Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Ask Ted Nugent: The Nuge Weighs In on Hunting, Gibson Byrdlands, Absolutism and Ballsiness
Ted Nugent:
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| Introducing a new blog, "Ask Ted Nugent"In this first installment, Ted discusses hunting, why he's not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his beloved Gibson Byrdlands. |
On the importance of hunting in his life: My hunting
lifestyle is the ultimate soul cleanser and "re-creator" of my spirit
and energy. Venison is the rocket fuel for the healthiest life, and the
hunting procedure is the last perfect environmental and spirit positive
function available to mankind. I like to think of my life as downright
perfect. It's thrilling living such a full, gratifying life so I live it
to the max every day.
On his Gibson Byrdlands: The mighty Gibson Byrdland guitar
is a magical piece of American craftsman artwork that has a musical
voice all its own. A beast of an instrument that was created to provide a
limitless pallet for creative sonic bombast and musical adventure that
called my name from the very 1st time I witnessed its power in the hands
of Jimmy McCarty of Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels way back around
1961. This custom guitar is capable of more sounds than a normal human
being is capable of dreaming of. But since I am not a normal human
being, our love affair continues to produce soul cleansing and crotch
inspiring sounds and love songs for the masses.
On why the music industry so liberal: Why do you think they
call it dope? If they aren't currently stoned, they live in a cloud of
denial due to their self imposed insulation from discomforting reality.
Pathetic, really.
On why he's not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: I am
unable to back off critical issues and play braindead politically
correct games so that fools can continue their embarrassing denial of
historical and current truth and evidence. Real music lovers increase
their love for my music as my absolutism and ballsiness increases.
On why being grounded is so important: I was raised to
discipline myself to be the absolute best that I can be every day of my
life in everything that I do. I am surrounded by the greatest,
hardest-working team in the world. My amazing family, band, crew,
management, production team, everybody in the Nugent camp are
ass-kicking animals of the highest order.
On his most immediate influences: Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly,
Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, the godfathers of American
R&B&R&R outrage. These guys knew they were making
unprecedented, outrageous music that scared the living hell out of
status quo sheep, and instead of obeying when told to tame it, they
instead got more intense and more outrageous.
I Still Believe: I still believe in Americans with
positive spirit, Herculean work ethic and a drive to be the very best
that we can be. In spite of the suicidal path of the soulless Obama
destructo derby, I still believe there are more Americans who love
America than hate her.
I Love My BBQ: I have hunting and fishing buddies
everywhere with fresh pure protein on hand at all times! Life is a BBQ
and I love/crave every killin' and grillin' minute of it!
On why he pisses off so many people: In a world gone soft, a
person like me who is virtually fearless to speak my mind appears over
the top to soulless sheep. I am in charge of my life and it causes
losers much anguish. That's just a bonus to being the best that I can
be.
Ted Nugent is ... Ted Nugent! Check out his website for more information.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Adebayor still bears the scars from Togo tragedy
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| The former Arsenal, Real Madrid and Manchester City striker made a scoring debut for Tottenham at Wolves last weekend |
It seemed like just an ordinary day. But the awful events of January 10,
2010 changed the way Tottenham's new striker views the world, as he
tells Nick Szczepanik.
Emmanuel Adebayor wants to be loved. That makes it
hard to explain his decision to join Tottenham Hotspur, whose supporters
have abused him for scoring against them regularly and often,
particularly for Arsenal – but he has come through far worse ordeals. He
survived an armed attack on the Togo team bus in Angola during the 2010
African Cup of Nations in which team-mates were wounded and officials
lost their lives and so has a better perspective than most on football's
place in the scheme of things.
"When you realise that I was one minute from passing away, it's all
nothing," he said. "I tell myself: 'Adebayor, just live your
life.' People got shot two seats in front of me. When you have been through
those things, you're another person.
"On the eighth of January 2010 it could have been Adebayor gone,
finished, over. In Madrid last season there were games I wasn't playing, but
I was just enjoying life, laughing when I came on because I was a footballer
and I had a chance to play.
