Rock Band 3 Review

The developers of “Rock Band 3” have surely heard the bell-ringers who claim that the music game genre is dead and have accepted the challenge presented to them. People have been proclaiming rock to be dead for decades only to be proven wrong by an amazing new release. Does “Rock Band 3” disprove the naysayers and reinvigorate the oversaturated genre?

It’s hard to see those who have given up on the “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” games being dragged back to the genre by a title that is essentially founded on what made music games popular in the first place. In other words, if you’ve given up on rock to the point that you don’t even like the sound of a guitar any more, there’s no new album that’s going to change the sound to your ear. “Rock Band 3” is an expansion of “Rock Band 2” in a way that plays to fans of the franchise not in a way that tries to re-imagine the wheel and bring people back to the series.

And that’s the way it should be. There was concern that “Rock Band 3” might stray too far from what made these games work in the first place with new instruments, a new challenge structure, and more, but the “enhancements” to the sequel are just that — things that build on what came before. Think of “Rock Band 3” like a new model of a car that you’ve driven. It has some new tools, rides a little smoother, looks more modern, and features some new sounds but it’s basically the same automobile.

Of course, the big draw of the new “Rock Band” title is the addition of keyboards and pro instruments that encourage actual note-playing over the five-color system of most music games. I wish we could report on those elements but new instruments were not available for review. At first, we weren’t sure whether or not to cover “Rock Band 3” without the new tools but the fact is that there are many, many people out there who cannot afford the pricy new toys and will be content, through choice or financial necessity, to use their well-worn guitar, drums, and mic on just the game while they send Santa letters for the other instruments. Perhaps we will get around to our opinion of the new instruments and how they play in the game down the road. For now, this is a game-only review with the awareness that Reverb deserves credit for trying to expand their music gaming universe. We just wish we knew how the expansion was going.

So, you’re one of the millions picking up the game-only edition of “Rock Band 3” — what can you expect? First of all, the game feels comfortably familiar. The graphics are similar to the last release although a little more refined and more smoothly animated but the basic gameplay feels the same. For many, this might be disappointing, as it’s easy to first see the title as nothing more than an 83-song track pack. Of course, when the songs are this well-chosen and executed, that might be enough for some.

Here is the entire, jaw-dropping Rock Band 3 setlist:
2000s:

* Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”
* At the Drive-In, “One Armed Scissor”
* Avenged Sevenfold, “The Beast & the Harlot”
* Dover, “King George”
* The Bronx, “False Alarm”
* The Flaming Lips, “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1”
* HIM (His Infernal Majesty), “Killing Loneliness”
* Hypernova, “Viva La Resistance”
* Ida Maria, “Oh My God”*
* Juanes, “Me Enamora”
* Metric, “Combat Baby”*
* Paramore, “Misery Business”*
* Phoenix, “Lasso”*
* Poni Hoax, “Antibodies”
* Pretty Girls Make Graves, “Something Bigger, Something Brighter”
* Queens of the Stone Age, “No One Knows”
* The Ravonettes, “Last Dance”
* Rilo Kiley, “Portions for Foxes”*
* Riverboat Gamblers, “Don't Bury Me...I'm Still Not Dead”
* Slipknot, “Before I Forget”
* The Sounds, “Living in America”
* Tegan & Sara, “The Con”
* Them Crooked Vultures, “Dead End Friends”
* Tokio Hotel, “Humanoid”*
* The Vines, “Get Free”*
* The White Stripes, “The Hardest Button to Button”*

1990s:

* Faith No More, “Midlife Crisis”*
* Filter, “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
* Jane’s Addiction, “Been Caught Stealing”*
* Maná, “Oye Mi Amor”
* Marilyn Manson, “The Beautiful People”
* The Muffs, “Outer Space”
* Phish, “Llama”
* Primus, “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver”
* Rammstein, “Du Hast”
* Smash Mouth, “Walkin’ On The Sun”*
* Spacehog, “In the Meantime”
* Stone Temple Pilots, “Plush”
* Swingin’ Utters, “This Bastard’s Life”

1980s:

* Anthrax, “Caught in a Mosh”
* Big Country, “In a Big Country”
* The Cure, “Just Like Heaven”*
* Def Leppard, “Foolin’”
* Devo, “Whip It”
* Dio, “Rainbow in the Dark”
* Dire Straits, “Walk of Life”
* Echo & the Bunnymen, “The Killing Moon”
* Huey Lewis and the News, “The Power of Love”
* INXS, “Need You Tonight”*
* J. Geils Band, “Centerfold”
* Joan Jett, “I Love Rock N’ Roll”*
* Night Ranger, “Sister Christian”*
* Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train”*
* The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
* Roxette, “The Look”*
* The Smiths, “Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”
* Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
* Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”*

1970s:

* The B-52’s, “Rock Lobster”*
* Blondie, “Heart of Glass”
* Bob Marley, “Get Up, Stand Up”
* Chicago, “25 or 6 to 4”
* Deep Purple, “Smoke on the Water”
* Doobie Brothers, “China Grove”*
* Elton John, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
* Foreigner, “Cold As Ice”*
* Golden Earring, “Radar Love”
* John Lennon, “Imagine”
* Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Free Bird”
* Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody”*
* Ramones, “I Wanna Be Sedated”
* Steve Miller Band, “Fly Like an Eagle”
* T. Rex, “20th Century Boy”
* Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “I Need to Know”
* War, “Low Rider”
* Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London”
* Yes, “Roundabout”*

1960s:

* Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations (Live)”
* David Bowie, “Space Oddity”
* The Doors, “Break on Through (To the Other Side)”*
* James Brown, “I Got You" (I Feel Good) – Alternate Studio Version*
* The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Crosstown Traffic”*
* The Who, “I Can See for Miles”

*Songs available on Rock Band 3 for Nintendo DS

Rock Band 3 allows players to create and save setlists and share them with friends, both in-game and through RockBand.com. New song filters make it easier to find the types of songs fans want to play and hide the songs they don’t, while a built-in song recommendation system will suggest tracks from Rock Band’s colossal music library, based on personal fan preference. In addition to guitar, bass, drums and solo vocals, Rock Band 3 adds three-part vocal harmonies that were introduced with The Beatles: Rock Band and, for the first time ever, a keyboard peripheral to the band. Up to seven players can rock together for the ultimate social gaming experience.

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Take That

Take That are a five-piece pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Gary Barlow is the group's frontman and primary songwriter. Formed in Manchester in 1990, the band achieved major success, selling more than 25 million records between 1991–96 alone before disbanding.

In 2005 the group reformed without Williams and achieved new success as a four-piece scoring a string of chart hits whilst taking the number of records sold to over 40 million worldwide. In July 2010, Robbie Williams' return to the band was confirmed. In total the band have had 22 top forty singles in the UK alone, 11 of which have reached #1 as well as having five number 1 albums.

Williams having left the band in 1995, the rest of Take That split up in 1996. However, after a 2005 documentary and the release of a new greatest hits album, they officially announced a 2006 reunion tour around the United Kingdom, entitled The Ultimate Tour. On 9 May 2006, it was announced that Take That were set to record together as a band once again.

On 7 June 2010 the news broke of a single called "Shame" which had been written by Barlow and Williams and which would features the vocals of both artists. This was the first time the pair had worked together since 1995 and would appear on the second greatest hits collection of Williams. The single peaked at number 2 on the UK singles chart whilst also achieving success throughout Europe.

On 15 July 2010, Robbie Williams announced he was returning to Take That. A joint statement between Williams and the group said "The rumours are true... Take That: the original lineup, have written and recorded a new album for release later this year," read the band's statement. "Following months of speculation Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams confirmed they have been recording a new studio album as a five-piece, which they will release in November."

The lead single from Take That's forthcoming album Progress has been announced as "The Flood" and will be released 07 November, with the album released a week later on 15 November. Take That announced on 19 October that they had considered changing the name of the band to The English prior to the release of their sixth studio album. They decided against this after Williams' return to the band, choosing to maintain the name that made them famous.

Take That held a press conference in London today to announce Take That new tour dates. The band revealed that the Progress Live 2011 tour will include cities such as Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow and London, kicking off in Sunderland on May 30. It’s been a big couple of months for the reunited group and especially for Robbie, who married Ayda Field in August.

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Green Day's European cinemas

MTV is taking its live music initiative World Stage into cinemas across Europe next month, with a gig from Green Day.

