BEAUTIFUL.

Matilda Ledger's Guardian Angels
posted by brenda - Tue, Aug 19, 2008, 6:01 pm PDT

celebs: Heath Ledger Jude Law Colin Farrell Johnny Depp Michelle Williams
topics: New York Kids

The late Heath Ledger's daughter Matilda was spotted skipping along the streets of NYC yesterday with her mom Michelle Williams and her two-year-old daughter Matilda enjoy a summer day in NYC.
INFDaily.com The late Heath Ledger's daughter Matilda was spotted skipping along the streets of NYC yesterday with her mom Michelle Williams in the cutest pink sundress. Every time I see a photo of the 2-year-old I can't believe how much she looks like her dad. He definitely lives on through her.

As most of you probably know, Heath was filming Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" at the time of his death. Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell stepped in to complete Heath's role, playing different versions of his character "Tim."

When the three actors learned that Ledger's will had not been updated to include his daughter, the generous trio decided to donate all the money they earned from the film to little Matilda!

It's good to know that there are a few nice guys in Hollywood.

The Police say goodbye.

I'm black and blue from all the ass kicking. And speechless.

An absolutely bittersweet night.

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Idols Live

I ended up on the Ch. 5 news right after my interview with David Cook and Michael Johns, who is still talking away as Cook moves on to his next interview.

I got to interview all of the top 10 aside from little David and Jason Castro. Everyone was super genuine and great to talk to.

I hate that the camera adds 10 pounds, it was shot at an awkward angle, AND it's a camera photo of my dad's TV set. Gross.

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Shawty.

Nikki and I at the Latin Rock Conference. It was pretty badass. Good music, drinks, and people.

Mobile blogging. Holla.
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Obviously!

Oh yeah... and YouTube his Guitar Hero commercial. Makes me wanna play.

As predicted...

I still say cookie monster's got it, but either way there will be fantastic things in his future.

One hand SHOULD wash the other.

This is something I think about often, and definitely deserves its own blog entry.

True musicians, more than anything, want to make money doing what they love more than life, which is playing music. They want to play shows, sell records, and enjoy life, all while paying the bills with the money earned. They don't want a "day job." Yet, when it comes to hiring people to back them, such as a photographer like myself, they think we'll all jump in and do it for free, and they can do whatever the fuck they want. They just assume that its true, rather than thinking "Hey, this girl is in the same boat we are. She works for herself and she needs to make a living doing what she loves." Only recently have I come across bands, who rather than assuming I'm a giddy fan girl who is taking photos for her scrapbook, make a point of saying that whatever it is they want done will happen solely if they can pay me my asking price. Bravo.

I don't know if I'm just not taken seriously, being a 5'1" almost 21-year-old girl, but regardless, people are dicks and they need to think about people other than themselves.

Remember: When you mess with the bull, you get the horns, even if the bull is 1/3 your size.

There's absolutely no contest.

I actually felt bad for Jason Castro tonight, having to follow David Cook's performance. Randy Jackson gave him a standing ovation, and they all - including Mariah Carey - say he's ready to go sell albums. Even if he doesn't win, because of 12-year-olds who don't get it, he's going to take over the world. He's got the looks, the vocal ability, distinction, and conviction. I can't watch him without getting chills. He's brilliant.

Can I marry him please?

David Cook is the only reason that I am actually paying some attention to American Idol this year. I adore him.

Performing a different version of "Billie Jean" (one of my favorite songs of all time). This gave me chills:


Performing "my" song (it's been one of my nicknames since middle school):

Handsome and amazingly talented.

I think sanity has finally found me (let's hope, anyway).

Here I am, sitting in my very own office, listening to Jose Gonzalez, with the sun shining through my window as I watch the sunset outside my window. I can really hear music here. I don't just mean auditorily, but mentally and soulfully. It's wonderful. Things are really flowing with work and people and life. I have so much to do but it feels amazing.

I did a phoner with Paul Meany of Mute Math earlier for AMP. What a lovely, intelligent and talented human being. With wonderful taste (he told me to check out Jose, and I am in love). Look out for that article. Not sure when it will run, but I will no doubt notify everyone. Go devour Mute Math. If you have no idea who I am talking about, you will soon, and you will love them. Thanks again TJ, for your wonderful recommendation. That reminds me, check out Last Conservative. Another great band defying the odds.

My latest review (and photos) out on newsstands now in the Aquarian:

(My new buddies Article A.)

This is two months old, but still prominent.

(source: New York Magazine)

Music-Business Meltdown! Ultragrrrl Out of a Job!

Last week, based on nothing but our ill-informed guesswork, we predicted that the music business as we know it today had six months to live — turns out that might've been optimistic! It gives us no joy to report that on Friday, there were some pretty big layoffs at Island/Def Jam records which apparently included executives Greg Thompson, Paul Pontius, Rob Stevenson, and everyone at Sarah "Ultragrrrl" Lewitinn's emo sub-label Stolen Transmission (meaning she no longer gets to hang out with Jay-Z and she'll have to update the address she was using to solicit free shit in the mail). Additionally, Sony-BMG is planning on shedding 40 to 70 "mid-level execs" before the end of this year, Lava and Roadrunner Records are merging their promo staffs, and commenters on record-industry message board Velvet Rope, typing in grave tones, speculate that similar "restructuring" will happen soon at Geffen and other labels under the Universal umbrella.

