One of the most expensive places to live in the Bay Area (and just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco), Marin County has always been a refuge for rock stars who have made it big, have lots of dough and wish to escape the city. At the same time, the county still carries many of the hippie ideals first imported to it from San Francisco's Summer of Love era.

Enter Sandman, err, James Hetfield. The Metallica frontman has long owned a 500-acre property in the area and, since then, also acquired an adjacent ranch. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Hetfield made plans to build a 14,000-square-foot house, a 6,000-square foot studio and additional installations. While building hasn't commenced, the property does overlap with a public trail popular with hikers, bicyclers and equestrians.

Hetfield -- whose albums with Metallica include titles such as 'Kill 'Em All' and 'St. Anger' -- recently erected a tall and impenetrable metal fence (complete with barbed wire), preventing use of the otherwise public trail. Recreational traversers are angry, to say the least. While city officials recognize his rights as property owner, they're hoping to work out a deal with him that would allow access to the trail while still keeping the rest of his property closed off. To bite another Metallica title, doing so could conceivably, um, create justice for all.

Brazilian dance rockers Cansei Ser Sexy, or CSS as most people call them, have been having one heck of a summer. In addition to a host of festival stops around the world, including the Reading and Leeds festivals in the UK this coming weekend, the outfit just dropped their second album, 'Donkey,' on their Sub Pop home.

The effort, according to guitarist and sometime drummer Luiza Sa -- the lone member of the group to base herself in New York City -- was written on tour as the band promoted their self-titled, 2006 debut release. "Everyone is different about creativity," Sa tells Spinner. "Everyone needs a different creative environment and Adriano [Cintra, the group's multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter] -- he's done music for like 15 years. He's such a work-aholic and he doesn't mind anything. Writing for him was kind of a survival thing. When bad times came, he was just writing and writing more, which is very positive."

Despite the bad times, the album is as poppy as its predecessor thanks to songs like 'Jager Yoga,' with its angular bass guitar lines and deep bass grooves. And the album's title -- 'Donkey,' gives the record a fun twist too, with its name coming from their friend -- a Brazilian-to-Los-Angeles transplant with a diverse vocabulary.

Sometimes the rock 'n' roll lifestyle isn't all that exciting but rather a series of traveling from city to city marked by periods of downtime. It's something that Nick Zinner knows firsthand over the years as the guitarist for the alternative rock group Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He's capturing those experiences through his other passion: photography.

"It's a great way to explore where you're at," he tells Spinner. "Also it's kind of [documenting] all the small moments that you wouldn't really notice or remember because it all really blurs into one haze."

Zinner's pieces have been exhibited in different places, and in 2005 he published a book of his photography, 'I Hope You Are All Happy Now.' His latest photo show, 'It's OK, Don't Look at the Road,' which just opened at New York City's Fuse Gallery and runs through September 13, contains images taken from his experiences.

The Godfather of Grunge, hippie icon and anti-corporate hero Neil Young will hit the road this fall for a North American tour, backed by the same band he took with him to Europe earlier this year. Perhaps trying to match some of his eclectic but wildly successful line-ups from years past (Sonic Youth and Social Distortion come to mind), Young will bring rising upstarts Everest with him for the entire tour, while Death Cab for Cutie and Wilco will each tackle half the run. The tour begins on October 14 in St. Paul, Minnesota, and ends at NYC's Madison Square Garden on December 15.

Another great idea: general admission floor seating (with reserved in the stands). We love that.

"I'm sure Johnny Cash would have been a John McCain supporter if he was still around."

Those are words country star John Rich may want to take back. Cash's eldest daughter, Rosanne Cash, has issued a statement in response to Rich's political assumption, which he made onstage at a Florida concert earlier this month.

"It is appalling to me that people still want to invoke my father's name, five years after his death, to ascribe beliefs, ideals, values and loyalties to him that cannot possibly be determined and to try to further their own agendas by doing so," Rosanne writes. "I knew my father pretty well, at least better than some of those who entitle themselves to his legacy and his supposed ideals, and even I would not presume to say publicly what I 'know' he thought or felt. This is especially dangerous in the case of political affiliation. It is unfair and presumptuous to use him to bolster any platform. I would ask that my father not be co-opted in this election for either side since he is clearly not here to defend or state his own allegiance."

