Who is The Who?

The Who is receiving a lot of flak for their Super Bowl performance. Though they certainly did not sound their best, my biggest personal complaint is, as Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times put it, “The Who hasn’t really been The Who for twenty years now.” The band you saw play at the Super Bowl included Pete Townshend, Roger Daltry, and Ringo’s Starr’s son Zak Starkey, who was formerly with Oasis. Bassist John Entwistle died in 2002, and drummer Keith Moon died in 1978. That makes Daltry and Townshend the only two surviving members of the original quartet. Are they still The Who when they’ve lost two out of the four original members? After all, Axl Rose tours with a band he refers to as “Guns N’ Roses,” and Rose is the only original member. Watch the performance below.

Super Bowl Breaks MASH’s Ratings Record

The Super Bowl set a new record for all-time viewership. The series finale of MASH, which aired in 1983, garnered 105.97 viewers, and 106.5 viewers tuned in for this year’s Super Bowl. Some speculate that the Super Bowl had such high viewership because many were rooting for a city and not just a team. Others speculate that more people were watching at home because of the economy which helped the Nielsen ratings.

Before the baby boomers start to cry about MASH, please note that it still holds the record for all-time viewership for a series finale.

[Image via vtg]

SXSW Announces Lineup

The South by Southwest film festival (SXSW) announced its lineup. South by Southwest is comprised of interactive, music, and film festivals in Austin, Texas. Amongst the headliners this year is The Runaways, a film with Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart, based on the all girls teenage rock band from the 70’s. SXSW also confirmed more than 50 of the music acts set to perform. The SXSW festivals are the highest revenue producing event in Austin. To see some of the musicians set to perform, watch the videos below.

My Favorite Super Bowl Ad

This ad caught me by complete surprise. I thought I was hallucinating when I first saw it. Why on earth would Dave do such a thing? Why would Jay? Was this post-production wizardry? Then I read the story behind it, and I realized it was a genius idea. It promotes The Late Show, while still helping Jay by showing that the animosity between these two guys can’t be all that bad if they are willing to sit on a sofa together and film this. Apparently this ad was top secret, and it was filmed at the Ed Sullivan theater, with both Oprah and Jay sneaking in while Dave was filming The Late Show to avoid suspicion. Take a look.

Taylor Lautner is Stretch Armstrong


Taylor Lautner has been cast as Stretch Armstrong, the action figure that was first released in the 70s by Kenner. I now feel ashamed that I got so angry at movie remakes. I’d take a remake over a toy adaptation any day. An example of another toy adaptation movie is The Care Bears Movie. Hopefully Stretch Armstrong will be just as good.

I posted a pic of Gumby instead of Stretch Armstrong because if a movie is going to be made based on a stretchy toy it should be Gumby!!!

[Image via Worker101]

Howard Stern to Replace Simon Cowell?

According to the New York Post, Howard Stern is in talks to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol. Because Rupert Murdoch owns both the Post and Fox, the story has legs. Stern has repeatedly said on his radio show that he is the only person that could replace Cowell, but he wouldn’t be interested in the job. Is this whole thing one big negotiating ploy with Sirius because his contract is up at the end of the year? Will Stern retire from the industry altogether, as he often says he’d like to do? Time will tell.

Oscar Doesn’t Laugh

It has long been known that the Academy does not recognize comedy, and this year’s nominations were no exception. With the exception of Julie and Julia, none of the Golden Globe comedy winners were nominated for an Academy Award. Some insiders hoped that movies like The Hangover and (500) days of Summer would be nominated. However, this does beg the question of what exactly is a comedy? Though The Hangover is certainly a comedy, what about Up in the Air? Does that count? Apparently not, as it’s a “tragi-comedy.” Sigh…it’s all so confusing.

[Image via Aurelien]