Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Bruce Springsteen has just unveiled the new song ‘Easy Money’ from his upcoming album ‘Wrecking Ball,’ which is scheduled for release in the USA on March 6. The new title is Springsteen’s 17th album to date and was launched in Paris during a recent press conference.

According to an announcement earlier today, one track from ‘Wrecking Ball’ will be streamed on a different U.S. website daily. Today’s stream is an exclusive for Backstreets.com as they kick off this virtual tour of the long-awaited new album. All 11 ‘Wrecking Ball’ tracks will be revealed in proper sequence over the coming days.

‘Easy Money’ finds Springsteen and company keeping to tradition and delivering a foot stompin’, fiddle-driven, choral-filled single that takes on the topic of going out on the town, looking for easy money.

If you subscribe to SiriusXM Satellite Radio you may choose to listen to the new songs on E Street Radio as well. DJ Dave Marsh will play the day’s new track every morning with a repeat broadcast in the evening. Marsh also plans to take calls and discuss the songs on the air during the live morning hour.

Listen to ‘Easy Money’ by Bruce Springsteen

Source: UltimateClassicRock.com

20th Century Fox

You might remember Tom Hardy from when he bulked up and went shirtless for the movie ‘Warrior.’ But now he’s slimmed down, put on a fitted suit and turned himself into the gent of ‘This Means War.’ Reese Witherspoon’s character had a hard enough time deciding between this guy and Chris Pine, but everyone’s a sucker for a romantic smooth talker.

We’ll be seeing more of Hardy in the future ’cause he’s appearing in ‘The Dark Knight Rises‘ movie as — drum roll, please — Bane! This may not bode well for his gentlemanly image, but if he looks anything like he did in ‘Warrior,’ we can cut him some slack. See what we mean below.

Lionsgate

Lionsgate

Lionsgate

Lionsgate

Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images

Photo: Neil Zlozower

Chickenfoot has announced a 20-date 2012 U.S. tour in support of their recent album ‘III.’ The trek, dubbed the “Different Devil Tour 2012,” will kick off May 4 in Lake Tahoe, Nev. and wind up June 10 in Los Angeles, Calif.

With founding drummer Chad Smith still caught up on the Red Hot Chili Peppers tour, the lineup for these dates will feature Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and drummer Kenny Aronoff. The tour is named after the band’s current single ‘Different Devil‘ — reviewed here — and will be their first major-scale tour since the release of the new album.

If the reviews from the group’s brief November small club “Road Test” tour are any indication, fans can expect a healthy dose of songs from both Chickenfoot albums, but no tracks from any of the band member’s solo careers or Hagar and Anthony’s time together in Van Halen.

As Hagar explained in a recent interview, “We really do not want to dilute this band and become a Van Halen cover band, or become a Sammy Hagar cover band or a Joe Satriani cover band… The idea is that we are Chickenfoot, and we will stay that.”

Chickenfoot 2012 U.S. Tourdates:

5/4-5 — Lake Tahoe, Nev.
5/9 — Denver, Colo.
5/11 — Minneapolis, Minn.
5/12 — Chicago, Ill.
5/14 — Detroit, Mich.
5/16 — Boston, Mass.
5/18 — Atlantic City, N.J.
5/19 — Uncasville, Ct.
5/21 – New York, N.Y.
5/23 — St. Louis, Mo.
5/25 — Thackerville, OK
5/27 — Pryor, OK
5/29 — Houston, Texas
5/31 — Tucson, Ariz.
6/1 — Las Vegas, Nev.
6/3 — Portland, Ore.
6/5 — Vancouver, B.C.
6/6 — Seattle, Wash.
6/10 — Los Angeles, Calif.

Source: UltimateClassicRock.com

The Shamrock Shuffle

A 5k fun run/walk to support Jason Friend’s and their continued support of local families.

All participates are encouraged to come dressed in their finest “Shamrock” flair.

The registration cost is $20.00, they will be accepting larger donations at the time of registration. You can also specify a specific family that you would like to see the money go towards supporting.

The registration will begin at 8:00am on March 17th, 2012.

The Run / Walk will begin at 9:00am on March 17th, 2012.

Registration and the start of the 5k will be located at  the Downtown Jonah Bank.

The route will move from Jonah Bank down to The Pump House and back to Jonah Bank.

More information can be found at their Facebook page.

View Platte River Parkway Trust in a larger map

Valerie Everett, Flickr

If someone has you ‘over a barrel,’ it’s never a good sign. This phrase means you’re in an extremely vulnerable position, and another human being (most likely not a friend) is taking advantage of that vulnerability.

Imagine, for example, you ‘borrowed’ some money from the petty cash account at work and ‘accidentally’ forgot to pay it back. Could happen to anyone, right? But then one of your colleagues finds out and threatens to tell the boss, unless you type up his or her reports for the next six months.

In other words, when you’re over a barrel, you’re a prime target for blackmail.

There are two possible explanations about the origins of this phrase. The first comes from the penitentiary system, where misbehaving prisoners were, back in the day, routinely fastened to barrels and flogged.

The second explanation stems from the practice of tossing a person who has almost drowned over a barrel to help clear water from the lungs. Regardless of the barrel in question, you undoubtedly wouldn’t want to linger in either position for any extended period of time.

If, during the course of your life, you find that others are often putting you over a barrel, you might want to rethink how you conduct your affairs, and please, stop associating with the criminally minded.

[Word Origins]

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

Never one to promote certainty, the members of Guns N’ Roses have once again left fans wondering if a full reunion is likely or even possible when they’re inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. Slash doesn’t deny Dizzy Reed’s claim that the band is getting back together for one night in Cleveland, but he hardly confirms it.

“I know that there’s a lot of rumor about it, as always when it comes to GNR, out there on the Internet and stuff, but as it stands right this second, I have no idea what’s going on,” the guitarist said in an interview with Mike Jones of Washington D.C. rock radio station DC101.

The band is being recognized on April 14, and Reed got longtime fans excited last week by saying the entire original band — including Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler and Slash — would be present. Reed, Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke joined later.

“I know that all the original band is going to be there, I don’t know exactly what’s going to go down,” Reed told Billboard. “It’s one of those things I’m sure will all come together and be really cool. I’m just going to go in with a good attitude and a clear head and a grateful heart.”

Slash’s deflection of the question is a step up from his angry denial in December. The guitarist did say that he was honored to be included in this class, which includes Donovan, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys and others. “It was very flattering to get that initial phone call to say we were nominated,” he said adding that finding out the band was being inducted was a cherry on an already delicious sundae.

Source: UltimateClassicRock.com

Paul Morigi, Getty Images

State lawmakers in Indiana were recently presented with a resolution to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts organization and honor the positive influence the group has had on American women. Representative Bob Morris, a Republican from Fort Wayne, was the only representative to refuse to sign, citing a belief that the Girl Scouts is a “radicalized organization.”

The Indiana lawmaker sent a letter to his colleagues saying he plans to pull his daughters from their Girl Scout troop after he found information online claiming that the group “sexualizes” girls and promotes homosexuality. One source he cited was a conservative “news” website called World Net Daily.

In his letter, he claimed to have found allegations that the Girl Scouts are actually a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood that encourages the girls to have sex. He continued to say that the people who the Girl Scouts consider to be role models are all “feminists, lesbians, or Communists.”

He also mentioned an allegation that the organization allows transgender females to join. This misstatement of the facts was most likely based on a situation that arose last fall when a transgender male child was refused membership in a Colorado troop, but then allowed to join by the national organization, which encourages inclusiveness.

The scouts have received criticism for this inclusiveness and many groups and websites have been working very hard to “expose” them. Diane Tipton, president of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital said in response, “Misinformation is passing as fact. The Girl Scout organization does not take a position on abortion or birth control, and these topics are not part of the Girl Scout program or our materials. We believe these matters are best discussed by girls with their families.”

At this time, the Girl Scouts are not planning any changes in policy, but they have released a statement explaining where they stand on sensitive issues.

[via Huffington Post]

YouTube

Batman will generally only don his bat-suit when there is crime that needs to be fought. However, there is another caped crusader — Toronto Batman — who has no problem slipping into the iconic costume just because he wants to enjoy a night on the town.

Toronto Batman was kind enough to record his latest experiences in his Canadian hometown.

As you can see, Batman doesn’t have to take down bad guys to contribute to society. His mere presence seems to cheer people up, even when he is rambling on about his dead parents or berating moviegoers for being way too early to see ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’ And, yes, Toronto Batman will pose for pictures.

The video would’ve probably been better if Batman was little easier to understand. Although his often inedible utterances work as both a parody of Christian Bale’s unusually low register when he plays the part and the controversy surrounding ’The Dark Knight Rises’ villain Bane, whose muffled dialogue has been difficult to decipher in the movie’s trailers.

We’re also pleased to see that superheroes also struggle to open up a beef jerky. Since it’s 2012, Toronto Batman is on Twitter, and you can follow him here.

Source: TheFW.com

kams_world, Flickr

Theft charges serious enough to warrant a jury trial typically involve stolen goods that are pretty expensive (just ask Lindsay Lohan about that).

But you don’t have to steal high-dollar stuff to get in that kind of trouble — in fact, a New Mexico college student is about to go on trial for allegedly forgetting to pay for a $2 pumpkin.

