Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails founder and mastermind, has taken his new found label-free life one step further and is giving away his new album, The Slip, for free. Take that Radiohead! Skip the step of guilt-free giving what you *think* the album’s worth, and just give the whole thing away for free.

NIN’s has a rabid fan base and most would gladly pay for the album, but Trent, being the gadfly in the music industry wanted to give back to his fans and what a tremendous goodwill gesture. Click here to download The Slip. Also, for those fans who want something they can touch, Reznor says there will be “physical products” in the July.

No word yet on whether Trent will be allowing me to give him a free back rub. Just kidding, well, not really, but yeah.

And no, this isn’t going to be a post where I pull out stale jokes about how stupid rednecks are.  It’s a positive thing that country singer Gretchen Wilson decided to finish her high school education:

Despite all her successes, the 34-year-old singer and songwriter was one of 20 percent of Tennesseans without a high school diploma. But no longer.

Wilson, who dropped out in ninth grade, passed her General Educational Development exam in April and will don a cap and gown during a May 15 graduation ceremony.

Wilson told The Tennessean that her 7-year-old daughter was the big reason to finally finish, saying, “I certainly don’t want her to think you can be this successful without an education.”

Good on her.  I’m serious.  Too many of our young people are dropping out of high school without finishing their educations, which seriously limits their chances of going on to college and at furthering themselves in the workplace.  Too many high school dropouts are ending up on welfare or hooked on drugs.  Certain entertainers have perpetuated (as part of their tough image) the thinking that you don’t need education to be successful; but the truth is that nearly a third of high school students drop out before graduating, are three times more likely to be unemployed, and are eight times more likely to be incarcerated.

On a related note, my kids and I happened to see Gretchen at a free concert last year.  They were surprised at how little she was…we were watching the jumbo screens and you could barely see her on the long stage shots.  This is a seriously tiny woman!

No, not the Caddy.  News is that Britney is going to get to spend Mother’s Day with her sons:

The troubled singer, 26, will get to spend the day with her two sons — Sean Preston and Jayden James — thanks to improving relations with her ex-husband Kevin Federline, who has agreed to let the boys spend May 11 with their mom. […]

A family friend told Life & Style magazine that the wannabe-rapper is considering granting Britney overnight visits with the kids, after she filed a formal request with the courts.

The insider said: “He hasn’t said yes yet, but he’s considering it.”

And despite their prolonged custody battle, sources claim the couple are back on good terms with one another.

Kevin apparently refers to Britney as his “lady” and Spears ends calls by telling her former husband that she loves him.

One pal said: “It’s such a huge change. It hasn’t been like this between them in forever.”

Well, well, well.  Dad Jamie swooped in, kicked butt and took names, and Britney has discovered that if you follow the rules and take your meds and play nicely and don’t run with scissors, you get to do more things.  When I first started writing for GlossLip, I didn’t think this day would come…but look, it’s here!

I want Brit to get well so I can go back to picking on her clothing choices and appalling taste in music, because kicking somebody when they are down just isn’t cool.  I’m glad she’s gotten the help she so desperately needed, and I’m glad that this is my first Brit story in quite a while…it means her life is going good and there’s nothing for me to say about it.  :)  Now, if we can convince Amy Winehouse that this is the best way to go…

On another note, what do you think about the growing closeness between Brit and former husband Kevin?  Do you think they’ll get back together?  For all his faults, he really does seem to understand her and he has, in the past, been able to get her to listen.  Maybe all the drama of the past couple of years has made them both grow up.  Who knows, maybe they can even work things out.  There’s been stranger stuff happen.

Have a happy Mother’s Day, Britney!

I love Toby Keith.  Not only is he the hawtness, with a great sense of humor to boot, and his voice is to die for, but he’s a huge supporter of our troops and goes out of his way to entertain them.  But at a recent show in Afghanistan, it seems the locals didn’t appreciate his vocal stylings:

Keith and his band were in the middle of the song “Weed With Willie” when mortar fire on the base in Kandahar erupted, sending the band and the troops looking for cover.

“We all ran about 100 yards to a concrete bunker,” Curt Motley, the singer’s agent who was with him on the USO tour, told People.

Keith is currently on an 18-show USO tour throughout the Persian Gulf.

