Music News & Videos

Photo: Hoffman/Getty

Blink-182 will not perform their scheduled concert tonight at Saratoga, New York’s SPAC as the band mourns the death of their pal and collaborator, DJ AM. “Due to circumstances surrounding the unfortunate and untimely passing of our dear friend Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein, Blink-182 will not be playing tonight in Saratoga, NY at SPAC,” the band announced in a statement on their official Website. “Performances by Weezer, Taking Back Sunday and Chester French will take place as planned along with some special surprises. We thank all of our fans for their support in this tough time.”

Photos from Blink-182’s reunion tour opener.

As Rock Daily previously reported, DJ AM died on Friday, August 28th in his New York apartment; his cause of death has not been released pending the results of toxicology tests. While Blink-182 were able to soldier through a teary performance this weekend in Hartford, Connecticut after the death was announced, the band evidently needed time off to mourn. Last year Blink drummer Travis Barker, who collaborated with AM, survived a plane crash with Goldstein. No word yet whether Blink-182 are planning to reschedule the SPAC show.

Related Stories:

• DJ AM Reportedly Found With Crack in New York Apartment
• Blink-182’s Travis Barker Pays Tribute to DJ AM Onstage
• DJ AM Found Dead in New York

For a band with a strange, sordid and downright volatile history like Oasis, it’s only fitting that we’re mourning the exit of Noel Gallagher the same weekend we were celebrating the 15th anniversary of the band’s debut album Definitely Maybe. Hyped by some excited fans upon release as the second coming of the Beatles and packed with anthems like “Live Forever,” “Supersonic” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” Definitely Maybe was released on August 30th, 1994 and was instantly hailed a classic of the Britpop era.

Check out backstage and live shots from Oasis recent U.S. tour.

To this day, the British press still mentions Definitely Maybe in the same sentence as albums like The Queen is Dead and the Beatles’ masterpieces. While the Manchester rockers’ debut never had the same impact in the States as it had in their home country — Definitely debuted atop the British charts and became the country’s fastest-selling first album ever, but only mustered a peak of Number 58 in the U.S. — it did open the door for its critically acclaimed follow-up, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, an LP that placed on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

“Not since the Smiths has an Anglo act shaken significant Stateside action. And that’s a shame,” Rolling Stone wrote in our 1994 review of Definitely Maybe. “Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher – whom the U.K. press, pissing off hippies, has compared to Lennon (a fate that, American style, befell Cobain) – has God-given cool. And with his brother Noel supplying him with sumptuous rockers (their echoing production recalls the Beatles’ Revolver), it’s easy to see why this quintet is next year’s model. Heavier on guitar than Blur or Suede, they’re the simpler, catchier outfit.”

Check some more Definitely Maybe videos below:

“Live Forever”

“Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”

“Cigarettes & Alcohol”

Related Stories:

• Noel Gallagher Quits Oasis With “Great Relief”
• Q&A: Liam Gallagher on Discovering the Beatles and the Death of the Rock Star
• 1996 Cover: Ruling Asses

By now Christina Aguilera fans are well aware of the direction the vocal superpower is heading for her next album — as Rolling Stone recently reported, the singer has recruited a list of collaborators with electro-pop cred that includes M.I.A., Santigold, Sia, Goldfrapp, Le Tigre and Ladytron.

Aguilera sheds a little light on when she caught the electro bug in her new Christina Aguilera: An E! Entertainment Special, which airs Wednesday, September 2nd at 9 p.m. ET. and features footage of the singer working in her home studio. Revealing that after her son Max was born she gravitated to the “futuristic sound” of acts like Zero 7, as Sia puts it, “She said I’m kind of interested in stepping into your world.” Watch a quick clip from the show above.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

Police will reportedly review their investigation into the 1969 death of the Rolling Stones’ guitarist Brian Jones after uncovering new evidence related to the case, the BBC reports. Jones was found dead in his swimming pool in East Sussex in 1969, just months after leaving the Rolling Stones at age 27. While the coroner originally ruled that Jones had drowned while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, it’s long been rumored that he was possibly murdered.

Behind the Rolling Stones’ 1969 U.S. tour: Photos including some of Brian Jones’ final shots with the band.

Police decided to reexamine the case after 600 pages of documents regarding Jones’ death were handed over to authorities by investigative journalist Scott Jones, the AP reports. Scott Jones — no relation to Brian — reportedly spoke to Janet Lawson, the woman who discovered Brian Jones’ body on July 2nd, 1969. Lawson, who died last year, told Scott Jones that before Brian’s death, she saw the guitarist and builder Frank Thorogood fooling around in the pool. Soon after, Lawson saw Thorogood shaking badly as he reentered the house, and then she found Jones in the pool.

Look back at more musicians lost before their time.

Thorogood was also the central suspect in a pair of 1994 books about Jones’ death. In Who Killed Christopher Robin?, Terry Rawlings writes that Thorogood took responsibility for killing Jones on his death bed in 1993, telling Rolling Stones’ driver Tom Keylock, “It was me that did Brian. I just finally snapped.” Keylock died last month. Why the police will reexamine the case now following Lawson’s statements as opposed to Thorogood’s statements from his death bed remain unclear.

