European’s earliest ancestors were playing musical instruments and showing artistic creativity more than 40,000 years ago, a study has shown.

Evidence of the musicians was unearthed in Germany in the form of primitive flutes made from bird bones and mammoth ivory.

A new system of fossil dating confirmed the age of animal bones excavated in the same rock layers as the instruments and examples of early art.

The bones, probably the remains of meals, bore cuts and marks from hunting and eating.

The finds, described in the Journal of Human Evolution, are from Geissenkloesterle Cave in the Swabian Jura region of southern Germany.

They show that the Aurignacian culture, a way of living linked with early modern humans, existed at the site between 42,000 and 43,000 years ago.

It suggests that some of the first ‘modern’ humans to arrive in central Europe had a musical bent.

Professor Nick Conard, from Tubingen University in Germany, who took part in the excavation, said:

“These results are consistent with a hypothesis we made several years ago that the Danube River was a key corridor for the movement of humans and technological innovations into central Europe between 40,000 to 45,000 years ago.”

“Geissenkloesterle is one of several caves in the region that has produced important examples of personal ornaments, figurative art, mythical imagery and musical instruments. The new dates prove the great antiquity of the Aurignacian in Swabia.”

The results indicate that modern humans entered the Upper Danube region before an extremely cold climatic phase around 39,000-40,000 years ago.

Previously, experts had argued that modern humans only migrated up the Danube immediately after this event.

Professor Tom Higham, from Oxford University, who led the team that dated the bones, said: ‘Modern humans during the Aurignacian period were in central Europe at least 2,000-3,000 years before this climatic deterioration, when huge icebergs calved from ice sheets in the northern Atlantic and temperatures plummeted.

‘The question is what effect this downturn might have had on the people in Europe at the time.’

Rob Waugh
Daily Mail 

NEW YORK — Days after Howard Stern made his “America’s Got Talent” debut, Fox has announced a change-up to the ever-popular “American Idol” music program. Also plucking talent from the Sirius/XM satellite radio roster, the program will be adding the titular shock-jock duo of “The Opie & Anthony Show,” Gregg “Opie” Hughes and Anthony Cumia, along with co-host Jim Norton, as the new three-judge panel.

The show has caused much controversy over the years, even when it was on terrestrial radio. From falsely claiming the mayor of Boston was dead to allowing a man known as “Homeless Charlie” to wildly rant on topics including sexual advances toward Condoleezza Rice, the three have given networks plenty of reasons not to trust them. But according to Fox, that’s exactly what they’re looking for in the show’s new direction.

“They are exactly what we need,” said a source close to the show. “Opie and Anthony will bring not only a brutal honesty, but a chance to match the talent of the singers with humor that everyone will tune in for.”

However, Fox maintains that the move only comes from a need to “refresh” the show and galvanize its fanbase with new opinions and faces — not an attempt to copy NBC’s decision to bring Stern aboard. The “Opie & Anthony” fanbase, also known as “The Pests,” are split on their reaction.

“I think it’s a terrible idea,” said user ChipChipperson37, on the popular forum for the show, Wackbag. “There going to be so limited in what they can say. And any sincere reaction is just going to come off as a bit. Awful.”

Other fans say that before the show hit satellite radio, it was already under FCC strict regulations, which means that the team will not have any problems being funny on the Fox network. Though no other official announcements have been made, rumors are swirling that Anthony himself will perform weekly, holding any given piece from his extensive gun collection. It is unknown whether or not host Ryan Seacrest will stay.

“We’re very excited for the possibility of a new demographic coming to the program,” said one source close to Fox. “We just hope the guys can stay out of trouble.”

No similar plans have been made for NBC’s singing-only competition show, “The Voice.”

ROME –  Thousands of Romans are fleeing in fear of a devastating earthquake  forecast for May 11th.

For months Italian internet sites, blogs and social networks have been debating the work of Raffaele Bendandi, who claimed to have forecast numerous earthquakes and, predicted a “big one” in Rome on May 11.

The national television network RAI has run programs aimed at calming rising panic among Romans. The civil protection agency has issued statements reiterating the official scientific view that earthquakes can’t be predicted.

Yet many residents of the Eternal City aren’t listening.

