New Van Halen Album and Tour Coming

In March, That Metal Show host Eddie Trunk tweeted that he heard gossip from a "reliable source" that the "VH album is close to done and will come out this year. Label TBD" At the same time, the Van Halen News Desk reported that this timing matches up perfectly with what they've heard from a trusted source – that the recording process is going great and the band is starting to mix the new tracks. more on this story

Steven Tyler Gets Emmy Nom

(Gibson) In the past few months, during his stint as a judge on American Idol, Steven Tyler has become a pretty big television star. And now, he's been nominated for an Emmy. (Although it's not for his Idol work; there's not a category for wackiest reality TV judge… yet).

The Aerosmith frontman has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on the Nickelodeon children's show The Wonder Pets, according to Zap2it.com. His nod comes in the Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program category. Last year, the singer voiced the Mad Hatter on an Alice in Wonderland-themed edition of the show. He was joined by Ziggy Marley as the Cheshire Cat and Idina Menzel (Rent, Wicked) as the Queen of Hearts.

For those unfamiliar with the show, The Wonder Pets follows three classroom pets who sing their way through adventures that involve saving animals in trouble. Check out footage of Tyler's performance here

Jack White and Bob Dylan Team Up To Finish Hank Williams Songs

(Gibson) Jack White has contributed to a new project spearheaded by Bob Dylan that pays tribute to Hank Williams. A few years ago, Dylan was given a folder of Williams' lyrics that were never put to music. Similar to Billy Bragg and Wilco's Mermaid Avenue "collaborations" with Woody Guthrie, Dylan has brought in a slew of artists to finish off the old Williams compositions, according to ClashMusic.com.

"I did a project with Bob Dylan: he put together 20 or 25 people to finish writing Hank Williams songs that only had lyrics and didn't have music … I had to write music for Hank Williams' lyrics," White said. "I looked through all the piles of lyrics, and one of 'em just kept speaking to me. Sometimes you think it's gonna be really hard to find my spot, and then it picks it for you. You don't even have to choose it; it just picks it for you."

White said the album might come out this year, but Dylan has yet to announce the full list of artists who have contributed to the project. The former White Stripes frontman gave a few clues in an interview with MTV News. more on this story

AC/DC Resist 3D Fad

(Gibson) Brian Johnson recalls the shows AC/DC played in December of 2009 in Argentina, which are featured in the newly released Blu-ray/DVD, AC/DC Live at River Plate. According to the 63-year-old singer, the fans for all three performances were unbelievable—even outside the venue.

"From leaving the hotel, the streets were lined all the way to the gig, three or four deep with kids and you knew there was something special going on in the air. You could almost feel it," Johnson told the Associated Press. "The atmosphere was unbelievable. It is quite an imposing stadium. They were as one, just jumping up and down to the music. And it's a sight I'll never forget as long as I live. All audiences really rock—but all together? I've never seen that. They just seemed so happy to see us. I remember the smiles—thousands and thousands."

While the film was shot on 32 HD cameras, the band resisted the urge to shoot in 3D, as has become fashionable these days with the likes of U2 and Justin Bieber. "Who wants to see my nose in 3D?" Johnson joked. "They'll be running out the cinema." more on this story

Aerosmith Finale For The Simpsons

(hennemusic) Steven Tyler says Aerosmith will play the American Idol finale in two weeks but another Aerosmith member will also be appearing in a season finale this year.

A few days before the Idol finale, Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer returns to The Simpsons for the Season 22 finale.

The episode, entitled "The Ned-Liest Catch," will air on May 22nd at 8 PM (ET). Here's the storyline: "Feeling guilty for getting Mrs. Krabappel suspended after one of his school pranks, Bart helps her escape detention, and Ned Flanders winds up saving her life in the process. When Edna and Ned start dating, he is surprised to learn she's been with many of Springfield's men, including Homer and Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer (guest-voicing as himself)." more on this story

Historic Rare Led Zeppelin Item Fetches Big Price

(Gibson) A Led Zeppelin T-shirt, said to be one of the rarest rock T-shirts in the world, has sold on eBay for a whopping $10,000. The shirt, which was sold by Kyle Ermatinger of Stormcrow Vintage, was produced in 1979 in limited quantity as a unique way to replace conventional backstage passes for one of Zeppelin's legendary Knebworth House concerts.

