Ladyhawke, The Bamboos and a whole lot more

Ladyhawke combined with Pascal Gabriel to make Anxiety. Picture: File Source: Supplied

LATEST RELEASES: Kiwi Ladyhawke releases her second solid pop album, while The Bamboos administer an appropriate dose of blues on Medicine Man.

LADYHAWKE - ANXIETY (MODULAR/UNIVERSAL)

FOR her second album Pip Brown, aka Ladyhawke, ditches songwriters-for-hire to make her album purely with Pascal Gabriel (Dido, Kylie). So what it lacks in instantly ear-wrestling pop hooks (ala My Delirium) it makes up for in consistency. Yeah it's more guitar heavy than her '80s synth debut, but guitar heavy in the way Blondie were, not Pantera.

Black, White & Blue - with a chorus that doffs its cap to the Bee Gees' Tragedy, is top-shelf pop in a climate of bargain-basement pop. The new-wave buzz of Girl Like Me and the surf grunge of Vaccine will go down a treat live.

The title track is so damn catchy you almost miss Brown's brutally honest account of her battle with anxiety: "I take a pill to help me through the day, I stay inside until I feel OK."

Sounds like: high-IQ pop music

In a word: solid

Rating: 3.5/5

By Cameron Adams

--

THE BAMBOOS - MEDICINE MAN (INERTIA)

THE Bamboos are mainly a funk band, right? Wrong. Fifth album Medicine Man wears its soul on its sleeve, cutting a lyrical through-line with themes of despair, isolation and anxiety. They've got the blues and they couldn't be happier. Bandleader Lance Ferguson's crafty song-crafting shows an innate ability to extract winsome vocal performances from all his guests. Album opener I Never featuring Daniel Merriweather picks up where Mark Ronson left off, Washington's star turns on Eliza and Wilhelm Scream (yes, that one!) sees the diminutive dame delightfully dreary, Bobby Flynn shows off his chops on Midnight and the whole band are in telepathic form throughout.

Sounds like: The blue(s) train, stopping all stations.

In a word: tight

Rating: 4/5

By Mikey Cahill

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JULIA STONE - BY THE HORNS (EMI)

THEY'RE a prolific lot, these Stones. With a new sibling singalong on hold, here comes another matching set of solo albums.

Unlike Julia's DIY effort last year (where you could hear the studio chairs creaking), By the Horns is a relatively polished effort.

It's difficult not to be charmed by the gentle force of Justine, the '70s-era Stevie Nicks mellow vibes of Break Apart or Stone losing herself in the spooky grandeur of Let's Forget All The Things That We Say and I Want to Live Here. The only thing she didn't write here is a bewitching remake of The National's Bloodbuzz Ohio that you never want to end.

Sounds like: a passive attack.

In a word: inviting

Rating: 3.5/5

By Cameron Adams

--

SAM SPARRO - RETURN TO PARADISE (EMI)

THERE is a particular brand of funk locked in the very DNA of '70s disco and early '80s funk.

Here, Australia's Sam Sparro goes all CSI/Cold Case as he locates and recreates it on his second album. And it's mission accomplished.

Paradise People reheats vintage soul grooves. Let the Love In could be covered by anyone from Mary J. Blige to Chaka Khan. We Could Fly is Jamiroquai without the session muso stench.

It's not all old school. The Shallow End is disco a la LCD Soundsystem. Yellow Orange Rays is Prince meets Primal Scream. Hearts Like Us is deep house that's so much better than Guetta.

And hit-in-waiting I Wish I Never Met You is a classic pop breakup rant in the vein of Alanis or Adele. Except they never sang "You had me feeling like a crackhead, I squeeze you out just like a blackhead." Now that's ex-foliation.

Sounds like: Studio 54 circa 2012

In a word: real

Rating: 3.5/5

By Cameron Adams

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Rude pictures, potty mouth - Bieber takes a battering

Nearly 50 teenage girls were injured during Justin Bieber's concert in Norway.

