Cine Beaverhausen: Viola Davis Meets Jennifer Lopez in Lila & Eve

Lila & Eve is kind of the 2015 version of  Lipstick. That 1974 film, starring Margaux and Mariel Hemingway, was about vigilante action taken by a fashion model against a serial rapist after the legal system fails her. Drubbed by critics, it was a big box-office success that year.

Lila & Eve, screened at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2015, was released theatrically July 17, though not very widely. It may, I suspect, be on the fast track to home video. I saw it tonight on a promo dvd, and it is by no means a bad movie but certainly not a great one.

In this film, Viola Davis (as Lila) co-stars with Jennifer Lopez (as Eve). As always, Viola throws caution to the wind and emotes like there's no tomorrow. Ms Lopez is... umm... Ms Lopez. Actually, she seems to be influenced by her co-star to raise the bar on her thespianism a bit, and certainly cannot be accused of hamming it up. Her naturalism is put to good use, in fact. Still, dramatically, they're no doubt an odd couple.

The plot revolves around two mothers whose sons were gunned down in a drive-by shooting by a gang. No sooner than JLo says Lila, Get Your Gun, Viola's got a pistol in her purse because, after all, she knows How to Get Away with Murder. Complications ensue. Not your typical "chick flick."

The movie scores points as both a drama and an action flick, and I recommend you give it a -- ahem! -- shot when you can download or rent it on video.

Click on the trailer below:

Cine Beaverhausen: Jennifer Lopez and The Boy Next Door

How can we ignore the boy next door when he's a psychotic drama queen? That is the burning question posed by J-Lo's latest star vehicle.

In The Boy Next Door, Jennifer Lopez is separated from her husband, hunky John Corbett (Northern Exposure, My Big, Fat Greek Wedding). Her good (but wayward) friend and neighbor is played by Kristin Chenoweth. Distraught and, well, frankly, just plain horny, she has a one-night affair with the sexy high school senior (Ryan Guzman) -- who, from his appearance, has obviously been held back a few years -- living next door.  ("I got swept up in the moment! I was vulnerable!")

Jennifer is an English teacher. "What do you teach?" "The classics!" Kristin's the school's vice-principal. Love her line about J-Lo: "She's a lot of laughs. You've just got to get to know her."

After Ms Lopez's one-night stand, it immediately becomes obvious Boy has a screw or two ot three or all four loose. Obviously, things escalate and get very ugly, with a very violent climax. While Ms Lopez may have thought this would be another Fatal Attraction, it is, unfortunately, not even The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. And Jennifer proves she's no Annabella Sciorra. "You think you can scare me with some graffiti on the wall?"

The film may be a minor camp classic-to-be of sorts not despite, but because of, its jaw-dropping awfulness. It's a hoot! Directed with no particular sense of style by Rob Cohen.

Dj Buddy B's Weekly Diva Dish 3/21/14

Kate Bush

Divas top the trending news this week and Buddy B blithely blabs about it!

First and foremost, have you heard that Kate Bush is running up that hill once more, after 35 years? It has been that long since Bush ~ who is now an almost Garbo-like recluse ~ has performed live! But in August and September this year, she will be performing in London at Eventim, Apollo Hammersmith for a 15-date gig. No plans to take it across the pond and I don't think that will happen. Might be a good excuse to revisit my second-favorite city on the planet over a long weekend! Of course, I expect she'll do "Babooshka" (my fave) and "Wuthering Heights."

Kate Bush's last album was 2011's 50 Words for Snow. The 55-year-old diva's 2014 concert tour is dubbed "Behind the Dawn." Tickets go on sale March 28.

Here in the USA, it seems there's a warrant issued to Ms Anita Baker. And it's all about her chiseling the people who decorated her home. Tacky, but that's how a true diva behaves. Sense of entitlement. Tantrums, legal disputes and la publicite, of course!

"WHATTT??!!... sittin' in the kitchen watching this on TV. BIG time crazy. Atty on his way to TV Station. Devil sho is busy," Ms Baker Tweeted yesterday. Huffington Post reports: "Baker, 56, is accused of stiffing a painting and decorating company of more than $15,000 for work done in her home in Grosse Pointe, Mich., just outside of Detroit." Anita, baby, you may be a diva but $15k is a lot of money and you do NOT want to piss off the queens that redid your place. Not to the tune of that dollar amount, honey. Scandalous!

