A week after lamenting the somewhat traditional music choices used in the pairs and men's figure skating competition, the Olympic oddity known as ice dancing modernized things a bit Monday night. The sport, which NBC seems to believe is more entertaining than ski jumping (it is not), has already brought Johnny Cash to the ice, courtesy of U.K. skaters Sinead and John Kerr.

On Monday night, the touchy-feely brother-sister duo went the hard rock ballad route, using Linkin Park's "Krwling" in a presentation that had John looking like a vampire ripped straight from the "Twilight" series. The version of the cut, a remix of the band's "Crawling," was light on the vocals for the first half of the skate, but Chester Bennington's pained yell soon filled the Pacific Coliseum, giving the local rockers their very own "Blades of Glory" moment. 

The Olympic skate is available for viewing on the NBC site, or you can watch a non-Olympic run-through of the performance below:

The most musical of Olympic events is figure skating, although often the soundtrack choices veer toward the traditional. It's not until the non-competitive exhibition event at the end of the games that we get a peek at the true musical tastes of the competitors. 

That's why Pop & Hiss thinks it's a shame that U.S. figure skater Johnny Weir wasn't consulted for the Team USA Soundtrack that's selling on iTunes. There's some Mariah Carey, Gloriana, Puddle of Mudd, Sugarland and 3 Doors Down, but from start to finish, the thing is absent a whole lotta fun, instead opting for mid-tempo songs with silly, wannabe-taken-seriously lyrics. Yes, we know, as NBC's mini soap operas keep trying to remind us, these Olympic sports are deadly serious events, and competitors are no mere mortals. They deserve only the most pompous of ballads. 

Thankfully, Weir brings some lighthearted risk-taking to the events, and should he skate in the Feb. 27 exhibition gala, there's a good chance he'll be on the ice to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." Sure, it's a chart-topping hit, but if you're wearing pink and feathers, your music better not be Sting. Additionally, these exhibition events are typically filled with the likes of Coldplay and U2, so let's credit Weir for being a little more flippant in his musical choices, although points also go to teammate Evan Lysacek for recently incorporating a dash of the White Stripes. 

Still, this writer's heart belongs solely to Jessica DubĂ©, the Canadian who survived a blade to the face, and skated earlier this week with partner Bryce Davison to "Requiem for a Dream." It was a well-chosen contemporary choice, and one that came from one of cinema's modern great composers, Clint Mansell. 

-- Todd Martens

Not every musician who performs at Staples Center rakes in big bucks from the appearance, but the perks can be nice.

Until a few years ago, they relied on old-fashioned lung power to make themselves heard. Now, microphones pipe their sounds through loudspeakers, a necessary byproduct of moving from the 400,000-square-foot Forum to the 1-million-square-foot Staples Center, said John Black, the team's vice president of public relations.

It's so effective, their playing often gets mistaken for canned music. "I just assumed it was the sound system," said Lakers fan Bridget Hatziris, whose company owns season seats in Section 117, across the arena from the band. "I come pretty often, but I didn't know."

Mortgage broker Hector Zuniga, 33, of Brentwood, knows the band all too well. Every home game, he sits in the first row of Section 307, so close to the band members that he sometimes has to squeeze by them in the aisle when he goes on a food run.

"I'm a trumpet player, so I appreciate it," Zuniga said. "But it gets annoying after awhile."