Alicia Keys onstage at Keep A Child Alive's 6th Annual Black Ball in New York City on Thursday
Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

When Alicia Keys established the Keep a Child Alive organization, she set out to raise a bit of money, awareness and support for families in Africa and India who have been affected by AIDS. What began as a small idea has blossomed into a major charity organization, as evidenced by the group's annual Black Ball. Held on Thursday night (October 15), the event hosted 1,000 guests and raised $2.4 million at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom.

	The 6th Annual Black Ball

"Keep a Child Alive will continue to serve the poor devastated by this disease, and we are so happy that more than 250,000 have already received our services since our inception," Keys said in a statement. "We will continue to fight for them as long as it takes."

The event, which was co-hosted by Keys, supermodel Iman and "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi, honored a trio of special guests, each of whom have made strides in helping the KCA cause: former President Bill Clinton (recognized for his Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative), Virgin chief Sir Richard Branson (for his work with Virgin Unite) and Senegalese singer Yossou N'Dour (who has used his music to combat malaria and poverty in Africa). N'Dour also performed at the event, along with Keys, John Mayer and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.

Keys welcomed an eclectic number of A-list stars to the show, including Halle Berry, Usher, Spike Lee, Nick Cannon, David Bowie, Mary J. Blige and Swizz Beatz. The guests were not only treated to the performances but also a dinner (with a menu designed by Lakshmi) and a fund-raising auction. Keys' new album The Element of Freedom drops in December, but this may be her greatest accomplishment of the year.

• Halle Berry, Mary J. Blige, More At The 6th Annual Black Ball

• Alicia Keys
• John Mayer
• Coldplay

Coldplay's Chris Martin
Photo: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Guitarist Joe Satriani's copyright infringement lawsuit against Coldplay has been dismissed, and the two sides have reportedly reached an agreement in the dispute.

Billboard reports that an unnamed source close to Satriani confirmed that an agreement had been reached allowing the two parties to avoid a planned upcoming trial in the case, in which Satriani claimed that Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" contained "substantial, original portions" of his 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly."

The details of the settlement reportedly remain sealed, but unidentified legal sources told Billboard that a financial settlement between the two sides may have been reached, and Coldplay will not have to admit any wrongdoing. At press time, spokespeople for Satriani had no comment and Coldplay reps had not returned requests for comment from MTV News.

Satriani filed suit against Coldplay and the band's label, Capitol Records, in December — months after a number of online videos pointing out the similarities of the songs began appearing — alleging that the title track to the group's most recent album incorporated major elements of an instrumental track from his 2004 album, Is There Love in Space? The members of Coldplay consistently denied the allegation.

"If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music," the band said in a statement when the suit was filed, "they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him."

While touring with the supergroup Chickenfoot this summer, Satriani declined to discuss the details of the case, telling Billboard that the "legal system is going through its paces, the protocols are all being met, and it's making its way between various law offices and the courts. I'm pretty confident that there will be an equitable solution reached at some point."

According to documents posted Tuesday on Justia.com — a site that purports to help make legal information easy to find — the infringement case was concluded on Monday with an "order upon stipulation" to dismiss, with each side paying their own court costs. The "stipulation" clause suggests that an undisclosed, sealed agreement was made between Coldplay and Satriani to settle the matter.

• Coldplay
• Joe Satriani

Coldplay's "Strawberry Swing"
Photo: Capitol

Despite what you might think, there are actually great music videos out there. And two of them are nominated for Video of the Year at the VMAs: Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (which is about as close as an "iconic" clip as we have these days) and Kanye West's stylized, minimal "Love Lockdown." The other three in the category — Eminem's "We Made You," Britney's "Womanizer" and Gaga's "Poker Face" — are certainly among the biggest, and they should rightfully be lauded for that. But, in my estimation, they're hardly the best, either.

That might explain why pretty much everyone I talk to is hard-pressed to name a music video that's moved them in any particular way over the past year: People only knew about the huge ones, so choosing their favorites is sort of like trying to decide between "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" and "The Final Destination" for Best Picture; you tend to abstain completely. People have been weaned on a steady diet of blockbusters, which has turned their brains into mush. So I decided to remedy that.

I've compiled a list of my favorite music videos released over the past 12 months, clips that, for whatever reason (gruesome special effects, copyright issues, child-exploitation laws), have largely flown beneath the radar. It's a shame, because all of them are amazing. They give me hope and remind me of a time when I used to fill VHS tapes with old clips by Beck and Pavement. My hope is, by watching them, you'll remember that time too.

So here are my picks for Video of the Year. And yes, there are something like 13 of them. Brevity has never been my thing. And it really shouldn't be anyone's — brevity (and pretty much everything else) killed the video star.

Coldplay, "Strawberry Swing"
I think there are about 15 different versions of this video (or something like that), but this is my favorite: a whimsical, stop-motion clip that stars Coldplay frontman Chris Martin as a cape-clad superhero. He soars — and sinks, and crawls — through a world made entirely of chalk drawings (the work of British collective Shynola), rescues the damsel in distress and walks off into the sunset. It's joyous, magical, downright brilliant stuff — proof that videos can still move you.

The Dead Weather, "Treat Me Like Your Mother"
Jack White and Alison Mosshart don leather jackets, trudge through a suburb in Palmdale, California, and address the oedipal complex by blasting the sh-- out of each other with machine guns. Clips are emptied. And reloaded. There is much blood, and even more sexual tension. Somewhat fittingly, this premiered on Cinemax, where this kind of coital carnage happens on the regular, though usually in the "Busty Cops" series.

Dinosaur Jr., "Over It"
If you like old dudes skateboarding (and wiping out big time) on the streets of Tallahassee, Florida, well, then this is the video for you. If you don't like old dudes skateboarding (and wiping out big time) on the streets of Tallahassee, Florida, well, then what the heck is wrong with you?

Franz Ferdinand, "Ulysses" and "No You Girls"
Franz Ferdinand released a pair of really great, strangely overlooked videos to promote their really great, strangely overlooked Tonight: Franz Ferdinand album. "Ulysses" is a sweaty, sticky trip though dingy bars and even dingier motel rooms — like a series of Polaroids of a night you'd soon forget, even if you can't remember all of it. The alternate version of "No You Girls" — directed by the band itself — is a never-ending loop of backstage antics and televised performances, sort of like what would happen if Michel Gondry directed a tour documentary.

Grizzly Bear, "Two Weeks"
The great Patrick Daughters (Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps," a million others) reimagines Grizzly Bear as ultra-creepy, oddly greasy Kewpie dolls, complete with glowing red cheeks, bottomless dimples and saucer-huge eyes. The only thing? Those cheeks keep glowing, and those dimples just get deeper, and those eyes — yow. It just gets creepier and creepier, until everyone's head explodes into showers of sparks. There are also gratuitous bow ties involved.

Lily Allen, "The Fear"
If Merchant Ivory Productions decided to make a version of "Alice in Wonderland," only with dancing butlers, pirouetting presents, smoke bombs and Allen's gravity-defying bangs, this would be it. A sexy, cheeky and effervescent big-budget pop video, the kind they generally stopped making 20 years ago. Brilliant stuff. Then again, I might be a bit be a bit biased.

MGMT, "Kids"
Over the course of six super-unsettling minutes, MGMT (and director Ray Tintori) positively brutalize a tiny child — certainly no older than 2 — with visions of terrifying, maw-dripping, blood-oozing monsters, basically sentencing the kid to a lifetime of therapy (and seriously calling into question the qualifications of his parents). Of course, it's genuinely awful, but it's also pretty provocative, too, recalling the sorta-twisted Saturday morning visions of Sid and Marty Krofft and the definitely twisted photography of Jill Greenberg, only, you know, on drugs. Art? Child abuse? Both? They certainly don't make 'em like this anymore. Mostly for legal reasons.

Modest Mouse, "King Rat"
The late Heath Ledger had something to do with this warped animated clip — I believe the correct thing to say is that he "conceived" it — which spares no detail in its depiction of illegal whaling (or, more specifically, in its depiction of whales hunting humans). Bodies are flailed and skinned and turned into petroleum products in particularly graphic detail, while Isaac Brock wails and spits in the background like a Tourette's patient. A bit gratuitous, a bit graphic, but undeniably gripping too.

Neil Young, "Johnny Magic"
Like if your dad made a music video, only if your dad was awesome and decided to convert his 1959 Lincoln Continental into an electric vehicle and write an album about it.

Phoenix, "Lisztomania (Brat Pack Mashup)"
The late John Hughes probably would've loved Phoenix, or at least been deeply flattered by them, since they bottle all the jittery joy of his best films in their hooky, boyish super-pop. So, somewhat fittingly, this bootleg video takes the best track on their Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix record and syncs it with the best moments from Hughes' films (and "Mannequin" and "Footloose" too) — i.e. whenever anyone dances/embraces/pirouettes for no particular reason — with predictably joyous results. Watch whenever you want to ram your head through your cubicle wall.

Wale, "Chillin' "
Roughly 40 percent of this video takes place outside of Ben's Chili Bowl, which is probably my favorite restaurant in the universe. The other 60 percent is pretty great, too, but, seriously — have you ever had a chili half-smoke?

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Zero"
Karen O dons her leathers and prowls the streets of San Francisco's Chinatown, strutting her stuff, denting the roofs of cars and generally freaking out passersby. By the end of the clip, she's found her YYY mates, and they rock out in a 24-hour discount store while tickertape showers down from the ceiling. It's tough, sexy and overly-blissed — just like the song itself.

Questions? Concerns? Hit me up at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.

• The Other Videos Of The Year

• Coldplay
• Grizzly Bear
• The Dead Weather
• MGMT

Jay-Z performs at the All Points West festival at Liberty State Park in New Jersey on Friday
Photo: Dove Shore/ Getty Images

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — If you didn't mind the (near constant) rain, the resultant mud, the trench foot or the indescribable odor of 10,000 soaking-wet Tool fans, well, then the second All Points West festival was genuinely great.

Actually, it was pretty great regardless of those things, a testament to the organizers who assembled a lineup that managed to outshine the deluges that flooded New Jersey's Liberty State Park all weekend. The brainchild of Goldenvoice, the same folks who bring you Coachella, APW lived up to the pedigree, delivering a lineup heavy on indie (both new and old), hip-hop and buzz bands, and positively top-heavy with headliners — Jay-Z (who filled in last minute for the Beastie Boys), Coldplay and Tool. It was so solid a schedule, full of so many can't-miss acts, that you almost didn't mind trekking through calf-deep mud to get from one stage to the next.

	Jay-Z, Coldplay, More At All Points West 2009

Of course, Friday night belonged to Jay-Z, who paid tribute to the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch (who is receiving treatment for glandular cancer), by launching into the B-Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," then stalked the APW main stage like a man possessed. Decked out in black (a.k.a. "the D.O.A. look"), backed by a cracking live band with two drummers, he tore through a succession of hits — "Blue Magic," "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," "Swagga Like Us," "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" — then paid homage to Michael Jackson with a performance of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" (which "Izzo" samples) and a speech. "If you take one thing from this concert, remember this: We don't mourn death, we celebrate life," he told the crowd.

During his encore, Jay gave the audience a sneak preview of his anticipated Blueprint 3 album by spitting a stray verse ("I taught n---as fishscale/ Now they want me to fish for them"), then ripped through a one-two-three wallop of his hugest tracks: "99 Problems," "Big Pimpin' " and "Hard Knock Life." He even shouted out some of the hipsters in the audience. (Note to all future festgoers: Do not wear tie dye to a Jay-Z set, lest you feel the wrath of Jigga's onstage banter.) It was Jay's first U.S. festival appearance, and he was most certainly making up for lost time.

Jigga wasn't the only highlight on Friday: Vampire Weekend put on brave faces and played through the downpour, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought their patented brand of spastic high-energy art rock, the National's rumble somehow managed to be more menacing than the rolling thunderclaps, and the Knux brought Run-DMC swagger to hipster nation.

Saturday was the day Tool fans invaded Liberty State Park, and as darkness descended, they prepared themselves for a performance by their mercurial masters. They were impatient — pity My Bloody Valentine, who drew the unenviable task of playing before Maynard and company, which meant they were booed mercilessly by the black-clad masses. When Tool finally emerged to the twisting strains of "Jambi," the bloodthirsty fans went ballistic, thrashing and pounding in time to the band's primal pulses.

Tool's set was aided by gruesome, gooey visuals (courtesy of guitarist/artist Adam Jones), all spasmodic gremlins and twitching amputees, that worked perfectly with the tense, druggy and downright-hazy dark metal. Frontman Keenan's keening, choked vocals on tracks like "Schism" and "Stinkfist" only added to the tension, though we're not quite sure what he was hoping to accomplish with his Salvador Dalí-esque mustache.

Saturday also featured standout sets by Toronto glitchers Crystal Castles, the Arctic Monkeys (who broke out the smoke machine), the Honey Brothers (a.k.a., "that band with Adrian Grenier from 'Entourage' in it") and high-impact pop from Brits the Ting Tings.

Speaking of Brits, it was Coldplay who closed out All Points West, with a set that managed to be both massive — they have, after all, sold something north of 50 million albums worldwide — and minimal, connecting with each member of the waterlogged masses who stuck around Sunday to see them perform (this is probably the secret to their success: Coldplay are very personable dudes).

Kicking off with a trio of tracks — "Life in Technicolor," "Violet Hill," the massive "Clocks" — Coldplay then got down to getting close to the crowd. Frontman Chris Martin saluted their dedication: "As four British people who grew up in the mud and the rain," he laughed, "we salute you for coming out to what can only be described as a mud Jacuzzi."

They got psychedelic ("Strawberry Swing"), trance-y ("God Put a Smile on Your Face") and goofy (Martin's sorta jig during "42"), and — much like Jay-Z — they paid tribute to both the Beastie Boys and Michael Jackson, the former with a ballady take on "Fight for Your Right (to Party)", the latter with a version of "Billie Jean," complete with Martin's Jacko-esque falsettos.

They closed All Points West with the somber, wobbly "The Scientist," as Martin promised the crowd that it would probably be a while until they heard from Coldplay again. We should be dry by then.

• Jay-Z, Coldplay, More At All Points West 2009

• Jay-Z
• Coldplay
• Tool

Coldplay
Photo: Eamonn McCormack/ WireImage

It's been said that you're nobody in Hollywood until you've done a guest spot on "The Simpsons," and that idea may apply to musical acts as well. After all, the list of artists who have appeared on the show in some form reads like a hall of fame: Michael Jackson, U2, Metallica, Paul McCartney and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have all loaned their pipes to the long-running animated show.

And Coldplay are the latest group to have their skin turned yellow for the sake of cartoon comedy. According to "Simpsons" executive producer Al Jean (and confirmed by a Coldplay spokesperson), Chris Martin and the gang will lend their voices and likenesses to an episode in the show's upcoming 21st season. Jean says the episode in question will see Homer use a million-dollar windfall from lottery winnings to pay the band to play a private concert for himself and Bart — "When Bart goes to the bathroom, Coldplay has to stop," Jean told Entertainment Weekly.

The band joins "Funny People" star Seth Rogen, comedian Sarah Silverman and actresses Anne Hathaway and Neve Campbell as special guest stars on the upcoming season, which launches on Fox on Sunday, September 27. An episode later in the season will also feature one of the last recordings of legendary torch singer Eartha Kitt, who passed away last Christmas.

Though it may represent the first time his group has been animated, it's hardly Chris Martin's maiden voyage into comedy: He appeared as a slightly more egotistical version of himself in an episode of Ricky Gervais' "Extras," poked fun at himself on episodes of "Saturday Night Live" and also appears on the titular character's cheesy charity single at the end of "Brüno." The band is currently wrapping up its tour of North America (including a set at this weekend's All Points West festival) before heading back to Europe to complete the world tour in support of their multi-platinum fourth album, Viva La Vida, or Death and All His Friends.

