Foo Fighters mainman Dave Grohl has reportedly penned an open letter to Metallica, pleading with them to make sure their new disc is 'kick-ass.' And who could blame him? The one-time Nirvana kitman writes:

"Dear Metallica:

Hey, it's Dave! Remember me? Yeah, I'm the guy that's been listening to your band faithfully since 1983. I bought your first album 'Kill 'Em All' from a mailorder catalog called Under the Rainbow, I think. Actually I can't remember. It was 1983 for Christsakes! But that album changed my life and I've been listening to your albums ever since (even 'St Anger'!).

I can't wait to hear the new s---, and no matter what you guys do I'll always be first one at the shop waiting to hear it. I'm sure you'll come out and blow everybody's f---in' minds, because you're f---in' METALLICA!

Good luck. And don't release it until it's kick-ass.

Yours, Dave Grohl.

P.S. Are you finished recording the drums yet?"

We second that.

We've always been fairly certain that nothing could stand between Ashlee Simpson and success -- well, other than a malfunctioning backing tape or having the makeup drawer stripped bare by Pete Wentz. But just when it seemed like her 'Bittersweet World' album had a lock on the album chart's No. 3 spot, the much-coveted bronze medal was snatched away by Kiwi comedy troupe Flight of the Conchords, who lured tens of thousands of potential Ashlee buyers with the dulcet strains of 'Mutha'uckas' and 'Hiphopopatamus vs. Rhymenocerous,' on their self-titled album.

The acid reflux poster girl can assuage some of her self-doubts by reminding herself that the New Zealanders had the full force of the mighty Sub Pop Records marketing machine behind them. But she should probably thank her lucky stars that she didn't have to deal with a live Carrot Top album to boot.

File this one under "Things That Make You Go, 'Hmm?'"

Glen Campbell, the man responsible for enduring classics like 'Witchita Lineman' and 'Rhinestone Cowboy' will take on modern rock staples by the Foo Fighters, U2 and Green Day this summer. The country singer, 72, will follow in the footsteps of artists like Johnny Cash -- and attempt to reach a younger audience -- when he drops 'Meet Glen Campbell' on August 19.

"I really like all of the songs and I had a great time recording them," says Campbell, who also covers tunes by the Velvet Underground, John Lennon, Travis and the Replacements, plus two numbers originally performed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for the upcoming disc. "While I didn't write these songs, this sounds like a Glen Campbell album, which is important to me."

See the full tracklist after the jump.

Amy Winehouse was arrested late Friday by London's Metropolitan Police on suspicion of assault following allegations that she attacked two men outside a Camden bar on early Wednesday. The 24-year-old, five-time Grammy Award-winner agreed to be interviewed by Scotland Yard earlier in the day over her involvement in the violent incident. She arrived for the interrogation at 5:15pm, more than two hours late.

The troubled 'Rehab' singer allegedly headbutted a man who hailed her a taxi and is said to have punched a second in the face after he got in her way during a game of pool, according to reports. "Amy Winehouse will be voluntarily attending a London police station today by appointment with the police," her spokesman said. "We understand that she will be questioned in connection with an alleged incident in Camden in the early hours of April 23, 2008."

Winehouse has suffered a public bout with alcohol, drugs and an alleged eating disorder. In 200, she was charged with cannabis possession after a bust. Winehouse had previously undergone treatment for drug addiction at a rehabilitation clinic which led to her being temporarily denied a visa for performances, forcing her to appear by satellite on the 2008 Grammy Awards.

Winehouse's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, 25, is currently remanded to a prison awaiting trial on assault and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice charges. The singer missed his administrative hearing in East London 's Snaresbrook Crown Court due to her own legal troubles.

More than 50 police officers in riot gear were called to a Pennywise gig in Long Beach California last Saturday. Following the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, a 6pm show by the revered Hermosa Beach-based punk band escalated into a near riot when police barred hundreds of people from entering the concert -- held on the lawn of the Long Beach Performing Arts Center -- after it had reached capacity.

