Cure frontman Robert Smith has come out swinging against iTunes over the UK pricing of the group's new remix EP, 'Hypnagogic States.'

In an expletive laden e-mail to the company, posted in its entirety on the Cure's official blog, Smith says iTunes "has managed to f--- this up to another level!" before advising fans who are easily "offended by colourful language" to look away.

"I f---ing despair again," Smith writes. "'Hypnagogic States' EP is now up on iTunes ... 5 Tracks for £7.99? For f---'s sake! And the package is completely missing the extra bonus track (65DOS Alt Remix of 'The Only One'). Who the f--- is going to pay this and not feel totally ripped off? It's not a f---ing album! It's a 5 Track EP. This is so totally wrong. Why is it so incredibly difficult to get anything done right? Please fix this now. I am posting this as I feel upset."

Phil Spector is being sued for unpaid royalties by a number of his former artists, including his ex-wife and Ronettes frontwoman, one Ronnie Greenfield (a.k.a. Ronnie Spector), Darlene Love (who sang lead on several Crystals hits as well as recording under her own name) and Fanita James -- who was in Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans with Love -- are among the others listed as plaintiffs in the suit against the famed yet troubled record producer and his three companies.

Legendary for his Wall of Sound approach in the studio, Phil Spector has allegedly skipped making twice-yearly royalty payments to the aforementioned artists. The suit claims that "despite due demand, Spector has wrongfully refused and continues wrongfully to refuse to account to or to pay plaintiffs the amounts owed."

The documents, obtained by TMZ.com, insist that "each of the plaintiffs has been injured as a result of Spector's breaches of contract or, in the case of the Ronettes, of a stipulated judgment in such amount as they shall prove at trial."

Spector is no stranger to the courtroom, spending much of 2007 on trial for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who died at his California home. Ruled a mistrial last September when jurors couldn't agree unanimously on a guilty verdict, the case is set to be retried on September 29.

U2 plans to auction off a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which has been hanging at their studio in Dublin for the past 20 years, at a Sotheby's Contemporary Art auction in London on July 1. The painting, purchased by the band in 1989 after being spotted at a New York gallery by bassist Adam Clayton, is expected to sell for as much as $11.7 million.

The 6-foot-square acrylic, oil stick and collage canvas -- which was created in 1982 when the artist was 22 years old -- isn't expected to rival the auction record for a Basquiat work, which was $14.6 million, reports Bloomberg. Basquiat -- who had an interest in music that he manifested through his art -- died in 1988 of a drug overdose.

Known as 'Untitled (Pecho/Oreja),' and featuring Basquiat's trademark primitive mask motif, Clayton found the piece at the Robert Miller Gallery and convinced his bandmates to collectively buy the painting.

We knew Lily Allen had modeling chops. Just look at the provocative pose she struck when she visited our Sessions studio. The lippy Brit, who is noticeably slimmer as of late, signed a reported six-figure contract with the Agent Provocateur lingerie company. The shapely figures of supermodel (and Allen gal pal) Kate Moss, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and pin-up Dita Von Teese have served as past spokes-bosoms for the lingerie line.

A company insider said that the English panty and perfume producers are thrilled with Allen's participation because "her natural look will appeal to a lot of women." And men, apparently. Allen has attributed her weight loss partly to her new boyfriend, Chemical Brothers musician Ed Simons. "My losing weight is down to love," the singer said. Awww.

Look out for Lily in her unmentionables this Spring, when the campaign will reportedly kick off. UPDATE: Agent Provocateur has denied Lily's involvement.

Watch Lily's live performance of 'LDN/NAN'

In 1964, the Beatles famously sang the lyric "money -- that's what I want." New Beatles No. 62 the Bay City Rollers had a Top 10 hit with 'Money Honey' in 1976. Cynics might say that's all those two groups have in common. But if a lawsuit introduced by the Scottish teenybopper fivesome in U.S. District Court in New York is decided in their favor, the band members will be getting paid some Beatles-level big bank.

You'd think that a person who's had no discernible source of income for, oh, a decade or so wouldn't be terribly familiar with the intricacies of the current tax code -- but that's not stopping Vanilla Ice from leaping into the fray and addressing that pressing topic with one of his typically incisive rhymes.

The artist formerly known as Rob Van Winkle -- or, depending on the situation, "hey, waiter!" -- has hooked up with the folks at Intuit software, who decided that it'd be a grand idea to promote the latest version of their TurboTax software with a ditty titled 'Tax Rap.' While we have to admit there's something a bit heart-warming about hearing the phrase "audit defense maximizer" in a song not written by Coheed and Cambria, we'd still be more likely to pony up for the product if it were endorsed by MC Hammer -- who's no doubt far more familiar with the inside of an IRS office.

Lesser-known, but still-great music often doesn't get the exposure it deserves. FM radio sure as hell doesn't play it. MTV doesn't even play videos while normal people are awake. For better or worse, commercials and TV shows have stepped in to get real artists paid and exposed to the masses.



Goldfrapp is no stranger to promoting music via TV, movies and advertising. Case in point: high-profile placement in 'Marie Antoinette,' 'Sex & the City,' 'The Sopranos' and 'Desperate Housewives,' and spots for iTunes, Pepsi and Verizon. Keep reading to find out about more indie artists who've hit it big with commercial exposure.

I watched the premiere of the new NBC sci-fi show 'Heroes' last night, and all I could think was, "Stan Lee gon' sue somebody!" They were even ballsy enough to mention X-Men in one scene.

If you're a closet geek like me, you'll likely love the show. There are the aforementioned echoes of X-Men, and plenty of tips-of-the-hat to 'Lost.' And even if you're not a secret geek, the soundtrack is already promising, with an excellent track from Rogue Wave making a prominent appearance. The song was 'Eyes,' and it originally appeared on the soundtrack to a crappy comedy called 'Just Friends.'

You can snag the Rogue Wave song on iTunez here, and watch the entire 'Heroes' pilot online here.

And while we're talking about Rogue Wave, don't forget about their benefit concert on September 30.