TIMBERLAKE BASHES BRITNEY AGAIN
Justin Timberlake took yet another shot at former girlfriend Britney Spears in the December issue of Details. Timberlake, who's been trashing the pop tart from stem to stern after their much-publicized breakup, ridiculed her screen debut in the dud "Crossroads" and claimed public support he showed at the time was only fealty to his beau. "If she had a clue, she wouldn't have made that movie," Timberlake said. "Everybody knows that what she should have made was 'Pretty In Pink'."

STELLA MCCARTNEY NIXED
The London Daily Telegraph reports Paul McCartney's daughter Stella is having all kinds of problems with her neighbors in the Notting Hill section of London. The fashion designer recently installed a rooftop shower at her townhouse but was forced to take it down. Then she purchased a building formerly used as a church as a potential office for her design company, but the Telegraph reports local residents are miffed the site where the church is being renovated is covered with graffiti, including the slogan "Stella Is Starbucks."

BONEARAMA BITES BIG APPLE
Bonearama, the innovative trombone band led by one of New Orleans' brightest young stars, Mark Mullins, made its New York debut before a packed house at Tobacco Road Saturday. Mullins, a brilliant trombonist and arranger, also is a member of Harry Connick Jr.'s big band, and he's taken some performance cues from his charismatic boss. Mullins was poised and confident as he led his lineup of four trombones, tuba, guitar and drums through a set that lasted well over three hours and kept the dancing, cheering crowd in the room until the �=?��i�gh solo material, his own group history -- the Rolling Stones' "Hey Negrita" and the Faces' "Ooh La La," "Flying" and "Stay With Me" -- and an interesting selection of covers -- John Lennon's "Jealous Guy," Parliament's "Testify," the Foundations' "Am I Groovin' You" and Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City". Special guests on the 112-minute "Far East Man" include former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and the Corrs' Andrea Corr. The DVD is presented in full-screen format. Among the extras are interviews, backstage footage and a gallery of Wood's paintings.

GRAMMY NOMINEES CD
The Recording Academy has teamed up with Warner Music Group to release the "2003 Grammy Nominees CD," the ninth edition in the best-selling series that honors many of the year's Grammy-nominated artists and songs. This year's compilation -- due in stores nationwide Feb. 11 -- encompasses some of the year's biggest hits and features nominated
songs and artists from several major categories. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this CD will benefit music-related charities, including the Academy's MusiCares Foundation and the Grammy Foundation.
The disc contains many of the most widely recognized Grammy categories. The 19 tracks from the CD represent nominees from the Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal categories.

BEST OF BEAUSOLEIL
Rhino Entertainment is set to release a decade's worth of favorites from America's premier Cajun band, BeauSoleil, with "Encore, Encore!! The Best of Beausoleil (1991-2001)." For more than 25 years, Grammy Award-winning BeauSoleil have blended fiddles, accordions, and traditional rock 'n' roll instruments into a spicy mix sure to set feet stomping. Due out Feb. 11, this definitive single-disc set features 75 minutes of music including three songs from the Grammy-winning album "L'Amour Ou La Folie" as well as tracks from "Cajun Conja," "L'Echo," "Cajunization," "La Danse De La Vie," and "Looking Back Tomorrow: BeauSoleil Live!"
BeauSoleil -- Michael Doucet (fiddle, mandolin, mando-cello, guitar), along with his brother David (vocals/guitar), Jimmy Breaux (accordions), Al Tharp (bass, fiddle, banjo, vocals), Tommy Alesi (drums), and Billy Ware (percussion, vibraphone) -- have released six albums on Rhino, garnered eight Grammy nominations over the course of their career.

AARON NEVILLE REISSUE
Aaron Neville's "Orchid In the Storm," a vocal group Rhythm and Blues recording originally released in 1983 on Passport Records and out of print for over a decade, will be reissued in expanded form by Hyena Records Feb. 18. Joel Dorn, who produced the album two decades ago, owns Hyena Records. Neville also has two recordings of new music scheduled for release this year, a jazz set on Verve and a gospel project released on his own Tell It label with distribution by EMI Gospel.

