• Jackson’s Public Memorial Confirmed
• Watch Jackson at His Final Rehearsals
• Jackson Memorial Proposed for July 7th
• Drake Debuts Kanye-Directed Video
• What Should Happen to Neverland Ranch?
• DEA Joins Jackson Investigation
• Reznor Honored For Helping Fan
• Foo Fighters to Rock D.C. July 4th Bash
• Play: Moby’s Track by Track Guide
• New Music Report: Regina Spektor
• Obama Calls Jackson “One of Our Greatest”
• Film Featuring Jack White Goes to Comic-Con
• Rihanna Moonlights as Tattoo Artist
• Steve Howe Talks Yes/Asia Tour
• Weekend Rock List: American Tunes
• Jackson’s Will Names Diana Ross Guardian
• U2 Launch 360 Tour With Call to Space
• Aerosmith in Boston: Backstage Photos
• Watch Britney Spears’ “Radar” Video
• Inside DJ Hero With Grandmaster Flash
• Jay-Z Talks Ditching Def Jam, New Deals
• Kevin Jonas Gets Engaged
• Crosby, Stills and Nash on 40 Years of Music
• Breaking: Screaming Females
• Al Jardine: “Fleet Foxes Are Awesome”
• Sharpton Defends Jackson at Apollo Tribute
• Stevie Wonder Ignites Montreal Jazz Fest
• Mariah Dresses Like Eminem for “Obsessed”
• Hear Levon Helm’s Take on “Tennessee Jed”

Scroll down for full news stories, commentary and much more in Rock Daily.

Michael Jackson’s public memorial will be held Tuesday, July 7th at 10:00 a.m. at Los Angeles’ Staples Center, the sight of the superstar’s final rehearsals for his This Is It! run of London concerts. A family spokesman told the Los Angeles Times yesterday that 11,000 tickets will be passed out for the free event and a press conference hosted by concert promoter AEG today confirmed how those tickets will be distributed.

Fans interested in attending the Jackson memorial can log on to StaplesCenter.com today through 6 p.m. PT Saturday. 17,500 tickets total will be made available: 11,000 for entrance to the Staples Center and 6,500 for neighboring Nokia Theatre, which will simulcast the memorial on three screens. 8,750 registered fans will be selected at random and receive two tickets apiece; they will receive a Ticketmaster code on Sunday between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. that will allow them to pick up tickets and wristbands on Monday at an undisclosed location. No tickets will be physically distributed at the Staples Center or Nokia Theatre. “It was our wish to allow as many of Michael’s fans to be part of the memorial, and we wish to thank everyone for their support and understanding at this difficult time,” Jackson Family said in a statement. (more…)

Photo:Kevin Mazur/AEG Live via Getty Images

• Rock Daily continued to cover the death of Michael Jackson: The King of Pop’s tangled financial web, the planned Staples Center memorial service, the 2002 will naming Diana Ross as guardian, the This Is It! rehearsal video and photos, the fate of Neverland and much more. Keep up with all the breaking Jackson news here.

• We caught Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Rock and Rebels opener, saw Aerosmith perform Toys in the Attic on Long Island and ventured north of the border to see Stevie Wonder pay homage to Michael Jackson at the Montreal Jazz Festival.
• Jay-Z recruited LeBron James and Harvey Keitel for his “D.O.A.” video, Kanye West stepped behind the camera to direct Drake’s nearly pornographic “Best I Ever Had,” Britney Spears bored our readers with her “Radar” and Mariah Carey dressed up as Eminem for “Obsessed.”
• U2 kicked off their massive 360 Tour and debuted “the Claw” with a hits-filled concert in Barcelona that also featured Bono placing a phone call to astronauts and a tribute to the King of Pop.

Photo courtesy of EVH & JVH via High Profile Media

Eddie Van Halen tied the knot again this week, marrying Janie Liszewski, who walked down to Van Halen’s “When It’s Love” performed by the Sonus Quartet. A familiar reverend (Alex Van Halen) performed the ceremony, and Van Halen bassist (and son) Wolfgang gave his dad away. Mariah Carey also got dressed up this week — as a man — to shoot her video for new single “Obsessed,” and Jamie Foxx donned his best Michael Jackson jacket while performing an homage to the King of Pop during the BET Awards.

On the live front, Bob Dylan took the stage as his ballpark tour kick-off draws near, and U2 debuted their innovative stage Claw in Barcelona. Plus we’ve got amazing live shots of MGMT, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, the Feelies and Explosions in the Sky. Check out both sets of photos right here:

• Random Notes: Van Halen, U2, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder and the Week in Rock
• The Week in Live Shots: U2, Bob Dylan, Kid Rock, MGMT and More

As the August anniversary of Woodstock approaches, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland is taking a look back at rock’s historic fest in a new exhibit that opens tomorrow called “Woodstock: The 40th Anniversary.” Go behind the scenes with curator Howard Kramer as he outlines some of its highlights — like the vest fest co-producer Michael Lang wore all three days of peace, love and rock & roll as well as the documents listing who was playing and how much they were paid. The exhibit, which runs through late November, also includes a press release from when the fest was scheduled to go down at Wallkill, New York (”Woodstock does not figure on gate crashers”) and Lang’s original handwritten plans for the event.

