The week in music news.
- Mos Def sports a perm and some super fly threads as Mr. Superhero in a recent episode of Nick Jr.'s Yo Gabba Gabba. After some impromptu ditties and lots of vacant smiling, the costumed crew bids Mos farewell as he rockets into the sky with Starsky the monster. Don't be surprised when your 3-year-old takes up slam poetry.
- Crystal Castles are gearing up for the release of their sophomore album in June. First single "Doe Dear" will receive a super limited 12" release on Record Store Day, April 17. No CD or digital release of the song is o, if you aren't able to snag one of the 500 copies of the four-track single then you're kind of S.O.L.
- Lil Wayne will communicate with fans through blogging while he serves his eight-month sentence. He's not able to access the Web himself, though, so handwritten notes will be transcribed and posted for him. Weezy said he wishes he could answer ever fan. Something tells me he'll have plenty of free time.
- Metric added new tour dates through July and—surprise!—they're not coming to Florida. They're not coming to the South at all, actually. All hope is not lost, though—there's still a slew of Lilith Fair dates to be announced and Metric could very well show up on Tampa's. Fingers crossed for that long-awaited Emily Haines/Ke$ha duet.
- Renee Zellweger is taking a stab at Bob Dylan's "Life is Hard" in the new Oscar-bait My Own Love Song. The Dylan inclusion isn't random, though—he's contributed 16 new songs to the film's soundtrack. Renee plays Jane, a former singer who is bound to a wheelchair. That's about as far as I got through the trailer.
- Kelis premiered the trippy video for "Acapella," the first single from her forthcoming Flesh Tone album. Let's see, we've got gold body paint, a tribal headdress, snow, freaky illuminating glasses and a baby strapped to her back. What, no elephant? BO-RING.
- The Black Keys recently announced additional summer dates, in addition to their current tour that stops in Orlando on April 19. The bluesy-rock duo will release their eighth album Brothers on May 18, but if your already a fan you've probably had your calendar marked for weeks now.
- The Avett Brothers are opening for John Mayer for a handful of summer tour dates. This is sort of a risky move for Mayer because once his the crowd figures out how ridiculously talented his opening act is they'll probably call it a night and head home before his show even starts…yeah, that'll never happen.
- Justin Bieber appeared on Jay Leno to talk about taking over joke site Funny Or Die for April Fool's Day and getting his drivers license on his 16th birthday. His first car? A Range Rover—he "didn't want anything too flashy." Around the country teen drivers in their mom's station wagon are cursing you, Bieber.
- Oasis plans to release the singles collection Time Flies on June 14. The 26-track compilation will include all but one of the singles they've released in their 15-year-career. Somewhere in the U.S people are scratching their heads to remember the other 26 singles beside "Wonderwall."
- Rihanna scores another week at number one with "Rude Boy." The song has been on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and judging by its airplay gainer shows no sign of stopping. Basically, avoid the radio at all costs.
- Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard announced they're joining forces to bring fans a summer tour. For all you Studdard fans out there a word of advice: beware the Claymates. Don't heckle them. Don't look them in the eye. Certainly don't interrupt them mid Aiken-ballad because they will rip your eyes out faster than you can say 'Velvet Teddy Bear.'
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2010.