As the release of Wilco’s untitled followup to Sky Blue Sky approaches, tickets for many of the band’s summer concerts go on sale this weekend. Launching on June 12th in Cincinnati, Ohio, the tour will take Wilco across the country in roughly five weeks. [Billboard.com]

Gossip Girl beauty Leighton Meester has inked a record deal with Universal Republic. Although the actress’ debut album is slated for release later this year, impatient fans can hear a leaked version of “Birthday,” quite possibly her lead-off single, here. We prefer Meester’s cover of “Bette Davis Eyes,” though. [RollingStone.com]

Timothy Wright, the Grammy-nominated gospel singer whose 1994 release, Come Thou Almighty King, fared well on the Billboard charts, has died at the age of 61. [MSN.com]

Vampire Weekend’s sophomore release should be ready in time for a September 2009 release, says frontman Ezra Koenig. “We’re trying to challenge ourselves not to use the same bag of tricks that we used on the first album,” says the singer, who promises the album will feature “different instruments, stuff like that.” [EW.com]

“Amazing,” the latest music video from rap superstar Kanye West, features on-location filming in Hawaii, a boat ride, and plenty of slow-pans across the ocean at sunset. Expensive. [Pitchfork.com]

As the Killers tour in support of their latest release, the Las Vegas bandmates are also prepping their first DVD for release in 2009. Meanwhile, drummer Ronnie Vannucci says his group may record a covers album, having recently released a Bright Eyes cover as the B-side to the “Spaceman” single. [Reuters.com]