Steve Jones' legendary daytime talk show, “Jonesy's Jukebox,” has returned to the airwaves — or the digital version of them — with a daily one-hour show on a website called IAMROGUE.com. Yes, it's true: “Jonesy's Jukebox” is back. Kind of.

Fans of the show, which aired for five glorious years on the late, lamented Indie 103.1 FM until the station was pulled off the air in January, 1009, have cause for celebration, yes, but don't get your hopes too high; it's yet to be determined what exactly this show is going to be, though the ownership of IAMROGUE.com is quick to stress that Jonesy, the former guitarist for the Sex Pistols, will have “complete creative control.”

That should be a no-brainer, of course; how can you have Jonesy without complete creative control? The question arises because IAMROGUE.com is financed by Relativity Media, the massively successful production company founded by producer Ryan Kavanaugh, and the show's first two guests — which aired on the site on Friday — were Kavanaugh and actor Tobey Maguire. Maguire is starring in Relativity's most recent film production, Brothers. Watch the debut of Jonesy's Jukebox Mach II here.

Here's Relativity's bio, from its website:

Relativity has committed to, produced and/or financed more than 200 studio-quality motion pictures through 2014. Released films have accumulated more than $11.6 billion in worldwide box office revenue. Relativity's recent films include: Zombieland, Couples Retreat, The Ugly Truth, Public Enemies, Fast and the Furious and Mall Cop. Upcoming films for Relativity include: Brothers, The Spy Next Door, MacGruber, Season of the Witch, Dear John, Nine and Fighter. Twenty-eight of the company's films have opened at #1 at the box office. Relativity films have earned 35 Oscar® nominations, including nods for: Frost/Nixon, Atonement, American Gangster, and 3:10 To Yuma. Forty of RML's films have each generated over $100 million in worldwide box office receipts.

In the press release accompanying the announcement, Steve Jones stresses the “creative control” straight off the top: “Ryan offered me the creative control I had at Indie 103 — that was really key in my decision to make this my next step before returning to radio.” And while we have no doubt that Jonesy wouldn't commit to an endeavor without the freedom to be himself, it's way too early to know what exactly this new version of the show will entail. The only available clip is the ten minute interview with Maguire and Kavanaugh, and it's a far cry from the loose, rambunctious interviews that Jonesy did on Indie.

The most interesting kernel of information in the release, in fact, is embedded in the above quote: “my next step before returning to radio.” Jones has never hidden the fact that he wants back on LA terrestrial radio, though where that return would be is a tough to imagine. Indie 103 was the perfect home for him, and allowed for his totally weird, totally off-the-cuff interviewing style. But with Relativity's deep pockets, Jones will no doubt be able to do the stuff that he did on Indie, and then some; without the Federal Communications Commission to keep the profanity and lewdness in check on the Internet, the DJ and host might be able to stretch it even more.

But still, the question remains whether the show will be merely a platform for Jones to push Relativity's media products — an hour-long infomercial with an awesome host to shill the production company's recent productions — or whether his guests will run the gamut. It doesn't bode well that the main page of IAMROGUE.com is not an announcement of Jonesy's return, but a big ad for Brothers.

But we'll keep our hopes alive that Jonesy's Jukebox will someday return to the LA airwaves, and that our favorite radio host will be allowed the free expression that he thrives on. Until then, a little bit of Jonesy is better than no Jonesy at all.

Here's the main info in the press release:

Each daily, hour long episode will stream live at and feature Jones–with his vast musical knowledge and longtime commitment to music by supporting both icons and up-and-coming artists–playing a mix of eclectic music, breaking new bands and interviewing top artists in music, film, television and other pop culture icons in his inimitable personal and freewheeling style (many artists came away from interviews with Jones feeling that it was the best experience they'd ever had with a radio interview). Each broadcast will be archived and available for view immediately following the live feed on IAMROGUE.com. Fans who have eagerly awaited the return of the popular show will now be able to watch daily as Jones helps Rogue galvanize the Indie music movement.

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