Just Some More AIC news

Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall of ALICE IN CHAINS were interviewed for the "Maximum Metal" DVD Vol. 144 which was given away with Germany's Metal Hammer magazine. You can watch the chat in two parts below.

ALICE IN CHAINS' "Black Gives Way To Blue" iPhone app was released on October 27. The app features full songs from the band's acclaimed new album on Virgin/EMI, music videos, news, photos, social networking and much more. The app separates itself from the pack with an impressive level of interactivity; its custom-built functionality allows fans to interact with each of the albums 11 tracks via a touch, drag, and hold feature that reveals hidden visual gems.
"With the ALICE IN CHAINS app, we wanted to represent every song on 'Black Gives Way To Blue' as an interactive and immersive experience," says Jeff Zakim, Senior Director, Global Digital Marketing, EMI Music. "We achieved that with the custom-designed Interactive Tracks. The interactivity is furthered by giving fans the ability to share, comment and connect across Fan Wall posts, email, Facebook and Twitter.

Among the songs featured on the app, which will be available in most major markets, is lead single "Check My Brain", which continues to hold the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top Rock Songs Chart.

Fueled by the hit single, "Black Gives Way To Blue" entered The Billboard 200 chart at No. 5, with sales exceeding 126,000 copies.

ALICE IN CHAINS will team up with "A Looking In View" director Stephen Schuster once again to shoot a video for the band's next single, "Your Decision". More information will be made available soon.

To coincide with the band's European tour, ALICE IN CHAINS will release the "Your Decision" single on November 16 in the U.K.

It was Ten Years Ago

My friend Tommy took me out to the Hammerstein Ballroom ten years ago today to see Sevendust. It was the day before I was moving to Florida to "avoid trouble" for a little while. I was high on Sevendust at the time and four opening bands seemed like a bit much. Static X was awful back in 2000 and so was another band who was so unimportant that I forgot their name. The third band though was Chevelle. I figured I'd at least give them a chance, since they're named after my favorite Chevy. They blew me the F*^K away. This might be one of the most exciting bands of the last decade. Their music is heavy but melodious and you can hum the freaking songs. The album, Sci Fi Crimes is different than all the other commercial B. S. out there right now. Pick up the new album if you like your music real. This is is older Chevelle, probably my favorite song by them : SEND THE PAIN BELOW

Help Out Chi. THIS IS IMPORTANT

Sacramento's DEFTONES has issued the following update:

"On November 2nd, 2008 our bass player and brother Chi Ling Cheng was involved in a horrific car accident which has left him in a semi-conscious state. In his journey to recovery, the Cheng family has accumulated an overwhelming amount of medical bills that insurance does not entirely cover.

"As a result, we will begin our mission to raise significant funds to help ensure Chi's recovery by playing a benefit show at the Avalon in Hollywood, California on November 19. Tickets will go on sale for our fans this Wednesday, October 28, with a general on-sale to follow on Friday, October 30. All proceeds will go to the Chi Ling Cheng Special Needs Trust that has been set up by the Cheng family to help pay for the growing medical costs required for Chi's survival and recovery.

"In the event that you do not live in Los Angeles, or you don't end up getting a ticket for the show, we will be launching a series of online auctions, an online store and making available other opportunities for you to make a donation to the Trust. More details will come soon.

"We have the best fans in the world and Chi values all of you greatly. Please continue to show your unwavering support by helping with this very important cause."

KORN bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu recently joined forces with members of METALLICA, SLIPKNOT, MACHINE HEAD, DISTURBED, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and HATEBREED to record an instrumental song to benefit DEFTONES bassist Chi Cheng.

Cheng's brother wrote in an online post that Chi's insurance company had stopped paying for his treatment in mid-January. His mother posted that Cheng's house was returned to the bank and his dog was given away.

You can support Chi and his family by heading over to the A Song For Chi site where you can download your free copy of the song, watch the music video and — most importantly — make a donation. 100% of the donations will go to Chi and his family to help cover his ongoing medical expenses.

The following musicians make an appearance on the recording:

Jim Root (SLIPKNOT)
Sid Wilson (SLIPKNOT)
Ray Luzier (KORN)
Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu (KORN)
Dave McClain (MACHINE HEAD)
Robert Trujillo (METALLICA)
Clint Lowery (SEVENDUST)
Morgan Rose (SEVENDUST)
Brian "Head" Welch (ex-KORN)
James "Munky" Shaffer (KORN)
Wayne Lozinak (HATEBREED)
Wuv (P.O.D.)
Mike Wengren (DISTURBED)
Adam Dutkiewicz (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE)

The track was produced by Fieldy and Q (STILLWELL) and was engineered by Q and Ralph Patlan. It was mixed by Jim "Bud" Monti.

The video clip below was directed by Sébastien Paquet.

For more information, visit the A Song For Chi site.

Pearl Jam Second Time Around

Thursday, October 29, 2009
Pearl Jam Setlist, Night Two


There are more good things that come from Seattle besides Raul Ibanez. There's also Pearl Jam, the rock band from the Pacific Northwest that played the second of their four final shows at the Spectrum on Wednesday night. You know, the guys who dedicated "Wishlist" to "our friend Raul Ibanez," and "Given To Fly" to Shane Victorino, and "Save You" to Brad Lidge on a night when Eddie Vedder took to the stage early to join openers Social Distortion on "Ball and Chain" and then brought Social D.'s Mike Ness out for "Down." Vedder (multiply exposed, above) was very much aware that there was something else besides his band's 2 1/2 hour performance on Philadelphian's minds. "I know there's a big baseball game going on, I'm very curious myself," he said before bringing out a boxing round card girl named Katie who showed up periodically with good news Phillies-Yankees score updates.

Vedder again came armed with praise about the Spectrum: "This is an incredible sounding room and a great place to play. My cousin was outside at 4 p.m. during soundcheck, and he said it even sounded great outside...Around that time there were these shafts of light coming through these side windows. It was like God's light, if there is one. It was amazing." Vedder also gave a shout-out to J.C. Dobbs, the South Street venue they first played in Philadelphia, while playing to the back of the house on "Last Kiss," the Wayne Cochrane and the C.C. Riders cover that kicked off the second encore.

A great show, really, that kicked off with "Animal " and ended with "Yellow Ledbetter," which included the Who's "The Real Me," a tribute to Dr. J, and lots of excellent Mike McCready guitar work along with Vedder's sonorous vocals and heartfelt showmanship. Beautiful singalong on "Better Man," too. And in case you've gone to one show PJ show already and are thinking of going back, get this. In the five hours and over 60 songs the band has played in two nights so far at the Spectrum, they've repeated only two: "The Fixer," the revved up single from the new Backspacer, and that album's "Just Breathe," which was done with the aid of a homegrown string quartet. Other than those two, the night-to-night setlist has been completely different.

Here's the list from Wednesday's show:

Animal/All Night/World Wide Suicide/Small Town/I Am Mine/Johnny Guitar/Nothing As It Seems/Gone/Evacuation/Even Flow/Comeback (truncated)/No Way/Half Full/Down/Wishlist/Grievance/Given To Fly/The Fixer/Save You Encore 1: Just Breathe/Lukin/Speed of Sound/Push Me, Pull Me/Garden/Blood Encore 2: Last Kiss/Wasted Reprise/Better Man (w/Save It For Later

End of and Era, History To Be Made

Pearl Jam's playing the Philly Spectrum tonight, the second of four of the LAST shows ever to be played in that building. The fact that Pearl Jam was chosen to close down the building over Bruce Springsteen is a huge deal. Last night's show was amazing, but only the beginning. Below is last nights set list and then some really cool Pearl Jam videos to piss of your co-workers over at the next desk


October 27, 2009 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wachovia Spectrum Arena

Set List: Corduroy, Whipping, Hail Hail, Supersonic, Dissident, Unthought Known, Faithfull, Parachutes, Unemployable, Immortality, Green Disease, Not For You/Modern Girl (Sleater Kinney), Rival, Nothingman, Ghost, Do The Evolution, Why Go


1st encore: Bee Girl, Just Breathe with string quartet, The End with string quartet, All Those Yesterdays, State Of Love And Trust, Mankind, The Fixer, Go

2nd encore: Daughter, Love, Reign O're Me (Townshend), Black, Leash, Rearviewmirror, Rockin' In The Free World (Young)

Happy 42nd Birthday Scott Weiland

Now I hope You live to see 43

This Just gave Me A Heart Attack

I have learned my lesson. You gotta read the whole story, not just the headlines



Not that the headline was completely implausible, but have no fear for the Prince of Darkness still walks the earth. Charles “Ozzie” Osborne, a Palo Alto, CA soda fountain operator, recently passed away at the age of 89. With due condolences to Mr. Osborne’s family, a few misread headlines could send shockwaves through the metal world. Mr. Osborne’s obituary lists him as a pacifist, so clearly the similarities between him and the metal Ozzy start and end at nomenclature. No word yet on the amount of ants snorted by Charles Osborne in his lifetime, but we’re guessing (and hoping) the Godfather of Metal has him beat.

The Top 10 Worst Horror Movie Remakes

It's usually better the first time around. This is a list of some of the worst horror movies REMAKES of all time. Do you agree?



The Ten Worst Horror Remakes of All-Time

Not too long ago, the Fat Guys at the Movies offered our list of the ten best remakes in our lifetimes. There was plenty of debate on those films, and we still have the scars to prove it.

Now, in the wake of the Halloween remake debacle, we have reached a breaking point with horror movie remakes. Sure, sometimes they are good flicks. Sadly, most of the time they suck worse than Lindsay Lohan’s latest career choice.

In our own special way, we are telling Hollywood to please stop ruining the great horror movies of the past. Here is our pick for the ten worst horror movie remakes. Just to note… to make the list, the original film must have been made for the American cinema and had to have had a major theatrical release.

Flame on!

10. The Haunting (1999)



No, we didn’t pick this one just because Owen Wilson was decapitated in it. It was truly a bad film. Directed by Speed II: Cruise Control auteur Jan de Bont, he managed to take one of the most suspenseful ghost stories and turn it into a CGI nightmare.

9. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (1994)



The book “Frankenstein” is a favorite of Fat Guy Kevin Carr, which is why he was so distraught when Kenneth Branagh took a symbolic crap over the story. Featuring over-the-top grotesque effects, homewrecker Helena Bonham Carter and a lot of Branagh gyrating with his shirt off, we lost another chance at a faithful adaptation.

8. Body Snatchers (1993) and The Invasion (2007)



Not only did these films not live up to the original 1956 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but they pale in comparison to the 1978 remake. Their biggest mistake: pussing out and going for the happy ending.

7. The Fog (2005)



John Carpenter gets shafted two years before the Halloween remake with this wishy-washy rendition of his 1980 thriller. Superboy and the chick from Lost just couldn’t pull it off.

6. The Amityville Horror (2005)



It’s not that the 1979 movie was untouchable, but the ridiculous choice of Ryan Reynolds as the brooding hero was a disaster waiting to happen. His seriously evil lines were laughable. That’s what you get when you send Van Wilder to do the job of Mr. Barbra Streisand.

5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)



Cinematic punk Michael Bay decided to remake this film because the title was so cool. (That’s true… look it up in the press kit.) What a dumbass. Yeah, it made money, and it was nice to watch Jessica Biel strut around in a tight tank top. But the on-screen violence and gore couldn’t stand up to the visceral terror of Tobe Hooper’s original film.

4. Black Christmas (2006)



Although it’s remembered as a classic, the original Black Christmas was only so-so. But the remake sucked enough to make the top five. With a cast of young hotties, there wasn’t nearly enough skin, and the cartoony violence didn’t work at all… even for a slasher film.

3. Halloween (2007)



Rob Zombie follows up his impressive The Devil’s Rejects with this raping of a genre classic. Too much MTV flash and not enough suspense killed the movie from the start. And we didn’t even get to see Sheri Moon topless.

2. House of Wax (2005)



You’d think a film that featured the death of Paris Hilton would have been awesome. Not so. If only it was 90 minutes of someone taking the screws to the heiress. Alas, we got a stinking heap of crap that didn’t even begin to resemble the classic 1953 thriller.

1. Psycho (1998)



Gus Van Sant may make some decent films, but the idea to remake Hitchcock’s classic from the original shooting script was a bonehead move. Then, he put the haggard Anne Heche in the sexy role of Marian Crane (which was originally brought to life by Janet Leigh). I never thought I’d find an actress in Hollywood that I no longer wanted to see naked. To make things worse, Van Sant followed up by directing a Hanson video. Oy vey!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Day of the Dead (2007), Yeah, we’re breaking the rules on this direct-to-DVD remake, but it sooooo deserved it. We should have been warned when the box said, “From the makers of Creepshow III!”

The Wicker Man (2006), Nicolas Cage trying to track down a kidnapped girl in a psychotic matrilineal society. How could it go wrong? Watch the movie, and find out.

Everybody Loves The King of Leon

I know, They're everywhere. They follow you. You can't turn around without hearing one of their songs. The Kings Of Leon are of the the biggest bands out there right now. Hey...........Don't blame me for that comment, YOU'RE the one buying their albums while Buckcherry's new live album sits at 3500 copies sold. Yeah, that's 3500.
The Kings of Leon seem to be so big that even on of Alternatives OTHER big bands right want to get in on their action. This is Paramore doing the KOL second single from Only By The Night, Use Somebody. Don't Worry fella, Haley Williams is young, but she's 19 so it's legal to drool

Candlebox Does AIC

Candlebox might be one of the most underated bands out there. Sometimes I wish lead singer Kevin Martin's voice was a female reproductive organ because I'm in love with it. This is from a live show they did in Seattle. Candlebox might be forgotten but this cover they do before their own song is definatley NOT a forgotton band. This is Candlebox doing Alice In Chains before doing their own song Lucy

Jim Norton On The Morning Edge Mon 10-26

Jim Norton is F*&king hilarious. He'll be calling Jo Jo and Scotty sometime Monday morning and he'll make the start of the work week worth your while. I'll let his comedy do the talking. Check his stuff out below

The Cube 2 : Hypercube

I never saw the Cube 1. I tried to watch the Cube prequal and couldnt get through 5 minutes. I bought the Cube 2 in Blockbuster back in 2004 on VHS for 2.99. It was AWESOME The Cube 2 just somehow made it work. Its everything I want in a thriller. Sunspence, action, a little violence, and the random naked girl. As we talk about the best horror movies of all time, you might wanna throw this one on your list to get you in the mood for the 31st

MISSING PERSONS BULLETIN

This is messed up. You should be able to go to a concert and have a good time without worrying about vanishing into thin air. Below is a really messed up story. Whatever you might know, please help



Metallica issued a statement on Tuesday asking for help in locating a missing fan. Here is what they had to say: We are deeply concerned about the disappearance of 20 year old Virginia Tech student Morgan Dana Harrington, who was last seen while attending our concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA, on Saturday night.

Morgan has blonde hair and blue eyes, is 5'6", 120 lbs., and was wearing a black "Pantera" T-shirt, black skirt, and black boots. She was not carrying I.D. or a cell phone. Morgan was separated from her friends shortly before 9pm at the venue. Police have been searching the area since Monday.

We encourage anyone who has any information regarding Morgan's disappearance to please come forward. Additionally, if you or anyone you know shot video footage or took photos of the concert or audience, please check to see if there is anyone in your photos who might resemble Morgan. Please contact the Virginia State Police at (434) 352-3425 or the UVA Police at (434) 924-7166 or police@virginia.edu. if you have any information.

