Sure, when you're a musician, you can win an AMA, or a Grammy. You can get a Gold, Platinum, or even Diamond album. You can tour the world, hear your music during football games, and even get inducted into the Hall of Fame. These are all milestones of a successful career...
But, when you are honored by the President and the Kennedy Center, you've reached a whole new level.
That is what happened to Led Zeppelin this month.
They were honored with Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, Buddy Guy, and Natalia Makarova.
Check out the President talking about Led Zeppelin before the performances.
Jack Black intro's Led Zeppelin
Foo Fighters (with Taylor Hawkins singing)
Kid Rock
Lenny Kravitz
and finally Heart (featuring Jason Bonham) took it to a whole new level! Watch Robert Plant, he wipes away tears at the end!
After the ceremony, the joined David Letterman (also honored) on his show!
The folks at ADHD have brought an American tradition up to date in this heartwarming video. Let's just say it's not for the kids. Also, some long time speculations about certain Peanuts characters are validated. But I never would have figured Schroeder for a Leather guy..
This happened in Russia, which is like the Florida of Europe these days. It's scary at first, but once you see the cows stand up like they meant to that then there is a little relief. Is it bad that's the first thing I thought of and not the driver?
When I lived in Richmond, VA in the mid-90's there was a similar accident on Interstate 95. A truck full of Cows had rolled over after striking another truck which then burst into flames. At the time I was working at a local radio station and reports were coming in from drivers and police that flaming cows were running wild on the highway. So, naturally I went on the air and said, "We need to get a tanker truck of A1 Sauce to the scene immediately." My boss was not amused. I think he was a Vegetarian. Luckily, these cows were not set ablaze. Just tenderized.
The 121212 Concert for Sandy Relief turned into a 5 hour concert, and emotional event that had sentimental moments that brought you to tears, funny moments that made you laugh through those tears, and some moments that just pissed you off.
The show sounded great for the most part, and stars like Billy Crystal, Brian Williams, Jon Stewart, and Jimmy Fallon did a great job of putting the focus where it needed to be, on the victims of Sandy.
Bringing out Springsteen to kick off the show was brilliant, and when he invited Jon Bon Jovi to sing Born To Run with him, even Jon himself looked excited.
Roger Waters inviting Eddie Vedder to sing Comfortably Numb with him was another highlight! I love this version!
But I thought Roger Waters set, should have been all Roger singing. He had a guest vocalist from his band sing 2 songs, and no one even knew who he was. It was awkward. He should have just asked Eddie to do more than one song!
I thought Adam Sandler was a hit, he made me laugh even though others thought it was stupid!
The Who did well, but Roger Daltrey struggled with some of the notes, and he should keep his shirt on! But that's just me!
I thought the Rolling Stones did well too. They seemed like they were genuinely happy to be there, and to be part of the event.
Clapton killed it! He was great!
Christ Martin from Coldplay inviting Michael Stipe from REM onstage, was a welcome surprise and a definite highlight!
Billy Joel was one of the best performances of the night. He sounded great and was sincere in his delivery. I have been listening to Billy Joel since the show last night. One of my favorite songs of all time is Goodnight Saigon!
Bon Jovi was a huge hit and Wanted Dead or Alive is just as much as great song today as it was when it came out! But really Jon, a turtle neck? How were you not sweating to death in that thing?
And of course Paul McCartney and the remaining members of Nirvana! It was much anticipated, and I thought it was cool! Dave Grohl looked like a little kid at Christmas up there!
As far as lowlights, there were a few. Some of the SNL skits weren't very funny, Kristen Stewart introducing Bon Jovi seemed awkward and uncomfortable, Alisha Keys sounded good, but she should have closed her set with New York instead of closing the entire show with it, and Jay Z should have been there. He would have mopped the floor with Kanye West who was the biggest joke, and time suck of the evening. We could have had more Stones, more Eddie Vedder, more Dave Grohl, or an all star jam at the end, and instead we got almost 25 minutes of self indulgent, auto tuned, crap!
He seemed clueless about the victims as he sang songs about how cool he is, and how big his private jet is. Gold Digger? REALLY? He even mentioned how emotional it was to have friends stay with him, who had lost their homes. REALLY? What a dick!
He could have salvaged his "performance" with a few changes. 1. put him on BEFORE all of the Hall of Fame members. He looked foolish going on after them. 2. GET A BAND! The Roots would have given his performance a soul! 3. pick better songs, if you have them. 4. NO AUTO TUNE! You are sharing a stage with Roger Waters, Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and a f*cking Beatle figure it out and just decline the invite all together! 5. Bring Jamie Foxx up on stage since he was there already, or invite members of Run DMC or the Beastie Boys to come up onstage with you. ANYTHING BUT WHAT YOU DID!
All in all, it was a great night, for a great cause, and you can purchase the entire show from iTunes with the proceeds going to the charity! I would just skip over Kanye!
