Found Link: Roger Dean Talks Avatar in South Korea

The Korea Times had a chance to ask Roger Dean what he thought of James Cameron's rip-off job done for the production design of Avatar. I was hardly unique in questioning how Dean received no credit in the look of the high budget film. Anyone who spends as much time as me pathetically dwelling over the man's artwork while listening to Yes over the years will have doubtlessly questioned Avatar's whole design from the trailers alone. Floating islands? I mean....come on James Cameron.

Mr. R. Dean got plenty of feedback from the confused and had this to say:

``The only thing I will say is I am extremely grateful to these millions of people online who have recognized the similarities and talked about my works. It's a great honor that so many people recognized it. I didn't know there were that many people who would remember my work,'

The cagey (and absurdly humble) nature of his words, and the fact that he's holding back on what his own opinions of the matter are, lead me to suspect their might be some legal action in the works. If Mr. Cameron really did use all of Dean's famous images without permission then a lawsuit should be top priority. Shouldn't it? What do you think?

Read about Dean's take on Avatar and the retrospective underway in Seoul's Daelim Contemporary Art Museum here:
Roger Dean Talks 'Avatar' at Retrospective

Rumour: Rush to debut new songs in concert

While there is a decent amount of press coverage here in Toronto surrounding the Canadian trio's induction into the Canadian songwriter hall of fame, a recent interview with the Toronto Sun (or QMI Agency, something like that) has Neil Peart revealing an interesting tidbit of information. Apparently Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are currently hard at work setting his latest lyrics to music and they might be premiering a few of these new songs on their next concert tour. Will they continue down the same path that lead them to Snakes and Arrows, or will Rush take another sharp turn in their ever-changing musical stylings?

It was mentioned in an older interview that Neil Peart was pretty amazed with what Porcupine Tree has been doing by breaking away from the traditional 'song' structure in the era of the digital download. Will the younger band influence the older one to go back to their Progressive roots? Who knows? I doubt it, but the possibilities are interesting to contemplate.

What do you think? Do you think the band, at this stage of its career, can create yet another sprawling/long instrumental masterpiece? I'd say The Main Monkey Business on Snakes and Arrows was a step in that direction.

Rush-ing into Songwriters Hall | Music | Entertainment | Toronto Sun: "“I stopped in Toronto a couple of weeks back and went over to Geddy’s house and listened to what they’ve been working on from my lyrics and it’s very exciting, we’ve got probably five very good songs there,” Peart told QMI Agency. “So we were saying, ‘Well, I kind of just want to keep working on this and finish the record.’ But on the other hand we were thinking, ‘Well, something we haven’t done since the ’80s is write new songs and go out and play them.’ It’s interesting to be so deeply involved in songwriting right now with this honour coming up. It kind of puts a fresh observation on it for me.”"

Found Link: Phil Collins talks about his Nerve Damage

While another Genesis tour isn't really in the cards anytime soon, Rolling Stone couldn't resist asking Phil Collins about the possibilities. As you probably know, Phil is suffering from back problems and nerve damage which is not only making drumming extremely painful but also causing plenty of pain in all aspects of his day-to-day life.

A few years ago we were talking about a full Genesis reunion with Peter Gabriel. Now, it seems highly unlikely that we'll ever see the band on stage again, in any form. However, despite all the injuries and scheduling conflicts, nothing is completely rulled out by any member of the band.

Phil Collins on Overcoming Nerve Damage, Future of Genesis : Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily:

"The nerve damage has made more than just drumming difficult for the 59-year-old musician. “I can’t let go of the spoon or the knife when I eat,” he tells RS. “I can’t open a car door. I won’t get gruesome with you, but there’s a lot of things I can’t do. I’m left handed. I’m having an operation soon and there’s a good chance of it improving over time.”

Found Link: Frank Zappa Marvel Comics Ad

Wowie Zowie!
Check out this vintage 60s ad for Frank Zappa and the Mother's We're Only In It For The Money. "From the same wonderful, wholesome and American teen rock combo that is responsible for Freak Out! and Absolutely Free e e e ee e" It was found in marvel

Click the link below for more information.

Frank Zappa Marvel Comics Ad, 1968 - Charles Johnson - The Lizard Annex - True/Slant:

"And here’s an interesting bit of 60s trivia; in a few issues of some of the Marvel comics, we’ve discovered the following advertisement for Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and their new album, “We’re Only In It For the Money.” I’d totally forgotten about this ad."

Video: Drum Channel video with Terry Bozzio and Mike Portnoy

If you're a drummer or fan of drumming in general, you've probably checked out Drum Channel. They've created what I'd have to assume is any drummer's dream. They have a whole library of videos featuring a who's who of legendary drumming talent getting together for some talk and some jamming.

Terry Bozzio, in case you didn't know, is probably best known in Prog circles as the Zappa drummer tasked with mastering The Black Page. There's little doubt that Mike Portnoy would list Bozzio amongst his influences.

This video, (almsot two hours long!) features some drumming duals between the two legends and some very interesting conversation. They quiz each other on their history and influence and aren't afraid to talk about the math behind the complex drumming that is their trademarks. The mood is casual and the dialog is candid. If you are even moderately interested in either of these progressive drumming icons then you should probably set aside some time and check this out.

Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) with Host Terry Bozzio Rebroadcast of DC LIVE

News: Pink Floyd Wins UK Court Battle with EMI Label

That was fast! Looks like Pink Floyd was right to say that EMI's selling of individual tracks from their concept albums was in breach of contract. Floyd gets a fairly huge cash settlement from EMI (probably money that EMI could use more than the members of the band considering the record label is in financial trouble). All the details are in the CNBC article linked below.

As a huge fan of concept albums, I think this is a victory for the integrity of these works. I'm going to asume that Waters/Gilmour/Mason pushed this law suit for the right reasons. The biggest selling Floyd albums (from Dark Side through The Wall) are all carefully pieced together and were made to be listened to as a whole. Let's face it, the world's second most selling band of all time (The Beatles are obviously first) didn't make music that was designed for the ADD era of hit single downloads (or hit single records for that matter). Sure there are those who will be upset to not be able to just get Money or Another Brick in The Wall on their iPods without having to spend money on the rest of the album, but those people can go listen to something else. Call me a Prog-Snob (cause I probably am) but this is good news.

Music & Media: Pink Floyd Wins UK Court Battle with EMI Label - CNBC: "British rock band Pink Floyd won its court battle with EMI on Thursday with a ruling that prevents the record company from selling single downloads on the Internet from the group's concept albums."