Morrissey (file)
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Morrissey was released from a British hospital on Sunday after falling ill during a show the night before and being rushed from the venue in an ambulance. The 50-year-old former Smiths frontman was taken to a hospital in the southern English town of Swindon on Saturday after he collapsed onstage and suffered breathing difficulties, according to Reuters.

"Morrissey became unwell last night. He was admitted overnight as a precautionary measure," a spokesperson said on Sunday morning. "He was seen this morning and was much improved and has now been discharged." The singer's representatives did not reveal any further information on the medical emergency or what caused it.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, he began the show by saying, "Good evening ... probably," before playing the Smiths' 1983 classic "This Charming Man" at the Oasis Leisure Centre. At the conclusion of that tune, Morrissey (born Steven Patrick Morrissey) knelt down, then fell to the floor and was carried off the stage by members of his band. It was the latest of more than half a dozen cancellations this year of dates in support of the singer's Years of Refusal album, including the four opening dates of the tour in Florida in February and March, also reportedly due to illness.

At Saturday's show, fans stood around for half an hour before a venue representative announced that Morrissey was seriously ill and had left the building.

Eyewitnesses told the Telegraph that the typically swoony, dramatic singer appeared to be "straining" to perform the opening song and was "wincing" as it came to a close, sagging to his knees as it ended and slumping to the stage.

Monday night's show at Bournemouth Academy in England has been canceled on doctor's advice, according to the singer's Web site.

• This Week's Biggest News

• Morrissey: A Career Retrospective

• Morrissey

The Pogues' Shane McGowan
Photo: Fred Tanneau/ Getty Images

If only St. Patrick's Day were always on a weekend. With the annual celebration of all things Irish falling on a Tuesday this year, revelers are forced into a tough decision: Kiss the blarney stone like you would any other year, or dial things back a notch so you can make it into work Wednesday morning.

Either way, some of the biggest acts with Emerald Isle ties will be partying across the country — some of them even got started a day early by playing warm-up gigs on Monday night, thereby giving them a full 24-hour window of celebration.

Among the cities ordering the most Guinness is Boston (of course), where hometown punkers the Dropkick Murphys hit the House of Blues on Monday night with fellow rockers Black 47, with a return engagement for the Murphys booked for Tuesday. Elsewhere in town, 47 set up shop at the Black Rose for an early morning gig before jetting off to New York, while Irish soft-rockers Bell X1 hit the Paradise Rock Club. And even though sensitive Jersey punks the Gaslight Anthem aren't technically an Irish band, you can bet their meat-and-potatoes sound and regular-folks rock will light up Beantown's Hurricane O'Reilly's.

The scene in New York is no less crowded, though the Murphys had to play the Roseland Ballroom on March 6 in order to make their annual hometown gig. But elsewhere across town, Black 47 will hop over from their morning engagement to play at B.B. King's and, perhaps the world's best-known Irish group, the Pogues, promise to bring their quarter-century-long beer-soaked bacchanalia to the Roseland Ballroom for what is sure to be a raucous time most attendees will never remember.

Boston's Street Dogs, led by former Dropkick Murphys singer Mike McColgan, will touch down in Buffalo, New York, at the Town Ballroom with the Swingin' Utters as part of their Crooked, Drunken Sons Tour.

Having already gotten their whistles wet with a slot at the Shamrock Festival in the RFK Stadium parking lot on Saturday, Los Angeles' Flogging Molly are also doubling up and playing a gig at the Congress Theater Tuesday night, after warming up at the House of Blues in Chicago on Monday. Because you'd be a fool not to play on St. Patty's Day if you're a an Irish band, Chicago's Tossers will also be throwing down, playing at Milwaukee's Turner Hall Ballroom, while the Young Dubliners will play a free gig in Pershing Square after the St. Pat's parade in Los Angeles.

And though he's English, former Smiths singer Morrissey did once pen a song about his Irish ancestry —"Irish Blood, English Heart" — which he's sure to play in Pittsburgh Monday (March 16) during his show at the Carnegie Music Hall.

• Playlist: St. Patty's Sham-Rock

• The Pogues
• Dropkick Murphys
• Morrissey

Kanye West
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Michael Jackson's Thriller, the best-selling album of all time, is getting big love in time for Valentine's Day. In celebration of the release's 25th anniversary, Epic/Legacy is revisiting it with a deluxe edition containing unreleased bonus tracks mixed by or featuring Kanye West, Akon, Will.I.Am and Jackson himself. Thriller was originally released November 30, 1982, and the new 25th Anniversary Edition, dropping February 12, will have eight extra cuts: a fresh Kanye remix of "Billie Jean"; Akon and Will.I.Am's new take on "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' "; "The Girl Is Mine" and "P.Y.T." remixes by Will.I.Am; the rare unissued song "For All Time," a track from the original recording sessions that has been newly mixed and mastered by MJ; "Someone in the Dark"; "Carousel"; and the original "Billie Jean" demo. The set will also house a DVD with Jackson's Thriller short films, which have been digitally remastered — "Thriller," "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" — as well as his Emmy-nominated performance of the latter song on 1983's "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" TV special. Lastly, it will also have an exclusive Jackson-penned greeting to his fans. While the Thriller deluxe edition doesn't drop until February, the Jackson action actually starts in December when he releases a new single and launches a new global-marketing campaign. ...

Kevin Federline's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan has subpoenaed Britney Spears' friend Sam Lufti in the ex-spouses' child-custody case, according to People.com. The subpoena was reportedly served on November 7, but Lufti didn't appear at a Friday deposition that was rescheduled for January. Kaplan will request a court order to make sure Lufti attends the January session, the site said. People.com reported in late August that a car-ramming incident occurred when Federline's legal team attempted to serve Lufti with papers, and according to UsMagazine.com, Lutfi is scheduled to appear before the Los Angeles city attorney over the matter, which is being considered a "vehicle vandalism incident." The closed-door hearing will be held December 18. ... "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" nonwriting staffers have been laid off due to the ongoing writers' strike, according to TMZ.com. ...

Lindsay Lohan is finally finding time to return to her music career, according to People. The singer, whose last album was 2005's A Little More Personal (Raw), will reportedly start recording a new album for Motown within the next two weeks. She is also reportedly planning to shoot a cameo on "Ugly Betty" once the writers' strike ends. The mag also reports that LiLo has split with Riley Giles, the boyfriend she developed a relationship withwhile in rehab at Utah's Cirque Lodge over the summer. according to People. ... The "High School Musical 2" soundtrack was the best-selling album of 2007 with 2.3 million copies sold — the lowest figure yet by a year's top LP since SoundScan started keeping track of such sales in 1991. The sequel soundtrack beats its predecessor's previous mark — the original "HSM" soundtrack, last year's best-selling disc, sold 3.7 million copies. Daughtry's self-titled album is the second-best-selling album of 2007. ...

Flo Rida — a rapper hailing from, well, you know — owes T-Pain a favor: The latter rapper's spot on Flo's new single, "Low," has helped boost the track into the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the song has been at the top of the iTunes chart for three consecutive weeks. But Pain isn't the only person lending Flo Rida their skills — fellow Floridian Rick Ross and Trey Songz are also featured on his major-label debut, Mail on Sunday, with J.R. Rotem, the Runners and others helping out behind the boards. ... Reese Witherspoon is the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, earning $15 million to $20 million per movie, The Hollywood Reporter announced Friday (November 30). Angelina Jolie — who reportedly made $8 million for "Beowolf" and $20 million for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" — comes in second, with Cameron Diaz, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts following behind. ...

Morrissey is suing NME after the English music mag failed to apologize for an article criticizing the former Smiths frontman's views on immigration. BBC News reports that a deadline to print a retraction on the piece expired on Thursday, and the singer's lawyers are starting legal proceedings against the magazine and its editor for what Morrissey's manager has deemed a "character assassination." A recent issue of the magazine quoted Morrissey as allegedly saying, "Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears. So the price is enormous. ... If you travel to Germany, it's still absolutely Germany. If you travel to Sweden, it still has a Swedish identity. But travel to England and you have no idea where you are." The cover of the issue quoted Morrissey as saying, "The gates of England are flooded. The country's been thrown away." Morrissey, who has split his time between Rome and Los Angeles over the past decade, was reportedly responding to a question about whether he would ever return to live in the U.K. In a follow-up interview, NME reported that Morrissey clarified his earlier comment by saying, "It could be construed that the reason I wouldn't wish to live in England is the immigration explosion. And that's not true at all. ... There are other reasons why I would find England very difficult, such as the expense and the pressure." He also allegedly added that he didn't think his comments were inflammatory, but "a statement of fact." Morrissey's spokesperson said the singer had been misquoted and that critical parts of the interview were omitted. An NME spokesperson confirmed that legal action is pending but would not comment further. ...

Brand New, As Tall as Lions and the Receiving End of Sirens are converging for Triple Crown Records' 10th anniversary show, to be held December 17 at New York's Blender Theater at Gramercy. Proceeds from the show will go to the FealGood Foundation for 9/11 first responders and Shirts for a Cure. ... Band of Horses, who are cropping up on critics' albums-of-the-year lists left and right, will head out with a 20-date headlining trek starting January 20 in South Carolina, their home state. The jaunt will also end there, on February 12, with the group hitting Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Nashville, Dallas and other cities along the way. ... From First to Last have joined the bill for next year's Take Action! Tour, which kicks off in February. Every Time I Die are still set to co-headline, although the other previously announced co-headliner, Escape the Fate, have dropped off the lineup. Hopeless/Sub City, which stages the fest, also announced that it has picked Do Something, a nonprofit that distributes weekly grants to young people looking to make a difference in their community, as the tour's charity.

11.29.07

Radiohead have announced their tour plans for 2008, but if you're expecting a traditional itinerary ... well, then you really don't know Radiohead. The band has started sketching out cities and dates for next year on its Web site, but the info is only complete for three shows — and tickets are on sale for all of them: June 18 in Milan, Italy; June 20 at Germany's Hurricane Festival; and June 22 at the same country's Southside Festival. The band is also booked for Denmark's Roskilde festival and Belgium's Rock Werchter Festival, both of which will be held July 3-6. Paris; Barcelona, Spain; Dublin, Ireland; London; Berlin and other major European cities are also on the menu. ...

Seems all that "Tattoo" talk has gone to Jordin Sparks' head. The "American Idol" victor — whose new self-titled debut isn't doing so hot in record stores these days — told the San Francisco Chronicle that she decided to get a tattoo of her own after shooting the video for her latest single, "Tattoo." Sparks first asked her mother — "I would feel really bad if I did it without telling her," she said — who replied that she would get a tattoo with her daughter after she turns 18 on December 22. The singer said the tattoo will feature her brother P.J.'s name "in a nice script." ... Ashley Tisdale's performance at the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting in New York on Wednesday apparently went off with a hitch — video circulating online seems to show the "High School Musical" star lip-syncing "Last Christmas" out of step with the pre-recorded tape. Could Ashley have something in common with another Ashlee? ...

Amy Winehouse's father is speaking out regarding the singer's recent cancellation of the remainder of her 2007 concert dates and public appearances, according to BBC News. Mitch Winehouse reportedly said his daughter is "sorry for fans," that her decision to rest is "is in her best interests" — and that "all options" were being taken into consideration over whether she would go to rehab, where she had reportedly been treated earlier this year. Amy Winehouse nixed the rest of her '07 tour plans on Tuesday, saying in a statement, "I can't give it my all onstage without my [husband] Blake [Fielder-Civil]." Her husband was arrested in the U.K. earlier this month and formally charged with one count of "attempting to pervert the court of justice," or the U.S. equivalent of obstruction of justice, in connection with an alleged $400,000 plot to fix a trial. ...

Deerhunter, the Black Lips, Mastodon and more are featured in "We Fun: Atlanta, Ga.: Inside/Out," a new documentary that is acting as the companion piece to "Athens, Ga.: Inside/Out," which came out in 1987. The flick's MySpace page has much more info, including ways to help donate to the production. ... Rare silk-screened, autographed gig posters relating to the Arcade Fire, Spoon and Superchunk are being featured in Merge Records' new eBay auction benefiting Oxfam America and the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. The revered indie label, which calls Chapel Hill home, is also putting up M. Ward, Destroyer and Robert Pollard posters — the Arcade Fire one is already going for $531. ...

Expect to find Lil Wayne, Cee-Lo, Bilal, Floetry's Marsha Ambrosius and Q-Tip on the upcoming album by Solange Knowles. Just What I Want, due in 2008, will also feature, more bizarrely, a sample from long-running down-tempo duo Boards of Canada. ... The Warner Music Group posted a big loss on Wednesday (November 29) — a 58 percent drop in its quarterly profit, according to Reuters. Sales from digital music were up 25 percent during the quarter, but the decline in CD sales dwarfed that gain. U.S. album sales are down 14 percent this year. ... Moby tracks might not be as prized these days as they were back in 1999, but the musician is giving some of them away for free all the same on a new portion of his Web site. He's giving away music to be used by indie and nonprofit filmmakers, film students and people — so long as it's used in a non-commercial or non-profit film, video or short. ...