MTV World Stage: Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown will be screened in more than 150 cinemas across 10 countries, including the UK and Ireland, from November 15.

The 80-minute concert film captures the band live at the Olympia Halle in Munich. More details are available from greenday.mtv.com, including full screening times.

Screening live gigs in european cinemas has become increasingly popular over recent years, with Bon Jovi and Metallica among the bands who have experimented with it.

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Paramore Announce New Single - Playing God

Tennessee five piece Paramore are set to release the single ‘Playing God’ on November 15th. This will be the fifth release taken from their Number 1, platinum certified album brand new eyes. Brand New Eyes is their third album, released September 29, 2009 through Fueled by Ramen in the United States and Canada.

Critical response to Brand New Eyes was mostly positive. According to Metacritic, the album holds a score of 73 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Paramore also try and showcase their maturity by chucking a couple of slowies into the mix. ‘The Only Exception’ turns out to be a rather sappy, nondescript love song, which doesn’t quite warrant the abrupt change of pace. It feels like something Katy Perry would dismiss for being too lightweight, with its mechanical, campfire strumming and general uninspiring air.

Currently on a headline tour of Australia, Japan and New Zealand, and fresh from performing at this year’s VMA’s, Paramore will be back in the UK for a run of headline dates in November. The forthcoming UK tour follows their sold out arena tour at the end of 2009, as well as performances at this summer’s Reading & Leeds festival.

Having so far performed live in front of over 1 million people in 2010, Paramore are due to play their biggest headline shows to date in the UK, adding over a 100,000 people to that already impressive audience figure.

Full November dates are as follows:
Mon 8 Nottingham Trent FM Arena
Wed 10 Liverpool Echo Arena SOLD OUT
Thu 11 Sheffield Arena 0114 265 5656
Sat 13 London O2 Arena SOLD OUT
Mon 15 London O2 Arena 0844 856 0202
Tue 16 Birmingham LG Arena SOLD OUT
Thu 18 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena SOLD OUT
Fri 19 Manchester MEN Arena
Sat 20 Aberdeen AECC SOLD OUT

Atlanta rapper B.o.B (whose track Airplanes Hayley appears on) and New York three-piece fun. will be opening for Paramore at all the UK shows except Aberdeen. Can't wait for Paramore - Playing God music video.

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Blink-182 Mark Hoppus Posts Video Update

Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus has posted a video update from the studio as the band continue to record a long-awaited new album, their first new music since the self-titled effort of 2003. The clip is, conveniently, right below.

"I think we're going to try and come back [to the UK] in Summer next year," Mark Hoppus told at Reading Festival. "It all depends on how fast we write the next record but we're already making plans to come back as soon as possible."

Mark Hoppus, the video was great but get on with it, finish the record and come tour already! The clip is, conveniently, right below.

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Kings of Leon Took More Than Musical Cues

The Kings of Leon took more than musical cues when they opened a concert tour for U2 a few years back. They learned that ambition isn't a dirty word. That lesson is clearly evident on "Come Around Sundown," the rock band's first collection of music since the hits "Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody" made them Grammy-winning stars. The album cover's palm trees recall the Eagles' "Hotel California" (16 million sold) and the music inside is epic and inviting.

"If the world is looking for a big band from our generation, we at least want to give it a shot," said 28-year-old singer Caleb Followill, one of three brothers and a cousin in the group named for his grandfather. "We'll put ourselves up there against anyone because we're very competitive and we're family. Yeah, we'll give it a shot. I'm not afraid to at least try."

The admission cuts against the grain of an ambivalence toward success that has run strong in the rock 'n' roll world — coinciding with its diminished influence as a force in popular culture — and the Kings' own wrestling with good fortune.

The Beatles and Elvis Presley never thought twice about wanting to be big stars. The attitude is different today, perhaps dating to Bruce Springsteen's pulling back from his "Born in the USA" stardom and, especially, the suspicion that Pearl Jam and Nirvana felt about popularity. An underground ethos took hold. Most rock artists prefer being part of a subculture and don't make the effort to break through to a wider audience, said Brian Hiatt, senior writer at Rolling Stone magazine.

"It has kind of messed with fans' heads and confused rock music fans about what is acceptable and what is not," he said. The quality of work almost doesn't matter; many fans will simply dump a band when they become popular, he said.

For four albums, the Kings of Leon were underground darlings in the United States, with more mainstream appeal overseas. Things changed with the "Only by the Night" disc in 2008. Buoyed by the hit songs, it sold north of 6 million copies.

That messed with the Nashville, Tenn.-based band's heads. Followill told Spin magazine that they got bigger than they wanted to be. "You feel like you've done something wrong," he told the magazine in December of last year, in a quote he'd live to regret. "That woman in mom jeans who never let me date her daughter? She likes my music. ... Not cool."

Kings of Leon were approached to have their music covered on the Fox television musical series "Glee" and turned down the opportunity. "If you want to be a rock star, you have to keep your credibility," he said. "You need to be offending someone."

Followill acknowledged this week that the popularity initially scared him, making him wonder if he had lost his edge. That's when he thought back to his time spent with U2 — one of the few remaining rock bands that can fill a stadium yet remain a creative force. It's not a bad life, traveling to gigs in plush jets instead of drafty vans.

"You have to step up to the plate and say, `All right, do I have it in me to be one of the biggest bands?'" he said. "Even though that's a lofty goal, you have to come to terms and say, `Can I take the pressure?' We all agreed that we could. There are definitely times where we are second-guessing and wondering why we thought that because there is so much negative that comes along with the positive. People are going to hate you and people are going to want to see you fail because you reach a certain level."

Any remaining self-doubt wasn't evident in the music. Kings of Leon don't fall prey to an indie rock small sound, esoteric for the sake of being so. Guitars soar — U2 is a handy reference point here, too — but Followill's distinctive rough croon prevents edges from being smoothed away.

Yes, there are naysayers. The website The Zeitgeisty Report seemed visibly angry at the size of the bandwagon: "They've become the band that vacuous idiots and bimbos think is `edgy' only they're anything but now."

"They've made an album with an old-fashioned commitment to greatness, a determination to fashion something bold and original," wrote Neil McCormick in the Telegraph newspaper in Britain, where the Kings are seeking their third No. 1 disc.

Reaching the same spot here is a goal they may reach next week. It's no coincidence the Kings released "Come Around Sundown" a week before Taylor Swift dropped her new disc.

The Followill brothers Caleb, 31-year-old Nathan and 24-year-old Jared grew up as the sons of a fundamentalist Christian minister who traveled around the South. They sought big-city energy in recording the new disc in New York. The band, which also includes cousin Matthew Followill, 26, tends to kick around musical ideas in sound checks or in the studio, with Caleb retreating to write lyrics when they settle on a tune they like.

Caleb's particularly proud of the song "Back Down South," where the band invited friends to sing and add a fiddle. It illustrated the strengths of using the studio as an instrument of experimentation, an approach he'd like to expand upon in future recordings. Their father resisted rock 'n' roll when his sons were growing up, Followill said, and now he's one of their biggest fans. Caleb is also pleased to be making something of the family name to Kings of Leon. Before, Followills mostly were known for painting houses. "We've still got a lot of family painting homes," he said. "But they're wearing Kings of Leon T-shirts while they're doing it." Source: Yahoo.com

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Alexi Laiho Talks About COB New Album

In a recent interview with Revolver magazine, CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho said that he was happy with the decision to work with Hyde. "Our management was pushing the idea," Laiho said, "so eventually it was, 'All right, fuck it. Just to shut them up, let's do it.' We liked the way [Hyde] talked about music and the way he was already so fucking committed. He wanted to do the best fucking CHILDREN OF BODOM album ever and was pretty serious and convincing about that. After five minutes of talking to the dude, we knew he was the guy."

Regarding the musical direction of the new CHILDREN OF BODOM material, Laiho told Revolver, "It's maybe a little more melodic than [2008's] 'Blooddrunk' was. It's maybe more guitar riff-oriented, really '80s guitar and stuff like that."

According to Laiho, the recording sessions for the new CHILDREN OF BODOM album produced nine originals and one cover song that he says is "gonna be fucking funny as shit. I don't think it's something anybody would necessarily want to cover — not a metal band, anyway."

Among the new tracks that are set to appear on the next CHILDREN OF BODOM CD are "Pussyfoot Miss Suicide", "Ugly" and "Was It Worth It?", the latter of which the band shot a video for on October 6 somewhere in north Pennsylvania." Directing the clip was Dale "Rage" Resteghini, who has helmed over 550 music videos since 2003, including clips for such metal bands as MUDVAYNE, HATEBREED, ANTHRAX and SHADOWS FALL. Rage has also directed videos for some of the biggest names in the hip hop world, including Lil Wayne, Diddy, Snoop Dog and Ice Cube.

Regarding the subject matter covered in the "Pussyfoot Miss Suicide" lyrics, Alexi Laiho told Revolver, "I've been involved with stupid chicks who were trying to get attention by being, 'Oh, I'm so fucking depressed. I'm gonna slit my wrists with a cheese grater...' And it's so fucking boring, like, 'Just let it go. You're really not gonna do it, anyway.' It's kind of harsh, but it's fuckin' black humor." "Ugly", on the other hand, is "really just venting and screaming stupid stuff. Nobody should expect anything deep and poetic and sensitive and intelligent, y'know?"

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Slipknot's Issues Threat

Slipknot percussionist Sean ‘Clown’ Crahan, who started the band with tragic bassist Paul Gray, says the outfit will come back stronger and leaner as a result of his death.

Gray’s body was found in a hotel room in May after falling victim to an accidental overdoes of subscription painkillers. The band have sent crossed signals about their future since then – but now Crahan has issued a threat on his colleagues’ behalf.

In an emotional heart-stirring speech he tells Sirius XM: “Starting the band with Paul, I have a heavy responsibility to think about what he would have liked for what we started together. It wasn’t just Paul and I in this band, let’s make that clear, but we started something together.

“He’s so big right now, so it’s time for the rest of us to get what we’ve always needed. The big bands need to get the fuck out of my face. The industry needs to get the fuck out of my face. Everybody needs to get out of our way because we’re going to spread the seed.

“It’s going to take time, but this is a threat. Today is a threat, a new beginning. And that’s how I want it to be.”

Crahan says coming to terms with the loss of Gray has helped him understand more about what Slipknot are as a group of artists. He believes the loss will act as the strongest motivation they’ve ever had.

“It’s horrible, but he speaks in volumes,” the percussionist explains. “As bad as this sounds, everything happens for a reason – and I’m going to miss him every day of my life. There’s not going to be a day I don’t mention Paul Gray.

“But every day I wake up is a blessing, and I want to remember that. I want everybody in the world to remember that. The world is on its way out and we’ll be the band that will play the music for its way out.

“We will never be the same. You will never be the same. Here’s to the future and our continuing evolution.”

In recent months various members of the now eight-strong band have voiced support for continuing its career, with the notable exception being frontman Corey Taylor, who’s refrained from committing himself, insisting it’s too early for him to understand how he feels.

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Linkin Park - Waiting For The End Video

"Waiting for the End" is the second single from Linkin Park fourth studio album. Linkin Park - Waiting for the End Music Video, was released on October 8, 2010 on MTV. MTV's James Montgomery praised the song, describing it as "one part soaring, big-boned ballad, one part rattling, slightly Ragga dancehall toast, and zero parts anything LP have previously attempted.

The clip was directed by the band's Joe Hahn, who states about the Waiting for the End video, "It was an opportunity to experiment with pushing the digital envelope as it pertains to the visual language created thus far for 'A Thousand Suns'. It was my attempt to digitally crush us to the point that you feel the soul of the music through what has become the essence of us.

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Going Back is the last Phil Collins album

Genesis singer and drummer Phil Collins says that Going Back, his new album of R&B covers, will be his last ever. "I'm not anticipating doing anything else," said Collins. "If I do write songs... I don't know about putting them out on an album or anything like that. I don't really have the desire to do that now."

Of his decision to quit music, Phil Collins told Billboard.Com, "It bothers me a lot less than people think it probably would. I've pushed my particular envelope wider than a lot of people probably remember. There's always going to be some things you wish you'd done differently, but in general I'm very proud of what I've done and there's not a lot I haven't tried."

Going Back, which recently debuted at at No. 1 on the UK albums chart (it debuted at No. 34 in the US), reflects Collins desire to be as faithful to the songs he loves - they include classics such as Papa Was A Rolling Stone and (Love Is Like A) Heatwave - as possible. To do so, he recorded with the three surviving members of the legendary Funk Brothers, who played on hundreds of R&B hits.

"I didn't want to bring anything new to the table, really," Phil Collins told The Huffington Post. "I don't mean that in a negative way, I just think that I wanted the record to be an operative of the period, so you would kind of have that feeling you had when you heard the song originally.

"That was an interesting project to try. My engineer and I listened constantly to the originals - when we were recording with The Funk Brothers, doing my demos, and mixing. We constantly referred back to see what it was that made those records and those songs sound so special, and sometimes, it was obviously the way they were recorded because the technology at the time was very limited."

Phil Collins next project is a surprising one: he's working on a book about his huge collection of Alamo and Texas Revolution artifacts. "It's a huge collection of memorabilia from the Alamo and before and after it, basically the Texas Revolution in general," said Collins, who was first inspired by Texas history as a child after seeing the Walt Disney film, Davy Crockett. "It's basically the history of all the things I've collected and putting them in the context of the revolution. It's in progress and it's entertaining."

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John Lennon quotes

John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, and together with Paul McCartney formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century.

John Lennon played a number of instruments, including percussion instruments and the flute. His first instrument as a child was the banjo. His mother taught him how to play, then bought him an acoustic guitar. His playing on the mouth organ during a bus journey to visit his cousin in Scotland caught the driver’s ear. Impressed, the driver told Lennon of a harmonica he could have if he came to Edinburgh the following day, where one had been stored in the bus depot since a passenger left it on a bus. The professional instrument quickly replaced Lennon’s toy. He would continue to play harmonica, often using the instrument during the Beatles Hamburg years, and it became a signature sound in the group’s early recordings.

John Lennon quotes are many, both from interviews and in song lyrics, but are a lovely way to remember John Lennon’s birthday on October 9. Lennon, who was killed in 1980, would have been 70 years old.

Here are some other famous John Lennon quotes:
“The more I see the less I know for sure.”
“All we are saying is give peace a chance.”
“Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.”
“Everything is clearer when you’re in love.”
“I’m not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I’ve always been a freak. So I’ve been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I’m one of those people.”
“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
“There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known.”
“As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot.”
“Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.”
“My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.”

My favorite John Lennon quote is “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans,” from the song “Beautiful Boy” Source: The Most Popular Person Now.

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Bring Me The Horizon - It Never Ends

"It Never Ends" is a song by English metalcore band Bring Me the Horizon, featured on their 2010 third studio album There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret. It was released as the album's first single on August 20 in the United Kingdom.

Staff reviewer for AbsolutePunk, stated that "...you can hear the significance of the album title here. The battle between hell and heaven, and this track is a great example". The overall analysis of It Never Ends song is positive and he even goes on to describe it as "...BMTH best song yet" What about your opinion, rock music fans?

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Kings Of Leon's Only By The Night still outpaces Lady Gaga

With their new album, Come Around Sundown, just weeks from release, Kings Of Leon have plenty to crow about - and some of it's due to their last record: Only By The Night, issued in 2008, which has been named the top-selling digital album in the UK.

According to official figures, the album has been downloaded 276,000 times, just ahead of Lady Gaga's The Fame with 261,000 downloads. Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official Charts Company, predicted that while it will still take time for downloads to overtake CDs, "which still account for four of every five albums sold," he predicted that the number of legal download sites and the competitive cost of digital albums will see their popularity grow.

'With Kings Of Leon leading the way in the all-time list - Only By The Night becoming the first album to sell more than quarter of a million copies - it won't be long before we see the first half-million-selling digital album," Talbot said. Folk rockers Mumford & Sons could hit that mark, as their record Sigh No More is 2010's biggest-selling digital album thus far. But everybody has a long way to go to upend country-pop artist Taylor Swift, who, with 28 million song downloads, is the world's biggest-selling digital artist. For the moment, at least. Source: NME.com

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Doug Maverick's Profile

Doug Maverick was born and raised in Cleveland. He Took piano lessons on and off (mostly off) since the age of 4. Yeah, he is still no good; but he know a couple Chopin tunes which is enough for him. He played in a few pop/punk type bands in high school. Nothing really panned out. He got a full-ride scholarship to a local university (which shall remain nameless). He realized college wasn’t for him. Doug was asked to leave after the first year.

