Our buddies at the 'Corps , Charlie and Aaron get an all-access pass to Lupe in Chicago. And he writes: "The setting of the concert (the middle of Downtown Chicago) was amazing, it’s like no other concert i’ve been to…it just rocked." Check out their writeup here , and Zune.net's writeup/cool video, here . Sweet.

I've got info on all the Zune Launch Parties. We've got one in Atlanta , Chicago , Seattle , LA , NYC , and Miami (link going up later today). Check this site tomorrow for details.

Hello again from NYC. Yesterday was a packed day - all about music. We booked Colin Meloy from The Decemberists to play an accoustic set at Piano's . Piano's also provided a hearty breakfast: delicious. We also had a kiosk set up for attendees to check out Zune: I'm not sure where you'll be able to find these kiosks, but I'll check with the team and post when I know. < Edit 1:02 PM EST > Charlie and the Zunecorps crew (awesome site) spotted a few kiosks at Wal-Mart . After Colin's set, Small...

Today we're issuing a press release about Zune's launch date and price: November 14 in the U.S.; $249.99. Many people have asked about Zune Marketplace: A ZunePass (giving you access to millions of songs) will cost you $14.99 per month. If you want to buy a song individually it'll cost you 79 Microsoft Points (or 99 cents). My buddy Richard and I have talked before about pre-loaded content. Here's the full list: Audio Tracks · Band of Horses, “Wicked Gil” (Sub Pop Records) · Bitter:Sweet, “The Mating...