Y! Music Weekly Music News wrapup

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1. The Crazy Diamond Shines On No More - Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett dies at age 60.
2. Jessica Simpson Fans Go Public - Their boots are made for dancin’ in the new amateur video for “A Public Affair.”
3. Weezer Take Their Last Breath - Say it ain’t so, Rivers!
4. The Rockin’ Runner-Up Returns - Idol’s Chris Daughtry gets a record deal.
5. CBGB Will Viva In Las Vegas - New York’s hallowed punk-rock nightclub is moving to Sin City.
6. Will The Real Supernova Please Stand Up? - The ’90s band of the same name sues the producers of Tommy Lee’s Rock Star.
7. Johnny Cash Registers On The Charts - The Man In Black’s posthumous new album is the first #1 of his career.
8. Beenie Man Banned From AIDS Benefit Concert - Guess Beenie’s “execute all the gays” lyric didn’t sit too well with protesters. Go figure.
9. Emo Allstars Make Snakes On A Plane Music Video - We included this item just ’cause we like saying “snakes on a plane.” It never gets old!
10. Prince Getts Off The Internet - It’s a sign o’ the times: NPGMusicClub.com is no more.

Well, it’s been a rough week, one filled with not-so-happy endings. First, Rivers Cuomo announced that Weezer had come undone for good. Then Prince, a recent winner of a lifetime-achievement Webby Award, unexpectedly pulled the plug on his website. Then CBGB founder Hilly Kristal confirmed that he was shutting down his legendary rock club and reopening it as a Vegas tourist attraction (an announcement barely audible due to the distinctive rumble of Joey Ramone spinning in his grave). And then Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett–who lived in seclusion for the past four decades, with the exception of one unsettling Syd sighting posted on YouTube–died after battling both cancer and mental illness. Sigh. If only there was some lighter, happier news to report…

No such luck, readers. See, also making headlines this week is allegedly anti-gay dancehall king Beenie Man, whose scheduled appearance at a LIFEbeat AIDS-awareness benefit caused such controversy that the concert had to be cancelled. “AIDS is an epidemic that doesn’t discriminate,” Beenie stated in an attempt to defend himself, not making it abundantly clear whether or not he discriminates. “It’s not a gay or a straight thing, it is a fight for life, and I’m proud to stand with LIFEbeat in the fight against this disease.” But apparently, many concertgoers aren’t proud to stand with Beenie Man…

All right, on to a much more fun topic…the new season of Rock Star: Supernova is here, just in time to fill the void left after the finale of VH1’s Supergroup! Yes, whether it’s some eyeliner-smeared Jim Morrison wannabe trying to sing the Police’s “Roxanne” and falling about five octaves short of Sting’s vocal range, or some pretty boy suffering the wrath of Gilby Clarke for daring to cover Duran Duran, we here at Top Events cannot get enough of this show. But not everyone, it seems, is such a fan: The guys from a ’90s indie-rock trio called Supernova are particularly unamused, even going so far as to file a trademark-infringement complaint in court. So, which Supernova will prevail? We’ll just have to stay tuned…

OK, it’s time to go, but come back next Friday for more head-scratching, head-spinning headlines. Until then, goodnight, and good music.

Lyndsey Parker
Yahoo! Music