Looks like those rumors Amy Winehouse’s dad was spreading about her visa issues may actually be true. The troubled British songstress has pulled out of the Woodies, the second MTV awards ceremony she was scheduled to perform at, and then subsequently had to ditch, this year. According to Mr. Winehouse, when his daughter was arrested for marijuana possession in Norway last week, she inadvertantly signed a confession rather than a release form after ponying up the fine; Winehouse’s dad now claims that sworn statement is preventing the singer from obtaining the visa she needs to travel to the U.S. (He also mentioned that “Bulimia is still apparent. … And there’s substance abuse as well” during an apperance on an English morning-TV show. Talk about parents embarassing their kids.) The Woodies date was Winehouse’s only recently scheduled U.S. appearance (she was also up for Woodie of the Year), though she has a November U.K. tour booked that runs until mid-December. She was also just announced as a last-minute addition to the lineup of MTV’s Europe Music Awards on November 1st, which take place in Munich.

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• Amy Winehouse Ready to Record New Album, Says Mark Ronson

• Amy Winehouse’s Tour Rider = A Well-Stocked Bar (With Ginger Root!)
• Badly Beaten Amy Winehouse and Bruised Beau: Shocking Photos and Winehouse’s Denial

Who: Aussie new-rave trio Midnight Juggernauts, who just wrapped up their first U.S. tour supporting Summer ‘07 “It” band Justice. After tours of Europe and China, the group — guitarist-singer Andy Streetcrimes, singer-keyboardist Vin Vendetta and drummer Daniel Stricker — started accruing some major word of mouth thanks to MySpace. The dance-rockers ultimately scored their Justice gig the old-fashioned way: by cooking the French duo dinner.

Sounds Like: David Bowie if his Berlin Trilogy was a collaboration with Kraftwerk and Faust. Their debut album Dystopia takes uplifting Numan synths, Daft Punk beats and Pink Floyd’s affinity for all things astronomical and Orwellian, then melts them all together with the help of some good psychedelics.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. The band played fake Michael Jackson benefit shows to lure in unsuspecting fans. “He was having some some legal troubles and the idea was to give money to the show to fund legal expenses,” says Vincent. “It was just a joke, but I think some papers caught up on it and did some stories. (more…)

Starting November 17th, visitors to Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will be able to get up-close-and-personal peeks at artifacts from the 1965 Beatles movie Help!, from boots to jackets to behind-the-scenes photos of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Click here

On stands Friday, we present the third installment of Rolling Stone’s Fortieth Anniversary retrospective. This time around, we talk to some of the biggest names in music, film, politics and science to discuss the current state of the nation, and the future outlook for the world. We also let twenty-one cutting-edge musicians muse about what they think the future of music holds. Throughout the week, we’ll reveal exclusive features from the magazine, including audio excerpts and an in-depth look into the weird and wacky Indie Rock Universe. First up, we have exclusive audio clips (and a full-text interview) from Bono, who grapples with the question “If you could only pursue U2 or activism, which would it be?”

Rapper the Game was in court today for a preliminary hearing regarding the gun charges he’s facing after allegedly brandishing a firearm during a basketball game at a youth recreation center. The hearing lasted all of five minutes, but Game’s antics outside of the courthouse afterwards will be with us forever. Though he’s usually quite taciturn, the MC was all jokes (we hope) when TMZ cameras caught up to him, as if he’d been popping Prozac like candy corn. Game discussed numerous topics, everything from Lindsay Lohan (he wants her at his door “with a long trench coat on and Fredericks under the coat”) to his love for big women (”I don’t like big women, I love big women. All you gotta do is, lift the love handle up, put four fingers in and just tickle it”). Even more disturbing, if that’s possible, is what Game had to offer Britney Spears: “I’ll shampoo your hair, rub your feet, watch your kids and be your bodyguard for some …” at which point Game pretended to “smack that.” After breaking out some epileptic Kid n’ Play dance moves, the rapper made one more baffling statement: When asked who he wants to be for Halloween, Game answered “50 Cent. He’s scary. Muahahahah.” If you asked us yesterday, we’d say 50 Cent and the Game were two peas from the same pod. Today, however, it’s clear Game occupies a slightly more unbalanced pod, like Ghostface Killah’s pod. The Game’s gun-charges trial is set to begin in November.

