It's been a whole two and a half months since I last peeked under the dressing room door at the Clique Girlz, I wonder how the new kid is getting along.

Whoops! Apparently Sara got the boot six weeks ago. Whether the problem was that her name was too old-fashioned for sisters Destinee and Paris Monroe or that Jews are no longer the hot ethnic group for a teenybopper band, the Girlz may soon remedy the situation by acquiring a wise Latina named Keana Texeira. OK, Keana isn't officially in the group but she is the girlz' new BFF (though that last F is very conditional for Paree and Dentist). Also, I don't actually know if she's Latina. I just think she looks feisty and lacking in judicial temperament.

Anyway, it's getting to be a regular Thunderdome over there. If I were one of the Monroe sisters I'd be sleeping with one eye open.

4:32 PM :: Comments (2)

When we last left the Clique Girlz, Ariel Moore had just left the Clique Girlz. Depending on who you asked, the non-sister member of the tween supergroup was either fed up at not getting her share of the spotlight or not talented enough to deserve her share of the spotlight. Because the Clique Girlz standards are superhigh.

Well, as of a few weeks ago, Paris and Destinee Monroe have finally cast themselves a new best friend, and hold onto your yarmulkes — she's a Jewess! A brunette Jewess. There go the PTL gigs. This picture shows Sara Diamond joining Vienna and Densitee on the set of their new movie Help! Baby Bottle Pop commercial. And while all three girls are looking appropriately lickable, shakable and dunkable (hey, I didn't write the jingle), the new one seems like trouble. Not only does she have a preposterous first name, she's already working her de-aryanization program on the Monroe sisters by infecting Desitin with her un-blond hair.

If all this sounds vaguely un-American, perhaps it's because Sara is actually from — hold onto your toques — Canada! So what else do we know about this foreign Jewess who has penetrated the beloved Cliquez? Well, she's 14, she's a model-actress (hooker-waitress?), and she has a stage mother who was pushing her into tween pop even before the Clique gig. Oh, and she got her start writing and performing militant marching songs for Hebraic Canadian cabals.

So how are Clique Girlz fans reacting to the new member? Does the word Kristallnacht ring a bell? The knives are out over at the girlz' number one fan site. Sara is wearing Ariel's dress! She's stealing her lucky charms! (Somehow we've never discussed this here, but each of the girlz has symbol that "represents them as individuals." For instance, Paree has a pink princess crown because she's "the princess," while Ariel had the purple heart, because she's "the sweetheart." And because she took some shrapnel in the ass over in Nam.)

Breaking news: Under pressure from the Clique Girlz Youth, Sara has modified her symbol. She will now sport a yellow star red heart. Because: "I love friendship and stuff."

At least the Clique Girlz marketing team is getting somewhat more sophisticated. In the past, my blog posts have been flooded with different people all making the same pre-approved comments. This time, I was alerted to the arrival of Sara by one person commenting under different names both supporting and attacking her. Maybe in time for the next cast change they'll learn about IP addresses.

After the jump, more annotated pictures.

Continue reading "In event of Rapture, Clique Girlz will now be only 2/3 missing" »

1:49 AM :: Comments (5)

It's been seven months since I've mentioned Peter Landesman even in passing, nearly a year and a half since I wrote anything substantive about the man and three whole years since my last sustained blogging about his work. As far as I'm concerned, he's more gone and forgotten than an ex-Clique Girl.

But Landesman has never let go. He's been holed up in his cave, licking wounds, nursing grudges, waiting for the right moment to exact his revenge. And now he thinks he's found it. Yesterday he sent me (and Jack Shafer and Debbie Nathan) the following e-mail regarding a recent underage prostitution sting.

Dear Radosh,

Though many moons and stories have passed since our last correspondence, this was sent to me a couple days ago and I thought you'd be interested in seeing this. Much has happened in the last few years to support the thesis of the story, that sex trafficking in general - and the trafficking for sex of minors - is a serious and misunderstood problem in the US. But this operation appears to be the last necessary confirmation. 

