R.E.M.
Photo: Carlos Alvarez/ Getty Images

A diverse group of musicians joined a coalition on Tuesday asking that the Obama administration close down the terror suspect camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Taking issue with their music reportedly being blasted at ear-bleeding levels in an attempt to break uncooperative terror suspects, artists including R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle and Billy Bragg announced their support for the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo, according to The Associated Press.

As part of their effort, the National Security Archive in Washington is filing a Freedom of Information Act request in an effort to uncover classified records that detail the use of loud music as an interrogation device. A November 2008 report by the Senate Armed Services Committee makes several references to the use of loud music as an interrogation tool, including the case of a Mauritanian prisoner who was allegedly blasted with music, such as Drowning Pool's "Bodies," to "stress" him because he believed listening music was forbidden. Drowning Pool has not objected to the use of its music at Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. detention sites.

Among the songs reportedly played at high volumes near prisoners in the detention camp are death-metal band Deicide's "F--- Your God," Metallica's "Enter Sandman," the Meow Mix cat food jingle, music from "Sesame Street," Don McLean's "American Pie," Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.," Nine Inch Nails' "March of the Pigs," Queen's "We Will Rock You," the "I Love You" song from the children's show "Barney," as well as tunes by R.E.M., Pearl Jam, AC/DC, Britney Spears, the Bee Gees, Marilyn Manson, and others.

A spokesperson for the Joint Task Force Guantanamo told the AP that loud music has not been used with detainees since the fall of 2003; the first batch of prisoners were sent to the facility in January 2002. President Obama signed an executive order on January 22, 2009, pledging to close the facility within a year, but the move has drawn criticism from some Republican members of Congress, and it is unclear if the timetable will be achieved. A CIA spokesperson said the music was used for security purposes, to block detainees from communicating with each other, for instance, not for "punitive purposes — and at levels far below a live rock band."

According to BBC News, in a statement announcing their participation in the coalition, R.E.M. said, "We have spent the past 30 years supporting causes related to peace and justice. To now learn that some of our friends' music may have been used as part of the torture tactics without their consent or knowledge is horrific. It's anti-American, period."

• Nine Inch Nails
• Pearl Jam
• R.E.M.

Pearl Jam's <i>Backspacer</i>
Photo: Universal Music Group

If Pearl Jam have proved anything over their nearly 20-year career, it's that you can go your own way and still have it your way. Case in point: Their first non-major label album, Backspacer, will bring the grunge godheads back to the top of the Billboard 200 charts for the first time in 13 years next week. The disc, which was sold in an exclusive with Target stores, as well as at independent retailers, iTunes and through the band's Web site, moved 189,000 copies last week, easily ending Jay-Z's two-week reign at #1, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan.

Jay isn't too far behind at #2 with The Blueprint 3, which lost 55 percent of its business from the previous week, while still managing to sell 134,000 copies, for a three-week total of 908,000. There are also a few new faces in the top 10, including Canadian rockers Three Days Grace, whose Life Starts Now bows at #3 (79,000); Brand New, who hit #6 with Daisy (46,000); metal act Five Finger Death Punch's War Is the Answer (#7, 44,000) and crooner Harry Connick Jr. with Your Songs (#8, 37,000).

The rest of the top 10 are Whitney Houston's I Look to You (#4, 66,000), Miley Cyrus' Time of Our Lives EP (#5, 61,000), Drake's So Far Gone (#9, 36,000) and Muse's The Resistance (#10, 36,000, down 72 percent from the previous week).

Just outside the top 10, the indie supergroup Monsters of Folk leap up 128 spots to #15 in the first week of wide release for their self-titled debut (31,000). Kid Cudi, meanwhile, had a rough second week, as his Man on the Moon: The End of the Day shed 73 percent of its debut-week business and slides 13 spots to #17.

Perez Hilton's musical crush, flamboyant pop singer Mika, debuts at #19 with The Boy Who Knew Too Much (27,000), while another of his obsessions, Lady Gaga, sees her Fame drop eight spots (#20, 25,000) following the post-VMA climb. She's now within spitting distance of 1.5 million albums sold.

After a smash debut, "Fire Burning" singer Sean Kingston opens at a low flame with his second effort, Tomorrow, which comes in at #37 (13,000). Formerly noisy English trio the Noisettes hit #98 with their soulful musical re-imagination Wild Young Hearts (5,000), and fellow Brits the Big Pink manage a #138 bow with A Brief History of Love (3,300).

