After Universal removed three songs from the band's new album Get Awkward due to violent lyrics, XL Recordings will get to play hero by releasing the offending Be Your Own Pet in the form of a new digital single and double-7-inch titled Get Damaged on June 03, 2008.

The three tracks "Blow Yr Mind", "Black Hole", and "Becky" were on the original promos released by the label and are widely available in the UK and Europe. Lyrics in question include "We'll wait with knives after class!" and "Eating pizza is really great / So is destroying everything you hate." There are also some songs about zombies which may be offensive to zombies.

In any case, you can check out the artwork here.

Sonic Youth has revealed the track listing for their upcoming Starbucks Records-released hits compilation, Hits are For Squares. The songs were selected by a number of celebrity fans including Dave Eggers and Mike Watt, Portia de Rossi, Beck, Mike D, David Cross, Flaming Lips, Gus Van Zant, Eddie Vedder, Catherine Keener and more. The band's frontman (and frequent documentary talking head) Thurston Moore commented:

In a way, Sonic Youth has a branded name. People know the name, but not necessarily our music, which might be a little too outsider for some. And when they do hear a little something, it doesn't tell the whole story. I thought it would be interesting to have a CD available in a store like Starbucks where the casual consumer can sort of have access to [our music] more readily.

The set is due out June 10, 2008. You can click Read More for the details.

Far right radio host, Michael Alan Weiner, better known by his pseudonym Michael Savage recently played Dead Kennedys' track, "California Über Alles" to insult US Senator Ted Kennedy who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Savage explained himself, saying the song wasn't supposed to be mocking:

The poor guy's been suffering for years, you know? Unfairly he's been accused of alcoholism, but we see now that it was something much more deep-seated. And so, to cut this out in some respect for Ted Kennedy, here's a tune coming at you from the Dead Kennedys. Go ahead and play it, please.

After reading from the lyrics of "California Über Alles, No gloating today, no laughter, all serious. You don't joke about a man's cancer. I do it, but I won't do it today; it's something I will not do. You know I'm playing the Dead Kennedys not to mock Ted Kennedy. It's just appropriate, that's all."

You can check out the Media Matters coverage here.

Blacklisted have posted the new video from their brand new album, Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God.

You can click Read More for the video.

Dillinger Escape Plan have launched the latest video from their 2007 album, Ire Works. Along with antagonizing nu-metal bands, Dillinger is headed to Europe next month for a tour with Meshuggah and Between the Buried and Me.

You can click Read More for the video.

Pennywise have launched the new video from their MySpace Records debut, Reason to Believe.

You can click Read More for the video.

Paramore have announced a headlining tour that will feature support from Jack's Mannequin, Paper Route and Phantom Planet.

Speaking of Paramore, the band recently dropped by the Walmart Soundcheck for what is like the internet version of an in-store performance. You can check out the video here.

You can click Read More for the dates.

Cold World have posted an audio player featuring music from their upcoming Deathwish release. The record is titled Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First and is due out July 22, 2008.

You can check out the player here.

You can click Read More for the dates.

Civet have posted a new song from their upcoming Hellcat full length. The record is titled Hell Hath No Fury and is due out August 05, 2008. It is the follow-up to Massacre which was released in 2005.

You can find "Son of a Bitch" on their myspace page.

Paint It Black have posted a new blog update discussing some of their recent upcoming dates which include the rather different Leatherface and Ceremony, Life Long Tragedy, & Sabretooth Zombie:

The first three shows (San Diego, L.A., & Anaheim) are with Leatherface & Dead To Me. For the uninitiated, Leatherface are an important part of punk history, an older band from the UK who were a huge influence on Jawbreaker, Hot Water Music, and in some ways, Lifetime. This is their first time in the U.S. in ten years, i think. I remember when Kid Dynamite played with them & HWM on that last tour.

Then on Wednesday, we meet up with Ceremony, Life Long Tragedy, & Sabretooth Zombie for shows in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle/Tacoma. Ceremony is one of the most exciting bands currently playing hardcore punk.

The major point of all this idle talk is to make the point that we're playing shows with two vastly different sets of bands this week, ranging from pop-punk to brutal thrash-dirge assault, yet somehow it all makes perfect sense for Paint It Black. I get so sick of how conservative people can be about music sometimes. I cant tell you how many times people have questioned our judgment when it comes to the variety of bands we choose to play with. Too hardcore, not hardcore enough, blah, blah, blah, fucking ridiculous. We play with bands we like, & with people we respect, end of story.

You can click Read More for the dates.

The Calgary Folk Music Festival will take place this year from July 24th to the 27th in the city’s Prince Island Park. As with any massive festival the bands involved don't all quite fall within genre boundaries, so the punk-minded can look forward to sets from the Weakerthans, Bedouin Soundclash, Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band, and Greg MacPherson. You can find the full line up over at Chart.

Bad Religion frontman Greg Graffin has posted a new entry in his blog. In it, he briefly discusses his Rushdie Award, which he recently received from Harvard University.

"I just want to say thank you to all the people who were able to attend the award ceremony last week at Harvard when I received the "Rushdie Award" for Cultural Humanism. It was a great event and I spent at least 2 hours answering people's questions and signing autographs after the ceremony ended. I really appreciate all the thoughtful questions and genuine interest in Bad Religion, Evolution, and Humanistic topics shown by the students and general public alike. I wish I could take more time with fans everywhere I go on tour, but alas, the rigors of a tour are often too exhausting and especially after a concert I am too beat to hang out much. In any case, even though an award like the one given to me by Harvard and the American Humanist Society come only once in a lifetime, I hope to be able to do more lecturing appearances in the future and look forward to seeing more of you there. Thanks a lot.

Sincerely,
Greg Graffin

In other Graffin news, you can hear a podcast interview with him here. Today, Graffin's primary band, Bad Religion, continues to support their latest release, last year's New Maps of Hell. Recent reports suggested the band may have limited touring plans, as Graffin will be busy teaching through semester at UCLA.

Fans of My Chemical Romance have unveiled plans to march across London in protest against the depiction of the band in the media. The march, to be held on May 31, will begin at Hyde Park's West Pond and end outside the offices of The Daily Mail

The protest stems from the newspaper's callous attempt to shift blame to the band in the tragic suicide of 13-year old Hannah Bond. The newspaper referred to the popular emo/punk act as a "suicide cult" band, placing them in stead with previous offenders, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Nirvana and others who were blamed for suicides instead of mental health issues that are almost always at the center of suicides.

As Punknews.org mentioned earlier, people facing depression or suicidal thoughts should consider calling 1-800-SUICIDE where they can speak to a counselor.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists have posted the newest video from their 2007 Touch & Go debut, Living with the Living. Next month the band will be sharing the stage with Pearl Jam.

You can click Read More for the video.

Fallen From The Sky have a full album stream of their new full length. The record is titled Tonight We Radiate and is due out May 27, 2008.

You can check it out here.

Built to Spill have finished recording basic tracks for its next Warner Bros. studio album, due in spring 2009 reports Billboard. The new record follows You In Reverse which was preceded by a five year gap since 2001's Ancient Melodies of the Future.

The band has also announced plans for fall tours of North America and Europe, during which it will perform its 1997 album Perfect From Now On in its entirety. As for the new album, the songs will be a mix between newly penned material and retooled tracks considered but ultimately dropped from Reverse and the the band has moved to to Pro Tools rather than analog tape leading to more collaboration between the members.

Mêlée have launched the latest video from their major label debut. The band released Devils and Angels last year.

You can click Read More for the video.