Proof of an Oscar Curse -- iVillage 5
Source: http://www.ivillage.com/proof-oscar-curse-ivillage-5/1-h-320090
Isla Fisher Ivana Bozilovic Ivanka Trump Izabella Miko Izabella Scorupco
Source: http://www.ivillage.com/proof-oscar-curse-ivillage-5/1-h-320090
Isla Fisher Ivana Bozilovic Ivanka Trump Izabella Miko Izabella Scorupco
Taking cues from Frank Zappa, the Ramones and Nirvana, Gaga carries the torch for the outsider in pop music.
By James Montgomery
Lady Gaga
Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images
In the 1970s, when disco was in full swing and rock and roll was posturing its way into arenas, four goony, glue-sniffing kids in Forest Hills, Queens, threw on leather jackets and began bashing out two-minute tunes with titles like "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Beat on the Brat." They called themselves the Ramones, and not only were they probably the first punk band on planet Earth, but they were most definitely outcasts, in every sense of the world.
Of course, the Ramones certainly weren't the first musical outcasts. Theirs is a legacy that reaches all the way back to the dawn of recorded music, from the likes of the Hoosier Hot Shots and Slim Galliard, scatting madman Cab Calloway and the "shocking" Screamin' Jay Hawkins, to midcentury curios like bizarro bandleader Spike Jones, deep-fried '60s oddballs like Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart and even contemporaries like the Cramps and the Talking Heads. But unlike any who came before them, the Ramones helped usher in an era — and a genre — in which being odd was championed. It would continue through the 1980s, thanks to the Heads, West Coast punk acts like Black Flag and the Minutemen, and college-radio darlings like R.E.M. — and, of course, the eternally outcast world of heavy metal — then truly break through in the '90s, with the chart-topping success of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins, and the rise of hip-hop outfits like the Wu-Tang Clan, the Pharcyde and the incomparable Kool Keith.
Of course, in the 2000s, things sort of petered out. Rock and hip hop became increasingly lunkheaded and lumbering, and the meek were shoved from the spotlight. And it bears mention that, even during the outcast heyday, for the most part, established acts — i.e., anyone who had plenty to lose — stayed as far removed from the fringe as possible, or if they dared stray outside their lane, they suffered the consequences (the classic example being, of course, Madonna, who nearly submarined her entire career with the simultaneous release of the Erotica album and its accompaniment, the coffee-table book "Sex"). There's a reason it's called "popular" music, after all.
These days, however, things appear to be changing. For the first time, established pop megastars are embracing those on the fringes of society — and finding success in the process. It all started, appropriately enough, with the rise of Lady Gaga, who made no bones about the fact that her earliest support came from the gay community, and over the past year, through videos like "Alejandro" and her campaign against "don't ask, don't tell," she has become the outcast icon of our time. Others followed suit — like Pink, who scored hits with underdog anthems like "Raise Your Glass" and "F***** Perfect"; Ke$ha, whose "We R Who We R" went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100; and even Katy Perry, who dedicated her "Firework" video to the "It Gets Better" campaign — and it truly seems that, for the first time since the 1990s, being an outcast was not only acceptable, it was downright mainstream.
Now, Gaga is poised to return with "Born This Way," the first single from her album of the same name. On Thursday, she released the song's lyrics, and if it's not already the biggest outcast anthem of all time, well, then it probably will be very soon. In fact, there's nary an outsider group Gaga doesn't mention in the song — gays, bisexuals, transgenders, ethnic minorities, the disabled, the bullied, the poor — which makes it, and its near-inevitable chart success, incredibly noteworthy. After all, here is Lady Gaga, currently the biggest artist on the planet, releasing a song that not only calls for acceptance of all people, but drags those who aim to oppress directly into the center of the ring. It is not only fierce, it's downright fearless. Gaga has plenty to lose, but she couldn't care less.
And perhaps "Born This Way" is just the byproduct of the era in which we live, a time when social mores are constantly debated, when boundaries are being expanded and contracted, almost daily, and when it truly seems possible that maybe — just maybe — the outcasts could inherit the earth. After all, Bill Gates was an outcast, Barack Obama was too — and look how things worked out for them. And while this may put the fear of God in some folks, it seems that change is inevitable, and, as it is wont to do, pop music is there to provide the soundtrack to all of that change. Just like in the 1960s, when the biggest rock and folk acts of the day led the charge for social rebellion, so too may Lady Gaga. And she'll do it on the biggest stage imaginable. Of course, that might just be speculation, but it's certainly been a long time coming.
What is your favorite outcast anthem? Let us know in the comments!
Related Photos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1656878/lady-gaga-born-this-way-lyrics.jhtml
Sienna Guillory Sienna Miller Simone Mütherthies Sofía Vergara Soft Cell

The couple we're most envious of--because they spend pretty much every day of their lives for the past couple years on a luxe yacht or somebody's beach--has hit Thailand.
Naomi Campbell and her man Vladislav laid out oceanside on one of the prettiest beaches in the world yesterday. Pics of Na's bikini bo, her new British GQ cover and epic interview when you read on...


Nomi showed off her flawless skin and bod in her black bikini.


And played around in the ocean with her boo. Cute.





