Thursday - 1/26/12 

Van Halen's "Blood and Fire". Paul McCartney wanted to do "standards" while with the Beatles.  'Occupy The Album'.  Music from 'The Elder' to hit the big screen. Health issues delaying the start of new AC/DC album. Let's talk. Breakups? There's an app for that. Magic mushrooms and depression. Positive thinking. 10 signs he's in love with you.

VAN HALEN

A 90-second excerpt of a new Van Halen song called "Blood And Fire" has been posted online via RollingStone.com, and it turns out that the track is yet another reworking of an older, more obscure track. A recording has been found on YouTube of an instrumental called "Ripley" that dates back to 1984 and was heard on the soundtrack of a movie called The Wild Life which starred the late Chris Penn and was written by Cameron Crowe, who went on to direct Jerry Maguire and other films.

Guitarist Eddie Van Halen wrote a score for the movie, but only one song called "Donut City" was issued on the soundtrack. The rest of Eddie's music can be heard throughout the film.

"Blood And Fire" is taken from Van Halen's upcoming album, A Different Kind Of Truth, which is due out on February 7th. It's the fourth track from the disc that's confirmed to have its roots in older material.

First single "Tattoo" is based on an unreleased 1977 track called "Down In Flames," while "She's The Woman" was first recorded on a 1976 demo. Another tune called "Bullethead" also dates back to the group's early days.

"Blood & Fire" Preview

The "original" version "Ripley"

PAUL MCCARTNEY

Paul McCartney says that he wanted to delve into the music of the '30s and '40s as far back as his Beatles days. McCartney, who'll release the mostly standards collection, Kisses On The Bottom, on February 7th, revealed to The Guardian, "I wanted to do (music like this) in the Beatles." McCartney, who has been known to write in the genre -- including such Beatles classics as "Honey Pie," "When I'm Sixty-Four," and "Your Mother Should Know" -- admits that the Beatles were far too busy writing original material to ever contemplate a covers project for very long.

McCartney said that the recent outpouring of standards collections forced him to keep the project on ice for years: "Every time I came to this album someone else would do it. I kept saying, 'Well I can't do it now, it'll look like I'm jumping on the bandwagon.' But then I (decided) I'd just do it and not worry about the market."

OCCUPY THIS ALBUM

David Crosby & Graham Nash, Yoko Ono, Jackson Browne, Debbie Harry, Devo, and a host of others have contributed to the upcoming collection, Occupy This Album. Vintage Vinyl News reported that all proceeds from the set will benefit the Occupy movement. Although a release date and tracklisting has yet to be announced, the album will also feature tracks from Tom Morello, Thievery Corporation, MOGWAI, Third Eye Blind, Ladytron, Our Lady Peace, Warren Haynes, Yo La Tengo, Lucinda Williams, the Guthrie Family, Toots & The Maytals, Loudon Wainwright III, DJ Logic, and filmmaker Michael Moore, among others.

Graham Nash said in a statement: "The Occupation movement is really the voice of the people, it's an idea that's been a long time coming. I fully support their non-violent protests against a system that is carefully crafted in favor of the rich one percent."

KISS

Despite not getting an endorsement from Kiss, independent British author and film maker Seb Hunter is adapting the band's 1981 bomb concept album Music From 'The Elder' for the big screen, according to Blabbermouth. Hunter explained, "I've decided to reset it as a kinda post-apocalyptic road movie, but with all the signifies in place and the characters are the same and the general narrative is the same or at least what we know of it. It basically tells the same story and, of course, it's an old story with a boy on a quest and the story of good and evil."

Kiss' Music From 'The Elder' was released on November 16th, 1981 and tanked at Number 75 -- the band's lowest charting album since their 1974 self-titled debut topped out at Number 87. Music From 'The Elder' also marked the final album to feature Ace Frehley prior to leaving Kiss.

Also in the works is author Matthew Wilkening's upcoming book Music From 'The Elder': The Unauthorized Story Of The Most Spectacular Failure In The History Of Kiss, which is due out this spring.

AC/DC

AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has revealed that health issues are delaying the start of work on the band's next album. Speaking on the Cowhead radio show, Johnson said that the group hopes to begin work this year on the follow-up to 2008's Black Ice, but added, "One of the boys is a little sick and I can't say anything, but he's getting better. Hes doing wonderful. Full recovery fully expected."

AC/DC is a notoriously private band so the news of someone in the group being ill comes as a surprise. Johnson did not reveal any further details.

