Gnarls Barkley
Photo: Matthew Donaldson

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Gnarls Barkley are plotting an arena tour across the U.S. While dates have not been firmed up, the jaunt will take place from January through March. In other Gnarls news, the group is bulking up its St. Elsewhere debut as a CD-plus-DVD double-disc. The deluxe edition will have four videos, live tunes and a chunky 92-page booklet. ...

St. Lunatics rapper Ali was charged with third-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, property damage and driving on an expired license Saturday after he was pulled over in the Hazelwood area of St. Louis. Ali denied the charges to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, noting, "There is no way that I could kick him from the back seat." Ali said the officer used a taser on him 46 times and made several racial remarks. ...

How far would you go to promote an album? Would you fight the WWE champion? Kevin Federline would — and did, taking on John Cena in an argument that got physical in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Conveniently, the fight — which ended with Cena hitting Britney Spears' husband with a resounding slam — was captured as part of WWE's "Monday Night Raw." Three 6 Mafia, "Jackass" stars Steve-O and Chris Pontius, and Nick and Aaron Carter saw the action in person, but K-Fed's fall will be broadcast for all to see Monday (October 16) at 9 p.m. on USA Network. Federline's Playing With Fire is due October 31. ...

The first two dates of Guns N' Roses' fall U.S. trek have been postponed. The Jacksonville, Florida, stop — originally set for Friday — has been bumped to October 31. And the October 22 gig in Nashville has been pushed back to January. A new date hasn't been announced for the latter show. ...

Just days after leaving Malawi without the 1-year-old boy she planned to adopt — but with a promise that they would soon be united — Madonna has hit another snag in her quest to make David Banda a part of her family. According to Reuters, human-rights groups in Malawi are expected to seek a court injunction Monday to stop the adoption proceedings. The groups claim that the Malawi government hasn't followed its own laws, which prohibit adoptions by non-residents and require anyone wanting to adopt in the country to live there for at least 18 months. Madonna had been granted a temporary waiver that allowed her and husband Guy Ritchie to take custody of the boy. ...

After more than a year of touring, loose songwriting and demoing, it looks like Radiohead are finally getting down to the business of recording their seventh studio album. Frontman Thom Yorke made the announcement — along with some thoroughly harrowing notes about global warming and ExxonMobil — on the band's blog, Dead Air Space. "We've started the record properly now," Yorke wrote. "Starting to get somewhere, I think. Finally." Initial sessions for the still-untitled album began in August with producer Mark "Spike" Stent (Madonna, No Doubt) behind the boards, but last month, Radiohead let it slip that longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich was instead helming the recording process. A spokesperson for the group confirmed that Godrich was in, but "[couldn't] confirm the fate of the Spike sessions as yet." There is no completion date for the new record, the band's first since 2003's Hail to the Thief. ...

According to Metallica's Web site, the band will re-release its "2 of One" VHS in DVD form on December 5. The site claims the reissue will include all Metallica's videos — including a clip for "Mama Said" that never aired on North American television — as well as the theatrical version of their "The Unforgiven" video and the "Some Kind of Monster" trailer. All the contents will be remixed in 5.1 surround sound. ... According to Rob Zombie's Web site, an upcoming live effort is nearly completed. "Rob is in the studio finishing up with producer Scott Humphrey, mixing the tracks right now," the post reads "The CD will include live versions of everything from 'The Lords of Salem' [off Zombie's 2006 LP Educated Horses] to 'Black Sunshine' [from White Zombie's 1992 release La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1]." A release date has not been set. 20th Century Masters: The Best of Rob Zombie - The Millennium Collection hit stores last week. ...

Enrique Iglesias has lined up five club dates on his For the Fans - Exclusive Club Tour. The run kicks off at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom on November 30 and will hit venues in Atlantic City, New Jersey (December 1); Chicago (December 3); Houston (December 5); and Los Angeles' Wiltern LG (December 7). Select fans will get to meet Iglesias on the tour, which will also feature fan-only presales. For more information on special tour offers, check out EnriqueIglesias.com ... Following on the heels of the LA Weekly Detour — a music gala held earlier this month to drive more Los Angelenos downtown — the Secret Machines will play a similar concert to promote mass transit in the city. After playing Hollywood's Avalon on October 24, the band will pack up its gear and head downtown to Union Station for a Global Inheritance-sponsored show dubbed Public Displays of Affection. Only people who took the Metro to get to the show will be admitted. ...

