But wait, there is hope once again!

The New York Post is reporting that the seminal MTV show Beavis and Butt-head will be returning to the airwaves with all new episodes!  The new episodes will still feature the boys as high-schoolers, but instead of flinging their cynical and moronic critiques at music videos from the 80s and 90s, their old cracked television will now feature current videos.

Some people might say that Beavis and Butt-head was the first step in MTV’s movement away from featuring music videos.  That’s fair and it may be true.  But couldn’t it also then be the first step in reversing that trend and leading the station closer to its origins?  MTV is never going to be a 24/7 music video station again – the economics just don’t support it.  But I’m sure they can get away with showing some, and if so, the return of Beavis and Butt-head is a sneakily awesome move in that direction.

And can you imagine what kind of comments those two will have while watching the “Alejandro” video?

-Sam

I’m a huge fan of Scrubs (minus the unnecessary and derivative ninth and final season) so it was with much delight when I was walking around Annapolis, MD that I saw a poster on the window of a restaurant/small concert venue announcing that The Blanks would be playing a Sunday matinee show this weekend!  Count me in.

If you aren’t familiar with The Blanks, just imagine your dad and three of his nerdy friends getting together to sing TV theme songs (real and original), classic rock tunes, and lighthearted jokey comedic songs.  Toss in some humorous between-song sketches and you’ve got The Blanks.

The one question that always arises when someone is trying to reproduce what they did on television in front of a live audience is, how much help did they get from the editing room?  I’m happy to report that The Blanks are in no such need of any technical wizardry to hide behind.  They’ve all got great, clear voices that filled the room and worked well together within the different arrangements.

They covered most of the songs that appeared on Scrubs, including a rather beautiful rendition of “Over the Rainbow” (which you’ll remember came from the great Wizard of Oz-themed episode).  But most of those songs were the short theme songs.  The Blanks really shined when they stretched out a little and put together longer (relatively) arrangements like with the original song “A Little Polish” (as in shoe polish, not someone from Poland).

Apart from being really good singers, The Blanks are showmen and comedians at heart.  They had a running “story line” which tied the whole show together and their between-song comedy routines were great for adding variety to the show.  Also adding variety were the “guest singers,” otherwise known as plastic toys and dolls like Mr. Pumpkin Head and Captain Commando who come equipped with programmed sound snippets that the guys creatively wove into songs.

The highlights of the show were the classic rock montage featuring “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and “Carry on My Wayward Son,” the Solid Gold oldies bit, and the absolutely hilarious show closer “Maniac” featuring a dancing Mrs. Claus figure.  That’s all I’ll say about that, but if you are interested in checking these guys out, they have some upcoming dates in the northeast later this summer.  They are a perfect group to bring your parents to because they keep everything clean, but you’ll still laugh a lot and have a good time.

(My only gripe?  I was hoping they’d bring out the Gooch as a special guest.)

-Sam

It’s a chance for him to keep him comedy timing sharp as well as to stretch out and dabble in other areas that he only hinted at during his time hosting – namely playing the guitar and singing.

He’s been playing his own tweaked versions of “I Will Survive” and “On The Road Again,” which you can see after the jump.  But I wanted to highlight a great rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep” that Conan tried out during a sound check early on in the tour.  It’s comes complete with his hilarious Mary Poppins Cockney accent and lyrics about being punched in the throat by British celebrities.  Check it out:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The remaining tour dates can be seen here.  More videos after the jump:

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Click here to view the embedded video.

-Sam

White hosted one of the funnier Saturday Night Live episodes of the season this past weekend, displaying a natural comedic skill that stole most of the scenes she was in.  One of the funniest was this fresh take on the theme song to Golden Girls:

Click here to view the embedded video.

-Sam

So it was no surprise that this week’s episode, with Tina Fey as host, was better than most of the other recent offerings.  Fey was a mainstay on the show for about five or six years in the early 00’s and she was noticeably comfortable in the role as host.

But for some episodes, there’s an added element of humor that can come into play from the musical act.  Whether it’s Dave Grohl playing drums in a wedding skit or Pearl Jam appearing in a Twilight Zone parody sketch, it’s a nice twist when the musical act can get involved in more than just their two songs.

That’s why it was cool to see Justin Bieber ham it up with Tina Fey in this week’s episode.  Playing a high school student with Fey as his teacher, Bieber serenaded Fey with promises to “buy her a panini and some Spanx to keep you teeny.”  I know a lot of people laugh off Bieber, and he’s certainly not my kind of music, but I don’t have a problem with him.  When it comes to teen pop, there’s much worse options out there.  And it’s usually a good thing when an artist can poke fun at themselves.