The singer and his bandmates stayed inside a bunker with the soldiers for about an hour, reportedly signing autographs and posing for photos to pass the time.

Once they were given the sign it was all clear, the country star returned to the stage, against the advice of military personnel.

“He went right to the verse he was in and finished his show!” Motley told People.

What a class act, to go out there and finish the show for our brave men and women in the Armed Forces.  They deserve the best we have (so let’s please not send Jessica Simpson any more).

This is the second post I’ve done this week about a country singer who could show some of these primadonna so-called “stars” a thing or two about professionalism and how to get things done.  Do you think Toby had to have a red carpet surrounded by scented candles just to walk to a stage on a military base?  Or perhaps he refused to sing for the troops unless he had a certain brand of water, chilled to just the right temperature, and some PLAIN (not peanut, or heads will roll) M&M’s?  Or maybe he would have threatened to storm out in a huff if someone couldn’t find wheatgrass juice and he forgot his black nail polish (a possibility that Trace Adkins, another country star, had to deal with concerning the Backstreet Boys on the season finale of The Apprentice, something which still gives me lulz)?

So you can forget the wheatgrass juice and the candles and the fawning sycophants waiting to wipe a star’s behind each time they fart gold.  Give me a real star like Toby Keith any day (preferably gift wrapped, but include the hat and boots, please).  One Breath Of Fresh Air Award for my man Toby, and put it on my tab.

Glosslip is excited to be a part of nationwide campaign to help eliminate the suffering of those who don’t have enough resources or money to buy food for their families. Of all the things we do here, being in a position to raise awareness for a good cause is what makes running this site worthwhile.

We will be posting about this again as the donation date draws closer, but in the meantime, please feel free to spread the word to your family, friends and neighbors about this great initiative. Here’s a press release about the program:

On Saturday, May 10, 2008 , the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will collect food donations to benefit those at greatest hunger risk in an effort to fight hunger during the NALC’s annual Stamp Out Hunger! food drive.

Beyond the Call of Duty…

• The Stamp Out Hunger! drive is a nationwide effort to provide food to local food banks and pantries, which would otherwise have depleted stocks during the summer months, to help feed the hungry on a daily basis.

• The nation’s 230,000 letter carriers will be collecting food donations in more than 10,000 local communities and delivering them to food bank members of America ’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network and other hunger relief organizations.

• Last year the letter carriers collected more than 70 million pounds of food from generous Americans, bringing their impressive total to more than 836 million pounds since 1993.

• Campbell Soup Company is supporting this important initiative by kicking off the food drive with a national donation of one million pounds of soup and other food and beverage items that will be donated to food banks across the country.

The Face of Hunger…

• According to the America ’s Second Harvest, 35 million Americans are food insecure, hungry or at risk of hunger. Approximately one in four people in a soup kitchen line is a child.

You Can Help…

• Helping Stamp Out Hunger! is as easy as checking your mailbox. Just leave a bag of non-perishable food where your letter carrier normally delivers your mail. Your letter carrier will then pick up and deliver the food to a local food bank. Examples of non-perishable items include:

• Canned soup

• Canned meats and fish

• Canned juices

• Canned vegetables and fruits

• Boxed goods (such as cereal)

• Pasta and rice

• To find out more about the annual Stamp Out Hunger! effort in your community, ask your letter carrier, contact your local post office or visit www.helpstampouthunger.com.

Please take part in this simple, yet tremendously kind effort to help those in need.

I’m no Oprah fan by any stretch, but I am a Simon Cowell fan, mainly because he tells it like it is, he isn’t pretending to be something he is not, and he’s nice to his mother.  And apparently the acid-tongued judge has a heart under all that gruff and bravado (which I’ve known all along):

Simon Cowell has paid off a family’s £80,000 [$160,000] mortgage after being touched by the plight of their three-year-old daughter, who has a rare form of cancer. […]

Cowell, who was on the programme to promote his X-Factor starlet Leona Lewis, was close to tears after watching a video interview with Madelaine’s parents, Randy and Amy, in which they told of the financial burden of her treatment.

When Miss Winfrey brought on the couple and introduced them to Cowell, he told them: “I know you are having problems with your mortgage. As of this afternoon, your mortgage has been paid off.”

Since Madelaine was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer last month after developing a cyst in her nose, the Stoens have had to travel more than 100 miles from their Minnesota home each day for treatments.

