Pet Rock: The Pop Culture Blog

(Ross Halfin)

It seemed like such a good idea at the time. The new Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" drops this Sunday, Nov. 23 (although we won't believe until three days after the CD jewel case breaks), so why not use Top 5 Thursday to count down the best GN'R songs of all time?

Bad idea. Way too many to decide. But after careful analysis, hours of brain-wracking and some consulting, Pet Rock is proud to put forth its thoughts on the five best GN'R songs. Understand that we only have five slots to fill, hence Top 5 Thursday, so while you may suggest another song, ask yourself this: what song would I replace?

5) Paradise City

An all-time classic. An instant arena rocker. Works for any place you want it to work.

4) You Could Be Mine

Just about as hardcore as you'll get with GN'R. Sure it's from the "Terminator 2" soundtrack

3) Patience

Every hair band needs a monster ballad. This one just edged out November Rain, even if that video had Stephanie Seymour.

2) Welcome to the Jungle

According to the book "Watch You Bleed" by Stephen Davis, the most famous Axl squeal in history -- "You know where you are? You're in the jungle, baby!" -- came about from a trip he took to New York (when he was just Bill Bailey) with a friend and wound up two country bumpkins walking around the South Bronx in the late 1970s. Years later, it became a narrative for the L.A. music scene on the Sunset Strip . . . and entrance music for too many teams and athletes. Still, tremendous song.

1) Sweet Child o' Mine

The most recognizable intro to a song in the last 30 years. A top 10 rock song of all time. A top 10 metal song of all time (although it's technically not a metal song, as reader SexyMike pointed out below, but since GN'R was always grouped into with metal groups when it came to awards and such, I decided to include it in this grouping, too). A top 10 song of all time. Seriously, has a song (non-slow jam) that better describes how a man could feel about that special woman in his life?

Honorable mention: Yesterdays, November Rain, Used to Love Her, Don't Cry.

And before you get mad at my selections, let me appease you with Guns N' Roses then and now photos.

UNICEF sure had some support yesterday with three events held in its name in NYC. Ne-Yo and Rihanna represented the 2008 UNICEF Snowflake Lighting at Grand Army Plaza, Gucci held a dinner at the Oak Room to benefit UNICEF, as well as launched their Tattoo Heart Collection to benefit UNICEF.

Click a photo to see pictures from each event.
Click here for all NYC photos from last night

Sarah Jessica Parker showed up on the arm of husband Matthew Broderick, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Matt Dillon, Sam Waterston and Glenn Close all came out to support the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights Bridge Dedication Gala at Pier Sixty.



There was no shortage of starts at Gucci's dinner to benefit UNICEF and launch of Tattoo Heart Collection for UNICEF. Mary J. Blige, Blake Lively, Madonna, Rihanna and Becky Newton were all there.




The screening of "Last Chance Harvey" at the AMC Lincoln Square Broadway attracted the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Lisa Kudrow, Emma Thompson, Director Ang Lee, and Bebe Neuwirth.

We've been waiting for the actual album release of "Chinese Democracy" by Guns N' Roses longer than Bruce Leroy waited to kiss Laura Charles in "The Last Dragon."

It goes on sale Sunday Nov. 23 at Best Buys across the nation.

But you can listen to it now on their MySpace page. The album is streaming at myspace.com/gunsnroses.

Go give it a listen. I know it's not the original group, but I'm a few songs into it and it's pretty decent. We'll be back later with Top 5 Thursday to count down the best Guns N' Roses songs of all time.

Last night I witnessed something truly amazing -- young people of all genders, races, ethnicities and cliques joined together on one dance floor. The location: Terminal 5 on Manhattan's far West Side. The performer: Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, was playing a sold out show, the third at the three-level venue this week.

Gillis, a Pittsburgh native, is a music mixing prodigy. He expertly cuts together samples from all genres (literally), even those that seemingly don't work together, like Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" with MIA's "Paper Planes," or Rush's "Come Sail Away" with Janet Jackson's "Feedback." Yep, those tracks were practically played back-to-back last night as Gillis clapped, jumped, headbanged and worked up a serious sweat on the stage, which was crowded with fans.

It was the first time in a long time that I felt old and somewhat out of place (where were the glowstick necklaces when I needed them)? But at the same time, it was cool. It was fun to watch the young'ns getting their groove on and lose their minds as confetti and toilet paper rolls were thrown into the masses. I ducked out early, well, because I'm no spring chicken anymore and had work this morning, but I could see the hundreds of balloons suspended in a net on the ceiling and just knew that come show close when they were dropped, the dance floor would still be pulsating and the crowd will still be going wild.

Gillis is obviously onto something here. All of his 2007 shows were sold out and he seems to be on the same track in '08. His fourth album, "Feed the Animals," was released officially in September but has been available for months as a download. Want to hear his style for yourself? Peep the video for one of the new tracks, below.

Photo by Donovan Fannon

Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise and Suri Cruise at the 2007 NYC Marathon (AP)

Scanning the wires this afternoon after a video shoot with "Disney on Ice" to see what "news" we may have missed, this headline popped up: "Suri Cruise tops Forbes.com list of 'Hottest Tots.'"

Are you freakin' kidding me? Hottest tots? Seriously? Really?

The world has now officially ended. No longer is the A-List hot enough for countdown lists. How about a top 10 list for Young Hollywood? Oh, how gauche!

We now live in a world that needs to count down the top 10 celebrity kids. Yes, folks, the world has just officially ended.

