• New Reviews: Taylor Swift, David Archuleta
• New Springsteen Song Debuting Sunday
• Rivers Cuomo on Alone, High School Hair
• On the Road With Rise Against
• New Music Report: Taylor Swift, Madonna
• Live Nation Planning Download Service
• Chinese Democracy Leaker Takes Plea Bargain
• New Britney Hits the Net
• Dylan Makes Pilgrimage to Neil Young’s House
• Key Tracks: Hinder, The Knux, Genesis
• On Tour: Billy Joel, Cut Copy
• News Ticker: Lil Wayne, Bob Dylan

Top stories from the last three days:

• First Review: Chinese Democracy
• Van Morrison Revisits Astral Weeks
• Pumpkins Frustrate on Anniversary Tour
• James Hetfield on Scars, Hall of Fame
• Smoking Section: Ben Harper’s New Band
• The Hold Steady, Truckers Rock NYC
• Coldplay, Ringo Win at World Music Awards
• Fable Creator Pits You Against Yourself
• Suspect in Hudson Murders Denied Parole
• Killers, Kanye Push Up Release Dates
• Michael Stipe Designs Shirt for Lacoste
• Christina Aguilera on “Futuristic” Album
• Video: Will.i.am’s New Obama Song
• 50 Best Rock & Roll Video Games

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

Photo: Gallay/Getty

Last year, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo put out Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, a collection of rough demos that explored the outer reaches of Cuomo’s deep catalog. November 25th sees the release of Home II. Cuomo used to be known for throwing away a dozen songs for every one that made it onto an album, but now he’s mellowed. “I have this belief that it’s these real big inspirations that don’t come that often that actually produce the songs I like the best,” he explains. Click below for more from Cuomo, including what he thought of his most recent high school reunion and why he doesn’t want to tour by himself.

• Q&A: Rivers Cuomo

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Photo: Loud/Getty

Billy Joel goes all Hollywood (Florida), Big Head Todd & the Monsters get you nostalgic about the ’90s and Cut Copy make one last sweep through America to promote In Ghost Colours. Follow the jump for the complete set of tour dates.

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In this week’s New Music Report, RollingStone.com’s Pete Maiden takes a look at new albums from Taylor Swift and Genesis, plus the week’s biggest news on Madonna, Britney Spears and post-election celebrations. Click above for these stories and more.

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Rise Against started out as an aggro-acoustic outfit but now headline large clubs with their turbo-charged, politically-minded punk. Their new album Appeal to Reason is among the best releases of the year, though the group is aware of how rock shows sometimes go. “We don’t want to bum people out with too many new songs,” says frontman Tim McIlrath. Click below for more on Rise Against, including what punk luminaries showed up to congratulate them at their recent show at New York’s Roseland Ballrom.

• Rise Against’s Punk Rock Explosion

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Photo: Winter/Getty

Another track from Britney Spears’ Circus, “Kill The Lights,” hit the internet today. Like Blackout’s standout “Piece of Me,” “Kill” documents Brit’s often love-hate relationship with the paparazzi, with “the lights” in this case being the flashbulbs that follow her everywhere. “Kill” also reunites Brit with producer Danja, who featured prominently on Blackout. And in case you like a dose of indie rock with your pop music, check out this awesome Hood Internet mash-up of Brit’s chart-topping “Womanizer” with the Department of Eagles’ excellent “No One Does It Like You.” (more…)

They are already the world’s largest concert promoters, they’ve branched out to form their own ticketing service and record labels, and now Live Nation will seek to challenge iTunes’ digital music dominance by launching their own music service through their website. Live Nation — home of Jay-Z, Madonna, Shakira and many more — has agreed to terms with three of the four major labels to sell DRM-free MP3s on their website (Warner Music is the lone holdout). (more…)

Photo: Getty

Taylor Swift
“Fifteen”[Listen]
“The Way I Loved You” [Listen]
From Fearless [Review]

The Knux
“Life in a Cage”[Listen]
“The True” [Listen]
From Fearless [Review]

Little Joy
“Don’t Watch Me Dancing”
“The Next Time Around”
From Little Joy [Review]

T-Pain
“Ring Leader Man”
“Change”
From Thr33 Ringz [Review]

Hinder
“Use Me”
“Take It to the Limit”
From Take It to the Limit [Review]
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Photo: Getty

Earlier this month Winnipeg Residents John Kiernan and Patti Regan came home from buying groceries to find Bob Dylan waiting in front of their home. Like many before him, Dylan (in town for a concert) had come to see the childhood home of Neil Young. The couple — accustomed to rock fans making a pilgrimage — didn’t recognize Dylan at first. “I’m looking around, and I realize, this guy having a tuque on has really great cowboy boots on,” Kiernan said. “He was wearing really nice leather pants. And I realize I’m staring face-to-face with Bob Dylan.”

Dylan talked to the couple for about 25 minutes, and took him to Young’s old bedroom — where their 16-year-old daughter currently resides. “[Dylan said] ‘OK, so this was his view, and this was where he listened to his music,’ ” said Kiernan. Last year Dylan talked to Rolling Stone about Young. “Neil is very sincere,” said Dylan. “He’s sincere, and he’s got a God-given talent, with that voice of his, and the melodic strain that runs through absolutely everything he does.
He could be at his most thrashy, but it’s still going to be elevated by some melody. Neil’s the only one who does that. There’s nobody in his category.”

Related Stories:

• Neil Young Plays Quiet and Loud Classics at Tour Kickoff in St. Paul

• 2006 Cover: Neil Young — The Open Man

• Exclusive Audio: DJ Bob Dylan Returns to the Airwaves

Eden and John’s East River String Band are white city folk — singer/ukulele player Eden Brower and singer-guitarist John Heneghan from New York’s East Village — who cover black country blues from the 78-rpm era with crisp fervor on Some Cold Rainy Day (East River). They don’t strain for authenticity, but they address songs such as Willie Brown’s “Future Blues” and Skip James’ “Crow Jane” with a natural flair that suggests loving study and a respect for the hard lives and fight for joy on the original records.

[From Issue 1065 — November 13, 2008]

Related Stories:

• More from Issue 1065

• Fricke’s Picks: Suicide’s Birthday Party

• Fricke’s Picks: A Punk-Jazz Ruckus

Photo: Diamond/Getty

Pop country phenom Taylor Swift’s Fearless leads the way in this week’s slate of new releases. Jody Rosen calls Swift “a songwriting savant with an intuitive gift for verse-chorus-bridge architecture that, in singles like the surging “Fifteen,” calls to mind Swedish pop gods Dr. Luke and Max Martin. If she ever tires of stardom, she could retire to Sweden and make a fine living churning out hits for Kelly Clarkson and Katy Perry.” Click below for the full review of Swift’s new record, as well as looks at new releases from David Archuleta, Seal, T-Pain and reissues care of Genesis and Warren Zevon.

• Album Review: Taylor Swift, Fearless

• Album Review: David Archuleta, David Archuleta (more…)

Photo: Raedle/Getty

Bruce Springsteen’s new “Workin’ On a Dream” will make its official debut this Sunday night on NBC during the broadcast of the Dallas Cowboys/Washington Redskins football game. The song, which debuted in acoustic form when Bruce was on the road stumping for Barack Obama, will reportedly feature on Springsteen’s follow-up to 2007’s Magic. The new album is expected out January 2009. The “Workin’” that will appear on NBC is the finished studio version and will be used to soundtrack “a video of NFL highlights” from Sunday’s action, so it’s probably best to catch the pre-show and halftime coverage to ensure a listen. (more…)

Photo: Getty

• Lil Wayne has revealed the track list for his upcoming mixtape with DJ Drama, Dedication 3. The mixtape, which features Tha Carter rapping over songs by T.I., Too $hort and Soulja Boy, is expected out this Thursday.
• More details about Lupe Fiasco’s supposed retirement album LupE.N.D. have emerged. While no release date has been announced, Lupe told a crowd that the E.N.D. stands for “everywhere, nowhere and down here.”
• Ozzy Osbourne has been recruited by Samsung Mobile to appear in commercials for their new Propel phone. Watch the Blizzard of Ozz learn about the joys of text messaging here.

The blogger who leaked nine songs from Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy has agreed to change his plea to guilty in a deal that will reduce the charges against him to a single federal count of copyright infringement, a Los Angeles prosecutor said. Under the deal, Kevin Cogill, the writer for the website Antiquiet who leaked the tracks back in June, will only face a maximum of one year in prison. Whether or not Cogill must reveal his source for the leaks as part of the deal has not been revealed. (more…)

Video game creator Peter Molyneux first made his name with Populous, gained notoriety with Black and White and perfected his craft with Fable. This season’s Fable II standst to be one of the year’s biggest hits with killer graphics and gameplay that forces players to choose between actions on the path of good or evil. “It’s not like a novel or a film or anything else that exists in culture,” Molyneux says. “Whomever you are, Fable II sculpts itself around you.” Click below for more on Molyneux, including what sci-fi writers inspired him as a kid.

• Reality Bytes: Inside Peter Molyneux’s Fable II

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