After two days of jury selection, the attempted-murder trial of Roc-A-Fella rapper Beanie Sigel began Thursday (April 15) at the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia. This trial stems from a shooting outside a Philly bar last July. Last week, in a separate incident, Sigel pleaded guilty to a federal gun charge for which he will be sentenced on July 8. ...

Rapper Loon was due in Beverly Hills Superior Court in California on Thursday for a preliminary hearing on attempted-murder charges, but the case was continued until June 3. The charges stem from an incident at the House of Blues in West Hollywood in which a security guard was stabbed. Loon and two associates were arrested and charged with the crime. ... A Lifetime original film about last year's Rhode Island nightclub fire is tentatively scheduled for a July broadcast; production began April 2. Alex Grossi (of Beautiful Creatures), Chad Stewart (Faster Pussycat), Danny Nordahl (Motochrist) and Muddy Stardust (the Gilby Clarke Band) are considering roles in the film. ...

Janet Jackson has picked Francis Lawrence to direct the video for her next single, "All Nite (Don't Stop)." The shoot takes place Friday and Saturday. … Also on Friday, JC Chasez will move forward with the video for his next single, "All Day Long I Dream About Sex," with Todd Kellstein calling the shots. ... Perhaps not surprisingly, Wilco have canceled the first eight dates of their spring tour while frontman Jeff Tweedy undergoes rehab for a painkiller dependency. The string of dates beginning with an April 21 show in Columbia, Missouri, through their Coachella slot on May 1 have been scrapped, and refunds are available for all shows except Coachella. The band will play all remaining dates as scheduled, beginning with a show May 28 in Barcelona, Spain. ...

Courtney Love appeared in a Beverly Hills court Thursday, where a judge ruled in a preliminary hearing that there was probable cause to hold her felony drug-possession case over to trial. Though the singer pleaded not guilty in October, she will be re-arraigned on April 30. Love and her former lawyer have said the charges stem from just three pills found in her possession, but her new lawyers and the deputy district attorney say Love handed over a bag of 30 pills. Her lawyer Michael Rosenstein told reporters outside the courthouse that the district attorney's office was "wasting court time and taxpayer money" by trying to make an example of the singer, whom they claimed had been prescribed all the medication found at the house. Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Stodel said Love is being treated "the same way we would treat anyone else found with an illegal substance." For her part, Love told Blender magazine in an issue to hit stands later this week that it's her "inalienable right" to continue taking prescription pills. "OxyContin is one of the most effective, harmless, positive painkillers around," she told the magazine. "The drug is new to me, actually. Yes, it's a narcotic and it's addictive, but so are Vicodin and Tylenol 3 with codeine." ...

No Doubt drummer Adrian Young is joining Bow Wow Wow as a sideman on their summer tour. "It's a dream come true to play with a band I grew up idolizing," Young said in a statement. "I feel like a kid back in the sandbox." Their string of dates starts July 16 in New York. ... Phish plan to stage a major summer festival in their native Vermont on August 14 and 15, although those dates are tentative and details are still being worked out. Meanwhile, the band has announced 11 summer shows, beginning June 17 and 18 at Coney Island's KeySpan Park in Brooklyn, New York. Other stops include Saratoga Springs, New York; Noblesville, Indiana; East Troy, Wisconsin; Mansfield, Massachusetts; and Camden, New Jersey. ...

As Taking Back Sunday put the finishing touches on the their second album, the follow-up to 2002's Tell All Your Friends, the emo quintet is gearing up for a monthlong, 24-city trek with Blink-182 that kicks off April 29 in Nampa, Idaho. The new album is due in July, while the band is on the road with the Vans Warped Tour. ...

04.14.2004

Alicia Keys, Usher and Lionel Richie have been added to the lineup of Quincy Jones' We Are the Future concert scheduled for May 16 at Rome's historic Circo Massimo. Angelina Jolie has joined the list of special guests attending the event. ...

