Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Photo: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images

The African nation of Namibia offered Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt the privacy they sought for the birth of their child, and now the couple are giving back. Jolie and Pitt, who welcomed their daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt in Namibia on Saturday, donated $300,000 toward the medical treatment of new babies in the country's hospitals and gave $15,000 for a school and community center in the town of Swakopmund, The Associated Press reports. "We want to contribute to Namibia and the people who have been so gracious to us at this time," the couple said in a statement. ...

Cingular Wireless announced Friday that more than 64.5 million text-message votes were cast throughout the fifth season of "American Idol." That smashes last season's record of 41.5 million. ... The Raconteurs are playing in-stores at Amoeba Music in Hollywood and San Francisco on the same day: June 8. The L.A. show is scheduled for 11 a.m., followed by the San Fran set at 9:30 p.m. ... Still aren't convinced Beck's about to issue his third LP in two years? A post that appeared on Beck.com late last week further confirmed the hard-to-believe accomplishment: "Beck has just completed his new album, which he's been in the studio working on with Nigel Godrich," the post read, referencing the producer who worked on 2005's Guero and 2002's Sea Change. "The album is due out this fall." ...

It turns out Korn haven't decided to axe guitarist Rob Patterson after all. Patterson, who had previously played with Otep, was recruited last year to fill in for Brian "Head" Welch as Korn's touring guitarist. But last week, during the European leg of the band's See You on the Other Side tour, fans noticed Patterson — who plays offstage during Korn shows — had been replaced by Fear Factory guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers. According to the band's management, that lineup was only temporary. "Korn played three shows with their longtime friend Christian to start the tour in Europe, but Patterson is now back at that position." ...

Snow Patrol were forced to postpone a pair of shows — Monday night in Atlanta and Wednesday in Washington, D.C. — in order to give frontman Gary Lightbody's voice a rest. Lightbody made the announcement on the band's site, SnowPatrol.com, writing, "My voice is in pieces. ... When we began the Eyes Open tour in February, I was told by my doctor a few days beforehand that I had laryngitis and it would be best if I took a week off to recover. I told him I didn't have a week, as we had shows pretty much every day." He added that he's seeing a specialist in New York and that the band will make up the postponed shows in mid-August. It's not known if Lightbody's ailment will also force Snow Patrol to bump their upcoming gigs in New York and Philadelphia. ...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have a cheat planned for their "Cheated Hearts" video: make someone else do the work. The band is looking for a few good fans to take their best shot at Karen O for the next clip from Show Your Bones. According to the announcement posted on the band's site, Yeah Yeah Yeahs are seeking video submissions from people who "dress the part" and "get lost in the song" against a white wall with the track blaring in the background. Entries must be submitted on DV, postmarked by June 12 and include a signed release form. Head to YeahYeahYeahs.com/cheatedhearts for additional tips and a copy of the release. ...

James Blunt, who won the most performed song of the year prize at Thursday's Ivor Novello Awards, called it the "Most Overplayed Song" award while accepting the trophy, and now one radio station is doing its part to keep the former British army officer off the airwaves. Essex FM, an adult-contemporary station serving the eastern English county, has banned Blunt's music, citing listener demand. "We don't have anything against James Blunt," program director Chris Cotton said in a statement on the station's Web site. "We're pleased he's been so successful, but we really need a break. While his songs have been very popular, there is a tremendous amount of industry pressure to play certain artists very frequently. Often this can be out of step with the audience's tastes, which results in songs being overplayed." ...

Actor Paul Gleason, best known for his portrayals of Clarence Beeks in "Trading Places," Deputy Police Chief Dwayne Robinson in "Die Hard," and hard-as-nails Principal Richard Vernon ("Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns") in the teen-comedy classic "The Breakfast Club," died Saturday in a California hospital. He was 67. The AP reports that Gleason died of mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer linked to asbestos. Gleason appeared in more than 60 films and later in his career made several notable television appearances in TV shows including "Friends" and "Seinfeld." He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a granddaughter. ...

The Rollins Band will team up with Los Angeles punk legends X for the 18-date As the World Burns Tour, which kicks off July 28 in San Francisco and runs through an August 19 stop in Boston. ... Helmet's forthcoming album, Monochrome, has been slated for a July 18 release and will hit stores as the band travels the country on this summer's Warped Tour. The disc, the follow-up to 2004's Size Matters, will feature 10 new tracks including "Swallowing Everything," "410 and Goodbye" and "Money Shot." ... Sleepy Brown, Washington, D.C., duo Panacea and Waco, Texas' the Strange Fruit Project have joined previously announced headliner Big Daddy Kane and Chicago's Lupe Fiasco and Rhymefest on the lineup of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, set for June 24 in New York's Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, located between the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. For more information and to register for tickets to the free show, head to the fest's site, BrooklynBodega.com. ...

Gary Glitter is due in a Vietnam court June 15 to appeal his child-molestation conviction, Reuters reports. Glitter's lawyer said the one-day hearing to appeal the singer's three-year sentence will take place at Supreme Court in Ho Chi Minh City. Glitter has been incarcerated in the resort town of Vung Tau since March. ... Gorky's Zygotic Mynci are no more. In a Friday post on their Web site — titled "Gorky's Zygotic Mynci RIP (Rock in Peace)" — the Welsh band, which formed in 1990, announced that it's splitting up. "Richard, Megan, Euros and Pete would like to thank everyone who came to the gigs and bought the records over the years," the statement read. ...

05.26.2006

"American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee is already fielding sponsorship offers. KFC has offered the singer $10,000 and a year's supply of Famous Bowls to write and star in an advertisement, while Eat'n Park has offered her $100,000 and a lifetime supply of Smiley Cookies to record a new jingle for the restaurant chain. ...

Paris Hilton is getting frisky again. The hotel heiress shot a video for her forthcoming debut album on a beach in Malibu, California, on Wednesday and Thursday, during which the top of her purple-and-green one-piece swimsuit accidentally came off in front of the paparazzi. Chris Applebaum (Britney Spears, Hilary Duff) directed the clip for the reggae-oriented "Stars Are Blind," which features the heiress frolicking in the sand. Hilton can be "nice and naughty," she sings, imploring the listener all the more with, "Let's see what this love could do/ Baby, I'm perfect for you." Hilton's album is due this fall, according to her label spokesperson. ...

On Wednesday a California federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2003 against Jennifer Lopez and LL Cool J. The court decided singer Debra Laws did not have a case against the artists or Sony Music for allegedly misappropriating her 1981 song "Very Special" in their 2002 collaboration, "All I Have." Since Sony obtained a license to use a 10-second segment of Laws' song, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Laws should instead sue her label and publisher for breach of contract for entering a license agreement without her authorization. ... Tupac Shakur's incarcerated father, Dr. Mutulu Shakur, is releasing A 2Pac Tribute: Dare 2 Struggle on June 16 to commemorate what would have been the 35th birthday of his late son. The album will feature incarcerated rappers alongside signed artists such as the Outlawz. Mutulu Shakur has been imprisoned for 19 years for activities in support of the Black Liberation Movement. ...

A July 17 court date has been set for Foxy Brown's trial on charges that she assaulted two New York nail-salon employees in an August 2004 dispute over payment for a manicure. Brown was charged with misdemeanor assault following the fight, during which she's alleged to have kicked one worker and slapped another in the face. The Associated Press reports that Brown appeared Friday (May 26) before a Manhattan criminal court judge who extended orders of protection for the nail-salon workers. Brown went before a different judge in December during a hearing in which the rapper was expected to enter a guilty plea to the charge. Those proceedings came to a halt when Judge Melissa Jackson accused the rapper of making faces at her and disrespecting the court. ...

Michael Jackson is scheduled to accept the Legend Award at the MTV Music Awards Japan in Tokyo on Saturday, his first public appearance since being acquitted of child-molestation charges last June. Jackson's spokesperson told the AP that the awards show will kick off a tour of Asia for Jackson, who plans to visit Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong. ... Gorillaz, Kaiser Chiefs, KT Tunstall and James Blunt were the big winners at the Ivor Novello Awards, songwriting honors presented by the British Academy of Composers & Songwriters in London on Thursday. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett took Songwriter of the Year honors for their Gorillaz work, while Kaiser Chiefs' Employment scored the best-album prize. Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" beat out Coldplay and the Arctic Monkeys for Best Song Musically and Lyrically, James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" was named the International Hit of the Year and the Most Performed Work, and New Order were honored with the Outstanding Song Collection award. ...

Radiohead's Thom Yorke hit the band's site Thursday to post an answer to a burning fan question: What is that song that plays over the speakers at the end of the band's shows? "It's a track that Richard Russell sent me from XL. ... Turbulence 'Notorious,' " Yorke's post on Radiohead's Dead Air Space blog read. "The record is coming out in the summer I think on XL [Recordings, which is putting out Yorke's The Eraser LP]." ... Backstreet Boys' Brian Littrell is kicking off his very first solo tour in New York on June 11. Littrell will visit cities including Milwaukee and Chicago on the eight-date Welcome Home tour, which wraps up June 20 with a performance at a Christian music festival in Canal Fulton, Ohio. ... Breaking Benjamin have set an August 8 release date for their new album, Phobia. The first single, "The Diary of Jane," will go to radio outlets in early June. ...

The Sex Pistols have been immortalized by Kubrick, a Japanese toy company that creates cube-based action figures resembling LEGO Minifigures. The collectibles are available as a limited-edition five-piece set featuring plastic likenesses of Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious, Steve Jones and Paul Cook. The toys will set you back $60 and were created to commemorate next year's 30th anniversary of Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols' release. ... Rob Zombie has recruited former Amen and Wednesday 13 bassist Matt "Piggy D." Montgomery to replace Rob "Blasko" Nicholson, who left Zombie's ranks earlier this month to join Ozzy Osbourne's touring band. Montgomery made his first public appearance with Zombie performing on Wednesday's "Late Show with David Letterman." ...

Ben Jelen, who has been working with Linda Perry on an album tentatively titled East, is heading east to road-test the new tunes with his Zodiac 7 band. The tour kicks off June 3 in Hollywood and stops in cities including Phoenix, New York and Philadelphia before closing up in Boston on June 25. Fans that miss Jelen on this jaunt can catch up with the musician on MusicPlusTV.com, which will stream an interview June 4 and a live performance June 5. ... A DVD devoted to New York hardcore legends H20 will hit stores July 18. Called "One Life, One Chance," the disc features the band's historic 10th anniversary gig at New York's Knitting Factory, as well as music videos, interviews, footage from the studio and the road and additional live performances filmed all over the world.

[This story was originally published at 12:20 pm E.T. on 05.30.2006]

• James Blunt
• Rollins Band
• Beck
• Korn
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Kevin Covais
Photo: Fox

He may have been a loser on "American Idol," but Kevin Covais is still a winner at home. The Long Island, New York, singer was presented with the key to his home county Thursday — now declared "Kevin Covais Day" — by Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, The Associated Press reports. "It's just great being back home," Covais said. On Friday (March 31) the 16-year-old is expected to return to Island Trees High School in Levittown, where he'll be welcomed back with a pep rally. ...

Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee have split after seven years of marriage. "Kimora and I will remain committed parents and caring friends with great love and admiration for each other," the hip-hop mogul said in a statement issued Friday, according to AP. "We will also continue to work side by side on a daily basis as partners in all of our businesses." ... If that sculpture of Britney Spears giving birth left you asking what artist Daniel Edwards was thinking, TriggerStreet.com might have your answer. The online film festival, created by Kevin Spacey, is currently hosting a short documentary called "The Several Severed Heads of Daniel Edwards." The Goodnight Films production features interviews with Edwards and a look at his previous controversial work, depicting late baseball legend Ted Williams as a cryogenically preserved severed head. ...

Big Daddy Kane has been tapped as the headliner of the second annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, set for June 24, and at least one person in the New York City borough is pretty psyched. "I am proud that the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival is entering its second year," Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said in a post on the festival's Web site. "By highlighting messages of empowerment and unity, the festival proves that we not only know our hip-hop roots, but that in Brooklyn those roots run deep. And with Big Daddy Kane in the house, we know Brooklyn won't be half-steppin'!" Fans can register for tickets to the event at BrooklynBodega.com. ... The Sweet Relief Musicians Fund is launching a new program in which cell-phone users can make $4.99 donations by texting the word "heal" to 50555. Donors will then have access to limited-edition ring tones by Pearl Jam (their memorable cover of Victoria Williams' "Crazy Mary"), OK Go, Tegan and Sara and others. ...

