Penn State University Priorities Askew

Penn State, which continues reeling from the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, has decided that it will no longer play Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline at football games.

School officials say that the decision has come after a few years of deliberations about the use of the song and suggestive lyrics.

On Monday, it was revealed that Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” — a Beaver Stadium staple — will not be on the playlist when Penn State opens its season Saturday against Ohio U.

While the school denied the song’s removal had anything to do with the lyrics, “touching me, touching you,” it’s hard to imagine the powers that be at Penn State just decided the song had run its course.

“Sweet Caroline has been brought up in recent years as to whether or not it should remain a part of the playlist,” Greg J. Myford, Penn State’s associate athletic director of business relations & communications, said in a statement. “We hear from fans each year on whether or not we should continue it, given that it happens to be played in so many other professional and collegiate venues and has no real origination here at Penn State.”

It’s nice to see the school has its priorities straight.

The university considered removing the song from regular rotation in recent years? That means that Penn State devoted more attention to the playing of a song that has widespread airplay at sports events around the country - including as a mainstay of Boston Red Sox games - than it did to making sure that Sandusky's alleged sex abuse of minors was properly investigated and handled by law enforcement.

Penn State is more concerned about how it is viewed than in doing the right thing to protect the community.

The song has nothing to do with the scandal, and yet it has everything to do with how poorly school officials have handled the fiasco. It's an innocent bystander hit by the fallout, and the school's excuse rings hollow.

Penn State put more thought into removing the song from a playlist than it ever gave to Sandusky's abuse.

That's a sad state of affairs.

Star Wars Meets Call Me Maybe

Another Star Wars Mashup:

RIP Adam Yauch

My thoughts and prayers go out to Adam Yauch's friends and family. The name might not be familiar to everyone, but his band, The Beastie Boys, certainly is.

Yauch passed away from complications from salivary cancer at the age of 47. The group had just been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, but Yauch wasn't able to attend due to his health:

Adam Yauch, who performed under the stage name MCA, is dead after losing a long battle with cancer, according to reports from Global Grind and TMZ.

The 47-year-old member of the Beastie Boys announced he would be receiving treatment for a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland in July 2009, and that that as a result the group would cancel some future shows and push back the release of a new album.

In 2011 it had been reported that Yauch had beaten the disease, but reports were sadly exaggerated. On the band's website he wrote:

"Hello My Friends While I’m grateful for all the positive energy people are sending my way, reports of my being totally cancer free are exaggerated. I’m continuing treatment, staying optimistic and hoping to be cancer free in the near future."

Most recently, it appeared Yauch's health had taken a turn for the worst when it was announced that he was unable to attend the Beastie Boys' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on March 14.

There goes another piece of my childhood:

Jack White Does Seven Nation Army

Jack White, who with his wife Meg, were part of the duo White Stripes did a stripped down version of Seven Nation Army.

White, now touring in support of his solo album Blunderbus, has two backing bands helping him do renditions of songs from his entire career.

This is the concert version of Seven Nation Army:

Music Legend Jim Marshall Passed Away

Jim Marshall, guitar amp pioneer, has passed away at the age of 88.

Born in London in 1923, Marshall started out as a drummer before going into business and founding Marshall Amplification in 1962.

He began making guitar amplifiers in Britain as a cheaper alternative to U.S. imports, and soon after legendary musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton were using his equipment.

He is revered as one of the four forefathers of rock music equipment along with Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover.

If you're listening to rock and roll, odds are that you're listening to music conceived or recorded involving Marshall amps.

Music would sound a whole lot different without Marshall amps. Some of the biggest acts and guitar musicians in the world use them, including AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm Young, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Slash (of Guns n' Roses), Keith Richards, Richie Samborra, and many others.

