PARIS:
One of Britain's spinning top rare vino merchants and nuclear scientists in France have
jointly unveiled a 21st-century tool for unmasking counterfeit time of origin
wines.
The technique consists
of zapping bottles with ion beams generated by a particle accelerator. The beams
are directed at the spyglass, not the wine, and can severalise how old the bottles
are and, roughly, where they
start.
"We compare the
suspect bottles with those that we know come from the chateaux," explained Herve
Guegan, a researcher at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in
Bordeaux.
"The chemical
composing of glass used to make bottles changed over time and was different
from place to plaza," he aforesaid.
To forbid counterfeiters from
filling veritable old bottles with ordinary plonk, Williams intends to combine
the ion beam test with another established method that checks for levels of a
radioactive isotope, cs 137, in the wine-coloured
itself.
This technique,
however, is simply effective in identifying wines made in the epoch of heavy atomic
weapons testing in the by and by half of the 20th
century.
The ion irradiation
technology depends on comparison with actual
bottles.
While the new test tush
verify the age of the bottleful, it cannot guarantee the quality of the
wine-colored.
Other technologies
developed in the last few age to fighting fine vino fraud include water simon Marks
and holograms on labels-much like those used on bank notes - on with bAR
codes and UV-sensitive markings.
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Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Adverse Reactions To Antibiotics Send Thousands Of Patients To The ER
�Adverse events from antibiotics cause an estimated 142,000 emergency department visits per class in the United States, according to a study published in the September 15, 2008 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
"This number is an important reminder for physicians and patients that antibiotics fanny have serious side effects and should only be taken when necessary," aforementioned study writer Daniel Budnitz, M.D., at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Prior to this report, detailed data on the scope and burden of antibiotic adverse events in the U.S. were not available. This investigation is the number one to economic consumption timely, across the country representative surveillance data to estimate and compare the numbers and rates of adverse events from systemic antibiotics by class, drug, and issue type.
Half of the visits were for reactions to penicillins and the other half were from reactions to other antibiotics used to treat a wide diverseness of bacterial infections. After accounting for how much antibiotics were prescribed, children less than one year old were found to have the highest pace of adverse drug events.
Almost 80 percent of all antibiotic adverse events in the study were allergic reactions, ranging from rash to anaphylaxis, and the left over 20 per centum were caused by errors and overdoses. Unlike errors and overdoses from other drugs, sensitized reactions to antibiotics typically can entirely be prevented by avoiding exposure to the do drugs in the first place.
The study draws from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance (NEISS-CADES) project, a sample of 63 hospitals in the United States and its territories. NEISS-CADES is a joint effort of the CDC, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration.
Previous studies experience suggested that half of the estimated 100 meg antibiotic prescriptions written in the community setting each year for respiratory tract infections may be unneeded. "For conditions in which antibiotics have questionable benefit, such as many mild upper respiratory tract infections, weighing the benefits of antibiotics with the risks of a serious contrary event testament be especially important," aforementioned Budnitz. "Because antibiotics are frequently used, both befittingly and inappropriately, if doctors would reduce the number of antibiotics they order to their patients by even a small pct, we could significantly lose weight the number of emergency visits for antibiotic adverse events. Physicians need to communicate to their patients that antibiotics are not harmless," he added.
The researchers ground that only 6 percent of the patients wHO experienced adverse events required hospitalization. The others were all treated and released. However, the study only reflected emergency brake department admissions. Unreported cases and visits to a physician's office could not be taken into account statement.
Additional Resources: CDC has resources for both clinicians and patients on set aside use of antibiotics for upper respiratory infections. Visit the Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work hunting expedition website at: http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart.
Founded in 1979, Clinical Infectious Diseases publishes clinical articles twice monthly in a variety of areas of infectious disease, and is one of the most highly regarded journals in this specialty. It is published under the auspices of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Based in Arlington, Virginia, IDSA is a professional society representing more than than 8,000 physicians and scientists who specialise in infectious diseases. For more information, visit hTTP://www.idsociety.org.
Infectious Diseases Society of America
More information
"This number is an important reminder for physicians and patients that antibiotics fanny have serious side effects and should only be taken when necessary," aforementioned study writer Daniel Budnitz, M.D., at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Prior to this report, detailed data on the scope and burden of antibiotic adverse events in the U.S. were not available. This investigation is the number one to economic consumption timely, across the country representative surveillance data to estimate and compare the numbers and rates of adverse events from systemic antibiotics by class, drug, and issue type.
Half of the visits were for reactions to penicillins and the other half were from reactions to other antibiotics used to treat a wide diverseness of bacterial infections. After accounting for how much antibiotics were prescribed, children less than one year old were found to have the highest pace of adverse drug events.
Almost 80 percent of all antibiotic adverse events in the study were allergic reactions, ranging from rash to anaphylaxis, and the left over 20 per centum were caused by errors and overdoses. Unlike errors and overdoses from other drugs, sensitized reactions to antibiotics typically can entirely be prevented by avoiding exposure to the do drugs in the first place.
The study draws from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance (NEISS-CADES) project, a sample of 63 hospitals in the United States and its territories. NEISS-CADES is a joint effort of the CDC, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration.
Previous studies experience suggested that half of the estimated 100 meg antibiotic prescriptions written in the community setting each year for respiratory tract infections may be unneeded. "For conditions in which antibiotics have questionable benefit, such as many mild upper respiratory tract infections, weighing the benefits of antibiotics with the risks of a serious contrary event testament be especially important," aforementioned Budnitz. "Because antibiotics are frequently used, both befittingly and inappropriately, if doctors would reduce the number of antibiotics they order to their patients by even a small pct, we could significantly lose weight the number of emergency visits for antibiotic adverse events. Physicians need to communicate to their patients that antibiotics are not harmless," he added.
The researchers ground that only 6 percent of the patients wHO experienced adverse events required hospitalization. The others were all treated and released. However, the study only reflected emergency brake department admissions. Unreported cases and visits to a physician's office could not be taken into account statement.
Additional Resources: CDC has resources for both clinicians and patients on set aside use of antibiotics for upper respiratory infections. Visit the Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work hunting expedition website at: http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart.
