Paula Abdul, in the midst of the Corey Clark affair scandal this week, just may show up on "Saturday Night Live" this weekend, NBC has said. ... "American Idol" season-three finalist John Stevens will release his debut album, Red, on June 28 via Maverick Records. The first single is the crooner's rendition of the jazz standard "Come Fly With Me." ...

In the second day of presenting their case, Michael Jackson's attorneys in his child-molestation trial called relatives of Wade Robson and Brett Barnes, the men who testified Thursday that Jackson never molested them. All of the witnesses said they trusted Jackson and that his behavior was never inappropriate. Chantal Robson, Wade's sister, called the mother of the 1993 accuser a "gold digger" and said "she wanted to be mistress of Neverland." ...

Foxy Brown, who is facing misdemeanor charges for allegedly beating a nail salon employee, has decided against a plea deal that would've kept her from serving time, according to ABC news. If she'd taken it, Foxy would've had to admit to the assault, but the rapper refuses to admit to any crime. Judge Melissa Jackson scheduled Foxy's next court date for July 28. "I have confidence in the criminal justice system," Foxy said as she exited Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday. "I am confident that I will be exonerated." ...

A deal to stock the new Bruce Springsteen album at Starbucks has been abandoned, according to a spokesperson for the chain, in part over concerns about the graphic lyrics of the song "Reno," which depicts an encounter between a prostitute and a customer. Starbucks spotlights a handful of CDs near the counters of its 6,400 outlets and has been credited with helping to boost sales of recent albums by Tina Turner, Ray Charles and Norah Jones. The Starbucks spokesperson said there were a variety of factors for the chain not stocking Devils & Dust, the first album in Springsteen's career to carry a parental warning sticker. The explicit lyrics were among the reasons, but shelf space and timing were also cited. ... The road movie "Drive Well, Sleep Carefully: On the Road With Death Cab for Cutie," will get its world premiere at the 2005 Seattle International Film Festival on June 10. Shot during a 2004 U.S. tour, the 86-minute movie features 13 songs from throughout the band's career, along with 40 minutes of outtakes, alternate and unreleased versions of songs, an acoustic set and behind-the-scenes footage. It will be released on DVD on July 26. ...

Always one to throw his support behind a cause, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst is auctioning off autographed copies of his Digital Ash in a Digital Urn album, as well as a pair of tickets to several upcoming gigs, to benefit Amnesty International. Fans can bid on the goods through May 26 on eBay. Other artists taking part in AI's Music for Human Rights Online Auctions include the Cure, the Black Crowes and Audioslave. ... OK Go will release their second record, Oh No, on August 30. Tore Johansson, best known for his work with Franz Ferdinand, produced the album. OK Go and the Kaiser Chiefs are touring together this summer, beginning May 24 in Chicago. ...

MxPx have set a June 7 release date for their new album, Panic. The punk rockers are shooting a video on Saturday in Los Angeles for the first single, "Heard That Sound," with director Mike Kaminsky. ... Thirty-five-year-old women, take note: The pouting, puffy-shirt-and-epaulette-wearing pretty boys you worshipped in 1984 are coming Stateside this summer for another round of tour dates. Duran Duran will kick off their 14-date trek in support of their latest release, Astronaut, with a July 15 show in Nashville and wrap things up August 3 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, according to their Web site. ...

On July 19, EMI will release a two-disc Iggy Pop retrospective called A Million in Prizes, which will feature 37 tracks from the former Stooges frontman, including some of his most recent material. The compilation will feature classic tracks like "I Wanna Be Your Dog," "Candy," "Search and Destroy," "China Girl" and, of course, "Lust for Life." ... The Black Crowes performed the first of four sold-out shows on Thursday night in their hometown of Atlanta. The gig was the band's first since original drummer Steve Gorman returned to the fold. The Crowes will hit the road with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on June 7 for a tour that runs through August 30. ... Patrick Matthews, bassist for Australian rockers the Vines, is prepping an album by his other band, Youth Group. The Group will release their debut album, Skeleton Jar, on July 11 through Epitaph Records. The band is filming a video for its first single, called "Baby Body." ...