Muppet Nirvana

At This Rate, Justin Bieber Will Get Into Hall of Fame Before Rush

Another year, and another snub for rock and roll legends Rush and Kiss. Bon Jovi also got snubbed. Those who did make the list of nominees:

• Beastie Boys

• The Cure

• Donovan

• Eric B. & Rakim

• Guns 'N Roses

• Heart

• Joan Jett and The Blackhearts

• Freddie King

• Laura Nyro

• Red Hot Chili Peppers

• Rufus with Chaka Khan

• The Small Faces/The Faces

• The Spinners

• Donna Summer

• War

At this rate, Justin Bieber will be eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before Rush, Kiss, or Bon Jovi make it - despite their massive influence throughout all of music.

Happy Bastille Day!

Bastille Day, Rush - from their 1976 tour (HT: Mrs. Lawhawk)

Rapture Saturday

Well, by now I assume you haven't been taken away in the Rapture, but that just means that you'll get to enjoy this instead:

Phil Collins Retires Due To Health Issues

While many folks know him as the solo artist who won awards and accolades but also was the frontman and long time drummer for the iconic band Genesis, Phil Collins announced his retirement due to multiple health issues.

I grew up loving Genesis - both the Peter Gabriel years and the Phil Collins years so I'm sad to see his performing career end.

From 1985's Live Aid - Against All Odds:


A drum duo with Chester Thompson (who was Genesis' long time tour drummer):


Watcher of the Skies from 1973 with Peter Gabriel:

Happy Halloween

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Announces 2011 Nominees

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced the list of nominees for possible induction in 2011, and there are notable omissions once again.

Here are the nominees: Alice Cooper; Beastie Boys; Bon Jovi; Chic; Neil Diamond; Donovan; Dr. John; J. Geils Band; LL Cool J; Darlene Love; Laura Nyro; Donna Summer; Joe Tex; Tom Waits; and Chuck Willis.

Rush and KISS both were left off the list for reasons that can't be explained except that the 500 people who make the decision don't know what rock and roll is. The nomination process requires the following:

Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.

The Foundation’s nominating committee, composed of rock and roll historians, selects nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of more than 500 rock experts. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes - and more than 50 percent of the vote - are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year.

Both groups easily fulfill all the necessary criteria having been around since the late 1960s. Both groups have a devoted following. Rush is known the world over for being one of the few true power-trios that can rock with the best the world has to offer. In fact, all three members of Rush are known for their sterling musical abilities. It's a multi-platinum selling group, and more than a few artists can trace their interest in music and style to listening to Rush albums.

KISS is one of the biggest selling rock groups of all time and has mastered the stadium show format, but can also belt out sweet ballads like Beth. Its influence can be felt in hard rock and heavy metal, having inspired groups like Metallica (which is already in the hall of fame).

Neither group has been rocked by scandals or taken actions that would antagonize the industry, so I just don't get why they haven't gotten in by now. The only thing that I can think of that has kept these two groups out of the Hall of Fame is that they both toured together at one point and therefore their fates are tied to each other.

Seeing Bon Jovi get nominated while Rush and KISS both get left on the sidelines is a travesty.

You just have to shake your head in amazement that these two groups got screwed again.

Hey Ayatollahs! Leave Those Iranians Alone!

That's a video by the Canadian band Blurred Vision. The band is fronted by two Iranian brothers, who got permission by Pink Floyd rocker Roger Waters to alter the famous Floyd anthem to reflect the situation in Iran.

The song replaces the teacher reference with "Hey, Ayatollah, leave those kids alone!" It's performed by a Toronto-based rock band fronted by two Iranian brothers called Blurred Vision. It's been seen by more than 160,000 viewers on YouTube.

Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters gave Blurred Vision permission to use the song. Proceeds will go to Amnesty International.

The Blurred Vision version of the song expresses discord between young people and the government of Iran, where it's illegal to play rock music.

The Justin Bieber Riot Act Strikes Down Under

I'm not even sure who this guy is, but apparently the girls just dig him. He's a big hit with the tweeners, and has caused riots all over the world when promoters do such a good job that more people show up than they're prepared to handle at venues (which are frequently malls).

