Jury to Visit Spector's Home in 2nd Murder Trial

LOS ANGELES – The jury in Phil Spector's second murder trial will visit the music producer's home where actress Lana Clarkson died, but the judge set strict rules Monday on the presence of Spector's wife and the operation of an outdoor fountain.

Prosecutors complained that during his first jury's tour, Spector tried to change the volume of the fountain to suggest a chauffeur could not have heard him clearly when Spector allegedly said, "I think I killed somebody."

Deputy district attorneys Alan Jackson and Truc Do gave the judge e-mail exchanges they obtained between Spector and his first defense team in which a jury consultant suggested "the fountain be on full bore."

During the first jury's tour, the panelists asked to have the burbling fountain in the courtyard turned on and off so they could hear the ambient noise.

Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler rejected prosecution objections to this jury's tour but agreed to consider having the fountain on if it is found that there is only an on-off switch and no way to manipulate the sound.

The judge also said Spector's young wife Rachelle can't be present in sight of the jurors. The tour was expected to take place next week.

Defense attorney Doron Weinberg wants to duplicate the scene at Spector's Alhambra home on Feb. 3, 2003, when Clarkson came there with Spector.

Spector, 68, the eccentric rock 'n' roll legend renowned for his "Wall of Sound" recording technique, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Clarkson, 40, who became a 1980s cult figure following her starring role in the Roger Corman film "Barbarian Queen."

The new jury must decide the same question that ultimately stumped the first: Did Spector, a man known for threatening people with guns, shoot Clarkson, or did the actress, down on her luck and despondent about her future, turn a gun on herself?

The first jury heard five months of testimony and deadlocked 10-2 with the majority favoring conviction. The current trial has been under way for nine weeks.

Weinberg opened his defense case with testimony from the Los Angeles County medical examiner. He questioned why a "psychological autopsy" was not performed on Clarkson, exploring her emotional condition to determine if she might have committed suicide.

Legal arguments over the questioning guidelines delayed the answer until Tuesday when the trial resumes.

Lil Wayne to Perform Single Live for Facebook

NEW YORK (Billboard) – Lil Wayne has announced a tentative April 7 release date for his next album, "Rebirth." The set's first single, "Prom Queen," will debut live Tuesday (January 27) on Wayne's MySpace page.

In addition, "Prom Queen" will debut Wednesday on the social networking site Facebook as part of a partnership between Lil Wayne and AT&T. The rapper will perform the single for the first time during a concert in San Diego, which will be streamed live on AT&T's FREEdom of Choice and Mobile Music Facebook pages at 9:40 p.m. PT on January 28.

"We have streamed festivals and shows in the past, but this is the first time AT&T will stream a live performance for our Facebook pages," AT&T spokesperson Heather Buffington told Billboard.com.

According to Huffington, AT&T customers downloaded Lil Wayne ringtones more than any other artist last year. He's also the most popular artist with a Facebook page, she said.

Download Mp3 Music Rap

Contrary to previous reports that said the forthcoming Universal/Cash Money album would be titled "Tha Carter IV," the rock-inspired "Rebirth" will not be the next installment in "Tha Carter" series or related to any previous album that Lil Wayne has released, according to his publicist.

Wayne's move to a rock 'n' roll sound isn't surprising, considering that he often plays guitar at his concerts and has aligned himself with rock artist Kevin Rudolf. He appears on the latter's debut single, "Let It Rock," which recently peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"I might want to hear a certain sound like Prince, but I can't pay him to play it. So, I picked up a guitar and learned how to play it," Wayne told Billboard last year. "(It) goes to show you the only thing that can't be done is what you don't want to do."

Lil Wayne will perform February 8 at the Grammy Awards.

Reuters/Billboard

50 Cent Explains Why He Skipped Obama Inauguration

By Jayson Rodriguez
'If Obama didn't invite you, you really shouldn't be there,' MC says.

50 Cent hopped on the "Change" train a bit late. The G-Unit rapper initially backed now-presumptive Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over President Barack Obama during the Democratic primaries, before changing his allegiance to Obama and finally saying he didn't know.

While he says he's pleased with Obama's victory, 50 said he never thought to attend the festivities, unlike Diddy, Jay-Z, Nas, Young Jeezy and others. He even poked fun at Obama-mania, saying that since the president didn't invite him to party, he'd stay home.

Download Mp3 Music 50 Cent

"I [might have] watched it from a really nice hotel room in D.C.," the rapper told HollyScoop.com at the Sundance festival before Tuesday's inauguration. "Because there's gonna be a whole lot of people out there, for no reason, doing different things. If Obama didn't invite you, you really shouldn't be there. You really shouldn't. That's the way I feel about it. Because when I go places that people didn't invite me [to], they look at me crazy, like, 'Why is he out there?' "

Fif wasn't all jokes, however. He soberly admitted the difficulties the new president faces and the challenges that lie before him.

"I think he's inheriting the country in a difficult state," 50 said. "Actually the worst [state], right? So I think it will take time. I hope, for all of our sakes, that whatever his plans are work for us.

