק אותה פעם אחת לתת לה חיבוק אחד, אחרי זה,
הם מדברים במשך שעות.

השיא השני של רחל, ועל אחד אשר עזר לי שקית הזמנה
הטירה, סובב סביב המוזיקה. בתארו את עצמה כזמרת,
כותב שירים ונגן טרומבון, היא פרסמה רק אלבום הבכורה. הכותרת שלו
הוא מתוך Chelle שלי ", והיא כבר תופסת מקום מסקרן פופ
היסטוריה: זה הופק על ידי פיל, לפני שהוא נכנס chokey, והוא
ולכן האלבום הראשון שהוא היה האחראי הבלעדי על ב לא פחות
מ 30 שנים. האחרון שלו היה לפני סוף המאה, על ידי
ראמונס, אשר יצא בשנת 1980.

למרות העובדה כי הוא מסמן את שובו של אחד הגדולים ביותר של הפופ
האמרגנים, המבקרים לא היה בכלל על סוג הרשומה. חדש
ניו יורק פוסט "כינה אותו" פרוייקט הפופ הבל הבלים שאין לו קשר
דבר המפיק האגדי סייע פעם מלאכה "ואמר כי
המוזיקה של פיל עכשיו פלילית כמוהו. זה לא פחות גרם קטן
הרושם במצעד האמריקאי. "הגבוהה ביותר שיש לנו עד כה הוא 46,"
אומרת רחל. "הייתי אומר שזה עושה די טוב, במיוחד עבור
משהו מן האמן החדש, אשר אין לו תווית גדולה דוחפת אותו. "

נוגע ללב, המסלול הראשון של האלבום, "כאן" הלב שלי, היא אהבה
שיר על פיל מערכת יחסים ארוכת מרחק של רחל. זה מוגדר
היכו פופ סינתיסייזר-1980s סיגנון, והוא מכיל כ לתפארה, ראוותני
מילים אשר לא יהיה מתוך מקום של אירוויזיון. "אתה
הלילה כאן איתי היום, גם כשאתה רחוק ", ממשיך טיפוסי
קו. "מישהו על השיר של שאתה אוהב, מי הוא תמיד בלב שלך,
אפילו אם הם לא בידיים שלך ", מוסיפה רחל. "עבורי, כי
האדם תמיד יהיה פיליפ. הוא מאיר באור שלי, וחלק ממנו כבר
להיות חלק ממני, כך שהוא כל הזמן איתי. "

פיל כבר בינתיים רגשני לא פחות לדון בפרויקט. "אני כמו
התרגשתי האלבום הזה כמו כשפגשתי אלביס או אבנים, "הוא אמר,
בראיון מהכלא בד בבד עם השקתו. "הפיכת כי שיא
עם רייצ 'ל היתה אחת החוויות הגדולות של חיי. "
באשר לאשתו, אמר NRG מעריב: "הכלא הוא מאוד
קשה. אני כאן עם sociopaths ו יוצלחים ... [אך] היא באה כל
שבוע כדי לראות אותי, ואני רואה רקטות השמים בכל פעם שאני רואה אותה. "ואז הוא
הוסיף, בלי שמץ של אירוניה: "היא הנסיכה פיות בעולם שלי".
וכדי להבין כי העולם, אתה אולי צריך לשמוע את הסיפור של רחל.

היתה, כפי שזה קורה, הרבה אגדה על המסע כי פנה
רחל אל הכובש היחיד של 30-החדר הפירנאים טירה, שהיה
נבנה בשנת 1920 כמו העתק בקנה מידה שליש בגודל של טירה צרפתית.
גדלתי Beaver Falls, פנסילבניה, על ידי אם חד הורית, למדה
טרומבון בבית הספר שיחק צועדים. אחרי שעזב, ו
לגלות שהיא יכולה להתפרנס שירה דוגמנות עבודות,
היא יצאה לדרך במורד כביש trpretty והחלבון מוזר ידי הרבה בחורות יפות מעיירה קטנה
אמריקה, ונסע ללוס אנג 'לס. בגיל 20, הגיעה בשנת 2002, עם רק 150 $ ב
אותה בכיס.

כעבור שנה, רייצ 'ל שורט, להשתמש בשם נעוריה, היתה ביצוע הופעות חיים
(היא זכתה גונג הטוב ביותר אנדי פופ המבצע ב LA Music Awards). אחד
הלילה, היא מצאה את עצמה האוכל של דן טאנה, מהאסכולה הישנה הוליווד
המסעדה. פיל ספקטור, שהיה גם שם, ביקש ממנה לשבת ליד השולחן שלו.
ודרט קופידון פגע. "למדתי יותר באותו לילה על הדת
בפוליטיקה מאשר ידעתי כל חיי ", היא נזכרת. "אנחנו בסופו של דבר
מדברים עד שש בבוקר. כאשר הגיע הזמן ללכת, הוא הביט בי
ואמר, "אפשר לנשק אותך?" אמרתי, 'לא!'. אבל הוא השיג את מספר הטלפון שלי. "
האשמאי הזקן קרא למחרת. "אני תמיד נמשכתי יותר
החבר 'ה ", היא אומרת.

הרומנטיקה פרחה במהלך הביקורים סטארבקס המקומי, טיולים הארוחה,
ואת הנסיעות משחקים בלוס אנג 'לס לייקרס כדורסל. אבל זה לא היה כל הפלגה רגיל.
שבועות אחדים, שמעו רחל על לאנה קלרקסון, שמתה כמה שבועות
לפני פגישתם. אבל רחל לא לרגע אחד ספק של פיל
התמימות. מעולם, אף פעם לא יהיה. "כשאתה פוגש אותו, אתה מקבל טעם
סכנה כלשהי. הוא קטנטן. אני גדולה ממנו עכשיו, והוא לא היה
לפגוע בזבוב. הוא יכול לא רצח מישהו. הוא גם טוב לב, אכפתיות ונתינה
ואמיתי. "הם כדין התארסו בשנת 2005.

יחסיהם היו גרר הראשונה לזירה הציבורית כאשר פיל הראשון
משפט הרצח היה בטלוויזיה, בסוף שנת 2006. המראה של רחל בבית המשפט
עורר בתחילה תככים ולעג. היא הביטה בחשדנות כמו
קלרקסון, ופרשנים snarky תהה מה שמשך אותה
מפורסם מיליונר רב. אבל במשך הזמן, הפכה דעת. "אפילו אלה
מי מתעב ספקטור, ויש הרבה בהוליווד, הפתעה עצמם
לפי התחושה המגוננת של האישה הזאת חביבה מיד, "ציין את לוס
אנג 'לס טיימס, בפרופיל של פיל. "הם משבחים אותה איתן
נאמנות ספקטור. גברים נופלים במיוחד תחת כישוף שלה. "

עד במשפט הראשון של פיל שננטשה בשנת 2007 (חבר המושבעים לא הצליח
כדי להגיע אל פסק דין פה אחד נדרש), היתה רחל להיות גברת ספקטור.
לאחר מכן, בזמן ההפסקה בין משפט חוזר, מתוך Chelle שלי "נתפסה. "אחד
היום עובר עלי סרטים ביתיים ישנים של לי לשיר. פיל נכנס, ו
אמר 'זה אתה? ". הוא לא יודע מה יכולות ווקאליות שלי היו, עד
בשלב זה, שכן שמתי את הקריירה שלי על החזק לעזור לו עם בית המשפט
במקרה. "

To release the record, Rachelle recently founded her own label, Genius Forever
(named after Phil, of course) and cut a distribution deal with Sony. She is
also about to go back into the studio to make a Rachelle Unplugged version
of the record, which her husband will be unavailable to produce. “People
say that Phil Spector can make anyone sound good, and I want to prove that I
can actually sing,” she says. Allegations that Phil used auto-tune and
other dark arts of his trade to paper over holes in her musical ability are “totally
untrue”.

The other thing that often angers Rachelle, and we can't beat around the bush
here, are allegations that she's a gold-digger. The reality of her
existence, she says, is quite the opposite: she says her favourite shop is
Target, a sort of American Argos. She doesn't loaf around. When we tour the
downstairs bar area and pool room, I notice that a layer of dust has
gathered on Phil's collection of Grammy trophies.

It must, I suppose, be a lonely existence. She shares the vast home with six
dogs, some cats, and two iguanas. A maid comes twice a week. Her other
regular visitor is Esmerelda, her gardener's six-year-old daughter.
lawns of the Castle are brown and parched (she recently turned off the
sprinklers, to save money and the environment), and even Phil's collection
of garden gnomes could use a lick of paint. This is hardly the high life,
she says.

“My life is hard. It's a lot of work. It's so emotionally, physically and
mentally draining. I work seven days a week. I've started the record label,
I'm trying to promote the album, manage Phil's estate and also look after
the appeal to get him out. If I were a gold-digger, I wouldn't be here,
doing all that. I'd be by some pool, on an exotic island, counting my money.”

Rachelle's priority, these days, is to free Phil. Having sat through the two
trials, which together lasted more than a year, and reviewed 40,000 pages of
evidence, she has applied for (and got) a licence to practice as a private
investigator in California. This allowed her to be closely involved in
drafting the lengthy appeal against his murder conviction which was filed
earlier this year.

The case against Spector was by no means cut-and-dried. It revolved around
inconclusive forensic evidence, with conflicting interpretations of blood
spatter patterns and gunpowder residue, which left experts divided as to
whether the famous defendant was anywhere near Ms Clarkson when she died.
The supposed murder weapon did not carry any of his fingerprints, and no one
is sure of the identity of its owner. Officially, it was registered to a
pawnshop in Texas.

In attempting to prove Spector guilty, prosecutors therefore relied on
testimony from his driver, who told the court his boss had confessed to
Clarkson's killing. They also persuaded the judge to allow evidence from
five former female acquaintances of Spector, who claimed that at various
times in the past 30 years, he had threatened them with guns. This, the jury
said in its explanation of the sentence, tipped the balance in favour of
conviction.

It certainly worked into a well-established narrative. Spector, who had
produced his first number one hit, “To Know Him is To Love Him”,
in 1958, at the age of 18, had never enjoyed what you might call a normal
חיים. A millionaire by the age of 22 (during the early 1960s, his hits
included “You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling”, the most extensively
played record in history), he was always volatile. When creating his famous “Wall
of Sound”, which involved vast armies of backing musicians and singers,
he lorded over recording studios like a mad dictator.

סיפורי גם בשפע של קסם של ספקטור עם נשק. פעם הוא ירה
האקדח לתוך הגג כשהוא יוצא מכליו בעת שעבד עם ג 'ון לנון.
כמה שנים מאוחר יותר, כאשר ככל הנראה שיכור, הוא נדד עד ליאונרד כהן,
ותקע את אקדח טעון בצווארו, אומר, "ליאונרד, אני אוהב אותך!"
(כהן הוא אמר לי כבדרך אגב השיב, "אני מקווה שאתה עושה, פיל").
בשנת 1980, מצבו הנפשי הידרדר עוד יותר כאשר בנו היחיד,
פיליפ ג 'וניור, לקה בלוקמיה. פיל פרש מוסיקה לטפל בו,
רק לילד למות, בשנת 1992. זמן קצר לאחר מכן, הוא התחיל לקחת המכריע
כמויות גדולות של תרופות נגד דיכאון, ואת רוב העשור הבא, גרם בלבד
גיחות מדי פעם לאולפן ההקלטות. הוא גם הפך פרנואיד
על להיות לבד בבית טירת; מבקרים דיבר עליו נעילת הדלתות
השערים כדי למנוע מהם לעזוב.

אחרי מדבר המושבעים דרך הביוגרפיה הזו, התביעה הצליחה
לבנות סיפור משכנע: לאנה קלרקסון, שחקנית למטה ב-לה מזל
אשר גם סבל מדיכאון, פגש אותו בבית של הבלוז
מועדון לילה בהוליווד. היא חזרה אל הבית שלו, ואת חלקו כמה משקאות.
אבל כאשר גב קלרקסון קם לעזוב, ספקטור איבד את שלוותו. במקרה או
העיצוב, הוא ירה באקדח. לאור אישיותו של ספקטור, טענו - זה היה
בכל מקרה תאונה שמחכה לקרות.

יש, עם זאת, בעיה עם התיאוריה הזו: הוא מסתמך על נסיבתיות
ראיות. להגנתו, ספקטור של "נבחרת החלומות" של הפערים שילם
עורכי דין יש מתקדמים אלטרנטיבה: כי קלרקסון, שנאלץ תפקידים
פני צלקת הפנטזיה פולחן קפיצי ברברים המלכה במהלך 1980, אך
שהקריירה שלו מאז שתוי, ביצע למעשה התאבדות. "היא היתה
צרכו בקבוק טקילה, היא Vicodin [], הקלה על כאב התרופה שלה
המערכת, והוא נשבר על להתפנות מהדירה שלה, "הוא
איך רחל מנסח זאת.

הערעור יהיה להדגיש את חוסר ראיות זיהוי פלילי, וכן טוענים כי
השופט לא היה צריך להרשות חמש נשים לתת אופי הדוחות
נגד פיל, שכן הם היו דעות קדומות. "זו שנאה כלפי כל
הדבר נשים ... אני לא מבין מאיפה זה בא. כי אם אתה יודע
משהו על הקריירה של פיל תדע שהוא עזר לנשים, במיוחד
הנשים של צבע, להשיג הצלחה, אנשים כמו טינה טרנר ורוני ספקטור
[] השני אשתו. אין טעות גדולה מזו פיל שונא
הנשים. "

Clarkson's sister, Fawn, and her family's lawyer, Roderick Lindblom, did not
respond to requests for a comment about the appeal for this article.
Rachelle, with half an eye on their feelings, says the case “was a
tragedy for everybody involved. But it was not a murder”. Clarkson was
six feet tall, and weighed 160 pounds, which is far more than Spector. “They're
trying to tell me she let him walk up and put a gun in her mouth? It was two
inches behind her teeth when it went off. How could he possibly do that?”

Time, of course, will tell whether Rachelle secures their day in court. אבל
the wheels of justice move incredibly slowly. Even if the appeal is granted,
it could be years before Phil Spector is free to once more build a wall of
sound. “I've lost my husband and my best friend,” she says,
returning once more to the subject of her album. “The whole point of it
was to turn the negative of the case into a positive and put the focus back
on Phil Spector's music, where it belongs. Whatever happens, I hope to
remind people that he's still that genius producer who is way beyond his
time, and who no one will ever be able to imitate.”

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[ Editor's Note: The views of this column do not necessarily reflect those of SOHH.com ]

1. King Me

D*mn, doggies, this year's Forbes' Cash Kings list is ridiculously funny. Not so much because we see Jay-Z and Diddy in the list but that Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and DRAKE made more $$$ than 5-0 Cent? LMFAO!!! This has to be a clerical error, right? LMFAO!!! Before we see who made the cut, let's just analyze a few things. In 2008 , when those numbers came out, 5-0 held his ground at No. 1 with Jay and Puffy looking in the rearview, right? Then this clown caught feelings when he got booted to No. 4 last year, getting edged out by Kanye West . לחץ על אישור. But now, to get tossed all the way to No. 15? SMFH. There's no excuse doggies, especially with as much as this clown says he's WORKING . Those tours? Those straight-to-DVD movies that he claims are where the REAL $$$ is at? Or how about all those iTunes sales G-Unit is raking in? SMH. It's over, doggies, admit it :

# 1. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter – $63m

# 2. Sean “Diddy” Combs – $30M
# 3. Aliuane “Akon” Thiam – $21M [that Lady Gaga money is no joke...]
# 4. Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter – $20M
# 5. Andre “Dr. Dre” Young – $17M
#6. Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges – $16M
# 7. Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus – $15M
#8. Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley – $14M
#9. Pharrell Williams – $13M
#10 Kanye West – $12M
#11. Aubrey “Drake” Graham – $10M
#12. Clifford “TI” Harris – $9M (tie)
#12. Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean – $9M (tie)
#14. Marshall “Eminem” Mathers – $8M (tie)
#14 Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson – $8M (tie)

^ LOL. Good looks @ NahRight for that list. Some things ain't adding up, doggies. We can understand how Jay got $63 million from Roc Nation ( J. Cole, Wale , Blueprint III Tour, etc.) and Diddy's a** was all over those informercials and let's not forget that Lady Gaga money ain'ta joke for Akon along with Dr. Dre 's dope BEATS. But Ludacris? F*cking Drake!?!? TI ??? Wait……how the h*ll did TI make more $$$ than 5-0 when he was LOCKED UP for 6-8 months!?!?! SMH…… Look at those numbers doggies, this post is short but the comments should be long. Feeling sad about 5-0′s numbers? Maybe it's just me, but something tells me he had this coming……………

“I'm on deck,” 50 said in an interview in JULY 2009 . “I'm loaded. Call me 'four' this year, and then you call me 'one' next year , because I'm really preparing for my cycle . They're fine…What kind of person would be upset at what position they fall when they're on the Forbes list . That person would be a complete idiot. Ask me to show you a person who's happy, and I'll show you someone who's content. And if you ask me to show you a guy who's piss-poor with really nice things around him, I'll show you the guy that's on that list that's worried about being number one. And [the person] won't stay there , trust me.”

