To End the Year we are looking back at some of the top stories of 2008 - The regular Day in Rock will return on Monday

. 2008 News Rewind: June

Johnny Rotten Beat Up Female Employee? - 08 Rewind

TMZ reports: Forget the Queen, God save Johnny Rotten if the brutal, and despicable allegations against the punk rock legend are true.

According to a lawsuit filed moments ago in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the Sex Pistol singer allegedly beat the crap out of a female assistant after calling her every horrible name in the book after the taping of a television show in 2007.

In the lawsuit, Roxane Davis claims Rotten, real name John Lydon, "cocked back his fist ... and punched her in the face" when the rocker was forced to stay in a room at the Ritz Carlton Hotel that didn't share a door with his other assistant ... a dude named Rambo.

Davis says both Rotten and Rambo unleashed a verbal tirade, calling her a "fat f**king c*nt, f**king c*nt, and fat f**king whore." - more on this story

Kid Rock Hospitalized - 08 Rewind

E! reports: Minutes before he was to hit the stage, Kid Rock pulled out of a performance in England Friday afternoon and was rushed to a hospital and treated for dehydration.

The 37-year-old rocker was scheduled to play at the Download Festival, a three-day British music concert that also featured Judas Priest, Incubus and The Offspring.

At the last minute, announcers told the audience that Kid Rock was unwell and wouldn't perform. - more on this story

Linkin Park Singer Denies Velvet Revolver Rumors - 08 Rewind

Blabbermouth reports: Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington has dismissed rumors that he has been tapped to replace Scott Weiland as the new singer of Velvet Revolver.

In an exclusive interview for this week's Kerrang! magazine, Bennington said, "I'm friends with all the guys in Velvet Revolver and have played with all of them before. I'm friends with Scott too. I think the rumour that I was going to join Velvet Revolver started because Slash asked me if I'd come play a show with them in Vegas right around the time that Scott left the band. Timing-wise, it didn't work out for me, though. Maybe people assumed that invitation meant I was joining the band."

"If I wasn't in Linkin Park anymore and I didn't know Scott, though, I'd say yes," he says. "Who wouldn't? The music is great and it would be a really cool opportunity." - more on this story

Axl Has 4 Albums Worth of Guns N' Roses Songs - 08 Rewind

antiMusic reports: It's a little strange that the best source of information about Guns N' Roses these days is coming from Sebastian Bach, but he and Axl are buddies and we'll take what we can get. Rolling Stone spoke with Bach recently during the conversation Sebastian said that he has heard "at least four albums' worth" of finished Guns N' Roses songs.

He recounted the tale of a night at Electric Lady studios in New York back in January 2007 when Axl had a bit of a listening party from midnight to 6 AM. Bach says Axl told him that one slow, grinding song called 'The General' is "the sequel to 'Estranged,' that goes to the parable that Del James wrote of the trilogy"

"He's like the George Lucas of rock," Bach said. "I know for a fact it's not him saying, 'Let's wait and work on [Chinese Democracy] some more. He has a whole new business team. Irving Azoff is in control, along with Andy Gould. They are trying to figure out the best way to put the music out." - We'll see, read the full RS report

Dude Looks Like A Liar - 08 Rewind

Sleazeroxx reports: Steven Tyler sought the "safe environment" of rehab last month to recover from more than just surgery, the Aerosmith frontman now says was fighting a dependency on pain and sleep medication.

"To have your feet done, to have your leg done, you have to be on narcotics," Tyler told The Associated Press on Friday. "You have to be on sleep aids at night. I don't know about Joe (Perry) but I was off and running and I didn't like the me that was me."

Tyler released a statement in late May saying he checked into a rehab facility in search of a "safe environment" to recover from several foot surgeries and physical therapy. Tyler said the procedures were to correct longtime foot injuries resulting from his physical performances as the singer for the blues-rock band. - more on this story

Another Emo Suicide - 08 Rewind

Blabbermouth reports: According to the Daily Mail, a 13-year-old British fan of Bullet For My Valentine and My Chemical Romance hanged himself after being bullied on Internet social networking sites for his clothes and love of "emo" music and punk rock, his parents believe.

Sam Leeson killed himself in his bedroom after suffering months of "sickening" abuse from cruel youngsters who bombarded his home page with offensive emails.

The schoolboy was tormented about his love of heavy metal, "thrash" metal and "emo" music — a style of hardcore punk whose fans wear dark clothes and have long hair. [that was the mail's definition not ours or Blabbermouth's. We can't speak for Blabbermouth but we're pretty sure they know the difference between hardcore punk and depressing pop with guitars a.k.a. emo. But back to the seriousness of this article - more on this story

Singer Stabbed To Death After Show - 08 Rewind

punkbands reports: Christopher Johnson of Useless Wooden Toys was stabbed to death Saturday morning after his band played a house show in Bloomington, Indiana on Friday night.

Johnson was taken to Bloomington Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Christopher Johnson was 32 years old.

The altercation began when the two got into a fist fight after Brian P. White grabbed a woman's buttocks at a house party at the Arlington Road residence. A short time later, White came out of the house and stabbed Johnson in the chest, according to the news release - - more on this story

Dog Kept Axl and Slash From Reuniting - 08 Rewind

Rolling Stone reports: Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach has revealed to RollingStone.com that he nearly got former Guns N' Roses bandmates Axl Rose and Slash back together, to rock out with Sly Stone:

"I actually talked on the phone to Sly Stone because I always wanted to do obscure covers of Sly Stone songs," Bach said. "I want to do them in the style of 'Back in the Saddle' from [Bach's new solo album] 'Angel Down'. I had a whole session ready to go. Sly said, 'I'd love Axl and Slash to come play on this.' I texted Axl and said, 'Would you be interested in singing with Sly Stone on some music?' He goes, 'Yeah. If this is a real album that Sly's doing, I will come down there and sing with you guys.'

"I was footing the bill for this session on my own. I had everyone ready to go. At the very last minute my manager calls Sly and says, 'What's Sly going to need?' Sly wanted me to buy him a dog. He gave me this information on a specific kennel in northern California in Napa Valley and a specific breed for one puppy that he wanted me to buy for him for $8,500. That was the straw that broke the camel's back on the session." - more on this story

Fake Poison Rapist on the Loose! - 08 Rewind

TMZ reports: Some people dress up like members of Poison and cover their music, others dress up like members of Poison and allegedly rape people.

The drummer for everyone's fave 80's hair band, Poison, was arrested in March on a rape warrant out of Mississippi as he got off a flight from New Zealand at LAX. 46-year-old Rikki Rockett was busted by the Airport Division of the LAPD as he was going through customs.

Rape charges were later dropped against Rikki Rockett in Mississippi, because according to Rikki, an imposter named John Minskoff is out there claiming to be him. - more on this story

Mini Me Sextape - 08 Rewind

antiMusic reports: We know this has nothing to do with music, but how could we resist a story about a sextape from Mini Me? TMZ has that and some video: Come on, you know you wanna watch.

Yes, that's Mini-Me Verne Troyer in a sex tape shot with his former live-in girlfriend at the couple's apartment. A third party has snatched up the tape and although no deal has been made, we hear dealer Kevin Blatt, who brokered the deal for Paris' video, is entertaining a $100k offer from SugarDVD to distribute the nastiness.

We would have thought the tape was worth at least ONE BILLION DOLLARS. A rep for Troyer could not be reached for comment. - more on this story

KISS Idol Coming? - 08 Rewind

BW&BK reports: NRK.no recently spoke with KISS' Gene Simmons where he discussed fans' biggest fear for some years now - that KISS are indeed planning to keep KISS running and touring after founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons decide to take off the make-up for good.

