Reign Over Me
Just signed up for Netflix the other day out of sheer boredom. My first movie arrived within 2 days. Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler & Donald Cheaton (I think that's his name LOL). It was great. I just finished watching. I love how Adam Sandler can be serious and yet still through in those subtle hilarious one liners that are so Adam Sandler. Great movie...Adam Sandler is just a great actor. Hey! And it was filled with music and references to The Who...another thing I just got into.
Crazy Holiday Season
I havent had much time to post. This holiday season has been crazy, hectic, and I have spent a good bit of time hustlin. Thank God for Craigslist free stuff section!
Is it just me or are people crankier this time of year? Am I crankier? Or is it just every one in general. What is this sense of urgency in the air? This last minute rush to the end of the year is totally stressing me out.
Is it just me or are people crankier this time of year? Am I crankier? Or is it just every one in general. What is this sense of urgency in the air? This last minute rush to the end of the year is totally stressing me out.
Stood out in the Rain, Let it Soak Me Down....
How sad...
Dan Fogelberg Dead at 56
by Sarah Hall
Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:58:24 PM PST
Easy-rocking singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, known for such '70s and '80s hits as "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" died Sunday at his home in Maine, following a battle with prostate cancer. He was 56.
"Dan left us this morning at 6 a.m. He fought a brave battle with cancer and died peacefully at home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side," read a statement posted on the singer's Website. "His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who knew him."
Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2004. He underwent hormonal therapy and achieved a partial remission but failed to completely eliminate the disease.
In a statement expressing his gratitude to his fans for their support following his diagnosis, Fogelberg said he found it "truly overwhelming and humbling to realize how many lives [his] music has touched so deeply all these years."
"I thank you from the very depths of my heart," he added.
Over the course of his career, Fogelberg released more than 20 albums, many of them going gold or platinum.
While his first album, 1972's Home Free, received only a lukewarm response from critics, his follow-up, 1974's Souvenirs, was a huge hit, catapulting him to stardom.
Perhaps his best-known album was 1981's The Innocent Age, which included his biggest singles, "Leader of the Band," "Same Old Lang Syne" and "Hard to Say."
His final album, Full Circle, was released in 2003, and featured a return to his folk-inspired roots of the '70s. It was his first album of original material in a decade.
Fogelberg was also known for his live performances and spent most summers on the road, either with a full band or as a solo acoustic act.
In 2002, fans showed their appreciation by selecting him to be one of the first 10 artists inducted into the Performers Hall of Fame at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
At the time of his cancer diagnosis, he was planning a fall tour, which he was subsequently forced to cancel. He later urged others to be tested regularly, writing on his Website, "I promise you, you DON’T want to go through what I’m going through if you can avoid it."
Fogelberg is survived by his wife, Jean. No funeral plans had been announced.
Dan Fogelberg Dead at 56
by Sarah Hall
Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:58:24 PM PST
Easy-rocking singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, known for such '70s and '80s hits as "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" died Sunday at his home in Maine, following a battle with prostate cancer. He was 56.
"Dan left us this morning at 6 a.m. He fought a brave battle with cancer and died peacefully at home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side," read a statement posted on the singer's Website. "His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who knew him."
Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2004. He underwent hormonal therapy and achieved a partial remission but failed to completely eliminate the disease.
In a statement expressing his gratitude to his fans for their support following his diagnosis, Fogelberg said he found it "truly overwhelming and humbling to realize how many lives [his] music has touched so deeply all these years."
"I thank you from the very depths of my heart," he added.
Over the course of his career, Fogelberg released more than 20 albums, many of them going gold or platinum.
While his first album, 1972's Home Free, received only a lukewarm response from critics, his follow-up, 1974's Souvenirs, was a huge hit, catapulting him to stardom.
Perhaps his best-known album was 1981's The Innocent Age, which included his biggest singles, "Leader of the Band," "Same Old Lang Syne" and "Hard to Say."
His final album, Full Circle, was released in 2003, and featured a return to his folk-inspired roots of the '70s. It was his first album of original material in a decade.
Fogelberg was also known for his live performances and spent most summers on the road, either with a full band or as a solo acoustic act.
In 2002, fans showed their appreciation by selecting him to be one of the first 10 artists inducted into the Performers Hall of Fame at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
At the time of his cancer diagnosis, he was planning a fall tour, which he was subsequently forced to cancel. He later urged others to be tested regularly, writing on his Website, "I promise you, you DON’T want to go through what I’m going through if you can avoid it."
Fogelberg is survived by his wife, Jean. No funeral plans had been announced.
Saying Good-bye to Guitar Hero
Seeing as getting the new Guitar Hero (Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock) only made me FEEL like I had won a million dollars, and I didnt actually win a dime...I am still broke.
I am so broke, I had to put my favorite video game and all its components up for auction on eBay today :(
What a sad day for me. I desperately need donations so I can buy my stuff back from myself. Please donate to the "I wanna be a Guitar Hero/ I need to be a Guitar Hero" fund via the Paypal link below.
I am so broke, I had to put my favorite video game and all its components up for auction on eBay today :(
What a sad day for me. I desperately need donations so I can buy my stuff back from myself. Please donate to the "I wanna be a Guitar Hero/ I need to be a Guitar Hero" fund via the Paypal link below.
Cell Phone Explosions Mostly Urban Legend
Your cell phone will most likely not spontaneously combust on you, nor will you be electrocuted by using it while it is being charged....
Since no one answered my post yesterday, I did the research myself. This is what I found.
Since no one answered my post yesterday, I did the research myself. This is what I found.
Spontaneous Combustion of Electronics
I thought it was hilarious a couple of months ago when a man's Ipod caught fire in his pocket. Thankfully, the man was not hurt.
I just recieved a FWD: in my inbox from Mother. I find it hilarious that her generation still FWD's endless chain letters and other various junk that's been circulating inboxes for the past 10 years.
This FWD is about a man whose cell phone almost blew his hand up. See below:
THE MESSAGE INCLUDED IN THE FWD:
We have to be extra careful with these darn cell phones -
Don't charge your mobile the whole night and don't keep it near by important
Never, ever answer a cell phone while it is being RECHARGED!!
A few days ago, a person was recharging his cell phone at home. Just at that time a call Came in and he answered it with the instrument still connected to the outlet. After a few seconds electricity flowed into the cell phone unrestrained and the young man was thrown to the ground with a heavy thud. His parents rushed to the room only to find him unconscious,
with a weak heartbeat and burnt fingers. He was rushed to the nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. Cell phones are a very useful modern invention. However, we must be aware that it can also be an instrument! of death.
Never use the cell phone while it is hooked to the electrical outlet!
FORWARD THIS TO THE PEOPLE THAT MATTER IN YOUR LIFE!!!!
So is this for real???
I just recieved a FWD: in my inbox from Mother. I find it hilarious that her generation still FWD's endless chain letters and other various junk that's been circulating inboxes for the past 10 years.
This FWD is about a man whose cell phone almost blew his hand up. See below:
THE MESSAGE INCLUDED IN THE FWD:
We have to be extra careful with these darn cell phones -
Don't charge your mobile the whole night and don't keep it near by important
Never, ever answer a cell phone while it is being RECHARGED!!
A few days ago, a person was recharging his cell phone at home. Just at that time a call Came in and he answered it with the instrument still connected to the outlet. After a few seconds electricity flowed into the cell phone unrestrained and the young man was thrown to the ground with a heavy thud. His parents rushed to the room only to find him unconscious,
with a weak heartbeat and burnt fingers. He was rushed to the nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. Cell phones are a very useful modern invention. However, we must be aware that it can also be an instrument! of death.
Never use the cell phone while it is hooked to the electrical outlet!
FORWARD THIS TO THE PEOPLE THAT MATTER IN YOUR LIFE!!!!
So is this for real???
Worth the Wait
This is the best review I have read so far today because it was written by a true fan. I was feeling the excitement, getting chills, blah blah blah and yes this man was truly privelaged to witness this great moment.
Led Zeppelin: Then it got better still
David Cheal reviews Led Zeppelin at the O2 arena
"I must be one of the happiest 18,000 people in the world today," said a middle-aged man on the London Underground yesterday afternoon. And with good reason: he had a ticket to the big one. Twenty-seven years after they disbanded, Led Zeppelin were back together, for one night in London, in what was surely the most feverishly anticipated reunion gig of all time - a concert for which millions around the world applied for tickets.
Brought back together to honour Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of their record company, Atlantic Records, who died last year, Zeppelin promised that this would be just a one-off appearance, to raise money for an educational fund.
And as the lucky critic who was handed this dream ticket, I have to say that I was in my own fever of anticipation in the days building up to the big event: anxiety dreams clouded my sleep - what if they turned out to be not-very-good, or only played three songs? - while my waking hours were distracted by the thought that soon, I'd be watching the greatest band in the world on stage.
