According to Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess, actor Joaquin Phoenix has been in the studio with him and Charlatans manager Alan McGee working on tracks that Burgess calls "brilliant" but that he doubts will ever be released to the public. The actor's perfectionism may cripple the album's future release, Burgess reports.

Burgess told Billboard that Phoenix was inspired to write songs after learning to play guitar for the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, of which he was the star. "Once [Joaquin] learned guitar, he found that he had quite a lot of demons inside himself that he wanted to expel through music," Burgess says. "All the tracks that me and Alan worked with him on were brilliant, but I think he just keeps scrapping everything or redoing everything. I'm sad to say that I think it's one of those records that may never come out, to be honest with you. It's an ongoing thing. I'm trying to get Alan to force him to put it out at the moment, but I don't know whether it will [get released]."

The Foxboro Hot Tubs, the not-so-secret sideband of Green Day, have announced a small club tour of eight U.S. cities, beginning next week.

The band will release their debut album Stop Drop and Roll, a collection of 12 punchy garage rock anthems, a week from today on Tuesday, May 20.

Tickets will be a flat $20 each, and must be purchased at the box office on the day of the show. There is a maximum of two tix per person.

Foxboro Hot Tubs Club Tour

05/19 - Little Rock, Arkansas - Juanita's Cantina
05/20 - New Orleans, Louisiana - One Eyed Jack's
05/21 - Dallas, Texas - The Loft
05/22 - Austin, Texas - Emo's
05/25 - Phoenix, Arizona - The Brick House
05/26 - San Diego, California - Soma (Sidestage)
05/27 - Los Angeles, California - The Roxy
05/28 - Long Beach, California - Alex's Bar

Jason Bond, an American biologist from East Carolina University, has named a newly discovered trapdoor spider species after singer Neil Young. The spider—now known officially as myrmekiaphila neilyoungi—was discovered in 2007 in Jefferson County, Alabama, where it is indigenous.

“You can give a new species just about any name you please,” Bond told Gigwise.com. “With regards to Neil Young, I really enjoy his music and have had a great appreciation of him as an activist for peace and justice."

No stranger to naming spider species after people he admires, Bond has also been responsible for the naming of other spiders, one after Nelson Mandela and another after his wife.

Keeping Zeppelin reunion rumors humming right along this week is Whitesnake frontman and longtime friend of Jimmy Page, David Coverdale, who tells Gigwise.com that a world tour is “very likely.”

“I’m expecting a call from Jimmy any day asking my band Whitesnake to support them on their world tour,” Coverdale said. “Am I on board? You bet. Probably worth billions … Unlike rolling out the wheelchairs with the umpteenth Rolling Stones world tour, a Led Zeppelin tour will be incredible.”

London’s Mirror quotes a source who says  the Zeppelin tour could take place as early as the end of this year or early 2009 and that each member could stand to make $20 million from the tour.

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Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has issued a letter to Metallica, urging them to make their next album "kick ass." The letter, posted on Blabbermouth, reads:

"Dear METALLICA,

Hey, it's Dave! Remember me? Yeah, I'm the guy that's been listening to your band faithfully since 1983. I bought your first album Kill 'Em All from a mailorder catalogue called Under The Rainbow, I think. Actually I can't remember. It was 1983 for Christsakes! But that album changed my life and I've been listening to your albums ever since (even St Anger!).

I can't wait to hear the new s---, and no matter what you guys do I'll always be first one at the shop waiting to hear it. I'm sure you'll come out and blow everybody's f-----' minds, because you're f-----' METALLICA!

Good luck. And don't release it until it's kick-ass.

Yours, Dave Grohl.

P.S. Are you finished recording the drums yet?"

Metallica's new album, their ninth, is due out this fall and was produced by Rick Rubin.

Louisville, Kentucky's My Morning Jacket have announced that they'll take off on a headlining tour of the U.S. beginning in August. Dubbing their shows "An Evening with My Morning Jacket," the band plans to perform "epic, extended" versions of old favorites and new tunes from their June 10 release, Evil Urges.

"That's the problem we always have sitting around trying to make a set list," Jim James told Billboard. "You want to play the new ones, but you also want to do some of the older ones. That's why we keep playing longer and longer."

