Musical Prozac

For the past few years I’ve seen bits and pieces of press on Girl Talk but shrugged it off until I heard Greg Gillis on Sound Opinions a few months ago. I’ve been dragging ass since I got back from the States this weekend. I downloaded Girl Talk’s new record, Feed The Animals, which can be downloaded for whatever price you want to pay. While I went to catch my bus to work this morning, I felt much better after hearing this on the iPod. Don’t like what you hear at the moment, don’t worry, it will change in seconds. It’s a great way to hear little snippets of favorite guilty pleasures in ways you never imagined. Check it out. You can download for free if you are skeptical. --J

You Might Be...

OK, it's been about 3 years and I'm still checking in with a live journal site dedicated to Ville Valo on a daily basis. It's weird. I've never been so committed to anything in my life. Despite the fact that M and I got in trouble with the site for this post, the ladies at the site and I have corresponded about our travels for this band a few times in the last few years and it's not something I see stopping anytime soon.

Usually, I don't enjoy reading lists like "you know you might be obsessed when…", but when I came across this one on the aforementioned site, by the end I was almost crying from laughter. I pointed some of these out to my friend M, with whom I've shared few wine-soaked HIM nights and he added a couple of subpoints to number 25. The ones we have been laughing at are numbers 25, 52&53, 61,124.

Number 44 is especially poignant to me and M and J know this firsthand. As a fan, it was shocking to see pictures, interviews, and performances become increasingly worse. Thank god he got help is alls I'm sayin. ANYWAY there are so many other things in this list that are wickedly true. Sigh. So, ladies and gentlemen, THE list that made me realize exactly how painfully devoted I am.

You Know You Might Be Obsessed with HIM and Ville Valo When:


1. Tattooing the portraits of dead poets on your body makes perfect sense.
2. You know EXACTLY what DILLIGAF means.
3. In fact, you might even have DILLIGAF somewhere on your skin.
4. November 22nd is an International holiday and should be celebrated by all.
5. If you see anything with a heartagram on it, you either buy it, or resist the urge because your house is already covered in them.
6. Your favorite colors are red, black, and purple. And sometimes hot pink.
7. You know who Daniel Lioneye actually is.
8. Someone says Our Lord and you instantly say, “Oh, you’re a fan of HIM, too?!”
9. You considered purchasing a chicken foot.
10. $50 seems completely reasonable for a Limited Edition CD.
11. Your internet screen name has one or more of the following in it- heartagram, 666, 616, Valo, razorblade, sin, poison, redemption, or any other HIM lyric reference.
12. Getting Ville Valo’s water bottle at a concert is the equivalent of the Holy Grail.
13. And you swear up and down that it has magical healing powers, too.
14. You buy a soundtrack to a movie that you have never seen just because it has a HIM song on it.
15. You say, on a regular basis, kiitos and hei…and you’re NOT Finnish.
16. When sitting next to a campfire, you say “I’m so close to the flame.”
17. You’ve seen Mige‘s naughty bits. And not on purpose.
18. You would practically sell your soul for the GOOD pics of the Bam and Ville Huck photo shoot.
19. And then you would lock yourself in your room for 24 hours or so with said pictures.
20. At some point during the day, you find yourself quoting HIM songs, completely subconsciously.
21. You remember a time when Linde DIDN’T have dreads.
22. You became enraged that a teacher lost her job because of playing a HIM song in her classroom.
23. You have taken duct tape and a black Sharpie and covered a street sign with Dead Lover’s Lane.
24. It’s a religious matter!!!
25. You can’t recall ever seeing Ville kiss a girlfriend in public…but you have all of the pics of him kissing boys in public.
And hence: 25.1 You've discussed with a friend the plausibility it would be for Ville Valo and Gerard Way to hook up
25.2 And quasi-seriously over wine discussed entry points for fan-fic even though fan-fic is denounced while sober
26. Photobucket is your own personal HIM gallery.
27. You call your friends nidiots.
28. You don’t just have a Ville Valo poster…you have a Ville Valo WALL.
29. You know who Sylvester is.
30. Even though you may like Bam, he did NOT invent the heartagram.
31. The Tavastia is your version of Mecca.
32. You’ve given a microphone a blowjob.
33. And it gave you negative feedback.
34. You have made the Love Metal drink.
35. And you liked it.
36. You realize a tower is a PERFECT place to live, and now you want one of your own.
37. You have to have a blood test done and you say to the nurse, “I bleed well.”
38. At one point in your life, you have been in love and lonely.
39. Out of Ville and Linde, you know who has the deeper voice.
40. Your life since 1997 can be separated into the following categories- When Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 came out, when Razorblade Romance came out, when Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights came out……
41. Your personal mantra is “Life is short and love is over in the morning.”
42. You would die tonight for love.
43. You paid $35 for an empty Coke can on eBay…because it was designed by Ville Valo.
44. You started tearing up when you saw the pics of Ville right before he checked himself into rehab.
45. You wear a beanie even in the middle of summer.
46. You’re jealous of Bam Margera.
47. You see someone wearing a HIM t-shirt and find it a turn-on.
48. You know that all men think with their dick’s, but Ville Valo’s dick is different.
49. You had a heartagram cake for one of your birthdays.
50. And you almost couldn’t eat it because it was so damn pretty.
51. Just one look from his eyes, one look and you’re dying, because he’s so beautiful.
52. You didn’t throw panties onstage at the HIM concert. You threw a book of Baudelaire’s poetry.
53. With your phone number on the inside cover. (just in case)
54. You have a drawing of Homer Simpson wearing a HIM shirt.
55. At school, you studied ethics instead of religion.
56. You can recall basically every piece of Ville Valo’s wardrobe. Especially the leather pants.
57. As far as greatness goes, you compare Sleepwalking Past Hope with Stairway to Heaven.
58. Your idea of the PERFECT vacation spot is Finland.
59. You would happily accept an autograph from Ville Valo in sperm or blood.
60. You have crossed oceans of wine to find a HIM concert.
61. You find yourself singing “Like a wirgin, touched for the wery first time…”
62. You’re not addicted to HERoin, you’re addicted to HIMoin.
63. Your dog is named Sami.
64. Love Metal is considered by you to be a very real genre of music. (which it is, thankyouverymuch)
65. It’s been years since you went a single day without listening to at least one HIM song.
66. Your wedding vows consisted of, or will consist of, “In sickness and in health, in joy and sorrow, until love and death embrace.”
67. When the moon is full and shining, you refer to it as Dark Light.
68. During a game of tug-of-war, you yell to your teammates “Please don’t let it go! Because if you won’t let it, I won’t let it go!”
69. The first trick you taught your dog, Sami, was to Play Dead.
70. It’s not peace, love, and harmony. It’s peace, love, and VEGETABLES.
71. Every time you hear the word Venus, you think Doom.
72. You have been jealous of Ville’s cigarettes, because damn it all if you don’t want to be pressed between his lips.
73. You know for a fact that I love you is eight letters….and so is bullshit.
74. While meeting HIM, you blurt out “I’m waiting for you to drown in my love!”
75. Like myself, you took the actual time to write a list like this. XD
76. You have more pictures of Ville Valo and HIM than you do your family.
77. In fact, you have seen HIM in person more than you have some members of your family.
78. You made Ville Valo a birthday cake……and you live 8,000 miles from him.
79. While blowing out the candles for him on said birthday cake, you wished FOR Ville Valo.
80. You suddenly find yourself thinking about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as dinner.
81. Your Mp3 player consists of the following- HIM songs, HIM acoustic songs, cover songs done by HIM, tributes to HIM, collaborations with HIM, HIM bootlegs……and Daniel Lioneye.
82. You bought the book “Finnish for Dummies”.
83. And you drew a heartagram on it.
84. On the list of places to see before you die is a certain sex shop in Helsinki.
85. You took your Rolling Stones t-shirt with the lips and tongue and cut off the sleeves.
86. You think that the footage of Ville Valo flashing the audience his abs should win an Academy Award for “Best Short Film“.
87. A friend gives you hell about smoking, and you calmly say “Smoking kills, but only love will break your heart.”
88. You fear for the best, and hope for the worst.
89. You’re asked where you are going to take a walk, and you reply “The Path.”
90. You wish that razorblades came with heart cut-outs in the middle.
91. You have taken pictures of yourself snarling at the camera.
92. With massive amounts of black eyeliner and lip gloss.
93. And you’re a guy.
94. You truly believe that Ville Valo’s smile is the ACTUAL cause of global warming.
95. You have pet names for Ville’s “pecker”. *COUGH*
96. For Halloween, you went as one of the guys from HIM.
97. And you’re a girl.
98. It’s been raining for weeks, your lover just broke your heart, your kitty just died…..and looking at Ville still makes you smile.
99. You go to karaoke with your friends, and upon singing a HIM song, you grab the mic stand, hop onto the speaker, lean back, bend the mic stand, and fall flat on your ass…..but you still looked wicked cool doing it.
100. Upon walking into a dark house, you think to yourself “I’ve got to light this endless dark.”
101. You know that there are two guys in HIM named Mikko in real life.
102. And you know who they are.
103. You made out for the first time with the person you liked while piss drunk, and then threw up on their bed……and felt quietly proud because now you and Ville had something in common.
104. Your friends now call you (your name) Valo.
105. Instead of OMG, it’s OMV.
106. You know that the beginning of the end isn’t really the end…because then there’s Don’t Fear The Reaper and a hidden track.
107. You want to paint the outside of your bedroom door crimson, so that when you are in your room and it’s closed, you can say you are behind it.
the peace sign, but you do use the live long and prosper sign.
113. And you never watched Star Trek a day in your life.
114. You sent Ville a rubber duck.
115. You know who’s milkshake REALLY brings all the girls to the yard.
116. And some boys, too.
117. Your favorite phrase is “the pot calling the kettle black”.
118. Gorgeous, beautiful, handsome, sexy, and any other adjective in that genre do him no real justice.
119. You get annoyed when someone asks AGAIN what Love Metal is.
120. You know ALL the words to Valo Yossa…..but you have no fucking clue what you’re saying.
121. You bought a bass guitar.
122. And you named it Rambo.
123. You know that the song Razorblade Kiss is actually about fucking.
124. You have poured beer on a hotel room bed for your homies….and then fell off the bed.
125. You understand everything that I have just taken 2 days to write….and you want me to keep going.


