Jay-Z calls Radiohead 'genius,' glows about Feist; Lohan eyes 'urban pop'; GZA reportedly rips into 50 at show.
By MTV News staff
Britney Spears
Photo: Hot Shots Worldwide / Splash News
Britney Spears' no-show at her court-ordered deposition on Wednesday will be addressed in court "probably within the next 30 days," Kevin Federline's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan told UsMagazine.com, and according to The Associated Press, the attorney will file papers requesting that sanctions be imposed on her before the next court date, on January 23. "This can be done with her participation or without it. But it doesn't help anyone not to obey court orders," he told UsMagazine.com. "We will go forward, and she can respond in any way that addresses her failure to appear." The lawyer had previously told People.com that he was planning to ask the court for "some kind of remedy" regarding the matter, calling the singer's absence at the deposition a "willful non-appearance." According to Kaplan, he learned moments after the singer was due to arrive at the deposition that she wouldn't be going due to a "medical condition." "But she was in fact out later that day and night," he told People.com. "It's not fourth grade, where you get a doctor's note and it's all OK. She was ordered to attend. And if there's a legitimate reason for her not to attend, she would have to establish that." The attorney said he would ask the court to have Spears pay for expenses incurred due to the missed deposition, but he added, "We're not interested in punishing her. We're interested in getting facts." ...
Radiohead apparently have a fan in Jay-Z. The hip-hop mogul told Billboard.com that the band's In Rainbows release scheme "was a genius idea. I'm sure someone [in R&B/hip-hop] will follow that model," he said, adding that he would be willing to follow in their footsteps. On a similar note, Jay addressed the rumors about him leaving Def Jam. "The model of selling CDs has changed," he said. "So doing things the typical way is not in the best interests of anyone and not exciting for me. My whole thing is, how do we invest in the future? If everyone is committed to doing that, then I'm sure there's a deal to be made." In the interview, Jigga also beamed about Feist ("I'm riding with [The Reminder] right now. Her voice is so distinctive and beautiful") and Amy Winehouse ("I'd love to work with her again. I hope she keeps herself together"), and revealed that he'll put out another album "if I'm inspired. I have one album left, right? If I'm inspired to make that album, then my contract is done and I'm not in the music business anymore, as far as being an artist. I can still make music. ... Who knows? The possibilities are endless — and without any pressure to sell anything, I could make whatever and do whatever with my music. Maybe the songs would just play in [my] 40/40 [Club]." ...
"Hannah Montana" tickets are so hard to come by these days, even Lindsay Lohan can't score 'em. According to People.com, the actress phoned into Las Vegas radio station Mix 94.1 on Friday (December 14) in an effort to get tix for her friend's nieces — the station's morning show had been giving away tickets to people who were able to get celebrities to call into the show. While on air, Lohan — who left rehab in October — talked about how she's been lately, saying, "I think my life is different now, and it's changed, and I'm growing up. I've gone through a lot, and I'm just a different person now." She later added, "It's amazing, everything's going so well." She also gave an update on her recent recording sessions: "I've been in the studio, and it's going really well, and I'm really excited, 'cause it's going to be more urban pop." Finally, Lohan revealed that she wants to head to Africa on a humanitarian mission in the near future. "I really love children," she said, "and it would be nice to give back." ...
50 Cent might have more beef coming his way — GZA dissed him during his club show at the Knitting Factory in New York on Thursday night, saying, Fif "ain't got no mother----ing lyrics," according to RollingStone.com. He also reportedly paid tribute to his fallen Wu-Tang Clan group mate Ol' Dirty Bastard at the gig, the first of a two-night residency during which he is performing his classic Liquid Swords album in its entirety. ...
Just in case you forgot that Tom Morello has a lot of friends, check out a partial list of the guests who performed with him Thursday night in Hollywood at his final Nightwatchman show of the year, according to RollingStone.com: Slash, Serj Tankian, Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, Perry Farrell and his Satellite Party, Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, Filter frontman Richard Patrick, Mötley Crüe's Mick Mars and actor Tim Robbins. Among the songs Morello and the gang reportedly tore into were covers of Crüe, Who, Phil Ochs, Thin Lizzy and Woody Guthrie tunes. ...
Despite UsMagazine.com's Thursday report that Jessica Simpson's "Blonde Ambition" flick is going straight to DVD, People.com says the movie actually get a limited theatrical run in the actress' home state of Texas. "Blonde" will be shown in eight theaters starting December 21, and if it does well, could see a wider release, according to the site. The DVD of the comedy — which co-stars another Texas native, Luke Wilson — will hit stores January 22. ... The reunion tour by the Police was the highest-grossing tour of 2007, raking in more than $212 million while selling 1.8 million tickets, according to Billboard Boxscore. It was followed by another boomer-riffic reunion tour — Genesis came in second on grosses of $129 million, followed by Justin Timberlake, who took in $126.8 million and drew more than 1.6 million fans worldwide. Also making the top 10 was Christina Aguilera, who nosed in at #9 on grosses of $48.1 million. Despite the massive grosses by the top acts, overall the magazine reports that North American concert dollars and attendance were down double digits for the year, with grosses slipping 10.2 percent and attendance down 19.2 percent. ...
In a scene that could have been cut from one of those 1980s John Hughes teen-angst movies, a custodian's impromptu after-hours karaoke performance of the Guns N' Roses classic "Welcome to the Jungle" at a Roxbury, Connecticut, high school almost ended in disaster. According to AP, police say a Booth Free School teacher, who was working after-hours and thought she was alone in the building, barricaded herself in her classroom when she heard someone singing the lines, "You're in the jungle, baby! You're gonna die!," over the loudspeaker, and thought it was a threat directed at her. Six troopers and three police dogs raced to the scene and found three teens — one of whom is a school custodian — who had been messing with the public-address system. The three were cuffed for 15 minutes during the investigation, and no charges were filed in the end. ...
Tegan and Sara will hit the pavement with Northern State for a monthlong European trek starting February 22 in England and winding down March 20 in the Netherlands. ... In other tour news, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings have lined up a bunch of dates for January and early February. The soul/funk squad will begin its jaunt January 3 in Florida and bring it to a close February 2 in Nashville. ... Paramore, New Found Glory, the Starting Line, Bayside, Saves the Day and Chiodos will light up next year's Bamboozle Left fest, set to go down April 5-6 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, California. Two-day passes are on sale now. ... Chiodos have also been added to the bill for Linkin Park's upcoming U.S. tour with Coheed and Cambria. The trek launches February 12 in Omaha, Nebraska, and wraps March 10 in Sacramento, California. ...
Kill Rock Stars, Touch and Go and other indie labels have written an angry letter to Rolling Stone in response to the Camel cigarette controversy that was revealed last week. The labels — as well as state attorneys general and anti-smoking activists — are upset about a Camel ad that appeared alongside a cartoon-heavy indie-rock feature in the magazine's November 15 issue. "[We] wish to share our indignation regarding [the] pull-out editorial, which featured the names of our artists in conjunction with an ad for Camel cigarettes," reads the letter. "This editorial cartoon gives every impression of being part and parcel of the advertisement wrapped around it. The use of an artist's name to promote a brand or product should be done only with the artist's explicit consent, something that was neither solicited nor obtained from the labels or bands. ... Many of the bands named, and the labels that represent them, are very unhappy with the implication that they have any involvement with R.J. Reynolds and Camel cigarettes. We ask that Rolling Stone apologize for blurring the line between editorial and advertisement, and in doing so, implying that the bands named support the product being advertised." Skin Graft, Lovepump United, Lucky Madison, 5RC, Audio Dregs and Fryk Beat also signed the letter. ...
Side One Dummy's second annual Rock to Roll charity concert — which was held Tuesday and featured performances by Flogging Molly, the Bouncing Souls and others — raked in more than $35,000 for UCP Wheels For Humanity. The group helps people with disabilities become more self-sufficient and mobile. ... Sugarcult will stage their fifth annual Christmas Toys for Tots Charity show Thursday at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California. The benefit is being put on in conjunction with Toys for Tots, and attendees are asked to drop off an unwrapped toy at the Sugarcult merch table — those who do will get a gift bag of swag items from the band and other show sponsors. The gig will also feature New Year's Day, Lorene Drive, Them Terribles and Rocket. ... Speaking of rockets, Rocket From the Crypt, who ended their career with a Halloween gig in their San Diego hometown two years ago, are getting some posthumous love via a CD/DVD set immortalizing the show. R.I.P. drops February 26. But while RFTC are dead, John Reis is carrying on with a new project also featuring former Hot Snakes bandmates Gar Wood and Jason Kourkounis. The act — the name of which still hasn't been revealed — will dish up a yet-untitled album on March 25 and support it with a tour. ...
Tori Amos might seem genteel enough, but that wasn't the case at her concert in San Diego on Wednesday night, when she lashed out at a pair of fans who were disturbing the performance. According to a video on TMZ.com, the singer/songwriter ripped into two girls, saying, "It's a privilege to sit in the front row. I reserve those seats for people who appreciate music. Get the f--- out!" Her label reportedly responded with a statement, saying, "Tori doesn't sell front row seats to her shows. She'll pick fans that are in the back row and she will upgrade them. It is a privilege to get picked. Apparently these two girls were on their cell phones all night. ... It was her sticking up for her other fans that missed out on the opportunity." ...
Jack's back: Singer/songwriter Jack Johnson issued a new single, "If I Had Eyes," on Thursday through iTunes, with customers who preorder his February 5 album, Sleep Through the Static, getting the track for free. The LP was made using solar energy at Johnson's eco-friendly studios in Los Angeles, Billboard reports, and similarly, he will launch his next tour on Earth Day — April 22 — in his native Hawaii. ... Speaking of iTunes, Silverchair are putting out a new release exclusively through the online store on Tuesday. The Greatest View EP features four songs, including the title track — which was previously available on the band's 2003 disc, Diorama — as well as a pair of videos. ...
Score one for Nicole Kidman — the "Golden Compass" actress has accepted unspecified damages from U.K. newspaper The Daily Telegraph for falsely reporting she had breached the terms of a contract, according to AP. The paper had said Kidman — who has a promotional contract with Chanel No. 5 perfume — was carrying a bottle of a competitor's perfume while in London to hype her new flick, but her lawyer said the source of the report had invented the story. The Daily Telegraph is reportedly paying the actress' legal costs, as well as "substantial" damages. ... Johnny Depp might play a serial killer in his new flick "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," but he's actually a pretty nice guy — Autograph Magazine has named him the most gracious celebrity, in terms of signing autographs, for the third year in a row. Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Russell Crowe (yup, you read that right) followed behind Depp, while on the flipside, Will Ferrell, Scarlett Johansson and Tobey Maguire were named the worst celebrity signers. ...
Liza Minnelli collapsed onstage in Sweden during a show Wednesday and was later rushed to the hospital for medical treatment. A statement from her publicist Liz Rosenberg that appeared on the singer's Web site said she "became very ill shortly after the show began. ... She will now be seeing her doctor to determine what caused her dizziness and to collapse." After performing three songs at a holiday concert, Minnelli dropped her microphone and stumbled offstage, according to multiple reports. ...
Cast King, a country artist whose music will appear in Gus Van Sant's upcoming flick "Paranoid Park," died Thursday at his home in Alabama. He was 81. Locust Music, his label, is trying to raise money to help King's family pay for medical and funeral expenses — go to its Web site for more information.
12.13.07
Britney Spears' "Piece of Me" video is in place, even if it won't actually be out until January at earliest — People.com posted a sneak preview of it on Thursday (December 13). In the clip, her second one for Blackout, the singer and her dancers are chased by the paparazzi and duck into a club in an effort to escape. (Check out snaps from the "Piece of Me" video shoot right here.) Don't forget that Britney has reached out to fans to direct a separate "Piece of Me" video for her, with the winning clip to air December 20 on "TRL." For the "Britney Spears Wants a Piece of You" contest, MTV has opened its vaults of the footage shot of the pop singer over the years, and fans can access the goods via the MTV Video Remixer. Pick the shots you like, mash them up and hit "send" — clips can be up to 3:34 in length or shorter. The grand-prize winner also will receive a brand new Haier Ibiza Rhapsody device along with a one-year subscription to Rhapsody, as well as the entire catalog of Spears' CDs and DVDs released in the U.S. ...
Scott Weiland's DUI case will be continued on January 17, according to TMZ.com — the Velvet Revolver frontman was due to be arraigned Thursday (December 13). Maybe it would have helped if the rocker had gotten that news Wednesday night, when he allegedly ranted onstage at Velvet Revolver's show in Hollywood, the site reports. Weiland reportedly said his group is not the "Mormon Tabernacle f---ing Choir" and, a source allegedly told the site, steered clear of his bandmates backstage after the show and didn't have his picture taken. ... Scott Stapp is off the hook — a domestic battery charge against the rocker has been dropped after he completed terms of an agreement, including his required participation in anger management counseling, according to The Associated Press. The original charge was aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony but it was reduced to a misdemeanor on Monday. Stapp was arrested in May after his wife accused him of taking drugs and throwing a bottle at her. As part of his agreement, he also underwent a substance abuse evaluation and agreed not to have any weapons in his possession. ...
So much for Jessica Simpson's "Blonde Ambition" — the actress' flick, inspired by the '80s classic "Working Girl," is going straight to DVD, according to UsMagazine.com. The comedy, which co-stars Luke Wilson, will hit stores January 22. ... If you think that lock of John Lennon's hair went for a lot of money — it was auctioned for $48,000 on Wednesday — wait till you hear how much a London dealer threw down for a handwritten, illustrated J.K. Rowling book: a cool 1.95 million pounds, the U.S. equivalent of $3.98 million, according to Reuters. The copy of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" — a book that is referenced in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — was auctioned Thursday in London, and the price is the most anyone has ever paid for a modern literary manuscript at auction. All proceeds will go to Rowling's charity the Children's Voice, which helps vulnerable kids across Europe. ...
A Louisiana judge denied a request from C-Murder to travel to Texas for Pimp C's funeral on Thursday (December 13). According to an AP report, the judge would not make an allowance for the trip for Murder (born Corey Miller), who is currently under house arrest awaiting a retrial for the 2002 murder of a teen inside a nightclub. ...
Ne-Yo is heading to Wal-Mart — but not to go holiday shopping. Instead, the R&B singer will be at the retail chain's location in Torrance, California, on Friday to help with a toy drive for inner-city children. ... Coldplay have unearthed their cover of the Pretenders' Christmas-themed "2,000 Miles" and posted it on Coldplay.com. The group recorded the song — which benefited Future Forests and Stop Handgun Violence — in 2003 and made it available for a limited time as a paid download on their site. "We love Christmas songs, but every time we try and write one it's awful," Chris Martin wrote in an accompanying post. "So we often cover them — well, once or twice, actually. In fact, the song I would most like to have written is 'Fairytale of New York' by de bloody Pogues of Ireland." ...
Shakira elbowed her way onto the list of Golden Globe nominees — her "Love in the Time of Cholera" contribution earned a nod for Best Original Song. "I composed 'Despedida' with all my love for [Gabriel] Garcia Márquez, who is for me a true genius and the most eloquent spokesman of my people," she said in a statement, referring to the author who wrote the book on which the film was based. Eddie Vedder's "Guaranteed" from "Into the Wild" also made the cut, as did the "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" tune "Walk Hard," which was penned and performed by John C. Reilly, Marshall Crenshaw, Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow. Similarly, three "Wild" Vedder songs and a trio of "Walk Hard" cuts have made the Oscar committee's list of tracks being considered for Best Original Song, according to a weblog on Variety.com. Fifty-nine tunes — including ones by John Legend, John Mayer, the Flaming Lips, Sondre Lerche, Rufus Wainwright, Sheryl Crow and Fountains of Wayne frontman Adam Schlesinger — are eligible for the award. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will screen film clips featuring the tracks on January 15, after which the actual nominees for the Best Original Song category will be determined. ...
R. Kelly's Friday night concert at the Forum in Los Angeles will be protested by black activists calling for action against the singer, who is facing 14 counts of child pornography, the Los Angeles Times reports. "It's like pulling teeth to get people to talk about this," one activist, Jasmyne Cannick, told the Times. "It's a challenge to get the black community to even discuss it. They're acting like he doesn't have 14 counts of child pornography against him. ... We're all acting like we don't have daughters and nieces and little sisters." But Kelly's manager, Derrell McDavid, didn't seem too worried when he spoke to the newspaper. "There's been no protests on this tour," he said. "It's just been a warm embrace and sold-out shows." ... Are the Smashing Pumpkins already working on new material? It seems that way — but this time around, fans won't have to wait nearly as long. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin wrote in a blog post on their Web site that they're in the midst of tracking, and hinted that the Pumpkins might have new material to release as early as January 1. "We are back in the studio recording some songs for a possible release worldwide," he wrote. "Look for these around the first of the year." ...
Snoop Dogg's Youth Football League is still going strong, and the rapper has plotted a third benefit show to raise funds for the project, which helps kids stay off the streets. "The kids in the league depend on me to keep it going, and giving 100 percent of the sales from this concert is my way of making it happen for all of them," he said in a statement about the show, which will take place Saturday at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California. All proceeds will go to the league and be used for new uniforms, transportation, lodging and food for the upcoming Snoop Bowl, taking place during Super Bowl weekend in Arizona. ... Linkin Park's ambitious Music for Relief project has taken on another cause: raising money and awareness about the humanitarian crisis that has resulted in Bangladesh in the aftermath of Cyclone Sidr. The outreach organization has launched an eBay auction featuring items by LP, Avril Lavigne, Smashing Pumpkins and Deftones, with all proceeds going to the international relief group Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere. ... George Clooney and Don Cheadle were honored in Rome on Thursday with a peace award for their efforts to raise awareness about the Darfur humanitarian crisis, according to AP. Also Thursday, they urged world leaders to provide helicopters for a peacekeeping force, partially led by the United Nations, that will take over security in the Sudanese area later in December. ...
Look, up in the sky, it's the Spice Girls! The reunited group has revealed the name of its Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet: Spice One. The name was chosen via an online contest, and the winner — who hails from Brazil — recently joined the ladies at their recent ceremony at Los Angeles International Airport. ... Three Thom Yorke remixes that were previously available on his Web site will be issued February 4 in the U.K. in the form of 12-inches. The remixes are by the Field, Four Tet and others. ... Lupe Fiasco has filled up his calendar with concert dates, promotional appearances in support of his sophomore album, Lupe Fiasco's "The Cool," which drops Tuesday. LupeFiasco.com will be relaunched that day, on which Fiasco will also play a gig at New York's the Fillmore at Irving Plaza. After that, he'll stage a December 20 in-store gig at the Bassment in his Chicago hometown; a "MySpace Presents the Release" show in Hawaii on December 27; and then set out on a tour that starts January 10 in Portland, Oregon, and ends March 25 in Fredricksburg, Virginia. In the meantime, stream The Cool in its entirety on MTV's "The Leak." ...
While less than 20,000 of the reported millions who wanted to see Monday's Led Zeppelin reunion in London were actually able to attend the gig, millions more briefly relived the experience vicariously through bootleg online clips. But, almost as fast as those clips showed up on sites like YouTube, they were reportedly taken down at the request of the band's management. Or perhaps at the request of Warner Bros., which owns the publishing rights to Zeppelin's catalog, according to Portfolio.com, which reported that individual clips began disappearing from YouTube on Tuesday afternoon "due to a copyright claim by Warner Music Group," which, incidentally, has a licensing deal with YouTube for its content. However, the story got even weirder Thursday morning, when the Silicon Alley Insider revealed that a Brooklyn, New York, company called "GrayZone," which bills itself as the "bootbusters of the entertainment industry," took the initiative in sending out the takedown notices. According to the Alley Insider story, GrayZone apologized for erroneously issuing the notices and explained, "The error is ours alone. We acted without authorization from the band or Warner Music Group. Unfortunately, an automated system mistakenly attributed the removal of the content to a copyright claim by Warner Music Group. That was inaccurate. We have informed YouTube of the error and we regret any inconvenience this may have caused." Speculation had surfaced that the reason for the takedown might be tied to an expected DVD release of the event at some point next year. ... In related news, Robert Plant will tour next year, but not necessarily with Zep. He'll make the rounds with Alison Krauss, with whom he collaborated for their October release Raising Sand. The pair will trek through Europe in May. ...
There's a new "Jackass" movie coming, and you won't even have to leave the house to see it. The 64-minute "Jackass 2.5" will stream for free from Wednesday until December 31 at JackassWorld.com with previously unreleased footage and interviews. The movie, touted as the first-ever studio-backed feature streamed entirely online, is available to anyone over 17 who downloads the Microsoft Silverlight media player, which can be found at Blockbuster.JackassWorld.com. ... Janet Jackson has finally settled on a title, release date and lead single for her follow-up to last year's 20 Y.O. Discipline will drop February 26 and be preceded by the first single, the Rodney Jerkins-produced "Feedback," which impacts January 7. Ne-Yo, Jermaine Dupri, Stargate, The-Dream and others also lent their talents to the veteran singer's 10th studio effort, which was executive produced by Antonio "L.A." Reid. ... The Liars have lined up a headlining stint for next year as they continue to support their self-titled release, which came out in August. The band will set sail January 25 in San Francisco and play about a month's worth of gigs that will wind down with a February 22 show in Los Angeles.
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