The family of Russell Jones, a.k.a. Ol' Dirty Bastard, has settled on the St. James Presbyterian Church in New York's Harlem neighborhood as the site for the public viewing of the deceased MC, which will take place Wednesday from 3 to 8 p.m. Fans who want to pay their last respects can find the church at 409 St. Nicholas Ave. The funeral is Thursday; the family has asked that the location remain private. ...

R. Kelly has another sex-tape scandal on his hands -- but this time, he's not the one charged in the court case that's resulted. Instead, a Chicago man named Derrick Mosley, who claims that he used to work for Kelly, was arrested for extortion, when he allegedly tried to get $20,000 from a professional athlete's agent after claiming he possessed videotapes of the athlete's wife having sex with a musician. Prosecutors didn't reveal the name of the athlete or musician. Kelly's team was quick to respond to the allegations, saying that they could neither confirm nor deny that the man on the tape is Kelly, and noting that the tape depicts consenting adults. Mosley's bail hearing has been set for Thursday. ...

Clay Aiken isn't just a pop star anymore -- he's now also an ambassador. The "American Idol" runner-up was appointed National Ambassador for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, the group that helps ensure all children are given the opportunity for a decent education. The group felt Aiken was a good fit, as the singer had planned to pursue a career in special education to work with disabled individuals before he became a pop sensation. "I hope that as an ambassador I can encourage people to join UNICEF's mission to make education a reality for children throughout the world," Aiken said in a statement. ... JoJo, Ruben Studdard, LeAnn Rimes and Vanessa Williams are helping President Bush get into the Christmas spirit this year by performing for him and other government VIPs at the TNT 23rd annual Christmas in Washington Concert. The event, hosted by Dr. Phil and his wife, Robin, will benefit the National Children's Medical Center and will be taped at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., to air on TNT December 15 at 8 p.m. ET. ...

In addition to his hosting duties at the second annual Spike TV Video Game Awards, Snoop Dogg will be performing with the remaining members of the Doors for a rendition of the band's classic track "Riders on the Storm." Somewhat more conventional performances will be provided by Sum 41 and Ludacris. The list of nominees for the show was topped by "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," "Halo 2" and "Half-Life 2," which took five nods each. The show will be broadcast live from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on December 14 at 9 p.m. ET. ... David Lee Roth has gone from "Runnin' With the Devil" to ridin' with the paramedics. The former Van Halen frontman has been training to be a paramedic for a few weeks, riding several nights a week with a New York ambulance crew, according to The Associated Press. He has reportedly been on more than 200 rides and has yet to be recognized, and a few weeks ago he saved a heart attack victim in the Bronx by using a defibrillator on her. ...

Two decades after founding Def Jam Recordings, Russell Simmons is getting back into the label game with his new Russell Simmons Music Group imprint. The hip-hop mogul is looking to partner with one of the major labels, according to The New York Times. ... Xzibit and New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey will share the cover of "NFL Street 2." Due December 26, the EA Sports Big title marks the first time an EA Sports game has featured a music artist on its cover. ...

A firsthand account of one of Kurt Cobain's LSD trips is headed for the auction block. A note the late Nirvana frontman faxed to wife Courtney Love, titled "Courtney Love Breakfast Fax," during the band's 1991 U.K. tour details Cobain's exploits while on the hallucinogenic drug. The original document, which was given to a hotel clerk in Sheffield, England, as a souvenir, is expected to fetch between $12,000 and $14,000. ... The fifth annual Take Action! Tour is set to begin February 2 in Washington, D.C., with Sugarcult, Head Automatica, the Early November and Hawthorne Heights already on board. The tour, like last month's Take Action Vol. 4 benefit album, which features cuts from Taking Back Sunday, NOFX and Coheed and Cambria, raises money for the National Hopeline Network, a suicide prevention and crisis hotline. ...

Italian goth-rockers Lacuna Coil have begun work on the follow-up to their 2002 album, Comalies. On its Web site, the band writes, "Our producer Waldemar Sorychta came to visit us in Milan and we worked together for a short pre-production. We'll soon be in the studio to record the first of three songs for our new album." ... Sure it's only mid-November, but the party planners at PlayStation DualPlay think it's high time you got your New Year's Eve plans in order. They have enlisted the help of two electronic dance artists to host two simultaneous events that night. Paul van Dyk will hold court over New York's Ikon nightclub while Tiesto will host the festivities at the Hollywood Palladium. Clubgoers will get a chance to play several of PlayStation's new releases, while contest winners chosen prior to the events will receive prizes including all-expenses-paid trips to the event of their choice. ...

11.15.2004

Britney Spears has written a poem about her honeymoon and has posted it on her fan club's Web site. In the nearly blow-by-blow account of her trip to Fiji's Turtle Island, Spears describes her time alone with her new husband, Kevin Federline, as "magical nights" and a "little piece of heaven" but cuts short the details when it gets to the bedroom: "A meal, a shower and some ice cream/ Then I threw my man down, you know what I mean!" ... Lindsay Lohan is giving fans a sneak peek of her upcoming debut album, Speak -- the actress/singer has posted four audio clips of songs on her Web site and is taking a poll to see which tracks people prefer. The songs are "Nobody 'Til You," "Symptoms of You," "Over" and the title track. ...

A pretrial hearing was held on Wednesday in Los Angeles for the case in which a photographer is alleging that Christina Aguilera's bodyguard beat him up outside a club last year. "He was punched in the mouth, his mouth was bloodied, he had lacerations inside his mouth," the photographer's lawyer said in court. Aguilera has countersued photographer David Keeler, claiming she had nothing to do with what happened, and her lawyer said a self-defense argument would be explored. The judge encouraged both parties to reach an agreement. ... Aguilera's former tourmate isn't having much luck with paparazzi, either. Two photographers are suing Justin Timberlake and his girlfriend, Cameron Diaz, for assault and battery, claiming the couple attacked them when they tried to photograph the pair on November 6. Saul Lazo and Jose Gonzalez claim in a lawsuit filed Friday that they did nothing to harass the couple and stood more than 10 feet away when Diaz ran at Lazo, hit him, tripped him and took his camera. They say Timberlake screamed at the photographer, who was bleeding and on the ground. In a previous statement, the couple claimed they had been ambushed and acted in self-defense, and that Diaz only took the camera to later identify the photographers. ...

Timberlake's 'NSYNC groupmate Lance Bass makes a cameo appearance on the new show "$25 Million Hoax." For the show's second episode, the singer's job is to help a woman, who is trying to record a Britney Spears song at a recording studio, convince her friends and family that she has won the lottery and has become a spendaholic. The episode airs Monday (November 15) at 10 p.m. on NBC. ... Puddle of Mudd will play a show for some lucky fans at an undisclosed Los Angeles location Tuesday. On its Web site, the band extended an invitation to the first 150 of its "biggest fans" to attend a concert that will be recorded for release on DVD. Winners were supposed to be notified by no later than Monday, so if you haven't heard back yet, you're probably out of luck. ...

Ben Lee has finished his new album, Awake Is the New Sleep. Lee worked with producer Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins) on the album, due out in February. ... Morrissey has announced plans to reissue his latest album, You Are the Quarry, in a special CD/DVD deluxe edition. The CD half of the package now features nine B-sides. The DVD collects all three of the Mozzer's appearances on "The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn" from earlier this year along with his videos for "Irish Blood, English Heart" and "First of the Gang to Die." The combo is scheduled to hit shelves in December. ... Experimental U.K. group Stereolab are working on a three-disc retrospective of the EPs they've issued in their dozen years together. The as-yet-untitled set is due in April. Meanwhile, the band continues to work on a new series of EPs to follow up Margerine Eclipse, which dropped in January. ...