Van Halen Unplug For You Really Got Me

The full "Downtown" DVD features 4 acoustic video performances � "Panama", "You and Your Blues (intro)", "You and Your Blues" and "Beautiful Girls!"

The footage of The Kinks' classic was shot at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Check it out here.

Beastie Boy Settles Colbert Report Dispute

Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert decided to settle an argument between New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz and blogger Julieanne Smolinski on last Thursday's episode of 'The Colbert Report.'

The beef was caused by Shortz' clue for the term 'Illin,' which he described as "Wack, in Hip-Hop." After some back and forth between Smolinski and Shortz, Colbert brought in "the only authority with a license to ill" Beastie Boys' "head grammarian" Mike D. to mediate the dispute.

Check it out

Shredders of Ozz: Ozzy Osbourne's Amazing Guitarists

Randy Rhoads: A classically influenced virtuoso, Randy Rhoads was introduced to Osbourne by bassist Dana Strum, from Slaughter, when Osbourne was seeking a guitarist with whom to launch his solo career following his split with Black Sabbath. Rhoads's tenure with Ozzy was brief � he died tragically in a plane crash in 1982 � but his contributions to rock guitar are monumental. "As a guitar player he was just phenomenal," Osbourne told Guitar Shop, in 1998. "His heart wasn't really into rock 'n' roll so much as the classics. He was one of these guys who, once he tasted what he wanted to taste, wanted to move on. He wasn't really interested in becoming the next guitar hero."

Jake E. Lee: Jake E. Lee's stint with Osbourne, which extended from late 1982 until 1987, provided much-needed stability during a difficult period. Lee's playing on 1983's Bark at the Moon and 1986's The Ultimate Sin � both of which featured his contributions as co-writer as well as guitarist � was sensational. "On the first album, I felt [pressure] because there were a lot of guitar players who wanted this gig," he told Guitar World, in 1986. "I knew there were going to be a lot of people listening to see if I did any good or not. But I'm not the kind of person who really cares what other people think. There are guitar players who still come up to Ozzy and go, 'I'm the guitar player you should have got.'"

Check out the rest of the list here.

Cold War Kids Giving Away New Single

Recorded by Richard Swift, the song features new guitar player Dann Gallucci.n celebration of the new, Cold War Kids will perform in Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco - three cities, three nights each. Ticket holders will receive a limited edition, "Minimum Day Chapbook," designed by bass player and in-resident artist, Matt Maust.

"Does the Mayan Calendar predict a 2012 apocalypse? With humanity coming to an end soon, we are giving away our latest single, 'Minimum Day,'" says lead singer Nathan Willett. "Time to play a few shows to join in on the end days craze!" Grab the song here.

Primal Fear Streaming New Song Online

"Unbreakable" was produced by Mat Sinner, engineered and mixed by Achim Koehler at the House Of Music studios and some more studios in Germany & Sweden between the summer and autumn of 2011. Check out the song here.

KISS Kruise II Details

For the second straight year, Kiss has partnered with Sixthman to unite the Kiss Navy for the 2012 Kiss Kruise, which is scheduled to depart Miami, Fla. on October 31 � Halloween � and head to Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. Passengers will enjoy all the comforts and amenities aboard the Norwegian Pearl ship for the four day cruise, that will return to the port on November 4.

Packages for the cruise begin at $750 per person. In addition the the entertainment aboard the ship, other attractions will include each member of the band leading their own activities for the Kiss Kruisers to get involved with. Fans will also have the rare opportunity to explore the private island, Great Stirrup Cay, located in the Bahamas. more on this story

NAMM and the Make-A-Wish Make Heart Transplant Patient's Dream Come True

The meeting will take place from 3:00 � 6:00 pm on Friday, January 20 at The NAMM Show, one of largest music instruments and products trade shows in the world that showcases more than 1,400 exhibitors.

19 year-old Kevin Grissom, a North Carolinian, received a heart transplant last May and has always admired Knight's work, which includes a collection of photography chronicling the Who's Who of music. Knight began his career in the late 60s and has photographed Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Maroon 5 and more. more on this story

Anniversary of Daydream Believer Songwriter John Stewart's Death

Gibson looks back: He started out in small folk groups before making his mark in the seminal '60s folk combo the Kingston Trio, whose style influenced a generation of folkies from Bob Dylan to Peter, Paul and Mary. After that group fizzled out, he talked about starting a duo with John Denver but that pairing never went beyond the talking stages. When "Daydream Believer" hit for The Monkees, Stewart no longer had to be concerned about money and could devote himself to making the kind of singer-songwriter albums he'd always aspired to.

His debut solo album, California Bloodlines, remains a cult classic. Recorded in Nashville while Dylan was cutting his pioneering Nashville Skyline album, California Bloodlines was a brilliant first album and an inspiration to the burgeoning singer-songwriter boom that was about to engulf rock and roll. Rolling Stone placed Stewart's masterpiece in their list of the top 200 albums of all time.

But Stewart's throaty, literate, whimsical style, while influential among his peers, failed to translate into sales. The industry truly rated him � indeed three major labels, Capitol, Warner Brothers and RCA, at different times tried to break him to the mainstream market but for some mystifying reason, Stewart spent the early '70s in obscurity. more on this story

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