Niki N. Phaser

                Chris Cornell certainly entered the new year with joyful news for all. “The 12 year break is over & school is back in session. (…) Knights of the Soundtable ride again!” was his first post of the year on Twitter. You don’t have to be a master of deciphering to know that he is hinting at a Soundgarden reunion. They disbanded in 1997 and apparently, promised themselves that there will be no reunion, unless they all agree, thus avoiding a Guns N’ Roses/Smashing Pumpkins type of situation. Since then, Cornell released several solo records as well as revived old-school hard-rock with Audioslave. Considering that Cornell’s career was going well, there is no reason to believe that there are unhonorable grounds for this reunion. Hopefully, the band will work on new material and not just tour, though that will be welcomed by quite a few (millions of) people. For more info:

RIDE HERE

After a few days ago it was reported that Amelle Berrabah left the British pop force, Sugababes, it is now officially confirmed that it’s actually the last original member, Keisha Buchanan, that is no longer a sugababe. The departure was obviously not as peaceful as these events are advertised to be in Pop La-La Land. Buchanan herself confessed on her twitter page that “Although it was not my choice to leave, it’s time to enter a new chapter in my life”. This is not the end of Sugababes (should it be?), as a new member was already being groomed in the person of Jade Ewen, singer, actress and Eurovision contestant. The new Sugababes album, Sweet 7 will come out on November 23rd, probably re-recorded with Ewen, even though the last single to feature Keisha Buchanan, Get Sexy, reached the second spot in the UK and represented a strong comeback for the band. Maybe the music woun’t be affected, considering that the girls weren’t always holding writing credits, but it’s always sad when a band becomes an institution where people come and go.

Muse’s bass player Chris Wolstenholme recently announced via Twitter that their new album is finished. Mastering in New York is next, so everything seems to be going according to schedule for the 14 September release. On the downside, it’s been confirmed that Muse will not be playing at this year’s Glastonbury. But, maybe it’s better this way, because they will not be distracted from the mastering process. We all know that Muse is the kind of band who takes the studio period extremely serious and take their time to get the best result possible. They’ll make up for the festival absence this summer with their massive tour in the autumn.