Green Day chose to release the new album, 21st Century Breakdown, on Friday, May 15 rather than a traditional Tuesday release date, but the trio still had no trouble debuting at #1. The album sold 214,800 copies in just three days, according to Nielsen SoundScan, perching it firmly at #1 on the sales chart. Breakdown gives the band its second chart-topper, following 2004's American Idiot.




The eighth annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, happening in Manchester, TN from June 11 to 14, will be televised on the Fuse network. The festival will be covered on Fuse through week-long programming (June 15-19) culminating with the highlight show Fuse Fest: Bonnaroo 2009 on June 20. Fuse’s coverage will include live performances, backstage interviews, and documentary footage from various Bonnaroo artists. This year’s lineup includes Bruce Springsteen, Phish, The Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, Nine Inch Nails and many more.




When Conan O'Brien takes over as host of The Tonight Show on June 1, his first musical guest will be Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam will perform songs from their upcoming studio album. Will Ferrell will be the first guest on the couch for the debut of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.




Tantric will be releasing their fourth album, Mind Control, on July 21 via the Silent Majority Group label. It was produced by Brett Hestla (Creed, Framing Hanley) and is the follow-up to 2008’s The End Begins, which produced the hit "Down and Out." Tantric will launch a tour in July.




Radiohead has officially begun work on the follow-up to 2007's In Rainbows. Bass player Colin Greenwood says things have been going well and they have been working with long time producer Nigel Godrich again. "It was very noisy and chaotic and really fun," he said. "It’s at the stage where we’ve got the big Lego box out and we’ve tipped it out on the floor and we're just looking at all the bits and thinking 'what’s next?' I'm very impressed and grateful for Nigel, our producer, and his ability to make it all sound vaguely plausible," Greenwood added.




Get ready to see Green Day all over the TV screen. The trio will appear on The Colbert Report on Comedy Central this Thursday, May 21 and the Late Show with David Letterman the following night, May 22. Green Day will also appear on Good Morning America on May 22. On Sunday, May 24, CBS Sunday Morning will air an in-depth interview with the band that was filmed last month in Oakland. Green Day performed "Know Your Enemy" and "21 Guns" on the season finale of Saturday Night Live over the weekend.


Also, the full setlist for Rock Band Unplugged has been revealed, and the game is coming to the PSP system on June 9. Rock Band Unplugged will feature 41 songs-AFI's "Miss Murder," Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle," The Killers' "Mr. Brightside," 3 Doors Down's "Kryptonite," Alice in Chains' "Would?," Nirvana's "Drain You," The Who's "Pinball Wizard" and many more.




Linkin Park has shot a video for the single "New Divide," which will appear on the soundtrack to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It is their first new song in over two years, and fans can watch a trailer for the video on their website. The clip was reportedly filmed "in a cave in Egypt," according to singer Mike Shinoda's website.




Those rumors are now true. Weezer and Fall Out Boy will be opening for Blink-182 on their reunion tour this year. The trek will kick off on July 24 and wrap up some time in October. They have announced that they will be in Sacramento on September 12th. MTV News reports that the official announcement of the tour, including all cities and dates, is coming next week. Mark Hoppus told Rolling Stone that they "want to be more artistic" on this trek and are collaborating with set designers who have worked with Kanye West and Daft Punk. "We want to use the entire arena as a lighting rig and a stage. We're being as ambitious as possible."




R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck tells Pitchfork Media that he and bassist Mike Mills are writing new music for the follow-up to last year's Accelerate. He confirmed that Jacknife Lee will produce the next R.E.M. album, though there is no set timetable for the band yet.


MTV Unplugged will return this summer with a monthly show online at unplugged.mtv.com. Artists set to perform include Silversun Pickups, Katy Perry and Paramore.




Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament was the victim of a violent robbery outside of the studio in Atlanta, where Pearl Jam is recording their new album. According to a police report, Ament and a band employee pulled up to the rear of the studio on April 27th when three assailants brandishing knives emerged from the woods wearing black masks, gloves and pants. The robbers smashed the windows of a rented Jeep and grabbed a BlackBerry before demanding more money. In total, Ament was robbed of $3,000 in cash and $4,320 worth of goods. He was also chased and knocked to the ground, sustaining a head laceration. The attackers escaped, but the event was caught on a surveillance camera, but no arrests have been made.




Look for Kings Of Leon to show up for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, which will air Sunday, May 31. The band will play their hit "Use Somebody."