"People watch [Obama on] the monitor like God is speaking, like, 'I hope he can get me a job,' " Fif added.

Watch "Be the Change: Live From the Inaugural" online now, and come back Thursday for the full performances from Kanye West, Kid Rock and Fall Out Boy. Stick with us for wall-to-wall coverage of the inauguration and of the scenes in Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Kenya.

ABBA Singers Deny Catfight Reports

By Jem Aswad
'Of course we competed, but to good effect,' singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad says.

Swedish pop group ABBA, have denied longstanding rumors that they are enemies, according to The Associated Press.

In a rare joint interview published Friday (January 23), Agnetha Faltskog, 58, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 63, set the record straight.

"A lot has been written about how Agnetha and I fought and quarreled with each other. There is absolutely no truth in that," Lyngstad was quoted as saying by Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, according to the AP. "Of course we competed, but to good effect."

Download Mp3 Music ABBA

"No, we didn't fight. But we have to live [through] a whole lot of such misinterpretations," Faltskog said.

Lyngstad and Faltskog formed ABBA in 1970 together with male members — and their now-ex-husbands — Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. The women's versatile, soaring voices lofted Andersson's nimble melodies to create some of the most memorable pop singles of the 1970s, including "Waterloo," "Dancing Queen," "Mamma Mia," "Money, Money, Money." The group has sold an estimated 370 million records and have long dismissed lucrative offers for them to re-form.

"Mamma Mia!," the musical and film based on their music, has been a long-running hit. (Dominic Cooper, who stars in the film, recently told us that a sequel is not in the works.)

Abba split in 1982 after the inter-group marriages (Lynstad to Andersson, Faltskog to Ulvaeus) dissolved in divorce.

The two women came together Thursday to accept Aftonbladet's lifetime achievement award.

The four former group members are rarely seen together in public but reunited in 2008 for the Swedish premiere of the "Mamma Mia!" film.

ABBA Women Dismiss Rumors of Fights

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – The two women members of 1970s hit group ABBA have rejected long-standing rumors that they are bitter enemies.

In a rare joint interview published Friday, Agnetha Faltskog, 58, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 63, took a chance to set the record straight.

"A lot has been written about how Agnetha and I fought and quarreled with each other. There is absolutely no truth in that," Lyngstad was quoted as saying by tabloid Aftonbladet. "Of course we competed, but to good effect."

Download Mp3 Music ABBA

Lyngstad and Faltskog formed ABBA together with male members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus.

The band has sold more than 370 million records and is famous for hits like "Waterloo," "Dancing Queen" and "Money, Money, Money."

After ABBA split in 1982, rumors of fights between Lyngstad and Faltskog swirled in articles and books about the band.

"No, we didn't fight. But we have to live (through) a whole lot of such misinterpretations," Faltskog said.

The two women came together Thursday to accept Aftonbladet's lifetime achievement award.

The four former ABBA members are rarely seen together in public, but were reunited in 2008 for the Swedish premiere of "Mamma Mia!" a film based on their hits.

David Guetta vs The Egg

Diplo – Decent Work For Decent Pay – Album Review

by Louis Pattison
Decent Work For Decent Pay finds globe-trotting producer and sometime M.I.A beatmaker Wes Dipl’ Pentz on a remix tip, adding his own bass-heavy, ghetto-pop fingerprints to tracks by everyone from booty-rappers Spank Rock to whistle-along Swedes Peter, Bjorn & John. The result is an album that’s far from feeling like a complete statement, but at its best, there’s still much here to suggest Diplo is one of the more flexible, inspired producers at work today.

This comp’s at is best when Diplo’s working on tracks that play to his strengths: namely, rowdy, slightly sleazy party-starters with room for a heavier undercarriage. Immediately lovable are refixes of Spank Rock’s ‘Put That Pussy On Me’ and Bonde Do Role’s Solta O Frango, keeping the upbeat spirit of the originals but adding dirty bass and other sly production flourishes. An unlikely highlight, meanwhile, is the mix of Black Lips Veni Vidi Vic, which homes in on the drawled Latino vibe of the original, replacing dusty guitar twang with a martial, Baile Funk-influenced snare step.

Download Mp3 Music Diplo

There’s other times, though, where you feel Pentz’s lack of affinity for the material results in tracks that don’t quite work. A remix of Bloc Party’s Where Is Home? falters somewhat, the original’s claustrophobic angst a weird fit to pounding 4/4 beats and wobbly bass. Elsewhere, he just about gets away with it, but only by all but obliterating the original track: a take on Hot Chip's Shake A Fist sees Alexis Taylor’s syrupy sing-song totally disassembled, while the mix of Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger dispenses with everything but vocoder chorus, rebuilding the track with bursts of junglist drums and snappy snare.

Ultimately, Decent Work For Decent Pay is no more or less than its title suggests – a collection of individual commissions, executed well but not meant to work as a whole, and first-timers looking for a document of Diplo in party mode might do better to look to his still-peerless 2005 Fabric Live mix.