After over a year without our own computer, we were able to afford the purchase of a used laptop and can now work at home with it. A couple of technical questions if anyone can offer feedback. Our speed is very slow. The RAM is 1.5GB and we are on broadband service which seems fast enough for everyone else in the household. Some feeling that it could be the Microsoft Vista operating program instead of XP. Any suggestions on improving the speed? The speed is especially a challenge when trying to download any movies or the buffering on streaming videos. We used to be able to order nice variety of films from Netflix but as wel learned when we left the US, such companies do not send dvds out. I have tried torrents but seems very complicated and takes too long to
download. Any suggestions on any pay services that we could have films come in faster? Or if anyone is not too busy to burn us about 500 selections I still have on my want list from netflix? In any case, all is well here. Being in the southern hemisphere, autumn is all around us. Crisp evenings with dazzling star scenery Lots of links this week with my twice monthly new format, so if not enough time, at least some interest hopefuly in strolling through the headlines. Crisp evenings with dazzling star scenery. George LIFESTYLE/ ARTS/ CULTURE/
ETC: Mark Whitewell has been a highly regarded yoga teacher for many yearrs. Among his many round the world workshops, he will be very near us in the beautiful Marahau area of New Zealand's South Island on April 25-27 Hosting Mark on his New Zealand tour is Anna de Zeeuw who also is an excellent yoga The RAINBOW GATHERING in POLAND about the full Moon in may, 13 - 27 May 2008 http://www.teczowyk rag.prv.pl/ rozd1024. html April 26-27 Shamanism Conference,
Glastonbury Our friends Robert Venosa and Martina Hoffmann's visionary art workshop at the Omega Institute, NY on June 27 to July 4 Czechs to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession, Growing Up to Three Plants http://www.nisnews.nl/public/020408_2.htm "Court: Dutch Cannabis Bars Not Allowed to Exclude Foreigners" "NEW ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN EQUATES SMOKING MARIJUANA WITH TERRORISM " "Rep. Frank says he'll file bill to legalize marijuana" "Moses Was Very, Very High:" Paul Krassner On Drug Use In The Old Testament http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/arthur/183/moses-was-very-very-high-paul-krassner-on-drug-use-in-the-old-testament "How Shamans Dream the World into
Being" Alberto Villoldo http://www.realitysandwich.com/how_shamans_dream_world_being "Shadows in the Sun" by Wade Davis- preserving the diversity of culture and spiritual beliefs
"4th Edition of The Invisible College" Luc Sala's report on the Basel Psychedelic Conference LSD Helped Forge Alex Grey's Spiritual, Artistic and Love Lives David Ian Miller <mailto:miller@sfgate.com> Monday, March 24, 2008 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/03/24/findrelig.DTL "LSD, Ketamine and Cannabis could treat conditions from headache to diabetes" "Cluster headaches feature for Nature Medicine" "OCD and psilocybin" Pastor David dicusses the Amanita Fleece Psychedelic Science video "Former Surgeon General: Mainstream Medicine Has Endorsed Medical Marijuana" "Cannabis vaporizers" "Decreased respiratory symptoms in cannabis users who vaporize" Smoking Ban Does Not Apply to Cannabis http://www.nisnews.nl/public/270308_3.htm http://www.youtube.com/chrychek "Hemp oil and hemp seed oil differences" video Nimbin April Fools Police Raid A Nimbin town video "Few traces remain of Kesey's Mexican trip" "Professor films past, present of hippie life" "Brave New World for Hollywood as Aldous Huxley feud ends' Wanderlust," A New Music Video by Bjork Comics writer/JFK figure T. Casey Brennan on youtube... http://groups.google.com/group/1960s/browse_thread/thread/4667bbc57f043ceb "SEARCHING FOR WOODSTOCK '69 PHOTOS" My Woodstock memories essay appearing in the Woodstock Preservation Org. (Thanks Joanne) Richie Havens interview
One of our favorite musicians, Shawn Phillips "British families still happy to live hippie dream as Goa's lustre dims" The Gospel of Thomas Discordia "Salvador Dali expounds on his 'Paranoiac Critical Method' philosophy An association of Czech psychologists offering help for spiritual emergencies. The English language part is under construction. "The Hub of Humanitarian Change" Parabola-an eclectic blend of many religious traditions Green Goddess Tree-walking and other grass roots active and productive action schedule in New Zealand "The adventures of Raw Man and Green Girl! "The Future of Farming" "Torresol to Build 3 Solar Thermal Power Plants in Spain for $1.24 Billion" http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/032708EA.shtml "New Record: Wind Powers 40 Percent of Spain" "Subaru Tests R1e Electric Car in New York City, Previews G4e" "19.9%: New Thin Film Solar Efficiency Record" "Building affordable homes from discarded materials" "New documentary on Cohousing communities" "Upon the Shoulders of Communitarian Giants" by Allen Butcher "Why Mobile Phone Masts are more dangerous than Phones " * Daily caffeine 'protects brain' * Coffee may cut the risk of dementia by blocking the damage cholesterol can inflict on the body, research suggests. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/health/7326839.stm "Treating Cancer -- With Herbs" "Neuropsychiatric Genetics fails to find cause of mental illness'' "U.S. Government Concedes That Mercury Causes Autism " "Sedatives and Sex Hormones in Our Water Supply" Will Wheat-Killer Fungus be used to spread GMO wheat? "Science Has Hijacked Our Meals" "Are You Full of Toxic Sludge?" "Watchdog Group Names Top Corporate Abusers" http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/24/7865/ "8 Skin Moisturizer Ingredients You'd Best Avoid" "Cities around the world switch off lights for 'Earth Hour,' Gore group to launch climate marketing campaign http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/033108EA.shtml The Clean Energy Scam "U.S. West warming fast" "Walker's World: Farewell free markets" "Vansihing Prayer" (destruction of Mother Earth video) "US government genocide of Native Americans continues" Today is the 50th Anniversary Of The Peace Symbol! http://www.cbsnews. com/stories/ 2008/03/23/ sunday/main39603 90.shtml "Defying China's Blackmail on Tibet" "Tribal peoples' water being destroyed by industry and governments" "Mass die-off of
bats in U.S. Northeast worries researchers" "Death of the Bees: GMO Crops and the Decline of Bee Colonies in North America" http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080325/sc_livescience/vastantarcticiceshelfonvergeofcollapse "Vast Antarctic Ice Shelf on Verge of Collapse" "Plastic toxins in the oceans" "Nigeria's forests to disappear by 2020: expert'' "Bush admin appeals mercury ruling" "End Exploitation and Modern-day Slavery in the Florida Fields " "INTERVIEW WITH CANADIAN FAMILY FARMER WHO DEFEATED GOLIATH MONSANTO" "QUICK FACTS OF THE WEEK: A NATION BUILT ON UNSUSTAINABILITY - FUEL, FOOD, AND DEBT" "Land swap would allow drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge" "Reaarranging stars to communicate with aliens" "UAF archaeologist strikes it big in Norway; uncovers new species of ancient monster?" "Tuatara - The Fastest Evolving Animal" The Neanderthal-Human Split: (Very) Ancient History Hobbit Skull suggests seperate species Early Americans Arrived Thousands of Years Earlier Than Previously Believed "How the Battle of Actium Changed the World" Oldest human on Balkan's unearthed in Macedonia Ancient, pre-historic of Jamaica Ithaca was Homeric land of Odysseus?/span> Inside the amazing cave city that housed 25,000 Allied troops under German noses in WWI "The Mammoth Book of Cover-Ups: The 100 Most Terrifying Conspiracies of All Time (Paperback)" "Money as debt" "Money Masters" video "The Hypocrisy Gospel: Get Rich for Jesus?" "The Crucifixion of Christ, American
Style" By Jerry Ghinelli Lower Manhattan was virtually shut down as millions of the faithful and curious flooded the streets to get a glimpse of the second coming of their lord and savior. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19583.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnq6cD5jk1Q One day of war in Iraq costs 720 million dollars. This video shows how much could be done with this money instead of killing people
"How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives": The Military-Industrial Complex "How Bad Can Prisons Get?" "Patriot Act vs. German Enabling Act: The Decrees of 1933" Howard Zinn's "A People's History of American Empire" Illustrated Edition Global Gridlock: How the US Military-Industrial Complex Seeks to Contain and Control the Earth and it's Eco-System "The 'Chosen Ones' Are Coming" The "Please Jesus
Protect Me From Your Followers" Metallic Magnet Hypothetical Bush shooting video "'Russian cult members emerge' http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=7210520 "Scientology's Origins Exposed?" Guru Rasa video American school incident "An indictment of the profit system High school drop-out rate in major US cities at nearly 50 percent" http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/apr2008/scho-a03.shtml "Lust In Translation" GLOBAL: "China blasts Dalai Lama, Pelosi on Tibet " Elite Chinese PLA units enter Lhasa "Kadhafi warns US allies could suffer Saddam's fate" "Is an International Financial Conspiracy Driving World Events?" "Former Australian prime minister feted by US Republican right" http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/mar2008/aei-m25.shtml Andrés Izarra | Letter from Venezuela's Communications Minister to the Washington Post http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/28/7956/ NATIONAL: Anti-Empire Report, March 29, 2008 http://killinghope.org/aer56.htm "Hundreds Arrested in War Protests" http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032108B.shtml "MORE Courageous Resistance Across U.S." Iraq Veterans Against the War "Repeated US air strikes in Basra and Baghdad" http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/mar2008/iraq-m31.shtml "Worried Yet? Saudis Prep For 'Sudden Nuclear Hazards'" "US Document Confirms Iraq Dungeon" "Gorbachev slams
US anti-missile plans in eastern Europe" "Today, I Weep For My Country" The speech given by Sen. Robert Byrd Exactly five years ago, on the afternoon of March 19, 2003, mere hours before bombs began falling in Baghdad, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., gave a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate condemning the use of military force in Iraq. As soon as Byrd was finished speaking, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., delivered a response defending the Bush administration's decision to go to war. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19577.htm http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19596.htm "Happy Anniversary, America!How Lethally Stupid Can One Country Be?" By David Michael Green "A Little Sugar Makes the Medicine Go Down America's Next 9/11" By Paul Craig Roberts There is so
much that Americans do not know about secret schemes serving undeclared agendas. Those who have attempted to clue in fellow citizens are invariably frustrated, because Americans have been trained to dismiss the messenger who brings news of "false flag" events as a "conspiracy theorist." http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19598.htm http://www.911blogger.com/node/14154 "Rep. Dana Rohrabacher links WTC 1993 bombing to OKC bombing and 9/11 in 15th anniversary speech - February 26, 2008" "Stanley, Citigroup provide and process passports for US State Department" 'April Fools: The Fox To Guard The Banking Henhouse' More Than Half of US Doctors Favor National Health Plan http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/01/8018/ "Howard Zinn: The End of Empire?" "Obama eyeing Gore for climate post," "Obama Speech Brings Out Right Wing's Worst" "Clinton Campaign Embraces Vast Right Wing Conspiracy to Launch Attacks on Obama" "Republicans Plan Double-Whammy" "Why we should fear a McCain presidency" "Michael Moore Attacks Cheney" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/21/AR2008032102739.html "White House:Computer Hard Drives Tossed" By PETE YOST The Associated Press "The Republican Right's Moonie Problem" "Spitzer Linked to Second Prostitution Ring" "Breaking Point: Cheney says he doesn't care what American people want" Howard Zinn: The End of
Empire? "Search For 'Suitcase Nuke' In US Grounds Hundreds Of Planes" "Katrina coverup" QUOTES: A sobering quote from the Dalai Lama: "We must be careful not to idealize the old ways of life. The high level of cooperation we find in undeveloped rural communities may be based more on necessity than on goodwill... And the contentment we perceive may actually have more to do with ignorance. These people may not realize or imagine that any other way of life is possible. If they did, very likely they would embrace it eagerly. The challenge we face is, therefore, to find some means of enjoying the same degree of harmony and tranquility as those more traditional communities, while benefiting fully from the material developments of the world as we find it." That understood, it is hard to imagine anywhere else that remains, however tentatively, what the Himalayan folksongs call a Beyul - a magical land visible only to those of pure heart. "Why do you want a reason for being? You are here. And because you are here and you don't understand yourself, you want to invent a reason."
