The Inside Beat Blog

2011-08-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

Oh Lady Gaga….what will you come up with next? Lady Gaga released the video for her new song “Born This Way” and it was, to say the least, bizarre. The seven-minute-long video is filled with the usual things we expect from Lady Gaga—skin-baring sexuality and crazy get-ups—with some new things added to the madness, like unicorns and childbirth (which would explain why she showed up to this year’s Grammys in an egg a few weeks back). The song’s been getting a lot of love at the top of most charts, but it’s definitely not one of Gaga’s strongest songs. Like some critics are saying, it sounds like a recycled Madonna song and Gaga is too much of an original to be putting out recycled songs. Since this is just the first track of her new album, we’ll let this one slide, but hopefully the album will have stronger material than this.

Steve Carell is leaving The Office

2011-04-21T08:41:00.001-07:00

The pivotal moment is close at hand. We all know it is coming and by god, we are salvaging each and every available moment of hilarity. That’s right dear readers – Steve Carell is leaving NBC’s The Office at the end of this season. Steve Carell has portrayed the main character of Michael Scott for seven seasons. He has served as that gooey substance keeping the show together. The Office is an ensemble series and many unique characters with very well developed personalities give the show its spark. However, it is Steve Carell’s presence that really acts as the heart of the series. The inevitable is knocking at our doors. A special, two-part episode entitled “Goodbye Michael” is set to air and it almost seems unreal that such a quirky character that we have grown to love and adore is leaving.

Perhaps the show will continue to hold water pull through on the backs of the rest of the cast. But there is still an enormous chance that Carell’s departure will be the catalyst that will lead to the shows demise.

– Alex Natanzon

We Heart Funny Brits!

2011-04-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

Helen Mirren

Ricky Gervais

Russell Brand

The style of humor constructed by British writers, creators and actors within film and television has been around for decades. From classics like Monty Python, Are You Being Served? and Black Adder, to modern-day originals such as Coupling, Mr. Bean, Little Britain or The Office, Brits make us laugh by being cool, sarcastically honest and yet ridiculous. Today's celebrities with those quirky, familiar accents are unknowingly augmenting a trend of how we perceive entertainment, starting earlier this year when Ricky Gervais hosted the Golden Globes. Though some of his raw delivery and distasteful remarks appeared to shock a majority of American audiences, we still accept him and adore him for who he is.

Now, more and more “hosts” are popping up on television are originally from overseas. Case in point: Saturday Night Live. Within the past two months, Russell Brand, Elton John and Helen Mirren all hosted the legendary SNL. Each of them brought their individual personality to the stage along with an exclusive array of comedic material, even if some may have been a bit more impressive than others (John, despite a cute opening monologue, played himself in almost every sketch minus the flamboyant cowboy in the 'Old West' saloon scene). Is it a new wave of comedy? Does the fact that the upcoming royal wedding suddenly make England's presence emanate across the borders? Though we may not realize it right away, there is a fresh je ne sais quoi about these lovable actors that make them fashionable in the world of pop culture.

–Olivia Kinter

More than Just Sand Dollars for the Jersey Shore Cast

2011-04-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

The cast of Jersey Shore is always giving people something to talk about. Today is no different as the latest story hitting the net is about the fact that the cast is getting a six-figure raise to shoot Season 4. So not only do they get to go to Italy to film for the fourth season, they’re all making a ridiculous amount of money as well. Really MTV? What have any of them done that is significant enough to warrant having a six-figure salary? They’re basically getting money for fighting and acting idiotically on TV. It just shows the ridiculous direction MTV is taking. They might as well change the channel name at this point since there’s really no music being played on MTV at all. For all reality show junkies and supporters this may not be a problem, but for true music fans we’ll just have to hope that MTV comes to their senses soon.

–Inayah Bristol

OMG NKOTBBSB!!!

2011-04-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

First Nickelodeon goes 90s-retro, now this! It was announced the morning of April 5th that 90s boy bands Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block are going on tour together! The two bands are merging to create one supergroup called NKOTBBSB for their summer tour, which kicks off on May 25 in Rosemont, IL. This is the second time the two bands are singing together; they first merged during the 2010 American Music Awards to perform a medley of their songs. American Idol alum Jordin Sparks is reportedly opening. We couldn’t be more excited to relive our youth! But it’s an awfully long acronym for thousands of nostalgic twenty-somethings to be screaming. Might we suggest a name change? New Boys on the Backstreet, maybe?