SOLUNA TV SERIES
Latin pop stars Soluna will star in their own TV comedy on UPN based on their lives, with the pilot to be shot early next year.
"We love to entertain, and we love to make people laugh," said Soluna's Aurora Rodriguez. "We've had so many amazing, funny experiences since we began performing together. We're so excited to share them on TV!"
America Olivo, T Lopez and Jessica Castellanos are the other group member. The series will feature musical performances and borrow liberally from the bilingual pop group's actual adventures in show business. Its development will be overseen by executive producers, and band's managers, Suzanne de Passe and Irene Dreayer, part of the team behind the WB network's "Sister, Sister" -- WB's first series to break 100 episodes -- and "Smart Guy."
Since releasing their debut album, "For All Time" (DreamWorks Records) in May, Soluna has hit the Top 20 with the album's title track -- the Spanish version is called "Por La Eternidad" -- and hit the road with such luminaries as Enrique Iglesias and Marc Anthony.
"We're thrilled to have this opportunity," Olivo said. "For us, acting is just another medium for reaching out to people, and being onstage in that sense keeps us creative in everything we do. At our first UPN meeting, we told the executives one story after another about our lives. We had a lot of fun, and they said in that one meeting we'd gone over enough stories for four seasons!"

ONE DAY FOR UTE LEMPER
Chanteuse Ute Lemper is set to release a new album, "But One Day..." which features her first original compositions alongside classics from Kurt Weill, Hans Eisler and Jacques Brel that long have been highlights of her dynamic live performances.
Lemper also is releasing the DVD "Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill and Michael Nyman," which combines two previous VHS releases never before available on DVD. Both packages will be released March 11, 2003, on Decca Records/Universal Classics Group.
"But One Day..." is a return to Lemper's roots with interpretations of theater songs, cabaret, Kurt Weill and French chanson fans long have clamored for her to record.
"So many people have asked me, particularly after hearing them in concert, whether I have recorded this repertoire," Lemper said. "So, I have basically recorded some of these most gorgeous songs, treasures of the material I perform live, and brought them into more 'arranged' versions."
Highlights include Weill's "September Song," Brel's, "Ne me quitte pas," and Piazzolla's "Bueons Aires."

DEAD KENNEDYS LIVE
The Dead Kennedys have revived their career through a reissue deal with Manifesto Records in the United States and Plastic Head Distribution in Europe. The Los Angeles punk band has sold more than 100,000 compact discs of the band's back catalog, a one-third increase in record sales since the band took control of their back catalog a year ago from their previous label, Alternative Tentacles.
The band has launched a campaign to reissue its entire re-mastered back catalog on vinyl in 2002 and into 2003. The first reissues are "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" and "Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death."
"The Dead Kennedys reissue campaign on Manifesto Records has been an absolute success," said Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray. "With the band controlling the very music we helped create, not only have sales of the our back catalog increased but we have also released a fantastic live CD 'Mutiny on the Bay,' and re-released 'The Early Years Live.'
"The new re-masters sound fantastic as the band's full sound from the original studio tapes has been restored. Obviously, we are doing something right," Ray said.
"In God We Trust," "Plastic Surgery Disasters," "Frankenchrist" and "Bedtime for Democracy" will complete the reissue program.

CANADIAN SLAVES ON DOPE
Montreal-based extreme rock band Slaves On Dope has signed to Bieler Bros. Records for the release of their second album.
"After many trials and tribulations, we are ready to take on the important commitment to Slaves On Dope's future," said bassist Frank Salvaggio. "A commitment to continue what we started and to keep spreading the message to all, that Slaves on Dope is back and stronger and more united than ever. We will not tire nor will we falter and we will do everything in our power to give you a new and intense Slaves On Dope album that will not disappoint."
Bieler Bros., an imprint of MCA Records, also is home to Legends Of Rodeo, Sunset Black and Darwin's Waiting Room.
Currently in Montreal wrapping pre-production, the band will head to Boca Raton to record the Bieler Bros. debut with producer Jason Slater (Snake River Conspiracy, Earshot) for a spring release.

