• Lady Gaga, four years ago performing at NYU under her birth name and in her bare feet, stuns the judges with talent. They loved how she can “blow, sing, and tickle the keys.” [NYU Local]—Love it.
• A New York bride sued her wedding photographer for posting semi-nude pictures of her on his professional website after she explicitly told him not to photograph her while she denuded. [Gothamist]—Strange. And I’m happy my photographer was awesome.
• The maid café trend in Japan is here to stay and competition is really fierce for the 217 eateries, where things keep getting crazier and crazier. [CNNGo]

While performing “Halo” in front of a sold out crowd in London on Monday, Sasha Fierce did the unthinkable. She risked the life of her weave and crowd-surfed. WTF? [Buzzfeed]

It’s new release Tuesday, so it’s time to take the latest tunes for a spin! This week it’s all about the supergroup. Them Crooked Vultures will have you rocking out to the rock love child of Led Zeppelin, Queens Of The Stone Age, and the Foo Fighters. Plus, Norah Jones sings good songs about bad boys, John Mayer battles it out with Jen Aniston, Leona Lewis steps it up as a siren, Robbie Williams misses MJ, Kid Sister busts out with some funky fresh beats, and Felt pays homage to Rosie Perez.

• “Telephone,” the Lady Gaga and Beyonce duet off Gaga’s Fame Monster album, has hit the internet. [YouTube]—I really like it, but it sounds more like Beyonce’s song than Gaga’s.
• Did you know Jimi Hendrix had a sex tape? Well, here are 16 others you might not have seen. [Maxim.com]
• Some movies like “The Wrestler” have such ambiguous endings, but now the mystery is solved. [College Humor]

Back in fourth grade, for whatever reason, I frequently would daydream in class about being a grownup with two kids—their father would be my crush of the year, Justin Coffee. In this fantasy, I’d sit them down by the CD player and reveal to them the amazing music I had listened to when I was a kid, the way my parents had done for me with the Beatles and Bob Marley. The albums I was planning to blow their minds with? MC Hammer‘s Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em and Vanilla Ice‘s To The Extreme. So I was pretty pumped last February when Rolling Stone announced that the two musical gods of 1990 would be reuniting for a one-time show, complete with 24 backup dancers and a choir. The show was in Utah and I prayed it would become a tour. In June, it looked like it might when the duo announced an Idaho date. Only, it was canceled. It was rescheduled—but this week, it was canceled for a second time. No! Both artists’ managers say the issue was that the promoter did not honor the contract, and that they are still very open to doing shows together. Will someone please, please, please book them for New York soon? I’ll be front row. [Asylum]

Last night at the CMAs, the country music world showed Taylor Swift that it adores her. By ripping the crap out of Kanye West. In case you forgot (or were living in the Australian outback for the last couple of months), at the VMAs Kanye interrupted Taylor’s acceptance speech, barging up on stage to announce that Beyonce should have won. Super awkward and uncool! Well, those funny country folks set up not one, but two Kanye spoof moments last night. The first was when Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood were interrupted by 88-year-old Little Jimmy Dickens to say, “I know you had a nice video and all, but Taylor Swift made the best video of all time. Of all time! You go, girl!”

• Now that Steven Tyler‘s apparently out, who should become Aerosmith‘s new frontman? [Entertainment Weekly]—EW has some interesting suggestions, but that’s beside the point—it just won’t be the same.
• Strange fashions abound at a Beijing Fashion Week grad student show. [The Daily Mail]—How far does a look have to go before it moves from “avant-garde” to just plain crazy?
• ”City” boy Freddie Fackelmayer says MTV edited him into a “womanizing jerk.” [Washington City Paper]—Scripted or not, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it just might be a womanizing jerk.

