Happy (Very Belated) Birthday to Madonna

This heat wave on the East Coast has just killed me this past week, and I am behind on several postings. Sunday was Madonna's 52nd birthday, and I completely forgot to write anything about it. Like any good gay, I'm a huge fan of Madge, so I'm happy she remains prolific into her fifties, while so many other acts eventually lose some relevance in pop culture and the music industry. In honor of her birthday, here's a listing of my top ten favorite Madonna songs.

1. "Like a Prayer"
2. "Vogue"
3. "Papa Don't Preach"
4. "Human Nature"
5. "Express Yourself"
6. "You'll See"
7. "Oh Father"
8. "Ray of Light"
9. "Sooner or Later"
10. "Holiday"

RIP Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson

How odd yesterday was, losing two pop culture icons within hours of each other. Farrah Fawcett's death had been expected, after suffering the last few years with cancer, but Michael Jackson's came as a complete shock. The two stars will surely be missed, having left an indelible mark on American pop culture over the last thirty years. In both cases I wasn't around for their rise to superstardom, having been born in 1982. My earliest memories of them take place after the two were well established. I would always watch the syndicated reruns of Charlie's Angels around the ages of four and five (god, I was so gay), and I remember thinking the music video for Michal Jackson's "Bad" was one of the greatest things ever. In retrospect the video is kind of hokey. After their passings, what I most wonder about is how will they be remember thirty years from now? Without a doubt, Michael's music will live on, but I wonder how his personal life will affect people's perspectives.

Grammys - The Morning After

Wow, that show was kind of pointless. They aren't even trying to be relevant or at least appear to be interested in current music. I mean bringing out Paul McCartney, Neil Diamond, and Smokey Robinson to sing there old classics, was kind of ridiculous. The Grammys were essentially saying, "Here, see this is the music we like, never mind about today's crap." Oy! It's okay if you want to celebrate the artists, but at least have them sing their current stuff. Neil Diamond's last album was his first to reach #1 on the Billboard album charts, and it received good to great reviews. Why not have him sing something from that? Anyway, I'm going to try to focus on the positive from last night's broadcasts. My five favorite performances from last:

1. Jay-Z, Kanye West, TI, Lil Wayne & (a very preggers) M.I.A - "Paper Planes" & "Swagga Like Us"
2. Radiohead - "15 Step"
3. Estelle & Kanye West - "American Boy"
4. Jennifer Hudson - "You Pulled Me Through"
5. Sugarland & Adele - "Stay" & "Chasing Pavement"

Grammy Awards Tonight...Eh

The Grammy Awards are tonight, and while the awards themselves usually suck, I'll still watch the ceremony to see the performances. M.I.A. better be performing, damn it! Here's a run though of a few categories - who I think will win, and who I think should win.

Record of the Year:
"Bleeding Love" - Leona Lewis
"Chasing Pavements" - Adele
"Paper Planes" - M.I.A.
"Please Read the Letter" - Alison Krauss and Robert Plant
"Viva la Vida" - Coldplay

Should Win: "Paper Planes" - which will never happen in a million years! Also, where the hell is Estelle's "American Boys?" It should have been here!
Will Win: "Viva la Vida" - Coldplay's big win for the night

Album of the Year:
In Rainbows - Radiohead
Raising Sand - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Tha Carter III - Lil Wayne
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay
Year of the Gentleman - Ne-Yo

Should Win: Umm? Actually I haven't heard any of these, but I'll say Radiohead, because, well...it's Radiohead
Will Win: Raising Sand - it's the Steely Dan Rule. If an older artist, who has never previously won Album of the Year, gets a nod, they automatically win.

