TMZ: George Clooney's New Girlfriend

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George Clooney's new girlfriend... come on down! TMZ's Leslie Harris explains to Ralphie...

Catch Leslie on TMZ TV - Weekdays at 6 on Channel 38 - The CW.

JOSSIP: Twitter's Rise To Pop Culture Prominence

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Twitter is the latest Internet phenomenon. Jossip.com Editor Drew Grant explained to Ralphie how and why.

Read Drew's Article Here.

FORGED Press Conference/Cocktail Reception

Just received this from our resident Wingman...
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"FORGED"
Looking to bring a little Hollywood to your weekend? Head out to Breakers at Mohegan Sun Saturday. "Forged," an independent film shooting in Northeastern PA from February 2nd, through March 2nd will host a cocktail party, meet and greet with cast and filmmaker, and press conference.

The movie stars Paul Calderon (Pulp Fiction, 21 Grams), Manny Perez (Pride and Glory), Margo Martindale (Million Dollar Baby), David Castro (Where God Left His Shoes) and Kevin Breznahan (Superbad, There Will Be Blood). Written and directed by William Wedig (Tryst, Rise of The Dead), produced by Josh Crook and Joe Van Wie.

Cocktail party and press conference Saturday, Janurary 31 at 3:30 p.m. Breakers at Mohegan Sun Film stars Manny Perez, Kevin Breznahan, and David Castro will be on hand. There will be light hourdoerves, free soft drinks, and cash bar. For all the up to date info on Forged, check out the movie's blog http://www.forgedmovie.blogspot.com/

DAILY DOWNLOAD: The Matrix/Katy Perry

01.28.09 : The Matrix f. Katy Perry - Damn

Good for The Matrix - this team is on fire, 'bout time they release under their own name. Katy just kills - really love everything about this song.

WINGMAN WEDNESDAY: Nice Girl Or Drama Queen

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Matt from West Pittston is 28 and ready to date wild women... so he thinks. The Wingman chimes in with his two cents on 97 BHT.

Initial Wingman Response:

Reaction #1:

Reaction #2:

Reaction #3:

Visit The Wingman on MySpace.

President Obama Likes Beyonce's "Single Ladies"

Another reason to love #44...

Starbucks Cuts Decaf

I'm not a big decaf person, so this doesn't affect me as much. Nonetheless, Starbucks will no longer be continuously brewing decaf in the PM hours - a move that's expected to save the company about $400 million. Details here., 

FREE Diet Dr. Pepper!

Pretty straight forward, you can snag the coupon here.

DAILY DOWNLOAD: Exclusive Soulja Boy Interview

01.27.09 : Soulja Boy Tell 'em f. Sammie - Kiss Me Thru The Phone
Soulja talks about the song w/ Ralphie:

Soulja & Ralphie chat about DJ Woogie & his show on Feb 26:

In the interview, Soulja chats about keeping track of his chart position, turning down Autotune, and getting crunk. A much better interview than I had anticipated.

Another Reason For BHT Over MP3s...

This EU study suggests that 5-10 percent of MP3 listeners will at one point cause severe and irreparable harm to their hearing thanks to the audio files.

No cure is known for hearing loss.

So basically, throw down the iPod, and throw on 97 BHT!

EXCLUSIVE: Story Behind A.J. McLean's Night

In case you missed it, TMZ just posted footage of a very innebriated A.J. McLean. The Backstreet Boy's struggle with substance abuse is well-documented... who could forget the emotional revelation of his problems when the group appeared on MTV's TRL back in the earlier part of this decade?

What I can exclusively reveal is that the group just completed recording their new LP, due out this spring. The boys were also celebrating Nick Carter's birthday. Carter has three more birthday bashes on the docket, all throughout Canada, all planned previous to last night.

But is it possible that on their watch, McLean fell off the wagon? Interesting considering it is an unspoken rule within the camp that you do not drink in front of A.J., under any circumstances. The subsequent statements to be released by the parties involved will hopefully shed more light on what is looking like a bleak situation.

Ryan Leslie - How It Was Supposed To Be Music Video

If you recall from my interview with Ryan, we discuss the synopsis of the song and the fact that I almost landed in the video as an extra.

Nonetheless, what a production. Rumor is that he directed it himself.

Plax Is Pepsi's Poster Boy?

Plaxico Burress is the New York Giants wide receiver who accidently shot himself in the leg, subsequently shooting his team's Super Bowl aspirations out the door. So when I hit up Wal-Mart to find this, I was quite amused.

These are special edition Pepsi bottles for the Super Bowl. Don't hurt yourself with one of these. You certainly won't find it in my pocket.

The Bronx Is Burning... With Bitterness.

Considering this story won't really resonate with most of my loyal readers, I'll attempt to keep it brief. However, the following exchange affected me so profoundly that I'd be remiss not to share.

Reggie Jackson is known in baseball as "Mr. October" for his clutch play in the most important month of the baseball season. He once hit three home runs in a World Series game... on three consecutive pitches. ESPN even made a mini-series about that team, the 1977 New York Yankees, entitled, "The Bronx Is Burning."

Last Saturday, I traveled to the swamps of Secaucus, NJ for "Yanks For The Memories." The event featured mostly former and a few current Yankees baseball players, and for nominal fees, you could meet the stars and obtain autographs and inscriptions on pre-purchased items. I went essentially to meet Jackson, who I look up to as a professional, although I also paid to meet Bucky Dent, Mel Stottlemyre, and David Wells.

I arrived at the event with about an hour left in the Jackson autograph session. My friends, including Cousin Tony, already met the Hall of Famer - and warned me about his terrible demeanor, especially compared with the other Yankees players. Nonetheless, I was unfazed, as I'm used to dealing with these types of people on a daily basis.

Fast forward to meeting Jackson. I wanted him to sign "The Straw That Stirs The Drink" underneath his famous cursive autograph. The quote was allegedly misattributed to him by a reporter in the late 70's - although two sources lay the statement to Jackson at one point or another. The phrase, no pun intended, stirred up a controversy amongst the team, which though of it as overzealous.

Jackson refused to sign "The Straw That Stirs The Drink" or "The Bronx Is Burning" on the photo.

"I don't want to be associated with that stuff," the Hall of Famer told me. "A lot of people come up to me and say that they loved The Bronx Is Burning. But I was embaressed by it."

He eventually relented to offering me two inscriptions for the price of one. So the photo reads: "To Ralph - Reggie Jackson, #44 - Mr. October."

I offered up the original requests for two reasons: "The Straw That Stirs The Drink" is a quote I live my career by. Who doesn't want to be "the man"... "the go-to-guy"... "Mr. Clutch"? 

Second, I wanted my autograph to be different, unique - something that carried more than just a monetary value.

But at the end of the day, Jackson satisfied my second reason. Now whenever I look back on the photo and experience, I'll think about the man that I thought epitomized "swagger" - and how it was all manifested by the media. 

KKITM: The Fray Performance

Listen to The Fray's Interview & Performance on the K-Pod!
Watch The Fray In The KKITM Studios Here!

A verse in The Fray’s debut single from their upcoming new album suggests that the last two years haven’t been just rock ‘n roll fame and fortune.
 
“I’ve been calling for years and years and years and years And you never left me no messages You never send me no letters. You got some kind of nerve, taking all I want… Why’d you have to wait to find me?” 
 
Appearing on the nationally syndicated Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Show today, lead singer Isaac Slade explained that the song is about the anger he was feeling towards his higher power.
 
“We just had a lot of bad things happen to our friends in the span of a year and a half and there we were out on the road, stuck in this whole weird tornado thing. I kept getting these phone calls…tragedy after tragedy, and you get the sense that if karma works, it must be busted.“ The song begins “I found God on the corner of First and Armistead”. Isaac revealed that it is an actual intersection somewhere in Texas but that’s merely a coincidence. 
 
Kraddick asked if it was instead a metaphor meaning “God is My First Friend” to which Isaac replied, “Dude, you are on it!” Isaac’s intent was to portray his relationship with God as more personal. “They always taught me in church that if I ran into God it would be a ‘fall on your knees’ moment, and when they said that I had a little fight to pick with them.” 
 
