SHOCKER! Madonna courts controversy

Life is a mystery. Madonna not so much.

Everyone was expecting some sort of controversy as she launched her “Sticky and Sweet” tour in Wales last week. It was just a matter of finding out what it would be.

This time, she chose politics — including John McCain’s picture in a montage of Adolf Hitler and Robert Mugabe, then including Barack Obama’s picture in a montage with Gandhi and John Lennon.

Sure, it got Madge some headlines, but that’s not going to last until Oct. 4 when the tour hits America and the other current gripe with her is that the massive tour has a huge carbon footprint. Well, yeah.

Madonna’s gonna need some fresher controversies so we thought we’d help out – and not just because the new single “Beat Goes On” is too good to go unnoticed.

She should try:
– Gay marriage support: Whether her marriage to Guy Ritchie is on the rocks or not, they sound like they need a break. Maybe they could put things on hold as a “protest” for gay marriage, vowing not to retie the knot until all people who want to marry can.
– Michael Phelps affair: That would give her the cover to have a quick, torrid, paparazzi-covered affair with the Olympic hero. Of course, she may have to wait in line. Maybe John Mayer can pencil her in.
– Britney reunion: With the MTV Video Music Awards set for next week, isn’t it time she and Britney Spears, um, buried the hatchet again?

Donnie Klang gets Diddy push

Donnie Klang’s rocket ride to stardom has come so fast, he hasn’t had the time to let it sink in yet.

A little more than a year ago, Klang was working in a warehouse and going to business school, thinking seriously about abandoning his dreams of being a singer after two failed “American Idol” auditions and years of struggling with little to show for it.

He auditioned for Sean Combs‘ MTV reality show, “Making the Band 4,” on a lark and was shocked on live television last August when he wasn’t selected to become part of the group assembled, Day26, but instead received a recording contract as a solo artist with Diddy’s Bad Boy Records.

On Tuesday, only a year and a week after his selection, Klang’s debut, “Just a Rolling Stone,” will hit stores and, with Combs’ backing, has a legitimate shot at No. 1.

“In case this is your first time here, we make bands here,” Combs told the audience during the season premiere of “Making the Band 4,” which features Klang, Day26 and Danity Kane. “They make albums and those albums go to No. 1. Donnie, his album hasn’t come out yet, but it comes out Sept. 2. Hopefully, you guys will make it – what? – No. 1, my favorite number.”

Hip hits for mainstream movies

M.I.A., “Paper Planes”

When the folks behind the new Will Ferrell comedy “Step Brothers” wanted to make their upcoming movie seem a bit edgier, they turned to LCD Soundsystem’s “North American Scum,” one of last year’s best, yet undiscovered, songs, as their anthem. When the “Pineapple Express” guys looked to reach a hipper audience for the Seth Rogen film opening Aug. 6, they picked up M.I.A.’s great “Paper Planes” single for their campaign.

It’s a matchmaking trend born from Apple’s iPod commercials’ successes and the failures of commercial radio and major labels. When big advertising campaigns can generate unexpected hits for the likes of Yael Naim and the Ting Tings, it becomes pretty clear that what those songs (and so many others) needed was exposure for success, not different music. And exposure is supposed to be the one thing major labels can bring to new artists, with the help of their relationships in commercial radio, that the Internet distribution companies can’t.

The success of these indie-leaning songs points out an even bigger problem with commercial radio, though. What does it say about their folks who are supposed to be finding great new music for their listeners when it turns out that advertising folks and marketers often have better ears for mainstream hits than them?

Miley Cyrus, “Breakout” (Hollywood)

The push to turn 15-year-old Miley Cyrus into an adult verges on ridiculous these days. She’s at that awkward age — part kid, part adult and not really sure she wants to act as either all the time. It’s a problem magnified by her superstar status and the current drought of big new talent, but, generally, she handles it all pretty well.

Her new album “Breakout” (Hollywood), however, captures her awkward in-betweenness and puts it on display. “Breakout” is supposed to be her debut as a “serious” artist, the album that shows she’s ready to match up with the adults. Truth is, she’s not.

