· Lindsay Lohan's attorney gave the court an update on the actress' progress since her guilty plea last year on misdemeanor drunk-driving and cocaine charges. Blair Berk told the judge that her client was "completely on track with everything," which was good enough to put off another progress report until January.

· The lawyer for 50 Cent's ex Shaniqua Tompkins failed to convince a New York judge on Tuesday that the rapper's lawyer, Brett Kimmel, should be excused from a case regarding the freezing of insurance money from the 50-owned $2.4 million home that Tompkins lived in before it burned down in May. Tompkins' lawyer told MTV he had argued that Kimmel should be taken off the case because he had discussed child-support issues with Tompkins in 2005, but the judge said Kimmel had not discussed anything related to the current case that would create a conflict of interest.

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· Justin Timberlake may step into the role of fictional rebel-on-the-run William Rast in an upcoming ad campaign for the clothing company of the same name, which he co-owns with pal Trace Ayala. Photos of Timberlake alongside model Erin Wasson, who plays Birdie in the Bonnie-and-Clyde-style campaign, can be seen on the William Rast site.

· Chances are, you'll never make beats as cool as French electronica duo Justice, but if you have the cash, you can at least wear the rocking clothes they designed for the international Surface to Air collective. Heads up, though: The leather jacket will run you almost $1,300.

·The upcoming deluxe editions of U2's first three albums — Boy, October and War — are streaming for free on imeem.com, a week before their July 22 release date.

· Coheed and Cambria will perform the entire Amory Wars saga live during a string of dates titled Neverender. The group will perform the tracks from an entire album of the four-part sci-fi epic each night during four-night stands at New York's Terminal 5 (October 22-25) and Los Angeles' Avalon (November 5-8). Read more...

· We've already heard Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama give props to Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Bob Dylan. But Obama got all indie over the weekend, when he attended a Chicago fundraiser and tipped his hat to Wilco's Jeff Tweedy.

· There's no stopping it now. Jessica Simpson's country album is due out September 9. Now you can check out the barn-rocking video for the first single, "Come on Over."

· Black Eyed Peas rapper Taboo married Jaymie Dizon on Saturday in Pasadena, California. Among the guests were fellow Peas Will.I.Am and Apl.De.Ap, who served as groomsmen, and Fergie.
 
· Amy Winehouse's dad has said that the singer could suffer a "slow and painful" death from emphysema and that she will stop performing live shows "for the foreseeable future" to focus on her health. Mitch Winehouse said Amy's last performance for the time being will be September 6.

· Keyshia Cole, Ashanti, Raheem DeVaughn, Chrisette Michelle, Dwele, Lyfe Jennings, Bilal, Musiq Soulchild and Goapele have signed on to play select dates of the upcoming Heineken Red Star Soul Tour. The outing begins August 6 in Los Angeles and runs through an October 1 gig in New York.

· A 32-year-old man died in his tent during Scotland's T in the Park festival over the weekend. Friends found the man dead in his tent at the event, during which a 22-year-old man was also stabbed in the head and body by as-yet-unknown assailants.

· Slipknot fans are used to their favorite masked warriors injuring themselves during intense performances. So most probably won't be surprised to see DJ Sid Wilson (a.k.a. #0) scooting around in a wheelchair after breaking both his heels while jumping off the stage at the first show of the Rockstar Energy Mayhem festival last week.

· We already knew former 'NSYNC member Lance Bass had signed up for the next season of "Dancing With the Stars." Now network execs are reportedly torn over whether they should pair the openly gay singer with a male or female partner.

· Trent Reznor is having way too much fun. In addition to giving albums away for free, the NIN leader has hidden tickets to his upcoming show under rocks in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, sending fans on a frenzied scavenger hunt.

· Snoop's recent dip into country with the boot-scootin' "My Medicine" was just the beginning. The Big Dogg is set to remake Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" along with Teddy Riley and DJ Quik for the upcoming album Johnny Cash Remixed.

· Turns out that whole David Lee Roth peanut-allergy police story was a big misunderstanding. According to a new report, the man assisted by Ontario cops last month was not Diamond Dave, but an impostor. Roth's publicist released a statement on Thursday in which the high-kicking singer explained, "I was in Canada only from July 1st through the 4th for a performance at the Quebec City Summer Festival. I had no encounters or incidents with the police. The only thing I'm allergic to is criticism."

· The planned July 17 auction of hundreds of items from the estate of the late Godfather of Soul, James Brown, has reportedly been put on hold due to a dispute over where the proceeds should go.

· Tuesday was a rough day for Morbid Angel lead singer David Vincent. The death metaller was detained by Italian authorities at the Milan airport for "possession of contraband weapons" when they noticed his luggage contained a bullet belt given to him as a signing bonus by the owner of his label, Earache Records. He was arrested and questioned for several hours before being released, without the belt.

· The handwritten lyrics to John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance" have sold at auction for $833,654.

· Mobb Deep's Havoc and Prodigy are suing their ex-manager, Norman Bell, claiming he used their recordings on best-of albums that they didn't authorize and that he didn't pay them for the recordings.

· Ashlee Simpson has apparently read the manual of celebrity pregnancy clichés: On Ryan Seacrest's KIIS-FM show Thursday morning, Pete Wentz said his new wife craves green olives "on everything." But we do like Wentz's rather original metaphor for his impending fatherhood: "It's like making a record, but knowing you're going to mix it for the next 18 years of your life."

· With his 50th birthday looming near, and photographs of himself being transported via wheelchair making the rounds, Michael Jackson is no doubt feeling nostalgic for the '90s. That explains why he reportedly met with the reunited New Kids on the Block last week to discuss collaborating on his upcoming album. Read more...

