I should start doing that.

To paraphrase "Blazing Saddles": Always like to keep my audience riveted.

^^^ Jeez, chill out...it was just a harmless suggestion. But since you asked, I do notice that the threads on the Master Forum tend to get more activity and views for the most part. Also, I tend to associate the "News" section as a place for news via members of the band themselves or actual news articles from magazines or news sites. A funny blog is more opinion than news, in my opinion. But anywhere you want it is fine with me, I'm just glad you posted it period. I just didn't think you'd get so offended by my innocent suggestion.

Nice find Jahfin...funny stuff. In fact, it's so good you should have posted it in the Master Forum section where more people would read it.

Yes they will Walter! The Thunder are a welcome breath of FRESH AIR to the NBA...and not just because everyone was tired of the usual Lakers-Spurs-Mavericks power axis in the West. I don't know about you, but the whole hip-hop-gangsta-thug-life-bling-bling look that most NBA players wore was played out almost as soon as it happened. Plus, it was a detrimental message to send to kids in the long run. I firmly believe that at least half the black males that have been shot and killed by cops over the last 20 years would probably still be alive if they weren't wearing the usual baggy attire of the typical young black male. This story was all too common: cops approach black suspect, suspect takes off, suspect's droopy drawers start to fall down, suspect reaches hand to waistband to hold pants up while running from the police, police think he's reaching for a gun and shoot him. Of course, on the other end of the fashion spectrum, we had the boring Tim Duncan and his old man golf shirts. YAWN. But finally, with the arrival of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant and the young OKC Thunder, we finally have a little fashion flair in the NBA. Of course, kids in Echo Park, Silver Lake and other environs of L.A. have been dressing in "Geek Chic" for over 10 years now, so the NBA is a bit late to the trend. But better late than never, and it is such a welcome change from both the usual hip-hop crap and the drab corporate suit look. I love watching the post-game press conferences to see what Russell and Kevin will break out next. Yes, I know other teams have players that have adopted this look...Dywane Wade and Lebron James are two that have started wearing "geek chic", but they don't do it with the flair that the Thunder kids do. You get the feeling that Lebron still wants to assert his hip-hop street cred, so he holds back some on the "geek chic" look...he doesn't wear it proudly and wholeheartedly like the others do. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER!!! BRING THE THUNDER DOWN ON THE EAST!!! As for the East, being a Laker fan, I loathe the Boston Celtics...but I detest the Miami Heat even more. So I can't believe I am about to say this...get ready KB...GO CELTICS! GO GANG GREEN! CRUSH THE HEAT!

Hope it works out for you, Kate...not having use of thumb and forefinger would put a severe crimp in my life. After all, it's our thumbs that separate us from most beasts. Good luck. As for you MM, stop being a nancy-boy and report to a dentist at once!

A true treasure to my life has passed. Ray Bradbury was THE FIRST! Before Arthur C. Clarke, before Tolkien, before Heinlein, even before H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury was my first contact with the world of science fiction/fantasy. It is an image that is as clear as the hand in front of my eyes, even though it is a mental snapshot from over 40 years ago. From the years 1968 to 1971, when we lived in a nice suburban house in Westminster, California, there on the family bookshelf in the living room above the fishtank was a nice little row of my dad's collection of Ray Bradbury books; all in those classic Ballantine paperback editions. There were 10 books in all. "The Martian Chronicles", "The Illustrated Man", "Fahrenheit 451", "Dandelion Wine", "The October Country", "The Golden Apples of the Sun", "R is for Rocket", "S is for Space", "Something Wicked This Way Comes", and "I Sing the Body Electric!". Many was the time when it was raining or I was otherwise stuck inside, that I would grab one of those books and squirrel away in my room engrossed for hours. I know later on he fell out of favour with some sci-fi fans because they felt he was too old-fashioned or not edgy enough. But when I think of science fiction, he will always be the first name to come to my mind. Yesterday when I was at the Griffith Park Observatory for the Transit of Venus, he was in my thoughts, for it was reading his books that inculcated my enthusiasm for space and space travel to begin with. Over the last decade or so, he was always a presence at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. To live 'til 91 is nothing to sneeze at...it's hard to say he was cheated out of time. But this news of his death sure makes it feel like we've been cheated. Sail on visionary...explorer...literary lion...sail on to the stars and beyond. Ray Bradbury, I salute you.

