The 2004 MTV Movie Awards got a lot meaner on Thursday (May 13). The cable outlet announced that "Mean Girls" star Lindsay Lohan will host this year's ceremony, which airs on June 10. D12, the Beastie Boys and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have already been announced as performers for the show. ...

Jessica Simpson will find out next week if the sitcom pilot she filmed for ABC will get picked up for the network's fall schedule. In the meantime, the project's finally been given a name -- simply "Jessica." ... Having recently completed a successful tour opening for country mates the Vines, Jet will launch their first North American headlining trek starting July 1 in Niagara Falls, New York. Dates run through July 27 in San Francisco. ...

Roc-A-Fella Records is now saying that the remix of the Young Gunz track "Grown Man" may not be appearing on the soundtrack to "Catwoman" after all. The label is, however, mulling over plans to include the single on a retooling of the Gunz's Tough Luv LP. ... In response to the controversy surrounding their hip-hop surveillance unit, the Miami and Miami Beach police departments and Miami's Black Host Committee are holding a symposium Friday to educate police officers on hip-hop culture. A private morning session for officers will be followed by a public forum with hopes of, according to organizers, creating a dialogue with the hip-hop community. ...

Moby's proposed cookbook/autobiography, "Teany Book," has been sold to a publishing house. Viking bought the book for a six-figure sum and plans to publish the work early next year. ... O.A.R. will open for the Dave Matthews Band starting June 17 in Maryland Heights, Missouri, and running through June 26 in Milwaukee. The band will head out again with Howie Day and Matt Nathanson between July 16 in Houston and August 21 in Nashville. ...

Velvet Revolver have been added to the Rolling Rock Town Fair Five, which takes place July 31 at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds near Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The band has been added to a lineup that includes Staind, Disturbed, N.E.R.D., the Crystal Method, Hoobastank, Sevendust, Finch, Finger Eleven and Three Days Grace. Additional dates have also been added to Velvet Revolver's first North American tour, which now runs through June 22 in Denver. ... Guns N' Roses bassist Tommy Stinson (ex-Replacements) will release his solo debut, Village Gorilla Head, on August 3. Guests include Pixies frontman Frank Black, A Perfect Circle drummer Josh Freese, GN'R guitarist Richard Fortus and Guns keyboardist Dizzy Reed. Tracks include "Without a View," "Bite Your Tongue," "Something's Wrong" and "Motivation." ...

After Godsmack finish touring with Metallica on May 15 in North Little Rock, Arkansas, the band will play seven radio festivals and solo shows, starting May 17 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and running through May 29 in Noblesville, Indiana. Then Godsmack will hook back up with Metallica for the next leg of their North American tour, which starts May 9 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and runs through November 20 in San Antonio, Texas. ... Van Halen have announced that Silvertide and Shinedown will open their summer reunion tour with Sammy Hagar. Silvertide will perform from June 11 in Greensboro, North Carolina, through July 11 in Auburn Hills, Michigan; Shinedown will play from July 19 in Chicago through August 20 in Los Angeles. ...

5.12.2004

Beyoncé is writing a song for the new Earth, Wind & Fire album, which is due by the end of the year. Beyoncé's father, Mathew Knowles, signed the influential soul band to a new label he recently started. EW&F are also scheduled to record with Sleepy Brown, Pharrell Williams, Angie Stone and Floetry. ... The rumors about Mase's return to rap are no longer rumors. Radio personality Wendy Williams played a Mase track on New York radio station WBLS on Wednesday (May 12) called "Welcome Back," where the rapper rhymes about being welcomed back to the game with open arms. "I'm making money man, without the coca/ Living la vida, without the loca," he raps before singing a chorus reminiscent of the theme song from the 1970s show "Welcome Back, Kotter." ...

BET announced the nominees for the BET Awards '04 on Wednesday (May 12). Outkast raked in six nominations, including nods for both "The Way You Move" and "Hey Ya!" in the Viewer's Choice and Video of the Year categories. Usher got four nominations, including Video of the Year and Best Male R&B Artist, while Beyoncé received five, spanning both music and acting categories, including a nomination for Best Actress. The awards show will be telecast live from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on June 29 at 8 p.m. ET. ... John Whitehead, one half of the R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead, was shot dead Tuesday in Philadelphia while working on a car on the side of a road. Another man with Whitehead was also shot but is in good condition. McFadden & Whitehead were discovered by Otis Redding and scored a hit in 1979 with the disco-influenced R&B song "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now." Police do not have a motive or suspects in the shooting. ...

No Doubt are auctioning tickets for their upcoming tour to raise funds for Amnesty International's Music for Human Rights initiative. Auction winners will receive two tickets to dates on their tour with Blink-182, two meet-and-greet passes, and signed CDs from both bands. No Doubt released a statement saying that they support Amnesty International's "efforts to secure freedom and equality for every human being on the planet," saying their work "lends a voice to those in need and is an inspiring source of hope for all." You can find the auction at ebay.com. ... Founding guitarist Jacques Brautbar has parted ways with Phantom Planet. In an online post, Brautbar claimed his decade with the band had been extraordinary. ...

A videotape of Vancouver constable Reginald Forster smashing Guns N' Roses fan Robert Parent in the face with his baton was shown Tuesday at the opening of a public inquiry into the police's conduct during the riot that followed a canceled GN'R concert in November 2002. Forster's lawyer argued that his client was really aiming for Parent's shoulder. Although an internal police investigation determined Forster and fellow constable Ryan D'Ononfrio acted appropriately, police complaint commissioner Dirk Dyneveld called for the public hearing. ... Limp Bizkit, Hoobastank and Lenny Kravitz will play on the opening episode of the WB series "Pepsi Smash," now in its second season. The series will premiere May 27. ...

Somebody's rock and roll fantasy is coming true in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on June 26 and 27, when Velvet Revolver and the Darkness headline the inaugural Fantasy Island Festival at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. Fountains of Wayne and Robert Randolph and the Family Band are also on the bill. ... Punk stalwart Henry Rollins announced Wednesday that he will head out on a USO/ Armed Forces Entertainment tour during May's National Military Appreciation Month. This is Rollins' second stint with the USO; his first was in December when he traveled to Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Qatar to meet the troops. ...

The flamboyant Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs has directed the new Liars video, "We Fenced Other Gardens With the Bones of Our Own." O's beau is Liars singer Angus Andrew. ... Ras Kass filed a lawsuit Monday against Priority Records, Capitol Records, EMI Music and two Priority executives, claiming breach of contract, unfair competition, restraint of trade and other abuses. Among the rapper's various claims is that he has only received $100,000 during the nine years since he signed with the label conglomerate. He is also accusing the labels of failing to market and promote his first two albums and sabotaging the release of subsequent projects. ...

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson has been given a trial date of June 14 for his battery case in Naples, Florida. Lifeson is accused of fighting with police officers and pushing a cop down a flight of stairs on New Year's Eve. The guitarist will try to postpone the scheduled trial because Rush will be on the road at that time and more discovery needs to be done for the case. ... Zak Starkey, son of former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, will play drums for Beatles fanatics Oasis when the band headlines the Glastonbury Festival next month. Noel Gallagher told the British Broadcasting Corp. that Starkey has been one of several drummers recording with the band since Alan White was asked to leave in January. As for Starkey's chances of becoming a permanent member, Gallagher said, "If he can get us his dad's autograph, he's in." ...

What could be a second Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is opening early next year in downtown Phoenix. The museum, which will host traveling displays, will be housed in a building near America West Arena for at least five years, with the option to become permanent if the hall is well attended. The original museum is in Cleveland. ... Ministry have hired Bryan Kehoe as the band's newest guitar player. He will join Al Jourgensen and Mike Scaccia in a three-pronged attack onstage with Ministry and in the studio with the Revolting Cocks. Earlier this year, bassist John Monte was hired after longtime member Paul Barker left the group. ...

Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler has had a scholarship named after him by the Berklee College of Music. The Steven Tyler Online Scholarship Program will provide talented musicians across the world with the opportunity to attend the prestigious music school. ... Billy Corgan is giving away a Grammy -- to a high school in Chicago. The Neuqua Valley High School, designated a Grammy Signature School for their band, choir and orchestra students by the Grammy Foundation, will be presented with the award -- and $5,000 -- on May 25 by Corgan, who will also give them a private concert. He plans to perform his latest solo material. ...