ABC has scheduled a second "The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour" for Christmas. The debut earned strong ratings on Easter, giving the network a rare win for the night. ... A few hours after their appearance on the "TRL" Awards on Tuesday, Outkast held a party at New York's Crobar to celebrate the diamond sales certification of their double LP Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below. Jay-Z and Beyoncé, P. Diddy, Farnsworth Bentley and New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury were just a few of their friends who turned out. ...

White Stripes frontman Jack White is going to appear in not one but two videos for country legend Loretta Lynn's upcoming album, Van Lear Rose, out April 27. Though they're still finalizing the details for the video for their duet, "Portland, Oregon," they're planning to shoot another one for the song "Miss Being Mrs." The clip, which will consist primarily of performance footage, will be shot in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, at the plantation mansion from the 1980 movie about Lynn's life, "Coal Miner's Daughter." ... In a recent low-key Santa Monica, California, ceremony, Beck wed his eight-month pregnant girlfriend, Marissa Ribisi, the twin sister of actor Giovanni Ribisi, according to USA Today. On the music front, Beck recently recorded a cover of Daniel Johnston's "True Love Will Find You in the End" for an upcoming tribute album. ...

Meat Puppets bassist Cris Kirkwood's trial was adjourned until May 10 in order for the judge to consider a motion filed by his attorney, who hopes statements Kirkwood made immediately following his arrest in December can be suppressed. Kirkwood faces charges stemming from an incident outside a Phoenix post office, in which he assaulted a security guard, who then shot him. ... Trillville and Lil Scrappy are each shooting their second videos from The King of Crunk & BME Recordings Presents Trillville & Lil Scrappy in Los Angeles this week. Scrappy's "No Problem" is an ode to Denzel Washington's 1998 thriller "Fallen," while Trillville's "Get Some Crunk in Yo System," featuring cameos from Snoop Dogg and WC, pays homage to a more recent Washington movie, "Training Day." Lil Jon, who is taking time off from recording the Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz album Crunk Juice, co-directed both videos with Gil Green (Trick Daddy). ...

The producers behind American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics, due April 27, have added a group song to the track list, the 12 finalists' rendition of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." The songs by John Stevens and Diana DeGarmo have been changed to "You Are Everything" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," respectively. ... Jacki-O has shown the executives at TVT Records that her "Nookie" isn't the only good thing about her. The record company announced Tuesday that it has signed the Miami rapper. Her debut, Poe Little Rich Girl, will hit toward the end of the summer. ...

• Beanie Sigel
• Janet Jackson
• JC Chasez
• Loon
• Phish

Moore & Bode Cigars Inc. filed a suit against Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and his company, Bad Boy Entertainment Inc., earlier this month for alleged "invasion of privacy" and "theft of trade and business secrets." The cigar company claims that in June videographers from Bad Boy filmed the company's employees without permission and that the footage ended up in Diddy and Nelly's video "Shake Ya Tailfeather," thereby giving away the "secret process" in which Moore & Bode rolls its cigars. The suit seeks at least $15,000 in damages. ...

Madonna reportedly wants to have another baby. The 45-year-old pop icon told Britain's The Times newspaper that she'll make a doctor's appointment to get the green light to follow-up Lourdes, 7, and Rocco, 3, with her third child. ... DMX and Fox Searchlight Pictures have agreed on a release date of March 19 for "Never Die Alone." X is also in talks to star in an untitled supernatural-themed flick that begins shooting at the beginning of 2004. ...

Jury selection is still in progress for the C-Murder murder trial in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Six jurors were chosen Monday, leaving six more and two alternates to be picked. The rapper, whose real name is Corey Miller, is facing second-degree-murder charges for allegedly shooting and killing a 16-year-old during an MC battle. Though the trial has yet to begin, the judge has already shot down one defense motion to keep prosecutors from telling jurors that they could find C-Murder guilty of manslaughter if they find him innocent of murder. Opening arguments are expected to begin Wednesday. ...

