Death, Before Death

Thanks to Cormorant for posting about this in a blog.  Long before Chuck Schuldiner’s Death, there was another, based in Detroit.  A trio of black musicians, they changed their sound in the early 70’s.  Initially funded by Columbia, their untitled album unfortunately faded into obscurity until recently (and has since been given a name).

Check it out.

Record Store Day

Today is officially “Record Store Day”.  Is there an album you’ve wanted to get your hands on?  Go get it, but instead of trekking to War-Mart/Target/Best Buy/Sam Goody/Hot Topic or whatever, go visit our local record/music shop.  Well, if you still have one in the area.

And don’t let the name fool you, today shouldn’t be only about the vinyl, although some stores have events and appearances planned that do involve records.

WWE Hall Of Fame – 2009

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame wasn’t the only Hall Of Fame ceremony happening on Saturday  night.  As they have since Wrestlemania XX, the WWE held their Hall Of Fame inductions the night before Wrestlemania. 

Gathering old and new wrestlers alike, along with fans and celebrities (such as Mickey Rourke this year) the WWE pays tribute to the men and women that paved the way for the wrestlers of today, although not every inductee has been a wrestler.  While there are some questionable entries, for the most part, the WWE has gotten it right.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – 2009

Without FUSE TV, I had to rely on the internet to see what I missed and didn’t want to wait until next weekend to possibly see a repeat on FUSE’s site.  I didn’t see it all, but I saw most of what I wanted to see.  Thanks be to YouTube!

Over the years, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has spread out into different areas of music, which is what they’ve needed to do.  However, this also seems counter to the name, being more of a Music Hall Of Fame than the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  Naturally, people will question including the likes of Grandmaster Flash, Madonna and Run-DMC, but the same might be said of including metal bands like Black Sabbath or Metallica, though the connection to rock and roll is more obvious with metal.  That’s not to say that rap doesn’t have a connection – but to many, hard rock and metal is closer to rock and roll.

I think the HOF needs an overhaul and a hard look at what it is they’re doing now versus what they’ve done in the past.  I do think that the inductees, past and present, are worthy of recognition, among many others that get passed by.  At least this year’s ceremony was held in Cleveland, where the actual Hall Of Fame is located, and will return there on a more regular basis.

Of Mandatory Censorship & Fines For Hyperlinks

Thanks to Daniel Haggard for bringing this to my attention.  Hopefully I can do the same for someone wandering through.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has stated that it will issue fines for those who link to pages that are on its blacklist and can otherwise compel site owners and operators to remove pages and content, even without the planned mandatory censorship legislation in place.

While I may be in America, I see this as something that can have an effect outside of Australia, with other countries and governments using this a precedent to exert control over the internet and what goes on it.  As it stands, some places in the world do not have the amount of access many of us have and what the ACMA is currently doing (or trying to do) could very well make it so that the gap closes.

Read More:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/home/technology/banned-hyperlinks-could-cost-you-11000-a-day/2009/03/17/1237054787635.html