The new, self titled album, Stone Temple Pilots was released in Australia on 21 May 2010. Needless to say, a quick visit to JB HiFi and I was sold.

The album kicks off with the first single "Between The Lines", a rocky, up tempo little number that provides the ideal opener.

"Huckleberry Crumble" reminds me a lot of a driving 1970's classic rock song. It has got a 'Les Paul plugged straight into a Marshall' vibe and proves that sometimes simple is best.

The fourth track, "Hickory Dichotomy" takes me back to the "Tiny Music..." era. "Dare if you dare" is a dreamy, psychedelic style pop-romp that probably owes more than a little to the Beatles. The following track "Cinnamon" also shares a dreamy vibe, before "Hazy Daze" picks up the rocking pace again.

"Bagman" is another 1970's inspired track and "First kiss on Mars" seems like a massive hat tip to David Bowie.

The album sees the welcome return of the Dean DeLeo, psychedelic, wah affected guitar solo. Throughout the album Scott Weiland seems to be channelling the spirits of the 70's rock gods. For example, there were a couple of moments during the first listen where I thought I may have been listening to Bowie. In my opinion, the music and the melodies are as good as anything the band have released, either collectively or through other projects.

Whether you're a fan of STP, classic rock or just after a cracking good collection of songs, then there is a good chance that you'll like this album. For me, this is the album of the year so far. Maybe I'm just nostalgic, but I don't care, it's just good to have the Stone Temple Pilots back.

Here's the video for the first single "Between The Lines".

Warning: If you're not a Pearl Jam fan then what follows may not be your cup of tea.

To say that I'm a Pearl Jam fan is something of an understatement. I've seen them live six times now, and own pretty much anything they've put their name to. Previously when they've come to Australia they've played two or three shows in Melbourne at smaller venues (eg. Rod Laver arena which holds about 10-15,000 I think). This time around though they are only playing the one big arena show at each major capital. At first this kind of bummed me out, cause it meant I'd only get the chance to see them once, but then once is better than not at all. On the plus side though, their decision to bring Ben Harper along for support was a big positive.

I'd been able to pick up General Admin tickets in "The Fixer" field, which on the map appeared to be the first quarter of the total general admin area, but in reality was probably more like half of the oval. Friday was a hot day, and with the roof closed, Etihad Stadium was a steam box. Walking into the stadium, with my sister, and fellow fan, just after the doors opened, the one thing I immediately noticed was the scale of the place. I'd been to a couple of football games there, but on Friday, with the stage up one end of the ground, it just looked bigger. After navigating my way through the various checkpoints we arrived at "The Fixer" field, then took up our position about 15 people back from the stage right in front of where Mike McCready would set up shop.

Liam Finn was the first support act to hit the stage at around 6pm, ripping through a short-ish set of material from his solo album. Rather than having a full band behind him Liam Finn made use of loops to back himself. For example, he'd play a few bars on the drums, sample and loop it, then pick up guitar and play along to that. At first it was interesting, but after the initial curiosity wore off I couldn't help but think he'd sound a heap better with a full band behind him. I think the fact that he was live sampling/looping his stuff was lost on some people as I heard a few mumblings around me along the lines of "Who's playing the bass? Where are the drums coming from? Is he using a backing tape?" All up though it was an entertaining and energetic little set.

Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 hit the stage at around 7pm playing a rock based set made up largely of newer material, with a couple of older tunes thrown in for good measure. Diamonds on the Inside was as mellow as it got from Ben Harper. For most people the highlight of his set was probably the special guest appearance from Eddie Vedder on the cover 'Under Pressure'. The crowd went crazy, and if there was ever any doubt about who people had come to see, it was most definitely put to rest.

When Ben Harper left the stage, there was a 30 min interval before Pearl Jam were due. Thinking it was as good a time as any, and given that it was hot as hell, my sister headed for the drinks stand. Twenty minutes later the crowd had packed tighter she hadn't returned, so I did the brother thing and went looking for her, suspecting she'd got stuck on the way back. I was right. Long story short, I found here, but by that time the crowd was so thick we were never getting back to our spot. All things considered though, by the time the guys did walk out on stage, we'd managed to make it almost back to our starting spot.

