For one who so famously dishes it out, Chris Brown is equally notorious for not being able to take it. When last seen on Twitter, in January, after taking a bit of heat over his ALLEGED brawl with Frank Ocean's crew over a parking spot, the artist-I-refuse-to-c​all-Breezy declared that "Social media takes away the essence of why we are even special or icons. So with that, I'm detaching myself from that world," and promptly deleted his account. Next, he privatized his Instagram feed (cold). He has since had an apparent change of heart—yesterday saw the launch of the Chris Brown Channel, an app that basically allows Brown to send out dispatches from the front lines of his life without any of the frustrating back-talk from haters that made his Twitter and Facebook feeds so volatile. One can only hope the Channel preserves the essence of what makes him even special or icon. According to MTV:

Breezy held his first "broadcast" Wednesday (May 15) in a sienna-tinted shot of him in front of his piano, welcoming everyone.
Along with the backstage access you'd expect from the new site, fans can do things like check out his closet, see him play b-ball in a mall, go on a roller coaster ride with him and even watch him light up. The site, which also has a mobile app version, collects photos, status updates and videos that CB posts straight to his followers, pushing his authenticity.
"Now all you guys can see me at all times of the day, keep up with what I'm doing... really," Brown said in the 13-second clip. "I appreciate you guys, man. I love you."
The app trailer claims the "channel" will give users more entry to the star's life than his Facebook, Twitter or Instagram — and given Brown's track record with Instagram and Twitter, he might need a social-media upgrade anyway.

 

What was "Fridays," you ask?

Good question, as the show was on for just a couple of years starting in 1980. And the name tells you everything: It aired on Fridays and yes, it was a shameless rip-off of "Saturday Night Live."

The only way it surpassed SNL was in its more-adventurous musical bookings. And you're finally going to get to see them (other than on YouTube) when Shout Factory releases "The Best of Fridays" in August, including plenty of musical performances. Sure, the show wasn't totally groundbreaking with its musical bookings (the Kenny Loggins episode proves that). But it embraced new wave in a way that SNL never did, booking The Clash, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Graham Parker and the Rumour, The Cars, Devo and more.

Other musical performances due on the disc include Dire Straits, the Bus Boys, KISS, former Eagle Randy Meisner and the Silverados, Kim Carnes, Stray Cats, Pat Benatar and more (yes, it's quite the odd time capsule).

No word on exactly what performances will be released -- as with SNL, each artist got two songs per episode - but here are a few of the better ones from the era.

 



 

Just admit that if you were an astronaut, you'd have done the same thing.  

George Thorogood and Eric Clapton rarely get mentioned in the same sentence, but maybe it's time for that to change. Both bluesmen dusted off classic songs from forgotten bluesmen and brought them to the attention of the general public. Thorogood merely put a wry, funny twist on songs by Elmore James, John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, Brownie McGhee and more (as well as his own self-penned classics such as "Bad to the Bone").

A bunch of those classics are rounded up on "Icon," the new compilation from Lonesome George, due in stores on Tuesday. Not only does it pull together his best work, but there's a new song on there, "Do the Do." In an MSN exclusive, you can hear the new song below.

Consider this a starting point for those of you unfamiliar with the depth and breadth of Thorogood's work. While "Bad to the Bone" and "I Drink Alone" have become ubiquitous, his albums always delve into the blues much further. Here's a personal favorite that didn't make the new disc -- Thorogood's sublime cover of Hooker's "One Way Ticket."






 

Oops. They meant to give you just a taste, but the entire new Daft Punk album has leaked. So now it's up on iTunes for anyone to hear. Listen to the record here.

 

Damn, they're good. Daft Punk continues (along with David Bowie) to rewrite the rules of marketing music in 2013. While everyone else is trying to get all the exposure they can, Daft Punk has been cheekily dropping tiny hints, clues and snippets. Mysterious posters all around SXSW. A snippet of music released in a TV commercial during "Saturday Night Live." A first single, "Get Lucky," recorded in complete secrecy and now inescapable. And everything they do goes viral every step of the way.

"Random Access Memories" is due out on May 21, but it can't get here quick enough for fans. Daft Punk released another snippet -- there's just 15 seconds of music in the video for the unboxing of the album below.

 

Brooklyn's The National is the kind of band people get obsessive about, but this is something else again. This past weekend, the band participated in an art installation by Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson entitled “A Lot of Sorrow,”  which consisted of a six-hour loop of a single National song, "Sorrow," without pause, played by the band itself. A sample is shown above. If you missed the show, and might perhaps enjoy seeing the band play more than just the one number, never fear; they have extensive tour dates to accompany their new record, "Trouble Will Find Me," due out May 21.  The New Yorker has a detailed (and hilarious) account of the art happening below: 

Just what does it take to get Led Zeppelin to reunite? Even President Bill Clinton's famous diplomacy couldn't do the trick, according to 60 Minutes. AP reported this week that the former president was enlisted by the Robin Hood Foundation and film executive Harvey Weinstein to ask the notoriously reluctant group—whose surviving members Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones he had recently met at the Kennedy Center Honors—to re-form to play last year's benefit for victims of Hurricane/Superstorm​ Sandy. The band, as it has many times in the past, said no. Despite near constant rumors, the only full-blown Led Zeppelin reunion to have actually taken place in the past few decades (leaving aside the disastrous Live Aid appearance in 1985, and a couple of high-profile parties) was 2007's concert at London's O2 Arena.

 

And we thought Ziggy Stardust was shocking at the time.

David Bowie's new video for the title track of his album "The Next Day" is here, and there's a little something for everyone. Blood, lots of blood, including two eyeballs served up on a platter. Stigmata. Nudity. Gary Oldman as an errant priest (use your imagination). The pope, a lot of religious symbolism, and did we mention the blood and nudity? Toss in Marion Cotillard and Bowie in the Obi-Wan Kenobi garb we told you about a few weeks back and you've got it all going on here. Not safe for work, for your mother, for your kids, for your fellow churchgoers -- but if there was any doubt that classic Bowie is back, this should settle the matter. Watch the explicit video, which YouTube gave an "adults-only" rating, below.