Tuesday Rock Roundup

Phil Collins has passed a record set by Sir Paul McCartney. But he'd rather not have. After six years of marriage and two children, Swiss-born Orianne Cevey, who is 35, has received a $46 point 7-6 million cash payout from Collins, who is 57, according to Britain's Daily Mirror. The record settlement is Britain's biggest ever in a celebrity divorce, and tops by some $2 million what Paul McCartney gave that creature Heather Mills earlier this year. Collins is familiar with expensive breakups. Second wife Jill Tavelman hit him for 34 million after he dumped her by fax in 1994. In all, according to a Daily Telegraph tally, Phil's divorces...including his first in 1979...have cost him $84 million. That's almost a third of his estimated 280 million dollar fortune. Or, rather, his ex-wives' fortune. Eventually.

The new AC/DC album...Black Ice...will be sold in the USA exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores for their infamous price of 11-88. Online, the CD will be available with free shipping and handling via the band's website, AC/DC dot com, as well as at Walmart dot com and Sams Club dot com. AC/DC will kick off a world in late October in the USA to support the 15-track album, which of course will kick ass.

Could it be possible that after 14 years, Axl Rose is finally going to release Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy album? It seems unlikely that the oft-delayed album will ever come out, but according to Billboard, a true release date may actually be on the horizon. The report claims that G-n-R's management is negotiating with a large retail chain, perhaps Wal-Mart or Best Buy, for the album's exclusive release. I have to admit: I'd buy it out of sheer morbid curiosity at this point, which has got to be what Axl's banking on...

Sharon Osbourne tells Billboard that her husband Ozzy has signed a new contract with Sony that calls for three more albums. She says he's in the process of recording the first one. The recent one-off Ozzfest show in Dallas, featuring Ozzy and Metallica, grossed more than three-million dollars.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield has angered a bunch of hikers, bikers and horseback riders by blocking off a popular trail that had been accessible for 50 years. The trail happened to go through Hetfield's San Rafael, California property and was often a target for vandals, so he erected a large metal fence. Riders and hikers are now up in arms about having to find a new route. David Warner, whose construction company installed the fence, tells the Marin Independent Journal, "It is private property. There was some damage done by certain people. If people were cool, this would not be an issue." County officials are reportedly reaching out to Hetfield to convince him to change his mind.

John McCain's campaign responded to a lawsuit filed last week by Jackson Browne, where he complains that his song "Running on Empty" was used without his permission in a political ad. A McCain spokesman said Friday that the candidate and the Republican National Committee "had nothing to do with the creation or distribution of this ad whatsoever," adding "Mr. McCain's name should be removed from this lawsuit immediately," McCain's people insist the ad came from the Ohio Republican Party, which is not directly affiliated with the Arizona senator.

Lynyrd Skynyrd and Pat Benatar are among the artists whose lyrics have been printed on T-shirts, the proceeds of which help various children's charities. Words from Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama" and from Benatar's "Heartbreaker" don one T-shirt. Other artists featured include Elvis Presley, Britney Spears and Coldplay. Soon to come are T-shirts with lyrics from songs by Alice Cooper, The Beach Boys, Blondie, Bryan Ferry, Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Don McLean, The Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Frank Sinatra, The Grateful Dead, KISS, The Pretenders, Squeeze and Steppenwolf. For more information, log onto OrphanLyrics-dot-com.

Ginger Baker, Cream's Drummer, is 69 today.

NEW IN STORES:

No CD releases of note today, but several interesting DVD's:

House, M.D. - Season Four

Dexter - The Complete Second Season

Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete First Season

Married... with Children: The Complete Ninth Season

Street Kings ~ Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, and Chris Evans

Recount ~ Kevin Spacey (Which was pretty cool but BLATANTLY anti-Republican)

Best of Both Worlds Concert: The 3-D Movie [Blu-ray] and DVD with Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus...it's like The Parent Trap with more music, I guess...

Transformers Animated: Season One