"I thought I was being original!" --Lily Allen

If she really wanted to be unique, she wouldn't have asked Lindsay Lohan to get "Shhh..." inked on her index finger, too. That and done some research: Rihanna had it first.




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When Atlanta metal men Mastodon first met their heroes in Metallica, guitarist Bill Kelliher decided to make a lasting impression on drummer Lars Ulrich that might have ended their friendship before it started. While in our studios for an Interface taping, bassist Troy Sanders tells Spinner how Kelliher exposed himself to Ulrich at their first gig together.

The incident -- which Sanders swears is true -- occurred at a 2007 gig in Portugal. "The show was over and they had their 15, 20 minutes of quiet, band time," Sanders says, sitting next to Kelliher. "And then they come out of their trailers and Bill walks right up to Lars Ulrich, and puts his penis in Lars' pocket. I'm not kidding. I was like, 'Dude you're about to get your a-- kicked by a security guard.' That's what makes Bill so special. That, and his mustache."

"I have a picture of him kissing me on the cheek," Kelliher says. "He must have liked it."

Luckily for Mastodon, Metallica are apparently still fine with the incident -- the bands are set to tour Europe again this summer. Check out Mastodon's full interview and performance after the jump, plus photos of the band's tattoos on Noisecreep.com.

Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien let it slip that the band is working on a new album and will be touring a bit this summer.

Public Enemy will perform their classic album 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' in its entirety, backed by Antibalas, at the Roots' second annual "Roots Picnic" on June 6 in Philadelphia. TV on the Radio, Black Keys and Santigold will also be joining the festival lineup.

Green Day arereissuing their entire catalog on vinyl in anticipation of their upcoming May release, '21st Century Breakdown.'

Metric are streaming their entire new LP, 'Fantasies,' online, weeks in advance of its April 14 street date.

As if he wasn't busy enough with the White Stripes and the Raconteurs, Jack White is launching a third band he's branded the Dead Weather. The group's debut CD, 'Horehound,' will be released in June via his Third Man imprint, and the band will tour sometime this year.

White announced the band and plans for the disc yesterday in Nashville, where he hosted a private party. Attendees -- including White Stripes drummer Meg White, Sheryl Crow and Martina McBride -- were among the 150 guests invited to hear the new disc and witness a performance by the new foursome, which also includes Alison Mosshart of the Kills, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age and Jack Lawrence of the Greenhornes. Fertita and Lawrence also perform with White in the Raconteurs.

Artist: Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Songs: 'Richland Women Blues'
Album: 'A Stranger Here' [iTunes]
Sounds Like: Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan

Download: 'Richland Women Blues' (MP3)

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It has been just over a year since musician Bif Naked announced that she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. At that point in time, it was perceived that she went into hiding. The only difference? She never hid.

The raw-food-eating, hardcore gym-addicted vegan tried as best as she could to have a "normal" life during her intensive 13-month stretch of chemotherapy and radiation. At a point when many cancer survivors wouldn't consider crawling out of bed, Bif decided to spend those difficult months writing and recording her new CD, 'The Promise.' "It was suggested to me that it might be beneficial to start songwriting; that was my next goal this year anyway," she tells Spinner. "I had toured the shit out of 'Superbeautifulmonster' for three years, took a break, looked at my watch and said 'Well, its time to record something else so I can go and do it all again!'"

Artist: Fever Ray
Video: 'If I Had a Heart'
Highlight: In this eerie, atmospheric clip, the camera leads viewers through the aftermath of a deadly party.

Joaquin Phoenix has got this rapper shtick down pat. [Socialite Life]

Chris Brown's publicity team is really setting a bad example for the children. [Best Week Ever]

100 Neil Diamond tickets are being scalped on TicketExchange.com by ... Neil Diamond? [WSJ]

Jack White is in a new band with members of the Kills, Queens of the Stone Age and a fellow Raconteur. [Brooklyn Vegan]

Sure, iPods are pretty cool, but have you seen the "eye-Pod"? [Boing Boing]

Thom Yorke responds to Miley Cyrus and Kanye West, who were angry at the singer for acting exactly the way we'd all expect him to. [Idolator]

Got $1,000,000 to spare? Why not buy David Crosby's beloved sailboat? [Luxist]

At Wednesday night's star-studded benefit 'The Music of R.E.M. at Carnegie Hall,' New Yorkers were given a real treat -- an unannounced appearance by the evening's honorees, the boys from Athens, Ga. themselves, who took the stage with Patti Smith for their track 'E-Bow the Letter.'

With Michael Stipe dressed as the preacher to Patti Smith's yogic chanter, both musicians spoke of their shared love and influence on each other, with Smith exclaiming that Stipe was "there for me when I was down, and I ain't never been down since." Although Smith faltered partway through 'New Test Leper,' her voice and spirit soared through the night, as Stipe explained that Smith's version of 'Gloria' inspired the mention of Jesus in the opening lines of 'New Test Leper.'

This unexpected appearance by Messrs. Stipe, Buck and Mills capped off a night of pure beauty and artistic collaboration, with all proceeds going toward musical education programs for underprivileged youth.

Following the release of Grandaddy's final record, 2006's 'Just Like the Fambly Cat,' frontman Jason Lytle went on tour for it. Without the band. "I went through an awkward period of not speaking to the other guys," Lytle tells Spinner. "There was a time for healing and readjustment we all needed. The only reason I toured was because I didn't want to shirk my responsibilities of promoting a record I believed in."

Going by that logic, fans can expect to see Lytle out on tour again soon -- this time in support of his first proper solo album. Chances are good that it'll sound like a natural progression from 'Fambly Cat,' with no major artistic changes that wouldn't have happened anyway, had Grandaddy stayed together. Lytle is okay with that. "Seeing as how I recorded this album in a very similar manner as the others, I believe there will be a lot of familiar elements," admits Lytle. The album, entitled 'Yours Truly, The Commuter' will drop on May 19th.