Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder helped raise $1.7million at a fundraiser for US President Barack Obama's re-election campaign. The singer performed two Pearl Jam Songs, "Rise" and "Without You", along with covers of James Taylor's "Millworker" and Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World", at the $20,000 ticket event at the home of singer-songwriter Don Miggs in Tampa, Florida.

Charles Manson has sent Marilyn Manson an open letter from his prison cell. The rocker, whose real name is Brian Warner, took the latter half of his moniker from Manson's surname and his first half from actress Marilyn Monroe. A number of Manson's bandmates took similar stage names, with the likes of Twiggy Ramirez, Ginger Fish and Madonna Wayne Gacy also inspired in the same way. The postcard, which leaked online via Loudwire earlier this week, is largely abstract, but has a slightly threatening undertone to a number of its passages.

Shambolic punk artefact gets the grand, 3-CD and DVD box-set treatment, with lavish book. Punk purists – stop sniggering at the back!

Here’s Jimmy Page, reminiscing about Led Zeppelin’s 2007 reunion show at the 02. “We wanted to go out there, stand up and be counted,” he said at a press conference held earlier today in London. “To show people who maybe didn’t know Led Zeppelin but had heard a lot about us why we were what we were. And not only that, we had had a really good time that night. We made a lot of people very happy.”

The surviving members of Led Zeppelin have refused to rule out another reunion. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones made a rare public appearance today (September 21) to launch their new Celebration Day concert film of their 2007 show at the London's 02 Arena. After a screening of the film at the Odeon West End, the bandmates answered questions from the assembled press.

The new Uncut, as discussed, is in the shops today with The Byrds on the cover, and a free CD of tracks inspired by that band. Woods are included on the comp, and their latest, “Bend Beyond”, is a record I’ve played a lot these past couple of months, but somehow neglected to write much about.

The new issue of Uncut, out today (September 21), features The Byrds, Neil Young, Siouxsie & The Banshees and LCD Soundsystem.

Neil Young has reportedly given up smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol to write his forthcoming memoir, Waging Heavy Peace. Speaking to the New York Times, Young said, "I did it for 40 years. Now I want to see what it's like to not do it. It's just a different perspective." Young, aged 66, said he has been sober for about a year.

Bob Dylan is now second favourite to win the Nobel prize for literature this autumn, thanks to a wave of bets on the singer. Dylan is now 10/1 to win the prestigious award, with Japanese writer Haruki Murakami topping the bookies poll with odds of 7/1, The Guardian reports. According to a spokesperson for bookmakers Ladbrokes, Dylan has been "backed from 33/1 into 10/1 thanks to some decent £100-plus bets… One of the big bets comes from Norway, the others are UK-based". The average stake on Dylan to bag the Nobel is around £40, they said.

It's now seven years since Damage, the last Blues Explosion album, a hiatus during which Jon Spencer got to indulge his psychotic rockabilly side with three albums with Heavy Trash, and also pursue a few other alternative musical endeavours with the likes of Andre Williams, Solex and Cristina Martinez. It was also a period during which the original punk-blues pioneers saw their influence put to more remunerative use not just by The White Stripes but by The Black Keys as well, as stripped-back roots riffage unaccountably became one of rock's more commercially potent modes.