Avenged Sevenfold drummer dead at 28

The drummer of the heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold was found dead in his Huntington Beach, CA, home Monday.

Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, 28 (far right, above), was found unresponsive when authorities were called to his southern California home yesterday. "It appeared to be natural causes," said Lt. John Domingo of the Huntington Beach Police Department in a statement.

An autopsy and coroner's investigation are currently underway to determine the specific cause of death - "natural causes" is the description authorities use when no obvious external force is apparent, and further investigation is necessary...

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To read a June 2006 interview I did with Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows where we discuss The Rev and his musical roots,
please click here.

Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
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Aerosmith's Steven Tyler checks into rehab

In a move that will hopefully bring a sense of closure to the ongoing drama in the Aerosmith camp, frontman Steven Tyler has checked himself into rehab for an addiction to painkillers.

This is Tyler's second rehabilitation stay in two years, but first since his public back-and-forth with his bandmates about wanting a solo career this fall.

Said Tyler in a statement Tuesday: "I love Aerosmith; I love performing as the lead singer in Aerosmith. I am grateful for all of the support and love I am receiving and am committed to getting things taken care of."

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Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
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Tom Morello remembers Joe Strummer...There would be no Rage without the Clash

"Joe Strummer was my greatest inspiration, my favorite singer of all time, and my hero."

Those were the words written by Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello after the death of Clash frontman Joe Strummer on Dec. 22, 2002 (pictured above, right). Seven years later, as a testament to not only one of the most influential players in the history of punk rock, but also one of the most renowned forces in music, I'd like to share more of Morello's stirring tribute.

While many of today's younger music fans may not remember or know the Clash, they surely know Rage Against The Machine - rest assured, as Morello recalls, there would be no Rage without the Clash, who he was introduced to while working at his high school newspaper...

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Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
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Rage Against the Machine vs Simon Cowell:The U.K.'s unexpected American Idols

Don't expect to hear Rage Against The Machine on American Idol judge Simon Cowell's Christmas playlist this holiday season.

The reunited Los Angeles rockers - backed by the 500,000-member Facebook group 'Rage Against The Machine for Christmas No. 1' - beat X-Factor winner Joe McElderry for the coveted top spot on the U.K. singles chart this week... With a song that is as old as McElderry.

Referred to as 'Christmas No. 1,' the top of the Christmas-week U.K. singles chart used to be a hard-fought prize of the British music scene - until Cowell's X-Factor [think British American Idol] emerged and left all the competition in its wake.

For four years running, the annual X-Factor champion has claimed the Christmas No. 1.

But not this year, when a grass roots campaign begun by Rage fans Jon and Tracy Morter helped make the band's "Killing in the Name" the fastest-selling download in U.K. history, and the first download-only Christmas No. 1...

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Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
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R.I.P. Brittany Murphy - Her Musical Legacy

Brittany Murphy is best known for her starring roles in the movies 8 Mile and Clueless, but she also left her mark on the world of electronic music, where she collaborated with acclaimed trance DJ Paul Oakenfold.

Murphy - who died Sunday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest - sang on Oakenfold's "Faster Kill Pussycat," the opening track and lead single from his 2006 release A Lively Mind.

"Brittany Murphy was an amazing talent, but above all she was an amazing person," said Oakenfold Monday afternoon in a Twitter post. "She will be greatly missed. Our deepest condolences go out to her family."

In addition to providing all of the vocals on "Faster Kill Pussycat," Murphy also starred in the song's video.

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Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
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CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST:Brooke White to Trans-Siberian Orchestra

I've been called a Christmas dork before, and I'm sure I'll be called one again - but why should the holidays be any different than the rest of the year? Here are a half-dozen albums (and an EP for good measure) that I'm playing in steady rotation this holiday season - from my stereo to yours, season's greetings!

BROOKE WHITE - iTunes exclusive holiday EP

Brooke White's 3-track holiday EP could melt even the iciest Grinch heart. She covers "Away in a Manger" and "Blue Christmas" with an angelic flutter, but the real gem is her original "California Christmas," a yuletide ode to palm trees wrapped in lights and making angels in sand - I never thought I'd hear a song that could combat the melancholy of spending holidays away from my family and their white Christmases in the northeast, but this one does it.