J.Krishnamurti "I will not tire of declaring that if we really want an effective end to violence we must remove the violence that lies at the root of all violence: structural violence, social injustice, exclusion of citizens from the management of the country, repression. All this is what constitutes the primal cause, from which the rest flows naturally. ---Archbishop Oscar Romero, September 23, 1979. "Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.": Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) German Dramatist = "Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind.": Henry Miller -(1891-1980) American writer = The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the alternation of old beliefs. Self-conceit often regards it as a sign of weakness to admit that a belief to which we have once committed ourselves is wrong. We get so identified with an idea that it is literally a "pet" notion and we rise to its defense and stop our eyes and ears to anything different: John Dewey "We've never seen anything like this before with our bats, much less any other mammals, with a very large regional die-off...It's very scary and a little overwhelming from a biologist's perspective. If we can't contain it, we're going to see extinctions of listed species,
and some of species that are not even listed." Susi von Oettingen of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service speaking to the New York Times this week about as many as a half million bats mysteriously dying in the U.S. Northeast. Experts have no idea what the cause is. "The limits of tyrants are imposed by those whom tyrants would oppress." Frederick Douglass (paraphr?) "Oppressor and oppressed are co-operators in ignorance." - James Allen (Martin L King Jr?) "God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ... And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.": Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President - Source: November 13, 1787,
letter to William S. Smith, quoted in Padover's Jefferson On Democracy = 19 terrorists in 6 weeks have been able to command 300 million North Americans to do away with the entirety of their civil liberties that took 700 years to advance from the Magna Carta onward. The terrorists have already won the political and ideological war with one terrorist act. It is mindboggling that we are that weak as a society: Rocco Galati = The worst forms of tyranny, or certainly the most successful ones, are not those we rail against but those that so insinuate themselves into the imagery of our consciousness, and the fabric of our lives, as not to be perceived as tyranny: Michael Parenti It is foolish in the extreme not only to resort to force before necessity compels, but especially to madly create the conditions that will lead to this necessity." : Benjamin Tucker, Liberty, May 22, 1886 = The feeling of patriotism - It is an immoral feeling because, instead of confessing himself a son of God . . . or even a free man guided by his own reason, each man under the influence of patriotism confesses himself the son of his fatherland and the slave of his government, and commits actions contrary to his reason and conscience." : Leo Tolstoy, Patriotism and Government = "A modern gentleman is necessarily the enemy of his country. Even in war he does not fight to defend it, but to prevent his power of preying on it from passing to a foreigner." : George Bernard Shaw = "It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country is now geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificually induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear." - General Douglas MacArthur, Speech, May 15, 1951 =
"Most of the harm in the world is done by good people, and not by accident, lapse, or omission. It is the result of their deliberate actions, long persevered in, which they hold to be motivated by high ideals toward virtuous ends." Isabel Paterson, The God of the Machine "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." Galileo Galilei = All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) = Often war is waged only in order to show valor; thus an inner dignity is ascribed to war itself, and even some philosophers have praised it as an ennoblement of humanity, forgetting the pronouncement of the Greek who said, "War is an evil in as much as it produces more wicked men than it takes away.": Immanuel Kant = If a war be undertaken for the most righteous end, before the resources of peace have been tried and proved vain to secure it, that war has no defense, it is a national crime: Charles Eliot Norton "Freedom of expression is the well-spring of our civilization... The history of civilization is in considerable measure the displacement of error which once held sway as official truth by beliefs which in turn have yielded to other truths. Therefore the liberty of man to search for truth ought not to be fettered, no matter what orthodoxies he may challenge.": Felix Frankfurter - (1882-1965)
U.S. Supreme Court Justice - Source: Concurring Opinion, Dennis et al. v. U.S. (1951) = "Freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order." : Justice Robert H. Jackson - (1892-1954), U. S. Supreme Court Justice Source: West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 1943 = There is no telling to what extremes of cruelty and ruthlessness a man will go when he is freed from the fears, hesitations, doubts and the vague stirrings of decency that go with individual judgement. When we lose our individual independence in the corporateness of a mass movement, we find a new freedom- freedom to hate, bully, lie, torture, murder and betray without shame and remorse. Herein undoubtedly lies part of the attractiveness of a mass movement: Eric Hoffer = He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man...: Samuel Adams "The man who does not do his own thinking is a slave, and is a traitor to himself and his fellow men.": Robert G. Ingersoll - (1833-1899) = "Make men wise, and by that very operation you make them free. Civil liberty follows as a consequence of this; no usurped power can stand against the artillery of opinion.": William Godwin - (1756-1836) = "Perhaps the most obvious political effect of controlled news is the advantage it gives powerful people in getting their issues on the political agenda and defining those issues in ways likely to influence their resolution.": W. Lance Bennett - Author, professor at University of Washington Source: News: The Politics of Illusion, 1983 MUSIC VIDEOS: Shawn Phillips - Moonshine live Shawn Phillips - Early Morning Hours 3/8/08 Donovan, Shawn Phillips, Rev. Gary Davis, and Pete Seeger Guenevire (from the above show) Tim Buckley "I'm coming home" Band of Joy-Hey Joe Robert Plant: When the Levee Breaks More
