Burgernoodle

Fergie, the booty-shaking, platform-wearing pop singer has not only won a date with Tad Hamilton, she’s won his everlasting husbandry love.  According to CNN, a publicist for Josh Duhamel (star of TV’s ”Las Vegas” and last summer’s “Transformers”) has announced that the two little love birds are now engaged.  The oddly paired romantic couple have been dating for three years and have recently bought a house together. 

In a completely unrelated sidenote, I’d like to add that Fergie got exponentially more interesting once she stepped away from the Black Eyed Peas and released her solo album, “The Dutchess.”  I’ve actually gone from despising her to pumping “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Glamorous” into every jukebox I come across. I’d love to know how many people share this sentiment.  I also want to test out this polling feature…

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And when you do, your olfactory senses should pick up on a certain someone named Ollie Byrd, a one-man show with a full band sound hailing from Brooklyn.  When I popped this little indie rock gem into my computer, Modest Mouse’s Lonesome Crowded West immediately came to mind.  But even though it channels Isaac Brock’s quirky vocals, this by no means defines the album: the Mouse is merely a recognizable influence.  Barrel O’ Fun has a quintessential noise-pop quality - low fi sound wrapped around smooth melodies.  And with catchy guitar riffs and digital drum beats around every corner Byrd creates the perfect marriage of rock and pop.

This album is anything but predictable, which is a refreshing change from the formulaic nature of many big label productions.  Sometimes even within the same track (”Wendy”) Byrd fluctuates between brooding verses one minute and melodious sing-a-longs the next.  Jason Miller from Stereolab Music Review describes one of the stand-out tracks, “Chaka Khan” with the following: “It sounds as if Kurt Cobain had fallen for a Jenny Lewis type instead of Courtney Love and gave birth to a tongue in cheek downtempo love ballad.”  It’s a bizarre, yet chillingly accurate analogy.

With all the generic rock and pop that is mass produced and shoved down our throats like day old spaghetti, experiencing Barrel O’ Fun is like suddenly biting into a mascarpone and gruyere calzone.  That doesn’t mean it’s cheesy, it means you should put down your fork full o’ Fall Out Boy and pick up some Ollie Byrd. Pronto.

So when I noticed that the Grammy Nominations were announced today, I quickly thought of my Sunday evening plans and wondered if this time I would remember to set the DVR correctly (I was in Mexico for the Mtv Music Video Awards and I simply blanked on the recent AMAs).  To ensure that I don’t miss this one, I head on over to www.grammy.com only to see the horrific real-time countdown for the 5oth Annual Grammy Awards.  The ticker kindly informs me it’s a whopping 66 days, 4 hours, 49 minutes, and some odd seconds away, as if the Recording Industry doesn’t have anything better to do this holiday season than count down the days until mid February.  Another award show I’m destined to miss - which in all honesty is fine given the disappointing fact that Kanye West and Amy Winehouse are the leading nominees.

I’m placing my bets now as to how this one will pan out.  Celine will put us to sleep, Chris Brown will make all of our eyeballs tired with his 18 yr. old dance moves, and Britney will choose to forgo the festivities, opting instead for a trip to a nearby Starbucks.  I’m counting on a heavy American Idol presence, given the fact that Daughtry has sold more records than any other artist in 2007, and Carrie Underwood pretty much snagged every American Country Music Award.

I don’t care who the host is as long as one of the performances is Timbaland featuring One Republic.  The master producer has been responsible for most of the great pop singles of 2007.  It would only be right.

Remember when Lindsay Lohan used to be in the news because of her singing and not because of what she put up her nose? Wait, of course you don’t.  Let me refresh your memory.  Lindsay Lohan has two previously released pop music albums and now she plans to put out a third with a little help from a famous rapper. According to Yahoo News, 50 Cent plans to work with Lohan on her upcoming album, allegedly titled Nobody’s Angel.  Lohan’s dad, Michael, claims the two have known each other for some time now and are in “talks” about working together.  Believe it, people.  No source is more reputable than Michael Lohan, the deadbeat dad who’s probably still living off of her Parent Trap royalties.  I hope for 50s sake this isn’t true, it’s much too soon to commit career suicide.