This press release arrived in our inbox and elicited expressions of disappointment among our staff:

2009 MUSINK TATTOO AND MUSIC TOUR CANCELED

MUSINK producers have announced that the 2009 tattoo and music tour has
been canceled due to the current economic climate.  The U.S. tour was
scheduled to launch January 30, 2009 and feature Social Distortion and
Motorhead, along with renowned tattoo artists from around the world,
including MUSINK co-producer Kat Von D.  “I'm sad that this year's
festival will not go on as planned, but I'd rather the fans not be
disappointed, as there were key elements that did not come together as
originally designed,” says Kat Von D.

It's a shame, for sure. Tattoos are the first things to go in a recession. But the collateral damage in all of this is Motorhead, whose brand of fury is the perfect antidote for hard times. Born and bred in mid-1970s industrial England, the band stripped away all the bullshit and sang of self reliance, gambling and, er, having sex with underage women (“You're jailbait, and I just can't wait”) — old school concerns for a pared-down economy. Is it any wonder that AC/DC's selling out arenas? In these times, we don't need no fanciness. We want it simple.

We're willing to cut our expensive habits during the economic slowdown. That's a given. But let's not go overboard. If we're going to do some budget-cutting, let's excise Rush and Coheed and Cambria before we start thinking of cutting out the Motorhead.

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