Sean "Diddy" Combs
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Despite widespread reports that Sean "Diddy" Combs had changed his name to Sean John, his rep clarified the situation to MTV News on Thursday (January 24). "Recent reports of a name change are totally false, he is still Diddy," the rep wrote. "He is currently in 'Sean John' mode as the upcoming Sean John fashion show is scheduled for February 8 in New York." ...

One of Britney Spears' friends was deposed Thursday by Kevin Federline's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan as he prepares for an April trial involving a request by Spears' ex for primary physical custody of their children. Sam Lufti had previously avoided a notice to appear by Federline's team of lawyers but was eventually served in November. ... Lionsgate said Thursday that it had reached an agreement with striking writers to work on its projects, according to Reuters. "Lionsgate signed an interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America today," the entertainment company reportedly said in a statement. "The writers' issue seems on its way to being solved, and Lionsgate felt it was an important time, particularly in view of our TV series, to have our writer partners get back to work. We look forward to a broad industry agreement soon." ...

John McCain is getting support from another Vietnam veteran, albeit a fictional one: Rambo. Sylvester Stallone recently voiced his support for the Arizona senator, who is in a tight race for the Republican presidential nomination, on TV's "Fox and Friends," according to a press release from his campaign. "I like McCain a lot," Stallone said. "A lot. And you know, things may change along the way, but there's something about matching the character with the script. And right now, the script that's being written — and reality — is pretty brutal and pretty hard-edged, like a rough action film. ... You need somebody who's been in that to deal with it." When host Brian Kilmeade informed McCain of the "Rocky Balboa" star's endorsement on Thursday morning (January 24), he reportedly replied, "I'm going to Philadelphia and running up the steps." ...

Bono swung by the Pentagon to talk about Africa and global poverty with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday, according to Reuters. The two reportedly met for 20 minutes and discussed plans to construct a new U.S. military command for Africa. The U2 singer was reportedly in Washington, D.C., to meet with congressional budget committees, and his meeting with Gates was not publicized ahead of time. ... Trey Anastasio spent the weekend in the pokey for violating the conditions of his drug-treatment program last year, The Associated Press reports. The former Phish frontman was punished for an unspecified violation of a court contract that resulted after he pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in April. Anastasio, who lives in Richmond, Vermont, was in a jail in upstate New York for two days. ...

Scarlett Johansson has finally firmed up details surrounding her first music album, a collection of mostly Tom Waits covers. Anywhere I Lay My Head will drop May 20 and feature 10 Waits tribute tracks plus an original cut. The "Nanny Diaries" actress hammered out the effort in Maurice, Louisiana, during a five-week visit at Dockside Studio in spring 2007. She got some assists from Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, Sean Antanaitis from Celebration and TV on the Radio's David Sitek, who produced the LP. ... The 35th annual Village Voice Pazz & Jop Poll has named Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem as its top album of 2007. The rest of the top 10 albums in the poll, voted on by hundreds of rock critics, included In Rainbows (Radiohead), Kala (M.I.A.), Back to Black (Amy Winehouse), Neon Bible (Arcade Fire), Graduation (Kanye West), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Spoon), Raising Sand (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss) and Magic (Bruce Springsteen). Winehouse topped the singles list with her hit "Rehab," followed by "Umbrella" (Rihanna), "All My Friends" (LCD Soundsystem), "1234" (Feist), "D.A.N.C.E." (Justice), "Paper Planes" (M.I.A.), "Stronger" (Kanye West), "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (UGK) and "Young Folks" (Peter Bjorn and John). ...

This year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest will take place April 25-27 and May 1-4 and feature sets from the Roots, Raconteurs, Keyshia Cole, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Santana, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Sheryl Crow, Galactic, Ozomatli with Chali 2na, Jimmy Buffett and dozens of other roots, blues, soul, Cajun and jazz artists. ... Motion City Soundtrack, Phantom Planet and the Hush Sound have slipped onto the bill for the Honda Civic Tour, which will be anchored by Panic at the Disco. The cities the trek will hit have also been announced: San Francisco (April 10); San Diego (April 12); Phoenix (April 13); Tulsa, Oklahoma (April 15); Ruston, Louisiana (April 17); Dallas (April 18); Austin, Texas (April 19); Houston (April 20); Clearwater, Florida (April 22); Miami Beach, Florida (April 23); Lake Buena Vista, Florida (April 24); Atlanta (April 26); North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (April 29); Washington, D.C. (April 30); Orono, Maine (May 2); Troy, New York (May 3); Rochester, New York (May 6); New York (May 7); Philadelphia (May 9); Wallingford, Connecticut (May 10); Boston (May 11); Montreal (May 13); Toronto (May 14); Cleveland (May 16); Columbus, Ohio (May 17); Indianapolis (May 18); Detroit (May 20); Chicago (May 23); Milwaukee (May 25); Minneapolis (May 27); St. Louis (May 30); Council Bluffs, Iowa (May 31); Kansas City, Missouri (June 1); Denver (June 3); Salt Lake City (June 4); Vancouver, British Columbia (June 6); Seattle (June 7); Portland, Oregon (June 8); Las Vegas (June 13); and Anaheim, California (June 14). ...

Uncle Murda was shot in the head late Tuesday night but the injury was not serious, according to New York's Daily News. The popular upstart rapper, who was signed to Roc-A-Fella Records by Jay-Z and backed by DJ Green Lantern, suffered a minor head wound after he was grazed by a bullet while sitting in a parked car in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. There is no word on whether the rapper has been released from the hospital. Calls made by MTV News to reps for Uncle Murda were not returned as of press time. ... Danny Glover was convicted for trespassing on Thursday (January 24) in Niagara Falls, Ontario, according to AP. Canadian Niagara Hotels had charged the actor and two other men after they protested at a Sheraton in September 2006. The protest was part of a larger effort to boost salaries and improve working conditions for hotel workers in North America. They will be sentenced February 8. ...

Los Angeles city officials have asked a judge to ban members of the Mob Piru street gang from congregating in a neighborhood of Compton, California, and included on their list of 200 gang members was former Death Row Records boss Marion "Suge" Knight. The Los Angeles Times reports that Knight's name was on the request, which would ban members of the gang from congregating, carrying guns, drinking alcohol in public or staying out past 10 p.m. Knight, who has struggled to get his label back online after a number of legal tangles and prison time, told the paper he thought the injunction was a "publicity stunt" and that it should not have included him. "This is crazy," he said. "I'm a 42-year-old businessman, not a gang member. I don't even live in Compton anymore." A hearing on the matter is slated for Thursday (January 24). ...

Perez Hilton won an $85,000 judgment on Wednesday in a defamation lawsuit brought by celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson. According to AP, a judge ordered Ronson to pay the blogger $85K, plus an additional $2,000 if Hilton (born Mario Lavandeira) requests it, in the suit over a report on Hilton's blog last year. The post repeated a claim from CelebrityBabylon.com that said Ronson planted cocaine found in friend Lindsay Lohan's car during a May car crash involving the actress. "Perez Hilton will take steps to make sure every dime is collected," his lawyer Bryan J. Freedman said. "This should make one careful before filing a lawsuit against him." The judge removed Hilton from the suit in November after the blogger's attorneys argued he was protected by free-speech rights. Ronson's attorney unsuccessfully argued that Hilton's lawyers' fees were excessive and that he should get no more than $13,400 to recover his legal costs. ...

And the hits just keep coming ... just not the ones the music industry is looking for. According to numbers released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, global music sales fell by around 10 percent in 2007, falling at a faster rate than they did in 2006, despite a growth in digital-music sales of around 40 percent. The IFPI said illegal downloading continues to be a major problem, with the ratio of illegally downloaded tracks to legal tracks sold at around 20 to 1. Also included in the report was news that the first-ever global music-download sales chart was topped by Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend," which sold 7.3 million downloads across the world. ...

Gallows, a punk band from England, are the latest act to be banned from playing the House of Blues at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, according to The Onion's A.V. Club. The group was reportedly barred from playing its scheduled show there Tuesday night because Disney objects to the group's lyrical content. Machine Head and Cannibal Corpse suffered similar fates at venues located on Disney property last year.

