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News Roundup: SXSW, Blur, TV on the Radio, the Roots, Bill Cosby

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The SXSW lineup continues to build, and now the onslaught of musical acts set to hit Austin, TX March 12-16 is mind-boggling. So far, according to austinist.com, a few names have been added to the bill — approximately 350. A few highlights in alphabetic order: Annuals, the Cool Kids, the Cribs, Elvis Perkins, Jens Lekman, Kimya Dawson, Lykke Li, Man Man, Nada Surf, the Raveonettes, Vampire Weekend, and White Williams.

Following yesterday’s tidbit regarding the failed Blur reunion, our hearts beckoned a sorrowful “why?” Was it the appetizers, Mr. Graham Coxon? But now, frontman Damon Albarn has cleared things up, discussing the band’s, ahem, musically fruitless reunion meal. “I had dinner with the guys recently and it was laugh but there’s no way they want to work with me again — they all hate me,” he told NME.com. “A reunion is not going to happen.” Ouch.

TV on the Radio‘s Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe have joined forces with the Roots to contribute to Soundtrack for a Revolution, a documentary spearheaded by executive producer Danny Glover about music and its pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. The film and accompanying soundtrack, will, according to Pitchfork, feature “some of America’s top contemporary musicians as they perform new and vibrant renditions of… songs originally sung by civil rights protesters in mass meetings, on picket lines, in paddy wagons, and in jail cells throughout the American South.” Details regarding the film or soundtrack’s release have yet-to-be revealed.

Wow: Bill Cosby, yes, the oft-sweater clad namesake of the hit sitcom The Cosby Show, is preparing to release State of Emergency a profanity-free hip-hop album addressing issues such as teen pregnancy, drug abuse, Black-on-Black crime, and the dropout rate in America’s high schools, allhiphop.com reports. Though the news may be quite literally flooring, the new album certainly isn’t Cosby’s first musical venture — in fact, State of Emergency will be the actor and comedian’s 35th album to date. Details regarding a rhyme-on-rhyme collaboration with Al Sharpton have yet-to-be revealed