June 2005

The Supreme Court refused to hear a copyright-infringement lawsuit brought by a jazz flutist against the New York-based rap-rock trio, claiming the Beasties failed to obtain proper permission to sample a piece of his music for their tune “Pass the Mic.”

The decision by the nation’s highest judicial authority to pass on the case means a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will stand as the last word on the case–and that leaves the Beasties victorious.

Per the appellate court ruling, the flute-toting James W. Newton didn’t have any legal ground to sue the Beastie Boys. Newton had claimed that though the group paid a fee to license a six-second, three-note stretch of a Newton composition from his music publisher and record company, the trio did not pay him specifically for the underlying rights to the work.

The appeals panel concluded that the jazzy clip used in “Pass the Mic,” a tune off the rappers’ 1992 album, Check Your Head, was not unique enough to warrant an infringement. The court ruled against Newton, despite friend-of-the-court briefs filed on his behalf by the American Composers Forum, the Electronic Music Foundation and Meet the Composer, among other jazz and artists-rights organizations.

Source: yahoo

Pink Floyd’s classic lineup of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright will perform for the first time in more than 20 years at the London Live 8 concert. The event, which aims to increase world awareness of African debt and hunger issues, will be held July 2 at the city’s Hyde Park.

Pink Floyd has not performed live since the 1994 tour in support of its last studio album, “The Division Bell.” Waters has not been a part of the band since 1983, and his dealings with Gilmour have been rancorous in the ensuing years. Waters even sued Gilmour, unsuccessfully, for touring under the Pink Floyd name without him following the band’s initial split after the album “The Final Cut.”

“Like most people I want to do everything I can to persuade the G8 leaders to make huge commitments to the relief of poverty and increased aid to the third world,” Gilmour writes on Pink Floyd’s official Web site. “It’s crazy that America gives such a paltry percentage of its GNP to the starving nations. Any squabbles Roger and the band have had in the past are so petty in this context, and if re-forming for this concert will help focus attention, then it’s got to be worthwhile.”

Speculation about a Pink Floyd reunion has been rampant in recent months; 2005 marks the 30th anniversary of the band’s landmark album “Wish You Were Here.”

Source: billboard.com

System of a Down will kick off their first major North American tour in three years on August 4th, at the Long Beach Arena just outside of Los Angeles.

The Simpsons movie is off the drawing board and in preproduction.

“You know what? We’ve just done the table read for The Simpsons movie, so although we’ve been promoting that we’re going to do it, now we’re actually doing it and are in production,” Nancy Cartwright, who gives voice to Bart Simpson, told BBC Radio 1 this week.

Cartwright, in London doing publicity for her one-woman show, My Life as a Ten-Year-Old Boy, indicated that the movie is still in the preliminary script development stage and it will take at least two years before it’s fully animated and ready for release.

“I don’t know the name of it, and I can’t go into details about it, and we’ll just have to see how it goes, but I think it’s going to be great and the fans are going to dig it,” she added.

Producers had always indicated that the movie would likely debut after the TV show ran its course. But with the show continuing to perform well, averaging about 10 million viewers last season, the Simpsons brain trust decided to move forward now, according to a rep for 20th Century Fox, which will distribute the Simpsons film.

“They are working on hammering out a script, but there’s no title or production date or release date,” studio spokeswoman Antonia Coffman told E! Online Wednesday. “We always wanted the show to end first but it just keeps going. Now they’ve worked out a team to simultaneously do [both the film and show].”

Source: yahoo.com

With the addition of a screening of The Fearless Freaks and a Wayne Coyne hosted Zaireeka party, Xingolati promises to be an event that Flaming Lips fans won