JACK WHITE, whose first solo album, Blunderbuss, dropped this past April, recently met up with astronaut Buzz Aldrin for a magazine interview, and told Aldrin that he (White) is working on a “secret project” to get one of his songs to be the first vinyl record played in outer space. White’s concept? To launch a balloon that carries a record player, and to figure out how to drop the needle once the balloon leaves the stratosphere. Ooh-kay. White will be travelling to the UK next month for a round of live shows in support of Blunderbuss, presumably not by rocket ship. ADELE has filmed an hour-long NBC TV interview special,...

BEASTIE BOY Adam Yauch is our sad headline this week. The Beastie known as MCA passed away this past weekend of the cancer that he’s been battling for several years now. One of the founders of the groundbreaking hip-hop trio, the talented Yauch, along with Beastie-mates Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) and Mike Diamond (Mike D) expanded upon innovations like musical sampling with the Beasties’ unique blend of rock and rap; their music, including such edgy, catchy hits as “Intergalactic” and “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” which cut across both genres and generations. Yauch’s last album with the Beasties was Hot...

MAXIMO PARK have announced the release date for their next full-length studio album, The National Health, which is now set to hit music outlets on June 11. Strangely, there’s no label attached to the album yet – not even one of the band’s own (they split with long-time label home Warp Records last year) – but the album can be pre-ordered via Maximo Park’s own website. As for the music, it’s a step up since their rather tepid 2009 release, the ironically-named Quicken the Heart, and includes new tracks “Write This Down,” “This Is What Becomes of the Broken Hearted,” and the title...

THE BEATLES’ groundbreaking 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine has been specially restored (frame-by-frame, instead of the usual digital-software restoration) in order to be re-released on May 29 of this year. Following the escapades of The Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band characters as they travel to an undersea city to fight the music-hating Blue Meanie villains, the repackaged film will now include a making-of documentary, behind-the-scene photos, audio commentary, and a nifty 16-page booklet that includes comments by Pixar chief John Lasseter, who mentions that Yellow Submarine “helped pave the way”...

NYC’S FAMED CBGB club may be gone, a victim of New York City rent disputes and property bargaining (ugh), but the spirit of CB’s lives on via a brand new music festival. Set for July 4-8 of this year (in NYC, of course), the CBGB Festival, with its slogan of “Get Ready. Get Loud. Get Heard,” is sure to revive a bit of the punk in anyone who may have appreciated the likes of Blondie, The Ramones, or Talking Heads during CBGB’s heyday. While there’s not yet a listing of expected acts – although you can pretty much bank on some of CBGB’s old regulars popping up for a set or two – the...

MTV UNPLUGGED, the series that literally unplugs bands and has them present their songs in a (mostly) acoustic format, is set to return to the sorta-Music-Television channel, although the Unplugged show itself is now set to be divided between MTV, VH1, and CMT airings. The 2012 season of the program will feature Florence and the Machine for Unplugged’s first airing of the year on April 8, with The Civil Wars set to debut on the VH1 version of the show later this spring. Additional Unplugged acts for 2012 will be announced shortly – and in the meantime, you can watch previous Unplugged sets by the likes of Adele, Phoenix, Vampire...

AUSSIE BAND JET are best known for songs like “Look What You’ve Done,” “Rollover DJ,” and “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” – and those are the tunes you’ll have to remember the band by, as the bandmates have just officially announced their breakup. In an online statement to their fans, Jet said: “After many successful years of writing, recording and touring, we wish to announce our discontinuation as a group. From the many pubs, theatres, stadiums and festivals all across the world it was the fans that made our amazing story possible and we wish to thank them all. Thank you, and...