It happened in New York's Roosevelt Field mall on Long Island, which ended with injuries, and a record executive arrested because of the completely out of control crowd.

It now happened at a concert venue in Sydney, Australia.

Thousands of frenzied teenagers, who spent the night camped out by Sydney Harbour awaiting a concert by pop star Justin Bieber, surged toward the venue Monday morning, sending at least eight girls to the hospital and injuring several more.

Police canceled the performance after the swarm, which may have begun when rumors spread that the 16-year-old Canadian heartthrob had arrived early. In the crush, at least 10 girls fainted, and paramedics had to pull them out of the crowd, according to Australia's Network Seven. Of the eight sent to the hospital, one fractured her knee cap, though most had hyperventilated.

"We were expecting this to be the biggest concert we ever had, but we just couldn't have foreseen this scale," said Grant Denyer, the weather presenter for Network Seven's Sunrise program, which was planning to broadcast the open-air concert.

Genesis, ABBA and David Geffen Headline Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction List

Turn it on again you dancing queens. Genesis, ABBA, Jimmy Cliff, The Hollies and The Stooges are the musical acts that are going into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year. Joining them are music industry executive David Geffen, the songwriting teams of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, and individual songwriters Jesse Stone, Mort Shuman and Otis Blackwell.

For Genesis, some of their best hits include Land of Confusion, Invisible Touch, Throwing It All Away, and Turn it On Again:



I got to see Genesis live at Giants Stadium on the tour supporting We Can't Dance, and what many people forget is that the band also at one time included Peter Gabriel, who became a superstar in his own right. Phil Collins has also had a tremendous solo career (and I saw him in concert separately). Mike Rutherford also had a separate project with Mike and the Mechanics, and Tony Banks has done recording work for movies and television. They are one of my favorites.

An Evening With AC/DC

Last night Legalbgl and I treated ourselves to seeing one of the true rock and roll icons; AC/DC at Giants Stadium. They didn't disappoint. It was an awesome show from start to finish. Neither of us cared much for the opening acts, but that's not who we were there to see.

But first let me back up a bit. Legalbgl bought these tickets a few months ago, and we plunked down quite a bit to get floor seats. We thought we had excellent seats towards the back of the floor, but when we arrived at the stadium, we were directed to see a manager. He took our tickets from us, and joked that we were about to get tickets up in the nosebleed. After a moment, he asked us if we wanted to sit in section six, row three, seats 9 and 10. We were flabbergasted. We were literally going from the back of the floor to the front row.

The seats were on the extreme stage right, but had excellent views of the entire stage. It was awesome and totally made the price of admission worth it right there.

So, when the band broke into Rock 'n Roll train to open the show, we were psyched. It set the tone for the whole evening as the band rocked.

Now, mind you that these guys are getting up in years and Angus Young, the lead guitarist is no spring chicken. He was busy prancing and strumming as if he was someone half his age. They rocked it out.

 

That's a photo taken from my cellphone. It gives you some idea of just how close we were to the stage and the size of their sound system.

Bruce Springsteen: Home Wrecker?

A divorce case in Monmouth County, New Jersey names Bruce Springsteen as the other man.

Arthur Kelly alleged his estranged wife, who lives in Long Branch, "has committed adultery with one Bruce Springsteen, who resides in Rumson, N.J., and Colts Neck, N.J., at various times and places too numerous to mention."

Arthur Kelly is seeking joint custody of the couple's two daughters, 13 and 10, and wants his soon-to-be ex to pay child support as well as a portion of the girls' college education, insurance and extracurricular activities and summer camp costs.

The complaint also says a temporary restraining order was issued between the couple -- though it did not specify on whose behalf -- but the order was eventually dismissed March 26 following a consent order. Arthur Kelly filed the request for divorce the next day.

