Ron Paul

DownSize D.C.

The fine folks at DownsizeDC.org have a mighty fine post on why the president's proposed plan will not work. Downsize is one of our new favorite websites here at Simsisms. Link HERE.

No No No

I didn't watch the president's speech. Not because I wasn't interested, but because I knew from experience that I would end up throwing things at the television and frankly, in the Obama economy I can't afford to break my television.

I have read the reports on the speech and I just cannot fathom how anyone so dense could become the leader of this country. Granted, the last guy was no genius, but exactly what planet is Obama on? We've plunged a trillion dollars into the banking industry, and he basically said we're going to go spend even more money later? WHAT!?!?! We haven't spent so much as a dime to fix the mortgage crisis that is driving the economy downward. As for the president's plan to have a mortgage relief that doesn't reward unscrupulous buyers who bought homes they couldn't afford, that's the most asinine thing I've ever heard. It's the irresponsible buyers who are driving the economy downward. We've bailed out every other undeserving schmuck, why aren't we cutting home owners a break?

Not that it would matter if we did. There's a lot of talk about modifying loans, adjusting mortgage rates, etc. I'm going to tell you right now that this is all a mistake and these efforts are only going to prolong the agony of our faltering economy. Credit is not moving because of uncertainty. Uncertainty is being caused by the fact that a lot of companies have assets and they have no idea what they might be worth because real estate is essentially worthless as long there's an endless supply of foreclosed houses going on the market. It does not matter what the interest rates are, or what adjustments to principal are made. There are a lot of homes occupied by people who will never in a million years be able to afford to own a home. Not if the interest rate were -2% could they afford the payments. Rather than dragging this thing out by trying to keep people in homes they are going to inevitably lose, we should be speeding things up. We need to get people out of those houses and get the house sold to someone who can afford it. Once the houses are all sold, the real estate market will recover its value, and we can start rebuilding the economy.

In the meantime, the idea that we can throw money all over the place and the economy will magically heal is just insane. It hasn't ever worked in the past, the bailout shows no signs of working now, and it is the very definition of insanity to think that it will somehow start working in the future.

As if that weren't bad enough, the President then went on to say how he's found two trillion in savings from programs he's going to cut (not true, see links at end of post) promised to cure cancer, make us a green economy, and to get everyone a college education. WHAT? Ignoring that there is no conceivable way to pay for this, there is still no physical way to accomplish these goals. Not everyone can go to college. An outrageous number of kids can't pass the high school exit exam, how are they going to go to college? I also find it laughable that Obama would promise to end costly agribusiness subsidies, when he has continued to support the Ethanol, the largest agriculture swindle in America. This whole speech was outrageous and just plain idiotic. If you bought any of it then I suggest you have your head examined.

The fine folks at factcheck.org have weighed in on the stimulus plan. Their review can be found here (short version: It's Bull).

Also, the fact checkers at mywaynews had a thing or two to say about the speech tonight, story here (short version: you could fertilize your lawn with that speech).

P.S. Ben Bernanke said he thinks that the recession will end this year. Based on what? Where on earth do you get the facts to support your starry eyed optimism, Mr Bernanke? Please, share with us the figures that indicate any kind of trend towards recovery. Show us what facts convince you that all of the experts who say 3-5 years until a recovery are in fact wrong.

Don't believe the madness. Fiscal responsibility is our only way back to success.

Only you can bailout the economy

Addicting Games has a great little game where you get to handout bailout cash or slap bankers. Give it a whirl:



Play Games at AddictingGames

D'oh!

Some economists are saying that the president's new program to employ people to install rural broadband networks could actually result in job LOSSES. I'm starting to feel for Obama, the guy just can't catch a break. Story here.

Meanwhile, no one seems to be gaining enthusiasm for my plan to help the economy. I'll explain it again. We have people who need jobs, and we have an auto industry that needs something extraordinary to pull it out of the tank. Let's put those people to work building flying cars. It's almost 2010 and every freaking Sci-Fi movie worth its salt has promised us that we would have flying cars by now. Flying cars would revitalize the sagging auto industry, and it would eliminate the need to spend large chunks of government funds to maintain the roadways. Be honest, which would you rather see: people working in a modern Tennessee Valley authority, or those freakin' sweet flying cars from Minority Report. If the government is going to spend a trillion dollars, wouldn't you at least like to get flying cars out of the deal? Shouldn't a trillion dollars be enough to make it happen? Can we finally get the way cool flying cars that you know you want, and revitalize the American economy? YES, WE CAN!

I want to point out that not only is the Sims Stimulus plan economically feasible, it is the only stimulus plan that has the benefit of being TOTALLY AWESOME. I urge you to write, telephone, or email your congressperson and tell them to vote for the Sims Stimulus plan (also referred to as the Simsulus Plan). I want to point out to all of the naysayers that the Simsulus plan has EXACTLY the same chance of working as any other economic recovery plan that has been presented. Plus, it is the only plan that offers you FLYING CARS.

Congratulations

Here at simsisms, we are often criticized for being too negative. But, we like to recognize achievement when we see it, so today, we at simsisms would like to give a big congratulations to the nation of Iran.

Intelligence reports that Iran now has enough uranium to make a nuclear weapon. SURPRISE!!! Iran is now one step closer to reaching its goal of being a nuclear force and vaporizing the filthy zionists. Iran, we congratulate you. YOU GO GIRL!!!

Idiot Watch

Exactly how hard is it to find a competent attorney general? Have we had one in the last 20 years? In a nation where you can't throw a stone without hitting a lawyer, someone has got to be able to do the job and not be grotesquely beef-headed.

For those who didn't hear, soon to be former Attorney General Eric Holder called the United States a "Nation of Cowards." In context, his remarks were directed at america's ongoing failure to openly discuss the issue of race. However, that is NOT how the remarks are being taken. Memo to all would be cabinet officials: Speechwriters save lives. Enjoy crucifixion in the media Mr. Holder!

Story may be found here.

Poverty Watch

Yet another reason why you are screwed:

Just as everyone who ever picked up an econ book has predicted, printing massive amounts of cash has caused inflation. Almost a full percentage point in the month of January. If inflation continues to rise at its present rate, we'll be looking at about 10% inflation this year. That's assuming things don't get worse, which they will every time the government decides that the solution to our problems is to spend money that doesn't exist rather than make real meaningful changes to the way we live.

Oh, and still more people lost their jobs. Details here.

Legal Watch

What do you do as a follow-up for getting OJ? You take down Suge Knight. Infamous rap mogul and (alleged) force behind the Biggie and Tupac murders, pled guilty to Battery in a Las Vegas court recently. That's right, California. Our courts get the guys you can't. Send us Phil Spector and Robert Blake. We'll put them away too.

Suge was caught beating a naked woman along D.I. He apparently had possession of a bunch of ecstasy and a Gregory House amount of Vicodin. He also had a knife. Good Job, Suge.

Story here.

Today in the Financial Crisis.

Quick survey of some notable financial developments.

First, in case you didn't know already, credit card companies hate you, and they aren't shy about showing it. Pretty much every credit card company on earth is raising their interest rates, minimum payments, and tacking on additional fees (ever call a credit card company? exactly how does an organization that does not provide service justify calling fees a "service charge"?). We here at simsisms would like to taunt all of you who slave away for VISA, Bastardcard, and American Excess by rubbing in the fact that we have no credit card debt. Neener, Neener, Neener.

Not wanting to be upstaged in the "people or groups that you are absolutely sick of hearing from" contest, congress immediately announced that it would be looking into credit card companies. The same credit card companies who no longer have the resources to give generous campaign contributions. Way to attract attention to yourselves at precisely the wrong moment, guys! Maybe you should have just lied low and waited for the whole economic crisis to blow over, but no, you had to go and try and get a few more drops of blood out of a nation full of stones. Good move, guys. Seriously, next announce your corporate sponsorship for the 2009 "Club baby seals" competition, FTW. Link to the story may be found here.

Next, a surprising number of homeowners have been able to escape foreclosure by asking their lenders to produce the note. Turns out, a lot of the time, Banks can't do it. Good job consumers. Pwn those banks! Link may be found here.

Forbes had a decent article on why we should not bail out shareholders in banks. I skimmed the article but didn't find any mention of bankers having horns. Must have been an oversight. Seriously though, the article should appeal to all of you amateur economists out there (you know who you are). Link here.