^ …..”call me 'one' next year….” Really 5-0? REALLLLY? And yeah, I hear your issue about the accomplishment to be on the FORBES list, but that's like saying what doggy would be mad to get SIGNED to Interscope? Call Wale, Charles Hamilton and the rest of those other doggies. And I pulled that quote, doggies, to say this. If you really believe everything coming out of this Gorilla-Doggy's mouth, then why when you have the PROOF right in front of your eyes that he's speaking bullsh*t, do you continue to DEFEND and VOUCH for this clown? SMH………

2. The New Def Jam Records

Go ahead doggies, consider my words “STFU” Honors material, but at least hear me out first. Baby is the NEW Russell Simmons. Whether y'all want to admit it or just skip over this to peep this week's Mrs. Butterworth (she's juicy, too!), you cannot deny how powerful Cash Money Records is becoming. And let's stop lying, we all KNOW Young Money is the same company, don't get sh*t twisted thinking Nicki Minaj is not technically a Cash Money Records artist. Everybody, and I do mean everybody, wants to be Cash Money affiliated more than ever right now. But first up, Shyne ?

“I might do that. I'm not sure,” Shyne said about possibly releasing an album on Cash Money. “We're still finishing the fine points and negotiating that . Maybe I'll come with something six months later, [maybe] every six months. I've got so much to say, you dig? I don't think I can answer all the questions on one album. So I definitely think we can put out two different albums on the same day at the end of the year, then come back with a third one or another double set six months later. Get all this sh*it off my chest.”

^ So this doggy wants to drop an album on Def Jam AND Cash Money Records. SMFH…even though we think he has turned into straight a** since getting out of prison, especially after 5-0 pranked the h*ll out of him last week, you can't lie, having Shyne drop something on Cash Money would be a GOOD LOOK. Let's be honest, doggies, Bow Wow and Jay Sean are cool but haven't even an ounce of street credibility to their names. Shyne on CM would be like when 5-0 recruited Game to G-Unit. Just to add another element. But even bigger than that? Recruiting Bizzy Bone ? WTF?

“ Cash Money , Young Money and such labels as this know how to treat a artist ,” Bizzy said in a statement. “Whether the artist has been in the industry for a decade or brand new to the system. They (Cash Money, Young Money, G Unit etc.) respect the artist position and know how to market and promote a top caliber artist(s) .”

^ Whether Bizzy Bone is just kissing a** to get Baby's attention or really feels like Cash Money is a hot label, this is f*cking amazing that he's upping a company that has been publicly sh*tted on by producers like Jim Jonsin and Bangladesh .

Need an explanation for all this, doggies? Well, even though I planned on featuring this in the “STFU” Honors section, Baby pretty much lays out the formula for why CMB is out-doing the industry:

“I look at that sh*t as we went through war and we sustained the weather and we stood in the fog ,” Baby said in an interview. “Even when muthaf*ckas counted us out, we stood up and we manned up. We did everything we had to , to get where we're at today. I think God gives it to ya when he feels you're ready for it. It took us a long time ; we had to go through a lot of changes. A lot of obstacles, losses, gains . I just think right now we're so great at this sh*t. We got so many young n*ggas who look at me andWayne and what we've accomplished. You see the hunger [that] Drake and all the rest of those little n*ggas [have] because they're reaching for those stories . We work like n*ggas who never made a dollar and I think that's impressive to them. That makes them go harder. Those little n*ggas got promising futures.”

^ D*mn, hate it or love it, Baby has a point. No other label has hotter artists, mainstream artists and, most importantly, SELLING artists. Not familiar with the Def Jam/Russell Simmons' 1990′s days? Just think DMX , Jay-Z, EPMD, Ja Rule, Redman, Method Man and all those other motherf*ckers from Def Jam Vendetta . LOL. The list runs long, doggies, for CM going with Lil Wayne, Cool & Dre, Bow Wow, possibly Shyne/Bizzy Bone/ Sean Garrett / Freeway / DJ Khaled, Jay Sean, Kevin Rudolph and the Young Money roster…so don't sleep on this squad.

3. The Day The Earth Stood Still

Doggies and b*tches (female dogs, doggies) alike, it is true. Nicki Minaj is the hottest artist out. When Kanye West said it, I kinda shrugged but when the f*cking Associated Press interviews rap doggies about what THEY think about her? SMFH. It's bigger than her just being a “good” female rapper. She is THE rapper out right now. Doggies might shrug too but her buzz is bigger than Drake. Her following is bigger than Drake. (Do the math doggies, she hit that million follower mark weeks before Frogger). Even though I hate her album title, Pink Friday , she has even given herself months to do whatever changes she feels necessary. Anyway, getting to the point at hand, here's why your favorite artists are f*cking with this Barbie :

Pharrell

“I think since Nicki came out there's going to be a lot of new girls coming out. There's always one that paves the way and opens the door [and] I think she reopened the door to hip-hop for females.”

Ludacris

“Now that you have somebody that has pretty much her own style and does her own thing, people are gravitating toward it, so I think that makes her stick out 'cause she's so different.”

5-0 Cent

“There's not as many female rappers because there's not as many emerging crews. When those new crews come up, there's a potential for a female artist when the head of that crew sees the idea of bringing someone to speak from a female perspective.”

ערב

“Even though Nicki is representing for females period, she's not representing for every female. She's a specific type of entertainer. There are a lot of different kind of men out there representing for the males, and you need a lot of different females that represent for the different kinds of females. … Honestly, between [Lauryn Hill] and me and Nicki being out there, hopefully a lot of other females will be coming up.”

קווין לטיפה

“Part of the reason hip-hop was dead is because there weren't any female emcees out, really like in the forefront of hip-hop, playing on the radio, in the daytime, every day.”

SMFH. F*ck it doggies, “It's Butters Barbie, b*ttttttttch!!!!” CO-SIGNED.

4. Mrs. Butterworth: Dela Monet

Doggies, I have yet to fail y'all at this point and once again Bulldog Butters has come through with the most juicy Mrs. Butterworth we have seen thus far, Dela Monet. Now she is on the come-up, so there isn'ta rack of pics out there for us, but we got a solid stack to peep this week. Even though some complain that a** and t*ts don't get more exposure here, I would hope that y'all could at least find some dark corner of your parent's basement and find something worthy of posting in here. F*ck it, why do I bother to type, here's what y'all have been waiting for:

Bonus Video, Doggies:

5. “STFU” Honors

LMFAO! D*mn, sometimes it's even hard for me to begin this section doggies b/c I know what is going to be said. Easily the most hilarious “Shut The F*ck Up” Honors material of the week but even better is when you take away my bolded font and really look at what these doggies are saying. SMFH. Comparing a Little Weasel to the best pop singer of all-time? Or what about saying rappers need second chances after their careers are completely destroyed, and actually comparing your horrible a** sales today to someone out-selling you. SMFH. Not impressed? Well, then imagine some fat rapper not including the TWO BEST MC'S OF ALL-TIME in their top five list or a lying a** wannabe groupie thinking a rap magazine feature is the equivalent of getting tossed up in a TIME piece. SMFH. Doggies, it's that time. Feast your eyes:

1. תינוק

“When Wayne comes home he lifts everybody's spirits, he lifts everybody's value, he lifts the brand, he lifts everything. Wayne is gonna be the biggest artist in music, not just in hip-hop; in music. It's some Michael Jackson sh*t right here goin' on right before our eyes…He's a beast; he went back to that raw rappin'. That n*gga still be impressin' me with his music.”

2. Ja Rule

“Yeah, I'm starting to now see people that may have hated on me in the beginning are not rooting for me and want to see me win,” Rule explained in an interview. “That to me is big. The best part about it is I'm humbled by it all. I feel like everybody deserves a second chance to do whatever. Really, I feel that my situation was an unfair situation. A very unique, very pretty odd album situation. Nobody ever seen anything like that in hip-hop, you know? I laugh when I see people say sh*t like, ' Yo, [50 Cent] kilt Rule , but he didn't kill [Rick] Ross.' No disrespect to Ross, but he did 180-something [first week sales of Teflon Don]. I went platinum with [2004's] RULE after I made [2003's] Blood In My Eye. I look at sh*t like that and… I don't know, take it how you want to take it. I was a much bigger selling artist than just platinum so I guess that's why people felt I took a hit. But the music industry was taking a hit at that time, too. You can't really judge it or try to make an issue out of it, or an excuse. It just is what it is.”

