> No Doubt has filed a lawsuit against Activision -- makers of the same Guitar Hero video game that famously riled Courtney Love a few months back -- because a new Band Hero game allows players to take too many liberties with the band members' avatars. Specific complaints include that the "the Character Manipulation Feature results in an unauthorized
performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about
having sex with prostitutes," and that "bassist [Tony] Kanal’s likeness can be manipulated to
sing, in a female voice, one of No Doubt’s signature hits, 'Just a
Girl.' "
It's no secret that we love -- no, worship -- Róisín Murphy. The electro-pop songstress with a voice that could make us do the best kind of very bad things and a penchant for the performative (not to mention sex with lobsters) has just released her single, "Orally Fixated," her first new offering since spending two and a half years promoting her last killer album, Overpowered.
The (very pregnant) former lead singer of Moloko is taking a more viral approach to delivering her new music -- "Orally Fixated" is one of three singles slated for release in the coming months -- through video blogs (like the above clip), remix competitions (Ro confesses she's recently become a "vaguely good" DJ), and other surprises. "My fans are so loyal and I am really excited to have them more involved in my creations," says Murphy. The early part of 2010 will be spent adjusting to motherhood, but Róisín promises a slew of new music including a move towards mixing a bit of key note British urban beats and MC's with her infamous pop sensibilities.
You can hear "Orally Fixated" on Róisín's MySpace and Facebook pages and in the coming days a 48 hour global free download of the single will be launched by The Guardian.
To read our profile on Róisín Murphy -- and see the stunning photos -- from Out's 2008 October music issue, click here.
Advance copies of Peter Biskind's new biography of Warren Beatty, Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America, have started circulating and in an effort to be the best homos we can be, we turned directly to the sections featuring the actor's former paramour, Madonna, and transcribed a few of our favorites for your reading pleasure:
Beatty was never long without female companionship, and Madonna was waiting in the wings. She was 30, while Beatty was 51. According to Sandra Bernhard, "Madonna and I were in the back of a limo driving to some concert in L.A., and she said, 'Sandy, did you fuck Warren Beatty?' I said, 'No.' And then a month later she started dating him. I always thought, What if I had said yes, I'd fucked him, would that have meant she wouldn't have wanted him? The deal would have been off? I guess she was just testing the waters.'
Beatty began seeing Madonna in January 1990, shortly after Sean Penn famously tied her to a chair, which didn't prevent the younger man from phoning her to point out that Beatty was 'old enough to be your damn father.' According to a friend of his, Penn 'would follow her at night and, always, they would end up at Warren's... He'd sit in Warren's gate, waiting for her to leave. Often, she wouldn't do so until the sun rose.'
As Madonna reportedly recounted to a friend, Beatty called her from the car, said, 'I'm half a mile from your house. Take off your panties.' A few minutes later, he called again: 'I'm four blocks from your house. Take off your bra.' And again, when he pulled up outside her Malibu home: 'Now I wanted you to go downstairs and unlock the door. Then I want you to lie on your bed and wait for me to come to you and make love to you like you've never been made love to before.' Apparently that wasn't good enough, because she said she didn't have an orgasm. She complained the sex was better with Penn, and wondered why she was with Beatty. But high maintenance at the best of times, she was in particular need of an island of calm. The actor supplied it. Moreover, her interest in him was piqued by rumors from the Inge-Williams days that he was bisexual.
At that time, Madonna was racking up column inches by teasing the envelope of gender ambiguity with her friendship with Bernhard, who was a lesbian and proud of it. During a dinner with Beatty at the Sushi Cove (sushi was his food of choice), Madonna was offered a selection of vanilla or chocolate ice cream for dessert. She chose both, which got him thinking. He asked her, 'You seem to like to try everything. Have you ever made it with a woman?' 'Have you ever done it with a man?' [she responded]. 'Do you want a woman?' he replied, ignoring her. 'Because if you do, it will be my present to you. I'll get you a woman...if I can watch.' 'All this, just from ordering two kinds of ice cream?' [she said].
Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America will be in stores on January 5.
> A waiter claims he lost his job after Kevin Spacey had a diva moment (or, at least, a nicotine fit) in a Newport, Rhode Island restaurant last summer. Peter Turner says he was laid off just days after Spacey reacted less than amicably upon being asked not to smoke, causing his boss to remark "If the owner knew you pissed off Kevin Spacey, he'd have me fire you."
The Ali Forney Center, which offers emergency shelter, transitional housing, food. clothing, medical and mental health treatment and other services to queer youth in New York City, received a gift of $300,000 from Bea Arthur's Estate today.
Arthur, who died April 25 at the age of 86, will be memorialized by the Center when it purchases a building to house 12 youths and names it after her.
"We work with hundreds of young people who are rejected by their families because of who they are. We are overwhelmed with gratitude that Bea saw that LGBT youth deserve as much love and support as any other young person, and that she placed so much value in the work we do to protect them, and to help them rebuild their lives." says the Center's Executive Director Carl Siciliano.
"I say stuff like 'oopsie-daisy.' Growing up, I didn't feel cool. I didn't fit into any crowd. 'Geek' is not a word anyone uses to describe me, though, except perhaps [Confessions on a Dance Floor producer] Stewart Price, who once said, 'You know, you're a nerd at heart, nobody knows it." I took it as a compliment. I'm silly and geeky and nerdy and not cool."
-- Madonna responding to the question "Do you still consider yourself a geek" in her new Rolling Stone interview.
> Lady Gaga will appear in Beyoncé's "Video Phone" music video, wearing... wait for it... "something wild." Meanwhile, dates have been announced for her Kanye-less holiday season tour, dubbed "The Monster Ball" and kicking off November 27 in Montreal. "Bad Romance," the first single from the re-release of her debut album, The Fame, now titled The Fame Monster, will make its radio premiere on Monday.
> Oh no they di'int! George Takei and Brad Altman WON The Newlywed Game yesterday; Carnie was so freaking excited; adorableness was everywhere. Watch!
> Don't call her a doll -- Michelle Obama has joined the ranks of the celebrity action figure. Break out the Backstreet Boys and Brandon Walsh and there you have a tea party we'd like to attend.
> Adam Lambert’s new single, "Time for Miracles" from the upcoming apocaflick 2012, will see it's music video debut in movie theaters -- as a trailer before the Michael Jackson documentary This Is It, which opens October 28th.
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