Amy Winehouse's Album Sales Soar Posthumously
It’s not really business as usual, while the world mourns Amy Winehouse. Ironically it’s better than usual, with sales of the beleaguered singer’s albums increasing by 37 times between Saturday when the news broke and today, and iTunes sales are up by 23 times. Is that the appropriate response? Probably. At least it helps keep the best part of her alive.
On the Mountain Astrologer’s Facebook page, fans struggle to make sense of her tangled chart, one of the more erudite explaining that he doesn’t think death is shown in her natal chart, although he allows that there was a crisis with health at the end of the chapter. Really. Does anyone ever get to know? I think the most chilling tale of anyone finding a metaphysical reason for a celebrity death was when Charles R. Cross uncovered in his Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix that the guitar savant had a Tarot reading in Morocco in August 1969 that predicted his untimely death a year later.
Cross revealed that it really unnerved Hendrix, but apparently not enough to stop his consumption of drugs, something that Dr. Drew addresses in his cautionary tweet: "So sad, another life lost to addiction. A reminder to all that this is often a fatal condition. Recovery is possible. But sadly not for Amy Winehouse."
Less appropriate was Ashton Kutcher who tried to make take a lighter tack in his tweet: "I never know what to say after paying respect to someone who has died. It just seems like anything funny is inappropriate. Maybe I’ll just go see Harry Potter."
The Song Doesn’t Remain the Same
Robert Plant has always been the light to Jimmy Page’s darkness. So while the iconic guitarist assiduously updates his new Internet presence and puts the finishing touches on the book he’s doing for Genesis (you'll have to buy the book or keep going to his website, because Page insists in an interview posted on his website that he never intends to tweet or blog!), Plant did something utterly whimsical recently: The Golden God turned up at a tiny village hall in Monmouth, Wales for a surprise show, gobsmacking 200 patrons who had paid a whopping $4.80 (£3) to see him perform.
Well, they didn’t actually know that the former Led Zeppelin singer was showing up. Instead, they were attending a memorial for rock producer Pat Moran who died last January from an incredibly rare form of dementia. Along with two other musicians, the Grammy-winning Plant took to the stage, flipping his fingers through his famous gray-streaked mane, as he ran through some of his solo material and several vintage Zeppelin numbers. One reveler told Britain’s Sun, “It was amazing. He’s a rock god and he was playing in a village hall. It was a real honor to be there and he chatted with the audience afterwards." It seems Plant will talk to everybody but Jimmy Page.
House for Sale
While interest rates are still reasonable, you might want to consider buying Mastadon’s Troy Sanders' house. The singer just put his Atlanta digs for sale on Craigslist for what we assume is an upgrade given the band’s recent successes. For those interested in a piece of recent rock history, for a reasonable $134,900 you can be the proud owner of a three-bedroom, two-story new construction built in 2005. Or in real estate-ese: A Spacious Home in Convenient East Lake Location! Here’s the details, including that the lead singer of Mastadon is the seller. That alone probably added a cool $20,000 to the selling price.
This Home Features a Large, Open Kitchen with Tons of Counterspace & Cabinets, Upgraded Black Appliances, Recessed Lighting, and Room for a Large Island. The Enclosed Back Porch Boasts Plank Wood Flooring and Large Windows. Enjoy the Open Deck Overlooking a Fenced In Yard- Perfect for Kids, Pets, and Entertaining! 1 Car Garage is Great for Parking & Storage. Gleaming Hardwood Floors, Crown Molding, and Spacious Bedrooms Complete This Home to Make it the Perfect Place to Call Home!
*Seller is Lead Singer of Rock Group MASTADON!*
Call Today to Schedule a Personal Showing! If you're interested, you can contact the realtor at
Girl Power or Cat Power?
Marianne Faithful just revealed to Spinner that she plans to work with Cat Power in the near future. The '60s beauty and former inamorata of Mick Jagger explained that she sees the singer, nee Chan Marshall, as her spiritual descendant. “I’m interested in thinking who will pick up my mantle of work and I think I know now. It’s ended up with Chan Marshall and Rufus Wainwright. I follow both Rufus and Chan very closely. Actually Chan is moving to Paris, which will be wonderful for me. We’ll discuss [working together] and [we] learn from each other. Chan was very cool. She sought me out. We had some wonderful dinners [together]. We talked and talked.”
The last spiritual descendant Faithful adopted was PJ Harvey, whom she used to advise on her love life. “Oh, God, she works so hard. And that’s all she thinks about, really,” Faithfull told us a few years back. “I mean she does have a great life. She’s in love, she’s really happy. I think I really helped that, because I did say to her, you know, ‘I think you don’t think you can do this—be in love I mean. I know your work is a vocation. I really understand that. But now you have to start to think about what you need as well. We worked on that with a visualization. I told her to write a list of the sort of man she wanted to, really clear. And try not to leave anything out, and plant it in her heart, and leave it alone. I told her, ‘don't go and look at it all the time to see if it’s growing. It’s like a tree. Just leave it alone, and something will turn up.’ And bugger me, it did. It happened within three months!”
Rufus Wainwright to Wed
She must have done some similar juju for Rufus Wainwright, since he’s busy making plans to marry his partner Jorn Weisbrodt after the state of New York made it legal for same-sex couples to marry. The singer has been an outspoken advocate of gay rights since meeting his theater producer boyfriend, whom he credits with his newfound desire to settle down. In fact, at this moment he's probably at Bloomingdale's picking out china and towels for his online registry. The singer admitted to British TV show Lorraine, "I'm engaged, and me and my partner live in New York and they just passed gay marriage in New York and I was like, 'God damn it, now we really have to do this.'"
Mariah Carey Goes Off the Rails
Speaking of blissful domesticity, did you happen to catch Mariah Carey on HSN this weekend hawking her clothing line and perfume? In case you missed it, Gawker shows the tetchy songbird went off the rails when talking about giving birth to her twins with husband Nick Cannon. She discourses on everything from being forced to cut her trademark nails, to taking up “fricking flower design,” to not allowing the camera to do a full body shot of her. Apparently she still hasn’t lost all her baby weight and insisted that the cameras be averted whenever she got up to show one of the items in her collection. I’m not sure about you, but I’ve never liked her more than I did when I watched.
That's Dr. Eno to You
Here’s a no brainer: The smartest rock star in the world, the esteemed Brian Eno, received an honorary degree from his alma mater last week. He was made an honorary Doctor of Letters by the regents at the University of Southampton.
Typecasting?
Now we now why Sharon Osbourne has really took a hiatus from The Talk. She’s set to play Peter Pan villain Captain Hook’s mother in the second season of the Disney hit Jake and the Never Land Pirates according to a report in TV Guide. Mama Hook will have a recurring role on the series. Of course she will.