As part of the rollout of Sirius Internet Radio — which allows listeners to sign up for monthly subscriptions without buying a companion unit — the company is making access to its programming, including Howard Stern, free for just two days: October 25 and October 26. ... Remember that song "Your Woman?" Well, the creators of the infectious 1997 track, White Town, are mapping a return following a long break with Don't Mention the War, a 12-track LP that should be in stores before year's end. Look for the effort to include "Somewhere Blue," "I Was Trotsky's Nun" and "Theme for a BBC Natural History Series Presented by Richard Dawkins." ... Country singer Freddy Fender died of lung cancer on Saturday in his Corpus Christi, Texas, home. He was 69. The Grammy-winning singer, who was one of the first Mexican-American artists to cross over to the mainstream pop charts, began his career in the 1950s performing rock covers in Spanish as El Be-Bop Kid, and gained notoriety in the mid-1970s with the country hits "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights." In 1990, he won a Grammy as a member of the Tex-Mex all-star group the Texas Tornados and in 2001 he took another Grammy for best Latin pop album for his solo effort, La Musica de Baldemar Huerta.

10.13.2006

Apple is rolling out another new iPod Nano, this one called the (Product) RED special edition, created by U2's Bono in order to raise funds for African women and children affected by HIV/AIDS. A portion of the profits ($10) from the sale of the special edition 4GB iPods ($199) — which are housed in a red aluminum enclosure — will go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. A $25 iTunes (Product) RED gift card will be made available next month. ...

R. Kelly's child-pornography trial was postponed yet again on Friday (October 13). The singer's pretrial hearing has been rescheduled for October 27. ... Makers of "Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol" for PlayStation 2 are hosting a nationwide contest to crown the first virtual American Idol. The contest begins Friday at the Javits Center in New York and will hit nine other major markets. The winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to a taping of "Idol." ...

The Madonna adoption saga took another turn Friday when Reuters reported that she left Malawi not with David Banda, the 1-year-old boy she reportedly adopted, but rather with a pledge from the country's officials to try and reunite Madonna with the child while the adoption process is under way. According to Reuters, Banda was not with the singer as she was driven to a private jet in Malawi's capital of Lilongwe, with a senior immigration official explaining that the child's passport was still being processed and that officials had given Madonna a waiver allowing her to skirt a law prohibiting non-residents from adopting Malawian children. Officials said they expect Banda to be able to visit and spend time with Madonna while awaiting a hearing for the application, which could take up to two years. The singer's spokespeople have still not commented officially on the adoption. ...

Jagshemash. Citizens of U.S. and A. take note: The soundtrack to the upcoming film "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" will be released October 31. Titled Borat: Stereophonic Musical Listenings That Have Been Origin in Moving Film "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," the 18-track disc will include the album-only "You Be My Wife" and the notorious "In My Country There Is Problem (Throw the Jew Down the Well)." Additionally, the enhanced disc will include three clips from the film, including one deleted scene. ... Tupac's last concert is coming to DVD. "The Complete Live Performances," due October 31, will feature the rapper's 1996 show at Las Vegas' Club 662 shortly before he was gunned down at the venue. The two-disc set also includes Tupac's show at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California, from earlier that year. ...

Incubus will tour next year in support of their forthcoming sixth LP, Light Grenades, which has been slated for a November 28 release. The band will kick off the North American trek in Vancouver, British Columbia, on January 5, with dates booked through February 11 in Los Angeles. ... KT Tunstall is releasing a CD/DVD on Tuesday titled Acoustic Extravaganza. The collection will include new songs, acoustic versions of her hits and a cover of Beck's "Golden Age." ... Dates for Glenn Danzig's Blackest of the Black tour have been revealed. The trek, which will be headlined by Danzig with Lacuna Coil, the Haunted, Belphegor and Asesino, will make stops — on the West Coast only — next month. The trek gets started in Seattle on November 17, with 10 dates scheduled through a November 30 show in Santa Cruz, California. ...

Mike Watt has been checking in periodically on the progress of the new Iggy Pop & the Stooges album via HootPage.com/hoot_wattstooges2006record.html. This week the under-the-weather bassist posted — in his typically enigmatic jargon — about the band's experience working with engineer Steve Albini, among other things: "I hear [Pop] call steve albini 'science' once — that's a cool name but I know steve feels uncomfortable giving advice cuz he's told me and who wouldn't? like steve says, '... giving advice to iggy pop on how to make a punk rock record? I don't tell my grandma how to bake biscuits' and I know just what he means." ... Sam Roberts and Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew crop up on Atlantis - Hymns for Disco, the third LP by genre-defying Toronto rapper k-os. They appear on "Valhalla," while other songs on the early 2007 release include "Sunday Morning," "Flypaper" and "Born to Run." ...

Saves the Day frontman Chris Conley is launching an acoustic solo tour this fall. The trek begins Saturday at Bamboozle Left in Pomona, California, and ends November 5 at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey. ... The stage will be a bit less crowded than originally planned for the upcoming Rock Star: Supernova tour. Finalists Storm Large, Magni Asgeirsson and the house band have been given the boot from the first outing by the reality show band. "They SAY it's financial," Large wrote in a message forum on her site, adding, "but I know what REALLY went down ... I clearly haven't slept with enough people. I thought I got all of 'em but a few were kinda squirrely and escaped my lusty grip. DANG IT!" TMZ.com is reporting that the reasons are financial and that fellow finalists Toby Rand and Dilana Robichaux will still hit the road with Tommy Lee and the gang, with backing from Rand's band, Juke Kartel. ...

Take-Two Interactive Software was ordered by a Florida judge to demonstrate the upcoming game "Bully" in order to determine whether it violates state public-nuisance laws — which more typically apply to polluters — The Washington Post reports. Miami attorney Jack Thompson filed a suit claiming the Rockstar game, which follows a student through fictional prep school Bulworth Academy, is a "Columbine simulator" that endangers public safety. The game, which is due in stores Tuesday, has been rated T for teen. ... Courtney Love invested in some new art recently — a portrait of herself. New York artist Olan — who has also created mixed-media portraits of Kelly Osbourne, Anne Hathaway, Rufus Wainwright and Boy George — said in a statement that "It is the greatest gift for an artist's work to speak to its subject, and I am honored by Ms. Love's response to my work of her." Olan's remaining portraits of Love are on display at New York's Ward-Nasse gallery through December.

• Gnarls Barkley
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Kevin Federline
• John Cena
• Guns N' Roses

Snoop Dogg (file)
Photo: Getty Images/Bertrand Guay

It looks like Snoop Dogg won't be heading to Harvard after all. The university's undergraduate council has taken back its offer to have the rapper perform at the school, citing "financial obligations and unavoidable obstacles," The Associated Press reports. The rescinded offer comes in the wake of objections by a group of students offended by some of Snoop's more sexist lyrics. ...

Kelly Clarkson's moving on from "Since U Been Gone": She's heading to Toronto early next week to shoot her next video. "Behind These Hazel Eyes" will be directed by Joseph Kahn. ... Ten former "American Idol" contestants got together recently to shoot an episode of "Family Feud" that will air in syndication the week of May 2. A men's team of A.J. Gill, George Huff, Jon Peter Lewis, Matt Rogers and Rickey Smith faced off against a women's team of Amy Adams, Vanessa Olivarez, Diana DeGarmo, Julia DeMato and Kimberley Locke. ...

Michael Jackson is denying rumors that he's in financial dire straits and selling off most of his 50 percent interest in Sony/ ATV Music Publishing (which contains songs by the Beatles). Via a statement released Thursday, Jackson's rep said "these reports are not true." ... Jason Mraz has been sidelined with a respiratory infection that has affected his vocal cords, according to the singer's Web site. Three of his college tour dates, in Des Moines, Iowa; Minneapolis; and New York, have either been rescheduled or canceled. ...

RZA and Method Man — who team up on the latter's upcoming solo album — are pairing up again to make music for the Jet Li movie "Unleashed." The first single (written by RZA) is called "Baby Boy" and sung by a new artist named Thea, while the second song, "Unleash Me," will feature Method Man in the video. ... WWE champion John Cena is making good on his threat to start a rap career. He's shooting a music video Friday (April 15) and Saturday in Los Angeles for "Bad, Bad Man," from his upcoming debut LP, You Can't See Me, out May 10. Cena's also just completed filming his part in "The Marine," in which he plays an injured Marine who comes home from a war to find his girlfriend caught up in a kidnapping. ...

AC/DC, Kiss, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2 are among the artists donating rare guitars, gear and albums to save the environment. Fans can bid on the who's-who collection during Save the Earth Foundation's annual Earth Day charity auction online, beginning Saturday at auctions.overstock.com/earthday. The auction, which lasts until April 25, also includes a Rolling Stones hollow-body guitar and the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour album, each autographed by all bandmembers, as well as autographed microphones from Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nelly and Snoop Dogg. ... U2's forthcoming book, "U2 by U2," which was set to be released this year, has been postponed. Harper Collins has delayed what was to be the September publication of the book due to the "punishing schedule" of the band's current world tour. ...