The smash hit “7 Things” is a clumsy, but fun, mishmash of country jangle verses and pop-punk rave-up choruses, with vocals that are girlish, but trying to be more. Cyrus fares so much better on the bouncy title track and the peppy “Full Circle,” which are both closer to her “Hannah Montana” material, and the pretty country-tinged ballad “These Four Walls,” where she sounds far more accomplished.

The ambitions for “Breakout” also seem mixed. Cyrus’ take on Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” sounds like it was recorded just so they could do a video or a sitcom bit. The synth-laden, ’80s wanna-be “Fly on the Wall” sounds more like a cartoon theme song than something to be taken seriously.

For all the hype about Cyrus and her intentions for “Breakout” and her “adult” poses in Vanity Fair, the album really does seem to reflect who she is at this moment.

With all its advancements, “Breakout” may be the best tween-pop album ever to come from a 15-year-old TV-star-turned-singer. Unfortunately, that’s not saying much. Lucky for Cyrus and her handlers, that won’t matter to all her die-hard fans.

What Kathy Griffin wants now

Kathy Griffin, as her stand-up act would suggest, wants lots of things. She wants a Grammy for her new album to go along with her Emmy. But most of all she wants an invitation to next year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. At least that’s what she told us on a break from her current tour and promotional appearances for her Bravo series “My Life on the D-List,” which airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. EDT

Why are people so interested in celebrities?

I don’t know. Tell me why.

I don’t know. You should know _ you’re closer to that kind of stuff.

They have to hire a normal bouncer (for the Correspondents’ Dinner), and they have to bounce Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson and the Jonas Brothers. … Scott McClellan probably didn’t go because he couldn’t get in. He was probably outside going, “I’ve got some pretty big news coming out of this book I’m doing,” and people were saying, “Yeah, yeah. Move over, here comes Ashlee.”

It’s a crazy world. But it’s working out well for you.

It’s true. I am enjoying the dumbing-down of America.

And it gives you so much to plug.

To me, it’s always like tax time for an accountant. Celebrities never stop. Mariah Carey with her child bride. … I’m pretty busy.

What can you say about the new season of “The D-List”?

The episode I’m really proud of is when we went to Walter Reed Army Hospital. … It’s one of those episodes where there are moments that are tough and moments where it’s pretty wild. What I found out about my beloved war-hero amputees is that they will laugh at the sickest (stuff) that you can imagine.

You’ve done a lot of stuff for the military. Do you feel that’s important to do?

Before the show even started, I went to Afghanistan, Kuwait and Uzbekistan. … Then, by the time I get to Walter Reed, they’re like, “Get us the (expletive) out of here.” By the way, I think I’ve just made a very good pitch to get into the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. I think I should grab at least one Simpson and be fine.

[Newsday, 6.19.08]

R.E.M. kicks into gear

Now it can be told: In 2004, during the recording and release of the “Around the Sun” (Warner Bros.) album, R.E.M. was on the ropes.

“It’s really hard to make a record that’s exciting to listen to if you’re so sick of the songs that you just want to kill yourself – the way we were working, that’s the way it would be,” says R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, calling from his Seattle home. “I remember we went in one night and Bill [Rieflin, the band's drummer] said, ‘Oh my God, we’re not re-recording that again, are we?’ How can you get a good take if everyone in the band feels that way?”

Afterward, there was talk about whether the band, pioneers of indie rock and recent inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, would continue. “I think that all three of us could leave the band any day – it’s an option we have and the older we get and the longer we’ve done it, the more likely that option is,” Buck says. “We’ve already outlived all but U2 and the Rolling Stones really. We’ve never broken up. We’ve never been away.”

But the struggle with “Around the Sun” actually ended up energizing R.E.M. When it came time to work on a new album, Buck, singer Michael Stipe and bassist Mike Mills were adamant – they weren’t going to go through that kind of ordeal again. “I was very positive about it,” Buck says. “I was saying, ‘Guys, we’re a great live band and we write great songs and that’s all it takes. So let’s go into the studio and capture what we do onstage as opposed to trying to reinvent the wheel and spending eight months just working things to death.’ It’s not fun and it doesn’t work. By the time we finished the last record, believe me, everyone agreed with me.”

