I never thought I'd say this, but...

I no longer consider myself an Ozzy Osbourne fan. I never thought I'd say that, but today I learned something that I never in my wildest dreams thought would occur.

Ozzy Osbourne is suing Tony Iommi for a 50% stake in the name "Black Sabbath".

This would of made a great April Fools' story. It's not April 1 though. It's also not a joke, but rather the epitome of selfish, egotistical, foolish, pathetic greed. Ozzy is basically saying that the name should be shared equally among the original 4 members, and also says that his distinctive voice is the reason Sabbath was popular, and that their reunion saved Sabbath from the toilet (I'm paraphrasing but whatever). The copy of the documents are over at Blabbermouth, as well as the entire story.

Well, Ozzy/$haron...you've done it. You've completely alienated your entire fan base. The thing that really gets me is that usually I have to deal with people that think Ozzy=Sabbath, but 95% of the comments completely supported Iommi and his position. This makes me feel good. It tells me that a lot of people are quite keen to the shit the Osbourne's have pulled over the years.

Iommi has owned the sole rights to the Sabbath name since 1985. Ozzy gave away his stake in 1980. It was not big deal for him...he had his solo career and he was bigger than Sabbath. Sabbath was done for. Hell, he was even able to get the billing at Live Aid to be "Ozzie Osbourne featuring Black Sabbath". It never mattered to Ozzy when Ozzy was on top. But when Ozzy feels the pressure from his former band...he goes and does something crazy. First it was "Speak of the Devil" (responding to Live Evil), then it was the Farewell B.S. in 1992...and now this...because H&H has a top 10 album and has completed a couple of successful tours.

The biggest question that remains for me about all this...is that if Ozzy is so concerned about getting an equal stake from the Sabbath name (despite the fact he didn't do hardly any work) then why aren't Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake getting credit for their work on those solo albums? It blows my mind. I've always given Ozzy the benefit of the doubt, because everyone knows it's that greedy bitch (the digital bitch) $haron O$bourne who is pulling the strings...whether it be erasing the work of accomplished musicians or destroying Ozzfest by fucking up other bands performances (Maiden in '05), but this is the last straw. Ozzy refuses to put a stop to this nonsense, and because of it, I can no longer support his work, nor will I buy anymore of his music (not that it's that good anymore anyway). The only reason I'm keeping any of his solo work in my personal music collection is because of guys like Randy Rhoads, Geezer, Daisley, Jake E. Lee, and all the other musicians he's shafted. Their work is the only reason I can even bear to listen to those CDs. Otherwise I would put throw them in the trash...which is right where "Black Rain" and 'Down to Earth" are going when I get back to Ohio. I don't listen to either one anyway.

Speaking of which, I know I've been a bit lazy on YouTube and on my blog. I'm in Wisconsin right now, living with my dear Grandma and taking care of her 5 acre yard and running all her errands during the day. I check in a lot online, but I don't have a lot of spare time to post anything new, and the internet here is a bit slower than the internet I have in Ohio, so it tests my patience. Besides all that, my YouTube account is screwed up; my comments and messages always show up as new, and I lose track of what I read and respond to, and what I keep until later. I have to delete it to keep it from growing, and I probably lose track of stuff. I've emailed YouTube about it but they never fix it, so...whatever. Stuff will appear sporadically and on a whim, just so you're aware.

I also found out that my clip of 'Shockwave' from Abilene has been removed from YouTube...the other songs from the same recording haven't (yet), but I'm not sure why...it shouldn't violate copyright since it's a soundboard from the show...not from an officially released show, so I might have to fight for that one. This copyright stuff is out of control though...

Well I'm rambling...but I had to say something regarding this latest episode from the Osbourne camp. Nothing would make me happier than Iommi crushing them in court...although Ozzy has damaged his legacy beyond repair anyway...no matter who wins.