Hallelujah! Christmas number 1 and 2

In the UK there is always this big hooha about who will be 'the Christmas number one'. This year it is the beautiful Leonard Cohen track of the very appropriate name 'Hallelujah' (which some people will know as 'the Shrek song', strangely enough)

Not only is it number one though, but also number two. The version that is topping the charts is the version from Alexandra Burke, the winner of this year's X-Factor. Whilst the number two spot is held by the 1994 Jeff Buckley version of the song. I have always been a fan of the Jeff Buckley version. It's like the raw emotion is dripping off that one. So haunting and so beautiful.

I once had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Buckley at Glastonbury festival and- like everyone else- his strange and untimely death came as a huge shock to me. He drowned in 1997 at the age of 30. The world lost a great and honest talent on that sad day. But I'm thrilled to see that a new generation of music lovers is discovering Jeff Buckley's music again.

Alexandra's version of the track is good too & with a performance like that, how could she not win the competition?




Sadly enough, they wouldn't let me embed the Jeff Buckley version. You actually will have to go to Utube to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKnxmkOAj88

Merry Christmas everyone!

No internet connection...

Hi all,

Well, we've moved house, but the internet connection there is not working yet. We are waiting for it to be fixed, but God knows how long it will take. We've been told 2 to 3 weeks, with no definate date (in Aruba...you never know)

So, my extremely slack blogging of late will continue for a while longer. My appologies.

I will be blogging properly again in 2009.

Love, Simone

Is Coldplay's 'Viva la Vida' a rip-off?

Thanks to James Hyman for forwarding me this Utube link. Pretty convincing stuff, I'm afraid. So my bet is that this will cost Coldplay a lot of money as Viva la Vida does sound almost exactly like Joe Satriani's 'If I could fly'.



On the other hand, alternative band Creaky board also accused Coldplay of ripping off parts of Viva la vida from their track 'Songs I didn't write' (that title sounds almost like a piss-take of the situation, doesn't it?)

Creaky Boards later retracted the accusations and now speculate that both songs may have been inspired by the video game The Legend of Zelda (do you think they were given something to retract their claim?)

Click here to hear the comparison between those & more 'songs that sound like other songs'.

I actually believe that people do this stuff by accident. They start humming a melody they have heard somewhere, somehow & they think it's their own idea. It just has this 'familiar feel' to it (which is normally a good thing when you write a song). And- even when they aren't 100% sure that is an original idea- when they run it by other people and ask them if they've ever heard it before, those people all say no. Because the original is quite obscure. So, before you know it, you've ripped someone off. When you rip someone off knowingly, you make enough little changes to your song so no one can sue you (something Noel Galagher, for instance, is a star at ; )

Please tell me your verdict. Guilty or not?

BBC's Best of 2009 list is out. And it is brilliant!

Fifteen of the best rising music stars have been announced as the longlist for the BBC's Sound of 2009.

The list is designed to find the best up-and-coming acts for the coming year, with the winner to be named in January.

More than 130 of the UK's leading music critics and broadcasters named their favourite new acts, and the 15 with the most votes have made the longlist.

Adele triumphed at number one in Sound of 2008, followed by Duffy, The Ting Tings and Glasvegas.

To see and hear the 2009 list, click here

I've checked out all the acts and think most of them are really good. Still, let me pick my favorite three & share them with you here. They are the most pop and the most catchy of the list, I think. It is possible that after several listens, I may start to prefer others that simply take longer to grow on you. But this is my list as it stands. Please let me know which of the list are your personal favorits. I'm curious to know.



Frankmusik: Dance singer, remixer and all-round whizz-kid Vincent Frank creates high-energy robopop in which fast neon beats jump out of '80s-tinged tunes.

Frank has remixed tracks for the likes of Mika, Radiohead and CSS. His debut album, Complete Me, has been co-produced by Stuart Price, who has worked with The Killers, Madonna and Keane.




Currently the hottest new hip-hop artist in the US, Kid Cudi has signed to Kanye West's label, features on the star's new album and has been supporting him on tour.



New York party princess Lady GaGa is making waves in the US, where her infectious top 10 single Just Dance has just been nominated for a Grammy for best dance recording. She has also written songs for Britney Spears, Pussycat Dolls and New Kids on the Block.

So, that's my (pop) list. Do also check out Temper Trap, La Roux, Passion Pit, Florence & the machine, and Master Shortie. As I said, the whole list is great. The BBC rocks yet again!

Still available as free download: the new Prodigy single!

Invaders must die is the name of the new album from the Prodigy and the title track will be available as a free download from their site for a few more days. Don't miss it!

I have to admit, for a while I felt like Liam had 'lost himself' somehow and I wasn't as crazy about the stuff he had done in the last few years (I also have to admit that I haven't heard everything he has done in these last years. Maybe I missed a gem somewhere)

But anyway, if he did lose himself for while, he's back now! And so are the Prodigy! What a top tune. Can't wait to hear to hear the whole album. This is what they are all about. Gritty, dark, intense dance music that just blows your head off. And I can already imagine them onstage with this track.

Having seen thousands of live performances over the years, I think that Prodigy are the best live act ever!!!!! And- of course- also the best dance act ever!!! (anyone disagree with me on that one?)

Good to have you back, old Braintree posse.



Obviously, I have many good memories of the Prodigy as I used to spend a lot of time with them. I'll share some of my favorites in the coming days.

Will.i.am.'s new video: It's a new day

I'm having such a wonderful time in Holland. Always good to spend time with family and enjoy the snow (My little boy and I seem to be the only people who are enjoying it, after all these years in the tropics ; )

By the way, it's been crazy to see how many nineties parties there are all over Holland. I had thought that people were getting nostalgic, but had no idea to what level.

Well, I'm keeping it short today. Too busy enjoying my time back in this cold little country.

Enjoy this one. The ultimate feel-good tune and video: It's a new day!

Gym Class Heroes feat. Estelle, Guilty as charged

Gym Class Heroes and Estelle, you almost can't go wrong there. They are both great acts and together they are also great. No surprises.

The vid is a bit of a 'Sabotage' throw-back, but fitting to the style of the tune. Still, when you put both the videos together I think that 'Sabotage' is the better one. Hands down! Not only because it was the first video of its kind, but also because it has a natural sense of humour that this Gym Class one lacks. The Beasty Boys are just naturally funny.

But what do you think?

Regardless of which vid is the better one though, it's a good tune.

Grace Jones

Steve Blame was the one who introduced me to Grace Jones. He has always surrounded himself with all these odd-ball people. When he used to throw these crazy birthday parties (turning 37 1/2, etc.) in Greece, we would hang out with Nina Haagen and her fake dog, La Camilla- the woman with the big lips from 'Army of lovers'- who would take about 6 hours getting her make-up done, Adamski- who broke his leg on one of the trips and hobbled along for the rest of it- plus many others. It was always pure insanity.

So I was used to meeting strange people through Steve and I had heard his stories about Grace Jones. Still, when I met her, she was even more weird and scary than I ever could have imagined.

She walked up to Steve, myself and my mother (I used to take my mum along to everything) through this dark nightclub. She kissed Steve and then turned to me. Steve said: 'Grace, this is Simone Angel'. I held my hand out to shake hers, but she just stared at me and- instead of shaking my hand- squeezed both my boobs. It was the weirdest thing. It wasn't a joke, she remained dead serious. It just seemed to be the way she greeted new people. My mum was shocked too. Yet neither of us had the guts to react to her. She really was frightening. I just pretended that I found the way she greeted me totally normal, I didn't know what else to do.

