People: Chris Brown avoids jail by making progress in rehab
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Monday rebuffed another attempt by prosecutors to send Chris Brown to jail, citing his progress in therapy.
Brown is on probation for his 2009 conviction for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna. Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Mary A. Murray asked the judge in court papers to take the R&B singer into custody for failing to live up to a probation requirement that he “obey all laws.”
Murray also asked the judge to set a probation revocation hearing because Brown was arrested last October in Washington, D.C., where he faces a subsequent misdemeanor assault charge. But Judge James R. Brandlin said he would not jail the singer because he has showed progress in rehab. Brown’s next court hearing in Los Angeles is scheduled for Feb. 28.
Arcade Fire to join festivities in Haiti
A representative for Montreal-based Arcade Fire said the Grammy Award-winning indie rock band will perform in Haiti this month.
Scott Rodger of Quest Management confirmed that the Canadian band will play Feb. 21 as part of the country’s Carnival celebrations in the coastal town of Jacmel.
The event generally features only local groups. The band’s co-founder Regine Chassagne is of Haitian descent.
Arcade Fire’s fourth and latest album, “Reflektor,” draws on Haitian musical traditions such as “rara.” It was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of last year.
Rutgers offers course on Beyonce
Beyonce is one of the world’s most scrutinized pop stars, and now that study is moving to academia.
The Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University is offering a course called “Politicizing Beyonce.”
Kevin Allred, a doctoral student who is teaching the class, tells the university’s online news site that he is using Beyonce’s career as a way to explore American race, gender and sexual politics.
The class supplements an analysis of Beyonce’s videos and lyrics with readings from Black feminists. Allred says he’s seeking to help students think more critically about media consumption.
Rutgers also has a class examining the theology of New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics.
Georgetown University has a class called “The Sociology of Hip-Hop: The Urban Theodicy of Jay-Z,” focusing on Beyonce’s rapper husband.
The birthday bunch
Comedian David Brenner is 78. Actor Gary Conway (“Burke’s Law”) is 78. Drummer John Steel (The Animals) is 73. Singer Florence LaRue (The Fifth Dimension) is 70. Singer Alice Cooper is 66. