1. Beyoncé threw on a form-fitting red dress and made her first post-pregnancy public appearance last night at Carnegie Hall, where Jay-Z was performing for the first time. [via Daily News]

2. Alcon Entertainment’s Andrew Kosove is “adamantly denying” rumors that Harrison Ford is in talks to join the cast of the Blade Runner sequel. “To be clear, what we are trying to do with Ridley [Scott] now is go through the painstaking process of trying to break the back of the story, figure out the direction we’re going to take the movie and find a writer to work on it,” he says. “The casting of the movie could not be further from our minds at this moment.” [via Slashfilm]

3. “I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about, just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK.” — Clint Eastwood responds to the controversy surrounding his Super Bowl ad.

4. Due to time constraints, it sounds like neither one of the two nominees in the Best Original Song category will be performed at this year’s Oscars. We’re curious: What does the Academy have against a domesticated macaw and the Muppets? [via Deadline]

5. Theater columnist Michael Riedel was OK with being referred to as “a Napoleonic little Nazi who writes for the Post” in last night’s premiere episode of Smash. “Well, of course I was flattered to be mentioned,” he tells Vulture. “But to be perfectly arrogant about it, I don’t think you can do a TV show about the Broadway world without including a powerful and notorious Broadway gossip columnist. And who better to play that role than moi?”

Bonus Buzz: 10 “Health Foods” That Aren’t As Healthy As You Think

We’re not sure exactly what’s behind the recent nail art explosion, but as long as it continues to produce amazing pop-culture tributes on a tiny, personal scale, it has our attention. Last week, we brought you the blood-flecked fingertips of a Dexter groupie and some Arrested Development Mr. Banana Grabber press-ons in our roundup of amazing TV-inspired nails. Before that, we went highbrow with literary nail art paying tribute to everyone from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Harry Potter. Now, nail art superfans, are you ready to rock ‘n’ roll? Today’s haul of musician-inspired nail art includes a dazzling riff on David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, a set of crazy Nicki Minaj claws, and even a perfectly executed Daniel Johnston manicure.

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1. During last night’s State of the Union address, President Obama decided to top that awkward salmon joke from last year with a bit about spilled milk that was just as groan-worthy; as to be expected, political observers’ immediate response to the cringe-inducing moment on Twitter wasn’t exactly kind. [via Daily Intel]

2. Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming film project Side Effects has lost its financing — apparently the director’s rumored casting of Blake Lively is part of the reason why, but Haywire’s weak box office performance might also be a factor. [via The Huffington Post]

3. Vanessa Paradis insists that rumors that her 14-year marriage to Johnny Depp is over are totally false: “All this is, I don’t know, because the Queen of England didn’t lose her teeth this week and there’s nothing happening.” [via People]

4. There are now two Beauty and the Beast-related TV projects in the works for next season. The CW is moving forward on an update of the 1980s CBS drama that starred Linda Hamilton; meanwhile ABC just announced a version that will go the classic fairytale route. [via THR]

5. “I’ve been talking to [Dave] Chappelle a lot. Been trying to get Chappelle to go on tour. You know I’m not the hard one, but I’m trying to make that happen. After seeing Kanye and Jay-Z, I was like, ‘Me and Dave should do this.’” — Chris Rock gets our collective hopes up during a conversation with Vulture at Sundance.

Bonus Buzz: If the GOP Debate Was a Rave

The Big Pink’s new album Future This is out this week, and the fact that they’ve sampled Laurie Anderson’s “O Superman” on one of their new tracks got us thinking about other unlikely samples in the world of music. Of course, The Big Pink have been on the other end of the sampling equation, too — in an equally unlikely piece of inspiration, Nicki Minaj sampled their track “Dominoes” for her song “Girls Fall Like Dominoes.” As unexpected as both these pieces of sampling were, though, they still pale in comparison to some of the truly outlandish examples from the world of music over the last 20 years or so. Like the ones you’ll find after the jump, for instance.

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1. In case you haven’t heard the thrilling news yet, the long-awaited Season 5 premiere of Mad Men on March 25, which was penned by series creator Matthew Weiner, is going to be a delicious two hours long. [via Vulture]

2. Contraband, Mark Wahlberg’s new thriller about an ex drug smuggler forced to get back into the game, surprised us all by wining the top spot at the weekend box office, taking in an estimated $24 million. Beauty and the Beast 3-D came in second place, with $18.5 million in ticket sales, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol — which has already made more than the original Mission: Impossible movie — rounded out the top three with a $11.5 million draw. [via ArtsBeat]

3. Taking the company’s unhealthy obsession with giant glass structures to a whole new level, a planned Apple Store in Aix en Provence, France is basically going to be invisible. [via Gizmodo]

4. Multiple medical marijuana dispensaries in LA are selling a new strain of marijuana called “OG Blue Ivy,” in homage to Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s new baby daughter Blue Ivy Carter. In related news: an Australian researcher has named a horsefly that has a golden butt after Beyoncé. [via NME, EW]

5. According to the Daily Express, two members of the Downton Abbey cast, Elizabeth McGovern and Michelle Dockery (aka Countess of Grantham and her daughter Lady Mary), are recording an album together that’s due out later this year.

