5:10PM    James Hetfield can growl dark, dangerous lyrics with the best of them — that might be one of the reasons the Metallica singer was chosen to narrate The Hunt, a new History Channel series about hunting Kodiak brown bears.

In a statement the network describes hunting the brown bear on the island of Kodiak as “one of the most dangerous pursuits known to man.” Kodiak hunts generally last ten days, during which the hunters are totally wilderness-bound with only the supplies they can carry with them. Weather changes can be quick and dramatic, and the bears they’re hunting can be 12 feet tall and weigh in at 1,500 pounds, easily capable of slaying entire hunting parties while humming “Enter Sandman” at the same time.

Hetfield has done his share of bear hunting, though in a 2009 interview with Guitar World magazine, the singer says he gave up the dangerous hobby at roughly the time he gave up another treacherous pastime, abusing drugs and alcohol, because he came to the realization that taking his life in his hands for a thrill “didn’t make much sense to me [anymore].”

The Hunt premieres on Sunday, June 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the History Channel.

4:30PM   I’ve aways said today’s new country music was basically 80’s hair rock repackaged in a different presentation.  To bring my theory full circle, there’s a Motley Tribute album coming out July 8th called “Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute to Motley Crue”.   Brantley Gilbert covers Girls Girls Girls.  Gretchen Wilson does Wild Side.  Is the album a shamless excuse to extend the Motley brand or an idea whose time has come?  Country covering Rock?  That’s up to you to decide.  From everything I’ve researched, It appears you wont be able to buy this album on Itunes or Amazon. 

4:15PM   The story of how the Black Keys got their name:

Patrick Carney of The Black Keys was recently in the hot seat at a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” chat, during which he revealed the surprising impetus for the band’s name. When a fan wrote in to ask, “Does it have meaning or is it just a catchy name?” Carney replied that the name came from “an artist that Dan’s father and my father were friends with and helped take care of in Akron named Alfred McMoore.”

Carney explained that McMoore was schizophrenic, lived in a halfway house and “really liked to draw with crayons and pencil on 5 foot by 50 foot scrolls of paper, and he was constantly calling both of our houses when we were kids, asking our dads to bring him pipe tobacco, Diet Coke and crayons.” Carney said that McMoore would “always end the message with ‘Don’t be a black key. Don’t be a B-flat.’ [I]t was his way of saying that…black keys sounded dissonant, or [of] insulting someone.”

Carney says that after McMoore died five years ago, he and band mate Dan Auerbach set up a charity in McMoore’s name that “[helps] people who have mental disabilities pay their bills, makes sure they’re insured, [when] the government doesn’t provide services for that.”

Carney also provided a link for fans who wish to contribute to the fund, which can be found by going to AkronCF.org and typing “Black Keys” into the search box.

4:05PM   Marilyn Manson‘s mother has passed away. Barbara J. Warner died from complications stemming from longterm dementia last Tuesday at the age of 68, in Canton, Ohio. 

Marilyn Manson — whose real name is Brian Warner — posted an atypically sweet tribute to his mom on his Twitter feed:

The funeral was private and Manson’s family requests that donations be made in Barbara Warner’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Foundation, at ALZ.org.

3:40PM   Five Finger Death Punch and Volbeat will go on a co-headlining tour this Summer.  Stand by for the Okc date to announced soon!

3:05PM   Come on Three Days Grace not even a “lyric” video?  Album name?  How about a release date?  I suppose the bands is employing the “throw it out there and see what happens” approach.