THE DEFENCE RESTS: MURRAY TRIAL UPDATE
Conrad Murray confirmed once and for all yesterday that he will not testify at his manslaughter trial. Both the prosecution and defence in the case, in which the doctor is accused of causing Michael Jackson's death in 2009 through negligence, had previously said they would not call Murray to the witness stand, but judge Michael Pastor said that Murray must still be given the option to be questioned by lawyers representing both sides.

The doctor had previously asked to keep his options open, even though most experts commentating on the trial said it would be better for the medic not to take questions directly. But yesterday, after the defence wrapped up its case, Murray confirmed he did not wish to give a testimony.

Earlier in the day the prosecution requested that its star witness return to the stand to respond to the testimony of the defence's top expert. As previously reported, Dr Steven Shafer and Dr Paul White, both leading experts on the drug that killed Jackson, propofol, testified for the prosecution and defence respectively.

The two colleagues disagree on the most likely explanation for Jackson's death. Shafer says that the evidence points to Murray giving the singer a much larger dose of propofol than he has admitted, probably leaving an IV system pumping the surgical anaesthetic into Jackson's body while the doctor left the room to make phone calls.

White says he thinks it much more likely that, as Murray has claimed, Jackson had taken lorazepam without telling his doctor, and then administered a second shot of propofol while the defendant was out of the room, which, combined with the small shot of the anaesthetic Murray had given him earlier, combined to create the perfect storm, killing the singer.

Called back to respond to White's testimony, Shafer said he thought his colleague's theory was wrong, partly because it was based on a 1988 study which, Shafer reckons, has since been disproved. He added that new research makes his theory much more credible. Asked by the prosecution if the new research "absolutely rules out the hypothesis put forth by Dr White", Shafter responded, simply: "Yes, absolutely".

And with that, the case for the defence - which relied heavily on White's testimony - was complete. Both sides will now give their final arguments on Thursday before the jury starts its deliberations.

Away from the jury yesterday lawyers for both sides discussed what instructions will be given for jurors. The prosecution said they would offer jurors two guilty verdict options, one that administering the propofol was a lawful act but done in a criminally negligent way, or two that Murray failed to perform his legal duty as a physician. Against the defence's wishes, jurors will also be advised how - even if they believe the defence's argument that Jackson self-administered the fatal shot of propofol - they could still find Murray negligent, for allowing that to happen.

The case continues.

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WOMAN SUES BIEBER OVER LOVE CHILD CLAIMS
Yeah, this all seems a bit outlandish, but hey, when's that stopped us reporting on a juicy story? A 20 year old American woman has sued Justin Bieber, claiming he fathered her three month old baby. She wants the teen star to take a paternity test, and, if her claims are true, to support her child.

Californian Mariah Yeater filed her lawsuit late last month, but it has come to light this week via a report on Radaronline.com, which says that Star magazine has seen the legal papers. They include a signed affidavit in which Yeater claims she met Bieber back stage at an LA gig just over a year ago, and that they had sex in a private room, the teen star claiming it was his "first time". Yeater was nineteen at the time and Bieber would have been sixteen.

Yeater claims that security guards at Bieber's Staples Center concert last October invited her to meet the star backstage. She writes: "Immediately, it was obvious that we were mutually attracted to one another, and we began to kiss. Shortly thereafter, Justin Bieber suggested that I go with him to a private place where we could be alone. I agreed to go with him and on the walk to a private area, he told me he wanted to make love to me and this was going to be his first time".

She continues: "We went inside and immediately his personality changed drastically. He began touching me and repeatedly said he wanted to fuck the shit out of me. At the time I asked him to put a condom for protection, but he insisted that he did not want to. In his own words, he said that because it was his first time he wanted to feel everything".

She says that intercourse was "brief", but it was seemingly rather effective, in the procreation sense anyway. All this would have happened before Bieber started dating current girlfriend Selena Gomez, though would slightly conflict with the singer's own sentiments in an interview he gave to Rolling Stone earlier this year, in which - although not going as far as to disapprove of any sex before marriage - he did say "I don't think you should have sex with anyone unless you love them".

As all these claims are given in a signed affidavit, Yeater faces perjury charges if it turns out everything she says is a big bunch of nonsense. Not that that necessarily means it isn't. Certainly Team Bieber are dismissing pretty much everything the plaintiff has said as a massive pile of lies. A spokesman told TMZ yesterday: "While we haven't yet seen the lawsuit, it's sad that someone would fabricate malicious, defamatory, and demonstrably false claims".