Later on that evening, she followed me into the toilets & handed me a little plastic flashing love heart. She smiled at me and then just walked away. And that was that. Very odd.

Anyway, I find it funny how she has managed to make such a come-back. Good on her, that strange, ageless, alien woman.

Here's her clip for Corporate Cannibal.

MTV Europe Music Award 2008, Pink's live performance

I love Pink. Great perfomance and another wonderful MTV Europe Music Awards stage show. If only MTV would be 'all about the music' year round and not only at the award shows.

And how funny that Rick Astley actually won an award. He should have been there! It may have been his last ever chance of attending an MTV Europe Music Award. I doubt he will be nominated again in the future.

Latest BPA release: Seattle ft.Emmy the Great

I want to love this track, but I don't. I have always been a huge fan of Norman Cook's work and love some of the stuff that Emmy the Great has done, but this track just doesn't do it for me. Maybe I should say 'yet'. Maybe it will grow on me.

Of course, with the US election going on right now (no results in yet whilst I am writing this), the song is well-timed. And if Obama wins and the world feels optimistic again about the future of America, it will be even more fitting. We will have to wait and see.

Personally, I am looking forward to the general release of the track 'He's Frank' from BPA, featuring Iggy Pop. Now that's a good tune. I wonder if it will ever be released as a single.

Nineties hits in the Dutch chart

I've just found out that 'King of my castle 2009' has entered the Dutch chart at number 29. 'Infinity 2008' is at number 2 and 'Show me love' is still number 1. Bring back the nineties!

Wamdue project, King of my castle 2009

Another club classic gets the remake. This time it's the old Stricly Rythm smash, 'King of my castle' by 'Wamdue project'.

DJ/Producer Rowald Steyn has done his magic on the track this time. It was, of course, brilliant to begin with and sounds great in it's 2009 jacket. Could it follow in the footsteps of Robin S. and become another number one hit?

Some silly trivia for you...King of my castle was in the UK charts in 1999 and- in that year- was the track with the longest name in which none of the letters were repeated (unbelievable what people keep track off)

Thanks to Eurodance blog for pointing me towards the Armada Music site. I looked it up after seeing the clip of Dobenbeck on there (nice summery tune...fits my tropical lifestyle)

Anyway, here's 'King of my castle 2009'

Take That starting a fight with Oasis?

Clever boys! Take That have said that 'Oasis just stand around and sing', telling people that their gigs will be way more exciting than those of the old rockers. Regardless of whether they mean it or not, it's a good tactic of the old boyband.

It shouldn't be too hard to ruffle Noel and Liam's feathers, so let's wait for the retaliation. It should give Take That tons of press right before the release of their new album 'Circus' (1/12/08). And I assume press coverage is exactly what they were after when they made those comments.

Howard Donald said: 'There’s a totally different energy to the two shows. We’re all about the spectacle, putting on an amazing show for the fans, with lots of high energy and dancing. 'Oasis are great - if you just want to see a band stand still and sing. They have a different kind of energy.'

Mark Owen added that, if finances were an issue for people and if they had to pick one gig over the other, they should go and see Take that play live and not Oasis.

Of course, these are silly comments. If Oasis did a dance routine the crowd would die laughing & if Take That stood onstage looking moody and playing guitar, there would be a lot of angy punters as well.

It's just provocation, isn't it? And who better to provoke then the Oasis boys.

I can just imagine the brainstorming session of their press department: 'We need to get the guys a ton of press for their new album, how shall we go about it? Are there any saucy secrets we can spill? Any of the Take that boys breaking up with their partner? Any of them sleeping with someone else famous? Are they in a fight with anyone? What can we do?'

After some silence in the room, a genius shouts: 'Just let them insult Oasis and we will have an instant celebrity deathmatch with some great moronic soundbites from Noel and Liam'

Brilliant idea!

So, let's wait and see what Noel will say about Take that now. It should be entertaining! Watch this space....

Robin S, number 1

Unbelievable! Robin S is at the top of the charts again in Holland with 'Show me love', the track that topped the UK dance charts in '93.

She re-released it '97, when it got to number 9 in the UK's pop chart. She then released it again in '99 & once more in 2002, without much luck (It only reached number 61 in the UK)

But Robin S has proven that perseverence pays off in the end. Because now there is the 2008 version of the track and she has finally reached a number 1 spot again. And this time not even in the dance chart, but in the general (pop) charts. Good on her!

And it just seems to show again that people are getting nostalgic about the nineties and nineties dance music. In the Dutch top 10 right now there is also the the track 'Infinity (2008)' of the Guru Josh Project. A track that was a huge hit at the end of the eighties/early nineties.

I am, of course, all for this. All these old tunes bring back so many great memories. And it's good to see that people are still appreciating the (dance) music from those days.

The fake 'hotel names' of superstars.

Ever wondered what fake names the stars use when they check into hotels? These, apparently, are some of them (keep in mind that these get updated regularly)

• Britney Spears: Alotta Warmheart


• Jennifer Aniston: Mrs. Smith


• Johnny Depp: Mr. Donkey Ass


• Brad & Angelina: Bruce and Jasminde Pilaf


• Angelina (when traveling alone): Mrs. Lollipop

Doing this may be handy, but sometimes it can cause problems too.

Like what happened to me after another MTV Award show. As usual I had ended up partying in a hotel room with the Prodigy and 3D from Massive Attack. The sun was starting to come up and I really needed to sleep. I was done!

So I asked John, the Prodigy's tour manager, to get me a cab and get me back to my hotel. When he asked me which hotel I was in I realized that I had no idea whatsoever. He named every hotel in town to me, but still I had no idea. He then started to call every hotel and found out that everybody at the Award show had been checked in under fake names, including myself & I just didn't know what my fake name was. He must have tried for about an hour (bless him) before he gave up. I had no mobile on me and no other numbers to call, so I was stranded.

As usual, the Prodigy crew rescued me (they saved me once before when I was lost in some lava fields in Iceland. Back then, the boys all bumped up rooms and gave me one of theirs. They even bought me a new flight ticket back to the UK)

Anyway, this time their manager, Mike Champion, gave me his suite and he shared a room with John.

Later on that day when I walked out of the hotel I was lucky enough to bump into some other MTV people who brought me back to my own hotel.

So there you go. It's good if people can't figure out where you are, but when you can't even figure out where you are, this fake name business gets rather annoying.

Guy Ritchie & Madonna, this divorce is getting nasty now

I do feel for Guy Ritchie. Who wants want to fight a dominating control freak like Madonna? Guy's mum was right though in saying that he knew what he got into when he married her. It's not like she became an impossible person overnight. Still, it's all so sad. For him and for their kids.

I'm not surprised by how she is using the kids in their fights either. Again, this is something she has done from day one. Early on in their relationship they went through a short break-up and Madonna was getting her little girl Lourdes to phone him and saying stuff like 'You have to come back. You made my mommy cry'. I happen to know this as Guy was hanging out at a friend of mine at that time.

Now she is using their son Rocco as a pawn in their fight. She got him wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan of the New York Yankees baseball team, who Madonna’s rumoured lover Alex 'A-Rod’ Rodriguez plays for.

A real kick in the teeth for Guy obviously and a friend of his has said 'He has actually been crying over it. He's in a terrible state but is doing his best to be on form at work (filming Sherlock Holmes) 'He said she is the 'lowest of the low' for letting Rocco wear that top and is even more determined to fight for his side now.'

It has been claimed that Madonna has offered Guy an extra £5 million in their divorce settlement if he lets her have control over his access rights to their eight-year-old son Rocco, two-year-old adopted son David Banda and Madonna’s 12-year-old daughter Lourdes.

