Idolator: outro

Looking Back On A Week When We Decided To Get The Old Gang Back Together

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EDT

• Lots of bands decided to give it another go, including New Kids On The Block. The other reunions announced this week weren't as star-studded, but hey, not everyone can be as famous as Danny Wood.
• Meanwhile, Velvet Revolver lost its lead singer, and the remaining Revolvers' former bandmate Axl Rose visited the executive suite with some new material.
• Madonna hooked up with Justin Timberlake and tried to save the world, or at least her video-exclusivity contract with MTV.
• Perez Hilton got bitchy because Sony BMG isn't kissing his white-speckled ass.
• Live Nation threw 150 million D's at Jay-Z.
• Lil Wayne: Is he really that good?
• Green Day is hiding in plain sight on a radio near you.
• Kanye West: The new Jack Johnson, at least as far as "inescapability from summer festival lineups" goes.
• R.E.M. made everyone get nostalgic enough to actually pay money for a new album again.
• And on a sad (well, sorta-sad) note, Ramiele hitched up her high-waisted shorts and exited American Idol's contestant pool.

[Photo: AP]

Looking Back On A Week When We Just Wanted To Enjoy A Refreshing Beverage

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EDT

• The "Chinese Democracy may actually come out during this century" chatter started up again, thanks to Dr Pepper dangling cans of soda in front of our faces and Axl Rose deciding to share managers with Weiland.
• American Idol's viewers took Kristy Lee Cook's USA-blessing bait and sent Chikezie packing.
• Andy Beta watched as Jackie Chan made cats howl.
• Why '80s bar rock needs to come back ASAP.
• Leona Lewis' Oprah blessing helped her capture the Hot 100's top spot, but Lil Wayne made the biggest move on the chart. And now his album's actually coming out! (Well, maybe.)
• Tim Finney got lost in Mungolian Jet Set's cavernous club.
• The first "best of 2008" list hashit the Web, not nine months too soon. (Don't tell anyone, but so far Panic at the Disco's Pretty. Odd. is near the top of Maura's.)
• Speaking of lists, Matos combed through some top-35 rundowns from 1990-era Spin.
• Vinyl vs. CD: does it really make a difference?
• America's Next Top Model brought grunge back to the runway.
• Finally, if you hear one song before you leave for the weekend, make it Sean Kingston's "interpolation" of Billy Joel. You'll never want to tune into a station playing "the greatest hits of the '60s, '70s, and '80s" again.

[Photo: Getty]

Looking Back On A Week That Didn't Quite Go According To Plan

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:45:31 EDT

• Jack White tried to plug leaks and silence critics, but his plans for world domination were foiled by iTunes.
• Meanwhile, Gnarls Barkley dropped its album a little early.
• Music blogging: So easy, a caveman (with a computer) can do it?
• Chuck Eddy sought the heat with a Lonesome Thug Lady and a girl who just wants you to Google her.
• Kate had an unfortunate run-in with Tokio Hotel.
• Spin in 1990: Charmingly clueless about hip-hop. Spin in 2008: Charmingly ga-ga for R.E.M.
• We said goodbye to American Idol's skunk-haired Janis Joplin wannabe Amanda Overmyer—but we may be saying hello to her again soon.
• Jess examined the current state of pop-punk.
• Madonna gave us all something to suck on.
&bull, Finally, here's Idolator's last mention of South By Southwest... until next year, of course.

[Pic via my new favorite page on the Internet]

Hey kids, just a quick Outro this week since ...

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Hey kids, just a quick Outro this week since Maura's SXSW coverage will continue through the weekend! • Bands played in Texas. • Trent Reznor got richer. • America hearts Puddle Of Mudd and Jeff Buckley. • Bonus DVDs: an ongoing debate. • Idol hopeful David H. is outta here. • We dance now. • Obama/Wenner in 2012. • Perez Hilton: perennial dipshit. • And keep an eye out for daily frontline reports from Austin until Maura's forced return to NYC.

Looking Back On A Week When We Felt Called By God

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:00:59 EST

• The Van Halen reunion took a break, while the Dru Hill reunion didn't even crack the 15-minute mark.
• American Idol whittled its field down to 12, and lopped off Danny Noriega's purple streaks in the process.
• Usher ended our Flo Ridian nightmare.
• Chuck Eddy looked for the hottest Heatseekers.
• Madonna, Gnarls Barkley, and Portishead got leaky.
• Jess spun a couple of singles by Andrew WK, the Roots, and Wiz Khalifa.
• We want our old-school MTV.
• Perez Hilton: Are we part of the problem for even mentioning his existence?
• The world found out about Ryan Schreiber's childhood MTV habits.
• The Anono-Critic looked at the horn-throwing Revolver and the in-limbo Blender.
• And finally, don't let your weekend begin until you watch Dom DeLuise's anime extravaganza.

Looking Back On A Week Of Educated Guesses And Too Many Dead Folks

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:45:57 EST

• Maxim apologized to the Black Crowes, earned a shrug from Nas, confused the hell out of the folks at CNN, and got one writer talking to the newspapers.
• Can we please get a break from having to write all these obituaries? It's really starting to bum us out.
• Stephin Merritt: possibly loves gum, definitely loves Ethan Frome.
• Courtney Love issued a jihad against beer and its drinkers.
• American Idol made it out of the '70s with our sanity mostly intact.
• Andrew WK had much to teach us.
• Perez Hilton got an A&R gig. Actual A&R reps decided to finally go back to college.
• Did Van Halen need to take a timeout for bad behavior?
• Enchanted got the shaft at the Oscars.
• Virgin Fest and the Sasquatch! Festival will attempt to hold multi-day "destination events" without Jack Johnson's help.

Looking Back On A Week Of Closings, Scams, And Deeply Unappealing Sex Acts

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:00:39 EST

• We spared you the sight of Gene Simmons' bare ass, and instead wondered what the star of the latest sex tape scandal likes to play when he's knockin' boots.
• Is a Billy Joel ticket really worth almost $10k? Is anything?
• Walt Jabsco and Jello Biafra got robbed.
• Some guy tried to unload his stupid huge record collection, and actually found a buyer. Or did he?
• TVT Records shut down and Trent Reznor and his fans had something (semi-coherent) to say about it.
• Alt-country survivor No Depression will finally close up shop after its next issue.
• What we don't need more of is Jimmy Iovine's science.
• DJ Steve Aoki launched a war of words between Urb, Pitchfork, Idolator's commenters, and the city of Chicago.
• Paramore is breaking up? Not just yet.
• Spin had some things to say about some some New York combo called Vampire Weekend.

Looking Back On A Week When We Survived The Grammys, The Flu, And Other Plagues

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:00:48 EST

• Maura slogged through Grammys once again without losing her mind! Third time's the charm!
• She even managed to stay sane enough to offer some helpful tips for next year's broadcast.
• Meanwhile, Herbie Hancock ran away with Album Of The Year and everyone went batshit.
• Maura smacked down Aerosmith's choices when it comes to Guitar Hero.
• The ongoing saga of Lennon Murphy's attempt to trademark her first name drew a visit from "Yoko Ono" herself.
• Kate pitched in from Spain while Jess was sick and wanted to know if anything could redeem "Kokomo."
• Could one American Idol hopeful's exit be the first step on the road to Best New Music?
• Kanye's incomplete new video brought out the amateur screenwriter in us.
• Attn. Grammy producers: When Aretha is displeased, we're all displeased.
• If we're ever reduced to publishing a crypto-ironic article about "music snobs" then you have permission to euthanize the patient.
• "Stone Temple Pilots Bring The 90s Back"...hey, some of us never left.
• The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: skanking into an arena parking lot near you. (If you live in or around New Jersey.)
• We picked what should be on your playlist when you're squeezing that bun out of the oven.
• And another trip into the emo fan fiction underground sparked some... spirited debate.

Looking Back On A Week In Which The World Learned Of Lez Zeppelin's Existence

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:00:29 EST

• The Bonnaroo announcement led to copyeditors' oversights and conspiracy theories.
• Tom Petty played the Super Bowl, inspiring many polite nods and musings about next year's halftime headliner.
• Missy Elliott: In 3-D.
• Try to picture Pete Wentz uttering the line "You're totally Jell-O! You're lime green Jell-O and you can't even admit it." and you'll understand why we're wary of him being up for a role in Diablo Cody's next flick. Honest to blog, indeed.
• The Juno Awards and the Shortlist Prize both love Feist a lot. (We'll give the Junos a pass because of the whole Canada thing.)
• American Idol: Our long audition round nightmare is over. Next up: Hollywood!
• The Anono-Critic looked at the dueling Britney Spears covers offered up by Rolling Stone and Blender.
• Jess is going to live large as Idolator's new Editor-At-Large starting March 1, which means we're looking for some new bloggy blood.
• And finally: Our wall-to-wall coverage of the 2008 Grammys—Amy Winehouse! The Time and Jimmy Jam! The possibility of a Soulja Boy run-in!—comes to a head this Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, when we kick off our second annual Grammy liveblog. We're already quaking at the thought of seeing Frank Sinatra's reanimated corpse in HD.

