In honor of Van Halen being nominated to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, we give you this, a video of prime Van Halen in 1981 playing "Unchained" at the Oakland Arena. If we remember correctly, this was an actual video MTV would occasionally air. Yeah, R.E.M was nominated too and we would have played one of their videos, but we couldn't find one with a shirtless, boot wearing Michael Stipe leaping off the drum riser as Bill Berry hits a giant gong behind the drum kit as the gong shoots off flames. more ›

We've been reading Shout magazine, which you can pick up for free at Amoeba, for the last two issues. Granted, we've known one of the photographers for nearly ten years. So when he called and asked if we wanted to assist on a shoot, with Afrika Bambaataa, we had to cancel a few plans. Sorry, friends, but it's not every day you get a chance to meet one of your heroes. more ›