The most recent Doobie Brothers album, "Southbound," is a real love it or hate it proposition.

I love it, but I do understand how it could be a turn-off for some people.

The concept: strictly a greatest hits re-recorded affair, the draw being a different "currently hot" country guest star on each track.

And while it is the original Tom Johnston / Pat Simmons edition of the band, minus a few players, Michael McDonald DOES make a temporary return to sing his hits from his tenure with the band.



The opening "Black Water" with the Zac Brown Band sets the tone. I really enjoyed seeing Zac perform Sabbath's "War Pigs" with Foo Fighters on David Letterman's show.

You can tell that the performers all grew up with these songs and have a sincere love for them.

Then again, if you hate country music and got tired of songs like "Listen To The Music" and "China Grove," there's no hard sell I could give you that would make you want this one.

BUT...if you are intrigued by the concept as I have described it, I can promise you that you would not be disappointed.

I apologize in ADVANCE, this is an absolute CROCK OF SHIT not based in ANY kind of REALITY or FACT.

Charles Warner Executed: Baby Killer Says 'My Body Is On Fire' During Lethal Injection In Oklahoma

Charles Warner Executed: Baby Killer Says 'My Body Is On Fire' During Lethal Injection In Oklahoma

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/15/charles-frederick-warner-executed_n_6483040.html



McALESTER, Okla. (AP) -- Oklahoma executed a death row inmate Thursday in its first lethal injection since a botched one last spring, and it carried out the punishment with a three-drug method that Florida used for an execution the same night.

Charles Frederick Warner's execution for the 1997 killing of an 11-month-old girl in Oklahoma City lasted 18 minutes. Prison officials declared him dead at 7:28 p.m. CST.

Meanwhile, officials in Florida, announced the death of Johnny Shane Kormondy at 8:16 p.m. EST for killing a man in 1993 in Pensacola. The executions, which occurred 12 minutes apart, were both delayed over court questions concerning a sedative used in the punishments.

"Before I give my final statement, I'll tell you they poked me five times. It hurt. It feels like acid," Warner said before his execution began. He added, "I'm not a monster. I didn't do everything they said I did."

Kim Fowley, Runaways Producer and L.A. Rock Icon, Dead at 75

Kim Fowley, Runaways Producer and L.A. Rock Icon, Dead at 75

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kim-fowley-runaways-dead-at-75-20150115

Runaways producer and notorious L.A. music legend Kim Fowley has died. In recent months, he had been undergoing cancer treatments, though no cause of death has been announced. He was 75.

Charismatic and eccentric, Fowley is best remembered as the record producer for the all-female rock group the Runaways. He introduced Joan Jett, who was 15 at the time, to teenage drummer Sandy West and helped them find frontwoman Cherie Currie, lead guitarist Lita Ford and bassist Jackie Fox. He produced the band's 1976 self-titled debut and co-wrote the band's biggest hit, the punkish "Cherry Bomb," with Jett. He also co-produced the following year's Queens of Noise and helmed the same year's Waitin' for the Night.

Fowley was born in 1939 to Singin' in the Rain actor Douglas Fowley and actress Shelby Payne and grew up in Los Angeles and around southern California. After a bout with polio in 1957, he began a career in the music industry, producing his first single – the Renegades' "Charge" – in 1959. In the Sixties, worked with Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Seeds and Gene Vincent, among others, as well as launching his own solo career; his 1968 LP Outrageous, Fowley's third, was the only one to chart in the U.S. Fowley closed out the Sixties by MCing John Lennon's performance at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, where he asked the audience to hold up its cigarette lighters, arguably starting the concert fad.

The Seventies found Fowley working with the Modern Lovers, Blue Cheer and Helen Reddy. He also co-wrote songs on Kiss' hit Destroyer and a "Escape" on Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare. Fowley and the Runaways severed their ties in 1977, after which he set out to find another group he could market as a novelty. Although he worked with a few groups over the ensuing decades and continued to put out his own solo LPs, none reached the success or notoriety of the Runaways.

The Simple Reason Why Republican Voters Aren't Settling for Jeb Bush

David Bowie: 50 years, one animated GIF

Duke reverses plan to allow Islamic call to prayer from campus chapel

Source: WRAL

Durham, N.C. — Two days after announcing that Islamic students would be broadcasting a weekly call to prayer from the Duke Chapel bell tower, Duke University officials abandoned that plan Thursday, citing the furor the move had created.

Members of the Duke Muslim Students Association were supposed to start the three-minute weekly call or chant, known as adhan or azan, on Friday afternoon. Now, the call to prayer will take place in a quad outside the chapel.

“Duke remains committed to fostering an inclusive, tolerant and welcoming campus for all of its students,” Michael Schoenfeld, Duke's vice president for public affairs and government relations, said in a statement. “However, it was clear that what was conceived as an effort to unify was not having the intended effect.”

Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Rev. Billy Graham and the head of the international relief organization Samaritan's Purse, on Wednesday blasted Duke's decision to allow Islamic prayers from the bell tower. In a post on his Facebook page, he said followers of Islam are "butchering" people who don't share their beliefs.

Read more: http://www.wral.com/duke-reverses-plan-to-allow-islamic-call-to-prayer-from-campus-chapel/14359650/

Joni Ernst To Deliver GOP Response To 2015 State Of The Union Address

Source: Huffington Post

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) will deliver the GOP response to President Barack Obama's 2015 State of the Union address on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced at the House and Senate GOP retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

"Sen. Ernst brings a unique perspective to the Senate. She is a mother, a soldier and an independent leader who serves in Washington because Americans voted for change in the last election, and Joni understands that middle-class Americans want Congress to get back to work and that they want Washington to get refocused on their concerns, instead of those of the political class,” McConnell said in a statement Thursday.

House Speaker John Boehner praised Ernst after the announcement Thursday.

"She knows that our federal government is too big, our spending is too high, and our tax code is broken," Boehner said. And, she knows first-hand the sacrifices our men and women in uniform make to keep us all safe in a dangerous world."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/15/joni-ernst-state-of-the-union_n_6481026.html

VIDEO: Paul F. Tompkins as "Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber" on IFC's "Comedy Bang Bang"

This is "Bob & Ray" style humor, SO deadpan and SO tongue in cheek that I'm sure some folks watch it and think "THIS is supposed to be FUNNY?"

YouTube has the full first part of the segment from this Season 1 Episode 9 skit but unfortunately not the second. But it's enough to make you laugh your ass off IF you like this kind of humor.

"What will become of Andrew Lloyd Webber?"

Lawyers for accused Boston bomber challenge jury questioning