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For The Record: Quick News On Madonna, Jessica Simpson, Avenged Sevenfold, Nine Inch Nails, David Lee Roth & More

Madonna video details emerge; Avenged Sevenfold, NIN sign on for Global Gathering.

Madonna's incorporating a bit of "Pimp My Ride" into her video for her next single from Confessions on a Dance Floor. The car-makeover show will be a component of her "Sorry" clip, which is shooting in London in mid-January with director Jamie King, according to Madonna's rep. ...

Nine Inch Nails, Rob Zombie, Avenged Sevenfold, Coheed and Cambria, Rise Against and Shinedown are among the acts slated to play the Global Gathering 2006 music festival at Bicentennial Park in Miami on March 18. The show's Web site also promises lots of action on three techno/dance-oriented stages, with sets by Sasha & Digweed, Deep Dish, Überzone and Freq Nasty. ...

Need a little Jessica Simpson to inspire you during your downward dog in yoga class? She's signed a Yogaforce mat to auction on eBay's Giving Works to benefit the Skin Cancer Foundation. The auction ends on Valentine's Day. ... Vanessa Carlton has teamed up with producer Linda Perry for her Harmonium follow-up. Calling the producer "fantastic and genuine and really inspiring," Carlton posted on her Web site that they had "a blast" during their "whirlwind studio moment," and have finished five songs together so far. Carlton also wrote that thanks to Perry, she's finished half of the new album. "You guys are gonna be psyched," she wrote. "Loving this stuff." ...

After mixed reviews for his first day on-air as Howard Stern's replacement, could David Lee Roth be planning for the future already? While recently promoting his new morning show, Roth told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that a much-talked-about reunion with his former bandmates in Van Halen is unavoidable. "I talked to the drummer [Alex Van Halen] about a week ago," said Roth, "and I think, eventually, the inevitable will happen." Roth, 51, booted in 1985 from the band he helped co-found, has frequently been at odds with guitarist Eddie Van Halen and a recent attempt at a reunion fell apart after the band recorded two new songs for a greatest-hits album. The singer suggested the reunion was not that far in the future. "It definitely won't be rockers with walkers," he said. "Getting onstage and singing 'Dance the Night Away' -- let me tell you how difficult that isn't going to be." ... The Strokes are celebrating the release of their third album, First Impressions of Earth, with a few secret U.S. shows. They actually kicked off the jaunt Tuesday night in Chicago, and they'll make just three more appearances -- Thursday at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle, Friday at the Troubadour in Los Angeles and Monday at the Loft in Atlanta -- before jetting off to the U.K. for a month's worth of gigs. ...

The Flaming Lips are gearing up for the April release of their new album, At War With the Mystics, by re-releasing one of their old albums. As a DVD. On January 31, they'll drop a 5.1 stereo mix of their 1999 LP, The Soft Bulletin, complete with album outtakes, radio sessions and music videos for "Race for the Prize" and "Waitin' for a Superman." ... New Jersey's Senses Fail will soon be locking themselves in a "windowless room and finish the writing of the new record," according to the band's Web site. The group recorded demos of some of the new material "in the back of the bus" on its recent tour with Saves the Day. ...

01.03.2006

Pimp C, one half of the influential Houston rap duo UGK, has been released from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Terrell Unit, where he'd been serving an eight-year prison term since 2002 on an aggravated assault charge. According to The Associated Press, Pimp C (real name Chad Butler) served half the time, and became a free man on Friday. C's partner in UGK, Bun B, told the wire service he's anxious to hit the studio with his comrade. "The album is probably going to be one of the most anticipated projects in rap," he said of the next UGK LP. ...

Former Pantera/ Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul performed with his band Gasoline in Arlington, Texas, on New Year's Eve, and was joined onstage by former Pantera bassist Rex Brown. The band, with Brown, performed two Pantera cuts: "Walk" and "Cowboys From Hell." The gig marked the first time the two former bandmates had shared the same stage in five years. ... White Stripes drummer Meg White will be the face of an upcoming ad campaign for fashion designer Marc Jacobs. The ads will be shot by famed photographer Juergen Teller. It's not the first time Jacobs has dipped into the musical well to find models: Past campaigns have featured artists like Sonic Youth and Stephen Malkmus. ...

Kevin Federline clearly isn't going to be stopped by the universal disdain heaped on his first leaked song, "Ya'll Ain't Ready." Britney Spears' husband has begun offering his first official single, the rump-shaker "PopoZao," for download on music.yahoo.com. The song, built on a whining keyboard and spare drum-machine beats, has K-Fed rapping the song's title repeatedly, followed by the verse "In Portuguese it means bring your ass/ On the floor and move real fast/ I want to see your kitty and a little bit of t---y/ Wanna know where I go when I'm in your city/ Girl, don't you worry about all the dough." Clearly those trips to the strip clubs were not in vain. ... Madonna's not the only one saying "Sorry" -- now the Pet Shop Boys are joining in on Madge's second single from Confessions on a Dance Floor. Neil Tennant added some vocals to the track when the Pet Shop Boys had their way with it in December, remixing it for a maxi single due in February. The remix was premiered last week at Beige in Los Angeles. ...

Patrick Cranshaw, the actor who portrayed elderly fraternity brother Joseph "Blue" Palasky in the 2003 comedy "Old School," died of natural causes Wednesday at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, according to The Associated Press. He was 86. A veteran character actor, Cranshaw's career spanned more than 50 years, though he is probably best known for his turn as Blue, the senior citizen who joins Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell's fraternity in "Old School" and eventually expires just as he's about to wrestle a pair of topless coeds. ... Coheed and Cambria singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez recently broke his hand while sparring with his brother, boxer Matthew Sanchez. The injury, known as a "boxer's fracture," involves the ring finger and pinky of the right hand. He'll be sidelined for at least a month -- three weeks in a cast, and one or two undergoing physical therapy. Unfortunately, the break has forced the band to postpone its upcoming European tour with Thrice for about a month. ... The title track from Kittie's forthcoming EP, Never Again, has made its way online. A link to the song has been posted on the band's MySpace page. The all-female Canadian metallers will release the EP digitally on February 7. ...

Sony BMG has tentatively settled more than a dozen consumer class-action suits brought against the company over its use of copy-protection software on its CDs. The company is awaiting the approval of the settlement of the 15 suits, which is expected on Friday. "Sony BMG is pleased to have reached this agreement with the class-action plaintiffs and we look forward to the court approval process," a spokesperson said in a statement. As part of the settlement, the company has offered to add an incentive of $7.50 cash and a free album download to consumers affected by the XCP software, or three free downloads in place of the cash. Sony BMG has also pledged to stop manufacturing CDs with the XCP and MediaMax software and agreed to clearly label any anti-piracy measures it uses in the future. The settlement does not cover a suit by the Texas attorney general alleging violations of that state's anti-spyware law. ... Motorola is planning to roll out a subscription music service this year called iRadio that could rival satellite radio providers XM and Sirius. The service is expected to first launch on the Rokr E2 phone and hold about 70 hours of music culled from iRadio's 435 commercial-free radio channels, which have names like Angry Women, Feeling Punkish, One-Hit Wonders, Jerry's Psychedelic Circus, When Grunge Was King and Rockin' Cowboys. Users download the channels on their computer and transfer them to play on the phones or on their car or home stereos for about $7 a month. They will also have the ability to turn their own personal music collections into programmed radio stations. ...

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