The column that never was and may never be.

Here we are at another Wednesday, and for the second week in a row I’ve got very little to write about in my New Release Extravaganza. I figured last week was a fluke and that this week I’d find many a new release to purchase and/or recommend. Sadly I only found one and it was a wrestling DVD entitled Bloodsport: ECW’s Most Violent Matches. While I’m not ashamed to say I still enjoy a good ‘rastling match, not much to recommend here unless you’re a fan of flaming tables, barb wire, Mexican death matches, Taipei death matches and other death matches of various national origins. (Note: For the more casual fan I recommend The Rise and Fall of ECW, a two disc set that documents the hardcore revolution and its impact on mainstream pro wrestling.)

The revelation that there is not much out there to write about for the second Wednesday in a row has lead me to retire the New Release Extravaganza column. I’ll still chime in when there is new music, DVDs, or books released that I recommend but this will no longer be a weekly feature. So I thought I’d finish up today with some thoughts on tonight’s Grammy awards. I might not catch much of them due to a new Lost, new Veronica Mars, and a new Project Runway but hey that’s what DVRs are for.

* Growing up the Grammy’s were third on my list of music awards shows after the Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards. As I grew older I realized that the AMAs were garbage and stuck solely with the VMAs. Now a funny thing has happened, the Grammy’s have become almost relevant. No one cares who wins what but the show now puts more emphasis on performance ala the VMAs. Starting with the Eminem/Elton John duet, to Prince and Beyonce to this years Madonna/Gorillaz collab, the Grammy producers are beginning to figure out how to make an award show enticing.

* When did the Grammy’s start having red carpet coverage on E! and TV Guide channel? Back in my day we only got Joan Rivers at the Oscars, Golden Globes and maybe the Emmy’s, and we like it (actually we hated it but you get the idea). On the plus side, if Issac Mizrahi is spitting inappropriate questions at the celebs like the Globes, then this might be entertaining.

* Looking forward to the Madonna/Gorillaz collaboration that’s kicking off the show.

* I’m pulling for Kanye and the Gorillaz in most of the big categories but I’m guessing we’ll see a lot of Mariah and Bruce. Like I said the actual award winners don’t hold much water so the outcomes shouldn’t be taken to heart.

* Hopefully the country music awards will be grouped in the 8 o’clock CST hour.

Tomorrow I’ll be back with some Grammy fall out and the announcement of a new weekly column that hopefully will last more then 2 weeks.