As reported by Bravewords.com, Ermatinger said his "jaw hit the floor" when he received the sale notification. "Given that this shirt may be one of the only ones in existence, the price tag is completely justifiable" he said. "It's a rock relic, beyond rare." Ermatinger purchased the shirt from the family who ran the shop that screen-printed the original shirts, paying $123.

"At the time, I thought I may have overpaid," Ermatinger said, "until I got back home, looked it up online, and noticed it was ranked #1 as the rarest Zeppelin T-shirt." The buyer, who is located in Australia, declined comment. more on this story

Pantera Zombie Jam Unearthed- No Ozzfest- fun. Panic! Song- Down Recording-Glassjaw To Forgo Albums- System Of A Down 29 Song Return- Arcade Fire- more

The Day in Rock Digest for 05/12/11: Yesterday the Vulgar Display of Blog posted news about a previous unheard jam featuring Pantera's Dimebag Darrell, Phil Anselmo and White Zombie's Sean Yseult recorded at 6am after a long night of drinking on a White Zombie/Pantera tour, 1992. The song reportedly came from Sean's archives. VDOB linked to a site that reportedly had this jam but it appears that is has been removed. You can read their report here

Ozzy addressed the speculation about an Ozzfest 2011 on his official facebook page with this message: "No, not this year. I just finished a lengthy arena tour of the U.S., so I've decided to tour Europe this summer instead."

Panic! at the Disco will hit the road on tour this spring with New York indie pop outfit fun., featuring members of the Format, Anathallo, and Steel Train, on opening duties. To celebrate, the two bands teamed up for a new single, "C'mon," which SPIN is exclusively premiering before it hits iTunes on May 17. Check it out here

Glassjaw's Daryl Palumbo: 'Full-length records are becoming irrelevant' Band cast doubt on whether they will ever release a third studio LP more

In case you missed it, check out the 30-minute version of Beastie Boys'em>Fight For Your Right Revisited here

System Of A Down kicked off its reunion tour with a 29 song headlining performance Tuesday night (May 10) in front of 14,000 fans at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Check out the setlist here

Agnostic Front have announced that it will be heading out on a new United States tour this coming September. Support on the trek will come from The Mongloids and Naysayer. more

Last month Lace Weeper did a singled out special for their cover of Mother Love Bone's "Crown Of Thorns" which they teamed up with Kevin Wood (Malfunkshun) for and released in memory of Kevin's brother and lead singer of MLB Andrew Wood. Today they sent over word that they are giving away their debut EP absolutely free! Grab it here

Down entered the studio yesterday, May 11th, to begin recording new music according to a message from guitarist Kirk Windstein's official face book page more

Black Tusk will enter the studio in June with engineer Jack Endino (High On Fire, Soundgarden) to begin recording their third full-length album more

The mammoth CD reissue program undertaken by Pink Floyd is an acknowledgment that the era of physical CDs and lavish artwork is coming to an end, as fans increasingly opt to download music digitally, drummer Nick Mason said on Wednesday. more

The Cult has inked a deal with Cooking Vinyl Records. The group, which took part in the "Love Live Tour" last year and also recorded a four-track release with Chris Goss (Queens Of The Stone Age, Masters Of Reality), is back in the studio with Goss recording a new album. more

Legion and Belie My Burial will be touring together next month. more

In Fear and Faith, Vanna, A Loss For Words, Close To Home, Ten After Two, and Adestria will take part in "The 2011 Summer Partery Tour." more

The deluxe edition of the Arcade Fire album The Suburbs is due on August 2, and it will include tons of extra goodies for fans. more

Music Sales Up and Rock Still Rules

Nielsen had an interesting blog on Wednesday about an uptick in music sales but they also point out that the mainly ignored genre of Rock is still the most popular style of music, with 32 percent album share, while pop music represents 40 percent of all current digital tracks sold.