Low's "Venus": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9da9s5cs-I&feature=youtube_gdata_player A few hours later, after some lectures and presentations, you can see the progress Venus has made across the Sun.

Howdy folks. A little Venus music from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic while you read and look at the pictures: Well, I had a blast. I missed the eclipse that happened on May 20...spaced it out somehow. So I was glad I read the news about the Transit of Venus in time. Unfortunately I had to go alone...most of my friends and family were either at work or they're out-of-town. I couldn't even take my little nephew as my sister-in-law was at work all day and didn't get my text until it was too late in the day. Took the subway to Sunset and Vermont Blvds. and hiked the rest of the way up Vermont through Los Feliz, past the Greek Theatre and onwards and upwards to the Griffith Park Observatory...known to most folk as where scenes from "Rebel Without a Cause" were filmed. There is even a bust of James Dean with a plaque honouring him at the Observatory. The hike took a little longer than I planned...about an hour or so...so I arrived past the official start time of 3:04 p.m. PST. Throngs of people were there and more arriving by the minute, either by car, bicycle or hiking in from the various trails that lead to the Observatory. You can even hike from the Hollywood sign at Mt. Lee to the Observatory if you want. Lots of kids...lots of dogs...lots of TV news vans. I think I even walked behind one CBS reporter as she was filming her report. Sky was blue...no clouds, a slight breeze, sunny and 79° F. Lines were already long for the various telescopes and viewing stations set up; some by the Observatory and some by the many amateur astronomers that made the trek. I got a pair of solar shades from the Observatory so I could look at the sun myself, without waiting in line. I even snapped a photo with the glasses in front of my camera lens for a point-of-view shot. I'll attach it along with other photos below. It's the one where the sun appears like an orange dot. The sun set at 8:04 p.m. yesterday, which is when it was over for those of us in Southern California...once the sun disappears from view, there's no Transit to see. But I stayed til the bitter end and took some more shots of the sun setting and the city lights beginning to illuminate the gloaming. Then, it was another hike back to the subway station, a little quicker as I was now going downhill. All told, I spent roughly 5 hours at the Observatory, from 3:30pm to 8:30pm. Some of that time was spent listening to a couple of the science talks and lectures presented for the purpose of explaining the Transit of Venus and why and how it was an important tool in gathering information, especially in regards to the Kepler Mission. I also saw the original planetarium projector that they used to use for their shows(also seen in "Rebel Without a Cause"). Since the Observatory was revamped, they have a new planetarium show, and the old projector is now on display. Here's some photos I took of the Transit of Venus, along with a few others around the Observatory.

Thank you mom and dad for not living in some Eastern-bloc/Warsaw Pact/Soviet Union country! Something like this would have definitely sent me over the Wall...where I probably would have been shot. This is the very definition of S-C-H-L-O-C-K. Yes, there were some cultural achievements in communist countries...this was not one of them.

Okay kiddies...get your eclipse goggles out! Beginning around 6:04 p.m. EST/ 3:04 p.m. PST, the planet Venus will travel between the Earth and the Sun. Known as the Transit of Venus, the next one won't occur until 2117, so this it it...your only chance! It lasts 6 hours...so far here in Los Angeles the sky is clear, so we should get a good look at it...I'm heading up to the Griffith Observatory right now. I'm hoping to get my sister-in-law to bring my nephew along. Here's the info: http://www.transitofvenus.org/

Hey, if OKC can go on the road and take game 5 in San Antone, why not also the Celtics in Miami? The Thunder has ARRIVED. Basically, the Western Conference part of the playoffs has been about whether OKC was ready to assume the mantle of greatness expected of them, or if they would buckle under the expectations and wilt in the face of the more experienced and stoic Spurs. The Lakers part in this saga was to see if they could get past their bickering fractured egos and unite for one last run at glory. Obviously, they failed. Nope, it is now clear that the torched hasn't merely been passed, it's been grabbed from the Lakers and Spurs by this young, exuberant Thunder team. No matter which team makes it from the East, Boston or Miami, I am cheering for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Naw, I think Major Major is referring to the VH logo used for the first two albums. To answer your question MM, I don't think they had their logo finalized yet. As you can see by badgeholder's post, they still were tinkering with their fonts. For instance, this was going to be the first album's cover until cooler heads prevailed: Anyway, hope that answers your question. Now, here's another dose of the timeline... Post #15: School's Out for Summer and the Mothership Touches Down!!! DATE: Saturday June 4, 1977 The school year was over. Friday June 3 was the last day and it was time to celebrate my surviving my freshman year of high school. That meant heading to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday with a few guys I knew from the basketball/football teams for something called the Music Sound Funk Festival. The line-up was choice: Parliament-Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band, The Isley Brothers, Rufus w/ Chaka Khan, The Brothers Johnson, and Rose Royce. This was to be the final show of P-Funk's Earth Tour, the one with the crazy Mothership landing on stage with lazers and pyros going off, whereupon George Clinton would emerge in his Dr. Funkenstein persona. The P-Funk band at this point featured some crazy talent...Eddie Hazel, Garry "Diaperman" Shider, Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, Fuzzy Haskins, Lynn Mabry, and a host of others...it was very hard to keep track of who was onstage and what was going on at a P-Funk show back then. I was particularly excited that I was going to see P-Funk because I had missed their show at the Forum back in January due to it being a school night. So I was thankful they were back in L.A. After doing my Saturday morning chores, my pals picked me up a little bit past noon and we headed northwest to the Coliseum across from the USC campus. Confession time: some quantity of marijuana was smoked on the way and during the show. Sad to say, as awesome the line-up was, the concert wasn't as great as it could and should have been. For one thing, the Coliseum(home field of the L.A. Rams, USC and UCLA football teams at the time) was far from sold out...maybe 50,000 tops. Second, the sound quality was subpar...mostly booming bass, and the volume depended on where you were located. Third, the time between bands was interminable; the show already had started more than an hour later than the advertised 3pm start time. There would be an hour or a 90-minute wait between some of the acts. Then there was the complete no-show by the Isley Brothers, which was later reported as being about money...the Isley's reportedly wouldn't go on unless they were paid in cash, while the promoters said the Isley's demanded more money or they wouldn't play. Whatever the truth, the Isley's didn't play and Bootsy Collins' Rubber Band played before the headlining Parliament-Funkadelic. Not seeing the Isleys, who were one of my favourite funky r & b acts(and whose "It's Your Thing" I had noted on a few Zeppelin bootlegs), took the wind out of my sails a little bit. Or to put it another way, it put a damper on my buzz. I think it was after midnight by the time the P-Funk Mothership landed...and thank god, because all the hassles and frustration of the day melted away as the funk flew furiously and non-stop thru their set. By this time, we had already moved closer to the stage as others had wilted as the day went on and either left early or retreated to the stands. All I remember is just a kaleidoscope of colours and costumes...I SAW A MAN WEARING A DIAPER!!!...and of course, the endless groove and funk of the music and the chanting and dancing. Yeah, all in all, it was worth it just to see P-Funk in their prime, complete with the Mothership spaceship special effect. It was also worth it to see the Brothers Johnson, riding high off their "Right on Time" album with their excellent cover of Shuggie Otis' song "Strawberry Letter 23", and Rufus with the amazing vocal talents of Chaka Khan. Rose Royce wasn't anything special. Oh, and the LAPD was heavy-handed as usual and arrested lots of people...not as many as they did at the Pink Floyd shows in 1975, but still in the hundreds. The concert didn't end until nearly 2am if I remember correctly...it was like a Stones show in that regard, haha. As this was the last show of P-Funk's Earth Tour, this was the last concert with the band in this configuration, as after the tour, quite a few P-Funkers left, having grown tired of George Clinton's stranglehold on the band's direction and finances. Anyway, that was that...this would be the last concert I would see until the Led Zeppelin shows at the Forum now 17 days away. Due to a number of factors: shortage of money, lack of a ride, lack of interest, wanting to conserve my strength for the Zeppelin marathon; I passed on the Little Feat show on June 7, the ZZ Top show June 11, and the Alice Cooper extravaganza at Anaheim Stadium June 19, and the Weirdos and the Germs at the Whisky June 20.

