oh my gosh!!! i would have loved to been in new york city tonight for madonna's show at roseland ballroom (the very same place where i had a mini intimate moment with courtney love which led to my tattoo of a flaming heart in honor of ms. love) there's a bunch of pictures below of madge's performance (justin timberlake was also on stage) my fingers are totally crossed with the hope that madonna will do another tour in support of her new album hard candy which i have been listening to non-stop (right now my fave track is she's not me) popbytes over & out for now...xxoo
good evening! is everyone enjoying their friday night? i'm having myself a glass of red wine and listening to yelle - way enjoyable french pop that i discovered by way of the hills (which always seems to feature decent music) anyways madonna is certainly a very busy lady these days (as per usual) this coming tuesday she releases hard candy (which you can listen to on her myspace right now) plus she screened the documentary (which she produced) entitled i am because we are - last night at the tribeca film festival over in NYC - a five-minute video preview is posted below - the subject matter concerns the dire situation over in poverty & AIDS stricken malawi (where she adopted her son david) it looks quite powerful and it's great to see madonna bringing much needed attention to the many unresolved issues over there - it's overwhelming but i plan on taking myself to see the film (there doesn't seem to be a release date yet - keep checking the website which is chock full of information) she looked spectacular last night - i still can't believe she's turning 50 (that fact makes me feel old at 32) whatever she's doing to look fierce is obviously working - go madonna! popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo
good evening boys & girls! i'll admit i was slightly worried about madonna's new album not living up to my high expectations but i'm extremely happy to report that hard candy is excellent (i've totally tossed mariah carey's new album E=MC2 aside for the moment - i needed a break from mimi anyways) however i don't think madge's latest outing tops her last album confessions on a dance floor but it's really solid (tracks 1-8 are awesome and 9-12 are decent) and thankfully way more dancey than i thought it was going to be! you've probably heard by now that although the album doesn't release until april 29th - the tracks started leaking out over the weekend and i was able to download the entire thing earlier this afternoon (it certainly wasn't very hard to find at all...) however i've already pre-ordered the album on itunes and of course i'll also be picking up the special edition version!
two tracks that immediately stand out are she's not me & incredible - both are over six minutes long (and produced by pharrell williams) they definitely take you on a journey - getting twisted up into sonic urban/dance landscapes that both tip their hats to madonna's early work! i'm also digging on give it 2 me which will be the second single and again was produced by mr. williams (the timbaland produced tracks are rockin' too (except dance 2night which is probably my least favorite off the album) but i think overall pharrell did an amazing job) madonna (who turns 50 in august!) better get her tour on again - gosh i must see her play live again! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
PS even with all that hoopla & drummed up buzz over her engagement to boyfriend pete wentz and possible pregnancy - nobody seems to be talking about ashlee simpson's new album bittersweet world which drops tomorrow...the timing of all that 'press' last week was way too coincidental...and didn't pay off like papa joe simpson was hoping it would (however i'll probably pick up her album since i got suckered into loving that song outta my head)
01 candy shop (madonna, pharrell williams) - 4:15
02 4 minutes (w/ justin timberlake) (madonna, mosley, hills, timberlake) - 4:04
03 give it 2 me (madonna, williams) - 4:47
04 heartbeat (madonna, williams) - 4:03
05 miles away (madonna, mosley, hills, timberlake) - 4:48
06 she's not me (madonna, williams) - 6:04
07 incredible (madonna, williams) - 6:19
08 beat goes on (w/ kanye west) (madonna, williams, kanye west) - 4:26
09 dance 2night (madonna, mosley, lane, timberlake) - 5:03
10 spanish lesson (madonna, williams) - 3:37
11 devil wouldn't recognize you (madonna, mosley, hills, timberlake, joe henry) - 5:08
12 voices (madonna, mosley, hills, lane, timberlake) - 3:39
UPDATE! hey hey! i just walked in the door from a very lovely evening with a fine frenzy and opening act ferras - i must give a special shout out to popbytes' pal heather who always takes such good care of me down at the roxy - the best small los angeles music venue without a doubt! tomorrow morning i have to wake up extra early - i've got an interview with a huge music legend - and i'm totally nervous about it but i know it'll be fine (please keep your fingers crossed for me!) more details on that very soon - i think it's going to be a great interview and i can't wait to share it here on popbytes - trust me - it's with someone really incredible that i've been a big fan of for years! oh my gosh it's getting late - i'm so over & out for tonight...xxoo!
oh my gosh! quick - watch madonna's brand new video for 4 minutes in its entirety featuring justin timberlake & timbaland before it gets pulled off youtube! (it's supposed to 'premiere' tomorrow over on tick-tock.tv) this evening i'm going to see a fine frenzy down at the roxy so i'll be checking in a bit later than usual tonight! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
good evening! madonna seems to be everywhere these days with the upcoming april 29th release of her 11th studio album hard candy i just picked up the latest interview magazine with madge on the cover looking like she's ready to kick our asses from the corner of a boxing ring (madonna also graces the new cover of dazed & confused) i thought there would be more of a spread on the inside but sadly there's only one other picture alongside her interview conducted by ingrid sischy (a few choice quotes are between the scans) there's also a brand new commercial (embedded below) out for sunsilk 'styling aids' featuring the first single off the album 4 minutes to save the world which features justin timberlake & timbaland - i'll admit the track is growing on me but i'm not nearly as excited for this album as i was for her last outing confessions on a dance floor which i totally fell in love with! i'm also not thrilled with her pimping out the single for shampoo - its not like she needs the money...it's a total jessica simpson move! although when she tours i'll overlook the whole sunsilk debacle - i can't wait to see her play live again!
