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• Live: Oasis, Ryan Adams Try New Tunes
• Fall Movie Preview: 31 of the Biggest Titles
• Death Cab at the DNC: McCain Scares Walla
• Miley, ScarJo, Michael Phelps Added to VMAs
• Diamond Gives Refunds for Sore Throat Show
• On Tour: Mary J. Blige, She & Him
• Kaki King’s Guide to Rock Cliches
• New AC/DC Single Premieres
• Margaret Cho: New BSS Member?
• Kanye West, Rage Energize DNC Crowds
• Rock Band 2 Will Have Full Foos, RHCP Albums
• News Ticker: Lil Wayne, Suge Knight, T.I.

Top stories from the last three days:

• How The Big Lebowski Blew Up
• Chinese Democracy Leaker Arrested
• On the Charts: Jonas Brothers, Staind
• Death Cab at the DNC: Hillary’s Trick
• David Byrne & Brian Eno: Together Again
• Breaking: The Enemy
• Kings of Leon’s New Video: “Sex on Fire”
• Download Of Montreal’s “Nonpareil of Favor”
• Replacements Drummer Steve Foley Dies
• Mark Seliger’s Haunting Videos
• Doors, Santana Settle With Wolfgang’s Vault
• Morello, Crosby, Taylor Steal “E-Town” Show
• Oral History of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
• Producer Talks Taking Woodstock
• Genesis News: Reissues, Cover Band
• Kenny Rogers Sells CD at Cracker Barrel
• Lynyrd Skynyrd Eye Early 2009 for New Album

Scroll down for full news stories, commentary and much more in Rock Daily.

Photo: CNN

On the stereo: “Counting Down the Hours,” Ted Leo + Pharmacists

Okay, here it goes:

I think John McCain is losing his marbles and that he can’t be trusted. I think that his hotheaded, impulsive mentality makes him an incredibly dangerous candidate for the office of President.

There, I said it. He has given to our country selflessly in uniform, risked his life for our freedoms and committed himself to a life of public service. And it’s time for him to fucking retire. Seriously. Like, I’ll totally buy the mai tais or piña coladas or whatever the fuck you want to drink, Senator. You name it, really; it’s on me.

Can I go further? I would like to, as I’ve just found out that McCain will likely be leaking his pick for VP right after tonight’s rally at the Mile High Stadium in Denver, where Barack Obama will officially accept my party’s nomination of him for the office of President. That’s MY party you’re gonna crash, you rat.

Now, there’s a long history of mudslinging and dirty pool in the race to the White House, and we’ve already seen a fair bit of it. But historically, each party’s convention week is off limits, to a degree: It’s diplomacy, a show of respect, to allow your opponent the spotlight for four days. Certainly there are ads and press releases from the rival team, but there’s no precedent for a headline-stealer like a VP announcement. Let’s refer, briefly, to a statement issued by McCain campaign manager Rick Davis on March 11, 2008:

“John McCain is now the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party. It is critical, as we prepare to face off with whomever the Democrats select as their nominee, that we all follow John’s lead and run a respectful campaign focused on the issues and values that are important to the American people.

Throughout the primary election we saw John McCain reject the type of politics that degrade our civics, and this will not change as he prepares to run head-to-head against the Democratic nominee.”

Really? So that makes McCain a total dick, too, in my estimation. Even if we give him the benefit of the doubt, and assume that it’s a classy move for him to hijack the narrative of the convention in Denver by announcing the winner of the veepstakes, how can we explain all the bullshit ads his campaign has been running? How does the Paris Hilton ad (the least offensive of the recent ones, in my opinion) constitute a “respectful campaign focused on the issues and values that are important to the American people”? It does not.

And those are just the official ads. John McCain is a guy who is tacitly endorsing (i.e. definitely not condemning) the American Issues Project, a 501c(4), by allowing them to run wild with an ad suggesting Obama is a terrorist by proxy, because he’s shaken the hand of Bill Ayers a few times. This is the same kind of smear that destroyed McCain’s own primary run in 2000 (a Karl Rove affiliated 527 ran an ad suggesting that John and Cindy’s adopted Bangladeshi daughter was, in fact, a love child, in case you don’t remember), and John Kerry’s run in 2004 (the infamous “swift boat” ads).

John Sidney McCain, I do not question your undying love for our country and your service to it. It goes without saying that our soldiers, all our brothers and sisters in uniform at home and overseas, are the glue holding this nation together. But please, stop being such a twit, and be true to your word. If you’d just provide some honesty, and be respectful of your opponent and show some dignity, I wouldn’t feel the need to be such an asshole about all this. But for the moment I don’t feel like I have much of a choice, because I love my country too. And you honestly scare me to death.