But Guy Ritchie has said recently that he doesn't want her money & that all he cares about is the welfare of the children.

Oh boy, it's all getting ugly. Good luck to Guy fighting this one out, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now.

Chase & Status ft. plan B, Pieces

I know I am late with this one as it is number one in the UK dance chart. But I gathered that many readers of this blog are from outside of the UK, so I'd like to share it anyhow. This track already blows my mind when I listen to it at home, so I can imagine the impact it would have when you hear it booming out in a club. F*****g brilliant!

Eminem's new album

Eminem has confirmed that title of his sixth album will be `Relapse’ and that it may be out before the end of the year.

The rapper announced this on Sirius radio and debuted the title track 'I’m Having A Relapse’.

According to 50 Cent- who has already heard several tracks- Eminem's latest material is 'his best yet'.

I can't wait, as I think that Eminem is a true genius. I love the way he plays around with the English language & I love his sense of humor (as long as you can take it with a pinch of salt)

So, bring it on! Give us the relapse!

Katy Perry slipping, sliding, falling

I didn't bother posting the clips of Madonna or Beyonce falling onstage recently (we all make a tumble sometimes), but this slipping, sliding mess of Katy Perry is too funny to keep from you.

Unbelievable!

What a week for pop news. Madonna getting divorced after all, Britney being back on top (for the time being), Sugababes splitting up (also for the time being), Leona Lewis being boo-ed at the Mobo Awards, Michael Jackson and his migraines...

Wow! That would have been a lot to cover. And have I blogged about any of it? No. Instead, we have been battling extreme weather here in Aruba (the tail-end of tropical storm Omar), with roads turned into rivers, power outages and other chaos.

I'll try and catch up in the coming week.

Peace, love & sunshine (finally),
Simone

Katy Perry to host the MTV Europe Music Awards

She was invited to snog Lindsey Lohan at the (US) MTV Awards recently, which she declined. But now she has accepted something much better (for her). Hosting the MTV Europe Music Award.

A huge honour for someone who has only had one hit. And, I think, quite a risk for MTV Europe. But there you go. This is what MTV does nowadays. Unpredictable, crazy stunts around the Award Shows. Like getting the unknown (in the US) British comedian Russell Brand to host the (US) MTV Awards. Rick Astley being nominated 17 years after his last hit, Britney making a 'comeback' without even doing anything...

And now this, getting the girl who 'kissed a girl' to host one of the biggest Award shows of the year.

Will she do a good job? That's anyone's guess. Will she still be famous in two years time? Again...anyone's guess. My personal guess is no. I don't think Katy Perry will enjoy a long-lasting career, because starting out with a novelty record is normally the best way to begining and ending a career faster than you can say 'one-hit wonder'. I mean, does anyone expect that -in a few years time- she will be remembered for anything more than kissing a girl? Judging by her follow-up, the odds of her becoming a one-hit wonder are even greater.

So, would I choose a possible one-hit wonder to host the Awards? No. But then, I disagree with many of the decisions that MTV makes these days. Does it get them good press coverage? You bet. So in that way, MTV has already won. Who cares what people say after the Awards? As long as you wet the audience's appetites before each up-coming show, they will watch. And in the end, it's all about those precious viewing figures.

Beyonce's new single 'Single ladies' (Put a ring on it)

There doesn't seem to be an official promo for this one yet (it's just been released today) nor is there one for the double A-side 'If I were a boy'. I know the vids have been shot, I just haven't seen the final versions. But will post them asap.

Cage the elephant, the re-leased version of 'In one ear'

Jees, can you imagine living in a place called Bowling Green? Well, it really exists. It's in Kentucky and it's where the band Cage the Eelphant are from. After the modest success they had 'Aint no rest for the wicked', they have decided to re-release their first single 'In one ear' and have added a very 'Basket case' promo to it. (Greenday)

Global markets plunge, but Sugarbabe was able to spend £20,000 on a holiday

The financial world has gone even more insane today. Strangely enough, I woke up in a panic about 2 or 3 months ago and thought 'I need to take my savings out of the stock market, something really bad is going to happen' (I had bought some stocks for the first time in my life a while ago and they had done amazingly well up to that point). But I didn't act on my gut feeling, as I should have done. Dumb, dumb, dumb! Now I'm on the losing end, like everybody else.

Anyway, some people will feel much less of whatever financial crisis we might be facing. People like popstars. Take Keisha Buchanan from the Sugarbabes, for instance. She has just told the press that she took a bunch of friends on a £20,000 holiday.


The generous Sugababes singer wanted to treat her closest pals to an unforgettable trip, but admits the amount she splashed out was excessive.



She said: "I took eight friends to Atlanta. We travelled first class and stayed in a big hotel. I spent £20,000 easily. My accountant had to call me when I landed to find out where the money had gone."



I just wanted to treat my friends. They wanted to go to Spain but I thought, 'I'm taking you guys to Atlanta.' It didn't look too good when I got the bill."

Oxjam has started

Oxjam is billed as 'the biggest music festival in the world'. It basically is a ton of different events all over the UK that are in support of the charity Oxfam (and anyone can get involved)

From their website:

Oxjam is a music festival with a difference. Each year thousands of music-lovers like you get involved, all across the UK, to raise money for Oxfam. The next Oxjam kicks off in October 2008. We're asking musicians, promoters - in fact, everyone - to get together to make music, raise money and help end poverty. You don't need a big venue - the beauty of Oxjam is that hundreds of small events make one huge party. And you make it happen. Sound good? Sign-up to get involved where you live and your local Oxjam volunteer team will be in touch pronto with support and advice.

Oxjam is about raising money for Oxfam to tackle poverty all over the world. Supporting Oxjam helps people to earn a living; to get an education; health care; fresh water; and to grow more food. Every pound you raise counts.

My first LP33 playlist

Here is my current pick of favorite LP33 artists and tracks (I've made a few slight changes)

More to come. Big up to all these great new artists!



By the way, after several days of first hearing all these tracks for the first time, I have decided that my favorite is 'Bastard' by 'Tough love'. The reason being that I can't get the damn track out of my head. Especially the first two lines 'Life's a bastard & so am I. Life's a bastard and then you die'. The melody is so bloody catchy...I'm sure it would work well if it got the right backing, radio airplay, etc. On top of that, 'Tough love' are an interesting looking band. Kinda steampunk in a way. Has anyone heard of them? (outside of London?) Have they had a general release?

I also do love 'Daddy's gun' and the band 'Fin'. Although for some reason my favorite track of Fin, called 'Broken circuits' has been taken off the PL33 site. I hope they put it back on soon (it's very Radiohead, I'll post it if it comes back on)

Rick Astley gets surprise MTV Europe Music Video Awards nomination.

How funny, it looks like MTV has been 'Rickrolled', less than a year after 25 million people were tricked into watching the video of Rick's biggest single 'Never Gonna Give You Up' (which reached number one in 16 countries in 1987). The promo was posted under the title of several other popular music artists on video sharing website YouTube, and the prank became known as 'Rickrolling'.

And now it has happened to MTV Europe. The public had been asked to nominate artists for the category 'Best act ever' & they have voted Rick Astley onto the shortlist alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Green Day, Tokio Hotel and U2.

This is his first ever nomination, 17 years after his last chart success! He must be in total shock!

By the way, I had a bit of an embarrassing Rick Astley moment a few years ago. I was having dinner with a friend who is record company executive and he told me that we were going to be joined by someone else, 'my friend Rick'.

Well, 'my friend Rick' turned out to be Rick Astley, together with his wife. He was about to be singed to the guy's label, I believe.

