Day in Pop Report for 08/02/2012
Law enforcement sources confirm ... the LAPD received a 911 call at 6:50 PM to report a possible home invasion, possible shots fired. The LAPD responded immediately ... guns drawn ... but the house was quiet, no one was home ... and there was no sign of a crime. Cops determined it was a false alarm. Law enforcement tells TMZ ... officials now believe the caller is a "911 abuser." The call seems to fall in line with a prank called "Swatting" -- in which a caller tries to trick emergency responders into dispatching law enforcement into a home by making up a crime. Cops tell TMZ ... if the call was indeed a prank, which it appears to be, the caller will be arrested ... and face serious criminal charges. In fact, we're told if someone were to be hurt or killed due to the prank, the caller could even face felony charges. more on this story
TMZ published a story last week based on sources who told us Janet went off on Michael Jackson's daughter after the singer tried to grab Paris' cell phone. We also reported Janet called Paris a "spoiled little bitch." Although we believed the story to be true when we published it, we have now determined it was not correct ... Janet did not slap or otherwise touch Paris, nor did she verbally abuse her. more on this story
"Finished Song! I LOVE IT! Cant tell names of songs cause Record CO. gave Strict ORDERS ! THINK 1st Single drops Oct. then cd near Xmas" "The Greatest Thing" was written by Gaga herself. "I wrote that song a long time ago, and I've never put it on one of my own albums, for really no particular reason," she told MTV. "I always write these concept records, and it just didn't fit in. But it's always been this big, massive, beautiful hit record and everyone always says, 'Why don't you put that on your album?' I said, 'I don't know, it just doesn't fit with everything else.'" more on this story
The video features actor Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill) and the pop star having a serious boyfriend vs. father-of-the-girlfriend conversation before the full storyline evolves. The new clip was directed by Anthony Mandler, who has worked with artists like Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. Watch the video here.
Beanie Sigel will also embark on a whirlwind promotional schedule behind This Time that includes a U.S. tour and a national TV performance on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
A rep for Macaulay tells TMZ, the reports claiming Culkin is addicted to heroin and assorted hallucinogenics is "not only categorically without merit, but it is also impossibly and ridiculously fictitious." The rep adds, "We beseech the responsible media to consider the source and its reputation and to please not perpetuate this destructive and insulting story by pursuing it any further." more on this story
My partner, King James II, and I had just completed our album and sent it out for prerelease reviews and in today's music world, it's really hard to even get noticed. I thought that if we could take a song everybody hated and show them how we could turn that into something cool, maybe we'd turn a few heads. What song is more hated than Who Let the Dogs Out? As an executive producer, I was one of the guys who made the original song popular to start with and after a long drawn out lawsuit over who wrote the song, I had come to despise the song. Despite co-owning it, I never even learned the lyrics. But, when we were considering remaking the song and I dug into it, I quickly learned that it was the original arrangement that really ruined an otherwise cool song. The song itself is about a somewhat dirty house party where the guys get out of hand and a girl loses her innocence and just wants to get away from it all. But, no one really knows that because in the original version you can't understand the vocals. For the simplicity of the lyrics, the storyline is pretty deep. All of the songs that we write and are on our album, Infected, are kind of narrative in style, including a song called Relax, which is a serial killer's lament. The dark underlying tone of Who Let the Dogs Out? sealed it for us. We had to remake it. We decided to reimagine the song and loosely follow the melody, but we knew we'd have to keep the signature hook. Our group's sound really isn't like anyone else out there and it was important that this was "our song" not just some pointless remake of a novelty song. It's been really cool because the song is turning some heads and the reactions have been generally positive. Although everyone is initially bewildered that we launched a musical mountain-climbing expedition to the top of what most people figured was nothing but a mound of trash. Turns out, it was one of the most fun times we've had in the studio. One day King James II can tell you about the time Foxy Brown cussed him out over the keycode to the bathroom. Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, you know you have to hear what they have done with it and you can right here!
This one's for "Dear Believer" and comes from Timmy Anderson of Ima Robot, aka Timmy the Terror. Check it out here. The original track appears on Edward Sharpe's latest album, Here, which was released on May 29th. You can preview the original track and purchase it at iTunes.
