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Amy Winehouse Questioned About Pipe Video; Plus Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Alicia Keys, Bright Eyes & More, In 'For The Record'

Lavigne says Hillary Clinton victory would be 'awesome'; LP planning another Projekt Revolution; Keys' 'As I Am' reclaims 'Billboard' #1.

According to The Associated Press, police in London have questioned Amy Winehouse about a [article id="1580019"]video that surfaced online[/article] two weeks ago that purportedly shows the [article id="1575921"]Grammy-nominated[/article] singer smoking crack cocaine. No charges have been filed against the singer, but an investigation into the video is said to be ongoing. The video shows Winehouse inhaling fumes from a small pipe during a party at her home. Winehouse [article id="1580228"]checked into a rehabilitation center[/article] in late January. ...

Avril Lavigne fans can expect to see outfit changes, backup dancers and the singer covering Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" on her upcoming five-month world tour, which starts March 5 in British Columbia, RollingStone.com reports. She plans to hole up in L.A. with [article id="1536426"]husband[/article] Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 and work on some new material when the tour comes to a close in June. "I want to do more acoustic stuff," she said. "It doesn't mean that's what my next record is going to be, but I'm doing it to get it out." The Canadian singer also chimed in on the [article id="1580996"]presidential election,[/article] saying, "I wish I could vote" in the U.S. "I think Hillary might [win]. It'd be f---ing awesome if a chick won!" ...

It took Linkin Park four years to follow up 2003's Meteora with last summer's [article id="1558873"]Minutes to Midnight,[/article] but Chester Bennington says fans won't have to wait around as long for LP's next, er, LP. "We sparked a new kind of life into what we do during the writing of ['Midnight']," the frontman told Billboard.com. "We want to keep that going. I think we're in the mode, and I have a good feeling we're going to put another record out really quickly." The four-year break "seemed like a really, really long time to our fans, and it seemed like a really, really long time to us. I don't see that happening again," he added. Bennington also revealed that the band will assemble another edition of its Projekt Revolution tour, which also featured My Chemical Romance and others [article id="1485575"]last year.[/article] Bands and dates will be announced in the coming months. Linkin Park head out on a tour with Coheed and Cambria starting Tuesday in Omaha, Nebraska. ...

The latest album-sales figures are in, and Alicia Keys' As I Am will reclaim Billboard's #1 spot, after selling another 61,300 copies. The " Juno" soundtrack -- [article id="1580595"]last week's #1[/article] -- follows at #2, while the Mars Volta's [article id="1579957"] The Bedlam in Goliath[/article] debuts at #3, having sold 54,000 copies in its first week. According to SoundScan, 18 new releases will enter next week's chart, including Bullet for My Valentine's Scream Aim Fire, which opens at #4 with 53,200 sold, and the 2008 Grammy Nominees compilation -- which features Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake and the Foo Fighters, among others -- debuting at #5 with 50,000 in sales. Hannah Montana 2: Non-Stop Dance Party bows at #7 with 40,000 scans, and Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut enters at #17 with 27,500 sold. Opening at #95 with 7,500 copies snatched up is Protest the Hero's latest, Fortress. ...

Eddie Vedder, Tom Morello, Serj Tankian and Bright Eyes have ponied up songs for "Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran," a two-CD collection due March 18 that is a companion piece to the documentary "Body of War." The first single is a version of Vedder's "No More" performed with Ben Harper at Pearl Jam's [article id="1566369"]Lollapalooza set[/article] last year. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Iraq Veterans Against the War. ... Bright Eyes mainman Conor Oberst sure is getting his fill of politics. Beyond his appearance on the aforementioned comp, he'll also perform at a free rally for Senator Barack Obama on Thursday to help raise awareness about the Democratic presidential candidate. The event -- which will also feature M. Ward, Sparta frontman Jim Ward and Secret Life of Sparrows -- will go down at Omaha, Nebraska's Slowdown, a venue owned by Saddle Creek Records, Bright Eyes' label. Oberst played a gig in Iowa for the Illinois senator prior to his victory in [article id="1578989"]that state's caucus[/article] in early January. ...

Jennifer Lopez is indeed expecting twins -- news that was first reported back in October -- her father recently confirmed during an appearance on a Spanish-language television show, according to People en Español. "Yes, twins," the actress/singer's father, David Lopez, said on Escándalo TV when asked about the rumor, according to the report. "The thing is, in my family, my sister also had twins, so it's a hereditary thing." He reportedly added that he was thrilled about the news, saying, "Jennifer has yearned to be a mother for many years." Lopez [article id="1573774"]confirmed her pregnancy[/article] during a Miami concert in November. ... [article id="1573641"]Striking members[/article] of the Writers Guild of America will meet with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in Los Angeles and New York on Saturday in an effort to end the three-month strike. The WGA presidents said they wouldn't ink a contract with the movie and TV producers until they have met with WGA members and reviewed the terms. ...

Beastie Boys are planning to headline a Music Has Power concert to give a funding boost to New York's Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, which specializes in music-therapy treatments and research. Moby will host the March 4 event. ... R.E.M. premiered their new song "Supernatural Superserious" on New York radio station 101.9 RXP on Tuesday. The track is the first single from the veteran rockers' new album, Accelerate, which is due April 1. ... According to the Toronto Star, a Canadian radio host has filed a lawsuit against the White Stripes, seeking $70,000 for a sample the group used eight years ago. The sample appears on the track "Jumble, Jumble" from the Stripes' second album, 2000's De Stijl. Quebec radio host Dominique Payette claims the Stripes did not have permission to use the 10-second clip of her teen call-in show, in which she talks to an unidentified young girl, and the host believes her privacy has been violated. The suit seeks an injunction that could force the band and its label to remove copies of the album from stores. ... In more upbeat Stripes news, the group will release a Spanish-language version of its third Icky Thump single, "Conquest," on CD and 7-inch on February 19. "Conquista" -- credited to "Las Rayas Blancas," amusingly enough -- features the duo's first non-English vocal, sung by Jack White of course, and the single features an acoustic mariachi version of "Conquest" on the flipside. ...

American Hi-Fi are plugging away at their fourth studio album, which doesn't have a title or release date yet, in a Los Angeles studio. Singer Stacy Jones is taking on production duties for the effort, which will feature the rockers' reunited original lineup. If you're in Southern California, swing by West Hollywood's Troubadour on April 11, when the band performs at the venue, to get a taste of the new material. ... Swedish progressive-metallers Opeth have christened their next LP Watershed. The record has been slated for a June 3 release and will include the tracks "Heir Apparent," "The Lotus Eater" and "Porcelain Heart." ... Little Rock, Arkansas, Christian metal outfit Living Sacrifice have reunited. Singer Bruce Fitzhugh and drummer Lance Garvin have rejoined guitarist Rocky Gray and bassist Arthur Green and are currently writing material for a new album, due to land in stores later this year.

2.5.08

A few more performers and presenters have been added to [article id="1575921"]Sunday's Grammy Awards[/article], including a duet between Fergie and John Legend and a salute to the pioneers of rock and roll featuring Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and John Fogerty. Pop-classical heartthrob Josh Groban will team up with opera superstar Andrea Bocelli in their first-ever duet, and Grammy-nominated jazz legend Herbie Hancock will perform a special jazz/classical segment. Among the new list of presenters are Chris Brown, Miley Cyrus, Solange Knowles, George Lopez, Lyle Lovett and Ludacris. ...

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi -- the Beatles guru who brought transcendental meditation to the Western world -- has died, The Associated Press reports. His death was apparently due to "natural causes, his age," Transcendental Meditation movement spokesman Bob Roth reportedly said. Maharishi's age was thought to be 91. ...

Lindsay Lohan has spoken out publicly for the first time since leaving a recovery center six months ago. In a cover story for the U.K. edition of Glamour, the actress/singer said she's ready to work again and is getting rid of the bad influences in her life. "There are friends that have been hard to hang out with because they've gone done a different path," Lohan, 21, said. "But it's hard because I'm the kind of person who wants to trust everyone." According to an excerpt on People.com, Lohan, who expressed sympathy for fellow struggling young stars Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse, said she's learned how to be comfortable being alone if necessary. "I'm fine being alone during the day, but I hate being alone at night. I like having friends around me, but now I'd much rather be at home." With her career momentum slowed by her rehab stint, Lohan said she mostly fills her days writing in her journal and watching TV, but "that's not to say I'll never go to a club again ... because I'd be lying." Asked what the biggest misconception is about her, Lohan said, "That I don't have my head in the right place. That, and probably that I'm not a good person ... because actually I am." ...

After an astronomical $29 million on just 683 screens, the "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" flick will remain in theaters "indefinitely," a Disney representative told MTV News. Originally slated to end its run Friday, the flick -- which follows pop sensation Miley Cyrus on her sold-out trek -- now has "no end date," according to the rep, and will stay in theaters contingent on audience demand. The flick set several box-office records [article id="1580854"]over the weekend,[/article] including the largest-ever haul for a concert film and a 3-D movie. It also bested "Titanic" for the biggest gross over a Super Bowl weekend. ...

Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch has announced the launch of his own independent film-distribution company called Oscilloscope Pictures. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Yauch plans to buy narrative and documentary features from movie festivals and provide funds to complete and release unfinished films. The company will be run by former ThinkFilm VP David Fenkel, who worked with Yauch on the Beasties' concert doc "Awesome! I F---in' Shot That!" The company's first release will be announced within the next month and will hit theaters by summer, with current plans calling for two to 10 films released per year. ...

If you've ever seen the Deftones live, then you already know that frontman Chino Moreno's a big fan of "skater socks." Now the singer has formed his own clothing company called ChinoSox. "Every time I'm on tour, people come up to me and ask me about the socks I wear onstage. No one can ever seem to find dope-looking skater socks," he said. "So I thought it would be cool to make my own signature line of skate socks, so that fans could pick them up. They're pretty sick." You can pick up a pair online, exclusively through the ChinoSox Web site. ...

Remember the Darkness? Well, they've been quiet since the 2006 departure of frontman Justin Hawkins, but have returned with a new name. The band still includes former Darkness singer Richie Edwards, drummer Ed Graham and guitarist Dan Hawkins, but with henceforth be known as Stone Gods. The band will release an EP sometime this year.

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