Our thoughts are with Morgan and her family for her safe return.

OZZY AND METALLICA OZZY AND F*#KING METALLICA

HOLY SH*T. READ BELOW







Ozzy Osbourne took Metallica on their first major tour over twenty years ago, now he will be their special guest at an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of a place that for many years didn't deem him worthy of admission: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is celebrating their 25th anniversary with a star heavy two-day event at Madison Square Garden later this month. Many of Hall's inductees will be jamming on stage with other big name stars as their special guests. They announced Ozzy as Metallica's special guests as an after thought in an October 2nd update that went largely unnoticed. Luckily, BW&BK caught on to the news and gave it the attention it deserves with a report late Tuesday night.

Metallica isn't the only one bring out the big guns to join them on stage. Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy will jam with Eric Clapton, while Annie Lennox and Lenny Kravitz will join Aretha Franklin on October 30th, the same night Metallica takes the stage with the Godfather of metal.

On the events kickoff night, October 29th, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band will be joined by Sam Moore and Darlene Love, while BB King, John Legend and Smokey Robinson will play with Stevie Wonder. Crosby, Stills & Nash will be playing with James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Bonnie Raitt. Paul Simon will be pulling double duty as a solo artist and with Simon and Garfunkel. Simon will be joined by Little Anthony and The Imperials and Dion for his solo set.

Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Sting have been announced as special guests but the events website didn't mention who they would be joining on stage. Poor U2 doesn't have any announced guests on the site at press time. Maybe they'll pull a Dylan out of their hat? Or a Rolling Stone or one of the Sirs? As in Sir Paul or Sir Elton? Not likely but if we'll keep any eye on developments as the event quickly approaches.

Oct. 29th Line Up
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Stevie Wonder
Simon & Garfunkel
Paul Simon
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Friends

Oct. 30th Line Up
U2
Aretha Franklin
Eric Clapton
Metallica

Prom Night

Our horror movie tribute continues. Leslie Grabeck from Somers Point e-mailed a suggestion for this cult classic. Prom Night features one of horrors poster girls, Jamie Lee Curtis and a guy you would NEVER think about when talking about the scary movie genre, Leslie Nielson. Yeah, THAT Leslie Nielson from the Naked Gun movies. They tried to remake this and just like the "other" horror movie series that Jamie Lee Curtis was in, Halloween, the remake fell way short of the original. Jamie Lee Curtis was never hot. I wasn't even a little bit excited when she got naked in Trading Places, but she's sexy in an iconic sort of way. She is a pioneer of horror movies. F*#K. I hope this doesnt mean I would sleep with Robert Englund now

WRONG TURN

With Halloween coming up, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some of the best horror movies out there. This is one movie that actually scared me. The thought that these mutated freaks actually do exist and the suspense and shock scenes had me jumping off of my couch. It doesn't hurt that Emmanuelle Chriqui is in this movie. She's got most amazing rack I've ever scene. You might know her better as Sloan from Entourage



Two college students, Halley and Rich, are rock climbing in the West Virginia forest. Rich reaches the top first, and admires the view. Halley starts to struggle and falls, but her climbing line catches her. She calls out for Rich to pull her up the rest of the way, but she doesn't get an answer. Then she sees Rich's hand at the top of the cliff, dripping blood that lands on her face, before his body is thrown off the cliff. The killers then start hauling Halley up by her climbing line, but she cuts her rope and falls. She lands next to Rich's dead body, screams, then runs back towards her car. The trees around her move and three eerie laughs are heard. Just before she reaches her car, Halley trips over a piece of barbed wire and is dragged back into the woods, screaming.

The opening credits feature a montage of newspaper articles and photos about mountain men, genetic mutation caused by inbreeding, and a series of missing person reports, giving a clue to the nature of the killers.

Medical student Chris Flynn (Harrington) is driving through the mountains of West Virginia, on his way to a job interview. Due to a chemical spill in the road ahead, he is forced to take a different route. After receiving unhelpful instructions from an old man at a rundown gas station, Chris decides to take an abandoned dirt road through the woods. He then crashes into a Range Rover stranded in the center of the road.

The car belongs to a group of friends on a hiking trip: Jessie (Dushku), Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui), her fiance Scott (Jeremy Sisto), Francine (Lindy Booth) and her boyfriend Evan (Kevin Zegers). Their tires were punctured by barbed wire strung across the road. Francine and Evan stay with the cars, while the remainder of the group hikes through the woods to find help.

Francine gets into one of the cars and starts to eat and doesn't notice Evan walking into the woods, investigating a noise he heard there. After a while Francine notices he is missing and goes looking for him. As she ventures further into the woods she finds his sneaker and his severed ear lying on the ground. She screams and stumbles back but is attacked from behind. The killer wraps barbed wire around her mouth, tearing it open.

Meanwhile, the others come across an isolated cabin, filled with odds and ends, and then they discover human body parts in the refrigerator and bathtub. Before they can run, they hear the occupants coming back. They are forced to hide and silently watch as three cannibalistic mountain men, all of them horribly disfigured, enter the house and proceed to butcher and partially eat Francine's body.

After the cannibals fall asleep the teens try to escape but accidentally wake them. The group flee through the woods and hide in a clearing with lots of cars, which they soon realize are the cars of the mutants' victims. Chris makes a diversion and is shot in the leg with a shotgun. Scott then tries to decoy the cannibals away from Chris, allowing the others to steal a truck. Scott runs through the forest and is about to get in the truck with his friends but is shot in the back with an arrow.

The remaining three — Chris, Jessie, and Carly - hit a dead end in the road and have to continue on foot. They climb into an old watchtower and try to use the radio inside to call for help, but get no response. As the cannibals reach the foot of watchtower, someone returns the radio call, alerting the cannibals. The cannibals shoot at the radio through the window, destroying the radio, and laughing maniacally.

After trying to climb the ladder and get into the tower, the cannibals set the watchtower on fire. The three escape by jumping out of a window into a nearby tree. They begin to climb up it but unfortunately, one of the cannibals has climbed into the same tree. Chris and Jessie begin to climb higher up the tree as Carly rests. The cannibal sneaks up behind her and cuts her head in half with an axe.

Chris and Jessie escape the tree and hide in a cave until the next morning, both of them suffering nightmares of the cannibals finding them. Just as they find a road out of the woods, the mountain men find them, push Chris down the hill and capture Jessie and take her back to their cabin.

Chris meets a police officer on the road, but before he can convince the policeman what is happening, the policeman is killed by an arrow from the woods. Chris jumps into the police truck and tries to drive away, but he doesn't have the keys. Chris hides and watches as the cannibal loads the cop's body into the truck and drives it back to the cabin, Chris hitching along by hanging onto the underside.

When they arrive at the cabin, Chris finds Jessie tied up to a bed and gagged with a dog leash. He unties her and they fight with the cannibals, killing them by igniting a set of propane tanks inside, blowing up the house while Chris and Jessie escape into the woods.

The film ends with Chris and Jessie driving the cannibals' truck out of the woods.

The ending credits are interrupted briefly by a scene that shows a sheriff's deputy picking over the remains of the destroyed cabin. Three Finger comes up behind him and kills him with an axe, showing that at least one of them survived. The screen goes black, and you hear the cannibal's insane laughter.

April Fools Day

Horror Movies from the 80's were the best. Plenty of bad special effects,tons of naked chicks, and shock moments. Sometimes a horror movie doesn't have to be scary to be good


April Fool's Day is an American slasher/comedy horror film released in 1986 by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Fred Walton, from the screenplay by Danilo Bach. The original music score was composed by Charles Bernstein. The film is marketed with the tagline "Don't let the joke be on you!" It has proven to be extremely divisive amongst horror fans, primarily due to its infamous twist ending.

The film is inspired by Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None".

It was filmed in British Columbia, Canada and has a largely Canadian cast.


[edit] Plot summary
The film begins as a group of college friends gather to celebrate Spring Break by spending the weekend at the island mansion of their friend, Muffy St. John (Foreman), on the weekend leading up to April Fools' Day. The tone is set almost immediately with Muffy preparing details around the house, and finds an old jack-in-the-box she remembers (in flashback). Her friends, meanwhile, are joking around on the pier, then on the ferry to the island. Nikki Brashares (Goodrich) is initially caught on videotape, pretending to be making a faux introduction of herself as a sweet and virtuous Catholic girl, ending with "I fuck on the first date". The video camera is a way to introduce most of the characters of Muffy's friends. But en route to the island, Buck, a local deckhand is seriously injured in a gruesome accident.

Once on the island and in the mansion, it turns out Muffy has set up a ton of little jokes from the simple (whoopee cushions, dribble glasses, etc.) to the more complex and disturbing (an audiotape of a baby crying in someone's room, heroin paraphernalia in a guest's wardrobe, etc.) Through it all, the friends in general try to relax. They flirt. They share stories. Two of them hook up. Rob Ferris tells his girlfriend and fiancee Kit Graham (Steel) he wasn't accepted into medical school.

But then, Skip goes missing. Kit catches a glimpse of what looks like his dead body. Arch and Nan go missing. During a search, Nikki falls into the island's well and finds the severed heads of Skip and Arch. Worse, the phones are dead as well. There's no way to get off the island until Monday.

One after another, people keep vanishing or killed and their bodies being found. Kit and Rob put together some clues, realizing that everyone's earlier assumption is wrong. The kinsman of the deckhand injured when they arrived is a red herring. Muffy, it turns out, has a violently insane twin sister, Buffy, who has escaped. In fact, the Muffy they've been around since the first night was Buffy pretending to be Muffy. They discover Muffy's severed head in the basement.

Buffy chases them with a butcher's knife, and the couple are separated. Kit flees from Buffy into the living room — where she finds everyone else there, alive and calmly waiting for her. It was all a joke, or more accurately, a dress rehearsal. Muffy hopes to turn the mansion into a resort offering a weekend of staged horror. She even had a friend who does special effects and make-up for Hollywood help. Each "victim" agreed to take part as things were explained to them.

Everyone has a huge laugh, and break out lots of bottles of champagne. Much later that night, a half-drunk Muffy goes to her room. She finds a wrapped present on her bed. Grinning, she unwraps it. It is the Jack-in-the-Box. Savoring the surprise, she turns the handle slowly. When "Jack" finally pops out, Nan — the shy, bookish girl who knew Muffy from acting class — emerges from behind her and slits her throat with a razor. Muffy screams - then realizes she isn't really bleeding. She "got" her with a trick razor and stage blood only.

Cast
Jay Baker...Harvey Edison, Jr.
Pat Barlow...Clara
Lloyd Berry...Cal the Ferryman
Deborah Foreman...Muffy/Buffy St. John
Deborah Goodrich...Nikki Brashares
Tom Heaton...Constable Sam Potter/Uncle Frank
Mike Nomad...Buck Williams
Ken Olandt...Rob Ferris
Griffin O'Neal...Skip St. John
Leah Pinsent...Nan Youngblood (as Leah King Pinsent)
Clayton Rohner...Chaz Vyshinski
Amy Steel...Kit Graham
Thomas F. Wilson...Arch Cummings
[edit] Alternate ending
Jeff Rovin's novelization features the notorious ending in which Skip sneaks back onto the island after everyone has left to kill Muffy for her share of the family money, though he fails and winds up dead himself. This ending has never been released, but stills of it have surfaced.

A revised draft of the script included another version of the above-mentioned ending in which Skip sneaks back onto the island to slay Muffy. He springs out of a closet and slits her throat, and she at first panics but realizes it is all a joke when she sees her friends standing around. The script then states that Skip stays on the island to help Muffy with the bed and breakfast.

Video editions
For its home video premiere in the '80s it was released to both videocassette and laserdisc. It has since been released to DVD on three separate occasions. The first edition was made available in September 2002. It was then included as one of the films on a triple feature disc that also included Tales from the Darkside: The Movie and Stephen King's Graveyard Shift in August 2007. Eight months later, in March 2008, it was offered as a double feature with My Bloody Valentine. The double feature disc is the only format in which the film is currently available, and none of the editions have included any special features.

Remake
A straight-to-DVD remake was released in March 2008. Though it retains the original's concept, the story and characters are radically altered and contemporised.[3][4]

Underrated Halloween Movies

From now until the 31st, I'll be talking about some of the greatest scare flicks to never get the recognition they deserved. I'm a huge horror buff, and like many other things in life, I feel like the best horror movies came out of the 80's. There was a series of flicks called Sleepaway Camp. The first one was awful, kind of like the very first Friday the 13th without Jason, and you see a guy naked, which is uncalled for, but the second two were great. It had plenty of naked chicks, and some of the most innovative murder scenes you'll see in a gore film. Tying a person to a flag pole, raising the person to the top and then letting go of the rope. Burying a person up to their neck and then running them over with a lawn mower. You will question your own sanity when you realize how much you enjoy this, but if you re a true horror buff, you'll understand

ROAD TRIP MO FO's

All right metal heads, who's for heading back to my hometown with me to see one of the coolest metal bands EVER play their only headlining show of 2009? Machine Head is back and playing a bar called the Crazy Donkey on November 6th. The Donkey has a special place in my heart ever since my half "challenged" best friend crashed his yellow XTERA into the side of it with me sitting shotgun. Good times. The Donkey is a big place and a great venue for Machine Head. Elsewhere on this blog is Machine Heads version of Message In a Bottle by the Police. Below are some classic songs. Anyone interested in taking a trip to see one metal's last bands can contact me at BrianAnthony616@yahoo.com. I'm thinking a train ride from A. C. to Penn station and then a 30 minute ride on the LIRR to the Donkey. That's three and a half hours of pre-game.

F*Cking Loaded

There just needs to be more exposure for bands this good. We're talking about a key part to one of the GREATEST F&*KING bands of all time. Why the hell is Good Charlotte getting respect on teh air and THIS band is held back? People we all need to wake up and do something about it. Flood the F#&cking phone lines. Write letters. BUY ALBUMS. Buckcherry's live album sold 3000 copies. Not 300,000. Not 30,000. 3000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We ALL complain about the crap that passes for music nowadays. We're the ones letting it fail. We gotta get the word out there. Pick up Loaded, and any other album you think is good. We gotta take music back from LADY F*$KING GAGA

STP INTERVIEW/MAKING OF

A two-part interview with STONE TEMPLE PILOTS/ex-VELVET REVOLVER singer Scott Weiland about the making of his new video, "Tangle With Your Mind", can be viewed below.

"I had watched this movie called 'The Science of Sleep' about a year ago and I fell in love with the film," Weiland told Spinner.com. "I thought it was such a cool and interesting approach and I wanted to use that in a video sometime."

Weiland also had the idea that he wanted to reach out to film students and see if he could give someone a big break. So when relative newcomer Dennis Roberts came up with a treatment that was surprisingly close to what Weiland had already envisioned, he got the go-ahead. "I was really impressed," Weiland told Spinner.com. "I've worked with huge video directors and [Roberts] and his crew were just as professional as anyone I've ever worked with."

"Tangle With Your Mind" comes off Weiland's second solo album, "Happy In Galoshes", which was released in November 2008 via Weiland's label Softdrive Records and distributed by New West Records/ RED/Sony. The CD, produced by Scott Weiland and Doug Grean (VELVET REVOLVER, SHERYL CROW, CRYSTAL METHOD), with select tracks recorded by Steve Albini, features a collection of songs that bring a revitalizing sound to Weiland's highly praised and unique musical style. The album also features several guest appearances including Adrian Young, Tony Kanal and Tom Dumont of NO DOUBT, who, along with Grean and Weiland, penned "Paralysis", which features Young on drums. "She's so Cold" was co-written by Gary Beers from INXS.

"Happy In Galoshes" sold 10,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 96 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Making of "Tangle With Your Mind" part 1:

R. I. P. Captain Lou Albano

One of Wrestling's LEGENDS passed away last night and for once it wasn't a drug overdose, car accident or fatal flaw. Captain Lou was 74, and for a wrestler who spent three quarters of his life on the road, is a pretty long life. How quickly we forget things, but the Captain was one of a few MAJOR reasons for the mainstream success of the WWF and wrestling in general in the early 80's. His babyface turn (becoming a good guy) and embracing Cyndi Lauper was a catalyst for the Hogan vs Piper feud that launched an era. Below his Bio from WIKI (Sorry it's early as I type this, cut a few corners) is a video collection of some of his best moments from the WWF to his movie career. Rest in piece big man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Lou Albano


Ring name(s) Captain Lou Albano
Billed height 5' 10"[1]
Billed weight 350 lb
Born July 29, 1933(1933-07-29)
Mount Vernon, New York[1]
Died October 14, 2009 (aged 76)
Carmel, New York[1]
Billed from Mount Vernon, New York
Debut 1953[1]
Retired 1995

Louis Vincent Albano[2] (July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009) was an American professional wrestler, manager and actor. With an over-the-top personality and a penchant for boisterous declarations, "Captain" Lou Albano was the epitome of the antagonistic manager that raised the ire of wrestlers and incited the anger of spectators. Throughout his 42-year career, Albano guided 15 different tag teams and four singles competitors to championship gold.[2] A unique showman, with an elongated beard, rubber band facial piercings, and loud outfits, he was the forefather of the 1980s Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection. Collaborating with Cyndi Lauper, Albano helped usher in wrestling's crossover success with a mainstream audience. Capitalizing on his success, he later ventured into Hollywood with various television, film, and music projects.


Albano was born in Mount Vernon, New York to Italian-American parents. He played football at and graduated from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York.[3] After briefly attending the University of Tennessee on a football scholarship, Albano left school to join the Army.[2][4] During his tour, Albano became interested in professional wrestling when he was working at a bar as a bouncer and met two wrestlers.[2] Albano made his professional wrestling debut by beating Bob Lazaro in Montreal, Quebec in 1953.[2]

Professional wrestling career
World Wide Wrestling Federation
Albano achieved moderate success as a tag team performer with partner Tony Altimore.[5] Dubbed The Sicilians, Altimore and Albano competing as a stereotypical Italian gangster combo.[2] Their realistic depiction of their characters caught the attention of actual mafiosi.[2] In 1967, they won the United States Tag Team Championship from Arnold Skaaland and Spiros Arion.

Following the encouragement of fellow wrestler Bruno Sammartino, Albano transitioned from wrestling to announcing.[2] He transformed himself into the brash, bombastic manager Captain Lou Albano. With a quick wit and a grating personality, Albano delivered memorable promos that made him wrestling's most villainous manager. He earned the scorn of the wrestling audience as he attempted to dethrone World Wide Wrestling Federation superstar and WWWF champion Bruno Sammartino. In 1971, Albano achieved his objective when "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff ended Sammartino's seven year reign as champion.[2] For the remainder of the 1970s, Albano's cadre of loyal henchmen were unable to resecure the championship once Sammartino won it back.[2]

Albano guided singles wrestlers Pat Patterson, Don Muraco and Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine to the Intercontinental Championship.[2] Furthermore, Albano guided fifteen teams to the WWWF World Tag Team Championships, including The Valiant Brothers, The Wild Samoans, The Blackjacks, The Moondogs and The Executioners.[2][6] By the end of his career, Albano managed over 50 different wrestlers who won two dozen championships.

Albano could also help elevate wrestlers by splitting from them. In 1982, despite being managed by the villainous Albano, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka was becoming a fan favorite due to his high-flying ring style. An interview segment revealed that Snuka had no legal contract with Albano, and thus was able to leave his manager. [7] Shortly thereafter, a bloody beatdown by Albano, Fred Blassie and Ray Stevens, helped transform Snuka into a sympathetic figure, and triggered the most successful period of his career.[8]

[edit] Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection
Main article: Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection
During the 1980s, Albano appeared in Cyndi Lauper's music videos for her hit songs "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "She Bop", and "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" Parlaying the venture, new WWF owner Vince McMahon devised the Rock 'n' Wrestling storyline, a collaboration and cross-promotion between the newly renamed WWF and elements of the music industry.[9] During a public appearance at Madison Square Garden, Albano made sexist comments that outraged the singer and non-wrestling fans.[4] Furthermore, on WWF television, Albano made the audacious claims that he was Lauper's manager, that he had secretly written her songs, and that he was the architect of her success. The two settled their differences on the MTV/WWF special The War to Settle the Score. Following Lauper's victory at the event, Albano apologized to Lauper and instantly became a fan favorite and the voice of Rock 'n' Wrestling. It was also explained that Albano had undergone surgery to remove "calcium deposits" on his medulla oblongata, and that the operation had removed his evil tendencies.[10]

The crossover storyline, coupled with the Hulkamania phenomenon surrounding then-WWF champion Hulk Hogan and the first WrestleMania, triggered a period of unprecedented success for not only the WWF, but for the professional wrestling industry as a whole.[1] Moreover, Albano helped cement wrestling's place within pop culture. Following the colossal success of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection, Albano left the WWF in 1986 to focus on various projects. Except for a brief return in 1994 to co-manage The Headshrinkers, Albano was retired from the wrestling industry.

[edit] Television and Film
Capitalizing on his new found celebrity, Albano began appearing in a vast array of television and film projects. Throughout the late eighties, Albano appeared in Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling, 227, Miami Vice, Hey Dude, Brian De Palma's Wiseguys, "Complex World" and the 1987 wrestling movie Body Slam. Expanding into music, Albano managed and performed with rockers NRBQ. He was immortalized in the song "Captain Lou" on their Lou and the Q album. Albano also periodically appeared on the John Davidson version of Hollywood Squares.

In March 1989, on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Albano had his trademark beard shaved on the air in order to star as the iconic video game character Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Along with Danny Wells, he co-starred in live action segments during interludes of the Mario cartoon, as well as providing the voice of his animated counterpart.

In 1992, Albano appeared in the John Ritter film Stay Tuned as the ring announcer for a wrestling match of the "Underworld Wrestling Federation" pitting Ritter and Pam Dawber's characters against two demonic wrestlers.

In 1996, Albano was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame.[1] Two years later, he co-authored the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pro-Wrestling along with Bert Sugar.[11] In his final years, Albano was semi-active in the wrestling industry with appearances at reunion events, conventions, and WWE programming.[12][13]

During the 1990s and early 2000s, Albano could often be found on local cable television promoting small businesses in Putnam, Westchester, and Dutchess Counties, NY, employing the same over the top style that characterized his 1980s stardom.

Personal life
During the 1990s, Albano shed 150 pounds (70 kg) following a health scare. In May 2005, Albano suffered a heart attack, but later recovered.

In 2008 he released his autobiography, "Often Imitated, Never Duplicated"[14] with the foreword written by Cyndi Lauper.

Albano was one of five children born to Dr. Carmen Louis and Eleanor Albano, both deceased. The other Albano siblings are Vincent, George, Eleanor, and Carl.[15]

Albano's brother, Carl, taught health for 32 years at Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, NJ, and was head of the Ridgewood High health department from 1974 until 2001.[15] Carl Albano's students have noted that he used his brother Lou as an example of the difference between crazy and unique.

[edit] Death
Albano died on October 14, 2009, of "natural causes" under hospice care at his home.[16]

He is survived by his wife Geri, 4 children, and 14 grandchildren.

Big Blue

Well the cats out of the bag that I'm a Giants fan. I can't help it, I was born this way. Since I'm outed, I might as well roll with it. Some of the greatest memories I have as a kid are on Sunday's and they have nothing to do with church. I know I'm not alone in this. Be PROUD of what you are Giants fans. The closet door has been blown open. Stand Up. Be Strong. Let the world hear you roar with Football PRIDE

Weezer : Clash Cover

The Clash often get labeled as a novelty band. BULLS*IT. They were one of the most innovative, trend setting bands of their era. They once ROCKED 60,000 people at Shea stadium opening for the Who. Right I know, who cares about mom and dads bands. Well Weezer does. If you buy their allaccess package on iTunes which gives you access to video and concert footage, rarities, and remixes, you'll get a free download of Weezer doing the Clash classic, Should I Stay Or Should I Go. Above is a sneak peak with a live version

Peace Love and Understanding

This is a song that's been whored around a bit. It's actually an song written by a guy named Nick Lowe. Who? Exactly, but Elvis Costello covered it and that gave the song some recognition. Throughout the years it's become sort of a protest anthem. Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and Death Cab For Cutie have all used it on stage during 2004's Vote For Change project against George W. Bush. This version is a hell of a lot more JSE Friendly and packs some heavy vocals. Audioslave with Maynard from Tool? Where am I when this stuff goes down?

Oh Courtney

Well with the economy in crisis, America divided, unemployment rising, and moral plummeting, we can finally say this country is officially in turmoil because COURTNEY LOVE IS QUITTING TWIITER. Those incoherent drunken Internet tirades will be no more, and if I kill myself tomorrow, you'll know why. Whatever will I do now? It's bad enough that this slob has not only made a fool of herself and pissed all over the memory of her late husband by publishing his diaries and selling his likeness in ways that he was completely against, but now she has her daughter following in her tainted footsteps. Below is an article I pulled from Yahoo news





Just a few days after Kurt Cobain's daughter Frances Bean Twittered a tirade against actress Ali Lohan, Frances and her mother Courtney Love have apparently deleted their Twitter accounts. It comes as a shock to those who follow Love, who's notorious for her rapid-fire Tweet rants about topics spanning lawyers, mortgage fraud, advice on fixing FICO scores, alleged theft of couture and trust funds, hackers, Ryan Adams and Russell Brand.

"On the one hand, I don't know what to do with myself. The internet is a lonely, eerily quiet place without Courtney screaming about hackers and lawyers and whatever else," the anonymous brain behind CLTranslated on Twitter tells Spinner. "But on the other hand, I can't imagine she can stop herself from returning to the internet very, very soon. She'll be back."

For those who missed Frances Bean's open letter to Lohan, it's a scathing attack on the 15-year-old wannabe starlet, sister of Lindsay, after Frances observed Ali enjoying the VIP treatment at Fashion Week in Paris recently. "Your [sic] not entitled to anything simply because your sister has a recognizable name," blasted Cobain, 17. "Your idea of fame isn't fame. It's infamy. You want to be famous? Work your ass off and make decisions that could potentially catapult your career into a lasting one."

"You lack the talent, social understanding and credibility to be anything other then infamous," Frances wrote. "It will be the formality of fame that puts you on the covers of tabloids, while the public idly watches you plumit [sic] into the murky abyss shared with the likes of Spencer Pratt and Jon Gosselin who, I'm sure, will steal your money whilst there ... People like you, Ali Lohan, are rendering the world of true talent by attempting to make your entitled ass noticed."

But Bean wasn't finished. "You blatently [sic] don't care how your recognized, it's [sic] the objective to get famous and that is what makes you replaceable and a recycled idea," she continued. "Well, I'm [sic] ashamed to have to be grouped into the same category of person as you. I would rather die a most painful death than be assoicated [sic] with the kind of career [sic] you're trying to make for yourself [sic]."

Twitter speculation on the reason for the sudden departure ranges from outright hacking to a Lohan-supporter backlash against Frances Bean. Love's departure from Twitter comes just days after she Tweeted her mix of nerves and adoration after sharing the stage with Bono and Gavin Friday at New York's Carnegie Hall.

My Weird Childhood

http://www.pickletreats.com/2XL/

This is a link to a webpage dedicated to the most bizarre toy of my childhood. This robot rocked in a creepy, new wave kinda way

XL was an educational toy in the shape of a robot that was introduced in 1978. 2-XL was the brainchild of Dr. Michael J. Freeman, who felt that toys should be both fun and educational. The toy was interactive, playing various tracks from a magnetic audio tape depending on the user's actions.

The toy was released in two different time periods. The 1978 release was produced by a toy company called Mego Corporation, and used 8-track tapes. It was brought back in 1992 by Tiger Electronics in a version that used cassette tapes rather than 8-Track.


The original 2-XL (see image to right) was made of hard brown plastic, with white plastic on the front.

The toy had two yellow light bulbs for eyes that flashed at various moments while the 8-track program tapes played, and he had four red push buttons on his stomach:

"Question"
"A or Yes Or True"
"B or More Info"
"C or No or False"
There was also a volume and power on knob found on the lower right portion of the unit. At the bottom was a large slot where an 8-Track tape would be inserted.

The toy was essentially a regular 8-Track player, with each button operating a different track. It was powered by a common 9-volt AC adapter with a 3.5 mm mini-plug tip.

[edit] Development
Michael J. Freeman had a hard time convincing companies of the benefits that his toy would provide. Many companies turned down the idea, saying it was just too expensive and not practical to invest so much into an educational toy when kids are typically relucant to buy educational items. Finally, Mego Corporation decided that it fit in well with their company. They were makers of action figures based on popular TV shows, many of which were sci-fi related.

Freeman was involved with all phases of the toy's development, including how the internal mechanism worked. The Mego version of 2-XL was produced for four years, 1978-1981.

The mold and look got a minor change in 1980:

The eye lights became red
The louder the volume was turned, the brighter the lights would flash
The speaker in the back of the unit was changed from a hexagon shape to a more traditional round speaker shape.
The plastic was shiner and glossier looking
All told there were about 50 program tapes made for the Mego 2-XL. It was highly popular in its first years, but it faded into obscurity after the turn of the decade. The toy will often show up on auction sites and in used toy stores. They aren't rare by any means, but aren't in mass quantities either. Some of the tapes can be harder to find; the last year tapes are rarer due to the decreased popularity of the toy in its last year on the market.

[edit] Programs
The 8-Track tapes focused around a robot with a New York accent, (voiced by creator Dr. Michael J. Freeman Ph.D. himself) who would speak as if the listener was right there with him wherever he happened to be in the storyline. He would ask multiple-choice questions based on the subject of the tape, and the user would answer the question he asked by pushing the corresponding button. A right answer resulted in 2-XL congratulating the user on his knowledge, while a wrong answer would result in a razzing as 2-XL explained what the proper answer was. In between questions, there would sometimes be a story going on that the user was involved with, with the answers to the questions corresponding to the storyline. Other times 2-XL would crack a bad joke and laugh at his own humor with a crazy-sounding laugh that was one of the many running gags that would be found on almost every tape in the series.

Originally the programs were very basic. There was just one general story line. Each track flowed through the same time length, differing only by telling the user if he was right or wrong. Eventually, Dr. Freeman started to take advantage of the four tracks found on a tape to have up to three different programs on one tape.

