Beyonce as marketer, social force, wife and mom

The astounding reach of Beyonce’s cultural impact is illustrated by a Saturday Night Live bit where first lady wanna-be Ann Romney (played by Kate McKinnon), blurts that she’d kill her equestrian-competition horse to meet Beyonce. “I wouldn’t have pictured you as a Beyonce fan,” says Weekend Update host Seth Myers

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Creepy Taylor Swift sniffer denied meeting

The 39-year-old man who tried to use the power of the internet to help him sniff Taylor Swift’s hair has set his sights on pop singer Selena Gomez. The competition by Boston radio station, Kiss 108, designed to find Swift’s biggest fan by getting friends of competitors to vote for them, was cancelled after Charles Z took first place on the leaderboard.

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Album review: Be – Beady Eye

BE Beady Eye (Sony) After the ill-conceived Different Gear, Still Speeding that was Beady Eye’s debut, Liam Gallagher has finally found his wings post Oasis. And boy does he soar on an album that’s as sonically adventurous as it is full of sneering, snappy and sharp Brit rockers such as Flick Of The Finger, Second Bite of The Apple and Soon Come Tomorrow.

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The National talk life on the road

The National’s Matt Berninger talks to VICKI ANDERSON about their new album and a documentary about life on the road with the band made by his heavy-metal loving brother. Matt Berninger, lead singer of acclaimed Brooklyn indie rock band The National, apologises that he has just abandoned a family dinner and is standing outside on a street somewhere in lower Manhattan

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Tenacious D bring guitars and laughs

When Jack Black was in Wellington in 2004 for Sir Peter Jackson’s King Kong, it was the perfect opportunity to interview him and Tenacious D cohort Kyle Gass, when they announced they would play in the capital that year. The tricky bit was that Gass was in California then, while Black had been in Wellington for weeks and the two could only be interviewed about Tenacious D while together.

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