Bonus Buzz: Top 2 Tina Fey Photobombs at the Golden Globes

What to give the baby that has everything (including a song on the Billboard chart)? Not one to go handing out $7,000 pink Swarovski-crystal bathtubs to newborns like some aunties we could name, excellent gift-giver Oprah reportedly gave Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s brand new baby girl, “a trunk full of children’s books” for the occasion of her birth. Exactly which books are contained within? We may never know. Since we try to follow Oprah’s lead in all parts of our lives, we got to thinking about what books we would give little Blue for a life as American royalty. With those genes she’s got, we basically expect her to immediately become a full-on child prodigy, so we haven’t limited ourselves to children’s books, but imagined a starter bookshelf that will have her discovering new things at least until high school. Click through to read our gift list for Blue Ivy, and let us know what books you might give the celebrity baby in the comments.

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1. She might be less than a week old, but thanks to her credited appearance on “Glory,” Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s new baby daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, is now the youngest person ever to have a song on the Billboard chart. [via Billboard]

2. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences is considering moving the Oscars from its home for the past decade — the Kodak Theatre — to the Nokia Theatre in downtown LA, which has twice the capacity. [via LAT]

3. Big news for comics fans: DC Comics has announced that it’s cancelling six of its current titles (Blackhawks, O.M.A.C., Men of War, Hawk and Dove, Mister Terrific, and Static Shock) and introducing six new ones, including Grant Morrison’s Batman Incorporated and Dial H by fantasy novelist China Miéville. [via ArtsBeat]

4. Last night was the People’s Choice Awards, which honors popular movies, TV shows, and musicians, based on over 230 million votes from fans. Not so surprisingly, the big winners of the evening were Katy Perry (who was a no-show) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part II. [via Vulture]

5. The Velvet Underground is accusing the Andy Warhol Foundation of trademark infringement, claiming that it illegally licensed the famous banana logo from their first album cover — which was never officially copyrighted — for use on other products. [via BBC]

Bonus Buzz: Adorable Baby Sloths Get A Bath

If you haven’t been moved to tears by happy events in the lives of strangers yet this Monday, then now is the time to get out your hanky. As everyone with functioning eyes and/or ears is aware, Beyoncé gave birth on Saturday to a daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Less than 48 hours later, Papa Jay-Z has released a new song dedicated to her. Called “Glory,” it was produced by Pharrell and features audio of none other than little Blue herself, gurgling away happily. The track includes some of the sweetest sentiments we’ve ever heard out of a rapper’s mouth: Jay-Z calls his daughter “a younger, smartest, faster me” and “daddy’s lil’ girl” and tells her “my greatest creation was you.” There are also some unexpected details about Blue’s conception, so, uh, that stuff is all on the record now.

[via Rolling Stone]

1. Beyoncé and Jay-Z welcomed a baby girl into the world on Saturday at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City; apparently Blue Ivy Carter’s parents paid a reported $1.3 million to make sure that their newborn had the entire floor to herself. [via NYDN]

2. Here’s your obligatory Party Down movie update: Over the weekend Megan Mullally confirmed at a TCA that the film adaptation is totally a go! Co-creator John Eborn is currently working on a script, and the show’s entire cast (with the possible exception of Jane Lynch) is expected to be a part of the project. [via Deadline]

3. “I did not fight for the 3D. It was something that the studio wanted to do, and I didn’t want to do it. And then, when I saw the first movie converted in sections, I thought that it actually looked really cool.” — JJ Abrams explains why Star Trek 2 will be shot in 3D; filming on the sequel begins this week.

4. In spite of an extremely low budget and lackluster reviews from critics, Paramount’s new horror flick The Devil Inside knocked Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol out of the top spot at the weekend box office, drawing in an estimated $34.5 million. [via ArtsBeat]

5. Word is that Nick Offerman will pen an upcoming episode of Parks and Rec. His self-proclaimed qualifications? “I wrote papers in high school… I have added a lot of dialogue to the show. And my emails retain a certain notoriety for having a certain turn of phrase.” [via Vulture]

Bonus Buzz: The Peanuts Gang Spoofs Abbey Road

Last week we stereotyped you by your favorite books, and this week it’s time to apply a bumper edition of our gratuitous generalizations to the world of music. Our stereotyping posts have become something of a tradition at Flavorpill, but still, here’s our obligatory disclaimer: this is an entirely tongue-in-cheek exercise, so don’t get all offended — and also, as ever, several of our favorite records are on here, and we’ll totally own up to all the stereotypes that apply to us. Anyway, with that said, here are 50 albums that keep cropping up on end-of-year lists and the sort of people that like them. Read More »