Diddy's <I>Press Play</I>
Photo: Bad Boy Records

Mo' Diddy: It's been five years since we last heard a batch of new material from Diddy — even though he's been doing just about everything else in the meantime, between the clothing lines, record-label signings and humanitarian efforts. The mogul/artist/fill-in-the-blank is re-entering in style, getting big names to help with the Press Play festivities: Christina Aguilera ("Tell Me"), Nas and Cee-Lo ("Everything I Love"), Mary J. Blige ("Making It Hard"), Jamie Foxx ("Partners for Life"), Mario Winans ("Through the Pain (She Told Me)"), Brandy ("Thought You Said"), and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger. Plus, behind the boards he's got Kanye West, Will.I.Am, Big Boi, Mobb Deep's Havoc, Timbaland and the Neptunes. Now there's a guy with a few friends.

This week's second most impressive guest list belongs to Hi-Tek, who roped in Nas, Busta Rhymes, Common, Talib Kweli, Jadakiss, Papoose, Bun B and Ghostface Killah for Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip. Going above and beyond the call of duty, he tapped Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Slim Thug and Raphael Saadiq for three tunes that appear on a special edition only available at Best Buy stores. That set also comes with a bonus DVD loaded with videos, a documentary and more.

JoJo's Mojo: Expect to see a lot of JoJo this week — on MTV, "The Today Show" and beyond — as she hops back from the big screen to the music world for The High Road. Her "Too Little Too Late" single is skittering up the charts, but — shocker! — there are other tracks on the album as well: "Let It Rain," "Good Ol' " and "Note to God," among others. Oh, and there's a bonus DVD with plenty of JoJo fruits as well.

Circling Around: Xzibit has some mighty hip-hop competition this week in the form of Diddy, but his fans should be coming around for Full Circle. Too Short ("Movin' in Your Chucks"), Kurupt ("Say It to My Face," "Movin' "), DJ Quik ("Poppin' Off") and T-Pain ("On Ball") have all hopped onto the affair, which furthers Xzibit's pattern of releasing an album every two years since he burst onto the scene in '96.

Murder Is the Case: Also in the rap mix is C-Murder, the criminally prone younger brother of Master P who is reservicing his LP The Truest Sh-- I Ever Said with five additional cuts he laid down after getting out of prison: "I Want It," "I Live in the Ghetto," "Calliope," "On My Block" (featuring Bootleg of the Dayton Family) and "Die for Mine" (featuring B.G.). There's also a bonus DVD with a 60-minute documentary hosted by B.G., plus behind-the-scenes material and videos to boot.

			MTV News RAW: Diddy The rapper/producer tells MTV why listeners have no choice but to 'Press Play', and explains why there's a bed in his studio.

Studly Efforts: He's won "Idol," Grammy-nomination honors and sold more than 3 million albums, but Ruben Studdard clearly has an appetite for more. On The Return, he redoes "If Only for One Night" — Rube's version has more in common with Luther Vandross', as opposed to original singer Brenda Russell's — as well as three songs he co-wrote: "I'm Not Happy," "Blow Ya Mind" and "To Tha Crib." The velvet teddy bear gets some production boosts from Scott Storch, Ne-Yo, Bryan-Michael Cox and Dre & Vidal. As it turns out, Ne-Yo and Cox also lend support to Latin R&B prince Frankie J with his Priceless album, which is peppered with guests Chamillionaire, 112's Slim and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Weird Stuff: This week's crop of new releases is a strange one indeed:

When it comes to being odd, no band does it better than Primus, and they don't fall short this week with their Primus Singles: They Can't All Be Zingers CD and "Blame It on the Fish" DVD releases. On the DVD is a 30-minute documentary in which leader Les Claypool, playing a 102-year-old, talks about what life has been like for Primus into the year 2065.

Badly Drawn Boy is also pretty batty, and to coincide with the release of his Born in the U.K. LP this week, he's put up a contest on his Web site that asks viewers to choose their favorite fish-and-chips restaurant in England. Or, more specifically, "the chance to vote for your favourite local 'Batterie' and gamble the fishy reputation of your regular chish 'n fip shop." The contest prize? Nothing.

It Dies Today haven't exactly made a reputation for themselves as a family-friendly band, after touring as part of Ozzfest and with Trivium, Machinehead and other brutal bands. But as it turns out, "Sacre Coeur" — a song featured on their new release, Sirens — is actually named after a Parisian church where singer Nick Brooks says, in a press release, "I hopefully plan on proposing to someone there someday."

A mishmash of "Whatever Happened To ... ?" musicians — including members of Jellyfish, the Candy Butchers, Self, Semisonic and Papas Fritas — have joined forces for L.E.O. It isn't exactly a cover band but tries its best to channel prog-rock legends ELO all the same with Alpacas Orgling. It's doubtful that when those guys headed to the studio they limited themselves to ingesting only bread, water, eggs, coffee and whiskey, but that's exactly what Denison Witmer did for Safe Away, which is being reissued this week with a bonus EP.

To close out a 30-year career that has seen way too much hair and too many half-hearted reunions, Twisted Sister are regrouping one last time for ... a Christmas album? Yes, it's true: With singer Dee Snider leading the pack, the band bizarrely runs through "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," "Heavy Metal Christmas (The Twelve Days of Christmas)" and other selections that will lead fans to say, "Uh ... OK." Can you take it?

Toronto quartet the Sadies have crafted the soundtrack to "Tales of the Rat Fink," a film that lives up to its odd mantle: It revolves around cartoonist/custom-car designer Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and his anti-Mickey Mouse character, Rat Fink. The soundtrack is heavy on instrumental surf music, while the film features vocal contributions from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, the Smothers Brothers, John Goodman, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and other people you wouldn't expect.

Also getting back together — a whopping 27 years after issuing their last studio LP — are all-women punks the Slits, with frontwoman Ari Up leading the pack. Equally surprising is that they've only come up with enough new material for an EP, Revenge of the Killer Slits, although it does feature appearances from such question-mark contributors as Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook and Adam and the Ants axeman Marco Pirroni. Oh, three daughters also help out: Cook's child Holly, Mike Jones' daughter Lauren, and Phoebe, who calls Slits guitarist Tessa Pollitt mom. Even if it's just an EP the Slits are putting out, it'll give them a good excuse to tour with Dmonstrations next month. That San Diego band has a CD of its own coming out this week — Night Trrors. Shock! Songs include "Hair Pretzel," "Polyp" and "Coelcanth Shower" and, according to the press release, lyrics revolve around "food, sexual politics and international playgirls."

On the subject of unusual lyrical subject matter, Houston trio the Scattered Pages invoke children's authors Lewis Carroll and J.M. Barrie on Lazy Are the Skeletons, which features "Alice to Wonderland" and the less whimsical "Annie Get Yer Gun" and "You Were Depressing Me." And Sharam — one-half of Grammy-winning electronic duo Deep Dish — spends his double-disc Sharam GU29 - Dubai focusing on a country that usually comes up in a conversation about port security, not dance music. Paul van Dyk, Felix Da Housecat and Armin van Buuren lend him a hand. And Doleful Lions obsess over pro wrestler Terry Gordy on "Oriental Spike," featured on their album Song Cyclops Volume Two, which also features Beach Boys and Misfits covers.

Other strange highlights: KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza finds the singer/songwriter covering Beck's "Golden Age," of all things; Jack White has called neoclassical musician Dexter Romweber a major influence, and Romweber's 13-track Piano was produced by Le Tigre collaborator Chris Stamey; clothing designer Todd Oldham is really into the Changes, who drop their debut LP, Today Is Tonight, this week; and Anticon one-man-band Dosh — who courted Andrew Bird and members of Tapes 'N Tapes for his LP The Lost Take — was raised by a onetime priest and mother who almost became a nun. And last but not least there's the imitable Glenn Danzig, whose Black Aria II is a classical operatic piece based on the mythological first wife of Adam. Why bother being normal?

Song Title of the Week:

"Gutrot Hogfrenzy" from Regurgitate's Sickening Bliss

Other Notables:

Bert Jansch's The Black Swan: The towering British folk musician has made the surprising leap to Chicago indie label Drag City for his first album in four years. But a cadre of luminaries are helping brighten the set all the same, including Beth Orton and Devendra Banhart. Tracks include "Maddalina's Dance," "Texas Cowboy Blues" and "Bring Your Religion."

Jeremy Enigk's World Waits: Rumors of another Sunny Day Real Estate reunion are floating around again, but in the meantime, fans will have to be satisfied with the second solo effort by the angel-voiced frontman. "Been Here Before," "Wayward Love" and "Dare a Smile" bulk up the disc, although some were written more than 10 years ago, shortly after the release of his solo debut.

Elanors' Movements: Chicago spouses Noah and Adriel Harris have been doing the orchestral-pop thing for a couple of years now, but for this outing, they convinced Judah Johnson drummer Daniel Johnson and bassist Rodrigo Palma to join the fun. Using pre-1960s music as their guide, this political-protest LP features "Counsel of Bodies," "Thieving Kings" and "Drifters."

New Releases:

• Alrights - High School (City Canyons)
• Annuals - Be He Me (Ace Fu)
• Avalon - Faith: A Hymns Collection (Sparrow)
• DJ Baby Anne - Baby Anne Rocks! (System)
• Badly Drawn Boy - Born in the U.K. (Astralwerks)
• Barzin - My Life in Rooms (Monotreme)
• Dierks Bentley - Long Trip Alone (limited-edition version with bonus DVD also available; Capitol)
• Blut Aus Nord - Mort (Candlelight)
• Ayla Brown - Forward (CBUJ)
• Cage9 - El Motivo (Long Live Crime)
• Barton Carroll - Love & War (Skybucket)
• Changes - Today Is Tonight (Drama Club)
• Cradle of Filth - Thornography (Roadrunner)
• Glenn Danzig - Black Aria II (Megaforce)
• Kevin Devine - Put Your Ghost to Rest (Capitol)
• Diddy - Press Play (Bad Boy)>
• Dmonstrations - Night Trrors. Shock! (GSL)
• Doleful Lions - Song Cyclops Volume Two (Parasol)
• Dosh - The Lost Take (Anticon)
• Earl Greyhound - Soft Targets (Some)
• Elanors - Movements (Parasol)
• Jeremy Enigk - World Waits (Reincarnate)
• The Esoteric - Subverter (Prosthetic)
• Victor Fields - Thinking of You (Regina)
• Renée Fleming - Homage: The Age of the Diva (Decca)
• Frankie J - Priceless (Columbia)
• Vince Gill - These Days (four-CD box set; MCA Nashville)
• Michael Hall - The Song He Was Listening to When He Died (Freedom)
• Hi-Tek - Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip (Best Buy limited edition features bonus tracks and DVD; Babygrande)
• Imitation Electric Piano - Blow It Up, Burn It Down, Kick It 'Til It Bleeds (Drag City)
• Insomnium - Above the Weeping World (Candlelight)
• It Dies Today - Sirens (Trustkill)
• Bert Jansch - The Black Swan (Drag City)
• JoJo - The High Road (with DVD; Blackground)
• George Jones and Friends - God's Country (Category 5)
• Eartha Kitt - Live From the Café Carlyle (DRG)
• Klaxons - Xan Valleys (enhanced EP; Modular/Interscope)
• L.E.O. - Alpacas Orgling (Cheap Lullaby)
• Layzie Bone - Cleveland (Koch)
• Little Ones - Sing Song (EP; Astralwerks)
• Lonestar - Mountains (BNA)
• Matt Mays + El Torpedo - Matt Mays + El Torpedo (Reincarnate)
• Maria McKee - Maria McKee Live: Acoustic Tour 2006 (Cooking Vinyl)
• Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong (Arista)
• Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Love Their Country (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Doug Moreland - Doug Moreland (Double Xxposure)
• Regurgitate - Sickening Bliss (Relapse)
• Dexter Romweber - Piano (Orange Sound)
• Sadies - "Tales of the Rat Fink" soundtrack (Yep Roc)
• Scattered Pages - Lazy Are the Skeletons (Three Ring)
• Sharam - Sharam GU29 - Dubai (two CDs; Global Underground)
• Shimmers - The Way You Shine (Transit of Venus)
• Shiny Toy Guns - We Are Pilots (Universal)
• Slits - Revenge of the Killer Slits (EP; SAF)
• Squarepusher - Hello Everything (Warp)
• Ruben Studdard - The Return (J)
• Thunderball - Cinescope (Eighteenth Street Lounge Music)
• Tribaljazz - Tribaljazz (Hidden Beach)
• Trucks - The Trucks (Clickpop)
• KT Tunstall - KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza (with DVD; Virgin)
• Twisted Sister - A Twisted Christmas (Razor & Tie)
• Unwed Sailor - The White Ox (Burnt Toast)
• Rhonda Vincent - Beautiful Star: The Christmas Collection (Rounder)
• Michael "5000" Watts - The Day Hell Broke Loose 3 (Swishahouse)
  