Forbes.com looked at a year’s worth of press clippings and Internet presence for more than 50 Hollywood kids, then narrowed the list. They even recruited E-Poll Market Research to get awareness scores.

What, their ability to walk in a somewhat straight line wasn't good enough? Or how quickly they can stack blocks? Their ability to keep down solid foods?

This is the second annual list done by Forbes, which ranks famous kids 5 years old and younger. Pet Rock will not link to the end of the world, but we're sure you'll know how to Google it.

How much longer until Mary Hart has a sit-down interview with Suri Cruise, or Pax Jolie-Pitt?

Last night's big event was the special screening of "Milk," a film about California's first openly gay elected official, with the cast including Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and James Franco. Beyonce hung out with the Rev. Al Sharpton at Gotham Magazine's annual gala and John Turturro and Salman Rushdie came out for the Moth Ball literary and charity event.

Click a photo to see pictures from each event.
Click here for all NYC photos from last night

Quite a showing at the special screening of "Milk"; some favorite "Office" stars, Jenna Fischer and Rainn Wilson, came out for the event and after party. Steve Buscemi, Jon Voight, former NYC Mayor Ed Koch and Juliette Lewis were among the guests.

Well, last night's episode of 'Heroes' was definitely a step up from last week's, but given that the bar was set so low, the new episode could have been an hour of Sylar doing the macarena and it would have looked like Citizen Kane by comparison.

Actually, wait, that would be awesome no matter what. Get on that, Team Heroes.

Otherwise, I don't have too much to say about last night's episode that I haven't already said about every installment this season, so I'll leave you with some quick hits:

- Why does Nathan leave that smoke ring around himself when he starts flying? Does he think the only time it's polite to break wind is right before he accelerates?

- Even money says Claire is a red herring. My guess is Hiro -- it's been established in flashbacks that he was brought to several Company meetings as a child, and his father would keep the catalyst where he could see it.

- Hiro vs. waffles is the epic fight we'd been waiting for all season. The final episode this season will be Hiro eating waffles as fast as Sylar can make them, at this rate.

- Parkman has his first real idea in two seasons. Pat on the back for you, Parkman. Well done.

- This episode promised revelations regarding the eclipses that've been haunting the show since its inception, right? So, um, did I blink and miss it?

- Sylar's special alone time with Kristen Bell (Elle) was painful to watch, but not in the way I think the writers meant it. Leave sappy, overdone, completely insipid romances for the shows without telekinesis, OK?

- On a related note, my girlfriend saw last week's post and wants me to state publicly that it's over between me and Kristin Bell and that I am very happy with my current romantic situation. Is she gone? OK, cool. That was a total lie. Kristen, baby, call me.

See photos from Season 3 of "Heroes"

-- Matt Weinberger

It started as a simple throwaway line based on someone else's e-mail. Now, it's my Facebook status and the subject of this week's edition of Old School Tuesday.

See, a pod-mate mentioned how Marconi plays the mambo. Big Cat and I jumped in, finished the line then sang the entire chorus of the quintessential '80s Starship jam "We Built This City."

We know we have problems. But we also know how much you love this song. So enjoy Old School Tuesday.

Whoa, mama, did you see that remarkably awful display of bad facial hair on "Gossip Girl" last night?

It's been more than 12 hours since first viewing and I'm still scarred. C'mon, people, if you're going to grow a mustache, then dadgammit, grow a mustache!

There's nothing worse than a half-hearted attempt at facial hair. Somewhere, Tom Selleck, Burt Reynolds and Mustache Madness champion Keith Hernandez are fuming!

Aaron, Serena's new sorta boyfriend, is sporting that "Hey, Mom, look, I can finally grow some facial hair so I won't shave it until it grows in, even though if i shaved it more often, it would actually grow in" look. Trust me, I know.

The Captain, Nate's dad, returned from exile in Dominica with some poor attempt at a mustache. If you look closely, he actually shaved the top half of his upper lip, too! Dear God, what did we do to deserve such treatment? Who in their right mind on the "Gossip Girl" production team decided to name this episode "The Magnificent Archibalds" and then deliver such a weak attempt at a mustache? The American Mustache Institute -- yes, it exists! -- should demand redemption!

While these photos from CW don't do the awfulness justice, last night's "Gossip Girl" played like an ode to a 1992 yearbook from any Levittown high school.

(To get a full facial faux paus, watch the full episode at cwtv.com/cw-video/gossip-girl

Fashion meets film meets philanthropy. Quite a night in Manhattan.

Click a photo to see pictures from each event.
Click here for all NYC photos from last night

Many came out to see the premiere of a movie that tells the story of the battle between journalist David Frost and President Richard Nixon. Director/producer Ron Howard, who has lost quite a bit of his Richie Cunnginham hair, was there with his wife Cheryl Howard. Kevin Bacon and daughter Sosie, Kyra Sedgwick, journalist Brian Williams and of course Frost himself were there.

Quite a fashion showing at this Vogue event last night. Maria Sharapova, Zac Posen, the georgious Charlize Theron with a way-out-of-his-league John Galliano (what's with the outfit?), Chanel Iman, Blake Lively and Agnyss Deyn. Fashion greats Vera Wang and Anna Wintour, with her daughter Bee Schaffer, came out.


What's better than dressing up with silly masks and helping kids at the same time? This benefit to aid children in disaster areas attracted SNL's Seth Meyers (he looked a little lonely without his co-anchor Amy Poehler, who is on baby-leave), The Donald and wife Melanie Knauss-Trump, Wyclef Jean, Molly Sims and model Petra Nemcova.