Seminal emoting songsmith Morrissey, currently at the center of a battle with Brit music magazine NME over a few allegedly xenophobic quotes -- "The gates of England are flooded, The country's been thrown away" -- gracing the current issue's cover, has released a statement to the magazine, and notably its editor Conor McNicholas, claiming NME is out to get him.

"I believe they have deliberately tried to characterise [sic] me as a racist in a recent interview I gave them in order to boost their dwindling circulation," the statement read, as reported by U.K.'s Guardian. "I abhor racism and oppression or cruelty of any kind and will not let this pass without being absolutely clear and emphatic... Racism is beyond common sense and has no place in our society."

Within the issue in question, Moz supposedly (as printed) responded to queries asking if he would consider moving back to the U.K., by stating, "although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears… If you walk through Knightsbridge on any bland day of the week you won't hear an English accent. You'll hear every accent under the sun apart from the British accent." But adding thunder to Moz's argument, the journalist behind the story, Tim Jonze, has publicly distanced himself from the story, claiming it was heavily edited.

NME, defending its stance and claiming Morrissey's quotes are accurate as printed in a Q&A style, have declined to publicly apologize and are now named in a defamation lawsuit. Remember, "it's Morrissey's town, we just live in it."

Dewey Cox to Hit Road with Hard Walkers

In honor of Judd Apatow's forthcoming comedy, the faux musical biopic Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, John C. Reilly, the star of film playing legendary songsmith Cox, will slip into character and join his backing band the Hard Walkers for a 7-date North American jaunt, dubbed the Cox Across America Tour. Kicking off tomorrow night (Dec. 5) in Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the tour will then hit Chicago, Austin, Nashville, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York as Reilly, a.k.a. Cox, and crew belt out tunes from the film's career-spanning, hilarious soundtrack, which hits store shelves today (Dec. 4). What's more, is before each show clips from the film will be unveiled in advance of its release to theatres, Dec. 21.

Dewey Cox & the Hard Walkers tour dates:

12/5, Cleveland, OH (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)
12/6, Chicago, IL (The Cubby Bear)
12/7, Austin, TX (Stubb's)
12/8, Nashville, TN (Mercy Lounge)
12/10, San Francisco, CA (Great American Music Hall)
12/13, Los Angeles, CA (Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd)
12/19, New York, NY (The Knitting Factory)

Yo La Tengo Celebrate Hanukkah, Add 'Freewheeling' Dates

New Jersey-based indie stalwarts Yo La Tengo have a busy holiday season ahead; the trio will commence their longtime tradition of Hanukkah performances tonight at Hoboken's legendary venue Maxwell's. But once all the candles have been distinguished, and the holiday fixings digested, the band will hit the road once again, returning in 2008 for handful of dates on their Freewheeling Yo La Tengo tour, a special series of intimate, acoustic shows. Now, Yo La Tengo will open the New Year with 10 gigs in cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, Athens, Nashville, and Memphis. [Via Pitchfork]

Yo La Tengo tour dates:

12/4, Hoboken, NJ (Maxwell's/Hanukkah show)
12/5, Hoboken, NJ (Maxwell's/Hanukkah show)
12/6, Hoboken, NJ (Maxwell's/Hanukkah show)
12/7, Hoboken, NJ (Maxwell's/Hanukkah show)
12/8, Hoboken, NJ (Maxwell's/Hanukkah show)
12/9, Hoboken, NJ (Maxwell's/Hanukkah show)
12/10, Hoboken, NJ (Maxwell's/Hanukkah show)
12/11, Hoboken, NJ (Maxwell's/Hanukkah show)
1/9, Charlottesville, VA (Satellite Ballroom)
1/10, Carrboro, NC (Carrboro Arts Center)
1/11, Charlotte, NC (Visulite Theatre)
1/12, Atlanta, GA (Variety Playhouse)
1/14, Athens, GA (Melting Point)
1/15, Birmingham, AL (Workplay)
1/16, Louisville, KY (930 Listening Room)
1/17, Nashville, TN (Belcourt Theatre)
1/18, Memphis, TN (Gibson Lounge)
1/19, Springfield, MO (Randy Bacon Gallery)

Gnarls Barkley to Drop New LP in Spring '08

Though Cee-Lo, the crooning frontman of Gnarls Barkley, has busied himself as the president and CEO of new label Radiculture, he has found time to unite with beat-master and production mastermind Danger Mouse to begin work on the follow up to the duo's 2006 smash debut, St. Elsewhere. Speaking to The New York Times, Danger Mouse said the new effort is slated to drop in the spring of 2008 and would be a conflicted sonic departure. "It sounds like we're more comfortable with each other and just as uncomfortable with everybody and everything else." Yeah, exactly. [Via NME.com]