Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga: Too much of a good thing?

Ellen DeGeneres listens to singer Justin Bieber as she holds a box containing strands of his hair. The box will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go to Gentle Barn.

There are two people who have been in the news as of recently, at least more so than usual, who may be getting too much coverage for their own good: Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. Not that it would matter to me, but I fear the pop stars risk overexposure and pretty soon people will be tossing any news of either aside. Call it the Lindsay Lohan Syndrome. Sometimes, enough is enough.

Here’s my reasoning:

Sixteen-year-old Bieber is on the fast track to take over the world, just as Gaga has done in the last few years. He’s a teen sensation who can actually sing (and play drums, guitar, piano…whatever you throw in front of him); he’s got the pretty-boy duds and he seems like a genuinely nice kid, always smiling, never getting into trouble.

But when the biggest news of the week is that the Bieb has gotten a haircut, I think we need to slow down. Websites posted this nugget as “Breaking News,” and it was on nearly every site — even mainstream news sites — as a top story. And it wasn’t just a blip on the radar. It had legs, as we say in the news biz, for the entire week. Keep in mind we have fighting in Libya and skyrocketing gas prices to contend with. The Bieb even made special appearances on “Ellen” and “Entertainment Tonight” to showcase his new locks.

It apparently isn’t enough that we see him as a musical artist. No, now he stars in his own movie, makes cameo appearances on “Saturday Night Live,” shows up as a troubled teen in episodes of “C.S.I.” and takes home the MVP trophy in the NBA’s celebrity all-star game. You’d think that much exposure would amount to saturation, but not with this kid. He’s also on product lines of nail polish (really?), dolls and bed sheets. He seems to be popping up just about everywhere.

The Bieb has been so pumped up by the media, his handlers and his legions of fans that everybody seemed to consider him a shoo-in to win the Grammy award last week for Best New Artist. When jazz-bassist Esperanza Spalding took the prize instead, the look on the Bieb’s face was one of utter disappointment, almost like he was set up.

Bieb, we get it. You can sing, dude, and I’ll admit, you are adorable with whatever hairstyle you so choose. But you’re just getting started in the biz. Slow down or you’ll be on the track to has-been teen sensation sooner, rather than later.

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I’ll admit I dig some of Lady Gaga’s music. Any girl who denies it is lying. (Heck, even the old bald guy who sits across the aisle at work thinks she’s a huge talent.) The Fame, as well as the follow-up bonus disc, The Fame Monster, brought out a new sound at a time when it was much needed in the music world. Her crazy fashions, along with her even more bizarre music videos held our attention for the last three years, and she’s earned the worldwide success that she now holds. And just as with Bieber, Gaga can actually sing and shred the piano quite well.

My problem now is, we need some breathing room. I get it, Gaga is a massive icon these days, especially with the LGBT community, but as far as her music goes, it’s too much too soon.
She just got finished with a massive tour and now her third album in three years is being released on May 23. Her newest single, “Born This Way,” was released on Feb. 11 to much anticipation, and it seems to play about every 30 minutes on the radio. In fact, I’ve had it stuck in my head for the last few days. But that’s not the point.

The point is, “Born This Way” is not nearly as good as her previous accomplishments. And her first performance of it on the Grammys wasn’t as earth-shattering as everyone assumed it would be. I was actually pretty bored during it. The whole arrive-in-an-embryo stunt took it a little too far in the creative mindset of things, and I don’t think I was the only one who was less intrigued by the stunt, more so than applauding her conceptual vision.

To couple with her mediocre hit single, which she claimed to have written in 10 minutes (best have kept that to yourself, Gaga, as it shows), “Born This Way” is in the midst of big debate on whether it resembles — or rips off, for that matter — Madonna’s “Express Yourself.” Both not only have similar beats, but similar messages. Only Madonna’s is way, way better and Gaga — as much as she portrays herself as the new-age Madonna — will never come close to Madonna-status.

What it boils down to is Gaga needs to take some time away. I could be wrong and her new album will be the most glorious thing we’ve ever heard, but I really think by the end of the year the world will have Gaga fatigue.

