Name: Adam Bernard Home: Fairfield, Connecticut, United States About Me: Entertainment journalist w/ over a decade of experience. Lover of good music, fringe movies, day baseball & chicken shawarma. Nerdy, but awesome. See my complete profile
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from J.Lo proving her MetroCard is probably way out of date, to Lady Gaga proving you’ll invite just about anyone over for Thanksgiving, to Lily Allen proving the third time really is the charm, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* You know those Fiat commercials where J.Lo is driving through her old neighborhood? Yeah, about those... that’s not Jennifer Lopez, that’s a body double. The Smoking Gun broke the story that she wanted nothing to do with a return trip to The Bronx, instead preferring to do a voiceover about her love of the streets she wants to have no part of. To be fair, J.Lo only said she was Jenny from the block, she never claimed to have any intention of returning there.
* The Black Eyed Peas have announced they are taking a break, but not breaking up. This seems like odd timing since they just released a video game based completely around people dancing to their music. I guess they plan to promote it by staying off the airwaves and not performing. I’ve seen bands try that publicity route and it’s never worked before, but maybe Fergie will just run around the entire country all hopped up on Diet Dr. Pepper, or perhaps there’s an altruistic angle to all of this and they’re really taking a break so they can stage an intervention for Fergie’s husband, Josh Duhamel, to make sure he doesn’t make another terrible Transformers movie. If the latter is the case, God bless the Black Eyed Peas.
* Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are normally on the invite list for Thanksgiving, but how many people would have wanted Lady Gaga at their dinner table? The answer is apparently quite a few as Gaga’s TV special, A Very Gaga Thanksgiving, was a huge ratings win for ABC. Part of this could be blamed on people who had their TVs on when they fell into their tryptophan induced comas, but did the rest of you really feel “Bad Romance” was the appropriate soundtrack for your family get together? You people are sick!
* In much cooler Thanksgiving related news, Tim Burton is now a part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with his B. Boy balloon having made its debut this year! According to The Hollywood Reporter, “the character's backstory is that he was cobbled together from rejects of birthday party balloons left over from children's parties at a hospital. B. Boy was not allowed to play with other kids so he withdrew to his basement home and into the world of his favorite film, The Red Balloon. He hoped that one day he too would be able to fly above the city and bring joy to one small child.” And that, my friends, is how you make a parade awesome!
* American Idol alum Lauren Alaina flubbed the national anthem before the Lions - Packers Thanksgiving Day game. She’s certainly not the first singer to mess it up, although the irony that someone from American Idol screwed up America’s national anthem is almost as delicious as Thanksgiving leftovers.
* Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame is following in the footsteps of fellow musical visionaries the Insane Clown Posse and starting his own pro wrestling company. Corgan joined with two wrestling promoter brothers to create what they’re calling Resistance Pro and they had their first show on Friday at a downtown Chicago dance club. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for the first "despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage" match.
* On December 10th Katy Perry will be returning to Saturday Night live to host the show. I like Katy Perry, so I will make every attempt to remember when SNL is on, but will undoubtedly forget and end up doing something else because at this point SNL is really only funny when Justin Timberlake makes an appearance.
* Lily Allen, who now goes by Lily Cooper, has reportedly welcomed her first child into the world with her husband Sam Cooper. Friends have given word that the singer gave birth to a baby girl on November 25th. This was her third attempt to have a child, the first two ending in miscarriages, so it goes without saying she has quite the reason to “Smile.”
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
J-Zone was a different breed of artist, and that’s because he’s always been a different breed of man. “I still use a cassette Walkman,” he says with pride. “I have a cassette player in my car, I have an outdated haircut, I’m just in my own world.” His own world is one in which he refuses to do things just because the masses say he has to, and that world, including his career and views on mass culture, are summed up in his first book, Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit and a Celebration of Failure. “I wanted to show a refusal to kowtow,” he explains.
In a way, J-Zone is showing how he fights the power, or more precisely, fights the power cords. He’s not a fan of Facebook, doesn’t use an iPod, refuses to have a smartphone, and thinks texting is somewhere between silly and rude. He is a hip-hop curmudgeon and he wears that title with pride. There’s something to be said for the old ways, though, and this week I caught up with J-Zone to find out more about why he chooses not to move with the ebb and flow of the masses, what makes him the “villain” in his book’s title, and how he defines success.
Anyone who grew up in the 70s or 80s probably watched a healthy amount of The Muppet Show. If they didn’t, they had incomplete childhoods and deserve some sort of a refund from their parents. The show spawned a number of movies and TV specials, but for the past decade or so not much had come out of Muppet nation. Thankfully, in 2011, The Muppets has arrived to bring about a Muppet revival.
The Muppets, written by Jason Segel (of How I Met Your Mother and Freaks and Geeks fame) and Nicholas Stoller (who directed Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek), realizes the franchise hasn’t been on people’s minds for a while and uses that as a main plot point. The Muppets are all involved in other projects and Hollywood has forgotten about them. Thankfully, Segel’s character of Gary, and his Muppet brother, Walter, have not. Without revealing too much of the plot, Walter finds out some very important information which becomes a reason for The Muppets to come together and get themselves back on top. The rest of the movie revolves around attempting to make that idea happen.
The movie is exactly what a Muppet movie should be - it’s filled with jokes aimed directly at the people who grew up on the show that will fly over kids’ heads, great musical numbers, some really fun guest appearances, just enough aimed at the kids to keep them thoroughly entertained, and a metric ton of heart. Seriously, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the theater by the time the credits started to roll.
Rashida Jones deserves a special mention as she plays a television executive that can only be described as a much less curse filled version of Ari Gold. Blunt, and always scrolling through her Blackberry, she is the epitome of the Hollywood exec. She is also the perfect antithesis to Segel and Amy Adams’ characters’ small town, wide eyed, innocence. Unlike the character of Tex Richman, played by Chris Cooper, she’s not evil, she’s just incredibly jaded. Oh, and Jack Black is perfect. I can’t say anything more about him, though, without giving away some major jokes.
