Blog Posts by Mike Ryan

For those hoping to see a performance by famed New Jersey resident Bruce Springsteen, hanging out at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, is always a decent bet. And last Friday night, for prescient Springsteen fans at the Pony, it turned out be a perfect bet.

The stars were certainly aligned: Alejandro Escovedo was playing a show that night at Springsteen's favorite haunt; Springsteen is an admirer of Escovedo's work, and vice versa (plus they share a manager). Probably the most glaring sign pointing to "Yes, Bruce Will Play at The Stone Pony with Alejandro Escovedo": Springsteen performed on "Faith" on Escovedo's new album.

For the encore of Escovedo's set, The Boss joined him onstage as the two plowed through "Faith," "Always a Friend" (a song they first played together on April 14, 2008, during a Springsteen concert in Houston) and, the real surprise, a cover of The Rolling Stones song, "Beast of Burden." By the Star-Ledger's calculation, this marks the first time

When Steve Perry from Journey first put words to music for the iconic song, "Don't Stop Believin'," he probably had no idea he was belting out those lyrics for … Lady Gaga and Bruce Springsteen. Those two glamorous stars, along with a few of their close peers — Sting, Elton John, Debbie , and Shirley Bassey — joined each other onstage on Thursday night to belt out what is arguably the most popular karaoke song of all time: Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'."

The occasion was Sting's annual Rainforest Foundation benefit at Carnegie Hall where, as in the past, it was an "anything goes" event (in 1999, for example, Bill Murray took part in the finale performance of a Frank Sinatra song). To drive home this point, before the powerhouse lineup took on the famous '80s power-pop ballad, Springsteen also sang a reworked cover of the Bryan Adams' hit "Cuts Like a Knife."

The amateur video of the performance has been going viral on the Internet, which proves it's a spectacle that many can't seem

Who isMerton the Chatroulette Piano Guy? The mystery remains, but one thing is clear:He's not Ben Folds in disguise, contrary to the rumor thatgained momentum after the musician's talent caught attention on Chatroulette(an online site that randomly pairs people around the world for one-on-one livewebcam chats).

The buzzover the mystery man compelled Folds to breakout his own webcam during a North Carolina concert and offer a tribute. In front of2,000 screaming fans, he serenaded his Chatroulette partners with impromptusongs inMerton-like style. He made up lyrics to match each person on the computerscreen, from a shy writer who finally emerged from behind a notepad to the manwaving a lighter to Folds' live music.

Folds'performance provides evidence that Merton the Chatroulette Piano Guy has madeit. He's Chatroulette's first legitimate online superstar. What Andy Sambergand Chris Parnell did for YouTube in 2005 with "Lazy Sunday," Mertonthe Chatroulette Piano Guy has now done for the