There's lots of less commercial stuff out there in the "alt.country" field. Rarely, if ever, does any of it even garner any type of radio airplay except on more progressive stations (such as Austin's KGSR) or on places like XM's X Country channel. I'm a fan of the older artists that first blazed an uncommercial trail such as Hank Williams, Sr., Cash, Waylon, Willie, David Allan Coe, etc. and the "country rock" of the 70s which included Jerry Jeff Walker, Steve Goodman, Jimmy Buffett, John Prine, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Gram Parsons/Flying Burrito Brothers, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Pure Prairie League, Poco, etc. These days there's just as much music of note in alt.country that's much more worth seeking out than what you'll ever find on the commercial country music airwaves. Here's a sampling of artists: Whiskeytown Backsliders The Bottle Rockets They Yayhoos Chris Knight Wilco Tift Merritt The Old 97s Jayhawks Golden Smog Uncle Tupelo Slobberbone Ryan Adams and the Cardinals Drive-By Truckers Tres Chicas Two Dollar Pistols Six String Drag Son Volt

The Old 97s as part of Raleigh's Downtown Live series this Saturday. The Connells, the Poonhounds and several other local bands are also on the bill. I've always been a huge fan of the Connells but have only seen them once over the years so I'm looking forward to them as well.

Robert Plant/Alison Krauss Friday, July 11th RBC Center Raleigh, NC Steve Winwood/Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Saturday, July 12th Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek Raleigh, NC

Various Artists All American SongFest Let's Go Downtown "Free Fridays" Plaza Series Friday, July 4th Gainesville, FL

NME is the rock n' roll version of the National Inquirer.

You have obviously never heard version.

So, scs finally attended a show?

I've noticed that before too. Not sure what's up with that.

Where you there taking names and running background check on each and every member of the audience or was it only the people in the first 6 rows who you deem unworthy of attendance?

It was from this special that aired on PBS back in 2001: There was some really good tunes on there (such as the Page/Plant cut) but there was also some truly horrendous stuff such as Live butchering Johnny Cash's I Walk the Line.

Certainly not Led Zeppelin. There is no Led Zeppelin without John Bonham. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Little Feat, the Who, the Allman Brothers Band and tons of other groups continue to play despite having lost key members over the years but there's no confusing them with the real thing. I feel the same way about Led Zeppelin. If McCartney and Ringo were to regroup with Dhani Harrison and Sean (or Julian) Lennon would you call that "the Beatles"?

Jackson Browne hasn't gone anywhere and has continued to make music over the years so it's not like he's some "has been" that disappeared. His new Solo Acoustic Vol. 2 record is pretty damn good.

Don't keep confusing scs with facts like how to spell, the actual size of the venues, the amount of shows that have actually sold out, accurate sales figures, etc. it throws her off of her game.

Hart: The Dead Happy To Rock Again For Obama The Grateful Dead Gary Graff, Detroit Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's presidential run might pay dividends for Deadheads this year. Three of the Grateful Dead's surviving members -- Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart -- reunited for a February fundraiser for Obama in San Francisco, and Hart tells Billboard.com it could happen again. "We're not making plans, but I think we stand at the ready to be of service," Hart says. "We're all deeply into this, into Barack Obama and the thought of taking this country back in some shape or form, what's left of it -- it's probably one thing we can all agree on! So, you bet, I would spend a night with my brothers for that any time, any place." To read the rest of the article click here.

BBC Airs Lost Beatles Interview Tape The Beatles A Beatles interview from the 1960s in which John Lennon and Paul McCartney discussed the way they composed songs together was broadcast on British radio today (July 1) after it was found in a film can in a damp garage in south London. The Beatles were at the height of their immense popularity when the tape was recorded at Scottish Television studios on April 30, 1964. The band had recently toured America, winning huge audiences on the Ed Sullivan show and shooting to the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. To read the remainder of the article click here.

No tricks, just making the point there is no Led Zeppelin without John Bonham but no one's more aware of that than Plant, Page and Jones themselves.

I would hope everyone's top 5 wouldn't be exactly the same. Mine would probably be more like (and this is just bands, not individual artists): Beatles R.E.M. Grateful Dead Little Feat Bob Marley and the Wailers

Having grown up in the 70s I've heard Stairway millions of times over the years but that doesn't mean it's a bad song, it just got overplayed. That said, I much prefer Achilles.

If you like Led Zeppelin that's the most important thing. It doesn't matter to me what other musicians (or people in general) think of them.

Maybe so but he's not my cup of tea. In regards to "number ones", lots of performers have had strings of hits, that doesn't automatically mean they're someone that either you or I would like.

That's odd (if it's even true) since Stanley heaped nothing but praise on Zeppelin in a recently published article.

I like country but can't say I'm much into what passes for "country" these days on commercial radio or CMT. There's plenty of other country artists out there I like but they don't tend to get airplay on those outlets. Thankfully they do on more progressive radio stations and satellite radio though. Today's country radio features artists that are closer to "pop" than country. Folks like Cash, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, etc. are considered "too country" these days.