Critics' albums-of-the-year lists are popping up left and right, but what about the King of Horror's two cents? Stephen King — who is a member of Rock Bottom Remainders, the literary all-star squad that also features Matt Groening and others — rolls out his own list in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, which streets December 7. Steve Earle's Washington Square Serenade is his favorite album of the year, with Wilco's Sky Blue Sky and Lyle Lovett and His Large Band's It's Not Big It's Large following behind. Rounding out his list are Ozzy Osbourne's Black Rain, John Fogerty's Revival and Southern Culture on the Skids' Countrypolitan Favorites. ...

Nick Bollea, Hulk Hogan's son, was driving around 100 mph when he crashed his car in late August, according to reported police records released Tuesday, but his attorney is denying the claim. "The scientific evidence doesn't support anything like that," Morris "Sandy" Weinberg told the St. Petersburg Times. The report also says Bollea — who was cited for operating a vehicle with a breath-alcohol level of .02 percent or higher, among other infractions — told police he didn't know what road he was traveling on or in which direction, and that he had been driving 30 or 40 mph. Earlier this month, Bollea was charged with reckless driving in the crash that critically injured his friend and passenger John Graziano, who suffered a broken skull and has been comatose since the accident. ...

Ex-Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle was arrested Tuesday for not properly registering as a sex offender — the second time he's been busted for not doing so — according to The Associated Press. The musician (real name: Thomas Delmer Pyle) — who in 1993 pleaded guilty to charges of attempted capital sexual battery by an adult on a victim younger than 12, among other charges — is being held on $50,000 bond at a jail in Florida after being arrested at one of three addresses he gave to police. On November 19, Pyle was arrested on the same charge after he didn't register a new permanent address. The address on Pyle's driver's license reportedly doesn't belong to him — the musician has a house in North Carolina but has told police he wants to register at an address in Florida. Pyle left Skynyrd in 1992 after playing with the band for 17 years. ...

Jennifer Love Hewitt got engaged to boyfriend Ross McCall, a Scottish actor, last week during a trip to Maui, according to UsMagazine.com. A date reportedly hasn't been announced yet for the "Ghost Whisperer" star's wedding.

• Kanye West
• Will I Am
• Michael Jackson
• T-Pain
• Morrissey

R. Kelly
Photo: Evan Agostini/ Getty Images

R. Kelly is about to hit the road for his upcoming "Double Up" tour, which starts November 14, but that doesn't mean his child-pornography case will be on hold for the duration of his trek. In a hearing on Friday (November 2), a Chicago judge ruled that forensics expert Dr. Sharon Cooper can testify at a hearing, to be held December 18, about the veracity of her methods to determine her claims that Kelly is the man on the sex tape. Cooper has claimed she could identify him through the veins visible on his hands, and the hearing will be used to determine whether that method is acceptable in the scientific community at large. Cooper will also testify about how she determined the age of the victim on the tape, whom prosecutors say was 14 years old at the time of the alleged taping. Kelly will be in between show dates in Sacramento, California, and Chicago, and thus able to attend the hearing. ...

Jay-Z has some Sirius radio plans — the hip-hop mogul is taking over the satellite station for a week starting Monday, The Associated Press reports. He will be in command of Hip-Hop Nation channel 40, playing songs from his albums as well as other artists of his choosing. The stint comes at an opportune time for Jay — his new album, American Gangster, hits stores Tuesday. Sirius will also play back across various programs on the channel a concert Jay-Z is set to perform at Chicago's House of Blues. ...

Mariah Carey will play at a Glamour ceremony honoring the magazine's 2007 Women of the Year. She will perform with the African Children's Choir at the event, to be held Monday at New York's Avery Fisher Hall. The related issue — which spotlights Jennifer Garner, Elizabeth Edwards, Toni Morrison and others — hits newsstands November 13. In other Mariah news, Elizabeth Arden announced on Friday an increase in first-quarter profits thanks to the singer's M by Mariah Carey perfume. The beauty-products company earned $350,000 on revenue of $271.8 million — a year before, the company lost $1.3 million on revenue of $254.8 million in the same quarter. Profits are expected to rise again next year. ...

Da Brat was released from jail after posting a $50,000 bond Thursday night, AP reports. The rapper (real name: Shawntae Harris) was involved in a serious physical altercation early Thursday morning at Jermaine Dupri's Atlanta nightclub, Studio 72. According to WSB-TV in Atlanta, police arrested her on felony aggravated-assault charges after she got into a heated confrontation with a waitress. Da Brat is said to have struck the waitress in the face with a bottle of rum, causing cuts on her face. The waitress was later taken to a local hospital for treatment. ... T-Pain had an uncomfortable experience on Friday when he was arrested in Florida on outstanding warrants, according to TMZ. The singer/rapper (real name: Faheem Najm) reportedly turned himself in to authorities at Leon County Jail, where he was charged with driving on a suspended license, and subsequently released on his own recognizance, without having to pay bail. According to TMZ, police saw T-Pain driving in Tallahassee in June and, after running his record, discovered that he had a suspended license. ...

Like Don Imus and others before him, Duane "Dog" Chapman's racially charged comments have resulted in his show being pulled from the airwaves — A&E yanked "Dog the Bounty Hunter" from its programming schedule on Friday. The channel's top-rated show is being pulled indefinitely, although it has not been canceled. At least two advertisers pulled away from the show on Thursday after a tape of a call between Chapman and his son Tucker — in which the TV star used the N-word repeatedly — surfaced on the National Enquirer's Web site the day before. Duane "Dog" Chapman's lawyer Brook Hart told AP Thursday that Tucker had taped the call and sold it to the tabloid for "a lot of money." ...

E-40 is turning 40! But the bash the Bay Area spitter is planning for November 15 at Las Vegas' Poetry Nightclub will serve as more than just a b-day celebration — E-40 will also be using the event to celebrate 20 years in the rap game and unveil his new beverage line, 40 Water. "Rapping brought me into the entertainment game; once I got in, my eyes got bigger," he said in a statement. "As a business man, I get the best of both worlds, and the privileges of working and reaping the benefits at the best time in my career." The star-studded party will also feature a sneak peek of his 2008 album, The Ball Street Journal, a yellow carpet and more. ...

When it comes to her spending money, Britney Spears always seems to be saying "Gimme More." Recently released court papers related to her custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline show that the singer drops serious coin on clothes and entertainment and doesn't save or invest any of her almost $737,000 in monthly income, according to AP. Among Spears' monthly expenses are $49,267 in mortgages for two houses; $16,000 for clothes; and $102,000 on entertainment, gifts and vacations. And even though she's a fast-food junkie, she also stated in her financial declarations that she drops $4,758 per month dining out. She also spends zero on education, while giving $500 a month in charitable contributions. Federline, meanwhile, gets $15,000 per month in child support and $20,000 in spousal support, with the latter ending on November 15. ... Don't believe Vanessa Hudgens? Just look at her feet. The "High School Musical" starlet has submitted her hospital birth certificate, which includes her baby footprints, along with a motion that seeks the dismissal of a suit brought on by her ex-attorney Brian Schall, according to "Access Hollywood." He claims Hudgens owes him $150,000 after he helped her earn more than $5 million by advancing Hudgens' funds for her recording and songwriting career. But Hudgens argues that she was too young to sign her contract — when she did so in October 2005, she was 16 years old. A hearing is set for December 5 in Los Angeles. ...

The Spice Girls unveiled a video for "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)," their first single in seven years, on TodayShow.com on Thursday. The racy video, which features the reunited squad shedding clothes, has since been making the rounds elsewhere. ... Jewel has recorded most of her LPs in Nashville over the years — but now she's ready for a full-on country affair, according to Billboard.com. The singer/songwriter recently signed a multi-album deal with Valory Music Company, a new Nashville indie label named in tribute to June Carter Cash (the country legend's birth name was Valerie June Carter). "I've been wanting to do this record my whole career, but my label was always scared of country music," Jewel said. "I've always had country songs on my records." Her yet-untitled new album will be produced by John Rich of Big & Rich. ...

Morrissey in '08? The singer's recent marathon stand at the Palladium in Hollywood was supposed to be his last sweep through the U.S. for the near future, but according to Billboard.com, his lawyer says Moz will be touring again early next year — and new music is on the way too. According to the magazine, Morrissey will sign a new deal with Sanctuary that will result in the release of a new studio album — to be produced by Jerry Finn, who helmed 2004's You Are the Quarry — and best-of collection next year. As for the tour, manager Merck Mercuriadis said Morrissey will "be back out in January. We'll take a short break and then start again in March." He didn't specify what cities are being considered. ...

Is Meat Loaf done? According to the U.K.'s Times Online, the rock singer announced that he was ending his career midway through a concert at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle on Wednesday. "I can no longer continue," he reportedly said as "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" began playing. "This is the last show I may ever do in my life." The concert ended, although it was later announced that the show had been canceled due to an illness. It's yet unclear whether Meat will still perform his scheduled Friday night show in Birmingham. According to Times Online, Meat's promoter spoke with the singer's doctor, who assured the promoter that Meat was exhausted and stressed. The newspaper also reports that his publicist chalked up the Wednesday incident to one of the singer's occasional blowouts. Meat Loaf's management did not return calls to MTV News as of press time. ... The Decemberists have canceled the rest of their Long and Short of It Tour after just two dates, due to an ongoing illness affecting an unnamed bandmember, according to the band's spokesperson. "One of our bandmembers has been ill for a while, but we thought all would be well in time for these tour dates," the group wrote in a statement. "After a couple shows, though, it has become clear that the illness is much worse than we had initially realized. We need to return home so our friend can mend. It saddens us to disappoint our fans. We hope everybody understands it is only because of an extreme situation that we had to cancel a tour we've all been excited about doing since the idea was originally hatched." There are no current plans to reschedule the tour. ...

Jack Osbourne, Jeff Buckley fan? Apparently so — Ozzy's son will MC the Jeff Buckley 10th Anniversary Tribute Concert being staged by the late singer/songwriter's mother, Mary Guibert. The salute will happen November 15 — two days before Buckley's birthday — at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California, and feature 25 Los Angeles-area singer/songwriters. Proceeds will go to the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which was co-founded by Flea. ... The soundtrack to the upcoming music mockumentary "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" will feature actor John C. Reilly — in the guise of Cox — singing songs written by a host of rock luminaries, including Marshall Crenshaw, Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks, former Candy Butchers leader Mike Viola and San Francisco songwriter Dan Bern. Among the original songs on the album, due out December 4, are "Guilty as Charged," "A Life Without You (Is No Life at All)" and "Let Me Hold You (Little Man)." ...

Carlos Santana and his wife are splitting after 34 years together, Marin County, California, newspaper the Marin Independent Journal reports. Deborah Santana reportedly cited irreconcilable differences in her October 19 filing in Marin County Superior Court. The couple have three children together.

11.1.07

Amy Winehouse stumbled through her performance at the MTV Europe Music Awards on Thursday (November 1) shortly after giving a very brief acceptance speech when she won the Artists' Choice honor. The singer — who was announced as a last-minute addition to the show when she canceled her planned performance at the mtvU Woodie Awards on November 8 — gave a brief "thanks" when she accepted the award, and later appeared to have difficulty remembering the words to her own song and danced unsteadily as she performed. And while this year's MTV Video Music Awards belonged to Justin Timberlake (and Rihanna), JT wasn't able to replicate his success abroad at the EMAs. While he was the most nominated artist, he left with no awards — and maybe even more stunningly, he was outdone by Avril Lavigne, who nabbed Most Addictive Track ("Girlfriend") and Solo Artist of 2007. Other winners included Nelly Furtado (Album of the Year), Linkin Park (Band of 2007) and 30 Seconds to Mars (Rock Out). Justice won the Video Star prize, which they also took home last year. ...

Britney Spears is being sued for $15,000 by a former manager who says she didn't keep up on her payments to him of commissions on her royalties for her first four albums — including on her $7 million advance in 2002 — movies, tours, books, etc. Johnny Wright, who was her manager through February 2003, filed a breach-of-contract suit in Orange County, Florida, claiming Spears didn't provide proper accounting of all her gross receipts. He is seeking compensatory damages, consequential damages, pre- and post-judgment interest and attorney's fees. ...

Like Britney before her, Lindsay Lohan is trying to make sure that her upcoming deposition — pertaining to a lawsuit filed over her 2005 car accident in West Hollywood, California — won't be videotaped, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. Her lawyers are reportedly requesting that the deposition — which Lohan is scheduled to give December 3 — be sealed instead if their request is denied. "The court should act to prevent such an unwarranted invasion of [Lohan's] privacy, especially where the nature of the allegations ... are so inflammatory," her court papers state, according to Daily News. Her lawyers are also requesting that deposition testimony and written responses from other witnesses be made unavailable to the public. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael L. Stern denied a motion by her attorneys on Friday for an immediate ruling on whether the deposition will be videotaped, saying he will consider it November 28 instead. ...

Don Imus' radio comeback is now set in stone: The controversial shock jock will be back on the airwaves after a nine-month hiatus on December 3. Imus will return to New York's WABC-AM, which is home to another inflammatory jock, Rush Limbaugh. The Rev. Al Sharpton, a vocal Imus critic, issued a statement on the development through his National Action Network, saying they've "always maintained that wherever Don Imus goes back to work, the company should clearly outline to advertisers and trade organizations like the National Association of Black Journalists how they intend to safeguard against Mr. Imus returning to his former vile and biased behavior. One would think if they were sincere about his apologies and his new commitment they would enthusiastically meet with advertisers and the NABJ to voice these assurances. If they do not, then we exercise the right in the next 30 days to visit advertisers to ask what has changed since they withdrew their support to Mr. Imus's show six months ago. If there are no guarantees that the same conduct they withdrew support from will be duplicated upon his return, we will certainly act accordingly. Mr. Imus has the right to make a living, but we have the right to make sure he does not come back to disrupt our living. Particularly since these are the commitments he made personally." ...

Vanessa Hudgens isn't all smiles these days — the "High School Musical" star is battling with one of her former lawyers over money she allegedly owes him, according to TMZ.com. Brian Schall claims Hudgens owes him $150,000 after he helped her earn more than $5 million by advancing the starlet's funds for her recording and songwriting career. But Hudgens argues that she was too young to sign her contract — when she did so in October 2005, she was 16 years old — and she subsequently disaffirmed it on October 9 of this year, according to the site. Papers filed in court by her lawyer say California's Family Code "provides that the contract of a minor is voidable and may be disaffirmed before (age 18) or within a reasonable time afterward." ... In related news, Aaron Carter has extricated himself from a contract he signed with Lou Pearlman, according to TMZ. The singer's attorney filed suit against the disgraced boy-band mogul in May 2006, requesting that Carter he released from the contract, which he signed as a minor. A bankruptcy judge ruled in Carter's favor and ordered that the contract with Pearlman and his label, the bankrupt TransContinental Records, is no longer in effect — but it's not yet known who orders Carter's recordings with the label. Carter is also seeking an accounting of royalties. ...

What do Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Prince, Genesis, Kenny Chesney, Maná and the Police have in common? Well, in case you're not on the concert-revenue tip, they've been drawing fleets of fans to their shows, making them finalists for the 2007 Billboard Touring Awards. JT and the Police are among the nominees for Top Tour and Top Draw, while Timberlake has also been noticed in the Breakthrough Artist category. Aguilera has a nod in the Top Package category for her tour with Pussycat Dolls and Danity Kane, and she's up for Breakthrough Artist as well. Prince's stretch of 21 shows at London's O2 arena earned him a spot in the Top Boxscore category, along with Bonnaroo and the U.K.'s Download Festival. The awards — based on the artists' box-office performance from January 1 through September 30, as reported by Billboard's Boxscore chart — will be presented 5 in New York as part of the 2007 Billboard Touring Conference. ...

Lance Bass' publicist is denying that the 'NSYNC star was ever married, despite what E! Online reports Bass said in a recent interview, according to The Associated Press. "People do stupid things in the heat of the moment," he had said, referring to a trip to Vegas he supposedly made with an ex-girlfriend. "I've been in Vegas where I've gotten married for, like, five minutes ... it was one of those crazy moments where you're with a friend and you're like, 'Hey, wouldn't it be fun if we did this?' And that's all that happened. It's the Vegas thing to do ... the only reason we did it is because we wanted to get free drinks all night. And we didn't get one. We're like, 'We just got married!' They're like, 'Ah. Whatever.' " But Bass' publicist Ken Sunshine subsequently told AP that, "He never really got married. That's why there's no record of it. ... By saying he was married in Vegas, it was a way to get free drinks." A clerk at the Clark County marriage license bureau said no license under Bass' name could be found in a search of records dating back more than 30 years, according to AP. Bass has been making the rounds to promote his new memoir, "Out of Sync" — which reveals why he kept his homosexuality hidden for as long as he did. ...

The Emmy Award-winning television program "Biography" will air a program on Guns N' Roses on November 29. The show will be part of a string of music documentaries that is also set to include Jennifer Lopez and Fleetwood Mac. ... Try this marketing scheme on for size: The Jonas Brothers are partnering with Gibson Guitars to record their next album while aboard one of the company's tour buses as they trek along the West Coast on the Miley Cyrus/ Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds Tour. The group will also be playing additional gigs on the tour, and at special shows in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, fans will be able to enter a contest for a private meet-and-greet at Gibson Guitar Showrooms. ... Joel Madden has dismissed rumors of tension between he and girlfriend Nicole Richie, while the pregnant socialite has also denied a report that she has been smoking, according to People. "Having a baby is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me, and to us," Madden said. His band Good Charlotte recently toured Australia, after which he and Richie spent "a great little getaway" in Thailand. "Now we're just getting home, getting settled in L.A. and getting ready," he said. Their baby is reportedly due in January. ...

Da Brat was reportedly involved in a serious physical altercation early Thursday morning at Jermaine Dupri's Atlanta nightclub, Studio 72. According to WSB-TV in Atlanta, police arrested Da Brat (real name: Shawntae Harris) on felony aggravated-assault charges after she got into a heated confrontation with a waitress. Da Brat is said to have struck the waitress in the face with a bottle of rum, causing cuts on her face. The waitress was taken to a local hospital for treatment; Da Brat is being held at DeKalb County jail, according to WSB. Spokespeople for Da Brat and her longtime mentor Dupri had not responded to MTV News' requests for comment at press time. ...

Jonathan Davis fans will be in for a surprise when they check out the Korn frontman's upcoming solo tour: He'll already have a concert CD/DVD package available for purchase, if everything goes according to plan. Billboard.com reports that Davis will film a small show for friends, family and the press on November 8 — the day before the tour kicks off in Hartford, Connecticut — and transform it into a limited-edition package that will be available, at least initially, only on his tour. The DVD will chronicle bandmember tryouts, rehearsals leading up to the recording and more. ... The Smashing Pumpkins have rescheduled five gigs they had been forced to postpone after Jimmy Chamberlin experienced chest pains, sending the drummer to the hospital. The Pumpkins will now play the Nashville gig on November 11 and the one in Austin, Texas, two days later, after which they'll hit Atlanta for a pair of shows November 15-16 and play the rescheduled Dallas show two days after that. Chamberlin was released from the hospital Wednesday after an angiogram revealed that he had a partially blocked artery. ...

Guess who was an OiNK user? None other than Nine Inch Nails boss Trent Reznor. In an interview with New York magazine about the new Saul Williams album, Reznor said, "I'll admit I had an account there and frequented it quite often," of the now-shuttered file-sharing site. "At the end of the day, what made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world's greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could ever imagine, it was there, and it was there in the format you wanted. If OiNK cost anything, I would certainly have paid, but there isn't the equivalent of that in the retail space right now. iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don't feel cool when I go there. I'm tired of seeing John Mayer's face pop up. I feel like I'm being hustled when I visit there, and I don't think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc. Amazon has potential, but none of them get around the issue of pre-release leaks. And that's what's such a difficult puzzle at the moment. If your favorite band in the world has a leaked record out, do you listen to it or do you not listen to it? People on those boards, they're grateful for the person that uploaded it — they're the hero. They're not stealing it because they're going to make money off of it; they're stealing it because they love the band. I'm not saying that I think OiNK is morally correct, but I do know that it existed because it filled a void of what people want." ...

Jacob "The Jeweler" Arabov pleaded guilty on Wednesday to falsifying records and giving false statements to investigators looking into a multistate drug ring, The Associated Press reports. Arabov, 42, the "King of Bling," who has made custom jewelry for everyone from Kanye West to Bono, agreed to a plea deal that will have him serve up to 46 months in prison and pay a $2 million penalty in exchange for prosecutors dropping money-laundering charges against him. Arabov was arrested at his New York jewelry store in June 2006 and accused of being part of a conspiracy to launder about $270 million in drug profits for the Black Mafia Family, a crime ring that operated out of the Detroit area beginning in the early 1990s. ... Linda Stein, 62, former co-manager of the Ramones and ex-wife of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein, was found dead on Monday in her apartment on New York's Upper East Side; she was killed by blunt-impact trauma to the head, police told New York's WCBS. Stein was also known as a real-estate agent to the stars, finding spots in New York for Sting, Billy Joel, Steven Spielberg, Calvin Klein and Bruce Willis. Police are treating the death as a homicide. ...

Black Lips — who took Brooklyn, New York, by storm with a circus parade in September — are bringing their maniacal ways to the big screen. The group will transform itself into a fictional late-'80s underground punk band for "Let It Be," a feature film due to begin production in May. The film will be directed by newcomer Roger Rawlings ("Neurotica"), and produced by Andrew Meyer ("The Breakfast Club") and Winn Coslick ("The Bottom"), and feature both original Lips music and key songs from the era. ... Swedish indie-rockers Peter Bjorn and John will try to make sure they're remembered as one of the year's most buzzed-about bands with an extra handful of 2007 U.S. shows. The "Young Folks" squad will play Houston (November 23); Dallas (November 24); Indianapolis (November 27); Cleveland (November 29); Louisville, Kentucky (November 30); Cincinnati (December 2); and Millvale, Pennsylvania (December 3). ... Touch and Go Records celebrated its 25th anniversary with a three-day bash last summer — now another prominent Chicago indie-rock label, Thrill Jockey, is getting ready to blow out 15 candles with a two-day shindig of its own. The Fiery Furnaces, the Sea and Cake, Eleventh Dream Day and many more artists who contributed to the label over the years will convene at the city's Logan Square Auditorium for the event, which will include two stages and be held December 14-15. ...

Talks between Hollywood screenwriters and studios hit an impasse on Wednesday, and with mere hours to go before their contract was set to expire, the writers were on the verge of the first major strike against the film and TV industry in 20 years. Reuters reports that talks broke off when the deadlock could not be broken between the writers and studios over writers' demands that they get an increased share of DVD revenues and Internet downloads of their work. Leaders of the Writers Guild of America ruled out declaring an immediate walkout when their contract, which covers 12,000 members, expired at 12:01 a.m. (3:01 a.m. EDT) on Thursday. According to the AP, the union instead said it would brief its rank and file at a meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday night. In the meantime, WGA members may continue to work under terms of the old three-year labor pact, though a spokesperson said, "They will technically be working without a contract." No further talks were scheduled, but an industry spokesperson said after Wednesday's eight-hour session that union negotiators had told studio officials they would contact them on Friday. If a walkout does take place, studios and TV networks have stockpiled scripts that could last into next year. ...

Believe it, "X Files" fans: A film sequel will start production in Vancouver, British Columbia, in December, according to Entertainment Weekly. Creator Chris Carter is slated to direct, and TV series stalwarts David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will revive their respective roles for the project, which has been in the works since the release of "The X Files: Fight the Future" in 1998. "If we didn't do it now and the [writers'] strike was protracted, it would force the movie to come out several years from now," Carter told the magazine. "And that was too late. It was either now or never." ... The woman who was ordered to pay more than $220,000 in the first verdict in a music-downloading trial, Jammie Thomas, has raised more than $16,000 so far in donations on FreeJammie.com. Now she's begun offering a whole range of gear to help raise more for her defense fund, including "Free Jammie" dog T-shirts ($17.49), white thong underwear ($9.99) and women's tracksuits ($49.99), as well as mugs, beer steins, teddy bears, kid's clothes, hoodies and boxer shorts.

• R. Kelly
• Jay-Z
• Mariah Carey
• T-Pain
• E-40

T.I.
Photo: Evan Agostini/ Getty Images

T.I. candidly discusses his relationship with the mother of his kids, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, in the August issue of Vibe, which is set to hit newsstands next week. The Atlanta rapper confirmed to MTV News in May that he and Cottle had broken up, but the couple have since reconciled and, as T.I. put it in the Vibe interview, "she means to me what my mother meant to me as a kid." He added, "Somebody that you know is consistently there, has your best interests at heart, and if ain't nobody else there in the world, [she] gon' be there. [Tiny's] filled that spot in my life." ...

Have Britney and Kevin's divorce proceedings hit a snag? People reported that a source close to Federline told the magazine K-Fed is holding off from signing the final papers because he is concerned about Spears' recent behavior. The couple reached an agreement in March that would extend their current arrangement of joint legal and physical custody of their two sons. But the source told People that reports of Spears partying post-rehab have spurred Federline to make sure that the divorce arrangement would make it easier for him to potentially limit her access in case her behavior troubles him in the future. ...

Japanese kids sporting witch costumes and waving magic wands checked out the Tokyo premiere of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on Thursday. "Japanese fans are the best!" said Daniel Radcliffe, who was cheered by the masses, The Associated Press reported. ...

Eve was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to wear an electronic-monitoring device after pleading no contest to a DUI charge on Thursday (June 28), according to "Entertainment Tonight." She must also go to 10 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and enroll in a three-month alcohol program. The monitoring device tests for alcohol intake on an hourly basis. ...

Phil Spector was weaker than actress Lana Clarkson, who could have shot him more easily than he could have shot her, forensics expert Vincent DiMaio testified on Thursday in the music producer's murder trial, AP reported. DiMaio said Clarkson probably fired the gun in "a spontaneous reaction of some sort. Stupid. Based on alcohol." Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson grilled the defense witness for more than two hours, accusing him of "cherry-picking" and "manipulating" facts. Pointing at Spector, DiMaio said, "Look at Mr. Spector. He has Parkinson's features. He trembles." ...

Beastie Boys have stretched out their upcoming tour in support of The Mix-Up, adding extra gigs in Boston (August 5), New York (August 10), Denver (August 17), Los Angeles (August 20) and San Francisco (August 24). ... Cartel are also shipping out for a trek surrounding their eponymous August 21 CD. The band shoves off from Chicago on August 20 and sticks to the tarmac until an October 10 gig in Charlotte, North Carolina. ...

Wyclef Jean, Cassie, Michael Strahan, James Blunt, Leonardo DiCaprio and a host of other celebs joined club and restaurant proprietor Unik Ernest on Wednesday night to celebrate his birthday at Gin Lane and PM in Manhattan, New York. The festivities, sponsored by Fed Ex and Klipsch Audio, kicked off with a private dinner and auction for Ernest's foundation, Edeyo. For the auction, Tommy Hilfiger donated tickets to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Dream Concert he, Russell Simmons, Quincy Jones and others will be staging at Radio City Music Hall on September 18 — the event will feature Stevie Wonder, Robin Thicke and more. After that, DJ Juske took over at the afterparty, where Steve Nash, Rebecca Gayheart and Phillip Bloch were spotted. ...

Johnta Austin has penned tracks for everyone from Mariah Carey to Enrique Iglesias, and now he's getting some payback via guests on his first-ever solo release, Ocean Drive. Mary J. Blige — whose "Be Without You" collaboration with Austin and others earned them a Grammy — partners with him on "Hood Love"; Jadakiss lends support on "Turn It Up"; and DJ Unk spots Austin on the album's first single, "Video." ...

Korn's Family Values Tour is expanding with a second stage, set to feature Five Finger Death Punch, Invitro, Twin Method and other to-be-announced acts. It will also host a "Guitar Hero II" competition, with eight finalists facing off in each city the trek hits. The tour embarks July 20 in St. Louis and ends September 2 in Irvine, California. ... The Used have been forced to pull out of their remaining June shows and all their July shows, including a Warped Tour run, while singer Bert McCracken has surgery on a node on one of his vocal cords. According to a post on the band's Web site, in addition to the surgery, McCracken's doctors have advised him to rest without singing, after which he is expected to make a full recovery in about five weeks. The band hopes to hit the road again in September. In the meantime, the Used have launched a new application on their homepage that allows fans to make a ringtone out of any song on their three studio albums. ...

Coheed and Cambria have reportedly recruited the Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins to play drums on their new album, No World for Tomorrow. The band is working on the LP with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has worked with the Foos in the past. The album, which is set for release this fall, is the last chapter in the ongoing saga of Coheed and Cambria Kilgannon, the main characters in a story that wraps all the band's concept albums into one. ... Robert Plant has dismissed rumors that Led Zeppelin will play a one-off reunion show for a memorial concert honoring Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who passed away late last year. Reports have insisted that Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones would enlist John Bonham's son Jason for the gig — they recruited him for Atlantic's 40th anniversary gig in 1988 — but Page claims he hadn't heard anything about the rumored reunion, adding, "If there was one, then there wouldn't be enough doctors to support it." ...

Depeche Mode singer David Gahan is readying his second solo album. Hourglass is due to land in stores this October and follows 2003's Paper Monsters. The album will be more electronic than his first effort, and Gahan said the music exudes an "urgency ... and a feeling of spontaneity." ... Who knew Michael Moore and Sacha Baron Cohen were mutual admirers? In an interview with AP, the "Sicko" director said Baron Cohen told him at the Toronto International Film Festival that Moore had given him the courage to carry out his confrontational antics through his Borat character. "If he says I was an inspiration for those things, I now have to up the ante for him," Moore said. ...

A federal grand jury indicted former boy-band mogul Lou Pearlman on five bank-fraud charges on Wednesday, claming that he defrauded a bank out of $20 million. AP reported that Pearlman was indicted on three counts of bank fraud, and single counts of mail and wire fraud, for allegedly getting millions in bank loans using documents from a fake accounting firm. He is expected to be transferred from California to Florida in two weeks to face the charges. ... Even Apple's competitors are getting in on the iPhone action. eMusic, the second-biggest digital-music service behind iTunes, has cheekily offered Apple boss Steve Jobs a free lifetime subscription to its service for his new iPhone. The move came as a thank you for Jobs' recent decision to remove digital-rights management software from some of iTunes' offerings; all of eMusic's songs are DRM-free. Also, in honor of Friday's iPhone unveiling, eMusic is offering 35 free tracks to anyone who signs up for a trial run of their service at eMusic.com/phone.

06.27.07

Usher has more than just a new album on his plate — he's about to become a father for the first time. In a statement the singer and his fiancee Tameka Foster issued to The Associated Press on Wednesday (June 27), the couple said: "We are extremely excited at this point in our lives planning our wedding and the joy that comes with expecting our first child together. We hope people will be happy for us and respect our privacy during this happy period in our lives." The baby, which is due in the fall, will be the fourth child for recently divorced stylist Foster. ...

Ready to Scream? Dates have been announced for this year's Screamfest, which will feature T.I., Ciara, Yung Joc, Lloyd and T-Pain. The jaunt begins August 3 in New Orleans, continues through the rest of the month and ends with a pair of shows September 1-2 at Universal City, California's Gibson Amphitheatre. ...

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama phoned in to New York hip-hop radio station Hot 97 on Wednesday to chat it up with jock Angie Martinez on her afternoon show. Although the Illinois politician didn't waver too far from his campaign platform — better education, better health care and more jobs — he did reveal his musical playlist. "I'm old-school and generally I'm more of a jazz guy," he told Martinez. "But having said that, I'm current enough that on my iPod I got a little bit of Jay-Z, a little bit of Beyoncé. A little bit. I don't want to pretend I know as much as my [children]. I'm falling behind rapidly." ...

Fall Out Boy, Jennifer Lopez, Fergie, and Usher will perform at the fourth annual Fashion Rocks concert, which is scheduled for September 6 at Radio City Music Hall as part of New York Fashion Week. "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven will host the event, which will also feature appearances by Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Ludacris and more. ... Andre 3000 is dropping a batch of songs Tuesday — but don't expect to hear him singing all of them. The Outkast member picked 14 songs he wrote and produced for "Class of 3000" — the Cartoon Network show that revolves around Sunny Bridges, a character he voices — and bundled them for the soundtrack. The tracks feature the voices of kids and characters from the series, including Bridges. ...

It was diva night Tuesday at the BET Awards, where "Dreamgirls" co-stars Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson each took home two trophies. B won Best Female R&B Artist and Video of the Year for "Irreplaceable," and Hudson snagged Best New Artist and Best Female Actress. Ne-Yo won Best Male R&B Artist, Gnarls Barkley got Best Group, T.I. again won Best Hip-Hop Artist and "The Last King of Scotland" star Forest Whitaker won Best Male Actor. Other winners included Ludacris (for his collabo with Mary J. Blige, "Runaway Love"), Birdman and Lil Wayne (Viewer's Choice for "Stuntin' Like My Daddy") and Diana Ross (Lifetime Achievement). The show also featured tributes to James Brown and Gerald Levert, as well as performances by Hudson (with Jennifer Holliday), Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland with Eve and 50 Cent. ...

The sheriff who was criticized for briefly allowing Paris Hilton to leave jail for house arrest explained his actions just hours after Hilton was released from jail on Tuesday. According to a Reuters report, Sheriff Lee Baca suggested that he made the controversial move because he feared for Hilton's life. While he did not explicitly say Hilton had been in danger of harming herself, Baca said, "I think we all in this room know something about suicide. As the sheriff of this county, I'm not going to let any inmate die in our jails if I know something that can be done that solves the medical problem. ... What's worth more? Serving time in the county jail for driving on a suspended driver's license or a person losing their life?" A spokesperson for Hilton would not comment on Baca's remarks. ...

A former medical examiner testifying for Phil Spector's defense said Wednesday that Lana Clarkson was an aging actress who was out of work and battling depression and health problems — and that after studying her e-mails, medical records and other evidence, he concluded her death was a suicide. Vincent DiMaio said Clarkson had broken her wrists in an accident in 2002; that she had been taking Vicodin; that she wrote to one of her doctors that she "was at the end of her rope and could not function"; and that she noted in an August 21, 2002, day planner entry, "First sober day." DiMaio also debated the prosecution's reconstruction of Clarkson's death on Wednesday. He disagreed with the contention that bruises on her tongue were caused by a gun being forced into her mouth, saying expanding gases from the gunshot were the likely cause. He also refuted the notion that Clarkson's body had been moved, presumably by Spector; DiMaio argued that the pressure of gunshot gases can cause a body to move after death. ...

The lineup for the free Live Earth show on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will include Lenny Kravitz, Pharrell, Macy Gray and a host of homegrown talent. Meanwhile, the gig planned for Istanbul, Turkey, has been axed, reportedly due to a lack of interest and too few sponsors. One of the event's co-founders, former Vice President Al Gore, has announced that he will attend the New Jersey leg of the worldwide environmental awareness event on July 7. ... Shadows Fall will be playing a not-so-secret MySpace Secret Show Thursday at Pearl Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. The bill also features the Probates, the Uncomfortables and Hot Black. ...

Morrissey has canceled concerts this week in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia due to a throat infection. A half-hour into his show in Boston Tuesday night the singer was unable to continue performing — he had already explained to the crowd that he was ill, saying, "Unfortunately it will not just be the emotions cracking tonight but my voice as well." His tour is scheduled to resume Saturday night in New York. ... In addition to a slate of U.S. dates in support of his self-titled 2006 album, Ben Kweller has announced a three-night run at Southpaw, in Brooklyn, New York, during which he'll play a different record straight through each night. It will be Sha Sha on July 30, On My Way on July 31 and Ben Kweller on August 1. ...

Foxy Brown, who was cited for missing a probation meeting on Friday, showed up four hours late for a probation meeting Tuesday. According to New York's Daily News, the rapper arrived with five bodyguards and, in a move that riled other ex-cons, was hustled in and out by security guards helping her avoid photographers. ... Don't go to your doctor saying you have "video game addiction" symptoms just yet. On Wednesday, the American Medical Association chose a milder measure over a previously prepared report that would have encouraged the term to be included in a manual of psychiatric witnesses, according to AP. "While more study is needed on the addictive potential of video games, the AMA remains concerned about the behavioral, health and societal effects of video game and Internet overuse," AMA President Dr. Ronald Davis said. "We urge parents to closely monitor children's use of video games and the Internet."

• T.I. And Twista Grill Up Smokin' Summer Clips

• Beyoncé, 50 Cent, Jennifer Hudson, More At The 2007 BET Awards
• "Dreamgirls"

• T.I.
• Wyclef Jean
• Cassie
• Usher
• Coheed and Cambria

Pink's <i>I'm Not Dead</i>
Photo: La Face

Dead Alive: Proving she's got much more than just a pulse, Pink rails against politicians and a culture that breeds bulimia and rampant materialism on her fourth record, I'm Not Dead. The Indigo Girls sing along on "Dear Mr. President," while the singer's father appears on the hidden track "I Have Seen the Rain." Get totally Pink'd with the DualDisc, which has a promo clip and making-of segments for her single "Stupid Girls," plus interview footage and a teaser for her forthcoming "Live in Europe" DVD.

Flaming Tongues Tied: And if you don't think yours will be too, try saying track names like "It Overtakes Me/ The Stars Are So Big, I Am So Small ... Do I Stand a Chance?" or "Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung" 10 times fast. If you're looking for a longer kiss from the Lips, pick up the special edition of At War With the Mystics, which is backed with a bonus DVD featuring extra songs, videos and, feeding the outlandish band's surround-sound addiction, select mystical tracks in 5.1 stereo.

He's No Circus Clown: Morrissey looks innocent enough on the cover of his Ringleader of the Tormentors, dressed in a suit, rolling his eyes and playing the violin. But with some unusually lewd lyrics — if "There are explosive kegs between my legs" doesn't make you blush, other lines on the record will — Moz is dirtier than ever this time around. The limited deluxes have a bonus DVD with videos for "You Have Killed Me," "The Youngest Was the Most Loved" and "In the Future When All Is Well," plus additional behind-the-scenes stuff.

A Monkey Chases Its Tail: They've pulled off a virtual tour, have turned themselves into holograms and are even planning a mobile-phone adventure, but first things first, the Gorillaz have a DVD to eke out. The remarkably straightforward "Demon Days Live at the Manchester Opera House" finds the group running through last year's Demon Days track list with De La Soul and Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays, capping off the affair with the B-side "Hong Kong" and "Latin Simone," from 2001's Gorillaz.

Gorillaz's "Dare" doesn't only appear again this week on Now That's What I Call Music! 21 — Mariah, Chris Brown, Black Eyed Peas and Rihanna also crop up on that set — it also rears its head on The DFA Remixes: Chapter One. The electro-post-punk whizzes pull together that track plus their remixes of Chemical Brothers, Le Tigre, Fischerspooner and Hot Chip tunes for the comp. Chapter Two, due this summer, will feature their touch-ups on songs by N.E.R.D., Goldfrapp and Nine Inch Nails.