The video was directed by Philip Andelman and can be viewed here. Jones will be performing "Miriam" this Monday, August 6 on TBS Conan. Jones will also be appearing on Tonight Show With Jay Leno on August 13 performing "Say Goodbye," the second single from Little Broken Hearts. more on this story
TMZ broke the story ... an arrest warrant was issued for Cuba for allegedly roughing up a female bartender at The Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street early Tuesday morning after she asked him to leave. The bartender told police Cuba had become irritated at several bar patrons for taking his photo and cussed 'em out. Now Cuba's rep tells us, the actor has taken steps to resolve the situation -- saying, "There is no warrant. Mr. Gooding, his representative and the New Orleans authorities met this morning and are moving swiftly to resolve this misunderstanding." The latest on this story here.
The tour will be supported by Only Son, featuring Jack Dishel (formerly of The Moldy Peaches). Only Son previously collaborated with Spektor on the song "Call Them Brothers," which can be found here The trek will kick off in Portland, OR on August 8, playing The Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco on August 12 and winding up at The Greek Theater in L.A on August 14. more on this story
"Enough Of No Love" was written by Keyshia and Redd Stylez, and produced by Harmony. Keyshia's new album, Woman To Woman (Geffen Records), is set for release later this year. Check out the video here.
TMZ broke the story ... a photog named Grigor Balyan sued Lindsay in January, claiming he was shooting her car as it drove away from a Hollywood nightclub -- and her assistant plowed into him under Lindsay's direction, causing him orthopedic and neurologic injuries. But Lindsay's ready to go to war over the allegations -- filing her response in L.A. County Superior this week, claiming Balyan "carelessly put himself near a moving automobile" and caused his OWN injuries. Lindsay insists she shouldn't have to pay him squat. A judge has yet to rule. more on this story
Ray J -- who was one of the first people to arrive at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on that fateful day -- had avoided returning to the hotel for months because it was "too hard" for him to return to the scene. But today, Ray J had to overcome his fears to do a scheduled media event at the hotel for his new TV project, "The Rickey Smiley Show" ... an event he couldn't afford to miss. Sources close to Ray tell us ... the singer was overcome with emotion when he arrived to the hotel ... telling friends "it hurt inside" to have to relive his most painful memory. He also said it was "very weird" walking the halls again. Still, Ray J is telling friends ... Whitney wanted him to do well and would be proud of him. more on this story
TMZ has learned Shirley Wygal is retaining a lawyer in Los Angeles to handle her case -- and we're told she plans to go after the Century 16 Theater. Shirley's 32-year-old daughter Rebecca Wingo was shot and killed in the theater. Sources close to Shirley tell us she believes the theater's emergency exit doors should have been alarmed, or there should have been security guards posted next to them ... especially for a premiere as anticipated as "The Dark Knight Rises." Witnesses say Holmes entered the theater through an emergency exit door and then started shooting. Authorities think he may have propped the door open earlier from inside the theater. TMZ broke the story ... a survivor of the shooting spree is planning a similar suit, but he also intends to go after Warner Bros. and Holmes' doctors. more on this story
"'Girls Want Bad Boys' is a straight-to-the-point kind of song," comments NPFH guitarist/vocalist, Will Maurer. "It's rock arranged and composed like an energetic electronica track. We wanted to make a point of underlining the changes that are coming with this new album we are working on, which will be more rock with some electronica influences." "This single has sort of a tragicomic concept," explains Maurer. "It's about a regular guy who finds himself in a car chase with the police after having pulled a stunt to impress a girl... because girls want bad boys! We're talking about doing all this in a video eventually." more on this story
On Way Down Low, the native Texan makes not only her songwriting debut but also co-produces the album with Danton Boller. She performs with Lyle Lovett on the title track "Long Way Home." The album was recorded at the historic Avatar Studio and Capitol Studios with Grammy-winning producer/engineer Al Schmitt (Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke) and includes input from producer Phil Ramone (Paul Simon, Billy Joel). Upon release two months ago, the album debuted #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart. Listen to her NPR appearance.
Apparitions is set to release their debut album Kiss Me Sleeping this fall on Infamous Empire Records. Not only will this be the band's debut full-length, it will also be the label's first ever release. Kiss Me Sleeping is currently being produced by Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me, Alesana) at his studio in North Carolina. Downloaded the song here.
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