Also, it appears that the economic crunch is being felt all over, resulting in premiere Las Vegas attorney Craig P. Kenny actually charging for defending you from traffic tickets. Kenny used to provide this service for free as a way to meet new clients. Now he's charging 50 bucks. That's still less than most other lawyers are charging, but still, it stinks to lose such a valuable free service. Over the years, we here at simsisms have sent many people Craig's way, but we may now have to rethink this. Sorry Craig, until further notice we are downgrading your status from "People we love" to "People we moderately like." Story on Wild Wild Law, here.

I've been meaning to lug this for a while, but haven't found the right time to do it. I've decided that here is as good a place to plug it as any. One of my favorite prof's has a blog and I am commanding everyone to read it. Nancy Rapoport is one of the great bankruptcy minds in the state of Nevada, and has worked on several big name bankruptcy cases, including the Enron case. I insist that you check out her very worthwhile blog, http://nancyrapoport.blogspot.com/

Lastly, have you seen this photo?




Don't front, that's freaking cute. I don't even care that it has nothing to do with money and doesn't belong in this post.

More snarky comments as they develop!

Bankruptcy Watch

Oh yeah! It's the economy, Baby.

The following notable companies got pwned by the economy.

First off, Muzak, the dreadful "music" played in elevators and shopping malls through which the government may or may not be controlling your mind is out of cash. Sadly, they are not liquidating and will continue to kick the tunes. Story here.

Next, providence has smiled upon us all and forced Trump entertainment to declare chapter 11. You may notice the sun shining a little brighter and music sounding a little sweeter today. Except for Muzak-type music. Story here.

Nazi Zombies

Open Letter

Dear Barack Obama,

On behalf of the entire city of Las Vegas I would like to thank you for discouraging companies from sending their employees to Las Vegas. Thank you very much for taking billions of dollars out of the rapidly deteriorating Las Vegas Economy. Did you not seem to realize that when people spend money it helps the economy? Did you seriously rise to the highest office in the country without a rudimentary understanding of economics? Are you clueless to the fact that there are ways to stimulate the economy other than the government just randomly printing money? See, those people would have come to Las Vegas, and spent money on goods and services. The people who would have provided those goods and services would have then spent the money they received on more goods and services, and so forth. It's bad enough that you are on TV every night flogging this outrageous and ill conceived stimulus bill which will commit our nation to economic underachievement for the foreseeable future, but why do you feel the need to further embarass yourself by seeking to discourage tourism to Las Vegas, a town which anyone with approxamite IQ of granite knows relies heavily on tourism for its economy. Is it possible that the same man who criticized his predecessor for being a simpleton could be so mind-bogglingly beef-headed? Mr. President, are you seriously saying we must act with reckless abandon to mortgage the next 30 years of our treasury to save our economy at the exact same moment that you are telling people not to go and spend money in a town leading the nation in foreclosures and with double digit unemployment? Thank you very much for making Las Vegas an utter pariah in the business world, you unbelievable schmuck. Just please, never mention my town again. In fact, don't even visit this state. You are not welcome here, you pea-brained twit.

Mayor Goodman has asked for an apology, and I you owe it to this city. You've cost this town a great deal of money and jobs, and you have offended the city of Las Vegas, a city with numerous mob connections. Next time you want to score political points by making someone else look bad, please don't throw my city under the bus to do it.

The cost of credit

How much does it cost a business when you use your credit card? Check this website.

http://truecostofcredit.com/400927

Music Czar

Some people have mocked the new administration. It's too idealistic, too focused on change, they say. I, on the other hand, have become inspired. It's time we right what's wrong. It's time that we make changes happen. That is why I am volunteering to serve as the Music Czar for the Obama administration. Can we fix the dismal state of music in America? Yes we can.

Here's my platform as Music Czar.

1) MTV will be ordered to go back to playing nothing but music videos. It will not be allowed to interrupt the music for ridiculous viewer comments or clutter the screen with a news crawl. MTV will also be required to show the video for "The Superbowl Shuffle" at least once a day between the hours of 8 am -7pm Eastern Standard Time. The Creators of The Real World and Road Rules will be jailed for crimes against humanity.

2) Yoko Ono and Courtney Love will both have their citizenship revoked immediately.

3) Your best friend who keeps insisting that you should listen to more Sigur Ros will be subject to prosecution for being a Poser.