Speaking of which, DFA's remix of NIN's "Hand That Feeds" is tucked onto Every Day Is Exactly the Same, a single that's been beefed up to EP status. The set leads off with the title track and has a remix of the same tune by Interpol's Carlos D and Sam Fogarino, but there are two more songs on the set, both of which are presented, er, twofold: the DFA and straight mixes of "Hand That Feeds," plus retreatments of "Only" by El-P and Richard X.

Finding nice company in this wild-eyed pack are trip-hop pioneers and remix junkies Massive Attack, who, like Gorillaz, have also collaborated with Madonna recently. MA take a look back with Collected, and while fans will only find a new single on the standard release, the limited-edition version has a bonus DualDisc granting a trove of previously unissued tracks, rarities and all the collective's videos to date.

Vision Valley, the new album from the very-ape Vines, has no special adornments, and the song titles are light on cheer too: Tracks include "Nothin's Comin', " "Don't Listen to the Radio," "F--- Yeah," "Futuretarded" and "Dope Train."

Last but not least, as smooth as R&B crooner Van Hunt may be, his sophomore effort is called On the Jungle Floor and puts some rock into his repertoire. Songs include "Daredevil, Baby," "Priest or Police" and "The Thrill of This Love."

With Very Special Guest: Three artists are in pretty far-out company this week. Unicorns offshoot project Islands recruit the two guys who invented a type of video game music called Mario Paint Music Maker, plus a bass player who hails from Togo and James R. Guthrie, grandson of Woody Guthrie, for their Return to the Sea debut. Folk instrumentalist John McCutcheon has an even more esteemed guest list for his Mightier Than the Sword, roping in a U.S. poet laureate, Pulitzer Prize nominee and National Humanities Medal winner. But jam masters Umphrey's McGee might feature the most badass outside help of all on their Safety in Numbers, even if it only consists of one person: Huey Lewis.

Song Title of the Week:

"Jesus Christ R'n R" from Dir en Grey's Withering to Death

Other notables:

Bubba Sparxxx's The Charm: After being on the down low for the past few years, Bubba's Charm-ed to have shifted over to the Purple Ribbon imprint run by Outkast's Big Boi. And he's hoping for an extra boost in light of featured spots by Ying Yang Twins, Frankie J, Petey Pablo, Sleepy Brown and Killer Mike, plus production by Timbaland, Organized Noize, Big Boi and more.

The Coup's "Best Coup DVD Ever": The unapologetically political Oakland rap assemblage try to get equally radical onscreen, with videos for "Fats Cats & Bigga Fish," "Not Yet Free" and "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night." Filling out the disc are interviews with Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funkstress, plus a bonus film called "Eating Forever: A South African Hip Hop Travelog," shot during the Black August hip-hop tour.

Victory at Sea's All Your Things Are Gone and the New Orleans Social Club's Sing Me Back Home: What do veteran Boston indie-rockers and a handful of New Orleans soul legends have in common? They've both lost their homes in recent months. A fire destroyed Victory at Sea drummer Dave Norton's house, which doubles as the band's recording space. (To make matters worse, their violin player, Taro Hatanaka, has been unable to re-enter the States because of visa problems.) Closer to the equator, Ivan Neville, founding members of the Meters and other bayou greats have formed NOSC as a way to cope with the Katrina devastation. Their cover of John Fogerty's anti-war anthem "Fortunate Son" is especially poignant, while you may have already heard "Sing Me Back Home," which the Neville Brothers recorded in Austin, Texas, six weeks after Katrina.

New Releases:

• 46 Short - Truth Denied (TKO)
• 5 Browns - No Boundaries (DualDisc due also available; RCA)
• Abysmal Dawn - From Ashes (Crash)
• Aereogramme - Seclusion (Sonic Unyon)
• All-Stokz - A Bronx Tale (Paperchase/ Warlock)
• American Princes - Less and Less (Yep Roc)
• Angel Blake - Angel Black (Metal Blade)
• Daryl Anger's Republic of Strings - Generation Nation (Compass)
• Barnes - The Last Shall Be First (Sugar Water)
• Bird Show - Lightning Ghost (Kranky)
• Bitter: Sweet - The Mating Game (digipak; Quango)
• Blackmore's Night - Village Lanterne (Steamhammer/ SPV)
• Blue October - Foiled (enhanced; Universal/ Motown)

Buy Now: Foiled (Universal/ Motown)
• Erin Boheme - What Love Is (Concord)
• Danielle Bollinger - When the Broken Hearted Love Again (Esntion Silver)
• Anouar Brahem - Le Voyage de Sahar (ECM)
• Darius Brooks - My Soul (Journey)
• Francesco Cafiso Quartet - Happy Time (CAM Jazz)
• Caliban - The Undying Darkness (Abacus)

Buy Now: The Undying Darkness (Abacus)
• Concretes - In Colour (Astralwerks)
• John Corbett - John Corbett (Fun Bone)
• Carl Cox - Second Sign (Koch)

Buy Now: Second Sign (Koch)
• Guy Davis - Skunkmello (Red House)
• Dead to Fall - The Phoenix Throne (Victory)
• Bob Delevante - Columbus and the Colossal Mistake (Relay)
• Dir en Grey - Withering to Death (with bonus DVD; Warcon)
• Dirty Sanchez - Dirty Sanchez (Cleopatra)
• DJ Crucial - Test Presses and Dub Plates (F5)
• Dmitri From Paris and DJ Muro - Super Disco Friends (Headphone Heroes)
• Dog Fashion Disco - Adultery (Rotten)

Buy Now: Adultery (Rotten)
• Lila Downs - La Cantina (Narada)
• Enablers - Output Negative Space (Neurot)
• Evergrey - Monday Morning Apocalypse (Inside Out)
• Facedowninsh - NPON (Relapse)
• Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics (special edition with DVD also available; Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Flaming Lips Go To War Against Britney, Gwen On New LP"

Buy Now: At War With the Mystics (Warner Bros.)
• Flower Kings - Paradox Hotel (Inside Out)
• Radney Foster - This World We Live In (Dualtone)
• Mimi Fox - Perpetually Hip (two CDs; Favored Nations)
• Fragments of Unbecoming - Sterling Black Icon (Metal Blade)
• Moncef Genoud - Aqua (Savoy Jazz)
• Girl Authority - Girl Authority (Zöe)
• Governor Washington - Son of Pain (Atlantic)
• Gregor Samsa - 55:12 (Kora)
• G-Rod - Tha Movement (Warlock)
• Hawk Nelson - Smile, It's the End of the World (Tooth & Nail)
• Head Control System - Murder Nature (The End)
• Hell Promise - Aim for Hell (RocketStar)
• Van Hunt - On the Jungle Floor (Capitol)

Buy Now: On the Jungle Floor (Capitol)
• Irving - Death in the Garden Blood on the Flowers (Eenie Meenie)
• Islands - Return to the Sea (digipak; Equator)
• Shooter Jennings - Electric Rodeo (Universal South)
• Lacuna Coil - Karmacode (enhanced; Century Media)

Buy Now: Karmacode (Century Media)
• Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch & Fats Kaplin - Lost John Dean (Compass)
• Philip E. Karnats - Pleasesuite (Good)
• Tommy Keene - Crashing the Ether (digipak; 1130)
• Paula Kelley - Some Sucker's Life, Part 1 (Stop Pop & Roll)
• Sonya Kitchell - Words Came Back to Me (Velour)
• Tony Levin - Resonator (Narada)

Buy Now: Resonator (Narada)
• Eric Lindell - Change in the Weather (Alligator)
• Little Killers - Real Good One (Glen Blandsten)
• Charles Lloyd, Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland - Sangam (ECM)
• Jeremiah Lockwood - American Primitive (digipak; Vee-Ron)
• Nils Lofgren - Sacred Weapon (Vision Music)

Buy Now: Sacred Weapon (Vision Music)
• Lotus - The Strength of Weak Ties (Harmonized)
• Pat Martino - Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery (Blue Note)
• MC Eiht - Affiliated (enhanced; Paid in Full/ Koch)
• Donny McCaslin - Soar (Sunny Side)
• John McCutcheon - Mightier Than the Sword (Appalsongs)
• John Medeski - Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz Radio Broadcast (Jazz Alliance)
• Mellowdrone - Box (Red Ink)
• Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors (limited deluxe edition with DVD also available; Attack/ Sanctuary)

Buy Now: Ringleader of the Tormentors (Attack/ Sanctuary)
• Matt Nathanson - At the Point (digipak; High Wire)
• Nazi Dogs - Chase the Man (TKO)
• Need to Breathe - Daylight (Atlantic)
• New Orleans Social Club - Sing Me Back Home (enhanced; Burgundy)
• Nine Inch Nails - Every Day Is Exactly the Same (EP; Nothing/ Interscope)

Buy Now: Every Day Is Exactly the Same (Nothing/ Interscope)
• Northey Valenzuela - Northey Valenzuela (The Lab)
• One Man Army and the Undead Quartet - 21st Century Killing Machine (enhanced; Nuclear Blast America)
• Alan Parsons - A Valid Path (remix LP; DualDisc; Immergent)
• Pink - I'm Not Dead (DualDisc also available; La Face)
  Read: "Pink Pens An Open Letter To President Bush On New Album"

Buy Now: I'm Not Dead (La Face)
• Placebo - Meds (limited special edition also available; Astralwerks)
• Protest the Hero - Kezia (Vagrant)
• Queensrÿche - Operation Mindcrime II (Rhino)
• Rainer Maria - Catastrophe Keeps Us Together (Grunion)
• Nelson Rangell - Soul to Souls (Koch)
• Rascal Flatts - Me and My Gang (Lyric Street)

Buy Now: Me and My Gang (Lyric Street)
• Bruce Robison - Eleven Stories (Sustain)
• June Rochelle - Changing Places (Titan/ Pyramid)
• Aldo Romano - Chante (Dreyfus)
• Sanctus Real - The Face of Love (Sparrow)
• The Scarred - No Solution (Punkcore)
• Scotch Greens - Professional (DRT)
• Sinai Beach - When Breath Escapes (Victory)
• Jan Smith - 29 Dances (Landslide)
• Sonata Arctica - For the Sake of Revenge (with bonus DVD; Nuclear Blast America; two CDs)
• Soul Position - Things Go Better With RJ and Al (Rhymesayers)
• South - Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars (Young American)
• Bubba Sparxxx - The Charm (New South/ Purple Ribbon/ Virgin)

Buy Now: The Charm (New South/ Purple Ribbon/ Virgin)
• Candi Station - His Hands (Astralwerks)
• Tanakh - Ardent Fevers (Alien 8 Recordings)
• Terror 2000 - Terror for Sale (Nuclear Blast America)
• Gecko Turner - Guapapaesa! (Quango)
• Umphrey's McGee - Safety in Numbers (Sci Fidelity)
• Unearthly Trance - The Trident (Relapse)
• Ursula 1000 - Here Comes Tomorrow (ESL)
• U.S. Bombs - We Are the Problem (Sailor's Grave)
• Venom - Metal Black (Sanctuary)
• Victory at Sea - All Your Things Are Gone (Gern Bladsten)
• The Vines - Vision Valley (Capitol)

Buy Now: Vision Valley (Capitol)
• Keith Fullerton Whitman - Lisbon (EP; Kranky)
• Cassandra Wilson - Thunderbird (Blue Note)
• Various artists - Dieselboy Presents the Human Resource (two CDs; System Recordings/ HUMAN)
• Various artists - Disneymania 4 (Disney)
• Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 21 (UTV)
• Various artists - See You on the Moon! - Songs for Kids of All Ages (Universal)
• Various artists - Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (Yazoo)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

• Cannonball Adderley - Great Sessions (Blue Note)
• The Alarm - The Best of the Alarm (Capitol)
• Bellamy Brothers - The Lost Tracks (Bellamy Brothers)
• Boston - Boston and Don't Look Back (digipaks; Epic/ Legacy)
• Daft Punk - Musique 1: 1993-2005 (with DVD; Virgin)
• Miles Davis - Great Sessions (Blue Note)
• Rick Derringer - Live at Cheney Hall (Fieldstone)
• DFA - The DFA Remixes: Chapter One (Astralwerks)
• Ani DiFranco - Carnegie Hall 4.6.02 (Righteous Babe)
• The J. Geils Band - Best of the J. Geils Band (Capitol)
• Grand Funk Railroad - Greatest Hits (Capitol)
• Herbie Hancock - Great Sessions (Blue Note)
• Lamb of God - New American Gospel (enhanced; with bonus tracks; Prosthetic)
• John Lennon - The Plastic Ono Band - Live Peace in Toronto, 1969 (Mobile Fidelity)
• Magneta Lane - Dancing With Daggers (Paper Bag)
• Massive Attack - Collected (limited DualDisc also available; two CDs; Virgin)
• Medeski Martin & Wood - Note Bleu: Best of the Blue Note Years 1998- 2005 (deluxe edition with DVD also available; Blue Note)
• Poison - The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock (Capitol)
• Little Richard - The Best of Little Richard: The Vee-Jay Years (Metro)
• Sonny Rollins - Great Sessions (Blue Note)
• Wayne Shorter - Great Sessions (Blue Note)
• Soul Asylum - Closer to the Stars: Best of the Twin Tone Years (Rykodisc)
• Sudden Death - Unpure Burial (Locomotive)
• Uriah Heep - Different World and Raging Silence (Blue Note)
• World Party - Goodbye Jumbo and Private Revolution (enhanced; Seaview)
• Zeke - Super Sound Racing and Flat Tracker (Relapse)
• Various artists - The '80s: A Body + Soul Collection (Time Life)
• Various artists - Gangsta Party (three CDs; Thump)
• Various artists - See You on the Moon! Songs for Kids of All Ages (Paper Bag)