Sunlight remains the best disinfectant. Even more so in the world of so-called media criticism. The good news for you is that it still costs nothing, both economically and in reporting time, to simply decide that one knows something to be true (or untrue), and to upload it. (Not that that has anything to do with reality.)

Best,

Peter Landesman

"Many moons and stories," indeed. It's no wonder you're in such demand as a Hollywood screenwriter. Well, you're certainly correct that it will cost me little effort to respond to this. For the sake of argument, let's agree that the thesis of your New York Times magazine article really was that "sex trafficking in general - and the trafficking for sex of minors - is a serious and misunderstood problem in the US." So... why are you telling me this? From the beginning I've made clear that "No one is saying sex slavery isn't a genuine problem" What I questioned was not your thesis but your facts and your presentation of them. My interest in this matter has never been sex trafficking but journalism — something you obviously haven't gotten any better at if you think the article you sent is at all relevant to our previous debate.

On some level, of course, you must know that the criticisms of your article are valid or you would not still, after all this time, be looking desperately for scraps of retroactive fact-checking to shore it up. Sadly, you'll have to keep searching. This report of sad but ordinary teenage prostitution has little to do with your lurid tales of child slavery, murder and perversion. The girls rescued this week were not kidnapped, broken in bizarre rituals and traded at Disneyland. As the FBI's Daniel Roberts says, "the vast majority of these kids are what they term 'throwaway kids,' with no family support, no friends." There are no big brothers undertaking dramatic rescue missions. Indeed, "throwaway" is a term I first encountered in an article by Debbie Nathan specifically refuting the perception of the sex trade caused by articles like yours.

The truth is, at the time you wrote your article, the prostitution rings busted this week would not even have been considered sex traffic in legal terms. That designation is the result of a 2007 law that expanded the definition of trafficking to cover not just the kind of international smuggling you wrote about but virtually all underage prostitution. Cynics say the expansion was necessary in part because after all the money the Justice Department threw at sex trafficking around the time your story came out, they simply weren't finding the tens of thousands of victims they expected. Maybe the change in the law was good, maybe it wasn't. Like you, I haven't looked into it enough to know.

But let's not get into that, shall we. I have no wish to reengage with you at all, but if we must, let it be over the unfinished business of your original article rather than any extraneous new developments. I have no reason to think you actually want to defend your work so I won't bother listing all the still unresolved questions about it. But just in case, I will start with one very, very easy one. Here's a paragraph from your article:

A neat subdivision and cycling path ran along the opposite bank. The San Luis Rey was mostly dry, filled now with an impenetrable jungle of 15-foot-high bamboolike reeds. As Castro and I started down a well-worn path into the thicket, he told me about the time he first heard about this place, in October 2001. A local health care worker had heard rumors about Mexican immigrants using the reeds for sex and came down to offer condoms and advice. She found more than 400 men and 50 young women between 12 and 15 dressed in tight clothing and high heels. There was a separate group of a dozen girls no more than 11 or 12 wearing white communion dresses. ''The girls huddled in a circle for protection,'' Castro told me, ''and had big eyes like terrified deer.''

It has since been conclusively proven that this scene never took place (according to the local health care worker herself). The girls, the communion dresses, the big eyes — they did not exist. And you could have found that out with a single phone call and a shred of journalistic skepticism. You want disinfectant, Peter? Please explain why you think that paragraph belonged in print, and if it did not, call the New York Times and request a correction. Until then we have nothing to talk about.

On the remote chance, however, that you are unable to keep your mouth shut, I request that all future communications take place in public, on this blog. No more personal contact. Ever.

11:03 AM :: Comments (8)

Clique Girlz third wheel Ariel Moore says her farewell in a YouTube video that is a sheer delight for fans of Lie to Me, the entertaining new TV show based on the work of behavioral scientist Paul Ekman, who has trained himself, as Malcolm Gladwell explained a few years back, to read people's minds based on fleeting "microexpressions" in their faces.

