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Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted played his first public gig since leaving Metallica on Sunday (4/1), Sonicnet reported. He played with the Moss Brothers--a duo consisting of 12-year-old guitarist Reuben Moss and 15-year-old drummer Evan Moss--at Ashkenaz in Berkeley, Calif.

Hanson is working on its third album, VH1.com reported.

Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard will release a solo album later this year, RollingStone.com reported.

Mail-order music firm Columbia House "plans to close two of its facilities and eliminate 400 to 500 jobs," according to Reuters.

TNN, the National Network, formerly the Nashville Network, issued a press release that says in part (with bold type ours):

We're putting the finishing touches on the next generation of TNN programming,'' Diane Robina, Executive Vice President and General Manager, said. "With STAR TREK, CSI, Pamela Anderson's V.I.P and BAYWATCH, pop culture movies like THE GODFATHER as well as reality series that feature real people, real stories, the next generation of TNN is pop television, pop stars, and pop culture. ...''

Coast to coast, TNN is connecting Adults 18-49 to the tops in pop culture ... And it's connecting viewers to network decision-makers 24 hours a day through its toll-free number, 888-POP-1090. Under the banner of "We've Got Pop,'' TNN invites its viewers to call and talk about what's pop on television, on movie screens and in their hometowns. ...

So if you ever meet a TNN executive, and want to have some fun, say, "TNN. Oh, isn't that that Nashville Network? Sorry, I don't like country," and then walk away.

We recently developed a theory about pop-saturated country:

In St. Paul, Minn., where we once lived, there's a minor-league baseball team called the Saints, and if you go to a game, you see clowns and massage tables and between innings they have contests where, like, two people spin around in a circle for ten seconds and then have to run to second base while dizzy and the winner wins yogurt or something. Goofy crap, in other words. And we've always assumed that the Saints attracted people who felt like they should enjoy baseball, but in their heart of hearts find it boring. And they can go to a Saints game and not be bored and then go to work on Monday and when asked "What'd you do this weekend?" can say, "Went to a baseball game."

So it occurred to us that a lot of people feel that way about country music. They want to like country, they're at that age and/or in that community where they feel like they should like country, but without 48-track production, replete with that British New Wave drum sound, it's just not that interesting to them. And current country radio lets them say, "Got damn! There ain't nothin' like good ol' American music!"

Of course, there are a lot of people who don't have time to scour the culture for good music, being, like, grown-ups with those whatchmathings ... "responsibilities"? Is that the word we're looking for? That's probably part of it.

(Do you want to hear a good country radio show, with both old and new stuff? We recently discovered, on Boston-area Tufts University's radio station's webcast, "The Roadhouse," which airs on Tuesdays from 7:30-9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.)