For The Troops : Candlebox Miss You

I never supported this WAR????????????????????? I will however, ALWAYS support our troops. There are so many brave men and women giving everything they have to do the job they signed up to complete. To sacrafice time away from your family for what you believe in is something so brave, so unfathonable for me, that I can only tip my head to these warriors, and hope they get home safely to their familys
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Best Albums Of The Decade?????????

Below is Dan Uptons picks for best albums of the decade. I agree with SOME of them..........



Top Albums of the Decade: Dan Upton's Picks

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To celebrate the end of the decade, some of our writers will be sharing their picks for their favorite albums of the past ten years. We kick off today with Dan Upton. Here is his list and his introduction on how he picked them!

Top 10s are funny things... as has been pointed out to me as I've whittled down this list, the top 10 can change at any time, and is obviously wholly opinion. I started off going through the list of CDs I own, then added a handful more that popped into my head but that I never got a chance to purchase. Most of the people who looked at that list dismissed it and presented their own list full of indie artists I've never encountered. At any rate, I've pared those 47 from my original list down to 10 (plus or minus cheating by name-dropping other albums by the same artists), in no particular order:

Dave Matthews Band - The Lillywhite Sessions, 2001

Let's start the list with a CD that was never properly released. It was just leaked studio sessions of what was originally a scrapped CD, quickly replaced by what was released as "Everyday." Many of the songs were rerecorded and released on 2002's Busted Stuff, but I think the raw Lillywhite versions were better. 2009's Big Whiskey & The Groogrux King was also a close one for getting a DMB album on this list, but I think I'll stick with The Lillywhite Sessions.

DoubleDrive - Blue In The Face, 2003

Sadly, this band has long since dissolved, with members resurfacing temporarily in Dark New Day and then in other bands. As far as I can tell, between this and 1999's 1000 Yard Stare (missing the cut-off for this list by a month!), the only thing between DoubleDrive and much more deserved Nickelback-level stardom was lack of support by their labels. Both albums were great slices of modern rock, well written, full of hooks, and not sounding like a cookie-cutter version of whatever else was on mainstream radio at the time. I only got lucky and discovered them through an online sampler, but nobody else I've encountered seems to have heard of them so I don't think I was just in a blacked-out region. Do yourself a favor and track this one down.

Opeth - Ghost Reveries, 2005

While 2001's Blackwater Park was their breakthrough album, and is of course also a favorite in its own right, I'm going to give the nod to Ghost Reveries because it was what really got me into Opeth. Incredible songs, engrossing and never a dull moment even at their extended lengths.

Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos, 2002

I think this CD can probably be credited with getting me into extreme metal, along with Shadows Fall's The Art of Balance from the same year. Prior to that, I usually clicked through the Music Choice Metal stations and dismissed everything as just noise, but the combination of aggression and energy with the melodic sensibilities got me to stop and listen. They haven't really had any missteps since this, and on any given day I might choose 2003's Figure Number Five or 2005's Stabbing The Drama, but again this one gets the nod for being my entry point to their catalog.

Celldweller - Celldweller, 2003

This was probably my first introduction to the independent music scene, barring the girl I knew freshman year who made me listen to Dashboard Confessional. Okay, maybe this was just my introduction to good music in the independent music scene. Klayton, who has been involved with various other projects, really struck gold I think with his style in Celldweller, mixing trance and drum'n'bass with industrial metal.

Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero, 2007

I always kind of liked Nine Inch Nails, but I never really knew much of the back catalog. After hearing good things about Year Zero, I checked it out online...and immediately went out to buy a copy and listened to it every day for months. I'm not really sure what to say about it other than it's just that good.

Porcupine Tree - Deadwing, 2005

I'm going to go against my pattern and pick this as my top one for getting Porcupine Tree on the list. I was introduced to them by 2002's In Absentia, and I really enjoyed 2007's Fear of a Blank Planet and the 2008 companion EP Nil Recurring, but I think Deadwing is probably the best example of Steven Wilson and company firing on all cylinders.

Hombru - Ingredients EP, 2002

I wrote about this in a Favorites feature a few years ago. A trio I discovered on CD Baby whilst searching for music involving Chapman Sticks (which may be the coolest instrument since the electric guitar), Ingredients was 30 minutes of progressive sonic bliss.

Coheed & Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, 2003

I'll admit, I wrote off Coheed & Cambria as a run-of-the-mill emo band when I first heard of them and heard promos for IKSSE:3 on MTV. After reading good things about them though, naming IKSSE:3 as one of the best progressive albums of the year, I went back and checked it out. They were right; this CD has a great variety of songwriting and musicianship, with catchy melodies and some memorable guitar riffs.

Gordian Knot - Emergent, 2003

It just wouldn't be right for me to have a top 10 list not featuring any all-instrumental albums. It was basically between this, Joe Satriani's Is There Love In Space from 2004, or Bela Fleck & The Flecktones' Little Worlds from 2003. I'm choosing Emergent primarily to highlight someone somewhat less famous than the other two, and also because I think it has a better variety in the compositions and instrumentation compared to Satriani.

