Phoenix continue to rise

Phoenix, from left, Deck D'arcy, Laurent Brancowitz, Christian Mazzalai and Thomas Mars. Picture: AP Source: AP

PHOENIX frontman and singer Thomas Mars says their new album Bankrupt! was born out of the negative influences going on in the band after the unprecedented success of their Grammy-winning 2009 album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.

"At that time, we started talking about success and not music," Mars said. "I guess it was time to protect ourselves and focus on music again."

The band said it took some time to get on track when they began writing songs for the new album, which comes four years after Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was named a Top 10 album on end-of-the-year lists for Rolling Stone, Time and Spin magazines, among others. The album also reached gold status in the US, a first for the band.

"I guess we're perfectionists in the way that when we make an album, we know it's going to last. It's important that it's exactly how we want it to be," Mars said. "But when the record is done, it's all about imperfection. It's all about playing live."

Ironing out things worked for the French-based band: Bankrupt! - Phoenix's fifth album - debuted at No 4 on the Billboard 200 albums chart this month. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix peaked at No.37.

Part of the anticipation behind the critical darlings in America can be attributed to the ubiquity of their song 1901, which appeared on their last album and was used in a Cadillac commercial. The platinum-selling track, a Top 5 jam on the rock and alternative songs charts, is the group's biggest hit in the US.

"Back when we did this Cadillac commercial, we were unknown here. The idea of doing something for such an iconic (car) was really funny to do," bassist Deck d'Arcy recalled (brothers Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz round out the foursome).

Phoenix is on a world tour that wraps November 22 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Mars said not having a hit before 1901 took off proved to be an advantage for the band on the road.

"We're lucky that we didn't have a hit single for a while, so when we play live, people are not expecting just one song and we don't tour as a greatest hits band, which can be sad I'm sure," said Mars, who is married to Sofia Coppola. "It's always the new album, and some from the last one, and less and less from the older ones."

D'Arcy feels the band attained gradual success over their 14-year career, but said they weren't prepared for the overwhelming reception they received in America.

"The US was a surprise. ... We never expected the big bang," d'Arcy said. "The rest of the world we kind of experienced success on a smaller scale."

While both d'Arcy and Mars agree the band doesn't need to do another TV commercial to promote their music, they don't believe that commerciality devalues their sound. That may be a result of the way things work where they grew up.

"There's a weird law in France where they could use pretty much anything, any song on anything as long as it's less than 40 seconds - so we grew up with this," Mars said. "We grew up discovering (Prince's) Little Red Corvette on a weird Cheerios commercial, and I didn't mind it. I thought it was awkward, but I liked the song."

The members of Phoenix, who have been friends since attending school together, hail from Versailles, the posh section outside of Paris. Oddly enough, they're not very known in their homeland.

"We have a more underground success in France, which we feel keeps it cool. We are considered French, but not French because people don't think we are," d'Arcy said, smiling. "It's a funny one in France."

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Ladies of the night unite against Missy

The Concert for the Kimberley at Fremantle Esplanade, featuring Missy Higgins and John Butler. The concert is a protest against the James Price Point gas hub. Picture: Jordan Shields. Source: PerthNow

Missy Higgins. Source: Supplied

MISSY Higgins is locked in a bitter Twitter war with sex workers - because she used outdated language to describe a dream.

The popular Australian singer-songwriter (pictured) posted on Twitter: "I dreamt I fell in love with a prostitute. She was young & I wanted to save her. Related to my thoughts about The Voice perhaps?"

But her seemingly innocent comment angered some in the sex industry.

A Twitter user with the handle WhoresEyeView snapped: "We don't need you to save us. Don't be so condescending. We are real people not extensions of ur ideals. Learn." Missy replied: "It was a dream dude, chill out."

That sparked furious feedback.

One tweeted: "Cram the chill pill. If you bothered to learn the issues you'd understand why we can't chill."

Another fired: "If you had any idea how we hookers get treated you'd understand why I'm defensive. Grow some empathy."

After learning the term "prostitute" was offensive, Higgins later said: "I meant absolutely no disrespect by dreaming what I did. For the record, I do not, in reality, want to save any sex workers.

"I had no idea 'prostitute' is an offensive term, 'sex worker' being the preferred term by those in the field.

"Apologies to those I offended."

The sex workers were obviously big fans of The Voice.

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Teen 'saves' suicidal Tumblr user

Quick acting and smart thinking has helped save the life of a Tumblr user who posted her plan to commit suicide. Source: Supplied

THE initiative of a teenager and some clever sleuthing saved the life of a Tumblr user who had posted online about her plan to commit suicide.

Jackie Rosas, 18, had followed the teenage girl's blog for about a year and had witnessed some of the bulling towards her by online trolls.

On May 6 she posted, "I'm going to kill myself. There is no other option."

Ms Rosas, who lives in Cathedral City, California, told USA Today that she knew she had to do something to help.

"She had been fighting this depression, and when she posted that, my instinct was that she was serious," Ms Rosas said.

She called a suicide hotline but without the girl's last name they couldn't do much to help so Ms Rosas called the police at 5pm.

Officer Heather Olsen was also at a loss to help but she contacted Cathedral City High assistant principal Karen Dimick to see if she recognised the girl's picture. She didn't. But she did find the same picture on a Twitter account and discovered the girl's last name.