–Freddie Morgan

Priest Trailer: Holy $%&!

2011-04-04T10:01:00.000-07:00

You know a movie is going to be so-bad-it’s-incredible when its trailer is screened right before Battle: Los Angeles. Priest, starring Paul Bettany and Christopher Plummer, is exactly this film. Watching the trailer, we couldn’t help but be confused…a plot about a dystopian, Blade Runner-esque future, awkward liturgical robes, deserts, a nubile girl being saved (there’s always a nubile girl involved) and vampires? And it’s coming out in 3-D?! This looks like the gross-out movie of the summer…Sign us up, people. We are believers.

–Zoë Szathmary

Beyonce Kicks Papa Knowles to the Curb

2011-03-30T21:48:00.000-07:00

After two decades of pushing his daughter into the spotlight, Michael Knowles has ended his professional relationship with Beyoncé Knowles. But of course, she claims it was on amicable terms. “I grew up watching both he and my mother manage and own their own businesses. They were hardworking entrepreneurs and I will continue to follow in their footsteps,” said Beyoncé.

She’s eager to follow in his footsteps? Hmm…we all love Beyonce, but we’re not so sure it was such a clean break. You know what we are sure of? Lindsay and her treasure of a dad, Michael Lohan.

–Diana M. Cholankeril

Epic Meal Time Changes the Game

2011-03-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

If you thought the Grease Trucks’ Fat Sandwiches were the most heart attack-inducing foods ever conceived, you’re wrong. Epic Meal Time is a cooking series on YouTube that has surged to popularity over the past few months. Every Tuesday, the crew creates and eats a new culinary monstrosity that makes Adam Richman from Man vs. Food look like a complete wimp.
The series follows a simple, yet perpetually amusing formula: take several dead animals, wrap them in unhealthy amounts of bacon, marinate in Jack Daniels, and then deep fry for good measure. The result is a meat lover's dream that consists of more calories and fat than most people should consume in an entire week. The utter disregard of moderation has earned Epic Meal Time millions of views as well as an appearance on The Tonight Show. Furthermore, networks such as Comedy Central and Spike have expressed interest in turning the online series into a full-fledged T.V. show. Whatever the future holds, we hope that Epic Meal Time continues to entertain us with hilarious depictions of excess and gluttony in an age of health consciousness.

TurBacon Epic Thanksgiving-Epic Mealtime

Epic Meal Time on The Tonight Show

—Ryan Surujnath

Bieber Booty Bleeds Banks

2011-03-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42214901/ns/today-entertainment/

It almost seems uninteresting that Justin Bieber uses such an expensive hairdryer, when compared with the fact that mentally unstable individuals are willing—eager— to purchase his hair for over $40,000. Now we understand being a huge fan, but come on, this is ludicrous. It is not unusual to dole out a hefty sum for say, Jimmy Page’s guitar, or Paul McCartney’s bass, but for hair!? This is just pathetic. How are you supposed to show it off to your friends? “Hey, check out this Justin Bieber memorabilia I bought for over 40 thousand dollars…LOCKS OF HIS HAIR!” This takes celebrity worship to an entirely new and frightening level.

—Alex Natanzon

In Defense of Rebecca Black: A Victim of the Age of Auto-Tune

2011-03-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

It’s been about a week, and by now, most are aware of the ear-wrenching song, “Friday” by tween Rebecca Black. Its redundant and lame lyrics, auto-tune overkill, and infomercial-level acting in the music video render it unworthy of any merit whatsoever. Despite the overwhelmingly negative public reaction, Ms. Black told Good Morning America that it’s “an accomplishment” and the whole point of the song is to be “catchy”.

The public loves to hate Rebecca Black, but maybe she is just a victim of the pop music industry, which almost exclusively pumps out formulaic, catchy songs with meaningless lyrics. The gap between Rebecca Black and the current hit song on the radio is closing fast, especially since Ms. Black has beaten her idol, Justin Bieber, on the iTunes top 100 list and received over 29 million hits on her music video. This ‘Age of Auto-tune and Lip-Syncing’ is churning out a generation of make-it-big pop stars, in which most are neither the “worst singer[s]” nor the “best singer[s]”. Antoine Dodson, the preceding Youtube sensation, profited heavily from his fifteen-second stardom when skilled auto-tuners composed a song out of his idiotic comments. Before hating on Ms. Black, consider this: perhaps Rebecca Black is simply the latest to have been sucked into the pop industry’s treacherous siren song – an innocent youth who really enjoyed Friday and wanted to share her enthusiasm with the world (albeit rather badly). Let's just pass her by and look for someone who can actually sing.

Update: Horror upon horrors! Black has announced that she is releasing A WHOLE ALBUM in December 2012! Run for the hills! The apocalypse is upon us!

—Ashley Park

American Apparel's Dov Charney is Accused of Being a Major Creeper...Again

2011-03-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

Plaintiff Irene Morales. Courtesy of NY Daily News.

Two weeks ago we published a cover story on American Apparel's pending bankruptcy and CEO Dov Charney's sexual assault lawsuits. Well, it seems that he's adding another to the list. Irene Morales, 20, is filing a $260 million suit against Charney. According to the law suit documents, Charney invited her over to his Manhattan apartment, greeted her in nothing but briefs, and “forced her to go down on her knees just inside the front door and perform fellatio upon him.” Then Charney reportedly forced Morales to perform the same act on the bed, “nearly suffocating her in the process.” He allegedly kept her captive in the apartment for several hours afterward, repeatedly making her perform these acts. Morales' lawyer claims that this has been going on for eight months before Morales resigned.

In the past, all of the lawsuits against Charney were settled and have never reached trial. Although this seems to be the most explosive one of them all, it is doubtful whether this one will reach the courtrooms either. American Apparel said in court papers Wednesday that Morales' complaint "is an improper attempt to garner media attention and exert pressure." Charney's lawyer, Stuart Slotnick, said Morales "made a number of extortion-like threats to expose the company to a threatened avalanche of litigation and negative publicity." Two documents were submitted to the court, supposedly signed by Morales agreeing not to sue the company. The hearing, deciding whether the case will reach the courts or be directed through arbitration processes, will be held on March 25. As if the company's $120 million debt weren't enough for Charney to handle, the additional threat of another $260 million makes the future of this company look even bleaker.

—Stacy Douek

Born this Way: The Story of Mother Monster

2011-03-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

–Inayah Bristol

We’re On a Drug: It’s Called Charlie Sheen

2011-03-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

Tabloid regular and actor Charlie Sheen is known for his bad-boy image and questionable media appearances. This week, Sheen offered more of the same in a bizarre interview with ABC. Amongst the bevy of promotional sound bites, one stood out, “I am on a drug: it’s called Charlie Sheen.” Charlie, we’re on the same drug. It’s hard not to stop and stare at his alleged ménage à trois with a porn star and a graphic designer/nanny, feuds with CBS, and his participation in long-standing child custody hearings. While we hope that Sheen sorts out his personal demons, he nevertheless is a nonstop, hot mess of a circus act for TV viewers.

— Zoë Szathmary

Do You VYOU?!

2011-02-27T21:18:00.000-08:00

Let’s be honest, we never get tired of finding the new, big social media website. So naturally, we were over the moon when all of our favorite Youtubers started using VYou.com, a website that aims to start a more personal form of online social interaction. On VYou, fans pose questions to users who answer them in the form of video messages.

It’s a little confusing at first to figure out how VYou works, where the questions go, and how to set up your own messages. A few minutes of playing around assured us though,that VYou is easy and fun to use (when webcams aren’t giving you a hard time). Since all users use webcams to record video messages, everyone is on a level playing field in terms of video quality, which is awesome for beginning Vloggers. With VYou, you can hold a conversation with people from all over the world. And it’s also fun to answer questions of your own. So sign up! Tell your friends! And don’t forget that you can, of course, anonymously ask yourself questions. Shhhhh…

Youtuber Alex Day’s VYou page

Youtuber Hank Green explaining VYou

—Jenna Grunfeld

John Galliano gets temporarily booted from Dior

2011-02-25T07:52:00.000-08:00

I love following Cathy Horyn on Twitter so much that I even have her tweets sent to my cell phone as texts. Every morning the reoccurring beeps sounding from my cell wake me up to a quick Fashion Week update, and then I'll go back to sleep grudgingly.

However, this morning a look of horror appeared on my face as I read these two consecutive messages:

"CathyHorynNYT: French news agencies report that John Galliano was briefly detained last night by Paris police alleged anti-semetic remarks to a couple."

"CathyHorynNYT: Dior has suspended Galliano pending the conclusion of an investigation."

According to both The Cut and Daily News, Galliano was sitting outside in a cafe in the Marais district in Paris when the altercation occurred, and his blood alcohol level was just above the limit.

