All this Grammys talk got us thinking about music from last year that fell below the radar. There are a handful of 2007 discs that are still giving us goose pimples. Here are a few of ‘em.

Manu Chao - La Radiolina
The ultimate cosmopolitan icon remains a boho experimentalist with a yen for high-flying horns and bouncy bass lines. He’d love to rub your face in some incendiary headlines, but at no point on this ever-shifting program does he allow the groove to dissipate — even while he chants how politik kills, or hollers slogans such as “Senor presidente George Bush: Cuidado!”

Bettye Lavette - The Scene of the Crime
The celebrated soul singer is a magnificent communicator, able to give you a look into her heart any time she chooses. This follow up to her seismic I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise connects her with unlikely bedfellows: Southern rock renegades the Drive-By Truckers. But the sixtysomething singer and the scrappy band make lots of hay, especially in the ballad department. “I Guess We Shouldn’t Talk About That Now” is about as eloquent as simmering desperation gets.

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Tags: Music

There is a new batch of girls vying for Flav’s heart. We asked which of them are hot and which are not, then we read through thousands of comments and ranked the cast in order of hotness. Each girl’s “score” is the percentage of people that find her to be hot. Let us know if you agree with the final results and visit the Flavor of Love 3 show page for photos and videos.

1. Seezinz

HOT: 137
NOT: 40

Score: 77%

2. Saint Lewis

HOT: 338
NOT: 104
Other: 9

Score: 75%

3. Myammee

HOT: 137
NOT: 74

Score: 65%

4. Q-Tee

HOT: 124
NOT: 72
Other: 1

Score: 63%

5. Bunz

HOT: 100
NOT: 61

Score: 62%

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Tags: Flavor of Love 3•Celebreality•hot or not?•Photos•Television

Rock of Love 2 is heating up! Get caught up here and tell us which ladies are safe and who will be dismissed next episode.

Still safe:

Angelique and Roxy were kicked off last episode. Did you forecast their falls?

Fallen, but not forgotten:

Watch Rock of Love 2 Sunday, 9PM EST.

Related Content:
Rock of Love 2 Show Page
Rock of Love 2 Girls: Hot or Not?


Tags: Rock of Love 2•Celebreality•Photos•Rock of Love 2•Television

Lots of photos simply beg for a narrative. Whether it’s nasty or silly is up to you — we want you to feel free to read the minds of the celebs and weirdos in our images. Write your caption for the photo below in our comments section. Extra points for creativity! This time: Adrianne And Her Medical Pal.

Tags: adrianne curry•Photos•You Name It!

From polar bears to ghost whisperers, last night’s episode continued to take the show in new directions. We met the goofballs who were supposed to rescue the survivors, and Ben gave us even more reason to love and hate him. After this episode, I feel like my brain exploded. Here are the highlights. Comment below with your favorite freak-out moments.

UNDER THE SEA
The episode opened in the Indian Ocean’s Sunda Trench with an underwater mission to retrieve shipwrecks – was it the Black Rock? However, the crew stumbles upon Oceanic Flight 815 – just where Naomi mentioned they found it. The subsequent news reports triggers a series of flashbacks that introduce us to the ragtag crew of the chopper that has arrived from SS “Not Penny’s Boat.”

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Tags: Lost•Television

Fashion Week is all about finery in one form or another. There are high-end designers and then there are super-high-end designers, not to mention couture designers, reality-TV designers, designers who support other designers, and, of course, design students. Into this fray stepped Monique Lhuillier, whose collection managed to be flashy without sacrificing elegance. (And if you think that’s easy, you try to sew a bodice out of peacock feathers — and make it look cool.) Avid fans of America’s Most Smartest Model will probably remember Lhuillier from her guest-judging position on that show’s finale, in which V.J. triumphed over Andre. Her show this season defined class with the sort of eveningwear that’s really only meant for red carpets. Lucky for Lhuillier, the Academy Awards (and the Grammys, sure) are coming up later this month. In attendance were Sophia Bush, Lipstick Jungle’s Kim Raver, Joy Bryant, and our own Mary Alice Stephenson. More after the jump.

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Tags: fashion

VH1’s newest show premieres tonight at 9:30PM EST. Check back on Fridays to watch Free Radio’s dim-witted intern (Lance Krall) make a buffoon of himself on his weekly video log.

Tags: Free Radio•Television•Video

Occasionally we are so stunned by a film’s ability to disgust critics that we can’t help but report their comments. Such is the case with the new Paris Hilton vehicle, The Hottie & the Nottie. The film is about an alluring Los Angeles woman (Hilton) whose best friend is ugly. In order to make Paris his, a slovenly nerd must find someone desperate enough to sleep with her friend. Not surprisingly, the film is a complete train wreck. We suspect it’s a money-laundering scheme. If we were savvier people, we could tell you that works.

