Animal Radio is doing just fine, thank you. The two-hour program which is heard weekends on over 100 radio stations around the country and XM Satellite Radio, continues to attract listeners and celebrity hosts. (Betty White, Photo: Animal Radio)

Coming up the weekend of February 4, 2012, Betty White will take a turn behind the microphone as a guest host. Besides being America's favorite senior citizen, White is a big animal lover. Read more about Animal Radio.

Here's a weird story out of Granite City, Illinois, from bnd.com. Brett L. Nash was in federal court earlier this week. It seems he tried to recruit a buddy to help him rob an elderly man. The plan was to lure the senior citizen using his wife, carjack him, hold the guy hostage while he wrote checks, then kill him.

How was the killing to go down? Nash and his accomplice were going to put the victim in a Jacuzzi and electrocute him by throwing a radio into it. Then, they were going to add a cat to make it look like the feline had knocked the radio into the Jacuzzi.

Nash was arraigned on charges of "interference of commerce by threats of violence." I think it's obvious this guy should never be allowed near a radio or cat again.

You might find this interesting: Radio DJ Deaths: The "Crash Curse" And Oher Awful Ends

Before we really let go of last year, one more thing. If you were going to compile the top artists and bands from 2011, would you use sales data, radio airplay, or scrobbles? (Graphic Credit: © Last.fm)

If you're Last.fm, chances are you would answer scrobbles. Scrobbling is how Last.fm keeps track of what people are listening to on its personalized music service (and getting it from the horse's mouth is better than asking the guy who cleans out the stables.) I'm not even sure why that analogy popped into my head.

See the Top Artists of 2011 globally and in the U.S. based on real listeners and their scrobbles.

You have to give credit to Ringo Starr: at 72 he is still actively touring, recording, and promoting his music. We should all be so lucky to have his good health and focus when we're his age. (Screenshot: RingoStarr.com)

Starr is about to release his 17th solo studio album entitled, Ringo 2012, and part of his promotion plans will bring him to SiriusXM Radio on January 30. Starr will sit down for an interview hosted by Russell Brand and moderated by producer Don Was during SiriusXM's Town Hall with Ringo Starr. Was was involved in Starr's latest album.

The program airs live from the Troubadour in Los Angeles and will include a small audience of SiriusXM subscribers. Expect a studio performance by Starr and his band. He will also take questions from the audience in this live event to be aired on The Spectrum, (channel 28), January 30 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

The Spectrum plays music spanning the past, present and future. Listeners hear artists like U2, Dave Matthews, REM, Tom Petty, Coldplay, Wilco, David Gray, Neil Young, Counting Crows, Ryan Adams and more.