The AP – With its riveting orchestration, definitive guitar play and signature sensual baritone vocals, Isaac Hayes’ theme song for the 1971 movie “Shaft” not only became one of pop music’s iconic songs, but also the defining work of Hayes’ career. Yet the “Theme from Shaft,” which would earn both Grammy’s and an Oscar, was just a snippet of the groundbreaking music for which Hayes, who died Sunday at age 65, was responsible.

He penned soul classics like “Hold On I’m Comin’” for Sam & Dave, helped usher in the era of disco and was a goldmine for countless hip-hop and R&B artists who used his illustrious arrangements as the focal point for their songs decades later.

“Isaac Hayes embodies everything that’s soul music,” Collin Stanback, an A&R executive at Stax, told The Associated Press on Sunday. “When you think of soul music you think of Isaac Hayes _ the expression … the sound and the creativity that goes along with it.”

His influence also extended beyond music. His trademarked bald head, full beard and muscular frame, often adorned with a multitude of gold chains, made him a fashion trend setter at a time when most of his contemporaries were sporting blowout Afros. He was also a symbol of black pride, and an activist for civil rights.

The Rev. Al Sharpton called Hayes a “creative genius” and added, “even in his later years he never hesitated to appear for a cause or endorse something that he felt was for the good of mankind. He will be sorely missed.”

Hayes also acted in movies including “Tough Guys,” “I’m Gonna Get You Sucka” and “Hustle & Flow.” He had recently completed the movie “Soul Men,” in which he played himself; the film also starred Samuel Jackson and Bernie Mac, who died on Saturday after a bout with pneumonia. And a new generation of fans discovered the man behind “Shaft” when, in 1997, he became the voice of Chef on the Comedy Central show “South Park.”

Hayes, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis in Memphis, Tenn., after collapsing Sunday afternoon near a treadmill in his home nearby.

Steve Shular, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said authorities received a 911 call after Hayes’ wife and young son and his wife’s cousin returned home from the grocery store and found him collapsed in a downstairs bedroom. A sheriff’s deputy administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

Stanback said he was shocked to learn of the death of the singer, who was about to start work on a new record for Stax, the label Hayes helped make legendary.

In an industry filled with colorful and dynamic figures, Hayes was a standout on several levels, from his smooth baritone to his flamboyant style: It was almost as if he was made to be a musical god.

But Hayes spent the early part of his career firmly in the musical background. A self-taught musician from Covington, Tenn., he made a name for himself playing with various bands around Memphis. In 1964, he was hired by Stax Records to be a backup pianist, working as a session musician for Otis Redding and others. He also played saxophone.

He began writing songs, establishing a songwriting partnership with David Porter, and in the 1960s they wrote classic hits for Sam and Dave such as “Hold On, I’m Coming,” “Soul Man,” and “When Something is Wrong With My Baby.” They also wrote for other Stax artists including Carla Thomas.

Hayes’ work as a composer helped him secure a deal as a solo artist. His first album, “Presenting Isaac Hayes,” was a poor seller, the result of an impromptu jam session. But after getting creative control, he delivered his next album, “Hot Buttered Soul” in 1969, and it made him a star.

Hayes offered something completely different to the musical world. In an era of straightened hair or Afros, Hayes was bald: “His look was just so profound,” Stanback said. “He was like a superhero.”

Whereas other soul crooners showed their passion through wails, Hayes delivery was calm, cool, almost subdued. He prefaced songs with “raps,” and they ran longer than typical standard of three minutes: One song, a cover of Glen Campbell’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” ran 18 minutes.

“(Radio) jocks would play it at night,” Hayes recalled of his songs in a 1999 Associated Press interview. “They could go to the bathroom, they could get a sandwich, or whatever.”

Next came “Theme From Shaft,” a No. 1 hit from the blaxploitation film “Shaft” starring Richard Roundtree.

“That was like the shot heard round the world,” Hayes said in the 1999 interview.

At the Oscar ceremony in 1972, Hayes performed the song wearing an eye-popping amount of gold and received a standing ovation. TV Guide later chose it as No. 18 in its list of television’s 25 most memorable moments. He won an Academy Award for the song and was nominated for another one for the score. The song and score also won him two Grammys.

In 1972, he won another Grammy for his album “Black Moses” and earned a nickname he reluctantly embraced. He was also part of the historic “Wattstax” concert in riot-ravaged Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Besides “Shaft,” Hayes composed film scores for “Tough Guys” and “Truck Turner.” He also did the song “Two Cool Guys” on the “Beavis and Butt-Head Do America” movie soundtrack in 1996.

Additionally, he was the voice of Nickelodeon’s “Nick at Nite” and had radio shows in New York City (1996 to 2002) and then in Memphis.

“The rappers have gone in and created a lot of hit music based upon my influence,” he said. “And they’ll tell you if you ask.”

Stanback said:

“A lot of artists owe Isaac his career because a lot of music was based on his foundation.”

He garnered another audience and cult following with his work on “South Park.” A school cook, Chef was in many ways the voice of reason in the otherwise outrageous animated social commentary, unwittingly imparting pearls of wisdom on the schoolboys who often came to him with their dilemmas; this, in spite of the fact that his foremost devotion was, true to Hayes’ music and persona, being a ladies’ man.

In the 1999 interview, Hayes described the character as:

“a person that speaks his mind; he’s sensitive enough to care for children; he’s wise enough to not be put into the ‘wack’ category like everybody else in town, and he l-o-o-o-o-ves the ladies.”

But Hayes angrily quit the show in 2006 after an episode mocked his Scientology religion.

“There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs of others begins,” he said.

Co-creator creators Matt Stone responded that Hayes “has no problem, and he’s cashed plenty of checks, with our show making fun of Christians.” A subsequent episode of the show seemingly killed off the Chef character.

Hayes remained active in entertainment, even as he became a senior citizen. His Web site listed upcoming appearances and he was making plans for his Stax album. Stanback said it was to include Hayes’ work on vintage tracks that he had left unfinished over the years.

“We were actually getting ready to schedule a trip to Memphis to talk to Isaac,” he said.

Stanback called his death a tragedy.

“Isaac Hayes was a wonderful human begin and his spirit will live long in the form of his music,” he said.

Technorati Tags: Entertainment News, Isaac Hayes, Isaac Hayes Dead, Isaac Hayes Dies, Issac Hayes Dead, Issac Hayes Dies

Here is a new ad coming from the Democrats which is aimed at pointing out the sheer hypocrisy, and down right baseless attacks that have been levied at Democratic hopeful Barack Obama over the last week or so. Specifically this spot takes on the notion that McCain and company have been pathetically attempting to peddle, which claims Obama is too much like a “celebrity”, and because of the high levels of adoration both here and abroad, that he is somehow disqualified or discredited too run the country. Oh how far this country has lowered it’s bar of expectations over the last eight years – clearly another Bush success story…

These of course are just a handful of the accusations the Democrats most recent ad (which unfortunately is “internet only”) addresses. However the greatness of this piece is not in what it counters, or the attacks it refutes – rather it’s the way it does so which makes this spot so brilliant. Instead of attempting to explain it point for point, I have just attached it below for you to take a look at and see for yourselves:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfKXVDbvkoQ

Now if this doesn’t show the Republicans for the absolute, and unabashed hypocrites that they are, and have been for the last 15 years, then I don’t know what would do the trick. It is wonderful to see their (the GOP) own words, or should I say – the words of their demigod (Reagan) used against them in a fashion this clip manages to unveil. I can picture it now – Sean Hannity curled up in a ball in the corner of his Ronald Reagan plastered bedroom, sucking his thumb furiously crying as though someone had just stolen his bike.

Technorati Tags: 08 election, 2008 Election, ad, barack obama, breaking campaign news, breaking election news, Breaking news, Breaking political news, Breaking video, celebrity, commercial, Democrats, ELECTION, GOP hypocrites, inexperience, john mccain, mud slinging, new political advertisement, new video, Obama hits back, political advertising, political video, politics, President, republicans, ronald reagan, ronald reagan celebrity

Finally… Various news outlets are reporting that Angelina Jolie has given birth to a healthy set of twins in Nice, France. The birth took place earlier this morning and hospital representatives have released a statement saying that all parties involved (Angelina & the newborns) are in good spirits, and healthy.

From In Touch:

“Sources at the La Fondation Lenval hospital in Nice, France, have revealed exclusively to In Touch that Angelina Jolie has given birth to her twins. According to insiders, the 33-year-old had a caesarean today at 6pm French time and delivered two girls. The first baby was born at 6.45 pm and the other at 7pm. The babies are in good health, another insider says. Sources say Brad was present during the birth. When contacted by In Touch, the hospital’s spokesperson, Nadine Bauer, said that journalists would not be notified ”within minutes” after the birth and that the only way they would be told was by a press release posted on the hospital Web site. Another insider adds that Angelina is expected to leave the hospital with her newborns within 48 hours. Angelina checked into the seafront hospital earlier this month. In anticipation of the twins arrival.”

