Kelly Clarkson is defending herself from some heavy mudslinging over a tobacco company’s sponsorship of her upcoming concert in Jakarta, Indonesia. The pop singer commented on the controversy today on her personal blog, saying: “I was not made aware of this and am in no way an advocate or an ambassador for youth smoking.” The singer weighs the pros and cons of canceling her concert, while fans express their support and disapproval online. Read my full story on PopEater.
Kelly Clarkson Lights Up an International Debate Over Cigarette Ads
Apple’s iPad as Explained to Teens (and Maybe Grown-Ups, Too)
Apple announced its much-anticipated iPad yesterday, and while geeks everywhere were freaking out over the live coverage of the event, others were not so impressed. Still, it’s a new Apple product to drool over, and I wrote about its specs for the tween/teen readers on JSYK.com.
The thing is, while I had every intention of simplifying the new Apple offering for young people, the post makes the iPad digestible for tech-challenged adults, too. If you fall into that category (it’s OK, I won’t tell anyone), check out all the basic details of the new gadget here.
Top 10 Albums of 2009
Each year, Shockhound asks its writers to submit their Top 10 albums of the year. 2009 proved to be particularly difficult as very few albums stood out to me, but I managed to come up with a list for my pals at the site to be included in their annual feature.
Below are my picks that are available for purchase on Shockhound.com. Check out more Top 10 lists from my comrades at Shockhound here. Happy New Year!
Nadine Cheung
1. Manchester Orchestra — Mean Everything to Nothing
2. Jay-Z — The Blueprint 3
3. Metric — Fantasies
4. Bon Iver — Blood Bank
5. Them Crooked Vultures — Them Crooked Vultures
6. Lily Allen — It’s Not Me, It’s You
7. Weezer — Raditude
8. Silversun Pickups — Swoon
9. Wilco — Wilco (The Album)
10. Phoenix — Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Davey Havok Talks ‘Crash Love’ and Blaqk Audio
I’ve interviewed Davey Havok a few times now and it’s always a pleasure. You would think that someone who’s better at putting on makeup than you are would be intimidating, but he couldn’t be more kind, confident and charismatic. Just before the release of AFI’s eighth studio album, I talked to the Oakland native about the meaning behind ‘Crash Love,’ as well as what’s in store for his side project Blaqk Audio. Read the full interview on ShockHound!
Filed under Articles, Electronica, Music, Q&A, Rock
Brand New Interview for ShockHound
Today is the record release day for Brand New’s fourth studio album, Daisy. I got to talk to drummer Brian Lane about the “challenging” record, as well as dispel some rumors about who wrote what. Oh, and there’s that whole part where Lane admits the band was “embarrassed” by their earlier work for a time. Find out how they got over it, what really happened with the album title change and what’s in store for the band in the future in my exclusive interview with the Brand New for ShockHound.
Jay-Z Launches ‘The Blueprint 3′ With Intimate NYC Show
On 9.9.09, just one day after the release of ‘The Blueprint 3,’ Jay-Z played a sweet 70-minute set at New York’s Blender Theater for 600 lucky people. Jigga’s super stacked set might have been a little too hot, though — after about an hour, the venue’s fire alarms went off, cutting out the sound from the speakers. Get the inside scoop of what Jay-Z played and what else went down at the DJ Hero/MySpace Music event in my review of the show for ShockHound.
Never Shout Never Reveals Debut Album Title
Never Shout Never’s Christofer Drew just signed his first major label record deal and I got to chat with him about it. The 18-year-old Missouri native is currently in the studio with Butch Walker, working on his debut album, which he exclusively told me will be called What is Love?. Read what the singer-songwriter had to say about Butch, breakups and the Beatles in my new interview with Never Shout Never for JSYK!
