NICEST KIDS IN TOWN: Thinkpiece time on Dick Clark:

• The remarkably candid 1973 Creem Magazine interview he did with Lester Bangs, which Grantland's Alex Pappademas quoted earlier this week (and do read the Pappademas piece as well, and be sure to click on the PiL "performance" link).  ("And if you are careful enough to determine what they come up with that's a legitimate trend, then you'll be able to figure out eventually what the people in the middle, I don't mean necessarily geographically but in the case of our country it is pretty much the middle, will be doing in the next number of months.")
• If you'd like to delve deeply into the history of American Bandstand and integration, Matthew Delmont's comprehensive site is where to go.

NOBODY LEFT TO BELIEVE IN:  Twenty years ago this weekend, a veritable Who's Who of British music gathered at London's Wembley Stadium to pay tribute to the late Freddie Mercury. Mental Floss has the clips and stories.

I'M HOLDING OUT FOR ELI GOLD HAIRCARE PRODUCTS: The Good Wife will launch a home decor line this fall, so if you want your office to look like Diane Lockhart's, or a bedroom like Alicia Florick's, you're in luck.

COULD HE BE ANY MORE EXCITED? With news that NBC has made its first pilot pickup for Fall (which will mark Matthew Perry's third post-Friends effort at toplining a show, and also features Broadway favorites Laura Benanti and Julie White), it's time to play "fantasy scheduling."  You have to assume that this will be part of a comedy block including The Office, though I'm wondering if that block gets moved to Tuesdays and they rebuild Thursday from the ground up, especially since it's widely assumed that CBS is going to go with a two hour comedy block anchored by Big Bang and Two Broke Girls on Thursdays into Person of Interest at 10.

I'LL TAKE TRACY MORGAN TO BLOCK:  Today's NYT article on MTV2's impending Hip Hop Squares as well as Pyramid host Dick Clark's passing prompts a question: what B- and C-list stars of today would be good contestants on our favorite game shows of yore?  Aziz Ansari in the winners circle on Pyramid? I can see that.

[Also, for the eight people who've seen it, just how good is Twister Lights Out as a challenge on The Hub's Family Game Night? Always brings the drama.]

THE LONG-AWAITED (BUT TEMPORARY) RETURN OF THE ALOT5MA FRIDAY GRAMMAR RODEO: Eric Althoff, formerly of Larry Flynt's Hustler Magazine, spoke at the 16th National Conference of the American Copy Editors Society, and they, too, have a style guide:

Hustler’s stylebook is similar to others, Althoff said, offering guidance to writers and editors at the magazine on word choice for its readers. Among those at Hustler:

— blow job vs. blowjob
— porno vs. porn
— phone-sex vs. phone sex
— girl next door vs. girl-next-door
— cover babe vs. coverbabe

In each of these examples, Hustler prefers the latter usage. On occasion, the magazine would update its stylebook. For example, it now uses “hos” rather than “ho’s.”

Indeed, Hustler will bend its style rules on occasion. Althoff said that the magazine prefers “come” as a verb and “cum” as a noun in references to ejaculation. But on the magazine’s cover, it would allow “cum” in either situation to get the attention of potential buyers. “‘Cum’ is going to jump out at consumers,” he said.

In which case, grab a poncho.  Related: Sarah D. Bunting, on proofreading for Penthouse.

TAKE A LOAD OFF, ANNIE, AND YOU PUT THE LOAD RIGHT ON ME: I thought I said all I needed to say about Levon Helm, who died today (and for whatever reason, I'm sadder than I expected), except I just read this in the Huffington Post. I haven't said much (anything) nice about Bruce Springsteen here, but, as this story goes, when Helm was about to lose his house because of his medical bills, Springsteen turned up at Helm's house with a million-dollar check and Helm said he couldn't take it. That says a lot about both guys.