May 20, 2009 – When they're not monkeying around with P. Diddy in his Miami mansion (and filming the whole thing!), Brit indie rock darlings the Arctic Monkeys are recording their new album for release this summer. Thankfully, the boys haven't let their excursion in the Diddy's hop-hip universe affect the recording sessions -- in fact, they've found inspiration in something much heavier: metal titans Black Sabbath! Frontman Alex Turner told NME.com how a performance at last year's Latitude festival in Sheffield, England, led the quartet to include some metal riffage on their new record: "We went to Latitude, ripped it up... and eventually wrote some songs.We spend the first day there on the most complicated riff you've ever heard. It goes round in 7/2 time.

May 20, 2009 – With the classic rock sound of their new record, 21st Century Breakdown, it's been no secret that Green Day have a penchant for the epic, operatic sounds of the Who and Queen. But the boys' tastes are far more eclectic than that -- in fact, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong digs Detroit rapper Eminem! "Looking at a guy like Eminem, the way he put his records out and how he goes from character to character and how a lot of hip-hop artists use different names, conceptually, I think that's why a lot of hip-hop records become so eventful," Armstrong told MTV.com of Em, whose first record in five years, Relapse, dropped yesterday and will be battling Green Day's latest for the No. 1 spot on the charts next week. "All of a sudden a character will come up. A dialogue will come up.

May 19, 2009 – The Louisiana teen who opened fire in a crowded middle school classroom yesterday before attempting suicide wrote that he wanted to join the Marines, and professed a love for rockers Marilyn Manson and AC/DC, according to the Thibodaux Daily Comet. Fifteen-year-old Justin Doucet walked into a seventh-grade classroom in Lafourche Parish, LA, yesterday morning.

May 19, 2009 – Blink-182 are back -- and they're wasting no time reminding us just how much they've been missed. The pop-punk trio played their first reunion show last Friday and announced a 45-date summer tour. Monday night, the boys made their first television appearance in five years, ripping out a snappy rendition of "The Rock Show" on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno! Watch below. It's like Blink never left: Mark Hoppus' rosy-cheeked punk charm is still intact (even at 37!) as he sings about the Warped Tour; Tom DeLonge's shrill whine is as oddly lovable and snide as ever; and Travis Barker pummels the drums with typical ferocity. Watch the video, then let us know what you think in the comments section below. And be sure to tune into NBC tonight at 11:35 P.M. EST, when Blink-182 take the Tonight Show stage to perform AGAIN! WATCH: Blink-182, "The Rock Show" Live

May 19, 2009 – Jarvis Cocker: Former Pulp frontman, SPIN-approved solo artist, snazzy charmer ... singing puppet!?! Yep, that's right: the Britpop superstar will lend his voice for the role of Petey, a mandolin-toting puppet that's the star of Wes Anderson's (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's book The Fantastic Mr. Fox.In addition, Cocker and Anderson teamed up to write a song for the film, which Cocker described to the London Times as "a little hoedown number." Initially, Cocker had an even larger role in Fox, as he was tapped to join George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Bill Murray to provide its narration. Sadly, Cocker, who also has a cameo role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was ditched after Fox's U.S. test audiences were "bamboozled" by his thick Sheffield accent. The Fantastic Mr.

May 19, 2009 – It's been five years since Brit rockers the Libertines broke up. But after estranged bandleaders Pete Doherty and Carl Barat played a surprise one-off set with former drummer Gary Powell this past weekend in London, the question is: Will the Libertines officially reunite? According to Adam Ficek, drummer of Doherty's current band, Babyshambles, it's only a matter of time until the Libertines reform for good! "I'm sure they'll get together at some point," Ficek told BBC 6 Music. The Libertines, who ushered in a new, gritty garage rock sound in contemporary Brit rock, split due to the acrimony between Doherty and Barat -- which came to a head when Doherty robbed Barat's apartment and pawned his music equipment for money to buy drugs.

May 18, 2009 – Despite wrapping their world tour in March, Radiohead have already returned to the studio to begin recording their new album! Bassist Colin Greenwood told BBC News about the sessions for the band's follow-up to 2007's In Rainbows: "We just went in last week. It was really good. It was really noisy and chaotic and really fun. "We're at the stage where we've got the big Lego box out and we've tipped it out on the floor and we're looking at all the bits and thinking, 'What next?'" Handling production duties is Nigel Godrich, who has manned the boards on every Radiohead record since their 1997 landmark OK Computer. "He's brilliant," Greenwood told NME.com.

May 18, 2009 – Modest Mouse and the Killers both have new music videos -- and they both unfold in a forest. Whoda thunk it: Isaac Brock and Brandon Flowers actually have something in common... and that might be the only thing. Ever. MM's clip for "Satellite Skin," a song from their upcoming No One's First And You're Next EP, goes for a weird, unsettling vibe courtesy of director Kevin Willis' tiny, animated wooden houses and alien-like creatures, who hatch birds from their eyes! The video for the Killers' Day and Age cut "The World We Live In," on the other hand, features the four boys strolling around a Bob Ross-like forest while frontman Brandon Flowers preens (appropriately, in a feathered jacket) amongst a snowy, mountainous landscape. Which clip wins the War of the Wilderness? Check 'em both out below.

May 18, 2009 – The ever wittastic Conan O'Brien will begin his reign as the host of NBC's Tonight Show June 1 (11:35 p.m.), and he's invited some musically-inclined pals along to join the party -- and we're not talking about the White Stripes. Conan has tapped Pearl Jam for the occasion; the band will debut songs off their upcoming fall release! Wow, Conan's first episode, the first day of June, and the first time Pearl Jam plays their new songs live for the world!?!? Super fan Zack Newman is totes psyched. Land of the Lost actor Will Ferrell will also appear on the show. The news follows the recent assault and robbery of bassist Jeff Ament in Atlanta, GA, where the band is recording their new album with producer Brendan O'Brian. Can't wait for June 1?

May 18, 2009 – He may be freshly out of rehab, but Eminem still knows how to party -- and theDetroit rapper will do just that tomorrow, May 19, with a free concert in his hometown that will celebrate the release of his first album in five years, Relapse. The concert will take place Tuesday night at the Sound Board Theater in Detroit's Motor City Casino, and will also feature a performance by hip-hop luminary/Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star DJ Jazzy Jeff. Tickets will be handed out for free at Roseville, MI, music store Record Time starting at 5 P.M. today, May 18, and will also be given away by MySpace Music, Hot Topic, and radio stations in the Detroit area. It's sure to be one hell of a party -- but don't expect favors of the illegal variety.