As evidenced in my responses to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame post, I'm not a fan of most of the popular bands out there. However, I do have a kid and someday soon that kid is going to tell me I'm out of touch and not with it because I am not familiar with the music she's listening to. I'm pretty sure MTV doesn't actually play music videos anymore and top 40 radio has too many commercials. So I downloaded this music video widget which automatically plays the top 100 AOL music videos on my desktop. Now, without any effort on my part, I can be spoon-fed what's hot in the music world, and while I still may not like the songs, at least I can say I know what they are.

Remember the olden days when only the rebellious rock stars used to party hard, do drugs, and drink themselves stupid? It was all part of the show back then, so much so that when they were rushed to the hospital for an OD or crashed while driving drunk, no one was really surprised. Now it seems to be the trend for all kinds of celebrities. Spinner takes a walk down memory lane, counting down the worst "party" offenders in the music business. At first I thought they were sticking to hardcore rockers, but they included Britney. So where is Elvis on the list? Was his drug and alcohol use just "classier" than the rest? Who else are they missing?

Were you an Elvis fan? Or are you an Elvis fan? There's no denying that he made an impact. Elvis bridged the gap between many different genres and cultures and his stamina is unheard of, especially given all the one-hit wonders of today. His influence on other musicians was monumental. People still know who he is 40 years later and they still buy his stuff (although in much different formats). There were other musicians in that era such as Sinatra, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones who were comparable, but check out these quotes about Elvis compiled from some of the most successful and famous musicians ever. He truly is King. Is there anyone from our generation (last 2 – 3 decades) who will get that kind of respect? Is there anyone comparable? Do we have an Elvis? I would nominate Prince (and it only makes sense a Prince would follow the King) in terms of bridging genres, influencing others and staying relevant. He's never really lost his cool. Any nominations from the peanut gallery?

BTW – here's my good deed for the day. If you missed seeing the AOL Exclusive of Elvis and Lisa Marie's 'In the Ghetto' video, you can get it at i-Tunes. All proceeds from the video and single will benefit a new

So between posts about Star Wars and Comic Books, I've been showcasing my geeky true nature a little more than usual. However, I found something today that out-geeked me. On AOL Radio there is an entire station devoted to music from Anime, another one for J-pop, and an entire station that only plays the music to video games. I tend to keep my computer tuned to Punk U and I hadn't surfed other stations in awhile so I started looking around. I was amazed to find that in addition to the standard genres like Country, Alternative, Metal, Funk and Hip Hop, and then the newer fusion genres like Funky Metal and Country Hip Hop (yes, I joke...but it's only a matter of time...), there are some really crazy and niche categories covered. There is an entire station devoted to Wedding Songs and another solely for Father/Bride Dances. There are standard Movie Scores, or you can get more specific with Horror Movie Music or Jenna Jameson's 69 Sexiest Songs. There's a Black Metal station from Norway, a Bollywood station from India, Top Irish Tunes and even Hawaii's Greatest Hits. Do your tastes tend to lean towards old time radio? There is an entire station devoted to music from the15th and16th century! Check out the list -- you're bound to find something you like.

The spouse sent me a link to an article about old pop stars slamming new pop stars. The interesting part is the photo gallery in the middle of the post that shows stars from the 80s compared to what they look like today. I was 10 years old in 1985 and these folks seemed old to me back then, so it was fun to see what an additional 20 odd years has done to them. There are lots of photos -- almost 70. I am making a point of blogging about this site just so I could go through the entire set while at work and claim I was doing "research." Some of these guys don't seem to have aged at all over 20 odd years (it looks like Jordan Knight invested in tanning cream and cryogenics). Some look older but better than they did 20 odd years ago (well played Banarama, Bangles and Annie Lennox). Some seem to have not noticed 20 odd years went by (Devo? Hello?). And some others... well. Some others don't appear to even be same gender they were 20 odd years ago. I'll let you find that one on your own.

I know my pursuit of all-cool-things-off-the-beaten-track takes me down some dark paths once in awhile, but often the results are worth it. Even if you are not a fan of his, hearing the intentionally creepy and always shocking Marilyn Manson host AOL's Top 11 Video Countdown is worth checking out. While on the one hand, he uses the time for some hilariously flagrant self promotion, on the other hand, you can hear the absolute loathing in his voice at having to introduce the likes of Hilary Duff or The Pussycat Dolls, which is equally amusing. Do I even need to say that it contains mature content and viewer discretion is advised?