Honesty is the best policy…unless you’re on reality TV. Flavor of Love 3’s Ice learned that lesson the hard way when being up front about her opportunism (and lack of attraction to Flav) bought her a one-way ticket home. After the jump, Ice talks about that fatal honesty, her work as a DJ and race issues that arose around her in the house. Hey, Amanda? Paris? Ice? I don’t know what to call you. I don’t know what to call myself anymore! You can call me whatever you feel like calling me! My friends call me Amanda, people who know me as Paris call me that, and then obviously Ice comes from Flavor of Love. Was your experience on the show positive? Yes. I did me. I was myself and I did not put on an act. I know! I think that was maybe to a fault. You were so honest that you incriminated yourself. I did. Now that I watched that, I kinda wish that I never said it. But at the same time, I’m glad. You came off as so real. I believe you referred to Flav as “not attractive at all” during an interview. I know! (Laughs) Everybody wants to say that, but nobody does. And then here I am, blurting it out. But looking back, you wish that you were less forthcoming? Yeah. I think I would have gone further on the show. If you weren’t there because you were attracted to Flav, was it all just a matter of exposure? Yeah. Publicity, man. Getting myself out there. I think you’re the only girl I’ve talked to in my entire time working at VH1, since Flavor of Love 2, who’s owned up to that. Who doesn’t want to go on the No. 1 most-watched reality show? You try to tell me that every girl on that show isn’t out to further her career, whether it be modeling, acting, singing, whatever. Why pick Flavor of Love over Rock of Love? Flavor of Love fits me as who I am as a person. I like hip-hop. I’m attracted to black men, but like I said, not Flav. I see myself more in that environment than I would in a rock kind of environment. I don’t find Bret Michaels attractive, either. Can you clear the air about the time you spent on the phone while you were on the show? Were you giving interviews or not? No, not at all. The phone call that I made was a personal call that I made to my friend Bo, who works for our radio station. It was just a call to the studio line, to let him know I was out there. I just left, and I wanted them to know what I was doing and that I wasn’t quitting my job. He did not tell me that he was actually recording me at the time. He ended up airing that conversation in Detroit without me knowing. Did you get in trouble for that? I thought I was going to get sued and it freaked me out. I got so pissed. Of course the phone is in the middle of the whole house, so girls could hear the conversation that I was having and they probably just made up that it was an interview. Prancer ended up being the one to tell Flav about this. Did you sense friction with her before you were booted? I pretty much got along with everybody in the house. But now I’m kinda mad. I thought she was my friend, but she was just trying to get me out of there. She was looking for something to feed off of, and I gave her something. Was there anyone that you bonded with? Yeah. I really got along with Hotlanta. I really got along with Seezinz and Bunz. We still keep in contact. Are you still DJing? Yes. I have a show every Saturday, from 1-6 a.m. And then I have a best of show, for whenever anyone with a show goes on vacation. I just kind of got into the radio industry about two years ago, so it’s sort of amazing that I’m on such a big station already. You were one of the only white girls in the house. Did you pay any mind to potential racial issues? Yeah. It kinda freaked me out before the show because I figured, I’m going into this house with a bunch of black chicks who are probably going to dog me for being white and talking the way I talk. It just bothers me that people create an opinion about you by the way you talk and look, without getting to know you first. That was my goal: to get them to know me before judging me. Were the girls cooler than you thought they’d be? I was preparing myself for pretty much what I lived with. I knew what I was getting myself into and it was exactly what it was: a bunch of ignorant, drunk people acting like fools. It’s interesting that we didn’t see the girls giving you s***, compared to what Buckwild faced on Season 2. Yeah, it just didn’t make the show. I don’t like Buckwild. She has this radio show on Blog Talk Radio. I kept getting emails from fans, like, “Hey, Buckwild is saying this, saying that.” I listened to one of her podcasts and she is talking mad crap! “The girl I really hate the most is Ice. She needs to take her pasty, white butt back to her radio show and if I get the chance, I’m coming on the reunion and punching that girl in the face.” I’m like, would it be different if I was on Season 2 and she was on Season 3? They’d be saying that crap about her. It just drives me nuts, like, dude, you don’t even know how I am, man. But I kinda knew that going in: people are either going to love you, or they’re gonna hate you. You mentioned the way that you talk. This is kind of a weird question, but where that comes from, culturally? When I was younger, my best friend, her name was Danielle. We went to elementary, middle and high school together. She lived around the block from me and we were so close. I was really close with her parents, too. Every time I would go over, they would cal me, “Shaniqua.” They’d braid my hair. I just grew up around it. My sister has five kids who are biracial, and I just always grew up in the scene. People are people, no matter what color. That’s how I was brought up. I see myself as, not one of them, but I get along with them. I don’t separate myself from that. You told Flav on the first night that you were there to take things to the next level. Did the show, in fact, help you to achieve that goal? It has, definitely, with the exposure. People on the street talk to me. It’s unreal. I’m doing more interviews, I’m doing more appearances in clubs, so yeah, I’m taking it to the next level. For sure. I just can’t believe it’s happening to me. Keep up with Ice via her FlavorOfLoveWorld.com profile and her MySpace.

