Blown Tire Likely Cause of Travis Barker, DJ AM Jet Crash

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A blown tire is being investigated as the possible cause for the jet crash that killed four people and seriously injured DJ AM and former blink-182 drummer Travis Barker this weekend in South Carolina. A cockpit recording indicates that the crew thought a tire blew while taking off, after which attempts to abort take-off failed. The crash took the lives of the pilot and co-pilot along with Barker's assistant and bodyguard. According to a witness, AM and Barker were discovered "in the street near the fiery wreck as they frantically tried to douse their burning clothes." Officials are waiting to talk to the two musicians before assessing the cause of crash. Meanwhile, the pair were visited in a Georgia hospital yesterday by Jermaine Dupri, Mandi Moore and Barker's ex-wife Shanna Moakler, who said in a statement, "There are not enough words to express how thankful we are for the outpouring of love and support we have received during this very difficult time. We can only ask for prayers as we heal and mourn the loss of our dear friends who we considered part of our family. Our lives will be changed forever."

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Song Stories

“V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F.”

Fishbone | 1985

Quite a few musicians have utilized initials for song titles -- Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T.," Abba's "S.O.S.," Donald Fagen's "I.G.Y.," etc. But the more curiously initialed tune has to be "V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F.," short for "Voyage to the Land of the Freeze-Dried Godzilla Farts." Fishbone's original guitarist, Kendall Jones, explained to Rolling Stone, "When Norwood [Fisher] wrote it, he introduced it to the band saying, 'Man, I've been hearing about all these Nazi right-wing groups on the news saying the Holocaust was staged. So what if America said it never dropped two atom bombs on Japan, that it was actually Godzilla popping a couple off?' Only Norwood would come up with something that out." The same year "V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F." was released, the film Godzilla 1985 appeared in North America.

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