Pearl Jam opened with the relatively mellow 'Elderly Woman...' as if to get a feel for the audience, before launching into the rockier sure fire crowd pleasers Corduroy and Animal. From there it was 'Got Some' from their latest album, which translated well live.

Then there was the first surprise in the set, 'Brother' that was a b-side from the Ten sessions making an appearance. It was the first time I'd heard it live and it was sublime, complete with its tribal style chanted chorus. From their it was a mix of older favourites mixed in with the new tracks that stood up well against a lot of the 'classics'.

The set list drew heavily from the 'Ten' album, with the band playing eight songs from their first release.

By the time the first set drew to a close I was trying to figure out what would come next.

Eddie Vedder came out solo for the start of the first encore, to strum his way through the Neil Young song, "Needle and the Damage Done", inspired, he said, by Liam Finn's earlier cover of another Neil Young classic "Cinnamon Girl". Ben Harper then joined the band on stage to play some guitar on "Red Mosquito" then joined Eddie Vedder for "Indifference". The band then rolled into four "Ten" tracks in a row, "Jeremy", "Deep", "Why Go" and "Porch".

The second encore opened with Eddie Vedder joined on stage by Liam Finn for a cover of the Hunters and Collectors song "Throw Your Arms Around Me", before launching into crowd pleasers "Black", "Spin the Black Circle" and "Alive". Half way through the Who cover Baba O'Reily the house lights started to kick on and it looked like it may all be over, but the band then kicked into "Yellow Ledbetter" which has almost become the trademark finale.

Maybe it was just me, and maybe I'm getting old or my tolerance isn't what it used to be, but in my opinion there was a larger bogan/meat head contingent at this gig than any of the past shows I've been to. I think there was a correlation between proximity to the stage and percentage of dickheads. It seemed like as we got further back, the number of drunken dickheads increased. Why you would pay $100+ to go to a Pearl Jam gig only to get so shit faced that you can't even stand at a urinal without falling in is beyond me. I guess booze would be the excuse another drunken young gent would be using to explain why he thought it'd be a good idea to piss into a bottle while standing in the middle of the crowd. Right before the first encore break, my sister needed a time out for a sit down and water at the first aid tent, not long after she'd rejoined me there was some kind of scuffle that saw the chairs flying and security called in. Didn't really see what happened, why it started, or how it ended, but I'm chalking it up to booze as well. Drunken macho dickheads aside though it was good show.

For me the highlights were "Brother", "Present Tense", "Indifference" and "The Needle and the Damage Done". Pearl Jam remain one of the few live bands that continue to produce at the highest level, and their ability to command a crowd, even one as large as that on Friday, is a testament to the hard work that they clearly put in. The fact that they were rocking for a good two and a half hours, playing some 32 songs, in damn hot conditions also speaks volumes of their commitment to put on an awesome show, as well as their fitness.

Eddie Vedder continues to hold his position as my number one front man of choice, and if Friday night is anything to go by, it's going to take a lot for someone to come along and knock him off top spot. He oozes charisma like few other people, and to be perfectly honest, the guy could release a cd of himself reading the phone book and I'd be lining up to buy it.

If you haven't seen Pearl Jam before and get the chance on their current tour, make sure you get along, cause the band are as energized as ever.

For those of you into this sort of thing, here's Pearl Jam's complete set list from their November 20 show at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.

Set 1

Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
Corduroy
Animal
Got Some
Brother
Amongst The Waves
Even Flow
Oceans
Lukin
Green Disease
Force of Nature
Present Tense
Gonna See My Friend
Given To Fly
Daughter/Another Brick In The Wall
Glorified G
The Fixer
Do The Evolution

Encore 1

The Needle and The Damage Done
Just Breathe
Red Mosquito
Indifference
Jeremy
Deep
Why Go
Porch

Encore 2

Throw Your Arms Around Me
Black
Spin The Black Circle
Alive
Baba O'Riley
Yellow Ledbetter

Here's a taster from the new album, with the video of the first single, the Fixer. I like it.

Fortunately, thanks to the power of YouTube, an alternative film clip has sprung up. This little puppy is guaranteed to haunt your dreams for years to come...

If you've never heard of the show before, allow wikipedia to provide you with a nice little synopsis.

Flight of the Conchords is an Emmy Award-nominated television comedy series that follows the adventures of the Flight of the Conchords, a folk duo from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show portrays a fictionalized version of the real-life duo, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, who play themselves.