As a Midwestern teenager in the 1950's, I was often fascinated by what I saw of sunny California in movies or even on TV (although it wasn't as colorful). It was a place that seemed almost magical, with a vibrant energy that was very appealing, and it was filled with exotically-named places — or at least they sounded exotic to me. I also noticed the music. Although this was before the Beach Boys exploded onto the scene, there was plenty of good stuff coming out of California, and one song that really hit me between the eyes just happened to be about one of those exotic-sounding locales. It was "Twenty-Six Miles (Santa Catalina)," by the Four Preps. (Ironically, their music also inspired Brian Wilson, helping him later create the signature Beach Boys sound). Santa Catalina, usually just called Catalina Island, is located off the coast of Southern California and has a long and varied history that even includes service as a Spring training location for the Chicago Cubs. (The Wrigley family owned the Cubs - and the island - for several decades, so it made sense.) Although the island's rich history includes a lot of colorful events, some of the most significant revolve around the Casino. The Avalon Casino was built in 1929, a huge Art Deco structure that was at that time the tallest building in the Los Angeles area. It was also known for many years as the location of the world's largest ballroom, with space for 6000 dancers, and during the big band era it was often filled. It would have been a familiar landmark for teenagers growing up in the area, and that included four guys from Hollywood High who'd formed a singing group. Glen Larson, Bruce Belland, Marv Ingraham, and Ed Cobb were four clean-cut guys who appropriately enough called themselves the Four Preps. Performing in a school talent show in the mid 1950's, they were discovered by a talent scout for Capitol Records and signed to a recording contract. Portrayed as a wholesome alternative to edgy early rockers, the group had modest success at first but began to gain notice. In addition to recording they made a few TV appearances along the way — including one on Ozzie & Harriet with a young Ricky Nelson, also making a move into pop music. They didn't hit it big until they recorded Belland and Larson's tribute to Catalina, but it proved to be the key to fame and fortune — at least for a while. At one point David Somerville replaced Larson but over the next few years the group had several good sellers, including "Big Man," and "Lazy Summer Night." Eventually the listening public moved on and the guys went their separate ways, but as individuals they ended up making pretty big impacts in a number of ways. Larson forged a career as one of the biggest TV producers around, and Belland became a much-admired songwriter whose compositions have been performed by everyone from Willie Nelson to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He's also been a TV writer and producer. Cobb became an award-winning record producer and Ingraham a busy actor, as did Somerville — in fact, all the members of the group have been known to catch the acting bug occasionally. You also might find them showing up once in a while as one of the groups on the oldies circuit, doing the good old songs.

