Charo Puts Her Spin on "La Isla Bonita"

It's a cuchi-cuchi coup.

Johnny Depp: Jumpin' Jack Sparrow?

Last night, Friday, Johnny Depp strapped on a guitar and sang backup vocals with his old high-school band, The Kids, reuniting for a fund-raiser at Club Cinema in Pompano Beach, Florida. The band played a 90-minute set in front of 2,500 fans, including Depp's wife and nine-year-old daughter. Proceeds from the two-day benefit will go to the Dan Marino Foundation, which funds programs for kids with special needs. This amateur video probably doesn't do the band justice, but they sound terrible.

The Met's Fat Lady Sings for Wainwright

The piece that New York's Metropolitan Opera commissioned Rufus Wainwright to compose will not be performed there after all. A difficult Wainwright insisted his Prima Donna, about a day in the life of an opera singer, be performed in French, even though the Met requires all new works to be in English to appeal to a wider audience. On top of that, Wainwright wanted his opera staged NOW, and not in the 2014 season for which the Met had scheduled it. So Wainwright has taken his opera back and shopped it elsewhere. If you want to see Prima Donna, you'll have to go to England's Manchester International Festival next summer. If you want to see a prima donna, you can probably find Wainwright in West Hollywood right now. (LA Times; photo: Getty)

Madonna Onna Guitar and Inna Groove

On the "Sticky & Sweet" tour. Doesn't Madge always look uncomfortable playing guitar?

Oreo Rap Not So Fresh

This Oreo cookie rap sounds a lot like... the Fresh Prince of Bel Air rap?

Bubbles & Cheesecake: "Editing Is Cool"

Just a quick blast to let you know that "Editing Is Cool," the follow-up to my Bubbles & Cheesecake 900,000+ YouTube views and Webby Award-honored "It's a Woman Thang" song/video/web smash-up, is finally up on YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and all the other obligatory residential areas. I'm incredibly proud of this one as there's total integration between all the art forms I work in, my life philosophy, creative process, and lifestyle. It's the most personally satisfying work I've ever done and it sho be funky on top of it! (Watch it here)

– Allee Willis

Stars Sing an American Prayer

We came to this video because Pamela Anderson is one of the celebrities in it, and we stayed for the loveliness of Dave Stewart's song, written with Bono. And please, people, vote for Barack Obama.

Johnny Dangerous: Dirty Is the New Black

We'd never heard of Johnny Dangerous until just this minute when we received an email from his rep describing his music as "if Peaches, Lil' Kim, and Mickey Avalon procreated and made an X-rated gaybie!" Loving the idea of a gaybie from a threebie, our interest peaked and we read on. Johnny's new video,"Take Your Man," we learned, debuted on MTV/Logo's New Now Next program just last night, and his "Dirty Is the New Black" has been a top-10 hit for over four months on Logo's The Click List . The Dangerous oeuvre is fast and filthy and NSFW. So turn your 'puters down if you've got company.

Katy Perry Gets Kiss-Off from Parents

To say that Katy Perry’s parents, evangelical Christian preachers, disapprove of her hit song, "I Kissed a Girl," would be an understatement. They see her burning in hell for all eternity, flames licking at those sinful lips. They are deeply ashamed of her. Perry's mother, Mary Hudson, said, "I hate the song. It clearly promotes homosexuality and its message is shameful and disgusting. Katy knows how I feel. We are a very outspoken family and she knows how disappointed her father and I are. I can’t even listen to that song. The first time I heard it I was in total shock. When it comes on the radio I bow my head and pray." (Mail)

Planes & Trannies

Writes Greg Scarnici: So after seeing the skanky video for M.I.A's "Paper Planes," I was inspired to shoot this parody, which I shot and edited in under 12 hours. Hope you enjoy!

Notes Randy Barbato: I'm pretty certain I see TABBOO in there! (t/y Johnny Lopez)

Even Eight-Year-Olds Get the Blues

Here's young Tallan T-Man Latz playing Jimi Hendrix's "Red House" with Albert Cummings. He's been banned from playing the blues in Wisconsin, says our friend Jason, who sent us this clip.

