June 25, 2003

The real Slim Shady stood up and made fun of Michael Jackson by dangling a baby doll over a hotel balcony.
Rapper Eminem also wore a surgical mask over his face Tuesday in an obvious swipe at Jackson, who dangled his baby, Prince Michael II, over a balcony railing in Berlin in November.
Eminem, who was staying at the Art House Hotel in Glasgow, Scotland, went further than Jackson by tossing the doll into the air and catching it.
“Empersonator,” said a headline in the Daily Mirror tabloid, which published three photos. The New York Post’s front page blared: “Oh baby! Eminem does his best Jacko.”
Scotland’s Daily Record tabloid said the incident occurred as fans and photographers gathered outside the hotel before Eminem’s concert in the city Tuesday.
Eminem, whose nickname is Slim Shady, is on a British tour but has kept a low-profile between shows.
Source CNN.com.

Things are heating up this summer for pedal steel guitar phenom Robert Randolph as we approach the release date of his first studio album with the Family Band on August 5th

After ridiculing Saddam Hussein in the animated feature “South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut,” the cartoon’s creators are taking on terrorism, marionette-style, in a new film project.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are writing the untitled project, previously known as “American Heroes,” which Paramount Pictures is expected to distribute. Parker and Stone will direct and voice the film as well. According to several sources, the project in development is a marionette movie about superheroes on a mission to eradicate such things as terrorism and certain celebrities who have outworn their welcome in the public eye.
Source etonline.com.

The embattled music industry disclosed aggressive plans Wednesday for an unprecedented escalation in its fight against Internet piracy, threatening to sue hundreds of individual computer users who illegally share music files online.
The Recording Industry Association of America, citing substantial sales declines, said it will begin Thursday to search Internet file-sharing networks to identify users who offer “substantial” collections of mp3 music files for downloading. It expects to file at least several hundred lawsuits seeking financial damages within eight to 10 weeks.
Source CNN.com,

Blues Traveler has signed with Sanctuary for the Aug. 5 release of a new studio album, “Truth Be Told.” The set was recorded at Sound Design Studio in Santa Barbara, Calif., with producer Don Gehman (John Mellencamp, Hootie & the Blowfish). Tracks include “This Ache,” “Partner in Crime” and “Can’t Get Free,” marked by a trademark harmonica solo from frontman John Popper.
The 12-track set is Blues Traveler’s first studio album since 2001’s “Bridge,” its final release for A&M/Interscope. That album peaked at No. 91 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 137,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. A live album, “What You and I Have Been Through,” was issued last October by iMusic.
Blues Traveler will spend the bulk of the summer on the road in North America. The group’s next show comes Saturday (June 28) in Granite Falls, Minn.
Source and tour dates visit Billboard.com.