Rolling Stones agree Universal deal & other: May 2008

Wednesday, 28 May 2008

Rap Chart Movement: Bun B Debuts At No. 1, The Cool Kids Fly Low

Debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's 'Top Rap Albums Chart' this week is Bun B's sophomore solo album titled II Trill.
The album, which features appearances from Rick Ross, Lupe Fiasco and Sean Kingston, scanned 98,300 discs in its opening week.
Denver rap group The Flobots make a jump from No. 15 to No. 2. Fight With Tools cashed out 29,700 copies this week, bringing the album's total sales to 55,200.
Slipping two spots to No. 3 is Rick Ross. Trilla continues to keep registers ringing as it cashes out 17,800 copies this week. After 12 weeks, the album has sold a total of 535,000 units.
Posted at No. 4 is The Roots. Rising Down scans 9,300 units in its fourth week on the chart. So far, the album has sold 97,400 copies.
Flo Rida slips one spot to No. 5. Mail On Sunday ringed out 8,200 copies this week, pushing the album's total to 241,900.
Right behind him is Atmosphere at No. 6. When Life Gives You Lemons... pushed 7,000 discs this week, bringing the album's total to 81,100.
Chilling at No. 7 is Snoop Dogg. Ego Trippin', which has sold 324,500 copies since its March debut, gets scooped up by 6,500 folks this week.
Trina slips a spot to No. 8. Still Da Baddest scoops 5,700 units this week. So far, the set has sold 115,900.
Seated at No. 9 is Lupe Fiasco. The Cool scans 5,600 units in its 23rd week on the chart. To date, the album has sold 493,400 copies.
Wrapping things up at No. 10 is Kanye West. Graduation bags up 5,300 copies this week. So far, the album has sold 2,108,800 units.
A notable debut under the Top 10 this week is The Cool Kids with their debut The Bake Sale. The set debuts at No. 12 selling 4,200 copies.

Sunday, 25 May 2008

Randy Crawford

Artist: Randy Crawford

   Genre(s):
Dance
   R&B: Soul
   Pop
   Rock
   Other

Discography:

The Ultimate Collection

Year: 2005
Tracks: 38

Play Mode

Year: 2001
Tracks: 13

Don't Say It's Over

Year: 1999
Tracks: 10

Abstract Emotions

Year: 1999
Tracks: 10

The Very Best of Randy Crawford

Year: 1998
Tracks: 17

Naked and True

Year: 1995
Tracks: 11

Raw Silk

Year: 1994
Tracks: 10

Now We May Begin

Year: 1994
Tracks: 8

Through the Eyes of Love

Year: 1992
Tracks: 12

Rich and Poor

Year: 1989
Tracks: 11

Secret Combination

Year: 1988
Tracks: 10

Every Kind of Mood: Randy, Randi, Randee

Year:
Tracks: 15

Randy Crawford's initial notoriety came from her fiery vocal on "Street Life," a 1979 birdsong co-ordinated her with the Crusaders that was included on the soundtrack for Burt Reynolds' film Sharky's Machine. Crawford was natural in Macon and grew up in Cincinnati; she worked in clubs as a teenager, accompanied by her founder. Crawford was lead singer in a group that included bassist Bootsy Collins ahead touring as George Benson's opening act in 1972. Cannonball Adderley invited her to babble on his LP Big Man. Crawford recorded "Don't Get Caught in Love's Triangle," a birdsong produced by Johnny Bristol, during a curt stay on the label. She presently moved to Warner Bros., and after "Street Life," recorded and toured Europe with the Crusaders. Crawford was tabbed Most Outstanding Performer at the 1980 Tokyo Music Festival. She remained with Warner Bros. through the '80s and early '90s, but was unable to score either a big R&B reach or major crossover smash, contempt having 1 of the most readily identifiable voices and distinctive approaches of whatever contemporary distaff vocaliser. She's been more successful abroad, peculiarly in England, where such singles as "Knock on Heaven's Door," "Showery Night in Georgia," and "Last Night at Danceland" have gotten universal hail.

Watson completes tumour treatment

Collapsing Cities , Elixir Always

COLLAPSING CITIESElixir Always (Pastel Pistol)Herald Rating: * * * * Verdict: Rock'n'roll you can dance to is elixir of life on Aucklanders' debutThere hasn't been a New Zealand release in a while that spits and kicks out of its skin like Auckland's Collapsing Cities' debut Elixir Always. They are self-confessed creators of rock'n'roll you can dance to, but there's a ruthless side that comes through on opening track In the Valley, which builds from a steely, stripped-back start to a frenzied and militant end, and the sniping All Your Friends Are Rats, with its brutal opinion on those who are too cool for school.Singer and songwriter Steve Mathieson has a voice that's often droll and drab but can turn wild and jagged in an instant, like on Rats when he seethes, "All your friends are rats, they smile through their teeth, they belong in the sewers because they talk down to others ..." They might sound angry but it's just CC's deliciously dry sense of humour - "I told my boss I hate him at the Christmas party," he offers on Fear Of Opening My Mouth - and musically songs like Seriously have an irresistible, arse-shaking jangly groove to them.

Then again it also conjures up memories of oddball local bands like Snapper and early Headless Chickens when they were at their intimidating best. It's noisy, at times naughty and nasty, but always danceable.