Leading up to the tour, MMJ will play the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee on June 13 and New York's Radio City Music Hall on June 20. They'll use Louisville as their tour's launching pad on August 16.

Want to win tix to MMJ's Radio City show and a gorgeous Flying V Faded to boot? Enter Here!

June 20: New York (Radio City Music Hall)
Aug. 16: Louisville, Ky. (The Great Lawn at Louisville Waterfront Park)
Aug. 18: Kansas City (Uptown Theatre)
Aug. 19: Council Bluffs, Ia. (Stir Cove)
Aug. 21: Morrison, Colo. (Red Rocks Amphitheater*)
Aug. 23: Dallas (Palladium Ballroom)
Aug. 24: Austin (Stubbs)
Aug. 27: Atlanta (Fox Theatre-Atlanta)
Aug. 29: Miami (The Fillmore Miami Beach @ the Jackie Gleason Theater)
Aug. 30: Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (House of Blues- Orlando)
Aug. 31: Myrtle Beach, S.C. (House of Blues- Myrtle Beach)
Sept. 02: Charlottesville, Va. (Charlottesville Pavilion)
Sept. 03: Washington, D.C. (Constitution Hall)
Sept. 05: Philadelphia (Festival Pier Penn's Landing)
Sept. 06: Boston (Bank of America Pavilion)
Sept. 19: Berkeley, Calif. (Greek Theatre)
Sept. 21: Los Angeles (Greek Theatre)
Sept. 23: Tempe, Ariz. (The Marquee)
Sept. 24: Las Vegas (The Joint)
Sept. 25: San Diego (SDSU Open Air Theater)
Sept. 27: Portland (McMenamins Edgefield)
Sept. 28: Seattle (McCaw Hall)
Oct. 2: Minneapolis (Orpheum Theatre)
Oct. 3: Milwaukee, Wis. (Riverside Theater)
Oct. 4: Detroit (The Fillmore Detroit)
Oct. 9: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
Oct. 10: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)

Billboard reports today that first day sales of Neil Diamond’s new album Home Before Dark, out May 7, indicate that the singer is set to have his first-ever No. 1 charting album. By close of business yesterday, May 6, the album had sold 30,000 copies and is estimated to sell approximately 125,000 by week’s end, displacing Madonna’s new Hard Candy for the top spot on the chart.

In addition to Diamond’s appearance on American Idol last week, this weekend’s holiday may be swinging things in his favor. Billboard is reporting that “shopping for the Mother’s Day holiday on Sunday, May 11, may amplify the demand for certain sets―like the mom-friendly efforts from Diamond, [Clay] Aiken, [Toby] Keith and [Josh] Groban.”

In Diamond’s 41 year career, he’s had 45 albums chart. Thirteen have made it to the Top 10.

Venerable country singer Eddy Arnold died early Thursday at an assisted living facility outside of Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 89. Arnold's wife of 66 years, Sally Gayhart Arnold, preceded in him in death just a month and a half earlier. Beloved by many, Arnold sold more than 80 million albums throughout his career, and from 1945 through 1983 he had 145 charted songs, including 28 No. 1 hits. His tremendous success is owed to his rich baritone voice and his sweet love songs, somewhat uncommon in an era of singing cowboys more interested in honky tonk than heartache. A staple at the Grand Ole Opry, Arnold is credited in part for introducing country music to a broader audience. The singer leaves behind an estate estimated to be in excess of $40 million. In 2005, Arnold recorded his 100th album, After All These Years.

On April 29, English electronic act Portishead released their first studio album in 11 years, Third. That same week they had an exuberant performance at Coachella—chronicled in this article—and thanked fans for "waiting."

After spending 10 years out of the spotlight and four agonizing over the new album, the band is working at getting its sea legs back. "It was good fun," said Portishead founder Geoff Barrow of the Coachella gig on the band's website, "but I doubt if it looked like we were having any! We were so far away from the crowd it was a bit weird to tell if people connected with us."

Portishead have reported that this isn't just another fly-by-night reunion, but a genuine new start with the best intentions.
 
"We feel like we're in the same place, just progressing," Barrow told the Associated Press. "We just want to keep on working. I'm definitely re-energized. I think we all are."

Welcome back Portishead! In celebration of their return, here's some vintage Portishead to enjoy...