Velvet Revolver Pay Up Over Song Theft

Good thing he did as he'll reportedly get a whopping 20 percent of all royalties from the "Contraband" album, not to mention the actual single dating back to 2004. As if that's not enough, he'll also be paid all future royalties for the use of the song.
- Read the Rolling Stone report

Metallica Release New Song

PR reports: Metallica have just released the first single off their upcoming album, Death Magnetic.

The epic track is entitled "The Day That Never Comes" and it's now available through iTunes and is streaming on the band's site.

The band recently filmed a video for the track with Danish film director Thomas Vinterberg which will premiere soon. Check out the track which is now streaming on - Metallica.com

Hagar Slams Van Halen

Blabbermouth reports: Ex-Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar recently spoke to Ralph Sutton of the nationally syndicated rock radio show "The Tour Bus" about his former band's reunion with frontman David Lee Roth and their decision to replace bassist Michael Anthony with guitarist Eddie Van Halen's 17-year-old son Wolfgang.

"They just keep going, making more and more mistakes," Hagar said. "The reunion with Dave was the greatest thing they could have done, but why didn't they just keep Mike one more time?!

"They just can't do the right thing by the fans. I don't know why that band… There's just something quirky to where they… It's almost like they wanna just push 'em [the fans] as far as they can and see if they'll still come back." - more on this story

Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis Reportedly Will Perform Zeppelin Classic for Olympics

antiMusic reports: We told you about this rumor earlier but supposedly one of the musicians involved confirmed it with a blog posting. That's right Jimmy Page is reportedly teaming up with Leona Lewis for a performance to close the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing.

The new 411 has it that they will be performing the Led Zeppelin classic "Whole Lotta Love". We're not 100% sure of this info as it comes from a UK site that has a tendency to take tabloid reports and turn around and report them as hard news. The reported source of the information was musician Guy Pratt, who is said to have let the cat out of the bag on his blog.

"You may also be interested to know that when Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis perform 'Whole Lotta Love' at the end of the Olympics, that's me playing bass on it," he supposedly wrote. We say supposedly because we Googled trying to find this blog online but only found this quote on the usual assortment of tabloid sites. We did find a blog for Guy Pratt and it was dated August 19th, but it did not have this quote. Perhaps he pulled a Kanye and removed it? Or....
- Read Guy Pratt's Blog

Coldplay Already Looking To Release A New CD?

NME reports: Coldplay are reportedly set to release a new album in 2009, despite the fact that the band's last record, 'Viva La Vida Or Death And all His Friends', was only released in June.

A report in The Sun (August 21) suggests that the band's 'Viva La Vida..' sessions with producer Brian Eno had been so successful that they were now looking to rush-release a new album of already recorded material.

A source at the band's label EMI said: "The majority of the follow-up is already in the can, though they will have to go back into the studio at some point to add a few more songs."

[Before you get your hopes up, remember this info came from The Sun but the EMI emp did have - a little more to say. ]

Slipknot Leak, Miley Cyrus Bilking Fans for Her Birthday, Billy Idol Strips, Fake Dr Cealion, It Herniated Today, Barenaked Justice Delay, Allman Brothers Turning 40 and more

antiMusic reports: Can O' Worms.com emailed us to tell us that they are leaking the entire new Slipknot album. We'd provide a direct link to said site but the last time we did that Axl Rose's lawyers sent us an unconstitutional love letter. So the four or five Slipknot fans that read this will have to figure it out on their own.

Miley Cyrus wants fans to help her celebrate her Sweet 16 — for a little green. According to Entertainment Tonight, the teen queen — who earned $18.2 million last year — is selling a limited number of $250 tickets to her bash, set to take place at Disneyland. more

A scheduled U.S. court appearance on drug possession charges for Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page has been delayed. Page's Buffalo-based lawyer, Mark Mahoney, says the singer's next court date is now slated for Oct. 14 more

Billy Idol Strips! The House Of Blues on the Sunset Strip will be transformed to the House Of Billy when legendary rocker Billy Idol ignites the venue with three special shows on Tuesday, September 16th, Wednesday, September 17th and Friday, September 19th. more

Celine Dion blinked away the first of many tears Thursday when she was presented with an honourary doctorate from Universite Laval that adds the title "Dr. Cealion " to her resume. What has happened to educational standard? more

Jessica Simpson Drinks Beer to Make Her Smart, Which Explains a Lot. Yes, marketing hits a brand new low. Read all about it here

Universal Music Group suffered a setback in its defense of a lawsuit over a YouTube takedown notice, when the presiding judge declined to dismiss the case. The ruling opens the door to how "fair use" may be taken into account before demanding a video be removed. The dispute focuses on UMG's request to remove a short video of a baby dancing to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy." Billboard has all the details

The Allman Brothers Band is planning to use next year's engagement at New York's Beacon Theatre as the focal point for the group's 40th anniversary celebration.more

It Dies Today has cancelled its participation in the upcoming U.S. tour featuring Bury Your Dead and The Ghost Inside. According to a posting on the It Dies Today MySpace page, the group's guitarist, Mike Hatalak, "has four herniated discs in his back and some slight nerve damage, and won't be able to tour for a bit." more

The Kerrang! Awards were handed out this week. Some real headscratchers here, like with any awards, but we really love the idea of corporate sponsorship of specific awards that even goes so far to have a record label sponsoring one of them(a mallcore label at that) and shock... that label's artists win other awards! Check out the winners® here

Helloween is returning to North America on the Hellish Rock Tour with Gamma Ray. The tour kicks off on September 18th in Quebec, and will finish up on October 11th in Guadalajara, Mexico. more

Sheryl Crow is doing her part to discourage voter turnout this year by chasing potential voters away with one of her albums. More people vote for American Idol than President already, this should drop it even lower. Read about it - here

Nine Inch Nails Add More American Dates

NLM reports: The 2008 Lights In The Sky World Tour has been extended with new North American dates. Returning member Robin Finck and new addition Justin Meldal-Johnsen will join Trent Reznor, Alessandro Cortini and Josh Freese once again for the upcoming fall tour.

Finck has served in numerous touring configurations of NIN, from tours supporting The Downward Spiral (1994-1997) to The Fragile (2000-2001). More recently, he played for Guns N Roses. Meldal-Johnsen previously performed with Beck for more than a decade and was a founding member of Ima Robot.

The upcoming tour will feature the live debut of material from the recently released albums Ghosts I-IV and The Slip alongside songs spanning the entire NIN catalog. - more on this story

The Vandals Polish Turds

PR reports: The Vandals have released BBC 1 Sessions and Other Polished Turds, a digital-only collection of rarities from the annals of Vandals history and BBC 1's Lock-Up Sessions with Mike Davis.

The album boasts some of the best from those sessions, featuring hilarious renditions of ZZ Top, Sublime, and Queen fare, and a tear jerking piano version of the dead pet lament "Canine Euthanasia." Plus there's exclusive new tracks – "Long Haired Lover" and "You're Not The Boss Of Me (Kick It)" – featuring Emmy-winning comedian Bob Odenkirk (AKA the Bob half of Mr. Show).

The rest, mostly cover songs, come from ancient Ramones tributes, lame Alice Cooper tribute albums, and even an awesome Japanese Disney tribute. The cheesiest of the cheesy, however, has to be the Vandals version of "Long Haired Lover From Liver Pool," the song then-9-year-old Jimmy Osmond topped the U.K. pop charts with in 1972. Think of this release as 20 years of people asking for extra songs and the Vandals delivering in their own special way. - more on this story

Phil Guy RIP

House of Rock reports: Blues guitarist Phil Guy passed away August 20th at the age of 68. He was the brother of legendary bluesman Buddy Guy and an acclaimed performer in his own right.

Guy died Wednesday morning at Saint James Hospital in Chicago Heights of complications from prostate cancer.

He played backup for his brother Buddy and also fronted his own band, Phil Guy and the Chicago Machine. - more on this story

The Real Reason Britney Mimes?

antiMusic reports: Back before MTV, you needed to actually have some talent to make it as a pop star. Either that or a retardly catchy song. But the dawn of the video age changed all of that.

Now all you need is a marketable image, throwaway pop songs from generic songwriters, a producer that can work magic with AutoTune. Hell, you don't even need to have the ability to sing live, you can just lip-sync and claim that you do it because of all of your dancing. But what would happen if a major popstar's actual voice was captured during a concert and uploaded to the web?

We should ask Britney Spears as a new video posted online has the net buzzing. The clip reportedly features the actual audio recorded from Britney's microphone during a performance in Las Vegas, not what the people in the audience heard. And boy it isn't pretty! We're not 100% convinced that this is legit, but wouldn't be shocked if it is. - You need to hear it for yourself.