“I’m going to tell the boss I’ve got a medical appointment and take the day off,” barman Fabio Mengarelli told Reuters. “If I have to die I want to die with my wife and kids, and masses of people will do the same as me.”

Chef Tania Cotorobai also said she would be taking a day off in the country. “I don’t know if I really believe it but if you look at the internet you see everything and the opposite of everything, and it end up making you nervous,” she said.

Memories are still vivid of the 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila, which killed more than 300 people and was also felt in Rome.

On that occasion controversy also swirled around a scientist, Giampaolo Giuliani, who in the preceding days tried to warn the local population of an imminent quake — though officials say he was wrong about its precise location.

Bendandi, who died in 1979 aged 86, believed earthquakes were the result of the combined movements of the planets, the moon and the sun and were perfectly predictable.

In 1923 he forecast a quake would hit the central Adriatic region of the Marches on January 2 the following year. He was wrong by two days but Italy’s main newspaper Corriere della Sera still ran a front page article on “The man who forecasts earthquakes.”

Bendandi’s fame grew and in 1927 he was awarded a knighthood by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. During his long career his theories were studied by several prominent foreign astronomers.

However the current panic appears to be due more to fear-mongering in the age of internet than to Bendandi himself.

Paola Lagorio, the president of an association dedicated to Bendandi and which preserves all his manuscripts, says they make no reference to any earthquake around Rome in 2011.

Many Catholics are concerned that The Vatican will be destroyed. The Pope is doing everything he can to stop the earthquake:

The new Michael Jackson song, BREAKING NEWS, was released today!

Is it real?  Is it fake?

Michael Jackson’s new song, “BREAKING NEWS,” was released today.  The song is a tough look through Michael’s eyes at the media. In essence, he is saying … “You’ve treated me bad and you’ve hope for my demise, but I’m back!”

Some of the lyrics:

“They want to see that I fall,
cause I’m Michael Jackson.
You write the words to destroy
like it’s a weapon.”

In another part of the song, Jackson sings:

Everybody wanting a piece of Michael Jackson.
Reporters stalking the moves of Michael Jackson.
Just when you thought he was done,
he comes to give it again.

The song is vintage Jackson – with a strong beat and  all sorts of MJ trademarks throughout.

The song was recorded at the Franklin Lakes, New Jersey home of music producer Eddie Cascio, when Michael Jackson was living there for four months in 2007.

As good as the song is … it’s not the first single that will be released. We’re told we might be able to post a copy of  “Breaking News” on TMZ as soon as late tonight.

Check it out… What do YOU think?  Real or fake?

HEAR THE WHOLE SONG HERE!

Here’s a preview of the song:

LAS VEGAS -  DJ Alien brought the house down at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas on Sunday.

DJ Liza Q  was working her magic at Rain nightclub at the top of the Palms Hotel, a mile off the strip in Las Vegas, when a man who she thought was dressed up like an alien pushed her aside and took over the DJ duties.  “I just thought he was just another dude dressed up for the night, ” said DJ Liza Q.  “But that wasn’t the case at all.”

Rain typically has people in weird costumes, black lights, glow sticks dancing on the floor.  But this alien was real… there was no costume.  He just started spinning records in the dark, sexy night club.  The crowd seemed to go into a trance and everyone was dancing, everyone.”It was the craziest sh*t I’ve ever seen.  DJ Alien was tight!”, said Garrin McCrary.  “It started out with a booming bass, but then we all heard this real high-pitched sound and…that’s what took us all away.”

Later in the night, some club goers complained about sores in their abdomens and heads.  “I told my friends, that DJ Alien put a spell on us all and then had his buddies abduct us and do experiments on us. My butt is sore,” said Nick Roy.   He kept telling his friends he was the victim of an alien anal probe.

“Oh please, his butt is sore because he kept slamming it on the dance floor,” said Roy’s girlfriend, Vanessa.  “I think DJ Alien is just an alien that loves beats, loves to throw down.  He’s awesome.”

The manager of Rain nightclub confirmed that DJ Liza Q was pushed aside and that a man who looked like an alien took over, but they would not confirm or deny that DJ Alien is, in fact, an alien. “We keep our employee information confidential.”

