Ahh, finally a tracklisting for the upcoming self-titled album from the Deftones, which hits stores May 20th. You know what to do...

Now that Ol' Dirty Bastard is out of jail, he's begun work on a few new projects. First up, there's a new solo album (which will hopefully be better than last year's hastily slapped together The Trials and Tribulations of Russel Jones), a Brooklyn Zoo Crew album, a line of clothing (called "Dirt McGirt") and, get this, "Ol' Dirty Draws" -- a line of underwear. Did I mention he'll be living in a mental institution for the next few months until he finishes his sentence? Yeah.

The Eels will be hitting the road this June. No tourdates have been announced yet, but the guys just wanted us to know we had something to look forward to (for those of us depressed over world crisis). One downer is that Butch might not be able to make it for The Eels tour due to prior commitments with Tracy Chapman... priorities. Oh and in case you forgot, there are several new Eels related releases to keep in mind. The Eel's new album, SHOOTENANNY!, comes out June 3rd while E.'s score for the movie Levity (which includes two exclusive Eels tracks) arrives April 22. And finally, MC Honky just released his first album I am the Messiah in the US yesterday (MC Honky is to E as Tony Clifton is to Andy Kaufman).

Remember that last one-off song Travis released? Well, they are at it again. Fran and the boys recorded the track "The Beautiful Occupation" for the lead slot on the upcoming compliation, entitled Hope. The CD is to be released via the War Child charity on April 21st (UK) in an effort to begin collecting funds to back "an emergency response to the devastating effects of the current conflict" in Iraq. If you'd like to hear the song, head over the song's page on the Travis website. Check out the War Child website for more information on the Hope compilation, which also features tracks from David Bowie, New Order, Basement Jaxx, Spiritualized, Sir Paul McCartney and Moby.

Despite the fact that they lost of their gear and had to cancel all dates on their recent tour, Xiu Xiu are still trudging forward. The band have scored original music for a play titled The Jesus Side, "a twisted comedy about love and mass murder." The show will be a featured in the Singularity Stage 2003 Festival held in NYC at the end of the month. The play, which is part of the Program 5 acts, is scheduled for April 30th at 9pm, May 1st at 7pm, May 2nd at 7pm, and May 3rd at 9pm at the Manhattan Theatre Source at 177 MacDougal St., New York City, NY. For more info about the Singularity Stage Festival go here, while people interested in the play show visit this website.

Head over to MTV.com and check out the new Bright Eyes video for the track "Bowl Of Oranges" from their new album, Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground. And don't forget that Conor and Co. are out on tour right now!

Less Than Jake will drop their new LP, Anthem, on the masses come May 20th. To promote the release, the band has hopped on the Civic Tour 2003 with the likes of Good Charlotte and New Found Glory. The tour kicks off tonight in North Dakota and then hits a bunch of stops all over the US. Get dates and ticketing information at the tour's official website.

As of yesterday, Thrice began mixing their new album, The Artist In The Ambulance. Via their studio journal, the band announced Saturday that the tracking for the album was complete and they were "coming home." According to a new intro page on their official site, the album is due on July 15th through Island/Def Jam.

You know, I keep telling myself I can write about Interpol without mentioning Joy Division. Crap, I just did it again. Oh well, head on over here and check out the Floria Sigismondi-directed video for their latest single, "Obstacle 1".

"Tori's Taxivision" is a new on-line contest where you can create a music video for Tori Amos' next single off of Scarlett's Walk, "Taxi Ride". You gotta get the details here. Read more at the place with the same name before May 18th.

Billboard is reporting that Dave Grohl (do I really need to list any of his resume?) will be playing drums on the new Killing Joke album, tenatively entitled Axis of Evil. The album is produced by Gang of Four's Andy Gill and is expected to be released on Sony Worldwide in June. No worries though, Grohl isn't going to be hitting the road with anyone but the Foo Fighters in the near future (need a reminder of those dates? click here).

In preparation for their May 20th Maverick Records self-titled release, and as a warm-up for their Summer Sanitarium dates, the Deftones will be playing some "guerilla-style" dates - announcing the location of the show the day before they play. The band recently finished recording the video for the first single from the new album "Minerva." If you're itchin to hear officially-sanctioned new material, check out the new EPK (High Band | Low Band - link via the Deftones Online Street Team). Oh yea, if you want those Summer Sanitarium dates, you know where to look....

REM will release their Best Of album chronicling their music from the Green album to present day. Think you've got all the REM already and don't need to buy the Best Of? Think again. The band will be including two new unheard tracks, one of which being entitled "Bad Day." Maybe you can hear them play it live on their tour. Expect that album to hit shelves Sept. 30th.

Moneen and Brand New will be heading out on the road together in July. Brand New are currently in the studio recording their second album Deja Entendu while Moneen have their debut Vagrant release Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now on June 6th.

So you may be thinking that there is no reason to come to the site on the weekend if we don't have any news. Well you are wrong. Come on the weekend because that is when you win free CDs real easy. For instance, 13th email wins the soundtrack for the movie XXX. The 2 CD limited edition one. And remeber, free = good.

By Divine Right are now auditioning drummers. Drummer John Hall decided to leave the band while in the studio recording their new album entitled Sweet Confusion. If you live in the Toronto area or anywhere's close you can email the band if you are interested.

Ian Sefchick, that songwriter/singer guy from the original incarnation of Creeper Lagoon, has a new band called On The Speakers.. The band plans to put out an EP in the next few months and wants to keep in touch with their fans via their website.

You will be relieved to learn that Johnny Cash was recently discharged from the hospital. He spent several weeks in a Nashville hospital battling pneumonia, but is now "completely better."

Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri's side project Mondo Generator is set to release its second album on Ipecac Recordings sometime in June or July. It's in the can and will be called A Drug Problem That Never Existed. You can catch Mondo Generator later this month on a little southern California mini tour with The Melvins and Tomahawk (for dates, hit 'more').

The soundtrack to the eagerly anticipated Matrix sequel, called Matrix Reloaded, will arrive in stores on May 6 (the movie will be arriving May 15, cause I know that's the date you actually care about). The soundtrack will be two discs. The first is full of rock acts like Marilyn Manson, Deftones, Linkin Park, and The Dave Matthews Band (aka 'Dave') while the second disc appears to be the score to the film. Complete tracklisting follows, but don't get too excited...