M.I.A. Samples Blur, Says Documentary Is Back On

M.I.A.'s tense year is finally coming together. After recently threatening to leak her new album, Matangi, the singer has posted a new track called "Unbreak My Mixtape." The woozy, airy track samples Blur's "Tender" and Karen Dalton's "I Love You More Than Words Can Say" and includes emotional vocals from M.I.A. "How can I stand by you if I can't find my feet?" she sings.

The singer's stalled documentary about Matangi also appears to be back on, according to the M.I.A.'s Twitter. "We grindin, we still choppin," M.I.A. wrote, giving no details. Her label, Roc Nation, pulled a teaser trailer for the documentary last month, prompting the film's director, Steve Loveridge, to quit the project. Loveridge was frustrated with slow pace of the documentary and leaked the trailer, but Roc Nation took quick action with a copyright claim.

The long-delayed Matangi had been pushed back from an expected April release, but no new date had been set, prompting M.I.A. to take a jab on Twitter last month at her label, Interscope. In turn, the record company announced Matangi would be out November 5th.

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Johnny Depp a Surprise Guest at Johnny Ramone Tribute

At the annual Johnny Ramone tribute Sunday at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, director John Waters hosted a reunion of his cast for the 1990 bad-boy musical Cry-Baby, including a surprise appearance by Johnny Depp.

"Everybody in this movie wanted a little image rehab," Waters recalled of the wildly eclectic cast during an onstage panel before an outdoor screening of the film, a favorite of the late Ramones guitarist. "Johnny [Depp] was the star of a TV show and said 'I hate being a teen idol.' I said, 'Well, stick with us. We'll kill that.' And Traci [Lords] was fleeing the adult world. Patti Hearst – who wants to be a famous victim? . . . If you can make fun of what the critics use against you, then you own it and you turn it into a style.

The Cry-Baby reunion was part of the ninth annual gathering at the Los Angeles cemetery in honor of Ramone, organized by his widow, Linda. Standing at the park is a life-sized statue of the guitarist leaning into a riff, not far from where bassist Dee Dee Ramone is buried. As fans lined up for autographs from some famous guests, backstage was a gathering of friends of Johnny and Linda Ramone, including artist Shepard Fairey, burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese and Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, who said, "It wouldn't be right if I didn't show up."

Also backstage was singer-songwriter Pete Yorn of the Olms, who first met Johnny Ramone while recording a track for the 2003 album We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to Ramones. The guitarist died the following year.

Nine Inch Nails Offer Sneak Peek of Epic New Tour

Nine Inch Nails have allowed a rare glimpse into what goes into preparing for a large-scale tour with big-budget production. The band posted rehearsal photos on Tumblr today, showing the musicians in action in Los Angeles as they prepare for their upcoming festival and arena tour.

The stills by Rob Sheridan depict the rockers dwarfed by a massive backdrop as they stand in a row while playing. Other shots include Trent Reznor alone singing into a microphone and models of the stage complete with wooden figurines of each member.

Reznor recently opened up about his battle against demons that included depression and addiction, and added that he turned to mentor David Bowie for support while getting through it.

Nine Inch Nails will kick off an arena tour in September following the release of Hesitation Marks on September 3rd.

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Tears for Fears Cover Arcade Fire's 'Ready to Start'

Arcade Fire's propulsive Suburbs track "Ready to Start" doesn't necessarily seem to be begging for a synth-pop reinvention. But Tears for Fears thought differently, covering the track in a show of what the group called "some reciprocal cross-generational love."

The Eighties new wavers are currently back in the studio working on the follow-up to their 2004 reunion LP, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, but their first taste of new music is their excellent cover of "Ready to Start." Frontman Roland Orzabal's vocals spill slowly over production that starts with relatively simple synths and strings before building to a burst of a jittery jungle percussion that perfectly captures the cloistered urgency of the original.

While there's no word yet on when we'll hear new originals from Tears for Fears, Arcade Fire are set to release a new record on October 29th, tentatively titled Reflektor. No music from that project either, though former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, who worked on the LP, has promised that it is epic.

Paul McCartney Producer Previews 'Revelatory' New Album

Early last year, Ethan Johns got a special request from Paul McCartney. "I got a call saying, 'Would you like to go into the studio with Paul?'" recalls the English producer. "And of course I said, 'I would love to!'"

McCartney was in the process of auditioning producers for his 16th solo studio LP, due out this fall. He called Johns because he liked his work with Kings of Leon. "It was very low-key," says Johns (whose father is Beatles, Stones and Who producer Glyn Johns).  "[The idea was,] 'Let's just go and hang out for a few days, play some music, have a bit of fun and see what we come up with.'"

McCartney and Johns hit it off immediately after meeting up at London's AIR Studios, where they cut a ballad called "Hosannah" to analog tape using vintage instruments. "The first day we had was remarkable," says Johns. "He walked in with this incredible song, we threw up a couple of microphones and within four hours, we had this great track. I think we did an edit between the first two takes. It had an incredible feel – a really evocative piece of music, a very interesting lyric, and the performance was great. Then we started to experiment with it, and I put a bunch of psychedelic strangeness on it. You have fun. 'Oh, try this! Do that!' It's just very inspiring to be around."