3. פאט ג 'ו

“That's a hard question to answer,” Joe told DJ Vlad when asked who his top five favorite artists were. “I would say Big Pun , I would say KRS-One , umm, I would say Kanye West. Yeah, I would say Kanye West, umm, it changes every day. I can't really answer that question you told me. I would go with Lil Wayne . That's four. Then I like this combination, Dr. Dre and Snoop [Dogg] combination. If I could put them as one, that would be like, my top five and half. Big and Pac are up there too, a million percent but when you ask somebody who's their top five, they gotta tell you who 'their' top five is. You can't always say Big and Pac. We know they're the greatest, we know they're the best, we know all that. And listen, it changes every day, my favorite rappers of all-time and my favorite rappers now.”

4. TI

“I pushed the album back so I can completely focus my attention to the rollout and release of this film Takers ,” he said. “I feel it wouldn't be fair to the film or the album if I was splitting my attention span amongst the two, so I hit pause on the album to completely focus my attention to rolling out this here film. And once we prayerfully debut No. 1–25-plus, 20-plus million–then after those bottles have been popped and that celebration [is] underway, I will completely resubmerge myself back into the music, fully on album mode.”

5. Kat Stacks

“When I first made the Internet blog, I regretted it, because everybody stopped talking to me ,” Stacks revealed in the interview. “But as I got bigger in time , bigger names and muthaf*ckas in the game, they all started getting at me . It just upgraded my career . Now I don't gotta go work . I don't gotta do sh*t. All I gotta do is show up at a [club] and get paid [for appearances] I don't regret it anymore . The first time I did it, I was like, 'D*mn, why the f*ck I did this sh*t? Because I was drunk? Just to embarrass muthaf*ckas?' I didn't expect to get money out of it. Now these muthaf*ckas keep f*ckin' with me, so I'm gonna continue to do Kat Stacks. “

^ Just for you Kat:

***D*mn doggies, final weeks of summer, can y'all believe it? F*ck it though, I like that NY cold weather and the hoody's out. Turns out all that rap beef sh*t just died out, with Waka Flocka/Gucci Mane, Rick Ross/Young Jeezy and Nelly/The Mask. LOL. No hot albums out, no blockbuster movies out…nah doggies, “The Lottery” doesn't count, and no more rap b*tches going after Nicki Minaj anymore. Any excuses/reasons? Well, it's dark and h*'ll's hot, so I'm hopping in the pool bathtub doggies. See y'all on Tuesday with that Waka Flocka Flame/LeBron James sh*t! LOL!!!!!!!! -BB***

Kenny Chesney 's new album “Hemingway's Whiskey” isn't out until Sept. 28, but the Country chart-topper gave Billboard an in-depth preview, discussing the record's 11 songs track by track, and in the process revealing how he sees himself in his fans, his thoughts on being like a “modern day pirate,” finding inspiration in the dentist's chair, and why duet partner Grace Potter is “a hell of a singer.”

The Kenny Chesney Billboard Cover Story

1. "בנים של הסתיו"
(Casey Beathard/Dave Turnbull)

Kenny Chesney: “Boys Of Fall” is a perfect description of how I grew up and where I grew up. That song meant so much to me and I thought, 'Wow, there's a lot of kids out there and a lot of people that have that feeling in their lives.' There's a line in the song that says, “In little towns like mine, that's all we got.” And that's the way it was in East Tennessee, and still is. I've got a lot of guys from East Tennessee out on the road [with me] that grew up the same way, and I played them that song when [writer] Casey Beathard gave me the CD of just him on a guitar playing it. I made everybody come on the bus and said “listen to this.” I knew we had something that was very common.  A lot of people that listen to my music and that are passionate about what we do out on the road… I've been pretty perceptive over the years, and I think that we kind of grew up the same way. I see myself a lot in my fans, and I think vice versa. I hope so anyway.”

2. “Live A Little (Love A Lot)”
(Shane Minor/David Lee Murphy)

Chesney: “That song is what I try to live by. When I heard 'Live A Little (Love A Lot),' that's pretty much the definitive sound we create out on the road. If there's a predictable song on the record, for me, this might be it. And I don't think that's a negative, either. I think this song is going to be awesome in concert. I think it defines me — anybody out there that gives to anything — a lot. I work really hard, I give everything to this, I've given my life to this. But so does the guy that's a CEO for some company. I'm addicted to 'Deadliest Catch.' Those guys, they don't have a life; that's what they do. They can relate to that, 'I've got to get off this boat and live a little.' That's why I think that song matters.”

3. “Coastal”
(Michael Mobley/Wendell Mobley/Neil Thrasher)

Chesney: “When I was a kid we were very lower-middle class. We weren't poor, but we didn't have a lot of extra money to go places. So when we went on vacation, we packed the car up and we drove to Myrtle Beach. Or we drove to Daytona. Or we went to the Redneck Riviera: Panama City, Gulf Shores or Destin. And I still love that. That song is for everybody that grew up like I did. It's a beach song, but it's a Redneck Kenny song. These people work for a living. Like he says in the song, 'No more building transmissions, he's going deep sea fishin'.' אני אוהב את הקו הזה. That's my family, that's my friends. That's my cousins. That's my audience.”

4. “You And Tequila” (featuring Grace Potter)
(Matraca Berg/Deana Carter)

Chesney: “This song makes me believe in music even more. I'd never met Grace Potter until she came into the studio. She grew up in the woods in Vermont. I grew up in the woods in East Tennessee. We come from completely worlds, different backgrounds, probably religious beliefs, we haven't talked about it. I don't know what her political beliefs are, I don't know nothing about any of that. I know she's a great person and I know that she is a hell of a singer. I heard her voice and I knew I would love to sing with her one day. I didn't know it would be on this, or this soon.

“At the end of 2007, I rented a house North of Malibu, Calif., for about two months. I was exhausted, I didn't want to talk to anybody, I didn't want to listen to music, I just wanted to be still for a minute. Every day I would drive close in to Santa Monica, meet some friends, eat dinner, and I'd drive back up the PCH with the windows down. That time of year is really chilly, I'd watch the sun set. It's beautiful, I loved it. I would turn on the radio every now and then and I would hear these songs. I heard an Eagles song, I don't even remember what the song was. But I remember thinking, 'Wow, I think I like music again.'

“When I heard 'You and Tequila,' it put me in that spot. That's when I thought of Grace, because I listened to her music a lot on the boat, a lot on the bus, her live record especially. She has a song called 'Apology' that still kills me. I got in touch with her and sent her the song, I had already recorded it. She called back the next day and said “I want to make this happen.” When she came in and we put our voices together, wow.  I love the song, Matraca and Deana wrote it, but, boy, it's relatable, so universal. To have Grace on it, that will be with me forever.”

5. “Seven Days A Thousand Times”
(Lee Brice/Billy Montana/Jon Stone)

Chesney: “To me, when I heard that song it was like 'Anything But Mine,' chapter two. It was like the next phase of that guy's life. I know I have that person in my life, and I think everybody's got that person in their life, that they were with a short time and had no idea the impact that short time would have on them. No matter how you live, no matter where you go in your life, no matter who you're with later on, those seven days or that little time frame that you're with them made more of an impact than you even knew at the time. I think that's very powerful and that's what this song's about.”

6. “Small Ya'll” (duet with George Jones )
(Bobby Braddock)

Chesney: “Here's what happened on 'Small Ya'll': George Jones cut that song a long time ago. I had his version in my truck for about three years and it never came out of my six-CD changer. I got into a little routine where I'd fly home after shows and fly back out the next day because I thought it was giving me more rest, until I realized it was only exhausting me more. But, I would land about 1:30-2 o'clock in the morning, depending on where I was playing, and I had about a 30-minute drive home. It would be the middle of summer and I'd roll down the windows to keep me awake and I'd crank up 'Small Ya'll' as loud as I could. No matter how tired I was or if I was in a bad mood or whatever, that song always brought me to center, mentally. It made me smile.