This week, I’ve got some sad news, people. Gerhardt Fuchs, the drummer from Maserati and !!! (pronounced chk-chk-chk)—aka my favorite band—died tragically over the weekend. It was a horrible elevator shaft accident; you can read all the gory deets of how his attendance at a fundraiser went horrible awry. We join the long list of music lovers who would like to send their condolences. Fuchs was a beat maker and a very talented guy who was too young to die. (34!) Tear.

But it’s new release Tuesday, and new jams always make us feel better. So let’s take the latest tunes for a spin, shall we? This week it’s all about newcomer Wale hip-hopping his way into our hearts, legends Echo & The Bunnymen giving us classic cuts, folk singer Pieta Brown putting out her first EP, and Switchfoot and Flyleaf keeping alternative rock rockin’ on. So, let’s get into the groove, after the jump!

Wow. The entertainmentverse (yes, that’s a word) has sure come up with some pretty terrible ideas today. First, Variety broke the story that Donald Trump is producing a show called “Omarosa’s Ultimate Merger.” On it, everyone’s favorite reality TV villainess will be looking for love with one of 12 dudes who are competing for her affection. Good luck casting those 12 men, Donald. All I’m sayin’ is—if ABC had trouble finding guys who really, truly wanted to date adorable, sweet, funny Gillian, I can hardly see them lining up for Omarosa. Also just in from the bad idea department: People is reporting that Ashlee Simpson will be starring as Roxie Hart, the lead in the musical “Chicago,” on Broadway. Did they not get the memo that Ashlee just got evicted from “Melrose Place” because of her terrible acting? And don’t they remember the “SNL” Lip Sync Incident of 2004? Oh, but it gets worse. Eminem will be starring in a horror flick. That’s 3D! Expect “Shady Talez”—yes, that’s what it’s called, because nothing will make you feel hardcorez like wearing 3D glasses—in theaters soon.

• Rock band No Doubt is suing the makers of the Band Hero edition of Guitar Hero for including a virtual version of the band singing other people’s songs in the game. [LA Times]
• A solid chunk of you readers probably asked yourselves this question: “Should I break up with my college boyfriend?” [Em & Lo]
• Examine Britney Spears through the years by taking a look at the men she’s dated. [PopEater]—I’m surprised that with all the craziness, she has only publicly dated five men.
• Check out the first installment of Maxim‘s Style Guide, and learn how men are supposed to shave. [Maxim]—Their faces, people.

Lady Gaga, you have arrived. Like Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” Gaga’s “Poker Face” has become so wildly popular that even Christopher Walken has jumped on board covering it. This tribute does make us feel slightly uncomfortable and we hope Walken sticks to acting. But admit it, when Gaga busts out this song in the club, you can’t help but dance. After the jump, a few more amazing odes.

I vividly remember the best and worst night of my year. As Barack Obama cheered “Yes, We Can,” my mother was absent-mindedly thumbing what we all agreed was a lump on her chest. I took comfort in the fact that she said it hurt—cancer doesn’t hurt. She’ll be fine, I thought. But as we toasted champagne and hugged each other for Obama’s victory, with brows slightly furrowed, I prayed for my mother, my strong and stubborn mother. I didn’t go with her to the doctor—my father did. I probably slept until noon, which was a common occurrence since I’d just driven all my belongings and my cat 1,991 miles from New York City to Santa Fe in three days. I was jobless, tentatively moving to Los Angeles in a few months and had no idea what I was doing with my future. And it turned out that my 58-year-old mother, my best friend and deepest confidant, had breast cancer.

It’s new release Tuesday, so it’s time to take the latest tunes for a spin! This week it’s all about The Strokes main man, Julian Casablancas, going solo and putting out one of the superflyest vigilante records ever. But he’s not the only hotness on this phat Tuesday. Carrie Underwood is weak for bad boys, Weezer’s got mad raditude, Say Anything keeps talkin’ the talk, and Schwayze is ready to throw a beat down on the dance floor. So, let’s get into the groove, after the jump!

