Compact Discs:

Making the local record store that much more obsolete, online retailer behemoth Amazon announced yesterday its option for customers to trade in CDs for store credit, the sad plastic music format now keeping company with books, DVDs and video games, the way of buybacks. Your expected return? Well, the BOSS‘ brand spankin’ new Wrecking Ball is fetching $3.75 right now, while Maroon 5‘s Songs About Jane is at $0.40. Mind you, in Wrecking Ball‘s case, you would be able to purchase a mere two tracks from Amazon’s downloadable digital counterpart. Of the big retailers, Amazon is the first to offer such a service.

The Axl Show:

As the intranets guffawed Axl Rose’s enigmatic open-letter Guns N’ Roses bid decline to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in all its 1,000+ word ego-ballooning, the Hall responded with a simple 14-word acknowledgment: “We are sorry Axl will not be able to accept his induction in person.” If you read between its sole line, there, you will notice that the Hall is going against his wishes to “not be inducted in absentia.” Which is a wee bit more rock and roll than their response to Johnny Rotten‘s “piss stain…were not your monkey” [sic], denunciation in 2006, in which a Hall executive director replied, “They are being the outrageous punsters that they are, and that’s rock and roll.” So raise your hand, who is really being rock and roll, here? Original GNR bassist Duff McKagen has an answer.

Coachellagrams:

Fallen West Coast hip-hop-R&B dynamo Nate Dogg will take posthumous career imprints to a new level, when Dr. Dre, who didn’t want to exclude his old friend from his headlining Coachella slot, will broadcast the late MC via hologram. TMZ is reporting that Nate will join Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Warren G and Daz Dillinger to “make it appear as though he’s actually performing on stage.” Apparently, Mariah Carey utilized the technology Dre’s planning to use throughout Europe late last year. The future is now!

Marley:

Speaking of posthumous career imprints, Bob Marley is arguably the king of such an immortal legacy of influence. Up in rock heaven now for over 30 years, the outspoken Rastafarian has become synonymous with reggae, amassing the highest numbers of any record released in the genre with 1984’s Legend, of which is currently ten times Platinum. Numbers aside, a long-delayed documentary is set to arrive on April 20 (yes, 4-20) via “day-and-date” release, meaning you’ll be able to purchase the film the day it drops. Originally orchestrated by Martin Scorsese, the rock-doc elitist had to bow out due to schedule conflicts back in 2008. Then came Jonathan Demme (Stop Making Sense), who subsequently bowed out due to creative differences. And finally, Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), was poached, focusing on concert footage, photos and revelations about Marley’s oeuvre (via the Wall Street Journal).