Do you know what time it is?

It's peanut butter jelly time!

Simpsons-o-rama

I've been neglecting my blogging this week because I have been super busy. Sorry 'bout that. So, here's some clips from The Simpsons, hopefully this will make everyone feel better!

And just in case you needed a laugh

Who says the news can't be funny? Check this out.

The Pot Brownie

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Terra Naomi: The revolution starts June 11

Terra Naomi will release her first official single from her anticipated Island Records Debut on June 11.
How excited am I. This excited!
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Below is her new video for Say It's Possible and her first video for the same song, just days after it was written back last summer.

And, if you want to relive my interview with Terra before she got all big and famous, Click HERE.

Big show in Sheboygan this weekend

Monument Music is hosting their first daylong concert event in Sheboygan on Saturday featuring seven rock bands and one rap act.
The show is free and the MM crew will be handing out free CDs. You can't go wrong with that.

Also, and this is actually pretty cool, one of the bands - Jetty Boys - agreed to let us film them when they were in the studio on Thursday. We set up in Monument Music's studio (where it was about a million degrees because of our halogen lights) and Jetty Boys rocked out ... hard.
They were amazing, and the raw footage we got was really cool.

If you want to check it out, click HERE.

Also we talked to Aaron Rossmiller from Monument Music about Saturday's concert. You can watch that interview by clicking HERE.

Or, for more about Monument Music and the bands, go to Monument's MySpace site HERE.

Notes from the American Idol finale

First: Congrats to Jordin. I was confident you’d take American Idol. Blake is a great performer, but you are the better singer. And getting a record-setting 74 million votes (10 of which were mine) that's awesome.
Second: Welcome back Doug E. Fresh. The highlight of last night’s finale was a beatbox battle between Blake Lewis and Doug E. Fresh. I can’t even tell you how exciting that was. I saw Doug E. Fresh (and the Get Fresh Crew) back in like 1988 and it was the coolest concert I have ever seen. Fresh was an amazing performer, as he showed last night. Of course, I think Blake schooled the old schooler a little bit, but ... wow ... what a show.
Third: Now, just about everybody knows not to call me during American Idol. Not Dave Lubach, Sheboygan Press sports reporter. He had a computer question and decided to give me a call — at 8:30 p.m. Now, I didn’t miss any of the show, and I was more than happy to help him out, but I told him I was going to mention what he did on the blog today. So here we are.
Fouth: Props to American Idol for sponsoring a monkey from the Milwaukee County Zoo. Between that and bringing Doug E. Fresh back, it was a very exciting evening.
Fifth: More props to AI for seemingly beating out TiVo. By ending the show at 9:05 p.m., millions of people who TiVoed the finale missed Jordin’s win. Nice touch.

So, see you in January. Until then, I’ll be watching my new favorite reality show, On The Lot, and reruns of The Office.


And here's my favorite moment from last night's finale

What was up with Randy’s jacket? (And other questions from last night’s American Idol)

* There was no doubt that Blake and Jordin gave it their all last night on American Idol, but whoever picked out Randy Jackson’s wardrobe was not on the ball last night. It looked like something a Prince impersonator would have worn to a Prince concert in the mid ‘80s. Randy, what’s up with that jacket? It’s a little pitchy for me.
* I know Paula Abdul broke her nose and her toe tripping over her dog, but one of her comments left me with a raised eyebrow. She referred to one of the performer’s singing as their “vocal voice.” What the hell is that? I guess it would have to be different than someone’s foot voice, but really couldn’t you have just said singing?
* Let Simon speak. He does have some good things to say, and I can’t hear them with the whole audience booing. So he didn’t like something. Big deal. Apparently, he doesn’t have a phone so his opinion doesn’t matter.
* “This Is My Now.” Worst song ever.
* Speaking that that, the final performance review was way wrong. It ended with Jordin hitting the last note of “This Is My Now” with a confident grin. But that’s not how it ended. She was fighting back the tears at the end of her performance. Obviously, that was taken from her rehearsal performance. I was wondering how they were editing those montages so fast. Votefortheworst.com. Can this website influence another vote? Apparently, the Web site that kept Sanjaya alive, endorsed Blake. Good for them. I wouldn’t feel bad if Blake wins. I’d feel better if Jordin does though.
* Speaking of Sanjaya, check this video out: HERE.

Who will win tonight?

Blake vs. Jordin - who's got this thing locked up.

My opinion (before the performances of course) is that Jordin has it. Once Melinda was eliminated last week, Jordin is definitely the front runner. She has the voice, she's young, she seems nice.

I like Blake, I think he'll have a good career. But, the beatboxing thing is ... a novelty. Doug E. Fresh (and this really dates me) was a great beatboxer. He was the best. But where is he now? (OK, according to the Internet, he is still around... point taken Internet).

But I think Jordin has it. Unless she drops the ball tonight.

