Playwright William Congreve had it right more than 400 years ago. Music really does soothe the savage breast. If Cleveland sports fans listen to the following LeBron James Breakup Soundtrack, they're bound to agree.

Who hasn't walled themselves up and turned on some music after a bitter breakup? Sad songs, mad songs, happy songs, bad songs, we find meaning in all of them when things fall apart. And as far as rooting for Cleveland sports fan goes, we can't do much better than Hee Haw's famous Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me.

But we can't stay in agony forever. (Although I think someone might have first said that in, oh, 1967.) We'll go through the Five Stages of LeBron Grief, and then we'll move on. We'll go from "Crying" by Roy Orbison all the way to "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. There might be some "(I Hate) ...

I will never read a Twilight book. I will never watch a Twilight movie. But I will listen to the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack. And I will like it.

(Side note: I am so out of it in regards to Twilight that I originally typed that I will listen to the Twlight: New Moon soundtrack. That was last year's I-really-want-you-to-kiss-me-but-please-don't vampire and werewolf movie.)

The Eclipse soundtrack features songs by Metric, The Bravery, Sia, The Dead Weather, Vampire Weekend, Band of Horses, and a few other really cool bands. In fact, these bands are so cool they almost make me want to watch the movie just to see what all the fuss is about. But I really don't need to spend two hours in a room with that many 14-year-old girls.

Anyway, I've already heard a couple of the tunes off the soundtrack and I'm digging ...

Dear Everybody on Facebook:

No, Diamond Rio's song, "In God We Trust" was not banned from the radio. I know the email you received or your friends' Facebook status said it was, but this does not make it true. Also, since the song was released about four years ago, if it were banned from the radio you would have to find someone other than the Obama administration to blame. That doesn't fit into the preferred storyline, though.

I don't do this often, setting the Internet straight. There was that morning I spent on Cleveland.com and Dispatch.com telling on the commenters how things really were. Other than that, I generally just Google that for people.

Actually, here's why the song wasn't played on the radio. First of all, it isn't all that good. Then, when it was released, several other songs by hitmakers eclipsed it. ...

The first real concert I ever attended was Lollapalooza 1992. I don't count seeing Bandana at Findlay Central Middle School as a real concert. Likewise any act I may have seen at the Hancock County Fair.

No, Lollapalooza 1992 counts as my first real show. And what a first real show it was. It was the Star Lake Ampitheater in Burgettstown, PA, which is now known as First Niagara Pavilion. Basically, it's the Blossom Music Center of Pittsburgh. The headliners were the Red Hot Chili Peppers, riding high from "Under the Bridge," their smash hit from "Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik." The all-day festival also included Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and the Stone Temple Pilots. There were a few other bands that I can't remember. I also remember something called the Jim Rose Circus Side Show. That consisted of a bunch of true freaks "performing" on an auxiliary stage, if you ...

Let's get one thing straight. I really don't care about The Jonas Brothers.

I have never listened to a Jonas Brothers song. If I did it was by accident. I have never bought a Jonas Brothers CD, except for the library. I will never watch a Jonas Brothers music video. And I will never attend a Jonas Brothers concert -- especially the one set for Aug. 31 at Quicken Loans Arena. And I especially won't spend $250 to go to a Jonas Brothers concert.

Apparently someone will, though, as that's the top price for the show according to this summer music preview at Cleveland.com. Some great acts are coming to the area: Kings of Leon, Phish, Carole King an James Taylor, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. And The Jonas Brothers have the highest listed ticket price except for special $750 box seats at Blossom for Lilith Fair.

 ...

Suddenly Hall & Oates are everywhere I go.

Wednesday night they showed up on the American Idol season finale at about the same time one of my favorites, Diane Birch, was singing a cover of "Rich Girl" at her show at The Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. Last Monday, my all-time favorite artist Butch Walker also covered "Rich Girl" with his band The Black Widows at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland. This during a show in which he also paid tribute to Ronnie James Dio by performing "Rainbow in the Dark."

And now they're going out on tour to support a newly released box set.

All this from a duo that really hasn't been heard from for most of the last 25 years. Actually, neither Daryl Hall nor John Oates ever really went away. You might not know that if you only watch American Idol ...

It's early prediction time.

Or waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early prediction time, if you want to be exact.

The 2011 Grammys are more than a half-year away, but I've got an early contender for Album of the Year. And I haven't even listened to the entire thing yet.

So print this out and hang it on your wall in order to remember. The darkhorse contender for Album of the Year will be Carole King & James Taylor Live at the Troubadour.

The sixty-something duo, who first played together 40 years ago at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, are currently out on a tour which you might just want to see. (You can do so on July 7 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.) It came together after King and Taylor played a reunion show in 2007 at the Troubadour which was recorded for a newly released CD/DVD package.

 ...