JUSTIN Bieber's bubble has burst.

His bruising encounter with the paparazzi this week is one that will be, fairly or not, replayed again and again, like Britney's trip to the salon.

Because that picture - surly, angry, almost snarling and having to be calmed by his girlfriend - shows us something we haven't seen before.

And there?s a reason we haven't.

The singer has a whole army of minders and publicists whose sole job is to prevent such images leaking into the world. His persona on stage and on TV is carefully managed. His encounters with the press, with fans, with real people are military operations ? with subterfuge, bribery, threats and stonewalling the weapons of choice.

Bieber Inc. is a multi-million-dollar concern and its reputation is everything. His management knows that child stars are a different bundle from your run-of-the-mill pop stars, like One Direction.

Part of their attraction is their purity - a commodity that doesn't always survive the transition to adulthood, when sex and alcohol are suddenly on the table.

And for every Belieber who wants their idol to stay pure, there are thousands more people out there who want him to wallow in their mud. Think how much the world desperately wanted Mariah Yeater's fictional bathroom fumble with Bieber to be true.

The singer's reputation didn't take too much of a hit from the paternity suit - mostly because Yeater's claims were so clearly untrue - and his PR managers were able to obliquely address whether Bieber was sexually active with a nudge and a wink (they weren't so successful at spinning his anti-abortion comments in Rolling Stone, though).

To get an idea of just how bizarre life is at the court of King Bieber here is an incident from novelist Drew Magary's revealing GQ interview with the singer:

"I was escorted into the studio, where Kuk Harrell, Bieber's vocal producer, was working on Believe without him. After a few minutes, I noticed that someone had drawn a bunch of d..ks all over the grease board by the door. So I pointed at them and asked, "Hey, who drew all the d..ks?" One of the sound engineers immediately jumped up, ran over, and erased them with his sleeve. This is the new and mature Bieber. We can't have d..ks being drawn all over the place. People might get the wrong idea about filthy-rich 18-year-old pop stars.

"There is no way around it: Justin Bieber is a very small human being. He's 18, but he could easily pass for someone six years younger. I suddenly realise that I can't box this guy. It doesn't matter, because Bieber says he forgot his boxing equipment. We head into his studio, where (Bieber's stylist Ryan) Aldred greets Bieber and pumps him up for the evening by ripping the sleeves off of his T-shirt while he's still wearing it. OUTTA MY WAY, SLEEVES. This is clearly not the first time they've performed this ritual. It's Bieber's patented entrance move, his talcum powder tossed in the air. Being Justin Bieber means having an endless number of T-shirts to destroy."

Magary's interview covers just a few hours in Bieber's life but it is potent. The star is surrounded by business managers, producers and heavy security; the adults around him - and they are all adults - all laugh at his jokes and hang on his every word. The telling quote is from Harrell. When he's asked if Bieber ever needs to be pushed during recordings, if the singer's feelings are ever hurt the answer is: "He hurts feelings."

The Bieber profiled fluctuates from a moody, mopey teen, reluctant to talk and offering nothing but "horrible silences", to an over-excited and easily distracted show-off who craves attention, blasts music 9000 decibels and tries to talk gangsta - "Platinum can suck a d..k, man. West Coast all day."; "GOOD NIGHT, B..CHES!".

But Magary also gives us a lonely, isolated kid who "exists inside what amounts to a series of interconnected skyways: He goes from his secluded house to his secluded Range Rover to his secluded studio, rarely setting foot in the exposed world." This Bieber, he says, is a caged animal, and knows it.

"Bieber is legitimately talented," Magary writes. "He has something to offer the world. He wants to be a real artist. He wants respect. But the way his life is built around him is going to make that very difficult. There's too much riding on his 'brand' for him to get dinged and knocked around and punched in the face, to suffer ? and to bounce back from ? the kind of traumas that make a child into an adult."