"When you're younger and you haven't been through things, you don't
understand. If I'm told to sit on the bench I'll be happy to.
"We woke up on 8 January, we were going to the African Cup of Nations, we were singing on the bus, we ended up carrying a dead body back home. Playing only 10 minutes, being on the bench, those things are nothing."
Adebayor, who joined Manchester City after three-and-a-half seasons at
Arsenal, is no longer part of City manager Roberto Mancini's plans, and is
on a season-long loan at White Hart Lane after a similar arrangement with
Real Madrid last season.
"I want to feel love again and I had a good discussion on the phone with
the boss, Harry Redknapp, and he showed me the ambition, where the club
wanted to go to," Adebayor said. "I'm here and very happy. I'm
loved by my team-mates and I love all the players."
Today he will find out how 30,000 more people feel about him as he makes his
home debut against Liverpool in front of fans who, as recentlyas April's
Champions' League tie against Real, targeted him with chants described as
having racist undertones by Kick It Out, the anti-racist group.
He feels no animosity. "It's forgiven," he said. "If I didn't
forgive anyone, I wouldn't be wearing the Tottenham shirt today. If I score
a couple of goals, they will be singing my name again. Fans are sometimes
funny but those are the ones that make the game interesting.
"It's football, the fans are passionate about it. They were upset because I was scoring goals against Tottenham [10 in 14 matches]. Today I play for them, we have to love each other and work in the same direction."
In a fortnight that will mean facing Arsenal, having already roused the ire of
his former fans with an extravagant celebration after scoring against them
for Manchester City at Eastlands.
"I had the chance to play for Arsenal, I had a fantastic moment, they
made me one of the best strikers in the world. But you have to move on.
"What happened at Man City was a big mistake. I regret doing that – not scoring, but my celebration. But, trust me, if I have to score against Arsenal again, I will do it. I'm a footballer, I have to be a professional on the pitch."
However, Adebayor admits that he fell out with Mancini, and his time at City
ended with him and Craig Bellamy, now with today's opponents, so far out of
favour that they trained with the youth team.
"They asked us to do that as a punishment but we did it in a positive way. Today [Bellamy] is with Liverpool and I wished him the best of luck. Hopefully I'll have the chance to exchange his shirt. But if they've lost... If I'm not happy maybe I can keep things in for a couple of days, but Bellamy can't keep it in for one minute."
He would have stayed with Real if an offer had been made. "Politically
Madrid is difficult, and it's not just one man," he said. "If it
was up to [Jose] Mourinho I could be there now, because I'm happy what I did
there last season. But he's not the person who can decide. He can ask, and I
think he did, but he gave me the advice to come to Tottenham and I have huge
respect for him."
He likens Redknapp to Mourinho in his man-management, and revealed that
Redknapp promised to do everything in his power to keep Spurs competitive by
retaining Luka Modric. Adebayor scored on his Spurs debut – as he did for
Arsenal, City and Real – at Wolves eight days ago and believes that a
top-four finish is possible, as is extending his stay.
"I've got to enjoy myself and then there is a [chairman], manager and the fans – everyone will decide if they want to keep me for another year. As a player you always want to stay at a club where you have fun, but I still belong to Man City and who knows, if I finish top scorer in the League, City will call me back. Sometimes football can be very funny. At the end of the season we'll see – I'll be more than happy to stay here."
That could be connected to his becoming a father, adding to responsibilities
he has taken on in Africa. He has paid to rebuild a school and two hospitals
in Togo and backed a drinking water scheme in Ghana. "We always have to
give something back," he said. "I come from one of the smallest
countries in the world to where I am today and I'm blessed. I started from a
place where I didn't even have any boots, today I have everything I wanted.
I've played in all the big games around Europe.
"I've worked hard, but you need luck as well to be there at the right moment, and without self-belief, with all that happened after I left Arsenal, I wouldn't have kept going. People try to criticize you or write some stuff on my Twitter, but it gives me motivation. It means these people have taken time and they have respect and love for you. When there is no message from anyone on Facebook or Twitter, then I'll start panicking. Then I'll know the love is gone."
