The Friday Favorite - "Rock N Roll Train" by AC/DC

Kinda twist on the old Friday Favorite today. It's not a video per se but it is a first listen of "Rock N Roll Train", the new single from AC/DC's Black Ice CD (which is slated for an October 18th release date). Unfortunately, I can't seem to find an embedded player but I can provide links to the song on two sites:

The official AC/DC site

Australia's The Daily Telegraph

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Things I Learned While Surfing on Amazon - Iron Man Ultimate 2-Disc DVD Edition and Amerie's latest

I don't know how I came into discovering this info but I found out two things over the weekend that I did not know previously while spending some of my birthday money over at Amazon. So, I thought that I would pass this info on to you gentle persons:



Being a casual fan of Amerie, I was wondering when her next release would be (knowing that some musicians take over 4 years to work on a single CD - I'm still waiting longer than that for Q-Tip's next CD to drop). Imagine to my surprise that not only did her label release her new disc named Because I Love It, but that they only released it overseas thus jacking the price over $20 for an import for her homeland fans.

This news makes me jump at the current center of all news, real or imagined - Wikipedia. On her page, there is a non-footnoted entry stating that she split from her old label and has now hooked up with Def Jam/Island and is working with LA Reid, which points to all things good for fans of the late 80s-early 90s R&B vibe. Plus, I'll post anything about her if it gives me an excuse for posting anything with her beautiful visage.



Secondly, did you know that the release date for Iron Man on DVD is at the end of next month (September 30th, to be exact)? Yeah, I didn't either. Again, this discovery begs me to find out more details about the "Ultimate" two-disc set. After some basic googling, here's what is to be included in the two-disc extravaganza:

Disc 1 (Movie):
* Feature film
* Deleted/Extended Scenes

Disc 2 (Bonus Features):
* I Am Iron Man
* The Journey Begins
* The Suit that makes the Iron Man
* The Walk of Destruction
* Grounded In Reality
* Beneath the Armor
* It's All in the Details
* A Good Story, Well Told
* The Invincible Iron Man
* Origins
* Friends & Foes
* The Definitive Iron Man
* Demon in a Bottle
* Extremis and Beyond
* Ultimate Iron Man
* Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man
* Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test
* The Actor's Process (scene rehearsal with cast)
* The Onion "Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer to be Adapted into Full Length Film"
* Image Galleries

The movie was great and the extras which not only has the traditional "Behind The Scenes" featurettes package but adding a six-part retrospective on the creation and history of the Iron Man character makes this set a Must Have for '08. Below is the image for the two-disc DVD set with a nice surprise included if you move the mouse a certain way.

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The Great American Review Week: "Saudades De Rock" - Extreme

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Hey - Wha Happened?

Of all of the weeks to take a short vacation from the keyboard. August is supposed to be the boring or "dead" month of Summer before Falls begins but this past couple of days seems to bring tons of news from all corners of the Pop Culture world. Think of when the last time these events happened in the span of a couple of days:

• The death of two highly visiable Hollywood entertainers (Issac Hayes and Bernie Mac)


• The death of so many Olympic and World Records in Beijing


• The death (and possible resurrection) of Wolfmother, an up-and-coming band that contributed to the reimmergence of rock in American music

When you count that today is Madden 09 Day and that Metallica not only announced the completion of Death Magnetic but also tour dates for the first leg of their North American tour, August has become very newsworthy.

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One-Sentence Review: “In This Life” - Jet Black Stare

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Ripped from the KFR pages - One-Sentence Review: “Saints of Los Angeles” - Mötley Crüe

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Motley Crue - "Saints of Los Angeles" audio and music video streaming eCard

Just in case you might be on the fence on buying the new Crue CD, click the image above to here the stream of Saints of Los Angeles single as well as the accompanying music video. I have to admit - I'm not a fan of the whole "Reunion" CDs phenomena but the single does sound like old school Crue, which means that I'm on the hook for it at the old Yellow Ticket store.

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Your Random Facts for June 10

Here are some semi-random thoughts before Game 3 tips out in LaLa Land:

• ESPN's Stu Scott is basically one conversion to Judaism away from singing Candy Man in some sort of Rat Pack tribute act in a show off of the main Vegas strip.
• The real crime is not that the new Coldplay song "Viva La Vida" sounds like a U2 rip-off, it's that Apple hammered that fact home with it's new commercial.
• Home cooking may not help the Lakers if they can't seem to get more aggresive in order to get to the fouls line (something that Kobe didn't do that much in the last two series).
• One full spin of Man Raze's CD Surreal and you realize that Phil Collen has more to do with of the success of Def Leppard vocally than you may thought before you listened.