While it's certainly a bummer, the firings probably shouldn't come as a great surprise to anyone who's been following the increasingly terrible news about the music industry. Warner Music's stock hit an all-time low last week when they announced that quarterly profits were down 58 percent (hilariously, the numbers still beat Wall Street expectations). And Terra Firma, the London-based private-equity firm that bought EMI's catalogs earlier this year, is already looking to dump its investment, shortly after it "increases EMI's profits massively by cutting costs by £135 million annually and outgrowing the sluggish music market." In other words, the layoffs aren't just a cost-cutting maneuver anymore — they're the recording industry's entire business model! If the labels can't wring a profit out of Blake Lewis or the new Jay-Z record (which they can't, apparently), then they'll do it by dumping a few high-salaried executives.

And this, I found yesterday, from a press conference interview with John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls in 2002:

"It gets harder and harder these days. The music business, and radio, and that, it's all about this 'immediate impact' thing, where it's like 'Well, you know, we played the song 100 times, it ain't doin' that good, you gotta go onto the next thing.' Or there's a lot of bands now, if they don't sell a million records on their first record, they get dropped. There's not a lot of development of artists, you know, in that mass media kind of world - which I think is bad - and I think it's ultimately gonna come back to bite them all on the ass, because they will not have catalogs to draw from, and keep their labels running in lean times. Radio stations aren't developing core artists. I wish they would address those issues and maybe stick with things a little bit longer. Because that's how you wound up with a really rich rock 'n roll history like The Stones, and The Beatles, and The Who, and you know, Van Halen, all these bands, because there was a lot more time put into each project."

Things still haven't changed. Let's do something before the business dies, and anyone who genuinely lives and breathes music is ultimately out of a passion... and a job.

(More on this later when I have the time to rant, rave, and go off on tangents...)

We lost another great one.

I'd like to follow up to my previous post by saying that I am truly heartbroken by the loss of Heath Ledger. In retrospect, I was never a conscious fan of his. I never talked about him a great deal, or listed him under my favorite actors, but he lit up every movie he was ever in, and I always really enjoyed watching him. I don't think I could say enough good things about his talent and who he was as a human being. I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but you could tell that he was down to earth, and didn't care to flaunt his celebrity. On top of all of that, he was a dad, who seemed to care very much about his daughter Matilda. When neighbors were interviewed by the media, they couldn't stop saying how much they would see him walking around Soho with her all the time; just simple walks around the city with his daughter. He was quoted as saying - eerily similar to Lennon saying "I don't want to die at forty" - "Being a dad changes your perspective -- I don't want to die young." It's a shame that she is going to miss out on having him around. Not only a wonderful man, but her father, a seemingly great one.

All of this makes me think deeper about life and how short it really is. Do what you love, love who you love, and more importantly, live for and love yourself no matter what. Though quite simple and true, sometimes it's a lot harder than we all realize.

I have seen so many posts - whether dryly sarcastic or flat out rude - about not caring that he's dead, and spreading rumors, or trying to say he isn't really dead, to shut up and wait until someone proves it's actually true. What is wrong with people? It makes me sick to witness the insensitivity. Grow up, and have a heart. No matter how he died, or for what reasons, it is a horrible tragedy and we lost one of the great actors and human beings of our generation.

Rest in peace, Heath. I am so sorry to see you go, and so soon.

<3

Rest in peace, Heath Ledger.

April 4, 1979 - January 22, 2008

You will be greatly missed.

Thank you, Matchbox Twenty.

For resurfacing and coming back to us. The music world needed you.

FYI, this thank you was long overdue.

Let's hope it's a good one, without any fear.

2008 has finally arrived, and I don't think I've ever felt so ready for a new year. Last year wasn't the worst year of my life, but I spent a lot of time trying to start fresh and really break down walls that I've built. I feel that now I can truly accomplish such tasks.

Plus my life will be filled with:

· Good health and happiness.
· Turning 21 and letting loose in Las Vegas to celebrate.
· Moving to Hollywood to attend MI for Music Business.
· Taking over the world of A&R and helping bands who actually deserve to be signed (even if I'm canned in the first week). I am in it to change the world of music, not to follow everyone else in making it worse.
· Continuing to document music in all aspects with my camera.
· Plus many more things, of course. When do I ever stop going after what I want?

By the way, I am realizing more and more what an amazing band Twisted Sister is. Truly.

I hope everyone's holidays were lovely, and in conclusion I will post the photo I sent to my friends and family (to which many responded and told me it was "creepy" or "disturbing"... thanks a lot PANSIES!)