Pig 'n' a Poke

John Mayer's Short Hairs

At his "Continuum" show at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Sunday, John Mayer debuted his new 'do, along with a lot of new tunes. (Photo: Eugene Garcia/OC Register)

Whitney Springs a Leak

Thank you Jesus! Over the weekend a new Whitney Houston song hit YouTube! The track is a duet with Akon and is titled "Like I Never Left." She sounds brilliant, like the Whitney of old. She sings the lyrics beautifully: "I want you to love me like I never left," she croons. And if even half the songs on her fall-release album sound like this one, she may well get her wish. Welcome back, Whitney! (Marc Malkin)

– AguynamedWayne

Glub Dub

WOW girls Erin Hickman and Kristy Benjamin are in a band (make that ARE a band) called Under Water, and last night in a living room in Echo Park, they shot this straight-to-YouTube video for their "E Hoi Mai E Ku'uipo." Can you say "viral"?

The Doll Days of Summer

An old friend dropped by the beach house this afternoon for a visit and reminded me that when he was here two years ago I was busy running all over Fire Island with video cameras and several RuPaul dolls in tow filming one of my first video mashup projects.

– AguynamedWayne

Spencer Elden: Cock 'n' Roll Baby

Spencer Elden's father, Rick, knew Kirk Weddle, the photographer who was shooting the now-famous Nirvana album cover and had a baby who was OK with nudity. Namely, Spencer. Two months after the album came out, Geffen Records sent the one-year-old Spencer a platinum album and a teddy bear. "Quite a few people in the world have seen my penis," the now-17 Spencer told NPR's "All Things Considered" today. "So that's kinda cool." (Listen to the interview here; t/y Billy)

Journey at the Center of the Earth

Seems Earth has a melted-cheese center in this movie-music mashup. (t/y Jason)

You Need Bees

The ladies of Gilligan's Island, as The Honey Bees, put on a musicale for the castaways. Hmm, how come those four long-hair guest stars, The Mosquitos, didn't take the gang with them when they left? Whatever, the girls' song seems eerily prescient today, now that the bees are virtually gone. "When I was growing up life was much simpler," says WOW's Tom Campbell, who sent us this clip. "Honey bees were abundant, and a little jiggle passed as choreography."

In the Zone with Paul Zone

For most of the mid 1970s, it wasn't a glam or punk rock party in New York without Paul Zone. Um, Paul who, you might ask? Along with his brother Miki, Paul was a member of The Fast, part of the Max's Kansas City and CBGB's demimonde that included the Ramones, New York Dolls, Blondie, Mumps, Lou Reed, and for a brief moment, Divine and Kiss. Paul apparently never went anywhere without his camera and now his record of the era – from snapshots to studio portraits – is the subject of "PAUL ZONE: The New York Underground Scene From Glam to Punk 1972-1977" at the DRKRM. gallery in a former Capitol Records facility in Glassell Park. Here, some pix from Saturday night's opening festivities, which was attended by Mumps co-founder Kristian Hoffman and seminal reality TV star Pat Loud, among others.

Captions, from top: A large-scale unretouched color photo of Debbie Harry anchors the show; Paul Zone, the buff photo buff; Divine, still ready for her closeup; gallery view from above; An American Family's Pat Loud then (in a photo with her son Lance, lead singer of The Mumps) and now.

– Text, photos, and photos of the photos by Oliver Towne

M Behind The Music

There's nothing better than a behind-the-scenes music video. Unless it's a behind-the-scenes music video starring Madonna. This clip is fascinating in so many ways. Madonna's insistence on being called 'M'. Her general confusion at the concept of the video (does she even give a shit any more?). Her barely hidden contempt for the French directors. Justin Timberlake's terribly uncool explanation of what "flip a bitch" means (weren't the kids saying that 4 years ago?). The camp Justin lookalike! And there's definitely some chemistry between M and Justin too - is this a woman with a seven year itch?

– Steven Corfe

Snoop Dogg to Earn His Delhi Bread

Recently, he made the soapy One Life to Live theme sound Snoopy, now Snoop Dogg is collaborating with Indian superstar Akshay Kumar to make a music video for the theme to Kumar's next movie, Singh Is Kinng. Kumar, you might know, is famous for his Khiladi series of films, in which he plays an Indian version of James Bond. (Page Six)

Fans Thank Dave Matthews Fallettin Them See Him Dance

Dave Matthews delighted audiences with his spastic frat-dance encore at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts, on June 25 and "again" on the Fourth at the music festival in Rothbury, Michigan. (IsThisHappening)