She’ll still have her Little Monsters making her songs #1 on the charts and buying up her concert tickets, but the majority of casual listeners — even the bald guy — will be looking for the Next Big Thing.

So step back Bieber, re-evaluate yourself Gaga, let us breathe and give us some room to appreciate your talent, rather than making you an easy target for the butt of every joke.

The Grammys: A night of pure entertainment

Ah the Grammys… one of the few instances in a year where I let myself wander outside my comfort zone and take a listen to what the majority of others are listening to on a daily basis: Top 40 Radio.

The Grammys are a place where the Gagas, the Biebers and the Eminems of the world, along with many others in every respective musical genre, come together once a year for a night of pure entertainment.

The Grammys are simply a celebration of music, and I respect that. Plus, the Grammys like to mix it up by throwing a few legendary acts in with the performers of today. Last year Elton John, Stevie Nicks and Jeff Beck graced the stage. This year we were rewarded with Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand and Mick Jagger.

As Forrest Gump would say, you never know what you’re gonna get. And this year was no different: I mean, Lady Gaga showed up in a giant egg, for Pete’s sake.

Here’s a rundown of some of my favorite performances of the night:

• Christina Aguilera: Aguilera redeemed herself from her Super Bowl foul with a powerful performance of Aretha Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way.” In a tribute to Franklin, Aguilera was joined by Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch (from Florence & The Machine), Martina McBride and gospel singer Yolanda Adams. The quartet did Aretha proud with a 10-minute mash-up tribute to the diva with such songs as “Respect,” “Spirit in the Dark” and “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves.” But it was Aguilera who truly stood out. We all know Aguilera’s got the chops, but it’s soulful songs such as Aretha’s where her powerhouse vocals really shine.

• Bruno Mars: Mars started out the performance accompanying rapper B.O.B. and Janelle Monae. All three artists complemented each other nicely during renditions of B.O.B.’s “Nothin’ On You” and Monae’s “Cold War.” But it was Mars who broke away from the pack with a ’50s style take on his hit song “Grenade,” equipped with the dance moves and black and white screening to go with it. Classy, real classy.

• Jaden Smith: Coming out of nowhere, the 12-year-old tyke bred from Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, busted out some rhymes alongside teen sensation Justin Bieber during a performance of the latter’s “Never Say Never.” Surprisingly, Jaden’s raps flowed smoothly and he seemed comfortable on stage. Perhaps Jaden has inherited his father’s famous rapping chops. Let’s hope this lead’s to a cover of “Parents Just Don’t Understand.”

• Skylar Grey: She may be the breakthrough artist of the night, performing on Eminem’s “I Need a Doctor” alongside Dr. Dre. Grey only sings the chorus of that song, but the words and vocals hit hard and it complements the edgy rap side of things that Eminem and Dre provide. The entire song is hard-hitting, but low-key all in the same. It’s a nice pairing.

• Mumford & Sons, the Avett Brothers and Bob Dylan: Mumford & Sons, and the Avett Brothers prove that there is still good ol’ authentic bluegrass music out there. Mumford & Sons performed “The Cave” with two horn players backing up their four-piece band, then segued into the Avett Brothers’ strong-headed performance of “Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise.” And then in one big culmination, the bands backed up legend Bob Dylan, as he performed “Maggie’s Farm.” Dylan may be getting a little raspy in his old age, and the back-up bands may have been shouting over him, but Dylan gave it his all and deserved the standing ovation he received from the audience.

• Cee Lo Green: Cee Lo Green, along with his partner-in-crime Danger Mouse, always enjoy dressing up as famous pairings as part of their band Gnarls Barkley. So it’s no surprise that even as he took to the stage solo to perform “[The Song Otherwise Known As] Forget You” that he looked like a new-age Elton John, dressed in colorful feathers resembling those of a peacock and a bedazzled head covering and glasses, rocking out on the piano. To couple with his costume was a fun set full of rocket ships…and puppets singing and dancing along. Yeah, that’s right…puppets. Oh, and for what’s it’s worth, Gwyneth Paltrow was there too.