Looking Back On Week When We All Felt A Little Burnt Out (Except This Guy)

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:30:49 EST

• American Idol: this shit is exhausting already.
• Loudmouthed TV chef type thing Rachael Ray is courting indie bands for a SXSW showcase. Now let us never speak of her on a music blog again.
• Rakim and Nas and...the Cos?
• Will Tom Petty put the asses ~~in the seats~~ on the couches and keep Super Bowl viewers from flipping channels?
• Robyn deserves deserves better than playing remix second bananizzle.
• Lowering the flannel, Sub Pop looks to cardigans for fiscal solvency in troubled times.
• The rapid spread of the new Gnarls Barkley single across the blogosphere: marketing conspiracy or marketing conspiracy?
• A few more alt-rock radio stations fell foul of flipping formats.
• Crazed by rumors of a possible New Kids On The Block reunion that turned out to be not true (maybe?), Maura attempted to rewrite history/the New Kids hotness scale.
• The Vampire Weekend debut was released! Way to make us hate a pretty decent indie-pop album, Internet!
• The saga of "legal" P2P download system Qtrax made us "nostalgic" for the silliness of the Web 1.0 bubble. Start updating those resumes, everyone.

Looking Back On A Week Where We Got Ready To Ride The Dolphins One More Time

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:45:33 EST

• We learned that Chinese Democracy has been ready since December. Only 49 Tuesdays left in 2008, guys!
• Delilah speaks! She may be the only person in the world who isn't sick of that Plain White T's song.
• American Idol got spoiled, sexless, and stupid.
• The Grammys got The Time, and they may give the world a Michael Jackson sighting.
• Spin tested the United States' anglophilia.
• Some old guy was confused by Pitchfork's newfangled ways.
• We learned that Dave Mustaine has an endless supply of bass jokes to go with his anti-UN rants.
• The people handing out the Oscar nominations love music by Alan Menken. And no one else.
• It's the middle of winter, which means that it's summer-festival-news season: Coachella brought the yawns, while Vineland bit the big one.

Looking Back On A Week When We Finally Put 2007 To Bed

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:30:41 EST

• So we put this little year-end poll thingee together, just in case you wanted to know what 452 pop critics thought about 2007.
• We also asked 33 of our bestest pals to put together awesome playlists of their favorite music of the year.
• American Idol is back! Now with even more lame scandals!
• Someone totally not named Sean "Diddy" Combs is looking for an assistant.
• Who's playing this year's Coachella festival? Everyone! Maybe.
• Project X took the Pop Critics Poll Top 10 home to meet the family.
• This East Coast festival may not be Coachella, but we have no idea who's playing this one either.
• Butler/Wentz: your ticket for change in '08
• The writer-free Grammys: soooooo not looking forward this liveblog hangover.
• Eminem's mom tries to catch him riding lardy.
• Some pop stars chose brawn before brains.

Looking Back On A Juicy, 72-Ounce Week

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:45:49 EST

• After learning that Joe Levy would be taking over at Blender, we had the Anono-Critic look at his track record.
• Al examined how Billboard's rock charts kicked off the new year.
• We discovered that musical terror comes in all sorts of fuzzy packages.
• Radiohead, No. 1, tour dates, blah blah friggin' blah.
• Hannah Montana has beef.
• Maura wrote the first funny "-izzle" gag in years.
• Rock criticism: it will get you covered in loogies.
• Entertainment Weekly can take or leave popular music.
• Hopefully these folks resolved to find a new label in 2008.
• And we are still taking applications for the next Idolator intern.

Looking Back On A Week When We Said An Awesome Goodbye To 2007 (And An Apprehensive Hello To 2008)

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 17:30:00 EST

• We revealed our dual No. 1 most awesomest songs of 2007, but not before we showed the runners-up some love.
• We crowned the (not entirely surprising) winner in our Worst Album Cover Of The Year Tournament.
• We consoled Vanessa Hudgens over her adventures in wank mining.
• Maura had some issues with Digg.
• Dear New York Times: No more cutesy charts. Please.
• The war between ADieHardFOBFan and fans of the Jonas Brothers continued to rage as we launched our own video volley.
• Idolator videographer Alex Goldberg witnessed the end of "ironic hipster karaoke rock." Or so he hoped.
• Led Zeppelin at Bonnaroo: will the rumormongering madness ever cease?
• We bid a fond (but only temporary!) farewell to the irreplacable intern Kate.
• And speaking of which: if you've got a little writing experience, a strong resistance to music industry hype, some moxy, and 10 to 15 hours to kill per week, we're looking for some interns.

