Recently in Music Category

I have already stated here at Idol Chatter that I am not flash in the pan Susan Boyle fan. I am not surprised by the recent news that her debut CD has set a new global sales record for pre-orders over at Amazon. I know I certainly pre-ordered my copy weeks ago when I first discovered she was going to be covering many classic hymns such as "How Great Thou Art." But I am even more excited about the spotlight begin on Boyle again for another reason. She is bringing awareness to those with learning disabilities.

You might not recognize the name Jessica Harp, but you might recognize the name "The Wreckers," the country-rock duo Jessica Harp formed with Michelle Branch between 2005-2007.

Earlier this summer, I saw Jessica Harp perform to a crowded, small venue where she opened with "Leave the Pieces," a catchy tune that was a signature song from her days in "The Wreckers." Now that "The Wreckers" has disbanded, Harp is a solo country music artist with an album--"A Woman Needs"--coming out in February 2010 that will showcase her singing and songwriting country roots. She has a popular single of her own--"Boy Like Me," which reached #30 on Billboard's "Hot Country Songs" chart in June 2009. (Hallelujah, I finally found a boy like me / Lord have mercy, I think I'm in a fantasy").

By Shawn Amos

Scott Weiland's estranged wife, Mary Forsberg, has a new book coming out next week. What's an ex-junkie and ex-model to do except reveal all of the details of her sordid drug-addicted life? A girl's gotta make a buck.

I'm all for confessionals, but the excerpts of Forsberg's book, "Fall to Pieces: A Memoir of Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll, and Mental Illness," feel more like smug sensationalism than sincere reflection. Here's a sample excerpt about her setting fire to the Stone Temple Pilots' frontman's clothes in a 2007 rage:

"The bonfire was huge and very pretty. Everything went up in smoke quickly, except the shoe leather; the Guccis took the longest."

Forsberg and Weiland were famously f****d-up heroin junkies. Forsberg tells of the couple's attending a beach party at Leonard DiCaprio's home wearing long sleeves to cover the track marks on their arms. She also writes of them both "laying out the goods" on a framed photo of famous former junkie Keith Richards. Both claim to be drug-free now, although, unsurprisingly, their marriage did not survive the abuse.

The Weilands are lucky to be alive. There are more than 300,000 heroin users in the U.S. The number is smaller compared to other kinds of drug users, but the devastation is incomparable. While many struggle and eventually succumb (notably Jerry Garcia, Pete Doherty, and Sublime's Brad Nowell), others have successfully beat the monkey their back.

Here are some musicians who have famously stayed clean and sober. I hope Mr. and Mrs. Weiland join the club.

[Videos: Check out clips from the musicians below on Getback.com.]

Slash
Scott Weiland's former Velvet Revolver bandmate was an addict himself during most of his Guns N' Roses days. In his 2007 autobiography, Slash recounts his addiction to heroin, booze, and women. He says he had two wake-up calls: running down a street naked in a drug-induced terror and sharing the same woman at the same time with bandmate Izzy Stradlin. Seeing Izzy naked would scare me straight, too.

Anthony Kiedis
The Red Hot Chili Peppers lost one band member to heroin: original guitarist Hillel Slovak OD'ed in 1988. He and Kiedis discovered drugs together, and after Slovak's death, Kiedis cleaned up after a life of drug abuse that started at age 12 (his dad was a drug dealer). He famously memorialized his drug days in the Peppers' 1992 single "Under the Bridge" (ironically, guitarist John Frusciante was hooked on heroin at the time) but had a relapse in '94. Kiedis got clean again and has stayed sober since 2000. Lately, he's working on an HBO series about life with his drug-dealing dad.

I had the chance to see "This is It" in Los Angeles this week. And I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it.

It seems like just a little while ago that I was watching news stories of Michael Jackson's passing and watching videos that he'd made long ago. His death had been sudden and shocking, followed by a remembrance process that was celebrative and winsome. But seeing a new film, with new images, about a man who's passed away, is very, very confusing on the emotions.

I can't tell whether this was "Instant Nostalgia" or "Delayed Mourning." "Blessed are those who mourn," says the scripture. It also says, "There's a time to mourn." Watching "This Is It," I found myself trying to get emotionally connected to whether that time had come and gone, or was still with us, or was starting anew.

That said, "This Is It" is a celebration of a man in the prime of his desire, though not of his career--someone committed to repainting himself publically according to his gifts, talents and passions rather than the controversy and confusion that had so marked his more recent decade.

As movie stories go, "This Is It" really doesn't have one. It is documentary-ish, which actually makes it all the more powerful, as the sheer force of Michael Jackson's presence--and our knowledge of his impending death--provides the dramatic tension, the plot, the conflict, the constant knowledge of the fatal flaw and the denouement.

Kanye West has found God.

Okay, that's not entirely accurate. Kanye West is searching for God. Or some inner peace. News broke last week that the 32-year old VMA stage crasher was heading to India to spend a month in a Hindu ashram. Presumably, West will have a chance to properly grieve the 2007 death of his mother, reflect on his own life, and get his head screwed on straight. I wish him luck. The dude is too talented and big-hearted to fall down a rat hole of narcissism and self-destruction.

West is standing at the same crossroads so many other musicians have stood. Artists whose lives of fame and chaos reached a breaking point which could only be repaired by faith in something bigger. Musicians who turn to God or spirituality are a different breed than the scores of award winners who give the obligatory thanks to God after picking up a Grammy.

Musicians who find God often lose Him on the next concert tour. Still, for a few brief moments, the clouds part, the light shines in, and inner peace is restored. Here are some artists who, like Kanye, have searched for meaning beyond fame.

See you when you get back, Kanye. Enjoy the peace and quiet.

[Videos: Check out clips from all of the musicians on Getback.com.]

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman into a Jewish family (he had his bar mitzvah in 1954). Publicly, though, religion and spirituality played virtually no role in Dylan's life until the late '70s when he became a born-again Christian. Dylan took bible study classes, made two Christian albums (1979's "Slow Train Coming" and '80s "Saved"), and began preaching from stage. The conversion was short-lived - at least publicly. Nowadays, Dylan's religious beliefs are as confounding as his lyrical messages. He's been seen at Jewish temples and just released a Christmas record.