Well, three of them: on the drum-stool, Jason Bonham was replacing his dad John, whose death from a vodka binge in 1980 marked the end of the road for Zeppelin as a group. For a rock fan, and a writer who has covered some big shows over the past 20 years, gigs don't get any bigger.
But could it possibly live up to the expectation? Well: I was blown away.
The first song, Good Times, Bad Times, dispelled all fears. The familiar old sinew and swagger were still there, singer Robert Plant's voice seeming untouched by age, guitarist Jimmy Page, his hair now almost white, firing off little solos that were a taste of things to come, John Paul Jones's bass twisting and driving, Jason Bonham's drums crisp and powerful.
I felt a little sorry for the string of support acts who had warmed up the crowd - star names such as Bill Wyman, Keith Emerson, Paul Rodgers and Foreigner, but whose contributions were immediately swept away like dust in the breeze by the awesome foursome.
Then it got better. Ramble On was just sensational, and the crowd, hitherto a little subdued, began to wake up and shout. The band's body language spoke volumes: they were watching each other, playing to each other, smiling: they were a group.
Then it got better still: Black Dog. Byzantine riff, pulverising drums, hollering vocals. Magic. And no sign of Jimmy Page's finger injury that had caused the gig to be delayed. "Good evening," said Plant.
How much better could it get? Here's how much: In My Time of Dying, driven by such a dark, filthy, shivery blues riff, the electrifying change of pace, drums and guitar locked into a sensational groove. It scarcely seemed possible that a group could be this good.
Trampled Underfoot was a reminder that Zeppelin were fusing funk and rock 20 years before the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and that John Paul Jones is a great keyboard player.
And Nobody's Fault But Mine was a reminder that, contrary to myth, Zeppelin were - are - not a heavy metal band, not a prog-rock band, but a band who played and loved the blues, were electrified by it, and in turn electrified it.
And so it went on: they never flagged, although the crowd seemed a bit limp at times. Bonham was astonishing: he didn't just lock into Jones's base grooves - he played off against the guitar and the vocals. He was listening. And they had clearly done a lot of rehearsing.
I could go on but I'm running out of space. Dazed and Confused! Since I've Been Loving You! Stairway to Heaven! They were fantastic. Better than I expected.
It was a joy and a privilege to be there.
Led Zeppelin 1970
Germaine Greer: The night Led Zeppelin blew my mind
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 10/12/2007
I love Led Zep to this day, I don't know how it was that I got to see Led Zeppelin live on stage at the Albert Hall. What I do know is that I wouldn't have bought a ticket. In the circles I moved in, if you weren't invited to a rock concert and didn't have a backstage pass, you didn't go.
Legendary: Led Zeppelin
I certainly wasn't invited by anyone connected with Led Zeppelin, who were never to be seen hobnobbing with other musos and their molls at the Speakeasy or anywhere else.
As far as the wider rock and roll community was concerned, Led Zeppelin were a commercial operation put together by the most professional session musician in the business, but then they also thought that David Bowie was a useless hanger-on. Somehow I did get to see Led Zeppelin, and that legendary foursome, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham, did blow my cynical disbelieving mind.
Far from being in the wings or backstage, I was miles away on the very top rung of the Albert Hall, where the backstage staff used to come to catch some of the gig in between chores. So how I got there I'm blest if I can remember, but I shall never forget what I witnessed.
The Albert Hall acoustic is peculiar: the sound came up to me with a force that pummelled me breathless. No other band ever managed to make a sound like that. It was certainly loud, but it was also driving, pushing along with incredible energy.
In the centre was the skinny figure of Jimmy Page, shrouded in a cloud of black hair, working on his guitar like an engineer shovelling coal into this express train of a band. I was used to virtuoso guitar from Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix; Page was different because his sound was thoroughly integrated into the whole sound.
The key was the man who could have been choirmaster at Winchester Cathedral, the bassist John Paul Jones. Jones was even better educated musically than Page so, rather than duelling with his lead guitar, he listened and responded. Page also listened to him, as carefully as violin and cello listen to each other in a classical string quartet.
The result may have been less spontaneous than lead guitar and bass bouncing off each other as usual, but it was far more musical. Incredibly the whole band were in tune, which meant that harmonies and dissonances could build and interact to produce Zeppelin's characteristic depth of sound, even more striking in performance than on record.
Up there above the heaving crowd, I couldn't believe the transcendental noise I was hearing. Robert Plant was certainly screaming the place down, but his was a real tenor yell, right up to the highest notes.
