Vincent J. Bove, who said he is a spokesman for seven of the victims' families, said yesterday that the parents are outraged that the Sept. 6 concert at the university would include the rapper Nas, who in one 1999 track chants, "Shoot 'em up, just shoot 'em up, what?" followed by whispers of "Kill, kill, kill, murder, murder, murder."

The lyrics "are indicative of the moral decay in our society that contributes to acts of violence," said Bove, a New Jersey security expert who has volunteered to speak for the families. "For a university official to condone it or to be clueless of what this person's track record is, it's unconscionable beyond belief."

"Clueless of what this person's track record is"? Pot, meet grammatically challenged kettle. The fact that the first lyrics cited by the anti-Nas faction are from a 1999 album makes me wonder if they were looking for lyrical trouble of some sort—the thinking being, of course, that all hip-hop is "violent," and getting Google results with mentions of killing and guns must be incontrovertible evidence that all of Nas' music is, too.

Later in the article, another relative speaks out about a song on Nas' Hip Hop Is Dead:

"My issue is not with Nas or his lyrics in any other place, but this is an opportunity for healing in the community," [brother of Virginia Tech victim Alicia] Farrell, 26, said from her home in Richmond. "It's the most inappropriate thing I could imagine hearing at such an event."

Of course, it's completely understandable that Farrell is still grieving, but it's hard to think that Nas would bust his way into an event and purposely perform songs with images that trigger traumatic memories in the minds of people who lived through the tragedy at Virginia Tech—in this case, the concert's entire audience. He has a wide-ranging catalog with a lot of anti-violence statements, and for people to assume that he'll pick the most aggressive songs from it is a troubling statement on how hip-hop is perceived in the post-Imus-controversy world.

Concert Lineup Angers Some Va. Tech Families [WP]

WASHINGTON — Some of the music industry's most recognizable names are signing up for what likely will be a bruising legislative battle as they attempt to win a change in the law that would force broadcasters to pay them for airplay.

More than 80 artist ranging from Christina Aguilera to Mary Wilson and 11 industry organizations including the RIAA have scheduled an announcement for today of a new coalition that will fight for the change.

Terrestrial broadcasters traditionally have paid songwriter royalties to ASCAP, BMI and SESAC but have been exempt from performance royalties similar to those levied on digital broadcasts in recent years.

Most people in the music industry think that allowing broadcasters to escape paying a performance royalty is unfair. Broadcasters have long argued that the promotional value gained by playing music on the radio more than offsets any royalty that performers and record companies would receive.

More on this as it develops, but please, please let this press conference be jointly presented by Christina and Mary. Girlfriends know how to make complex legislative movements and rate-hike tables sing!

New bloc to fight for airplay pay [Hollywood Reporter]

She was fighting to get out of her record contract, fighting the surviving Nirvana musicians over control of the estate of her late husband, Kurt Cobain, and supporting her producer and boyfriend, James Barber, in a child-custody fight. She also feared that a disgruntled former assistant who had hacked into her e-mail account might publish her correspondence with friends like Drew Barrymore, Russell Crowe and even her psychic.

Ms. Love complained to Mr. Pellicano that previous private eyes had turned out to be overpriced frauds, wimps or geeks. She wanted someone who could do it all, she told him, who would use whatever tools it took to get results — from refinement to "baseball bats." "And I need them all under one roof," she said.

"Listen, Courtney, if you come to me, that's the end of that," Mr. Pellicano said. "My clients are my family, and that's it."

Ms. Love indicated her approval.

"There is no other way around it," he said. "I'm very heavy-handed, honey."

"I need heavy-handed, baby," Ms. Love said. "I like talking to an Italian."

"Sicilian, honey," he corrected.

"Well, that's even better."

The tapes do not tell what Mr. Pellicano ultimately did for Ms. Love, who declined to comment for this article.

You can listen a brief MP3 of the conversation here; we expect "I need heavy-handed, baby" to become sampled for a hit French electro-pop song by mid-summer.

In Court Files, Hollywood's Mr. Fix-It at Work [NYT]

According to a source close to the situation, Winehouse was booked as an exclusive for the July cover of Spin; such exclusivity deals are common among the music mags, as competing covers with the same subject tends to hurt newsstand sales and cool cred. Winehouse did an interview and a photo shoot with Terry Richardson, and all was well in the Spin world.

