Towleroad Guide to the Tube #352

STEPHANIE CUTTER: Michelle Obama's chief of staff slams John McCain over 'pig in lipstick' nonsense. Where was McCain when one of his supporters called Hillary Clinton a bitch?

RAPE KITS: MSNBC is onto Sarah Palin...

GAVIN NEWSOM: Speaks out against Prop. 8. If you missed our interview with him at the DNC, check it out here.

9 TO 5: The musical opened the other night, and when it abruptly halted mid-performance because one of the sets malfunctioned, Dolly Parton, who was in the audience, saved the day by giving an impromptu performance. She rocks.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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News: Dolly Parton, Murakami, Polar Bears, Purse, Phillip Bloch

Recently out Degrassi star Adamo Ruggiero to host Canadian talent show The Next Star.

Takashi Murakami sculpture of anime dude ejaculating goes for $15 million at auction: "The winning bid was submitted to Sotheby's by telephone, probably because no one likes to buy this sort of thing in person, even if it's at a classy art auction."

Don't mess with Dolly! Howard Stern alters Parton's audiobook to make her say some disgusting things.

Bee Gees musical to disco up London's West End: "The Bee Gees are still staying alive and, post-Saturday Night Fever, readying another stage attack with a compilation musical based on their greatest hits. Brother Robin Gibb confirmed the status of the project this weekend while unveiling a green plaque at the former London home of the band’s manager and producer Robert Stigwood, where they wrote songs including 'Chain Reaction' and 'Heartbreaker'."

It's a slow news day at the BBC.

Wonder Twin messes activate!

Polar Bears declared a threatened species: "Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne cited dramatic declines in sea ice over the last three decades and projections of continued losses, meaning, he said, that the polar bear is a species likely to be in danger of extinction in the near future. But Kempthorne said it would be 'wholly inappropriate' to use the protection of the bear to reduce greenhouse gases, or to broadly address climate change."

Robert Downey Jr. showcases the season's hottest accessory.

Stylist Phillip Bloch forcibly removed from Madison Square Garden over mistaken marijuana incident: "Bloch, who had earlier lit a cigarette but quickly stubbed it out unnoticed, had been talking to a group of pot-smoking teenagers in the row behind him who were passing a pipe among themselves. 'The whole stadium smelled like pot, and the kids behind us were smoking. I'm sitting there having fun, laughing,' said Bloch. 'Then I get an order to go with this man. They say, 'You're leaving, give us your ticket.' I held it up, they took it. At that point they grabbed me by my arms to take me out, so I threw my hands up and said, 'You've got to keep off me. I'm no threat.'' Page Six witnessed three security guards then spin Bloch around and pin him against the corridor wall."

Chris Carmack's new movie should ensure plenty of shots like this.

Gay kiss heats up South African soap opera: "The protagonists were Stone (played by Zenzo Ngqobe) and Thula (Wright Ngubeni). Thula’s unemployed mother is bedridden by HIV/Aids, and to make ends meet he is selling his body to a married man. Not even his best childhood pal, Charlotte (Stone’s girlfriend) played by Nosipho Nkelemba, knows about the big secret. When Stone confronts Thula about the prostitution, there is an exchange of words and Stone suddenly kisses his friend, Thula. Both are left staring at each other in shock. The kiss did not last longer than five seconds, but is as big a talking point as After Nine – a locally produced short film on black gay men, screened on SABC1 last year."

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Dolly Parton Sends Bald Eagle Back to Nature

Dolly Parton does everything. She even frees bald eagles!

Yesterday she participated in a combo bald eagle and commemorative coin release in Dandridge, Tennessee. Said Parton, whose Dollywood Theme Park also hosts an eagle sanctuary: "Our part is our part, but everybody has to do theirs to make it work."

As she stepped from a vehicle in her high heels, she said: "Well, if you're looking for my wilderness shoes, here they are."

She also named the eagle: "Why don't we name it Liberty since we're talking about the coins and patriotic things. I thought that sounded better than Baldy..."

Parton warned that she didn't want to become a baldy herself: "Don't let it get a hold of my hair, or he may fly off with it."

AFTER THE JUMP, Dolly's video for "Eagle When She Flies"...

Previously
Dolly Parton's Breasts Cause Tour Cancellation [tr]
Jake Shears Interviews Dolly Parton in UK Special [tr]
Dolly Parton: Better Get to Livin' [tr]

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Music News: Exclusive Robyn Podcast Interview, Plus Perez Hilton, Goldfrapp, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson

Robbie Daw presents a weekly pop music update here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own pop music site called Chart Rigger.

Today Andy and I have something a bit different for you in the form of an audio interview with Robyn. Speaking with the Swedish pop singer, who was in Stockholm when she called, was just as I expected it to be: amusing, informative and even a bit surreal; as you'll hear, her godchildren were in the background playing the entire time, and at one point Robyn breaks from our conversation to yell at them in Swedish when they begin fighting! She also goes into great detail on how forming Konichiwa Records three years ago -- her own label to distribute her latest album -- led to the kind of success she never predicted.

The past twelve months alone have seen Robyn blow up online. Here in the States, for instance, she did three shows earlier this month and was taken aback at how her audiences knew all the words to the songs. (Robyn's self-titled album isn't out here till April 29. It'll be her first U.S. release since 1997's Robyn Is Here.)

Currently you can grab Robyn's digital single "With Every Heartbeat" and The Rakamonie EP. As well, she's featured on the "Fyre Department Remix" of Snoop Dogg's current hit, "Sexual Eruption."

As a bit of a side note, toward the end of the interview, I asked Robyn about two particular songs on her forthcoming album. It may seem like like she's being contradictory, since for the first song, "Be Mine!", she says she doesn't write about personal things that happen in her everyday life and for the second, "Bum Like You," she mentions that it was inspired by a relationship she'd had -- but with "Be Mine!" she was referring to a specific scenario in the song's bridge being fictional.

Robbie Daw Interviews Robyn

Maybe the geeks truly shall inherit! Here's a 45-second clip of Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" video, which co-stars 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer and was directed by Brett Ratner.

Slide over, Clive. Proving that Perez Hilton (aka, Mario Lavandeira) just might be the queen of all media after all, the New York Times reports the following: "Mr. Lavandeira has been negotiating a deal that would provide him with his own imprint at Warner Brothers Records, a division of the music giant Warner Music Group, he said. This was confirmed by several other people associated with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because no deal has been made. The talks are preliminary, and an agreement is not certain, but Mr. Lavandeira could receive $100,000 a year as an advance against 50 percent of any profits generated by artists he discovers and releases through Warner Brothers, these people said."

TODAY'S NEW RELEASES:

Discipline, the tenth studio album from Janet Jackson, and her first since joining the Island Def Jam label after a string of low-selling releases with Virgin.

Seventh Tree from Goldfrapp. It's a bit of a departure from their past up-tempo, dancier releases. Also available on iTunes is a remix EP for the album's first single, "A&E."

Dolly Parton's Backwoods Barbie, the title track of which is set to be used in the score for next year's 9 To 5 Broadway musical.

Erykah Badu's New Amerykah, which hopefully isn't overshadowed by the brouhaha over her latest hairstyle.

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Dolly Parton's Breasts Cause Tour Cancellation

Dolly Parton was forced to cancel her upcoming North American tour after doctors ordered her back to bed for six to eight weeks because of back problems. Parton says it's her breasts that are the issue. She released a statement: "Hey, you try wagging these puppies around a while and see if you don't have back problems."

Proving once again that humor and sincerity are truly her best assets.

In the meantime, revisit her latest video, "Better Get to Livin'".

Previously
Jake Shears Interviews Dolly Parton in UK Special [tr]
Video Director Discusses Dolly Parton / Amy Sedaris Collaboration [tr]
Dolly Parton: Better Get to Livin' [tr]

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Jake Shears Interviews Dolly Parton in UK Special

On December 26th, Channel 4 in the UK will air a special called Jake's Adventure in Dollywood, in which the Scissor Sisters' frontman interviews Parton as she arrives in London for her 2008 Backwoods Barbie Tour, and to launch the UK arm of her children's charity project Imagination. Here are a couple clips from the half-hour program.

Who doesn't love Dolly?

You may have missed...
Video Director Discusses Dolly Parton / Amy Sedaris Collaboration [tr]
Dolly Parton: Better Get to Livin' [tr]
Jake Shears Would "Take That" if Asked [tr]

(image: dave king)

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Video Director Discusses Dolly Parton / Amy Sedaris Collaboration

Steve Lipman (aka Flip), who directed the video I posted yesterday for Dolly Parton's new single "Better Get to Livin'", talked to Amy Sedaris Rocks about how their collaboration came about:

"The thought of casting Amy came from myself and my creative team — we’re all longtime fans. I can remember seeing her shows at La Mama years ago, and immediately succumbed to the insanity. As for the video, the roles were already sketched out, but then I had the idea of getting Amy to do all 3 of them, like Peter Sellers used to do in his movies. I suggested this to Dolly and her team, and they thought it was a great idea. Next thing you know, we approached Amy and she said “yes”. It was the promise that Amy would share a scene with a monkey, and of course, Dolly, that sealed the deal. Wow. Imagine 2 days of filming with Dolly and Amy. This is when show biz has its perks. Amy improvised a lot, and the costume designer Adam Selman and make-up artist Chris Colbeck helped her bring the characters to life, beyond anything I imagined. We all had a blast making the video, and it doesn’t surprise me that there is so much overlap in the fan base with Dolly and Amy. They are both generous and genius one-of-a-kind talents."

I've posted the video one more time, after the jump...

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Dolly Parton: Better Get to Livin'

Can't get much better than a new Dolly Parton video in which Amy Sedaris has a bit part.

