Smells Like Teen Nostalgia

The greatest riffs, from Bill Haley to Metallica

(NEWSER) - There are those tunes driven by the rhythm section, but nothing lights a fire in the blood quite like the power of the perfect guitar riff. Thus, Rolling Stone suggests its favorite guitar anthems, hitting all stops between BB King and King Crimson. The top five:

1. Johnny B. Goode: Chuck Berry's "true story about how playing music on a guitar can change your life forever."
2. Purple Haze: How Jimi Hendrix "opened a new age of expression."

James Brown's estate selling everything in August auction

(NEWSER) - Estate sales are always a mixed bag, but the James Brown auction at Christie’s in August will be something special, TMZ.com reports. Sure, fans will be able to snag coveted items like a Grammy or keyboard, but the Godfather’s socks, underwear and canceled checks? Say it loud: His estate is broke. More»

Rare work was study for artist's Card Players series

(NEWSER) - A Metropolitan Museum of Art catalog in 2011 listed a 19th-century watercolor Paul Cezanne made as a study for his Card Players series as "whereabouts unknown." No more: The work, which Reuters describes as "rare" and "pristine," was discovered by Christie's as it worked with the estate of Dr. Heniz Eichenwald, who died in September. Last seen in public in 1953, the work on paper is expected to fetch as much as $20 million when it hits the block in May. More»

It's from the ship's final day and goes up for auction next month

(NEWSER) - A lunch menu from the Titanic's final day afloat is expected to fetch about $150,000 when it goes up for auction in England next month, reports the Telegraph . The menu came from a first-class table: The wife of San Francisco banker Washington Dodge tucked it into her purse at lunch, and she ended up being one of the survivors who made it onto a lifeboat later. More»

Hollywood icon's haute couture auctioned off

(NEWSER) - The record-breaking auction of Elizabeth Taylor's gems was followed by the record-breaking sale of part of her wardrobe, in bidding that proved to be just as fierce and racked up a staggering $2.6 million. All 67 lots, including designer gowns, feathery capes, and the wedding dress she wore for her second marriage to Richard Burton, were sold at the Christie's auction; some items fetched more than 60 times the auction house's estimates, Bloomberg reports. More»