Blake vs. Jordin

After months of shoddy predictions, I finally got one right. Melinda "awe shucks” Doolittle sang her swan song on American Idol last night, making way for a battle royale between the fresh-faced Jordin and beat-boxing Blake.
I’m excited. Really, really excited. I didn’t think much of Jordin at the beginning of the competition, but she has really grown as a musician. Blake was one of my early favorites, though I didn’t think he’d have a snowballs chance in hell of making the finale.
I liked Melinda, but after weeks of “I’m really that good?” looks, she got old. Great singer, but she didn’t have ‘it.’ Next week both Blake and Jordin will have to pull out all of the stops. No predictions yet, tune in on Tuesday.

So long, AllofMP3

AllofMP3, the controversial Russian music download site that sold individual song downloads for 10 cents a song, appears to be down for the count.
Though no news reports confirm it, the site appears to no longer be in operation.
As you may have read on this site and elsewhere, Russia agreed to shut down the some time ago in order to gain entrance into the World Trade Organization. Several online blogs speculated the site would be shut down on June 1.
The Recording Industry Association of America and International Federation of the Phonographic Industry have maintained that AllofMP3 sold pirated music, while the site said it was licensed to sell music internationally under Russian law.
Two days ago, AllofMP3 disappeared for Virgin Media customers in the UK. The broadband provider said they had nothing to do with the site no longer being accessible.
Now, it has disappeared from the US as well.
Not that the piracy problem will go away with it. In fact, in a quick search of the Web I found at least a dozen sites from Russia and Ukraine that are selling mp3s "legally" under their country's laws, so if this is indeed the fight against piracy, it’s not over.
But, and I suspect this is true, that this is just an instance of US-based companies wanting preferential treatment in the global marketplace, then today is a sad, sad day.

UPDATE: AllofMP3's sister site, Alltunes, is still up and running. Wonder what's going on with that?

UPDATE: AllofMP3 is back online. Interesting.

Producer, Chris, may be looking for a job today

What happens when you cite a satirical Web site in a legitimate newscast? Hilarity ensues.

Check this out...

The Fountain hits DVD today

My favorite movie of last year, The Fountain, hits DVD today. Check out my review by clicking HERE.

The RIAA shows its true colors

The Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry, is full of crap.
There, I said it.
For years, the RIAA has been suing people for illegally downloading music, saying recently that peer-to-peer sharing “is illegal, it can have consequences and it undermines the creative future of music itself.”
That’s a nice little song and dance, but is it true? Studies say no. And this week, after dozen’s of soapbox speeches, the RIAA showed its true colors. The millions of dollars they are suing music fans for is not going to the musicians at all. The organization is keeping the cash.
A recent AP story about a girl from Nebraska being sued by the RIAA for downloading music through Ares (a p2p music sharing program), an RIAA spokeswoman, Jenni Engebretsen, said the money from the lawsuits is: “reinvested in educational programs schools and other groups can use to spread the word that song sharing can have severe consequences.”
WHAT!!!!!!
WHAT!!!!!!
WHAT!!!!!!
I AM SHOCKED!
The RIAA has always maintained that it has been going after these illegal downloaders because they are stealing music and money from the artists who write those songs.
In fact, the RIAA’s mission (according to its Web site) is, “to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes our members’ creative and financial vitality.”
So, let me connect the dots.
Your “members” pay you to protect their copyright interests because they are losing money. In turn you sue people who are “stealing” their music. But instead of giving your “members” their “money,” you keep it to fund educational programs? Who is developing those programs? The RIAA?
So the RIAA is taking money from the people who are stealing music, and it is keeping it for itself. It is stealing from its members.
Holy crap? This isn’t enough for an investigation? The group paid to protect music copyright is not paying the copyright holders ... the exact same thing it says illegal music downloaders are doing.
Now, I’m not going to say that peer-to-peer sharing is right, because it isn’t. But suing people for money they stole from musicians and then not giving it to the same artists you represent is so much more wrong. That money belongs to the musicians, and the RIAA should give it to them.

The Simpsons Clip ‘o the Week + Bonus Clips!

In this clip, from the 1993 episode 'Bart's Inner Child,' Homer Simpson gets a trampoline he found in The Springfield Shopper’s Free Column. Of course, because Homer got it, trouble ensues! Funny, funny stuff. Remember, The Simpsons Movie hits theaters on July 27.




And, as an added bonus, The Simpsons vs The Family Guy, which is a nice comparison of the two show’s similarities.




Plus: The Simpsons vs American Idol. Awesome.

Awesome Video: Feist - 1234

I saw this video this morning and couldn’t turn away from it. The choreography is amazing and the song is pretty darn good too. Hope you enjoy, and happy Monday!

BIFF!!!

You have to check this out. It's Biff from Back to the Future singing about ... Back to the Future.

Something to see this weekend

Checked out Mary Bue and Chris Koza at the Paradigm last night, and it rocked! Not that I expected anything different, but both artists blew me away.

Mary is playing again on Saturday at the Paradigm at 5:15 p.m. (I think) as part of Motherfest.