The Rollins Band are mapping their return, according to a post on frontman Henry Rollins' Web site. Rollins, guitarist Chris Haskett, drummer Sim Cain and bassist Melvin Gibbs "have been practicing on and off for months now, slowly getting it together," Hank wrote. "We are back together and are planning on getting some shows in by August. Nothing is booked yet. It's been really cool being back in the practice room with these guys after all these years." Rollins Band's last studio album with that lineup was 1997's Come in and Burn. ... After one month in Los Angeles, New York's French Kicks have returned home with a finished album under their arms. It's called Two Thousand and was produced in L.A. by Doug Boehm. The LP features 10 tracks (with titles including the Yoda-esque "So Far We Are" and "England Just Will Not Let You Recover") and will be in stores in July. The Kicks will preview some tunes from the new disc on a brief tour that kicks off April 11 in Baltimore. ...

Brooklyn trio Blood on the Wall have been picked to open for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs beginning April 3 in Washington, D.C., and ending April 29 in San Francisco. The band is supporting Awesomer, which was released late last year. ... Before joining Thursday on the road beginning April 25, Me Without You will enter the studio with Brad Wood (Smashing Pumpkins, Placebo) to start working on the follow-up to 2004's Catch for Us the Foxes, which Wood also produced. ...

The Accident Experiment, former P.O.D. guitarist Marcos Curiel's band, will kick off their tour May 6 in Longview, Texas, to promote their debut album, United We Fear, due May 9. Five.Bolt.Main and Element Eighty are opening on the trek, which wraps up June 10 in Manchester, New Hampshire. ... Frank Zappa will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the sixth annual Jammy Awards, set for April 20 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Blues Traveler, Stephen Marley, Guster, Mad Professor and Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins's side project Banyan are among the artists scheduled to perform at the event. Tickets are available at Jammys.com. ...

This summer will see the arrival of "Latin American Idol," Reuters reports. The "Idol" franchise currently comprises 33 versions, each for a specific country; "Latin American Idol" will be the first regional singing competition. Auditions will be held in Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina, where the show will be taped in Buenos Aires.

03.30.06

Three 6 Mafia have discovered another perk of winning an Oscar: it's brought them a lot closer to Paris Hilton. The Memphis, Tennessee, duo's Juicy J told hometown newspaper Commercial Appeal that he and partner DJ Paul were in the studio with Hilton on Tuesday working on a song for her upcoming debut album. "We let her listen to a dance track and she really liked it and plans to record it tonight," Houston told the paper Tuesday. ...

Bad Boy Records rapper Black Rob (born Robert Ross) was sentenced to up to seven years in jail for grand larceny Thursday (March 30) in New York. Rob was picked up on a fugitive warrant February 24 after skipping out on an agreement to turn himself in January 24 to begin serving a two-to-six-year sentence on the charges. A spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney's office said the rapper was given the maximum sentence on the charge due to his flight. He will begin serving immediately. ...

In conjunction with their five-night Demon Days Live stint at the Apollo Theater in New York April 2-6, the Gorillaz are ushering in "a mobile musical adventure." By simply using their Motorola phones at the shows, fans will be able to download exclusive Gorillaz wallpapers, animation and a demo of an unreleased mobile game starring the animated stars. 'Rillaz mastermind Damon Albarn and a host of friends will perform the band's platinum-plus Demon Days in its entirety at the gigs. ...

Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows wouldn't be happier if he had scored a date with Jenna Jameson. This summer the band will join its heroes from Guns N' Roses and Metallica during a string of 10 shows in Europe. The jaunt begins June 3 in Nürburgring, Germany, at the Rock Am Ring Festival and concludes in Paris June 20. Avenged will play right before Metallica at three of the shows and will be the main support for Guns for two others. ... Two weeks after joining the surviving members of Alice in Chains onstage at a tribute to Heart for VH1 Classic's "Decades Rock Live!," Phil Anselmo hooked up with Alice guitarist Jerry Cantrell, Avenged Sevenfold drummer the Rev and cover band Metal Skool to perform Pantera's "Walk" Monday night at Hollywood's Key Club. Cantrell also joined the band for Alice's "Man in the Box." ...

Working with fellow "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell may look like it's tough for Paula Abdul, but the singer/choreographer has signed a deal to continue with the popular show for the next three years, according to The Associated Press. Abdul, the "Idol" judge who always finds something nice to say about each of the performers, said in a statement that the contestants "truly inspire and amaze me each week. Of course, I also look forward to putting Simon in his place for years to come." ...

