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Eagles Of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes has said that the forthcoming new Queens Of The Stone Age album is "badass". Speaking to NME, Josh Homme's Eagles Of Death Metal bandmate added that the material he's heard from the follow-up to 2007's Era Vulgaris is "really cool". Hughes said: "The shit I've heard from the new Queens album is so badass. It's really cool. It's the kinda shit that makes John Holmes [legendary porn star] have a bigger dick and he's dead, so that's pretty rad."

Blur's Alex James has revealed that he wants to work with Johnny Marr. Talking to the Daily Star, James – who is organising his own food and music event, The Big Feastival, from his Oxfordshire farm this weekend – said that while he wouldn't be interested in pursuing a solo career, he'd like to join Marr and Nile Rodgers in a supergroup. The former Smiths guitarist joined the Chic man onstage earlier this year at Manchester's Parklife Weekender, with Marr later hinting that the pair could continue their collaboration by entering the studio together.

Legendary lyricist Hal David has died at the age of 91. David passed away yesterday (September 1) following complications from a stroke at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, reports Rolling Stone. David was Burt Bacharach's songwriting partner and wrote the lyrics for such classic tracks as "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Do You Know The Way To San Jose", "Walk On By", "What The World Needs Now Is Love", "I Say A Little Prayer" and "(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me".

The xx's Jamie Smith has revealed that he is working on building a brand new instrument based on both an MPC sequencer and an iPad. The producer and DJ told the Observer that he is planning on making a see-through device which will make music via "colourful graphics" and finger taps. The band's vocalist Oliver Sim also explained that he has written a song for Beyonce. He said that he has written a track which isn't right for The xx, but which he hopes Beyonce would like to record "if he can work up the courage to ask".

Stevie Wonder has spoken out about comments he made regarding the sexuality of soul singer Frank Ocean last week. Speaking to the Guardian, Wonder had said that he thought Ocean – who publicly revealed that his first love had been a man earlier this year – might be 'confused'. He said: "I think honestly, some people who think they're gay, they're confused. People can misconstrue closeness for love. People can feel connected, they bond."

David Bowie has broken his silence to say he is not involved in a retrospective of his costumes at London's Victoria & Albert Museum. The Observer reported this week that the legendary singer would co-curate an exhibition of his life and work told through his extravagant costumes next year. The show was said to chart his rise to cult status, using his collection of outfits to document his changing identity, with him selecting outfits for the retrospective.

Eddie Van Halen could be out of action for six months after undergoing emergency surgery. Van Halen, lead guitarist in the band of the same name, had been suffering from a severe case of Diverticulitis. The disease is a digestive disorder which involves an inflammation and infection of the colon.

Bob Dylan has unveiled the video for his brand new single "Duquesne Whistle". Click above to watch the video, directed by Nash Edgerton and set on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. The promo features a number of appearances from the legendary singer songwriter, who is seen strolling through the city at night.

Metallica have unveiled their cover of Deep Purple's "When A Blind Man Cries". Click above to listen to the track in full. The track is taken from to a new Deep Purple tribute album, which is titled Re-Machined: A Tribute to Machine Head, and will see a selection of acts including Iron Maiden, Chickenfoot and The Flaming Lips covering each of the tracks on Deep Purple's classic 1972 album Machine Head.