Music News

Rapper Tiny Doo has been implicated in nine California shootings solely because of his album, No Safety.

He is not accused of providing guns or being present at the shootings. Instead, it is his music that is causing him to stand trial on 4 December. Until then he's being held on $1million bail.

The No Safety album cover features a gun and bullets. Prosecutors claim that Tiny Doo willfully promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang , arguing that he benefited from the shootings as it allegedly led to increased album sales.

Deputy District Attorney Anthony Campagna said:

We're not just talking about a CD of anything, of love songs. We're talking about a CD (cover)... There is a revolver with bullets.

A few miserable gits have whinged at a show by pop star Lily Allen for a supposedly disrespectful recreation of the nativity at one of her concerts.

At a sold-out show at the O2 Academy in Brixton, she performed her song Sheezus , while sitting in a straw-covered manger. Her back-up dancers were dressed as a traditional donkey, a Christmas cracker and a gift. The stage was illuminated with dozens of giant, lit-up baby bottles and Lily was joined by the Capital Children's Choir.

Conservative MP Martin Vickers whinged:

This could be extremely offensive to many Christians.

It is important that all religions are given the respect they deserve and I can certainly understand why some Christians believe their deeply held views are being squeezed out.

[But religions do get the respect they deserve!...none!]

It's been a long time since we've heard from Stephen Green, of Christian Voice, but it wasn't really worth the wait, he whimpered:

It is tasteless, it is disrespectful and it is crass.

The Oktyabrsky District Court of Ufa has ruled that the translations of lyrics by Cannibal Corpse , a US metal band, be banned from distribution in Russia due to violent content, RIA Novosti reports citing Senior Aide to Prosecutor of Bashkortostan, Guzel Masagutova.

The Prosecutor's Office of Bashkortostan filed a suit with the court claiming that lyrics by the band could damage the mental health of children because they contain descriptions of violence, the physical and mental abuse of people and animals, murder and suicide, all accompanied by illustrations.

The Ufa court agreed  and upheld the claim.

The Royal British Legion (RBL), the charity that promotes the red poppy, has got Joss Stone, accompanied by Jeff Beck on guitar, singing a version of Eric Bogle's classic anti-war song The Green Fields of France with its anti-war message removed.

The RBL titles the song No Man's Land and uses as the background to its video the Tower of London poppies, vindicating art critic Jonathan Jones's view that the Tower's sea of red roses prettifies the First World War.

The Royal British Legion has deleted this verse from its version of Eric Bogle's song:

Ah young Willie McBride, I can't help wonder why,
Do those that lie here know why did they die?
And did they believe when they answered the cause,
Did they really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain,
The killing and dying, were all done in vain.
For Willie McBride, it all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again. The First World War was to be the war to end all wars. Instead, as this verse highlights, it heralded a century of virtually endless war: it all happened again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

A petition has been launched objecting to the RBL version of Eric Bogle's song. As the originator of the petition Bob Banks says:

To see a great anti-war song sanitised like this, from a condemnation of the folly and obscenity of war, is an insult to the writer of the song, to the many singers who have sung it previously, and ultimately to the armed forces, who know better than anyone else the horrors of war.

This Friday a pilot scheme to add age ratings to online music videos starts but don't expect to see any huge 12s, 15s or 18s on videos just yet. All parties involved say people watching the videos won't see any changes until the end of the year.

YouTube says it is committed but technical change may take time and Vevo has agreed to trial the scheme.

Three of the biggest labels in the UK - Sony, Universal, and Warner Brothers - have all also agreed to take part. But it will only apply to artists signed to UK labels.

The BBFC will be awarding the age ratings.

Mercury-nominated singer FKA Twigs commented:

I think that the answer to protecting younger viewers is not to ban things, it's to show an alternative.

I guess with my videos we're talking directly about sexuality and there's nothing wrong with that.

Why shouldn't younger people learn and explore about what sexuality is as an adult? Why shouldn't they do that?

We're not living in Victorian Britain, do we want to be repressed? Do we want to have these kids doing weird things behind closed doors or should this be a country that is leading by example in explaining to people?