Are the Dead Kennedys Dead?

punknews.org reports: The beleaguered Dead Kennedys have decided to hang up their touring boots. With both bassist Klaus Flouride and drummer D.H. Peligro sidelined with health issues, the band is putting themselves on a self-described "indefinite touring hiatus."

Flouride spoke on his departure earlier this week. Guitarist East Bay Ray will form a new band with the Wynona Riders' Skip, who was singing for the Kennedys on their last two tours. While the band has not announced a formal breakup the did phrase their recent years in a retrospective light:

"Earlier this year, in May 2008, Dead Kennedys were awarded a Gold Record in both the United States and the United Kingdom for "Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death." "In God We Trust Inc. EP." was also certified Gold in the United Kingdom. This is significant achievement because the recordings were all released on independent labels."
- more on this story

Misheard Lyrics of the Day: Nine Inch Nails

antiMusic reports: Who hasn't misheard a song lyrics. We thought it might be fun to feature some favorites here for you to enjoy.

Today's misheard lyric is to Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" and the line "I want to f*ck you like an animal, You get me closer to god." That lyric has been misheard as "I want a duck shaped like a triangle, You give a toaster to Bob."

If you have a misheard lyric we'd love to hear from you. See the contact link at the bottom of the page for how to get a hold of us to tell us about your favorites. If you want to check out more misheard Nine Inch Nails song lyrics like this one you can go - here

Decemberists Announce Singles Series

PR reports: The Decemberists will release Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series this fall. The three volumes will be available digitally and on 12" vinyl. Volume 1, comprised of "Valerie Plame" and "O New England," will be released on October 14th.

The band will give "Valerie Plame" its national television debut on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" on November 3rd, the eve of the United States presidential election.

Written from the point-of-view of one of Plame's inside contacts upon discovering her true identity, the song is an amorous tribute to the onetime CIA operative. The Decemberists will be playing select U.S. dates this November; details will be announced shortly. - more on this story

New Brian Wilson Coming

PR reports: He is one of popular music's most deeply revered figures, a legendary writer, producer, arranger and performer of some of the most cherished music in rock history. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to call Brian Wilson one of the most gifted and influential pop composers of the last 50 years. Wilson has returned to Capitol Records / EMI, his original label home, for the release of his new studio recording, That Lucky Old Sun. The new album will be released on CD, CD/DVD, and digitally on September 2 (September 1 internationally). On August 19, the album will be released as a limited edition 180-gram vinyl LP.

Brian Wilson's return to Capitol Records / EMI, where The Beach Boys caught their first hit wave with the 1962 classic, "Surfin' Safari/409," is a triumphant homecoming for one of the world's most gifted and beloved musical talents.

"I'm thrilled to be back home with Capitol, and I'm looking forward to sharing That Lucky Old Sun with everyone," says Brian Wilson. "This music is really special to me." - more on this story

Singled Out: Morningwood

antiMusic reports: While everyone is going goo goo over the rehashed lesbian song this summer, one video did grab our attention. Who doesn't love puppets that take drugs? We won't spoil it for you, but the actual concept behind the clip was pretty clever. We were so impressed that we touched base with the group's publicist at Capitol Records to see if the main woman behind the song would be willing to tell us a little bit about it and she did! So here is Chantel from Morningwood to tell us all about the song "Sugerbaby":

We wrote the song "Sugarbaby" in one day in the studio with these awesome dudes named Sam & Dave. We went in and they asked us if we had anything we wanted to write about, I took out my little notebook of ideas and the phrase "sugarbaby" was one of the things that stuck out. The vocal that I sang that first day is the vocal that is still on the released recording. I always enjoy writing about NYC hipsters, it provides endless hours of mockery. This is sort of a continuation of what "Nu Rock" was from the first album. It is poking fun at the typical downtown kid who come to the big city and tries to assimilate themselves by dressing "cool" and getting into the party scene all while their parents foot the bill for their education. Once their parent's are done footing the bill the kids have to find new ways live their life, so we figured the girl would get a sugardaddy.

At the same time, it is also sort of making fun of my upbringing in NYC because it is going through all of the places I have lived in NYC on the LES (lower east side) and the UES (upper east side). So I get to sing about all of the places that were my old stomping grounds. When we filmed the video it was like filming my life story, I got to go to all of the places I grew up around so it was pretty amazing to capture that on film.

That's to Chantel for taking the time to give us the 411. If you haven't seen the video, you really need to drop everything and go check it out right now. You can view the video and learn more about Morningwood on their - Myspace page.

Wait there is more!

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