What incredibly surprising is how quickly Dior suspended the designer, especially since Paris Fashion Week starts next Monday.

"Dior affirms with the utmost conviction its policy of zero tolerance towards any antisemitic or racist words or behaviour," Dior Chief Executive Sidney Toledano said in a statement to Reuters."Pending the results of the inquiry, Christian Dior has suspended John Galliano from his responsibilities," the statement added.
However, sources say that the 50-year old designer was arrested and then escorted back to his home, and no charges were pressed against him.
What do you think? Did Dior do the right thing a mere week before Fashion Week?

–Stacy Douek

P.S.- If you'd like to read Cathy Horyn's take on things, you can read the article here or follow her on twitter @CathyHorynNYT

OSCAR SWANS – Then and Now

2011-02-23T22:01:00.001-08:00

Historic icon Coco Chanel once claimed, “Fashion changes. Style remains.” But we can only imagine what Ms. Chanel would have thought of the annual Academy Award trends when she said this. With that in mind, Oscar season is here and once again, swan dress is the new Oscar black. A decade following singer Bjork's famous “swan dress,” the bird is a hot topic now thanks to much hype around the nominated Black Swan. Yes, we admire the originality of Lady Gaga's meat dress, but we cannot forget all of the fashion hype that Bjork's ballerina inspired ensemble—swan tutu, pointe shoe pink heels and all—sparked back in 2001. Now the idea of the swan plays a big role in the form of film and dance in 2011. Anticipating the pre-show red carpet event, who knows what looks we will see, but viewers may not be as shocked as they used to be thanks to previous outlandish efforts.

—Olivia Kinter

BENT!

2011-02-20T22:39:00.000-08:00

The age-old activity of playing with you food never ceases to be entertaining. Whether you’re chilling in the dining hall making funny faces out of your uneaten remnants or throwing a hardboiled egg at your best friend, there’s always some enjoyment in it. Here, we’ve found some quirky art that mixes food with normal, everyday objects to create something incredibly comical. These whimsical works of art, titled “Bent Object(s),” are all clever. Our personal favorite is “Sylvia Muffin Put Her Head In The Oven”—it’s a funny parody on famous American Poet Sylvia Plath. Another notable Bent Object favorite is “Zombies Are Nuts About Brains.” dead peanuts walking around eating the contents of a lively peanut shell? Hilarious.

—Emily Gabriele

MUSIC SCENE: Boo Hoo, Bonnaroo

2011-02-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

The announcement of this year’s Bonnaroo lineup has made us sorely upset. It’s a reminder that while people in Tennessee, Seattle and Indio, California get to enjoy this year’s biggest names in music, we are stuck with nothing in the East this summer except for Bamboozle, whose headliner promise of Lil Wayne hardly makes up for their poor selection of artists in many years passed. Whatever happened to All Points West? Time to plan a trip down South… who’s with us?

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VG ZONE: Champions Online goes Free-to-Play

2011-02-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

Recently, Cryptic’s superhero MMO Champions Online went free-to-play, allowing any player to download and play the game. Current subscribers have now become Gold Members, which gives them access to special costumes and mission packs among other things. For the free player, the game is pretty much the same as the Gold version, except for the fact that free players cannot create a totally original character with any powers they want. Instead, free players choose an “Archetype” such as The Grimoire (a sorcerer) and The Inferno (basically a Human Torch rip-off). While gameplay can seem repetitive at times, overall Champions Online is worth the free download.

-Jason Pearl

VIDEO DUMP: Beware the Snookifier!

2011-01-19T19:43:00.000-08:00

Snooki gives an 11 year old girl a makeover for AOL's "You've got..." series.

Needless to say, we are extremely disconcerted. Fear the poof, impressionable tweenie-boppers of America!

Happy Holidays from Inside Beat!

2010-12-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

COVER SPOTLIGHT: Teenage Dream by The Rescues

2010-12-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

Perky, peppy Katy Perry songs can rub our ears raw after the fifty-gajillionth time on the radio. The Rescues, an up-and-coming band in Los Angeles, turn Perry's Teenage Dream 180 degrees to create a refreshing, haunting, and absolutely entrancing single (now available on iTunes). The slow and beguiling harmonies of their voices pulse with guitar, drums, and piano, creating a delicate and beautiful song that goes perfectly with a hot cup of coffee and a warm, rainy day.

Courtesy of www.therescues.com

Coming Soon!

2010-11-14T08:41:00.001-08:00