“And as fun-sounding as that song is, it's got an incredible message to it. What Bobby wrote about makes you think, it really does. It's a very well-written, deep lyric. I love that song, and the fact George is on it with me. I really do believe that there's a generation out there now that doesn't realize the genius of George Jones. And I felt like I had the opportunity to educate them just a little bit. It's as country of a song as I've cut in a while, too. It felt good, to be honest with you. It felt natural.”

7. “Where I Grew Up”
(Ashley Gorley/Kelley Lovelace/Neil Thrasher)

Chesney: “I haven't had one of these songs in a while. 'Where I Grew Up' is a song that you really look for, you hope you get three or four of them in a career. And I've been lucky to have three or four of them. This is me. I've been in every scenario in this song. I remember as a kid writing in one of my buddy's yearbook, “I hope we never grow up.” And I try in lots of ways to make that philosophy come true, but then again you realize in some ways I already had. My grandfather died when I was a kid, and I grew  up a little bit. I think this song teaches us that there are things in our lives that force us to grow up.

8. “Reality”
(Kenny Chesney/Brett James)

Chesney: “I got the idea to write 'Reality' in the dentist's chair. I'm sitting there with a gas mask on. There were a couple of years that I was so busy on the road I was kinda numb. I wasn't really tired, I wasn't really not tired, I wasn't really happy, I was just kind of numb. So I'd go to the dentist to have something done and they'd put that gas mask on me and I'd be like, 'Wow, that's as relaxed as I've been in years!' I thought to myself, 'This is why people smoke pot right here! This is it!' I don't smoke pot, but this is why people do it, I guarantee you. Because it gets them away from reality. I even asked my dentist, 'I just want to come over here and sit some time, can you guys do that?' He said, 'We can't do that, we'd get in trouble.' I swear, I started writing that song on the way home. But then I related it to everybody that comes to see us. That's what live music is. It's an escape from reality. That's why as a kid I loved it. I still love going to shows, I love live music. That's where I got the idea to write the song, it's my message to the fans that it's OK to break free and escape reality, with us.”

9. “Round And Round”
(Scotty Emerick/Paul Overstreet/Even Stevens)

Chesney: “'Round and Round' is very different for me, melodically and production-wise. I think everybody, whether it's your job or your love life, whatever it is, there's a certain complacency that we get, the internal voice saying it might be better somewhere else, or I'm kinda sick of what I'm doing now I might want to try this or that. This song is telling us we should enjoy the right now, enjoy the moment. I think everybody searches for that certain balance and tries to quiet those thoughts in their head that they've got to be constantly moving, need to go somewhere, do this, be with somebody else. It's like all those characters in the song. The guy that lives in the mountains wants to go to the beach and the guy on the beach wants to live in the mountains. The message of the song is you've got to enjoy the moment as much as you possible can.”

10. “Somewhere With You”
(JT Harding/Shane McAnally)

Chesney: “This song killed me when I heard it. This is a tortured soul song. If you get going with somebody, you've been in a relationship and for whatever reason she's gone or you're gone. And you're not necessarily in another relationship, but you're with somebody else, just starting something with somebody else. Trying to balance both those worlds is tough. I've done it a lot, where you're with somebody and you're thinking this isn't necessarily bad, but wow, man it would be really great to be with you. That can be a lot of mental baggage.”

11. “Hemingway's Whiskey”
(Guy Clark/Ray Stephenson/Joe Leathers)

Chesney: “My favorite book ever is “The Old Man and the Sea.” Those two characters in that book remind me of the relationship I had with my grandfather. It was an important one. I've been asked many times, on many different occasions, if there was one person you'd want to sit and have a beer with, living or dead, who would it be? And it would probably be Ernest Hemingway. He's traveled, he's met all these wonderful characters, he's written about them, he's loved, he's lost love, he's lived with regret, he's lived with depression, he's lived with so much stuff. Why wouldn't you want to have a beer and pick his brain… on a good day? And he loved life.

“When I saw the title on a Guy Clark record, I was curious. I wonder what that means, wonder what he's talking about? And I listened to it, and it's a celebration of how he kind of walked between the raindrops. I do that a lot. I've spent a lot of time on my boat down in the Keys and over in Bimini and the Bahamas, and those are all places where he hung out. I haven't been to Cuba yet. But when I heard this song, it just took me to those places. It took me to a state of mind. I love that part of the song where it says, “Sail away, sail away, three sheets to the wind/live hard, die hard, this one's for him.” Because I do, I live a pretty fast life. Even though I'm very healthy and regimented in my diet and everything, we live hard. We don't live as hard as the guys on “Deadliest Catch,” now they live hard. But we're in a different place every day, we're a lot like modern day pirates. So I get what that line is. It's not about being drunk at all. It's about being pedal to the metal. When I heard that line, it about killed me. I felt this pretty odd album kinship to that song.

“I don't know what I'd ask Hemingway if I had a beer with him. We'd have to have whiskey, I guess.”

A Conversation with eels' Mark Oliver Everett (E)

Mike Ragogna : What have you been up to since Hombre Lobo ?

Mark Oliver Everett : It's funny, we last spoke before Hombre Lobo came out, and that was only last April or May. That's weird to me because it seems like it must have been five years ago.

MR : Yeah, it seems like a long time.

MOE : I've been so busy. The fun thing about my life is that I immerse myself every year or so into a new musical world, and this time, I expedited how many times I was going to do that in a much shorter period of time. So, last year feels like several years to me.

MR : It should because you have had three albums in what, a little over a year?

MOE : Yeah, that's right.

MR : End Times was this past January's release, right?

MOE : That's right, a wintry record.

MR : And now you're capping off your run of Hombre Lobo and End Times with this third record that we're talking about today, Tomorrow Morning .

MOE : Right.

MR : Well, in some respects, Tomorrow Morning seems like a finale for the trio. On the other hand, it seems like you're opening another chapter.

MOE : Well, yeah. I guess that's the point. It was important for me to follow a title called End Times with the title Tomorrow Morning because then it changes the meaning of the title End Times . How could it be the end if there's a morning coming tomorrow?

MR : (laughs) Very clever. And it's interestingly sequenced.

MOE : Actually, the beginning is at the end of the story, and the end is in the middle.

MR : I've been a fan since E, and you had me at “Nowheresville” and A Man Called (E) .

MOE : You're showing your age.

MR : Somebody has to. You know, I've been following your career since your “E” days and when you became the eels that dabbled with even more experimental pop melodies and lyrics. With this album, did you have an overall mission with Tomorrow Morning ?

MOE : Well, I wanted to make a warm, celebratory album that was celebrating life and all of the good things in life. You know, as you get older, you start to look around, and you start to notice that there are things that you should be appreciating.

MR : Yeah, including love. There are a couple of great “love” songs on your latest. “I Like The Way This Is Going” is a really simple song with you on electric guitar…

MOE : …it's just guitar and bass and nothing else.

MR : Right, and it's a real joy to me. “Mystery Of Life” is probably my favorite, your “la la” chorus all but poking the eye of pop music.

MOE : Oh, cool.

MR : There are a few songs on this record that seem pretty complicated topically such as “I'm A Hummingbird.” Terrific lyrics and sentiment.

MOE : That's very nice to hear because I wasn't sure what anyone was going to make of that one. I felt like it was pretty pretty odd album, and so far, it seems like people are liking it, which is nice because I didn't know what to expect.

MR : From your perspective, which song was the most complicated from any perspective?

MOE : Well, a lot of them are deceptively complicated, but you wouldn't think it. The one called “Looking Up” is my favorite probably because I had the most fun I've ever had in the recording studio making it. But a lot of these songs are very complicated because they're multi-layered. Literally, there is just layer after layer, adding and subtracting as the songs go on. In the case of “Looking Up,” that applies to all the different percussion that keeps piling up on it, so it just keeps building. It's a different way to do a song, rather than the traditional verse, chorus, bridge, outro. Instead, you can also build songs by layering different percussive elements in and out.

MR : Looking at Hombre Lobo , End Times , and Tomorrow Morning , might this one be the most personal?

MOE : Well, End Times was pretty darn personal.

MR : True. What's your tour going to be like?

MOE : Yeah, we're about to start a fifty-show world tour.

MR : Where are you headed?

MOE : Japan, Australia, Europe, and America.

MR : Where in America?

MOE : They're on the website. I'm on a need to know basis, and I only know within the next twenty-four hours.

MR : (laughs) I may have asked you this question when I spoke with you last, but what advice do you have for new acts?

