It seems like each passing week presents us with a dozen or so CDs that threaten to render us comatose -- but one that has the opposite effect? Well, those are few and far between. Apparently, we can officially add Green Day's American Idiot to the shortlist of the latter, since a British woman claims a mere spin of the disc helped her nine-year-old son emerge from a coma last week. According to the BBC, Corey George of Aberdare Wales was comatose for two weeks after being hit by a car, but woke from his slumber one hour after being exposed to the album, one of his favorites. Since we've always been big supporters of alternative medicine, we're happy to see Billie Joe Armstrong classified right alongside leeches in the Big Book of Offbeat Cures . . .
Admittedly, we've never been to law school, but we know enough about Superman comics to recognize a Bizarro-world defense when we hear one. That's exactly the path R. Kelly's lawyers decided to take last week when they tried out a new method of defending their client against child pornography charges by arguing that laws against child pornography are, in and of themselves, unconstitutional. A Chicago area judge didn't buy the argument and refused to grant the summary dismissal of charges that the Chocolate Factory operator had hoped for. Guess that means Michael Jackson's henchmen will have to strike that "age of consent? What age of consent?" argument from their playbook as well . . .
In a move that will no doubt swell New York's unemployment rolls with scores of folks well-versed in fields such as hanging out, being down and chilling, landlords of Big Apple radio station Hot 97 have issued an edict saying that any rapper making an on-site appearance will have their posse limited to one person. The demand, laid down after a gunfight broke out between folks involved with 50 Cent and the Game, was also accompanied by the request that rappers make appointments, rather than stroll into the studios on a whim. We can only imagine how difficult it'll be for Eminem to decide between his pedicurist and his cappuccino guy when it comes down to choosing that all-important plus-one . . .
While we've never really thought that any of the participants in P. Diddy's Making the Band series could actually learn anything about music from the Puffster, we can confirm that his Diddiness has succeeded in spreading the theory that one should slap his name on every product in sight. Witness the new endorsement deal signed by former Da Band member Chopper, whose image will adorn countless bags of pork rinds that Evans food group will be rolling out as part of their Rap Snacks line. Besides Chopper's smiling face, the bits of fried pig detritus will also be wrapped in motivational messages such as "seize every opportunity." Sounds promising, but we'll hold out for a bag that actually explains exactly what part of a swine "rinds" come from . . .