• Fall Preview: The Killers, 50 Cent, More
• Travis Barker, DJ AM Injured in Plane Crash
• Ben Folds Five Make Triumphant Return
• Lars Ulrich: “Napster Wasn’t About Money”
• Franz Ferdinand Talk “Sinister” New Album
• Weekend Rock List: Pink Floyd
• Random Notes: Jonas Brothers, Bono, Coldplay
• New Journey Singer’s Dream Turns Ugly
• AC/DC Unveil New Video, Ticketing System
• “Love Lockdown” Tops iTunes Chart
• Flashback: Lou Reed Confuses Journalists
• Eddie Vedder Writes Chicago Cubs Tribute
• On Tour: Eagles of Death Metal, Kaki King
• “America’s Best Dance Crew” Tour Launches
• News Ticker: Allman Brothers, Wilco

Top stories from the last three days:

• Page, White, Edge Join Up For Guitar Doc
• Ben Folds on The Five Reunion
• Indie Labels Cry Foul on MySpace Music
• James Hetfield Invades The Stones’ Catering
• Sigur Ros Explore Space at Tour Kickoff
• Fans Rant On Death Magnetic Compression
• New Book Explores New York Dolls’ Legacy
• Motown Producer Norman Whitfield Dies
• Album Preview: The Streets
• Unearthed Hendrix Material Coming Online
• Behind the New Cover: Metallica
• MySpace Music Readies Launch
• Byrne Dances Through First Date of Eno Tour
• Breaking: The Gaslight Anthem
• Hands On: Guitar Hero World Tour
• On The Charts: Metallica, Jessica Simpson

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

Former blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, 32, and celebrity DJ Adam “AM” Goldstein, 35, suffered extensive burns after the plane they were traveling in crashed during takeoff from a South Carolina airport Friday night (September 19th) at 11:53 p.m. The Learjet 60 — a twin-engine, private plane that was heading to California — overran the end of the runway, plowed through a fence and continued onto a road, causing a significant fire. The four other passengers were killed, including the pilot and co-pilot. According to MTV News, the other two casualties include Barker’s assistant, 29-year-old Chris “Little Chris” Baker, and his security guard, 25-year-old Charles Still. Barker and DJ AM escaped the blaze and are currently being treated at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia. The pair had just performed at at a free T-Mobile-sponsored show at Columbia’s Five Points shopping district with Perry Farrell and Gavin DeGraw; they recently teamed up as part of the house band at MTV’s VMAs.

Right now, indie rock fans are milling about Kutsher’s Country Club in Monticello, New York at All Tomorrow’s Parties New York, a three-day event with load of loud, arty (and several very good) guitar bands that culminates in a set by My Bloody Valentine, who curated Sunday’s program. Kutsher’s is an old Borscht Belt resort in the Catskills with a pond, tennis courts and décor that screams 1960s. The setting has prompted a number of references to The Shining, but so far, this is one of the coziest festivals Rolling Stone has ever seen: Outside of the venues, it’s wonderfully un-crowded — organizers are expecting only 2,700 fans over the weekend — and artists are just milling about.

Head on over to the Rock N Roll Diary for continuing coverage over the weekend — we’ll have highlights, videos and photos here on Rock Daily Monday morning.

Photo: Getty

• Metallica capped off Death Magnetic week with a spot on our front cover and a siege to the top of the charts. We talked to Lars about Napster, James about opening for the Rolling Stones, witnessed the band’s tiny BBC show, went behind-the-scenes on the cover shoot and engaged the argument over whether the Guitar Hero version of the album sounded better than the CD.
• We put Wish You Were Here on repeat to bid goodbye to Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, who passed away after a brief battle with cancer. We also paid tribute to Motown producer Norman Whitfield and Infinite Jest genius and one-time Rolling Stone writer David Foster Wallace.
• We called in a few favors in order to catch concerts like Sigur Ros in New York, David Byrne rummaging the Byrne/Eno catalog and Patti Smith at Fashion Week. Plus, Paul McCartney talked about his upcoming first-ever concert in Israel.
• We caught up with the three members of the Ben Folds Five to talk about their reunion, then watched the trio perform The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Photo: Torey Mundkowsky

Fall is here, and that means the return of football, cardigan weather and big-ticket album releases by some of rock’s biggest names. This fall’s docket is no exception, headlined by hotly anticipated new albums care of the Killers, AC/DC, John Legend, Oasis, 50 Cent, Taylor Swift, Nickelback, Queen & Paul Rodgers and the Cure. Click below for the previews of these over forty more albums as well as bonus sample songs and exclusive videos.

• Fall Music Preview: From The Killers to Dylan, Over 40 of the Season’s Biggest Records

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Photo: Marcou/AFP/Getty

When Rolling Stone checked in with Franz Ferdinand last December, the band was testing out new material at small overseas shows and heading in a direction that was more dance than rock. Now the band’s frontman, Alex Kapranos, tells us their long-awaited third album may be released in January. “The album is finished but there is a little bit of mixing left, a lot of which is being done by Mike Fraser who’s known for doing a lot of heavier rock stuff like Aerosmith and AC/DC,” Kapranos says. “All those sweaty little gigs really helped shape the character of this record a lot and we might even do some more of those smaller shows in America because they were really enjoyable for us.”

Dispelling rumors that the album would have a strong Afrobeat influence, Kapranos says, “Over the last two years, I’ve avoided talking to the press because I don’t really want people to know what we’re up to. So as a result, any comments that we’ve made seem to have been exaggerated. I love a lot of the Ethiopian stuff out there, but the record doesn’t sound Afro-beat in the slightest.”

So how would he describe it? “It’s actually quite a sinister record in terms of mood but what I’ve been searching for on this record is that really naive energy you have has a kid (more…)

Photo: SeaWorld via Getty Images

Last Thursday, Rod Stewart communed with one of the beasts of the ocean during a visit to SeaWorld in San Diego, where they likely exchanged strutting tips and hair care secrets. It was a big week for the rock world to brush up against the animal kingdom, as Nick Jonas got a dog even more adorable than he is for his birthday and Bono tried his best to befriend a mythical creature. Click below for these and the rest of the week in pictures, including the latest from B.B. King, Courtney Love and Coldplay.

• Random Notes: Rod Stewart, Bono, Coldplay, Courtney Love and the Week in Rock

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Eagles of Death Metal give their fans a peak at Heart On, Kaki King splits headlining duties with the Mountain Goats and From The Jam play the music of the Jam without Paul Weller. Follow the jump for the complete set of tour dates for all three treks.

(more…)

Photo: Getty

Earlier in the week, Rock Daily posted a letter sent anonymously from a comedian featured in the comedy issue, taking Rolling Stone to task over a number of aspects of the package. We asked the readers who they thought was responsible, and we got no shortage of varied responses back. The highlights are below.

• Reader Townes asked of our cover star “Letterman, is that you?

• Obviously thought the identity of the letter writer was clear: “This is David Cross. No question.”

• Both Bob and david thought the culprit might be Dane Cook. (more…)

Photo: Retna

This week, the rock world was saddened by the loss of Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright. In honor of Wright and his music, this week’s Rock List is dedicated to the Pink Floyd songbook. Tell us your favorite Floyd song, whether it’s from the Barrett era, the Waters regime or
The Division Bell, and on Monday we’ll reveal your picks. Before you break out the Ummagumma or start debating if “Brain Damage/Eclipse” is one song or two, here’s the Rock Daily faves:

“Us & Them”
“Comfortably Numb”
“The Gold It’s In The…”
“Echoes”
“Fat Old Sun”

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When Journey guitarist Neal Schon found singer Arnel Pineda on YouTube and hired him to be the band’s new singer, it sounded like something out of a 21st century fairy tale. But it’s been anything but a happy ending for Pineda, as the grind of a successful world tour is getting to him. “There are days I just break down and cry,” says Pineda. “This is a job I’m doing for my family. That’s all the consolation I’m getting.” Click below for more on Pineda’s story, including a bonus interview where he talks about the audition process and what Journey’s songs mean to him.

• Sad Journey For New Singer

• Q&A: Journey’s Arnel Pineda

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Rarely has there been a rock star as maligned for a single incident as Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. In 2000, he became the poster child for bands lashing out at the online world when the band sued Napster following the leak of “I Disappear” via the peer-to-peer service. Ulrich stands by what he did, but wants fans to know he did it for the right reasons. “Nine out of 10 people go, ‘What was that about? It was about money.’ Fuck you — it wasn’t about money. It was about control,” explains Ulrich. “I’ll give away all my shit for free. But I’ll decide when and where and how.” Click below for more from Ulrich’s conversation with Rolling Stone’s David Fricke, including why he lives his life more openly and how tours have changed since 1983.

• Q&A: Metallica’s Lars Ulrich

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Only two days into its official digital release, Kanye West’s new-and-improved “Love Lockdown” has made it to the top of the iTunes music chart. “We went #1 @ 7:45 NY time,” Kanye brags, posting an image of the iTunes list just to prove it. At the end of the day yesterday, Kanye woke up from a “studio nap” to find the song sat at three below Pink and Taylor Swift. That all changed in this morning. Kanye also confirmed those reports about his new album, saying “I’ve been workin’ on 808s and Heartbreak about 16 hrs a day and Superman passed out for a little bit.” Kanye also says “I guarantee this will be 50’s favorite album of mine. This will be gangster’s album of the year.” (more…)

What is it about New Yorkers and Australian journalists? We visited the great Down Under two weeks ago with Sonic Youth; this week sees Lou Reed visiting the continent in 1974. Always a cantakerous interview, Reed seems especially playful talking to squares about drugs, homosexuality and whether or not he’s popular. The best exchange comes when asked why he encourages people to take drugs, to which Reed responds “It’s better than ‘Monopoly.’” Click above for the full clip.

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Since American Idol has spawned a number of national tours, it was only a matter of time before erstwhile Idol judge Randy Jackson sent his own MTV franchise America’s Best Dance Crew on the road. “America’s Dance Crew Live” debuted last night at Miami’s American Airlines Arena (a truncated theater within, not the full space), featuring the six final teams from the televised dance-off’s two seasons. Like the programming of the network from which it sprung, the two-act show was a high-gloss, rapid-fire affair, full of flashing lights and screens. It was buoyed by an enthusiastic tween crowd whose shrieks made up for the copious number of empty seats and a cut-and-paste soundtrack that further lined the pockets of T-Pain, Ciara and company. While the loudest cheers and whoops of course came for the show’s winning teams, JabbaWockeeZ (from season one) and Super Cr3w (season two), the audible delight at Break Sk8’s quad acrobatics showed that everyone still loves a Midwestern underdog. (more…)