1.23.08

Officers from Scotland Yard have confirmed that they will investigate the video footage of Amy Winehouse apparently smoking drugs from a glass pipe, according to BBC News. "We will assess the footage to ascertain whether any action needs to be taken," a police official said of the disturbing footage, which was reportedly shot recently. ...

Ardent animal activist Pink, along with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is setting her sights on New York carriage horses. The singer has launched a new campaign that urges people to boycott the rides and that supports a recently introduced bill to ban the carriages in the city. "New York should follow the lead of London, Paris, Toronto, Beijing and progressive U.S. cities that have decided horse-drawn carriages and big city traffic don't mix," Pink recently told MTV News in exclusive comments about the campaign. "Manhattan's carriage horses suffer a miserable, solitary life shackled to a carriage and pulling load after heavy load of tourists, many of whom look like they could use the exercise themselves." ... Paris Hilton wants you to walk in her shoes — the heiress will debut her new line of footwear at Macy's in Costa Mesa, California, on February 8 from 3-6 p.m. The Paris Hilton Footwear Collection will also be available at Kitson, Lord & Taylor and other boutiques, with suggested retail prices ranging from around $60 to $200 per pair. ...

"American Idol" got its edge back on Tuesday night, but viewers probably weren't aware that one of the contestants has a criminal history, according to TMZ.com. Singer Perrie Cataldo — who shared some details about his gritty past with the judges on Tuesday — was reportedly arrested in 2006 for carrying a concealed weapon into a bar in Arizona. He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon and was slapped with a $568 fine, TMZ says. ... Jermaine Dupri's father, Michael Mauldin, announced Wednesday (January 23) his plans to launch a label based on the popular Scream Tour, which was headed up by T.I. and Ciara last year under the banner "Screamfest '07." The Atlantic Records-distributed Scream Star Entertainment will also feature a revamped Web site, ScreamStar.com, which is set to include video highlights from each Scream tour, featuring the likes of Omarion, Ne-Yo and Bow Wow. Last year's monumental New York stop — which saw Jay-Z, Diddy and Kanye West join T.I. onstage — will also be included in the Scream Tour Anthology that's scheduled to go live on the site later this week. ...

Dr. Jan Adams, the plastic surgeon who operated on Kanye West's mother, Donda West, returned to CNN's "Larry King Live" on Tuesday to discuss the case more than two months after abruptly walking off the set of the show. According to The Associated Press, Adams said the fallout from West's death has impacted his medical practice "horribly ... it's almost destroyed [it]." West, 58, died at a Los Angeles-area hospital on November 10, a day after Adams performed plastic surgery on her, including a tummy tuck, breast reduction and liposuction. A coroner's autopsy report found that West most likely died of heart disease coupled with complications after plastic surgery, though an exact cause of death couldn't be confirmed. "The autopsy said what I expected," Adams told King, though he would not go into detail, citing patient-doctor privilege. ... The wife of Britney Spears' paparazzo pal Adnan Ghalib has reportedly filed for a legal separation from the photographer. People reports that Azlynn Elizabeth Berry cited irreconcilable differences in the papers filed on Friday and is asking for Ghalib to pay spousal support and her attorney's fees. According to documents, the pair were married on December 18, 2003. The couple have no children. Ghalib's photo agency, Finalpixx, has said Ghalib has been separated from his wife for more than a year. ...

Last.fm has some big news: On Wednesday, the site started offering free streams of full-length tracks and full albums. The site also announced that it will pay artists directly for music it streams. Last.fm claims it got the blessing of the four major labels and now has the biggest collection of music that can be played online for free — legally, of course. ... Murs is gathering the masses for the third installment in his underground hip-hop fest, Paid Dues, which will go down March 22 in San Bernardino, California. This year's roster includes Dilated Peoples, Boot Camp Clik, Living Legends, Sage Francis and Jedi Mind Tricks. ... Here's a blast from the past: Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode and Erasure note has ganged up again with Alison Moyet to perform the first shows by their long-dormant electro-pop group Yaz — or Yazoo, as they are known in the States — in 25 years. In Your Room, a box set with three CDs and one DVD, will drop in May. ...

Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr walked off the set of "Live With Regis and Kelly" on Tuesday after being informed he would have to cut in half a performance of the five-minute title track from his new album, Liverpool 8. AP reports that Starr was going to perform the song with friend and former Eurythmics member Dave Stewart. A spokesperson for the show claimed the booking had been made in November and that Starr's reps agreed at that time to the length of the segment. ... Just a week after the Mars Volta release their new album, The Bedlam in Goliath, on Tuesday, guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez will drop a solo album called Calibration. Among the guests on the record are fellow MV members Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Juan Alderete and Thomas Pridgen, as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and keyboardist Money Mark. The album is due out February 5 on N20 Records.

• Diddy
• Britney Spears
• Motion City Soundtrack
• Panic at the Disco
• Phantom Planet

Gwen Stefani appears on the cover of May's <i>Harper's Bazaar</i>
Photo: Peter Lindbergh/ Harper's Bazaar

Gwen Stefani as a brunette? The singer told Harper's Bazaar that she's considered coloring her hair brown — "Then I said, 'Nah, I'm gonna milk this blond as long as I can." The singer also spoke up on the future of her career. "Some days, I think there's no way to get away with this any longer," she said in an interview published in the magazine's May issue, on newsstands April 24. "I still feel like that sometimes, even though it's been 20 years. But then some days, I just feel really inspired and I really believe in everything. It's like the 15 minutes just keep getting longer." ...

Keeping up with the Joneses got that much more difficult Friday (April 13) with news from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas that Shia LaBeouf has officially been cast in the fourth installment of the "Indiana Jones" series. "We are excited about bringing Shia into our Indy family," Spielberg said in a post on IndianaJones.com. The announcement ends weeks of "Will he or won't he?" speculation, much of it fueled by LaBeouf himself. The 20-year-old "Disturbia" star had previously denied his involvement when news of the casting first leaked and recently told MTV News, "I haven't been presented with the idea. I haven't been approached." In the Friday post on IndianaJones.com, LaBeouf said, "I was hoping the rumors were true, so I couldn't be more thrilled. To be cast in an Indiana Jones film is like grabbing the brass ring and holding on for the ride. I can't wait to take that giant step in front of the Indy cameras." "Indiana Jones 4" will be released worldwide May 22, 2008. ...

A judge has granted C-Murder permission to attend his first book-signing event to promote his street-lit novel "Death Around the Corner." The rapper, currently under house arrest, will participate in the signing during the New Orleans Jazzfest on May 5 at the one of the city's largest black-owned bookstores, Community Book Center. ... A judge has delayed a custody hearing over Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead's baby, The Associated Press reports. The decision was made to allow the deceased model's mother, Virgie Arthur, more time to negotiate a private-visitation arrangement with Birkhead. In related news, two Smith diaries will be auctioned as scheduled on Saturday, despite her former partner Howard K. Stern's claim that they are stolen property. ...

Ozzy fans, be on the lookout: Select copies of his Black Rain album will contain a code giving the owners first chance at seats for Ozzfest. The specially marked copies will be available at retail stores May 22 but can be preordered in the meantime. The code is good for two tickets, with supplies limited, and will be effective four days before the general public has access to tickets on June 12. ... James Blunt is in the clear. The singer/songwriter will not be charged for allegedly driving over someone's foot after leaving a party in February, AP reports. ...

Fred Durst misses being the frontman for Limp Bizkit, and according to a blog post, he'd like to head out on the road and stage "a landmark event." Durst said, "I would love to do a tour with the original Limp Bizkit" lineup, which no longer includes guitarist Wes Borland, who left the band to launch his own project, Black Light Burns. Limp haven't toured the States since 2003. "Imagine that me and Wes could work things out together and be a band again, friends again," Durst wrote in the post. "We had so many wonderful times. I am proud to say that I have learned so much from my mistakes and it has taken a long time to evolve to this place where I finally let myself be healed. Without Limp Bizkit, I would have never gotten here. Without Wes, I wouldn't know what it is like to work with the best." ...

