In the past, Ryan Adams has been miffed at being mistaken for Bryan Adams, but the hard feelings seem to have dissipated: Wednesday night in Santa Barbara, Adams (Ryan) covered Adams (Bryan) with a performance of "Run to You," a top ten hit in 1984. All of a sudden, everyone realized the significance of the font Adams (Ryan) chose for the cover of his new self-titled album. (Consequence of Sound)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGL4thD5nYQ

Boyz II Men have been named the musical artist of the year, beating out Britney Spears and Guns N' Roses, with the lifetime achievement award going to Wayne Newton. This happened at—where else?—the Casino Entertainment Awards. (Billboard)

Courtney Love has accepted a role singing in an opera—well, a pop opera. The Hole frontwoman will perform a lead role in the new opera Kansas City Choir Boy in January at New York's Prototype: Opera/Theater/Now Festival. (Rolling Stone)

On the next season of American Horror Story, series creator Ryan Murphy revealed on Twitter, Minnesota native Jessica Lange will sing a song by Lana Del Rey. (Billboard)

The music world remains abuzz with talk about possible changes coming to SXSW in the wake of a report commissioned by the festival. Festival organizers say they agree with most but not all of the report, which recommends changes including restricting advertising and unofficial events. The biggest change being discussed—though it's unlikely to happen—is the festival inviting other cities to bid for the event, which has to date been held in Austin, Texas. (Billboard)

Further evidence that Thom Yorke's experiment with releasing an album through BitTorrent was a resounding success: Yorke sold over a million copies of the album in the first six days alone. (Consequence of Sound)

We've been playing Hozier on the Current, and listeners who have been digging it are in company with Taylor Swift, who posted an Instagram video of herself dancing to the Irish musician at a concert. (Billboard)

David Brent has a new single out, and he's going on tour. Never mind that he's fictional: he's the character played by Ricky Gervais on the original British version of The Office. Brent's quixotic musical aspirations were a running joke on that series, and Gervais is now bringing the character back for a mockumentary about Brent going on tour. His new single is a defense of the famously drab English city of Slough, where The Office was set. In the first episode, Brent defended the city against caustic poet John Betjeman. (Rolling Stone)

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Maroon 5's bloody new video is "dangerous," says the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (RAINN). "Maroon 5's video for 'Animals' is a dangerous depiction of a stalker's fantasy—and no one should ever confuse the criminal act of stalking with romance. The trivialization of these serious crimes, like stalking, should have no place in the entertainment industry." (Billboard)

There are worse headlines to have for your obituary than "Mr. Bass Trombone." That was the nickname of the late George M. Roberts, who has died at the age of 86. Roberts played with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Nat "King" Cole, and Frank Sinatra; he also played for composer John Williams on the soundtracks of Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. (Billboard)