Without Jim Henson around anymore I think the only way The Muppets could have worked so perfectly is by having the generation the grew up on it, and fully understood and loved its characters, bring them back to life. Segel and Stoller did a masterful job here. These really are The Muppets we grew up on, right down to every last personality trait. The incorporation of a couple classic Muppets songs was the icing on the cake as it led to parents and kids singing along in the theater (hey, some kids are being raised correctly!).
Bottom line, if you don’t love this movie we can’t be friends.
September is a pretty great month. The oppressive heat of summer is gone, but the freezing cold of winter hasn’t arrived yet. You can chill outside in a t-shirt and jeans and just relax. ScienZe’s “September” perfectly captures the vibe of those early fall nights, along with the vibe of spending those nights with a significant other. This is a nice chill one for ya.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from Sasha Grey’s appearance at a grade school, to a judge deciding stalking Selena Gomez is no big deal, to MTV doing something for 70s & 80s babies everywhere, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* In what is, undoubtedly, one of my favorite stories of the year, former porn star Sasha Grey read to a group of first graders in California earlier this month. The school originally tried to cover her appearance up, which is the most covered up Sasha Grey has been in a while, saying she was never there. The school, however, forgot about the modern marvel that is photography, and pictures were already on the internet when they made their lame statement about her not being there. Now the story that’s being given is the school was only told she was an actress on Entourage, a show filled with nudity, cursing and drugs (that I absolutely loved). Of course, everybody is missing the real point, which is she was reading to first graders, who only know her as “the pretty lady who came in to read to us.” Also, if someone wants to read a book to your kid, let them! Lord knows a lot of parents aren’t doing it themselves.
* The new Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn - Part 1, made $283.5 mil worldwide this past weekend. In a related story, NBA players are now looking into work as sparkly vampires.
* Selena Gomez has a creepy fan who a judge in Illinois feels isn’t being creepy enough to warrant the stalking charges levied against him. Forty six year old Thomas Brodnicki, who had been granted a stay-away order by a different judge, allegedly told a psychiatrist he traveled to LA to see Gomez and had conversations with God about killing her. The new judge says Brodnicki “lacked specific intent.” I guess you have to graphically describe how you’re going to kill someone in order to get this judge’s attention. Either that, or maybe he’s someone who really doesn’t like Justin Bieber and wants to see the Canadian pop star attempt to defend his girlfriend from a psycho. Hmm, this judge may be onto something here!
* Sting is celebrating 25 years as a solo performer with a free app for the iPad. Titled Sting 25, the app coincides with his new boxed set, Sting: 25 Years, and will be, in his words, “a scrapbook for the digital age.” Does anyone else see the irony in the guy who wrote “Message In A Bottle” having a scrapbook on the iPad?
* Over the past four seasons of Jersey Shore The Situation has made himself known as a meddler who gets into other people’s business and generally causes trouble. This past week, however, he may have gotten himself into a “situation” where he’s in the right. You remember earlier in the year when Abercrombie & Fitch had their failed publicity stunt involving telling the Jersey Shore personalities they’d pay them to not wear A&F clothing? Well, Sitch took a gander at what A&F is selling now and got a little miffed. Shirts that read “GTL... You Know The Deal” and “The Fituation” are in stores and Sitch is suing saying they violate his trademark. The scary thing is he’s probably right. Not only that, he’s suing for what in Hollywood is a reasonable amount - $1 mil in royalties, $3 mil in damages. If he wins maybe he’ll finally be able to get someone other than that crazy blonde to sleep with him.
* MTV has figured out people really liked their old programming. They’ve already brought back Beavis and Butt-Head and 120 Minutes, and up next is a special one time reappearance of Yo! MTV Raps! After The Sucker Free Awards, which will ironically feature a lot of artists that would get their chain snatched if they ever walked through the hood, MTV2 will be airing a half hour retrospective called Yo! MTV Raps Classic Cuts that will feature Fab 5 Freddy, Ed Lover and Dr. Dre. DJ Premier will be remixing the show’s original theme song, and everyone born between 1975 and 1985 will be tuning in.
* Chris Brown continues to cement his place as the king of asinine actions. His most recent contribution to his title came via Twitter where he went on a rampage against people who bring up the fact that he beat Rihanna. Brown attempted to delete the tweets, but because this is the internet they had already been saved by numerous people for posterity's sake. With all his actions in mind I want to close this edition of Pop Shots with a special dedication to Chris Brown...
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
Some accidents are unhappy ones, like the broken collarbone Us3 founder Geoff Wilkinson suffered at the end of the group’s recent three week European tour. Some accidents, however, are happy ones, like the fact that the latest Us3 album, Lie, Cheat & Steal, meshes perfectly with the trying times, and protests, people are experiencing all over the world. Wilkinson started work on the album before the London riots and Occupy Wall Street movement, but with Lie, Cheat & Steal he, along with emcees Oveous Maximus and Akala, have created a jazzy, funky, soundtrack to those political movements happening in both England and the US.
Musically, Wilkinson notes “I put some different influences on this album. I always try to throw something a little different in there.” Some of the variety of Lie, Cheat & Steal includes “a very Fela Kuti-ish track called ‘You Are So Corrupt,” and there’s a bit of a Flamenco, a bit of a Spanish, influence with the clapping on ‘Uptown.’”
This week I caught up with Wilkinson to discuss the music of Lie, Cheat & Steal, as well as its potential connections with political movements in London and US, and his goal of bringing Us3 back to American stages.
It’s Thanksgiving week and you know what that means - you’re gonna have to make every attempt to pretend you get along with your family for the sake of a great meal and a couple hours of football. If you want to take a break from explaining the ins and outs of the internet from your great uncle, or maybe you just need to get amped for the day, I have the perfect podcast to be your soundtrack. This week’s Adam B Experience features 12 new songs and all the energy you’ve come to expect from The Adam B Experience. No turkeys allowed!
