Friday, March 12, 2010

• Top Stories: March 12, 2010

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  • Watch Lady Gaga, Beyoncé’s “Telephone”
  • Phil Spector Appeals Murder Conviction
  • News Ticker: The Clash, Metallica
  • Conan O’Brien Announces Bonnaroo, Tour
  • Pearl Jam Plot May Tour Dates
  • Corgan on Mayer’s Career-Destruction
  • Idol to Tackle Rolling Stones Songs
  • Pink Floyd Halt Single-Song Downloads
  • Strokes Confirm Lollapalooza Slot
  • Actor Corey Haim Dead at 38
  • Kate Nash Talks My Best Friend Is You
  • OK Go Split With EMI, Form New Label
  • Faith No More Announce East Coast Show
  • U2’s Spider-Man Loses Evan Rachel Wood
  • Watch Exclusive New Runaways Clip
  • Beastie Boys Delay Hot Sauce to Late 2010
  • Exclusive Premiere: Yeasayer’s “O.N.E.”
  • MGMT Unveil New Song “Flash Delirium”
  • Win a Trip to See STP at SXSW!
  • T.I. Announces Return With “I’m Back”
  • Foo Fighters Team With Vig For Heavy Disc
  • Win the White Stripes’ Box Set

  Scroll down for full news stories, commentary and much more in Rock Daily.

  Top Stories: March 12, 2010
• Phil Spector Appeals Murder Conviction Citing Error, Misconduct

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  Photo: Getty
  
  Lawyers for producer Phil Spector have appealed his 2009 murder conviction, claiming he didn’t receive a fair trial. Last May, Spector, now 70 years old, was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his California mansion in 2003. Citing judicial error and prosecutorial misconduct, his legal team requested the conviction be overturned and he be given a new trial, the AP reports.

  The Rise & Fall of Phil Spector: Photos from his famed studio sessions.

  In papers filed Wednesday, the attorneys claimed prosecutors improperly used testimony from five women who claimed that Spector threatened them with guns in the past. The accounts, they wrote, “became the heart of the state’s case” and were used to persuade jury members to convict Spector “based on his bad character and evil propensities.” His lawyers said their testimonies had nothing to do with Clarkson’s death and that none of their stories “involved events in which Mr. Spector put a gun in someone’s mouth, much less fired it.”

  Phil Spector on trial: photos from the crime scene to the courthouse.

  Spector’s lawyers criticized the actions of Judge Larry Paul Fidler, citing that he allowed prosecutors to use the word “pattern” more than 40 times in describing Spector’s history with women and guns. They also decried the judge’s decision to allow jurors in the second trial to see a taped hearing from the first trial that was conducted outside the presence of Spector. On the tape, the judge was seen interpreting a forensic witness’s testimony about the position of the blood spatter on Clarkson’s body. “Under California law, a judge may not offer evidence in a trial over which he presides,” the appeal states, adding that the judge could not be cross-examined by the defense on what the prosecutors said was the most important fact of the case — whether the blood spatter showed who pulled the trigger.

  The state attorney general’s office is expected to file a reply brief next month.

  Related Stories:

  • Jailhouse Rock?: Charles Manson Reaches Out to Phil Spector
  • Phil Spector Moved To California Facility For Prison Sentence
  • Full Coverage: The Phil Spector Trial

  Phil Spector Appeals Murder Conviction Citing Error, Misconduct
• News Ticker: The Clash, Ray Charles, Amy Winehouse, Metallica

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  Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty
  

  • The Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simonon both play on Gorillaz’s new Plastic Beach, and Spinner reports the pair might be considering joining Damon Albarn’s outfit on a brief tour. If true, it would mark the first time the former bandmates have shared a stage in public since 1983.

  • Unchain My Heart, a musical about Ray Charles, will make its Broadway debut November 7th, the AP reports. Ray producer Stuart Benjamin is working on the project.
  • Amy Winehouse is getting into the fashion business. launching a new line for Fred Perry. The singer’s Website announces that her 17-piece black and pink-dominated collection features polo shirts and pencil skirts and is due in October.
  • TIcketless Metallica fans rioted in Colombia earlier this week, leading to more than 100 arrests and eight injuries outside the band’s show at Bogota’s Simón Bolívar Park. Pollstar reports.
  News Ticker: The Clash, Ray Charles, Amy Winehouse, Metallica
• Lady Gaga and Beyonce Unleash Orgy of Sex, Violence, Product Plac...

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  Lady Gaga and Beyoncé’s anxiously awaited video for their The Fame Monster collaboration “Telephone” has arrived as a nine-minute-and-thirty-second mash-up of lesbian prison porn, campy sexploitation flicks and insidery winks at the two divas’ public personas. If Quentin Tarantino and Russ Meyer remade Thelma & Louise as an orgy of product placement with fiercely choreographed interludes, this would be the result. The video was scheduled to premiere on E! at 11:30 p.m. tonight, but hit the Internet early via a leak. Jonas Åkerlund, who previously helmed Gaga’s “Paparazzi” video, directed the clip.

  Check out Lady Gaga’s wildest looks.

  The mini-movie opens in a women’s prison, where guards strip Gaga bare and mutter, “I told you she didn’t have a dick,” fanning the flames of one of the most persistent rumors about Stefani Germanotta’s gender identity. Almost immediately the self-referential nudges and brand names appear: the boom box in the exercise yard blasts Lady Gaga’s “Paper Gangsta,” a fellow inmate wears Monster Heartbeats earbuds, Gaga has a Virgin Mobile phone tucked in her pants and sports Chanel shades and Diet Coke cans in her hair as makeshift curlers (nice touch!).

  The song kicks in just before the three-minute mark as Gaga (in a spiked bikini and what appears to be Karen O’s jacket from the “Zero” video) takes a call in jail and launches into the most appealing afternoon imaginable behind bars — a tightly choreographed routine that has Gaga and four tattooed backup dancers stamping through the cell block.

  When Beyoncé’s scheduled interlude arrives, the song breaks for another dramatic sequence. A guard perusing dating Website Plenty of Fish on a Beats by Dre laptop informs Gaga she’s been bailed out. Beyoncé (nicknamed Honey Bee, a nod to Honey Bunny from Pulp Fiction) rolls up in the Pussy Wagon from Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume One, informs Gaga, “You’ve been a very bad girl” and feeds her a sticky treat. Simply being in Tarantino’s car inspires some Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield banter (”You know Gaga, trust is like a mirror. You can fix it if it’s broke…” “But you can still see the crack in that motherfucker’s reflection”).

  Beyoncé launches into the song’s bridge as Lady Gaga snaps photos of her with a Polaroid camera, then the pair pull up to a vintage diner where Beyoncé entertains a gentleman pal (played by Tyrese Gibson) and Gaga mans the kitchen, slipping poison into the food along with Miracle Whip and Wonder Bread (cue another awesome dance sequence, this time with cooks prancing around the stove in a moment that could have been borrowed from Madonna’s “Hung Up” clip). Beyoncé takes a moment to toy with her squeaky-clean image — busting out the line, “I knew you’d take all my honey, you selfish motherfucker” as Gibson keels over at the table — and another dance sequence begins, this time with Gaga and B in patriotic garb.

  Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’s Jai Rodriguez arrives as a news reporter broadcasting word of the mass homicide (dubbed “The Telephone Effect”) as Gaga and Beyoncé speed away in the Pussy Wagon dressed in white and black veils. “We did it, Honey Bee, now let’s go far, far away from here,” Gaga says as the two clasp hands and hit the accelerator.

  The clip is certainly cinematic and oddly feminist, and gasps at a larger statement about consumer culture. As Gaga told E!, she was preoccupied with “the idea that America is full of young people that are inundated with information and technology and turn it into something that was m...

  Lady Gaga and Beyonce Unleash Orgy of Sex, Violence, Product Plac...
• Tour Tracker: Elton John, Diana Ross and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

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  Photo: Venema/WireImage
  While Billy Joel takes the next few months off, Elton John soldiers on with a new round of April dates. Plus, Diana Ross announces her “More Today Than Yesterday” greatest-hits tour and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony reveal a fresh trek in support of their upcoming reunion album Uni5: The World’s Enemy. Full details for all three artists below.

  Elton John
  Apr. 9 – Lubbock, TX @ United Spirit Center
  Apr. 10 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
  Apr. 15 – Hoffman Estates, IL @ Sears Centre Arena
  Apr. 16 – Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena
  Apr. 17 – Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center
  Apr. 24 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
  Apr. 25 – Toledo, OH @ Lucas County Arena
  Apr. 30 – Reading, PA @ Sovereign Center
  May 1 – Youngstown, OH @ Covelli Center

  Diana Ross
  May 15 – Boston, MA @ Citi Performing Arts Center
  May 16 – Mashantucket, CT @ Foxwoods
  May 18 – Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Theatre
  May 19 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
  May 21 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Caesars Atlantic City
  May 25 – Bethesda, MD @ Music Center at Strathmore
  May 27 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
  May 28 – Cleveland, OH @ State Theatre
  May 29 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
  May 31 – Toronto, ON @ Roy Thomson Hall
  June 2 – Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre
  June 4 – Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Park Amphitheatre
  June 5 – Memphis, TN @ Live At The Garden
  June 6 – St. Louis, MO @ Fox Theatre
  June 9 – Los Angeles, CA @ NOKIA Theatre
  June 11 – San Diego, CA @ Humphrey’s
  June 12 – Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery

  Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
  Mar. 24 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
  Mar. 25 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles
  Mar. 26 – Sauget, IL @ Pop’s
  Mar. 27 – Chicago, IL @ Congress
  Mar. 28 – Cleveland, OH @ HOB
  Mar. 29 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
  Mar. 31 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls
  Apr. 1 – Columbus, OH @ Newport
  Apr. 2 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
  Apr. 3 – Lancaster, PA @ The Chameleon
  Apr. 5 – Boston, MA @ Middle East
  Apr. 6 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
  Apr. 7 – State College, PA @ Mezzanine
  Apr. 8 – Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
  Apr. 9 – Wilmington NC @ The Rox
  Apr. 10 – Charlotte, NC @ Amos Southend
  Apr. 11 – Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm
  Apr. 13 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
  Apr. 14 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
  Apr. 15 – Orlando, FL @ Firestone
  Apr. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre
  Apr. 20 – New Orleans, LA @ HOB
  Apr. 21 – Dallas, TX @ HOB
  Apr. 22 – Houston, TX @ HOB
  Apr. 23 – San Antonio, TX @ Scoutbar
  Apr. 24 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
  Apr. 26 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
  Apr. 27 – Colombia, MO @ The Blue Note
  Apr. 28 – Council Bluffs, IA @ Harrah’s
  Apr. 29 – Kansas City, KS @ Harrah’s
  Apr. 30 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
  May 1 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
  May 2 – Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre
  May 3 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre

  Tour Tracker: Elton John, Diana Ross and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
• Pearl Jam Announce May U.S. Tour Capped By Two MSG Gigs

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  Photo: Dyson/WireImage
  

  Missed Pearl Jam live during the band’s run of Backspacer tour dates last year? Eddie Vedder and company are giving you another chance to see their legendary live show in action with a month-long slate of U.S. shows that kick off in May. The trek launches at New Orleans’ Jazz Festival on May 1st and moves its way northeast, culminating with two shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden on May 20th and 21st.

  Pearl Jam in posters: an illustrated guide to the band’s tour art.

  Band of Horses have been enlisted to serve as Pearl Jam’s opening act on the trek, with the Black Keys subbing in for the May 20th MSG show. Tickets go on sale to Pearl Jam’s Ten Club members on March 15th, with a public on-sale to follow on March 19th. As evidenced by last year’s tour and the group’s legendary Halloween night show in Philadelphia, Pearl Jam mix up their set lists every night and the 2009 jaunt yielded live performances of nearly every song in the PJ catalog, so don’t miss them this time around. For more info, check out Pearl Jam’s official site.

  And if you’re bummed out that Pearl Jam isn’t visiting your half of the U.S., at least you can watch them perform on Saturday Night Live this weekend.

  Pearl Jam
  May 1 – New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Jazz Festival
  May 3 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
  May 4 – St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
  May 6 – Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
  May 7 – Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
  May 9 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
  May 10 – Buffalo, NY @ HSBC Arena
  May 13 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
  May 15 – Hartford, CT @ XL Center
  May 17 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
  May 18 – TBD @ TBD
  May 20 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
  May 21 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden

  Related Stories:

  • Pearl Jam Dress Like Devo for Massive Halloween Set in Philly
  • Pearl Jam Rule Austin City Limits With Ferocious Closing Set Featuring Ben Harper, Perry Farrell

  Pearl Jam Announce May U.S. Tour Capped By Two MSG Gigs
• “American Idol” Set to Tackle Songs By the Rolling Stones

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  Photo: AFP/Getty
  
  Two years ago American Idol celebrated the music of the Fab Four, and next week the show’s Top 12 will pick up that rockin’ tradition by belting out songs by “the Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the World,” the Rolling Stones. Host Ryan Seacrest made the announcement of next week’s musical theme on a radio promotion taped during last night’s episode, Entertainment Weeky reports. As it’s still too early on in the competition for celebrity mentors, it’s highly unlikely Mick Jagger or Keith Richards will participate, though Richards mentoring the kids on partying and excess for an hour would likely be more entertaining than the performances themselves.

  We won’t know which contestants are singing what Stones classics until next week, but we’re already placing bets on what we expect to hear. On the ladies’ side, we anticipate “Satisfaction,” “Tumbling Dice,” “Time is on My Side,” “Gimme Shelter” (if a contestant is brazen enough to handle both Mick and the female leads) and, thanks to Susan Boyle, “Wild Horses.” For the men, we’re thinking “Brown Sugar,” “Miss You,” Sympathy for the Devil,” “Angie,” “Honky Tonk Woman” and “Waiting on a Friend.” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” seems destined for the group performance, and let’s just add that any contestant who mines Goats Head Soup gets our automatic vote.

  Related Stories:

  • Secrets Behind the Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main Street” Reissue
  • Keith Richards: “Rumors of My Sobriety Are Greatly Exaggerated”
  • Unearthed Rolling Stones Tracks Set to Debut on “Exile on Main Street” Reissue

  “American Idol” Set to Tackle Songs By the Rolling Stones