In the words of one Mr. Steve Miller, "somebody give me a cheeseburger!!"

Here's a novel idea, listen to them yourself rather than leaving the legwork up to others. Can't be that hard or taxing especially if you're a Led Zeppelin fan.

Since you can only embed videos from YouTube on here I had to post this one as a link. Cheech & Chong "Santa Claus & His Wife"

Changing the name isn't going to affect anything. They have to take all of those influences into account or else they wouldn't be true to the roots of rock n' roll. It's the same for any genre of music, they all criss cross styles, it's not something that's cut and dry. As for the Sex Pistols, their refusal to appear was just as calculated as their creation by Malcolm McLaren. If it was meant to piss everyone off they didn't succeed. When their letter was read aloud during their induction it received a hearty round of applause. As for the actual Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, I've been there and quite enjoyed my visit. I was there back in 2006 when The Experience Music Project out of Seattle was presenting an exhibit on Bob Dylan. It was very well done and worth every second of my time. It was also very cool to be able to see actual handwritten lyrics by John Lennon, Jerry Garcia's guitar named Rosebud amongst many other rock n' roll artifacts. There was a record convention being held there that day which was also a lot of fun to browse through.

I don't think it's picky at all. It amazes me that so many so-called fans of Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd are constantly misspelling their names.

None of the reasons you cite would be enough for Foghat to even be nominated much less inducted. Those blues artists are in because the blues is a huge part of where rock n' roll came from. Rap artists are in there because rock n' roll has influenced rap and vice versa. Same for R & B, Soul, Country, Folk, Bluegrass, Reggae, Ska, Rockabilly, etc. Rock n' Roll is a musical mutt and has been informed by all of those genres and vice versa. To ignore them wouldn't be fair to the original artists or to the rock n' roll artists they had an influence on.

I love Foghat as much as the next person but they don't fit the criteria for induction. If you think they do, please inform me of who they influenced.

I'd say Dorton Arena was (and is) far from "impressive". In fact, it's hard to believe that Zep, Hendrix or any of the bands I listed even played there. I had to have a peek inside a few years ago just to relive my Kiss memories.

This topic always makes for a nice conversation piece but it's not something to lose sleep over. If Rush, Kiss, Deep Purple, Warren Zevon or The Replacements never get in, I'm quite alright with that because I know of their "contributions to to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll", that's good enough for me.

Popularity isn't part of the criteria for induction, influence is. I've yet to figure out how they even got nominated. Who did they influence? The only thing Bon Jovi have going for them is making the world safe for Mom metal. Given that Grandmaster Flash and Run DMC are already in, I'm surprised that the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J were snubbed. Rap has definitely had an effect on rock n' roll and vice versa so I imagine both will be inducted eventually. Donna Summer was also snubbed (again), I still can't figure out how she influenced rock n' roll. Then again, Madonna is also in and she's had no influence on rock n' roll either. Very glad to see Alice and Leon Russell get the nod, they should have both been inducted years ago. Proof positive that the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame still has their head up their ass. Never been a Waits fan but he also deserves to be inducted.

New song is now up at this link. Get it while it's hot.

From NME.com: REM announce new album release date and free download - audio Band to release Collapse Into Now in March December 15, 2010 R.E.M. are set to release their new album Collapse Into Now on March 7. They are set to make the first song from the album, "Discoverer'', available as a free download from remhq.com. The record will be Michael Stipe and co's 15th studio effort. It was recorded in Hansa Studios in Berlin with producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Bloc Party, Weezer). Guests on the album include Patti Smith, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Peaches and Lenny Kaye. The tracklisting of Collapse Into Now is: Discoverer All The Best Uberlin Oh My Heart It Happened Today (featuring Eddie Vedder) Every Day Is Yours to Win Mine Smell Like Honey’ Walk It Back’ Alligator Aviator Autopilot Antimatter (featuring Peaches and Lenny Kaye) That Someone Is You Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I Blue (featuring Patti Smith)

Started a thread here for everyone's favorite seasonal songs so they could all be in one place.

