For several years The Smashing Pumpkins have baffled fans and outsiders alike through moves like unexpected lineup changes and their reticence to play more than a few classic tunes at concerts.

In the band’s recent backstage sitdown at London’s O2 Academy, Billy Corgan and crew addressed many of those topics. Corgan’s thoughts on the current version of the band seemed to point to what was missing in previous incarnations: “I think this particular lineup of the band is very good for who we need to be today — which is nimble, quick, very diverse. We play a progressive style, we’re very consistent, we get a long very well, we like working together, we have common musical goals and I think we have a very bright future.”

The group axed a number of shows in July after Caleb walked offstage midway through a concert in Dallas, Texas amid complaints about the intense heat and problems with his voice.

The band subsequently went on hiatus and online gossips suggested Caleb booked in for treatment in rehab, but Nathan is adamant alcohol was not a factor in the group’s decision to take a break.

He tells News.com.au, “Ah, no. No rehab. The drinking definitely wasn’t what happened in Dallas. It was 43 degrees that day. It was dehydration and overheating. Before the show you could hear in his voice, it wasn’t all there. But if we’d stopped the show there’d be a huge uproar about us cancelling right before we went on stage. Unfortunately the heat got to a couple of us and it unfolded the way it unfolded…”

Nathan insists the break “did us all good” as it allowed the rockers time to recuperate from the rigors of touring, adding, “We all knew we just needed to take a break. Caleb’s voice was completely shot… The European tour before it was a strenuous tour for us. The American tour – everything just kinda came to a head.”

“If you work yourself too hard, you’ll stop one way or another. Some people probably thought it was the end… (But) we’re family, we love each other. I don’t think we’d ever be able to stay away from it much longer than we did.”

The musician is a big fan of the horror genre and was delighted to be asked to appear in an episode of the drama show.  Ian happily spent hours in the make-up chair in August  preparing to film his role as a member of the undead and he insists all the hard work was worth it.

In a post on his official website, he writes, “My agent got the call asking if I wanted to come down and get made up to play a zombie… for AMC’s The Walking Dead directed by Greg Nicotero (effects God). I couldn’t say yes to this fast enough… I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life. Zombies have always been my favorite genre of horror and to participate in something as killer as The Walking Dead would just be amazing. Truly my Make-A-Wish moment!”

“I got to the set and headed straight for the makeup trailer. I was told I was getting the full-on zombie ‘hero’ makeup. That means I get the sick head/neck wounds done with silicone appliqués… The whole process was pretty painless, even sitting for 90 minutes was cool because they were putting zombie makeup on me. I would’ve sat for five hours, I was so stoked.”

After filming his scenes, Ian insisted on keeping his make-up on for the journey home.

He adds, “I kept the make-up on after the shoot and headed home. I got some great looks from people in other cars. I wanted to keep the makeup on all week! I got home and fed my eight-week-old son. His reaction was basically, ‘Yeah, whatever, feed me ugly’.”

The second season of The Walking Dead premieres this Sunday, October 16th.

The “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” hitmakers, fronted by twins Benji and Joel Madden, wrapped up a tour of Europe last month and have just one more gig scheduled at a music festival in Russia in October.

The punk stars are then planning to take some time out from their busy work schedules to just enjoy life.

Benji Madden tells RollingStone.com, “We’re stepping away from the grind of making records and touring for a minute, just to have fun and be creative like we were when we were 15.”

But the twins are preparing to serve up a treat for fans before they go on their career break – a free mixtape, titled “Before The Fame: The Madden Brothers,” will be released on October 1.

And Joel Madden has alerted fans to expect some cool new sounds.

He says, “We’re already having a blast in our studio with all these new artists making music just for fun. And the mixtape’s free, they’re going to get it for free, there’s no quota we’re trying to fill, there’s no machine we’re trying to fuel, we just want to make music with new artists and god bless (record label bosses at) EMI, they let us do what we want.”

Like the regular newspaper and magazine columns, the book, called Trust Me, I’m Dr. Ozzy – Advice from Rock’s Ultimate Survivor, sees Ozzy share his hard-won wisdom on a wide variety of topics. The book will also offer memoir-style survival stories never before published.

Ozzy’s advice is generally given in the form of an anecdote about misadventures in his younger days, but the columns also have included insight on how he coped when wife Sharon was diagnosed with cancer, and warnings against the risk of cocaine: “[it] puts a lot of stress on that little wotsit that hangs down at the back of your throat – the epiglottis, or the ‘clack,’ as I’ve always called it. In the mid-1970s, I was taking so much coke, I tore my clack in half.”

Screenwriter Jim Uhls is working on a script for the science-fiction miniseries, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Uhls has previously worked on the screenplays for Fight Club and Jumper.

Reznor’s been heavily involved in the TV/movie world as of late. In addition to Year Zero, he won an Academy Award with Atticus Ross for their score for The Social Network earlier this year. He and Ross also have been working on the score for the American remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

When he was told to stop using alcohol last year as a result of suffering serious blood clots in his legs, that’s just what he did: he stopped. And he says that’s the approach he expects from his band.

“The complaint department is closed. You don’t go to rehab, you just stop drinking. That’s Black Label rehab: it’s a one-step programme. Shut up and stop drinking,” Wylde tells the Press of Atlantic City. “I don’t have time for ‘I have a heroin problem,’ I don’t fucking care. I don’t care what you did yesterday or six months ago – I got shit to get done.”

