50 Cent turns controversy into marketing campaign

One week after protests outside the NYC offices of his record label called for his ban, 50 Cent has turned the controversy surrounding G-Unit mate Tony Yayo's alleged assault of a 14-year-old boy into marketing buzz. Fiddy has purchased the Ban50Cent.com domain and directed it to his MySpace page, which features a YouTube video of protesters outside Interscope Records last week calling for his ban. But instead of the using the footage as it appears, 50 has spliced it with "Straight to the Bank," the first single for his forthcoming album, Curtis.

Radiohead posts studio footage

Radiohead has posted a short behind-the-scenes-at-the-studio video on its Web site. Frontman Thom Yorke introduces the clip by writing: "This is what happens when you spend too long listening to the same thing over and over again until you just cant tell anymore and you have to do something else instead." The video consists of Yorke DJing and dancing behind the turntables, various members of the band in masks and engaging in fake interviews, clips of the band's recordings, and an assorted batch of non-sequiturs.

Several pieces of paper with words typed on them are held up the camera, including one that says, "If you're a proper thief you can't be bothered with burgling homes in the middle of the night because you have to get up in the morning to run the f***ing country." Radiohead has been at work on a new album for the most of the past two years, having unveiled many of its new tracks during a summer tour in 2006.

T.I. upsets Dukies with shortened set

T.I. performed at the Cameron Rocks! concert at Duke University Saturday night, but left many students dissatisfied at a set that was shorter than what the Atlanta rapper was supposed to perform, according to the Duke Chronicle. The paper reported that although T.I. was paid the full $70,000 compensation for his performance, school officials have claimed the rapper violated his contract by walking off stage after a 40-minute performance, 20 minutes less than the required set time. The school's student union is contemplating legal action.

T.I. arrived late and then left abruptly, neglecting the special accommodations he requested in order to attend a dinner at P.F. Chang's China Bistro instead, student officials told the paper. Indie rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah also performed at the event, with many students seen "covering their ears" and the loudest cheers reserved for when the band said that it had one more song, the paper reported.

Joss Stone slams American Idol

Although she emerged from its British counterpart, Joss Stone has slammed American Idol in an interview this week. The UK songstress, who was discovered on talent show Star For a Night, admits she was a big fan of the first season of Idol, but the show no longer appeals to her. "I think if you keep going with it, it's gonna get more and more cheesy... and that's a shame for the artists, because they just want any break." Stone also questions the credentials of the show's judges and believes they're too mean. "There's some great people there, like Randy [Jackson]. He has every right to judge them. But the rest of them... why are you judging these people?"

Lily Allen blasts satirical song

One listen of her debut album, Alright Still, will leave the impression that Lily Allen has quite a sense of humor, but the breakout British star hasn't found a song that lampoons her very funny. The song, called "LDN Is a Victim," is a send-up of London scenesters, making fun of several British artists who come from middle-class backgrounds but pretend to be from urban environments. Over an electro beat, the unnamed artist says, "This is a middle class art school thing yeah? So put on your common accents and let's all sing." He later says, "Don't know why Lily keeps being a d***head."

Allen took her objections public, posting on the song's MySpace page, "So what if we're middle class? Just cause your mum was too lazy to get her fat ass off the sofa and make some cash. I shouldn't be able to make tunes yeah? (Which is more than you're doing by the way)."

Blur drummer to run for council

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree said this week that he plans to run for council by-election in his home region of Marylebone this May as a Labour candidate. "I've been a long-standing member of the Labour party and active in local politics for a while," Rowntree told The Independent. "I'm a Westminster resident and in my experience of living here, it all looks lovely--there are hanging baskets everywhere--but you only need to scratch beneath the surface and see that there's a lot of deprivation and a lot of inequality around. I think someone needs to do something about it."