I'm sure he is...but not until he fills up his flame-thrower and sharpens his Bowie knife.

My excitement is tempered a bit by the lack of "Silver Rider" and/or "Monkey" in the setlist.

Crikey! It's not even the best Iron Maiden album. I don't know...have you had a look at the Queen lately? I get a definite impression of sulphur.

That's because this thread was practically D.O.A. First, no one knew it was meant as a game, then when Joe did explain it, people still seemed unclear on the concept. I think my lyric has gone unanswered as well. When people start quoting "We Built This City" lyrics...that's when I check out. Oh, by the way: "Pornography" by the Cure.

Well, there you go, MM...you've answered your own question. We don't sit, we DANCE at a Madonna concert. This ain't no concert where you go to sit and watch the guitar player genuflect on his fretboard for an hour...this ain't a Dream Theatre show. It's basically a dance club for 20,000(or whatever the venue size), and a social mixer. Obviously, if clubs and mingling aren't your thing, then you probably won't enjoy a Madonna concert. No problem. I know what I am and my friends and family know...other than that, it makes no difference what others think. To me, there's nothing wrong with being hetero or homo, black or white, male or female. All I care about is your character and your interests...what kind of music and books you like, etc. That's how I choose my friends. I'm posting something for you over on the Fetish thread.

Given my past posting proclivities, I don't blame you for thinking I was putting the con on, MM, but I assure you that Patrick Bateman was the last thing on my mind when I wrote that earlier post. When I say I like Madonna, it is with sincerity...there is no glibness or irony involved. I know it is hard for some people to wrap their heads around...how does a guy who professes such love of Led Zeppelin, the Velvet Underground, Iggy and the Stooges, the Clash, among others, also get his kicks from a shiny pop princess like Madonna? Well, it just goes to show, you never can tell. The best music, whatever the genre, generates an emotional response. You can't always predict how you're going to respond to a band or singer, no matter your usual predilections. Of course, with me, I ask different things from my pop than I do from my rock. So, if you say to me that Madonna is too slick, too packaged, too phony, and not a real "musician"...well, you're missing the point then. I like my pop shiny and musical authenticity is the last thing I ask for in a "Pop Star". Not that they're always mutually exclusive. But what Madonna has, and what many of my other pop faves have, is the ability to be sincere in their fakeness...or to put it another way, sincerely insincere. I'll take the supposed fabrications of Madonna's pop over the insincere "authentic" muso musings of the likes of ELP or Dave Mathews Band anyday. A song like "Oh Father" resonates more with me emotionally than anything in the entire Deep Purple catalog. When I hear "Ray of Light" or "Express Yourself" or "Holiday", I hear the exuberance of life...I feel giddy and alive, and I have a bounce in my step. Which is what the best pop does. I can hear you say: But what about the musical trickery...the lip-syncing? First, I will say that having seen Madonna over 10 times, and always watching very closely, I have yet to conclusively catch her lip-syncing. Are there backing tapes, both musically and vocally, used in addition to her band and her own vocals? Probably. But from my experience, the vocals coming from her mic are live. For one thing, I've seen her flub a lyric or two...and that's something you can't lip-sync. This is all beside the point of a Madonna show, though...nobody goes to check out a Madonna show to check out the band. You could just as well have a DJ playing the backing tracks, and it would still be fine. Madonna's music sounds great in a dance club, therefore the primary aim of a Madonna concert is to recreate that club experience, only with the added flash of costumes, lighting, choreography. It's Broadway meets the discotheque, and in this regard Madonna was a pioneer. It was her 1987 "Who's That Girl?" tour that raised the bar for what a stadium show could look like. Before the Stones Steel Wheels tour. before U2's Zoo TV extravaganza, even before Michael Jackson's tour, Madonna was the one who showed what was possible in a stadium setting. I have more of an issue with rock bands who resort to subterfuge in concert...like ZZ Top and the Who, hiding guitar players and keyboard players behind amps, using backing tapes or MIDI'ing their sound. So yeah, this guy who loves his noise, his punk, his Zeppelin, also has a soft spot in his heart for Madonna. Particularly the Madge from "Madonna" to "Music".

