Weekend Round Up: Beastie Boys, Kanye West, Grammys, Starbucks, David Berman

You may have been kickin’ it with a cold one (or six) all weekend, blissfully oblivious to the outside world, but the music world never sleeps! Here are a few headlines that you might’ve missed in the past couple of days:

• Despite a cameo in M.I.A.‘s video for her Grammy-nominated “Paper Planes,” the Beastie Boys denied claims that the female rapper would be featured on their new album. The release date for the new album is unknown (although MTV speculates a May date), but the Boys did speak out about a 20th anniversary re-release of “Paul’s Boutique”:

“The other day at the studio, we saw the artwork for the CD,” Mike D said. “And it finally looks proper. After years in the making, on its 20th anniversary, it’s going to finally be correct.”

“We remastered it too,” MCA added. “So now it actually does have enough bass to shatter your one frozen testicle.”

• Amazon.com lists the re-release date for “Paul’s Boutique” as Feb. 10.
• Kanye West is making headlines again – and not for his inauguration performance. The egocentric rapper posted on his blog last week in response to to rumors that he will appear in a bi-sexual pornographic film. West denied the stories, claiming that someone had been hacking into his online accounts and sending out false e-mails. I wouldn’t put it past him to pull this kind of publicity stunt, but thank everything-that-is-good-in-the-world we didn’t have to see Kanye with his pants down.
• Justin Timberlake, Lil’ Wayne, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift will perform on Katie Couric’s “All Access Grammy Special,” which will be broadcast Feb. 4 on CBS. The show is a precursor to the 51st Annual Grammys Feb. 8 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.
• This piece of news might make you hopeful… or possibly nauseous. Just in time (or way too soon, depending on how you look at it) for Valentine’s Day, Starbucks has announced the Jan. 30 release of a 2-disc indie love songs compilation. “Sweetheart: Our Favorite Artists Sing Their Favorite Love Songs” will include Rogue Wave, Katy Perry and Death Cab For Cutie among others. View the full track list here.
• David Berman unexpectedly announced on Drag City’s message board that his longtime band, Silver Jews, have met their end. His post indicates that the band’s Jan. 31 show in McMinnville, TN will be their last. Berman provided this explanation:

“I guess I am moving over to another category. Screenwriting or muckraking. I’ve got to move on. Can’t be like all the careerists doncha know. I’m 42 and I know what to do. I’m a writer, see?” Read the full post here.

Photos available via MySpace.