Plus: Lil Wayne's New Single; Bjork Honors McQueen

First Single From Lil Wayne's Carter IV Coming Soon
Young Money label head Mack Maine says that Lil Wayne will be dropping "6'7"," the first single from his forthcoming Tha Carter IV album before the end of this month. "We definitely dropping it before the end of the year," Mack said. "We ready to go now; we getting it mixed." [MTV News]

Björk Releases Tribute to Alexander McQueen
Björk has released a song paying homage to her friend, fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who committed suicide earlier this year. The haunting song is accompanied by a short film honoring McQueen by director/photographer Nick Knight. [Pitchfork]

Jay Weinberg's Stint With Against Me! Might Be Permanent
Tom Gabel of Against Me! hinted that drummer Jay Weinberg's temporary stint with the band may become permanent. "I'm looking forward to that being more of a long-term thing and hopefully that'll be what happens," he said. He declined to elaborate, saying, "I've just learned over the past couple years to not sign anything or to not make anything 100 percent concrete and having a more laidback, 'We'll see what happens' type of attitude about things." Weinberg, son of E Street Band drummer Max, has been filling in for AM! drummer George Rebelo due to Rebelo's commitments with his other band, Hot Water Music. [A href="http://www.spin.com/articles/tom-gabel-talks-future-against-me">Spin]

Howard Stern's "Not Taking a Fucking Paycut"
Howard Stern shot back at a statement by Sirius radio's CFO that Stern might have to take a lower salary if he re-ups with the company. "I am not taking a fucking pay cut," Stern said Tuesday. "Who is this guy to say this in public?" Stern's contract with Sirius, which comes with a $100 million annual salary, expires December 31. [A href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/howard-stern-i-m-f-57183">Hollywood Reporter via Billboard.biz]

Avril Lavigne's New LP Due in March
Avril Lavigne's fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby, will be out on RCA March 8. The singer will debut the first single, "What the Hell," during Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. Last month, Lavigne blasted her label for the long delay in the album's release, saying in a post on her website that the LP has been finished for a year. [Press release]

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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

More Song Stories entries »

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