And in Other News

1. The Pirate Bay trial in Stockholm just gets better and better. On day 2, half the prosecution's charges were dropped, and on day 3, the defense introduced something called "The King Kong defense." Tickets for the trial available outside the courthouse, via scalpers.

2. Blink-182 are back together. Guitarist Tom DeLonge reached out to his estranged ex-bandmates after drummer Travis Barker's plane crash. We can expect fart jokes and full frontal nudity this summer.

3. Dr. Dre's Detox, aka hip-hop's Chinese Democracy, looks like it'll be coming out later this year. However, it'll be after the good doctor's proteges, 50 Cent & Eminem, release their respective albums, Before I Self Destruct (due 3/24) and Relapse (due sometime after 3/24). According to 50, "It's a story actually, the three-headed monster returns. Before I Self Destruct, I'll Relapse, then Detox." Clever.

As a little bonus, DJ Quik provides some fun facts about the Detox sessions. Highlights: 1. Dre's got 400 tracks to choose from. 2. He's been taking piano lessons from Burt Bacharach.

4. U2 have a new album coming out at the end of the month. This is particularly newsworthy for me personally because it's probably the least amount of promoting the band has done for an album since the late '80s. Remember when they held a press conference at KMart for Pop? Nonetheless, this album won't be completely devoid of promotional whoring. The boys will be the first to hold a week-long residency on the Late Show with Dave Letterman.

You're welcome.