Get Ozzys Autograph

Ozzy Osbourne will sign copies of his long-awaited memoir, "I Am Ozzy", on Monday, January 25, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at Bookends in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The book, which was originally slated to arrive almost two years ago but was delayed twice, was published in the U.K. on October 1.

Bookends
232 E. Ridgewood Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
201-445-0726 201-445-0726

"I Am Ozzy, The Autobiography" chronicles the star's humble beginnings in the U.K. to his current position as international music and TV celebrity.

In a statement, he revealed what fans can expect from the bio, explaining: "They've said some crazy things about me over the years. I mean, okay: 'He bit the head off a bat.' Yes. 'He bit the head off a dove.' Yes. But then you hear things like, 'Ozzy went to the show last night, but he wouldn't perform until he'd killed fifteen puppies…' Now me, kill fifteen puppies? I love puppies. I've got eighteen of the fucking things at home. I've killed a few cows in my time, mind you. And the chickens. I shot the chickens in my house that night.

"It haunts me, all this crazy stuff. Every day of my life has been an event. I took lethal combinations of booze and drugs for thirty fucking years. I survived a direct hit by a plane, suicidal overdoses, STDs. I've been accused of attempted murder. Then I almost died while riding over a bump on a quad bike at fucking two miles per hour.

"People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say. When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the age of 60, which one of us would end up with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and Beverly Hills, I wouldn't have put money on me, no fucking way. But here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time.

"A lot of it ain't gonna be pretty. I've done some bad things in my time. I've always been drawn to the dark side, me. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working class kid from Aston, who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time."

Publisher Antonia Hodgson called the book "fantastic," adding that it was "very much in the tone of his voice, very funny and a very full story."

Ozzy's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, published her own best-selling memoir in 2005, called "Extreme: My Autobiography". A second volume was rushed out in 2008 after Ozzy's book was delayed.

Ozzy has chosen "Soul Sucka" as the title of his next album, according to NME.com. The disc, Ozzy's first since 2007's "Black Rain", is tentatively slated to come out in June and will feature songs such as "Let It Die", "Diggin' Me Down" and the title track. The record will be the first to feature Ozzy's new guitarist, Greek native Gus G., who replaced longtime axeman Zakk Wylde in Ozzy's band earlier this year.

"Black Rain" was Ozzy's first all-new solo effort in six years and debuted on the Billboard album chart at No. 3.

Russell Peters

I saw this guys stand up. Freaking hysterical. Not loud in your face humor. Subtle, Wow that's so f-ing true humor

STP Christmas Concert

Hey, don't say I never got you anything. This my gift to you, a one hour almost acoustic Stone Temple Pilots concert from last year

christmas songs Jse Style

I'll admit it. I love Christmas music. It can get kinda corney so I went through my archive to find cool Christmas tunes that will piss off your parents

STP : Charlie Brown X-MAS




The original - The Best John Lennon Happy X-Mas War Is Over




Had to add it Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Deck The Halls




U2 Christmas Baby Please Come Home




I am Santa Claus - Bob Rivers Best Parody Ever, Even Beats Weird Al

Rumor Comes True....In Fucking Europe

I've talked about these rumors. I begged the rock gods to make it happen. I was crushed when Lars Ulrich shot them down. Now it's gonna happen. Only 3000 miles from my house outside of Philadelphia. WTF are you gonna do right? It still means we can hope for a shot at this concert here


ARTISTdirect.com editor Rick Florino conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King earlier this week. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

ARTISTdirect.com: Where does "World Painted Blood" stand in your catalog?

Kerry: I think everything we've done this decade is pretty awesome. It's funny. I take our career in thirds. There are the first five records that we did. Then there was the '90s. The once we started up with "God Hates Us All", it seemed like we got back on track again. I think the '90s just fucked everybody up, with all of the stupid fads that got popular.

ARTISTdirect.com: With "God Hates Us All", you embraced a new energy. It bubbled more on "Christ Illusion", and then exploded on "World Painted Blood".

Kerry: Yeah, it's definitely another upswing. For "Christ Illusion", Dave [Lombardo, drums] came back. It's really fun working with Dave. When he got back in, it'd been enough time where it was no skin off anybody's ass. Everybody was happy to see each other. He's really enjoying himself on this tour. He's having the time of his life. I don't know. I guess it's good timing.

ARTISTdirect.com: The record's only eleven tracks, but you say everything you need to say in that span.

Kerry: That's another thing we did in the '90s — we got caught up in that whole thing where people just fill up CDs with music and generally it's just filler. It's garbage. By the time I figured that out, we were going into "Christ Illusion", and I said, "How many songs did your favorite records have when you were a kid?" When you think about it, it's just ten, period. That's the way I want to do it. If we didn't put "Psychopathy Red" on there, we would've just done ten songs, but since everybody had access to "Psychopathy", we wanted to add it to the collection.