• Xzibit - Full Circle (Koch)
• Youngblood Brass Band - Is That a Riot? (Layered Music)
• Your Black Star - Sound From the Ground (Wonka Vision)
• Various artists - Infamy: Music Inspired by the Film (Image)
• Various artists - She Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool: A Tribute to Barbara Mandrell (BNA)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

• Aerosmith - Devil's Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith (Columbia)
• Davie Allan & the Arrows - Cycle Breed (Sundazed)
• Black Oak Arkansas - The Definitive Rock Collection (Rhino)
• Blind Melon - Live at the Palace - Hollywood, CA, October 1995 (Capitol/EMI)
• Billy Bragg - Don't Try This at Home, England, Half English (with the Blokes; enhanced) Volume II (box set with eight CDs and one DVD), William Bloke and Workers Playtime (Yep Roc)
• C-Murder - The Tru Story ... Continued (limited-edition version with DVD and bonus tracks; Koch)
• Dick Dale and His Del-Tones - Surfers' Choice (Sundazed)
• Dokken - The Definitive Rock Collection (Rhino)
• Esteban - Best of Esteban (Strip City)
• Everly Brothers - 36 Unreleased Recordings From the Late '50s and Early '60s (Varèse Sarabande)
• Fat Jon & Styrofoam - The Same Channel (Morr)
• Feathers - Synchromy (Hometapes)
• Foghat - The Definitive Rock Collection (Rhino)
• Lowell Fulsom - In a Heavy Bag (Sundazed)
• Goldfrapp - We Are Glitter (Mute)
• Gomez - Five Men in a Hut (A's, B's & Rarities: 1998-2004) (two CDs; Virgin/EMI)
• Charlie Gracie - The Best of Charlie Gracie: Cameo Parkway 1956-1958 (ABKCO)
• Earl Hooker - The Genius of ... (Sundazed)
• Love - The Definitive Rock Collection (Rhino)
• Willie Nelson - 54 Songs: Songwriter Sessions (three-CD box set; DBK)
• Primus - Primus Singles: They Can't All Be Zingers (Interscope)
• Todd Rundgren - The Definitive Rock Collection (Rhino)
• Jimmy Smith - Bluesmith (Lilith)
• Sweet - Sweet Chronology (Friday)
• Frank Tovey - Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey (box set with two CDs and two DVDs; Mute)
• Denison Witmer - Safe Away (original CD plus the Are You a Sleeper? EP; Militia Group)
• Link Wray and His Ray Men - White Lightnin': Lost Cadence Sessions '58 (Sundazed)
• Dwight Yoakam - Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. (two CDs; Rhino)
• Various artists - Cameo Parkway: The Greatest Hits (ABKCO)
• Various artists - The Ultimate James Bond Film Music Collection (four-CD box set; Silva America)

Music DVDs:

• Cars - "The Cars Unlocked - The Live Performances" (with bonus CD; New Video Group)
• Diplomats - "The Diplomats Present: 140th & Lenox, Vol. 1" (Koch Vision)
• Face to Face - "Shoot the Moon (The Essential Collection)" (two DVDs; Image)
• Kinks - "One for the Road" (Velvel)
• Primus - "Blame It on the Fish" (Frizzle Fry)
• Rolling Stones - "Rock Files: Truth and Lies" (Eagle Vision)
• Neil Sedaka - "The Show Goes On: Live at the Royal Albert Hall" (Eagle Vision)
• Various artists - "Carlos Santana Presents Blues at Montreux 2004" (three DVDs; Eagle Vision)

Coming Attractions:

October 24:

• My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade (Reprise)
• Sparta - Threes (Hollywood)
• Various artists - "The Nightmare Before Christmas" soundtrack (special two-CD edition; Disney)

October 31:

• Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist (Maverick)
• Lady Sovereign - Public Warning (Def Jam)
• Kevin Federline - Playing With Fire (Reincarnate)

November 7:

• James Blunt - Back to Bedlam (limited-edition version with bonus CD; Atlantic)
• Foo Fighters - Skin and Bones (RCA)
• Jim Jones - Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment) (Koch)
• Dave Matthews Band - The Best of What's Around, Vol. 1 (two CDs; RCA)
• Ol' Dirty Bastard - A Son Unique (Def Jam)

• Diddy
• JoJo
• Xzibit
• C-Murder
• Ruben Studdard

Notorious B.I.G.
Photo: Bad Boy

Almost a decade after the unsolved murder of Notorious B.I.G. the Los Angeles City Council voted on Friday to reinstate a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever was responsible for his drive-by-shooting death. According to KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, the move came as a judge prepares to hear arguments scheduled for February 27 in a wrongful-death civil case brought by B.I.G.'s family against the city that claims rogue LAPD officers were involved in the killing. ...

Guns N' Roses have postponed five dates on their U.S. tour — shows originally booked for September 27 through October 5 — according to Ticketmaster. Four of those five have been rescheduled: The band will be playing Fresno, California, on December 13 instead of Wednesday; Bakersfield, California, on January 11 instead of Friday. Saturday's show set for Reno, Nevada, has been bumped to January 13, and the Sacramento, California, gig scheduled for October 2 will now take place January 10. The band's October 5 performance in San Diego has not been rescheduled yet. Guns N' Roses have booked two additional tour stops, with shows set for the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk in Universal City, California, on December 17 and December 19. ... Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler told "Access Hollywood" on Monday that for three years he's secretly been battling Hepatitis C, a viral infection of the blood that can lead to chronic liver disease. After a year of interferon treatments, which "about killed me," Tyler said, the infection is now nonexistent in his bloodstream. ...

Nine Inch Nails will be releasing a high-definition live DVD early next year titled "Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You in Time." A teaser for the effort has been posted to the band's Web site. The DVD will feature live footage captured during Nine Inch Nails' 2006 trek. ... Boost Mobile had something for everyone when they rewarded their volunteering fans with a concert Saturday in New York. The Rock Corps concert at Radio City Music Hall featured big names like T.I., Taking Back Sunday, Young Jeezy, Nelly and Panic! at the Disco. Nas was a special guest performer with his wife Kelis, and Paul Wall made a surprise visit onstage with Nelly. After the show, T.I. had a birthday party at the Maritime Hotel in Manhattan. Jeezy, Maino, B.G. and Zab Judah all showed up to wish Tip a happy 26th. ...

Backpackers rejoice! First underground-rap stalwarts Talib Kweli and Mos Def announced that they'll each release new material this fall, and now their frequent collaborator Hi-Tek is set to drop his sophomore album, Hi-Teknology 2, October 17 on Babygrande Records. The sequel to his 2001 debut will feature tracks with Nas, Busta Rhymes and the Game, as well as Hi-Tek's former Rawkus labelmates, Mos and Kweli. Hi-Tek, who has a production deal with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, will produce the entire project himself. ... In addition to the band's previously announced tour dates, which were set to run through November 26 in San Francisco, the reunited surviving members of Alice in Chains announced over the weekend that they'll be playing the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on November 27. The band's Web site will offer a presale for the concert on Thursday. ...

Mario made an appearance at Fergie's album-release party on Thursday and talked a bit about his own upcoming LP, Mario Barrett - Effortless, due November 28. "The album is very important to me," he told MTV News. "It's a very intense album, really passionate and much more upbeat than my last project. My personality gets shown a lot in this project, in terms of the song titles, and in terms of the subject matter that I am talking about." ... Lacuna Coil have been added to Glen Danzig's forthcoming Blackest of the Black tour, scheduled to kick off with a string of West Coast shows in November — no official dates have been released yet. Danzig will serve as the tour's headliner, and Marduk will also be on the bill, which is still being finalized. ...

