Rock News You Should Know

It turns out Nirvana almost broke up a year before Kurt Cobain's suicide. "NME" reports a new book by Paul Brannigan, called "This Is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl," reveals that the drummer was ready to leave the group in 1993. At that point, Nirvana had reportedly split into two camps with Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic facing off against Cobain and his wife, Courtney Love. The boiling point came during a flight from Seattle to Los Angeles, when Grohl learned from Novoselic that Cobain wanted him to play more like Nirvana's previous drummer, Dan Peters of Mudhoney. Grohl called the group's touring manager, Alex McLeod, explaining that he wanted out because he couldn't stand Kurt's "craziness" anymore.

McLeod eventually convinced Grohl to stay with Nirvana, and Brannigan says Cobain probably never found out about the incident. Brannigan, a former editor of "Kerrang," adds that if Kurt's death hadn't brought an end to the band in 1994, Grohl probably would have left anyway. "This Is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl" is expected to hit bookshelves on November 29th.

New details about the Smashing Pumpkins' upcoming album continue to trickle out of Billy Corgan's Twitter account. The frontman told his followers last Friday that the new disc, titled "Oceana," will include 13 songs and about "60 minutes and nine seconds" of music. Corgan and company also unveiled the new album live at last week's private "First Listen" party. He calls the record a "unique collection of songs" unlike any previous Smashing Pumpkins release, adding that he's "really, really proud" of their work. Corgan also explained that "Oceana" will still be a part of the massive 44-song project he's been working on lately called "Teargarden By Kaleidyscope." Nine songs have already been released for free online, and "Oceana" is reportedly due out in late November.

The Pumpkins and their label EMI are also planning a reissue series of the band's complete catalog, starting this year with remastered versions of "Gish," "Siamese Dream" and "Pisces Iscariot." The band is also scheduled to start an 11-stop North American tour on October 5th.

"Quasar/Stella P and the People Mover"

"Panopticon"

"The Celestials"

"Violet Rays"

"My Live Is Winter"

"One Diamond, One Heart"

"Pinwheels"

"Oceana"

"Pale Horse"

"The Chimera"

"Glissandra"

"Inkless"

"Wildflower"

Radiohead To Sit Down With Stephen Colbert Tonight

Radiohead is returning to TV tonight. The band is set to appear on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" to sit down with host Stephen Colbert and perform a handful of songs. The tracks will reportedly be taken from the band's latest album, "The King of Limbs," but will also include the previously unreleased song "Daily Mail." The special one-hour episode is scheduled to air tonight at 11:30 p.m. Eastern. The "Colbert" visit will be Radiohead's second TV stop in New York after they played the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend. A dancing Thom Yorke and company performed the single "Lotus Flower" as well as another non-album track, "Staircase."

Both songs featured the band's sixth, unofficial member, drummer Clive Deamer. Yorke recently announced that Deamer, who frequently works with Portishead, will likely be joining Radiohead when the group embarks on a string of tour dates next year.

R.E.M. has decided to call it quits, but fans are still learning more information about the group 31 years together. Producer Scott Litt recently told Billboard.com that "Man on the Moon," one of the band's most well-known songs, almost never happened. He explains that the entire track was finished except for frontman Michael Stipe's lyrics and vocals. Litt says they "kind of made" Stipe finish the song last minute, but adds that he's "very thankful for that one day" every time he hears it on the radio. "Man on the Moon" -- complete with Stipe's Andy Kaufman lyrics and Elvis impersonations -- made it on R.E.M.'s 1992, Grammy-nominated album "Automatic for the People" just in time.

R.E.M. announced its breakup last week after 15 albums and more than three decades together. Litt, who worked with the band between 1987 and 1996, says they always had impeccable timing and thinks now was definitely the right time to walk away.

Chickenfoot is set to release its sophomore album this week, and Joe Satriani is offering fans an explanation for the somewhat confusing title. The disc is called "Chickenfoot III," and the guitarist tells SleazeRoxx.com they decided to jump from one to three "mainly to inject as much humor into the situation as possible." He says there's no cryptic message behind it, but adds that he still likes to joke that the title might have something to do with a 3D tie-in or a mysterious never-released "Chickenfoot II." Either way, "Chickenfoot III" is due out Tuesday, September 27th.

Satriani also revealed a few details about the band's upcoming road plans. He says they'll be embarking on a small tour in November to let everyone know the album is out there, but the official full-scale tour gets under way next year. Chickenfoot will have a slightly different lineup, however, as drummer Chad Smith has previous commitments with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.