Since Michael Jackson coverage officially died on Sunday (R.I.P.), it's time for Janet to get some headlines. The Daily News reports that a Manhattan judge has finally ruled on a 2005 case involving a Bronx man who claimed to have been beaten by the singer's bodyguards at Marquee. The man, Leonard Salati, was attempting to give Jackson his phone number in February 2004 at the Chelsea hotspot, and that's when the alleged beating occurred. He promptly sued Jackson for $120 million and, in 2007, a judge had allowed the case to go forward and said Jackson had to give a deposition. Recently, a new judge told the man to "Beat It" (sorry) due to a lack of evidence. Now that his case has been dismissed, there's no word on if he'll attempt to sue the security company involved... but we're guessing Janet never called. more ›

Just when we thought we were finally done having to think about the music of 2006, we get one last hurrah of ultimate listage. The 34th annual Pazz and Jop poll finally made landfall this week, and unsurprisingly, there were few shockers. Some feigned outrage/interest that Bob Dylan's latest overtook the otherwise consensus disc of the year by TV on the Radio (see image), but a few minor swaps at the top won't be enough to change many opinions at this point, as we approach Presidents Day 2007. The one thing this (hopefully) final 2006 list brings to our attention is just how, and we’ll just say it, mediocre the last year in music was. A good chunk of these albums were seen as letdowns upon release, yet they find their way up on here regardless. With the exception of TVotR, many of the albums on the final list are seen as some of the respective band's weaker efforts. Few fans thought the newest Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Decemberists, or even the very well received Hold Steady albums were their best to date, yet they all comfortably make the list. Perhaps when we look back at 2006 as the year that "indie rock" started heading towards the mainstream, this list will act more as a tribute to many of the bands that pushed the undefined genre towards the breaking point, rather than a direct celebration of the works themselves. For now, it's just a final reminder that there was so little we truly fell in love with last year. more ›