While I’ve never been a big fan of magazine  “lists”, it doesn’t mean I’m not interested in other peoples opinions….It’s that “one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor” argument. It’s all subjective…. 
Guitar World just released their list of the Worlds Greatest Guitar Solos! Here’s the list.

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Want to hear a sample from the debut album by Sammy Hagar’s new supergroup Chickenfoot? Sammy’s website is directing fans to the soon-to-be-launched CHICKENFOOT site, where you can can sign up now to receive new updates as they become available. Sign up and hear an audio sample at that location.

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Metallica was officially announced as 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Thursday 1/14/09, at a press conference in New York,  joining  Jeff Beck, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Bobby Womack, Run D-M-C and Wanda Jackson.
Ok, what is Run D-M-C doing in this line-up? With all the great, truely GREAT bands out there that deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…..Run D-M-C????!!!!!!  Makes you wonder doesn’t  it…….
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland on April 4th.

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This appears to be a man talking out of both sides of his mouth on the ‘Zeppelin without Plant’ saga:

Jimmy Page’s manager, Peter Mensch, told B-B-C Six Music, “Jimmy Page has been playing guitar professionally since he was 16 years old. Jimmy Page likes being a musician. That’s what he does! They decided that if they could find a singer that they thought would fit their bill, whatever their bill was at this stage in their career, that they’d make a record and go on tour.”

READ ON…….

In an interview with Music Radar,  Peter Mensch, says, “Led Zeppelin are over! If you didn’t see them in 2007, you missed them. It’s done. I can’t be any clearer than that.”  About the auditions….. “no one worked out. That was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue. Zero. Frankly, I wish everybody would stop talking about it.”

What does that mean? Who knows. But if they do go ahead and tour without Robert Plant….I hope they don’t call it “Led Zeppelin!”

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First, let me say that I’m not trying to help Eddie sell his new guitar but, this IS pretty cool to watch Eddie Van Halen talk about the New EVH “Wolfgang” Guitar!

Watch the Video HERE

Eddie  is interviewed in the February issue of Guitar World magazine, on newsstands now.

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This is interesting…It’s called a visual DNA…. Your choices dictate your profile.

When you click on the link, a series of about 15 pictures will come up. Click on a photo in that category that appeals to you.

Again 15 pictures will come up, click the one for you and move on. Just continue to keep picking.

At the end it will give you a profile of yourself…..

Click HERE

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Z-Z Top are busy re-designing their website, ZZTop-dot-com,  on the home page is a  promise of a Z-Z tour in 2009 and a new album with producer Rick Rubin.

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Curious about what is in the ‘near future’ for RUSH, here’s what Alex Lifeson recently told reporters:

“Right now we just want rest. We’ve been working really hard for the last seven or eight years on numerous records, tours, and DVDs; it’s been pretty constant through that whole period. We really feel like we need to step back and recharge our batteries and just not think about the band and what we’re going to do. You never know, Geddy and I might do some casual writing in the spring, but I’m guessing we probably won’t do anything until the fall of next year. At that time, we’ll set out what we’re doing.”

“There are a number of options open to us. I think the most likely is that we’ll record another record and tour off that. Working with Nick Raskulinecz, he’s pushing us to think about doing another sort of concept record, instead of just a thematically conceptual album like the most current records are. Whether we’re up for that kind of thing, I’m not so sure. We’ll have to wait and see.”

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Are you wondering when the Beatles‘ catalog will finally make it to iTunes? Don’t hold your breath,  Paul McCartney told a press conference  (11/25/08)  in London that negotiations between Apple Records and EMI have “stalled.” “When it’s something as big as the Beatles, it’s heavy negotiations,” McCartney said. “We’re [the band members and their estates] very for it, but there are a couple of sticking points. It’s stalled. No change there then!” McCartney didn’t elaborate on the supposed sticking points.

