Former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe returned to The Simpsons for the second time during Sunday’s season 37 finale. Stipe performed a parody of R.E.M.’s 1992 hit “Everybody Hurts” in the episode “Homer? A Cracker Bro?,” which featured Homer Simpson and Kirk Van Houten starting a crumbless cracker company. The song includes the pun “Everybody Kirks, crumb times” and addresses Van Houten’s depression following a manic episode that disrupts his successful business. Stipe’s animated character is dressed just like he was in the iconic music video for “Everybody Hurts.” “I was super flattered to be invited back into The Simpsons universe, and particularly with this grand message of great hope,” Stipe wrote in an Instagram post on R.E.M.’s page. His first Simpsons appearance was in 2001 when R.E.M. played Homer’s garage bar after being told it benefited rainforest conservation. (Stereogum
Weezer has just unveiled Coloring Book, a six-LP vinyl collection containing all their color-themed albums packaged together for the first time. The set includes The Blue Album, The Green Album, The Red Album, The White Album, The Black Album, and The Teal Album, with each record pressed on matching colored vinyl. Beyond music, the package functions as an actual coloring book featuring 72 original illustrations by artist Alec Longstreth and includes six markers. A limited deluxe edition of 100 copies adds a Weezer backpack and signed lithograph. The release follows other recent vinyl announcements from the band, including 1192, a compilation of early demos and rarities set to be released on Record Store Day 2026, and a 7-inch blue vinyl of their 2025 Lollapalooza collaboration with Olivia Rodrigo on live versions of “Buddy Holly” and “Say It Ain’t So.” Pre-orders for the box set are available through the official Weezer online store. (Consequence of Sound)
Foo Fighters have posted 10 new musical riffs on their official website, likely previewing their upcoming 12th studio album. The brief clips last between five and 13 seconds each, with most being instrumental excerpts. Only one features vocals, where frontman Dave Grohl repeatedly sings “Turn the cameras off.” Fans can access the song snippets on the site’s homepage by clicking on various band posters displayed on a bedroom wall alongside a guitar and stacks of CDs. The band recently performed in Australia, where Grohl announced to the crowd, “We might have a whole new record of fu**ing songs that we just finished the other day.” Foo Fighters’ North American stadium tour with Queens of the Stone Age runs from August 4 through September 26, and features the band’s new drummer Ilan Rubin. Former Foos drummer Josh Freese admitted to Modern Drummer that he still doesn’t know why he was dismissed, saying “I did not see that coming.” (Variety)
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello premiered his directorial debut, The Ballad of Judas Priest, at the Berlin Film Festival, calling it an opportunity to “make a documentary about one of your favorite bands and fight fascism at the same time.” Morello co-directed the film with Sam Dunn, which follows the legendary heavy metal band from their working-class English origins to their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. The documentary also explores vocalist Rob Halford‘s experience as a closeted gay man in heavy metal and examines the band’s controversial trial during the 1980s Satanic panic. At the film festival’s press conference, Halford said he channels his anger into music after “seeing things in the world that affect me that get me pissed off and thinking, ‘Is there a way that I can put this in a song?’ And I’ve been doing that forever.” The band shared the first teaser clip from the documentary on Monday (Feb. 16), with the film set for wider release later this year. (Variety)
Jerry Kennedy, the session guitarist behind a series of iconic country music recordings and classic rock hits, died on Wednesday (Feb. 11) at the age 85. The news of his passing was confirmed by the Country Music Hall of Fame on Thursday. Kennedy played the memorable opening riffs on Tammy Wynette‘s “Stand By Your Man,” Roy Orbison‘s “Pretty Woman,” and Jeannie C. Riley’s chart-topping hit, “Harper Valley PTA.” Born in Shreveport, Louisiana in August 1940, Kennedy signed with RCA Records at just 11 years old, and released several early singles that featured contributions by Chet Atkins. Kennedy went on to play guitar on classic songs by Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roger Miller, and Kris Kristofferson. He later became a producer, heading Mercury’s country division and working with Reba McEntire, The Statler Brothers, and Tom T. Hall. His son Gordon Kennedy is a Grammy-winning songwriter. Country Music Hall of Fame CEO Kyle Young said Kennedy was a “first-call session musician” who “created signature licks that were as recognizable as song titles.” Young also praised Kennedy’s work as a producer and a record label executive, adding that “he built a sonic platform for giants to stand on” while possessing a “spiritual understanding of music’s power to reach beyond social and stylistic boundaries.” (Taste of Country)