Robert Plant Robert again Albanian clarinet music from Petroloykas Chlkias This is a cover of Helter Skelter, aka Electro Skeletor, featuring Senator Mike Gravel, Libertarian candidate for president. and one from the "silly 80's" Julie Brown trapped in "the body of a white girl" PUNMASTER MUSIC NEWS SELECTIONS: EXPERIENCE HENDRIX TRIUMPHS IN UK COURT BATTLE VS. LONDON TIMES
Experience Hendrix LLC, the Seattle-based family company which owns and administers the Jimi Hendrix legacy of recordings and songs has, together with The Last Experience Inc., obtained summary judgment against the London Times. On September 10, 2006 that newspaper released a CD recording of the Jimi Hendrix Experience performing at the Albert Hall in London on February 24, 1969 as a ³covermount?with its Sunday edition. That performance was the last time the band ever played performed in London, the city where an unknown Jimi Hendrix burst into prominence in late 1966. Despite warnings from Experience Hendrix prior to the CDıs release, the London Times proceeded, citing a purported license of the material from an affiliate of Charly Records whose claims to this material have long been disputed by Experience Hendrix. The Albert Hall concert was actually filmed and recorded on behalf of a joint venture between Jimi Hendrix, his manager Michael Jeffery, and filmmakers Steve Gold and Jerry Goldstein. Experience Hendrix is the successor to the Hendrix and Jeffery interests and The Last Experience Inc. is the successor to the Gold and Goldstein interests. A copy of the Albert Hall audio material was obtained in the 1970ıs by Bernard Solomon, who served as the accountant for Gold & Goldstein and their companies. Mr. Solomon then began to license the audio material through various companies he owned or controlled, all without license or approval from Hendrix, Gold or Goldstein. These unauthorized Albert Hall concert releases have continued over the past decades, most recently through Charly Records and its licensees. The most prominent of these bootlegs during the past few years have been the ³His Greatest Hits?(Volumes 1 and 2) CDs released on the Legacy International label. Experience Hendrix has caused many major record distributors to remove these recordings from their bins and websites, but these releases continue to reappear at various retail venues. When The Last Experience brought to the attention of Warner Bros. Records in the early 1970's and CBS Records in the early 1980's that they had released recordings that contained tracks from the Royal Albert Hall performance, both of those companies ceased and desisted, unlike the London Times. As a consequence of its covermount release and the resulting lawsuit by Experience Hendrix, the London Times attempted to validate the Charly Records claim, but the UK court rejected it. The attorneys for the London Times requested a series of extensions to obtain a statement from Mr. Solomon explaining his claim, and eventually proposed to take Mr. Solomonıs deposition to prove their case, seeking further extensions into January 2008 for this purpose. It was ultimately revealed that in October of 2007 a statement had been obtained from Mr. Solomon and that Mr. Solomon died later that year. Apparently, the October statement had initially been withheld from the court because it was insufficient, on its face, to establish a valid claim. In its judgment dated February 19, released in final written form this week, the London court granted summary judgment in favor of Experience Hendrix and The Last Experience Inc., and awarded Experience Hendrix recoupment of its legal costs while rejecting the legal arguments and related factual contentions advanced by the London Times. The court will consider the amount of a damage award in a further proceeding. Janie Hendrix, CEO of Experience Hendrix, commented on the verdict, ³Our primary focus has long been to safeguard the legacy of Jimi Hendrix; this verdict validates our efforts and we shall continue our vigilance in challenging any and all bogus claims to his work.?br> Jerry Goldstein of The Last Experience noted, ³We, too, are pleased with the courtıs decision and looking forward to working with Experience Hendrix in offering the definitive presentation of this legendary performance in the future.?br> DID JON ANDERSON EVER THINK YES WOULD BE AROUND FOR 40 YEARS? Yes first got together nearly 40 years ago and now, they are planning to celebrate their anniversary with a North American tour. So back in the ?0s, did singer Jon Anderson ever think the band would still be around all this time later? (Actuality #3) ³We thought weıd last about four months. That was our spread. OLetıs get it together, do some gigs, get on the road and hope we can last until the summer of the next year,?which was ?9. And then, as it got progressively better, as success came, I just got so into rehearsal. OLetıs rehearse more, letıs do more music.?nbsp; So to be able to say here we are, 40 years later is so like a dream.?nbsp; The band plans to kick off their first trek in over five years on July 12th in Quebec City. The 26-date jaunt will go through the summer and wind down on August 22nd in L-A. For more info, head to YesWorld.com. OLD SKYNYRD SONG MIGHT BE ON NEW ALBUM. When Lynyrd Skynyrd release their next studio album, there might be a previously unreleased song featuring the bandıs original lineup on it. Guitarist Gary Rossington told Billboard.com that he recently unearthed the song from the archives. Itıs called ³Cottonmouth Country?and according to Rossington, ³It has Ronnie Van Zant singing and Leon (Wilkerson) on bass and Bob Burns is on drums. Itıs a cool track, pretty cool lyrics itıs about the swamps.?nbsp; As for what happened with it, Rossington explained, ³We never put it out with (producer) Al Kooper on the first or second album. We just kind of let it sit there and never finished it. Itıs pretty well done, but the recording isnıt as good as it could be. So we might put that out as a bonus track a whole new Skynyrd song nobodyıs heard.?nbsp; As for the rest of the record, which is due out early next year, the guitarist revealed, ³Weıre not doing a country album but Skynyrdıs always had a little country blood in us. Thatıs where we come from.?nbsp; Rossington reports the group already has 20 songs under consideration and hopes to get in the studio in April or May. Meanwhile, Skynyrd is set for another leg of the Rowdy Frynds Tour with Hank Williams, Jr. and .38 Special. That gets underway on April 4th, while their trek with Kid Rock kicks off on May 15th at New Yorkıs Madison Square Garden. Rossington spoke about Kid Rock as well, noting, ³Heıs a great guy, man. We love him and heıs done a lot for us. Weıve calmed down now so we listen to all the stories about the Kid Rock party bus.?br> LENNONıS FINAL TV INTERVIEW ON DVD. A new DVD featuring