Let's hear it for the boys. The Hold Steady and the Drive-By Truckers are teaming up for a nationwide tour called 'Rock 'n' Roll Means Well.' Taken from a line from the Drive By Trucker's 2003 album 'Decoration Day,' the full lyric is one of the Hold Steady's Craig Finn's favorites: "rock 'n' roll means well but can't help telling young boys lies."

The cross-admiration between the two bands will be apparent on the co-headlining tour itself, as they take turns with who goes last. Such gentlemen. The tour begins on October 30. In the meantime, check out the Hold Steady on Conan O'Brian on August 25.

Despite recent revelations that she's never actually kissed a girl, Katy Perry has disgusted her parents just the same. While the contagious, bi-curious chart topper, 'I Kissed a Girl' has earned the singer rightful claim to the one of the summer's biggest hits, her mother, evangelical preacher Mary Hudson, says she hates the pop song.

Hudson told the Daily Mail that the single "promotes sin" and says she's praying for her daughter's salvation. "It clearly promotes homosexuality and its message is shameful and disgusting," Perry's mom says. "I can't even listen to that song. The first time I heard it I was in total shock. When it comes on the radio I bow my head and pray. Katy is our daughter and we love her but we strongly disagree with how she is conducting herself at the moment. Katy is not a homosexual but I fear she has been led astray by the Hollywood crowd. I spoke to her only recently. She said, 'Oh Mom, I'm not going to turn into Amy Winehouse.'"

Hudson can count her blessings for that.

Bay Area native Les Claypool doesn't have any plans etched in stone when it comes to Primus' performance at the first annual Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco. However, he does know one thing: "There will be astronauts involved," he said at a press conference. "I think we might play songs from Van Halen 'One,'" he joked.

Although they haven't exactly been performing Van Halen albums in their entirety, as threatened, the Primus fellas have actually been accompanied by giant inflatable astronauts as of late. "The astronauts are glorious," Claypool said, noting that they had them in tow this past June for Quebec City's 400th Anniversary Celebration. "I think it was touching for them to have an element of NASA and space at their celebration." Canada, of course, has never had a space exploration program to call their own (although some could make an argument involving Neil Young). Acknowledging this, Claypool said, "It could have been puzzling for them being that we were there to celebrate 400 years of Quebec City and we show up with ... 'In your face, Quebec!'"

Given all the space cadets in San Francisco, we predict Primus, at Outside Lands, will be a hit.

Jerry Wexler, the man who literally gave R&B its name along with giving the world many of music's greatest stars, has died at his home in Florida at age 91. The New York native, in his role as Atlantic Records producer and co-chairman from the '50s through the '70s, is responsible for furthering the careers of many of the giants of rock and soul music, from Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin to Led Zeppelin and the Allman Brothers Band.

Read Rolling Stone's extensive tribute to Wexler's storied life and indelible contributions to music.

It's not exactly news that Rage Against the Machine is outspoken about the war in Iraq. Turns out, they're against it. The recently reunited band's latest diplomatic effort involves hosting a free festival-style concert at the Denver Coliseum (in, you guessed it, Denver, CO). Other bands slated to perform include the Flobots, the Coup, State Radio and Wayne Kramer. The event, which takes place August 27 during the Democratic National Convention, is billed as the 'Tent State Music Festival to End the War' and is the result of a partnership between Rage, Tent State and the Iraq Veterans Against the War.

For those pondering which one to attend (the convention or the concert), tickets for the show are free -- including no nasty service charges -- but available by lottery only. Information on how to obtain them, and other details, can be found here.

Lily Allen is in full tilt controversial mode these days as evidenced by her newly leaked song, 'F--- You Very Much,' which surfaced in its entirety Wednesday on YouTube as part of an unofficial video. The expletive-laced tune -- which is slated for her forthcoming second album -- comes on the heels of the 'Smile' singer's much blogged about nip slip last weekend.

