Bronze Age Babies Bulletins: Free Starlog and Graffiti is Back

Karen: Just passing this on: Starlog magazine, that wonderful source of so much sci-fi/fantasy info for many of us back when the internet was just a gleam in a DARPA scientist's eye, has made all of their issues available for download. You heard me right. Any issue you want to get your hands on, you can! Just go to this site: https://archive.org/details/starlogmagazine and check out all the great articles from over the years.

Karen: This week the latest Led Zeppelin remaster came out: Physical Graffiti, almost 40 years since the original release. These have been uneven releases -some of the bonus material has included out-takes that sound barely different from the songs we know so well. In this case, the bonus disc has a few surprises; still not the live performances one might have craved (only the Led Zeppelin first album remaster has had that so far), but these rough versions of familiar songs are worth a listen. "Sick Again" is only instrumental, with no vocal track, and the opening sounds a bit different. The version of "Houses of the Holy" proves the old adage of less is more, as it is burdened with both a clunky cowbell part and weird backing vocals. An early version of "Into the Light," titled "Everybody Makes it Through," sounds almost like a different song, with what might be a harpsichord playing a prominent role. But beyond the bonus material, this is a great album, one of their best, and it sounds wonderful. With songs like "Kashmir," "Ten Years Gone," and "Boogie with Stu," it's an example of Zep's versatility and talent.