Category: News (Page 106 of 136)

Guess we’ll have to start calling him “P Zitty” now

April 4, 2006 / Deb Medsker

Sean Puffy Puff Daddy P Diddy Combs has apparently filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against the makers of Proactiv acne solution, claiming that despite using the product and acting as its spokesperson (alongside such luminaries as Jessica Simpson) in infomercials, the product has failed to give him a flawless complexion.

P Diddly Puffster apparently went on record in said infomercials to state that Proactiv helps “moisturize my situation and preserve my sexy.” SeanPuff now claims that the acne medication has made him look foolish in front of the rap community, because he willingly associated himself with a product that does not work, destroying his credibility.

Um, two quick questions here:

1. How much street cred did Puffy have left to destroy after starring in those Diet Pepsi commercials?

2. Has it occurred to CombyPuffDizzle that perhaps what has made him look foolish in front of the rap community is (among many, many other things, including his penchant for hiring personal umbrella handlers) his agreement to serve as an infomercial spokesperson for a zit cream in the first place?

Interestingly, several online articles alluding to P Zitty’s lawsuit have mysteriously disappeared from the web since yesterday. If this one should vanish unexpectedly, please alert my next of kin…and then sue Puff Diddle for at least $1.5 million.

Artists, Hip Hop, News, Rap

It’s a sad day for British pop fans

April 4, 2006 / Will Harris

Martin Gilks, the original drummer for the Wonder Stuff, has died.

Gilks was also the original drummer for the Mighty Lemon Drops, but he was kicked out of the band – possibly for not cutting his hair – and found his way behind the kit for the Stuffies. When they broke up after Construction for the Modern Idiot, he moved with a few other members onto the band We Know Where You Live, then left performing in favor of music management. He did reunite with the Stuffies for their 2000 reunion gigs, then proceeded to serve as the band’s manager ’til 2004, at which point he split with the group (which wasn’t much more than Miles Hunt and Malcolm Treese, anyway). He was involved in a motorcycle accident this past weekend and died yesterday as a result of his injuries.

Sad news. Recent albums by the Stuffies haven’t been any great shakes, but, oh, how wonderful those original four albums were. If you don’t own Never Loved Elvis, your CD collection is woefully complete.

Alternative, Artists, News, Rock

Madge hits the road…

April 3, 2006 / Will Harris

…and The Chauffeur checks his calendar to see if he can make any of the dates.

According to the article on Yahoo, Madonna is threatening to turn the whole world into a dance floor…but it’s really less the whole world than a handful of dates in a handful of countries. In the States, she’s doing the Big City Boogie, hitting most of the usual suspects – San Jose, Fresno, Phoenix, Chicago, Montreal, Hartford, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Miami and Los Angeles – but not doing much for the kids in the sticks. Not terribly surprising, given her stature, but, still, it’d be nice if she hit some of the smaller markets as well…

Artists, Concerts, News, Rock Babes

31 from Juliana Hatfield

April 1, 2006 / Captain Capm

If you’re a Juliana Hatfield fan, you might want to visit her website, as she’s once again offering up 31 never-before released tracks for downloading. She’s presenting them with an honor system, in which her site spells out the problems between record companies suing file sharers and file sharers wanting everything to be free. If you like, you can grab all the songs (or as many as you like) and keep them, or make a donation through PayPal of whatever amount you like in exchange. There are indeed plenty of good songs here to be heard, and for 31 cents you can’t beat ’em. No, I jest.

Artists, News, Songs

Back from oblivion, at least for a little while

March 30, 2006 / Will Harris

Doug Powell is one of the most underrated singer/songwriters in the business…both by major labels and, unfortunately, most consumers. Fortunately, however, his fellow musicians know who he is.

Powell got his first break because, in his words, he “assaulted Jules Shear” with a tape of his songs, which led to Shear producing a demo for Powell in hopes of scoring him a deal with Elektra. The plan failed – Elektra took a pass – but, by 1994, he had a deal with RCA, for whom he recorded Ballad of a Tin Man. Unfortunately, he was dropped before it was released. By ’95, however, Mercury picked him up and released the album, possibly because he’d appeared on the radar by touring as an opening act for Todd Rundgren. Perhaps predictably, Mercury threw little effort into promoting the album, then dumped him when it flopped. Since then, he’s released albums through Not Lame and Parasol, but, after his 2004 release, Day For Night, he more or less retired from the music biz to write a book on Christian Apologetics and work on his Master’s Degree.

Fortunately, he’s coming back…if only with an odds-and-sods collection of demos and rarities, to be released through Paisley Pop Records. Still, somethin’ is better than nothin’. Plus, he’s written some songs for the New Cars…which, at last, gives us a good reason to root for their success.

Artists, News, Pop