4) CD's will no longer be produced as no one buys them. Those resources will be reallocated to producing Vinyl Albums so that people who want music that sounds fresh and alive can finally find it.

5) The Format will be required to get back together.

6) Resources will be diverted from middle east peace talks and channeled into brokering a peace agreement between Roger Waters and David Gilmour so that Pink Floyd can finally do a reunion tour.

7) The RIAA will have to be reparations to everyone it sued for illegal downloading while screwing musicians out of money and jacking up CD prices.

8) The government will subsidize the purchase of Bon Iver songs.

9) Hip Hop artists will be prohibited from performing in khaki's and/or argyle sweaters. I don't know when this trend started, but it needs to stop. I'm looking at you Kanye West.

10) Country Music singers will no longer be allowed to do songs about the beach. It's country music; it should be about the country.

11) The FBI will investigate the Biggie and Tupac murders. This country needs closure!

12) Any top ten guitarists list will be required to feature Lindsay Buckingham. Can we finally get a musical genius some much deserved recognition? Yes we can!

13) Metallica will have to pay a settlement to be divided equally among its fans, proportional to the amount of money each fan spent on concerts and CD's.

14) Seven string guitars will be banned.

15) A law will be passed mandating that all lyrics must be decipherable.

16) Otherwise ood bands will not be allowed to sell out and allow their music to be used in Teeny Bopper Vampire movies. Can we restore Iron and Wine's indie cred? Yes we can!

17) Lip Synching in concerts and live TV performances will be punishable by fine or imprisonment.

18) Any artist who shows up to concert drunk or stoned must offer a refund to ticket buyers. An exception will be created for Willie Nelson.

If you can think of any urgent music reforms that I missed, feel free to post them in the comments section. Together, we can save the music.

Bottle Water

Daniel Hamermesh has an excellent screed on universities and bans on bottled water. Recommended for your edification, here.

The Ascent of Money

Sorry for the last minute post, but PBS is running the excellent special, "The Ascent of Money" tonight. Tear yourself away from American idol and catch this special. If you miss it, check your local PBS listings because they will almost certainly rerun it.

2008 Wrap-Up

Greetings to all after the Holiday layover. As we move on to 2009, I think it appropriate that we take time to remember the mighty suckfest that was 2008. Here's the Simsisms rundown of the best and worst parts of 2008.

Best Movie Seen in 2008

Look, 2008 was a pretty crappy year for movies. Let's face it. There were maybe a handful of movies that you could actually justify seeing a second time. I think we can all accept that Dark Knight was pretty much the cream of the crop, provided you ignore Christian Bale's Tom Waite impression every time he speaks as Batman. Batman scores major points for having at least 3 Oscar worthy performances and having the guts to realize that Batman is a fairly boring character at this stage and focusing on everyone around him. Harvey Dent's rise and fall was probably the most interesting story told onscreen this year, and the Joker was about the scariest character to show up on film since Hannibal Lecter.

Other Fairly decent films include Iron Man, and....uhm...(crickets chirping)....uh....yeah. By all accounts Wall-E was pretty good, as was Kung Fu panda, but I haven't gotten around to seeing either of them. I've also heard some great things about documentaries, but again, I haven't seen anything. Pretty much everything else was a tragic disappointment or mediocre at best. James Bond was Meh, and Indiana Jones....well....let's just say I'm working on a device a la "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" to expunge the memories of this film from my brain. We may need to take a restraining order out on George Lucas to keep him away from movies.

Worst Movie Seen in 2008.

This is a pretty crowded field, as there were a number of movies I turned off midway through when I realized that I didn't care how they ended. However, the most ridiculous movie I sat all the way through would have to be Eagle Eye. The more I thought about the movie, the more it just didn't make sense. Why would a computer go through such convoluted lengths to accomplish something so very simple?

Thanfully the 2009 slate of movies looks very promising, with Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes leading the pack of movies that I want to see.

Best TV show of 2008

LOSTLOSTLOSTLOSTLOST!!!!!!! A thousand times LOST. No show featured more jaw dropping, mind blowing moments. I love the Wire, but I'm too traumatized by what happened to Dukie to put it as number one. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. By the way, did I mention that LOST starts again in 3 weeks? I may completely fail school this semester.

Worst TV Show of 2008 that used to be good.

