Music Notes Pearl Jam announce tour dates, MJ merch on sale

- Pearl Jam have announced their North American tour dates. Dates begin in August and last through October. The band will be releasing their ninth studio album, Backspacer, Sept. 20. [SPIN]

- Merchandise from Michael Jackson's now-canceled This Is It tour is up for sale. Fans can purchase official belt buckles, hats, wallets, music and t-shirts from this website. [NME]

- The Swell Season, best known for their work and music in the film Once, will release a new album Sept. 29. The album is titled The Strict Joy. [SPIN]

- Maxwell's new album BLACKsummers'night, which also happens to be his first in eight years, is headed for a big debut on next week's Billboard charts. That being said, it may not end up being the top selling album of the week either. Still, not bad for someone who's been out of the game for a while! [Billboard]

- Erykah Badu is currently recording new music for a project tentatively titled New Amerykah, Pt. 2: Return of the Ankh. No release date has been announced, but she's also doing a little touring at this time. [Billboard]

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Music Notes: Pearl Jam on Target, Morrissey to resume tour

Quick Music Notes today, as I'll be out seeing Art Brut perform tonight (review to follow).

- The rumors are true -- Pearl Jam have partnered up with Target. The band's next release is going to come out without a major U.S. label, but it will be released with a group of partners. Target will be the "'big box' retail partner." The band also filmed a Target commercial directed by Cameron Crowe last week. [Billboard]

- Shortly after canceling his UK tour dates, Morrissey will now resume his world tour in Luxembourg on June 5. The singer has plans to reschedule London and Birmingham gigs for July and October. [NME]

- Moz actually relayed the information above via his MySpace page. And he had more news! An 18-track b-sides compilation called Swords will come out in October. [Morrissey MySpace]

- Pavement's Brighten the Corners will be out as a deluxe vinyl reissue on June 23. [Prefix Mag]

- In addition to planning and recording their next album, Sigur Ros will perform for the Dalai Lama this week. Talk about a spiritual experience! [Paste Magazine]

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Music Notes: Depeche Mode (and more) cancel shows, Kajagoogoo no longer 'too shy'

- The Depeche Mode tour has now shut down until May 21 due to David Gahan's illness. [Rolling Stone]

- Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan's US tour has been postponed until September. Campbell announced the delay via MySpace, citing "unavoidable circumstances," and adding that tickets purchased for upcoming shows would still be valid in September. Campbell was previously affiliated with Belle & Sebastian, while Lanegan is better known for his work with Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age and the Gutter Twins. [NME]

- Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament was robbed and assaulted in Atlanta, where the band is currently recording a new album. The incident was caught on camera, though no suspects have been apprehended yet. [SPIN]

- In a total WTF? moment: Kajagoogoo have reunited. Yes. [Yahoo! Music]

- Paste Magazine is sadly among the music publications suffering in the global recession. The magazine is turning to readers for help — in exchange for a donation, you can receive rare and exclusive tracks from artists like The Decemberists, Neko Case, G. Love, The Hives and more... Remember, without these publications, blogs would have a tough time existing as well! [Paste Magazine]

- Random release: David Bowie's episode of Storytellers (1999, VH1) will be released as a CD/DVD set, and as a download on July 14 by Virgin/EMI. [Pitchfork]

- Download a live acoustic rendition (free) of A Camp's "I Signed The Line." [SPIN]

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Music Notes: Coldplay to give away free live album, Pearl Jam to tour overseas

- Coldplay will be giving away a free live CD, LeftRightLeftRight, at all their remaining live shows in 2009 (excluding festival appearances). This will start with the band's May 15 show in West Palm Beach, Florida. The band also intends to make the CD available as a free download via their website starting May 15. You have to admit, it's pretty nice of them. [Coldplay.com]

- Australian singer Sia (also known for her work with Zero 7) will be releasing her first DVD and a live EP in the near future. TV is My Parent, the DVD, will feature live concert footage from New York's Hiro Ballroom, four music videos, and behind the scenes footage. The DVD is set for release on May 19. The Live From Sidney EP will feature seven live tracks. It will be released digitally on May 5. [NME, Amazon.com]

- Pearl Jam have announced a small European summer tour. [Paste Magazine]

- So in slightly weird/potentially horrifying news, the Kanye West/Jared Leto collaboration is real. Kanye collaborated with Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars on a track titled "Hurricane." The track is supposed to appear on the band's next album. [Pitchfork]

- Sad news: Seven-months-pregnant Kelis has filed for divorce from husband Nas, citing "irreconcilable differences." [E! Online]

- And last but not least, No Doubt reunited on the Today Show today. You can watch their different performances on the show's website, but you can watch an embedded version of "Spiderwebs" from Tragic Kingdom below [Today]:

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