Amy Winehouse may still be taking some time off, but the Dap-Kings — who helped craft the modern soul sound of her last album, Back to Black — have kept hard at work in their Daptone Records studios in Brooklyn, where they write and play for a variety of other artists. Unfortunately, that work (including an upcoming session with Rod Stewart) may have to be put on hold because the studios were broken into over the weekend.

"There was a lot of equipment (mics, pre-amps, monitors, turntables, guitars, amps, computers, etc.) stolen and damaged," label co-founder Gabriel Roth wrote in an e-mail to bloggers. "It is going to take us a while to go through everything and take full stock of what was stolen, and we are not supposed to touch anything until the cops come back to collect fingerprints, so we can only guess what's missing from some mic drawers and cabinets. ... And no, we did not have insurance." Read more...

Lily, oh Lily. I guess an apology just isn't good enough, is it? You know I love you and all your childish antics. You're like a not mentally ill Pete Doherty, or a slightly less disheveled Courtney Love. And yeah, I get that it stuck in your craw that Katy Perry once referred to herself as the "fatter version of Amy Winehouse and the skinnier version of Lily Allen." Who wouldn't be pissed about that? But c'mon, Katy apologized and said she "didn't mean anything by it."

But since you insist on picking public fights (watch your back, Elton) — not to mention refusing to wear a top at the beach — there you've gone and done it again: You claim on your Facebook page that you "have Katy Perry's number" and that you're just "waiting for her to open her mouth one more time then it hits Facebook," according to England's tabloid of record, The Sun. The paper also claimed you've joined the "I hate Katy Perry and her dumb-ass song 'I Kissed a Girl' " Facebook group, as well as the "Katy Perry? Who in the hell does she think she is" clique.
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Traditionally, the week between Christmas and New Years is what’s known as a “dead zone” around here, primarily because, well, the music industry usually takes that week off too. Still, we in the news business still need to generate content, so we tend to publish "evergreen" stories that might be light on actual news, but still feature artists that people care about in the headlines.

Anyway, here's a prime example of one: A light story about Paramore working on their new album, which we published early in the morning on December 29 and did not have big expectations for. But here's what's funny — sometime around New Year's Eve, this tiny Paramore story became a very big deal. Or, at least the picture associated with it did.

Seems that, to most Paramore fans, the picture gave them their first glimpse at frontwoman Hayley Williams' new two-tone hairdo. The 'do became a rather contentious subject on sites like AbsolutePunk and Oh No They Didn't!, with the overwhelming majority of commenters giving it a resounding thumbs down (though some went to great lengths to point out that, despite the fact they didn't like Williams' new hairstyle, they would, for the record, "still hit it"). And in the days since, the chatter has yet to die down, which means that: a) people have a lot of free time on their hands, b) this is clearly a big deal, and c) we needed to do a blog listing some of the most disastrous hairstyles in history.

So, after the jump, we've done just that — compiled a list of some of the hugest hair-tastrophes of all time. Does Williams' new skunk-do rank amongst the very worst? Read on. Read more...

Another weekend, another trip to the ER for Amy Winehouse. According to British press reports, the fragile singer was rushed to a hospital Saturday night after doctors visiting her at home on Thursday became concerned that her condition had deteriorated.

The singer's British spokesperson, Chris Goodman, confirmed today that Winehouse had "gone for some checkups," that she had a chest infection last week and that, given her earlier treatment for lung damage, doctors wanted to make sure everything was OK. In June, the 25-year-old singer was hospitalized with a severe lung ailment that her father, Mitch, attributed to smoking cigarettes and crack cocaine. At the time, he told reporters that she was suffering from the early stages of the incurable disease emphysema. Winehouse is expected back home today.

By Sarah Muller

The clock is ticking down to MTV's 2008 Video Music Awards on September 7. For the past few weeks, we've been asking viewers to vote for their favorite nominees. And so far, the big names that you always hear about — Britney, Mariah, Kanye — have made the cut, as expected.

But let's just say the indie-rock world hasn't gotten much love this year. This past Sunday, when I spoke with King Khan, the Black Lips' Cole Alexander and Deerhunter's Bradford Cox at the Jelly NYC Pool Party in Brooklyn, out of nowhere, Alexander mentioned the VMAs. He brought it up, not me! That would be like talking about a big blowout party right in front of people you know didn't get invited.

Soon enough, the rest of the gang started chiming in: "How can we go? Please, please, please, let us come!" They promised not to curse and "not to bring any chickens or animals." Alexander swore he wouldn't bother Justin Timberlake, adding, "If you let us perform, I promise we'll be better than Britney was last year." But he admitted that wasn't saying much.

Perhaps as a nod to recovering pop tart, Cox offered to wear a dress with a snake around his neck, and possibly a Chihuahua. ... You've got to check out video for the rest.

Hot. What outrageous stunt would you pull to get a VMA invite? Let us know.

Though Amy Winehouse has been caught on tape (more than once) appearing to ingest hard drugs, her father said on Tuesday that he believes his daughter's trip to the emergency room on Monday was a result of a friend spiking the 24-year-old singer's drink with ecstasy. According to that bastion of British journalism, The Sun, a "furious" Mitch Winehouse has vowed to find out who was responsible for the spiked drink, which reportedly sent his daughter into convulsions. He called police on Monday to report his suspicions.

"He is convinced that one of her hangers-on was responsible, and he's waiting for a toxicology report to show what caused her to fit," an unnamed source said. "If his suspicions are proved right, he wants someone to be punished. He is seriously unhappy about Amy's flat being a stop-over for randoms and wants an end to it."

Then again, another infamous British paper, The Mirror, has reported that the singer was playing a drinking game for four hours before the incident and had downed "dozens" of rum shots before taking her 11 prescription pills, and the reaction nearly resulted in paramedics having to put a tube down her throat. A spokesperson for Amy Winehouse could not be reached for comment at press time.

Do you believe Papa Winehouse's supposed theories?

The "Rehab" singer is back home after spending a night at London’s University College Hospital following an adverse reaction to some medication. Her reps say she "had a bit of a scare" but is now at home having a "rest," which in her world is a relative term.

Check out the full story here.

As if her life weren't already a tragic soap opera that could only play late at night on pay cable, Amy Winehouse is reportedly set to be featured in a new online Web drama called "The Secret World of Sam King," which will be set in the offices of Universal Records.

Also rumored to be appearing on the soap — which will only be available to users of the social-networking site Bebo — are Razorlight, Bloc Party, Duffy, Girls Aloud and the Feeling. In what sounds like an attempt at a rock-and-roll rip-off of "The Office," the show is said to follow the ups and downs of a teenage mail-room worker at the label who sets up his own office "at the back of a stationary cupboard." Sounds ... fascinating.

· 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.

By Matt Elias

Well, the beautiful weather in London was short-lived, but that didn't stop Amy Winehouse from soundchecking Friday in Hyde Park. Despite the drizzle, Amy (who was featured in a bizarre Rolling Stone article this week) is at least that much closer to performing at Friday night's concert honoring Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, which also features Annie Lennox, Simple Minds, Queen, Leona Lewis and the Soweto Gospel Choir. More than 40,000 people are expected to attend the show, according to CNN.
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