Heroes. It's stock has dropped further than Bear Stearns. This last chapter was the equivalent of Indy hopping into the fridge. Note to producers, It takes a lot to make me not watch Kristen Bell. I have a mad crush on that girl and have since day one of Veronica Mars. She makes my little geek heart race. But I just couldn't watch her on heroes, it was just too awful. After years of hearing her bantering witty Rob Thomas dialogue, I just couldn't take the banal drivel the Heroes writers had her spouting. I don't know if Bryan Fuller can fix this train wreck of a show. I've quit watching anyway.

Best Music of 2008

While 2008 was a dreadful year for movies, it was a boom year for music. Picking favorite music from this year is like picking between my children. In addition to the great lineup of indie artists I found by cruising amazon at 2 in the morning, I also discovered some great classic stuff as well. I've played "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed my iPod is practically in revolt. I've also gotten hugely into the Clash and local record stores are toying with me by not carrying any of The Clash's classic stuff in Vinyl. DARN YOU ZIA RECORDS!!! YOU HAVE EVERY RECORD JACKSON BROWN HAS EVER RECORDED AND NOT A SINGLE COPY OF LONDON CALLING?!?! HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT!?

As far as tracks from this year, a definitive best is impossible to name, but Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, Bon Iver, and Ra Ra Riot all made must have music this year.

The Album Most Overhyped as "Amazing" When it was Really Just Okay, or at Best, Pretty Good.

Viva La Vida by Coldplay. Sure, It's on my iPod, it's got some good songs, but it was well sort of Earth Shattering and nowhere near as transcendantly good as everyone made it out to be. I haven't listened to Violet Hill in months, and the album is just not an essential to anyone's reord collection. Go ahead, send me angry email messages, it doesn't make the album any better.

Worst Song of the Year, Who's Singer Should Be Shot.

"I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry. Terrible song, propelled up the charts by teenagers who wanted to upset their parents. Back in the day, kids bought Offspring, or Green Day to make their parents mad. At least they had talent! I sound so old. This song is irritating, irritating, irritating. If the lyrics were about something else, this song would have never seen the light of day. It. Sucks. Period.

Most Washed Up Artist who is No Longer Relevant and We Should All Seriously Reconsider if He/She was Ever Any Good to Begin With.

Madonna.

2008 proved that she's an old hack, and an embarassment, and her career has basically been perpetuated by finding new and interesting ways to court controversy.

Best Blog of 2008

Goes to my buddy Myron. If only he updated more often.

Most Unprofessional group 0f 2008

The mainstream media, for not even attempting to be evenhanded. It's not that they were overly harsh to John McCain or George Bush, it's that they wouldn't ask hard questions of the other side. It galls me that these outlets wonder why they are losing ad revenue and viewership and can't seem to self-examine and figure out that they have a HUGE credibility problem.

The Publication most desperately in need of a more competent and biting Ombudsman in 2008.

The New York Times. If this paper wants to savce itself, it needs to find credibility FAST. It should follow the ESPN model and get an Ombudsman and actually draw attention to it. ESPN's Ombudsman was the Must read feature on the web this year. She's tough, fair, and calls people on the carpet all the time for being idiots. If the New York Times is going to continue being a leftist hack publication, it ought to admit it, and bring someone in to point out the Glaring Bias in its reporting. Ditto the Washington Post, which already has an ombudsman, but doesn't give her any power or press.

Best Book I read in 2008

This is a tough one, since I didn't read many books. I read a lot of cases, and they were all terrible. The kind of writing that would make John Updike light himself on fire. I guess I'll go with "Slaughterhouse Five" even though I can't decide whether I loved it or hated it. Vonnegut's writing is undeniably brilliant, and buried deep within all of the sci-fi stuff is a compelling account of the horrors of the Dresden Bombing.

Coming up number 2 on the list is Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Meth Addiction. It's a heartbreaking story of a father of a brilliant young man who turns to drugs. The father describes the years of heartache as his son becomes a modern day Jekyll and Hyde. The book does tend to ramble a bit, and the poor author must be the only one in the world who didn't see that his son was probably doomed to drug addiction before he ever became a teenager (broken home, nasty custody battle, long distance joint custody arrangement, early experimentation with marijuana. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this kid was at risk). Still, the book works as a compelling story of heartbreak, and the capacity of a human being to live in complete denial of reality, even when the truth is right in front of him. It also serves as a great window into the condition of rehab and recovery in this country, which the author shows is fairly impotent and unequiped to handle an ever-growing epidemic.

