U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. is speaking out in criticism of frontman Bono over his bandmate's relationship with politicians. Mullen says he is specifically distressed by the singer's relationship former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"My biggest problem really is sometimes the company that he keeps," Mullen says in the new issue of Q magazine. "And I struggle with that. Particularly the political people, less the financial people. Particularly Tony Blair -- I mean, I think Tony Blair's a war criminal. And I think he should be tried as a war criminal. And then I see Bono and him as pals, and I'm going, 'I don't like that.'

Courtney Love says she's "a fur whore." In fact, the publicity-starved onetime Hole frontwoman says that PETA can "f--- off" if they don't like it.

It's all part of a recent MySpace post, where she writes, "If its [sic] 100 years old, I'm f--ing into it. Sorry PETA. I've been very, very good for a very, very long time, and this ermine is ancient and tattered and feels like it belonged to a Queen.

"I know, I know," Love acquiesces with a wee bit of guilt. "Maybe ill just stare at it, but f-- off if I wear it, I KNOW what I'm doing."

Meanwhile, in the great debate over whether 'Californication' is better than 'Entourage,' the Widow Cobain says she prefers the former, which stars David Duchovny. "'Californication' is hot and somehow I get the feeling 'Mulder' isn't in Kansas anymore," Love blogs. "As I'm a poster child for movie jail, I sometimes relate more to 'Californication' than I do 'Entourage.'"

The folks at EMI are none too happy with Lily Allen now that her cover of Britney Spears' 'Womanizer' is available all over the Web. The British singer is blaming Mark Ronson, however, for playing it unedited on the radio, so it's like, totally not her fault.

According to Allen's MySpace blog, she recorded the track -- which won't be on her upcoming album, 'It's Not Me, It's You' -- because she loves both Spears and the song. "It wasn't my intention for it to have whizzed round the world like it has," she writes.

Eric Clapton credits guns with increasing the value of his social interaction. Well, sorta. The guitar legend doubles as the co-owner of the Mayfair shop, Cordings, which outfits clientele of the hunting, shooting and fishing variety.

"I'm not really that gregarious," the 63-year-old musician told the Art Newspaper. "And shooting with groups of people up and down the country has taught me a lot about how to get on with my fellow human beings."

Brian May has claimed that for years he was unaware that Freddie Mercury was gay. The Queen guitarist says that he and the band's frontman were very close -- especially in the early days of the band -- yet he was virtually clueless about the flamboyant singer's homosexuality because he had a number of girlfriends.

"No, I didn't know. I don't think even he was fully cognizant in the beginning," May told British newspaper The Daily Express. "You're talking to someone who shared rooms with Fred on the first couple of tours, so I knew him pretty well.

"I knew a lot of his girlfriends and he certainly didn't have boyfriends, that's for sure," added May, who recently earned a Ph.D. in physics. "I think there was a slight suspicion, but it never occurred to me that he was gay."

If you thought Slipknot's Corey Taylor might be a closet Coldplay fan, you can lay that ridiculous notion to rest. The masked metal man described the British band's 'Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends' as "one of the most self-celebratory pieces of s--- I've ever f---ing heard in my entire f---ing life."

A guest on MTV UK, Taylor was asked to give his opinion on the album when he let loose with criticism that deserves a Parental Advisory sticker. He made sure to address singer Chris Martin personally, saying, "Go suck a f---ing d---. Are you watching, Martin? Suck it. Go eat a bag of s---." To drive his point home, he continued, "I f---ing hate that album. It's music to wipe your ass to."

Martin has yet to respond to the slagging of his megahit album. Somewhere, Joe Satriani is smiling.

While the courts will have to decide Joe Satriani's allegations of plagiarism in the case of the recent Coldplay smash 'Viva La Vida,' the estate of Jeff Buckley will probably have an easier time settling with the group, based on Chris Martin's revelation to BBC Radio 1 on Thursday.

Discussing his band's 2000 single 'Shiver,' the Coldplay frontman told host Chris Moyles, "It's a blatant Jeff Buckley attempt. Not quite as good, that's what I think. We were 21 and he was very much a hero, and as with those things it tends to filter through."

Martin also admitted that he thought Coldplay's gigs at London 's O2 Arena this past week were pretty rotten. "I would give them a three out of ten," he revealed.

At long last, Chris Cornell has gotten his guitars back from his ex-wife. The singer's prized collection of axes were the fruits of a long-standing lawsuit against his former spouse and one-time manager Susan Silver.

"I was dusting off the fifteen or so guitars that I recently had returned to me," he wrote on his blog. "Someone had decided that maybe the tools of my trade and guitars I played on my entire catalog should be in their possession forever." That catalog spans Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and Audioslave, in addition to his solo outings.

"It seems to me that some strangely desperate people involved in the music business forget that they are not the ones that write these songs, spill their guts and expose themselves to the public on the most personal level," he wrote.

"We invent this s--- and f---ing own it, and no matter what, nothing will change that."

The Stone Roses may reform in 2009 if the band's bass player Mani gets his wish. Mani -- who currently plays in Primal Scream -- reports that three of the four original members would like to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band's watershed self-titled debut album, with frontman Ian Brown the lone hold out.

Speaking to Channelbee, the bassist said, "Me, [guitarist] John [Squire], and [drummer] Reni are up for doing it and Ian just needs some working on. It's the ideal time to do it. It's something I would love to do before we are all fat and bald. Start the campaign."

Of course, Brown -- who continues to record solo albums -- doesn't seem interested. But Mani believes he can convince the stubborn singer to come around.

Squire was the source of the band's split when he quit the Stone Roses after the 1994 release of the band's sophomore album, 'Second Coming,' to form his short-lived band the Seahorses. Although the band continued on without the guitarist, they ultimately disbanded in 1996.

Axl Rose broke his silence Thursday night with his first interview -- sorta -- since the release of the 15-plus-years-in-the-making 'Chinese Democracy.' The elusive Guns N' Roses frontman unexpectedly took to the message boards of GN'R-related sites like Here Today ... Gone to Hell and MyGNR.com to answer questions posed by his fans.

"What I have to say a lot of people have no desire to hear," he said regarding his silence. He also responded to an allegation that he was a recluse, prone to ignore fans, writing, "Your misconceptions and fantasies along with your misguided sense of entitlement don't dictate my actions."