John Mayer’s Twitter falls silent
Is that crow in that mouth?
Waa… I guess it’s just not fun anymore, eh, Mayer? Well, at least not for you…
Related: The John Mayer page of shame.
Remainders: who’s that teabagger? Plus, taxing the banks, and ‘arting up’ hip-hop
The question of who is, and who is not a member of the “tea party movement” gets more serious the closer you get to an election. As even the most cynical politician knows, a radical movement can both energize voters ideologically aligned with it, and turn off more moderate voters who aren’t. So we’re now seeing this interesting spectacle in which Republican pols pull closer to, and yet just far enough away from, the teabaggers.
Case in point: in Massachusetts, Scott Brown once courted the tea party movement, and then, magically (with the election just a few days away) he has pulled away. The Huffpo reports, with link love to the PlumLine that Brown held a tea party fundraiser, and then eleven days later, told the Boston Globe (which has endorsed his Democratic opponent and the likely winner next week, Martha Coakley) that he wasn’t sure what the tea party movement is.
Before the cock crows, another politician may deny the teabaggers too (but only after he’s used them first.) Marco Rubio is now identified in the media’s mind with the movement, and he is a favorite of the cause. But that hasn’t stopped the savvy young pol from keeping his distance, knowing that after the closed Florida primary (in which “independent” tea party people cannot vote) is over, he has to face a general election pool that includes 42 percent Democrats, 35 percent Republicans and 22 percent unaffiliated and third-party voters, and given that it’s Florida, it’s almost impossible to really know how the ideologies within that electorate play out. One hint: Florida has, historically, tended to elect moderates to the Senate, regardless of party. Maybe that’s why, as lots of Florida political watchers have noticed, Rubio declined to brand himself the potential “first Senator from the Tea Party Movement” in a New York Times Magazine interview.
Meanwhile, guess who’s back in the forefront of Florida politics? Rubio’s political mentor, Jeb Bush, who could have more to do with Rubio’s rise at the end of the day, than a bunch of disaffected conservatives with homemade signs. From the comments on this story, it doesn’t seem like all Republicans in the rank and file think that’s such a good thing.
Bumbaclot! Buju Banton arrested on drug charges
(and not that drug, either.) From the Miami Herald, proof that some controversies never die:
Buju Banton, the Jamaican reggae star whose anti-gay lyrics have drawn international criticism, is in a federal lockup in Miami, facing drug conspiracy charges.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents say Banton, real name Mark Anthony Myrie, has been in custody since Thursday and will soon be transferred to Tampa, where the U.S. Attorney is charging him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilos of cocaine.
Banton has homes both in Jamaica and Tamarac.
While legions of dancehall reggae enthusiasts view Banton as one of the most prolific voices of Jamaica’s poor masses, critics say he’s a gay basher whose lyrics incite violence by calling for attacking and torturing homosexuals. His song Boom Bye Bye, a dance-hall hit released in the 1990s, advocates shooting gays in the head and setting them on fire.
That’s drug arrest to anti-gay lyrics controversy in four paragraphs. And you thought this was a story about a drugs arrest … Read more
Random 90s flashback: PM Dawn (1991)
Raise your hand if you miss the Daisy Age!
Will Adam Lambert ‘tart up’ the CBS Early Show?
Lambert’s AMA performance: the most offensive part was the singing…
CBS mornings may never be the same. The excitement-challenged morning show will grab ABC’s sloppy seconds, booking Adam Lambert for a morning concert performance. (Onlookers may want to stand back to avoid the whips.) As for ABC? Well, they’re taking a pass on a second helping of the caterwalling, over-the-top, Idol runner-up who seems determined to become an asterisk in the music world by overdoing the theatrics and under-doing the song and vocal quality. It’s a shame. They guy has a good singing voice (when he’s not shrieking like a banshee). He kind of had us at “Mad World,” and probably should have left it at that.
But you know who’s thanking him right now? That other kid, you know, the one who won Idol. His stock just went way up with the family values music buying crowd.
UPDATE: CBS lets Lambert explain himself, and then they step into some gay type controversy of their own by blurring out the man on man action. Um … maybe it’s just me, but isn’t early morning too early for images of someone shoving another person’s face into their crotch?
You can’t make this stuff up: teabaggers have their own rapper
Move over Michael Steele. Make way for Hi Caliber.
