Ben Sims Presents Emote & other: May 2008

Friday 30 May 2008

Alicia Keys Gears Up for North American Leg of As I Am Tour Presented By Lexus on April 19th

***SEVERAL NEW DATES ADDED DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND!!!***
KEYS KICKS OFF THE TODAY SHOW OUTDOOR CONCERT SERIES APRIL 21st
ALL DAY PREMIERE OF 'TEENAGE LOVE AFFAIR' VIDEO ON BET AND KEYS TO HOST 106
& PARK ON APRIL 23rd

NEW YORK, April 16 -- After wowing fans during her
successful sold-out European tour, MBK/J Records' global superstar Alicia
Keys is just days away from bringing that same excitement on the North
American leg of her As I Am Tour presented by Lexus. Joined by American
Idol winner Jordin Sparks and Grammy-nominated R&B singer/songwriter Ne-Yo,
the As I Am Tour presented by Lexus, kicks off April 19th in Hampton, VA.
The tour continues on across the US and Canada, and will conclude on June
18th at Madison Square Garden in Alicia's hometown of New York City. Due to
popular demand, new dates have been added in Memphis, Anaheim and
Sacramento (updated tour dates listed below).

"I wanted to make this show unique and different from my standard style
show, so the approach of this tour is like a journey; from the beginning of
my life, leading up to where we are now," comments Keys. "I'm communicating
a lot to the audience through the music and by talking and sharing personal
stories," she adds. Throughout the duration of the tour, Keys will also
communicate with her fans that call her at 917-934.3319 and provide them
with tour updates and other exciting news.

Keys will give millions of morning TV viewers a mere sample of her
stage show when she kicks off NBC's popular "Toyota Concert Series on
Today" on April 21st. Keys is set to perform her hit single "No One," as
well as her new single "Teenage Love Affair" for the first time on national
television.

Keys' new single, the endearing "Teenage Love Affair," is set to impact
radio April 21st. The Chris Robinson directed video for the single pays
homage to the 20th anniversary of Spike Lee's classic film School Daze,
with cameos by the film's original cast member Giancarlo Esposito (Julian),
actors Derek Luke (Glory Road, Antwone Fisher), Tristan Wilds (The Wire),
and R&B singer Anthony Hamilton. On April 23rd, BET will conduct an all-day
premiere of the video and Keys will host the popular video countdown
program 106 & Park.

Ignited by her first two hit singles "No One" and "Like You'll Never
See Me Again," Keys' internationally-acclaimed third studio album As I Am
(MBK/J Records), has sold over 5 million copies worldwide since its
November 2007 release. The disc has claimed the #1 spot for several
non-consecutive weeks on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart and the single
"No One," earned Keys two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Female
R&B Vocal Performance. Additionally, Keys received four awards at the NAACP
Image Awards and was honored at the first annual BET Honors ceremony.

Not one to rest on her laurels and accolades, Alicia continues her
philanthropic outreach as the Co-Founder and Global Ambassador of Keep A
Child Alive (KCA) by offering a free download of her inspirational
documentary Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland. Directed by South
African filmmaker Earle Sebastian, the documentary follows Keys' month-long
trip to Africa to visit communities affected by HIV and AIDS pandemic in
South Africa, Kenya and Uganda. The documentary can be viewed in its
entirety at http://www.aliciainafrica.com or downloaded courtesy of the film's
exclusive web partner http://www.spiralfrog.com. Additionally, Keys will screen
the Alicia in Africa trailer before each concert on her North American
tour.

With an impressive combination of heartfelt, award-winning music, a
burgeoning acting career and noble humanitarian efforts, Keys continues to
demonstrate that she's one of the most influential persons of her
generation.

THE ALICIA KEYS AS I AM TOUR PRESENTED BY LEXUS

(Updated 4/7/08 ~ Dates are subject to change):

DATE CITY VENUE

Sat-Apr-19 Hampton, VA Hampton Coliseum

Mon-Apr-21 Philadelphia, PA Liacouras Center

Tue-Apr-22 Pittsburgh, PA Peterson Events Center

Thu-Apr-24 Cleveland, OH Wolstein Center @ CSU

Sat-Apr-26 Columbus, OH Value City Arena @
Schottenstein Ctr

Sun-Apr-27 St Louis, MO Scottrade Center

Wed-Apr-30 Minneapolis, MN Target Center

Thu-May-01 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center

Sun-May 04 Anaheim, CA Honda Center

Mon-May-05 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center

Wed-May-07 San Diego, CA San Diego Sports Arena

Fri-May-09 Las Vegas, NV MGM Garden Arena

Sat-May-10 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion at San Jose

Sun-May-11 Sacramento, CA Arco Arena

Wed-May-14 Dallas, TX Nokia Theatre at Grand
Prairie

Thu-May-15 Memphis, TN Fed Ex Forum

Sun-May-18 Houston, TX Toyota Center

Thu-May-22 New Orleans New Orleans Arena

Sat-May-24 St. Petersburg, FL St. Pete Times Forum

Sun-May-25 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena

Wed-May-28 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

Fri-May-30 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum

Sat-May-31 Atlantic City, NJ Mark Etess/Taj Arena

Tue-Jun-03 Montreal, QC Bell Centre

Thu-Jun-05 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre

Fri-Jun-06 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena

Sat-Jun-07 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena

Wed-Jun-11 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden

Fri-Jun-13 Washington, D.C. Verizon Center

Sun-Jun-15 Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena

Tue-Jun-17 Newark, NJ Prudential Center

Wed-Jun-18 New York, NY Madison Square Garden

For more information on Alicia Keys and complete tour and ticket
information, please log onto http://www.aliciakeys.net.

Tuesday 20 May 2008

Woody Allen finds love is hard in "Vicky Cristina"

Cannes, France (Reuters) - His freshly moving picture "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" deals with women, manpower and multiple lovers, simply when it comes to real life romance language, director Woody Gracie Allen, 72, says more than a one sexual activity collaborator is far likewise many these days.

"It's hard enough to arrest ace person," he told reporters at a Sabbatum news league at the Cannes photographic film festival. "In trying to figure out solutions in life, iI tends to

Sunday 18 May 2008

'The Real World: Brooklyn'? My Dreams Are Finally Coming True, In Bigger Than The Sound

Sweet, Sweet Validation, 'Real World'-Style

Greetings, hillbillies! I'm not sure how you're reading this week's edition of Bigger Than the Sound, given that most of you probably don't have, A) the Internet, or B) electricity in whatever soulless hamlet you're withering away in. But since you're here, let me ask you a question: How are you planning to spend your summer?

Wait, don't answer that. I'm sure that whatever you have on the horizon, it probably involves a factory or shooting at traffic signs or drinking by an inland body of water. Instead, let me go ahead and tell you how I'm gonna be spending my summer: chilling with the Rohypnol enthusiasts and aspiring models on "The Real World: Brooklyn."

That's right! In case you live in a cave (and who knows, maybe you do), news broke Tuesday that MTV is gonna set the 21st season (!) of the show in Brooklyn, the vibrant and diverse borough that I inhabit! Which means my neighborhood is officially the coolest place on the planet — a true destination! — and that I am completely validated. It's OK to be jealous. Really, it is!

Truth be told, MTV isn't divulging which section of Brooklyn it'll be stashing its seven strangers in, but I have a difficult time thinking it'll be anywhere but my current stomping grounds of Williamsburg, given that it's clearly the most vibrant and diverse 'hood of them all. (Of course, by "vibrant" I mean that most of the people who live there are unemployed and have facial hair, and by "diverse" I mean that we have several Thai-fusion restaurants.) Not to mention the fact that we have lots of glass-and-steel condominiums going up every day ... and that they start in the low $700s. Clearly, this is a place people want to be.

So again, it's OK to be jealous. The ever-accurate cultural barometer that is Bunim/Murray Productions has bestowed official "cool" status upon my neighborhood — joining the ranks of metropoli like Paris, London, Miami and, uh, Denver — and just because I live someplace cooler than you (and, by extension, am cooler than you) doesn't mean that you have to hate me. Though it'll probably make things easier.

And while my fellow Brooklynites have already begun the predictable whining that "The Real World" will somehow ruin the "character and charm" of the borough (something I find rather hilarious, considering that, uh, dudes, you sorta already did that by moving here from, like, Ohio), I, for one, can't wait for the nights when I'll be kept awake until 5 a.m. while two housemates (let's say the "muscly Aberzombie/ alcoholic sociopath" and the "underfed, oversensitive model with daddy issues") get into a heated shouting match beneath my bedroom window. Or, like, when the whole cast goes to check out a band (probably a really happening "local" act like MGMT) at whatever Northsix is called now, or eat dinner at Sweetwater Tavern, or buy groceries at Tops, or get brunch at Enid's, and they're accompanied by an army of Handycams and boom mics? Hey, I'm OK with that. After all, that's just the price I gotta pay for coolness.

To be honest, I haven't watched "The Real World" in more than five years, ever since the watershed "Las Vegas" season, when producers stopped trying to pretend the series had any social significance and just cast a bunch of horny, ready-to-party train wrecks (not surprisingly, this was the first season in which "the hot tub" became an important member of the cast). Nor do I have anything in common with anyone on the current cast — I actually think they're all pretty awful people, especially the unholy triumvirate of Kimberly, Sarah and Joey. But I've always envied any city that was lucky enough to play host to "The Real World," primarily because it was sort of like landing the Coolness Olympics or something.

I never could understand why residents of Chicago's Wicker Park tried to sabotage production of the show back in 2001, or why people in the Old City section of Philly blew a gasket when "The Real World" started filming there in 2004. To me, those people should've considered themselves honored that Bunim/Murray selected their city as an "RW" location. It meant that they lived in the most awesome place on Earth. I remember growing up in Orlando and hearing rumblings that my city might play host to a season of the show back in 1996. Needless to say, I somehow felt that my entire existence was somehow being validated, that I was living somewhere cool enough to be on MTV! (Dude, I was, like, 17 at the time — what do you want from me?)