Several people who were at the club are still hearing DJ Alien’s “music” several days later.  And Nick Roy still has a sore butt.

DJ Alien will blow your mind…

MISSISSIPPI DELTA -  On the 20th anniversary of his death, Stevie Ray Vaughan was seen at the Crossroads.  He can still play that guitar!

At the famed Crossroad in the Mississippi Delta a local boy was shocked to see the legendary blues guitarist, Stevie Ray Vaughan, playing his heart out.  “He looked like a ghost, but his music sound so real. I’ve never heard a guitarist play like that.  Either he was alive or I was in heaven,” said fourteen-year-old, Caleb Wilson.

Old blues musician Tommy Johnson describe the Crossroads this way:

“If you want to learn how to make songs yourself, you take your guitar and your go to where the road crosses that way, where a crossroads is. Get there be sure to get there just a little ‘ fore 12 that night so you know you’ll be there. You have your guitar and be playing a piece there by yourself…A big black man will walk up there and take your guitar and he’ll tune it. And then he’ll play a piece and hand it back to you. That’s the way I learned to play anything I want.”

Well, Caleb Wilson didn’t see a big black man, but he did see Stevie Ray Vaughan who walked up to him, gave him his guitar and said, “Son, go out there and play.  Music is what will save this world.”  Vaughan then showed Caleb a few blues chords.  Before he disappeared into the Crossroads, Vaughan told Caleb, “son, you are here on this earth to help people, help your brothers, your sisters, your friends, your enemies.  That’s what life is about:  helping each other, not hurting each other. “  Then Vaughan was gone.

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the death of the singer and blues guitar legend.  The Grammy-winner died in a helicopter crash Aug. 27, 1990. He is buried in his hometown of Oak Cliff, Texas on the outskirts of Dallas.  Jeff Castro, an Oak Cliff resident who co-founded an annual tribute motorcycle ride and concert that commemorates Vaughan’s birthday (October 3) has long been lobbying for a memorial.

According  to the Dallas Morning News, Castro approached the city about a statue and fountain in Kiest Park, where Vaughan hung out as a kid.  But Castro was turned town because there are other plans for a permanent collection of Stevie Ray Vaughan memorabilia.

A street in Dallas was going to be renamed in honor of Stevie Ray Vaughan, but instead the city chose to name the street Riverfront.  Vaughan was always proud of being from Oak Cliff, said a Vaughan biographer Craig Hopkins.  “Ever after he went to Austin.”

Caleb Wilson is a fan now… and in a couple of years, you’re going to hear another guitar legend emerge from the Mississippi Delta.   And maybe one day, you’ll be lucky enough to catch Stevie at the Crossroads…

Here’s Stevie doing two Hendrix covers:

And here’s Stevie doing Texas Flood:

BEIJING, CHINA – China threatens military action for having songs downloaded illegally by “imperialist West.”  

Chinese President Hu Jintao took the floor of China’s Parliament yesterday to decry illegal music sharing.  “This is an outrage, and such illegality must be stopped at all costs!”  He continued that if Chinese property, intellectual or otherwise, continued to be stolen China would defend herself with military force if necessary.

While delivering this missive a junior representative from the Hunan province raised his hand to speak up.  “With all due respect Mr. President, but since when does the People’s Republic of China honor the bourgeoisie copyright laws of other countries?”  The collection of more seasoned statesmen sat stunned at the novice who did not know.

Hu has been in an outrage ever since a love song he wrote and performed for his wife was stolen by a Tibetan hacker and distributed across the net.  The MP3 has since been widely circulated on college campuses under the title “Worst. Song. Ever.”  Hu appears to have taken this personally.

The President ignored the young man and continued.  “Taking from the great Motherland will not be tolerated, in any capacity!  China will defend what is hers by whatever means is necessary!  We will purchase their record labels and sue them from within the system!  We will invade their shores with the world’s greatest army and take every college campus by force!  Our peace keepers will patrol their dorm rooms and monitor their computers to weed this indecency out!  They will not be able to take what is rightfully ours!  We will patrol the streets and anyone sharing music by playing it too loudly will be prosecuted and shipped into forced labor camps!”