TORI AMOS - Midwinter Graces

Midwinter Graces is a masterful blend of classic Christmas and modern spunk, all hung by Tori Amos like white lights around a noble Christmas spruce. Her simple, baroque style emphasizes an angel's voice floating atop a cloud of piano and refined instrumentation, creating a whirlwind of spirited energy. One of the best holiday albums I've heard in a long time, and an instant season's classic.

STING - If on a Winter's Night

If On A Winter's Night isn't a Christmas album, it is a seasonal album, the classically-minded collection of carols, lullabies, hymns and confessionals embracing the spirit of winter and all of it's raw, unbridled energy. Instead of decking the halls with boughs of holly, Sting opens the castle window and bundles up in front of the fire, allowing the cold to creep through the centuries-old stone walls, and the music to pass like a blustering wind passes through a forest.

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA - The Christmas Trilogy

Since their humble beginnings more than a decade ago, Trans-Siberian Orchestra have been as much a part of my Christmas traditions as trimming a tree and last-minute shopping. Christmas Eve and Other Stories is the story of a young girl who can't be home for Christmas, a father who wants nothing more than to have her there, and a total stranger who makes it happen. The Lost Christmas Eve and The Christmas Attic complete TSO's Christmas trilogy of albums with similar brilliance, all three being the crowning jewels of my holiday music collection.

HALFORD - Winter Songs

The greatest thing about Winter Songs isn't the mere fact that it is a Christmas album from the Metal God, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford. The greatest thing about this album is, with one or two exceptions, it's one that even sweet Aunt Edna could listen to without squirming in her seasonal frock. Halford's voice is custom-made for the album's traditional Christmas fare, and a handful of the performances are worthy of any cathedral celebrating a midnight Christmas mass.

Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!

To read more on each of these albums, please click here.

Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
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Jack Bauer interrogates Santa Claus

Joan Jett can kick Edward and Jacob's asses!(but can Kristen Stewart eclipse 'Twilight'?)

Kristen Stewart - yes the megastar who turned frumpy Bella Swan into a sex symbol in the Twilight series - will be starring as Joan Jett in The Runaways this spring.

I can't be the only Joan Jett fan that appreciates the irony, and I'm sure I'm not the only Joan Jett fan that can't wait to see how the band's story translates onto the silver screen this spring.

Lita Ford wanted nothing to do with the bio-pic, but I'm willing to give Jett and writer/director Floria Sigismondi the benefit of the doubt on this one. I've been a fan of Sigismondi's since her Marilyn Manson/Living Things video directing days, and Jett makes me wish I could be a lesbian, because at least then I'd stand a chance with the hottest woman in rock and roll.

To watch The Runaways movie trailer, please click here.

Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
Click here to visit his Examiner homepage.

No mo-fo Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist

John Frusciante has quit the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

While there has been speculation that this has been the case for months now, the guitarist (second from right in above picture) confirmed the news on his website Wednesday night.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have had seven guitarists since forming more than 25 years ago, but Frusciante was the mainstay, playing on Mother's Milk, Blood Sugar Sex Magic, Californication, By The Way and Stadium Arcadium.

Though the band hasn't commented on Frusciante's departure, it was reported by the British music outlet NME that guitarist Josh Klinghoffer - who has ironically appeared on Frusciante's solo albums - is the new guitarist.

To read my full article, please click here.

Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
Click here to visit his Examiner homepage.

Sting's celebrates the season, not the reason

Sting's If On A Winter's Night isn't a Christmas album, it is a seasonal album - rather than celebrating the holidays in this classically-minded collection of carols, lullabies, hymns and confessionals, the iconic musical journeyman engages the spirit of winter and all of it's raw, unbridled energy.

To even say that some of the tracks flirt with Christmas cheer would be an injustice - for the most part, the proceedings are more melancholic than they are joyous, and more reflective than they are celebratory. Instead of decking the halls with boughs of holly, Sting opens the castle window and bundles up in front of the fire, allowing the cold to creep through the centuries-old stone walls, and the music to pass through him like a blustering wind passes through a forest...

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Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
Click here to visit his Examiner homepage.

Lady Gaga kicks Kid Cudi off Monster Ball Tour

Someone forgot to tell Kid Cudi that if you're opening for one of the biggest stars in music, you shouldn't punch their fans in the face.