• Coldplay

Jay-Z
Photo: Raymond Boyd/ Michael Ochs Archives/ Getty Images

Jay-Z has been tapped to replace the Beastie Boys at the All Points West festival in New Jersey. The Jigga man has agreed to step in to perform his first-ever set at a U.S. festival just days after it was announced that the B-Boys would have to drop out of four North American festival shows in light of Adam "MCA" Yauch's upcoming cancer treatment.

Jay will take the stage on July 31, opening night of the three-day event in Liberty State Park, topping a bill that will feature fellow headliners Tool and Coldplay, as well as sets from Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys and MGMT. While Jay has rocked audiences at the Glastonbury Festival in England, Denmark's Roskilde Festival and London's O2 Wireless Festival, this will mark the first time he will perform at a major U.S. festival.

Speaking of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the New York trio has agreed to step in to replace the Beasties at Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park the following weekend (August 7-9).

	Beastie Boys Career Retrospective

The Beasties announced on Monday that they would be canceling all of their upcoming shows and pushing back the release of their new album, Hot Sauce Committee, Part One, in order to let Yauch take a breather and receive treatment for cancer in his parotid gland, a salivary gland in the throat. In addition to Lolla and APW, the cancellations by the hip-hop trio include a headlining slot at the Osheaga Fest in Montreal and another at the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco; those events have not yet announced replacement headliners.

The addition of Jay to the APW lineup presents a potentially intriguing opportunity for the veteran MC to win over a rock audience by unveiling his collaboration with psychedelic rockers MGMT, who are slated to appear on his upcoming The Blueprint 3 album, according to a Reuters report. They join a reported list of collaborators that already includes Mr. Hudson, Rihanna, Drake and Kid Cudi. A spokesperson for Jay told MTV News that they could not confirm any of the potential collaborators at press time because the track listing for the album has not yet been confirmed.

APW organizers are offering refunds at the point of purchase for any July 31 single-day ticket holders wanting their money back in light of the Beasties' cancellation.

• Beastie Boys: A Career Retrospective

• Jay-Z
• Beastie Boys
• Coldplay
• Tool

Coldplay
Photo: Eamonn McCormack/ WireImage

When you aim to become one of the biggest bands in the world, this sort of thing just comes with the territory. At least that's what Coldplay drummer Will Champion said about the latest claims that the title track to his group's multiplatinum Grammy-winning 2008 album, Viva la Vida, sounds suspiciously like another artist's work.

After being sued for copyright infringement earlier this year by guitarist Joe Satriani, who claims that "Viva" bears too close a resemblance to his 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly," the band was hit with yet another accusation this week, when '70s soft rocker Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens), said "Viva" also resembles his 1973 song, "Foreigner Suite."

"It's tough when people accuse you of stealing something, when you know that you didn't," Champion told HamptonRoads.com. "So, we accept that it's part of the territory and know it is only for some reason, God only knows why, the successful songs that seem to be the ones that are accused of being stolen. So you go figure it out."

Asked if such claims — which have traditionally been hard to prove in court — can be somewhat subjective, and if it's easy to listen to any number of songs and claim that certain parts sound like other songs, Champion agreed that that was definitely the case.

"There are elements of our music that I've heard in other people's music but it's kind of ... I don't know," he said. "It's interesting but a very difficult thing to define. How can you ... there are only eight notes in an octave and no one owns them. And there are probably about 12,000 songs that feature the exact same chord progression. I think it lies on an intent to steal, which we certainly have never done and never would. So, it's unfortunate but it's the way people are. That's that. We're confident we haven't done anything wrong."

In addition to Islam and Satriani, the Brooklyn-based indie band Creaky Boards have also claimed "Vida" lifts a melody from one of their songs. For now, only Satriani has filed a legal claim against Coldplay, though Islam said he might consider following suit depending on how the guitarist's case plays out.

• Coldplay

Coldplay's Chris Martin
Photo: George Pimentel/ WireImage

Add Yusuf Islam — formerly known as Cat Stevens — to the list of artists who think Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" sounds just a bit too familiar. The 60-year-old singer said his son recently made him aware that the title track from the English band's multiplatinum 2008 album sounds remarkably similar to his 1973 song "Foreigner Suite."