Again the junior representative from Hunan province meekly raised his hand.  He asked “But sir, isn’t sharing of goods and intellectual property in keeping with Communist ideals?”  A fight immediately broke out on the floor of Parliament.

There is no word yet on when the Chinese government will meet again.  Several representatives are in the hospital with broken ribs and third degree paper cuts.  Hu Jintao is taking a brief sabbatical to calm down after killing three party members with his bare hands and beheading one with the use of a folding chair.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Lindsay Lohan needs counseling, not a restraining order.

After an eventful and dramatic evening at the Chateau Marmont on Friday, the Ronson family is placing a restraining order on Ms. Lohan.

Lohan, Samantha Ronsons ex-girlfriend, has gone insane! Samantha’s family held an intervention last week to express their deep concern while encouraging Sam to stay clear of the “drug-induced” Lohan.

Insiders from the Beverly Hills Police Department overheard Ronson’s mother and sister, designer Charlotte, talking to a clerk Monday afternoon about how to “send a message” to Lohan to inform her of the nasty news.
The BHPD clerk apparently told the duo that a restraining order would be the “best option.” If Lindsay “violates it, then she gets taken away.”

Charlotte had nothing but wonderful words to say about Lohan. “She does these things to get attention… She was trying to get into my party this weekend. We had had to tell security to keep her out. Then she booked a room at the Chateau Marmont. Her room was right below [us]… She also followed our brother Mark around.”
“Lindsay was doing drugs,” Ann continued. “She got up illegally to our room… She does these acts of public humiliation. It is all for attention,” Charlotte continued.

Is Lindsay really trying that hard to fit in with the Ronson family? We think Lohan needs to spend some quality time with PhD Ape. His insight and inspiration will surely straighten her up and get her back on the right track!
PhD Ape is the answer – NOT a fourth time at rehab.

http://perezhilton.com/2009-04-07-ronson-family-to-file-restraining-order-against-lohan

ULRICH, Calif. — Scary things happen on stage whenever the death metal band Hemorrhage plays live. But last week’s concert at Hetfield’s “Gore Grotto” nightclub was the scariest so far, according to Hemorrhage drummer Ulf Skaarsgund.

“We were just getting into my solo on ‘Devil’s Catheter,’ ” said the shaken percussionist, “when the hi-hat cymbals snapped shut on my hand. Then the drum throne lowered me so that my neck fell right under the 500-pound brass gong hanging from my drum set.”

Skaarsgund heard a sinister, execution-style drumroll from the set, and twisted himself out of the way moments before the massive gong fell from its supports. Skaarsgund’s story is only one of a rash of reports from drummers being trapped in snare drums, bludgeoned by rogue woodblocks or worse. After millennia of being beaten, drums are finally taking a stand against their human players.

Last week, a drum and bugle corps commemorating the Civil War Battle of Sepsis Hill in Stumpsburg, Md., survived only by bayoneting their own bass drum, which rolled along the historic battlefield, injuring several band members. So far, no deaths have been reported in the attacks.

“Unless you count comedians,” said Bernie Weisen, a stand-up comic from Ulster County, N.Y. “My rim shots have fallen silent. Without them, I’m dying every night.”

The U.S. Army Signal Corps has been trying to talk back to the drums — using Morse code and ancient snare-drum military signals — but to no avail.

“The drums are obviously under the control of some outside force,” said University of Drumbrell, Ireland, musicologist Patrick Fitz. “I don’t think it’s a haunted piano like I read about in your newspaper. It’s more like payback from some modern-day music lover who really, really, really hates contemporary music, which is really just a lot of noise.

“Maybe it’s someone with a spell-casting Druidic heritage who wants to return to an age when beating a drum or ringing a bell had dignity and religious significance.”

Whatever the cause, drummers everywhere are afraid to play their instruments. And with drum machines having stopped working in support of their brethren, musicians have had to change their song arrangements. Hemorrhage and others have been experimenting with rocks to provide a backbeat.

“It’s clumsy and it gives new meaning to ‘rock’ and roll and ‘heavy,’ ” Skaarsgund said. “It makes you want to bang your head against a wall.” He added, “Hey — maybe that’s not such a bad idea.”