Well, don't know about you but I am beyond broke after splurging on Record Store Day, nay, weekend as I picked up some goodies on Sunday as well as Saturday. Sacrificing sleep I got down to the Hollywood Amoeba early in the morning before the line got crazy long. After Amoeba, made my way east to Rockaway Records then ended my day at Canterbury's. Sunday brought another visit to Amoeba's followed by trips to Poobah's and Penny Lane's out in Pasadena. After going nuts buying records, and with the Robert Plant show this week, looks like it'll be water and gruel for a few days. Hope your RSD was fun...here now is a list of my RSD booty: 1. 13th Floor Elevators "Wait for my Love" 7" green vinyl 2. Beach Boys "Good Vibrations/Heroes & Villains" 2x10" vinyl 3. Big Star "Third" Test pressing edition(but NO golden ticket) 12" vinyl 4. Kate Bush "Hounds of Love" Collector's edition 10" pink vinyl 5. Crowded House "North America Travelougue 2010" 3 CDs 6. Decemberists "Live at Bull Moose" CD 7. Deerhoof "Friend Opportunity" 12" vinyl 8. Deerhoof/Xiu Xiu "Almost Xiu Xiu, Almost Deerhoof" 7" vinyl 9. Deerhunter "Memory Boy" 7" white vinyl 10. Bob Dylan "Brandeis University 1963" 12" vinyl 11. Karen Elson "Vicious/In Trouble w/ the Lord" 7" clear vinyl 12. Flaming Lips "Heady Nuggs:First 5 WB Records 1992-2002" Vinyl box set 13. Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues/Grown Ocean" 12" vinyl 14. Charlotte Gainsbourg "Memoir/Becoming a Jackal" 7" vinyl 15. John Hammond "So Many Roads" 12" vinyl 16. Mississippi John Hurt "The Immortal" 12" vinyl 17. International Submarine Band w/Gram Parsons "Safe at Home" 12" vinyl + 7" single 18. Skip James "Today!" 12" vinyl 19. Jenny & Johnny/Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris "Love Hurts" 7" vinyl 20. Lady Gaga "Born this Way" 12" picture disc 21. Mastodon "Live at the Aragon" 2x12" vinyl + DVD 22. Mastodon/ZZ Top "Just Got Paid" 7" vinyl 23. Nirvana "Hormoaning" Aus/NZ tour edition. 12" vinyl 24. of Montreal "The Past Is A Grotesque Animal" 12" vinyl 25. OFF! "Live at Generation Records" 7" vinyl 26. Tom Petty "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers" 12" white vinyl 27. Tom Petty "You're Gonna Get It!" 12" blue vinyl 28. Pink Floyd "London 66/67" 12" white vinyl 29. R.E.M. "R.E.M. THREE:First 3 Singles from Collapse Into Now" 7" set 30. RHCP/Ramones "Havana Affair" 7" vinyl 31. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez "Telesterion" 2 CDs 32. Ryan Adams "Class Mythology EP" 2x7" yellow and orange vinyl + poster 33. Sonic Youth "Whore's Moaning Aus/NZ tour edition" 12" vinyl 34. Television "Live at the Old Waldorf" 2x12" white vinyl 35. The Yardbirds "Goodnight Sweet Josephine" 7" vinyl 36. Various Artists "Follow Me Down:Vanguard's Lost Psychedelic Era 1966-1970" 2x12" vinyl Not to seem greedy but there were quite a few items I wanted to get but were either already sold out or unavailable at the location...the Velvet Underground and White Stripes and Vivian Girls singles, Os Mutantes, and the 45rpm vinyl version of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" among others. But all-in-all, one of my better RSD scores...if only I could've scored one of those "golden ticket" Big Stars! P.S. Did Neil actually purchase that "It's A Beautiful Day" record or was he just browsing? I'd have thought he already would have a copy.

Yes, but his posts would have to be sdrawkcab.