"My son brought it to my attention and said, 'Doesn't that sound like 'Foreigner Suite"?' " Islam told Reuters on Monday. "The song definitely sounds like it ['Suite'] ... It has such logical chords and the melody has to be what it is."

Coldplay are already being sued by guitarist Joe Satriani, who has accused the band of copyright infringement in a suit that claims "Viva la Vida" borrows heavily from his song "If I Could Fly"; Coldplay have denied the claims. A spokesperson for Coldplay had no comment on the matter.

When asked if he were considering his own lawsuit against Coldplay over the song, Islam told Reuters that it "depends on how well Satriani does." The Satriani song is an instrumental the guitarist said he wrote in honor of his wife, while the Stevens song is an ambitious, 18-minute, multi-part epic that took up the entire first side of the 1973 Foreigner album, which was recorded in Jamaica and found the pop-folk singer flirting with a more R&B sound.

"Foreigner Suite" is a slowly building love ballad that begins on solo piano, adds in a female choir and then a full band midway through, at which point a jazzy piano line comes in that bears a distinct resemblance to the melody of the Coldplay tune.

• Coldplay
• Cat Stevens (Yusuf)

Coldplay's Chris Martin
Photo: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Feeling their audience's pocketbook pain, Coldplay will be giving fans who attend their North American summer shows a little bonus gift with each ticket.

An exclusive nine-track live CD, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, will be handed out to all fans attending any of the group's live shows through the end of the year, beginning with a May 15 gig at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida. The tracks will also be available as a free download during the tour on the band's official Web site.

"Playing live is what we love," the group said in a statement announcing the offer. "This album is a thank-you to our fans — the people who give us a reason to do it and the people who make it happen."

The track listing for LeftRightLeftRightLeft is "Glass of Water," "42," "Clocks," "Strawberry Swing," "The Hardest Part/Postcards From Far Away," "Viva la Vida," "Death Will Never Conquer," "Fix You" and "Death and All His Friends."

Among the acts supporting Coldplay on the trek are Pete Yorn (May 15-June 4), Snow Patrol (June 5-21), Amadou & Mariam (July 10-24), Elbow (July 25-August 9), Howling Bells (May 15-21) and Kitty Daisy & Lewis (July 10-August 9).

Tour dates for Coldplay:

» May 15 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
» May 17 - Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
» May 18 - Birmingham, AL @ Verizon Wireless Center Birmingham
» May 20 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
» May 21 - Washington, DC @ Nissan Pavilion
» May 23 - Hartford, CT @ Meadows
» May 24, Hershey, PA @ Hershey Stadium
» May 26 - Philadelphia, PA @ Susquehanna Center
» May 27 - Saratoga Springs, NY @ SPAC
» May 30 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion
» June 1 - Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lakes
» June 2 - Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
» June 4 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
» June 5 - Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
» June 6 - Nashville, TN @ Sommet Center
» June 9 - New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Arena
» June 10 - San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
» June 12 - Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena
» June 13 - Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center
» June 15 - Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
» June 17 - Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
» June 18 - Edmonton, AB @ Northlands
» June 20 - Vancouver, BC @ GM Place
» June 21 - Vancouver, BC @ GM Place
» July 10 - Portland, OR @ The Amphitheater at Clark County
» July 11 - George, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
» July 13 - San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
» July 14 - Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre
» July 16 - San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
» July 18 - Carson, CA @ Home Depot Center
» July 19 - Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
» July 21 - Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
» July 22 - Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
» July 24 - Maryland Heights, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
» July 25 - East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
» July 30 - Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
» August 2 - Liberty State Park, NJ @ All Points West Music & Arts Festival
» August 3 - Mansfield, MA @ Comcast Center
» August 6 - Raleigh, NC @ Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion
» August 7 - Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
» August 9 - Tampa, FL @Ford Amphitheater

• Coldplay

Coldplay
Photo: Stephan Cranea

It's been quite a day for rather unique news stories.

For reasons not exactly clear to us, it seems like just about every major artist has chosen April 1 as the day to foist major announcements upon us. It's almost as if they were playing some sort of elaborate joke or something.

