Paramore's Hayley Williams
Photo: MTV News

It's no coincidence that on the weekend of Halloween (arguably the scariest of the holidays — save for Groundhog Day) mtvU is airing their Ulalume Music Festival special featuring AFI, Kid Cudi, Dead By Sunrise and Paramore. The show, whose name comes from an Edgar Allan Poe poem, is a showcase of artists who embrace the dark aesthetic and supply the perfect soundtrack for Halloween night.

During the fest, MTV News caught up with the Nashville natives Paramore and asked about some of their favorite Halloween costumes and memories. After all, they did write that song for "Twilight," so they should be experts of all things macabre, right?

"One time someone made me a Casper costume because 'Casper' was my favorite movie," Paramore singer Hayley Williams shared. "It kind of looked like ... what's his name from 'Ghostbusters'?"

Drummer Zac Farro tried to help. "Bill Murray?"

"No, marshmallow dude!" Williams said, referring to that frightening Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. "I looked like that, and the head was absolutely huge — it had these huge plastic eyes and I could see out of the bottom of them. It was legit; I could probably go to Disney World with it but I looked ginormous."

Zac described a Halloween highlight that involved him and brother/ Paramore guitarist Josh Farro. "When Josh and I were little, we weren't allowed to trick-or-treat — my mom thought it was Satan's day. But we saw Coneheads ... it was like a family of Coneheads — it was amazing."

"Wow, I probably would've gotten scared!" Williams laughed.

For more from the "New Moon" cast and to see an exclusive clip from the film, check out MTV's "Ulalume: Howling at New Moon" on Friday, October 30, at 9 p.m. ET — and check MTV.com at 10 p.m. to see the clip exclusively online!

It's Halloween Week, the spookiest time of the year and also the most fun. So as the leaves fall and it gets a bit colder, we here at MTV News decided to pay homage to the holiday by rounding up some of your favorite celebrities' Halloween memories and costume ideas — some even offer advice on how to dress up like them this year. So brace yourselves: You're in for one horrifying week!

• MTV News Extended Play: Ulalume Edition

• Paramore
• Dead By Sunrise
• Kid Cudi
• AFI

Paramore at the Ulalume Music Festival
Photo: MTV News

COLUMBIA, Maryland — This was definitely the first time Paramore played a show for the Super Mario Brothers. Or a zombie skateboarder and his wife. Or a yeti.

Of course, they made mention of this fact during their crackling headlining set at Friday night's (October 23) Ulalume Music Festival — it's named after a particulary gloomy Edgar Allan Poe poem — an evening of big-ticket performances and creative costumery held at the very spooky (for this night, at least) Merriweather Post Pavillion deep in the woods of suburban Maryland.

It was a concert held in honor of Halloween (it's set to be broadcast October 30 on mtvU), which explained the kids dressed up in all manner of ghoulish finery (and more than a few Baltimore Ravens jerseys), and was certainly why the grounds of MPP were covered in stringy cobwebs and flooded with ominous fog.

There was a fake cemetery on site, and a haunted house (OK, it was called the "Clown Asylum") too. Not to mention haystacks, lots and lots of haystacks (haunted ones!). Throw in a bill loaded with rock mainstays (Paramore, AFI, Chester Bennington's Dead By Sunrise side project) and hotly tipped hip-hop acts (Kid Cudi and Asher Roth, though Ash pulled out at the last minute due to complications from dental surgery), and you had the makings of a pretty raucous party, the kind every zombie would die (again) to attend.

Cudi got the festivities started with a delightfully ambling set that showcased songs from his recent Man on the Moon and his strengths as a stony, self-effacing showman.

Dressed like a well-connected lumberjack (red-and-white flannel, Billionaire Boys Club custom T-shirt), he bobbed and weaved through hits like the Lady Gaga sampling "Make Her Say," his breakout "Day 'N' Nite" and next single, the thick-as-molasses "Pursuit of Happiness." The costumed crowd ate it up and Cudi egged them on, pacing the stage and striking decidedly rock-star poses before exiting with a humble, "Goodbye. Thank you."

Bennington's Dead By Sunrise followed, peppering the night with rock that was equal parts pummel and pastoral. Their set's highest point, "Crawl Back In" — the first single off the band's just-released Out Of Ashes album — was a little bit of both, mixing grungy chords and Bennington's near-patented yowl with some seriously precise drums and an ethereal backbeat.

There was a costume contest next (big ups to Eddie the Yeti, who took home the $2,500 first prize!), then it was time for AFI to take the audience on a ride, a task they were more than up for.

Energized by their new Crash Love album, they flailed and wailed with a fury that belied the fact that they've been at it for some 18 years now, with frontman Davey Havok flying around the stage, guitarist Jade Puget pulling outrageous solos out of his axe and bassist Hunter Bergan spinning and strutting like he owned the joint.

Songs like "Death of Seasons" and "Beautiful Thieves" were swelled to massive proportions, the former ending with Havok — dressed in skintight black T-shirt and silver pants, hair swept back in dramatic pompadour — collapsed atop a row of speakers, the latter wrapping with him striding out into the audience, held aloft by their outstreched arms. New single "Medicate" featured snarling riffs and one those epic, fret-melting Puget solos. And the set-closing combo of "Miss Murder" and "Silver and Cold" was a masterclass in loud/soft tecnhique, getting quiet with piano lines and electric chirps before roaring back with ferocious guitars and huge, crowd-approved choruses.

And, like we said, Paramore closed things out, with a fiery set that served notice that they've (not-so-) quietly become of the best live acts in the country.

New songs like "Ignorance," "Careful" and "Looking Up" bounced and bristled with energy, driven by the lock-step rhythm section of Zac Farro and Jeremy Davis, the spiky interplay of guitarists Josh Farro and Taylor York, and frontwoman Hayley Williams' vocal acrobatics. They breathed new life into older stuff, too, intro-ing "Misery Business" with a soft-jazz instrumental and muscular guitar lines, and conducting the crowd with frantic arm waves on "That's What You Get."

"Decode" was a roller-coaster ride (Williams sang the heck out of it), "Where the Lines Overlap" was bouyed by Josh and Williams' two-part harmonies and set-closer (and next single) "Brick By Boring Brick" had the ghosts and gals singing along loudly. It was all pretty spooky. Spooky good.

And then it was over, and the costumed kids emptied out of the Pavillion. To most, it didn't matter that the temperature had dropped and a steady rain had begun to fall — bouyed by an evening of excellent music, they simply partied on in their ponchos. Ghouls just wanna have fun, after all.

For more from the "New Moon" cast and to see an exclusive clip from the film, check out MTV's "Ulalume: Howling at New Moon" on Friday, October 30 at 9 p.m. ET — and check MTV.com at 10 p.m. to see the clip exclusively online!

• Kid Cudi
• AFI
• Paramore

AFI's <i>Sing The Sorrow</i>
Photo: DreamWorks

Nearly two weeks after he was taken off life support, producer Jerry Finn, who had worked with the likes of Blink-182, Morrissey, AFI, Rancid and Green Day, died last week at the age of 39, about a month after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage. According to Billboard, Finn passed away on August 21.

Finn got his start in the business as an engineer during the early 1990s and eventually made the transition to producer, helming records by Pennywise, Jawbreaker, Madness, Alkaline Trio and Sum 41. He produced Rancid's 1995 LP ...And Out Come the Wolves, Blink-182's 1999 offering Enema of the State and 2000's The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!), and AFI's 2003 breakthrough Sing the Sorrow and its follow-up, 2006's Decemberunderground. Most recently, Finn produced ex-Smiths frontman Morrissey's upcoming Years of Refusal, which is slated for a February release.

Billboard reports that a family friend claims a scholarship fund is in the works, as well as a memorial for friends and family.

Last week, former Blink-182 member Mark Hoppus spoke out about Finn's death on his blog.

"One of my best friends passed away," he wrote. "Jerry Finn was one of the most talented, funniest, coolest, smartest and honest people I've ever known. He was true in every sense of the word. True in his love of music, true in his friendships; Jerry loved life. He was happiest when quietly making music he loved, and loudly making fun of everything he didn't. When I think of times spent with Jerry, all I can think of is us laughing. ... He's just one of those guys with the quickest wit in the room. He also knows more about music than anyone. ... I feel blessed to have worked with and learned so much from him. But most of all, I am honored to call him my dear friend. Jerry, I miss you already."

• AFI
• blink-182
• Green Day

Lily Allen
Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images

Lily Allen is returning to work after suffering a miscarriage last week, Us Weekly reports. The British songstress will begin shooting her upcoming TV show, "Lily Allen and Friends," on Wednesday. The show will air on the U.K.'s BBC3. "She has insisted on coming back to work," a BBC insider told Us. "Obviously it's tough for her right now, but she is a professional and sees going back to work as a way to focus on something else." Allen was four months along with her first child with boyfriend Ed Simons, one-half of the Chemical Brothers, when she had the miscarriage. ...

Pinhead Gunpowder, a side project for Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, will be playing two very rare shows next month. The band is booked to perform February 3 at the Chain Reaction in Anaheim, California, and on February 4 at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. The last time the band performed live was back in 2001. ...

Four eyewitnesses have reportedly stepped forward to support a claim from real-estate agent Gerard Rechnitzer that he was assaulted by Sean "Diddy" Combs at an Oscar party last year. The Associated Press reports that papers filed by Rechnitzer's attorney contain a witness report from Marianna Ruiz, who said in papers filed last week that Combs struck Rechnitzer unprovoked. "I just kind of remember seeing him go flying, not flying as in like feet off the ground, but he went back significantly," said Ruiz, who was part of a group at the club with the Rechnitzer. "I was just in shock that somebody would ... just kind of strike somebody out of nowhere." A second witness, Michael Sherman, reportedly said that, "all of a sudden, he hit him. And there was a taxi behind Gerard. Gerard got knocked into the taxi." Sherman added that Combs then allegedly tried to spit on Ruiz, who was standing nearby. Rechnitzer is seeking unspecified damages in the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last year over the incident, which took place on February 25, 2007. The suit, which Combs' attorneys have called "completely baseless," also claims that the rap impresario pushed Rechnitzer's girlfriend. ...

Paris Hilton had a rather uncomfortable experience the last time she appeared on David Letterman's talk show — but not uncomfortable enough to keep her from coming back. Hilton will appear on "The Late Show With David Letterman" on February 1, according to TMZ. During Hilton's September 28 visit, Letterman asked questions about the heiress' stint in prison and wouldn't let up. It will be Hilton's sixth appearance on the show. In other Hilton news, Us Weekly caught up with the celeb at Sundance to ask about her on-and-off friend Britney Spears. "She's such a sweet girl when I'm alone with her; she's a completely different person than she's made out to be," Hilton told Us. "And I love her. I think she's very sweet and has a big heart. She's amazing." The "Simple Life" star wished the best for the troubled pop star. "I just want her to be happy," she said. "I think everything's going to be OK." ...

Kiefer Sutherland was released from jail early Monday morning after serving 48 days on a drunken driving charge. According to The Associated Press, the "24" actor was quickly ushered out of a back door of the Glendale, California, jail to avoid the crush of press. Sutherland, who had his own cell and ate alone, reportedly spent most of his jail sentence apart from other inmates, interacting with fellow prisoners only when he was on the way to the laundry room where he worked cleaning sheets, pillowcases and blankets. The actor pleaded no contest in October to driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08 percent and was sentenced to 30 days, as well as 18 days for violating probation stemming from a 2004 drunken-driving arrest. ...

AFI plan on returning to the same studio where they recorded most of their earliest albums, to begin work on what will be their next LP. Guitarist Jade Puget wrote on the band's MySpace blog, "We're currently working on new songs," and noted that being in the old studio has the band feeling "very nostalgic." ... Why was Gwyneth Paltrow hospitalized last week? Her chef pal Mario Batali says the actress' trip to New York's Mount Sinai Hospital was due to "a little gastrointestinal situation," according to UsMagazine.com. "It's now been straightened out," said Batali, who is traveling with Paltrow to Spain in three weeks to shoot a PBS cooking show, set to air in October. Paltrow's rep issued a statement on Tuesday (January 22), saying, "She is at home and OK." ...

The original lineup of New York hardcore legends Biohazard will reunite for a series of performances this summer in commemoration of the band's 20th anniversary. Bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld, guitarist/vocalist Billy Graziadei, drummer Danny Schuler, and guitarist Bobby Hambel have not performed together publicly since 1995. "Biohazard was the single most important chapter in our lives," Seinfeld said. "Our music brought us together and helped us rise up out of the streets of Brooklyn. Our journey has been an amazing one, and for me, it's all about my brothers Billy, Bobby and Danny, and of course the fans, whose undying support has never given up on the hopes of a reunion of the original band." ...

Christian metalcore outfit Norma Jean have tapped Spitfire's Chris Raines as their new drummer. The announcement ends months of auditions to find a replacement for Daniel Davison, who left in September.

1.21.08

Usher's father, Usher Raymond III, passed away at an Atlanta hospital on Friday, a rep for the singer confirmed to MTV News. The cause of death was not immediately known; People.com reported that the funeral will take place this week at the Taylor Funeral Home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. ...

Britney Spears spent more than two hours at the Los Angeles office of Kevin Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, on Monday (January 21) for an ongoing deposition in the former couple's custody battle, according to People.com. Spears was videotaped driving up to the office, accompanied by friend Sam Lufti, at around 10:40 a.m. PT and left at around 1:20 p.m. The deposition is expected to continue on Tuesday.

1.18.08

Lindsay Lohan has gotten a harsh assignment as part of her community service for misdemeanor drunk driving. The Associated Press reported that the 21-year-old actress will be working two four-hour days at a morgue as part of her court-ordered program meant to show drivers the real-life consequences of drunk driving. Lohan — who must serve 10 days of community service as part of her plea deal — worked at an American Red Cross blood-services facility in a Los Angeles suburb in November. She has also been ordered to spend two days working in a hospital emergency room. ...

A New York judge told Foxy Brown on Thursday that she's going to have to provide medical proof for why she should be let out of jail to repair her defective cochlear implant, a surgically implanted hearing device. AP reports that acting Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Melissa Jackson told the rapper (born Inga Marchand) that she needs more information before deciding if she can let Brown out of jail to fly to California for treatment and a repair of the implant. Brown, who was sentenced to a year in jail in September for probation violation, recently petitioned the court via a handwritten letter to allow her to travel for treatment, saying that her hearing condition is worsening in jail and that she faces serious, potentially permanent hearing loss if the issue isn't resolved. Assistant District Attorney Cindy Chung had objected, saying Brown had not shown any proof that the procedure could not be done in New York and calling the request a "desperate and frivolous petition." Before being led out of court, Brown reportedly told the judge she had done a lot of thinking in jail about how to control her emotions and make better decisions, saying, "I have too much talent to throw it away. ... I know I will make you proud and my family proud." The seemingly nonplussed judge replied, "I'm glad you're learning some very hard lessons that needed to be learned." ...

Britney Spears, who has done little to promote her Blackout album aside from appearing in the tabloids on a daily basis, has landed a paying gig. Spears will host a party for the Scandinavian Style Mansion at a private residence in Beverly Hills, California, on February 16, party organizer Claus Hjelmbak confirmed. "She's going to do the press line and be there for a few hours," Hjelmbak told MTV News. She was a guest for a similar party for the Mansion featuring items from luxury brands on December 1. "Even though she wasn't the host, she was so sweet to everybody and so generous with her time," Hjelmbak said. "She made all these little kids and all my clients feel amazing." ...

Amy Winehouse's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, was in court Friday (January 18) to enter a plea of innocent to charges of assault and conspiracy. According to The Associated Press, Winehouse was not in the London courtroom to hear Fielder-Civil confirm his name and enter the plea, but she did show up afterward in a silver BMW, surrounded by bodyguards who shielded her from the paparazzi. Despite rumors that the couple could be headed for divorce, Winehouse was seen whispering, "I love you handsome ... gorgeous one," to her husband as he was led away. Fielder-Civil, 25, who is accused of attacking a pub landlord, and then later conspiring along with several other men to convince the man to withdraw as a witness in the trial, has been in jail since November. Fielder-Civil is due back in court on February 29 to enter a plea on the charge of obstructing justice. AP reports that the landlord in the case, James King, denied the conspiracy charge during his appearance on Friday. ...

Dreams come true: Paramore are set to co-headline a tour with their idols Jimmy Eat World. The trek will launch in March, with dates to be announced shortly. "If it all ends tomorrow, we will be happy knowing that we got a tour with the band that gave us a reason to play music," Paramore singer Hayley Williams said in a statement. "We got to know them last December while playing festivals together. They put on a great show and we think it's going to be an awesome bill," added Jimmy Eat World singer Jim Adkins. ... Every Time I Die, Chiodos, Motion City Soundtrack, Meg and Dia, Thrice and the Bled are featured on the audio portion of the Take Action! Volume 7 CD/DVD compilation, which is scheduled for a March 4 release. ...

The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. — the site of a recent bid by talk-show host Stephen Colbert to have his portrait enshrined alongside some of America's legendary presidents — is about to unveil an exhibition honoring hip-hop. "Recognize! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture" will open February 8 and feature photographer David Scheinbaum's portraits of famous rappers, paintings by Kehinde Wiley of LL Cool J and Ice-T based on famous European and American paintings from the 17th-19th centuries, and a poem by Nikki Giovanni that will be transcribed onto the walls of the exhibition by artist Shinique Smith. There will also be four portrait murals created by a pair of Washington graffiti artists that will be featured in the hallway between the galleries. ...

Velvet Revolver's Slash recently told Illinois' Northwest Herald that the band will begin working on its next LP in April. Slash is also planning to record a solo album sometime in the next year or two, he said. ... Staind frontman Aaron Lewis' three-night solo acoustic run at the Mohegan Sun Arena and Cabaret in Uncasville, Connecticut, next month will be filmed for the rocker's first-ever solo DVD. There's no word yet on when the effort will be ready for mass consumption, but we'll keep you posted. ... Chevelle and Finger Eleven will hit the road together next month for a spate of live gigs. The first is set for February 19 in Flint, Michigan, and so far, shows are booked through March 18 in Providence, Rhode Island. More dates will be revealed in the coming weeks. ...

