Now, she's taking things a step further, not only stepping up in her own defense, she's taking aim at the music business, claiming that it forced Missy Elliott to lose the more than 70 pounds she shed a few years back, claiming she needed to slim down for health reasons. Ditto faults the music biz for making her believe she'd be less successful if she didn't reduce.

For most people, it's hard to argue with weight loss, but Ditto's not letting that stop her. She's super pissed (and not in the English sense).

Songs with subject matter this subtle usually do not hit it big, but when they do Danger Mouse is usually behind it (see "Feel Good Inc"). Cee-Lo pinpoints that quiet moment when one's mind becomes aware of infinity, its own existence and solitary nature. That of course is when all hell breaks loose, and it can't stop talking to itself. The most cathartic single moment of pop this year, for me, is when Cee-Lo sings "Ha-ha-ha, bless your soul," when he sees someone else under the influence of their own ego, who believes they contain their hedonism. He knows there's a trap door they're about to fall through.

 

This song is currently the #5 song in America. It was #1 in the UK for many weeks this spring -- in fact it's the first song ever to hit the top of the British charts solely on the strength of downloads. What does this say about our collective self-awareness? Anything? Dr. Phil?

We played the Plains' new CD The Boy in the Mansuit driving home from Olympia last weekend. When I first heard this song I thought it was about control problems in a relationship: It's intimately recorded, sung in a hushed tone. The title reminded me of Wilco's "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart"; a nonsensical supposition of the will over emotion.

 

When I read main Plain Aaron Semer's liner notes to this song, he compared it to themes from Pink Floyd's The Wall -- it's about the earthbound restrictions many educators impose on their students' whims and musings. The fact that Semer wrote a topical song, but made it sound personal, speaks to his genius. He knows where he's supposed to aim, the frequency listeners will respond to.

 

The Boy in the Mansuit is what we call a "D.I.Y." release: no established label was involved. It's one of my favorite albums so far this year.

This might not have pertinence outside the Northwest, but you might know songs like it: There's a local bank that advertises on the big Seattle stations up here, and they have this series of ads about money being your friend. The principal actor is going about his daily business -- work, driving, etc. -- while in the background there's a guy dressed up in a giant headpiece that resembles a $100 bill. The $100 bill guy is watching over the real guy's shoulder, washing his windows, drinking milk out of his refrigerator, things like that.

 

The music is a some guy singing a light pop jingle over a Fender Rhodes, lyrics about being someone's "best friend." Sorta sounds like the great San Francisco band Jellyfish. As well as Harry Nilsson's theme from The Courtship of Eddie's Father. It's stuck in my head. All. The. Time.

 

When my 20-month-old daughter overhears this jingle she acts it's the Second Coming. I then die a little inside. But it all turns out okay.

"Yodok" is the name of a North Korean prison camp, one where the musical's choreographer, Kim Young-Sun, was actually incarcerated in the early 1970s. The musical is based on her life: she was placed in Yodok after her father was accused of being a spy for the South Koreans and Americans. The director, Jung Sung-san also has first-hand experience, having spent three months in Sariwon Camp for listening to South Korean radio.

A musical format might seem like an odd way to dramatize the horrors of the camps but it certainly does help get people's attention and perhaps that's part of the point. Jung ran into challenges in even mounting the show however. NPR reports:

"the South Korean government has pressured him not to produce the show. It's attempting reconciliation with the North and is avoiding publicizing the horrors of the regime.

• The New Yorker tackles Ghostface. (Source: New Yorker)
• Slate.com's Jody Rosen calls Matisyahu a minstrel. Oh, and his music sucks too. (Source: Slate.com)

• The Cars drive back. Sort of. (Source: LA Times)

• More concerns raised about hearing loss from MP3 players. (Source: LA Times)

Instead, the soundtrack for High School Musical is staying strong and now claims the #3 spot and at #4 is Youth by Hasidic reggae artist Matisyahu. Following Ne-Yo, at #6, is a new album by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, On An Island, followed by Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts. A two-fisted Johnny Cash punch follows next at #8 and #9 with The Legend of Johnny Cash and soundtrack from Walk the Line back-to-back. Last, but not least, is Jack Johnson & Friends' companion album to the movie Curious George. (Source: MTV News)

More serious, or at least awkward, was the internal feud going on within Blondie. Deborah Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke accepted their awards but former band members Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison and Gary Valetine – all of whom are on the outs with the other members over business disputes – came to the Hall but were not allowed to perform with the rest of Blondie. Stein actually joked (well, we think he was joking) that he was going to walk around with his Hall trophy, "in case I run into any of those f*ckers." Nice.