Isn’t it something that those babies have no clue what sort of luxury, bliss, and MILF comments from friends they have in store for themselves.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Crowds in Arkansas came for the lure of cage fighting and $1 beer, but police say what they got instead was men ripping each others’ clothes off and kissing – a stunt suspected of being orchestrated by Sacha Baron Cohen of “Borat” fame.

“We had a contract for cage fighting. We were deceived,” said Dwight Duncan, president and CEO of Four States Fair Grounds in Texarkana, where the first of two Arkansas fights raised suspicions last month.

Matt Labov, a Los Angeles-based publicist for Baron Cohen, said he had no comment Monday about the faked fights. One of Baron Cohen’s movies is due out next year.

The day after the June 5 Texarkana bout, Fort Smith’s convention center hosted “Blue Collar Brawlin.’” Fort Smith police Sgt. Adam Holland said organizers told him a character named “Straight Dave” would goad a planted audience member into the ring for a fight.

The two men would then wrestle, rip away some of their clothes and share a brief kiss reminiscent of one between Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell in the film “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”

Producers said “there would be a romantic embrace,” Holland said. “They said it was kind of to essentially make fun, poke fun at wrestling, two guys rolling around on the floor, all sweaty.”

An elaborate array of mounted and hand held video cameras caught the crowd of 1,600′s reaction as the two men “went right up to the line” of the city’s morality laws, Holland said. The two men stripped down to their underwear, kissed and rubbed on each other, the sergeant said.

The audience, as well as local fighters drawn to take part in the show, became enraged. “It set the crowd off lobbing beers,” Holland said. “They had beers in plastic cups. Those things can get some distance on them actually.”

Holland said it took officers about 45 minutes to clear the convention center, as the two actors sprinted away through a specially set-aside tunnel.

Those in attendance were told by several signs on display that they’d be filmed, Holland said, and signed waivers before the event. Convention center sales director Karin Hobbs declined to name the event’s sponsor Monday.

Baron Cohen became a national celebrity after his 2006 hit movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” in which he played a bumbling reporter from the Central Asia nation.

News of the faked cage fights comes as Baron Cohen is in production of a movie titled “Bruno,” named after the gay Austrian fashion reporter he developed for “Da Ali G Show.” Baron Cohen, in the guise of Bruno, often interviewed hapless subjects in the South.

If the cage match visits came from Baron Cohen, it wouldn’t be the first time Arkansas fell for a practical joke. In 2000, then-Gov. Mike Huckabee fell for a prank and congratulated Canada for preserving its icebound Parliament, calling it a “national igloo.”

Technorati Tags: Arkansas, Arkansas Bruno, Arkansas Cage Fight, Bruno, Bruno Cage Fight, Bruno Gay Cage Fight, Bruno Movie, Cage Fight Gay, Entertainment News, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sacha Baron Cohen Bruno Movie

The highly anticipated “Batman: The Dark Knight” featuring the late Heath Ledger, is alsready causing quite a buzz around movie theaters across the country – this is worth noting when you realize the movie isn’t even set to open for another week.

The LA Times reports:

“In a frenzy, fans have bought so many late-night tickets for the July 18 opening of the next Batman movie that theaters in places like San Diego, Chicago, and even Eagan, Minn., are scheduling 6 a.m. screenings for those who can’t get in at midnight or 3 in the morning.”

Early reviews have also praised Ledger’s performance as a “younger” Joker, with some even speculating whether or not an Oscar nomination will be in the cards.

Technorati Tags: Batman selling out, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman: The Dark Knight gets rave reviews, Breaking Entertainment News, Heath Ledger, Heath Ledger Oscar, new batman movie, the Joker

This weeks New York Times Magazine front page story goes behind the scenes with infamous talk show pundit, and republican icon, Rush Limbaugh. Aside from the interview being quite interesting as a whole, I was struck by something Limbaugh said about halfway through – that well, is in my opinion the first intelligent thing the man has ever said.