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From Bruce Springsteen’s website:
Bruce Springsteen’s new album “Working on a Dream” has been set for a January 27 release on Columbia Records. “Working on a Dream” was recorded with the E Street Band and features twelve new Springsteen compositions plus two bonus tracks. It is the fourth collaboration between Springsteen and Brendan O’Brien, who produced and mixed the album.
Bruce Springsteen said, “Towards the end of recording ‘Magic,’ excited by the return to pop production sounds, I continued writing. When my friend producer Brendan O’Brien heard the new songs, he said, ‘Let’s keep going.’ Over the course of the next year, that’s just what we did, recording with the E Street Band during the breaks on last year’s tour. I hope ‘Working on a Dream’ has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road from some of the most exciting shows we’ve ever done. All the songs were written quickly, we usually used one of our first few takes, and we all had a blast making this one from beginning to end.”

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As many of you know by now, Mitch Mitchell, the drummer for Jimi Hendrix, was found dead Wednesday (11/12/08) in his room at the Benson Hotel here in Portland. The local Medical Examiner reported that the 62 year-old died of natural causes.
There have been a few debates on whether Mitch Mitchell played Friday night (11/07/08) at the Schitzner during the Experience Hendrix Tribute Tour. I was there and didn’t see him on stage, or did I. We all know he was never announced, but there was a drummer that took the kit in the middle, during one song, early in the show. Could that have been Mitch Mitchell? I don’t know..one thing is certain, we would all like to say we saw Mitch Mitchell play on that Friday night!

Here’s what Robby Krieger, of the Doors, had to say about Mitch Mitchell’s condition that Friday night.

“He was not in good shape that last night. In fact he didn’t even play that night. He was acting very strange all day. I didn’t know what the hell it was. As far as I know he didn’t have any illnesses. I knew he took some kind of pills for some condition and he was worried that he hadn’t taken his pills, but that whole day he was just like not making sense what he was saying. He was like kind of stumbling around and I said to myself, ‘Man, this guy should not be on tour right now. He should be in bed.”
Mitchell was the last surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Hendrix died in 1970, and bassist Noel Redding died in 2003.

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Eleanor Rigby!  Was she a real person?  Looks that way…..

There are three stories behind the song….. In the graveyard, at a church  at St. Peter’s in Woolton, where Paul and John met in their youth…. there is a stone with the name Eleanor Rigby, who died on October 10, 1939. It is believed Paul might have recalled this name from his subconscious years later. However, it is also said that Paul got the name from two sources. The name of “Rigby,” was taken from a shop front in Bristol, and the name “Eleanor,” came from his former co-star Eleanor Bron, in the film Help!

McCartney has issued a statement saying, “Eleanor Rigby is a totally fictitious character that I made up. If someone wants to spend money buying a document to prove a fictitious character exists, that’s fine with me.”

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Converse is bringing out a range of shoes with British Rock graphics and designs on them – taking in the likes of Pink Floyd, The Who and Ozzy Osbourne.
The Pink Floyd collection takes you through three of their best known albums, Dark Side of the Moon, Animals, and Wish You Were Here.. Graphics from Dark Side of the Moon grace black Chuck Taylor All Star and Jack Purcell shoes with rainbow reflecting prisms and EKG lines accenting these sneakers.
The Chuck Taylor All Star shoes come in high top black/multi, black/white and white/black/pink canvas. Jack Purcell shoes come in high and oxford black/multi leather versions. Shoes in this collection retail for MSRP $50 – $100 and will be available across the US at specialty retailers, department stores and online at www.converse.com beginning in March.

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Once again, there’s a petition to get Heart inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  You can add your name to the list at the band’s website Heart-Music.com.

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Rhino Records has released a 10-disc boxed set featuring Led Zeppelin’s nine studio albums plus the rarities album “Coda” in mini-LP replica sleeves with artwork from the original U.K. vinyl releases.

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John Mellencamp, Bob Seger, Ray Davies, Steve Miller, Crosby, Stills and Nash and, Jimmy Buffett are among the nominees for the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s class of 2009. The induction ceremony will take place in New York  later this year.

