RIHANNA TALKS: rihanna speaks for the first time about the chris brown incident

to watch diane sawyer's official exclusive interview clip, click here

UPDATE: 11/6

rihanna - part 2

news flash: beirut announces a new album and fall tour dates

while trolling the blog world today, i discovered that cutie genius zach condon (aka beirut) has announced an october 9th release of his new album 'the flying cub cup'.

the tentative track listings are:
00 A Call to Arms
01 Nantes
02 A Sunday Smile
03 Guaymas Sonora
04 La Banlieu
05 Cliquot
06 The Penalty
07 Forks and Knives (La Fête)
08 In the Mausoleum
09 Un Dernier Verre (Pour la Route)
10 Cherbourg
11 St. Apollonia
12 The Flying Club Cup

not only that, but he's planning on coming back to the states for a limited number of dates. i'm so there!
US dates:
09.23 Princeton, NJ - Terrace F Club
09.24 New York, NY - Society for Ethical Culture (Wordless Music Series)
09.26 New York, NY - Delacorte Theater
09.30 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
10.02 Toronto, Ontario - Danforth Music Hall
10.04 Chicago, IL - Portage Theater
10.08 San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theater
10.09 San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theater
10.10 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon

(thanks to pitchfork and i guess i'm floating for the info)

also if you want to listen to live versions of "nantes" and the lovely "penalty", check out rewritable content's page for beirut's complete show at the koko on the 26th.

while you're at it, check out this song that zach recorded under the guise of the real people. definitely more electronic than what you've grown to love, but still gorgeous to listen to!

zach condon (the real people) (aka beirut) - venice [link 2]

news flash: kelly clarkson cancels tour

it's official, after firing her management team a few days ago, kelly clarkson cancels the summer tour that was probably a main factor of her current drama.

hopefully this also means that her album will be retooled with some new songs. label boss clive davis, please work some magic!

btw, here is the direct quote from her website:

"I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to getting out there to perform for y'all. In the craziness of the music business, performing is what I look forward to doing the most, so it really is disappointing for me to have to tell you that I won't be coming out to tour this summer. The fact is that touring is just too much too soon.

But I promise you that we're going to get back out there as soon as is humanly possible to give you a show that will be even better.

Thanks for all of your love and continued support."

— Kelly

[thanks to alis blog for the news flash]

quick review: kelly clarkson - my december

so this is what 'suck' sounds like. the album leaked last friday and all the rumours about it being a hitless collection (that label boss clive davis tried to have re-recorded) is true. it's a real shame since i do count myself as a fan of kelly. but nothing on this album has the immediacy of a 'since you been gone' or the dramatics of 'because of you'.

like i said, a real shame.

UPDATE: turns out kelly clarkson had issues with the release of her album too. she just sacked her manager jeff kwatinetz (who was rumored to be pressuring kelly to release the album as soon as possible in order to coincide with a summer tour). read all about it from US weekly.

news flash: another classy britney spears moment

i'm still on vacation, so i'll keep this short.

britster walked into a salon in tarzana, california, and just shaved off her head. then she went to a tattoo parlour nearby and got two new tats to solidify her trash status. hey, at least she's not flashing her 'naan-ny' any more.

read all about it on eonline here.