WILLOW SMITH's New NEON Hair

Well, well... what do we have here??

I know I'm not surprised to see Willow Smith and her new hairdo. It's braids, yes, but look closely...they're FLOURESCENT YELLOW and NEON GREEN. Not many 10-year-olds can pull this off; Willow can. She was seen still doing her promo for her upcoming album and opening for Justin Bieber in the U.K.

Pic: Celebuzz

Take A Look: Selita Ebanks Does "MAXIM" Magazine Cover

A lot of beautiful women have graced the cover of many magazines, including the always hott "MAXIM" men's magazine, but what caught my attention was Victoria's Secret supermodel and State Farm actress Selita Ebanks doing a photo shoot for the June 2011 MAXIM cover.

I thought this was way hott; so glad that my friend Rufus on Facebook brought this to my attention.

Wanna see more sexy Selita? See more pics below and see her and Mehcad Brooks on "Rip The Runway" March 21st on Black Entertainment Television (BET Network) 10:00p/9c. BLAAAM!! I'll be glued to my plasma TV!!!

HOTT is all I gotta say... once I get my body like Mehcad, watch out!!!

PHARRELL WILLIAMS In BOOOOMB Fur Coat; PETA May Be Boilin' Mad Anyway...

Man, Pharrell Williams really defies age at 37, he also DEFIES PETA by wearing a giant fur coat on the red carpet... in March. (I think it's WOLF and FOX blend).

Fur coats are not really IN right now, but when they do come back--which I reckon very soon-- THAT is what I'll be wearing. 

Check Pharrell's (N.E.R.D.) other 2011 styles:

Pic: MediaTakeout/ Google

B.O.B. and Bruno Mars Style: Casual, Fun, Sophisicated

Just doing a fly-by on this post. Check out different looks of B.o.B. and Bruno Mars style. I think it's a simple, 'just a cool guy' kind of look.

More Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez Fashion Pics... Heyy... Don't Kill the Messenger

Selena Gomez walking through airport wearing comfy TOMS shoes, jersey sweatpants, Louis Vuitton bag

Heyy Bieber girls.... I've got Selena Gomez pictures... don't knock out your computer screen. She has pretty good fashion sense for a white girl (hee-hee); Miley Cyrus is actually jealous (just sayin'). C'mon now, who looks better ANYWAY?! (Whoever said 'Miley', drop and give me 20 pushups) 

Check out some of her recent pics, and pics of BIEBER and GOMEZ together. With her new song out and coupled up with Bieber, she could be a hott ticket... and RATINGS on my blog :-)




'Oh, you MAAAD now, huh?' - Justin Bieber ad-lib


Pic: DailyMail

Uriah Heap - Demons & Wizards.

Today, we welcome Klepto to the Ripple fold.  You can find his missives at his own site, The Klepto's Guide to Awesome Music.  A prog fiend, he'll fill in Ripple readers on the joys of prog and other associated heaviness.  For today, we're gonna re-run his earlier review of a classic album, Uriah Heap's Demons & Wizards.

It's been a while, and I have at least two articles that could use my attention, but I just listened to Demons & Wizards again and I feel the need to tell you all about this spectacular album. I've already gone into the history of Uriah Heep (way back in January of 2009) so I don't need to go into to much detail on that front. They were/are a British band that is one of the foundations of hard rock and heavy metal music. More specifically, they are the forerunners of progressive rock and - by extension - progressive metal. They were among the first to use dual lead guitars, and layered semi-operatic vocals. Many of their songs were narratives, telling of mystical battles and amazing people; Demons & Wizards was no different. I like every song on this album, with favorites being "The Wizard," "Traveler In Time," "Easy Livin'," and "Rainbow Demon." All of these songs tell a story, filled with emotion and quite often mysticism.

"The Wizard" is the story of a man living his life, when one day a mighty Wizard comes to his fire. Their the narrator shares his food with his guest, and the Wizard tells the story of his life, his hopes and his dreams. This song was the first single from the album, and even though it wasn't as popular as the second ("Easy Livin'"), it is by far my favorite song on the album, and one of my favorites from the band.

