The 12-12-12 concert to benefit victims of Superstorm Sandy, held at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night, boasted a lineup ranging from aging white English people to other aging white English people. In both spirit and personnel, it resembled the venerable post-Sept. 11 Concert for New York City, with Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton and the Who, all returning to perform at the Garden and joined by even more A-list stars.

All artists can be commended for donating their time to a worthy cause. (Donations to Sandy victims can be made here.) But this was a nearly six-hour concert which means there were moments that were awesome ... and moments that were the opposite.

"Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” has received widespread praise since it was published in May. (Courtesy of Ecco) The good news keeps coming for first-time novelist Ben Fountain. Since publishing “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” in May, the Dallas writer has been showered with praise. The Washington Post chose “Billy Lynn” as one of the five best novels of 2012, just a few weeks after it was named a finalist for the National Book Award. And last night in New York, Fountain accepted the $10,000 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize from the Center for Fiction.

In its laudatory review, The Post called “Billy Lynn” a “Catch-22” “updated for a new era.” The story takes place on Thanksgiving Day when a squad of U.S. soldiers comes back from Iraq to be special guests at a Dallas Cowboys game.

The Guardian reports that Paul McCartney is expected to take the place of the late Kurt Cobain alongside a reunited Nirvana at Wednesday’s 12.12.12 benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York City.
Nirvana rock band: (L to R) Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain, David Grohl - (ANTON CORBIJN - GEFFEN RECORDS COMPANY)

Elaine dates a freegan. Jerry gets hooked on “Game of Thrones.” And Twitter, that much-loved platform for pop-culture commentary, breathes new life into long-gone TV shows.

Much has been made of @SeinfeldToday, the (hilarious) new Twitter account that imagines modern shenanigans for Jerry, Kramer, George and Elaine. Even if you aren’t a huge fan of the show, the account’s appeal is pretty obvious: Dated characters + modern follies = comedic gold.

Kramer is under investigation for heavy torrenting. Jerry's new girlfriend writes an extremely graphic blog. George discovers Banh Mi.

— Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday) December 10, 2012

The Rock Hall has spoken: Rush, Heart, Public Enemy, Donna Summer, Randy Newman and Albert King will be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a ceremony at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre on April 18.

When it came to genre, gender and generation, this year’s ballot boasted a notable degree of diversity — so expect the debate that usually rages after the Hall’s announcement to gain a little more heat this year.