Here is an excerpt from the blog: Music sales in the U.S. are up 1.6 percent in 2011, according to The Nielsen Company, as digital album and track sales saw dramatic growth through May 8.

While physical albums saw a decline in year-over-year sales from the same period in 2010, digital album and track purchases went up 16.8 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively. Digital retailers received more than half of all music transactions, propelling a 12.4 percent growth in sales over last year.

Catalog album sales are up 5.4 percent in 2011, thanks in part to a long-awaited 2010 deal allowing digital distribution of The Beatles' albums for the first time. Read more here

Pete Townshend Plans Autobiography

(Gibson) Ed Victor, literary agent for rock icon Pete Townshend, has sent a proposal for a Pete Townshend autobiography to publishers. Not surprisingly, since Townshend is one of rock's more literate artists, the Who man is writing the book by himself.

According to CrainsNewYork.com, the proposal entitled Pete Townshend: Who He? contains a sample chapter and an outline from The Who's guitarist. The book will cover all areas of his life from childhood, through The Who to the present day.

Victor is expecting a publisher to jump on the book very quickly. "Stay tuned," he said. more on this story

Judas Priest Tried Everything To Keep KK Downing

(Rock News Desk) Judas Priest tried everything to persuade guitarist KK Downing not to quit the band – but he just didn't want to be there any more, says bassist Ian Hill.

Downing announced his retirement last month, just as the band were about to start rehearsing for what's been called their last-ever world tour. He's been replaced by Lauren Harris axeman Richie Faulkner.

And Hill, now the last remaining founding member of the 43-year-old outfit, says fans have nothing to worry about. He tells Metal Hammer Germany: "If you're concerned we'll no longer sound like Priest you can put your minds at rest. Richie is a fabulous guitarist and the perfect replacement for KK. You'll miss nothing from the show and the sound." more on this story

Farm Aid 2011 Announced

The 2011 installment of Farm Aid is set to take place on August 13th in Kansas City, Kansas and Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews are set to headline.

Farm Aid 2011 will be the first concert event at the new LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, which opens June 9.

"I'm looking forward to bringing my friends together in Kansas for the first time to honor family farmers," said Farm Aid president Willie Nelson. "Farm Aid celebrates the independent family farmers and ranchers who make this country strong, and we know we can only fix the challenges our country faces with the know-how of family farmers." more on this story

The Killers Plan Next Album

(Gibson) The Killers are set to begin work on songs for their next album, drummer Ronnie Vannucci has revealed. As reported by NME.com, Vannucci told XFM the band members had loads of material they're anxious to share with one another.

"Tuesday [May 17] I think we start doing some writing again," he said. "We have piles of songs we want to show each other. We're going to get back in that room and start working."

Meanwhile, Vannucci's debut solo album, Big Talk, will hit stores on July 11. The drummer spoke about the new disc earlier this month. "I needed to do this," he said. "It's such a departure from what I'm used to, but now, having done it, it feels like the right thing to do. It all feels very natural. I can't sit on a couch very long!" more on this story

Singled Out: Valentiger's Frozen Dozing

Today Brent Shirey from Valentiger tells us about "Frozen Dozing" from their brand new album "Oh, to Know!" Here is the story:

In 2005, I was living in an apartment with paper-thin walls (as most have). I usually prefer to play acoustic guitar, but I had dragged my old Peavey Bandit 112 there to make overdubs on some demos. At the time I was trying to write a song with a repetitive, sliding E chord and a melody over top that would be the focus of the song with a thumping rhythm section. It turns out open E major doesn't slide quite so easily, leading me to tune the A string up to B, giving me EBDGBE. This made the E chord playable with two fingers, making it much easier to slide up the neck in key. At any rate, I was going for a Sonic Youth-type song with a sort of Simon and Garfunkel melody. The alternate tuning allowed me to get "outside of the box," chord-wise, as it often does. Despite the amount of strange chords in the arrangement, I had gotten the music completely written in about 20 minutes before the downstairs neighbor was banging on her ceiling.

