What follows is a list of 125 household-name artists grouped by the last years in which they appeeared on a single that hit the Top 40 of Billboard's "Hot 100" chart in America. As a recovering teen chart nut, I find this stuff fascinating. It speaks to their relevance as artists in some cases, but speaks to the relevance of having a "hit single" in cases where the artists are clearly still quite successful by other measures.

Most of all, it's just wow-inducing to see how long it's been for some of these artists, who have sold millions and millions of records in their storied careers. It's also interesting seeing the groups of artists who enjoyed their last Top 40 success together...Gloria Gaynor and Patti Smith, for example.

(Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any; it's hard juggling artists' singles, featured appearances, etc.)

Enjoy...

National Enquirer is hyping its big "Plastic Surgery Shockers" issue, which it only publishes every other week or something like that. This snap of Janet underscores that something is amiss with her cheeks. She's always had big cheeks, so her new ones are usually less attention-getting than they might otherwise be.

Katherine Jackson has lost custody of her grandchildren after being kept—or staying away—from them for over a week. Now, she's given a bizarre and rather coerced-looking speech stating that her adult kids were not holding her against her will. It doesn't get weirder than this.

This hilarious thread from a site called Stan Wars (thanks to David) is beyond sublime. It has moderators posing as their matron saints and Madonna really makes out well. It reminds me of this brilliant fucker.

Via Sticky (Work Unfriendly): Fashion Indie has a good idea in listing some of the hottest male eye candy ever to grace music videos (as above), but what about:

Too bad Eduardo Verastegui is a homophobic (self-hating?) prick now...

Photo courtesy of Matt Mindlin/Liz Rosenberg Media

Madonna's MDNA is coasting to #1 on Billboard, her fifth album in a row to do this (poor Ray of Light got capsized by Titanic) and her eighth album to top the charts. (Lionel who???)

Improving on her sales from Hard Candy four years—and many bumps in the record-buying atmosphere later—is an unqualified triumph. Imagine where it would have debuted with a bona fide hit single at radio or with traditional promotion?

With thanks to Chris, some trivia for chart fanatics...

Via Towleroad: Rich at FourFour puts together a great (but incomplete! incomplete!) video showing divas dissing and discussing each other. It's fabulously entertaining even if I'd seen or heard almost all of these. I love how he shows the phoniness of divas who claim rivalries are all made up or sexist, but also love that he doesn't shy away from including POSITIVE comments.

Mariah comes off as supernasty or superfake at every turn. Madonna comes off great—her envious peers take digs at her, but her only comments are either poking fun at her own jealousy (Whitney Houston) or expressing surprise at others' negativity toward her. (She doesn't make a habit of trashing peers, but is it also true that whens he does, it's usually not on video?)

Janet's so (or was so) pathetic, lol—she thinks her titties being grabbed and pierced nips and etc. are "classier" than Madonna?

Cher sums up Madonna's perception with the industry best—respect and amazement but no affection.

Ultimately: There's room for every diva.

Keep reading...

Prove it!

As of midnight last night, it was exactly six years since my first post. It's been a tough thing to keep up with a dayjob and outside activities, and just when I think I might walk away, a valuable connection or interesting opportunity or a kind word comes my way. Thank you all for reading me.

Of whom are you more jealous?

Here are my favorite 100+ posts out of nearly 11,000. Please take some time to read (or re-read!) a couple and tweet or Facebook any you like.

xoxo Matt

The pocket pool championships were intense this year

BOY CULTURE

Boy-crazy

FROM BOY TO MAN: BC B.C. (2007): The entire history of my novell and novel Boy Culture as well as the movie version; might be my ultimate post.

Jonathon Trent & Derek Magyar make an Allan Brocka sandwich

BOY ON FILM (2006): An account of the NYC launch party for Boy Culture as it played the TriBeCa Film Fest.

I was left "Reeling" by the experience

FRIENDS AND "FAMILY" (2006): The movie version of Boy Culture hits Chicago.

No one would've mistaken me for Taylor Lautner

RAPT PUPIL (2006): The final night of Outfest with Boy Culture; I was fat but on the other hand got to meet Bryan Singer.

 

MY ART

 

Construction worker (shot this week) vs. James Dean

GUYDAR (since at least January 17, 2008) & ENDS OF THE WORLD (since at least January 13, 2008): Attractive men of the world—I got your backs. Your fronts, too.

i-i-i (phone)

Not totally built

Unaltered iPhone image that still blows me away

"Your pictures suck" (2008): An art critic attacks me, but not without sustaining some hits in return.

Let's call it a draw

DRAWN TOGETHER (2008): How my desire to draw related to my secret desire. One of my absolute favorite posts.

The shirtless one

LOST ANGELES (2009): My favorite photographic travelogue of L.A.

Even then, New Yorkers feared 9/11 was the beginning of the end

ART IMITATES LIFE (2006): My 9/11 and my distaste for grief tourism.

ME

Death of the party—Jeff in high school, already halfway through his life

BURNING MAN (2007): Tribute to my late high school friend and first romance.

Signed, sealed (eventually) delivered

LOST BOY FOUND (2011): There is a book in here somewhere.

Be Italian

CIAO HOUNDS: OUR TRIP TO ITALY (2011): Finally got José to Europe.

Death becomes here

ILLINOIS DEATH TRIP (2007): Ruminations on death while revisiting a past home, and the past.

Life is short...and meaningful

PASSING BY (2008): Mourning the loss of a person I only met once.

Lots more...

Another hilarious ThisisMackTV mash-up (more like smack-up), this time in honor of Beyoncé Appreciation Day. Something about the fact that a fan is hijacking the stars and making them say out loud the things they never could cracks me up. To paraphrase Oprah, I almost go into the ugly laugh...

Chris Nogiec has been chosen by DNA as one of the world's 50 sexiest men. He probably had stiff competition, but from the looks of it he inched ahead of them.