Audioslave, Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age will headline KROQ-FM's annual Weenie Roast at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California, on May 21. The Killers, Jimmy Eat World, the Transplants, the Mars Volta, Bloc Party, Alkaline Trio, Interpol, Hot Hot Heat, the Bravery, My Chemical Romance, the Dead '60s and MxPx are also on the bill. ...

05.05.2005

Lil' Kim is busy in the studio with producers Scott Storch, Hot Runner, Fred Wreck, Swizz Beatz and DJ Khaled, among others, preparing her upcoming as-yet-untitled album. ...

Coldplay, Wilco, Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab for Cutie and the Arcade Fire are among the artists confirmed for this year's edition of Austin City Limits, taking place September 23-25 in downtown Austin, Texas' Zilker Park. Three-day passes are available for $95 and can be purchased through AustinCityLimits.com. ... Napster has put together a "Cold Feet" playlist in honor of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks. The list, which goes live Friday morning, includes the songs "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (Paul Simon), "I'm Like a Bird" (Nelly Furtado), "Runaway" (Bon Jovi), "Go Your Own Way" (Fleetwood Mac), "Separate Ways" (Journey), "She's Gone" (Hall and Oates), "Will Never Marry" (Morrissey), "Runnin' With the Devil" (Van Halen), "Fly by Night" (Rush), "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (Glen Campbell), and, of course, "Bye, Bye, Bye" ('NSYNC). ...

The Cartoon Network is teaming with Epitaph Records to release the debut album from DangerDoom, a collaboration between Danger Mouse and enigmatic rapper MF Doom. The concept album, [Adult Swim] Presents DangerDoom, is due in September and is slated to feature sound clips and newly recorded bits starring characters from several "Adult Swim" shows. ... Just in time for the big-screen "Dukes of Hazzard," the soundtrack to the original "Hazzard" TV show is being reissued. The album will drop on June 28, featuring the unforgettable theme song from Waylon Jennings ("Good Ol' Boys"), Johnny Cash's ode to the show's real star, "General Lee," and a bonus cut from Jennings and Willie Nelson, "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." Also included are songs by stars Tom Wopat ("Up on Cripple Creek"), John Schneider ("In the Driver's Seat"), Catherine Bach ("Down Home American Girl") and Sorrell Booke ("Laughing All the Way to the Bank," "Duelin' Dukes"). ...

"Sopranos" star and E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt, director Jonathan Demme, Patti Smith, Tommy Ramone, Cyndi Lauper, Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth, and Fab 5 Freddy have thrown their support behind a campaign that was launched Thursday afternoon (May 5) to preserve the legacy of New York's legendary punk-rock haven CBGB. A consortium of CBs supporters, operating under the moniker Project Save CBGB, is pushing the City of New York to designate the club as a historic landmark. In a statement, Ramone said, "CBGB is a treasure of New York culture. It was the original magnet that drew people from every corner of America to come to New York and participate in its rebirth." The future of CBGB is in doubt, as the venue's lease is nearing its August expiration. Renewal talks between the club and its landlord are at a standstill, and it's believed that securing the historic-landmark designation could help CBs avoid closure. ... Ninth and 10th grade English teacher Julia Buonopane of Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Acton, Massachusetts, won the Rock & Roll Library's Song Lesson Contest for a lesson she wrote based on Gavin DeGraw's song "I Don't Want to Be" called "Breaking Free From Conformity - A Study in Modern Day Transcendentalism." For her prize, DeGraw will perform in her classroom on May 19. ...

The clock is ticking again for Bobby Brown. A Massachusetts family court judge in Norfolk County gave the R&B bad boy until Friday to prove that he has enough income to establish educational trusts for the two children he had with Kim Ward, according to The Associated Press. The singer was jailed briefly last year after missing child-support payments. "I've been shooting a television show and recording an album, so it's hard," Brown told the AP. "For me, it's easy to not know that a payment is not paid because other people are supposed to pay them." ... Puddle of Mudd, who are currently recording their next album, will tide fans over with a DVD, "Live at the Key Club: Striking That Familiar Chord," due May 31. Along with footage of their November 16, 2004 concert at the venue, the DVD will feature an acoustic set and an interview with the band shot a few days earlier. ...