1. MGMT, Silversun Pickups, the Walkmen, and the Clipse are among the artists playing free shows on the Soul Collective tour. [via Rolling Stone]
2. Where the Wild Things Are director Spike Jonze is also working on a “secret robot short” that will premiere in November. [via Slashfilm]
3. True Blood makes Sex and the City look like nun’s play. It’s also an allegory for American life. [via New York Times]
4. After tackling the Halloween franchise, Rob Zombie plans to write, direct, and produce a remake of The Blob. [via Variety]
5. Dirty Projectors have set the dates for their fall tour; they’ll also play Letterman on August 31. [via Pitchfork]

Stephenie Meyer, the author of Twilight, discovered some “awesome CD’s” this summer. Her website was updated over the weekend, displaying a new post containing a few music suggestions for her readers. In her own words:

“No matter how busy I am, I can always listen to music, so I have a longer list of recommendations here. So, awesome CDs I discovered this summer:

Animal Collective — Merriweather Post Pavillion
Silversun Pickups — Swoon
White Rabbits — It’s Frightening
The Dead Weather — Horehound
Grizzly Bear — Veckatimest
Meese — Broadcast”

Her other suggestions include The Weakerthans and Elbows, “Seriously, Elbow owns my iPod right now.” Stephenie Meyer is, perhaps, the most advanced music listener among her literary peers, since she goes on to later express her love for Jack’s Mannequin, The Fray, and Blue October in the same post: Read More »

Photo Credit: Ben Hider

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This past weekend brought the second-annual All Points West music festival to New Jersey’s Liberty State Park — along with a healthy dose of rain to provide the traditional mud-drenched festival experience our friends across the pond know so well. Jay-Z stepped in on Friday night to save the day after the Beastie Boys’ last-minute cancellation, performing to a crowd willing to brave thunderstorms for his high-energy set; both Jay and Sunday headliners Coldplay paid tribute to the Beasties by covering their material, with Chris Martin’s solo piano version of “Fight for Your Right” coming across as especially endearing.

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