Morningwood, the 'Sugarbaby' rock band fronted by Chantal Claret, are readying their sophomore full-length album, tentatively set to come out in early 2009. "There's gonna be a lot more beats," Claret tells Spinner. "It's gonna be a little more eclectic. The theme is awesomeness. I hate that that's the word that I have for it, but it's the word that best fits. You will dance."

One example of said awesomeness is a hip-hop inspired song called 'That's My Tune,' written about kids "calling each other so they could hear their ring tones, like, 'Don't stop man. Let it ring. That's my tune! Let it play!'" Claret, who recently recorded the vocal tracks of eight songs in only five days, adds, "I think there's one ballad, 'Cat in the Box.'"

Other song titles revealed include 'Bipolar Bears,' 'Snobby Little Elf' and 'Hot Tonight.' "I hate forcing a title and picking the most popular phrase in the song, so I just sort of pick phrases that make me laugh," Claret says.

Rachael Yamagata is talking with Spinner on the phone, driving from the Chicago airport with her band, when suddenly she makes a jolting discovery: Once at the hotel, everyone else is off in a thousand directions, and Yamagata is locked inside the van. Finally, familiar faces appear. "Hey, guys," she says, tapping on the window glass, "can someone get me out of here?"

If Yamagata, 31, seems a bit contained for the moment, overall she's poised for what she sees as a creative breakout. Four years after her first full-length album, 'Happenstance,' a Best of 2004 release that established her as a formidable new talent, Yamagata returns with a surprising record in two parts, 'Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart.' While 'Happenstance' laid a vaguely dangerous stalker vibe over lyrics of romantic obsession and a wildly eclectic music bed of pop, blues, jazz, and Dixieland (shades of Laura Nyro), its successor goes poetically deeper and darker, the atmospheric nine ballads ('Brown Eyes') morphing into five samples of guitar-driven rock ('Sidedish Friend') by end of disc two.

Throughout, Yamagata eschews the traditional song-by-song format, and in spots, the orchestral transitions make the album seem like a film score. Elsewhere, particularly on 'Sunday Afternoon' and 'Pause the Tragic Ending,' repeated references to blood bubble up, underscoring a morose feel that turns on wind, rain, fog and, yes, vampires.

The Beastie Boys will hit the road later this month for a series of select dates as part of their 'Swing State Voter Awareness Tour.' Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Norah Jones, Crosby and Nash, Santogold and Tenacious D will support the band when they pick up the mics for Barack Obama at shows in battleground states like Virginia, Minnesota and Wisconsin .

"We are going to do a few shows in hopes that we can remind people to vote," the Beasties announced. "This election is too important, too much is at stake to stay at home. We hope that you can come out, have a nice night, dance, sing, get your freak on, and then wake up the next morning and get everyone that you possibly can to get out and vote. If they have early voting in your state then ask people to vote early; Let's get everyone we can out there on election day."

"We are very excited about Obama," the trio adds. "Hope you all feel the same." Sale times and info for the three confirmed shows, which will also count representatives from Rock the Vote, are available through the band's website. Additional shows are expected to be announced shortly.

It's taken ten years and an unthinkable amount of studio time but perhaps the most highly-anticipated album of all time will finally hit shelves this fall: ladies and gentlemen, Guns N' Roses' long-fabled 'Chinese Democracy' will be released on Sunday, November 23rd. Before you pinch yourself, there is a catch of sorts: It will only be available through Best Buy. Hence the Sunday release date as opposed to the industry-standard Tuesday. Of course, we're just happy for a release date at all, at this point.

We'll see how going exclusively through Best Buy shakes out for Axl Rose and his hired Guns, but this move is certainly not GNR's first unconventional record release. Their previous two studio albums were both released on the same day in 1991 ('Use Your Illusion' Part I and II, respectively).

While you're at Best Buy, don't forget to pick up CD-R's. After all, your friends will want to hear this too. (We're kidding. Seriously.)

Broken Social Scene is sort of like the Wu Tang Clan of indie rock. The Canadian super-group has built a strong following while helping to launch a number of successful solo projects such as Feist, Kevin Drew and Stars. So it makes sense that when the band needed a new female vocalist to accompany them on tour they looked to Montreal native and Land of Talk frontwoman Elizabeth Powell.