Photo: Kitwood / Getty

Mary J. Blige’s Love Soul tour adds a few more stops, She & Him hit three more California shows and mothers hide their daughters when Shwayze comes to town. Want all the dates? Just follow the jump.

Mary J. Blige
September 13 - North Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Coliseum
September 19 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
September 20 - Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion
September 21 - Raleigh, NC @ Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion
September 26 - Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
September 27 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
September 28 - Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
October 2, 3 - New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
October 8 - Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena
October 10 - Sunrise, FL @ BankAtlantic Center
October 11 - Tampa, FL @ Ford Amphitheatre
October 12 - Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
October 14 - Chicago, IL @ Arie Crown Theater
October 15 - Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center Omaha
October 17 - Las Vegas, NV @ Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort
October 18 - Concord, CA @ Sleep Train Pavilion
October 19 - Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre
October 22 - Honolulu, HI @ Blaisdell Arena

She & Him
November 1 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern
November 3 - San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365
November 5 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues

Shwayze
September 16 - Las Vegas, NV @ Blush
September 17 - Anaheim, CA @ The Grove
September 18 - Scottsdale, AZ @ Venue of Scottsdale
September 10 - Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
September 21 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
September 22 - Kearney, NE @ Buffalo County Fairgrounds
September 23 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
September 24 - San Angelo, TX @ Graham Central Station
September 25 - McAllen, TX @ Cine El Rey
September 26 - Dallas, TX @ Ghost Bar
September 27 - Houston, TX @ Rich’s Houston
September 29 - San Antonio, TX @ Vicci
October 5 - Richmond, VA @ Toad’s Place
October 6 - Norfolk, VA @ NorVa
October 7 - Farmingdale, NY @ Crazy Donkey
October 8 - New York, NY @ Blender Theatre
October 9 - Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony
October 10 - Delmar, MD @ The Fountains
October 11 - College Park, MD @ Santa Fe Cafe
October 17 - Sauget, IL @ Pop’s
October 19 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Eagle’s Club
October 20 - Minneapolis, MN @ Epic
October 22 - Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
October 24 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
October 25 - Pontiac, MI @ Clutch Cargo’s
October 28 - Foxboro, MA @ Showcase Live
October 29 - New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre
October 30 - Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
October 31 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
November 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
November 4 - Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues
November 5 - Jacksonville, FL @ Plush
November 6 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
November 7 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
November 8 - Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
November 9 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
November 11 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues
November 12 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
November 13 - Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
November 14 - Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
November 15 - Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground
November 16 - Englewood, CA @ Gothic Theatre
November 18 - Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue
November 20 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox
November 21 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
November 22 - San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
November 23 - Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre
November 25 - Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
November 26 - San Diego, CA @ Soma
November 28 - Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia/LA Live
November 29 - Anaheim, CA @ The Grove

Photo:VH1

A new leg of Margaret Cho’s “Beautiful” tour kicks off September 12th in Saratoga, California, but she may be onstage with a bunch of Canadians before then: “Broken Social Scene is the best thing happening in modern music. Kevin Drew is a genius and I am so excited about joining them onstage,” she tells Rolling Stone (the collaboration hasn’t happened just yet, but is in the works). “I told him I wanted to just sneak my way into the band, like walking backwards onstage while playing the triangle. This is total proof that The Secret works because every time I would listen to their music, I would say to myself, ‘I wanna be be in this band. I must be in this band. I am gonna be in this band.’ And then it happened!”

This season on VH1’s new The Cho Show the comic attempts to break into the music industry on her own. “I recorded a song with legendary producer Desmond Child, and it was really hard. Being a pop diva is much more difficult than I thought. You have to like sing and shit,” she says. “Desmond was a great teacher, and he showed me that I really do have a good singing voice, but it was much more work than I anticipated. I am working on an album right now of all comedy songs so i would say I am modeling myself after Weird Al Yankovic more than Britney.”

So what else is on Cho’s playlist? “Tom Petty’s ‘Here Comes My Girl’ is just the ultimate love song — the best girlfriend tribute ever,” she says, counting the Kills’ “Last Day of Magic,” the Raconteurs’ “Five on the Five,” the Killers‘ “Under the Gun” and Girl in a Coma’s “Both Before I’m Gone” songs she “can’t get enough of.” And then there’s Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville, which she says “saved my life and was just reissued to save more lives.”

Related Stories:

• Broken Social Scene at Lollapalooza

• Review: Broken Social Scene, You Forgot It In People

Kaki King spent quality time with the Foo Fighters while on tour with them in Australia (she also played on the band’s last record Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace), which gave her particular insight into Dave Grohl’s cheesy rock moves. While conversing with RollingStone.com’s Pete Maiden at the Outside Lands festival this weekend, she broke down the three moves you’ll see at every Foo Fighters show. Click above for her breakdowns of the moves, plus her animated examples and a few clips of Grohl in action.

Related Stories:

• Kaki King Says Dave Grohl Has Too Many Cheesy Rock Moves

• Kaki King at SXSW

• Radiohead, Wilco, Beck Top Outside Lands Festival

Photo: Dyson/Getty

Following a poor performance at a concert in Columbus, Ohio, singer Neil Diamond felt it necessary to say sorry to his fans. But instead of just issuing an apology (which he did) and promising to perform better his next time through Ohio (which he said he will), Diamond will instead refund the tickets of every single person who attended the August 25th concert at the Value City Arena. To break it down numerically, that’s 11,000 tickets that the Solitary Man will refund.

Diamond is in the thick of a U.S. tour, and during the last few shows, the singer had been suffering from acute laryngitis. He still made it to the Columbus stage, but fans were soon greeted onstage by a hoarse sounding singer. “Dear Fans in Columbus,” Diamond said in a statement, “I haven’t let you down before, and I won’t let you down now. Until you hear from me again remember, You are the sun. I am the moon. You are the words. I am the tune. Forgive me. I love you. Neil.” The all-out refund shocked even the concert’s promoter, with Scott Stienecker saying “I’ve sat through Vince Neil falling-down drunk before. I’ve sat through Bob Dylan not even acknowledging that there was a crowd,” and neither of those artists refunded the fans. In an effort to avoid future refunds, and due to his ongoing throat problems, Diamond has cancelled two concerts this week.

Related Stories:

• Kelly Clarkson Loves Neil Diamond, The Green Monster

• On the Charts: Neil Diamond Rides Multi-Pronged Push to Number One

• Single Minded: Neil Diamond, Elvis Costello, No Age, NIN, Young Jeezy

Photo: Getty

MTV’s Video Music Awards has fleshed out its roster, adding a parade of big name presenters and performers to those already announced. Among those reading from teleprompters will be Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, Scarlett Johansson, Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, Zach Efron and the rest of the High School Musical crew and the cast of Twilight. Providing musical entertainment throughout the VMAs will be new mixtape duo Travis Barker and DJ AM, who will be joined by artists like Katy Perry, the Ting Tings, Lupe Fiasco and T-Pain “to perform new and past MTV hits as part of a special celebration of the VMAs’ 25th birthday.” Noticeably absent from both lists is Britney Spears, who will not be present despite rumors to the contrary and appearing in the ads. As previously announced, Kid Rock, Lil Wayne, Rihanna, Paramore, T.I., Pink and the Jonas Brothers will also perform. This year’s VMAs, hosted by British comedian Russell Brand, will air live from Los Angeles on September 7th.

Related Stories:

• MTV Adds Rihanna, Pink and Paramore As VMA Performers

• Kid Rock To Perform At VMAs Despite Last Year’s Fisticuffs

• MTV VMAs Select Host: Brit Comedian Russell Brand

• More MTV VMA Coverage at Rock Daily

The blockbuster season is just about over, which means that Oscar season is upon us. This fall, giant explosions and 3D dinosaurs will be replaced by scene-stealing performances and heavy drama. Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers sorts out what the key titles are for the coming months. Click below for his analysis, plus trailers for all the biggest films.

• Fall Movie Preview: The First Look at Fall’s 31 Hottest Movies

• More Movie News and Analysis at the Travers Take

Every week on the Breaking blog, Hype Monitor takes a digital carving knife to trim the fat away from the juciest, buzziest web music meat. This week, the column features roaring Jerseyites Gaslight Anthem, who crank up Springsteen sentiments with their hungry hearts. Click below for the rest of this week’s guide, including Human Highway and Koushik.

