Ray Manzarek, one of the founding members of The Doors, whose keyboard and organ sounds were as much of a signature sound for the band as was lead singer Jim Morrison’s attitudinal and poetic lead singing, has died at the age of 74 in Rosenheim, Germany after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer reports Rolling Stone.

The Doors were and remain one of the premier American rock and roll bands to come out of California in the 1960s. Like The Beach Boys, the band is pretty much synonymous with the California lifestyle, but very unlike the Beach Boys, they were like the solarized version of them, expressing musically about darkness, early gothic nightmarish tales of love, political awareness, death and doomy styles that were punctuated by music which was deep rooted in the blues and something else actually, something indescribable at the time. A sound that was all their own, which was created by Morrison’s shamanic lizard king posturing, the jazzy yet tight bottom ended drumming of John Densmore, the buried in the delta swampy fretwork of Robby Krieger, and the horrorshow carnivalesque feel from the hands of Ray Manzarek who flawlessly played his instrument (and sometimes even played the bass parts on the organ as well). [...]

For those of you who wished that your favorite (or not so favorite) songs could have the beats of the late, great Led Zeppelin big-drummer-boy with the thundersticks John Bonham affixed to it, the wait is over. There is a website called The Bonhamizer that will allow a user to upload any song, and it will automatically sort of “cyberpaste” a John Bonham style beat over the existing one. [...]

This week marks the 36th anniversary of the David Bowie single “Sound and Vision,” the delectable slice of synthesized, bass-heavy power pop, which appeared on Bowie’s Low album and remains a fan and critic favorite in the expansive Bowie catalog.

Since its release, there have been various cover versions of the song. Its latest one comes from eclectic singer/songwriter Beck, who reimagines the tune in a full-on, orchestrated and rather over the top amplified version as part of his Lincoln Now 360 Experience. Check out that video here below [...]

A major step in the right direction of finally showcasing music groups that aren’t of the extreme norm or voted in by backslapping politics has finally come to fruition in Cleveland, Ohio today as Rush, the Canadian trio whose progressive rock sounds have been thrilling and tantalizing generations of audiences mostly on cult fringes since their debut album in 1974, has finally have been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

No other band in the entire history of the hall has sported the kind of controversy and division like Rush has in terms of entry to the Hall. For the most part, Rush has been anything but critically lauded throughout its tenure as a band, which is still promoting and touring its latest album Clockwork Angels, their 19th studio release. Fans, however, have seen this differently, scoffing at pseudo-highbrow critics who they pretty much have ascertained have no clue what they are talking about when it comes to the amazing, gymnastically musical elasticity of the sounds and styles of Rush.

ABC News reports that along with Rush, the class of 2013 includes Academy Award-winning singer/songwriter Randy Newman; original purveyors of hip hop Public Enemy; the late disco queen Donna Summer, who died earlier this year; the Wilson sisters-led hard rocking ensemble Heart; and “Born Under A Bad Sign” blues guitarist Albert King. Quite an eclectic mix of artists for sure [...]

The t-shirt deal of the day over at RIPT Apparel is the Jetsons-inspired “Greetings From Sunny Orbit City.”

The tee, by artist Andy Hunt, went on sale at RIPT today, Sunday, January 16, 2011, at midnight CST, and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it will not be sold on the site anymore.

The t-shirt is available in men’s and women’s sizes in red for $10 each. Kids sizes are $15 (Boys, Girls, and Toddler, all in red); Onesies are $18 (in red). You can also get the design on a Hoodie for $38 (in red in Men/Unisex sizes).[...]

Rachel Weisz joins Peter Jackson’s Lovely Bones; Matthew Vaughn to direct Thor movie, William Hurt hunts The Hulk; Stargate Atlantis gets Firefly actress and possible spin-off, Supergirl flies to Smallville, Jericho returns to CBS, and much more!

Luke Goss Joins ‘Hellboy 2′ Cast Luke Goss (Blade II) has joined the cast of Hellboy 2: The Golden Army in the role of Prince Nuada, a ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below, defying his bloodline to awaken an unstoppable army of creatures.  

The Coen Brothers have two new movies coming; ‘Bridge to Terabithia’ director to do ‘The Moon Princess’ next; Kirsten Dunst; ‘Death Race’; ‘The Batman’; ‘The Incredible Hulk’; ‘The I Scream Man’.

News Bytes: Sami Raimi, Chow Yun-Fat, Clive Owen, David Arquette, and much more!

Tim Burton, Speed Racer, Tom Cruise, Bryan Singer

Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Watchmen, Pirates 3, and much more!

The Stargate Universe gets the MMO treatment, Vista gets live gaming, Dell goes green (really), and more.

Captain America, Star Trek XI, Rush, Dr. Who, Futurama, and much more!

Check out a trailer for Simon Pegg‘s (Shawn of the Dead) upcoming film Run, Fatboy, Run over at firstshowings.net [Link] Gizmodo sez there’s a good chance that next month Apple Inc. will be releasing Black 24-inch iMacs, Mac Pros with 8-Core processors, updated 15-inch MacBooks, and a new line of Cinema displays. [Link] Jet Li [...]

Tricia Helfer, Heroes, Frank Frazetta, Harry Potter, and much more!