He did say, "I miss my buddies," adding, "It's a wonderful thing when we get in a room. Whenever the boys get back together, I get all excited. The boys, after a while, pick the guitars up, Phil (Rudd) will make his way to the drums, Cliff (Williams) will pull his bass out and then all of a sudden this noise comes out and I sit there with just this big old grin on my face."

Johnson himself has to undergo wrist surgery next month, which has forced him to cancel a planned tour in support of his recently published book, Rockers And Rollers: A Full Throttle Memoir. The book, which arrived last May, details Johnson's life story through his love of racing and automobiles.

Johnson is still scheduled to compete in the 50th running of the Rolex 24 auto race at Daytona on January 28th. He hopes to raise $1,000,000 for families affected by pediatric cancer through a "Highway To Help" texting campaign that will take place during the 24 hours surrounding the race.

89% OF MEN SCARED OF 'LET'S TALK'

 A new study found that 89 percent of men assume the worst when their partner says "Let's talk." Only 61 percent of women do the same. What it means? Find a new way to initiate difficult conversations. The study also found that women are more aggressive when it comes to solving relationship woes; more than half of them (54 percent) want to face the issue head on and discuss it immediately. Meanwhile, 44 percent of men want to avoid it. Also -- Thirty-two percent of women and 28 percent of men are less likely to be interested in intercourse when they're not communicating well with one another. (YourTango.com)

APP LETS EXES EXPLAIN BREAKUPS

A new website and phone app, WotWentWrong, puts estranged couples in touch with each other through an online form, giving them the distance needed to figure out what went wrong between them. Using special templates to draft letters to exes, someone can request feedback on what exactly ruined the relationship. The 'flattering' template gives a dash of ego-boosting positivity before delivering the blow: 'I think you're a fantastic person. We had some great moments together, but obviously something has happened to change things.' The site's creators hope the evaluations for curious singletons will deliver 'insights and behaviors to ensure your relationship goals'. (Daily Mail)

CAN MAGIC MUSHROOMS HELP DEPRESSION?

Psilocybin mushrooms, better known as magic mushrooms or shrooms may help treat people with depression. David Nutt of Imperial College London said psychedelics are thought of as "mind-expanding" drugs so it is commonly assumed they work by increasing brain activity. Nutt said he and his colleagues were surprised to learn, however, that psilocybin -- a naturally occurring psychedelic compound produced by psilocybin mushrooms -- caused activity to decrease in brain areas that have the densest connections with other areas. In one study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 30 healthy volunteers had psilocybin infused into their blood while inside magnetic resonance imaging scanners, which measure changes in brain activity. The scans showed that activity decreased in "hub" regions of the brain as many effective depression treatments do. In a second study, psilocybin was found to enhance volunteers' recollections of personal memories, suggesting it could be useful as an adjunct to psychotherapy. (Telegraph)

POSITIVE THINKING REALLY MAKES PHYSICAL IMPACT

 Taking brief moments to savor life helps patients make better decisions about their health. Researchers said that thinking of happy thoughts as soon as you wake up has a therapeutic effect on people. For coronary artery disease, 55 percent of patients in the positive thinking and self-affirmation category increased their physical activity compared with 37 percent in the control group. For high blood pressure, 42 percent of the positive thinking group adhered to their medication plan compared with 36 percent in the control group. (Fox News)

10 SIGNS HE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU (TheStir.com)

1. He smiles at you. Not just when he's trying to get some.
2. He talks to you for a long, LONG time. Guys aren't usually big talkers ... until they find someone they care about.
3. He cuddles you up. When a guy doesn't love a girl, he won't cuddle her up. When he does, you know there's something there.
4. He genuinely cares about you. He wants to know all about you, your likes and dislikes, your favorite dinner, what makes you laugh.
5. He goes out of his way for you. That extra mile is nothing if it makes you happy.
6. Those quirks you find annoying, well, he thinks they're awesome. So what if you hate that you go crazy without having enough hand-soap, or have a Diet Coke habit worthy of an intervention? He thinks you're great just as you are.
7. The chemistry is incredible. You're both on the same page, you think alike, and when you're together, the heat is incredible.
8. He loves spending time with you. It doesn't matter what you're doing, so long as you're together.
9. He'll compromise for you. Sure, you both want things your own way, but suddenly, he's willing to cave on things that once mattered.
10. He starts making plans for the future. With you.

Thanks for listening to The Eagle while youwork. Keep it fabulous, Houston!

xoxo,

Jennifer Tyler

Fabulous Mid-Day Diva