From there, the lyrics were a struggle for this song, not to mention the open, straight rock n' roll theme never seemed to fit the direction of the band in previous years. I spent nights in the apartment laundry room (where I could be "loud") with the working title "Hard Earned Gold," lines including, "Words are hard earned gold/Brighter than they show/If I could/I'd be good/I wouldn't have to try so hard." It was based on the idea that you'll never be able to say just EXACTLY what you mean. There's always going to be some better descriptive or context and it's quite a daunting feeling at times. The song was presented to the band, and we practiced it a few times but things never stuck.

Flash forward to 2010 and you'll find Valentiger in their most rock n' roll state to date, looking to write and record a 10-song record before traveling down for a few showcases at SXSW. We wrote, recorded, mixed, mastered and had the product back in our hands in half the time. "Oh, to Know!" is a very lean record, often described by the band as a "serial killer." It seemed "Frozen Dozing" had finally fit the bill, being brash and short. Other than the title track, I remember it being the one song all three of us were always excited to play, smiles every time. It was just loud, energetic and free, especially coming off a relatively heavy record like 2009's "Power Lines to Electric Times."

In the studio, we toyed with making the song longer or adding more vocals, but we decided it was its best at 2 minutes and 11 seconds. The band has had long songs in the past and we were looking to get to the point on this record. Even with it's stark ending, I really do think "Frozen Dozing" is great in the way that it leaves you wanting more. And so we went full-speed ahead with the arrangement, trying to make the 2 minutes and 11 seconds count. Scott and I worked hard to nail down those drums fills in the vein of The Jam and The Clash and we probably played the thing through for 4 hours in the studio, trying to capture that perfect kind-of-drunk precision. I believe at some point we started referring to this as "the magic." Eric was most excited to cut his bass on this track and I especially love his little 16th note fill before the bridge.

There were still no official lyrics when it came time for me to track the vocals and I literally spent days by my lonesome in the studio, writing and scratching takes. It finally came to me the sentiment needed to better represent the feeling of the song and I just kept picturing highway cars, lit up at night in fast motion. Where were they all going? To good times, bad times? I thought of the feeling I get at dusk on, say, a Friday night. And maybe the week had been so terrible but you're determined to "have a night". The term "frozen dozing" popped up from scattered papers of scrawl from the past - it was a match. I pictured my friends on a Friday night, listening to this song on the drive over to wherever they might find some good time. There's an uneasy, eagerness of the sun going down. You've felt like a zombie, frozen and dozing, shuffling through the days until now. You wake up and you're ready to go - it's clear. The vocals you hear on the record are the first take of the final lyrics. The only snippet left of the "Simon and Garfunkel" melody lies within the first line of the second verse. It's one of the most raw, uncut and truest vocal performances of the Valentiger rock songs. You can hear the grittiness of the vocal cords having been worked over all day. I really think we came the closest to capturing the all-around, "live Valentiger sound" on this one.

Looking back, I love how "fat" all the instruments sound as a result of blowing out our tape machine. I'm glad we left all the yelling that snuck into the microphones on the first guitar and drums tracks. You can feel how loud my amplifier was and how it was beaten ragged by that point of the record. We extended the intro on account of my desire to add vocals similar to The Pixies' "River Euphrates," but it ended up becoming the wavering guitar part you hear due to time constraints. I catch Joe Strummer in the vocal style and cite The Jam in the name of precision. The little, echoing vocal tails bring to mind Super Furry Animals and even the ending guitar lick might suggest a bit of Stephen Malkmus. There's a lot going on in these 2 minutes and 11 seconds, begging for an immediate replay - not bad for a song without a chorus. I like to think of "Frozen Dozing" as a glass of fine wine. Simple, yet complex and before you know it, you've drunk the whole thing.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!

