Van Tango

Keira Knightley thinks her looks won't even last another five years. So she has decided to have Botox, face-lifts, nose jobs and false hair when she reaches the age of ......25!!! This girl has a lot of self-esteem problems. You just wonder which old Hollywood jokers played with her mind. Being named Britain's sexiest woman is not good enough? Keira is now hooked on collecting shoes; she has pairs she'll never wear and some that don't fit. The actress confesses footwear is her number one vice and she struggles to walk past a shoe store. She said, "I have so many pretty ones. I have shoes that I've never taken out of the box. I even have shoes that don't fit me. I just look at them and go, 'Oh it doesn't matter that I can't wear them - they're so pretty!'
"I haven't got a clue how many I actually own." It's ok. This is a normal problem for girls. When it comes to bags and shoes, you don't argue with a woman.

Staying on the topic of self-esteem, Pierce Brosnan hates himself. The former Bond star, who recently launched a foul-mouthed tirade on 007 bosses for sacking him as the onscreen spy, said he has a lot of "self loathing" and spends hours doubting his talents. He said: "I know what it's like to loathe oneself. To feel that deep self-loathing. It's painful and ugly and [bleeping] unwanted. And it gets in the way. I can dip in there, into the old black-Irish melancholy." With a hunky bod and dashing look, it's quite surprising he actually have doubts about himself. He added : "You think, Am I smart enough? Am I equipped enough to deal with it all? You don't want it to happen, but it's part of life" Incredible. Maybe the directors sensed this un-Bond-nish personality that they have to cut him off the list.

It's weird that news about Karen Elson's pregnancy are making headlines at the moment. Thought everyone knows about it since early Oct (Red and White Alert)...from the Queen of England to the hounds of...

Will there be an All Saints reunion??? They were photographed arriving at Universal Records in London recently as it became more apparent the four are reforming.

Time for some Rock & Roll baby...

LOVED this two new singles!!

The Long Blondes release their new single 'Separated By Motorways' [ low / hi ] on 12th Dec. The single release features B-side 'Big Infatuation'. Some fun quirky tunes that can arrest the mind and won't make it go away.

The Kooks will release a brand new single early next month. The song title 'You Don't Love Me' [ low / hi ] will hit shelves on 9th January, to be followed by the band's debut album 'Inside In/Inside Out'. This song reminds me of Mando Diao, which says a lot about their potential. Criminal to avoid.

The Strokes pics from their University of London Union gig.

There is this free online Filter Mag Dec/Jan issue download that features interviews with The Strokes, Gang Of Four and Art Brut.

Fantastic. Everyone's favourite judge, Simon Cowell, will continue insulting prospective singers on "American Idol" for several years to come. Fox announced that it had reached a deal that keeps the talent (or-lack-of) show judge on for at least five more seasons. His contract had been due to expire at the end of the season that starts in January. The announcement comes with the settlement of a lawsuit against Cowell by fellow British pop impresario Simon Fuller. The lawsuit was reportedly a stumbling block in Fox being able to reach a deal to keep Cowell on "American Idol."

Bruce Willis has invited The Bravery to play at his New Year party because he is such a massive fan. He has forked out a fair bit of money to secure the New Yorkers for the Florida bash. Frontman Sam Endicott, said: "We're playing Bruce Willis' private party in Miami. He just called up and asked. I'm a big fan of his movies". That will be a cool Bruce Bravery Party.

Holly Valance will appear in this movie Dead Or Alive. To be released on August 25, 2006. I think it looks great.

Die hard Take That supporters might want to check out a new forum dedicated to them..

Robbie Williams - Advertising Space will be released on Dec 12th. [ low / hi ]

Travis made a good move to employ KT Tunstall as a special backing singer for one of the tracks on their fifth album. They've now recorded around 20 songs for the album, due in 2006. They decided to contact fellow Scot KT after their friend Suzie Hugg came up with a potential single that would suit KT's sound.
Dougie said: "KT Tunstall came in to do backing vocals. We met her at one of the little club shows we did for the singles collection - the Cavern show in Liverpool. She was playing solo with all the delay pedals and making up her own backing track as she went along. A fantastic singer with such a lot of soul. We feel very lucky that she agreed to come in and help us out. She's astonishingly well pitched."
And the boys have been having fun experimenting with lots of different sounds for the new material. Dougie said: "It sounds like we've got two albums worth of material but I reckon we are still a keystone short of a bridge. We are being pretty hard on ourselves and quality control is paramount. We wouldn't want to give you something below par after all." The guys have devised an unusual way of debating potential titles. Dougie said: "Franny suggested we print out album title suggestions on the computer and tape them up anonymously on the bathroom wall. There are quite a few up already." No evidence of a Mid-life krysis after all! I have a 'good feeling' about the quality of their new album.

