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Aaliyah leads nominees for next month’s second annual BET Awards, earning recognition for both her singing and acting. The late “Queen of the Damned” star is nominated for Best Actress and Best Female R&B Artist, and her “Rock the Boat” clip is up for Video of the Year and the Viewers’ Choice Award, organizers announced at a press conference Tuesday. “Rock the Boat” was shot just hours before Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash last fall. Aaliyah and TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, who died in a car accident last month, will be honored in a special tribute at… Read more »

Judy McGrath, President, MTV Networks Music Group, today announced that Brian Graden will take on additional programming, production, and development responsibilities for VH1, becoming President Entertainment, MTV and VH1. Graden will report to Judy McGrath in this expanded role at VH1 and will partner with Christina Norman, just named General Manager of VH1. Graden will continue to report to Van Toffler, President, MTV and MTV2 in his continued role at MTV and be based in both Los Angeles and New York. In making this announcement, Judy McGrath said, “Brian is uniquely suited for this role in taking VH1 to the… Read more »

Cake will headline this summer’s Unlimited Sunshine Tour, featuring the Flaming Lips, De La Soul, Modest Mouse and the Hackensaw Boys. “When I make mix tapes it’s a Frank Sinatra song followed by an AC/DC song followed by a Flaming Lips song,” says Cake singer-guitarist John McCrea of the diverse bill he and his band put together. “It’s not just rock band, rock band, rock band. I really think a lot of listeners listen to a wide variety of music, and those people unfortunately don’t have radio stations to listen to. In a way, we’re taking our own frustrations and… Read more »

Britney Spears is the star of the new PlayStation 2 videogame Britney’s Dance Beat, which is now available nationwide. The THQ-brand game capitalizes on the multimedia capabilities of the PlayStation 2 computer-entertainment system, placing Spears music videos in the background during game play, and featuring bonus DVD content that is unlocked as players progress through the game. “It is so cool that I have my very own videogame,” said Spears. “THQ totally captured my dance moves perfectly. I was blown away by how realistic everything looks!” In Britney’s Dance Beat, players audition to be a backup dancer on Spears’s virtual… Read more »

That new album Mariah Carey has been recording on the down low has finally landed a home… on her own label. The Universal Music Group announced Wednesday (May 8) that they have signed the biz’s most highly touted free agent to a new deal that will see one of its branches, the Island/Def Jam Music Group, distribute the music released by Carey’s yet-to-be-named company. “I’m incredibly happy,” Carey said in a statement. “It’s a tremendous and unprecedented opportunity to be working in tandem with [Universal Music Group Chairman/CEO] Doug [Morris], [Island/Def Jam President/CEO] Lyor [Cohen] and [Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman]… Read more »

The song “One Little Victory” starts with flailing militaristic drums, followed by a churning down-tuned guitar riff that drips with angst. It sounds like Tool covering P.O.D. Strangely, it’s Rush, a band that was around when Judas Priest and Iron Maiden were considered “new metal” and Rush members Geddy Lee (vocals/bass), Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart (drums) were articulate mavericks carving out their own iconoclastic space. Some things never change. The track is from Vapor Trails, due May 14, and it’s a major triumph for Rush. Not only does it represent a commitment to remain sonically relevant, it marks… Read more »

Having recently produced songs for New Order and Beth Orton, the Chemical Brothers are ready to man an entire album. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons are just waiting for the right project to come along. “We would have to find an artist who we’re really excited about so there would be a point to it,” Simons said, sitting in his trailer backstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Saturday. “People that have good ideas,” or, he quipped, “people that haven’t got any ideas. I’m very intrigued to hear this Fatboy Slim and Blur thing. I can’t imagine what… Read more »

Busta Rhymes and David Bowie are among the artists set to join Moby on the Area2 tour, the sample-lover’s second foray into the world of eclectic summer outings. The three-week trek is scheduled to begin July 28 in Bristow, Virginia, and cover Eastern seaboard stops before heading West, according to the event’s publicist. The trek draws to a close August 16 in George, Washington, with Moby and co. visiting 12 North American cities in all. Last year’s Area:One was notable for its varied lineup, which included Outkast, the Roots, Incubus and Nelly Furtado. In choosing this year’s roster, Moby employed… Read more »

At an age when most rockers are just trying to get their careers started, singer/songwriter Ben Kweller is already working on his second musical life. The subject of a sprawling profile in the New Yorker magazine at age 16 when he led the grunge trio Radish, Kweller has been woodshedding for the past several years, developing a new sound and vision. “Radish was basically my high school punk band with my two best friends,… only we got to put out a record on a major label,” Kweller said. Now 20 and recording under his own name for the Dave Matthews-founded… Read more »