It's St. Nick Vs. Moses(played by special guest Snoop "81 Joints A Day" Lion). While I am partial to the D-O- Double G I'm kinda routing for Santa here.
There was much hype surrounding Sir Paul McCartney's performance at the 121212 Concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy last night at Madison Square Garden. Once it was leaked the day before that the surviving members of Nirvana were going to back the former Beatle, the internet exploded with Music Geek fervor. Was this going to be an actual Nirvana reunion? What Nirvana songs would Sir Paul attempt. The word "replace" was used in some stories. Really? Do you really think Paul McCartney could replace Kurt Cobain? Maybe Dave Grohl could replace George Harrison in the Beatles Reunion? I was expecting mostly Beatles and maybe one Nirvana song. I was hoping for a McCartney crooned "About A Girl" or "In Bloom". Seriously, I can hear that.
But what actually happened could be considered to be under whelming to the hypers and the doubters. After a sweet mix of Beatles, Wings, and solo material with his ace backing band, Sir Paul invited Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear to join him for a new original called "Cut Me Some Slack" written by him and Grohl that might be on the soundtrack to Grohl's upcoming documentary "Sound City". It was a heavy slab of groove rock reminiscent of the Beatles rocker "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" and Led Zeppelin. Check out the video here:
And that was it. No Beatles, No Nirvana. I actually liked it. I wanted to hear more. No, seriously. I hope they make more music like this! Some were very disappointed. Some on the intetrnets felt duped and some said that both McCartney and the Nirvana guys compromised their reputations by being on the same stage together. To those I say..Relax. They didn't butcher the sacred songs from either of their respective former bands. There was no bludgeoning of "A Day In The Life". Paul didn't cute up "Territorial Pissings". Relax. It was a group of guys having fun for a good cause. Anyone that has followed the careers of any of those involved know they long ago moved on from the Legendary Music that made them famous and have continued to evolve as musicians. McCartney's catalog speaks for itself and Grohl and Novoselic have respectfully preserved Nirvana's musical legacy.(Granted they had legal problems preventing them from trying. But they've been a little more classy about it than Courtney Love.)
Plus, it was great hearing Sir Paul McCartney say "Pat Smear!" Do you think Smear ever thought, back when he was in the Germs dodging snot and bottles in shit hole clubs, that he would ever share a stage at Madison Square Garden with a Beatle? No wonder he had that disbelieving look on his face the whole time. I wonder what the Germs, "Lexicon Devil" would sound like with Sir Paul on vocals?
Starting at 7:30 tonight, some of the biggest names in music will join together to help raise money for the Robin Hood Relief Fund to benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy. There are going to be some amazing collaborations tonight, including Eddie Vedder and Roger Waters performing "Comfortably Numb" and Paul McCartney joining the remaining members of Nirvana on stage. And those are just the one's we know about!
Tickets have been sold out since they went on sale, but you can watch the entire show LIVE in the player below!
Let me know who your favorite performer was, and don't forget to donate!
Scruffy Wallace from the Dropkick Murphy's and Developer Jimmy Lamarr have joined forces in support of local Veterans in need.
Together they have launched a new non-profit "We Salute You Veterans".
Check out the interview below, and the links to get more info!
So, judging by the news coming out of Worcester, it's ok to assault police officers? Well that's what a group of high school students and even a "parent" thought yesterday afternoon when 50 of them surrounded 4 uniformed officers and assaulted them, causing injury. Yup, you read that right, a "parent" too. I use quotes, because the proper definition of parent is "a person who brings up and cares for another". Well, when your child is attacking a uniformed police officer, and you jump in and help... you are not "Bringing up" anyone, and therefor you are not a parent. You are an a**hole!
Being in a crowd of 50 and surrounding a small group of police officers does not make you tough.
You know what makes you tough?
You are tough when you are a little girl in Afghanistan, and walking to school everyday when terrorists, your community, and even some in your own family do not want you to be educated!
You are tough when you save the lives of 36 fellow Marines while you are under attack in Afghanistan!
You are tough when you are a police officer who is surrounded, outnumbered, and ARMED, and you never take out your weapon to defend yourself because you are surrounded by KIDS!
So, to those students in Worcester I say this: The world is bigger than Worcester, and a hell of a lot meaner too. Since it's obvious that your "parents" are not going to teach you the life lessons that you need to learn, you are doomed to learn them the hard way!
Worcester, MA (December 10, 2012) - On Monday, December 10, 2012 at approximately 2:07 PM officers assigned to the Community Impact Division were stationed in the area of Hamilton Street and Harrington Way as North High School was letting out students for the day. The purpose of the officers' presence was due, in part, by an altercation on Friday, December 7, 2012 when a fight involving several students broke out when school was ending for the day. On that day an off-duty Worcester Police Officer was driving by the school when the students were getting out. The officer observed 3 students kicking and punching a person who was on the ground. The off duty officer stopped and exited his vehicle to break up the fight. The three youths then attacked the officer and beat him as well. Several police officers responded to the scene and disbursed the unruly crowd which now grew to approximately 30 students. The 3 aggressors were placed under arrest. Those arrested were 16 years old and charged with Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, Disorderly Conduct and Disturbing the Peace.
