News: Chris Brown, Google, Madonna, Mercury

Is Chris Brown's new song asking Drake to come out of the closet?

Ben Cohen on the day he received a phone call from Elton John: "He said, 'I hear you’re deaf. I love the work you’re doing and I’d love to help you. When you’re next in America I’m going to send you over to [hearing aid manufacturer] Starkey and fit you out with new state-of-the-art hearing aids. While you’re there you might as well see the head guy, the owner.' It was an amazing day."

Neil Patrick Harris and Newt Gingrich are just two of the few celebrities/notables who have been selected to give Google Glass a whirl.

Howard Kurtz says Anderson Cooper is not interested in Matt Lauer's gig on The Today Show.

20-year-old Cason Crane is on his way to becoming the first openly gay mountaineer to climb the so-called "Seven Summits." He started on number six yesterday: Mount Everest.

Katy Perry and Jane Lynch bump into each other while out on a hike.

The green meteorite found in Morocco last year might just be from the planet Mercury.

Madonna's homeless brother gets blunt about his relationship with his sister: "She lives in her own world. I never loved her in the first place, she never loved me."

Nelson Mandela on the mend after being diagnosed with pneumonia.

The Real World cast member Marlon Williams admits to a past gay experience but insists he is neither gay or bisexual.

Facebook co-founder Sean Parker will get married in June in a medieval-themed wedding celebration.

Guess Who Was the Only One Sitting as Frank Ocean Won a Grammy Award?

Guess. But, hey, it looks like his cast was gone and his wrist was well enough to put his hands together.

(via reddit)

Frank Ocean Called 'Faggot' During Chris Brown Assault

MTV News reports that the Frank Ocean and Chris Brown assault case is closed:

Odd Future crooner Ocean spoke to cops earlier and told officials he was "desirous of prosecution in this incident,"
 but on Saturday he announced on his Tumblr account
 that he was choosing "sanity. No Criminal Charges. No civil lawsuit."

Whitmore said his office just needs to confirm with Ocean that his Tumblr statement is accurate and then they will close the books on the case. Sheriff's officials had spoken to Ocean and were in the process of interviewing witnesses, but they had not yet chatted with Brown, who might have faced misdemeanor battery charges in the case, which Whitmore said amounts to "unwanted touching."

"All investigations are important and we were going to talk to witnesses and Chris Brown, but now that's not necessary," he said.

Brown, who sources told TMZ was not involved in the fight, was seen sporting a hard cast on his hand last week, with no explanation given for his injury. Ocean, meanwhile, tweeted that he'd suffered a cut finger in the incident, which he said might hamper his performance
 at the Grammys on Sunday.

Details of the police report are emerging, however. Ocean said he was called a "faggot" bye someone during the assault.

TMZ:

Ocean told police Brown tried to shake his hand, but Ocean refused, telling Brown he was in his parking spot. Ocean claimed that's when Brown punched him in the face. According to the report, Ocean said two of Brown's goons then jumped in to help Brown ... pushed him into a corner and attempted to kick him.

Ocean -- who revealed last year that he'd once had a romantic relationship with a man -- also said he believes he heard someone yell "f**got!" but he's unsure who made the statement.

Cops also say Ocean told them that Brown threatened to shoot him, saying, "We can bust on you too!" Ocean told police the whole fight lasted about two or three minutes.

Frank Ocean Wants to Press Charges Against Chris Brown

Frank Ocean wants to press charges against Chris Brown for an assault outside Westlake Studios in West Hollywood on Sunday night, Reuters reports:

Brown is serving five years probation for assaulting his on-and-off girlfriend Rihanna in 2009 and risks having his probation revoked should charges be filed. In the incident on Sunday, sheriff's deputies responded to a call about a fight involving six men in West Hollywood. The deputies cited witnesses as saying that the Grammy-winning Brown, 23, punched Ocean during the brief altercation.

No charges have yet been filed, but Ocean "is desirous of prosecution in this incident," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Brown and Ocean have a history. In 2011, they exchanged hate tweets that erupted into Brown sending family members to attack Ocean. Asked to comment on Ocean's coming out last year, Brown told a reporter, "Man, no homo."

Meanwhile, Brown was thought to comment about the Ocean incident on Instagram yesterday where he posted this photo, comparing himself to Jesus, with the caption: "Painting the way I feel today. Focus on what matters."