And just for comedic effect, you can't really do better than a hard-of-hearing Ozzy Osbourne on hand to celebrate Black Sabbath's induction. The Oz explained why the group didn't play at the ceremony by saying, "My balls were hurting me." We'll just leave that one well alone. Instead of Sabbath, Metallica came out and whipped out a few classic Sabbath songs in tribute while Herbie Hancock delivered a similar performance as part of Miles Davis' induction. (Sources: AOL News, Billboard)

• Belle & Sebastian play the Hollywood Bowl. (Source: NME)

• Young Jeezy arrested on gun charges. (Source: Billboard)
• Sean Combs, hip-hop mogul, fashion icon, cooking show sponsor? (Source: Allhiphop)

• Indie record clerks spoof. (Source: To Here Knows Where)
• Stanley Crouch assesses the legacy of Miles Davis. (Source: Slate.com)

• Long road to the Hall of Fame: Blondie. (Source: MSNBC)
• Ozzfest line-up announced. (Source: antiMUSIC)
• Courtney Love said to be considering sale of portion of Nirvana back catalog. (Source: Gigwise)

• Louisana Supreme Court overturns murder conviction for C-Murder. (Source: Allhiphop)

• Mobile companies continue to build music ties. (Source: Digital Music News)

• The NY Times profiles Simon Cowell. (Source: NY Times)

López is part of a coalition of different Columbia musicians and artists called the "Rapid Response Artistic Battalion" who have sought to respond to the decades-old civil war raging in Columbia.  Through concerts, recordings and now, the escopetarras, they've helped raise awareness around the strife and conflict and have been reaching out internationally through the gun/guitar. Already, Columbia's biggest pop star, Shakira, has requested an escopetarra as has Brazilian composers Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. (Source: Music Thing)

• Ice Cube is back ... rapping that is. (Source: Vibe.com)
• Jay-Z to help "edit" Nas' upcoming album. (Source: Vibe.com)
• Afrika Bambaataa helps squash beef between KRS-One and Bay Area writer. (Source: hiphopmusic.com)

• A new EP by the Arctic Monkeys on its way? (Source: NME)

• The Pope gets a Nano. We wonder if Three 6 Mafia is on there? (Source: Stereogum)

• Roy Haynes keeps the rhythm. (Source: NY Times)
• NPR launches a "Song of the Day" page. (Source: NPR)
• Stanley Crouch discusses John Coltrane's finest moment. (Source: Slate.com)
• American Idol finalists set. (Source: MTV News)

• Metallica nod to Black Sabbath. (Source: Monsters and Critics)
• Monkeyed to death. (Source: Coolfer.com)
• A new generation of artists from the Pacific Northwest step up. (Source: NPR)

• Anger over Three 6 Mafia's Oscar win. (Source: Washington Post)
• Get your Biz Markie beat-boxing doll. (Source: Allhiphop.com)

• Brad Paisley leads with six nominations for upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards. (Source: MSN Music News)
• KRS-One causes ruckus at Stanford. (Source: Prohiphop.com)

• Tribune Broadcasting and The Tube join forces. (Source: AOL News)
• iPod vending machine. (Source: digg.com)
• Mobile music, gaming and other entertainment to be a $40 billion business by decade's end. (Source: InformationWeek)

• Amidst falling CD sales, music DVDs selling well. (Source: FMBQ)
• Ali Farka Touré passes at age 66 (or 67). (Source: NY Times)

"Matisyahu has built a following by bypassing reggae fanatics (many of his fans come from the jam-band world). That explains why he outsells and outdraws his Jamaican counterparts. And it may also explain why some listeners find his music so exciting.

"Perhaps Matisyahu's fans aren't familiar with a little-known group of performers who still make great reggae records: Jamaicans.

This logic isn't out of left-field: we've reported here how many analysts see the new popularity of digital downloads as a cannibalization of album sales: why pay $9.99 (let alone $14.99) if you can get the best songs for a buck or two? Whether or not the strategy really paid off with Ne-Yo is, of course, subject to debate. Rhapsody's Tim Quirk tells the NY Times that this is bad business for the record companies:

""The labels are shooting themselves in the foot. Every single track that you are worried about is available for free whether you want it to be or not."

We're just reminded that this is not a new practice and has gone back well before the era of downloading: the Fugees' The Score was a monster seller back in 1996, largely on the strength of "Killing Me Softly." That song was never intended to be a single and even after radio DJs began playing it out, turning it into an organic hit, the label purposefully waited for months to release it as a single, finally doing so only AFTER the album had gone multi-platinum. In an odd sense, if a song proves TOO popular, that becomes an incentive not to release it as a single. (Source: NY Times)

The former #1 for several weeks, "Check On It" by Beyonce slides from #2 to 5 and is followed by "I'm 'N Love Wit a Stripper" by T-Pain and then "Grillz" by Nelly. The bottom of the Top 10 doesn't bring too many surprises: you have Chris Brown's "Excuse Me Miss" at #8, Dem Franchise Boys' new "Lean Wit It, Rock With It" climbing to #9 and finally, Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" at #10.

For the next week or so, expect Sean Paul and Ne-Yo to duke it out (but we think Ne-Yo will have this spot on lock for at least a few weeks). Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" is one to watch, jumping from #29 to 14 while Sheryl Crow and Sting's "Always On Your Side" had a strong debut at #35. There's also T.I.'s explosive new single, "What You Know" (#83) plus a new song by Nickelback, "Savin Me" (#94). (Source: Billboard)

• Belle and Sebastian + the New Pornographers: Live in concert on NPR. (Source: NPR)
• Prince takes a page from Willy Wonka. (Source: NME)

Shyne changes his name to ... Moses. (Source: MTV News)
• Common and Kanye back in the lab. (Source: Monsters and Critics)

• What exactly is Latin alternative? (Source: NPR)