Free Republic

The song grabs you in the first two seconds: two shots on an E chord, followed by quarter-note hi-hat hits. You know something big's going to happen. No—it already is happening. At five seconds, the hi-hat hits double into eighth-notes as the E chord shots repeat. At seven seconds, the addition of a swung sixteenth-note (played on cowbell with a brush) signals the imminent, exhilarating plunge into a song you've never heard, but which you now want to hear more than anything else. And at twelve seconds, an authoritative, effortlessly-executed drum fill plunges you into what might be rock and...

It was 40 years ago today that Led ZeppelinÂ’s John Bonham suddenly passed away. The 32-year-old drummer had had a heavy night of 40 shots of vodka, before tragically choking on his own sick. Now his bandmate Jimmy Page has paid tribute to one of rockÂ’s greatest drummers of all time. The 76-year-old posted Led ZeppelinÂ’s first album cover on his Instagram account. Aside from today being the 40th anniversary of BonhamÂ’s death, itÂ’s also the 52nd anniversary of the recording of the bandÂ’s debut album. Page began with some fond memories from 1968 with Led Zeppelin before paying tribute...

Once may be enough for Led Zeppelin as band members reunite for the first time in 19 years at a much-hyped London concert Monday. Some 20 million people competed in an Internet lottery for the 18,000 tickets, priced at 125 pounds (€175, US$250) each, for the show at London's O2 Arena. It has already been postponed a month because of guitarist Jimmy Page's broken finger. Page, 63; John Paul Jones, 61, and Robert Plant, 59 — original members of the band — have recruited drummer Jason Bonham, 41, to take the place of his father, John Bonham, who died in...

Stocks go up and down, but eventually, most go up. So if you invest and hold on, odds are you'll do quite well. As my former Princeton economics professor, Burton Malkiel, told me, "The stock market is like a gambling casino with the odds in your favor. Over the long pull, it beats inflation, and beats it by a great deal."If you want to beat other investors, too, it's logical to think that you should turn to the most visible specialists for advice. These men and women make their living studying stocks, and they sound so confident on CNBC. You'd...

THE WASHINGTON TIMES Outlaw, druggie, Dunhill-smoking, Chivas Regal-drinking, anti-establishment literary icon Hunter S. Thompson committed suicide after becoming depressed about the United States' shift toward conservatism, said one longtime friend who spent the weekend at the Aspen, Colo., home of the late "gonzo" journalist. "He was depressed about the state of society," said Loren Jenkins, foreign editor for National Public Radio in Washington. A vehement opponent of President Bush, Mr. Thompson, 67, "was feeling maudlin about the current conservatism sweeping the country," Mr. Jenkins said. "He felt he'd had a long run, trying to create a freer society in the...