YC The Cynic w/ Soul Khan, Von Pea & Sene - More And More Malkovich Music w/ Sum - What I Know Kats & Domer w/ Rabbi Darkside & Hired Gun - Gotta Get It Rekstizzy w/ Jkey & HOYA - Posted Doomtree - The Grand Experiment Tahmell w/ Big Stat - Big Deal Senor Kaos - Girls Rock, Too ScienZe - Play By Play 3.0 Ben Hooks - 7:31am Creature - Frying in the Sun Gif - Pimps Players Pawns Devastate - Clerk of the King’s Works
The year was 1987 and every kid was watching He-Man, yours truly included. The cartoon was a hit, and so was the ever growing line of toys. With that in mind someone decided it would be a good idea to make a live action film based on the show. There was one problem with the final product, though - it had almost zero connection to the cartoon.
Here’s a quick primer on He-Man; he’s Adam, Prince of Eternia, when he lifts his sword to the sky and says “By the power of Grayskull, I have the power” he becomes He-Man, and his trusty cat Cringer becomes Battlecat. There is no mention of Adam in this film, and no cat at all. He-Man, played by Dolph Lundgren, Man-At-Arms and Teela are all we get when it comes to the good guys, along with the Sorceress, who spends the entire movie captive, and is totally useless. On the side of the bad guys we have Skeletor, played by one time Oscar nominee (but not for this) Frank Langella, Evil-Lyn, Beastman, Saurod, Blade and Karg.
One thing every kid who watched He-Man loved was how awesome Castle Grayskull was. Even the toy version of it had a drawbridge, weapons tower, trap door, and four rooms. So, of course, the movie left almost all of that out by having the vast majority of the film take place on Earth and only one room of Castle Grayskull, the Throne Room, shown. Once on earth He-Man and his compatriots end up running into a girl named Julie, played by Courteney Cox, and her boyfriend, Kevin. Mass destruction occurs during their battles with Skeletor’s team.
Some random, but interesting, notes from the film include an overt nod to vegetarianism, because apparently Teela is a member of PETA back on Eternia, and a very Johnny Drama-like call of “Victory” at one point (I highly doubt the producers of Entourage saw this movie and said “let’s take that!” It has to be a coincidence). There’s also an “I’ll be back” that pre-dates Terminator 2 by nearly half a decade. Again, I doubt James Cameron was looking at this movie for ideas.
Here’s the kicker about Masters of the Universe, if you ignore the fact that it’s supposed to be a He-Man movie, it’s a pretty decent 80s flick. You have Dolph Lundgren with a big sword, an evil looking enemy played by an actor who can really act, and a young Courteney Cox. There were bad guys in pretty good makeup and lots of action. All in all, it’s really not that bad, it just isn’t He-Man.
“Victory Boulevard” is a classic Metermaids “get up, get crazy, and party” track. The first time I heard it my reaction was “I bet this blows the roof off when they perform it live.” In true Metermaids form, the lyrics are ridiculously on point. I honestly believe they put more into their high energy tracks than just about anyone. “Victory Boulevard” is something you can go nuts to while not feeling like you’re being dumbed down. Enjoy!
A couple weeks ago Brett Ratner (pictured above) went on Attack of the Show to promote his movie Tower Heist and told a story about “banging” former AOTS co-host Olivia Munn. The only problem was it wasn’t true, and Ratner copped to the fact that he was lying a few days later. The story had made its way around the net by then, though, and it got me to thinking - which actresses would I like to completely lie about “banging” to promote something I’m releasing (or perhaps something I’ve already released, like my e-book)?
Because sometimes I really have nothing better to do in a day, I put together a list, breaking it down into categories. Oh, and this is for comedic purposes only, so women’s groups, don’t email me about how big of a pig I am... until you hear about me “banging” one of the following (click on any of the pics to enlarge)...
The O.C. Collective
Emmanuelle Chriqui / Olivia Wilde / Rachel Bilson
I know, a lot of you see Emmanuelle Chirqui and immediately think of Entourage and her character, Sloan. So why is she in my O.C. Collective category? The reason will have you wishing you watched The O.C. (don’t worry, it’s still in reruns on SoapNet). Chriqui played a character on The O.C. that had a lesbian relationship with Olivia Wilde’s character. Yeah, you see what you missed by assuming it was a girly show - a hookup between two of the hottest women on TV! Rachel Bilson has always been on my list, but she’s almost too cute to involve in such scandal. Also, if she ever asked me about her current show, Hart of Dixie, I wouldn’t be able to answer a damned thing about it. Still...
A Couple Liars
Lucy Hale / Shay Mitchell
I wanted to list the entire female cast of Pretty Little Liars. Heck, even some of the moms are hot. That would have been cheating, though. (Cheating? How? I didn’t create any rules like that! - Hey, inner monologue, shut up, this is my blog!) Lucy Hale plays a character that was romantically involved with her English teacher. As a writer, knowing she, or at least her character, finds English sexy works for me! Shay Mitchell earns double points for having also had a two line role on Degrassi back in the day.
This group represents the UK, Bulgaria, Iran and Afghanistan. If I feel the need to cause not just a national, but international incident with my fabricated tryst any one of these women would be a fantastic choice. Plus, being that I don’t travel internationally, I’m not even concerned about being banned from foreign countries - not that I had Travelocity alerts set for Iran or Afghanistan - so bring on the controversy! (As an aside, if you’re a fan of symmetry, the two lines Shay Mitchell said on Degrassi were to a character played by Nina Dobrev.)
