For the record, I think Kathy Griffin is absolutely fabulous! I loved her back when she first got really famous in Suddenly Susan, the Brooke Shields sitcom.

This has a lot to do with the fact that I love anyone that’s so sarcastic and outspoken and boy, is she ever! I mean really, what’s not to love: she’s pretty, she’s funny and she’s brutal. Her show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List stayed in top position on my TiVo for the longest.

I love honest people and they are such a rare find in La La Land. When she did her stint on The View as a potential replacement for departing member Rosie O’Donnell, I thought she was the perfect fit. Of course, they went on to choose Whoopi and Kathy Griffin was banned from ever appearing on the daytime talk show again after lampooning it mercilessly in her comedy special, Kathy Griffin: Straight to Hell.

Some people look at someone like Kathy and think she is probably as mean as she is because she has so many insecurities of her own and those people are probably right. She’s not traditionally beautiful. Her career never went farther than her stand-up specials and the one successful sitcom run. Many Hollywood heavyweights don’t care for her or her brand of humor.

But I like all of that about Kathy Griffin. I think that everyone does that and she is in a position to remind us all of that. We all judge other people and make fun of them based on our own insecurities. She just does it in her world, which is much more high-profile than most of ours; and she’s funnier and wittier about it. Kathy has managed to carve out a niche for herself in a town that, quite frankly, doesn’t want her there.

So, what’s the harm in calling out these Hollywood fakes who think anyone that isn’t like them doesn’t deserve a shot in hell. And so many of us are floating around in a semi-state of happiness, not sure if what we are doing from day to day is what we really want to – or should be --- doing in life. Kathy Griffin simply brings all of that to the forefront and puts it out there.

It’s as if she knows people think she doesn’t belong in Hollywood and she really is on the D list and not only is she comfortable with it, but she can find humor in such a stupid, shallow social system.

She’s funny, sassy, smart and probably represents more women in this country than someone like Scarlett Johansson ever could. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Kathy Griffin, D list or not, is absolutely freakin’ fabulous.

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Just when you think alt-rock is dead, bands like Snow Patrol come along and destroy that misconception with a slamming album and a band personality to match. Band members are from Northern Ireland and Scotland and are now based in Glasgow.

As is the case with many alternative bands, Snow Patrol started out on an indie label with albums that were critically-acclaimed but unsuccessful commercially.

Since their 2006 album "Eyes Open," the band has skyrocketed to commercial success, garnering three BRIT awards and winning five Meteor Ireland Music Awards. This band owes much of its success to the fact that its music is eclectic, yet catchy as well as the feisty personalities of the band members themselves.

In fact, Snow Patrol has just launched a photo exhibit at Waterfront Hall in Belfast that showcases pics of the band during some of their more candid moments. The "Crack the Shutters" exhibit is the brainchild of photographer Bradley Quinn, brother of Snow Patrol's Johnny Quinn. The photographer built up a unique collection of close access shots of the band that are both formal and informal, giving fans an inside look at the group during their chill time. This exhibit is unique because most music outfits don't allow this type of intrusion on their down time, detailing life outside of the celebrity aspects.

This is what makes Snow Patrol such a great band with some of the most loyal fans on the planet. They've been around for quite some time now, yet they still act like a group of guys that got together and started jammin' for the love of music and making a few albums along the way. They remind me of the way No Doubt used to be before they got mega-large and became the No Doubt we know and love today.

The group is planning to go out on tour this fall in an attempt to further woo fans across the U.S. Kicking off with a Snow Patrol St. Paul show on Sept. 10, Snow Patrol will make their way around the U.S. with a Snow Patrol concert Atlanta stop along with a Snow Patrol tour stop in NYC and San Diego Snow Patrol show. The tour will conclude with a Los Angeles Snow Patrol concert on Oct. 20.

I will be interested to see what this band continues to do as they keep me --- and many other fans --- entertained after a somewhat boring start to the new millennium in the world of alternative rock.

When summer approaches its close and most tours are winding down, the Black Crowes are going to be kicking into high gear with their “Stuck Inside Utopia” tour. The August 25 Black Crowes Vienna, VA concert is the kick off of the tour, which is in support of the band’s new CD, “Before the Frost.”

In a clever approach to appeasing existing fans (and maybe even picking up a few new ones), the band is offering a second album, entitled “Until the Freeze” for those that purchase “Before the Frost.” The second album is going to be available via download using a secret code from the first one. This is smart thinking since fans love to get anything free AND digital music!

Moreover, the band --- and its team --- is trying to stave off something that is a huge problem for all musicians: the downloading of their music. It’s going to happen, no matter what the band does. But by giving away a second album digitally for purchasing the first one is smart because it satisfies traditional music fans that love the feeling of buying an album in-store and the digital downloaders who live for free music. And with the whole secret code business, fans are drawn into the process, making them feel like a part of something. This is the stuff of sheer marketing genius.   

That being said, one smart move in turn spurned another not-so-smart one. One of the things I have always enjoyed about the Black Crowes is their hippie-ish music and appearance, which is why I don’t quite understand the plans for a live performance on David Letterman, where they plan to preview a few tracks off the new album for the first time.

When you are a semi-alternative, down-home rock outfit, wouldn't you preview your music in some hole-in-the -wall club where “real” fans can get a taste of it?

Or at least at some music festival (and there are surely enough of them)?

I wouldn’t think the Crowes would be cool with previewing their music on a slick late night show like Letterman.

However, no matter what the release method, the Black Crowes are likely to put on a heck of show. This is one of very few bands that sounds as good live as it does in the studio, much of which can be attributed to the amazing voice of lead singer Chris Robinson. Fans will not only be able to delight in tracks off of the new album, but also hits from previous albums.

Tour stops include a Black Crowes Providence concert in Rhode Island, a Black Crowes Des Moines tour stop and a Kansas City Black Crowes performance. “Stuck Inside Utopia” covers quite a bit of ground, also making Baltimore Black Crowes tour stop and a Black Crowes Boston show.

The tour will finish up with a Black Crowes San Francisco performance, where they will play a five-night run at the Fillmore in December.

In all of the recent news surrounding the life and death of music icon, Michael Jackson, one thing became crystal clear to me: his music touched more people than I could have ever fathomed. On television interviews, I witnessed black people, white people, Asian people, even people of races I couldn’t figure out, talking about his music and what it meant to them. I saw old people, 20-somethings, even teenagers, trying to moonwalk on CNN and MSNBC. And I was amazed that one person could mean so much to so many different groups of people.

That was the thing about Michael Jackson: he accomplished what so few other people ever could --- he bridged the gap between races and generations through his music. No matter where you lived, what your income status, what your race or gender, you listened to Michael, tried to Moonwalk and probably donned that glittery glove.

What’s more is that despite all of his eccentricities and legal troubles, people just couldn’t help but root for Michael. I know that’s how I felt. Especially growing up as a bi-racial girl in the 1980s, I was grasping for anything that would make me feel included, since I always felt otherwise from each race. But everybody knew Michael’s music and it didn’t matter what race you were, you could relate to Michael Jackson. His dancing was smooth; his lyrics relevant and his style unmatchable.

To me, Michael didn’t just create music --- he was music. There was so much to Michael’s music; it’s hard to even contemplate all of his various songs and their significance at different points in my life.

“Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” and “Rock with You” are still my all-time favorite end-of-the-night-in-the-club songs.

“Beat It” and “Billie Jean” are at the top of my 80s track list on my iPod.

“You Are Not Alone” is still my favorite sad day song.

“Man in the Mirror” is still one of my favorite inspirational songs, the one I listen to when I need to get off my butt and work on my dreams.

“Remember the Time” is my favorite 7th grade Winter Formal dance memory.

The list could go on and on….

There will never be another Michael Jackson; this is one fact that everyone can agree upon. He epitomized all that music was, is and could be. He had that rare, raw talent that is so hard to find in one person and he used his music to speak to us all and so that we could speak to one another. RIP, MJ…….