This is not the first time Springsteen, who has been married to E-Street Band member Patti Scialfa for 17 years, has been the subject of alleged infidelity. In 2006, published reports claimed he and Scialfa were splitting because of an affair he had with a 9/11 widow he met in 2001 at a television benefit show. He denied that report in a statement on his Web site -- space he usually avoids using for personal information.

Scialfa and Springsteen had a 3-year affair while Springsteen was married to Julianne Phillips.

UPDATE:
Added a photo of Arthur Kelly's wife, Ann, who he claims is having the affair with Springsteen. Hot News has more (Via Mr. Bingley in the comments).

UPDATE:
For comparison purposes, here's Bruce's current wife Patti, and his former wife, Julianne.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions

Here's Metallica's performance at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You'll note that there are five people on stage: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo and former bandmate Jason Newsted.



Others inducted include Jeff Beck, who previously was inducted as a member of the Yardbirds. Here's his induction performance with his former bandmate Jimmy Page:



The big jam, Train Kept On Rolling:

Metallica Concert 2009

 

This is the fourth time I've seen Metallica in concert, and it had to be the best stage show they've put on to date. It was also the most intimate showing as this was the first time I've seen them indoors. All the previous times were either at Woodstock '94 or Giants Stadium. I went to the show with legalbgl at the Prudential Center and Metallica rocked the house.

They did a 2+ hour set, including two encores. Thankfully, they did no songs from the albums between the current release Death Magnetic and the Black Album (that would be the forgettable Load, Reload, and St. Anger for those of you who care for such things). It was either the old stuff or the new stuff. The opening song was This is Your Life and they followed it up with quite a few songs off the new album, including Cyanide, The Day That Never Comes, Suicide and Redemption (instrumental), and played a bunch of oldies but goodies including Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Justice for All, One, Enter Sandman, Blitzkrieg, and closed with Seek and Destroy.

As you can tell from the photo above (taken from my cell phone, so the image isn't exactly the highest quality), the stage was set in the round, which presents challenges to the performers. Most acts perform with a proscenium stage, so that they're always facing the crowd. Here, James, Roberto and Kirk had to run all over the stage to different microphones to sing and entertain the crowds. Lars' drum kit was on a revolving turntable so he would face a different side of the crowd at different points in the show.

One high point of the show was when James singled out a kid who was in the crowd on the floor who was 10 years old; they ended up bringing him up on stage and Lars treated him to opening up Seek and Destroy - the final song of the night. They gave him drum sticks and that had to be a thrill for the kid.

As for the performances themselves, I tended to think that James Hetfield's voice was starting to drop off just a bit, but legalbgl thought that his voice was as strong as ever. Both of us thought that the opening act, The Sword, was pretty good, but we differed on Machine Head. I didn't go for the thrash sound, but legalbgl liked them.

All in all, it was a great show and you definitely needed to bring ear protection because it got loud - both the crowd noise and the bands. Metallica still knows how to rock after all these years.

It was a solid concert, and the Prudential Center was a great venue at which to see the show. The concessionaires did a great job and were quite personable and the facility had a great sound to it. Besides, you were able to get in and out fairly easily and that's saying something when you had over 10,000 fans streaming in to the concert.

UPDATE:
Legalbgl emailed to inform me that our concert is available online. The full set was:

That Was Just Your Life
The End of the Line
Ride The Lightning
For Whom The Bell Tolls
One
Broken, Beat & Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
And Justice for All
All Nightmare Long
Kirk Solo #1

The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Battery
Kirk Solo #2
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Blitzkrieg
Hit The Lights
Seek and Destroy

Cold Play?

Musicians don't like it when their music gets plagiarized since it means they lose royalties from airplay. Joe Satriani, one of the premier rock guitarists and inspired many guitarists, is suing the band Coldplay over copying his song, If I Could Fly, as part of their Grammy nominated song Viva La Vida without attribution.

The Satriani song is here:


Coldplay's Viva La Vida is here: