MUSIC NEWS JAMBOREE!
Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann has issued a statement on her Web site urging her fans to stay away from the new CD "Aimee Mann—The Ultimate Collection" on Hip-O Records, primarily because she believes the disc is "seriously substandard and misleading" as well as "a wretched fraud." The singer writes that she had nothing to do with the process of putting together the disc and only found out about it after the process had begun. When she and her manager Michael Hausman contacted Hip-O to offer her services to make sure the disc was everything it could be, the label "flatly refused" their offer. "We were basically barred from being involved in any way on a project that had my NAME on it," Mann writes on her site. "As typical as this is in the music business, it still never ceases to amaze me." Mann explains that quotes from old interviews with her have been woven together in the liner notes, giving the appearance that she was involved—"basically using my own reputation for integrity in my music to sell their own lame product." Said one industry insider, "This is an obvious attempt by Hip-O to show that they can rip off artists just like the big boys. And frankly, I'm impressed."
FIXING WHAT'S FUCT
Nora Garza, a former features editor at the McAllen, TX's the Monitor, got fired for running a publicity photo of the Deftones in which lead singer Chino Moreno is shown wearing a dark blue sweatshirt emblazoned with the "Fuct" logo. In response, the band and the clothing manufacturer are sending Garza, a two-year employee of the paper who received little in severance, a check for $5,000, to help pay her bills until she finds new employment. "All of us in the band feel terrible about Mrs. Garza being fired," said Moreno. "To be honest, I'm offended that a newspaper has no problem running gruesome photos of dead bodies or horrifically malnourished people, but fires a woman for running a photo that contains a word that resembles an obscenity." The Monitor's current issue features a cover story on the Butthole Surfers.
NOT A CREATURE WAS IN STIR, NOT EVEN A MOUSE
Fresh outta the pokey, Robert Downey Jr. is not only a regular cast member of "Ally McBeal," but he's also belting out Christmas tunes with his coworkers on a new album. "A Very Ally Christmas"(Epic) features fellow cast members Calista Flockhart, Lisa Nicole Carson and Jane Krakowski crooning alongside Ally's regular yodeler Vonda Shepard. We wish this was a joke, but the truth of the matter is that Downey sings "White Christmas."
HIS DUTIES WILL BE HANDLED BY THE SOUND-ALIKES
Management turnover fever struck K-tel International, as the company announced today the resignation of Executive VP Jeffrey Koblick, who left the company to "pursue other business interests." Which is sorta like leaving a band because of "creative differences." The company also announced the promotion of Alan Hawley to Director of Operations. Hawley will assume Koblick's previous responsibilities and will report to President Ken P. Onstad. As part of his severance package, Koblick will receive a food dehydrator and a Pocket Fisherman.