DVDs:

• Herb Alpert with the Jeff Lorber Band - "Live at Montreux 1996" (Eagle Vision)
• Aly & AJ - "On the Ride" (Hollywood)
• The Coup - "The Best Coup DVD Ever" (Music Video Distributors)
• Cream - "Classic Albums: Cream - Disraeli Gears" (Eagle Vision)
• Desdemona - "Live 3.0" (Music Video Distributors)
• Bob Dylan - "Rolling Thunder and the Gospel Years: A Totally Unauthorized Documentary" (Music Video Distributors)
• Marvin Gaye - "The Real Thing: In Performance 1964-1981" (Hip-O)
• Gillian - "Live Edinburgh 1980" (Music Video Distributors)
• Gorillaz - "Demon Days Live at the Manchester Opera House" (Virgin)
• Leo Kottke - "Home & Away Revisited" (Music Video Distributors)
• Gary Moore & Friends - "One Night in Dublin: A Tribute to Phil Lynott" (Eagle Vision)
• Pantera - "3 Vulgar Videos From Hell" (Rhino)
• Russell Peters - "Two Concerts ... One Ticket" (Eclectic)
• The Who - "Music in Review: The Essential Music of the Who - The Moon Years" (Icons of Rock)
• Various artists - "The Grind" (Mercury)
• Various artists - "Hip-Hop Laws of Success" (Image)
• Various artists - "In the Beginning, Vol. 1: 2006 Montreal International Reggae Festival" (Razor & Tie)

Coming Attractions:

April 11:

• Calexico - Garden Ruin (digipak; Quarterstick)

Buy Now: Garden Ruin (Quarterstick)
• Eagles of Death Metal - Death by Sexy (Downtown)
  Read: "Eagles Of Death Metal Frontman's 'Soft Boomerang Of Love' Takes Center Stage In Clip"

Buy Now: Death by Sexy (Downtown)
• LL Cool J - Todd Smith (Def Jam)

April 18:

• Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia (digipak; Roadrunner)

Buy Now: Yes, Virginia (Roadrunner)
• NOFX - Wolves in Wolves Clothing (Fat Wreck Chords)

Buy Now: Wolves in Wolves Clothing (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Various artists - "Coachella" (Epitaph)

April 25:

• Godsmack - IV (Republic)
  Read: "Godsmack Finishing Up 'Killer' Fourth LP, Working On Football Theme"

Buy Now: IV (Republic)
• Rihanna - A Girl Like Me (Def Jam)
  Read: "Rihanna Getting In Touch With Her Rock Side For Next LP"
• Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Taking Back Sunday Say Debuting At #800 Wouldn't Bother Them"

• P!nk
• Gorillaz
• The Flaming Lips
• Nine Inch Nails
• The Islands

Shakira on the April cover of <I>Elle</I>
Photo: "Elle" magazine

Shakira appears on Elle's April cover, revealing inside how a family financial setback changed her at age 8. The singer — who was already dancing and writing her own songs by then — told the magazine she reacted to the collapse of her father's business with anger, but that a visit to a park where homeless children lived also changed her. "These children had no food," she said. "It moved me so much that at that very moment, I took up a mandate to succeed in life and give a hand to those kids." Shakira said she hopes a 16-foot steel statue of her likeness, set to be erected in her hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia, will help inspire citizens to follow their dreams. Designed by German sculptor Dieter Patt, the statue — which comes complete with bell-bottom pants and a guitar strapped to its neck — weighs five tons and took more than a year to complete, according to The Associated Press. ...

It's becoming less likely that people will see any more of that Kid Rock/ Scott Stapp sex tape. Lawyers for Rock reached an agreement with World Wide Red Light District, the company hoping to release the tape of the two rockers cavorting with groupies. The pact extends a judge's order blocking the tape's release. According to an AP report, the temporary injunction currently in place would remain in effect without the parties having to go to court again. Paperwork to permanently block the tape's release is expected to be filed soon. ... Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello will take a break from the studio this week to guest host Rock-N-Roll Bingo, a charity event set for Thursday at Cranes Hollywood Tavern in Hollywood. Bingo cards run $5 each and the game, which will begin at 6 p.m., is open to players of all ages. Proceeds raised during the event will benefit South Central Farm, a 13-year-old community farm serving more than 350 families in the heart of South Central Los Angeles. ...

Two of Bam Margera's favorite bands have united in the name of metal. H.I.M. frontman Ville Valo has contributed guest vocals to "The Bryonic Man," which will appear on Cradle of Filth's yet-untitled forthcoming album, due in late June. ... This fall Rock N' Roll Books will release "Rick Rubin: In the Studio," a tome that takes a look at the highly respected producer's 20-year career. Written by biographer Jake Brown, the book will provide studio insight for Rubin's work with the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Linkin Park and Metallica. Interviews with some of the bands who've aligned themselves with Rubin will be included, as will interview material with the producer himself, who discusses the making of each record. ...

Jack White's Raconteurs side project has shot its first video, for the single "Steady, as She Goes." Auteur Jim Jarmusch, who directed last year's "Broken Flowers" and featured Jack and Meg White in his 2003 film, "Coffee & Cigarettes," shot the clip on V-Cams bought at Toys "R" Us. The Raconteurs' Broken Boy Soldiers will be released May 16. ... Stars singer Amy Millan will release her solo debut, Honey From the Tombs, in August. A departure from Stars' romantic pop, the disc's bluegrass leanings will be rounded out with appearances by fellow Stars members Chris Seligman and Evan Cranley, Metric's James Shaw and Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. Millan will hit the road late this summer. ...

On April 11 Capitol will release the Beatles collection The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2. The four-CD follow-up to the 2004 set The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1 will include four Beatles albums originally released in 1965: The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, the "Help!" soundtrack and the U.S. version of Rubber Soul. Each disc comes in replica packaging and includes a booklet with photos and clippings from that year. ... Word that the landmark Capitol Records tower — the label's longstanding home, which looks like a giant stack of records — might be sold to a developer intent on converting the building into living space has sent city leaders and preservationists into overdrive, according to the AP. Los Angeles politicos claim the building, where Frank Sinatra and many other musicians recorded, is a historical landmark (a spokesperson for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa likened the building's legend to that of the Hollywood sign). Owners EMI told the AP that the company hasn't been "actively shopping" the building, which currently holds offices for 150 people, on the market, but that it had received several serious proposals from interested buyers. ...

Would you turn down $5 million dollars? Apparently Morrissey would. During an interview at this year's South by Southwest conference Thursday, Moz revealed that the Smiths were offered the enormous sum to re-form for this year's Coachella festival but turned the offer down. "When you start doing things for money, something terrible happens to you," he explained. "I haven't reached that stage ... but I might." During his performance at the Austin Music Hall that night, Morrissey attacked the latest round of U.S. bombings in Iraq. "I hear we bombed Iraq again. We can't be looking for weapons of mass destruction again." ... In other South by Southwest news, indie-rock vets Built to Spill were forced to cancel their performance at a Filter Magazine party after frontman Doug Martsch suffered a detached retina. The band's You in Reverse is due April 11. ... A pirate hip-hop radio station in Miami called Da Streetz has been creating some headaches for pilots taking off from Miami International Airport. The signal from the station has been bleeding into the communications between pilots and the control tower on occasion, according to an AP report. Authorities traced the signals to an antenna in a warehouse near the airport, where they found three computers and a CD player — but no DJ. Despite the discovery the station continues to broadcast.

03.17.2006

The judge in the case pitting Britney Spears against Us Weekly said Thursday that she needs more time before ruling on a motion by the magazine to dismiss a $20 million libel suit filed by the singer, according to The Associated Press. Spears filed the suit in December, alleging the magazine printed a false report that had her and husband Kevin Federline acting "goofy" in the presence of their lawyers while screening an alleged sex tape that they were worried would be released. Spears has claimed both the story and the existence of the tape are false. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 3. ...

Oscar-winning Memphis rappers Three 6 Mafia are being sued by a fan who claims he was beaten at one of the rap group's August 2003 concerts, AP reports. The members could land in a Pittsburgh courtroom next month to be deposed in the suit filed by Ramone Williams, a then-19-year-old fan who says he was thrown to the floor, hit with a chair, stomped on and kicked in the face at the gig. He is suing them for inciting the audience during their performance and for failing to end the violence once it started. Three 6's lawyer told the AP that his clients deny Williams' allegations. ...

The South by Southwest music conference is usually filled with secret shows announced at the last minute, and this year has proven to be no different. What wound up being a poorly kept secret after rumor got around was Beastie Boys' Thursday night show at Stubb's, where the band played a set consisting mostly of songs from their two most recent albums, To the 5 Boroughs and Hello Nasty. The Flaming Lips also went the secret route with a rare acoustic set at Eternal. ... During an interview at SXSW, the Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins confirmed that the band's next single will be "Miracle" from the acoustic side of In Your Honor and that rehearsals for its upcoming summer tour will commence in May. ...

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and his wife, Talinda, had a baby boy on Thursday in Los Angeles, the AP reports. Tyler Lee weighed in at 9 pounds, 3 ounces, according to a statement from their publicist. ... Nick Lachey is slated to play a single man living in Manhattan in the new CW comedy "She Said/ He Said," a spokesperson for the channel told the AP on Friday. The pilot will be shot in April, and the show's fate will be determined soon after; the fledgling network — formed by merging the WB and UPN — will announce its schedule May 18. ...

He's paid his bills but appears to have packed his bags. A day after Michael Jackson avoided a lawsuit from the state by settling up a bill of several hundred thousand dollars with the employees at his Neverland Ranch in California, the singer's representatives announced that he's locking the doors of the main house on the 2,600-acre ranch. According to The Associated Press, Jackson's spokesperson said because Jackson is currently residing in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain, he has decided to close the house and lay off some workers. ... Pink, Chris Brown and Bow Wow will perform at Nickelodeon's 19th annual Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by Jack Black and set for April 1 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. Ludacris, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz, Nick Cannon, Jon Heder, Emma Roberts, Jesse McCartney and Avril Lavigne are among the celebrities scheduled to take part in the festivities. ... In other Chris Brown news, an airdate has been set for his acting debut on UPN's "One on One": March 27. The R&B up-and-comer makes a cameo on the show, playing himself but getting turned down by an older woman. ...

More details have emerged about the role that Jay-Z protégé Ne-Yo will take on in his big-screen debut, the forthcoming urban dance film "Step Show," directed by Sylvain White (the upcoming "I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer"). According to The Hollywood Reporter, actor/choreographer Columbus Short ("You Got Served") will portray the streetwise dancer courted by step-show-competing fraternities, and Ne-Yo will play his college roommate. ... "Welcome Back, Kotter" creator and star Gabe Kaplan said rapper-turned-thespian Ice Cube is a fine choice to play his old role in the forthcoming big-screen adaptation of the television classic. Kaplan told "Access Hollywood" that Cube is the perfect guy. ... He has shown what kind of crossover appeal he has." On "Kotter," Kaplan played a teacher who returns to his Brooklyn, New York, high school, where he leads a class of apathetic students; the sitcom was based on Kaplan's own experiences as an educator. As for who he'd like see cast in Cube's movie version, which will be set in South Central Los Angeles, Kaplan said, "Snoop Dogg will play Horshack, Vanilla Ice would play Barbarino ... I don't know." ...

At New York's Splashlight Studios on Thursday, Microsoft and Epic Records announced the launch of a partnership that will feature a new Epic musician's music and videos — as well as a chance to compete against them — through Xbox Live every month. Kicking off the program will be Natasha Bedingfield, whose video for her hit song "Unwritten" will be available for download through Live onto the Xbox 360. Bedingfield will also play on Live against select gamers in April, a continuation of the Xbox Game With Fame celebs-vs.-gamers program that Microsoft has run with stars like Outkast and Maroon 5 since early 2004. To kick off the program, Bedingfield performed a three-song acoustic set at Splashlight. Attendees were treated to hands-on sessions with spring and summer 360 titles, including "99 Nights," "Dead Rising" and, in its first even semi-public outing, "Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis." ...