When you finally stop laughing, read more about Brother Caliber (or should we call him Vanilla Spice? FillaBusta Rhymes? or maybe Dumbinem…?) at TPMDC. Oh, and a quick note to Caliber: if you’re going to associate yourself with the teabaggers, you might want to drop the line “wave ‘em around like you just don’t care.” Just a thought.
Friday funnies: all the single babies
Watch this baby work. Hilarious!
Cuba’s Woodstock?
From the BBC, a story you probably won’t hear much about here in the U.S.:
Havana has hosted the biggest open-air concert since the 1959 revolution, featuring some 15 top Latin American, Spanish and Cuban performers.
An estimated one million people – many wearing white – attended the free event in Revolution Square, Havana.
Colombian singer Juanes, who organised the Peace without Borders concert, received death threats from Miami-based critics of the Cuban regime.
But he had the support from 20 high-profile jailed dissidents inside Cuba.
The BBC’s Michael Voss, who was at the five-and-a-half hour concert, said there was a mood of excitement as many residents of the isolated, music-loving island had never seen anything like it before.
… “We are here for the music and it is a message of peace and unity, not only for Cuba, but for the entire region,” said Latin Grammy winner Juanes.
Among the other artists taking part on Sunday were Spain’s Miguel Bose, Olga Tanon from Puerto Rico, the Cuban performers Silvio Rodriguez and Los Van Van.
Critics in Miami, however, were not amused… Read more
Was Kanye West’s Taylor Swift dis a publicity stunt, or was he drunk?
The self-absorbed rapper was reportedly booted from the VMAs after the episode (and after a stern talking to by Swift’s mom.) So was this a publicity stunt, designed to move more Kanye West albums (or at least get people talking about him again) or could he have been stoned out of his mind on Patron? You decide:
There were other strange moments, apparently (it’s still Tivo’d over here, so haven’t watched yet) like dance show queen Lil’ Mama trying to join Jay Z and Alicia Keys’ entourage. But the Kanye moment has had, what I think was the desired effect: we’re all talking about him. So did he do it to get publicity? What say you, America? But wait, there’s more to the story … Read more
Well done.
I don’t know about you, but I think the Michael Jackson tribute was spot-on. The performances were heartfelt, the presentation appropriate, the eulogies funny and feisty, and the sentiments well expressed (though I think MLK’s daughter Bernice dwelled a little too much on her own family rather than the Jacksons, but that’s just my take…) Watch the entire thing here. Perhaps the most touching part of it was when his daughter Paris made that heartbreaking statement about her dad at the end. How wonderful that up until now, Michael’s masks and veils, which we all thought were so odd, allowed them to have a childhood free of being hounded by fans and paparazzi, since few knew who they were. As the AP put it:
For all the hasty preparations, hand-wringing over security, breathless media competition to scoop details and soul-wrenching performances, the essence of Michael Jackson’s memorial service came down to 20 poignant, powerful seconds: the moment when 11-year-old Paris-Michael Jackson inched up to the microphone and, in a statement no one saw coming, referred to the late pop superstar as “Daddy.”… And all at once, Jackson wasn’t the larger-than-life “King of Pop,” or Wacko Jacko the tabloid freak. He was a doting father who had left three adoring young children behind.
Perhaps the second most moving tribute came from Brooke Shields, who explained her lifelong friendship with Jackson, borne out of the common experience of childhood stardom. Having never really thought of Brooke Shields in that light, it was a stark reminder of what a strange, charmed life she, Jackson and other child stars live.
Meeanwhile, here are two pieces of proof that at the end of the day, what Michael Jackson was principally, was a very, very gifted performer. Cheers.
Here’s Michael and the Jackson 5, performing “Ben,” live (1975):
The mother of all televised dance performances: Michael performing “Billie Jean” at the Motown 25 special, back in 1983 (when I was in junior high school. Damn, I can still remember watching the special with my sister, my brother and my mom, and trying — and failing — to do those moves! The next day at school, everybody was trying to do them…)
And last but not least: links to my favorite “version” of Michael (the FINE version!) — from his best album, in my opinion, “Off the Wall,” here are “Rock With You” and my 12-year-old son’s new favorite Youtube video: “Don’t Stop till You Get Enough” (or as he calls it: the three Michael Jacksons video.) Enjoy!
Related: The Michael Jackson Youtube channel
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