The 2007 Outro: Looking Back On A Year Filled With Fake Sex Tapes, Squealing Pigs, And Seven-Ponytail Mohawks

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:30:21 EST

2007 is almost in the books. Hooray! (No, seriously, get it out of our faces.) Before we go, let's squeeze in one last list with a look back at the 20 most popular posts from the last 365 days:

1. In which the term "wank mining" was brought to our attention.
2. In which we wondered if Vanessa Hudgens' nudies would result in parents protesting with their dollars.
3. In which we caused a bunch of ex-OiNK users to squeal "Oh noooo!"
4. In which Pete Wentz opened up about his back door action.
5. In which we realized that Axl Rose had, in fact, visited a recording studio in the past 10 years.
6. In which the words "naked, knocked up and facing a firing squad" took on pageview-inflating new meanings.
7. In which we got excited about the prospect of Rock Of Love 2 not starring Bret Michaels.
8. In which we canvassed the room for Guns N' Reactions.
9. In which the Butterfly Of Long Island lived every girl's dream: A Playboy cover.
10. In which we pitched ourselves as VH1 chat-show candidates. (We're still waiting for that call!)

Nos. 11-20 after the jump!

11. In which the term "Meg White sex tape" was brought to our attention.
12. In which Radiohead changed everything forever, blah blah blah.
13. In which Maura almost died, although whether it would have been the result of suicide or a Scanners-like info overload is still unknown.
14. In which somebody pre-emptively reviewed In Rainbows and pretty much set the template for most of the ones that followed.
15./16. In which Britney Spears sorta reminded people that she used to be famous for singing.
17. In which the phrase "Fergie sex tape" got seared into our brains.
18. In which Sanjaya unleashed the seven rubber bands that would change American Idol forever.
19. In which we asked Akon for some proof of age.
20. In which Alanis Morrissette showed us that her You Can't Do That On Television-derived lessons in comedy had stuck.

And so, 2007: Doneski. But before we go we'd like to thank everyone for reading, commenting, and tipping us all year. You guys are the best, and we're incredibly grateful that you've stuck around. We'll be taking tomorrow off (those $3.50 champagne hangovers are nasty) and we'll return Wednesday with more... stuff:

A mini-outro for a short week: We're in ...

mjohnston — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:45:56 EST

A mini-outro for a short week: We're in the final round of our Worst Album Cover Of The Year Tournament (and we even have a consolation game; we looked at modern rock radio's slavish devotion to Linkin Park; we reveled in '90s emo; we flipped the dial to Z100; and we got really, really into the Jonas Brothers-related pwnage that's raging on YouTube.

Looking Back On A Week When We Obsessively Looked Back At The '90s

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:00:16 EST

• 20,000 Googlers agree: The words "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs Of The 90s" are the new "Zac Efron."
• We felt a little '90s emo, and then wondered if we could stretch that emo feeling out over two weeks.
• We lamented two hours spent watching Akon and friends dressed up like Super Mario Bros. 2 villains when we could have just been playing Super Mario Bros. 2. (Or BurgerTime, for that matter.)
• Our Worst Album Cover Of The Year Tournament got eight times uglier.
• No, you're not metal enough for Slayer.
• We sent one intrepid reporter ice skating with Seal. (Well, not literally.)
• Just how useless are music bloggers?
• Lil Wayne: not as down with Zac Efron as we are. (Zac Efron!)
• We learned not to lend Dolly Parton's brother any money, because he'll just spend it on trips to Biscuit Time.
• Team coverage of Jingle Ball 2007 was nearly derailed by Kate getting bumrushed by crazed Jonas Brothers fans.
• And don't forget, if you're a music critic, you only have, like, hours left to vote in our Idolator Pop 07 poll! The deadline is midnight tonight. That's Friday, Dec. 21, on or before 11:59 p.m. Get those ballots in!

Looking Back On A Week In Which We Let The Sun Beat Down Upon Our Faces

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:20:49 EST

• A few old British guys got their old band back together, which seemed to please a few people.
• If there's one thing everyone loves doing, it's debating the idea of the "hottie."
• The top music of 2007: LCD Soundsystem! Arcade Fire! And ... Fergie.
• And adding to the list-making chorus, our Top 40 List Of Awesomeness ran the gamut, from an SVU guest star to LCD.
• Janet Jackson is cramping her own style.
• The Worst Album Cover Of The Year Tournament moved on to its aesthetically displeasing second round.
• We brought you some holiday songs that you won't hear in Rite Aid.
• Vibe took a few pages from Us Weekly.
• Lupe Fiasco: Too Cool for Jess?
• Al broke down the Grammys' love for all things Foo.