And just because I REALLY love me some beanie...
Please go here to see more of this list and to see what the lovely ladies at v_d have for you…-K

Comic Book Tattoo

This is fascinating. Apparently, over 80 writers contributed 50 stories to produce “Comic Book Tattoo”, an anthology graphic novel inspired by Tori Amos songs, which boasts an introduction by my personal favorite graphic novelist, Neil Gaiman with whom Tori has always had an artistic connection. I found the complete list of collaborators online:

David Mack, Josh Hechinger, Matthew Humphreys, Jonathan Tsuei, Eric Canete, Jason Horn, Dean Trippe, Sara Ryan, Jonathan Case, Rantz A. Hoseley, James Stokoe, Tristan Crane, Atticus Wolrab, Kako, Nikki Cook, Drew Bell, Kevin Mellon, Jeff Carroll, Mike May, Jeremy Haun, Amber Stone, Leif Jones, Elizabeth Genco, Carla Speed Mcneil, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Andy Macdonald, Nick Filardi, Cat Mihos, Andre Szymanowicz, Gabe Bautista, C.B. Cebulksi, Ethan Young, Joey Weltjens & Lee Duhig, Omaha Perez, Irma Page, Mark Buckingham, Rantz A. Hoseley, Ming Doyle, Mike Maihack, John Ney Reiber, Ryan Kelly, Alice Hunt, Trudy Cooper, Jonathan Hickman, Matthew S. Armstrong, Neil Kleid, Christopher Mitten, Kristyn Ferretti, Stephanie Leong, Sonia Leong, Peov, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Laurenn Mccubbin, John Bivens, Hope Larson, Emma Vieceli, Faye Yong, Chris Arrant, Star St.Germain, Mike Dringenberg, Paul Maybury, Jim Bricker, Craig Taillefer, Dame Darcy, G. Willow Wilson, Steve Sampson, Neal Shaffer, Daniel Krall, Adisakdi Tantimedh, Ken Meyer Jr., Mark Sable, Salgood Sam, Tom Williams, James Owen, Seth Peck, Daniel Heard, Ivan Brandon, Callum Alexander Watt, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Pia Guerra, Mark Sweeney, Kristyn Ferretti, Jessica Staley, Shane White, Ted Mckeever, Chris Chuckry, Jimmie Robinson, Lea Hernandez Derek Mcculloch, Colleen Doran and Jason Hanley.

For more information and a list of songs and creators go to Tori’s official website here.

Tori appeared at the San Diego Comic Con last Saturday as part of a panel and book signing. One attendee blogger who who was there, recounted that Tori said when she read the stories, she didn’t hear the songs they were based on in her head- she heard new music, which she is now working on.