• Muse’s performance of “Resistance:” Progressive space rock is what Muse is, and they put on quite a show for us Americans… they’re from England. With towers of TV screens made to look as if they come crashing down on us, along with actors pretending to riot and destroy said TV screens, the performance definitely defined the title of the song.

The Awards:

Grammys are awarded in 109 categories, including Best Spoken Word Album, Best Tropical Latin Album, Best Banda Album and Best Comedy Album. Here are some of the winners in the more traditional, popular categories.

Record of the Year: “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum
Album of the Year: The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
Song of the Year: “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum
Best New Artist: Esperanza Spaulding
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals: “Hey, Soul Sister (Live)” by Train
Best Pop Vocal Album: The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga
Best Rock Performance by A Duo or Group with Vocals: “Tighten Up” by The Black Keys
Best Alternative Music Album: Brothers by The Black Keys
Best Rock Album: The Resistance by Muse
Best R&B Album: Wake Up! by John Legend & The Roots
Best Rap Solo Performance: “Not Afraid” by Eminem
Best Rap Song: “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys
Best Rap Album: Recovery by Eminem
Best Female Country Vocal Performance: “The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert
Best Male Country Vocal Performance: “ ‘Til Summer Comes Around” by Keith Urban
Best Country Album: Need You Now by Lady Antebellum

Tarantino’s ‘True Romance’ not your typical love story

"People have asked me:
‘So would you ever do a romance movie?’
Like that’s so not what I would do.
‘Well, I did a romantic movie, True Romance.’
‘No, No, I mean like a real romantic movie.’
‘Well, that is a real romantic movie.’
‘No, like one without violence?’
‘Well, there’ll be a lot of things in any movie I do that will be contradictory,

but anybody who’s a fan of the movie can tell you,

the title — True Romance — is not ironic… this is True Romance.”
— Quentin Tarantino

And Tarantino is right at that. “True Romance” may contain more violence, more blood and more F-bombs than your typical Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy, but it is the epitome of romance — and it begs the question: How far would you go for the one you love?

Directed by Tony Scott, and the first major screenplay out of Mr. Tarantino’s handbook, “True Romance” takes you on a ride you’ll never forget — and it may leave you saying “What the heck” more than “Awww.”

“True Romance” tells the story of Clarence (Christian Slater), a lonely comic book store clerk, who on his birthday meets a lovely lady named Alabama (Patricia Arquette) at a movie double-feature. They have a grand ol’ time together that night and are quickly head-over-heels in love. Later that night, Alabama’s conscious comes into play and she admits to Clarence that she’s a call girl that Clarence’s boss hired for his birthday.

Though upset and frustrated, Clarence can’t deny that he loves Alabama, and they marry the next day. Now arises the problem of Alabama getting out of her ‘contract’ with her crazy-eyed, dread-head pimp, Drexl (played wonderfully by Gary Oldman, who makes the most out of his 10-minute scene). The problem is solved when Clarence kills Drexl, (an act Alabama deems “so romantic”) but instead of grabbing her bag of clothes, he grabs a bag of cocaine. They realize their mistake and hatch a plan to make the best of it by profiting off of the sale of the drugs and escaping to Cancun together, to live happily every after.

Of course, it’s not that simple. Unlike the typical rom-com, Clarence and Alabama have to work hard to stay together — they flee to L.A., are confronted by gangsters, make drug deals and find themselves in the middle of massive shootouts — all in the name of love.

And it’s well worth it, as Clarence and Alabama are truly meant for each other. Alabama is a woman who fights with her heart — just wait until a scene where she’s caputured by a henchman, played by James Gandolfini (aka Tony Soprano). She’s may be sweet, but she’s also in love and nobody — not even a 300-pound henchman — will stand in her way.

And Clarence is happy to have such a beautiful lady in his lonely life. Christian Slater is perfect to play such a nice guy turned reckless fighter. His leading man looks may not be the conventional Brad Pitt type (who, by the way, also has a small, but wonderful role in the film), but he’s got heart, which brings out a bit of psychotic in him, and he’ll do anything for Alabama.