Hard as it may be to believe, Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore has recorded the score to an adult film, according to Wired. "Extra Action (And Extra Hardcore)," which hits stores March 18 and was directed by Richard Kern, is an hourlong film that features "unpretentious, unadorned and definitely undressed" women, asked to "roll around and do something interesting for a few minutes." ...

Seal has signed on as the headliner of Musicians on Call's fourth annual Benefit Concert & Auction, which will take place January 29 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York's Times Square. Among the items up for bid from the organization, which brings music to patients in health-care facilities, are two front-row concert tickets and a one-on-one piano lesson from Gavin DeGraw, a Fender bass signed by Sting, an acoustic guitar signed by Bon Jovi, and a meet-and-greet and two tickets for a Daughtry or Carrie Underwood/ Keith Urban show. ... Against stiff odds, Tanya Andersen has beaten the Recording Industry Association of America again. The single mother, who became a folk hero among the thousands of targets of the association's downloading lawsuits when the RIAA dropped its 2005 suit against her for lack of evidence, got word on Tuesday that a judge had ruled in her favor once more. Wired News reports that an Oregon judge ordered the RIAA to pay the 42-year-old Andersen's legal-defense fees from the copyright-infringement case, upholding a September ruling that the organization had appealed.

[This story was originally published at 2:48 pm E.T. on 1.22.2008]

• Lily Allen
• Green Day
• Diddy
• AFI
• Biohazard

Fergie on the January/February cover of <i>Blender</i> magazine
Photo: Wayne Maser

Fergie is Blender magazine's Woman of the Year — but don't get too excited, guys, she's "practically married" to actor Josh Duhamel. "I'm madly in love with him," the Black Eyed Pea said in the cover-story interview, during which she dropped more than a few F-bombs. "He understands how to treat a woman and give me respect. And I'm gonna miss him on tour." Fergie reportedly started to cry after making that comment, as she did at the top of the chat, when she was told she had earned the Woman of the Year honor. "It feels like such an accomplishment. ... And — I can't believe you made me cry. I'm so embarrassed. And I'm f---ing up my eyeliner." ...

Ashley Tisdale is saying sorry to fans for scratching two shows over the weekend because of her recent nose job. "When my surgery was scheduled, we didn't think it would be necessary to cancel the shows because my doctor thought I would heal in time," she wrote on her Web site. "Unfortunately, the deviated septum was more significant than we originally thought so the healing process is taking longer." The "High School Musical" star, who missed her gigs in Miami and Philadelphia, was also absent at New York's Jingle Ball on Friday. ...

50 Cent played for thousands of fans at a soccer stadium in Pristina, the capital of the Serbian province of Kosovo, on Monday, The Associated Press reports. Twenty-five thousand tickets were reportedly sold for the show, which featured fireworks, according to AP. ...

Hawthorne Heights frontman JT Woodruff will participate in a conversation at an event being staged in memory of fallen bandmate Casey Calvert. The late guitarist's favorite charity, To Write Love on Her Arms — a group aimed at helping teens at risk for suicide — will put on "Heavy and Light: An Evening of Songs, Conversation and Hope" on December 29 in Orlando, Florida. The event will also feature acoustic performances by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus singer Ronnie Winter; Aaron Gillespie (Underoath, the Almost); Josh Moore; and Bayside frontman Anthony Ranieri. In related news, Ranieri has mapped out a series of 10 additional solo acoustic shows that will happen before and after the TWLOHA benefit. He will play Wednesday in San Francisco; Friday in Anaheim, California; and then perform a handful of more shows from January 11 in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, through January 19 in Troy, New York. ...

Stephen Stills, best known for his work with David Crosby, Graham Nash and Neil Young, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, Reuters reports. According to the news service, Nash disclosed the news to Larry King in a telephone interview late Monday. Stills is scheduled to have an operation on January 3, which, as it turns out, also marks his 63rd birthday. Referring to folk singer Dan Fogelberg, who was afflicted with prostate cancer and passed away Sunday, Nash reportedly said on "Larry King Live," "Unlike Danny, who left it too long to be seriously checked, Stephen found his at an early stage" and might have potentially saved his own life by getting an early diagnosis. ...

Did you hear that one about Remy Ma's supposed sexual encounter with another woman? Well, surprise — it's not true. According to TMZ.com, the rapper has responded to an online video of a woman "confessing" to having had a sexual experience with Remy Ma. "The fraudulent video hoax that has surfaced of an alleged female lover of Remy Ma is completely false, and reps for Remy Ma emphatically deny these claims," the statement reportedly read. "Remy Ma has not, nor has she ever been, involved in a same-sex relationship with the accuser or any other woman, however Remy is respectful of those who choose the alternative lifestyle." ...

Foo Fighters are thinking big for their next tour — the band is planning to break out two stages for it, according to Billboard.com. The trek, which starts January 16 in Sunrise, Florida, will feature a main stage and an acoustic stage, with the eight-piece band that supported the Foos on their acoustic tour last year returning to supplement Dave Grohl's group on select songs. In other Foo news, Grohl told TheRockRadio.com that the band, which supported Senator John Kerry's presidential bid in 2004, hasn't picked a candidate to back in next year's election. "If a candidate that we all believed in asked us to give them some support, then we would do it," he said. "It wouldn't necessarily be as the Foo Fighters, it would be as four American citizens." ...

AFI frontman Davey Havok has declined an offer to return to his old side project, Son of Sam, but the band will carry on nonetheless. "We asked Davey [to participate], but he declined, which is a bummer, but we understand and he gave us his full blessing with looking for a new singer," the band said in a statement. ... Circus Diablo, the band featuring the Cult's Billy Duffy, Camp Freddy guitarist Billy Morrison and others, has lost a member. Bassist Brett Scallions, who was once the frontman for Fuel and is the current singer for Riders on the Storm, is out, according to the band. "Brett is deeply involved in being a new dad ... and has plans with Riders on the Storm, so with much love and respect, we will be moving forward with Patrick Cornell playing bass," reads a statement from the band. ...

Jimmy Kimmel will tag along with Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien when the late-night talk-show hosts return to TV on January 2 — albeit without writers. "Though it makes me sick to do so without my writers, there are more than a hundred people whose financial well-being depends on our show," Kimmel said in a statement issued by ABC, according to AP. "It is time to go back to work." David Letterman is also planning a return, with a union representing the striking writers reportedly talking about negotiating a deal with Letterman's Worldwide Pants and other indie production companies. ...

Minor Threat were a force to be reckoned with, having paved the way for the U.S. hardcore straightedge movement in the early '80s. But a new hot sauce that bites the band's name is actually pretty mild — according to maker Wheelhouse Pickles, its Minor Threat Sauce is "made from a rare, mild breed of habanero [pepper] grown specifically for us [and] mysteriously privileges the pepper's fruitiness over its notoriously overwhelming heat." Wheelhouse boss Jon Orren has 'fessed up to copping the hardcore band's name for the product, according to Gothamist.com, and the band's former frontman, Ian MacKaye, reportedly doesn't mind the unconventional tribute. "I don't have an occasion to eat a lot of hot sauce, but I also thought the Minor Threat stuff was nice," he reportedly told the site. ...

Jason Bonham, current member of Led Zeppelin and son of deceased original drummer John Bonham, says "only time will tell" if the band chooses to do a full-fledged reunion tour following its widely hailed comeback gig last week. "I'm still the new guy, and I wouldn't know," the drummer told Billboard.com about potential tour plans. "There's been no talks except to Jimmy [Page] and Robert [Plant] and John Paul [Jones], just to say thanks for the best Christmas present I could ask for. It really meant a lot to me. ... If they do it again, of course I would love to. But that's up to them." ... Rob Zombie has piled more solo-show off-dates during his North American tour with Ozzy Osbourne. The metal monster will play additional gigs Wednesday (Indianapolis); Friday (Rochester, New York); January 4 (Poughkeepsie, New York); January 6 (Norfolk, Virginia); January 11 (Scranton, Pennsylvania); January 13 (South Burlington, Vermont); January 18 (Kitchener, Ontario); January 22 (Buffalo, New York); January 23 (Columbus, Ohio); January 24 (Grand Rapids, Michigan); and January 28 (Albuquerque, New Mexico). ...

Legendary singer Burt Bacharach, classic-rock group the Band, iconic jazz drummer Max Roach and others will be honored with Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Awards on February 9, during Grammy week. The recipients — which also include Doris Day, Cab Calloway, Itzhak Perlman and Earl Scruggs — will also be recognized during the Grammy telecast, which airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS the following day. ...

British Sea Power, Panther and Holy F--- have planted themselves on the bill for next year's Noise Pop festival, which will go down February 26-March 2 in San Francisco. Badges for the fest are currently on sale. BSP's Do You Like Rock Music? streets February 12. ... Expect another installment next year of True Colors Tour, the Cyndi Lauper-created jaunt that featured Rufus Wainwright, the Gossip and others as part of its inaugural run this year. Dates and artists for next year's stretch have yet to be announced. ...