Julian Lennon, the eldest son of John Lennon, has sold his stake in his father's compositions for the Beatles, according to The Wall Street Journal. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a source told the paper that the shares of the catalog were "significant." The deal for the songwriting income generated by the Lennon compositions was made with Primary Wave Music Publishing, which last year paid an estimated $50 million for a 50 percent stake in the music-publishing catalog of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. ...

Muse frontman Matt Bellamy has spoken out against the Live Earth gigs, saying that it might be hypocritical to stage the event, aimed at raising climate awareness worldwide, when it could have an adverse affect on the climate. "Private jets for climate change, not sure about it, that seems to be a bit on edge really," he told the BBC. Ashok Sinah, a director of Stop Climate Chaos, responded to defend. "They have to reduce carbon emissions, we have to reduce carbon emissions, and in just the same way that we may look at a pop star and say, 'You use more carbon than I do,' people from Africa could look at us and think, 'We don't go flying around everywhere.' I have met people in Africa who haven't even made a phone call, let alone get on a plane." Sinah also noted that the concerts were just the beginning of a larger overall campaign. "We have got to make sure that the people that come to us post-concert are actively engaged and get involved in the campaign." ...

Trey Anastasio pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance on Friday, avoiding a possible 14-year prison term. AP reports that Anastasio, 42, accepted a plea deal in his felony drug case that will require the singer to serve 12-15 months in New York's drug court program, during which he'll make weekly court appearances, submit to drug testing and perform community service. The charges stem from a December arrest in which police claim he was found in possession of heroin and an anti-anxiety drug prescribed to someone else and was driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. ... Heather Locklear's second rock marriage has officially ended. The actress' divorce from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was finalized Wednesday, according to an AP report. She filed for divorce from Sambora in February 2006 after 11 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.

04.12.2007

Mary J. Blige knows that her audience has changed in the 15 years since she released her debut album, and she's stepping up to the challenge. "My fans have children now that know me and love me the way my fans do," Blige said in the May issue of Redbook, which hits newsstands Tuesday. The singer, who is a stepmother to husband Kendu Isaac's three children, recalled a young girl who was "so nervous and shaking and she started crying" when she saw Blige. "I met one of my fan's daughters after a show, and her father was like, 'She really, really loves you.' ... And I said, 'Well, you know what that means. That means I have a whole other responsibility.' " ...

DMX was hit with bench warrants by judges in two cities in New York on Wednesday for failing to show up to court for traffic cases. According to The Associated Press, even Murray Richman, the rapper's lawyer, doesn't know where X is — or why he didn't make the trip from his home in Arizona to White Plains and Yonkers to face the charges. "He said he missed a flight," Richman said. "He's always missing flights." DMX had already skipped the Tuesday White Plains date — which was for June charges of speeding, changing lanes dangerously, driving without a seat belt and with a suspended license — but the judge granted him an extra day to show up. He was due in a Yonkers court to face an October charge of driving with a suspended license. ...

Swizz Beatz and Mya headlined a Giant magazine showcase Wednesday night at Cielo in New York. Nina Sky, "Wire" actor Hassan Johnson and Mashonda took in the festivities, which were helmed by DJ S&S. ...

Tom Hanks is in final negotiations to reprise his role as symbologist Robert Langdon in "Angels & Demons," a prequel to the worldwide blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Also written by Dan Brown, "Angels & Demons" centers on Langdon's search for a canister of antimatter hidden by the Illuminati to destroy Vatican City. Director Ron Howard is also in final negotiations to return for the flick, which is set to be released December 19, 2008. ...

Korn's temporary kitman Terry Bozzio has ended his involvement with the band after supplying the drum parts for Korn's upcoming, still-untitled LP. For now, it remains unclear just who'll be handling drum duty during Korn's upcoming tour, with original drummer David Silveria still on "hiatus." ... Marc Anthony is about to write the IRS a huge check. Turns out the Latin singer forgot to file tax returns from 2000 through 2004 on more than $15 million in income, so he's agreed to pay close to $2.5 million in back taxes, interest and penalties to correct the oversight, according to an AP story. The Manhattan District Attorney declined to prosecute Anthony because a professional accountant prepared his tax returns and the singer apparently thought the returns had been filed. Two of Anthony's business associates have pleaded guilty to tax felonies and are facing stiff fines. ...

Static-X canceled their Dallas gig Wednesday night as drummer Nick Oshiro recovers from a broken hand. In a message on the band's MySpace page, frontman Wayne Static said "we'll come back through as soon as we can," adding that "Nick is doing OK, although he's more than a little bummed that he's going to have to take a break from the tour." Static-X will be flying a temporary drummer in for the band's gig Friday in Houston, "with Nick re-joining the tour as soon as his cast comes off." ...

Novelist Kurt Vonnegut, a counterculture icon whose darkly comic novels became American classics, died on Wednesday in Manhattan at age 84 after brain injuries suffered during a fall several weeks ago, The New York Times reported. Vonnegut was best known for his biting 1969 anti-war novel "Slaughterhouse-Five," which detailed his experience as a prisoner of war during the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, in World War II and resonated with many young Americans who were against the Vietnam War. Through countless essays, plays, short fiction and 14 novels such as "Cat's Cradle" and "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," Vonnegut used pessimistic humor, science fiction, philosophy, creative punctuation and sentence structure and a treasure trove of made-up religions, alternate human races and metaphysical phenomena to describe and comment on the human condition and our perilous place in the universe. ...

A federal judge has ruled that Collier County sheriff's deputies did not use excessive force in restraining Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida, in 2003, The Naples Daily News reports. The decision deals a blow to civil claims brought against the police by Lifeson and his son, Justin, who allege that deputies violated their civil rights with excessive force as well as "illegal detention." Lifeson and his son were charged with battery, resisting an officer with violence, and disorderly intoxication in connection with the incident, and last year accepted a deal offered by prosecutors, pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence. They were sentenced to 12 months probation. ...

The Beatles' Apple Corps has settled a long-running $59 million royalty dispute with the EMI Group in a deal that experts predict could pave the way for the Beatles' music to finally be sold online. According to a Reuters report, no terms were announced in the March settlement, which came after the company representing the Beatles announced in December 2005 that it was suing EMI after negotiations over the nearly $60 million in unpaid royalties broke down. The new deal leaves EMI and Apple Corps open to negotiate a new royalty plan that could include download sales. ... Actor Roscoe Lee Browne has died after a long battle with cancer, AP reports. He was 81. Browne won an Emmy Award for his guest role as Professor Foster on "The Cosby Show," and he narrated the movie "Babe."

• Gwen Stefani RAW: The 'Escape' Interview

• In Focus: Shia LaBeouf

• Gwen Stefani
• C-Murder
• The Beatles
• Trey Anastasio

Lil' Kim arrives at her perjury trial in 2004
Photo: Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images

Earlier this week, in a lasting (if not especially prompt) display of loyalty, a pair of Doors fans sent a letter to Florida Governor Charlie Crist, asking him to pardon the late Jim Morrison, who was arrested nearly 40 years ago on charges of indecent exposure after a concert in Miami.

See, on March 1, 1969, Morrison and the Doors were playing a show at the Dinner Key Auditorium when the iconic — and, on this night, reportedly very intoxicated — lead singer berated the crowd, encouraged them to "take [their] clothes off and love each other" and, in a moment that lives on in rock and roll infamy, shouted, "There are no rules!" and allegedly exposed himself. (This scene is re-enacted, doubtless with a keen eye toward historical accuracy, in Oliver Stone's 1991 film "The Doors.")

A public outcry ensued — including a "Rally for Decency" at the Orange Bowl stadium — and within a few days, the city of Miami issued a warrant for Morrison's arrest on charges of lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent exposure, public profanity and public drunkenness (phew!). More than 18 months later, Morrison was convicted on the profanity and indecent-exposure charges and sentenced to six months in jail. He was released pending an appeal, but died in his Paris apartment in on July 3, 1971, before that appeal could be heard.

