Happy New Year, y'all!

Hope you all have a great 2006!

Follow the link to read about a New Year's Eve tradition in Germany that is more than just a little bit crazy!

The Mystery of Dinner for One - How an obscure British skit has become Germany's most popular New Year's tradition. By Jude Stewart

Resolutions we just might keep

Let's Make Out In 2006! - MSNBC.com

Reuters - 2005 in Pictures

Be warned - there are some graphic images here, including dead bodies. And Courtney Love.

REUTERS Showcase

Stereogum's Top 20 Albums Of 2005

And here's a different take on the top 20 albums of the year, from the indie music blog stereogum.com.

stereogum: Stereogum's Top 20 Albums Of 2005

Looking forward to a new Velvet Revolver disc?

Hear about it from singer Scott Weiland.

ABC News: Velvet Revolver Pursuing 'Freedom' On New CD

Top 50 Records of 2005

From our friends at Rolling Stone.

Top 10:

1. Kanye West, Late Registration
2. The Rolling Stones, A Bigger Bang
3. White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan
4. Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
5. Bruce Springsteen, Devils and Dust
6. My Morning Jacket, Z
7. Beck, Guero
8. Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
9. Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
10. 50 Cent, The Massacre

Rolling Stone : RS 990/991 Top 50 Records of 2005

A bash for Mozart's 250th

Huge Birthday Bash Set for Mozart's 250th
Official 250th birthday site (in English)

I was thinking Steve LaQuay was gonna get it.

Instead, Time Magazine named Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono as their "Persons of 2005."

LQ, you was robbed, dude.

Time names Gateses, Bono ‘Persons of 2005’ - MSNBC.com

MIke's gotta move to Jersey

So he can get his "Born To Run" license plate.

KGET TV 17 - In the Spirit of the Golden Empire - New Jersey Honors the Boss With Plates

Sports and Sex in 2005

From our good friends at ESPN.com: Page 2 : Another year, more sex

A new deal for the Purple One

Prince got everything he wanted in new deal - MUSIC - MSNBC.com

Coldplay on Austin City Limits Saturday

You can watch a video clip preview now at this link, and Michael Stipe will also be on the show.

PBS: Austin City Limits - TV Schedule

Best Photos of '05 from Time

Kind of a depressing look, actually, as the majority of the pictures depict scenes resulting from hurricanes, the tsunami, earthquakes, and war. Is that how 2005 will be remembered?

TIME: The Best Photos of the Year 2005

Gone too soon

While thinking about John Lennon's way-too-early departure, these folks have put together a slideshow of musicians that have left us before their time, like Warren Zevon (pictured).

NBC 4 - Slideshow

• Robert Johnson - 27 - poisoning
• George Gershwin - 38 - brain tumor
• Glenn Miller - 40 - Heart attack
• Hank Williams - 27 - unknown
• Charlie Parker - 35 - heart attack, pneumonia, ulcers, and cirrhosis
• Buddy Holly - 23 - plane crash
• Ritchie Valens - 18 - plane crash
• Big Bopper - 29 - plane crash
• Patsy Cline - 31 - auto accident
• Sam Cooke - 30 - shot by women he picked up in a bar
• Nat King Cole - 46 - lung cancer
• Otis Redding - 27 - plane crash
• Brian Jones - 27 - drowning
• Jimi Hendrix - 27 - Inhalation of vomit due while on barbiturates
• Janis Joplin - 27 - drug overdose
• Jim Morrison - 27 - heart failure
• Duane Allman - 26 - motorcycle crash
• Jim Croce - 30 - plane crash
• Bobby Darin - 37 - died during heart surgery
• Keith Moon - 32 - drug overdose (died in same room Mama Cass did)
• Cass Elliot - 31 - heart attack
• Elvis Presley - 42- cardiac arrhythmia
• Sid Vicious - 22 - heroin overdose
• John Bonham - 33 - alcohol abuse
• John Lennon - 40 - shot by "deranged" fan
• Bob Marley - 36 - cancer
• John Belushi - 33 - cocaine and heroin overdose
• Karen Carpenter - 33 - chronic anorexia
• Marvin Gaye - 45 - pneumonia
• Ricky Nelson - 45 - plane crash
• Andy Gibb - 30 - myocarditis (a heart condition)
• Stevie Ray Vaughan - 36 - helicopter crash
• Freddie Mercury - 45 - AIDS
• Frank Zappa - 53 - prostate cancer
• Kurt Cobain - 27 - suicide by shotgun
• Jerry Garcia - 53 - heart trouble exacerbated by sleep apnea
• Selena - 24 - shot by president of her fan club
• Tupac Shakur - 25 - shot in an "apparent robbery attempt"
• Notorious B.I.G. - 24 - drive by shooting
• Michael Hutchence - 37 - suicide by hanging
• John Denver - 53 - plane crash
• Carl Wilson - 52 - lung cancer
• Aaliyah - 22 - plane crash
• George Harrison - 57 - cancer
• John Entwistle - 57 - heart attack
• Maurice Gibb - 53- heart attack
• Robert Palmer - 54 - heart attack
• Warren Zevon - 56 - cancer
• Rick James - 56 - heart attack