 And Brown reportedly wants to talk to police, MTV reports:

Unnamed sources told the site that Geragos' team have a surveillance tape of the end of the scuffle that shows that Brown did not throw any punches. TMZ reported that the tape also clears Ocean, who does not appear to throw punches either. The fighting appears to be between the singer's respective crews. The video, however, only captures the end of the fight and is not conclusive, because it started in the parking lot of a Los Angeles recording studio where there were no cameras.

The altercation ended up in the lobby of the studio, where it was caught on camera. TMZ said Brown's account is "radically different" from that of an unnamed witness who claimed that the singer threw the first punch. That witness told TMZ that Brown started the fight after Ocean dissed him in front of his crew and refused to shake Breezy's hand. The source added that Frank laughed at the dis, while Brown was so angered he "coldcocked Ocean and started an all-out war."

Once the fight moved to the lobby, sources said it demolished the studio, as the brawlers "managed to break almost everything in the room and scare all of the staff members" before the receptionist called 911. The Sheriff's spokesman said officials do not believe the incident rises to the level of an assault and could just be a "minor scuffle over a parking spot."

Chris Brown Assaults Frank Ocean at L.A. Recording Studio

Chris Brown reportedly assaulted Frank Ocean outside a recording studio on Sunday, Us reports:

The 23-year-old has been accused of physically assaulting fellow R&B star Frank Ocean at a West Hollywood parking lot on Sunday Jan. 28. A report from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department confirms that "Chris Brown and the victim were involved in an altercation over a parking space. The altercation allegedly led to Chris Brown punching the victim," with Brown and Ocean's respective entourages being separated after a brief tussle.

Ocean tweeted: "got jumped by chris and a couple guys. lol. i only wish everest was there...cut my finger now I can't play w two hands at the grammys."

TMZ adds:

UPDATE 3:00 AM PT:  Cops say they will continue to investigate and want to speak with Chris Brown.  They refer to Ocean as "the victim" because he's the one who stuck around and spoke with police.  Ocean said the fight started over a parking space (how L.A.) and Brown punched him.  There were 6 people involved in the fight.

UPDATE 10:45PM PT: Police have cleared the scene. We're told Chris Brown was not there when officers arrived -- but they did speak to Frank Ocean. At this point ... we're told no one wants to press charges, and no arrests have been made.

The OXD Mirror: New Music for 11.30.12

BY OCCUPY THE DISCO / RU BHATT

The OXD Mirror is a weekly music column brought to you by the boys of OCCUPY THE DISCO (OXD), a New York City based collective created by three music lovers, Ru Bhatt, Josh Appelbaum, and Tadeu Magalhães, who want to share their love for disco, house and dance music with the world. 

 

Charli XCX - 'Spoons (Extended Edit ft. Rudimental & MNEK)'

Charlotte Aitichison, better known by her stage name: Charli XCX, is a London-based songstress that has been making waves on the pop music scene since the release of her debut You're the One earlier this summer. In addition to her EP, she's released a few mixtapes via Soundcloud such as Heartbreaks and Earthquakes, which includes Charli's covers of some of her favorite artists such as Blood Orange, Blood Diamonds and Drake. With 'Spoons,' Charli gives us her version of the Rudimental track of the same name creating a deep house mix that maintains Rudimental and MNEK's verses and adds Charli's effusive vocals on top.

 

 

How To Dress Well - '& It Was U (Pional Re-work)'

Towleroad commenter and OXD fan, "Kirkyo," was the first person to bring singer-songwriter How to Dress Well (the stage name of Colorado-born Tom Krell) to my attention via Krell's haunting cover of Janet Jackson's 'Again.' Krell's sophomore album, Total Loss, includes the single '& It Was U,' a sultry R&B track that highlights Krell's beautiful falsetto. The Spanish producers known as Pional have already created a name for themselves with their remixes of Lemonade and The Rapture. With this re-work, the team has jumped on the altered-pitch bandwagon by lowering Krell's vocals and added a pulsing disco rhythm to the already sexy tune, creating a sensual, soothing track.

 

 

Solange - 'Lovers In The Parking Lot'

Solange released her latest EP, True, earlier this week to rave reviews around the music world. While the whole EP (produced by collaborator Blood Orange, née Devonté Hynes) is absolutely fantastic, 'Lovers In the Parking Lot' is a standout R&B track that tells the tale of a lover deciding to end her relationship because she's too young to be rooted down (the song is partly autobiographical, as Solange drew inspiration from her failed relationship with her son's father, NFL player Daniel Smith). With this EP, Solange has stated she wants to echo the genius of über-producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (the duo behind most of Janet Jackson's hits) which is evident by this song's familiar, nostalgia-inducing chorus.

 

MORE TRACKS AFTER THE JUMP...