Many Doors fans argue that the Miami incident marked the beginning of Morrison's downward spiral and see it as a permanent scuff on his legend. Of course, whether Governor Crist actually will pardon Morrison — something that requires the approval of two-thirds of the Florida Cabinet — remains to be seen. And while the appeal is no doubt a noble one, there is a sense of "Um, why now?" If the matter is so important, shouldn't have the speedy wheels of justice been greased decades ago?

But it did get us thinking: if we had the power (and weren't slaves to that most unforgiving mistress, time), which of music's most felonious would we pardon — and why.

In our court of clemency, things like "evidence" and "alibi" carry just as much weight as a truly awesome mug shot or a completely epic flame-out — and as such, our verdicts are not necessarily legally airtight, nor are we in any way advocating such behavior. But hey, we're the judges here, so whatever we say, goes!

Court is in session, and we're ready to rule ...

Defendant: Ozzy Osbourne

The Charge: Back in the day, Ozzy was like the Michael Jordan of public intoxication and bad behavior. Take, for example, his infamous intoxicated incidents of 1982, when he bit the head off of a dove in a record-company meeting, and the Alamo incident later in the year, when Osbourne urinated on the Texas landmark, was booked on public-intoxication charges and subsequently banned from ever appearing in San Antonio again. Or his 1984 arrest in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was popped by police officers after "staggering drunk" — those words are from the police report — down Beale Street, and perhaps for showing his allegiance to the St. Louis Blues.

Our Verdict: Totally pardoned! Ozzy has sorta mellowed over the past two decades — so much, in fact, that we're willing to forgive all his past indiscretions (except "Close Your Eyes Forever"). Plus, anyone who can appear on consecutive album covers as a blood-spattered Mr. Hyde and a savage, tree-bound wolfman — as the Ozzman did on 1981's Diary of a Madman and '83's Bark at the Moon — can do no wrong in our book.

Defendants: The Beastie Boys

The Charges: The most serious legal ramification from the band's unhinged 1987 License to Ill tour was Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz) being arrested in England for allegedly hitting a female audience member in the face with a beer can he'd batted into the crowd. But you kinda get the feeling that the Beasties have spent the last 20 years trying to live down the events of that raucous worldwide trek, which saw them work a giant inflatable (and, according to some reports, motorized) phallus into their stage shows, invite female fans onstage to dance in cages, trash more hotel rooms than Led Zeppelin and — allegedly — lob insults at leukemia patients in the U.K. They've since traded in their hell-raising ways for retro obsessing, unsuccessful business diversification (Grand Royal Records and magazine) and, uh, Buddhism.

We Say: No harm, no foul (well, aside from the beer-can incident, which, if true, sounds unintentional). The B-Boys were just borrowing the whole inflatable-donger thing from the Rolling Stones' 1975 tour anyway, and we're pretty sure the hard partying suited the guys well: Ever since he went all "clean livin'," Mike D has started to look like the Crypt Keeper.

Defendant: Jack White of the White Stripes and Raconteurs

The Charge: In December 2003, White got into an altercation with Von Bondies frontman Jason Stollsteimer at a Detroit rock club (see "Jack White Brawls With Fellow Garage Rocker At Detroit Club"), an incident that allegedly stemmed from disagreement over production credits on the Bondies' 2001 album Lack of Communication. White took full credit, while Stollsteimer said he felt engineer Jim Diamond, who later unsuccessfully sued White over White Stripes royalties (see "White Stripes Win Royalties Lawsuit"), did most of the work. Regardless of what caused the scrap, it's clear who the winner was: White emerged unscathed, despite being able to brawl with only one hand (he'd recently broken his left index finger), and Stollsteimer ... well, he didn't fare quite as well. White was subsequently charged with aggravated assault, but ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery. He was fined $500 and ordered to attend anger-management classes.

We Say: Pardoned. After all, White totally whooped ass with only one hand — and he might do it to us if we don't pardon him.

Defendants: 2 Live Crew

The Charges: Geez, where to start? The bootymasters' 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be got a lot of people all hot and bothered (not in the good way) thanks to its highly explicit content, drawing the ire of the American Family Association and eventually being classified as obscene — and therefore illegal to sell — in Broward County, Florida. In June 1990, a local record store clerk was arrested for selling a copy of Nasty to an undercover police officer, and a few days later, three members of the Crew — Luther "Luke Skyywalker" Campbell, Chris "Fresh Kid Ice" Wong Won and Mark "Brother Marquis" Ross — were arrested on charges of obscene conduct after performing songs from the album at a nightclub in Hollywood, Florida. But none of the charges stuck, and in 1992, a Court of Appeals overturned the obscenity ruling.

We Say: Even though their convictions were all thrown out, we feel like the whole incident is a blemish on the group's otherwise sterling reputation, so we're granting the Crew clemency. Anyone responsible for a tune as excellent(ly terrible) as 1999's Bill-Clinton baiting "Bill So Horny: The Presidential Remix" is clearly worthy of a presidential-style pardoning.

The Defendant: R.E.M. Guitarist Peter Buck

The Charges: In April 2001, Buck boarded a British Airways flight in Seattle, bound for London. Somewhere in between, he began downing glass after glass of red wine and, according to British court documents, Buck "behaved ... like the transmogrification of Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde," getting stuck between seats, wandering around the first-class cabin bellowing "I am R.E.M.!," trying to sit next to a woman he inaccurately claimed was his wife, threatening the cabin crew with a tub of yogurt and a spoon, attempting to insert a CD into a drinks cart and — in the piece-de-resistance — smashing a trolley of breakfast crockery for no apparent reason (see "Peter Buck Arrested For Busting Up First Class"). He was charged with two counts of common assault on the cabin crew, one count of being drunk on a plane and one count of damaging British Airways cutlery. At trial, his defense claimed the wine he had drank had reacted adversely with some sleeping pills, which caused him to lose control; Buck said he remembered nothing between closing his eyes in his first-class seat and waking up in the Heathrow Airport police station. After some heartfelt testimony from Bono and R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, Buck was cleared of all charges on the grounds of "non-insane automatism," which essentially means his actions were not considered intentional.

We Say: Sure, the British court may have already cleared him, but if we were in charge, this whole thing would've never even got to trial. After all, who among us hasn't mistaken a cart loaded with alcohol for a stereo? And who doesn't hate crockery?

Defendant: Lil' Kim

The Charges: In 2005, Kim was convicted on charges of perjury and conspiracy for lying to investigators and a federal grand jury about her involvement in a 2001 shooting at New York radio station Hot 97 (see "Lil' Kim Gets A Year And A Day In Prison"). She served 366 days in a Philadelphia prison, then departed "wearing sunglasses, carrying a bouquet of white roses ... blowing kisses and [telling fans] 'I love you,' " according to The Associated Press, which sort of proves that there is no situation she can't glamorize. Since then, she's kept her nose clean (unlike chronic-antagonizer-of-beauty-salon-employees Foxy Brown) and logged time as a "stern-yet-fair" judge on the CW's "Search for the Next Doll."

We Say: The Queen Bee is pardoned. She paid her debt to society via a stretch in the slammer (which is more than we can say for just about anyone else on this list) and has behaved ever since — although her dedication to the whole "Stop Snitchin' " ethic isn't particularly admirable.

The Defendant: Trey Anastasio

The Charges: The former Phish frontman faced a seven-count indictment that included a felony charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence of drugs, and misdemeanor drug possession, stemming from a late-night traffic stop in rural Whitehall, New York, last December — charges that could have gotten him 14 years in prison. Police reportedly pulled Anastasio over after he was seen "swerving" between lanes, and then found a quantity of heroin, prescription painkillers and anti-anxiety medication in his car. Anastasio allegedly also told police that he had been smoking hashish and taking pills prior to his arrest (whoops!). According to AP, Anastasio accepted a plea deal on Friday (April 13) that spares him time in prison but involves community service, drug testing and weekly appearances in New York's drug court program for 12 to 15 months.

We Say: Despite the fact that he pleaded guilty to a lesser drugs charge, we'll pardon him. Because not only is Anastasio's "aw-shucks" mug shot beyond cute, we don't know how anyone could survive 20 years of Phish without some serious painkillers.

• Ozzy Osbourne
• Beastie Boys
• The White Stripes
• Lil' Kim
• R.E.M.

Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Fall Out Boy will headline the seventh annual Honda Civic Tour, which will commence April 18 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The full itinerary has yet to be announced. The band will also partner with the company to design custom features for a Civic hybrid, which fans will have the chance to win. The band gave a surprise performance at the company's Torrance, California, headquarters on Friday (January 5). ...

Demi Moore wants to expand her family and has joked with husband Ashton Kutcher about doing a Broadway version of "The Graduate" — in which a middle-age woman seduces a college graduate — according to a new interview with Vanity Fair. In the issue, which hits stores Tuesday, the actress also revealed that, "If somebody would have said, 'OK, here is the prediction: You're going to meet a man 25 years old and he's going to see being with you and having your three children as a bonus,' I would have said, 'Keep dreaming.' " ...

Monitored mother Madonna can breathe a little easier: The Malawi government is reportedly pleased with how she is raising her newly adopted son, David Banda. "We have been monitoring her and so far we see a loving mother in Madonna, and David is very fine," Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare Adrina Mchiela told Reuters. "The father should not be worried." Mchiela would not say whether a government official who has been assigned to monitor how Banda is being raised has visited Madonna's London home, where Banda has been living. The singer previously signed interim adoption papers that stipulated Banda would be monitored for 18 months, after which Malawi officials would decide whether final approval would be given for him to remain with her family. ...

Jennifer Lopez makes the cover of People en Español's "100 Most Influential Hispanics" issue, on newsstands Friday. "Being an example to others is a big part of my work," Lopez said in an interview with the magazine. "It excites me to think that I could be capable of changing opinions, or of making people laugh or cry." Others on the list include Shakira, Salma Hayek, Ricky Martin, film directors Alfonso Cuarón ("Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") and Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth") as well as fashion designers Manolo Blahnik and Oscar de la Renta. ...

Whitney Houston's clothes and musical gear are going up for auction — but not for charity purposes. According to The Associated Press, Speed of Sound — a company that has been taking care of 300-plus items from the singer's 1999 tour — is selling the gear and clothes to help cover Houston's unpaid storage fees. A lawyer for Speed of Sound told AP that the company is owed $175,000-$200,000 but that excess money from the auction will go to Houston's Nippy Inc. The items, including a black-velvet bustier, one of her microphones and a vintage barber chair, will be auctioned Tuesday at a warehouse in Irvington, New Jersey. ...

Snoop Dogg's Snoop Youth Football League Foundation has been sued by a New York media company that alleges the group has been double dipping. Natural Resources Media & Technology Group claims that the foundation made a deal for a reality television series about Snoop's involvement in the league — a pact that violated a pre-existing deal with 20th Century Fox to develop a similar feature film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the complaint filed in New York Supreme Court last week claims that the June deal gave Natural Resources exclusive pay-per-view, cable and home video rights for the league in exchange for raising and providing more than $100,000 in production revenue to share with the foundation. When Fox learned about the deal, it informed the other companies involved in the reality show that Fox had exclusive rights to chronicle Snoop's involvement with the youth league for an in-development film titled "Coach Snoop." Natural Resources claims that it informed Snoop that he was in breach of contract, but received no response from the rapper's representatives. The suit seeks $250,000 in damages plus attorneys' fees. ...

Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, the New Pornographers' Carl Newman and author Chuck Klosterman share their favorite concert memories in "The Show I'll Never Forget: 50 Writers Relive Their Most Memorable Concertgoing Experiences," a new book released this week. ... Based on year-end numbers from Nielsen SoundScan, album sales continued their slide in 2006, dropping 4.9 percent from the previous year, even as total music sales rose thanks to a big increase in digital downloads. While the 588.2 million albums sold in 2006 amounted to a decline, digital sales were up 65 percent over 2005, with 582 million tracks sold and digital album sales doubling to nearly 33 million. The year's top-selling album was the "High School Musical" soundtrack, with more than 3.7 million copies sold, followed by records from Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Nickelback and Justin Timberlake. Both hip-hop and R&B album sales were hit hard in 2006, dropping 20 percent and 18 percent respectively. ...

Former Phish frontman Trey Anastasio made a surprise appearance in court on Wednesday to plead not guilty to charges of driving under the influence of drugs and misdemeanor drug possession stemming from a December 15 traffic stop in upstate New York — during which police said they found prescription painkillers and an anti-anxiety drug that had not been prescribed to the singer/guitarist. A prosecutor said Anastasio, who was stopped when police saw his car weaving across a rural road in the early morning hours, could face felony charges due to the quantity of pills that were found in the car, according to AP. WNYT News in Albany, New York, is reporting that a quantity of heroin was also found in Anastasio's car, and that he told police he was smoking hashish and taking pills prior to his arrest. Anastasio is due back in court on February 14. ... Former Creed singer Scott Stapp and his wife, Jaclyn Nesheiwat, welcomed a new daughter on Thursday, AP reports. The baby girl, Milan Hayat Stapp, is the couple's first child. Stapp has a son from a previous relationship. ...

Papa Roach and It Dies Today have augmented their touring plans, adding a slew of new dates to their current tour. Rather than concluding February 3, the tour will continue two days later in Alberta, Canada. The trek will hit Minneapolis, Chicago, Baltimore and elsewhere before wrapping up March 4 in Clifton Park, New York. Kill Hannah have been added to the bill as well. ... The holidays were a bummer for Microsoft, whose heavily hyped Zune MP3 player failed to crack the top 10 in sales for all portable digital music players, according to market research firm Current Analysis. Coming in behind eight different iPod models and two SanDisk players, the Zune grabbed 12 percent of the market of hard-drive-based players in December based on Current Analysis' tracking of sales at Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Staples and RadioShack. The analysis did not include sales from Wal-Mart or Apple's own retail stores.

01.04.2007

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, actor/singer Tyrese was involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend on Thursday morning (January 4) at their apartment in the city's Hancock Park neighborhood. Initial media reports suggested Tyrese had punched his girlfriend, who is three months pregnant with his child, twice in the stomach and then fled the scene. However, a police spokesperson said Tyrese (real name: Tyrese Gibson), 28, argued with the woman and struck her twice — in the arm and leg, not the stomach — and then fled. Officers were called to the apartment and paramedics transported the woman to a nearby hospital, where she was treated and released. The spokesperson said the victim had no "visible injuries" from the incident and said detectives are interested in speaking with Gibson but had not located him. No charges have been filed against the singer, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing. A spokesperson for Tyrese declined to comment on the matter. ...

Lindsay Lohan is saying goodbye to her appendix, according to ABC News. The singer, who is suffering from appendicitis, went to the hospital Wednesday night and is having her appendix removed Thursday. ... First WorldofBritney.com drops Britney Spears, and now the owner of Club Paris has announced that he's "fired" Paris Hilton. Fred Khalilian, who owns Club Paris locations in Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida, told The Associated Press that the two clubs will retain the name but will no longer be affiliated with the socialite. Club Paris will now represent the French city, and Khalilian plans to have a contest to find a new face for the clubs. "[Paris has] created a circus for herself," the owner said. "It's all about: How has she screwed up now?" Hilton's spokesperson told AP that Khalilian has not contacted Hilton about his decision. "I'm certainly disappointed to learn of Fred's unfortunate comments. We shall address his statements at the appropriate time." ...

Cameron Diaz, Jake Gyllenhaal, James Woods and Hilary Swank have signed on to present at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, to air live on NBC January 15 at 8 p.m. ET. They join Justin Timberlake, George Clooney and other previously announced presenters. ... Lily Allen's dog Maggie is back in her possession, safe and sound. For Allen's account of the debacle, which she has referred to the police, check out her MySpace page. ...

After announcing Wednesday on his MySpace page that a White Zombie box set is in the works, Rob Zombie revealed on the same site Thursday that he has seen the new mask for Michael Myers, the villain in his upcoming "Halloween" remake. "It looks perfect," he wrote. "Exactly like the original. Not since 1978 [when the original movie came out] has the shape looked so good." Zombie also said he's making a behind-the-scenes documentary for the movie, which is due August 31. ... The Pixies will play two shows in Australia — their first ever Down Under — as part of the V Festival on March 31 and April 1. The shows will be the Pixies' first since a brief European tour last summer, which ended with the future of their successful reunion in limbo. The Pixies have been notoriously vague about whether they plan to record a new album, which would be their first since 1991's Trompe le Monde. ...

