Soul music legend Isaac Hayes was found dead in his Memphis, Tennessee home over the weekend. He was 65 years old.

Family members say they found Isaac unconscious in his home next to a still-running treadmill.

Hayes was most known by the younger generation as the voice of Chef on "South Park." From the late 1990's to 2006, Isaac Hayes was the comical mentor to the "South Park" boys. His character was killed off after Hayes got into a dispute with the show's producers reportedly over the religious cult, Scientology.

He released his first solo album in 1967, and his 1969 follow-up, "Hot Buttered Soul," became a platinum hit.

In 1971, the theme from "Shaft" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and won an Academy Award for best original theme song. The song and the movie score also won Grammy awards for best original score and movie theme.

Hayes was inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

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M.I.A. evidently performed her last concert this weekend at Bonnaroo in Tennessee.

“This is my last show,” the rapper announced from the stage, “and I’m glad I’m spending it with all my hippies.”

The New York Times is reporting that M.I.A. announced at least three times that she is retiring.

Say it ain't so! M.I.A. is one of the best live performers. She really gets into her songs and makes each performance unique.

If M.I.A. did actually retire, we're hearing that she really went out with a bang!

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Remember that obnoxious Australian kid, Corey Worthington?

He's the one who made worldwide headlines by destroying his parents house with the infamous MySpace party.

Worthington is also the one who refused to remove this tacky yellow sunglasses, "because they're famous." Without them, he's unrecognizable.

Now, Corey is taking a stab at singing with a cover of the Beastie Boys "Fight for your right (to party)."

Let's just say Corey Worthington's musical debut is not getting the best reviews! It has even been tagged "ear rape."

Corey also earned $10,000 for appearing on Australia's "Big Brother" and crashing their party. Australians will do anything to have their own socialite, won't they!

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The Lollapalooza rundown has been announced with headliners like Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Kanye West and Wilco.

This August's concert will take place at Chicago’s Grant Park for a fourth year in a row.

Other confirmed names for the Lollapalooza weekend include: The Raconteurs, Love and Rockets, Gnarls Barkley, Bloc Party, The Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Flogging Molly, Mark Ronson, Cat Power, Lupe Fiasco, The National, Explosions in the Sky, Brand New, Gogol Bordello, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Dierks Bentley, Okkervil River, Amadou & Mariam, Girl Talk, CSS, Battles, Jamie Lidell, Butch Walker, Mates of State, Spank Rock, Chromeo, Duffy, The Kills, Rogue Wave, The Go! Team, Mason Jennings, The Gutter Twins, Yeasayer, Grizzly Bear, MGMT, The Weakerthans, Booka Shade, Santogold, Black Kids, Black Lips, Louis XIV, Dr. Dog, Nicole Atkins & the Sea, The Ting Tings, Kid Sister, Office, The Cool Kids, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, The Whigs, Manchester Orchestra, Foals, Uffie, The Octopus Project, Cadence Weapon, Ferras, De Novo Dahl, Noah and the Whale, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, K'NAAN, Serena Ryder, Newton Faulkner, Your Vegas, Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves, Bang Camaro, The Blakes, Tally Hall, White Lies, Magic Wands, Electric Touch, Innerpartysystem, The Postelles, The Parlor Mob, Bald Eagle, Krista, Ha Ha Tonka, Witchcraft, We Go To 11 and Sofia Talvik.

Over 90 bands and artists who will perform when the weekend is said and done.

Lollapalooza will take place the first weekend in August (1st through 3rd).

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I often miss my time living in Memphis, Tennessee especially when times rolls around "Memphis in May" and the "Beale Street Music Festival".

The 2008 line-up was just announced and it sounds like it is going to be a blast! The rundown includes Aretha Franklin, Sheryl Crow and My Chemical Romance just to name a few. Get the complete line-up on the official "Memphis in May" website.

Between May 2nd and 4th) you can bounce back and fourth between 4 stages on the banks of the mighty Mississippi river and watch more than 60 head-lining musicians. You'll hear everything from R&B to rap, country, rock and blues.

If you have never visited Memphis, early May is definitely the right time!

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Here's a preview of Mariah Carey's video for her new song "Touch My Body."

The video is directed by Brett Ratner, and it is great!! Ratner who also directed Mariah's “We Belong Together” is also known for his credits in such feature films as "X-Men: Last Stand" and the "Rush Hour" movies and as co-producer of "Prison Break."

I guess Brett had some time on his hands during the writer's strike, and what a better way to stay occupied that working with the number 1 selling female recording artist of all time!

Enjoy the snippet of Mariah's new video!

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How do you review an album that no one has heard yet? Good question!

That's what the Black Crowes are asking after Maxim magazine released a review of their album that hasn't been sent out yet.

In this file photo: Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes performs in this April 22, 2005, file photo on the opening day of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival in New Orleans.

Continue reading "Black Crowes slam Maxim for bogus review" »

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Mariah Carey is back!

Known for holding the record as the best selling female recording artist of all time, Carey is definitely going to turn heads with her latest album "E=MC2."

The official release date is April 15th, but the R&B-leaning first single "Touch My Body" hit U.S. radio outlets this week.

Carey's last album"The Emancipation of Mimi" dropped about three years ago. That record sold 5.8 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and also earned three Grammys.

The new album features production from the likes of Jermaine Dupri and will.i.am, as well as collaborations with R&B singer T-Pain and reggae star Damian Marley.

Other tracks expected to appear on the album include "Migrate," "Love Story," "Lovin' You Long Time" and "OOC."

I can't freakin' wait!!

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Yoko Ono is evidently defending the name of her late husband John Lennon by slapping a lawsuit on Lennon Murphy for naming her band, Lennon.

Ono has filed court papers accusing Murphy of fraudulently registering Lennon as a trademark and for the "tarnishment" and exploitation of her former husband's name.

Murphy claims Yoko and her lawyer approved the use of the name Lennon for her debut album in 2000.

"If Yoko prevails, Lennon might never be able to tour or release records using the name Lennon," Murphy said on her MySpace page.

John Lennon was shot and killed in New York City in December of 1980.

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Amy Winehouse and Kanye West were the big winners at Sunday night's Grammy awards.

Winehouse and West both performed emotional numbers. Kanye dedicated a special song to his late mother Donda West while Amy performed an ironic "Rehab" from London where she is undergoing treatment for drug and alcohol abuse (watch the performance below:)

The Grammy's were packed full of great performances including appearances from Tina Turner, Beyonce, Josh Groban and others.

Continue reading "Amy Winehouse and Kanye West lead Grammy winners" »

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After seeing all of the fake flyers for Coachella on the web, I was disappointed to see the actual line-up. That's how it works though, I guess.

Here's how the lineup breaks down, as announced by chief organizer Paul Tollett at a press conference in Mexico City today:

April 25 – Jack Johnson, the Verve, the Raconteurs, the Breeders, Fatboy Slim, Tegan and Sara, Madness, the Swell Season, the National, Animal Collective, Slightly Stoopid, Mum, Pendulum, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Stars, Battles, Aesop Rock, Midnight Juggernauts, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Minus the Bear, Spank Rock, Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobies Pip, Diplo, Adam Freeland, Santo Gold, Jens Lekman, the John Butler Trio, Vampire Weekend, Dan Deacon, Architecture in Helsinki, Sandra Collins, Busy P, Cut Copy, Black Lips, Datarock, Professor Murder, Reverend and the Makers, the Bees, Porter, Rogue Wave, Modeselektor, American Bang and Lucky I Am.

April 26 – Portishead, Kraftwerk, Death Cab for Cutie, Cafe Tacuba, Sasha & Digweed, Rilo Kiley, M.I.A., Dwight Yoakam (this year's token country act, also appearing at Stagecoach the following weekend), Hot Chip, Cold War Kids, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, DeVotchKa, Flogging Molly, Mark Ronson, Turbonegro, Scars on Broadway, Islands, Enter Shikari, Calvin Harris, Boyz Noise, Junkie XL, Cinematic Orchestra, Jamie T, the Teenagers, VHS or Beta, Carbon/Silicon, Erol Alkan, Yo Majesty!, Bonde Do Role, St. Vincent, Akron Family, MGMT, Institubes DJs, Surkin, Para One and Orgasmic, James Zabiela, Sebastian, Kavinsky, Dredg, the Bird and the Bee, Grand Ole Party, New Young Pony Club, 120 Days, Yoav, Eletric Touch and Uffie.