The book itself became available in comic shops on July 23rd and will be everywhere on July 29th.




Tori works the Comic Con Chic look. -K

Manna - Sister

Sexy Finnish lass Manna has debuted with a sweet and mysterious album that paints the picture of a woman with a pure heart capable of witholding a secret or two. Sister is an ambient and sometimes Beatles-esque dreamscape of an album that I find perfect for these lazy summer days. Download it all, but my picks are “Just For Tonight”, “Stars” , “In the Book of Love”, and my favorite “I Gave In”. I can’t believe it, but the album is actually available on iTunes. For the complete experience, go here . -K

This is completely gratuitous of me , but I just love these green shoes...

Hit It, CC! Poison in Birmingham, AL

There was no where this former 80s rocker wanted to be Saturday night but the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Pelham, AL outside Birmingham last weekend. On the bill was Sebastian Bach, Dokken, and Poison.

When I first saw Sebastian Bach live as lead singer of Skid Row, he was opening for Bon Jovi at Giants Stadium in 1989 and he was as Kerrang! once put “a swaggering one man tornado”. He hasn’t changed. I must admit, as soon as he stepped out onstage my heart skipped a little. Supporting his new album Angel Down, he opened strongly with a remake of Aerosmith’s Back in the Saddle and then hit us with classics like 18 and Life, I Remember You (which brought me right back to summer 1988), and Youth Gone Wild. Sebastian still has the pipes he had years ago and I could tell he didn’t want to leave the stage. It seemed wrong that he was the opener of the opener and I hated that the amphitheater was not sold out.

Dokken was pretty cool to see, but the absence of guitarist George Lynch and Don’s inability to hit the high notes was a disappointment for at least one fan, who I overheard say “Don needs to give it up”. Regardless, the band’s setlist included classics such as Kiss of Death, Tooth and Nail, Breaking the Chains, Alone Again, In My Dreams, and Just Got Lucky. Don did crack me up once, commenting on how hot and humid Birmingham was that night, saying “I haven’t sweat this much since the first time I had sex!”

Poison did a fantastic job connecting with the audience. Drummer Rikki Rocket hung a Bama jersey from his drum kit, CC Deville played Amazing Grace and Georgia on my Mind, and Bret Michaels gave a shout out to our Bama boys over in Iraq and sang Something to Believe In as a dedication to our Armed Forces overseas. Poison invited everyone to join them at the Iron Horse Cafe for an after party. The last song? Bret yelled out “give me some Sweet Home Alabama” and at his command Lynyrd Skynyrd blasted through the speakers. I once mentioned to a friend once that it was funny how Poison, probably due to the success of Rock of Love, had suddenly become the symbol of the hair metal era even though at the time a lot of us who were rockers in the 80s wouldn’t admit to liking these fluffy pop metallers. The set itself wasn’t jam-packed with music. In fact, a lot of the show was Bret talking (and a reference to CC every five minutes- even a “hit it CC” which had me rolling.) I think we’re all ready for a good time in these dark days in America. Maybe I’ve mellowed in my age, but I sang every fucking song they played Saturday night and I was not the only one. I must have been paying some attention back in the 80s... I give it an UNEXPECTED. -K



















By the way, does anyone know what happened to this guy? I saw him walking north on I-65 the next morning. You can’t forget seeing a shirt that reads “Warning: choking hazard” with an arrow pointing down.

Could This Be The One???

Go to the Kings of Leon website to download their first single of the upcoming record! I was a little nervous when I read that it had a political message but so far I'm likin what I hear. Will this be the record that breaks them in the States? --J

The Look on Bam's Face...

shutterblast.net photo from Ruisrock 2008.
I don't know why Bam's face cracks me up so much, but LOOK at that expression. Bam, honey, I know. You don't don't have to explain anything.

I honestly love those two together and if only Bam could direct another HIM video like And Love Said No. He gets what HIM is about, he knows how to make Ville look like the sexpot he is, and he's a fan. What more could we ask for. I'm sure some HIM fans will snark at this, but I will admit that if it wasn't for Bam Margera, this American girl wouldn't have hated HIM so much that once she ACTUALLY listened to the music, realized that all along she simply wasn't ready to face the unadulterated love she stored in her heart for these Finns. It was a complicated beginning, starting with me stating to J in an unimpressed tone that "the lead singer just stands there". Well, a girl can change her mind.