Most of the lead singers I knew had hardly more than a single octave and sang their high notes falsetto, usually out of tune; indeed, one of the most successful British bands had a lead singer who was utterly tone deaf. Most rock and roll vocalists don't sing but shout. Inside the bony cavities of his outsize head Plant created real resonance so he could really sing.
Like most drummers, Bonham is best known for battering solos, and he was allowed his 32 bars, but more importantly he always hit the middle of the beat. He could cross it, bend it, twist it, but he never forgot where it was.
The result was power. All rock and roll bands were after power, but most of them were too disorganised to arrive at it. Led Zeppelin used discipline and concentration to become the Wagner of rock and roll.
What was also obvious was that the Led Zeppelin sound was nourished by the best of urban rhythm and blues. I didn't know enough to recognise all the riffs I heard, but there were quotations from everywhere, some part of the shared musical tradition, from Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Big Bill Broonzy and all, some from much closer to home.
As Page had worked on two thirds of the pop music recorded in British studios in the mid-'60s, it wasn't surprising that some things sounded familiar; what nobody knows to this day is who was responsible for what. Caught up in that storm of mighty melody, I wasn't about to get mad on behalf of the Small Faces and the Yardbirds. Led Zeppelin had done what they didn't do: they had got it together.
For 10 years, rock and roll had been working towards something that would combine the extraordinary capacities of electronic instruments with the anarchic energy of youth, and there in the Albert Hall on January 9, 1970, I found it. The spring god Dionysus had arisen and was shaking his streaming red-gold mane on stage.
In these four figures spinning in their vortex of sound, male display was transcending itself. There really never was anything quite like it. The Rolling Stones might have been closer to the marrow of rock and roll, but Led Zeppelin were its super-toned muscle.
In 1972, when Led Zeppelin toured Australia, I was in Sydney and, having time on my hands, decided to gatecrash a reception at the Sebel Townhouse and say hi to the biggest band in the world. And I found that they were big, physically, not boys but men.
Jimmy asked me if I would be going to their concert. To tease him, I said his wasn't my kind of music, "too commercial". And bless me if he didn't question me closely, as I gulped his champagne, for all the world as if he cared what I thought.
This was more than I had bargained for, and I eventually had to confess that I understood only too well why, after years of contributing the best bits to bestselling albums, he had decided to get out there and show them how it was done.
The band were to discover over the years that theirs was a pact made with the devil, but, in 1972, as four British lads on the razzle in Sydney, their frolicking was more innocent than debauched. The legendary excesses must have come later, if ever.
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 10/12/2007
I love Led Zep to this day, I don't know how it was that I got to see Led Zeppelin live on stage at the Albert Hall. What I do know is that I wouldn't have bought a ticket. In the circles I moved in, if you weren't invited to a rock concert and didn't have a backstage pass, you didn't go.
Legendary: Led Zeppelin
I certainly wasn't invited by anyone connected with Led Zeppelin, who were never to be seen hobnobbing with other musos and their molls at the Speakeasy or anywhere else.
As far as the wider rock and roll community was concerned, Led Zeppelin were a commercial operation put together by the most professional session musician in the business, but then they also thought that David Bowie was a useless hanger-on. Somehow I did get to see Led Zeppelin, and that legendary foursome, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham, did blow my cynical disbelieving mind.
Far from being in the wings or backstage, I was miles away on the very top rung of the Albert Hall, where the backstage staff used to come to catch some of the gig in between chores. So how I got there I'm blest if I can remember, but I shall never forget what I witnessed.
The Albert Hall acoustic is peculiar: the sound came up to me with a force that pummelled me breathless. No other band ever managed to make a sound like that. It was certainly loud, but it was also driving, pushing along with incredible energy.
In the centre was the skinny figure of Jimmy Page, shrouded in a cloud of black hair, working on his guitar like an engineer shovelling coal into this express train of a band. I was used to virtuoso guitar from Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix; Page was different because his sound was thoroughly integrated into the whole sound.
The key was the man who could have been choirmaster at Winchester Cathedral, the bassist John Paul Jones. Jones was even better educated musically than Page so, rather than duelling with his lead guitar, he listened and responded. Page also listened to him, as carefully as violin and cello listen to each other in a classical string quartet.
The result may have been less spontaneous than lead guitar and bass bouncing off each other as usual, but it was far more musical. Incredibly the whole band were in tune, which meant that harmonies and dissonances could build and interact to produce Zeppelin's characteristic depth of sound, even more striking in performance than on record.
