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Before Avril Lavigne could cover the theme to “SpongeBob SquarePants” for the pineapple-dweller’s upcoming movie soundtrack, some changes had to be made. After all, a girl known for wearing combat boots, spiked jewelry and clothing emblazoned with skulls and crossbones couldn’t sing lyrics as silly as “absorbent and yellow and porous is he” with the same sing-songy bounce as the original. “I made the song a little more edgy,” Lavigne said. “It’s kind of like the rock version of [the original]. There are a lot of loud guitars, and we picked the tempo up a little and sang it with… Read more »

Tens of thousands of fans screamed and danced Saturday in a fantasyscape of upside-down trees and silver moose for the first in a series of farewell concerts by the Vermont-based jam band Phish. Applause rippled through the audience as Phish took the stage and wasted no time launching into its first song, “Walls of the Cave” from the 2002 album “Round Room.” Starting off slow, the ballad grew more feverish as lead singer Trey Anastasio broke into a guitar solo, the start of a prolonged jam that worked concertgoers into a steady, pulsing groove. The first set of the two-day… Read more »

Sony Chief Executive Nobuyuki Idei said Wednesday the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant was seriously considering the acquisition of U.S. film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer but declined to say when a decision was expected. “We will not go into an unprofitable business,” he told reporters, adding that Sony has been thinking about movie deals since the 1990s. “We are confident we will make the right decision.” Earlier this month, MGM and Sony agreed to enter talks about a possible acquisition to weigh a $5 billion bid for the legendary studio, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. But Idei and… Read more »

Child molestation charges against Michael Jackson are being driven by “money and revenge,” said defense attorney Mark Geragos, who vowed to derail the alleged victim’s credibility and fight what he called a prosecutor’s vendetta. For District Attorney Thomas Sneddon, whose similar 1993 case against the pop singer evaporated when the accuser reportedly accepted millions in settlement money, the charges filed Thursday represent a second chance to convict the fading pop star before the prosecutor begins his planned retirement. Unlike the 1993 case, Sneddon says, this time he has a cooperative witness who isn’t interested in a piece of Jackson’s fortune.… Read more »

George Harrison, Prince, John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne are among those who’ve made the list of nominees for the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot, a hall of fame spokesperson confirmed Monday. Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria for consideration include “the influence and significance of the artist’s contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll,” according to the organization. Several names that have not made the hall before are back for another try, including the Sex Pistols, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, country rock legend Gram Parsons,… Read more »

The amusement park has banned controversial rocker Marilyn Manson from performing at Six Flags Darien Lake on August 11 when the 2003 Ozzfest tour rolls into town, claiming his act is inappropriate for the venue. (Shhh. Don’t tell ’em about Ozzy’s satanic past-maybe they missed the bat-chomping story?) The shock-rocker, whose latest album, The Golden Age of Grotesque, debuted at number one in May, is considered one of the bill’s headliners, alongside the likes of Korn, Ozzy Osbourne and Voivod. So far, Darien Lake, in upstate New York, is the only venue on the 30-city tour to nix Manson’s performance.… Read more »

P. Diddy, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Lil’ Kim, Brian McKnight, LaToya Jackson, P. Diddy, Mike Tyson, Johnnie Cochran, and Magic Johnson are among the stars who make cameos in Alien Ant Farm’s new video for “These Days.” The celebs were filmed outside the June 24th B.E.T. Awards at Los Angeles’ Kodak Theater as AAF played the first single from their upcoming album TruANT on a roof across the street. “We crashed the red carpet,” frontman Dryden Mitchell says. As the amused nominees and attendees looked up at the rockers, director Marc Klasfeld, the man behind the band’s “Smooth Criminal” video, caught… Read more »

After 10 months of legal wrangling, the Dixie Chicks are expected to sign a new deal soon with Sony Music Entertainment, according to Billboard magazine. Sony has been home for the Texas trio for the past five years, but recent rumors had the Chicks heading to Capitol Records. Last July, the group’s attorneys served Sony with notice that its contract was terminated “by reason of Sony’s material misconduct and material breaches.” The Chicks still owed five albums, so Sony responded with a lawsuit to keep the group from leaving. The cross-complaint called the Dixie Chicks’ charges “trumped up and baseless,”… Read more »

Universal Interactive, Inc. has announced that its blockbuster video game star, Crash Bandicoot, the hero of its fall release Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex(TM) for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, is an official sponsor of Alien Ant Farm in concert at House of Blues(R) Sunset Strip on Saturday, December 22, 2001. The concert is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m. In addition, Universal Interactive and House of Blues Entertainment, Inc. ( www.hob.com ) have announced an online contest with a grand prize of a trip for two to Los Angeles to see Alien Ant Farm in concert on the… Read more »

Soul Asylum recently celebrated the group’s twentieth anniversary with a show at First Avenue in Minneapolis. “It was extremely touching,” says singer/guitarist Dave Pirner. “It seemed like First Avenue was overflowing with love. I’m getting emotional just thinking about it. I really couldn’t get a grip on the fact that we had been together for that long.” Now that the balloons are popped and the champagne bottles drained, Soul Asylum are back doing what’s kept the group together these last two decades: writing new music. “We don’t know where or when we’re going to put this out,” says Pirner of… Read more »