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Microsoft unveils its new Windows 8 operating system
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| Windows 8 has been designed to be used on touchscreen devices |
Microsoft has taken the wraps off the next generation of its Windows operating system.
Windows 8 is designed to run on tablet computers, as well as desktop and laptop PCs.The software, which is due to be released in 2012 will work on the popular ARM-designed low power processors for the first time.
Microsoft has been under pressure to come up with an answer to Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms.
Unveiling Windows 8 at the Build developers' conference in California, Windows division president Steven Sinofsky declared: "We re-imagined Windows. From the chipset to the user experience."
The system will function through one of two interfaces; a traditional desktop, similar to that seen in previous editions of Windows, and a tablet version, known as Metro.
Metro features larger, chunky controls of the sort that best suit touchscreen use. The current lack of such an input method is widely seen as the reason why few Windows 7 tablets exist.
Microsoft said that it would also be launching its own online marketplace - the Windows Store - to sell downloadable applications.
Chip changes
One of the biggest innovations for Windows 8 will be its compatibility with processors designed by ARM holdings.
Chips based around the ARM architecture typically use very little power, and as a result are found in the vast majority of smartphones and tablets currently available.
To date, Windows devices have required Intel or Intel-compatible processors, with the exception of Microsoft's Windows Phone range.
ARM chips are likely to be predominantly used on Windows 8 Metro devices, and will require ARM-specific versions of applications.
The company has not given details on the chips that will be integrated into desktop and laptop machines.
Tapping into any section of the Windows market will be seen as a huge boost for Cambridge-based ARM Holdings.
The company faces growing competition in the mobile device sector since Intel launched its tablet and smartphone-focused Oak Trail chipset in April 2011.
Tapping into that particular market is seen as vital for hardware manufacturers, and software-makers, such as Microsoft, as the market for traditional computers continues to be eroded.
Industry analysts Gartner predicted in April that the global market for tablets would reach 70 million this year, and grow to 300 million in 2015.
Sales of desktops and laptops are expected to continue growing, but at a much slower rate than in the past.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Green Day singer: Sagging pants cost me my plane seat
Billie Joe Armstrong tweets that Southwest kicked him off of a flight
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| Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong says he got booted from a flight over his saggy pants. |
OAKLAND, Calif. — Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong says his sagging pants cost him a seat on a Southwest Airlines flight.
The singer-guitarist for the San Francisco Bay area band sent a
message to his Twitter followers on Thursday expressing his indignation
at being tossed from an Oakland-to-Burbank flight for wearing his
trousers too low. "Just got kicked off a southwest flight because my pants sagged too low! What the f---? No joke!" he tweeted.
An ABC7 news producer who was on the same flight told the station that a flight attendant approached Armstrong as the plane was getting ready to take off and asked him to hike his pants higher.
The producer, Cindy Qiu, says Armstrong initially responded by asking the attendant if there weren't "better things to do than worry about that?"
But the attendant persisted and told Armstrong he could be ejected for his refusal to comply. When Armstrong insisted he was just trying to get to his seat, he and a traveling companion were taken off the plane.
Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins released a statement saying Armstrong was allowed onto the next flight to Burbank and had told a customer relations agent who contacted him he had no further complaints.
"As soon as we became aware of what had happened, we reached out to apologize for this Customer's experience," the statement read. "He elected to take the next flight. We followed up with this Customer and involved Employees to get more details and, in our latest conversations, understand from the Customer the situation was resolved to his satisfaction."
A University of New Mexico football player was arrested at San Francisco International Airport in June when he allegedly refused a U.S. Airways attendant request for him to pull up his low-riding pants and, later, the captain's order to leave the plane.
The player, Deshon Marman, was held on suspicion of trespassing, battery of a police officer and obstruction of a police investigation when he allegedly resisted the officer who escorted him from the plane. But the San Mateo County district attorney refused to bring charges.
The incident sparked allegations of racial profiling after a photo surfaced of a man who flew aboard a US Airways flight wearing skimpy women's panties and mid-thigh stockings days before Marman's arrest. That man was white. Marman is African-American.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tony Sale, Colossus computer conservationist, dies
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| Tony Sale built a working robot out of scrap from a crashed bomber |
Tony Sale, the brilliant engineer who led the rebuild of Colossus, the first modern computer, has died aged 80.
Most recently, Mr Sale drove the campaign to save Bletchley Park, where Colossus aided Allied code-cracking efforts during World War II.
At Bletchley he also founded the National Museum of Computing to help preserve the UK's ageing computers.
Born in 1931, Mr Sale displayed his talent for engineering at an early age by building a robot, called George I, out of Meccano. One of the later versions of George was built from the remains of a Wellington bomber.
Instead of going to university, Mr Sale joined the RAF, which nurtured his engineering talent, and by the age of 20 he was lecturing pilots and aircrew about advances in radar.
His career also included a six-year stint as a scientific officer at MI5. He rose to become principal scientific officer of the intelligence agency and aided the work of spycatcher Peter Wright. On leaving MI5 he established, ran and sold a variety of software and engineering firms.
During the late 1980s Mr Sale's job at the Science Museum nurtured an interest in old computers. This led to the creation of the Computer Conservation Society which leads efforts to restore many key machines.
His interest led to the 14-year project that saw the re-creation of the pioneering Colossus computer. During wartime, Colossus gave the Allies an insight into the communications of the German high command.
The rebuilding work was difficult because the original Colossus machines were broken up at the end of WWII and all plans for it were destroyed.
The rebuilt Colossus became the centrepiece of The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) that Mr Sale established at Bletchley Park.
"Tony Sale's passing is a tremendous loss to us all on a personal and professional basis," said Andy Clark, chairman of the TNMOC trustees.
"Tony's contributions to The National Museum of Computing have been immense and I am quite sure that without his remarkable talents, enthusiasm, and drive, the museum would not have come into existence," said Mr Clark.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Why Apple without Steve Jobs is no fun
Now that Steve Jobs has stepped down as CEO of Apple, many people in the tech and business worlds are wondering what will become of the world's largest tech company, which brought us the first personal computer and the first for-real smartphone and ushered in the era of digital music.Most of that talk centers on buttoned-up topics like market potential and future product lines. What does Jobs' departure mean for the future of Apple's business? For the next iPhone?
Blah to all that. Perhaps the bigger deal for a tech lover's psyche is this sad little fact: Without Steve Jobs, Apple is far less fun.
The reasons for this are wide-ranging.
Part of it has to do with Apple's origin story, which, as an excellent episode of "This American Life" explains, is a really big deal to Americans, who love to know where people came from -- especially if they came from relatively humble beginnings and made it big.
That's true for Jobs, who got a summer job at Hewlett-Packard after he phoned William Hewlett asking for electronic parts he needed for a class project. He went on to found Apple in 1976 in his parents' garage with the help of friend Steve Wozniak. The first product they sold, the Apple-1, was the first personal computer that didn't come as a set of parts that had to be welded together by its owner -- and is credited as the first truly "personal" computer. This underdog theme followed Jobs for his entire career.
"In recent years, Jobs has battled with a rare form of pancreatic cancer -- adding to an epic life story that mirrors the story of Apple itself: ever the underdog, ever the spectacular success," said a post about Jobs on TED.com.
But Jobs' failures are part of what make him a cult hero, too.
Jobs famously dropped out of Oregon's Reed College. But he later would say that a class he audited in calligraphy inspired Apple's design aesthetic.
He was booted from Apple in 1985. But, while away from the company, he founded a company called NeXT that developed an early version of what would become the revolutionary Macintosh computer operating system.
Jobs chewed on these points during a speech in 2005.
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future," he said in a commencement address at Stanford University. "You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
All this adds up to people seeing Jobs as an inspiration.
