Happy post-Easter, Scenesters.

Hope you had a great holiday. 

By the way, just wanted to pass along this nugget of info – if you're on Twitter, more and more Northeast Mississippi bands are on the site. The Upside joined Twitter over the weekend – check out their page here. Also, The Embrace has been on Twitter for a little while now – check out their page here. Don't forget, you can also follow me/Scene Now on Twitter, too.

News!

• Good news for Pearl Jam fans – the band is working on a new album, tour and film.
• YouTube and Universal have teamed for an online music video venture.
• Here's scoop on Cam'ron's new album.
• Also working on new material is James Otto.
• Aerosmith and ZZ Top are going on tour together – here are the dates.
• Bad news – "Trust Me" has been canceled.
• Ziggy Marley is working on a kids' album.
• Bet you never would've guessed, but the "Hannah Montana" movie is No. 1 at the box office.

What's happening this weekend?

• Check out Alvis Hatch & the Grace Based Band at Boondocks in Tupelo on Friday.
• Both M. Scott Morris & Kelli Karlson enjoyed "Adventureland." It's playing in theaters now.
• The Disposable Faces have a show tonight at the State Theatre in Starkville on Friday.
• Tailor Made Tragedy, Forever & Never and Shaved will be at Good Time Charlie's in Tupelo on Saturday.
• Entourage has a gig at Rick's Cafe in Starkville on Friday.
• Tonight's Thacker Mountain Radio features authors Joseph Boyden and David Robertson, with music by Amy LaVere and Paul Overstreet. It's at The Lyric Oxford.
• The Upside and Nova Roma will perform at Barnes & Noble in Tupelo on Friday.
• The Cooters are performing with Deltagun at Two Stick in Oxford Friday.

Merry Thursday, dears!

Hope your week is going well!

Here's some news for you...

• This week marks the 15th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. MTV reporters Tabitha Soren and Kurt Loder remember Cobain and covering his death.
• Kanye West  launching his own cologne and energy drink.
• The Country Music Hall of Fame is opening an exhibit on Brenda Lee.
• New music by No Doubt was leaked yesterday.
• Gerard Way's comic, "The Umbrella Academy," is definitely coming to the big screen.
• Ani DiFranco is working on new music.
• And, "Dollhouse" fans, watch out – the show is not canceled, but Fox will not air season one's final episode.

This week’s “Show & Tell” is TV-based.

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m really digging this season of SciFi’s “Ghost Hunters.” This is a show that, with any other people, could get really boring – “Ghost Hunters” follows a paranormal investigation team as they look into haunting claims at different locations. Each episode is basically the same – they hear about a place that’s haunted, go there, get its history, investigate it, analyze evidence and give the owners the results – but with Jason, Grant, Steve, Tango and Kris, there’s never a dull moment. This is one of my favorite shows, and the TAPS team are some of my favorite people, on TV right now.

Also, “Supernatural” is terrific this year, y’all. I loved last week’s episode, “The Monster at the End of This Book.” 

I also enjoyed the story about the show in the most recent “Entertainment Weekly,” about whether or not the show will continue after its fifth year. This is a really terrific show, but I’d actually be totally cool if the show ended next year. 

I'm still digging "Castle," Nathan Fillion's new show.  It always keeps you guessing...and did I mention it stars Nathan Fillion?

What are you in love with this week? What show, book, movie, song, album, comic book, commercial shook your world?

Scott MacIntyre was voted off "American Idol" Wednesday.

He was in the bottom three with Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai, and in the bottom two with Anoop.

What do you think about the results?

Last night's theme on "Idol" was Songs From the Year You Were Born.

Danny Gokey was first, singing "Stand by Me." I'm not a big Danny Gokey fan, as we all know. To me, he did what he always does – starts out kinda nice, then shouts the rest.

Randy said: He didn't like the arrangement but Danny made him like it.

Kara said: He killed it. He did it his own way and he did it well.

Paula said: She liked his performance.

Simon said: The beginning was good, the middle was lazy, the end was terrific – overall, great.

Kris Allen sang Don Henley's "All She Wants to Do is Dance" with his guitar. Um, I liked it last night...can't remember a thing about it today.

Kara said: It felt like jazz-funk homework, and he lost the song's youthful feel.

Paula said: Kris is one of the show's most likeable contestants.

Simon said: It was indulgent and boring and he came over as a guitarist who wants to sing.

Randy said: It was indulgent and he was too busy listening to the arrangement to listen to Kris' vocals.

Lil Rounds (and we learned last night her first name really is "Lil") performed Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It." I LOVE that song, and Lil was alright, but it wasn't anything special.

Paula said: She's a brilliant vocalist but needs to be original.

Simon said: They're not looking for a second or third rate Tina Turner – it was a copycat performance. She has to become original.

