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It was a good, flatulent, slur-filled and sexist-gag-soaked run, but the bad boys of radio appear to be living on borrowed time. On Tuesday (May 15), XM shock duo Opie and Anthony were slapped with a 30-day suspension for last week’s gag involving a homeless character discussing his desire to sexually assault Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, first lady Laura Bush and the Queen of England. “Nobody in radio thinks they’re a shock jock; they’re entertainers. But if [the genre] isn’t dead, it’s certainly had a storm warning,” said Tom Taylor, editor of Inside Radio, citing last month’s firing of… Read more »

Fall Out Boy’s headlining stint on this year’s Honda Civic Tour had a rough beginning last month. In fact, the trek didn’t start at all. In April, two weeks before they were slated to hit the road, FOB announced that the 43-city North American run would be delayed a month due to “health concerns.” Now the tour is finally under way – it began Friday in Denver . But at the kickoff, it was another artist on the bill who was drawing a lot of the attention: Paul Wall. The People’s Champ is the only hip-hop artist on a bill… Read more »

The Smashing Pumpkins announced Monday they will give nine concerts in Asheville and eight in San Francisco this summer in the band’s first residencies in more than a decade. The band will perform at the Orange Peel in Asheville on dates from June 23 to July 5, and at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco on dates from July 22 to August 1. According to information posted on the band’s Web site, fans attending any of the shows are allowed to capture them with audio and video recorders. “They were looking for one West Coast venue and one East Coast… Read more »

Reunited rock trio Crowded House will tour North America for the first time in more than 10 years, beginning August 4 in Northampton, Mass. The tour runs through mid-September and includes a previously announced appearance at Seattle’s annual Bumbershoot festival on September 1. The tour will promote the Neil Finn-led band’s forthcoming album “Time on Earth,” to be released July 10 via Dave Matthews’ ATO label. The group, with new drummer Matt Sherrod subbing for the late Paul Hester, played the Coachella festival in southern California last month. Here are Crowded House’s tour dates: August 4: Northampton, Mass. (Calvin Theatre)… Read more »

British rock band New Order, which arose from the ashes of post-punk band Joy Division in the early 1980s, has broken up, according to a Web posting by the group’s bass player. “I’m relieved really hated carryin on as normal with an awful secret so lets move on shall we?” Peter Hook wrote in a blog published on Wednesday on his MySpace page. Hook first revealed the split as an aside during an interview last weekend with Manchester radio announcer Clint Boon, when he said, “… me and Bernard (Sumner, New Order singer/guitarist) aren’t working together.” Hook and Sumner have… Read more »

For nearly a decade now, Tom Gabel has made a career of pissing people off. He played shows in Laundromats as a one-man acoustic act known as Against Me! before forming a full band (adding electric guitars = selling out!). He leapt from indie No Idea Records to equally indie Fat Wreck Chords (changing labels = selling out!), tinkered with Against Me!’s sound on 2003’s As the Eternal Cowboy (production = selling out!) and finally decided to sign with a major label in late 2005 (major label = selling out!). Whatever the situation, it seems he’s always derived some sort… Read more »

The last time Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs took on major recording companies, he refused to budge on his 99-cent price for a song on iTunes. As a new round of talks ramp up this month, however, Jobs has opened the door to higher prices – as long as music companies let Apple Inc. sell their songs without technology designed to stop unauthorized copying. Jobs contends that would “tear down the walls” by allowing consumers to play music they buy at Apple’s iTunes store on any digital music player, not just the company’s iPods. Although most of the major labels… Read more »

Verizon really didn’t want to see Akon “Smack That.” The communications company scrapped its partnership with the 25-year-old rapper Friday after a video was released that shows him simulating sex onstage with an underage girl during an Apr.12 concert in Trinidad. According to various accounts, 15-year-old Danah Alleyne thought she had won a dance contest when she was invited to dance with Akon, but soon found out that first prize was a close encounter with the Konvicted rapper. The Trinidad Express reported that Akon got seven women to come up and dance with him, promising that the best of the… Read more »

Contributions from members of Bad Religion, Sugarcult and Aaron Sprinkle enhance pop-punk troupe MxPx’s upcoming album, “Secret Weapon,” due July 17 via Tooth & Nail. The album, the trio’s eighth studio set, marks the first time the group has tapped veteran producer Sprinkle to helm the decks since its 1994 debut “Pokinatcha.” It is also a return to Tooth & Nail following MxPx’s 2000 departure for A&M. Bad Religion guitarist Brian Baker contributes to the album opener/title track, while singer Tim Pagnotta of Sugarcult can be heard on “Shut It Down.” Former Superdrag frontman John Davis helps with piano and… Read more »

DETROIT–Despite the recent appearance of “All My Life,” his first new pop song in 14 years, Billy Joel says he doesn’t foresee a re-opening of the creative floodgates that led to 33 Top 40 hits. “I’m not ruling out the possibility of writing songs again,” Joel tells Billboard.com. “I suppose if I had the motivation to write a song, I’m not gonna stop myself from doing it. I just haven’t felt the compulsion to write songs in pop form. I guess these days I just think of myself as a composer.” Joel — whose last album of original material, “River… Read more »