There's nothing half-hearted about the new album from Marilyn Manson, The High End of Low, which explores love, hate, revenge, loss and despair. Off stage, many find Manson's passion disconcerting, but the singer/songwriter considers anything that veers towards apathy to be inherently "worthless." It's therefore not surprising to hear that during the recording process Manson pushed himself and his band to extremes, the resulting album returning him to the kind of form he's not seen in a decade.
Very personal lyrically, and more melodic than past efforts, the album is the result of the much-anticipated reunion of Manson and Twiggy Ramirez -- the pair's last studio collaboration being the concept album Holy Wood, which came out in 2000. The lineup for the album was rounded out by longtime Manson drummer Ginger Fish and producer/drummer/keyboardist Chris Vrenna of Nine Inch Nails and Tweaker (who joined the band in 2004 when Fish was injured and moved from drums to keyboards upon his return to health).
The reunion with Twiggy wasn't the only emotionally charged ingredient in The High End of Low mix however, the period of recording, from November 2008 to January 2009, also coincided with the very public disintegration of Manson's relationship with Evan Rachel Wood, whom he dated following the failure of his marriage to Dita Von Teese. The 15 tracks on the album, which appear on the finished product in the order they were written, therefore chronicle Manson's emotional journey during this gut-wrenching time.
SuicideGirls caught up with Manson on the eve of a European tour to promote the new release. When asked about the album during our interview, it's hard for Manson to separate the music from the emotions and events that lie behind it. He also talks very candidly about the identity crisis that was sparked by this emotional turmoil, and his battle to figure out exactly who Marilyn Manson is.
Click HERE to read the full interview at SuicideGirls.com.
On the surface Kathy Griffin's "reality" show, My Life on the D-List, may be about the comedienne's relentless quest for A-List acclaim. However, in reality (of the real variety), Griffin's Emmy Award-winning Bravo show pokes fun at and undermines the very institution she purports to covet above all else: fame.
Furthermore, while other reality stars make a virtue out of their genuinely mean spirits in a desperate attempt to make the most of their fifteen minutes, Griffin delivers the wickedest lines with the kind of underlying warmth that lets all that "get it" know that no malice is intended.
It's this overwhelming sense of bonhomie that makes the show so watchable. It's also why, despite being the butt of many of her jokes, the gay community chose to honor Griffin with this years Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Vanguard Award, which is given to those who have "increased the visibility and understanding" of the GLBT community. As Grifin says in our interview, "I'm genuinely a fan of most of the people I trash in the act." And "the gays" have no bigger fan than Griffin.
SuicideGirls caught up with Griffin by phone to get the skinny on her headline-grabbing minimal GLAAD outfit (she's the only member of the Hollywood community with the balls to accept a high-profile award in a bright blue bikini -- which revealed a hot SG photoset-ready bod). Griffin also gave us the scoop on the no-so-D-list fifth season of My Life on the D-List, which premieres June 8.
Click HERE to read the interview at SuicideGirls.
Chris O'Dowd's breakthrough role was playing uber geek Roy Tenneman in the Emmy Award winning British sitcom The IT Crowd. His character is well endowed in the information technology department but not so blessed when it comes to social skills. It's safe to say, however, that in real life the exact opposite is true.
The highly personable Irish actor, who's starring in three upcoming films -- The Boat That Rocked (written by Richard "Bridget Jones" Curtis), Hippie Hippie Shake (with Sienna Miller and Derek Jacobi), and Gulliver's Travels (with Jack Black and Emily Blunt) -- displayed a distinct lack of prowess when it came to dealing with digital phone technology during SuicideGirls protracted attempt to interview him.
The first time Chris called in, he'd just embarked on a hike in the cell phone black hole that is Hollywood's Runyon Canyon park. Thus our conversation was unintentionally aborted just as it had begun. It would take a total of five phone calls, including two more entirely aborted ones, before our interview was complete.
Click HERE to read.
The makers of Star Trek can thank their lucky stars that the spacetime continuum isn't thought to be very continuous these days. The new Star Trek film turns its back on everything that Back To The Future ever taught us about time, and embraces the possibilities of infinite alternate universes that come along with the relatively recent science of string theory.
In the domain of string theory, the paradox issues created by time travel are resolved by a split in the fabric of time, with new offshoots creating alternate futures. This non-linear vision of temporal theory, which is now favored by many scientists, has conveniently allowed Star Trek director J.J. Abrams, and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (who worked with J.J. on Alias and Fringe), to reboot the series and open Star Trek up to a whole new world of possibilities.
The character of Spock lies at the dramatic center of the alternate universe depicted in the new Star Trek movie, with Leonard Nimoy's original Spock traveling back in time to aid a United Federation of Planets inhabited by his younger self, played by Heroes' Zachary Quinto. In this timeline, which was created by the elder Spock's leap through time, the young Spock (and not Kirk) gets to kiss Uhura (played by Zoe Saldana).
In an otherwise utterly brilliant film, it's this one storyline that may have hardcore Trekkies and Trekkers up in arms. Science fiction fans might need to remind themselves that the word "science" comes before "fiction" in this genre, where multiple alternate timelines/universes are (quite literally) the way of the future. Fans can also console themselves with the fact that a Spock/Uhura relationship is perhaps not without precedent in Star Trek's hallowed canon -- as actor Karl Urban (who play Dr. Leonard "bones" McCoy) points out in this group discussion with Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto.
Click HERE to read on.