Look for chart debuts next week from Mariah Carey, Paramore, Barbra Streisand, Alice in Chains, AFI and Selena Gomez.

• Pearl Jam
• Jay-Z

Pearl Jam's Mike McCready
Photo: MTV News

Pearl Jam's Backspacer, which just got its exclusive release at Target stores on Sunday, is a lean, 11-track album that focuses less on the group's penchant for long live jams and more on intense, three-minute garage-rock tunes. In the age of epic double albums and never-ending streams of bonus tracks, it seems unusual for a rock act to keep it so efficient. That's not to say they took a more casual approach this time around — they kept things tight on purpose.

"We had about 17 to 20 ideas going into this project, and when we had 11 about finished, [producer] Brendan [O'Brien] and [frontman] Ed [Vedder] sat down and said, 'This looks like a really good record,' " guitarist Mike McCready told MTV News. "[Guitarist] Stone [Gossard] had been talking about wanting to have a record that was shorter and more concise, and I think we achieved that."

The inspiration to keep the album concise came mostly from their urge to capture the vibe of albums they loved growing up. "It hearkens back to our favorite records," McCready explained. "Aerosmith's Rocks had nine songs; all the old Van Halen albums had eight or nine songs. I'm dating myself, but those are really good records to me, and you don't have to have a lot of stuff on them."

So, will those other songs that didn't make the cut get banished to the bottom of the group's B-sides pile? Not quite. In fact, they've got big plans for those too. "We still have other songs that are out there that are from this session that we may do something with in about six months," McCready said.

• Pearl Jam's Mike McCready Talks New Album, Backspacer

• Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam's Mike McCready
Photo: MTV News

When Pearl Jam released their most recent album in 2006, they left it self-titled, as if to suggest that they were getting back to their roots. The new album, which comes out on Sunday (September 20) exclusively at Target stores, will carry the title Backspacer. Does that mean the band is on some sort of retreat, looking to erase the past few years?

Actually, as guitarist Mike McCready explained to MTV News, the origin of the title is a lot simpler. "[Eddie Vedder] got the initial idea from these 1930s typewriters that he collects and writes his lyrics on. There's a key on it that says 'Backspacer,' " he said. "Now it says 'Backspace,' I believe. But that's where he got that."

That's not to say that McCready doesn't take another, deeper meaning away from the record's title. "I think it's also about looking over your life, from when you're a kid all the way up until now. There will be some artwork that will show you what I'm talking about."

The artwork in question comes courtesy of cartoonist Tom Tomorrow, the man behind acerbic political comic strip "This Modern World." Pearl Jam even made the art a part of the build-up for the album, sprinkling parts of the record's cover across various sites on the Internet and leaving fans to find all nine components in a sort of online scavenger hunt. Ultimately, McCready promises the art will inform the songs themselves. "Some young thought processes turn into art forms on the record," he said.

• Pearl Jam's Mike McCready Talks New Album, Backspacer

• Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam's Mike McCready
Photo: MTV News

Pearl Jam already have several links to "Rock Band," as they have made their classic debut Ten available in its entirety as a playable download and will be dropping their forthcoming album Backspacer in the same fashion once it's released September 20. And though founding guitarist Mike McCready has played the game and is excited for the Wednesday (September 9) release of "The Beatles: Rock Band," he has a confession to make.

"I honestly grew up listening to the Stones more," McCready told MTV News at the Outside Lands Festival. "But that doesn't mean I don't love the Beatles."

McCready cited the band's harmonies as a musical development that really inspired him, and he also gave a nod to a classic piece of video. "The concert footage on the roof was probably something that was integral in my growing up."

The footage in question is the surprise show the Beatles gave in January 1969 that marked the end of the recording of Let It Be and ended up being the band's final public appearance together. McCready did learn one profound thing from the Beatles. "My manager says you never want to release anything against the Beatles, because they'll always win," he joked. "And they should, because they were phenomenal."

As for "Rock Band," McCready admitted he needs practice. "I play 'Rock Band' with my friends' kids, and they completely beat me senseless with it," he admitted. "I feel like I'm holding them back. I try to play the drums, and I just can't play the drums. I think I need to work on my skills."

But when Backspacer becomes available as a playable full-album download, McCready said players will be able to develop their skills on a few of his favorite tracks. "I would say try the solo on 'Amongst the Waves.' And just rock out to 'Gonna See My Friend.' That'll be fun to jump around to and play. Stomp as much as you possibly can. That's rock!"

