Pour Some Sugar(s) On Me

So which do you guys like better: the original album cut of Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" or the remix (which I believe was used in the video) that has since become the "official" version (this version is the one appearing on the latest greatest hits compilations)?

Led Zeppelin I

You don't have to be a genius to know that FM radio sucks. When we all last talked about it (I think on Rich's blog), there was the mention of hearing the same 4 Led Zeppelin songs ad nauseum. And this is the beauty of not listening to the radio... I haven't heard any Zeppelin in a long time. So after years of searching for the next Jellyfish (something I still do) and last summer's progressive metal marathons (thanks to Porcupine Tree and a new Dream Theater album) I figured I'd take some time to revisit the first band to make me think twice about my allegiance to the Top 40 of the Mighty Six-Ninety and KIIS-FM 102.7 (in L.A.).

Let's start with the first album. When I think about that one, it doesn't pop into my head as a great album. It's definitely one of the least listened to Zep albums for me. But when I just revisited it the other day (and rated each track in Media Monkey), I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. Here's the breakdown (this uses a five point scale where half-points are allowed and zero is allowed for the ultimate in suck). I'd be curious to see how you guys would rate each track in the comments section.

#	Title	Rating
1	Good Times Bad Times	5
2	Babe I'm Gonna Leave You	4.5
3	You Shook Me	3.5
4	Dazed And Confused	5
5	Your Time Is Gonna Come	4.5
6	Black Mountain Side	5
7	Communication Breakdown	5
8	I Can't Quit You Baby	4
9	How Many More Times	4.5

Puffy Ami Yumi covers Jellyfish

So one of my wife's good friends from high school is a director on the Cartoon Network show Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi which is based on a real life J-pop girl group called Puffy Ami Yumi. The last time I had a chance to visit with my wife's friend, I grilled her for information on Andy Sturmer who produces the band's music and, I correctly assumed, was involved to a certain extent with the music on the show. But, at the time she had only been with the show a short while and didn't really know too much about Sturmer. Anyway, it's been a while since I've seen her which you will notice by the fact that this news is already more than a year old, but it's new to me. Thanks for the info, Shelley! Not! :-)

Anyway, go to the band's web site and click on "Video" to see the video of their cover of Jellyfish's "Joining A Fanclub". Don't let the opening keep you from getting to the "rock out" part near the end. It rocks well. Not as well as Jellyfish, of course, but quite well.

The song can be had on the soundtrack CD for the show.