Tag: Things On The Internet (51-60 of 137)

Jan 24 2012 04:52 PM ET

Megaupload ringleader Kim Dotcom working on an album, presumably so he can steal it from himself

by
Tags: , , ,
KIM-DOTCOM

Image Credit: Getty Images

In less than a week, Megaupload figurehead Kim Dotcom (yep, that’s his real name) has gone from mysterious non-entity to everybody’s favorite eccentric Internet celebrity. The story about his crazy action movie capture—which saw him decamp to his panic room with a sawed-off shotgun—has given way to his other interests, which include collecting expensive cars (nearly $5 million in sweet rides were seized upon his arrest, including a pink 1959 Cadillac and a 2010 Mercedes-Benz CL63 that had a license plate that read “HACKER”), acquiring art, sending threatening e-mails to his neighbors, and acting goofy in various videos online.

Music, however, is apparently the thing that really drives him. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 23 2012 05:54 PM ET

The Music Mix recommends: Elle Varner

by
Tags: , , , ,
Elle-Varner

Beyoncé will probably be out of commission for a while craddling The Chosen One her first-born, so where’s an R&B-loving fan to get their ear candy in the meantime? Enter L.A.-bred soultress Elle Varner and her laid-back fusion of pop, hip-hop and soul.

Varner caught my attention this summer when her infectious “One Wanna Give It To You,” featuring J. Cole, landed on the Billboard R&B Charts. If it were possible for Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott to make a baby, they might have produced this songbird’s smoky tones and funky vibe.

The 22-year-old daughter of two music-industry parents literally has it in her bones — so its no wonder she signed a record deal soon after graduating from NYU.

Until her debut album, Perfectly Imperfect, comes later this year we’ll have to settle for her new mixtape Conversational Lush, out today, and of course playing this adorably retro video on repeat: READ FULL STORY »

Jan 23 2012 12:12 PM ET

Miley Cyrus' Bob Dylan cover 'You're Going to Make Me Lonesome When You Go' -- Watch the new video here

by
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Anxious to hear Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan, the massive, 76-track Tribute Album for a Good Cause from Amnesty International?

No worries — Miley Cyrus has got your back.

In conjunction with Amnesty International, the nose-ringed 19-year-old has released the official video for her country-fried cover of Dylan’s “You’re Going to Make Me Lonesome When You Go.”

The song, off 1975′s Blood on the Tracks, loses some of its original spunk and humor (not to mention harmonica), but Cyrus does a decent job with her safe reading of the folk favorite.

Check out the video below to see for yourself:

READ FULL STORY »

Jan 20 2012 02:39 PM ET

MegaUpload indictment: File-sharing site still shut down by the Justice Dept., but so-called 'CEO' Swizz Beatz appears to be in the clear

by
Tags: , , , ,
Swizz-Beatz_240.jpg

Image Credit: Jerritt Clark/Getty Images

When the federal government shut down popular file-sharing site Megaupload on Thursday, the war over Internet piracy seemed to sweep its first famous casualty into the line of fire.

In a widely circulated report, Kasseem Dean (known better to the world as either Swizz Beatz or Mr. Alicia Keys) was referred to as the company’s CEO, and there were expectations that he would be one of the targets of the case.

But according to the 75-page now-unsealed indictment, Dean is not involved with the suit, and his name does not appear anywhere in the document. There are seven targets, four of which have already been apprehended, including owner Kim Dotcom. None of them are Dean.

And though there were rumors that Dean had been some sort of “silent partner” in the business, Megaupload’s lawyers said that the hip-hop mogul’s involvement in the company had been greatly exaggerated. “He was in conversations to be named CEO,” attorney Ira P. Rothken told the New York Daily News. “His involvement in the company was highly attenuated. There were discussions and he was involved in a promotional video and in brainstorming future projects, but not much else.”

In fact, Rothken told the Washington Post, “My understanding is that there wasn’t actually a CEO of the company.” And Forbes noted, “If [Dean] was involved, it wasn’t on the books.” READ FULL STORY »

Jan 20 2012 01:29 PM ET

Celebrities mourn Etta James via Twitter, internet

by
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
_etta-james

Image Credit: Everett Collection

The legendary Etta James succumbed to leukemia this morning, and people all over are remembering the singer’s 73 years of life in different ways.

Beyonce, who famously played the star in 2008′s Cadillac Records — and ran into some static with the older star later — took to her website with the following statement:

“This is a huge loss. Etta James was one of the greatest vocalists of our time. I am so fortunate to have met such a queen. Her musical contributions will last a lifetime. Playing Etta James taught me so much about myself, and singing her music inspired me to be a stronger artist. When she effortlessly opened her mouth, you could hear her pain and triumph. Her deeply emotional way of delivering a song told her story with no filter. She was fearless, and had guts. She will be missed.”

For many, Twitter provides a natural outlet to mourn and pay tribute. Celebrities as varied as Questlove, Kings of Leon’s Nathan Followill, and Nancy Grace have already tweeted about James; we’ve included many of them below: READ FULL STORY »

Jan 18 2012 12:29 PM ET

Jay-Z banning the 'b-word' now that he's a dad? Not so fast

by
Tags: , , , , ,
jay-z

Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Yesterday, there was an idea flying around this series of tubes that Jay-Z, he of new fatherhood and extremely public displays of affection, had written a poem about his daughter Blue Ivy where he renounced using the word “b—-” (yeah, not “baby”) in his lyrics.

Though a number of news outlets reported that Jigga was nixing “the b-word” for good and republished the rapper’s supposed prose, nobody could figure out exactly where the words had been published. And even if the poem was real, it didn’t explicitly say that Jay was retiring the word in question.