The Girl Next Door (If my building was a lot more awesome)
Sara Underwood / Minka Kelly / Alison Brie / Jennifer Morrison
I’ve wanted Sara Underwood ever since she started showing off her perky personality on Attack of the Show. Fake banging Minka Kelly would be especially rewarding as I would also find a way to work into the story that I converted her to being a Mets fan. Alison Brie is ten kinds of awesome. Jennifer Morrison’s hotness wasn’t shown nearly enough on House, but her stint on How I Met Your Mother really let it shine. She definitely has that “holy crap look at what the girl next door grew up into” thing goin on.
So there’s the list I’ll be choosing from when I create my Brett Ratner - Olivia Munn “banging” story. Incidentally, I think Olivia Munn is gorgeous, and when I interviewed her she was super cool, but she’s already been involved in one fake banging incident, so I felt it only right to not involve her in another. See, you thought I was a pig, but it turns out I’m really a gentleman. Now don’t you feel bad for judging me!
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from Shakira’s new spot in Hollywood, to the band no one wants to see at halftime on Thanksgiving, to a music video made with over a quarter of a million jelly beans, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* Latin bombshell Shakira received a much deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this past week. Rumor has it when you walk by it you start to uncontrollably move your hips and shake your ass. J.Lo walked by it the other day and destroyed an entire souvenir shop.
* In sad news, Heavy D passed away last week at the age of 44. He left a legacy of great, positive, music and one final tweet that beautifully captured who he was as a person. The tweet was two simple words in all caps - BE INSPIRED. We should all be so lucky as to be able to leave something so poetic right before we pass.
* The people of Detroit have a lot things they like. They like good football, Justin Verlander and Eminem. One thing they apparently don’t like is Nickelback, the Canadian band the NFL chose to perform at halftime of the Lions’ Thanksgiving day game against the Packers. Fans are clamoring for a more Detroit-centric act that represents the city’s vast legacy of rock n roll and soul. Nickelback might want to be a little concerned about their safety if this gig actually happens, because as countless Detroit quarterbacks can tell you, the Lions have never really been able to protect anyone.
* After an unbelievably misinformed tweet about former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, Ashton Kutcher has decided he needs a babysitter on Twitter. His exact words were, “I'm going to turn the management of the feed over to my team at Katalyst Media to ensure the quality of it's (sic) content.” In other words, someone get him his binky, some warm milk, and put him in his crib for a nap, he can’t handle the big bad Twitter monster all on his own. Oh, and if Ashton’s reading this - pro wrestling is scripted, the tooth fairy didn’t leave that dollar under your pillow, and Demi wants to have a talk with you about how babies are born.
* Michael Jackson is still making big deals, even from beyond the grave. What am I talking about? A Sony-led consortium that includes the Jackson estate and David Geffen have a deal in place to buy EMI publishing for $2.2 billion (that’s billion, with a b). In a related story, I still have $6.27 left in unused iTunes gift card money, so I’m well on my way to acquiring some music, too. KAPOW!
* In what quickly became a public relations nightmare, Jay-Z created an Occupy Wall Street inspired shirt through his Rocawear clothing line, but made no official commitment to monetarily support the movement. This means all the profits from the shirt were to go directly to Jay, with none going to support the movement. Basically Jay saw a group of people and said “how can I make money off of this, while not supporting it in the least?” The shirts were quickly pulled after people got wind of his plans. Of course, this still gives no money to the cause. It’s truly amazing that someone who built a career on having street cred can become the exact type of person that contributed to the terrible street conditions he grew up in. Profit off the poor’s struggle, contribute nothing to it. Great job, Mr. 1%.
* If you watch The Big Bang Theory you’re probably familiar with the “Soft Kitty” song. It’s the song Sheldon’s mother would sing to him when he was sick, and Penny has since learned and sung, as well. It was only a matter of time before an actual soft kitty hit the market, and that time is now, as Stylin Online has released an official Soft Kitty t-shirt and stuffed animal. There is still no word on what percentage of the sales will support any Occupy Soft Kitty movements.
* You want to see something awesome? Of course you do! I have that awesome thing you want, nay, NEED to see right here. It’s Kina Grannis’ video for “In Your Arms.” The clip was done using 288,000 jelly beans (which is usually the number I guess is in the jar. I never win those contests for some reason), and the song’s pretty great, too.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
SOHH.com hit me up for their “Top 5 Dead or Alive” feature, which asks prominent people in hip-hop who their top five emcees of all-time are, but unlike most lists of these kind, SOHH has ten emcees in a “Hall of Fame” that can’t be used. I actually really like this variable because it makes the lists far more interesting and varied. I also like the fact that they put me on the spot, giving me little time to think about the question. If I have to dig too deep into my memory bank is the artist really that great?
A lot of rappers talk about wanting to build something, but very few mean it in the physical sense, the way New Jersey’s Hasan Salaam does. With his latest album, Music Is My Weapon, he’s hoping to not just continue to build on his already large fan base that knows him from his solo work as well as his work with Rugged N Raw as one half of Mohammad Dangerfield, Salaam is hoping to build a well, a school and a medical facility in Djati, West Africa. He’s calling the project It Takes A Village, and it stems from work he’s been doing with people in the Guinea-Bissau community, and a trip he took there last year.
This week I caught up with Salaam to find out how he became involved in Guinea-Bissau’s cause, why his goals aren’t going to be as difficult to reach financially as one might think, and why the n-word is something he never wants to be called.
For three seasons Steve Ward has been dishing out relationship advice in his own unique style on Tough Love. This year the show went to Miami, and going to Miami with the show was Michelle Betts. At this point viewers probably remember her most for her fantastically awkward flirting moment involving a question about a piercing she didn’t know about. I caught up with Betts this week, and although the conversation never went into the piercing arena, she opened up about what her Tough Love experience has been like so far, in what way she went into it “blind,” and the habit she knew she had to kick. Betts also talked about being Demi Moore’s body double in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, and how she’s the inspirational love-child of Tony Robbins and Steve Ward.
