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Nz’s Flight Of The Conchords Go From Strength To Strength; Countdown To Local Media Claiming Them As ‘Ours’ Starts… Now

2:15PM Clem Bastow | New Zealand’s ex-struggling musical comics Flight Of The Conchords keep kicking goals since breaking the US market; first they were picked up by HBO, signed to SubPop, then they won a Grammy for Best Comedy Release, and now they’re even charting in the states. Naturally this means our local press, tired of Australians’ not succeeding overseas (see: Oscars “disappointment” etc), will soon do a number on Flight Of The Conchords and claim them in much the same way we did Russell Crowe, Crowded House and Whale Rider. The self-titled album from Flight of the Conchords, who have their own show on cable channel HBO, sold 52,000 copies in the week ended April 27, according to tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan. In the process, they outsold pop idol Ashlee Simpson, whose new album opened at No.4 with 47,000 copies. Bittersweet World marks her first release that did not go to No.1. Top work, eh bros! Stick that in yer chilly bin and, er, smoke it. Although beating Ashlee Simpson to chart supremacy doesn’t really wash with the whole ’struggling musos’ aesthetic of their show, who cares? Coldplay have been singing songs about failing and being unlucky in love for years now! More »

Jessica Alba, By The Numbers: Rotten To The Core

8:51AM Mark Graham | Our first indication that something might be awry with Jessica Alba’s career came not when that guy on TRL told her that getting pregnant was “Not cool, dude”, but rather when we saw the one-sheet for her new movie, The Eye. While certainly a captivating Photoshop job (ish), we found it fairly bizarre that Lionsgate would choose NOT to use the beautiful visage of one of the most lusted-after actresses in the world to promote their film. But then we did some research on Rotten Tomatoes and realized something very important. Save for fanboy fave Sin City, no one really seems to have liked any of the films she’s starred in. More »

Natalie Gauci Sets The Charts On Fire (If By “Fire” You Mean “Damp Squib”)

2:40PM Clem Bastow | Looks like the Idol curse has claimed another female winner and Natalie Gauci’s debut single, Here I Am, has limped in at a “disappointing” #2. This gives her the dubious honour of being the first Australian Idol winner not to have their single debut in the top spot, and is – all in all – a rather fitting end for the fifth season of the talent quest, which looks to have terminal rot setting in. It debuted at No.2 with the less-than-stellar response partly due to the sledgling it got from Idol runner-up Matt Corby. Gauci herself had admitted she as at first confused by the song but her overhaul of the track written by American hitmakers Lindy Robbins and Tom Leonard was undoubtedly a far better version than Corby offered. …Download sales have yet to skyrocket in Australia hampered by broadband speeds. Even though Gauci’s Here I Am was available via Bigpond straight after her win a week ago, it only reached No.3 on ARIAs Digital Track Chart. Well, honestly, Blind Deaf Dumb Freddie could have told you this would be the likely result. If they insist on importing these wet power ballads for Idol releases, they need to be prepared for this result. Maybe back in 1997 when Faith Hill was big news they could’ve gotten away with it, but the Kids Of Today™ want something with a happening beat! More »