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Even for a summer packed with high-profile arena shows -- Oasis, U2, Coldplay, and even Jay-Z -- there's really only one gig in London this week: Blur are back.

Ten years after they last played together, and seven years since guitarist Graham Coxon left their ranks during the making of final album Think Tank, the '90s Britpop heroes have buried their differences and reunited for a string of gigs. Their 50,000-capacity show at the city's Hyde Park Thursday night (and a second show Friday) sold out in hours -- and for good reason.

More Blur on SPIN.com:
>> New Order and Blur Members Form New Group
>> Oasis Call Feud with Blur "Pathetic"
>> Blur Reunite Live at Glastonbury
>> Watch: Blur in the Studio

Already this week, the London four-piece turned in a triumphant set at the Glastonbury Festival.  But as frontman Damian Albarn told the audience Thursday night, when Blur first discussed comeback shows, Hyde Park was top of the list. He used to live nearby, and it was in these sprawling, leafy environs that he wrote "Parklife," the title track from their totemic 1994 set, one of the defining albums of British alt-pop.

Let's get the gripes about Hyde Park out of the way first. The sound was terrible, undulating in muddy waves across the huge site. "Chemical World" and "Sunday Sunday," from 1993's Modern Life Is Rubbish, suffered the most, partly because they possess two of the least memorable melodies written by these muscular-pop maestros.

The thrashy punk of "Jubilee" survived, but just by sheer force of will and momentum of the band.

The atmosphere, too, was less celebratory and cohesive than at Glastonbury. There, the festival crowds sang the refrain to beautiful gospel ballad "Tender" ("oh my baby, oh my baby…") long into the night; here, the song generated a bit of a desultory sing-along. It was as if the Hyde Park crowd popped in after a long day at their city center offices, and were more interested in enjoying an al fresco booze-up in the blazing sunshine of a summer evening.

Alex James and Damon Albarn / Samir Hussein (Getty)
Click to enlarge

But with a back catalogue like Blur's, culled from seven idiosyncratic and always intriguing albums, it would be hard for them to fail -- especially when the four bandmates played the 25-song set with such brio, energy, and evident enjoyment at being back together.

The performances of "Tracey Jacks," with Albarn spitting the lyrics, and of early single "There's No Other Way," were as engaging and vigorous as the frontman's jumping-bean antics.

On the ghostly, spectral "Beetlebum" and the proto grunge anthem "Song 2," Coxon offered reminders aplenty that he's one of the most gifted guitarists of his generation.

And in the twinkling orchestral electronica of "The Universal" and the valedictory "End Of The Century," Blur reaffirmed their place in the lineage of great English songwriters, from the Beatles and the Kinks onwards.

In the end it was thrilling to note that, other than the shouty, lager-lad-anthem "Parklife," Blur's songs have dated not one iota.

The best "new" band in Britain in 2009? That'll be four early forty-somethings celebrating their 20th anniversary with some of the best gigs of their career.

Blur setlist:
"She's So High"
"Girls & Boys"
"Tracy Jacks"
"There's No Other Way"
"Jubilee"
"Badhead"
"Beetlebum"
"Out Of Time"
"Trimm Trabb"
"Coffee & TV"
"Tender"
"Country House"
"Oily Water"
"Chemical World"
"Sunday Sunday"
"Parklife"
"End Of A Century"
"To The End"
"This Is A Low"
"Popscene"
"Advert"
"Song 2"
"Death Of A Party"
"For Tomorrow"
"The Universal"

Just one week after Michael Jackson' untimely death, video footage of King of Pop rehearsing at Los Angeles' Staple Center in preparation for his 50-date concert run in London has been exclusively released to CNN. And after just one watch, rampant speculation claiming that the singer wasn't physically prepared for the concerts is given less cred as he briskly leads a team of backup dancers in an complex choreographed routine -- and even taunts the guitarist as she shreds through the solo on 1995's HIStory single "They Don't Care About Us."

More on SPIN.com:
>> New Song: Diddy, Chris Brown Honor Michael Jackson
>> Michael Jackson's Death: The Aftermath
>> Michael Jackson Dead at 50
>> Michael Jackson's Legacy: Neither Black Nor White

It appears even at 50 years old, with a prescription drug habit and an emaciated, 112-pound figure, Jackson still had his smooth touch.

The footage was released by AEG, the promoter behind the concerts in London. And according to reports, there's loads more footage, which could be edited into a proper DVD release.

According to AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, Jackson's This Is It! Concert production -- which was set to begin at O2 Arena July 8 -- may be transformed into a tribute concert. "I imagine if we could do it, it would be done as a tribute, with the family -- with the brothers performing and some of the sisters -- but also the stars who loved Michael and were influenced by him," Phillips told Sky News. "The world needs to see this production, and it's done, we have it in a vault… it would have been one of the most amazing arena shows ever."

