Idolator

Carman Dominic Licciardello, more simply known as Carman, possesses one of the strangest careers of anyone making music. Lacking any sort of talent that might break him through to a secular audience, and largely too tacky for even the most diehard Christian music fan, Carman appeals to the same sort of person who watches the Trinity Broadcasting Network on a regular basis... sold out for Jesus, and lacking any sort of connection to modern culture. There was a time when it was difficult to avoid Carman in evangelical churches, with his epic spoken-word piece "The Champion" (about an epic boxing match between Jesus and Satan) regularly lip-synched at youth events across America and his "love gift"-funded concerts filling arenas. Now, however, if you take the time to search for Carman on the Internet, you're just as likely to find an message board argument about his love life as you are the tracklist for his newest album. More »

The owners of indiecentric blog Stereogum—founder Scott Lapatine, ex-AOL head Bob Pittman, and former MTV digital guru Jason Hirschhorn—have flipped their equity stakes in the site to the music-centric social-networking service Buzznet; in exchange, the three men will get an ownership stake in Buzznet. According to the New York Post, the deal places Stereogum's value at $5 million, a dollar amount that should send some of the more careerist bloggers out there scrambling to recheck their SiteMeter logs. Me? I just can't wait to see how the 'Gum's pop-averse readership will react to their gathering place being so close to a site that is currently featuring High School Musical starlet Ashley Tisdale on its homepage.

PITTMAN FLIPS STAKE [NYP]