News

Robert Pattinson’s Haircut More Shocking Than Metallica’s in 1995

Stephen Blackwell :: Monday, May 24th, 2010 3:45 pm

Somebody got a haircut! Robert Pattinson has sheared his gravity-defying locks for a role in a new movie, Water for Elephants. For the role, he will use substantially less pomade. I can’t verify this, but I assume he went through half a jar of “Crew” on a typical day on the Twilight set. If I’ve learned anything from Twilight it’s this: Never put anything that isn’t water soluble in your hair. Then it gets all sticky.

Fans of Pattinson (every girl on earth?) are mourning the loss of “the world’s dreamiest hair,” as their opinions spread across the internet like disappointed, whiny little fires. It will grow back, ladies — Pattinson isn’t going to look like Sgt. Slaughter forever.

The polarizing effect of Pattinson “debuting” his haircut only brings one other haircut event to mind equal in acrimony and dissent: when Metallica cut their hair in 1995 before releasing the album Load. Good thing Metallica didn’t have to deal with the Internet back then. But now that they do, let’s re-live when every man in America called them pussies. MORE »

Breaking Dawn Stars Ask Summit to Up the Ante

Shannon Hassett :: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 3:30 pm

A movie is nothing without its cast, and that goes tenfold for a series. You are building a brand around your stars, as films have long since been the stuff of artistry or taste. Even when they did possess potential, the knowledge that your trilogy was only as good as its lead’s staying power was not lost on directors. Imagine Indiana Jones or Han Solo as anyone but Harrison Ford — you can’t — and that’s half the reason those movies have left such a lasting impression. We grow comfortable with the characters; we can predict their behavior and take pleasure in that familiarity. This is also why contracts exist, so even when the star grows sick of the role, they are legally bound to stick around for the full run of the films. MORE »

Twilight’s Baby Brainwash: Jacob and Isabella Top Name List

Shannon Hassett :: Friday, May 7th, 2010 1:15 pm

I think I may have just thrown up in my mouth. The two most popular names for baby boys and girls this year were Jacob and Isabella. As in, Jacob and Isabella the two leading characters from “Twilight”. While Jacob may be unrelated to the Stephanie Meyer induced mayhem — it’s been the most popular name for boys in the U.S. for the past 11 years — Isabella made a meteoric rise from the top 1,000 in 1990 to the Top Ten in 2004 and now number one, ousting former front runner Emma into number two. If you’re still not convinced the trend has anything to do with “Twilight,” consider this: Cullen (Pattinson plays vampire Edward Cullen) was the fastest rising name this year, jumping from 782 to 485. I would have gone for Sookie myself, but with Nevaeh coming in at 34 (that’s Heaven spelled backwards), my tastes are clearly behind the rest of the country’s. MORE »

Pattinson Will Not Play Cobain (But Here’s Who Should)

Shannon Hassett :: Friday, April 9th, 2010 6:45 pm

There are two types of Nirvana fans in this world: those who would murder Robert Pattinson before letting him play Kurt Cobain and those who wouldn’t. It’s no secret that I am of the former, and the article this morning released by Britain’s The Sun suggesting he had been cast as such had everyone in our rank up in arms. While the piece has since been declared false by Courtney Love’s manager via Spin, it contained a number of other notable casting rumors, including Scarlett Johansson as Love and David Fincher (of Seven and Fight Club fame) as director. MORE »

Eclipse Trailer: Kid Tested, Abstinence Approved

Shannon Hassett :: Thursday, March 11th, 2010 1:35 pm

What the hell am I supposed to do until June 30, Edward? You trounce around the trailer all pale and pouty, proclaiming your love for Bella and doing that almost-makeout makeout shit that drives the Mormons wild. You continue to deny Bella her deserved bite, and then we have a mostly shirtless Jacob just trying to get his dick wet. Bella is sans KStew’s real life mullet, so it’s at least mildly plausible that she would be the meat to this mancandy sandwich du jour. The music was dramatic, the sexual tension immense and that red headed bitch is back in a serious way (well not the original bitch, this time it’s Ron Howard’s daughter, which is fine because the whole thing is really better off for its poor acting anyway). And in case you’d forgotten what the release of the Eclipse trailer means, here’s a reminder that the best is yet to come.

Corey Haim, 38, Dead From Drug Overdose

Nick Clar :: Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 2:50 pm

Today, “The Two Coreys” have been reduced to one with the passing of Corey Haim, 38, disrupting the natural balance of life early this morning. The constant Jekyll to Corey Feldman’s Hyde, Haim reportedly died from an accidental drug overdose at his home in Burbank, CA.