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News: Bono, Andre Boisclair, Dolly Parton, Texas Triangle

Anti-gay group MassResistance taking predatory photos of gay youth? More...

Bono is knighted. Just don't call him Sir.

Saudi King Abdullah publicly condemns "illegitimate foreign occupation" of Iraq. Crooks and Liars: "Wow, talk about Bush really losing his base."

Winner or loser? Kevin Federline to walk away with a cool million in Britney Spears divorce settlement.

Daily Kos on the threatened Bush veto: "Bush's veto sends troops to Iraq without rest, without armor, and without training. No president in American history has ever abandoned troops in the field to die. But George W. Bush is about to show you he's "man enough" to do it, just to prove he can."

Patti LuPone to headline Gypsy revival in New York. Arthur Laurents to direct.

Openly gay Parti Quebecois leader Andre Boisclair criticized after party has worst election showing in decades: "PQ Leader Andre Boisclair is openly gay and his sexuality became an issue during the campaign when a radio host proclaimed the PQ 'a club of fags' and said local factory workers wouldn't vote for a gay leader." Candidate Rachel Gagnon: "We have to ask ourselves whether Quebecers, generally, are ready to live with homosexuality."

American Family Association pissed that Allegheny College is holding a two-day colloquium that begins today on gay, lesbian and transgender issues.

More reasons to love Dolly Parton: "When I have sex with my husband these days, I fantasize I am with someone like Keith Urban or a petite, hot young woman."

Lesbian journalist Kay Longcope, who started the Texas Triangle newspaper when she moved to Austin in 1992, has died of pancreatic cancer.

Tortilla artist Joe Bravo is a sensation in Mexico, breaking gallery attendance records.

Australia's first gay cruise hit by drug bust: "Police and sniffer dogs inspected all passengers before boarding and five people were detected with drugs on them. A 38 year-old Surry Hills man was found with 20 tablets and charged with supply, while three others – a 26 year-old from Wantirna in Victoria, 35 year-old from Glenmore, Victoria and a 37 year-old from Darlinghurst – were charged with possession of GHB, speed and LSD. A fifth man, 55 years-old, was cautioned for possessing a gram of cannabis."

Video highlights from the Sampson hearing on the firing of U.S. attorneys.

Madonna plans retrospective of her 25 years in show biz: "The singer also mentioned that she would love to throw a party for all of her friends that would, 'celebrate all the designers', such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix, who have created famous and groundbreaking designs for Madonna over the years."

Conservative groups in Minnesota fighting gay hospital visitation rights: "What we object to is the creation of these domestic partner statuses, which is really marriage by another name and that's what we see they are attempting to do."

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Warhol Portrait of "Sugary" Dolly Parton Questioned

Controversy has sprung up around a Dolly Parton portrait said to be an Andy Warhol that was put on the block at Sotheby's blowout contemporary art auction last week. Expected to fetch $1.5 million, interest in the portrait fizzled and it failed to sell.

Horst Weber, an artist who produced thousands of Warhol images from stock photos that Warhol sold as his own, tells the New York Post it's likely one of his: "Although we made many paintings of Dolly Parton, I remember this particular one as I decided to make it with sugary colors. And the fact that this painting of Dolly Parton is unsigned means there is a very good chance that Warhol had never actually laid eyes on it."

Weber also claims it's a painting that Parton's manager Sandy Gallin rejected in 1985 because it wasn't Warholian enough, citing an entry in Warhol's diary: "[His] secretary got on and said, 'Ohhh, Sandy's soooo embarrassed' - that it just doesn't look like my art . . . And after 15 minutes, she popped the question: Could he get his $10,000 deposit back?"

Sotheby's stands by its claim that the work is authentic.

The New York auction season has resulted in an "astonishing" $1.3 billion taken in by auction houses in the last two weeks.

You may have missed...
Art Market on Fire: Auctioned, Sold, and Stolen [tr]
Dolly Parton Gets Ready [tr]

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Dolly Parton Gets Ready

Here's hoping Dolly Parton wins the Oscar for her song "Travelin' Thru" from Transamerica. Here she is yesterday, either rehearsing for the Oscars or doing a promo spot for Hot Pockets.

Dolly said she finished "Travelin' Thru" in one day after a bout of inspiration on her tour bus, and based it partly on one of her colleagues: "I have a person who works in my organization who once was a woman and now is a man. I didn't know for years that this person had had a sex change. I know what a wonderful person he is, and I based some of my feelings [in the song] on my feelings for him and on knowing what he went through."

She also recently told USA Today:

"Some things are strange to me, and some things are odd. But I don't condemn. If you can accept me, I can accept you. Having a big gay following, I get hate mail and threats. Some people are blind or ignorant, and you can't be that prejudiced and hateful and go through this world and still be happy. One thing about this movie is that I think art can change minds. It's all right to be who you are."

Hear, hear:

Travelin' Thru is a free download on iTunes today.

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