Ticketmaster Jumps Into Facial Recognition Game

This is pretty terrible. Ticketmaster has invested in a company called Blink Identity. Blink is a brand claims to be able to identify people walking by in “half a second.” You apparently don't even have to look directly at a camera for Blink to identify you.

Why does this matter? Because Ticketmaster (and Live Nation) wants to go "ticketless" in the future and use facial recognition instead for entry to shows and events. This means Ticketmaster will have to create a massive database of our faces and names and hold that data forever... and probably give it to the government and whichever rogue state feels like hacking us. I guess it also means concert venues and the like would have to be outfitted with some crazy surveillance equipment. I guess this also means the job of ticket scanner will be going away too. Why pay humans to do anything anymore, right?

The other thing lost here? No more ticket stubs to collect. I guess that makes me sound like an old fool, but it seems sad. And no more scalpers, right?

Face Detection and Recognition: Theory and Practice

via GIPHY

KIX Celebrate Big Anniversary With 'Fuse 30 Reblown’

Finally, a big KIX anniversary package! The band will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Blow My Fuse with a release of Fuse 30 Reblown. The package comes out on September 21 via Loud and Proud. The set is a remix and remastered version of Blow My Fuse, plus never-before-released demos of every track. (The image to the left will take you to the Amazon page for Blow My Fuse to read reviews, see track listings or to purchase). 

The official announcement from Loud and Proud is below:

Stryper Release Lyric Video For 'Lost'

Happy Tuesday. Stryper just released a lyric video for their song “Lost.” The song is on the band's new album God Damn Evil. You can buy the digital download by clicking the image at left.

'The Final Countdown' - Metallica Style

Metallica are on tour right now. During the shows, the band apparently messes around with a classic song outside their general style. The other day, Robert Trujillo and Kirk Hammett played "The Final Countdown." Of course, Europe made the song a hit in 1986. The Metallica version was performed while the band was in Stockholm, Sweden.

In the YouTube comments, people are freaking out about the cover not being "good." I'm not sure that was the point. This was just two guys having some fun with their fans. It's clear this wasn't rehearsed much if at all. Not everything has to be perfect.

'Shadow Of Your Love'

 Guns n' Roses just put out a lyric video to promote their previously unreleased track "Shadow Of Your Love." You can watch that clip below.

The song is from Appetite for Destruction: Locked N’ Loaded. Previously I thought there was only one version of this box, but I was incorrect. The big version is a thousand bucks (which is complete insanity) and the Super Deluxe Edition is about $180, which is still a lot but not completely bonkers.

Clicking the image to the left will take you to the Amazon page for the Super Deluxe version, and you can see the full track listing there.

The package is officially out on June 29. It's currently sitting in the #8 sales position on Amazon across rock and #20 for overall music.

Another hit for Axl and Co!

Alice Cooper Doesn't Want To Retire

Alice Cooper and I are of two different minds on retirement, but for very different reasons. Basically FIRE (financial independence/early retirement) is my number one life goal. I may never get there but I'm sure going to try. Some people that come to FIRE end up with a goal of ending formal work at 40. That's not me. My goal retirement age is 55, but my FIRE number (assets) is probably higher than most because I want to do lots of international travel after I'm done with a permanent salary job and that isn't cheap! Alice, on the other hand, is already financially independent. He's also got the funnest job in the world, so it's no surprise when he said this recently during a Q103 interview:

"I've always said this: If we do a tour and nobody shows up, then I'm retired. That's never happened. In fact, we're doing better business now than we've ever done. More people are coming to the show now, and I've never felt better, so I don't see any reason to retire at all. I know a lot of guys are quitting, but a lot of guys still smoke and drink. They're probably tired. I'm not tired. People always say, 'Well, you could just play golf every day,' and I say, 'I play golf every day anyway!'"

I'm glad Alice has no immediate plans of hanging up the guillotine. He's still one of the best shows I've ever seen live.

As for me, I plan to keep toiling away at a salary job for awhile longer. Until I hit my magic FI number with a 4% SWR (safe withdrawal rate) or age 55, whichever comes first. The second half of my life will be dedicated to writing books and flipping real estate. The glam husband and I already have an agreement on that. (If you'd like to learn more about early retirement, the first book everyone starts with is the classic Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin).  

I've been thinking about writing a book now, too. I've been doing copious amounts of research so we'll see. Usually when I sit at my desk at work and write, I listen to my Amazon Music subscription. I've been on a big Def Leppard kick lately and my co-worker one office over is pretty sick of it I'm sure! Now that we're talking about Alice I think I'll click over to him for awhile. And just yesterday I got a push alert on my phone telling me that the previously unreleased Guns n' Roses tracks we talked about yesterday are now available in my library and I thought that was very cool! So cool because I don't have to buy them, ha!

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Guns n' Roses Announce Massive Box Set

The countdown clock ended and Guns n' Roses will release a massive box set to celebrate the reissue of Appetite for Destruction. The set will be out June 29th. The most exciting thing here is all the previously unreleased tracks -- 25 demos in all! The package will officially be called Appetite for Destruction: Locked and Loaded. You'll be able to get this set in a variety of formats. It comes with a big book and other stuff too like skull rings. Its already in the top 10 music sales on Amazon. You can pre-order now:

Appetite For Destruction [Super Deluxe Edition]

Guns N' Roses confirm rumors, detail massive 'Appetite for Destruction' box set including 25 previously unreleased demos https://t.co/IWrKwfXve1 pic.twitter.com/DVJUT9aXOD

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 4, 2018