MOE : Well, I think the best advice I could give a young act is to try not to be tentative about anything that you do. Even if you're unsure about yourself or what you're doing, do it like you know what you're doing. That right there is half the battle. Do what you're doing with authority, and you'll be amazed at how much it works just by having that attitude.

MR : Nice. No one else has ever answered the question that way.

MOE : It's actually hands on, very useful advice.

MR : Yeah, it goes beyond just self-confidence, it's just about believing in yourself and what you're doing.

MOE : Exactly. Even if you don't believe what you're doing, lie to yourself that you believe what you're doing as a start, and eventually, you might start believing what you're doing.

MR : (laughs) From your days of making “E” albums through now, what are some of the most significant changes that you think you've gone through?

MOE : Artistically?

MR : Artistically, and maybe personally.

MOE : So much. I've had so many experiences, and I've been through so much since then. I wish someone could have told me back then how things would be for me twenty years later because things are really nice for me now, and I never would have guessed that things could have turned out this nice. So, good to know, and I hope that can serve as a little bit of hope. If a schmuck like me can get happy, anybody can.

Tracks :
1. In Gratitude For This Magnificent Day
2. I'ma Hummingbird
3. The Morning
4. Baby Loves Me
5. Spectacular Girl
6. What I Have to Offer
7. This Is Where It Gets Good
8. After The Earthquake
9. Oh So Lovely
10. The Man
11. Looking Up
12. That's Not Her Way
13. I Like The Way This Is Going
14. Mystery Of Life

(transcribed by Ryan Gaffney)

A Conversation with Ellis Paul

Mike Ragogna: With more and more artists taking responsibility for the marketing and distribution of their projects, fan funding has become a more obvious route. For The Day After Everything Changed , you raised over $100,000, right?

Ellis Paul : Yes.

MR : How did you do it?

EP : Well, we set up a tier system on the website where people can go get goods and services that they bought into. The top end is for $10,000 and in exchange, you get a guitar and a house concert, and I write a song for you with hand written lyrics to whatever song you like. On the lower end, a $15 dollar scale would get you a pre-ordered CD that is signed and numbered and on like that.

MR : Didn't your first albums came out on Newbury Comics?

EP : Yes. Newbury Comics hooked up with my manager and myself and we started a label called Black Wolf. We put the first two records out with them, and that went well. It gave me confidence to really do this.

MR : Was the first one also fan funded?

EP : Nope, I funded it myself. The management company basically put it out themselves. I have a good team right now put together for this kind of project.

MR : So, you've had songs in movies such as Jim Carrey's Me, Myself & Irene as well as music in the final scene of Ed .

EP : More and more of that kind of stuff is happening, and I'm starting to get calls from Nashville about covering my material. I had two cuts on a Sugarland record, and other commercial stuff coming my way which has been good. But I'm trying to write songs that I'm proud of having written, I don't want to write strictly for commercial means. I am just trying to write good songs.

MR : You mentioned Nashville which is perfect since your material is so cover worthy. “Annalee” sounds like it should be somebody's hit if not your own.

EP : That would be great, I like that song a lot. Well, that's part of the writing. Writing it for accessibility makes it universal, so a lot of people can be covering songs that are on this record as opposed to my other records which are based more on my personal experiences and personal take on things. My personal voice is maybe a little bit stronger on other records than the universal voice that is on this one.

MR : This album reminds me a lot of Stories .

EP : You know, it has more of that story kind of theme in a lot of ways. It's like a sister record.

MR : There is an intimacy to it that circles back to your earlier career and even the way you are phrasing things seems like Say Anything and Stories , that era.

EP : Glad you picked up on that as the writing is more like that era than the stuff that I have done in between.

MR : On the other hand, this batch of songs seems very emotional, the opposite of your earlier, concept-driven material.

EP : These songs seem to be more from the neck down rather than the neck up. The lyrics are more accessible right from the first listen. I think it was more country style writing where you just say what you mean, what you feel rather than trying to politicize everything. So, it just immediately connects emotionally and the production doesn't get in the way or distract, it supports whatever the mood of the song is in a great way. I am with you. It's my best record to date.

MR : Yeah, I also think The Day After Everything Changed is your best as well as your most “commercial” album to date.

EP : Yeah and I think that has to do with the immediate impact of the songs. It only takes a listen or two to get pulled into what the songs are about. It's partially the writing and partially making the right choices production-wise to hook people. “Commercial” production can be very hokey.

MR : Yes. Also, the packaging is beautiful with some real attention to detail.

EP : I don't want people to think that this was done on a shoestring or that I was begging people for money on the Internet. It's really more money than anyone has ever spent on me, we didn't cut any corners. I spent more on the recording, spent more on the artwork, and spent more on the marketing than I have ever spent on any other project. So, it's not a shoestring thing at all. It's a move up in a lot of ways.

MR : And due to your taking your career into your own hands–not becoming behoovin' to a label but going the fan funding route–you have the mandate to express yourself any way you need to artistically.

EP : Yeah. They are always trying to think of the bottom line and not actually what the actual product looks like. They give you deadlines that you have to be done by, you have to spend this much money, you can't go over budget.

All of those things are bypassed. We spent as much as we needed to make a record right, and we hired the right people for the design who could express who I am and what I want rather than what the record label wants. It feels more real, more me, more artful, more creative.

MR : It's always nice when the album concept is supported by its artwork. As we head towards CDs retirement, I guess it's logical that artwork will be the biggest casualty.

EP : I think people are dogging CD artwork because it's so small and it's fading out as more and more records are getting smaller and smaller and going to digital. So, we decided to maximize what the artwork would say. We really took our time with the artwork and the designer did a great job. There was sort of a theme of baptism and renewal in all of the photo shots of the water.

MR : Though my favorite shot is the one of you in the room with the guitar in the corner with the sunset through the bay window.

EP : That was in a little bed and breakfast mansion in Orange, Virginia, that we found on the Internet. We thought about each location and figuring out how to make the drama of the artwork work with the drama that was going on in the songs.

MR : How are you making this the best online experience for your fans?

EP : Well, I am trying to learn more about YouTube and Facebook interactions with people.

MR : And the website?

EP : I want it to be like a little garden. I want it to be filled with cool looking things rather than weeds. I think a lot of people just throw out weeds on their websites. They just let their gardens go entirely, let it go stagnant for years and throw garbage up on it that doesn't have any value. These are things that can stay up for years and years to come after we are all long gone, so it will be a website that will support high quality. I think that is why the artwork is so important. I just want to stick it out.

MR : Earlier, I brought up “Annalee,” but “Rose Tattoo” also is a pretty catchy song complete with a sing-a-long vibe at the end.

EP : With “Rose Tattoo,” I took a lot of that Jim Croce stuff with two guitars panned left and right. I'm happy with that one. But you know, I'm happy with all of them.

MR : You ended the album with the intense “Nothing Left To Take” which is a very unusual song. Can you discuss it a bit?

EP : I had heard a story about a couple that broke up and there was alcohol involved. One of the parties was an alcoholic and got into a car accident. So, I tried to dress up that story, and a lot of the specific details kind of came down to the bottle while he was driving. There was a time frame as to how the break up happened. Fifteen seconds, a minute, an hour–like a clock ticking as the song is going on.

MR : Which song are you closest to?

EP : “Hurricane Angel” seems to be one that I gravitate to the most, even though it's not a song about me. It's about a Katrina victim and the crossroads after the storm that happened, and trying to figure out how to get help. He's reaching out to the insurance companies, the President, and God looking for some help and relief.

MR : It's years later and the aftermath of Katrina and there's damage still remaining.

EP : I wrote that after all of the Katrina victims were in the FEMA trailers and were kicked out of them because of formaldehyde poisoning, nearly 40,000 people got their trailers taken away from them. I guess they were getting poisoned from the formaldehyde that was in the walls, and it just spurred me to write it. There is just no way that those people can win down there. It's just speed bump after speed bump after speed bump.

MR : You were a social worker at some point, right?

EP : Yeah, in my early twenties after college for about four or five years.

MR : Do you find yourself wanting to jump into specific social causes?

EP : Yeah. I want to write about those things, but often times, you can't force the subject matter. You start doing that and then a song comes out (that's) a piece of s**t. I try and wrap my head around these problems, but I'm just waiting for the right story to come to me. It's a challenge for me being self-employed to afford health insurance I need in order to cover my family. So, its going to be a social issue that addresses my life in some way, and then I need to find a story that I can address the emotions of, so it took me five years to write the Katrina song.

MR : A balance of sentiment and constructive engagement. Interestingly, it takes a while to know what to be talking about when you're talking about it.

