Led Zeppelin still rocking

It's hard to believe, but after 19 years apart and time passing they are still a world class band. The singing stands out as almost untouched by time.

Best drum solo ever

Thomas Lang plays the drums better than popular favorites like Neil Peart.

Trent Reznor on the music industry

Trent Reznor inspires me as a musician and reminds us all that we must take destiny into our own hands. He recently gave an interview where he spoke at length about the changes in the music industry that are taking place faster and faster.

Trent: I think it's just an awkward time right now to be a musician. The reality is that people think it's okay to steal music. There's a whole generation of people, that's all they've known. I used to buy vinyl. Today, if you do put out a record on a label, traditionally, most people are going to hear it via a leak that happens two weeks — if not two months — before it comes out. There's no real way around that. I'm truly saddened because I think music has been devalued, so that it's just a file on your computer, and it's usually free. But we can't change that. What we can do is try to offer people the best experience that we can provide them. Will it work? I don't know. But I think it's a great way to get music out to people who are interested. At the end of the day, all I care about is the integrity of the music, and that the feeling of those who experience it is as untainted as possible. I'd rather it not be on an iPod commercial. I'd rather it not be a ringtone that you have to get with a free cell phone or any of that bullshit.

How long do you think before the labels are out of business?
Trent: I mean, who knows? I remember a time when it felt like, being on a major label, our interests were aligned. At times, it's a pretty well-oiled machine and the luxury is that I feel like I've got a team of people who are taking care of the shit I don't want to think about. I don't care about the radio guy, I just want to make music. But those days are gone. Because, mainly, that infrastructure is broken at the moment. How long before [record companies] are irrelevant? Who knows? They seem to be doing everything they can to make sure that happens as quickly as possible.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/10/trent_reznor_and_saul_williams.html

Extreme Unicycling

Kris Holm goes wild on the unicycle with radical tricks, crazy mountain unicycling and a super show of his skills.

Radiohead makes it official: record labels are dead

The name "record label" tells you how old the model of the music labels is.

Labels never really knew how to identify talent and instead would typically hedge their bets by taking money from a single successful artist and using it to fund a dozen prospective musical groups. One of these twelve could be promoted enough to turn a profit and keep the chain going.

This model doesn't benefit established artists who have formed a large fan base so now the better bands are walking away, increasing their fan base by distributing less expensively, releasing music when they want, and removing the excesses of a useless middle man.

Slayer classic

When it comes to bands with energy to bottle, this video clip from 1990 shows what Slayer was doing a long time ago. These concerts were a joy to experience before anyone understood the incredible feeling they conveyed.

TRIVIA FACT: In the first Persian Gulf War, many Air Force pilots would get psyched up by listening to Slayer before unleashing bombs on Iraq.

Pop punk energy

My bassist told me to check out the bio and history of The Offspring, a band that has been very successful at the pop punk format popular with the kids these days. Frontman Dexter Holland skipped out of a PhD program to dedicate his time to the band as it gained momentum and now they've sold over 30 million albums and toured extensively.

Their production quality and simple riff structures work effectively in this format and allow a genuine California energy to emerge. The music is a powerful mix of angst, hope, determination, frustration working towards harmony, and a desire to break free of monotonous destructive patterns, while lyrics range widely and often discuss social issues without sugar coating them.

I'm not sure what lasting effects this potent combination will have, but the energy in the second half of this live performance is worth bottling.

Alice in Chains underrated

The lasting relevance of Alice in Chains suggests they were underrated while active. Their reformation is just to get more money from old material but previous recordings capture their best moments.

Richard Dawkins on belief systems

Richard Dawkins explains that someone's assumptions about cultural norms does not provide any certainty, but the foundation of such beliefs must be open to inspection.

Squirrels will do anything for food

After surviving an extended squirrel invasion of my home in Albany, I can testify that these pesky creatures sure are determined.

http://www.maniacworld.com/squirrel-obstacle-course.html

How the world burns

It is interesting to see that a video once considered "outrageous" and "shocking" is now seen as tame, boring, and cliche-ridden. Yet the musical feat remains impressive.

Randy Rhoads, guitar legend

Often overlooked but rarely underrated, the guitar work of Randy Rhoads merits study.

Metallica's peak

With "One", Metallica reached the pinnacle of their metal style. The entire album "...And Justice for All" is a self-indulgent collection of progressive songs written for epic length and exploration, with unusual meter and rhythm changes. Lars Ulrich showed his greatest drumming with crazed beats including excellent use of triplets. Still the entire album was unfit for radio play because of the format that in the pre-Nirvana judged their vocals to be harsh and unlistenable.

Having crafted everything remaining they needed to say in this album, the band no longer had direction. Hard rock? Country? Maybe a little of whatever simple junk everyone else is putting out?

Rehab, adult life, easy paychecks, and a loss of vigor all contributed to their decline, but their greatest work shown in their first four albums remains captured to inspire anyone who is ready for a wild ride.

James Hetfield profiled as Terrorist

Metallica singer James Hetfield was investigated by UK airport officials who believed he was a terrorist this week, it has been claimed. The star was barred entry to Luton airport on Thursday and questioned by staff who were concerned about his appearance. Fears that Hetfield might be involved in terrorism were apparently founded on his "Taliban-like beard", according to The Times. He was allowed to leave the airport after a brief interrogation, when he persuaded officials that he was a rock star.

Sappy

I was glad to see this song had a posthumous video.

Goodbye to the City on the Hill

Paul Craig Roberts raises interesting questions in his June 25th column.

The eyes of all peoples are still upon us, only for different reasons. Whom will we attack next? When will we be bankrupt? What good is the American consumer market when the mass of the people are employed in third world jobs? How much longer will those trillions of dollars held by foreign governments be worth anything? How long before Americans will be knocking on European doors claiming political asylum. http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts06252007.html

It will be interesting to see how current events play out.