As much of America learned Wednesday night from a caller's question on American Idol, this Saturday is Record Store Day, a time to celebrate independently owned record stores and, as the organizers put it, "the culture and unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally."
The day is an attempt to raise awareness about the value of the in-person perusing and purchasing experience that is currently in danger of extinction as the existence of many independent stores is threatened by the download. All kinds of fun stuff is planned for Saturday, including exclusive track releases from bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Vampire Weekend, Built to Spill, and R.E.M. and in-store performances and events occurring all over the country.
I've asked you before what your first album was, and I'm guessing most of them were purchased in actual stores. Do you get nostalgic thinking about that experience, and are you worried that the little record store down the street could close down? Do you ever buy your music in person anymore?
Tons of people, from famous directors to music legends, have weighed in on what record stores mean to them. To check out some of my favorite quotes and watch a clip of Regina Spektor talking about why she's excited for Saturday, read more
Ugly Betty returns next Thursday, and while I love the show, I caught myself wondering the other day what exactly did happen in the final few Betty episodes before the strike sent the series off to hiatus. Of course, reading my own recaps could help, but ABC has a couple of other ideas in mind for those who need to catch up.
I'm a big fan of the Ugly Betty podcast hosted by Becki Newton and Michael Urie, and to welcome the show back, they've taken things to the next level: a video podcast filmed partially at the studio of the show's composer. The two only add more fuel to the musical episode fire by creating a wild show tune, including shots of the cast hanging out on set and flashbacks to the most recent developments. The podcast is available for free at iTunes; you can subscribe to the podcast here, and the video episode will automatically download.
If jazz hands aren't your style, ABC has a somewhat more straightforward recap of both Betty seasons to date, hosted by intrepid reporter Suzuki St. Pierre from the show's fashion TV-show-within-a-show. Are you, as Urie and Newton sing, "ready for Betty"? To check out Suzuki's take on the show's state of affairs, just read more
For the first half of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I laughed out loud almost nonstop. Deliciously rife with Apatowian elements — bumbling self-deprecating characters, bawdy jokes, "call-'em-like-I-see-'em" bits of social commentary — it's a satisfying parade of sarcasm and sight gags. It even begins with a shamelessly, utterly nude Jason Segel, a move I fully admire. Yet somewhere along the line everything starts to lose steam, and it's hard to care much about any of the characters — least of all our schlubby protagonist. And sure, it's still funny, but — awesome musical puppet interpretation of Dracula notwithstanding — the heartbeat of the film weakens tremendously.
Of course, for many people this won't matter, and the fact remains that it's still a good comedy in that it makes us laugh. But is it a tight story with great characters? I'm not so sure. In case the extremely pervasive marketing techniques for this movie never permeated your consciousness, here's the story: Pete Bretter's (Segel) TV actress girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) breaks up with him. Grief-stricken, Pete sleeps with as many women as possible before finally deciding a trip to Hawaii will better help him forget Sarah Marshall. But when he reaches the lush, beautiful hotel, there she is — with her new boyfriend, Brit rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). Awkwardness ensues as Pete obsesses over Sarah and also tries to avoid her. Enter hot girl hotel employee Rachel (Mila Kunis) who is happy to take Pete's mind off Sarah, which only ignites Sarah's jealousy. Soon, Pete must decide what — and who — he thinks will make him happiest.
Welcome to Buzz Brainteaser, the trivia feature on BuzzSugar! Every weekday I'll test your knowledge about TV shows, music and movies. If you enter in the correct answer, you win points!
In Magnolia, what is the song playing every time we see the adult quiz kid, Donnie Smith (William H. Macy) in his car?
Fox has a repeat of House and is new with Canterbury's Law
NBC has a repeat of Most Outrageous Moments and is new with Dateline
CBS has repeats of Ghost Whisperer, Moonlight, and Numb3rs
ABC has a repeat of Desperate Housewives and is new with Duel and 20/20
The CW is new with Friday Night SmackDown
MTV has Real World
VH1 is new with Best Week Ever
TLC is new with What Not to Wear
E! is new with The Soup
Sci Fi is new with Battlestar Galactica
Late-night highlights include Amy Poehler and Jason Segel on Late Show with David Letterman on CBS and Tracey Ullman on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC
The moment that How I Met Your Mother's Robin first revealed that she was the Canadian teen pop sensation Robin Sparkles, complete with hit single "Let's Go to the Mall," was one of the show's truly classic moments — not to mention one of my favorite online TV spots of all time.
On Monday, Robin Sparkles is back — this time with a little help from James Van Der Beek as an ex-boyfriend of Robin's who happened to star in the video for the B-side to "Let's Go to the Mall," a wistful breakup ballad called "Sandcastles in the Sand." Variety already has the whole song streaming online, but I'm holding off on listening to it until Monday. It's probably silly, but I want to be at least a little bit surprised.
I did, however, cave and watch some of the video teasers that have been released via CBS and MySpace. From the peeking I've done, I can tell the videos have a great, dated vibe, with a dose of Heidi Montag beach video and an amazingly awkward Dawson-related make-out scene. Can't wait till Monday? You can check out both video teasers if you read more
Oh, wow, what have we here? Dane Cook playing a gross jerk again — only this time, he gets paid for it. And, in the end, it looks like he gets Kate Hudson. The trailer for My Best Friend's Girl (previously titled Bachelor No. 2), in which Cook plays a guy who dates a girl (Kate Hudson) with the intention of acting so heinously she's driven back to the arms of Cook's buddy (Jason Biggs), leaves quite a bit to be desired. It looks generic and not particularly amusing, but maybe it will deliver something fresh when we see it in its entirety? Hey, I can give it the benefit of the doubt (especially since the bit with Alec Baldwin is pretty funny). Judgment day will come September 19 when the movie comes out. To check out the trailer and tell me what you think, read more
Singer and actress Selena Gomez posed for pictures at the 2009 American Music Awards with a pretty pink smile on her face. She took advantage of the occasion and went glam; wearing a Talbot Runhof sequin dress with black strappy heels.
As much of America learned Wednesday night from a caller's question on American Idol, this Saturday is Record Store Day, a time to celebrate independently owned record stores and, as the organizers put it, "the culture and unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally." 
Tory Burch
Chevignon
Hot Diamonds