Anyway, HIM is on my mind today because I had to decide that I wouldn't be going to Helldone in Helsinki this year for economical as well as familial reasons and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't dying a little on the inside because of it. -K

Free Andrew Bird Concert in SLC

Our friend R in Salt Lake City sent us this picture from last nights free Andrew Bird concert at the Gallivan Center. If any of our readers attended we'd love to hear what you thought. -K

Quagmire and Manilow

I know I could be focusing on something a bit more substantive, but oh my god... I finally found the actual performance. For some reason it became the goal of the afternoon. Wait for Quagmire's reaction to Barry's twist of the lyrics...-K

Family Guy and Barry Manilow

I saw this last weekend and cracked up! -K

Conversations with Jim, Part Two

J--Any thoughts on Bo Diddley given the latest news?

Jim-- Just that there's one less giant walking the earth now. I read about his stroke last year on CNN's ticker, but I thought he'd get better. I always harbor these fantasies of going into the studio and producing albums by my idols. I'm starting to run out of idols.

J-- When you played with Bo Diddley, one of the things I remember about that night was a woman at the front of the crowd practically stripping to the music. We all couldn’t take our eyes off her! I guess you never know how audiences will react to the performance. What is the strangest thing you have witnessed when looking out at the crowd during one of your performances?

Jim-- That's a tough one, since I used to play in biker bands in Texas and Illinois, and there were just too many memorable incidents to recount here. And when you play for Deadheads and such, damn near everything they do looks strange, so where do you draw the line? One time the blues band I played bass for in Texas got to play at this biker party that people brought children to, and later there were several girls competing in what started as a wet t-shirt contest, but ended up a naked dancing contest. With the kids sitting there watching, mind you. Probably watching their own moms. As we played an endless blues shuffle, the winner was rolling around naked on the freshly cut grass, and wound up covered with grass clippings and chigger bites. Hot stuff. At one of my open mic nights a brother and sister got up to "perform", and the sister suddenly punched her brother in the face. I mean just cleaned his clock, for no reason any of us could discern. She wound up falling off the stage and landing face down on the floor below. Nobody came to her aid. Always drink responsibly, kids. One guy handed me a note as he left an open mic night while I was playing, and at the end of the night I finally read it -- he was a step away from strapping a bomb around his waist. It wasn't my gig, but I did see a woman wet her pants once. When she fled to the bathroom, the drummer on stage said into his mic, "Wow! We've never gotten that kind of response before!" And of course, fights will break out on occasion. But to me, the weirdest response is when guys, usually fellow guitarists, stand right in front of me with a blank stare. I've not yet learned how to react to that.

J-- Open mic nights - were you ever blown away by someone who showed up for one of these? Did you ever have to tell someone "cut your losses and try something next time within your reach"?

Jim-- There were plenty of times I was blown away. There's a girl here named Summer Johnson who sings like a woman possessed, and I mean that in a good way. Every time she came in it was a treat. One of my former guitar students named Marah Bobilin was also a terrific singer, and she would sometimes put together a complete show for her set, involving her and her band wearing Mexican wrestling masks, playing surf guitar instrumentals, singing numbers that would show off her multi-octave voice, etc.. There was a hip hop group that came in and had a very prepared set that knocked me out, although a lot of people in the room were openly hostile to them, which made their performance all the more impressive. I don't remember what they called themselves, but boy were they good. There was a soul singer and guitarist named Robert something, and he would literally make up tunes on the spot, and he always amazed me, even though he was rarely sober. Quite a few guitarists were not shabby as well; Huntsville has a surplus of terrific guitar players. The surf band Daikaiju started out playing at my open mic nights, and they went on to tour and have records on iTunes. I played in an offshoot surf band with their guitarist, Santanu Mitra; we called ourselves the Rocket Scientists. Several performers have become good friends, and some I wound up playing in other bands with later on. As far as giving somebody the hook, I've always looked at open mic nights as amateur hour, meaning that everyone who comes in should understand that these aren't seasoned pros for the most part. If they stink, that's their right. And it's a variety show; if you don't like whoever's up there right now, wait ten minutes. I got a lot of grief from club owners and audience members (many of whom were also would-be performers) because I didn't insist on applying any standard of quality. If I had, many of the ones complaining would've been the first cut, because they were often so boring. But I've always believed that the best musicians are the ones willing to make fools of themselves in public. That's how you learn to get better. And a bunch of those regulars got pretty great as time went on. Of course, some didn't, too, but then my GPA was never very impressive, either.