Sounds like someone missed their 6 o'clock feeding. Good lord...gay marriage, media brainwashing, political correctness...all the usual bromides; and in a music forum, no less. Grow up or you're heading for one of these:

I finally bought this book...Borders is closing down most of their stores out here in California, so I got it cheap, like 70% off the cover price. Anyway, read it over the last couple of days...what a disappointment. Like others here, I too, was expecting a show-by-show account of the 1975 tour in all its glory. Turns out he only saw a small percentage of the tour. Some of the stuff is rehashed from the Hammer of the Gods...and other stuff, like Plant supposedly having an affair with Maureen's sister and that being the point of the songs "What Is and Should Never Be" and "Black Country Woman", is both dubious(Davis doesn't provide any proof, just rumour and innuendo) and something of which I have no interest; I really don't care to snoop around in Plant's(or any of the band member's) personal life. Then, there's the usual Jones bashing...once again, he describes No Quarter, which any impartial fan could tell you was one of the highlights of the 75 tour, as Jones performing a 20-minute cocktail lounge piano solo. First of all, the most Jones' piano solo lasted by my count was 5 minutes...and it was decidedly NOT the stuff a cocktail lounge pianist would play. Cocktail lounge pianists usually play florid love songs and Chopin and Tin Pan Alley faves. What Jones played during No Quarter was more rhythmic and funky...almost but not quite jazz, but still more ballsy than what you would hear at a cocktail lounge. I'm really getting sick and tired of reading slurs against No Quarter in books. From the very beginning when it first appeared in sets on the 1973 US tour, to its end in 1979, No Quarter was probably one of the most consistent songs in the Led Zeppelin live canon at providing high quality musical drama. And most especially in 1975, No Quarter reached a peak of doom and gloomy excellence. But the part of Stephen Davis' book that made me hurl it against the wall and curse his name was when he talks about how he bumps into some roadies and they agree to let him ask any 3 questions he wants and they will answer them. So what is the first question on Stephen Davis' mind? He asks about whether the band signed a pact with the devil!?!? Let me repeat that: He asked about a pact with the devil!?! Again, just in case it is not clear...Stephen Davis could have asked anything he wanted; he had roadies that were willing to answer any question; he was on assignment for a reputable magazine; he was granted a level of access to the band that I, and quite a few other Zeppelin fans of that time, would have KILLED for; he supposedly was an educated, rational human being...and yet, the FIRST thing he could think to ask was a dopey question about whether Led Zeppelin sold their souls to the devil? At that point, I was like, GET ME OUTTA HERE! As far as I am concerned, if it wasn't already in question, Stephen Davis' credibility is now null and void! Save your money; don't buy the book...it's not worth it, not even at 70% off. Wait for my take on the 1975 tour instead...yeah, as if