Amy Housewine

Amy Winehouse onstage at the Rock in Rio music festival yesterday in Arganda del Rey, Spain. Reports are she performed well. (AP; photos: Victor R Caivano)

Green Mariah

This green-screen version of Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" is like part of an avant-garde video installation you'd see at MOMA, and it should have been the finished product. Watch in HQ here. (via FourFour)

Sound Bite: Vampire Weekend

It's that time of day when we like to involve ourselves in some Vampire Weekend, the band that has a song about a comma. But today it's their "A-Punk" video we've chosen. We wonder if, after they all agreed that the words "vampire" and "weekend" should be in the band's name, the musicians spent an arduous amount of time arguing over whether it should be Vampire Weekend or Weekend Vampire. If so, we think the time invested was well worth it; Vampire Weekend is far more sophisticated and evocative than the sleazy Weekend Vampire would have been. But enough about us.

I Want Your Seats: George Michael in Los Angeles

Miss Navajo director Billy Luther went to see George Michael at the Great Western Forum last night and all we got were these lousy pictures. Kidding. They're great. Thanks, Billy.

The Masque: The Fire Down Below

An intern here at World of Wonder, Raven Servellon, who can sometimes be found manning the desk in the Storefront Gallery, has a blog called Darwin's Drawings, which is one of those personal blogs that weblogging was invented for, and usually it's about her and her boyfriend, artist Louis Cannizzaro (whom she met at an art reception here), hanging out in their kitchen making coffee and whatnot. But yesterday she was all about punks and the graffiti in World of Wonder's basement, which used to be The Masque, LA's fabled '70s "punkrock" club.

The punk scene has never really appealed to me; too negative and just overall bad taste. I think of rotting teeth, apathy, green (a comical puke), pimples, bloody vagina, over processed hair (and not the impressive beehive of Amy Winehouse), herpes, migraines, incest, delusion and all things that freak me out in life.

Give Hard Candy 2 Me

This is Steven Corfe's tranny version of Madonna's latest video, "Give It 2 Me." Compare with Madonna's version here. Is there really any contest?

Robot Love in This Club

Usher's "Love in This Club" performed by the Rock-afire Explosion, an animatronic robot band that toured pizza restaurants in the 1980s, and now is managed by a guy named Chris Thrash who programs it with requests.

You Can't Go Homme Again: Queens of the Stone Age Evict a Fan

"Someone needs a hug," says Steven Corfe.

And You're Not

"I'm Bo Yo" is the freshest jam from apple-cheeked, potty-mouthed white rapper Bo Burnham. (via Gorilla Mask)

That's Cold

New York band Creaky Boards is claiming that Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" was plagiarized from their now-ironically titled song, "The Songs I Didn't Write," after Chris Martin saw the Boards perform it at the CMJ festival in New York last year. And they've made this bitter comparative video to prove it. A Coldplay spokesman says, "'Viva La Vida' was written and demoed in March 2007, which is more than six months before this band claim Chris went to see them. We totally refute their claims." And now Creaky Boards are on the map. Developing. (rediffnews)

That's Jeezy, Not Jay-Z

Rapper Young Jeezy, whose "Love in This Club" collaboration with Usher is #6 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, was stopped in his Corvette at about 2:30AM on Interstate 85 in Atlanta and charged with speeding, driving with no proof of insurance or license plate, having an open container, reckless driving, and driving impaired by alcohol or drugs. He was booked and later released from the Atlanta City Detention Center after ponying up $4,100 bail. His attorney said his client was leaving a recording session when he was arrested. (CNN; mug shot from a previous arrest involving firearms in South Beach)

George Michael Tix Winner

The winner of two tickets to George Michael's 25 Live tour is Joey Dale of Chicago, Illinois, whose under-50-words reason for wanting tickets was:

Most children were taught to say "pee" when they urinated. I was taught, if we had to go #1, to say "I have to go-go." I then, of course, thought Wham's "Wake Me Up..." was about bed-wetting. Have been a fan ever since for releasing such a brutally honest song.

The five runners-up who will receive two-disc DVD sets of George Michael videos are:

Michael Apostolino, West Hollywood, California
Shiran Bar, Boca Raton, Florida
Eddie Lotts, Wichita, Kansas
Phillip Puryear, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Margot Young, Alberta, Canada

Congratulations.