Jackson's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, July 7, at Los Angeles' Staples Center.

Watch video of Jackson performing below. He's spot on, right? Tell us what you think in the comments section.

WATCH: Michael Jackson dance rehearsal at the Staples Center on June 23

"So this is the first show of our tour," Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland told the sold-out crowd at Los Angeles' House of Blues during the inaugural St. Jude Rock'n'Roll Hope Show, a new event to raise funds for children's cancer research. "Ready or not," he continued. "Ready or not."

More Stone Temple Pilots on SPIN.com:
>> Stone Temple Pilots Reunite at Houdini's Old Hollywood Haunt
>> Ousted Scott Weiland Responds to Velvet Revolver
>> Exclusive Stream: Scott Weiland, "Paralysis"
>> Exclusive Song: Scott Weiland, "Crash"
>> Scott Weiland, "Happy" in Galoshes (Softdrive/New West/Red/Sony)

Coming from the larger-than-life frontman of an alternative rock institution, it was a nicely humanizing statement. It was also totally unnecessary. Having already played four songs flawlessly -- "Silver Gun Superman," "Vaseline," and "Big Empty" from the group's 1994 album Purple and "Wicked Garden" from 1992's Core -- Stone Temple Pilots were more than ready.

Earlier, taking the stage to a chorus of "S-T-P! S-T-P!" the band seemed calm and collected, sober and sane -- a polar opposite from the days when Weiland's drug use and subsequent arrests hamstrung the band's progress. With a lit cigarette dangling in his mouth, Weiland was perhaps a bit out of touch with the charity event's anti-cancer theme. But with an iconoclastic cool oozing from his Beatle boots right through to his Hitler hairdo, he clearly wasn't trying to fit in.

Performing a generous 18-song set, the band stuck to the hits and played 'em with a ridiculous display of talent.

Guitarist Dean DeLeo was the envy of every Guitar Center flunkie in the house, tossing one metal riff after another into the air, while switching seamlessly from slide guitar to fretted chords on "Big Empty," and working his usual technical wizardry into every note.

Robert DeLeo, the band's chief songwriter, tackled both bass and acoustic guitar on "Lounge Fly," and pulled off the uber-busy bass line on the Tiny Music... standout "Trippin on a Hole in a Paper Heart" perfectly all while sweetening the vocal lines with pitch-perfect harmonies.

Meanwhile, the show's star, Weiland, sang the old melodies with a little extra soul. Still, he wasn't one to be selfish about it. Holding out his microphone, he let the audience take over as lead vocalist on the final chorus of the group's mainstream breakthrough "Plush."

Like the fans, the singer was clearly enjoying himself. "These are all songs we haven't played in a long time," he said. "If it's half as much fun for you as it is for us, then we're doing pretty good."

Pretty good, indeed.

The lone complaint: The band -- which has spent the last several months working on an album with famed producer Don Was -- didn't play any of its new songs.

Talking to SPIN.com after the show, guitarist Dean DeLeo addressed the new album by saying, "It's just not quite ready yet."

"But soon," he added with a twinkle in his eye. "Soon!"

It's a rock'n'roll obsessive's wet dream: Foo Fighters frontman / ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, and Queens of the Stone Age bandleader Josh Homme are working on a new album -- together!

News about the recording sessions was broken by Spinnerette frontwoman (and Homme's wife) Brody Dalle: "I’m not at liberty to talk about it," Dalle told Antiquiet, "but I think [the project] is pretty fucking amazing. Just beats and sounds like you’ve never heard before.”

More on SPIN.com:
>> Review: Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
>> Foo Fighters Plan Next Album
>> Foo Fighters Appear on Top Chef
>> Review: Probot, Probot

The collaboration has been in the works since Grohl first mentioned it in a 2005 interview with MOJO: "The next project that I'm trying to initiate involves me on drums, Josh Homme on guitar, and John Paul Jones playing bass. That's the next album. That wouldn't suck."

If Grohl is indeed manning drum duties for the new supergroup, it would be his first time behind the kit on record since lending his talents to recent albums by the Prodigy and Juliette and the Licks. As you might recall, he also backed Paul McCartney at this year's Grammy Awards on the Beatles classic "I Saw Her Standing There" (which SPIN's Charles Aaron rated #14 in our Top 25 Grammy Performances list).

While Queens of the Stone Age have been on hiatus and Homme has been working with the Arctic Monkeys on their next release, and Led Zeppelin's much-discussed reunion plans have been scuttled, Grohl has been keeping himself quite busy. Since the Foos' last record, 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace he's been hard at work on his band's next album -- and he recently appeared as a guest judge on the TV cooking competition Top Chef.

Here's some of the strangest music news the Internet had to offer this week:

Is that Eminem… or Mariah Carey? Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? [Entertainment Weekly]

Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath, of all people, thinks he has advice for Obama about quitting smoking cigarettes. [iReport]

Singer/songwriter Jens Lekman returned to his native Sweden with a little souvenir from his time spent touring South America -- swine flu! [jenslekman.com]

Rev. Al Sharpton gets down and dirty with an unidentified woman at the Apollo Theater's tribute to Michael Jackson. [Gawker]

Is it bad that Amy Winehouse looks better in Lego than she does in real life? [Dlisted]

This guy was desperate to meet Lil Wayne. So desperate, in fact, that he called 911. [The Smoking Gun]

With a pulsing piano melody and skittering, rave-style beats, Bloc Party's new song "One More Chance" is the perfect soundtrack for a night on the dance floor. But in the tune's just-released music video, the lads have something else in mind -- an evening at home with the world's creepiest family!

More Bloc Party on SPIN.com:
>> Review: Intimacy
>> Round Two: Bloc Party vs. Oasis
>> The Second Coming: Bloc Party
>> Review: A Weekend in the City

In the clip for "One More Chance" -- Bloc Party's only release since 2008's Intimacy -- the quartet invade a totally screwball family's suburban home and watch on as their lives unfold: the overly-energetic father, sporting thick serial killer eye glasses and mutton-chops, forces drummer Matt Tong to watch him tap out a tune on his keyboard; the scantily-clad mother locks frontman Kele Okereke in the bathroom, gets all gussied up, and then has a mental breakdown; the pony-tailed brother blasts a boom box and tap- and break-dances for guitarist Russell Lissack; and the young daughter recruits bassist Gordon Moakes for a Ouija board session -- which ends in a demonic disaster.

Adding to the weird factor: The song's lyrics about "giving love one more chance," which -- only by a gigantic stretch of the imagination -- have any applicability to the video's visuals. But hey, you never know -- the 'burbs really are batshit crazy! Prepare to be creeped out.

Check out the video below. Then tell us what you think in the comments section.

WATCH: Bloc Party, "One More Chance"

It appears Lil Wayne protégé Drake thinks that classic basketball movies like Hoosiers were in need of a little more T&A and a little less athletics. Which may be why the hot-to-trot rap sensation gathered a team of total hotties for the just-released music video for his breakout hit "Best I Ever Had." Or, perhaps, it's a work-related fantasy -- after all, Drake, a.k.a. Aubrey Graham, played wheelchair-bound basketball star Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian teen soap opera Degrassi: The Next Generation.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Lil Wayne Announces Summer Tour with Drake
>> Lil' Wayne to Record Rock Album, Says Drake
>> Watch: Kanye and Rihanna's Comic Book Adventure
>> Kanye West Vomits Roses in Spike Jonze Film

Directed by hip-hop superstar Kanye West, the clip for the first single from Drake's in-the-works debut, Thank Me Later, is jam-packed with sexy ladies… all playing what might be the worst game of basketball ever. Luckily for frazzled coach Drake (not to mention us), the teammates' scantily-clad outfits and, ahem, creative pre-game stretches keeps the focus away from their utter lack of b-ball skills. Meanwhile, Drake delivers his pompous lines with smooth flow: "When my album drops, bitches will buy it for my picture / And the nigg*s will buy it, too, and claim they got it for their sister."

Check out the video below. Then work on your three-point shot in the comments section.

Watch: Drake, "Best I Ever Had"

It's only fitting that a concert series based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn -- hipsterdom's Plymouth Rock -- has assembled a lineup stocked with indie faves galore.

Sentimental pop wizards Grizzly Bear, laptop mash-up maestro Girl Talk, Bjork-collaborating up-and-comers Dirty Projectors, and rowdy Texan noisesmiths/SPIN office assaulters ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead are among the headliners for the fourth annual summer of Pool Parties, a string of free Sunday concerts in Brooklyn's East River State Park.

The Parties begin July 12 with seminal punk rockers Mission of Burma headlining. Confrontational Canadians Fucked Up, Baltimore-based shriek rockers Ponytail, and ex-Be Your Own Pet singer Jemina Pearl will support.

Free shows continue every Sunday through August 30, when Grizzly Bear performs at the series finale. Other Pool Party headliners include electro weirdo Dan Deacon (Aug. 2), British dancefloor fillers Simian Mobile Disco (Aug. 9), and rapper Del Tha Funky Homosapien (Aug. 16).

This will be the series' first summer away from its original home, McCarren Park Pool, a massive swimming complex that had been closed since 1984 until it began to host concerts in 2006 -- minus all the water, of course. Now, the pool will undergo renovations to actually become an aquatic facility once again.

For full lineup details, visit thepoolparties.com.