Founded in 1979, Clinical Infectious Diseases publishes clinical articles twice monthly in a variety of areas of infectious disease, and is one of the most highly regarded journals in this specialty. It is published under the auspices of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Based in Arlington, Virginia, IDSA is a professional society representing more than than 8,000 physicians and scientists who specialise in infectious diseases. For more information, visit hTTP://www.idsociety.org.
Infectious Diseases Society of America
More information
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
OK! Exclusive: Carnie Wilson�??s Weight Loss Rebound
Carnie Wilson has lost closely 40 pounds since she started a strict diet and exercise program this spring, after she topped out at 208 pounds. The 5-foot-3 singer is now 20 pounds forth from her weight-loss goal. Carnie is determined to reach one hundred fifty pounds by October and then start up trying to have a second baby with hubby Rob Bonfiglio.
OK! caught up with Carnie, 40, at Will Rogers State Beach in Santa Monica, Calif., where she talked about her weight-loss travel and those baby plans.
CLICK HERE for OK!'s exclusive photoshoot with the slimming singer!
You look great! How do you feel?
I feel sexier, energetic, young, healthier, more agile, more flexible and stronger. I feel so inspired to keep going. I�m in the home stretch!
Has your diet changed since we last saw you in June?
No. I�m not allowing myself anything that�s cancelled my regimen: no wampum, no carbs, no dairy farm, no red meat, no flour of any tolerant. It�s very strict, but I like how it feels. I�m eating blueberries, turkey bacon, egg whites and heaps of raw vegetable salads. I make my have salad dressing with apple cider acetum. My exclusively fat is coming from olive crude. No persea Americana, no roasted nuts � just raw almonds. When I get under one's skin hungry at night, I take a tablespoon of almond butter and that satisfies my craving. The only sugary thing is berries. When I ate that dirt sugar food, I mat like shit. It�s incredible what feeding all these vegetables is doing for me.
What�s your motivational strategy?
My modern thing is cooking comfortableness food for others � like wampum puddings and banana staff of life � simply not eating it myself. I do a peck of tasting and expectoration out!
Have you tried whatsoever new workouts?
Yoga. I bide in these poses for three to five transactions at a time. It�s lengthening me, and sweat is approach out everywhere.
Do you still make your trainer?
Oh, yeah! He�s coming ternion days a week. I�m trying to build up strength in my arms and my core because they ar very weak.
What has your married man said about your new look?
He always says, �Keep it up, baby!� He�s very proud. He�s seen me go up and down. He just wants me to be healthy.
Would you consider plastic surgical procedure after you lose the weight?
It�s a possibility. I think I�m going to wind up having my arms done. They�re really saggy.
Have you bought new clothes?
I went to Neiman Marcus and did some in force damage last month. I�m trying not to splurge because I�m not at the finish yet.
Tell us about your fresh clothing blood for plus-sized women.
It�s likely the most exciting affair I�m always going to be involved in. I know what it�s like to be all sizes, and I have some really great things up my sleeve � no pun intended!
What are your baby plans?
We�re going to start nerve-wracking in October. I�m going to climb my hubby! [laughs] I have friends who are pregnant, and I want to be pregnant so badly. Two more months to go � it can�t come soon enough. We want a baby in my tummy right away.
How volition that sham your weight loss?
My ob-gyn said when you�re eating this way, you�ll have minimal weight gain. It was selfsame difficult having Lola. I just unbroken gaining. I�m going to feel better in my next pregnancy. I take this weird feeling I�m going to have twins. My sis just had twins. My grandmother was a twin. It�s a serious possibility!
CLICK HERE for OK!'s exclusive photoshoot with the slimming singer!
�
More info
Sunday, 10 August 2008
C.S.S.O
Artist: C.S.S.O
Genre(s):
Metal
Discography:
Are You Excrements?
Year: 2000
Tracks: 6
Nagro Lauxes VIII
Year: 1995
Tracks: 19
Gemma Hayes - The Hollow of Morning
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Nearly the Living End
THE LIVING End nearly imploded when vocalist Chris Cheney quit the band. Two years on and with a new album to air, he explains why he had to go away to come back.
Friday, October 6, 2006, was the night the music died -- at least for the Living End's vocalist/guitarist Chris Cheney. That was the fateful night he decided to quit the chart-topping band. The Living End were playing on the Gold Coast and were three-quarters through their set when Cheney had an on-stage epiphany. ‘‘I thought ‘I don't want to be here','' Cheney says. ‘‘It hit me like a lightning bolt: 2000 people, a massive show and I didn't want to be doing it. ‘‘I ploughed through the songs but I was disgusted with myself that it had come to that. ‘‘But there was a reason and it was staring me right in the face. ‘‘I had to get out of the situation, get away from it, fix it. I was ready to get on a plane and go home.'' The next morning Cheney rounded up his bandmates Scott Owen and Andy Strachan and quit the Living End, the band he had formed as a 17-year-old schoolkid in 1992. ‘‘I gave my notice, I said ‘I'm done, I'm out','' Cheney says. ‘‘I felt horrible. I never wanted to be in the position where I don't want to be doing it. I want to be doing it for all the right reasons. I felt burnt out. I was done with the Living End. Done with touring, done with the whole thing.'' It got worse. The months of touring caught up with Cheney; he obsessively replayed history in his mind. ‘‘I realised I hadn't done anything else with my life since high school apart from this band. I started to think about what else there was in life, what else I had and it dawned on me, ‘F---, I don't know how to do anything else'. I only knew how to be the guy from the Living End and I wasn't feeling it. ‘‘I was depressed about the whole thing. The idea of making another Living End album couldn't have been further from my mind.'' After he had told his bandmates face to face the morning after his fright night, Cheney called his long-term manager Rae Harvey and left the band over the phone. ‘‘He resigned,'' Harvey says. ‘‘I said ‘You can't do that, you're the singer-songwriter!' We kept it very quiet.'' Harvey had a battle plan. The band would finish their touring commitments (‘‘I had to persevere, stick it out for the guys in the band and the people who bought their tickets,'' Cheney says) and then fall off the radar. ‘‘I sent him away for a couple of months,'' Harvey says. ‘‘Nobody was allowed to call him. Not me, not the band. We weren't allowed to send him mail. ‘‘We were offered a headlining tour through Europe which I turned down. It was very serious.'' So serious that a ‘‘farewell tour'' of Australia was discussed and for the first time in five years Harvey started managing another band -- Children Collide. ‘‘I started thinking ‘Oh my God, I have to think about my future','' Harvey says. ‘‘I spoke to Andy and Scott a lot over those few months about how this (band) might not be around any more.'' Touring over, Cheney was free of the Living End for the first time. ‘‘I wasn't coping,'' he says. ‘‘I knew it was absurd. The idea of getting up on stage playing music you've written that has been relatively successful should be something that makes anyone on the planet happy. You should be celebrating that, so I knew ‘This isn't right'. ‘‘The other guys in the band were very understanding. I was probably a very nasty person to be around leading up to