Madelaine, who is starting to lose her hair, faces a year of being in and out of hospital as she undergoes radiation treatment.

Later Cowell told Miss Winfrey: “The money for me is not the important part. It’s when you see that film and that little girl.

“I said to the parents, ‘It doesn’t stop there. If there are any problems, I’m her guardian angel now.’”

Now that’s what I’m talkin’bout.  Stars who give back, who put their money where their mouth is, who don’t act like their footsteps are gold and their money is best kept to themselves.  While Simon certainly has enough money to buy himself racy sports cars and expensive toys, he doesn’t keep all his money to himself.  This amount is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket to Simon, but it’s a huge amount to this family, and he realizes that.  Despite what people might think, I’ve not got a problem with stars buying outlandish, expensive stuff for themselves…as long as they realize it’s all temporal, and become involved, not just throw money at something and forget about it two seconds later.

If more stars would act like Simon, I’d be out of a job.  To whom much is given, much is required.

Our prayers are with this little girl and her family.

Of cash, that is…reports are that Davey Boy is a big tipper when it comes to restaurant service that he likes.  For a tab of around $100, he left a $1000 tip while celebrating after a charity football soccer game with his teammates:

It was early November when a few boys from the LA Galaxy came to the Pub. They come in from time to time because the crowd at Joxer’s knows their football and nobody treats the boys too special. […]

The team didn’t go party-crazy. The boys just had beer and pub snacks. David only drank mineral water. He’s much taller than I thought. Becks signed autographs for anyone who asked. […] I asked for a picture and he had one of the players hold the camera! Can I just say he smelled so nice! Really! I hugged him so tight and he didn’t mind at all. Everyone was in good spirits.

When I gave them their tab, David snatched it away from his mates. They argued with him a bit but he just looked at them and told them to hush up. I know your website likes tipping stories so you’ll love this: The tab was about $100 and Becks had just added a zero to $1,000! - A $900 tip! I had to ask him if it was correct. He just said, “It is. Is Giggs still your favorite player?” “Not anymore!” On a day where the Galaxy played for charity, David really meant it! I know it’s not a windfall of cash but the tidy sum helped me fix my ailing car and get a cavity filled so it meant a lot to me. What a magical evening! Thank you, David!

Is this a common occurrence?

“David certainly tips well, usually because of good service,” said Beckham’s spokesman.

Now that’s what I’m talkinbout.

I know I’m hard on the Beckhams…I think Mad Posh is a bit too stuck on her own self-promotion and I’m not so sure Davey is all that bright (and sorry, I don’t think he’s the studly muffin most others seem to think he is), but I will say this about them…they do seem to be genuinely devoted to one another and to their childen, and if this story is true then that gets big props in my book.  Waiters and waitresses work hard, it’s only fair to give them their due, and more if the service was exceptional.  This certainly qualifies for a Breath Of Fresh Air Award!

(Mad Posh and RoboKatie, however, not so much.  Boo, hiss.)

Hey, David…if you ever make it to Alfredo’s in New York, leave a good tip and tell them GlossLip sent you!

YES!  I want to marry this man and have his children.

LAPD Chief William Bratton thinks the new so-called Britney’s Law proposed by councilman Dennis Zine is a bucket of hooey, points out that there are already laws in place to deal with overzealous paparazzi, and thinks she and her celebutard friends should, oh, I don’t know, STAY HOME:

What we need is Britney Spears to stay home instead of traipsing all over town. That would solve the problem. We don’t need additional laws…. I’ve got laws coming out my ears to deal with this issue.

What you have is several young women in this town and several young men basically making fools of themselves and tying up not only my resources but the resources of the media that would do better covering legitimate stories instead of a bunch of airheads running around out there….

Quite clearly some of these characters so favored by the paparazzi are clearly in need of services. Not police services, but psychiatric services.

It’s pure genius.  I can’t possibly add anything to it.  So simple, so pure, so fully packed.

Give this man a Breath Of Fresh Air Award, and while I’m at it…

PWNED!

That’s because everyone’s favorite nottie, Paris Hilton, has been banned from the Oscars.

