Amy Winehouse - Gone Too Soon

It's sad to hear yet another troubled, substance-abused artist has passed away at such a young age (my age to be exact). While I've not been that big a fan of Amy Winehouse, I do like some of her songs like Rehab, Back to Black and Valerie, plus Glee did a a couple of impressive covers.

I heard that her last tour showed how wasted/drugged she was while on stage so I'd rather not remember her that way. Here's a video of my favourite - Valerie - from her much better days. Hope she rests in peace.

Rest in Peace Elizabeth Taylor

Another one of Hollywood's prestigious screen icons passed away yesterday of a heart failure, at the age of 79. When you hear Elizabeth Taylor, you would think of classic Hollywood glamour, Cleopatra, love-life whirlwind dramas, fashion statements, infamous hairdos and probably even Micheal Jackson. 

Liz Taylor was known for her dark beauty that made her stand out in a competitive industry. Apparently, she was born with a mutation that caused double rows of eyelashes *talk about never having to use mascara!*, which further enhanced her appearance on screen.

I remember Cleopatra and till this very day, I don't think any other actress could have been more suitable for the role of the sensual queen of the Nile. The dark hair and makeup combined with her acting abilities made the role even more authentic.

And naturally, let's not forget the '7 marriages'. Her whirlwind romance with leading actors and not-so-leading men generated a lot of media interest over the years.

According to her, "if I wanted to have a love affair or a fling, I was taught by my parents to get married. I guess I'm just an old-fashioned girl". But all that media attention probably just helped her obtain more movie roles (with an increased salary!).

I recall one particular movie, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof where she wore this gorgeous white silk cocktail dress (can't remember how young I was) but I remember thinking she must be the most beautiful actress I've ever seen and how I wished I looked like her when I'm her age. LOL!

Sadly, old age can be really cruel to a lot of people so I prefer to remember Liz Taylor when she was in her prime. The below pic is from her final TV role in These Old Broads which also stars Debbie Reynolds who was once married to Eddie Fisher - whom Liz had an affair with, while he was still married to Debbie!

Jennifer Aniston Sex Tape

Aptly titled above, the latest 'viral video' to hit the Net is Smart Water's ad which features Jennifer Aniston. It's nothing like the Numa Numa videos but she still manages to spoof several well-known viral videos from the past. In my opinion, she's having better luck doing these kind of videos than scoring in her not-too-great romantic comedies.

What do you think?

Gaga Gawks @ Grammys 2011

Trust Lady Gaga to constantly keep everyone on their toes at every red-carpet event. This time there were mixed reactions to her entrance at the 2011 Grammy Awards. If you don't know it already, she arrived in an EGG, carried by scantily-clad men! Yes, you heard me. She showed up, comfortably encased in a transparent alien pod of some sort.

Apparently, it was supposed to a womb-like egg because she was due to perform her new single 'Born This Way' and she wasn't about to hatch until her performance. Plus, if you looked closely, all the scantily-clad men and the woman walking with them, had prosthetic horns coming out from the sides of their faces!



Very Star-Trek-ish

But of course, you can't wait to see how it was when she finally hatched. Well, I saw the video and let me tell you, it wasn't that impressive (at least not by Gaga's standards). The song 'Born This Way' sounded very 90s-pop and it was so unlike any of her previous songs that made her what she is today.

At the same time, her performance was nothing much to talk about. Sure, she had some great moves (anyone with a choreographer would!) but there were no crazy, weird antics like dangling from a rope with blood smeared all over her or lighting up a piano on fire. To make matters even more weirder, she thanked Whitney Houston during her acceptance speech quoting "When I wrote this song, I imagined Whitney singing it". *baffled silence*

Bottomline is, the much talked about Gaga might just go Gaga-Who in a matter of time if she doesn't stick to what she does best. Sure she's only human but we like to think that she's an alien species that landed on earth with no memory of her life before the age of 20.

It's Been A Hard Day's Night!

I grew up listening to a variety of music including the likes of ABBA, Boney M, Cliff Richard, Madonna, Kylie, Tom Jones and of course, The Beatles. It was not by choice actually. My mum was a big fan of The Beatles and she used to play their hits back to back, every single day (and back then, cassettes were a big deal). It came to a point where my sister and I could remember the order of the songs and had the lyrics to each song memorized.

Till today, some of my favourite Beatles tunes are All My Loving, I Feel Fine, Ticket to Ride, Eleanor Rigby, She Loves You, Paperback Writer, And I Love Her and Yesterday. Their songs are not only easy to remember but quite easy to play on guitar. I've recently started learning guitar (delayed dream of becoming a rockstar!) and have been practising with some of these songs. Obviously, only the four walls of my room are allowed to hear me at this point!

*Beatlemania - the legion of screaming fans*

Back to the point, The Beatles were probably one of the greatest rock bands in the history of popular music and still pose a heavy influence in today's music scene. In fact, if you're a fan of Playstation or Xbox 360, you would know that the latest addition in the Rockband series is The Beatles Rockband. But before you get the game, you might want to check the track listing online for this game as I imagine, not ALL their hits would be included.

For some reason today, I just felt the need to listen to Paul McCartney and John Lennon belt out their hits. If you'd like a trip down memory lane, play the video below.

                      

The Memory of Michael Jackson

I was on the way to work when I heard the news on the radio that the King of Pop – Michael Jackson had passed away.

Shocked was an understatement, stunned and disbelief were more like it.

I grew up listening to his songs (which I still listen to till this very day) including his hits from Jackson 5 to the classic Thriller and right up to the rocking Black or White. When I was younger, I had the whole dance scene from Thriller memorized and used to perform it to anyone who was willing to watch (which was pretty much my family..hehe).

Regardless of the craziness that surrounded his personal life, he was undeniably one of the greatest music icons in the world. To know that he is no longer around to entertain and inspire, is simply devastating.

Rest in peace Michael – We miss you.

Damn You Chris Brown

I mean really, what are the odds of Chris Brown (who has been known for his squeaky-clean image) assaulting Rihanna 1 week before she was due to perform in KL?

And I was soooo looking forward to seeing the concert - at least it gave me something to look forward to this Friday!

But I have a feeling the concert will be cancelled entirely. This morning, I heard on the radio that her bruises were apparently quite bad, although not confirmed entirely.

Sigh...I hope she recovers quickly :(

The Never-Ending Britney Saga

Good God, just when you thought nothing more could suprise you when it came to the Spears family, this comes out.

Image source: The Hollywood Gossip

What kind of a mother lets her daughter drink at the age of 13, lose her virginity at 14 and take drugs at 15? And even worse, to publish all these in a tell-all book to the world??

It's no wonder Britney Spears ended up the way she did. Sure she's responsible for her own actions, say from the age of 18 but if she did not receive proper guidance even before that, I would say her parents are to be blamed. That's the cold, harsh truth.

The best part is, her mother justified her actions by saying that Britney was going through a typical teenage phase (being sexually active at 14 and experimenting with drugs at 15). Now, I've never really been a fan of Briney Spears (mostly because she can't sing) but under the circumstances, I think she deserves better.

Image source: Mirror.co.uk News