Billboard has more Facebook likes than Pitchfork, NPR Music, Dancing Astronaut, PopCrush, Spin, NME, Stereogum and dozens of other trendy sites combined!

The Flaming Lips have been digging through the Clouds Taste Metallic vaults, performing songs from that album in concert that they haven’t played in years (or ever), filming fans’ recollections of the era, re-releasing the period’s B-sides on vinyl for the first time, reaching out to old acquaintances, and so on. Now they need your help…

The 42nd Telluride Bluegrass Festival featured four days of ace pickers – Ry Cooder, Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Punch Brothers, Greensky Bluegrass – at 8,750′ high. Held annually the third weekend of June, SUNBEARS!’ Jonathan Berlin tells us all about this year’s festivities.

Topics and trends musicians’ posted about this week on social media including Beck, Bonnaroo, The Donald, The Pope, #InstaPride, #RachelDolezal and #CharlestonMassacre.

Among the several unreleased recording projects Beck’s worked on in the past few years: another album’s worth of material in the vein of “Morning Phase” that’s already recorded, and sessions with Pharrell that may never be finished….

Beck will record with Nile Rodgers this summer.

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Les Paul – one of the most inventive minds, wittiest performers, and skillful guitarists music has ever known – was born 100 years ago today.

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https://www.facebook.com/TheFutureHeart/posts/897847220265819

Going by Grasshopper’s past tweets, expect electric sitar, Rhodes keys, steel resonator mandolin, timpani, sleigh bells, numerous guitars…
…”and a little ba-boom!”

Grasshopper: “It is the best stuff we have done in a long long time. Gonna be big sounding!”

Watch/ stream live SXSW performances this week by Spoon, Courtney Barnett, Willie Nelson, Best Coast, Gang of Four, TV on the Radio, Kanye West, many more…