I also learned about Jennifer Lopez' hot new video at Huff Post! They reported:

Jennifer Lopez is on a crusade to "objectify men" in her new music video, but not without a nod to the infamous Versace dress that she wore to the 2000 Grammys. After a pitch meeting, in which she's given the idea of shooting the "I Luh Ya PaPi" clip at a water park or zoo, Lopez and her two pals decide they want to turn the tables on male singers who are featured "up in a mansion with all these half-naked girls, or maybe even in a yacht."

Cue a mansion and a yacht with lots of half-naked men and general J.Lo sass. French Montana makes an appearance toward the end, reminding us amid all the lavishness that, "Even though we made it to the top / Still J.Lo from the block."

Actually, the video seems to be tailor-made for her gay as well as her straight female fan bases. Hate the song, love the hotties.



Idina Menzel keeps getting good buzz ahead of her official opening in the Broadway musical, If/Then.  http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2014/03/broadway-beaverhausen-ifthen-notgood.html Broadway World reported that she is the very first Tony Award winner to have a Billboard Top Ten hit with the beautiful "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen. (The song won an Oscar.) Djs note that Joel Dickinson's dance remix is available from Sobel Promotions. Clubgoers note: there is also, even more recently, a Paperchaser$ dance remix of the song as we start to thaw out. Joel's mix is better, in my humble opinion.

"WooHoo Dominate My Love moved to #32 (from #39) on the Billboard Dance Charts!" Amber Dirks told us. "Thank you to all the Club DJs that are supporting it!" The Bouvier & Barona anthem is poised to dominate clubland fronted by Amber's divalicious vocals!

And on Italian tv's The Voice of Italy, a singing nun (Sister Cristina Scuccia, age 25) covering Alicia Keys' "No One" was the big, surprise winner. What a sister act, people! (See for yourself below.) The audience was enthralled! The judges were blown away! A rapper shed tears! Sister Cristina's family and nun friends jumped with joy! Even I was touched! Holy divahood! I wonder if the Pope was watching. We Luh Ya, PaPi!



Until next week, then, this is the latest diva dish! Eat it all up. And amen, sisters!

Where My Gay Boys At? This Week's Billboard Dance Chart

Again, a totally biased and selective sorting out of the latest, top 25 Billboard Top Dance/Club tracks. Let's go where the boys are this week, namely two openly gay artists, Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters and Adam Lambert. Lambert's number, "Never Close Our Eyes," is a dancefloor beauty and it is propelled on the latest Billboard chart by several commendable extended remixes, my favorite being the Almighty mix. Here's hoping it's taken higher, all the way to #1, where it deserves to be.

Scissor Sisters' "Only the Horses" galloped to fifth place, only to be corralled at #16 this week, down five rungs from last week's #11 spot. However, "Let's Have a Kiki," #30 on Billboard Dance last week, has boogied on up to #18 on our latest outing, giving Sisters Sisters two top-25 charters from their new album simultaneously.

This week's #1 spot is currently coveted by Jenifer Lopez. Her "Goin' In" has gone in and toppled Kylie Minogue from her perch. "Timebomb" has been deactivated and relegated to the #5 spot, where fallen number-ones are prone to land, it seems. Katy Perry landed there last week after being trounced from her #1  by Kylie; her "Wide Awake" finds itself at #7 this time out. Divas may find themselves sitting pretty in the world of dance-music charts, but theirs is unfortunately always a short shelf life.

Kelly Clarkson's "Dark Side" nudges up one spot, from third to second place, possibly looking at the #1 spot next week. Of course, Madonna is the week's "Greatest Gainer," according to Billboard, with "Turn Up the Radio" turning up the diva heat and bounding its way up from last week's #19 to the current #8 spot. There's no reason to believe Madge couldn't make another leap of this sort next week, finding itself at #1 against her stalwart competition.

Cyndi Lauper's frankly fabulous "Sex Is in the Heel" staggers up to #13 from 18th place last go-round. I'm hoping it will find itself in the top ten next week, then make its way even higher, with the tippy-top a real possibility for her as well.

Of the nuevo, femme-fronted rock groups, Florence & the Machine arrives at 14th place with "Spectrum (Say My Name)" while Gossip drops precipitously from its #8 peak to #19.

And that rounds out this week's Billboard dance hits (as all upcoming tracks from 20 through 25 are not worth discussing, to put it bluntly. Remember, this is a completely subjective overview.)