I realize this is a mostly UK/Euro-centric board, but I'm still surprised nobody's started a Coachella thread...especially given how "international" the attendance usually is. At some Coachella's in the past, I would meet more people from abroad than Californians during the weekend. Alas, I am not going this year(this will be the third Coachella I will miss), as with the move up to mid-April, the festival conflicts with both the Film Noir Fest at the American Cinematheque that I attend yearly, and with Record Store Day on Saturday. Plus, they make you buy the whole three-day pass now, instead of allowing you the choice of picking which day you want to go, or buying a weekend pass. So even though my brother's band is playing, I will skip it this year. Anyway, here's the schedule for this year's Coachella Fest, April 15-17: The Do Lab Friday 11:45 GoldRush 1:45 Michele Bass 2:55 RLS 4:10 SaQi 5:25 Govinda 6:40 LaReda 7:55 Lucent Dossier Experience 8:35 Jupit3r 9:50 KRADDY 11:05 Freq Nasty 12:20 Lucent Dossier Experience Saturday 11:30 The Ianator 12:45 Sammy Bliss 2:00 Jesse Wright & Lee Burridge 4:05 Patricio 5:50 Ana Sia 7:40 Lucent Dossier Experience 8:20 Emancipator 10:15 NitGrit 11:15 Lucent Dossier Experience 11:55 An-ten-nae Sunday 12:00 Karim So 1:35 Timonkey 2:50 Gladkill 4:05 Siren 5:20 Sugarpill 6:35 Stephan Jacobs 7:50 Lucent Dossier Experience 8:30 R/D 9:45 Paper Diamond 10:55 Lucent Dossier Experience Heineken Dome Friday 11:00am Milo 12:30pm Mr. Smith 2:30pm Toy Selectah 4:30pm DJ HeavyGrinder 6:30pm Donald Glaude 9:00 Bunny (video suit set) Saturday 11:00am Milo 12:00pm Mario Dubbz 2:00pm M-3 3:30pm Michael Anthony 4:30pm Fred Everything 6:30pm Kevin Kind 8:00pm Dirty Vegas Sunday 11:00am Milo 12:00pm Little B 2:00pm DJ Frances 4:00pm Scooter and Lavelle 6:00pm White Noize 8:00pm DJ Dan Plus Live Painting all weekend by: Claudio Ethos Herakut Shark Toof Aly Kourouma Freddy Sam There's some good ones: PJ Harvey; Wire; Animal Collective; Suede; Scala & the Kolacny Brothers; Erykah Badu; Gogol Bordello; The Strokes; Mumford & Sons; Black Keys; Phosphorescent and lots more...most of whom I've already seen recently...or who will be touring on their own soon. I HOPE! I would like to know if there's anyone here that is going and hope you give us a report on your experience. There's also a webcast channel for those that can't go...you can watch it on your pc or whatever: Coachella 2011 webcast

Wake Up! Time to Die - Pop Will Eat Itself

If you look towards the bottom of the forum home page you will see on the right hand side it lists who the newest member is; today it said MaribethGager5793562 was our newest member. Out of sheer curiosity, I clicked on her profile and to my astonishment saw that she was already banned. How can you be the newest member yet get banned before you even post? Very odd.

Good lord...is that guy for real? I thought maybe it was a comic doing a spoof. I could only listen to a couple minutes before I had to shut it off.

I just read this while listening to this show on Conneyfogle's channel the other day. Gotta love the late-60's, when in the wake of bands THE Beatles, THE Kinks, THE Rolling Stones, and THE Who, journalists and promoters got in the habbit of putting "THE" before a band's name: The Led Zeppelin...The Pink Floyd...The Cream. Speaking of Conneyfogle...what a resource his channel is! Listen, in the Pantheon of Led Zeppelin Fans, Mike Millard will always be first and foremost of those deserving our reverence and everlasting gratitude. But in the youtube-era, Conneyfogle is rapidly achieving a similar level of regard from Zeppelin fans.

:lol: Thanks for posting that spidersandsnakes...I had forgotten about them being on Johnny's show. WOW! That totally made my morning. Shame about the video-audio synching problem.

^ ^ ^ Me neither. Catchy is catchy...even if it is in service to a TV show. Last Train to Clarksville, Stepping Stone still sound great to this day. And the Monkees Theme Song is one of the best tv theme songs of all time. Plus, they were involved with one of the coolest and freakiest films to come out of the 60's: HEAD. Rent it...netflix it...whatever you have to...just see it. I was fortunate to see the Monkees both times that Michael Nesmith was involved...wouldn't see them without him as Nesmith was my favourite Monkee growing up watching the show. Yes, Jahfin, Michael Nesmith does deserve a little credit for being one of the early country-rock proponents. And Aquamarine, you saw the Monkees in the 60's?!? WOW! Was it the tour with Jimi Hendrix opening?

You can only play so many songs in a set, ya know. Even in a 3 hour set, there are gonna be omissions that will leave someone grumbling that the band didn't play that cool b-side that was only on a Serbian single released on the night of the full moon. I always thought the 79 setlists, which only entailed 4 shows, were great...fairly representative of the different periods of their career. For the 80 tour, you could tell the band was trying to streamline things...getting rid of the drum solo and the pieces with long jams(No Quarter and D & C) and even jettisoning the intro to NFBM. Since the last time the band toured the Continent extensively was 1973, it made sense for them to weight the setlist with post-73 material. Hence, All My Love, Kashmir, Achilles Last Song, Hot Dog, Trampled Underfoot, Nobody's Fault But Mine, and In the Evening...7 songs that took up nearly an hour, half the set time. Now what to fill the second hour with? Well, first off there are the 4 songs that most Zeppelin fans EXPECTED to hear at every concert: Stairway, Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog, Rock and Roll. So now you got about a half-hour left...Since I've Been Loving You was a song the band obviously ENJOYED playing, a fact not to take lightly, given the state of the band at that time. One could've wished they would've substituted Tea For One instead, but SIBLY works, and is probably one of the most beloved songs in the Zeppelin canon. Then there's Rain Song, one of their most beautiful songs and one that provides a change of pace during the show and some moody atmosphere. I have no problem with Rain Song being in the set. That leaves us with the two remaining songs(not counting occasional encores of Heartbreaker and Communication Breakdown)...let's start with the opener, Train Kept a Rollin'. I get why the band chose this...it was a nod towards their youthful roots, as well as a reminder to the current punks that they could play raw and basic r n r, too. Since Immigrant Song was seemingly no longer possible for Robert to perform live, I guess the band felt Train was a suitably uptempo tune to start with, as well as bringing things full-circle from the beginning when Train was the set opener...and even was the first song the band played when they got together in that tiny room back in 1968. That leaves White Summer/BMS...and it is here that I think the band made a serious miscalculation. Yes, I know Jimmy liked to use the piece to set up Kashmir, but he could have just used BMS as the link to Kashmir and it would've been just as effective...not to mention only a couple minutes long. But to spend the 10+ minutes on the whole White Summer thing caused the momentum of the show to complete stop. Remember, White Summer usually followed Achilles, a storming number that charged the audience and left them wanting the energy to continue...only to see Jimmy sit down with his Danelectro and, let's be honest, haphazardly meander his way through White Summer. This was not 1977, let alone 1970...and most crucially, this was not the USA. As anyone who has listened to lots of bootlegs can tell you, Europeans had little patience for acoustic sets or quiet instrumentals even in the best of times. If you think what the band could have played instead of White Summer...Carouselambra, anyone? Or how 'bout The Rover and Wanton Song, that's about 10 minutes combined. Fool in the Rain and Night Flight? Wearing and Tearing and For Your Life? Anyway, you get my point...the 1980 setlists are actually pretty good at mixing the more recent material from Physical Graffiti thru ITTOD and the Zeppelin concert warhorses. The only weak link are White Summer, and to a lesser extent, Train Kept A Rollin'.

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS!!!

To use an internet term I learned from Electrophile: QFT

Oooops...didn't mean to post twice.

^ ^ Hey that's ok Electrophile...better late than never , We all get busy. Heck, there's 3 or 4 threads right now that I've been meaning to post to but keep forgetting...either because I don't have the time to respond or I've forgotten what or where it is I want to respond. Plus there's the time difference. Being on the Pacific coast everyone in the rest of the world seems to be asleep when I finally get the time to come on the board. Back to Radiohead...the #4 or 5 slot seems about right where I'd rank King of Limbs.