There were some general themes to each tape. The first was 2-XL's bleeping and buzzing sound effects as it turned on, as if the user was activating a huge robot (although he would often refer to its size as only a foot or so tall). He would always introduce himself in the same way, saying, "Thank you for turning me on. I am 2-XL..." . The voice did not sound robotic, and was pretty much Michael's voice only a bit slower speaking and more sophisticated sounding. There would always be a moment where the user had to push the Question button, as that went back to track one, which is where the main talking took place. There was always music or beeping sounds while the user would think, or while the new questions were loading, to make the program space out properly. Towards the end of the tape 2-XL would give the user a warning that he was getting tired and that it was time to wrap things up with one last question. He was always very friendly and acted very human, as if he was a new buddy that wanted to help the user learn in the most enjoyable way possible. His humor was silly as were his wisecracks, but the same themes were found throughout the various tapes, getting more and more creative as the future tapes were introduced. He would often say "Please turn me off now" and often relate the reason he had to go somehow to the topic of the tape.


Eight of Mego Corporation's 2-XL 8-Track Tapes2-XL came with one tape, titled "General Information", which touched on various topics such as sports, movies, and pop culture. Each of the various other program tapes was sold separately and most came with a separate activity book that could be used as well while doing the activity with 2-XL. Some also came with faceplate cards that could be placed over the various buttons that had different words on them that were specifically to be used for that certain program tape. Not all of the tapes were educational, some told stories that the user would just listen to able to answer a few questions about the afterwards. Not all tapes were focused around 2-XL either. Other voices would appear on them depending on what the focus of each tape was. But somewhere 2-XL's voice would show up to keep everything in the same universe. There were also two-tape sets that would continue on with the theme of the first tape after the user finished it.

[edit] Tiger Electronics version

Tiger Electronic's version of 2-XL along with some program cassette tapes circa 1992In 1992, Tiger Electronics re-introduced 2-XL. Instead of 8-track tapes, the new version used cassette tapes that were twice the length of the 8-tracks and had better sound quality. Freeman again provided the toy's voice. In addition to eyes that would light up, the toy now sported a circle for a mouth that could light up as he talked. The toy could now run on batteries and had a headphone jack.

Instead of the buttons going to different tracks like the old version, the new tapes were recorded on either right or left channels of the sound using both sides of the tape. As with the earlier version, the user could play any tape with the 2-XL. It could also play tapes in reverse depending on what button was pushed.


Tiger Electronic's X-Men Cassette Adventure tape for the 2-XL toy.Newly released tapes were branded with comic book and cartoon characters, including Spider-Man, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, X-Men and Batman. 2-XL games would allow the user to go on an adventure with various superheroes, deciding their fate by pushing one of the buttons.

The second version was on the market from 1992 through 1994, and about 45 tapes were released in total. The final inventory was sold in 1995 bundled with the Power Rangers tape. It was one of the most popular toys, in terms or market revenue, sold up through 1995.

This version of 2-XL got even more exposure due to it being used on a kids TV Game Show at the time named "Pick Your Brain". A 10-foot replica of the Tiger Electronics 2-XL was used on the set to ask questions and offer extra information on the topic being talked about. Freeman was asked to do the voice of 2-XL but declined. The show was hosted by Marc Summers and 2-XL on this show was voiced by Greg Berg. This show had a high success in its first year, but was ended when the production of 2-XL ceased.

[edit] Tri-Lex
One of the last tapes released for the Mego Corporation version of 2XL was "Tri-Lex", a complete board game designed to be played by 2XL. The tape came with a board which fitted over the front of the 2XL unit itself, with the board in front of the tape slot. The game board consisted of an inverted pyramid shape, 4 squares wide at the top to 1 square at the bottom, with each row coloured in a different colour (Blue, Yellow, Green, and Tan), and 4 slots through which pieces (which 2XL called "checkers") could be dropped into the pyramid. The slots aligned with 2XL's 4 buttons, with the intention that dropping the checker would also press the appropriate track button on 2XL. The objective of the game was to create either a line or a triangle of 3 checkers of your own colour. The game and tape design are interesting because they enabled the 4-track tape player to provide a passable simulation of a game-playing AI.

Several "tricks" had to be used: an additional set of "front" slots that did not interact with the buttons were provided, and 2XL occasionally told the player to "make a move in the front" so that the track would not change. 2XL would also ask the player to "remember a codeword" at certain points in the game, and to repeat it back later. Often the game would end before the tape did, meaning that 2XL would prompt the player with "please turn my volume down to zero", after which the player would have to wait for the remainder of the current game's recording to wind through before a track-changing "click" signalled they should turn the volume back up. (For this reason, Tri-lex was the only 2XL tape that did not say "thank you for turning me on" at the start, since the player was expected to play several games in a single session.) Finally, although the tape appears to loop after 1 game, it in fact has 4 games recorded on it.

The game itself is easily solved, and correctly played always ends in a win for the starting player. The tape was thus more valuable for teaching pattern recognition than as a genuine board game. On the tape, the player can in fact beat 2XL, but only on 2 of the recorded games (those where the human player goes first). The player can defeat 2XL by using the guaranteed win, or - on occasion - by using other strategies where 2XL "makes a mistake". 2XL does not use the guaranteed win strategy against human players.

The guaranteed win is as follows: first player plays Tan (forced, only space available), second player plays Green 1/2 (forced, only spaces available - which one does not matter, as the ensuing positions are mirror images of each other; continue following the moves on the appropriate side of the /), first player plays Green 2/1, second player plays Yellow 3/1 (forced, else first player plays it and wins with a line), first player plays Yellow 2, second player plays Blue (3 or 4)/(1 or 2), first player plays Blue (4 or 3)/(2 or 1) (forced, else second player plays it and wins with a triangle), second player plays Yellow 1/3 (forced, only space available), first player plays Blue 2/3 and wins with a line of three.

My Weird Chgildhood

http://www.pickletreats.com/2XL/

LA steals my dream

Temple Of The Dogs Hunger Strike is not music. It's art. A masterpiece. Perfect for every second of it's Four Minutes and Twenty Seconds. Temple of the Dog was basically a duel between two of the greatest voices born out in the grunge era. I would sleep with Courtney Love to see it done live. 20,000 people in L. A. didnt need to stoop that low. Chris Cornell showed up at the Pearl Jam concert out in L. A. and painted a work of art

Former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher has said the band has definitively ended.

Speaking out for the first time since brother Noel quit in August, Gallagher said: "It's a shame, but we had a good run at it."

"We ended Oasis. No-one ended it for us, which is kind of cool," he said in the interview with The Times.

The 37-year-old added that he was considering his next move in the world of music, and said: "I'll be doing music to the day I die."

He added: "I'm thinking of what the next step is musically, which is all my mind's on,"

He also said he would take his time to ensure his "Oasis headstone" was not one of anger.

Gallagher said touring with his brother and the band was "always a lot of fun", but admitted "nothing lasts forever".

Noel Gallagher confirmed that he was leaving Oasis in August after a concert in Paris was abruptly cancelled.

He said he was no longer able to work with his brother, and made the announcement with "some sadness and great relief".

Gallagher later said on the band's website that "violent and verbal intimidation" and a lack of support from his bandmates had hastened his decision.

He thanked his fans for an "amazing" 18 years.

Alice In Chains Black Gives Way To Blue Review

In the Nineties, Alice in Chains went multiplatinum on a grunge-metal sound that was like the soundtrack to singer Layne Staley's heroin addiction, which killed him in 2002. On the band's first album in 14 years, sludgy guitars are back, and they're coupled with vocals by guitarist Jerry Cantrell and new addition William DuVall, each of whom approximates Staley's tortured-zombie crooning. The hard-charging "Check My Brain" is as hooky as the old hits, and the title track — a Staley tribute featuring Elton John on piano — is pretty in a calm-after-the-storm way. What Black lacks are great tunes

Pearl Jam : Rolling Stone Backspacer Review

Have you caught that Pearl Jam MTV Unplugged gig on VH1 Classic lately? The 1992 set has Eddie Vedder jumping around, fluttering his rock-star eyelashes, scrawling the words "PRO CHOICE" on his arm, as the boys in the band flip their hair like hippie-chick hitchhikers trying to flag down a Camaro. "Jeremy" or no "Jeremy," these were guys who wanted to have fun.