Meanwhile, keep dancing! Dance music brings us together; dance music is on a global mission for peace. People all over the world, participate! And a big, special cry out of thanks this week to my blog's readers in Indonesia, Phillipines, Brazil, the UK, Italy, Germany, Russia, Mexico, France, Canada, Colombia and Argentina!

The Divas of Billboard's Dance/Club Chart

Hot as the summer itself, here are where the divas that interest me are for the week ending July 21.

Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" is up two notches, currently at third place with the #1 spot (currently occupied by The Wanted's "Chasing the Sun") well within her reach. But there's more than a Firework on its way up her butt as Kylie Minogue's at #4 with "Timebomb," perhaps the hottest song of summer so far (though it isn't summer Down Under). In any case, it's positively incendiary and is Billboard's "Greatest Gainer" pick of the week.

Two of the songs, and the divas, I've been rooting for dipped this week on the chart, much to my disappointment. Because I love these songs and think these women deserve the top spot more than many who've arrived there of late. Debby Holiday's strong, beautiful "Key to Your Soul" (already a gay anthem) dips one rung to the 23rd spot. It's completely possible it could bounce back up, I tell myself. And Katharine McPhee's "Touch Me" (from the NBC-tv series, "Smash") may have peaked at #4 last time as it now has sunken to #9. Still, it had a nice, long ride upward.
http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/06/buddy-bs-exclusive-q-with-debby-holiday.html

Jennifer Lopez's "Goin' In" goes up like a rocket, quickly following up on the success of "Dance Again," which reached #1 on the club chart, and on the pop and radio charts as well. "Goin' In" quickly snagged the 18th position last week, and is now all the way in and up at #9.

Kelly Clarkson shows off her "Dark Side" and remixes lift her from last week's #20 to this week's #10. This moved faster than Aretha Franklin devouring a cheesecake (to paraphrase Joan Rivers). Sorry, but I don't think this is anywhere near as good a dance tune as Kelly's last effort, "Stronger," which showed off her Nietzschean side. (I'm so sure Miss Clarkson pours over his philosophical treatises during her free time.)
http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2011/12/advising-kelly-clarkson.html

Toni Braxton, who took "I Heart You" to #1, has made a graceful deflation off the chart, still nicely sitting at 18.  Carly Rae Jepsen still snug as a bug with "Call Me Maybe" (loving the Almighty UK mix), which peaked at #15. Gossip's "Perfect World" makes a grand entrance into the top 25, at #23 this week, and Scissor Sisters, with power diva Jake Shears, are now at #17, riding "Only the Horses." (I must confess I prefer "Let's Have a Kiki" but have yet to find a decent extended remix.)

Shakira may have told us "Hips Don't Lie," but Nelly Furtado arrives in 25th place with "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)." And those are the top Divas of the Top 25 of the Billboard dance/club chart this week. Till next time, peace, love and dance your ass off for happiness! Bigger the better.

Below, the video for Scissor Sisters' "Kiki." I love it!

Billboard Blab and Promo Winners

Toni Toni Toni!

Let's talk highlights of the Top 25 Billboard Dance Chart ending the week of June 16, shall we?

While poppy little boppers One Direction took over the top nook with "What Makes You Beautiful," Rihanna sinks like yesterday's beleaguered Battleship to 4th place while Toni Braxton's "I Heart You," however, nicely keeps up its momentum, going from #6 to #3, hopefully on its way to #1, where it deserves to be.

"Dance Again," also once #1, stays put at 8th place, a hit for sure with eight weeks on the chart so far. If I were into numerology, I'd give Missy JLo a head's up about the number 8. Behind it, "Menergy," the Ralphi Rosario remake featuring Shawn Christopher, leaps from 15th place to 9th. Pumping menergy for sure! Many a dj likes Eva Simmons' "I Don't Like You," now in the 10th spot. I don't like her (or it).

Canada's Carly Rae Jepson is at lucky number 13 this week with "Call Me Maybe," babies.  But Katherine McPhee's "Smash" hit, "Touch Me" steams its way up the Dance chart from #24 to #13! Can't touch her, she's smoking hot!

Ok, I didn't need a deadline for my "NYC Pride Anthems 2012" promos (my oversight not to establish one) because I received three correct answers shortly after I announced the totally free giveaways.  The promo-only cd-r's mail out Monday to:

AJ, USA
David, USA
Lucho, Brazil

Congratulations winners & thanks to all who participated!