I feel like Al Pacino in GF III... OK, so I know I vowed never to post in this thread again. But sometimes a post appears that truly beggars belief... WTF?!? Look, I realize in any discussion with a group of people you're going to have many divergent viewpoints. But it helps if you know going in that everyone has a basic knowledge of the topic at hand. With the above quote...well, it all makes perfect sense that this thread has gone off the rails from time to time. For it's hard to have a rational discussion in the face of such nonsense. And no, Gospel, your subsequent attempts to explain do not convince. Hell, I'm willing to give spidersandsnakes a pass on his disco misinformation (but NOT his use of the phrase "old coloured guy"), but to lump "Brown Sugar" and the Stones with "bubblegum" is sheer lunacy. Yeah...the Ohio Express and the 1910 Fruitgum Co. should have opened for the Stones instead of those "darkies"(there's another golden oldie for you spiders) Ike & Tina Turner and Stevie Wonder. As to the latest topic of discussion: Rap/Hip-Hop...it needs no defending. Just as classical, bluegrass, jazz, metal nor any other musical form needs defending. Music, whatever form it takes, is a form of self-expression...be it emotionally, intellectually, politically, sexually, whatever. That's the beauty of music; it allows for many modes for expression and gives voice to the voiceless. And if you don't like one form of music you can simply find another you DO like...or even better, CREATE a new form that suits you and your social circle. And that's how music has evolved from its simple beginnings to the multifaceted kaleidoscope it is today. You don't like rap...or disco...fine, don't listen to it! Nobody's got a gun to your head forcing you, do they? But to suggest that rap has ruined music is just as pointless as blaming disco or soft rock. Led Zeppelin flourished as Bread and Carol King ruled the charts. I can't remember if it was Electrophile or Aquamarine or maybe both...but the gist of what the post said was how amazing it was that some fans of Led Zeppelin, a band known for its wide-ranging influences, appear to have extremely narrow tastes themselves. I have often wondered about that myself. The hatred towards rap is especially ironic, as the rise of rap coincided with the rise in Led Zeppelin's standing with the critical community. You think it's an accident that Led Zeppelin has appeared on more Rolling Stone covers post-1980 than they did in their heyday? Go back to 1980...the critical consensus was pretty much goodbye and good riddance. Punk and new wave was supposed to sweep out the old dinosaurs anyway...the fact that it didn't made some critics more bitter towards Zeppelin. So when Bonham died and the band called it a day, some critics of the time treated it as a victory for the punk generation...now if we could just get those geezers Pink Floyd, Yes and the Stones to join them, oh happy day! Admittedly this view was more prevalent in the UK press than the US. But if you read Rolling Stone's reviews of Knebworth and ITTOD, you knew their feelings towards the band hadn't changed since their first review of the band in 1969. As the 80's dawned, it was the opinion of many that the Zeppelin era was over and that as the years passed their influence and hold on a generation of kids would wane until their records collected dust in cut-out bins and radio moved on to newer and shinier bands, making Zeppelin sound old and obsolete. Of course, THAT never happened. By the 90's, Led Zeppelin's reputation and mystique had, seemingly against odds, not been diminished but actually increased. It had to gall Rolling Stone magazine when they were printing their special issues celebrating each decade, that they realized that they couldn't put their beloved Rolling Stones on the 70's cover...that Led Zeppelin was the proper choice for the cover. So what happened? How did the critical consensus shift so dramatically to the point that How the West Was Won was one of the best-reviewed releases of the past decade? Or that no one now bats an eye if someone