Although I was just a kid, I was a pretty serious student of Top 40 radio from the mid-’60s until I “graduated” to “progressive rock” radio in the early’-70s, which I realize in retrospect actually narrowed my tastes for a time. But I remember ever so vividly being blown away …

“Jimmy was one of the greatest and most innovative musicians of our time. I love the man and I love the music. He was my idol, my mentor and my friend,” fellow Hammond B-3 artist Joey Defrancesco said yesterday. Jimmy Smith, the Hammond B-3 icon who creatively revolutionized the instrument …

Jury selection for the Michael Jackson trial was delayed a week in deference to the death of lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr.’s sister. Meanwhile, the media, chafing at the restrictions and gag orders laid down by Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville, has gone to court to …

The passing of stentorian actor John Vernon, who died February 1 at his home in Los Angeles of complications from heart surgery, has been noted here and there on the site, but we have not afforded him the appropriate recognition of a formal obit: Dean Wormer, we hardly knew ye. …

Ashlee Simpson is Cosmo’s “Fearless Female of the Year,” whatever the hell that is, and displays her most prominent assets on the February cover: Her tour begins February 16, of which she tells AP: “It’s really stripped down. There’s no pyro(technics) or anything like that. The stage has a mud …

The Grammy Awards, February 13 on CBS, will have Grammy-nominated performers tripping all over each other during the broadcast, especially at the beginning of the show. Five nominated artists — the Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani (who will perform with Eve), Los Lonely Boys, Maroon5 and Franz Ferdinand — will …

No Doubt, Linkin Park with Jay-Z, Blink-182, Jurassic 5, Story of the Year, Crystal Method and Ozzy Osbourne will perform at a benefit concert Feb. 18 in Anaheim, Calif. The organizer, Music for Relief, hopes to raise over $1 million from the show, with proceeds going to UNICEF and Habitat …

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored this year’s Oscar contenders at its annual Nominees Luncheon Feb.7 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. 115 nominees from 24 categories gathered at noon for the traditional pre-Academy Awards fete. The big news was the announcement that the awards show itself will …

As an independent, I believe strongly in the checks and balances of the two party system and thusly don’t like to see either party get too far down or up. I want elections, especially presidential elections, to be about the relative merits of the individuals running, not the relative efficacy …

In keeping with our recent examination of the aesthetics of bumper stickers, we are pleased to announce the search for the Ugliest Car in America. “The car has become an article of dress with which we feel uncertain, unclad and incomplete.” — Marshall McLuhan “Some cars are so hideous and …