Song of the Year:
"American Boy" - Estelle and Kanye West
"Chasing Pavements" - Adele
"I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz
"Love Song" - Sara Bareilles
"Viva la Vida" - Coldplay

Should Win: "America Boy" - duh
Will Win: "Viva la Vida" - throw another one to Coldplay

Best New Artist:
Adele
Duffy
Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan

Should Win: Adele - she seems like she'll thrive longer than Duffy
Will Win: Yeesh tough call. Adele seems like the obvious choice, but this is the Grammys, so I'll go out on a limb and guess Lady Antebellum

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance:
"Bleeding Love" - Leona Lewis
"Chasing Pavements" - Adele
"I Kissed a Girl" - Katy Perry
"Love Song" - Sara Bareilles
"Mercy" - Duffy
"So What" - Pink

Should Win: Adele, Duffy, and Pink are all worthy, but based soley on vocal performance, I'll go with "Chasing Pavements," though it's not the best song
Will Win: "Bleeding Love" - the worst on the list

Lady GaGa Says "Just Dance"... So I Do

It's probably been played to death already, but I'm currently in love with Lady GaGa's "Just Dance." When I first heard it played on the radio, I didn't think much of it, but overtime I got into it, and now I listen to it everyday as a pick-me-up. It's Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" all over again. I think the video of "Just Dance" with its combo of trashy location and sexy/glamourous players helped get me appreciate the song. It reminds me of any number of parties I attended in college, where I'd be in some trashy apartment surround by a bunch of girls in designer labels. Ahhhh, that was the life!

Sunday Blessings - Henry Rollins

Last week I went outside the box and devoted Sunday Blessings to actor Jason Schwartzman. This week I'm going back to a traditional pick, choosing a large, muscled man(hey, what can I say, I have a type), but I'm still deviating from the norm. I'm devoting today's edition of Sunday Blessings to punk icon and current talk show host, Henry Rollins. Yeah, that's right Henry Rollins. Now you may be thinking that he's too scary and angry. Well, on stage, yes he is, but that's half the appeal. The other half of the appeal is the witty, sensitive side of him which comes across in his interviews and stand-up routines. Ok, his rocking body is also an important feature when talking about his attractive qualities. I remember back in the early nineties, when I was a wee lad, seeing his video for "Liar" on MTV. He appears in a cop uniform and a superman costume, and he's often half naked, parading around in just shorts, which is his perferred attire when performing. How I was smitten with this angry, screaming man. I doubt it was his intent, but that video was seriously homoerotic. Although, isn't his whole persona kind of homoerotic? I'm just thinking to myself here. The one drawback of Rollins' career and existance, however, is that the lead singer of every wannabe punk rock band tries to be him. Seriously, if you've ever been to a small, punk show, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's like, "Yeah, you're exactly like Henry Rollons, well, except for the rocking body, sex appeal, wit, originality, and you know, talent. Other than that, you're just like him!" Yeesh. But anyway, let us all praise Jesus for gifting us with Henry Rollins' hot body. Amen

Teddy Thompson - A Piece of What You Need

I bought this album just this past week, and I love it. I'm advising everyone to go out an buy it or download it. His lyrics are so witty and clever, and his voice is haunting. Go and purchase it, seriously!

Brief Comments on the Grammy Noms

The Grammy nominations were handed out yesterday, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not really a big fan of the Grammys as an awards body. Out of the four main awards, Oscars, Emmys, Tonys and Grammys, there the biggest joke, with the Emmys often a close second. I may have my grudges against the Oscars and their chosen winners, but they sometimes get it right, making surprise decisions, and even when they don't, the winners still reflect the time period in which they won. That cannot be said about the Grammys. Seriously does anyone consider Herbie Hancock's album one of the best of last year, or does anyone actually think it's relevant to the current music industry? No, of course not, but it still managed to pull an Album of the Year win over Kanye West and Amy Winehouse, not to mention all the great artists who weren't even nominated. Anyway, this year's nominees for Album are Coldplay, Ne-Yo, Lil' Wayne, Radiohead and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss. So I guess we can all assume Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will win this. Although, to be fair, their album did receive some great reviews, so it wouldn't be a total "WTF seriously" win. Is there anything I'm happy about, when it comes to this years nominees? Well I'm happy for the Duffy, Estelle, and Adele noms, but the three nominations that actually made me smile and chuckle were M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" for Record of the Year, Rufus Wainwright's Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall for Best Traditional Pop Album, and Kathy Griffin's For Your Consideration for Best Comedy Album. Those three made me happy.