Pictured Joss Stone and Boy George.
Somebody must not have told Boy George that when he is pointing his finger at somebody else, there are four well-manicured fingers pointing back at him. The British male diva's second autobiography, Straight, is now available overseas through Century and like his first-run Take it Like a Man, the Culture Club chameleon has no issues voicing his dislikes of other celebrities. This time around, Rosie O'Donnell, Madonna and Elton John take his heat. Rosie is especially in trouble for producing and rearranging his Broadway musical Taboo, which was tabloid fodder during pre-production and its brief run stateside, despite the show's success abroad. Outside of the Taboo fiasco, Boy George has been keeping busy DJing, collaborating with dance outfits Hi-Gate and Sash! as well as working under the moniker The Twin. Unfortunately, Straight and the Culture Club's Greatest Hits DVD are not currently planned to be released stateside. Now, Georgie, what's that old adage about attracting more flies with honey?
Mariah Carey's latest song 'It's Like That' is not a cover of the R.U.N. DMC hit, it is the first single for the big-haired diva's upcoming disc The Emancipation of Mimi. Who is Mimi? It's a pet nickname for Mariah. Her label Island is using the tag line 'the voice is back' while marketing Mimi. Carey continues her proven path of teaming with hip hop stars like Nelly, Snoop Dog and Jermaine Dupri as well as singing her signature power ballads. And although it may seem like an arsonist developing fire extinguishers, Mariah announced she will be unveiling her own clothing line, Kiss Kiss. Carey is also performing for the upcoming VH-1 Save the Music fundraiser due to air in mid April.
Also appearing in the VH-1 Save the Music special is the soulful Joss Stone. The young talent is extending her sense of charity to the breast cancer organizations City of Hope & Dr. Susan Love Research from the sales of the mp3 exclusively through iTunes of Stone's live performance with Melissa Etheridge at the Grammy's covering Janis Joplin's 'Cry Baby' and 'Piece of My Heart.' Joss is also the newest gap girl, not in the Chris Farley and David Spade sense, rather she is going to be in the store's latest run of adverts due on the tube later this spring.
Sting's small venue tour, The Broken Music Tour, is tapping the college market. After seeing how bands like the Pixies and New Order are making a killing financially on recent reunion tours, the college market is being sought after for their loyal fan base, being considered a good investment. The former Police front man is scheduled to be at the UIC Pavilion Monday, April 18 with a four-piece band—two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer. Opening for Sting is Phantom Planet, the West Coast band behind the theme for The O.C. In the meantime, Sting's memoir Broken Music is out now on paperback via Delta Trade and his version of the standard 'My Funny Valentine' will be appearing on the soundtrack for the film Ashura.
Ashlee Simpson is now really feeling the burn of overexposure. A petition has been set up for her label Geffen/DGC Records & JT Simpson Entertainment, showing a demographic who is exhausted of Jessica's kid sister's ubiquity. Whether or not the executives will actually see the electronic signatures at www.petitiononline.com/StopAsh/ remains to be seen, but the overwhelming public voice has spoken and it does not need an excuse why the backing tape was playing the wrong tune.
The recent No. 1 club hit 'Avalon' by Juliet is not another cover of the Roxy Music classic, rather it is the first solo effort from the former 1 Plus 1 singer. While her band made a mark doing a rendition of the rebellious teen anthem 'Cherry Bomb' by the Runaways, Juliet is finding her own ground opening for Duran Duran and coming out with her full-length debut Random Order this summer on Atlantic.
Slipped Disc
When the D.C. rock band Phaser released its full-length debut Sway in 2003, fans at live shows and critics united in its praise, but the album turned out to be a slipped disc. While some of the songs are more rock oriented, the lush melodies of Phaser's ballads leave them with no contemporaries. Like Toad the Wet Sprocket, Phaser has a depth in the delivery and lyrics like 'Life and Illusion,' 'Sway' and 'Do You Believe.' The down-tempo 'Can't Get You Out of My Mind' is reminiscent of something John Cusack would play while dwelling on the object of his affection in any of his '80s movies. The title track climaxes once the songs seems like it is over, as the choir steps forth to center stage. 'Gone Away Too Long' is a self-defeating ballad that would make Morrissey as proud as he gets. A new EP is available through phasermusic.com with a full length in the works.
