Like, seriously, how awesome has these last few days been? Not even including the sights and sounds of CMJ ’10, the span between Wednesday night (around the time Daft Punk hit the stage with Phoenix) and right now has seen industry stalwarts announce long-anticipated returns, high-profile rappers crashing bowling alleys, and CoCo flexing his musical muscle. I mean, how often can you use Daft Punk, Beastie Boys, U2, Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, Kanye West, and Prince in the same sentence and actually be talking about something real as opposed to some dream Coachella lineup you just came up with in your head?
Yep, a crazy week indeed. So to catch everyone up to speed, we put together this handy little recap. Prepared to be [insert an array of emotional reactions here]:
— Kanye West dropped a song, debuted a film, and played a surprise set in Brooklyn. What’d you do this weekend?
— Ladies and gentlemen, Foo Fighters are back. Daft Punk, too.
— Prince revealed the first five “Welcome 2 America” concerts.
— Kings of Leon conquered Saturday Night Live. They also offered some career advice. In turn, we reviewed their latest album.
— The Beastie Boys detailed Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2. It’s basically Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1.
— Conan O’Brien tapped Jack White, Soundgarden, and Fistful of Mercy to serve as the first musical guests for his new show.
— Nine Inch Nails are reissuing their debut full-length, Pretty Hate Machine.
— Rivers Cuomo is gearing up for some more Alone time.
— U2 have teamed up with super producer Danger Mouse for their next album.
— The Cars’ reunion is officially official.
— Speaking of reunions, Buffalo Springfield played their first show since 1968.
— Matisyahu has announced an east coast tour for this winter.
— Crystal Castles are teaming up with The Cure’s Robert Smith for a collaborative single.
— Phil Cosores explored the many film scores undertaken by our favorite musicians.
— Matt Melis reviewed Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan‘s recent stop in Columbus.
— EN May sat down with AC Entertainment President Ashley Capps to discuss MoogFest, Bonnaroo, and everything in between.
— Jukebox the Ghost drummer Jesse Kristin dusted off Paul Simon‘s 1972 self-titled effort in a special guest posting.