end of the road

Country music legend Willie Nelson has posted the video for his cover version of Pearl Jam's "Just Breathe" online. Scroll down to watch the video, which sees Nelson singing and playing guitar alongside his son Lukas while the pair go on a road trip together. The song is taken from Nelson's latest album, Heroes, which also sees him covering tracks by Coldplay and Tom Waits, as well as collaborating with rapper Snoop Dogg on the pro-cannabis track, "Roll Me Up".

Ry Cooder has announced details of a new album, Election Special, due for release on August 20 on Nonesuch/Perro Verde Records. The follow-up to last year's Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down, Cooder's album is released a few months ahead of the forthcoming US presidential election, which will be held in November 2012. Cooder has written introductions to each of the tracks on the album: Mutt Romney Blues

Muse have unveiled the trailer for their new studio album, which looks set to be titled The 2nd Law. To watch the trailer, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click. The trailer features a compilation of news footage over a musical backdrop, which initially begins as an ornate, classical piece in the style of track's like "Butterflies & Hurricanes" before morphing into a full-on dubstep track. The trailer ends with the words 'The 2nd Law' and 'September 2012' being shown as the music fades out.

In 2005, I went to a talk Ridley Scott gave to ahead of the release of his Crusader epic, Kingdom Of Heaven.

A day or two before Julia Holter’s show at Café Oto, I tweeted something fairly dumb about not understanding why she hadn’t received anything like the same amount of hype as Grimes this year, based on my admittedly rather idiosyncratic idea that, amidst the reveries and abstractions, Holter has a knack for subtly accessible pop music.

Even the longest journeys can end up taking you full circle...

Spinal Tap star Michael McKean has been released from hospital after being hit by a car last week. McKean, who played rock singer David St Hubbins in the classic 1984 spoof This is Spinal Tap, has been discharged from St. Luke's Hospital in New York, and will attend the Roosevelt Hospital for 'extensive rehab', reports TMZ.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has admitted that he's "rather hurt" that organisers of the London 2012 Olympics haven't included him in their plans.

A new festival has been named in honour of the late DJ and new music champion, John Peel.

4 CD box stuffed with blues, folk and songs that shaped an era...