"Brendan [Canning] has always kept tabs on me," Powell says of the Broken Social Scene's founding member. "Last year he asked me to do a Patti Smith cover for a Canadian film called 'The Tracey Fragments,' starring Ellen Page. One thing led to another and we ended up recording two extra songs, and then I sang on two songs for his solo album."

After Powell appeared on Canning's solo record, 'Something for Us All,' Land of Talk was asked to join Broken Social Scene on tour. Adding to the excitement, Powell would fill in on vocals and guitar with BSS, something she has referred to as "a dream come true." "The last time I said that in an interview a lot of people thought I was being facetious, but I wasn't," she explains.

Nick Hodgson, drummer and songwriter in Britain's snappily dressed pop-rock combo the Kaiser Chiefs is currently in England promoting his band's third album, 'Off With Their Heads.' But with the Stateside release of the album just weeks away (October 28), Hodgson is thinking beyond his own patch.

"Hello America," the lanky lad tells Spinner from his home in Leeds, UK as talk of their November promotional U.S. tour comes up. "We're looking forward to [coming back]."

Meanwhile, the new songs, which were recorded in the early part of 2009, represent a more mature and comfortable Kaiser Chiefs. "We haven't really greatly changed. I think we're relaxed," Hodgson says. "The first [album, 2005's 'Employment'] was just whatever, 'These are the songs that we have and here's the album.' The second one [2007's 'Your's Truly, Angry Mob'] was always going to be more self-conscious because we'd never been scrutinized before. But now, this record, we definitely feel a lot more like the first album, a lot more relaxed."

The Foo Fighters have come out swinging against presidential candidate John McCain. Following confirmation that the McCain campaign has indeed been using the Foos' song 'My Hero' at rallies, the band issued the following statement this morning:

"This isn't the first time the McCain campaign has used a song without making any attempt to get approval or permission from the artist. It's frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property. The saddest thing about this is that 'My Hero' was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song..."

Of course, Obama supporters could argue that using the song also tarnishes the Foo Fighters' at large, but we don't think anyone was really fooled. Or, as their song goes, "Truth or consequence, say it aloud."

Stars Talk Sarah Palin

My Morning Jacket leader Jim James was treated and released from Iowa City Hospital after taking one to the head mid-performance Tuesday night. Following a rendition of 'Off the Record,' James fell off the stage, collapsing onto a speaker stack and reportedly landed on his noggin. He wasn't trying to stage dive; he merely misjudged where the stage actually ended.

Drummer Patrick Hallahan told the crowd that, "Jim is really hurt and he's headed to the hospital right now." As a result of the injury, tonight's benefit for Barack Obama at Chicago's Schubas Theater has been canceled. MMJ's shows this Thursday and Friday in the Windy City have also been postponed.

Embarrassing Onstage Antics

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker says he's glad to be alive after surviving the deadly plane crash last month in South Carolina, which left four dead, including his assistant, Chris Baker. Barker, who has aerophobia, endured severe burns in the tragic incident, as did fellow survivor DJ AM.

"I hate planes," Barker, 32, tells Us Weekly. "My biggest fear ever is to be involved in a plane crash, so when that happened ... well, I'm just thankful to be alive. I'm just grateful to be here at all."

After being released from a hospital last week, Barker was transported to a burn center in Los Angeles. Still too afraid to fly cross-country, Barker traveled by bus with his father and ex-wife, Shanna Moakler.

Is there better way to jump start a new project than having Jay-Z sample your bedroom-recorded single in 'American Gangster'? Not really. Just ask the Menahan Street Band, who are unveiling their debut album, which also serves as the band's first non-vinyl release.

"Menahan is more like cooking breakfast with your wife on Sunday morning," ringleader Tommy 'TNT' Brenneck -- who is also known for his songwriting in both the Dap-Kings and the Budos Band -- tells Spinner of the band's sound. Keeping the flavor distinct among these projects is often a challenge for Brenneck, whos is constantly writing. "I write the basics of the song, then decide that this one feels like a Budos tune, or this one feels rights for Sharon [Jones]."