From ncstatefair.org: J.S. Dorton Arena Completed in 1952, renovated in 1979, 1996 and 2002 Seating capacity: 5,110 permanent seats (7,610 with portable seats used with stage) Shape: elliptic (see building floor plan) Square footage: 25,000 300 ft in diameter and concrete floor is 221 feet long and 127 ft wide at widest point Ideal venue for concerts, trade shows, athletic events, circuses, speakers, proms and other special events Rental cost: $ 2,000 per day or 10 percent of gross ticket sales, whichever is greater Energy-conservation rate (ECR) available for access days other than event dates. Support services, such as staging, tables, electrical hookups, etc., are available for an extra fee Restrooms, dressing rooms and storage areas are available Contact: State Fairgrounds, 919-821-7400 Enlarged example of floorplan with stage set on East end of Arena during annual NC State Fair Concert Typical Seating/Floor Plan during annual NC State Fair Calendar of Events History The J.S. Dorton Arena was built to serve agriculture, industry, commerce and the general welfare of North Carolina. It has earned an international reputation since its construction in 1951. The innovative design was created by the late Matthew Nowicki while head of the Department of Architecture at North Carolina State University. Professor Nowicki was killed in an airplane accident shortly after being commissioned as the architect. His personal friend, Wm. Henley Deitrick of Raleigh, was named to the project. The building is 300 feet in diameter, elliptic in shape, with a central concrete floor 221 feet long and 127 feet wide at the widest point of the ellipse. There are 4,750 permanent seats, 360 box seats and 2,500 portable seats that can be installed when a stage is used. Seating capacity when used with a stage is 7,610. The metal roof, suspended on a network of cables, which extend crosswise from the 90-foot parabolic arches, is saddle-shaped. The 14-foot wide arches reach a maximum height of 90 feet. They cross each other at about 26 feet above the ground, then extend into a tunnel below the surface at the east and west ends. The weights of the roof is equalized by tension cables, with 14 two-inch strands connecting each end of the parabola through the stress tunnel. The roof, so suspended, eliminates any necessity for structural steel supports and presents no view obstructions from any seat. The exterior walls are constructed of translucent heat and glare-reducing glass above the lobby levels and of heat-absorbing transparent glass on the lobby levels. The two lobbies are on the ground level. The arena floor provides 25,000 square feet. Restrooms, dressing rooms and storage areas are also available. In 1972, Dorton Arena was named a National Historic Monument. In 2002, the building celebrated 50 years of serving Raleigh. ----------------------------------------------------------------- This venue still exists but only has live music during the NC State Fair every October. Back in the early 70s one of my older brothers saw The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Led Zeppelin there. Years later I attended a concert by Kiss and one from Derringer/Foghat/The Outlaws there. It is probably best known for having absolutely shitty sound, probably the main reason why it's not used as a live music venue except during the State Fair. It is telling though, that for the longest time it was one of the only venues in this area of the state to host live music. Otherwise you had to go to Greensboro or Charlotte to see shows. It took many years and some experimentation via NC State's Carter-Finley Stadium to determine that NC could host bands as big as the Stones, the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd and The Who with rousing success. The fact that those concerts did so well there definitely helped paved the way for Walnut Creek Amphitheater which opened back in 1991.

One can be a fan of Led Zeppelin without being a fan of Plant, Page or Jones' solo work but this seems more like the case of a troll and/or a previously banned member who's spouted the same bullshit before. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, it's how you go about expressing that opinion that counts. As for how Zeppelin were always improvising, Plant is doing the same thing. One person's "watered down" is another's "rearrangement". I like Plant's rearrangements myself, same for what he and Page brought to the table for Unledded. What Plant has been doing is expanding upon what Led Zeppelin themselves did for years.

The person that started this thread has made 3 posts, all of which appear in this thread. So, it's another case of someone joining the board just to make the usual complaints concerning Plant. Sound familiar?

I found this record in the budget bin at Woolworth's many, many years ago. Never even took notice of the bullfight cheers until years later when it was pointed out to me via a Page interview/article.

It would have been better if they just dropped the charges altogether since there was never any evidence that he even did anything to start with. In any event, it's all water under the bridge and has been for a very, very long time. Strange that it even came back up at all.

I don't consider vinyl to be "the cave" and obviously I'm not the only one or we wouldn't be seeing the resurgence of vinyl that we have in recent years. It's not all about sound quality though, a great deal of it is about aesthetics and all that has been lost. The smaller the medium, the less space there is for artwork. That's why mp3s will never take hold as a permanent replacement for the real thing. There's too many of us out there that demand it so vinyl will never go away for good.

Considering it was a history of Led Zeppelin done in less than six minutes it's a wonder they had time to even mention it at all.

Someone posted this before, only thing is, we can't get it here in the U.S.

I already have doubles of a lot of albums on CD and vinyl but it wouldn't stop me from buying this one. These days I buy a lot of vinyl that comes with a mp3 download.