I can't speak much to their newer studio albums but when I saw 'em on tour in support of Mescalero a few years ago they were still in fine form.

You must have missed this part of my post: *Edit: that subject line should read "2003". Yep, it's been a long time since they turned in an album but not that long. I just hope the DVD is as good as side one of Fandango. That's a mighty tall order though.

*Edit: that subject line should read "2003". Yep, it's been a long time since they turned in an album but not that long. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/articl...t_id=1003727816 ZZ Top Gary Graff, Austin With a live DVD, a new album and some touring on the docket, ZZ Top is revving up for a busy year. While he was hanging out at this year's South By Southwest Music + Media Conference in Austin, Texas -- where he performed at Rachael Ray's Feedback party and psychedelic rocker Roky Erickson's annual Ice Cream Social -- Gibbons told Billboard.com that bandmates Dusty Hill and Frank Beard were back in Dallas "in the studio, preparing a new series of sessions of new material" for ZZ Top's first studio set since 2003's "Mescalero." Gibbons says the band hopes to finish the album before the summer. "The challenge of the studio is much different than live appearances," Gibbons says. "The live experience is hundreds of distracting events. The studio is one microphone. It's one event, so it raises our level of attention to a place where we can really come together as the band we started off as. It's almost a small club environment, so it's really fun." Before we see the album, however, ZZ Top is planning to release a concert DVD taped Nov. 1, 2007, at the Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie, Texas, near Dallas. No date or title has been determined yet for the Eagle Rock release, but Gibbons says the final product is "untouched. It's full of mistakes, and that's the way we like it." Gibbons also recently taped a guest appearance on the May 16 season finale for the Fox TV series "Bones" -- "I thought I was gonna be the blind date or the boyfriend but, no, I have to be the dad," he laments -- and says that in addition to the recording, ZZ Top is starting to line up its 2008 road schedule. "Hopefully we'll be able to return to the road as early as June -- even, if we can pull it off, into May," Gibbons says. "The European window of weather you can get out in is very short. So they are ready to rock. And we might pick up a string of dates through the U.S., too."

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/beat/index.p...p;tb=1&pb=1 Chapel Hill Schoolkids: Fare thee well New to the Cat's Cradle schedule, an April 5 show (thanks, Chris!) titled "GOODBYE, SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS" -- in honor of the soon-to-close Chapel Hill institution and featuring Hammer No More the Fingers, Schooner and other fine local acts. Proceeds will benefit the Orange County Elementary Music Program. Meanwhile, Schoolkids is not going gently into that good night. Bounce over to the chain's MySpace and check out an amusingly hostile little commercial that concludes, "Some people still like CDs...everyone else is dumb."

These guys are more like a mixture of funk and rock n' roll. Back in the 70s they were referred to as "the black Led Zeppelin". Probably because their version of Smokey Robinson's and the Miracles' Mickey's Monkey bore more than a striking resemblance to Custard Pie. Still, a very kickass band though and one of the best live bands I've ever seen. They're still touring to this day but are more popular overseas than in their native U.S. (they hail from Atlanta). Mother's Finest "Baby Love" (Live 1993) Mother's Finest

The lyrics are the same but the instrumentation runs the gamut from bluegrass to country. It's actually very well done and as I said, much more uplifting than the original.

http://www.nme.com/news/ryan-adams/35289 Ryan Adams 'on second draft' of new album Plus singer pays tribute to Bob Mould in new blog Ryan Adams has launched a new website and blog to chart his experiences while writing new material. The new website is dradamsfilms.com/ - referring to his full name David Ryan Adams – although the blog is called "Totally Bored The Musical". So far Adams has revealed that he has avoided too much writing thanks to a bout of "spring cleaning which lasted for exactly a week, give or a take a week". He also shared with readers his plans to write a "a fictional blog, by someone who maybe loves metal but totally misunderstands the style and content of metal completely. I mean, in the best way". Also on the site, Adams has paid tribute to Bob Mould's last album 'District Line', declaring: "This record and this brave man and his words saved me, again. It is endless and I listen to this at least three times a day. I have to say it is my favourite Husker/Sugar/solo record of his." As for his own album Adams revealed: "I have to write this record. I mean, this is the second draft. By second draft I mean, this is a whole new batch of tunes. The last batch was fine and maybe even some of it was rad. But my head did not catch on fire. At least not totally. I am sure I burnt more than a few by accident but all that house dust acted as a wonderful repellent. So anyway, off to work I go."