Anyway, I was rather surprised to see Rick Astley. Of course I remember seeing him on TV when I was a little girl, so it was weird to suddenly be sitting at a table with him. I was playing it cool (as you do) until-at one point during the dinner- there was an (uncomfortable) silence. Without realizing that I did it, I started humming to myself 'Never gonna give you up'.

Immediately, Rick's wife turned to me and said: 'Did you just...?'
'No, I didn't'
'Yes you did, I heard you'
'No I didn't'

At that point I went bright red and she just cracked up. How embarrassing! From that moment on, every time she looked at me she started laughing.
So there you go. How stupid can one be?

Please tell me that this is not (the full extend of) Obama's musical taste!

Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel are set to play a gig on the 16th of October in New York in support of Barack Obama, with the senator himself attending the show. Bruce Springsteen will also be performing this saturday for Obama at a rally in Philadelphia.

But how boring is that? Couldn't the line-up be spiced up a tat with someone younger, more current, more exciting?

Come on! I always thaught Barack Obamam was so (in Eddy Izzard's words) 'groovy'. Well, there's nothing groovy about Springsteen or Joel.

And it's not like Barack is not being supporting by tons of really cool acts. So, sort it out Barack! Get a better line-up. Your VP is already dull as hell, don't allow the music at your rallies to be that too.

You're all invited to be the first visitors to LP33!

Okay, here we go...feel free to get hooked like me: http://beta.lp33.tv
User: beta
Password: beta

I expect this site to officially launch next week. But we can snoop around already.

So much new talent. So inspiring! Enjoy...

No Led Zepelin tourdates! And why old rockers should not hit on young girls!

I just saw an article on Robert Plant. On how he denies that there will be Led Zeppelin tour dates even though some people are already selling (fake) tickets for these events.

Anyway, I looked at his picture and thought 'Oh yuk, that's that old rocker that once hit on me at the Countdown studios in Holland'. I was so grossed out at the time. All I kept thinking was 'this guy could be my dad, maybe even my granddad'. I knew he'd been in some legendary band, but wasn't even sure which one it was. I've just never been into Led Zeppelin or any of these other old rock bands.

It's funny actually, how often you meet famous people when you're in the public eye yourself without you recognizing them. I remember the first time Bryan Adams came up to me backstage at the MTV Awards and said 'Hi, I'm Bryan'. I just went 'Okay, hi Bryan' and walked on. It was much later when it dawned on me who just shook my hand.

And the same thing with this Robert Plant guy. It's only now that I look at him again that I realize where I met him before.

But anyway, old rockers should not be hitting on young girls...full stop! It's disgusting. Just because someone has made good music doesn't make him any less of a dirty old man.

Oh, and when I'm talking of dirty old men, I don't actually mean Bryan Adams. He is a total gentleman. He just ended up in this story somehow ; )

Already getting hooked on LP33.TV

Sorry people, no time to blog. I'm too bussy surfing the BETA site of LP33. As soon as I've been given the green light to share the password with you all, I will do so. But be warned...once you start surfing the site you can't stop! I have already 'discovered' so many exciting new artists. I feel like a kid in a candy store. This is just too cool!!!!!!

LP33 TV to launch soon!

There is a great new site/service to be launched for musicians and music fans alike. It's called LP33 TV and the following clip will explain-in short- what they are all about. In a way, it's what MySpace should have been. I'm not saying that I don't like MySpace, but it's rather limited compared to what these guys offer to new artists (And with the hordes of small labels and new artists leaving MySpace and MySpace music, I am not alone in saying that)

If only services like these had existed when I was a young girl...I wouldn't have had to stand outside record company buildings with my tape in hand, demanding to see an A&R person. I used to find the record company addresses on the back of record sleeves (really showing my age here) and kept taking the ferry to England from Holland & stayed at youth hostels whilst I attempted to get seen by someone at these labels.

It took me years of being laughed at, running out of money and returning to Holland again and again. I was always told to just leave my tape at reception and that they would pass it on to A&R which I always refused. I knew that they had to see 'the whole package' to understand what I was all about.

When I was finally let in to a record company building I was forced to sing right there and then in the offices by Tom Watkins, who was the manager of the Pet Shop Boys, Bros and later East 17. By lack of a microphone, I just sang into an empty coke bottle & was signed on the spot (this was before I joined MTV), which just proves that perseverance does pay off.

So what I am trying to say is that I understand what it feels like to be a young artist who wants to show the world what you can do & how frustrated it is to not always get the platform that you want. Well...this is that platform! LP33.tv

Katy Brand, funnny music clips

For those of you outside of the UK, I don't think you will have seen these before....They are clips from the Katy Brand's big ass show. There's tons of them on Utube, but these were my favorites. Be warned...it's all rather silly : )

The return of a legend, Grooverider is free!!!!

Dego from 4Hero and I had been writing backwards and forwards to each other through MySpace about the fate of Grooverider. Dego kept posting the words 'Free Grooverider' on MySpace and, seeing as I had been wondering about how Grooverider was doing (see an older posting), I contacted Dego and we started talking about what we could possibly do for 'the Rider'.

Lucky enough, we didn't need to do anything anymore as Grooverider got his well-deserved pardon earlier this month during Ramadan.

See this from Music News.com:

Grooverider is back in the UK after serving seven months of a four year sentence in a Dubai prison. The 'Rider, real name Raymond Bingham, was arrested in November 2007 at Dubai airport on charges of possession of 2.16 grams of cannabis.

In February, he was sentenced to four years in prison. After his lawyer, Mohammad Al-Reda, was unable to get the charges dropped during an appeal, Grooverider’s only hope of returning to England was during the religious festival of Ramadan, when 700 Emirati and ex-pat prisoners are traditionally pardoned.

In August, Grooverider heard his name was on a list of potentials, but it wasn’t until Monday 1st September that he heard he was being released.

Grooverider finally returned home on September 4 and we can now all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

To celebrate, Lock N Load Events have teamed up with Groove Connection and Alchemy to put on the party of the year with a stellar line up selected by the main man himself!

Joining Grooverider at KOKO on his return to clubland will be an all-star supporting cast of friends and special guests. First up is of course the long-awaited 2 hour B2B set between Grooverider and partner Fabio. Alongside them will be Shy FX, Dillinja, Bailey, Mickey Finn and Jumping Jack Frost, with MC’s GQ and Fats on the mic, with more DJs to be announced.

This party is going to blow up big time! Get down there if you can. It's on Saturday the 11th of October at Koko. Good to have the Rider back!

George Michael's drug problems

George Michael says he is 'sorry for screwing up again' after being arrested the other day at a public toilet. Well, I'm sorry too now that I've heard that he was actually arrested for being in possession of crack cocaine. That is just bad, bad news. Crack is so bloody nasty. It breaks my heart to think of George Michael, who's such an amazingly talented man, smoking the crack pipe.

If he doesn't sort his life out soon he will end up in the gutters one day. If you've ever witnessed anyone with a crack habit you'll know what I am talking about. This is not a fun, little, social, occasional drug (even though it may start out as that). It is nasty, evil stuff. If this continues he will lose his fortune, his health, his sanity, his talent....

So, even though I am not religious, I will be praying for George Michael. I hope he'll get the help he needs and kicks this nasty habit.

George Michael arrested at a public toilet yet again!

George Michael recently said he wanted to give up touring to go and live a 'quieter life'. So is this what he had in mind as a quieter life? Being picked up (by police and not some handsome stranger) at another public toilet whilst in the possession of drugs?

Georgy-boy, what are you doing? Can't you give up that thrill of getting caught? Surely you can get meet cute strangers at other locations? Like your house(s)? What's up with these lavatories? Why, why why?????

