Ashlee Simpson on Tops

By: Natalie Finn

E! Online Photo: Ashlee Simpson on Tops(E! Online)

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Pieces of Ashlee Simpson are going to be all over the mall this spring.

To coincide with the April release of her third studio album, Bittersweet World, the 22-year-old pop star is taking a cue from her shoe-fashioning sis and designing a line of tops for retailer Wet Seal, the teen-favorite clothier announced Thursday.

The collection, "inspired by Ashlee Simpson's personality, sense of style and album artwork," will launch in Wet Seal stores nationwide on April 22, according to the chain, which will also be rolling out the in-store and online promotional guns to tout both the album and the new shirts.

"I was inspired by so many fun, wonderful things as I was recording Bittersweet World, and it's been great to carry through those inspirations into these new shirt designs," said Simpson. "I hope my fans love this album and rock out in these shirts!"

And just as you can pick up a Paul McCartney CD to go with your Starbucks latte, you'll be able to snag a Simpson disc along with a graphic tee and some skinny jeans.

Ashlee is a role model for our girl, and her fun and flirty sense of style is an inspiration for the

line," Wet Seal CEO Ed Thomas said. "The goal was to partner with an icon and deliver affordable fashion, and Ashlee is an ideal partner for this."

"Little Miss Obsessive," the first single off of Bittersweet World, was released digitally on March 11 and hit the airwaves a week later.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20080327/en_music_eo/39a5191e3463_4993_95d7_c3bfb884223f;_ylt=AseNiDpWh7ZQzBKLJKtN_iaVEhkF

Fleetwood Mac surprised by Sheryl Crow claim

By Gary Graff

Reuters Photo: Sheryl Crow performs in Hollywood, April 5, 2007. Crow's recent claim that she would be...

DETROIT (Billboard) - Sheryl Crow's recent claim that she would be working with Fleetwood Mac surprised a lot of people -- including the members of the classic rock group.

Crow, 46, who's friendly with Mac's Stevie Nicks, told the AOL music website Spinner.com earlier this month that she and the band "definitely have plans for collaborating in the future, and we'll see what happens."

"I think we were all a little surprised (Crow) was announcing that to the world with such certainty," Fleetwood Mac principal Lindsey Buckingham, 58, told Billboard.com with a laugh.

"We have talked about the possibility of bringing another woman into the scene to kind of give Stevie a sort of foil and shake it up a little bit. (Crow) was certainly a name that has come up. We'll have to see."

Nicks, 59, has been the group's sole female member since Christine McVie, now 64, retired from the band in the late '90s.

Buckingham said the group, which last toured in 2004, is considering returning to the road in the first half of 2009, possibly with some new material. He said that he has "a ton of new stuff" that could be used for a new Fleetwood Mac album, its first since 2003's "Say You Will."

Buckingham -- who's just released a new concert DVD, "Live at the Bass Performance Hall," from his 2006-07 solo tour -- is also planning another solo album for this summer.

Recorded with members of his touring band as well as Fleetwood Mac co-founders Mick Fleetwood, 60, and John McVie, 62, he said it "has a little more of a rock feel to it" than his most recent effort, 2006's "Under the Skin."

"It's just another group of tunes that hopefully will translate to stage, and hopefully we can get some more (solo) dates this summer."

Reuters/Billboard

Led Zeppelin tour details revealed?

courtesy of NME.com

Wed Mar 19, 10:00 AM ET

Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan has claimed that his band have bagged tour support slots on a supposed future tour with Led Zeppelin

Although McKagan was not forthcoming with any specific dates or plans for such a tour, he said that his band "have it" in terms of the support slot.

Speaking to BBC 6Music, he said: "I understand that we have it, although I imagine there will be plenty of bands prepared to kick and punch us out of the way for the privilege."

Reuters Photo: Rolling Stone magazine features rock band Led Zeppelin on one of five covers to launch...

For more on Led Zeppelin, check out their NME.com page.

American Idol Elimination Night: Carry On, Wayward Amanda

Posted Wed. Mar 19, 10:09 PM ET by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks

Listen closely, kids. Hear that? That's the sound of John Lennon and George Harrison rolling in their respective graves.

Seriously, from Amanda inexplicably getting to sing the big "love you make" hook, to the Broadway-style line-formation singalong of the Abbey Road acid-casualty epic "Because," to the awkward moment when Ramiele's mic seemed to be turned off, to David Archuleta ironically singing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" so soon after his stage dad allegedly made him weep...well, tonight's opening Beatles medley had me and probably the rest of America crying out for "Help!"

Enough with the Beatles songs already, OK? Surely by now Nigel Lythgoe must realize that doing a second Fab Four Week wasn't such a fab idea. It's downright tragic to think that uninitiated youngsters unfamiliar with the Beatles may now forever associate this great band's music with travesties like this. So let's hope tonight is the last Beatlesque Idol episode for a while. And let's pray there's no Wings Night, no Traveling Wilburys night, and no Plastic Ono Band Night, either. And for the love of gawd, if Idol does a Ringo Starr Solo Night, I'll never watch this dang show again!

Oh, and it wasn't enough for tonight's show to wreck the Beatles' legacy--it had to ruin a perfectly good Clash song, too, in that Ford promo. Whoever came up with THAT idea is the real person who should've been eliminated tonight. Hear that distinctive rustle in the background? That's the sound of Joe Strummer rolling in his grave as well.

OK, OK, enough of my kvetching. There were some things to cheer about tonight--like the sassy performance by a suspiciously less busty Kellie Pickler, or the fact that my favorite contestants (Brooke White, David Cook, and Jason Castro, and thin-ice-skating Michael Johns) all made it through. True, none of them gave their best performances last night, but none of them deserved to go home just yet. I'm just so relieved that they've made the top 10, as they're now guaranteed a spot on this season's upcoming Idol tour and compilation album! In the words of Danny Noriega...Score

And another really, really good thing happened tonight: The rock 'n' roll nurse got cut. I would've been even happier if bullet-dodging Kristy Lee Cook, who was also quite justifiably in the bottom two this week, had finally gotten the boot. But hey, Amanda Overmyer simply had to go. And better her than Carly Smithson, who was surprisingly in the bottom three tonight. (Carly's not my fave, but if she'd failed to make the top 10, Randy Jackson might've had a coronary--and that would have been bad, dawg.)

Anyway, good luck, Amanda. Good luck pursuing your fantasy of selling out a local bar in Lafayette. Dare to dream!

The burning question now is, with Danny and Amanda gone, who will Vote For The

Worst endorse next? Watch this space...

For more American Idol, go to Yahoo! TV

2008 MTV Movie Awards -- Airing Live On June 1!

Burnett calls ceremony 'the most relevant movie award show in America today.'
By: Chris Harris

The date's been set and the producer secured: The 17th annual MTV Movie Awards will be airing live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, on June 1.

MTV announced Tuesday (March 18) that Mark Burnett — the Emmy Award-winning executive producer of such hit shows as "Survivor," "The Apprentice," "Rock Star," "The Contender" and "My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad" — will be returning for his second year as the awards' executive producer.

Last year's MTV Movie Awards generated huge ratings, pulling in over 20 million viewers on its premiere night. This year's ceremony will once again premiere live on MTV, with the show's iconic golden popcorn prize up for grabs in categories ranging from Best Kiss to Best Villain.

"I'm looking forward to incorporating the viewers more than ever before, because I consider the MTV Movie Awards to be the most relevant movie award show in America today," Burnett said. "This show honors the movies that millions of young Americans go to see. We will again highlight the interactive culture that is young America."

Nominees, presenters and performers will be announced in the coming weeks, as will the show's host. Last year, Sarah Silverman hosted a memorable awards show with many unusual and hilarious moments, like Best Kiss winners Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell re-creating their "Talladega Nights" lip-lock.

"The MTV Movie Awards always draws the biggest stars in film and this year is already shaping up to be no exception," said Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks. "The audience's favorite movie and music talent combined with Mark Burnett's uncanny ability to push the envelope and the show being live makes for a concoction sure to set off tons of unexpected water-cooler moments."

The MTV Movie Awards will be airing live on MTV on Sunday, June 1. All the latest updates on nominees, presenters, performers, voting, contests and much more will be coming soon to MovieAwards.MTV.com. And check out Movies.MTV.com for the latest movie news, trailers, photos and more!

Idol Chatter

Posted Wed. Jan 9, 4:17 PM ET by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks

The season premiere of American Idol is this week, and while there's little doubt that it'll once again be a ratings bonanza, music-biz pundits are starting to speculate as to whether the show's finalists can create record-sales bonanzas once they go off the air and into a recording studio.

Obviously some Idol alumni have become massive stars (Carrie Underwood is simply unstoppable; Chris Daughtry had one of the top-selling albums of 2007; Jennifer Hudson managed to even upstage BEYONCE and win an Oscar in the process). But many have had a tougher time lately. Some have been arrested (Corey Clark, Jessica Sierra); some have been dropped from their labels (Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Ruben Studdard, Bo Bice); and some have released albums that've been considered commercial disappointments (Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Fantasia, Clay Aiken). And yet countless others have just flat-out vanished (Nikki McKibbin, anyone?) quicker than Randy Jackson's post-lapband-surgery excess pounds or Paula Abdul's sanity.

So anyway, I'm a member of an online community for female music-industry types, and this week the dominating topic of messageboard conversation has been American Idol...and, specifically, whether or not the show is still a relevant superstar-launcher, or if it has finally, officially been reduced to a shark-jumping, rubbernecking outlet for viewers to gawk at a never-ending freakshow of Wikipedia-footnoted also-rans and wannabe William Hungs.

I thought it was an intelligent discussion, so I'm reposting in its entirety here. (Names and emails have been omitted to protect the innocent. And the not-so-innocent.) Scroll down to read the thread, then feel free to continue the discussion on our own messageboard below...

Britney Hit with K-Fed's Legal Fees

03/17/2008 11:04 AM, E! Online Sarah Hall

Kevin Federline's attorney is the latest addition to the Britney Spears payroll.
Court Commissioner Scott Gordon on Monday ordered the embattled pop star to give her ex $375,000 to cover his legal fees in their ongoing child custody dispute. (View the court documents.)

Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, had asked for nearly $500,000 during a hearing last week.

Spears' attorney Stacy Phillips argued that Kaplan was overbilling and that Federline's expenditures—including a recent $2,000 tip on a restaurant bill of $365—showed that he was capable of covering some of his own fees.

However, Gordon ruled that Spears' actions were directly responsible for running up Federline's legal bills and that she should pick up the tab as a result.

Federline has previously claimed in court documents that he has no source of steady income, while Spears pulls in somewhere in the neighborhood of $700,000 a month.

Meanwhile, in another development in the ongoing saga of Spears' day-to-day existence, the singer's former confidante and sometime manager Sam Lutfi has agreed to keep his distance from her for at least another month.

A temporary restraining order against Lutfi had been scheduled to expire Monday; by agreeing to an extension, he postponed a hearing on whether to make the order permanent.

"There is an agreement between Sam Lutfi and the conservatorship for the next 30 days," Lutfi spokesman Michael Sands said in a statement. "Both parties are happy and will continue to work together to further resolve any issues that may have come up in the past."

A judge officially approved the agreement at a hearing Monday, at which neither Lutfi nor Spears' father and conservator, Jamie, were present.

The restraining order was put into action last month, after Lynne Spears alleged that Lutfi had drugged her daughter, held her hostage in her own home and assumed control of her finances.

L.A.Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz subsequently ordered Lutfi to stay at least 250 yards away from Spears and her home.

Also on Monday, Goetz approved a request from Jamie Spears' camp to sell an unspecified number of Britney's reported nine cars.

Sheryl Crow joins Fleetwood Mac

Posted By: Andrei Mihai

Sheryl Crow made an announcement that thrilled music lovers throughout the world: she will join forces with Fleetwood Mac! The legendary rock band hasn’t been on the road for ages and probably this colaboration is going to be just the energy injection they need to get them going.

“I don’t want to make any official announcements, but I will say that we definitely have plans for collaborating in the future, and we’ll see what happens,” Crow told the AOL music website Spinner.com in a story posted Thursday. She didn’t give a date but let on that the action will probably be next year.

She is already thinking about what she’d like to perform. “I’d love to do ‘The Chain,’ I’d love to do ‘Second Hand News,”‘ Crow said. It remains to be seen how the fans will react;

“I think the person I learned the most hands-on from is Stevie Nicks because she allowed me not only to co-write with her but also to produce her and she’s a true artist,” said Crow.

This is a bit unexpected, as Nicks said that she wouldn’t continue with Fleetwood Mac without keyboardist Christine McVie, who retired from touring in 1998. Sheryl is currently touring to promote her latest album, “Detours”.

http://www.zmemusic.com/other/sheryl-crow-joins-fleetwood-mac/

Clapton Heads for North Korea

Posted By: Andrei Mihai
Permalink in LiveActs, News

As it turns out, North Korean officials have invited blues/rock guitarist Eric Clapton to play a concert in the communist state. This comes as a very big surprise, because North Korean authorities have long shunned rock and pop music, sistematically rejecting any chance of getting great singers to perform there.Ah, but there’s a catch here. Kim Jong Chol, the Swiss-educated son of national leader Kim Jong Il, is reportedly a fan of Eric Clapton. He has great tastes, you have to give him that. But this is in fact the first such invitation to a western rock star from the country which has been virtually isolated for so many years, so this makes this invitation quite historic.

“Eric Clapton is a well-known musician and guitarist, famous throughout the world,” said the official, who declined to give his name. “It will be a good opportunity for western music to be understood better by Koreans.”
Still, it’s not quite sure whether he will accept this invitation, as spokeswoman Kristen Foster points out.
“Eric Clapton receives numerous offers to play in countries around the world,” she said. “There is no agreement whatsoever for him to play in North Korea, nor any planned shows there.”

Anyway, this is a clear sign that the country is starting to tie some cultural relationships with the West; The New York Philharmonic played in Pyongyang on Tuesday, and North Korean State Symphony Orchestra is due to perform in London and the English city of Middlesbrough in September.

http://www.zmemusic.com/news/clapton-heads-for-north-korea/

NASA To Broadcast Beatles Tune

Posted By: Andrei Mihai

Permalink in Other, Pop, Rock

While many people would (and probably should) claim that the Beatles are the best band, most aliens would definetly disagree. But the fab four are going to become radio stars in a whole new way, and this is why.On Monday, NASA will broadcast the Beatles’ song “Across the Universe” across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star. This is the first beaming of a radio song by the space agency directly into deep space and weirdly enough, it is nostalgia-driven.

In case you don’t know, it celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song and the 45th anniversary of NASA’s Deep Space Network. “Send my love to the aliens,” Paul McCartney told NASA through a Beatles historian. “All the best, Paul.” Too bad John and George are not here to witness their first intergalactic hit.

The song, written by McCartney and John Lennon will travel at the speed of light but it will take it 431 years along a long and winding road to reach its final destination. For this, NASA used an MP3 of the song, just under four minutes in its original version, and will transmit it digitally at 7 p.m. EST Monday from its giant antenna in Madrid, Spain. Reach for the stars, Beatles!

http://www.zmemusic.com/other/nasa-to-broadcast-beatles-tune/

Avril Lavigne Preps Colorful Tour Production

Posted By: Andrei Mihai

Permalink in Pop, Rock, Tours

Avril Lavigne has a simple description for her upcoming live production:

“It rocks,” Lavigne said during a recent teleconference. “It’s very much me, but just the next level. And it’s exciting because the reason why I wanted to bring in more [dancers] and I got a new band and added more players to it is because I wanted more energy on stage.”

No comment here. I can take this. This could be a good thing might not be as bad as it sounds. Lavigne’s stage will be decorated with LED screens, checkered flooring, a pink sparkle drum kit, a pink piano and flags (a pink piano ? what the ….).
“A lot of people don’t know this about me, but I”m actually shy around people I don’t know,” Lavigne said. “I would just say, with my first concert, my first tour, I didn’t really talk on stage. I was like, ‘Thank you. I love you guys,’ or whatever.

Sounds fair enough. Still, doesn’t that make you the pop chick you once said you’re not?
“My songs aren’t bubblegum pop dance songs and I don’t have background dancers on every single song like them,” Lavigne said. “I’m not wearing a headphone, microphone on my head. It’s a totally different thing. I’m playing guitar. I’m playing the drums. I’m playing the piano. I’ve had dancers a couple of times and they’re like ‘my girls’ and they come out with their attitude.”

OK, this is just too much. C’mon girl, face it! You’re mainstream! When she released her first album, I loved it; and her. She was so authentic, so strong in her frailty and sang such great songs that you had to love her. Now, her songs are (mostly) just bubblegum pop dance songs. You were supposed to be the wonder girl of rock; WTF happened?

http://www.zmemusic.com/rock/avril-lavigne-preps-colorful-tour-production/

Metalica: More Album Details

Posted By: Andrei Mihai

Published in Metal, Previews, Rock

This is turning into a soap opera already. After they first announced it in February they changed their minds and delayed it, claiming they want to make something great. OK, that’s good, as long as it rocks. Makes sense, good things come to those who wait.

But is it that good? Honestly speaking, I have a huge amount of fate in them. As far as I’m concerned, when you think about what kind of music they can do, St. Anger sucked. But I bet they still have what it takes and they won’t let us down this time.

Virginia Fuel, Virginia’s local chapter of the Metallica Club, published an interview with Lars Ulrich’s longtime assistance Steven Wiig. Here is excerpt from the chat:

Steve Wiig: “I hear it all of the time. I can’t get away from it. I’m usually in or around the studio with them. There’s some fast stuff, heavy stuff, slow stuff. There’s some stuff on there that sounds a little bit closer to the “Fade to Black” / “Sanitarium” / “One”-style. the clean riff thing, a great melody. Verse stuff with the heavy chorus and the ending blows the shit out of the roof. It’s cool to hear them doing that kind of thing again. That’s what Rick Rubin has been saying; don’t be afraid of doing more of what you do really well. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Just make a really good Metallica album.”
“So far — as far as I know — James is doing all of the lyrics, and not necessarily like what was done for “St. Anger”. I’d imagine Rubin would want James to go off into his own world and tap into his own things and get lyrics that come from the heart. I think James’ track record has definitely shown he is capable of coming up with some deep lyrics when he taps into it on his own. I’m anxious to hear what he digs up lyrically.”

OK, if they tried to make us eagerly expect this album and raise our expectations… well they succedeed. In the meantime, let us pray for them.

http://www.zmemusic.com/rock/metallica-more-album-details/

Destinys Child Survivor Pop Music CD Review

By Clyde Lee Dennis

The exceptionally talented Pop group Destinys Child have released their CD entitled Survivor. I am very confident and happy to announce that I believe Destinys Child fans, and Pop fans alike will be pleased with this one. With the release of Survivor their artistic excellence is on full display as they have once again delivered a brilliant collection of tracks that could very well be their best work to date.

It's a rare day indeed that I get a CD from an artist that I can truthfully say does not have a bad track in the bunch. I'm more than happy to announce that’s exactly what I must say about this one. There simply is NOT a bad one in the bunch. No fillers here at all.

These days it’s a very rare CD on which every single song is good or better than the one before it. This CD is certainly one of those rare CDs.

Listen and I think you’ll agree that the song choices are excellent, the production is outstanding and Destinys Child is clearly a group that is in top form.

While the entire CD is outstanding some of my favorites are track 6 - Apple Pie A La Mode, track 11 - Dangerously In Love, and track 14 - Gospel Medley

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1 - Independent Women Part 1. Great track!

Survivor Release Notes:

Destinys Child originally released Survivor on May 1, 2001 on the Columbia label.
CD Track List Follows:

1. Independent Women Part 1
2. Survivor
3. Bootylicious
4. Nasty Girl
5. Fancy
6. Apple Pie A La Mode
7. Sexy Daddy
8. Independent Women Part II
9. Happy Face
10. Emotion
11. Dangerously In Love
12. Brown Eyes
13. Story Of Beauty, The
14. Gospel Medley
15. Outro (DC-3) Thank You

Survivor Album Notes Destiny's Child: Beyonce, Kelly, Michelle.

Producers: Beyonce Knowles, Walter Afanasieff.

Engineers include: Brian Springer, James Hoover, Dan Workman.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Clyde_Lee_Dennis