As Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Sex Pistols and others are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tonight, we’re wondering how important such an institution is in a time when a “Top 100 Fill-In-The-Blank Bands Of All Time” list pops up every time we turn on the television. After all, the best AP writer David Bauder can do is to masquerade this mash note to Debbie Harry as a news story about the ceremony. more ›

First, a correction: Earlier this month, Chicagoist suggested that some of the bands scheduled to play Taste of Chicago were one or two years away from playing a state fair. In Lynyrd Skynyrd’s case, we were incorrect. Lynyrd Skynyrd will be playing the Illinois State Fair this year. more ›

According to Robert Feder in this morning's Sun-Times, WXRT (93.1) will air the new U2 album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb repeatedly for 12 hours starting at 9:45 AM this morning. Woah. Talk about an easy day at work for Terri Hemmert and Co. It's all part of a day-long celebration on XRT called U2'sDay. Um, they do know it's THURSday today, right? And wouldn't this have been a better feature in ROCKtober? Anyway, if you're looking for a full track listing so you can follow along today, check out U2's official site under News and look for the post from October 24th (don't get confused; those crazy Europeans list the date at 24.10.2004). Feder credits this coup to Winer's acquisition of a legal advanced copy of the album. more ›