John Lennonıs final televised interview from 1975 is due out next month. The two-disc set, called The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder: John, Paul, Tom, Ringo, also includes footage of Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney on Snyderıs program in the ?0s and ?0s. It hits shelves on April 1st. ZZ TOP KEEPING BUSY. 2008 will be the year of the Zıs. Thatıs because in the upcoming months, ZZ Top plan to release a live DVD, a new album and will hit the road. Guitarist Billy Gibbons revealed to Billboard.com that he and the boys are ³in the studio, preparing a new series of sessions of new material?for the bandıs first studio album since 2003ıs Mescalero. Gibbons hopes to get the record out before summer but before then, he promises to treat the fans with a live DVD that spotlights a November 1st concert in Texas. While heıs not sure when that disc will hit shelves, Gibbons revealed it is ³untouched. Itıs full of mistakes and thatıs the way we like it.?nbsp; As for a tour, Billy said, ³Hopefully we'll be able to return to the road as early as June -- even, if we can pull it off, into May. 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.?nbsp; If all of that werenıt enough for the rocker, Gibbons also just taped a guest appearance on the season finale of the FOX show Bones. He spoke about his role explaining, ³I thought I was gonna be the blind date or the boyfriend but, no, I have to be the dad.?nbsp; That episode of Bones airs on May 16th. DYLANıS ADS PROMOTING SPANISH WORLD FAIR ONLINE. As we reported last year, Bob Dylan recorded a new version of his 1963 classic ³A Hard Rainıs A-Gonna Fall?for the water-themed Expo Zaragoza world fair in Spain. The event, which will be held between June 14th and September 14th, planned to use the updated edition of the song in promos for the event. Well now, those promos are available online. You can see the ads on YouTube. Amaral, a band that supported the singer during his Spanish tour a few years ago, also recorded a Spanish version of the track. Still no word yet if Dylan will perform at the Expo. RICHARDS TALKS ABOUT LOUIS VUITTON AD. Keith Richards recently posed for a Louis Vuitton ad, but he had some restrictions to the shoot. Richards explained his stipulations to USA Today, revealing, ³I told them, OIıll only do it if you make me a guitar case with the logo on it. Theyıve done it. Iım very proud of it. Iıll probably never travel with it because itıs just too beautiful.?nbsp; The photograph for the ad, which was taken by famed shutterbug Annie Leibovitz, shows the Rolling Stone guitarist in a hotel room. An Adweek blogger said of the shot, ³If youıre selling leather bags, why not hire one too??nbsp; In response to comments like that, Richards revealed, ³Itıs never from the ladies. Itıs always male journalists. If I got annoyed about it, there would be a lot of dead journalists and Iıd be in jail.?br> GET YOUR SHARE OF ROB HALFORD GOODS. Youıll be able to get your fill of Rob Halford in the coming months. The Judas Priest frontman plans to release some DVDs in the coming months, starting with Into the Pit, a four-disc collection from Halfordıs other band Fight. That set, which comes out on May 26th, features original Fight recordings re-engineered for the release. Then, in September, Halford Live at Rock in Rio III will hit shelves. That DVD, includes one of Halfordıs most impressive live performances in front of 200-thousand Brazilians. You can find out more info at HalfordMusic.com. Meanwhile, you only have to wait until May 1st before you can grab some Halford ringtones at RobHalford.com. SANTANA AND CAREY TEAM UP IN ESPANOL. Carlos Santana and Mariah Carey star together in Macy's first Spanish commercial. According to USA Today, the ad was directed by Oscar winner Barry Levinson. The commercial premieres in Latino markets on Sunday and in all markets on Monday. TWISTED SISTER MAN WANTS BARACK. Not only is Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French voting for Barack Obama, but he has re-recorded the bandıs anthem ³I Wanna Rock?as ³I Want Barack.?nbsp; According to the Associated Press, French is a lifelong liberal whose mother campaigned for John F. Kennedy. He spoke about why the Senator from Illinois will get his vote, noting, ³He has excited so many people. He has given sincere hope to people who have been out of the arena for years.?nbsp; The ³I Want Barack?track features Z02 singer Paulie Z. and French asserted that it isnıt a Twisted Sister project since that bandıs members are split on the presidential candidates. Instead, heıs calling the band Jay Jay French and Friends and plans to release a YouTube video that will accompany the track. PETTY AND DMB TO PLAY A MILE HIGH. The line-up for the first ever Mile High Music Festival has been announced and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and the Dave Matthews Band will headline the event. The concert takes place on July 19th and 20th at Dickıs Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado and will also play host to the likes of the Black Crowes, Steve Winwood, John Mayer and many others. Tickets go on sale on the 29th at MileHighMusicFestival.com. Lawyers for the Beatles are suing to thwart distribution of previously
unreleased recordings supposedly made during Ringo Starrıs first performance with the band, at the Star Club in Hamburg, West Germany, in 1962, The Associated Press reported. Under the title ³Jamminı With the Beatles and Friends, Star Club, Hamburg, 1962,² the eight tracks are said to include Paul McCartney singing Hank Williamsıs ³Lovesick Blues² and Mr. McCartney and John Lennon singing ³Ask Me Why.² Apple Corps, the London company formed by the Beatles, maintains that the songs were taped without their consent, and that Fuego Entertainment of Miami Lakes, Fla., and two sister companies have no right to distribute them. Appleıs lawsuit contends that the recordings are of poor quality and that circulating them ³dilutes and tarnishes the extraordinarily valuable image associated with the Beatles.² Paul LiCalsi, a lawyer for Apple Corps, said, ³This appears to us to be a garden-variety bootleg recording.² Hugo Cancio, the president of Fuego, said: ³Donıt claim that these were just bootlegged. Itıs not like today, that you just go in with a phone or BlackBerry and you record.² He added: ³The world deserves to hear these tracks. The fact is that we have it, they donıt, and that is whatıs bothering them.