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At first it sounded a little iffy that ladies man Bret Michaels was recording a duet with that teen who can’t be tamed, Miley Cyrus. Then it was kind of sweet when Michaels joined Cyrus on her cover of “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” last year. Then it got kind of creepy when Cyrus sang on Michaels’ new single “Nothing To Lose,” which boasts lyrics like “we both know better than this/ still we can’t resist/ slowly get undressed.”

But really, who could say a bad thing about Bret after the month that dude has had? Besides, Michaels recently talked to Entertainment Weekly about the track and says it’s not quite as risque as people are making it out to be. “I guess in hindsight I should have looked more at the maturity of the song,” Michaels tells EW. “But she was never singing it to me, so I never thought about it. It got really controversial for no reason, and it’s kind of a bummer, because it took it away from how beautiful the song really is.”

No sarcastic remarks needed for this one. Turns out Nick Jonas will be playing the role of Marius in a West End production of Les Miserables. The teen sensation will make his West End theater debut on June 21, when the musical opens at London’s Queen’s Theatre.

After dropping hints, Jonas finally confirmed the news, saying, “I am so excited to announce that I will be performing in Les Miserables once again! The amazing Cameron Macintosh reached out to me last year about portraying the role of Marius in London at the West End. When I was ten years old I was in Les Miserables as Gavroche. On my closing night in 2003 I told my parents that I would come back to be Marius one day. It is truly a dream come true.”

Hey, you can’t always be the court jester. So far in this up-and-coming electro-pop band’s web series, Ready Set wunderkind Jordan Witzigreuter has made a mockery of marketing, neon hoodies and even his boss, Decaydance Records founder Pete Wentz.

And while this week’s webisode is light on that sort of self-aware humor, it does give you a poignant look at Witzigreuter’s story so far. (Hey, there is even footage of him drumming as a babyfaced tween!) Consider this further proof as to why we’re so excited for his debut I’m Alive, I’m Dreaming to drop in June.

The Gorge—the setting for this weekend’s ninth annual Sasquatch Festival— speaks to you. With its picturesque backdrop and gorgeous natural landscape, one would expect that the music performed there should be as peaceful and sweeping as its setting. The cathartic wave of noise of MGMT; the thumping dance floor grooves of LCD Soundsystem; the minimalist tension of The xx.

They’re all there this year and we’re not denying these acts will surely deliver. But occasionally lost among this mix is a genre of acts to which these indie darlings—especially ones with electronic leanings—owe a great portion of their sound to. Many of the hip-hop and electronic acts will go largely unnoticed by those on hand. (Really, a crowd coming to see The Freelance Whales may not be down with Public Enemy).

But even among all the beard rock fair this year, the hip-hop and electronic artists at this year’s fest will bring not only a welcome change of pace, but may just provide some of the most memorable, and emotionally blissful moments of the weekend. So who should you catch? Take a look at just a few of the more surprising acts performing this year.

Journalists and rock stars have always had a complicated and often tenuous relationship with each other—just look at Lester Bangs and Lou Reed or Jim DeRogatis and Ryan Adams. Now there is M.I.A. and The New York Times Magazine’s Lynn Hirschberg.

Earier today, M.I.A. took to the Twittersphere and posted, “CALL ME IF YOU WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT THE N Y T TRUTH ISSUE, ill b taking calls all day bitches ; )” Oh yeah and at the beginning of that message she also posted the writer’s phone number.