Lauren Medina, 23, will have her day in court on Tuesday. She’s accused of stealing the small gourd from a local pumpkin patch in October.

But her sister, Annette Atencio, says the whole thing was a big misunderstanding that’s been completely overblown. On that fateful day last year, the two siblings had enjoyed a day at the pumpkin patch, spending $75 on funnel cakes and other food. When they left, Medina simply forgot to pay for the pumpkin, Atencio says.

When police approached them, Atencio maintains her sister apologized and immediately offered to pony up the cash, but the cops refused and “she was handcuffed immediately — end of story, no ifs or buts.”

After Medina was given an order to appear in court, she thought the charges would be dropped. Instead, prosecutors gave her the option of pleading guilty and doing probation — and when she refused, the case was remanded to trial.

Atencio is infuriated by the debacle, especially because her sister has never been in trouble with the law before. “I’m in disbelief,” she said. “The more I talk about it, the angrier I get.”

[via KOAT]

Source: TheFW.com

Virgin Galactic

Last month Virgin Galactic announced it would begin offering commercial space flights later this year.

The two-and-a-half hour trip just cracks the space barrier and offers about five minutes of weightlessness. It also comes with a fairly prohibitive price tag of $200,000 a pop.

But let’s say money was no object. Would you want to be among the first commercial space travelers?

Poll Position asked 1,145 adults that very question and found that only 23 percent thought the thrill of the great beyond outweighed the risks. Fifty-two percent said they would not be willing to take such a flight and 26 percent had no opinion.

[Poll Position]

YouTube

The world is filled with terrible news, so it’s nice for us to find a story with a happy ending once in awhile.  Not that type of happy ending. Pervert. Here is an amazing story about a Swedish man who was stranded in a snow drift for 61 days.

Snowmobilers came across the car thinking it was wreckage. They peeked inside to find someone wrapped in a sleeping bag in the back seat.  Rescuers dug the 45-year-old man out of the car, and he was so weak he could hardly speak–yet alone explain what happened.  He said he’s been in the car since December 19th. Probably hiding out so he didn’t have to buy his family Christmas gifts. The man survived by eating snow and icicles.

Humans can last up to four weeks without food, so its plausible that the man was stranded for as long as he said he was.  His body temperature was around 31 degrees Celsius when he was brought into the hospital.  With his body temperature so low, he wasn’t using much energy.  This also helped him to survive. Like bears, humans can also go into a dormant-like state (especially during football season).

[Via Yahoo]

Source: 1

Getty Images

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Interstates 80 and 25 in southeast have reopened to traffic but portions remain closed to light trailers because of strong winds.

Blowing snow hampered motorists in many other areas of the state Wednesday.

The National Weather Service says winds gusts up to 65 mph are expected in southeastern, southwestern and central Wyoming through Wednesday evening.

The northwest flow bringing the wind to the state is also bringing snow to the western mountains. The National Weather Service says the Tetons could get up to 4 feet.

Winter storm warnings were posted for a large area of western Wyoming as well as the mountains in northern and southern Wyoming.

For a complete list of roads affected, CLICK HERE

K2Radio.com

Theo Wargo,Getty Images

The revitalized Van Halen are ready to light up the sky with their current tour. Even though the trek is just kicking into gear, they are already changing things up a bit. At last night’s show at The Palace Of Auburn Hills in Michigan, they dug deep into the old kit bag and pulled out ‘Girl Gone Bad.’

This obscure gem from the ’1984′ album planted itself right in the middle of a, shall we say, diggin-the-chicks section of the show with ‘Women In Love’ preceding and ‘Beautiful Girls’ following. The crowd was obviously wowed.

From what we can gather, the band hasn’t played this particular song in concert since the ’1984′ tour. It appears that the boys have been making a conscious effort to swap a song or two from night to night to keep things interesting and keep the fans guessing as to what buried treasure they might unearth on any given night — bravo to them for that. Check out the complete setlist from the second night’s stop here.

Watch Van Halen Perform ‘Girl Gone Bad’ in Detroit

Source: UltimateClassicRock.com

American Mustache Institute

When someone grows a mustache, all of society benefits, since the visually pleasing facial hair is now on display for all to see. Yet the costs of maintaining a proper lip sweater falls only on the mustachioed individual.

The fine folks at the American Mustache Institute want to change this. So they recently proposed the “Stimulus To Allow Critical Hair Expenses,” or the STACHE ACT, which awards a $250 tax credit to every mustached American. They are also calling for a Million Mustache March in support of the act that will take place in Washington DC on April 1st. (Yup, always a bit suspicious.)

