Yesterday, Kid Rock, who’s in town July 9th for a show at Prospera Place, posted a video on Youtube of himself talking about the hot issue of illegally downloading music. He’s trying to make the point that if you’re going to steal music, what’s stopping you from stealing pricier goods like electronics and gasoline. He’s moderately successful in trying to convince us that downloading is wrong, but does so without a trace of subtlety. Then in an interview with the UK’s BBC, he manages to come across as someone who has no idea what he’s talking about. He identifies iTunes as being evil, but doesn’t really explain himself. I’ve read the piece several times now and have no clue what he’s trying to say! I do enjoy much of his music, but his personality has never won me over. This doesn’t help.

Kid Rock video

Kid Rock BBC interview

Let’s Talk Seriously About Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse - trainwreck of the millennium so far. This week she was taken to the hospital for an irregular heartbeat, and family is hoping she will stay there as long as possible until she recovers. All the drugs she’s doing are leading her down a path toward serious destruction. Symptoms like an irregular heartbeat, especially those caused by excessive drug use, aren’t to be taken lightly. I REALLY hope she can stay in some sort of rehab facility as long as it takes until she gets better. Amy, I know what you say about rehab, but we say YES, YES, YES!

Amy Winehouse

Taco Bell to Fifty Cent: Change Yo’ Name to 79 Cent Fo’ One Day!

This one’s hilarious. Although Fitty supposedly declined the offer, I would have loved to hear a commercial with him driving up to the drive-thru window and rappin’ his order as 79 Cent. Dayum, Fitty, why won’t you do this? 10 grand to a charity of your choice! Oh well, perhaps he’ll reconsider. Check out the letter Taco Bell sent him:

Taco Bell letter

Box Office Battle: Smart vs. Guru

This weekend’s box office battle at the movies features two comedies, one starring Mike Myers and the other Steve Carell. Myer’s Love Guru, with a strong supporting cast of Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Ben Kingsley, and Verne Troyer, has been getting very bad reviews. Bad reviews won’t stop people from forking over their cash to see a film, but for some reason industry analysts are only expecting about $23 million for Guru’s first weekend. On the other hand, Get Smart is expected to do quite well at the box office, mostly due to a combination of Carell’s star power and the built-in fan base for the Get Smart TV show. Reviews for Smart are much better than Guru, but still hovering around 50% on the Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. Get Smart is expected to haul in close to $40 million this weekend. I actually think the difference in box office receipts between both movies will be much smaller when all is said and done. Mrs. Showbiz and I likely won’t see either of the films in theatres, but are both definitely rent-worthy.

Fashion Faux-Pas of the Week: Rihanna

To end off the week, I leave you with a horrific picture of normally lovely Rihanna. I hate her new short haircut, and lately she’s been showing it off with equally awful clothes to match. If you’re into celebrity fashion, you’ll want to check out a site called gofugyourself.com. Funny (but sometimes nasty) stuff! Here’s their take on Rihanna’s latest get-up:

Rihanna's get-up