Looking Back On A Week When We Indulged Our List-Making Obsession

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:45:53 EST

• We kicked off our countdown of 2007's top 40 songs.
• The Worst Album Cover Of The Year Tournament started off with a bang, and a few close races.
• Kate counted down the best breakup songs.
• Ethan looked back on Master P's old days.
• Movies Rock was heavy on the movies, light on the music.
• Music critics: They sure do like LCD Soundsystem. (But the ~~scalpers~~ "secondary ticket market" prefers Hannah Montana.)
• We get political as we pit Barack Obama's iPod against Hillary Clinton's Zune.
• The Grammy nominations are here! Wait, where are you all going?

Looking Back On A Week Where We Started Taking Stock Of 2007 (And Watched The New t.A.T.u. Video A Few Dozen Times)

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:00:12 EST

• You guys really enjoy debating year-end lists.
• The new t.A.T.u. video: somehow the planet is still nterested in half-dressed, barely legal, pregnant lesbians. Especially if there's guns.
• We got up close and personal with the people who made Paramore's fanbase possible.
• Will we ever pass up an opportunity to use the Megabugs photo?
• Cobra Starship's bassist asked a sadly non-rhetorical question.
• Concert giant Live Nation can't even afford to get its employees drunk for the holidays.
• We learned how to be a jam band fan.
• Universal Music Group head honcho Doug Morris tried to make a serious point using the funnies.
• Magnet knows what side it's ~~beard~~bread is buttered.
• Smoking and indie rock: equally bad for you.
• And voting in our Worst Album Cover Of The Year contest begins next week! Someone might even beat Ted Nugent!

Looking Back On A Week Where We Attempted A Country Crossover

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 14:00:02 EST

• The American Music Awards: Proving that popular music is still considered "popular" in some quarters.
• Blender sits down with Jay-Z and Heidi Montag, although tragically not at the same time.
• Alicia Keys' week was full of Toasting and well-deserved boasting.
• The fake Pete Wentz sex tape: In which our hero puts the "emo" into "emoting." Too bad that there was no tango scene!
• Steven Van Zandt wants to have class.
• Thanks to Ian Astbury's big mouth, we can now sorta maybe possibly confirm that the Led Zeppelin reunion tour is probably happening. We think.
• The Next Great American Band is still on, even though Maura's TiVo seems to be in denial about that fact.
• We skipped No Music Day, because what we're really waiting for is No Internet Week. Time to start filesharing from a French IP address!

[Photo: Getty]

Looking Back On A Week Of Sex, Lies, And Musicians' Body Parts

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:00:00 EST

• Who knew the words "Fergie Sex Tape" would attract so many Googlers?
• Meanwhile, everyone knew just how many Googlers the words "Boy George's human sex toy" would attract.
• Pete Wentz: Uniting horny mothers and daughters.
• We asked you who was the most important musician of the decade, and whoever voted for Chad Kroeger is so dead.
• People really miss Weezer's Matt Sharp.
• Queens Of The Stone Age had some fun at the expense of those who can't hold their liquor.
• A surprising number of our readers were interested in watching a video about Fall Out Boy's thighs.
• The MP3 Blog: now with, like, royalties and junk.
• Amy Winehouse: It just isn't going to get any less embarassing for a while.
• Oh, and don't forget we're live-blogging the American Music Awards this Sunday at 8 P.M. EST. We've already stocked up on emergency wine.

Looking Back At A Week Where We Felt Compelled To Share

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:25:48 EST

• We sent Kate to the Woodies, where she gave Jenny Lewis some M&Ms and sat through an awful lot of commercial breaks.
• Meanwhile, Maura live-blogged the CMA Awards, and had something of a shit-kicking time.
• We took a peek inside Kid Rock's inbox.
• Facebook Music had a launch that was so soft, it was nearly inaudible.
• The My Bloody Valentine reunion: It's happening! For serious! We think? Maybe? Um...
• Some music writers' Led Zeppelin fandom got a bit out of hand. But at least we got to see Jimmy Page's pinky-ouchie!
• Along with 400 people from Nebraska, we continued watching The Next Great American Band.
• Ethan Padgett took a trip back to 1995 with some throwback hip-hop.
• I'm Not There sure seemed like it was fun to make.
• The Anono-Critic gave Rolling Stone a close look and tallied up the problems with Q.
• And finally, we devoted a lot of virtual ink to the Eagles. Please let that never, ever happen again.

