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Archive: July 2010 (51-60 of 116)

Jul 20 2010 11:44 AM ET

Ice-T arrested for alleged driving violations

ice-t Image Credit: Johnny Nunez/WireImage.comIce-T was arrested this morning in N.Y.C. for allegedly driving with a suspended license and not having up-to-date insurance, a police representative confirms to EW. The rapper-actor’s arrest was first reported by TMZ, which said he was pulled over for not wearing a seat belt; the NYPD declined to provide EW any further details on the circumstances of his arrest. He has yet to be charged.

Ice-T’s camp did not immediately reply to a request for comment. We’ll update you with any new information that emerges.

UPDATE: Ice-T has addressed his arrest on Twitter this afternoon. “Some punk b—- rookie cop named [name and badge number redacted] Made the arrest of his bulls— career today,” he wrote, “Arresting the Notorious Ice T for no seatbelt..” A few minutes later, Ice-T added, “He said ‘I know who you are and I don’t give a f—!’ That was right after I called him a punk b—-.. Then they questioned me about FLTG.” FLTG stands for Final Level Twitter Gang, Ice-T’s name for his loyal Twitter followers. The NYPD declined to comment on Ice-T’s version of events.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Jul 20 2010 10:24 AM ET

Black Sabbath lawsuit: Peace breaks out between Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi

by Clark Collis

Categories: Metal, Ozzy Osbourne

Image Credit: Chris Walter/WireImage.comHeavy metal legends Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi have settled their dispute over who owns the name “Black Sabbath.” In May 2009, Osbourne filed suit against Iommi accusing the Sabs guitarist of falsely saying he was the sole owner of the moniker.

Today, a spokesperson for Osbourne issued a statement saying that the pair had, “amicably resolved their problems over the ownership of the Black Sabbath name and court proceedings in New York have been discontinued. Both parties are glad to put this behind them and… would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business.”

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Jul 19 2010 07:27 PM ET

Big Star bassist Andy Hummel dies at 59

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Big Star, In Memoriam

Image Credit: Tony Nelson/Retna Ltd.Andy Hummel, who played bass guitar in power-pop icons Big Star’s original line-up, has died of cancer at age 59. A representative for Rhino Records, which recently released a superlative box set of Big Star’s work, confirmed the sad news to EW.

Hummel’s passing comes just four months after Big Star leader Alex Chilton‘s life was claimed at the same far too young age of 59. Singer-songwriter Chris Bell died in a 1978 car crash, several years after leaving Big Star. Drummer Jody Stephens is now the only surviving member of the foursome that recorded 1972′s note-perfect debut #1 Record.

Hummel played bass on that album and 1974′s equally classic Radio City before departing the band. I saw him join Stephens and others on a Big Star panel at SXSW this March, days after Chilton’s sudden loss. He also helped perform several tunes at a tribute show for Chilton that weekend (pictured). It’s awful to think that now he, too, is gone too soon.

Please join the Music Mix in sending our sincerest condolences to Andy Hummel’s friends and family.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Jul 19 2010 04:24 PM ET

Radiohead album coming this year? Maybe, maybe not, says drummer Philip Selway

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: In the Studio, Music, Radiohead

Image Credit: John Shearer/Getty ImagesOne of the biggest mysteries in rock right now is when Radiohead will release their eighth album. Last month, guitarist Ed O’Brien said they were “at the finish line” after working on and off since at least March 2009. O’Brien even suggested, not for the first time, that the highly anticipated follow-up to 2007′s In Rainbows could be out by the end of this year. So when I sat down with Radiohead drummer Philip Selway today to talk about his excellent solo debut, Familial (out Aug. 31), I had to ask him how the band’s new album is coming along. “It’s not finished yet,” Selway replied immediately. “It’s still ongoing. We like where we are so far.”

Selway added that Radiohead’s latest studio sojourns have been “very productive, very creative sessions. You don’t want to start summing them up, though, until you’ve actually finished. I think that’s when you get the real hindsight on it, and the real flavor of actually what went on.” As for that 2010 deadline that O’Brien mentioned? “Oh, I don’t know. We keep on hitting those points where you think, ‘We’re there.’ And then [later] you think, ‘No, it’s not.’ We’re having a break from it at the moment. I’ll be [promoting Familial], and then we’ll come back to it later in the summer and see where we are.”

So there you have it. LP8 may or may not be in your hands by New Year’s (hey, he didn’t deny it), but either way, sounds like things are going well. Anyway, considering the out-of-the-blue surprise release strategy Radiohead employed for In Rainbows, I wouldn’t count on too much advance notice whenever they decide the next one is done. When do you think that day will come? Are you looking forward to the next Radiohead album as eagerly as I am?

Also: Radiohead drummer Philip Selway preps a suprising solo debut: The Music Mix Q&A

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Jul 19 2010 02:27 PM ET

Lissie's got a new album, and we've got her new song: Stream 'Bully' exclusively here!

by Whitney Pastorek

Categories: An EW Exclusive!, Downloads and Streams

Image Credit: Valerie PhillipsToday in exclusive streams, we’ve got a new one from moody chanteuse Lissie, off her upcoming LP, Catching A Tiger. It’s called “Bully,” and it’s produced by Band of Horses bassist Bill Reynolds. If you liked what you heard on Lissie’s debut EP, Why You Runnin’, it seems likely you’ll enjoy this track, all slow burn and yearning vocals and yummy reverb. And, AND, if you really like it, you can go ahead and preorder Catching A Tiger now, before its Aug.17 release date. Lissie would no doubt be much obliged.

Give a listen, Mixers, and let us know what you think in the comments!

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Jul 19 2010 11:49 AM ET

Usher's 'Behind the Music': Why we can't wait to watch

by Brad Wete

Categories: Buzzworthy, R&B, Television, Things That Are Awesome, Things That Make Us Go Hmm, Usher

Tonight VH1 airs the season finale of Behind the Music with R&B titan Usher. It chronicles the 31-year-old’s climb from choir boy to pop-music icon. VH1 just released a 10-minute preview, and there’s loads of debauchery, which started with hip-hop impresario Diddy (then Puff Daddy) in the early ’90s. When Usher was a young teen, he was sent to Diddy’s Flavor Camp in New York to sharpen his swagger. There he says he was surrounded by “sex, drugs, orgies…” and presumably more. The story builds to the ugly breakup with TLC’s Chili that set the tone for his R&B opus Confessions. He’d later marry Tameka Foster, proclaiming his love for her and his grown up ways on Here I Stand. Then he’d follow up with his latest effort Raymond V Raymond after divorcing her. This guy’s life has been a trip. Check out the preview after the jump. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 16 2010 03:50 PM ET

Vampire Weekend controversy: More details on the former model who's suing the rockers, plus responses from the photographer and band

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Legal Troubles, Vampire Weekend

Former model Ann Kirsten Kennis was surprised to see her face on the front cover of Vampire Weekend‘s Contra when her teenage daughter brought the album home this year. “Her daughter came home one day and said, ‘Hi, Mom, see your picture?’” attorney Alan Neigher, who is representing Kennis in her $2 million lawsuit against the band for allegedly using her image without permission, tells EW.

Kennis retired from modeling years ago and now lives in Connecticut with her husband and daughter. According to her lawyer, the photo was taken in 1983, but not as part of her professional career. “It was taken by her family,” Neigher says. “It was a Polaroid, not a modeling picture.” So how did it wind up on the cover of a No. 1 hit album? Kennis isn’t sure. “Her mother was a chronic Polaroid snapshot taker, and used to sell whole archives of photographs to these shops, five bucks a hundred or whatever,” says Neigher. “Her mother may have given away to a charity bazaar a whole ream of photographs. We just really don’t know…She has no idea how that photograph got into the photographer’s hands.”

“The photographer” is Tod Brody, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. He laughed out loud when told of Kennis’ story. “Ms. Kennis’ claim that I didn’t take the photo is blatantly false,” Brody tells EW. “I took the photo in 1983. The photo was in my possession the entire time, for 26 years, until it was delivered to Vampire Weekend.” Brody declined further comment, citing his own attorneys’ advice.

[JULY 22 UPDATE: Neigher has since clarified that he was only speculating when he said that a member of Kennis' family snapped the shot. "We have no idea who took the picture," he now tells EW. Kennis maintains that she never met Brody and that her signature on the release form he gave Vampire Weekend was forged.]

Vampire Weekend has yet to comment on the case. (See update after the jump.) After hearing both stories, who do you think is in the right here? Weigh in below. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 16 2010 02:11 PM ET

Did 1995 have the best summer songs of the past 25 years?

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Listmania!, Songs of Summer, The Notorious B.I.G., TLC

Every year when the weather turns warm, publications like this one reopen the all-important debate on the best songs of that particular summer. Katy Perry, Kanye West, and Usher are among the artists in contention for the 2010 title by our reckoning. Billboard recently tried to add a scientific and historic dimension to the discussion by ordering the 10 top songs for each summer from 1985 to 2009 based on chart performance. Their 25 individual lists are well worth perusing for anyone inclined to musical nostalgia. Taken together, they also raise an intriguing secondary question: Which of those summers gone by had the best songs?

I hereby nominate 1995. I knew I’d end up picking some year from the ’90s before even looking at the lists, simply because that’s when I first started paying pop music serious attention as an adolescent. Regarding each list more closely, though, I’m struck by how many classic tunes were inescapable between June and August ’95. TLC’s unassailable “Waterfalls” tops the count. At No. 3, it’s the Notorious B.I.G’s timeless “One More Chance.” Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose” and All-4-One’s “I Can Love You Like That” round out the R&B roster nicely. Rock fans, meanwhile, could choose between Bryan Adams’ enduringly cheesy “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?” and Blues Traveler’s alt nugget “Run-Around.” Yeah, that was a great summer on the radio.

Then again, who’s to say 1985 (Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, Prince) or 1999 (Christina Aguilera, Destiny’s Child, Ricky Martin, Backstreet Boys) or 2002 (Nelly, Jimmy Eat World, Cam’ron, Nelly again) doesn’t have it beat? Check out Billboard‘s lists and let us know which summer you think had the best hits.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Also: EW’s 100 Greatest Summer Songs of All Time

Jul 16 2010 02:00 PM ET

Justin Bieber... Comic book star? Yes!

by Brad Wete

Categories: Ah, Youth, Guilty Pleasures, Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber isn’t even legal yet, but his biography is already on he way. It won’t be some lengthy book, though. In 32 pages, the Bieb’s life is going to be told in a comic book. Bluewater Productions announced yesterday (June 15) that the dirty blonde heartthrob’s life story, Fame: Justin Bieber, hits stores this October. Tara Broeckel Ooten wrote while Claudio Avella handled the drawings. Oh yes, for a modest $3.99 you too will learn how the Canada native turned some YouTube clips into a record deal and flipped the tween world upside down with hits like “Baby” and “One Time.”

Lady Gaga and Twilight vamp Robert Pattinson also have had the honor of having their life stories told through Bluewater’s Fame series. How do you think Justin’s will do? If the cover art’s any indication, he’s going to experience out of this world success. Let us know what you think.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Jul 16 2010 12:52 PM ET

'The Social Network' trailer: Who's that choir covering Radiohead's 'Creep'?

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Radiohead, What's That Song?

The latest trailer for The Social Network, director David Fincher’s Facebook movie, set the blogs afire yesterday — not least because of the eerie choral cover of Radiohead’s 1993 hit “Creep” that soundtracks its opening images of friend requests and status updates. So who’s that singing?

Reports have identified several contenders. A rep for Columbia Pictures confirms that the correct answer is Scala and Kolacny Brothers, an otherwise little-known Belgian women’s choir (pictured) headed by conductor Stijn Kolacny and pianist Steven Kolacny. “Creep” appeared on 2002′s On the Rocks, their first collection of rock and pop covers. Tunes by Nirvana, Muse, Kylie Minogue, and Wheatus also got the choral treatment on that disc.

Check out the full version of Scala and Kolacny Brothers’ “Creep” after the jump (brief NSFW language), followed by that Social Network trailer. An inspired choice, no? I bet Social Network co-star and noted Radiohead enthusiast Justin Timberlake was feeling it.

READ FULL STORY »