Hello! Magazine has a new interview with Gwyneth Paltrow in which she’s promoting her upcoming role in Country Strong I guess. She sounds somewhat less insufferable than she normally does, and I think that’s due to how glowingly she talks about her children. Goopy is still firmly ensconced in her own butt, but she’s peering out at the world enough to notice her kids. She gives quotes about how she’s so happy to embrace American culture again through her upcoming role, and also talks about Madonna, claiming they’re still friends. Here’s Hello’s interview, which didn’t even rate a sidebar on their cover featuring a then-pregnant Celine Dion:

So, Gwyneth, you’re the girl who has it all – the husband, the kids, the career…
Am I? Aren’t I annoying!

But do you ever feel a sense of pressure about your life?
Of course I do. Like anyone in the business I work in, I’ve done through crazy ups and downs. But I was lucky enough to be raised by people who understood the acting world because they were part of it, but also had incredibly family values and always taught me the importance of the things that matter in life, which are family and friends. But certainly I’ve felt pressure – especially when I was younger and living very much in the public eye.

You’re not exactly ancient now...
No, I know I’m still young, but around 12 years ago I had all that career success and had a lot of attention pointed in my direction, and that was quite intense. But since then, I’ve had many years of living a more regular life, in which I stay at home and take my kids to school and pick them up. That works better for me.

Tell us about Apple and Moses
They’re really good kids. They’re polite and they’re well adjusted and they have good hearts. We’re strict with them to an extent but we also try to be respectful of who they are and work with them when they really want something. For instance, Apple has been wanting to get her ears pierced from the age of two. Our nanny is Spanish, so the kids both speak Spanish and are very much connected to the Spanish culture, and in Spain girls get their ears pierced when they’re born. Apple would see little Spanish girls and say ‘Why can’t I have my ears pierced too?’ When when she was five we let her have her ears pierced.

And what has Moses been asking for?
Well, he hasn’t wanted to have his ears pierced! But he did beg to go kick-boxing and we let him. So now he’s very proud of himself in his kick-boxing outfit.

Who sings the most in your house?
Probably Moses. He’s humming and singing all day long. Now my husband’s songs – he’s more into T-Pain, or he’ll just sing whatever song he hears on the radio. Super poppy music….

What have you been working on?
I’ve just finished a movie called Country Strong, in which I play a country singer who has fallen on hard times. It’s a very American film, which I like. I live most of my life in England this days, which is a country I love, but it’s not home home, and with this movie I could just relax and be American.

Are you still friends with Madonna?
Of course I am. We don’t see as much of each other as we used to because she lives in New York and I live in London. But when we do get together it’s exactly the same as it’s always been. We’ve been friends for a long, long time.

[From Hello! Magazine, print edition, November 1, 2010]

T-Pain’s lyrics include a lot of adult themes and F bombs. I hardly think they’re appropriate for kids to listen to, but maybe Gwyneth has the censored versions for Moses. He’s only four and a half! When Moses was three Gwyneth said that he was listening to Jay-Z, so this isn’t new.

I like that Goop admitted to having a nanny and that her kids are learning Spanish. She probably thinks they’re so cultured, and that could be the same excuse she uses for letting her four year-old (presumably) listen to a song about sex called “Reverse Cowgirl.” (I have no clue about T-Pain’s music and had to look that up. Here’s the video. Commonsense media says he’s not appropriate for kids.)

I was ready to bash her for the whole “I could relax and be American” quote, but as an American living overseas for a long time I guess I understand that. You are on your toes when you’re not at home. (I want to smile at everyone and say hello and ask how they’re doing, but I have to curtail it here or people will think I’m weird.) Plus she claims to have never spouted all that crap in 2006 about how the British are more intelligent and civilized than Americans. In my mind I still attribute it to her, though.

Do you think she’s really still friends with Madonna? They’re probably civil with each other, but I doubt they’re chummy especially now that Madonna is opening up her own gym chain. Gwyneth went into business with scamming trainer Tracy Anderson while Madonna dumped Tracy last year. There’s probably still some bad blood there.

Isn’t this a bad picture of Kate Hudson?

This one is worse: