Last week's "Mad Men" episode, in which the offices of Sterling Cooper Draper Price were visited by the speedy syringe of a doctor feelgood, was one of the best and most troubling of the season—not least the scene in which Ken Cosgrove did a frenetic impromptu soft shoe. Now, some internet whiz has paired the dance with a snippet of Daft Punk music ("Doin' It Right," featuring Panda Bear, from "Random Access Memories," to be precise), thus combining two of the moment's most popular cultural signifiers in one brief video clip—better watch it before it gets the yank, if only to whet your appetite for Sunday's episode. 

Divorce has never once been pretty, but when it happens between two musicians whose relationship and band felt like one interdependent project that raised both art and love to a higher standard, it's especially hard to watch. (Nor is it possible to look away.) Witness the split of Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth after 27 years together. The news was a huge blow when delivered in the fall of 2011, but in April, Gordon told Elle Magazine what happened: "We seemed to have a normal relationship inside of a crazy world. And in fact, it ended in a kind of normal way—midlife crisis, starstruck woman... Thurston was carrying on this whole double life."  

Milo Greene released its self-titled debut album close to a year ago, and they're still racking up great buzz on it. I'd like the band if only for the fact that they made up their name in a fairly hilarious story they told The Guardian earlier this year. But having four lead singers in the group and a strong ear for harmony is the real attraction. They recently did a Guitar Center podcast with Nic Harcourt; you can hear it here and see an exclusive performance of "Take a Step" below.
You can see a bunch of other performances in the "At: Guitar Center with Nic Harcourt" series here
 

Excuse 17. Sleater-Kinney. Wild Flag. Portlandia. American Express. 

You’ve not heard of Anna Bergendahl because you’re not in Sweden. There she’s as well known as the biggest superstars here, having starred on two “Idol”-type music shows and covering songs by her heroes such as Bonnie Raitt.

With the glut of similar singing shows worldwide Bergendahl could be just another disposable pop star – but she’s more than that and isn’t settling for anything less. With producer Larry Klein and musical gems like Jay Bellerose and Doug Pettibone in her corner, Bergendahl has recorded “Something to Believe In,” an album of mature, sophisticated, self-penned songs that belie her youth (21) and TV-show background.

Here’s a sample in “I Hate New York” (and don’t get in a knot, New Yorkers, it’s not a diss to your city – it’s about feeling generally lost and alone so much that even the things you love don’t appeal to you at the moment).

How did she end up surrounded with such a crack crew? She discovered that the singers that most touched her heart had all worked with producer Klein – and he took an interest.

 

Most fans argue that Jim Morrison was The Doors, but I'd argue that Ray Manzarek was just as much -- if not more so. And he got a lot of grief for what really amounted to simply keeping the music alive and being proud of his legacy in doing so.

Manzarek loved to talk about The Doors -- and why shouldn't he? He co-founded the group with Morrison, his keyboard work is the signature sound of their biggest hits -- "Riders on the Storm," "Break On Through," "Hello, I Love You," "Love Her Madly" and of course "Light My Fire."

But his detractors -- including fellow bandmate John Densmore -- felt he at times crossed the line from proud to exploitative, especially when he went out with Robby Krieger touring as The Doors or The Doors of the 21st Century.

Funny -- no one had a problem when The Doors released two Morrison-less albums after his death or endlessly repackaged the catalog with live albums, remasters, 5.1 mixes, outtakes, alternate mixes, studio dialog etc. But fights ensued when Manzarek was in favor of licensing Doors music for a commercial. Yeah, that was a crime once upon a time. But that was a long, long time ago.

Granted, Densmore has had his say, with a 2002 essay in The Nation where he takes Manzarek to task for greed (apparently a recurring theme in his new book as well).

And no one but the band members and people around them are privy to the details. But back in the '90s I ended up spending an inordinate amount of time talking with Manzarek as some Doors reissues and other projects were on the table. He gave me his home phone number and we chatted a fair amount about his history. Rather than brag about himself, he constantly invoked what a genius he felt Morrison was -- a poet, a performer, and a tragic loss to the world on all levels.

As much as Densmore feels he's protecting Morrison's heritage by turning down commercial offers, Manzarek felt the opposite -- that getting the music to as many ears as possible was the best tribute, especially young ears (it was an Apple computer commercial offer that sparked the 2002 rift between the two).

So Manzarek talked about The Doors. And talked and talked and talked. Anyone who has ever interviewed him or just been in his general vicinity knew that he loved to talk about what The Doors had done and what their music had meant to fans.

Myself, I can see both sides of the argument. That doesn't make Manzarek the evil opportunist fans make him out to be.

During those chats back in the day I knew a middle-school student who was doing an essay on the historical impact of music in the '60s. So I asked Manzarek -- hey, would you do an interview with an 8th-grader for an essay that will be read to her history class? The thought of his words going to 25 teenagers in a classroom somewhere thrilled him. He immediately said yes and had me pass on his phone number.

The essay got an A. Manzarek got to find a new audience to hear his thoughts. And I'll bet more than a couple of kids in that class are Doors fans to this day.

Rest in peace, Ray. You did your best.


 

Sometimes it works. Van Halen got bigger (and lamer) than ever when Sammy Hagar replaced David Lee Roth.

But most of the time trying to replace your lead singer is the kiss of death for a band. Alice in Chains was disbanded for years before finally getting a fill-in for Layne Staley. Sublime and The Doors both famously feuded with the families of the late Brad Nowell and Jim Morrison over the rights to continue using the band names after those singers died.

And now the story with Stone Temple Pilots gets weirder and weirder. They fired lead singer/constant news story Scott Weiland in March without even telling him; he found out through the media, and at first denied the reports until he found out that, yes, he had been sacked.

STP turned up at KROQ's annual Weenie Roast concert this past weekend with a new frontman in tow -- Linkin Park's Chester Bennington. The band has apparently taken a page from David Bowie and Daft Punk, keeping everything a secret until they sprung it on the crowd. They've even recorded a new song, "Out of Time," that they're making available as a free download or you can stream it below.
It looks to be a temporary thing as Linkin Park takes much of the year off; the band has only one show planned for L.A. on Aug. 3, noting that it will be their sole performance of 2013. And Bennington does a pretty fair version of Weiland. Check the performance below before it gets yanked from YouTube again.






 

Some people simply shouldn't travel in cars.