Ms Olsen and Ms Dimick trawled her Twitter feed for hints. The girl had mentioned how much she liked the 'UHS marching band' and after following some further links the women discovered she was talking about Union Township, New Jersey.

It was 1:30am by the time Union Township police got the call and sent officers to the teenager's home.

The girl had swallowed a bunch of pills and was placed under psychiatric care.

Ms Rosas said she was happy that she did not ignore this girl's cry for help.

"I kind of cried," Ms Rosas said. "I was happy to know that I saved someone's life. It happened at random and it's an amazing feeling knowing you are able to help someone from thousands of miles away."

For help with emotional difficulties, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au

For help with depression, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 or at www.beyondblue.org.au

The SANE Helpline is 1800 18 SANE (7263) or at www.sane.org 

 

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Saldana defends Nina Simone role

Zoe Saldana plays pianist, singer and activist Nina Simone in the forthcoming biopic, Nina. Source: AP

ZOE Saldana has played an alien and a future space traveller - but taking on the role of an icon proved even harder.

The 34-year-old star of Avatar and Star Trek plays pianist, singer and activist Nina Simone in the forthcoming biopic Nina.

Her casting drew criticism from some, who argued that Saldana bears little resemblance to the singer, who died in 2003 aged 70.

Musician India Arie said "they should have chosen someone who looks like Nina Simone," and an online petition for a boycott of the film attracted more than 10,000 signatures.

But Saldana said she feels strongly that she's right to play Simone, an immense, irascible talent who made an indelible mark on both music and the civil rights movement with songs including To Be Young, Gifted and Black and Mississippi Goddam.

"The Nina Simone story needed to be told, and I'm really blessed that I did it," said Saldana, a New Yorker of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent.

"I'm human. I wish I was made of steel and so certain things wouldn't affect me," Saldana said at a recent London event to promote Star Trek Into Darkness, in which she plays multilingual communications officer Lt. Uhura.

Nina Simone in an undated photo with Liberace.

"So it did affect me but I couldn't let that deter me from doing what I needed to do.

"Just like everybody else I feel very strongly about Nina Simone, and that (this) was a story that needed to be told.

"I do believe that if everybody had more information about how this all came to be, it might help," she added. "But then again, I'm not here to get the acceptance of people. I'm here to be an artist first."

Star Trek Into Darkness, the second film in J.J. Abrams' rebooted series, sees Uhura play a bigger role in the action, to Saldana's delight. She even got to do a scene in Klingon.

"They flew in this linguist from San Francisco who gives courses. You go away for the weekend and you just speak Klingon," she said. "It ended up being much easier than I thought."

Like the entire Enterprise crew, Saldana has mixed feelings about Abrams' imminent departure for the Star Wars universe. He is due to revive the series with a new film in 2015, so it looks unlikely he'll be at the helm of a third Star Trek voyage.

Saldana hopes he'll remain as a producer, with another member of the existing team - possibly one of the writers - stepping in to direct.

She said she wouldn't want to see a new director come in and lose the essence of Abrams' reboot of the series.

"There's been a tone set" with Abrams" movies, she said - "So much so that it's made a fan out of me."

Aha! So is Saldana, like Abrams, a Star Wars fan in the Star Trek camp?

Neither, it turns out.

"I'm more of a 'Dune' kind of person," she said.

Star Trek Into Darkness opens on Thursday in the United States.

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Clues point to legendary lost city

This mysterious mound exposed by LiDAR penetrating image technology may be a sign of ancient civilization in the Honduras rainforest. Picture: UTL Scientific, LLC Source: Supplied

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are poring over advanced LiDAR images of the Honduran rainforest, pondering if the results reveal an ancient lost city.

The legendary "White City" of Ciudad Blanca was one of the "cities of gold" conquistador Hernando Cortes led an expedition to find in the 1500s.

Archaeologists and filmmakers Bill Beneson and Steven Elkins began their search for the legendary lost city in Honduras' Mosquitia region last year.

Unlike Cortes' who had little more than eyes, rumours and machetes, the new team is using LiDAR imaging technology that uses lasers to penetrate the forest canopy to analyse the terrain beneath.

A light plane has been flying low over 120sq/km of likely forest, firing billions of laser pulses at the ground to create a 3D digital map.

New images reveal unusual features that could be ancient ruins. The features exposed could be buildings, canals, roads and terraced farm land.

The University of Houston archaeologists are expected to discuss their findings at the American Geophysical Union Meeting of the Americas, in Cancun, later today.

A lost 'city of gold' may have been discovered under the Honduran rainforest.

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Star Trek movie beamed up to astronauts

Spock and Kirk in Star Trek Into Darkness. Source: Supplied

THE crew of the International Space Station is boldly going where no one has gone before - to see the new Star Trek film.

The three astronauts were offered a sneak peak of Star Trek Into Darkness days before it opens on Thursday on Earth, seeing it not in 3-D, but Zero-G.

NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said the movie was beamed up to the outpost on Monday and the two Russians and American on board had a day off on Tuesday. That gave them a chance to view it on their laptops. It's unclear if they watched it.

US astronaut Chris Cassidy is taking part on Thursday in a Google+ hangout that's bringing together two Earth-bound astronauts, film stars Chris Pine, Alice Eve and John Cho, and its director and screenwriter.

