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The 2011 Video Music Awards: A Toast to Gaga, Britney, Kanye, Jay-Z and Beyonce's Baby Bump
August 29, 3:55 PM ET| Rob SheffieldTraditionally, the Video Music Awards bash is the one night a year when MTV gives it up to music fans. This was not the case last night. MTV has never looked so hilariously embarrassed by what's left of its own music programming.
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Live-Blogging the 2011 Video Music Awards
Rob Sheffield's live blog of the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards is over, but you can still relive the highs and lows of the 27th annual Video Music Awards. What... | More »August 28, 11:55 PM ET| Rolling Stone -
The Work Ethic of 'Breaking Bad'
Walter White could probably spring for some new glasses. The guy's making money now, after becoming the top meth chef in Albuquerque, and he could also replace ... | More »August 8, 10:00 AM ET| Rob Sheffield -
Why the Sleaze Doesn't Stick to Dr. Drew
Dr. Drew Pinsky may be the Col. Kurtz of the War on Drugs. He's gotten off the boat and set up his own compound for his Celebrity Rehab empire at the Pasadena Rec... | More »July 25, 4:14 PM ET| Rob Sheffield -
The Kinky Beasts of 'True Blood'
June 23, 9:00 AM ET| Rob SheffieldThe last time we saw Sookie Stackhouse, amid all the rampant gore and sweat and naked flesh of True Blood, she had a bit of a revelation: "I know I am basically vampire crack." Well put, Sookie.
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The Monkees Return, Terrific as Ever
June 17, 2:25 PM ET| Rob SheffieldThe last time we all saw Micky Dolenz, he was playing himself in the Syfy original movie Mega-Python vs. Gatoroid, which starred Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, back in January. He had a cameo where he appeared onstage to sing some hits for an Everglades preservation benefit, except the show got interrupted when he was eaten by a mega-python. Or maybe that was a gatoroid. I'll have to watch the movie again.
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An Anniversary Tribute to the Ultimate Smiths Album, 'The Queen Is Dead'
June 16, 11:40 AM ET| Rob SheffieldHappy twenty-fifth anniversary to The Queen Is Dead, released on June 16, 1986. Everybody agrees this is the Smiths' best album, except, bizarrely, the Smiths, all four of whom seem to prefer Strangeways, Here We Come. Morrissey has always been insistent on this point. "The Queen Is Dead is not our masterpiece," he said in 1995. "I should know. I was there. I supplied the sandwiches."
Tasty as those sandwiches must have been, he's wrong.
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On 'The Voice,' Cee Lo Is the Straw Stirring the Drink
June 15, 2:09 PM ET| Rob SheffieldTeam Cee Lo is so far out in front it’s almost sad. This guy is clearly not just the greatest judge in the history of TV singing competitions, he’s a life coach for us all. He’s spent the past few weeks on The Voice buffing his "Red Zone" team into a funhouse mirror to reflect his own bonkersosity, and the whole show benefits from it. Last night he led the kids in a version of Sly Stone’s "Everyday People," wearing a vintage dashiki and an Afro wig that the Thompson sisters could have jumped out of (maybe next week?).
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'The Voice': Idol's Wild Child
May 27, 12:55 PM ET| Rob SheffieldIt's safe to say that The Voice has gotten off to a roaring start. It's the top-rated new series in the coveted 18-to-49 demographic, and it's no wonder NBC is expanding it to two-hour live episodes in June. Everybody expected a flimsy American Idol knock-off. But instead, The Voice has turned out to be a brilliant surprise. The ingenious team format pumped new life into the singing-contest formula, from the blind auditions to the cage-match sing-off duets. It has the excitement and sparkle of a true pop event.
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A History of Violence: Murder and Justice in Bob Dylan Songs
May 10, 9:30 PM ET| Rob SheffieldAn unlucky 13 tracks in which one or several of Dylan's characters meet their untimely (or sometimes well-deserved) demise.
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The Ultimate Mother's Day Playlist
May 6, 10:40 AM ET| Rob SheffieldThe annals of rock & roll folklore are full of tough mothers, evil mothers, motorcycle mamas, mothers of invention. Although stars love to get sentimental over their mamas, there’s something special about the fearsome, badass maternal figures of rock & roll – whether it’s LL Cool J’s mama telling him to knock you out, or Rosalita’s mama chasing Bruce Springsteen off the porch with a broom. So here’s a few of our favorite mom songs.
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Goodbye, Michael Scott: Steve Carell Has Left the Building
April 29, 2:35 PM ET| Rob SheffieldFarewell Michael Scott, and thanks for the already-traumatic memories. It was a historic episode last night for The Office, as Steve Carell's bumbling boss left Dunder Mifflin for the last time, offending everyone in the office one last time on his way out. As Dwight put it, "I've given up expecting Michael to do the right thing, or the decent thing, or even the comprehensible thing." But seeing Michael throw out his World's Best Boss mug — the one he had to buy himself — it was like Prospero breaking his wand at the end of The Tempest.
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'Game of Thrones' Is a Genius Fantasy Saga — and Not Just for Geeks
April 28, 1:20 PM ET| Rob SheffieldAdmit it: You were counting on Game of Thrones for at least one centaur orgy. Maybe involving a fair maiden or two from the darkest depths of Mordor. But that's the brilliant twist of HBO's smash fantasy saga: It's designed to appeal to those of us who hate fantasy sagas. No centaurs, no wizards, no unicorns. Instead, it sticks to the timeless combo of breasts and beheadings. The ratio is approximately six severed heads per nipple — in fact, we get a heap of dismembered corpses in the first scene. The way Game of Thrones spins human history, people were sick bastards back then — which is why this world looks so familiar. Read the full story here.
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Aerosmith's Best Deep Cuts
April 27, 9:00 AM ET| Rob SheffieldHow have Aerosmith managed to stay together this long? "It's very easy," Steven Tyler told me in 2001, with Joe Perry sitting right next to him. "The worst part of Joe is that he's a fucking asshole. It ends there. And by the way, no more of one than I've ever doubled him on. So what's the big deal?" Well put, sir! So don't worry too much about American Idol ripping the Aerosmith guys apart. It's been tried. Whether it's drugs, groupies, diseases, detox or motorcycles, nothing has ever been able to kill the strange chemistry between these five famously combative personalities.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Rob Sheffield is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where he writes about music, TV and pop culture. He is the author of two books, Talking To Girls About Duran Duran and Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time.
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