Beastie Boys have been showing up all over the place, with their re-issue of Check Your Head and all of the bonus content getting lots of attention. Also, they have announced a new album in the fall, and a guest appearance on this week’s episode of the NBC comedy 30 Rock.  




No Doubt were a part of the flashback episode of Gossip Girl last night, as the show focused on the 80's. The band did their Adam and the Ants cover, "Stand and Deliver." You can check it out here.




Depeche Mode’s concert in Athens, Greece, were cancelled yesterday due to a mysterious Dave Gahan illness.  It was reported that Gahan was “rushed” to the hospital, with organizers hinting that Gahan might have suffered from  gastroenteritis. No word on when the band will be back performing. 




Taking Back Sunday's upcoming album, New Again, is due on June 2, and the title alone should tip off fans to the fact that the band is doing something different. People have already taken notice that the first single, "Sink Into Me," is pushing the envelope for TBS. "The music behind it is unlike anything we've ever done before. It's real upbeat and it's a song that when we start playing it live, will require a lot of crowd participation, which we're really looking forward to," frontman Adam Lazzarra told MTV News. "And the chorus... we always try to open up in the chorus in the sense of the wider you open the doors, the more people you're gonna let in." Part of the change in the TBS sound is new guitarist Matt Fazzi, who replaced Fred Mascherino after he left the group in 2007 to start his own project, The Color Fred. Fazzi helped out with the writing on New Again, and he says the band wanted to use the opportunity to turn over a new leaf. "We wanted to put a new foot forward for the band... to try to show people that we're expanding the music and we can do something different and it will work," Fazzi added. "I just feel like every aspect of the band has taken a step forward. I think the chord turns and the song structures are just a little bit stronger and smarter. We've kind of collected this knowledge over time, just by writing songs, and I feel like we were able to put something together that was pretty unique. It's kind of like we decided to wipe the slate clean and explore some different things."




Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell was forced to go to the hospital on Sunday night after injuring himself on stage during the band's tour with Nine Inch Nails. Farrell tore a calf muscle during the first song of the band's set in Atlanta, but he managed to tough it out and finish the show. The singer was then taken to the Atlanta Medical Center after the concert, according to a statement. Doctors have advised him to rest the leg for several days, but Farrell reportedly plans to play the next show in Austin on Tuesday night.




Amy Winehouse took the stage Friday night at the 18th Annual St. Lucia Jazz Festival for a bit of a "comeback show," but the set was plagued with technical difficulties and bad weather, causing a frustrated Winehouse to walk off stage. According to BBC News, a downpour began as she sang "Tears Dry on Their Own," and soon after that the stage lighting went out. She tried to continue the show, but during "Valerie" Winehouse exited the stage and the audience began to boo. "Amy would like to express her disappointment that weather forced the abandonment of her show at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival," said a statement from a spokesperson. "The set started well, but as the heavens opened, a number of technical difficulties occurred onstage, culminating with the lighting rig failing for two songs. In addition, rain began to flood the technical wings at the side of the stage, which caused sound problems. Amy and the band tried to soldier on, but the set had to be cut short."


In Other News:

Jack White of The White Stripes says expect the band to return. White says that with drummer Meg overcoming the anxiety issues that derailed a tour in September 2007, he doesn’t think new White Stripes material will be “too far off. Maybe next year.” This is obviously amazing news for the band’s fans, who initially suspected the Stripes’ hasty withdrawal from the road meant splitsville. “Nothing of the sort,” he says. 


Green Day will play a show for MySpace Music on Tuesday, May 19 in New York City at Webster Hall. Roughly 300 MySpace users will be given free passes into the show, The entire show will later be posted online at MySpace Music. Also Comcast will have exclusive content in their On Demand section.


Deftones bassist Chi Cheng is doing better after the November car accident that left him in a coma. Cheng "was released from ICU over the weekend and is no longer on any sort of life support. His symptoms continue to improve," according to a post on his website  His family is also still collecting money to help with his medical bills, and fans can make a donation via the website.


The Shins debuted a new lineup when the indie rockers kicked off their spring tour recently. Keyboardist Marty Crandall and drummer Jesse Sandoval have left the group, replaced by Ron Lewis and Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer. Shins main man James Mercer spoke to Pitchfork, saying, "I started to have production ideas that I wanted to do that basically required some other people. It's an aesthetic decision." He added, "I'm on good terms with those guys, I hope to maintain that." Mercer hopes to release a new Shins album in 2010.


Singer/songwriter Cat Stevens (a.k.a. Yusuf Islam) said on Monday that the Coldplay song "Viva La Vida" sounds like one of his 1973 songs, but he will only consider suing for plagiarism depending "on how well Satriani does." Guitarist Joe Satriani is suing the band for copyright infringement because he claims that portions of his song, "If I Could Fly," were appropriated for "Viva La Vida." "My son brought it to my attention and said: 'Doesn't that sound like 'Foreigner Suite?'" Stevens told Reuters. "The song definitely sounds like it. It has such logical chords and the melody has to be what it is..." Stevens has a new album, Roadsinger, out today.


Radiohead’s own managers recommended the band split up as the group struggled to record what eventually became In Rainbows. That’s what one of their managers admitted this week, saying that though the songs were written, the band had spent the better part of two years unable to capture the songs in the studio.

“Radiohead are a once in a generation act,” Brian Message said. “But you have to be honest if it’s not working. You have to have passion about what you do.” The band ignored their managers’ recommendations and instead completed work on In Rainbows, which was not only critically acclaimed immediately after its surprise release, but also helped revolutionized how music is distributed in the Internet age thanks to its “pay-what-you-want” scheme. Radiohead, who are still together plan on touring this summer. 


Ex-Wilco member Jay Bennett is suing band founder Jeff Tweedy for unpaid royalties. According to the Chicago Tribune, Bennett is asking for at least $50,000 and was never paid for appearing in the Wilco documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. In the film, Bennett is seen quitting the band during the making of 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Bennett spent seven years as a member of the group. Wilco is set to release a new record, Wilco (The Album), on June 30.


R.E.M. will continue to roll out re-issues of their early work with a deluxe edition of their sophomore effort, Reckoning, due on June 23. Like last year's Murmur re-issue, it will include a second disc featuring a rare live recording. This time, it will be a gig broadcast on WXRT/Chicago on July 7, 1984. High-quality 180 gram vinyl copies of Murmur and Reckoning will also be released on June 23.


Sugar Ray will return with Music For Cougars, their first album in six years, on July 21, according to Billboard. The band has performed occasionally in recent years while frontman Mark McGrath focused on his TV career, and they will head out on a nine-week summer tour. The first single is titled "Boardwalk."


Nine Inch Nails' main man Trent Reznor has gotten engaged to Mariqueen Maadig of the band West Indian Girl. The news was announced on West Indian Girl's website over the weekend. In other NIN news, Reznor revealed that he is battling Apple's standards department over content for the NIN iPhone app, specifically in relation to the lyrics to the song "The Downward Spiral."

In other relationship news, White Stripes drummer Meg White is reportedly engaged to another member of Detroit's Rock royalty. According to the Detroit Free Press, White will marry Jackson Smith, guitarist and son of Patti Smith and late MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith on May 22 in Nashville.


No Doubt return to the stage this weekend in Atlantic City to kick off their first tour in almost five years. Gwen Stefani told MTV News, "We're calling it 'the procrastination tour' ... well, I am, at least. I'm the biggest procrastinator. It's not their fault, it's my fault, because I had this whole game plan: 'OK, I'm gonna go on tour with my last record, I'm gonna come home, I'm gonna get pregnant, I'm gonna have a baby, but while I'm pregnant, I'm gonna make the No Doubt record.' That was the plan, but it all didn't work." "You know, it all made sense. We were in the studio, trying to write. Things weren't coming. Gwen was feeling like she couldn't find the place where she wanted to start the writing process. I think she always goes through this and I think we, uh, we just need to find ourselves. We just need to get out on the road," bassist Tony Kanal added. "And the four of us looked at each other and said, 'It's time to play,' and as soon as we said that, the pressure was lifted... we got really excited. It was like four adults became four little kids again. We're giddy about it."


While The Killers are currently on a North American tour in support of Day & Age, the band is hoping they can build the same kind of success that they have in Europe. While they have plenty of hits on U.S. radio, frontman Brandon Flowers told NME that "we're still nowhere near where we are in Europe." "We've been embraced in Britain in a way that I’ll never understand, and it’s such a wonderful thing," he told the U.K. magazine. "But over here [in America], people are still so obsessed with Led Zeppelin and Nirvana, those sorts of bands, that nobody else is allowed [to grow]. It’s not just us; there are a lot of great bands that have been held down or confined by the influence of these people that we’ve put up on pedestals. I’m tired of it, I just want to knock them all off! And people don’t like that attitude. It’s almost like they don’t believe that it’s possible that anybody else can be the real deal."