Doug Maverick then toured with a small band called Spenser around the east coast. They had some label interest, but eventually due a difference of differing artistic and other different differences, the band split. Doug moved to Los Angeles to seek his solo artist fame and fortune. The only accurate part ended up being the solo part. He eventually fell into the 9-5 (12-9 for him) job of being a professional poker player at an LA casino.

Doug adopted the name, “Maverick,” which he basically promoted himself around the players of the casino. This later changed to “Doug Maverick.” After a couple fairly successful years of this, Doug had some cash, but realized he was (ironically) not at all richer for the experience. Driven by this new selfish longing, he returned home to Cleveland to invest in his own musical career.

Then Doug Maverick recorded the album “Who Is Doug Maverick?” in his basement by himself. There are probably a lot of exciting details, but you’ll probably never hear them unless you’re a bartender or a hairdresser. Armed with this album and unhampered by a record label, Doug Maverick putting himself out there hoping that people will like the music. Doug recently recorded with producer Jim Wirt (Incubus, Fiona Apple) in Santa Monica. For More information about Doug Maverick, just visit Dougmaverick.com and twitter.com/dougmaverick. Source: Doug Maverick

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Mike Portnoy Meets James "The Rev" Sullivan's Family

Hello rock music fan, we wanna share that Ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy, who is currently performing with AVENGED SEVENFOLD filling in James "The Rev" Sullivan, met up with Sullivan's family for the first time on on September 17th in Irvine, CA. Sullivan died on December 28th, 2009 from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs and alcohol. Chris Epting at Beliefnet.com documented the meeting in his blog, an excerpt is available below.

"The band's drummer, Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan died last December, and since then I have written several newspaper columns on Sullivan, the band, and especially the fans, who share a special bond with this band--a deeply emotional connection to the music, the lyrics and the members themselves.

Interestingly, after Sullivan's death, legendary drummer Mike Portnoy was asked to sit in on the new album and then ultimately, the tour the band is in the midst of now.

Portnoy, leader of the famed prog-metal outfit Dream Theater was Sullivan's favorite drummer growing up, so the news of Portnoy's involvement was significant (Portnoy also made big news recently after announcing that he was leaving Dream Theater to pursue new creative avenues).

My family and the Sullivans are good friends, and we met them after the show Friday night. This was the first time they'd seen Avenged Sevenfold, and so they were understandably emotional. Joe, Barbara and their two grown daughters told us they'd enjoyed the power of the show but that obviously, it was strange (and sad) to not see Jimmy behind the drum kit. Mike Portnoy was kind enough to arrange for my son and I to go backstage after the show to see him."

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All Time Low

All Time Low is a pop-punk band from Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland, that formed in 2003. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Alex Gaskarth, guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist Zack Merrick and drummer Rian Dawson. The name All Time Low is taken from lyrics in the song “Head on Collision” by New Found Glory.

All Time Low has released three studio albums as a band, all with the current lineup. Before releasing any records the drummer was replaced. The band signed their first record deal in 2004 with Emerald Moon Records; this was followed by their first release, the EP The Three Words to Remember in Dealing with the End. The following year, they released their debut studio album The Party Scene, also on Emerald Moon. On July 7th, 2009, All Time Low released their third album, titled Nothing Personal. It has been released on Hopeless Records.

All Time Low was still in high school when they signed to Hopeless Records in 2006. Hopeless released the EP Put Up or Shut Up in 2006, which became the band’s first record to reach the charts, peaking at number 20 on the US Top Independent Albums chart. On September 25th 2007, they released their second album So Wrong, It’s Right, which became their most commercially successful, peaking at number 62 on the Billboard 200 and number 6 on the Top Independent Albums chart. Their second single from the album, “Dear Maria, Count Me In”, peaked at number 86 on the Pop 100.