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How To Get Free MP3s Part 3: "The Slip" CD - Nine Inch Nails

Here's the last in the mini-series on how to get free music. And what a way to close it out - by getting the one of the most influential bands in the last decade and a half, Nine Inch Nails. In a method that takes what Radiohead did for In Rainbows and takes away the idea of any money changing hands, NIN is offering the CD, The Slip, for free in multiple formats (all DRM-Free) and only asks for your email address in exchange.

Here's how to get the free swag:

1. Got to The Slip website;


2. Enter your email address twice and wait for the confirmation email;


3. Open the email and click the link (make note of the passcode that is included in the email);


4. Follow the directions and you will be presented with the following:

One word of warning - if you choose any format other than the mp3 zip file, you will need a BitTorrent client (Peer-to-Peer software) installed on your PC/Mac. If anyone needs assistance with this, leave a comment and I'll square you away.

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How To Get Free MP3s Part 2: "Hammerhead" - The Offspring

While The Offspring has been tearing up the Hard Rock chart, they are still a viable veteran band and to have them offer a free MP3, especially one from their new CD, is pretty freaking cool. The single, Hammerhead, is a decent song and is well worth the easy process to get the download. All you have to do is fill out your email addresss and your zip code using the widget above. Wait a few minutes and an email will be sent with a link to download the DRM-and cost-free mp3. What's not to like about that?

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Your Random Facts for May 8

Making more to do about nothing than the Spygate controversy, here are your random facts for today:

• Nice to see that Matt "The Weasel" Walsh has remained true to form. As I may have said before, he's just like the little kid that you used to remember from grade school - would say he could do anything but could never back it up. It's too bad that some people (The Worldwide Leader's Mike Fish, for example) have taken the lack of juicy material against the Patriots as a way to still attack the New England organization. As a journalist, he should stay more objective, like me. Yeah, bad example, I guess.
• I still don't understand why people want to "ban" books like And Tango Make Three, a book about two penguins and a new baby which critics considered endorsing a gay lifestyle. To me, if you don't like the subject matter, don't friggin' read it. the act of banning is more harmful than any book that coudl be created.
• Amy Winehouse is the female version of Scott Weiland.

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Your 5 Random Facts for April 30th

No links, no pics, just the facts.

1. Scott Weiland has become less like a true rock star and more like a SNL parody of a rock star every minute he's alive. The STP reunion will not change this fact and my prediction is that the tour will be over before all of the dates have been played.


2. The Celtics need a soul-crushing, boot-stomping-the-throat kind of win tonight against the Hawks or there will be a new #1 atop the NBA's Biggest Playoff Losses. The NBA - Where Choking Like A Dog Happens.


3. While the whole McCready story is not really admissible in the defamation suit, is it really a leap to think that he didn't take something after learning that he already cheated on something/someone? Not for me, pal.


4. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher getting it in on during shooting for Episode 4 with Mark Hamill jealous of Ford's success? Who didn't see that one coming? But, also according to Fisher, there's no underwear in space according to Lucas. Really now?


5. There is no need for DC to make a one-off figure like Superman: Red/Superman: Blue. Especially with the crazy number of articulation points like that improbable mid-thigh one.

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Your 5 Random Facts for April 29th

Tying up loose strings kinda day - eerily similar to the Hawks getting back to 2-2 against the heavily favored Celtics last night.

1. Being a comic book store owner in Michigan is kinda like playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded, semi-automatic handgun. Not even six months after George Michael received a conviction sentence for killing his former comic store co-owner and wife by making the murder look like a robbery, another comic book store owner (Daniel Pirkola) in Grand Rapids was shot during a robbery of the store. iFanboy is taking donation to help this store owner pay for the hospital bills.


2. Here's one word that proves why Kobe Bryant should win the MVP award over his two competitiors, Chris Paul and Kevin Garnett - sweep. Neither of the other two could help his team do that against lower seeded and supposedly weaker teams. Plus, Bryant came through in the clutch with the majority of his points for the game in the fourth quarter to close out the Nuggets. Wish the same could've been said of KG.


3. Def Leppard's CD, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, is released today and I'm still not convinced that they're a better group without "Mutt" Lange at the producer's helm based on the first single, Nine Lives.


4. In a reverse of last week's Nerds Need Love Too post, an Oakland programmer was convicted of killing his wife; even though her body or a murder weapon was never recovered.