Kate Nash has added an extra date to her north American NME Awards Tour due to demand. The singer, who won the Best British Female award at last week’s Brits, mounts her first full tour of the US and Canada in April. Following tickets going on sale last week (February 20), it has now been revealed that the solo star will now play an extra night in New York. The Londoner’s first show at Webster Hall sold out in record time, so Nash will now play a second night at the venue on April 24. Nash kicks off her full tour on April 15 in Atlanta. The full dates are now: Atlanta Variety Playhouse (April 15) Asheville The Orange Peel (16) Washington DC 9:30 Club (17) Towson Recher Theatre (18) Philadelphia Trocadero (19) Boston Paradise Rock Club (21) New York City Webster Hall (23, 24) Coachella Festival (26) Toronto The Phoenix (28) Detroit St Andrew’s Hall (30) Chicago Vic Theatre (May 2) Minneapolis First Avenue (3) Boulder Fox Theatre (5) Vancouver Richard’s On Richards Cabaret (8) Seattle Showbox At The Market (9) Portland Wonder Ballroom (11) San Francisco The Fillmore (13) Tickets are onsale now exclusively through NME.COM, just click on the individual venue above to access the box office. The Shockwaves NME Awards 2008 take place this Thursday (February 28) at a special ceremony in London. Follow all the action, head to NME.COM/awardsvote for full details.

In case you’ve somehow forgotten about Sunday night’s Academy Awards broadcast, we’re here to remind you that practically everyone with a computer has been offering their predictions online. That includes George Clooney: Mr. Suave sat down with Time magazine to tell them who he thinks will win. (His guesses seem pretty accurate.) In the midst of all this, however, you might have also forgotten about that other art-form generated by all this Oscar-buzz: the parody. Our tireless reporters here scoured the Interweb to find funny versions of the films nominated for Best Picture. Laugh a little — it’s Friday. No Country For Old Men is good . . . but is it this good? He’s a taco man, and he’ll still drink your milkshake. ATONEMENT: Ashman Film Review on FunnyOrDie.com A touching and slightly incomprehensible trailer for a period film that would never fly, at least not like this. JUNO: Ashman Film Review on FunnyOrDie.com Funny, we didn’t notice Michael Cera smoking in the theatrical version. Michael Clayton: Ashman Film Review on FunnyOrDie.com Maybe it’s just us, but the dialogue here really helps to clear up the movie’s plot.

Written by Hombre Divertido Barry Manilow has aged gracefully and unlike other stars of that era still manages to hit all the right notes. The production company and marketing staff may have let him down here. This appears to be a project that does not know what it wants to be. The direction is strained, and the show as a whole lacks continuity. Reading the title on the cover of the DVD package one might think that what we are getting is a special featuring Barry Manilow’s hits from the seventies. That is not exactly the case here. This television special does contain many of Manilow’s hits of that decade, though he fails to realize that his fan base does not want to hear new renditions of the classics. What we also get is Barry covering other songs of the seventies, though it is not clear how they were chosen. His covers of “My Eyes Adored You,” “He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother,” etc. are fine, but not really what the fans want to hear. To have these songs on the special, and some of Barry’s hits relegated to a melody of other seventies songs was disappointing, especially since this production is only seventy-five minutes long, and the second disc is nothing but filler. When Barry sits down at the piano and plays such hits such as “Mandy,” the audience truly gets what it wants, and had the direction gone towards this simple concept throughout, the project would have been much more enjoyable to watch. Manilow works well while sitting at the keyboard, and seems awkward and uncomfortable when up and moving around. This is most obvious in the closing number of “One Voice.” At one point we are shown a photo of Barry from that era, and it gleans an excellent response from the studio audience. This of course begs the question as to why a photo retrospective was not used along with footage from that era. Stretching this out to two hours with full renditions of all the songs and a visual retrospective of the era would have been far more appealing than hearing Barry cover other songs. Not really any extras here. Though the second disk states that it contains “Extra Special Outtakes.” That is quite generous. It feels more like someone decided that they needed a second disk, and threw something on it. Recommendation: Manilow is still a charismatic singer, and hits some of the songs with great energy. The sound quality is excellent so this is worth buying to listen to, but watching it lessens the enjoyment.