In "Traveler In Time," there seems to be a double meaning. In the foreground, the tale is of a man who is lost in time, struggling to get back to his home, to see his love once more. But the background story, with mention of paying for his crime, being set free, searching for an answer and in the last line "of helping mankind" I believe that the reason the man is traveling through time to to either atone or to fix a mistake he had made in the past. So he journeys to return to his own time, however that it has been altered.

The second single off the album, and one of their most popular, "Easy Livin'," seems to be the most straight-forward song thus far. A quasi-love song about a man saying that his life has gotten a lot easier sense he met the woman he loves. Although not as lyrically deep as "The Wizard," the song has a grooving guitar and drum line, and the lyrics are simple to sing along with - something that would become very popular in the 80's (songs with simple lyrics; read: AC/DC)

My second favorite song, "Rainbow Demon," is another one with simple to comprehend lyrics. The song is about a great warrior (the Rainbow Demon) who "Lives for his sword and his gun." And while there aren't a lot of lyrics (one verse, repeated twice), the music for this one seems to follow the Black Sabbath of doom metal - of course with the progressive touch of Uriah Heep. The song begins slow and ominous, with not much in the way of actual music, relying heavily on David Byron's vocals, until the chorus when the band all comes in. here the sound is massive and all-encompassing; the layered vocals make their appearance, and the song grows with the second verse, laying it all out there with the final chorus. Then the chorus continues, being repeated a dozen times (it seems like), fading into the nothingness of sound that begins the track. It really is something that is better to hear and behold, then try to comprehend with my words on the screen. Go buy this album, it is worth it solely for this song (and "The Wizard" of course).

My one major gripe about the record - it even being not very major - is about the last song, "Paradise/The Spell." These are two very good and very different songs, that some some reason they decided to jam together as one track. The transition is sudden and sloppy, with the slower "Paradise" being drowned out with the more up-beat "The Spell." It just seems unnatural. In my research I have seen that in later releases the songs have been split, making me wonder where the separation of the songs took place, and how. So, I would be interested in hearing the newer versions of Demons & Wizards, just for that fact. If you are like me and have only the original style, fret not for they are both good songs (with "The Spell" being the better of the two), and outside that 15-30 second smash-up, you would never know they were one song.

I could go on and on about all the songs, and even more in depth about the ones I have highlighted already. Demons & Wizards is Uriah Heep's best album, by far, and one of the golden records of the early prog-rock scene. It belongs in everyone's catalog, and should be one you listen to once a month (for me it joins with the Wall by Pink Floyd and Dream Theater's Scenes from a Memory). The only way this album could be better is if contained "Gypsy" off of their first album, Very 'Evy . . .Very 'Umble (labeled as their self-titled in the U.S.), and my all time favorite by the band, as well as one of my favorite songs of all time, "Lady In Black" off of their second album, Salisbury.

--Klepto

Buy here: Demons & Wizards

Hott: LaLa Vasquez, Meghan Good, Plus JENNIFER HUDSON' More Defined Curves

I'm not gonna have much to post on this one; usually something this good doesn't need too many words. But check out Jennifer Hudson's more defined curves (she put a little more meat where it belong), LaLa Vasquez's flirty and girly striped bow dress, and Meghan Good's OK dress (I posted her up 'cuz she's still pretty...)

NICE-NICE...

MediaTakeout got it right.... Meghan looks better in T-shirt and jeans...

Pic: MediaTakeout

Who Is REBECCA BLACK And Is Her Fashion Better Than her Music?? We'll See...





The internet has been buzzing about YouTube sensation REBECCA BLACK.


 Where did she come from with this 'FRIDAY' mess? 


I'll find out and keep you Detroiters and all of you all over the world, UPDATED, especially seeing if this 13-year-old girl has any fashion sense sans video.

Check out CHRIS BROWN commenting on her music below:

Friday, Friday... oh no... it's stuck in my head...

Celebs in Comfortable Swag (Pt.2): ROMEO (Dancing w/ The Stars)

 O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou BLING-BLING, Romeo??

It's not there. Why? Because it's all about swag and comfort today. There's nothing like being out of your element trying to look great everyday, to dress lower than casual, I mean REALLY dress down, as long as one does not look scraggly or look STANK.

Take a look at Dancing With The Stars' Romeo who was spotted wearing an Obey hat for less than $30, Jordan brand sweatpants, and well... LOUIS VUITTON sneakers for $700. Hey... well the look does look dressed down, doesn't it?