The video depicts the ostensibly scorned 'N Sync frontman video taping a dalliance with a comely brunette; a little high tech help to enact revenge on a live-in lover who's apparently two-timing. The "live-in lover" in the video is played by a blonde Britney Spears look-alike. So is this how Justin and Britney unraveled?
"Britney's a fire sign, a Sagittarius, they do things on a whim," Timberlake told Vibe. He went on to admit his relationship with Spears overwhelmed his sensibilities.
"I feel I became so consumed with her that I didn't see some things that I should have seen. I don't feel like I'm saying too much by saying she knows why this happened," he said.
Using his heartbreak as inspiration, making "Justified" was therapeutic for Timberlake. "I can't honestly say I've gotten used to it, 'cause the nights are crazy," he admitted. "I've cried myself to sleep looking at the ceiling, missing what we had."

MASTER P SMACKDOWN FROM GRANDMA
Master P lost $105,000 for sampling a grandma's phone message about pot for one of his productions. The Louisiana-based impresario, whose Cash Money label is a multi-million dollar business, lost a suit filed by 80-year-old Geneva Burger of Pomona, Calif. Master P used a sampled recording made by Burger on a phone conversation from 1997 as part of "Sky's the Limit," an album by Magic.
"When people get hooked on pot," Burger asked, "can they get sick if they don't get it?"
When Burger heard her voice on the album, she slapped Master P with the lawsuit, claiming to have suffered anxiety when she heard her voice on a "crude gangsta rap CD."
Superior Court Judge R. Bruce Minto awarded punitive damages to Burger in the form of $105,000.

OZZY LIKES CLASSIC ROCK
Ozzy Osbourne told mtv.com his listening habits are a lot less heavy metal and a lot more classic rock.
"The Beatles are my favorite thing," confessed his Oz-ness. "I like the older stuff when I was younger, like Zeppelin, the Beatles, McCartney, Lennon albums. Early Bowie albums like 'Ziggy Stardust.' My heroes are dying off now. George Harrison recently died, which was tragic... I'm listening to Paul McCartney's new album right now."

BUDDY GUY IN THE BIG EASY
Chicago blues guitar superstar Buddy Guy was spotted enjoying the tunes on Bourbon Street in New Orleans over the weekend. He spent most of Saturday night at the Funky Pirate, first listening to the Swamp Tones, then digging the always awesome Big Al Carson doing his down and dirty blues set. Guy later made it down the Frenchmen Street for the late night hang, digging Joe "Survival" Caruso and the Big Bossmen at the Spotted Cat. Guy was rumored to be scouting Big Easy blues talent for a State Department tour.

BRIAN FRAZEE FEEDS THE ID
Producer/singer/multi-instrumentalist Brian Frazee is set to release his debut album, "Feeding the Id" (HeartAttackMusic) Feb. 4, 2003, with a promotional tour to follow. Falling somewhere between Jeff Buckley, U2, Rufus Wainwright and Jon Brion, Frazee also has been compared to Emmitt Rhodes and Joseph Arthur. Performing solo or with his band, and often switching between piano, guitar and bass, Frazee infuses his performances with a broad vocal range and eccentric stage presence. The tour starts Jan. 22 at Hollywood Alley in Phoenix, runs through the Midwest before heading east, with the highlight a Feb. 17 appearance at New York's Continental club, before returning to Phoenix to wrap up Feb. 28 at Patriot's Park.

TIMBERLAKE'S HEARTBREAK
After months of vituperation, Justin Timberlake finally admits former lover Britney Spears broke his heart in a cover interview for the February issue of Vibe. Timberlake,�vGlmy favorite band for years and years," he said. "They were instrumental in my approach to production. It was The Cure that opened me up to a more sensitive, heartfelt type of music, and I've been extremely loyal to that feeling in every project I've done since then."Led by charismatic singer/guitarist/songwriter Robert Smith, The Cure played a seminal role in launching Modern Alternative Rock after their emergence in the late '70s. In the years that have followed, the band has released a long string of hit albums and singles, during which their sound has constantly evolved, from the darkly ambitious early albums "Seventeen Seconds," "Faith," and "Pornography," into the more accessible, pop-inflected "The Head On The Door," and "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me," the landmark, "Disintegration" and the hugely successful "Wish", through to the most recent, "Bloodflowers."