Looking Back On A Week Where We Listened To Blackout Without Shame

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:20:00 EDT

• Britney "Diamond Dave" Spears actually put some well-received new product in the stores. Product that may even hit No. 1, unless Wal-Mart decides to bring the Eagles into it.
• Led Zeppelin was forced to reschedule one of the biggest concerts of the year thanks to a little boo-boo.
• Donny The Downloader reminded us why we hated school assemblies so much.
• Rock radio: whether it's "active" or "modern," there's always room for Nickelback.
• If you haven't paid those parking tickets, it might be wise to avoid any Ozzy Osbourne concerts for a while.
• We got nostalgic for the days when the Arcade Fire's songs were bigger than their stage show.
• Clear Channel earned itself just a little more negative press by snubbing the Boss.
• Even if you don't think this is the best song ever, it's still pretty boss.
• And Halloween came and went, meaning we survived the undead bouffant army.

Looking Back On A Week In Which We Sat Around The Fire And Laughed

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:50:23 EDT

• The Oink bust: The raid that launched a thousand comment-section wars.
• Kate came face-to-face (well, sort of) with one of her emo fanfic faves.
• Midnight Soul brought the sexy.
• The Southern Comfort Music Experience: It may actually be a good idea.
• The Next Great American Band was a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, a little bit Mr. Mom, and a whole lot of rushed segments.
• We found love in the sand.
• The Anono-Critic gave XXL a once-over.
• And finally, we ran the best post to ever be on the Internet, ever ... at least until next week.

Looking Back On A Week When We All Did Our Part To Help Permanently Change The Music Industry

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:30:00 EDT

• In Rainbows! In Rainbows! In Rainbows! Most important thing ever!!
• We gazed into the disturbing orange vortex of the new Britney Spears album cover.
• Madonna is now set to make more money than both YHWH and the pope while on tour.
• We turned into a bunch of corporate-rock whores.
• This Jane Child video is just one of many things that made us nostalgic for the '90s this week.
• The National Football League proved it has no taste in popular music.
• Lupe Fiasco learned the best way to save face for an embarassing blunder is to start suing people.
• We got overly cranky about another overly cranky Blender list.
• The filthy, coded lyrics of Soulja Boy's hit single downright scandalized us.
• The Arcade Fire got chumped by Radiohead in the Internet hype game. As did we all.

Looking Back On A Week In Which A Little-Known British Rock Band Made A Small Announcement

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:00:30 EDT

• U.K. grunge band is trying to unload its unwanted new album on the Internet. Who cares, right?
• And a few days after that whoop-de-do announcement, some brave journalist finally got down to the most important thing in all this quote-unquote industry-changing news: a lot of painful friggin' puns.
• Britney! The mentally infirm still bring the hits.
• The RIAA hits the $220k Pyramid jackpot at trial of alleged downloader. Even after the conviction we're sticking to "alleged," if only out of anti-RIAA solidarity.
• Ticketmaster's verification software is actually programmed by 14-year-old boys.
• Kid Rock's ugly mug harshes our pictorial mellow.
• A brief clip of new music by same old Eminem surfaced to quell those "Eminem has finally made a decent new record" rumors.
• Speaking of rumors: Ian MacKaye is not pushing up daisies.
• We had a few more opportunities to post the Megabugs photo.
• SNL's Andy Samberg: Not just cutesy and obnoxious, but also a damn pirate.
• We tried (and failed, presumably) to get on VH1's new dating show.
• And we laced up our skates and took to the ice with fake Zac Efron and fake Vanessa Hudgens.

Looking Back On A Week In Which We Had A Prepared Statement Or Two

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:11:23 EDT

• Jess sat through eight hours of mind-numbing Congressional grandstanding ... and lived to write his way through it.
• We sent Andy Beta to the church of the Fab Four.
• The Anono-Critic looked at Spin's attempt to canonize the punk era.
• Soulja Boy's vision may be a bit obstructed, but he's still at the top of the singles charts. (Maybe it was the Bambi video?)
• The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame continued to ignore "Weird Al" Yankovic.
• Maura came to the realization that she may be a typical girl.
• We threw a party, and you could have been there, but you were probably home watching Monday Night Football.
• Or maybe you were just sitting around "wank mining." Either way.

Looking Back On A Week During Which Things Got A Little Blurry

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 18:17:33 EDT

• Kanye West won! Kanye West won!
• And the Anono-Critic watched Blender turn the tables on him.
• Elsewhere in the Def Jam universe, Jay-Z dropped a new song.
• Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood invaded our space. (OK, we let her. At least she wasn't Lifehouse, right?)
• We wondered how Diddy wanted his ladies to smell.
• We got gloomy and doomy with Denmark's own Mercenary.
• Jess visited a stomp show.
• Blogs: They can be kinda circle-jerky when they want to, and their readers think hip-hop has no melody.
• The major labels really have no idea how to stop piracy, do they?
• Electronica thinkpieces: Celebrating 10 glorious, beat-filled years.
• Project X headed to the clubs.
• We found out that a lot of you remember Nitro as "well" as we do.
• And we even found a few minutes, thanks to all that downtime today (sorry!), to write a little bit of slash of our own.
[Photo: Getty]