Often naked No Doubt drummer Adrian Young will sit behind the kit for British new wave group Bow Wow Wow's set at KROQ's Inland Invasion concert Saturday in Devore, California. Other artists on the bill include '80s faves the Cure, Duran Duran and Echo and the Bunnymen, alongside contemporary acts Hot Hot Heat, Dashboard Confessional and Interpol. ... Dirt McGirt (formerly Ol' Dirty Bastard) and Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA are shooting a video this week for "We Pop," the first single from the latter's Birth of a Prince, due October 7. RZA, who was recently cast in "Coffee and Cigarettes," the latest film from Jim Jarmusch ("Ghost Dog"), is planning a fall tour with Ghostface Killah. ...

Rah Digga has a release date of December 9 for her LP Everything Has a Story. The first official single will be the remix to her "Party and Bullsh-- 2003," featuring Eve and Missy Elliott. Snoop Dogg is also scheduled to make an appearance on the album. ... Elephant Man's Good 2 Go, featuring the single "Pon De River," has been pushed back to December 2. Mariah Carey, Da Brat and Lil Jon appear on the album. ...

Matchbox Twenty will launch a 31-date tour of North America on September 24 in Tallahassee, Florida. The final show is December 4 in Estero, Florida. ... The Very Best of Sheryl Crow, due November 4, will feature the new song "The Light in Your Eyes," along with a cover of Cat Stevens' "The First Cut Is the Deepest." Wayne Isham ('NSYNC) is directing a video for the latter. ...

After three years of rotating bass players, Gov't Mule have named Andy Hess (the Black Crowes, Joan Osborne) as the replacement for Allen Woody, who died in 2000. The band will launch the Rebirth of the Mule Tour with opener Chris Robinson October 10 in Philadelphia to promote The Deepest End, due October 7. The outing wraps November 16 in Denver. ... Myk Taylor, a former guitarist for influential British '80s metal band Angel Witch, died from leukemia on August 21. He was 41. Taylor, whose brother-in-law was frontman Kevin Heybourne, last played on the band's 2000 studio album, Resurrection. ...

Gerry Marsden , the lead singer for Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers, had triple-bypass surgery on Monday in Liverpool, England. Marsden discovered he needed the operation after a routine checkup proved his arteries were blocked. He is currently in recovery and has been removed from intensive care. ... Fuel will play five mini-shows at Best Buys around the country to promote Natural Selection, due September 23. Cities include Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (September 23), Mount Laurel, New Jersey (24), Pittsburgh (25), Cleveland (26) and Downers Grove, Illinois (27). When purchased at the stores, the album will include a bonus CD featuring the unreleased song "On the Road Again." ...

The Chemical Brothers will play four U.S. shows in support of Singles 93-03, due September 30 on CD and DVD. Cities includes Los Angeles (October 18), San Francisco (21), Chicago (22) and New York (24), at the reopening of the club CentroFly. The duo just shot a video for "The Golden Path," a new track featuring Flaming Lips singer Wayne Coyne. ... An expanded edition of the They Might Be Giants documentary "Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)" is due November 18 on DVD. A collection of videos will be among the more than five hours of special footage. ...

FreshTracksMusic, a download hub for up-and-coming bands, will send a copy of Dave Matthews' new Some Devil LP to music fans who sign up for the $2 a month subscription. ... Mötley Crüe's 20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection double-disc set will come out October 7. The hits compilation features 12 songs spanning the group's career, including "Shout at the Devil," "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Home Sweet Home." ...

X-ecutioners turntablist Roc Raida will release the new disc Champion Sounds in November. Co-X-ecutioner Rob Swift guests on several tracks. Raida will tour this winter to support the release. ... U.K. garage hip-hop artist the Streets (a.k.a. Mike Skinner) will issue All Got Our Runnins, a mini-album of previously unreleased material and remixes, on October 14. The disc will be available exclusively online and will feature "Streets Score (instrumental)," "Give Me Back My Lighter," "All Got Our Runnins" and "Let's Push Things Forward (The Streets Remix feat. Roll Deep)," among other tracks. ...