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Guy joins Swift on Aussie tour leg

Guy Sebastian pictured at his recording studios. Picture: Sam Ruttyn Source: News Limited

Taylor Swift has wowed fans in the US with her Red tour, playing to sold-out stadiums across the country. The mega-selling artist is heading to Australia in December. Source: Getty Images

GUY Sebastian will open for Taylor Swift on her stadium tour of Australia.

"I'm stoked to play with someone who is so popular and is going to fill massive stadiums because she has such a loyal fanbase," Sebastian said.

"It's going to be a whole new demographic for me. Taylor's fans really love her and it'll be nice to perform for them. She's a huge force to be reckoned with, people have to remember she's an amazing songwriter as well as a performer."

Sebastian will join Swift at Sydney's Allianz Stadium on December 4, Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium December 7, Perth's NIB Stadium December 11 and Melbourne's Etihad Stadium on December 14. An opening act to play before Sebastian is also set to be announced.

Swift's pre-sales have been incredibly strong this week, with the general tickets going on sale next Tuesday.

Sebastian is about to head to the US to continue to promote his Australian No.1 Battle Scars, a duet with US rapper Lupe Fiasco.

The song has been getting major radio play in LA and is hovering around the bottom of the Billboard Top 100, peaking at No.71 so far.

"Last month it had its biggest week of sales yet and it's still getting smashed on radio over there," Sebastian said.

"Songs last forever in America. Here you promote a song and move onto the next one. We've been working Battle Scars for months and months in the US. The record label said June will be its marketing and radio peak and that seems to be the case. Hopefully the song will open some doors for me over there and I can release my album in America."

Taylor Swift's biggest hits below.

 

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Wee Waa counts down to Daft Punk

Human after all: Daft Punk tried to involve more real people than robots on their new album. Source: Supplied

Daft Punk are launching their new record in Wee Waa. Source: Supplied

IT'S more like Access All Areas than Random Access Memories as the locals in Wee Waa countdown to their Daft Punk party - and annual show.

The local CSIRO telescope satellite dishes have been getting into the groove for the Australian album launch, dancing along to the album's first single Get Lucky.

Over at St Joseph's, the primary school children have been sporting their Daft Punk helmets, practising their robot moves and writing the band's name out 100 times.

But it's not just the kids and the satellites embracing the spirit of the world famous band choosing Wee Waa to host the first public playback of the much anticipated album to fans from around the country.

Their mums and dads and big brothers and sisters have been sporting the Daft Punk robot helmets when dining at the cotton hub's Chinese restaurant.

The playback, just a little spoiled by the official stream via iTunes, will coincide with the opening of the annual Wee Waa Show.

Leading up to the 8.30pm outdoor disco session on Friday will be the pet show, the dog high jump and Showgirl announcement.
 

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Clues point to legendary lost city

This mysterious mound exposed by LiDAR penetrating image technology may be a sign of ancient civilization in the Honduras rainforest. Picture: UTL Scientific, LLC Source: Supplied

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are poring over advanced LiDAR images of the Honduran rainforest, pondering if the results reveal an ancient lost city.

The legendary "White City" of Ciudad Blanca was one of the "cities of gold" conquistador Hernando Cortes led an expedition to find in the 1500s.

Archaeologists and filmmakers Bill Beneson and Steven Elkins began their search for the legendary lost city in Honduras' Mosquitia region last year.

Unlike Cortes' who had little more than eyes, rumours and machetes, the new team is using LiDAR imaging technology that uses lasers to penetrate the forest canopy to analyse the terrain beneath.

A light plane has been flying low over 120sq/km of likely forest, firing billions of laser pulses at the ground to create a 3D digital map.

New images reveal unusual features that could be ancient ruins. The features exposed could be buildings, canals, roads and terraced farm land.

The University of Houston archaeologists are expected to discuss their findings at the American Geophysical Union Meeting of the Americas, in Cancun, later today.

A lost 'city of gold' may have been discovered under the Honduran rainforest.

View the original article here

Baz's Gatsby gets gala Cannes opening

The films' stars Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Leonardo pose with director Baz Luhrmann as they arrive for the screening at the Cannes Film Festival. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

IT was perhaps fitting Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby blockbuster was chosen to open this year's Cannes Film Festival, with the movie's portrayal of glitzy 1920s slotting nicely in with a real-life modern setting that is the French Riviera city.

Vintage cars brought in to flag the Aussie director's headlining lavish adaptation of the F Scott Fitzgerald novel looked almost at home alongside an assortment of modern equivalents like Ferraris thumping slowly by.

A fleet of luxury yachts and super cruisers anchored off the famous Croisette promenade adding to opulence that defies the economic crisis that plagues other European cities.

IN PICTURES: STAR-STUDDED OPENING

Dancers perform on the red carpet ahead of the screening of The Great Gatsby at the Cannes Film Festival. Picture: AFP

The opening of the 12-day film extravaganza last night was all high-powered celebrity glamour with stars of the opening film Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Isla Fisher getting a rousing cheer from the crowd, some of whom had stood for hours in heavy rain for a glimpse of them on the red carpet.

CANNES BOOSTED MY FILM CAREER, SAYS LUHRMANN

Even the judges of the festival this year were sought after targets for the celebrity spotters and world press photographers, but then this is the first year the likes of Hollywood heavy weights directors Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee and Nicole Kidman were called to the judging panel.

