The Roots to be Jimmy Fallon’s house band (?!)

Talk about things falling apart: in recent interview footage posted on a hip hop web site, ?uestlove, drummer and mastermind behind the seminal and socially conscious hip hop group The Roots, says his band is retiring to be JIMMY FALLON‘S HOUSE BAND once Fallon takes over The Conan O’ Brien Show next year. However, the video was recently yanked from the site.

Is it all an elaborate hoax? An “I’m Fucking Matt Damon” kind of prank?

Have you heard any thing about this on your end? The Roots! What’s next, Public Enemy playing the intro music for Chelsea Lately?

Chelsea Handler chimes in on Prop 8

Like a lot of celebrities, comedian/talk show host Chelsea Handler and her little nugget Chuey have recorded this very helpful Public Service Announcement urging California voters to vote NO on Proposition 8, which calls for a repeal of the gay marriage law in the state:

Thanks to Chelsea and Chuey for standing up for equality.

The Washington Post Q&A Chelsea Handler

The Washington Post‘s Book World had a fun online Q&A with Chelsea Handler yesterday. Chels is one of my favorite girls because her books make me laugh, her talk show makes me raise my eyebrows, and she generally keeps on keeping it real.

The Book World piece features questions from readers around the nation, so a lot of the queries are mundane, including at least one marriage proposal and an offer for a date.

Still, some of Chelsea’s answer are quippy and she’s her usual forthright self even when it comes to the Hollywood elite – if you call Lindsay Lohan and Jimmy Walker of television’s Good Times the Hollywood elite. She also rags on VP nominee Sarah Palin a few times.

Here are a few exchanges I liked:

Buffalo, NY: What was pageant life like around all the other pageant girls? I don’t see you as the typical pageant personality.

Chelsea Handler: I was obviously in distress as a 15 yr old with raging hormones. Pageantry is not something I look back on fondly. Although, I had a blast. They told me I need to lose 15 pounds.

Bethesda, MD: I loved your midget bowling segment which was on your show the other night. Did you have to sleep with Jimmy Walker to get him to the show? Dynomite!

Chelsea Handler: i sleep with jimmy walker every thursday just for s***s and giggles.

Arlington, VA: Hey Chelsea, love the show. Love Chuy‘s outfits – whoever does his wardrobe deserves a raise.

The current mess of a presidential campaign has me depressed. Will reading your book cheer me up?

Will reading your book with a bottle of Grey Goose cheer me up more?

Chelsea Handler: yes it will. and tonight on the show, we will be going off about the state of our country and that lunatic, sarah palin.

Working Girl, FL: Do you have any more respect for Lindsay Lohan now that she’s gone gay and has also spoken out against that nut Sarah Palin?

Any chance I can snag a date with your little nugget?

Chelsea Handler: i am a fan of lindsay lohan now that she is a full-on gay. i think it’s a great thing.

Do you watch Chelsea Lately? Have you read either of Chelsea’s books?

10 best books I’ve read in the last six months

No, these books are not all recent releases, but they floated my boat enough for me to want to recommend them to you:

1. Old Money by Wendy Wasserstein. A great and funny play about the gentrification of New York City over time. Wasserstein does an excellent job illustrating the effects that industrialization and its New Money had on NYC at both the turn of the 20th Century and that century’s zeitgeist.

2. The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead by David Callahan. Callahan makes a convincing argument that the decline of decency in corporate and individual behavior is rooted squarely in capitalism. The book is copyright 2004 and believe me, it shows. Former Governor of New York Elliot Spitzer is still a hero and not the buffoon (Client #9) who racked up tens of thousands of dollars of debt to a call girl.

3. Are You There Vodka, It’s Me, Chelsea? by Chelsea Handler. The rare television talk show host who shoots from the hip. Her “memoir” is sharp and funny and she’s not afraid to make herself unloveable.

4. Blue Angel by Francine Prose. A scary novel about a middle-aged creative writing professor who falls in love with his manipulative protege.

5. A People’s History of the United States 1492-Present by Howard Zinn. I know, it took me long enough. It was a joy to read a history book that’s devoid of idiotic mythology.

6. Hubert’s Freaks: The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus by Gregory Gibson. A great book of non-fiction about one man’s quest to solve a mystery about vintage books and old tymey New York freak shows.

7. Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield. A great book for music lovers who want to reminisce and have their hearts broken.

8. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. A frighteningly dreamy look at a society that has traded chance for science. The characters in this book haunt me.

9. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. A romantic and modern novel about love and sacrifice.

10. White Teeth by Zadie Smith. Another “academic novel” about an interracial relationship between a professor and his student that jeopardizes the structure of two families.

Now you give me your recommendations!