Clarence Clemons

 

Credit: Bebeto Matthews/AP

Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band’s saxophonist, has suffered a stroke, according to several reports.

Clemons, known and loved as The Big Man, is a founding member of the E Street Band and Springsteen’s stage sidekick. Clemons, 69,  the most famous member of the band after The Boss. He is immortalized in “10th Ave. Freezeout” from 1975’s “Born To Run,” in the verse, “When the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined the band/from the coastline to the city all the little pretties raise their hands/I’m gonna sit back right easy and laugh/when Scooter and the Big Man bust this city in half/With a 10th Ave. freeze out.”   Scooter is Springsteen’s alter ego.

As Springsteen often says when introducing Clemons: "You wanna be him, but you can't." He's simply the personification of cool. As someone who's seen more than 30 Springsteen shows over more than 25 years, it's been sad to watch health issues diminish some of Clemon's abilities, but there hasn't even been a show that he hasn't still brought, at the very least, a smile to my face. On some nights, especially during his challenging "Jungleland" solo he's brought much, much more.

Clemons in on a Top 10 record on the Billboard Hot 100 right now: he plays saxophone on  Lady Gaga’s “The Edge Of Glory.” He’s also on the track, “Hair.”

Roger Friedman’s Showbiz411.com broke the news mid-afternoon on Sunday and Rolling Stone later confirmed it.  According to Showbiz411, Clemons is “said to be seriously ill after a stroke at his home in Florida.” 

We reached out to Clemons' publicist and as of Monday morning, she said there was no official update.  We have no idea how "official" this person is, but a "source" on Springsteen fan site Backstreets.com, reported that Clemons came through two surgeries following the stroke and is responsive. We have not been able to verify that information, but since it's good news, we hope it's true.

UPDATE: Via Twitter, Lady Gaga asked her fans to wish Clemons well: "Little monsters, my very close friend +musician on The Edge of Glory, Clarence Clemons is very sick. Can we all make some get well videos?"

UPDATE 6/14: Bruce Springsteen issued the following statement on Tuesday, June 14: By now, many of you have heard that our beloved comrade and sax player Clarence Clemons has suffered a serious stroke.  While all initial signs are encouraging, Clarence will need much care and support to achieve his
potential once again.  He has his wonderfully supportive wife, Victoria, excellent doctors and health care professionals, and is surrounded by friends and family.
I thank you all for your prayers and positive energy and concern.  This is a time for us all to share in a hopeful spirit that can ultimately inspire Clarence to greater heights.   -- Bruce Springsteen

For those who wish to send a message to Clarence Clemons:

There is now an e-mail address notestoclarence@clarenceclemons.com that you can send a note if you want. It is for notes only and not an information site and no one will be able to respond right now
 

Katy Perry

 

Credit: Victoria Will/AP

Leave all the drama and religious subtext to Lady Gaga, Katy Perry just wants to have fun. A great deal of her appeal remains her ability to play both the total glamor puss and the girl next door.

In the adorable video for “Last Friday Night (TGIF),” Perry’s nerdy alter ego Kathy Beth Terry undergoes the best transformation since Marcia Brady made over her ugly duckling buddy, Molly, into a swan. And then Molly gets all the attention. Does Katy/Kathy get the prince... well, yes she does, in the sweetest possible way.

Plus, she extends Rebecca Black’s fifteen minutes of fame as the “Friday” singer oversees the changes and administers a mean lip wax.  That scene, plus when the nerdy Kathy tries to bite one of the silicone chicken cutlets that’s about to help stuff her bra, makes me laugh. And that’s before we’ve even gotten to the Kenny G sax solo  (mad props to both him and Michael Bolton--they’re touring together, by the way--for realizing they can become hip through letting themselves be the butt of the joke.

Anyway, all of Kathy’s Beth’s transformations and transgressions are caught on camera and posted on the web for all to see. This is 2011, after all.

It’s a fun, sweet clip. We’ll see if it helps propel “Last Friday Night” to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, which would make it her fifth chart topper from “Teenage Dream.”


 

Steve Jobs

 

Credit: Paul Sakuma/AP

Once again, Apple may not be first, but, per usual, it will have the last word. Following Amazon and Google, Apple unleashes its new locker service, iCloud, this week. (Still to come, eMusic, which plans to launch its cloud service later this year).