Directors Ang Lee, Steven Spielberg and actress Nicole Kidman are just some of the high-profile names on this year's judging panel for the festival. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

French actress Audrey Tautou opened the gala star-studded evening introducing a montage video clip of Spielberg's greatest movies before the famed filmmaker took to the stage for a standing ovation and prolonged applause to formally open the competition and introduce the judging panel.

But without a doubt the 66th festival is all about Gatsby.

WHICH GATSBY IS THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL?

The movie was shown to the world press earlier in the day and was met with mixed opinions, the over-the-top adaptation of a literary classic too much for some European and American critics particularly, who went as far to describe it as predictable and boring fantasy. There were many tut-tuts of disapproval from the French press too after the film was shown.

Indian actress Freida Pinto was among the celebrities at the Cannes opening screening of The Great Gatsby. Picture: AFP

But after the press screening and moments before he took to the red carpet, the Australian filmmaker Luhrmann dismissed the critics and said he never got "those high critic scores" and he only cared what audiences thought.

KERR GIVES GREAT GATSBY A BIG THUMBS UP

And apparently they think much of it where the film in the US took more than $50 million in its opening weekend last weekend.

"I knew that would come," an animated Luhrmann said when asked about the mixed reviews for his film reported to have cost more than AUD$100 million to make.

"I just care that people are going out and seeing it, I really am so moved by that."

FILM DELIVERS AUDACIOUS SOUNDTRACK

Cannes is more celebration of film than competition. Other big name stars in Cannes are Michael Douglas and Matt Damon starring in the story of Liberace Behind the Candelabra, Ryan Gosling in Only God Forgives and Emma Watson starring in The Bling Ring.

The day's top showbiz news and headlines including Steven Spielberg arrives in Cannes, Drake earns 12 nods for the BET Awards, and Christina Aguilera gets ready for a "Voice" return. Bob Mezan reports.

 

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Trouble strikes planet-finder Kepler

This artist rendition provided by NASA shows the Kepler space telescope. The spacecraft lost the second of four wheels that control the telescopes orientation in space, NASA said. Source: NASA

NASA'S space-based Kepler telescope is in trouble with the failure of a key maneuvering device.

The exploration satellite is in "safe mode" as has lost altitude and is in an slow, uncontrolled spin.

A NASA statement says communications with the satellite are also unstable, as the datalink comes and goes as Kepler spins.

The future of the telescope, which has so far found 115 planets and compiled a list of 2740 possible contenders, remains uncertain.

The problem has been linked with the probable failure of the second of four "reaction wheels". The first failed in January.

The spacecraft needs three of these wheels to enable it to make the precise movements it needs to stare at a point in the sky long enough and stable enough for accurate readings.

Attempts to halt the spin have so far failed.

This illustration provided by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics shows artist's renderings of planets Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f compared with Venus and the Earth. Scientists have found the two Earth-sized planets orbiting a distant star, an encouraging sign for prospects of finding life elsewhere.

"This is a clear indication that there has been an internal failure within the reaction wheel, likely a structural failure of the wheel bearing," a NASA statement says.

Ground control teams continue to examine exactly what can be done to alleviate the problem, and what science can continue to be done.

"Kepler is safe and in no danger. We will evaluate what it's future mission will be," a NASA spokesman said.

Kepler can continue to be pointed by traditional thrusters, but these are not as accurate or as stable as the reaction wheels.

"With the failure of a second reaction wheel, it's unlikely that the spacecraft will be able to return to the high pointing accuracy that enables its high-precision photometry. However, no decision has been made to end data collection," the NASA statement reads.

Kepler was launched in March 2009. The planet finder completed its expected three-and-a-half year mission life in November 2012. It has since been in an "extended mission phase".

A concept image for the Kepler planet-finding mission.

"Kepler has truly worked wonderfully. It's achieved all our requirements," spokesman Bill Borucki said.

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Planet-hunting spacecaft is broken

This artist rendering released by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics shows the different types of planets in our Milky Way galaxy detected by NASAs Kepler spacecraft. Source: AP

NASA'S planet-hunting telescope is broken.

NASA said the Kepler spacecraft lost the second of four wheels that control the telescope's orientation in space.

If engineers can't find a fix, the failure means Kepler won't be able to look for planets outside our solar system anymore.

Kepler was launched in 2009 in search of Earth-like planets. So far, it has confirmed 132 planets and spotted more than 2,00 potential ones.

While ground telescopes can hunt for exoplanets, Kepler is much more advanced.

Deputy project manager Charles Sobeck says there's a backlog of data that scientists still need to analyse even if Kepler's planet-hunting days may be numbered.

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Eurovision: Is that Sarah Palin?

Eurovision is back in 2013, here is a sneak peak of some of the quirkier acts on the line-up. Courtesy Eurovision TV

Moran Mazor of Israel performs her her song, Rak Bishvilo, (Only for You) during a rehearsal for the second semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Source: AP

WE'VE watched hours and hours of Eurovision contestants so you don?t have to.

From a Sarah Palin lookalike to a bloke dressed in a spacesuit to the inevitable heavy-metal act from the continent's deeper recesses and an act with an accordion ... oh, and '80s balladeer Bonnie Tyler .... (deep breath).

Here’s our guide to the people who’ll have you dancing and laughing uncontrollably until this weekend when Eurovision comes to you (not quite live) from Malmo on SBS.

Heads up – this year’s drinking game could involve doing a shot every time an act has a dubstep part shoehorned into their song.

