The dude about to get noogied by Thom Yorke is Nigel Godrich, the long-time producer of Radiohead. Godrich recently formed Ultraista, a side-band from his usual producing duties.

If there was ever an example a good musical soldier, it would be Nigel Godrich. The British producer has been an essential behind-the-scenes figure with Radiohead for years and years and years, so much so that he's colliquolly referred to as a sixth member of the band.

Radiohead's titanic sound shift throughout the years may have confounded most producers, but not Godrich. He's deftly moved the band from being another cog in the 1990s alternative rock machine to one of the most influential groups in the world. Certainly the actual band members deserve the lion's share of credit, but a wise producer can stop a group from doing incredibly stupid things.

But while it's easy to envision producers as introverts who fiddle with buttons all day, many are actually talented performers themselves. Pitchfork reported that Godrich had started a new band called Ultraista with fellow producer Joey Waronker. This isn't the first time Godrich emerged from the producer-y shadows, as he played with Thom Yorke's live band Atoms for Peace.

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Zimbio.com

Justin Bieber carried Floyd Mayweather, Jr.'s championship belts to the ring on Saturday. No, seriously. This actually happened.

Whether Justin Bieber is being chased by a pack of fans while riding a Segway or pretending to get shot and killed on a popular television show, he can is increasingly dispatched in any setting.

Your moment of certainty came this weekend, when Bieber and 50 Cent accompanied Floyd Mayweather, Jr., to the ring before his fight with Miguel Cotto. Mayweather also had Lil Wayne and WWE superstar Triple H in his posse, making for one of the weirdest entourages in modern history.

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Wikimedia Commons

Sue Sylvester would not approve of Gotye's criticism of Glee. Or maybe she would. Who knows?

Regardless of what anybody thinks about the actual program, there's no disputing that Glee has become an absolute juggernaut in the music industry. As of October 2011, songs from the show have been downloaded 36 million times. And during that same time period, 11 million physical albums that have been sold. That's impressive by any objective measure.

Those sort of sales provide some significant attention [and, more likely, oodles of royalties] for artists being covered for the show. It's fair to say that Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" received a bigger bump in the mainstream consciousness for its Glee cover than when the White Sox inexplicably won the World Series in 2005.

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Never heard of Hautewerk? You're not alone. Fans of the Rock Band video game franchise were perplexed when the Orange County band received a DLC release in 2008.

It's not hyperbole to say that downloadable content sparked a huge revolution in console video gaming. Expansions prolonged replay value of many titles, especially music games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

The Rock Band franchise in particular has produced an impressive amount of downloadable content since it burst on the scene in 2007. Heck, "impressive" may be an understatement: Including the user-driven Rock Band Network, well over 3,000 songs have been released thus far. With so many tunes in the pipeline, it's not surprising that weekly releases receive both adulation and fierce criticism. For instance, the recent release of four songs from P!nk was well-received by the singer's fans and panned by her critics.

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Wikimedia Commons

With music being so subjective, it's no surprise that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame emerged over the years as a colossal punching bag. When people disagree over whether Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music is dreck or a stroke of genius, no decision is going to be universally loved.

The Cleveland institution has received flack for various reasons, from its nebulous voting system to its questionable decision-making (seriously, did Neil Peart spit in Jann Wenner's tea?). And the ceremonies for the venue have sparked some awkward moments with less-than-cohesive bands.

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You think that's coffee in there? Why do you think he looks so smug?

Now that St. Patrick's Day has passed and we're still a couple of weeks away from the half-year binge known as baseball season, St. Louis' recreational drinkers are left looking for an excuse to put on our wobbly boots. Thank goodness, then, that our local NPR affiliate, 90.7 FM (KWMU), has its biannual pledge drive er, membership campaign under way. So crank your tuner to the left of the dial, pour your favorite elitist local microbrew into your I [heart] NPR mug (yours for a $5-per-month donation!) and actually enjoy listening to St. Louis Public Radio shake its can of change. The spring fundraising drive is on the air till Friday, March 23.

The goal: Get drunk enough to actually donate money to the station, while learning about, say, Congolese warlords or the dance of Malaysian honey bees. (We'll gladly fork over some cash just for the head rush that accompanies NPR's West Africa correspondent Ofeibea Quist-Arcton saying Dakaaaar.)

Click through for the drinking game's rules...

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Jeff Moffett/Icon SMI AAH

Despite being the subject of an atrocious "anthem" song, Mizzou managed to snag the Big 12 tournament title.

Ah, March Madness. It's the period of time when gamblers around the world have hopes and dreams crushed by random, random schools.

Basketball sometimes gets lost in the pomp and circumstance of college sports. It's become increasingly commonplace, for instance, for fans of schools to go a little overboard in the enthusiasm department. For instance, Daily RFT scribe Paul Friswold detailed the absolutely atrocious musical depiction of Mizzou's basketball dominance.

But other schools seem to do a better job at composing "anthems" than our beloved Tigers. Here a few fan songs for teams competing in the tournament:

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Yeah, this didn't work out too well.

In this day and age, it's become almost commonplace for artists to plug songs into a video game. Heck, there's an entire freaking genre dedicated to translating music into video game form.

While musicians and their labels frantically rush to get a song in the latest FIFA title, there's a small subset of artists that have actually appeared in a video game in some form or fashion. It's been hit or miss, to say the least.

For example, virtual representations of Metallica and the Beatles appeared in well-received music games. And Def Jam created several excellent fighting titles featuring popular rappers.

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Mayra Beltran

Dr. Anthony Pinn and Bun B pre-lecture at Rice University. Their course, Religion and Hip Hop, probably doesn't require The Elements of Style, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't read it.

We're exhausted after a long week of running around town, correcting greengrocers' apostrophes in honor of National Grammar Day, which was March 4. (Punctuation over punctuality, we always say!) It's easy to blame technology for society's lazy spelling, but music is also complicit in this pandemic: From clunkers such as the Steve Miller Band's cringe-inducing but rather innocuous rhyming of "Texas" with "facts is" to, well, pretty much Papa Roach's entire catalog, music has committed some grievous syntax sins, but it also has some noteworthy moments of redemption.

(Confidential to Rihanna: Though the lyrics to your song "S.O.S. (Rescue Me)" appear to be "Y.O.U. are making this hard," it sounds like you're singing "Y.O.U.R. making this hard," further muddling the difference between "you're" and "your." You're not helping. If it's not too much trouble, could you consider changing your song? Thanks a ton.)

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soundonsound.com

Rock innovator Lou Reed turns 70 today.

Earlier this week, RFT Music celebrated "Country Grammar's" 12th birthday. Here's another reminder of everyone's impending mortality: Lou Reed turns 70 today.

The Brooklyn-born rock icon's first seven decades have been, to put it mildly, eventful. He's created some of the most influential - and most derided - music in modern history. He's collaborated with legendary musicians and achieved solo success. And he made the foresighted choice of not playing Sun City.

There's a lot of ground to cover in life that's included more ups and downs than at least three humans. With that in mind, here are some highlights from Reed's life and career:

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