I was once sitting at a dinner table with George Michael and his partner Kenny Goss. George Michael was lovely, but rather odd-looking. At first I thought that he was a fake, to be honest. He is so tiny! I had no idea. He was so small and tanned to the point where it looked bizarre.

I was rather drunk and had joined the table with Louis, who was the promoter for the Prodigy. This, by the way, was soon after George Michael's first 'public toilet arrest'. Remember that? When he was done for lewd conduct? Well, I nearly died of embarrassment when Louis stuffed his cheeks full of ice cubes and then turned to George, saying: 'George, George...do you like it with ice?'

George and his partner were not drunk like we were that night and just smiled at us politely. God, it was embarrassing!

Oh well...I can laugh about it now ; )

Weekly music news

Here's an extra dose of weekly pop news for ya from NME.

Van Morrison bans alcohol at gig

Now this is ridiculous...Van Morrison has banned his fans from drinking alcohol at his gigs. So already, people can't smoke at these places anymore, now they can't drink alcohol, what's next? How bloody boring!

I mean, it's understandable that you may want to ban real drunken people from coming in in the first place or throwing someone out if they behave in a way that is too disruptive to others. But telling the whole audience to not have one drink? Not even a 'civilized' glass of wine? Come on! And it's not like Van's audience would consist of hordes of teenagers. Most will be middle-aged. You can't tell these people what to do on their night out. Especially as they will have paid between 40 to 105 Pounds per ticket!

Van Morrison battled alcohol addiction in the 70s and 80s and is now teetotal. He told bosses at the Brighton Dome (the venue he played last night) not to sell any alcohol before or during his performance because it might disturb his singing, but he insists his decision is not an attempt to impose his lifestyle on his audience. Yeah, right!

The 63-year-old star is notoriously temperamental, and has previously said he finds it annoying when his fans walk around during his shows because he thinks they should be 'savouring the experience of seeing him live'.

What a prima donna! What will he do next? Throw people out of they dare to whisper something to each other during his performance?

Understandably many concert-goers are furious with the demands. One disgruntled fan said: 'Having a drink at a live show is part of the concert-going experience. It is a real shame Van has decided to make this decision.'

Morrison is also due to play alcohol-free shows at the Liverpool Philharmonic and Birmingham Symphony Halls next month.

Celebrities without make-up

Yay! This I like. Because it shows that we're all human and celebrity's (most of them) aren't any more beautiful than 'normal people'. It's all down to make-up, stylists, lighting, photoshop, etc. So ladies...just watch this and feel instantly better about yourself.

John Mayer strips for Heidi Klum

It doesn't look like John Mayer is too down in the dumps about his split with Jennifer Aniston. He reportedly pulled down his trousers in a Soho nightclub and danced around for his friend Heidi Klum, who laughed hysterically at his striptease. According to Heidi it was just two old friends having a laugh. I hope Heidi's hubby Seal is an easy going fellow & doesn't get too bothered about other men pulling their pants down in front of his wife ; )

Giant Jr. versus Eartha Kitt, I want to be evil

This is a huge club track in the UK right now. The marvelous 'I want to be evil' from Giant Jr. I'm not quite sure who Giant Jr. actually is/are. Does anyone have any information or pictures of them apart from barbie and ken dolls?

There's some great mixes of this track floating around too. Enjoy!

Buskers to be playing new Oasis tracks

Oasis are using buskers to showcase their new album in New York after they were forced to cancel a concert.

The gig was called off as Noel Gallagher continues to recover from injuries caused after a fan attacked him on stage in Canada.

The street performances will take place at locations including Grand Central Station, and will be filmed.

No word on whether the band will come and watch these buskers though and no word on the date yet either (at least not one I found)

Is Noel Gallagher psychic?

Noel Gallagher has said that he felt that something bad was going to happen before their Canadian V-Festival gig. That was, of course, the gig where he was pushed off stage and ended up in hospital after falling on some speakers.

Noel said "I'll have to stop this prophesising. I knew something was going to happen last night. I said I had a bad feeling, didn't I!?" (this from their 'Tales from the middle of nowhere' blog)

Next week's NME magazine, by the way, will feature all things Oasis (btw, if swearing offends you, do not watch this clip!)

The lovely James Morrison and I agree...Madonna is rude!

James Morrison says that he was stunned when the pop legend snubbed him whilst meeting in an American recording studio.

He revealed: "I was recording in a studio in Los Angeles and Madonna came in to speak to a producer and someone asked if I wanted to meet her. I'm not her biggest fan but thought I'd say hello so I went over and said, 'Hello, I'm James, nice to meet you,' and put my hand out to shake hands. She just looked at it and said, 'And what do you do?' I told her I was a singer and she just stared at me and didn't say anything. "It was really uncomfortable. Then she just ignored me.

F**k her, though, it's just a matter of common courtesy. It doesn't matter what someone does for a living. She's just rude. There's no excuse for it."

Oh, I love that boy. He is so talented and so down-to-earth. If Madonna only knew that she just snubbed one of the most talented young singers in the world today, I'm sure she'd regret it. Stupid woman. I told you she was rude.

Anyway, James Morrison begins a six-date UK tour on November 16 in Norwich in support of his new album, 'Songs For You, Truths For Me', which is released later this month.

New Kids on the Block live performance at HMV

I love the fact that the old boybands have been enjoying such great come-backs. Of course, Take That have done amazingly well & The New Kids on the Block are not doing too bad either. I have met both bands (repeatedly) over the years and they were all just wonderful.

NKOTB were commenting about how shocked they have been by the reaction from younger kids to their new music. They had expected, for instance, that mainly the old fans would come and see them perform & they could not believe how many young screaming fans they encountered.

I once stood on a stage with the boys somewhere in Germany and experienced first-hand what it looks like to see thousands of hysterical fans in front of you. It is freaky! I remember one girl was screaming and pulling her own hair out of her head & tons of girls in the crowd were both screaming and crying at the same time.

I saw girls jumping in front of and on top of their driving car, I saw girls trying to climb up the drainpipes to get to their hotel rooms, I saw untold amounts of hyperventilating and collapsed girls at their gigs, it was total insanity.

Marky Mark (Mark Wahlberg) was supporting the band at that time and one time when we were in his hotel room he said 'You want to see something funny? Come...'

I followed him to the large window, he opened the curtains & there were thousands of fans outside looking up at him. He then grabbed me, pushed me up to the window and pretended to be kissing me. The crowd went nuts!!!!

We quickly closed the curtain again and laughed about it.

Anyway...I'm happy the 'boys' are enjoying renewed success. Oh, and clever use of sunglasses during this gig. That way no one can see their wrinkles ; )

I'd like to add one more thing to my last posting...

What also disgusted me was the reaction of the press, going on about 'Britney's great come-back'. Okay, compared to the bald, psychopathic Britney that we saw a while ago...she seems to have come a long way. But she really didn't do anything that made this a great come-back. She didn't perform, she just showed up, looking pretty and said a few words on stage.

I just think that the press wanted to have an excuse to place her back on a pedestal, so that they can all knock her back off it again soon. There is no fun in continuing to kick someone when they are down, but now Britney is 'back up again'. So the witch hunt can start all over again soon. I can already hear the cheering crowds!

Do you think poor Britney is aware of this? Or does she honestly think that the whole world loves her again? Does she think the wolves have gone now? If her own demons haven't, the wolves will be out waiting until all her sadness, pain and confusion start to show again.

What a load of toss the MTV video Awards were...

I mean, come on...Britney winning 3 awards for 'Piece of me'? Since when was that such an amazing video or track? What's going on here? Was she only willing to come if she received x-amount of awards? Did the public honestly vote for her?

