2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Announced

R.E.M. Announces They're Calling It Quits

“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.” R.E.M.

Lou Reed Makes Metallica Cry

Some interesting details have surfaced about the recording sessions for the Lulu collaboration album between Metallica and Lou Reed. In a recent interview with Mojo, guitarist Kirk Hammett said that Reed’s lyrics for the new song “Junior Dad” made him and frontman James Hetfield cry. “I had just lost my father literally three or four weeks previous,” explained Hammett. “I had to run out of the control room, and I found myself standing in the kitchen, sobbing away. James [Hetfield] came into the kitchen in the same condition — he was sobbing too. It was insane. [Reed] managed to take out both guitar players in Metallica in one fell swoop, with his amazing poetic lyrics.” Lulu is set to be released November 1.

Slash Reveals Mary J. Blige Collaboration

Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash has been locked in the studio working on his second solo album.  In a recent posting to his official Twitter account, Slash revealed that he’s recorded a new song with the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J. Blige.  Slash wrote: “Just finished a session with Mike Clink engineering on a track with Mary J. Blige.  Sounds killer!”  It’s unknown whether the track will be used by Slash or Mary J. Blige as both are working on new albums at the moment.

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Lady Gaga Co-Hosts, Performs on ABC's "The View"

Lady Gaga returned to ABC’s The View on Monday, serving as its guest co-host. She walked onto the set arm-in-arm with host Barbara Walters, wearing a black-and-white houndstooth dress, hat and sunglasses. She also had houndstooth markings running down the left side of her face.

Gaga opened the show by telling moderator Whoopi Goldberg how much she admires her. She recalled an incident in which she stole a Whoopi Goldberg picture from a hotel and brought it to her room, only to have hotel staff members track her down and ask for it back.

Gaga became more serious when she was asked about the death of Amy Winehouse, saying she couldn’t speak for 48 hours after hearing the news. She said she felt the media was too tough on Amy, and that the world needs to learn to be nicer to stars. Gaga said she once used “hard drugs” until her father urged her to quit.

Gaga also had kind words for the late E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, who performed on two tracks on her latest album, including her hit “The Edge of Glory.” She described him as a “father figure” who had “this godly spirit about him.” Other topics discussed with Gaga included New York State’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, and a report by the American Institute for Cancer Research linking processed meat to cancer.

Later in the show, Gaga performed two songs on a houndstooth-patterned piano: her new single, “You and I,” and “The Edge of Glory.” The latter performance did not air in its entirety on ABC.

Gaga’s last appearance on The View prior to Monday came in May.

Paul McCartney Duets with Billy Joel at Second Yankee Stadium Show

During his show Saturday at Yankee Stadium, Paul McCartney paused to welcome to the stage “a friend of New York and a friend of Yankee Stadium” — Billy Joel,RollingStone.com reports.

The pair of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have made a habit of turning up at each other’s New York City stadium shows in recent years.

In 2008, when Billy Joel played the last-ever concert at New York’s Shea Stadium, he invited McCartney to the stage.  The following year McCartney brought Joel out during a series of Macca shows at Shea’s successor, Citi Field. This past Saturday, during the second night of his two-night stand at the new Yankee Stadium, Macca again welcomed the Piano Man to the stage. 

Radiohead Creates Account on Chinese Social Media Website

Radiohead, who has been outspoken about human rights in China in the past, recently set up a microblog account on Sina Weibo, which is the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

Doors Manager Eyeing Late-November Release for Deluxe 'L.A. Woman' Reissue

The previously announced 40th anniversary deluxe edition of the Doors’ classic L.A. Woman album is probably coming out “in late November,” according to the band’s manager,Jeff Jampol. In a recent post in the forum of the official Doors website, Jampol revealed that he’s working on the project with Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman.

“Jac is there, in the trenches with us every day, doing an AMAAAZING job,” he wrote. “He is so INTO this release, and he’s personally supervising pretty much every aspect.”

As for what fans can expect from the deluxe package, Jampol said it won’t feature any “heretofore undiscovered new tracks” or “earthshaking surprises, but there will be some ‘interesting’ configurations and products around this release.” He added that the production team “have a few surprises up our collective sleeves.”

Jampol also reported that an L.A. Woman making-of DVD is in the works as part of the Classic Albums documentary series, and likely will be released around the same time as the reissue. 

In other Doors news, keyboard player Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger are planning to perform L.A. Woman in its entirety at their current band’s August 5 concert in Costa Mesa, California. The group also has two other California concerts scheduled that month, including an August 19 show at the Doors’ famed Los Angeles haunt the Whiskey a Go Go, as part of the 2011 Sunset Strip Music Festival. Krieger and Manzarek also recently announced a series of fall East Coast shows.

Katy Perry Closing In on Michael Jackson Chart Record

(NEW YORK) — Katy Perry is getting dangerously close to matching a chart record set by Michael Jackson.

Her new single “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)” is now at number four.  If it reaches number one, according to Yahoo! Chart Watch, it will be the fifth number one hit from Perry’s album Teenage Dream.

The only other album in history to produce five number one hits was Jackson’s 1987 release Bad.  Those chart-toppers were “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Bad,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Man in the Mirror,” and “Dirty Diana.”

While she’s waiting to tie the King of Pop, Perry is also celebrating the success of her previous single, “E.T.”  It just reached the four-million-downloads mark this week, her fifth song ever to do so.  No other artist has ever had that many songs reach the four million sales mark.