Don't expect to see what happens inside the courtroom for the next hearing in the Michael Jackson case, set for Friday. Judge Rodney Melville rejected a bid to place cameras in the courtroom this past Friday, on the same day prosecutors filed court papers saying they had changed their minds on the subject and now objected to cameras for pretrial hearings. The judge offered no reason for turning down the request, while news organizations had argued in court papers that images of orderly proceedings would counter any images of a circus outside the courthouse. ...

Eminem's ex-wife, Kim Mathers, was sent to jail without bail on Friday after she admitted to her probation officer that she had recently used cocaine. Mathers, who was sentenced to two years' probation on January 21 for cocaine possession and driving without a license, tested positive for the drug in a January 29 urine test. She faces up to five years in prison for violating her probation. ... The Distillers will launch an 18-city spring tour of North America in support of their latest album, Coral Fang. The five-week trek begins March 12 in Anaheim, California. ...

At the NBA All-Star game Sunday in Los Angeles, Nona Gaye will sing along to her father Marvin Gaye's famous performance of the national anthem from 1983, the last time the game was played in L.A. Viewers will see Marvin's performance through a digitally enhanced video. ... Metallica have been chosen by the San Francisco chapter of the Recording Academy to receive a 2004 Governor's Award for Creative Excellence and Outstanding Achievement. The award will be bestowed upon the headbangers at the Governor's Awards Gala, a fund-raiser that will take place March 15 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. The event will include a cocktail reception, silent auction, formal dinner and awards presentation, which will also pay tribute to Mickey Hart and Chanticleer. ...

Southern California hardcore vets Bad Religion are planning to drop their next album, The Empire Strikes First, on June 8. The LP follows the quintet's 2002 LP, The Process of Belief. ... Remixes of hits by Stacie Orrico, Gorillaz, Fischerspooner, Dirty Vegas and the Chemical Brothers featuring K-OS will be featured on the double-disc compilation Freq.beats, due February 24. Fatboy Slim, Paul Oakenfold, Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk, BT, David Gahan and the Postal Service are also included. ...

New York art-rock trio Blonde Redhead will release their sixth album on March 23. The LP, Misery Is a Butterfly, will be their first since 2000's Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons. ... The Brides of Destruction, featuring Sunset Strip stars of the 1980s Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns) and Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe), will release their debut album, Here Comes the Brides, March 9. ...

Southern Rock mainstays Lynyrd Skynyrd started a tour Friday in Everett, Washington, and have dates scheduled through August 28 in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The band has a concert album, Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve, scheduled for release in June. ... Von Bondies bassist Carrie Smith needed stitches Sunday night after she fell down and smacked her head during a set by Funeral for a Friend at a show in Cardiff, Wales. Smith was taken to a hospital for treatment and was released the same night. Earlier in the night Von Bondies, the Rapture and Franz Ferdinand all performed. ...

02.06.2004

He'll still be in the house, but 50 Cent will not be performing at Sunday night's Grammy Awards. He had been announced as a performer several weeks ago. … One of 50's bodyguards has been charged in a shooting that occurred outside a Jersey City, New Jersey, hotel in September. Shots were fired outside the hotel's lobby in what was initially believed to be a gunfight involving the rapper. But Hudson County prosecutors say that so far the evidence they have implicates only one gunman, William Floyd, who fired warning shots in the air. He's being charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon with unlawful intent. ...

Following guitarist Terry Balsamo's defection to Evanescence, Cold have tapped Eddie Rendini, formerly of Darwin's Waiting Room, as his replacement. The band plans to begin work on its fourth album later this year. ... Linkin Park canceled Friday's (February 6) concert with P.O.D. and Hoobastank in Inglewood, California, after singer Chester Bennington was diagnosed with bronchitis and acute laryngitis and was advised by his doctor not to perform. The show has been rescheduled for March 15. Tuesday's show in West Valley City, Utah, is still on. ...

Hilary Duff, Ashanti, Usher, Will Smith and Fefe Dobson will join pro hoopsters LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and others for the NBA's "Read to Achieve" special. The one-hour program will premiere February 14 at noon ET and will be simulcast on ABC, TNT, BET, Nick GAS, and NBA TV, as well as several online outlets. ... Missy Elliott has signed on to be one of the new spokespeople for M.A.C. cosmetics. For the company's upcoming Viva Glam campaign, Elliott joins Christina Aguilera, actress Chloë Sevigny, supermodel Linda Evangelista and pop icon Boy George. All proceeds from the cosmetic line's Viva Glam V pink lipstick and lip gloss go to the M.A.C. AIDS Fund, which raises money for people living with HIV and AIDS. ...

First comes Love, then comes marriage, or so Courtney Love figures, as she's offering to perform a marriage ceremony for a lucky radio contest winner. Fourteen alternative rock stations throughout the country are participating, including WHFS-FM in Washington, D.C., and K-ROCK (WXRK-FM) in New York, according to the singer's Web site. ... The first two artists from crunkmaster Lil Jon's new record label, Black Market Entertainment, are joining forces for the label's first album release. The LP, due February 24, has the unwieldy title The King of Crunk & BME Recordings Present Trillville & Lil Scrappy. ...

A year after Esquire printed a story about the Flaming Lips, in which Beck was called "a di--," the musician has responded with a sarcastic letter to the magazine. The letter, printed in the February issue, states, "Your insights really brought to light the depths of my character and showed all the world who I truly am. ... I have been given cause to reflect on what may be important in my life and what may be irrelevant. Like last week, when, during my shopping spree at Louis Vuitton, I started thinking about how cool it was when I was broke and drove that old Chevy with the brakes that didn't work and had no money for food. ... I am really going to turn things around and do something meaningful with my life now, like publish a magazine with Britney Spears' butt on the cover. That would probably be 'keeping it real' and leaving something noble behind for posterity. ... Thanks, Esquire, for changing my life for the better." ...

The remixes are in for Madonna's next single, "Love Profusion." The maxi single, out in March, will include six remixes, including a bonus mix of "Nothing Fails" by Peter Rauhofer, who has also left his touch on Madge's most recent entries -- her collabo with Britney, "Me Against the Music," "American Life," and her Gap commercial jingle with Missy Elliott, "Get Into the Hollywood Groove." ... Dido helped shut down a white power Web site after learning it was using two of her songs to promote its hateful messages. Owners of the site had misinterpreted the tracks "White Flag" and "This Land Is Mine" as racist and thought they represented their views. When she discovered this, Dido contacted her label, which called the British Photographic Industry. The site was then closed down. Dido is currently working on material for her next album. ...

The Chemical Brothers, Paul Oakenfold, Paul van Dyk, Sasha and John Digweed are headlining the sixth annual Ultra Music Festival, scheduled for March 6 at Bayfront Park in Miami. Perry Farrell, Goldie, Tiesto, Erick Morillo and Richie Hawtin are also among the big names DJing, while the Rapture, Junkie XL and Miss Kittin are among several acts performing live sets. ... Billy Talent singer Ben Kowalewicz is likely to look twice before tossing another broken mic stand with wild abandon. After he did just that at a show Tuesday in Edmonton, Alberta, while performing the single "Try Honesty," the stand conked drummer Aaron Solowoniuk in the head, leaving him unconscious and in need of 18 stitches. The show was stopped and Solowoniuk was taken to a hospital. Billy Talent's two-week trek with MxPx and Simple Plan, beginning February 13 in St. Petersburg, Florida, has not been affected by the accident. ...

After being photographed by a British newspaper walking along a train track in Cornwall, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher has been questioned by British Transport police for trespassing on a railway line. Gallagher admitted breaking the law and officials are deciding whether or not to prosecute. Oasis are currently in Cornwall working on their next studio album. ... The parent company of record chain Tower Records will likely file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, reported the San Diego Union Tribune. The move would involve a debt-for-equity trade in which the current owners of the company, the Solomon family, would give up the chain to the company's bondholders, Reuters reported. ...