Sometimes as certain trends in fashion -- ones that baffle those outside the industry as well as within -- are worth putting the spectacle of worldwide hot-messery on hold for a moment. If only to speculate on the origins of said trend. And while TriKap walk-of-shamers and Britney Spears have invariably found themselves sans pants at some point or other, neither really made an intentional habit of upending stylistic decorum as we know it. Even in 2007, The Gossip siren Beth Ditto pulled a similar fashion coup; but the earliest adopter for the look appeared to be none other than Brechtian punk cabaret queen Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls.

Since Paula Abdul's principled exit from American Idol, producers have been trotting out a lunch buffet of guest judges whose claims to either the "American" or "Idol" parts of American Idol are dubious at best. Apart from Mary J. Blige (who is probably as close to an American idol as the show's revolving door of judges will ever get), some of these judges seem a little shaky, like Victoria Beckham and Broadway favorites Neil Patrick Harris and Kristin Chenoweth. But because we forgive their un-Idolicious standing because they're awesome. And the others, well ... they're frankly just not as awesome. Like the previously announced Joe Jonas, who is probably the least qualified for this gig. This means that even though their claims to fame are as rooted in novelty as Beckham's, there's little reason for them to be dispensing advice to aspiring pop stars when they themselves have become dusty casualties of the music industry -- and all who have become significantly eclipsed by past Idol winners like Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks.

● Jeff Buckley fans will not only be horrified to learn that there is a biopic in the works, but that Jared Leto, James Franco, and Robert Pattinson are all in the running to play the late singer. [Exclaim]
● Peaches Geldof, 20-year-old divorcee and party girl, says she’s a better role model than Disney mascot Miley Cyrus. [TheSun]
● Megan Fox is all for the legalization of marijuana and doesn’t appreciate that people think she’s a “crazy hippie” for smoking a doobie once in awhile. [KansasCity]

Is no one safe from the censors? You may know Amanda Palmer for her colorful outbursts or that one time she played a Radiohead cover on the uke or simply as the louder half of the Dresden Dolls. But lately, it seems she's in the unenviable position of having to defend her latest single, "Oasis," to British music outlets like NME and MTV. It's not that they don't like it -- on the contrary, they adore it. The song just doesn't fit their stringent standards. Although, in a pop climate permeated by the subtle poetics of bitches and hos, there's really nothing incredibly NSFW about the single, which manages to poke fun at everything from date rape to loony fundies -- all in just over two minutes. See the video after the jump.

Amanda Palmer, half of cabaret punk showstoppers The Dresden Dolls, is quite possibly one of the few piano-banging divas capable of upstaging Tori Amos. And this was blatant Friday night at Webster Hall, where she left the piano bench, parted the audience, and made her way to the top of the bar for the evening's final song -- an acoustic, bittersweet rendition of Radiohead's "Creep" that also had her strumming a ukulele. Despite her epic talents, Palmer remains pleasantly humble and relatable. In fact, she's someone you'd want to clink glasses of Merlot with and call your BFF. But even if we never exchanged friendship bracelets, I did manage to get to the self-referential heart of her solo debut, Who Killed Amanda Palmer?, before she took the stage. Palmer straddled the line between gallows humor and poignant introspection, dishing about the driving habits of the Irish, her potentially backstabbing record label, and why nothing could top working with Jesus -- although collaborating with Ben Folds and Neil Gaiman comes awfully close.

So I know you're currently in the middle of your tour. How's the response been?
It's been overwhelming ... it's been fucking fantastic. We've been on tour for six or seven weeks now. We just came back from Europe. [We've toured] everywhere -- Belgium, Italy, the UK, Ireland, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Austria. We played in New Haven the night before last, but the club was all fucked up, and we got cut off early, and there was a terrible dance party. That was like a showus interruptus -- like no one really felt like they got off.

Brazilian Girls, New York City (Verve Forecast). As the title of their art-groovy third album suggests, Brazilian Girls make music for urban spaces: airports, nightclubs, deserted streets. The trio -- only one of whom is female, and Italian -- are residents of New York City but citizens of the world. There are songs here in four languages, about “St. Petersburg,” “Berlin” and a plethora of cities name-checked in “Internacional.” Riff genius, immaculate drummer and fashion diva: The Girls resemble Blondie more and more every year. And that’s a good thing. -- Evelyn McDonnell