Randy said: She's not listening to the judges when they tell her she needs to be original.

Kara said: It's about making the leap between being a singer and being an artist.

Anoop Desai sang "True Colors." Very much like Kris, I liked it last night, but I can't remember a thing about it today.

Randy said: Anoop can actually sing.

Kara said: He controlled the song and didn't let the song control him.

Paula said: "You did show us your true colors."

Simon said: He's like a singing yo-yo – some weeks he's good, some week he's not. It wasn't fantastic but he made it his own.

Scott MacIntyre sang "The Search is Over" – with his guitar! And that's all I remember about this one either...

Kara said; She wouldn't have picked this song for him; there were both good and bad moments.

Paula said: She liked the guitar. "Bravo."

Simon said: Go back to the piano b/c that's where he's comfortable. The song was horrible.

Randy said: It was OK.

Allison Iraheta sang "I Can't Make You Love Me." I thought she did a really great job with it, even though its content is pretty adult.

Paula said: She brought a tenderness to the song.

Simon said: It was very good but he's not sure about her personality.

Randy said: She reminds him of Kelly Clarkson. One of the best of the night.

Kara said: She made the adult content of the song feel believable.

Matt "Sheena's Mama's Favorite" Giraud sang "Part Time Lovers," and it was a really cool arrangement. I thought he made the song feel young.

Randy said: It was one of the best of the night.

Kara said: It was incredible.

Paula said: "Two words: standing O."

Simon said: A million times better than last week – well done.

Adam Lambert finished the show with his cover of "Mad World." It was originally done by Tears for Fears, but Lambert's version was more like the one featured in the film "Donnie Darko." MTV has a story on the song here.

By the time Adam sang, the show was running over by five minutes, so only Simon gave his critique. He basically said, "Word are unnecessary" and gave Adam a standing ovation.

What did y'all think about last night?

Happy Wednesday, dears!

Hope your week is going well. I don't know about y'all, but I can't wait for a new "Ghost Hunters" tonight. This new season is fantastic! I wish there was a way to get that whole TAPS crew down to Mississippi...

News!

• If you like Nickelodeon and Comedy Central (and, come on, who doesn't?), you can stream some of your favorite shows on Netflix.
• Note to Fox: A reality show about people getting laid off is cruel, not entertaining.
• Click here to see Neil Young's new film, which is streaming online.
• "Reaper" isn't doing so well.
• Conor Oberst and his band are releasing a documentary.
• Click here to check out a new clip from "Star Trek."
• And, finally – could this mean that Jessica Simpson has given up country music?

Hey y'all,

What's on your iPod this week?

It's a funny coincidence that iTunes has changed its pricing system, while all of my favorite new things on my iPod were free.

It just so happens I found The Three Musketeers of Great Free Tracks today.

The first free song I found and fell in love with is "Wolf Man" by Griffiti Island. I read about the band and downloaded the song for free on NME.com.

I love the lyrics to that song, and the low-fi, punk sound is amazing.

The second? That belongs to the iTunes free single of the week, "I Know What I Am" by Band of Skulls.

I love, love, love the way this song sounds. It reminds me of The Kills, The White Stripes, etc. It's a very simple, dirty, rock-blues sound. Love, love, love.

Then, I got a tip from one of my best friends that Amazon.com is offering a free download from comedian Craig Ferguson's new comedy album. It's his Sean Connery bit. You have to love Craig Ferguson. :)

I also randomly downloaded some more free tracks off NME.com that are also worthy of your time: "New Age" by Sleepy Sun and "25 Years" by Middle Class Rut.

Check out iTunes, Amazon and music sites like NME.com or Spin.com for free downloads, as well as indierockreviews.com. Share your favorite sites that offer free downloads, too!

But what do y'all think about this whole new iTunes price changing thing? I don't use iTunes nowhere near as much as I used to, before I discovered the glory of things like Amazon's mp3 store and emusic.com. I'm hoping I can get around ever having to pay $1.29 for a song.

So, talk back, dears – what are you listening to this week?

Where do you go for free/cheap music?

What do you think about the new prices on iTunes?

Happy Tuesday!

Hope your week is going well!

News!

• The Beatles' entire catalog will be reissued...on CD....later this year.
• Want Kiss to return to Tupelo? You can vote to get them to come here.
• This is pretty sad – NBC did not renew its contract with "Nashville Star," so the show is in limbo.
• iTunes has changed its pricing – songs are now either 69 cents, 99 cents or $1.29.
• Ben Harper and his band is going on tour. 
• And, finally – here's a cool auction for all kinds of entertainment-y goodies, and all of the proceeds go to the Adrienne Shelly Foundation (she was the director/writer/co-star of "Waitress"). Many of the items are pretty pricey – I like how the Nathan Fillion lunch has one of the biggest price tags – but it's all pretty cool.