suggests Led Zeppelin is better than the Stones and the Who(the Beatles remain sacrosanct)? Well, of course first and foremost is the quality of the music itself. And being that Zeppelin was always a "people's band", it helped that the people never abandoned them. They still requested them on radio to the point that stations had to create Get the Led Out programs to satiate the fans. So even as we embraced new bands and genres we never left Zeppelin behind. I was a huge punk fan from the beginning...loved the Ramones, Clash, Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, X, Black Flag and all that...but there was no way I was getting rid of my Zeppelin records. But fans are one thing, critics another. And there were two developments of the 80's that I believe helped with the resuscitation of Zeppelin's reputation in the eyes of the critics: "hair metal" and rap. Hair Metal was a boon to Led Zeppelin because in the wake of all those atrocious bands, critics realized how good Zeppelin sounded in comparison. Even with the NWOHM and thrash metal bands like Metallica and Slayer, the limited variety in their music served to highlight Zeppelin's eclecticism and many critics came to realize that dismissing Led Zeppelin as just a heavy metal band was wrong. Zeppelin was just as all-encompassing in their music as the Beatles and the Stones and Dylan. The second, and in some ways most important, thing that happened was the development of rap and hip-hop. You see, as hard as it may be for you kids to believe, but one of the most common complaints directed towards Zeppelin in the 70's was Bonzo's drumming. They complained he was too loud...he didn't swing like Charlie Watts...you couldn't dance to the band. Don't believe me? Look it up...the reviews from back then are rife with slurs against Bonham's drumming. Then rap comes along...and rappers need beats. Since they couldn't keep using the same Chic groove over and over, they looked elsewhere for some slamming and RHYTHMIC beats. And guess what...they found a whole repository of them on Led Zeppelin records. It is said that Bonham is the second-most sampled drummer after Bernard Purdie, the drummer for James Brown. So after a decade of critics harping about Led Zeppelin's supposed lack of rhythmic sense and clumsy beats, here we were in the 80's and Zeppelin was supplying a large chunk of the beats to a new genre that people were DANCING to...and a genre that was developed primarily by African-Americans. Led Zeppelin had taken from the blues and transcended the form...now blacks were taking from Led Zeppelin, a band primarily thought of as the music of working-class white kids, and used their beats to fuel a decidedly urban and ethnocentric music revolution. You could hear critics heads explode all over the country. Not only had the punk (and post-punk) scene fail in destroying Led Zeppelin, "classic rock" radio popping up all over the nation, but now Zeppelin was seeping its way to the younger and hipper generations by infiltrating the cool new rap scene. And since rap and hip-hop had been embraced almost immediately by the hip crowd and critics, the way rappers and/or their producers repurposed Led Zeppelin's music practically forced critics to re-examine their stance on Zeppelin. By the late 80's you could sense the beginning of a critical shift. Of course it helped that some of the old guard haters like John Mendelsson no longer were around, replaced by younger writers...writers who perhaps were fans of the band. By the time the first Zeppelin box set was released in 1990, reviews were almost universal in their praise...even from sources that previously were antagonistic, ie. Robert Hilburn of the LA Times and Rolling Stone. So hate rap if you want. Just know that it played a part in Led Zeppelin enjoying more critical cachet today than it did in its 70's heyday. Meanwhile, as to the question of what's happened to music? I don't know about you, but music is HAPPENING RIGHT NOW on my stereo as I listen to the latest releases by PJ Harvey, Lucinda Williams, Radiohead, the Strokes, and Deerhunter.