Everything about “True Romance” is superb: the writing, the characters, the editing and the music (score by Hans Zimmer) all fuse together nicely. It may not have made any money at the box office ($11.5 million in 1993), but it has gone on to be a huge cult favorite.

Add to the mix a top-notch supporting cast, and you can’t go wrong: The already mentioned Gandolfini, Pitt and Oldman, along with Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Michael Rapaport, Val Kilmer, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Penn and Tom Sizemore, work their magic and put on a great show for us.

In one of the best scenes of the movie, Hopper, who plays Clarence’s police officer dad, is confronted by a gangster (Walken) about the whereabouts of Clarence. They exchange racially-slurred jabs at one another in a somewhat comical way — all the while, Clarence’s dad knows that he’ll be killed for not dispensing any information — but by getting in that one last insult, he wins and can die a happy man.

Clarence and Alabama’s relationship may have been born in a destructive environment (maybe not as destructive as, say, Sid and Nancy) but it’s a relationship full of love all the same. They get their fairy tale ending just as the rom-com couples do — only theirs come with a few more bruises, scrapes and bullet wounds — but it’s a fairy tale ending all the same.

So if you’re looking for something a little-less cookie cutter when it comes to romance flicks, go back a couple decades and discover this hidden Tarantino gem to see what true love is all about.

‘Storm of the Century’: A Stephen King film that still gives me the chills

Given the weather yesterday, I was reminded of a favorite made-for-TV movie that appeared back in the day that has always been one of my faves: Stephen King’s “Storm of the Century.”

King decided he would write a fresh screenplay for the TV screen — not based on any of his books — that would air in February of 1999, on ABC, in a three-part series. It was the first time King had decided to go this route. Ironically, the screenplay would later be turned into a book. But anyhow, “Storm of the Century” took the TV airwaves by storm, literally.

“Storm of the Century” takes place on a little island in Maine where a powerful storm blocks all travel on and off the island. The main character, town Sheriff Mike Anderson (Tim Daly of “Wings” fame; more recently “Private Practice”) manages to keep the townspeople safe and everything and everyone under control. That is, until a stranger shows up.

Andre Linoge (Colm Feore) seems to know all of the town’s secrets — ranging from abortion to who’s growing marijuana. He’s a menacing character with a gift for instantly getting under everyone’s skin. It probably helps that Feore has a perfect deadpan stare. Throw in an all-around creepy aura that seems to extend beyond the TV screen and you’ve got the makings of a first-class villain.

Soon, Linoge is put in jail for killing one of the town’s residents, but somehow, someway, he is able to get people to kill themselves and others (though not in that order) while he is behind bars. All the while repeating, “Give me what I want and I’ll go away.”

I was 13 when “Storm of the Century” first aired, the perfect age to be thoroughly creeped out by scary movies — and it sure did — or does — I still have a hard time sleeping without a light on every time I watch this film.

Obviously, being a made-for-TV movie, there wasn’t much blood and gore, but King has made a career out of keeping people scared with an eerie, drawn-out storyline that keeps the tension alive. And being a mini-series, it was the perfect way to keep viewers coming back each night. At some points it does fall flat, but it’s a movie that gets to you — imagine, getting stuck on an island, being held hostage by Mother Nature alone, not able to escape the grips of a dangerous man.

The conclusion of the film finds the town realizing that Linoge is a demon who requires an heir to take over for him, as he is not immortal. He wants one of the eight children of the island to be his heir, and if the town refuses, Linoge will kill everyone on the island.

The town agrees to forfeit a child — everyone except for Mike, the sheriff. In the end, stones are drawn from a bag by each parent of the children, and Sheriff Mike’s kid is chosen to be taken away.

Everybody loves a Stephen King movie, although some may be cheesy (“Maximum Overdrive”; “Pet Semetary”); you can’t deny that he can write. And I applaud the man for trying something new that worked out well. He would succeed again with “Rose Red” in 2002, and “Kingdom Hospital” in 2004.

If you’re a big fan of suspense, next snow storm (probably next week at the rate we’re going) cuddle up and watch this four-hour feat of a movie. If nothing else, you’ll be glad you don’t live on an island.