The reason XM Led went off the air is because it was only supposed to be a limited run to start with.

"If you don't eat your fried chicken you can't have your naner puddin'!"

The story of Matthew Conley, the inspiration behind Jason Isbell's Dress Blues. There's video of the song at the link below. Bedtime Stories for Catherine Matthew Conley didn't make it back from Iraq, but his story lives on with the family he left behind By Wright Thompson ESPN.com GREENHILL, Ala. -- Every night, Nicole Conley tells her daughter a bedtime story about Matthew. Catherine's 2 years old now, and she gets scared before she goes to sleep. Not long ago, after Nicole had told that night's story, Catherine started to cry. Nicole asked what was the matter. "I want Daddy!" "Sweetie, it's time to go to sleep." "No, Mommy, no! I want more Daddy!" Now Nicole was crying, too. "You want me to tell you another story about Daddy?" Catherine said yes. Which one should she tell? Maybe the one about Matthew running into the fire extinguisher on spring break or him freaking out about horseradish sauce on a steak. Should she tell about the skinny high school quarterback or about the muscled Marine? It could be just a snapshot. Their first Valentine's Day, as she watched a nervous Matthew Conley walk past the big bay windows toward the front door, carrying two orange roses. Nicole loves orange. Or the time Matthew covered their home in rose petals for her birthday, and cooked her chicken parm. Sometimes she laughs when she tells a story. Sometimes she cries. But night after night, she talks in a voice soft and sweet, telling a little girl about the daddy she never met. You can read the rest of the article here.

I haven't heard that but I have heard her butcher jobs of D'yer M'aker and Sweet Child O' Mine.

Just because I'm not a fan doesn't mean I don't have an opinion of her or her music.

How about this one?

Yep. It's been hinted at before but now it's been all but officially confirmed. Not sure how you managed to miss it but here it is, from just a few posts back: Crow Says She'll Sing With Fleetwood Mac I don't see her joining Fleetwood Mac as any kind of career risk. If anything it will only increase her visibility.

I'm not "looking for a fight" at all, I merely disagree with you about Sheryl (and other artists) views on issues such as preserving the environment and breast cancer awareness.

I didn't say that. I said it doesn't bother me that she plays with other artists but it does bother me that she's joining Fleetwood Mac. Even after you edited your post it doesn't help me understand the "Go listen to your ipod" comment any further.

Funny how you quoted the entire article but didn't bother to actually read it, especially this part: "Elvis' fondness for prescription drugs had begun back in the early Sixties (although at least one confidant claims Elvis began by stealing diet pills from Gladys, his mother)." By the way, taking drugs to get through shows and go to sleep is "abuse".

Is there a bandwidth shortage? Last I heard text doesn't take up much (if any) space anyhow... I wouldn't worry about it.

Don't have one. Besides, what's that got to do with anything?

Like: Widespread Panic Phil Lesh and Friends Primus Michael Franti and Spearhead Gov't Mule Yonder Mountain String Band with Jon Fishman Ray LaMontagne Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival Drive-By Truckers Of Montreal Gomez Taj Mahal Zappa Plays Zappa JJ Grey & MOFRO Beth Orton Jakob Dylan and the Green Mountain Rebels Bettye Lavette Railroad Earth Dead Confederate

Don't bring Kid Rock into this.

I'm not a fan but if she wants to play with a bunch of other artists it really doesn't bother me (well aside from her joining Fleetwood Mac). At least it doesn't when Willie Nelson does it. If anything it helps to break down boundaries between different kinds of music. If Sheryl (or any other artist for that matter) can help to bring more attention to breast cancer research and the environment, more power to them. It doesn't bother me a damn bit.

