How many people can we vote off of American Idol this week? Three? Four? Do I hear six?

Please?

I did get a chuckle out of Lee Dewyze doing "The Letter." And possibly more of one at Miley Cyrus' highly confused expression when he mentioned the song title. "The what?"

Probably my favorite piece written so far about Alex Chilton appeared in the Op-Ed section of the NY Times on Sunday. Chilton disciple and legendary songwriter Paul Westerberg of the Replacements wondered, "How does one react to the death of one's mentor?" Hilariously, it turns out, and the famously contrarian Chilton wouldn't have had it any other ( Read more... )

EW.com, of all sites, is leading the pack in memorializing Alex Chilton. WTF, RollingStone.com?

Tributes from Paul Westerberg of the Replacements plus members of the Hold Steady and Drive-by Truckers

Patterson Hood of Drive-by Truckers describes Big Star's music thusly: "It combined that pop sensibility that came over with the British Invasion with ( Read more... )

Musician Alex Chilton dies at age 59

For those who don't know who Alex Chilton is--which is probably most people reading this--he was, among other things, a brilliant writer and singer of pop/rock music. He's probably best known among the general public for singing "The Letter" at the ripe old age of 16 as the leader of the manufactured pop group ( Read more... )

Just watched American Idol's Rolling Stones night, which, shockingly, was not the horrific train wreck that Idol's first Beatles night was. I guess I shouldn't be surprised: Stones songs live and die on swagger, Beatles tunes on melody, and Idol contestants generally have a very firm grasp of the former and much less familiarity with the latter.

But ( Read more... )

OK, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin can come back and host the Oscars again next year. They were funny and charming and seemed to be enjoying themselves to the point where I actually wanted to see more of them ( Read more... )

The look of utter incomprehension and disinterest on the faces of Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner after the John Hughes tribute was priceless. Hey, kids, pay attention: That will be you in 25 years--or it would be if you had John Hughes-quality material to work with.

 Can we vote 10 guys off of American Idol and keep 2 instead of the other way around? Because these guys suck. So far, scary-big personal trainer guy is the only one I want to hear sing again.

I had my hair color done tonight, and my colorist played non-stop Celine Dion on his iPod. Two hours of sheer torture that I had to pay for.

I cracked up on ( Read more... )

Evan Lysacek looked so genuinely happy and in awe during the medal ceremony. Scott Hamilton was right on the money: He looked a good five or ten years younger after he won.

It was refreshing to see someone both enjoying and respecting the moment tonight. Shaun White and Shani Davis...not so much.

I realize Plushenko was disappointed, but he could ( Read more... )

Oh, dear God, that arrangement of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is beyond awful. I wasn't terribly impressed by Stevie Wonder's version on the Help Haiti telethon, but after that...Stevie, all is forgiven.