When Raconteurs co-frontman Brendan Benson isn't onstage rocking out with Jack White, the Detroit native is busy with another one of his fave pastimes -- gardening!

More on SPIN.com:
>> Review: The Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely
>> First Look: The Raconteurs' New Video

"I'll weed for hours and hours, man. I love it," Benson says of the garden at his home in Nashville. "There's a little creek and a pond out there and I work on that a lot." Gardening, Benson says, gives him a chance to clear his mind -- and focus on music. And while recording his new solo album My Old, Familiar Friend (out Aug. 18 via ATO Records) in London, Benson would stroll through the gardens in London's Regent's Park. "Every morning I got up and I walked for like an hour, finishing up lyrics and just getting inspired," he says. "And that was the place to get inspired, man. It's really beautiful."

Benson had a lot to think about on those long walks. My Old, Familiar Friend, the 38-year-old's first solo album since his 2005 release Alternative to Love, is full of songs that dissect a failed relationship. One of the album's best tracks, "Don't Wanna Talk," -- available below as an exclusive, free download -- was originally written on the tour bus back in 2006 while Benson supported his last solo release. It's a catchy, pop-rock gem about a "doomed, addictive relationship," he explains, one in which both sides can't seem to shake the other.

"This particular relationship just kept going on," he huffs. "It was almost impossible to break it off because we would talk it through. But talking it through is one thing and following it through is another. It just seemed like, why do we keep discussing this when it's over?"

"Don't wanna talk now / Don't wanna know why / You say you're lonely / But baby so am I / You wanna make me weep / You wanna beat me down," Benson sings over syncopated electric guitars and pounding drums that recall Gary Glitter's arena jam "Rock and Roll Part 1." Breaking up never sounded so upbeat and appealing.

Download "Don't Wanna Talk" below. Catchy, right? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

LISTEN: Brendan Benson, "Don't Wanna Talk" (DOWNLOAD MP3)

"This is your anticlimax."

So spake a snickering Andrew VanWyngarden, as he prepared to play the final selection of MGMT's set at Brooklyn's Prospect Park Bandshell on Wednesday night, July 1. (See a complete photo gallery of the MGMT show here.) We'd all spent the last five minutes or so hopping and swaying and grinning and giggling and hugging and wondering if we'd hallucinated those fireworks over the trees while VanWyngarden and partner Ben Goldwasser ditched their guitar and keyboards, respectively, grabbed their mics off the stands, and led the sold-out, thousands-strong crowd in a sing-along of "Kids," the 2008 boys-and-girls-of-summer anthem for anybody who ever invoked the word "hipster," ironically or otherwise. They worked the stage like fresh-faced Borgata lounge vets, as the familiar synth melody echoed comfortingly.

More MGMT on SPIN.com:
>> Musicians MGMT's Crowning Moment: Bonnaroo Headliners
>> MGMT, Karen O Featured on New Flaming Lips Album
>> Watch: MGMT's New "Kids" Video



But now that was over. Time for your anticlimax, as VanWyngarden intoned, like a deep-voiced public-address announcer introducing a local sports team's starting lineup, "OK, please put your hands together for your Memphis Grizzlies!"

The anticlimactic song, "Congratulations," the title track from their upcoming album, is a typically twinkly, wistful bit of ironically heartfelt MGMT mumbo-jumbo, like "Life on Mars" for a generation constantly nostalgic for an imaginary nurturing childhood, but who are now left shivering alone, with only their Twitter followers to keep them warm. Strumming firmly, he crooned: "Turned my luck into a mistress / It kept on coming back a smile / See my face with half-masked guilt / And lay down a quilt upon the lawn / Spread my arms / And soak up congratulations." Of course, I couldn't actually delineate anything he was saying, and I'm really just piecing together some bleary half-assed approximation, but I think the "quilt on the lawn" part is about right, and perfectly fits MGMT's insistence on an idyllic imagery of comfort that's both elusive and absurd and scary, but what we all obviously want.

It was also nicely fitting, since as he strummed, couples and families began rising from scattered grassy, muddy areas, folding up their blankets/quilts, and preparing for the walk or subway ride back to whatever they call "home" in this fragrant condo-hole still masquerading as New York.

It's funny, in the same way that Pavement once gave us this feeling that the whole Nirvana/grunge/alt-rock pageant of a neglected generation boo-hooing its way to oblivion was an overblown big-duh, and that we needed to take our tenderly ironic or smart-assedly noisy pleasures where we could find them and dummy up, MGMT now plays the same role, perfectly encapsulating and commenting upon, with a knowing sigh and stoned series of haikus, an entire decade in which indie rock tilted at the mainstream's spoils and congratulated itself for being the soft edge of monetizing hipster culture's next phase, be it fashion or social networking or hip apps. "We're fated to pretend / Yeah Yeah Yeah." MGMT take very seriously the art of not taking yourself very seriously, and in their wan, anthemic way, offer us a quilt, a hug, and wink.

The soundtrack of last summer feels truer than ever.

What was the first album you bought with your own money?
Vanilla Ice’s To the Extreme, but let’s not put it all on me. Plenty of people were into the Ice Man. It’s not like Vanilla Ice sold ten records, and I’m one of the ten people that bought it. We all got fooled. I just happened to be at the age when it was the first album I bought.

Who comes after Prince on your iPod?
Prinzhorn Dance School. They’re a DFA group. I like the song “You Are the Space Invader.”

Whose T-shirt do you proudly wear?
I have an old DJ Shadow shirt that I bought at a show in ’99. There were only three of them made and I got one of them, and now any time I meet a girl who’s a DJ Shadow fan, they offer me sexual favors in exchange for it. But it’s just such a cool shirt that I can’t give it up. So no. Don’t even waste your time.

What’s the last album you paid for?
Disco Italia: Essential Italo Disco Classics 1977–1985.

Name one group that should never release another song.
New Boyz. You know that song “You’re a Jerk”? It goes, “You’re a jerk / I know / You’re a jerk / I know.” They can’t top that. When you take it to the next level like that, you should probably just stay there and try not to crash and burn.

What was the last concert you went to?
I went to see TV on the Radio at the Glass House in Pomona [California]. Sean Paul got onstage with them and did a couple of verses during “Halfway Home.” The crowd wasn’t into it, but I thought it was awesome.

Give me a playlist from your iPod.
I have a “Hip-Hop Party Mix” I play on the Parks and Recreation set to annoy [costar] Rashida Jones. It’s got “I’m the Shit” by DJ Class and “Diddy” by Diddy. We usually end up having a little dance party outside our trailer.

What song have you put on a mix tape to get a girl to like you?
Every mix tape needs to start with “True” by Spandau Ballet. I‘d just give the girl the Discman and be like, “Listen to this first track, and then do whatever your body tells you to do.” That’s usually how it went down.

Name an artist you take credit for turning your friends on to.
No matter what I say, I’ll sound like a douche. Everyone will be like, “Oh really? You’re the guy that turned people on to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony? Really?”

WATCH: Parks and Recreation Excerpt

The team behind the Michael Jackson tribute track "Better On the Other Side" has unveiled a companion music video.

The clip showcases footage of fans both mourning and celebrating Michael Jackson -- tearful children holding candles and "R.I.P" signs and aspiring moonwalkers illustrating the King of Pop's unmatched dance legacy, plus footage of rapper The Game recording the track in the studio with Diddy, Chris Brown, and Boyz II Men singer Wanya Morris.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Michael Jackson's Legacy: Neither Black Nor White
>> Musicians React to Michael Jackson's Death
>> Michael Jackson: Unfinished Business



The Game is pictured coming to terms with his idol's death by soaking (clothed) in a bathtub and composing the lyrics of the tribute track in his notebook, all the while flanked by candles.

The lyrics on the track are clearly close to the Game's heart: "First thing I did when I heard was call Puff," Game raps, as he dials Diddy on his iPhone, "because him and Mike tried to stop the beef between us -- it was us, me and 50 -- that beef is dead."

The rapper recently revealed to MTV News that Jackson phoned him during his much-publicized 2007-2007 feud with 50 Cent and offered to play the peacemaker: "I don't really know everything that's going on between you and 50," Jackson reportedly told The Game, "But I want to be the middleman behind you putting this situation to bed."

At times, it must be said, the earnestness of the lyrics border on the unintentionally comical "Who's Michael Jackson? You're Michael Jackson. I'm Michael Jackson. We all Michael Jackson," the Game insists. But his love for MJ is now more than skin-deep: At the video's conclusion, Game emerges from the bathtub to reveal a new Michael Jackson tattoo -- a rendering of the singer clad in a fedora and wearing a mask over his face.

If the Game's devotion to Jackson wasn't clear before, it certainly is now.

Watch: "Better On the Other Side"

New York hip-hop veteran Nas and Bob Marley's youngest son, Damian, have joined musical forces and are hard at work on their first album, Distant Relatives -- and you can check out a video of their creative process below!

More on SPIN.com:
>> Nas, Damien Marley, Roots Lead Rock the Bells Bill
>> Watch: Kanye and Rihanna's Comic Book Adventure
>> Nas and Will.i.Am Unveil New Obama Songs
>> The Inquisition: Nas

"This project is to come together and do some music on behalf of Africa -- that is really what the whole thing is about, to bring awareness [about poverty and other social ills]," Marley comments in the clip, directed by Nabil Elderkin (who recently helmed Kanye West's video for "Paranoid").

