Dennis Hopper Has Cancer- Los Campesinos! Have Swine Flu- Teens Arrested for Rap- Kanye Bitch Slapped- Adam Lambert Song Debut- Fiddy Eminem Duet Leak and more

George Michael is to release a festive single for the first time since the 1984 Wham! hit Last Christmas. December Song, which was released as a free download for a limited time on his website last year, will be available to buy on 13 December. more -

American Idol Bo Bice Does Noble Things

PR reports: Bo Bice rocks another motion picture soundtrack, this time for the country music infused 'Noble Things' set to release to select theatres this Friday, Oct. 30.

The producers asked the American Idol southern-rock crooner to join a stellar group of artists for the movie soundtrack. This isn't Bo's first contribution of music to a film - you might also remember Bo's title-track to the hit Will Ferrell / Jon Heder film, 'Blades of Glory', with an accompanying music video.

Bo delivers a powerful performance once more on 'Old Spanish Trail' which will be featured in a pivotal chase scene of the film. The soundtrack was produced by country chart-topper Clay Walker and groups Bice with other well-known artists such as Pam Tillis, Tracy Lawrence, Tracy Byrd, Mark Chesnutt, and Dobie Gray. The song was penned by Texas native M. Jason Greene and Steve Waites. Greene was the supervising music producer for the album and has also written hits for Walker and Chris Cagle amongst others. - tracklisting

Alan Jackson Meet and Eat

PR reports: On Monday, November 2, between 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM, country music megastar Alan Jackson will meet fans and sign autographs at the Mt. Juliet, TN location of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, the day his exclusive Alan Jackson Collection goes on sale nationwide.

The collection includes 41 high quality items inspired by Jackson's hometown family philosophy and includes menswear, womenswear, gift items and a new CD, Songs of Love and Heartache, available only at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations.

The Mt. Juliet Cracker Barrel location is located at Ext 226 off of I-40. Starting at 6:00 AM, fans will be able to get numbered tickets for a place in the autograph line. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Alan Jackson will meet as many fans as possible during the time period and will autograph merchandise that is purchased that morning from The Alan Jackson Collection. Cracker Barrel will continue to serve breakfast in its restaurant during the event which will take place within the adjacent retail shop area. Guests will be able to park in the Providence Shopping Mall across the street from Cracker Barrel as shuttle bus service to the restaurant will be provided during this event. - more on this story

Pleasure P Joins R. Kelly's Tour

Atlantic Records reports: Pleasure P has just linked up with R. Kelly on his upcoming "Ladies Make Some Noise" Tour.

The tour kicks off Thursday, October 8th in Connecticut and will be coming through your city.

The tour dates follow the recent release of Pleasure P's solo debut album "The Introduction Of Marcus Cooper." Featuring the hit singles "Did You Wrong," "Boyfriend #2" and "Under." - tour dates

Fastfood Music

Earshot reports: Wendy's and MySpace Records have teamed up to launch a new Internet series called "Fresh Faces." Building on Wendy's motto of 'You Know When It's Real,' the ongoing Web program will include 9 episodes from three different emerging artists showing what a 'day in the life' of a budding new artist is like.

Each "Fresh Faces" artist will have its own 3 episodes than can be seen exclusively at www.myspace.com/wendys, in addition to a 3-song EP available for free download on the site. A new episode will debut every Wednesday throughout the series. The first episode featuring Charleston, SC alternative pop rock artist Friends For Hire (www.myspace.com/friendsforhire) is up now at www.myspace.com/wendys.

Stay tuned for new episodes on future "Fresh Faces" artists, including a new hip-hop artist from Los Angeles and a Brooklyn based beat-pop band, all handpicked from MySpace Records' Friends and Family, a group of developing artists MySpace Records helps market and promote. - http://www.myspace.com/wendys

Allison Moorer Sets New Album Release

PR reports: Allison Moorer is set to release her Ryko debut, Crows, on February 9th, 2010. Produced by R.S. Field (Buddy Guy, John Mayall) at the House of David Studio in Nashville, TN, the 13-track album is a refined and lyrically honest collection of songs that is a marked stylistic departure from her previous work. Crows is the anticipated follow up to her critically acclaimed 2008 album, Mockingbird, which was a celebration of songs composed by a stunning cast of female songwriters including Nina Simone, Patti Smith, Cat Power, her sister Shelby Lynne, and more. It also follows Moorer's first Grammy Award Nomination for the song "Days Aren't Long Enough," a composition she co-wrote with her husband, Steve Earle, for his Grammy Award Winning 2007 album Washington Square Serenade.

Speaking with Billboard Magazine regarding Crows, Moorer stated "I really just set myself free and just threw all the rules out the window." Regarding the album's title, Moorer offered "We have crows in the yard at our place up in Woodstock. I am a little obsessed with birds, and have been told that they are indeed our messengers from the other side. So I decided that instead of letting the crows make me uneasy, I would start to consider them as friendlies, and that they were actually bringing me a message of comfort."