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Black Ice, A-C/D-C’s new album, is the number-one album in 29 countries and made their first-ever debut at number-one in the U-S.  Black Ice is  number-one in Canada, the U-K, their homeland of Australia, Germany, France, Argentina, Japan, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and 13 other countries.

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Paul McCartney has made the first single from his new project available as a free download. “Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight,” on the album Electronic Arguments, is available at N-M-E-dot-com. The album is out.

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Albums by John Lennon and Paul McCartney will be re-released as part of Capitol’s From the Vaults vinyl series. Lennon’s Rock ‘n’ Roll and McCartney’s Band on the Run. Band on the Run will also be available for download.

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Neil Young’s Archives Volume One, the 10-disc set, has been pushed back from next month to Mid  January. Young fans will get an album from his vaults.  Sugar Mountain is taken from two solo acoustic shows November of 1968 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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Ringo Starr has posted a video on his website announcing that he wants his fans to stop sending him letters requesting autographs. He says too many are popping up on Ebay. The video can be seen at RingoStarr-dot-com.
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Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland has been captured on a stamp from Iceland. When exposed to ultraviolet light, a picture of John Lennon appears on the stamp.
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Who might fill Robert Plant’s shoes on a potential tour with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonaham? Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider is saying Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy is already in line to replace Plant. Snider told Canada’s Much Music, “They’re saying to Robert , ‘We’re all rehearsed, we’re ready to go, here’s a gazillion dollars on the table. If you don’t do it, we’re going out with this kid. And he can sing the crap out of Zeppelin.’ They are hoping Robert will step up.  Whatever happens, it won’t be called Led Zeppelin.

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The “Starman” figure on the cover of Rush’s fourth album, 21-12, has been made into a limited-edition statue. Rush collaborated with the Knucklebonz company on the figure, and the company’s website took  pre-orders for the three-thousand copies. A few years ago all the band’s members were made into bobble-head dolls, which are available on the Rush website.

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Queen and Paul Rodgers are making songs from their current European tour available for download on their website Queen Online-dot-com.

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Cheap Trick  has re-released their 1978 album, Live at Budokan- 30th Anniversary Edition box set.

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Rush has release a D-V-D and Blu-Ray disk documenting their 2007-2008 Snakes and Arrows tour. It’s a great experience
for Rush fans!

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A Northern California man has started a petition drive to get Led Zeppelin a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Rocky Dickerson from Chico, who started the campaign, says “if celebrities like Britney Spears and Ryan Seacrest have stars, then so should Zeppelin”.  To sign the petition, go to LedZeppelinStar-dot-com.

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Final days of the original Fillmore West in San Francisco is now available  in stores. The 1972 documentary Fillmore: The Last Days has been out of print for many years and this reissue features a restored print of the film. It contains performances from the Grateful Dead, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Boz Scaggs and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

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The Rolling Stones fan club It’s Only Rock and Roll polled its members, and more than six-thousand responded with their choice for favorite album, song, tour and other things. The most popular album is Exile on Main Street with 25-percent of the vote. It was followed by Sticky Fingers (17-percent) and Let It Bleed (11-percent). Some Girls and Beggars Banquet each received five-percent of the votes.

The most popular Stones songs are “Gimme Shelter” (12-percent), “Jumping Jack Flash” (seven-percent) and “Brown Sugar” (four-percent). “Midnight Rambler,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Tumbling Dice” all had four-percent, and “Wild Horses” got two-percent.
Kieth Richards is the most popular Stone…..

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We could see a re-mastered Beatles catalog this year, according to U-K music magazine Mojo. The magazine reports that all the albums, with the exception of Live at the Hollywood Bowl, have be re-mastered.

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The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota included Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. But he wasn’t there to perform — he was there to promote his Redwing motorcycle company. Check out the bikes at RedwingMotorcycles-dot-com