Robert Downey, Jr. is the new voice for Mr. Peanut, and I don’t think I need to tell you about my excitement. I’m hoping that this is the beginning of Downey invading every facet of my life. If I can just get him to sell some Dove soap, then I’ll not only think of him when I’m eating peanuts, but I’ll also get to think of him when I’m lathering up in the shower. Oh wait — I already do that.
Category: Music
EXCLUSIVE: The Truth Behind the Morgan Freeman / B.J. Lawson Controversy
Many months ago, I exposed that Morgan Freeman is so in demand for voice-over work, he actually has a voice-over double who replaces him and no one knows the difference. It appears this may finally have bitten him in the ass. Morgan Freeman is pissed about B.J. Lawson’s political ads, because many think that it’s Freeman’s voice in the commercials. Freeman has publicly stated that it’s not his voice, and he doesn’t support the Republican candidate for Congress. I’m not sure if the voice-over in the B.J. Lawson commercial is actually Freeman’s voice-over double, but if it is, the guy is getting fired. I have to give credit to Lawson’s camp though. There’s nothing illegal about using a voice-over that sounds like Freeman, and since they never claimed it was Freeman’s voice, they got away with it. Perhaps Freeman will chuck his voice double and start working overtime now. Watch below.
UPDATE: It appears Lawson’s camp did say it was Freeman’s voice. I smell a lawsuit.
Project Runway Season 8 Finale — The Worst Decision in History
I have never been so stunned by a Project Runway decision in my the eight seasons of the show. Weeks ago, when I saw Gretchen’s collection, I assumed she was actually a decoy, and I was shocked to discover she made it to the finale. Then, after watching the final show, and seeing the originality of Mondo Guerra’s collection, I figured it would be a very easy choice. Instead, the four judges (including Jessica Simpson) were divided down the middle, and Nina Garcia and Michael Kors somehow bullied Heidi Klum and Jessica Simpson into picking Gretchen. Jessica Simpson surprised me most, because she had the simplest, yet most poignant critique of Gretchen’s collection, saying, “everything looks loose,” and later responding to Nina Garcia and Michael Kors’ excessive rambling by simply saying, “I’m still going with Mondo.” Michael Kors and Nina Garcia picked Gretchen because “she’s what’s happening now in fashion,” despite Heidi’s insistence that this is a high fashion show, and it shouldn’t be about what’s most “wearable.” I imagine that Michael Kors picked the “ready-to-wear” collection, because that’s most aligned with his own aesthetic, given that Michael Kors doesn’t specialize in high-fashion. I’m pissed. I’m pissed that I continued to waste my time watching this season even though the judges made terrible decisions every episode. I’m also pissed that my favorite part of the show was watching Tim Gunn’s facebook video blogs, and Tim Gunn stopped recording the blogs after “hurting a Producer from Lifetime.” And finally, I’m pissed because Mondo deserved to win the finale, and I hate to see someone robbed of their title.
UPDATE: Apparently, Tim Gunn agrees with me. Watch the video below.
The Beach Boys Lip-Sync? — Too Bad it’s Not “The Beach Boys”
“The Beach Boys” are under fire for lip-synching at a concert in Australia, and I’m shocked that the real scandal isn’t the fact that it’s not actually The Beach Boys that performed at the concert. Everyone knows that two of the original members of the group have died (Carl and Dennis Wilson), and the other two surviving members (Al Jardine and Brian Wilson) don’t perform with the group anymore. That leaves only Mike Love, who parades around with his sad little tribute band, using the name “The Beach Boys.” How do you call yourself by that name without Brian Wilson, the true brains behind the band? It’s almost insulting that Mike Love gets away with this, especially after he’s had a lot of fun suing the other members, claiming that he had more of a song-writing influence than he was originally credited for. I guess Wilson and Jardine don’t want to play in the sandbox with the litigious toddler. By the way, wasn’t it Mike Love who opposed Pet Sounds, arguably one of the greatest albums in music history? Yeah — he’s the guy I want to see live. Click the link below to watch the alleged lip-syncing.
Did Mike Love Lip-Sync?
Update: Mike love responded to this controversy saying, “We do not lip sync. I want to make it 100 per cent clear that The Beach Boys do not and never have lip-synced their concerts. They have been touring since 1961 and generally have performed in more than a hundred cities a year since the beginning. I guess we should take it as a compliment that it sounded so good.” Is it possible for Mike Love to get any more annoying? Your band has not been touring since 1961 Mike! This is not The Beach Boys!
Mark Salling Releases Video — Glee Mystery of His Firing is Solved
About one month ago, I single-handedly broke the story that Mark Salling had been fired from Glee for recording an album in violation of his contract. Because The Dishmaster is a newly launched blog, my story didn’t get any legs until the new season of Glee began to air, and folks started to notice that Salling was missing in action. They arrived at my blog after Googling his whereabouts, and then other (more known blogs) ripped my story off as though it was their own (are you listening Hollywood Life?). Salling’s camp publicly denied the story, ensuring that he’d be back for episode six. I can only guess that his camp worked it out internally, and he was merely forced to sit on the bench for a few episodes as punishment. I stewed about my story being ripped off (with no credit) for days, and then picked myself up off the floor, and began to read the news again. Today, I stumbled across Salling’s new video, and it finally occurred to me why Ryan Murphy was so pissed at Mark Salling for his album, yet he’s fine with the other cast members releasing their own music. Salling’s album isn’t “Glee-rific” to put it kindly. Listen below, and let me know if you can read between the lines.
Update: The video has been completely removed. Gee, I wonder why.
Kings of Leon Album — Only By the Night — It’s Incredible!
I don’t usually promote albums that are already successful, but I have to make an exception for Kings of Leon, whose album is so incredible, I cannot stop playing it on repeat. With the mainstream success of Use Somebody, I ignorantly assumed that the rest of the album would pale in comparison. I was wrong. The album is incredible from start to finish. I’ve picked on the group for their aversion to “selling out,” because they refused to allow their songs to be featured in mainstream movie trailers. Perhaps they know more than I do, because they’ve successfully avoided over-exposure. The band consists of three brothers and one cousin, and they’ve been around for over 11 years, yet they didn’t achieve mainstream success in the United States until they released Only By the Night, which had the songs, Use Somebody, Sex on Fire, and Notion. I’ve posted their lesser known song, Closer, below. Enjoy!
Mariah Carey’s Image — What Went Wrong
I’ve always been a huge Mariah Carey fan, not only because of her voice, but also because of her personality. She seemed to be the only major superstar that was down to earth. You would never know that information though, based on her recent image in the press. Ever since she married Nick Cannon, she’s become an inaccessible caricature of herself. She recently slipped at a concert and arrived at the airport in a wheelchair. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had handlers spritzing her with Evian water too. Rumor has it she’s pregnant, which might explain the wheelchair, but if I were representing her, I would advise her to tweet something self-deprecating about it. Otherwise, she looks like a strange diva that needs to be wrangled. There are also many stories in the press about her insane entourage, and she often admits to it with a laugh. I’m sick of it. Watch a vintage interview with Mariah below, so you can see what I mean about being down to earth. She discusses her divorce from Tommy Mattola with Barbara Walters. It’s time for a new Barbara Walters interview.
What Happened to Soul Coughing?
If you were one of the cool kids in high school, you would have heard about the band, Soul Coughing. As for me, I often eavesdropped on the cool kids, and I once heard them mention the band. I immediately bought the album and played it endlessly. Mike Doughty fronted the group, and they released three records before splitting, with my favorite being El Oso. But like most all-male bands, their hormones got the best of them, and they split amongst in-fighting. When recently asked about a reunion tour, Doughty said, “I get more and more afraid that a reunion is going to be forced upon me at knife-point. I don’t need money that bad. I swear to God. To become a billionaire…okay. If they poked out one my eyes, I would reform Soul Coughing so they didn’t poke out the other one. Oh, man.” And there you have it. It’s amazing that in every universe except music, it’s the chicks that fight. Doughty has since launched a solo career, and he’s currently signed by Dave Matthews’ label, ATO Records. Listen to the Soul Coughing song, Super Bon Bon, below.
Super Bon Bon – Soul Coughing by D-Waves
Did You Know: Will Arnett is the Voice in the GMC Commercials
When I learned that Will Arnett was the voice in those GMC commercials, I was shocked, mostly because I envision him as that fun, goofy guy from Arrested Development. Who knew he had such a serious voice? I learned this information during Arnett’s appearance on Howard Stern to promote his new pilot with Keri Russell, Running Wilde. The creator, Mitch Hurwitz, also created Arrested Development. Though I have my fingers crossed for Arnett’s new show, at least he has the ongoing voice-over work, which is the most coveted “get” in Hollywood. The commercials take very little man-hours to record, and Arnett gets paid every time it airs. Watch the commercial below, and wait until the end to hear Arnett’s hot-and sexy voice.
Colin Quinn Makes it to Broadway — Congratulations
Colin Quinn has always been considered an underated talent in comedy circles. Fortunately for Quinn, those circles include Jerry Seinfeld, who produced Quinn’s Off-Broadway one-man show, which has now moved to Broadway. Seinfeld knew that network executives can’t spot talent, so he told Quinn to find another avenue to promote his act. He was right, and the show moved to Broadway after receiving great reviews. Seinfeld will be directing it. The interesting thing about theater, is that all you need to make it on Broadway is money. Unlike Hollywood, where the unfunny neanderthals in the creative division (who I like to call “creanderthals”) choose was makes it to your television screen, Broadway is dependent on investors from just about anywhere. Have some rich friends that fancy themselves comedians? Perhaps you can have a show on Broadway too. That’s not to say that this is a better avenue to foster talent, given that even Broadway is suffering from remake-syndrome. Having said that, I’m very happy for Colin Quinn. He deserves it.