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| 8/4/04 |
Usher: No beef with Justin ...Q: There'd been rumors about beef between you and Justin Timberlake, but you've been spotted hanging out together. What's the real deal? A: You'd better stop that man. You can't be serious. ... I do justice to the rumors by not getting into the rumors and shying away from them. There's no beef, they should stop that. If you want to compare us for business, it ain't fair, if you want to compare us for dance, it's not fair, so don't do that...
The Club Scene LED dance floor Lightspace Club Scene This actually wasn’t featured in Justin Timberlake’s Rock Your Body video (and we’re not ashamed to admit that we’re overly familiar with that video), Lightspace is selling a customizable interactive LED dance floor called the Club Scene that besides turning your club into an electric wonderland can also detect where a person is on top of it in case anyone is up for a little game of Pong.
Schizophrenic is HMV's album of the month From Smash Hits magazine: It's got possibly the ugliest album cover of the year, but don't be put off by that. JC's debut solo CD is a fantastic bunch of tune that is suprising both for the diversity of the songs as well as their sheer creativeness! For the most part, rather than going the urban route that fellow *NSYNCer Justin Timberlake did with Justified, JC has moved in a more electronic direction on Schizophrenic. The big single that's been all over the radio is All Day Long I Dream About Sex, which has such a cool funky, electro beat that it'll get stuck in your head for days. It's a perfect dance song, mostly cos it's a little different from what we'd expect, and takes advantage of what was a fairly underground electronic sound and brings it into mainstream. The first single in the US was Some Girls (Dance With Women), which is a sexy, if slightly bizarre, tribute to those chicks you see at clubs who boogie with each other to get a boy's attention. It's got an infectious, salsa-style beat, and should be a hit on the dancefloor, even with girls who don't dance with women! Another highlight is the Basement Jaxx collaboration, Shake It, which is a laid-back, funky jam dreamed up when JC guested on the Jaxx's Plug It In single. Some tracks, like She Got Me and Build My World, show off how influential JC was on the last few *NSYNC albums, and you can almost picture the other guys coming in with backing vocals. As the chance of *NSYNC getting back together seems increasingly remote, we'll just have to be happy with their solo work. As long as that continues to be great alubms like Justified and, now, Schizophrenic, then we say stop crying over the break-up and start celebrating the rise of some great solo pop stars! 5 headphones out of 5
Island party spot loses licenses In response to growing complaints about noise, the Town Council has suspended the liquor and outdoor entertainment licenses of one of Block Island's best known establishments less than a week before Rhode Island Military Appreciation Day, which is expected to draw 2,000 to 3,000 people. More than a dozen residents, including one who lives more than two miles away, appeared at Town Hall last week to complain about the noise from Ballard's Inn, located by the disembarking point for most visitors to the island. Since May 15, the town has received 27 noise complaints, including 10 on July 19, about the beachfront restaurant and bar. "The noise was ridiculous," said resident Karen Dual, who testified at the hearing. "I could hear every word the disc jockey said, and every word of some less-than-appropriate rap music." In a private session on Monday, the Town Council called the number of noise complaints astonishing and voted 4-0 to suspend the entertainment license for at least six days, starting Friday. The council voted 3-1 to suspend the liquor license for one day, next Wednesday. "We've had outdoor entertainment for 20 years and we've never had a problem until this summer," said Paul Filippi, who helps run the popular party spot, owned by his family. Filippi said he was particularly upset about the timing of the suspension, which covers the heavily advertised Rhode Island Military Appreciation Day on Monday. In addition to performances by Roomful of Blues, Howie Day, J.C. Chasez (formerly of 'N Sync), and Kimberly Locke (formerly of American Idol), Ballard's plans to provide free food and non-alcoholic drinks for members of the military and their families. "Our attorney is pursuing legal recourse to prevent the suspension of our outdoor entertainment license," said Filippi. "We're pretty confident that the show will go on Monday." The council was unaware of the event when it voted, said First Warden Martha A. Ball. "I'm a little surprised that if they were planning to bring that many people over, I would at least expect that they would let us know, let the police know," she said. Ball said the suspension of the entertainment license won't restrict the restaurant's ability to host the event. "The event can certainly go on. They certainly can have entertainment inside the establishment." Filippi disagreed, saying the interior holds just over 750 people and would be partially occupied by a buffet for 2,000 people. In any event, he said, "People want to come to Ballard's for the day because it's on the beach." The council also objected to a sound containment structure on the patio. It was built without a permit and had not been inspected, making it a potential safety risk, said Town Building Official Marc Tillson. The council said the suspension of the entertainment license will run until the new structure is approved by the building official or is taken down. Filippi said the structure was built behind the stage to reduce noise, in response to the numerous complaints. "As soon as we try to work with them and do the right thing we get slapped with a zoning violation," said Filippi.
N.F.L. Plans Tamer Halftime Show Paul Tagliabue, the National Football League commissioner,
said yesterday that planning for the halftime show at next
year's Super Bowl was being "more effectively managed
and controlled" to avoid the type of embarrassment that
occurred when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's breast
during this year's show. During an appearance at the CBS Sports preseason N.F.L. production seminar, Tagliabue said that several organizations had submitted bids to produce the halftime musical entertainment, and he joked, "I'm told the only group would be the Boston Pops, so I can sleep well." Among the companies bidding are Clear Channel Entertainment and the Anschutz Entertainment Group. Tagliabue said he wanted the producer to create a show that would be "appropriate to televise to 60 percent of the country." |
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