Inside DC| More...
 

Pop Music

American Idol -- Hollywood Week Day Four: The Final 36

Michael Giltz | Posted 03.15.2009 | Entertainment

Read More: Pop Music, Reality TV, American Idol, Joanna Pacitti, Joanna Pacitti Disqualified, American Idol Season 8, Entertainment News
Michael Giltz

We had three Sing Offs during the two hour show and it certainly made for good TV, thanks to the fact that each guy could hear the other one perform.

Read Post

American Idol Hollywood Week Day Two Ratings Grow

Michael Giltz | Posted 03.08.2009 | Entertainment

Read More: Reality TV, Simon Cowell, Pop Music, American Idol, Television, Tv, Entertainment News
Michael Giltz

My favorite moments last night were not the sobbings and fights, but the (very brief) glimpses of good performances.

Read Post

American Idol -- Hollywood Week Ratings Down But Strong

Michael Giltz | Posted 03.07.2009 | Entertainment

Read More: Reality TV, Simon Cowell, Pop Music, Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, American Idol, Entertainment News
Michael Giltz

My biggest complaint about Hollywood Week is that I still feel like there are loads of people I don't know yet. The judges cut 147 people down to 104 and no one who was cut deserved to stay.

Read Post

American Idol -- San Fran and Louisville

Michael Giltz | Posted 02.22.2009 | Entertainment

Read More: Reality TV, Simon Cowell, Pop Music, Ryan Seacrest, Paula Abdul, Leneshe Young, Fox, Kara DioGuardi, Music, American Idol, American Idol Auditions, American Idol Season 8, Entertainment News
Michael Giltz

After the dearth of exciting talent in San Francisco, I was hoping Idol would come charging out of the gate with some great singing. Instead, they started off with a train wreck.

Read Post

Interview: Singer/Songwriter Lizzy Grant on Cheap Thrills, Elvis, The Flamingos, Trailer Parks, and Coney Island

Felicia C. Sullivan | Posted 02.20.2009 | Entertainment

Read More: Lizzy Grant, Kill Kill, Coney Island, Music, American, American Flags, Las Vegas, Billie Holiday, Songs, Entertainment, Brooklyn, The Beach Boys, Roller Coasters, Beauty, New York, New York City, Pop Music, Rock Music, Interviews, Jazz, Cat Power, Beaches, Amusement Parks, Boardwalk, Singing, Coca Cola, Beach Boys, Aimee Mann, Nick Cave, Entertainment News
Felicia C. Sullivan

Lizzy Grant: I like things that go fast, things with bright colors, things that taste good. At Coney Island, you can get a Coca Cola, ride the roller coaster, and watch everybody.

Read Post

Is Shanice a Marketing Genius?

Mark Blankenship | Posted 02.04.2009 | Entertainment

Read More: Marketing, Youtube, Pop Music, Rihanna, Beyonce, Record Industry, Entertainment, Music, Entertainment News
Mark Blankenship

Do you guys remember Shanice? Oh, you know... she had a big hit in 1992 -- and she may have devised one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns of the internet age.

Read Post

Are MGMT Douchebags? Does it Matter?

Chris Goldberg | Posted 01.15.2009 | Entertainment

Read More: Rolling Stone, Youtube, Pop Music, Music, Rock, Douchebags, Mgmt, Electric Feel, Time to Pretend, Mgmt Douchebags, Entertainment News
Chris Goldberg

Music is music. Does it really matter what a band looks like -- or even acts like -- as long as you dig their music?

Read Post

The Britney Show: A Pop Princess and American Womanhood

Sarah Seltzer | Posted 01.14.2009 | Entertainment

Read More: Pop Music, Paparazzi, Women and Media, Music, Mtv, Britney Spears, Feminism, Entertainment News
Sarah Seltzer

Britney Spears' pop-tart image was created as a fantasy for the average man, but since her brush with the ugly side of fame, she's been subjected to the average female nightmare.

Read Post

Making Music Green

Cliff Hunt | Posted 01.03.2009 | Green

Read More: CD Packaging, Pop Music, Record Labels, Ipod, Music Industry, Music Promotion, Radio Stations, Cds, Major Labels, Music, Green News
Cliff Hunt

In Canada all four major labels have exclusively switched to digital distribution for promotional releases, preventing the manufacture and shipping of millions of ecologically harmful CDs.

Read Post

"Everyday People" Turns Forty -- and the "Good Sixties" Triumph

Robert S. McElvaine | Posted 12.30.2008 | Politics

Read More: Pop Music, 1960s, Religion, Civil Rights Movement, Rock Music, Sly Stone, Everyday People, 2008 Election, Music, Barack Obama, Spirituality, Culture, Grand Theft Jesus, Politics News
Robert S. McElvaine

This month, "We shall overcome" overcame "I shall overindulge" as the meaning of the Sixties.