The last three songs I listened to were by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Bob Dylan, and Gomez.

And they weren't from my MP3 player, my iTunes list, or the hard drive of my computer. No, they were all on the radio.

This is the part where you act shocked.

In case you don't know, these are acts you usually don't hear on the radio. Especially Cleveland radio. But now thanks to the new V107.3 WNWV FM, that's changed. Usually when I turn on the radio it's because I'm bored with my own musical selections or to listen to a college station. No longer. 107.3 FM is a destination station for me. It's quickly become my first stop on the radio dial.

Why? Well, things like Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (coming to the Beachland Ballroom on June 19), Bob Dylan, and Gomez. Or Annie Lennox...

"Pants on the Ground" isn't the official song of Euclid.

But it might be the unofficial theme song.

What's "Pants on the Ground" you ask? It's the breakout song of the ninth season of American Idol which has taken the country by storm overnight. Literally. Just 24 hours ago almost no one had heard the phrase "pants on the ground." But thanks to 62-year-old General Larry Platt's performance on American Idol Wednesday night, his catchy rap song has become one of the hottest pop-culture sensations in years.

Even if you haven't heard the song or even heard of the song I'm pretty sure you can figure out what it's about just from the title. Platt came up with the song three years ago on the spur of the moment to embarrass a man walking down an Atlanta street with his pants sagging below his waist while ...

And I liked it.

Kinda.

I suppose it's embarrassing to make my first post of the new year (new decade?) about watching American Idol. So color me embarrassed. But now that they've booted that Paula Abdul from the show, my AI boycott is over. After eight years I can finally watch the show.

It's not like I'm ignorant to what happens. I've seen snippets over the years. I know Simon Cowell makes fun of the idiots who are wasting everyone's time. I love Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. (Even though Carrie lies when she says her song "Cowboy Casanova" isn't about Tony Romo. Hello?? Your ex-boyfriend Tony Romo is quarterback for the Cowboys! That's not exactly keeping it a secret like Carly Simon did with "You're So Vain" and Alanis Morissette did with "You Oughta Know.") I knew Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert were gay before ...

The Browns have already lost to the Vikings. They've already lost to the Broncos. They've already lost to the Ravens, the Bengals, and (blech) the Steelers. They've already lost to the flu.

And now they've lost to Jay-Z.

Early this morning, following last night's Jay-Z concert at Quicken Loans Arena, Browns cornerback Eric Wright ran his car off the road and, according to some reports, flipped it three times. Fortunately he was treated and released from the hospital. The car? No reports on its health, but most likely it's going on injured reserve, being a Mercedes and all.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Wright will be able to play football Sunday or anytime soon. Being able to walk after a car accident isn't the same as running around on the football field. We'll find out soon enough if Wright is actually all right.

In the meantime, maybe ...

Euclid Library page James Bagwell plans to freeze his nose off tonight at Blink-182's concert at Blossom. He's a braver man than I. Or younger. Or something. Anyway, here's his report heading into his first concert:

I’m about as excited as a Cleveland Browns/Indians/Cavs fan after one of the teams wins a championship. If you’re from Cleveland, well, you know that’s pretty excited.

For those you of who aren’t familiar with Blink-182, here’s a brief overview. They are a punk rock band from California, consisting of frontmen Tom Delonge, Mark Hoppus, and drummer Travis Barker. In 2005, they split due to unsolvable tension between Delonge and the rest of the band. In 2008, after Barker’s plane crash, they reformed and set up the tour they are currently playing.

The concert was originally on September 2, but after DJ AM, a close friend to the entire band, was found ...

At least I got this shot of Gin Blossom's singer Robin Wilson before security confiscated my camera.

Apparently they don't allow cameras at Cain Park Amphitheater in Cleveland Heights. Or maybe it's they don't allow flash cameras. Or maybe they don't allow cameras that they can see you using after they already told you not to use it. Something like that. Like I care. At Friday's night's Gin Blossoms and Tonic show, I got my shot and I got my musical fix. It was quite an interesting night.

I went to the show because of Tonic, not because of the Gin Blossoms. (Sorry, Gin Blossoms, I like you, I enjoyed you, but I just saw you in November at the House of Blues.) Back in 2004 Tonic decided to take a break that turned into a breakup. But now they are back with a reunion tour and forthcoming ...

By now you've seen the crazy wedding dance video from a couple in Minnesota who decided to get a bit creative with the traditional wedding procession. Instead of just marching down the aisle, groom Kevin Heinz, his bride Jill Peterson, and their groomsmen and bridesmaid danced down the aisle.

Within days their YouTube video has hit nearly 8½ million views. They've been written up everywhere from their hometown newspaper to New York Magazine to the Telegraph of the United Kingdom. They've been on both the Today show, reprising the entrance, and Good Morning America, and the CBS Evening News.

