Don't expect Hilary Duff to play light teen roles forever -- as her 18th birthday approaches, the singer hopes to dig in to meatier roles that would let her stretch her acting muscles. She says she's been holding onto a script for the past year that she'd love to see made into a movie, "but who knows if it's ever going to happen." The character she would play is "so cool and weird and messed up. It's not like she's a druggie, she's just different, she's just in her head, she's crazy," Duff said. "I think it would be good for girls to see that." She thinks the project will have to wait at least another year because it's not what people expect of her, and she thinks she needs to "ease into" roles like that. "This is a business, and you have to give people what they want to see," she said. "It's the smartest thing." ...

Beck, Weezer and Oasis will headline Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM's fifth annual Inland Invasion. Garbage, Jet, Bloc Party, the Arcade Fire, the Bravery, Cake, 311, Live and Madness will also perform at the event, scheduled for September 17 at the Hyundai Pavilion in Devore, California. ... Blingtones is launching a phone-only golf game featuring an animated Lil Jon aiming for a hole in one and sporting his best golf threads. The "Crunk Golf" game will take place in urban settings in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Jon's hometown of Atlanta. Four unique courses will be designed for each city: New York's course, for instance, will feature the King of Crunk teeing off a building rooftop, while in Miami he plays golf in the middle of the beach while bikini-clad women tan around him. ...

Michael Jackson was fined $10,000 on Wednesday (August 17) by a U.S. District Court judge in New Orleans for failing to have a lawyer present at a July hearing on sexual assault charges, The Associated Press reports. The civil case was brought by a man who claims to have unlocked repressed memories of Jackson molesting him during the 1984 World's Fair. Jackson has denied the charges, and his attorneys claim that the summons regarding the court date was lost in the shuffle because it arrived on June 13, the same day Jackson's child-molestation trial in California ended in an acquittal. ...

The previously postponed August 7 Ozzfest date, which was rescheduled to take place September 10 at Float-Rite Park in Somerset, Wisconsin, was canceled Tuesday night, according to the venue. The show was set for a do-over next month because of Ozzy Osbourne's continuing throat problems, but the concert's organizers ended up scrapping the date entirely because too many of the acts on the bill would have been unable to perform due to scheduling conflicts. Refunds are available at point of purchase. ... Less than a week after revealing that, after 10 years of headlining the Ozzfest, he'd be taking a break from next year's incarnation, Ozzy's looking for a guitarist to work with him on his next studio effort. A posting on the Ozzman's Web site is calling for "all interested parties" to send demos "showcasing their guitar skills" to a Beverly Hills, California, post-office box, but a spokesperson for Osbourne wouldn't reveal whether Ozzy's in need of a lead or rhythm guitarist. The search raises questions about the state of Osbourne's relationship with longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde, but according to Wylde's management, "Zakk will play with Ozzy until they are both in the grave." ...

Queens of the Stone Age really want to take their riotous rock show to the United Kingdom -- honest. It's just that every time they announce a U.K. show, something goes terribly wrong. Like back in February, when frontman Josh Homme came down with a severe case of bronchitis, ending the band's U.K. tour. Or just last month, when a sold-out London gig had to be canceled when terrorist attacks shut down the city. And now, as the Queens prepare to play a rescheduled gig at London's Brixton Academy -- and film it for an upcoming DVD -- comes news that Homme had to have knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. According to a spokesperson at QOTSA's label, Interscope, the Brixton show will go on according to plan, however. Let's hope so. ... Le Tigre's album This Island spawned so many remixes of "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" and "After Dark" -- from the likes of Peaches, Junior Senior, A Touch of Class and more -- that the trio are going to compile the best makeovers. This Island Remixes is due out on Chicks on Speed Records in October. Meanwhile, Le Tigre are working with Missy Elliott on a remix of "Punker Plus" -- the rapper's favorite on the band's album -- and hope to release that separately. ...

Slipknot will launch their Subliminal Verses tour in Cincinnati on October 14, with As I Lay Dying and Unearth in support roles. The 23-date trek includes a Halloween date in New York. ... That's not Slipknot in Burger King's music-video-style commercial for chicken fries -- that mask-wearing metal group is called Coq Roq. The confusion between the two, however, is about to be sorted out in court, as Burger King filed a lawsuit on Friday against Slipknot in Miami federal court, seeking a judgment that their use of the mock metal band "does not violate any rights, including rights of publicity or trademark rights" of Slipknot. A spokesperson for the band had no comment, and a rep for Burger King could not be reached by press time. ...