Anyway, it just so happens that I also have a David Bowie fascination. So what happens when Flight of the Conchords have inter-relations with David Bowie? This...

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In an interview with Musicrader.com Satriani stresses that he was motivated by a desire to protect his art.

"Everybody's assumes I'm trying to go after these guys in Coldplay, as if I'm doing this with malice," he says "That's the furthest thing from my mind. I'm just doing what I need to do as an artist, to protect what's mine, to protect those feelings I put down in song.

"I did everything I could to avoid a court case with this situation. But Coldplay didn't want to talk about it. They just wanted this whole thing to go away. Maybe they figured this little guitar player guy will leave them alone after a while, I don't know.

Now at this point I would love to include the video that was posted on YouTube that compared to two tracks so that you could have a listen for yourself, and make up your own mind, but that's a little difficult for me to do now because EMI, who happen to be the Coldplay's record company, have asked that YouTube to remove it. So instead of the comparison video, and nice little mashup at the end, you get this message:

This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by EMI Music

EMI don't seem to have a problem with the massive number of other Coldplay videos on YouTube so conspiracy theorists can read into this how they like. Would the record company remove the clip if that didn't think there was anything in it?

In any case, here's the music video for Coldplay's Viva La Vida.

... and here's Satriani's If I Could Fly.

Now having heard the mashup version, that's no longer online, I can say that in my opinion that they matched up quite nicely, and that Coldplay should offer Satriani a permanent spot in their lineup.

For the music geeks, here's some music theory that compares the two tricks. If nothing else, it's an interesting clip.

The Joe Satriani affair isn't the first plagiarism allegation leveled at Coldplay mind you. In mid 2008, New York based band the Creaky Boards

Now, if Satriani is successful in his case against Coldplay, where does that leave the Creaky Boards?

The allegations levelled against Coldplay are even more interesting when you view them in light of a 16 June 2005 interview with Rolling Stone and comments made by Chris Martin on the success of the band:

"We're definitely good, but I don't think you can say we're that original," he notes. "I regard us as being incredibly good plagiarists."

In another article from ContactMusic.com, Coldplay guitarist Jonny Buckland was asked about similarities between the song "Fix You" and the Elbow track "Grace Under Pressure".

"We’ve never so directly stolen off anyone before. We’ve never paid for our plagiarism."

I wonder if Coldplay will go on to make frank admissions like these in the court room?

Which ever side of the fence you sit on, there's no denying that this case will be an interesting one to follow.

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I guess that's why I was surprised to find myself drawn into the hype around Chinese Democracy.

Any album that takes 14-15 years to make has to be worth a listen, if for no other reason than to see if it was worth the wait, and the expense.

To be honest, I can't see Chinese Democracy as being a Guns 'n' Roses album. To me, it's an Axl Rose solo project. He's clearly surrounded himself with some of the best hired guns that money can buy. Robin Finck and Buckethead are two names that spring to mind, and two reasons why I decided to give the album a shot. When I popped the disc into the player, I have to say I was expecting the tracks to have a more 'industrial' tinge to them, based upon the 'Oh My God' track that popped up on the 'End of Days' soundtrack.

While all the hype pointed to a sample laden, prog style rock extravaganza, Chinese Democracy does not quite go that far. Many of the tracks are traditional guitar rock, introduced by some loops or samples, with some piano thrown in for good measure. Actually, far to much piano. A few tracks leave you wondering if Axl was trying to recapture the November Rain vibe.

Here's a track by track, blow by blow run down.

1. Chinese Democracy
Fade in intro and samples run for a solid minute before the song gets cracking. Might build anticipation on first listen, but is just plain annoying the next time you want to listen to the song. Once the guitars kick in though its a solid heavy rock track. 7/10

2. Shackler's Revenge

This track sounds like it was heavily influenced by Buckethead. There's a driving industrial vibe to the track and it'd rate as one of my favorites off the album. It's more like I'd expected the album to sound. 8.5/10

3. Better

I don't know what to think about this track. It verges on pop, has a catchy hook, has a tasty guitar solo, but still leaves me feeling a little 'blah'. 7/10