ARTISTdirect.com: Tell me about the tour with MEGADETH in the U.S.

Kerry: If you became a fan of either of us since 1990, you've never seen us play together. So I think it's pretty cool. That's a long time. It's 19 years — more than many people's careers [Laughs]. Dave's [Mustaine] always been a great guitar player too! We were supposed to play Madison Square Garden, until we had to manipulate our dates and we lost the building because things get booked so far in advance there were no other openings. Now, we're playing the Izod Center in East Rutherford. We haven't played MSG in a long time though, that would've been really cool.

ARTISTdirect.com: You're obviously excited about the shows in Europe with the other "The Big Four" — METALLICA, ANTHRAX and MEGADETH…

Kerry: That's the first time ever this is happening. It's really legendary. It's groundbreaking. I don't think people realize how big of a deal it is. Mustaine said something like, "It's the biggest four metal bands from America," and I never thought of that. I just think of metal as metal and I thought, "No shit, we are one of the four biggest metal bands in America. That's pretty cool [Laughs]."

One of Rocks Coolest Bass Players : Duff McKagen

I Am a Freak for the Giving of the Holiday Season
By Duff McKagan in Duff McKaganThursday, Dec. 17 2009 @ 1:17PM

Duff McKagan's column runs every Thursday on Reverb. He writes about what's circulating through his iPod every Monday.
​I love Christmas. I get dewy every year when my family and I watch It's a Wonderful Life. When I was single and my life was upside-down in my 20s, I would cry when I watched that movie--for the sheer beauty of the message and because I thought I would never have something like that for myself. My tears now are of happiness that I seemingly have it all: a family and the means to make enough each year to provide for them.

I am on a plane right now flying back to Seattle. My first event this Saturday will be a benefit show (with Loaded) that KISW has selflessly and tirelessly organized to raise money for the poor families of those four slain Lakewood police officers. There is a man on the plane right now who had a huge fit when they had to gate-check his bag from the plane because it was too big to fit above. He was screaming for the names of the flight crew, who frankly were just trying to help the guy.

I think we should all perhaps take a step back during this season to realize what things we should be at least a little thankful for. I was thinking of these cops' families when this man on the plane was losing it . . . over a piece of luggage. Luggage he will get when we get off this plane in two hours. These families will never get back what they lost. Maybe it is unfair of me to make fun of flight guy's predicament, but after the crew told him his bag would be fine, they also tried to wish him a Merry Christmas. He was not, let's say, accepting of the holiday tiding. Poor guy.

I have been a BIG fan of the Toys for Tots program ever since I could afford to take a trip to a toy store before Christmas and bring a toy to the nearest fire station--maybe because my dad was a fireman and I have been cognizant of Toys for Tots since I was a little kid. It is now an ongoing tradition in my family; my girls LOVE to go to Target and help me pick out the toys. They make sure that we buy cookies and stuff for the firemen, too. The firemen think my girls are pretty cool, and they are right in that assumption.

This year, Washington's Toys for Tots program is facing a dire shortage of 60,000 gifts as it begins distributing to the 108,000 kids served by King County's Department of Health and Human Services. The Marine Corps Reserve and various fire departments are pleading for new unwrapped toys for children from newborn to age 13. Check the Toys for Tots Web site for drop-off locations, or take them to your local fire station.

Last year, I wrote of a family I became acquainted with who had spent their life savings on health care for their 17-year-old daughter with cancer. The Seattle Ronald McDonald House was their last chance for at least a roof over their heads while their daughter went through treatment at Children's Hospital. Last week, I stopped by the front office of the RMH to see what might be needed as far as donations. Yeah, they need a LOT.

Families who come to the RMH are, as I said, desperate not only for their child's chance for a cure, but broke. RMH provides an on-site apartment or larger townhome, and an open pantry in the main house, rec center, front office. On their list:

Food:

--bagged or boxed pasta
--pasta sauce
--canned food of all sorts
--frozen dinners
--cake mix
--canned meats
--canned, boxed or bottled juices
--condensed milk
--jarred baby food
etc.

Housekeeping times:

--sheets for queen and twin beds
--an Oreck 600 vacuum and carpet-cleaner combo
--six blenders
--new plates, cups, glasses, and silverware
--brooms and mops
--dustbins
--toilet paper and paper towels
--sponges
--pillows
etc.

The Ronald McDonald House is located at 5130 40th Ave. N.E.

It may be a bit gauche for me to ask you, my readers, to help out with things I think are important this holiday season. I am quite sure that many of you give to charities and such that are family traditions, or perhaps even just help out someone you know. Maybe you help out at a mission or church or synagogue or temple. Maybe you spend time praying or meditating for those less fortunate or who have recently lost a loved one. Maybe you just smile at someone when they need it, or man a crisis hotline. The recession has hit us all hard these last two years, and a donation in cash, toys, or food certainly may be not even remotely doable for many of us, which is a big reason, I am sure, that Toys for Tots is running so low this season.