The Cars Won't Replace The Late Benjamin Orr

(Gibson) This week, The Cars released their first new studio album since 1987. Move Like This features a reunion of the original members of the new wave band (Ric Ocasek, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes and David Robinson), with the exception of late bassist/vocalist Benjamin Orr, who died in 2000. Frontman Ocasek recently talked to Spinner.com about moving on without Orr.

"I didn't think Ben was replaceable," he said. "It just wouldn't have been us. I couldn't imagine having another member and calling it The Cars, having an outside person to do singing or bass playing. It just did not feel right."

Ocasek said that while other members can play bass when the band tours, they do miss his voice (Orr sang on "Just What I Needed" and "Let's Go" among other songs). "Greg can play bass, Elliot can play bass. We can get a bass. We can't get the voice," he said. "I'll obviously have to sing everything but I don't have any problem with that because I wrote everything anyway. I thought it would be more of a distraction. Bringing anyone in, there wouldn't be the same sense of humor, the same history. It would be like having a hired hand and I just didn't think we needed to." more on this story

Phish For Labor Day

Phish will close out the summer with a three night stand over Labor Day weekend at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO.

Colorado was the site of Phish's first extended tour outside of the Northeast, and the band has enjoyed a special connection with the community ever since.

The Labor Day weekend concerts (September 2, 3 and 4) will mark the band's first-ever performances at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Convenient onsite camping will be available in the soccer fields adjacent to the stadium. more on this story

Motorhead Tap Anti Nowhere League and The Damned For Tour

(hennemusic) Motorhead has announced dates for its annual year-end UK tour which will feature support from Anti Nowhere League and The Damned.

The 2011 edition includes 11 shows – all in November - starting on the 2nd in Wolverhampton and wrapping up on the 18th at the Manchester Apollo.

In the meantime, Motorhead continue to tour in support of their 20th studio album, "The World Is Yours"; the band are playing shows in the States this month before heading off to Europe for the summer festival season. more on this story

The Ramones, Clapton, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker and More For SoundCheck TV Specials

The Documentary Channel will launch SoundCheck every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night throughout the month of June.

With a total of 29 films, including 10 new film premieres, beginning on Thursdays (5 pm ET/PT) and picking up each Friday and Saturday night (8 pm ET/PT), the all-star line-up also includes guest appearances by B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana and more—bringing to the channel something for everyone.

As part of this music event, "Awesome: I... Shot That!" featuring the Beastie Boys, will air Friday, June 24 (8 pm ET/PT), being made simultaneously available online and on DIRECTV and DISH Network VOD. To capture themselves in concert at Madison Square Garden in October of 2004, Adam Yauch, Michael Diamond, and Adam Horovitz distributed a mix of fifty cameras to their fans who shot the movie. Upon distribution, it became a cult sensation. more on this story

Lou Reed DVD Coming This Summer

(Noble) Lou Reed will release a live DVD of his performance at Lollapalooza in Chicago in 2009.

The Lollapalooza DVD will be released worldwide in July 2011 by Sister Ray Enterprises. Songs performed on the DVD include Sweet Jane, Senselessly Cruel, Waves of Fear, Paranoia Key of E, and Walk on the Wild Side.

The news of the forthcoming Lollapalooza DVD dovetails a series of concerts and outdoor festival performances throughout Europe during July 2011, including nine concerts in Italy, three concerts in France and two concerts in England. more on this story

Petrucci Talks New Dream Theater

(Gibson) In a new interview by Artisan News Service, Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci talked about the process of hiring a replacement for drummer and founding member, Mike Portnoy. The prog rock giants auditioned seven candidates for the job, broadcasting the process to the world on a three-part web series, titled "The Spirit Carries On." On April 29, the group revealed the winner was former Extreme/Steve Vai/Annihilator drummer Mike Mangini. Because Mangini's audition was broadcast first among the competitors, it was speculated by some fans online that there was a fix.

"No," Petrucci responded. "Of course we didn't know all along [who the new drummer would be]. It's just that Mike was the first guy, he was literally the first one to audition. And he came in there and he just knocked us out. He just has all of the elements in place. So it's probably why it kind of came across that way; there was a very natural chemistry between all of us. He's like one of us: East Coast guy, Berklee—he's one of us."

Having played with Portnoy since the beginning, Petrucci said that it was strange playing with another drummer in Dream Theater. "Up until that point, we had never played with another drummer. Dream Theater had never existed with another drummer, we never played with another drummer as Dream Theater, so it was like the first time we were kicking into a song with this stranger—not that Mike Mangini was a stranger—and it just blew us away. I mean, that could have [gone] any way if it was somebody else or whatever. And it was like, 'Wow. We could have played these songs in front of an entire audience and it would have been perfect.'" more on this story

She Wants Revenge Tour

She Wants Revenge are hitting the road in support of their forthcoming third album, Valleyheart, which hit stores on May 23rd.

Their headlining tour with support from Nico Vega kicks off May 13th in Kansas City, MO at The Midland and wraps up on June 19th in their beloved home state of California, with a show on June 19th at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills.

Justin Warfield and Adam Bravin also are directing short films for each of the album's tracks. Featured video "Must Be The One", directed by Justin Warfield, premiered on skateboarding site theberrics.com and stars Deborah Foreman, who appeared in the classic Eighties movie Valley Girl. more on this story

Don't Hold Your Breath For A Libertines Reunion

(Gibson) The Libertines' Carl Barat says there's "no future" for the band at this time, given the way things stand between him and Pete Doherty. In a just-published interview with New Musical Express, the co-frontman said the relationship between the two men is damaged to the point that it can't be repaired—at least for now.

"We are all in very different places," Barat said. "Right now is not the time for The Libertines. I thought the water under the bridge was under the bridge, but maybe it's not. It's a very [expletive] hard thing. Every time we talk, it just brings it back up."

Barat went on to suggest that only time will alleviate the wounds that exist between the two frontmen. "I don't believe we're healed from the hurt," he said. "If our hearts heal up, then we can break them all over again. But right now… it's hard." more on this story

Watch James Durbin Take on Journey Classic on American Idol

(hennemusic) James Durbin kicked things off on American Idol on Wednesday night with the Journey classic, "Don't Stop Believin'," a song that continues to sell huge amounts in the digital age.

"You know, you did it right," said Idol judge Steven Tyler. "You couldn't have picked a more popular song right now – it's kickin' ass – it's something else and so are you."

Idol judge Randy Jackson was actually in Journey for a while, so he was really enthusiastic about the song selection; watch the clip to see what he has to say… here

Free Art of Dying Song If You Like Them

Art of Dying are trading likes for a free download. The band has released a free download of an acoustic version of their song "Die Trying."

The track is available in exchange for a like on their Facebook page, which you can access right here.

"Die Trying" is the first single from their major-label debut Vices and Virtues, and the track has been climbing the Active Rock Radio chart where it is currently at #8. more on this story

My Morning Jacket Add Dates including Run With Neko Case

My Morning Jacket have announced additional US tour dates in support of their forthcoming album, Circuital.

Joining them on the road will be Neko Case, who will be opening the stage most of August.

My Morning Jacket will release Circuital, their sixth full-length album, on May 31st via ATO Records. Head over to their Facebook page to hear "Holdin on to Black Metal" and "Circuital," two of the new songs that will appear on it. more on this story

Anniversary of The Everly Brothers' Dream

On this day in 1958, The Everly Brothers started a four-week run at no. 1 in the U.S. with "All I Have to Do is Dream." The song was written in 15 minutes. Gibson takes a look back: In the late '50s, pop music magic was made when one singing duo began working with one songwriting pair. The Everly Brothers (Phil and Don) would become one of the biggest acts in rock and roll history with the help of the married songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. In the space of two years, the Everlys would take six of the Bryants' songs to the Top 10, including "All I Have to Do is Dream," which hit #1 on this day in 1958.