Are you fucking nuts? You're not just getting "one song"..you're also getting one of the great soundtracks of the 60s featuring a talented group of musicians: Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, and others. $15 is a bargain.

I look forward to adding this to my collection of official and "non-official" Robert Plant DVDs. This does give me a thought, and I can't be the only one who thinks this, but there could be a fantastic DVD box set compiled from Robert Plant's solo years. In addition to this Band of Joy Artists Den concert, you could add the Raising Sand and Mighty Rearranger era Austin City Limits appearances. Wasn't there also an ACL appearance for "Dreamland"? Then, there's Robert's 1990 Knebworth set, his Honeydrippers SNL set, and there must be a concert from one of his early 80s tours recorded somewhere in the vaults. All told, there's gotta be enough solo Robert material for a 4 or 5 disc set. What a Christmas present that would make...and a fine video companion to the Nine Lives box set.

What a surprise.

Hmmm...while there have been a few songs that I considered subpar or that I felt didn't fit the mood of an album("Candy Store Rock" for one...I admire the intent but the execution is a bit flabby; lyrically weak and the end just goes on and on), there is only one song in the entire Led Zeppelin studio canon that has me fast forward or skip ahead: Moby Dick from Led Zeppelin II. I'm sorry, I have nothing against John Bonham...but while I'll endure a drum solo at a concert, I think drum solos on studio albums are a drag. Moby Dick is a perfect case in point: Bonham performed many excellent and inventive Moby Dicks in concert yet the one committed to vinyl is one of the most lackluster ones he ever played. "Ozone Baby" is another song that gets on my nerves, but since it's on an album, "Coda", that wouldn't have been released under normal circumstances, I give it a pass.

Barring a ticket falling into my lap, I'll probably skip this Madonna tour...and I've seen just about every tour of hers from the Like a Virgin tour in 1985 to the Sticky and Sweet tour in 2008. The best Madonna shows I saw were the 1990 Blonde Ambition and 2001 Drowned World tours. No surprise as those tours were in conjunction with her strongest albums("Like a Prayer" for the Blonde Ambition tour and "Ray of Light"/"Music" for the Drowned World tour). The other tours I liked were 1987's Who's That Girl? (the best of the early-Madonna period) and 2006's Confessions tour. The 1985 Like a Virgin tour will always have a soft spot in my heart because that was the show that introduced me to the Beastie Boys and that was Madonna when she still had a little softness to her...before she became a workout-junkie. Her recent tours have left me a little cold as her ticket prices rise and her arms get scarier and her albums hit-and-miss. I like most of her work up to "Music"...after that, I like it less so. No question, at over 50, she's a wonder of energy and activity. I give her props and all...but I think she tries too hard sometimes. It all comes off feeling cold and remote somehow. There's no warmth to her performances anymore. At least, that's the impression I got from the last few times I saw her. Maybe this new tour will see an improvement...I'll wait and see. The tour doesn't hit L.A. until October.

Ummm, no. I've been sick, so I've had to cancel lots of things on the agenda this week. Even if I wasn't sick, I wouldn't have gone...and not just because Jack White was playing the same night. It's just that I can think of better ways to honour and celebrate John Bonham than watch Vinny Appice and some Whitesnake drummer.