BuzzSugar

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:30:08 -0700

Marge Simpson's Playboy pics - Worst Previews
Fox picks up new show, Rehab. (Oh, and it's a comedy.) - Hollywood Reporter
Laura Dern joins the Little Fockers cast - Ain't It Cool News
Yet another vampire story is coming to the big screen - MTV Movies Blog
Elisabeth Moss talks Mad Men, tractors, and belching - Vulture
Are you a fan of Law & Order? Then check out this list of the top six guest stars who are now famous - TV.com
Is the horror film Carrie getting the Broadway stage treatment? - Cinematical
Lily Allen's new music video costars Elton John . . . sorta - Stereogum
Jude Law and Robert DeNiro may be joining the Thor movie - Reelz Channel
Lil Wayne is determined to release not one, but two albums before the end of the year - Pitchfork
Style at the Spike Scream Awards! - FabSugar

Link Time! 5/12

BuzzSugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:30:33 -0700

Neil Patrick Harris tops AfterElton's Hot 100 this year, while Portia de Rossi tops the AfterEllen list. - AfterElton and AfterEllen
Seven franchises J.J. Abrams should reboot. - Cinematical
Damon Lindelof compares the challenges of adapting Stephen King's Dark Tower series to the challenges Zack Snyder faced in adapting Watchmen. - MTV Movies Blog
An outpouring of love for Everybody Hates Chris. - TV Filter
Lily Allen's song "Why" is rather pretty and tender. - Stereogum
Yikes, how bad must Legally Mad have been for NBC to pass on it? - TV Squad
Check out how the Amazing Race winners are spending their $1 million. - SavvySugar
Wait a minute, Susanna Hoffs is writing new songs for The Bangles? - Spinner

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What to Download: New Music Today

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:30:52 -0800

Tuesdays are big in entertainmentville: Not only do all the new DVD releases hit Netflix, but new music also pours into stores. So I take a spin through each week's music releases and pick out some albums and tracks worthy of a download. In addition to my picks below, Lily Allen's new album hits stores today as well. Here are today's selections:

From the folks who brought you "J**z in My Pants": The Lonely Island (TLI), founded by Andy Samberg and friends, has released its first album and includes greatest hits like "Dick In a Box" featuring Justin Timberlake and "Lazy Sunday" featuring Chris Parnell. But there are so many new songs that are equally hysterical and surprisingly catchy. No, seriously - I want to dance to "Boombox", which features Julian Casablancas, lead singer of The Strokes. The collaborations go on and on including: Norah Jones, Jack Black, and T-Pain.

Live + music = good: Live From the Artists Den is a concert series turned television show, where it airs I do not know (see that? Rhyming). They manage to snag some pretty great artists to perform in some cool venues and now there's a CD compilation of these live performances. The artists on this particular volume include The Hold Steady performing "Sequestered in Memphis," Ani DiFranco performing "Present/Infact," and Aimee Mann performing "31 Today." The sound quality is fantastic! I highly recommend the download.

It's a great day for music. Two more exciting picks up next so read more!

Gone solo: Man oh man, do I enjoy Black Keys, so I've been patiently waiting for Dan Auerbach's solo venture to come out and I'm happy to report that so far I like it. His voice sounds great and each of the bluesy tunes has a little dusting of psychedelia. His sexy electric guitar is something I could listen to all day long. Check out "Whispered Words" and a very beautiful and sparse song titled "When the Night Comes."

Queen of hearts: Aw, India Arie. Sometimes her lyrics are a little (hmm, how to put this. . .) obvious, I guess, but I still can't resist her empowering music. Listening to an album of hers makes me feel like I'm starring in my own reality show and the opening credits are rolling. But anyway, check out the uplifting track "Therapy", and the very pretty "Long Goodbye".

First Listen: Lily Allen, It's Not Me, It's You

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:30:02 -0800

First, let's just take a moment to admire the cover of Lily Allen's new album, shall we? I love the way she's lounging so glamorously on that giant "L." It's self-centeredness of the cutest kind.

