It’s Sunday August 26th, 2007. Now that Moz has turned down the 75 million dollar reunion payday I’d like to offer to step in and manage the redistribution of those funds. I know it’s a burden, but I’m pretty sure we could find 75 bands that would each take a million to reunite. Well, maybe 73 and then the staff here could get some sweet hovercrafts. Yeah.

The people must have something good to read on a Sunday

Morrissey was in the news a few times this week, as the temperamental and influential singer / songwriter not only announced a fall US solo tour but turned down a $75 million offer to reunite the Smiths. After the PR blitz and last week’s fiasco we figured Against Me! might want to lay low and give fans a breather, but they forgot to let Australian indie rocker Ben Lee in on the plan, and he launched an entire cover album that reproduced New Wave acoustically. Rolling Stone’s bewildering mix of serious journalism and pop culture garbage touched on a familiar scene this week, as the mag investigated hardcore “crew” FSU and the James Morrison murder. The digital music scene continues to shift and evolve, with retail mega-weight Wal-Mart now launching a DRM-free online store. Fans of All and the Descendents were shocked to hear that bassist Karl Alvarez had suffered a heart attack this week and is now facing mounting medical bills.

On the touring front Big D and the Kids Table are planning to hit the road with Whole Wheat Bread and China’s Brain Failure opening various legs of the jaunt. NOFX is heading to Israel, and while there will play shows with several Israeli punk bands including Useless ID and Man Alive. What’s coming down the pipe? How about a double DVD live set from the legendary Ramones, a new studio album from Sweden’s Millencolin, and Streetlight Manifesto‘s Somewhere In The Between LP. The next Tony Hawk skateboarding game will feature music from Gorilla Biscuits, Paint It Black and Snapcase among others, and Warped Tour head Kevin Lyman is set to produce the new movie “Endless Bummer.” This week also brought new media from Atreyu, who streamed a few new songs, and Avenged Sevenfold who put up “Critical Acclaim” for the world to preview.

This week we were thrilled to announce the now sold out Mutiny PR / Punknews.org CMJ showcase with the Loved Ones, Tim Barry, Smoke or Fire, the Falcon, American Steel, Fake Problems and Sundowner.

The fifth edition of Vinyl File featured a chat with Team Science Records head Aaron Danger and previewed a ton of upcoming wax. Our Editor’s Picks this week featured music from Halfway To Hell Club and the Sadies. We also streamed new music from longstanding DC ska act the Pietasters with the full album All Day. and a new track from third wave ska mainstays Mustard Plug.

Click Read More to see this week’s contests, streaming music and more.
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