My favorite of the "short films" released in conjunction with Collapse Into Now so far:

No problem. I hope you enjoy the show, please let me know what you think good or bad.

Well said but I didn't let what was popular on MTV cloud my musical vision in the 80s any more than I did with disco in the 70s.

I've done my fair share of poking fun at Charlie Sheen lately but this is definitely food for thought: Craig Ferguson Quits Charlie Sheen Mockery & Maybe We Should, Too

There was much more going on in music at the time besides Kajagoogoo. For some reason when people look back at the 80s they tend to only remember what they perceive to have been the worst and artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan (along with tons of others) get left out of the equation. Kajagoogoo were one hit wonders that disappeared from the airwaves just as quickly as they appeared there.

I didn't "over inflate" it. Whether it was two minutes in a guest slot or two hours in a studio, it still showed Page's open mindedness towards working with other artists. That was my point, not how long he worked with them.

Although I don't necessarily agree with Page's reasoning for not licensing Zep music for Guitar Hero, I'm also glad he hasn't given in but that's more from an artistic standpoint. Yes, it's a new avenue for having your music heard but it doesn't meant it's a good one. With the vinyl revival (confined as it may be) I'm much more excited about the prospect of new fans discovering Zeppelin through that medium. Sure beats the shit out of new fans being made via "Classic Rock" radio where they play the same songs by the same artists day in and day out.

Thanks to a friend that's a huge fan and to NPR's First Listen series:

I have a friend of mine that's a huge fan of this band but I wasn't prompted to check them out until hearing them sampled during a recent piece on vinyl on NPR's All Things Considered. Speaking of which, if you like what you hear below you can check out their entire new album (Civilian) thanks to NPR's First Listen series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2VNG8yMI8w

I'm no fan of Bon Jovi but it speaks well of Jimmy Page that he knows no prejudice when it comes to music.

Thanks for clarifying, I knew I'd heard something similar somewhere.

He retired from the band in November of 1997. During the Monster tour he suffered an aneurysm while on stage in Lausanne, Switzerland. Once he recuperated they successfully completed the tour and a follow up album (New Adventures In Hi-Fi) but during that time he decided he no longer wanted to tour and that he wanted to retire to his farm outside of R.E.M.'s homebase of Athens, GA. He's done some guest appearances since then both live and on record but has never returned to the band on a permanent basis. Joey Waronker (from Beck's band) played drums on Up and Reveal. Their current drummer, Bill Rieflin, came onboard during the 2003 tour for In Time and has remained with the band ever since. I think so. He not only played drums with R.E.M. but also played bass, guitar, sang backup and contributed significantly to the songwriting process. Bill was always one to keep things short and concise so the length of some of the songs on Up was a clear indication of his absence. It's not as though they'd never done any long songs before (such as "Leave" from New Adventures In Hi-Fi which clocks in at just over seven minutes) but Bill had a real keen pop song sense that enabled him to help keep the tunes down to the 3-5 minute range with a minimum of excess. The clip below features Bill on bass guitar during a BBC performance from the Out of Time era.

I'm a fan of Monster as well as New Adventures in Hi-Fi, the latter of which is my favorite from the Warner Brother years when Bill Berry was still a member of the band. I think Monster mainly gets a bad rap because fans that came onboard during Out of Time and Automatic for the People were thrown for a loop because they were more accustomed to the softer side of the band and simply didn't know what to make of their harder side.

How about factually stating what you meant by "high risk group"?

I guess you forgot the part where you accused me of being the one to bring up the matter of Stipe's sexuality in relation to lzzoso's comment about him dying of AIDS and your comment about him being in a "high risk group".

Way to skirt the question.

lzzoso mentioned AIDS, whether he meant anything about Stipe's sexuality by that remains unanswered. Since Stipe is gay/queer/bisexual and rumors have circulated about him having AIDS before it is inferred that that is what he may have meant. It's up to him to clarify. You also said Stipe was in a "high risk group" which would also infer that you were referring to his sexuality and not needles since he has no history with intravenous drug use, at least that I'm aware of. By saying he was in a high risk group, what were you referring to?

Not that I have any desire to see Hagar back with Van Halen but this latest headline from Rolling Stone probably isn't going to help his chances any: Sammy Hagar on Eddie Van Halen in New Memoir: 'What a Fruitcake'

There's much more info on them here in the forums but for starters, the Merce Cunningham Dance Show, the Anna Nicole Smith Opera and most recently, something called Throats.

I've got nothing against Plant's latest venture or his desire to steer clear of anything approaching a Led Zeppelin reunion at the moment but I agree with him, if it ever were to happen, it would have to hinge on the inclusion of new music. Unfortunately, I never saw any of the Walking Into Clarksdale shows but I did catch them during the tour for Unledded during their stopover at the Omni in Atlanta. Me too. Who knew he would eventually end up doing these scores which have become news in recent months? Nothing against those either, I guess he comes by it honestly going all the way back to his session work in the 60s as well as his work on the Scream For Help soundtrack.

Quite a contrast from your comments above about R.E.M. because I find a great deal of their music uplifting (particularly the sadder material) but I always got the impression they were somewhat embarrassed by "Shiny Happy People", Peter Buck's facial expressions during the video notwithstanding as he's never been big on appearing in their video clips. I know In Time was never meant to be a "greatest hits" collection but was instead intended to be a "best of" (yes, there is a difference) but as a matter of inclusiveness I don't feel it would have been out of place on there. Personally, I don't hate the song but it's never been one of my absolute favorites either. I can certainly think of a lot worse from their entire catalog.

According to this thread, yes but there is still no official word on it regarding a release date, content, etc.

Not a song but it's still funny.