Here are a few freeze frames of expressions I probably wouldn't have registered before I started watching Lie to Me. Bearing in mind that I've never actually tried this before and that I'm not a hundred percent convinced it isn't all a load of hokum, I'm seeing... sadness tinged with disgust when she talks about her former bandmates and flashes of anger when she talks about her fans and her future.

And while we're studying Miss Moore's face, I feel compelled to revise my previous remarks about her physical attractiveness. Freed from the Clique Girlz heavy-handed stylists she's actually quite decent looking.

By the way, do you think it's really hard to be a guest actor on Lie to Me? If the whole premise is that your expressions give away your lies, how can they not give away your, you know, acting?

6:40 PM :: Comments (14)

In response to my post today about the Clique Girlz' candy-fueled comeback, Cr4Bdbgs' Dave Moore informs me that in the last few days there's been some trouble in the Clique clique. Specifically, "best friend" Ariel Moore is leaving the group. How did the Times miss this? Damn you, Judy Miller!

The fan buzz (yes, there is fan buzz) is that the sisters have been hogging the proverbial microphones, along with the actual ones, and that little mermaid "hasn't been happy for a long time and that there has been a lot of hatred, dishonesty, pain, suffering and emotional and physical and mental abuse from the manager of the group Lenore." And by manager, she means Destineeeee and Paris' mom. (Legal note: I can not personally vouch for this anonymous web gossip, and am in fact deeply, deeply troubled by it.)

It would take a truly despicable person to point out that at the precise moment when their career most needs a jump start, the Clique Girlz have managed to shed their, um, least conventionally attractive member. When I find that person, I will berate him for saying such obnoxious things about an ordinary teenage girl who just happens to want to be a pop star for a living.

Anyway, Ariel's fans are absolutely convinced that she'll have a monster solo career, so we've got that to look forward to.

If anyone happens to go to the casting call on Saturday, please report back. Gee, I had no idea you could "cast" a new best friend. I hope they get a blonde!

8:59 PM :: Comments (24)

It's been nearly two years since I declared the Clique Girlz — then simply Clique — to be the next Huckapoo. Which I suspect you took to mean that you'd never have to hear about them again except in my fevered rantappreciations. So how did "the youngest pop group in the history of music" go from being a bad joke on an obscure blog (and vice versa) to the front page of the New York Times arts section? To answer that, we must travel back, back, back to the primordial era before the birth of rock 'n' roll.

It is the most famous legend in American musical history. Bluesman Robert Johnson was at a crossroad in his career, as well as an actual crossroad on a road, and he saw his musical future slipping away from him. In this moment of weakness, Johnson sold his soul to the devil. In exchange, Satan made Johnson the greatest guitar player who ever lived.

Cut to the present day.

In their drive to become the Next Big Thing in teenage entertainment, the Clique Girlz have had more opportunities than most.

The youthful trio, backed by Interscope Records and the powerful Creative Artists Agency, have opened for the Jonas Brothers and appeared on “Today,” where Al Roker called them “Hannah Montana times three.” They sang in last year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Interscope has flooded YouTube with over 30 videos.

None of those sparks have started a fire. Instead, the Clique Girlz — Destinee Monroe, 14; her sister, Paris, 12; and their best friend, Ariel Moore, 14 — are in danger of washing out of the entertainment industry before their first full CD comes to market. So far, at least, digital downloads have been anemic, and play on Radio Disney, where programming is based on listener requests, has been modest at best.

But the Clique Girlz, who hail from Egg Harbor Township, N.J., have been thrown what could turn out to be a lifeline — and from no lesser a judge of talent than Michael D. Eisner, the former chief executive of the Walt Disney Company.

What did this shadowy "Michael D. Eisner" offer Destinie, Paris and Jasmine? Great talent? Please. This isn't the 1930s. No, in exchange for their immortal souls, the Clique Girlz got something far more valuable to today's aspiring pop tarts: an endorsement deal for Baby Bottle Pop, the candy treat that saved the Jonas Brothers at a similar low point. Yes, soon it will be preteen London and barely teens Destaney and Aurora who are singing that immortal jingle, "You can lick it, shake it and dunk it." Can you ever!