Looking Back On A Week That Left Us Kind Of...Shell-Shocked

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:15:57 EDT

• Maura heroically live-blogs the Video Music Awards with help from the rest of the Idolator crew. Maura and Jess spend the next two days stumbling around in a daze like two dogs that had just missed the path of a passing big rig.
• Britney Spears' big comeback sends a nation of rubbernecking bloggers into shame spiral.
• The awful, awful VMAs: plan or accident? Okay, it was a plan.
• Some records came out this week, no biggie.
• They come from the land of ice and snow...again.
• The terrorists are downloading vital security documents, new Ashlee Simpson leaks.
• We came to the end of a mother-funking odyssey.
• We still wish Mastodon's Brent Hinds a swift recovery.
• A ~~lone nut~~ videographer offered a novel reason for Britney's shit-sucking VMA's performance.
• We learned where a bunch of indie heartthrobs lived and sighed with relief that no one in their right mind would stalk a blogger.
• We gazed into the abyss that is the worst song ever written.
• And we turned one, and decided to throw a party in honor of that fact.

Looking Back On A Week In Which We Felt Married To Our Jobs

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:39:01 EDT

• We prepared ourselves for the tornado of class that will be Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards. (The liveblog starts at 8 ET!)
• And speaking of "class," get ready for dating shows featuring Tila Tequila and "a Tommy Lee type"!
• VH1's attempt to bait us worked.
• Marié Digby? More like Marié Phony, ho ho ho.
• Rick Rubin wants you to join his street team.
• We spent our Labor Day watching Justin Timberlake labor onstage.
• We found out that Michael Anthony was the classy one.
• In the criminal justice system, Benson/Stabler pairings are considered especially hot by fans of Law & Order: SVU.
• We got up close and (personal) with Fergie Ferg.
• Jess' mom got closer to No. 1 on her "Top 100 R & B Songs" countdown.
• Vanessa Hudgens' nudie pic: Will it shake up the Billboard 200?
• Finally, how much do we love that you guys love Sugababes, too?

Looking Back At A Week In Which Our Boat Got A Little Bit Leaky

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:00:50 EDT

• Kanye and 50 Cent brought the battle of Sept. 11 a little bit early, only to have the new Britney song make the Googlers wild.
• And meanwhile, Kenny Chesney's fans partied on.
• The iTunes graphic equalizer: Can it be perfectly calibrated, or is flat where it's at?
• Before we kill the word "indie," let's have a look back at its golden era.
• Please update your address books: We aren't Ted Nugent by any stretch of the imagination.
• The punk world lost a legend.
• And before we leave for the long weekend, let's say it all together, in unison, one more time: Zac Efron. Zac Efron. Zac Efron.

Looking Back On A Week That We Spent In A Happy Place

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:45:39 EDT

- We hit Disneyland ... with the goths.
- We wondered if the wedding DJ was still necessary.
- We had a bit of an existential crisis, which made us a little less hospitable to the one currently being suffered by "indie." (Whatever it means.)
- We found Madonna and Britney in the land of "meh"—and then we discovered that Kanye West was getting all mixed up with Fall Out Boy.
- We clarified Beth Ditto's clarification.
- We broke down Prince's three greatest albums.
- We posed the burning question: "Is a horse the new frisbee?"
- We sucked on Ted Nugent's ability to suck.
- We stayed up all night listening to Air Supply.
- And we sent our very brave intern into the ~~fan-fiction~~ ~~bandslash~~ bandom abyss—and she still wants to work for us, somehow. Talk about dodging a bullet!

Looking Back On A Week Where Even This Guy Felt A Little Like Fat Elvis

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:45:00 EDT

- Uncle Kracker arrested! Eagle-Eye Cherry's whereabouts still unknown.
- Elvis Week: A lot like a regular week with a lot of little Elvis related news items.
- We listened to the Eagles comeback single and told our sense of impotent rage to take it easy.
- We bid a sad farewell to one of the most important drummers in the history of jazz. Hell, one of the most important drummers no matter what you're into.
- We tracked the comings and goings of a very small penis.
- Did "classic rock" help to cripple rock? Who cares, brah, it's two-fer Tuesday.
- Wikipedia users found out that nothing ever gets erased from the internet ever.
- Teenage pop star develops social conscience, possibly because she was denied the chance to participate in high school's "Model United Nations."
- We're totally hot for their bods.
- Van Halen tried to airbrush Michael Anthony out of the band's history. And he was easily the most likeable one since DLR quit.
- Dave Mustaine never did get back to us.

