The government and private technology experts warned Wednesday that hackers plan to attack thousands of Web sites Sunday in a loosely coordinated “contest” that could disrupt Internet traffic. Organizers established a Web site, defacers-challenge.com, listing in broken English the rules for hackers who might participate. The Web site appeared to operate out of California and cautioned to “deface its crime”

Four new categories designed to specify different types of violence have been added to video game ratings. Effective immediately, “cartoon violence” will be defined as when “a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted.” “Fantasy violence” is when the actions involve “characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life.

The U.S. Congress has declared 2003 “the year of the blues,” and Sony Legacy and Universal Music Enterprises (UME) are rolling out a flood of releases tied to the fall PBS series “Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues — A Musical Journey,” executive produced by director Scorsese.
The alliance between Sony and Universal marks the second time the companies have joined together for a PBS-related project. Two years ago, their mammoth effort for “Ken Burns Jazz” ignited new interest — and sales — in the genre. Executives hope the upcoming releases do the same for the blues, which has made up a very small percentage of overall sales in recent years.
A television documentary, five CD set and a seven DVD set, are amongst the projects that will be released, chronincling the blues.
For more information on the blues artists, making up the various projects and more details, visit Billboard.com.

Jack White of the White Stripes is teaming up with “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Loretta Lynn, reports the Detroit Free Press. Lynn has already performed live with the band and now Jack will be producing tracks on Loretta’s upcoming album. The odd collaboration began after Loretta’s daughter, Patsy, told her mom the group had dedicated their album, White Blood Cells, to her and a curious Lynn invited them to her home.
Source etonline.com .

The Flaming Lips have been forced to turn over publishing royalties to Cat Stevens as part of a settlement in which Stevens (real name: Yusuf Islam) alleged that the Lips’ song “Fight Test” bore a very close resemblance to his early ’70s track “Father and Son.”
“It was confirmed today that an agreement has been reached between Sony/ATV Music Publishing (Yusuf Islam) and EMI Music Publishing (Flaming Lips) over the single ‘Fight Test’ and its close resemblance to the Cat Stevens classic, ‘Father and Son,'” reads a June 13 post on Islam’s official Web site. Royalties from the sale of ‘Fight Test’ will now be divided between both parties according to the agreed settlement.”
Source Billboard.com[/url.

Lenny Kravitz has formed Roxie Records, an imprint named for his late mother, Roxie Roker, that will be distributed through Warner Bros. He remains signed to Virgin Records as a recording artist and will release a new studio album, “Funk,” in the fall, according to a spokesperson.
Among the first signees to Roxie is vocalist Dan Dyer, who is at work with engineer Matt Knobel on his debut album. Knobel worked behind the scenes on Kravitz’s 2002 album, “Lenny.”
Source Billboard.com.

More than 520 serious and would-be guitar players gathered in Portland, Oregon Sunday to set a record for Guinness World Records and raise funds for a nonprofit organization for the homeless.
The massed guitarists strummed Woody and Arlo Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” in the key of G for an hour, led by a band of amplified musicians from a local music store.
Participants wore lyrics and chord guides on the backs of their shirts to aid the players behind them.
Source CNN.com.

Following the tragic death of band member Jeremy Ward, Mars Volta to returning to the road. They’re now headlining their own tour in support of their just-released debut full-length, De-Loused In The Comatorium. The trek is scheduled to begin July 1 in Los Angeles. The band will skip back and forth a bit, hitting some festivals in the United Kingdom before returning to the Statefor a couple weeks of shows. Thereafter they’ll head to Japan, and in late August they have two more U.K. shows on the books. Spoken word champ/hip-hop artist Saul Williams is scheduled to open in the U.S., along with Rye Coalition on most dates.
For a full list of dates visit Pollstar.com.

At the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, on Thursday (June 26), Pearl Jam was joined by a couple of friends. Kid Rock, ZZ Top singer-guitarist Reverend Billy F. Gibbons, and Steve Earle were among the special guests, and a couple of them even made it on stage. Only one was by design, however–Earle joined Pearl Jam to play guitar on a show-closing rendition of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World.”
Prior to that, however, Gibbons strolled to frontman Eddie Vedder’s microphone between the first and second encores to lead the crowd in cheering for the band’s return, and he was quickly ushered off by security guards. Gibbons had tried to take the stage earlier, but was restrained by Rock, who stayed in the wings all night.
At the show, Vedder dedicated Pearl Jam’s performance of “Better Man” to Detroit Red Wings hockey player Chris Chelios, who used to play for Vedder’s hometown team, the Chicago Blackhawks.
Source launch.com.

It took five sets, but Andre Agassi was overpowered by Mark Philippoussis’ gigantic serves and knocked out of Wimbledon. Philippoussis nailed 46 aces in his 6-3, 2-6, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 victory.