Call erstwhile ex-Blur leader and multi-culti guru Damon Albarn anything you'd like -- just don't call him lazy. The pop Renaissance man has announced plans to release an official recording of his score for the opera Monkey: Journey to the West this coming fall on XL Recordings.

What? Hardcore has come a long way since Minor Threat frontman Ian McKaye was "Guilty of Being White" back in the '80s, from the harsh dub excursions of his future project Fugazi to the breakneck glam-thrash of the Blood Brothers.

This past Sunday, July 20, throngs of music-hungry fans converged on Los Angeles' Gibson Ampitheatre for Download 2008 to have their craving satiated by sets from Tapes N' Tapes, Datarock, Ghostland Observatory, Gang of Four, and the Jesus and Mary Chain, among others.

Cue the Chinese Democracy jokes: In a recent interview with USA Today, Dr. Dre claimed that his long-gestating follow up to the seven-times platinum 2001, Detox, could be released by the end of 2008.

Who? Yes, it's another Canadian musician -- but not the kind you'd expect. First off, singer/songwriter/downright maestro Rich Aucoin isn't from Montreal like those other guys; he hails all the way from Nova Scotia.

It was a dreary, cloudy evening in Seattle last night (July 22). It was hard to believe it was the middle of summer… that is, until Earlimart took the stage at Chop Suey to share a bit of California sunshine with the city's weary denizens.

Who? Love as Laughter, the Brooklyn-based indie-pop outfit led by Sam Jayne and signed to Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace Records; the group released their sixth full-length, Holy, last month. Oxford Collapse, the Brooklyn-based indie-pop trio (hey, wait a minute…) who are preparing to release their highly anticipated new long player, Bits, on Aug. 5 via Sub Pop.

What? On May 2, The Slip—Nine Inch Nails’ eighth full-length since 1989—landed on the band’s website with little fanfare, and no option to pay. “This one’s on me,” a message from Trent Reznor read, his giveaway serving as the culmination of a career-long battle with what the alt-icon saw as the music industry’s unfair exploitation of consumers.

This past Saturday, July 19, throngs of music-hungry fans converged on San Francisco, CA's Shoreline Ampitheatre for the 2008 Download Festival to have their craving satiated by sets from Yeasayer, Cut Copy, MuteMath, Gang of Four, and the Jesus and Mary Chain, among others.

The sleaze and the cheese were turned up to 11 during '80s-inspired heavy metal comedy act Steel Panther’s JVC- and Spin-sponsored set at the Key Club in Hollywood last night (July 21). Openers Blacklist Union celebrated their new CD with black leather- and-bombast- fueled rock, and Albatross warmed things up with a swamp-metal fest.