Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac recently told Billboard.com that the band is "looking at the idea of touring sometime in the first half of 2009," with the potential of featuring both new material and a new female bandmate. And it might just be Sheryl Crow!

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I have a new music obsession. Colbie Caillat (rhymes with ballet) draws me in with every word that escapes her lips.

I first heard her blend of soul and folk in a random commercial, and once I was finally able to put a name and face to the voice, I was hooked. Apparently I'm not the only one drawn in by her sound. For over four months, Caillat was the No. 1 unsigned artist on MySpace, and she eventually gained the attention of record executives. She signed with Universal Republic, and her debut album, Coco, has been a clear success. The first single, “Bubbly,” reached its peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 5 and has spent 26 weeks on the chart. That song has also garnered over 630,000 plays on her MySpace page. Here's the video for “Bubbly." … continue reading

When it comes to videos, I'm old. I remember the premiere of Friday Night Videos, and even before that (and even before MTV), I watched something called FM-TV (later Teletunes) on a local public access channel. It was such a thrill to stay up late and enter that strange new world. My sister even figured out how to hook up our clunky TV to the stereo so we could enjoy bizarre bands like Les Rita Mitsouko in high fidelity.

And just as the age of music video was dawning, so was my baby dykedom. Here are some '80s videos that helped me explore my newfound appreciation for the fairer sex. (Note to the PMRC types: I'm not really saying these videos made me gay; just that these women are totally worth going gay for, if that were possible.)

1. The Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (1983) … continue reading

I just came across this photo of Tina Turner and Janis Joplin performing at Madison Square Garden in 1969. It's Tina. And Janis. Together!

The photo is by Amalie R. Rothschild and is currently part of the Music and Fashion 1965–1975 exhibit at the Staley-Wise Gallery. Rothschild has taken some stunning shots of rock stars, many of which are included in her book Live at the Fillmore East: A Photographic Memoir.

I really can't fathom the idea of Janis and Tina on a stage together. Who needs caffeine (or whatever the crowd was on) with that kind of raw genius nearby? The idea of two talents and a microphone made me imagine some other rock duos (or folk duos or whatever-else duos) I'd like to see. Here are a few ideas. They may not really make much sense, but that's why I'm calling them fantasy duos.

Stevie Nicks and Amy Winehouse
"Rhiannon" meets "Rehab" — how great would that be? But Stevie might have flashbacks when confronted by Winehouse's in-your-face hedonism. She would make her cry, make her break down!

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I spend most of my time hiding my iPod from Sarah since she tends to "borrow" it for my '70s, '80s and 90s music. But she recently found where I'd hidden it and teased me about one of my playlists, "Hot Rocker Chicks." What can I say, the women rockers in this playlist are hot!

Since I can't find a way to talk about hot rocker women on our video blog "She Made Me Watch This" (we only discuss TV shows and movies), I thought I'd share my Hot Rocker Chicks playlist here. As a pre-emptive disclaimer, I don't consider these guilty pleasure songs, but if that keeps me from looking too shallow, then they are!

"Kiss Me Deadly" by Lita Ford

Sarah and I were in Palm Springs with scribegrrrl when scribegrrrl posted "These '80s sisters are twisted" and added "Kiss Me Deadly." Sarah had to listen to scribegrrrl and me go on and on about how hot Lita Ford was in the video.

I'm not a fan of Sarah's guilty pleasure song, "Close My Eyes Forever" by Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne — the only Lita Ford song I play and watch is "Kiss Me Deadly." Have you seen Lita slink around at the beginning of the video? She's in black. Has long, blond hair. And she's hot! I'm a sucker for blondes with long hair dressed in black (that's how Sarah got me).

Here's the video: … continue reading

In honor of gay pride week, music magazine Blender (it's basically Maxim with occasional ads for cds and guitar strings) has released it's list of the gayest moments in music.

Naturally the list is comprised mostly of men--Elton John, George Michael, Lou Reed, Lance Bass--but there are a smattering of women included. And they're mostly the usual suspects.

1.) t.A.T.u. leading an underwear-clad, back-flipping teen "lesbian" revolution at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards.

2.) "Groom" Madonna kissing her devoted virginal "brides" Britney Spears and Xtina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards.

The brief appearance of Missy Elliott added some additional butchy flavor to the number, and how cute is Queer Eye's Carson Kressley freaking out like a teenage baby dyke over all of the girl-on-girl action?

2003 was a good year for pseudo-lesbianism. … continue reading

Macy Gray's first new album in four years is titled Big, and it's clear from the first track, "Finally Made Me Happy," featuring Natalie Cole, that Gray is trying to make a splash with her comeback. Does it work? I'm not entirely sure. Big is a good album, produced by will.i.am (of the Black Eyed Peas) and Ron Fair (the Geffen chairman behind Mary J. Blige's The Breakthrough), but somehow it rarely seems to rise above background music.

One track that made me want to take a second listen is "Okay" (incidentally co-produced by Justin Timberlake, who also contributes some backing vocals), a sassy, beat-heavy tune about surviving a breakup. I also kinda liked "Ghetto Love," but maybe that's because the intro samples James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World." One of the best songs on the album is the amusing "Treat Me Like Your Money," where she sings: "Treat me like your money/Love me need me want me/Take me wherever you go/Worship me your whole life/Pray for me at night/Treat me better than anyone you know," and follows that up with a sample from Dead or Alive's '80s hit "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)." Listen to the entire CD for yourself at AOL.

(Click "read more" for Stevie Nicks twirling in lace.) … continue reading