Britney Spears plans to take her babies on the road -- once she's in shape to tour again. The singer told People magazine in this week's cover story that her next child will help provide company for Sean Preston when she travels. "I think it will be good to have [a sibling] there with him," she explained. And once she gives birth in about a month, Spears will be counting down when she can start working out full force -- probably about six weeks after her planned C-section. She plans to hit the gym daily and stick to a low-carb diet. "I'm so excited to really be able to sweat like I used to," she said. In the meantime, Sean's been logging time with different nannies while Spears is in the studio working on her new album, which she described as "cooler than ever -- fun, upbeat, and sexy." "I've been going to the studio lately, and we've been trying out different nannies," she said. "It's hard [to leave Sean Preston]. ... I'm so torn right now." ...

A judge has reinstated rapper C-Murder's house arrest order, bringing an end to the rapper's month of freedom. According to The Associated Press, the decision comes just two days after a Louisiana appeals court ruled that the judge acted improperly when she lifted C-Murder's house arrest in July. Between now and the rapper's retrial on second-degree murder charges, he'll be confined to his home and barred from leaving it at any time, except to appear for court hearings. C-Murder stands accused of the shooting death of 16-year-old Steve Thomas, who was shot in the chest during a fight back in 2002 outside a nightclub in Harvey, Louisiana. ...

Pete Doherty pleaded guilty on Friday (August 18) to possession of heroin and crack, AP reports. The Babyshambles singer had been charged with seven counts and pleaded guilty to five of them. He will be sentenced on September 4. ...

Radiohead continue to get love from musicians of every stripe. High-brow pianist Christopher O'Riley has retooled the band's music for the chin-stroking classical set on two albums. And Dub Tribute to Radiohead: I'm Not the Only Record for You was released earlier this year -- as was Exit Music: Songs for Radio Heads, a compilation of electronic covers. So it's little surprise that Radiohead are getting the crunk treatment at the hands of DJ Gyngyvytus. Skeet Spirit: A Crunk Tribute to Radiohead -- eight instrumental tracks being offered by the DJ as free downloads -- boasts "No Sizzuruprises," "Creepin' (On Dat Ass)" and "Talk Show Hoes" among the cleverly titled tributes to England's favorite dour rockers. And the Easy Stars All-Stars' Radiodread, a reggae comp featuring toasters such as Horace Andy and Citizen Cope, hits stores Tuesday. ...

Mos Def has joined the cast of Michel Gondry's "Be Kind Rewind," Variety reports. Danny Glover, Mia Farrow and Melonie Diaz have also signed on for the film, which stars Jack Black as a man who shoots remakes of blockbuster films -- without the blockbuster budget -- to help his friend keep a video-store job. The movie is set to begin shooting September 5 in New Jersey. ...

They may have changed Natalie Portman's life in "Garden State," but the Shins won't be transforming any others with their music -- at least not this year. Originally scheduled for a fall release, the indie rockers' third album has been pushed back to 2007, according to Sub Pop. "It gives us great pleasure to say that it is just weeks from being done!" the band announced in a recent post on its Web site, even though the record's being bumped. "We can't leak any details, but we have never been more happy with anything that we've ever recorded before. And we can definitely say that it is due to the fact that we've been given so much time to perfect it. The record is the best we've ever done." The album is tentatively titled Sleeping Lessons. ... As Lifetime Television gears up for Saturday's premiere of "The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life Is Not a Fairy Tale," the network is posing a question to essay writers: What is your lifelong dream and what steps must you take to achieve it? The top prize in the contest is a trip to Los Angeles for the "American Idol" season six finale. Entries will be accepted until September 16. Visit LifetimeTV.com for further contest details. ...