Also, what's up with her thanking God and her amazing family? And mentioning her children, who 'inspire me every day'. Come on! Your mom is obviously quite a mean lady, spilling the beans on you the way she did. You see your children, what is it, once every two weeks? So how do they inspire you 'every day'? And didn't you once wear this 'promise ring' as some kind of commitment in the eyes of God to stay a virgin until marriage? Well, according to your own mother, you lied to the world and , I guess also, to God (that's why I don't think young kids should make promises like that as they are bound to fail)

I think Britney should focus on sorting her personal life out before sorting out her career. It all just seemed so warped to me.

And why was Russell Brand forced to apologize to the Jonas Brothers after joking about the 'promise rings' that they now wear too? Please! After the news that Britney's virginity was a facade, surely we can now laugh at other young popstars who say they will stay a virgin until marriage? It's all just part of their squeaky clean image, but it's a load of crap. If they haven't lost their virginity yet, they soon will with all these groupies going after them. And then? They can't suddenly go...oh, sorry everybody...but one of us had sex last night...can we hand these rings in now?

Oh, this American hypocrisy! It's just too bloody much for me!

Spiral tribe& rave culture documentary

I loved the illegal parties back then and now loved this look-back at that era. Thanks to Gabor for putting me on to this one...

World Traveller Adventures.Spiral Tribe
Uploaded by o-tec

Elton John, Lily Allen catfight

I blogged months ago that Elton John had invited troubled star Lily Allen to his mansion to recoup and, I guess, kick the habbit.

Well, I can't see that happen anymore. Looks like they do not particularly like each other these days. Guess it's down to the fact that Lily would not stop drinking the free champagne at the Award Ceremony. Has Elton given up hope for her?

Akon punches female fan

He may be a great artist, but Akon does not come across as a particarly nice person. In this following clip he throws one woman off the stage and punches a second. What a gentleman!

He should take a look at how Wyclef does his 'crowd surfing'. He simply climbs on the shoulders of his (very funny) security guard and gets carried around the crowd like that. No one gets hurt!!!!


http://view.break.com/566370 - Watch more free videos

Nneka music clip: The uncomfortable truth

How annoying! I wanted to post the clip for 'Heartbeat' from Nigerian singer Nneka. But they won't allow me to embed it. So I guess you'll have to go to Utube for that one (bastards!)

Anyway, her music is brilliant! It reminds me of Tricky's early Maxinquaye days, mixed with some Lauren Hill. This particular track is actually more Lauren Hill than 'Heartbeat'. And even though this is not my favorite.....this lady rocks!

Lynn Spears' book: Britney drinking at 13, lost virginity at 14 & on drugs at 15

All this according to the tell-all book by mum Lynne Spears.

Lynne has made some sensational revelations in her book due to release on September 16.

In her book ‘Through the Storm’, Lynne revealed that the 26-year-old singer began drinking at the age of 13, lost her virginity at 14, and then started taking drugs at 15.

The Toxic singer allegedly had her first drink after joining Disney’s squeaky-clean Mickey Mouse Club. Lynne also claims that the 14-year-old Britney then had sex with an 18-year-old high schooler in her home town of Kentwood, Louisiana soon after she quit the TV show.

She said that she regrets handing over control of Britney’s career to managers and allowing her daughter to be promoted as a sex object in raunchy videos at such a young age.

As Britney pursued her career, Lynne let her 16-year-old daughter sleep with Justin Timberlake, despite claiming she was a virgin. “Lynne thought Britney was in love and Justin was good for her,” the Sun quoted a source, as saying.

Britney was once caught with cocaine and cannabis on a private jet, when she was 16.

Oh, and the final word on the 2008 MTV Awards...Britney will apparently be opening the ceremony, but will not perform after last year's fiasco.

The truth of reality TV shows (How we put together the German superstar girl band 'No Angels')

I've recently started a MySpace page, only because someone else was going around pretending to be me on MySpace. So now I have my own really bad MySpace page as I have no idea how to make it look nice (anyone wants to help spice it up a bit?)

Anyhow, it's a nice tool for catching up again with people from 'my old life'. People like the 'No Angels' girls. This was the band that we put together on the first Popstars series in Germany in 2000/2001.

So, let me tell how they were chosen.... At the end of all the auditions, the jury and the production team gets together and discusses their points of view. Throughout the series there had been people who would have been booted off by the judges, but the production team demanded that they stayed on as they made 'good television' for whatever reason (being funny, being overly emotional, etc.) But, at the end of the series, it was all about who would make the best band.

We (Rainer Moslener& I as part of the jury, the record label & the production company/future management company) shuffled around with photographs of the girls and there were several possible routes to take. The record company and some of the people in production were leaning towards a very 'safe' formula. They simply wanted the prettiest 'girly-girls' to form a band. I disagreed. Passionately!

My very first choice for the band was Lucy, who is everything but a pretty 'girly-girl'. She is brash, she is wild, she's 'in ya face' and she is an extremely hard working woman. I was convinced that she would set the pace for the band & that she would give it a feel all of its own.

Lucky enough, Rainer backed me up. But we were pretty much on our own on this one. We also both strongly believed in Nadja, even though we realized that her voice was not that well suited for straight-forward pop music. It is almost 'too soulful' for that. Still, her voice had been able to bring us all to tears before, so for us she was a definite 'yes!' The fact that she was a struggling single mother made us even more determined to give her a chance.

There was one girl (Called Curley, if I remembered right?) who I had really wanted in the band. And guess why we didn't pick her? Was it lack of talent or charisma? No. We didn't pick her because she was too tall. It was an awful reason for someone to miss this chance of a lifetime and she deserved that chance, for sure. But next to the girls that we had already chosen, she looked weird. It is something that none of us normally think about, but when you put a boy of girl band together, they have to look 'right' when you put them all next to each other & having one person being much taller just looks 'wrong'. It really does.

So we couldn't have her in the band. And it broke my heart to tell her that. I never actually had the guts to tell her the real reason why she wasn't picked. It was just such a crap reason for losing out on a chance like this.

One other girl (who did make it into the band), almost did not get picked because she used to pull weird faces whenever the camera was pointed at her. She would scrunge her nose up and it just made her look all 'piggy'. Still, Rainer and I argued that this was something that was easy to work on and we made sure she got into the band after all.

One of the girls was picked only because the was a 'steady worker'. Someone to complete the overall picture (5 looked nicer as a line-up than 4, we thought)

And that was that.

What I am trying to explain with this is the randomness of these processes. It could have gone so many different ways and so many line-ups were possible.

I did feel very hurt when I saw the girls back months after we had formed the band. Rainer and I had been the people who had battled for this particular line-up, but we were bad-mouthed a lot afterwards by people around the girls. So when I saw the girls at their 'Dome' performance, they were kind of cold towards me & once again my heart broke. I had felt like a mother to these girls and this band and now they acted (almost) like I was a stranger.

Even so, I couldn't contain my pride when I saw the whole stadium chant along to 'Daylight'. With tears running down my face, I knew we had made the right choice and I felt blessed to have been able to impact 5 people's lifes in such a profound way.

Getting nostalgic about the nineties

In my last post I mentioned that more and more people seem to be getting nostalgic about the nineties these days...well, may I just join in with that for a moment? With two equally crap videos that accompanied some amazing bits of dance music history. I would add 'Strings of life' to this too, but did that even have a video?

I used to get quite epileptic from the 'Stakker humanoid' clip, but still continued to watch it anyhow.

So, let's go back in time: LFO followed by Humanoid. And you just try and wipe that grin of your face whilst listening to it ; )

I know I can't....