Continue reading "Hey little girlz, want some candy?" »

9:55 AM :: Comments (9)

Interscope: You want the Pussycat Dolls on your show? You're gonna have to take the Clique Girlz too.

Nashville Star: You know what? Nah.

1:55 PM :: Comments (4)

Hey, Washington Post, those aren't just any anonymous babes!

Here's the CG's recent network TV debut -- an off-key rendition of generic faux-humble contemporary Christian schlock. There are days when I'm genuinely depressed at having jokingly anointed the Clique Girlz as the successors to Huckapoo. What was supposed to be a throwaway joke about my failure as a prophet of pop is now haunting me, as the CGs actually do achieve the megastardom that is rightly Huckapoo's. Where is the justice?!

12:06 PM :: Comments (5)

Idolator discovers the Clique Girlz. You may have read about them here a few times in the past year.

6:12 PM :: Comments (6)

From late 2004 until at least a few months ago, doing a Google search for Huckapoo would return a link to my exhaustive (and exhausting!) coverage of that band somewhere in the top five results (the exact position alternating with the band's official site, its MySpace page, Wikipedia entry and my New York magazine feature).

Today I discovered that my Huckapoo coverage has been demoted to result number 603. That's right: there are 602 better sources of information about Huckapoo on the internets than Radosh.net, including Les artistes dont la premiere lettre est H.

Now, the upside of scrolling through seven pages of Huckapoo results is that I discovered the previously hidden photographic gem above (see two more from the set here). But the downside is, what the fuck happened over at Google?

Seriously, someone with some tech savvy needs to explain to me why or how my site has been blacklisted as a source for Huckapoo information — which surely someone other than me still looks for now and then.

Clues to this mystery after the jump.

Continue reading "It's a Huckanspiracy!" »

1:37 PM :: Comments (15)

I guess this means I know my stuff. Back when I first introduced Clique — now Clique Girlz — I wrote that I was getting a Christian vibe from them. And it's not like they were doing anything obvious like selling all their possessions and giving the money to the poor.

Well, looky who's performing this Thursday on Praise the Lord, the flagship program of the Trinity Broadcasting Company. Watch yer backs, Jump5!

9:30 AM :: Comments (2)

Remember Prussian Blue, the White Power Pop duo you first read about here and who later went on to become a media, if not musical, phenomenon? Back when, several commenters noted that when they hit their teens, there'd be, in Vance's words, "a teen rebellion phase so intense as to... blast the swastika off the proverbial horse."

Get ready. Jezebel has a clip from a new British documentary in which Lamb and Lynx, now 15, begin distancing themselves from all that racism stuff, to the horror of their shrewish, batshit crazy mom — who at one point calls Lynx a "cunt." Isn't British TV awesome?

The longer excerpts on YouTube temper Jezebel's optimism a bit. From the few minutes I watched, it seems that the girls have some way to go before they can officially be considered redeemed. It's possible mom's vision for the band will ultimately win out. Do the girls even have enough talent to draw an audience not based on ideology? Previously I would have said no way, but more recent recordings suggest that they could cultivate a lo-fi key of Z approach that might draw in the WFMU crowd.

Here's my promise, girls: repent publicly, dig up something to send mommy to prison (fake it if you must), and I'll be the first in line to download a pirated copy of your next CD.

[Hat tip: Abby]

9:06 AM :: Comments (6)

Remember Clique, the girl band that I promised was going to be the next big thing and that several of you pleaded with me to stop blogging about because it was creeping you out? Well they're now called Clique Girlz, they've been signed to Interscope and they have a track on the Bratz soundtrack.

I give them a year till rehab.

4:52 PM :: Comments (34)

Since I haven't been able to do much blogging this week, here's a quick installment of Clique vs. the Gemz. Team One are wholesome Christian post-toddlers who promote America. Team Two are fun-lovin' Jewish pre-hotties who promote Finger Lites Light Up Candy Rings. Choices, choices... Oh, look: Girl Authority has a new album out!