that point, not a very nice bloke. The only way I could contemplate making another record was if I didn't have to think about making another record.'' The fierce drive within Cheney that had made the Living End one of the most successful working bands in Australia -- more than 800,000 album sales and years of sold-out shows -- had taken its toll. ‘‘I pushed myself to a point where I got fed up with just being in the band. That tour was nine weeks around Australia and it just came to a head,'' Cheney says. ‘‘I was playing almost every night, I lost my voice twice. We hadn't stopped for two years. The recording process for (2006 album) State of Emergency was extremely full-on, I got shingles at the end of it. It had stopped being fun. ‘‘I'd brought it on myself. If you don't do anything else, if you have a one-track mind you're going to turn around and realise there's nothing else there.'' At first during Cheney's break he moved into autopilot and started writing songs. Unfortunately, he hated them. ‘‘I didn't want to churn out a crap album just to capitalise on the success of State of Emergency,'' he says. ‘‘I wrote some songs but I wasn't feeling it. I had strong writers' block. I told the band I'd get in contact when I had better songs. I had to approach my creativity in a different way.'' Enter yoga. Yes, really. The VB-swilling, spiky-haired Cheney switched leather jackets and guitar picks for a yoga mat. When he wasn't saluting the sun, he had taken up painting and spending time with the baby daughter he had missed during a gruelling touring schedule overseas. ‘‘My daughter (Charlie) was born and then we went away (with State Of Emergency) -- did that even happen; did I even have a child?'' Cheney muses. Harvey says: ‘‘Chris missed her whole first year. That didn't help.'' During his yoga period, Cheney managed to switch off from music for the first time in more than 10 years. ‘‘I didn't realise how amazing it is for the mind, and for focus and creativity,'' Cheney says of yoga. ‘‘I was a bit naive, I didn't realise the minute you do something else is when inspiration hits.'' It hit him like a train -- the same way that monstrous opening riff from How Do We Know hits listeners when it leaps out of the speakers. A proud Cheney played it to the band. ‘‘I thought ‘F--- yeah!' That's what we should be doing -- it's exciting, it's heavy, it's not just meathead rock. It has a certain flair. I took it to the guys and they said ‘That's the direction, write another 12 of those'. That was the epiphany, the riff that kick-started the record. ‘‘I started coming up with more tunes. It felt a hell of a lot stronger lyrically and musically it was deeper, there was more power. I was back on track. It was the turmoil that had to happen.'' From there the Living End were back in business. Harvey had scored the band a lucrative deal with EMI in 1998 on the back of the success of the independently released Prisoner of Society/Second Solution EP. Harvey would license the band's albums to EMI on a record-by-record basis. ‘‘After the release of every single album, they were an unsigned act,'' Harvey says. ‘‘We just didn't advertise it. It wasn't about starting bidding wars, it was about control.'' But the band's camp felt State of Emergency wasn't as big as it should have been and the mixed corporate fortunes of EMI weren't helping. Harvey began negotiating a new deal with Dew Process, run by Powderfinger's manager Paul Piticco and home to the Panics, the Grates and Sarah Blasko. Harvey mentioned the new deal in her first meeting with a post-yoga Cheney. He soon swapped zen for rock. ‘‘I told him I'd turned down the European tour and he was mortified,'' Harvey says. ‘‘I think that drove something home to him, that he'd missed out on something big. But it made him realise what he was giving up. The Dew Process deal was ready, but I said we weren't signing it if he wasn't committed to the band.'' With How Do We Know under his belt, the Living End were out of traction and back in action. They signed their first multiple-album deal. ‘‘We wanted to give Dew Process some ownership over it,'' Harvey says. The label suggested producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth) for their fifth album White Noise, and Harvey wanted Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam) to mix it. Both men were secured; White Noise was recorded in New Jersey in April for a fast-turnaround release next month. Harvey had her own motives for O'Brien -- feeling the previous producers never captured the band's intense live sound. O'Brien came to the Living End the day after finishing producing the new AC/DC album. ‘‘In the past I'd love the demos and go ‘OK, now they're going to record the same bland piece of crap they've recorded every single time that doesn't represent how they sound live no matter what we do','' Harvey says. ‘‘And this time they didn't. And it blew me away. ‘‘Every other album has had the life drained out of it because of the perfectionism in the band.'' Cheney agrees White Noise is as close as they've ever come to replicating their live sound inside a studio. ‘‘We would never make a record that sounds exactly like we do live because I'd never allow it, it'd be too rough,'' he says. ‘‘But we wanted to catch the edge, the sweat, some of the happy accidents and spontaneity. When you're making a record everything's so calculated you squeeze all that stuff out to make it sound smooth and perfect. We realised what sounds right is when we're playing fast and it sounds real, there's character to it. ‘‘Every single song on this album has a few great moments we were determined to capture, pushing ourselves to the extreme like we would live -- when the throat cracks or when your fingers slip off the strings.'' The revitalised band reactivated their alter-ego -- the Longnecks -- for a series of regional shows in February this year. They'd road-test solely new material written for White Noise, before returning for a handful of hits as the encore. One was missing -- Prisoner of Society. ‘‘That was a turning point -- I feel like we'd outgrown the stigma of Prisoner,'' Cheney says. ‘‘We haven't even been playing it on the past few shows. It really wasn't missed. It's that double-edged sword, it put us on the map, but I've been trying to prove my worth as a songwriter ever since. Perhaps it was the best thing that ever happened.'' So intense is their fanbase that at one Longnecks show a fan handed the band notes he had taken on the new songs. ‘‘I felt for the first time what it must be like to be on Australian Idol and get judged,'' Cheney says with a laugh. ‘‘We have really good fans like that, they're immensely dedicated to the band. When people stop caring, that's when we're in trouble.'' The frontman is also quick to point out he's got back the passion for the Living End that temporarily left him. ‘‘The Longnecks shows were imperative to that,'' he says. ‘‘They boosted the confidence of the band in an enormous way. We realised what we were doing not only sounded great to us but was being conveyed to an audience. ‘‘I've learnt a very valuable lesson. Nothing pays off like hard work and I'm insanely proud of what we ended up with on this record, especially considering the circumstances.'' The band remain signed to Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's record label Adeline in the US; Dew Process will handle them in Europe. ‘‘We know we can go to the US and play to a few thousand people a night, but it's now about getting a song on the radio over there,'' Cheney says. ‘‘We're going to focus on Australia first. I still feel like we have something to prove. I hope we always feel that way.'' White Noise (Dew Process/Universal) out July 19. The Living End, Queensbridge, October 2. On sale July 10, Ticketek.