5. I can understand the recycling of 80's music and 80's fashion. But what I don't see is going back to the 80's for a comic book mini-series; even if Millar is involved.

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Stone Temple Pilots announce 65-City Tour

Hopping on the cash cow called a Reunion Tour, the Stone Temple Pilots have released their 65-city touring schedule last week. They will make the leap back into the national spotlight with an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show on May 1st. Here are the first six dates that have been released followed by the official press release:

May 17 - Columbus, OH
May 18 - Camden, NJ
May 23 - Indianapolis, IN
May 31 - Holmdel, NJ
June 01 - Mansfield, MA
July 12 - Toronto, Canada

PRESS RELEASE: STP Reunites For First Time In Almost Eight Years, 65 City Tour

April 3rd, 2008

New York, April 3, 2008 -- One of this summer�s most highly-anticipated music announcements has arrived. Stone Temple Pilots have officially revealed that the band will be reuniting and will launch a massive 2008 concert tour encompassing over 65 dates and hitting all corners of North America. Marking the first national tour for Stone Temple Pilots in almost eight years, the 65 date stretch will bring the iconic band�s charismatic musicianship and exhilarating live shows to amphitheatres across North America. The tour is scheduled to kick off May 17th with the band headlining the Rock on the Range Festival in Columbus, OH and will continue through November 2008.

Stone Temple Pilots will celebrate the announcement of their reunion tour with an exclusive launch event, sponsored by Spin Magazine and Citi�s Private Pass Program to benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, that will include a private performance for a select group of contest winners and fans at a secret location in California's Hollywood Hills. The full list of 2008 tour dates will be announced at the event.

A select # of tickets for the April 7th event will be available for purchase by going to www.vh1savethemusic.com, with all proceeds from the sale going to the charity. In addition, beginning, April 3rd, Citi�s Private Pass Program, available at www.privatepass.citi.com, will be offering a limited number of Gold and Platinum VIP packages to this exclusive, private event including tickets, exclusive merchandise and meet and greet experiences. Following the launch event, the reunited outfit will make their first national LIVE appearance on the The Late Show With Jimmy Kimmel on May 1st.

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X Games x'es out Skateboard Vert

Hey, all of you wannabe pipe boys and gals better look into doing more kick-flips into manuals. Because Vert Skating is Dead! At least that's what Disney and ESPN decision makers thought when they removed Vert from this summer's X Games. Reason for the removal were low ratings, an older competitor pool and the rise in skateparks.

After reading the spin doctoring job over at the Worldwide Leader's URL, it looks like the X Games has finally embraced its dark side by finding another way to pimp their brand of "extreme sports" (which is an offensive word to all non-traditional sports of this nature) just so they can sell more crap to unwitting kids. The suits at Disney have no clue on how popular Vert is or isn't. They just looked at some bean counter's stats and made a knee-jerk decision. It's like the IOC (International Olympic Committee) deciding to kill the Men's High Bar and the Women's Uneven Bars just because the routines are the same and the competitors are older. It doesn't make too much sense.

Case in point - after reading the comments, there was a link to a 411vm.com Quicktime movie showing some younger skaters showing their moves on the half-pipe at the Tampa Am last month. And since I'm a full-service kinda guy, here is said video embedded below:

Now, after seeing that, why shouldn't those kids have a chance to get that national exposure that was given Hawk, Macdonald, Lasek and more recently, The Flying Tomato and Gagnon? If the quality is there (and usually with the trials, it is there at the X Games), people will watch. But without Vert in the mix, I know at least one household which will not have Corporate X Games on this summer.

But that's not the end of this story. After watching said Tampa Am vid, I really started to dig the track that was playing on the clip. Luigi was the name of the band and they had more than a few free MP3s available for DL. Great cuts like the one from the 411vm vid, My Will, Mariposa and Wash It Down. Their sound is more like the power pop sound of the early 90s before the crush of bad grunge/alternative killed the scene. Here's the only video of them I could find. The song is Single Cell off of the CD, Found on the Forest Floor:



I was truly hoping for this band to be on the verge of breaking through so I could hate them for selling out later. But it wasn't meant to be. They broke up at the end of February this year. Damn, now I'll have to add them to my collection of broken-up bands that I still like along with The Tories, Chalk Farm, Scapegoat Wax, Army of Anyone, and Sugar. At least, for me, there is something to take away from this X Games screw-up; even if it is so bittersweet.

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Bad Medicine - Sambora arrested for DUI

"Whoaa, we're halfway there..." That might have been the song that Richie Sambora was singing in the car on the way home Tuesday evening before he was busted for driving under the influence.