J-- You mention that Clapton has had his moments. What do you see as a highlight?

Jim-- Well, the original "Layla" and "Bell Bottom Blues" still hit the bullseye, despite decades of heavy rotation on Classic Rock Radio. To clarify what I was complaining about before, the Layla album was a case where Clapton went beyond the constrictions of "blues", by applying an Abbey Road-style songwriting and production strategy, and not only did he cough up a hit, but he also made a record that was truer to the spirit of the blues than any of his more purist attempts. And he's spent his career running away from that kind of emotional exposure, even though that's what he claims to love about the blues. But then, all those post-Monterey "rock" icons benefit from a double standard. I mean, as you know, I'm a huge Elvis fan, and he got accused of selling out for putting out a bunch of movie soundtracks, but at least those had the frequent "bonus tracks" where he's do a transcendent Dylan cover, or a funky Jimmy Reed tune, and some of the soundtracks themselves weren't bad at all, like Kid Galahad and Viva Las Vegas. But in any case, he made some damn good records even during that fallow period, and somehow kept faith with the idea that music ought to be emotionally honest. In the course of his career, his failures were as spectacular as his successes. But now we still have Rod Stewart treated like a rock god even though he hasn't made an interesting record in thirty-plus years. He wouldn't know emotional honesty if it kicked him in the balls. The Who regroup every few years for yet another "farewell tour". Sting has taken up the lute to prove what an erudite, cultured kind of guy he is -- remember how the Police were once considered a "punk-influenced" band? People need to see through the hype and the "conventional wisdom" about what artists are up to.

J-- What a good singer brings to a song is at least as important as songwriting, I would agree. But I have to admit, I do have a problem with the non-multi-tasker, the singer that does not play an instrument as well. Some can pull it off, but there are a lot of frontmen and women who need to be distracted by an instrument because they’re not engaging enough to stand up there with just their voice. What do you think?

Jim-- You must have been thinking of me when you dreamed up that question. I'm the poster boy for Please-Don't-Forget-Your-Guitar. The one time I ever tried singing without my ax I couldn't remember any of the words. I just stood there like an idiot. You're right, it takes a special kind of charisma to be able to stand up there with no props to hide behind. Bruce Springsteen tries it sometimes, and just looks plain awkward, although John Mellencamp has better luck. Elvis pulled it off, though he was even better when he had his guitar strapped on. Same with Prince. The ones who manage it are always great dancers, like James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Michael Jackson, or at least have some unique moves, like Robert Plant, Axl Rose, Madonna in her choreographed way. David Lee Roth was a kick to watch both times I saw him, though not so much lately. Iggy Pop was certainly an original; anyone who can abuse himself with peanut butter and broken glass should get a nod in the history books for sure. All the footage I've ever seen of Johnny Rotten was cool-looking. Someone described his look onstage as "singing into a wind tunnel", which sums it up pretty well. Joey Ramone made a virtue of his own dorkitude, sort of like being the proud owner of a Corvair. That's the secret -- stand tall, be proudly yourself. But most of us still need a cool crutch.

J-- I fell in love with the Allison Krauss/Robert Plant record as well. It didn’t seem far off the mark in terms of style for Krauss. What was Plant bringing to the table?

Jim-- That voice and that attitude. I think even at their most airy-fairy, Led Zeppelin must have always seen their music as an outgrowth of '50s big beat rock 'n' roll, which is to say Americana. His singing style has its roots in Gene Vincent, especially the groaning sexuality. The Krauss/Plant record sounds to me like early rock 'n' roll as remembered in a feverish dream, where the drums sound like some primitive ritual, the guitars throb through a Bo Diddley-ish tremolo, the singers sound like they're looking you in the eye and they mean business. And boy do they harmonize well, too. In some ways, I think it was more of a stretch for Alison Krauss than for Robert Plant, since she normally doesn't front a rhythm section with drums, just a small acoustic bluegrass lineup. I was glad I got to catch them live. And I'm glad the record has done well, in spite of mainstream radio treating it like leprosy. There are quite a few records out right at the moment that probably won't get any airplay, like that new Gnarls Barkley. Al Green's new one produced by ?uestlove from the Roots is his best in thirty years, but where will you hear it? I suppose I should fork over the bucks for cable radio. For people like me old enough to remember when radio was a lifeline, these are tough times.