NEW YORK (AP) — No Doubt has pulled its new cowboys-and-Indians-themed music video and is apologizing to Native Americans and others offended by the clip.
In a posting on its website, the band says the video for “Looking Hot” was “never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people.”
The video features Gwen Stefani and bandmate Tony Kanal dressed in traditional Native American clothes, while Adrian Young and Tom Dumont are in cowboy get-ups with guns. Dumont and Young tie up Stefani, while Kanal is behind bars.
The clip includes Stefani riding a horse and singing in a tepee, and a fire-burning dance scene with others dressed in Native American clothes.
The band says it consulted with Native American friends and experts but realize people have been offended and “sincerely apologize.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jason Aldean’s having a good time lately. He and his buddies Luke Bryan and Eric Church opened the CMA Awards last week with a surprise performance of his new single “The Only Way I Know.” The next morning he woke to discover that he’d sold out more stadium shows.
According to Aldean, “The list of guys in country music who sell out stadiums is pretty short, it’s guys like Chesney and Garth.” Aldean says he’s “not supposed to be on that list.” But he is now. He sold out his first Fenway Park show in a record seven minutes and a second Fenway show along with one at the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium in less than hour. Aldean calls it “a big testament to the hard work” his band and crew put in every night and to the loyalty of country music fans.
NEW YORK (AP) – Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Jon Bon Jovi cranked out their hits as part of NBC’s benefit concert for victims of Superstorm Sandy. Springsteen closed Friday’s telecast with “Land of Hope and Dreams.” Mary J. Blige broke into tears singing “The Living Proof.” Steven Tyler performed “Dream On.” Christina Aguilera sang “Beautiful,” and Sting sent “an SOS to the world” with “Message in a Bottle.” Jimmy Fallon led an all-star singalong of “Under the Boardwalk.” Proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross. ABC plans on doing a “Day of Giving” across various shows today. CBS and Fox have announced donations to the Red Cross.
Aerosmith have let it slip where they’ll play their surprise concert at noon in Boston today. It will be in front of 1325 Commonwealth Avenue, where the band lived from 1970 to 1972. Players from the New England Patriots and some of the cheerleaders will be there too. The concert is to mark the release of the new Aerosmith album, “Music From Another Dimension,” out tomorrow. It’s also a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote party.
Denzel Washington is flying high with his latest movie “Flight.” But the actor says his skills in the cockpit are limited to the big screen. He says “I cannot fly a plane” – despite spending a lot of time in a flight simulator while making the film. He says he did like messing around in the simulator – and wouldn’t mind having one at home. He says he wrecked a few planes while in the simulator – unlike his character in the movie who brings down a crippled jetliner safely.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – “Wreck-it Ralph” is doing some solid building at the nation’s theaters. The Disney production opens at number-one this weekend. The animated family film takes in more than 49 million dollars — helped by parents looking for something for their kids to do while schools were closed due to Superstorm Sandy. Denzel Washington’s “Flight” opens in a solid second this weekend, with 25 mil. “Argo” is third, followed by the debut of the kung fu flick “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
Stuffed animals with attitude problems do battle in the violent “Naughty Bear: Panic In Paradise.”
ELI RATES THE GAMES By KCOW Weekend Warrior and Resident Madman Eli Smith
This has been a pretty impressive year for gaming, with Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed 3, Dishonored, and many more. But with all of these amazing games coming out, it can be easy to overlook output from some of the lesser developers.
Today, that lesser known developer is 505 studios, and the game of choice is Naughty Bear – Panic in Paradise. In this game you play as an adorable, stuffed teddy bear who has a bit of a mean streak. The other bears who are now located on Paradise Island do not like you for one reason or another, and that has caused the teddy bear you control (Naughty Bear) to snap. So, in order to get even with the bears who shunned him, he decides to go on a massive and murderous rampage. Obviously, this game’s storyline isn’t meant to be taken seriously.
The gameplay encourages a bit of creativity in the way you dish out your revenge. You can use a number of different objects in the world– including weapons you can hold in your hand, or larger objects that can be shoved into the other bears. For example, you could choose between killing a bear with a garden rake, or shoving a bear into the fridge. There are many different options. There is even a level of “insanity” with each bear; when other bears see you murdering a bear, it can cause their insanity to rise. Once their “insanity” reaches a certain level, you can push them over the edge and cause them to kill themselves–usually by exploding or beating themselves to death. It’s all rather disturbing, but do not forget that these are only teddy bears. (Nevertheless, the amount of violence might be something to keep in mind if you’re considering buying this game for a child.) Other gameplay options include the ability to hide in the bushes and wear disguises; however, despite all these options, “Naughty Bear” is pretty repetitive. Each level is a variation on what’s essentially the same thing, scaring and killing bears. Eventually the gameplay becomes dry and somewhat boring, meaning that this game needs to be taken slowly. That being said, there are a number of unlockables available, giving completionists and perfectionists much to do.
The graphics are nothing special; the worlds are mildly interesting, but when you go through it multiple times you find that there is nothing to look at. The game often re-uses areas, and the worlds are rather small and boring. However, I’m willing to forgive this, as it is a $20 game, and we cannot expect too much detail in a title like this.
The sound is actually an interesting element in this game. When people are within earshot of a trapped or hurt bear, they come to the rescue. You also have the ability to make a “boo” sound effect that can be used to attract or scare enemies. The sounds that these bears make are adorable, and rather funny given the game.
The music isn’t too interesting; it’s happy and joyful when Naughty Bear is not focused on, and twisted and scary during periods where he is focused on. During actual gameplay, background music only appears during scary moments, such as when Naughty Bear makes a kill.
To conclude, this game is a little stale and boring, and would not be worth the $60 price point assigned to major titles. But for $20 this game is well worth playing. It is silly and rather goofy–and despite the fact that driving bears insane and murdering them seems rather horrific, remember that they’re only stuffed animals. However, as I previously mentioned, there are some mature themes behind this game, and I wouldn’t recommend it for incredibly young children.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — After five years as the top vocal duo at the CMA Awards, Sugarland has been dethroned.
Those honors go to Thompson Square — and it represents a real changing of the guard when it comes to vocal pairs at the CMA Awards. In the past 20 years, the CMA honor for top vocal duo has gone to either Sugarland or to Brooks & Dunn 19 times.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — A big night for Little Big Town. The group won the single of the year honors for “Pontoon” — and in doing so, beat out some of the top country acts of last year. And they weren’t shy about letting the world know how happy they were.
Members of the group jumped up and down, shouted and pumped their fists after winning their award. Karen Fairchild says the win is “living proof that if you work really hard and chase your dream, all the good stuff happens.”
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Eric Church might have felt a little like an outsider in country music before. But no more. He has won the CMA Award for album of the year for his project “Chief.” And in doing so, Church feels he has finally found a place among his country peers.
In his acceptance remarks, Church said he had spent much of his career wondering where he fit in, musically. But with his win, he says now he has somewhere to hang his hat. Church was the leading nominee going into last night’s awards ceremony. But says he didn’t expect to win — in part because some country fans felt his music had too much of a rock feel to be taken seriously by country music fans.
NEW YORK (AP) — No Doubt has pulled its new cowboys-and-Indians-themed music video and is apologizing to Native Americans and others offended by the clip.
