AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has lashed out at U2 frontman Bono and musician and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof for their outspoken activism and public charity work. In an interview with Australia's Herald Sun, Johnson said that he donates to charity but prefers to stay quiet about it.

Them Crooked Vultures apparently plan to record their second album later this year, according to a new interview with bassist John Paul Jones at Stuff.co.nz. Jones explained, "We'll do a second album this year. By the end of summer, something like that . . . We're all hard workers. In a way we need to do this for ourselves. Once we committed to it we worked as hard as a young band would, put the hours in. It's got to be good -- we've got reputations to uphold more than anything else."

The first serious documentary on Keith Richards will be directed by none other than. . . Johnny Depp??? Depp, who has only one rarely-seen film from 1997 under his belt as a director, told a Serbian website that he's currently working on the Richards documentary, with Screencave.com quoting him as saying, "Already next week I'll start working on a Keith Richards documentary. While I'm in Drvengrad, my editor is already working on kilometers of archive footage and footage of his concerts. I'm very touched that Keith agreed to show up in front of my cameras."

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are reportedly bringing back Ozzfest this year, but who aside from Ozzy himself will be playing it? With several other hard rock and metal festivals already clogging up the highways this summer -- the Rockstar Mayhem tour and the American Carnage package among them -- a lot of natural Ozzfest candidates like Korn, Rob Zombie, Megadeth, Atreyu, Lamb Of God and others are already spoken for.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers quietly revealed their new lineup last Friday (January 29th) in Los Angeles, making their first public appearance in over two years and first with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who has replaced longtime axeman John Frusciante. According to MusicRadar.com, Klinghoffer performed with the group on Friday at the MusicCares Person Of The Year dinner honoring Neil Young, where they covered the singer/songwriter's "A Man Needs A Maid."

Former Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash has unveiled the cover art and track listing for his first official solo album, simply called Slash, at Ultimate-Guitar.com. The record, expected out in April through EMI Label Services, will include a different guest vocalist on every song, with the roster of singers including Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Cornell, Dave Grohl, the Cult's Ian Astbury, Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock and the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie.

Neil Young had quite a weekend, which culminated last night (January 31st) when he snagged his first career Grammy for Best Art Direction on a Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for his recent boxed set Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972). Sharing the award with Young were his art directors Gary Burden and Jenice Heo.

Joe Perry reportedly asked Paul Rodgers if he would be interested in replacing Steven Tyler in Aerosmith. Classic Rock magazine's editor-in-chief Scott Rowley and writer Jerry Ewing were sitting at a table with the pair during November's Classic Rock Roll of Honor Awards in Britain. Mog.com posted that they heard Perry extend the frontman gig to Rodgers.

Out now is the long-unreleased 1992 Rod Stewart album called, Once In A Blue Moon -- The Lost Album. The 12-song collection features covers of the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday," Stevie Nicks' "Stand Back," Tom Waits' "Tom Traubert's Blues," and Bob Dylan's "The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar," among other tracks.

AC/DC's music will be used extensively in the upcoming summer superhero blockbuster Iron Man 2, as a result of a new collaboration between Columbia Records and Marvel Studios. A new video for the song "Shoot To Thrill," incorporating exclusive footage from the movie, premiered online Tuesday (January 26th), while an album called AC/DC: Iron Man 2, featuring 15 classic tracks from the band, will arrive in stores on April 19th, less than three weeks before the movie's May 7th release date.