Police are currently unsure of what Haim overdosed on and say that his mother was home at the time of his death. Haim is among the large stock of eighties teen idols, and starred in seven movies with Feldman, most notably vampire flick Lost Boys (a darker, badder-ass Twilight), high school drama Lucas, and License to Drive. Like many teen idols of the eighties, Haim’s popularity and appeal waned with roles in small budget and straight-to-video films in the early nineties. Still, in 2007 and 2008, A&E reunited the Corey’s for a reality series that followed Haim, unemployed, single and slovenly, as he moved in with Feldman, a clean-living adult and husband.

Haim wasn’t cut out for living in general, say nothing of clean living. Here’s a quote from him: “I think maybe ten years from now, I’m hopefully going to be, in like, Tahiti or something. Kicking back like in my huge mansion, if everything goes right. It’s all up to me.” Sad.

Download Two Elliott Smith Tracks

Adam Kearney :: Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 6:00 pm

Kill Rock Stars is reissuing two Elliott Smith CDs on April 6, 2010, and they are offering a free download from each album. You can download “Last Call” off Elliott’s first solo album Roman Candle, and “Twilight” on From A Basement On A Hill, which was released posthumously in 2004. Roman Candle, originally put out by Cavity Search Records in Portland, has been remastered by Roger Seibel and Larry Crane- the editor of Tape Op Magazine and the archivist for Elliott’s family. Kill Rock Stars has engulfed the rights to all of Elliott’s independent albums, which is cool, because when KRS founder Slim Moon first listened to Roman Candle he said it “completely blew my mind.”

The Life-Size Edward Cullen/Robert Pattinson Pillow Is Freakish

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 5:55 pm

…for a few reasons.

1) Think of the demographic for this thing. It makes for a terrifying mental image.

2) As has been pointed out by the commenters on the seller’s webpage, it looks a lot more like Barry Manilow. Is he slated to play the new pouty, glittery half man/half beast who competes with the other two freaks for that girl’s affection in the next movie? Did I miss those headlines? Personally, I think Manilow could be great in the role of a brooding centaur.

Sea Wolf release new single “O Maria!,” tour with The Album Leaf

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 5:55 pm

L.A.-based Sea Wolf are soon beginning a ten-day tour with fellow Californians The Album Leaf, an ambient- and electronic-focused band. The tour will span the West Coast, starting on February 3rd.
Sea Wolf is the project name for singer/songwriter Alex Church and a revolving line-up of musicians. The single, “O Maria!” will be released to radio stations in late January. It is a track from the 2009 album White Water, White Bloom. In addition to this project, Sea Wolf contributed a song to the surprisingly indie-inflected Twilight: New Moon soundtrack entitled “The Violet Hour.” Church will also be hosting MTV2’s “Subterranean” in the next few months.

More Vampire Than You Require

Stephen Blackwell :: Thursday, November 19th, 2009 5:00 pm

New Moon, the next film installment of the Twilight book series, opens tomorrow. Conservative estimates suggest the vampire teen-love story will exceed the $70.5 million opening weekend Twilight scored, while others suggest the film will gross over $85 million in weekend ticket sales.

True Blood racked up 5.1 million viewers its debut weekend this summer and continued onward and upward as girls swooned over Viking vampire Eric Northman’s story arc.

In music, one of the biggest pop bands of the moment is called Vampire Weekend.

As you know, it’s vampire time. Our culture invests a lot in the fantasy, which is a bit at odds with the election of our first black president, considering vampires are symbols of white supremacy. MORE »

According to MTV News, “Twilight” Only Important Thing in World

Brenna Ehrlich :: Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 12:50 pm

Remember when MTV used to be cool? I don’t either. But I feel like at one point it was at least a little less smack in the middle of the mainstream.

1-Question Q&A: Hurricane Bells

Amelia Kreminski :: Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 3:00 pm

The B-side “Monsters” from your debut album, Tonight Is The Ghost, found its way onto the New Moon soundtrack. If you met the vampire Edward Cullen (heartbreaking star of the upcoming film) in real life, how would you defeat him in a battle to the death? MORE »

Vampires Drink Blood, Have Sex, Boost Music Sales

Stephen Blackwell :: Friday, October 30th, 2009 12:45 pm

There’s no end in sight for vampiremania (unless that cheesy allegory starring Ethan Hawke kills it), so we might as well let the vampire’s ability to enrapture us slip into every facet of our lives.

The music industry has been galmoured.

The New Moon soundtrack is number one on the billboard charts this week. It was released last week ahead of schedule because of overwhelming demand. That’s correct, music had to be released early because of overwhelming demand. That’s probably never going to happen again.

As we all know, the vampire thing going on right is that rare sort of cultural affair that children and teenagers go gaga over that also causes adults to be capricious and a bit jolly. Also, New Moon’s soundtrack is pretty rad. Track list after the jump. MORE »