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Tim Armstrong gets down and dirty with a Warped tour crowd in Atlanta Georgia while performing with Rancid. The punk rock pioneer will be releasing his debut solo record on May 22 and offering a free version via a virtual scavenger hunt.

Who doesn’t like a good scavenger hunt these days? A toilet seat from the bathroom of Denny’s? No problem. Scavenger hunts are fun and Rancid/Operation Ivy’s Tim Armstrong knows this and will be giving away his solo debut to fans who complete a virtual scavenger hunt each Tuesday between now and the album’s official release date on May 22. He’s either doing such a stunt to give back to the fans or get schmucks like me to write about his new album.

REALITY TV LAME-O-RAMA Can the music industry get even more absurd? What’s next? A punk rock band records on instruments made entirely of fecal matter in a nuclear sub at the bottom of the Pacific? Atlanta’s Cartel, MTV and Dr. Pepper are teaming up to create the most lame reality based concept of all time. On May 21 the band will trap themselves into a giant transparent bubble on Pier 54 in New York City until June 12. Why you ask? Because people who watch TV are lame and actually it might be really entertaining to watch the four part episode on MTV. Or you can go to drpepperbubble.com and watch the video feed from 23 web cams. But I won’t be watching. You’ll even be able to penetrate the bubble to extreme depths with special codes from soda bottle tops. The band will even sleep in a pod bunks suspended nine feet above the floor (almost like the lofts a Whaley’s Mill!).

R.I.P. MR. REITMEYER Gary Reitmeyer, the founding guitarist for U.S. Chaos, one of the first Oi! bands passed away on Tuesday, April 17. The pioneering street-punk band formed in early 1981 in New Jersey from the ashes of the Radicals (which included Alex Kinen who would eventually form Agnostic Front). Reitmeyer performed with the band from it’s inception until 1986 and then later rejoined the group when they reunited in 1996.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH On Radiohead’s official blog spot, Thom Yorke rants about a recent climate change law (aimed to reduce CO2 emissions) while dropping hints about new material from the band. Yorke describes helping Friends of the Earth and their campaign “as well as working long hours with Radiohead on these songs we’ve got which you may know about.” So just maybe, this could indicate new material for the most adored band on the planet.

INTERPOL: 7.10.07 In other vague news about really hip bands, Interpol may be dropping a new record in July. The first page of the band’s website shows a beautiful snow covered mountain range, their name and the date 7.10.07. July 7 will be a Tuesday which of course is the day of the week that new CDs appear on store shelves. Keep an ear out on the web for those early leaks!

WILL 50 CENT DROP THE ‘HO’ One June 26 (barring a the usual set of release changes) Curtis, 50 Cent’s follow-up to 2005’s The Massacre will destroy the competition on CD shelves. It appears that the rapper has recruited the trinity of Dr. Dre, Eminem and Timbaland probably the most successful entities in the world of hip-hop. The label has announced guest appearances from Eminem, Akon, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls. Now for the big question on everyone’s minds. Will 50 Cent’s new release show any effects from the latest efforts of the Russell Simmons and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network after a recommendation that the recording and broadcast industries voluntarily censor the “misogynistic” words “bitch and “ho” and the “racially offensive” word “n*gger” from future recordings.

WE CAN BE FRIENDS WITH DINOSAURS Like any good kid in their 20s I can’t ignore reporting on some more Get Up Kids related news. As reported before, singer Matt Pryor had been working on a solo project of children’s music called the Terrible Twos. The album, If You Ever See an Owl shines in absolute brilliance and is currently available for streaming on vagrant.com.

FINEST WORKSONGS FROM ATHENS Here in Columbia there’s a big part of the population who won’t ever be able to get past those days of Hootie. A lot of our neighbors in Athens of course, are still stuck on R.E.M. but I’m not going to talk about which one may be a little more respectable. On May 29 we’ll be privied to take a listen to Finest Worksongs: Athens Bands Play the Music of R.E.M. Athen’s based Iron Horse Records will be releasing the compilation featuring covers by Five Eight, Patterson Hood (of the Drive By Truckers), and the Modern Skirts.

I LIKE FOOD, FOOD TASTES GOOD Next time your out boozing at the Whig, Art Bar, or New Brookland and you get back to your pad past Beezers’ delivering times you’ll want to pull out the newest, hippest cookbook, I Like Food, Food Tastes Good. With recipes from Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab For Cutie, Belle & Sebastian and way more you’ll surely find something to cook up while listening (crying) to that new Bright eyes album.