Today, as students were leaving for the day a 15 year old male walked by the officers and began to loudly yell profanities at the police officers present on Hamilton Street by Stratfield Street. This male was causing a disturbance for the neighbors as he continued to yell profanities at the police. At this time two officers approached this male and asked him to stop yelling swear words. The teen apologized to the officers and stated that he was on the basketball team and did not want to get into trouble. At this time, approximately 40 to 50 teens began to gather and surround the officers. The teens were ordered to stay back but they refused. The group started to chant to free the teen that the officers were talking to. The group continued to close in on the two officers. Fearing for their safety the officers called for assistance.
Several officers arrived at the scene and immediately ordered the crowd back. There were two main aggressors in the group, Mr. Emmanuel Natal, 18 years old and Ms. Jasmine Hudson, 17 years old. Ms. Hudson began to yell to the police that she did not have to leave while Mr. Natal pushed his way through the crowd clenching his fists and yelling and swearing at the officers present. At one point, Mr. Natal refused numerous orders to leave the area and attacked one of the officers by punching the officer twice in the chest. Mr. Natal was tackled to the ground by other nearby officers. Natal began to violently resist being placed under arrest. While this was taking place John Clough, 17 years old, jumped on an officer's back while they were securing Mr. Natal. Mr. Clough began to violently resist arrest and fought with two police officers. As a result, one of the officers broke his leg in two places when they all fell to the ground during the struggle.
A 15 year old male was now acting aggressive to a female officer at the scene. Two other officers encountered this male and were in the process of placing him under arrest when Ms. Hudson approached one of the officers and began to punch him in the face. At the same time, a 16 year old female began to punch the same officer in the back of his head. The nearby female officer pulled the 16 year old off of the officer and the teen began to pull the officer's hair and punch the officer in her face with a closed fist.
Ms. Hudson was physically subdued and placed under arrest. Meanwhile the mother of the 16 year old female, Elsie Rivera, 37 years old, got in between the police and her daughter and tried to separate the daughter from the police. Ms. Rivera began to punch the female officer in the arm to try to free her daughter while the daughter was still actively resisting arrest. Ms. Rivera was placed under arrest and her daughter was eventually subdued and placed under arrest.
Ms. Rivera and her 16 year old daughter were both charged with Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, Resisting Arrest, Disorderly Conduct and Disturbing the Peace. The 15 year old male was charged with Disorderly Conduct and Disturbing the Peace. Ms. Hudson, Mr. Natal and Mr. Clough were all charged with Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, Resisting Arrest, Disorderly Conduct and Disturbing the Peace. The 15 year old male who instigated this incident was not in the area when the crowd was eventually under control.
The police officer was transported to a nearby hospital by Worcester EMS where he will be treated for his leg injury; his injuries will keep him out of work for several weeks.
At a press conference today at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist and 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Flea announced the list of performer inductees and Ahmet Ertegun Award recipients for induction. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees for 2013 are:
Performer Category:
· Heart
· Albert King
· Randy Newman
· Public Enemy
· Rush
· Donna Summer
Ahmet Ertegun (non performer) Award:
· Lou Adler
· Quincy Jones
Scheduled for Thursday, April 18, 2013, the 28th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. This marks the first time since 1993 that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on the West Coast. The ceremony will again be open to the public, as it was in 2009 and 2012 in Cleveland.
Joel Peresman, President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said, “We are thrilled to announce this year’s class of inductees, which again represents the broad, compelling and significant definition of rock and roll.”
The induction ceremony will broadcast on HBO on Saturday, May 18 at 9pm ET/PT. Said Michael Lombardo, President of HBO Programming, "We are excited to team up once again with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for what is sure to be an incredible evening of one-of-a-kind performances.”
Ticket Purchase Information
Tickets to the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony go on sale to the public on Friday, January 25th. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Members will have the opportunity to purchase advance sale tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2013 Inductions. Memberships must be active as of January 1st, 2013. Some restrictions apply. Click here or reference the Rock Hall Membership e-newsletter for details.
The 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performer inductees were chosen by more than 500 voters of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. The 2013 Nominees had to release their first recording no later than 1987.
For the first time in its history, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame offered fans the opportunity to officially participate in the induction selection process. The public was able to visit rockhall.com, hbo.com, CNN.com and rollingstone.com to cast votes for who they believe to be most deserving of induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The top five artists, as selected by the public, comprised a “fans’ ballot” that was tallied along with the other ballots to choose the 2013 inductees.
All inductees are ultimately represented in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. It carries out this mission both through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form; and through its library and archives, as well as its educational activities.