According to Officer Jackie Bezart, a spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department, "The crowd got somewhat unruly and bottles were thrown at officers. At that point we deployed additional officers to maintain crowd control." Five people with minor injuries from the concert or possibly from the altercation outside the venue were transported to area hospitals.

Onlookers, however, told a reporter from the local Press-Telegram newspaper that police were "hitting people with clubs," and a "a 40- or 50-year-old man was Tased. His eyes were stone cold." The band has yet to make a statement about the incident.

Embattled Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty was sentenced to fourteen weeks in jail Tuesday for violating his probation. A spokesperson for the West London Magistrates Court where the sentence was handed down announced that the singer/guitarist had been jailed for "breach of time keeping, non-compliance of his order and using different drugs."

Doherty, who once spearheaded the U.K. group the Libertines and is perhaps best known for his long-running but now severed relationship with supermodel Kate Moss, had originally been ordered to undergo drug treatment last year as part of a suspended four-month jail sentence. In October 2007, Doherty was arrested for driving illegally and being in possession of crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine and marijuana.

Based on the sentence handed down by Judge Davinder Lachar, Doherty is expected to remain in custody until July 15, which will force the postponement of his April 26 solo show at London 's Royal Albert Hall. According to a statement from the Babyshambles U.K. label, Parlophone, "Peter was very much looking forward to the show and would like to offer his sincerest apologies to all his fans and all those concerned."

Well, it's about about time these two kids made it official. According to PEOPLE, Jay-Z and Beyonce got hitched early Friday evening after much media speculation. The couple exchanged vows in what was reported as a "private affair" in front of their close friends and family, including Beyonce's father/manager Mathew Knowles, mother Tina, her sister Solange and the couple's friends, actress Gwyneth Paltrow and her husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. The nuptials were followed by a reception on the rooftop of Jigga's New York apartment.

The wedding rumors began earlier in the week when the couple took out a marriage license in Scarsdale, New York on Tuesday. Fellow Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams further fueled the speculation when they appeared in a YouTube video and claimed to be at an "undisclosed location."

The pair began dating in 2002, and have since collaborated with each other -- Beyonce on Jay-Z's ''03 Bonnie and Clyde' from his 'The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse' album, and Hova on his beautiful B's hit 'Crazy in Love,' off her 2003 album, 'Dangerously in Love.'

Given that he spent a fair amount of time publicly canoodling with human blow-up doll Jessica Simpson, we'd ordinarily believe that John Mayer would put his lips on pretty much any animate object. Still, we have a hard time believing that Mayer found any sort of wonderland in the body of bloated blogger Perez Hilton, who claims to have had a steamy make-out session with the doe-eyed dean of sensitive-boy pop.

Perez maintains that he and Mayer locked lips, then twined tongues, at a New York club back in 2006 while Simpson looked on approvingly -- and that he's convinced that at least one photo of the boy-on-boy action exists, since he saw a camera flash go off mid-smooch. We're not sure why Perez opted to wait nearly two years before spilling the beans about this particular game of tonsil hockey, but a glance at the old clock on the wall indicates he's about halfway through that fourteenth minute of fame.

Folks who believe that Elvis Presley is still alive might want to consider slotting him into their death pools, since the shock of having two of his most prized records snatched away by Madonna and Mariah Carey could well shuffle him off this mortal coil once and for all.

The Material Matron has officially dethroned the King as the artist with the most Top Ten hits in chart history, thanks to the ascent of '4 Minutes,' her 37th such smash. Carey, in the meantime, has wriggled past Elvis to become the solo artist with the most No. 1 hits, now that her 'Touch My Body' has risen to that peak.

On the other hand, we're fairly certain that neither lady will challenge Presley's unparalleled dominance in pop's bacon-eating arena.

Velvet Revolver gave singer Scott Weiland the boot on Tuesday, following the final performance of the band's European tour. The rest of Velvet Revolver -- Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner -- intend to carry on without Weiland.

"This band is all about its fans and its music and Scott Weiland isn't 100% committed to either," Slash said in a statement. "Among other things, his increasingly erratic onstage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on."

