Great news for AC/DC fans. They have announced the US leg of their Black Ice tour which kicks off on October 28, 2008 In Wilkes-Barre, PA. The European and rest of the world tour dates will be announced soon.

AC/DC Fan Club

Also, they have started an AC/DC online fan club, which I have joined. Members get priority tickets and can download cool AC/DC wallpapers like shown above.

My desktop has never looked better.

All aboard AC/DC’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Train. Available to buy now, but also available to listen to FOR FREE from ACDC.com.

First listen left me with the impression that the Angus and the boys are appropriately back in black. In good form. In stripped down, classic AC/DC guise. I can’t wait to get the Black Ice album.

ACDC.com have also published AC/DC 101. The history of AC/DC. The first instalment looks at AC/DC’s early years right up to August 1979, when the band relased, Highway to Hell. In my opinion, one of the greatest rock albums ever made.

Tragically, I first heard AC/DC on the Tommy Vance Friday Rock Show. The late Mr Vance played Rock n Roll Damnation and High Voltage from If you want blood. I recorded the show. At the end of playing these two songs back to back. Tommy announced that he had played them as a tribute to Bon Scott, who had just died. Recorded in Glasgows Apollo? theatre, alas also no more. High Voltage is an amazing showcase for Bon. I was an instant fan. I saved my pocket money and went out and bought Highway to Hell.

Later Back in Black was released by the reborn band. Great album, and Brian is certainly a great singer. The Bon Scott years were my favourite, but I am sure glad of getting to see this band live. They are my all time favourite live band. Roll on the new tour, all aboard the AC/DC Rock N Roll train.

Let there be rock

The band will also be going out on the road, starting late October! The first single off the album will be “Rock ‘n Roll Train”, which will start rolling on August 28th.

Black Ice Track Listing

1. “Rock ‘n Roll Train”
2. “Skies on Fire”
3. “Big Jack”
4. “Anything Goes”
5. “War Machine”
6. “Smash ‘n’ Grab”
7. “Spoilin’ For a Fight”
8. “Wheels”
9. “Decibel”
10. “Stormy May Day”
11. “She Likes Rock ‘n’ Roll”
12. “Money Made”
13. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Dream”
14. “Rocking All the Way”
15. “Black Ice”

AC/DC

• Angus Young- Lead Guitar
• Malcolm Young- Rhythm Guitar, background vocals
• Brian Johnson- Lead Vocals
• Cliff Williams- Bass Guitar, background vocals
• Phil Rudd- Drums

Shame, you can’t buy this from the iTunes Store… I like the Black Ice cover reminds me a little of Back in Black…

I did get an invite to be in the crowd at the shooting of the video for Rock n Roll Train, but unfortunately I couldn’t make it…

AC/DC Official Site

I have recently bought a second 15inch Studiospares PA Speaker. I now have a stereo pair of these active speakers.  Totalling 600 watts, this sound-system is hooked up to my Airport Express, and now unleashed thanks to the fantastic Apple Remote iPhone App with the magic of Wi-Fi. This is my new home stereo. Where before the arrival of the Apple Remote it would have become what it is: a clunky, dopey P.A. system for occasional use only and also a pain in the derrière to use on a day to day basis.

My brutishly large and rather ’stupid’ speakers are brought to life with this FREE iPhone App. I can turn up the volume from both my front and back gardens – to scare the beejeezus out of my cat and other dozing visitors! I can now play all my iTunes digital media through my behemoth speakers. I can turn up the volume, search, select playlists, pause, skip and lots more. It’s possibly one of the first apps to really bring this whole digital lifestyle thing to life.

…possibly one of the first apps to really bring this whole digital lifestyle thing to life.

— Apple Remote iPhone App

But wait, there is more. I can also pair up the Remote App to my wife’s and daughters iTunes libraries too, so in effect, this turns my iPhone into a monster iPod.

There are a few gremlins too, but then I need to remember this is a Version 1 release. It occasionally can’t find my library, but 99% of the time it works as expected.

Apple Remote iPhone App Review Conclusion

A FREE but essential piece of kit for your digital lifestyle. This is a FREE, (don’t you love that word?) app that transcends what one expects from digital gadgets. It rocks my world, breathes artificial intelligence into my speaker system, and creates an audio system that I can control with even the most whimsical of touches.

Apple Remote Screenshots

View some screenshots of the Apple Remote app.

I grew up in the Young Ones generation. I believed that music is best played loud while throwing your television through your hotel window. Some years later, I really grew up. Neil replaced Vivien as an idol to aspire to.

I first saw the Dalai Lama in London’s Albert Hall. I had never even heard of him before this. Getting ready to snooze, something extraordinary happened to me. I actually listened to what he said. Expecting him to try and convert me to a Buddhist, he tried to convert me to the religion I already knew. He said, it is important to look deep within your own religion. The path you choose is not important, it’s your daily practice that is everything. He taught me that most major religions teach one thing at their heart. They are just different methods of pointing to the same thing. His anti-preaching method worked for me though. I now identify myself as a Buddhist, not a great one, but one that has allowed me to appreciate the faith I was force fed at school, Christianity.

The Tibetan cause is now something pretty dear to my heart. I feel that Tibet is a precious jewel, like the Amazon, which we the earth’s guardians are allowing to go to waste like a disillusioned teenager turning to smack. The potential that it holds is being eaten away, distilled to nothingness. To this end I wrote my own songs for Tibet. Not as good or polished as this offering that appeared in my inbox on an iTunes mail-shot. My song Wanna be your friend, was written as if from in the head of HH the Dalai Lama. Probably the best song I didn’t compose. The great man’s spirit wrote this song. His ethos, again I can only point to, but those words made me cry as they spilled awkwardly from my mouth. I wish they could have poured from the mouth of Imogen Heap, Sting or Damien Rice.

Songs for Tibet

These Songs for Tibet, unlike my “No sleep till Tibet” album are truly beautiful. ‘Enuff said. The last track though, is not really a track at all. It is a discussion given by the Dalai Lama on Finding Peace. This alone is worth the asking price, for me anyway.

Released just days before the Beijing Olympics start, this album will I am sure be my soundtrack this summer. I might not be a good Buddhist but I love music, and I could listen to the Dalai Lama for ever.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.

—HH The Dalai Lama

Peace

Tibet and Dalai Lama Linkage

• His Holiness the Dalai Lama
• The Dalai Lama on Wikipedia
• Songs for Tibet on Wikipedia
• My pictures of the Dalai Lama in London