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RIHANNA HOSPITALISED IN SWEDEN
Rihanna was forced to cancel a show in the city of Malmö, Sweden on Monday night after she was admitted to hospital with flu-like symptoms. She was back to normal and able to perform in Stockholm last night though. Organisers hope to reschedule the missed show in the near future.

In a statement the singer said: "I am sorry to everyone who was coming out to my show in Malmö. I was so excited to perform for you all. It would have been a great time... so much better than being sick with the flu, ugh! I'm really disappointed I couldn't be there".

She also posted a picture of her arm hooked up to an IV drip to Twitter, which you can see here if you like that sort of thing: lockerz.com/s/152097044

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FEIST EYES FLAMING LIPS, MASTODON COLLABORATIONS
Leslie Feist has expressed an interest in collaborating with The Flaming Lips and Mastodon, we assume separately. Referring to the Lips, who this year have released EPs in partnership with Neon Indian and Prefuse 73, she told HitFix: "I heard Wayne Coyne is doing a series of collaborations. I need to get in on that, man. We just need find each other in some city while we're on tour. Flaming Lips are one of my favourite bands".

Feist encountered metallers Mastodon on a recent edition of 'Later... With Jools Holland'. She was there to promote her new album 'Metals', while the band were appearing in support of their latest LP 'The Hunter'.

Feist recalls the experience: "[The band's] Brent [Hinds] and I were nodding at each other, and he's like, 'nice riff', and I'm like, 'nice tone'. So backstage I'm thinking about letting these two worlds collide, how they should collide, so I'm like, 'how about 'Metals' meeting metal?' Brent was like: 'Well, I do like that 'Bad In Each Other' song, I could see that'. Maybe now I will look into learning to cover 'Oblivion'... or anything off ['The Hunter']. That album's amazing".

We like Feist.

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AMY WINEHOUSE PRODUCER DEFENDS NEW ALBUM
Amy Winehouse's long-time producer Salaam Remi has defended the decision to release a posthumous collection of songs by Amy Winehouse. As previously reported, 'Lioness: Hidden Treasures' will be released by Universal/Island on 5 Dec, with some covers, demos and two previously unreleased tracks. £1 from each sale will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation.

Remi told NME: "A lot of people, through the other antics that were going on with her personally, didn't get that she was at the top of what she did. Coming to Miami was her escape from all of that, and her writing process could document her life, whether it was recording the pain or the loneliness or the humour. It makes no sense for these songs to be sitting on a hard drive, withering away".

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SOKO ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM
Kooky singing sort Soko has been quite dormant of late, but is now heralding a return to doing things with news of her ridiculously long-awaited debut album, 'I Thought I Was An Alien'.

We're not sure if this is the same expensive-sounding, unlikely-to-ever-come-out studio album she didn't seem too enamoured with (https://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/soko-announces-one-off-show/) in 2009. But whatever it is, it's going to be released via Because Music on 20 Feb 2012.

You can watch the video for the LP's title track below.

youtu.be/bDmvVilFeVQ

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PRINZHORN DANCE SCHOOL DISCUSS FORTHCOMING ALBUM
Post-punk pairing Prinzhorn Dance School have spoken at some length about their forthcoming second album, 'Clay Class', which is scheduled for release by DFA Records on 30 Jan 2012.

While their eponymous debut was often defined by its sparseness and severity, the duo say they have incorporated "some colour and some tenderness" into the sound of their second LP. "If you're going to face up to really difficult underlying themes, sometimes the best way to do that is to let a bit of optimism in there", says co-vocalist Tobin Prinz.

He adds that the album seeks to excavate "empty spaces", both in Britain's physical landscape of "fields; lakes; warehouses; the sea; huge, people-less car-parks" and in terms of "the gaps in our music itself". This, he says, will magnify a sense of 'not belonging' with which he feels "millions of people in this country" can identify.

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BEASTIE BOYS' AD ROCK SCORES OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Beastie Boys' Adam Horowitz (aka Ad Rock) has scored a new play by playwright Israel Horowitz (aka Ad Rock's dad). Entitled 'Gloucester Blue', the show will premiere at the Cherry Lane Theatre off Broadway in New York on 23 Nov and run until 3 Dec, bringing the Barefoot Theatre Company's Stripped Festival to a close.