Yep, you read it correctly…Paris has been given the old heave-ho by Academy Awards organizers and told that she’s not wanted there…mainly because her latest film The Hottie and the Nottie totally tanked at the box office, bringing in about $25,000 (or $225 per theater showing it).  I mean, how far down on the level of bad do you have to descend to be completely and utterly snubbed by the very people who are as close to your peers as you’ll ever have?

The Daily Star said it best, I can’t possibly put it any better than this, and I’m not even going to try:

Paris Hilton’s fairy godmother has furnished her with a £2million [$3.9M USD] outfit for the Oscars.

But the wonky-eyed Cinderella won’t be going to the ball.

The blonde irritant, 27, has been leaking her eyes all over ugly sister Nicky, 24, after being refused a chance to get her publicity fix at the swish ceremony next Sunday.

Ever the presumptuous and stingy carbuncle, Paris blagged a bum-clenchingly expensive dress and diam-onds from designer Kira Plastinina.

But her latest movie The Hottie And The Nottie has been voted the worst in history by users of film bible IMDB. So organisers of the ceremony have pointed out that giving her an invite would be like sending Jim Davidson a VIP ticket to a Gay Pride party.

Our man in the pumpkin said: “She cried hot, salty tears when she was banned from the Oscars.

“She’s desperate to be taken seriously as an actress and hoped she would be able to network with the film bods.”

Unfortunately, Paris’s greatest screen glory was in night-vision in her infamous 2004 grumble flick 1 Night In Paris which she made with her equally wooden ex Rick Salomon, 40. Rather gallingly for Paris, she actually had to do real work to promote her latest offering to the silver screen, which sees her push the boundaries of character acting as the “Hottie”.

A gossiping mouse squeaked: “She’s tempted to go to the parties afterwards, but might wear her trademark brunette wig to save her dignity.”

So if any Prince Charmings find a glass slipper by Chateau Marmont sniff the OdorEater for traces of Paris.

PWNED!

Awww…how could you not love that face?

Uno, a 15″ beagle, won Best In Show last night at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show held in New York City:

The judge could hear Uno, the 15-inch beagle, baying as he gave his once-over to the standard poodle. And when he completed his observations, he needed four minutes before he pointed to the winner: Uno, the beagle, or Ch. K-Run’s Park Me In First, who will turn 3 in May.

Snoopy would be pleased. His breed, long passed over for glory, had finally triumphed.

“He’s the most perfect beagle I’ve ever seen,” [Best In Show judge Dr. J. Donald] Jones said at a news conference, where Uno hopped on the judge’s legs trying to get at his water.

“If you saw him, you saw that perfectly smooth locomotion. Not one muscle went the wrong way. Look at his face, you melt right down.”

He added: “That was a beautiful lineup of dogs. I’d give this dog a 10.”

Last night also marked the first time in the history of the show that a beagle, one of the most popular breeds of dog in the USA, has taken home the big prize:

Jones had not been aware that his choice of a beagle was unprecedented.

“That’s wonderful!” he said, and turned to Aaron Wilkerson, Uno’s 29-year-old handler, and said, “You’re a first, young man.”

Asked why he thought no beagle had ever won best in show at Westminster before, Jones said, “Maybe the others just didn’t have it.”

By now, Uno’s baying at Wilkerson had accelerated, as had the insistent east-west wagging of his tail. His showman’s cool had evaporated.

“He talks to him,” Jones said in admiration. “What a personality.”

Congratulations to Uno, and to all the dogs at the WKC show.  You don’t make it there without being a champion to start with, so this was the cream of the crop of purebred canine breeds.  After all, as David Frey pointed out last night, the ethical purpose of breeding purebred dogs by loving owners is to keep the standards of that breed alive, the things that each particular breed has been known for and bred to perform over millenia.

But there are so many unethical breeders and owners out there, and unforunately many animals end up abused, hurt, neglected, and unwanted.  We here at GlossLip are animal lovers, and we encourage you to make a visit to your local animal shelter when it comes time to choose a forever furry friend.  There are many dogs and cats there who are in desperate needs of good, loving homes.  Plus, at dogsrule.com (Pedigree sponsored the show), you can not only find a new adoptable pet, but you can also find ways to donate to help animals in need.  If nothing else, make a trip to your local shelter with a bag of food and some doggie toys.  And, as always, spay and neuter your pets.

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Uno’s win!