R. Kelly might be an alright guy. There’s a distinct possibility that all the charges levied against him in the past 15 or so years have been false. But the sheer number of charges kinda makes me thing that the smoove R&B crooner is into some inappropriate shit. Looking at his Lawsuits on Wikipedia is a very entertaining read. The latest trial news is always entertaining.

Before Kelly’s trial began on May 9 2008, the case had dragged on for five years without a trial and had originated with 21 counts of child pornography filed against him in 2002 for allegedly videotaping himself having sex with an allegedly underage girl. Seven of the charges were dropped due to misuse of the exact language in the law, though the singer still faced 14 of the charges. Kelly, 41, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. [14]

The infamous tape was played in court yesterday, and according to the NY Daily News, it’s all going to come down to the mole on R. Kelly’s back. Purportedly, the man on the tape had no such marking.

The body of evidence in the R.Kelly kiddie-porn case could come down to this: a mole on the R&B raunchmeister’s back.
During opening arguments in his sex-tape trial Tuesday, the defense said the singer couldn’t possibly be the man who cavorted with a girl as young as 13.
Kelly, 41, has a “significant” mole on his lower middle back, one that’s been there since childhood, said lawyer Sam Adam Jr.
And the man seen performing a variety of explicit sex acts on the raw video made between 1998 and 2000?
“There is no mole on his back,” Adam told jurors in a packed Chicago courtroom.
“Robert Kelly is not on that tape. … Not a single witness can tell you that is him on the tape.”

When the tape was played for the jury, it showed a man handing a female money at the beginning of their encounter and leaving more at the end.
In between, there are sex acts on a bearskin rug. The young woman dances for the man, and he urges her, “Dance faster, baby.” She calls him “Daddy.”
A rapt jury watched the tape in dim light on a 4-foot screen while Kelly sat grim-faced a few feet away. Kelly was indicted on child porn charges six years ago after the tape - now “People’s Exhibit No. 1″ - was sent to a Chicago Sun-Times reporter.
A prosecutor told the jury the tape was an R. Kelly production from start to finish, one that the Grammy winner “created, staged, produced and starred in.”

Nothing like 21 counts of child pornography to make you create the most compelling video/movie/soap opera in history. The next 20 minutes of your life will never be returned to you:

This is a bit atypical of the bands that we generally choose for Synthesis Band of the Day. No horn-rimmed glasses, waifish broads with ugly indie-rock haircuts, ‘roid-bicep hardcore meatheads, striped sweater wussies or epic Dungeons & Dragons progressive metalheads. No, Phredley brings the funk-rock.

In my fledgling college days, back when tie-dye wasn’t as vomitous and my roommate’s constant Phish-Grateful Dead-Phish musical rotation didn’t drive me completely bonkers, I would have broken my left leg to check out a band like Phredley. Now bad photoshop effects kinda irk me, patchouli oil makes me want to hurl and hippie funk in general just pisses me off. But not Phredley. They’s alright.

Based around a brother-sister duo (Phred Brown on Vocals, Guitar & Horns; Alesha Brown on Keys & Vocals) and a rhythm section (Paul Loos, Drums & Vocals; Samuel Tobias Winn, Bass & Vocals) Phredley lays down funk that is far closer to the heart of nearby Detroit than that of longhair revivalists in Colorado or Vermont. And when they stray toward the pop side of the spectrum, it comes across more as radio-friendly than looking for a parking lot miracle. More importantly (for me at least), their lyrics hold water. With the aforementioned hippie-funk enthusiasts, it’s most often the lyrics that drive me to enraged hysterics; Phredley uses some clever (or nearly clever) turns of phrase. No, Phred’s not Leonard Cohen by any means, but in a sometimes poppy, sometimes rocky funk quartet, it works. Their track “The Truth About Capricorns” also has some pretty, Beatelesque, tonally complex passages. If you’re a big fan of Ben Harper/Jack Johnson/Maroon 5, or your ’70s R&B records don’t have much dust on them, do yourself a favor and look into Phredley.

This is your chance to be in a band that will back Beyonce…’s sister. Solange Knowles is embarking on her own solo career with the Aug. 2008 release of her first album Soul Angel (Geffen). Here are the particulars:

WHO: Solange Knowles, together with Kim Burse of BCreative Productions and Music World Entertainment.

WHAT: Solange Knowles will be holding auditions for singers, bands and individual band members with a great look, strong musicianship and stage presence to become members of Hadley Street Dreams, her band. All members must be able to dance.

WHEN: Thursday, March 6, 2008 from 12:00PM thru 6:00PM. Audition sign up will end promptly at 3:00PM.

WHERE: SIR Studios

6465 West Sunset Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90028

WHY: The Hadley Street Dreams, a 60s-inspired full band, will perform all live shows with Solange in support of her upcoming album to be released this August 2008 on Geffen Records, Soul Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams. Needed are:

2 female background singers (must be able to sing, dance and harmonize)

1 drummer

1 guitar player

2 keyboardists

1 bass player (must be able to play upright as well)

CONTACT: To RSVP for auditions, send an e-mail to AuditionRSVP@musicworldent.com. If you are unable to make the audition, you may also upload your audition video to the official Hadley Street Dreams Audition Myspace: myspace.com/hadleystreetdreams.

Welcome To Soulville.

I don’t care who you are or where you’re from, it all comes down to soul music. It’s the plasma that runs through the veins of popular music, and at the heart you find the imitable Stax records. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the label’s birth, Stax is releasing three DVDs: Dreams To Remember: The Legacy Of Otis Redding , Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story , and Stax/ Volt Revue-live in Norway 1967. YOu can read about them in depth after the jump.

Here’s some Otis to get you started:

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