Jackson's Doctor Charged

Michael Jackson's personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray has been charged by L.A. police with involuntary manslaughter. The maximum sentence he faces is four years in prison, but he is expected to maintain his innocence and go to trial. Jackson's death has already been ruled a homicide by the coroner, with the anaesthetic propofol the main cause. Other drugs, such as the sedatives midazolam and diazepam, the painkiller lidocaine and the stimulant ephedrine, were also in his system when he died.

Last August, Dr. Murray admitted that he administered propofol to the pop star as part of treatment for insomnia. However, he insisted that there was no reason to believe the drug may put Jackson's life at risk. Speaking before the charges were confirmed, Dr. Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff was defiant about his client's innocence. "We'll make bail," he said, "we'll plead not guilty and we'll fight like hell."

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8th February 2010

Men At Work Deny Kookaburra Plagiarism

Men At Work’s Colin Hay has been speaking out about the recent Australian court ruling which found in favor of the plagiarism claims against the band’s famous hit “Down Under.” He stated bitterly that the suit was motivated by “opportunistic greed” and said that the action was “all about money, make no mistake.”

Publishers Larrikin bought the action against the band after having secured the rights to the popular campfire song “Kookaburra” from the original author Marion Sinclair. Though few expected the action to succeed, a court ruled in favor of Larrikin and damages are estimated at between 40% to 60% of the royalties accrued since the song first hit the charts in 1982.

In an open letter Hay admitted that his appropriation of the two bars of Kookaburra was referenced but that its use was "inadvertent, naive, [and] unconscious.” No matter what the damage may be, “Down Under” remains the band’s most recognizable hit and fans will be pleased to hear Hay’s defiant assertion that “‘Down Under’ lives in my heart, and may perhaps live in yours. I claim it, and will continue to play it, for as long as you want to hear it.”

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7th February 2010

Taylor's Grammy Performance Under Scrutiny

Taylor Swift's warbling performance at the Grammys last weekend still seems to be overshadowing the fact that she won four awards, including 'Album of the Year' for Fearless.

After a blitz of blog criticism, Scott Borcheta, CEO of her record label Big Machine, defended her in an interview with the Associated Press. "She is the voice of this generation. This is not American Idol. This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator."

Unsurprisingly, American Idol first series winner Kelly Clarkson took umbrage at that comment. In a typically sensible blog post, she said "I understand defending your artist... because I have done the same in the past for artists I like, including Taylor, so you might see why its upsetting to read you attacking American Idol for producing simply vocalists that hit 'the high notes'... You forgot to mention we generally hit the 'right' notes as well. Every artist has a bad performance or two and that is understandable, but throwing blame will not make the situation at hand any better."

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