The George Lite Zone

Back in 79 Hawkwind were touring with Ginger Baker on drums and Tim Blake weaving his magic on the keyboards. Meanwhile someone had a cracking idea; collar a load of music writers and ask them to select the album they'd take with them if stranded on a desert island. The result was the aptly named Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island . 28 years later another group of music buffs scratched their heads and came up with Marooned: The Next Generation of Desert Island Discs . 20 albums chosen to be played as you build your raft and play your choice to a native for your very own 'Friday' Night Rockshow. Each album forms a chapter in the book, with the would-be castaways extolling their merits and the reasons for their choice. I thought I'd take the disks for a spin and assess their sea faring suitability. As Marooned opens with a bone fide classic, I thought that'd be a good place to start. Motörhead - No Remorse Skunk Anansie - Stoosh My Bloody Valentine - Loveles...

Get your diaries out pop pickers. Get Ready To ROCK Radio is doing a Rock Profile on Motörhead on the 27th of September. It's certainly music I want to hear. Here's the rest of the schedule for the show: - Sunday 16 August - Wishbone Ash New album/DVD in September; on tour in October 23 August - Jethro Tull Ian Anderson on tour in September 30 August - Porcupine Tree On tour in October and December 6 September - Fleetwood Mac On tour in October/November 13 September - Steve Hackett New album in October; on tour in November 20 September - Alice Cooper On tour in November/December 27 September - Motörhead On tour in November 4 October - Queensryche The band play 'Hard Rock Hell' in December Note that several of the above bands were listed in my last post so the shows should ROCK. Thinks for the heads up by Mr H courtesy of a comment on a post on Jimmy's esteemed blog Moving Like A Parallelogram! .

I love a good list, food, The Good Curry Guide, drink, Around Brussels In 80 Bars, and music. All can take you on a journey to discover new sensations and expand your mind. They're also a great topic of conversation and debate, why was one thing included and not another. And all in all they're great fun. One Of The Latest additions to this cannon of work is Jacelyn Bond 's The 100 Best and Absolute Greatest Heavy Metal Albums in the World, Ever . Ooh now there's a controversial title if ever there was one. In this case it will take you on a journey from Heaven to Hell, a journey of power chords, hair metal and flying sheep heads. Strap yourself in and I hope you enjoy the ride. First off here's the list. Accept, 'Balls To The Wall' (1983) AC/DC, 'Highway To Hell' (1979) ACDC, 'Back In Black (1980) Alice Cooper, 'Billion Dollar Babies' (1973) Alice In Chains, 'Dirt' (1992) All Shall Perish, 'The Price Of Existence' (2006) ...

Saturday afternoon in Brussels, with a newly aquired copy of Around Brussels in 80 Beers in hand, I made my way to #26, Corbeau, The Raven. An excellent ham and cheese omellette washed down with a superb Queue De Charrue bruin beer, in a wood panelled bar oozing class in spades. Queue de Charrune is aged in oak and has a complex taste, redolant of fruit with subtle liqourice overtones. Tart, yet sweet at the same time, it's well worth checking out. Good food and good beer, a winning combination and a great start to the guide. View Larger Map Footnote: A return visit to the bar later in the evening was equally as ggod. Of special note, the coconut beer, Mongozo, and the excellent roquefort sauce that accompanied the damned fine steak that constituted tonights dinner.

Dark Was The Night is a superb collection of alternative country music and an album I'd recommend unreservedly. I'll be posting a full review shortly, but in the meantime here are 3 choice cuts from it to tide you over till I deliver the full meaty article. If you click on the above widget you can add your own DWTN selection of up to 3 songs to your blog. A worthy pursuit if ever there was one. Bon Apetite.

Watch out, watch out, there's a new Limited Edition Marmite about. Hailing from Burton On Trent, Marston's Pedigree is a prince among beers. Now allied with the King of savoury spreads this could be a classic combination. Grab it while you can.

Wo. This lot sound amazing. Elements of Rammstein, Apocalyptica and Swedish metal wrapped up in a parcel of Korean awesomeness. Role on August 10th and the release of Mirror of Retribution . I hope the rest of the album sounds as good. In the meantime there's always the best of Chthonic - Pandemonium . From the reviews I've read this looks like it's a great album too. Thanks to Jimmy for the heads up on this stunning video.

Walking into my local heavy metal CD store in Brussels today, I picked up two shiny disks of joy. One was Motley Crue's Shout At The Devil , and the other featured this well coiffeured rocker. Pop quiz, who's this candidate for Hair Bair Bunch the motion picture and, for bonus points, who were the band and what was the album I bought? On another topic, I picked up a copy of Vetiver's Thing Of The Past LP. Well worth the asking price for a cracking cover version of Hawkwind's Hurry On Sundown. Listening to Vetiver is like eating a sunshine sandwich. Mellow, chill out music of the gods, harmonically reminiscent of the Grateful Dead in their pomp, which is no bad thing. Also recommended, their latest album, Tight Knit .