Few musicians can claim as impressively diverse a résumé as Monte Pittman's. He's been a member of the iconic metal band Prong, has been Madonna's guitarist for more than 10 years (he's the man who actually taught Madge how to play!), and most recently, he served as the guitarist for Adam Lambert and musical director of Adam's Glam Nation Tour. He's also played with Melanie C and Sophie Ellis Bextor, among others.

What can be better than two talented, GQ-esque gentlemen playing Nirvana on
cellos? Umm... I'll have get back to you about that, but Croatian
musicians Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser of 2CELLOS
are destined to be future faces of modern classical music.

Former rivals in performance competitions, the pair became a Youtube
sensation after a video of them playing Michael Jackson's "Smooth
Criminal" hit three million views in just two weeks. Their online popularity landed them a record deal and even Sir Elton John
asked them to support his summer tour this year.

Not since pianist Christopher O'Riley's renditions of Radiohead have I been
so struck by covers of contemporary songs on classical instruments. Being a kid
who grew up with Mozart, Vivaldi and other tent poles of their eras (plus being
forced through piano, violin AND cello lessons myself), I've a very tender spot
for these instruments (who can say "November Rain" doesn't move
them?). They make any song immediately cinematic, and

Bringing a bleak but reverent piece of "Steel Town" Canada, Redlight King filled the Yahoo! Music office with heavy-hearted rock, a tinge of hip-hop, and lots of rich storytelling during is recent visit. The lyrics of singer-songwriter Mark Kasperczyk (better known as Kaz) read like a detailed diary of his experiences growing up and struggling as a musician. With small quirks like a standup bass and Kaz playing a left-handed guitar, Redlight King offers an introspective take on blue-collar living and leaving it behind.

Having grown up in Hamilton, Ontario, and writing songs since childhood, Kaz moved to Los Angeles after hitting the rock bottom outlined in his music. But one of his most buzzed-about accomplishments was getting a blessing from the great Neil Young to let Kaz sample some of his work--not just a piece of a melody, but an actual sample of Neil Young singing "Old Man" with Kaz rounding off the iconic chorus. The middlemen said no, but Young himself said yes. That alone is

Amy Winehouse's final "performance" wasn't much of one. Two days before she was found dead, Winehouse walked out on stage at the iTunes Festival in London, danced around a little, resisted the microphone that was put in her face, and quickly left. It was, at the least, a better ending to her on-stage career than being booed off in Belgrade.

Winehouse's cameo was really intended to be a gesture and not a performance, though. She was there to draw attention to her so-called goddaughter, 15-year-old singer Dionne Bromfield. Little could she have foreseen just how much attention her appearance would draw. It ended up being a greater gift to Bromfield than Winehouse could have intended, with the world suddenly curious to see the doomed diva's last public moments. 

If this was a torch-passing that was somewhat inadvertent in its finality, Bromfield was a far worthier recipient of Winehouse's largess than the term "15-year-old goddaughter" might unpromisingly suggest. Bromfield is an actual