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The estate of late funk singer Rick James has settled a lawsuit that claimed a music publishing company collected money from licensing his songs without permission. The estate’s attorney, Jennifer J. McGrath, announced the settlement in court Thursday. Trial had been set to begin Jan. 7. Dozens of James’ compositions, though not his biggest hit “Super Freak,” were involved in the suit filed in March in Superior Court. It accused California-based Brooklyn Music Publishing Group Inc. of collecting money from European music publishers and making new foreign deals without authority. Messages left Monday for McGrath and Brooklyn Music attorney Vincent… Read more »

Today it was announced that the Plain White T’s garnered their first-ever Grammy nod in the categories of SONG OF THE YEAR and BEST POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS for “Hey There Delilah,” a song that grabbed the much-coveted No. 1 slot in the U.S. on Billboard ‘s “Hot 100” chart   as well as the No. 1 slot internationally on Billboard’s Euro Singles Sales chart (the song hit #1 in 9 countries) making it one of the biggest songs in the world. As reported in Entertainment Weekly, the band’s smash hit “Hey There Delilah” has… Read more »

Former Smiths frontman Morrissey is suing music magazine NME for defamation after it printed an article in which he discussed his views on immigration in Britain. The magazine criticized the 48-year-old singer for allegedly saying Britain had lost its identity as a result of higher levels of immigration than other European countries. “We can confirm we have received two writs from Morrissey’s legal representatives pertaining to NME and its editor Conor McNicholas,” a spokesman for NME said on Friday. “NME takes this matter — and the issues it highlights — extremely seriously and we are currently in discussion with our… Read more »

Nick Haley took just 30 minutes to pluck the Brazilian band CSS from obscurity and hurl it into the national spotlight. In September, Haley paired the band’s dance-pop song “Music is My Hot, Hot Sex” with his 30-second amateur video, displaying the capabilities of Apple’s new iPod Touch. The video ends with the lyrics, “My music is where I’d like you to touch.” “I was like, ‘This song is too perfect,’ ” said Haley, 18, by phone from the University of Leeds in England, where he studies politics. “It’s punchy, loud, fast and naughty.” Marketers at Apple headquarters in Cupertino… Read more »

AJ McLean remembers the conversation well. Kevin Richardson was having doubts about his future in the Backstreet Boys, and one night in the dressing room after a 2005 show, he told his friends in the mega-selling boy band how he was feeling. “There’s some things I need to do first, for me,” McLean recalled Richardson saying. The group had been discussing “when we wanted to start recording again,” McLean said. “Everyone was ready, but that was the first time Kevin put it out in the atmosphere that he wasn’t.” The Boys needed some time to digest Richardson’s news. In June… Read more »

They’ve been called weirdoes, freaks and Satanists. Animal Collective’s otherworldly song structures, deconstructed harmonies and tribal rhythms aren’t always met with receptive ears, but there might not be a more progressive band in indie music. With two of the best-reviewed albums of the year – the band’s new “Strawberry Jam” and the solo disc by keyboardist Panda Bear, “Person Pitch” – Animal Collective has established itself as an act wildly separate from the many retro-oriented bands that populate today’s scene. The sound of the future, the psychedelic band acknowledges, is something they seek. “That’s kind of always been a goal,… Read more »

After a year-plus hiatus during which Rilo Kiley’s two principal members pursued solo careers, the Los Angeles-based indie pop quartet is returning to business August 21 with its major-label debut, “Under the Blacklight.” Well, sort of. “People keep calling it our ‘major-label debut,’ but I think (2004’s) ‘More Adventurous’ was that,” frontwoman Jenny Lewis says. And in some respects, she’s right. “Blacklight” marks Rilo Kiley’s first effort on Warner Bros. proper, whereas “More Adventurous” was released on the band’s own Brute/Beaute imprint before the major “upstreamed” it. However you tag it, “More Adventurous,” the band’s third full-length release, is its… Read more »

Some of the world’s biggest names in music were all about Saving Our Selves this weekend. SOS, of course, referring to the campaign being touted Saturday across the globe at the seven-continent, 24-hour Live Earth concert extravaganza, a worldwide shout-out to individuals, political leaders, corporations and every other entity capable of helping put a stop to the environmental scourge that is global warming. In a partnership with Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection and other U.S.-based and international organizations, Live 8 executive producer Kevin Wall put together a bill that included the Police, Madonna, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica,… Read more »

Michael Jackson is (a) bedridden; (b) convinced his brother Randy has been stealing from him; (c) getting evicted from his Las Vegas residence; (d) readying a European tour, or (e) none of the above. The answer, according to the reclusive entertainer’s hardworking spokeswoman, is “e.” Raymone Bain issued a statement Thursday in response to a spate of recent published reports about Jackson that she called “untrue, defamatory and malicious in nature.” Among the assertions denied by Bain was that Jackson was confined to his bed, or relying on any sort of medication, “including painkillers.” “In fact, Mr. Jackson is doing… Read more »

Iggy Pop marked his 60th birthday on Saturday just like any other respectable senior citizen would. The eerily athletic “Godfather of Punk” stripped down to a tight pair of blue jeans and dived off the stage into the arms of his adoring fans during a concert in San Francisco with his reunited band the Stooges. Towards the end of the 80-minute show, the crowd at the Warfield theater sang along as his bandmates struck up “Happy Birthday,” and Pop was surprised as balloons bearing his image dropped from the ceiling. A fan also handed him a white T-shirt inscribed “Birthday… Read more »