No Led Zeppelin World Tour Until at Least September

British Rock band Led Zeppelin enjoyed jamming together again last year in a charity concert but won't have another session before September at the earliest, lead guitarist Jimmy Page said in Tokyo on Monday.

A successful reunion show in London in December rekindled hopes of a world tour, but Page said that singer Robert Plant's tour with U.S. country singer Alison Krauss is keeping him busy for now.

"I can assure you the amount of work that we put into the O2 (concert), for ourselves rehearsing and the staging of it, was probably what you put into a world tour," Page said.

But, "Robert Plant also had a parallel project running and he's really busy with that project, certainly until September, so I can't give you any news."

Page, in Tokyo to promote a greatest hits release, painted a happy picture of the reunion.

"It was exhilarating, fantastic, every week was a week to look forward to," he said. "We did the show and it was great."

The band, formed in 1968 by Page, Plant, bass guitarist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham, became arguably the world's biggest rock group by the early 1970s.

Their fourth album, released in 1971, included their most famous song, "Stairway to Heaven," while the band has sold an estimated 300 million albums worldwide.

The group decided to break up shortly after Bonham died in September 1980, although Page and Plant collaborated at times over the years.

Plant, Page and Jones performed together in London before about 20,000 fans on December 10, with Bonham's son Jason on the drums.

When the concert was announced, the Internet site selling tickets crashed with applications, while the possibility of a new world tour had fans around the globe excited.

Page said after many years the song indeed remained the same.

"That is what was so thrilling really -- to come together after all this time and find that there was so much chemistry and so much electricity involved in these four characters."

Source Reuters

Don't Mess With a Beatle

Of course if someone was to feel that they could have the upper hand or push one of the Beatles around, that Beatle would be Ringo. The happy go lucky drummer who has a smile plastered on his face at all times would seemingly be the last person in the world to make anyone disgruntle. Well Ringo decided to turn his back on none other than Regis Philbman.

Ringo was asked to perform on the Regis and Kelly show not too long ago. Ringo agreed to the offer but clearly was unaware of some of the circumstances he would be held to. The major issue was the length of the song Ringo was going to perform. The song runs for a little over four minutes but the producers of "Live with Regis and Kelly" said it had to be no longer than 2 1/2 minutes. Ringo worked to make a compromise but refused to cut his song to such a short length. Instead of finding some common ground Ringo decided to walk off and not play at all. Being that this is Ringo Starr he left with a few words of kindness, "God bless and goodbye. We still love Regis."

So what do we make of this debacle? The blame is clearly all dependent on whether or not Ringo was notified of the time restrictions. If he was indeed notified then I would actually have to take the side of "Live with Regis and Kelly" (No matter how bad that makes me feel.) If Ringo wasn't notified then I think there could have been some agreement formed. In all fairness, Ringo Starr is a Beatle, a member of the biggest and most important band in the history of the world. The producers couldn't cut some of the meaningless (and annoying) chatter of Kelly Ripa for the sound of Ringo Starr? This seems to remind me of the infamous Doors incident where Jim Morrison refused to censor his lyrics on "Light My Fire" for television. There seems to be a firm lesson of the integrity of an artist. An artists music was meant to be heard the way he/she intended it to. It's good to see Ringo holding strong and refusing to sell out.

Leak

Now and days it's pretty much impossible to record an album without it getting leaked onto the Internet. In fact, I believe I have spotted every album I've waited for in the past three or so years online before the actual release. The exception to this is Radiohead's most recent release In Rainbows. Now whether or not this is a terrible epidemic on the music industry depends on who you are asking. For instance Thom Yorke of Radiohead was a bit honored that their past release Amnesiac was passed around amongst fans before the release. He saw this as a sign of sheer devotion towards the band. Of course the number of artists who share these same views are few and far between.

What brought me to this topic is the fact that the newest Mars Volta album Bedlam in Goliath leaked onto the Internet not too long ago. The album isn't set to be released until Jan. 29th. As a fan it is pretty tough to refrain from hearing a leak. You wait all this time for an album and there it is right in front of you, and not only before the official release date, but for free! As a fan what would you normally do? Would you choose to download the album? Or would you wait until the official release date?