Friday, October 6, 2006, was the night the music died -- at least for the Living End's vocalist/guitarist Chris Cheney. That was the fateful night he decided to quit the chart-topping band. The Living End were playing on the Gold Coast and were three-quarters through their set when Cheney had an on-stage epiphany. ‘‘I thought ‘I don't want to be here','' Cheney says. ‘‘It hit me like a lightning bolt: 2000 people, a massive show and I didn't want to be doing it. ‘‘I ploughed through the songs but I was disgusted with myself that it had come to that. ‘‘But there was a reason and it was staring me right in the face. ‘‘I had to get out of the situation, get away from it, fix it. I was ready to get on a plane and go home.'' The next morning Cheney rounded up his bandmates Scott Owen and Andy Strachan and quit the Living End, the band he had formed as a 17-year-old schoolkid in 1992. ‘‘I gave my notice, I said ‘I'm done, I'm out','' Cheney says. ‘‘I felt horrible. I never wanted to be in the position where I don't want to be doing it. I want to be doing it for all the right reasons. I felt burnt out. I was done with the Living End. Done with touring, done with the whole thing.'' It got worse. The months of touring caught up with Cheney; he obsessively replayed history in his mind. ‘‘I realised I hadn't done anything else with my life since high school apart from this band. I started to think about what else there was in life, what else I had and it dawned on me, ‘F---, I don't know how to do anything else'. I only knew how to be the guy from the Living End and I wasn't feeling it. ‘‘I was depressed about the whole thing. The idea of making another Living End album couldn't have been further from my mind.'' After he had told his bandmates face to face the morning after his fright night, Cheney called his long-term manager Rae Harvey and left the band over the phone. ‘‘He resigned,'' Harvey says. ‘‘I said ‘You can't do that, you're the singer-songwriter!' We kept it very quiet.'' Harvey had a battle plan. The band would finish their touring commitments (‘‘I had to persevere, stick it out for the guys in the band and the people who bought their tickets,'' Cheney says) and then fall off the radar. ‘‘I sent him away for a couple of months,'' Harvey says. ‘‘Nobody was allowed to call him. Not me, not the band. We weren't allowed to send him mail. ‘‘We were offered a headlining tour through Europe which I turned down. It was very serious.'' So serious that a ‘‘farewell tour'' of Australia was discussed and for the first time in five years Harvey started managing another band -- Children Collide. ‘‘I started thinking ‘Oh my God, I have to think about my future','' Harvey says. ‘‘I spoke to Andy and Scott a lot over those few months about how this (band) might not be around any more.'' Touring over, Cheney was free of the Living End for the first time. ‘‘I wasn't coping,'' he says. ‘‘I knew it was absurd. The idea of getting up on stage playing music you've written that has been relatively successful should be something that makes anyone on the planet happy. You should be celebrating that, so I knew ‘This isn't right'. ‘‘The other guys in the band were very understanding. I was probably a very nasty person to be around leading up to that point, not a very nice bloke. The only way I could contemplate making another record was if I didn't have to think about making another record.'' The fierce drive within Cheney that had made the Living End one of the most successful working bands in Australia -- more than 800,000 album sales and years of sold-out shows -- had taken its toll. ‘‘I pushed myself to a point where I got fed up with just being in the band. That tour was nine weeks around Australia and it just came to a head,'' Cheney says. ‘‘I was playing almost every night, I lost my voice twice. We hadn't stopped for two years. The recording process for (2006 album) State of Emergency was extremely full-on, I got shingles at the end of it. It had stopped being fun. ‘‘I'd brought it on myself. If you don't do anything else, if you have a one-track mind you're going to turn around and realise there's nothing else there.'' At first during Cheney's break he moved into autopilot and started writing songs. Unfortunately, he hated them. ‘‘I didn't want to churn out a crap album just to capitalise on the success of State of Emergency,'' he says. ‘‘I wrote some songs but I wasn't feeling it. I had strong writers' block. I told the band I'd get in contact when I had better songs. I had to approach my creativity in a different way.'' Enter yoga. Yes, really. The VB-swilling, spiky-haired Cheney switched leather jackets and guitar picks for a yoga mat. When he wasn't saluting the sun, he had taken up painting and spending time with the baby daughter he had missed during a gruelling touring schedule overseas. ‘‘My daughter (Charlie) was born and then we went away (with State Of Emergency) -- did that even happen; did I even have a child?'' Cheney muses. Harvey says: ‘‘Chris missed her whole first year. That didn't help.'' During his yoga period, Cheney managed to switch off from music for the first time in more than 10 years. ‘‘I didn't realise how amazing it is for the mind, and for focus and creativity,'' Cheney says of yoga. ‘‘I was a bit naive, I didn't realise the minute you do something else is when inspiration hits.'' It hit him like a train -- the same way that monstrous opening riff from How Do We Know hits listeners when it leaps out of the speakers. A proud Cheney played it to the band. ‘‘I thought ‘F--- yeah!' That's what we should be doing -- it's exciting, it's heavy, it's not just meathead rock. It has a certain flair. I took it to the guys and they said ‘That's the direction, write another 12 of those'. That was the epiphany, the riff that kick-started the record. ‘‘I started coming up with more tunes. It felt a hell of a lot stronger lyrically and musically it was deeper, there was more power. I was back on track. It was the turmoil that had to happen.'' From there the Living End were back in business. Harvey had scored the band a lucrative deal with