In a nutshell, all of your music (and anything else clogging up space on any of your devices) can now be sent into space (or wherever it goes, perhaps onto a fluffy white cumulus cloud) and can be beamed down instantly to any of your machines, wirelessly. The more exciting element, iTunes Match, which lets you scan your library and download it to any device--regardless of whether the music was obtained legally, will bow this fall. One small step....

1) Apple iCloud (not ranked): Steve Jobs makes a rare appearance to announce the latest Apple innovation, which stores all your music (and other stuff) and pushes them to your devices wirelessly--think of it, as Apple says, as  “a hard drive in the sky.” Apple gets the big four labels to sign off on the deal, which is a little something that Amazon forgot. Whoops.

2) Bonnaroo (not ranked): The 10th anniversary of the Manchester, Tenn. fest sold out before the first note was played with one of its most diverse line-ups. Here’s hoping the Thursday death will be the only downside during the June 9-12- festival.

3) Pandora (not ranked): The online music streaming service is expected to raise a whopping $200 million in its upcoming IPO. This is for a company that has yet to turn a profit, yet  has 90 million registered members.

4) Coldplay (not ranked): British band returns with “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall,” the first single  from its fifth studio album.  The song, which samples Peter Allen and Adrienne Anderson’s “I Go To Radio,”  is part synth, part The Edge-like guitars and all hit: it debuts at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. Welcome back, fellas.

5) Google (not ranked): The search engine’s  incredibly cool logo on June 9 to commemorate what would have been   Les Paul’s 96th birthday may not have saved the world or made the company millions, but how cool was it to be able to strum and record and share what you created. I wish I knew how to play “How High The Moon.” Click here to see what guitar wiz Tom Morello created from his Google Doodle.

6) Shania Twain (not ranked): She took a big tumble at the CMT Music Awards, but otherwise it was a total thumbs-up week for Twain as she announced her return to the stage via a Las Vegas Caesars Palace residency that will begin late 2012. That’s huge news after her near-decade long hiatus and her fears that she’d never sing again.

7) Taylor Swift (not ranked): She never stepped foot in the venue and yet stole the CMT Music Awards with her “Thelma & Louise” spoof with opening with Shania Twain and took home the big prize, video of the year.

8) Jason Aldean (not ranked): He was the leading nominee going into Wednesday night’s CMT Music Awards and walked away with empty handed in terms of trophies, but was the clear winner when it came to his performance of “Dirt Road Anthem”  with rapper Ludacris. Their duet is now on iTunes and country music’s best kept secret may not be such a secret any longer. 

9) Steve Popovich (not ranked): His name wouldn’t mean anything to the average music fan, but Steve Popovich, who died this week, was the consummate label executive and he’s largely the reason we all have Meatloaf’s “Bat Out Of Hell” in our music collections--or should.  His death comes on the rapid heels of Andrew Gold and Martin Rushent’s passings. Could we please slow the shuffling off this mortal coil down just a little?

10) Erykah Badu (not ranked): God bless her, she hasn’t had a hit in a hot minute--or two (unless you want to count the modest success of  last year’s “Window Seat”), but she tweets that her label, Motown, is folding following the departure of Sylvia Rhone and all eyes are on her. The powers that be say it isn’t so... until, of course, it is.

What do you think of this week's rankings?

Credit: Interscope

If you’re offending every single group possible then do all the insults just cancel each other out?

That’s what I’m trying to figure out after watching the video for “Fast Lane” by  Bad Meets Evil featuring Eminem and Royce Da 5’9.

First, the good part: the video, which features the pair and some friends in a dilapidated warehouse is  fast moving and compelling with Royce spitting out rhymes, as the words appear like cartoons in front of him and he pushes them away.  He shoots at cartoon targets, he hangs the testicles of a cop on an animated unicorn (What is it with unicorns this year? This is the third sighting of the mythical creature after Ke$ha and Lady Gaga’s clips... )

Eminem appears, wearing a Flavor Flav-sized clock and a white track suit, straight out of the ‘80s.  He keeps the insults going. I’ve never met Nicki Minaj, but I’m going to go out on a wild limb and guess that hearing that Em wants to put his “penis in your anus” is just not going to go down as one of the greatest c’mons she’s ever received. Certainly, not the most romantic, but I don’t want to assume (we know what that makes me).