John Loder, whose London-based Southern Studios housed a recording studio and a record-distribution center for dozens of independent labels and artists, died Saturday of a brain tumor. Loder had been a vital proponent of independent music in the U.K. for more than 20 years, both behind the desk and in the studio, producing sessions for PJ Harvey, Fugazi, Ministry, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Bauhaus and many others. He was 59. ...

08.16.2005

Phil Anselmo, ex-Pantera frontman and current singer for Superjoint Ritual, joined sludge-metal outfit Eyehategod onstage Monday night during the band's set at New York's CBGB. Anselmo played guitar with the group, according to a CBGB employee, in what was his first public appearance since the murder of his Pantera bandmate "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott in December. ...

Though their set will not be televised, Good Charlotte are on the bill for the September 8 free concert celebrating the opening of the NFL season. The band will perform alongside Kanye West and Maroon 5 outside the Los Angeles Coliseum. ... Ludacris has signed Field Mob to his Disturbing Tha Peace imprint. The Albany, Georgia, duo's third release, Light Poles and Pine Trees, is due in November and will feature Luda, Bun B, Bone Crusher, Jazze Pha, Bobby Valentino and Ciara, who guests on the second single, "So What." The first offering is titled "Friday Night," while another track, "Georgia" (which samples Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind"), is also garnering radio play in the South. ...

There's more legal trouble this week for Mystikal. The "Shake Ya Ass" rapper, who was convicted of sexual battery in early 2004 and is currently serving out a six-year prison sentence in Louisiana, was charged on Friday with two counts of failing to file federal income-tax returns, according to The Associated Press. The Internal Revenue Service claims Mystikal didn't file in either 1998, when he made more than $820,000; or 1999, when he brought home more than $930,000. If convicted, Mystikal could be sentenced to two more years behind bars. ... Whatever you call it -- purple rain, sizzurp or lean -- apparently too many people in Houston are sipping on it, and officials are looking to put a stop to it. Six Houston-area pharmacists who dodged a verdict for illegally peddling prescription cough syrup back in May are facing jail time once again. The pharmacists are accused of distributing 2,500 gallons of codeine-fortified cough syrup -- a substance that largely fueled the "chopped-and-screwed" movement in hip-hop -- in a little over a year, according to the Houston attorney general's office. ...

Every teenage private investigator needs a killer soundtrack to follow his or her, um, private investigating, and Veronica Mars is no exception. So it's probably a good idea that Nettwerk Records is planning to release the "Veronica Mars" soundtrack, featuring 14 tracks by artists like the Dandy Warhols (performing the UPN show's theme, "We Used to Be Friends"), Tegan & Sara and Spoon. The album is due in stores on September 27. ... Avril Lavigne is auctioning off concert tickets, autographed photos and other items to benefit Health Care for All - California, a nonprofit organization supporting single-payer-model approaches to universal healthcare. Details are available at AuctionsForChange.com. ...

"A Girl Like You" singer Edwyn Collins was finally allowed to return home after spending six months in a hospital following brain surgery to repair two brain hemorrhages, according to a BBC News report. In a note on his Web site, Collins, who recently took his first steps, said he was feeling "fine" and thanked fans for their support. ... The Gorillaz are checking into the Habbo Hotel virtual hangout. The band will be fielding questions from thousands of "Habbos," the visual avatars of hotel guests in attendance, during an interactive Q&A session on August 24. Also, 24 lucky Habbos will be selected to conduct private one-on-one interviews with each of the bandmembers. ...

Spearhead leader Michael Franti has announced the lineup for his seventh annual 911 Power to the Peaceful music/art fest in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The September 10 concert -- the theme of which is Bring 'Em Home -- will feature sets from Spearhead, Jean Grae, Saul Williams, Anti-Flag, Zap Mama's Marie Dauln and J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science. Among the guest speakers are Woody Harrelson and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. The social justice-themed event is also adding an extreme-sports element this year, with an ecologically correct skate ramp made from "forest stewardship certified" wood, which will be donated to a local high school after the concert. ...

Ryan Seacrest will co-host and executive produce the 34th edition of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" special live from Times Square in New York on December 31. Seacrest signed a deal with ABC that will eventually find him taking over as sole host. ... Leonard Cohen is suing his business manager, claiming she stole more than $5 million from him over the course of seven years. His lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court this past week, claims Kelly Lynch misappropriated money beyond her standard 15 percent cut by gaining control of nearly all of Cohen's royalty income, arranging to sell it, and devising "unnecessarily complex corporate structures" that allowed her a bigger percentage. Cohen also names Richard Westin, a tax lawyer, in the suit. ...