Cable music station Channel [V] angered parents around the country when a marketing stunt went horribly wrong.
As part of their promotions for the DVD release of Will Ferrell’s skating flick Blades of Glory, the channel asked viewers to SMS their “favourite memories on ice.”
The network naïvely expected innocent tales of spills at ice skating rinks. Instead they were bombarded with messages recounting experiences using the methamphetamine known as “ice.”
Unfortunately, these controversial messages scrolled across the bottom of television screens around the country. Or they did until outraged parents caused the Foxtel switchboards to melt down. Whoops!
Foxtel is now in damage control after the embarrassing gaff.
Expect to see a sexy new side to Vanessa Amorosi when she becomes the face of Calvin Klein Jeans.
Vanessa’s music will also serve as the campaign’s soundtrack. Undercover said the ads may use Vanessa’s metal track “Perfect,” but nothing has been confirmed yet.
The Calvin Klein campaign is scheduled to commence next February. We should see a lot of Vanessa in 2008, as her second album is also due next year. She’s worked on this release since 2006 with high profile producers Cliff Magness and Chris Lord-Alge.
“His contribution over the past 30 years was never limited by geography or nationality and nor could it ever be described in terms of hit records, chart positions or radio airplay.
“He is an Australian artist like Sidney Nolan is an Australian artist – beyond comparison, beyond genre, beyond dispute.”
Nick Cave will join the other Hall of Fame artists for 2007 – Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons, Radio Birdman, Brian Cadd, Hoodoo Gurus, Marcia Hines and Frank Ifield – who were inducted in July.
Some of Australia’s top musicians have been recognised as some of the most influential members of the local gay and lesbian community. They are part of the Same Same 25, a list of iconic Australian gays and lesbians.
Darren Hayes made his name as one half of pop group Savage Garden. When the band dissolved in 2001, Darren set upon creating a more honest public persona. He came out in 2006, after marrying his partner Richard Cullen, and since then has spoken openly about his sexuality. He headlined the London Gay Pride event at Trafalgar Square in June.
iOTA began his career as a rock musician, but lately he’s better known for his gender-bending roles in musical theatre. He won a Helpmann award for his starring role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch this year, and will play Dr Frank N Furter in a 2008 production of The Rocky Horror Show.
“I never really ever thought of myself as a role model,” iOTA told Same Same. “Since hearing about this I’ve really sat and wondered why someone would see me as influential. Perhaps it’s because I’ve done good things? I’ve always thought that I was more of a bad influence than anything!”
You may not know his name, but I bet you’ve heard the music of David Page. He’s written pieces for the ABC, SBS, a range of short films, the Bangarra Dance Theatre, The Australian Ballet, the Sydney Olympics, and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games! With such an impressive résumé, you’d expect David to be a role model to many but he’s humble about his inclusion in the Same Same list.
“Well, you don’t usually think of being in that position when you’re just doing what you’re doing,” he told Same Same. “I love my work, I love what I do.”
Members of the public can visit the Same Same website to vote for their favourite members of the top 25.
Whether you’re an Idol fan or not, Friday night’s Australian Idol “Doin’ It For the Kids” concert should be worth watching.
Not only will the final six Idol finalists perform, we’ll also see performances from top entertainers The Rogue Traders, Darren Hayes, Katie Noonan, The Noll Brothers, and Vanessa Amorosi. Past Australian Idol graduates Damien Leith, Shannon Noll, and the Young Divas will also donate their time for this charity event.
Ronald McDonald House and Telstra Care Flight will share the night’s profits.
You can watch all the action from the comfort of your lounge room on Friday night. The two-hour special will air on Network Ten from 7.30 pm.
But if you want to get a little closer to the action, there’s still time to bid on some of the hottest seats around. If you’ve got a spare couple of thousand lying around, you could sit in the very chairs usually reserved for Dicko, Marcia, Mark, and Kyle. You can’t sit much closer to the stage than that! All proceeds raised by the auctions will also benefit the children’s charities. But be quick: these auctions close at 4 pm today.
Brit rapper M.I.A. took time out from her Australian tour to work with girls in a Sydney juvenile detention centre.
“[I was] asked if I’d go there to meet these teenagers in an all-girls juvenile detention centre and help them to make music … teach them. There were around 15 girls, aged from 13 to 20,” she told NME.
The Sri Lankan-born superstar donated her time to the Heaps Decent initiative, a program encouraging indigenous and disadvantaged young people to express themselves through music. Mad Decent and Modular plan to release the music recorded during the program.
“It was them beat-boxing and making noise,” M.I.A added. “We used the doors shutting in the prison; all the random noises they made to make the beat, and then we made sure that all the girls got a go rapping on it and stuff, and they just did their thing. It was really cool.”
Way to go M.I.A! It’s great to hear about a star that’s more interested in being a positive role model than the party-hard celebrity lifestyle.
As a writer I try my best to stay relatively unbiased. But I’ve got to tell you, I’m reeling from last night’s Australian Idol announcement. It was a verdict show that no one predicted, with competition favourites Matt Corby and Ben McKenzie standing in the bottom two. The thought that either of them would leave so early was unfathomable but, as we all know, one had to go. And that person was Ben McKenzie.