I must say now that I have been honored to have you ALL as readers and friends during this last year and a half at Seattle Weekly. It has been a journey for me, and I hope I can at least keep things interesting and thought-provoking. Life is an adventure. Happy Holidays to you all. Now I've got to find a Santa suit that has fashion-forward tapered-bottom pants and a jacket that accentuates my "pluses"!

Deftones New Album Update

I first saw the Deftones on Ozzfest, and like so many unknown bands at the time, they played their fucking hearts out on the biggest stage og their careers to date, just so people would remember their name. It worked. They blew me away. It was so different, so new, and now more than ever, it's so real. Last Year, the Def Tones Chi Cheng was involved in a serious accident that left him in what can only be described as a semi conscience state. Like always, rock takes care of it's own. A benefit download was recorded by some of metal's elite to raise money for Chi's family and now the Deftones have something to say, and they'll do it through a brand new album. Below is an article and footage of the Deftones laying down some new music


DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno was interviewed for this week's episode of Noisecreep's "Creep Show", which can be viewed below. Joining Moreno on the panel were Revolver senior writer Jon Wiederhorn, Noisecreep head writer Amy Sciarretto, Noisecreep news man and writer at large Chris Harris and intrepid reporter Jen Guyre.

During the chat, Moreno revealed that the band's yet-to-be-titled new album has a tentative release date of April 27, 2010 and will be stylistically similar to early discs like 1997's "Around the Fur" and 2000's "White Pony". He also talked about the chaotic year the band has faced and the challenges the band has overcome since the November 2008 car accident that left bassist Chi Cheng in a semi-conscious state.

After completing an album's worth of material with Cheng and producer Terry Date, they decided to shelve those recordings and work on an entirely new batch of songs with stand-in bassist Sergio Vega, who previously played with QUICKSAND. They hired producer Nick Raskulinecz (RUSH, FOO FIGHTERS, SHADOWS FALL, TRIVIUM) to work with them, and in just two months they had recorded an entirely new album. "I honestly think it's one of the best, if not the best records we've ever done," Moreno said. "My favorite record is 'Around the Fur'. It was written and recorded in four months, which was the fastest, easiest and funnest record we've ever made. This record totally has that feel to it."

Regarding how Cheng's accident has affected them, Moreno said, "We honestly thought that after this thing happened with Chi, why even carry on? Things flipped back and forth. We kind of felt that way for a while. But there are some things bigger and better for us, and we were lucky enough to get together and communicate and find something for ourselves."

I am the Anti Mainstream. Johnny Lydon Speaks Out

Sex Pistol frontman John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten doesn't think too highly of Radiohead and Coldplay, at least to according to this unsourced quote that Jam! posted on Thursday: "Coldplay and Radiohead bug the hell out of me because it's so soulless. It just seems pointless. It's nice, but it's tosh (rubbish). They don't care about you. They care about lining their coffers (money). There's nothing about heart and soul."

Raging at Manufactured Garbage

X Factor Contestants Cover Rage Against The Machine Song
gbarton / News / 17/12/2009 16:03pm It’s the Rage Factor! In what must be seen as an admission of defeat in the battle for the Christmas No.1, a host of X Factor contestants – including winner Joe McElderry – have been filmed singing Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name. Come inside to watch the remarkable footage.
Not only that, but Susan Boyle of Britain’s Got Talent is in on the act as well!

You won’t believe your eyes – or ears.

The Search For Morgan Harrington Continues

There is no community like the Rock community. We take care of our own. This really sucks. It's been two months since Morgan Harrington left home and the search continues. Below is a news story from a local Virgina paper. The out pour of support has been inspirational and although it's looking bleak for Morgan, metal fans aren't fucking around. Metallica themselves offered up 50,000 dollars as an award. For Morgan, the Harringtons, and the fans of REAL music, I hope this thing takes a miraculous story for the best

Virginia State Troopers Search I-64 In Missing METALLICA Fan Case - Dec. 17, 2009

WDBJ7.com reports that Virginia State Police are now searching an area of Interstate 64 just west of Charlottesville where they're looking for any clues in the case of missing Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.

It was two months ago, October 17, that the 20-year-old went missing from outside a METALLICA concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. She was last seen on the Copley Road Bridge not far from the stadium at approximately 9:30 that night, police said.

Read the entire report from WDBJ7.com.

WHIPLASH, AT WAR and DANGEROUS NEW MACHINE will take part in a hard rock and heavy metal concert to raise money to help in the search for Morgan Harrington.

The concert will be held on Saturday, December 19 at the Canal Club in Richmond — more than two months after Morgan Harrington was last seen at a METALLICA concert in Charlottesville. Tickets will be available at the door for $15 and all proceeds will go to the Find Morgan Fund, which supports the Harrington family's ongoing search efforts

Participating bands include:

LETHAL STRIKE - 5:30 - 6:00
MEMORY FADE - 6:15 - 6:45
SAINT DIABLO - 7:00 - 7:30
ARCH DEMON CHOIR - 7:45 - 8:15
CHAOS AGENT - 8:30 - 9:00
DAY MINUS 7 - 9:15 - 9:45
AT WAR - 10:00 - 10:30
WHIPLASH - 10:45 - 11:15
DANGEROUS NEW MACHINE - 11:30-12:00

The event will broadcast live on Ustream.tv.

