"World Inside My Head": I actually wrote this song with Richard Marx at his house outside Chicago. It was right before I got clean and Sober and I had some heavy thoughts bouncing around in my head. I was feeling pretty disconnected, misunderstood and I was isolating a bit.

I told him I wanted to write a song that was kind of an "Ode To Oddness".... Some of my favorite lines that I've ever been a part of are in this song -- Like, "Watch the sunrise - like it's a big surprise" and "Strange is just a different point of view"...

Atlantic Records filed a lawsuit on Thursday against frontman Scott Weiland and drummer Eric Kretz after the two allegedly "threatened to stop performing under their contract and have indicated they would like to end the agreement unless Atlantic makes significant changes," according to Reuters.

Billboard reports: The clip features a scorned lover, played by Ashanti, who gets revenge on her cheating boyfriend by stabbing him to death. A murder scene with the boyfriend's body in a tub and a bloody knife are among the images featured in it.

Jigga what? A guy wants $88 million bucks out of Jay-Z not for a lyric he jacked, or a sample he stole -- but for stealing that ultra-exclusive technique of ... rapping in a low whisper.

Curious what MTV considers music these days? Here is a blurb we received introducing a preview of the new Fall Out Boy hosted music show on the network: MTV has heard the cries to put music back on the channel, and will do so on the show with musical guests and real music videos. Check out the latest promo clip for FNMTV, the new Friday Night music event hosted by Pete Wentz. more

Reports today are saying Michael Jackson is getting together with Christian Audigier of Ed Hardy to design a line of clothing, but apparently it's still too early to say what kind of designs will surface. Gotta get a Jacko Jacket! Zippers are coming back into fashion. more

With The Sound of Madness hitting stores soon, Shinedown will be world-premiering the entire album on MySpace starting June 17th. Produced by Rob Cavallo (My Chemical Romance, Green Day) and featuring the hit single, "Devour," The Sound of Madness is hitting stores on 6/24. [the PR didn't provide a link to the Myspace page]

"Pressure Zone"--the new video from Birmingham, England's Beat Union--will debut tomorrow (Friday, June 13) at 11:00 AM Pacific Time on Buzznet.com. Visit the band's page at http://beatunion.buzznet.com/ to view the video.

The Americana Music Association has announced the nominees for the 2008 Honors and Awards ceremony � Justin Townes Earle received a nomination for New Emerging Artist of the Year. The winners will be announced September 18th in a ceremony at the historic Ryman Auditorium � the show will be hosted by Jim Lauderdale and features a band led by Buddy Miller.

Five Finger Death Punch will be the featured guests on the nationally syndicated radio show ROCKLINE on Monday night June 23 at 8:30pm PT / 11:30pm ET. Fans are encouraged to call in to speak with the band at 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). For a station near you and for information regarding how to log onto the Internet for the broadcast go to www.RocklineRadio.com.

Innerpartysystem are confirmed to play the Projekt Revolution show at Milton Keynes Bowl June 29th. Headlined by Linkin Park, innerpartysystem join Jay-Z, Pendulum, N*E*R*D, Enter Shikari and The Bravery on a bill that threatens to be one of the gigs of the summer!

Portland, Oregon-based Asian dance-rock outfit The Slants were featured on NPR's All Things Considered yesterday, June 11th so consider this

Lukas Rossi, most recently known for winning CBS's hit reality show, Rock Star: Supernova, debuts an all new alt-rock band called Stars Down on Saturday, June 21 at the Viper Room (8852 W Sunset Blvd, W. Hollywood, CA 90069). Doors are at 8:00 pm and show starts at 9:30 pm. Tickets are available for $15.00 in advance and $18.00 day of show by calling the Viper Room box office at 310-358-1881 or through ticketbastard online.

The innovators of G-punk, (Hed)pe have debuted the new song "Ordo Ab Chao" on their Myspace page . The track is one of three brand new studio recordings that will be included on the group's upcoming 2-disc live album and DVD, "The DIY Guys", which is set for release July 8, 2008 through Suburban Noize Records.

