Rage Against the Machine to tour again
In an interview from last year, RATM’s frontman Zack de la Rocha indicated the band would tour the “northern hemisphere,” and work on releasing a new album this summer.
The band is playing a show on July 30, in Los Angeles, with Rise Against and Muse.
Snoop and Willie toke up in new video
Willie Nelson appears in Snoop Dogg’s new video for “Superman,” a single off his album “Doggumentary.” They first collaborated on the song in 2009, when they performed the song live in Amsterdam.
The video can be viewed at spin.com and was released on 4/20, of course.
Beastie Boys premier “Fight For Your Right Revisited”
The 30-minute short movie reliving the B-Boys’ classic 1986 video has hit MTV, VH1 and other video networks.
The video features a star-studded cast and can be downloaded through the Beastie Boys’ homepage, or you can view the trailer at youtube.com/watch?v=rBa5qp9sUOY.
You can also head over to spin.com and check out a shortened version set to the music of “Make Some Noise,” a track off their new album.
Speaking of which, another single has been released off “Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2,” called “Say It.” Check it out at twentyfourbit.com.
Elton John returns to Sin City
The Rocket Man has announced that he’ll be starting a three-year stint at Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas beginning Sept. 28.
The new show will be titled “The Million Dollar Piano,” after a special instrument Yamaha built for him.
Tickets go on sale Monday, April 25.
TV on the Radio bassist dies
Gerard Smith, bassist for TV on the Radio, died April 20. Smith, 36, had been battling lung cancer recently.
AC/DC DVD with original lineup will be released
“Let There Be Light,” a concert movie featuring AC/DC with their original singer Bon Scott, will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on June 7.
A collector’s edition will also be released the same day, which includes 95 minutes of extra content.
Documentary about A Tribe Called Quest to be released
“Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travel of A Tribe Called Quest” will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 27.
The documentary’s director, Michael Rapaport, says Sony Picture Classics has acquired the film, which will hopefully see wide-spread release later this year.
The film documents A Tribe Called Quest’s 1998 bitter breakup and subsequent reunion tour. The band’s leader, Q-Tip, has spoken out against the film and has demanded producing credits, which Rapaport eventually granted.
Flaming Lips release music in edible gummy skull
The Oklahoma City-based band Flaming Lips has released two new songs on a USB drive inside an edible gummy skull.
Wayne Coyne, the Flaming Lips frontman, dropped by an Oklahoma City record store on Tuesday to sell a few copies of the item, which sold for $150 each. The two songs, “Drug Chart” and “In Our Bodies, In Our Heads,” were then leaked onto the Internet.
You can listen to the songs at spin.com.
Twelve countries go Gaga
Just 24 hours after the release of Lady Gaga’s “Judas,” the second single off the album “Born This Way.” topped the iTunes charts in 12 countries.
The single is also expected to be No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart this week.
“Spider-Man” musical in a web of trouble
The musical based on the comic book character has had its share of misfortunes since it opened last year, including injuries on set, lousy reviews and the departure of the show’s director.
In an effort to breathe some life back into Spidey, U2’s The Edge and Bono are writing two new songs for the musical (for which they wrote the rest of the music), and the choreography is being revamped.
The show is now set to re-open June 14.
New track from Death Cab for Cutie released
“Some Boys,” the latest track to be heard from DCFC’s upcoming album “Codes and Keys,” was released last week, and can be heard at twentyfourbit.com.
Classic Nirvana and Sonic Youth documentary reissued
“1991: The Year Punk Broke,” a long-out-of-print documentary featuring Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Dinosaur Jr. and The Ramones, will be reissued on a deluxe DVD this fall.
But, if you can’t wait that long to revisit the classic doc by director Dave Markey, head over to spin.com where you can watch the entire movie.
“Weird Al” Yankovic parodies Lady Gaga
“Weird Al” released a new single titled “Perform This Way,” a parody of Lady Gaga’s hit, “Born This Way.”
Lady Gaga originally refused to give permission for the single, though she eventually relented. But, legally, “Weird Al” does not need permission to parody songs, though he usually asks for it anyway.
The single can be found on YouTube, and all proceeds from the sale of the single will go to the Human Rights Campaign, which supports gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered causes.
What a nice guy.
New Leonard Cohen material
The legendary singer/songwriter/poet is working on an album that has been slated for release later this year.
But, if you can’t wait that long, head over to twentyfourbit.com and check out four new songs he’s debuted at live shows recently.
Jeff Bridges signs record deal
Yes, “The Dude” himself has signed a recording contract with Blue Note Records, and will enter the studio with legendary producer T Bone Burnett.
Bridges says the new album will feature original songs as well as covers by Tom Waits, Bo Ramsey and Greg Brown.
The record is scheduled for an end-of-summer release.
Pearl Jam documentary on the way
Cameron Crowe plans to release “Pearl Jam Twenty” this year.
The film spans Pearl Jam’s 20-year careeer, and is made up of old footage as well as new material shot by Crowe. Pearl Jam provided Crowe with almost 20 hours of rare, unseen footage for the project.
New Anthrax album coming in the fall
It’s been 21 years since Anthrax released an album with original singer Joey Belladonna, but “Worship Music” is scheduled to be released in the fall.
The band has continued to tour, playing shows last year with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. They also played Saturday with the same bands in Indio, Calif., the site of the recent Coachella festival. That show was the first time the “Big 4” have played together in the U.S.
Wilco to release new single
Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy told Spin magazine that their new album, with the working title of “Get Well Soon Everybody,” sounds “irreverent.”
The band has recorded 20 songs so far, and the final result could be a double album.
In the meantime, Wilco are releasing a new single, titled “I Might,” through their new label dBpm Records. The vinyl single will hit stores in July, with album slated for a September release.
Social Distortion stream live show and new video
Social Distortion streamed “Machine Gun Blues” on Wednesday, along with a live performance. The video features the band as Los Angeles gangsters in 1934. The trailer can be found at rollingstone.com.
