Between the Zeppelin and the Kings, I have been remiss in checking the birthday calendar lately. So here are some sincerely belated birthday wishes to... Mr. Met and Heat-miser himself, Paul Carruthers! Hope you had a meal of Popeye's, Dominos, Whoppers, Ding-Dongs and Mountain Dew!!!! imPLANTed, a very nice person who I don't see around here very much anymore, but you never know when someone is lurking, hehe. ledzepfilm, collector of Led Zeppelin celluloid and painstaking syncher of sound-and-image. Hope you all had wonderful birthdays!

The concert was a ripping good time...as a Jack White show usually is! It certainly helped that he played a few of my favourite White Stripes songs, starting the show off with "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground". Also included were "Ball and Biscuit", "Hotel Yorba", "Fell in Love With a Girl"...all told he must have played 20 to 25 songs, spanning all his different bands. Hard to understand why he doesn't play Florida Walter...it's not that far from Nashville. One amusing sight from the concert was the Fonda marquee out front...proof that Jesus is bigger than the Beatles but E=MC2 trumps all.

^^^ Aye Walter, that be me 'playoff beard', and I don't mind telling you that with the heat of summer I cannot wait to shave it off. Hope the Kings ice it Friday night. But I'm a bundle of nerves right now...got a million game scenarios running through my head and not all of them positive. Quick hasn't been impenetrable like he was in 2012 and has had some rough nights in these playoffs. Game 3 was more the exception than the rule. To top it off, and a major reason why I wanted the Kings to sweep, is that I have to work Friday until 7 and there's a concert scheduled afterwards. If I watch the game live, it'll be over in time for me to still make the show. I'll just miss half the game. If I want to see the entire game, I'll have to watch it via Tivo and probably blow off the concert. Either way, because I have to work, there's no way I can be down at Staples Center to join in the celebration should the Kings win.

Great win by your Blueshirts, zepscoda! Lundqvist was incredible under that bombardment. The Kings played their best two games of the Finals in New York...they seem to play better on the road. Now I'm off to the airport to welcome them back to L.A..

^^^ Man, I cannot believe Carter whiffed on that puck...the goal was right there for the asking!!! Whole Lotta Love playing on the tv now...it's that Dior Homme fragrance ad, haha!

Go get 'em tiger! Does this mean you're in the hospital right now...are you watching the Kings-Rangers from your hospital bed? Or are you going in early tomorrow morning? Best of luck.

Rick I know you had to be joking with that question. As a Buffalo Bill fan, you of all people should know you don't waste an opportunity for a championship, for you never know when you'll get another chance. "Keep the pedal to the metal" I always say. The Kings came back from 0-3...who's to say the Rangers cannot do the same? Sure it would be nice to win the Cup on home ice...but it would also be sweet to get a sweep! Don't give the Rangers any hope, any life. You never know when momentum can shift. With Jack White playing downtown tonight, the E3 gaming convention across from Staples Center, and all the Kings fans watching the game, downtown LA is a zoo tonight! Ready for the puck to drop...got my lucky Matt Greene #2 sweater on. GO KINGS GO!!!

Underrated, yes, but they did creep into middle-of-the-road boring crooning later on. I much prefer the early Eno years of Roxy Music. Phil Manzenara was also an underrated guitarist.

Sheesh...it's been nearly three weeks since my last concert, and after reading Tangerina's post above, I'm really bummed I had to miss Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger. But I've got three good shows lined up this week, starting tonight. June 10: Jack White @ Henry Fonda Theatre.Jack White has a new album coming out and he is performing three shows in LA on consecutive days...tonight at the Fonda, Wednesday at the Mayan, and Thursday at Fox Pomona. Since I don't want to go to Pomona and Wednesday is Game 4 of the Stanley Cup, tonight is the night. June 13: Pelican @ El Rey Theatre. June 14: The Both (Aimee Mann & Ted Leo) @ El Rey Theatre.

Anyone with a halfway decent record collection will likely have a plethora of records with the RSO red cow label, particularly if you were into collecting OSTs. "Star Wars", "Saturday Night Fever", "Grease", "Fame"...all of these were originally released on RSO records. As were the mid-to-late 70s records by Eric Clapton, the Bee Gees and Andy Gibb and the like. Then, Robert Stigwood and RSO crashed and burn with the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" movie debacle...one of the supreme unmitigated disasters in pop culture history. Nearly everyone associated with this turkey suffered career ruin. Before he started the RSO label, Robert Stigwood was involved with a lot of artists you probably like if you're a Led Zeppelin fan: Cream, Blind Faith, Eric Clapton...and the Bee Gees, who were a fairly good pop group before being transformed by the disco craze in the 70s. Robert Stigwood, along with the considerable help of Joe Meek, are credited by many for changing the calcified ways of the British music industry in the early-60s. So, he was indeed an important figure in the history of rock and roll. Still...that damn Sgt. Pepper's movie.