Looking Back On A Week That Left A Lot Of People "Exhausted"

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:55:24 EDT

- We bid adieu to two music-industry mavericks.
- Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse really need to start taking better care of themselves.
- 50 Cent's meltdown in the face of commercial irrelevance continued to be our entertainment gain.
- We got an advance peek at the record that will swallow all others this year like a killer whale with blonde highlights and learned what aging rock fans think of its tenderoni star.
- AT&T doesn't have any time for longhaired hippie protest singers.
- We got on the good foot with the woman that gave us life.
- One of us liveblogged the MTV Video Music Awards nominations and lived to tell about it.
- Oh, and we're hiring.

Looking Back On A Week In Which We Did That Thing With Our Hands

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:31:57 EDT

- Once more, with feeling: Heyyyy, Macarena! Aieee!
- DJing a roller rink: It's tougher (and more freestyle-filled!) than you might think.
- Steven Adler still hasn't lost his illusion that Guns N' Roses will get back together.
- Entertainment Weekly wants you to know: Kid Rock is, like, so cool.
- Get ready for a torrent of '90s reissues.
- Indie (and "indie") goes big-box.
- The dirty secret of the music business: There are no good guys.
- Saying goodbye to the man who brought Wendy O. Williams to late-night TV.
- The anono-critic looked at Rolling Stone's appetite for nostalgia and Spin's aversion to airbrushing.
- If your favorite part of The Singing Bee is when the band sings "The Final Countdown," you'll love the soundtrack to Hot Rod.

Looking Back On A Week That Made Us Really Hungry

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 18:15:17 EDT

- Whartscape: It's what's for dinner.
- Music writers: More damaging to the planet than you might realize.
- Which artist got their knickers in a twist about a spiked MTV column?
- And speaking of journalism, let's hear it for the forward thinkers at the LA Times!
- And speaking of money, can someone loan us 50 cents to buy a Dave Matthews ticket?
- Dear Beth Ditto: Please quit it. No, seriously. (And the same goes for you, Urb.)
- Merch booths at shed shows: Surprisingly CD-free.
- Planning on partying like it's 1999? Think big.
- Kelly Clarkson is sorry, and that makes us sad.
- Finally, don't forget to catch that Beyonce-falling video before you leave for the weekend!

Looking Back At A Week That Wasn't So Great For Our Self-Esteem

mjohnston — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:00:13 EDT

- We found the people who make up Pitchfork's hit count.
- We looked at what Rock Of Love said about the state of the groupie, and shuffled our feet about recapping it.
- We pitted MIMS against the Fray in an old-style rumble.
- We flipped our dials to Radio Disney.
- We talked about Blender's pop destiny.
- We tried to figure out which female singer was forcing her bandmates to put out.
- We watched Amy Winehouse, and said "no, no, no."
- We couldn't stop picking on Curtis. (It's so hard not to, really.)
- We caught up with one of the Lyte Funky Ones and got his thoughts on the American judicial system.
- We gave you a little Night Music.
- And, last but not least, we introduced you to the newest member of our gang.

Looking Back At A Week That Made Us Grimace A Little Bit

mjohnston — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 17:12:01 EDT

- Avril Lavigne may dress like the Hamburglar for a reason.
- Live Earth: Fried 3 Musketeers, Bon Jovi fans, and an old-school infirmary in the bowels of Giants Stadium.
- Watching The Singing Bee once is more than enough.
- Some record companies think that preventing critics from listening to music is a great way to get publicity.
- Others, however, are a bit savvier about the marketplace.
- Bob Dylan: For the children. (Or at least the twentysomethings.)
- 50 Cent is one flop away from ghostwriting Harlequin novels.
- There's a pop star out there who's hoping to help people concentrate on her second single.
- Is the fickle record-buying public still crazy for Gnarls Barkley?
- The Anono-Critic admires the Fader's coffee-table charm.
- Project X keeps it in the family.
- The My December scuffle: Does it mean the end of an era?
- The search for this summer's perfect song will never, ever end.

Looking Back At A Week In Which We Were Filled With Schadenfreude

mjohnston — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 18:20:18 EDT

- Avril Lavigne will find out just how punk rock stealing hooks can be.
- 50 Cent had a bad week.
- The anono-critic gives Amy Winehouse a Spin.
- The year may only be half-over, but the CD shops have already seen a whole lot of ugly.
- Dear Britain: You can have Aqualung.
- Radio goes to college, learns that it doesn't have to know Jack.
- I want my [bleep]TV.
- If you're in Minneapolis, you may want to look into going crazy with Prince this weekend.
- Finally, thanks to everyone who filled in this week. We I couldn't have done it without you. (Seriously.)