More information at www.barefoottheatrecompany.org.

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NEW ORDER ANNOUNCE LONDON SHOW
Here's some news that sure to raise Peter Hook's eyebrow (and more likely voice), New Order have announced that they will play a one-off London show at The Troxy on 10 Dec.

As previously reported, New Order reformed to play two shows (without Hook) in Brussels and Paris last month, in order to raise money for the care of ailing director Michael Shamberg. In an interview with Spinner, Hook, who didn't approve of the reunion, even though it was for charity, claimed that the band were actually preparing for a US tour and vowed to "fuck New Order over".

Relive Hook's outburst here: www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/cmu-beef-of-the-week-82-peter-hook-v-new-new-order/

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RED HOT CHILIS TO 'DO' KNEBWORTH AND SUNDERLAND
The British portion of Red Hot Chili Peppers' live 2012 calendar will be confined to two open-air shows, the band have announced. With a sold-out UK run in honour of their tenth album, 'I'm With You', due to begin this weekend, the band will next year play Knebworth Park and Sunderland's Stadium Of Light on 23 and 24 Jun respectively.

Frontman Anthony Keidis says: "Our philosophy is we'll play any day, any time and we're coming to do Knebworth and Sunderland".

And this from Flea: "Hell yeah! I just wanna explode".

Set to go on sale at 9am on 4 Nov, tickets for the Knebworth date are priced at £50. Inexplicably, those for Sunderland are a snip at £45. Now I want to explode.

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SONY ANNOUNCES WESTFIELD PARTNERSHIP
Sony Music has done a deal with the devil. Well, with the owners of the new Westfield shopping centre in East London, but as that place is hell, I'm assuming it's managed by Satan.

So yes, the music major has announced a partnership with the shopping centre company which will see it pump music content onto digital screens around the new East London base of the Westfield empire in Stratford. Which means that shoppers will be able to enjoy video footage of Sony artists like JLS, Westlife and One Direction. Which is kind of appropriate, I mean, that does sound like the sort of TV channel they'd actually have in hell.

There'll also be an artist of the week slot on Sony's in-store music channel, plus regular plugs for stuff on sale in the centre's HMV store.

Says Westfield's Director Of Operations: "Our digital spectacular screens offer a platform for brands such as Sony Music to interact with shoppers in a unique, purchase-oriented environment, and we're delighted to sign this partnership with Sony Music to provide our visitors with a more engaging and cutting-edge shopping experience".

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LIVE NATION AGREES OLYMPIC STAGE DEAL, SOUTHBANK ANNOUNCES SPECIAL WORLD CULTURE FESTIVAL
Boris Johnson has finalised his deal with Live Nation regards live music stages in two London parks during next year's Olympics. Well, his office has, I don't know how involved Boris was personally.

It was announced that the live music conglom would run live entertainment stages in the capital during the London Games back in February, but a full agreement between the live music firm and the Mayor's office has only just been finalised. Live Nation will run its usual stage in Hyde Park and another in Victoria Park in East London, taking on most of the financial risk of the two facilities. In return the company will secure the rights to run twelve commercial concerts in the run up to the Olympics, and other events at key stages of the games, such as the opening and closing ceremonies. The rest of the time people will be able to watch footage of the Olympics and some live entertainment for free on both stages.

Under the agreement the mayor's office will provide £100,000 worth of 'in kind' marketing for the two stages, and additional exposure on the London Underground network. Live Nation will cover the costs of any extra policing required for any events on the stages.

Elsewhere in Olympic events news, London's Southbank Centre has confirmed it will stage an international festival, to be called the Festival Of The World, next summer, from the Diamond Jubilee Weekend on 1 Jun through to the end of the Paralympics on 9 Sep. The aim is for culture, and especially music, from all over the world to be represented, with Bryn Terfel, Baaba Maal, conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra among those already confirmed to appear.

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FACEBOOK PHASES OUT MUSIC PLAYER APP
Facebook is phasing out its official music player app, which allowed page admins to upload an MP3s and add track information, mainly so artists and labels could share music via their news feeds, allowing followers to listen to a song within their browser.

In the same way there have been various rumours over the years that Facebook is about to launch a full-on music service, there have been similar claims the social network was developing a collection of tools for artists to use, adding some of the extra functionality MySpace offered for music types. Little of that ever came to pass, but there were some official Facebook apps - such as the music player - to help those managing music-based Facebook profiles.

