The feud between Everlast and Eminem continues, as the former has penned "Whitey's Revenge," an answer to Eminem's "Sh**t on You," which Eminem in turn claims was a response to a verbal attack initiated by Everlast. Confused? In a nutshell, Everlast contributed a thinly veiled barb at Eminem on the Dilated People 's "Ear Drums Pop" earlier this year. Eminem fired back with "S**t on You," recorded with his side project D-12, which accused Everlast of being a "dickless piece of shit" as well as betraying his rap roots. In "Whitey's Revenge," which Everlast may release via Napster, he fires back at the Motor City rapper accusing him of being a sellout amid numerous other putdowns, and suggests that the two men settle their dispute with fists instead of lyrics. Everlast told Rolling Stone last week that "He can talk all the shit he wants to talk, but he's never going to see me man to man" . . .

Lance Bass of 'N Sync told the Toronto Sun that the group's next album, due in April or May, will be "totally written by us and co-written by us." 'N Sync have also been tapped to record an anti-underage drinking PSA which will air during the Super Bowl . . .

Blues legend R.L. Burnside's performance brought out a full house at New York City's Village Underground Thursday (Nov. 16). Richard Gere, Deborah Winger, Uma Thurman, Jon Spencer and Christina Martinez were among the sold out crowd who were treated to a cross-section from the vast catalogue of the bluesman (who turns seventy-four next week), who released Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down last month . . .

Though it's hard to corner the fifty-year recording career of Tito Puente, which produced well over 100 albums, into a single package, BMG Latin has put together some of "El Rey"'s finest work into a six-disc box set. Tito Puente: The Complete RCA Recordings, Volume 1 covers two period's of the legendary percussionist's run at the label, from 1949-51 and from 1955-60. The 108-song collection features Puente chestnuts as well as some unreleased alternate takes. The set was assembled by a longtime Puente production cohort, Joe Conzo, and is accompanied by a twelve-page set of liner notes penned by Fernando Gonzalez . . .

After much speculation and discussion, Oasis and the Black Crowes are finalizing their plans to tour together next summer, following the release of the Crowes' upcoming album due in April. Noel Gallagher has been in the studio with the Crowes while they finish up the album in New York with producer Don Was, but whether his guest spot will make the final cut remains to be seen . . .

Marc Anthony has been ordered to appear in a Puerto Rican court to answer to charges that he assaulted a Puerto Rican television personality. Gossip reporter Leo Fernandez III claimed in his suit that Anthony assaulted him back in July after he inquired as to whether or not Anthony's wife was pregnant; weeks later the salsa star told an audience at a performance that he and his wife were expecting. Fernandez is seeking an unspecified amount of damages, though Anthony denies the allegations of the attack . . .

Both Limp Bizkit and the Deftones have been canceling shows due to throat troubles this week. First, Limp Bizkit bowed out of the Anger Management tour stop in Vancouver Wednesday (previous shows that have been canceled due to Fred Durst's sore throat include Albany on Oct. 24 and Indianapolis on Nov. 3). "Fred's throat is giving him problems and he needs to give it a rest," the band wrote on their Web site. "Limp still plans on being in San Francisco on Friday," when the band is slated to resume the tour. Meanwhile, Deftones singer Chino Moreno has been given doctor's orders not to talk or sing for three to seven days, due to his hemorrhaging, bruised vocal chords, the band's rep said. Consequently, the Deftones canceled Wednesday's and Thursday's shows in Ottawa, Ontario and Scranton, Pa., with this weekend's shows in New Jersey and New York still up in the air at press time . . .

Los Angeles cult band Lutefisk are staging a reunion gig in Silver Lake, Calif., as a send-off for long-running indie band Popdefect, whose final shows are this weekend (Friday at Spaceland with Lutefisk, Saturday at Al's Bar). After breaking up two years ago during the fallout from the Universal Music Group merger, Lutefisk is honoring Popdefect, 'Fisk drummer Brandon Jay says, because after being together for twenty years, the Flipside band is one of the few L.A. institutions that's ever lasted. "They used to joke that all the L.A. bands would open for them and then go on to get signed," Jay says. "But the signed band would be the one to break up and Popdefect would still remain. They've had Possum Dixon open for them, the Geraldine Fibbers, Lifter, Beck, hell, probably even the Rolling Stones." Okay, maybe not that last one. But Jay says it's good to play again "for the right reasons." "We all just said, we can't think of a better reason to get together again and play," he says. "It would be childish if we didn't. It's going to be a kick in the pants" . . .