Spoiler alert: the semi-finalists have been decided but won't screen here til Friday. If you really need to know who made it through, scroll tot he end of the story.

THE TOP 5
These are the songs that won’t leave you weeping. Although as a rule anything half decent gets voted out very early on so quality often has little to do with it

BELGIUM
Artist: Roberto Bellarosa
Song: Love Kills
Verdict: Rob won the first Belgian version of The Voice. The 18 year old, who has caterpillar eyebrows, has a very modern Europop sound. His accent works in his favour, and the chorus is a cracker. This is another one that could easily slip into commercial radio playlists. We likey.

DENMARK
Artist: Emmelie de Forest
Song: Only Teardrops
Verdict: Another contender. Emmelie is just 20, and she does a good job of steering this tune that’s a bit folky (pan pipe alert) with piano and acoustic guitar in the verses before a big pop injection in the chorus. Expect lots of live drummers on stage.

FRANCE
Artist: Amandine Bourgeois
Song: L’enfer Et Moi
Verdict: Ooh, we like when square pegs get through at Eurovision. Amandine looks like Courtney Love and has a smokey, jazz vibe to her voice. She also looks like she might kick the judges in the face if they don’t vote for her. The lyrics are a touch stalky towards an ex, and the prowling tone should stick out like a sore thumb on the night. In a great way.

THE NETHERLANDS
Artist: Anouk
Song: Birds
Verdict: Anouk’s had a taste of international success – and she brings a touch of indie to Eurovision. Tore Johansson, who’s worked with the Cardigans and Franz Ferdinand, co-wrote the beautiful but rather odd track. It’s got a Lana Del Rey vibe, but Anouk’s distinctive and possibly divisive voice is a good antidote to the cheese on display. This should stand out on the night – for better or worse.

SWEDEN
Artist: Robin Stjernberg
Song: You
Verdict: the hometown hero is sadly not Sweden’s other Robyn. This dude is an Swedish Idol graduate and looks a little like a cross between Adam Lambert and Rick Astley. Unfortunately his song isn’t that exciting, but it’s a pretty good pop tune that lets his voice shine. The chorus, where he drags the word `you’ out to have about 13 syllables, is likely to get stuck in your head.

And here’s the rest.

ALBANIA
Artist: Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko
Song: Identitet
Verdict: Albanian hard rock sung in their native tongue by a dude who thinks he’s John Lennon circa Sgt Peppers? No, we’re good thanks.

ARMENIA
Artist: Dorians
Song: Lonely Planet
Verdict: Hang on, this song was written by Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath! It’s delivered by monobrowed vocalist Gor Sujyan. Null points.

AUSTRIA
Artist: Natalia Kelly
Song: Shine
Verdict: Just 18, Natalia’s song is a little more quirky than your usual Eurovision fare. Hey, there’s real instruments! And the girl can sing. And play piano. Comes with the obligatory huge key change at the end.

AZERBAIJAN
Artist: Farid Mammadov
Song: Hold Me
Verdict: Farid is just 21, knows his way around a nice suit and also a nice ballad. He also has the classic boy band reverse arm pump down pat. Expect it to be busted out on the finals.

BELARUS
Artist: Alyona Lanskaya
Song: Solayoh
Verdict: Third time lucky for Alyona, who’s been desperate to crack it for a shot at Eurovision. Remember Holly Valance’s Turkish-sounding Kiss Kiss? This uptempo track sounds just like that. It’s very, very Eurovision. Bonus points for including the word ‘kismet’.

BULGARIA
Artist: Elitsa Todorova, Stoyan Yankulov
Song: Samo Shampioni (Only Champions)
Verdict: This is the kind of stuff you only see on Eurovision. Bulgarian folk meets dance with heavy, heavy percussion. It’s a drummer’s idea of heaven.

CROATIA
Artist: Klapa s Mora
Song: Mizerja
Verdict: move on, there’s nothing to see here. They look like accountants but sing in a traditional Croatian manner about hard times. It sounds like Il Divo being joined by your drunk uncle.

CYPRUS
Artist: Despina Olympiou
Song: An Me Thimasai
Verdict: sung in Greek, Despina’s song starts out all Celine Dion before someone throws in some beats to make sure no one’s nodded off. Comes with the mandatory big notes towards the end.

ESTONIA
Artist: Birgit
Song: Et Uus Saaks Alguse
Verdict: In English it means New Beginning. Which is apt as Birgit will be performing pregnant. It’s your by-numbers Eurovision ballad, with a bit of slide guitar throughout to make it a little bit country but completely not rock and roll.

FINLAND
Artist: Krista Siegfrids
Song: Marry Me
Verdict: From The Voice Finland, Krista is like a perky, annoying mix of Katy Perry and Ke$ha, with added wedding bells in her song. It has gained a whole new audience with a gay-themed version going viral, as they say.

F.Y.R MACEDONIA
Artist: Esma & Lozana
Song: Pred Da Se Razdeni
Verdict: Esma’s an older lady and she’s going to set social media ablaze when she comes on stage. Lozano has a bit of an Anthony Callea thing going on vocally. They fit together like concrete and cheese. Don’t you love Eurovision.

GEORGIA

Artist: Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani

Song: Waterfall

Verdict: Another power ballad. An intense duet. Lots of spreading arms and meaningful looks. You know the score. Go make a cup of tea.