Joel Dorn, a veteran jazz and R&B producer who won multiple Grammy Awards and was part of Atlantic Records' in-house production staff, died Monday from a heart attack. He was 65 years old. The prolific producer, along with Roberta Flack, earned Record of the Year honors in 1972 and 1973 for the singer's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly With His Song," respectively. He also led Rhino's reissue campaign when it began in 1993, taking the reins for the campaign, production and annotation of almost two dozen releases. "The recording industry has lost a true music lover and respected professional, and our deepest sympathies go out to his family, his friends and all who have benefited from his gift," Recording Academy President Neil Portnow said in a statement issued Tuesday.

12.17.07

Never ones to steer clear of grisly details, the folks at TMZ have posted the eight-minute 911 call made in the wake of Donda West's collapse last month. The disturbing recording consists primarily of a dispatcher attempting to coach a panicked, unidentified caller on how to perform CPR. The post has garnered a heated reaction, with TMZ users calling it "tasteless," "insensitive," "sick," "morbid" and "worse than grave-robbing." Users also called the site's staffers "pigs." ...

On Monday (December 17), Killers frontman Brandon Flowers was cross-examined for a second day in front of the California Labor Commissioner by lawyers for the band's ex-manager, according to TMZ.com. Braden Merrick is suing the group for $3 million in unpaid commissions, while the Killers are trying to void their management contract, arguing that the manager booked employment without a license. ...

Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman is ticked about a recent report in New York's Daily News suggesting the band is blaming Ashlee Simpson, bassist Pete Wentz's girlfriend, for its lack of Grammy nominations. In a blog post on FriendsorEnemies.com, Trohman said the story "just irked me. ... We don't have any 'pals' that gossip to the tabloids over our business. We also don't blame a certain someone (Ashlee) for our lack of a Grammy nod. Don't believe the gossip columns out there. This 'poisonous' person that was mentioned is nothing short of awesome, and we fully back her. Everything in Camp FOB is all good." ...

Timbaland played the new Justin Timberlake and Madonna collaboration, "4 Minutes to Save the World," at the Jingle Ball concert in Philadelphia on Sunday night, according to RollingStone.com. The song is supposed to be the first single from Madge's yet-untitled new album, which is due in 2008. ... Mark Vincent Kaplan, lawyer for Kevin Federline, will go to court Tuesday to ask Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon to delay a January hearing in which Britney Spears was going to try to gain back some of her child-custody rights, according to TMZ.com. The site reports that a Spears lawyer will try to oppose Kaplan's request, and that if Federline's lawyer gets his wish, the singer won't have a chance of getting some custody rights back until April. ...

Singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg, whose hits include "Leader of the Band," Longer" and "Same Old Lang Syne," passed away Sunday in his Maine home, following a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. He was 56. A statement from Fogelberg's family that appears on his Web site reads: "Dan left us this morning at 6:00 a.m. He fought a brave battle with cancer and died peacefully at home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side. His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who knew him." Fogelberg was diagnosed with cancer in 2004. ...

Pam Anderson's husband, Rick Salomon, was on the verge of joining Kid Rock and Tommy Lee as the celeb's latest divorcé, but apparently there was a change of heart. According to TMZ.com, she recently filed divorce papers from the sex-tape king, with whom she married on October 6 — but divorce is now reportedly off, with Anderson writing in a post on her Web page, "P.S.: We're working things out ... ." ... Actress Helena Bonham Carter and her beau, Tim Burton, have welcomed their second child, a girl, in London, AP reports. The couple — the star and director, respectively, of the upcoming film "Sweeney Todd" — are said to be "absolutely delighted." The couple also have a 4-year-old boy, Billy. ...

Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are returning to TV on January 2, but brace yourselves — they won't have their writers supplying them with any jokes. According to AP, David Letterman is planning to make a similar return, but without the same hitch. A union representing the striking writers is reportedly willing to negotiate deals with Letterman's Worldwide Pants and other production companies on an individual basis. ...

Some Led Zeppelin fans are paying a fortune for stubs from the band's recent reunion gig at London's 02 arena. In online auctions, the stubs are going for as much as $252. Wrote one seller: "I was one of the lucky ones. This is the ticket from the show 20 million wanted to see." ... Remember the Presidents of the United States of America? Well, on March 11 they return with These Are the Good Times People, the band's first album in three years. The set will feature 14 tracks, including "Mixed Up S.O.B.," "Sharpen Up Those Fangs" and "Rot in the Sun." The band will tour the U.S. beginning March 14 in Portland, Oregon, and concluding March 27 in Boston. ...

Former Blood Brothers members Jordan Blilie, Mark Gajadhar, Devin Welch and Morgan Henderson have started a new band called Past Lives. The Blood Brothers split in early November, citing creative differences. The group is in the midst of writing material for its forthcoming debut LP. ... Franz Ferdinand have revealed the lyrics to one of the songs from their upcoming album. The lyrics to "Lucid Dreams," from the band's third LP, appear in the latest edition of FF's official fan-club magazine as notes handwritten by frontman Alex Kapranos. The band has yet to release any new music from the yet-unnamed outing.

• Fergie
• Ashley Tisdale
• 50 Cent
• Hawthorne Heights
• Foo Fighters

Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea (file)
Photo: Scott Gries/ Getty Images

Wildfires broke out in Malibu, California, again over the weekend, and among those impacted were Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, who lost a home due to the flames, and Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, who had a close call when the fires burned his roof and singed some of his property. According to a report on KCAL-TV, Rose's assistant said the rocker "was with the hose everywhere" on his property, fighting to save his home. The Los Angeles Times reports that Flea said in a text message that his $4.8 million home in Corral Canyon was "burnt to a crisp" by the fires on Saturday morning. According to TMZ.com, a second, $10 million Malibu home owned by Flea — the one in which he currently resides — did not burn. The one that did was a $4.8 million house that the bassist rents and currently has up for sale, the site reports. ...

Mary J. Blige is slated to perform at an upcoming Lifebeat benefit event honoring Stephen Hill, executive vice president of entertainment and music programming at BET. "Live Beats: A Night of Musical Mayhem and Tonal Terror Fashioned by Fun(k)," set to take place December 4 at New York's Highline Ballroom, will salute the Lifebeat board member for his work in fighting AIDS/HIV. Proceeds from the event will go to Lifebeat, and a related contest will give the winner a chance to play onstage at the venue with Blige's 10-piece backing band. For more info, go to Lifebeat.org. Adding to her good-Samaritan cred, Blige also played last week at a homeless-initiatives benefit show hosted by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and staged by the Staples Center Foundation at the city's Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE. ...

Ho ho huh? Nelly Furtado has ganged up with members of AFI, LCD Soundsystem, the Faint, Panthers, the Horrors, Terror and the Black Lips for an upcoming charity release by Canadian hardcore-punk princes F---ed Up. The track is featured as the B-side on the band's new holiday single, and all proceeds will go to the George Herman House, a Toronto transitional-housing and life-skills program supporting women with mental-health issues. In more conventional news, Furtado has piled together a CD and DVD for her recent Get Loose World Tour. The items, both called Loose the Concert, will drop December 4 and feature 11 and 17 selections, respectively, from the trek. The DVD features a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" as well as 30 minutes of documentary material ...

If you think Furtado's collaborative affair is out there, try this one on for size: Pete Wentz + Perez Hilton. The Fall Out Boy bassist and gossip guru have joined forces to create a new tee for Wentz's Clandestine Industries. They've come up with a name for it — "I Love Being a Sh--talker" — but are staging a contest to determine the design. The shirt will be sold at the new Clandestine Industries store in Chicago and on the company's Web site, ClandestineIndustries.com, and the winner will get a tee signed by Wentz and Hilton. The deadline to submit an original design is December 14, and the winner will be named seven days later — go to FriendsorEnemies.com for the 411 on how to enter. ...

While Time has yet to decide if J.K. Rowling will best Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore and others for Person of the Year, the "Harry Potter" author has earned her place as the Entertainer of the Year in another magazine, Entertainment Weekly. The publication said she deserves the honor for getting "people to tote around her big, old-fashioned printed-on-paper books as if they were the hottest new entertainment devices on the planet." Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, George Clooney and Will Smith also made EW's list of 25 top entertainers of the year. ...

Linkin Park plan to keep touring in 2008, and they'll be bringing Coheed and Cambria along for the ride. So far, just two dates have been announced for the groups' tour leg: February 16 in Detroit and February 18 in Manchester, New Hampshire. More dates will be revealed in the coming weeks. ... Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood's instrumental score to the upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson film "There Will Be Blood" is due in stores December 18. The movie hits theaters eight days later. The score includes material Greenwood wrote for a previous orchestral piece, "Popcorn Superhet Receiver," which will debut in concert in the U.S. in January when he participates in New York's Wordless Music Series. ... U2's Bono and the Edge surprised about 200 fans on Friday at the small London venue Union Chapel with a 20-minute, four-song acoustic set. According to a report on the band's Web site, the duo played "Stay," "Desire," "Angel of Harlem" and the recently unearthed rarity "Wave of Sorrow," which had never been played live and for which the Edge played keyboards. The gig was part of the Little Noise Sessions put on by Mencap, a group that aids people with learning disabilities. ...

