On their 1986 debut album, 'License to Ill,' the Beastie Boys boasted "If I played guitar I'd be Jimmy Page" and sampled riffs from Led Zeppelin's catalog. 23 years and seven albums later, the grey-haired rappers are shifting their sights from a guitar hero to a more mellow but equally iconic legend -- Bob Dylan.

The Beasties included some of Dylan's music on the song 'Finger Lickin' Good,' but a new sample they plan to use comes from props Dylan gave the trio on his XM Satellite show, 'Theme Time Radio Hour.' In fact, that is the sample. Ad Rock told Drowned in Sound this week that it's "more of a spoken word thing ... He played one of our songs and was talking about us; he's a big fan."

The Beastie Boys took to Bonnaroo's main stage on Friday night for a mixed set of old-school crowd pleasers like 'No Sleep till Brooklyn' and full live-instrument assaults like, say, 'Sabotage.' Nothing shocking there.

But a big surprise did come midway through the set when the Beastie Boys welcomed Nas to the stage to showcase a new song from their forthcoming album, 'Hot Sauce Committee.' After his sit-in, the Beasties honored a request from Nas himself and invited the entire audience to sing along to their classic 'Paul Revere.'

One thing the band didn't tell the audience: it was the remix. Go figure.

• Tom Waits cover girl Scarlett Johansson also covers the Cure's 'Boys Don't Cry' on a new iTunes Live EP.
  

• James Brown's possessions, including a red jumpsuit, a circular green sofa and hair curlers once owned by the late Godfather of Soul, will be auctioned off by Christie's in New York.
  

• The Jones Experience, described as "a big show in an intimate venue," is what Nas is calling his headlining tour starting this month, featuring guests Talib Kweil, Jay Electronica and DJ Green Lantern.

• Sebastien Grainger, former drummer and singer of Death from Above 1979, has signed to Saddle Creek.

"We buried the word and it should have been buried. For all the pain that has happened over the years, it needs to go away." --Stevie Wonder

The Grammy-winning artist renounced use of the N-Word in the black community after Nas considered it for the title of his new album.

With Barack Obama campaigning full-steam ahead as the Democratic candidate for this year's election, the contest for Commander in Chief has become a bit more focused. So we, too, carry on and keep watchful eye of all things 2008 election. Here's the latest:

• Scarlett Johansson revealed that she and long-time political idol Barack Obama are having an email affair of sorts. The blond bombshell, who is in constant contact with the senator, defended herself saying, "If the spotlight is on me, I might as well try to direct it on things and causes that I believe in."
• Although Chuck Berry's 1958 hit 'Johnny B. Goode' surfaced as one of John McCain's campaign songs this year, Berry calls himself an Obama man. "It's no question," he said of his support for the Illinois senator. "Myself being a man of color ... I mean, you have to feel good about it."
• Nas has responded to Obama's all-but-official nomination with 'Black President' -- a track he recorded that includes a snippet of Obama's 'Yes We Can' speech.
• Speaking of that speech, there is now a Spanish version of Will.i.am's once ubiquitous, now annoying video endorsement of Obama. Go to PodemosConObama.com to see the version of 'Yes We Can,' which features artists like Paulina Rubio, Don Omar and Alejandro Sanz.
  
• Is the Barack Obama presidential campaign at the center of a "tough twee" musical movement? Have cardigans and sweets been replaced by an angrier sort? Discuss.
• This list presents 12 cultural instances that helped Barack Obama win the ticket. No. 3 involves 'Sesame Street.'

• A reunited My Bloody Valentine will headline and curate New York's All Tomorrow's Parties festival, which his being held September 19-21. Other performers include Built to Spill, Thurston Moore, Meat Puppets and Tortoise, all of whom will be playing classic albums in their entirety.
  

• A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Mos Def and Rakim are among the headliners for this year's traveling Rock the Bells festival, which kicks off July 19 in Chicago.

• Ry Cooder will release the final album in his California musical trilogy -- this one titled 'I, Flathead' -- which features fictional musician Kash Buk and his band the Klowns (characters in Cooder's 95 page novella) on June 24. The novella will be released the same day.

• Fountains of Wayne frontman Chris Collingwood will play a solo show at New York's Joe's Pub on April 29.