Rocker Killed By Drunk Driver

Daum died at the scene of the accident on an Interstate 40 on-ramp on George L. Davis Boulevard. According to police, the car was driven by Charles Wolford of Owensboro, Ky., who admitted at the scene that he had been drinking. - more on this story

The Black Lips Driven Out of India

antiMusic reports: While Motley Crue call themselves the most notorious band in rock and roll, their exploits are rather tame (or is it lame?) when you compare them to what the The Black Lips just went through in India. We'll let the band tell you about it:

Unfortunately, we have had to flee the country of India due to having our whole tour canceled and having to escape being held by police for indecent exposure during our most rawkus set in Chennai at the Campus Rock Idol showcase.

After the fiasco, which the kids seemed to like, the financial backers of the event were furious and threw us off the tour. They tried to get security to restrain us until the Tamil police arrived. We locked the door while they were kicking and banging on it. Meanwhile, we slipped out the other emergency exit. - more on this story

Kanye West Takes Bad Taste To A New Low

NME reports: Habitual 'caps on' blogger, Kanye West has taken to video blogging, saying today that he wants to be addressed as 'Martin Louis The King Jr'.

Speaking from a hotel room in Paris, West says that the new name came to him when he saw the shoes he designed for Louis Vuitton hit the runway last week:

"Who do you know with two thumbs and their own Louis shoe? This guy," West says pointing to himself. [A play on Martin Luther King Jr.'s name? Does this guy have no shame? Hey that's a better rhyme than anything Moosey Elliot has ever put out!] - Enough from this bozo, if you must read more click here

Kooky Pearl Benefit Jam- Bullet For My Putintine- Jacko Musical- Consumers Agree: Zune Sucks!- M83 Orchestra- New Glam Supergroup and more

antiMusic reports: Is it 1969? Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Donovan, Paul Horn and Moby will perform April 4 at a New York benefit for the David Lynch Foundation. The event at Radio City Music Hall will further the foundation's goal to teach 1 million children the techniques of Transcendental Meditation. more.

Bullet For My Valentine have announced a one-off show in Russia, due to take place in Moscow at DS Luzhniki Hockey Arena on April 20th. more

Michael Jackson will help develop his ground-breaking "Thriller" video into a musical theater production, producers said on Monday.more

Lil Wayne has announced a tentative April 7 release date for his next album, "Rebirth." The set's first single, "Prom Queen," will debut live Tuesday (January 27) on Wayne's MySpace page.more

Mastodon revealed a brand new song, "Divinations," from their new studio album, Crack The Skye, yesterday. The single is available digitally from iTunes and all other participating digital retailers.

Oasis, Kings of Leon and Vampire Weekend lead the field of nominees at the NME pop music magazine awards this year. more

Janet Jackson has postponed the Japanese leg of her tour, blaming the slumping economy, the singer's representatives said on Monday.more

Contrary to rumors that Faith No More will reform to play the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in April, the group's frontman Mike Patton will perform at the event in tandem with beatboxer Rahzel, Billboard.com has learnedmore

It seems that Microsoft's Zune just can't catch a break. Despite a holiday ad blitz and introduction of new services - including a feature that lets subscribers keep 10 free songs a week - revenue for the Zune division fell 54% in the fourth quarter from the year prior. more Standing in the story looking at the Zune and the iPod. Let's see both are the same price, one is the elegant device from the innovative company that created the market and the other comes from Microsoft. Wonder which one people went with? Had Microsoft offered their lesser device for a lesser price they might have done better. Xbox anyone?

M83 have announced a co-headlining performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in Los Angeles in March. more

Harlots has announced that they're now on what they consider to be an indefinite hiatus. The group's the last album was released in 2007 via Lifeforce Records, though they had since written a handful of songs for a new release.more

Tune in to catch Americana/folk favorite James McMurtry in the latest webcast from online-concert-channel www.fabchannel.com. Today, January 27, McMurtry will take to the stage at the legendary Paradiso in Amsterdam as part of his highly anticipated European tour. Viewers from all over the world can join the audience at the venue, live at www.fabchannel.com/james_mcmurtry. The webcast will start at 19.00 (GMT).

Plushgun will release their debut full length, Pins & Panzers, on February 17th. To celebrate, they are throwing parties in NYC and Boston. 2/18 New York, NY @ Fontana's and 2/19 Boston, MA @ Harper's Ferry

Rumor has it that Paul McCartney may appear at Coachella. info on those rumors

Three 'secret' Lady Sovereign gigs in the US have been pushed back a week due to complications in securing the rapper's visa.more

Ontario metal/hardcore band Dead and Divine is currently preparing to record their next album, titled "The Machines We Are." The effort will be produced by Garth "GGGarth" Richardson (Rage Against the Machine) and Eric Ratz (Cancer Bats) and is expected to hit streets this summermore

American Beauty, the new band featuring members of Wild August, Alice Cooper, Ratt and Skid Row, have booked their debut performance at Club Loaded on Feb 27th 2009. - info

There Will Be No Ziggy Stardust in the Desert

MusicRadar reports: Recent reports had David Bowie slated to appear as legendary alter-ego Ziggy Stardust at this year's Coachella Festival, which takes place April 17-19 in Indio, California.

However, according to a spokesperson for Bowie, the singer won't be assuming his early '70 glam-rock persona.

David Bowie is "not performing at Coachella this year," a representative from Isolar Managment told MusicRadar, putting to rest any performances, Ziggy Stardust or otherwise. - Wait, there is more to the story

Slash Doll Coming

antiMusic reports: Even in these overly politically correct times, one rule still hasn't changed: Boys don't play with dolls. Of course toy makers found a way around this rule years ago when they came up with and alternate name for boy dolls: action-figures.

KISS became on of the first bands to tap into this market when they released dolls of their face-painted likeness in the 70s. They did have the intellectual honesty to call them dolls at the time, but strangely the TV ad jingle was performed by a studio band. The latest rocker to be immortalized in doll form is Slash. Oops, we mean action-figure.

McFarlane Toys have announced the pending release of the Slash guitar hero "action figure." Some the specs: "Figure measures 11 inches at top of hat. Articulated at neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles. Includes guitar and 5 inch wide by 3 1/2-inch deep Guitar Hero logo base." The Slash doll is set to be released sometime next month. - product page with photos

Grammys Finally Get Some Cred: McCartney and Radiohead Added

antiMusic reports: The Grammy awards met with a collective yawn when they announced their list of subpar performers for this year's televised ceremony. It's now time to call in the big guns!

Billboard is reporting that Paul McCartney and Radiohead have both signed on to perform. According to the report, McCartney will be joined by Foo Fighter Dave Grohl for his performance.

On the other hand, the Grammys had to stay true to their character and also added Justin Timberlake, T.I., Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne. Guess they didn't get the memo that rap sales have dropped like a rock yet again this past year. At least there will be two performances worth watching, so set your TIVO so you can skip the crap. - Billboard report

Death Cab for Cutie Spring Tour

PR reports: Death Cab for Cutie has unveiled plans for a major U.S. tour. They will kick off their spring schedule on April 7th at the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

The dates then continue through a May 6th show at Atlanta's Fox Theatre. Cold War Kids will be direct support in April, with Matt Costa taking over direct support for dates in May. Ra Ra Riot will be opening all shows on the tour.

Exclusive fan club pre-sale begins January 28th and all other shows go on sale beginning the weekend of January 30th. - more on this story

Oasis Heading To China

Angry Ape reports: Oasis have announced a quick visit of China, as part of their world 'Dig Out Your Soul' tour.

The UK rockers will play just three shows in April, held in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

After this trip, Oasis will then head out to South Africa and will later return to the UK to complete a stadium tour. - dates

Anthrax Set Release

PR reports: Anthrax will be returning with "Worship Music," the band's first new studio album in six years and a supporting world tour. "Worship Music" is set for a June release on Megaforce Records.

The album marks the studio debut of new singer Dan Nelson who joins long-time members Scott Ian (rhythm guitar), Frank Bello (bass), Charlie Benante (drums), and Rob Caggiano (lead guitar). According to early reports, "Worship Music" is Anthrax's heaviest album to date.

In addition, 2009 marks the 25-year anniversary of the release of Anthrax' debut album, 1984's "Fistful of Metal." "I can't even process that it's been 25 years," said co-founding member Ian. "It's insane to me, because when you think about it, who does anything for that long, let alone in the same band? Start making a list of bands that are still around 25 years after their first album, and it's going to be a pretty short list." - more on this story

The English Beat 30th Anniversary

PR reports: The English Beat, formed in Birmingham, England in 1979, are celebrating their 30th anniversary with an action-packed 2009. Led by founding member, lead vocalist and songwriter Dave Wakeling, the band will be recording and touring extensively.

The sparkling live show includes the band's best-known originals, among them "Mirror in the Bathroom," "Save It for Later," "Stand Down Margaret" and "I Confess," and their inspirational covers of "Tears of a Clown" and "Can't Get Used to Losing You," as well as the hits Wakeling scored with '80s pop icons General Public, such as "Tenderness," "Never You Done That" and "I'll Take You There."

All this, plus a growing number of new songs that are fast becoming firm favorites with the fans, like "The Love You Give Lasts Forever," "How Can You Stand There" and "Said We Would Never Die" . . . bring your dancing shoes, and your thinking caps! The new tracks will be recorded and released in 2009, either as a series of EPs or a full album, and will include new studio tracks, live tracks, acoustic versions, and remixes by good friends The Thievery Corporation. - more on this story

Singled Out: Heartless Bastards

antiMusic reports: Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Erika Wennerstrom from Heartless Bastards tells us about the title track from their brand new album "The Mountain," which hits stores next week. We now turn it over to Erika for the story:

"The Mountain" is about the shrinking middle class here in the US. So many of the good jobs are going overseas and the companies that are sending them over are ultimately going to destroy themselves. The middle class is a big part of the spending power of this country. A great deal of these businesses were already making good profits before they sent the jobs over, it's just greedy. I think we have a flawed system. Even if the companies were trying to answer to stockholders by increasing the profits of an already successful business, looking at the economy now, it hasn't done that much good in the long term. People are losing their retirements in the stock market. It's not because of the war either; this has been coming for a long time. - Read the rest of this song story

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