In the video, the duo make beats, lay down rhymes, and work with a children's choir, all while preaching a positive message. "I got one chance to say what I have to say right now," Nas proclaims. "They have to wake up. It's not a matter of us saying 'who are we to tell you to wake up' -- you have to wake up."

Check out the video below. You can catch Nas and Damien Marley headlining this year's Rock the Bells traveling hip-hop festival, and at this weekend's Rothbury festival in Michigan -- they're one of SPIN's 11 must-hear bands on the bill.

WATCH: Damian Marley & Nas, "Distant Relatives" Preview

Despite much media speculation, Michael Jackson's body will not be transported tomorrow to the singer's former residence, Neverland Ranch, for a public viewing, but a public memorial service is being planned, according to a statement released by the Jackson family Wednesday afternoon.

"Contrary to previous news reports, the Jackson family is officially stating that there will be no public or private viewing at Neverland," the statement said. "Plans are underway regarding a public memorial for Michael Jackson, and we will announce these plans shortly."

CNN had previously reported that a 30-car motorcade would carry Jackson's remains from the Los Angeles area on Thursday morning and head for Santa Barbara County, where the viewing would be held Friday morning with a private memorial service planned for Sunday, July 5.

The question of where Jackson will be buried remains undetermined.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Michael Jackson's Death: The Fallout
>> Remembering Michael Jackson's Better Days
>> Michael Jackson Dead at 50
>> Remembering Michael Jackson: 5 Classic Videos

Meanwhile, concert promoters AEG, who'd booked Jackson's sold-out (and now canceled) string of London shows, revealed that an all-star tribute show is in the works, and it'll utilize some of the elaborate elements constructed specifically for Jackson. [via Associated Press].

"At some point the world needs to see this production, and I imagine if we could do it, it would be done as a tribute, with the family -- with the brothers performing and some of the sisters -- but also the stars who loved Michael and were influenced by him," Randy Phillips, of promoter AEG Live, told UK television station Sky News.

Those rumored to be on a "wish list" put together by AEG include Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ne-Yo, and Justin Timberlake.

But Timberlake has voiced concerns over the prospect of participating in such a show. "It's an honor to be considered for a tribute to the greatest of all time but also there is a level of just me as a fan that would feel very cautious about doing something like that," he told UK newspaper The Evening Standard . "Like anyone else in the world I'm his biggest fan. I just feel like if there would be any pretension, it would not be good. That's my worry. I understand tributing somebody who is so influential to every artist of our generation. It would have to be done properly."

Phillips also said that footage of Jackson's rehearsals may be released in the future and would disprove theories that Jackson was daunted by the London concerts and too frail to perform. "We have, and we may at some point release, some footage of him in rehearsal that would totally refute that," he said, adding that he spoke with Jackson after a rehearsal on June 24. "He gave me a hug and he whispered into my ear, 'Now I know I can do this.'"

Based on preliminary sales numbers, Jackson is expected to break Billboard chart records today by dominating nine of the top ten positions on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Albums with titles from his music catalogue -- and moving a total of over 400,000 albums since his death last week.

As for the star's financial legacy, Jackson family lawyer Londell McMillan has revealed that the family have located a will dating back to 2002, though whether it is the most recent version is yet to be confirmed.

According to the Wall Street Journal , the 2002 will leaves Jackson's assets to his three children, his mother, Katherine, and various charities, but entirely excludes his father Joe Jackson.

Jackson and his father's relationship has long been a strained one -- the singer had made public allegations of abuse, and recently fans have criticized the Joe Jackson for using his son's death as an opportunity to plug his new record company.

After accepting our invitation to contribute a cover of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" to SPIN's Purple Rain tribute album, punk quintet Riverboat Gamblers didn't feel intimidated -- at least not a lot. "It's not like it'll reflect badly on us if our version of a Prince song isn't as awesome as his," says singer Mike Wiebe. "It's hard to screw up material like this."

Artistic modesty aside, the Gamblers hold their own with their riotous cover. Guitarist Fadi el-Assad channels the Purple One with a shred-tastic solo, debunking a theory that Wiebe expressed in SPIN's July issue: "No one in our band can play guitar like that skinny motherfucker with the high voice."

Check out Riverboat Gamblers' take on "Let's Go Crazy" with exclusive studio footage below. Bonus: Stay tuned to the very end to find out which of Prince's backup singers Wiebe wants to bed!

WATCH: Riverboat Gamblers, "Let's Go Crazy"

Show of hands: Who here sometimes forgets about phone conversations they've had late at night? Fair enough. Okay, now keep your hands up if those "conversations" involved "doing it over the phone" with Karen O. Anyone?

Well, it seems that Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne was so busy dwelling on the hardship of recording his band's forthcoming album Embryonic, that the fact that MGMT and Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O also appear on the record just completely slipped his mind.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Cover Story: Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Stayin' Alive
>> Wayne Coyne on Recording New Lips Album: "It's Hard!"
>> MGMT's Crowning Moment: Bonnaroo Headliners



"People do a lot of collaborations these days," Coyne explained to blogger Rafaël Zeier, who interviewed Coyne at the Open Air St Gallen Festival in Switzerland. "I forget that we did these collaborations, because sometimes we just do it in moments," he added.

The way Coyne tells it, MGMT was recording in Malibu and "had the night free," so the Lips sent them files and "everybody chimed in on it" before sending it back. How very Postal Service.

As for Karen O, her contributions sound a bit saucier: "[The Yeah Yeah Yeahs] were on tour in America and I called her up in a hotel room and we just did it right over the telephone," Coyne revealed. "It's pretty absurd."

And once Coyne started giving credit where it was due, he did remember not to leave out the fact that there would also be some spoken word in the mix, courtesy of a German mathematician (naturally).

"For us, making a double record means that there's more room to be strange," Coyne said. "You have to be willing to completely destroy yourself and just see what comes out of the dirt. It's very stressful because you don't know if you're just losing your mind or what. But I think for a group like us, I think we have to lose our minds."

Coyne also predicted that "If you like the Soft Bulletin, I think you'll like it. It has a groove to it. We're not a very groovy band but some of it has a groove."

To which we say: If ya'all aren't groovy -- with your habitual bubble transportation, psychedelic color scheme, and hand-puppet-crazed fans -- then the backgrounds in this new Kanye West video bears no resemblance to that featured in Sonic the Hedgehog.

Here's a rundown of the essential albums available online and in record stores today:

Wilco, Wilco (The Album)
Jeff Tweedy's reassuring songbook helps us accept life's never-ending flaws.
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Moby, Wait For Me
Wayward digital auteur finds beauty in gloom.
Read Review >>

 

Willie Isz, Georgiavania
Call this smoky, slo-mo hip-hop jam "Crazier."
Read Review >>

 

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>> What Jay Bennett's Death Made Me Realize About Wilco
>> Jeff Tweedy on Wilco's New Album, Tour

Brooklyn art rockers the Dirty Projectors have released a video for R&B-inflected Bitte Orca track "Stillness Is the Move." And unlike Jay-Z's new video, this one is light on Harvey Keitel appearances, but the Matthew Lessner-directed clip does feature wolves and a llama.

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>> Bjork, Dirty Projectors Play Benefit Show in NYC
>> Review: Rise Above
>> Bitte Orca

Those familiar with the band's reputation for innovation would surely expect something that defies run-of-the-mill-ness, and they'd be right.

Outfitted in powder blue jumpsuits and hooded by shawls, lead vocalist Amber Coffman and DP bandmates Angel Deradoorian and Haley Dekle fashion themselves as a sort of girl group for the Druid set, breaking from emphatic shoulder-shaking to run with the wolves. They also let their hoods down for a synchronized dance routine that looks a bit like the cast of Chicago's reinterpretation of the Electric Slide.

Overall, it's ever-so-Ladyhawke in tone. And not this Ladyhawke , but rather, this one.

Meanwhile, DP leader Dave Longstreth takes on the role of wandering minstrel-cum-llama herder -- initially standing on a rotating platform on a mountaintop before exploring the wooded landscape. That's pretty much all he does, but really, it's more than most do in the span of a day, never mind a music video.

Dirty Projectors, "Stillness Is the Move" music video:

While the investigation into Michael Jackson's untimely death persists, new information about the star's final projects continues to emerge.

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>> Michael Jackson's Death: The Fallout
>> Remembering Michael Jackson's Better Days
>> Michael Jackson Dead at 50
>> Remembering Michael Jackson: 5 Classic Videos

It seems that Jackson had recently wrapped work on an elaborate 3-D video project in his final weeks.

The production, titled the "Dome Project," was planned as a visual component of his 50-date concert residency at London's O2 Arena.

Vince Pace, whose company provided cameras for the 3-D production described it to the Associated Press as "a groundbreaking effort" that would have resulted in the audience's perception that "they were visiting the 'Thriller' experience, like they were there." He added, "To think that Michael's gone now, that's probably the last documented footage of him to be shot in that manner."

An unnamed source commented that while Jackson "walked with a spring in his step" on-set, he also looked "willow-thin" and "pallid," and at one point needed assistance descending the stage stairs.

The production reportedly featured elaborate sets including a cemetery, a large mural of Jackson wearing his "Thriller" werewolf costume, a lush jungle, and a construction site. One scene was said to feature "scantily-clad male dancers wearing carpenter's belts."

The project was in post-production at the time of Jackson's death, and was due to be completed next month. No word yet on how, if at all, the video footage will be used.

