Before the vocals and melodies of some of our favorite tunes are ever recorded, the maestros behind the music put pen to paper and construct songs. Whether these working drafts are scribbled on legal pads, neatly spelled out in ink, or scribed alongside silly doodles, the ritual of writing out lyrics unites everyone from The Beatles to Lykke Li. We’ve rounded up a collection of hand-scrawled lyrics to beloved songs, in all their first-draft glory, after the jump. Read More »

1. The first full trailer for the Gary Ross-directed adaptation of The Hunger Games has landed online — and it actually has some serious potential! Watch it here.

2. Also newly debuted: the first 30 seconds of the trailer for the Meryl Streep-fronted Margaret Thatcher biopic, The Iron Lady, which you can see here. What do you make of her Thatcher impression?

3. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lady Gaga and her longtime creative director Laurieann Gibson have decided to part ways; it sounds like the fact that Gibson has been pursuing her own projects lately, as well as some friction over Gaga’s recent music videos, led to the split.

4. Courtney Love stormed offstage during a performance in Brazil on Saturday night after a concertgoer held up a picture of Kurt Cobain, and shouted, among other things, “I’m not Kurt, I have to live with his shit and his ghost and his kid every day and throwing that up is stupid and rude and I’m going to beat the f*ck out of you if you do it again.” [via NME]

5. During an interview with Australia’s 60 Minutes over the weekend, Brad Pitt announced that he’s planning to retire from acting when he turns 50 (which is three years from now), and put more of his focus toward producing. [via The Playlist]

Bonus Buzz: Best Slo-Mo Breakdancing You’ll See Today

Earlier this week, controversy erupted when it was revealed that among the items from Michael Jackson’s final home that will be going up for auction next month is the bed that the King of Pop died in. And rightfully so. Beyond the morbidity of putting such an item up for sale, there’s also something incredibly sacred about a person’s bed. It’s the private space where all of us can relax and truly let our guards down — something that’s rare for celebrities who are used to being “on” all of the time. That said, we’re not immune to voyeuristic tendencies, especially when it comes to our favorite cultural icons. Perhaps that’s why we find these intimate bedroom photos of people like Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, and David Bowie so fascinating; like seeing childhood photos of these artists, there’s something about finding an image of them shot in repose that’s incredibly humanizing. It offers such a rare glimpse into their everyday lives. Click through our gallery, and let us know in the comments if you agree. Read More »

There’s a pretty catchy headline over at Gawker this morning: “Is Frances Bean Cobain Marrying a Kurt Cobain Look-Alike?” But, as regular Gawker readers will not be shocked to learn, the post doesn’t exactly deliver what the headline teases. It turns out that not only is the engagement news Facebook-based speculation, but the post is basically a send-up of OC Weekly‘s silly claim that Cobain’s alleged fiancé, Isaiah Silva, looks like her dad. What the SoCal alt-weekly doesn’t seem to understand is that just about every male rock musician under 40 is now trying very hard to look like Kurt Cobain because, in case you haven’t heard, it’s the ’90s again. (And anyway, in the most of the photos we’ve seen, his look reminds us a bit more of pre-2007, hippie/Etsy-style Kevin Barnes.)

So now that we’ve established that Frances Bean’s maybe-fiancé does not look particularly similar to her late father, what else can the Internet tell us about this fellow? It turns out that he fronts a local Orange County rock band called The Rambles, who have a fairly neglected Facebook page followed by 102 fans and count The Beatles, Counting Crows, Oasis, and Phantom Planet among their influences. A band bio from their recent Viper Room gig compares them to The Rolling Stones and The Black Crowes and vaunts Silva’s “undeniable charisma.” As all of this suggests, their music is a far cry from Nirvana — you’ll hear a lot of acoustic balladry, twangy, classic-rock guitar, and even some harmonica in the videos posted after the jump.