Romeo and his dance partner


Romeo and the BLING I was talkin' about...

Pic: UpscaleHype/Access Hollywood

Celebs In Comfortable Swag (Pt.1): CIARA

Good morning, today I'm posting all about celebs who are captured dressed down, I mean REALLY DOWN and comfortable, because there does come a point of time where wearing $600 shoes and $3,000 jackets can be really ridiculous and exhausting.

So, let me start off with my first celeb: CIARA. She was wearing a Torn"Gilliane Lips" V-Neck Tee for $74, short shorts, and military boots. COMFORT. SWAG. That's it.

Pic: UpscaleHype

Symfonia - In Paradisum

You ever get really drunk and order a pizza?

And even though you were so bloated you couldn't breath, let alone sleep, it was the greatest pizza ever?

In Paradisum is that experience, in album form.

It's everything you might imagine: European metal (e.g., Helloween, Scorpions, Stratovarius, Rising Force, etc.), modeled distantly off European composers, playing heavily-distorted metallic symphonic music; so cheesy it's beyond semantics: tapped guitar solos and, ahem, symphonic chord progressions....

In the right mood, it is goddamn glorious.

Track one, "Fields of Avalon" intro's with fucking harpsichord...! Then operatic vocals, telling a tale of epic woe over a riff George Lynch is mad he didn't write! An updated version of Yngwie's "I'll see the light tonight"....

[You're either totally in by now, or not. You know. If not-- you disgust me. Don't even look at me, Jesus. I can't stand the sight of you.]

Next-- the fucking solo starts with harpsichord! Then...! a guitar solo that would make Herman Li ejaculate!

"Come By The Hills," track 2-- again with the harpsichord! Yes, they will abuse it, and you will love it, bitch! Then: a menacing guitar/bass backup! Holy Fucking Buddha, could this get more awesome?!

Yes.

Yes it can.

Track 3, "Santiago," is symphonic Motorhead, complete with D-beat... somehow managing to squeeze in a solo reminiscent of Warrant, of all bands....

Holy Shit-- I'm actually trying to listen to this in sections, a bit at a time, but I can't stop listening... In Paradisum draws me in....

"Alayna," the exemplary power metal ballad, won't let me stop listening... it's every relationship I had my Junior year in High School, down to its up-bent final note... It's actually freaking me out how it's completely transporting me back to 1987.... I feel so sad about this chick Alayna, and I have no idea who she is... whoever she is, she fucked up the singer... whore!!

[This is what I'm talking about! This fucking cheesy shit grabs you and makes you take a stand...! Regardless of how stupid you sound!]

"Forevermore," (who else would dare call a song that?) starts with manic riffs, both heavy and melodic....

"Pilgrim Road," melody in the thin-guitar-stringed riff with keyboards, Helloween in 2011, essentially... face-fucking solo at 2:15....

Possible album highlight "Rhapsody in Black" is Accept meets Queensrÿche with a dash of Journey and Kiss' "I Was Made for Loving You...." "I walk in neon" suggests Geoff Tate and Co. again with the title and the opening harpsichord....

Closer "Don't Let me Go," another ballad with what is probably a cello in the background... this should've been on MTV's top 10 in 1986... sad, cheestastic: my inner teenager could not be more involved now....

You will hum every Goddamn inch of this album. It's a earworm waiting to happen, again and again....

All irony aside: In Paradisum is cheesy as shit-- but it's completely unironic, optimistic, exalted Heavy Metal, in all senses of the term-- and it will rock your goddamn face off, like nothing else.

"Irony" has a half-life. "Irony" is for hipsters and people too cool (read: afraid) to believe in something.s

Symfonia believe.

Mock them all you want, but they love their music.

The term "Heavy Metal" either has a religious, holy, sacred connotation to you... or you smirk at the notion.

If you know, and I mean know, in your heart of hearts, know in your very studded soul, in your denim-jacketed world, what Heavy Metal means--

GET.

THIS.

ALBUM.

10/1o, two thumbs up, Gold Metal, whatever:

Beer chugging, horn-throwing, spliff-smoking perfection.

Thank me later.

--Horn

PS: Fucking suh-weet album cover. Get that shit airbrushed on the side of a van, PRONTO.

 Buy here: In Paradisum

STYLE and FUN-FUN At 2011 Woodie Awards; Kanye West Gets Dissed!!

Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose

The 2011 Woodie Awards (MTV) was ROCKSTAR-ish, uncanny, on-the-fly, a whole lot of fun. There were college students there of all races who had their own kind of style that could be appreciated...and some that would muster up a 'HUH?!'.

Sidenote: My favorite part was when Lil B's friend dissed Kanye West for fun!! College students were screaming with laughter!! INSTANT CLASSIC!!

Check out pics of artists/celebs at the Woodie Awards:

FUUUNNNN....

Pic: RapUp

NICKI MINAJ On Tour; Wears Another Crazy Outfit and Sky-HI Afro (Of course...)

FUN + COLOR + ENTERTAINMENT = NICKI MINAJ

I just like it when she puts on a show. Nicki is currently on tour in her "I Am Music" Tour. While she is and while you are reading this, check out Nicki performing in the outfit above.

Man, I'm loving this bedazzled, space-age, girly outfit.... and the BOOTS WITH THE FUR *LoL*. Also, I have to give Nicki kudos for holding that heavy-looking wig on top of her head all through her performances. Who knows, she might have an ice pack waiting for her neck when she gets off stage...

Now who was NICKI this time??

Oh... she was NICKI the referee!!

Pic: NecoleB***hie

CHRIS BROWN In GQ Italia Photo Shoot! DOPE!!!

I, THE ONLY JAIDEN, am a novel (and steady 'polishing') model. As I go deeper into the modeling world, I find out how fun it is, especially to compete for the best looking photo shoot and WIN, WIN, WIN!!! For some people, this world has been treacherous, while for some it has been GOLD all the way.

I found Chris Brown in his latest photo shoot for GQ Italia (It's so great and amazing when you live in one country, and another country is in need for you for a photo shoot. OHHH YEAH, my turn is coming.....) Chris Brown carried swag, as well as brands TOM FORD, GIORGIO ARMANI, and DOLCE & GABBANA, to name a few. 

Even though Chris doesn't know me, I swear that if we ever met or crossed paths, we would have just about the same kind of clothes on... CUZ THIS IS JUST MY STYLE!!

Interesting RAF SIMONS Shoes

Check out these UNIQUE and OTHERWORLDLY Raf Simons shoes (found on UpscaleHype) which runs from $920-$960:

Iggy & the Stooges "Raw Power Live: In the Hands of the Fans"

If it wasn’t for upper level corporate cost cuttings, this LP would not exist. After leaving the Stooges in 1974 and eventually music all together in the early 1980’s, guitarist James Williamson worked his way up the ladder to become Vice President of Technology Standards for Sony. A few months after the untimely passing of original Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, James accepted an early retirement incentive allowing him to terrorize stages again with his frantic Les Paul maulings. As sad as it was to lose Ron, it’s great to have Straight James back with his old delinquent pals.

In September 2010, the reconstituted Stooges took the stage at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in upstate New York to deliver the blitzkrieg assault of Raw Power in its entirety. Luckily for us the event was recorded and is being released on vinyl just in time for Record Store Day in April. Back in 1973/74 when Raw Power was a new release (and quickly dumped into the cut out bins) they only ever played about half the songs live. So how do they sound these days? Pretty fuckin good, and even better when you turn the stereo up.

Every bootleg I’ve ever heard of the band from 73/74 has always opened with “Raw Power” and this show is no exception. James may be a retired exec and family man but he can still fire up that riff at maximum throttle. The band sounds killer. Scott Asheton pounds the beat furiously and Mike Watt handle’s Ron’s killer bass lines well. Iggy’s voice is still in pretty good shape for a dude in his 60’s and he can still deliver lines like “Raw Power is a guaranteed O.D.” with supreme gusto. The great Funhouse era saxophonist Steve Mackay blows his horn adding some cool textures that haven’t been heard on this song before. Crashing right into “Search & Destroy” the band rocks like hell and it’s obvious the crowd is loving it.

Things slow down for the moody rocker “Gimme Danger” and James lets loose with a great solo at the end. The tempo kicks way up for a double dose of speed with “Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell” and “Shake Appeal.” Steve adds some great tenor sax to these and makes them rock even harder. James busts out a slide for the great slow blues “I Need Somebody.” But that’s just the calm before the storm.