Introducing PLAYback

Seeing this at the top of the WOW Report the last couple of days, you might have wondered what it is. It's a trailer for the indie music series, PLAYback, coming soon to WOW TV, and produced and directed by World of Wonder's own Leana Jones.

Echo Plex and the City

Living on LA's west side can sometimes be tough when it comes to seeing a good band perform. And with gas prices doubling every other day I try to avoid any unnecessary travels. However, the occasional trip to Echo Park is sometimes worth it. East on Sunset, right past the Glendale Boulevard overpass is The Echo, and below that lies the Echo Plex. One of the best venues in town. The long and narrow, low-lit basement isn't your typical side stage hole-in-the-wall venue, like the Knitting Factory's "Alterknit Lounge," but a place where extraordinary indie acts from all over the world come to show what they got. Its dark atmosphere, cute hipsters, and reasonable bar make the Echo Plex a must. Even the occasional "mainstream" figure will make an appearance, as did Beck last November for his only North American show of 2007. I was there. It was awesome. So if you live in LA, visit LA, or just occasionally fly in on the weekends to have sex with your mistress, you must check out the Echo Plex. Glendale Boulevard, in Echo Park, under the Echo, near Erin Hickman's house.

– Text and photo of Helio Sequence at the Echo Plex by Steven Sims

Win Two Tickets to a George Michael Concert

Perhaps you've noticed that George Michael is kinda back. It's been many years, but he's back. He just performed 80 shows in 12 European countries for way over a million fans on his 25 Live tour; has a new 29-track, 2-CD album, Twenty-Five, with six new songs and duets with Paul McCartney and Mary J Blige; performs in 40 videos in a 2-disc DVD set; made a guest appearance on American Idol, and plays himself as the singing fantasy figure on the TV comedy-drama, Eli Stone. Next week Michael launches the North American leg of his 25 Live tour, performing 22 shows over seven weeks. Though 25 Live is his first tour in 17 years, he says it will be his last. Play the exclusive clip above and watch the vast sea of waving arms as the ex-Wham! guy performs at the historic opening night of Wembley Stadium in London.

We have two tickets to give away for any show on the tour, except of course for the first couple or three and the one in Toronto, for some reason. But any of the others. Free tickets. For two people. All you have to do is send an email to georgemichaeltickets@worldofwonder.net telling us why you should win the tickets. Keep your answer under 50 words. The writer of the reason we most enjoyed will get the tickets. We also have five of those George Michael 2-disc DVD sets for the runners-up. Please include with your entry your full name, mailing address, and the concert you'd like to attend. And have faith.

Jay Brannan Strips Down His Half-Boyfriend

God may strike us dead for saying this, but this guy, Short Bus star Jay Brannan, channels Joni Mitchell better than the legendary New York performance artiste John Kelly – and he's not even trying to. Listen to Brannan sing his gorgeous new version of "Half-Boyfriend" here. And thanks to Towleroad for the heads up.

Whatever

Here's the aforementioned Lady Gaga. Click here and get ready to gaga. (t/y Randy)

Tiny Monkeys Do Santogold

Kristin: OMG! I can't believe Santogold played a free show at the Hollywood and Highland center yesterday!
Erin: SANTOGOLD!
Kristin: I LOVE me some Santogold.
Erin: "We think you're a joke, shove your hope where it don't shine..."
Kristin: "J-J-Jesus pieces. Rescue me. The more I try the mor-...."
Erin: She is awesome. Her voice is so amazing and weird.
Kristin: But be warned, you may not be able to stop listening once you start.

What Gall!

In the June 1 entry on his website, Simon Napier-Bell, Wham!'s former manager who negotiated their 1985 Beijing concert and now may or may not be involved in a Wham! biopic, talks about his very recent emergency gall-bladder operation just as he was about to leave for a weekend in Bangkok. "Last year I had my prostate removed. I'm beginning to think, if I live long enough, I shall end up as a large outer shell containing nothing much of use inside."

I've just been on the internet reading about the things I can't eat now I have no gall bladder. Top of the list is fat - no cheese, no creamy sauces, no foie gras, no deliciously buttered crusty bread, not even a dip of foccia into virgin olive oil. If I eat fat, I'm told it will run right through my body and emerge at the other end with no prior announcement. Very unpleasant, I'd have thought, for anyone in the vicinity.

(Photos: Simon Napier-Bell in an earlier year when he had a gall bladder; gall bladder surgery on someone else; Wham!)