4. Street of Dreams

Of all the tracks on the album this would be the one that sounds most like traditional Guns 'n' Roses to me. It has a Use Your Illusion vibe to it, blues inspired guitar solo, unlike the shred provided on some other tracks. In saying that, it sounds like a Use Your Illusion out-take. 5.5/10

5. If the World

A bit more sampling and piano, almost prog-rock in places. The term 'over blown' comes to mind. One track I now find myself skipping. 3/10

6. There was a Time

The longest track on the album, padded out by multiple guitar solos, and filled out with some orchestral stuff as well. I'm not sure exactly who is playing what guitar solo wise, although based on the quantity and variances in style I'd say nearly everyone that picked up a guitar on the project had a crack at cutting loose. Entertaining. 7.5/10

7. Catcher in the Rye

Axl crooning over a fairly standard rock progression, complete with sing-a-long 'na na na' chorus, so everyone can get involved. Everything about this song is an out of the box cliche. I'd suggest this track was post-Buckethead. 4.5/10

8. Scraped

Another out of the box stock standard track. It doesn't suck but doesn't blow me away either. 4.5/10

9. Riad n' The Bedouins

Opens with a vocal line that reminds me a little of Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song'. A faster paced track that kicks along nicely. A welcome gear shift following the previous two tracks. 7/10

10. Sorry

One of the stronger songs on the album. Slower paced, sludge style riff. Perhaps the only negative is that at over six minutes, the track goes just that little bit to long. 7/10

11. I.R.S.

Another track that can almost sit with some of the older Guns 'n' Roses material. Salvaged from mediocrity by some tidy guitar work. 7/10

12. Madagascar

This track has something for everyone including some orchestral stuff and a nice middle section. One of my favorites on the album. 8/10

13. This I Love

A piano driven ballad. I'm not so into the ballads. If I want piano I'll whack on the Dresden Dolls or Fiona Apple. 5/10

14. Prostitute

Is it actually a song about a prostitute? Who cares? It's got a soaring hook to the chorus, has an epic vibe, and is a fitting bookend to the album. The chorus sounds like it would fit quite well over the opening credits of a James Bond film actually. 8/10

In summary

It's really not fair to compare Chinese Democracy to any of the previous Guns 'n' Roses albums, largely due to the fact that this is not the same band. It's Axl Rose with some top class hired guns. With that said, Rose seems to have invited comparisons by choosing to release this under the Guns 'n' Roses banner, and in that regard, probably hasn't don't this release any favors. Lets be honest, there's nothing on this album that stands up against tracks like Sweet Child 'O Mine, Welcome to the Jungle or November Rain. Some of the tracks feel like they wouldn't be out of place on the Use Your Illusion albums, but if they made the cut they wouldn't be stand out tracks.

Overall, Chinese Democracy doesn't suck, but it's not unforgettable either. Overall it scores 6.5/10.

What would you rate Chinese Democracy?
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

This Binary Universe, an experimental album by Brian Transeau (aka BT), includes a track entitled "1.618" in homage to the golden ratio. The track features musical versions of the ratio and the accompanying video displays various animated versions of the golden mean.

Pearl Drums positions the air vents on its Masters Premium models based on the golden ratio. The company claims that this arrangement improves bass response and has applied for a patent on this innovation.

Now follow me, as we look at how modern day songs can be dissected via maths.

Firstly, let's take a look at how Meatloaf's "Anything for Love" can be broken down in graphical format.

Here's another simple graph, highlighting the simplicity of the Kelis classic.

I wouldn't classify Rick Astley as math metal, but maybe I've been wrong all these years.

Right Said Fred, broken down into percentage of sexy.

Ok, this isn't strictly maths, but it's a flow chart, surely that's very close to maths?

Another, not really maths, but maybe you could call it a bizarro Venn diagram or something.

And finally, Evita for dummies.

That is all. Have a good day.

If you dig it, digg it.

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I've ordered the double cd set, and in doing so got the 'one time' link to download the entire album in mp3 (320kbps) format.

First impressions are that it's a solid, ambient/atmospheric collection of instrumentals, that sound like they could have quite comfortably come from the Fragile recording sessions.

The 36 track collections is available for immediate download from Amazon.com. You can download Ghosts I-IV in its entirity for $5! That's a freakin good deal!

Click here to listen to samples or order Ghosts I-IV