The cheerful teen took the news in his stride, insisting we haven’t seen the last of him.
“I’m so happy with where I’ve come, it’s been so amazing, it’s great, it’s so big,” he said. “It’s not over for me, I’m not done.”
Ben announced his plans to shoot a movie in January, a creative endeavour which will include some of his original songs.
I can’t help thinking Australian Idol will be a much poorer competition without Ben McKenzie. He was my favourite, pure and simple, and I looked forward to his performances every week. He was consistently good, and often he was absolutely magical.
Maybe I’m wrong though. Maybe Ben’s shock exit will reaffirm to the remaining finalists that no one is safe and they’ll deliver some amazing performances. Whatever happens, I’m really sorry to see Ben go and I’m appalled at the voting public that they let it happen.
Today’s blog spotlight is a little different. Rather than singling out one blog, I’ve decided to tell you about all the great blogs from the b5 music channel taking part in Blog Action Day. My fellow bloggers have come up with some really great green posts, so make sure to check them out.
Speaking of green music videos, Deb’s got plenty of them at She Plays Music. From old tree huggers like Joan Baez and The Pretenders to the new kids Björk and The Cranberries, there’s lots of clips to watch here.
Bruce, who runs Our Digital Music and The Rock Dose, is doing more than just talking about the environment. He’s doing something about it. He’ll donate 100% of his blog revenue today to Greenpeace. So by visiting these great blogs right now you’re not just in for a great read, you’re helping the environment at the same time.
Today’s Blog Action Day, a day when bloggers all around the world are uniting to talk about one important issue: the environment.
We all care about it, but what’s it got to do with music? Plenty. Musicians all over the world are getting climate clever, putting on environmentally-friendly tours, and educating their fan bases about the importance of conservation.
“Doing ‘the right thing’ is what should be done anyway, and we have up till now not publicised our ongoing commitment to social and environmental responsibility,” explained the festival’s director, Peter Noble.
“However, I see the increasing importance of public awareness on all environmental issues and to lead by demonstration.”
There are so many cool things about the way the festival is run that most of us don’t even realise. All food stalls at the festival only use compostable plates and utensils. All plastic glasses and cardboard used at the festival is recycled and reused. The festival follows the policy “Aim for zero waste and ‘leave no trace,'” and organisers ensure the site is returned to its original state. Bluesfest also transfers waste to TiTree BioEnergy Facility, which in turn transforms the waste to clean energy.
The festival’s always been green, but it will amp up its environmental efforts when it moves into its new home at Belongil Fields next year.
“We will be installing wind and solar power, and we will have bio-diesel. We will strive to be the best and we will have the same motives through the whole festival.”
And of course, Bluesfest always has a killer line-up. Early-bird tickets are already on sale for the event, which runs from Thursday March 20 to Monday March 24.
We’re getting to the pointy end of Australian Idol. Our final seven appear calm, but the same can’t be said for the judges. I think the contestants all gave solid performances of songs released in the year of their birth, but it just didn’t seem to be enough to impress these tough critics.
Ben McKenzie was first in the firing line with his rendition of “Higher Ground.” Ben combined the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ attitude with Stevie Wonder’s soul, and it worked. However, it didn’t thrill Mark or Dicko, prompting Marcia to let fly with an explosive outburst. It’s a shame that this exchange ended up overshadowing a really good effort.
Marty Simpson brought a reggae vibe to Crowded House’s “Now We’re Getting Somewhere.” It was an interesting interpretation, and I’m still not sure whether I liked it. The verses definitely worked better than the chorus. But on the positives side, Marty looked very comfortable and managed to stay in time. I think this was probably his best performance.
All the judges panned Natalie Gauci’s rendition of “Endless Love.” I’m not sure whether my husband I were watching the same performance, because we thought it was brilliant. Maybe my Lionel Richie love makes me biased, but I’m not sure how this could have been any better.
Carl Riseley delivered his best performance of the season with George Benson’s “Turn Your Love Around.” It’s such a great song, and it suited him down to the ground. The vocals were still a little weak, and I agree that he does tend to just imitate the original artist. But ultimately, this was a lot of fun.
Matt Corby chose “Another Day in Paradise.” This is one of my least favourite songs, but he made it incredibly believable and touching. However, like Dicko I am starting to feel like he’s plateauing. He showed such diversity with “The Immigrant Song” and “Got to Get You Into My Life,” but his last few choices have been a bit samey.
Tarisai Vushe picked another of my favourite tracks, “I Knew You Were Waiting For Me.” I guess that’s what happens when we have so many 80s babies! I hated the slow start, but once it kicked into gear it was brilliant. Tarisai’s been boring me lately, so I was thrilled to see this joyous performance.
I agree with Kyle (for once) – on paper it sounded like Daniel Mifsud’s take on “Billie Jean” would be awesome. Instead it was a bit of a train wreck. He struggled to find the beat, and the song suffered for the lack of falsetto.
Daniel was probably the worst of the night, and given that he’s been in the bottom three for the last few weeks he’s my pick to go.
![Channel [V] logo](https://i0.wp.com/soundsofoz.com/ozmusicscene/channelv.jpg?w=750 "Channel [V] logo")
Cable music station Channel [V] angered parents around the country when a marketing stunt went horribly wrong.
