Papa Roach [ tickets ] has added a Dec. 11 stop in Kansas City and a Dec. 12 stop in Oklahoma City to its upcoming headlining tour, which kicks off on Nov. 25. The group is currently touring with Limp Bizkit on that group's Anger Management tour.

Van Morrison [ tickets ] has announced a pair of two-night stands in the U.S.: The Joint in Las Vegas on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1--tickets go on sale on Saturday (11/18) at noon Pacific Time--and the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on Jan. 6 and 7--tickets go on sale on Sunday (11/19) at noon Pacific Time.

Gabriel Gomez, the half-brother of Sandra Rosas--the late wife of Los Lobos' guitarist Cesar Rosas--was sentenced on Thursday (11/16) to life in prison without parole for the kidnap and murder of Mrs. Rosas, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Sandra Rosas' body has not been found, though Gomez, who apparently is uncertain where the body is, reportedly attempted to lead police to the body, an attempt that failed.

From a ZDNet review of Ogg Vorbis:

"Ogg Vorbis is a new digital audio compression format that is similar to MP3, but costs nothing. It is completely open source, is entirely free of patents, and it promises better audio quality and compression than MP3."

ZDNet links to the Ogg Vorbis website, where the list of frequently asked questions does not include the question, "Why is it called Ogg Vorbis?"

According to Wired.com, online music label Riffage.com is up for sale.

Blue Thumb Records will release jazz organist Jimmy Smith's album "Dot Com Blues" on Jan. 9. The album features B.B. King, Etta James, Dr. John, Taj Mahal and Keb Mo.

From the L.A Weekly's interview with the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne:

"What I’d like is to have our own theater here in Oklahoma City where you come to see us, almost like you go to see Wayne Newton in Las Vegas or something. The biggest trouble with having something big and bombastic [like the band's touring show] is that you have to carry it around everywhere. So, I stay here and you come to me! The theme would change all the time, but I’m sure it’d be based on the idea of ‘Christmas in Outer Space’ or something like that.”

Rap duo ID-X has recorded a rap song with Eminem [ tickets ]'s mother, Debbie Mathers. When we heard about this, we first assumed that she was doing the rapping, a thought which filled us with a crippling sadness, but no, she's just talking--"Someday your gonna fall/And I just hope to God I'm there to help you"--while these savvy, enterprising rappers do the rapping, chastising Eminem--with sincerity, no doubt--for his treatment of his mother.