​Los Angeles bands Guns N' Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers top the list of inductees for the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it was announced early Wednesday morning.

Guns N' Roses, later dubbed "The World's Most Dangerous Band," emerged on L.A.'s rock scene in the mid '80s. Within a few years, they ruled the Sunset Strip, albeit with less frosted lipstick and a far more "fuck you" spirit than most hair metal bands. Their seminal 1987 album, Appetite for Destruction, is widely regarded as one of the best rock albums of all time, and is the highest-selling debut album of all time in the U.S. This was the first time the band appeared on the hall's ballot.

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Flickr user Elvissa

​If you purchased event tickets through Ticketmaster between October 21, 1999 and October 19, 2011, you've probably already received an email informing you of the corporation's proposed settlement in a long-standing class action suit.

Originally filed eight years ago by two men in Los Angeles, Curt Schlesinger et al v. Ticketmaster claimed that customers were being charged excessive and untruthful order processing and UPS "Expedited Delivery" fees. If the settlement is approved by the court, and ticket purchasers during that time frame elect not to object nor opt out of it by the February 16, 2012 deadline, then they will receive Ticketmaster credits.More >>

​Google is expected to today unveil a new online music store featuring songs from three of the world's four biggest music companies, according to reports.

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Christopher Victorio/OC Weekly

M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold accepting an award at the 2011 OC Music Awards for Best Album

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Today the ACE Agency announced it acquired the OC Music Awards. The Santa Ana PR/events company is taking over from producer Luke Allen (who owns rehearsal studio Gemini Studios) and his father, OC Music Awards executive producer Warren Allen.

The Allens bought the Orange County Music Awards from event producer Martin Brown in 2008 and renamed it the OC Music Awards. Back then, they hired ACE Agency and its CEO, Ashley Eckenweiler, to assist in the strategy, direction and production of the event.

In a phone interview, Eckenweiler explained the parties involved thought it would be best for the awards to have an agency behind it. "There are more resources [for the awards show to use] as it expands and gets bigger," she says, adding that nothing will change for the awards show. "It's just going from being owned by individuals to an agency. It's going to remain as it is--about the community and the musicians."

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​The whole "band playing a classic album in its entirety" schtick is beaten to death by now, but regardless, the format works--aging bands stay on the "still relevant" side of the nostalgia spectrum, and casual fans don't have to sit through post-prime material generally reserved for piss-and-beer runs. It's a win for everyone involved.

This time, it's Peter Hook on tour performing Joy Division's final album Closer, its sprawling magnum opus released in the wake of Ian Curtis' suicide in 1980, and also, on different dates at different venues, the band's landmark debut Unknown Pleasures. It's Hook on vocals and bass, backed by his studio band, The Light.

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Rolling Stone reported today that the Aberdeen city council in Washington state is considering a proposal to name a local bridge and park in honor of former resident and late grungeman Kurt Cobain. The public works conveyance up for honor is the Young Street Bridge, which according to legend, is the same structure Cobain lived under before being afflicted with super stardom.
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​ Long Beach's very own Cold War Kids just announced the second leg of their fall North American tour in support of their latest release, Mine Is Yours (Downtown/DGC/Interscope Records).
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Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, suffered a stroke late last night at his home in Florida, according to multiple sources, including ShowBiz411, who broke the news. Several sources report that he's seriously ill, and ShoBiz411 says members of the E Street Band were advised to "get down to Florida as soon as possible." So far he's had two brain surgeries but is "responsive and in stable condition," according the authoritative Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band fan website, backstreets.com. Carolyn Gusoff of Fox 5 News has reported that Clemons is paralyzed on the left side of his body.

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New York political rockers Outernational, touted by Tom Morello back in 2006 as potentially the next Rage Against the Machine, remain steadfastly committed until SB1070 is fully repealed as they ready for two new releases. More >>

Portugal. The Man

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Portland indie rockers Portugal. The Man have just completed their sixth album, with the latest making its major record label debut this summer. Before their show at the House of Blues in Anaheim on Saturday, frontman John Gourley talks about the post indie record label life, the making of their new album In The Mountain, In The Cloud and small club shows versus music festivals.

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