The Bon Jovi lead guitarist was pulled over when the arresting officer noticed that his black Hummer was weaving in between traffic lanes. He was arrested after failing the standard field sobriety tests.

The only bad news involved was that he was "very cooperative with all of the staff." Hopefully, he fully apologized for "Lost Highway", which should be the only reason why he was drinking the night away - to forget that it was ever made.

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Life in a Smaller Town...

I have spent the previous 20 years in the bosom of the Nation's Capital, also known as Fairfax County, Virginia. It has all of the amenities that a great suburbia needed - local malls, great restaurants and a ton of actives to fill your weekends; whether if you had kids or not. Except for the higher price of real estate and the fact that I was beginning to hate the hour long commute to go anywhere, it was a great place to live.

But as all of these wistful tales usually reveal, I moved away from the relative comfort of the former Murder Capital of the World and into the direct path of Hurricane Alley - the Florida Panhandle. And while the price of housing is more affordable and the commute was reduced by more than a half, it's the little things that I'm beginning to miss.

That's what these posts will consist of - me nitpicking about the stuff that little towns lack. most of the time, the post will be short and to the point but there are sometime when I need to get things off of my chest. Case in point, please read below.

Tuesday is usually new DVD/CD release day and I have only has one Yellow Tag store, one Red City store and three Bullseye stores in my general vicinity. I know. I live it every day. Please don't cry for me, really. But as you might suspect, I can get geeked if something is coming out on Release Day.

Yesterday, a new metal CD with a Yellow Tag exclusive DVD came out at $7.99 (highlighted in the Weekly Ad) so I decided to stop by said store to pick it up. I got there and found that both racks for the CD was empty. I was beside myself. I was thinking, "It friggin just came out today - I know that not everyone in this city came here before 4 PM and sold it out. It's just not possible."

I checked the band's white placeholder in the music section and saw nothing as well. I almost walked out the door but knowing how this business is run, I decided to ask a Store Representative if he could locate the missing CD.

After pointing out the empty racks to him, he went to the other place that I looked and, shocker, it wasn't there either. He then went into the back. After a few minutes, he came out with their entire order in his arms and gave the first one.

As I went to check out, I thought that only in this store in this small town would the highlighted exclusive release for this week wouldn't be stocked until 4PM. Now, this incident could be chalked up to more of a "Clerks"-bred apathy but I doubt that it would've happened in Northern VA. At least it would've been before 4 since there were three Yellow Tag stores within 5 miles of my work. Damn, I miss that.

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New Def Leppard CD cover art unveiled and "Nine Lives" single

Here's the cover art for Songs from The Sparkle Lounge, the new Def Leppard CD which will be out on April 24th. The art was released on the band's website on a couple of weeks ago but may have been buried by the avalanche of Rocklahoma 2008 press releases. The title of the CD references the small studio that the group uses to write songs. The group also announced that the first "single" (if those still exist nowadays) called Nine Lives will be used to help promote the remaining NBA games on ABC as well as this year's playoffs. So a little forewarning if you are a NBA fan - be prepared to become sick of this song by June.

I caught the majority of the song, which features Tim McGraw in the opening, on YouTube and it's a little south of meh. Not all that great and the son of Phillies pitcher Tug McGraw doesn't really add all that much to the song. But I'm probably not the most objective person on this subject since I feel that the only producer for the group is Mutt Lange, who helped produced the band's comeback CD, Euphoria back in '99.

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Rocklahoma 2008 Breakdown

Being a teenager of the 80s, I am quite fond of the Heavy Metal genre. Although I lean more towards the Speed/Thrash Metal side of the tracks, I can appreciate and enjoy its awkward drunk cousin otherwise known as Hair Metal; especially live in concert.

Well, it appears that I might not be the only one as there will be a repeat of last year's very successful US Rock festival in Pryor, OK nicknamed Rocklahoma. The 2008 version has a veritable who's who of the Hair Metal period from lighter metalish acts like Night Ranger and Triumph to veteran stalwarts like Cinderella and Poison to slightly obscure acts like Kingdom Come and Armored Saint to reunited groups like Warrant and Extreme. Pryor, OK is gonna be a long weekend full of debauchery, drunkenness, hangovers and devil's horns.

To get the true feel of each act and determine for yourself if a trip to the middle of the country is worth it, go to my favorite Hard Rock web location, Hard Rock Hideout. He can break the lineups down with the best rock critic around.

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A Funtime Friday Video

Here's a song that I've digging on since it's release last week:

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