Favorite Book I read to My Nephew, Thomas

Five Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.

I may go out and adopt a kid just so I have an excuse to read this book every night. Thomas loved it so much he started reciting it in the middle of sacrament meeting last week. I couldn't help myself, I joined in. I'm sure the family in front of us hates me.

Favorite Moment of 2008

On a long 15 mile run a few months ago, I ran up Charleston avenue until just after all the houses. I stopped and looked around and noticed that I had escaped civilization and there was nothing around me. At that exact minute, snowflakes started falling.

Also fun was Emma telling me I was the most fun of everyone. Ha! Take that, Uncle Danny!

Favorite Discovery of 2008

Vinyl Records.

I've now spent more money on vinyl albums in the past few days than I have spent on CD's in the past couple of years. In fact, I can't remember how long it's been since I even bought a CD. Records sound so warm and alive. I listened to "New Slang" by The Shins last night on vinyl and it was like I heard the song for the first time. As much as I love all of the music from 2008, the best song I've heard all year was last night, when I listened to Simon & Garfunkel's "Only Living Boy in New York" on vinyl. I don't know how CD's ever replaced the warm and inviting sound of records. Vinyl just sounds so much better.

Worst Move During the 2008 Economic Crisis

New York City, for raising welfare benefits 30% while introducing a plethora of new taxes.

Is it a prerequisite for elected office in this country that you must not have a basic understanding of economics? How else do we explain this? In a year of stunningly bad financial decisions by government, this has to be the worst. "The only way to stimulate the economy is to get people to spend money, let's raise the price of everything so people won't spend money." WHAT?!?!?! A tax on soda, coffee, iTunes? Seriously, freaking iTunes?

Close runner ups were the auto bailout, and the Einsteinian "Stimulus Package." The auto bailout means that the mismanaged auto companies will continue to run without meaningful change, and the stimulus package which was supposed to prevent a recession, well, let's just say it didn't work. Even though it didn't work, congress has decided to try and give it another go. We'll probably have another round of stimulus checks this next year. This is the very embodiment of why nothing in this country gets fixed. Rather than change the regulations or failed policies that gave us this mess and then wait for a recovery, the government would much rather throw money at the problem and then pat itself on the back. You realize, that since we've been in recession not one meaningful financial regulation has changed? Again, the capacity of human beings to live in denial is limitless.

Worst Losers of 2008

The Whole "No on Prop 8 crowd." If they had spent the kind of energy trying to defeat the bill that they did complaining and harassing Mormons after the bill was passed, it might have been a closer election. They also seem to be wholly immune to the message that voters sent, that the No on Prop 8'ers are CLEARLY in the Minority and that the Majority absolutely, positively, and without exception does not want gays to marry, PERIOD. You cannot inflict social change on people who do not want it. Just ask all of the schools in the south that weren't desegregated until the NIXON administration, almost two decades after Brown v. Bd of Education.

Biggest Stud of 2008.

Thomas S. Monson.

Hands down. No contest. No comment needed.

All right kids, that's the wrap on 2008. Stay with us for 2009, as we cover the continued recession, the collapse of the construction industry in Las Vegas, and the early failures of an overly arrogant Obama administration. Happy New Year, and Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men.

Holidays and Insulin Shock

I've posted about my love of cake before, but in honor of the holidays I'm posting one of my favorite sites, http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ They have some great and hilarious holiday cakes for your enjoyment.

Also, check out recent baking enthusiast John Mayer's latest entries on Interfaith Baking, and check out some of the cool cake pictures that fans have sent in. Link here.

Merry Christmas to all! Diets start Friday!

More Required Listening

I avoided listening to Raising Sand, Robert Plant's collaboration with Alison Krauss, for a long time. It just seemed too odd to work. For those who don't know. Robert Plant was the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, probably best known for singing Stairway to Heaven and generally inspiring Heavy Metal. Alison Krauss is probably best known as the poster child for Bluegrass music and was heavily featured on the O Brother Where Art Thou? By all rights this shouldn't work. Who even suggested this collaboration? Well, whoever it was is a freaking genius because their album together is one of the greatest things I've ever heard. Highly recommend that you sample some tracks.