Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has been hired
by British publisher Faber and Faber as its new editor-at-large. As
part of the new gig, Cocker will take what the publisher is calling a
"broad commissioning role" for the publisher in seeking out new titles,
with a focus on topics related to music.

"Jarvis felt like a
natural fit with the Faber sensibility, both as author and editor, and
I'm sure the small list of books he will develop will represent his
eccentric and yet popular touch," Faber editor Lee Blackstone told the
Guardian. "We now have an excellent portfolio of authors from the pop
world and our intention is to develop these relationships and continue
to build a reputation as the home for exciting and original writing on
music."

Photos: Random Notes
Cocker will release Mother, Brother, Lover,
a book of his lyrics accompanied by new commentary, with Faber next
week. The singer is not the first rock star to take on an editorial role
at Faber and Faber: Who guitarist Pete

Click to listen to Peter Murphy's 'Gaslit'

The moody, richly atmospheric "Gaslit" is the opening track on The Secret Bees of Ninth, an EP collecting b-sides and outtakes from Peter Murphy's most recent solo album, Ninth. The former Bauhaus frontman is as dark and intense as ever on the track, which is just as strong as anything on Ninth. The Secret Bees of Ninth is in stores now, but you can download "Gaslit" for free here.

Photo by Thomas Tadeus Bak

We recently posted a long series of interviews with the members of Blink-182 -
but that was only the beginning. Here's part two of our series of
Q&As with Mark Hoppus, Tom Delonge and Travis Barker, conducted
backstage at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York. We
spoke about the difficult birth of their new album Neighborhoods,
how they finally learned to communicate and compromise after years of
strife, and Delonge's belief that that the band has embraced a "much
more modern and relevant form of rock & roll."

Mark Hoppus

Everybody in the group spent the last few years working on
different projects. Do you think that  helped the creative process after
you guys convened to cut the new album?
Yeah, absolutely. I
think that doing things outside of Blink allows us to find out what our
skill sets are, what we're good at, what we lack, what each person
brings to the table. I think probably the most important lesson we
learned from taking five years off from Blink was

Click to listen to The Drift's 'Luminous Friend'

Earlier this month San Francisco-based The Drift released Blue Hour, their first album since the passing of founding member, Jeff Jacobs. Danny Grody tells Rolling Stone
the hypnotic and tightly woven instrumental track "Luminous Friend"
"was a bit of an anomaly for the album. Just seemed to come out of thin
air. It was written shortly before going into the studio and around the
time our very dear friend and member of the band Jeff Jacobs lost his
courageous battle with cancer."

The band considers the melodic song to be a tribute to Jacobs.
"Something about this piece felt very cathartic and really seemed to
recall his soaring trumpet playing," Grody explains. "It seemed a
fitting dedication to an amazing and talented person."

The Drift's Blue Hour was released on October 4th, but you can download "Luminous Friend" for free here.

Photo by Paul Clipson