² **************************************************************** Thanks to Grant Jacobs Neil Aspinall 1941-2008 Beatles fixer and friend takes secrets to the grave Hunter Davies Tuesday March 25, 2008 Guardian Neil Aspinall, who died yesterday aged 66, was one of only two people of any importance in the Beatles saga who never told their story. Which is strange, when you think we've had a thousand Beatles books these last 40 years, from people who never met them, to lawyers who did in passing, chauffeurs who once drove them and scruffs who stood outside their offices hoping for autographs. Neil knew everything, everybody, and now, alas, has taken it all to the grave. Unless there is a posthumous memoir, waiting to be released, which I doubt. I asked him countless times, saying he should get it all down, before it's too late, if just for his children. He always said no. Neil was there from the very beginning, a constant friend and associate, never leaving the magical mystery circle, until a few months ago when he retired as head of Apple Corps, looking after their business interests. Quite a job, when you think of all the legal dramas after the Beatles split, and the personality differences at one time between Paul and Yoko. Born in Prestatyn in 1941, Neil was in the same year at Liverpool Institute as Paul, and the year above George. His first memory of George was George asking him, behind the bike shed, for a drag on his ciggie. He studied to become an accountant but came back into contact with Paul and George through his friendship with Pete Best, at one time the Beatles drummer. Neil was living at the house of Pete's mother, Mona, who ran the Casbah, the little club where the Beatles then played as the Quarrymen. Neil started working for them as a part-time roadie in 1961, running them to local gigs in an old van for five shillings per man per gig - £1 a night. One of the more dramatic events in early Beatles history, known well by all true believers, occurred in 1962 when Pete Best was sacked as drummer and Ringo took over. There were demonstrations on Merseyside, fans campaigning for Pete who was looked upon as much handsomer. Pete went on to slice bread for a few pound a week while the Beatles went on to be the most famous group in the world. What never came out at the time was that Neil was having an affair with Mona, Pete's mother. In fact they had a son who was born that same year. Neil, only 19, was caught in a terrible emotional turmoil, with Pete sacked by his new best friends and Mona, his lover, furious at how Pete, her son was being treated. John did tell me this gossip, sniggering, in 1967 when I was doing their biography, but said don't repeat it. I only half believed it anyway. John also told me that he, John, had a one-night stand with Brian Epstein, their manager, which I now believe was true. That same year, 1962, Neil gave up his accountancy studies and joined the Beatles full-time. Later, when they had started national tohe was joined by another roadie, Mal Evans. Mal was big and beefy and unflappable. Neil was lean, rather neurotic, always seemed worried. He was with them through all their years of fame. He would get shouted at, told to fetch impossible things, fix ludicrous arrangements. In 1968, Paul decided on the spur of the moment to come and visit me in Portugal with his new girlfriend Linda, and her daughter Heather. Neil was told to get them on a plane to Faro. The last flight had gone. So, late at night, Neil secured a private jet and off they went. But Neil was more than a roadie and fixer - he was their friend and confidant, helped with words of songs when they got stuck, with personal relationships when they wanted them unstuck. His accountancy training proved invaluable when he came to run Apple. As the years went on, he masterminded much of the group's professional affairs and back catalogues. On the whole, Neil won most of the battles, helping them make further millions. He did also have a creative streak, acting as the producer of the film Let it Be and organising the Beatles Anthology. Neil was totally loyal and faithful to them - and yet not at all starstruck. He was more than aware of their foibles, greed, stupidities, unreasonableness, would readily slag them off. It was clear he was part of the family, so while moaning, as all family members do, he would never betray their secrets. When I pressed him for inside stories, he used to say he couldn't remember. Mick Jagger always says the same. In Neil's case, it could be because he wasn't really much interested in the personal stuff. His mind didn't quite work that way. He had a dry, austere, rather resigned, cynical view of most people, more interested in facts and figures than tittle tattle. He was there, but was somehow floating above it all. The Beatles were very fortunate to have him. Hunter Davies is author of The Beatles, WW Norton and Co ZEPPELIN WORLD TOUR UNLIKELY, MORE ONE-OFF SHOWS POSSIBLE. Itıs been a little quiet on the Led Zeppelin world tour rumor mill, but in a recent interview with Uncut magazine, Robert Plant has addressed the status of a trek. It seems that while a full-blown tour is still highly unlikely, there might be more one-off performances in the cards, as long as they are for the right reasons. In the May issue of the periodical, the singer said, ³Hopefully, one day, we could do it again. Our profit isS itıs metaphysical.² Bassist John Paul Jones added, ³We spoke afterwards and we both thought the same it felt like the first night of a tour. You think, OOh, I could do that a bit better, or change something in that song.ı And we didnıt get a chance to do any more.² Read what else the musicians had to say at Uncut.co.uk. NO CD OR DVD OF ZEP REUNION SHOW ANYTIME SOON. If you werenıt lucky enough to see the Led Zeppelin reunion show last December, there is a chance you may have really missed out. Thatıs because the band isnıt planning on releasing a DVD or CD of the concert. According to Englandıs Daily Mirror, guitarist Jimmy Page said, ³It was recorded but we didnıt go in with the express purpose of making a DVD to come out at Christmas or whatever.² But donıt lose all hope, Page said that a future release ³at some distant point² was remotely possible. COULD THERE BE A NEW ALBUM FROM ZEPPELIN? If it turns out that Led Zeppelin doesnıt do a world tour, they might still be spending some time together in the studio working on a new album. Bassist John Paul Jones spoke to Uncut magazine about the possibility of new music. When asked about more original Zep records, Jones said, ³Iıd have to think about that. Iım not too sure. Iım not too certain about anything right at the moment. Iıve got no idea whatıs going to happen. But Iıd certainly like to play with Jimmy [Page] again.² So could this be all from the band? Uncut questioned Jones if the reunion began and ended at last Decemberıs Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London, and the bassist simply responded, ³Itıs possible. Itıs possible.