David Bowie tonight premiered the second single off his upcoming album ‘The Next Day,’ a far more rocking number than the song he sprung from nowhere last month. “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” is available now on iTunes, and you can hear it via the just-premiered video, which stars Bowie and actress Tilda Swinton.

The Lincoln car company this afternoon released its heavily promoted video of Beck performing David Bowie’s “Sound and Vision” with a gigantic, 160-piece orchestra in a 360-degree setting, part of the automaker’s new “Hello, Again” series that finds artists reinterpreting old works. Check it out.

Thought to be retired from music and the public eye, David Bowie tonight announced he will release The Next Day — his first new album in a decade —next March, a collection preceded by the single “Where Are We Now?” that’s available immediately via iTunes and can be heard via its accompanying video.

Long-running darkwave favorites Clan of Xymox — still centered around founding member Ronny Moorings — this fall will pay tribute to some of its own favorite bands with a collection called ‘Kindred Spirits’ that will feature covers of tracks by The Cure, Depeche Mode, Siouxsie and the Banshees and both Joy Division and New Order.

The series launched this summer, and, so far, titles are available on Joy Division/New Order, The Smiths, Cocteau Twins and David Bowie. Next month sees publication of a title on Kate Bush, with books due in spring and summer 2013 on Abba, My Bloody Valentine, Kraftwerk, PIxies, R.E.M. and Roxy Music.

In this week’s link round-up we find Lloyd Cole writing about David Bowie’s ‘Low,’ plus interviews with Jim Reid of the recently reunited Jesus and Mary Chain, Ivan Doroschuk of Men Without Hats, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger of The Beat (aka The English Beat) and New Wave piano man Joe Jackson.

This week’s new releases include the first new album in 27 years from Dexys Midnight Runners (now named Dexys), plus reissues from David Bowie (‘Ziggy Stardust’), Propaganda (‘Wishful Thinking’), Germs (‘GI’) and Bob Mould’s Sugar (‘Beaster’), as well as a new collection of Ministry remixes and covers.

The Cure tonight played the first of at least 19 European festival dates on the books this summer, and Robert Smith had a little secret to reveal at Holland’s famed Pinkpop Festival: new guitarist Reeves Gabrels, a former David Bowie collaborator who previously recorded with Smith in the late ’90s.

Our latest collection of links includes sad news about the passing of former Crowded House drummer Peter Jones, plus an interview with Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan about Soulsavers, news of Morrissey’s libel suit against the NME proceeding to court this summer, and a mix of David Bowie covers from Strangeways Radio.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is helping make a feature-length documentary about the so-called ‘Woodstock of the ’80s’ — the 1982 US Festival, which featured Talking Heads, Oingo Boingo, The B-52s, The Cars, Ramones, Gang of Four and more — to be released this Labor Day weekend on the event’s 30th anniversary.

This week’s round-up of Slicing Up Eyeballs headlines includes news about My Bloody Valentine, The Smiths, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Depeche Mode, The Cult, The Charlatans, Duran Duran and Men Without Hats — plus a new Peter Gabriel live CD giveaway.

Checking back in with the The AV Club’s recently launched Undercover 2012 series, we find that roots rockers Lucero have taken taken it upon themselves to cover David Bowie’s 1983 hit “Modern Love.” It’s a pretty good match, considering Lucero’s horn section.

This past week’s Slicing Up Eyeballs headlines included news about The Cure, Depeche Mode, New Order, Morrissey, Flipper, The Human League, Dead Can Dance, The Cult, Wire, Paul Weller and Happy Mondays — plus our Q&A with David J and a brand-new Auto Reverse mixtape for February.