The song, which sustains the buoyant feel of her 2006 breakthrough debut album, 'Alright, Still,' features the lyrics, "Look inside your tiny mind, then look a bit harder/'Cos we're so uninspired, so sick and tired of all the hatred you harbor/So you say it's not OK to be gay, well I think you're just evil/You're just some racist who can't tie my laces, your point of view is medieval/F--- you, f--- you very much/'Cos we hate what you do and we hate your whole crew, so please don't stay in touch."

A snippet of the foul-mouthed song -- which takes aim at the British National Party and was initially titled 'Guess Who Batman?' -- first surfaced in June on her MySpace page. "This song is not a direct attack at anyone," Allen blogged at the time. "It was originally written about the BNP in the but then I felt this issue has become relevant pretty much everywhere."

When word spread that Alanis Morissette's bitter breakup anthem 'You Oughta Know' was about her former lover, 'Full House' actor Dave Coulier, we didn't want to believe it. John Stamos, maybe. But Uncle Joey Gladstone? With those cute cartoon voices and that spot-on 'Popeye' impersonation? The same Uncle Joey who played a quirky science professor (Mr. Egghead) to his best friend/college buddy's daughter's (little Stephanie Tanner) science class? Whose only dream was a little room in which to practice his stand-up routine that would one day eventually land him on the Star Search stage? No way. Morissette has stayed mum about the song's subject since its release in 1995. Coulier, however, is fessin' up.

Representing bedroom rockers, bathroom mirror superstars, and, now, the United States of America, air guitarist Hot Lixx Hulahan rode his imaginary guitar to victory in the Cuervo Black U.S. Air Guitar Championships last week, held at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. In the winning round, Hot Lixx performed an unrehearsed segment of Ozzy Osbourne's 'Crazy Train' in front of a packed crowd of -- not surprisingly -- audience air guitarists and their forgiving girlfriends.

The competition included Derek Not-So-Smalls from Cleveland, who let a fireball rip from his palm at the end of his solo, and Brooklyn's Bettie B. Goode, who lost one of her toes during a previous competition. Unlike her instrument, the toe was real. Speaking of injuries, Hot Lixx himself broke his thumb during the first round of the finals (from playing a guitar made out of air, remember) but, far from getting medical attention, stayed in the venue to compete in Round Two.

Originally representing Washington DC, Hot Lixx will now move forward as the U.S. representative at the World Championships in Finland, where he will no doubt continue to be a legendary shredder in his own mind.

The details surrounding U2's forthcoming album are coming out a slow trickle but here's another drop in the bucket: the effort will reportedly be titled 'No Line on the Horizon' and is expected to be released on Friday, November 14, according to a recent report in the Sunday Mirror. While the band's camp has yet to confirm the news, U2's record label, Universal, corroborated the story -- at least partially -- by registering the URL www.nolineonthehorizon.com.

According to the Mirror, songs set for 'No Line on the Horizon' include 'For Your Love,' 'Love is All We Have Left,' 'One Bird,' 'Moment of Surrender,' 'If I Could Live My Life Again,' 'The Cedars of Lebanon' and the title track. An additional report by a fansite revealed that Anton Corbijn and a crew of 19 shot a video footage for the latter -- tipped to be the first single and expected late next month -- with director Anton Corbijn in the Spanish city of Cadiz, although Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. were not present.

Amy Winehouse doesn't take no for an answer. When producers of the upcoming James Bond flick 'Quantum Of Solace' passed over her theme song last month in favor of the Jack White/Alicia Keys collaboration 'Another Way to Die,' the embattled singer decided to go it alone and release her unwanted song after all.

Winehouse reportedly intends to "prove that [film executives] made a "big mistake" by dismissing her then-unfinished Bond theme contender. She's even thinking of releasing the Mark Ronson-produced tune the same week as the new White/Keys single. "I guess they are going for clean-cut and boring," Winehouse reportedly told Britain's New Magazine. "When I do release mine -- and I am tempted to do it on the same day -- this would be the bigger hit."

"I do think they could have waited a bit," a confident Winehouse said, pointing to her head. "If they want a worldwide hit, I have them all up here."