The AMI, who partnered with H&R Block on the proposal, even  drew up a white paper on why the STACHE act is necessary. Here is its summery:

In summary, the grooming habits of Mustached Americans are a clear example of financial, social and environmental responsibility—the triple bottom line. It is appropriate that Congress allow a limited number of deductions to people of Mustached American heritage in recognition of the value that their lifestyle provides to the economy, to society, and to the environment.

Of course since we are talking mustaches, you’re probably wondering what John Oates thinks of all of this. And yes, Daryl Hall’s more hirsute half did weigh on The STACHE act, which he whole-heartily supports. Check Hall’s explanation below.

[via American Mustache Institute]

Source: TheFW.com

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Metallica’s ‘Orion Music + More’ concert promotes diversity by booking an eclectic group of bands to perform during the two day music, arts and lifestyle festival. Taking place on June 23 and 24 at Bader Field in Atlantic City, N.J. the idea of Metallica organizing and headlining their own festival definitely rocks — but apparently some fans are questioning the alt-centric lineup.

Some of the acts booked; Artic Monkeys, Modest Mouse, Gaslight Anthem, Cage The Elephant and A Place To Bury Strangers definitely yield towards the alternative genre versus that of a classic rock or metal genre. Still, heavier acts such as Avenged Sevenfold, The Sword and Liturgy are also scheduled to perform. But with Metallica wearing the hat of the host, the fans are still asking “where’s the beef?” — because logically, one might expect heavier bands.

During an interview with Billboard.biz, Charlie Walker of C3 (the company working with Metallica to put this fest on) makes it clear that diversity was the biggest factor in booking a bill of opener for ‘Orion Music + More.’

“I’m sure some people have a vision of what they think it is because it’s Metallica, but I think they’ll have a different understanding of what it is after they come and see it,” he said. “I think we’ll try and stick with diversity. You’ll see some more hard rock bands; you’ll see some more alternative bands. We’re certainly not consciously trying to lean it hard rock or indie — we’re trying to make it balanced.”

It’s been said that one of the favored parts of these type festivals is the fact that fans have an opportunity to see acts that ordinarily they wouldn’t have seen or bought a ticket to otherwise. In turn, it gives bands larger exposure while allowing fans to explore various genres and multiple types of bands.

Our biggest question about their aim for diversity: how will this audience respond to Roky Erickson? Only time will tell.

Source: UltimateClassicRock.com

Chip Somodavilla, Getty Images

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Portions of Interstate 80 are closed in Wyoming because of blowing snow as strong winds persist across much of the state.

On Wednesday, I-80 was closed westbound between Cheyenne and Laramie, in both directions between Laramie and Rawlins and eastbound between Rawlins and Rock Springs.

Interstate 25 in southeastern Wyoming had been closed because of the wind but is back open. The highway is still closed to light, high-profile vehicles between Cheyenne and the Colorado border because of the blow over threat.

Winds gusts up to 60 mph are expected to continue in southeastern, southwestern and central Wyoming through the evening.

The northwest flow bringing the wind to the state is also bringing snow to the western mountains. The National Weather Service says the Tetons could get up to 4 feet.

For the latest Wyoming road closures, CLICK HERE

K2Radio.com

Steve Powell, Getty Images

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history:

1819 – By the Adams-Onís Treaty, Spain sells Florida to the United States for $5 million (More info)

1879 – In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of five-and-dime Woolworth stores (More info)

1924 – President Calvin Coolidge becomes the first commander-in-chief to deliver a radio broadcast from the White House (More info)

1980 – In what would come to be called the Miracle on Ice, the US men’s hockey team beats the heavily-favored Soviet Union team 4-3 at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York (More info)

2006 – At least six men stage Britain’s largest robbery in history, stealing $92.5 million from a Securitas depot in Kent (More info)

Jason Merritt, Getty Images

Bob Seger leads an impressive class into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for 2012. Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Steinman, the team of Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt and Don Schiltz will also be inductees.Seger’s achievements are legendary, Canadian folk-rock icon Lightfoot has hits of his own, including “If You Could Read My Mind,” “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and “Sundown.” Steinman, wrote all the songs on Meat Loaf’s classic album Bat out of Hell, and Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell.

Steinman also did songs for Bonnie Tyler, “Total Eclispe of the Heart,” Making Love Out of Nothing at All,” Air Supply and It’s All Coming Back to me Now,” Celine Dion.

Schmidt and Jones wrote the music for the longest-running musical in history, The Fantasticks, as well as other Broadway shows. Schiltz has written a string of country classics including the Kenny Rogers hit “The Gambler.”

The inductees will receive their honors June 14th at a gala ceremony in New York City.

I can now look back twenty years…Where have they gone?

The song paints a very vivid picture in my minds eye.

This is heartache personified

More heartache, Steinman was good at that aspect.

Love her voice…’powerful’

He looks different nowadays.

We’ve all been here.