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Is Them Crooked Vultures in the World?

Today, Them Crooked Vultures steps into the supergroup spotlight. The trio - composed of Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, and Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme -just released their self-titled debut, and it's rich with heavy Zeppelin-esque grooves and '70s headbanging swagger.

It's also an album that makes you realize how little music breathes these days. There's something about dudes playing in a room together - LOUDLY - that pleases the senses the way no amount of Pro Tools cut-and-pasting can achieve. Show me the plug-in that combines the sound of Zep and Nirvana's rhythm section into one fat Wall of Sound.

This cross-generational teaming (Grohl was born the same month and year as Led Zeppelin's debut album release) also refutes the adage that a band is greater than the sum of its parts. Supergroups are a dicey proposition to be sure: multiple monster egos are never meant to share the same oxygen for long. Still, when they come together for the love of a shared musical vision - as opposed to the matchmaking of a manager hungry for a commission -the results are righteous.

Here are some supergroups that represent the best and worst of the bunch.

Retro Minute, November 20, 1977

Family Feud's Richard Dawson celebrates a birthday. What Carpenters song is on the charts? Find out as Shawn's wakin' up the memories...

Steve & Joe, Say It Isn't So: Tense Musical Partnerships

Is Steven Tyler in or out? The Aerosmith singer crashed bandmate Joe Perry's gig last Tuesday (Perry was doing his own moonlighting with the Joe Perry Project) to announce that he wasn't leaving the 40-year-old band, contrary to the rock rumor mill. There's only one person who doesn't necessarily believe it: Joe Perry.

Right after the gig, Perry insisted that his Toxic Twin wants two years off and that he wouldn't rule out the option of finding another dude who looks like a scary old lady to front the band. Perry wants to keep rocking, and he doesn't seem to care what skinny, scarf-wearing singer is standing next to him.

Despite once having a common interest in illegal substances, Perry and Tyler have had a famously tumultuous relationship ever. But some of the best bands are born from the most tense relationships.

As Tyler pins his hopes on "Brand Tyler," here's a reminder of those frontmen who thought they could make it fly without the guitarist on stage left.

Most Dramatic Musician Makeovers

After slamming Susan Boyle on the Opie & Anthony Radio Show, queen bitch Sharon Osbourne apologized... sort of. On November 5, Ozzy's old lady called Boyle a "slapped arse" on a radio show with millions of listeners. Five days later, the Osbourne matriarch apologized to her 100,000 Twitter followers. You tell me which statement made the bigger impact. Why is it the insult is always the lead and the apology always buried?

Of course, Sharon Osbourne forgets her own homely days before she could afford hair dye and plastic surgery. No makeover may turn Susan Boyle into a beauty queen, but that misses the point. In the music business, the goal is not to become beautiful; the mission is make yourself into someone different. The history of popular music is littered with men and women who have hired an army of hairstylists, makeup artists, and trainers in order to prepare for the hit parade - and escape their previous incarnations.

Some end up looking better than before, others look freaky, and for a few like Susan Boyle, things don't change all that much. Still, you can't blame a girl for trying. Let those who have never sat in the stylist's chair cast the first angry Tweet.

Here's my Makeover Hall of Fame: