MUSIC > Paul Simon Returns With "Surprise" - collaborated with Brian Eno on ninth studio album

ROLLINGSTONE.COM: Sixteen-time Grammy winner Paul Simon will release Surprise, his much-anticipated collaboration with producer Brian Eno (Talking Heads, U2), on May 9th.

The long-awaited follow-up to Simon's last solo effort, 2000's gold-selling You're the One, was recorded in Eno's London studio, as well as studios in Nashville and New York, and features Herbie Hancock and jazz guitarist Bill Frisell.

Among the album's eleven tracks, which feature Simon's trademark intricate acoustic guitar, is the Oscar-nominated "Father and Daughter," off the soundtrack for the animated film The Wild Thornberrys, as well as the song "Outrageous" and the opener "How Can You Live in the Northeast."

In 1972, when Simon released his self-titled solo debut, he spoke to Rolling Stone about his personal, hands-on recording process. "It wasn't until my own album that I ever started to think to myself, 'What do I really like?'" he said. "I learned every aspect of it has to be your own judgment. You have to say, 'Now, wait a minute, is that the right tempo? Is that the right take?' It's your decision. Nobody else can do it."

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will make his first appearance in support of Surprise at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival on May 7th, and is scheduled to perform on Saturday Night Live on May 13th. Summer and fall tours are also in the works.

MOVIES > Basic Instinct 2 (QuickTime Trailer)

INSTRUMENTS > The New Moog: Yes, it's really called Little Phatty

MUSICTHING.CO.UK: So here it is. Moog's new synth is called Little Phatty (although Moogfans aren't convinced), and it costs $1475. The spec (which you can read here), has been chewed over by every pundit on every forum, but what's new today is what it looks like and how it works. There's a hires image to pour over here. Some back story from the Moog boss here (seems the whole think was Turnkey's idea...)

INSTRUMENTS > Creamware's cheap digital Arp Odyssey

MUSICTHING.CO.UK: Moogulator has a great scoop on this, the latest Creamware ASB box. The Prodyssey is a digital recreation of the Arp Odyssey in a fantastic-looking fader-covered box, which should sell for £600-ish. The rest of the range includes a Minimoog, a Prophet 5 and a Hammond B4. They're basically a VST plugins transformed into hardware, which is a wonderful idea. I really hope they're selling well.

DIGITAL > Plans for .XXX pornography web domain shelved

FT.COM: A plan for a new internet "domain" for pornography has once again been shelved, dealing another blow to the US-backed addressing system.

INTERVIEWS > A conversation with the Beastie Boys

WIRED.COM: Pink Floyd's piano chords. Bernard Herrmann's Psycho score. These are the things a Beastie Boys song is made of. In their two decades, MCA (Adam Yauch), Mike D (Michael Diamond), and Adrock (Adam Horovitz) have proven themselves the most inventive samplers in hip hop. From cramming 200 sonic snatches into 15 songs on 1989's Paul's Boutique, to reworking the Sugarhill Gang's classic "Rappers Delight," one of 22 select samples on their latest, To the 5 Boroughs, the Beasties have made careers of transforming the sounds of the past into cool new music. Wired talks with the Boys about the art of sampling and how making music has changed over the years.

MOBILE > Apple 'iPhone' coming tomorrow/delayed to 2007*

THE REGISTER: Apple will tomorrow announce it is to enter the crowded mobile phone market. Or maybe it won't - it depends on who you talk to. Some say it's planning such a move, others that it's already well on its way to an announcement. Alternative voices claim it has had to delay its scheme for the time being.

The logic behind the move is clear cut: phones capable of playing music are becoming increasingly popular, not only because they're getting better at it and becoming able to store more and more songs, but because vendors with an eye on the success of iPod are promoting the function ever more strongly.

MOVIES > Slither (WindowsMedia Trailer)

SEX > Not tonight darling, I'm online

FT.COM: When pornography met the internet the result was as instantly addictive as crack cocaine - in the US alone 70 per cent of young men log on in search of porn every month. But what does the rise of accessible virtual sex mean for flesh-and-blood relationships?

MUSIC > Guns N' Roses "Chinese Democracy" (magazine review)

SPIN.COM: It's been a long time since Guns N' Roses have released an album of new material. Everybody knows this, but it's a fact that bears repeating. If you purchased a kitten on the day that Use Your Illusion I & II arrived in stores, it's probably dead by now.

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