Bieber's alleged attack on a photographer outside a movie theatre is what happens when the fragile bubble gets punched. A short walk to a mini-van with your girlfriend while the minders have their eyes elsewhere is all it takes for unscrupulous paparazzi, who know that a picture of Bieber and Gomez together is worth tens of thousands of dollars. Provoked or not, Bieber doesn't come out of the encounter well. He looks like a rabid dog in the pics, threatening but also cowardly (and the video footage Bieber hanging tough with Mike Tyson just days before the incident, all smiles while he feebly pummels the bags, do nothing but reinforce that description).

The photographer's claims that Bieber bruised his ribs don't need to be true, nor do witness reports that Bieber and Gomez allegedly fled the scene before the police arrived; the damage to Bieber's persona has been done. It's extremely unfair because Bieber is just a kid, expected to handle pressures that would cripple most people. But as Britney knows all too well, there's no going back. Bieber's seclusion from the real world makes more encounters like last weekend's all the more likely. And always in the background, humming dangerously away, is a warning: remember Jacko.

Read Magary?s full interview here, and click here for the extras that didn?t make the final cut.

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Samsung Galaxy SIII vs iPhone: how they stack up

The Samsung Galaxy SIII phone has launched, and there's a face-off going on between Gadget Girl Jen Dudley-Nicholson and Rocker Joel Madden. Who knows the phone best?

The Samsung SIII is the first Android smartphone on the market to exceed the price of the iPhone Source: Supplied

• Samsung Galaxy SIII more expensive than iPhone
• First Android phone to exceed iPhone pricing
• "Says a lot about the confidence of Samsung"

THE Samsung Galaxy S3 has finally been released, taking the challenge up to its main rival - the iPhone 4S.

So how do the two biggest smartphones on the Australian market stack up?

Samsung's price point at release is higher than the iPhone 4s was last year, and has commanded some nine million pre-orders across the globe.

Cameron Craig, the director of independent comparison outlet WhistleOut, said Samsung's pricing proves it will be Android?s market leader.

Samsung Galaxy SIII Gadget Girl review

"It says a lot about the confidence of Samsung and Australian mobile carriers have for the Galaxy S3 as a clear head-to-head competitor to the premium position and pricing of the iPhone 4S, which had previously been the most expensive phone in the country," he said.

The Galaxy S3 is the only Android handset on the market to price itself above the iPhone 4s' launch price on plans of $0 upfront and $59 for 24 months on Telstra and Optus.

Its launch price with Virgin and Vodafone also shades the iPhone 4s by $120.
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Joan Rivers -- Costco Won't Sell My Book!

Exclusive

Joan Rivers' new book is set to hit stores next week, but you won't find it at your local Costco ... because Joan claims the bulk retailer has cancelled its order because Joan refused to remove a few raunchy jokes on the back cover.�

Joan called in to TMZ this AM in the middle of the morning meeting and explained how Costco objected to 2 fake testimonials:

-- Wilt Chamberlain: "Even if I were alive I wouldn't f**k her."
-- Marie Antoinette:� "I don't like her.� Let her eat s**t."

Costco had neither a comment nor a sense of humor.

See More: Joan Rivers Hide these

Source: http://www.tmz.com/2012/06/01/joan-rivers-book-costco-cancelled/

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Porn star in brutal murder video may be in France

Police in Canada believe a porn star wanted over a foot mailed to government headquarters has fled.

This photoshopped image, (Luka Rocco Magnottas's eyes are brown) was obtained from the Montreal Police Department. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

Luka Rocco Magnotta is suspected of committing a grisly murder. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

Luka Rocco Magnotta has been known for committing all kinds of atrocities for years now by animal rights activists. Picture: Facebook Source: Supplied

Picture released by Interpol as part of an international wanted persons alert, for Canadian Luka Rocco Magnotta. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

Furniture allegedly belonging to Luka Rocco Magnotta which was thrown out after police inspected the apartment. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

• Interpol launches global hunt for "killer porn star"
• Luka Magnotta posted victims body parts around world
• Victim is believed to be Magnotta's former lover

INTERPOL has joined the hunt for a washed-up Canadian porn star suspected of the grisly murder and dismemberment of a man.

Interpol has posted the picture and profile of Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, who is being hunted over the killing, first brought to light when a human foot was sent to the headquarters of Canada's ruling Conservative Party.

A hand was later found in the mail at an Ottawa post office, and a torso was discovered in Montreal. Police believe the remains belong to the same victim - and that Mr Magnotta, who once dated a convicted serial killer, is to blame.

Authorities say they believe the suspect, also known as Eric Clinton Newman and Vladimir Romanov, may have fled the country.

Kitten killer

The mystery man has been linked previously to killing kittens, calling himself "the kitten vacuumer".

Indeed, Luka Rocco Magnotta has left an indelible digital footprint that links him to chatrooms, Facebook pages, blogs, porn sites and YouTube videos.

One such video showed him suffocating a pair of kittens, The Montreal Gazette reported.

Magnotta's "kitten vacuumer" Facebook video shows two kittens in a plastic bag, before the air is sucked out of it with a vacuum cleaner.

Two other videos depict Magnotta torturing and killing cats. In 2010 an animal rights group offered a $5000 reward to bring him to justice.

For someone who is trying to evade police, the fugitive has left a pretty large digital footprint, which allowed the authorities to track him down.

He even posted a blog on his personal website addressing the worldwide manhunt, complaining about "cyber stalking" and "media propaganda".

Magnotta said he was the target of an online conspiracy, though he did not specify who was behind the alleged ?online manhunt?.

?I do not feel the necessity to address the specific accusations made in the posts,? Magnotta wrote on his personal website.

?They are so far from my character that responding to them will give them more credibility than they will ever hold.?

He also claimed that people had impersonated him on "hoax websites".

The Montreal apartment building where the grisly crime allegedly took place. Picture: AFP

Source: AFP

'American Psycho'

A video reportedly circulating online shows a man repeatedly stab another man with an ice pick and dismembering him, as a song from the soundtrack of the film "American Psycho" plays in the background.

"It's a video of the murder," police told the Daily Globe and Mail. The newspaper also reported that the footage showed acts of cannibalism.

An investigation was launched on Tuesday when a package sent from Montreal was partly opened by the receptionist at the Conservative Party office in Ottawa, who called police after seeing blood stains and being overwhelmed by the smell.

Hours later, a second suspicious package was intercepted by Canada Post at a nearby mail sorting facility. It "contained a human hand", said police.

The entrance door of the Montreal apartment building where Luka Rocco Magnotta reportedly lived. Picture: AFP

Source: AFP

Soon, the probe shifted to Montreal where a torso was discovered by a janitor in a suitcase in a pile of garbage. Police said the torso belonged to a white male. It is believed that the victim and the suspect knew each other.

"We're missing parts of the body so it's difficult at this time to positively identify the victim," Montreal police commander Ian Lafreniere told a press conference.

The investigation quickly brought police to a studio apartment overlooking an expressway in the neighbourhood where the torso was found.

After combing it for evidence, the doors and windows were left open to air out the "pungent" smell of death, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

A CBC reporter, who was let in by the building superintendent, said he saw blood stains on a bed mattress where police say the victim may have been killed, around a bathtub drain, and on other furniture.

Inside the apartment allegedly belonging to Magnotta who reportedly filmed himself committing the murder while the American Psycho soundtrack played in the background. Picture: AFP PHOTO

Source: AFP

Only two months ago, Mr Magnotta wrote in his last known public comments on a blog: "It's not cool to the world being a necrophiliac. It's bloody lonely."

Police have not said whether there was evidence of sexual assault on the victim.

He has also blogged about "how to completely disappear and never be found".

Several websites describe Mr Magnotta as a washed-up porn star and hustler, who allegedly posted videos online of himself torturing kittens.