Adam Bernard: Everyone always seems so surprised by how tough Tough Love is. Did none of you watch the show beforehand? Were you signed up by friends? Michelle Betts: Honestly, I had never watched the show. I’ve been pursuing a career in the entertainment industry for almost ten years, and my talent agent called me with an audition. She knows that I’ve always said “I'm not gonna put my life out there like that, don’t even try reality,” but she calls me and she’s like “will you please just go to this audition.” I was like sure, it was a good day, I’ll go. It was supposed to be a 15 minute interview and it was over an hour, and I really really liked the people. It wasn’t acting, it was just talking. When I told my sister, who is my only sibling, that it was Tough Love, she’s a huge fan and she told me that she had tried signing me up for a previous season but you can’t (sign someone else up). She was like “Michelle, this guy is a genius, you have to do this!” I was not gonna do it and she asked “are you going to regret this? Twenty years from now will you look back at your life and say oh my gosh, I could have done this and I regret (not doing it).” At that point I was looking at my life and I was like shoot, I have not had a serious boyfriend in five years, there is something wrong. So I committed, but I had never seen an episode. When I started the process of becoming cast I didn’t want to watch previous seasons because I thought it would scare me out of it.
Adam Bernard: Are you glad you didn’t? Michelle Betts: I am very glad I didn’t. My sister told me (about the show), but I was just like you know what, I don’t know if this is good or bad, but I’m gonna go in blind, and I really did.
Adam Bernard: Is this a wise older sister, or exuberant younger sister? Michelle Betts: She’s a wise older sister. My sister is a dating genius and she has seriously found the love of her life, is happily married and is somebody who knows me and loves me and is someone I trust. She’s my best friend.
Adam Bernard: I notice a lot of the women on the show make attempts to stay steadfast in their old ways. Why is this? Isn’t everyone there to change? Michelle Betts: I can’t speak for everybody, but I told myself if I’m doing this I’m gonna completely commit to it. I was living a nice life, but there was something wrong, so I figured if I’m gonna do this I’m gonna absolutely do this and I took it very seriously and I listened to what was told and I really tried to take in everything.
Adam Bernard: Did you butt heads with Steve Ward at all? Michelle Betts: I can’t tell you what goes on behind the scenes, and there are still more episodes, but I will say I’m a personal fitness trainer and I have to give tough love to people, so I take criticism really well. I may not want to hear it, and I might ask questions, but Steve Ward doesn’t have a television show because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. It’s one of those things where you have to just sorta put your trust in him. That’s what I did.
Adam Bernard: Of the episodes that have aired so far, what do you feel has been your biggest self-revelation? Michelle Betts: I got a lot out of the flirting episode because I was a little closed off and I always thought that I was a good flirter, but he really opened my eyes. Just looking at someone and smiling doesn’t do it. You gotta give a guy more than that. I learned a lot from that episode and he pushed me so outside the box. I also learned a lot about myself with the “deal breakers,” but episode seven was a very huge turning point for me. It’s hard for me to let down my guard. If you’ve noticed you never saw me crying in an episode before, but it was me allowing myself to get vulnerable and say things I have needed to say my whole life. Once you get things, and you figure something out, you have a big chance for growth, but it was hard. That was such a difficult episode. I have empathy for all my castmates and seeing my castmates suffer and letting your things out in the open, week seven was very hard for me.
Adam Bernard: What were you hoping to get out of this experience? Michelle Betts: I was hoping to break my bad patterns as far as dating, and also, I’m a nurturer by nature, so if you can learn from my mistakes and what I’ve done, here you go. Dating is really hard. Look at all of us. People screw up all the time. I knew (I had a problem). “Why have I always liked these bad men? What is wrong with me?” I’m a really good person. I don’t break laws. I treat people with respect and honesty. It’s not a coincidence that I have dated some really bad men.
Adam Bernard: The way you’re saying “bad,” were you writing letters to prisoners at some point? Michelle Betts: I wouldn’t say writing letters to prison, but there’s been a string of boyfriends I’ve had that have gone to jail, and it’s so the opposite of me. In episode seven I found the correlation, which is good. One thing I will say to every woman I know, because I have dated true bad boys - bad boys are bad boys, period. You can’t fix em, you can’t change em, they’re bad, stay away.
Adam Bernard: And at a certain point you go from “girlfriend” to “accessory to” and that’s not a title you want. Michelle Betts: No!
Adam Bernard: Now that you’ve been through it all, is there a method to Steve Ward’s madness? Michelle Betts: Absolutely. You (just) don’t know it when you’re going through it. He kept on telling us “there is a method to my madness.” Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes. There is a complete method to his madness.
Adam Bernard: In addition to Tough Love, as you mentioned, you’re also a personal trainer and you’re in the acting business. One of your acting gigs involved being the body double for Demi Moore in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. What’s the body double gig like? Michelle Betts: That was an incredible experience. It was awesome. It was the last three days of filming and she was unable to be there. I went into the audition and had to strip down in a little bikini for McG. He chose me and had to forward the photos to her and she had to approve it. It was so incredible working on a film of this magnitude. I got treated so well. I remember the first day, I’m sitting there getting my makeup done, getting my hair done, and Cameron Diaz walks in the room and she sits down next to me because she’s about to get her hair and makeup done and she’s like “oh hi, you’re doing Demi’s work, I’m Cameron.” She was so nice and real. I was like oh my God, all of America knows who you are, all of the world knows who you are, and you’re introducing yourself to me! I didn’t say that to her, but she’s really down to earth and nice. It was incredible. I had a blast. My scenes are like, I’m in a little tiny purple underwear set and I rip off a big fur coat, so you can’t see my head, or I’m standing there while somebody else is saying their lines and you’re seeing my body but not my face.