The interviewer and Limbaugh were discussing fellow journalists, with an emphasis (not noted, simply an observation of mine) on conservative members of the mainstream media. The name Bill O’Reilly was brought up, and well – Limbaugh’s response was somewhat surprising to say the least:

“At dinner the night before, Bill O’Reilly’s name came up, and Limbaugh expressed his opinion of the Fox cable king. He hadn’t been sure at the time that he wanted it on the record. But on second thought, somebody’s got to say it. he told me The man is Ted Baxter.”

Now if you are unfamiliar with the character of “Ted Baxter” let me fill you in on just why this is certainly a swipe, or in this case, a complete disregard of Bill O’Reilly.

Baxter was usually represented as a complete idiot who would mispronounce even the simplest words on the air. Ted Baxter has become a symbolic figure, and is often used when negatively criticizing media figures, particularly news anchors who are hired for their style and appearance rather than their journalistic ability.

Other “famous personalities” that have been referred to as being from the Ted Baxter mold is illustrious in it’s own right and include the TV newsman “Kent Brockman” from the Simpsons, “Ron Burgondy” from the hilarious film Anchorman, and the underlying character trait of a “bad reporter” in the comedy/horror classic Return of the Killer Tomatoes.

So as you can see by the examples provided above, it is abundantly clear that Mr. Limbaugh is not the biggest fan of FOX News’ poster boy, and resident (along with Hannity in tow) blow hard. Never the less my opinion of Rush Limbaugh hasn’t and won’t change – I don’t like him. However I will give credit where credit is due, and in this case Rush deserves a pat on the back.

Technorati Tags: Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Reilly is Ted Baxter, Breaking Entertainment News, Breaking news, Breaking political news, fox news, Kent Brockman, Limbaugh makes fun of O'Reilly, Reporters like Ted Baxter, Return of the Killer tomatoes, Ron Burgondy, Rush Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh calls O'Reilly Ted Baxter, Rush Limbaugh Interview, Ted Baxter

Let me begin by explaining how this came about. It all stems from an argument I had with a good friend of mine regarding certain celebrities from the world of movies, music, and television were on top of at least our own personal radar. Anyways, to make a long story short, we disagreed – and seeing as though I have a website and he doesn’t, I have decided to list mine, well to make my point.

1) Sheri Moon Zombie: (born September 26, 1970) is an American actress and fashion designer. She is known by her stage name Sheri Moon and sometimes as Sheri Moon Zombie after her marriage to Rob Zombie. Because of her roles in such films as House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects and the remake Halloween, she has been named as a “scream queen” and “the most iconic female serial killer to emerge on the modern horror scene.”

2) Eva Mendes: (born March 5, 1974) is an American actress. She began acting in the late 1990s, and became known after a series of roles in several major Hollywood films, including 2 Fast 2 Furious, Hitch, Training Day, Ghost Rider and We Own the Night. Along with acting, Eva is employed by Revlon Cosmetics as an international spokeswoman. Maxim ranked her #7 in its 2007 Hot 100 issue. Mendes also made her second Maxim cover in the November 2007 issue. Mendes, despite resisting offers from Playboy, appeared naked in Flaunt Magazine.

3) Meagan Good: (born August 8, 1981) is an American film and television actress. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, she continued to land roles in television series and films. In addition to film and television work, Good has also appeared in music videos by Will Smith, 50 Cent, & K-Ci & JoJo. In 2006, Good voiced a character for the video game Scarface: The World Is Yours. That same year, she appeared in Waist Deep with Tyrese Gibson and produced her first film, Miles From Home, in which she also co-starred.

4) Rosario Dawson: (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her roles in the films Sin City, He Got Game, Kids, Rent and most recently as a lead character in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. On June 26th, 2008, it was announced that Dawson will play Artemis in the upcoming animated Wonder Woman film. Rosario was discovered on her front porch step by photographer Larry Clark and Harmony Korine, where Harmony lauded her with praise as being perfect for a part he had written in his screenplay that would become the 1995 controversial films Kids.

5) Megan Fox: (born May 16, 1986) is an American actress and model. Fox’s career in modeling and acting began with her winning several awards at the 1999 American Modeling and Talent Convention in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Fox’s big break arrived when she acquired the lead female role of Mikaela Banes in the highly-anticipated 2007 live-action film Transformers, based on the toy and cartoon saga of the same name. Fox has appeared in a five page spread for the November 2005 issue of the popular men’s magazine FHM. She also posed, in decreasing amounts of lingerie, for the March 2007 issue of FHM, the June 2007 issue of GQ, the July 2007 issue of Maxim, and the September 2007 issue of Arena. She was voted the Sexiest Woman in the World by FHM magazine in 2008, beating out Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba.