EMI in 1998 on the back of the success of the independently released Prisoner of Society/Second Solution EP. Harvey would license the band's albums to EMI on a record-by-record basis. ‘‘After the release of every single album, they were an unsigned act,'' Harvey says. ‘‘We just didn't advertise it. It wasn't about starting bidding wars, it was about control.'' But the band's camp felt State of Emergency wasn't as big as it should have been and the mixed corporate fortunes of EMI weren't helping. Harvey began negotiating a new deal with Dew Process, run by Powderfinger's manager Paul Piticco and home to the Panics, the Grates and Sarah Blasko. Harvey mentioned the new deal in her first meeting with a post-yoga Cheney. He soon swapped zen for rock. ‘‘I told him I'd turned down the European tour and he was mortified,'' Harvey says. ‘‘I think that drove something home to him, that he'd missed out on something big. But it made him realise what he was giving up. The Dew Process deal was ready, but I said we weren't signing it if he wasn't committed to the band.'' With How Do We Know under his belt, the Living End were out of traction and back in action. They signed their first multiple-album deal. ‘‘We wanted to give Dew Process some ownership over it,'' Harvey says. The label suggested producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth) for their fifth album White Noise, and Harvey wanted Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam) to mix it. Both men were secured; White Noise was recorded in New Jersey in April for a fast-turnaround release next month. Harvey had her own motives for O'Brien -- feeling the previous producers never captured the band's intense live sound. O'Brien came to the Living End the day after finishing producing the new AC/DC album. ‘‘In the past I'd love the demos and go ‘OK, now they're going to record the same bland piece of crap they've recorded every single time that doesn't represent how they sound live no matter what we do','' Harvey says. ‘‘And this time they didn't. And it blew me away. ‘‘Every other album has had the life drained out of it because of the perfectionism in the band.'' Cheney agrees White Noise is as close as they've ever come to replicating their live sound inside a studio. ‘‘We would never make a record that sounds exactly like we do live because I'd never allow it, it'd be too rough,'' he says. ‘‘But we wanted to catch the edge, the sweat, some of the happy accidents and spontaneity. When you're making a record everything's so calculated you squeeze all that stuff out to make it sound smooth and perfect. We realised what sounds right is when we're playing fast and it sounds real, there's character to it. ‘‘Every single song on this album has a few great moments we were determined to capture, pushing ourselves to the extreme like we would live -- when the throat cracks or when your fingers slip off the strings.'' The revitalised band reactivated their alter-ego -- the Longnecks -- for a series of regional shows in February this year. They'd road-test solely new material written for White Noise, before returning for a handful of hits as the encore. One was missing -- Prisoner of Society. ‘‘That was a turning point -- I feel like we'd outgrown the stigma of Prisoner,'' Cheney says. ‘‘We haven't even been playing it on the past few shows. It really wasn't missed. It's that double-edged sword, it put us on the map, but I've been trying to prove my worth as a songwriter ever since. Perhaps it was the best thing that ever happened.'' So intense is their fanbase that at one Longnecks show a fan handed the band notes he had taken on the new songs. ‘‘I felt for the first time what it must be like to be on Australian Idol and get judged,'' Cheney says with a laugh. ‘‘We have really good fans like that, they're immensely dedicated to the band. When people stop caring, that's when we're in trouble.'' The frontman is also quick to point out he's got back the passion for the Living End that temporarily left him. ‘‘The Longnecks shows were imperative to that,'' he says. ‘‘They boosted the confidence of the band in an enormous way. We realised what we were doing not only sounded great to us but was being conveyed to an audience. ‘‘I've learnt a very valuable lesson. Nothing pays off like hard work and I'm insanely proud of what we ended up with on this record, especially considering the circumstances.'' The band remain signed to Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's record label Adeline in the US; Dew Process will handle them in Europe. ‘‘We know we can go to the US and play to a few thousand people a night, but it's now about getting a song on the radio over there,'' Cheney says. ‘‘We're going to focus on Australia first. I still feel like we have something to prove. I hope we always feel that way.'' White Noise (Dew Process/Universal) out July 19. The Living End, Queensbridge, October 2. On sale July 10, Ticketek.
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Rihanna, Jennifer Hudson, Jill Scott and Ne-Yo Join BET Awards Line Up
BET revealed the addition of Rihanna, Ne-Yo, and Jennifer Hudson to the line up of performers for the networks upcoming BET Awards Thursday.
T...
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Thursday, 12 June 2008
Pete Tong and Armand van Helden
Artist: Pete Tong and Armand van Helden
Genre(s):
Trance
Discography:
In The Music We Trust
Year: 2007
Tracks: 1
Friday, 6 June 2008
Karina and Mario Call it Quits!
Hot couple and Dancing with the Stars Alums Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff are calling it quits after two years, OK! can confirm.
Karina announced the split on the red carpet at the A-list Bravo Awards on Wednesday night, telling OK!, "I just wouldn't be a great girlfriend right now, Mario's a great guy."
The couple's busy schedules were no doubt a strain on their relationship. Mario recently told OK! that he wasn't going to have a free day until September, with comittmments to performing on Broadway's A Chorus Line, promoting a fitness book and gearing up for the second season of America's Next Dance Crew.