The much-anticipated followup to her debut album, Alright Still, It's Not Me, It's You comes out Feb. 10. Until then, you can stream it online on Lily's MySpace page. After a few listens, the dozen ditties have snagged me with tales of growing up, cleaning up, and gettin' down. For my song-by-song breakdown, read more.

"Everyone's at It": Allen kicks things off with a number as catchy and slyly cynical as "Smile." Under the guise of sunny pop, the singer, no stranger to self-medicating, skewers our self-medicated culture with an addictive vocal melody and adorable vibrato.
"The Fear": Lily's sendup of celebrity gossip rags and fashion-obsessed shopaholics feels even more poignant against the recession, and the dreamlike zips and zooms are appropriately hypnotic.
"Not Fair": Though the melody on this one is flatter than the two songs that precede it, the surprising addition of a banjo to a full-on dance number keeps us guessing.
"22": Churchlike harpsichords and finger snaps punctuate a tale of woman who ain't 22 anymore. Despite somewhat cringe-worthy lines like "society says her life is already over," I had to grin at truths like "all she wants is a boyfriend / she gets one-night stands."
"I Could Say": On second thought, being 22 isn't so bad: The narrator has her whole life ahead of her after a lousy breakup. Though this song suffers from some cliched '80s rhythms and synths, I like the strings.
"Back to the Start": The Rapture meets roller rink. I'm sure I won't be the first reviewer to make this joke, but I find myself wishing this song would go back to the start, when it has an awesome, techno bass beat, instead of careening further into bubblegum pop land.
"Never Gonna Happen": This track delves fully into the gypsy-music gyrations that Allen only hinted at on her earlier efforts, and I'm totally hooked by the bouncing accordion beats. The rejection song is such a fun, polka-dotted romp that even the person being rejected can't complain too much.
"F**k You": A pretty piano ditty with a shocking (but not really) profanity-laden refrain. The first sing-song "F**k You" is kinda of cute, but the high-pitched vocal effects get a little tiresome.
"Who'd Have Known": A sort of turning point in the album arc, Allen turns from cynical to hopeful here, with a Zombies-esque ode to the early relationship butterflies.
"Chinese": The domestic bliss continues on "Chinese" - as in Chinese takeout. Allen's vocals here sound downright dreamy, and while the song isn't as surprising as the first half of the album, it's well-structured and refreshingly calm.
"Him": Lily Allen ponders the existence of God. At once frivolous and thought-provoking with a galloping bass line, the simple song poses questions about our creator from the mundane (his favorite band is CCR) to the heavy (terrorists dying in his name). It's not as eye-rolling as it sounds.
"He Wasn't There": This vaudevillian farewell wraps up the relationship roller coaster with the revelation that "everything's fine," told over old-timey static and a jazzy piano.

Britney vs. Lily: Whose "Womanizer" Is Best?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:30:20 -0800

It certainly doesn't take long for a song to get covered these days! It's only been a few weeks since we first heard Britney Spears's "Womanizer," and British star Lily Allen has just released her own, slightly slowed down version.

I was actually surprised by how faithful Allen's version (which apparently has gotten her in a bunch of trouble with her record label!) is to the original - a few fewer vocal effects, maybe, and a little more downbeat, sort of "Lily Allen sings 'Womanizer' in a piano bar." I could see myself listening to it, but at the same time, there's just that special Britney energy to the original. Take a listen to both versions and let me know: Which "Womanizer" wins?

