"The following is a public service announcement . . . with guitaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaars!"

I only caught about 45 minutes of VH1's "100 Most Metal Moments" last night, but it certainly seemed worth taping the entire five hours for kicks and giggles. I recommend that you do so tonight from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. The show works on so many levels, from "That really does rawk" to self-serving excess to high comic irony.

The film "The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years" is mentioned, and it is a really good film that captures the spirit and essence of the heady days of metal in the late '80s while doing a fantastic job of showing many of the inherent physical and spiritual pitfalls.

Bonus: the first person who e-mails me at rubberdali@comcast.net naming the band and album on which today's opening quote appears will receive a "Rubber Dali's 80 Most Metal Minutes" custom-made mix CD of some of my favorite hard rock songs from the '70s and '80s. Some of you may think the contest quote is from some obscure album, but let me assure you that it is not --- it contained one of the band's best-selling singles, which was an MTV and radio staple in its day. Wow, an impromptu contest!