Hulk Hogan said he was totally unaware that his wife of 24 years, Linda Marie Bollea, had recently filed for divorce when asked to comment on Friday by the St. Petersburg Times. According to the paper, Linda filed a petition for the dissolution of their marriage last Tuesday, unbeknownst to her husband. After learning of the development, the wrestler then reportedly thanked the reporter for the "great information" and hung up, calling back five minutes later to say he'd been "kind of shocked" by the news. "You caught me off guard. My wife has been in California for about three weeks," Hogan reportedly said. "Holy smokes. Wow, you just knocked the bottom out of me. I just pulled over to the side of the road for five minutes to find out what was going on here." According to The Associated Press, Linda Bollea requested alimony and child support for their 17-year-old son, Nick Bollea, as well as a share of the family's two multimillion-dollar properties in Florida, in her divorce petition, which calls the marriage "irretrievably broken." The couple married in 1983 and have two children, 19-year-old singer Brooke Hogan and Nick, who was involved in an August car crash that left a passenger critically injured. ...

The critics and moviegoers might be loving "American Gangster," but one New York City Drug Enforcement agent apparently isn't so fond of the film. According to TMZ.com, ex-agent Gregory Korniloff is threatening legal action against the movie's studio, Universal, for what he claims are "false and defamatory statements." In a recently filed cease-and-desist letter filed by his attorney, Korniloff demands a retraction of statements made in the movie, which allegedly presents several misleading facts and incorrectly states that a third of NYC DEA agents were convicted on charges related to gangster Frank Lucas. The now-retired agent was the case agent for the DEA and, as the letter reportedly states, "personally participated in the search of Lucas' house ... and the arrest of Lucas on that same day."

It was another rough weekend for Amy Winehouse. First, according to Reuters, the singer's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, was denied bail and ordered to remain in custody until at least January 18 after appearing in a London court on Friday, charged with allegedly beating up a bartender. Fielder-Civil and another man, Michael Brown, were slated to stand trial this month in the case, in which they are accused of roughing up pub landlord James King last June. But the trial was recently delayed after police arrested Fielder-Civil and accused him of conspiracy to obstruct justice in the assault case. The news was hardly better for Winehouse, who reportedly showed up 45 minutes late for her gig Saturday night at London's Hammersmith Apollo, at which point some fans were already asking for refunds. NME reported that there was a loud chorus of boos by the time Winehouse finally took the stage and things only got worse from there, including a bit where her famous towering beehive almost toppled over and fell off. At one point, looking bored, she walked offstage and let her backup singers take over lead vocals. During the show's encore she left again, midway through a song, and didn't return. ...

The mystery surrounding AlbumSix.com just keeps growing. The site, believed by many to be a stealth Weezer affair, was under scrutiny again, when the bandmembers posted on its official Web site last week that they have no affiliation with it or any news it purports to have. Weezer also disputed the site's claims that the next album would be called Tout Ensemble and that it already has an official release date. According to a post on AlbumSix, "Weezer and Geffen Records have no affiliation with www.albumsix.com. ... We are honestly surprised how long this lasted. We expected that the media would contact Interscope or Weezer, and they would squash things immediately. But somehow, we slipped through the traditions of journalism. ... We never expected anyone to believe it. We thought we'd get a few Weezer fans on the boards to get excited, but we never actually thought we'd become a legitimate news source. We can't say we blame the media. Viral marketing is the hot new thing. However, we hoped you learned a lesson. ... We are extremely excited about the new Weezer album and are glad to see that everyone seems to share our excitement. We will be anxiously awaiting the real release date and title of album six along with everybody else. Until then, thanks for playing." Weezer offered a "well played" to the people behind the site. ...

Break out your lighters: Extreme are reuniting for a world tour and new album next year. The group broke up 11 years ago but got together in 2004-'06 for a brief re-formation. Guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, who is slated to produce the group's yet-untitled LP, said that in light of the inclusion of the band's song "Play With Me" in "Guitar Hero," "We realized, not only are the people starved for rock 'n' roll, so are we," according to a press release. "Let's eat," he added. ... The Romantics have filed a lawsuit against the makers of the "Guitar Hero" video game series, claiming a cover band tapped to record the act's signature song for the game sounds too much like the original, according to AP. The band's "What I Like About You" appears in "Guitar Hero Encore, Rocks the '80s," and, after declining permission to allow game manufacturer Activision to use the song in the game, the re-recorded version sounds too similar to the original. The band is seeking a cut of royalties produced through sales of the game. ...

The reunited Spice Girls want to set the record straight. After an e-mail went out over the weekend claiming that the group had scrapped a planned gig in Buenos Aires, Argentina, due to high demand for other dates, a spokesperson said the e-mail was a fake and the gig is penciled in for February. A statement on the group's Web site reads, "The Spice Girls would like to make it clear that they have not canceled their Buenos Aires show. ... A story has appeared on several Web sites that includes a fake e-mail and competition from the girls. The fake e-mail claims that due to the demand so far in the U.K. and the U.S. this show is going to be canceled. ... The e-mail goes on to say that they will be running some competitions for their South American fans to travel to the U.K. to watch a show. This is not the case and this email is 100 percent unofficial and has nothing to do with the Spice Girls." ...

A judge set a February 25 court date for faded 1980s pop star Boy George, who has been accused of falsely imprisoning a 28-year-old male escort by chaining him to a wall in his London apartment in April. George (born George O'Dowd), 46, spoke only to confirm his name in court on Thursday, and was released on bail and ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim, according to reports.

11.21.07

T.I.'s lawyers gave a hint of how they plan to defend their client through motions filed in court on Monday seeking to suppress evidence seized from the rapper's vehicle during his October 13 arrest on federal weapons charges. The motions claim that the evidence against him and statements he made to authorities were illegally obtained. The Associated Press reports that attorneys for the rapper (born Clifford Harris) claim his car was searched without a warrant, consent or probable cause. They also claim that his detention might not have been appropriate, that statements he made to authorities might not have been voluntary and that agents may have failed to honor his rights. The motions don't go into details on the basis for the legal challenges, but state that more information will be filled in later. A judge had not made a ruling on the challenges at press time. ...

A judge suspended the driver's license of wrestler Hulk Hogan's son, Nick Bollea, for one year on Tuesday, in the wake of the 17-year-old's August crash that left his friend in critical condition, according to the AP. Bollea was arrested on November 7 on charges of reckless driving involving serious bodily injury, and the Tampa Tribune reported that the teen received a letter on Monday informing him of the suspension, as well as a letter ordering him to pay a fine for driving 106 mph before the crash, to avoid having his license suspended indefinitely. "We have the ability to suspend someone's license if we believe what they could be convicted of is a potential danger should this person remain on the road," said Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Ann Nucatola. "We've deemed him dangerous to the general public on the road." ...

Despite their differences, the Wu-Tang Clan will be touring in support of their forthcoming album, The 8 Diagrams. The trek begins on December 15 in Chicago, and runs through January 26 in St. Petersburg, Florida. ... According to Bruce Springsteen's Web site, keyboard player Danny Federici, an original member of the E Street Band, has decided to take a leave of absence from Springsteen's current tour to undergo treatment for melanoma. Charles Giordano, who played with Bruce as a member of the Sessions band, will temporarily fill in for Federici until he's able to return. ... As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red, Evergreen Terrace and Still Remains are planning to hit the road together in January. The trek commences January 8 in San Luis Obispo, California, and runs through February 1 in Omaha, Nebraska. More dates are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. ...

The Cure's Robert Smith addressed rumors about him working with Ashlee Simpson in V magazine. "First of all, I was mostly shocked by how fantastically widespread that rumor was ... and by how quickly it spread," he said. "I know that people were really upset by the idea that I would do that and I suppose I can understand why, but it still seems so ridiculous to me. I took my nieces to see her perform in 'Chicago' on the West End and afterward they wanted to meet her, so we went backstage and said hello. I didn't understand what the big deal was. You can say what you want about her, but she can sing. Whether or not we'd actually do anything together, I don't know. I didn't see any reason to deny the rumor as I thought it was amusing and I never deny rumors anyway. There are a handful of singers that I'd rather pull my own fingernails out than be stuck in the same room with, but she isn't really one of them. We have no plans to collaborate, though. Believe it or not, she and I don't really run into each other. [He laughed.] Now, wait a second ... Ashlee is calling on my other line and I should probably take it." ...

The track list for Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo's forthcoming solo album, Alone — The Home Records of Rivers Cuomo, has been revealed. The album, due out December 18, will boast 17 tracks, including an early version of the band's 1995 hit "Buddy Holly," as well as the songs "Who You Callin' B---h?," "Dude We're Finally Landing," and "I Wish You Had an Axe Guitar." In related news, Weezer have titled their forthcoming album Tout Ensemble, according to the band's Web site. ...