Yoko Ono will headline the upcoming All Tomorrow's Parties festival in the U.K. (April 22-24), curated by actor/musician Vincent Gallo, who has also threatened to perform. Joining Ono on the eclectic bill are her son, Sean Lennon, Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, Polly Jean Harvey, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Merzbow, Olivia Tremor Control, James Chance and the Contortions, Prefuse 73, Buck 65, Peaches and Suicide. ... Remember that cheesy cover band in the party scene from "Old School"? Well, they've released a whole album on punk label SideOneDummy. The Dan Band Live! is 14 tracks of totally unfunky, cheese-tastic covers of songs like "Milkshake," "You Oughta Know," "Shoop," "Genie in a Bottle," "Total Eclipse of the Heart," an ABBA medley, and, yes, "I Am Woman." You've been warned. ...

04.14.2005

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's still-untitled reality show, which spotlights their courtship up to and including their wedding via privately shot home videos, will premiere with a special one-hour episode on May 17 at 9 p.m. ET on UPN. ...

Outkast and Rosa Parks have settled their dispute. In what had been a highly contested matter concerning the use of Parks' name as a song title, the parties resolved to become partners in developing educational programs to enlighten today's youth about the role Parks played in the civil-rights movement. First up will be a tribute album, on which Outkast will perform. They're also planning a TV special and DVD. ... The mother of Michael Jackson's current accuser continued testifying Thursday, elaborating on the alleged death threats she told the court about on Wednesday. She testified that she was "continually monitored" by Jackson's team for what she thought was her own safety. Prosecutors played an audio tape purportedly made just before the family's interview with the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, revealing that a Jackson security guard was present prior to the interview. Following the interview, the mother testified, one of Jackson's associates told her she hadn't done a good enough job clearing Jackson and that they were going to have to leave the country. ...

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter phoned in his plea of not guilty to two drunk-driving-related charges Wednesday (he was not required to appear). The charges stemmed from a March 5 incident in Huntington Beach, California, where he was pulled over for erratic driving and failed a field sobriety test. Carter's next hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 2. ... Paris Hilton, Hilary Duff, Good Charlotte, Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, Rob Thomas, Ryan Cabrera and Shar Jackson were among the stars who turned out for Us Weekly's party Wednesday to celebrate the Young Hot Hollywood Style Awards, which was hosted by Jessica Simpson. ...

Nelly has placed two special Pimp Juice promo vehicles on eBay in order to raise money for his late sister Jackie Donahue's foundation, the Jes Us 4 Jackie Fund. The custom-designed rides, a 2004 PT Cruiser and a 2004 Jeep Wrangler, will come with an autographed photo of the rapper, an authenticity plaque and 20 cases of, yes, Pimp Juice. The bidding ends on April 22. ... A U.K. group called Mothers Against Guns is calling for a boycott of Reebok, according to BBC News, as it feels a TV ad for the shoe company's "I am what I am" campaign that features 50 Cent counting his gunshot wounds glorifies gun violence. Reebok said in a statement that it does "not support every action, choice or view expressed by the hundreds of athletes and entertainers who wear our products. However, we do support their individuality and right to express themselves freely." ...

April 15 isn't just the dreaded day to pay your taxes, at least if you live in Sin City. The city of Las Vegas is declaring Friday "Diddy Day," in honor of the music mogul. Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman and the city council will honor P. Diddy's achievements at a presentation this Friday afternoon inside the Desert Passage Mall at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino. ... Legendary piano man Johnnie Johnson died on Wednesday of natural causes at his home near St. Louis, according to his reps. He was 80. Johnson played on almost all of Chuck Berry's hits and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 by friend and fellow rocker Keith Richards. He is survived by his wife, Frances, and 10 children. ...

Sparta have been forced to cancel the remainder of their current tour for medical reasons. According to the band's Web site, guitarist Paul Hinojos suffered a ruptured disk in his back and was hurried back to Los Angeles for immediate treatment. There are no plans to reschedule the nixed gigs, but Sparta promise to do all they can to make them up on their next tour. ... Martika — whose 1989 chart-topper "Toy Soldiers" forms the backbone of Eminem's track "Like Toy Soldiers" — is heading out on the road with her new group, Oppera, whose self-titled album is due out May 31. The pop-rock duo will tour the East Coast with Pat Benatar; the trek begins June 15 in Clearwater, Florida, and wraps June 30 in Reading, Pennsylvania. ... Electronic pioneers Kraftwerk will bring their elaborate stage show back to the U.S. for a brief summer tour. The group will kick things off in Washington, D.C., on May 30 and finish the trek on June 6 in Los Angeles before heading off to Europe. ...

• Snoop Dogg
• Kelly Clarkson
• Michael Jackson
• Eminem
• John Cena