Fronted by a 15-year-old singer-guitarist who’s flunked seventh grade three times, Black Tide are a quartet of headbanging Miami prodigies who like to rock like it’s 1989. Find out more about the band, which will be playing this summer’s Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, over at the Breaking blog.

Want to know what went down at the first photo shoot that brought together Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag after their very public falling out? Click above for all the behind-the-scenes footage from the Rolling Stone cover shoot starring the women of The Hills.

• Cover Story: The Hills

• Photo Gallery: Behind the Scenes at The Hills Cover Shoot

• Photo Gallery: The Hills Universe

The reunited NKOTB hope to bring the right stuff to their East Coast concerts, Bloc Party schedule a couple raves and L7’s Donita Sparks pimps her new band the Stellar Moments in June. Full tour dates are after the jump. (more…)

The current issue of Rolling Stone takes a close-up look at the stars of MTV’s The Hills, who have turned a beautifully strange reality show into an entire alternate world full of characters and relationships. If you can’t remember which cast member was arrested for shoplifting, why Justin Bobby got his name or how a scraggly French rock band plays into all this, check out the guide to all the various personalities that inhabit The Hills universe.

• The Hills Universe: A Who’s Who

• The Women of The Hills: Are They For Real?

• Photo Gallery: Behind the Scenes at The Hills Cover Shoot

[Photo: Matthew Rolston]

In the current issue of Rolling Stone, Austin Scaggs explores the back stories of Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, the core of hip-hop band the Roots. In the piece, the two visionaries discuss their musical inspirations, growing up in Philadelphia and their troubled early lives, including the heartbreaking stories about Trotter’s parents, who were both murdered. “He was executed,” Trotter says about his father, who died when Trotter was only a year old. “Tied to a chair, in an empty lot, shot in the neck, the chest, the groin, all over.” For more on the Roots, check out the current issue. Click here for an essential Roots playlist, and check out the video of ?uestlove and Black Thought talking about their excellent new album Rising Down.

• The Roots: The Essential Playlist

• Video: The Roots Discuss Rising Down, from Rolling Stone’s Spring Album Preview 2008

[Photo: Chago & Brian]

• Albert Hofmann, the chemist who discovered LSD, died of a heart attack yesterday in his native Switzerland. He was 102. While researching a fungus, Hofmman synthesized the compound into lysergic acid diethylamide, which eventually helped influence every piece of music written in 1967.
• Record labels Too Pure and Beggars Banquet will close and fold into the 4AD label as part of restructuring. Artists contracted under the two labels, including Mark Lanegan, The National and John Cale, will now be released under 4AD.
• Country’s Glen Campbell will cover the Foo Fighters, Tom Petty and U2 on his new, genre-busting album Meet Glen Campbell.
• Perez Hilton will join the staff of NY rap station Hot 97’s morning crew to provide daily minute-long gossip updates. Hilton’s tenure begins May 5th.

The quest for Roger Waters‘ lost pig continues, but Rock Daily has reached out to its worldwide correspondents and compiled photographic evidence of the pig’s travels. Click here for a look at where Pink Floyd’s giant inflatable porker has been.

• The Flight of the Pig: A Photo Investigation

[Editor’s Note: Looks like the poor guy’s passport expired]

After two weeks of brilliant guest-mentor wackiness thanks to Mariah Carey and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Neil Diamond was a relatively normalizing presence on last night’s bizarre American Idol. David Archuleta pulled the Kristy Lee Cook card and performed “America,” Ryan Seacrest creepily played with a kid in the audience’s hair before Syesha Mercado’s second song and something happened in Paula Abdul’s mind that cannot be explained by simple science. For those moments and more, check out these quick clips:

5. Due to a tear in the space-time contiuum, Paula Abdul actually did see Jason Castro perform twice (her analysis of his phantom second song was dead on, folks!).
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The Big News: An engagement and a (possible) pregnancy wasn’t enough to help Ashlee Simpson, as the singer’s new album Bittersweet World landed at number four with 47,387 copies sold. Simpson was beat out by Mariah Carey’s E=MC², which took number one for a second consecutive week, Leona Lewis‘ Spirit at two and, surprisingly, Flight of the Conchords’ self-titled debut, which grabbed the third spot with 52,133 copies sold. That’s right: Pete Wentz’s fiancée got edged by the comic duo who were on the show that followed Big Love on HBO. Atmosphere’s When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint that Shit Gold rounded out the top five in its debut week. (more…)

With Radiohead less than a week away from embarking on the first leg of the U.S. tour, there’s plenty going on in their world. This Saturday, VH1 will air the band’s complete live performance of In Rainbows and other songs from Nigel Godrich’s basement studio in the special Radiohead_In Rainbows_From the Basement, airing on the network Saturday, May 3rd, at midnight. Speaking about the band’s “pay-what-you-want” scheme the ushered the arrival of In Rainbows, Thom Yorke admitted Radiohead would likely not repeat the experiment, saying “I don’t think it would have the same significance now anyway, if we chose to give something away again.” Finally, the band also contributed a video to MTV’s Exit campaign, which seeks to raise awareness about human trafficking. You can watch the new video for the In Rainbows track “All I Need” here. The band will play the first U.S. show of 2008 on Cinco de Mayo in West Palm Beach, Florida.

[Photo: Getty]

• At least part of Roger Waters‘ escaped Coachella pig appears to have been found by a couple who spotted “a glob of vinyl” in their driveway and almost threw it away before reading about the missing balloon.
• A federal judge in Arizona denied the motion filed by major record labels against Kazaa users, saying the labels must prove music was downloaded off of the service and not simply made available.
• A man was charged with murder in a shooting that took place after a party for Dr. Dre biographers earlier this month.
• Supermodel Agyness Deyn has made her musical debut by recording vocals for an upcoming track by indie group Five O’Clock Heroes. She’ll also appear in the song’s video.

[Photo: Getty]

In this week’s New Music Report, RollingStone.com Deputy Editor Caryn Ganz takes a look at Hard Candy, the latest offering from Madonna. Does the cavalcade of all-star producers help or hinder the Material Girl? Click above to find out.

• Review: Madonna’s Hard Candy

>>Watch every episode of our weekly New Music Report video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click “Launch application”). Every Tuesday, a new episode will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don’t have iTunes, download it here.

[Video: Jennifer Hsu]

The literate leader of the Decemberists loves a lyricist who manages to balance sadness and humor. Click here for Colin Meloy’s pick for Best Lyricist from Rolling Stone’s Best of Rock 2008.

• Best of Rock 2008 Artist Picks: Colin Meloy

• Best of Rock 2008 Artist Picks

• Rolling Stone’s Best of Rock 2008

Stevie Wonder announces a quartet of new concerts, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds bring Dig Lazarus Dig!!! to our shores, Melissa Etheridge comes to your amphitheater and Beirut hits the West Coast. The complete list of tour dates is hiding just beyond the jump.

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Though there have been some excellent reunions as of late, who else could top the relaunch of Led Zeppelin? Click here for more on Rolling Stone’s pick for Best Reunion from Best of Rock 2008, including photo galleries and past stories on the band.

• Best Reunion: Led Zeppelin

• Best of Rock 2008