"It is truly the end of an era. Thank you for inspiring us all Steve," Dave Morin, founder of an app called Path and a former Apple and Facebook employee, wrote on his Google Plus page on Thursday morning. "You've shown an entire generation what is possible with innovation, design, and focus."
That kind of impact makes it difficult for anyone else to bring so much history and charisma to the company. In the short time since Jobs' resignation, tech pundits have been writing that the first era of personal computing is over, since Bill Gates from Microsoft and Jobs are no longer in the business.
There's much praise online for the new CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, who has been the company's COO, essentially running it since Jobs went on medical leave in January. A lot of attention is paid, in particular, to his business sense.
At The Atlantic, Nicholas Jackson writes that picking Cook as the next CEO of Apple is "Steve Jobs' greatest creation."
"Tim Cook is not Steve Jobs," he writes. "But he did learn from the best how to emulate him. And if he was going to fail, he already would have. Cook has been acting CEO of Apple since January, when Jobs went on his third medical leave from the company. Yes, it was that long ago. He presided over the latest Mac refresh, over the launch of the iPad 2, over the announcement of the iCloud, and even over that moment, about two weeks ago, when Apple's market cap exceeded that of oil-services giant Exxon, making it number one."
But no one is arguing that Cook will bring as much life to the tech world.
Fortune's Miguel Heft writes:
"Like Jobs, Cook is a relentless executive and exacting boss, a perfectionist who obsesses over minute details. But the similarities between the two men end there. While Jobs is a charismatic leader known for outbursts of temper, Cook, who was raised in a small town in Alabama, is soft-spoken, reserved and intensely private.
And as Jobs used his creative genius and vision to conceive and design blockbuster products like the iMac, iPhone and iPad, Cook's considerable operational skills were focused on making sure that Apple could build millions of those products and deliver them to every corner of the world to meet customers' seemingly insatiable demand."
The Washington Post says it's "unlikely (Cook will) match the innovative momentum of his predecessor."
Finally, Apple's product announcements -- which are treated like rock concerts by the plaid-shirt-and-big-glasses-wearing tech bloggers who get to attend them -- will be far less theatrical without Jobs' presence.
"Critics often talk disparagingly of the 'reality distortion field' generated by the Apple boss: his ability to convince onlookers that technologies that would seem unformed in other hands have reached a peak of perfection at Apple," the Financial Times wrote.
"Generating this suspension of disbelief is essential to stirring up demand for gadgets most consumers had no idea they needed, and is an art form of which Mr. Jobs has long been the acknowledged master."
Cook's commencement address at Auburn University last year gives some hints about his presentation skills.
During the talk, a robe-wearing Cook discussed his decision to come to Apple at a time when the company was doing far worse than competitors.
"Not only was Compaq performing much better than Apple, it was headquartered in Texas, and therefore closer to Auburn football," he said, trying to appeal to the presumably football-crazed audience.
The response to his joke? An un-Steve-Jobs-like silence.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
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| Jani Lane of Warrant dies at the age of 47. |
Reportedly, investigators found a half-empty bottle of vodka and prescription medication in his hotel room. An autopsy is scheduled for later today.
During his time with Warrant Lane wrote such hits as 'Down Boys, Cherry Pie, and Heaven, which reached number one in Rolling Stone and number two on the Billboard Top 100.
Lane had an on-off relationship with the band, leaving in 1992 before returning and quitting again several times. He left for the last time in 2008, citing writing differences.
In a statement, the band said of his departure: 'It is with the deepest regret that we have to announce that Jani Lane will no longer be performing with Warrant. We wish Jani nothing but the best and remain friends.'
Lane continued to write and sing after he left Warrant. His debut solo album Back Down to One was released in 2003.
Celebrity tributes have poured in via Twitter: Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash tweeted: 'Just heard about Jani Lane.
What a shame. RIP man.' Poison frontman Bret Michaels wrote: 'We'd like to offer our deepest condolences to the family of Jani Lane regarding their loss.