But, in much the same way Facebook has opted to enable existing digital music platforms to integrate with its framework rather than launching a rival service, the uber social network has always preferred to let other companies - from YouTube to Soundcloud to the direct-to-fan platforms - empower artists on the social network by providing their own embeddable apps.

Facebook's decision to quietly phase out its existing music player might be a sign it is about to launch a more advanced range of official tools for artists or, more likely, it's part of the social network's strategy to push partner company's services forward instead of offering its own alternatives.

Or, possibly, Facebook's lawyers are worried about the amount of unlicensed music being uploaded via its own MP3 upload widget, and the costs of operating a track takedown system to ensure the firm stays on the right side of US copyright law. As is so often Facebook's policy, much easier to let someone else - aka valued partners - to worry about tedious stuff like that.

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MORE SPOTIFY EXPANSION PLANNED
Hey all you Aussies out there. You know who you are. Well, you might be getting Spotify in a few months time. So that's something to look forward to. Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia are the next targets for the streaming music service's global expansion, according to various sources, with plans to open offices in Sydney and Hong Kong, apparently.

Label deals may have begun in some of those territories, though nothing is finalised just yet. Rumour has it the Australian launch could be as soon as next February, though if all the broken promises of an "imminent American launch" that came before Spotify's actual US launch last July are anything to go by, that means Australians can probably expect the streaming service to go live in their country in 2018.

Back closer to Spotify's home, European expansion continues - it's just launched in Denmark don't you know - though Germany remains a no go territory, thanks to the country's main collecting society GEMA, or to give them its 'Stoppit And Tidyup' name, The Big Bad I Said No.

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AMAZING COVERAGE OF THE AIM AWARDS
The first ever AIM Independent Music Awards are next week. Are you going? Let's hope they've learned from the whole Mercury Music Prize debacle and don't serve fish. I don't like fish. Though, actually, I can't go anyway, so what do I care? I hope the main course is squid.

Anyway, we're not here to talk about the food. Or, for that matter, really, the awards themselves. No, we've gathered here today to discuss five special programmes that will be broadcast on Amazing Radio next week to mark the occasion of the inaugural AIM awards, and to celebrate the UK's indie music scene and all that malarkey.

The shows will air at 9pm from Sunday through to Thursday, and will focus on labels Bella Union, Tri-Angle, Fierce Panda, The Leaf Label and Transgressive, followed on Thursday by coverage of the awards themselves led by Gill Mills.

You can listen to Amazing Radio online at amazingradio.co.uk.

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FBI CLASSIFIES INSANE CLOWN POSSE FANS AS A GANG
The FBI has included fans of hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse, or Juggalos as they're known, in its latest National Gang Threat Assessment report.

Referring to them as a street gang, the report says: "The Juggalos, a loosely-organised hybrid gang, are rapidly expanding into many US communities. Although recognised as a gang in only four states, many Juggalo subsets exhibit gang-like behaviour and engage in criminal activity and violence - law enforcement officials in at least 21 states have identified criminal Juggalo subsets".

It also notes that branches of Juggalos can be found in the US Army and Air Force. Although, if you dug around enough, I'm sure you could say all of this about Smiths fans too.

Should you have any fears about how sinister Juggalos might be, watch this short documentary made by director Sean Dunne at this year's Gathering Of The Juggalos festival: vimeo.com/29589320

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PIERS MORGAN MAKES 50 CENT THE MOST UNCOOL RAPPER OF ALL TIME
Poor old 50 Cent, he spends all those years building up his reputation for being cool by getting shot and buying platinum mines, and then Piers Morgan destroys it all in a matter of moments. The disgraced tabloid editor turned US talk show host revealed on Monday night that he works out to Fiddy's 'In Da Club'. I can literally never listen to that track again now.

In an interview with 50 Cent, Morgan said: "No one is going to believe me when I say this, but I work out to that song. Literally it's on my iPod. It's the top of my gym collection. It never fails to get me going. It's one of the great workout songs ever".

The rapper responded: "The problem with that kind of song, Piers, is you got to create something that's equivalent to it. Every day, it's someone's birthday, so it's relevant all over again. That's the old reliable 'I can't move the crowd, put it on'. It's going to work".

No, the problem with that kind of song is that it now makes me think of Piers Morgan sweating. I feel a bit sick.

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