Grey's Anatomy Star Adpots Baby Girl

Actress Brooke Smith, who stars as Dr Erica Hahn in 'Grey's Anatomy', has adopted a baby girl from Ethiopia, her representative has confirmed. Smith, 40, told People magazine in October that she and her husband, cinematographer Stephen Lubensky, were considering adopting."You know, why not?" Smith, 40, said. "We still might end up there some time." Smith, who is most well-known for her role in 'Silence of the Lambs', and Lubensky have traveled to Africa several times, and filmed a documentary on conservationists in Zimbabwe together It is the second daughter for the couple, who have a 5-year-old daughter, Fanny. Photo courtesy of

'Iron Man': Heavy Mettle, By Kurt Loder

I much look forward to "Iron Man 2." Freed from the burden of backstory, it could be a movie that fully takes wing. Unfortunately, the new "Iron Man" — Marvel's first attempt at a wholly owned film franchise — doesn't, really. The movie is an origin story, and so before it gets around to a whole lot else, it must first introduce us to billionaire munitions genius Tony Stark and relate to us the details of his swinging, Bond-like lifestyle; his near-mortal injury and capture while on a business visit to war-torn Afghanistan; his wily construction, while in captivity, of a jumbo suit of flame-throwing, high-flying armor; and his subsequent escape, moral turnabout and commitment to fighting evil wherever it may be found. All of this is necessary, of course, but it's terribly time-consuming.

The picture has surprisingly run-of-the-mill digital effects — the usual fiery explosions and aerial athletics — and, in one sky-chase sequence, some particularly primitive smoke-pluming. What it does have going for it, though — and what saves it from the glum inconsequence of such earlier Marvel offerings as "Daredevil" and "Fantastic Four" — is Robert Downey Jr., who plays Tony Stark with the tossed-off wisecrackery of a great stand-up comic. ("Gimme a Scotch," he barks, bellying up to a bar, "I'm starving.") Downey also maintains a staunch commitment to the superhero narrative, with all of its inevitable implausibilities. (How likely is it that anyone could assemble a high-tech Iron Man suit in a cave, under the oddly uncomprehending eyes of his terrorist captors? Who cares?) And he makes Stark's vintage, Playboy-style hedonism in the movie's early scenes (his private plane is stocked with total-babe stewardesses and converts into a glittery disco at his command) fun to buy into.
Stark's traditional superhero flaw (his life is constantly imperiled by a vulnerable electronic heart) also allows Downey to bring some soulful emotion to the proceedings; and in this he is greatly assisted by Gwyneth Paltrow, at her strawberry-blonde loveliest, playing the mogul's devoted aide-de-camp, Pepper Potts. It's a cliché comic book role, but Paltrow infuses it with warmth and pluck. (She also gets off some good lines. Mocked in the morning by one of Tony's sleep-over sexual conquests, Pepper admits that she does do quite a bit of her boss's dirty work: "Sometimes," she says, showing the woman the door, "I even take out his trash.") In addition, Paltrow helps put across the movie's most inventive — and sexiest — CG effect when she reaches deep into Stark's mechanized chest to tenderly pull out his malfunctioning ticker.
It's too bad, then, that Terrence Howard seems over-qualified (at this point, anyway) for the part of Stark's Air Force buddy, Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes; and that the amiable Jeff Bridges, even fitted-out with shaved head and power beard, isn't really dastardly enough as Tony's treacherous mentor, Obadiah Stane. On the other hand, Stark's gleaming red-and-gold Iron Man suit has an impressive presence of its own — although whenever Downey disappears into it, the movie takes a noticeable charisma hit.
Fanboys and fangirls, so often underserved by the movies made from their favorite comics, will almost certainly latch onto "Iron Man" as at least a serious attempt to transfer this beloved, 45-year-old character to the screen. Will they be seeing more of him? Well, when Rhodey casts a covetous eye on an Iron Man suit; when an ambiguous government agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. gets a late-in-the-game name-check; when Tony Stark keeps knocking back more whiskey than can possibly be good for him; and especially when his stirring final line cues a well-known Black Sabbath song, they'll know this to be a question that's clearly not worth asking.
Check out everything we've got on "Iron Man."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Thompson almost quit filming over weight issue

Emma Thompson reportedly threatened to quit her upcoming movie 'Brideshead Revisited' after learning the film's producers had ordered her co-star Hayley Atwell to lose weight.
25-year-old Atwell said: "I went round to Emma's one night and she was getting very angry that I wasn't eating all the food she was giving me. I told her why and she hit the roof."
Contactmusic.com reports that the two-time Oscar winner was so outraged when she found out that she demanded Miramax producers accept Atwell's size or she'd resign.

Johnathan Rice charts 'North' trek for summer

Singer/songwriter Johnathan Rice [ tickets ] has lined up an early summer headlining tour as he continues to build support for his latest album, last year's "Further North."The Scottish-born, New York-based Rice--who makes a guest appearance on Elvis Costello's latest album, "Momofuku," and recently joined Costello and The Imposters on stage during a Nashville concert--will kick off the run May 25 in Topanga, CA.The tour will hit 33 cities, including stops in New York City (6/18), Chicago (6/28) and San Francisco (7/9). Details are included below.Released last September, "Further North" is Rice's second full-length studio album and the follow-up to his 2005 debut, "Trouble Is Real."Streaming video of the album's first single, "We're All Stuck Out in the Desert," can be found at Rice's website. The video was directed by noted indie music photographer Autumn De Wilde.