Tagged: musicgossip

After a week or so of looking like a massive, racist jackass, it looks like John Mayer is finally getting a break: Someone wants to offer him a job! Nope, he didn't get hired as a KKK outreach worker. Vivid Entertainment wants him to write porn ! Never mind that his penis is a white supremacist; the company must be banking on the theory that many red-blooded American males share his discriminating (or is that "discriminatory"?) tastes. It seems that in a part of Mayer's Playboy interview that many might have overlooked because [...]

Oh, boy. I can't believe this is still happening , but alas: Former Incubus DJ Gavin Koppel has taken to YouTube to clear his name after word of his alleged death threat against current Incubus DJ Chris Kilmore reached the media. Unsurprisingly, Koppel feels he's been misrepresented and has some harsh words for the press. "Most of these people got to get their own life. Perez Hilton is basically nobody, and he justs sits around and gossips" Koppel says in the clip, which also mentions TMZ. Then, it's time for Koppel to address the assumption [...]

Sigh. Before we get going here, you may need some background. You remember Incubus , right? From high school, perhaps? You know that one song that goes all, "Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there, with open arms and open eyes"? That one you used to sing with your boyfriend when someone's parents were out of town and you were drunk on wine coolers? Yeah. That band. Well, it seems they're still around. Also, they have a DJ. Yes. They are a modern-rock band with a DJ. And you know what? That just may prove to be their downfall. [...]

Gosh, I sure can't think of anyone Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-worthy these days, can you? Surely, all of the artists deserving of this honor have already received their dues. What's that? Harry Nilsson isn't in there yet? And neither are Carole King, Alice Cooper , or Warren Zevon ? Chubby Checker ? Well, now I'm just confused, because Rolling Stone editor-in-chief and head honcho of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Jann Wenner claims he needs to change the rules on account of there just [...]

I think it's fair to say that the general reaction to the news that Jessica Simpson and Billy Corgan are dating has been a resounding "WTF." And yet, sources are running around telling tabloid media that "She has fallen hard and is smitten" and assures us that the couple are, in fact, "officially dating." For some reason, it's even public knowledge that Simpson and Corgan are easing into their relationship. "They are getting to know each other," said one tipster . "He's a nice guy." But here's the question that's been [...]

Wow, I guess it's really not the '90s anymore. Marilyn Manson's latest album, The High End of Low , has sold only 121,000 copies in the U.S. since it was released in May, and Interscope Records has cut the cord. Plenty of bands would be stoked to sell even 100,000, but considering all of Manson's albums went gold or platinum in the States and/or internationally (with the exception of 2007's Eat Me, Drink Me ), it's a pretty shabby performance. Manson isn't too upset about the split, however, saying that he felt [...]

There are many cheap shots to be made about Michael Jackson 's involvement with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 : Children, animals, Michael Jackson, hahaha. Now that we've gotten that out of our system, can we talk about how totally random this is? The Guardian reports that Jacko and composer Brad Buxer "composed various themes for the 1994 Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game." Buxer explains that Jackson - apparently and unsurprsingly a big fan of the console game - didn't want to take credit for his work on the soundtrack because he wasn't [...]

This year in indie rock has been a serious clash of the titans, with Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Atlas Sound, The Flaming Lips, The Mountain Goats and (if you're into it; I'm kinda not) Grizzly Bear all putting out career-highlight albums. But 2010 is shaping up to be no slouch, either. We've already heard about new efforts from Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, Hot Chip and Spoon all priming hotly anticipated records. And now - hold onto your pants, hipsters - Billboard tells us that none other than [...]

I've already said all I care to about Spin and The Fiery Furnaces ' recent attacks on Radiohead . But while the latter has chosen not to respond to Matt Friedberger's provocations, it looks like a minor target of the indie rocker's wrath is having his say - in a singularly musical way. You may remember that when The Fiery Furnaces issued a press release clarifying that they, in fact, do not like Radiohead, they got in a parting shot at another musician with both mainstream popularity and critical cred: "Matt would have much [...]

Emo kids will forever remember where they were the moment NME sent the following fateful tweet : " Fall Out Boy have split up, apparently." While no story link followed, it seems the statement checks out. Contact Music is reporting that the band is no more - and that guyliner icon Pete Wentz blames himself for its dissolution. It seems he feels his personal life (Hi, Ashlee!) became a "hindrance" to the group's progress. Here's the quote Contact plucks from a Kerrang! magazine interview: My biggest personal reason [...]

Well, we've heard Steven Tyler and Joe Perry 's respective takes on what may be the dissolution of Aerosmith : Tyler wants to take two years off, Perry wants to keep going with or without him... and there may or may not be some greater, underlying, interpersonal problem that involves Tyler not speaking to the rest of the band except through management. But, as I wondered last week, what does everyone else in Aerosmith think? Now we know. Or, at least, the band's drummer Joey Kramer has publicly weighed [...]

What have we learned from this week's Fiery Furnaces vs. Radiohead tempest in a bitter teapot? Personally, what I get out of it is that not enjoying a certain British "rock" band is veritable sacrilege. When did personal taste become so controversial? For those who aren't up on the world's silliest controversy, here's what happened: In an interview with Spinner , the Furnaces' Matthew Friedberger mentioned that the band's song "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" didn't impress him. Well, okay, it sounds like he even got a bit animated about it. "You brand yourself by [...]

Oh, dear. This is not good. Those wondering whether 17-year-old Frances Bean Cobain takes after her mom or her dad may finally have their answer. You see, she's been displaying some pretty distinctly Courtney -like behavior of late. Just about a month ago, Cobain posted a Twitter rant criticizing Ali Lohan ... who she doesn't even really know. Here's the crux of her beef: "Your not entitled to anything simply because your sister has a recognizable name. Your idea of fame isn't fame. It's infamy. You want to be famous? Work your ass off [...]

Glam-rocker Gary Glitter will be publicly "executed" on a new television program on Channel 4. Fret not, Glitter fans, the musician and real-life criminal will not really be killed, but instead, an actor assuming his role will be mock-executed on a show that introduces fictionalized capital punishment laws in the UK. The fictionalized version of the sleazy, '70s pop-star is set to be hanged by the neck on a show entitled The Execution of Gary Glitter . The British film has been shot as a documentary, following Glitter's fictional arrest and police interrogation. Glitter's televised crimes mimic his real-life [...]

It's no secret that I am madly in love with Jarvis Cocker . I even dig his solo work, which some have derided as mediocre. But I have to admit, I sure wish he'd soften up on his refusal to perform any Pulp material on tour. You see, since I wasn't betting on the band reuniting, I was pinning all my hopes of witnessing "Cocaine Socialism" live. But it looks like I may have been prematurely pessimistic. In a piece of news that has the Brit-pop nerds at NME [...]

Oh man. So what's less surprising: that Will.i.am has once again been accused of stealing someone else's work, or that Perez Hilton is already crowing about it ? As you might remember, the self-described "Queen of All Media" got into a scuffle with the Black Eyed Pea a few months ago and now, well, it's personal. Hilton quotes a tweet from musician/producer FrankMusik: "OK SO Cheryl Cole ft Will.i.am - Boy Like You IS A COMPLETE RIP OFF OF A TRACK I DID FOUND HERE!" But you know what? [...]

• Pylon - Beep

The Twitter verse was taken by storm yesterday when the social networking site buzzed with rumors of the rapper's death in a car crash earlier in the afternoon and "R.I.P. Kanye West " became a trending topic. I'm pleased to state that reports of Kanye West's death are greatly exaggerated, and by that, I mean, he's not dead at all. West is very much alive and well, according to girlfriend Amber Rose 's own Twitter account. "This RIPKanyeWest topic is not funny and it's NOT TRUE!" she wrote. "He has people like myself and his [...]

There was a time when Ja Rule 's classic screams of "It's Muuurdah" were synonymous with his success in the rap game. But after being on the losing end of a very public battle with 50 Cent and an already-failed comeback attempt, Ja may be lucky if it's even involuntary manslaughter this time around. Feeling resilient and as if he's got even more to offer to the industry and his fans, the Murder Inc. franchise player recently announced that he's set to drop a new three-disc album entitled Venni Vetti Vecci in 2010. [...]

Sometimes, when the going gets tough, the tough start signing release papers. In a gutsy move, the original Mr. Slow Flow, Ma$e , took career matters into his own hands, making that his now former boss, Sean "Diddy" Combs , let him out of his long-standing contract with Bad Boy Records. After playing a public cat-and-mouse game to get free of the decade-old contract, Mason Betha decided that a surprise party might be the best way to gain his independence. In what some may describe as a "friendly business bumrush," Ma$e decided to pay Diddy a [...]

Boy George and Amy Winehouse would make a great team: aging, gay, ex-con, New Wave has-been meets beehived, drug-addicted diva. Wacky antics ensue! The pairing has camp potential for miles. They may even be soulmates. Unfortunately, no collaboration is in the works just yet. But Boy George did write a song for Winehouse, when he was in prison "for beating and falsely imprisoning a man in his East London flat." Titled "Your Pain Makes a Beautiful Sound," the track, NME reports, includes the lyrics, "You're a genius, you're a [...]