“One would think that after increasingly embarrassing forays into reality television, the Internet and the penitentiary, Paris Hilton might have taken a moment to reflect on her choices. Or perhaps not: with The Hottie & the Nottie Ms. Hilton proves yet again that introspection — not to mention shame — is as alien to her as a life without paparazzi.” — The New York Times

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Tags: Paris Hilton•Movies

Lots of parties have been thrown this week as bigwigs gear up for music’s big night. In the last 72 hours, In Style magazine, Fuse TV, and the Grammy Foundation have hosted shindigs to celebrate everything from hip-hop to doom metal.

Pre-Grammy party-goers included Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Musiq Soulchild, Natasha Bedingfield, Paris Hilton, Pete Wentz, Ashlee Simpson, Mark Ronson, Taye Diggs, Chris Daughtry, Adam Levine, Kat Von D, John Mayer, Chrisette Michele, and John Fogerty.

Prep yourself for Sunday night’s show by clicking here.


Tags: grammys•Music•Photos

* Amy Winehouse has been a denied a visa and will not be attending this Sunday’s Grammy Awards. The singer, who recently entered rehab and was planning on attending the ceremony, will perform via satellite. “I’m really sorry I can’t be there but I appreciate that I’m being given a second chance via satellite,” Amy told UsWeekly.

* Hayley Williams and her band Paramore are headed to the Grammys, but don’t think they’ll forsake their punk roots and go glam for the event: “We’ve never worked with a stylist before, so this is a different world from what we’re used to. We don’t want to abandon our background — like I come out there wearing a gown. We’re going to have fun with it.” Williams thinks the band, up for the Best New Artist Grammy, has a shot at winning. “It’s possible we could win — we made it this far.”

* Kanye West, up for eight nominations at Sunday night’s award show, is planning an emotional tribute to his mother, who died this past November due to complications from plastic surgery. Ye will perform “Stronger” and “Hey Mama.”

* After paying tribute to ’80s smashes by New Order and Michael Jackson on his year’s multi-single-spawning release Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna will perform with The Time, who you might remember as Prince’s musical competition in Purple Rain. The band, formerly led by Morris Day, will be reuniting for the occasion. Let’s hope they do “Umbrella,” (originally written for a certain out-of-control pop star).

Be back here on Sunday night at 8 p.m., where we’ll be dishing on all the performances.


Tags: Amy Winehouse•Kanye West•Rihanna•Paramore•grammys•Music

Each year the act of predicting which artists will take home a Grammy becomes one of pop music’s great guessing games. Someone picks a category, and everyone becomes a pundit. That includes us. We want your comments, too. Do you think our choices are right? Watch the show with us this Sunday night, and join our LIVE BLOG commentary right here at 8 pm.

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Beyonce: “Irreplaceable”
This screed about how the value of self-important men begins with a set of instructions: “To the left, to the left/ Everything you own in a box to the left.” Wonder how Jay-Z took that line?

Foo Fighters: “The Pretender”
Moderate rock, Dave Grohl-style: loud, passionate, dynamic, classic, and prog. Don’t forget the mildly rousing refrain of “Who are you?” But, sorry, it’s still boring.

Rihanna: “Umbrella”
Barbados’ answer to Madonna returned with a Jerry Bruckheimer-sized blockbuster of a disc, and this song, which stuck in our heads for the entire summer, was the centerpiece.

Justin Timberlake: “What Goes Around . . . Comes Around”
When coupled with Timbaland’s production, Justin’s soft-pop R&B added up to a great big rock opera.

Amy Winehouse: “Rehab”
They tried to make her go to rehab; she said no, no, no. Then she said yes, got some help in London, was denied a U.S. entry visa, and can’t perform at the Grammys. Too bad, since the song so thoroughly sums up the problems of 2007.

SHOULD WIN: “Rehab”
WILL WIN: “Umbrella”

BEST HIP-HOP ALBUM

Common: Finding Forever
Half hard, half hippie. Working the poetic tip, he keeps his political and philosophical ideas up front. Kanye’s production, even when it’s florid, does a great job of selling ‘em.

Nas: Hip-Hop Is Dead
Big indictment from the Queens MC, but Nas is nothing if not a provocateur. Though it’s not a home run, it’s gripping. And that flow of his can still make your jaw drop.

Jay-Z: Kingdom Come
Jigga bounced back, and there were lots of sharp moments, but it also felt like the true glory days of this mic fiend are gone. The American Gangster soundtrack is way stronger.

TI: T.I. vs T.I.P.
Yep, Mr. Split Personality may have been at war with himself, but that tension provided for revealing glimpse into the king of Dirty South’s psyche.

Kanye West: Graduation
Haughty is as haughty does. Hip-hop’s most reliable MC hasn’t given up on positioning himself as hip-hop’s most successful MC. But his bluster has oodles of creativity behind it, no question.

SHOULD WIN: Graduation
WILL WIN: Graduation

“Best New Artist” category after the jump.

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Tags: Amy Winehouse•Beyonce•Common•Jay-Z•Justin Timberlake•Kanye West•Madonna•Nas•Rihanna•Foo Fighters•Music