Apr 10, 2006 5:41 PM

From the Who to Snow Patrol

The WHO's next album will be an eleven-minute EP inspired by his online serialized novella, The Boy Who Heard Music, according to guitarist PETE TOWNSHEND's online diary. The new recording, The Glass Household, was originally intended to be a "creation of a series of songs that would provide the backbone for some kind of large theatrical music event," Townshend wrote in a post -- but he decided to change the work into "a Mini-Opera rather than a Magnum-Opus." In addition to ROGER DALTREY on vocals, the lineup for the album includes bassist PINO PALLADINO, keyboardist JOHN "RABBIT" BUNDRICK, drummer PETER HUNTINGTON, and BILLY NICHOLLS and Townshend's brother SIMON on backing vocals. The Who commence their world tour this summer with European dates kicking off June 18th in Brighton, England.

Bright Eyes Thinking About New Album

Indie darlings BRIGHT EYES, led by frontman CONOR OBERST, have laid down the basic tracks to what will become the band's next album. The as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2005's companion releases I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, is being wound down to ten or twelve tracks from some thirty recordings, according to Billboard.com. With the only scheduled future performance this June 16th at Bonnaroo, the band plans to complete the album in their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, in the coming weeks.

Soul Asylum Find the Silver Lining

SOUL ASYLUM will release their first studio album in eight years, The Silver Lining, on July 11th. Last June, following the recording sessions for the album, the alt-rockers lost bassist KARL MUELLER to throat cancer. Some of the tracks making Silver Lining's list include "Crazy Mixed Up World," "Standing Water," "Success Is Not So Sweet" and "Good for You." . . . In other rock release news, GODSMACK IV, the metal band's first full-length recording since 2003's Faceless, lands in stores April 25th. The album's first single, "Speak," is currently on radio. While a tour of North America is planned for late summer, the band kicks off a Canadian run on June 10th.

Ween Open for Lips, Gomez Get Live

WEEN and the GO! TEAM will open for the FLAMING LIPS when the Oklahoma psychedelic alt-rockers play Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheater on July 29th. Ween are currently in the middle of a short trek that concludes April 13th in Charlottesville, Virginia . . . GOMEZ will hit the road with its entire lineup for fifteen dates this May, beginning May 3rd in Asheville, North Carolina. After the run, in support of their new album, How We Operate (due May 2nd), the U.K. blues rockers will hit up two music festivals: Sasquatch in George, Washington, and Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee. Gomez will also open three nights for DAVE MATTHEWS BAND in late June.

The Rolling Stones Rock China

The ROLLING STONES rocked China during the band's first-ever performance in the communist country on Saturday. The band complied with the Chinese Ministry of Culture's request to avoid playing five of their classics, including "Brown Sugar" and "Honky Tonk Women." The legendary rockers, on tour in support of their latest album "A Bigger Bang," let loose with a raucous two-hour, eighteen-song set in front of a crowd of 8,000, playing hits like "Sympathy for the Devil," as well as a duet with local rock legend CUI JIAN on "Wild Horses." The Stones were previously slated to perform in China in 2003, but cancelled due to a SARS outbreak that killed hundreds.

Joan Osborne, India.Arie Ready New Releases

Later this spring, JOAN OSBORNE will head into a Nashville studio with producer STEVE BUCKINGHAM to begin work on an album of country songs, due next January. To preview the new material, the soulful singer-songwriter will take the stage for her first New York shows in three years: April 18th at Coda, and April 19th at Brooklyn's Southpaw. The performances will also showcase covers and Osborne hits off her 1995 breakthrough, Relish, which peaked at Number Nine on the chart . . . Neo-soul singer INDIA.ARIE is scheduled to release Testimony: Vol. 1, Life and Relationship on June 27th. Arie's first album since 2002's Voyage to India, which peaked at Number Six on the charts, features collaborators AKON, SWIZZ BEATZ and JAZZE PHA on the first single, "I Am Not My Hair." Thus far, ten shows have been planned for this summer, including a July 5th spot at the annual Taste of Chicago festival.

Rush, Bruce Hornsby Get Boxed

RUSH are boxing together their first three concert DVDs -- 1981's Exit . . . Stage Left, 1985's Grace Under Pressure and 1988's A Show of Hands -- along with the soundtrack to Pressure. The four-disc box set, dubbed Rush Replay x 3, is due June 13th. The DVDs, which are out of print in the U.S., feature re-mastered footage and reprints of the original tour programs for the three concerts . . . In other box set news, BRUCE HORNSBY will unleash the five-disc Intersections 1985-2005 on July 25th. Among the Hornsby favorites found on the career-spanning four audio CDs are recordings the pianist made with the late JERRY GARCIA during his run with the GRATEFUL DEAD. The fifth disc, a DVD, also features three SPIKE LEE-directed videos and a 1993 Farm Aid concert performance.

Snow Patrol, Imogen Heap Ready for the Road

After the May 9th release of their new album, Eyes Open, Scotland's SNOW PATROL return to the U.S. for a May and June tour. The run begins May 23rd in Denver, and wraps on June 20th in Los Angeles . . . Following her April 29th gig at Coachella, singer-songwriter IMOGEN HEAP will kick off a twenty-date jaunt, beginning May 2nd in Pomona, California . . . Dark Austin pop five-piece I LOVE YOU BUT I'VE CHOSEN DARKNESS, who released their debut, Fear Is on Our Side, last month, will launch a West Coast tour on May 17th in Marfa, Texas. Brooklyn garage rockers the ROGER SISTERS will open for most of the fourteen-date run, which ends June 1st in Norman, Oklahoma.

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