Adam Bernard: I’m still trying to imagine the set of emails Demi Moore was receiving from McG and what she was thinking, like “I don’t know. I don’t know if the back of that girl looks like me.” Also, how many did she get, and were they all random women’s butts? Moving on from that, what are you working on now? Michelle Betts: I have a lot of things in the works as far as fitness. I am going to be a FitFluential.com ambassador. It’s a big online forum for fitness enthusiasts. As far as acting, I’m really good with comedy, so I’ve been reading a lot of scripts. I also have a fitness band that I’m trying to get launched for next year. So 2012 will be really good for me.
Adam Bernard: You also have a really in-depth fitness blog. What inspired you to start that? Michelle Betts: I was a struggling bartender and I was so into the gym everybody I knew was like “Michelle, why aren’t you making a career out of this,” but I was so “I need to be an actress.” What happened was I got a Tony Robbins program, I did the work, and it changed my life. I was like, why am I not making a career of this? When I put all the pieces together and mapped out this is what I want I was like what better way to help people and share knowledge than to write a blog?
Adam Bernard: So you are the inspirational love-child of Tony Robbins and Steve Ward. Michelle Betts: {laughs} Seriously, those two men are wonderful.
Adam Bernard: Is there anything else people should know about you? Michelle Betts: I grew up in a small town, I went to college in a small town. I might live in LA and live this sort of crazy life right now, but I’m a normal girl.
Adam Bernard: You’re a John Cougar Mellencamp song at heart. Michelle Betts: {laughs} And I always just tell people, don’t ever give up on your dreams. If you have a dream just keep on working at it. It will all make sense.
Adam Bernard: Speaking of dreams, did you find the man of your dreams or can you not say? Michelle Betts: I can’t say! It’s horrible! I’ve gotten so many emails and Facebook and Twitter messages. People from my hometown have tried getting it out of my sister and I’m like I can’t say, I would get sued, so I just have to keep my mouth shut.
Some of my favorite emcees are women, and in that group is Hopie Spitshard, who you’ve seen featured here a number of times. Her songs are always dope and the visuals for many of those songs rank her as one of the queens of trippy hip-hop videos. Her latest is “Space Case,” which you can kind of assume will be trippy just by the title of it. Adding the the trippy-ness is a guest appearance by the one and only Del The Funky Homosapien! Side note - If you aren’t mentioning Del when discussing the greatest emcees of all-time you’re crazy!
Nicole Balin has been doing publicity for the West Coast’s most preeminent hip-hop artists for the past decade, having worked with everyone from Zion I to members of the Hiero crew. When it comes to what artists need to know, she really knows her stuff. This is why I’m extremely excited that she read and reviewed (and loved) Muscle For Your Hustle.
His raspy voice is tinged with the blues. His songwriting style features hip-hop flows. He can be so intense during his live performances that if you’re up close enough you’ll be able to see the veins popping out of his neck. He is Astronautalis, and over the course of his nearly ten year career he’s made a name for himself as a musically undefinable entity whose fan base grows with every show he does. This might be why he stays on the road so often. For the past seven years, since the release of his first full length album, You And Yer Good Ideas, “home” has been wherever he can crash as he has essentially toured non-stop, with only the occasional break to re-energize himself.
On the heels of the release of his fourth full length album, This Is Our Science, I caught up with Astronautalis to find out more about the pros and cons of living a life on the road, as well as the science of This Is Our Science. He also revealed how a voice class became the cause of an unforgettable breakdown.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from Justin Bieber’s insane groupie, to a former Glee actress’ insane life, to one of the most insane bands of all-time losing a member, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* By now everyone knows about the fantastically lurid rumor that Justin Bieber had a baby with a groupie by the name of Mariah Yeater. The rumor, created by Yeater, who seems to get crazier and crazier with every story that comes out about her, probably isn’t true. I’m not saying this because I have added insight into who Justin Bieber is as a person, I’m saying this because everyone knows how long it takes for lesbian couples to adopt.
* In other baby news, Kelly Rowland may have accidentally revealed the gender of Beyonce’s unborn child. In an interview with Us Weekly Rowland referred to the fetus as “her.” Of course, this is Kelly Rowland, who also probably thought Destiny’s Child would stay together forever and that she’d have a successful solo career, so we can take that baby news with a grain of salt.
* Because the music industry loves feeding off the dead like something out of a cheap horror film, Island Records, which is part of Universal Music, will be releasing a posthumous Amy Winehouse album on December 5th. You know how this will go - the album will debut at number one, fans will say how great it is, and thousands of people everywhere will have the voice of a deceased woman shoved into their stockings at Christmas. Personally, if you’re going to shove something dead into my stocking, I’d prefer you make it something of the zombie related variety... just not an actual zombie, because I don’t need to start Christmas by slaying the undead again.
* Last week Charice, a 19 year old Filipino singer who had a guest role on Glee last season as Sunshine Corazon, learned that her estranged father had been murdered. This is nothing to joke about. Of course, with Glee running short on plots...
* Chuck D is in a “Fight The Power” mood again. This time the power he’s fighting is that of Universal Music Group, which he says owes a lot of artists a lot of money. In a class-action lawsuit Chuck D claims the music giant has short-changed its artists and producers in licensing deals for digital downloads and ringtones. Although these are serious claims there’s something I find really funny about the idea of full grown adults arguing in court over ringtones, the thing no one over the age of 14 should be using.
* In very sad news, the legendary metal band, and performance virtuosos, GWAR, lost their guitarist this past week as Flattus Maximus, real name Cory Smoot, was found dead on Thursday. The band is currently on tour, and has no idea what the cause of death is. Although the character, which has been around since 1987, has been played by others, GWAR officially retired the Flattus Maximus after Smoot’s passing. The good news for Smoot is that his memory will live on in some of the greatest performance clips of all-time.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
There are two kinds of hip-hop fans: those that love M.O.P. and those that would probably get their asses kicked by them. The hardcore hip-hop aficionados have been at the forefront of the genre since 1994’s “How About Some Hardcore” and took it to new levels with “Ante Up,” which was released in 2000 and is now widely considered a hip-hop classic. On November 22nd M.O.P. will be releasing their latest effort, a collaboration with the production team Snowgoons, titled Sparta. I caught up with both Billy Danze and Lil’ Fame to find out more about the project, as well as the website they’ve launched in an effort to help independent artists connect, and what it’s like being a part of WWE superstar John Cena’s entrance music.