• 50 Cent is peeved that his “I Still Kill” is being renamed “I Still Will” for TV airings. “I don’t think they have a problem with the group the Killers being called the Killers,” the rapper says. “I don’t think anyone’s protesting that Guns N’ Roses is called Guns N’ Roses. I just think that their perception of me is dark, so they’re going to ask for those things to be changed, you know what I mean?” This makes for a fun game. Velvet Dissolver. The Hex Crystals. Etc.

• Timbaland is already at work on the sequel to this year’s Shock Value. The producer announced on Anaheim’s KIIS 102.7 that he’s already recorded tracks with Akon, Linkin Park and Gwen Stefani.

• Displaying Timbaland-esque prolificacy, Ronnie Wood is already planning a second volume to his eponymous autobiography. Wood is also in talks to sell the movie rights — something Police guitarist (and photographer) Andy Summers has just done.

• Finally, as predicted, Radiohead and XL Recordings have come to a deal to release the band’s already-available In Rainbows on CD. The deal is only good for distribution outside of North America, where ATO is currently the frontrunner. No release date for the physical CD has been announced.

• By refusing to promote her album, Britney Spears is doing a remarkable job of promoting her album. On today’s Ryan Seacrest radio show, Spears abruptly ended an interview so she could shower. When questioned on the standing of her child custody battle, and whether she can once again see her kids unsupervised, Spears answered simply “My lawyers know about all that.” Blackout, on shelves now.

Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash made his way to David Letterman’s couch last night to promote his new autobiography, called simply Slash: The Autobiography. When quizzed by Dave regarding the current state of his relationship with Axl Rose, Slash not only relayed an amusing anecdote about the GN’R singer; he unknowingly also unlocked the entire Chinese Democracy mystery. Slash told a story about the early days, when Axl was just a skinny redhead who was crashing on Slash’s grandma’s couch. One day, after Axl refused to relinquish his borrowed bed for Slash’s grandma to sit on, Slash cautiously confronted Rose about the incident while driving to band practice. Rose responded the same way most of us would: By jumping out of a car going forty miles per hour. Like Slash said, Axl had to be “handled with kid gloves” from that point on. The audience and Dave laughed, Amazon.com sold some additional copies of Slash, yet this story unlocks some major clues into the mind of Axl. The man cannot handle criticism. If Slash’s grandma’s lack of a seat forces Rose to throw himself from a moving vehicle, imagine what the full-throng critical assault Chinese Democracy has postmarked its way the second it hits record stores will do to Axl’s psyche. He might jump off a building. Here we’ve been branding Rose as some Brian Wilson-esque perfectionist, when in fact he’s just someone who fears critical response. Prove us wrong, Axl. Release the damn thing already.

Phish capped off their 1996 fall tour with a stop in Las Vegas that soon became legendary for its special appearances (Primus’ Les Claypool), covers (from Zappa to Zeppelin) and general wackiness (Elvis impersonators, yodelers). Fans can re-live the experience November 20th with the release of Vegas 96, the fourth title in JEMP Records’ series of epic Phish performances, but we’ve got a sneak peek at “Mike’s Song” right here (the limited-edition version of the set includes a DVD and forty-page book of photos and more).

The Big News: Carrie Underwood continued her quest to become the most successful American Idol ever, as her new album Carnival Ride cruised to the top of the Billboard charts with 527,101 copies sold in its debut week. By comparison, Kelly Clarkson, Underwood’s closest AI competitor, sold 291,000 copies when My December debuted in June. Underwood dominated her fresh competition, selling 400,000-plus more copies than the number two, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ Raising Sand. Country’s Gary Allan took the third spot, while System of a Down’s Serj Tankian’s first solo album Elect the Dead scored fourth with 65,998 copies.