Following her appearance on season 6 of DWTS, where she was paired with sexy music star Mario, Smirnoff was spotted out and about with E! Entertainment personality Michael Yo. The two were recently seen dancing and canoodling at a recent event at Hollywood eatery Beso.
Lopez and Smirnoff met after they were paired together for the third season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Amid rumors that the couple was romantically involved they remained notoriously coy throughout the remainder of taping. Their relationship soon moved off of the dance floor following the end of season 3.
See Also
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Twelve-Time Grammy Award Winner, Emmylou Harris, Spends the Weekend with Animal Radio(R)
Veteran Country and Bluegrass songstress, Emmylou Harris, to be featured on
Animal Radio(R) May 24 and May 25 to discuss a range of topics - including
her devotion to Animal-Rights and her Nashville-area animal
rescue/fostering organization, Bonaparte's Retreat
NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 23 -- Animal Radio(R) Announces
Award Winning Country Music Star, Future Country Music Hall of Fame
Inductee and Animal Rights Activist, Emmylou Harris and Comedian Richard
Pryor's wife, Jennifer Pryor, to make guest appearances on the AM/FM
(terrestrial) and XM Satellite Radio broadcast of Animal Radio(R) this
weekend.
"Animals, that is what I want to devote my life to now," Emmylou Harris
tells Animal Radio(R) listeners. "Animals can teach us how to be better
human beings. They've certainly taught me that." The angel-voiced singer
has been wowing audiences for decades and her true love lives in the legacy
of "Bonaparte" -- a dog that touched her deeply and inspired her to start
her Nashville-area animal rescue/fostering organization, "Bonaparte's
Retreat."
Also in this special program, Richard Pryor's wife, Jennifer Pryor,
shares information regarding "Pryor's Planet" -- an animal advocate
organization and Richard Pryor's legacy as "A Saving Grace for All
Animals". Additionally, Jennifer is a part of Animal Radio's tribute to the
late-comedian. Jennifer recalls, "Richard would get out of the car and talk
to cows -- he had an 'animal' magnetism."
This highly anticipated Animal Radio(R) broadcast will air on 97 AM-FM
Animal Radio(R) affiliates, including KOST 103.5 FM Los Angeles, and XM
Satellite Radio channel 158 Saturday May 24, 2008 at noon EDT, and again
Sunday May 25, 2008 at 9am EDT. Internet users can listen by logging onto
http://www.AnimalRadio.com.
About Animal Radio(R)
Animal Radio(R) at http://www.AnimalRadio.com is America's
"most-listened-to" pet show. Hal Abrams, Judy Francis and a cast of
hundreds, host on 90+ AM-FM radio stations nationwide. Through education
and awareness, together we're reducing surrenders and the ultimate
euthanasia of healthy homeless animals.
Contact
Animal Radio
(435) 644-5992
See Also
Animal Radio(R) May 24 and May 25 to discuss a range of topics - including
her devotion to Animal-Rights and her Nashville-area animal
rescue/fostering organization, Bonaparte's Retreat
NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 23 -- Animal Radio(R) Announces
Award Winning Country Music Star, Future Country Music Hall of Fame
Inductee and Animal Rights Activist, Emmylou Harris and Comedian Richard
Pryor's wife, Jennifer Pryor, to make guest appearances on the AM/FM
(terrestrial) and XM Satellite Radio broadcast of Animal Radio(R) this
weekend.
"Animals, that is what I want to devote my life to now," Emmylou Harris
tells Animal Radio(R) listeners. "Animals can teach us how to be better
human beings. They've certainly taught me that." The angel-voiced singer
has been wowing audiences for decades and her true love lives in the legacy
of "Bonaparte" -- a dog that touched her deeply and inspired her to start
her Nashville-area animal rescue/fostering organization, "Bonaparte's
Retreat."
Also in this special program, Richard Pryor's wife, Jennifer Pryor,
shares information regarding "Pryor's Planet" -- an animal advocate
organization and Richard Pryor's legacy as "A Saving Grace for All
Animals". Additionally, Jennifer is a part of Animal Radio's tribute to the
late-comedian. Jennifer recalls, "Richard would get out of the car and talk
to cows -- he had an 'animal' magnetism."
This highly anticipated Animal Radio(R) broadcast will air on 97 AM-FM
Animal Radio(R) affiliates, including KOST 103.5 FM Los Angeles, and XM
Satellite Radio channel 158 Saturday May 24, 2008 at noon EDT, and again
Sunday May 25, 2008 at 9am EDT. Internet users can listen by logging onto
http://www.AnimalRadio.com.
About Animal Radio(R)
Animal Radio(R) at http://www.AnimalRadio.com is America's
"most-listened-to" pet show. Hal Abrams, Judy Francis and a cast of
hundreds, host on 90+ AM-FM radio stations nationwide. Through education
and awareness, together we're reducing surrenders and the ultimate
euthanasia of healthy homeless animals.
Contact
Animal Radio
(435) 644-5992
See Also
Monday, 26 May 2008
Nicole Richie and Joel Madden Offer Support For Myanmar
Nicole Richie and her partner Joel Madden from rock band Good Charlotte, have lent their support to a UNICEF campaign to raise money for the cyclone ravaged region of Myanmar/Burma.Watch their public service announcement below, and donate to Unicef by click here.Photo courtesy of UNICEF.
John McCain: 'I Never Miss An Episode Of 'The Hills,' In The Newsroom Blog
Presidential hopeful John McCain thanked Heidi Montag of "The Hills" for her support.