Plus, go inside the new book The Road to Woodstock in exclusive excerpts here:

• “The Road to Woodstock”: The Stories Behind Rock History

The New Music Report’s Christian Rock! kicks off this week with Regina Spektor, who scored her highest chart debut with her new third album, Far. The New Yorker via Moscow is a classically trained pianist as well as an appealing weirdo, like Fiona Apple and Bjürk combined, says Christian Hoard. Her vocal hiccups (there’s even a dolphin impression on the record) can be indulgent, but she has pop songwriting gifts. Spektor’s confessionals grab you by the lapels without getting maudlin or overly emotional. Hoard says Far is a brightly produced album, but it’s also pretty straightforward, featuring piano, strings, percussion and keyboards. This time around Spektor’s lyris are deep and open — she’s sad on “Laughing With” but also whimsical on “Dance Anthem of the 80’s” where she wanders around the city with her slip showing. Hoard says he’s a fan because Spektor doesn’t try like she’s trying hard. (more…)

Photo: snitcherdesk.com/Splash News

Rihanna’s love of tattoos is no secret, as it seems like every time the “Umbrella” singer is photographed, she’s sporting new ink somewhere. According to MTV, RiRi took her painful hobby to a new extreme yesterday at New York tattoo parlor East Side Ink, trying her hand at being a tattoo artist by inscribing the letter “R” into the bodies of the parlor staff. MTV says Rihanna initially came in to get lessons from her personal tattoo artist BangBang, but the student soon became the teacher when Rihanna tattooed BangBang and two other artists, plus East Side Ink owner Yadira, who got an “R” on his leg as well. “We had a blast,” Yadira told MTV. “It was so funny and cute.” And, apparently, illegal.

TMZ reports that, following news of Rihanna’s tattoo clinic, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said they’d go to East Side Ink to investigate the incident. “Only licensed tattoo artists can administer tattoos in the city according to the City’s Health Code. We are sending someone down to follow up on this,” the NYC Health Department told TMZ, who have video of Rihanna putting her permanent art on the parlor workers. The whole tatting incident might cost Rihanna, literally: If the singer is charged, the misdemeanors carry fines of $300 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for the third. If an investigation is opened up, East Side Ink might face some fines from the New York Health Department as well.

Photo: Wong/Getty

Throngs of fans and media descended on Neverland Ranch following Michael Jackson’s death last week, demonstrating once again how the 2,800-acre property in California’s Santa Barbara County is synonymous with the King of Pop. However, plans for a Neverland public memorial and burial have been abandoned, and it’s unclear what will become of the cultural landmark now. Jackson himself left the land after his second trial for child-molestation charges (the police search of his home “violated” it, he said), and in November 2008 the ranch’s deed was transferred to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company, LLC and billionaire Thomas Barrack, a casualty of Jackson’s mounting debt, according to the Santa Barbara EdHat. The property’s amusement park rides were removed, and Jackson memorabilia headed to the auction block.

(Get a look at Neverland’s historic contents.)

So what should become of Neverland now? A few suggestions:

Neverland, the Graceland: While the mayor of Gary, Indiana lobbies for the Jackson family to establish a museum dedicated to their lives in Jackson’s former hometown, turning Neverland into a public museum much like Elvis Presley’s Graceland seems like the most obvious idea, given the fame surrounding the property. (more…)

Photo: Wong/Getty
President Barack Obama has commented publicly about the death of Michael Jackson, telling the AP “I grew up on his music — still have all his stuff on my iPod.” Obama added that Jackson “will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers.” As Rock Daily previously reported, Obama personally sent a letter of condolence to the Jackson family, the contents of which were not revealed.

“I think that his brilliance as a performer also was paired with a tragic and, in many ways, sad personal life,” Obama said. “I’m glad to see that he is being remembered primarily for the great joy that he brought to a lot of people through his extraordinary gifts as an entertainer.” (more…)

Photo: Mazur/WireImage

The stars and stripes will be out in full force as Independence Day is upon us, and to celebrate the July 4th weekend this Rock List to dedicated to the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. The songs don’t necessarily have to be patriotic; they just need to have “America” in the title. On Monday, we’ll count up the Readers’ favorites and reveal the Rock List: American Songs. Before you get distracted by fireworks and barbecues, check out our picks:

• Estelle – “American Boy”
• Prince – “America”
• LCD Soundsystem – “North American Scum”
• Tom Petty – “American Girl”
• David Bowie – “I’m Afraid of Americans”

Photo: McCarty/WireImage

When Rolling Stone discovered Yes would be teaming with Asia for a summer trek that would have members of King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer and the singer of a Yes cover band onstage, we promptly proclaimed it the proggiest tour of all time. Ian Drew grabbed a few moments with the man pulling double-duty in both bands, Steve Howe, to find out how he’ll split his time, who’s heading to the studio and how he narrows down his most embarrassing wardrobe moment.

How did you decide to do this double tour?
I had this summer pretty much booked up [with Asia], and Yes were disappointed about not getting a chance to play this summer, so I put my thinking cap on. I feel strongly that Asia is going to be very good opening act for Yes and it is a very unusual situation that someone like me would be in both groups — I feel that in itself says quite a lot.

During the show, what can we really expect?
Well obviously we’re fortunate that a lot of our music from our albums is greatly enjoyed, like for Asia, “Sole Survivor” and “Wildest Dreams,” and of course “Only Time Will Tell” and “Heat Of the Moment.” And then with Yes we have our rich material from Close to the Edge, Fragile and those albums, and of course “Roundabout” is incredibly popular, and so is “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” and we put in a good selection from the early years. (more…)

A video of Michael Jackson rehearsing for his London This Is It! concerts at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on June 23rd, just two days before the singer’s death, has been released to CNN. The footage shows Jackson and his backup dancers performing choreography to HIStory single “They Don’t Care About Us.” The video comes just days after AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips refuted claims that Jackson was frail and listless during his last rehearsals at the Staples Center. AEG Live, the company staging the 50 This Is It! concerts at London’s O2 Arena, provided CNN with the video.

“We have, and we may at some point release, some footage of him in rehearsal that would totally refute that,” Phillips said of claims Jackson was weak. The video seems to prove Phillips’ point, as Jackson dances fluidly and in pace with his backups. It’s unclear if Jackson was singing live. The video, as well as the photographs from the June 23rd rehearsal, provides fans with a preview of what the planned This Is It! spectacle. (more…)

Drake’s new video for his debut hit “Best I Ever Had” was posted on Kanye West’s blog today, with Yeezy himself serving as director on the vid. “Best I Ever Had” seems like it takes its plot line from chapter three of the Official Book of Porn Scenarios, with Drake starring as the high school coach of a voluptuous female basketball team. The girls stretch and dress in a steamy locker room as Drake raps in the Coach’s Office and the gymnasium stairwell. There’s a lot of slow motion running, a la Baywatch. On an intellectual level, the video makes Drake’s old show DeGrassi: The Next Generation seem like Masterpiece Theatre.

You can tell West is a relatively novice filmmaker, breaking the cinematic principle 180 degree rule a couple times during the clip, but for the most part he establishes that he has a pretty keen cinematic eye. (He definitely does better than music video vet Dave Meyers’ performance on Britney Spears’ “Radar” video.) Drake comes off as a burgeoning comic actor as well, comparing his ill-prepared team of buxom misfits to the Mighty Ducks and telling them not to let him down like the Ducks didn’t let Emilio Estevez down. (more…)

The Band: Ragen Fykes
The Buzz: She describes herself as “Dolly Parton meets Kool Moe Dee,” but even that description sells her short; Fykes has a sweet, mystic alto, the kind that curls up like cigarette smoke and floats calmly and curiously over warm funk grooves. Her collaboration with Portland producer Ohmega Watts under the moniker M64 (scientific lingo for the collision of two galaixes in outer space) pushes worn-out neo-soul bravely forward — call it 30th Century R&B.
Listen If: You’re tired of waiting for Erykah Badu to deliver that sequel to New AmErykah.
Key Track: The M64 track “Helium,” where Watt’s humid funk production serves as the perfect counter to Fykes’ airborne vocals.

The Band: Hawthorne Headhunters
The Buzz: Tri-coastal trio of Stoney Rock (a.k.a. Black Spade) Ced No and Proh Mic write bloodshot tracks in the same spirit at the Mizell Brothers and David Axelrod, (mostly) shunning vocals in favor of 700 ton funk grooves that are all laid-back Cadillac cruising. (more…)

This week Moby put out Wait for Me, a beautiful ambient record partially inspired by David Lynch (check back next week for the story behind the album). And almost exactly 10 years ago, the New York-based musician released an album that grew into a global phenomenon: Play. Read Moby’s track-by-track breakdown of his 1999 smash here.

Before Play, Moby considered himself a “has-been” — albeit a has-been with fan mail from Axl Rose and Bono. And when the record first hit stores, critics and fans didn’t rush out in droves. But when people got a listen to his effortless blend of atmospheric swoops, block-rocking beats and bluesy a cappellas nicked from 40-year-old field recordings, the tide turned. Bigtime. Now the album is known not only for its hits, but for its omnipresence.

“There’s a little bit of confusion around the licensing. I’ll do interviews and almost everyone says, ‘So, you licensed every song off of Play for commercials,’ ” Moby tells RS. “I licensed some of the music to commercials, and to be honest with you, I regret having done that. (more…)