The Entertation Index: August 20

The Biebs after his first Phish show.

Bieber, Justin – The pop star caught his first Phish show last week with girlfriend Selena Gomez at Long Beach Arena.  During the first set, he and Gomez turned 21 and had their first alcoholic drink (ha!), then got married and had kids during the second set.  It was a beautiful ceremony, and they have a truly wonderful family.

Link: Biebs at Phish (Hollywood Reporter)

Bizkit, Limp – Frontman Fred Durst said that his band has pretty much given up on America: “We don’t play back home.  We’ve boycotted America for many years now…The reason?  We just don’t know what’s going on in America.  It’s all about the new catchy thing and that’s always changing.  America is driven by record sales.  It’s the home of corporations.”  Fred Durst actually said this, apparently in all seriousness and without irony.

Link: Bizkit Burnt (NME)

Minaj, Nicki – The “Starships” singer had to cancel her scheduled performances in the U.K. last weekend due to “strained vocal cords.”  “Strained vocal cords” is usually industry-speak for “busted auto-tuner.”

Link: Minaj Strains Vocal Cords (Huffington Post)

Morello, Tom – The Rage Against the Machine guitarist reacted angrily when informed that Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan was a big fan: “Paul Ryan’s love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades.”  This is the strangest pairing since David Duke reportedly professed his love for N.W.A.

Link: Ryan Loves Rage (NY Daily News)

Patel, Dev – The British actor who plays blogger Neal Sampat on The Newsroom reveals that he knew little about American politics when he took the part, educating himself nightly through Google and Wikipedia.  Using those sources, he can now tell you that Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are both America’s deliverance and the Anti-Christ, and will save, indoctrinate, or eat your precious children.

Link: Patel’s Political Education (L.A. Times)

Riot, Pussy – Russian punk band Pussy Riot was sentenced to two years in a prison colony for “hooliganism driven by religious hatred” after they performed an impromptu song in a Moscow cathedral asking the Virgin Mary to protect the country from president Vladimir Putin.  Yes, “hooliganism.”  It is unclear if the full verdict referred to the women as “no-goodniks” or “poltroons.”  Welcome to the new, democratic Russia!

Link: Pussy Riot Convicted (Guardian)