A - Appearances can be deceptive
B - Health scare
C - Impending disaster
D - Long way back home
E - Striking similarities
F - Unexpected result
G - Versatile character
1
A musical riff Led Zeppelin is accused of stealing from another band for its 1971 classic “Stairway to Heaven” was not unique, singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page’s attorney said at a civil trial that got underway with opening arguments on Tuesday. The lawsuit, which alleges the British band stole the opening chords for Stairway to Heaven from the 1967 instrumental Taurus by the American band Spirit, was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, Spirit’s guitarist and the composer of Taurus. In the latest case, Plant, 67, and Page, 72, appeared in court on Tuesday sporting long gray hair and are expected to testify eventually in the closely watched trial. Skidmore has said Page may have been inspired to write Stairway after hearing Spirit perform Taurus while the bands toured together back in 1968 and 1969, but that Wolfe never received credit. U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner said in April that a jury might find substantial similarity between the first two minutes of Stairway and Taurus, and to let it decide whether Plant and Page were liable for copyright infringement.
2
A warm welcome home for a marble sculpture of the head of Rome’s first emperor some 40 years after it was stolen. The sculpture of Augustus is one of the earliest known depictions of the leader, born more than 2,000 years ago. It’s the latest artifact from Italy’s ancient sites to be repatriated after being illegally smuggled abroad.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mario Giro says the sculpture’s return is a celebration of culture and humanity. The veiled head was on display at a museum in Brussels that purchased it in good faith from a private collection. Once determined to be stolen from Nepi near Rome, the museum returned it to Italy.
3
Rap star Lil Wayne has thanked his fans for their support after he suffered a minor seizure. The 33-year-old is in a stable condition following the incident on Monday. His spokesman confirmed the news after media reports that the Grammy Award winner was forced to make an emergency landing in Nebraska.
In an email Wayne’s rep said: “We can confirm that he did experience a minor seizure”. Adding: ‘’He is now in stable condition and good spirits. He thanks his fans for their everlasting support, prayers and well wishes.”
The incident comes three years after Lil Wayne spent several days at a Los Angeles hospital and soon after a radio station told that he is epileptic and prone to seizures. The New Orleans-born rapper began his professional career at the age of nine, when he became the youngest artist to be signed to Cash Money Records. Over a two-decade career, Lil Wayne has become one of the biggest names in rap music.
4
From afar it’s a colourful jungle of life-size animal sculptures and intricate landscapes. But look closer and the slinky leopard shows its true colors - it’s entirely made out of bullet shells. The works are made by Colombian artist Federico Uribe, who grew up in the country torn by five decades of war. Death, he says, was ever-present and serves as an inspiration for his art. Colourful shotgun casings and various calibre bullets he buys in bulk from a metal recycling company are his raw materials. His works are on display at Adelson Gallery in New York. The exhibit in New York runs until the end of July, and hopes to target audiences of all walks of life.
5
To his rock fans this is how Taiwanese musician Freddy Lim usually appears thrashing around on stage with his death metal band Chthonic. But, after winning a seat in Taiwan’s parliamentary elections in January this year, Freddy switched the make-up for a suit. He’s managing to juggle both music and politics, and while collecting a Global Metal Award in London he urged the crowd to follow his lead.
I’ve always thought that rockers are the strongest, most uncool people on earth. If all the world leaders were stripped out for metallers, think of all the issues we would finally have the courage to face. So if you want to do something interesting besides music, go run for office and let’s conquer the world. Oh wait, wait, I mean let’s change the world.
Known for his controversial music, Freddy promises his new political role won’t impact his creative choices As well as being busy in office, Freddy and Chthonic are also said to be working on a new movie and EP.
KEY:
1E 2D 3B 4A 5G