Not that anyone should need to be told that, but seeing as Kid Cudi is a Kanye West protege, well, we shouldn't take matters of common courtesy for granted.

Kid Cudi was removed from Lady Gaga's Monster Ball tour Wednesday, only a few days after he punched a fan in the face during a weekend performance in Vancouver. R&B breakthrough Jason Derulo was announced as his replacement.

You really want to know why Susan Boyle, Andrea Bocelli and Michael Buble are tearing up the charts? Last time I checked, they weren't hijacking the stage from teenage girls on MTV, beating their girlfriends, or - not to be outdone - beating their fans.

Suddenly a kiss from Adam Lambert isn't looking so bad!

To watch the video of Kid Cudi coldcocking a fan, please click here.

Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
Click here to visit his Examiner homepage.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2010Dancing queens, but no Paul or Gene...

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2010, and it offers a little something for everyone, from pop and prog to punk and reggae.

But still not the names I've been waiting to see - KISS and Rush.

This year's inductees into the Cleveland, OH, shrine to all things rock and roll (all things except KISS and Rush, that is) include ABBA (pictured), Genesis, the Stooges, Jimmy Cliff and the Hollies.

I'll spare you my Canadian power trio diatribe for another day, and just move on to the merits of this year's class - yes, even the Hollies, who for the life of me I still don't think I've ever heard before.

I guess they all can't rock and roll all night... Or even part of any day.

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Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
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COACHELLA SET FOR APRIL 16-18 Rumors include Stones, Muse, Faith No More...

Let the lineup speculation begin - the tenth annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival will be held April 16-18, 2010.

While concert promoters Goldenvoice haven't announced any acts for the eleventh incarnation of America's most acclaimed music festival, they have confirmed the Coachella weekend and have officially begun selling pre-sale ticket packages, including layaway plans. Visit www.coachella.com for details.

Though nobody has been officially confirmed for the three-day festival - which will be held on the same weekend as last year, which included headliners Paul McCartney, The Cure and The Killers - many artists have already started talking about their plans.

My wish list? FAITH NO MORE and DAFT PUNK headlining Friday night, an improbable TALKING HEADS reunion followed by FATBOY SLIM on Saturday night (Heads frontman David Byrne and Fatboy Slim joined forces for Here Lies Love, a collaboration to be released Feb. 23), and DAVID BOWIE sending us all home happy with Sunday evening's closing set. I know that's not going to happen, but let a man dream...

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Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
Click here to visit his Examiner homepage.

COMMENTARY: Morrissey live in Los Angeles

I'm admittedly not the biggest Morrissey fan in the world - indifferent would be an appropriate word. I've always appreciated the Smiths more than his solo material, and have been to three shows before, all of which I've left partially through (early '90s in Milwaukee, about 10 years ago in New York, and Coachella last spring) - those factors considered, I thoroughly enjoyed his set last night, and left the Gibson Amphitheatre with a new appreciation for the man, the myth and the legend that is Moz.

A number of fans commented afterwords that it was one of his weaker shows that they've seen. Without the frame of reference of a couple dozen (literally) shows, I was impressed with what I saw. Let's face it, you can't hide from the headlines, and my opinion heading in had been shaped by his most recent escapades, from his "I smell burning flesh" tantrum at Coachella, to walking offstage after getting hit by a cup, etc. He's got a reputation for being a diva, and there's definitely a trainwreck appeal that - as a casual listener, not a devoted fan - you can't quite escape.

But not in Los Angeles last night...

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Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
Click here to visit his Examiner homepage.

FREE DOWNLOADSmashing Pumpkins "A Song for a Son"

One down, 43 to go - The Smashing Pumpkins have begun the process of releasing their entire new album for free on the internet.

“A Song for a Son” is the first song from the band's upcoming album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, a 44-song release that band mastermind Billy Corgan says will be issued one song at a time, for free, via the internet.

An epic track, “A Song for a Son” has more in common with Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and Cat Stevens' Tea for the Tillerman than it does with heavier notes in Pumpkins history, despite a heaping of mid-song fuzz that reverberates with a sonic rumble reminiscent of the band's earlier daze.

To read Corgan's thought on the track - and the album - please click here.

Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
Click here to visit his Examiner homepage.