For more on "The Beatles: Rock Band" check out Multiplayer.MTV.com.

• The Beatles Vintage Videos
• The Beatles: Rock Band Video Mods

• The Beatles
• Pearl Jam

Silversun Pickups' Brian Aubert performing at the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco on Friday
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

SAN FRANCISCO — Though the opening day of the second annual Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park was full of young bands trying to make their mark, the day's music was dominated by a handful of wily veterans lead by headliners and soon-to-be-considered-classic rockers Pearl Jam.

	Inside The Outside Lands Music Festval

The seminal grunge outfit — about to release their ninth studio album, Backspacer — turned in a two-hour set full of hits, passion and none of the power outages that marred Radiohead's set at the same time and place last year. Eddie Vedder mentioned early on that the band's current tour, which wrapped with this show, had taken a toll on him and his voice, but his fans were more than happy to help out on favorites like "Black" and "Better Man." Mike McCready's no-look, over-the-head solo during "Even Flow" proved that these guys could play these songs in their sleep, but the band seemed genuinely excited to be out there (especially the pogoing McCready), and they reserved a special energy for new tracks like "The Fixer." Pearl Jam began to close their set with "Alive" before coming back with a Neil Young double-shot of "Throw Your Hatred Down" and "Rockin' in the Free World."

Just in case anyone needed proof of Pearl Jam's influence on alternative rock, Incubus played right before them and showed off why it just put out a hits disc, getting the crowd riled up with songs like "Megalomaniac" and "Stellar." Like Vedder, Incubus singer Brandon Boyd attributed his vocal weakness to a combination of fatigue (they were also ending their tour at Outside Lands) and a cold, but his decision to take his friends' advice to drink wine seemed like a good one.

Still, even Pearl Jam didn't get as many onstage shout-outs as Built to Spill. Vedder himself thanked the band by name and Silversun Pickups frontman Brian Aubert twice referred to them as "one of the best f---ing bands ever." Unfortunately, neither of those compliments made up for the fact that Doug Martsch and Company's set just wasn't loud enough. With three guitarists in tow — and Martsch being one of the noisier guitar heroes on the scene — one would have hoped that a festival setting would help make Built to Spill's songs larger than life. Instead, "Car," "You Were Right," and "Big Dipper" remained little more than nice pop songs.

The volume didn't stay low for long, though. Perhaps the only indie-rock group with enough volume to open for Metallica (which it did at this year's South By Southwest festival), Silversun Pickups brought bucketfuls of sweet distortion to its mid-afternoon set. Singer Brian Aubert tends to know exactly when to let loose for added effect, while bassist Nikki Monninger — whose purple dress matched Christopher Guanlao's drums — does a good job of shooting the crowd coy smiles to remind everyone that even as they're laying out "Future Foe Scenarios," they're here to have a good time. Not surprisingly, the band ended its set with their big hit "Lazy Eye," but it was "There's No Secrets This Year" from this year's Swoon that perfectly displayed their delicate balancing act between anthemic pop and scuzzy shoegaze grooves.

But the grooviest — and perhaps most surprising — tunes on Friday came from old-school sex-bomb Tom Jones, who turned in a unique hour of hits and shoulder shakes. The 69-year-old silver fox with matching goatee was assisted by a solid band that included a horn section and backup singers who helped Sir Tom make the most of hits like "What's New Pussycat," "She's A Lady," and of course "It's Not Unusual." But he saved the best for last: a show-closing cover of Prince's "Kiss," aided by Jones' decision to take the "think I better dance now" line quite literally.

Jones' performance — as well as those of Pearl Jam, Incubus, Silversun Pickups and Built to Spill — captured the free-spiritedness of San Francisco that Ouside Lands tries so harness. So far, so good.

• Inside San Fran's Outside Lands Festival

• Silversun Pickups
• Pearl Jam
• Incubus

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder (file)
Photo: Scott Gries/ Getty Images

Pearl Jam could not have picked a bigger platform on which to debut their new song, "Get Some," than Conan O'Brien's first "Tonight Show" episode. And the veteran Seattle band did not disappoint, ripping through the blistering track for the first time in public.

The song will appear on the group's forthcoming ninth studio album, Backspacer, due in the fall, which finds them reuniting with longtime producer and friend Brendan O'Brien for the first time in more than a decade.

