There are drum solos and there are drum solos. Andrew WK is about to prove this point with a vengeance. Starting Wednesday night, the man who reintroduced the word "party" to the world of rock and roll will attempt a feat that no drummer living or dead has ever managed to pull off—for good or ill: the 24-hour drum solo. Actually, solo isn't quite right, as he will be accompanied by a cadre of guest percussionists curated by none other than Roots drummer ?uestlove (who will also sit in). The occasion? Why, Viacom's annual O Music Awards of course!  

It's hardly Elton John bringing John Lennon onstage at Madison Square Garden in 1974 for his first public appearance in years, but nor is it the Rolling Stones bussing in Taylor Swift for a novelty duet on "As Tears Go By" a couple of weeks ago. No, this past weekend's teaming of Animal Collective with Michael Winslow, the stand-up comedian best known for making sound effects with his voice (and for his roles in the "Police Academy" films—though some of us remember him from "Cheech & Chong's Next Movie") ranks somewhere between audacious stunt casting and eerily brilliant synchronicity of purpose. So where does this moment rank on the continuum of guest star concert appearances? Watch and decide for yourself. 

 

When music fans talk about band tragedy it's usually the dual suicides in Badfinger, the death of Duane Allman or Kurt Cobain's demise. Sublime was dealt a hand every bit as bad; the ska-punkers were up and coming, they'd recorded the best album of their career, superstardom loomed - and singer/guitarist Brad Nowell died of an accidental heroin overdose two months before its 1996 release.

With the passage of time band members prefer to look on the happier times, and here's a chance to do that. A classic concert from the Palace in Hollywood taped on Oct. 21, 1995. The recently discovered footage is surprisingly excellent, both in quality and in the performance (we'll have a full interview with drummer Bud Gaugh with the DVD release tomorrow). They're also giving fans a preview tonight - for $1.99, you can stream the entire show through the band's website or Facebook page. The time is 6 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Eastern, sharp. Partnering with Milyoni, it'll also give fans to chat in real time as they watch the show.

 

 

It was an experiment for Spotify to see how closely their fans were paying attention. The free music service was lacking one of the biggest catalogs in classic rock - Pink Floyd. So they came up with a challenge that the members of Floyd apparently liked: Stream the song "Wish You Were Here" one million times and we'll open up the floodgates.

The challenge was announced Friday and before the weekend was over they'd far surpassed it. So Spotify users can now hear the entire Floyd catalog through the service. And that includes the bonus tracks from some of the recent "Immersion" reissues of classic Pink Floyd albums. So you can hear "Dark Side of the Moon" performed in its entirety in 1973, with"Money" turning into a nearly nine-minute bluesy conversation between Roger Waters' bass and Dave Gilmour's guitar (with light touches from keyboardist Richard Wright and drummer Nick Mason). Or the alternate take of "Have a Cigar" with Waters' and Gilmour's original co-lead vocals (which was later replaced by Roy Harper on the original release).
You can hear it here.

 

 

Oh, if only it were real.

It isn't, but someone was lying in wait to play the funniest Internet practical joke in a while.

You'll remember that Kanye West infamously interrupted Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, grabbing the mic and saying Beyonce deserved the win.

Apparently some Swift fan watched and waited as West and Kim Kardashian's baby was about to be born. The moment finally came Sunday, and someone posted this fake Tweet.
It immediately made thousands of Facebook and other social-media users happy, but a quick check of Swift's account shows that this is just a damn funny forgery. The fake Tweet appeared on this Tumblr page and quickly took off.



 

To most people Paul McCartney means pop songs and ballads played with a rock band, or perhaps an orchestra. But those who have been paying close attention to McCartney's post-Beatles career (or who listened closely to "Abbey Road") know that he has long had a sideline interest—and occasional obsession—with electronic music, sometimes experimental, sometimes as pop as pop can be, that predates the various dance music crazes that have come to dominate the playlists of the world. You can hear this side of Sir Paul most notably on his masterful 1980 album "McCartney 2," as well as on various side projects, such as 2011's The Fireman, the 2005 Twin Freaks collaboration with DJ Freelance Hellraiser and the 2000project "Liverpool Sound Collage" featuring remixes by Gorki's Zygotic Mynci and Super Furry Animals.  

U2 has taken its classic "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and updated it in support of human rights activists in Iran. This live acoustic version, filmed on a New York City rooftop last week, features extra lyrics referring to the killing going on in the name of religion.

"The track is part of ONE's campaign to harness the power of protest songs to demand action against extreme poverty at the G8 summit," according to U2's website.


 

Just as no one saw The Replacements reunion coming, no one saw this going down: Kim Deal has suddenly left those other alt-rock icons, The Pixies. And it appears the band is going to carry on without her.

It was announced by the other three members in a short statement on their official Facebook page (the band's official website hasn't had a news update in a year): "We are sad to say that Kim Deal has decided to leave the Pixies. We are very proud to have worked with her on and off over the last 25 years. Despite her decision to move on, we will always consider her a member of the Pixies, and her place will always be here for her. We wish her all the best -- Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering.

The announcement caught distressed fans by surprise. Deal has been working with her side band The Breeders to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their album "Last Splash." In an interview in today's Irish Times the subject of the Pixies doesn't even come up, much less indicate any trouble. Nor does Deal's official website mention it.

In an interview with me when the band reunited in 2004, Francis admitted that he had problems with the attention that Deal got from fans (he originally broke up the band via fax).