From Billboard: Van Halen Reschedules Spring Shows Chris M. Walsh, N.Y. Van Halen has rescheduled tour dates postponed earlier this month when guitarist Eddie Van Halen was undergoing tests for an unspecified medical condition. The band will proceed on April 19 in Las Vegas and play 20 shows in all, with the last date set for June 2 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Tickets for the band's previously scheduled dates will be honored. Van Halen returned to the road last fall with original lead singer David Lee Roth for the first time in 20-plus years. The tour, which features Eddie Van Halen's teenage son Wolfgang on bass, has routinely sold out North American arenas. Van Halen's newly scheduled dates are: Apr 19: Las Vegas (Mandalay Bay Events Center) Apr 22: Cincinnati (U.S. Bank Arena) Apr 24: Dallas (American Airlines Center) Apr 26: St Louis (Scottrade Center) Apr 28: Milwaukee (Bradley Center) Apr 30: Pittsburgh (Mellon Arena) May 02: Charlottesville, Va. (John Paul Jones Arena) May 05: Raleigh, N.C. (RBC Center) May 07: Columbus, Ohio (Schottenstein Center) May 09: Atlantic City, (N.J. Boardwalk Hall) May 11: Duluth, Ga. (Gwinnett Arena) May 13: East Rutherford, N.J. (Izod Center) May 15: Baltimore, Md. (1st Mariner Arena) May 18: Hershey, Pa. (Giant Center) May 20: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun Arena) May 23: New York (Madison Square Garden) May 25: Providence, R.I. (Dunkin Donuts Center) May 28: Manchester, N.H. (Verizon Wireless Arena) May 30: Chicago (Allstate Arena) June 2: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena)

Tommy Stinson, please come home. He's pretty much admitted to only being in G n' R for the money anyway.

Try to revise history all you want, Elvis abused drugs. http://oldies.about.com/od/elvisdeathfaq/f/elvisdrugs.htm Question: What was Elvis Presley's relationship with drugs? Answer: Although many still point to Elvis Presley's prodigous eating habits and lack of exercise as motivating factors in his death, there is no doubt that drugs were the main factor. And although some suggest that Elvis had tried marijuana and cocaine on at least one occasion, he felt far more comfortable in the world of legal drugs -- medical prescriptions. Elvis had a love for what were then called "downers": barbituates, sleeping pills, painkillers, the combination of which will induce a sleepy, calm euphoria. In addition to the ten drugs found in his system at the time of death, Elvis was known to have tried Dilaudid, Percodan, Placidyl, Dexedrine (a rare "upper," then prescribed as a "diet pill"), Biphetamine, Tiunal, Desbutal, Escatrol, Amytal, Quaaludes, Carbrital, Seconal, Methadone, and Ritalin. Elvis' fondness for prescription drugs had begun back in the early Sixties (although at least one confidant claims Elvis began by stealing diet pills from Gladys, his mother). Facing a punishing work schedule set up by his manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker, Presley began to use "uppers" to get him going in the morning and "downers" to help him relax and sleep at night. By the early Seventies, Elvis had come to rely on these pills as necessary equipment for his hectic career, especially since Parker's schedule now had him working like a dog: an average of one show every other day from 1969 until June 1977 and a three-album-a-year schedule for RCA. In order to get these prescriptions, Elvis needed doctors, and there were many in Los Angeles, Vegas, Palm Springs, and Memphis who were happy to help the wealthy star out. When he visited a doctor (or dentist), Elvis would almost inevitably talk him into a prescription, usually for painkillers. Eventually, Elvis took to carrying around a copy of The Physician's Desk Reference -- an encyclopedia of legal drugs and their uses -- so that he knew just what to ask for and, when necessary, which symptoms to fake. Elvis actually had near-fatal overdoses at least twice in the Seventies and was admitted to hospitals for "exhaustion" -- that is, detoxification.