• Hype Monitor: Gaslight Anthem, Human Highway and Koushik

Photograph by Jackie Butler for RollingStone.Com

The once scarily prolific Ryan Adams hasn’t put an album out in a while, but that didn’t stop him and his band the Cardinals from hitting the road with Oasis or from presenting a stirring set in Vancouver’s huge GM Place. Adams stuck mostly to songs from 2005’s Cold Roses and points forward, including a handful of new tunes that resulted in lengthy jams with his air-tight band. Liam Gallagher watched “Everybody Knows” and “Off Broadway” from the side of the stage and Adams mentioned that coming up after him was “one of the best bands in the world.” The best? Fellow Mancunians the Smiths, he said. “They must put something in the water there,” he said, before exiting on “Easy Plateau.”

• Photo Gallery: Oasis Live at the WaMu Theater in Seattle

Oasis took the stage with their trademark swagger, blurring the line between cockiness and contempt. The band dropped in a healthy dose of Definitely Maybe in between the more recent (but less infectious) singles like “Songbird” and “Lyla.” When the hit list arrived (with the buzzsaw that is “Morning Glory”), Noel taunted the audience with, “That was what you wanted, right?” For the remainder, they balanced old sing-alongs with new tracks from the upcoming Dig Out Your Soul, which were hungrily absorbed if not totally accepted. After spitting “Wonderwall,” Noel cautioned the next was their last (he lied; they returned with “Champagne Supernova” and “I Am the Walrus”). When the crowd booed Oasis’ departure, Liam snarled, “Don’t you fucking boo” as he exited with the same swagger.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals Set List:
“Peaceful Valley”
“(New Song)”
“(New Song)”
“Mockingbird”
“Bartering Line”
“Off Broadway”
“Cold Roses”
“Shakedown on 9th Street”
“Cobwebs”
“Everybody Knows”
“Easy Plateau”

Oasis Set List:
“Rock & Roll Star”
“Lyla”
“The Shock Of The Lightning”
“Cigarettes & Alcohol”
“The Meaning Of Soul”
“To Be Where Theres Life”
“The Masterplan”
“Songbird”
“Slide Away”
“Morning Glory”
“Ain’t Got Nothin”
“The Importance Of Being Idle”
“Wonderwall”
“Supersonic”
“Don’t Look Back In Anger”
“Falling Down”
“Champagne Supernova”
“I Am The Walrus”

Related Stories:

• Oasis To Pay Tribute to John Lennon on New Album

• Oasis’ Dig Out Your Soul Gets Release Date, Warner Distribution

• Ryan Adams Talks His Huge Catalog, Skakeboarding

Photo: Pensinger/Getty

At 1 a.m. Thursday, Jamie Foxx jumped on stage during Kanye West’s private-party show at the Exdo Event Center in Denver, surprising even West himself, and the two did a roaring “broke . . . broke” version of “Gold Digger.” And that was just a small highlight of West’s hour-long set at the packed warehouse-turned-club. He improvised lines about his late mother and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at the end of “Flashing Lights,” did killer versions of “Touch the Sky,” “Jesus Walks” and “Stronger,” and generally rewarded a sweaty crowd at the packed-in party for Bono’s anti-hunger One group and the Recording Industry Association of America. Earlier Wednesday, Rage Against the Machine provided the pre-protest soundtrack for Tent State University at the Denver Coliseum. Tom Morello sprayed riffs everywhere for the opening “Guerilla Radio,” “Wake Up” and “Killing In the Name.” Guitarist Wayne Kramer, who performed at the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention protest in Chicago, sat in for an explosive take on MC5’s classic “Kick Out the Jams.” Later, Rage and Denver’s Flobots joined thousands of protesters in a peaceful five-mile march to the Pepsi Center, just after Sen. Hillary Clinton demanded her party’s vote of acclamation.

Related Stories:

• Death Cab at the DNC: Hillary’s Speech

• Crosby & Nash, Tom Morello, New Orleans Musicians Steal “E-Town” Show in Denver

• More Convention Coverage at the National Affairs Blog

Photo: Getty

If a new Guns N’ Roses song and a massive track list wasn’t enough to lure you over to Rock Band 2, the game also plans on rolling out a ton of playable full album downloads in the months following the game’s release in September. Among the albums reportedly getting the video game treatment are the Foo Fighters’ The Colour and the Shape, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Jane Addiction’s Nothing’s Shocking. MTV Games opted to add more full albums this time around after the first installment of Rock Band found post-release success after making Judas Priest’s Screaming For Vengeance and Pixies’ Doolittle after for download. “We’re surprised by how many people opted to get full albums,” said MTV Senior Vice President Paul Degooyer. “Talk about something that’s been lost and forgotten.” The battle of the music video games is expected to reach fever pitch within the next few months, as both Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour hit stores this fall.

