Ok, since not many people are answering all your questions..I'll TRY to.....

Mega-superstars: I just saw Eminem, 50 Cent, D12, and Obice Trice all play together here in Tokyo last month, and since it was a posse show where they went back and forth between just 50 doin' his shit, to marshall, to group, that show rocked well into 3 hour territory.....When I saw the Beasties (who have classics) on the OPENING night of their Hello Nasty tour, they rocked 29 songs, over 2 hours, including instrumentals, and that was AFTER a 1 hour+ set by Tribe! So, perhaps it's safe to say if you makin' bank, you givin' love?

Underground respect: I saw Blackalicious with J5 at RIT last year, and Black was up for 50, J5 for 1.5 or so...So that seems like your level in Germany, no?

The Roots: Hey, I was willin' to pay 75 bucks (YEAH, 75 F@$%*@%ing bucks!) to see you guys play The Blue Note in Osaka, and since you were doing 2 shows a night, which is freakin' sick, you did only 70 minute shows each.....and that was enough to feel your vibe....So you're cool on that front.....Remember, you're OK, so the cats here are a bit hardcore, no? And for the record, no other cats could rock 2 shows a night in a foreign country, so you're exempt anyway....

Groups w/ hits, and nothing else: Saw Stone Temple Pilots when they came to Cornell last year, and they played NOTHING but the hits, and that show was 2.5 hours....and they even went acoustic, which was sick!

What else....Oh, Bitchass popular bands out for the loot: Saw Dashboard Confessional before they went on some Beck support tour shit, and they played for, cough, 50 minutes.....yeah, I think it's safe to say that under an hour just ain't a show.....cuz they out for the loot only....

Newly huge bands: Seen Incubus (sans Ben, obviously) twice, once right after Sept. 11, first show in NYC post trauma, and they rocked Hammerstein for 2+....then saw them on their first huge arena tour, the Morning View tour, and there they played 2.5!

The verdict: Fuck the germans. They're just bitter y'all can't rock it there EVERY month or something. Either that, or they just figured out that they didn't actually win the World Cup. Either way, eff it....

The solution: Just rock it at the Sprite Liquid Mix, and all sins are forgiven my son...You guys are the best live band out, you know it, we know it, and you got the votes over at rollingstone.com to prove it! Oh, and BTW, why don't you guys EVER pass the popcorn?

Droppin' knowledge from across the ocean...B~

peep this: www.bluescholars.com Seattle's finest hip-hop

Ishwip on Joe Budden: I'm talkin' just in general, based on music, interviews, and various youtube spots, the joker's existence doesn't delight.