Idolator

Despite its tendencies toward overusing the phrase "guilty pleasures" in its show descriptions and booking anyone who will show up on its evening talk show The Sauce, I have a soft spot in my heart for the music-television also-ran Fuse; sure, it's due in part to the channel's roots as MuchMusic USA, but it is awful nice to see at least one entity out there fighting Viacom's bleep-happy monopoly on televised music, and I want the channel to thrive without resorting to reruns of its sister network's shows. Which is why I got kind of excited when I clicked over from The Daily Show to see the channel performing a neat bit of programming magic: It was broadcasting the Foo Fighters' show at New York's Madison Square Garden, allegedly live and definitely commercial-free, as part of its new series Fuse Rocks The Garden. While the video quality of the show was somewhat cameraphone-level at times, I thought that the idea behind it—giving viewers a chance to see a sold-out concert from the comfort of their own homes—was finally a way for the channel to use its corporate backer's resources wisely. More »

Drafted for a side gig as a freelance campaign advisor, the evil one lays out his vision for politicking the Simon Cowell way: act like an asshole; disdain "political correctness" (which seems to be Cowell-speak for "don't worry about acting like an asshole"); have a steady stream of veiled, bitchy references about the drug habits and body image concerns of your co-judges opponents at the ready; learn effective ways for reducing 17-year-old girls to tears on national TV (because Huckabee's totally a weeper when backed into a corner, you just know it); act like an asshole; and remember that a little embarrassing YouTubery can "humanize" even the most vile of God's creatures. More »