9.15.2003

Jennifer Lopez's Nuyorican Productions and HBO will join forces on a documentary about Los Quinces, a traditional ball held to celebrate a Cuban girl's 15th birthday. "We are committed to producing unique and provocative films, so a documentary on this tradition is a natural fit for us," Lopez said in a statement about the project, which will hit theaters in limited release before airing on HBO. ...

Redman was arrested in Oslo, Norway, on September 8 for — surprise! — having a small amount of marijuana on his person. The rapper was arriving on a flight from Amsterdam to perform a show in town that night and, according to his manager, was carrying an amount that was just over the local legal limit. Authorities soon realized the rapper, who has been known to extol the virtues of marijuana, was not a smuggler and eventually let him go in time for him to perform. ...

With the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour now behind them, the Neptunes' rock alter ego, N.E.R.D., will hit the studio to complete their next album, Fly or Die. The album has been moved to a March 9 release date. ... The video for Something Corporate's "Space" will premiere Tuesday during Fox's "The O.C." through AOL's music showcase program. The band's North is due October 21. ...

NYC gloomy gusses Interpol will work on the follow-up to Turn on the Bright Lights when they hit the studio early next year. Of the seven new songs already written for the album, "Length of Love" and "NARC" have been featured in the band's recent live sets. ... Southern California punksters Zebrahead will follow-up 2000's Playmate of the Year with MFZB, which takes its name from the band's fan club. A tour surrounding the release, due October 21, is in the works. ...

The onetime owner of a copy of Double Fantasy that John Lennon signed for Mark David Chapman, the man who killed him, is suing the auction house Moments in Time. Phillip Michael claims that he never received his 95-percent share of the album's sale price, which was between $150,000 and $464,000 (and is being contested). Chapman had Lennon sign the album hours before he shot the ex-Beatle and then he ditched it in a planter, where Michael found it. Chapman's fingerprints on the album helped in his conviction. ...

Before discussing downloading with Bill Maher for "Real Time" on Friday, Liz Phair performed a set of her tracks including "Why Can't I?," "Polyester Bride" and "Supernova" at a Santa Monica, California, party. DJ Kazell also performed. ...

• Diddy
• Madonna
• DMX
• Gov't Mule
• C-Murder

Bow Wow Wow, who reformed last year with a fusion of old and new members and surprised critics by playing to wildly enthusiastic crowds during a recent club tour, has just finished mixing a live album culled from those performances.

The as-yet-untitled live record, which is slated for release in October, will include 12 to 14 live tracks, as well as remixes of Bow Wow Wow staples "C30, C60, C90 Go," "W.O.R.K.," "Do You Wanna Hold Me" and "I Want Candy." Artists vying to remix the tracks include David Haskins of Love and Rockets, Information Society, DJ Keoki, Leatherstrip and Dead or Alive.

The band is also recording tracks for a new album with several producers, including Jim Goodwin and Kenny Laguna -- who worked with Bow Wow Wow in the past with "I Want Candy" and "Louis Quatorze." Songs that the band has written that may pop up on the new album include "Bedouin Rocker," "A Thousand Tears" and "Eastern Promise."

According to a spokesman, Bow Wow Wow plans to head back on the road at the end of July.

• Bow Wow Wow

December 12 [14:30 EDT] -- '80's New Wave is on the way back, starting with Bow Wow Wow, one of the successful creations of Sex Pistols svengali, Malcolm McLaren.

Bow Wow Wow, best known for hits like "I Want Candy," "Work," and "Go Wild In The Country," are getting back together, in a modified form. Frontwoman Annabella Lwin and bassist Leigh Gorman are the two original members reviving the band. Former guitarist, Matthew Ashman, died in 1995 following complications from diabetes, while Dave Barbarossa, the former drummer, now records with another English, female-fronted band, Republica.

New drummer, Eshan Khadroo and guitarist Dave Calhoun will be rounding out the revised Bow Wow Wow. The US tour kicks off on December 16, in Kansas City, Missouri and extends through March of next year.

• Bow Wow Wow