Doors open at 5 p.m. Candlelight services will take place between 5:30 p.m. and 5:45 p.m.

The Canal Club is located at 1545 East Cary St., Richmond, VA 23219.

Blind Melon Tones of Home

Shannon Hoon. Took the Andrew Wood/Bradley Knowles approach to self destructing right before they found true success. To quote another Seatlle band out of the 90's, They left us Far Behind. Blind Melon was a throwback to 60's love music, and I'm surprised they didn't have more of a following with the Phish fan base. Not that their music was so similar to Phish but their spirit was. This is Tones of Home

Come On Guys Rock Needs You

Below is a sad staement from one of the most important bands of our generation (whatever generation that might be)Music doesnt need anymore bands like the Chilli Peppers splitting up. Pantera will never come back, GnR is a joke,Velvet Revolver lasted two albums, rumors of a Soundgarden reunion keeps teasing our johnsons. Hopefully, Frusciante will get it together with the rest of the band go back to making some magic



Red Hot Chili Peppers Lose A Member?
A source reportedly from inside the Red Hot Chili Peppers camp tells MusicRadar that John Frusciante has left the band and they already have his replacement. Here is part of their report: It would appear that John Frusciante is no longer working with the Red Hot Chili Peppers - so says a source close to the band in an exclusive interview with MusicRadar.

"Josh Klinghoffer has been playing with the group for a couple of months now," says the source. "Optimistically, the Peppers are trying to lock down a replacement for John, who has apparently quit.

"Mentally, John checked out a long time ago. He's interested in doing his own thing, his own albums - the whole big rock band machinery just doesn't appeal to him anymore."

Come On Guys Rock Needs You

Red Hot Chili Peppers Lose A Member?
A source reportedly from inside the Red Hot Chili Peppers camp tells MusicRadar that John Frusciante has left the band and they already have his replacement. Here is part of their report: It would appear that John Frusciante is no longer working with the Red Hot Chili Peppers - so says a source close to the band in an exclusive interview with MusicRadar.

"Josh Klinghoffer has been playing with the group for a couple of months now," says the source. "Optimistically, the Peppers are trying to lock down a replacement for John, who has apparently quit.

"Mentally, John checked out a long time ago. He's interested in doing his own thing, his own albums - the whole big rock band machinery just doesn't appeal to him anymore."

Come On Guys Rock Needs You

Red Hot Chili Peppers Lose A Member?
A source reportedly from inside the Red Hot Chili Peppers camp tells MusicRadar that John Frusciante has left the band and they already have his replacement. Here is part of their report: It would appear that John Frusciante is no longer working with the Red Hot Chili Peppers - so says a source close to the band in an exclusive interview with MusicRadar.

"Josh Klinghoffer has been playing with the group for a couple of months now," says the source. "Optimistically, the Peppers are trying to lock down a replacement for John, who has apparently quit.

"Mentally, John checked out a long time ago. He's interested in doing his own thing, his own albums - the whole big rock band machinery just doesn't appeal to him anymore."

This is Awesome

Below is an official statement from Axl Rose about NOT releasing an official statement about the LAX airport incident. The only thing more annoying than Axl Rose might be the Papparazzi


Axl Rose denies releasing press statement regarding rumored LAX incident. "I did not release any statement or authorize either any statement or anyone to release a statement regarding anything at any airport anywhere. [It should be noted that the original press release from Levine Communications Office regarding the LAX incident also appears on the official MySpace blog, dated Thursday, December 10. — Ed.]

"We had recently began working with newer individuals in management in relation to our current Asian tour in support of our GUNS N' ROSES album 'Chinese Democracy' in addition to Irving Azoff's though as it happens we are once again touring Asia without management of any kind.

"[In my opinion] this nonsense may be some type of manufactured or publicity stunt.

"We're looking forward to performing in Osaka and Tokyo Japan doubling our pyro show and with our 'new' full stage as local requirement have limited us on its use in our last performances.

"Thanks to everyone who's come out to see us. It's been really fun so far and the addition of our new guitarist DJ Ashba joining us, along with guitarists Ron Bumblefoot Thal and Richard Fortus, gives the night a kick in the pants.

"Hope to see the rest of you soon!!

"And to any publications running this; please feel free to tack on whatever negative agenda supporting nonsense you generally do (you know who you are!!). After all it's only someone else's livelihood you media police state, no fun, spoil sport, communist bastards.

"Peace!!"

The band's currently in Seoul, South Korea where the promote[r] was "sorry" to inform them they would not be able to use a helicopter from the airport to the venue as North Korea would "wonder" what it is!!

Kid Rock rolling the dice in A. C.