With Ozzfest behind them, Walls of Jericho have landed a slot on another huge tour: Korn's Family Values trek, which also features Deftones, Stone Sour, Flyleaf and Dir En Gray. Walls of Jericho have been added to the second-stage bill, and will play their first gig Friday in Phoenix. The band's latest album, With Devils Amongst Us All, hits stores Tuesday. ... Online auction site eBay hath spoken, and no, electroclash goddess Peaches cannot sell her worn skivvies -- even if it's in the name of charity. Peaches had placed her thong up for auction on the site in an effort to raise money for Three Gut Records' Tyler Clark Burke, who has been dealing with critical health problems and is been trying to buy a new house. The site prohibits the sale of used underwear, and eBay authorities halted the auction as soon as it was brought to their attention. ...

Ricky Jovan Gray was convicted Thursday of killing former House of Freaks bandmember Bryan Harvey, Harvey's wife Kathryn and their two young daughters. The family was found dead in its Richmond, Virginia, home in January. The jury took just 30 minutes to convict Gray, whose sentencing hearing continues Friday. He could face the death penalty. ... Roger Ebert remains hospitalized due to complications resulting from his treatment for a recurrence of salivary cancer, the film critic confirmed in a statement. Ebert, who had a portion of his jaw removed and reconstructed, said he will need rehabilitation to regain his strength and his voice, and asked for "the time and privacy to heal." "I don't have a crystal ball," he wrote to close the statement, "so I can't tell you when, but I sure look forward to being back on the movie beat." ...

How many times have you watched the Academy Awards and thought, "Wait a minute, these people are huge stars, get to borrow millions in diamonds and they get those fat gift baskets! What the hell?" Well, the Internal Revenue Service agrees with you. On Thursday, the IRS announced an "outreach program" to remind the entertainment industry that the lavish gift bags -- worth anywhere from $40,000 to $100,000 -- that stars get at awards shows are taxable as income, according to a Reuters report. The tax service also announced a deal with Oscar presenter the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to settle the tax obligations of past Oscar gift-basket recipients through 2005, letting those stars off the hook. Though this year's stars will have to pony up, the Academy announced that the gift baskets will go away as of next year. ... And here's a study only a kid could love: The British journal Archives of Disease in Childhood has found that watching TV while getting an injection has a "painkiller" effect on children. In a study involving 69 children between the ages of 7-12, researchers found that the subjects were 50 percent more pacified by cartoons than their own mothers. Kids who had no TV to distract them logged much higher pain scores.

08.17.2006

Fall Out Boy made a surprise appearance Wednesday night at West Hollywood, California's Key Club for the Snakes on a Plane: The Album release party -- which actually went down a day after the record came out. Front-row attendees sang along to hits like "Dance, Dance" and "Sugar, We're Goin Down," but unfortunately didn't get a chance to hear any new material. FOB bassist Pete Wentz told the crowd, "We're here in L.A. recording our new album, so if you see us on the street, give us a high-five." The packed house was also treated to Cobra Starship's first-ever show, with the band's Midtown frontman Gabe Saporta welcoming William Beckett from the Academy Is ..., the Sounds' Maja Ivarsson and Gym Class Heroes' Travis McCoy for a rendition of "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)," their collaborative theme song to the movie. The concert also featured performances by the Sounds, the Academy Is ..., Gym Class Heroes and Jack's Mannequin, all of whom contribute to the soundtrack. ...

Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock got married for a third time on Thursday (August 17), The Associated Press reports. A judge performed the ceremony at midnight at Tootsies Orchid Lounge in Nashville, and Rock hopped onstage at the club to belt out covers of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and Hank Williams Jr.'s "Family Tradition." ... System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian will be joining the Wu-Tang Clan for their shows Friday in New York, Saturday in Philadelphia and Sunday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Odadjian, who has been collaborating with the RZA in the studio in recent months, will play bass during the entire set. ...