Eminem is mainly concerned with making sure he gets serviced. So much so that he threatens a cartoon blonde, “If you don’t fucking  give me head, I’m going to have to take it,”  as he rips off her head. At least he was smart enough not to say that to Minaj, who’d probably make it so that he never had to worry about getting oral sex again.

This is old school Eminem... the one that has no filters and lets the words tumble out with lightning speed, no matter how profane and/or silly they are (such as when he says he’s on a roll and the next word that comes out is “danish.” ).

As Royce told Billboard, June 14’s “Hell: The Sequel,”  the EP which contains “Fast Lane,”  was meant to take both MCs back to their early days together in the ‘90s. They first appeared as Bad (Royce) and Evil (Eminem) on Eminem “The Slim Shady EP,” but then had a falling out and didn’t reconcile until a few year ago.

 "A lot of people love the new, more mature, more sober, conquering- his-demons (Eminem)," Royce tells Billboard "But a lot of them want to hear the old, crazier Em from back in the day. So whenever we get together we try to make it as nostalgic as possible, just take it back to when it didn't matter and we just wanted to rhyme. We wanted to play those characters again. That's what feels normal to us when we get together."

Well, if gay-bashing, misogynistic rapping is what you’ve been hankering for, then this is meant just for you.

As for the song, “A Kiss,” which also appears on the EP and in which Eminem declares Lady Gaga that she “can quit her job at the post office/she’s a male lady,” Royce says it’s all just a joke.
 
"(Eminem) has a great sense of humor,” Royce says. “He's been doing that type of thing his whole career. It's one of the things that makes him great. I laughed when I heard it and told him he was crazy. I definitely don't think anyone should take it as an insult."

Here’s the thing. Words do have meanings and they do have an effect. Em and Royce may want to go back in time to what they considered the good old days, but I sure as hell don’t want to join them there, no matter how inviting the beats may be.

Britney Spears

They sealed their friendship with a scandalous kiss years ago at the MTV Video Music Awards and now Britney Spears sends another love letter to Madonna with a remake of the Material Girl’s “Burning Up.”  The song, gulp, came out in Spring, 1983, when a young Brit Brit would have danced to it in her diapers, since she was only about 16 months old at the time.

Beyonce

Credit: AP Photo

It’s another day, so that means we have another new Beyonce song. She goes back to the ‘80s with the soulful, exuberant, mid-tempo finger snapper, “Love On Top.” It’s deliciously sunny and sweet.

Can’t you hear Shalamar singing this? Even the production feels like it spilled right out of 1985 complete with a thumping bass line, horns and backing vocals. It’s not going to be on radio--unless we have some kind of magical wayback machine-- but it’s a pure delight, plus her voice sounds great.  Put a cherry on top of this one and call it a day... although we want a video. Listen to it here on Idolator before it gets taken down.

Each of the five songs from “4,” officially out June 28, has sounded wildly different from one another. This is one of our favorites so far.

And while we’re discussing “4,” as you know it leaked in full yesterday. Let’s just assume that Beyonce’s team was not happy about this  Sony Music has gone out of its way to stop leaks, issuing cease and desist letters whenever new songs would crop up before they were officially ready to let that happen.

The leaks started with first single, “Run the World (Girls)” a few weeks ago, and most recently on Monday when the Kanye-West produced “Party” featuring Andre 3000 leaked out. It became a game of whack-a-mole with lawyers knocking down one leak only to have it pop up again somewhere else.
 
Beyonce took to her Facebook page to respond very graciously to the leaks realizing that at this point there’s nothing to be done: “My music was leaked and while this is not how I wanted to present my new songs, I appreciate the positive response from my fans. When I record music I always think about my fans singing every note and dancing to every beat. I make music to make people happy and I appreciate that everyone has been so anxious to hear my new songs.”

Cee Lo Green

Credit: AP Photo

Here’s a day brightener for you: Cee Lo Geen's cover of  “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care.”