We gotta come up with an MEB Fan Club

4 Online Fan Clubs That Rock - Wired.com

The Year In Review 2005

This site is collecting a whole bunch of "Best of 2005" lists from around the web. It's very entertaining. Here are a few exampes:

• Best Photojournalism
• Top Gear's Cars of the Year
• Best Beverages from BevNET
• Funniest commercials from TBS.com

Fimoculous.com: Feeding On Itself

Goodnight, Richard

CNN.com - Comedian Richard Pryor dies at 65 - Dec 11, 2005

Once again, we're ignored

No Grammy nominations for the MEB once again. Snub-city. Jerks. At least John Legend was nominated for 8.

USATODAY.com - Carey, Legend, West are Grammy nominee leaders

CBGB keeps hanging around

Punk club CBGB gets one-year reprieve - MUSIC - MSNBC.com

Two shots of MEB this weekend

Sorry about last Saturday's cancellation at Coleman's, but they've promised us a make-up gig early next year, so stay tuned.

And you've got two more chances to catch us this weekend before we go on a little holiday break.

We'll start with a stop Friday Dec 9 at Wacky Wyatt's in B'ville. Time for a little Feliz Navidad starting around 7. It's the perfect place for families to come see us and have a little dinner and let the kids dance like we're The Wiggles.

And on Saturday Dec 10 we'll be migrating to Steve O's hometown of Solvay for a stop at the Bridge Street Tavern. To top it off, it's Steve's birthday, too, so you know there will be lots of craziness happening all night. Oh, my.

If we don't see you, have a great Holiday season and we'll catch up with you in January.

Mike, Jeff, Steve and Paul

Ten reasons to drink during the holidays

Like we need 10 reasons.

Ten reasons to drink during the holidays - MSNBC.com

Was it really 25 years ago?

It saddens me to this day. Where were you? Let me know by posting a comment below.

25 years later, Lennon's loss still being felt - MSNBC.com

Marc Cohn's wife gets a new job

Vargas, Woodruff to share anchor desk at ABC

Eastwood native takes an iconic picture

A photographer from Syracuse, Eric Meola, captured Bruce and Clarence in this historic photo for the album cover of Born To Run. It's cool to hear him talk about it.



Springsteen on the verge

They all do it eventually - Avril tries acting

RollingStone.com: Avril Flocks to Movies

UK bars are open later now!

And they did this to curb binge drinking. What?!?

Closing time for an antiquated U.K. booze law - Countdown with Keith Olbermann - MSNBC.com

Austin City Limits - always great performances

And what a great lineup they have scheduled for this year - Elvis Costello, Joss Stone, Wilco, Jack Johnson, and so much more. Check out the upcoming schedule at the link below.

PBS: Austin City Limits - TV Schedule

Now this is a diverse class

The 2006 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are:

• Black Sabbath
• Miles Davis
• The Sex Pistols
• Blondie
• Lynyrd Skynyrd

CNN.com - Sabbath, Pistols inducted into Rock Hall

We'll miss you, Mr. Miyagi

‘Karate Kid’ star Pat Morita dies at 73 - MSNBC.com

Bruuuuuuuuce!

More info about Bruce and the 30th anniversary of Born To Run.

The Birth of the Boss - Newsweek Entertainment

The AMAs go on without the MEB

"I want to thank the academy, and my producer, and my manicurist, and ..."

Oh, wait, another awards show where we didn't win anything. Just great. But lots of people did, so read the article, OK?!?

Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child score AMAs - MSNBC.com

This is what a guitar player is supposed to look like

You're cute and everything, Jeff, but not quite in Katrina's class. And I hear she can play guitar, too!

Katrina Johansson

The Top 40 Bands in America Today - 2005 Edition

This is a cool list, compiled by a bunch of bloggers, and features mostly independent or up and coming bands. If you're looking for the next big thing, this is the place to look.

Still can't believe we didn't make this list.

Information Leafblower: The Top 40 Bands in America Today - 2005 Edition

A new blues album from John Mayer

VH1.com is streaming John Mayer's new album, so you can listen for free to his foray into blues music. No "Your Body Is A Wonderland" to be found anywhere here.

VH1.com : John Mayer : Hear Music First

A guitar playing video game?

Should we get one for Jeff?