Eve
Artist: Eve
Genre(s):
Rap: Hip-Hop
Hip-Hop
Discography:
Tambourine
Year: 2007
Tracks: 3
Scorpion
Year: 2001
Tracks: 16
Eveolution
Year: 2001
Tracks: 16
Ruff Ryder's-First Lady
Year: 1999
Tracks: 18
Eve was one of a new breed of tough, talented, commercially workable distaff MCs to hit the knock scene during the late '90s. Though she could be sexy when she chose, she wasn't as over the top as Lil' Kim or Foxy Brown, and as portion of the Ruff Ryders posse comitatus, her production was harder than Da Brat's early work with Jermaine Dupri. In the end, Eve came off as her possess person; a strong, no-nonsense street MC wHO could hold her own with most anyone on the mic; and was finding success on her possess terms. She was born Eve Jihan Jeffers in Philadelphia on November 10, 1978, and started out as a singer in her early teens, acting with an all-female vocal quintuplet. She was too honing her skills as a rapper in impromptu battles with friends, and before she left high school, she formed a female rap duo called EDGP (pronounced "Egyptian Empire"), adopting the nominate Gangsta. EDGP performed at local talent shows and clubhouse gigs, much to the detriment of Eve's dedication to school. When the grouping broke up, she went solo and changed her list to Eve of Destruction; she too stirred to the Bronx in the wake of her mother's remarriage, and worked for a time as a table professional dancer at a divest club. Unhappy with this direction, she distinct to give rap another shot afterwards existence bucked up by Mase.Through some of her friends, Eve scored a group meeting with Dr. Dre in Los Angeles, and surprised him by turning it into an audition. Dre liked what he heard and signed her to a one-year cope with his new label, Aftermath. Eve recorded a few tracks, including one, "Eve of Destruction," that terminated up on the Bulworth soundtrack in 1998. However, Aftermath was searching for a focussing at the time, and Eve wound up lost in the scuffle. Her sign expired without an record album even in the kit and caboodle, simply fortunately, she'd met DMX when the rising new star was in Los Angeles promoting his smash debut, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. Eve passed a battle-rap audition to join DMX's Ruff Ryders posse, and in 1999 she contributed to their label's Ryde or Die, Vol. 1 compilation. Thanks to DMX's star power, it entered the charts at number nonpareil, and Eve's cut, "What Ya Want," was released as a unmarried. It bump off the R&B Top Ten, and Eve built more anticipation for her debut album with high profile client muscae volitantes on the Roots' "You Got Me" and the Blackstreet/Janet Jackson couple "Girlfriend/Boyfriend."Eve's first full-length was highborn Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders First Lady and released in September 1999. With Ruff Ryders the biggest name in rap, the record album was an instant smash; it entered the charts at number one -- the first sentence a distaff rapper had ever complete that exploit -- and went on to deal o'er two gazillion copies. Eve besides scored hits with the R&B Top Ten "Gotta Man" and the antidomestic fierceness rail "Love Is Blind," and guested on Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott's bump off "Hot Boyz." After touring in documentation of the track record, Eve returned to the studio apartment and delivered her followup, Scorpion, in early 2001. The album received inviolable reviews and topped the R&B charts, while debuting at number quaternity on the bug out side. Lead unmarried "Who's That Girl?" had some chart success, just it was the follow-up, a couple with No Doubt's Gwen Stefani called "Let Me Blow Ya Mind," that very bust Eve on the crop up charts. The song rocketed to number deuce and went on to gain ground a Grammy in the newly created category of Best Rap/Sung Collaboration; it besides helped Scorpion go pt.
Eve following determine about establishing a flick life history; she made her ticket booth debut in the Vin Diesel legal action blockbuster 30, which was released in the summer of 2002. Not long after, she was likewise seen in a spectacular load-bearing role in the Ice Cube comedy Barbershop. Amid all this activeness, Eve released her third album, Eve-Olution, in August 2002. It debuted in the Top Ten and base Eve reverting to the soul vocalizing of her early days on a surprising number of tracks. The single "Gangsta Lovin'," which featured edgar Albert Guest vocals from Alicia Keys, was a telephone number two crush on both the pop and R&B charts, and the followup "Satisfaction" was nominative for a Grammy. In former 2003, Eve signed with the UPN electronic network to give rise and star in a multiracial situation comedy around a way graphic designer, and she continued acting in movies, with roles in Barbershop 2, The Cookout, and The Woodsman. A total return to medicine was made in 2007, when she released Here I Am, an record album featuring productions from Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, and Pharrell.
Johansson ready to take "private" songs public
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Scarlett Johansson describes the recording of her Tom Waits covers album, "Anywhere I Lay My Head," as an "intimate experience -- almost private, in a way."
Of course, when you're a Hollywood actress, Louis Vuitton model and occasional tabloid fixture, pretty much nothing is private.
That's the challenge facing Atco/Rhino Records as it promotes the album, due May 20. Johansson is a familiar face -- and name recognition is a definite marketing bonus -- but the phrase "actress-turned-singer" is bound to set off warning bells.
"I don't think being a celebrity is a hindrance -- I think it will get people curious," project manager Liuba Shapiro said. "It's not like a Paris (Hilton) brand. Scarlett has credible performances (as an actress)."
Johansson's take on Waits, thanks in part to her teaming with TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek for production, as well as Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and David Bowie on backing vocals, is an atmospheric reinvention of the gravelly-voiced singer's work. It's designed to appeal to those curious about Johansson's vocal prowess, Waits fans and those who like their melodies layered and dreamy.
The album has Waits' stamp of approval, Johansson said. "It would be mortifying otherwise. It's such a valentine for his work. I wanted to have that approval. Now I don't have to look out for him in a dark, crowded place."
The video for first single "Falling Down," directed by Oscar-nominated "Capote" helmer Bennett Miller, is a cinema verite look at a day in the life of Johansson, including photo shoots and kicking back with Salman Rushdie.
In terms of touring, Johansson's movie-shooting schedule makes it difficult to plan dates. The album, in fact, was recorded last summer but could only be released now because of her schedule, the label said. Another complicating factor is what Johansson calls her "crippling stage fright."
Reuters/Billboard
Of course, when you're a Hollywood actress, Louis Vuitton model and occasional tabloid fixture, pretty much nothing is private.
That's the challenge facing Atco/Rhino Records as it promotes the album, due May 20. Johansson is a familiar face -- and name recognition is a definite marketing bonus -- but the phrase "actress-turned-singer" is bound to set off warning bells.
"I don't think being a celebrity is a hindrance -- I think it will get people curious," project manager Liuba Shapiro said. "It's not like a Paris (Hilton) brand. Scarlett has credible performances (as an actress)."