"Launching a show like this takes a lot of hard work, and one of the things that has sustained me over the past three months was knowing that at the end of our first show, I would get to watch a performance by one of the greatest rock bands in the world," Conan O'Brien gushed as he introduced Pearl Jam.

The band performed another new song called "The Fixer" last week, during a private show at Seattle's Showbox theater that was filmed for a Target commercial, according to Billboard.com. The commercial, filmed by director Cameron Crowe, is part of an exclusive retail deal for the album, which will not be distributed by a traditional record label. Longtime Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis told Billboard that in addition to Target, he is working on deals with an online retailer, a mobile partner, a gaming company and a network of independent retailers. As usual, the CD will also be available through the band's fan club, Ten Club.

"Target ended up allowing us to have other partners," Curtis said. "We'll be able to take care of all levels of the Pearl Jam fan. ... We wish we could tell the whole story right now, but all the deals aren't done. Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition."

While the Showbox gig in front of 300 hired "extras" was intended to cull footage for the Target ad, Curtis said the three or four songs that were filmed at the show may also be used for a project Crowe is working on in connection with the band's 20th anniversary.

Some blogs immediately took PJ to task for cutting a deal with a so-called "big box" retailer after a career spent kicking at the big boys, but Curtis explained that there's more to the agreement than meets the eye.

"Everyone's making assumptions because Target is a big corporation," he said. "It's important to remember we just got out of this 18-year relationship with [former record label] Sony, and I'm pretty sure they are a bigger corporation than Target. We have the freedom to pick our partners and more control than we've ever had before. We're excited to choose who we're in business with."

Looking at the exclusive deal signed by AC/DC to sell their comeback Black Ice at Wal-Mart last year and Radiohead's efforts to self-release In Rainbows, Curtis said he wanted to take those lessons and create a plan that was "multi-dimensional to address old and modern ways of fans accessing music. It will allow all of our fans to have the same access. ... All we've been searching for forever is independence and control over our own stuff. The way of releasing records is changing every day. This is the best way we could do it ourselves in America. Right or wrong, we'll figure that out and make it better the next time."

• Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament
Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Three weeks after Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament was mugged outside the Atlanta recording studio where the band are working on their new album, a surveillance video has surfaced of the incident.

The video shows Ament and a band employee, Mark Anthony Smith, being attacked last month by three men wearing masks and waving knives outside Southern Tracks Recording, a studio in North Atlanta favored by the band's longtime collaborator, producer Brendan O'Brien.

The DeKalb County Police Department reported that Ament and Smith were attacked by the men just before noon on April 27, when the assailants allegedly walked out of some nearby woods. The three men, brandishing knives, smashed windows on a rented Jeep Commander, stole a BlackBerry and other belongings and demanded money, according to the police report. They allegedly escaped with more than $7,300 worth of cash and belongings, including Ament's backpack, which contained his passport.

After the attack began, Ament is seen jumping from the passenger side of the Jeep and trying to flee, but is chased down by one of the suspects and knocked to the ground, suffering lacerations to the back of his head which were treated at the scene.

A police spokesperson told CNN they don't believe that Ament was specifically targeted, but that the alleged thieves were familiar with the studio because of its isolated location. Despite the surveillance footage, police have had a hard time identifying the attackers because of their masks. They reportedly were seen by witnesses fleeing the scene through the woods and jumping into a waiting Nissan Maxima. Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to call 770-724-7850.   A spokesperson for Pearl Jam had no comment on the incident.

• Pearl Jam

Kanye West performing at Bonnaroo 2008 in Manchester, TN
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic.com

If there's one thing we've learned about Kanye West, it's that he's a perfectionist who doesn't take kindly to people calling his professionalism into question. So you can imagine how far off the rails he went when he heard angry fans chant, "F--- Kanye!" a few weeks ago at the typically mellow, hippie-friendly Tennessee Bonnaroo festival, where the MC didn't hit the stage until nearly 4:30 a.m.

The criticism, leveled at the rapper when his intergalactic one-man show took almost two hours to set up following the Pearl Jam set directly preceding it, drew a strangely muted response from the usually verbose MC.

Until Tuesday, that is, when 'Ye let it spill all over his blog in a mostly capitalized rant that skewered PJ for running late and lambasted the Bonnaroo runners for allegedly not working with him to make sure his tech-heavy set would go off with out a hitch.

"I am sick of negative people who just sit around trying 2 plot my downfall," West wrote. "Why???? I understand if people don't like me because I like me or if people think tight clothes look gay or people say I run my mouth to much. But this Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I've ever had in my life. This is the most offended I've ever been ... this is the maddest I ever will be."