Ruben Studdard — who took home the "American Idol" title at the conclusion of the show's second season — is doing his part to help teenagers step off the streets and into the music industry. The AP reports that Studdard is creating an after-school program called the Music Alternative Project, which seeks to steer kids away from gangs by teaching them the ins and outs of the biz, from songwriting and production to mixing and marketing. An estimated 100 students from across Alabama will be enrolled each year in free after-school music courses. The project will also provide weekend instruction and activities during the summer months. Birmingham's Audiostate 55 Recording Studios will serve as the program's home base. Henry Panion, a music professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will act as director of the project, and Studdard has expressed interest in teaching some of the courses. ...

Johnny Cash's 1975 Cadillac Fleetwood will be auctioned off in Florida Friday as part of the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Collector Car Event. Jet-black with black leather interior (of course), the sedan has logged 50,000 miles and, except for a two-year-old paint job and rebuilt transmission, boasts all original parts. Full documentation, including the Tennessee title and tags that prove Cash's ownership, are included in the sale. ... World Wrestling Entertainment will use Danko Jones' "Baby Hates Me" as the opening music for WrestleMania 22. The big event is scheduled for Sunday in Chicago. ...

Sunny indie rockers the Concretes have one busy spring planned. They release their new album, In Colour, Tuesday. And as April albums apparently bring May tours, their three-week North American stint in support of the LP begins May 4 in Toronto and ends May 24 in San Diego. ... Ex-Unicorns members Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambeur, now known as the Islands, set out on their first headlining tour in April. Fresh off a run of live shows with Metric, the duo plan to hit venues across North America with their opening act Why?. The Islands' debut album, Return to the Sea, — which features contributions from Canadian scenesters from bands including Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade — hits U.S. stores Tuesday.

• Britney Spears
• Big Daddy Kane
• Rollins Band
• Three 6 Mafia

Electro chanteuse Björk will release a yet-untitled greatest hits collection on September 3. The disc will span her entire solo career since leaving the Sugarcubes in 1992. ... A pair of Rollins Band shows recorded at Chicago's Metro in March will surface on a double-live album titled The Only Way to Know for Sure, which hits shelves June 25. The 28-track LP also includes three videos and photos as bonus material. ...

Todd Baechle, singer for synth-pop band The Faint, was arrested for public nudity Monday night in Albuquerque, New Mexico after hopping onstage during No Doubt's set and yanking off a napkin loincloth to reveal the letters "ND" on his buttocks. Police confronted him in his hotel room after the show, dragged him back to the station and held him overnight. ... DJ Spooky's Optometry, the latest album in Thirsty Ear Recording's experimental jazz Blue Series, is due July 9. The turntablist will promote the album with a July and August tour. ... All that remains of All That Remains are vocalist Philip Labonte, guitarist Oli Hebert, bassist Dan Egan and drummer Mike Bartlett, since guitarist Chris Bartlett recently quit the experimental metal band to pursue bleaker and blacker pastures. Axe grinders interested in auditioning are asked to e-mail drectasslt@aol.com. ...

"24 Hour Party People," a movie about the formation of Britain's Factory Records, is due in Stateside theaters August 9. Several bands are portrayed in the film, including Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays. ... Journey, Tim McGraw and Ted Nugent will gather in Atlanta on July 20 and 21 to headline the first weekend of the Open Road Tour, a traveling music festival sponsored by Harley-Davidson in honor of their 100th anniversary. Bob Dylan, Billy Idol, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hootie & the Blowfish are among the headliners of the other festivals, for which tickets can be purchased at www.harley-davidson.com. ...

05.13.02

Philly hip-hop collective the Roots will be the first musicians to appear in a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) campaign to promote vegetarianism. Images of group members Leonard "Hub" Hubbard, Ben Kenney, Black Thought and Kamal Gray will be plastered across the country on a series of posters set to launch this summer. ... A house in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, belonging to Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton was destroyed by a fire Saturday night. The home, which was under construction at the time, was empty when the blaze occurred. ... Powerman 5000 frontman Spider One announced the addition of Norwegian bassist Sigve, who'll pair with new drummer Adrian to replace Dorian Heartsong and Alan Pahanish, the rhythm section that left the band in November. There's still no official release date for the group's third album, Anyone for Doomsday?, which is still being worked on.

• Björk
• Rollins Band
• No Doubt
• The Faint
• DJ Spooky