Estelle shines

Estelle isn’t a worrier.

When her label seemed confused about the direction the British rapper/singer wanted to go in for her new album, she calmly went to see the execs and said, “Let me go, please.”

“I believe that if the music is good, the rest will follow,” she explained, calling from a tour stop in Washington, D.C. “I thought, `If this deal doesn’t work, I’ll get another one somewhere else.’ I was writing the album with John Legend and he said, `I’ll sign you.’ He made it happen.”

The result of their collaboration is “Shine” (Home School/Atlantic), a collection of hip-hop, old-school soul with bits of reggae and pop thrown in for good measure. The first single “American Boy,” which teams Estelle with Kanye West, has already topped the British charts and is now making its move in America.

While most artists would be a bit apprehensive working with an outspoken megastar like West, Estelle joked that he should have been worried about working with her. “It was mutual respect,” she explained. “I think he wouldn’t have gotten on the record if he didn’t like it, if he didn’t think it was worth it, so I appreciated that.’

Though the sleek pop duet turned out well, Estelle, who now splits her time between London and the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, said she was still stunned when “American Boy” went to No. 1 in England.

“I wasn’t even going for that,” she said. “I was going for great music. I wasn’t expecting it. I jumped up and down. I called my mum. I hugged my friends and they were like, `I’ve never seen you cry so much in your life ever.’ It was such a huge sigh of relief. I was so surprised because people were saying, `Black artists don’t sell, they don’t do well over there.’ Well, I showed them different.”

Wanda’s choice

“I’m a black woman – Hillary or Obama, I’m torn,” says Wanda Sykes. “I really just tried to narrow it down to which is giving me more problems in my life, being black or being a woman. … I ended up voting for Obama because there were just too many Hillarys showing up and I don’t think the real Hillary has been shown. There was Crying Hillary, Mean Hillary. Then there was Whiny Hillary. I’m just worried that Slutty Hillary’s gonna show up. Nobody wants to see her grinding on the Liberty Bell.” [Full story, Newsday, 4.22.08]

A handy guide to Mariah Carey’s #1 hits

With her current single, “Touch My Body,” topping the charts, Mariah Carey notches her 18th No. 1 single, putting her in second place among all artists in the rock era, only two behind The Beatles. How many of these do you remember? (We offer some handy five-word summaries if you don’t.)

“Vision of Love” (1990, four weeks at No. 1): Big ballad. Realize the duh-ream.

“Love Takes Time” (1990, three weeks): Big ballad. Not Whitney, OK?

“Someday” (1991, two weeks): Dancey, sorta. Ooh, ooh someday.

“I Don’t Wanna Cry” (1991, two weeks): Big ballad. Acoustic guitar plinking.

“Emotions” (1991, three weeks): Funky, sorta. Dog whistle scream.

“I’ll Be There” (1992, two weeks): Michael Jackson remake. Cute, unplugged.

“Dreamlover” (1993, eight weeks): Midtempo. Dreamlover, come rescue me.

“Hero” (1993, four weeks): Big ballad. See the tuh-ruth.

“Fantasy” (1995, eight weeks): Dancey. Poppy. “Genius of Love.”

“One Sweet Day” (1995, 16 weeks): Sorry, I never told you …

“Always Be My Baby” (1996, four weeks): Do doo do doodoo down.

“Honey” (1997, two weeks): Hip-hoppish. Diddy. Mariah, on fiah.

“My All” (1998, one week): Big ballad. Remix was better.

“Heartbreaker” (1999, two weeks): “Fantasy”-like. Only with more Jigga.

“Thank God I Found You” (2000, one week): Big ballad. With 98 Degrees.

“We Belong Together” (2005, 14 weeks): Oh babybaby, we belong together.

“Don’t Forget About Us” (2005, two weeks): Smooth R&B. Speaking from experi-uh-ooh-unce.

[Newsday, 4.13.08]