Don Imus has certainly been called a lot of things in 2007 — racist, sexist, fired, you name it. King magazine, however, has another name for him: Man of the Year. Imus was given the mag's yearly big-dog award in the new issue. Huh? Editor-in-chief Jermaine Hall said Imus was honored for being a lighting rod in the urban community. ... Former New Kid on the Block Joey McIntyre and his wife, Barrett, welcomed a baby boy on Tuesday, People magazine reports. "The family is happy and healthy," a rep for McIntyre told the magazine. "Everyone's doing well and they're excited he made it here in time for Thanksgiving." McIntyre, 34, and his wife, 29, have not yet picked a name for the child. ...

According to the Florida Times-Union, former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle was arrested in St. John's County, Florida, on Monday, charged with failure to properly register as a sex offender. The 59-year-old, whose real name is Thomas Delmer Pyle, lives in Asheville, North Carolina. He was released from police custody Tuesday on $10,000 bail. Pyle pleaded guilty in 1993 to charges of attempted capital sexual battery by an adult on a victim younger than 12 and principal to lewd and lascivious on a child younger than 16. He was sentenced to eight years of probation and designated as a sex offender. His latest arrest stems from his recent attempt to renew his driver's license in Florida. Police claim he failed to register as a sex offender in Florida, which state law mandates, and detectives claim he has not lived at the address provided on his license renewal application for many years.

• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Mary J. Blige
• AFI
• Fall Out Boy
• Amy Winehouse

AFI's Davey Havok and Jade Puget
Photo: MTV News

For four years, AFI isn't the only fire Davey Havok and Jade Puget have had inside — they've also been trying to flesh out the debut album by their long-pending side project, Blaqk Audio. Now, finally, the LP is good to go.

"It's very different from AFI," Havok warned us at last weekend's Live Earth concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey (see "Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, Alicia Keys Are Out Of This World At Live Earth").

(Watch Davey Havok and Jade Puget rave about their new project and AFI's fans, right here.)

The album, CexCells, has been in the works since 2003 — around the time Havok and Puget told Rolling Stone that they were hoping to release the project in early 2004. When AFI broke into the mainstream with 2003's Sing the Sorrow, Blaqk Audio took a back seat to the constant touring in support of the release. The project stayed on hold while the band recorded 2006's Decemberunderground, which debuted atop the Billboard albums chart.

It wasn't until early 2007 when Havok and Puget finally found time to resume recording. With Havok taking control of the lyrics and vocals, Puget wrote all the music and synthesizer programming. "We worked with each other," Havok said. After that, they handed the reins to producer and engineer David Bascombe (Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears), who mixed the album.

Described on their MySpace page as "two boys in love with synthesizers and software," Blaqk Audio cite electronic-heavy influences including Erasure and Echo & the Bunnymen. "It's all electronic, dancey, dark," Puget explained.

The sound won't be totally unfamiliar to AFI fans, but without the instrumentation of the full band, the side project allows Puget to delve into diverse electronic beats, keyboards and synthesizing, layered with Havok's predictably dark lyrics and vocals.

CexCells finally arrives August 14, and the first single, "Stiff Kittens," has already surfaced at radio and on iTunes.

In the meantime, AFI are already writing again. The guys are known for creating a plethora of material — they began the Decemberunderground recording sessions with upward of 80 songs already written.

"We have enough unreleased songs for an EP," Puget said, "so we're hoping to maybe do an EP [by the end of the year]."

An EP is unlikely to win over many new ears, but AFI don't hide the fact that they're hoping to expand their fanbase and spread their message. They also brush aside criticism that they've "sold out."

"Decemberunderground has brought us to many new people," Havok said. "It's really fantastic for us, because as far as we're concerned, the more the merrier. Anybody that we can reach with our music, anybody that is inspired by our music or appreciates it in any way, we appreciate it and it's fantastic.

"We have very wonderful, accepting, open fans," he continued. "I think they feel that their very, very strong community can only grow stronger with more people who understand and want to be part of what we do."

"We've been doing this for a while," Puget added, "so anyone who's that bitter [about AFI going mainstream] probably doesn't listen to us anymore."

• AFI
• Blaqk Audio

Photo: MTV News

• John Mayer
• Alicia Keys
• Kelly Clarkson
• Taking Back Sunday
• Fall Out Boy

Diddy
Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images

What's in a name? An awful lot, apparently. After agreeing to surrender his Diddy alias in the U.K. in September as part of a legal settlement with Richard "Diddy" Dearlove, who sued Sean Combs over use of the name, the rap mogul is facing a new complaint from the London music producer. According to Reuters, Dearlove claims Diddy has breached the settlement by using his nickname on MySpace and YouTube — sites that can be viewed internationally. "We want him either to use a neutral name like 'P. Diddy' or [stop using MySpace and YouTube]," Dearlove's lawyer, Iain Purvis, told London's High Court on Thursday (February 1). In the meantime, Diddy has other things to worry about: He and his company, Sean John, previewed their new eyewear collection for several members of the media and fashion world Wednesday night at their Broadway offices in New York. ...

50 Cent made the most of his time with radio personality Angie Martinez on New York's Hot 97 Thursday afternoon. After addressing his problems with the LOX, Styles P called up and the two discussed a few things, one of which was a possible joint business venture. Styles said he wants to meet Fif in the 'hood, though, not the boardroom. Later, after 50 said he has the ability to influence album releases at Koch Records, a miffed Cam'ron called in and got into a brief verbal confrontation with 50. ...

The temporary order granting Britney Spears and Kevin Federline joint custody of their two children through January will remain in effect, with Federline continuing to have access to sons Sean Preston and Jayden James on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, his lawyer confirmed. ... Chris Brown broke his ankle while playing basketball recently, but that isn't stopping him from filming his new movie, "This Christmas." He says the injury won't prevent him from attending the Grammys on February 11 either. "I'm still gonna get through it," he told MTV News. "I have to do it for my fans." ...

Whitney Houston wants to get her divorce proceedings with husband Bobby Brown done with as quickly as possible. The Associated Press reports that the singer is looking to fast-track the divorce — the papers to which she filed December 28 — and that she has indicated in the filed documents that there are "no issues of division of community property." Houston has requested custody of 13-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina and that Brown be allowed visitation rights. ...

The complications over James Brown's estate continue to mount, AP reports. On Thursday, the deceased music icon's fourth wife, Tomi Rae Hynie, filed a petition in a South Carolina court requesting half the singer's estate and permission to re-enter the Brown-owned Beech Island home she was barred from following his death. Hynie claims she is Brown's surviving spouse and therefore entitled to part of his estate, and is asking permission to enter the South Carolina home to retrieve "personal possessions." Buddy Dallas, Brown's attorney and trustee, said Hynie had not previously requested personal items from the home. ...

Beyoncé has been named the #1 "fantasy girlfriend" in an online poll ranking the 99 Most Desirable Women by readers of AskMen.com. Users of the site were asked to rate women according to characteristics they value in a mate — not just beauty, but also intelligence, humor, charisma and ambition. Despite the focus on the inside, beautiful girls still finished first, with runner-up Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Alba — last year's #1 — rounding out the top three. Shakira, Jessica Biel, Angelina Jolie and Elisha Cuthbert also made the list's top 10. ... Fergie will perform at the Ocean Drive Super Bowl pre-party in Miami on Saturday, joining already-announced performers Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and DJ AM. ...

Linkin Park have started mixing their forthcoming album, which they hope to release in late spring, with the disc's first single hitting rock radio in March. "We have put more into the new album than anything we have ever done before," the band said in a post on its MySpace page. "After over a year of writing, recording and setting unrealistic finish dates for the record, we are in the home stretch. The new album is very exciting for the six of us, and we can't wait until everyone can hear it." ... The papers are in, and the marriage of Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson will officially be history on May 28. According to the divorce filing, Pam and Kid avoided a big money battle by maintaining "income and assets separate and apart from the income and assets of the other party," and agreeing to split any joint accounts down the middle. ...

Sienna Miller says she "can't wait" to have children in the upcoming issue of Life magazine. "If I have a child ... life, I think, will suddenly make sense," the actress stated. ... After slipping out their iTunes Session EP in December, Goldfrapp have another short-player on the way. The enhanced Ride a White Horse EP will feature the single version of the title track, four additional versions, the video for the song and a live-performance clip of it. Oddly, the disc is hitting brick-and-mortar stores before it goes digital: It'll reach record stores Tuesday and enter the online sphere February 13. ... The Pogues will return to the U.S. in March for a brief headlining run that includes a St. Patrick's Day gig in New York. The trek kicks off with two shows in Chicago (March 5 and 6), followed by a pair of concerts in Boston (March 10 and 11). The band hits New York on March 14, Philadelphia on March 16, and will return to the Big Apple to perform on March 17. ...