That is, until a few days ago, when Wenner decided that the British singer should be on the cover of Rolling Stone; after he was told that Spin had gotten to her first, Wenner circumvented the label's publicists altogether and personally lobbied Universal head Doug Morris for the cover (UPDATE: Another source says it was in fact Universal president Monte Lipman). The gambit worked, and the RS Winehouse write-up—which we're told is being put together, like, right now—will now come out in early June, beating Spin by a few weeks.

A representative for Rolling Stone had no comment, and we're still waiting for word from Universal. But when we contacted Spin editor Doug Brod, he said: "We at Spin are proud to have inspired Rolling Stone's choice of cover subjects. As always, if there's anything else they need, they can feel free to call us anytime. By the way, our next cover's Bob Dylan. But don't tell anyone."

And Good Lord, don't even get us started about the inherent conflicts of this post.

As one message-board poster notes, the guy introduced as Pete Nice "cannot possibly be Pete Nice—unless he houses a time machine in that museum of his. Doesn't even look like a young Pete—Pete has brown eyes!—that's fucked up, Serch." A few before-and-after comparison shots were provided, prompting our on-the-scene reporter to issue the following correction:

I was the photographer at the event who took the posted photos. I also wrote the show review for Idolator.com (posted above), so you've already got my overview of the show. Overall, I had a pretty awesome time - but I'm inclined to agree with MistaJohn: it looks like I was fooled by a Pete Nice impostor.

He was definitely brought onstage and introduced as Pete Nice. And—for someone who hasn't seen a recent photo of him (like me)—he looked true to life. After all, Serch looks pretty good for being 40, so this could easily be Pete. He carried a baseball bat on stage and everyone cracked on him about his Cooperstown shop and the books that he wrote. But, there's two glaring things (outside of his looks):

1. He barely spoke

2. He didn't rap

At the time, I thought this was due to shyness, or "I don't do that anymore," or some nagging bad blood. But I was also pretty goddamn drunk at the time. And with the benefit of hindsight—it definitely wasn't him. The eyes don't match, the face doesn't really match, and he didn't talk. That says it all.

And I don't believe that Pete was hanging in the back either. The venue and crowd were both pretty small. Maybe there was 100 people there. He didn't really have anywhere to hide out. I'm not sure if a press release was sent stating that Pete Nice was there, or if the Hip Hop blogs just picked up my review on Idolator, but it seems like I was wrong.

But Pete Nice aside, the party was dope and it was cool to see Serch rapping live. The opening DJ's were amazing, and they projected a bunch of classic 3rd Bass and KMD videos. Plus I got a free MC Serch alarm clock, which is nothing short of amazing. Thanks for checking out my photos, and let's keep hope alive for a real reunion in the future!

There's no way of putting it mildly, Serch: You had an audience full of eager-to-believe 3rd Bass fans in front of you, and you duped them. Maybe it was your idea of a prank, or perhaps you were poking fun at your former partner; either way, let the record show that on May 14th, 2007, Idolator and its readers officially decreed that MC Serch get the gas face.

3rd Bass Reunion Thursday Night! [Thirdbass.net]
Earlier: MC Serch's Birthday Party Whiter, Rappier, Showier Than Yours

The move by Verizon has sent a chill through the ranks of touring pop artists and agents, who are left scratching their heads over their vulnerability to such penalties...

"Artists that are sponsored by companies are probably getting some feedback to watch their behavior," said William Chipps, a senior editor of the IEG Sponsorship Report. "I think, nowadays, most artists are savvy enough to realize that their actions have consequences. If you're working with a sponsor, bad behavior could jeopardize that relationship."

As the Times notes, most corporations insist on contractual "moral clauses" before signing an artist; they also try to familiarize themselves with his or her work, which leads us to wonder how Verizon could be surprised that a guy who sings "I Wanna Fuck You" might be a bit of a horndog. Meanwhile, several right-wing blog commenters (and at least one TV host) have taken to calling this barely rapping "rapper" as "Acorn," which is either a semi-funny send-up or a testament to just how little research they're doing.

Verizon Drops Pop Singer From Ads [NYT]