Read It Or Not, He Has A Score To Settle

Luciano Pavarotti, a musical illiterate?

A Italian newspaper quoted the renowned tenor as saying: “Yes, it’s true. I don’t read music. I am not a musician, I don’t go into technicalities.”

Accompanist Leone Magiera added that “Luciano suffers a little from this … because every now and again he has an argument with the musicians. He would have wanted to study music properly, but now it’s too late.”

But Pavarotti insists he was talking about the score, “the book that the conductor has in front of him with all the parts: the instruments, the voices, the chorus, etc. The part for voice and piano … is what we singers use … All singers read this. And I do, too.”

However, he admitted to using cue cards for lyrics. “I know the music by heart,” he said, “but I tend to forget the words.”

Loose talk

Prodigy’s Liam Howlett, on the band’s mission: “We’re not interested in taking America over … This isn’t Oasis. My dad likes Oasis. That’s reason enough for me to want people not to like us.”

And he doesn’t want any lip from anyone about it

Mick Jagger turns 54 today.

Just another summer on the turret bus

Snoop Doggy Dogg is taking no chances on the Lollapalooza tour, traveling in a hired armored vehicle that an insider described to New York magazine as a “bulletproof mini-tank with little holes for weapons.” Said a tour spokesperson: “After what happened to Tupac (Shakur) and Biggie Smalls, Snoop’s definitely scared.”

It will be the real him, whoever he is

The Artist Formerly Known as Prince announced plans for a a world tour that will stretch into 1999, but it will be low-key compared to some past shows, where he roared onstage on a purple motorcycle. “I’ve been known to have some spectacles in my day and I wanted to get away from that vibe and do one tour that basically featured me,” he said.

You can go your own way, you jerk

A reunited Fleetwood Mac is back on tour, 21 years after the release of its Grammy-winning “Rumours” - when all five members were in failing relationships, including the Lindsey Buckingham/Stevie Nicks and John/Christine McVie unions. “Certainly the whole album ‘Rumours’ is all about what the writers were going through,” said drummer Mick Fleetwood. “They were literally singing songs to one another.”

Sort of like he pretends to be a musician

John Tesh is out with a new album, “Victory: The Sports Collection,” including trading cards featuring a cartoonish Tesh pretending to be an athlete in various sports.

With friends like him, who needs animus?

Randy Newman, still getting hate mail 20 years after his hit, “Short People,” wants to set the record straight, once and for all: it was a joke, folks. “I mean, no one’s got any sort of animus against short people,” Newman said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday on “60 Minutes.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Rick Bonino