Backspacer, Pearl Jam's ninth album, backspaces to that boyish spirit, with the shortest, tightest, punkiest tunes they've ever banged out. The whole album is done and dusted in 37 minutes, a record for these guys. Unlike your average long-running rock band, Pearl Jam started off specializing in slow, ruminative, rope-a-dope ballads and didn't have any instinctive knack for playing it fast or loud. On their early records, punk nuggets like "Spin the Black Circle" were just filler, and you sat through them because you were waiting for the next awesomely slack-jawed torch song á la "Black" or "Daughter." But Backspacer comes out swinging with "Gonna See My Friend," "Got Some" and "The Fixer" — a nine-minute trio of gut-punchers that get the momentum rushing like no other Pearl Jam album openers ever.

Brendan O'Brien is producing the band for the first time since Yield, the 1998 gem that defines the parameters of the mature Pearl Jam the way Ten defines their frantic early days. Like Yield, this revs the tempo while adding classic-rock texture to the punk rush, with layers of Thin Lizzy twin-guitar raunch going on down below. The pile-driving solos that spin out of control at the end of "Got Some" could be nicked from the Stooges in "Gimme Danger" — but the Seventies-flavored cowbell-boogie charges ahead way too fast for anything to feel quaint.

Eddie Vedder's heart-on-fire vocals are the main attraction, as always. He seems relieved not to have to go on singing about George Bush, and he loosens up enough to share his guarded optimism in the new songs. There's a definite positivity to the "yeah, yeah, yeah" choruses that jump out of "The Fixer," which evoke the old openhearted vulnerability of "Wishlist." "If something's old, I wanna put a bit of shine on it," Vedder growls. "When something's gone, I wanna fight to get it back again." And the rugged acoustic ballads Vedder did on the Into the Wild soundtrack carry over into "Just Breathe," a love song that deserves to become Pearl Jam's wedding-song standard.

The songs seem to mess around with a loose theme of addiction and recovery. "Got Some" (with Vedder chanting, "Got some if you need it") could be a dealer's invitation, while "Speed of Sound" is the flip side, a late-night barroom lament from a guy who mourns that "Every time I get me some/It gets the best of me." But the downbeat songs on Backspacer don't get too grim — even the desperate drunk who narrates "Speed of Sound" ends up looking forward to a chance to start fresh tomorrow. Fans of Pearl Jam's chest-beating angst mode might look for some metaphorical resonance in "Amongst the Waves." Yet the more you listen, the more it just sounds like Vedder's spending a nice day surfing. After toughing out the Bush years, Pearl Jam aren't in the mood for brooding; at long

Metallica I Phone Application

METALLICA's web site has been updated with the following message:

"In our ongoing efforts to be of service and give you as many options as possible in the digital era, we asked the brainiacs that help us out with LiveMetallica.com to come up with a super-cool iPhone application that creates a streaming interface to your LiveMetallica account. In non-tech talk, that means that any show you have downloaded from the site will automatically stream to your iPhone once you launch the $.99 app. And the bonus is that the latest show on the site will always be streaming for free!

"It's pretty simple — search 'Metallica' in the iPhone App Store to find the Live Metallica app. Purchase the app, log into your existing LiveMetallica.com account or register as a new user, and wha-la . . . every show you've purchased is there under the 'listen' tab, along with a free stream of the latest show on the tour! You can listen to samples of over 5,300 live songs from close to 300 shows, and if you hear something you like, purchase it through the app and it will automatically stream on your phone . . . of course you can download your purchase to your computer later at your leisure. Shows from the free 'Vault' section of the site are always streaming, and you can check out photos and notes from almost every show going back to 2004 when the site launched.

"Just like any new technology, we're already thinking about what comes next, so please give us your feedback and ideas. And yes, a version is in the works to accommodate the addition of single track downloads from the site. Naturally we'll keep you posted on all the developments!"

METALLICA has added single-song downloads to the LiveMetallica.com web site. Instead of buying only entire concerts, fans can pick whatever individual songs they want from any concert they choose from. Every song that the band has recorded in concert since 2004, covering a span of 269 shows, is available for 99 cents per MP3. Full shows are still $9.95 as MP3 files and $12.95 as higher-quality FLAC files.

Frontman James Hetfield told The Pulse of Radio about deciding to release individual songs, "Yeah, I think the song-per-song vs. album is kind of a long lost battle, I think. You know, people in the fast-food world we live in want what they want, and want it now, and when they're done with it, they're done with it. So yeah, it's about time, and I think it's the right move."

LiveMetallica.com was launched in March 2004 and makes downloads available for purchase of every show the band has played since then, often within hours of the gig's finale.

More than 300,000 downloads have been purchased at the site since its launch.

The "Vault" section of the site offers free downloads of shows recorded before 2004.

More shows will crop up at the site in upcoming weeks, since METALLICA just launched a new North American tour last month. The band has dates booked through mid-December.

Greatest Song You Never Heard: Soul Asylum Veil of Tears

I'm sure you remember Runaway Train right? That was Soul Asylum's big single off of 1993's Grave Dancers Union album. They were nominated for the best new artist Grammy because of that song. Too bad their first album came out in 1984. Soul Asylum were actually signed to a major labor back in the late 80's but the Grammy's seemed to forget that. Soul Asylum barely acknowledges their back catalogue and it really ticks me off. Most of their old songs can played on JSE today and you wouldn't know they were twenty years old.

I'll post a few but Veil of Tears is the one I feel deserves the most credit

Them Bones with Maynard

I wanted to post Would? but the sound was terrible. This should hold you over until I can adjust the audio

When a Good Song Is Just a Good Song

I like Rap music about as much as I like being told I have a venereal disease, but sometimes a good song will break into your world despite your natural tastes and judgement. When Jay Z teamed up with Linkin Park at Live 8 in Philly, they stole the show, period. I would rather it have been Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, ANYONE but JAY Z, but he and Linkin Park were better than anyone else there. The performance was well rehearsed, smooth, intense, and memorable. A good song is a good song. One of my favorites? The Charles in Charge theme song. DONT LAUGH. It just has that hook and about 300 memories of myself and Nicole Eggert that only happened after I closed my eyes. Speaking of T. V, themes though, probably the second best performance at Live 8was Will Smith. It doesnt matter what type of music you're into. When you can sing the words to the Fresh Prince Of Belair along with ONE MILLION other people, it's a good time

Greatest Song You Never Heard 10-5 Killers, Bob Geldof

Well in honor of two very different events taking place, today's greatest song you never heard is a live version of the Killers doing Read My Mind. Wait..........WTF Bri, that's not an unknown song right? Well the intro to the song is actually the cover of an old Cars song called Drive. The Cars were alternative before the word was ever used to describe music, lifestyles, and the abstinent version of sex (not my words, not my words) Drive was also the de facto campaign song of the original Live Aid concert which raised millions of dollars to aid the starving and sick in Africa. Live Aid was the brain child of Sir Bob Geldof who turned 58 today. Bob was a better humanitarian than he was a musician or at least more successful as a humanitarian. His biggest single was with his band the Boomtown Rats. It's about a 1979 school shooting out in California. In honor of Sir Bob's big day, I'll feature two rare songs today.





Below is a news story about the Killers settling a bitter legal dispute



Former manager Braden Merrick and the rock band The Killers have dismissed their breach of contract and other pending claims upon reaching a confidential settlement of all disputes with each other.

A spokesperson for The Killers stated: "The Killers are pleased that the matter has been resolved and thank Braden Merrick for his contributions."