Meanwhile, Black Eyed Peas founder Will.i.Am has revealed that the unreleased material he produced for Jackson was to be a stylistic departure for the King of Pop.

"It was going to be out of this world. It's something Michael has never done before -- a dance music album." He told UK tabloid The Daily Mirror.

"I was very proud of it," he added. "But he was very protective and kept it under lock and key. After we made it I had to hand back every demo. He was a perfectionist and didn't want anyone to hear it until it was ready."

Playing the perpetually troubled, pot dealing mom Nancy Botwin on Showtime's hit series, Weeds, Mary-Louise Parker manages to exude icy coolness when faced with any number of lose-lose situations: run-ins with gun-toting drug gangs, psychopathic neighbors on speed, and on-the-take DEA agents. But when it came to playing the love interest in a new music video for "Listen to the Darkside," a song by up-and-coming singer-songwriter Charlie Mars, Parker almost lost her cool.

"At a certain point, like a week before, I hadn't seen a treatment for the video," Parker recalls. "They could dress me up like a giraffe. They could ask me to do anything."

But when she was finally told the concept for Mars' Danny Clinch-directed, Wizard of Oz-referencing clip, all was well. "Thank God I went, because I love the video and I love the song." It's certainly appropriate. With lyrics about getting high and listening to Pink Floyd, Mars' slinky single is a snug fit for an actress whose character slings dope for a living.

We spoke with Parker about the video -- plus, the importance of music on Weeds and some of her favorite artists, including guest star Snoop Dogg.

WATCH: Charlie Mars, "Listen to the Darkside" (starring Mary-Louise Parker)

Were you involved at all with recruiting bands to cover the show's old theme song, "Little Boxes"?
I got Elvis Costello into it. That was my big point of pride. That was my favorite one. I don't really have much to do with the other music on the show. But you know Leona Naess?

Yeah, absolutely.
There's a song we used in Season One, "Ballerina," that I really wanted. It was really hard to get. Leona really wanted us to do it, but you have no idea how hard it is to get through to the record companies. There's a lot of red tape over there, you know?

As the seasons go by, is it easier to get better music, thanks to the show's success?
One would hope. A lot of people are like, "Oh, could you use this song?" And it's always like, "Oh, we can't afford it." Because we have no budget for music, and nothing adds more to the feeling and the vibe of the scene than the music. Sometimes I just wish that we could spring for it a little more.

Let's talk about this new Charlie Mars video that you're in. What do you like most about the video?
They wanted it to have this Wizard of Oz type influence, so at the top, I'm walking on this yellow brick road type thing, and then I go by people with these red sparkly shoes on, and then the poppies, so it has that whole kind of feel, like going to another world. I like the way we did that because it was super subtle. And [director] Danny [Clinch], he's just a really cool person -- and  just makes everyone feel positive.

He's one of those photographers who people always want to meet backstage at rock festivals. People love his work.
Charlie said the thing about Danny that's really great is that he likes what he likes, not what he's told to like. He picks things and he responds to them. I don't think he would have done it if he didn't like the song and he didn't like Charlie.

Is the song going to be on the show or is it just a stand alone project?
Well, I wish, but I don't think so. It's so catchy. With the lyrics, I feel like it should be.

This wasn't the first time you'd been in a video.
Well, I did a Bonnie Raitt video for "You Got It," for this movie that I did, Boys On the Side. And then I did this Jayhawks video -- Do you know the Jayhawks?

Absolutely.
They're like my favorite band. I'm friends with both of them -- Gary's a really good friend of mine. And so I ended up in this video that was so bad, it's almost good. It's fun to watch because it's so horrendous. The label wouldn't let them play it because it was so fucking bad. And now I kinda laugh about it, and Gary laughs about it. I feel kind of responsible for it because I kind of hooked them up with the director, and the director was an awesome person, but I don't think the concept really worked with the song. And also I was three months pregnant and I hadn't told anybody, so I had this yellow dress on. It was kinda like, "Is she fat or something?"

The Jayhawks are sort of a beautiful trainwreck. They made amazing music, but had so many bumps in the road -- and that's part of what makes them great.
I think the best record is Sound of Lies -- it's kind of a masterpiece. And they recorded it when they were bummed out. I think it's so beautiful.

Any other bands you've seen that you're particularly into at the moment?
I'm friends with Josh Ritter; I wrote about him for Esquire. I interviewed him and got to know him. He really has everybody in the palm of his hand. And I saw Rufus Wainwright, who was really great, and his dad too.

Are there any musicians who've come up to you and confessed to being fans of Weeds?
Actually, it's been mostly random people, like someone's grandmother. But someone told me that Bon Iver's a fan. And there's always Snoop Dogg.

He seems like the target audience. Plus, he had a really great cameo on Weeds.
And I gotta say, he was a really lovely fella. He was really nice and had really good manners.