Kiss’ Paul Stanley says the band is close to finishing its first new album since 1998’s Psycho Circus. “IT ROCKS BIG TIME!” wrote Stanley on the band’s official website, and though no release date has been set yet, the album may be a Wal-Mart only release like AC/DC’s 2008 comeback Black Ice. [RollingStone.com]

R.I.P. Ali Akbar Khan, the sarod player who was called a “living treasure” in his native India and helped popularize Indian music in the West. Khan, who died of kidney failure on June 18 at age 87, was the first Indian musician to be given the MacArthur Foundation’s genius grant in 1991, and recorded over 95 albums and received five Grammy Nominations. He established the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Anselmo, CA in the ’60s, and had been teaching at the college until early June. [LATimes.com]

Sunday night’s Much Music Video Awards featured a performance from Lady Gaga wearing a flaming bra, Nickelback winning most of the awards, and an altercation between the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am and blogger Perez Hilton. Hilton (a.k.a. Mario Lavandeira) claimed will.i.am and his bodyguard assaulted him at an afterparty; will.i.am responded in a video on his blog that it was a Black Eyed Peas fan who attacked Hilton. [Idolator.com]

An album of songs American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert recorded a few years ago will be released soon — much to Lambert’s dismay. On With the Show, which will be issued by Hi-Fi Recordings/Wilshire Records, should hit shelves this summer. Said Lambert, “The work I did back then in no way reflects the music I am currently in the studio working on.” [PopEater.com]

Rihanna is due to appear in court for the assault case against her ex-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown. Though it is not guaranteed prosecutors will use her as a witness, she is expected to testify against Brown. If he is found guilty of the assault charges, Brown faces a five-year sentence. [Gigwise.com]

The Guardian’s “50 Great Moments in Jazz” series continues with a celebration of guitarist Charlie Christian. [Guardian.co.uk]

More proof you should always back up your files: A fight between the Kills’ Jamie Hince and model Kate Moss resulted in Hince’s bag — which contained his laptop — being thrown in a pool, destroying the only copies of six of the band’s new songs. [Mirror.co.uk]