Former and current Allman Brothers Band members, along with soul songstress Bonnie Bramlett, and Wet Willie singer Jimmy Hall, will perform at a benefit concert on Sunday, Nov. 19 in Nashville to help assist with the medical expense of legendary guitarist Jimmy Nalls who has Parkinson's disease. Nalls has played with artists including Bramlett, Dr. John , Gregg Allman, Percy Sedge, Lloyd Price. B.J. Thomas, Charley McClain, T. Graham Brown and Bobby Whitlock. Dubbed "Jammin' For Jimmy," the event is being organized by Chuck Leavell, who has worked with the Allmans and the Rolling Stones; he also played with Nalls in Sea Level until their demise in 1981. The show will be held at Nashville's Exit/In and will feature performances by Leavell, Allman Brother percussionist Jaimoe and Jack Pearson. A special bank account has been established to accept contributions from Jimmy Nalls' many friends and fans. Contributions can be sent to: The Jimmy Nalls Recovery Fund, P.O. Box 41793, Nashville, Tenn. 37204 . . .

The Americana Music Association held its first annual convention last week (Nov. 10-11) in downtown Nashville with nearly 400 attendees. The trade association claims that its mission is to "provide a forum for the advocacy of Americana music, to promote public awareness of this genre and to support the creative and economic viability of professionals in this field." The conference saw the election of the association's board of directors which will feature musicians including Allison Moorer and Greg Trouper, as well as reps from Rounder Records, No Depression and other Americana-media types from radio, management and promotion. In addition to staffing the board, the AMA offered a day of seminars and two evenings of live music . . .

It wasn't hard telling the beautiful people apart from the disposable teens Tuesday night at Marilyn Manson 's invite-only "acoustic" showcase gig for his new album, Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) at the New York club Saci. The former were the record industry types hobnobbing in the V.I.P. section; the latter were the scruffy, contest-winning goths commanding the dance floor. The set -- which really only featured guitarist John 5 playing acoustic on one song but did have a stripped-down, reflective sound -- was limited to four numbers: "Godeatgod" (from Holy Wood), John Lennon's "Working Class Hero," the M*A*S*H theme "Suicide is Painless" (introduced by Manson as "more depressing and offensive than anything I've ever written") and "Count to Six and Die" (also from Holy Wood) . . .

Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton has recorded a ballad for her mom, written by a disabled child involved with the British charity organization Chicken Shed. "There's a girl there who has cerebral palsy and she's unbelievable," says Bunton. "She writes music through a thing which types. She's a beautiful girl and she wrote this song for me and I sang it and it's going to go on her album." Bunton doesn't know the title of the album or the song, but says, "She actually wrote it for her mom and she thought I'd be good to sing it for my mom. It's a 'mom' song" . . .

The Backstreet Boys will play Wal-Mart, or rather, an exclusive performance to be broadcast in the home entertainment department of the chain store, Tuesday, Nov. 21. Wal-Mart is also making available special editions of the boy band's next album, Black and Blue, also out Tuesday, with the added song, "What Makes You Different, Makes You Beautiful" (sure to be included in the B-Boys' broadcast concert). The gig will also be Webcast at www.walmart.com . . .

Although U2 have yet to announce dates for their world tour next year, fans can expect PJ Harvey to be hand for part of the tour. The singer has revealed to the BBC's Radio One that she will accompany the Irishmen as an opening act for some dates, though they're still working out the schedule . . .

Eminem has a DVD ready for release in December. According to Eminem's label Interscope, E will feature a collection of the Motor City rapper's music videos, including some unseen footage from versions of the videos sent to television and a snippet of video from Em's side project, D-12. In D-12 news, the blaze that ran through the group's touring van last Saturday in Denver was ruled the result of an electrical fire. No one was injured, but the group lost some equipment in the fire . . .

Former Soul Coughing frontman M. Doughty has released a solo album on his Web site www.superspecialquestions.com. The album, Skittish, is Doughty's first release since Soul Coughing's final album, El Oso, before the band's breakup last March. Doughty describes Skittish as "a stripped-down acoustic kind of a thing" . . .

Korn are scheduled to enter the studio to begin recording their fifth album this month. Michael Beinhorn, who has worked with Marilyn Manson and Hole, will serve as producer. The album, which has no firm release date, will be the band's first since last year's Issues, which has so far sold three million copies . . .

The Offspring gave away one million dollars -- from their own pockets -- to two fans on TRL Tuesday (Nov. 14). Ashley Hitchcock and Christina Belmont, two of the finalists in an online contest for Offspring fans who downloaded "Original Prankster" off the band's Web site, agreed to divvy up the prize money between themselves, before Hitchcock answered correctly the final question in a trivia contest (Q: Which of the Offspring members is the oldest? A: Noodles). Belmont disappeared after the show, though, and it remains to be seen whether she'll lay claim to any of the money. The band also played live on the show, accompanied by Redman on "Original Prankster," and handed out free CDs of Conspiracy of One in Times Square . . .

At the Drive-In had a driving mishap Friday when the band's touring van hit a patch of ice in Sterling, Colo., causing the vehicle to flip upside down. Singer Cedric Bixler and drummer Tony Jajjar were taken to a local hospital with foot and back injuries. Jajjar was told not to perform for at least forty-eight hours, while Bixler lost a toenail and "will likely be hobbling" for a while, a rep said. With the band members shaken up and the van totaled, At the Drive-In canceled their Denver and Salt Lake City shows, but plan to resume the tour tonight in Seattle. This makes the band's third cancellation of Denver and second of Salt Lake City in a row . . .

Though her latest album has definite French influences all over it, Madonna's going with a German DJ for the remix of her next single, "Don't Tell Me." Hanover techno DJ/producer Timo Maas has just been recruited, along with several other DJs (including Victor Calderone, Tracy Young, Richard "Humpty" Vission and the duo Thunderpuss) to produce alternate versions of the song, which will be released later this month. In related news, Maas starts the next leg of his tour Dec. 6 in Atlanta, and will start residencies at several international clubs, including a monthly gig at New York's Twilo . . .

Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante will be releasing his third solo album, To Record Only Water for Ten Days, on Feb. 13. This is his first solo album since his 1997 release Smile From the Streets You Hold and first since rejoining the Chili Peppers in 1998 . . .

In a trend that seems to be all too common, Big Pun will follow in the steps of the Notorious B.I.G. and 2pac and release yet another posthumous album. The album, Endangered Species, is slated to arrive in stores Feb. 6, one day before the year anniversary of his death from heart failure at the age of twenty-eight. "Endangered Species" will feature unreleased tracks, classic tracks, and four new songs. Fellow New York rappers Nas and Raekwon are on the album's guest list . . .

Cher's getting busy discovering her inner child during her promotion of her latest Internet-only releases, Not.com.merical. Three copies of the album are offering, Willy Wonka-style, "golden tickets," which grant the recipient a trip to meet Cher in London. Five "silver ticket" winners get a Cher doll, resurrected by Mattel from the Seventies "Sonny & Cher" era. The prototype for the Cher doll was auctioned last year at an AIDS charity benefit, but you don't have to get a silver ticket to get the doll, as Mattel plans to release the thirteen-and-a-half inch clone in stores next May. Meanwhile, Cher has also recorded greetings at AmericanGreetings.com for fans to send to one another, will chat Thursday (Nov. 16) on AOL at 7 p.m. (EST) and will play herself on Will & Grace that night, all before heading off to London before recording her next album, due out next spring . . .

Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones gave the Stone Temple Pilots a punk boost when he joined their show in Los Angeles Nov. 9. Not only did Jones give the band a more rockin' version of "Sex Type Thing," but he also showed them how to play the Pistol's "Bodies." Singer Scott Weiland mentioned that there might be a STP live album in the works . . .

Maxwell, the soulful R&B crooner who has been out of the spotlight for the past two years, will be releasing his third album, Now, sometime in the spring . . .

Billy Gilman and Eminem were the big winners at the Billboard Music Video Awards held in Los Angeles Nov. 10. Teenage Christian/country artist Gilman scored four wins, for each category he was nominated in, while Eminem took home two awards for "The Real Slim Shady." Other winners included No Doubt's "Simple Kind of Life" for the voted-by-fans FAN.tastic Video, Limp Bizkit 's "Break Stuff" for Best Hard Rock Clip, Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Californication" for Best Modern Rock Clip, Madonna's "Music" for Best Pop Clip, Moby's "Bodyrock" for Best Dance Clip, Faith Hill's "Breathe" for Best Country Clip and Enrique Iglesias' "Ritmo Total" for Best Latin Clip . . .

ANDREW DANSBY, STEVE FLORIO, RICHARD SKANSE, JAAN UHELSZKI, JENNIFER VINEYARD
(November 18, 2000)