• James Brown’s former adviser, attorney Buddy Dallas, says the ongoing legal feud over Brown’s estate is delaying the release of the singer’s last recordings — an album assembled in the summer of 2006 — plus another fifty to sixty songs remaining in vaults.
• Kanye West has returned to blogging after a two-month absence following the death of his mother with a light-hearted post titled “Thank You For All Your Support” that features photos of himself and Beyoncé playing Connect Four. “When I was in Europe I would play this game for hours and hours,” he writes. “Every now and then people would speak of this legendary connect 4 champion……….. BEYONCE!!! I had 2 play her!”
• After its first day on the digital charts, Radiohead’s In Rainbows sits at Number Two on iTunes’ list of most downloaded albums, second to the soundtrack to quirky buzz flick Juno, which features tracks from the Moldy Peaches, singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson, Buddy Holly and the Velvet Underground.
• Twenty-nine of Van Morrison’s albums will be re-released, starting later this month with 1971’s Tupelo Honey, 1974’s live album It’s Too Late to Stop Now, 1978’s Wavelength, 1985’s A Sense of Wonder, 1989’s Avalon Sunset and 1999’s Back on Top. Each disc will come with bonus material of alternate, re-arranged and live versions.
• The Offspring frontman Dexter Holland says the band plan to release another record this year, blogging on their official site, “I‘ve got two lyrics to do, a couple more to sing, and various musical tweaks and fixes to get done. Then we‘ll be ready to mix.”

[Photo: Getty]