right now i'm watching the season premiere of dancing w/ the stars - don't ask me why - somehow i've gotten sucked into the show but i don't think i can bear the latest edition of the bachelor with the dude from london this time (although he isn't bad looking) that show just seriously needs to go away! (ok...maybe i'll watch the first episode...ugh...i guess after i'm done with tonight's episode of my favorite guilty reality pleasure at the moment pussycat dolls present girlicious) popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo!
on collaborating with justin timberlake "i really enjoy writing with justin...we had psychoanalytic sessions whenever we wrote songs first. we'd sit down and we'd start talking about situations. and then we'd start talking about issues or problems or relationships with people. that was the only way, because you know, writing together with somebody is very intimate...that was fun, because he's open and he's got talent. he's a songwriter. i haven't worked with a lot of songwriters where i'm instantly connected and start riffing and playing with the rhythm of the words. he's as interested in the rhythm of the words as the meaning of the words."
on saving her son david's life "he wouldn't have lived if i hadn't taken him. it's not even a possibility."
on bringing daughter lourdes with her to malawi "she spent several weeks working in the orphanages, particularly one with newborn children, and most of them were hiv-positive. she so came into her own and was so responsible and stayed for eight hours every day and worked tirelessly. i thought, why am i babying her so much? she's capable of so much more. we don't let kids do anything. we think, oh, they're kids - they can't take care of other kids; they can't do this; they can't do that. and after you go to africa, you drop all that silliness."
PHOTO CREDIT | STEVEN KLEIN FOR INTERVIEW MAGAZINE
good morning boys & girls! below i've got an excerpt of a new blog post from my darling courtney love which she posted to her myspace blog early this morning - she's talking madonna again - saying she didn't mean to slam madge a few weeks ago when on another blog post she said madonna is a great businesswoman, but come on, she is weak as an artist and we all know it...i like madge, but as a relevant musician, it’s a joke she’s singing from such a calculating, thought-out place all the time, it’s never from her gut or heart or intuition... in her usual rambling & messy writing style ms. love comes to the conclusion that she likes 'everyone' - i highly doubt that's true but at least she's trying to make nice - we don't need bad blood between the two ladies although i don't think we'll see them having lunch together anytime soon! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
id i slam madonna? well i didnt mean to, i havent spokent o her in.... oh years- i did need to speak to her recently- about a shared situation but got my information elsewhere- shes very - well i dunno we probably think about the same thing of each other- when we think of each other. we have some mutual friends - a few actually- and stylists and whatnot- so i dunno - im friends with her manager- and always takke waht he says very seriously= idon think i d go so far as to say that i SLAMMED madonna- i dont generally slam anyone these days slagging people is for kids- and id ont believe in evil toungue- evil eye nonsense- you get what you give and thast my core belief so if i said i personally did not find much value as a rock musician in the msuical OUVRE of madonnas WORKS , there isnt much to INSPIRE me as a MUSICIAN in ROCK MUSIC of the lower fidelity authentic ( i spose that what it could be called) sort - slickness doest interest me much at this point- and theres alot of slickness in the POP MUSIC OUVRE, or it would not sell- i think shes had some fine producers and i like...well ive never really listened to her music to be honest- shes a nice person we have a faded but complex relationship to one another - and with time children a marriage all sorts of things relax in a person so i dont know- i dont think i salmmed her i think ipraised her business acumen- and her ability to not screw up a good thing- im far m,ore self destructive quite obviously and shit....were not even in the same category of MUSIC- were just bnoth quite famous so ive been told........ in any case i like EVERYONE. read full blog post
hey hey! has everyone been watching live earth?!? i've been catching bits here & there all day long yet i did have to make a trek over to woodland hills to pick up a portable air conditioner - oh my gosh i thought it was hot in hollywood - damn i almost melted over there in the valley - it was so freakin' hot - i couldn't think straight! (hello global warming!) anyways i've got four videos posted below of madonna working the stage over in london - i also really enjoyed performances from kelly clarkson, kt tunstall, and alicia keys - there were so many amazing performances - everyone did a great job! kudos to the organizers of this unprecedented global concert - and please make sure to turn any lights off you're not using! popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo!
good evening! i'm sure you've all heard by now about the latest clothing line from madonna being sold by swedish company H&M - as the stores get ready for the big US march 22nd launch (i hear you can already find stuff on ebay!) their website has now been taken over by madge - some of the totally gorgeous shots are below (yes photoshop was involved as per usual) and please make sure to watch the commercial - it's great! maybe this line will do better than the first one she did back a few months ago - the clothes are for sure better looking! (plus the prices are reasonable - always a good thing!) popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
hey y'all! ok one more music posting but this one i swear on my grandma (who admittedly is kinda lame) is super sexy! it's an unearthed clip of madonna from way back in '82 from the good folks over at WOW TV which is a very cool branch of the WOW report my fellow hot hollywood blogger neighbors & producers extraordinaire! you mustwatch madonna perform borderlineeverybody (yes i got my songs mixed up) back in the day...she may be young and a drop inexperienced but you can totally see & hear the fire 'burning up' inside of her almost twenty-five fucking years ago - damn i feel a little old tonight! popbytes over & out until tomorrow - xxoo!
hey hey! remember back a few months ago and madonna was tossed up on the side of the roosevelt hotel here in hollywood for her H&M campaign? well all good things must come to an end and madge is being covered over with another H&M ad as i write this post!
i don't think the clothes flew off the shelves like everyone expected (even with the line's reasonable prices) there were racks of madonna's white jumpsuit jacket leftover - they were even being given away free on H&M's myspace page (hello - when did retail stores get their own myspace pages?!?) anyways i snapped some pics last night & this morning - wave goodbye to madonna! i highly doubt she's losing any sleep over this though...she already has a whole bunch of stuff to worry about on her plate! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!