I agree that the Skynyrd I know and love, as well as their true spirit of them ceased to exist as of the plane crash in '77 but since I'd never seen them live, that didn't stop me from attending the Tribute tour in '87. Thing is, it probably should have stopped there. Now, they're down to just Rossington and he's said the band will continue on even after he's gone.

As opposed to so many others, I never saw Rodgers as any sort of replacement for Freddie Mercury. Nor did Queen or Rodgers themselves, that's why they always billed themselves as Queen + Paul Rodgers and they included a great deal of his work in their sets.

You don't say...

Besides Hughie Thomasson, Ean is actually the only other "replacement" member of Skynyrd who's died.

For years all of mankind has wondered exactly what Joe Cocker was singing at Woodstock. Well, that age old question has finally been answered. Joe Cocker "With A Little Help From My Friends"

Part of a parody posted at the viachicago forum about the Bennett/Tweedy lawsuit. To read the entire thread click here. SUBPOENA QUEEN They say money's pourin' down But it's not where I'm around so I'm comin' back to town I want your paycheck So that I can make the rent and my hip that I just spent - I'm lookin' like a wreck Supoena queen Good god I'm mean I'll been suing like a fiend For your royalties green I always sue in May - I say - it's better pay The room fills with suits And I'm ready for my fruits But the judge he keeps on jokin' 'Cause the contract isn't broken Supoena queen Good god I'm mean I'll been suing like a fiend For your royalties green Supoena queen Good god I'm mean I'll been suing like a fiend For your royalties green

You can find links to more info on the anthology as well as the upcoming Legacy reissues here.

The cover of the new record:

The Grateful Dead aren't "hard rock" if that's what you're looking for. Did Garcia ever solo "uncontrollably" as you put it? Most definitely but not in the same manner as someone like Jimmy Page. As far as "The Dead", they're a far cry from "The Grateful Dead" (even though they have all of the surviving members in the band) so I hope no one makes the mistake of confusing the two. Everyone I've talked that's seen the current tour has said there's been moments of near brilliance but for the most part the reviews have been extremely lukewarm.

Rock N' Rollin' Man posted this news yesterday in the Southern/Lynyrd Skynyrd thread. Even though I've never been a big fan of the post-crash Lynyrd Skynyrd it's always very sad when someone passes. I don't think I can think of another band that's seen more tragedy than Lynyrd Skynyrd yet they continue on. As posted in the other thread, the current version of Skynyrd had already brought in Robert Kearns (Sidewinder, Cry of Love, the Bottle Rockets) to fill in for Ean. Leon Wilkeson actually died back in July of 2001.

If I'm not mistaken that was the family from Malibu who's kids also went into someone's house to watch MTV during one of their trips into town for supplies. The Dad also stole a mattress out of a dumpster when they were actually supposed to build their own beds. Perhaps the most revealing aspect of that series was the end where all the judges were brought in to see how the families fared and it was revealed that none of them would have survived since they hadn't cut enough firewood to make it through the harsh Montana winter. That's really quite something, especially considering at least one of the guys cut firewood everyday from sun up to sundown. This is something I've also posted before but it's worth mentioning again. I had never heard of children that are afraid of the outdoors until watching an episode of Exploring North Carolina on PBS last year called Logos & Leaves: Exploring North Carolina - "Logos & Leaves" What makes a child explore, grow and blossom? When and where do they learn to take chances? Have they learned to fear the wrong things? Have we taught them to feel safer in gated communities, and in lighted shopping malls? Today, children can play games with virtual friends, in virtual forests, on a computer. Conversations take place on a cell phone, and friends are seen in Facebook, and not in a tree house. Children know more corporate logos than leaves, more product jingles than bird sounds, and catch more computer viruses than fish. Exploring North Carolina examines American children's need for more time in wild, wide open spaces and with educators, scientists, and children as our guide, the episode demonstrates why children may be better off knowing more leaves than logos.

It's called "ebonics" but I don't think it's a sign of being uneducated, it seems to be an inherent thing. One of my fellow students in broadcasting school (who was a black guy) had a very hard time pronouncing words with the letter "r" in them. After much speech training and a very patient instructor, he was finally able to tackle it. Some of with Southern accents also had a hard time losing them as part of our speech class. One of my current web design instructors (who is also black) also has a very hard time pronouncing words with the letter "r" in them which makes it very hard to understand her when she tries to say words like "scroll", especially when one of the files we've been working with is called "stroll". She also seems to get tongue-tied when she says "Firefox" which comes out sounding like "Fire Farts".

My family had a set of lawn darts. In fact I think we had a penchant for hazardous toys in general. The year a friend of ours introduced us to the water balloon slingshot it made the Most Dangerous Toy list at Christmas.

I've had a few hangovers that not only could be spotted from Japan but space as well. I remember getting this stuff all over the fireplace one Christmas and getting a well deserved ass kickin' for it. It remained there until we sold the family home in 2006. This game is still manufactured and quite frankly I still enjoy playing it.

