100b’s News-ish Round-Up

According to NME Dizzee Rascal is going to collaborate with the Sugarhill Gang! That’s almost too much awesomeness in one go. I can’t even imagine what it’ll sound like, but how can it not be anything but epic?

I came across an article that would make an excellent Zany Charts post. Out.com had a poll among gay icons like Cindy Lauper, Rufus Wainwright, Boy George and ugh, Perez Hilton (I won’t even start to tell you how much I loathe everything this dumbass stands for. It could get ugly.) and out came the top ten Gayest albums of all time topped by Bowie’s The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. I’m not entirely sure what exactly makes an album gay but the reason this album topped the chart was because “he was singing for every exiled, dejected, sexually confused young kid who longed for a world of greater possibilities”. That’s kind of beautiful actually. You can check out some of the individual lists by the so-called celebrity ‘gay experts’ at popnography.

Another interesting list was compiled by Rolling Stone. The magazine asked their readers to vote for the most law-breaking songs of all time. The list is topped by Johnny cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”, an excellent choice. Other songs seem to have been chosen, merely because they had the word criminal in the title, like the Michael Jackson and Fiona Apple singles. Come on, seriously, NWA’s “Fuck Tha Police”, and the chart topping song are to “Smooth Criminal” and Fiona’s “Criminal” what Everclear is to shandy.

Unusual? Yes. Effective? Probably not, but it is one helluva publicity stunt. Oasis gave a bunch of buskers a crash course on their new album and let them preview the upcoming release on the mean streets of NYC. Them Gallagher brothers keep it so real that it’s surreal. You can check out the results of this novel way of presenting new albums on stereogum and even compare an original version with the street rendition.

Usher is working on a ‘ladies only’ tour called One Night Stand. He calls it a challenge, I call it dumb. Doesn’t he get enough female attention? Why exclude men? Speak up male fan of Usher, protest this gross injustice! If he had excluded all women, well first of all, the venue would be damn near empty and his fangirl base would cry sexism for sure, but because it’s the men left holding their girlfriend’s purses outside the venues, it’s just dandy. He also states girls like ‘that masculine build’. Why yes we do, so I guess his back-up dancers are gonna be the Chippendales? … Are there still working Chippendales??

The Raveonettes are planning on releasing a series of Remix EPs starting with this one. Now all we have to do is try to convince them to tour around these parts again like they did before they became all that and a bag of Bugles.

There’s another star on star interview on MySpace! This time Brian Wilson and Zooey Deschanel chat about harmony, Gershwin, writing songs and how pretty Zooey is.

Bruce Dickinson, went from Iron Maiden’s frontman to pilot to TV presenter to real life hero. He helped out some tourists stranded in Egypt with his awesome flying powers and like a real hero his response was “I was just doing my job”.

Man, Estelle really got the pointy end of the poop-covered stick in this ‘experiment’. Last week her label decided they’d try to trick people into buying physical singles and pulled her single and album from iTunes. As predicted by all but those Warner geniuses, her stock plummeted like Enron circa 2001. She went from number 11 to 37! The reason was that the non-digital singles put more money in the label’s pockets. Yet again, it’s greed that killed the beast … well, Estelle’s lucky streak. I’d be super pissed, especially because in spite of her initial success she’s still an up and coming artist that can really use the digital boost.

Snoop Dogg had an unlikely ally in his battle against the Australian government to finally be allowed to enter the country. Russell Crowe wrote them a cordial letter endorsing Snoop, highlighting his charity work and great reputation in other countries. It seemed to have worked because he’s now allowed back in the land down under. Huzzah!

Our good friend Fitty tries to reestablish his relevance saying Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” is the spitting image of “Candyshop”. But it’s really really not. And that’s all I have to say about that.

   David Bowie – Rock ‘n Roll Suicide

Those Zany Charts …

I was hoping that the sad, sad weather lately was just a passing depression, but it has gone on long enough for me to realize the parade of different shades of grey isn’t going anywhere. I’m trying really hard to hold on to that sunny Summer feeling of earlier in the season with some help from About.com. They have compiled the top ten songs of the Summer from official charts since 2000. You can check out the lists in full here, but I’m just gonna post about the number one songs, because I figured they must have the most potent dose of summery goodness, right?

Well, hold on to your umbrellas folks, because here are the number one songs of the last eight Summers!:

2000

   Aaliyah – Try Again

I have to admit I get a little embarassed whenever I hear this song, because for the longest time I thought the lyrics were ‘if you flush it goes to sea’ instead of ‘if at first you don’t succeed’. I thought it was weird she was singing about where poop goes and I really didn’t understand why you had to ‘dust yourself off and try again’ afterward, but I never thought to look it up. I don’t even want to think about how many times I’ve made a fool of myself in public, because I loved this song so whenever it came on I sang it loud and oh so proud.

2001

Lifehouse – Hanging By a Moment

Hmph. It doesn’t exactly scream fun in the sun, does it? But it is insanely catchy and stays in your head like a flesh-eating worm.

2002

   Nelly – Hot In Herre

Now that’s more like it! Sadly, Nelly hasn’t dished out as many big contagious instant hits lately. This is a classic, thanks to this song, nobody pronounces the phrase ‘hot in here’ the same again. Even when I try to say it the right way my tongue inevitably lingers a liiittle too long on the ‘rrr’.

2003

   Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z – Crazy In Love

Definitely THE BEST song in this list! It’s the most amazing Summer anthem and it never fails to get my blood boiling. If you’re days have been as dreary as mine this is the ultimate three minute remedy against the cloudy blues.

2004

Usher – Confessions, Pt. II

Man, that’s a lot of drama for a Summer hit. It’s about some guy who knocked up his mistress and has to confess the whole sordid affair to his girlfriend, not exactly the kind of song you think of for your BBQ party mix.

2005

Mariah Carey – We Belong Together

Well, you gotta give it up to Mimi. Before this song blew up – when she was known as “Mariah Scarey” or as I called her “insane” – I was so sure she was going to be just another segment on a ‘Whatever Happened To …’ type show, but she clawed her way back into the pop world’s bossom and it looks like she’s here to stay.

2006

   Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland – Promiscuous

The new more boobalicious Nelly Furtado has been getting some criticism because her videos are steamier and she’s showing more skin than in her “I’m Like A Bird” days. I don’t really give a crap, her music still rocks and compared to some teenybopper pop princesses her videos are damn near demure. She and Timbaland have made superb songs, so it’s no wonder that their combined powers produced gems like these.

2007

Fergie – Big Girls Don’t Cry

Naaaahh, there is no way … Everybody knows Rihanna and her Umbrella owned the Summer of 2007! And I’m not just saying that because I have a thing against Fergie. It’s hard to explain why I can’t stand her so I won’t bore you with my half-assed explanation, but this can’t be right. Anyhoo, I’m not so sure About.com got their figures straight. That makes me question every other entry as well … Man, I’m so glad I based this whole post on their shoddy data.