Get your jazz hands ready! Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy has told Rolling Stone that his band’s fifth album, Hazards of Love, is probably going to be described as a “rock opera.” The hour-long narrative suite is said to be a “twisty, fantastical story about a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William, who is desperate for the two of them to be reunited; a forest queen; and a villainous rake.” Although plans for director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) to stage the musical were sadly canceled, the Decemberists’ spring tour will feature the band playing the entire album straight through.

MP3:
The Decemberists - “Valerie Plame”

PREVIOUSLY:
Decemberists Prep Singles Series In Anticipation of New Album

Today at Comic-Con, MTV announced their intentions to do the time warp by remaking the 1975 cult-classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show to broadcast on TV next Halloween. Apparently they will work off the original campy 1975 screenplay but ”may also include music not featured in the original.” No word yet on a director or cast, but hopefully execs will not send The Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana to the ol’ Frankenstein place. What do you think - inspired idea or movie-mistake-in-the-making? Here’s a big batch of Rocky Horror covers to enjoy while you pray Heidi Montag isn’t cast as Janet…

MP3s:
Dresden Dolls - “Science Fiction/Double Feature”
Control-R - “Dammit Janet”
Kelly Kapowski - “Over at the Frankenstein Place”
String Cheese Incident - “Time Warp”
Casper & The Cookies - “Sweet Transvestite”
Pansy Division - “I Can Make You a Man”
Truth and Beauty - “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a Touch Me”
Suburban Legends - “Rose Tint My World”
Paul Pecorino - “I’m Going Home”

As if I needed another reason to be jealous of English culture, the super-rad title sequence for the BBC’s forthcoming coverage of the 2008 Olympics – created by the men behind Gorillaz, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett – has appeared online. The two-minute animated clip features three characters (Monkey, Pigsy, & Sandy) from the duo’s recently-opened opera, Monkey: Journey To The West, who are serving as the faces of BBC Olympics coverage.

Don’t get me wrong - the five Fuwa are plenty adorable as far as Olympic Mascots go (my fave is Huanhuan!), but I’d definitely put my money on the outnumbered, monster-battling Monkey trio if the toon groups ever fought each other! Check out the clip below along with two tracks from Monkey: Journey To The West!

MP3s:
Monkey - “Heavenly Peach Banquet”
Monkey - “I Love Buddha”

VIDEO:

In recognition of the 25th anniversary of Andy Kaufman’s departure, Comic Relief is presenting “The Return of Tony Clifton.” Along with with his Katrina Kiss My Ass Orchestra (ten cutting edge Gulf Coast musicians) and the Cliftonettes (three sexy, talented backup singers/ dancers), Clifton is set to kick off a national tour to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina on June 27th 2008 at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA. Could there be better timing for the triumphant return of this “international singing sensation”?

MP3:
Tony Clifton - “I Will Survive”

Remember back in February when Hypeful asked you to help bring This American Life to a movie theater near you? Good news - it worked!!! On May 1st, acclaimed radio and television host Ira Glass will bring his wildly popular show to the big screen for a one-night only event. Broadcast live from New York via satellite and presented in HD and Cinema Surround Sound, Glass will debut never-before-seen extraordinary, funny and true stories from everyday life, show outtakes, feature special guests and answer audience questions. Tickets go on sale April 4th and you can see the complete list of participating theatres here. If you’re planning on going, you can also submit a question via email for Ira Glass in advance.

MP3:
Nouvelle Vague - “Heart Of Glass”