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Pop Rock Nation

Category: News

music-news-from-breakups-to-the-lastest-buzz

  • News Roundup: Sheryl’s Song For Obama While Widow Tells All About Biggie

    Sheryl Crow Sings To A Senator

    Sheryl Crow live photo - 2008

    Sheryl Crow (pictured here in concert this summer) continued lending star power to causes when she serenaded Senator Barack Obama with Strong Enough.    Crow previously had run afoul of Republican henchman Karl Rove and has spents campaigning for the Democratic candidate while using her summer concert tour to bash Bush supporters.    We appreciate the cancer survivor’s emotions, but wonder if that particular tune is just a little skeevy.

    BNL Singer Crash Lands Plane Like A Stunt Man!

    Meanwhile the BNL Train may have left the station early.  Lead singer Ed Robertson and three other people survived a small plane crash according to CNN.   Robertson reportedly was piloting the plane in Ontario with his wife and another couple when Robertson (the tall, dark haired one) put his Cessna down without anyone getting a scratch.  Fellow Barenaked Ladies singer Steven Page (the blonde, pudgy one) is currently on bail awaiting trial for an arrest for cocaine possession earlier this summer.    Page’s issue is one for the courts, but landing that plane sounds scary-amazing.

    American Idol Adds Talent To Judge’s Talent, America Looks For New Catchphrase

    Industry bible Variety may have tried the hardest to draw a line between American Idol adding songwriter and music company exec Kara DioGuardi to its panel and the departure of executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, but even the venerable entertainment site couldn’t pull off the connection.   There are still no details about the AI move, but we know our Movie/TV Help Web partner Ailsa is going to have to update her cast list to make room for Kara. What will a coherent female judge mean for everyone’s favorite karaoke show?  My own internal poll shows indifference.  George is excited whenever anyone behind the scenes makes it big, but GG  thinks having someone else around will kill the Ryno-Simon banter.   Last year was a chore to watch for me, so I don’t know if I care.

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    Either Way Things Work Out, JoJo Had A Bad Night

    Did anyone see Jo-Jo (our bud from ’90s group Jodeci and K-Ci make the YouTube rounds?  JoJo hits the ground, K-Ci says it was a “seizure” and nearly one thousand YouTube commenters say JoJo may not need anti-seizure medicine just yet.

    K-Ci says it was a “seizure”…most sane folks think it was…um, something else.

    Biggie Still Dead, Still Making Money For Other People

    Faith Evans’ biggest claim to fame is most likely being Biggie’s lady, but props to Njai Joszor over at Singers Room for a great review of Evans’ tell-all book.  Seems Biggie and Lil (Kim, not Wayne) stories were true, if you believe in Faith.

  • Is Four A Crowd For The American Idol Judges?

    When word got out yesterday morning that American Idol was introducing a fourth judge, my immediate response was to question why. And when I found out it was songwriter Kara DioGuardi, my next response was, “Who dis?”

    Money Mike smartened me up.

    She’s a pretty popular songwriter. Her name’s probably not known much outside of industry circles, but then again, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell’s weren’t either. She’s written for Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Clarkson-basically she’s Sony BMG’s right hand girl.

    She definitely has credentials. However, if they want to make some changes to the show, I don’t think they looked in the right place. While they are definitely a batty bunch, Simon, Paula, and Randy have really good chemistry together. And adding a fourth voice either takes away some of the Simon/Ryno Seacrest back and forth (which is either the best or worst thing on the show based on your sense of humor), or it makes the show feel more rushed. They are rushed enough.

    This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0).

    Money Mike thinks it’s a change directly related to sliding ratings and it definitely could be that. But if that’s the case, I think it’s a bad move. It’s still the biggest show in America. I think they’ve made changes for the better recently. They’ve allowed the artists to play their own instruments and the show feels a little more human because of it. But changing the judges feels way too much like a publicity stunt. Mike thinks it’s there to create drama and I think he’s right. But it could create the wrong kind of drama. The kind that gets you to turn off the television.

    But the show is too iconic for it to really be hurt by anything short of Simon leaving, so I think they’ll be ok.

    Paula Abdul agrees with me though. And that’s a scary thought.

    She was interviewed by MTV.com’s Jocelyn Vena and had this to say.

    “I am concerned about the audience and acceptance. Time will tell. We’ll see.”

    She also added that having a fourth judge will take all the fun out of tie breaking and now breaking ties will probably fall into the hands of Simon.

    “I’m sure Simon will get to make the final [call]. It takes the fun out of all the hard work I do to push those kids through.”

  • New Music In Stores & Online: 8/26/08: The Game, Slipknot, Solange & More!!

    Now THIS is more like it. I think most music fans will agree with me when I say that August has been an absolutely shitty month for new music, and this August has been one of the worst in recent memory. I hope the industry is thanking God for The Jonas Brothers. Anyway, there are a handful of big names with new albums coming out today. Here are some of the highlights.

    The Game : “LAX”

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