Report: Eminem revisits Mariah fling

It seems ages ago that Eminem was regularly doing battle with pop divas, but according to the New York Daily News, Slim Shady is kicking it old school these days. The Detroit rapper is reportedly mining his brief fling with Mariah Carey six years ago for material for a new album. "There is more than one track that goes into really specific, intimate detail about what went on between Em and Mariah," a source told the paper. The source claims Carey has asked the head of her Island Def Jam label, L.A. Reid, to intervene.

"Mariah wishes she could sue Eminem for slander," the paper reported. "But it's his freedom of speech." Although their reported affair was brief, bad blood has carried over for years, with Eminem releasing voicemails left for him by Carey in which she pleaded, "Why won't you see me? Why won't you call me?" Eminem has confirmed the fling, although Carey denies it. She told Playboy earlier this year: "Something is clearly askew with him. I'm curious as to why he's so obsessed with me."

Gorillaz animator designs vibrators

While Damon Albarn has moved on to the Good, the Bad & the Queen supergroup and a possible Blur reunion, his Gorillaz partner-in-crime, animator Jamie Hewlett, has moved on to more erotic fare. Hewlett has designed a series of vibrators for erotica retailer Jimmyjane, each of which is based around characters similar to but not exactly like those Hewlett created to front the Gorillaz.

Dubbed the "Ultimate Member" collection (we couldn't possibly make this stuff up), the six-vibrator series is quite pricey, selling for $1,650, while each individual device sells for $275. Jimmyjane has manufactured only 1,500 of each vibrator, making them quite a stimulating collector's item.

Radiohead album on the way--allegedly

At this point, Radiohead's blog basically amounts to fan cruelty. In a post on the blog today, guitarist Ed O'Brien wrote, "a word from the studio. Yes I know it's been a while...but we've been working on this album for a while...BUT WE ARE NEARLY THERE...Ed."

Various members of Radiohead have made a number of similar posts over the past two years, each inciting speculation that the band was about to release its long-delayed follow-up to 2003's Hail to the Thief. The band debuted a bunch of new material during a summer tour in 2006, but has continued to tweak the tracks since then.

Stripes entice fans with USB, free show

The White Stripes are getting creative for the release of their forthcoming album Icky Thump, which hits stores June 19. The duo is releasing the album on a USB drive that comes in the form of either Jack or Meg White. Priced at $99 apiece, the 512 MB USB 2.0 flash drives will come in two editions of 3,333 apiece. The drives are available separately or as a pair ($10 cheaper), and all of them will come preloaded with Icky Thump in Apple Lossless format. They will ship the same week of the album's release. Click here for more details.

While that takes care of the Stripes' tech-hungry fans, 200 diehards in LA can actually see the band perform live on the site of the now-defunct Tower Records on Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood. The first 200 people to line up to buy the album at the former Tower location at midnight on Tuesday, June 18, will receive a ticket to see the band perform at that location the next night at 7 pm. The White Stripes are set to hit the road this summer with Grinderman, Porter Wagoner, and Cold War Kids opening at select dates.

Hall & Oates set up video contest

Speaking of diehards, Hall & Oates fans with a knack for lip-synching have a chance for a free trip to see the duo perform live at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 8. In a venture they've dubbed the "I Can Go For That" contest, Daryl Hall and John Oates are asking fans to submit a homemade video, lip-synching the words to any of the songs Hall & Oates have released during their 35-plus-year career. The winner will be judged on "creativity, originality, and visual aesthetic."

The duo created the contest after a fan created a video lip-synching their 1982 smash "Maneater" hit and had it watched on YouTube more than 500,000 times. Check the band's Web site for more details.