Viewers of "The O.C." will have to find a new source for their earnest-indie-rock fix — and quick. Fox announced Wednesday that the last episode of the drama, which has suffered a ratings dive, will air next month. "The O.C.," which brought a fictional group of troubled rich kids from swanky Orange County, California, to the masses — and spawned six soundtracks that helped make Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse household names — is scheduled to get the hook 16 episodes into its fourth season. The final show airs February 22 at 9 p.m. ... Haitian President Rene Preval has named Wyclef Jean a roving ambassador for the Caribbean nation, the government announced Wednesday. The musician, who moved from Haiti to New York when he was a child, has created a foundation to aid his native country and lobbied U.S. Congress to pass a trade bill expected to boost Haitian manufacturing jobs. "We wish we could have several Wyclefs as roving ambassadors because the country could have gained so much," Foreign Affairs Minister Renald Clerisme said in an interview with Reuters. ...

For now, the rumors of a reunion by rock icons the Police are just that. But a spokesperson for the band said that while it's too early to announce a reunion tour, "something is possibly in the works" to accompany a celebration of the band's 30th anniversary. The spokesperson added that among the ideas being tossed around is a tour. If and when dates are announced, it would mark the first trek by Sting, drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers since the group disbanded in 1986. A&M Records has plans to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's "Roxanne" single, which helped turn the Police into one of the biggest rock acts of their era. A statement from Interscope Geffen A&M Records posted on Sting's Web site reads: "As the 30th anniversary of the first Police single approaches, discussions have been under way as to how this will be commemorated. While we can confirm that there will indeed be something special done to mark the occasion, the depth of the band's involvement still remains undetermined." Other than a brief reunion at Sting's 1992 wedding, the only other time the trio have performed since their split was at their 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. ...

"American Idol" finalist Bucky Covington has scored himself a record deal. Lyric Street Records, label home of "Idol" season-two finalist Joshua Gracin and mega-selling country group Rascal Flatts, announced Covington's signing last week. The label expects to release his first single this month. ... NOFX will play a four-night stint at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California, next week, during which the punk act will attempt to perform several of its early albums in their entirety. The gigs are set for January 8-9 and 11-12. NOFX will tackle 1999's The Decline EP during the first show, while 1994's Punk in Drublic gets the treatment the following night. On January 11, the band will perform 1992's White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean and 1997's So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes. The final night will include tracks from the rest of NOFX's catalog. ...

MTV "You Hear It First" artists Paramore and Cute Is What We Aim For have been added to the lineup for this summer's Warped Tour, joining previously announced acts Bad Religion, Big D and the Kids Table, K-os and the Fabulous Rudies. ... A British ska band is none too happy with the Coca-Cola Company. According to AP, unsigned act 7 Seconds of Love claim their song "Ninja" and its companion video were used without permission in a South American commercial for Coca-Cola Light. The band claims it isn't interested in taking the matter to court, admitting that it wouldn't be able to afford counsel. But the members of 7 Seconds of Love would like to reach some sort of settlement with the pop purveyors. A Coke spokesperson said the advertisement was commissioned by Santo Buenos Aires S.A., an advertising agency in Argentina, which informed the company that all of the elements within the commercial were conceived specifically for the spot.

• Fall Out Boy: Behind The 'Scene' Clip

• Fall Out Boy
• Madonna
• Jennifer Lopez
• Snoop Dogg
• Justin Timberlake

R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet"
Photo: Sbme

Sealed With a Kiss: R. Kelly's serialized "Trapped in the Closet" video drama is either genius or preposterous, depending on whom you ask, but Kelly's got plenty of explaining to do on the DVD set, which includes seven new chapters, running commentary and behind-the-scenes snips.

Greatest Delights: Whether you can or can't get enough of them, Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker are back this week with newly refined — and not-so-refined — product. Two unreleased cuts and a bonus DVD come with Greatest Hits, while the Haunted Cities do-over is done up right by Paul Wall.

Set Splinters: Nirvana completists undoubtedly nabbed last year's With the Lights Out box set, but even those fans will need Sliver: The Best of the Box. It's got unreleased takes of "Spank Thru," "Sappy" and a rehearsal version of "Come as You Are," plus some snappy, never-before-seen cover artwork.

Heavy Mettle: Ozzy's cover of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" may not be surprising, but his takes on John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" and King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" sure are. And if you're looking for live tunes to sate your metal tastes, look no further than Slipknot's two-timing 9.0: Live, which is loaded with 24 tracks' worth of easy-listening pleasure (knot).

Like Mother, Like Daughter: June Carter Cash's Church in the Wildwood comes back this week, while the illustrious wife of Johnny is also hailed with Ring of Fire: The Best of June Carter Cash. In the meantime her daughter Rosanne also gets the reissue treatment with remastered versions of Interiors, King's Record Shop and Seven Year Ache.

Song Title of the Week:

• "Amazedisgrace" (3's Wake Pig)

Carlos Santana's All That I Am: Carlos keeps it seemingly simple with "Hermes," "Fuego" and "Con," but makes it a bit more complicated with a Spanish-language tune ("Do Tu Amor") and a DVD's worth of goodies. Oye como va again.

Public Enemy's New Whirl Order: In case you've been dodging Best Buys, PE's latest drops in other retail outlets this week. Recorded with Moby and led by the single "MKLVFKWR," Chuck and Flav keep it even realer with a bonus DVD filled with multimedia tracks, commentary and mo'.

Killing Joke's "XXV Gathering: The Band That Preys Together Stays Together" DVD: Every bit as ominous as it sounds, "XXV Gathering" finds founding and recently recruited members of the U.K.'s dastardly denizen digging into 17 tracks' worth of devastating dirge punk. It's the only DVD available from Jaz and company, so even if you missed the Shepherd's Bush Empire show, it'll be worth your wail.

New Releases:

• 3 - Wake Pig (Metal Blade)
• 7th Octave - Seventh Degree (Slam Jamz)
• The Alabama Boys - No Way I Can Lose (SMC)
• Altamont - The Monkees' Uncle (Ant Acid Audio)
• Trey Anastasio - Shine (two CDs; Columbia)
• Burt Bacharach - At This Time (Columbia)
• Ballerz Ink - Tha Hustle (Thump)
• Bobby Bare - The Moon Was Blue (Dualtone)
• BirdMan - Fast Money: Screwed and Chopped (Universal)
• Blink-182 - Greatest Hits (with DVD; Geffen)
  Buy Now: Greatest Hits (with DVD; Geffen)
• Terri Clark - Life Goes On (Mercury Nashville)
• The Cops - Get Good or Stay Bad (Mt. Fuji)
• A.J. Croce - Early On (Seedling)
• Deep Purple - Rapture of the Deep (Eagle Rock)
• Dishwalla - Live ... Greetings From the Flow State (DualDisc; Immergent)
• D.P.G. - Dillinger and Young Gotti II: Tha Saga Continuez (Gangsta Advisory)
• Ed Gein - Judas Goats & Dieseleaters (Metal Blade)
• Fatlip - Theloneliest Punk (with DVD; Delicious Vinyl)
• Garaj Mahal - Blueberry Cave (Harmonized)
• Goldfrapp - Number 1 EP (enhanced; Mute)
• Guitar Wolf - Golden Black: Greatest Hits (Narnack)
• John Hiatt - Live From Austin TX (New West)
• William Hooker, Glenn Hall, Lee Ranaldo - Oasis of Whispers (Alien8)
• Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself (RCA)
• The Impossebulls - Slave Education (Slam Jamz)
• Freddie Jackson - Personal Reflections (Artemis)
• Eric Johnson - Live From Austin TX (New West)
• Sander Kleinenberg and Lee Burridge - This Is Everybody! On Tour (two CDs; Ultra)
• Diana Krall - Christmas Songs (Verve)
• Lagwagon - Resolve (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Lokote - Dia De Los Muertos (Thump)
• Brian McBride - When the Detail Lost Its Freedom (Kranky)
• Kate and Anna McGarrigle - The McGarrigle Christmas Hour (Nonesuch)
• Montgomery Gentry - Something to Be Proud of: Best of 1999-2005 (Columbia)
• Move.Meant - The Good Money EP (Wax Paper)
• Nirvana - Sliver: The Best of the Box (Geffen)
  Buy Now: Sliver: The Best of the Box (Geffen)
• OC - Smoke and Mirrors (Red Urban)
• Tony Orlando & Dawn - A Christmas Reunion (R2)
• Ozzy Osbourne - Under Covers (DualDisc; Epic)
  Buy Now: Under Covers (DualDisc; Epic)
• The Panic Division - Versus (Militia Group)
• The Peasall Sisters - Home to You (Dualtone)
• Princess - Princess (Sick Room)
• Public Enemy - New Whirl Order (Slam Jamz)
  Buy Now: New Whirl Order (Slam Jamz)
• Carlos Santana - All That I Am (with bonus DVD; Arista)
  Read: "Guest List For New Santana LP: Big Boi, Mary J., Will.I.Am, Bo Bice And More"
  Buy Now: All That I Am (with bonus DVD; Arista)
• Ulrich Schanuss - Far Away Trains Passing By (with bonus EP; Domino)
• Signal Drift - Set Design (Consumers Research)
• Slipknot - 9.0: Live (two CDs; Roadrunner)
  Read: "Slipknot Cap A Year Of Destruction With 9.0: Live; More Stone Sour On Tap"
  Buy Now: 9.0: Live (two CDs; Roadrunner)
• Speech - Vagabond (Bluehammock)
• Sun Kil Moon - Tiny Cities (Digipak; Caldo Verde)
• Test Icicles - Boa Vs. Python EP (Domino)
• Texas Tornados - Live From Austin TX (New West)
• Third Day - Wherever You Are (Essential)
• Transplants - Haunted Cities - Screwed and Chopped by DJ Paul Wall (Atlantic)
  Read: "Transplants Team Up With Paul Wall For First Chopped-And-Screwed Rock LP"
  Buy Now: Concrete Rose (Def Jam)
• Josh Turner - Your Man (MCA Nashville)
• The Vacancies - A Beat Missing or a Silence Added (Blackheart)
• Kenny Vance and the Planotones - Lovers Island (Varèse)
• Dwight Yoakam - Live From Austin TX (New West)
• Various artists - Dawning of a New Era (Trojan)
• Various artists - Gilles Peterson Presents BBC Sessions (RPM)
• Various artists - I Like It, Vol. 2 (Compost)
• Various artists - La Guitara: Gender Bending Strings (Vanguard)
• Various artists - Latin Grammy Nominees 2005 (Univision)
• Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 20 (UTV)
• Various artists - Old School House Party (Thump)
• Various artists - "According to Jim" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - "Brokeback Mountain" soundtrack (Verve)
• Various artists - "Chicken Little" soundtrack (Walt Disney)

Notable Reissues:

• Boy Sets Fire - Before the Eulogy (with bonus tracks; Equal Vision)
• June Carter Cash - Church in the Wildwood and Ring of Fire: The Best of June Carter Cash (Dualtone)
• Rosanne Cash - Interiors, King's Record Shop and Seven Year Ache (Columbia/Legacy)
• A.J. Croce - Early On (Seedling)
• John Fogerty - The Long Road Home: Ultimate John Fogerty/ Creedence Collection (Fantasy)
• Grateful Dead - Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings (three CDs; live; Rhino)
• Isaac Hayes - Ultimate Isaac Hayes: Can You Dig It? (Stax)
• Killswitch Engage - Alive or Just Breathing - The 25th Anniversary Series (Roadrunner)
• Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You (enhanced; Vagrant)
• Dusty Springfield - Live at the Royal Albert Hall (Eagle Rock)
• Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends (Victory)
• Richard & Linda Thompson - Pour Down Like Silver (with bonus tracks; Fontana)
• Various artists - Coming Home for Christmas (RCA)
• Various artists - The Complete Verve Remixed Deluxe Box (Verve)
• Various artists - Trampoline Records Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (Rounder)

DVDs:

• George Benson - "Live at Montreux 1986" (Eagle Vision)
• Beta Band - "The Best of Beta Band Film" (Astralwerks)
• DMX - Cypress Hill's 6th Annual Smoke Out Presents: DMX (Eagle Vision)
• Duran Duran - "Live From London - Deluxe Edition" (with CD; Universal)
• Grateful Dead - "Dead Ahead: Live From Radio City" (Monterey)
• John Hiatt - "Live From Austin TX" (New West)
• Eric Johnson - "Live From Austin TX" (New West)
• R. Kelly - "Trapped in the Closet - Chapters 1-12" (Jive)
  Read: "R. Kelly To Release Chapters 1-12 Of 'Trapped' On DVD — And It's Not Over Yet"
• Killing Joke - "XXV Gathering: The Band That Preys Together Stays Together" (Red Distribution)
• John Lennon and Yoko Ono - "The Dick Cavett Show: John & Yoko Collection" (Shout! Factory)
• Yngwie Johann Malmsteen - "Concerto Suite for Guitar and Orchestra in E Flat Minor With the New Japan Philharmonic" (Eagle Vision)
• Youssou N'Dour - "Live at Montreux 1989" (Eagle Vision)
• Lou Reed - "Live at Montreux 2000" (Eagle Vision)
• Testament - "Live in London" (Red Distribution)
• Texas Tornados - "Live From Austin TX" (New West)
• Dwight Yoakam - "Live From Austin TX" (New West)
• Various artists - "Live 8 at Eden: Africa Calling" (Rhino)

Coming Attractions:

November 8:

• Limp Bizkit - Greatest Hitz (Geffen)
• The Mars Volta - Scab Dates (Universal)
• Young Buck - T.I.P. (Mass Appeal)

November 15:

• Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi: Platinum Edition (Island)
  Read: "Mariah Carey Emancipating Mimi Again, With Bonus Tracks"
• Green Day - Bullet in a Bible (with DVD; Reprise)
• Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Madonna Making 'Spontaneous' And 'Unapologetic' Dance Music"
  Buy Now: Confessions on a Dance Floor (Warner Bros.)

November 22:

• John Mayer Trio - Try! John Mayer Trio Live in Concert (Columbia)
  Read: "John Mayer Trio Geek Out With Live Album, Rolling Stones Jokes"
• Britney Spears - Britney Spears Remixed (Jive)
• System of a Down - Hypnotize (DualDisc same day; Columbia)
  Read: "System Of A Down Album Preview: Hypnotize Even Wilder Than Mezmerize"
  Buy Now: Hypnotize (DualDisc same day; Columbia)

• R. Kelly
• Nirvana
• blink-182
• Transplants
• Slipknot

Trey Anastasio
Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images

Former Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio has lined up a string of fall dates to promote his first post-Phish album. Anastasio will hit the road next week with his new backing band, 70 Volt Parade, in the run up to the November 1 release of Shine.

Anastasio and 70 Volt Parade will play Asheville, North Carolina, on October 7, sandwiched between spots opening for the Rolling Stones in Charlottesville, Virginia, the night before and Durham, North Carolina, the night after (see "Metallica Opening For Rolling Stones In San Francisco"). Anastasio and his band will then take a few weeks off before heading to Las Vegas for the first Vegoose Festival, playing a late-night show on October 28 at the Aladdin Theatre and joining Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson and the Flaming Lips at Sam Boyd Stadium on October 29.

The tour will start in earnest on November 2 in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre and include a two-night stand at San Francisco's SF Weekly Warfield on December 2 and 3.

Anastasio has played with several different lineups since Phish called it quits last year (see "Phish Bid New York Fond Adieu At Farewell Shows"), and the new band features drummer Skeeto Valdez, bassist Tony Hall, multi-instrumentalist Les Hall, keyboardist Ray Paczkowski and backup singers Jennifer Hartswick and Christina Durfee.