GERMANY
Artist: Cascada
Song: Glorious
Verdict: Remember Cascada? The hit Evacuate the Dancefloor? It’s been a few years between hits so why not try their hand at Eurovision. It’s their usual storming trance house that’s uplifting enough to poll very strongly.

GREECE
Artist: Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis
Song: Alcohol Is Free
Verdict: Picture a Greek Cat Empire. In kilts. We’re not sure why either.

ICELAND

Artist: Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson

Song: Ég á Líf

Verdict: It means "My Life". Forget the hippie-meets-heavy metal looks, this Nordic ballad from one of Iceland's brightest emerging singers could be the dark horse.

IRELAND
Artist: Ryan Dolan
Song: Only Love Survives
Verdict: Well, at least it’s not Jedward. Ryan’s song goes all David Guetta in the chorus. Wave your hands in the air like you just don’t care --- about this inoffensive song. He’s got a nice voice though.

ISRAEL

Artist: Moran Mazor

Song: Rak Bishivlo

Verdict: Big voice, big notes. Mazor, a reality TV show star from Israel, channels Nana Mouskouri with the standard 21st century vocal gymnastics.

ITALY
Artist: Marco Mengoni
Song: L’Essenziale
Verdict: Even the most ignorant has seen enough Italian menus to realise it means The Essential. And Marco mixes a gravity-defying quiff with logic defying sideburns. It’s a nice piano ballad that takes on a Nashville twist half way through, before a big power ballad happy ending.

LATVIA
Artist: PeR
Song: Here We Go
Verdict: It stands for Please Explain the Rhythm. Keytar, beat boxes and bad rapping. Oh Eurovision, you spoil us. You really do.

LITHUANIA
Artist: Andrius Pojavis
Song: Something
Verdict: Andrius has to tell you something. He forgot to shave this morning. Oh and he wants to be in Coldplay. And he smiles when he sings. A lot. The smiles and the dancing eyebrows may distract you from the fact he’s (whisper it) not very good.

MALTA

Artist: Gianluca Bezzina

Song: Tomorrow

Verdict: Sung in English, with a catchy ukelele riff, this little gem could surprise a few.

MOLDOVA
Artist: Aliona Moon
Song: O Mie
Verdict: It means One Million. There’s a lot of drama in this one – which is lucky as it starts off a bit Enya. And the last 30 seconds pumps up the drama to Home and Away levels.

MONTENEGRO
Artist: Who See
Song: Igranka
Verdict: Wacky alert! His hip hop trio feature two dudes whose white rapping skills are right up there with the bald guy from Aqua responsible for ‘come on Barbie let’s go party’. They’ve also shoehorned dubstep into their track to try and tap into the zeitgeist. Well, it’s no worse than the latest Psy song. Will the bikini-clad girls cage fighting near power tools from the video be replicated on stage? If so call health and safety. This is our favourite part of the (clumsy) English translation of the lyrics ``I need a party that won't stop while the hot girl is shaking, hot is like in oven up to 200, head flies, strobe flashing, beat goes crazy in my head, burn down bag, give me a drink, grill, garlic, parsley and fish, give me all so I can overeat.”

NORWAY
Artist: Margaret Berger
Song: I Feed You My Love
Verdict: Another interesting choice – think Bjork with Nine Inch Nails trying to write a pop song for her.

ROMANIA
Artist: Cezar
Song: It’s My Life
Verdict: Another one that’s going to set Twitter ablaze. Once people stop laughing. Cezar sing twee Europop in extreme, testicle-endangering falsetto. Oh and there’s dubstep as well.

RUSSIA
Artist: Dina Garipova
Song: What If
Verdict: Eurovision loves a big ballad, and here’s another. Dina is another graduate from The Voice – she won the Russian franchise last year. So she can sing and powers through the skyhigh notes with ease. This ticks all the Eurovision boxes so should soar through the finals.

SAN MARINO

Artist: Valentina Monetta

Song: Crisalide

Verdict: Standard power ballad, sung in Italian. Move along, nothing to see here.

SERBIA
Artist: Moje 3
Song: Ljubav Je Svuda
Verdict: It roughly translates as Love is Everywhere. And it’s another Eurodance track from a trio discovered on The First Voice of Serbia who want to be Destiny’s Child but wind up more like the Pussycat Dolls.

SLOVENIA
Artist: Hannah
Song: Straight Into Love
Verdict: Ooh, it’s dubstep. How cutting edge. Hannah can wail and the song sounds like it could slip quite easily between Rihanna, Rihanna and Rihanna on commercial radio. Has dramatic bits that will no doubt be soundtracked by pyrotechnics on stage. If they’re not, it’s a lost opportunity.

SPAIN
Artist: ESDM
Song: Contigo Hasta El Final (With You Until The End)
Verdict: Hang on – the Spanish entrant has Celtic bagpipes? Very polite female vocals that get a bit lost when it rocks out towards the end. Fingers crossed for live bagpipe players though.

SWITZERLAND
Artist: Takasa
Song: You and Me
Verdict: One of them is 95 years of age, which makes him the oldest Eurovision contestant to date. Fingers crossed he makes it through to the end. The song? Did we mention one of them is nearly 100?

UKRAINE
Artist: Zlata Ognevich
Song: Gravity
Verdict: Zlata will look great on camera. And she’s got a booming voice. But there’s some weirdness abounding here – some dude in the background who thinks he’s on a world music record and perky synthesizers that abruptly stop it from being a Celine Dion track. But these kind of strange changes actually work in your favour on Eurovision.