Mel Gibson pleaded no contest to his drunken-driving misdemeanor in a Malibu, California, court on Thursday, AP reports. The deal will require the actor/director to undergo alcohol rehabilitation, pay a fine and be on probation. The arraignment had been slated for September but was moved up at the request of Gibson's attorney, and a judge agreed. ... Jennifer Lopez won't get her day in court after all. Lawyers in a dispute between the singer/actress and ex-husband Ojani Noa over his proposed tell-all book said the issues between the exes will be settled through arbitration instead of before a judge, according to an AP report. Lopez filed suit on April 10 and obtained a temporary restraining order barring Noa from publishing intimate details of her sex life in a book titled "The Unknown Truth: A Passionate Portrait of a Serial Thriller." ...

In more court news, Pete Doherty was charged with seven counts of drug possession on Thursday, according to AP. The Babyshambles singer/guitarist, who was arrested by London police last week, is currently in police custody and will appear in court Friday. The charges include possession of cocaine and diamorphine, and also pertain to two previous arrests. ... Haley Joel Osment is in deep water too, AP reports. The 18-year-old actor, who crashed a car in July, has been charged with misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence, marijuana possession and driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol content of .15 percent or greater. He's also facing a vehicle-code-infraction charge for being underage and driving with a BAC level of .05 or higher. Osment will be arraigned September 19 in Glendale, California. If convicted, he could face up to six months in county jail. ...

Ricky Martin will be honored as the 2006 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year. A tribute dinner is scheduled for November 1 in New York. ... Jurassic 5 are headlining the Re-Boot & Rock the Beach concert on August 27 in Venice Beach, California. The show will follow a special clean-up-the-beach day sponsored by Heal the Bay. ... Jagged Edge are releasing "Seasons Change" featuring John Legend as their next single. "The first thing that sticks out in my mind about John Legend is just how humble he is and how easy he was to work with," Brian "Brasco" Casey said. ...

Philadelphia police just aren't buying Beanie Sigel's story. Authorities say they have doubts about the rapper's claim that he was robbed and shot a block from his boyhood home three months ago, AP reports. "No one believes him. We don't believe he was shot where he said he was shot," Detective Tracy Byard told the Philadelphia Daily News. "There's a million-and-one holes in his story." Sigel told police that on May 25 he was boxed in by two cars and robbed by several men, who then shot him in the shoulder. But police say there were no witnesses in the area who heard any gunshots and no shell casings recovered. Byard said Sigel argued with investigators when they questioned his story and tried to photograph his wound at the hospital. The MC's attorney chalked the doubts up to his client's prior criminal history, which includes a year in prison on a gun charge and a recent acquittal on an attempted murder charge. ...

The initial performers have been announced for the annual New York indie-rock CMJ Marathon, which will run from October 31 to November 5. Acts include seminal female punk trio the Slits, recently re-toasted proto-metal-rockers Blue Cheer, outre rapper Madlib and theatrical synth-poppers the Knife. Hot Chip, the Black Keys, Deerhoof, Blonde Redhead, the Boy Least Likely To, Joseph Arthur, Cold War Kids, Silversun Pickups, Professor Murder, Keren Ann and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin will also perform. ... French-Canadians love music festivals too. Pop Montreal, now in its fifth year, has announced initial performers for this year's four-day extravaganza, which will run from October 4 through 8. Bands include Regina Spektor, Tapes 'N Tapes, Harvey Danger, Beirut, Akron/ Family, Vitalic, plus tons of homegrown talent, including Gonzales, Mocky, the Besnard Lakes, Montag, Sunset Rubdown, Land of Talk, Islands and Tokyo Police Club. ... Angels & Airwaves frontman Tom DeLonge has welcomed a new addition to his family, People reports. Jonas Rocket DeLonge was born to the singer/guitarist and his wife Jennifer on Wednesday evening in Los Angeles. ... Jennifer Aniston wants to set the record straight: She is not engaged to Vince Vaughn. "It couldn't be more of a 'No,' " the actress told the magazine. "I'm not engaged and I don't have a ring and I haven't been proposed to," she said. Aniston, who calls the stories "insane," explained her relationship with Vaughn: "We're just being. We're just having a good time."