All Time Low most recent album, “Nothing Personal”, has two singles entitled “Weightless” and “Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t), which peaked at 67 on the Billboard Hot 100. The third single is “Lost in Stereo”. The album was released July 7, 2009. For more informations about this pop punk band, just visit to www.alltimelow.com or twitter.com/AllTimeLow and myspace.com/alltimelow

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Top Guitar Solos of All Time

Gibson have put together their list of the Top Guitar Solos of All Time with Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" taking the top prize (they topped the fan poll as well). Here is their run down for the top 3 entries:

3. "All Along the Watchtower," The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Although written by Bob Dylan, "All Along the Watchtower's" ownership was transferred to Jimi Hendrix as soon as the guitar god's version was released in 1968. An "overwhelmed" Dylan was all too happy to comply, saying, "He found things that other people wouldn't think of finding in there." While some of those things might be the vigorous opening and Hendrix's wild vocal delivery, Dylan also had to be talking about the guitarist's mind-blowing middle passage. The minute-long solo takes one unbelievable turn after another, drawing on blues, rock and soul, and merging Jimi Hendrix's ridiculous technical ability with his knack for melody and smart use of woozy effects. It's one, big psychedelic rocketship that blasts you somewhere else – the Vietnam War, your high school parking lot, a lazer light show, outer space, anywhere. You can get lost in that solo and, quite happily, not find your way back out for days. It's no wonder Bob Dylan started playing the song Hendrix's way.

2. "Eruption," Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen): You've heard of the Big Four? With apologies to Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, I'm referring to the original Big Four: "Mona Lisa" (Leonardo da Vinci), "David" (Michelangelo), "The Thinker" (Auguste Rodin) and, of course, "Eruption" (Eddie Van Halen). The first time I heard "Eruption," I remember asking my friend to play it again for me because I wasn't sure what I had just heard. "Oh, it's a guitar, and it's being played by one guy!" he assured me. It was too difficult for these young ears to comprehend that the symphonic cacophony I had just heard came from one man, one guitar and no overdubs. "Eruption" was an epiphany to me as a fledgling guitarist, as well as to millions of rock music fans everywhere. Nearly 30 years (and a zillion guitar solos) later, I've yet to hear its equal.

1. "Stairway to Heaven," Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page): Haters have railed against this song for years because of its ubiquitous presence on FM playlists, but the power of Jimmy Page's presence in this Renaissance-ballad-turned-hard-rock-Valhalla is undeniable. From the tender acoustic fingerpicking of the song's intro to the power chord barrage at the end, "Stairway" is the ultimate showpiece for one of rock's ultimate guitarists. After allowing the spotlight to shine on John Paul Jones' multi-track maypole-dance recorders, Robert Plant's illustrative lyrics and vocal flourishes and John Bonham's thunderous entrance to the parade, Page finally commands it for himself with the solo to end all solos. Bathed in reverb, as though they were crashing down from the heavens themselves, Page's notes bend and blur in a rising movement that blows into the final verse with a goosebump-raising speed flurry. If you ask me, what makes for a good solo is its ability to propel the song forward; not to distract from the song for the sake of technical showboating, but to actually contribute to the musical ideas put forth in the composition – and to enhance them. Jimmy Page's solo on "Stairway" does just that. It takes the folkie intro piece and provides a Bifröstian bridge to the thunderous end verse. Hammer of the Gods, indeed.

You can see full story on: www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/Top-50-Guitar-Solos-924/

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Happy Anniversary Paramore - Brand New Eyes

A year ago, yesterday, Paramore released their 3rd full length record by the name of, 'brand new eyes'. It was a really important day for Paramore because this was the record that was going to show people that after all the bullshit they'd put ourselves through, they weren't going to go anywhere.

The tour that Paramore had scheduled was to start on the 29th of September and only be about a month long. It was to kick off this album and get back in front of their very own fans in the states after a long year of overseas travel and a big summer opening up for No Doubt. So Paramore got to Pomona the morning of the 29th and were ready to prove to people that they were back and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Only problem is they didn't have a voice. Like, at all.

Hayley Williams was convinced that it was all mental - only in her head - and they took the stage that night anyways. But the way it ended left me with a bigger mental battle and serious throat problems. Hayley walked off the stage with 3 songs left to perform and without explaining to the crowd what was going on. Her voice had totally shut off and She was barely even able to speak. So after the guys came backstage to find her and figure out what was going on, She was horrified at the idea of going back out to see what Pomona thought about it. Josh assured everyone that it was the right thing to do. He was turning 22 that night. as if the night wasn't already a big enough deal to all of them.

More Story: 1 Year Anniversary of Brand New Eyes

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