Chris Cornell is scaring the shit out of his fans. And by ‘fans’ I don’t mean the middle-aged American Idol moms who never quite got on board the rock train in high school but squeal with delight that a legitimate “rocker” has shifted his sonic compass to more mainstream, generic balladry. I mean fans like me, who have stuck around through the highs and lows of Soundgarden and even Audioslave, faithfully confident in the darker hours that Cornell would find his way out of the mess and rise up with better material the next time.

Here’s the latest leak, a “hidden track” off Scream called Two Drink Minimum. It’s far and away the best of what’s leaked so far, but that really isn’t saying much.

Queens Of The Stone Age lost a very close personal friend on July 2nd. Natasha Shneider, from the band Eleven, died of cancer. She had joined QOTSA along with partner Alain Johannes for most (if not all) of the Lullabies To Paralyze tours, and showed up on many a Queens song, and many a Desert Sessions song. She was a beautiful woman, and a talented musician, who likely appears on more than one album you consider among your favorites of all time if you’re a regular here.

So Homme and Queens Of The Stone Age organized a concert to celebrate her life, inviting all of her friends; All proceeds to go to the Natasha Shneider Memorial Fund. Tickets were $100 each, and the event sold out.

It’s that time again, boys and girls- after a month or so of digging, I present to you the latest batch of cover songs that stand out above the rest. Along the way, I was reminded of exactly why 311 should never be let near instruments or microphones ever again (their take on The Cure’s Lovesong), and was forced to ask the question: who the fuck told Atreyu it was a good idea to cover You Give Love A Bad Name? You don’t cover Bon Jovi, man. Even if you’re not a screamy little pile of dogshit. It’s not ironic, it’s not hip. Just… don’t.

But I digress. Here’s the jams, kids. Turn ‘em up.