The First Echo

File this under: Pleasant Surprise of the Week.

Upon arriving at my second editorial meeting for Bello Magin downtown L.A., I was treated to my own little sexy box of business cards (yes, boxes can be sexy). I shall use them wisely and continue to whore myself as a self-proclaimed pop culture/social media junkie for hire.

*That pen has been strategically placed there for a reason.

H.P.M.

So, it appears the mega-blogsite, Just Jared, picked up the Bello Magazine interview I did with Revenge vixen Ashley Madekwe (*note to my mom: click on the above image to see my name in the credits if you're still hanging my stuff on the refrigerator back home). And check out the preview here.
Madekwe plays social climber Ashley, who may or may not have hooked up with Daniel Grayson in that action-packed season finale last week. I tried to squeeze some insider info out of the beautiful actress (she's also quite the fashionista), but it looks like we won't know anything until the ABC sudser returns in the fall.
You can see more pics and catch the full article when the issue becomes available in the iTunes App Newsstand on May 28.
H.P.M.

There are songs you fall in love with long before they're released as official singles. And when they are, you're thankful that the artist (and her record label) had the brains and wherewithal to showcase it -- and excited for the inevitable music video that will hopefully complement the visuals you've already conjured up in your mind. But unfortunately, the vid is far from what you imagined.

Kelly Clarkson's "Dark Side" is one of those songs.

As much as I love the song (ever since I got a copy of Stronger back in January), and as great as she looks in the video, I could've done without the PSA sentimentality on display here. While Ms. Clarkson bounces back and forth between two looks (Rough-Around-The-Edges Kelly and Soft-and-Vulnerable Kelly), we're introduced to an ensemble of characters that are going through some tough times: a bullied young man, a girl with body issues, a guy who's lost his job, a war vet, an alcoholic, etc. Each attractive …

Now that you've seen The Avengers twice and contributed to its $500 million at the box office, why not break out the sunscreen, grab a beach towel (along with a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey) and plug in to some tunage that'll have you bopping along and smelling the barbecue.

Just remember to wait 30 minutes after eating before jumping into the pool...

1. "Scream" by Usher
2. "Laserlight" by Jessie J feat. David Guetta
3. "Ruby" by Foster The People -- This unreleased B-side sounds like it's been simmering in 1979 and waiting to be dusted off for all of those kids with pumped-up kicks to enjoy.
4. "Disconnected" by Keane -- The piano rockers have returned to fine form with an easy-breezy harmony, and this time they've brought a Dario Argento-inspired video for their second single off Strangeland:



5. "Some Nights" by fun.
6. "Pop That Lock" by Adam Lambert
7. "Don't Wake Me Up" by Chris Brown …

Dear Mrs. Giudice,

Let me preface this by saying that I am fairly new to the RHONJ world. I jumped into the mania -- head first -- when the third season premiered last year on Bravo. Since then, I have been glued to your East Coast shenanigans along with those of Caroline, Jacqueline, Melissa, and Kathy. I realize that watching you ladies throw parties and duke it out over sometimes-trivial issues allows me to wax nostalgic on my times back in New York (I'm a Westchester County boy, born and raised just outside the Bronx in New Rochelle). Having grown up around a diverse group of Tri-State Area personalities, particularly female ones, I can recognize women like you, so I guess your show kind of reminds me of (parts of) home. After all, Jersey ain't that far from NY.

Now that we're halfway through Season 4, I have to express my concerns about your welfare, the welfare of your children, and the welfare of your "friends" who have tirelessly attempted to help you an…

"They watched her as they watch everyone, always hoping the living could learn to put aside rage and sorrow, bitterness and regret. These ghosts watch, wanting people to remember that even the most desperate life is oh so wonderful. But only a lucky few realize the gift they've been given. Most people just go on, day after day, trying in vain to keep secrets that will never stay hidden." -Mary Alice Young

And so concludes the eight-year run of a show that will now takes its rightful and respected place in television history.

The final episode of Desperate Housewives aired last night, and for those of you who still have it saved on the DVR, bookmark this page and come back later because, naturally, there are SPOILERS AHEAD.

The first hour of the action-packed finale, written by Bob Daily, surrounded the denouement of Bree’s trial, which most of us hoped would just wrap up already. And it did, thanks to the dying Karen McCluskey, who, with having nothing to lose, stepped …

Whenever someone asks me if I heard that new song by The Wanted.

...one website at a time.
Yours truly was asked by the Powers That Be at Picktainment.com to come on board as an associate editor for the entertainment site. And I crazily said yes (I'll mostly be editing movie reviews and op-ed pieces written by the dozen or so contributors they have). And I'll continue to spew out my usual pop cultural ramblings.
You can check out what I've written for them thus far HERE. And they even gave me my own space for a bio. 
H.P.M.

With the recent release of Justin Bieber's music video for his single, "Boyfriend," I couldn't help but take a stroll down pop memory lane and reflect on the ear candy (and videos) that has celebrated romantic male companions -- the good, the bad, and the douchey -- over the past decade...


1. "Get Another Boyfriend" by Backstreet Boys - "He's just another player playing in the name of love," BSB warns. This track, taken from 2001's Black & Blue, was unfortunately never released as an official single, but fans could easily get into the groove as our five crooners tell an ex to dump the douchebag and see him for who truly is. Fun, Max Martin-produced pop bliss. GRADE: A-





2. "Boyfriend" by Big Time Rush feat. Snoop Dogg - Apparently in the year 2099, nightclubs (and hairstyles) will look very 2011 (maybe it'll come back in style by then)...and hot chicks will have an appetite for little alien robots. Questionable choreography…