Guns N' Roses Guitarist's Marriage Proposal Under Police Review

Guns N' Roses' DJ Ashba had a big weekend, getting engaged to his girlfriend, Colombian actress and model Nathalia Henao in Las Vegas. But the guitarist had some help from Las Vegas police, and now the department is investigating whether employees broke department regulations in assisting Ashba's proposal, The Associated Press reports.

Ashba posted an Instagram photo of himself with Henao on Saturday. "Special [thanks] to the Las Vegas Police Dept. for the most amazing helicopter private tour over Vegas!" Ashba wrote. "We landed in a field at police headquarters were I had a table set up covered in roses [and] a bottle of the bubble stuff." The photo followed another of a ring with the simple caption "She said yes!!!" Guns N' Roses' publicist confirmed the Instagram account and said the couple were engaged last Wednesday.

Las Vegas police are now looking into the situation. The police department acknowledged that two civilians were granted a helicopter ride-along, though they did not specify names and gave few details. "An internal affairs investigation has been initiated to determine if any department policies or regulations were violated in granting this ride-along," spokesman Bill Cassell said.

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Michelle Obama Plans Hip-Hop Album

Michelle Obama has helped put together a new rap album in an effort to inspire healthy living. The first lady teamed with the Partnership for a Healthier America to make the record – titled Songs for a Healthier America – as part of her "Let's Move!" program, Politico reports, and the album sports tracks with titles like "U R What You Eat" and "Veggie Luv."

Songs for a Healthier America features artists including Ashanti, DMC of Run-D.M.C., Jordin Sparks and Doug E. Fresh, and according to Pitchfork, Matisyahu, Ariana Grande and Blink-182's Travis Barker contribute as a trio named Salad Bar. New York Knicks basketball player Iman Schumpert appears on a track, and Nils Lofgren of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band also contributes to the record. Unfortunately, Obama won't be laying down rhymes for the new album; she'll only be making video cameos.

Kids in New York City will get a first look, with 10 music videos set for distribution in the city. Other major cities will receive the music videos afterwards. Full track listing of Songs for a Healthier America follows below.

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Trent Reznor Turned to 'Mentor' David Bowie for Help With Addiction

In a revealing new interview, Trent Reznor opens up about his writing process, mental state and battle with addiction, and says that touring with David Bowie restored hope in him during one of his darkest moments. He also reveals being a father and husband has also helped him realize how far he's come in his battle against his demons.

"When I was in the throes of that was when we toured with Bowie, and this was the Bowie that had come out the other side and was happily married," Reznor told The Guardian. "I was nearing the peak of my addiction, and his role to me was kind of mentor, big brother, friend, and also he'd give me kind of shamanish advice."

Once riddled with depression that was exacerbated by drug and alcohol abuse, Reznor has mellowed out significantly, and reflects on his mental state at the time of  The Downward Spiral.

"Downward Spiral felt like I had an unending bottomless pit of rage and self-loathing inside me and I had to somehow challenge something or I'd explode. I thought I could get through by putting everything into my music, standing in front of an audience and screaming emotions at them from my guts ... but after a while it didn't sustain itself, and other things took over," he said.

Linkin Park Headlines Sunset Strip Music Fest

Linkin Park's attention of late has been on new music, with a new album, LPU 13, reportedly due later this year. The band revealed some of the details in announcing a contest exclusively for LP Underground members, in which the winner can submit a track that could wind up on LPU 13.

Before that, Linkin will take a break from the studio to headline the Sunset Strip Music Fest in L.A. on Saturday. The band will close out a day of music on the iconic part of Sunset that includes the Roxy, the Whisky A Go Go and more bastions of L.A. music lore.

Linkin Park have their own history with those clubs, and Mike Shinoda reflected on that recently with Rolling Stone. "More than three-quarters of our early shows were on Sunset at the Roxy and Whisky," he said. "I have such vivid memories of playing those shows, promoting those shows, walking around the street handing out fliers or posters or, at that point, giving people cassettes."

In the spirit of those days, the band went old-school to promote this show, which will see them top a bill that also includes Wale, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Asher Roth, Warren G., Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh, the Last Internationale, Orgy and many more.

Bill Ward Says he's still a member of Black Sabbath

The old Black Sabbath's drummer, Bill Ward, has clarified his situation. Heclaims he's still technically part of the band, despite being replaced on their new album and current world tour.

He recently told: "It was one of the toughest decisions that I ever had to make. Because I absolutely and without question wanted to play. I haven't left the band. Everybody thinks I have left the band. I didn't walk out; it wasn't like that at all! I just didn't sign the contract and life took its own course."

Ozzy Osbourne recently stated that he hopes Bill will return for the next Sabbath record.

Deep Purple's Ian Gillian Has No Desire to Reunite with Ritchie Blackmore

Deep Purple released a successful album earlier this summer. So did Ritchie Blackmore's band, Blackmore's Night. But is there a chance these guys will get together and release a Deep Purple album with Blackmore?

According to Deep Purple singer Ian Gillian, it's never gonna happen. Gillan, whose decades-long feuds with the ex-Deep Purple guitarist are part of rock lore, was asked about the possibility of bringing Blackmore back to the band during a recent interview with Argentina radio station Vorterix Rock 103.1.

His response (which you can hear in the video below): “If you want to talk about Ritchie, I guess we have to — not many people do these days. But the truth of the matter is, from a historical point of view, the band was dying. If Ritchie had stayed in the band, it would have been the end of Deep Purple.