I highly recommend checking her out!

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Bye Bye LaKisha

Well, I knew it would be between Blake and LaKisha. Tuesday wasn't good to either of them (and for future reference, it's never good to sing songs that have phrases like 'staying alive' or 'dangerzone' in them).

And while I wasn't shocked to see LaKisha go, it was still sad to see her perform her swan song.

LaKisha is a good performer. Unfortunately, she hit her high notes a little early in the competition.

When you have nowhere to grow, you kind of get stuck.

But I think voters made the right choice. I'm looking forward to seeing next weeks show.

Blake will have to pull out all of the stops to stay in this week. He's got some tough competition.

Four to become three tonight on AI

Who's going home tonight on American Idol? Flip a coin.

Jordin was the clear winner last night, and while I'm getting sick of Melinda's awe shucks attitude, she pretty much brought it last night.

While I was raving about Blake last week, this week he was a little blah. Randy said it, you don't have to beat box in every song, and last night Blake took it too far.
LaKisha struggled as well, and I wasn't really impressed. So I think either Blake or LaKisha are going home.
But we'll see tonight on American Idol.

French Whine

Paris Hilton, famous socialite and reality TV “star,” is hoping to appeal a California judge’s ruling that would have her serving 45 days in jail.
According to reports, Hilton was sentenced last week to 45 days in jail for violating her parole on charges of alcohol-induced reckless driving and license suspension. Police pulled Hilton over on a traffic stop in February, which proved to be a violation of her probation. To make matters worse, she showed up fashionably late to her hearing last week.
In a bid to avoid the simple life in jail, Hilton has even asked Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to pardon her.
Meanwhile, Hilton fired her publicist after he admitted to not informing the socialite on the conditions of her probation.
I thought the Anna Nicole thing was a crock.
Paris. How dumb are you? Your license was suspended. That means you can’t drive. Driving a car violated your license suspension charge — hence, the parole violations. The charge itself is pretty self-explanatory. For someone who has signed contracts her whole life, I’m pretty sure you understand the definition of the legal term suspended.
Now, it’s nice and fun to get behind the celebrity, especially when they (boo hoo) didn’t know they were breaking a law, but Hilton was originally busted for drunken driving, in a state with extremely stiff drunken driving penalties. The fact that she got off with a suspended license and a slap on the wrist is insulting to us mere mortals who would have gotten a nice head wound from having the book thrown at us.
Paris, you’re going to jail. It will suck. Your publicist won’t be able to call you at all hours, the parties won’t be as interesting, the food probably won’t live up to your five-star lifestyle and the clothes only come in one-size-fits-all.
But you deserve it, and that’s just the way it is.

AP photo

The Simpsons: Mad Mad Clip O’ The Week

The Simpsons movie hits theaters on July 27, and I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. In celebration of the release, I will be putting some of my favorite clips from the show up on Mad Mad Media for the rest of you to enjoy.
Today’s clip is from the 1993 episode “Cape Feare.” Bart’s nemesis, Sideshow Bob, returns intent on killing Bart for sending him to jail. To escape, The Simpsons enter the witness relocation program. But, as you can see in this clip, Bart is still a little on edge.

Spidey's a hit

Well, it's official. Even if Spider-Man 3 had a pricetag of $350 million, after only one weekend in release - Spidey is a hit.

The web-slinging sequel pulled in a whopping $148 million domestically, and a total of $375 million worldwide in its first weekend in release. Analysts say it could reach $200 million in the U.S. by this weekend.

That's good news for Sony, which took a presumed huge gamble on this one. Though Sony never copped to it, analysts have said Spider-Man is the most expensive movie ever made.

And there's very little competition for Spider-Man 3 next weekend.

The only new releases hitting theaters is Georgia Rule (starring Lindsay Lohan and Jane Fonda), the horror sequel 28 Weeks Later and Delta Farce starring Larry The Cable Guy (Git 'R' Done).

UPDATE: IMDb is now reporting that Sony will make at least three more Spider-Man movies. Apparently they were very happy with this weekend's returns.

MORE: If you haven't seen Spider-Man 3, here's the trailer.

A risk well worth taken

Last night’s American Idol was actually exciting, and it’s about damn time. Who knew that Bon Jovi would be able to bring idol out of its slump.
Kudos to just about all of the contestants last night, but the one who truly shined was Blake. His rendition of You Give Love A Bad Name, off of Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet, was out of this world!
Not only was it fiercely original (really, who ever interpreted a Bon Jovi song that way?), but it was a huge risk. HUGE! It was a performance that could have fallen flat on its face, but it worked. I’ve watched it on YouTube several more times, and - wow - it’s really a great performance.
As for the rest: Phil had a surprisingly strong performance, Chris flopped, LaKisha did a lot better this week than she did last week, Jordin was pitchy - but she really hit the high notes, and Melinda served up a rare miss.
Who’s going home? I think Chris for one; the other is a toss up.

Watch Blake's performance below.