Weiland's firing comes after the singer stormed offstage during a Glasgow gig last month after announcing that fans were "watching something special ... the last tour by Velvet Revolver." When drummer Matt Sorum used the web as an opportunity to fire back on the frontman's behavior, Weiland, who recently reunited with his former band, Stone Temple Pilots, in turn, shot back at the singer, putting the future of the group in question.

Weiland, never one to shy from commentary, issued his own statement Wednesday morning. "After reading the comment by Duff, Matt, Dave and the illustrious 'GUITAR HERO,' Saul Hudson, a.k.a Slash, I find it humorous that the so called four "founding members" of Velvet Revolver, better known to themselves as 'the Project' before I officially named the band, would decide to move on without me after I had already claimed the group dead in the water on March 20 in Glasgow," he saiu. "In response to Slash's comment regarding my commitment, I have to say it is a blatant and tired excuse to cover up the truth.

We can remember the days when folks more mature than us reacted to one of our pranks with the warning "it's only funny until someone gets hurt." Since we never bought it back then, we admire the folks at YouTube Australia for promising site visitors a tasty musical treat -- and then re-directing them to the infamous video for Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up.' We're guessing that the April Fool's Day idea -- dubbed "Rickrolling" -- was borrowed by a staffer who owns stock in a 24-hour optometry chain. After all, we can't imagine a better way to convince thousands of people to simultaneously stick ten-inch spikes into their eyes ... well, other than a new round of Amy Winehouse nudie shots, that is.

An Auckland radio station is apologizing after an April Fool's Day prank involving a "secret" Foo Fighters show that went awry earlier today. After 'The Rock FM' announced Dave Grohl and company would be playing an intimate acoustic set this morning at a club called the Powerstation, word spread throughout the country forcing them to scrap the stunt.

The station, which had apparently planned to play the band's album on a tape deck in the venue, claims it only expected around fifty listeners to show up. Instead, word spread nationwide and when the station learned that Foos fans were planning to attend in droves, it took to the airwaves to express regret and urge them against attending. Music lovers had reportedly taken the day off from work, with some even booking last minute flights into Auckland for the supposed acoustic gig.

Dreamed up by the station's promotions department in the absence of the station's program director Brad King, who had been on vacation, the PD described the fallout to reporters as "absolute carnage" adding, "on behalf of the Rock, I sincerely apologize for this misinformation. Contracts have been terminated and heads have rolled. This is what happens when fools plan April Fool's jokes."

The Foo Fighters just wrapped a Canadian tour last Sunday night and will resume live work in Tokyo on April 13. There are Auckland gigs set for the near future, when the group rocks the Vector Arena on May 5 and 6.

Songs: 'Beast Man'
Album: 'Simian Supremacy' [iTunes]
Sounds Like: Napalm Death, Enslaved

Download: 'Beast Man' (MP3)

Goat the Head: SXSW Review

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Dr. Pepper is imploring Axl Rose to put out his album that's been an astounding 17 years in the making. The creators of the curiously candy-like beverage have promised that if Rose releases Guns N' Roses' 'Chinese Democracy' at any point in 2008, everyone in America will receive a free can of Dr. Pepper.

But free soda aside, the best part about the proposal might just be the way the company is not only relating to, but sympathizing with, the 46-year-old singer. "It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper's special mix of 23 ingredients that our fans have come to know and love," said Jaxie Alt, director of marketing for Dr. Pepper -- not even blinking at her nod to the band's 1989 hit 'Patience.' "So we completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection -- for something more than the average album." What's more? The "everyone" in their promise comes with a big, wickedly funny asterisk: According to the Dr., both Slash and Buckethead will be left off the gift list. Bet they didn't see that coming.

Feel like supporting the cause? Head here to get involved.

London-based MC Dizzee Rascal set 'em up and knocked 'em down in our New York studio. The quick-witted rapper's unorthodox style can hang with the best of them when it comes to freestyling. The Rascal took "16 Bars" to a new level with the longest freestyle to date in the show's existence. Get a look at Dizzee's spin on The Boombox.