Britney Spears’ video ode to threesomes, “3,” is officially out, and just in case you have some ideas about roping your man into a menage à trois, here are some other helpful pop songs about threesomes to guide the way. I recommend not so subtly turning it into a soundtrack and inviting his hot guy friend over for the most awkward evening ever. 

Out-there pop singer Har Mar Superstar—who bears a striking resemblance to Ron Jeremy—wrote a song for Britney Spears called “Tall Boy.” The tune was about having sex with tall men and drinking cans of beer, so it’s not a big surprise that BritBrit passed on it. But Har Mar Superstar thinks this was, like, the best rejection ever. He put “Tall Boy” on his upcoming album, Dark Touches, and said, “It’s my favorite song I’ve written.” Actually, I could totally see Britney busting out this techno-esque tune while wearing some racy outfit. She’d probably just add a few electronically enhanced groans. [Spinner]

Lots of musicians perform hand-me-down songs. Here’s a collection of songs that were originally meant for another artist.

When I think of Kenny G, his long, curly fro and smooth jazz saxaphone stylings come to mind—not nerdy glasses and skinny jeans. And yet, Kenny G is teaming up with indie rock gods, Weezer, for a song on their album, Raditude, which drops next week. Frontman Rivers Cuomo apparently emailed The G and asked him to contribute a solo for “I’m Your Daddy.” Kenny fully admits that he didn’t even know who Weezer was before he got the email, but that didn’t stop him from diving fro first into the collaboration. My ears are already confused but still … can’t wait to hear it! [Popeater]

Kenny G and Weezer are not the first odd couple to make beautiful music together. After the jump music’s oddest pairings.

Before passing away in 2008, Heath Ledger had started a career as a music video director. One of his videos premiered in August. And a second one, a rap video for Australian N’Fa’s “Cause An Effect,” debuted today on YouTube.  The video was shot on one camera in Heath’s Sydney garage shortly before his death, and it’s believed this was the last project over which he exercised complete creative control. He was childhood friends with N’Fa, aka No Fixed Abode, previously known as NFamas from the Australian hip-hop band 1200 Techniques. “The idea was to keep it very artistic so that is what we did,” N’fa said in an accompanying video. “Heath directed it really well and I was really happy with the outcome ... I know Heath was happy with the work,” he added. [Reuters]

The other day I was attempting to organize my closet, but I wasn’t really getting anywhere: I have way too much stuff and I don’t like to get rid of anything, because I know the moment I do, it will come back in style. I’ve held on to almost everything, even a pair of high-waisted leather pants I bought in 1998. As I sat on my bedroom floor, surrounded by clothes that no longer fit or are past their prime, I thought: “What am I going to do?” Then, it hit me: “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” Yeah, I’m quoting Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler.” I decided that the garments that didn’t fit or hadn’t been worn in more than a year didn’t deserve a place in my closet. And those that I still wear regularly or hold some sort of sentimental value were folded and hung. Problem solved.

I don’t listen to country music. I can’t pretend I know what’s going on in the genre nowadays, and I’m still not convinced that Taylor Swift actually sings country. Yet, one of my favorite songs is “The Gambler” because it gives good life advice, even if you’re not a poker player.

The best part of playing with Barbie dolls was, let’s face it, making them hump. Back then I didn’t know what missionary, doggy-style, or reverse cowgirl were, but my Barbie and Ken dolls sure did. That’s kind of what’s going on in this music video, from some band called Sextapes, only Ken has been traded in for a far more manly dude—G.I. Joe. [videos.antville.org]

When I saw this album cover, before my first cup of coffee for the day, I thought this was Pink going through a blue period. But nope, it’s the cover for Adam Lambert‘s first album, For Your Entertainment. Folks on the interwebs are calling it “glamtastic,” but I think it’s a few steps beyond that—homedude got in a time machine, traveled back to the ‘80s, went to the mall for a Glamour Shot, and paid extra for the “extreme airbrushing” package. Do you like this cover, or think it’s way over the top?