zeppelin

Crave 22: Smell my moon dust (podcast)

This week on Crave, a low-tech robot makes Donald excited...or sad. No, excited. No, sad. Either way, its bulbous hand is sure to provide minutes of entertainment. Also, we chime in on a high-fashion biking helmet from Sweden and find out what the moon smells like (Eric is disappointed it's not cheese). Plus, an R2-D2 swimsuit falls flat on the sexiness scale, super shimmery batteries catch Jasmine's eye, and a Hello Kitty Smart car brings the rave full circle--as does the iPhone soap that smells like sausage. Or maybe it's the faux-nut from ThisIsWhyYou'reFat that does it. Either way, you're in for a treat (and it might be a pizza pop).

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Crave 21: Do robots count? (podcast)

This week on Crave, Donald and Eric go gaga for a robot that sings and dances, provoking the question: does it count as an extramarital affair if the woman in question is made of metal and microchips? Also, we take a look at a cozy Jedi bathrobe that would make a great gift for the man in your life, and Jasmine sings the praises of a stylish gadget bag for the ladies. (Donald, meanwhile, susses out its kid-friendliness.) Then, Old Man Donald goes on a crazy rant inspired by popular mobile game Angry Birds, which enjoyed 2 million downloads in just over two days on the Android platform. Finally, a very special This Is Why You're Fat probably won't make you fat at all...but it's still pretty gross.

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Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White turn it up to '11'

"It Might Get Loud" is definitely one of the best rock documentaries I've seen in a while. Thankfully, it doesn't have a narrator spouting somber lines about the importance of it all. You don't have to suffer through inserted clips of celebrities and other musicians babbling about how great Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White are.

The filmmakers cover the three guitar greats individually doing their things, but the film is at its best when the musicians get together on a film sound stage to talk shop and jam.

There's a great little … Read more

Does B&W's new Zeppelin Mini deliver?

Back in 2007, Bowers & Wilkins brought out the uniquely styled Zeppelin iPod speaker, which we described in our review as being every bit as sophisticated as Apple's iconic player, with detailed sound that largely lived up to B&W's high-end reputation. That Zeppelin remains on the market, but now it's got a smaller, less expensive--and more subdued-looking--sibling called the Zeppelin Mini.

While the $400 Mini is less determined to stick out, it's still a sleekly styled speaker with a swiveling, pedestal-like stand and a mirrored chrome top that's pitched at an angle and … Read more

Phenomenal sounding Oppo Blu-ray/SACD/DVD-A player

Oppo's new BDP-83 player spins just about every type of "silver" disc under the sun: CD, SACD, DVD-Audio, DVD-Video and Blu-ray. Cool!

I brought a stack of SACDs and DVD-A discs to the CNET listening room to check out the BDP-83 with our Denon AVR-3808CI receiver and Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD 5.1 speaker/subwoofer system. I'll cover the high-resolution audio performance of the Oppo here, read Matthew Moskovciak's full CNET review for the rest of the story.

"The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East," recorded on March 12 and 13, 1971, was a trip. Sure, the original mix was stereo, but I loved the way the SACD's 5.1 mix opened up and clarified the sound, especially the band's two drummers, Jai Johanny Johanson and Butch Trucks. The entire rhythm section's dynamics and pulse came alive on SACD, it's more in the background on CD.

On one hand the 5.1 mix is fairly subtle, but the sound's open quality and spaciousness was remarkable. The sense of being in the 2,000 seat concert hall was a thrill that you can't get with stereo. And no, you can't get there by playing stereo in Dolby Pro Logic II, a discrete 5.1 channel mix, if it's any good, will always sound better.

Led Zeppelin's "How the West Was Won" double DVD-A set was very different. How? The band's dynamic energy was even more present and the front three speakers soundstage depth and dimensionality were better than the Allman Brothers' disc. Too bad the bass was thicker and muddier, which was probably the way it sounded at the 1972 Zep shows. I didn't like the surround mix much, mostly because I couldn't understand why Jimmy Page's guitar was sometimes coming out of the surround speakers. Strange. But it's still the best sounding Zeppelin disc I own.… Read more

Guitar heroes dismiss Guitar Hero game

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and The White Stripes' Jack White have taken shots at the popular Guitar Hero video game, according to a report in NME.

Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles on June 19, the two guitarists said "they don't believe video games are an ideal way for people to be exposed to music or learn to play instruments."

As much as I enjoyed Guitar Hero, I have to agree that it's annoying that the game doesn't teach you to play an instrument and depressing that game buyers aren't really interested in the music itself--just how hard the game makes it to play the songs. The silver lining is that bands such as Dragon Force would be even more obscure if it weren't for the game.

"It's depressing to have a label come and tell you that Guitar Hero is how kids are learning about music and experiencing music," White said. He added that although he doesn't try to dictate "which format people should get their music in...if you have to be in a video game to get in front of them, that's a little sad."

Page added that he can't imagine that people are really learning anything significant about playing instruments by playing video games.

"You think of the drum part that John Bonham did on Led Zeppelin's first track on the first album, Good Times Bad Times," he said. "How many drummers in the world can play that part, let alone on Christmas morning?"

… Read more

Maybach: Choice Car of NFL Players

For Day 3 of my look at the cars that NFL stars like to drive, I did a little research, and through various articles I've read and videos I have seen, it seems that the Maybach from Mercedes-Benz is very popular with the well-paid NFL players. Since I am not particularly familiar with the Maybach and its popularity amongst pro athletes, I took it upon myself to find some video featuring the Maybach, and what we got here is a video featuring a new edition of this fancy ride called the Maybach Zeppelin.

This video comes from the good … Read more

World's largest zeppelin dedicated at NASA facility

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif.--NASA celebrated the 75th anniversary of this iconic airfield and research center on Friday by dedicating a brand-new zeppelin from a private company called Airship Ventures.

The zeppelin NT ("new technology"), which is one of just three currently functioning zeppelins that exist in the world, and the biggest, at 246 feet, was named "Eureka," a name that relates to the fact that the ship is based in California, as well as the fact that it is "rooted in scientific principles," said Brian Bell, a co-founder of Airship Ventures, the ship's … Read more

91: Big hybrids dying an ugly death?

Big hybrids are dying an ugly death, GM and Chrysler not married yet, a look at the new Nissan Z, and a ride in the Lexus IS-F. Listen now: Download today's podcast

SHOW NOTES

• Lexus IS-F review & video

• The buttony madness of the Porsche Panamera

• Cheapest car in America. Period.

• Ford's SmartGauge brings dashboards to life

• Check out the new look of the new Z car