Rolling Stone Tuesday September 4, 2007

TODAY'S TOP ROCK HEADLINES

RANDOM NOTES: SMASHING PUMPKINS, JANET JACKSON AND MORE Click HERE to check out the week in photos, including Janet Jackson at the U.S. Open, Bjork celebrating Kelis' birthday, Smashing Pumpkins at England's Reading festival and more.

BRITNEY SPEARS DEBUTS NEW SONG, CONFIRMS ALBUM RELEASE The music world is abuzz with word of Britney Spears music, which began with the debut of "Gimme More," the first single off her upcoming album. The still-untitled record has been confirmed for a November 13 release. Click HERE for full details, including the latest on Spears' expected appearance at this weekend's MTV Video Music Awards.

PETER TRAVERS' FALL MOVIE PREVIEW: 'AMERICAN GANGSTER,' 'SWEENEY TODD,' STEVE CARELL, TOM CRUISE AND MORE Click HERE to watch Peter Travers' take on the hottest movies coming during this "freaky-deaky" fall, including the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men starring Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem, American Gangster, featuring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, David Cronenberg's gritty Eastern Promises and six films focusing on Iraq or Afghanistan.

INSIDE THIS WEEK'S ANNOUNCEMENT As anticipation for tomorrow's Apple presentation grew, rumors ranging from the Beatles catalog finally appearing on iTunes to the introduction of a touch screen iPod have been spreading amongst tech-geeks and the non-tech savvy alike. Click HERE to read the top five rumors, and check back with RollingStone.com for updates on the big announcement.

IN THE STUDIO: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard has revealed the muse for his band's next record: it's Jack Kerouac's Big Sur, an exploration of the perils of addiction and arrested development. Gibbard says working with Kerouac's nephew on a documentary about the book inspired him to plan a retreat to the cabin where Kerouac penned it in order to churn out ideas for the next Death Cab album. Click HERE for more from Gibbard.

For more of the latest music news - including stories on Led Zeppelin and Amy Winehouse, and the next episode of New Music Tuesdays - visit RollingStone.com.

TODAY'S PICKS

DAILY TRACK: Aesop Rock - "None Shall Pass" Indie rap's wordiest wordsmith unleashes another dose of dense, hyper-enunciated rhymes filled with poetic imagery. "None Shall Pass" paints a dark picture of peer pressure: "Flash that buttery gold, jittery zeitgeist/Wither by the watering hole, water patrol." Click HERE for more on Aesop Rock's album.

DAILY VIDEO: Peter Travers' Fall Movie Preview: 'American Gangster,' 'Sweeney Todd,' Steve Carell, Tm Cruise and more

DAILY REVIEW: Linda Thompson - Versatile Heart Richard and Linda Thompson's breakup had dire musical consequences. Solo, the bravura guitarist never matched the grace or depth of his duo work, and even worse, "hysterical dysphonia" prevented Linda from singing for years on end. With Versatile Heart, she's finally acrid again -- helped by Steven Bernstein's horn arrangement on the memorable title tune, Rufus Wainwright's jaundiced eye on the specially composed "Beauty," protofeminist wisdom on the traditional "Katy Cruel." Click HERE for more on Thompson's album.

ARTIST OF THE DAY: BRITNEY SPEARS The complete ROLLINGSTONE.COM archive includes videos, photos, interviews, reviews, and more.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS Beyonce, 26 Mark Ronson, 30 TODAY'S ROCK ON TV (ALL TIMES EST) NBC 11:35pm - The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: RODRIGO Y GABRIELA 1:35am - Last Call with Carson Daly: MIMS CBS 11:35pm - The Late Show with David Letterman: PATTI SCIALFA ABC 12:05am - Jimmy Kimmel Live: GOGOL BORDELLO