Today's interview on Holland's 'Kink FM'

It seems that more and more people are starting to get nostalgic about the nineties these days. And the radio stations are looking back at the era as well. The very cool 'Kink FM' are having a nineties week this week and interviewed me for it. You'll only understand the interview if you speak Dutch though...

KinkFMinterview.mp3

Like meeting an old friend again...

We went out clubbing last night to the Playboy party at Confession, which is a new club here in Aruba. And you know what? I honestly can not remember the last time I was in a 'real' club. I mean I've been to parties on the beach and to small-scale bar/clubs in the last few years, but I just haven't been to a straight-forward big nightclub with pumping house music.

But it was like meeting an old friend again. Like we hadn't seen each other for only a day. I guess I have spent so much time in clubs, it's like I have taken out a lifetime membership that just hasn't expired yet.

It was great! Danced solidly the whole night...God bless dance music!

Another old-school dance gem! Josh Wink's 'Higher state of consciousnes'

This is one of those tracks that I had kind of forgotten about until I heard someone play it again on the radio. I nearly blew up the speakers of my car! Man, this track is still insane. It's one of those tunes where you try and dance harder and harder as the pitch raises at the end until your limps nearly fly off your body (well, that's how it feels to me anyhow; )

Funny I forgot about this though as I am even in the video (only for a second, but still...)

Walk your way to the MTV Europe Music Awards

From 29th October to 6 November, Sony Ericsson and MTV Networks International are inviting music lovers from across Europe to swap their dancing shoes for walking boots and win the chance to walk their way to the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards – literally!

100 music fans, 400km, 9 days (29 Oct-6 Nov) – the Sony Ericsson MTV FanWalk will see die-hard music fans from across Europe embark on a musical pilgrimage from London to the world capital city of pop, Liverpool – in time to see the show and take part in the full MTV EMA experience.

On top of that, MTV will provide the once in a lifetime opportunity for one lucky FanWalker to present an MTV EMA live on stage in the Echo Arena, Liverpool.

If you want to become a FanWalker just log onto www.fanwalk.tv

"You’ll Never Walk Alone" will certainly be the anthem heard around Liverpool when the 100 FanWalkers grace the red carpet with some of the world’s most famous entertainment personalities of the past year.

And if that’s not enough, Sony Ericsson and MTV will chaperone the lucky FanWalkers to the infamous after show party to mingle with the stars!


Okay, so that the official story. Now my little addition to that....

It's a great chance for someone to be at the MTV Europe Music Awards (or EMA's). But I do have to burst your bubble about this whole 'infamous after show party where you can mingle with the stars'. Because MTV's own after-party (I'm sorry to say this) is usually pretty crap. It is full of marketing people and the sponsors with the occassional 'famous person' there. But the famous ones normally don't stay for long. Because the real after-parties are the ones thrown by the stars themselves.

And its funny, everyone is usually backstage trying to figure out who's party is going to be 'the party' to be at & it's a bit of a battle between the biggest stars as to who will be the biggest party host of the night. And then it's a case, of course, of trying getting invited to that specific party (only a select few will be allowed in). Or the other option is to party-hop. That way you'll end up at the right place eventually. Some of the biggest party hosts are usually P.Diddy, Madonna & Donatele Versaci. Funny enough, there are hardly ever any MTV people at these parties. Not even they get in.

But still...even without going to the after-show parties, it's worth trying to get the Awards themselves. So, get your walkingboots on & start marching. Good luck!

Happy 50th birthday Michael Jackson!

After all the 'hooha' of Madonna turning 50 recently, it's surprisingly quiet about Michael Jackson's 50th. So, happy birthday, self-proclaimed King of Pop/Peter Pan.

I wonder, by the way, how Michael would have looked if he hadn't be restructuring his face for all these years. Would he have had wrinkles by now? It's possible that those would have made him look more human. He just looks like an alien now, doesn't he?

Anyway, apparently he will make an appearance at the 2008 MTV Music Awards in LA on the 7th of September, where he will hand out an award with his sister Janet.

Oh, and after the earlier rumours of Britney performing at the Award ceremony, the latest is that she won't. The word is that she is 'too busy recording new material' to attend the MTV Awards. Either that, or 'her people' are too worried that she flunks another MTV comeback performance.

Terrible celebrity hotel guests

From the Music-news website:

Michael Jackson named as one of the worst hotel guest ever.

Jackson was included on the list compiled by website concierge.com due to his irresponsible behaviour in dangling his nine-month-old son Prince Michael II over the balcony of a hotel in Berlin, Germany, in 2002. The website also criticises Jackson for forcing the World Music Awards to book nearly the whole of London's Hempel Hotel before his performance in 2006. He also asked staff to erect an 18ft wall on the first floor to protect his privacy. In 2007, Jackson reportedly requested bowls of Haribo gummy sweets, a large mirror, and a giant xylophone for his stay at another London hotel.

Other celebrities to be named on the list include Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Nicole Kidman and Amy Winehouse.

Britney has been shamed for reportedly trashing rooms at hotels in Los Angeles' Beverly Hills area and attracting swarms of paparazzi.

Mariah appears for her alleged diva demands such as requesting gold faucets, new toilet seats, mineral water for her bath and dogs and two DVD players showing her own music videos. She also insisted on a red a carpet greeting at London's Baglioni Hotel before she would leave her limo.

'Rehab' singer Amy is accused of wrecking rooms by leaving alcohol stains, dirty underwear, bottles and cigarette butts in her rooms, and staining bathtubs with black hair dye. Before her performance at the 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards, Amy tossed a plate of pasta Bolognaise at the wall of her hotel room in Munich, Germany, before cutting up the carpet in front of bemused onlookers.



I have been part of quite a few wild celebrity 'hotel moments' myself over the years & will blog about that in the coming days....

Kanye West's latest vid: 'Good Morning'

Now, I am not a great rap fan, but I can definitelly appreciate Kanye West's music. It's the kind of rap that appeals to a larger audience because of the catchy hooks & the cool vids that go with them. Like this one for his new single 'Good Morning'. Taken off his third studio album 'Graduation'.

The video was created by the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and the bear is meant to be Kanye himself....

Finally......Pink's new video 'So what?'

It's finally online. The latest from Pink. Great as ever! Thank God she's still a 'rockstar'! Oh, and I love the little 'booby-cover Toe Jam moment' in the clip.

James Hyman's latest adventure, providing music for Guy Ritchie's 'RocknRolla'

He's been Guy Ritchie's musical advisor before and he's provided him with the opening track for his new movie yet again (I'm talking about my old Partyzone director James Hyman). The track is Blackstrobe's 'I'm a man'. The movie 'RocknRolla' will be out on September the 5th.

What's up with all these celebrity twins?

Okay, can someone please tell me what they are putting in the water in Hollywood these days? Because all the stars seem to be having twins. Look at the list:

• Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony-twins!


• P.Diddy-twins!


• Brad & Angelina-twins!


• Julia Roberts-twins!


• Ricky Martin-twins!


• Patrick Dempsey-twins!


• 'Ugly Betty's' Rebecca Romijn-twins!


• Lisa Marie Presley-twins!

Are these all IVF babies? If so, why is no one mentioning this? Or is this all just coincidence?

Article on Conde Nast's family site 'Cookie'

This just came out, a short piece on my blogging life on Cookie:

She travels, she blogs, she rocks.