Getting Muscle For Your Hustle reviewed on Hypebot.com is beyond amazing. It’s a website that’s known for featuring great advice for musicians and to have my e-book be a part of that is truly thrilling. The fact that Rocko the intern cat received a mention at the end of the review is pretty awesome, too.
SOHH.com heard about my e-book and liked it enough to ask me to take part in their “Five Reasons You Should Buy...” column. This is quite the high honor, so please take a minute and check out the column, especially if you’re on the fence about spending your 99 cents.
I arrive at shows too early. It’s a blessing and a curse. The curse is that oftentimes, like on Friday, November 4th, I’m so early I have to find something else to do for an hour. The blessing, which also was illustrated on Friday, November, 4th, is that I never miss an opening act, and, as someone who loves discovering new talent and hearing artists I’ve never heard before, sometimes the opening act can have the biggest impact on me.
On November 4th I was at Webster Hall in NYC to see Natalia Kills, who I’m a fan of. Also on the bill were The Sounds, who were the headliners, Kids at the Bar, and The Limousines (the latter pictured above). When I walked in The Limousines were hitting the stage and the two man electro-rock crew had me hooked from jump.
As I listened to producer Giovanni Giusti work magic on what looked to be a sampler and a drum machine (there was A LOT of smoke on the stage and it was tough to see the equipment) and singer Eric Victorino’s great vocals I was digging their electro-rock vibe. When they did a cover of Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al,” putting a bass heavy eletro-rock twist on it, I was all in. I was all in to the point that I was mad at myself for not knowing about The Limousines before this.
Natalia Kills followed The Limousines. I was thrilled she opened her set with two of my favorites - “Break You Hard” and “Wonderland.” She also worked in two of my other faves in “Mirrors” and “Acid Annie.” Her set had a technical glitch as her mic wasn’t quite as loud as it should have been (the backing vocals shouldn’t be louder than the lead vocals), which spawned quite the moment when she took a second to mention it to a tech guy and then, instead of waiting until the song Kills was singing was over the tech guy tried to switch out mics mid-song. At the time she was singing “Kill My Boyfriend,” but the look she shot the tech guy made it clear that he was now at the top her kill list.
Despite the technical glitch Kills still spoke a little bit with the crowd and displayed her personality. Her moves as a singer ranged from jazz chanteuse as she caressed the mic stand, to pissed off rocker as she made every attempt to embody her angrier lyrics, to pop starlet when she smiled and bounced to some of her more pop oriented songs. I would have liked to have seen her utilize more of the stage, she stayed in one place a lot of the time, but that may have been due to the microphone issues.
In-between Natalia Kills and headliners The Sounds, Kids at the Bar came out to keep the crowd dancing. Their set was all ecstasy pills and glow sticks... in a good way. They created a club vibe in a packed house and even got the crowd fist pumping to Afrojack. I can honestly say that I wanted their set to be longer. In fact, if I ever hear the duo has their own night in NYC I’ll make it a point to attend. They gave the crowd a great time.
When The Sounds hit the stage the crowd erupted. This was clearly their audience and they played to it. With a decade under their belts as a band the Swedish New Wave rockers with punk undertones (or perhaps overtones) performed an over 90 minute set littered with hits from their four albums. I will openly admit I wasn’t overly familiar with The Sounds before attending this show, but seeing lead singer Maja Ivarsson was pretty amazing. She’s like something out of punk rock’s past, belonging on stage at CBGBs in the 70s alongside the likes of Blondie, making both the boys and and the girls go wild for her, with both sexes knowing damned well hitting on her could result in getting kicked in the face. She arrived on the stage smoking a cigarette, taking drags between verses in the band’s first song, and lit up again later on during the set. She had everyone hanging on her every word and move. One particularly memorable moment was when she said she wasn’t a fan of performing ballads, but she would perform one because the fans kept calling for it. Whether or not she didn’t like performing it might be up for debate, but making it seem as though it was solely for the fans was a nice way to involve the crowd, which she seemed to love just as much as they loved her. One particular superfan was so into the set he was in a constant state of almost falling out of the balcony.
By the end of The Sounds’ set I was dragging. My feeling had nothing to do with the show, which was filled with energy, and gave me three acts to investigate further. Rather, it was due to my whole “arriving at shows too early” thing. I had been standing for nearly four hours and was ready to take a break.
Like I said, it’s a blessing and a curse, but I’ll gladly accept the curse if the blessing is making sure I see acts like The Limousines and expand my list of artists I enjoy and plan on writing about.
YC The Cynic is a young cat with an old soul. Actually, maybe a better way to put it would be he’s a young cat who embraces some old souls. That’s the perfect way to explain how someone who was still in grade school during the last “golden era” of hip-hop can seem so compatible with such a time. “More and More” showcases this, as it’s a good old fashioned posse cut featuring YC rhyming with Soul Khan, Von Pea, and Sene, over a killer beat produced by J57. Those of us in NYC’s underground scene have been diggin this cat since he told us to “Say Superman,” and this song gives the rest of the world an indication as to why.
For years artists have told me I should write an advice book for musicians looking to make it. As a journalist I’ve been covering music for over a decade with a focus on independent and underground artists. I also had a radio show for five years that focused on the same. Now I have finally put together 22 of my best artist advice articles into one e-book - Muscle For Your Hustle: What Every DIY Musician Needs to Know.
Broken up into three sections - Promotions, Performance, and People Skills - this e-book is all about helping you, the artist, look at what you’re doing and how you can do it better. I’m not here to change your style, I’m here to show you some of the ways you can build your career.