The Pogues, who reissued several albums last week, are coming to the West Coast for the first time with the original lineup in 15 years. The trek begins October 9 through 12 in San Francisco and ends October 18 through 20 in Los Angeles. ... Our Lady Peace have set a November 21 release date for their greatest-hits collection, A Decade. The album will also feature two previously unreleased songs from the band's 2005 Healthy in Paranoid Times sessions. ...

Looks like Elijah Wood has interesting taste in music. The first act signed to "The Lord of the Rings" star's Simian Records is modern psychedelic popsters the Apples in Stereo. On February 7, the band will release its first album in five years together, New Magnetic Wonder, which features 14 new songs and 12 musical interludes, as well as contributions from reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel leader Jeff Mangum, who is credited with adding drums, backing vocals, handclaps and "cow object." Apparently Apples leader Robert Schneider has been busy during the layoff, inventing a new music scale he calls the "Non-Pythagorean Scale," which will be explored on an enhanced portion of the CD that includes a video explanation of the scale by Schneider and digital MIDI files that can be manipulated by users. ... That didn't last long. Just a week after he proposed to former Playboy Playmate Kari Ann Peniche onstage in Las Vegas, Aaron Carter has changed his mind about marrying older brother Nick's ex. Us Weekly reported Sunday that Carter, 18, told the magazine, "I got caught up in the moment and proposed. I then realized it was a hasty thing to do and I am not ready for marriage quite yet." The Carter family is the subject of a reality series on E! Entertainment Television that debuts next week. ...

Twenty years after they first hit the U.S. charts with "West End Girls," Pet Shop Boys are launching a 22-date tour in support of their latest album, Fundamental and the best-of collection, PopArt, due October 3. The run kicks off October 10 in Montreal and hits cities including Boston, New York, Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles before wrapping up with a November 16 show in Monterrey, Mexico. Pet Shop Boys' book retrospective "Catalogue," featuring photos spanning the duo's 20-year career, is due next month. ... Straylight Run will preview new material from their just-finished second album (due in the spring) on a fall tour kicking off November 1 in New Haven, Connecticut. The trek, which will also feature Kevin Devine, Matt Pond PA and Street to Nowhere, wraps up December 5 in Philadelphia. ...

Cat Stevens, the 1970s folk singer who converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam in 1977, weighed in Sunday on the controversy surrounding recent comments by Pope Benedict XVI about Islam. According to a report, in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, former Catholic-schoolboy Islam said that, "At one point, I used to believe that the pope was infallible." But now, said Islam, the pope, "should have looked elsewhere if he wanted to quote but we respect the pope and his position." The singer was reacting to a recent speech in Germany, in which the pope quoted the words of a Byzantine emperor that characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman." Islam is slated to release his first pop album in 28 years this November. ...

Musician Danny Flores, who played saxophone and shouted "tequila" in the 1958 Champs hit "Tequila!" died Tuesday in Huntington Beach, California, from complications of pneumonia, The Associated Press reports. He was 77. Flores' wife Sharee said her husband was pleased when a new generation of fans latched on to the song after it was featured in 1985's "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure." "I can honestly tell you he never got tired of playing that song," she told the AP. ... Influential blues guitarist Etta Baker died Saturday in Fairfax, Virginia, the AP reports. She was 93. Baker, a North Carolina native who influenced the folk revival with her 1956 recordings of "Railroad Bill" and "One-Dime Blues," balanced music with a day job for 26 years and finally quit the textile mill at age 60 to pursue music full time. She toured into her 80s, and recently focused on banjo playing when the guitar proved to taxing to her strength. A banjo collection from Baker is due next year, and she is also featured on guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd's upcoming album, due in November. "Like B.B. King and single-string blues, anybody who has picked up acoustic finger-style guitar has been influenced by Etta whether they know it or not," friend and colleague Tim Duffy said.