Fischerspooner emerged from the ultra hip electroclash scene in 2001, bursting forth in a ball of glitter with their debut album, #1, and a live show that was part disco, part art-house and 100% entertainment. Visual and performance art student and showman Casey Spooner was front and center expressing partner Warren Fischer's pulsating soundscapes with dance, makeup, costume, and elaborate staging effects.
As they embarked on a major label venture with Capitol Records, who released Fischerspooner's follow up album Odyssey, Warren and Casey chose to embrace the culture the company represented. Their songs became more structured, and their stage show got a whole lot bigger. So big that after completing a European tour, Fischerspooner found themselves without the funds to tour the show fully in North America.
Disappointed that artistic success had led to financial failure, Casey retreated to his theatrical roots. He joined experimental New York performance ensemble The Wooster Group, taking on the role of Ophelia's brother Laertes in their production of Hamlet (which featured two Fischerspooner songs that were composed for the show).
Though he enjoyed his relatively simple life as an actor, Casey found he missed the creatively all-encompassing and fulfilling odyssey that was Fischerspooner. Taking inspiration from Shakespeare's rhyming couplets, a third Fischerspooner album began to take form.
Called Entertainment, the album, which is released on the band's own FS Studios label, explores what happens when art and pop culture collide. Is entertainment art? That's one of the many questions Casey asked himself when SuicideGirls called in.
Click HERE to read the interview.
In this month's edition of Scott Ian's Food Coma column, Anthrax's hard rocking viticulture expert talks about the rather unlikely wine-pairing event he's been asked to participate in. Ian's pal, restaurateur Joe Bastianich, who is Mario Batali's partner in an eatery empire that includes the hip NYC gastronomic joints Babbo, Del Posto, among others, is organizing a wine tasting evening that pairs wine with the music of Led Zeppelin.
"Led Zeppelin lends itself to wine; Hearty, robust reds match Page's raw riffs and Bonham's thunderous double bass pedal, while the band's lighter, more playful work calls for tamer, yet complex whites," explains Bastianich, who goes on to give an example. "We're pairing 'The Song Remains the Same' with two crispy acidic, chalky, mouth-tingling whites. Think about the opening guitar riff, that jangling makes me think of the bubbles rising in a glass of Champagne. We really captured the spirit of these wines, the acidity, their raciness, the treble. It's all about the treble."
Bastianich wine & Led event will be held on Saturday May 2 at Manhattan's City Winery (a music & wine venue which was the brainchild of Knitting Factory founder Michael Dorf). Scott Ian will be taking to the stage with Led Zeppelin cover band Six Foot Nurse to provide live music for pairing with the appropriate liquids.
Tickets rage from $55 to $75 and include 6 different pours paired with light bites. Click HERE for more info.
This past weekend SG was hanging out at Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Though you can't help but have fun mixing with folks dressed up as their fave horror film characters, vendors who sell all manner of bloodcurdling merchandise, and movie types such as Tony Moran (Halloween), Bill Moseley (Repo!, Devil's Rejects), Corey Haim (Silver Bullet, Lost Boys), Robert Hall (writer/director Laid To Rest) and Paul Solet (director of Grace), after three days manning the SG booth boredom can set in -- thus our ever resourceful girls came up with the following off-schedule Fangoria activities. Hit the link below to read their...
I was headbanging alongside Keanu Reeves, Dustin Hoffman and The Chelsea Girls at the American premiere of the rockumentary Anvil: The Story of Anvil at The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood last night. Benji and Joel Madden, Henry Rollins, Mark McGrath, Chris Jericho, Ryan Gosling and Rufus Sewell also came out to show their support.
The film is a real-life twist on Spinal Tap, telling the story of two friends, Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb "Geza" Reiner, who, at the age of fourteen, pledged to rock together forever. Click HERE for my full SuicideGirls.com report.
Friendship and a strong work ethic are core values for Sarah Connor Chronicles star Lena Headey. The Bermuda-born actress, who was raised in the working-class town of Huddersfield in the North of England, has come a long way, but she remains very down to earth.
Since her film debut opposite Jeremy Irons in Waterland back in 1992, Headey has built up a lengthy list of credits. Her breakout role didn't arrive until 2006 however, when she played the heroic Queen of Sparta in director Zack Snyder's highly stylized retelling of the story of the Spartan's epic battle with Persia. Having worked to protect her husband, the King of Sparta, in 300, Headey was then called on to protect her on-screen son, John Connor, from the Terminator in The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
While working on the Fox TV series, Headey forged a close bond with special effects guru Robert Hall (whose credits also include Buffy, Angel and Pineapple Express) and his partner in slime, producer and actress Bobbi Sue Luther. So when Robert and Bobbi decided to branch out and make their own blood and guts genre horror flick, Headey was more than happy to jump on board.
Though made on a beyond-low budget that was supplemented by friends and favors, Laid To Rest, which was the first film to be shot on Panasonic's new HPX-3000 high-def DV camcorder, has a polished analog look despite its bargain digital price tag. Shot on location at a deserted psychiatric hospital in Maryland, the film exemplifies the DIY methodology of Hollywood's next generation filmmakers.
With Season 2 of Sarah Connor coming to a close, and the fate of a follow up season still hanging in the balance, Headey ultimately hopes to join their ranks. Over the past couple of years, during downtime on TSCC set, the actress worked on her own project, which she describes as a "quirky ensemble comedy." Having penned and prepped it, with The Chronicles behind her for the time being, she now hopes to direct and produce it. If all goes Headey's way, she'll soon be the one making calls to friends for favors.
SuicideGirls called up Headey while she was enjoying a rare moment of rest, surrounded by her dogs, on the couch at her Los Angeles home.
Click HERE to read my full Q&A interview on SuicideGirls.com.
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