Not only has Jesse been a great addition to the Popblerd! staff, he’s also helped me revitalize the somewhat dormant Blerd Radio! (translation: I was a little too lazy to keep doing these myself.) Our first record was recorded last week, but fell victim to some serious audio issues; namely the fact that everything I said echoed. With audio issues fixed, we forged on ahead earlier this week and recorded a much more successful episode. Join Jesse and I as […]
pop culture
Mr. Schuester Goes Into the Recording Studio…
One reason I dislike “Glee” is because I feel as though it helps promote not-entirely-helpful stereotypes, most notably with the sassy overweight black girl character and the unnecessarily queeny gay kid. The preponderance of those types of characters in the media leads to expectations that every sista is gonna be a neck-snappin’ shoulder-swivelin’ loud type, and that every gay guy is gonna be an effeminate, shoulder bag-toting wimp. Simply not so, folks. Of course, in truly hypocritical fashion, the only […]
Blerditorial: Has “Family Guy” Jumped the Shark?
I didn’t have TV reception for almost half a decade (summer 1996 to the beginning of 2002), so I had a lot of catching up to do once I was able to actually watch TV again. Hell, I still have major pop culture lapses from that era-not knowing anything about “Friends”, for example. One of the first shows that was brought to my attention once I was back in touch with the rest of society was “Family Guy”, via the […]
The Viewfinder: “Hollywood Tonight” by Michael Jackson
So, Michael, the first posthumous release of unreleased material by The King of Pop, hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations. While certified Platinum in the U.S. for shipments of in excess of a million copies, the reality is that it’s sold about half of that. It’s hard to breathe life into a project when the artist isn’t here to promote it, but bless their hearts, Michael’s record company and management are trying. “Hollywood Tonight” is the second video release from […]
The Phil Collins Retirement Blues
I am an unrepentant Phil Collins fan. Starting with “You Can’t Hurry Love” back in ’83, I’ve had a soft spot for the British singer/songwriter/producer/drummer. While I wouldn’t call any of his works genius, the fact of the matter is that Face Value and No Jacket Required are essential Eighties albums, and the man has never made a horrible studio album (yes, there are good songs on Dance Into the Light, Testify, and especially Both Sides-a somber, divorce-themed album that […]
The Viewfinder: GaGa Goes Gaga in “Born This Way” Video
I’ve said it here a few times before-I’d like Lady GaGa a lot more if not for her “image”. The woman is talented-powerful voice, she writes a mean song, and is quite musically talented. Of course, despite the fact that she possesses those talents, there’s no guarantee that she’d have gotten anywhere. Hell, I can make a list of 100 female singers who sing well, write good songs and are musically proficient, yet sell 10% of what Britney Spears (who […]
Chart Stalker 2/23/11: Love Those Grammys!
With the Grammy Awards achieving their highest ratings in a decade, it figures that this week’s Billboard Chart is one of the busiest in recent memory. Artists who performed on the show, won awards, and even artists that presented on the show have marked increases in sales. Of course, it helps when you not only perform on the show, but release a new album in the same week. Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never-Remixes bows on top of Billboard’s album chart […]
Popblerd! Presents: Your 2011 Grammy Awards Live Blog (& Drinking Game)!
award shows / Country Music / hip-hop / Indie Rock / music / news / pop culture / Pop Music / rock music / soul music
Some folks go crazy over the Academy Awards. Some folks go nuts over the Super Bowl. For me, unless a New York City team is in the World Series or Super Bowl, my most exciting pop culture event has to be the Grammy Awards. It intrigued me as a kid-it was probably the first award show I ever saw. I believe it was the 1980 ceremony, and all I remember is that The Doobie Brothers were performing, I was watching […]
The Black Keys Go Hollywood!?!
Never have I wanted to see a movie so bad. In the flurry of entertainment news in the past few days ( Arnold Schwarzenegger back in Hollywood ! The new Lady Gaga single ! X-Men: First Class trailer premiere !), the one that stood out the most for me was the Howlin’ For You trailer. But, wait! It’s set to The Black Keys song of the same name and…is that The Black Keys in the trailer? Is it a trailer? Is it a music video? Who cares! It’s awesome. While I do still miss Frank the Funkasaurus Rex , I will never say a bad […]
Popblerd!’s 2011 Grammy Preview: Rock
It’s the dinosaurs, y’all! Grammy’s rock categories typically tend to honor those who have attained a certain tenure in the industry. Grizzled vets get carte blanche, and if you’re an up and comer, you know you’ve been accepted into the rock establishment when the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences starts heaping little golden gramophones on your ass (i.e. Kings of Leon, Green Day, Foo Fighters, The White Stripes, etc.) This year’s most interesting category overall (to me) is […]
Having Faith Once Again: George Michael’s Pop Masterpiece, Revisited
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”‘s not the type of song any great songwriter would like to leave as a musical legacy, and George Michael knew that when he decided to split Wham! up in 1986. After four successful years of making easily digestible pop/dance anthems with (questionably talented) partner Andrew Ridgeley, George retreated into the studio with his sights on making an adult pop album that would resonate with fans in the same manner as the then demigods of […]
