(guest blogged by Howie Klein)

I mentioned before that I spent some time in 1977 touring England with the Clash and that that was how I became a Specials fan. Well, the Clash also introduced me to Generation X, Billy Idol's old band. The guitar player, Tony James, was Mick Jones' best friend and he used to come around a lot. It was obvious Billy wanted to break free of the confines of the tiny punk scene, where people didn't quite take him seriously anyway, and become a pop star, which sort of happened later. But Tony and the guys made him sing some pretty cool songs while he was still in Gen X.

Years later, a friend and I turned Sammy Hagar on to Patti Smith and he covered "Free Money." This was post-Montrose and pre-Van Halen and Sammy was happy for the attention he got from Patti fans all over the world. He asked me for another suggestion and I sent him a tape of "Wild Youth" by Gen X. He called me up a few days later and said he couldn't do it because it sounded too anti-Semitic. Isn't it cool for someone from Fontana to be so... sensitive?

No prize tonight but I do have a question. What do you like better-- the Gen X song or the Patti song (at the link)? Or something by Sammy?

And congrats go to C&Ler Jackie for winning the George Jones CD set.  Thanks for being part of our LNMC community.

I'm not even going to try to pretend for a second that there's any chance this is going to be good.

Spin, who I'm sure would make the quotes around "supergroup" bigger if they could.

The "supergroup" known as Chickenfoot -- comprised of ex-Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist Joe Satriani -- have announced plans to release their first album.

First, my apologies to Michael Anthony, who is one of the most gifted background vocalists in rock. When a band whose members have sold a combined number of records that may very well have a ninth digit, and the only thing to look forward to is the background vocals, we might have a problem.

Sammy Hagar, who somehow tapped into the frustration of a nation upset about safe driving laws and turned "I Can't Drive 55" into a hit, backed by the assumed masturbatory showboating at the fast hands of Smith and Satch, with song titles like "Sexy Little Thing", "Soap on a Rope" and "Oh Yeah"?

I am going out on a limb and saying that this will not be the best album of 2009 -- though to be fair, the acrobatics will be sportsmanlike at worst.

1984

Saturday! How many songs can you think of with the word 'jump' in the title?

Van Halen
	Artist: Van Halen

It was marathon day in Music City, and 30,000 people hit the streets this morning to run their butts off. It's only fitting then that I post this song off of Van Halen's self-titled album. What's your favorite 'running' song?

Blabbermouth:

A new ALICE IN CHAINS track entitled "A Looking In View" is now available for purchase via iTunes and Amazon. Two short teasers for the song's accompaying video clip can be viewed below. Meanwhile, sources tell The Pulse of Radio that an official radio single called "Check My Brain" will head to rock stations in mid-August.

ALICE IN CHAINS' first collection of all-new studio material in 14 years, "Black Gives Way To Blue", is set for release on September 29 through EMI Music's Virgin Records label. The disc will feature the recording debut with the group of singer William DuVall, who first got behind the mic for the band's 2006 reunion tour after original vocalist Layne Staley died in 2002.

I have to say, I'm impressed. A new Alice in Chains record without Layne Staley's vocals raised a lot of eyebrows, and new singer William DuVall brings the right amount of tribute and originality to the table. It also can't be said enough how much guitarist Jerry Cantrell's background vocals are part of the Alice in Chains sound, not unlike Michael Anthony in Van Halen, who allowed them to switch singers with (relative) impunity over the years.

Van Halen has sold 10s of millions of albums, one of the most successful hard rock bands in rock music history. Ironically, their only #1 hit, "Jump," (from the album 1984) wasn't a hard rock song at all and the use of synthesizers almost caused the band to split up. Soon after it was released an alternative cred band from Scotland, Aztec Camera, recorded it as a b-side for their single "All I Need Is Everything," almost tongue-in-cheek. Another bit of irony: it's one of Aztec Camera's most memorable recorded moments! Van Halen has been touring-- with David Lee Roth-- to very mixed reviews, some people saying the shows were as good as ever, others claiming the band was off key and lackluster. The band just canceled or postponed their last 4 shows due to Eddie's health problems. Here's the Aztec Camera version of "Jump":