UNITED KINGDOM
Artist: Bonnie Tyler
Song: Believe in Me
Verdict: Another dud from the UK. Bonnie’s song comes from seasoned hitmaker Desmond Child. She’s got the pipes to soar vocally, but it’s no Total Eclipse of the Heart. No bright eyes will be turning around for this yawnfest. Can’t they just get One Direction or someone to do it? Even Leona Lewis. Someone. Anyone. Seriously. However Bonnie’s quite honest about her love of Botox, so at least if she wins or loses she’ll have a permanent poker face.

Eurovision Song Contest, SBS One, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7.30pm

Spoiler: After the first semi-final on May 14, the countries that will go through to the finals are Moldova, Lithuania, Ireland, Estonia, Belarus, Denmark, Russia, Belgium, Ukraine and the Netherlands.

In the second semi-final on May 16 are Armenia, Azerbaijan, bulgaria, Macedonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Romania, San Marino and Switzerland.

The final of Eurovision 2013 will be on May 18. Six countries are guaranteed a place in the final: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

- additional reporting: Chris Bartlett

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'We don't make clothes for fat people'

Kirstie Alley vows never to buy anything from the label

Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has come under fire for comments made six years ago. Picture: AP Source: AP

IF EVER there was a warning about being careful with what you put on the internet, Abercrombie & Fitch should act as a cautionary tale.

Comments made by Abercrombie & Fitch's CEO Mike Jeffries seven years ago about how "uncool" kids and "fat women" shouldn’t be wearing the brand's clothes have come back to bite him, inspiring a robust protest and a viral campaign.

In an interview with news website Salon in 2006, Mr Jeffries said he only wanted "good-looking people" in his stores.

"Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that."

Mr Jeffries' comments alienated almost everyone and have earned him the tag of  "worst human of retail" on social network sites. And almost seven years later people are still angry.

 
His comments reignited protests this week in front of a Chicago store after a writer and entrepreneur attempted to give the clothing brand a dramatic re-brand by donating Abercrombie & Fitch clothes to the homeless.
 
Greg Karber created a viral video of himself going through thrift stores to find old A&F products and donating them to street dwellers.

In the video he states that people can help by "looking through your closets, your friends' closets and your neighbours' closets for A&F clothing, give them away to a homeless shelter and share what you're doing on Facebook and Twitter".

When asked why it took him seven years to come up with the viral campaign, Mr Karber told news.com.au that while Mr Jeffries' comments were made some years ago "they recently resurfaced and upset a lot of people, and I was one of those people".
 
"A&F is the high school bully of the retail clothing world," Mr Karber said. "They like to exclude certain groups of people to create a false sense of exclusivity".
 
"People deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and making money doesn't excuse hateful speech or actions."
 
Mr Karber said he came up with the idea for the viral campaign last Thursday and by Friday he had it all on camera.
 
"I edited it over the weekend, and it went viral on Monday. New media can act at a speed clothing giants cannot."

The new backlash against Mr Jeffries reached fever pitch overnight with actors such as Kirstie Alley criticising the store and Mr Jeffries:

"Abercrombie clothes are for people who are cool and look a certain way and are beautiful and are thin and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," Alley said on Entertainment Tonight. "That would make me never buy anything from Abercrombie."

The backlash also escalated on Twitter, Facebook and even on YouTube where one poster started a "Fitch the Homeless" campaign asking customers to re-brand the popular retailer by giving their A&F clothes to the homeless.
 
A&F sells men's clothes in XL and XXL sizes but refuses to sell the equivalent sizes in its women's range.

Jeffries said six years ago how "uncool" kids and "fat women" shouldn't be wearing its clothes. Picture: AP Source: AP

Mr Jeffries also told Salon he only wanted "cool kids" to wear A&F clothes.
 
"In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids," he said.  "Candidly, we go after the cool kids.
 
"We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.
 
"Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don't alienate anybody, but you don't excite anybody, either."

The incident just goes to show that once something is on the internet, it's there forever.

Today Mr Jeffries released a statement on the Abercrombie & Fitch Facebook page.

"I want to address some of my comments that have been circulating from a 2006 interview. While I believe this seven-year-old, resurrected quote has been taken out of context, I sincerely regret that my choice of words was interpreted in a manner that has caused offense," he wrote.

"A&F is an aspirational brand that, like most specialty apparel brands, targets its marketing at a particular segment of customers.

"However, we care about the broader communities in which we operate and are strongly committed to diversity and inclusion.

"We hire good people who share these values. We are completely opposed to any discrimination, bullying, derogatory characterizations or other anti-social behavior based on race, gender, body type or other individual characteristics."

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Star Trek movie beamed up to astronauts

Spock and Kirk in Star Trek Into Darkness. Source: Supplied

THE crew of the International Space Station is boldly going where no one has gone before - to see the new Star Trek film.

The three astronauts were offered a sneak peak of Star Trek Into Darkness days before it opens on Thursday on Earth, seeing it not in 3-D, but Zero-G.

NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said the movie was beamed up to the outpost on Monday and the two Russians and American on board had a day off on Tuesday. That gave them a chance to view it on their laptops. It's unclear if they watched it.

US astronaut Chris Cassidy is taking part on Thursday in a Google+ hangout that's bringing together two Earth-bound astronauts, film stars Chris Pine, Alice Eve and John Cho, and its director and screenwriter.

