Friday, February 1, 2008
The Fragrant World Of Morrissey
2:26PM Jess McGuire | We meant to alert you to this last week, but it’s been a busy seven days and we just plum forgot. Our sincere apologies. In any case, if you’re a fan of The Smiths and/or Morrissey, you may be interested in this article in The Times about one writer’s experience working as a roadie for Morrissey. Andrew Winters may have only lasted a day (what went wrong – was it the shirt? The “what was the first record you bought” question?) but his insights into the world of Mozza are fascinating.
Then, at about 5.30pm there is the bleep of simultaneous texts arriving and the band drop instruments and set about a bit of grooming. We have been summoned to the pub, a well-known Morrissey hang-out. I arrive with the band and crew. We have tables reserved in the beer garden.
“Be careful, Andrew,” someone warns me. “Moz hates people who are boring . . . but then, he also hates people being too pushy around him. Establishing common ground quickly is important.”
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An Interesting Comment Regarding The Infamous Heath Ledger Video
1:55PM Jess McGuire | We read the following comment on the Perth Now website about the grainy video of Heath Ledger talking about his drug use, and felt we had to share it with you. If the author of the comment is factually correct regarding parts of the video we’ve not been shown by overeager “news” outlets, the programs playing the footage and claiming it as proof Ledger had a drug problem should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Funny, I have checked Perth Now periodically hoping to find some “real” news on Heath’s burial and how his family is doing – information I thought this local news source might be following on one of its own citizens – but instead I find myself reading misquoted information from other news sources.
From Perth Now: “announced that they would drop plans to air a video OF THE ACTOR SNORTING COCAINE with a rolled-up bill at Hollywood hotel Chateau Marmont…” Um…there IS NO video of Heath snorting cocaine. This is what The New York Post does state: Quote: “Ledger is seen standing in the doorway of a room where the party was taking place, swigging from a beer bottle. The actor is heard saying that he was “going to get serious (word bleeped) from my girlfriend” for being at the party. The show made clear that THERE WAS NOTHING ON THE VIDEO SHOWING LEDGER TAKING ANY DRUG. At one point, however, the then-26-year-old said he “used to smoke five joints a day.” But a person who has seen the entire video, who asked not to be identified because of its sensitive nature, said LEDGER THEN POINTS TO HIS TATTOO OF “M” (FOR HIS DAUGHTER, MATILDA ROSE) AND SAYS, “THIS IS TO REMIND ME NEVER TO SMOKE WEED AGAIN.” That part of the quote was NOT used in Wednesday’s preview.” End quote.
More » ‘Ivy’ Officially Opens Its Doors, Provides Brandon Davis With A Place To Rest His Greasy Bones While In Sydney
11:38AM Jess McGuire | Remember when nightclub maestro Justin Hemmes was fighting for his right to party at his new nightclub ‘Ivy’ last year? The Fuzz were trying to deny him a liquor license, and Justin in turn delivered a speech so powerful, so moving, it was as though he was a white Martin Luther King born with an unquenchable thirst for money and throwing shindigs.
“I am pleading with the police not to stamp out the dream. The government bodies such as the police should be bending over backwards to help innovative and creative developments. The police want the Ivy to be safe and we want it to be safe, and we should be working together. We are not just talking about a little pub on the corner – this is going to be revolutionary, a holistic experience.”
Thankfully, it seems Justin’s stirring words helped things along, and yesterday ‘Ivy’ officially declared itself open for patronage by the young, rich, and dim – or perhaps the poor with big dreams. Whatever.
With builders still at work on the final three stages of the George St monolith, lunchtime crowds settled in for the first time while action continued around them.
And with six bars and two restaurants now open, Hemmes told Confidential “there’s a few nooks and crannies to settle into” for a star spotting session.
Jennifer Hawkins and Jake Wall hit the hot spot at a preview party on New Year’s Day, and US playboy, Brandon Davies asked about reserving the penthouse in the Ivy’s new hotel.
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This Song Is Making Our Heart Sing!
10:13AM Jess McGuire | We love M. Ward to bits, and we are also rather partial to actress Zooey Deschanel. What if one could find a way to put the two together? Someone has, thank the musical gods, and the result is a collaboration they’ve sweetly dubbed She And Him.
She And Him are releasing their first album in March, but in the meantime the single is called ‘Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?’ and we can’t stop listening to it and wishing M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel were some sort of dessert, sitting in a bowl right here in front of us, so we could literally eat them up with a fucking spoon.
Thanks to Stereogum, you can download the track for yourself! Oh yes!
It has made our Friday a happy one, even though we are very worried about Britney and also a little hungry. More » 
New Single From Bluejuice – ‘The Reductionist’
9:56AM Jess McGuire | We were pleasantly surprised on over the weekend to check our email and discover an email from the lads in Bluejuice. They remembered that time way back in the crazy days of August 2007 when we “hit up” the video for the excellent ‘Vitriol’ and were emailing to personally thank us for being the main reason the song landed in the Triple J Hottest 100 at the enviable #11 position.
Remember, kids – #11 IS TWICE AS GOOD AS #1 BECAUSE IT FEATURES THE ‘1′ 50% MORE! Or something. We don’t really know, we haven’t had our coffee yet.
Okay, okay… the Bluejuice guys didn’t really attribute their Triple J Hottest 100 standing to Defamer Australia’s embedding happy ways last year, but they did give us a nice little virtual roadmap with directions to their latest clip for The Reductionist. Enjoy it for yourself below.
More » YouTube Clip Of The Day
9:47AM Jess McGuire | Alright, technically it’s not actually from YouTube (we really boxed ourselves into a corner when we bestowed such a specific title to this feature, didn’t we?) but it is a “clip” and today is a “day” so we shall make the best of things.
Also, the following clip made us feel strange. If we were the type to use emoticons, we’d sum it up with :|
REMEMBER – IF YOU SPY SOMETHING WORTHY OF BEING A YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE DAY FEATURE HERE ON DEFAMER AUSTRALIA, SHOOT US AN EMAIL AND GIVE US A HEADS UP! More » 
2008 Oscars To Come In Fully-Loaded And Economy Models
9:40AM Seth | With the giant, overturned hourglass in the courtyard of the Hollywood & Highland complex trickling sand until its final grains pass through it at the strike of midnight on February 24, producers of the Oscars ceremony are continuing to stick to their pledge that come hell or high water, audiences looking for four-plus mind-numbing hours of premium trophy distribution won’t walk away disappointed: More »
‘Late Night’ Presents: ‘Conanfield’
9:30AM Mark | NBC Universal’s Conanfield has reinvigorated the moribund monologue-monster-attack genre! A triumph! · The Bachelor’s most memorable season finale dumpee gets a second chance at fake-love. · Star Jones has been “rebranded” right out of a job. · Isabella Rossellini has moved on to bug porn. [via BoingBoing] This year’s Super Bowl ads will be “gentle and sweet”; except, you know, for that one where Justin Timberlake gets repeatedly smashed in the junk. More »
Stylist To The Stars Phillip Bloch Requests That You Give His Grieving Clients Space At This Difficult Time
9:25AM Seth | Like a pencil-moustached, beret-sporting fly on the wall of showbiz’s innermost circles, celebrity-stylist to the celebrity-stars Phillip Bloch possesses a formidable amount of insight into the Hollywood condition. So much so, in fact, that ABCNews.com has granted Bloch his very own opinion column, in which he can weigh in on any number of pressing celebrity matters, from the foot-anorexia epidemic currently ravishing young Hollywood’s emaciated tootsies, to his compelling treatise on how the death of gifting suites is hurtling our society towards freebieless anarchy. More »
