This Is Why We Love Lily Allen [20 August 2007]

From Lily's MySpace blog:

Monday, August 20, 2007

hello all

v festival was great, thanks to everybody who came ,

i just want all my fans to know this ,

I have called george bush a c**t at pretty much every show i have played over the past year , that is because I think he is one and i stand by that . You can make up your own mind as to whether you agree with me or not , thats just how i feel . Just because i hate george bush doesnt mean I hate america , quite the opposite , I think the US is a great place and I am really sad that I cant be there for my commitments scheduled for the near future . what i said about George Bush this weekend bears no relation to what happened a couple of weeks ago with my visa , that is an issue with the US immigration service . I just wanted to let you all know that my " foul mouthed tirade " so widely reported over the past couple of days is actually pretty rehearsed and ive beeen saying it long before all this visa issue .

also me raising a drink to Amy , was just that , showing my support for her . I've been around enough substance abuse and alcoholism to know that it's a serious matter , and not to be taken lightly .

im sorry, i wanted to write this because i felt like if i didn't say anything you all might believe the rubbish your being fed .

Lily

continue reading...

collapse...

Video[s] Of The Day: "Umbrella"

Hey, anyone remember Mandy Moore?

Well, Mandy is recording again, and she has reinvented herself as something like Paula Cole's or late-career Alanis Morissette's younger sister. Mandy's new record, Wild Hope, is pretty good if you're into that kind of emo-chick pop.

Anyway, Mandy recently covered Rihanna's smash "Umbrella" [not on her new record, unfortunately] for Yahoo! Music's "Cover Art" section [cover songs -- get it?]. Mandy gave it the Wild Hope treatment, and the results are certainly interesting:



[Nice touch performing in front of the monitors showing the original outstanding video for the track.

Maybe soon -- maybe -- I'll have to unpack all that nonsense at the beginning of the clip. Mandy, why are you throwing your early career under the bus like that???]

Okay, that may not be everyone's thing, and I'm a little conflicted about it myself. But the real gem in this episode is that on the Mandy page is a link to "the original" -- which is not, in fact, Rihanna's original video, but is actually RIHANNA HERSELF performing the song live for Yahoo! Music.

I've never seen Rihanna perform live, and I didn't know she had a real "band". Quite rightly, directors keep the band out of sight, because, let's face it, if you've got someone as breathtakingly beautiful as Rihanna on stage, you want to show Rihanna. But this band is terrific, and they really funked and rocked the shit out of that song. The result is an obvious choice for Video Of The Day:



[Okay, we coulda done without the umbrella dancers, and MORE RIHANNA, but still, well done!]

* * * * *

For reference, and also just because, here is the original video for "Umbrella", which is undeniably the most artistically sexy video I've seen in at least 5 years:

continue reading...

collapse...

Happy Birthday Kelly Ann Collins!!!

Happy birthday, Kelly Ann Collins!!!!!!!!1!111!1!

Okay, it's really tomorrow -- Sat 4 August -- but I wanted to send my best wishes now because I have a full schedule tomorrow [!!!]. I believe KAC is turning 22 tomorrow. AWWWWWWWWWW!!!

You all should cruise by one of her many, many sites [it's SOOOOOO hard to keep up with KAC!!!] and leave your best wishes.

BTW, tomorrow [4 August] is also Barack Obama's birthday.

Which gives me a great idea...


[images courtesy: (L) Kelly Ann Collins; (R) Wonkette]

Think about it -- we'd only need one really big-ass "American Flag" birthday cake for four -- or maybe eight!!! -- years! Think about everything we could do with the money our country would save in hosting only one birthday party instead of two!!!

You're welcome.

continue reading...

collapse...