From unexpected drama to shocking performances, MTV’s 2009 Video Music Awards managed once again to raise eyebrows and get people talking. What most people missed, however, were the occult meanings encoded in the VMAs. The TV event was in fact a large scale occult ceremony, complete with an initiation, a prayer and even a blood sacrifice. Vigilant Citizen looks at the symbolism used during the show. Cheers to Annette for alerting me to this vital information.

I got a new MP3 player for Christmas from Arkady. It’s a cheap shitty ChiPod — S1 chipset-based. I actually asked specifically for a cheap shitty S1-based ChiPod because they play Oggs and I happen to have a shitload here. (Doesn’t say in the manual they do, ‘cos supporting Ogg means Thomson charge you ten times the price for the MP3 licence. So they just snuck it in anyway.) Pink, 4 gig, looks like a fake Nano 4G, torturous interface. JUST WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED!

With SkullCandy Ink’d headphones. Apparently these are “hep” with the “kids.” They just happen to be pretty good for ten quid (seven on Amazon). Left and right aren’t marked, as is apparently the fashion these days (telling left and right isn’t “fab” or “bling” or whatever the “emo” term is). But if you’re too cheap for Sennheisers or Etymotics, they’ll do very nicely, thank you.

‘Pod is filled with This Kind Of Punishment, ’80s New Zealand indie on Xpressway. 1, 2, 3. Never say I never give you anything.

Redcountess blessed me with What Would Keith Richards Do? (“Everything.”)

Oh, and my mother gave me Christian Rock. I don’t dare play this thing in case it causes a vortex of suck consuming all in its wake.

So. How was your haul?

Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax are confirmed to share the stage at the Sonisphere festivals in Poland and the Czech Republic next Northern Summer.

Anthrax and Slayer are also confirmed for the UK Sonisphere festival, but with the headliners already announced as being Iron Maiden and Rammstein it is unlikely that the “Big Four” pioneers of Thrash will all play at Knebworth. However earlybird ticket buyers for the UK festival will get a free ticket for the Poland show.

Julian Lennon and co-songwriter James Scott Cook will donate a percentage of profits from a song on Lennon’s new EP to the Lupus Foundation of America and St Thomas’ Lupus Trust.

Titled Lucy, the song is about Lennon’s childhood friend Lucy Vodden, the alleged inspiration for Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, who suffered from Lupus for many years before dying in September this year. Cook had a grandmother, also called Lucy, who also died from Lupus.

Spotted by Redcountess, Martin Newell’s 1992 rock’n'roll Christmas lyrics. I particularly liked “Hip King Wenceslas.”

Andy Updegrove is a computer standards lawyer. This is about as far from rocknerdery as you get. But I deeply appreciated his piece from 2005 on the Hammond B-3 Organ and how it has “has received recognition as an instrument in its own right — something even Stradivarius failed to achieve.”

We’ve all poked fun at him over the years, but one of Rock’n'Roll’s veterans with a big heart, Ronnie James Dio is battling the early stages of stomach cancer in The Mayo Clinic.

If you feel so inclined you can send Ronnie a get well card or email to help him throw the horns at the big C.

There is a social networking campaign to stop Simon Cowell achieving another Christmas no. 1 spot this year with one of his overblown ersatz productions.

The creators of the campaign are asking people to buy Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name Of online from iTunes, Amazon etc. between December 13th and December 20th in order for it to qualify for the Christmas no. 1 spot.