He might not mind disturbing the peace with a bass-heavy DJ set, but Fatboy Slim draws the line at ticking off his mom. The artist formerly known as Norman Cook had to say sorry to mommy dearest after he was spotted giving the universal signal for "my team's better than your team" during an internationally televised World Cup match between England and Nigeria. Cook told London's Daily Record that mum chewed him out for showing off in front of an audience estimated at nearly 600 million people, noting "there's you trying to be an international ambassador, and you went and did a V-sign" . . .
While we've been in a considerably less doom-and-gloom mood in recent months, we still think we know a sign of the apocalypse when we see one -- and the upcoming Toto album certainly qualifies. Lest you think we're overreacting, it's not the mere existence of new music by Steve Lukather and Company that's got us on edge. It's the fact that the disc is comprised entirely of cover tunes, including a, shall we say, "one of a kind" rendition of Elvis Costello's "Watching the Detectives." In a press release, Lukather noted that he decided to dip into ol' Declan's well after reading a comment about the disdain Costello had for every note ever played by Toto. Now if only we could get that goober from Deicide to go on the record about his Toto-phobia, we might have an interesting follow-up . . .
Moby, who was well on his way to becoming America's most successful jingle writer the last time we checked, has decided to shelve -- at least temporarily -- his career in the ad biz. The thinking man's Darrin Stephens, who licensed every single song from Play to hawk credit cards, cars and other sundries, has decided that his latest offering, 18, is to be a commercial-free zone. Given the possibilities -- Smucker's weaving a tune out of "Jam for the Ladies," for instance -- we're hoping the Mobester will reconsider . . .
Attempting to strike a blow for all those folks whose social lives were derailed by the advent of caller ID, Eric Leon Christian has filed a $20 million lawsuit against Janet Jackson -- who he claims unfairly had him branded a stalker in the media from coast to coast. The Nasty Girl slapped the Wannabe Nasty Boy with a restraining order in November of 1997, alleging that he assaulted her and threatened her over the course of nearly a hundred unwanted phone calls -- charges that Christian disputes. His suit alleges that being dubbed a lunatic by various media outlets has hampered his ability to get work in showbiz -- a charge that we suggest Miss Jackson defuse by calling, say Mariah Carey, Axl Rose and her brother as witnesses.
DAVID SPRAGUE
(June 14, 2002)