In the wake of his client's across-the-board acquittal on Monday, Michael Jackson's lead defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., spoke on Tuesday (June 14) to NBC's "Today" and said the pop star will no longer share his bed with young boys. "He's not going to do that anymore," the silver-haired lawyer said. "He's not going to make himself vulnerable to this anymore."...

This weekend, Green Day will perform before 60,000 screaming fans at the Milton Keynes Bowl, in (duh) Milton Keynes, England. In order to preserve the two-night stand for punk posterity, they're making a live film -- and you can help. The company producing the film, Ridley Scott Associates Films, is asking for fans attending either night's show to send in photos and videos of themselves explaining why they love Green Day to greenday@rsafilms.co.uk. Who knows, you could end up appearing in "Green Day Live at Milton Keynes," which will be available on DVD later this year. ... Primus have been added to the lineup of this summer's weekend-long Lollapalooza concert in Chicago (July 23-24). The addition was announced Tuesday afternoon by concert founder Perry Farrell during a telephone press conference. At one point, Farrell was asked what plans he has for his former band Jane's Addiction. His response? "When the sky rains money is when we're getting back together." ...

Since the release of Medulla last summer, Björk has been busy recording music for the soundtrack to "Drawing Restraint 9," which, according to her Web site, is "a visual artwork in film form made by Matthew Barney," the father of the vocalist's child. The film, which also features Björk's acting talents, tells a tale of "tea ceremonies, Vaseline, a shinto marriage and of course, the old classic whale-shapeshifting ending." The soundtrack, which hits stores July 25, will include the tracks "Gratitude," "Holographic Entrypoint" and "Antarctic Return." ... Tori Amos has lined up 26 dates for her North American Summer of Sin Tour, which kicks off August 8 in Atlanta and wraps up September 17 in Los Angeles. ...

Longhaired Louisville, Kentucky, rockers My Morning Jacket have finished recording their second album for Dave Matthews' ATO label, called simply Z. The LP features 10 tracks, with titles like "Wordless Chorus," "Gideon" and "Dondante." It was recorded in upstate New York by Radiohead and Stone Roses producer John Leckie and is due in stores on September 20. ... While they've been lauded by the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub and other Scottish indie rockers, Orange Juice remain relatively unknown in North America. Fronted by Edwyn Collins (known for his 1995 hit "A Girl Like You"), the seminal Scottish twee rockers may finally receive some Stateside notice with The Glasgow School, a compilation of their out-of-print material. Due July 26 on Domino, the deluxe 22-song package contains nine early singles released on Postcard Records, two unreleased rarities and the group's aborted first album, Ostrich Churchyard. ... Eighties staples the Violent Femmes will release a greatest-hits album on July 12, Permanent Record: The Very Best of Violent Femmes. The disc will also come with a DVD, which will feature the group's complete videography as well as live footage. ...

06.13.2005

While 50 Cent never pursued a college degree, that doesn't mean he wants his fans to follow in his footsteps. In fact, 50 would rather see young people further their education, and to that end, he's awarding 10 scholarships -- together totaling more than $31,000 -- to Bayside, New York's Queensborough Community College. Eight students from 50's alma matter, now called Campus Magnet High Schools, and one student each from nearby Springfield Gardens and Hillcrest High Schools will win the scholarships, being offered through 50's G-Unity Foundation. Students don't need the best of grades, either -- all it takes is a C, or 70, average. Interested students have been asked to submit 500-word essays and two teacher recommendations by the June 24 deadline. The winners will be announced on July 15. ...

Bobby Brown joined his old group, New Edition, onstage for a special performance of "Mr. Telephone Man" Friday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. During the concert, which also featured Gerald LeVert and headliner Brian McKnight, special guest Brown told the audience that if he only had 10 more minutes of performance time, he would tear their collective "asses" up. Later in the night, Brown tried to sneak in a couple more minutes. He came out -- uninvited -- during McKnight's set and took the mic out of McKnight's hands and began singing. Brown was escorted offstage shortly after, and McKnight finished up his set without further incident. ... Hilary Duff is planning to shoot a video in Toronto for her track "Wake Up," which she worked on with Good Charlotte's Joel and Benji Madden. Marc Webb -- who helmed both the "Helena" and "The Ghost of You" videos for My Chemical Romance -- has signed on to direct. ...

On Friday, a week after a Los Angeles Times story questioned a conspiracy theory in the 1997 murder of Notorious B.I.G. that was reportedly based on questionable information from a mentally ill informant, Biggie's family dropped two people from their wrongful-death civil suit -- former LAPD officer David Mack and accused gunman Amir Muhammad. According to The Associated Press, the City of Los Angeles remains the sole defendant in the case. ... The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday (June 13) refused to consider whether the 1992 Beastie Boys classic "Pass the Mic" infringed on the copyright of jazz flutist James W. Newton's "Choir," according to The Associated Press. Newton filed suit against the group more than five years ago, claiming the rappers sampled his song without his full permission. While the Boys did pay a licensing fee for the six-second sample, they never paid additional fees to license the underlying composition. In its ruling, the court explained that the short song portion in "Pass the Mic" was not "distinctive enough to be considered Newton's work." ...

The rift between over-the-top Brit rockers the Darkness and mustachioed former bassist Frankie Poullain appears to have gotten larger. Last week, Poullain told reporters in the U.K. that he had not left the band, but rather that he was fired. On Monday the band fired back, releasing a statement saying all the bass tracks on its upcoming album are being recorded by guitarist Dan Hawkins, because Poullain "had yet to participate in the recording of the album when his exit from the band was announced, so no re-recording of bass parts will be necessary." The Darkness also announced on their Web site, TheDarknessRock.com, that going forward, former touring guitar tech Richie Edwards will be assuming Poullain's role in the band. ... Cave In's forthcoming album Perfect Pitch Black will hit stores on September 13 through Hydra Head Records -- the band's original label home. The disc will feature a total of nine tracks, including "World Is in Your Way," "Ataraxia," "Screaming in Your Sleep" and "Tension in the Ranks." ...

Kevin "Beez" Beesley-Hammond, bassist for garage-punk band the Smugglers, suffered a heart attack last week after playing in a hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia. Beesley-Hammond was rushed to a local hospital, where an angiograph showed he had a "100 percent blockage" to one of his arteries, according to the band's Web site. He underwent surgery to remove the blockage and a stent was inserted to keep the artery open. Doctors expect he'll make a full recovery. ... Swedish fuzz-pop band the Concretes, whose song "Say Something New" is currently featured in a series of Target ads, are releasing a collection of rare singles and B-sides called Layourbattleaxedown. A cover of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You" is included in the set, which hits stores July 26. ...