11:31 AM :: Comments (12)

Did I Clique too quick? That's what Dave wonders now that he's (re)discovered the Gemz (not to be confused with Jem and the Holograms), five girls aged 11 to 15 who refreshingly play down the pop tart angle in favor of a sexy tomboy one. Check out the rockin' title song from their new album, Blue is for Girls.

Don’t tell me I’m pretty / I live in my faded blue jeans / Don’t dress me in ribbons and pearls / because I believe blue is for girls

Right on. But can I tell you you're hott? (At least the 15 year old. I'm no perv.)

The different focus may have something to do with the fact that their Svengali is a Svengalette, an Israeli woman named Yamit Geiger, who sings sultry jazz standards. Not that the Gemz are above Huckapoo-like gimmicks. Did I mention that their "names" are Topaz, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire and Diamond? All of which go great with faded blue jeans.

I'm still devoted to my Clique, mind you, but it looks like we may be headed to a clash of the teenie titans. Feel free to take sides in the comments. But first, watch this terrif Gemz live medley which opens with an amazing pop punk song about "young boys" that would arguably make a lot more sense if it wasn't sung by even younger girls.

Young boys follow me around / They pick me up and they put me down / I love to go to town / with those young boys

My guess is it was originally written for the Donnas.

Update: The girl's real Svengalette may be their mother. Apparently the family was on Wife Swap in February. Here's their household rules.

We are the beautiful people; make no mistake about that. In my world beauty and talent equal money and power. I run an ultra-successful modeling agency where I am the judge of who's got "it" and who falls short. I love every minute of being a star maker.

Meanwhile, stage mom has apparently already killed off and replaced two of her daughter's original bandmates. Sleep with one eye open, girls.

11:01 AM :: Comments (6)

[More about Clique]

11:15 AM :: Comments (1)

Sometimes the use of "Let me explain" after the first paragraph of an article is worse than others.

Let me explain.

When Krugman and Wright recently used the annoying phrase, they at least had the excuse that it came after the statement of a far-fetched "theory" that actually did require explanation. My only argument was that they should have simply explained, without asking for permission (or, better yet, used a more straightforward lede). Zakaria used it after his "surprising" defense of Bush's environmental policy to assure readers right away that he hadn't lost his mind.

And then there's Eric Alterman in the NYT book review.

For a politician, Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York, turns out to be a terrific writer. But for Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, the opposite is true.

Allow me to explain.

Wait, wait! Let me see if I can guess: Rangel is a terrific writer for a politician. Schumer is a bad writer, but a terrific politician.

Yep, that's pretty much what the review says. As Vance points out, this is perhaps the first use of the "explain" hiccup regarding "a basic, common-sense, thoroughly comprehensible statement." I'm going home early.

2:31 PM :: Comments (11)

The girls of Clique may flirt chastely on MySpace, but so far they have resisted entreaties to unfold the delicate petals of their official web site. Fortunately, as Melanie Martinez taught us, it doesn't count if you slip in through the back door.

So what can we learn from the hidden home of Ariel, Destinee and Paris? (It's annoying, but one must use their names in every post or else Googlers will never find it. One thing Brian Lukow got right was the importance of choosing a name that will top search results right off the bat.) Well for starters, these girls love to have their pictures taken. Or at least, Sal Dupree loves to take their pictures. Seriously, one page of photos would probably be sufficient. (There is some evidence that Cousin Dupree is not actually the mastermind behind Clique, but for my purposes he'll do; more on that later.)

In the bio, there is some information that got taken out of the MySpace version, most notably that before Clique, Ariel Moore and Destinee Monroe were in a "girl pop singing group" with "another young girl from Connecticut." Anyone with details on this proto-Clique is requested to please pass them on.

But let's cut to the chase. If you leave the bio page open for a few minutes — or you may have to click on the MTV Overdrive link and then wait — you'll be treated to samples of several previously unheard Clique songs. I think these girls have recorded more songs than Huckapoo did in their entire career (and released just as many albums!). Admittedly, some of these are half-assed ballads, but the opening track is an insanely infectious dance number that deserves to go straight to the top of the pop tart charts. Go ahead and check it out, you will not be able to get it out of your head.

