My favorite rock dinosaurs Led Zeppelin will be on the road again, and I’ve been growing my hair long in anticipation. The first reunion date is on Mon Dec 10th, in London, UK. Fans are already lined up for tickets.

Of course, with original drummer and madman John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham suffering from an affliction known as being dead, it’s not a true reunion. Bonham’s son Jason will fill in, though he has a lot to live up to, given that so much of Zep’s driving sound was defined by John Bonham’s drums and John Paul Jones bass. Just listen to arguably one of Zep’s most enchanting, powerful rock anthems, Immigrant Song, presented in two covers and an original, below, or to Kashmir or Black Dog.

Nirvana covers Zep’s Immigrant Song:

Heart’s live cover of Immigrant Song:

1970 version of Immigrant Song, from a live concert:

Kashmir, with stills:

A “rider” in music industry lingo refers to the “requirements” that a band/ musician demands be part of their performance benefits. Some of what you’ve heard is industry legend, not truth. But there are bands who jokingly ask for crazy items and others who do it just because they can.

Someone I know who used to book bands for small local shows has had to deal with some pretty kooky requests, including hot facial towels - not something that’s easy to find at 11 pm on a Friday night. But nothing he’s dealt with compares to these 25 outrageous concert riders. And since these requests are on riders for stars with major clout, its either do it or forget the concert.

Wait a minute. Radiohead recently released their new album, In Rainbows, online on a pay-as-you-want basis. But the CD and vinyl copies won’t be released until Dec 31st. As in after Christmas. Hmmm. Why follow up an online marketing success with an offline marketing oddity? Wouldn’t you want to release it before Xmas? Or are most Radiohead fans the type who would’ve downloaded already?

Note that if you order the discbox online, it’ll be shipped Dec 3rd, and you get access to the digital version now.

As for the album, I’ve only got a low-quality download, but all the samples up at YouTube (see below for an example) suggest that this another great Radiohead album.

This is really short. Basically, if you’ve been following the Search for the Next Doll, you know that both Melissas were really catty. I was rooting for Chelsea, because of all things she’s gone through in her life. On the other hand Asia really deserves this, despite being an 18 year old single mom of a toddler. I don’t think it’s right she’s going on tour, but she is the most talented all around.

Still, Chelsea has such a sweetness and great voice that she can have a great solo career. She doesn’t quite have the dancing down. But Robin likes Chelsea so much that I’m thinking she’ll help her out.

As for the catty bitch Melissa, who cares?

It’s debatable whether you could call the Pussycat Dolls musicians, since they only do covers (am I wrong), But they most certainly are singers and performers, attracting both women and likely legions of admiring, horny young (and old) men. And as performers go, their whole show is about selling sexiness that verges on cabaret.

Not exactly for young people, though most of the contestants on the TV show The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll are all under 26. That’s right, they’re looking for new meow. one lucky young woman will join the current girls and go on tour.

As of last night, there are only three contestants left. Melissa R. (or is it Melissa S.?) is going. Don’t matter, as both Melissas are snotty, stuck up little b*tch*s. Asia, the 18 yr old single mama, has talent and maturity the belies her youth. Chelsey, the oldest at 26, was once very heavy and even though she’s a lovely young woman now, she’s on the shy side.

That’s not good for a prospective PCD (Pussycat Doll), but Robin Antin seems to like Asia and Chelsey. There’s even a quick video segment of Robin making a “rowwwr” (cat fight) sound when one of the two Melissas are dissing Chelsea.

Asia has a nice balance between singing and dancing ability, but her negative aspects include being 18 and having a toddler. Touring would be stressful, and the baby would probably be left with a relative. Young children need their mothers - at least, that’s probably the perception of most viewers. Yet she’d fit in very nicely as a PCD, and she’s down to earth.

So is Chelsea, who is mature and takes the insults from the two Melissas with good grace. Except for the one time she broke down crying while on the phone with her dad. She has a lovely voice but she is not a professionally-trained dancer like the other girls, including many that have been eliminated. However, she tries very hard and seems to be Robin’s favourite. I can’t help cheering for her.

I’ve put together a SplashCast that includes YouTube videos of both the real Pussycat Dolls and the contestants on the TV show. You can let each video auto-advance after starting the first, or manually advance. Just hover your mouse cursor over the video area and use the advance button at the top right. The SplashCast is at the top of this post.

There’s been a lot of speculation over on my post from last Fall about who will be in Rockstar 2007. I still don’t have a clue, and haven’t found anything on the official Rockstar website (Flash needed). But I think we probably all know enough about how these reality shows work. This one is one of few that hasn’t filmed before it’s shown. However, there’ll be all the footage that they’ll want to show of the chosen band and their former career.

So…. that means that whomever it is, they’ve already been chosen. Seems like a lot of votes, at least on this site, are for either Nirvana or Van Halen. But as I mentioned before, Courtney Love would cause a big stink if it were Nirvana. I can’t think whom it might be if it’s not one of these two. Maybe it’s a British band this time, and not so heavy rock. Or not. Or maybe Smashing Pumpkins? It’s Billy Corgan’s band, and he called it off when, I believe, he found out he had cancer. But that doesn’t mean the other members couldn’t form a new band.

And what about late 80s/early 90s bands like Faith No More? Fishbone is still touring, so it’s not them. The Breeders? Or have I already asked that?

What do you think? Name a few bands you think it might be. Or better yet, name the band you would like it to be and why you’d like to tour with them.

Check out this amazing outdoor performance of this violinist. He’s using an electric violin and a rack of guitar effects pedals to record snippets of himself, in order to accompany himself musically. Don’t know about you, but I think the result is fascinating.

Six Degrees of Inspiration reports that the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, died on Christmas 2006. It’s only 10:00 am on the 26th and I don’t watch the news much anymore, even though something compelled me last night. (I ignored it.) Needless to say James Brown was a Legend, with a capital L. A very troubled Legend who managed to get himself in trouble a great deal. Though fans obviously liked him anyways, myself included. For me, unfortunately, he’s another Legend I didn’t get to see live in concert.

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Are you a songwriter? Aspiring to be one? Need tips on songwriting or want to know what kind of software your peers are using? Sound Alchemy Online music blog now has a sister site, SongWritingForums. If you need song writing help, or want to know about experiences people have had with a songwriting contest, go check out Song Writing forums. There will be a separate blog over there, coming soon, which will provide tips on songwriting, writing techniques, information about the business, where you can find resources or even study. No doubt someone can weigh in on song publishing contracts, too.

You can even post some of your lyrics or poetry writing and have other members provide helpful hints. Or you can offer your own tips. I’m working out a method where members will get paid for their posts (by PayPal only, sorry) - coming soon, once I find a forum plugin.

So I hope you’ll check out, even if you don’t write songs and just enjoy music. Who knows? Maybe the next R. Kelly, Elvis Costello, Prince, or Joni Mitchell will be there revealing their songs and song writing process. Or you could gain a music contact, learn about the music industry, etc. Go support indie musicians and aspiring writers.

After the forum membership picks up again, I’m going to set up a space on this blog where you can promote your music and voice over demo, or listen to that of others. Big plans, not enough time