• The colossal tour featuring The Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem will thankfully grace cities other than Louisville and St. Paul, as more dates have been added. The first addition: An October 6th show on NYC’s Randall’s Island.
• According to former member Steven Adler, at least 80% of the original Guns N’ Roses lineup will reconvene at the Key Club in L.A. to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Appetite for Destruction. This makes two more members than first announced. The missing one-fifth, Axl Rose, is on the guest list, but unlikely to show up.
• Rihanna, fresh off of breaking UK chart records with “Umbrella,” is getting all synergistic by releasing her own line of umbrellas.
• The Shins’ “Turn On Me” single, out September 3rd, will sport a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe,” as well as their contribution to the TV show Weeds, as B-sides.
• The Hives are having “Chinese Democracy“-like troubles recording their new album, so expect their next album to be released in or around 2014.

Photo: Dyson/Getty

In the last few days five songs from Guns N’ Roses long-awaited albatross of an album, Chinese Democracy, have leaked. Right now “The Blues,” “IRS,” “Madagascar,” “There Was a Time,” and “Chinese Democracy” are all totally available. The good news is that listening to them brings on the thrill of doing something naughty. The bad news is that the songs mostly suck. “Chinese Democracy” tries waaaay too hard to rock and retains none of that effortless, dirty looseness we need from G N’ R. “There Was a Time” is a busy almost-ballad. “The Blues” is “November Rain,” the musical. And while we kinda like the unabashed brawn of “IRS,” it features Axl hawking really bad lyrics he knows are “lyrics.”

We’re assuming “Madagascar” (song five on the leaked list) will show up tomorrow, but in the meantime it’s available on file sharing sites. Perhaps it will redeem the rest? [via MetalSucks]

– With Special Reporting by Daniel Kreps