According to People magazine, Jennifer Lopez gave birth early Friday (February 22) to twins, making the pop star and actress a first-time mom. The babies — a girl and a boy, delivered in that order — were born on Long Island, New York, and weighed in at 5 pounds and 7 ounces, and 6 pounds, respectively. The newborns are husband Marc Anthony’s third and fourth children. Lopez’s pregnancy was once a closely guarded, yet poorly kept, secret that provided ample ammunition for rampant online media speculation — that is, until Lopez confirmed her pregnancy back in November, during a concert in Miami. It was the last stop on the couple’s joint U.S. tour, and the last of a sold-out three-night stand. “Marc and I are expecting a baby,” she told the crowd at the packed American Airlines Arena. “We didn’t want to say anything before because we didn’t want to take away from the tour. This is a special time in our lives. And we waited until the last show to tell you.” She then added that the couple would now “go away for a while.” According to reports, Lopez’s public pregnancy announcement caught her husband off-guard. When the pop star broke the news, she turned to her husband and said, “I hope you don’t mind.” Anthony reportedly shrugged his shoulders, caressed Lopez’s belly and leaned over to kiss it, saying, “No, I don’t mind at all. … I didn’t know she was going to talk.” Earlier this month, her father, David Lopez, spilled the beans about the singer expecting twins during an appearance on Spanish-language station TeleFutura’s “Escandalo TV.” “Jennifer and Marc are delighted, thrilled and over the moon,” Lopez’s manager Simon Fields told People. Lopez, 39, and Anthony, 38, were married in 2004.

The music of Halou is as varied as the cast of characters they’ve worked with or performed with: DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, Frank Sinatra, Galactic, Blackalicious, John Cale, Low, No Doubt and even a Rod Stewart remix which hit #1 on Billboard. The band's music was included on one of TV’s hottest shows, CSI, and they’ve scored two award-winning films. On the other hand, the music is easily identified as trip hop, a name that a number of the groups so tagged and I share a dislike for, although I’m not sure if for the same reasons. The tag of trip hop apparently evolved from hip hop’s migration to the UK, and their musicians putting a local spin on the music. Ergo, trip hop. At least that’s what Wikipedia says. As a rule, there’s very little hip hop which I care to hear. To be sure, I usually switch the station if I hear it. Trip hop, however, is in no way connected with hip hop that I can see, at least nothing readily identifiable, and I occasionally listen to it. I listen to it less than I like, since there seem to be so few places on the radio dial to hear it. The proliferation of Internet music, however, has changed that for the good. We can all listen to much more of the music we prefer now, rather than what some marketing wonk dictates. I think it’s time for somebody to come up with a different name for this genre of music, something more fitting. Electropop doesn’t quite fit, although it’s probably closest. Overall, this CD is a very easy listen, with remarkable voice, electronics, backup and engineering. The combination of synthesized and organic music is weaved to perfection, with just enough new wave and dance beats. The group deserves wider distribution and listening. Halou has been together for a dozen years and I’m ashamed to say I’d never heard of them until very recently. When I first saw the name in print, I had to look it up simply to see what kind of music they play and to listen a little. I was sold before I’d read 100  words and completely without listening to samples. Since I’m a card-carrying, registered Cocteau Twins junkie, it was a done deal before it started. Halou’s first recording was released in 1999 to accolades from areas scattered over the West Coast, along with spotty nationwide praise. The Midwest, where I’m located, seems to be an area where this genre of music has to be stalked by listeners, as I have yet to find a local station that plays more than one or three selections a day from the genre. [I realize BlogCritics is worldwide, but since I’m in the U.S, please excuse the geocentricity in my writing.] Halou consists of Rebecca Coseboom, Ryan Coseboom, and Count. This EP also includes guest spots by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins fame, and from Zoe Keating of Rasputina. Don’t miss this EP as it’s a sure winner. And the price is right, at less than two lattés at your local coffee shop.

Successful virtual band the Gorillaz refuse to leave their fans starving for music.  Recently the cartoon foursome released D-Sides, a two disc collection of unreleased songs, demos, and even remixes from the band's second full length release Demon Days.  By the way, yes I did say cartoon foursome.  In order to understand the Gorillaz you need a lot of imagination. If you would like to get technical about the Gorillaz – rather than think outside the box – then I can explain it easily.  Gorillaz is a band, rather project, consisting of music from Blur’s front man Damon Albarn (the only permanent member), and various special guests. Most of whom are unlisted, but have included many famous artists including Del The Funky Homosapien, and illustrations by Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl.  Mix the music, primarily rock and elements of rap, with the illustrations turned animations, and you have yourself the virtual band Gorillaz. Now, if you have an imagination then we can look at the virtual side of the Gorillaz.  The band consists of four members who record and live in Kong Studios.  The members are 2D on vocals and keyboards; Murdoc Niccals on bass; Russel Hobbs on percussion; and Noodle on guitar and vocals.  Each member has their own style making this virtual band quite interesting to listen to and watch.  2D seems a little depressed at times, Murdoc is a bad ass womanizer, Russel is a big drummer who looks confused a lot, and Noodle is a high spirited young lady.  Gorillaz create music that spans all over the genre board.  Some tracks are upbeat rock songs, while others are funky tracks with rap lyrics interrupting the style.  They are in my opinion one of the most unique bands on the music scene today.  Problem is they hardly ever play a live show, and when they do it is overseas or in major cities.  If you really want to know the band and see them your best bet is the internet.  They have their own website that is a gateway to their personal virtual lives.  Once you enter their site you enter their Kong Studios where you can take a virtual tour and explore. D-Sides is the second b-side/remix collection released from the Gorillaz with the first being called G-Sides.  This CD is full of tracks I actually prefer over the original versions from Demon Days.  It is interesting as well to hear other artists take songs and remix them to their likening.  Starting off the double disc collection on disc one is “68 State,” an instrumental B-side track.  It’s a little indie and a little electronic at the same time.  I kind of wish there were vocals to accompany the track, as I think it may have been a little more enthralling.    “People” was very entertaining especially with the deep bass line.  2D’s singing on this unreleased track sounds a little meek, but fits really well. I am shocked that this track never made its way to a regular release album.  It is a good catchy song, and features Dangermouse on drums.page 1 | 2

Jason Mraz isn’t so much releasing his upcoming effort as he is rolling it out. “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.” will be available as trio of EPs, with each to hit shelves on different dates. “We Sing” and “We Dance” will be released March 18 and April 15, respectively, while the third EP is merely bundled with the other two when the full-length debuts May 20. Purchased separately, the individual sets will come packaged with bonus alternate versions of the songs. “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.” features Mraz’ new single “I’m Yours,” which appeared originally as a demo on an EP that accompanied his last album, “Mr. A-Z.” The track resonated with fans and bred more than 300 user-generated music videos online. Mraz also tapped fellow songwriters James Morrison and Colbie Caillat to contribute to the album. Mraz will perform Feb. 28 for iTunes Live: London Sessions in England in support of the album. Additionally, he’s in the midst of planning a North American tour and already has dates slated for Europe, Australia and Asia. “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.” is the follow-up to 2005’s “Mr. A-Z,” which debuted at No. 5 in 2005.

Death Cab For Cutie prep Stairs dates, M83 hit the highway and Sara Bareilles readies a headlining jaunt. The complete set of dates is after the jump. Death Cab For Cutie April 18 - Bremerton, WA @ Admiral Theatre April 19 - Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre April 21 - Arcata, CA @ Van Dozer Theatre at Humboldt State April 22 - Davis, CA @ UC Davis April 23 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore April 24 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel April 26 - Indio, CA @ Coachella Festival June 15 - Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Festival M83 May 20 - Los Angeles @ Echoplex May 21 - San Francisco @ Great American Music Hall May 23 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge May 24 - Vancouver @ Richards on Richards May 25 - Seattle @ Neumos May 28 - Minneapolis @ Triple Rock Club May 29 – Chicago @ Empty Bottle May 30 - Toronto @ The Mod Club May 31 - Montreal @ Cabaret Music Hall June 2 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Downstairs June 3 – Brooklyn @ Music Hall of Williamsburg June 4 - NYC @ Bowery Ballroom June 6 - Philadelphia @ First Unitarian Church June 7 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat Sara Bareilles April 14 - Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst April 15 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line April 17 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues April 18 - Louisville, KY @ Bellarmine College April 20 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House April 22 - Boston, MA @ Paradise April 23 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza April 24 - Philadelphia, PA @ TLA April 28 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club April 29 - Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre April 30 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety