TVSquad

The stunning news yesterday about the death of Michael Jackson conjured up many memories of the singer for me, as I'm sure it did for most people. For many of us, there was never a time when the Jackson Five and Michael were not part of pop culture. Little Michael and his brothers on The Ed Sullivan Show, their funky outfits when they sang on The Flip Wilson Show (much cooler than the Osmond Brothers!), Michael as the Scarecrow in The Wiz (a hideous movie, but he was quite good).

Well after leaving his brothers to become Michael Jackson, solo superstar, Michael hooked up with Paul McCartney for a couple of songs, "Say, Say, Say" and "The Girl is Mine." The latter was okay, but the former was terrific. They co-wrote it and it reached #1 on the charts in 1983. Those were the times when MTV really showcased music videos and the artists and labels invested in top-notch productions. It was, if you will, the golden age of music videos!

If you tuned in last night -- and before the overnight ratings are even announced, I'm thinking that a lot of you did (taping Lost, like I did) -- you know now that we are down to the American Idol Top 10. These are the ten who will be touring the country doing American Idol concerts later this year and one of these contestants will be the next big AI winner. The next Kelly or Carrie or Clay (oh, wait, he didn't win).

So, who has the best chance and what does he or she have to do to get to the winner's circle? I've a prescription for each one of them -- free, unsolicited advice based on how the judges' view them and, more importantly, how the American public might be rating them.

So, I'm minding my own business the other day, watching one of last season's Burn Notice episodes in anticipation of the new season, when I see a commercial that made me laugh out loud. It was a promotion for the new season of Psych. Gus and Shawn (Dule Hill and James Roday) in a familiar-looking black and white set, at a grand piano, sitting side by side singing "Ebony and Ivory." It was hilarious. So funny that I decided you had to see it. (below)

James Roday laying on a Paul McCartney accent. The giant keyboard with the title Psych where Steinway should be. Dule Hill in the Stevie Wonder part, with impossibly wide collar flaps and a toothy grin.

More ammo for the "Larry King should retire" crowd.

On last night's show, King was interviewing Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and during the interview, during a segment where they talked about what they were doing when John Lennon was killed, he turned to Starr and asked "George, where were you?" McCartney didn't want to let the matter drop, but Ringo just laughed it off. Harrison, of course, is dead.

By now, Dancing With the Stars is in full swing, pun completely intended. It seems that audience members were at first weary of Heather Mills' decision to be a contestant in a show where others who have both their legs had deemed too physically demanding.

Appearing last night on The Tonight Show, Heather Mills admits knowing that most of America is waiting for her leg to fly off. Perhaps we should dub this phenomenon "Leg Watch 2007."

Part of the excitement of American Idol is the anticipation over who will or won't be making an upcoming guest-star appearance. Last year, Rod Stewart and Stevie Wonder stopped by, bringing star power and increased legitimacy to the show. Simon Cowell recently told Entertainment Weekly that there is a chance that ex-Beatle Paul McCartney may be making a guest appearance on American Idol this season. And Randy Jackson said he might be able to persuade Mariah Carey to get "in this game."

Man, that must have been a hell of an after-party Saturday night, huh?

Saturday's episode, hosted by Alec Baldwin, set the record for guest cameos: Tracy Morgan, Tina Fey, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Tony Bennett, and Paul McCartney all showed up to help bring some juice to what turned out to be a middling episode (the Nancy Pelosi sketch and the Baldwin/Martin sketch were good, as was Alec's line, "Bobby McFerrin raped my grandmother," but that was about it). Some of the participants, like Short and McCartney, were true surprises, but the others weren't. Why? Because NBC's promotions department are a bunch of putzes, that's why.

Airing intermittently on MTV and VH1 since the 1980s, Weird Al Yankovic's AL TV is basically a showcase for Weird Al's offbeat sense of humor, typically coinciding with the release of a new album. Weird Al's parodies and original songs was the first music I really got into, not counting "Pac-Man Fever," and more or less defined my sense of humor as a youngster. I lost interest in him as I got older, but still maintained an admiration for the poofy-headed one, because he's actually an extremely talented musician and composer, a fact often eclipsed by his penchant for writing silly songs about food and penning lyrics like, "you make me wanna staple bagels to my face, and remove them with a pitchfork."

My favorite part of AL TV was his "interviews" with different musical artists, and after the jump you can watch ol' Weird Al in action. Clearly, he's the Mike Wallace of nearsighted Hawaiian shirt-wearing freaks. Click on and enjoy:

Of course, for many of us, the question could be "did the Grammys ever matter at all?" But they're asking the question on CNN, and I have to admit that if I didn't write for a TV site I probably wouldn't even had known that the show was tonight (8pm on CBS).

Is this show important to anyone outside of the music industry? And why would it even be important to anyone in the music industry, since I don't think that a Grammy nomination or a win results in more sales to the average consumer. I mean, I don't think music fan buys a CD because the artist wins an award, they buy it because they like the artist anyway, or it was recommended by a friend, etc. In fact, the argument could be made that since the artist/album got a Grammy nomination, it already had great sales, or it wouldn't have been nominated (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, it's quality, not quanity - but that's in a perfect world. In the real world, sales means accolades).

So tell us: do you watch the Grammys? And if so, why? And do awards go out and make you buy the album?