Kid Rock puts on an ass kicking concert. Love him or hate him, the guy can perform. Check out Jse's home page for all of the details about the Kid Rock concert. We'll be giving tickets away all this week

Weezer report, Rivers getting healthy, still an A$$hole

Mark Thompson might be hurting as bad as Rivers Cuomo. He missed out on his chance to see Weezer because of the big accident. His hero is now eating through a tube in his arm. I like Weezers music, but this guy Rivers Cuomo is a total prick. Does he deserve to be in traction? No. Am I sad that he got hurt? Nope. In the May 2002 issue of Guitar World, the guy completely went off on his own fans, sounding like he had a giant stick up his ass. He lost me as a fan ever since. Below are excerpts from thatinterview

Here's a couple of examples of why Rivers sounded like a total ass of himself toward his fans:

Example 1

GW: Is there a typical Weezer fan? Can you characterize that person at all?

Cuomo: They're tough to characterize because they're all sorts of different people. Probably what they have in common is that there are other people around them that also like Weezer. They feel like a minority and they care about us a lot. They probably encounter a lot of frustration in their lives because everyone else around them doesn't care about Weezer. So when they come to big arenas that are filled with people like them, they're stoked.

Example 2

GW: Are there two factions of Weezer fans: the hostile and the adoring?

Cuomo: No, they're one and the same. The ridiculous thing is that they're so angry with me and they hate my songs so much, and yet they're all still there on all the message boards talking about me every day, and they care so much about it. It doesn't make any sense. Maybe they see some potential in us and they're doing everything they can to help bring that out.

It's a really strange, extraordinary situation with us and the fans, and it's stressful for everyone, I think. Our style has evolved to the point where it contains elements of all the different directions we've explored. I think it's all gonna cohere eventually and everyone will be happy and satisfied. But we have to allow ourselves the space and the time to spread out in different musical directions and face the anger of older fans. I don't think our previous records really say all that we want to say musically, so we still have to do a bit of feeling around. That's why we ignore managers and record companies and the industry as a whole, because they just want to sell as much product as they can. They don't want to allow you the space to develop.

Example 3

GW: Whether it be asking you to sign something or expecting you to act a certain way...

Cuomo: Yeah, or asking me to play a certain song. They're all little bitches, so I avoid them at all costs.



River Cuomo was reported to have suffered some minor injuries when Weezer's bus crashed on Sunday but a follow up blog posting on the band's Myspace page that describes his injuries paint them as more than minor. That's the bad news; the good news is they say he is recovering nicely in the hospital.
Their original blog on Sunday said that Rivers "cracked 3 ribs and sustained some mostly minor but very painful internal damage, as well as hurting his lower leg somehow." In a follow-up blog they go into more details about those injuries. Here is what they had to say on their blog: ....Meanwhile in the hospital, Rivers has had a much better day than yesterday. He went from being barely able to talk and open his eyes yesterday to partially sitting up, talking clearly, reading books and checking the internet, plus his color and energy seemed much brighter. And then finally in the evening he was given some good news.

To back up a bit, Rivers' internal injuries included both a small cut on his spleen and a small puncture in his lung. An internal cut needs to be carefully monitored to see if it is healing up or not. The lung puncture was small so the lung did not fully collapse, and thus no surgery was needed for that, but it also has to be monitored carefully to avoid fluid build up. Today the doctor announced that Rivers blood pressure had stabilized, meaning the spleen was no longer leaking - it was on the mend. And his lung seemed to be gaining strength and holding up, meaning it too looks like it will mend itself with time. All this is great news so far. Plus he was given the go ahead to eat some real food again - a very positive sign!

Tomorrow the doctor says it will be time to see if Rivers can stand up again. If that goes well and his vital signs remain stable and improving, he will get to go home pretty soon! Wish him well - your positive energy and thoughts are working so far!

Now we come to the mystery of Rivers' right leg. He was totally unable to move it after the accident, but doctors were mystified as there were no broken bones and no signs of impact on it. Today after a day of icing and compression, he was able to wiggle his toes again. And he remembered a small detail - he recalled that that same foot was sort of hurting late the night before as he went to bed in the bus - after the Toronto show.

Papa Roach Gives Back

Andrew Krauss of Pentagon Channel's "Command Performance" conducted an interview with California rockers PAPA ROACH on November 9, 2009 at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland. The bandmembers band members talk about performing for U.S. troops and give a sample of an acoustic performance coming soon. Watch the chat below.

PAPA ROACH has partnered with WHY (World Hunger Year) to continue its mission to raise funds and awareness for organizations who are working towards finding answers to hunger, poverty and homelessness. Led by frontman Jacoby Shaddix, who revealed earlier this year that he was homeless as a child, the band is on the road supporting its latest CD, "Metamorphosis", which addresses many of the current social and economic themes prevalent today. PAPA ROACH joins BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, MICHAEL MCDONALD, JACKSON BROWNE, CROSBY STILLS & NASH, CHICAGO, EARTH WIND & FIRE, JOSS STONE, DARRYL MCDANIELS, O.A.R, and many others as part of WHY's Artists Against Hunger & Poverty program.