Neil Young's Archives: A sneak peek If you check the weather in Hades today, don't be surprised to find Beelzebub shoveling snow. Neil Young's Archives project is real. I just viewed a sampler Blu-Ray disc, ahead of the full 10-disc first volume's official release on June 2. And if the taster disc that arrived in my mailbox today is a representative sample, it looks to be a game changing approach to documenting an artistic life. If the depth of information and creativity exemplified here is matched throughout the Archives' mooted three box sets, then 20 years of broken promises and disappointments related to this project will vanish the moment your home system loads the wickedly interactive Blu-Ray version. The two-decades running melodrama of Young's on-again, off-again scheme to unveil his career-spanning opus is well documented (I took a crack at it here). Some months ago, June 2, 2009 was announced as the once-and-for-all, for reals release date for Blu-Ray, DVD and CD versions of the set. As an added come-along, if you ordered the whole magilla through Neil's website, you would receive a bonus "preview disc." And that's what arrived at my door today. At this point, having followed this saga for so long and watched the set emerge on label release schedules and then mysteriously vanish, I knew better than to get my hopes up. And even now, with the preview disc in hand, I still half expect Neil could put the kibosh on the project once more between now and June 2. With all those qualifications aside, here's what's on the disc. Click here to read the rest of the article.

I guess it depends on how one chooses to define "mainstream". Were they a top 40 type band that was played regularly on those type of stations (particularly AM)? No, they weren't, at least that I recall but by the same token I also never considered them any sort of underground band. At least not in the same way as I think of truly underground artists from that day and age such as the ones featured on the Nuggets collections. If Led Zeppelin were ever underground at all it didn't last very long at as it wasn't too long after their inception that they were selling out concerts, embarking on worldwide tours and were a staple of album oriented rock radio in the U.S.

Seems like that interviewer would have at least taken the time to research the fact that this is far from Jones' first foray into bluegrass/roots oriented music and that he isn't "marching in Plant's footsteps" at all. Of course some of that is clarified in the interview but no mention is made of Jones' work with Uncle Earl or his appearances at Merlefest or Bonnaroo with bands such as the Duhks.

Funny you guys should bring up the scratch factor when I see so many vinyl enthusiasts say that's one of the very reasons they love it so much. Speaking just for myself, I can't say I ever liked that aspect of vinyl but I do know what they mean (apparently Plant himself shares this affinity, at least I get that impression by listening to his cover of Your Ma Said You Cried [in Your Sleep Last Night]). By the same token, one of the major downfalls of CDs is just how easily they scratch. It's odd now how the "indestructible" aspect was one of their biggest selling points when they first appeared on the market. As for the vast proliferation of music today, I've always found it a bit strange that so many (especially on boards such as this) complain about the lack of good new music when in fact, it's everywhere and there are even more ways to access it than ever before.

Metal? Everybody knows there's a country band in there just dyin' to get out.

Fair enough, were you ever a fan of X?

I was never their biggest fan but I do like quite a bit of their stuff. They sort of lost me with the made for MTV power ballads in the mid-80s though. In the years since I have enjoyed some of the newer projects such as The Road Home but it seems like it's been quite a while since they've released an album of new material. I'll save ZeppFanForever a few steps here: How's it going "Jahfin"? (Insert remainder of reply here_______). ROCK ON!

* Edited to add: the subject line should actually read "Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday Concert"

I saw this segment broadcast on 60 Minutes in 2007, if so inclined you can watch it via the link below: The "Millennials" Are Coming Morley Safer On The New Generation Of American Workers (CBS) This story was originally broadcast on Nov. 11, 2007. It was updated on May 23, 2008. It's graduation time and once again we say "Stand back all bosses!" A new breed of American worker is about to attack everything you hold sacred: from giving orders, to your starched white shirt and tie. They are called, among other things, "millennials." There are about 80 million of them, born between 1980 and 1995, and they're rapidly taking over from the baby boomers who are now pushing 60. They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds. And if you persist in the belief you can, take your job and shove it. You can read the rest of the article and see the actual 60 Minutes segment here

Zotz candy Rola Bola Skittles

They were such a staple of AOR and they were virtually everywhere I turned when I was growing up in the 70s so it's hard for me to think of them as anything but "mainstream" in the sense that their music was readily accessible. Even though they refused to release singles they were still all over the radio and everyone I grew up with had their records. And, coming off of the Yardbirds I just don't think of them as being "underground" in any sense of the word. On the other hand, I do think of a band like the Grateful Dead as being somewhat left of center in those days. Yes, they did play to sell out crowds and were regularly featured in magazines such as Rolling Stone but as far as achieving the sort of commercial acceptance as Led Zeppelin on commercial radio they really weren't on the same level. While both bands built their reputations as live acts, the Grateful Dead seemed to be known more on a grassroots sort of level than Led Zeppelin. They were far from "underground" (as least after their formative years) but never seemed to be fully accepted by the mainstream until at least Touch of Grey in '89 whereas Zeppelin enjoyed that level of acceptance much earlier in their career.