Today's pop-culture roundup includes, well, it has a lot of eyebrow-raising stuff, as well as our mystery music video. So there you go.
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UM, ALRIGHTY THEN: A statement of some sort, per Pitchfork, Eminem, no stranger to namedropping pop culture figures in his rhymes, just mentioned Lana Del Rey in a new cypher supporting the new two-disc Shady Records greatest hits compilation Shady XV, Billboard reports. Specifically, he says that he'll "punch Lana Del Rey in the face twice like Ray Rice."
. . .Here's the whole section in context: But I may fight for gay rights, especially if they d**e is more of a knockout than Janay Rice/ Play nice? b***h Ill punch Lana Del Rey right in the face twice, like Ray Rice in broad daylight in the plain sight of the elevator surveillance/ Til her head is banging on the railing, then celebrate with the Ravens. http://bit.ly/1uiAvdt
BUBBA: Sans the sax, per the Los Angeles Times, To get it out of the way right at the top: No, he didn't play saxophone. But that hardly stopped Bill Clinton from strutting across the stage of the Dolby Theatre like a true-blue jazz cat. And how could you blame him?
By the time he appeared Sunday night to accept an award at the all-star gala presented annually by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, the former president had been described by no less an authority than Quincy Jones as "the real deal." Herbie Hancock went further, referring to the man who famously brandished his instrument on "The Arsenio Hall Show" as "the commander in chief of swing." Alas, the shower of compliments just one of several on this evening of high-powered back-slapping wasn't enough to get Clinton on the horn. Insisting he could no longer "put two notes together," the former president instead spoke about the important role jazz had played in his life and the need for jazz education in schools. http://lat.ms/1xuaTLu
BUNNY: She had cool stuff, per the New York Times, Rachel Lambert Mellon, better known as Bunny, spent her lifetime collecting whatever caught her eye, from antique porcelains and shaker baskets to abstract paintings by Rothko and Diebenkorn. Her legendary taste and style, from an era long gone, proved irresistible for scores of collectors who descended on Sothebys York Avenue salesroom on Monday night to see 43 masterworks, as the auction house called them, bringing prices that were well past anyones expectations.
Artwork spanning 400 years attracted bidders from 32 countries and four continents. The evening brought $158.7 million, topping a high estimate of $121 million. All 43 works sold. Among the stars: a 1970 abstract canvas by Mark Rothko of intense blues and greens that brought nearly $40 million, twice its high estimate, and several paintings and drawings by Richard Diebenkorn, including Ocean Park No. 89, which sold for $9.6 million, below its high estimate of $12 million. http://nyti.ms/1wOZXbj
TINY DANCER: And tiny minds, per Rolling Stone, Elton John recently spoke out against homophobia in Russia at his concert in St. Petersburg, expressing concern that a memorial to Apple founder Steve Jobs had been taken down after the company's current CEO, Tim Cook, came out as gay. The singer said that if gays are punished for expressing themselves, the world's humanity would be in danger. http://rol.st/1zh7Cyw
NET NEUTRALITY: And so it goes, per The Hollywood Reporter, President Barack Obamas carefully crafted statement Monday calling on the Federal Communications Commission to adopt strong net neutrality rules may well represent a turning of the tide in what has been until now a confusing battle over the future of the Internet.
Obama urged the FCC to use Title II of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which would treat which the Internet as a utility, which net neutrality advocates would like to see happen. The one thing everyone can agree on is that the Internet has proven to be crucially important to American society and the global economy. How to keep it growing is the issue. http://bit.ly/1wP523u WHY DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?: Just asking, per USA TODAY, Nicki Minaj has tweeted an apology for her new militaristic lyric video, Only. On Friday, the Anaconda rapper debuted the video for new song Only, which features Chris Brown and her Young Money labelmates Drake and Lil Wayne.
It's way too nasty and f-bomb-filled to include here. But what set off many fans was the "n**i imagery" used in the video, including a swastika-like recreation of the Young Money logo. Some cited the "anti-semitic vibe." Others mentioned that it was "super uncomfortable" and "disgusting." http://usat.ly/1uYpaRd
HUNGRY REVIEW: Or something like that, per Variety, Katniss Everdeen becomes the face of a revolution in Mockingjay Part 1, a tricky transitional episode of The Hunger Games franchise that abandons the reality-TV bloodsports of the first two movies to conjure a dour, grimly escalating vision of all-out war.
Unsubtly resonant, at times quite rousing and somewhat unsatisfying by design, this penultimate series entry is a tale of mass uprising and media manipulation that itself evinces no hint of a rebellious streak or subversive spirit: Suzanne Collins novels may have warned against the dangers of giving the masses exactly what they want to see, but at this point, the forces behind this hugely commercial property are not about to risk doing anything but. http://bit.ly/1wfz3p5
DWTS: An update, per Entertainment Weekly, Dancing With the Stars started the evening off with a BIG surprise: The low-scoring but highly endearing team of Tommy Chong and Peta Murgatroyd was announced as a semi-finalist, meaning another duo that scored higher (much higher) would be voted off.
Viewers already have a vote in who stays and who goes on this show, but for this week's show they got even more involved by making creative choices (dances, outfits) for the six remaining couples. Here's a look at the dances, how they did, and which routine made Len Goodman say he wished that he had an "11" paddle! http://bit.ly/1swK42V
SO TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT: In a word, this, per People, Like Geri Halliwell once sang, two become one. The former Spice Girl is engaged to Formula 1 racing team boss Christian Horner, and like Benedict Cumberbatch before her she made the announcement the traditional way: via an engagement notice in the paper. http://bit.ly/1zJumu4
AND FINALLY: Todays mystery music video: http://bit.ly/1a81WPr
--Skip Wood
swood@wjla.com
Source: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/11/celebrity-buzz-eminem-raps-he-ll-punch-lana-del-rey-in-the-face-twice-like-ray-rice--108924.html
