Friday, September 21, 2007

Dude, The Foo Fighters Came Through For The Beaconsfield Miners!

2:09PM Jess McGuire | In a story sure to warm the cockles of even the most icy of hearts this plodding Friday, it seems All Round Rock And Roll Good Guy TM and frontman of Foo Fighters, Sir Dave Grohl Esq, has delivered on a solemn oath made to Brant Webb and Todd Russell last year. The wife of Beaconsfield mine survivor Brant Webb has thanked American band the Foo Fighters for coming good on a promise to compose a song about the ordeal. Frontman Dave Grohl has confirmed that an instrumental inspired by the rockfall and subsequent tale of survival in northern Tasmania will feature on the band’s new album. … Grohl composed Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners during the band’s three-night acoustic tour at the Sydney Opera House last October, performing it when the Webb’s attended the show. After the Sydney Opera House gig, the band and the Webbs enjoyed “many” beers and Grohl gave his word the composition would feature on their sixth studio album, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. “I thought I’d write something for him,” Grohl told Rolling Stone magazine. “I came up with this instrumental thing. After the show, we went and got f—kin’ wasted in the hotel bar and I was like, ‘Dude, I promise I’m going to put this on the record’.” This story is especially inspiring when one considers just how many rock promises starting with the word “Dude…” have been broken over the years. A couple that spring to mind are - - “Dude, I’ll see you at the studio, just going to do a few laps of the pool first…” (Brian Jones) - “Dude, everyone’ll be so focused on the tunes, they’ll barely notice I’m in the band! Dogstar’s gonna be respected for our talent!” (Keanu Reeves) More »

Idol Lulz, With Love From The Gossip

12:26PM Clem Bastow | You don’t often get to hear just what some of the more “indie” artists who’ve been covered on Idol actually think of their 1.50-minute “reimaginings” – well, thank goodness for MySpaz! Apparently a little bird told The Gossip about Holly Weinert’s ill-fated cover of their Standing In The Way Of Control, so they sent out a MySpace bulletin to make their feelings known – and here’s what they thought (click on the photo to see it in its full glory): Gold, gold for Australia! Though hopefully Holly hadn’t made the mistake of sending them an add-request in time to see their reaction to her.gift of questionable song choice. Thanks and big wet kisses to Adrian for the tip! More »

Normally Money-Hungry Social Climber Remarkably Stops Short Of Rummaging In Stool Sample For £10,000 Diamond

9:15AM Clem Bastow | We realise that Tara Palmer-Tomkinson is probably a foreign name to anyone who isn’t the most ardent Tatler reader (though she occasionally turns up as filler in “PERILOUSLY SKINNY STARS” style stories in NW), but this little piece was too good to pass up. We’ll let Tara do the talking. “A man took me out to dinner in Paris and he put the diamond in the chocolate pudding. But he had too much to drink, he forgot to tell me it was there, I ate the whole pudding. So it wasn’t really my fault.” And despite being advised to watch out for its re-emergence from her body, Tara decided to forget about it. “Well it wasn’t a solitaire,” she laughed. We’re sure this will lead to Tara telling potential suitors that she’s so classy she poos jewels, but it just makes us think of the old “you’re such a tight arse that if you swallowed coal you’d shit diamonds” line. Which is probably fairly accurate, anyway. More »

Fame Has Sent This Mouldy Peach Dotti

8:55AM Clem Bastow | Just-legal Peaches Geldof (pictured here wondering why she is famous again) is growing up to be as well behaved as her mum and as charming as her dad, acting up in Sydney while in town as the face of Dotti. The celebutante cracked the shits after leaving a hairdresser, wearing a shopping bag over her head to apparently avoid the frenzy of snappers she predicted would be waiting for her. She finally faced up to media but was more sour grapes than peaches and cream, claiming the stunt was a way to avoid the spotlight in star-starved Australia, reports fashion editor Jen Melocco. “I don’t usually wear bags on my head,” she said, but did it because “you don’t have any celebrities here and I have been bombarded. The only celebrity you have is Harold from Neighbours.” Charming! And this inflated-ego trip from a girl in town to represent a chain store a few rungs down on the fashion ladder from Supré? We’d say she needs a good smack on the bum from her dad, but then Saint Bob would probably organise a benefit concert raising funds to shut us down for cruelty to socialites, or something. More »