R.E.M.’s double album Live at the Olympia isn’t due until October 27th, but Michael Stipe and Co. are giving fans an early taste with their second video shot during the Dublin “working rehearsals.” As Rolling Stone reported, French filmmakers Vincent and Jeremiah Moon captured the band’s 2007 shows at the Olympia Theatre, and their backstage and concert footage will be included in deluxe editions of Olympia. The latest video to hit the ‘Net is for Automatic for the People opener “Drive,” which also kicks off the second Olympia disc. Check it out, above, and peruse the full 39-song track list for the band’s October set here.

Photo: Miller/Getty (Clapton), Hawthorne/Getty(Hornsby)

Bruce Hornsby and his band the Noisemakers will be joined by Eric Clapton for a September 17th performance during the inaugural week of the new Jay Leno Show. Clapton will team with Hornsby for “Space is the Place” off Hornsby’s upcoming album Levitate; he previously contributed to a few songs off Hornsby’s last LP with the Noisemakers, 2004’s Halcyon Days. As Rock Daily previously reported, the September 14th premiere of Leno’s 10 p.m. show will feature another noteworthy collaboration, as Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West will take the stage together for their Blueprint 3 single “Run This Town.” Jerry Seinfeld will be Leno’s first guest.

The Jay Leno Show will operate differently than Leno’s previous gig on The Tonight Show when it comes to the music. While most late-night programs book musical guests every night, the Leno show will only broadcast one or two performances a week, the Wall Street Journal reports. The logic is, in this age of YouTube, the impact of the musical guests has been watered down, so Leno will instead focus on the more unique performances like “Run This Town” and the Hornsby/Clapton collaboration. Additionally, the musical guests will be moved to the middle of the hour-long program instead of squeezing them in before the final credits roll.

Rolling Stone spoke to Leno about his shift to the 10PM hour, and what advice he gave to new Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien. For more on that story, check out our interview with Leno here:

• Jay Leno: Conan O’Brien Doesn’t Need My Advice

Photo: Winter/Getty(Diamond), Michael Ochs Archive/Getty (Ellie)
Last week songwriter Ellie Greenwich died after a heart attack at age 68. Rolling Stone spoke with her frequent collaborator Neil Diamond, who shared his memories of working with the woman he credits with keeping his career on track:

“If I hadn’t met Ellie Greenwich I wouldn’t have had a career. I met her at a demo session. I had enough in my budget to hire a few background singers and even though Ellie was one of the hottest writers in the country, she still did background dates just because she liked to hang out with her girlfriends. She liked my voice or she liked the song or something and she took me back to meet her husband, Jeff Barry, and they got me signed to Leiber and Stoller and that lasted a year. I got canned from that job but Jeff and Ellie said, ‘Hey, how ’bout we produce you?’ We got a record deal with Bang records and the rest is history.

Ellie was the best background singer ever. She did all the background parts on my early Bang records, ‘Cherry Cherry,’ ‘She Got the Way to Move Me,’ ‘Kentucky Woman’ — all of those records were Jeff and Ellie. They just had this great knack of singing all kinds of background parts and they were great at it. She invented the background parts to ‘Cherry Cherry.’

The background parts of ‘She Got the Way to Move Me’ were not part of the song. Not part of the song I wrote. She and Jeff came up with it and there it was, it became a very important part of the record. We were lucky to capture it on tape and I think on what, maybe on three tracks that time.

Between Jeff and Ellie and Artie Butler who did the arrangements for those things I was a lucky guy. I was playing guitar and singing and just having the time of my life. I was working with the best people in the world. It was a big change for me. I came from knocking around on the streets to working with the best people in music at the time.

With Ellie I learned that you could have a lot of fun making records. Up to then it was very serious business for me but they had so much fun doing their background parts and producing the records that it was contagious.

Ellie and Jeff were like one. They thought alike, they just fell into line with each other so quickly partly because they were married, partly because they were together every day and partly because they were so talented. It was just a very natural collaboration between the two of them. I’d say between the two of them they were the greatest background singers ever. I never sang those songs better than when I did them with Jeff and Ellie singing behind me.

In recent years I saw her whenever I went into New York. She didn’t get to see my last shows at Madison Square Garden. I invited her and I don’t know if she wasn’t feeling well or what but that was the only thing. I was a little concerned about that, but I didn’t know she was ill. I had no idea until she was even ill.

She was too young. She will always be that 20 year old in the studio just overflowing with energy and enthusiasm, laughing, having fun, coming up on the spot with these fantastic background parts or these horn parts on ‘Kentucky Woman’ or ‘Solitary Man.’ It was a joyful time for all of us. They were hot. My career was just beginning, I could sense it. And those sessions were you know, captured like catching lightning in a bottle.”

American Idol's Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, will release her third album on November 3, and she just announced that Play On will be the title of the new album. Play On is the name of a song featured on the upcoming record,and it's also representative of the feelings of countless fans who have come to love Carrie's music since her time on Season 4 of American Idol. Carrie released her debut album, Some Hearts, in 2005 and a second record, Carnival Ride, in 2007. These two CDs have amassed sales of over 10 million albums! Some Hearts and Carnival Ride have earned Carrie four Grammy Awards, ACM Entertainer of the Year, and three CMA and ACM Female Vocalist awards. Recently, Carrie brokea recordwhen she becamethe first country artist in history, and the only American Idol winner, to achieve 10 #1 singles from their first two albums.

Currently, Carrie is continuing work on Play On with producer Mark Bright, who also worked with her on Carnival Ride and Some Hearts. One week after Play On is released, Carrie will co-host the CMA Awards.

Although she's constantly busy with recording and touring, Carrie always finds time to help those in need. Read about the foundation Carrie established.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

Last week after reporting on news of “Best Of” collections from Madonna and the Foo Fighters, we opted to honor Greatest Hits albums in our rock list. With Beatles fans forced to split their votes among three collections, Bob Marley & the Wailers’ essential Legend, one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, captured the most votes, topping a list that features best-ofs from Creedence, the Stones, Neil Young and the Buzzcocks. For the full Readers’ List of Greatest Hits, check below:

1. Bob Marley & The Wailers – Legend
2. The Beatles – 1
3. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Chronicle, Vol. 1: The 20 Greatest Hits
4. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Greatest Hits
5. Rolling Stones – Hot Rocks 1964 - 1971
6. Madonna – The Immaculate Collection
7. Eagles – Their Greatest Hits (1971 – 1975)
8. Black Sabbath – We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll
9. The Beatles – 1967 – 1970 (The Blue Album)
10. The Beatles – 1962 – 1966 (The Red Album)
11. Smashing Pumpkins – Rotten Apples: Greatest Hits
12. Rush – Chronicles
13. Neil Young – Decade
14. Chuck Berry – The Great Twenty-Eight
15. Buzzcocks – Singles Going Steady

By Ben Hockin

Heidi Montag made headlines and turned heads by appearing on the cover of Playboy's September issue. When you saw the "Hills" star wearing that white bikini and covered in dirt, you couldn’t help but think, "Wow!" Well, good news for all you Heidi fans: Montag recently told MTV News she would consider posing for Playboy again.

There was some discussion around the office about whether she should pose again. To end the bickering, we took to the streets to see what the people of Times Square thought.

What our informal poll discovered is that if Heidi poses again, there would be very few complaints: 90 percent of our interviewees said Heidi should appear in Playboy again. Only 10 percent said she should not appear again. (One of those nay voters was a guy — who would have ever guessed?)

Would you want to see Heidi Montag in another issue of Playboy? Let us know below.

Click image above for more.
Photograph by Elizabeth Weinberg

Saturday, August 29th, would have been Michael Jackson’s 51st birthday, and to mark the occasion, cities around the world celebrated the King of Pop with gatherings honoring Jackson’s musical legacy. One of the most noteworthy tributes took place in Mexico City, where a reported 12,397 — and countless more spectators — gathered to break the world record for the most people to partake in the famed “Thriller” dance at the same time. Video of the feat is below, and while the Mexican mob isn’t as synchronized or fluid as those Philippines prisoners, the mere size of the crowd is staggering.

Look back at Michael Jackson’s life, in photos.

As Rock Daily reported last week, Spike Lee hosted a tribute to Jackson in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Despite heavy rains, that event attracted about 10,000 people as a DJ filled the park with Jackson’s music. Lee, who directed the video for Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us,” said he hoped to make the “joyous, festive and celebratory” Prospect Park party an annual event.

Check out photos from Spike Lee’s Brooklyn Jackson memorial.

Other cities that featured “Thriller” flash mobs include Paris, London and Moscow. We took a world tour of YouTube for all the best Jackson tributes from August 29th, which you can watch below.

According to the BBC, Jackson’s childhood home of Gary, Indiana held a street party, while fans flocked to Jackson’s Neverland Ranch and his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California. As Rock Daily previously reported, Jackson was originally supposed to be laid to rest at the Forest Lawn Great Mausoleum in Glendale, California on August 29th, but instead the burial was ultimately pushed to Thursday, September 3rd. Sadly, the worldwide celebrations on Saturday were slightly clouded by news Friday that Jackson’s death had been ruled a homicide.

Mexico

Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Paris

London

Hamburg, Germany

Moscow

Bucharest

Photo: Bedder/Getty

On October 12th, Echo and the Bunnymen will release their 11th studio album, The Fountain, and as a recent Q&A with Rolling Stone demonstrates, irreverent frontman Ian McCulloch’s humor is aging as well as their landmark 1980 debut:

It’s been nearly 30 years since the band’s debut Crocodiles — are you thinking about that milestone?
It’s funny you should say that because to me, the new album sounds like a debut album. It’s thumping and cheeky and there’s a lot of spite and condescension too. “The Idolness Of Gods” is a poem with a tune and it’s possibly the greatest song I’ve ever written. It’s our best album since What Are You Gonna Do With Your Life? No actually, I’m gonna say it’s the best album since Ocean Rain.

Do you ever think that “The Killing Moon” is bigger than the band itself?
“The Killing Moon” is more than a song, it’s about everything. It’s up there with “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen, “Blowin In the Wind,” “In My Life.” Every time I sing it I feel like… [looks perplexed] whoa, something just happened there. I let the crowd sing along with it now too. It used to put me off… like being in Glasgow something they’d all sound like “och aye, da dee dee…” But now I really enjoy it. It’s hard enough to get a band to agree and say ‘that’s the one.’ But with “The Killing Moon,” everyone gets it.”

How do you think Echo and the Bunnymen have become such a festival mainstay?
I used to hate festivals. But we got good at it by having the attitude that “no one’s heard of us, but we will convince them.” I’m not a great mingler — I think most bands are rubbish — but it’s nice to be at a festival with bands you actually like, like MGMT. They’ve got a great glam-Roxy-Bowie thing. Nifty look hooks and lyrics. I like bands that have got taste and intelligence.

Echo and the Bunnymen were once touted to be as big as U2 — why didn’t it happen that way?
We’ve never had that gimmicky “how you doing!” attitude to playing live because to be honest, I’m not that arsed. I’m more concerned with how I’m doing. There was always talk of us being the biggest band in the world but I think that’s why it could never happen for us. We’re from Liverpool and our mates would have been like “who the fuck do you think you are?” It’s obvious when you fake something. It’s embarrassing. But I don’t regret it.

What other bands have stood out for you in the past 30 years?
Joy Division — they were always much better live that on record. They were the only band that I thought… fucking hell. They blew us away in terms of stage presence and putting on a great rock & roll show. There was no sucking up to the crowd. There was that sense that you were watching something that was it’s own thing and there was a barrier between them and the crowd. Some bands are too willing to let the audience to believe that they could be like the band. And it’s usually bollocks because those bands are usually the ones with the helicopters. I was a huge New Order fan too. Hooky [Peter Hook, New Order/Joy Division bassist] suggested that we do a tour together in 1987 in South America where we flip-flop and they headline one night and we did the next. But our agent said fuck South America, let’s do it North America… it was a great tour. There was no other band around then that I really liked apart from the Fall.

How did it feel to turn 50 this year?
Being 50 means nothing to me. The idea of being dead, now that’ll be fucking weird.

By Gigi Abrantes

Since he first dropped his debut album in 1996, Jay-Z became an instant classic on the hip-hop scene. Now that he is about to drop his 11th album The Blueprint 3, MTV News takes a look back at the history of one of the greatest artists in rap history with The J to Z of Jay-Z.

During his career, Jay-Z has often rapped about the pricey champagne Cristal. But in recent years, Jay-Z has been toasting water: Water for Life, the United Nations' campaign to bring sanitary water to the 2.6 billion people who don't have adequate access to one of the most basic necessities of life.

In 2006, Jay-Z and MTV teamed with the UN and their Water for Life action plan to raise awareness that water is neither endless nor plentiful. According to the UN, one-third of the world's population is suffering from a scarcity of water. In "The Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life," MTV documented Jigga's personal interactions with the people who endure this water crisis every day.

Jay-Z first arrived in Luanda, Angola to a horde of screaming fans outside the airport. He visited Bela and her family who live in a shanty with no sinks, toilets, shower or running water. Bela took Jay-Z on her more than half-mile trip to the nearest water source, where she filled one 20-liter bottle with unsanitary water. She returns on a second trip every day just to provide for her household of six. On this trip, Jay-Z carried the water back for Bela, but even he struggled to carry it.

On another leg of his trip in Durban, South Africa, Jay-Z visited Mid-Illovo Primary School where the students have endured similar tribulations. He arrived again to a crowd screaming fans school children chanting his name and holding up the Roc-A-Fella diamond with their hands. Thanks to Jay-Z's donation, the school was able to build a water tower, where clean water is pumped by a merry-go-round that the students can play on every day.

Want to help out with the Water for Life campaign? Check out more information here and here.

Photo: Merritt/Getty

Outside of a few tweets, some rumor mongering and the occasional impromptu airport terminal interview, Paula Abdul has remained mostly silent since revealing that she would not be at the judge’s table for the upcoming season of American Idol. Now Abdul is setting the record straight for the first time since her shocking announcement, telling TV Guide why she decided to leave Idol and what she possibly has planned for the next chapter of her career.

Perhaps the most surprising admission Abdul makes in her TV Guide interview is she still plans to be loyal to American Idol when it returns to the airwaves. “I’ll watch it as much as I can. I had some really unforgettable moments that hit plateaus for me and I’m very blessed to have been a part of what made television history,” Abdul says, adding that she still keeps in contact with Simon Cowell.

As for her post-Idol plans, in addition to a guest role on the show Drop Dead Diva — where Abdul will play, fittingly, a judge — Abdul makes it clear that she hopes to host her own talk show. “I’d be Paula. It would be a lot of fun variety with a ton of unexpected stuff and tributes to everyday people getting their big chance,” Abdul tells TV Guide about her possible talk show.

While a monetary disagreement between Abdul and AI producers is often cited as the reason Paula left Idol, Abdul insinuates that as sources have speculated, feeling disrespected was one of the factors responsible for her departure. “I stand on principle where many people stand on money,” Abdul says. Despite reports claiming Abdul wants to return Idol, if producers were willing to bridge the salary gap and reward Abdul a contract more in league with her colleagues, Abdul is quiet about a possible return. She tells TVG, “That’s a hard question to answer right now. I mean, I don’t think I can answer that right now.”

Related Stories:

• Paula Abdul Reportedly Wants to Return to “American Idol”
• Paula Abdul Announces She’s Leaving “American Idol”
• New Report Examines Reasons for Paula Abdul’s “American Idol” Split

Photo: Joyner/Getty

First Radiohead provided fans with two brand new songs, and now it appears frontman Thom Yorke is on the verge of doing the same: According to Canadian entertainment site Exclaim, Yorke will release a new 12′’ single carrying two new tracks, “The Hollow Earth” and “Apart By Horses” on September 22nd. As Rock Daily previously reported, Yorke recorded a song for the upcoming Twilight sequel New Moon, and judging by the timing of the single’s release, it’s fair to assume that one or possibly both of the songs are Yorke’s contribution to the film. The soundtrack’s first single, Death Cab for Cutie’s “Meet Me on the Equinox,” will debut September 13th, and the film itself hits theaters October 20th.

Sources at pressing plant Sonic Unyon, who are reportedly preparing the single, told Exclaim that the single has “really awesome packaging and artwork,” and that only a limited number of vinyl — probably less than 10,000 copies — will be made. The label handling the release is TBD Records, the company Radiohead created in a partnership with ATO for the physical release of In Rainbows. As Rock Daily previously reported, after a period of new material dormancy since the 2007 release of In Rainbows, the past month has seen Radiohead suddenly and secretly release a pair of new tracks, “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)” and “These Are My Twisted Words.”

While there’s not much information regarding “The Hollow Earth” — though the title conjures up some of the lyrical imagery in Yorke’s other recent new solo song reportedly titled “The Present Tense” — “Apart By Horses” does have some Radiohead history. Back before In Rainbows “Reckoner” was In Rainbows‘ “Reckoner,” a song bearing that name with the parenthetical title “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses” was performed a few times at Radiohead concerts. As opposed to the melodic centerpiece that surprised fans when it appeared on In Rainbows, that original “Reckoner” was one of the more harder-edged, guitar-driven songs in Radiohead’s recent output.

Radiohead have often resurrected fan favorite live songs for eventual release—In Rainbows‘ “Nude” and IR bonus track “Last Flowers” date back to the OK Computer days—so it’s possible Yorke might be bringing back the original “Reckoner,” which he last performed solo at a Trade Justice Movement rally in 2005. (Rock Daily covered the tale of the two “Reckoner” in the preview and live blog of In Rainbows.)

Related Stories:

• Radiohead Officially Release “These Are My Twisted Words”
• Radiohead Offer Up New Song “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)”

Photo: Ralston/AFP/Getty

In Chris Brown’s first public interview since his arrest and plea for assaulting Rihanna, Brown tells Larry King that he has no recollection of what happened on February 8th in a rented Lamborghini and that he can’t believe he did what he eventually pleaded guilty to. “When I hear about the police reports, I don’t know what to think,” Brown says. “That’s not who I am as a person. It’s like crazy to me.” Brown’s interview on Larry King will air this Wednesday, September 2nd (watch a teaser clip below).

Sitting between his mother Joyce Hawkins and his lawyer Mark Geragos, Brown also tells King that he’s still in love with Rihanna, CNN reports. However, due to the protective order issued against Brown as a result of pleading guilty to felony assault, he must remain 100 yards away from Rihanna for the next five years, and 10 yards when both Brown and Rihanna attend the same event. While Brown has been prohibited from communicating with Rihanna, the order doesn’t extend to Hawkins, who has been in contact with Rihanna since the incident.

“[I] let her know that I was very, very baffled, what had happened, and apologized for my son, along with I’m so sorry what happened to you,” a teary Hawkins tells King. “And I didn’t know what — I didn’t know what else to say, and I gave her a hug, and she hugged me, as well.” King also pressed Brown on how he feels about Rihanna seeing other people. “I definitely would be affected by it, but, at the end of the day, I mean, we’re not together, so, if she’s happy, I’m cool,” he replies. Brown also opens up about his abusive father during the King interview, but stops short of blaming his father’s past actions for what happened on February 8th.

As Rock Daily previously reported, Brown was sentenced to five years probation and 180 days of physical labor and ordered to partake in a domestic violence counseling program. According to documents unsealed following Brown’s sentencing, the singer was reportedly in two other domestic violence incidents with Rihanna, but as both instances occurred overseas, no files were charged.