There you have it, HyerStandard’s “Official Girls of Summer” list. If you have any issues with either the list, or the girls making the list please feel free to leave any feedback, and I will definitely take it into consideration – but probably not change a thing.

Technorati Tags: "Official Girls of Summer", Eva Mendes, Meagan Good, Megan Fox, Rosario Dawson, Sheri Moon Zombie

Angelina Jolie is apparently a knockout in terms of being a box office draw, so much so that the weekend numbers her brand new flick “Wanted” produced has many industry insiders pleasantly surprised.. “Wanted”, Universal Pictures production starring Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy, debuted to $19.1M Friday and $17.5M Saturday from 3,175 venues for a $51.1M weekend.

It marks a new franchise for the studio which expected only $35+M from this stylish summer actioner fueled by the Matrix-like high octane provided by hot Russian director Timur Bekmambetov.

Some other breakthroughs this film has accounted for are listed below:

• Wanted was the biggest opening of a live action film in Jolie’s career
• It turned out to be the best June opening ever for an R-rated movie, beating Knocked Up’s $30.6M, and the 6th highest R-rated opening of all time
• The studio expected only a $35+M opening, so the film did much better than anticipated
• Angie proved she is a big draw: Cinemascore said the main reasons given for choosing to see Wanted were the action (67%) and Jolie (61%).

I personally have not seen the movie yet, however I have always though Jolie was an incredibly gifted actress, who always did a good job regardless of the role she was playing. And from the looks of these numbers, it seems like a lot of people think of her in the same light I do.

Technorati Tags: Angelina Jolie, angelina jolie box office hit, Angelina Jolie pics, Breaking Entertainment News, breaking hollywood news, breaking movie news, Breaking news, Entertainment News, hot new Jolie pictures, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Pixar, Wall-e, Wanted, wanted breaks box office records

I am sure quite a few of you have already seen this video – I first came across it yesterday, however for some reason or another I didn’t actually get a chance to watch it. Anyways, I finally took a look at it in its entirety and I am still laughing as I type this. Attached is the latest video from “Election ’08: Public Service Administration” and it highlights how the mainstream media has all but ignored a pretty tell tale instance of McCain’s downright obnoxious, and ignorant behavior – I am referring to McCain calling his wife Cindy, after she made a comment about him loosing his hair, a C-NT. If you haven’t seen this yet, please take a second and watch, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euu_DMhsXQo

Election ’08: Public Service Administration writes:

“An f-you to those too squeamish to discuss an incident speaking directly to the temperament and character of a guy who’d like to be President.

McCain’s freaky-mean ’92 outburst is a well-sourced story found in Cliff Schecter’s book “The Real McCain.” Due to the particularly profane nature of the offense it would probably be useless to wait for the press to give it the full-on, endlessly repeating, 24-7 Reverend Wright treatment. So we’d love to help.”

How true – I mean is it any more “uncomfortable” then what happened with Barack Obama and the absolute dissection performed at the hands of the mainstream media on Black theology its history, and modern day practice. I think not, and I love how the video points it out in the video.

Technorati Tags: 2008 presidential election, bias reporting, Breaking news, Breaking political news, Breaking political video, c-word, cliff schecter, cunt, cuss, election08, funny political satire, Funny political video, john mccain, Mainstream Media, McCain anger, McCain calls wife cunt, McCain Scandal, McCain Temper, mccain video, psa, public service administration, wife curse

Actor and political activist John Cusack sat down for a chat with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” earlier today, Cusack however made his appearance via satellite from London, where he’s currently promoting his latest film “War Inc.” The interview wasn’t all Hollywood though, Cusack also touched on his new advertisement in which he compares Senator John McCain, and his policy initiatives to that of our current president – George Bush.

The highlight however came when Cusack offered up a response to FOX News’ prime time “blow-hard”, Bill O’Reilly, who had made a claim earlier in the week that Cusack was “peddling propaganda.” Cool, calm and collect Mr. Cusack simply replied:

“If the New York Times op-ed piece is running in their lead editorial that outsourcing interrogation should be banned, and they’re coming after the private mercenaries, I don’t think we should get any ethics lessons from Mr. O’Reilly.”

Here is the clip of the interview via MSNBC:

Technorati Tags: Bill O'Reilly, Entertainment News, John Cusack, John Cusack Bill O'Reilly, John Cusack Morning Joe, Morning Joe, War Inc