I had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn’t too early for VMA Nominations to be announced. Lo and behold, we’re almost done with July, and now is the usual time that the nominees for the show-an MTV institution since 1984-to be announced. To (what should be) no one’s surprise, the leading nominees are Katy Perry, Adele and Kanye West. Whatever you think of the music made by any of these artists, you have to admit that Perry […]
pop culture
The Viewfinder: Beastie Boys “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win (feat. Santigold)”
If you didn’t know this already, the Beastie Boys are back in a big way in 2011. If the fantastic Hot Sauce Committee Part Two or the “Make Some Noise” short film didn’t convince you then their latest dub-tinged single featuring Santigold most surely will. Ok, not only is “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win” one of the best songs on the recently released Hot Sauce Committee Part Two but the Spike Jonze-directed short film megamix version that […]
The Strangeness of Cee-Lo Green’s Talking to Strangers
What do Chevy Chase, Pat Sajak, Alan Thicke and Cee-Lo Green have in common? Read on to find out. Fantastic singer. Amazing emcee. Man who has every conceivable area of his body tattooed. Certified eccentric. Man who vaguely resembles a dinosaur. One thing Cee-Lo Green is definitely NOT? A talk show host. Over the weekend, I had the vaguely horrifying experience of watching Cee-Lo’s Fuse-TV chat show “Talking with Strangers”, and I found myself reliving one of the saddest experiences […]
Blerd Radio Episode 8: MTV in Middle Age
Blerd Radio / movies / music / New Releases / news / Podcasts / pop culture / Pop Music / R.I.P. / TV
Welcome to yet another episode of Blerd Radio! In this episode, your hosts Mike & Jesse pay tribute to a cultural phenomenon by acknowledging the thirtieth (!) anniversary of MTV. Whether you love it or hate it, you can’t deny that the advent of Music Television changed the industry as well as pop culture. Over the course of this episode, we discuss our favorite classic videos, shout out some iconic VJs, and bemoan the constant “16 & Pregnant” marathon the […]
Aging Hip Replacement–What The Hell is He Wearing?
Skinny pants. That’s the dividing line for me, skinny pants. It’s where I was no longer able to understand the fashion that the kids are wearing today. I don’t mean tight jeans, spandex, leotards, tights or any other form of fashion that tightly hugs the contours of the body. I’m talking “hey check out the skinny pants I just bought at Hot Topics” skinny pants. Growing up in my formative fashion years, hard rock and later grunge ruled the airwaves. […]
The Blerd & Gonzo Cover Convo: “Blinded by the Light”
Gonzo: So, I can’t find the original studio version on Youtube. Mp3 incoming. In the meantime, I’m going to get some hummus. Blerd: Aw dude, that makes me look bad. I’m eating Chex Mix G: Aw, shit. Well, let’s get down to business Most of our convos thus far have been in the pop/R&B realm. I’m taking us a little more into rock territory. B: Ooh…dangerous! Shall i hit play? G: Let’s! [amazon-product text=” Buy Bruces Version of “Blinded By The […]
“Watch the Throne”: It’s Coming, But When?
The arrival of one of hip-hop’s most anticipated albums is imminent, but there’s still not an official release date. There was a significant amount of buzz on the internet surrounding Kanye West & jay’Z’s Watch the Throne recently. Many reports suggested that the album might even see a surprise release today. Well, the album’s not out, but it appears that it has been completed. A preorder page has been set up for the album, with standard and deluxe versions available. The cover […]
Spin Cycle Plus: Beyonce’s “4”
Beyonce’s 4 has been quite the subject of discussion over at Popblerd HQ. With so many opinions about the pop star’s work and the controversy surrounding the album (after several songs from the album underperformed and the entire set leaked about a month before release, it was rumored that Beyonce’s record company asked her to go back into the studio and retool the album. These rumors have been categorically denied all around), it was only right that we gave you […]
Roundball Soundoff Summer Edition: Khendra’s Draft Notes
I had the fun and luxurious time of being able to catch the entirety of the NBA Draft (it’s so nice to have Fridays off in my current grad school course!). I know many people are saying this Draft isn’t that much better, if at all, than last year’s ho-hum group, but I think there are quite a few interesting “niche” players who will hopefully get to show their talents this upcoming season (“hopefully” since there is still a high […]
bLISTerd: The 20 Best Michael Jackson Songs (Part Two)
Make sure you check out the first part of our list here . I’ll admit that this is where you’ll find the more “no-brainer” Michael songs, but I think that speaks less to predictability and more to a general consensus of his genius. There are certain things that make a great pop single-captivating lyrics, hooks that won’t leave your head, unique vocal performances. These ten songs have all those qualities and more. If your iPod only had room for 10 Michael […]
Blerd Radio Episode 7: Solstice Edition
Welcome to the lucky seventh episode of Blerd Radio, in which the special guest floodgates open. The episode starts as per usual-with Mike and Jesse talking about…death. We tribute Clarence Clemons and (somewhat less so) “Jackass”‘s Ryan Dunn. Then, we jump into this week’s new releases-a little (well, a lot) of metal for Jesse, a little Jill Scott and Liam Finn for Mike. We are intermittently joined by Regina A.K.A. Mrs. Jesse (she has finally decided to lift her veil […]
