Monday - 1/30/12 

Springsteen fans furious with Ticketmaster.  David Lee Roth talks about "A Different Kind of Truth". Queen's Brian May on dog breeding. Beatles rooftop concert anniversary.  Most satisfying scratching spot. How big is Facebook? 8 signs you should take a break from your relationship.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Once again Bruce Springsteen fans are furious with Ticketmaster after being left without tickets due to their website problems. Friday's on-sale dates for his New Jersey and New York City shows left most fans waiting through an endless 15 minute countdown to be connected to completing their order -- with many fans either left there indefinitely or eventually disconnected.

A message posted on Springsteen's official Facebook page read: "We know that many of you have been having trouble purchasing tickets through Ticketmaster's website this morning. Here is an official update from them: "We have been experiencing highly abnormal traffic patterns on our site this morning that have impacted the fan buying experience for some customers. We are investigating the source of the problem and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible, but tickets are selling so please stay patient. We will update fans as we know more."

Back in February 2010, Springsteen fans scored a victory against Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s Ticketmaster unit for 2009's bait-and-switch scam in which ticket buyers were sent to online "legal" scalpers charging over 10 times of the seat's face value.

The Federal Trade Commission and Live Nation settled the suit with a payout of about $1 million in refunds to "The Boss's" fans who were duped into buying obscenely marked-up tickets from sister company brokers -- while tickets were actually still on sale. The FTC is planning to install a "disclosure provision" on the entire ticket industry which is known to "(rely) on artists holding back tickets for friends and family only to release them on the resale market for profit."

VAN HALEN

Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth has spoken with the Los Angeles Times about the making of the group's new album, A Different Kind Of Truth. In a new interview, Roth admitted that the band has gone back into its archives to find previously unreleased material upon which to build the record. He explained, "It's material that Eddie (Van Halen, guitar) and I generated, literally, in 1975, 1976 and 1977. Usually fellas in our weight division will kind of gamely -- or ironically, wink, wink -- try to hail back to it (but) keep a safe, mature distance from it."  

A Different Kind Of Truth is due out February 7th and is Roth's first album with the band in 28 years.

On the current condition of Eddie, who has been in and out of rehab over the years, lost a third of his tongue to cancer and had a hip replacement, Roth said, "He's doing really well. He's lucid, he's sober, he's playing. You know, I don't know if Ed has ever felt good. There's a thin line between rage and great work. He really never enjoyed his fame or success, and that might be part of what compels him."

Roth also commented on the band members' turbulent past history, saying, "We accused each other of betrayal and thievery and lies and treachery, and it was all true. We were all guilty. Dig up the past, and it's going to get all over everybody. And, man, do we have a past..."

Van Halen will begin a North American tour on February 18th in Louisville, Kentucky. See them in Houston at Toyota Center on June 24th.

QUEEN

Queen's Brian May has signed on to the BUAV campaign against a proposed dog breeding facility in Britain for medical experimentation. Music-News.com posted May's statement regarding the use of thousands of beagles for scientific purposes: "Beagles, indisputably, are highly intelligent sentient creatures, friends of Man for centuries. It is completely morally unjustifiable for these animals to be made to suffer in the name of science, and I am shocked to learn of plans to set up a facility in Yorkshire to breed and supply beagles to the research industry. We at SAVE-ME support the BUAV campaign, and I urge The Right Hon. Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to listen to the concerns of the British public, and to reject this appeal -- thereby preventing this facility from being built."

THE BEATLES

It was 43 years ago this afternoon (January 30th, 1969) that the Beatles performed for the last time in public, on the roof of their Apple headquarters building in London. For the better part of that January, the group had been filming their rehearsals for a planned comeback concert, before band politics forced them to abort the plan and concentrate on recording a new album, tentatively titled Get Back.

The film crew continued filming the recording sessions for what eventually became the Let It Be album and movie, and on January 30th, the Beatles finally gave in to director Michael Lindsay-Hogg's request for a live concert finale for the film. Rather than the various exotic locations that had been tossed around for the group's first public appearance in nearly two-and-a-half years, such as a cruise ship, a mental asylum, or a Roman amphitheater, the group had their equipment set up on top of their business offices at 3 Saville Row for a brief lunchtime set -- similar to the ones they used to do years earlier in Liverpool's Cavern Club.

The Beatles and keyboardist Billy Preston, who were decked out in winter coats, played for about 42 minutes for a handful of fans, their wives, office workers and their personal staff. They performed a total of nine full songs: three versions of "Get Back," two versions of "Don't Let Me Down," two versions of "I've Got A Feeling," and one each of "Dig A Pony," and "One After 909" -- which was one of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's earliest compositions, dating back to the 1950's.

ANKLES ARE MOST SATISFYING SCRATCHING SPOT

 A new study proves that ankes are the most satisfying body part to have scratched. In the study, healthy volunteers were made to itch on the forearm, ankle and back. For five minutes they were banned from scratching, and asked to record how itchy they felt at each spot. After scratching participants awarded marks out of ten for how pleasurable the sensation had been. Professor Francis McGlone, a member of the International Forum for the Study of Itch, said: 'It was interesting that the ankle was the itchiest site and that the most pleasure came from scratching it, because the back has been well-known as a preferred site for scratching.' Scientists believe the ankle has evolved as an itch-prone area because it comes into contact with insects and germs, which can be removed through scratching. (Gizmodo)

HOW BIG IS FACEBOOK?

Cartridgesave attempted to figure out just how big Facebook really is. While the company doesn't list an official statistic for how many updates are posted a day, a survey by the company found that 62 percent of users post at least once per day, and that more than half of these were at least two lines long. If that were accurate for the site's 800 million users, there would be an average 292 billion posts per year. Facebook has said that 250 million photos are traded every day via the site, and that 50 percent of Facebook users log in every day. (Daily Mail)

8 SIGNS YOU SHOULD TAKE A BREAK FROM YOUR RELATIONSHIP (TheStir.com)

• 1. You don't talk anymore. Do you spend time talking -- really talking -- with your partner, or do you resort to talking about the weather (or other trivial stuff) only? When you've stopped really communicating, it's time to take a break.
• 2. You don't spend time together. Movie night has been replaced with "guys' night." Dates are a thing of the past. Trying to pin your partner to even hang out together is like nailing Jello to the wall. If your partner does not want to spend time with you (or the reverse), it's time to take a break.
• 3. You fight all the time. Sure, some amount of fighting is normal in relationships. Relationships (no matter WHAT others say) are hard work. But if fighting becomes the only interaction you two have, it's time to take a break.
• 4. You don't have sex. Sex is a very important part of any relationship. It helps bond you to your partner, and provides a sense of intimacy. No sex = a problem. It's time to have a (gentle) conversation about it or take a break.
• 5. You sleep in separate bedrooms. Very few couples can survive living in separate bedrooms for very long. It's not healthy, and very little good can come of it.
• 6. Your relationship has more bad than good. Yes, relationships are hard. Yes, they all have unique challenges. But when you can estimate that your relationship has more bad than good, it's time to take a break and reassess how the relationship is really working for you.
• 7. You think about breaking up -- a lot. Once you start thinking about life without your partner often, and it doesn't make you weep, it's time to reevaluate why you two are together in the first place.
• 8. You're not happy. Your partner isn't happy. Happiness, my friends, is worth a lot. If your relationship doesn't make you happy and fulfilled, it's time to take a break.

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

xoxo,

Jennifer Tyler