Related Stories:

• Report: Chris Brown Involved in More Domestic Violence Incidents
• Chris Brown Sentenced to Labor, Probation for Rihanna Assault
• Chris Brown Officially Out as Wrigley Gum Pitchman

Photo: Ralston/AFP/Getty

In Chris Brown’s first public interview since his arrest and plea for assaulting Rihanna, Brown tells Larry King that he has no recollection of what happened on February 8th in a rented Lamborghini and that he can’t believe he did what he eventually pleaded guilty to. “When I hear about the police reports, I don’t know what to think,” Brown says. “That’s not who I am as a person. It’s like crazy to me.” Brown’s interview on Larry King will air this Wednesday, September 2nd (watch a teaser clip below).

Sitting between his mother Joyce Hawkins and his lawyer Mark Geragos, Brown also tells King that he’s still in love with Rihanna, CNN reports. However, due to the protective order issued against Brown as a result of pleading guilty to felony assault, he must remain 100 yards away from Rihanna for the next five years, and 10 yards when both Brown and Rihanna attend the same event. While Brown has been prohibited from communicating with Rihanna, the order doesn’t extend to Hawkins, who has been in contact with Rihanna since the incident.

“[I] let her know that I was very, very baffled, what had happened, and apologized for my son, along with I’m so sorry what happened to you,” a teary Hawkins tells King. “And I didn’t know what — I didn’t know what else to say, and I gave her a hug, and she hugged me, as well.” King also pressed Brown on how he feels about Rihanna seeing other people. “I definitely would be affected by it, but, at the end of the day, I mean, we’re not together, so, if she’s happy, I’m cool,” he replies. Brown also opens up about his abusive father during the King interview, but stops short of blaming his father’s past actions for what happened on February 8th.

As Rock Daily previously reported, Brown was sentenced to five years probation and 180 days of physical labor and ordered to partake in a domestic violence counseling program. According to documents unsealed following Brown’s sentencing, the singer was reportedly in two other domestic violence incidents with Rihanna, but as both instances occurred overseas, no files were charged.

Related Stories:

• Report: Chris Brown Involved in More Domestic Violence Incidents
• Chris Brown Sentenced to Labor, Probation for Rihanna Assault
• Chris Brown Officially Out as Wrigley Gum Pitchman

Photo: Devaney/WireImage

More details have emerged regarding the shocking, sudden death of Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein, who was found dead in his New York apartment August 28th. Friends first became concerned that something was wrong when AM missed his flight from New York to Las Vegas, where he was booked to perform his weekly set at the Palms Hotel’s Rain nightclub, People reports. Goldstein sent his last text message to two friends at roughly 1 a.m. Friday morning regarding the Vegas performance. (The Palms, in tribute to Goldstein, blacked out the “P,” “L” and “S” on their sign so that it simply read “AM.”)

As Rock Daily previously reported, after the NYPD broke down the door, police found Goldstein dead in bed, with a crack pipe and prescription pills nearby. According to People, a half bag of crack cocaine was also recovered from Goldstein’s apartment. There were no signs of foul play, and an initial autopsy yielded inconclusive results. A toxicology report will take several weeks.

See pictures of DJ AM with Travis Barker, Fergie, Jay-Z and more.

After more than a decade of clean living, DJ AM reportedly developed a dependency to prescriptions like Xanax and benzodiazepines last year while recovering from the jet crash he and Travis Barker survived. According to TMZ, while the Xanax was used to calm Goldstein’s post-traumatic stress after the crash, the benzodiazepines are what set off AM’s relapse. TMZ adds that AM’s relapse was recent and that it had “nothing to do with AM’s breakup” with girlfriend Hayley Wood. AM’s death is also reportedly considered an accidental overdose and not a suicide.

Look back at more musicians lost before their time.

Meanwhile, the fate of AM’s MTV reality show Gone Too Far remains uncertain after his death, Variety reports. Filming recently finished on the eight-episode series, an Intervention-like show which found Goldstein helping young people who were struggling with drug addiction. Gone Too Far was to premiere October 5th. MTV is expected to make a decision regarding the show this week. According to People, it was during filming Gone Too Far that AM held a crack pipe for the first time since his addiction.

As Rock Daily previously reported, countless celebrities from John Mayer to ?uestlove paid tribute to AM either through statements or on Twitter. AM’s good friend Barker and his Blink-182 bandmates persevered through their grief during their concert in Hartford, asking fans to give a moment of silence during their tear-soaked set.

Related Stories:

• Blink-182’s Travis Barker Pays Tribute to DJ AM Onstage
• DJ AM Found Dead in New York

Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

• Unreleased Jimi Hendrix studio recordings and concerts may see the light of day now that the guitarist’s Experience Hendrix and Sony’s Legacy Recordings have reached an agreement. Deluxe editions of all Hendrix’s releases are also on the way, according to a press release.

