Right now, songs by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon can be found in the top 15 of the U.S. charts. McCartney is up there at Number 3 with his new album, Memory Almost Full; George Harrison and his fellow Traveling Wilburys took the Number 9 spot with the repackaged version of their two albums; the Amnesty International-benefiting album Instant Karma, which features major contemporary acts covering John Lennon tunes, came in at Number 15.As the tenth anniversary of the release of Lauryn Hill’s debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill fast approaching, Sony Music continues to suggest that we’ll see a follow up to that record soon. Not that anything solid like a release date has been set.The Smashing Pumpkins have released four different track lists for their much-anticipated forthcoming album, Zeitgeist. There’s the standard 12 track version of the album plus three other releases available at Best Buy, Target and iTunes respectively, each of which will each have a different bonus track. At least they aren’t pretending this reunion isn’t about money.Both the American Idol people and Kelly Clarkson’s reps are denying the rumor that, in the wake of the cancellation of her own tour, Clarkson has been offered some kind of cameo spot on this summer’s American Idol tour.Woody Allen will try his hand at directing opera this fall when he stages the Los Angeles Opera’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.” “I have no idea what I am doing, but incompetence has never prevented me from plunging in with enthusiasm,” Allen said of the project.Jack White has decided to respond to the now ancient news story detailing his irate call to a Chicago radio DJ after she played the entirety of Icky Thump on air before its release date. “Jack White, the singer and songwriter, isn’t reacting to you,” the White Stripes frontman explained. “It’s the president of Third Man Records - our record label - calling you and asking for an explanation. (They reacted) like I called up and threatened to burn down the building or something, for God’s sake.”
Photo: Getty