A 16-year-old from New York is fighting back against an online piracy suit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America. AP reports that Robert Santangelo, who has been sued by five record companies alleging copyright infringement that occurred when he was as young as 11, denies distributing music online. In his countersuit, Santangelo accuses the recording industry of violating antitrust laws, conspiring to defraud the courts and making extortionate threats. If Santangelo's name sounds familiar, it's because he's the son of Patti Santangelo, the 42-year-old suburban mother of five who famously refused to settle with the RIAA when she was sued in 2005. While the RIAA dropped its suit against Patti in December, the group then sued Robert and his sister Michelle (now 20). Robert's countersuit includes claims that he never sent copyrighted music to others, that recording companies promoted file sharing before turning against it and that all the music claimed to have been downloaded was actually owned by his sister on store-bought CDs. ...

Former Vice President Al Gore has been nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to draw the world's attention to the dangers of global warming, AP reports. "A prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize is making a difference, and Al Gore has made a difference," said Bøerge Brende, a member of Norway's parliament who nominated Gore. During his eight years as VP, Gore pushed for climate measures, and has since taken his documentary on climate change — the Oscar-nominated "An Inconvenient Truth" — on a world tour. The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced in mid-October.

01.31.2007

Fergie will be pushing Candie's in an advertising campaign for the fashion brand that kicks off with February TV spots and March magazine ads. The singer puts on a show for a peeping Tom spying on her home life in the TV commercial, which will feature her song "Glamorous." ...

The Game appeared in a New York court on Tuesday to plead not guilty to a charge of criminal impersonation of a public servant stemming from a November arrest. The rapper had been busted for allegedly telling a taxi driver that he was an undercover police officer and ordering him to race through the streets of Manhattan, New York. Game's next court appearance is scheduled for March 29. Jeffrey Lichtman, the rapper's lawyer, told The New York Post that he expects prosecutors to dismiss the case. ...

Could Courtney Love be the new Paula Abdul? It's very unlikely. While Us Weekly reported that Love has been approached by "Idol" producer Nigel Lythgoe to consider a judging spot on the televised talent competition, Lythgoe refuted the claim. "I did not call Courtney Love and am afraid someone may have misrepresented me," he told MTV News. "Courtney Love is a very talented artist, but the judges for 'American Idol' are Paula, Randy and Simon. We have no plans to add to or replace any of them." ... February is a short month, but it's a busy one, what with Groundhog Day, the Super Bowl, the Grammys, Valentine's Day, the Oscars — and a whole lot of unexpected TV guest stars thanks to ratings sweeps. Nelly Furtado pops up on the CBS drama "CSI: NY" on February 7; Mary J. Blige guests on that network's "The Ghost Whisperer" on February 9; Fab Five Freddy and Sticky Fingaz will be featured on the February 13 episode of NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"; Stephen Colletti of "Laguna Beach" does a two-episode run on the CW's "One Tree Hill" on February 7 and 14; and Three 6 Mafia join gossip blogger Perez Hilton in NBC's "1 Vs. 100" mob on February 23. ...

AFI have tacked two additional shows onto their upcoming West Coast tour: March 1 at the University of California, Davis; and March 3 in San Bernardino, California. ... Alex Kapranos wants to take you out — well, he wants to tell you where to eat, at least. Tuesday night at New York's Tribeca Cinemas, the Franz Ferdinand frontman (and former chef) threw a book bash for "Sound Bites" — his first publication highlighting his fave foods and flavors and funny gastro encounters while touring with his band. (His adventures include eating potentially fatal blowfish in Japan. Mmm ... yummy.) Also on hand was bassist Bob Hardy and a bevy of delectable dishes and desserts from Kapranos' favorite Big Apple eateries, Les Halles and the Peter Pan Donut Shop. ... Nickelback aren't putting all the profits from their next single into the piggy bank. Instead, the hard-rockers are donating the proceeds from digital sales of their "If Everyone Cared" song and video to Amnesty International and the International Children's Awareness Canada. ...

The Clipse are hitting the road, kicking off a U.S. tour February 27 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Malice/ Pusha T duo will perform in cities including Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles on the 21-date trek, which wraps up March 29 in Carrboro, North Carolina. ... Silversun Pickups have been added to the first day of Coachella, set for April 27. The smokin'-hot indie-rockers — whose "Lazy Eye" clip is making waves on MTV — will also appear on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on February 19. ... Kings of Leon have set April 3 as the release date for their third album. Because of the Times — the title to which refers to a preachers' conference some of the bandmembers attended in their youth — was partially produced by Ethan Johns, who has worked with the Tennessee band throughout its career. The first single is "On Call." ...

The never-ending legal battle between Beach Boys singer Mike Love and former bandmate Al Jardine has taken a new turn, AP reports. On Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James R. Dunn rejected Love's motion to rule in favor of the lawsuit Love filed against Jardine way back in 2003. Dunn instead ruled that, in light of sufficient evidence, the case should go to trial, although he did not set a date. Love's '03 suit was submitted after Jardine filed a $4 million action against the singer in '01, claiming that Love excluded his former bandmate from concerts that year. Dunn tossed out part of Love's suit in September 2006 but let him continue to pursue $2 million in court costs and $1 million in earnings that Love claimed Jardine was wrongly paid for using the Beach Boys' name. ...

Sony BMG announced Tuesday that it had reached a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that would allow consumers to trade in CDs with its controversial "rootkit" anti-piracy software through June 30. The company has also agreed to pay up to $150 to repair any damage to computers caused by users trying to remove the stealth digital-rights-management software, which was revealed to cause serious security risks. The proposed settlement also prohibits Sony BMG from collecting user information for marketing purposes and from installing software without users' consent. Sony is also required to provide a way for users to easily uninstall the rootkit software. A final decision on the settlement will occur after public hearings wrap up on March 1. ... After a nearly 30-year gap, the Eagles are apparently finishing their first new album since the Carter administration. Singer/drummer Don Henley told an audience at a private concert on Saturday that the band was close to finishing the untitled album. "It's coming out in 60 to 90 days, if we don't kill each other first," he said, according to a report in the Las Vegas Journal-Review. The band's representatives did not comment on the report. The album would be the group's first studio effort since 1979's The Long Run.

• Diddy
• Britney Spears
• Kevin Federline
• Beyoncé
• Linkin Park

Young Jeezy's <i>The Inspiration</i>

With the War on Christmas and the War on the War on Christmas raging on, another holiday is about to begin this weekend: Hanukkah. But while the festival of lights is starting to glow, the number of CD releases is dimming — as it does every year around this time. Young Jeezy, Tyrese, Ghostface and a pair of Idols are hoping you haven't finished your holiday shopping yet and will be scouting for snowballs as they try to outdo each other with new albums. So before Hanukkah Harry comes a knockin', let's light a candle for each of the eight major releases dropping this week:

Oh Jeez: It must be the wintertime, because Da Snowman is about to open his trap. With CD sales so low these days, Young Jeezy deserves extra credit for carrying his 2005 major-label debut, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, to multiplatinum status. Now he hopes to nab another carrot — maybe he can use it as his Snowman nose! — with The Inspiration, the guest list to which puts 101's to shame. The 16-track platter features T.I. ("I Got Money"), R. Kelly ("Go Getta"), Keyshia Cole ("Dreamin' "), Timbaland ("3 A.M.") and others ... feeling inspired?

A Hick Move: So if 63.4 million people voted for Taylor Hicks in the final round of "American Idol," that means his maiden major-label LP should sell about ... 9 minus 6, carry the 1 ... well, let's just say Soul Patrol will be giving Da Snowman a run for his money. Like Jeezy, Hicks has enlisted some hitmaking talent to help him do his self-titled big-time debut up right: Rob Thomas, "Un-Break My Heart" author Diane Warren, producer Matt Serletic (Courtney Love, Santana) and even Bryan "Summer of '69" Adams all claim songwriting credits on the LP. With covers of songs made famous by Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye to boot, Hicks might be tasting another #1 prize next week.

Straight From the Barrino: Also doing the whole "Yeah, I won 'American Idol' and I'm naming my new J Records album after myself" thing is Fantasia, who in 2004 wore the crown that currently sits atop Hicks' head. That same year saw her debut, Free Yourself, get platinum honors, a feat the Grammy-winning single mom and Kanye West tourmate hopes to duplicate with Fantasia. This CD is a busy one: Missy Elliott co-wrote and co-produced three tunes; Outkast's Big Boi pops in for a visit on "Hood Boy"; Swizz Beatz puts his polish on "Surround U"; Diane Warren, Babyface, Bryan-Michael Cox and Sean Garrett also help out with writing and production; and Fantasia samples songs by James Brown, Al Green and the Supremes throughout.

'Rese's Pieces: Topping off J Records' busy menu this week is Tyrese's two-disc Alter Ego, which features his titular Black Ty rap persona. The aforementioned Michael Cox and R. Kelly lend their production skills to this LP as well, although 'Rese has a boatload of additional help: Lil Jon crops up on "Turn Ya Out" on the first, R&B-centric disc; and on disc two, Snoop Dogg spruces up "Get Low" and "Roll the Dice"; the Game helps Tyrese reminisce about "Ghetto Dayz"; Method Man shows him how to "Get It In"; and David Banner, Mannie Fresh, Kurupt, Lil Scrappy and Too Short prop him up elsewhere.