The trailer stars Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Elijah Wood, Will Ferrell, Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Ted Danson, Stanley Tucci, Rainn Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Steve Buscemi, Will Arnett and Susan Sarandon.

The short film apparently takes place right after the original “Fight for Your Right” music video, and has something to do with the Beasties Brothers from the 80s meeting the Beastie Boys from today.

Their new album and the movie, Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2, come out May 3.

And, in his just-released collection of rock interviews, the writer claims Love suggested snorting the remains up her nose. Strauss insists the rocker was “serious when she made the suggestion.” According to his new book, Love said, “Too bad you don’t do coke. Otherwise I’d suggest taking a metal straw to it.”

Team Sheen, rejoice and be glad, because now you too can drink Tiger’s Blood and pAArty like Charlie Sheen. Harco Laboratories has just released a new energy drink that promises to pack enough of a punch to bring you to a Charlie level of insanity winning!

Via the companies the website, Harco promises that their “Bi-Winning Tiger Blood” will give you all the energy you need to conquer your day while merely sipping on their libation in your own Sober Valley Lodge. They add:

“It’s made from 100% passion specifically to make your brain fire in a way that’s not from this particular terrestrial realm. Tiger Blood allows you to use household items, you’re welcome to take more drugs than anyone can survive. Be different, have a different brain, and a different heart. When you feel Tiger Blood in your veins, you’ll realize dying’s for fools and that can’t is the cancer of happen. Period. The end.

Note: This product does not do any of the above, and we don’t know what banging 7 gram rocks means. It is, however, a delicious fruit punch flavored energy shot packing 80mg of caffeine. WINNING.

Also: Don’t do drugs. Seriously. Don’t. Do. Drugs.”

Radical. Bitchin’. Tubular. (Wait, has he used that one yet? Eh, only a matter of time.)

One bag will cost your $4, but an “epic 4-pack” can be purchased for $15.96. Take our advice – save your money. Do yourself one better and heed their disclaimer about not doing drugs.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ozzy Osbourne was touring America in support of the Diary of a Madman album with his Night of the Living Dead tour. The album title was strangely apt since stage shows had become more and more outrageous. At the end of a gig Ozzy would catapult meat (mostly intestines from a butchers shop) into the crowd. Naturally, Ozzy fans started to get into the spirit of the event and started bringing their own meaty offerings to shows. One fan was turned away from a concert for bringing in a whole Ox’s head. On top of that, word was out that at a meeting with his record company in Los Angeles, Ozzy had bitten the head off a dove and fans were now beginning to bring small creatures of their own to gigs.

But that was the tone of relations between Ozzy and fans. So on this otherwise unremarkable night in Iowa, someone at the Des Moines concert threw a bat on stage. The bat, stunned by the bright lights, lay seemingly dead on the ground. Ozzy, always the showman of course, picked up the animal and bit into it. When the bat reacted by flapping its wings, Ozzy knew it was alive and, more importantly, a real bat (he later said he had presumed it was made of rubber). Ozzy was immediately rushed to hospital for rabies shots – not the best end to an evening.

The singer stunned fans during a performance at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally when he fell off the stage and broke his shoulder, forcing the rockers to cancel the remainder of their North American tour.

Tyler previously put the accident down to a mis-timed dance move, but he’s now come clean about the real reason behind the incident.

He tells talk show host David Letterman, “I guess it’s not any news about my drug use and addictions in the past… So a couple of years ago I was doing Lunesta (sedative) because I had some problems with my feet… That’s the tip of the iceberg. I was snorting that, I fell off the stage… That shows you what kind of a drug addict I was.”

“Only the finest for me… I was looking for any excuse to get high and I should have been using my band because my band is the strongest drug I’ve ever had.”

Tyler checked into rehab four months after the accident to kick his addiction for good.

While the voting is, unfortunately, limited to a list of 40 previously played songs, there are still some intriguing choices available for voters, including Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite,” Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin” and “Blue Sky” by Big Head Todd. The top two vote-getters will wake up the crew on their 11-day mission.

A second component of the promotion allows aspiring musicians to submit original songs, with the winning entry to be played on the last planned shuttle mission aboard the Endeavor in February.

Interested in either voting on the Discovery song list or submitting an entry for the Endeavor mission? Visit the NASA website.

The rock stars fell out five years ago while Iron Maiden were performing with Osbourne’s Ozzfest tour.

Dickinson was accused of criticizing the Black Sabbath star during the shows and Osbourne’s wife Sharon was so angry, she allegedly arranged to have eggs thrown at the singer while he was on stage.

And Osbourne admits he still hasn’t forgiven Dickinson – calling his behavior “childish” and “irresponsible”.

He tells The Quietus, “Every night he was going on stage sl**ging me off. And that wasn’t fair. If he didn’t like the f**king tour, he should have said, ‘I’m jumping (off) the f**king tour…’ I’d never said a f**king bad thing to him…

“Sharon got p**sed off… It was nothing to do with me. I’ll back my wife up to the hilt, but I didn’t know what was going down (with the alleged egg-throwing). But you know what? (Iron Maiden were getting) a few f**king quid (pounds) out of that Ozzfest. If you’ve got something to talk to me about, be a man. Come to my face and say, ‘I think you’re a f**king a**hole.’

“Don’t be a f**king idiot. It’s so pathetically childish…

“To this day I don’t understand what the f**king beef (problem) was. I just don’t get it… I really think he needs a f**king psychiatrist if he does that, he’s f**king nuts. It’s an irresponsible f**king thing to do. Sharon must have got p**sed off with this c**t, you know.”