Laurie Anderson recently spoke with Billboard magazine about her forthcoming Nonesuch release, Homeland. "Co-produced by Lou Reed," says Billboard, "the album is defined by Anderson's provocative politics and technological innovations." She discusses the making of the album, her writing process, the Indaba Music remix contest for the track "Only an Expert," her alter ego Fenway Bergamot, and her upcoming role in the Coney Island Mermaid Parade.

Björk is the recipient of the 2010 Polar Music Prize. "With her deeply personal music and lyrics, her precise arrangements and her unique voice," the award citation reads, "Björk has already made an indelible mark on pop music and modern culture at large, despite her relative youth." Also honored is Ennio Morricone. The prize will be awarded by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a televised gala ceremony in Stockholm on August 30.

Punch Brothers had already been planning a full spring and summer tour across the US, in support of their forthcoming album, Antifogmatic, including a supporting slot with Josh Ritter in Boston next week and sets at the Bonnaroo, Telluride Bluegrass, Caramoor, and Newport Folk festivals. Now comes word that the band will open for comedian, actor, author, and Grammy-winning banjo player Steve Martin for several dates in June, July, and August.

Congratulations to Thomas Newman, winner of the 2010 Classical BRIT Award for Soundtrack of the Year for his score to the film Revolutionary Road. Newman was in attendance to receive the award at the ceremony at Royal Albert Hall in London.

In the four weeks since word went out that Laurie Anderson was in search of a collaborator to remix "Only an Expert," off her forthcoming Nonesuch album, Homeland, via online music creation hub Indaba Music, remix artists have offered submissions in styles across the spectrum. Today is the last day to enter at indabamusic.com/remixla; submissions are due by 5 PM ET. That's when the work switches hands, and fans and judges vote for their favorites.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops have been nominated for the Americana Music Award for Duo or Group of the Year, the Americana Music Association announced today. The award show will be held in Nashville's Ryman Auditorium September 9. The band's Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is due out on vinyl June 29 and is now up for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store.

The word is out: The Black Keys tune "Chop and Change" will be featured on the soundtrack for what will undoubtedly be one of this summer's biggest films, Eclipse, the latest in the Twilight saga starring Robert Pattison, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner. The album's track listing is being revealed at MySpace one artist at a time, every half hour today until all 15 tracks are revealed.

New Orleans native Allen Toussaint will perform at Gulf Aid, a benefit concert to raise funds for wetland recovery efforts and to support fishermen and families affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Also scheduled to perform at this Sunday's event are Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, Mos Def, Dr. John, and many others. It will be broadcast on New Orleans radio station WWOZ 90.7 FM, online at wwoz.org.

The Black Keys' new album, Brothers, is due out May 18; to make the waiting easier, NPR.org is streaming the entire album as a First Listen. NPR's Bob Boilen says it's "packed with great songs and devoid of throwaways." The band will launch an exclusive pop-up store at NYC’s Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, May 18–20, highlighted by an intimate performance by The Black Keys on May 19; all ticket proceeds will go to Housing Works' efforts supporting New Yorkers with HIV/AIDS.

John Adams begins two weeks' of events on the East Coast with a concert in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall tonight, leading Ensemble ACJW in his Son of Chamber Symphony and Louis Andriessen's De Staat. The Kennedy Center launches John Adams: Perspectives, a two-week celebration of his music, featuring concerts with the NSO, discussions, a film screening, and book signings of his memoir, Hallelujah Junction, from which Adams will read at the Library of Congress.

Tune in to The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight on CBS to see Wilco perform "Deeper Down" off Wilco (the album). The band has just announced a diverse array of musical guests for the line up of its first Solid Sound Festival, a three-day event to be held at MASS MoCA, August 13–15, in North Adams, Massachusetts. In addition to performances by the band and its members, the festival will feature Avi Buffalo, Vetiver, Sir Richard Bishop, Mountain Man, Brenda, The Books, Deep Blue Organ Trio, and legendary puppet theater company Bread and Puppet.

k.d. lang's performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the Logie Awards, Australia's television awards, last week "held the room spellbound," says the Sydney Morning Herald. Now comes word that the lang's latest Nonesuch release, Recollection, has shot to No. 1 on Australia's album chart, a position the album first reached upon its release in February.