Respectfully, Bret and all at MEGI.' Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx tweeted: 'I just heard the sad news about Janie Lane. So hard to swallow when people have kids. RIP.' Lane is survived by his two daughters.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Loverboy still rockin', and lovin' every minute of it
Rockers going strong with new single, tour that has grandparents, kids singing along
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| Lovin' Every Minute Of It |
The leather pants, the headband and the hard rocking music. For Mike Reno and Loverboy, the signature style that propelled the Canadian band to the top of the charts at the dawn of MTV is making a comeback.
"I'm happy and gratified with what we're doing now," Reno said, "We're still here, the fans are still here, now they're bringing their kids.
For me, it just couldn't get better."
Life is good for Loverboy. The group that sold 10 million albums with hits like “Turn Me Loose” and “Hot Girls in Love,” and whose smash “Working for the Weekend” helped make a "Saturday Night Live" sketch into a classic, is going strong these days with a brand new song and a tour that has grandparents and children singing along.
"We are surrounded by a whole new breed of youngsters," Reno said, "they know all the words. They got the headbands on, they got the T-shirts, it has to be the Internet."
Lead guitarist and founding member Paul Dean also believes the Web is generating new interest in Loverboy. "We still fit that mold," he said, "and there are a lot of tweens at the shows. I couldn't be happier.
And to be a part of it still, wow!"
The group recently released its new single “Heartbreaker” and is premiering the music video for the song exclusively on TODAY.com ( click here to watch it (on this page) ).
While the Loverboy sound has stayed the same over the years, Reno’s appearance has not. The front man struggled with weight and gained more than 50 pounds, and it was taking a toll on his health.
“My ankles were sore, my hips were bothering me, something is going to happen here,” he said.
Sensing that he was at a crossroads, Reno changed his lifestyle and starting eating better.
“It was a healthy diet, I lost 50 pounds and I have never felt better,” he said.
Loverboy can also laugh at itself. Whether as part of a running joke on "30 Rock" or as the soundtrack to Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze’s Chippendale’s try-out on 'SNL,' the band has become fodder for comedians. But that’s perfectly fine with them.
“They can make the biggest jokes because they are talking about it,” Dean said. “I’m the biggest fan of that. I get a charge of that.”
Reno recalled the moment he watched the Chippendales routine for the first time.
“I was sitting at the end of my bed, I was packing for the next morning and out comes this thing and I laughed so hard I rolled on the ground, he said. “To me that was the biggest compliment.”
Reno and Dean might have the last laugh. They said the royalties for “Working for the Weekend” continue to stream in. “We go to the mailbox, it’s still a good part of our lives, opening those checks,” Reno said. “I think we get a nickel every time it’s played,” Dean added with a chuckle.
Loverboy is embracing its past while setting its sights on a future that Reno hopes will bring them more music, fans and fun.
“For me it just couldn’t be better,” Reno said.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Lollapalooza heads to Sao Paulo in 2012
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Music fans listen to Lady D perform at the Lollapalooza music festival in Grant Park |
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Lollapalooza, the giant rock festival celebrating its 20th anniversary with three days of music starting on Friday in Chicago, is set to expand to its second South American event next year in Sao Paulo.
"If we can rub elbows with the Brazilians, who knows what Lollapalooza will be like. They have a long, storied history of partying," said Perry Farrell, who founded the festival in 1991 as a farewell tour for his band, Jane's Addiction.
Farrell's band broke up after the first Lollapalooza, before reuniting at least three times, while the festival lived on as cross-country U.S. tour until being canceled in 1998.
Six years ago, it was reborn as a weekend-long concert at Grant Park in Chicago featuring hundreds of bands, and last year it expanded to Santiago, Chile.
The festival will be held next year March 31 to April 1 at O'Higgins Park in Santiago and then April 7-8 at the Jockey Club in Sao Paulo before the summertime concert moves back to the northern hemisphere August 3-5, 2012 in Chicago.
Ninety thousand fans are expected to attend each day of the festival this weekend in the Windy City, where Coldplay, Eminem and the Foo Fighters, the group fronted former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, headline the event.
