Idolator: Steven Tyler

Just in time for the release of the Guitar ...

Maura Johnston — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:30:00 EDT

Just in time for the release of the Guitar Hero edition in his band's name, Steven Tyler has admitted that he entered rehab last month in order to recover from dependency on pain and sleep-assistance meds. Publicity tours in 2008 have reached some sort of Twilight Zone level and they're never, ever coming back, are they? [AP]

Steven Tyler, who claimed he'd "rather be ...

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:30:00 EDT

Steven Tyler, who claimed he'd "rather be OD'ing from the crack of her ass" 15 years ago, has reportedly checked into Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab a.k.a. The Las Encinas Hospital, presumably due to overindulging in something other than ass. [TMZ]

Steven Tyler Pumps More Money Out Of Aerosmith's Catalog

mjohnston — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:15:36 EST

Steven Tyler has sold an interest in the publishing rights to about 160 Aerosmith songs to Primary Wave, who you may remember as the people who facilitated that Very Special Nirvana Episode of Cold Case. Tyler apparently pocketed $50 million from the deal, according to the New York Post, but it does have a catch:

It only covers songs from Aerosmith's post-Permanent Vacation career, because Tyler doesn't own the publishing rights to any of Aerosmith's earlier music. Can't wait for the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode that will manage to shoehorn "Janie's Got A Gun" and "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing"^* into its soundtrack!

AERO-SMART MOVE [NYP]

^* The latter song will score yet another "let's try and humanize Mike Logan's relationships with women" scene, I suspect.

Heading Back Inside Steven Tyler: This Clip Would Have Made Ninth-Grade Biology So Much More Tolerable

mjohnston — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:05:04 EDT

As teased here Friday, Steven Tyler appeared on the National Geographic Channel's Incredible Human Machine last night, and the results were pretty incredible, in a "holy crap, all those tendons and goo are inside me, too" sort of way. Actually, what's even more amazing to watch is the first half of the clip, during which the wizened Aerosmith singer's inflamed blood vessels in his voicebox—the rupturing of one forced the postponment of some tour dates last year—get zapped away by a laser in such a zippy way, I seriously thought I was watching someone play around with Photoshop at first.

Going Inside Steven Tyler As He Creates "Sound At Unusual Frequencies"

mjohnston — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:40:59 EDT

This morning, Steven Tyler and throat surgeon Dr. Steven Zeitels appeared on Today to promote their Sunday-night appearance on the National Geographic Channel's Incredible Human Machine; if you ever wanted to know just what happens to the insides of the Aerosmith frontman's throat when he hits that high note in "Dream On," then this is going to be the show for you, as the program will reveal the stretching and straining that Tyler's vocal chords undergo during the course of a show. Appetizing! I only wish they'd recreated the vocal-chord-cam live, as I'd love to see what his innards looked like when he squawked that high note at the 0:58 mark. Aspiring vocalists, remember: Warming up is very important.

Liner Notes: But Who Will Honk On Bobo When He's Gone?

Brian Raftery — Tue, 29 May 2007 12:00:29 EDT

- Steven Tyler has allegedly been telling people he wants to leave Aerosmith; his upper lip, however, still has a three-album deal with Columbia. That one's all yours, David Spade! [Page Six]
- The Michael Jackson memorabilia auction starts tomorrow, meaning that you still have enough time to set up a llama-dedicated PayPal account. [AP]
- Nuno Bettencourt and Steve Perry are collaborating on a batch of songs that nobody will ever get to hear. [Boston Herald]

"Hey, It's Enrico Palazzo!": Take These Singers Out Of The Ballgame--Please

mjohnston — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 11:15:07 EDT

Ah, October baseball; we love its crispness and high stakes, especially when the right teams are fighting their way to the top. But a good game can be tainted by its attendant musical performances—those requisite patriotism-stoking warbles of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America"—if the wrong singer is asked to step in.

In recent years, most haven't been as outwardly sucky as they've been sort of "eh." However, there have been a few completely jaw-dropping performances of recent vintage, and after the jump, we'll look back at five of them—the inaugural inductees in our "Hey, It's Enrico Palazzo!" Hall of Fame, named for the opera singer who Leslie Nielsen impersonated in The Naked Gun. Tune in later this week as we look for 2006 playoff-season singers to add to this exalted list, and feel free to suggest other Hall of Fame candidates in comments.

Michael Bolton ("The Star-Spangled Banner," 2003 American League Championship Series, Game 4): It's not Bolton's proto-yarl that garnered him the top spot on this list. No, it's the fact that, after he forgot the words, he not-so-discreetly tried to peek at his palm, where he'd apparently decided to write down the national anthem's lyrics in teeny letters.

Steven Tyler ("The Star-Spangled Banner," 2004 World Series, Game 1): Tyler's rendition opens with a presumably "classy" harmonica break and stumbles through a lyric or two, but it's the "Dude Looks Like A Lady"-esque screamy breakdown on the anthem's climactic "land of the free" line that really takes this to the lousy level.

Liz Phair ("God Bless America," 2005 World Series, Game 1): To someone, this pairing must have made sense; Game 1 was in Chicago, Phair's hometown, and she's spoken about her love of the National Anthem before. But when Phair trills about America being the land that she loves, you wonder if she's waxing poetic about patriotism ... or if she's working out some long-dormant Sapphic urges.

Scott Stapp("God Bless America," 2004 World Series, Game 4): Is it the punctuating breaths? The fact that he seems to have forgotten how to pronounce the "ve" sound in "love"? His introduction as "the voice of Creed"? Or is it just that he's Scott Stapp, and even when he's not inflicting his lyrical Jesus complex on the world, he's still flat and completely insufferable?

Jimmy Buffett ("Take Me Out To The Ballgame," 2003 NLCS, Game 1): This is what happens when you're wasting away in Margaritaville and the organist is trapped in Wrigley Field's friendly confines.

[Graphic courtesy enrico-palazzo.de]