Metallica Attracted to Death Magnetic
Metallica want opinions about Death Magnetic to live freely online.
The platinum-selling rockers have announced the title of their next album, which despite its fine pedigree (produced by über-visionary Rick Rubin), has already created its share of controversy for the shaggily coiffed quartet.
Last week, Metallica addressed the so-called management mix-up that resulted in several U.K. music blogs being asked to remove early reviews of the band’s upcoming new tracksa request that ticked off the bloggers to no end.
“Once we resurfaced on Tuesday after a few weeks on tour in Europe, we were informed that someone at Q Prime (our managers) had made the error of asking a few publications to take down reviews of the rough mixes from the new record that were posted on their sites,” the once-Internet-wary band said in a statement posted on its website.
“Our response was WHY?!!! Why take down mostly positive reviews of the new material and prevent people from getting psyched about the next record…that makes no sense to us!”
Why take down positive reviews, indeed.
“So after a few rounds of managerial ear spank and sentencing everyone at Q Prime to 20 push-ups each, we figured why not take matters into our own hands and just post the links here on our site,” the metal specialists continued.
The British blog the Quietus, for one, complimented Metallica on their “magnanimous behaviour.”
“We’d like to apologize for suggesting that they were insane and for claiming that they hadn’t done a good album since the tragic death of [bassist] Cliff Burtonarrant nonsense by anyone’s standards, let alone our own,” read a posting on the site.
Precontroversy, the Quietus had deemed two of the preview tracks good and two of them dull. Another site, Metal Hammer, surmised that “these songs are going to sound amazing live.”
Death Magnetic, due out in 2008, is Metallica’s first studio effort since 2003’s St. Anger. Or, the “most disappointing metal CD ever released,” according to the Quietus.
Look Out for Locker Room Looky-loos
Lord knows what’s up with Jessica Simpson and her Dallas Cowboys QB cutie Tony Romo. We thought she got jilted by the jinx, then they were reunited, after which they had a falling out before having a falling in together at Sister Aslee’s wedding, but maybe that was all just for show.
But this oscillating-romance weirdness attained a new level of whack-osity during a recent Nashville photo session:
The snoopers at the New York Post’s Page Six say that Jessica’s hair-stylist pal Ken Paves was on hand to document the proceedings, reportedly “snapping sexy photos of her butt and her boobs with his phone” and sending them to Romo.
It’s so cute when your bff is best buds with your bf. Uh, maybe. But beware emailing pics to towel snapping jocks, as Jessica’s jaunty jpegs are likely to wind up on the internets. With that in mind, Tony and Ken, why not cut out the middleman and save us all that time Google-ogling Jessica by CC-ing us with the pics in the first place? Just sayin’…
It’s a Wonderful Jolie-Pitt Life
Va-va-va-voom!
Just take a gander at Angelina Jolie on the new cover of Vanity Fair. Love her or hate her, she looks hotter than ever!
Now, onto the story…
In the true spirit of dissecting anything and everything Brangelina, let’s examine what she says when she explains that none of her and Brad Pitt’s three nannies ever spends the night.
Ang says, “We may have to adjust that when the next one comes.”
One? What does she mean by one?
Aren’t they expecting twins? Either Ang is only poppin’ out a single, or she’s one cagey lady.
OK, enough of that nitpicking.
Jolie’s outlook on life is all rainbows and unicorns. She doesn’t appear to have a bad thing to say about anything, according to the snippets released by Vanity Fair.
“I happen to be with somebody who finds pregnancy very sexy,” she gushes. “So that makes me feel very sexy.”
Even Caesareans give her goosebumps. “I had a C-section [for Shiloh] and I found it fascinating,” she gushes again. “I didn’t find it a sacrifice and I didn’t find it a painful experience.”
Seriously, the Brangelina clan is bordering on becoming the next Partridge Family. “We have art around the house, we have books, we go to plays, we talk,” Jolie says. “Our focus is art and painting and dress-up and singing. It’s what we love.”
What’s nexta Jolie-PItt Christmas album?
Eddie Griffin Sued for Smackdown
To quote his big-screen alter ego in Undercover Brother, this is one of them funky times.
A former production manager is suing Eddie Griffin, accusing the funnyman of a drunken assault while working on a TV pilot in March.
The lawsuit was filed today in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Griffin and the Leslie Greif Company by Vince Beane, who worked on a VH1 reality series tentatively titled The Eddie Griffin Project. (View the court docs.)
The plaintiff claims that on March 10 the comic actor wrongfully accused Beane of slighting Griffin’s mother by “treating her, like a slave nigga” or a “ghetto Momma on junior prom night just waiting to get slammed” because, per producers orders, he booked her and Griffin into a “cheap three-star hotel.”
Beane’s complaint accuses the production company of plying the erstwhile Malcolm & Eddie star and others with more than six bottles of Veuve Clicquot Champagne, which purportedly caused Griffin to go off on Beane, grabbing him by the collar and smacking him around for failing to find better accommodations.
“That was for my Momma…she ain’t no nappy-headed ho,” Griffin is quoted as saying in the court documents.
For his part, Griffin’s rep called Beane’s allegations “completely absurd” and “without merit.”
Beane also blasts his employers for failing to provide adequate security to ensure his safety.
“The Leslie Greif Company negligently failed to advise Vince Bean of the violent propensity of the inebriated Eddie Griffin and his short and uneasy temper of which they were well aware and encouraged in hopes it would enhance his outrageous behavior,” the suit states.
“This failure to warn created an unsafe environment and perilous situation for the unsuspecting plaintiff.”
The suit contends that Beane suffered “severe bodily injury and emotional distress” along with “loss of enjoyment of life.”
The production manager says he didn’t fight back, fearing retaliation from Griffin’s five-man posse, which includes a former heavyweight boxer.
Beane is seeking unspecified general and special damages to pay for medical expenses, as well as wage loss and loss of future earning capacity.