This Week: The Cure kicked off their U.S. tour in style, Tegan and Sara and their angular 'cuts delighted onstage in New York, No Age rocked the faces off their NYC crowd and much more.

Flip through this week's set of live pics after the jump.

The embattled city of Detroit is no stranger to downsizing, as its core auto industry continues to trim jobs due to mechanization and overseas competition. This week the Detroit Symphony Orchestra experienced some downsizing of its own, as conductor Thomas Wilkins gave up his podium to a four-foot, three-inch replacement named ASIMO.

The fill-in maestro was actually a lifelike robot built by Honda Motors (its name stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility). Wilkins isn't actually in danger of losing his job anytime soon. The robot can't react to fluctuations in pitch or tempo, at least not yet; it can only imitate the movements of a videotaped human conductor. Still, conductors might want to watch their backs. For centuries they have had their usefulness questioned by certain members of their audience. Conducting "rests on the use and abuse of power for personal benefit," wrote the author of 'The Maestro Myth.' "Whether such heroism is desirable in music, or a necessary evil, remains open to debate."

Before a master class with cellist Yo-Yo Ma for students in the city's dwindling music programs, ASIMO led the orchestra in a performance of 'The Impossible Dream' from 'The Man of La Mancha.' To the delight of the students, the talking robot booted a soccer ball and busted a few moves. Roll over, Arthur Fiedler!

For British rock, one dashing young American singer made an unmatched impact in the late 1950s. The Who, the Beatles, even the Sex Pistols were all die-hard fans of ... Eddie Cochran. With his hair pomade and his hula-hipped strum, the kid was clearly cut in the Elvis mold. In the U.K., though, he might have surpassed even the King in terms of idol worship, short-lived though it was.

Raised in Minnesota and Southern California, the teenage Cochran briefly shared an act with unrelated country singer Hank Cochran as the Cochran Brothers before going whole-hog for the new rockabilly sound. The photogenic musician made appearances in teen flicks such as 'The Girl Can't Help It' and 'Untamed Youth,' and his singles soon began to chart: 'Summertime Blues' in 1958, 'C'mon Everybody' the following year.

"It's all the same, we're tired of waiting, come on, then/And dedicate your love to any woman or man"
--My Morning Jacket's 'Evil Urges,' from 2008's 'Evil Urges'

Jim James, man-whore? That kind of behavior is why the 1970s were known as the Herpes Decade, buddy.

We hope you're hungry, because this week's Free MP3 of the Day feature supplied not five but six brand-new tracks to indulge in. No Age "erased" the memories of the previous weekend, Shearwater calmed your nerves, and then the Radar Bros. provided a little extra (two whole tracks) to satisfy your cravings. We think your iPod is hungry. Feed it up!

• No Age, 'Eraser' [Download]
• Shearwater, 'Rooks' [Download]
• Jay Reatard, 'Always Wanting More' [Download]
• Radar Bros., 'Warm Rising Sun' & 'Slack Motherf---er' [Download]
• Joan of Arc, 'A Tell-Tale Penis' [Download]
  

Artist: Jay Brannan
Video: 'Housewife'
Highlight: You may remember him as Ceth, the singing, polyamory-curious man from the indie film 'Shortbus,' but here Jay Brannan the musician reveals his softer side with his sweet melody and visually stimulating video.

Amy Winehouse and new BFF Pete Doherty posted yet another bizarre YouTube video today. In the latest, puzzling installment, Wino uses her lost-little-girl voice to speak through a just-born rodent. Her message? A plea to husband Blake "Incarcerated" Fielder-Civil: "Blake, please don't divorce Mummy. She loves you ever so." Watch for it around 1:25.

"It's going to be like Cirque du Steamy Nights!"--Jordan Knight

The 37-year-old made "sexy" promises about the New Kids on the Block reunion tour. Donnie Wahlberg added, "We're not old guys -- we're not, like, in boy-band boot camp." OK.