And Happy Gay Pride to everyone on the planet, damn it!

Gay Pride Promo NYC 2012 + Competition

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Buddy B Eyes the Billboard Dance/Club Chart

Can it truly be the very end of May already? I am eyeing the Billboard Dance/Club chart ending June 9 and feel like I'm being swept through time like a blossom on a summer breeze.

And, more like a heat-seeking missile through the hot summer's air of Cape Canaveral, Rihanna's "Where Have You Been" hits #1 on this week's Billboard, where it seemed bound by its swift trajectory up the Dance/Club chart over the past 16 weeks. Jennifer Lopez further tumbles from that perch, to #5, but still making us want to "Dance Again." At sixth place, Toni Braxton's "I Heart You" catapults from 12th, all in only six weeks. Good show, Toni, you're back!

Last week's #1 dance tune was "Brokenhearted" by Karmin, which now finds itself at 11, a rather precipitous fall. Ralphi Rosario's new version of Patrick Cowley's "Menergy," featuring the vocals of Shawn Christopher, is lifted to the 15th spot from #17 last week. I guarantee you'll be hearing this at Gay Pride festivities everywhere in the upcoming months, and it is included on my brand-new "PRIDE: NYC Anthems 2012" promo cd. Competition to win a free copy to come soon, details on this blog. (NYC's original Pride march and celebration are on Sunday, July 24, incidentally.)

And, in its second week on the chart, another track on my promo-only Pride cd makes it into the top 25. Katharine McPhee's "Touch Me," from the NBC-tv series Smash (Buddy B's favorite new series), is already a smash by leaping from 36th place (now #24) after being on the the chart a mere two weeks. (Remix also featured on my Pride promo.) (Note: my cds are for promotional use only & not for sale. Winners of my competition receive cds and postage free of charge.)

Hear Ralphi's Space Disco Club Mix 2012 on this YouTube link below, where you can download the song:

Dateline Florida: Beaverhausen & Billboard

It's Dj Buddy B's last night in the Florida gulf, where I have mostly blogged about aging divas and their birthdays. Afternoon showers, nice and breezy, not as hot as the past few days since I arrived. I'm seated under an Arabian-styled gazebo, me and my laptop atypically atop patio furniture, typing as the palm trees around us sway and the gazebo linens flap.

Finally looking over last Thursday's top 25 Billboard dance/club charters, below are my views and feelings on what interests moi at this time:

Gotye (featuring Kimbra) has a #1 smash on the week's Billboard Top 100. The video for their fresh hit, "Somebody That I Used to Know," was in constant rotation on my little DirecTV monitor on the Jet Blue flight down here.  The dance mixes of this Belgian/Australian indie-pop artist's song arrive at the dance chart's 4th spot.

Madonna's "Girl Gone Wild" slowly slides to #6, off its peak #1 perch, while Katy Perry jettisons two spots upward, to this week's #2 with "Part of Me."

Debby Holiday is the daughter of singer/musician Jimmy Holiday (who co-wrote Jackie DeShannon's "Put a Little Love in Your Heart").  This club diva is consistently a dance-music success, artistically and commercially, and her latest tune, "Never Give Up," will make you wanna move. It leaps to 9th place, from #14 last week.

Up from #22, Jennifer Lopez' "Dance Again" is another great contempo dance anthem that is dominating both pop and dance charts, and it's one of JLo's best efforts to date. On the latest chart, it hits lucky number 13 and looks like it could soon conquer the top spot.

Melanie Amaro's "Respect" and Beyonce's "Love on Top" nestle at numbers 15 and 16, respectively, after peaking at #3 and #1 (also respectively).

Beyond Beyonce, little of interest to me, Buddy B, on Billboard. Time now for Buddy B's banana daquiris, dahlings! Peace, love & disco for all! This week, special, much-requited love back to Brazil, Indonesia, the UK, Mexico, Germany, Russia, Spain, France and Canada! Keep dancing, everyone; and kisses out to all.

Divas, Djs, Buddy & Billboard

By and large, the Billboard dance chart and I frequently part company when it comes to top tunes, though there are some things on my turntables that also make it on that chart.