"Lollapalooza is a pilgrimage to music itself that these young people come to see groups that they might not have heard of, or that they've heard and are in love with," Farrell told Reuters from his office backstage at the park in Chicago.
LOLLAPALOOZA BARGAIN
Regular-priced three-day passes for the concert, which is sold out, cost $215 and Farrell said it was one of the biggest bangs for your buck, with 140 artists set to perform.
"Economically, the value per dollar, there's never been such a bargain," he said.
Jane's Addiction, which rose to stardom in Los Angeles with two classic alternative rock albums and enjoyed hits such as "Jane Says" and "Been Caught Stealing," is not performing this weekend in Chicago.
Farrell, 52, will instead play on the so-called Kidzapalooza stage, along with his former bandmate Peter DiStefano of Porno for Pyros. He will also DJ at his namesake dance music tent, Perry's Stage.
Indeed, several of the artists Farrell cited as buzz bands for this year's event -- Girl Talk, Afrojack and deadmau5 -- all play fast-tempo dance music.
"I see dance music as the punk rock of our day, of this generation," Farrell said. "The energy in the room is as fierce and compelling as any punk rock show that I've been to."
Farrell said he has no interest in returning Lollapalooza to its roots as a touring festival that stops at amphitheaters across the United States. He is committed to hosting the event in Chicago until 2018.
"The festival cannot be in screwed-in, fixed-in seats -- that's not a festival," he said. "The idea of playing in an amphitheater will not fly."
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Iron Maiden’s Giant Zombie Glares as Fans Cheer Heavy-Metal Uproar: Review
Iron Maiden’s twin electric guitars scream out hyperactive solos, the bass and drums machine-gun thunder, the operatic alley-cat vocals reach a crescendo.
Iron Maiden led the New Wave of British heavy metal as rock became harder, louder and faster. The influence of the blues was stripped away. Maiden’s easy choruses provided a perfect refuge for young males bewildered by the onslaught of hormones. The lyrics delved into fantasy and horror. A dress code involving shirts picturing the grotesque, grinning zombie sealed the deal.
Still, much contemporary metal is for specialist fans. Iron Maiden’s appeal is broader.
In the crowd, men with faded tattoos and blue denim play imaginary guitars. There are girlfriends and even whole families happily screaming along and wearing their Eddie shirts.
Walk around almost any city for a day and you are sure to see at least one person wearing a Maiden shirt. Lady Gaga is a fan. There’s more to Maiden than teenage boys.
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Iron Maiden, the veteran U.K. heavy-metal band, is ending a worldwide tour in its home city at the O2 arena. |
The eyes of Eddie -- a giant statue of a zombie -- literally light up in demonic red as the chorus is bellowed out.
The East London heavy-metal band is coming to the end of its world tour, playing its home territory at the O2 Arena.
You might ask, why would anyone listen to Iron Maiden in 2011? It’s 30 years since Maiden’s heyday, when teenage boys started wearing its T-shirts with pride.
In 2011, Maiden is bigger business than ever. “The Final Frontier,” its 15th studio album, reached No. 1 in more than 20 countries. The group has sold more than 85 million records. It has performed in India, Indonesia and Peru as well as the more usual U.S., Europe and Australia tour staples.
Resolutely untechnological and lacking any of the usual audiovisual trickery, the Maiden show relies on old-fashioned musicianship. Vocalist Bruce Dickinson belts out favorites such as “The Trooper” and “The Number of the Beast,” each with a different painted backdrop.
Cooler Rivals
Maiden was never cool, unlike the raw Motorhead or the brutal Venom. It was never as aggressive as thrash metal bands, Metallica and Slayer. Current rival Mastodon has more complex riffing, Ghost offers more bombastic choruses, Slipknot better grisly slapstick and Lamb of God delivers more pummeling rage.
In the crowd, men with faded tattoos and blue denim play imaginary guitars. There are girlfriends and even whole families happily screaming along and wearing their Eddie shirts.
Walk around almost any city for a day and you are sure to see at least one person wearing a Maiden shirt. Lady Gaga is a fan. There’s more to Maiden than teenage boys.
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