Related Stories:

• Rock Band 2 Track List: New Gn’R Joined By AC/DC, Dylan and 72 More

• Rock Band Sequel Promises “Biggest Soundtrack Ever”

• Rock Band, Guitar Hero Battle For Bands

Photo: Getty

• Lil Wayne will serve as musical guest for the season premiere of Saturday Night Live on September 13th. Swimmer Michael Phelps will host.
• Former Death Row Records kingpin “Suge” Knight was arrested yesterday on drug and assault charges after allegedly beating his girlfriend and then brandishing a knife when the police arrived in Las Vegas.
• Rapper T.I. set a Hot 100 chart record for largest jump to the top of the charts as his new single “Whatever You Want,” from his upcoming Paper Trail, leapt from 71 to 1 in the span of one week.
• Former blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM have come together for a new mixtape called Fix Your Face, which you can download for free here.

AC/DC’s “Rock N Roll Train,” the first single from their upcoming Black Ice, is set to debut on radio stations today. Or, if you don’t feel like waiting patiently for your DJ to air it, you can just click play on the video above. The song sounds like trademark AC/DC, proving the band still knows how to rock 35 years into their career. While not as tenacious as the band’s “Stiff Upper Lip” single from eight years ago, “Train” is a lot more melodic and, thankfully, much better than those YouTube fan clips that came out last week. Expect a music video for the song in the near future. Black Ice, the band’s first album in eight years, is due out in Wal-Marts on October 20th.

Related Stories:

• AC/DC’s New Single, As Interpreted By AC/DC Fans

• AC/DC’s Black Ice to Be Released October 20th; Pre-Order Info, Track List Announced

• AC/DC Plan Huge World Tour Following Album Release

Mr. Bass was the longtime music director and conductor of the Collegiate Chorale, a New York group whose performances and recordings have earned it international recognition.

Young Jeezy’s new album, “The Recession,” may not be as consistently thrilling as his 2005 debut, but it’s more consistently interesting.

Alison Hinds is a smiling, trumpeting voice of female empowerment in soca, the modernized calypso music of carnival in Trinidad, Barbados and, this weekend, New York.

The singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright has dropped plans to compose a work for the Metropolitan Opera in a dispute over the language of the libretto.

Mr. Jackson was the man behind the deep, rolling bass voice in a string of 1970s R&B hits by the Spinners.

On the stereo: “Gamma Ray,” Beck

Last night’s speech from Senator Clinton was very good. It felt competent and sincere; it was well delivered; the move to distribute white “Hillary” signs to the floor, the text in her handwriting, was brilliant. It was about 85 percent of what I’d hoped for.

My mother and I have been texting back and forth this whole week, all about the convention; about what I see versus what CNN or MSNBC are covering, or C-Span, when she gets fed up with the punditry. It’s a funny thing — like, I’m wanting to know what’s going on in “the real world,” like what’s happening in the media, how our message from Denver is getting delivered (or hijacked, as is so often the case). And she, of course, wants to know what’s happening here, in “the real world.” But this isn’t the real world: We don’t control the message. That’s Rupert Murdoch’s job, unfortunately.

So I was sad to receive the following text from her last night, after my glowing text to her about Hillary’s speech: “Not blown away.”

How? What did the Senator miss? What failed to translate, in the media assessment of the night? Granted, Hillary Clinton had the toughest job of the week: To convince the electorate at large that she is fully, completely behind Barack Obama, and to demand (without demanding, of course) that even her most militant supporters follow her lead and cast their votes for him. And she did that, I thought.

I missed the floor vote today, as our performance at the SEIU rally went a little long, and there were lots of nice folks to talk with (holy fuck, Chuck D introduced us!!). But as soon as I got in my shitty rental car to head for the Pepsi Center, the report came in that Senator Clinton had come to the floor with the New York delegation to stop the procedural vote, and motioned that all remaining votes be cast unanimously for Senator Obama to be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

It doesn’t sound like much to read it, but even on the radio as a little soundbite, a little quote framed by Robert Seigel (who can make anything sound as though it’s happening in a cozy suburban coffee shop), it was… Awesome. I don’t quite know how else to put it. It was beautiful, big and bold, and exactly the coda her accomplished but somehow not transformative speech, and even in a car listening to the radio, I got a little watery. I called my mom, and she got a little watery too, because Hillary Clinton pulled off the hardest trick she’ll ever have to pull, with grace and dignity. And because Barack Obama is gonna be our next president, and that’s awesome shit.