From Rolling Stone:

Yes’ Jon Anderson has spoken out about his band’s decision to recruit a singer off a YouTube rather than wait until Anderson fully recovers from an illness that will shelve him until 2009. On his website, Anderson says he’s “disappointed that, with the exception of one phone call from Alan, none of the guys have been in touch since my illness, just to find out how I am doing, and how we will foresee the future for Yes. And disappointed that they were not willing to wait till 2009 when I’m fully recovered.” The band had scheduled a 40th anniversary tour for this year, but rather than wait for Anderson, they hired Benoit David, the singer in a Yes cover band, to take over the microphone. “Of course I wish the guys all the best in their ’solo’ work, but I just wish this could have been done in a more gentlemanly fashion. After all Yes is a precious musical band.” Anderson says in conclusion, “This is not Yes on tour.”

(Sorry, the headline was irresistible.)

Clay Aiken, who was apparently on some TV show about people who don't know how to sing but sing anyway, is gay. Later this week, Senator Barack Obama is expected to announce that he is African-American. Read all about it!

From Rolling Stone.com:

Metallica, Run-DMC and The Stooges are among the nominees for the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class. For the first time in 12 years, the ceremony will be held April 4th in Cleveland, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Other nominees include Jeff Beck, Chic, Wanda Jackson, War, Little Anthony and the Imperials and Bobby Womack.

If Run-DMC get voted in, they will be the second hip-hop group behind 2008 inductees Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. First-time nominees Metallica have grabbed the honor in only their second year of eligibility, while fellow first timers the Stooges have been eligible for well over a decade. This marks the fifth time that Chic has been nominated for the Hall. Tickets for the ceremony — which will be held at Cleveland’s Public Hall — will be made available to the public, a Hall of Fame first.

George Michael's twin propensities for drug use and public toilets made a recent joint appearance in London, when the former Wham! singer was busted for using the addict's best friend, crack, as well as marijuana, in a bathroom in Hampstead Heath. He had just finished a two world tour, so he deserved to blow off some steam (if not some strangers!).

George Michael has fled the country following his arrest for possessing crack cocaine and marijuana in a public toilet.

The pop star, 45, left his £5million London mansion with partner Kenny Goss and six large suitcases and holdalls last night. He has been in hiding since his arrest on Friday for possession of Class A and C drugs, which followed a tip-off from a lavatory attendant near Hampstead Heath.

Arrested: George Michael, pictured here in 2005, was given a caution by police but will face no further action

Police decided to take no further action after he 'showed remorse' and said it would ruin his career and stop him touring in the US. Michael played the final date of a two-year tour at Earls Court last month and is not due to play again until an Aids benefit with Dita Von Teese in Texas next month.

Now he has decided to take time out after 'screwing up again' and promised to 'sort myself out', leaving last night without speaking to waiting media outside. Michael's publicist said: 'We don't know where he's going.'

An onlooker said: 'They looked like they were going away for some time with the amount of luggage they had. They checked all the locks and made sure the lights were switched off too, all the things you do before you go abroad.'

It's just blogger scuttlebutt at the moment, but Marshall Mathers may be getting back to work. Do people remember? They must.

Editor's Note: This story does NOT necessarily prove that country music fans will buy literally anything.

From CMT.com:

Jessica Simpson's New Album Tops Country Chart

Jessica Simpson's country debut album, Do You Know, sold 65,000 copies in its first week of release to debut at the top of Billboard's country albums chart and at No. 4 on the all-genre Billboard 200, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan. Hers is the second-highest chart entry of the week. Metallica's Death Magnet, sold 490,000 copies in just three days to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Following Metallica at No. 2 is Young Jeezy's The Recession, which debuted at No. 1 last week, and Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus, which holds on to the No. 3 slot after selling 75,000 copies in its 49th week on the chart. Simpson will continue to promote her album with a Friday (Sept. 19) appearance on the CBS news program, The Early Show, and a concert Saturday (Sept. 20) at the Los Angeles County Fair.

Janet Jackson's quest to be regarded as a fully sexualized being has led her to performing an actual modified stripper dance for a male fan, chosen at random from the audience on her current tour, then tied to a wooden frame and raised by a harness while Jackson writhes and undulates on the floor below. What have you done for me lately, indeed!

If you think your favorite young rockers and rappers know how to antagonize journalists, they could all take a page from the book of the great Lou Reed, seen here in a video of an Australian press conference from 1974. Sporting his Sally Can't Dance-era blond crop and looking like he's about to nod off (while sipping a bloody mary), Reed takes the square Aussies for a ride through drugs ("better than Monopoly"), sexuality, and lies. Hooray!

Courtney Love, just weeks after pledging never to blog again, has blogged, on her MySpace blog, which is for blogging. Among her topics this time: Russell Brand, the VMAs, Conor Oberst and his lyrics, Ryan Adams (again), Kurt Cobain (again), and her long awaited album (again). Warnings: Long, sloppy, vulgar, and mad, mad, mad:

Monday, September 08, 2008

how was russell?

i didnt go to the "VMAS" as we used to call them but theyve gotten so fucking Urban i dont know i guess Van Toffler thought ( hes an exec at MTV ) he was being edgy and he WAS by letting my darkling prince Brand host the mtv awards- but theyre not the "VMAS" and they never will be again - i had ZERO desire to watch let alone go and thats one of my very favourite people ive ever known or had the honour of being friends and fiends with hosting it so i feel horribly rude that my desire not to watch assholes with chastity rings- oh for fucks sake ive had some great conversations but not ONE has ever ended in an Orgasm, y'all need some pussy and some cock and shut the hell up- i say this after spending a lovely lovely LOVELY evening with a new friend- friend of Diablos actually's fathers birthday mostly i sat with his parents and just fell utterly in love i wish they were MY parents- no wonder he directs brilliant horror movies- he has had a pretty perfect life- these two were seriously the nicest parents ive ever met- prettty much- plus i like him alot- but thats enough of my personal life i downloaded every one of Conor Obersts lyrics and read them all ALL straight thru - very impressive- very sexual in a very dark and lyrical no pun intended, way- i actual;ly do sing the word LOVE in the proper context for once in my life on this record- i didnt even choke on my bile when singing it- my gall my biluous misanthropy mysonginay and general isms that im so densely full of i just know i like to write lyrics with my rhyming dictionary and thesaurus on one side of the table- Yeats and Rilke to the other ( Ive passed....WAY passed Fluers De Mal thats for rock writing 101) and listen to people who sing words well who challlenge me and not ONLY will i HAPPILY stick up the 854,000 dollars in American Express Fraud Bills Ryan Assams knowingly used tomake that piece of utter shite- and im repeating myself but tonight this morning my Ipods on shuffle and right after the excellent excellent Bright Eyes song about the you know"i wanna lover who doesnt give a fuck...where is the kid with the chemicals" that one- its beautifully demented that song was a fucking shit shit faux country crap song about trains and longing for Jacksonville, NO NO NO it could NOT BE- i pressed the little button on my Ipod fucking a! Ryan with a cowboy hat or something on..oh just singing BULLSHIT-= hes just not being truthful-= in fact hes so fucking mediocre hes the Dave Grohl of the would be Dylans and hey im one, just cos im a little batshit doesnt mean im not going for the prize- I was ALL ready to finally do my Dylan Rite of Passage cover and its just not meaningful in the context of the dizzying amount of songs we already have and the lyrical challenges that face me i mean to aim for absouloute perfection = and see Bright Eyes - he wraps the melodies about his words- i do not do that i have the melodies first and scat my way thru and see what comes out of me- GOD I DO HAVE A FANTASTIC JOB! my matrices may scatter and shed skins off the red snakes crawling in my sobbing dense demonic hell of self loathing and tossed off Chanel and an Ossie Clarke jumpsuit that i swear to God is the coolest thing ive ever seen-= i have to get it for Noel Fielding- will he really truly appreciate the Pallenberg of this blackthin jersey jumpsuit witha neckplunge down to THERE and a bouncy sac? actually yes- there Noel if you can turn on a computer you just found your christmas present and since im Crashing Guildeford for Xmas anyways- i guess i better be bringing a good present. Ossie Clarke muthafuckin mick/bianca jumpsuit with sequins i just got off topshop.com and ordered some cute shit for NOTHING A sequined beret and a bowler and my glue gun is ...well im CRAFTING you see i have stencils and plasters and all sorts of velvets and laces and dead jewelry and teesny wedding cakes loads of bridal things- im just going to be miss paint the bookshelves Duckegg, Poppy and Chartruese ( GOOOD I LOVE THAT COLOUR CHARTRUESE < AUBERGINE< VERMILLION < NAVAL GREY AND A PAIR OF ROGER VIVIER TARTAN SHOES PLLLEEAASSSE) cos recession leads to not so many trips to Chanel or Fendi or Prada althought that woman is a goddess she gives me the best discount ever- you cant do much damage ina paints and crafts store dammit and ei may suck at assembling rusty shit and all but i can put a shell on a thumbtack witha glue gun like anyone else dammit! well did my brother from another mother go down well with yall? he looked very NOT nervous. I love Russell, VIVA YOU MOTHERFUCKER I LOVE YOU AN DAM PROUD OF YOU BABY!

how stinking and vile to high fucking hell is music right now- christ id like to shoot it between its eyes- its making me want to write serious tell all books where i am NOT ladylike in my tales- but i shant no i shant - and yes i will pick on Ryan Adams mediocrity until the day he dies because hes just shit- in the sense that unlike Lanegan or Oberst the guy has NO CLUE who he is- yeah eh REALLY misses Jacksonville - why ? cos i own half of it? if you want to discuss Jackson ville then play me "Simple Man " from Skynrd REALLY LOUD- or listen to it on the Almost faMous soundtrack i doubt Camero( Crowe) will take away credit for MY pushing that song on that movie and do i get credit for "Tiny Dancer" in the bus? i dammed well better SHARE in it cos music cues are everything i went to my friends top floor and one of his movies has a girl i tried to sort of save from herself when she was young- er- shes a fucking beast but i always like the crazies and i simply recognised her tits- thats how jaded i am feeling i can recognise a girls tits- tits are very much NOT the same you know- best pair i ever did see was shall i kiss and tell? naw. clue shes in hiding, exiled, and she likes teensy vintage bags , opiates, and is very pretty and insanely patholiogical i mean she lies like noone ive ever known, but i still like her and i hope she comes out of this self exile shit soon shes well missed- her drama and her ....well her tits. yes yes im sorryt o be even a teesny bit negative -that Cardinals shit just bugged me thru an dthru its a waste cos the guy had a little something a small smear of x factor once a long time ago.... and he appears to have whored it out whilst WHILST STEALING FROM ME and im disgusted and waiting for his apology, how dare he write some minor subtle response questioning my err"sanity" when HES GOT OUTBOARD GEAR AND THE VERY STUDIO HE WORKED AT ON MY AMEX - anyone anytime whod like to see the amex bills please let me know- its from cards applied for without my knowledge using monies from End of Music; Kurts publishing and drained out through forged powers of attorney and trusteeships and two corrupt bank loan officers- SEVENTY FOUR VISAS ive been informed- so dont think 29 amexes is lame- i didnt do it- i just had no sense of what my financial life was or how to cherish it and to guard it and to portect my family= my mother in law ins on her FIFTEENTH felonious refinance and Kurts ssn has 152 properties on it and 24 names- hes been dead and gone some 16 years and yet hes still buying up Michigan an d Gerogia and Florida- and well lets not forget NEW JERSEY AND NE WYORK AND PROBABLY MORE PROPERTY IN CALIFORNIA THAN ANYWHERE he appears Kurt does to very much like teh Hills of Beverly cos he ahs a 6.8 million dollar house on Summiot- yep it says right here- Kurt Donald Cobain, and i have the APN number and everything- i wonder who actually live sthere-. i think the slithering shitsack should answer the door when i getthere and dotn reverse phone numbers jhust tellyoyu the world? my MY! i got the deeds to alot of the the bogus properties- its pretty gruesome- but i can do something about it i guiess fax it to the proper authoprities- these people doing the naming are idiiots how is it possible that past and previopus occupients of a smallish expensive house in Atlanta all have surnames beginning with the lettter "A"? i mean about 60 people living in this little pad with a surname with the letter "A" some actually born in 1857! but using Kurt Cobains SSN anyway! its just rape and im getting orange jumpsuit level homicidal about this pillaging. this Gorging. Bankers and CPas are supposed to be trsutworthy. thats what the Government of the United States says. teh FTIC says. the law says.

after i send them to the people whose job it is to stop the 4 TRILLION a year Mortagge Fraud industry , i can happily l;et itgo wonder if when i should do that, i find it shocking the count of people who knew and know this is currently going on thes ehouses getting flipped frponm fake name to fake name year after year i eman a surname like LAFAUX doesnt say anything to you? how about ALBINO, Negro? born 1888. Seriously. Kurts Neighbour in Woodhaven AND Islip NY is mr Negro ALbino, perhaps they just needed an "a: surname desperately , ive also seen the presdient of the chruch of scientologys name as a neighbour in Kentucky- yeah= ha ha.

i did NOT fund a Ryan Cardinals record neither did i purchase it for my ipod in fact that THAT is from THIS years amex fraud and im predtty sure who likes to pretend they are part of the "music biz" and not the criminal class from my past who likes to use my phony ssn with the ghetto credit. but fuck it, its irrelevant, i am DAMMIT CELEBRATORY- i love when a friend does well and Russell appears to have done quite well- ist not exactltya fucking rock fest at mtv its...... "date my mom" remember- and it will never revert back to reliably rock n roll- its just the economiclevel of thier decision marketing wise to "grow with thier audience"" aka save mass money on shows by just predating on peoples insane desire and frenzy to be on insanely dysfunction al reality shows for free.

well all i know is Lachapelle is directing my videos and they can play them if they want to - i love making art with David and speaking of art how excited are we all that Tarantino is FINALLY making his Inglourious Bastards WW2 movie- fuck YEAH, and im shocked as shit my friend is IN it , hes a director! but maybe itll be like Spike Jonez that adorable muffin of a man in Three Kings wich i still love madly. Christ i need to watch more movies i need to really go ona jag, but wait im making a record ill go on a jag after- i have a great Producer /boss/director/collabortaor and the best band ill ever be in ever. so HALLEFUCKINGLULJAH. merry christmas and god bless the germans and tiny tim whose actually FINISHED "Bleak House"? im living it so i was just wondering....... to jung to Jung to Jung to Jung i go clothian and numinous to Jung to Jung i go.

comfy in my own skin and bloody murderous! KooKoo

No less an authority than Out Magazine has declared the "100 Greatest, Gayest Albums of All Time." It's quite a list. See for yourself:

100 The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

99 Joni Mitchell - For The Roses

98 Ferron - Testimony

97 Janis Ian - Between The Lines

96 Nick Drake - Bryter Layter

95 Culture Club - Kissing To Be Clever

94 Hair Original Broadway Cast - Hair

93 Sade - Lovers Rock

92 Morrissey - Viva Hate

91 Grace Jones - Nightclubbing

90 Kate Bush - The Kick Inside

89 Fifth Column - To Sir With Hate

88 Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade

87 Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor

86 Madonna - Madonna

85 Nina Simone - Anthology

84 Cyndi Lauper - True Colors

83 Bette Midler - The Divine Miss M

82 Cher - Believe

81 Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah

80 Rufus Wainwright - Want One

79 T. Rex - Electric Warrior

78 Various - The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack

77 New Order - Substance

76 Ani DiFranco - Imperfectly

75 Carole King - Tapestry

74 Michael Jackson - Off the Wall

73 Various - Fame Soundtrack

72 Donna Summer - Once Upon a Time

71 Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

70 Rent Original Broadway Cast - Rent

69 Frances Faye - Caught In The Act

68 Nirvana - Nevermind

67 Hüsker Dü - Candy Apple Grey

66 Soft Cell - Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

65 Le Tigre - Le Tigre

64 Patti Smith - Easter

63 Björk - Debut

62 Jeff Buckley - Grace

61 Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out

60 R.E.M. - Automatic For The People

59 Bronski Beat - The Age of Consent

58 Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville

57 Prince - Dirty Mind

56 Team Dresch - Personal Best

55 David Bowie - Diamond Dogs

54 Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes

53 Culture Club - Colour By Numbers

52 Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

51 Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome

50 Rufus Wainwright - Poses

49 Patti Smith - Horses

48 Cris Williamson - The Changer and the Changed

47 The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs

46 Madonna - Ray of Light

45 Bikini Kill - Pussy Whipped

44 Pet Shop Boys - Very

43 Prince - Purple Rain

42 ABBA - Gold

41 Melissa Etheridge - Yes I Am

40 Pet Shop Boys - Behavior

39 Laura Nyro And Labelle - Gonna Take A Miracle

38 Dusty Springfield - Dusty In Memphis

37 Blondie - Parallel Lines

36 Madonna - Erotica

35 Yaz - Upstairs At Eric's

34 Donna Summer - Bad Girls

33 The Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow

32 The Smiths - Meat Is Murder

31 Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstacy

30 Diana Ross - Diana

29 Pet Shop Boys - Actually

28 Queen - The Game

27 Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

26 Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters

25 k.d. lang - Ingénue

24 Sylvester - Living Proof

23 Deee-Lite - World Clique

22 The Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control

21 David Bowie - Hunky Dory

20 Queen - A Day at the Races

19 The B-52s - The B-52's

18 George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. I

17 Lou Reed - Transformer

16 Queen - A Night at the Opera

15 George Michael - Faith

14 Erasure - The Innocents

13 Ani DiFranco - Dilate

12 The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico

11 Various - Hedwig And The Angry Inch Soundtrack

10 Antony And The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now

09 Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual

08 Madonna - The Immaculate Collection

07 Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

06 The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

05 Judy Garland - Judy at Carnegie Hall

04 Indigo Girls - Indigo Girls

03 Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman

02 The Smiths - The Smiths

01 David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

...and there's a punchline in there somewhere, but not for the kid Akon may be "Konvicted" (pret a porter) of throwing off the stage in Fishkill (that is the name of the town), NY.

From AP:

FISHKILL, N.Y. — Akon is headed to trial on criminal charges he tossed a fan offstage at an upstate concert last summer.

The 35-year-old singer is accused of tossing a teenager off the stage during a June 2007 concert at a minor league baseball stadium near Poughkeepsie. Another concertgoer said she suffered a concussion when the boy landed on her.

Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, asked for the jury trial during a brief appearance with his lawyer in Fishkill Town Court on Wednesday. He's due back in court for trial Dec. 1 unless a deal is negotiated in the meantime.

He pleaded not guilty in December to misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment, a violation.

In court Wednesday, Judge Harold Epstein met privately with Akon's lawyer, Andrea Zellan, and Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Anthony Parisi before announcing the case would go to trial unless a deal is reached.

"We are pleased that Judge Epstein adjourned the case to a date certain for either a trial or a negotiated resolution," Zellan said in a prepared statement. "Akon looks forward to putting this incident behind him, and in the meantime he will continue to meet every requirement set forth by the court."

Akon's hits include "Smack That" with Eminem and "I Wanna Love You" with Snoop Dogg. His most recent album, "Konvicted," was nominated for four Grammy Awards.

England is good at many things, but it is best at pop stars in all their many splendors. Or splendours. If you need evidence, look no further than London's Daily Mail (as in "his son is working for the..."), which reports on the proper pop star fracas that ensued when Lily Allen (drunk, at minimum) and Sir Elton John (sober, though possibly still high even after decades of abstinence) were placed on the same dais to present some awards. What a carve up! Video highlights, meanwhile, are here.

From Billboard, offered without comment, more or less, but the whole rehab is fun and profitable angle is a little bit vexing:

Last September, Nikki Sixx's harrowing memoir of addiction, "The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star," debuted at No. 7 on the New York Times Book Review nonfiction best-seller list. The book's companion album, "The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack" (Eleven Seven Music), is also a success, having landed the No. 2 Hot Mainstream Rock hit "Life Is Beautiful" and top 30 song "Pray for Me."

A year later, reception for "Diaries" is still warm. The Motley Crue bassist recently received a Prism Award from the Entertainment Industries Council that commended his accurate portrayal of addiction on the album. New single "Tomorrow," which is being worked to radio, was recently selected by NAADAC, the Assn. for Addiction Professionals, as one of the themes for National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

Sixx remains hot on the topic of recovery and is considering other methods to help spread awareness about National Recovery Month and the Mental Health Parity Act, which provides parity between health insurance coverage of mental health benefits and benefits for medical and surgical services.

"Here we are a year later and [I'm thinking], 'What can I talk about, what can I say that will make people that are in recovery want to stand up and support Recovery Month?'" he says. "A friend of mine said, 'You know, the fact that you did a really honest book and it changed people's lives, that's something to talk about.' It's a year later and the book is still selling, and it's still changing people's lives."

Discussing the wisdom he's gleaned from his own recovery efforts, Sixx says he's noticed preaching to addicts that they need to stop usually doesn't help. The "Diaries" song "Accidents Can Happen" relates to how relapse is part of recovery.

"What I used to be told [was], 'What the f*ck's wrong with you? Why can't you do like everybody else? Why can't you stop? Why can't you act right?'" he recalls, saying "Accidents Can Happen" attempts to convey that "We all fall off the wagon. It's only one day, it's not the rest of your life. Pick yourself up and go again. And I think if someone had told me that at times in my life, it would have been a lot better than being ripped apart.

The purpose of "Diaries" was to deliver a message to the masses. When it comes to his personal life, Sixx tries to show by example that sobriety is cool.

"I don't make it like a bummer," he notes, using the term "sobo cops" for people that get uptight if they see someone drinking and the like. "I'm in a rock band, you know. There's drinking, and when I'm onstage I see waves of people smoking pot. Can you imagine if I was like sobo cop and was like, 'I'm not going to perform if people smoke pot at my concerts?'" he says with a laugh. "It's like, 'Hey, man, do what you want to do, but if you have a problem, here's an answer, and here's some awareness.'"

Listen, I know what you're thinking: what in the name of all that is holy does Sean Puffy Puff Daddy P. Diddy Diddy Combs think of John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as running mate? Well look no further than this video, or "P. Diddyo," or whatever they call things now.