View the original article here

Google launches music-streaming service

A sign for the Google digital music store is seen during an unveiling event in Los Angeles. Source: AP

GOOGLE will take on established music-streaming services after launching its own unlimited song subscription service in the US ahead of a global roll out.

Google announced its Music All Access service at its annual developer conference, Google I/O, in San Francisco this morning, confirming rumours that had swirled around the internet giant.

The streaming service will be offered for a monthly fee of $US9.99 ($10.05), starting with a free 30-day trial.

Google Android engineering director Chris Yerga said the All Access offering was "the next generation of our music service" and would provide personalised recommendations to users based on their past choices.

Users would also be able to create playlists, or virtual radio stations, based on a song choice and could remove any unwanted songs suggested with touch gestures.

"This is radio without rules,'' he said. "It's as lean-back as you want or as interactive as you want."

Google's music-streaming service arrives just as many music-streaming services celebrate their first birthday in Australia, including major offerings Spotify and Rdio.

Google's song offering could undercut the price of the existing services, however, with Spotify charging $11.99 per month for mobile phone music streaming and Rdio charging $12.90.

Google also used the I/O conference to reveal users had activated more than 900 million Google Android devices, making it the most popular smartphone platform, and they had installed more than 48 billion apps, including 2.8 billion in the last month alone.

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Pocket charger solves iPhone 5 woes

The Phonesuit is a portable iPhone 5 charger that will give your phone much needed juice while you're on the go. Source: Supplied

ANYONE with an iPhone 5 knows what it's like having to ration their phone use towards the end of the day as their battery life dips below 20 per cent.

All of a sudden those urgent work emails become less urgent, and you're frantically closing all the apps that you've had running in the background, trying to save precious minutes of battery life.

Well, now a mobile phone company has the answer to your prayers.

Phonesuit has designed a portable iPhone 5 charger that lets you charge as you go.

The dongle like device is an external battery designed to work even if your phone has a protective case.

And when you're done charging simply stick your charger back in your pocket and go on your merry way.

Phonesuit claims its charger will boost iPhone 5 battery life by 125 per cent.

Tech site, iLounge tested the device and found it was able to provide a charge of about 116 per cent.

“This falls short of PhoneSuit’s advertised 125%, but is right in line with what we’d expect when compared to past tests,” iLounge wrote.

And yes, it is available to Australians for $70. Postage will cost between $AUD25 and $AUD45 depending on whether you use standard international mail or express from the US. Phonesuit also provides portable charges for the iPhone 4, 4S and iPods.

View the original article here

Pop stars' unbelievable backstage riders

Secret backstage requests from all your favourite musicians. Pictures: Henry Hargreaves Source: Supplied

FROM Beyonce to Sinatra: Fried chicken to iced cheese. Check out the outrageous backstage requests from music's biggest names.

Riders, often outrageously demanded by celebrities, are lists of items requested by musicians for themselves and their entourage while on tour.

Items can be anything from food and drink, musical equipment, even decoration of dressing rooms.

You won’t be surprised to guess that when it comes to the demands of some of music’s biggest names, there’s no item too far fetched.

Demands for everything from Gummi bears to condoms, royal portraits to M&Ms (with absolutely no brown ones) barely raise an eyebrow.

Henry Hargreaves has staged a set of images depicting the demands of these superstars.

Frank Sinatra: One bottle each: Absolute, Jack Daniels, Chivas Regal, Courvoisier, Beefeater Gin, white wine, red wine. Twenty-four chilled jumbo shrimp, Life Savers, cough drops. Picture: Henry Hargreaves Source: Supplied

The Kiwi-native photographer who has been based in Brooklyn since 2001 worked with his food and props stylist Caitlin Levin to create these stunning and insightful images.

Brittney Spears: Fish and chips, McDonalds cheeseburgers without the buns, 100 prunes and figs, a framed photo of Princess Diana. Picture: Henry Hargreaves Source: Supplied

We spoke to Hargreaves about this food-based project and why people are so fascinated about the secret lives of their favourite celebrities:

"Tastes say so much about a person. I like the way people’s taste in food can represent a person."

Rihanna: Hard-boiled eggs, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, at any time throughout the day. Please be prepared! Picture: Henry Hargreaves Source: Supplied

Using food as a commonality between the regular person and celebrity Hargreaves is able to tie a link between our lives and the lives of our favourite stars.

"I was a waiter and bar tender when I was younger. I could almost pick what someone was going to order before they ordered.

Van Halen: Herring in sour cream, large tube of KY jelly, M&M's (Warning: absolutely no brown ones). Picture: Henry Hargreaves Source: Supplied

"I love the way that food can be a common denominator, you can connect with someone over a shared love of food."

The most shocking items on the list?

"While no one item was in itself shocking, it was surprising to read shock-rocker Marilyn Manson wanted Gummi Bears backstage.

Marilyn Manson: Gummi bears. Picture: Henry Hargreaves Source: Supplied

"The saddest was Britney Spears and her request for a portrait of princess Diana. There's something that’s quite empty about that."

Hargreaves' favourite requests came from band Axl Rose and Frank Sinatra but noted that Jagger demands a TV connection so he can watch the cricket. Gotta love that.

Scroll down to see the rest.

Images used with the kind permission of the artist.

See more of his work here.

View the original article here