With the reunion of the surviving members of Alice in Chains in full swing, Arts Publications will release a fresh reprint of the biography of late Chains frontman Layne Staley. The book, called "Layne Staley: Angry Chair," has been out of print for a number of years. The tome's author, Adriana Rubio, has been inundated with e-mails and phone calls from fans looking for a copy in recent weeks. The Arts Publications Web site is currently accepting pre-orders for the book. ... Aston "Family Man" Barrett, who was reggae legend Bob Marley's bass player, filed a lawsuit in London's High Court this week against Marley's family and record label. According to Reuters, the suit claims Barrett and his late brother, Marley drummer Carlton Barrett, were the "bedrock" of Marley's music. The bassist claims that he's owed royalties from Island Records, as well as earnings from songs he said he co-wrote with the late Marley, who died of cancer 25 years ago. Island has attempted to have the case dismissed, as Barrett had previously accepted a settlement. The trial is expected to last three weeks.

• Shakira
• Kid Rock
• Scott Stapp
• Tom Morello
• Raconteurs

Beastie Boys' Mike D performs at SXSW March 16
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

AUSTIN, Texas — If you're on a plane sitting next to a suited-and-booted A&R guy blabbing about the new band he's signed, a sort of "Spanish System of a Down, but with an edge," and British singer/songwriter Beth Orton is seated in an exit row in front of you, it's a pretty safe bet that you're on a flight bound for the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas.

Every March, SXSW turns the college town/state capital of Austin into the epicenter of the music world with a pulsating, weeklong party where bands come to get noticed, get famous, get drunk and get ... some other things too.

But it's not just musicians flooding the city — label bosses, industry yes-men, publicists, writers, party planners and fashion designers flock to Austin as well. And this year, they seemed to outnumber the bands — no small feat considering there were more than 1,400 acts booked throughout the city.

The headline of Friday's Austin American-Statesman asked "Is it too big?" and many who attended the 20th annual incarnation of the festival would probably say yes. SXSW has grown each year — particularly over the last five — and some of the things that had previously made it so appealing (a laid-back disposition, the ability to casually hop between several gigs a night) are no longer present as crowds and pressures have grown. Many of the biggest shows had long lines to get in, and attendees became a lot more selective about which gigs they wanted to see. Indeed, so many people didn't even bother trying to get in to the conference's most buzzed-about show — a set by the Arctic Monkeys — that up to 45 minutes before the band hit the stage, people were still breezing in with a minimal wait.

But make no mistake: SXSW is still the greatest rock combo platter on earth, it just takes a lot more work to get what you want out of it.

On Wednesday night, anyone lucky enough to wander over to the parking lot of local watering hole the Fox & Hound were treated to a surprise gig from the Flaming Lips, who ripped through a surreal, smoke-and-balloon-filled set highlighted by a thundering version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and a fuzzy take on "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song," the first single from their upcoming At War With the Mystics.

Other highlights included a bubbly set from Athens, Georgia's Of Montreal at Emo's (followed by a screeching onstage workout from Austin's own ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead), and Norway's Serena Maneesh, a wild-looking band whose feedback-laden fusion of My Bloody Valentine, Spiritualized and Sonic Youth was slightly overshadowed by their striking bassist: a 6-foot tall, rail-thin pale woman with bleached-blond hair and a ferocious stage presence.

SXSW afternoons are rife with parties (inevitably featuring multiple bands), and the Fader's was unquestionably the highlight, held in the backyard of a house on Sixth Street and featuring a mixture of rock and hip-hop artists playing 30-45 minute sets. The odd man out in both of those realms was Argentine/ Swedish singer José González, who performed gentle songs redolent of bossa nova, accompanied only by his classical guitar; the fans up front loved him but sadly the majority spent his set talking. Far removed from Gonzalez were the Eagles of Death Metal — with Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme on drums — who must have shouted out the ladies in the house 15 times during their 45-minute set of bone-basic riff rock.

A bit farther up Sixth, at the French Kiss Records showcase, much-buzzed Minneapolis noiseniks the Plastic Constellations played a raw and rollicking 45-minute set full of detuned, ringing guitars and shouted, youthful vocals (plus a guest appearance by the Hold Steady's Craig Finn.)

The Flaming Lips served up another surprise (acoustic) gig on Thursday, but the week's biggest secret show was the Beastie Boys early in the evening at Stubb's — although it was far from secret by Thursday afternoon, when a long line started to wrap around the block. The Beasties — in town to promote their new live film, "Awesome: I F---in' Shot That!" — served up a set peppered with classics like "Brass Monkey," "Paul Revere" and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D made inside jokes that they called "banter," which MCA explained to the industry crowd was an "industry term."

Morrissey also trotted out the hits during his not-so-secret show across town at the Austin Music Hall, where — even though he said he'd turned down an offer to reform the Smiths for a $5 million gig — songs from his former band punctuated his set, from "How Soon Is Now?" to "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me." But rather than live in yesterday, Morrissey made a point out of showcasing several new songs from his libido-loaded Ringleader of the Tormentors album, which includes such promising titles as "Life Is a Pigsty."

Thursday wrapped with a stunning set from the husband-and-wife duo Mates of State, whose soaring harmonies and startling dynamic range (their sound consists entirely of keyboards/drums/vocals) are in their best form yet on their brand-new LP, Bring It Back. A quick dash up the street to the Blender bar yielded a raucous set from the very loud and very British Rakes.

Friday got under way with a hushed, mumbled performance from Baltimore teenagers Metal Hearts but quickly shifted into high gear thanks to a fiery (and free) afternoon set from My Chemical Romance, who took the stage to a cacophony of camera flashes and screaming female fans. Frontman Gerard Way — looking a bit like a gothic Elvis Presley — flailed and strutted through it all, acknowledging MCR's apparent rust (they hadn't played live in almost three months) and talking up the band's upcoming new album.

The night ended with the aforementioned Arctic Monkeys, who took the stage at La Zona Rosa riding a wave of SXSW buzz. Despite some snottiness at the beginning of the set due to the overabundance of photographers, they managed to live up to the hype, tearing through songs from their debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, with a professionalism and poise that belied their young years.

Saturday started off early with a rousing set from L.A.'s the Color, who dress like the Black Crowes circa 1990 (all scarves, pointy boots and black jeans) and hew a similarly simple but effective rootsy riff rock. Most impressively, they were playing a small bar at 12:30 on a very rainy afternoon to about 20 people, yet they preened and strutted as if they were headlining Madison Square Garden.

A stop at another Fader party featured this month's cover artists, Sweden's Love Is All (who play a kind of angular indie pop heavy on saxophone, percussion and enthusiastically shouted vocals). After an approximately 90-minute wait, Ghostface Killah finished off the party with an hour-long set loaded with material from his forthcoming LP, Fishscale, as well as a couple of Wu-Tang chestnuts and a touching moment of silence for ODB (during which Ghostface had the lights dimmed and asked the crowd to hold their cell phones aloft), followed by a quick version of Dirty's "Shimmy Shimmy Ya."

The festivities closed with a completely unhinged party held by Vice magazine at a warehouse-sized art gallery outside of downtown that had a giant blue genie on its roof. At the show — which stretched well into Sunday morning — Toronto's Stills played their second set of the evening (the first of which had ended less than two hours earlier) loaded with songs from their mature and impressively far-reaching forthcoming LP, Without Feathers. They were followed by Wolfmother, who played a blistering, abbreviated set that left ears ringing, amps feeding back and the bandmembers staggering off the stage. The show came to a close with a hefty performance by Tres Hombres, a portly ZZ Top tribute band that provided some Texas-sized entertainment for those who hadn't already had enough.

• Highlights From South By Southwest 2006

• Beastie Boys
• Morrissey
• The Flaming Lips
• My Chemical Romance
• Arctic Monkeys

Beck's <I>Guero</i>
Photo: Geffen

Will Smith has a reputation for turning his singles into dance-class lesson plans, and with "Switch," the debut single off his new Lost and Found, Smith again commands faithful fans to pay close attention — there will be a test on the dance floor.

After teaching listeners how to "bounce with me" in 1997's "Men in Black," and illustrating how to "Nod Ya Head" in 2002, the rapper/actor unveils his newest move in "Switch": "Switch, turn it over and hit it/ Turn around, now switch." Lost and Found is the rapper-turned-actor-turned-rapper's first album since 2002's Born to Reign.

Meanwhile, the members of Beanie Sigel's State Property camp might be going their separate ways and he may be behind bars, but none of that can stop the Philadelphia MC, who returns to stores this week. Beanie's The B. Coming features work that the rapper did before he was jailed in November of last year on weapons charges.

Beck has shown that he's a quick learner: The singer picked up swiftly on "The O.C." 's unprecedented power to make albums fly off shelves, unveiling five cuts off his new album, Guero, on a recent episode of the show. The album is Beck's first since 2002's super mellow Sea Change and hits stores on the heels of the single "E-Pro."

Embattled rapper the Game unveils West Coast Resurrection, an album of cuts spanning from his early days up to the release of The Documentary.

From the soul-infused hip-hop group that brought you the sultry single "Peaches & Cream" in 2002 comes Pleasure and Pain. 112's fifth album features production by Mario Winans, Trackboyz and others, as well as the first single "U Already Know."

Highly buzzed-about, heavily eye-lined New York rockers the Bravery release their new-wave-inspired self-titled debut this week. Meanwhile, Morrissey fans still sulking over the fact that they missed the singer's recent tour will be happy to hear that a live album hits stores this week. Live at Earl's Court features songs like "How Soon Is Now?," "Shoplifters of the World Unite" and "Friday Mourning."

South Wales-bred Stereophonics release their punk- and funk-infused album Language. Sex. Violence. Other? Also out this week are albums by 4th Avenue Jones (Stereo: The Evolution of Hiprocksoul), Aslyn (Lemon Love), Thrice (If Only We Could See Us Now) and Theory of a Deadman (Gasoline).

Out Tuesday, March 29:

• 112 - Pleasure and Pain (Island Def Jam)
  Read: "112 Too Comfortable, Too Fat? Not Anymore"
  Buy Now: Pleasure and Pain (Island Def Jam)
• 4th Avenue Jones - Stereo: The Evolution of Hiprocksoul (Lookalive!/Gotee/EMI)
• Acoustic Alchemy - American/English (Higher Octave)
• Aslyn - Lemon Love (Capitol)
• BeatleJazz - With a Little Help from Our Friends (Lightyear)
• Beck - Guero (Geffen)
  Read: "Finished Version Of That Beck LP You Downloaded Due In March"
  Buy Now: Guero (Geffen)
• Bloodsimple - A Cruel World (Reprise)
  Buy Now: A Cruel World (Reprise)
• Blueprint - 1988 (Rhymesayers)
• Bravery - The Bravery (Island Def Jam)
  Read: "The Bravery Fight Nerves As They Prepare To Drop Debut LP"
  Buy Now: The Bravery (Island Def Jam)
• Bushwick Bill - Gutta Mixx (Adex Records/Lightyear Entertainment)
• Billy Dean - Let Them Be Little (Curb)
• Dissociatives - The Dissociatives (Astralwerks)
• DJ Die - Cross Collaborations (Studio Distribution)
• George Duke - Duke (Big Piano Music)
• Edan - Beauty and the Beat (Lewis Recordings)
• The Game - West Coast Resurrection (Get Low)
• Peter Himmelman - Imperfect World (Majestic Recordings)
• Tish Hinojosa - A Heart Wide Open (Valley Entertainment)
• Engelbert Humperdinck - Let There Be Love (Hip-O Records
• Jorane - The You and the Now (Six Degrees)
• James Labrie - Elements of Persuasion (Inside Out U.S.)
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver - You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper (Rounder)
• Mae - Everglow (Tooth & Nail)
• Morrissey - Live at Earl's Court (Sanctuary)
  Buy Now: Live at Earl's Court (Sanctuary)
• Trish Murphy - Girls Get in Free (Valley Entertainment)
• N2U - Issues (Virgin)
• Negator - Old Black (Cleopatra)
• Ocean Colour Scene - A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad (Sanctuary)
• Okay - Low Road (Absolutely Kosher)
• Okay - High Road (Absolutely Kosher)
• Kat Parsons - No Will Power (Cleopatra)
• Glen Phillips - Winter Pays for Summer (Lost Highway)
• Spike Priggen - Stars After Stars After Stars (Volare)
• Beanie Sigel - The B-Coming (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)
• Slunt - Get a Load of This (Repossession)
• Will Smith - Lost and Found (Interscope)
  Read: "Will Smith Has 'Sumthin' For Eminem' On New LP, Due In March"
  Buy Now: Lost & Found (Interscope)
• Stereophonics - Language. Sex. Violence. Other? (V2)
  Buy Now: Language. Sex. Violence. Other? (V2)
• Theory of a Dead Man - Gasoline (Roadrunner)
  Read: "Thrice Look Back Before Moving Ahead With Some Weird Songs That Might Suck"
• Thrice - If We Could Only See Us Now (Island Def Jam)
• Wilkinsons - Highway (33rd Street/CBUJ)
• Various artists - Buddha Bar VII (George V)
• Various artists - "Kung Fu Hustle" score (Varese Sarabande)
• Various artists - "Sin City" score (Varese Sarabande)
• Various artists - Soul Sauce (Revive the Soul)
• Various artists - Urban Upgrade (Varese Sarabande)
• DVD: AC/DC - "Family Jewels" (Sony)

April 5:

• Faith Evans - First Lady (Capitol)
• Hot Hot Heat - Elevator (Sire)
  Read: "Hot Hot Heat's Ups And Downs Inspire Elevator"
  Buy Now: Elevator (Sire)
  
• Various artists - Music from the O.C. Mix 4 (Warner Bros.)