Trey Anastasio tour dates, according to his management:

• 10/6 - Charlottesville, VA @ Scott Stadium (opening for Rolling Stones)
• 10/7 - Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
• 10/8 - Durham, NC @ Wallace Wade Stadium (opening for Rolling Stones)
• 10/28 - Las Vegas, NV - Aladdin Theatre (Vegoose late night)
• 10/30 - Las Vegas, NV @ Sam Boyd Stadium (Vegoose Festival)
• 11/2 - Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre
• 11/3 - Madison, WI @ Orpheum Theatre
• 11/4 - Dekalb, IL @ North Illinois University Convocation Center
• 11/5 - Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre
• 11/8 - New York, NY @ Roseland
• 11/10 - Buffalo, NY @ Shea's Performing Arts Center
• 11/11 - Utica, NY @ Stanley Performing Arts Center
• 11/12 - Lewiston, ME @ Grey Gymnasium (Bates College)
• 11/15 - Upper Darby, PA @ Tower Theatre
• 11/16 - Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
• 11/18 - Albany, NY @ Palace Theatre
• 11/19 - Wallingford, CT @ Chevrolet Theatre
• 11/26 - Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
• 11/29 - Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
• 11/30 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
• 12/2 - San Francisco, CA @ SF Weekly Warfield
• 12/3 - San Francisco, CA @ SF Weekly Warfield
• 12/6 - San Diego, CA @ 4th & B
• 12/7 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern LG

• Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio (file)
Photo: Getty Images

Like a bird that flies back north after the thaw, if it's spring, ex-Phish member Trey Anastasio knows it's time to hit the road.

The former guitarist in the world's biggest jam band has announced a 12-date, three-week U.S. tour that will kick off on April 26 in Richmond, Virginia. The trek is currently scheduled to wrap on May 14 with the second of two shows in New York, according to a spokesperson for the singer.

The live band for the tour — Anastasio's first since Phish called it quits in August (see "Phish To Split — For Good This Time") — will be different from the ones Anastasio has toured with in the past, but the lineup has not yet been unveiled. Opening acts will also be announced soon. A portion of the proceeds from each show will be donated to a local homeless shelter, according to a note on Anastasio's Web site.

Sprinkled in among the theater dates are stops at the Beale Street Music Festival (April 29) in Memphis, Tennessee, and the Jazz & Heritage Festival (May 1) in New Orleans, in addition to previously announced gigs at the Bonnaroo Festival (June 10-12) in Manchester, Tennessee, and a final night headlining slot at the third annual 10,000 Lakes Festival (July 21-24) in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

For the past five months Anastasio has been working on his next solo album, which is slated for release this summer.

Trey Anastasio tour dates, according to his spokesperson:

• 4/26 - Richmond, VA @ Landmark Theater
• 4/27 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
• 4/29 - Memphis, TN @ Beale Street Music Festival
• 5/1 - New Orleans, LA @ Jazz & Heritage Festival
• 5/3 - Columbia, SC @ Township Auditorium
• 5/4 - Charlotte, NC @ Ovens Auditorium
• 5/6 - Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
• 5/7 - Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre
• 5/8 - Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
• 5/10 - Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre
• 5/11 - Columbus, OH @ Veterans Memorial Auditorium
• 5/13 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
• 5/14 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom

• Trey Anastasio
• Phish

Photo: Elektra

• Robert Randolph & The Family Band
• The Roots
• Phish
• moe.
• Medeski Martin & Wood

Chris Robinson at the 2004 Bonnaroo festival
Photo: Robin A. Rothman

MANCHESTER, Tennessee — By rational standards, the 90,000 Bonnaroo Music Festival attendees should have been miserable this past weekend. If the 99-degree heat didn't get to them, then two days of torrential rainstorms — which turned the 700-acre farmland festival site into a foul-smelling swamp — should have.

But Mother Nature had no idea who, or what, she was messing with. Now in its third year, the three-day music and camping festival, held from June 11-13, has rapidly become a cultural force to be reckoned with. Even Perry Farrell, the grand poo-bah of Lollapallooza, has embraced the diverse scene upon which Bonnaroo is based by adding a second day — not to mention 'Roo alums the String Cheese Incident — to his festival this year.

"They're not copying us," said promoter Jonathan Mayers of Superfly Productions. "We're not the first to have two stages with creative lineups. But if they took some cues from us, I see that as a compliment."

This third Bonnaroo boasted more than 80 bands performing on six stages, along with comedy and movie tents, extensive vendors and countless other diversions. Although there were two deaths over the weekend, both from yet-undetermined causes (see "Two Fans Die At Bonnaroo Music Festival"), most concertgoers enjoyed a safe, albeit sopping wet, weekend.

The stages opened each day at noon and kept rocking until 4 or 5 a.m., forcing listeners to make almost impossible choices about what to attend — and what to miss. Did it make sense, one had to ask, to skip Wilco for Patti Smith? Or maybe to leave one or the other early to get a good spot for Ani DiFranco's set? Was it worth missing String Cheese Incident, the Mike Doughty Band or Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson's New Earth Mud to see Bob Dylan on the main stage?

The schedule also pitted British rockers Gomez against Brit-like rockers Grandaddy; Doc Watson against Damien Rice. A superjam comprised of Galactic's drummer Stanton Moore, Funky Meters bassist George Porter and master sax player Maceo Parker was slotted up against Bill Laswell's experimental act Material and jazz-jammers Medeski, Martin & Wood — not to mention David Byrne, who performed a combination of Talking Heads tunes and solo numbers backed by a string section and a rock band.

The level of diversity was at times mind-boggling: styles ranged from Femi Kuti's Afrobeat to bluegrass by Sam Bush and Del McCoury; from twang-tinged indie-rockers Kings of Leon and My Morning Jacket to the jam band moe., who performed three sets: one during another band's set break, an acoustic performance on the tiny Sonic Stage and a full set on the main stage.

The recently reunited Primus welcomed guitarist Adrian Belew (King Crimson, Talking Heads) to the stage during a late-night performance, and '80s alt-rockers Camper Van Beethoven brought a bit of punk with covers of the Clash and Black Flag before performing a set as their more mainstream alter ego, Cracker.

Similarly, the festival's headliners made sure their sets were special, if not unique. A funky Friday set from Dave Matthews "and Friends" (featuring Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio) kept the crowd hot with acoustic strumming and popular DMB songs ("Dancing Nancies"), Phish favorites ("Bathtub Gin," "Waste") and tons of fun covers like the Beatles' "Hey Bulldog" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)."

On Saturday, fans waded and waited through a two-hour rain delay for the Dead to take the main stage. The revamped group sprawled two sets over four hours, complete with Dead classics "St. Stephen," "Dark Star" and the long jam known as "Drumz/Space."

And although some fans packed up their mud-caked tents and left the grounds before Trey Anastasio's Sunday night set, the Phish frontman rewarded the faithful Bonnaroovians — who suffered through yet another rain delay — with two dramatically different sets, the first accompanied by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and the second with his horned-up backing band, culminating with an intense fireworks display.

It's one thing to hear artists, fans, promoters and publicists pay lip service to Bonnaroo's vibe, its sense of musical community and the likeminded attitude that its seemingly disparate acts share. But it's quite another thing to feel them firsthand. One subtly defining moment could be found early on Sunday afternoon, while standing in the entertainment hub known as Centeroo, where the festival's second stage — upon which the Tokyo Paradise Ska Orchestra was performing — and a smaller tent stage, which featured Colorado's self-dubbed "polyethnic Cajun slamgrass" band Leftover Salmon, were situated. For a brief time, an oddly perfect melding of two entirely different art forms occurred, as if the two bands were performing together, in stereo, ending entirely different songs simultaneously as one, and eliciting cheers at precisely the same moment.

If Bonnaroo's success could be condensed into one aspect, it might be that no matter what the style of music, as long as it's good, the audience is willing and able to dig it. Rain or shine.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• Dave Matthews
• Wilco
• Trey Anastasio
• Bob Dylan
• Dead

All Points West Festival At New Jersey's Liberty State Park

• Radiohead
• Trey Anastasio
• Kings Of Leon
• Metric
• Ben Harper