So now, more than a decade later, I am finally getting my wish. "The Real World" is coming to my 'hood. And gentrification be damned, I can't wait. The show might not have the same cultural clout it did when I was growing up (if it has any), but on some level, I still feel validated that it's here. It's not as if Brooklyn is "the real world" anyway — though most who live here tend to think it is — and if the show's presence will help piss off the holier-than-thou kids who haunt Bedford Avenue, well, then I welcome the show even more. And plus, in 10 to 15 years, I'll be able to show my kids the episodes and be like, "You see how dumb things were where Mommy and Daddy lived?"

It'll be great.

So yay, "Real World" castmembers! Welcome to my humble 'hood. Please feel free to ruin my favorite record store or punch me in the face at a bar. Be sure to pop your collars proudly and pull your skirts up with aplomb! Brooklyn will probably never be the same, but hey, it hasn't been the same in, like, a decade, so who gives a sh--? And to all my friends living in different corners of the globe: I've finally made it! And no, you can't sleep on my couch this summer. You'll just have to wait until the producers of "The Real World" decide to come to your lousy, two-bit town. Psssh, like that would ever happen. Losers.

5ive Style

Slightly Less Than A Half-Dozen Of My Favorite Things On The Internet This Week, So Named For A Post-Rock Group That No One Probably Remembers.

1. The Constantines' "Hard Feelings" Video: The sound of sweat stains on blue collars, cigarette burns on carpets and empty Labatts on the floorboards, and that's just Bry Webb's growl. The Cons are getting too old for this sh--, only it's not clear whether they want to bemoan that fact or celebrate it. So on "Hard Feelings," they do both. The air-raid organ sounds like a factory whistle, and the pelvis-adjusting guitars recall a beery Saturday night. Or, as a MySpace commenter astutely puts it, "It's like a Godzilla movie, except instead of destroying the city, you just rock." Totally.

2. Heidi and Spencer's Mother's Day Bonanza: Is there a White Guy Hall of Fame yet? And if so, why isn't Spencer Pratt in it? If the "Heidi-and-Spencer's-Patriotic-Makeout" photos were his 500 home runs, consider this latest batch his 3,000th career hit. Kid's a mortal lock at this point.

3. Random Awesome-Yet-Inexplicable Photos That Pop Up When You Google "Mt. Lushmore": Perhaps more inexplicable than why you were Googling "Mt. Lushmore" in the first place.

4. Steve Novick for U.S. Senate: He is 4-foot-9. He has a commercial in which he opens a beer with his hook hand. He sells "Left Hook Lager" and "Hooked on Novick" T-shirts through his official site. He is endorsed by a who's who of indie rockers, including Chris Walla and Britt Daniel (oh, and Stone Gossard too). Oregonians, we trust we can rely on your vote.

5. The Best "Hills" Parody Ever: It really is. Make sure you stick around until the very end. Trust me.

Questions? Concerns? Jealous hillbilly e-mails? Send 'em to me at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.

See Also

Sopranos duo on awards shortlist

'The Sopranos' stars James II Gandolfini and Edie Genus Falco are among the nominees in the TV categories for the Screen door Actors Social club Awards in the US.
Gandolfini is nominated in the Best Worker in a Drama Series class along with Michael C Hall ('Dexter'), Jon Hamm ('Mad Men'), Hugh Laurie ('House') and Saint James the Apostle Spader ('Boston Legal').
Genus Falco is joined on the Charles Herbert Best Actress in a Drama Series short list by Glenn Close ('Damages'), Crack Subject ('Brothers & Sisters'), Charles Hardin Holley Orion ('Saving Grace') and Kyra Sedgwick ('The Closer').
The nominees for Topper Histrion in a Clowning Series are: Alec 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley ('30 Rock'), Steve Carell ('The Office'), Ricky Gervais ('Extras'), Jeremy Piven ('Entourage') and Tony Shalhoub ('Monk').
'Ugly Betty' stars USA Ferrera and Genus Vanessa William Carlos Williams ar both nominated for Best Actress in a Funniness Serial publication and are joined by Christina Applegate ('Samantha WHO?'), Tina Fey ('30 Rock') and Mary-Louise Dorothy Rothschild Parker ('Weeds').
The casts of 'Boston Legal', 'The Closer', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Mad Men' and 'The Sopranos' ar whole nominated in the Outstanding Performance by an Supporting players in a Drama Serial category.
The stars of '30 Rock', 'Desperate Housewives', 'Entourage', 'The Office' and 'Ugly Betty' are totally nominated in the Outstanding Performance by an Supporting players in a Funniness Series category.

Aggie is booted off Dancing on Ice

'How Clean Is Your Family?' sponsor Aggie Mackenzie has been voted off the reality prove 'Dancing on Ice'.
The telecasting star topology was forced to vie in the skate-off against javelin champion Steve Backley when they were both placed in the merchant ship deuce as a termination of the public vote.
Wholly of the five judges chose to relieve Backley, sending home Sir Alexander Mackenzie.
Fellow member of the judgment panel Jason Samuel Rawson Gardiner said: "I wish we could catch rid of both of them."