It's not all about NIRVANA

Below is a review for a new book on the Seattle music scene. I didnt write the review but I wish I did. It's pretty cool



With music it's always best to just let the thing itself do the talking. Similarly, when you're writing a book about music it's best to hear right from the horse's mouth. And that's how Prato has structured this comprehensive look at the overall Seattle music scene with an emphasis on the grunge days---he offers brief introductions to each chapter and then fills the rest with comments from those who were there.

And the commentary is not limited to Seattle-based musicians; many of the artists opining here are passers-through like ex-Meat Puppets drummer Derrick Bostrom who says that one of the main things he remembers about playing Seattle was that the band always had to scour their van for contraband to avoid arrest before crossing into nearby Canada for their next gig.

Another cool thing about Prato's presentation is that it is devoid of set-up questions; he's painstakingly strung together groups of comments (answers to unseen questions) from diverse sources to form a common theme. So instead of coming across as a history lesson, a reading of Grunge is Dead is more like sitting around and having a few beers with all these folks while they speak candidly.

Over a hundred musicians and scenesters were interviewed for the book including big names like Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains and Kim Thayil of Soundgarden but lesser-knowns like Mark Arm of Mudhoney and Chris Cornell's ex-wife Susan Silver offer the majority of the commentary.

Grunge is Dead also acknowledges the role that area record labels played in the scene's development by delving into the workings of imprints like Sub Pop, K and C/Z Records. There are sad moments when the inevitable topic of drug-related deaths and other tragedies arise but for the most part the book is upbeat and fast-moving.

EVERYBODY DOES A CHRISTMAS SONG!!!!!!

One of John Lennon's most well known songs is a Christmas tune. So is Bruce Springsteen's. Will this be Scott Weiland's one day?

Who Are You The Fucking beatles?

Below is an Interview with Mudvayne about their new album and their desire not to tour behind it. i guess they haven't received the memo on bands not making a dime from album sales anymore?


ARTISTdirect.com: This [new MUDVAYNE] album feels like the culmination of everything that MUDVAYNE has been working towards for the past decade. Everything comes to fruition here.

Chad: MUDVAYNE isn't the kind of band that's trying to keep in the now — what's going on now. We just do the things that we do and put them out. It's like I've said to you many times before, Rick, we don't really question what we do. Therefore the criticisms just fucking bounce off of us like we're super people because it doesn't matter anyway. We're doing what we want; we don't give a fuck about what anyone else wants. It's important to our artistic integrity to do the things that are important to us.

ARTISTdirect.com: That shines through on this album. "Beautiful and Strange" pulls the listener into the record immediately. The same sounds begin and end the album, making it a complete thought.

Chad: Yeah, there's a thread of themes to this record. We don't like to stay right on the path. We like to veer off and do our own thing — especially me with lyrics. I like to write about things that I still want to write about, and I just try to bring them back to the theme and the concept of the record somehow. If I wake up one day and I want to write about whatever, then I write about that. I just figure out a way to twist it back in to where it has something to do with what we have in our heads about what we're going to do as a band [for the entire album]. It does tend to hit some valleys and veer off to the right and the left, but I feel really good about the record. Basically, like you were saying, it's a complete thing. It's cohesive and together.

ARTISTdirect.com: There are all of these wonderful little detours from that main road though, and those detours give the album a lot of color.

Chad: I think that's important. Sometimes you lose that when you're writing about one specific thing from point A to point B as the entire record. Point A to point B has to be the song itself. I've said it before many times, each song has to be its own global hole, and each individual global hole makes up the universe of the record. Everything has to be unique. That brings the color, and that brings the different flavors that make the whole record interesting.

ARTISTdirect.com: Were you reading or watching anything while you were writing these lyrics?

Chad: Yeah, I was [Laughs]. I was reading, and I was watching. That's all I'm going to say [Laughs].

ARTISTdirect.com: You always are. Does reaching outward allow you to gain an inward perspective on what you're writing about?

Chad: Absolutely, I think everybody needs a handle. Everybody draws inspiration from different things. We just don't draw from music. You know what I mean? I don't draw inspiration from other music. I don't listen to other music when I'm writing. I don't listen to other music when I'm tracking. It's turned into pretty much my whole life [Laughs]—to either be writing or recording a record. I don't listen to a lot of music anymore. I listen to my solids. I could live with that first 25 years of music that I have for the rest of my life — METALLICA, CLUTCH, MÖTLEY CRÜE and the thousand other bands that I'm not thinking of right now that fell in before all of this started. There's a handful of current bands that I really listen to. I'm not trying to be a music snob at all; it's just there's so much out there that I don't really know what to listen to. So I might get turned on to something and I'll listen to it, but I don't draw inspiration from anything new that's going on because I don't feel like anything within me is broken. I'm not reaching out trying to find something new to grab on to. I think you've got to look in to figure that out.