Online reports also said Mr Magnotta once dated Karla Homolka, who was convicted in 1991 of manslaughter following a plea bargain in the rape and murder of two teenage girls and her sister.

The bathroom of the Montreal apartment building where Luka Rocco Magnotta reportedly lived. Picture: AFP

Source: AFP

Homolka had claimed in testimony that helped send her husband Paul Bernardo to prison for life that she was abused and an unwilling accomplice to the murders.

But videotapes of the crimes later surfaced showing that she was a more active participant than she had claimed. She was released from prison in 2005 and moved to Montreal.

In a 2007 interview with a Toronto newspaper, Mr Magnotta denied knowing Homolka, who is reportedly now married with three children.

Contacted by Canadian media, Mr Magnotta's family members said they had not spoken to him in years after a falling out.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/newscomaumostpopularworldndm/~3/J1L_DEWD8RE/story01.htm

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Mayor hides behind tree at Bieber concert

Nearly 50 teenage girls were injured during Justin Bieber's concert in Norway.

Fans gather prior to Justin Bieber's performance at the Oslo Opera House which became chaotic. Picture: Getty Images Source: news.com.au

The crowd of teenage fans got out of control at a free Justin Biber concert in Oslo, Norway. Picture: Getty Source: news.com.au

• Justin Bieber performed free Oslo concert
• Crowd of teenagers went out of control
• 49 injuries, mayor reportedly hid behind a tree

FORTY-nine teenagers were injured when hordes of out-of-control Justin Bieber fans dodged traffic and even paddled inflatable rafts across a harbour in chaotic attempts to get to the young pop singer at a free outdoor concert.

The five-song gig was staged in Oslo, Norway, but the excitement of the teenage 'Beliebers' turned to hysteria, prompting lord mayor Fabian Stang to hide behind a tree "to avoid getting trampled".

Entertainment website TMZ reported 14 girls were taken away for emergency care and 49 fans were injured, however not seriously.

The 18-year-old singer tweeted an appeal to fans to take care: "Norway - please listen to the police. I dont want anyone getting hurt. I want everything to go to plan but your safety must come first...for the show to happen u must all listen to the police."

The event went ahead in its entirety despite concerns about crowd control.

Mayor Stang has launched an investigation "to find out what went wrong and why it happened".

"I have already called on the emergency planning agency to examine the entire event from the planning stage to its implementation," he said.

Bieber was in Oslo to perform a few tracks outside the city's opera house as part of his Around the World TV special. He tweeted the morning after the concert that he was "grumpy" and "pulled something in my hip yesterday".

Justin Bieber fans gather in the harbour on small boats prior to the popstar's performance at the Opera House in Oslo, Norway. Picture: Getty

Source: news.com.au

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'Bird man' faces court for sitting in tree

A MAN in southwestern China who lived in a eucalyptus tree for more than three months to protest the planned demolition of his home is being tried for disturbing public order.

Chen Maoguo was dubbed the "bird man" for his tree-top sit-in last year in the Chongqing region, staged to protest what he considered inadequate compensation for the razing of his home, the Yunnan Information News said.

His home was one of many to be knocked down to make way for a shopping mall in Fengjie county.

However, his unusual protest beginning last August attracted crowds and media attention, leading to his arrest in November for disturbing public order, said the report, posted on the popular Chinese web portal Sina.com.

During his demonstration, Mr Chen pulled all of his food, water, clothing and other needs up by rope into the small makeshift shelter he constructed in a eucalyptus tree, it said.

The report said Mr Chen was to appear in a local court today. It did not say how old Mr Chen was, or what penalties he could face.

Land seizures, often involving corrupt officials and businesses eyeing real estate profits, have been a growing source of unrest in China.

The problem stirred an uproar last year as a property boom and resulting rash of mass evictions caused a number of violent clashes, protests and even suicides by stubborn homeowners.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/bird-man-faces-court-for-sitting-in-tree/story-e6frfku0-1225885245007?from=public_rss

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