2007 Imagine Echoes Awards

Song of the Year: The Smashing Pumpkins: "Doomsday Clock"

Teenage angst has never been quite the same since the departure of the Pumpkins. In their newest album Zeitgeist, The Smashing Pumpkins open up the album with a crunching riff that just begs to be turned to full volume. The chorus is as catchy as any Pumpkins song from the past. Billy Corgan and company could have not picked a better song to open up their newest album and to kick start the Pumpkins career.
Runner Up- Radiohead "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi"



Worst Band of the Year: New Found Glory

Well this is the third year in a row this band has taken this award. Their predictable lyrics and sound do not even deserve to be elaborated on. There's not even a need to pick a runner up.



Comeback Band/Artist of the Year: Led Zeppelin

It would be nearly impossible to choose any other band other than Zep. The reunion has been one of the most anticipated reunions in the history of Rock. Although as of now it was only a one time deal, their performance was hailed as being just as fantastic as their past shows. Some fans even went to the extent of saying the reunion at London's O2 arena was superior to their past shows. Plant may have had to be a little more selective in picking out his wardrobe and choosing the songs which best suit his aging voice, but regardless, a band with the talent of Led Zeppelin cannot go wrong.
Runner Up: Rage Against the Machine



Debut Album of the Year: Liam Finn: I'll Be Lightening

While I didn't feel there were any very strong debuts this year, this album seemed to be the strongest of the bunch. The sound on this album is very similar to the likes of Elliott Smith. The first half of the album is extremely strong, songs like "Better to Be", "Second Chance" and "Gather to the Chapel" really propel the album forward. It looks like we could have a potentially strong singer songwriter in Liam Finn.
Runner Up: Serj Tankian: Elect the Dead



Tour of the Year: Muse

I had a ticket to go to this show, but unfortunately I was on vacation and without a working vehicle to get to the show. This would become one of the biggest regrets of my life. Based on reviews and videos, Muse's shows are unlike anything else. With unmatchable energy and sound it would be difficult to choose any other band. The bands unique sound and indescribable effects match with their music works perfectly for a live show. While I would like to choose The White Stripes based on the fact that it may have been their final tour of their career because of Meg's mental conditions, it was just to hard to take the award away from Muse.
Runner Up: The White Stripes



Moment of the Year: Radiohead's Pay As You Wish for their Newest Album

While there were some fantastic announcements of unforgettable reunions, nothing quite impacted the music industry like Radiohead's pick your own price. Without any label Radiohead made the bold risk of selling their own music. Based on past posts I've had about the demsie of the CD, I should probably be knocking this move but there was something magical about it. Without any artwork, any major advertisement, and without any price, it stripped our preconceived stereotypes about the album. It had us focus solely on the music.
Runner Up: Led Zeppelin Reunion


Live DVD of the Year: Nirvana: MTV Unplugged in New York City

It took far too long for this to be released. This is easily the most memorable performance in MTV Unplugged history. It showed the aggressive grunge band Nirvana in the most intimate of settings. The DVD catches Kurt Cobain in the most humane manner. It is one of the few times we see Kurt as a person more then a larger than life Rock star. We see him joking around and communicating with the crowd, sometimes it looks as if it comes natural and sometimes it seems as if there is a bit of apprehension. One of the finest things about this show was the fact that the band chose to dig deeper into their catalog and refrained from using too many hits, and there was an abundance of covers which could not have been performed any better.
Runner Up: David Gilmour: Remember that Night


Album of the Year: Radiohead: In Rainbows

Radiohead takes this category solely based on their music. Musically, In Rainbows rivals The Bends and OK Computer. Every song on the album is so incredibly powerful. Between the unforgettable rhythms, infectious hooks, and surreal melodies, In Rainbows could quite possibly be Radiohead's best effort to date. Thom Yorke's voice has never sounded as climactic and haunting as it does here. Who would have though that the best album of the year would have been free? Radiohead continued to push boundaries here, and not just musically.
Runner Up: The White Stripes Icky Thump



Band/Artist of the Year: Radiohead

How could any other band take this category? What didn't Radiohead do right this year? The only thing they can't add to their resume is a major tour. Their album is one of the best this decade and their choice of how to release the album is genius. They break boundaries year after year and never cease to impress fans and critics alike. The albums incredible success and industry changing methods just begs for Radiohead being the band of the year. Bands and artist have continually praised Radiohead on their release and many of which have noted that they will release future albums in the same manner as Radiohead.
Runner Up: The White Stripes