The Women's Championship game was better than that snooze-a-thon between Butler and UCONN. Worst men's championship game in recent memory and further proof against expanding the field. Now...Tex A & M's victory over Notre Dame was SWEET! Thrilling and high-scoring to boot. Way to go Ladies!

Like Led Zeppelin, Radiohead is another English band that seems to have taken to the Los Angeles sun, making the city a near-second home lately. Thom Yorke made a surprise appearance recently...NO, I was not there, sadly. But here's a report from someone who did... Thom Yorke Performs Last-Minute DJ Set By Matt Diehl March 10, 2011 10:50 AM ET The Twitter rumors about Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke's DJ set at Los Angeles club The Airliner began early Wednesday afternoon. Radiohead hasn't played any solo shows or announced any tour plans as of yet to promote their new album The King of Limbs, but Yorke's been playing surreptitious solo DJ sets around L.A. in past weeks, and so by 9:00 p.m. a line literally snaked around the block to get in — even though no one had confirmed that Yorke would actually show up. But around 11 p.m., show up he did, taking to the turntables at the stage's far left corner and commencing an eclectic mix aimed equally at both dance floor and brain. He began with an acidic minimal techno track that spawned the first of many hands-in-the-air moments for the crowd rammed into Low End's sweaty, 350-person capacity main room. In terms of genre, Yorke's hour-plus set was a moving target. He moved from 4/4 thump to Burial's skippy dubstep to Aloe Blacc's earthy funk and beyond; in particular, he reiterated his love for the Stones Throw label's eccentric hip-hop, with tracks from Jaylib and Madvillain proving audience sing-along favorites. (Unsurprisingly, he didn’t play any Radiohead or solo songs; the crowd didn’t seem to mind.) Watching him spin, it was clear Yorke takes his DJing as seriously as his main gig: He worked the mixer with abandon, favoring clean, smooth blends at times, rough transitions at others; he started very seriously, concentrating on his song choice and mixing, but as the set progressed he began to loosen, displaying the trademark dance moves from his live performances as well as videos like "Lotus Flower”; he even pogo-danced like a nutter during Major Lazer's raucous "Pon De Floordrop.” Other highlights on his set list: Squarepusher's deconstructed two-step classic "My Red Hot Car," and two odd Eighties New Wave jams, Kraftwerk's "Pocket Calculator" and "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum)" by Fun Boy Three.