09.22.2006

Christina Aguilera has some advice for fans: "Never believe everything you read or see or hear." The singer shared that pearl of wisdom in Jane magazine's October issue, on newsstands Tuesday — and added, "Which I'm sure you are not going to want to print." They did print it, along with Aguilera's thoughts on documenting her life with Jordan Bratman for television: "My marriage is sacred to me, and I feel that they would exploit it." But while reality TV doesn't appeal to the singer, acting does. "I'm going to read scripts while I'm on the road working this record," she said. "I think so many people who start off as musicians and cross over just end up playing themselves. To me, that's not a challenge whatsoever. I want to quote-unquote act." ...

Last month, Hilary Duff predicted that she'd be done with her forthcoming album by mid-September. But when she was in New York last week to launch her new perfume With Love at Macy's, the singer admitted that she hadn't met her deadline. "Is it mid-September already?" she said. "It's probably going to be a bit longer. We've done a lot — I would say we're a little more than halfway finished, but I'm not done." Though Duff's record label had said the yet-untitled album would still come out November 21 as originally planned, the singer is in fact getting a little more breathing room — the label confirmed Friday (September 22) that it's pushing back Duff's next LP until December 5. ...

As NBC weighs whether to air the mock crucifixion in an upcoming Madonna concert special scheduled for November, the singer spoke out Thursday to defend the controversial element of her Confessions world tour. In a statement, Madonna said that the bit — which has been criticized by the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church — is not "anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous," but a plea for "mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole. I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing." She added that the intent of the staged crucifixion — which ends with a quote from the Bible's Book of Matthew about taking care of the hungry and sick — is to bring attention to the plight of impoverished children in Africa. ...

It doesn't seem to be too hard out here these days for Three 6 Mafia. MTV announced this week that it's partnering with the Oscar-winning rappers for "Adventures in Hollywood," a comedic reality series that will follow them as they try to make headway in Tinsel Town. The show will trail remaining members DJ Paul and Juicy J as they relocate from their Memphis hometown to Los Angeles along with their entourage, including artist and protégé Project Pat. ...

Fergie talks health in Shape magazine's October issue, and sings the praises of one food that's dear to her heart: pizza. The Black Eyed Peas singer, who said she hikes with boyfriend Josh Duhamel to stay in shape, has two takes on the cheese-topped treat, naming "pizza dipped in ranch or blue-cheese dressing" as her favorite food splurge and "a bagel with cottage cheese and tomatoes" as her #1 breakfast. "I heat it up, so the cheese melts a bit like a pizza." ... Reports that Michael Jackson plans to open a leprechaun theme park in Ireland are not true, according to the singer's spokesperson. Jackson's camp dismissed the Irish Daily Mirror story, which quoted a source that claimed the singer planned to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in the plan because he "loves the whole idea of leprechauns and the magic and the myths of Ireland," as "erroneous and ridiculous." ...

Perhaps smarting from the commercial beat-down they suffered with this year's Lights and Sounds, Yellowcard have been writing new songs and are preparing to enter the studio this winter to begin work on a new album. According to their label, Capitol Records, there is no word on just who will produce the new album, but Yellowcard hope to have it in stores by mid-2007. ... Tommy Lee makes a cameo in Jack's Mannequin's video for "Dark Blue," directed by Brett Simon (the Killers, New Found Glory). The 1950s-set clip is inspired by the dance-contest movie "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" Lee played drums on the album, the side project from Something Corporate singer Andrew McMahon. ... Dancehall reggae singer Buju Banton is facing his latest ban in the U.S. over violent lyrics about gays and lesbians. The Los Angeles Times reports that e-mail complaints and concerned callers prompted the manager of the Highland nightclub in Hollywood to research Banton's past and cancel the singer's show scheduled for October 2. ...

A seventh-grade teacher in Kentucky's Jefferson County school district will not be arrested for burning two American flags in class, Louisville newspaper The Courier-Journal reports. Still, Dan Holden — who was removed from the classroom after giving his lesson on free speech — will not go back to teaching until the district decides whether or not he violated school rules. He has since been assigned to perform noninstructional duties. The Louisville Fire & Rescue arson squad said in a report that Holden had left the students with the flags ablaze as he went to get water to put out the flames, but authorities said criminal charges are not warranted. ...