Ruby Marchand, head of A&R for Ryko, stated "Ryko is enormously proud to welcome Allison Moorer to our family of artists. Allison's extraordinarily evocative songs and vocal style capture her unique signature in the singer/songwriter community. With the February 2010 release of Crows, Ryko celebrates the beginning of a worldwide relationship with Allison through an album of astonishing breadth and scope." - more on this story

Fly Gypsy Releasing New EP

Audible Treats reports: Fly Gypsy, the Washington DC-based hip-hop duo consisting of Russian-born producer/one-man-band Alexei Jendayi and Jamaican-born emcee Kowboy Kom, are proud to announce the release of their newest effort, Change For A Dollar EP, available December 1, 2009 via the group's own Fly Gypsy Music.

Change For A Dollar marks a turn in direction musically for the group. Moving away from the sampled aesthetic dominating The Vodka & Rum Mixtape, Change For A Dollar finds guitars and other live instrumentation providing the melodic backdrop throughout, with only one song utilizing a sample - the EP's lead single, "2 Step," a track originally appearing on the duo's recent mixtape that has since been reworked. Speaking on the EP's production style, the multi-talented Alexei says, "I can sit down and make a synth-over-808s beat in a matter of minutes. But, with occasional exceptions, that's all that typically is - a beat, with little soul in it. What I do in my production is make music. I write songs. My goal is to make music that makes the listener feel the emotion, not just the bass line; to make tracks that stand on their own even before they have vocals on them."

While the EP's unique musical sound is instantly noticeable, Change For A Dollar is not to be mistaken for a producer's album. Kom's lyricism is taken to another level on the project as well, meeting the production's high-set bar. Kom says, "The production on this project stands out in a lot of ways and I definitely wanted to be more than just another dope emcee. I wanted to make strong songs that have impact and are classic – more than just the next summertime hit." Lyrically, Change For A Dollar covers a wide topical spectrum, from feel-good songs to introspective, thought-provoking records, showing off the diverse lyrical content that makes a Fly Gypsy project unique. - more on this story

Speech Debelle To Support The Brand New Heavies

PR reports: Mercury Prize Winner Speech Debelle has just been confirmed as very special guests to the UK's premiere funk and soul band the Brand New Heavies'.

Speech will support the band at the London 02 Shepherds Bush Empire on Wednesday November 4th.

Touring the UK in support of their new live album 'Live In London', the Brand New Heavies' UK Tour Dates are - here

Owl City Tops Hot 100

PR reports: Universal Republic Records' basement launched phenomenon Owl City scored the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart this week, following up his #1 single score on iTunes last week with the smash hit "Fireflies."

The song is breaking boundaries at radio as it forges toward the upper tier at Top 40 and Hot AC formats along with impressive showings at Alternative, Triple A, and Rhythm Crossover. Combining this impressive radio story, a #1 song in North America, a sold out tour and huge sales are all parts in making Owl City the artist development story of 2009.

The near-platinum "Fireflies" also sold an amazing 200,000 digital singles this week, serving as a multi-genre calling card for Owl City/alias Adam Young giving him a 12 point leap into the Top Ten of the Nielsen Soundscan Top 200 Albums Tally via his Universal Republic debut album Ocean Eyes (jumping from #20 to #8). - more on this story

Bebel Gilberto Set For North American Tour

PR reports: Brazilian vocalist Bebel Gilberto will embark on a tour of North America beginning November 18 in Miami, which includes dates in New York on November 25 and Los Angeles on December 9 (please see reverse for a complete schedule). Her critically acclaimed new recording All In One is available now on Verve. Known worldwide for her ability to connect modern sounds with the heart and soul of Brazilian music, the New York-born Gilberto focuses on the rhythms of her native country, devising a cosmopolitan yet classic sound with the help of a diverse group of collaborators, including Carlinhos Brown (Caetano Veloso), Didi Gutman (Brazilian Girls), Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse), Daniel Jobim (grandson of Antonio Carlos Jobim) and John King (the Dust Brothers). The album is receiving critical acclaim from USA Today, The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and Time Out New York, among others.

All In One perfectly expresses Gilberto's interest in making music that feels romantic and fluid. In particular, "Chica Chica Boom Chic" stands out. The Carmen Miranda song is bolstered by Brown's percussion heavy arrangements, which is a hallmark of traditional Brazilian music. Most of the record is sung in Portuguese, Bebel's native language, and was conceived, developed and recorded in her home studio. Ronson produced the Stevie Wonder-penned "The Real Thing," which was originally recorded by Sergio Mendes. The Menaham Street Band join Gilberto for the song. The singer performs a duet with Daniel Jobim (the grandson of bossa nova king Antonio Carlos Jobim) on "Bim Bom," a song that was first recorded by her father, bossa nova legend João Gilberto.

Gilberto's first recording was released in 1986 at age 20, but it wasn't until she moved to London in the early `90s, where she became interested in pop and urban music, that she began to develop her trademark sound. With her international debut Tanto Tempo (2000), which helped spark a resurgence in American interest in Brazilian music and sold millions worldwide, Gilberto met with critical acclaim, enjoying global success with the hits "Batucada" and "Technova." Her music reached listeners across genres, from world music and jazz to electronic and indie. Over the years Gilberto has collaborated with artists including David Byrne, Arto Lindsay, Amon Tobin, Thievery Corporation and Nina Miranda. - more on this story

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