Random music news for Tuesday, August 4, 2026

There’s hoarding and then there’s hoarding. Once you’re done with that story, move on to music news for August 4, 2026.

1. Kanye has settled lawsuit brought by a former assistant.
2. Patti Smith, the High Priestess of Punk, has a new friend in Pope Leo XIV.
3. The Pol’and’Rock Festival happened over the weekend with 700,000 people in attendance.
4. Sum 41 may be over, so Deryck Whibley has moved into a clothing line called Walking Disaster.
5. Tom Waits just released a spoken word album.
6. The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939. It’s never been more profitable, thanks to The Sphere in Las Vegas.
7. Phil Collins has been talking about his near-death experience in 2024. He’s feeling better.
8. On that note, a Genesis reunion? Maybe.
9. Wait: An Elastica reunion? Maybe!
10. Matt Cameron says the final Soundgarden album is currently being mixed. Warning: It’s only eight songs long. Just setting expectations, you know?
11. Ed Sheeran has converted an actual old pigsty into a recording studio.
12. The web is being redesigned for AI. Gee, what does that mean for humans?
13. Wheelchair moshing. (Via Rick J)
14. You would think that supergroups would work, right? Well… (Via Mark)
15. The original Rickroll video has been taken down from YouTube after 17 billion views.

More music news? Go here.

BONUS: Have you heard of Flock cameras? They’re the new state surveillance tool in the US–and they’re everywhere.