How mad? West said he was typing so "f---ing hard" on his MacBook Air that he was in danger of breaking the super-thin computer. He dared haters to call him any name in the book ("arrogant, conceited, narcissistic, racist, metro," etc.). But, he warned (and here we've removed the caps for your reading pleasure), "Never say I didn't give my all! This shows no matter how hard you try to be good at something there will be people there to lie about you and bring you down! Like Wayne says, 'Please don't shoot me down 'cause I'm flying!' "

West said he was really hurt by the fan reaction because all he cares about are his supporters. He also argued that Bonnaroo should have released a statement in his defense, but since they didn't, he vowed to "break down the walls on this 'Truman Show' " to explain what happened.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon (June 25), festival organizers said, "Over seven years of presenting the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, we have successfully presented hundreds of the top artists in the world. Our world-class-event production team strives to accommodate the needs of every performer. We will continue to present the highest level of production while representing the best interests of our audience, staff and performers."

According to West, he went back and forth for more than a month with the festival runners over whether or not he would be able to fit his enormous set on the stage. "One day they would say yes ... We'd send them our specs and then they'd say OK ... Then they would send specs back that didn't fit the stage," he wrote. After a few unkind words about the professionalism of the festival, West said organizers tried to give him a daytime slot that would not have worked with his extensive lighting setup. "It's not called 'Glow in the Dark' for no reason, squid brains!" he explained. "My people worked out a compromised stage plot and a 3 a.m. time slot, and I agreed. Fast forward to the day of the show. My production manager tried to load in for 24 hours before I went on stage but the festival wouldn't allow us to do anything until Pearl Jam left the stage. Pearl Jam ended one hour late!"

The rapper didn't address rumors that he insisted on playing late so as to avoid competition from other artists, but understandably said that at 3 a.m. he was "racing against the sun." Five minutes before taking the stage, West said he was told it would take nearly another hour to load all the pyro. So he abandoned some elements of the show and took the stage, which, he noted, was littered with trash thrown by fans who he claims broke one of his onstage screens.

Due to a stage slick with liquid, West said he couldn't perform all his moves. He also said that he had to cut a few numbers because of the late hour and his desire to do his big production number "Stronger."

"It broke my heart that I couldn't give these fans 'Stronger' at its greatest form," he wrote. "By the time I got to 'Stronger' it was daytime and it broke my heart. I'm sorry to everyone that I didn't have the ability 2 give the performance I wanted to ... Sometimes I go 2, 3 days w/no sleep working on my performance ... I have to ice my knees after every show and they hurt when I walk through the airport ... having an expensive stage cuts my payday in half ... call me what you want but never say I didn't give my all!!!"

• Kanye West, Pearl Jam, Death Cab For Cutie And More At Bonnaroo 2008

• Kanye West
• Pearl Jam

John Legend and Scarlett Johansson in the video for "Yes We Can"
Photo: dipdive.com

While Barack Obama barnstorms the country trying to drum up votes in advance of Super Tuesday, a wildly diverse cross section of musical supporters, including the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am, OK Go and former members of the Grateful Dead, are lending a hand.

One of the biggest Obama-boosting efforts comes courtesy of Will.I.Am, who recently teamed with director Jesse Dylan (son of Bob Dylan) to release a music video called "Yes We Can." The Bob Marley-like anthem turns the Illinois senator's January 8 New Hampshire primary-night address into lyrics performed by Will, as well as almost 40 other actors, celebrities and athletes, including John Legend, Kate Walsh, Aisha Tyler, Amber Valletta, Taryn Manning, Nicole Scherzinger, Common, Scarlett Johansson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Herbie Hancock and Nick Cannon.

The song was recorded less than a week ago in Los Angeles, and the "We Are the World"-style video features the stars reciting or singing along to the Obama speech on top of a stark black background, with intercut clips of the candidate delivering the address as Legend croons the refrain: "Yes we can!" Since it was posted on Friday, it has already garnered more than a million views on YouTube and 10 million on the host site, YesWeCanSong.com, according to a spokesperson for the project.

Explaining his inspiration for the song, Will wrote in an accompanying blog post on the site that he was in a recording studio watching one of the presidential debates and feeling torn between candidates when the idea struck him. "I was never really big on politics ... and actually, I'm still not big on politics," he wrote. But "the outcome of the last two elections has saddened me ... on how unfair, backwards, upside down, unbalanced, untruthful, corrupt and just simply, how wrong the world and politics are. ... So this year I wanted to get involved and do all I could, early."

