MP3 News Breakers: 50 vs. Game, U2, Doherty, Hassy, REM
G-Unit's Lloyd Banks says feud with Game is far from over; U2 to build 35-story tower with studio; Babyshambles rocker preps solo material amid latest rehab visit; Knight Rider star slated to star in own musical biography; REM eyeing another greatest-hits record.
Earlier this month, 50 Cent released a mix tape whose cover showed The Game dressed as a stripper, relighting the long-standing feud between the don of the G-Unit and his former labelmate.
The move to restart the fire was simply a matter of time, G-Unit's Lloyd Banks told MTV News.
"Well, as far as getting back at Game ... he was never a priority," Banks said. "It's not just him. It's him, D-Block, Terror Squad, and whoever else has something slick to say [about G-Unit].
"It wasn't really a priority," he continued. "[50] had too many business deals to take care of. But nothing's forgotten. I didn't know none of these dudes, so I can really care less if we ever shake hands or hug or anything."
U2 planning skyscraper in Ireland?
Irish rock band U2 is planning to construct--or, at least, fund the construction of--a 35-floor tower in Dublin that would hold a top-floor recording studio, according to Dotmusic.
A Dublin businessman named Harry Crosbie said he had talked with U2 and the band's manager, Paul McGuiness, about the skyscraper, to be located in Britain Quay's docklands area.
"We are pleased that these towers will create a new feature in Dublin's skyline," he said.
In 2002, Bono and company offered a competition to build a new tower-studio, after the band's original studio at Hanover Quay was lost due to a change in development plans at the docklands.
"It's very hard to quantify or value what that studio that we have been working in for the last years means to us," Bono said in 2002. "There isn't really a price you can put on it and whatever the Dublin Docklands Authority offer us it's not going to be enough, I can tell you that."
Back in rehab, Doherty still planning double dose of music
Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty is shoveling more and more onto his plate. As he begins yet another rehab stint, Doherty is working on both a follow-up to the band's 2005 album and a solo record of his own.
The new acoustic solo material is code-named "The Implant Sessions"--a titular reference to the chemical-releasing, drug-warding implant he recently had inserted in his abdomen. But things haven't been rosy since the former Libertines singer's stab at kicking his drug addictions, particularly how his body reacted to the implant.
"[A]fter Sweden, it was so bad I had to have a nasty, dirty old hit as soon as we got back to London," he told NME.com. "It f***ed me up for three days."
After relapsing, Doherty entered a clinic yesterday, Babyshambles concert promoter Andy McKay told NME.com. The band was in Ibiza, a Spanish party island, for a show before the 27-year-old frontman had to pull out.
"We were all really looking forward to welcoming Babyshambles back to the island this year for Ibiza Rocks," McKay said. "But, at the end of the day, we love and support Pete and it's his health and happiness that are important."
David Hasselhoff to star in musical biography--of himself
The former Baywatch and Knight Rider actor will appear in David Hasselhoff: The Musical--which is exactly what it sounds like.
"I am also doing a heart-rendering set on my life and the mistakes I have made," Hasselhoff told celebrityweek.com. "It sounds like a bad joke, but it is really going to be a good show ... totally campy.
"If it ends up in Vegas, how great would that be?" he said.
What could have implanted this idea in anyone's head? Well, parts of the musical are apparently inspired by soul singer Teddy Pendergrass, The Young and The Restless, and Hasselhoff's Knight Rider, the actor said.
REM digs into the vaults
REM is prepping another greatest-hits compilation.
After two previous collections of the alt-rock band's greatest tunes, REM's latest release, set for September 12, will be a compilation of older material that newer fans may have missed, according to the band's Web site.
And I Feel Fine: The Best of the IRS Years, 1982-1987 will chronicle the band's early days on record label IRS with 21 tunes. The list includes such tracks as "Radio Free Europe," "The One I Love," and "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)."
A beefed-up collector's edition, however, will cram in even more goodies: another 21-song disc, this time of rare tracks, plus live tracks, and other mixes and odds and ends. A bonus DVD, When the Light Is Mine: The Best of the IRS Years, 1982-1987, will house the band's 11 IRS-era music videos, TV performances, and interviews.
In 1998 a simple 16-track album called Best of REM hit stores, but its tracks avoided many of the band's signature singles. In 2003, In Time: The Best of REM 1988-2003 culled the band's most-famous tunes, including "Losing My Religion," which was absent from the first greatest-hits album.