So when a metal magazine asked Lonn if he wanted to venture to the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee for a cover story on his old friends Metallica, he readily agreed. But we discover another reason why he made the trip from So Cal. In a special Lonnaroo blog Lonn created for this weekend's festival, where Lonn plans to update fans with views, reviews and inside stories on the happenings at the event, he tells us in his first entry:

"But it ain't just the four horsemen of Bay Area thrash-turned global hard rock juggernaut that got me jazzed about the bountiful Bonnaroo '08. I'm also excited about reconnecting with old friends whose musical evolution I have also witnessed and enjoyed. The entities are scattered throughout the four-day festival, disparate deities of riff and word like Pearl Jam and Robert Plant, united with Allison Krauss and an old golfing buddy named T. Bone Burnett. Got a friend in Las Vegas who lives and dies for Widespread Panic yet I confess I've never had the live experience. My daughter is crazy about MGMT. Jack White does little wrong in my book so the Raconteurs are high on my list. I could go on and on but this is the debut entry so let me get back to the set up."

Once of our favorite features is their "lists," mostly because they come up with interesting topics not the same old "top guitar licks" etc, etc. They published such a list this week that caught our eye. They researched some of the most notorious rock cults. We're talking real cults, not insane fans of karaoke singers from TV contests. While the lead off cult in their article, the Manson Family, is widely known, we discovered a couple we hadn't heard of. Here is one of those:

The new album contains 10 new songs, and with the exception of last year's Grammy-nominated, digital-only single "Timebomb", Modern Guilt is the first new material Beck has written since the prolific stretch that produced 2005's platinum Guero and 2006's universally acclaimed The Information.

The Grammy-nominated punk-pop quartet has added the NYC date to "The Final RIOT! � Paramore Summer Tour '08," which begins on July 28th in Reno, Nevada. In addition to "The Final RIOT! � Paramore Summer Tour '08," the Tennessee-based band will also appear at a number of upcoming summer festivals, including Milwaukee's yearly Summerfest celebrations on June 30th, an eagerly awaited slate of mainstage appearances on the upcoming Vans Warped Tour (July 1 � 6), the Virgin Festival 2008 on August 10th; and Seattle's annual Bumbershoot Festival on September 1st. Paramore will also find time in their jam-packed schedule to join John Mayer for two dates, August 19th in Charlotte, NC and August 20th in Burgettstown, PA.

"They asked me if I would partake and I had to decline," he told MTV. "Part of me would love to run around and act like a f**king a**hole again but I can't do that.

Savannah, Ga.-based Gretsch Guitars has a foundation that donates guitars that are decorated by artists or signed by musicians and then sold to raise funds for music and arts education programs. Because Gretsch CEO Fred Gretsch believes in "Enriching lives through participation in music," the Gretsch Foundation has generously donated a new hollow body style Brian Setzer Model Gretsch Nashville guitar to AthFest.

"It's with unbelievably deep regret that I must announce that Cinderella's Tom Keifer's left vocal cord has hemorrhaged, thereby making it impossible for him to sing in the immediate future.

Wanna see me get my 'come-uppance?' -- tune in to Gene Simmons Family Jewels on A&E, Sunday, June 15th, 10 PM/9 Central (Marathon begins at 9/8C) and see the finest comics drill me a new one... along with some surprise guests.

This is real stuff. I had no clue what was going on, who was going to be there, or what they were going to say. Very little of it was edited out (except that stuff A&E just couldn't put on the air).

The 12-track hard-rocking opus, which features catchy up-tempo songs such as "Steal Your Fire" and "Get Over It," was produced by Tommy McWilliams (Gloria Estefan, Jon Secada,) and mixed by Kevin Shirley (Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Journey).

Andrew McManus Presents is thrilled to announce the British rock heavyweights will include Australia in the world tour for their new album "Songs From The Sparkle Lounge" in what will be their first visit since 1992. The tour will kick off with a mighty big bang in Perth with a huge outdoor show on Friday October 31.

The Canadian law notable includes anti-circumvention clause that will make it illegal to break digital locks on copyrighted material.