"Organic and classic" are words used by Duffy to describe her rich soul sound. The Welsh soulstress is one of the U.K.s best-kept secrets -- until now. Launching her debut album, 'Rockferry' this week, she celebrated with a performance at New York's landmark Apollo Theatre, where her unique take on classic soul coupled with a passion for '60s British rock 'n' roll shined through.

Duffy's British blues sound seeks to steer clear of the generation gap with her endless sultry grooves. She tells Spinner, "Every day I feel like I'm misunderstood. You can't really control how people see what you do, really, although it's hard to do that."

Duffy and her band drop four songs from 'Rockferry,' including her new single, 'Warwick Avenue,' foreshadowing what stands to be the summer soundtrack for many. The young chanteuse also talks about her whirlwind of heat-laden performances at SXSW and Coachella. Continue reading to download the performance.

U.K. rapper/singer Estelle may win big herself after her song 'Magnificent' ended up in the soundtrack to the the film '21,' about some blackjack-playing students trained by a professor, without permission. "I haven't seen it," she says. "People told me about it. I didn't even know it was in there, so I'm having a moment with them right now about that."

Shouldn't she have received a check? "A huge one," she says, nodding, "because they did not tell us."

Estelle, who has a publishing deal with Chyrsalis and a record deal with John Legend's Home School, co-wrote the chilled-out dancehall song with Toronto rapper Kardinal Offishall (who guests on the track), producer Mark Ronson and Winston Riley (whose sample of 'Double Barrel' is used).

"We're screaming at everybody," Estelle says, laughing. "Everyone's got their lawyers out right now. I just get to sit back -- 'I want three-hundred grand.'"

It's not all hard feelings, though. "I'm happy that people want the music so bad that they're willing to do it anyway," she concedes.

She has film credits that rival those of A-list actors twice her age, but when it comes to music, 23-year-old Scarlett Johansson admits she is green. The precocious performer trades Hollywood glamour for rock 'n' roll grit as she introduces her first album, 'Anywhere I Lay My Head.' It's a project she doesn't view as a potential chart-topper but as a labor of love.

"It's an album that we made for our own lifestyle that we thought was a cool project," Johansson told Spinner after her exclusive Sessions taping. "And perhaps more people will be aware of it because they know my name from films ... but whether that harms or enhances the success of the album, it's all fair game, really."

On Scottish newcomer Amy MacDonald's debut album, 'This Is the Life,' the singer-songwriter pays tribute to Pete Doherty, the man more noted on this side of the Atlantic for his drug problems and romance with model Kate Moss than his two cool bands, the Libertines and Babyshambles. The song is called 'Poison Prince' and includes such lines as, "A poetic genius is something I don't see/Why would a genius be trippin' on me," and later, "I tell you this my poison prince/'You'll soon be knockin' on heaven's door."

"I was a massive fan of the Libertines," MacDonald tells Spinner. "It was such a loss that they split up after only two albums and I hope they'll be back. But to be a massive fan and watch someone as talented as Pete Doherty go down the horrible road that he's taken now, it's really hard, especially when people are so quick to criticize him and say he's terrible. These people have never heard his music.

"It's so horrible with the whole tabloid culture," she continues. "They just sit there and berate him, and nobody actually stops and says, 'Why is he in the public eye in the first place?' Well, it's because he was an incredibly talented musician and I still think he is. I just think he's completely lost his way. 'Poison Prince' was just a song to him, from me and every other fan I know, saying, 'Forget all the crap, forget all the drugs and all the stupid influences and come back to music.'"

On This Date in 1969: The Who's Pete Townshend was charged with assaulting a police officer when he literally kicked a plainclothes cop off the stage at New York's Fillmore East. The policeman was attempting to warn the crowd about a fire next door.

The Almanac Advises for May 16: "Though stage diving may look dangerous, there is a method to doing it safely. To avoid injury from the audience, make certain the crowd notices that you're onstage and is prepared to catch you. To avoid injury from the band, do not interfere with the musicians or their instruments."

Artist: Joan of Arc
Songs: 'A Tell-Tale Penis'
Album: 'Boo Human' [iTunes]
Sounds Like: The Dismemberment Plan, Sufjan Stevens

Download: 'A Tell-Tale Penis' (MP3)

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