EP : When (Katrina) happened, there were a thousand songs written in the weeks after that. It was too big of an event for me to ever get objective about for me to write about. There were some beautiful songs written, but I have to say, though a lot of songs were written out of that moment, I couldn't do it. It was just too big of a thing.

MR : This project's overall statement seems to be, “Okay, everything has changed and now it's time to start life.” Was that intentional?

EP : I have kids now and I'm looking back at the last 20 years of my life and what am I going to do with the next 20 years of my life, so it seems like, “What am I going to do now?” I'm at the halftime of the super bowl of my life and I'm reflective. I'm looking back, and a lot of these songs are about people who are about, you know, a guy who just got laid off and is at home, and in the first song, there is a guy who is going back to college and wondering what the future holds for him. So, every one of the characters are approaching some kind of major crossroads and are trying to make decisions about what their future is going to look like and which road to take. I guess I am sort of in that place in my own life being at a halfway point too.

MR: At this halfway point, are there things you haven't done musically that might be explored over the next few projects?

EP : I think so. If I can do the next four or five records with the same batch of people and approach the songwriting in the same way, I really feel like we could get locked into something that is like a sweet spot. I feel more centered with my production and writing style. It feels kind of like I found my thing. If I can write out of this place and write the next four or five records this well, even without any commercial success, I would be thrilled just to put out records that are this good every time.

מסלולים:
1. Annalee
2. Rose Tattoo
3. River Road
4. The Day After Everything Changed
5. The Lights Of Vegas
6. Hurricane Angel
7. Heaven's Wherever You Are
8. Dragonfly
9. Sometime, Someplace
10. Once Upon A Summertime
11. Waking Up To Me
12. Walking After Midnight / Change
13. The Cotton's Burning
14. Paper Dolls
15. Nothing Left To Take

(transcribed by Erika Richards)

PRESS RELEASE :

DISTURBED ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT

Multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated hard rock band Disturbed have released the video for their #1 single “Another Way to Die.”
The video, shot by Roboshobo (Mastodon, Metallica), is a hard-hitting, unsettling look at the dangers of not taking care of our environment. Examples of global warming, pollution, deforestation and overflowing landfills are intercut with a post-apocalyptic narrative. “Thematically, the song's about global warming and how the choices we make affect the planet,” explains guitarist Dan Donegan. “It's a new topic for us, and it'll hopefully raise a little awareness.” Front man David Draiman continues, “It definitely is meant to draw the effects of the indulgent life that most people lead. It is meant to draw a contrast to things and to show the effects of the abuse we are causing to our planet.”
The track itself is already a #1 hit at Active Rock Radio. “Another Way to Die” is the highest Billboard Active Rock debut in Disturbed's history and the fastest #1 for the band on Billboard's Active Rock chart, getting to #1 in just 4 weeks. It is also the fastest # 1 on Billboard's Active Rock chart in over 3 years and is the band's 7th # 1 single on Billboard's Active Rock chart: they are tied with Metallica for the 3rd most #1′s on the Active Rock chart.

“Another Way To Die” by Disturbed

Follow Mike Ragogna on Twitter:

www.twitter.com/ragz2008

They Might Be Giants won a Grammy Award in 2002 for their half-finished song “Boss of Me,” which served as the theme song for the hit show “Malcolm in the Middle,” said John Flansburgh, one of the founders of the Brooklyn-born band.

“We had no idea that song would be a hit,” he said. “The success of that song really illustrates how you just can't tell how something is going to work out.”

TMBG, who will perform at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz on Friday, has a way of making things that work out.

TMBG, founded in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell — often referred to as the two Johns — started out somewhere in between alternative rock and performance art, Flansburgh said. Flansburgh played the guitar, Linnell played the accordion and saxophone and, true to 1980s dance culture, they rock a drum machine.

“Our stuff was kind of pretty odd album,” Flansburgh said. “We weren't accepted as a real band,' but at these performance art places we were the rock guys,' so we were kind of caught in between.”

But TMBG, born in the era of free form radio and punk rock, didn't care where they played, just so long as they played, he said.

“We're not virtuosos,” Flansburgh said. “When you're not a virtuoso, it's kind of a humbler. I don't know what it would be like to go through the world thinking I'm totally hot stuff. Our skill set is a little bit more willful. We actually have to work at what we achieve, and I think we get a lot out of the work that

we do.”

But, what TMBG lacked in virtuosity, they made up for with creativity.

For example, for their performance of their song, “Number Three,” they put down their instruments and wore giant, hot pink, papier-mache hands, crafted by Flansburgh, and did a choreographed dance, he said.

In the late '80s, their project, “Dial-a-Song,” set them aside from other bands.

They recorded their songs onto a phone answering machine so that when people called in they would hear TMBG on the recording, Flansburgh said. They changed the song daily and advertised the phone number in the New York weekly newspaper the Village Voice.

“It was quite the phenomenon,” he said. “It made us different from any other band and it was, uniquely, our own.”

The Two Johns began performing in the East Village New York club scene, where they gathered a local following, he said.

“The East Village scene pushed us into the national spotlight,” Flansburgh said. “It was pretty freaky in the mid '80s. There was a really hardcore night club scene, there were a lot of drugs and everything was hyper-sexualized. Stylistically, we were kind of the opposite of dance floor music but I think the fact that we worked with a drum machine helped bridge us into that world.”

TMBG found success and produced four albums as a duo, and in the early '90s they expanded into a full band, he said. Though they still used a drum machine and pre-recorded music, they took on a keyboardist, a drummer and a bassist.

TMBG's unconventional style, unusual subject matter and low budget but wild MTV videos, shot by television producer Adam Bernstein, gained them wide spread recognition and a big fan following, Flansburgh said.

Their music videos, which were adapted from their stage performances, often featured off-the-wall ideas, Flansburgh said.

“I think one of the reasons our videos did so well, besides our incredibly handsome faces, was that they were shot on film,” he said. “Even though they were very low budget, they looked more authentic than the video in 1986. It gave us more of an artistic value and that was a lucky break for us.”

In 2002, TMBG did a kids' record called “No!” which was very warmly received, Flansburgh said. After that, writing kids' music became a parallel industry for them.

TMBG's most recent, 2009 album for kids, “Here Comes Science,” uses catchy alternative rock to introduce listeners to applied sciences, according to their Web site. Songs such as, “Meet the Elements,” “What Is a Shooting Star” and “My Brother the Ape,” entertain as well as teach. The group is working on additional children's music but is also due to release another grown-up album in 2010.

“We're just trying to find a way to make a song that's a little more unexpected,” Flansburgh said. “We're were just trying to find our own voice in a “” well “” a really crazy world.”

Over the years, rock-star side projects have not fared particularly well. More often than not they are a self-indulgent mess or an ill-advised ego-trip, having little worth to anyone other than devoted disciples. So what to make of the news that Philip Selway, the unassuming Radiohead drummer, is to release his first solo album nearly 20 years into the band's celebrated career?

For such a hugely successful group, the members of Radiohead are among the most publicity shy in modern music. They aren't, however, adverse to the pretty odd album stunt, as the no-singles-to-be-released-from-”Kid A” furor and the pay-what-you-want experiment for their last album, “In Rainbows,” prove.

Selway is perhaps the band's most innocuous member, having little creative input into Radiohead's tunes, and being just as well known for his charity work as any kind of musical prowess.

It makes his decision to launch a solo career a surprising one, yet here he is with a world tour to coincide with the release of his “Familial” album. Of his motivation for this new project, Selway says, “When you're the same age as the prime minister, you think 'I'd better get on with this.' "

Produced by Ian Davenport of Radiohead's Courtyard Studios at their Oxfordshire base, “Familial” will shock many. That's not just because the emotional resonance of the sparse folk and haunting melodies inspired by the death of his mother in 2006 is genuinely moving, but because it is actually pretty good.

Japanese fans should be particularly excited, not to mention privileged, as Selway's whistle-stop tour — a date in Tokyo followed by one in Osaka — are his debut live shows. Not even British fans will have had the chance to see what are surely going to be, at the very least, some intriguing shows with Radiohead's unsung talent.

The Crowded House frontman has been busy with, of all things, a radio show about flowers

By George Varga , UNION-TRIBUNE

Originally published August 19, 2010 at 9:49 am, updated August 19, 2010 at 10:56 am

Music fans around the world know Neil Finn as the talented leader of Crowded House, New Zealand's most successful pop-rock band ever, and as a former member of Split Enz, New Zealand's most quirky band ever. Fans also know that Neil's older brother, Tim, founded Split Enz (which Neil joined in 1977 at age 18), that Tim joined Crowded House in 1991 for a few years, and that both are pals with ex-San Diegan Eddie Vedder, who attended Split Enz's memorable 1981 gig here at the State Theater.