DANIEL JOHNSTON COMPILATION
Dualtone Records will release a special double CD compilation of avant-garde singer/songwriter Daniel Johnston's music April 15, "The Early Recordings of Daniel Johnston, Volume 1."The album is comprised of the Texas-based performer's first two recordings, "Songs of Pain" and "More Songs of Pain," recorded in the basement of his parent's house, originally released on homemade cassette tapes and available for the first time ever on CD.Louis Black, editor of the Austin Chronicle, and Paul Leary, member of the Butthole Surfers and producer of some of Daniel's later albums for Atlantic Records, are writing liner notes for the set and the packaging contains all new original artwork from Johnston.A fixture on the Austin music scene since the 1980s, Johnston's music was first embraced by local musicians and then by the international music community, who discovered him through his homemade tapes, which were passed from performer to performer. Johnston soon evolved into an alternative/underground icon, becoming a favorite of Sonic Youth, the Butthole Surfers, David Byrne and Nirvana (Kurt Cobain was often photographed wearing a Daniel Johnston T-shirt). During that time, he also made an appearance on MTV's "Cutting Edge" show. Both Nirvana and Sonic Youth performed his songs on stage. In addition to the Butthole Surfers, others who've recorded Johnston's songs include Mike Watt, Mary Lou Lord, Jad Fair and Kramer, Built to Spill, the Reivers, Yo La Tengo, the Wild Seeds, Half Japanese and the Dead Milkmen.

THE FINAL CUT
Hank Ballard, the originator of "The Twist," died Sunday without ever getting due recognition for being one of the most important figures in rock history. Ballard was a sensation in the rhythm and blues world, fronting the Johnny Otis-lead Midnighters, whose "Work With Me Annie" was the biggest soul hit of 1954, setting the stage for rock 'n' roll's big breakthrough the following year. Ballard wrote and recorded a version of "The Twist" in 1958, but his record company didn't promote the tune and Chubby Checker ended up cutting the hit version. Ballard was a true original and a far more important figure in rock than history has credited him.
LAWYERS, GUNS AND THE BOSS
Rolling Stone.com reports Bruce Springsteen will appear on Warren Zevon's final album, expected to be released next summer. Springsteen has been recording with Zevon at a studio in Los Angeles, where Zevon is completing a "final" album tentatively titled "My Dirty Life and Times." Zevon began working on the album after he was dia�ꤰ? ngsteen's inspired hymn to the firemen who climbed to their deaths inside the World Trade Center trying to save others takes on added meaning over time, and the whole world got the message. By contrast, Eminem looked pointless and stupid in his segment, blathering on about the pitfalls of celebrity.

DURST DIS
Fred Durst is ticked off at Britney Spears and wasn't hiding the fact at the Grammy celebration. Spears drew Durst's ire when, after a brief fling with Durst, she claimed he had been stalking her. Durst responded by writing a song, "Just Drop Dead," that goes even further than Justin Timberlake's diatribes against the pop tart. When asked if he planned to run into Spears at the Grammy awards, Durst replied, "I hope not."

CLASH COLLECTION COMING
How about that rendition of "London Calling" done at the Grammy awards by Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and friends? The pioneers of British punk will be remembered with a 40-song, two-CD retrospective "The Essential Clash," due out March 11 on Epic Records, the morning after the band is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The digitally remastered tracks span the Clash's reign from 1977 ("White Riot") to '85 ("This Is England"), including 18 single sides (A's and B's) along with 22 LP and EP signature tracks. The track listing was personally supervised by the band, including Joe Strummer, who had been working on the album shortly before his death in London in December 2002, at age 50.
The release of the CD set will be followed in April by "The Essential Clash" DVD. The DVD will feature all of the band's videos as well as a never-before-seen 60-minute film called "Hell W 10" (Hell West Ten). "Hell W 10" was shot in 1982 and was written and directed by Strummer. It stars The Clash and was originally a silent film narrative that loosely featured Mick Jones as a villain and Paul Simonon as the feature's hero.