² Read more at Uncut.co.uk. MORE DEAD WITH MORE OBAMA? Back in February, The Deadıs surviving members got together to perform at a Deadheads for Obama rally in San Francisco and, if the Senator from Illinois winds up getting the Democratic nomination for President, fans might see more of the band. Guitarist Bob Weir told Billboard that the group had fun during the rally and while each member is busy with their own projects, Weir notes, ³Weıll get together again. Iım sure of that.² Bob also revealed that he and his bandmates like Obama ³for different reasons² and goes on to explain, ³I think it may be the last chance in our lifetimes to get money out of politics, to show special interests the door. Itıs also a chance to get younger people involved in politics for the first time in many years; once theyıre involved, I think theyıll stay and thatıs more important because itıs their future being decided now.² In the meantime, Weir is trying to find a producer for his musical about Negro Leagues great Satchel Paige and heıs considering a new Ratdog album. 44-YEAR-OLD BAN AGAINST ROLLING STONES LIFTED. When the Rolling Stones played Blackpool, England in 1964, riots broke out which led to 50 injured people, along with vandalism and damage to the venue. Since that night, the band has been banned from performing in the town. However, NME reports that after 44 years, Blackpoolıs city council has lifted the ban and announced that the group is welcome to play there again. STONES DRUMMER WANTED TO WALK OUT OF OWN DOCUMENTARY? When Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts sat down to watch Shine a Light, the Martin Scorsese directed documentary about the group, he wanted to leave early because he wasnıt keen on watching the footage of him from decades ago. According to the BBC, Watts revealed, ³He [Scorsese] used a bit of flashback which I donıt really like much cause I donıt like seeing myself 40 years ago saying something stupid.² So why didnıt Watts just leave? Apparently, during the filmıs premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, Charlie was in the front and, as he says, ³You canıt get up and leave cause everyoneıs looking at you. So we had to sit through it, but actually, about five minutes from the end, I though, OOkay, thatıs enough.ı² Shine a Light comes out on April 4th. KEITH RICHARDS ON SEX AND SEXUALITY. Keith Richards is talking sex with GQ magazine. The Rolling Stones guitarist revealed that the number of women he shared with Mick Jagger was ³a stable² and explained that after Jagger took his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg in the O60s, Richards set out to try to steal every one of the singerıs women as revenge. Keith said, ³Iıve stolen quite a few off of him and heıs nudged his way into my lot, but not significantly. After the Anita thing, I made a point of stealing every b***h he had.² In the interview, Richards also opened up about Jaggerıs sexuality, adding, ³I really have no idea if anyone ever shoved it up the s***ter. Iım not there watching it every day. But there was, at the time, a load of excruciatingly painful campness that went on.² To read more, head to Men.Style.com/GQ. MOTORHEAD FEATURED IN NEW COMMERCIAL. Motorhead has influenced a new AT&T Wireless commercial. The ad features a hard rocking guy playing pool and singing ³Ace of Spades² while the viewers learn about the power of AT&T Wirelessı network, which is strong enough to get service in places where other networks might not. That way, according to the commercial, you wonıt miss the calls from your friends letting you know ³about Motorhead tickets tonight.² Meanwhile, the band is working on their follow-up to 2006ıs Kiss of Death. The new album is due out in late spring or early summer. YES WILL BE VIRTUALLY EVERYWHERE THIS SUMMER. Yes plan to celebrate their 40th anniversary as a band with a North American tour. The trek, which is the groupıs first in over five years, will bring them to 26 different cities. However, if your town isnıt one of them, you might not have to worry. Singer Jon Anderson spoke about an idea he has. (Actuality #5) ³I like the idea of podcasting on tour so that people all over the world will be able to see what itıs like to be in a crazy rock and roll band touring the world. Chaos. Beautiful chaos.² The Yes tour gets underway on July 12th in Quebec City, Canada and goes through late August. For dates, head to YesWorld.com. NOT TOO MANY PROBLEMS AT GIANT NEW ZEALAND FESTIVAL. It seems like too good a time was had by some at Wellingtonıs Rock2Wgtn festival this past weekend. At the event, which played host to the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Poison and Whitesnake, 20 people were arrested in two days. According to New Zealandıs Dominion Post, most of the arrests were for minor offenses. An official for the venue where the concert was held said, ³I think it was pretty good, given the type of crowd that we had all there looking to have a good time.² You can read more at Stuff.co.nz. Robert Crumb on Collecting The following quotes are taken from the book, ³Vinyl Junkies: Adventures in Record Collecting² by Brett Milano. ³Collecting is creepy. Record collectors put each other down for their various fixations. Everybody is convinced that his way of collecting is superior. They look down on casual collectors, who are just accumulators - the kind whoıll just pick up anything and let it pile up. A true collector is more of a connoisseur, and thatıs the good thing about collecting. It creates a connoisseurship to sort out whatıs worthwhile in the culture and what isnıt. Wealthy art collectors in this country have sorted out who the great artists are. If youıre collecting a lot of objects of one particular kind, you develop a very acute sense of discrimination.² ³Any of the younger guys who get into collecting are quirky and oddball types, pretty maladjusted people. Theyıre not into hanging around in bars and picking up chicks or nothing. If they have a girlfriend at all itıs amazing. And the older collectors I know, a lot of them just have their little room down in the basement where they go and listen. They donıt share it with anyone, and their wives donıt know anything about it. So when they die, the vultures start descending.² ³78 collectors have almost nothing to do with LP or 45 collectors; prewar collectors have nothing to do with postwar collectors. They donıt avoid each other, but they bully and pick on each other. Thatıs the problem, itıs lonely collecting records. You can share it, but thereıs a vicious undercurrent there, the only person you can ever impress with that rare record you just got is another collector whoıs looking for the same record. And the average person, I can show them the rarest record in the collection and theyıll say, OYeah? So what?