Must be nice....
Speaking of Na Na Campbell, here's her new cover of the British GQ. 
HOT! My fave quote: “I don’t read the papers. I sell papers.” Teehee.
A few more quotes (she was interviewed by former Russian President Vladimir Putin):
Naomi Campbell: You’re in pretty good physical shape. How do you manage to keep yourself so fit?
Vladimir Putin: Probably the same way you do.
Actually, I don’t work out as much as I should, but I do believe that it’s a healthy mind as well as a healthy body that keeps me fit, sound and calm.
Exactly. You just answered your own question.What’s your fitness regime?
I go to the gym, I swim daily and from time to time I meet with friends and do extra-curricular stuff. I had a good work-out just the day before yesterday.In the summer you were photographed on a Harley-Davidson at a bikers’ festival in Ukraine. How were you received by the bikers, the Night Wolves?
VP: Well, these are really cool guys, really tough guys. One of them was a really courageous person who travelled a few thousand kilometres on a two-wheeler bike. He’s a handicapped guy with only one leg - he lost it somewhere in Yugoslavia during the war. I’m not the tough guy, those guys are.NC: You obviously make a great impression on women. How do you feel about the students who posed for you in the calendar? [Female students at Moscow State University in Russia produced rival calendars for Putin's 58th birthday. First, a group of journalism students in lingerie posed for a calendar with suggestive captions, such as: "You put out forest fires, but I'm still burning." Then another group hit back, posing in black, with their mouths taped shut.]
VP: I like the girls a lot, they’re beautiful. I like the calendar but it’s not the most important thing. As for the other one, well, in almost any country, probably in Russia in particular, it’s fashionable to criticise people in power. If you come out in support of someone like me, you’re going to be accused of trying to ingratiate yourself. The girls in the erotic calendar were courageous and they were not scared. As student journalists, they couldn’t fail to understand what might have been said to them after doing this. Nonetheless, they were not deterred and did the calendar anyway. So, frankly, that’s what I liked the most.NC: You’ve been known to attend bare-knuckle fights. Ever been in one?
VP: No, it’s not my sport; since I was 14, I’ve done judo. But the bare-knuckle fight I attended was very impressive. These guys are tough. I watched the Russian, French and British teams and each and every one of these athletes deserves great credit. There are even women who do it.NC: Big women?
VP: Not big, just strong women.
I see her Russian billionaire boyfriend has been getting her all kinds of hook-ups with the Russians. Smart move Na.
'I've listened to their music since I was a child,' says the R&B diva, who recorded 'Stairway to Heaven' and 'Whole Lotta Love.'
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Larry Carroll
You wouldn't peg Mary J Blige as the black-light-and-tapestry sort, but, as has become readily apparent in recent weeks, she absolutely loves Led Zeppelin.
In early February, reports began circulating that Blige had re-recorded Zeppelin's classic "Stairway to Heaven," working with Travis Barker, "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson and guitarist Steve Vai on the track, which is slated to appear on the international reissue of her Stronger With Each Tear album, due Monday.
But after she had recorded "Stairway," Blige continued to get the Led out, covering another Zeppelin classic — the thunderous "Whole Lotta Love" — for the album too. And when MTV News caught up with her on the Essence Black Women in Hollywood red carpet, she told us all about channeling her inner Robert Plant for the tracks, a process that came much easier than you'd probably imagine.
"I did Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' and 'Whole Lotta Love' — it's crazy," she said. "I am a Led Zeppelin fan. I'm not going to say I've been to their concerts, but I've listened to their music since I was a child, and it's always moved me, especially 'Stairway to Heaven,' and 'Whole Lotta Love' is just fun."
Blige also said she recorded another new song — a "club record" called "I Can't Wait" — for the re-release. And while it's only slated to hit shelves outside the U.S., she hopes her fans will get a chance to hear all the new songs pretty soon.
"I want y'all to hear it," she laughed.
Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1633563/mary-j-blige-dishes-on-her-crazy-led-zeppelin-covers.jhtml
Anna Paquin AnnaLynne McCord Anne Marie Kortright April Scott Arielle Kebbel
A pesar de lo dicho ayer, Peter Mensch, manager del guitarrista Jimmy Page, se retractó totalmente en eso que la banda buscaría un reemplazo al ultragenial Robert Plant para seguir rockeando y toureándola por el mundo tras su show de 2007 en el O2 Arena de Londres por el poder de la música más sexual de la historia. No habrá más Led Zeppelin, no hay planes de que lo haya.
Mensch comentó: "Led Zeppelin se acabó. Si no los vieron en el 2007, se los perdieron. Probaron reemplazantes a Robert Plant, pero nada funcionó. Se acabó. No hay planes para continuar. Francamente, ojalá todos dejaran de hablar al respecto."
Los fans no están nada contentos, especialmente los británicos, considerando los precios delirantes de las entradas del show reunión.
¿Y a ti? ¿Qué te parece todo esto?
Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1602369/.jhtml
Lacey Chabert Laetitia Casta Lake Bell Larissa Meek Laura Harring
Check out artists who had amazing stories in 2010.
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images
Related Artists
Source: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1654873
Mary Elizabeth Winstead Megan Ewing Megan Fox Melania Trump Melissa George
Source: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1236911&vid=455581
Shakira Shana Hiatt Shania Twain Shanna Moakler Shannon Elizabeth