Accused child pornographer R. Kelly was warned by a Chicago judge Monday to stay away from accused child molester Michael Jackson. Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan told the singer, who had asked the court's permission to attend next month's Grammy Awards, that despite penning Jackson's last single, "One More Chance," he's not to associate with him while in Los Angeles. Kelly has to be back in Chicago by February 18. ...

After a hearing Wednesday to determine if C-Murder will get a new murder trial, the rapper's attorneys said the court finally let them go through the police report, which they described as being "neither full nor complete." They said police neglected to tell them about yet another witness who had given a statement that the rapper was not involved in the shooting. C-Murder was convicted in September of killing a man at a nightclub MC battle in Louisiana. The hearing will resume on February 19. ...

James Brown was arrested and charged with criminal domestic violence Wednesday (January 28) in Aiken, South Carolina. The Godfather of Soul, who was to attend a bond hearing at 3 p.m. (two hours after being booked), served a two-and-a-half-year prison term after a 1988 arrest on drug and assault charges. He was convicted of a

drug-related offense in 1998. ...

The White Stripes will release a 7-inch in Europe of their next single, "There's No Home for You Here," which will be available on import. The record will be backed by a 10-minute version of "Ball and Biscuit," recorded at Electric Lady studios. ... Godsmack have decided to release their acoustic EP on March 16. The disc was originally supposed to come out late last year, but the band delayed it because it didn't want to cannibalize sales of its most recent album, Faceless. Godsmack begin a tour with Metallica on March 2 in Phoenix. ...

On Wednesday, Courtney Love got a second continuance, until February 11, to address the misdemeanor drug charges against her, which stem from an early October incident. The former Hole singer asked for more time to see if her case qualifies for a program that would give her more rehab instead of jail time, so that she could bring in an outside attorney from Washington, D.C. The city's attorney's office said that if she does not qualify for the Prop. 36 program, they will set a trial date at the next hearing. ... Having teamed with jewelers M. Fabrikant & Sons, Russell Simmons' wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, is designing two lines for her own Simmons Jewelry Company. No word yet on when the high-priced accessories will become available. ...

Beastie Boys' Mike D and DFA recording artist Tim Sweeney will be joined by the B-52's' Fred Schneider, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" fashion guru Carson Kressley and other celebrity DJs for the annual benefit party for the ARChive of Contemporary Music, on February 11. Tickets for the show at S.O.B.'s are $125. ... New York's Eyejammie Fine Arts Gallery, which last month featured an exhibition centered on Run-DMC, will next month have a photographic tribute to women in hip-hop. "Work It! Images of Women in Hip-Hop" exhibits photos of the most prominent women in the genre's history. It runs from February 20 to March 13. ...

Less than 48 hours after recording a concert Sunday in San Francisco, the Thrills released five of the songs on an EP titled From KFOG to iPod exclusively for Apple's iTunes Music Store. The songs, including the single "One Horse Town," can be downloaded for $4.95 or 99 cents each. ... '70s punk poetess Patti Smith will release her first album for Columbia Records on March 30. The still-untitled disc will be her first since 2000's Gung Ho. ... Default's next single, "Throw It All Away," will be sent to radio next month. On Super Bowl Sunday, the Canadian rockers will play an acoustic show during halftime at the club Dream in Washington, D.C. Default begin a tour with Evanescence on February 11. ...

New York University's Elmer Holmes Bobst Library has acquired a collection of papers from Richard Hell. Hell was a writer, photographer, musician and otherwise cultural fulcrum in the burgeoning punk scene of late 1970s New York. His collection consists of diaries, manuscripts, letters, photographs, posters, videos and other materials that will be open to scholars this time next year. ... Elvis Presley fans can now buy a piece of history ... a two-inch piece to be exact. A New Jersey company is selling snips of a 1954 master tape of "That's All Right" and nine other songs online at www.elvismastertape.com for $495. While the memorabilia fascinates some Presley fans, some musicologists are angered at the destruction of the original recording and even question its authenticity. ...

01.27.2004

Do they make formal wear in Kevlar? 50 Cent has signed on to perform at the 46th annual Grammy Awards, set for February 8. The rapper is up for five awards, including Best New Artist and Best Rap Album. The show will be broadcast live on CBS, and MTV News’ live pre-show, “Backstage at the Grammys,” kicks off at 7 p.m. ET. ...

Beyoncé will perform her Grammy-nominated single "Crazy in Love" at the 53rd annual NBA All-Star Game, set for February 15 in Los Angeles. She joins previously announced artists Christina Aguilera, who'll sing the national anthem, and Outkast, who'll perform their pair of current hit singles during player introductions. ... Meanwhile, Beyoncé has signed on to be the spokesperson for Tommy Hilfiger's new fragrance, to be launched in the fall, it was announced Tuesday (January 27). In addition to appearing in ads, she'll work with Hilfiger on the fragrance concept, which will be targeted at 15- to 25-year-olds. ...

The international Pepsi ad featuring Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Pink as gladiators and Enrique Iglesias as an evil emperor is now available online. Though it wasn't meant to be distributed in the U.S., the commercial, in which the pop stars sing a revamped version of Queen's "We Will Rock You," can be seen at www.popgal.net and www.worldofbritney.com. ... P. Diddy has officially been cast in the Broadway production of "A Raisin in the Sun." Audra McDonald ("It Runs in the Family") and Phylicia Rashad ("The Cosby Show") will co-star in the play, which opens in March. ...

Jury selection started Monday in a civil case being brought against P. Diddy by his former chauffer. Wardel Fenderson is seeking $3 million from the rap mogul and Bad Boy Entertainment, alleging that Diddy and his bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones forced him to flee the scene of a nightclub shooting at Club New York in 1999. P. Diddy was acquitted of criminal wrongdoing in that case but rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow was convicted of assault and reckless endangerment and is in the middle of serving an eight-year sentence. ... Rock and roll legend Little Richard has signed on as the keynote speaker and headline performer at this year's South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. Both appearances take place March 18 in Austin, Texas, with the speech that morning at the Austin Convention Center and his concert that night at the Austin Music Hall. Previously announced featured speaker Antonio "L.A." Reid has canceled his appearance. ...

Courtney Love appeared in a Beverly Hills court Tuesday sporting her usual "just woke up" look to address felony drug charges stemming from an overdose in October. The former Hole singer, who voluntarily entered rehab before the court could order it, is trying to find out if she's eligible for a program that would give her more rehab instead of jail time. After meeting privately with Love, the judge decided more investigation was needed and continued her felony case until February 11. She's due back in court Wednesday to address the misdemeanor drug charges against her. ...

The Super Bowl will be over by February 4, but that doesn't mean Xbox Live players won't be able to play in their own championship games. Starting that day, 100 randomly selected live-action Xbox players will get to play a game of "ESPN NFL Football" with Big Boi from Outkast. It's part of a larger promotion to be unveiled in future months that will pit players against various celebrities in live, online matches. ... U.K. music rag NME has announced the nominees for its annual awards. Radiohead were nominated five times, including for Best Album for their 2003 release, Hail to the Thief. Other prominent nominees include the Darkness (Best Live Band), the White Stripes (Best Single for "Seven Nation Army") and the Strokes (Best Album). ...

There's more to an Orange County soundtrack than No Doubt and the Offspring, as the forthcoming Music From the O.C.: Mix 1 can attest. Due March 30, the first LP in what promises to be a series features Phantom Planet's "California," the track used as the theme to "The O.C," alongside contributions from Jet, Joseph Arthur, Dandy Warhols and Turin Brakes. ... Fans will be a prominent feature in the clip for "Ya'll Want a Single," the next single from Korn's latest album, Take a Look in the Mirror. The video, which follows the previous single "Right Now," was shot in Los Angeles on Friday by director Andrew Jenkins, a newcomer to the video world after having previously worked on TV commercials. ...

Are radio programmers out of touch with what listeners want to hear? Of the 10 top-selling singles of 2003, only a couple were radio hits. Here's the list, according to recently released data: Clay Aiken's "This Is the Night"/"Bridge Over Troubled Water" at #1 with 948,155 copies, followed by Ruben Studdard's "Flying Without Wings"/"Superstar" (728,243), Kid Rock's "Picture" (392,489), "American Idol" finalists' "God Bless the USA" (309,655), Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday" (141,360), Korn's "Did My Time" (132,967), the Eagles' "Hole in the World" (121,376), Mariah Carey's "Through the Rain" (116,785), Aaliyah's "Miss You" (98,358) and Jewel's "Intuition" (96,142). ...

While finishing up an as-yet-untitled book of poetry, former Smashing Pumpkins/ Zwan frontman Billy Corgan has begun working on his forthcoming solo debut with some help from Bon Harris, a founding member of the industrial dance band Nitzer Ebb. ... A coffee-table book celebrating the 20-year legacy of Pacific Northwest punks the Melvins is set for a March 2 release. "Neither Here, Nor There" features comments from the bandmembers and their friends and includes a compilation CD. After two decades, the band is still kicking, too. A short West Coast tour is in the works. ...

Gov't Mule will open eight dates on Kid Rock's upcoming tour. In the meantime, the band has started working on its first studio album since bassist Allen Woody died in August 2000. The LP will be released in the fall on Dave Matthews' ATO Records. ... And speaking of Matthews, his Dave Matthews Band will receive the Chairman's Award at the NAACP Image Awards ceremony March 6 in Los Angeles for their support of environmental causes and "dignified representation of people of color." FOX will broadcast the program March 11. ...

The Pharcyde's Imani and Bootie Brown have reunited for the group's first album in four years. Humboldt Beginnings, featuring the single "Choices," is due in April and will be promoted with a tour. ... Hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari is working on her debut LP for Universal Records. So far Ari, who plays on about 90 percent of Kanye West's College Dropout LP, has tracks completed with Anthony Hamilton, Scarface and West. ...

Iron Maiden experienced luck of the Spinal Tap variety during their stint at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. Tuesday night's show had to be canceled because the venue accidentally booked the band for the same time it had scheduled a Xerox convention. And on Saturday evening, Maiden had to cut their set short because someone poured a beer on the soundboard, causing it to short circuit. ... Metallica have added a second night in Los Angeles to their lengthy North American tour. The band will now play the L.A. Forum on March 5 and 6. Tickets for the second show will go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. ... Swedish new wave-leaning quintet the Sounds are heading Stateside for their first U.S. headlining tour, starting February 15 in Milwaukee and ending March 28 in Atlanta. Along for the 30-date trek will be Kill Hannah and Ima Robot. ...