The tune, penned by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller,  was first recorded by Elvis Presley in “Jail House Rock.” But later, Buddy Holly covered the song, which makes it fair game for “Rave on Buddy Holly,” the collection of tunes made famous (sort of ) or written by Holly that’s out on June 28. We’ve already posted contributions from The Black Keys and Paul McCartney.

What we like is that the versions we’ve heard so far really do re-interpret the Holly tune with each artist giving the songs their own spin.

Other artists include Florence + the Machine, Kid Rock and Fiona Apple.

“The Voice” judge gives “You’re So Square” a positively island vibe with what we think are steel drums.  Between the finger snaps, the guitar, bongos and Cee Lo’s lighthearted delivery, just try to stay seated. Everyone conga!

Listen here.

Adele

Credit: Columbia

“Rolling in the Deep”  rolls its way to its fifth week atop  the Billboard Hot 100 this week. The biggest hit of Adele’s young career rises in airplay as it continues to gain traction at various formats.

After conquering most pop-leaning charts, it is now, believe it or not, climbing Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, according to Billboard.

The rest of the Top 10 remains fairly static as titles shift a little or hold steady.  Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything” featuring Ne-Yo, AfroJack and Nayer remains at No. 2 (it’s No. 1 in the U.K.) as does Katy Perry’s “E.T.” featuring Kanye West at No. 3.

Bruno Mars’ “The Lazy Song” ambitiously moves 6-4, bumping Jennifer Lopez’s “On the Floor” featuring Pitbull down one spot to No. 5.

LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock rises 9-6, recapturing its highest mark on the Hot 100 so far.  Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory”  gains one spot to No. 7.

Black Eyed Peas’ “Just Can’t Get Enough” falls 5-8, Britney Spears’ “Till The World Ends” lives another day, but slides 7-9, while Lupe Fiasco’s “The Show Goes On” eases into the Top 10, moving 12-10.

The chart’s highest debut is Coldplay’s “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall,” which blasts on the Hot 100 at No. 29. Lil Wayne’s “How To Love” also gets a lot of love, as it  zooms 69-12 on the big chart.

In other noteworthy chart news. “American Idol” winner Scotty McCreery’s first chart entry, “I Love You This Big” tumbles 11-35, while runner-up Lauren Alaina’s “Like My Mother Does” plummets 20-60. The good news is that while the falls are due to major dips in single sales, both tracks are gaining at radio.


 

 Bono

 

Credit: Natacha Pisarenko/AP

Bad news U2 fans: it looks like we’re still a good year away from a new album from the Irish lads, possibly 18 months.

Blame “Spider-Man” and the never-ending 360 Tour. Both have sucked time away from the recording process that started in 2009 after the release of “No Line on the Horizon.”

After months of working with RedOne, best known for his work with Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez, and Danger Mouse, the band finally realized that its hopes of finishing the set in time for a 2011 release were nil, as there was no time when they could get back into the studio. “We just realized that we couldn’t,” bassist Adam Clayton tells Rolling Stone. “To be honest, everyone was a bit gutted. But it was the only sensible decision.”

He adds that the Danger Mouse songs will likely surface on the new album, but the RedOne tracks will not. “We have to focus on what we do best, and the work we did with Danger Mouse came closest to that,” Clayton said. “In the end, the thing we did with RedOne doesn’t feel like the right fit.”  The hope is to now have the album ready by the end of 2012.

By the way, by the time the 360 Tour wraps up 20 dates or so from now (dates postponed from last summer following Bono’s back surgery), it will grossed more than $700 million, making it the highest-earning tour of all time.  And if you’d like to feel older,  2011 marks U2’s 35th anniversary. Gulp.

In related Spidey news, “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” will have its real opening June 14, we promise. After more delays than we can count, the musical, for which U2’s The Edge and Bono, wrote the tunes, is finally ready to go. For anyone who’s counting, the show has had 177 preview performances, making its preview season much longer than most Broadway shows ever run after opening.
 

Jason Aldean performs with Ludacris during the 2011 CMT Music Awards.

Credit: AP Photo/Dave Martin

Here’s the thing about country music award shows, whether it’s the CMAs, the ACMs, or CMT Music Awards, you know going in that there’s never going to be the awesome highs or the awful lows that rock-oriented awards show, like MTV’s Video Music Awards have simply because the audience won’t tolerate such egregious hijinks.