American Idol has been on the decline ever since Kelly Clarkson stepped off the stage. It's understandable, the first time is always more exciting -- and c'mon, one can only take so much of Paula's craziness, Simon's snarkiness and Randy Jackson's what's up dawg's. USA Today is reporting that 2007's Idols Live Tour (who knew) has plenty of empty seats. So where does a New Yorker go to hear a new (Sanjaya-less) talent pool? Amateur......

Holy Cow! We actually didn't even know that VitaminWater was made in Queens until Coca-Cola decided to buy the company for $4 billion. The Queens-based owners weren't the only people getting a fat pay-out from the purchase. David Wright, the Mets third baseman who endorses the product, accepted a small slice of equity in the company in lieu of payment last year. Now Wright's small stake in the company is worth $20 million.Days after inking......

Al Gore is a VP again, of Live Earth - an organization/music event that he says "will help us reach a tipping point that's needed to move corporations and governments to take decisive action to solve the climate crisis." On 7.7.07 there will be a global Live Earth concert which will begin in Sydney and continue across the seven continents, concluding with a show in (posterchild for a healthy environment) New Jersey (not that New......

DISCUSSION: What is the future of alternative journalism? Find out tonight as experts Elizabeth Spiers, Jeff Koyen, Bob Cox and Roxanne Cooper tell you all about what they foresee. If you don't know who those people are, then you probably don't care about the future of alt media anyway. 6:30pm // New York City Center Studios [130 W 56th St] // $7 THEATER: In the Heights is a breezy new musical about the Latino experience......

The NY Times is reporting that both hipsters and blipsters like Justin TImberlake. Of course, there's been a long history of indie holding hands with MTV pop stars. We recall numerous covers of Britney Spears "Toxic", Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" (mp3) and more recently Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" (mp3). It's about time we all embraced JT! The Klaxons recently covered Justin Timberlake's "My Love", you can find that mp3 here, and Rock Plaza Central......

Today The Times reported on the youngins rocking the New York scene. Bands like Magnolia, Care Bears on Fire (pictured), Tiny Masters of Today, Fiasco and Hysterics are all part of this young band scene sprouting up in Park Slope, many are 10 to 17 years old. New York Magazine recently reported on Care Bears on Fire, who wrote a song called “Don’t Wanna Be Like Everybody Else” - these kids didn't want to be......

Nick Zinner, Yeah Yeah Yeahs...

Day 1 was long, but we managed to get a few hours of sleep and gear up for the rest of week. Last Thursday we started off our day at the South By Stereogum party. Brisket on white bread was served, Fat Tire beers were distributed and Aziz Ansari was hosting the show, which had a solid lineup: Aloha, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Thunderbirds Are Now!, Rogue Wave and Ted Leo. Thunderbirds Are Now! [pictured]......

The last time Improv Everywhere had a mission they were asked to do something for the Howl Festival. A 1997 Old Timey Photobooth was then created, where passerby could take a photo with '97-specific nostalgia embedded all around. This weekend they bring us The Mp3 Experiment, a sort of cryptic mission in that you won't really "get it" until you arrive at the meeting spot (if you follow the rules and don't listen to the......

Antony and the Johnsons will play their first NYC show since winning the UK's Mercury Music Prize last month. The past year has seen Antony rise from a relatively unknown eccentric NYC club performer to an international superstar. His headlining show at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, and his upcoming appearance on Letterman, are two signs of his well deserved success. Those attending the Carnegie show will also be treated to a rare opening set......

It's going to be a slow week in music. American Analog Set are playing Joe's Pub, but that sold out before it went on sale (download an AAS/Kelly Clarkson mashup). Sick of it All and The Bouncing Souls are playing CBGB benefits, but good luck getting in to those (see what it will likely look like inside). Louis XIV are at Irving Plaza. You're definitely too cool to go to that (watch a NSFW......

Looks like "alternative" music festival Field Day Fest is happening at Giants Stadium, at least according to Ticketmaster. Gothamist thinks it's funny how last weekend, Giants Stadium held Zootopia, the pop-hit heavy concert thrown by Z100 that had, according to their site, "Aerosmith, Kelly Clarkson, TLC, Mariah Carey, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Jewel, Third Eye Blind, Wayne Wonder, Simple Plan, Tanto Metro & Devonte, Daniel Bedingfield, JC Chasez, Bowling For Soup, Ginuwine... your American Idol's Ruben......