Phil and Don Everly had grown up in a musical family. Their father, Ike, had his own radio show in Shenendoah, Iowa, and the boys would sing with their parents. The Everly Family performed shows locally when Phil and Don were youngsters in the 1940s. Eventually, Phil and Don became a brother act, both singing and playing guitar. As teenagers, they made a big fan of Chet Atkins, who was a family friend. Although Atkins had a relationship with RCA Records, he helped The Everly Brothers get a shot with Columbia Records in Nashville. Unfortunately, their 1956 debut single "Keep A'Lovin' Me" flopped and the boys were dropped.

But Atkins didn't lose faith in the brothers. Because they were also songwriters, he introduced them to Wesley Rose at Acuff-Rose publishing – who said if the boys signed as writers, he would find them a deal as recording artists. Sure enough, it happened when the Everlys were signed to the new Cadence Records label in early 1957. In the process, they began a partnership with Felice and Boudleaux Bryant – although it's likely that no one had any idea what kind of success they would all achieve. more on this story

KISS To Chat in 53 Languages

(RockAAA) KISS talk to the world live on May 20. Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons team up with Ortsbo.com for the company's first interactive global fan chat in 53 languages.

Ortsbo.com is a social media, real time, language translation platform that converts dialogue into any of the 53 languages, on the fly, so users can enjoy the online chat in the language of their choice.

"Ortsbo.com is taking a sledgehammer to the tower of Babel, allowing people around the world regardless of their native language to be part of this event and the conversation," said Simmons "We are proud to have this opportunity to break down the language barriers and provide fans with the ability to chat with us in real time, as one people." more on this story

Neil Young Reprises Famed Gig For New Film

(Gibson) Neil Young returned last night to the site of one of his most historic performances, staging the first of two shows being shot by Jonathan Demme for an upcoming concert film.

The performance, which took place at Toronto's Massey Hall, comes 40 years after the legendary 1971 Massey Hall concert in which Young unveiled many of the songs that would comprise his landmark Harvest album.

The film, slated for release later this year, is the third and final film in a series of Neil Young concert movies shot and directed by Demme. The previous two films were Heart of Gold, released in 2006, and Trunk Show, which screened internationally in 2009. more on this story

Wolves In The Throne Room Working On New Album

Wolves In The Throne Room are currently working on their next full-length album. The new album, though still untitled, will be the third Wolves In The Throne Room full-length for Southern Lord Recordings.

Aaron and Nathan Weaver, the founding and only full-time members of the band, will collaborate once again with producer/mystic Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))), Boris) who produced WITTR's mammoth Two Hunters and Black Cascade albums.

This week Aaron Weaver supplied some insight on the creation of the new album: "I got into a daily rhythm of greeting the weak winter sun in the morning, working outside in the rain until midday, then retiring to our studio to work on the music late into the night. I did this nearly every day for two months. Quite a monastic lifestyle actually. I didn't see many people. We were totally lost inside the record. Once the record was conceived from beginning to end, we met with Randall and started to slowly build the tracks at his studio in Seattle. I think that this album will be the best thing that Wolves In The Throne Room has created. We've never been able to devote this much time to writing and recording. It feels like this will be the culmination of everything we've done up to this point." more on this story

Coliseum and Burning Love To Release Split LP

Coliseum and Burning Love will release a split live LP titled Live at the Atlantic on July 12 via Tee Pee Records.

The release captures full sets from both bands recorded at the Atlantic venue in Gainesville, Florida on June 27, 2010.

"We are very happy to share our first official live release with our long-time friends, tour mates, and kindred spirits in Burning Love," said Coliseum guitarist / vocalist Ryan Patterson when asked for comment. "The recording documents a humid Florida night near the beginning of a Coliseum and Burning Love cross-continental summer tour, expertly captured (warts and all) by the Atlantic / Sound Study recording team, and in our case mixed by our frequent collaborator, J. Robbins. To top it all off, we enlisted Dexterity Press to craft stunning letterpressed packaging to make this a truly special release." more on this story