Ripper Owens (Yngwie Malmsteen/ Beyond Fear / Judas Priest/Iced Earth): "Well, this might be the most metal X mas moment!! But I did get some bad gifts in the past, My Aunt Becky would always give me some kind of board game, and it was one you never heard of, some cheap discount stupid game, every year.. Socks please, not another damn board game."

Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot): "A dancing, singing Elvis Presley. It was clearly not the 'King' of gifts. I took it out back and shot it when the ON/OFF switch broke and it wouldn't stop singing 'Ain't Nothing But A Hound Dog.....'"

Geoff Tate (Queensryche): "My worst Christmas gift ever was a 'potty putter'.... a golf set for practicing you putting while using the toilet."

Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio): "A push bike when I was 7 years old. It arrived without handle bars, ouch!!"

Q: Are you planning to make a Stone Temple Pilots album now that you've toured?
Weiland: "I don't know how things are going to go with STP. It was sad to find out that we're still in some way locked into a contract with Atlantic Records, which is a travesty, actually. When we signed to them it was a great label. It was a beautiful time in music. Now if you say, 'We're going to do this song as the first single,' they go, 'OK, we're going to do some radio testing.' What the ... ?

If the Rolling Stones, U2 and Aerosmith can make the Hot Dance Club Play chart, why not AC/DC? The Anglo-Australian rockers made their first appearance on the dance list this week with "Rock N Roll Train," which rolled onto the survey at No. 48. They also beat Metallica on a much more relevant chart

Ozzfest and Aliens, maybe that explains some of Sharon's strange lineup picks? The History Channel debuted an episode of UFO Hunters October 29th that featured one of the best-documented UFO "sightings" to date. It took place August 21st, 2004, when fans were leaving an OzzFest concert that took place at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Ill. more

Guns N' Roses long awaited "Chinese Democracy" is now out. On Friday our friends over at MusicRadar offered up their no-holds-barred review of the effort. Warning: hardcore Axl fans should not click here to read the review. Those fans should instead read Billboard's review or even this one. And for a more balanced look at the CD, our friend Nightwatcher delivers in a big way. Check out his review here.

Michael Jackson will not be appearing in a London court as expected on Monday after the U.S. pop star reached a settlement "in principle" with a Bahraini prince suing him for reneging on a recording contract.more

Speaking of the Jackson clan: The Federal Communications Commission has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the indecency case over Janet Jackson's breast-baring performance at the 2004 Super Bowl.more

Simple Minds embark on their "30th Anniversary Tour" at the Manchester MEN Arena on Thursday November 27th. The tour will see the band perform their landmark 1982 album "New Gold Dream" in its entirety for the very first time. more

Guns N' Roses fans in China will have to go underground to get their hands on a copy of the band's first album in 17 years, "Chinese Democracy," which was released worldwide on Sunday. more

A Vatican newspaper has forgiven the late English singer John Lennon for saying four decades ago that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.more

Gwen Stacy has amicably parted ways with vocalist, Bobby Oakley. "After a year of touring with Gwen Stacy, Bobby has decided to step down. He has decided that his heart is no longer with being in a touring band. He's off to finish his degree in graphic design and spend time with loved ones."more

The future of Indianapolis metal band Year Of Desolation is apparently in some doubt, as the group hasn't even practiced together in over six months. Read the update from guitar player John Hehman.

Red I Flight is now in search of a guitar player and a drummer. Want the gig? Details are here

Odin, the classic Los Angeles band featuring Jeff Duncan (Armored Saint, Dc4), Shawn Duncan (DC4), Aaron Samson and Randy O, will release a new 18-song compilation in January 2009. more. Weren't they supposed to commit suicide if they didn't become bigger than Led Zeppelin?

On the net, rumor has it that RCA has dropped Velvet Revolver. Slash says that while it is true that VR is no longer with RCA, the truth is not as negative as the rumor.

The band owed RCA money for a third album which at this time they are unable to produce (no singer). The band and RCA parted amicably.

The suit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, was filed by Barker and the mother of Charles "Che" Still, Travis' bodyguard who died in the crash.

In the lawsuit, Travis and Thelma Martin Still claim "one or more of the tires failed leaving tire debris and portions of airplane components along the 8,600 foot runway" ultimately causing the Learjet to crash.

But two crucial events changed the course of Rose's career: Sanctuary's buyout; and Rose finding his way to the management fold of music heavyweight Irving Azoff and longtime hard-rock mastermind Andy Gould. Universal was in a position to sweep away all of Rose's disputes at once, and Azoff was keen to deal�as it turned out, the number to remember in the Chinese Democracy saga isn't 17, but 360.

Word is it was Azoff who initiated the push to resolve all the issues at once, in a negotiation led on the Universal side by the corporation's president, Zach Horowitz�though who was leveraging who depends on who you ask.

The professor, Charles Nesson, has come to the defense of a Boston University graduate student targeted in one of the music industry's lawsuits. By taking on the case, Nesson hopes to challenge the basis for the suit, and all others like it.

Flanked by some serious security, the self-proclaimed King of the South took the stand Friday as a witness for the prosecution in the murder trial of an Ohio man accused of killing a member of T.I.'s entourage�and the rapper told a packed courtroom that he believed he was the intended target.

The baby boy weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 20� inches. "Proud new parents Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz welcomed new son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz, late this evening," a rep for the new mom told E! News.

"Ashlee, Pete and baby Bronx are all healthy and happy, and thank everyone for their well wishes!"

The creative teams behind the videos are Tobias Stretch from the US for "Weird Fishes;" the German team of Wolfgang Jaiser and Claus Winter for "Videotape" and Kota Totori from Japan for "15 Step."