Read Post

Giving Thanks To The Cover Song

Andrew Kronfeld | Posted 12.27.2008 | Entertainment

Read More: Rock and Roll, Bob Dylan, Pop Music, Cover Songs, Music, Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Forgery, Art Forgery, Musical Influences, Oasis Wonderwall, Jimi Hendrix, Musical Homage, Entertainment News
Andrew Kronfeld

In most forms of art, the idea of copying implies a forgery and a criminal act. But the case is different with pop music, where a cover song is viewed as an homage to one's influences.

Read Post

NYT: "Anatomy of a Flop" Tune Dissected

Karen Dalton-Beninato | Posted 12.23.2008 | Entertainment

Read More: Pop Music, New York Times, Peter Holsapple, Music, Jeff Beninato, Rock and Roll, The dB's, Happiness, New Orleans, Entertainment News
Karen Dalton-Beninato

One of my favorite writers, musically and otherwise, Peter Holsapple has published an insider's dissection of the dB's "Love is for Lovers" in the New York Times.

Read Post

Enjoy Yourself

Michael Sigman | Posted 12.05.2008 | Living

Read More: Pop Music, Entertainment, Music, Work vs Pleasure, Last Words, Mindfulness, Spirituality, Spiritual Fulfillment, Cancer Victims, Songwriting, Buddhism, Living News
Michael Sigman

It's foolish (and counter-productive) to constantly pursue pleasure as an end in itself. Happiness, they say, is a by-product of satisfying work.

Read Post

Hanson: So Out, They're In

Lindsay Mannering | Posted 10.05.2008 | Style

Read More: Pop Music, Zachary Hanson, Music, Style, Taylor Hanson, Isaac Hanson, Hanson, So Out It's In, Style News
Lindsay Mannering

There's been a lot of anxiety these days about the future of our nation: McCain vs. Obama, Jamie Lynn Spears vs. Bristol Palin, 90210 vs. 90210. They...

Read Post

The (Lounge) Lizard King: Happy Birthday, Buddy Greco

Tony Sachs | Posted 09.14.2008 | Entertainment

Read More: Herman's Hermits, Siegfried & Roy, Rat Pack, Stan Getz, The Lady Is a Tramp, Buddy Greco, Peggy Lee, Las Vegas, Dean Martin, Beatles, Michael Buble, Pop Music, Palm Springs, Jazz, Show Business, Cy Coleman, Duke Ellington, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Standards, Hank Williams, Great American Songbook, Marvin Gaye, Charo, Lennon-Mccartney, Entertainment News
Tony Sachs

Buddy Greco's been counted out more times than a punch-drunk boxer, and he bounces back every time. And even in 2008, he's still one of the best jazz pianists around, and a hell of a singer, too.

Read Post

Shotguns and Munaqababes along the Arabian Sea

Mark Levine | Posted 07.17.2008 | Politics

Read More: Heavy Metal, Death Metal, Al-Qa'eda, Islam, Terrorism, Islamism, Pakistan, Iraq, Music, Junoon, War on Terror, Foreign Policy, Pop Music, Religion, Middle East, Central Asia, Rock N' Roll, Peshawar, Politics News
Mark Levine

In the U.S., and even in Pakistan, the North-West Frontier Province is known almost exclusively as a haven for terrorists, ultratraditionalists, and drug and arms smugglers.

Read Post

American Idol Top 4: Jason's Last Bow

Michael Giltz | Posted 05.14.2008 | Entertainment

Read More: Simon Cowell, Reality TV, Syesha Mercado, David Cook, Pop Music, Ryan Seacrest, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Jason Castro, American Idol, Fox, David Archuleta, American Idol Season 7, Entertainment News
Michael Giltz

I've preached that as long as the two best make the finals, there's no real big scandal about who goes home in what order. But if Jason Castro doesn't say "bye bye" this week, it'll be a shonda.

Read Post

American Idol Top 5: The Results

Michael Giltz | Posted 05.07.2008 | Entertainment

Read More: Simon Cowell, Reality TV, Syesha Mercado, David Cook, Pop Music, Ryan Seacrest, Neil Diamond, Brooke White, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Jason Castro, David Archuleta, Fox, American Idol Neil Diamond, Entertainment News
Michael Giltz

Diamond gave away little about his attitude towards the singers and since we didn't see him actually giving any tips or suggesting arrangements, changing keys, or doing much of anything, I assume he wasn't a very active mentor.

Read Post

American Idol Top 6: Andrew Lloyd Webber

Michael Giltz | Posted 04.30.2008 | Entertainment

Read More: Simon Cowell, Reality TV, David Cook, Syesha Mercado, Pop Music, Ryan Seacrest, Brooke White, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Jason Castro, David Archuleta, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Carly Smithson, Entertainment News
Michael Giltz

Idolmade the debatable claim that Andrew Lloyd Webber "composed most of the important musicals of our time," and I predict the bottom three will be Carly, Jason, and Brooke.

Read Post