But here are some things you may not know about Neil Finn, who performs here Sunday with the revamped Crowded House at Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay, in support of “Intriguer,” the group's arresting new album.

Fresh bloom: This veteran singer-songwriter and band leader now hosts a radio show in New Zealand, “Neil Finn's Cornucopia of Flowers.” Thus far, he has used the show to explore the allure of sunflowers, daffodils, gardenias, hyacinths, poppies, lotuses and peonies. (You can hear “Cornucopia” online at 95bfm.com/index.sm) . But what, exactly, qualifies him to discuss blooms and blossoms?

Finn: “I don't want to give you any illusion I have any real depth of knowledge. I got asked to do the show. It was the most unusual thing I've ever been asked, especially given my lack of knowledge. But I thought: 'I'll never be asked that again, so I should do it.' ”

Pedal pusher: An avid bicyclist, Finn has discovered that honing his song lyrics comes easy when he's pedaling away or when he's simply walking. Thankfully, he's never had an accident while mulling a tricky couplet or chorus on his bike.

Finn: “I ride about 6 to 10 kilometers and it's a great place to go over lyrics, on your bike, or walking as well. If you're searching for a few lines, you can get it. The rhythm of those activities things is quite good for songwriting.”

Fruits & nuts: While some bands take great delight in demanding that colorful (and sometimes outrageous) items be provided in their backstage dressing rooms, Crowded House is not one of them.

Finn: “I would think we're fairly easy to please. We ask for avocados, salt-and-pepper potato chips, tamarind-almonds, fruit and some nice bottles of red wine. That's the extent of it, really. We don't take delight in making (concert) promoters find pretty odd album things. We don't even ask for M&Ms!”

Sugar rush: Finn does admit to having a sweet tooth, although, he notes: “I don't eat as much I used to.” Does he have any favorite sweet treats from his native New Zealand?

Finn: “As far as confectioneries go, I'm very fond of Chocolate Fish, which is just exactly what it sounds like: a chocolate marshmallow, shaped like a fish. And Pineapple Lumps are pretty good as well. Do we ever ask for Chocolate Fish and Pineapple Lumps to be stocked in our dressing rooms? No, that would be really problematical for promoters in America to find, which — hmm — is tempting!”

Rob Sheffield's new book, Talking To Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut must have been titled by the publisher rather than the author. There was no questing for true love. Yearning and pining, perhaps, but no discernable actions were taken by the author to actually acquire a girlfriend. Despite having the advantage of three outgoing sisters who gamely attempted to transform him into a babe magnet and generally school him on the subtleties of elusive, mysterious minds and hearts of teenage girls, Sheffield was too paralyzed by fear and anxiety to talk to most girls, let alone bust a move. This is understandable for an awkward, gawky 15-16 year-old. But his neurosis extended throughout the entire decade of the 80s, well into his early 20s. It certainly takes balls to admit that, and makes me feel a little better that I at least managed to conquer my own fears just shy of 19.

So it's not really about talking to girls, nor questing for love, and not even much about Duran Duran. Instead, it's an episodic series of 25 impressionist vignettes using pop songs to talk about his life, which mainly involved listening to music, driving ice cream trucks, staying with his grandfather, thinking about religion, hanging around some girls and thinking about talking to them, but mostly not. Those looking for a compelling, heartbreaking narrative arc like his first book, Love Is A Mix Tape , will be left wanting. This book will appeal more to music trainspotter types who love the 80s. Really, really love the 80s. One of the most admirable things about the book is that Sheffield manages to be funny without using the crutch of irony. There's very little irony, only sincere love letters to 80s pop as it coincides with his hapless adolescence and early adulthood. I enjoyed Sheffield's enthusiasm for long-forgotten artifacts like Haysi Fantayzee, despite the fact that I hated the 80s. At least that aspect of it.

I was particularly struck with how he made 1986 seem particularly dreary, despite his enthusiasm. It seemed like a year that nothing really significant happened in music. And it does coincide with the conventional wisdom that the mid-eighties were a cultural wasteland. Sheffield characterized that era with Rambo and Top Gun, sources of repeated hilarity and guilty pleasures at the time, but best forgotten. Of course it was also the year of Aliens, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, One Crazy Summer, Blue Velvet, The Name Of The Rose, Down By Law, The Big Easy, Matador, Something Wild, Sid And Nancy, Nine 1/2 Weeks and Pretty In Pink. By now you're realizing this isn't really a review of Talking To Girls About Duran Duran , just like the book wasn't really about girls or Duran Duran. Let's talk more about 1986.

1986 was when MTV started to royally suck. Hit videos were repeated so often they would often appear twice in the same hour, including the likes of Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Heart, Bon Jovi, Bruce Hornsby, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Billy Idol, Mr. Mister, Lionel Richie, Billy Ocean, Starship, Robert Palmer, Genesis, Steve Winwood, Huey Lewis & The News, The Bangles, Falco and Wang Chung. Not all of it was horrible, but just for the indignity of being force-fed the stuff so repetitively, every single one of them made me want to drive nails into my raging, sexually frustrated teenage skull. Or better yet, their skulls. Bon Jovi particularly irked me at the time, because I thought at first he sounded alright, a kind of metallized Bruce Springsteen. But then I saw the videos with his ridiculousy poofed hair and cheesy preening that was blatantly aimed toward an audience of screaming tweener girls, and I somehow felt betrayed. Similarly, the tunes from Madonna's first album made me think she was like a former tough New York punk chick who discovered dance music, like Blondie. But her later hits like “Like A Virgin,” “Papa Don't Preach” and “True Blue” drove me insane with their obviously, cynically calculated, cold feel. Feh, sellout.

1986 felt uneventful for some as it was an pretty odd album limbo between the blockbusters of Thriller, Purple Rain, Born In The USA, , and later hits like Faith, The Joshua Tree, Bad, Hysteria and, erm, Dirty Dancing . Other major post-punk and indie bands like The Cure, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Replacements, The Pogues, Tom Waits, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Naked Raygun and Dinosaur Jr. also took a breather that year, when it was still common to put out albums every year.

1986 was pretty uneventful for me personally too. It spanned the spring of my junior year and the fall of my senior year in high school. I ran track and cross country, applied to colleges but didn't know where I was going yet, and needless to say I had no girlfriend. But my relationship with rock 'n' roll was getting pretty dang mature, if you count our first date when I bought my first album, Gary Numan's The Pleasure Principle in 1979. I had quickly graduated from buying 45s to albums that year, and I was hooked. I was always about the album. A single was over way too quickly, then you had to get up and flip it or put on something else. It was like a commercial or a movie preview. Listening to an album was more like the main event, or like reading a good book. It gave me time to read or do homework during the 16 to 20 minute sides. I was addicted, shoveling snowdrifts bigger than me at age 9-12 during the winter and raiding trash cans after summer house parties for beer and pop cans with 5 cent refunds to support my habit.

The liberating factor that easied my financial restrictions was the acquisition in the end of 1985, of my Aiwa double cassette deck mini stereo with graphic equalizer. It was not quite a real stereo, but it was bigger than a boombox, with detachable speakers. It was my sweet baby that allowed me to horde ten times the amount of music than I had previously. A local rock station would play new albums in their entirety on Sunday nights, and I could tape them. But most importantly, whenever I or my small group of friends would get tapes via the Columbia and RCA clubs, local stores The Asteroid or Musicland, or Target's $5.99 sales, we could dub them for each other. At 16 I had a fair collection of 100 or so records and tapes. And a want list of another 500. When college/public radio station KUNI would play something enticing, I'd take notes. I had a long-standing ritual of scouring reviews in CREEM, Trouser Press, Rolling Stone and RECORD magazine, which was bought out at the end of 1985 by SPIN . I was well equipped to side-step the tyranny of MTV and top 40 radio and find out what else the world of music had to offer. By the time 1986 rolled around, I was 5'9″ and barely 100 lbs (with 4 more inches and 60 lbs of growth ahead) of quivering, twitchy teenage music obsession, ready to rock.

[More on music from 1986 with some videos. Click on my dorky picture at the end for the soundtrack, which I kindly matched the sound levels for you with Adobe Soundbooth.] Continue…