· On Wednesday, cameras finally rolled on Britney Spears' video shoot for Madonna's tour. In the clip, Brit, clad in a gray hoodie, walks into an elevator and nervously paces as it begins its ascent. She then kicks and smacks the elevator walls, screams into the camera and pulls down her hood to yell, "It's Britney, bitch."

· Nobody here is trying to tell Amy Winehouse how to live her life. But does it really make sense for the troubled "Rehab" singer to be launching her own club night at London's Camden Monarch on Thursday (July 10)? Love the name, though: "Snakehips at the Monarch."

· Vanessa Hudgens has finally revealed who leaked those nude photos of her last year: "stupid people."

· Here's the rehearsal footage of the Flaming Lips practicing their cover of the Who's "Tommy" in preparation for Saturday's VH1 Rock Honors concert (airing July 17). All we can say is: fish-eye lens, lots of smoke, a strobing gong, alien helium vocals and some kind of silver tassel rah-rah drum stick being waved around by singer Wayne Coyne. Have we mentioned how much we love the Lips?

· After the free Bon Jovi All-Star Concert in Central Park on Saturday, Sheryl Crow, 3 Doors Down and Josh Groban are getting in on the musical action at the All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium on July 15.

· The upcoming 39th season of "Sesame Street" will rock with a drop-in from Feist. The Canadian songstress will sing "Songs" with Elmo on August 11, joining a roster of guests that also includes Jack Black, Jessica Alba, David Beckham, Heidi Klum, Neil Patrick Harris and Jenny McCarthy.

· First he brushed the dirt off his shoulder in homage to Jigga. Now presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has given a shout-out to Weezy at a town-hall meeting in Powder Springs, Georgia. Obama delivered a speech about high school dropout rates and told teens that they were better off staying in school than wishing for NBA or hip-hop glory. "You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school," he said.

· It will probably take another month for Michigan authorities to determine what caused the deaths of a 33-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man at last weekend's inaugural Rothbury Festival, which featured sets from Snoop Dogg, Dave Matthews and John Mayer. Initial autopsies showed no sign of foul play.

· The Smashing Pumpkins are celebrating their upcoming 20th anniversary by playing a series of mostly smaller venues in August, with the promise of "unique sets and songs." The only date announced so far is an August 9 gig in Hammond, Indiana. In November, the band will play anniversary shows in New York, Los Angeles and their hometown of Chicago.

· Ludacris has reportedly signed a multimillion-dollar deal with AT&T to be their spokesperson and appear in commercials beginning next month. Somewhere, Bill O'Reilly is changing phone companies.

· Amnesty International is launching a campaign called the Small Places Tour in which bands will play hundreds of shows across the globe to help raise money and spread the word about global human rights issues on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The spokesmen for the tour are U2's the Edge and Peter Gabriel, and acts are encouraged to sign up on MySpace for a single gig or a full-blown tour.

· Mariah Carey has revealed some details of her whirlwind engagement and marriage to Nick Cannon. The singer said Cannon "sort of kidnapped me and took me on a helicopter ride" to propose a second time, after first proposing several days earlier on Carey's roof in Manhattan by hiding a 17-carat diamond ring inside a candy ring pop.

· After resting her voice following some medical issues earlier this year, former "American Idol" Jordin Sparks is hitting the road for a 16-date North American tour with Jesse McCartney beginning August 5.

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· Nate Dogg has been hit with three felony counts of making criminal threats and stalking, plus a misdemeanor charge of driving on a suspended license for a June 20 incident in which he allegedly menaced his ex-wife on a Los Angeles highway.

· We already knew Oasis' Noel Gallagher wasn't too keen on shaking things up at Glastonbury with a headlining spot for Jay-Z, but now he's proven to be resistant to change in other ways. He's said you shouldn't expect a Radiohead-esque album giveaway for the band's upcoming Dig Out Your Soul. In fact, he expects to make his money back, because that thing was hella expensive to record!

· You've probably heard that while CD sales have taken a nosedive, vinyl record sales have been on the upswing since 2004. Now major retailer Best Buy is following Circuit City's lead by launching a program to stock some vinyl in its stores. Read more...

· Powerhouse Canadian rockers Nickelback are the latest act to sign a mega-deal with promotions giant Live Nation for their recording, touring and merchandising rights. Though the deal was not as rich as recent ones inked by Madonna, U2 and Jay-Z, it was reportedly worth $50-$70 million. 

· Kanye West's management team is reportedly trying to get the keyboard-thrashing, blog-bashing rapper to attend anger-management classes for his own good — and to help him score some lucrative endorsement deals.
  
· New York rapper William Troy McCune is suing the producers of the 2007 documentary "Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life" for $5 million, alleging that they included footage of him battling Biggie without his permission.

· Rap trio Onyx are prepping a comeback with a pair of albums. The first disc, Cold Case Files: Unsolved Murders, due August 19, features lost studio sessions from the group's most recent albums and cameos from Method Man and late group member X-1. It will be followed in 2009 by the group's new studio album Black Rock.
 
· Bruce Springsteen will release a live digital EP, Magic Tour Highlights, on July 15 that will feature four songs and four videos, including late E Street Band keyboardist Danny Federici's final performance with the group. Guests on the tracks include Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello and Byrds legend Roger McGuinn.

· It's no secret that Spike Lee loves the rock musical "Passing Strange." He even wrote a glowing open letter a few months back, urging folks to "go see 'Passing Strange' and tell them Spike sent you." Now, the director has scheduled a press conference on Wednesday, in which he'll unveil plans to shoot the stage production, concert-film style, for a movie that will most likely air on cable.