Alice Cooper will be joining the Rolling Stones for three guest appearances as part of his annual Halloween Tour, which kicks off Saturday in Halifax, Nova Scotia — where the legendary rockers will be joined by Kanye West and local favorites Sloan. Cooper and the Rolling Stones will also join forces at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, September 29. He will then hit cities including Nashville, Cleveland and New York without the Stones, before joining the band one last time to inaugurate the new Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and close out his tour. ... The Rolling Stones, who launched their tour Wednesday, have added a November 22 show in Honolulu, Hawaii, to their schedule. ... Original Bad Company bassist and King Crimson member Raymond "Boz" Burrell died Thursday at his home in Spain, according to a statement released by Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records, which put out Bad Company's first six studio LPs. The cause of Burrell's death was not given. He was 60 years old. ...

Plenty of artists have used the Old Testament as inspiration for their music, but an upcoming album called 10 Plagues (due November 7) takes a new approach. The 10-track compilation collects songs by a diverse group of artists — including Rufus Wainwright, Brian Eno, Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields), Laurie Anderson, Imogen Heap and Cody Chesnutt — who each take on one of the plagues associated with the Passover story of the Jews' exodus from Egypt. Song titles include "Blood," "The Meaning of Lice," "Flies," "Boils," "Hailstones," "Darkness" and "Katonah (Death of the Firstborn)." ... Joseph Arthur, a singer/songwriter known for using looping techniques in his live solo show, is touring with a band for the first time in his career. Arthur's trek begins Monday in Philadelphia and ends November 3 in Brooklyn, New York. ...

Fresh off a stint opening for Madonna in Europe, electronic-music hero Oakenfold is heading back to the U.S. for a string of club dates in support of his new single, "Sex 'N' Money," which features Pharrell. Oakenfold's run starts Friday in San Diego and winds down October 14 in Miami Beach, Florida. ... Stephanie McKay — a Bronx, New York, singer who has worked with Tricky, Mos Def and Kelis — will release her Stateside debut, a self-titled EP, on Tuesday. Geoff Barrow of Portishead produced her U.K. debut, which was released in 2003. ... British singer Lily Allen will release her debut album, Alright, Still, in the U.S. on January 30. In the meantime, a four-song digital EP that includes the single "Smile" is out Tuesday.

• Fergie Celebrates Her Album Release With The Peas In New York, 9.21.2006

• Notorious B.I.G.
• Guns N' Roses
• Nine Inch Nails
• Steven Tyler
• T.I.

Hi-Tek (right) and Talib Kweli
Photo: Anders Jones

DJ Hi-Tek, the musical mind behind hip-hop project Reflection Eternal, will release his debut solo album, Hiteknology, April 17 on Rawkus Records. The Cincinnati producer (born Tony Cottrell) has been behind the boards on a number of the hottest underground tracks from the past four years, but has never released a record under his own name. Beginning with Reflection Eternal's seminal debut, the 1997 12-inch "Fortified Live," which featured his infectious, gritty piano loop as the driving force behind the first collaboration between rappers Talib Kweli and Mos Def, Hi-Tek became the producer of choice for the dynamic duo. Hiteknology will mix equally instrumental and vocal cuts, including tracks with Kweli ("Get Ta Steppin' "), Common ("Tekzilla"), Mos Def and singer Vinija Mojica ("Theme from Hi-Tek"), and Slum Village ("Let's Talk About Her"). Hi-Tek also recently recorded a cut with Snoop Dogg, "Keep Goin'," which hasn't yet been confirmed for the final track listing, according to a source at Rawkus.

A song called "Suddenly" will feature Hi-Tek's Cincinnati group Mood, who released the hit underground LP Doom in 1997, followed in '99 by the Snakebacks/Secrets of the Sand EP, both of which featured Kweli rhyming on some tracks. Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, the pair's hit 1998 debut LP, featured Hi-Tek's beats on five of its hottest tracks, including the singles "Definition" and "Respiration." Mos Def also tapped the producer for a few tracks on his acclaimed 1999 solo LP, Black on Both Sides. In October, Reflection Eternal (Kweli and Hi-Tek) released their first full-length, Train of Thought, which revealed Tek as a master of many domains, from the horn-stab groove of "Move Somethin' " to the introspective vibrations of "Love Language" to the assertive thumps of "Eternalists."

• Hi-Tek

• Talib Kweli
• Hi-Tek

• Talib Kweli
• Hi-Tek