During a familiar rant by Simmons about how KISS could go on forever, NRK's journalist asked jokingly if the band would consider looking for replacements for Simmons and Stanley in a tv-show, on the model of American Idol. "We have already signed the contract, and it is going to go through in a couple of months" was Simmons' reply.

Co-founder Paul Stanley was not very happy to hear about his bandmate's statement regarding KISS' future. "These things are typical. Gene says something as if it was a fact, but there is no signed deal. The future has many possibilities. Will it happen next week? No! Am I opposed to the idea? Of course not" he retorted. - more on this story

Metallica Censoring Critics - 08 Rewind

idolator reports: Somehow, our invitation to the Metallica listening party got lost in the mail, but Brit bloggers The Quietus had the opportunity to listen to most of the album, then proceeded (as bloggers are likely to do) to write about it. What happened next was a little strange.

The not entirely negative coverage of the album exists only in the Google archive, because Metallica, through a third party (possibly our buddy, the Web Sheriff?) asked for the post to be removed.

The story behind the removal of the article runs as follows: Metallica held an album listening party for selected music journalists in London this Wednesday past. One of the writers was kind enough to write a piece about the album which, if you were lucky enough to read it before it was taken down, was full of praise about a return to form. At no point was the writer ask[ed] to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The Quietus and other websites ran pieces on the album, but were quickly contacted by Metallica's management via a third party and told to remove the articles. - more on this story

Foo Zeppelin Jam - 08 Rewind

Blabbermouth reports: According to a posting on the Ramble On Led Zeppelin fan blog, Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones joined the Foo Fighters onstage Saturday night (June 7) during the final encore of the Dave Grohl-fronted band's concert at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

The Zeppelin duo joined the FOOS to play "Rock And Roll" with Dave Grohl on drums and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins singing (see video footage at link). Grohl and Hawkins then switched places for "Ramble On" (see video footage at link).

In the past Grohl has intimated that he would be willing to drum for Zeppelin should they reunite, so this event probably falls in the dream-come-true category for Grohl.
- more on this story

Celine Butchers AC/DC - 08 Rewind

Blabbermouth reports: According to the UK's Daily Mail, Celine Dion's cover version of the AC/DC track "You Shook Me All Night Long" has been voted the worst cover song.

Dion, 40, has never released the song as a single but performed the "musical offense" at a Las Vegas concert six years ago. A SUGABABES and GIRLS ALOUD version of "Walk This Way", which had been a huge hit for AEROSMITH and rappers RUN DMC, came second.

Experts also delivered a verdict on the most successful cover versions. Jimi Hendrix's cover of the Bob Dylan song "All Along the Watchtower" topped the list, with the Guns N' Roses' version of the Wings' song "Live and Let Die" and Nirvana's cover of "The Man Who Sold the World" by David Bowie also in the top five. - Read the lists and watch a video of Sealion butchering the AC/DC song. It's not pretty.

George Carlin RIP - 08 Rewind

antiMusic reports: A true legend has died. He wasn't a musician but we know that a lot of our readers will "leave a sh*t" about this loss. [inside joke for Carlin fans]. House of Rock has the sad news: Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71.

Carlin, who had a history of heart and drug-dependency problems, died at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PDT Sunday after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.

Known for his edgy, provocative material, Carlin achieved status as an anti-Establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine called "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television." A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of the routine ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court. - more on this story

Teen Arrested For Wearing Rock T Shirt - 08 Rewind

Blabbermouth reports: Australia's Herald Sun reports that a Gold Coast teenager has been charged by police for wearing a blasphemous t-shirt degrading Jesus.

The boy, 16, was stopped by police in Biggera Waters after he was spotted wearing a t-shirt which claims "Jesus is a Cunt" and depicts a nun masturbating.

It is a t-shirt for English extreme metal band Cradle Of Filth. The teen was charged with offensive behaviour under the Summary Offences Act 2005 for public nuisance on Monday. - more on this story

Recap of the top stories from May
 
 

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