Pup Culture

Duet. Dog comes in on the second chorus.

Party at Charo's House!

Chris McKim, RuPaul, Tom Campbell, Tom Trujillo, and Randy Barbato went to a party last night at Charo's house to celebrate her new dance single "España Cani" (which is destined to be a smash club hit). Of course the "Cuchi Cuchi" girl got the "You better work" performer to dance with her (see above). Meanwhile, the joint was elsewhere jumpin.'

Photos by Randy Barbato. Captions from top: RuPaul and Frank DeCaro; Chris McKim and portrait of Charo; guess the feet; RuPaul and Charo's son, Shel; Charo and "Hot Lips" Loretta Swit; dancers; Tom Campbell at the green piano; Charo and Bai Ling; Barbato and Charo's sister, Carmen; Shel on the dancefloor.

Sigur Rós: "Gobbledigook"

The Icelandic band Sigur Rós sounds too much like Björk for our taste, but we're awfully fond of this full-frontal-naked-hippies video shot by Ryan McGinley for their new single "Gobbledigook." Probably because it reminds us a lot of last summer's World of Wonder company picnic in Elysian Park. You can watch a QuickTime of the video by clicking here. And thanks to OMGblog for bringing it to our attention. PS: It's only NSFW if you work in a fundamentalist Christian organization. (t/y Chris)

Jena Malone and the Shoe

Before the long weekend, WOW staffers Kristin Rasmussen and Erin Hickman went to see actress Jena Malone (Saved, Donnie Darko) play the instrument she created.

Kristin: Erin and I went to check out Jena Malone and her shoe rock out in my friend's living room, and I would have to say Jena's probably the craziest person I've ever met.

Erin: I wouldn't say she's crazy, Kristin, I'd say she's "eccentric."

Kristin: You can use any euphemism you want – she's crazy. The music is brilliant, but she's crazy.

Erin: Crazy is different. She hasn't lost her grip on reality, she's just a little funky.

Kristin: Funky? She sings every other line of dialogue in conversation. I think that may be a little more than funky.

Erin: I think you just have a problem with sparkly green skirts.

Kristin: Whatever. In any case people should really listen to her music. It really was one of the most amazing performances I've ever been to. Even if she is a little funky.

(More info. Photo by Kerrie "the shoe CD stealing" Scher)

Dirt Baby

Stewie Griffin's version of Dirt Nasty's "Baby Dick." Dirt Nasty and Family Guy – a match-up as deliciously inevitable as chocolate and peanut butter. (t/y David)

That Other McCartney

Young Jesse McCartney, onetime All My Children child actor, current teen heartthrob, and writer of hit songs for Leona Lewis, performed on [Neil Patrick Harris] and Kelly this morning. Couldn't understand one word of what he was singing – even the closed-captioner gave up halfway through.

Euro-Pap

ABBA, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, Olivia Newton-John. They've all represented their (possibly adopted) country at the Eurovision Song Contest. And while this year's edition of the annual Pan-Continental Sing-Fest (which will be compulsory Euro-viewing this Saturday) doesn't boast any stars of remotely the same calibre, here are a few highlights anyway.

Clockwise from top left: Ireland's singing turkey puppet Dustin; Latvia's inexplicably pirate-based entry; a self-confessed Estonian "comedy act," Kreisiraadio; and Spanish minimalist electro-rapper and Dennis Hopper lookalike Rodolfo Chikilicuatre.

– Will Brown

Of Interest: Fleshed-Out Edition

Creepy '90s boy-band creator, Lou Pearlman, the architect behind the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync (who looks like he might have got himself in sync with a few boys' backstreets, wink wink), is scheduled to be sentenced today in a Florida court after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy, money laundering, and using false statements in a bankruptcy proceeding. He faces the possibility of 25 years in prison and $1 million in fines. We hope someone in Hollywood is taking notes, because we see his story being turned into an R-rated musical starring creepy actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. (AP)

Miley Is So Busted

The Los Angeles band Lustra is claiming that Miley Cyrus' song "Rockstar" sounds uncannily similar to the "Scotty Doesn't Know" track off their Left for Dead album. The band's guitarist Nick Cloutman said, "Although we are very flattered that Ms Cyrus took this route, we would have preferred some credit," and added that Lustra is mulling over various "options to rectify this situation." Cyrus' boss, Disney, has been informed. We think the band has a strong case. Take a moment to compare.

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