The Showdown & other: May 2008

Saturday, 31 May 2008

Ray Charles and Quincy Jones

Artist: Ray Charles and Quincy Jones

   Genre(s):
Jazz

Discography:

Genius+Soul=Jazz

Year:
Tracks: 10

Thursday, 29 May 2008

Shia Labeouf - Labeouf Trying To Get Dad Out Of His Garage

SHIA LABEOUF is struggling to evict his dad from the garage of his Los Angeles home.

Vietnam veteran Jeffrey LaBeouf spends his summers living in a teepee in Montana and his winters staying with his movie star son - but this year (08) the actor's father has yet to move on.

And the Transformers star admits he can't bring himself to kick his dad out.

LaBeouf, 21, says, "We've got this little air mattress set up for him. It's very comfortable.

"But now it's not winter anymore and he's still there. But I can't go there and go, `Hey dad. Listen it's time to go back.' I can't make him leave."

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The Game - The Game Lloyd Banks Will Be Next To Leave G-unit

Rapper THE GAME is predicting another member of G-UNIT will be fired - and he is convinced LLOYD BANKS will be next.

The Dreams hitmaker was the first to be booted from 50 Cent's group in 2005, and Young Buck followed in April this year (08), after falling out with the superstar over royalty payments.

The Game - real name Jayceon Taylor - claims he forsaw Young Buck's departure from the crew "like four years, three years" ago, and he's now putting his money on 50's cohort Banks being ditched.

Speaking on New York radio station Hot 97, he says, "After that (Buck leaving), it's Banks, but I don't think that (G-Unit co-founder Tony) Yayo will ever break they (sic) thing because they got they (sic) real boo lovin' thing down. Banks is going to be next, man."

And The Game blames 50 Cent's lack of leadership qualities for the line-up changes - advising him to look to legendary rapper/producer and Aftermath Records founder Dr. Dre for tips.

He adds, "50 needs to change his ways. Until then, you gonna see his empire dismantle itself.

"It's like a totem pole. Dre worked with Pac (Tupac Shakur), then he found Snoop (Dogg). ...Dre found Snoop, and let Snoop blow up. Look at Snoop today, Dre never stopped Snoop from blowing up. Dre had helped Snoop, and it was in good business. Then Dre found a white boy from Detroit, and he came in... Dre gave Eminem the chance to blow and they never stopped. Then they gave it to 50, and let him blow. 50 didn't pass the baton like that man. ... (50 Cent) wanted everybody to be soldiers forever, forever, forever, forever... and grow old... That will never hold up."

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Red Hot Chili Peppers - Red Hot Chili Peppers Take A Year Off

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS have split - for now.

Frontman Anthony Kiedis has confirmed the rockers have disbanded after the recording of their last album Stadium Arcadium and the tour that followed became a "gruelling, long haul".

He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "We didn't really stop until the tour ended last year. We were all emotionally and mentally zapped at the end of that run.

"Cooler heads prevailed and the discussion at the end of our last tour was, 'Let's not do anything Red Hot Chili Peppers related for a minimum of one year, and just live and breathe and eat and learn new things.'"

And the break came at the perfect time for the band: "I was about to have a brand new son. Flea is very inspired to re-up his musical direction and ability and skill and he wants to learn new stuff. John (Frusciante) has been firing away on his own, making different solo projects.

"And Chad (Smith) joined a jazz band and went to Japan. I'm just home, hanging out with this really cool little kid, learning how to surf."

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Choir embodies 'African spirit' (+video)

The Soweto Gospel Choir embarks on a New Zealand tour this month. The two-time Grammy award-winning choir promises a blend of the emotive power of gospel with the energy of traditional African music.The songs are sung from the heart, says Mmy Jiyane, who references the 1976 Soweto Uprising in South Africa. "Those are the songs that made us have hope, and say one day it's going to happen, we are going to be free one day."The choir sings in six languages, but even if you don't understand the words, "You get these rich harmonies, you get these beautiful costumes...you get a young choir that sings their hearts out."The concert dates are as follows:Wednesday 28 May - Auckland Town HallFriday 30 May - Napier Municipal TheatreSaturday 31 May - St James Theatre, WellingtonTuesday 3 June - Christchurch Town HallTickets are available from Ticketek.- NZ HERALD STAFF

Just a minute with Christina Ricci on "Speed Racer"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Christina Ricci, who first hit the big screen opposite Cher in "Mermaids" at age 10, has been a Hollywood fixture for nearly two decades.

In her latest project, "Speed Racer," Ricci stars as Trixie, the title character's precocious girlfriend.

The action-packed family film about race car drivers is Ricci's biggest movie in years. For most of her adult career the actress has mainly acted in low-budget independent

films.

Over pasta and iced tea at a Los Angeles restaurant, Ricci, 28, talked to Reuters about "Speed Racer," getting older, and what she would do if she wasn't acting.

Q: You've been acting since you were 10. Did you ever think about doing anything else?

A: "Sometimes you are like -- worst case scenario: what other skills do I have? And I always think I'm good at listening to people. I could be a therapist ... I could be a life coach. I'm good at telling people what to do. I really enjoy that immensely."

Q: Are you like that in your own life, too?

Sudden Impact - 6/3/2008

The fourth installment in the Dirty Harry series (7 years after the third) has the unlikely tale of Eastwood's Callahan after a murderous woman bend on revenge against the men who raped her and her sister 10 years earlier. Features the first appearance of "Go ahead, make my day." Also note that the movie was later aped as Basic Instinct, right down to the San Francisco setting.

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