So kudos Mr. Bieber.  Check out the video after the jump (provided NBC hasn’t taken it down yet):

Click here to view the embedded video.

-Sam

First there was Britain’s Got Talent creating a huge star out of the unassuming and perpetually frazzled Susan Boyle.  She was a middle-aged homely woman, so, naturally, everyone was shocked, shocked!, when it turned out that she had a really good voice.  After all, everyone knows that only gorgeous people are bestowed the gift of a delightful singing voice.

Of course that’s not true, but you’d be forgiven for believing that since the only people ever actually shown singing in mainstream music are beautiful people.  Seriously, try to think of one big pop star who is an uggo.  Can’t do it.

But when Susan Boyle mania took over every media outlet for a time, the music industry sat up and took notice (the over 6 million albums sold in the US/UK combined didn’t hurt either).  So it’s no surprise that these talent shows are all probably scurrying to find the next unattractive crooner that will garner big ratings.

Taiwan’s Lin Yu Chun may be that person.

Known as “Little Fatty,” the plump 24 year old with a Moe Howard bowl cut appeared on the Taiwanese program Avenue to Stardom and wowed the audience with a spot-on rendition of Dolly Parton/Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”

Have a look:

Click here to view the embedded video.

-Sam

And yes, I’m from New England, and I realize that not liking the Sawx is tantamount to blasphemy in these parts.  Oh well, go Cardinals!

Anyhow, last night’s game featured a lot to talk about in regards to music.

If you watched any of the pregame, you probably saw Dr. Dre, decked out in a personalized Sox jersey, taking batting practice and promoting his custom Red Sox Beats headphones.  But the interesting news came when he was being interviewed alongside record executive Jimmy Iovine.  When asked which song they would suggest a batter use as his at-bat music, they both said “Under Pressure” which is an as yet unreleased song by Dre and Jay-Z, presumably off Dre’s Detox album, which has long been talked about but still has not seen the light of day.  But the way Iovine described the song made it seem like it’s completely finished.  Perhaps, then, we’ll get a firm release date sometime in the near future?  I hope so.

In other music news, at least Keri Hilson didn’t butcher the national anthem like she did just last week.

Steven Tyler, on the other hand, there to sing “God Bless America” during the 7th Inning Stretch, didn’t sound so sharp:

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s become customary in recent years in Fenway Park to play “Sweet Caroline” in the middle of the eighth inning, and for Opening Day, they got Mr. Neil Diamond himself to sing it live.  Pretty cool:

Click here to view the embedded video.

-Sam

They’ve given us such instant classics as “Dick in a Box,” “Jizz in my Pants,” and “I’m on a Boat.”

This past weekend, they debuted the video for the song “Boombox” (featuring Julian Casablancas) which comes off their first album, Incredibad.  It’s not as good as their best stuff, but it’s still pretty damn funny.

So have a look, and remember, kids, this is a cautionary tale:

Click here to view the embedded video.

-Sam

They struck gold again this past Saturday with their take on the “We Are The World” remake that was done to support Haiti.

Willie Nelson, David Crosby, and Josh Groban are my faves.

Click here to view the embedded video.

-Sam

And before I begin, I readily admit that I did watch some of the ice dancing on television.  Hey, the girls are generally hot and wearing skimpy outfits, so sue me.

The thing with most ice skating events is that the music tends to be really similar, generic stuff.  The skating rink is not really the realm of risk-takers when it comes to musical choices.

That’s why I almost jumped out of my chair when I heard the opening notes to Great Britain brother-sister duo Sinead and John Kerr’s ice dance routine.  You see, I’m a huge Linkin Park fan so I knew immediately that they had chosen “Krwlng” as their music.  Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the choice of Linkin Park was undeniably risky in such a setting, even drawing a remark from the commentators for the adventurous decision.

But you know what?  It actually worked – really well.  The song comes off the band’s Reanimation album, which is full of remixes, and the song features mainly electronic elements as opposed to guitars, lending a more ethereal tone to the song.  There’s some screaming on there too, and I have to believe that caught more than a few audience members off guard.

Ice skating needs more people like the Kerrs who are brave enough to step outside the boundaries of traditional musical choices and embrace some newer ideas.  I know it got me more interested in what I was watching.

Here’s a video of the Kerrs performing the routine back in January:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also, after the jump I’ve included a hilarious Metallica-inspired re-imagining of Evgeni Plushenko’s routine from the Olympics.

Kudos to Reign In Blonde for finding this:

Click here to view the embedded video.

-Sam