Random Thoughts: What I learned from RS 1021

Most of this comes from the mouth of Rolling Stone...

My beloved eMusic*, which is now No. 2 in digital music sales behind the almighty iTunes, "appears close to a deal" with EMI for the sale of unprotected MP3s. No freakin' way. I love you, eMusic ... kiss, kiss?

Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke explains his group's reasoning behind its new sound: "There were literally a zillion bands coming out of the U.K. with that staccato guitar sound and disco drum beats."

Literally a zillion bands? Really? (Why don't you get back to us after you look up the definition of "literally.")

Chris Cornell quit Audioslave. That's good for everyone involved -- especially people with ears.

No word yet on a Soundgarden reunion, though....

RS called Prince's Super Bowl XLI halftime show "one of the most electrifying in history." I would have to go one further and say it's the only one I actually tuned in to watch.

Verdict? Best. Ever.

College radio's Top 15 albums includes Of Montreal's "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" (No. 2) and Sloan's "Never Hear the End of It" (No. 4). That makes me smile.

It's probably because of all the exposure they're getting from "Don't Tell a Soul," my awesome mix tape series. A HA HA

Norah Jones likes the Specials ... who knew? Her music is still impossible drech, but I like her more and more as a person -- especially after seeing pics of her "secret" punk group, El Madmo.

Damn the Man, Take 26: On assignment in Cordova, Alaska (the sight of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill), intern Colin Stutz said he only had to dig down six inches into the beach's sand to find oil and smell gasoline.

This is 18 years later, people!

Apparently there's a video on College Humor showing Joe Rogan confronting Carlos Mencia -- who has long been accused of stealing other comedians' material -- during one of his sets.

Way to go, Joe, I applaud you. Your humor has long been a "horsesh*t comedy" punchline, but you don't deserve it because A) I know my mom sure appreciates you and B) at least you come up with your own stuff.

I haven't seen a flattering paparrazi shot of Britney for some time....

Quote of the Week
On his group's new album, "It Won't Be Soon Before Long": "It's so weird the Police are getting back together just as our Police rip-off record is coming out." -- Maroon 5's Adam Levine

Say what you will about Levine's "new" group, but Kara's Flowers was something to write home about -- long a "DTAS" favorite.

NoDak repealed its 117-year-old law that equated premarital cohabitation to a sex crime. (As a former resident of Fargo, I can finally confess to living in sin with not one but two different women.)

An enormous weight has been lifted....

Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz sans trendy T-shirt? Thanks, Peter Yang, that's what the magazine's reputation really needs. May as well slap "Now Exclusively for Teens" on the front cover somewhere....

Maybe covering up Wentz's disgusting man nipples?

Note to self: Buy Air's "Pocket Symphony" and listen to M.I.A.'s new song, "Bird Flu," on her MySpace page. And definitely Netflix "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" and "Once" (with the Frames' Glen Hansard) -- but definitely not "Hounddog." (I don't need to see Dakota Fanning, 12, raped by a milkman....)

Justin Timberlake brought Andy Samberg onstage at his recent Madison Square Garden show to reprise their "Saturday Night Live" bit/YouTube hit "Dick in a Box." I've seen funnier faux R&B parodies (on "Mr. Show," namely), but I'm glad "SNL" is once again reaching more of an audience than me and anyone who happens to be in my company on any given Saturday night.

Random Shirts has a new one with the slogan "Girls Make Better Ninjas." Nice. (Meanwhile, PalmerCash has "Now Remember, Billy, Only Retards Wear Their Collars Up!"....)

Most Embarassing Quote of the Week
So sayeth Creed's Mark Tremonti back in '02: "We don't want to be the artistic band that one kid who wore stockings on his arms in class listened to. We want to be the band that 20 years from now you'll still hear on the radio."

There are no words to describe the hate I'm feeling for this man right now. It's that kind of attitude that fuels magazines (like RS) to pander to the lowest common denominator (aka Fall Out Boy fans who don't know that their favorite band is just a carbon copy of the Stereo).

*While you're there, download Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible." Album of the year? Nah. Top 10 maybe. But it does have the song of the year, "Intervention." For reals....