Debuts: Prog-revivalists Coheed & Cambria’s No World For Tomorrow entered the chart at number six with 61,849 units shifted while Neil Young’s Chrome Dreams II grabbed the eleven hole and Say Anything’s double-disc In Defense Of the Genre debuted at twenty-seven with 24,750. Further down the chart, Ryan Adams’ new EP Follow The Lights came in at forty, while Ween’s La Cucharacha came in at a fitting (for the band in question) sixty-nine. RS Breaking Artist Hurricane Chris hit the chart at twenty-four. (more…)

Roughly forty Ozzy Osbourne fans invited to a pre-party before the Ozzy/Rob Zombie concert in Fargo, North Dakota, were greeted with an unexpected surprise: Handcuffs! In what has to be the best sting operation since To Catch a Predator, invitations were sent out to people who ignored court summons, didn’t pay child support, failed to pay fines, etc. Approximately forty Ozzy fans (or Rob Zombie fans, to be fair) responded to the invite and attended the bash, which was held at the concert venue by PDL Productions. Little did they know, PDL stood for “Paul D. Laney,” a county sheriff, and that all those meaty guys wearing PDL T-shirts were actually deputy sheriffs, probation officers and local DEA members. Rather than boozing, the miscreants who showed up got arrested on outstanding warrants. “It was more of a warrant party,” Laney joked. Some on the cuffed end even thought the elaborate ruse was funny, but a few turned hostile when the reveal was made. We’re really hoping this whole affair was taped. It’s got Dateline written all over it. So be warned, the next time the Blizzard of Ozz blows into your town, do not attend the pregame festivities if you’re hiding from the law.

Related Stories:

• Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Zombie Announce Tour Dates
• Ozzy Osbourne Gets No Respect, Has No Clue What He’s Doing
• Possible Black Sabbath Tour With Ozzy Osbourne

Will Led Zeppelin launch a full-scale tour following their reunion performance in London on November 26th? Jimmy Page says “Maybe.” Robert Plant says “No.” John Paul Jones hasn’t said anything. Fans hoping for a reunion tour may be in luck, though. BW & BK reports that Zep dates are being planned for the spring. The proof? Well, it’s a stretch. According to some writer’s sister’s boyfriend’s best friend’s younger brother who’s an intern for the New York Jets, supposedly a block of June dates at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, have been put on hold. Does that mean Led Zeppelin is playing? Maybe, but it could also be Bruce Springsteen, who we know is touring hard next year. Or it could be the Dave Matthews Band. Like we said, it’s a stretch. The Web site also reports that “a plethora of merchandise” is currently in production in Asia. When is a plethora of Zeppelin merchandise not in production? The band has moved more T-shirts than Hanes, and “Swan Song” blacklight posters still sell at an alarmingly high rate. Factor in the never-ending chain of album reissues and this claim too can easily be debunked. So while we remain cautiously optimistic, we’re not gonna start lining up outside the Ticketmaster just yet.

Related Stories:

• Jimmy Page Doesn’t Rule Out New Led Zeppelin Music, Tour
• Led Zeppelin Catalog Landing on “All” Digital Music Services
• Robert Plant Insists Zeppelin Will Not Tour

• Coldplay have emerged from a London recording studio (two months after saying hello from sessions in Barcelona) to post a handwritten update: “The self-imposed deadline looms, and new songs have emerged,” the note reads. The message reveals Coldplay have developed insomnia and “a small patch of alapecia” from the pressure, but ends cheerily, saying the follow-up to 2005’s X&Y will be the album they “always dreamed” they’d make.

• Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic says he’d like to see In Utero re-released and souped-up like the upcoming Nirvana Unplugged DVD. The 5.1 Surround Sound of Unplugged will reveal “what each instrument is doing,” Novoselic tells NME. “It really invites you in and I’m sure everyone will enjoy it in a new way.”

