50 Cent's new album, St. Valentine's Day Massacre, originally slated for release the day after the dateless masses' least favorite holiday, is now set to drop on March 8. ...

Disturbed have joined the ranks of bands showing their respect for the late Dimebag Darrell by putting on a benefit concert for the Dimebag Darrell Memorial Fund on February 23 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. Guest performers, ticket prices and on-sale dates will be announced soon. ... Soon after George W. Bush is sworn in for a second term, 3 Doors Down will be kicking out the jams a few blocks away. The band has been tapped by the Recording Industry Association of America to perform at its late-night inaugural bash on January 20 in Washington, D.C. ...

Korn's penchant for loud rock shows could force Tampa, Florida's Ford Amphitheatre to halt all future performances. The band reached record-breaking noise levels at its December 7 show, and received more complaints about the volume of its performance than any other prior concert at the venue. The high volume led the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County (EPC) and the county commission to file a suit against Clear Channel Entertainment (which owns the venue) and the Florida State Fair Authority, seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief for more than 160 noise violations they received stemming from concerts at the venue -- 50 of which were logged during the Korn concert. The next course of action will have to be decided by a circuit judge, which likely will not happen until January, according to the general counsel for the EPC. ... It wouldn't be surprising if Ozzy Osbourne was becoming a little paranoid about all the robberies going on around him. Fortunately, some items taken in a recent burglary of the home of his former manager Patrick Meehan were recovered Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. Eight gold and silver Black Sabbath discs were found in a plastic bag dumped behind some recycling bins in London, a week after they were pilfered from Meehan's home in Kent, England. ...

It was inevitable that the NFL would use Fountains of Wayne's "All Kinds of Time" in a promo spot, only why did it take them so long to realize the perfect match? After it premiered on last week's broadcast of "Monday Night Football," the song, whose title is one of football's most oft-spoken clichés, will be used throughout the remainder of the season. Like the 30-second spots made for TV, a longer 60-second spot displaying a montage of great quarterbacks will be shown in stadiums. ... Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Fountains of Wayne's label, S-Curve, confirms that there are plans in the works to release an album's worth of B-sides sometime in 2005. The album will pull stray tracks from almost all of the band's releases, dating back to its first single in 1996. There's also talk of a few new tracks making an appearance on the as-yet-untitled LP. ...

My Chemical Romance are asking their loyal fans to join them for a day of mourning. For its video for "Helena," the band is seeking fans in the Los Angeles area to be part of a funeral scene. The shoot will take place January 7-8. Interested fans over the age of 18 should send their photo and contact information to mcrvideo@hotmail.com; they will be contacted if chosen and paid minimum wage for their time. ... Two months after an Ohio musician filed a petition in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office against Staind, claiming the band obtained the use of its name illegally, the group has retaliated by filing a complaint against Jon Stainbrook. The band claims Stainbrook, who performed under the name "The Stain," deliberately let the trademark registration lapse so the name would revert back to him. ...

12.21.2004

Now that the Pixies have wrapped their 2004 reunion tour, the alt-rock veterans are preparing to chronicle the eight-month-long trek around North America in an as-yet-untitled DVD. A live-concert disc, culled from seven shows that were filmed, is also being prepared for a 2005 release. ...

A two-page handwritten letter from Kurt Cobain to Courtney Love was sold to the highest bidder in a rock and roll memorabilia auction on Friday at the auction house Christie's. The letter, which details the late Nirvana frontman's life on tour, says in part: "I really do care but I'm not very convincing. He's sad. I'm sad. My throat is a swollen tumor, blood sausage -- colon. I puke air after coughing. It was morning by the time I fell asleep after talking to you. 200 lbs. I thought of a great idea for our video. Oh, forget it." Christie's estimates that the letter, which sold for $19,120, was written on November 28, 1991, the night after Nirvana performed on the BBC series "Top of the Pops," since the show is mentioned in the letter. ... A few months after the first soundtrack to "Ray" dropped, a second LP is on the way. Ray: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Vol. 2, due February 1, features many tracks the late Ray Charles re-recorded for the movie. ...

Snoop Dogg just finished shooting the independent film "The Tenants," in which he plays Willie Spearmint, a black militant writer. ... JoJo is helping her fans listen to her music on the go with a new contest posted on her Web site. The JoJo lot in the "Discover the Secret Strength of Today's Hottest Rising Music Stars" sweepstakes, which previously featured items by such artists as Hilary Duff, includes an iPod, printer, iPod tattoos and JoJo paraphernalia including an autographed CD, autographed photo and a T-shirt. ...

After touring the States with Good Charlotte, Sum 41 are returning to their native Canada for a month's worth of shows. The Go Chuck Yourself Tour, supporting their latest album, Chuck, kicks off January 14 in Montreal and runs through February 13 in Saint John, New Brunswick. Two weeks later, the band heads to Japan. ... Glitch-hop producer Prefuse 73, a.k.a. Scott Herren, will release his fourth disc, Surrounded by Silence, on March 22. Guests include the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, GZA and Ghostface, as well as El-P, Blonde Redhead, Masta Killa, Beans and the Books. ...

Though they haven't yet revealed the dates for their upcoming tour, a reunited Queen -- featuring Paul Rodgers on vocals -- have announced one special performance, spearheading the 46664 South Africa concert on March 19. Former South African president Nelson Mandela announced on Monday that Queen would return to perform at the concert for the second year in a row. "This is a great occasion for Queen to fulfill our continuing commitment to Nelson Mandela's AIDS cause," said guitarist Brian May. The full lineup for the event will be announced early next year. ... For more than 20 years, mope-masters Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have been on a mission to spread their anti-mirth worldwide, and now the odds and ends of that quest have been collected in one place. Mute Records is getting ready to release B-Sides & Rarities, a three-disc set that features never-before-heard material. The set hits shelves on March 22. ...