Take, for example, Kid Rock, who announced via his Web site that he had signed an unprecedented deal with his hometown team, the Detroit Tigers, for exclusive naming rights to their stadium, formerly known as Comerica Park.

"This has been a dream of mine for a long time, and with the banks in trouble, it seemed like the right time for me to reach out to the fine people at Comerica Bank," Rock said in the post. "Since they relocated to Dallas after opening the stadium here, they were very open to the idea of making this deal. I've never been more excited for opening day, and I'm proud to be able to add my name to the legacy of my favorite baseball team."

Rock also announced that he had partnered with the Michigan Brewing Company to produce "the official beer of the Detroit Tigers."

Perhaps not wanting to be outdone, Coldplay took to their site to let it be known that they plan to record their next album not in a traditional studio, but on a modified Boeing 727 aircraft, in zero gravity.

"Later this year, the band will board a modified Boeing, which can provide zero gravity for periods of 20-25 seconds at a time," a statement on the site read. "Wearing self-designed outfits based on early Russian cosmonaut suits, they will be joined by producer/collaborator Brian Eno, who will use custom-made 'heavy' microphones to record the sessions on a 1969 analogue cassette player."

"We've been searching for the right environment to record the perfect snare drum sound for many years now," Chris Martin added, "and I've just got a gut feeling that zero gravity is the place to do that, y'know?"

Those Coldplay dudes ... so groundbreaking. Equally groundbreaking is Trent Reznor, who decided to one-up practically everybody by dropping a brand-new Nine Inch Nails album (being free of those major-label shackles sure is liberating) on his site.

Produced by none other than Timbaland — who also helmed Chris Cornell's solo album — the new NIN album is called Strobe Light and features songs like "Everybody's Doing It" (featuring Chris Martin, Jay-Z and Bono); "Even Closer" (featuring Justin Timberlake and Maynard James Keenan); and "Still Hurts" (featuring Alicia Keys). It's available for $18.98 — plus a $10 digital delivery convenience fee (how Web 2.0!) — by simply entering your e-mail address.

And finally, Icelandic ingénue Björk chose April 1 as the day to drop the news that she had accepted the position of lead singer for Led Zeppelin and that she would join the band for a world tour starting in June (we know, right?!?). Writing on her site, B said she only took the gig out of concern that Zep's long-standing touring plans would fall through without her behind the mic.

"It was evident that their world tour was in turmoil after original singer Robert Plant decided to concentrate on live work with Alison Krauss," the statement reads. "Björk has put forward her wish that they only cover songs from [Zeppelin albums] I and IV. The tour kicks off in June, after Björk has fulfilled her other engagements."

Seriously. All that happened today. We need a break. What's the deal with April 1 anyway?!?

• Coldplay
• Kid Rock

2009 VMA Nominees

• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Green Day
• Kings Of Leon
• Paramore
• Fall Out Boy

Jay-Z, Coldplay, More At All Points West 2009

• Jay-Z
• Coldplay
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• MGMT
• Vampire Weekend

Stars Rock The 2009 Grammy Red Carpet

• Miley Cyrus
• Death Cab For Cutie
• My Morning Jacket
• Colby O'Donis
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2009 Grammy Awards Show

• Whitney Houston
• Justin Timberlake
• Jennifer Hudson
• U2
• Coldplay

2009 Grammy Weekend Parties

• Lil Wayne
• Rihanna
• Akon
• T.I.
• Cassie

2008 MTV Movie Awards Performers & Presenters: Tom Cruise, Lindsay Lohan And More!

• Lindsay Lohan
• Coldplay
• Pussycat Dolls
• Katharine McPhee

Coldplay live at the Oakland Arena in Oakland, CA 1.31.2006

• Coldplay

System Of A Down, Coldplay, More At KROQ-FM's Almost Acoustic Christmas

• Nine Inch Nails
• System of a Down
• Thrice
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The 48th Annual Grammy Nominees

• Mariah Carey
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• John Legend
• 50 Cent
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MTV News: Photos

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• Jay-Z
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• Coldplay