Hey, I'm a populist! Give the people what they want, I concur. But, also, I believe a dj's set should expose people to new music, to help shape tastes and mix things up. Contemporary chart music, underexposed club productions and disco classics can all live in harmony. I think it excites a crowd to hear the unexpected, the fresh, the new and exciting when they're out to dance. Nobody hits the dance floor if he or she is uninspired (unless pleasing a date; Buddy B knows all too well) or gagging on a Billboard hit for the umpteenth time. Throw in a little retro, embellish with some camp, include plenty of uplift in the melody and the messages, give good diva drama, et voila!

So let's begin with a peek at Billboard's top club hits. Billboard says it's "compiled from reports from a national sample of club DJs." But does anyone know who these dj's are exactly?  I'm just going to address the songs from the chart that I, as a dj, like and play. It will prove painlessly brief:

Despite Madonna's record drop in album sales of MDNA, her club-friendly "Girl Gone Wild" is sitting pretty in first place as "Give Me All Your Luvin'" drops, still comfortably entrenched in the 10th spot. That song already ascended to #1 two weeks ago and has made a meteoric rise and fall in just eight weeks.

Melanie Amaro's cover of "Respect" is at 3; Katy Perry's "Part of Me" is one of this week's Greatest Gainers at #6, followed by "Love on Top" by Beyonce, having already topped the chart.

The always welcome Debby Holiday's new one, "Never Give Up," floats like a butterfly to #16; Yoko Ono gets down to #18 with "She Gets Down on Her Knees." And, beyond that, I'm afraid, is where Billboard and I part company.

My divas, oh my divas! I do love my divas. They are almost everything to me in terms of putting across the emotional elements of a song that help make it be exciting. So against diva-wannabe drama in real life, I say save drama for the stage, movie, tv or the disco, where it belongs.

Unlikely, at this point, to make it onto Billboard's top 25 club songs, is Gladys Knight's return to dance floors with her cover of "I Who Have Nothing." This classic tune was composed by Carlo Donida with English lyrics written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and originally recorded by Ben E. King in 1963. Sylvester previously did a disco version of it, and now it's Gladys whose distinctive voice helps make this newly exciting to club-goers. Best remix is by Tony Moran/Warren Rigg. And, truly, Nicki Minaj's pathetic "Starships" beat this on the US dance/club chart? Pshaw!

It was Tony Moran, also, who produced a number that is an instant club classic, in my estimation, though it didn't chart the way I thought it would. "Magic," a true diva thrill-ride sung by none other than Jennifer Holliday, was indeed club magic. Released at the beginning of the year, it was certainly a hit in the gay clubs. So who, exactly, are these Nielsen-family djs? That's what I'd like to know!

Of the latest crop of promos, I am enjoying the 2012 club mix of Rich B's "Revolution" featuring Marcella Puppini (of Puppini Sisters fame, and already discussed in a recent post). "Tonight" is the new dance offering from St Etienne, the original extended mix preferred. I love Sarah Cracknell's voice; it's somewhere between Kylie and Deborah Harry, floating beautifully above her band's dreamy instrumentals.

Again, it's the original extended mix to go with when it comes to the trancey "Sunshine in My Life" by FunkySober with true diva vocals by one Sharlene Hector. Beautifully dancetastic despite simplistic lyrics. (Not always a drawback when you just need to work it out on the disco floor.)

From the tv series, Smash, it's Katherine McPhee who's lifted to disco-diva status at last, just like she was lifted on the show during that number by chorus boys. The original tv episode's version was clearly meant as a club tune. Right now, I'm digging the original extended club mix. Let's hope for brilliant remixes and that this will be a Smash.

Every Carol Hahn song's worthy of a celebration. Her newest release is no exception. "If This Is Love" is a great, contemporary hi-NRG number. Talk about uplift in message and melody, this is brilliant! I like the Julian Marsh mix best, fyi.

"Dance Again," Jennifer Lopez' newest, is a guilty pleasure and sure to pleasure the Billboard crowd. Adam Lambert offers "Better Than I Know Myself," of which I'm loving the Mike Rizzo club mix best. And beloved club divas Toni Braxton and Suzanne Palmer are back, people! And that is good news indeed!

Mark Picchiotti is always brilliant and his re-working  of "I Heart You" by Ms Braxton is no exception. May he guide her to the top where she belongs, at least for the club crowd. Suzanne's soulful "Keep on Keepin' On" is a dance delight with a few good remixes on hand to enhance. Right now, I like Gustavo Scorpio's work the most.

May I add that dancing is not only fun, it unites? Peace and happiness to all! Haters are losers. Clubs are where the happy people go. Thanks to all my viewers around the world. Love to all! Shout outs to Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Singapore, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and everyone else! It's one world. Love each other, love the music, dance, peace and out. It's all about the music.

US Billboard & Diva Tweets

I love dancing. I think it's better to dance than to march through life. So tweeted Yoko Ono yesterday, and chances are, if you're reading Leave It to Beaverhausen, you love dancing too. So, let's see what's up on the Billboard club music top 25.

How Jennifer Lopez captured the numero uno dance/club spot this week is a mystery. I just don't get "Papi," a mediocre number with a hot title that had me expecting something more exciting. The remixes can only do so much and, number one or not, this JLo tune will not be on my turntables unless by gunpoint.

Selena Gomez' "Love You Like a Love Song" is so infectious that it's positively going viral. And why not? The pop tune has several keen dance mixes to choose from. My fave is the Dj Escape/Tony Collucio remix. "Love You" soared from #24 to #17 this week.

While Lady Gaga fell from grace as last week's #1 ("You & I"), she's at #5 after 7 strong weeks of charting. Taylor Dayne's "Floor on Fire" nudges up from #8 to #7, maybe running out of steam but certainly respectably nestled into the top ten.

The 22nd, 23rd and 24th positions this week are of interest. Kathy Sledge peaked at #20 with "Give Yourself Up", slid to #21 and now she's clawing on to #22. Tenacity! And a good dance number that deserved even better.

Beyonce's "Countdown" counts up from 35th position last week to #23 in a strong show for a solid song that oughtta keep dance floors packed at peak. And the divine Adele shimmies up to #24 from #29 with "Someone Like You," the remixes in the wake of the song's storming up the US pop chart.

By the way, Bette Midler's recent tweet? Justin Bieber has a scent? That's hilarious. It should be called "Someday I'm gonna Shave"....

And now I'm Following Ruth Buzzi! Till next time, keep dancing, keep loving, keep the peace & Occupy Wall Street.

Wild Turkey Time

Holiday cheer officially settled upon us with the American Music Awards ceremony, when Jennifer Lopez took a flying leap off the back of a hunky dancer-boy and landed flat on her famously significant buttocks. On the backs of her male dancers, as if they were merely a human staircase, J. Lo (or is it now Lo La?) ascended, stomping her way to the top in what appeared to be snow boots. (I'm just surprised it wasn't stilettos!) She then took her now-infamous, pre-Thanksgiving Day, wild-turkey leap; a piece of choreography apparently taken from the Britney Spears Handbook. Ker-plunk and ouch!

In the wings, I hear the diva vented her fury; fallout over the fall. And it was aimed at the dancers! The following day on Ryan Seacrest's radio show, she joked about the incident and said, "The measure of things isn't what happens when you fall, it's how you recover when you fall." Recover? Like leaping to your feet and bringing even more attention to the incident? Well, yeah, ok, all right.

And p.s.: Who was guilty of decking her out in that hideous costume?

La Lopez's latest dance single is strictly buzz, not intended for her upcoming album. Apparently under the impression that she, too, can be Lady Gaga, the newly reincarnated Lo La here again falls flat on her ass. "Fresh Out the Oven" sounds cold and stale. The preferred mix would be Karmatronic's. Space Cowboy -- best known for his work with Gaga -- offers a mercifully short mix. But poor Hex Hector, trying to show us he still has edge, comes up with a clunky, junky concoction that hardly elevates this tune (featuring Miami rapper Pit Bull) in any way.

Just a moment here, now, to comment on Adam Lambert's same-sex kiss on the above-mentioned Awards because I thought it was brave and right on. "Female performers have been doing this for years — pushing the envelope about sexuality — and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out," commented Lambert and that is so true. I've always found it hypocritical that showing men together, performing all sorts of violent acts: wrestling, fisticuffs, etc. is acceptable, but any display of affection is taboo. This must change and Lambert has pushed the envelope for that to happen. Ecce homo, baby!

Now, will the real Lady Gaga (i.e., not Lo La) please stand up? Double-Ga's latest dance offering, "Bad Romance," is her best to date. The Bimbo Jones remix is close to heaven. And while already compared to Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and Gwen Stefani (though never Jennifer Lopez), Gaga coolly comes across here as nothing less than the new Debbie Harry. She's fierce, fabulous and fantastic -- and landing right on her feet no matter what she does.

And, finally, a Happy Thanksgiving to all you wild turkeys out there, whoever you might be!