April 27 – Roger Waters, Love and Rockets, My Morning Jacket, Spiritualized, Justice, Gogol Bordello, Chromeo, the Streets, Metric, Simian Mobile Disco, the Horrors, Danny Tenaglia, Booka Shade, Murs, Dimitri from Paris, Autolux, the Field, Linton Kwesi Johnson (in a spoken-word appearance), Les Savy Fav, the Cool Kids, Sons and Daughters, Sia, Black Kids, Black Mountain, the Annuals, Kid Sister with A-Trak, Man Man, Duffy, I'm From Barcelona, Manchester Orchestra, Deadmaus, Austin TV, Shout Out Louds, Plasticenes and Brett Dennen.

Tickets are $90 per day or $269 for the full festival. On-site camping is $55 for the weekend. Tickets and camping reservations go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at all Ticketmaster locations and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

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The American Idols weren't the only ones winning awards on Sunday night for the American Music Awards.

Here's a full list of winners: 

Breakthrough Artist: Daughtry
Country Band, Duo or Group: Rascal Flatts
Soul/R&B Male Artist: Akon
Pop/rock male Artist: Justin Timberlake
Favourite Soundtrack Album: High School Musical 2
Country Female Artist: Carrie Underwood
Contemporary Artist: Daughtry
Soul/R&B Album: Justin Timberlake
T-Mobile Text-in Award: Carrie Underwood
Pop/Rock Album: Daughtry
Country Album: Carrie Underwood, Some Heart
International Artist: Beyonce
Rap/Hip-Hop Band, Duo or Group: Bong Thugs 'n Harmony
Soul/R&B Female Artist: Rihanna
Pop/Rock Female Artist: Fergie

I also have to give Celine Dion props.  She really brought it with her performance.  Once a diva, always a diva I guess!

Jimmy Kimmel also did a good job ad-libbing through the show without writers!  It wasn't the best, but it could have been a lot worse!  Props to Kimmel too.

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The American Idols weren't the only ones winning awards on Sunday night for the American Music Awards.

Here's a full list of winners: 

Breakthrough Artist: Daughtry
Country Band, Duo or Group: Rascal Flatts
Soul/R&B Male Artist: Akon
Pop/rock male Artist: Justin Timberlake
Favourite Soundtrack Album: High School Musical 2
Country Female Artist: Carrie Underwood
Contemporary Artist: Daughtry
Soul/R&B Album: Justin Timberlake
T-Mobile Text-in Award: Carrie Underwood
Pop/Rock Album: Daughtry
Country Album: Carrie Underwood, Some Heart
International Artist: Beyonce
Rap/Hip-Hop Band, Duo or Group: Bong Thugs 'n Harmony
Soul/R&B Female Artist: Rihanna
Pop/Rock Female Artist: Fergie

I also have to give Celine Dion props.  She really brought it with her performance.  Once a diva, always a diva I guess!

Jimmy Kimmel also did a good job ad-libbing through the show without writers!  It wasn't the best, but it could have been a lot worse!  Props to Kimmel too.

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Rihanna is on the cover of Britain's You magazine this month, and she looks really cute!  The girls over at Hollyscoop summarized it up nicely.

Rihanna talks about her father's crack addiction, Justin Timberlake and her new bad girl image:

Rihanna on her father, a former crack addict:
“I had seen the marijuana and cocaine around him but I didn’t know what it was. I just knew that my mum didn’t like it, and they were always fighting about it. My mother was a very strong woman and tried to shelter us from as much as she could. But she was working, and he was at home, so there was only so much that she could hide from us. He’s OK, he’s drug-free now. He got over it a while ago because my mother wouldn’t let us go and see him otherwise. So he gave it up for us.”

Rihanna on working with Justin Timberlake:
“I was so starstruck at being in the same room as him.”

Rihanna on her good-girl-gone-bad image:
“I felt I was embarking on a whole new image, a whole new journey. I wanted to differentiate myself from the past. I have come into my own and I know what I’m doing now. I’ve called the new album Good Girl Gone Bad because I was determined to do it my way, I was sick of listening to what everyone else wanted. This is the way I like to look and sound, so I became very rebellious – that’s the attitude of the entire project.”

Rihanna has also evidently head-over-heels for actor Josh Harnet, confirming they are seeing each other in the Daily Mirror.

"I've fallen for him big time. I would be lying if I told you we were not more than just friends," the mirror reports Rihanna as saying.

"He is so hot and he is so sweet to me. When we hang out it feels right - even though it's still pretty new."

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As strange as it may sound, Prince is going head to head with his own fans.

After receiving tons of cease and desist letters from Prince and the singer's reps, three of the largest Prince fan sites formed PrinceFansUnited.com.  I'm not sure what they were hoping to accomplish, but they got their own song out of it.

That's right, Prince wrote a song for the angry fans called "PFunk," and it is available on his website and was also released to PrinceFansUnited.com.

On Friday Prince's rep sent out a statement calling calling the Prince Fans United sites "phony," according to TMZ.com. Now, the singer's people are calling the statement an error and say they plan to release a joint statement with prince fans soon.

You can't bite the hand that feeds you, even if you are Prince.

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If you're like me, you really didn't understand how the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden came out of nowhere to trample Britney Spears' hopes at a number one debut.

Here's how it happened:

As of Tuesday evening, it looked like Britney Spears' Blackout would get the first place spot by selling only 290,000 copies.  In the final hours, things changed. 

Britney was set to take the number one spot on a technicality even though the Eagles sold 711,000 copies.  The problem seemed to be that the Eagles album is only available in the U.S. at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, amd via the band's website.

In most cases, Nielsen SoundScan only counts album sales that were available in all retail outlets.  After Long Road Out of Eden turned out to be so popular, Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan held some quick meetings and made a last minute change in the rules to include exclusive titles in their Billboard 200 and any other applicable Billboard chart.

There goes Britney's number one spot.  If Spears still had "people," I bet they would be piiiiissssed!!

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Carrie Underwood's "Carnival Ride" has jumped to Number 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums and all-genre Billboard 200 charts.

The CD earned the best-selling first week of any country sophomore album since SoundScan started keeping record.

But that's not all! "Carnival Ride" was also the largest country debut in digital album chart history!!

Go Carrie!

This has been a wonderful ride so far for American Idol Carrie Underwood.

She is the reigning CMA and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year and a two-time Grammy winner.

Underwood will perform on The 41st Annual CMA Awards next Wednesday from Nashville. She's up for three CMA more Awards: Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year.

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He is probably New York City's most famous DJ ever.  Junior Vasquez, now 60 years old, has spun at every major gay NYC club throughout the decades.  Now, the is hanging up his turn table.

It looks like Pride '07 will be Junior's last appearance. 

Made famous by his after hours parties, Junior's last weekly residency was in 2003 at Exit which has since closed.  He has however been spinning a lot of monthly parties over the past few years.

In a day when DJ's are spinning mainly on CDs and even on iPods, Junior's vinyl is becoming extinct.

Posted by Anthony Lago at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Starbucks Corp. is branching out from coffee to music.  The company said on Monday it has formed its own record label that will develop music offerings to be sold both in their coffee shops and through traditional music outlets.

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James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul" who died on Christmas Day, was entombed on Saturday at a private ceremony held at his daughters home and presided over by the Rev. Al Sharpton, Reuters is reporting.

The body had been kept in a temperature-controlled room at his South Carolina in the bronze and gold-plated coffin used for his funeral in Georgia last year.

"The children used their own funds to pay for their father's entombment so that their father could be put to rest without further delay," Sharpton, said a statement.

Brown left "a substantial estate and substantial holdings ... which are currently being disputed in court," and Brown's children "wanted to see their father entombed in a resting place without delay, rather than await court decisions," he added.

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Could it be?  Yes, it could be a sample of Kylie Minogue's new album!!

The working title is Kylie X, but that will probably change as her previous album, Body Language, had the working title, City Games. (Which happens to be a b-side to the body language album).

The name of the new track is "Excuse My French," and it was produced by Jewels & Stone & Rob Davis.  Enjoy!

Can't see the player? Don't worry, click here to listen!

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Lily Allen, our featured artist on this week's Audiogasm, plans to launch a fashion line for "high street" wear to be sold in stores across the world.  The UK pop tart is calling her line "Lily Loves," and it will debut in over 300 stores in the UK, France, Dubai and Belgium.

The clothing line will carry six dresses, two pairs of shoes and assorted accessories, the chain announced Wednesday.

Her line is meant to go up against "M By Madonna", a clothing line co-created by the singer to reflect her own wardrobe and set to be the headliner shortly at H&M.

"Lily Loves" launches on May 9.  I am excited to see it.  She has a cute style, but I don't think she'll compete with Madge at H&M... especially in the US.

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I think we all pretty much assumed that the "fraud" behind Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger's in-and-out marriage and rapid separation was because Kenny is not a friend of Renee but infact a friend of Dorothy.

Kenny Chesney tells CBS's 60 Minutes that it isn't true.  As a matter of fact, he's coming - as a straight American.  Kenny swears he isn't on our team, and he wants to move out of the gay shadows by admitting to the world that he's a straight man.

"It's not true.  Period.  Maybe I should have come out and said, 'No, I'm not (gay),' but I didn't want to draw more attention to it.... I didn't have to prove to anybody that I wasn't (gay).  I didn't feel like I really did," he said.

Despite having to come out and admit he is straight.  Kenny says he has no regrets with marrying Renee.  I wonder if Renee feels the same way?

Posted by Charles Winters at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

In 1997 Anna Nicole Smith recorded a cover version of "My Heart Belongs To Daddy," originally made famous by Marilyn Monroe. The song was released in France and a video featuring Smith was made to promote it.  In memory of the buxom blonde, we publish the video below.

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Kylie Minogue and Olivier Martinez have announced their split.  This means the internation pop princess is on the market again.  Kylie and Olivier released this joint statement today:

"Olivier Martinez and Kylie Minogue have officially confirmed that they are no longer a couple. They have made it clear that the decision to go their separate ways was mutual and amicable. The media's false accusations of disloyalty have saddened them both. The two remain very close friends."

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Kylie Minogue was in Sydney this weekend, and she ran into some technical problems after performing her second song, 'In Your Eyes'. 

Fans tell our Managing Editor Anthony Lago that she filled the time well.  "Fans tell me she sang parts of 'Got to be Certain,' 'Word is Out,' 'What Kind of Fool' and 'Your Disco Needs You' acapella," Anthony reports. 

Some tabloids are saying that the show looked "unorganized" and "baffled," but Anthony also reports that fans he heard from said it gave the show personality.

"I'm being told that the pause wasn't abrupt at all.  I heard she was actually chatting on stage with the crowd before she even realized there was a problem.  They also tell me that when she realized there was a problem, she joked and kept chatting.  From what I hear she was a good sport through it all.  Kylie loves her fans, and she prides herself in giving them a good show," Anthony also reports.

Tabloids are also pointing out that her costume "got caught up" later in the show, but Anthony reports this wasn't that bad either:

"I'm told her arm accessory to the 'Confide in Me' portion of the show got caught in her head piece when the song ended.  The fans said it was actually kinda 'cute' and 'funny.'  Most of the people I talked to didn't even see it happen, so it must have been brief."

We also hear that her mic clipped at the beginning of 'Cowboy Style' and her battery pack fell off during 'Kids.' But again, Anthony Lago reports that no one really seems too upset. 

Kylie is our icon, and a few little blubs won't let us down!  GS

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They're known for the insane Rock-n-Roll style and their outrageous frontwoman Tiff Randol, but after this Thursday Valeze may be known for making waves through Manhattan.

To celebrate the release of their first EP, Valeze will set cruise with over 200 of their fans for a rockin' night on the water cruising around the island of Manhattan.  This Thursday, August 17th Valeze will host Circus, the Party on a Moon Line party boat.  They've joined forces with Steve Sidewalk to keep you dancing all night long.  They're promising circus acts, go-go boys, drag performances and endless suprises.

Continue reading "Music: Valeze Sets Sail" »

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