Article from Wired News: Guitar Hero Rocks Out
See it @ Amazon.com

Just another awards show where the MEB wins nothing

And this time it's the CMA awards. OK, so we aren't country and weren't nominated, but we still didn't win anything. Crap. Frickin' Keith Urban stole our glory. Jerk.

Lee Ann Womack wins three CMA awards - COUNTRY MUSIC - MSNBC.com

"Born To Run" CD/DVD box set released

Columbia Records has released the 'Born To Run 30th Anniversary Edition' box set. Personally supervised by Bruce Springsteen and Jon Landau, the box set includes "Hammersmith Odeon, London '75," an astonishing film of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's legendary 1975 concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in London; the new film "Wings For Wheels: The Making of Born To Run;" the classic album in remastered CD form; and finally, a 48 page booklet of previously unpublished photographs. With its two DVDs, the package offers approximately four hours of previously unseen footage.

Bruce Springsteen News: brucespringsteen.net

Hail to the Victor

This week, the Mike Estep Band will be returning to the Rochester area, Friday, November 18 @ McGhan's Pub, 11 Main St. in Victor. We are looking forward to our return to RaChaCha; it's been a long time.

We just started production on our 4th album on the LotD Records label & are looking forward to test driving some new material for the folks in Western NY.

Be sure to rest up, cause you're in for a long night. We go on @ 9 PM & will be rocking until around 1 AM. Bring your friends, family, spouses, lovers, enemies, etc. We're looking for all the support we can get & we won't be in the Rochester area again until 2006.

We hope to see y'all out in Victor on Friday the 18th.

Mike Estep - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Jeff Favalo - Electric Guitar, Vocals
Paul Opel - Bass Guitar, Vocals
Steve Orlando - Drums, Vocals

More fun from The Onion

Metal Council Convenes To Discuss 'Metal Hand Sign' Abuse

How to cheer up a nursing home? Install a bar

I think we need to move to Ireland.

How to cheer up a nursing home? Install a bar - MSNBC.com

How come this never happens to the MEB?

Mall concert turns into boy-band melee - MSNBC.com

Motorin', what's your price for flight?

One of the greatest songs from the 80's, Sister Christian, gets profiled in this article. They revisit the site of the video shoot and talk to a lot of the people involved. It's very entertaining.

Night Rangers revisit 'Sister Christian' and San Rafael

Hot buttered soul and more from Isaac Hayes

"That Shaft is one bad mutha ..."
"Shut your mouth!"

Hot buttered soul and more from Isaac Hayes - MSNBC.com

Bootsy Collins is really into football

Bootsy says we're supposed to "Fear Da Tigers," his beloved Cincinnati Bengals.

Download the tune here
Collins writes song about football team

Yep, Stryper is still around

Yes, the Christian 80's hair-metal band is still tourning, lately stopping by Boston.

WeeklyDig : > STRYPER, FANS ARE REBORN

The Top 100 Rock & Roll Movies

Agree, disagree? What would you do differently?

Rhino Records - Blender 100 Movies

The MEB should sponsor something like this

All our MEB groupies can go to "camp" with us. Whaddayathink?

Rock star wannabes go to Camp Jam - MSNBC.com

Let's go cruising with Dave

Rat Dog, John Brown's Body, G. Love and Special Sauce and more will be entertaining you on this 3-day and 3-night cruise in February. Reserve your cabin now!

DMB Cruise

John Fogerty is back with a 25-song disc

Fogerty makes peace with record company - MSNBC.com

San Francisco made of Jello

OK, now that's just too bizarre!

The City - Pictures
A movie of the jiggling Jello.

A little nostalgia time

Let's turn back the clock to the 70's and enjoy the music of the era. There are lots of interesting links and trivia at this fun site.

Music in the Super70s

Panoramic NYC

This is a very cool panoramic picture of Manhattan taken from the Empire State Building. Pretty wild. What you see above is just a small part of the picture. Click the picture above or the link below to see the full panorama.

Skyline of New York City

The genius of Stevie Wonder

He's got a new album out today, so it's worth reading more about one of the greatest musical icons of our generation.

A Wonder to behold - R&B/SOUL MUSIC - MSNBC.com

UPDATE: This reviewer loves the classic Stevie but doesn't like the new CD much.

Looking for a new online radio station?

Alexa Digital Internet Radio is a great radio station. Lots of cool independent artist, great mix of stuff {rock, rap, singer/songwriter, r&b, etc.}, and all very well done. If you've got a nice broadband connection and want to listen to a cool station, turn Alexa on.

Alexa Digital Internet Radio - The Best Mix of Indie Music on the Web

Beer Pong goes Corporate

The marketers have taken over beer pong. God help us.

[Registration may be required]
As Young Adults Drink to Win, Marketers Join In - New York Times