ı ³I did try to share it with the world, I did comic stories about old musicians because I thought it was far superior to anything being done currently. In this case, I had done a comic story about Charley Patton, one of the great fathers of the blues, and the guy who published it was over at my house. So I took out one of my favorite 78s, Charley Pattonıs ODown the Dirt Road,ı and I put it on. So Iım sitting there, having this great experience listening to this record, and heıs sitting there quietly, patiently. And after I took it off, he looks at me and says, OSo, what did you like about that?ı I mean, he wasnıt trying to be insulting, just curious, but what can you say to that? So I donıt try to convert people anymore.² ³Picking up chicks? Forget it! It never gets them hot, they donıt give a shit about collectors. I wouldnıt say that collectors are antisocial - that would imply that they want to do something harmful to society - but itıs not very sociable either. Very self-obsessed, kind of asocial. Thatıs why the world looks down on collectors, it takes a certain kind of personality. There is nothing sexy or glamorous about it. Women arenıt attracted to people because they collect. You can go up to them and say, OIım an outlaw banditı and theyıll like that. But if you say, OIım a collectorı - no chance.² from http://msmilie.wordpress.com/2008/03/22/robert-crumb-on-collecting/ recycled again at BoingBoing.net WALTER BECKER TO RELEASE FIRST SOLO ALBUM IN 14 YEARS. Even though 14 years ago guitarist Walter Becker released an album outside the confines of Steely Dan, since then, he has been focusing on the band, that is, until now. Becker plans to release a new album called Circus Money later this spring and to promote the upcoming disc, Becker has involved his fans. The musician is asking visitors to his Web site to vote for the promo strategy theyıd most like to see employed to launch the album. Among the options are a promotional stunt such as faking his own death, an Internet assault on his enemies, a complex program of promotional freebies and giveaways, a well-publicized arrest and many others. As you wait for Circus Money to hit shelves and to see which promotional strategy you like the best, head to WalterBecker.com. NEW ARTICLE ON VAN HALEN TOURING HISTORY OUT. As fans wait for the rescheduled Van Halen tour dates to begin, they can bide their time by reading up on the band in a new article in Distinctly Oklahoma magazine. In itıs March 2008 issue, the periodical spotlights the bandıs touring history as it pertains to Oklahoma during the David Lee Roth era. The article contains previously unpublished vintage pictures from the ?0s and ?0s as well as setlists and anecdotes. Check it out at DistinctlyOklahoma.com. JOE SATRIANI TO DO IN-STORE APPEARANCES. Occasionally, Guitar Center will hold a GC Session in which a musician will come in to educate, inspire and conserve the tradition and art of rock music and for the next Session, theyıve got one of the worldıs best guitarists. Joe Satriani will appear in a series of national in-store events, sharing his experiences and techniques, talking about his signature gear and even performing songs spanning his entire career including his upcoming album Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock. The in-stores mark Joeıs only appearances before he takes off on an international tour on April 30th. Satriani will make 11 stops, starting on April 1st in Boston and going through April 11th in Seattle. For more info, go to GuitarCenter.com. GET THE STORY BEHIND THE DOORS?DEBUT ALBUM. Classic Albums DVDs give viewers insight about what went into the making of some of musicıs most legendary records and the latest installment of the DVD series will focus on The Doors and their 1967 self-titled debut. The disc features interviews with the bandıs three surviving members as well as the original engineer on the album. Famous Doors fans like Henry Rollins and Perry Farrell also speak about the effect of the influential album. Check it out when Classic Albums: The Doors hits shelves on April 22nd. NEW GRATEFUL DEAD BOX SET ON ITS WAY. Twenty-five years ago, the Grateful Dead played three nights at San Franciscoıs Winterland Arena and today, you can purchase a nine-disc boxed set that features every note from those shows re-mastered in HDCD. The set is called Winterland 1973: The Complete Recordings and it includes 72 previously unreleased tracks as well as a 28-page, full color booklet with rare photos. You can buy it all for $99.99 now exclusively at Dead.net and it will be shipped by the end of April. If you do pre-order it, you will also receive a bonus disc featuring a rare compilation of unreleased tunes from a December 1973 Cincinnati Gardens show. A BEATLES VERSION OF GUITAR HERO? You might soon be able to thrash to The Beatles on Guitar Hero. The Los Angeles Times reports that Martin Bandier, the top executive at the music publish company that owns the John Lennon-Paul McCartney copyrights, likes the idea of an edition of Guitar Hero dedicated to The Beatles. Bandier revealed, ³Itıs something we have talked about and something Iıd like to pursue.?nbsp; Last month, game makers Activision announced an Aerosmith version of Guitar Hero. CLAPTON PENS SONGS FOR NEW ALBUM. Soul and country superstar Solomon Burke plans to release his latest album, Like a Fire, in June and on it, youıll find two songs penned by Eric Clapton. The tracks on the record are based on Burkeıs reflections on life as well as his concern for the state of the world. Clapton wrote the albumıs title track, in which Burke waxes philosophically looking for answers. Eric also co-wrote the song ³Thank You?with Burke. Be on the lookout for the disc in a couple months. DOOBIE BROTHERS TO RE-RELEASE MINUTE BY MINUTE ON VINYL. High grade vinyl seems to be all the rage at record stores these days and on Tuesday, The Doobie Brothers?plan to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their album Minute By Minute with a 180 gram Audiophile vinyl release. The record, which earned the band four GRAMMY Awards and a couple of number one songs, originally came out in 1978. It includes the hit ³What a Fool Believes?and the vinyl master also features the original artwork elements, as well as a poly-lined audiophile sleeve so you can protect the album for another 30 years or more. STEELY DAN LIKES TO READ. When couples first meet they usually spend time finding out what they have in common. The same goes for bands, just ask Donald Fagen of Steely Dan. (Actuality #3) ³You know Iıve always been a big reader and you know both my partner Walter and I, when we met, I think, we not only had music in common but we both read a lot and thereıs certain books that we had in common.?Fagen has plenty of free time to read these days. Steely Danıs next concert isnıt until June 9th in Florida. Tickets for it go on sale next week. Check out SteelyDan.com for all the information. SPRINGSTEEN UPLOADS SOME VIDEOS. If you werenıt able to make it to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Bandıs shows in Hartford or Montreal |