But here's what I want to know -- how does this video affect Chris Brown's career?

You see, the song the couple danced down the aisle to is "Forever", Brown's 2008 song that finished 10th on the Billboard Hot 100 that year and made the charts around the ...

I've got to wonder what sold more over the last week, fireworks or Michael Jackson memorabilia. Three Michael Jackson albums show in current the iTunes Top 10. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that sales of Jackson CDs are up 4,000%, with 422,000 sold the week that ended June 28.

Give the Euclid Public Library credit for a tiny portion of those sales. We can't keep anything MJ-related on the shelves right now. Soon we'll add a few more things that we won't be able to keep on the shelves: Multiple copies of The Essential Michael Jackson; History -- Past, Present, and Future; Gold; The Ultimate Collection; 20th Century Masters (Jackson 5); Bad; Blood on the Dance Floor; Dangerous; Invincible; Love Songs; Greatest Hits; Number 1's of both Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5; and Off the Wall.

 ...

According to The Onion last year, the members of Twisted Sister are now willing to take it.

But we'll pretend just for today that they still are in their full in-your-face rocking glory from 1984. Because today, 25 years later, Twisted Sister's multi-platinum "Stay Hungry" album is being re-released as a two-disc set.

If you were a rock & roll teenager of the '80s, you loved Twisted Sister videos. They were mini movies, featuring Mark Metcalf, the guy who played Niedermayer in "Animal House," parodying his character. "We're Not Gonna Take It" pissed off every parent in the suburbs when a guitar-playing teen riffed his Niedermayer-ish father through the upstairs window after sitting through a minute long spitting-and-screming lecture, before morphing into Dee Snider and taking over the house.

You remember -- "Is that a Twisted Sister pin? ON YOUR UNIFORM??"

Niedermayer was back in the sequel video ...

Michael Jackson died at age 50 on Thursday.

As if you hadn't heard.

You heard it through the TV, the radio, through Facebook status updates, through Twitter, through text messages, through newspaper web sites, through message boards -- basically through anything where words can be conveyed. It ranks among the most shocking celebrity deaths in the past 50 years, right alongside Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy Jr., John Lennon, and Princess Diana. All of those people were known worldwide, extremely popular, and fairly young when they died. JFK Jr., Lennon, and Princess Diana died from tragic events (plane crash, murder, car crash), while Presley and Monroe died due to drug addictions.

Michael Jackson died of cardiac arrest. The cause is being determined by an autopsy today.

While that takes place, I'll use this space to rank my Top 10 Michael Jackson songs. This isn't where I debate greatness, influence, ...

There's no better place for music in Cleveland than the Barking Spider Tavern near Case Western Reserve University.

There really isn't. And it doesn't matter who is playing. I've heard rock and roll there. I've heard country. I've heard jazz. I've heard Irish music. I've heard a guy who can spin marbles in a big metal pan and make it sound like music. Located between Bellflower and Juniper just off Ford, it's a little brick and wood building that has a bit of a log-cabin feel. Large doors on either end of the squarish building can be opened on perfect summer (or spring) nights like Wednesday night, allowing anyone to sit on a picnic table outside and listen to some fine music while having a beer or other beverage.

And when you have performers like Oliver Buck and the New Madrids -- who played on the Euclid Library ...

Things I learned when I kicked off my summer concert series Monday night at the Beachland Ballroom's sold-out Hold Steady show ...

1) My iPhone doesn't really work as a concert camera. The iPhone's great and all, but as a camera in darker places it might as well be a flying car, better in concept than reality. The beauty of the iPhone is that I can download a Facebook application and instantly upload pictures from the show to my page. But what good is that if you upload crummy pictures? I could send instant messages, tweets, update Facebook, vomit when getting Indians updates, and even look up Hold Steady lyrics on the Internet thanks to my iPhone. But I couldn't get a quality picture.

2) It's a lot tougher to work security at a Metro Station concert attended by hundreds of teenage girls than it is a black-metal concert attended by ...

These music supergroups have a way of sneaking up on a guy.

First it was Tinted Windows. This sugary power-pop band employs Adam Schlessinger of Fountains of Wayne (one of my all-time favorite bands) on bass; guitarist James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins on lead guitar; drummer Bun E. Carlos from underrated Cheap Trick; and former Hanson lead singer -- yes, that's Hanson -- Taylor Hanson.

Tinted Windows put out some fine ear candy in April and are currently touring the United States. Sadly, they won't be in Cleveland anytime soon. (Neither will Fountains of Wayne -- grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!)

Now there comes word of Chickenfoot. It's not the newest gimmick food from KFC. Instead it's another supergroup with some names familiar to anyone who has ever listened to a rock-and-roll record: Sammy Hagar as lead singer, Michael Anthony (from Van Halen) on bass, Joe Satriani on lead guitar, ...