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Link Time! 12/2

BuzzSugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:32:32 -0800

A key question: Are aliens more romantic than vampires? - TV Squad
The gift that keeps on taking: 15 terrible presents in TV and film - including "she gave me a pen" from Say Anything and the Red Ryder BB gun from A Christmas Story. - The Onion's A.V. Club
Check out a new track from Lily Allen. - Stereogum
Discuss: The worst holiday movies. - Cinematical
So jealous of this Privileged set tour. - Give Me My Remote
Ray Winstone has been cast as Caesar in the Cleopatra movie musical, which director Steven Soderbergh calls "Viva Las Vegas meets Tommy." - MTV Movies Blog
Wanna win an autographed copy of Influence by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen? - FabSugar

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Separated at Birth: UK Singing Soundalikes

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:30:55 -0700

It seems like you can't turn on the radio or surf the music blogs these days (or walk into a Starbucks, for that matter) without hearing a lady singer who is from the UK and sounds strikingly similar to Amy Winehouse or Lily Allen. It's as if all aspiring British female vocalists born between 1979 and 1991 were only given Dusty Springfield and Etta James records to listen to for inspiration.

Winehouse and Allen reintroduced the "soulful songstress with attitude and distinctive vocals" persona to the mainstream when they took the USA by storm a few years ago. However, they now appear to be imploding personally, leaving a hole in the genre that record labels have rushed to fill. I'm not complaining, as I happen to really enjoy this kind of music, but how to tell all this talent apart? There are a lot of 'em, and in addition to having similar musical styles, their names (er, um, "name," as the case may be for several of them) are hardly distinctive. It's confusing! For your benefit and mine, here's my attempt to break it all down:


Name	Duffy	Adele	Estelle	Kate Nash	Gabriella Cilmi
Recent Album	Rockferry, 2008	19, 2008	Shine, 2008	Made of Bricks, 2008	Lessons to Be Learned, 2008 (not yet for sale in US)
Single to Download	"Mercy" or "Warwick Avenue"	"Chasing Pavements"	"American Boy"	"Foundations" and "Merry Happy"	"Sweet About Me" (not yet available in US)
Identifying Features	"Mercy" featured on Grey's Anatomy; album sold at Starbucks	Voice getting a lot of hype; lacks the bad-girl storytelling of the others	As good at rapping as singing; big names like Kanye West and John Legend behind her	More Lily Allen than Winehouse; a great choice post-breakup	Technically Australian, a budding talent now working it in the UK
iPod Replay Potential*	3	4	8	7	6

*scale of 1-10, 1 = "What's this lady doing on my iPod?" and 10 = "Cannot get enough - it's the soundtrack of my life!"
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Link Time! 4/17

BuzzSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:30:36 -0700

Maura Tierney apparently wants her character to be killed off ER, so TV Squad wonders: How should Abby die?
FilmExperience has the lowdown on Baz Luhrmann's challenge for young filmmakers.
According to Cinematical, there's now an R-rated trailer up for one of this year's most well-received Sundance movies, Hamlet 2.
Vulture has video of Jason Segel's five best moments on the short-lived series Undeclared.
Got a question for Neil Patrick Harris? Popwatch needs more ideas for what to ask him in an upcoming interview.
Stereogum has some thoughts on Lily Allen's new tunes "I Don't Know" and "I Could Say."
Awesome! A Pop Candy reader writes about her experience as an extra on the set of Lost.

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Song of the Day: Lily Allen Covers "Mr. Blue Sky"

BuzzSugar — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:29:24 -0800

Electric Light Orchestra's "Mr. Blue Sky" is one of my favorite songs ever for the simple fact that it always makes me happy. Lily Allen's recent cover of the song for a French commercial isn't drastically new or different from the original ELO tune, but it's fun to hear her little voice, and there are some funky electronic flourishes that make the cover pretty cool sounding.

To see what I mean and tell me what you think of Lily's version of "Mr. Blue Sky," read more.

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Lily Allen to Play Lydia Bennet?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 06:30:00 -0700

Sounds a little unusual, but the UK arm of MTV's Movie Blog is reporting that Lily Allen will make her film debut as Lydia Bennet in a movie spoof of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Further details on the project are scant, beside a few names reportedly joining her in the cast, like Stephen Fry and Carrie Fisher. Comedian Russell Brand will play her husband.

I'm wondering if she'll be some kind of punked-up Lydia Bennet, which would be rad. And I have faith that Allen can handle a film role. After all, she pulled off the role of adorable astronaut in a recent music video.

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