Up there above the heaving crowd, I couldn't believe the transcendental noise I was hearing. Robert Plant was certainly screaming the place down, but his was a real tenor yell, right up to the highest notes.
Most of the lead singers I knew had hardly more than a single octave and sang their high notes falsetto, usually out of tune; indeed, one of the most successful British bands had a lead singer who was utterly tone deaf. Most rock and roll vocalists don't sing but shout. Inside the bony cavities of his outsize head Plant created real resonance so he could really sing.
Like most drummers, Bonham is best known for battering solos, and he was allowed his 32 bars, but more importantly he always hit the middle of the beat. He could cross it, bend it, twist it, but he never forgot where it was.
The result was power. All rock and roll bands were after power, but most of them were too disorganised to arrive at it. Led Zeppelin used discipline and concentration to become the Wagner of rock and roll.
What was also obvious was that the Led Zeppelin sound was nourished by the best of urban rhythm and blues. I didn't know enough to recognise all the riffs I heard, but there were quotations from everywhere, some part of the shared musical tradition, from Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Big Bill Broonzy and all, some from much closer to home.
As Page had worked on two thirds of the pop music recorded in British studios in the mid-'60s, it wasn't surprising that some things sounded familiar; what nobody knows to this day is who was responsible for what. Caught up in that storm of mighty melody, I wasn't about to get mad on behalf of the Small Faces and the Yardbirds. Led Zeppelin had done what they didn't do: they had got it together.
For 10 years, rock and roll had been working towards something that would combine the extraordinary capacities of electronic instruments with the anarchic energy of youth, and there in the Albert Hall on January 9, 1970, I found it. The spring god Dionysus had arisen and was shaking his streaming red-gold mane on stage.
In these four figures spinning in their vortex of sound, male display was transcending itself. There really never was anything quite like it. The Rolling Stones might have been closer to the marrow of rock and roll, but Led Zeppelin were its super-toned muscle.
In 1972, when Led Zeppelin toured Australia, I was in Sydney and, having time on my hands, decided to gatecrash a reception at the Sebel Townhouse and say hi to the biggest band in the world. And I found that they were big, physically, not boys but men.
Jimmy asked me if I would be going to their concert. To tease him, I said his wasn't my kind of music, "too commercial". And bless me if he didn't question me closely, as I gulped his champagne, for all the world as if he cared what I thought.
This was more than I had bargained for, and I eventually had to confess that I understood only too well why, after years of contributing the best bits to bestselling albums, he had decided to get out there and show them how it was done.
The band were to discover over the years that theirs was a pact made with the devil, but, in 1972, as four British lads on the razzle in Sydney, their frolicking was more innocent than debauched. The legendary excesses must have come later, if ever.
Pretty, Pretty Princess & Projectile Vomit
This girl I know thinks she is perfect in every way. She is the most critical and judgemental of all the people I have ever met.
In fact, after about 2 minutes of a conversation with her, which I might add, is not an actual conversation...more like her telling me everything about her life and how great and perfect it is.
Even more annoying, this girl thinks she is on the verge of a very high-profile career. When it is sad to say, I or anyone else I know has a better chance of becoming an internet celebrity.
She carries a literal trunk of make-up around and never looks like she has less than 10 pounds caked on her face.
Sounds like I hate this girl right?
I don't hate her at all, just find her annoying. She is tolerable (sometimes) to be around and truly has a good heart. She just thinks she is a pretty, pretty princess and that she is the smartest person on earth.
The sad truth is she probably wouldn't try and convince us all how great she is all the time if she really believed that herself. Self-esteem issues I suppose, which makes what I am about to say next seem kind of mean hearted....
But who doesn't enjoy seeing people get a reality check?
Pretty, pretty princess had just a little bit too much to drink on Saturday night at a friends house. She then proceeded to begin projectile vomiting all over this friends bathroom. This isnt even the grossest part...or the part that really gets me...
She then passes out and sleeps it off until 2 PM the next afternoon, she had been left alone in the house all day and left before the homeowner came home.
When the homeowner did come home, the top of the stairs hit her with an awful smell...upon surveying the damage she realizes Pretty, Pretty Princess has not even attempted to clean up her horrible mess. She left behind shredded toilet paper, a pile of soiled towels, and chunks in the bathtub too large to go down the drain.
Yes, Pretty, Pretty Princess is obviously so perfect and so good she cant even clean her own vomit. I mean if she is so perfect, then why did she throw up in the first place? Second of all, at least put the towels in the laundry...and HELLO!!! make sure your pukage makes it down the drain!
