Allure magazine didn't get its scheduled interview with Britney Spears, but it did complete its photo shoot, which features the star topless. ([article id="1567329"]Check out excerpts right here[/article].) The accompanying article is an amusing meditation on Britney's past, Dick Cheney (!) and the writer's experiences waiting for the interview to happen. For more, check out allure.com/go/britney. ...

Always bank on Jay-Z: The hip-hop mogul has topped Forbes.com's list of "Hip-Hop Cash Kings" after earning an estimated $34 million in 2006. 50 Cent ranks second with an estimated $32 million, and is followed by Diddy ($28 million), Timbaland ($21 million), Dr. Dre ($20 million), Eminem ($18 million), Snoop Dogg, Kanye West ($17 million), Pharrell ($17 million), Scott Storch ($17 million), Ludacris ($16 million), T.I. ($16 million), Outkast ($14 million), Lil Jon ($14 million), Ice Cube ($13 million), Jermaine Dupri ($12 million), Swizz Beatz ($12 million), Chamillionaire ($11 million), Game ($11 million) and Yung Joc ($10 million). ...

Joel Madden was caught in an interesting predicament on "Live! With Regis and Kelly" on Thursday morning (August 16) when Philbin let a little secret slip: the Good Charlotte frontman has a "surprise" for girlfriend Nicole Richie. "You're going to present her, maybe, with -- did I hear the right thing, or should I not even talk about this?" Philbin said on the program, to which Madden, who was appearing on the show with his band, coyly replied, "Uh, what?" After Philbin clarified by saying, "A little ring or something," Madden answered, "I was hoping it would be a surprise, but now. ..." Philbin tried to change the subject after that, turning to Joel's brother Benji and asking who he is dating. Nicole is four and a half months pregnant with her and Joel's child. ...

A judge is allowing the four parties who are suing Brandy over the fatal multi-car crash she was involved in late last year to combine their civil-court cases, TMZ.com reports. The trial will start January 28. ...

Rock the Bells just got a little quieter. The show that was slated for Sunday at Sacramento, California's Sleep Train Amphitheatre -- but wasn't set to feature Nas, Rage Against the Machine and the Roots, among others -- has been scrapped due to poor ticket sales, The Sacramento Bee reports. The Saturday gig at San Francisco's McCovey Cove parking lot is still a go, and promoters just released 5,000 more tickets for the show. ...

Mike Jones, OK Go and the Rapture are getting a kick out of "MLS Represent," a new Major League Soccer/ Adidas campaign that is asking artists to come up with theme songs for MLS teams. The Polyphonic Spree, Meg & Dia, Barenaked Ladies, Kinky and Bad Brains are also involved in the effort, the results of which can be heard here. ... Elvis Costello covering Christina Aguilera? Why not? The esteemed singer/songwriter has contributed a rendition of Xtina's "Beautiful" to the "House" soundtrack, due September 18. ...

Serj Tankian recently debuted his new solo track "The Unthinking Majority" and accompanying video on his Web page, and now his System of a Down pals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan are following suit by getting their Scars of Tomorrow project rolling. "Accompanied by some great musicians, we are preparing to go into the studio really soon to record our debut album," Malakian wrote in a post on the band's just-launched MySpace page. ...

Blaqk Audio are setting out to prove that CexCells on the road. AFI's Davey Havok and Jade Puget will bring their recently released project to the masses with 13 North American dates starting August 30 in San Francisco and ending September 27 in Los Angeles. And in the event that you're in Southern California this week, the group will sign copies of its debut LP at Best Buy stores in West Hollywood and Oceanside on Friday and Saturday, respectively. ...

Seether have canceled two upcoming concerts -- in Idaho Springs, Idaho (Saturday), and Southaven, Mississippi (August 24) -- after frontman Shaun Morgan's brother Eugene passed away Monday. In a MySpace post, the band said Morgan's brother "was an awesome human being, the type of person you want to be around. He never failed to put a smile on the face of all who he met and left a lasting impression on all whose lives he touched." ...

A new Pearl Jam release? No way. The band got together with famed photographer and rock-doc director Danny Clinch for "Immagine in Cornice (Picture in a Frame)," a film that provides highlights of five concerts Eddie Vedder and the gang played in Italy last year. The flick also follows PJ as they travel through the country, and includes interviews and more. Fans who preorder the DVD on the band's site during a pre-sale on August 22 will get a bonus limited-edition tee. ...

Violent Femmes have a new blister to pick at: Founding bassist Brian Ritchie has sued Gordon Gano, claiming the singer wrecked the band's reputation by allowing its best-known song, "Blister in the Sun," to be used in a Wendy's commercial. Ritchie also alleges that he wasn't given credit for, and proper account of, some of the band's songs. Gano told The Associated Press that the suit was "a complete surprise. ... We just played a really, really good tour [in South Africa]." Ritchie is seeking unspecified damages, a ruling that would declare him to be half-owner of the Femmes' catalog, and an accounting of royalties. ...

Bruce Springsteen will release his first album in five years with the E Street Band on October 2. The 11-song Magic was produced by Brendan O'Brien (Velvet Revolver, Red Hot Chili Peppers), and features "Radio Nowhere," "You'll Be Comin' Down," "Livin' in the Future," "Your Own Worst Enemy," "Gypsy Biker" and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes." ... Eric Clapton dropped $120,000 this week for 12 paintings by graffiti artist Lee Quinones, RollingStone.com reports. Each painting portrays the artist shoplifting a different '70s album, from James Brown's Sex Machine to Isley Brothers' Get Into Something. ...

And the remakes keep coming: "The Shield" producer Kurt Sutter will write and direct a new take on Bruce Lee's landmark martial-arts flick "Enter the Dragon," to be called "Awaken the Dragon." The cast and shooting schedule have yet to be revealed. ... Phil Spector murder-trial defense witness Dr. Michael Baden's credibility was called into question on Wednesday when prosecutors scrutinized the fact that the forensics expert is married to defense attorney Linda Kenney Baden. ...

Legendary jazz drummer and bebop founder Max Roach died Wednesday night in New York. Roach, considered to be one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, worked with everyone from Duke Ellington and Sonny Rollins to Miles Davis and Charles Mingus.

08.15.07

Lindsay Lohan may be in rehab, but that hasn't stopped Maxim from featuring her on the cover of its 10th anniversary issue, which hits newsstands Tuesday. In the interview -- which was conducted in mid-May, before both her DUI arrests -- Lohan cites the obscure track "It's for You" by Out Hud as her go-to DJ song and shares her guilty pleasures: "Larry King Live," "Oprah" and junk food. When asked what she would bring to a remote island, she said: "I'd take an iPod, a good book and a friend, because I wouldn't want to be alone." While the Maxim shot dates back a few months, TMZ.com has posted a photo of a smiling Lohan the site says was taken Tuesday at the Cirque Lodge rehab center in Orem, Utah. The pic shows the actress on her way to a tanning center. ...

Foxy Brown turned herself in to New York police on Tuesday and was charged with assaulting her neighbor with a cell phone last month, according to authorities. The rapper was formally charged with felony assault, menacing, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon. Brown -- who was charged for assault at a beauty-supply store in Florida in February and claimed to have been a victim of assault herself in June -- is scheduled to appear in court September 26. Nonetheless, despite the legal issues, Brown still managed to find room on Tuesday to announce her departure from longtime recording home Def Jam in favor of Koch Records. A representative from Koch confirmed Brown has signed with the indie powerhouse and is scheduled to release her next album, Brooklyn's Don Diva, December 1. ...

Another subpoena was issued late Tuesday in the Britney Spears/ Kevin Federline child-custody battle, this one for former Spears assistant Shannon Funk. The singer's cousin Alli Sims and bodyguard Daimon Shippen have also been served with depositions. ... Paris Hilton's Hollywood Hills mansion was recently sold for $4.25 million, Us Weekly reports. ...

Remy Ma (born Remy Smith) appeared in a Manhattan, New York, courtroom on Tuesday in connection with a July 14 incident in which she is alleged to have shot her longtime friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph after a disagreement over money. Ma, who has been charged with attempted murder, assault and weapons possession, will remain free on $250,000 bail until November 29, according to her lawyer, Ivan Fisher, who said the prosecution is expected to hand down an indictment by that point. ...

If you've had enough of the "Chocolate Rain" shower, you might want to grab an umbrella -- Tay Zonday and his notorious song are heading to the stage. The YouTube phenom will open for laptop wizards Girl Talk and Dan Deacon at Minneapolis' First Avenue on October 5. ... Hungry for new Jimmy Eat World material? The band will churn out Chase This Light -- the follow-up to its 2004's gold effort, Futures -- on October 16. The album's first single, "Big Casino," goes to radio later this month. Jimmy Eat World just wrapped their first trek through South Africa and are heading to Europe to play festivals, including Reading and Leeds, this week and next. ...

Jermaine Dupri is all too familiar with being in the recording booth, where he has created countless hit records for himself and others. But the legendary music man will soon been shown in a different type of booth -- the ticket booth. Dupri recently shot a TV commercial for Dunkin' Donuts' "ordinary-people campaign" as a parking-lot attendant at Rutgers university. In the ad, Dupri simultaneously takes tickets and hosts a crunk party in his booth. ... Now he's really smiling: Jimmy Fallon got engaged to girlfriend Nancy Juvonen in New Hampshire over the weekend. It will be the first marriage for both. ...

Sorry, Radiohead fans -- the band's next studio effort has bumped to 2008, RollingStone.com reports. ... Superdrag have reassembled their original lineup for six gigs in October and November, but before they play those shows, the band will hit up the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati on September 27. Superdrag frontman John Davis will double up by delivering the keynote address at the festival as well. ... Frank Black just put out his 93-03 retrospective release and has a new album due September 11 from his Black Francis alter ego, but he's not through yet -- the Pixies frontman also recently recorded covers of Tom Waits; Roxy Music; and the Good, the Bad & the Queen songs for an exclusive live iTunes EP. The five-song session, which also features the Black originals "Massif Central" and "Manitoba," is available now. ...

Don Imus was sued by a member of the Rutgers university women's basketball team on Tuesday, the same day he settled a breach-of-contract suit with CBS -- which now allows him to make a bid for a comeback at a new radio station. Kia Vaughn alleges slander and defamation of character in the suit, claiming Imus' inflammatory comments about the Rutgers team damaged her reputation. ... Michael Jackson was also sued on Tuesday, by his former entertainment lawyers who claim the singer owes them $113,750. Jackson agreed in arbitration last year to pay Lavely & Singer $180,000 in three installments, according to the law firm, but he didn't make the last payment before the July 31 deadline indicated in the settlement. ...

Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler said Tuesday that Phil Spector's defense violated discovery laws by withholding information after a pathologist introduced a new theory in the death of actress Lana Clarkson on Tuesday. Fidler cleared the jury from the courtroom after Dr. Michael Baden, who could be the defense's last witness, testified that Clarkson's spinal cord was not completely severed when she was shot, which supports the defense claim that she spit blood onto the music producer's jacket after shooting herself. But because Fidler declared that the defense had violated the rules of discovery, Baden's testimony was rendered inadmissible.