But lacking a clear choice, as he suspected many people were, Will said he was ready to wait for a candidate to emerge as the (presumably Democratic) nominee without his help. "And then came New Hampshire ... and I was captivated ... inspired," he wrote. "I reflected on my life and the blessings I have and the people who fought for me to have these rights and blessings. And I'm not talking about a 'black thing,' I'm talking about a 'human thing.' Me as a 'person,' an American."

He said Obama's speech made him think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln and "all the others that have fought for what we have today ... what America is 'supposed' to be ... freedom, equality and truth." One week later, the New Hampshire speech, which "touched [his] inner core like nothing in a very long time," began taking shape as the song. He called some friends to help out, and a week after that, the song and video were recorded. "I produced this song to share my newfound inspiration and how I've been moved," he wrote. "I hope this song will make you feel love and think and be inspired just like the speech inspired me."

Among the other notables in the clip: Adam Rodriguez, Alfonso Ribeiro, Austin Nichols, Ed Kowalczyk, Eric Balfour, Esthero, Harold Perrineau, Johnathon Schaech, Kelly Hu, Maya Rubin, Tatyana Ali and Tracee Ellis Ross.

Will isn't the only one feeling Obama these days. On Monday night (February 4) in New York, former Shudder to Think bandmates Craig Wedren and Nathan Larson are reuniting for the "Barack Rock" show at the Bowery Ballroom. The gig, presented by GetUpAndVote.com, will also feature OK Go, Nina Persson (the Cardigans), Joan as Police Woman and the comedy troupe Stella (Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and David Wain), plus some unannounced surprise guests. It comes on the heels of last month's Fall Out Boy-curated Obama fundraiser in Chicago, during which bassist Pete Wentz had kind words for his hometown presidential candidate.

And it's not just indie rockers who are singing the praises of Obama. Monday night will also bring a show at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Phil Lesh, who will perform their first show together since 2004 in honor of the Illinois senator. The gig is being promoted as a one-night-only reunion.

Also on Monday, Pearl Jam's members — Eddie Vedder not included — posted online a reworked version of "Rock Around the Clock" called, you guessed it, "Rock Around Barack." Guitarist Stone Gossard, who handled singing duties for the recording, said in a statement that the '50s classic "had a transforming effect on American music. At that time, rock and rhythm and blues music was traditionally only played on black radio. ... So here's to ... the breaking down of cultural barriers."

Obama also picked up an endorsement from the hip-hop community on Monday, when veteran rapper Q-Tip released a statement endorsing the senator. The rapper listed several reasons — including the Iraq war, blows to America's image overseas, toxic products on store shelves and an economic meltdown — which contributed to his feeling that the country needs to "break out of old habits and politics as usual."

[This story was originally published at 3:08 p.m. on 02.04.08]

• Will.I.Am
• Common
• Nick Cannon
• OK Go
• The Grateful Dead

Kanye West, Pearl Jam, Death Cab For Cutie And More At Bonnaroo 2008

• Pearl Jam
• Kanye West
• Vampire Weekend
• My Morning Jacket
• Death Cab For Cutie

Lollapalooza 2007

• Amy Winehouse
• Ben Harper
• Cold War Kids
• Motion City Soundtrack
• Muse

Pearl Jam, Amy Winehouse, Lupe Fiasco, M.I.A., More At Lollapalooza 2007

• Pearl Jam
• M.I.A.
• Daft Punk
• Perry Farrell
• Against Me!

2007 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Ceremony Inducts R.E.M., Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash And More

• Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
• R.E.M.
• Van Halen
• Pearl Jam
• Velvet Revolver

Lollapalooza: Through the Years Retrospective

• Pearl Jam
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Rage Against the Machine
• Tool
• Alice in Chains

Music For Relief Concert 01.17.2004

• Tenacious D
• Beck
• Queens of the Stone Age
• Foo Fighters
• Pearl Jam

Bruce, R.E.M., Bright Eyes rock for change

• Bruce Springsteen
• R.E.M.
• Bright Eyes
• Pearl Jam

Classic Unplugged Photos

• 10,000 Maniacs
• Alice in Chains
• Arrested Development
• The Cure
• Blackstreet

Pearl Jam

• Pearl Jam