Idolator

There's a little less than four weeks to go until this year's Video Music Awards—can you feel the excitement? even if, for me, it's more like a looming sense of dread?—and the NME is reporting that Mark Ronson is going to help out Timbaland as far as "musical director" duties go; he'll conduct the house band, which will be made up of some dude from Jamiroquai and the Dap-Kings. All well and good, except for the part where the NME refers to as "Amy Winehouse's band." Not to play fact-checking cuz, but come on—Winehouse doesn't even use that band all the time in your home country, NME. Where's the love for Sharon Jones, who has a new album with the Dap-Kings coming out next month? Maybe if Amy's still out of commission, she can step in last-minute, push Ronson out of the way, and burn through "100 Days And 100 Nights," so there'll at least be one watchable moment during the telecast: More »

Most everything written about the 50th birthday of Stax Records has been pretty straightforward nostalgia-mongering—the cover package of the current issue of Stop Smiling, for instance. That's fine—great music, good story—but it's one reason Ann Powers' review of a Stax anniversary show in the Los Angeles Times provides a contrast, as she dissects the label's glorious past and a future she never pretends is guaranteed. Still, there's one statement near the end that deserves a closer look. More »