As it turns out, the whole thing was a figment of the Internet’s imagination. Jay’s representatives reached out to E! to let them know that the poem did not come from their client. They’re uncertain about the origin of the words, but they’re sure that they were not written by Jay-Z.

Honestly, that makes the whole thing a lot less problematic, as swearing off b—- would have created a double-pronged problem for Hova. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 16 2012 01:09 PM ET

Watch vintage footage of teenage Kanye rapping -- VIDEO

by
Tags: , , , , , ,

Teen Kanye RapsHe wasn’t born on the throne.

But according to a newly unearthed video of a 19-year-old Kanye West performing in his native Chicago, he was already on his way in 1996.

“I never been tookin’ out / I got emcees lookin’ out,” raps the nascent Louis Vuitton Don, sporting the kind of tucked-in polo ensemble that became the sartorial signature of his earlier days.

The NYC-flavored jam definitely fits the era, and West had seemingly yet to nail down a musical identity. Yet, as we recently learned in another vintage video, it would be eight years (if not sooner) before ‘Ye started infusing into his verses the Chicago-style consciousness that colored his 2004 debut The College Dropout.

But enough with the talking — watch the video for yourself below, and let us know what you think of Junior Yeezy:

READ FULL STORY »

Jan 13 2012 01:27 PM ET

Beastie Boy Mike D disses 'NYT' puzzlemaster Will Shortz on 'Colbert Report' -- VIDEO

by
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Let's Argue!
colbert-report-mike-d

Image Credit: Comedy Central

As far as hip-hop beefs go, it’s no Drake vs. Common, but it’s certainly more fun.

First, some background: New York Times puzzle guru Will Shortz was called out this week by freelance writer Julieanne Smolinski for misusing the word “illin” in a recent crossword, leading the two to cross swords via e-mail.

“The clue for 28 down reads ‘Wack, in hip-hop,’ and the answer provided is ‘ILLIN,’” Smolinski wrote. “These are not the same things, at all!”

Shortz fired back with this defense: “According to the Dictionary of American Slang, edited by Robert L. Chapman,’illin” means ‘stupid, insane.’ ‘Wack’ is defined as ‘worthless, stupid.’ The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, by Tony Thorne, defines “illin’” as ‘bad, uncool,’ and says it is a buzzword in the rap and hip-hop cultures. It seems to me that’s roughly the same as ‘wack’ in the sense of worthless or stupid.”

Added the Timesman, “So it seems to me the clue is fine.”

But it doesn’t seem fine to Mike D of the Beastie Boys, who took to The Colbert Report to settle the score on rap’s nerdiest feud once and for all.

How does it all end? Let’s just say Shortz might need to check himself. Watch the tweedy Beastie work out the finer points of hip-hop grammar in the clip below: READ FULL STORY »

Jan 12 2012 11:58 AM ET

No Doubt, Nicole Scherzinger Twitter accounts hacked by Ron Paul supporters

by
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Gwen-Stefani

Image Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Is Kelly Clarkson a trendsetter?

Eyebrows were raised when No Doubt, X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger, and political punks Rise Against all expressed their support for Ron Paul via Twitter yesterday.

But it didn’t take long for said eyebrows to return to their proper positions, as it was revealed that the artists’ feeds had actually been hacked by Ron Paul supporters.

“Today We Officially Endorse Ron Paul 2012,” said a tweet from No Doubt’s verified account early in the day. “If you actually read what Ron Paul is saying, you will discover that for the first time in your life a politician is not lying to you.”

The band later issued a correction, writing, “Our Twitter account was hacked last night. No political endorsements at this time. Love, No Doubt.”

“We were hacked,” echoed Rise Against’s Twitter account, whose apparent endorsement tweet included a link to a Ron Paul donation page. “As you would all assume, We DO NOT support Ron Paul.”

Scherzinger, rather than clarify that she was duped, simply deleted the planted tweet.

Yet it’s time to re-raise those tired eyebrows, because the techno-political plot thickens: All of the hacked artists in question are signed to Interscope.

Could there be something more sinister going on, or does the label just assign the same password (probably “password”) to all of its artists?

Either way, our eyebrows are getting a serious workout today. Readers, what are your conspiracy theories? Leave them in the comments below.

Read more on EW.com:
No Doubt says first album in 10 years will now be their first album in 11 years
Kelly Clarkson gets into extended Twitter war over endorsement of Ron Paul
Kelly Clarkson isn’t the only celeb showing support for a presidential hopeful

Jan 11 2012 12:07 PM ET

President Obama, like Lady Gaga, is ‘Born This Way’: watch the supercut video here

by
Tags: , , , , ,

Is President Obama secretly a Little Monster?

It certainly seems that way in this new fan video, by the same YouTube user who previously dubbed the leader of the free world singing “(Cheers) Drink to That.”

In this follow-up, the President goes Gaga: The vid features a clever mash-up of the President’s speeches, intercut so that he appears to be doing “Born This Way” karaoke that would make Lady Gaga proud.

A speech at the Human Rights Campaign where he says, “I’ve had some productive bilateral talks with your leader, Lady Gaga,” leads into the clip; he’s certainly got some moves (Ba-rocking back and forth!) but unfortunately, the President doesn’t actually sport the Monster claw.

The song cuts out before Gaga’s extended ‘love yourself’ rap, so those hoping to see the President vogueing to “Don’t be a drag/Just be a queen” will have to make their own full-length video — no, seriously, please make that happen.

Check the President rocking out below: READ FULL STORY »

Advertisement

TV Recaps

Powered by WordPress.com VIP
Which will you see this weekend?