"Adam Bernard’s Muscle for Your Hustle is a high-quality, 'Music Industry Seminar' which takes up a quarter megabyte of space on your portable device. If it was any smaller, it would become a part of your DNA; which is where information like this should be if you’re looking to build your brand." - Will "Deshair" Foskey, Former Music Industry Journalist and Music Seminar Panelist
"There are a lot of tips in this e-book for everyone." - iheartdilla.com
Writers - If you’d like a review copy please email me with your website/blog/publication info and I’ll get one to you right away.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from Jessica Simpson’s bulging belly, to Steven Tyler’s bruised face, to Melissa Joan Hart getting her ass taken to court, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* Celebs love to cash in on pregnancy news and baby photos, and Jessica Simpson is no different. Unfortunately, nobody told Jessica that pregnancies begin to show after a few months, and right now her midsection resembles that of King Hippo from Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. Realizing she'd run out of time to sell the story to a magazine, because she’s either pregnant, or she’s a snake digesting a tetherball, she finally told the news her pregnancy free of charge. Of course, had it been the snake thing, that would be a headline worth paying for.
* Kim Kardashian's marriage, for which she ended up raking in the handsome sum of nearly $20 million, ended after just 72 days. For those keeping score this means Kris Humphries is now locked out of both the NBA and his house, and the Kardashians are still the devil incarnate.
* Taylor Swift and her team are contemplating legal action against a gossip site for posting a topless photo of a girl and claiming it's her. The claim is laughable since the girl looks about as much like Taylor Swift as I do (*slight exaggeration*), so maybe next they'll post a picture of a construction worker eating a ham sandwich and claim it's Minka Kelly.
* Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and, more recently, American Idol fame looked very worse for wear after an incident last week that left him with broken teeth and a black eye. For many young rockers these wounds would have come from a bar brawl, or crazy fight with fellow band members. Tyler, however, is 63, and, like many 63 year olds, he fell in the shower. This is why so many rock stars die young, they don’t want to end up the face of non-slip bathtub mats.
* Someone needs to let U2 know that we’re in an economic recession. The legendary band is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their Achtung Baby album and in honor of it they’ve put together some special, very expensive, reissues. Released this week, the reissues include an Uber Deluxe Edition that has six CDs including B-sides and unreleased songs, a pair of Bono’s signature sunglasses, DVDs featuring the U2 documentary From the Sky Down, five clear 7’’ vinyl singles in their original sleeves, 16 art prints taken from the original album sleeve, and an 84-page hardback book. That’s all for the low low price of $469.95. If that’s too much for you, the Super Deluxe Edition is $167.95, comes with six CDs, four DVDs, plus a 92-page hardback book and 16 art prints. Still too pricey? Other options include a vinyl box set with four LPs, a deluxe edition featuring reissued B-sides and rarites, and a single disc reissue. Of course, if you’re a U2 fan you probably already have Achtung Baby, so your best option may be putting your already bought copy of the album into your CD player and enjoying it.
* Beavis and Butt-Head, after a 14 year hiatus, finally made their way back into our homes and they did so with a bang. On a night where they faced still competition from an extremely memorable game six of the World Series, and college football, everyone’s favorite twosome scored 3.3 million viewers. The show picked up right where it left off, with biting cultural commentary and, well, biting homeless people. The only major changes are that the boys are now watching more than just music videos and now there are cable and DVD boxes on top of their TV set. What might be most interesting to music fans are the videos the duo now critiquing. I can’t recall ever seeing MGMT or Skrillex on MTV before. Leave it to B&B to put the M back into MTV.
* Speaking of returning favorites, In Living Color is coming back to Fox for two half hour specials that will be produced by Keenen Ivory Wayans with the possibility of it being picked up as a series. The specials will feature a new cast of up and coming talent, and hopefully a fly girl that will go on to a mind boggling amount of success despite being mediocre in every conceivable way.
* India is a country of great food and, apparently, some really intense metal fans. Metallica found this out when they went to India last week to perform for the very first time there, but ended up not hitting the stage due to “technical difficulties.” Ticket refunds were offered, but some of the gathered crowd of 25,000 didn’t care, they rioted. With this in mind, Metallica should consider booking more shows in India. No crowd in America has been that into them since the black album.
* Since it was Halloween on Monday, I’m going to close this edition of Pop Shots with news on a witch. Melissa Joan Hart, best known for being Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, is being sued by a former manager for breach of oral contract, fraud and unjust enrichment, among other alleged infractions. What’s Melissa Joan Hart’s life looking like now that she has to deal with this? In a word, “Crazy.”
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
In hip-hop the youth can oftentimes get a bad rap (pun intended). As soon as an artist like Soulja Boy arrives on the scene it creates an assumption that young artists aren’t musically viable and have little to offer. The Chicago eight piece outfit Kids These Days prove that assumption to be nothing short of asinine. The group, which recently released their first EP, Hard Times, is made up of trombone player J.P. Floyd, bassist Lane Beckstrom, drummer Greg Landfair Jr., trumpet player Nico Segal, emcee Vic Mensa, vocalist/keyboardist Macie Stewart, guitarist/vocalist Liam Cunningham, and sax player Rajiv Halim (pictured L to R), all of whom range in age from 18 to 19. Their style incorporates elements of hip-hop, jazz, funk, blues and soul, and is really something amazing to hear. I caught up with Mensa and Beckstrom to find out more about the group, including how they came together, why they released an EP rather than a full length album, and why, no matter how old they get, they don’t plan on changing the name of the group.
B-Listers are a select group of artists that were featured in my Artist Of The Week series that ran every Monday from April of '06 to April of '11. All of these artists have two things in common; extreme talent, and a flight path far too under the radar for my liking. They took on the title of B-Listers as they embraced being featured by me, Adam B. Check out the AOTW Archives for all the interviews.
