Six of one, half a dozen the other. Good news, bad news. Take the bulletin that Ozzfest is going on hiatus however you like, but when one door closes, Limp Bizkit apparently sneak in the other one and trash your house.

Yes, kids who insist on wearing their black, long-sleeve Cannibal Corpse T-shirts, ghoulish face paint, black wool bondage pants and heavy stomper boots when the mercury tips 110 degrees are just gonna have to find something else to do this summer, since Ozzy is taking a break from his festival to work on his new album.

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If you're a Jane's Addiction fan who lives within driving distance of Los Angeles, cancel your plans for tomorrow night. According to guitarist Dave Navarro's Web site, the founding members of Jane's — Navarro, frontman Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins — will be reuniting once again for a "secret" gig Thursday night (October 23) at La Cita Bar in downtown L.A. for what will be the original group's first full concert in more than a decade.
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It's been 17 years since Guns N' Roses released a studio album full of fresh material — the one-two punch that was 1991's Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II — and in that long stretch, fans have learned one thing: Axl Rose refuses to rush the creative process. OK, they've also learned that a lot of lies can be told over 17 years and that a band can still tour successfully, even if that band looks nothing like anyone remembers.

Now that Hits Daily Double is reporting a firm November 23 release date for Chinese Democracy, the wait for some fresh GN'R — at least in the way Rose meant for it to be heard — looks like it may soon be over. It also got us to thinking about what's transpired since Guns N' Roses' last studio LPs dropped. And the short answer is "a lot." Read more...

By Dave Harrison

With the 4th of July just around the corner, you're probably looking forward to all sorts of things: swimsuits, suntans, and of course the ultimate S-word, summer. But there’s only one preoccupation for punk-rockers all across North America, and that, of course, is the Warped Tour! We recently caught up with Gabe Saporta and Victoria Asher of Cobra Starship, to give you all yet another reason to battle the heat at America’s longest-running migratory mosh pit.

You may recall Starship’s hit song “Bring It (Snakes on a Plane),” which featured Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, William Beckett of The Academy Is ... and Maja Ivarsson of the Sounds. Well, the intrepid Warped Tour-goer may just notice that two out of those three acts will be on the tour alongside Cobra Starship. Gabe let us in on a secret that confirms everybody’s hopes that the band will take full advantage of the situation.

There’s a moment at the beginning of the NKOTB’s reunion single “Summertime” where Joe McIntyre utters the words “Jones Beach, 1988.” Weird. That is almost exactly the time and place that I first met New Kids on the Block. They were one of the earliest interviews I ever did for MTV News, and there were plenty of interviews, news pieces, and even a half-hour show after that. But now, 15 years after they went their separate ways -- branching off into acting (Donnie), solo careers (Jordan, Joe, Danny), real estate (Jon), and families with “new kids” of their own (several of them) -- I think the last thing I ever expected was to be talking to them again, as a group.

But never say never. Saturday evening, in a backstage dressing room at New Jersey’s Izod Center, there they were, the New 30-Something Men on the Block, getting ready to take the stage as part of radio station Z-100’s annual teen scream extravaganza, Zootopia. We were all a good bit older than the last time I sat down with them, and it was a surreal moment -- but good surreal.

The New Kids on their upcoming tour, the reason for reuniting now, and latest teen phenom the Jonas Brothers, after the jump. Read more...

Hi, NKOTB fans.

Look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. We really feel like we need to repair this relationship with you. First, we totally respect your love of NKOTB and, sure, we went for the easy punchline. Boy did we learn our lesson (well, except James). We are overwhelmed by your love of NKOTB and, well, your disdain of us.

But one thing I think it's important to note: MTV may no longer be the same as it was back in the day, but with the exception of McDonald's (mmm...McDonald's) and, say, a Bush in the White House, what is? That said, we have a very large and diverse company, and it's not just five dudes sitting in a room saying, "No more videos!" like the villain on Inspector Gadget. Some of us like NKOTB, too! Just like you.

Such as one of our superstar interns, Rya Backer, who braved the rain and made it to the "Today" show to check out NKOTB in all their back-together glory. I mean, just look at how happy she is in that photo above! THAT WAS THIS MORNING! SHE IS STILL BEAMING!

That's right, we embedded an MTV News reporter into the Blockhead fray to see NKOTB make the announcement that they're back together, officially official.

Rya writes with her report, after the jump.

