Leonard Cohen will celebrate his 80th birthday next month by releasing his 13th studio album, it was announced at a Cohen fan convention in Ireland. Cohen's birthday is September 21, and the following day will see the release of Popular Problems, an album of entirely new songs. Some of the new material was previewed on Cohen's Old Ideas concert tour in 2012. (Rolling Stone)

Also working on new music: Duran Duran, whose new album—due out next spring—will be produced by Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen) and Chic's Nile Rodgers. Notorious, the band's hit album released the month Ronson turned 11 in 1986, was also co-produced by Rodgers. (Pitchfork)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGDmBLAPikU

Three weeks after releasing Morrissey's World Peace Is None Of Your Business, Capitol Music and Harvest Records responded to criticism from the former Smiths frontman—who didn't believe the label had adequately supported the new album—by dropping him from their roster. (Rolling Stone) World Peace Is None Of Your Business is our album of the week; read Steve Seel's review.

Jason Feathers—the new collaboration among Justin Vernon, Astronautalis, and S. Carey—is now streaming in full on Pitchfork. The artists have also released splashy photos and alternate-universe biographies. (Local Current)

Bob Weir and his band RatDog have canceled all upcoming tour dates. The artists cite only unspecified "circumstances," but Weir's manager mentioned "health problems" to Rolling Stone.

Those of you who've been waiting 26 years for Fugazi to finally release their first demos, will have a special something to put on your holiday wish list. (Rolling Stone) Another hot gift item will be Portishead's Dummy, soon to be reissued on vinyl to mark its 20th anniversary. (Consequence of Sound)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKd30B1QE9w

When Drake welcomed Oklahoma City Thunder NBA star Kevin Durant to a concert in Toronto, he not-so-subtly hinted that Durant should consider joining the Toronto Raptors when his Oklahoma City contract runs out in 2016. Since Drake is the Raptors' global ambassador (yes, that's an actual job title, and yes, Drake holds it) and team representatives aren't allowed to actively recruit players who are under contract to other teams, the Raptors were slapped with a $25,000 fine. (Pitchfork)

Guitar Center has opened a new store in Times Square, and based on the cacophonous video below, Consequence of Sound's Ben Kay thinks it might just be the worst place on Earth.