Something's Fishy: Ghostface Killah is squaring off against Black Ty and Def Jam labelmate Jeezy with More Fish, which, as the small lettering near the album title leads us to believe, is actually a quasi-collaborative affair with Ghost's Theodore Unit. The MC's son, Sun God, who is a member of the crew, also helps out his dad, who is releasing this LP less than 10 months after dropping its predecessor, Fishscale. Underground-hip-hop tastemaker MF Doom produces "Cartoonz" and "Stones From Greece," the latter of which drops references to the Hardy Boys. Oh, and some guy named Kanye West joins forces with this Ne-Yo dude for a remix of "Back Like That."

The Hits Just Keep Coming: Now that's she's really broken through — and landed oodles of awards and nominations along the way — it's time for Mary J. Blige to stop and reflect. The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul chalks up four new recordings on Reflections (A Retrospective): the opening "Reflections (I Remember)," the single "We Ride (I See the Future)," "You Know" and the John Legend duet "King & Queen." There are 15 tracks in total — which averages out to one for every year Blige has been recording.

Fire Up the DVD Player: The ever-outré AFI have been exorcising their inner demons for 15 years, but at long last a DVD is coming down the pipe. Shot with a startling 22 cameras at the Long Beach Arena in Southern California on September 15, the 18-song performance by the band balances out to 72 minutes' worth of goth-a-riffic footage — and includes a guest appearance by Tiger Army's Nick 13. For A Fire Inside's biggest show to date, they let loose with "God Called in Sick Today," "Death of Seasons," "Kill Caustic" and "Bleed Black." Happy Hanukkah.

Also doing the DVD thing for the first time are Taking Back Sunday, whose "Partone" disc (no, not "Part One") you probably won't find in the DVD racks. The New York rock quintet are appending their 90-minute video to re-releases of the band's Louder Now CD, which itself is being furthered with four additional live tracks. Like AFI's video, the TBS DVD component collects performances from the Long Beach Arena, but also captures the bandmembers at home, in their hotel rooms and beyond. A making-of-the-album feature and behind-the-scenes material from the group's "MakeDamnSure" video round out the release.

Song Title of the Week:

"Bump What Your Friends Say" from Fantasia

Other Notables:

Sonic Youth's The Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities: Pulling together this band's obscure material is like dumping buckets of water out of a (diamond) sea: No matter how hard you work at it, there will always be more. This disc prudently selects just 11 odds and sods, including the previously unreleased outtake "Fire Engine Dream" and unissued versions of "Three Part Sectional Love Seat" and — coincidentally — "Queen Anne Chair," as well as Japan-only bonus tunes, soundtrack and compilation cuts and more.

Duncan Sheik's "Spring Awakening: A New Musical" soundtrack: The cult-fave singer/songwriter showed off his lofty ambitions with 2001's Phantom Moon, for which he constructed somewhat elaborate orchestral arrangements with poet/dramatist Steve Sater. But few were prepared for what Sheik threw together a couple of years later: a Broadway musical he wrote with Sater that is based on a controversial 19th-century drama about sex, violence and suicide. The musical backdrop to the theatrical production — which opened Sunday in New York — includes "The Bitch of Living," "The Word of Your Body" and "I Don't Do Sadness."

Various artists' "B4MD: Before the Music Dies": Everyone knows CDs will soon become extinct — but while we're at it, is pop music on its way out altogether? That's the hypothesis drawn up in this critical look at the genre, narrated by Forest Whitaker and featuring performances and commentary by Dave Matthews, Erykah Badu, the Roots' ?uestlove, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, My Morning Jacket, Ray Charles and more. "The reality is that superficiality is in, and depth and quality is kind of out," Branford Marsalis says in the film. Decide for yourself.

New Releases:

· Fantasia - Fantasia (J) [Buy Now] Read: "Fantasia Unleashes Her Inner Rock Star: 'This Time It's My Own Vision' " · Ghostface Killah - More Fish (Def Jam) [Buy Now] Read: "Ghostface Killah Warms Up Leftover Fish For Second 2006 Album" · Taylor Hicks - Taylor Hicks (Arista/ 19 Recordings) [Buy Now] Read: "Taylor Hicks Hopes 'Traveling Circus Of Fans' Follows Him On Tour" · Red Wanting Blue - The Warehouse Sessions (with DVD; self-released) · Duncan Sheik - "Spring Awakening: A New Musical" soundtrack (Decca Broadway) · Tyrese - Alter Ego (two CDs; J) [Buy Now] Read: "Tyrese Gives In To Rap Passion, Plans To 'Change The World' With Double LP" · Young Jeezy - The Inspiration (Def Jam) [Buy Now] Read: "Jeezy Waiting On Kanye For LP; Addresses Rumors Of Tour With Jay, Nas" · Various artists - "Charlotte's Web" soundtrack (Bulletproof) · Various artists - "Children of Men" soundtrack (Varèse Sarabande) · Various artists - "Eragon" soundtrack (RCA)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· Ames Brothers - Together (two CDs; Jasmine) · Barenaked Ladies - Barenaked Ladies Are Me - Deluxe Edition 5.1 (DVD Audio version; Desperation) · Mary J. Blige - Reflections (A Retrospective) (Geffen) [Buy Now] Read: "Mary J.'s Greatest-Hits LP Brings Three New Songs, Brushes Off Rumors" · Neil Diamond - 12 Songs (limited-edition "artist's cut" with bonus CD; Columbia) · Kangaroo - Kangaroo (Fallout) · Ramsey Lewis - Legends of Jazz With Ramsey Lewis (box set with four CDs and four DVDs; LRS) · Sonic Youth - The Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities (Geffen) · Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now (limited edition with bonus DVD "Partone"; comes in two different covers; Warner Bros.) [Buy Now]

Music DVDs:

· AFI - "I Heard a Voice - Live From Long Beach Arena" (Interscope) · Eagles - "Music in Review" (Classic Rock Legends) · Genesis - "The Definitive Critical Review" (two CDs; Classic Rock Legends) · Elton John - "Music in Review" (Classic Rock Legends) · Barry Manilow - "Manilow Live!" (Image) · Oasis - "The World's Greatest Albums: The Oasis Phenomenon - The Ultimate Critical Review" (Classic Rock Legends) · Various artists - "B4MD: Before the Music Dies" (BSide) · Various artists - "Best of 'Later ... With Jools Holland' 2000-2006" (Warner Bros.)

Coming Attractions:

December 19: · Katharine McPhee - TBD (RCA) Read: "Katharine McPhee's LP: A Little Bit Pussycat Dolls, A Little Bit Mariah" · Mos Def - Tru3 Magic (Geffen) [Buy Now] · Nas - Hip-Hop Is Dead ... The N (Def Jam) [Buy Now] Read: "MTV News Exclusive: Nas Previews Hip-Hop Is Dead ... The N" · Styles P - Time Is Money (Ruff Ryders) · Trick Daddy - Back by Thug Demand (Atlantic) [Buy Now] · UGK - Underground Kingz (two CDs; Jive) [Buy Now] Read: "Ex-Con Pimp C Juiced For UGK Album, Says He Has Lessons To Teach"

December 26: · Good Charlotte - "Fast Future Generation" DVD (Epic/Daylight) · N.W.A - The Best of N.W.A: The Strength of Street Knowledge (deluxe version with DVD also available; Capitol/Priority) · Omarion - 21 (Sony Urban) Read: "Boy To Man: Omarion Grows Up On The 'Personal' 21" · Switchfoot - Oh! Gravity (Columbia) Read: "Life, Death, Social Entropy? Switchfoot Get Weighty On Oh! Gravity" · Various artists - The Family Values Tour 2006 (Firm)

January 2: · Various artists - L-Tunes: Music From and Inspired by "The L-Word" (Columbia) · Carly Simon - Into White (Columbia) · Unwritten Law - The Hit List (Rocket Science)

• Young Jeezy
• Taylor Hicks
• Fantasia
• Mary J. Blige
• AFI

MTV.com Exclusive: AFI

• AFI

Paramore, Kanye West, More Come Out For KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas 2008

• Paramore
• Kanye West
• Stone Temple Pilots
• The Cure
• AFI

2008 Grammy Parties

• Ashlee Simpson
• Fall Out Boy
• Rihanna
• Paris Hilton
• Miley Cyrus

New Year's Eve 2007 Performances

• AFI
• Chamillionaire
• Ciara
• Lady Sovereign
• My Chemical Romance

AFI, MCR, Killers, Foo Fighters, More At KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas 2006

• My Chemical Romance
• AFI
• The Killers
• Gnarls Barkley
• Evanescence

2006: The Best of Studio Photos

• Lil Jon
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Kelis
• Beck
• Nelly Furtado

Best of 2006: Live Performances Highlights

• Christina Aguilera
• AFI
• Gnarls Barkley
• My Chemical Romance
• Lady Sovereign

Best of 2006: The Red Carpet

• Fall Out Boy
• Beyoncé
• Gwen Stefani
• Gavin Rossdale
• Sean Paul

Guys Who Rock Eyeliner

• Papa Roach
• Panic at the Disco
• My Chemical Romance
• AFI
• Avenged Sevenfold

AFI photos from the video shoot "Love Like Winter"

• AFI