April 12:

• Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi (Island)
• Garbage - Bleed Like Me (Interscope)
  Read: "Garbage Breakup Ends With New LP — If They Did Actually Break Up"
• Mudvayne - Lost and Found (Sony)
  Read: "Mudvayne Lose The Makeup, Find Inspiration In Isolation"

  April 19:

  • Mike Jones - Who Is Mike Jones? (Atlantic)
  • Flaming Lips - Latenight Tales (Another Late Night)
  • Rob Thomas - Something to Be (Atlantic)
  Related Artists
  • Will Smith
  • Game
  • Beck
  • 112
  • Morrissey
  ]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1499159/20050328/smith_will.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1499159/20050328/smith_will.jhtml 28 Mar 2005 08:52:00 EST Britney squashes potential beef with Paris, jury selection continues in Lil' Kim trial, Gerald Levert arrested.
  By MTV News staff report

  
  Britney Spears and Kevin Federline (file)
  Photo: Getty Images

  Apparently Britney Spears doesn't want any beef with Paris Hilton — or her lapdog, Tinkerbell, either. In the wake of her boast, "I think my dogs are so much cuter than Tinkerbell," Spears has now released a statement on her Web site saying, "I was just being silly and of course I think that Tinkerbell is very cute." The pop diva even hopes to set up a play date for their miniscule canines. ...

  Jury selection continued on Monday (February 28) in the perjury, obstruction and false-statements trial of rapper Lil' Kim. On Friday, several potential jurors who had voiced critical opinions about the musician's lifestyle (one responded in a juror survey that "crime seem[ed] to be part of the hip-hop culture") were ousted from consideration by U.S. District Judge Gerald Lynch, according to New York Newsday. Lil' Kim is accused of lying to a grand jury about a February 21, 2001, shooting she allegedly witnessed outside New York radio station Hot 97, which involved her two bodyguards. ... R&B singer/producer Gerald Levert was arrested Friday in Cleveland after confronting police at a downtown intersection, according to The Associated Press. Levert was cited on charges of driving under the influence and impeding the flow of traffic, then arrested on charges of obstructing official business, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer after he stopped his vehicle near where another motorist had been pulled over by police. Levert and the driver of another vehicle approached the officer and demanded to know why the other vehicle had been pulled over. They were told to leave but refused, and Levert became agitated and allegedly shoved an officer, who used pepper spray to subdue him. ...

  Sum 41 might be taking the mature route on their new album, Chuck, and the video for their new single, "Pieces," may feature lead singer Deryck Whibley wandering the streets of Los Angeles all by his lonesome, but that doesn't mean they're above a good old dirty play on words: hence, the Go Chuck Yourself Tour. The first few dates of the North American trek have been announced, and the first two — April 7 and 8 in Toronto — are actually makeup shows from the gigs Sum canceled when Whibley fell ill with blistered vocal cords. The first U.S. date is April 12 in Buffalo, New York, with other shows scheduled for Philadelphia; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; and Kansas City, Missouri. Unwritten Law and Hawthorne Heights will open. ... Handsome Boy Modeling School are taking their curriculum on the road beginning March 28. The hip-hop duo will kick things off in Los Angeles and will tour from April 1-8 with Buck 65, and from April 9-20 with k-os, with the trek ending in New York. ...

  Missed Morrissey on his tour? Don't get depressed — Morrissey feels your pain, so he's releasing a live CD and DVD from the tour behind his recent release, You Are the Quarry. The DVD, "Who Put the 'M' in Manchester," was filmed on May 22, 2004, at the singer's homecoming/birthday show in Manchester, England; while the CD, Live at Earls Court, was recorded at the end of the tour. Both will hit stores on March 29. ... Tiffany, the flame-haired 1980s teen pop sensation, is back ... again. This time, she's teamed up with new electronic dance act Second Sun for a duet, "He Said She Said," on their album Inside Out. The LP is set to drop on April 19. ...

  Black Sabbath tributes by metal bands are a dime a dozen, so the newest disc of musical homages, Everything Comes & Goes: A Tribute to Black Sabbath, is definitely a change of pace. Due April 5, the nine-track disc will feature reinventions of Sabbath songs by a collection of unusual suspects including electronic laptop artist Four Tet, Japanese noise group Ruins and beatmaking Björk collaborators Matmos. ... Meanwhile, Kieran Hebden will release his fourth Four Tet album, Everything Ecstatic, on May 31. ... Los Angeles alt-rock club Spaceland — at the heart of the Silver Lake scene — is about to turn 10 years old, and to celebrate, a missing-in-action Silver Lake band is reuniting, and possibly for more than one night only. Lutefisk, who last played five years ago for Pop Defect's farewell gig, "return with fresh skills, new guitars, and a love of loudness that has never wavered," guitarist Beale Dabbs said. The show, on March 5, also includes local bands Sissybar, Velouria, Buck, Longstocking and a few "surprises." Just remember who else is from Silver Lake — and you might have an idea of who could swing by. ...

  The Eagles are preparing to release their entire original vinyl Asylum Records catalog in one box set. Eagles Box, a limited-edition, nine-disc set, will include their seven chart-topping albums released between 1972 and 1980, featuring such singles as "Hotel California," "Life in the Fast Lane" and "Desperado." The set, which will hit stores on March 15, will also feature the debut of the band's "Please Come Home for Christmas/ Funky New Year" single on CD. ... Dan Snaith may have lost his moniker Manitoba in a lawsuit from Handsome Dick Manitoba, but it won't stop him from making music. His debut under the name Caribou, The Milk of Human Kindness, will hit shelves April 19. ...

  2.25.2005

  Good Charlotte and Simple Plan not only shared the stage earlier this month at MTV Asia Aid, but they're planning on repeating the experience this spring, when they head out on the road together. An itinerary has not been released yet for what Simple Plan singer Pierre Bouvier calls "the biggest tour ever," but it is scheduled to start May 3 in Kansas City, Missouri, and run through early June. ...

  Apparently Jessica Simpson's caught the duet bug. On the heels of the news that she will soon record with country legend Willie Nelson, now word comes that Simpson will record a track with Irish popsters Westlife. The group's management confirmed the duet to MTV U.K. at Thursday night's Meteor Awards in Dublin, Ireland. ... Jamie Foxx recently said his upcoming album is all singles, but on Tuesday, the "Ray" actor said a track called "One Night Extravaganza" will likely be the first. "My man Mike City produced it," he said. ...

  Lindsay Lohan's dad thinks all his legal troubles — from his messy divorce to getting arrested — only helps his daughter. In an interview conducted before his latest DWI arrest (for which he's being held without bail), Michael Lohan told ABC's "Primetime Live" that with his private difficulties becoming a public spectacle, his daughter's profile gets higher and she gets more offers than ever. "Don't they say any publicity is good publicity?" he asked. "I'm not doing anything to hurt my daughter." Lohan also said he's asking for half of the profits Lindsay's mom, Dina, gets for managing their daughter's career: "If you turn the tables and I was the one who was the manager for Lindsay, on paper, would she be entitled to half of what I get? I'm the one that supported them all their life. I'm the one that gave them diamond rings and fur coats and their cars... and every other thing they had. I paid for everything." If those terms aren't met in the divorce, he has another proposal for Lindsay's mom to pay him back — to star together in a television reality series, "a sort of Lohan version of the Osbournes." ...

  Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé Knowles and David Beckham — co-stars in the latest international Pepsi commercial, called "Samurai" — attended the clip's premiere in Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday. The ad is set in Hong Kong, where Lopez and Knowles ride motorcycles to a Pepsi bar where they get in a martial-arts fight while on a mission. Beckham accidentally sits on Lopez's purse at the end, when he tries to pick them up. ... JC Chasez is halfway through recording his second solo album and, like the first, the style varies from song to song. "I can't help that I'm eclectic, man," JC said. "It's different and that's what I like." Chasez is working with Dallas Austin this week. ...

  Edward Patten, a member of Motown recording greats Gladys Knight & the Pips, died Friday morning (February 25) at a suburban Detroit hospital, due to complications of a stroke he suffered a few days earlier, according to The Associated Press. He was 65. Patten joined the Pips in 1959, and lent his tenor voice to some of their biggest hits, including "I Heard It Through the Grape Vine" and "Midnight Train to Georgia." ... Scottish pop singer Edwyn Collins, 45, best known for his 1995 hit "A Girl Like You," remains in serious condition in a London hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage on Sunday, according to BBC News. ...

  U2's "Vertigo," Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For?" and Lindsay Lohan's "Rumors" are among the tracks included on Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 18, due March 15. ... Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash's famous black top hat was stolen from his limo when he was at the Grammys earlier this month, according to his rep. "He's pretty upset about it," Arlett Vereecke said. "He's had this hat for 12 years." Slash is offering a no-questions-asked return policy for the hat, and while he hasn't yet decided upon a reward, Vereecke said she's sure "we'll do something." Meanwhile, the new Slash limited-edition figurine still has his hat, an exact replica of the stolen one. It's now available for pre-order at Guitarhero.net. ...

  Ben Lee celebrated the release of his latest offering, Awake Is the New Sleep, with a show at Tonic on New York's Lower East Side. Among the faithful who turned out on a cold and blustery Thursday night was longtime live-in ex-girlfriend, Claire Danes. When he performed the album's rawkiest track, "Close I've Come," Ben notably softened what is perhaps the album's most blistering lyric — "You broke my f---in' heart, but I still ... want you" — opting instead for the less aggressive "They can break our f---in' hearts, but they can't ... stop us!" ...

  Related Artists
  • Britney Spears
  • Sum 41
  • Lil' Kim
  • Gerald LeVert
  • Morrissey
  ]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1497582/20050228/spears_britney.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1497582/20050228/spears_britney.jhtml 28 Feb 2005 06:12:00 EST Morrissey - I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris

  I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris

  • Artist: Morrissey
  • Label: Lost Highway Records, Attack
  • Director: Travis Shinn
  • Album: Years of Refusal
  ]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=337738 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=337738 2 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST Morrissey - Alma Matters

  Alma Matters

  • Artist: Morrissey
  • Label: Mercury Records
  • Director: Matthew Rolston
  • Album: Maladjusted
  ]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=181202 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=181202 12 Oct 2007 12:00:00 EDT Morrissey - The Youngest Was the Most Loved

  The Youngest Was the Most Loved

  • Artist: Morrissey
  • Label: Sanctuary
  • Director: AV Club
  • Album: Ringleader of the Tormentors [Bonus DVD]
  ]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=90607 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=90607 5 Jun 2006 12:00:00 EDT Morrissey - You Have Killed Me

  You Have Killed Me

  • Artist: Morrissey
  • Label: Attack Records/Sanctuary Records
  • Director: AV Club
  • Album: Ringleader of the Tormentors
  ]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=76856 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=76856 2 Mar 2006 12:00:00 EST Morrissey - Everyday Is Like Sunday

  Everyday Is Like Sunday

  • Artist: Morrissey
  • Label: Sire Records
  • Album: Viva Hate
  ]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=58730 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=58730 23 Aug 2005 12:00:00 EDT Morrissey - My Love Life

  My Love Life

  • Artist: Morrissey
  • Label: Sire/Reprise
  • Album: At KROQ
  ]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=47113 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=47113 2 May 2005 12:00:00 EDT Morrissey - How Soon Is Now

  How Soon Is Now

  • Artist: Morrissey
  • Label: Sanctuary Records, Attack Records
  • Director: Rod Wardell
  • Album: Live at Earls Court
  ]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=312476 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=312476 29 Mar 2005 12:00:00 EST Morrissey - The Last of the Famous International Playboys

  The Last of the Famous International Playboys

  • Artist: Morrissey
  • Label: Sire Records
  • Album: Bona Drag
  ]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=33501 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=33501 15 Jul 2004 12:00:00 EDT Morrissey - November Spawned a Monster

  November Spawned a Monster

  • Artist: Morrissey
  • Label: Sire Records
  • Album: Bona Drag
  ]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=33497 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=33497 15 Jul 2004 12:00:00 EDT Morrissey - Interesting Drug

  Interesting Drug

  • Artist: Morrissey
  • Label: Sire Records
  • Album: Bona Drag
  ]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=33495 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1107&vid=33495 15 Jul 2004 12:00:00 EDT

  Morrissey: A Career Retrospective

  Related Artists
  • Morrissey
  ]]> Photos http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1624676 http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1624676 26 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EDT

  Artists Who've Never Been #1: Ozzy, Kiss, The Cure, More

  Related Artists
  • David Bowie
  • Lemmy Kilmister
  • The Smiths
  • Morrissey
  • The Who
  ]]> Photos http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1555997 http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1555997 30 Mar 2007 12:00:00 EDT

  Highlights From South By Southwest 2006

  Related Artists
  • Beastie Boys
  • Morrissey
  • The Flaming Lips
  ]]> Photos http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1526592 http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1526592 20 Mar 2006 12:00:00 EST