Paul Simon's cross-cultural Graceland endeavors are always an academic favorite. This performance is from the tour he did on that album; however, the song, "Nelson Mandela (Bring Him Back Home)," is actually by South African virtuoso Hugh Masekela, with whom Simon shares the stage. The combination of an accessible, literary American pop figure and a remarkable, jazz-schooled African musician is a surefire hit.

Jeff Buckley's angelic voice melts the hardest of hearts. Here he performs "What Will You Say?" It's a tune he once performed as a duet with Alim Qasimov, and the Azerbaijani influence shines through even when he performs it alone.

Put on some Tropicalia as played by locals Alma Tropicalia. It's got the spice of psychedelia alongside the charm of '60s pop and the allure of a foreign tongue. Here Alma Tropicalia offers their take on Os Mutantes' "Ando Meio Desligado." Impress your fellow academics by telling them about their live show after you check them out Friday night at Velvet Lounge.

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*In preparation for the forthcoming Academy Awards, Total Film posts the top twenty best and worst Oscar speeches over the years. Among the best? Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's surprise win for Best Original Screenplay, Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein's win for Best Documentary Short Subject, and Kate Winslet's "daddy's girl" speech for Best Actress. The worst are made up of the more trite and overly dramatic speeches, including Marlon Brando's American Indian replacement, James Cameron's "I'm the king of the world" shout-out, and Halle Berry and Gwyneth Paltrow's weepy spiels.

*Charlie Sheen enters rehab for undisclosed "preventative measures" and announces he is officially taking a break from Two and a Half Men two months after he was accused of assaulting his wife. Whether he is in rehab for drugs, alcohol, domestic abuse, or letting his shitty CBS sitcom last seven seasons remains to be seen.

*Salman Rushdie announces plans to write a novel about his decade of hiding in England. Rushdie was forced into hiding after the Iranian government sent out an execution order for Muslims to kill the author of The Satanic Verses.

*Role reversal time! Former professional wrestler Ric Flair's wife is arrested for domestic violence against the multiple-WWE world heavyweight champion.

*The New York Post reports that Johnny Depp is set to appear on Sunday's episode of 48 Hours Mystery on CBS in support of the West Memphis Three. Depp, along with fellow celebrity supporters like Winona Ryder and Eddie Vedder, think that the three men accused of killing three 8-year-olds in 1994 were unfairly accused and convicted simply because they liked metal music and authors like Stephen King.

*Bristol Palin announces she is going to play herself on an upcoming episode of ABC Family's teen pregnancy drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

*Tonight in City Lights: Washington Ballet's The Great Gatsby at the Kennedy Center.

Photo by Mikio Ariga, via MySpace.

Johansson recorded Buckley's single for the soundtrack to He's Just Not That Into You, the film based on the Oprah-discovered-and-hocked self-help book for hopeless hangers-on by Greg Behrendt. (Johansson also stars in the film, along with Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore and Ben Affleck.) As expected, bloggers, Buckley-philes and even Buckley-haters at Pitchfork ripped into the track (which can be streamed via Stereogum). The main complaint: Johansson's vocal range is tragically terrestrial compared to Buckley's gymnastic chords. Johansson can do soft and cigarette-smoky, no problem. But mastering the face- and heart-melting Buckleyan Willowy Wail? Not a snowball's chance.

Nice try, Scarl. But please-step away from the mic and let the Buckley discography rest in peace.

A belated answer key to our Rolling Stone: Parse that Platitude contest!

• There is a difference between people who sing and those who take that voice to another, otherworldly place, who create a euphoria within themselves. PLATITUDE REFERS TO: Elvis Presley
  
• You know a force from heaven. You know something that God made. And [blank] is a gift from God. PLATITUDE REFERS TO: Aretha Franklin
  
• There’s a lot going on in [blank]’s voice. A lot of pain, a lot of life but, most of all, a lot of strength. PLATITUDE REFERS TO: Etta James
  
• [Blank]’s unhinged aggression presaged punk rock. PLATITUDE REFERS TO: Jim Morrison
  
• I can’t compare [blank]’s voice to anything — [blank] had such an unusual breadth of influences, from Sonic Youth to Edith Piaf. PLATITUDE REFERS TO: Jeff Buckley
  

Commenter "Elisabetta" wins for accuracy, with a 20% accuracy rate. Commenter "Dean Steve" wins for most original entry, with an 80% humor rate.

Winners entitled to free copy of City Paper, redeemable at any of our many distribution hubs across the greater D.C. metro area.