• Van Morrison, a less-publicized digital-music holdout, has finally made forty-three of his albums available on downloading services a week before his Still On Top — The Greatest Hits arrives.

• The Who will introduce a subscription service to their Web site next Monday, giving fans who pay $50 a year free access to live DVD View from a Backstage Pass, nonstop access to archived videos, discounted merchandise, exclusive full-length videos and — starting in 2008 — the ability to preview the band’s entire catalog before opting to purchase.

• Jon Bon Jovi tells the U.K.’s Daily Mirror he “was entrepreneurial” with his weed in his youth, “buying quarter pounds of dope and trying to make a couple of bucks.” But “I’ve never been a drug guy,” he adds. “I’ve always felt I didn’t have the mental stability.”

Britney Spears has added an even-scarier foe to an enemy list that already includes Perez Hilton and her own fanbase. The Catholic League is livid over Spears’ photos in the centerfold of the liner notes of Blackout, out in stores today. The first picture shows Brit, a mother of two, posing provocatively in a confessional booth while the priest stares on disapprovingly (hmm … sexualizing religious imagery … where have we seen that before?). In the next frame, Brit crosses the line between church and state when she plops herself down on the priest’s lap and touches her chest, which dons a crucifix. The priest, meanwhile, doesn’t look too bummed about being smothered by Spears. The League, by contrast, is not too happy. “This girl is crashing,” League President Bill Donohue told the New York Daily News. “She’s not even allowed to bring up her own kids because she’s not responsible enough. Now we see she can’t even entertain.” She may not be responsible, but the girl can definitely entertain, as evidenced by the news that Brit’s lawyer has requested that the judge in her custody battle cease subjecting the pop star to random drug testing (today the judge granted her three visits a week with Sean Preston and Jayden James, rather than shared custody). But ultimately people, finally, after months of bad press, the VMA performance, the removal of her children, the album leak and many more headlines, Blackout is finally here. Now will it sell?

[Photo courtesy Jive Records]

Between the nonstop comment ticker at the bottom of the screen, the Web-cam drop-ins of TRLers at home and the constant reminders in the upper-left-hand corner that Fill-In-The-Blank reality show is on at 10 PM, we pretty much assumed MTV had their screens filled. Think again! MTV, VH1 and CMT are all integrating lyrics into their videos starting this November, with the whole scheme reaching full bloom by the middle of 2008. Additionally, MTV’s “Spankin’ New Music Week” will be renamed “Spankin’ New Lyrics Week.” The move is an effort for the three channels to “tap into the emotional rush and sense of discovery that music fans feel when they learn the true lyrics to their favorite songs.” We remember the emotional rush and sense of discovery we used to get when MTV actually played videos. 120 Minutes, anyone? Even Justin Timberlake used the station’s Video Music Awards as a podium to demand more videos. Isn’t deciphering lyrics what “listening” to music is for? There are already 4,730,000 sites that offer song lyrics, plus iTunes widgets, karaoke bars and Joey Fatone’s Singing Bee.

Well, one thing’s for sure: Based on the kind of videos MTV plays the most, kids are gonna learn about “humps” and how to misspell “tasty” more than they’ll be exposed to the nuances of metaphor and meter. For example, today’s TRL would have featured the following from Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss” (”She want that lovey dovey (lovey dovey) / That kiss kiss (kiss kiss) / In her mind she fantasize ’bout gettin wit me”) and this from Paramore’s “Misery Business”: “Whoa, well I never meant to brag / But I got him where I want him now / Whoa, it was never my intention to brag / To steal it all away from you now.” Bottom line: We’re not convinced that putting what used to be known as album sleeves on a TV screen makes up for 20,000 hours of The Hills.

True garage rockers know that one of the illest songs on the Nuggets box is “The Witch,” a proto-punk blast from Northwestern garage warriors the Sonics. After a hard slog, the band has reformed to play some New York dates — their first ever — and our own David Fricke has the only interview with frontman Jerry Roslie. Check out the full story here.