Johansson's take on Waits, thanks in part to her teaming with TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek for production, as well as Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and David Bowie on backing vocals, is an atmospheric reinvention of the gravelly-voiced singer's work. It's designed to appeal to those curious about Johansson's vocal prowess, Waits fans and those who like their melodies layered and dreamy.
The album has Waits' stamp of approval, Johansson said. "It would be mortifying otherwise. It's such a valentine for his work. I wanted to have that approval. Now I don't have to look out for him in a dark, crowded place."
The video for first single "Falling Down," directed by Oscar-nominated "Capote" helmer Bennett Miller, is a cinema verite look at a day in the life of Johansson, including photo shoots and kicking back with Salman Rushdie.
In terms of touring, Johansson's movie-shooting schedule makes it difficult to plan dates. The album, in fact, was recorded last summer but could only be released now because of her schedule, the label said. Another complicating factor is what Johansson calls her "crippling stage fright."
Reuters/Billboard
Smart People - movie review
In acting, chameleon-like versatility can be overrated. In Smart People, the principle
actors are assigned roles right in their natural strike zones, and it's a pleasure
to watch them swing away with ease. Dennis Quaid capitalizes on his natural late-career
crankiness to play Lawrence Wetherhold, a widowed English professor with a perpetual
sour look. His daughter Vanessa is a mouthy overachiever, which is the established
domain of Ellen Page, whether her gift is configured through superhuman quippiness
(Juno), insane manipulation (Hard Candy), or the ability to walk through walls (X-Men: The
Last Stand).
Entering into the Wetherhold house, ostensibly to chauffer the belligerent prof after
a seizure suspends his driver's license, is Lawrence's laid-back, semi-transient
adopted brother Chuck. Chuck is played by Thomas Haden Church in a clear and mostly
successful post-Sideways bid to establish future laid-back semi-transients as "the Thomas
Haden Church part." Church and Page are especially fun to watch and, especially,
listen to: Church's sort of deadpan surfer growl and Page's nasal precociousness
in a vocal duel. That they recall their previous roles only hastens our desire to
spend time with them.
Familiarity in a comedy-drama screenplay, though, is less valuable, and Smart People ra
cks up a lot of superficial resemblances. To its credit, it recalls a terrific roster
of other movies: the gone-to-seed professor has shades of Wonder Boys and The Squid and
the Whale, while the dysfunctional family with an "adopted" sibling always introduced
as such echoes The Royal Tenenbaums. It never rips any of these movies off -- dysfunctional
families and cranky professors were not invented by early-aughts indie movies --
but nor does it come close to keeping up with the achievements of its higher-achieving
siblings.
Indeed, the film eventually breaks free of those comparisons not by establishing
its own tone and tempo, but by sabotaging it. Wetherhold begins a relationship with
the doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker) who first treats his seizure; this subplot manages
to dominate the second half of the movie, relegating Church and Page to the background,
without ever developing into something believable or even particularly interesting.
It's a real triumph of vagueness when the doctor's anger at the pompous, stubborn,
often unpleasant Wetherhold still seems like the arbitrary decision of the screenwriter.
The entire story moves at such an odd, reckless pace, whipping around its plot turns
with scenes that often end abruptly -- sometimes after just a few seconds -- that
it sometimes seems as if the picture's rhythm has been surgically removed. If Harvey
Weinstein were still at Miramax, I'd wonder about him slicing and dicing another film-festival
pickup (Smart People played at Sundance), but maybe first-time director Noam Murro is so
eager to get to the good, redemptive stuff that he overlooks the better, human stuff
in between. Twenty minutes in, the insistent acoustic-guitar score is already plinking
like the movie is about to end.
Stranger still, the actual ending strikes a nice, muted note. But by that point,
the movie has cast aside characters (including a superfluous extra family member
-- Lawrence's son, a thankless role for young actor Ashton Holmes), neglected its
three fine leads, and only dipped its feet into its campus milieu. The actors make Sm
art People homey and comfy enough, but the film doesn't build them a proper home.
Drop and give me 20 clever quips.
See Also
Lost star eager to leave 'paradise'
'Lost' star Matthew Fox has become the latest cast member to reveal that he's eager to complete filming the series because he's sick of its Hawaii location.
Fellow actor Evangeline Lilly recently confessed that she did not enjoy working on the series' Oahu set because she is allergic to so many things there.
Now Fox has admitted he no longer likes living there while filming.
He said: "I've been living in Hawaii for three-and-a-half years now and it's not really paradise anymore. Throwing snowballs on a mountain top is now my idea of paradise. I enjoy getting off the island.
"It's a beautiful place and my kids are happy there and it's been a good place for us to be for the past three years... but it's not a place we're gonna stay after 'Lost' is finished."
However, Fox has admitted that the major benefit of being a Hawaiian resident is the fact that he is not bothered by paparazzi.
He added: "One thing that was beneficial in Hawaii was I didn't get the whole paparazzi thing in my daily life and photographs of my kids. If it happened it would be very rare."
"There's not a lot of paparazzi who want to do the 2,500 mile trek into the South Pacific to get a picture of me walking on the beach. I think if I was living in Los Angeles it would be more difficult for me."
Fellow actor Evangeline Lilly recently confessed that she did not enjoy working on the series' Oahu set because she is allergic to so many things there.
Now Fox has admitted he no longer likes living there while filming.
He said: "I've been living in Hawaii for three-and-a-half years now and it's not really paradise anymore. Throwing snowballs on a mountain top is now my idea of paradise. I enjoy getting off the island.
"It's a beautiful place and my kids are happy there and it's been a good place for us to be for the past three years... but it's not a place we're gonna stay after 'Lost' is finished."
However, Fox has admitted that the major benefit of being a Hawaiian resident is the fact that he is not bothered by paparazzi.
He added: "One thing that was beneficial in Hawaii was I didn't get the whole paparazzi thing in my daily life and photographs of my kids. If it happened it would be very rare."
"There's not a lot of paparazzi who want to do the 2,500 mile trek into the South Pacific to get a picture of me walking on the beach. I think if I was living in Los Angeles it would be more difficult for me."
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