Jersey Shore Girl Crashes Car Into 2 Italian Cops

"Jersey Shore" star "Snooki", aka Nicole Polizzi, reportedly crashed into an Italian police vehicle while in Florence filming the current season of the MTV hit show.

"Jersey Shore" star "Snooki", aka Nicole Polizzi, reportedly crashed into an Italian police vehicle while in Florence filming the current season of the MTV hit show. Looks like the reality star won't be just calling cabs to the club or hailing taxis when she's reached stumbling intoxication - she's no longer licensed to drive in the country and won't even be able to take herself to the tanning bed.

It appears "Snooki" was driving with fellow "Shore" star Deena Cortese when she unwittingly crashed into the back of the Italian police car guarding her and her co-star. She was driving one of the cast's blue Fiat Multipla cars when she tried to squeeze in between a cement wall and the cop car. She ended up scraping the side of the vehicle so badly Cortese was forced to exit the car through the window. Late Monday night the production company said the accident was only minor. However, two Italian police officer were seen rolling into an ambulance on stretchers. The cops escaped with only cuts and bruises. Funny, the same was said about two of the other "Jersey" characters after their brawl earlier in the season. Amazingly, it has been said that there was no alcohol involved with the accident. Maybe the breathalyzers in Italy work differently than the ones used in the states...

"Snooki" was not arrested. But if she is tried in the Italian court system, it would only add an international offense to her existing record. She was also arrested last season while filming in Seaside Heights. The highly publicized incident involved her uncontrollable drunkenness on the beach, despite the calming efforts of her cast friends, and ended in her being hauled away in handcuffs spewing inappropriate curses and insisting she was "a good person". She was charged with disorderly conduct. The whole event was a highlight of the season.

"Snooki"s latest mistake will undoubtedly become a major scene of the next "Jersey Shore" season. The cast is constantly followed by filming crew, so it is only a matter of time until the world will watch her crash scene, over and over. The sad part about making millions to party in Miami and exotic foreign locations is that any stupid things said and done will be replayed for the world to watch again and again. It is in deed only a small price to pay, when you're being paid millions.

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What Does the Rebecca Black Case Tell us About the Relationship Between the Internet and the Music Industry?

Rebecca Black's YouTube video has had over eight million hits and the download version of the song hit number one on the week of release

Before the internet era, people needed to display talent in order to become famous and successful. Word of mouth spread news of a few talented singers and actors who went on to make it big and become legends. This is no longer the case, the internet can shoot anyone to stardom in a matter of days, but not necessarily because they display talent. Rebecca Black is a name on everyone’s lips at the moment, but not for the right reasons. The thirteen year-old American recently released what is almost universally agreed to be the worst song ever.

Despite this, her cringe-worthily bad ditty – Friday, receiving vitriolic criticism from all over the globe, her YouTube video has had over eight million hits and the download version of the song hit number one on the week of release. We all know that the internet and music have never happily gone hand in hand but does this phenomenon fly in the face of all the criticism that has been launched at the internet for making artists lives tough?

The fact remains that file transfer programmes are damaging to industry but the Rebecca Black case does go some way to proving that a renegotiation is happening between producers, vendors and consumers of music. We all seem to be in agreement that Friday is a god awful song, if this is the case then would it have received so much recognition without the internet? Record label bosses would dismiss it in a second.

You allowed Black to become a hit with little talent. The success of the song however was a result of social networks like Twitter popularising the video. It’s not all sunshine and lollipops however, the song attracted a hive of attention, but hardly any of it was good. Black was in fact receiving death threats by the time her song had gone viral.

This demonstrates the power of social networking, it made Black a star and proved that the music industry and music can indeed co-exist harmoniously. It also highlighted a darker side to the internet however, which allows a convenient conduit for people expressing their views all too freely. The net is often celebrated for giving a voice to millions and reversing the traditional top-down model of broadcast journalism, but is this such a good thing when a thirteen year old girl can be subject to such a hate campaign?

The marriage of the internet and music industry has not always been a happy one, and the Black case surely showcases both extremes of social networking, both positive and negative.

Joe is a keen culture blogger who currently works for a company offering van contract hire.

Music Maven: How Melissa Darby is Changing Business as Usual

Darby and other hip-hop enthusiasts (such as Marc Matsui and both members of Blue Scholars, a highly-touted local group) formed the Student Hip-hop Organziation of Washington (SHOW) to make live hip-hop performances accessible for the under-21 crowd

Hip-hop has traditionally been a Boys Club. Generally speaking, there are a lack of notable female musicians making headlines. Even concert promotion is a male-dominated game, a tough and often ruthless business where the weak are exploited and tossed aside whenever “the next big thing” comes along.

However, one Seattle woman is holding her own. Melissa Darby has become the go-to girl for booking hip-hop shows of all sizes in the city. Better known as the ubiquitous “Meli,” Darby is a true power-player in the hip-hop scene. Her motivation lies more in shaping hip-hop culture than pocketing a quick buck. As head of Reign City (formerly Obese Productions), Meli produces a substantial percentage of all the hip-hop shows that come through Seattle. In addition, she is the talent buyer for the Nectar Lounge, a Fremont venue that has quickly established itself as one of the city's premiere clubs, in large part due to the national and locally recognized acts Meli brings in.

Darby's business ventures stem from a love of music she developed at a young age. She was involved with the Old Fire House, an underage Redmond venue famous for debuting some of the Northwest's most notable musicians including Modest Mouse and Elliot Smith. In Seattle, underage shows were few and far between because of the ‘90s Teen Dance Ordinance, which greatly restricted the availability of all ages shows. Meli and other like-minded individuals felt that the ordinace unfairly targeted hip-hop shows in particular, greatly stifling the growth of the burgeoning culture.

Darby and other hip-hop enthusiasts (such as Marc Matsui and both members of Blue Scholars, a highly-touted local group) formed the Student Hip-hop Organziation of Washington (SHOW) to make live hip-hop performances accessible for the under-21 crowd. Over a span of five years, SHOW put on many successful underground hip-hop shows, every single one of them all-ages.

Eventually, members of the group disbanded to pursue their own respective interests, and Darby started Obese Productions, whose signature logo could be found on the promotional flyers for almost all the notable shows in Seattle until very recently. Booking gigs for nationally-touring groups gave Obese the opportunity to showcase local acts as openers, helping to foster the burgeoning local scene that would eventually draw the eye of mainstream media moguls. Obese did all the shows, big and small, with Meli occasionally booking shows she knew would lose money—just to give deserving artists the spotlight and a shot at an attracting an audience.

This kind of grassroots promotion is Darby's mission; helping artists grow and reach new fans, by teaching them how to promote themselves and become well-rounded entrepreneurs. Darby's business values should inspire businesswoman in all industries, big and small. With plenty of heart, hustle and authenticity, she has risen to the top ranks in a male-dominated scene. She remains untarnished in a music culture prone to artifice and greed, putting hip-hop culture first and her own financial success second.

Edward Stern is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on electrician school for the Guide to Career Education.