If you've always suspected that MTV veejays led cooler lives than you both on and off the camera, well, you're probably right. Case in point? Simone Angel. After she left MTV Europe, she got married and had two kids, but instead of settling down in suburbia, she and her husband moved to Central America and started Belize Jungle Dome, an adventure travel company and resort. She now splits her time between Belize and her family's new home in Aruba, and you can check out her travel tips and daily adventures (like almost running over a wild goat) at Simone's Family Travel Blog. Oh yeah, she also writes a music blog and sings in a band, proving rock star dreams don't have to end with diaper duty. If living vicariously through Simone isn't enough and she inspires you to chuck it all and transfer your family to paradise, check out her moving to Belize guide.

My BBC World service interview on Madonna's 50th birthday

This went out on the BBC World Service yesterday. Everyone has an opinion of Madonna and what it means for her to have celebrated her 50th birthday whilst still topping the worldwide charts. These are my personal thoughts on her, her music and her amazing career.

madonna interview BBC world service.mp3

By the way, before I anger any hardened Madonna fans, let me just explain why I said that 'Madonna is very clever at looking what's happening on the fringes of the music scene, taking elements of it & making it her own'.

Basically, as I was working on the Partyzone, I often saw first-hand what was happening outside the mainstream & I often saw or heard how Madonna incorporated these things into her own performances. Very clever of course, as most audiences would not know where these ideas came from and would assume they were Madonna's own creative inventions. And I bet that she surrounds herself with some hot young things who will let her know what music to listen to and which acts to watch.

Brian Adams used to attempt the same thing and would hang out with young (at the time) people like myself & would ask us all about what was hot. I would take him out occasionally and show him what was happening in London & would mention tracks for him to listen to. He never really got it though, he's too set in his ways. When he mentioned to me that another young friend had called him 'a musical dinosaur' I just giggled.

Still, he's a brilliant artist of course & a wonderful person. But he has never been really 'with it' like Madonna always has been.

I also mentioned U2 in the interview (which was edited out), as they have this same talent that Madonna has, they always have their finger on the pulse, they check out hot new acts, they get inspired & then they incorporate elements of it into their own performance. It simply is the only way to stay relevant.

This is gonna be huge! The Sugarbabes new single 'Girls'

This is a taped-off-the-radio recording of the new Sugarbabes single, which will be out on the 6th of October.

I have to say, I've always loved the Sugarbabes. It's just good, solid pop music. And this is one along the lines of Destiny's child 'Independent women', so you're sure it will be a hit with the hoards of drunken women on their weekly nights out. Men, feel free to be embarrassed for us, whilst we blow our own trumpets. It's just what girls love to do ; )

Gabriella Cilmi's new single 'Save the lies'

If her first single 'Sweet about me' sounded a lot like Amy Winehouse, this track is just Anastacia all over. So I guess what I would like to know is 'who exactly is Gabriella Cilmi'? Maybe it's the fact that she's so young (16 years old) & is still trying to find herself, but it seems to me that she needs to define her own sound a bit more. Still, she's a very talented young lady with a very powerful voice and I guess she'll do well again with this track.

Btw, that dude with the bad dreads reminds me of the crazy fake blond dreads I used to have myself. Oh, the things we do when we are young ; )

Back on radio/ Madonna's 50th birthday

After a 6-week-break I will finally be back with the Weekend Express on Cool FM tomorrow from 10-12 am (Aruban time)

Also, somewhere between 6-9 am (UK time) tomorrow, I will be discussing Madonna's 50th birthday and look back on her career on the BBC world service.

My God, I have missed radio. It will be good to back! Oh, and happy birthday lady Madonna.

The 'Bono and Liam Gallagher snogging' picture

Wow man, they're all tongues...how come I have never seen this picture before? Maybe I did see it before, but forgot? (damn those wild braincell-killing nights)

Anyway, I just saw this picture on the NME website's 'Oasis gallery' and it brought back some more MTV era memories...

Years ago I-along with Liam Gallagher, Robbie William, The Prodigy, Black Grape and some others-went to Dublin on New Years Eve to see in the new year at Bono's house. Prodigy and Black Grape were performing in Dublin that night & Bono had said that afterwards we could all come to his house for a party. At the end of the gig there was still no Bono, but the Edge walked in and said 'Sorry, Bono has canceled the party. He has gone to Cosovo instead.'

So, even on New Years Eve, Bono was trying to save the world.

And we all ended up sitting in a hotel lobby that night. It just wasn't what we had imaged.

Still, Bono is such a wonderful guy. And he is so down to earth, you wouldn't believe it. One day I will share some other 'Bono moments' with you. And Liam? Well, I've told you before what I think of Liam...great show man, but a total fool. Still, he may be a good kisser?

Music legend Isaac Hayes has died.

From the BBC News website:

US singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes has died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 65, police said.

Police were called to Mr Hayes' home after his wife found him unconscious. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1408 (1908 GMT).

Mr Hayes, a flamboyant, deep-voiced performer, won an Oscar for the 1971 hit Theme From Shaft. He was perhaps better known to a younger audience as the voice of Chef from the hit cartoon show, South Park.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

"Family members believe at this point it is a medical condition that might have led to his death," a police spokesman said, adding Mr Hayes was being treated for "a number of medical issues".
Mr Hayes suffered a stroke in 2006.

Isaac Hayes - along with Al Green, James Brown and Stevie Wonder - was one of the dominant black artists of the early 1970s.

Hayes was renown for his deep voice and flamboyant on-stage style.

Hayes, a self-taught musician, was hired in 1964 by Stax Records as a back-up pianist and saxophone, working as a session musician for big names such as Otis Redding.

He established a songwriting partnership with David Porter, and in the 1960s, writing hits for Sam and Dave such as Hold On, I'm Coming and Soul Man. This success led on to a recording contract, and in 1969 he shot to fame with the release the groundbreaking album Hot Buttered Soul.

The theme from the film Shaft was a number one hit in 1971. He won an Academy Award for the song and was nominated for another one for the score. The song and score also won him two Grammys.

Isaac Hayes was also in several movies, including It Could Happen to You with Nicolas Cage, and Ninth Street with Martin Sheen.

He had success later in life as the voice of the South Park character, Chef. But he angrily quit the show in 2006 after an episode mocked Scientology, a religious movement to which he belonged.

He was married four times and has 12 children.

Last ever gig for The Police? And why Sting is one of the sexiest men I have ever met.

The Police played New York's Madison Square Garden a few days ago (7th of Aug) at, what is believed to have been, their last ever gig together. Since they reunited last year they have played to three million people and earned about 181 million Pounds. Not bad, right?

Sting joked on stage that the real achievement of the tour was that they hadn't strangled each other (but that it had crossed their minds)

Also, during this last gig, Sting had his beard shaved off live on-stage, even though his wife had said in an interview recently that she found the beard quite a turn-on. I'm surprised he didn't keep it on for her.

Anyway, I've had the pleasure of interviewing Sting several times over the years and he is one of the most charismatic men I have ever met.

Unlike most people in the music industry, Sting is totally present when he talks to you. Whilst you're with him, he makes you feel like you are the most important person in the world. He really listens to you, takes his time talking to you and- when you see him again months later-remembers all the details of what was discussed. And he doesn't just pay this kind of attention to people in the limelight, but to everybody. He is the kind of guy that remembers details of the people who brought him his coffee months ago.

Maybe it's all this yoga and the tantra that he does, I don't know.

And when you hear him talk about how much he loves his wife, you just melt. I once interviewed him with an all-female crew and we all went totally soppy when he talked about Trudy. It was so sweet. At one point you even see the boom (microphone) sink into the shot as the girl who was holding it just went 'ahhhh' and went kinda floppy with it. I am not sure if we broadcasted it like that or re-did the shot. But I always remembered the incidence.

So there you go....Sting rocks!