By Matt Diehl, Special to the Los Angeles Times April 9, 2011 "The wonderful thing about making records is something comes out you never expected," explains Ray Davies, who knows of what he speaks. In nearly five decades as leader of one of rock's great bands, the Kinks, and as a solo artist, Davies has been involved with more than 30 LPs, helped innovate the concept album and created classic-rock staples such as "You Really Got Me" and "Lola." "Ray's one of the greatest pop rock songwriters of all time," says Britt Daniel of acclaimed indie-rockers Spoon. "He's a legend," Metallica drummer and co-founder Lars Ulrich says. Metallica and Spoon contributed to the most unexpected record of Davies' career, "See My Friends," a new solo effort featuring Davies collaborating on his most distinctive songs with Bruce Springsteen, Mumford & Sons, and Jon Bon Jovi, among others. The album moves from obscure gems such as "This Is Where I Belong," a beloved B-side performed by Pixies frontman Black Francis; to well-known Kinks classics such as "All Day and All of the Night," a duet with Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan. Davies crisscrossed the globe for the unique project. He traveled to Oslo to record a storming version of "You Really Got Me" with Metallica backstage during one of the band's arena shows. "When Ray asked if we'd contribute to his record," Ulrich says, "that was what we call a 'Metallica no-brainer.'" Metallica first played with Davies during 2009's 25th anniversary celebration of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; at the same event, he also bonded with Bruce Springsteen, venturing soon after to Springsteen's New Jersey studio for a jovial crack at the Kinks' 1981 hit, "Better Things." "We ended up talking forever about our influences," Davies says. "We discussed how we both love Buddy Holly, and Bruce knew so much about the Kinks." Davies has made an art of turning snapshots of English life into classic songs and concept albums, like 1968's "The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society," and his way with narrative and character has drawn the attention of not only musicians but respected writers. Notable fiction authors Zadie Smith, Bobbie Ann Mason, Salman Rushdie and Audrey Niffenegger have made numerous homages to Davies' work in their books. His mark can be heard in U.K. acts Madness, Elbow, the Jam, Oasis, Suede, the Smiths and Pulp; in fact, Davies could arguably be considered the father of the '90s Britpop revolution. "The bands that influenced me to start songwriting, like Blur, were influenced by the Kinks," says Ted Dwane of Mumford & Sons. "Ray stays true to his roots: He's heralded as the great British songwriter because his songs come from that genuine experience. Someone from Nebraska can still relate to "Till the End of the Day," but if you're British, it's a treat to really understand the references." "See My Friends" began during a trip Davies took to Los Angeles to write songs with Garbage chanteuse Shirley Manson. "The experience made me feel I could work with other people in a collaborative manner," he says, so in the summer 2009, the album's first recording session took place in London with Alex Chilton. There, the iconoclastic solo artist and singer for the Box Tops and Big Star turned "Till the End of the Day" into a blazing rave-up. (Chilton died eight months later.) Such collaborations gave Davies new insights about his own material. "Lucinda Williams picked 'Long Way From Home,' which I wouldn't have thought of, and turned it into her own song," he says. "Jackson Browne wanted to do 'Waterloo Sunset,' which I wasn't sure would work; it's such an English song, but he was great. Likewise, Jon Bon Jovi made 'Celluloid Heroes' more dynamic: The way I sing it, the chorus withdraws, but Jon's voice makes it jump at you." For some "See My Friends" collaborators, their song choice proved deeply personal, as was Francis' selection of "This Is Where I Belong." "I learned it to sing at a friend's wedding," says Francis. "I had the lyrics taped to the back of my guitar for years after, leaving the title phrase on there as a kind of mantra. It always relates to what's going on in my life, like a little passage from my holy book." "The Kinks mixed intellectual bravado with primal rock 'n' roll, and that dichotomy appealed to me," Daniel explains. "It was liberating to hear Ray make even the smallest details into a song." "A song doesn't have to be about a big event," Davies says. "What I do is like a musical camera, taking snapshots of life. The listener then visualizes who would be cast in those roles." Davies' songwriting also receives praise for its sophisticated literary quality, inspiring artists even outside of music. "Ray Davies is an extraordinary storyteller; his lyrics have the compression and power of poetry," Niffenegger says. "The song I imagined playing in 'The Time Traveler's Wife' was 'You Really Got Me' — I was looking for a group that would make the reader think '1964,' and the Kinks debuted that year. My second book, 'Her Fearful Symmetry,' is set in London. Whenever I am crossing Waterloo Bridge, my favorite Kinks song, 'Waterloo Sunset,' plays in my mind." His song craft also exudes a cinematic scope that's influenced directors, including Wes Anderson, who has prominently featured Kinks' songs in films "Rushmore" and "The Darjeeling Limited." "Ray Davies' music is one of the greatest inspirations in any medium for my own work — as much as any book or movie, ever," says Anderson. A Kinks reunion, meanwhile, remains elusive. The group's 66-year-old frontman has been famously estranged for years from his younger brother, Kinks' guitarist Dave Davies (who also hasn't performed since suffering a stroke in 2004). "I would be happy to do a reunion if the intention was to do some new music, and not just revisit the past," says the elder Davies, who is keeping busy regardless. This year, he will serve as curator for London's prestigious Meltdown Festival (previous curators include David Bowie, Massive Attack and Richard Thompson). There's also the possibility of a "See My Friends 2." Additional songs from the Alex Chilton session remain unreleased, and Davies maintains a list of potential collaborators, including the Who's Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, Paul Weller, Nick Lowe, Ron Sexsmith and Blur/Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn. "Like all sequels, it will have a different curve," Davies says. "It's a blessed thing to be able to create an image in one's mind. I still haven't worked out how it's done, but it's always very rewarding when I finally make it happen." calendar@latimes.com

I was having the same problem...couldn't access the board all day and I thought it was either the board had crashed or I was banned. I even sent an email to the webmaster. Then around 6pm PST the board appeared but when I signed in to post it wrnt right back to the server error screen. I was going to a film noir double-bill at the Egyptian theatre and it just ended so I checked my phone and voila! The board is back.

CAN'T WAIT!!!

Nice piece...thanks Sam for bringing it to our attention. I assume this was years before Raymond...or did their eras as Jimmy's guitar tech overlap?

As it's long past April fools I was hoping to erase this thread but it doesn't give me access to the edit button anymore. So Sam...or any other moderator...can you please erase this thread now?