^^^ KINGS WIN! KINGS WIN! KINGS WIN! The Rangers shot 32 times and Quick stopped all 32...and he wears uniform #32. With the Kings taking a commanding 3 games to none lead, not even Mark Messier stepping through those locker room doors can save the Rangers now, in my opinion. With the West as strong as it was, the Rangers probably would have had trouble with whatever team came out of the West: Chicago, Anaheim, San Jose...but I didn't expect the Kings to be up 3-0 at this point. No way. Rick, if those first two overtime games didn't help recruit new fans, then I don't know what will. You couldn't ask for more thrilling hockey. Now that the game is over, I'll answer this with more thought. What the Kings are achieving is what most teams that find a brain-trust and a system that works and stick with it achieve. Think of the Dallas Cowboys of Gil Brandt and Tom Landry, the Lakers of Jerry West and Pat Riley and Jerry West/Mitch Kupchak and Phil Jackson, the Patriots of Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick. Yes, the Kings have good players but it's Coach Sutter and GM Dean Lombardi who have gone out and found the pieces and put them together in ways that they mesh beautifully. Before they came along, the Kings would often be a mess in the front office. Now there is stability. But make no mistake...even with this recent success, the Kings are still low on the totem pole. You don't see Kings flags flying on cars like you do Lakers flags during their playoff runs. In L.A., it's still Lakers, Dodgers, and Clippers 1-2-3 ahead of the Kings in the ratings, sports page column inches, talk radio, and the average sports fan's hearts. None of my friends or family are hockey fans, so I am left alone in watching the Kings. I even went to the game alone the other night.

Fine. Since you're adamant about preferring the 1993 remasters, here's the guy who was offering to sell his Complete Box Set...pm him and you two should be able to work out a deal.

^^^ Yeah, that was a gift for the Kings. But never look a gift horse in the mouth. What's up, Rick? Pony Express slow getting to Buffalo this time of year? The Cup Final reverted back to the 2-2-1-1-1 format this year instead of 2-3-2. Game 5 is in LA on Friday. With an overtime game, followed by a double-OT game and then 4,000 miles of travel with no travel day off, I predict both teams will have some dead legs and tonight's game will probably be a sloppy affair. I think a little home-cooking helps New York regroup and get a win tonight. Zepscoda, you score any tix to Game 3 or 4? GO KINGS GO!

You missed a hell of a finish, Walter! http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/sports/hockey/ny-rangers-kings-win-in-two-overtimes.html?_r=0&referrer= Any more games like these and my hair will be completely white. Wonder what zepscoda is feeling like today?

If you're not hearing a difference in these new remasters, your hearing must really be shot. Just on a couple listens to the cds and vinyl records alone, I can tell a marked upgrade in quality from all previous cd releases of the first album. It's not that it's louder, either. It is the tonal balance and clarity...and the warmth and resonance of the bass response. I'm in sonic heaven so far. The closest yet to how I heard and felt the original album release.

This is what must really burn Mick Jagger and Pete Townshend up, and probably why a hint of jealousy sneaks into any comments about Led Zeppelin made by the Rolling Stones and the Who. For while there is no question that the Stones and the Who can get people to fill giant stadiums to see them in concert on a par with Led Zeppelin, they have never been able to translate those large concert crowds into album sales commensurate with Led Zeppelin. For whatever reason, when the Stones and Who remaster their catalogue, it doesn't hit with the same sales impact as Led Zeppelin. Not even Pink Floyd's reissue series moved the sales meter like Led Zeppelin. Only the Beatles catalogue has the sales muscle of Led Zeppelin. The evidence is in...as the Beatles are THE band of the 60s, Led Zeppelin reigns as THE band of the 70s.

Damn, another overtime game...this one double-overtime. This is shaping up to be an epic series. Shall we go for triple-overtime in the next game?

Led Zeppelin has sold more albums than either the Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd. They may be close in the UK but last I checked, Zeppelin was far ahead in the U.S.; nearly 2 to 1 ahead of the Stones. The closest bands to Led Zeppelin in album sales are the Eagles, AC/DC and I think Metallica is getting up there, too. The Beatles, of course, remain #1 everywhere. Elvis Presley, Garth Brooks, and Michael Jackson are also in the mix. Given the vagaries of accounting figures, especially in Third World countries, it's nearly impossible to nail down an exact figure for "worldwide sales" for any band. The U.S., Canada, and U.K. are the only reliable figures pre-Soundscan era. In Led Zeppelin's heyday, the band's top markets were the U.S., U.K., Canada, Japan, and Australia/New Zealand. France and Germany probably followed after that...with Netherlands and a few Scandinavian countries scattered behind. If you added all those sales together it wouldn't equal the total Led Zeppelin sold in the U.S. So, I would estimate Led Zeppelin's worldwide sales as something less than 300 million but definitely more than the 70 million that Paul Rees claims in his absurd Robert Plant biography. Tatty73's list is pretty accurate...but as the chase pointed out, just multiply the PG and TSRTS figures by 2 to get the correct RIAA total.

As Eric Cartman says...

Zepscoda, I think your Rangers will overcome their heartbreaking loss from the other night. I still see this series going 6 or 7 games, especially with the crazy scheduling by the NHL. For instance, the first two games are in LA yet they were scheduled three days apart, Wednesday and Saturday. But for game three, where the series shifts across country to New York, instead of allowing for a travel day the NHL idiots schedule it for Monday. Not sure which team will benefit from this wacky schedule but it can't be good for the quality of hockey. Go Kings Go!

She did it! Your babe won her third FO, Rick! Grunts all around.

One of the true great baseball lifers, Don Zimmer was one of the greatest characters in sports. Just looking at the guy, he just seemed so lovable. You don't find anybody that has anything negative to say about him. I know he won two World Series as a player with the Dodgers and had that great bench partnership with Joe Torre and the Yankees towards the end of his career, but to me, when I think of Don Zimmer, it is his years with the Cubs and the Red Sox that first comes to mind. What a guy...what a life. Baseball will be duller without him around. R.I.P. Don Zimmer.

In a word, "No!"

The game itself... The teams take the ice for warmups. Pregame show...not as spectacular as Montreal's, still the best in sports in my opinion. Wayne Gretzky came out for the Ceremonial Puck Drop. Final period face-off. 2012 Stanley Cup banner. NHL Network post-game show.