That said, the song's lyrics raise some important questions, which I will address after the jump. Join me there. It'll be fun. As an enticement, there's a photo of Destinee looking totally metal.

Continue reading "Exploring Clique's secret places" »

11:00 AM :: Comments (16)

Presenting Clique in "Image is Everything," with your host, Cousin Sal Dupree.

"OK, ladies, this Juli B. party is gonna be your red carpet debut. It's a big deal. Dominique Swain will be there. Whaddayamean ya never heard of Dominique Swain? She played Lolita. You know Lolita, right? Come to my office later and we'll Google it. Anyways, the first thing you gotta learn is how to pose for the paparazzi. You only get one chance to make a first impression, even if that impression is "retarded pirates." Now, get together. What's the short one's name? That's right, Paris. In the middle. Let's have a little physical contact. Someone put her arm around Paris. No, not the sister. That's too creepy. You, the other one, Ariel. Great. Destinee, give me The Look. Betty Bacall, that's what look. Chin down, eyes up. Kids these days! Now, how 'bout a little Claudette Colbert. Your knee, bend one knee a little bit. 'Cause it's sexy, that's why. You're almost teenagers dammit, start acting like it. There! That's perfect! Now remember: whenever you see a camera, pose exactly like this."

"Wait, something's missing. The outfits. They're too... plain. Yes, plain. You look practically Amish, fercrissake. I know, anyone got any sunglasses? There we go!"

"Now just make sure they spell your names right. I worked hard to come up with those, no matter what this guy says. This is ain't no MySpace now, this is the big leagues."

Update: Now practice holding the pose even if some creepy old guy sneaks into the frame and grabs your ass.

12:58 PM :: Comments (2)

The search is over. Boys and girls, meet Clique, "the youngest pop group in the history of music." Citation needed, as they say at Wikipedia, but at ages 10, 11 and 12, Ariel Moore and sisters Destinee and Paris Monroe are certainly precocious. After a few minutes on their MySpace I'm officially ready to declare them the Next Huckapoo. No shit, they are that good.

I know you don't believe me, but consider the evidence.

1. They have a song called Worth the Wait, which is only, like, the most awesomely creepy/sexy title possible for a song by pre-teen pop tarts. But more importantly: go listen to it. It genuinely rocks. While you're there, listen to The Girl Who Rules the World. Now tell me these girls don't have It.

2. Their names are Paris, Ariel and Desineeee (I know how to spell it, I just don't know when to stop!). As far as I can tell, these are the names their parents gave them, but if not, they were most likely the gift of...

3. This guy. Yep, that's their Svengali, who goes by the absolutely perfect name of Sal Dupree. No offense to Brian Lukow, but if you want to build an empire by exploiting little girls, I think you have to be a Sal Dupree. In fairness, I know nothing about the man, other than his name and what he looks like, which is probably enough. Oh, and he's got a whole harem of acts, none of whom are quite as awesome as Clique, but feast your eyes and ears on Elizabeth, Alexis, Stevi, Brandy, Bianca, Brittany, and Nikki. I'm beginning to think Sal did give the Clique girls their names.

Wait, here's the whiff of scandal you were looking for: "Something bad happened between Tiffany and Sal Dupree and she was no longer associated with him or his company..." Something bad? Please let it involve adult sophisticated magazines.

4. They're Jersey girls, so nothing else matters in the whole wide world, right?

5. They've already been fugged.

6. I can't prove anything, but I'm getting a Christian vibe. Maybe that's just God's way of telling me to stop this blog nonsense and get back to work on the book.

That's all I know about them now. Anything you can fill in, Dave?

More, much more, as these girls this story develops. Meanwhile, big thanks to J for the life-changing tip. After the jump, more photos.

Continue reading "Is it Granada I see or only Asbury Park?" »

12:56 PM :: Comments (20)