• Jay-Z appeared on Bill Maher’s Real Time on HBO Friday night to talk about the media’s handling of hip-hop feuds, being a role model and rap “that sounds like a Wendy’s commercial.” Watch Maher present Jay with a giant book of all his lyrics and the full interview at Nah Right.
• Them Crooked Vultures played not one, but two Reading and Leeds sets this weekend, NME reports, where Dave Grohl blew kisses to the crowd and Josh Homme called the crowd “beautiful motherfuckers.”
• 50 Cent was forced to postpone his 40 Day event in Queens, New York, this weekend after failing to get a permit for the family picnic, MTV News reports. The MC said after he publicized the event, authorities feared the crowd would get too large to handle.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

• Unreleased Jimi Hendrix studio recordings and concerts may see the light of day now that the guitarist’s Experience Hendrix and Sony’s Legacy Recordings have reached an agreement. Deluxe editions of all Hendrix’s releases are also on the way, according to a press release.

• Jay-Z appeared on Bill Maher’s Real Time on HBO Friday night to talk about the media’s handling of hip-hop feuds, being a role model and rap “that sounds like a Wendy’s commercial.” Watch Maher present Jay with a giant book of all his lyrics and the full interview at Nah Right.
• Them Crooked Vultures played not one, but two Reading and Leeds sets this weekend, NME reports, where Dave Grohl blew kisses to the crowd and Josh Homme called the crowd “beautiful motherfuckers.”
• 50 Cent was forced to postpone his 40 Day event in Queens, New York, this weekend after failing to get a permit for the family picnic, MTV News reports. The MC said after he publicized the event, authorities feared the crowd would get too large to handle.

Did you see a movie this weekend? Maybe you took in "Inglourious Basterds"? Then you have Thomas Edison to thank (at least in part). On this day way back in 1897, Edison was granted a patent for the Kinetoscope, a sort of early movie projector. The design allowed a self-contained series of images to run through a box, and the moving images could be viewed through a window by a single person. (Interestingly, many early adopters of the Kinetoscope used the technology to showcase clips of women stripping, proving that pornography is always the first in line when it comes to new technology.) Real public projection didn't come until 1913, and later the dominoes fell, leading to talkies, color, Cinemascope, 3-D, IMAX and whatever the heck the trailer for "Avatar" is.

Another movie technology that created a buzz? Drive-ins. And without those, we wouldn't have At the Drive-In, the aggro-punk collective from El Paso, Texas, who stormed into the musical universe, became huge and quickly splintered into multiple groups. While the Mars Volta is a formidable outfit (the less said about Sparta the better), it's hard to knock the original group's explosive dynamic, especially on their signature tune "One Armed Scissor."

Photograph by Chris Tuite for RollingStone.com

Beastie Boys replacement headliner Jack Black of mock rockers Tenacious D sent his love to the ill Adam Yauch Sunday night during a chilly set that closed out the final day of San Francisco’s Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park. “Adam, I love you, you’re the greatest,” said the charismatic Black, dripping with sweat from their 100-minute, skit-filled performance, which included a duel with the Devil. “Get well, my brother.”

Outside Lands in photos: Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, the Dead Weather and more.

The D — who said San Francisco hosted one of their first gigs as a band almost a decade ago — played to a few thousand stalwart fans braving 50-something degree evening lows and the misty ocean air. Drawing from their 2001 and 2006 albums Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny, the band opened at 7:40 p.m. with “Kielbasa,” drawing big crowd whoops. Another album opener, “Kickapoo,” followed, leading into Tenacious D’s first skit.

“I turned 40 years old this week, and I feel like I’m in the body of a 10 year old,” said Black, who began doing gymnastics. A stunt double performed several back handsprings and Kyle Gass denigrated such fakery. Black exploded, forcing Kyle to quit the band onstage. “Dude (I Totally Missed You)” brought Gass back for “Friendship.”

Though the band lip synced to “Master Exploder” lyrics “I do not need / a microphone / my voice is fuckin’ / powerful!” Black displayed surprising range and theatricality, and audience members rubbed sore jaws from smiling at the endless antics. The mirthful D deftly handled “Tribute” — the first single off their 2001 platinum debut — before dueling with the Devil, to whom they renounced allegiance.

“The devil fucking sucks. Fuck the devil. Jesus is awesome. The devil can suck my dick,” spat Black, who didn’t skimp on the expletives Sunday, later stating, “I wish I could fuck all of you. I can’t. That’s unreasonable. But I can try.”

An early encore brought the band back for “Fuck Her Gently,” proudly sung by both the men and women left in attendance, thus concluding day three of the second annual music and arts festival in Golden Gate Park.

In the crowd at Outside Lands: fan photos.

Almost 100 bands drew in excess of 100,000, said Outside Lands organizer Rick Farman, co-founder of Bonnaroo presenters Superfly, who co-presented Outside Lands with Berkeley’s independent Another Planet Entertainment.
The loss of main headliner Beastie Boys at the last minute put the organizers in uncharted territory. “My first thought was, ‘My heart goes out to him,’ ” said Farman. “But yeah, we’ve never had a headline-level act drop out like that.”

Some fans were expectedly upset Tenacious D replaced the Beasties, and even Sunday performer M.I.A. took to Twitter last week, alluding that she would have backed out of opening for the D it weren’t for the threat of lawsuit. “When I went online the next day, though, there were as many people who were stoked to hear we had Tenacious D,” said Farman. “Jack Black doesn’t tour very much and we were very happy he stepped up.” Indeed, in the spirit of the date, Tenacious D souvenir T-shirts depicted Beastie Boys’ Check Your Head album cover with Black and Gass photoshopped in. The title read Check Your Headliner.

Though Sunday sales slackened, the healthy turnout was a testament to the resilience of music consumers amid the downturn, Farman said. The event leveraged San Francisco’s food, wine, technology and activism cultures to give festival-goers a one-of-a-kind, world-class experience. More than 100 local restaurants and wineries doled out low-cost delights like black truffle aoli with fries, and organic smores to go with the wine tastings. A first for the tech giant, YouTube Webcasted the festival and drew hundreds of thousands of viewers. Free water bottle refills, bike valet and ample municipal buses kept fans hydrated and happy.

Outside Lands will be back next year, says Farman. “We’re in it for the long term. We’re thinking in terms of decades.”

More Outside Lands:

• M.I.A., Modest Mouse, The Dead Weather Heat Up Outside Lands
• Dave Matthews Band Grab Fergie, Robert Randolph at Outside Lands
• Mars Volta and Mastodon Pummel Outside Lands
• Pearl Jam Ignite San Francisco as Outside Lands Festival Kicks Off
• Incubus, The National, Silversun Pickups Launch Outside Lands

Photo: Diaz/WireImage

M.I.A. delivered a kicking and screaming Beastie Boys mash-up medley Sunday afternoon to tens of thousands at Outside Lands in San Francisco’s woodsy Golden Gate Park. Clad in a garish, gorgeous tiger print dress complete with blazing red tiger ear-shaped shoulder pads, black wayfarer sunglasses, black tights and bronzed sneakers, M.I.A. strutted in fine form, backed by two fly girls and twin, besuited b-boys. The Sri Lankan sprite spat bits of “Bird Flu” into the Beastie’s “Sabotage” and “Intergalactic,” blasting the last of the crowd off their picnic blankets. “Paper Planes” sailed into the closer position after a muted reception to “Born Free” a fast, punky, bass-heavy new song the audience failed to latch onto. “Sorry. Get to know it later,” M.I.A. said.

Experience Outside Lands in photos: Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band and many more.

The new mother and sudden global star behind Kala and Arular seemed reflective Sunday afternoon. “A lot has changed in a year since I’ve been here. I got engaged here. I got pregnant here. I’m kind of fucking scared of this place.” Nevertheless, opening track “Bamboo Banga” and “World Town” had the hoodie and scarfed fans bouncing. Her latest rare performance since giving birth in February satiated new devotees with “Galang,” “Pull Up the People” “Bucky Done Gun” and “Boyz.”

Read about Tenacious D’s Sunday night headlining set.

Earlier on the main stage, jocular Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock brought his journeyman’s sensibility and twin drum kits to a midday set. Touring behind August EP No One’s First and You’re Next, he played the EP’s “The Whale Song,” but after 16 years and seven full-length LPs, the Seattle rock band drew greatly from the past. We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank’s “Parting of the Sensory” and Good News For People Who Love Bad News for “Blame It On the Tetons” came off flawlessly. “Paper Thin Walls” off The Moon and Antarctica seemed like an apt fit for the chilly afternoon.

Conversely, hot band of the summer the Dead Weather let loose a sexy, bluesy, bashing set, electrified by the rock micro-deity that is Jack White. Underneath a grey, purgatory sky, all eyes were on the black-clad rocker and his 2009 outfit, featuring femme fatale Alison Mosshart of the Kills vamping and channeling the robot rut of Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Dean Fertita and bassist Jack Lawrence of the Raconteurs.

White handled the drums as if every note mattered on opener “60 Feet Tall” while petite Mosshart squared off on the sound monitors, all pelvis and snarl. Fertita sprayed cascades of distortion and squall during cuts from the band’s debut LP Horehound. “So Far From Your Weapon” and “I Cut Like A Buffalo” offered dirgy, gut-bucket blues straight from Nashville, and yelps from the crowd accompanied every move by White toward a guitar or microphone. He often sung while playing drums, and played guitar on fine numbers like “Treat Me Like Your Mother” and “Hang You From The Heavens.”

More Outside Lands:

• Tenacious D Battle the Devil to Wrap Up Outside Lands Fest
• Dave Matthews Band Grab Fergie, Robert Randolph at Outside Lands
• Mars Volta and Mastodon Pummel Outside Lands
• Pearl Jam Ignite San Francisco as Outside Lands Festival Kicks Off
• Incubus, The National, Silversun Pickups Launch Outside Lands

Remembering DJ AM

The 36-year-old musician was found dead in his New York City apartment on Friday.

• DJ AM