HOT
Zeppelin Flying More Than Once?
The prospect of a full-fledged Led Zeppelin tour has been the hot music-world rumor for the past few months. Well, it'll never be a "full-fledged" reunion unless a key component -- drummer John Bonham -- is resurrected, Frankenstein-style. But the not-dead members of the legendary band are to appear together Monday in London for a tribute to Atlantic Records founder, Ahmet Ertegun, alongside some less-than-headline-making appearances by Bill Wyman, Paul Rogers and … Foreigner (is this a tribute concert or a state fair?). Since the announcement of Monday's tribute, rumors have swirled that Led Zeppelin will play Bonnaroo this summer, launch a massive world tour and perform with David Coverdale assuming the role of Robert Plant when he gets fatigued (okay, the last one we just made up). The tour rumors -- none of which has been confirmed -- got a big boost here in Cincinnati. When The Cult performed at Bogart's recently, singer Ian Astbury said the group would be back in Cincy soon … as the opening act for Led Zeppelin! Well, he said they'd be opening for a band whose name starts with an "L" and has a "Z" in it (if it's Limp Bizkit, Astbury deserves to have his ass kicked, and not just for "playing" Jim Morrison with the "reunited" Doors recently). So Led Zeppelin(ish) and The Cult at Riverbend this summer? You heard it here first (unless it's not true -- then we'll blame it on Internet rumors).
WARM
Where the Wildfires Are
It's sad when anyone loses his or her home in a fire. But news reports from the recent wildfires in Southern California made full-on pity a little hard to muster, as residents in the path of the blaze talked about how their ginormous swimming pools saved their lives. Some of these people may only have two other homes to live in now! Mega-rich Rock Stars were not immune -- Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea lost a home he was trying to sell (upside: he has yet another Malibu home; downside: he was asking $4.8 million for the one that burned up). Also, an L.A. television channel reported that Axl Rose didn't lose his home, because he assisted in beating off the flames from his property. We would have suggested letting it burn -- then Axl would have a legit excuse for not finishing that mythical Guns 'N Roses' album, Chinese Democracy, which has had its released date pushed back more than 193 times in the past five years (approximately).
COLD
2007 Numbers Crunched
Need more proof that the CD format is inches away from death? It was recently announced that the No. 1 selling album of this year is the soundtrack for High School Musical 2. If you're thinking "Wait, there was a High School Musical ONE?," then you are probably over 15 and don't have children. The TV show soundtrack probably has Mickey and Minnie Mouse toasting champagne and doing bumps of coke off of each others' private parts in the Disney bathroom stalls (HSM is a Disney Channel entity), but the actual number of CDs sold to make it qualify as the top seller likely has many in the music industry thinking about turning to selling cocaine. The soundtrack album is on track to sell just 2.3 million copies, which would make it the lowest selling best-seller-of-the-year in the 16-year history of SoundScan (which keeps track of sales numbers). For some perspective, look at the record holder for most albums sold in one year: Shania Twain's Come On Over moved 15.4 million copies went it came out 10 years ago. Just three years ago, Nora Jones' Feels Like Home sold half of what High School Musical 2 sold this year … in its first week.