ARTISTdirect.com: Where do you typically write lyrics? Is it all in the studio or are you constantly jotting down ideas?

Chad: I always write with music. I'll have ideas. I'll get thoughts and concepts and start building on them, but when I actually sit down to write the lyrics outside of an idea or spot that I want to end up, I always do that with music, either in the writing studio or recording studio — whichever we are in. I wrote probably five songs for "The New Game" while recording. For "Lost and Found", though, I had the whole record done before we even went into the recording studio. That was great. It was probably the most comfortable record I ever wrote because I already had everything written out. Little parts change. Greg [Tribbett, guitar] basically sits by the machine and tracks the vocals as I write them. I sit and write. Because I kind of know where I'm going, we'll just go for it. That's how the lyrics come about. As melody comes in my head, lyrics generally come with it. It's a matter of tapping into something. You're tapping into a really cool energy — that is the music. I'm sitting right there, and I'm ready to do my part. The music filters through my head, and I hear melodies. From melodies, I get literal, lyrical ideas. I might have an idea, but I actually start penning the lyrics right there as I'm listening to the music. It gives me a little hand, and I follow it wherever it's taking me. Obviously, more aggressive music tends to lead to a more aggressive style of lyrics. More mellow music leads to darker lyrics.

ARTISTdirect.com: Have you been writing anymore lately?

Chad: No, we haven't. We haven't done anything. We're not even doing anything behind this record. We're not touring, we're not doing shit. We're just putting it out.

ARTISTdirect.com: It's a good way to let people live with the music.

Chad: It's the anti-climax of MUDVAYNE — the ultimate anti-climax, put the record out, don't do anything. It doesn't necessarily pay the bills, but it's the ultimate statement of what we're about. We don't believe in the fucking hype. We've covered a lot of territory in the past year, and we're like, "See ya!" I'm not saying we'll never do it again, we will. I'm sure we'll eventually tour behind this record, but it's not going to happen any time soon. Let people live with the music. Let it sit, and let it fester a little bit, and hopefully people are excited about it. You've got to be careful nowadays because everything about the world is very fast food. You've got to be careful about how long you're gone.

The 80's. Two Icons of their day......NOBODY NOW

Arsenio Hall was a star. The Ultimate Warrior was a star. Both of these guys are considered no talent hacks today. What a difference twenty years makes. What will we say about the Sick Puppies, Fall Out Boy, and Chevelle in 2029?

A LEGEND'S OPINION

VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan has penned the latest installment of his weeky financial column, "Duffonomics", which appears at Playboy.com. An excerpt follows below.

"The music business is changing so rapidly, in fact, that if a book were published on the topic today, it would be out of date by spring. Back in 2004, when I was writing a semester-long university paper on digital rights management (basically, the factors that go into splitting the profits on a song you pay for online), I was thwarted by the almost weekly changes happening in that specialized sector alone. But change brought on by newer and better technology doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. It's just a fact of life, and musicians either have to adapt or get new jobs.

"Existence is a comfort zone for most musicians however, while major label executives are clenching hard right now just trying to make a buck. The difference between the people that make money off of music and those that actually make the music is now really starting to widen."

Fan-filmed video footage of ALICE IN CHAINS performing an acoustic version of the song "Black Gives Way To Blue" on Wednesday, December 2 in Milan, Italy can be viewed below.

Photos of the concert, whcih was held at a sold-out Palalido Arena, are available on Musica Metal, MetalItalia.com.

The setlist for the show was as follows:

01. Rain When I Die
02. Them Bones
03. Dam That River
04. Again
05. Your Decision
06. Check My Brain
07. Love, Hate, Love
08. It Ain't Like That
09. A Looking In View
10. Down In A Hole (acoustic)
11. No Excuses (acoustic)
12. Black Gives Way To Blue (acoustic)
13. Last Of My Kind
14. We Die Young
15. Acid Bubble
16. Angry Chair
17. Man In The Box
-----------------------
18. Lesson Learned
19. Would?
20. Rooster

The Greatest Cover Song Ever?

There are great remakes of great songs. When Guns and Roses redid Bob Dylans Knocking on Heavens Door? They made magic. Machine Head actually made a Police song cool with Message In A Bottle. Below? Below night be the greatest cover song of all time. THE MUPPETS..............DOING QUEEN'S BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

SORRY

I realize I have been telling you guys to log on and check out videos and then you get here and the videos aren't. I've been having MAJOR computer issues coupled with hangover issues over the vaction. Today you should be seeing everything I have been telling you about and I appologize for screwing up the blog for a few days. In honor of that long holiday weeked we just stuffed our faces and drank till she was an 11 over, I posted a video below that sums up my holiday break. It's not Jse Rock. It's not even close. Bon Jovi isnt something I'd do to you guys if I didnt truly feel these lyrics will hit home. If youre still young enough to have all of your friends around you, listen to this song anyway, you'll need it soon enough