Someone who doesn't have a good feeling is Senor Robbie. He has apparently snubbed Sir Elton John's wedding. Why is that so? = Gary Barlow. Robb can 'never forget' about the huge row with Gary back in '95 and he doesn't wanna socialise with that old buddy who will be singing at the reception. Despite settling his differences with Gary and the other band members - Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange - Robb is not ready to be in the same room as the man he once branded a "fat bully". (Was the rock dj a slim boy back then??) Gary was devastated Rob rejected £5million to reunite with Take That for their 11-date-tour. And he was hoping he could finally catch up with Robbie at the wedding.
Gary said: "Its been 10 years since I talked to Robbie. I've had messages from friends saying he sends his love. If he really wanted to reach out he could do." But despite the problems with Robb, Gary says he is thrilled to be performing at Elton and partner David Furnish's wedding next month. He said: "I'll perform something from the back catalogue." Not too sure whether George Michael was invited too. They should have a double marriage ceremony - then everyone can see them perform 'don't let the sun go down on me' live. And don't expect the guests to sign some secrecy agreement form like the one from Xtina+Jordan's big day...

Xtina(soon to be Maria-maria) & Jordan are currently in Bali enjoying their honeymoon. Happy moments for them.

After some photoshoot sessions with Cosmo mag and a possibility of a modelling contract, Avril Lavigne has decided to try another venture - acting. She will take on a small role in upcoming crime drama "The Flock" starring Claire Danes and Richard Gere which begins filming this week in New Mexico. Although no details have been revealed as to her character, she won't be given the leading role. The punk rock chick is using the film as a test run for her possible acting career in the future whilst she spends the rest of her time in the studio recording album number 3. Lavigne wasn't handed the role on her musical merits alone, she underwent the gruelling audition process alongside other hopefuls. "The Flock" is a typical crime thriller fare with an "indie" edge, and follows the search of a federal agent (Gere) as he tracks down a missing girl believed to have fallen into the hands of a sex offender. Cool. No harm trying out for an acting role.

But there is a big harm if one ends a marriage through SMS. Yup. Some countries have this legal ruling. Jessy Simpson for instance, decided to take this route. She reportedly dumped Nick by sending an Email-SMS. The singer allegedly typed her singer husband a note to tell him she was going public over their split. And that dude didn't know what the actress was planning until the message appeared on his mobile phone.
A source revealed: "She had had enough of the marriage and the fighting. She just wanted it to be over." Another insider claimed: "He feels like he was sucker-punched. He wasn't even expecting it. He was devastated." But hey, since Jessy didn't sign the prenup, he could possibly inherit half of her multi-million assets...


Play the guitar...without a guitar?
Aspiring rock gods can at last create their own guitar solos - without ever having to pick up a real instrument, thanks to a group of Finnish computer science students. The Virtual Air Guitar project, developed at the Helsinki University of Technology, adds genuine electric guitar sounds to the passionately played air guitar. Using a computer to monitor the hand movements of a "player", the system adds riffs and licks to match frantic mid-air finger work. By responding instantly to a wide variety of gestures it promises to turn even the least musically gifted air guitarist to a virtual fret board virtuoso. The resulting system consists of a video camera and a computer hooked up to an appropriately loud set of speakers. A player then needs only to don a pair of brightly coloured gloves in order to rock out. Computer vision software automatically keeps track of their hands and detects different gestures, as a video of the system in action demonstrates.

The Finnish team created a library of guitar sounds based around the pentatonic minor scale - a progression commonly used for rock guitar solos - in order to create the right sound for their virtual instrument. As a player moves their left hand along the neck of their virtual guitar, the computer will run through the scale. Holding it one place while strumming frenetically produces fret board tricks such as hammer-ons - where slapping a finger onto an already vibrating string produces a higher note - and blues bends, which give a distinctive rock twang. And a floor pedal can also be used to switch the system into mode that plays several different chords. Players can easily create unique air guitar style. No two playing experiences are quite the same. When you're playing really hard you get a really nasty distortion sound which is great - but you have to work for it.

The project is currently being demonstrated at the Heureka Science Centre in Finland where it has been played more than 5000 times over the last month. As a follow-up, the researchers are working on a version that will be compatible with a normal webcam and computer, thus giving wannabe rock stars the opportunity to practise their art in the privacy of their bedroom.