Ghosftace Killah and Novel have recorded a song dedicated to Rihanna and "my women out there getting beat up" and put it on the Internet. At first, with discussions of getting "sexed just right," I was worried that it was gonna be one of those awkward "thanks, but no thanks" dedications. But as it s...

Bad news first: we received word that Peter Tork of the Monkees has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer: adenoid cystic carcinoma, a head and neck cancer that usually affects the salivary glands but was found on his tongue. The people behind Idolator are big fans of the Monkees, and we certain...

There is a Runaways movie in the works, with Twilight actress Kristen Stewart set to play Joan Jett and former child android Dakota Fanning angling to play hard-partying lead singer Cherie Currie. Currie was 15 when she joined the all-female hard rock group (best known for "Cherry Bomb"), so that ma...

Win Butler from the Arcade Fire, called out for pomposity by supposed good guy Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, fired back late yesterday what's shaping up to be the Musical Beef Of March 2009. (It's at least on par with some of the great beefs of the past, like Canibus vs. LL Cool J, Canibus vs. Em...

ARTIST: The Beatles TITLE: "Revolution 1 (Take 20)" WEB DEBUT: February 2009 ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: As a Beatles mouthbreather, I've heard about the lost bridge between the bluesy single "Revolution" and the experimental "Revolution #9" for years. "Revolution 1 (Take 20)" is probably more casually expe...

We don't post tour dates that much here at Idolator because we have much more important things to write about, like Katy Perry riding dildo-shaped stage props and what Patrick Stump is doing right at this very moment. But once in a while, a tour comes along that is so extraordinary that it must be c...

At 5 p.m. yesterday, Pylon guitarist Randall "Randy" Bewley passed away, and my beloved hometown of Athens is a lot poorer for it. Randy contributed to our town in multiple ways, as a member of a legendary band, as an elementary school art teacher, and as a father of two, an all-around great guy by ...

Disclosures up front: I proposed to my future ex-wife at a Cheap Trick show, so I guess you could call me a fan. I think that Bun E. Carlos is a great drummer, undersung because he's not flashy in a band with a lot of flash. This is particularly true given that the band came of age in an era where d...

Remember in Dead Poets Society where they try to analyze poetry via graph and then Robin "O Captain My Captain" Williams tells them to rip up their books and then Eric Foreman's dad, Clarence Boddicker, makes House's friend kill himself? Well, people keep trying to quantify musical quality a la J. E...

Yesterday's sad news that venerable Chicago indie Touch and Go had shuttered its distribution arm was treated in some circles with a measure of misguided relief, thanks to it being preceded by a rumor that the label would completely shut down. Make no mistake about it; it's a big deal for the labels...