MULLET ROCK
Mullets are the new targets of hairstyle critics, replacing the much loathed moussed bouffants of "hair metal" bands. Mullets -- short in front and long in the back -- are favored among hard-rocking, hard-working, hard-partying blue collar American males, and the two-CD set "Mullets Rock!" is the music of their lives.
Epic/Legacy Records will release the 35-song, 2 1/2-hour "Mullets Rock!" March 4. It is a classic rock collection from the 1970s and 1980s, featuring Mountain ("Mississippi Queen"), Deep Purple ("Smoke on the Water"), Foreigner ("Hot Blooded"), Foghat ("Slow Ride"), Ted Nugent ("Free for All"), Brownsville Station ("Smokin' in the Boys Room"), Rick Derringer ("Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo"), Cheap Trick ("Surrender"), Journey ("Any Way You Want It"), Toto ("Hold the Line"), Eddie Money ("Two Tickets to Paradise"), REO Speedwagon ("Roll With the Changes"), Allman Brothers Band ("No One to Run With"), Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble ("Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"), George Thorogood ("Bad to the Bone"), Lynyrd Skynyrd ("Simple Man"), Edgar Winter ("Frankenstein"), Grand Funk Railroad ("We're An American Band"), Bachman-Turner Overdrive ("Takin' Care of Business"), Alice Cooper ("School's Out") and Meat Loaf ("Bat Out of Hell").

BATON ROUGE BLUES
The eighth annual Baton Rouge Blues Week is scheduled to run from April 27 through May 3. Featured shows will include keyboardist Marcia Ball on the 27th at The Atrium Pub in Catfish Town, guitarist Tab Benoit April 30 at 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. at Phil Brady's, and legendary songwriter Tony Joe White May 3 at The Varsity Theatre.

DON'T STEP ON MADONNA'S GRASS
Madonna is at war with Britain's avid hiking community, reports England's Sunday Express. The Material Girl is challenging the country's ancient "Right to Roam" laws, which provide hikers walking access along specified routes through privately owned land that runs along old walking trails. Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie sent a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair last week saying hikers on their 1,200-acre estate posed a "potentially dangerous situation," the Sunday Express reports.

OASIS DRUMMER STILL FIRED
Drummer Tony McCarroll waited too long to press his claim he was unfairly canned from the group, ruled the High Court in London last week. The founding member of the popular British rock group Oasis filed a claim charging solicitors Statham Gill Davies mishandled the band's 1993 recording contract with Sony, which allowed the band to dump McCarroll without compensation. The judge awarded a summary judgment to the solicitors without the need for a full trial because McCarroll missed the six year statute of limitations on the complaint. McCarroll formed Oasis with schoolmates Liam Gallagher, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, and Paul McGuigan. Gallagher's brother Noel joined the band later. McCarroll was still in the band when its 1994 debut album "Definitely Maybe" reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom but had left by the time of the group's second album, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" in 1995. The Gallagher brothers are the only remaining members from that time.

STRUMMER IN STUDIO
Clash co-founder Joe Strummer is back in the studio to record the third album with his Mescaleros group, the follow-up to 2001's "Global a Go-Go." During the band's recently completed tour, several songs slated for the album were given run-throughs, including "Dakar Meantime" and "Coma Girl." The band also performed well-known Clash tunes like "Rudie Can't Fail" and "(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais." Strummer was joined at London's Acton Town Hall show by Clash crony Mick Jones for a reunion after nearly 20 years. The two joined forces to perform the Clash classics "Bankrobber," "White Riot" and "London's Burning."

ANTI-POP ON BLUE SERIES
Matthew Shipp, the brilliant pianist and mastermind of the avant-garde "Blue Series" on Thirsty Ear Records, is working on a project with the New York-based hip-hop trio Anti-Pop Consortium. The group, which broke up last August, has reconvened to make this its final project. Thirsty Ear is planning a Feb. 18, 2003, release for "Anti-Pop Consortium vs. Matthew Shipp." Shipp is curator of Thirsty Ear's Blue Series, recordings that have featured the work of William Parker, Roy Campbell and Spring Heel Jack in addition to Shipp himself. Shipp has been experimenting with the possibilities of merging hip hop and the avant garde for several years now. "Anti-Pop Consortium vs. Matthew Shipp" features Anti-Pop's Beans, High Priest, and M. Sayyid playing with Shipp, saxophonist Rob Brown, Parker, vibraphone player Khan Jamal, and trumpeter Daniel Carter.