Amy Winehouse Round-Up: Uh, Guess We Spoke Too Soon

8:51AM Clem Bastow | Well, we got all excited about Winegums winning an award yesterday, but it was only a matter of time before the more traditional Winegums news started filtering in, and, well here it is! Amy has got the trifecta today, with all three of our favourite British rags a twitter about her behaviour at the MOBO Awards ceremony. Here’s the Mail, on the topic of her, er, extensive rider: The singer’s backstage requests might have satisfied an entire rock band. On the “essential” list handed to the O2 Arena were one large bottle of vodka, two bottles of Jack Daniels and two more bottles of Veuve Cliquot, not to mention two bottles of red Rioja wine and 48 of Heineken beer. Apparently she asked for some chicken drumsticks and a bit of fruit, but was later seen practicing the Take Y.O. mantra and heading home clutching some of said champagne. The Mirror also detailed Winegums’ after-show activities (though not before jibing that she probably wouldn’t remember any of them the morning after). Later, she enjoyed the backstage pampering lounge where she was given dozens of bottles of luxury Caviar Cream – at £300 a pop. Organisers also commissioned a diamond teddy-bear (£12,000) and a sparkly devil pendant (£8,000) as gifts for her candle-lit dressing room. A sparkly devil pendant?? Did they also make a showbag with a “This Bitch Bites!” baby-tee and a “My Other Car Is A Broomstick” bumper sticker? Finally, leave it to Saint Victoria Newton to stick the boot in, with the Sun’s gossip goddess no doubt giving Winegums pause to recall what it was like when your usually-friendly Grade 3 teacher suddenly shouted at everyone. Oh well, as Meat Loaf always says, two out of three ain’t bad, Winegums. More »

American Apparel Saves At Least Twenty Bucks By Contracting Lohan-A-Like

8:00AM Defamer Hollywood | If the American Apparel folks really wanted to feature “a Lindsay Lohan type” in one of their trademarked, porny hipster-underthings ads so badly, they should have just waited for her to get back from Cirque Lodge. With the underwhelming critical response to her last project and all those insurability issues awaiting her upon her return home to Los Angeles, they almost certainly could’ve obtained the services of the genuine article for a surprisingly reasonable quote. -Latest American Apparel model looks an AWFUL lot like Lindsay Lohan, no? [Copyranter] More »

Celebrity Self-medication

7:30AM Defamer Hollywood | No longer trying to hide the debilitating orphan addiction he’s developed up since beginning a relationship with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt admits that he uses kids to make the pain go away. [People] More »

Will Joan Rivers Terrorise Red Carpets For VH-1?

7:00AM Defamer Hollywood | Many awards show viewers still long for the heyday of the late ’90s, when unsuspecting stars would recoil in terror upon being accosted by Grand Frock Inquisitioner Joan Rivers, followed closely behind by loyal henchspawn Melissa, one finger held to her ear as she received instruction on the proper pronunciation of “Benicio Del Toro.” Alas, after being bumped from their now-legendary E! gig, and banished from the TV Guide Channel kingdom for rumoured “difficult” behaviour, the only place Emmy watchers can turn these days for a Rivers fix is online, at VH1’s Emmys With Joan. Gold Derby’s Tom O’Neil wonders if the pair’s seemingly shameful banishment to the slums of the blogowebs doesn’t perhaps bode well, suggesting the network might take a short break from finding Flavour Flav the skank of his dreams to secure Joan and Melissa a spot on the red carpet: More »