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Dear Incredibly Angry, Somewhat Delusional, Easily Offended NKOTB Fans Who Have Been Bombarding The Newsroom Blog With Comments Ever Since We Made One Joke About The Band Reuniting Because They Needed The Cash:

Hi there. Look, we just want to talk. Can you put the torches down for a second? Honestly, you didn't have to form a mob and storm the gates here at MTV Manor. We were just kidding when we suggested that the deciding factor in the New Kids On The Block reunion was money. Obviously that's not the case!

Come on!

We're sure Danny Wood uses $100 bills to light cigars! Joey McIntyre (or, excuse us, Joe) was on "Boston Public"! There's good money in David E. Kelly dramadies! We know they're not broke! Psssssh!

Jeez, it's like you guys can't take a joke or something. Clearly the only reason five dudes in their late 30s would willingly choose to reform under the mantle of "New Kids," perform synchronized dance routines and belt out tunes about "Hangin' Tough" is because they all really loved the music or really missed performing for all of you. Well, either that or they're all going through a collective mid-life crisis and couldn't afford matching Corvettes.

Okay? Good. We just wanted to clear that up.

What? Oh, yeah, also, we didn't mean to suggest that just because you're a fan of a boy-band that hasn’t had a hit single or been culturally relevant in more than 15 years doesn't mean that you're old and/or out of touch in any way. It merely means you found something you liked -- in this case, cheesy, hormonally stunted, pre-fab pop sung by five kids from Boston with lines shaved into their hair -- and you've stuck to it ever since. We admire that perseverance! Really, we do! Stop throwing things!

And finally, we wanted to bring up the fact that you've said some pretty hurtful things to us personally. Like that we should replace the "M" in "MTV" with an "R," since all we do is broadcast Reality TV programs anymore. Or that that we don't know anything about music, or that we're mean-spirited "LoserHaters" who are simply jealous of NKOTB's success.

We're not gonna lie; those words cut deep. And we'd like to point out that we actually do still play music videos, a lot, on any of our three channels -- MTV, MTV2 and mtvU. And you can watch tons of them on our website, though we understand that you might not be able to do that, what with your dial-up connections and all.

Anyway, we feel a little better now. And hopefully you do, too. Frankly, we'd just like to put this whole dark saga behind us. So, if you'll go back to your cat-hair strewn dens and Precious Moments collections we'll go back to our ivory towers and inflated sense of purpose.

Deal? Deal.

Sincerely,
James

So New Kids On The Block.

Wow. We've caught a lot of heat on this one. Who knew the fans could be so mean!

Some news for you. Tomorrow, NKOTB will make their first public appearance together in 15 years when they appear live on the "Today" show (NBC). They're performing. But they will also be making an annoucement. First, that they will say they are joining "Today's" summer concert lineup on May 16 and perform live on the Plaza in their first full concert since splitting up in 1994. Second, they will announce that this concert is the first show in a world tour. And third, they will cop to being in the studio working on new music.

Ok, some thoughts.

1) I can't believe I'm posting about NKOTB.
2) This will not be our last post on NKOTB today.
3) I wonder if they will change their name to the acronym NKOTB so as to conceal the "Kids" in their band name. (Yeah, yeah, you clever commenters, we know all about the parallels between "Kids" in NKOTB and "Music" in MTV - touche).

It's funny, usually it's pretty easy to roll with the punches when you tell someone you work for MTV News. People have jokes, sure, ("Someone on 'The Hills' broke a nail, isn't that Breaking News??" "How old IS John Norris, anyway??") but rarely does it actually sting. I mean, I'm secure in my knowledge of pop culture and music. BUT MAN, YOU NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK FANS ARE EFF'IN VICIOUS.

Seriously.

No, we know that NKOTB aren't broke. They sold 18.7 gazillion albums worldwide. Yes, we think it's funny that a group of grown men are calling themselves "kids" and will be dancing to songs they sang when they were wearing parachute pants in Beantown. Yes, MTV moved on from the NKOTB and yes, we made a deal with the devil covering Justin and Britney and them in the '90s. But cut us some slack, dudes, WE WERE JUST HAVING FUN WITH Y'ALL.

Anyway, Yahoo Music has an exclusive NKOTB 2008 photo, their first new group photo in 15 years.

So...what do you think? How do they look?

Also, commenters, do you remember when NKOTB appeared on the TRL charts in 1999?