With three songs from the new album woven between talk segments, the small audience in Kraddick’s performance hall was treated to what Kraddick suggested later might be “the most intimate Fray show that’s likely to be had this year.”
 
“Like it or not, The Fray is a super-group now and that means moments like the one we had this morning will become more and more rare,” Kraddick said. Their last album was double platinum and “How To Save A Life” holds the record for digital downloads at over six-million. 
 
In addition to the debut single, Kraddick’s audience of two-million was treated to two other songs from the album, including a never-before-heard track called “Enough For Now”; a song about Isaac’s grandfather who abandoned his “mother’s mother without so much as a kiss.” 
 
It was an uncharacteristically long segment with the band, but Kraddick said he’s received no complaints from listeners or affiliates. “Our show is heard on many different radio formats across the country and The Fray gets played on most of them. I didn’t think anyone would mind if we gave them a little more time.

TMZ: Dunder Mifflin Employees Done Good

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TMZ Cameras caught up with the stars of The Office at the SAG awards. Leslie tells Ralphie that the Dunder Mifflin employees may have gained a few new fans with their kindness!

Catch Leslie on TMZ TV - Weekdays at 6 on Channel 38 - The CW.

DAILY DOWNLOAD: New Weezy!

01.26.09 : Lil Wayne - Prom Queen

I'm a fan of this record... Weezy's rock LP drops in April.

RALPHIE REPORT: Rod/Office, Barack-Berry, New Music

The following will appear in The Weekender, a weekly arts and entertainment publication in NEPA with a circulation of over 175,000.
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Rod Stewart watches “The Office.”

TMZ caught the “Forever Young” singer outside a restaurant in Los Angeles with his wife, model Penny Lancaster. When Stewart’s spouse went to snag the car, he told her, “Pull it out just a little bit.”

Then Stewart quickly added, “That’s what she said.”

“It’s pretty cool that we got (on camera) Rod Stewart,” TMZ’s Leslie Harris told me on The Ralphie Radio Show. “But he did his own joke! It was awesome.”

Usually when TMZ cameras are rolling, the joke is on the celebrity. But this time, the subject provided the laughter, without any bait.

Maybe it makes a little bit of sense considering Stewart is usually regarded in a class of his own. Both Elton John and James Brown have referred to him as the best “white soul singer” alive.

BARACK-BERRY TO STAY

Last week you read in this column about the new barrier that President Barack Obama attempted to break down: the first President to e-mail in the Oval Office.

Well, it looks like President Obama will officially become wired.

The Associated Press reported last week that the Secret Service and White House lawyers will allow Mr. Obama to keep his BlackBerry. He will use the device to keep in touch with family, close friends, and staff members.

“Anything Obama’s thumbs tap out into the ether is of historical value,” said one presidential historian to The AP.

No media outlet has yet to report on if the President uses BlackBerry Messenger, or what is PIN is.

NEW MUSIC ABUNDANT

A number of previously-unreleased songs and demos by A-List artists leaked on The Ralphie Radio Show within the past 7 days.

Last week, a new track from The Black Eyed Peas emerged. The hip-hop quartet hasn’t released an LP since 2005’s Monkey Business. Lead emcee will.i.am. told Billboard that he finished recording The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) last October. The album is due out sometime this year. “Rockin Tha Beatz” is an uptempo, synth-heavy club banger, laced with an auto-tuned Will on vocals.

Also on the Internet is a demo of a track called, “Hologram.” The beat is a Dr. Dre production, and Chris Brown guests on the track. The Backstreet Boys purchased the song. It’s the first single from the band’s new effort – which hits shelves this spring.

Finally, a new Lil Wayne song hit the net Monday. Weezy gets his ‘Yeezy on, singing with autotune on “Prom Queen.” The track is from the rapper’s rock album, to be released this April.
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Listen to Ralphie Aversa weekdays from 5-10p on 97 BHT.

Apparently Pets Relieve Stress

Perhaps this is another reason to buy a puppy if you're in college - the study is here.