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So much for that “Ebony and Ivory” stuff. At least as far as Stevie Wonder and Eminem go. Speaking to Billboard magazine, Wonder comes to the defense of old Motown roster mate Michael Jackson, saying he was “disappointed” Em mocked Jackson’s child-molestation allegations in the rapper’s video for “Just Lose It.” “Kicking someone when he’s down is not a good thing,” Wonder tells Billboard. “I have much respect for his work…[b]ut I was disappointed that he would let himself go to such a level. “He has succeeded on the backs of people predominantly in that lower pay bracket, people of… Read more »

Throughout their last two albums, Sum 41 have been almost synonymous with either revved-up pop-punk or over-the-top heavy metal. That may all change thanks to their new single, “Pieces.” The Goons, as their fans are affectionately referred, had better brace themselves for associations with things more on the sensitive side of the spectrum, like warm, fuzzy cardigans and online journals. Although it retains the band’s customary big guitars, the melody and subject matter are a lot gentler than signature songs “Over My Head (Better Off Dead),” “Fat Lip” and “In Too Deep.” “We’ve had slow songs before, but we’ve never… Read more »

Anyone who visited their Web site and thought that Hearts That Hate were the next big thing out of the emo scene is about to get a reality check from MC Lars. The fictitious band has a starring role in “Signing Emo,” the second single off Lars’ Laptop EP. The song, a send-up of the bandwagon-jumping that goes on in the music industry, finds a 40-year-old, overweight and out-of-touch A&R exec named Marty feeling pressure from his boss to ink an emo band – any emo band – to the label because the boss’ daughter likes Dashboard Confessional. Just before… Read more »

Having his solo debut tank might have been the best thing for Butch Walker’s career. Not too many people bought 2002’s Left of Self-Centered – the album sold barely 20,000 copies, according to SoundScan – but many of those who did adored the smart riff-rock from the guy who used to front the late-’90s power trio Marvelous 3. Not only did Walker sing and play all the instruments except drums, he also produced, mixed and engineered the LP. Such versatile qualities appealed to a lot of people, not least of whom was Avril Lavigne. “Obviously, it was a very unpopular… Read more »

New York – The Thanksgiving weekend kicked off with a bang for U.S. music retailers, turned into a whimper and rebounded nicely. “Friday exceeded our expectations, and then Saturday was softer than expected,” reports Bob Higgins, chairman/CEO of Trans World Entertainment in Albany, N.Y. “Overall, the weekend was good and we are still positive that it will be a good holiday season.” Likewise, Jim Urie, president of Universal Music & Video Distribution, reports: “We are getting a pretty consistent story from retail; overall, it was not great, but not horrible. Friday was great – in fact, better than great –… Read more »

Do they know it’s Christmas? Maybe, maybe not. The bigger question is: Do we care? Band Aid 20’s new version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” is selling at a record pace-in England, anyway. The story, though, is different on this side of the Pond. The updated take on the 1984 Christmas charity smash features some of Britain’s biggest names, including Dido, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Joss Stone, Paul McCartney and, for good measure, one Irish megastar in the form of U2’s Bono. The performers, checking their egos at the door (in theory, anyway), gathered together to help victims in… Read more »

Few music careers begin as dramatically as that of Philadelphia’s bluesy hard rockers Silvertide. By the end of the band’s first gig in February 2001, police had raided the club where they were playing and arrested dozens of crowd members for underage drinking and drug possession. Frontman Walt Lafty was almost hauled off as well. “I had given a bunch of equipment to my friends so they could sneak out the back and say they were carrying gear,” he explained. “Then I noticed all the gear was gone and I wasn’t out yet. So when I tried leaving, this black… Read more »

That’s the word from Ruben Studdard’s rep after the second-season American Idol champ otherwise known as the Velvet Teddy Bear checked himself into a Birmingham, Alabama, hospital Monday night. Studdard’s Los Angeles-based publicist, Liz Morentin, says the silky-voiced 26-year-old is suffering from exhaustion. Per doctors’ orders, Studdard is expected to remain hospitalized for the remainder of the week, forcing him to cancel several gigs in support of his new gospel-flavored disc, I Need an Angel, which hit stores Tuesday. “All promotion for his new album this week has been canceled along with his concert dates in Atlantic City on November… Read more »

New York – Paris Hilton has been trying to hold down a job. She flitted from city to city on her “Simple Life”-sponsored tour of the East Coast for the last four weeks, taking on a new internship wherever her Greyhound bus stopped. The trip provided the premise for the FOX show’s forthcoming third season, “Simple Life 3: Interns,” but also gave the hotel heiress an appreciation for a healthy work ethic. Now that she’s back home, all she wants to do is get back to work. “I need to be in the studio, like, tomorrow,” Hilton said Sunday night… Read more »

For the third time in his career, Eminem has a new album debuting atop the Billboard albums chart. Encore, the rapper’s fourth full-length LP, will bow at #1 on next week’s chart with more than 710,000 copies sold, according to SoundScan. What’s more impressive is that Shady pulled off the feat with less than a full first-week’s worth of sales. Because the album leaked online, Encore went on sale Friday, four days before the previously scheduled release of Tuesday. Since SoundScan ends each week’s tally on Sundays at midnight, Em’s 710,000 copies, which is also the year’s fourth-largest first-week total,… Read more »