Insane jams like “Penetration” and “Death Trip” were never performed live back in the 1970’s and it’s great to hear them get aired out. Both of these feature killer guitar work from James. The album wraps up with a frenzied take on “I Got A Right.” That song had an interesting history. Performed live by the 1971 line up when both James and Ron were playing guitar, later recorded in 1972 with James on guitar and Ron on bass but dumped from the live set and then remained unreleased until years later.

I’ve often wondered what would have happened if Raw Power had been recorded under more “normal” circumstances. The album would have greatly benefited if they were recorded like the first Montrose record or Mountain’s Climbing. The Stooges were a heavy band but the production of Raw Power obviously confused most rock fans of the time. Even though they basically invented punk rock, the Stooges were always at heart a kick ass hard rock band. Hearing them blast these songs loud n proud in front of a frenzied crowd confirms that. 


--Woody

Buy here vinylRaw Power: Live:

Personal Message to all Waveriders from Anthrax's Scott Ian

Hello my friends, how are you all?  I hope you're all kicking ass.

I know there's been a lot of rhetoric out there regarding upcoming Anthrax shows, Big 4 and otherwise.

I've been debating on whether or not to make a public statement about this as it really pertains to my personal life and I generally like to keep that personal.  Because this is affecting my band life, I feel like you, my friends, deserve to hear from me personally.

I will be playing the Big 4 show April 23 in Indio, CA s well as the shows in Manila, Bangkok, and Japan that will follow the Indio show. 

I won't be playing the shows scheduled from July 2 - 16 in Europe and the UK.  My wife Pearl and I are expecting our first child and she is due literally the day of the Big 4 Sonisphere show in France.

This decision to miss these shows was a deeply personal one.  I co-founded this band July 18, 1981 and for almost thirty years, I have been there for everything we've ever done.  I have never been faced with anything that would make me even question being there for anything Anthrax related.  Becoming a father is the biggest, best thing that's ever happened to me and it made the decision relatively easy.  My priority is with my wife and the birth of our first child.

As soon as I was faced with this decision, I knew, as Freddie Mercury so eloquently said, "the show must go on."

I started thinking about guitar players I knew, guys that I am a fan of, guys that I respect, guys that headbang like Angus was watching them, guys that I listen to and who I thought had the spirit to enable the show to go on.

This wasn't a hard decision at all.  I asked the rest of the band what they thought, and we were on the same page.

We chose Andreas [Kisser from Sepultura] because we feel he can do the gig better than anyone.  He has the fire, the attitude, and the crushing right hand to do the gig. I've played with Andreas at the Roadrunner 25th anniversary show, and I've gotten up and played with Sepultura and we are kindred spirits.  We both play every show like we're going to jail the next day, like it's the last show we'll ever play.  He has what it takes and he has the experience and history to fucking bring it and make these Anthrax shows something special.  I can't wait to see and hear it for myself!!

This year will bring our tenth Anthrax studio record featuring the return of the one and only Joey Belladonna.  We're hard at work finishing it and I can say that from the tracks I have heard, it is going to tear your fucking heads off.  I'm looking forward to getting back on the road with the band that is now better than we've ever been, and seeing all your sick faces and banging heads.

Cheers,

Scott


(Scott will play the following dates)
APRIL
23    Empire Polo Club, Indio, CA (Big 4 show)
30    Pulp Summer Slam Festival, Manila, Philippines

MAY
 2    AP Parking, Esplanade, Ratchada, Bangkok, Thailand
 5    O-East, Tokyo, Japan
 6    O-East, Tokyo, Japan
 7    Diamond Hall, Nagoya, Japan
 9    Big Cat, Osaka, Japan

(Andreas Kisser will play the following dates)
JULY
 2    Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Big 4 show)
 3    Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden  (Big 4 show)
 5    Komplex AG, Zurich, Switzerland
 6    Fiera Open Air Arena, Milan, Italy  (Big 4 show)
 8    Sonisphere Festival, Knebworth, UK 
 9    Sonisphere Festival, Amneville, France
11    Garage, Saarbrucken, Germany
12    Vega Musikkenshus, Copenhagen, Denmark
14    Slottsfjell Festival, Tonsberg, Norway
15    Dour Festival, Dour, Belgium
16    Zwarte Cross Festival, Lichtenvoorde, Netherlands