Pretty, Pretty Princess, I will have a much easier time ignoring your narcisstic personality now. Maybe I'll even have something to sell to the tabloids if you ever become famous. But...you wont be invited back for a drink for a long time.
In fact, after about 2 minutes of a conversation with her, which I might add, is not an actual conversation...more like her telling me everything about her life and how great and perfect it is.
Even more annoying, this girl thinks she is on the verge of a very high-profile career. When it is sad to say, I or anyone else I know has a better chance of becoming an internet celebrity.
She carries a literal trunk of make-up around and never looks like she has less than 10 pounds caked on her face.
Sounds like I hate this girl right?
I don't hate her at all, just find her annoying. She is tolerable (sometimes) to be around and truly has a good heart. She just thinks she is a pretty, pretty princess and that she is the smartest person on earth.
The sad truth is she probably wouldn't try and convince us all how great she is all the time if she really believed that herself. Self-esteem issues I suppose, which makes what I am about to say next seem kind of mean hearted....
But who doesn't enjoy seeing people get a reality check?
Pretty, pretty princess had just a little bit too much to drink on Saturday night at a friends house. She then proceeded to begin projectile vomiting all over this friends bathroom. This isnt even the grossest part...or the part that really gets me...
She then passes out and sleeps it off until 2 PM the next afternoon, she had been left alone in the house all day and left before the homeowner came home.
When the homeowner did come home, the top of the stairs hit her with an awful smell...upon surveying the damage she realizes Pretty, Pretty Princess has not even attempted to clean up her horrible mess. She left behind shredded toilet paper, a pile of soiled towels, and chunks in the bathtub too large to go down the drain.
Yes, Pretty, Pretty Princess is obviously so perfect and so good she cant even clean her own vomit. I mean if she is so perfect, then why did she throw up in the first place? Second of all, at least put the towels in the laundry...and HELLO!!! make sure your pukage makes it down the drain!
Pretty, Pretty Princess, I will have a much easier time ignoring your narcisstic personality now. Maybe I'll even have something to sell to the tabloids if you ever become famous. But...you wont be invited back for a drink for a long time.
Two hours until Led Zeppelin plays!
By CNN's Peter Sorel-Cameron
LONDON, England (CNN) -- They have been described by critics as the definitive heavy metal band, they released eight studio albums in just 10 years and have sold more than 300 million records worldwide. And now, one of the best rock acts of all time is back.
After the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, Led Zeppelin split up and, aside from occasional appearances at one-off gigs and a brief return by guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant in the late 1990s, the band has stayed away from the limelight.
Monday, December 10, will see the surviving members of the band take to the stage again, in London's O2 Arena. They will be joined by Bonham's son Jason, for what is one of the most eagerly anticipated comeback gigs in recent memory.
The venue has a capacity of 20,000, but as soon as the tickets went on sale -- for a cool £125 ($253.50) -- fans rushed to get their hands on one. In total 11 million people signed up for the chance to see the reunion gig, officially announced as a one-off performance by the band.
But will it be worth it? The band were known for giving standout performances, and for having incredibly high standards -- their set at the Live Aid concert in 1985 upset them so much they refused to allow it to be added to the DVD released to commemorate the star-driven charity event.
In their heyday they were known for great performances on stage, and a wild and crazy life off, getting a reputation for partying as hard as they rocked. Stories of the band destroying hotel rooms and committing lewd acts with groupies have become the stuff of rock legend.
DISCOGRAPHY
1969 -- Led Zeppelin
1969 -- Led Zeppelin II
1970 -- Led Zeppelin III
1971 -- Led Zeppelin IV
1973 -- Houses of the Holy
1975 -- Physical Graffiti
1976 -- Presence
1979 -- In Through the Out Door
Source: ledzeppelin.com The gig on Monday will take place 27 years since the group broke up and more than 20 years since their last live performance and, besides the fact they may be a little rusty, the youngest member of the original line-up, Plant, will be 60 next year. Can they live up to their wild reputation and satisfy the hard rock fans when they are pushing retirement age?
The gig has already had to be delayed after Page broke his finger, hinting at the kind of frailty that would prevent anyone throwing a television out of a hotel window.
With an average age of 61, the band certainly isn't the oldest act still in the business. The Rolling Stones continue to delight sellout crowds at a mean age of 63.25, and of course there's Bob Dylan, who has been playing an exhausting 100 dates a year over the last two decades, and will turn 67 in 2008.
The problem, though, is that neither Dylan nor the Stones have the same reputation for creating a huge, powerful sound. Led Zeppelin have been credited as the first heavy metal band, and that is quite a title to live up to, especially if you are past your best.
There is a great deal of speculation about how the band will perform, and in many ways they have cursed themselves, simply by waiting so long to make music, and by being so mind-blowing in the first place -- they have become victims of their own hype.
Don't miss
But there is always hope, knowing that the crowd will be treated to the classics, rather than the host of new material that many comeback tours are riddled with. This gig is billed as a one-off and the band have only been playing together to prepare for this show.
So the jury is out really. They have all the ingredients to make a great performance and they have a dedicated fan-base, but with this much of a break and with so much to live up to, can they really fulfill the expectations?
And that is the wonderful mystery of attending this gig, and must be a key reason for its selling out so quickly -- nobody has seen these three men play together publicly since 1985. No one really knows what to expect, apart from three legends of heavy rock playing some of the best music in the genre.
The Newest Internet Celebrity
This poor girl makes me want to laugh and cry. I love her passion. And if she wasnt so fugly, I am sure that her videos would have been overlooked. Havent we all danced around and sang in front of a video camera at least once in our lives? Done karaoke? Yes.
Sadly, Tina, has become the latest internet celebrity. How old is this chick?
Most of me hopes that when the cameras arent rolling, she takes off those damn turtle necks and wears something more this decade. Along with cuter clothes, I hope that when she takes her hair down and her glasses off, she looks like a normal person and that this is all a joke.
Unfortunately, this is not a joke. You could sense underlying motives in the internet stardom of Chris Crocker and other former internet celebrities. But poor Tina....
Check out the video where she is just simply screeching...and showing us a mouth full of metal.
Perez Hilton should be ashamed of himself for bringing this child into the spotlight.
Love this review: Stoned 14-year old boy?
Excerpt from here
Puscifer, “V Is for Vagina” (Self-Released)
Maynard James Keenan, frontman for Tool and A Perfect Circle, has remained a weird sort of enigma: the brooding genius, the perverse satyr, the juvenile prankster. With Puscifer’s debut, that last persona is immediately apparent. Keenan has said Puscifer allows him to give airtime to the other voices in his head, and while somewhat silly, those voices produce some mesmerizing sounds. Officially just Keenan, Puscifer’s rotating lineup includes Tim Alexander (Primus drummer), Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails guitarist), Tim Commerford (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave bassist) and, supposedly, Milla Jovavich (model and zombie-killer).
So it’s Keenan to blame (or praise) for the snickering teenage humor of the album art (an illustrated airline seat insert that looks like it was created in a locker room). But it’s also Keenan to praise (or blame) for the songs, sinister mixes of bass beats, heavy synth chords and the occasional acoustic-guitar strumming. Keenan’s vocals shape the tracks here, though, distorted to a deep monotone hum with his characteristic fluty tenor as backup, rising out of the rumble, as in “Queen B” and “Momma Sed.”
The atonal squawks and fuzz dotting the landscape sound transplanted from a lost Nine Inch Nails track, but it works here, especially with the droning, symphonic “Indigo Children.” In fact, for all its strangeness, everything works here. It’s sort of groovy and sort of heavy and sort of psychedelic, not much like either of his other projects. If A Perfect Circle is Keenan’s feminine side, Puscifer is his stoned 14-year-old boy. — Brandon Reynolds
Puscifer, “V Is for Vagina” (Self-Released)
Maynard James Keenan, frontman for Tool and A Perfect Circle, has remained a weird sort of enigma: the brooding genius, the perverse satyr, the juvenile prankster. With Puscifer’s debut, that last persona is immediately apparent. Keenan has said Puscifer allows him to give airtime to the other voices in his head, and while somewhat silly, those voices produce some mesmerizing sounds. Officially just Keenan, Puscifer’s rotating lineup includes Tim Alexander (Primus drummer), Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails guitarist), Tim Commerford (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave bassist) and, supposedly, Milla Jovavich (model and zombie-killer).
So it’s Keenan to blame (or praise) for the snickering teenage humor of the album art (an illustrated airline seat insert that looks like it was created in a locker room). But it’s also Keenan to praise (or blame) for the songs, sinister mixes of bass beats, heavy synth chords and the occasional acoustic-guitar strumming. Keenan’s vocals shape the tracks here, though, distorted to a deep monotone hum with his characteristic fluty tenor as backup, rising out of the rumble, as in “Queen B” and “Momma Sed.”
The atonal squawks and fuzz dotting the landscape sound transplanted from a lost Nine Inch Nails track, but it works here, especially with the droning, symphonic “Indigo Children.” In fact, for all its strangeness, everything works here. It’s sort of groovy and sort of heavy and sort of psychedelic, not much like either of his other projects. If A Perfect Circle is Keenan’s feminine side, Puscifer is his stoned 14-year-old boy. — Brandon Reynolds
The Best Article about Friday Night Lights & Taylor Kitsch
Lights out?
Writers' strike could end Friday Night
By BARRETT HOOPER
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS with Connie Britton, Taylor Kitsch, Kyle Chandler and Jesse Plemons. Airs Fridays at 9 pm on NBC. Rating: NNNN
Won't be long before the writers' strike reduces this column to reviews of Deal Or No Deal, The Hour and reruns of Married With Children.
We've already seen the first significant casualty with the decision to postpone the January start of 24 until the mess is settled, so that Jack Bauer can save the world uninterrupted. I suggest we stick reps from both sides in a room with Bauer and a cattle prod and be done with it. (A second option would be to stick them in a car with Kiefer Sutherland after a night on the town.)
Which brings me to Friday Night Lights, about the drama surrounding a small-town Texas football team. It's one of the best shows on TV that's not on HBO, but with its lacklustre ratings, a strike-interrupted season could send it to the showers permanently.
Too bad, since this season has seen the emergence of two of the most compelling characters on TV. Last season, rookie QB Matt Saracen and hotshot receiver "Smash" Williams earned all the attention, and certainly their rivalry has heated up the on-field drama.
But so much of this show is about what happens away from the game. And this season, Coach Taylor's stressed-out wife, Tami (Connie Britton), and perpetually hungover player Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) have provided the show's forward momentum.
I don't know of any actress on TV who is as willing as Britton to look like crap. Tami Taylor is a puffy, bleary-eyed, postpartum mom dealing with a newborn, an often absent husband and a brat of a teenage daughter, and Britton is as gritty as she is ground down in the role.
As for Kitsch, he takes a clichéd part - the team's hillbilly fuckup - and makes him into a smart, sensitive and entirely three-dimensional hillbilly fuckup. Combine Judd Nelson's Bender and Emilio Estevez's Andy from The Breakfast Club and that's close to who Kitsch's Riggins has become this season.
Hopefully, Friday Night Lights recovers from any strike interruption more quickly than the NFL did back when the players walked out in 87.
Writers' strike could end Friday Night
By BARRETT HOOPER
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS with Connie Britton, Taylor Kitsch, Kyle Chandler and Jesse Plemons. Airs Fridays at 9 pm on NBC. Rating: NNNN
Won't be long before the writers' strike reduces this column to reviews of Deal Or No Deal, The Hour and reruns of Married With Children.
We've already seen the first significant casualty with the decision to postpone the January start of 24 until the mess is settled, so that Jack Bauer can save the world uninterrupted. I suggest we stick reps from both sides in a room with Bauer and a cattle prod and be done with it. (A second option would be to stick them in a car with Kiefer Sutherland after a night on the town.)
Which brings me to Friday Night Lights, about the drama surrounding a small-town Texas football team. It's one of the best shows on TV that's not on HBO, but with its lacklustre ratings, a strike-interrupted season could send it to the showers permanently.
Too bad, since this season has seen the emergence of two of the most compelling characters on TV. Last season, rookie QB Matt Saracen and hotshot receiver "Smash" Williams earned all the attention, and certainly their rivalry has heated up the on-field drama.
But so much of this show is about what happens away from the game. And this season, Coach Taylor's stressed-out wife, Tami (Connie Britton), and perpetually hungover player Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) have provided the show's forward momentum.
I don't know of any actress on TV who is as willing as Britton to look like crap. Tami Taylor is a puffy, bleary-eyed, postpartum mom dealing with a newborn, an often absent husband and a brat of a teenage daughter, and Britton is as gritty as she is ground down in the role.
As for Kitsch, he takes a clichéd part - the team's hillbilly fuckup - and makes him into a smart, sensitive and entirely three-dimensional hillbilly fuckup. Combine Judd Nelson's Bender and Emilio Estevez's Andy from The Breakfast Club and that's close to who Kitsch's Riggins has become this season.
Hopefully, Friday Night Lights recovers from any strike interruption more quickly than the NFL did back when the players walked out in 87.
Bonnaroo
Yes! Led Zeppelin will be playing Bonnaroo! In June, in Manchester, TN. Maybe they really were announcing tour plans.
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