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A few days ago we shared adorable pictures from the early years of some of our favorite writers with you, including an amazing photo of Ernest Hemingway in a dress. Today, we thought it might be fun to revisit the concept, but this time turning our focus on the music world. We don’t know about you, but we never really picture rock ‘n’ roll stars as having childhoods; wearing clothes that your parents have picked out for you and going through an awkward stage is the opposite of bad-ass. So, if you’re curious as to what Courtney Love looked like decades before she ever met Kurt — or you’d like to see how freaking cute he was as a little kid — click through to check out our roundup now.

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Our epic compilation of musician-on-musician insults aside, many of rock’s most famous rivalries have been nothing more than publicity stunts. For instance, if you read Keith Richards’ surprisingly excellent memoir, Life, you’ll learn that he was quite good friends with John Lennon, despite the fact that the Stones’ PR machine was constantly pitting them against the Beatles. Nearly as famous among alt-rock fans is Kurt Cobain’s supposed hatred of Eddie Vedder. But last night, on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Cameron Crowe, who directed the new documentary Pearl Jam Twenty, aired a storied clip of the grunge frontmen tenderly slow dancing to Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.

So, what gives? Was there a beef between Cobain and Vedder, or was that all hype? A candid vintage MTV news interview clears up the confusion: “I just have always hated their band,” says Cobain when asked about Pearl Jam. But he goes on to say that he and Vedder have “had a few good conversations on the phone. I really like him. I think he’s a really nice person.”

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Kurt Cobain had a long history with Fender guitars, famously designing the Jag-Stang, a hybrid of the company’s Jaguar and Mustang models that was originally produced in 1995. Now, the company is celebrating (or, you know, cashing in on) their relationship with Cobain and the 20th anniversary of Nevermind with a special edition Kurt Cobain Jaguar, a replica of his left-handed 1965 model that reproduces “its worn finish, dual humbucking pickups and unique electronics and controls.” The $1850 price tag (a standard new Jag will run you $700-1100) includes a hard case and a book of Nirvana photos and interviews. If anyone out there has a couple grand to sink into a pre-scuffed, left-handed guitar, we’d love to know how the instrument/collectible works out for you. [via Stereogum]

Lady Gaga in drag? Meh. Kanye and Jay-Z bro-ing it up live? Not that groundbreaking. Justin Bieber’s pet snake, Johnson? Blech. Last week’s MTV Video Music Awards didn’t do much for us, but there was one redeeming moment — when we found out that Beyoncé was pregnant. Even those of us who don’t live vicariously through the tabloid-chronicled personal lives of pop stars couldn’t help but be excited for hip-hop’s first couple. Of course, they’re hardly the first pair of musicians who have spawned. Our brief history of kids with two rock-star parents, from Chaz Bono to Kelis and Nas’ son, is after the jump.

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Two weeks ago, we reported that the city council in Kurt Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen was debating renaming its Young Street Bridge (where he supposedly slept during a period of homelessness) after him. Now, the verdict is in, and it’s not going to happen. Only one of 11 council members voted against the name change, and the Associated Press notes that their decision was met with applause from the audience. Apparently, Cobain’s drug use and suicide are still controversial after all these years. The news isn’t all bad for Nirvana fans, though: They did approve a resolution to dub the park next to the bridge, where a statue of his Fender Jag-Stang guitar stands, Cobain Landing.

Aberdeen’s Young Street Bridge holds a sacred place in Nirvana mythology. It’s where Kurt Cobain supposedly slept when he was homeless as a teenager, a period that is dramatized in Nevermind‘s “Something in the Way” (“Underneath the bridge/ The tarp has sprung a leak/ And the animals I’ve trapped/ Have all become my pets”). Now, 17 years after his death, Aberdeen’s city council is debating whether to rename it the Kurt Cobain Bridge and re-christen the park next to it Cobain Landing.

According to local radio station KXRO, the decision to honor Cobain isn’t actually a no-brainer; his suicide, drug addiction, and negative comments about Aberdeen have made him controversial in town. Public opinion may be changing, though. This spring, on the anniversary of Cobain’s death, a statue of his famous Fender Jag-Stang guitar was installed near the bridge. The project also has the support of Councilwoman Cathy Hoder, who told KXRO, “He’s from here, we need to honor him.” [via Spinner]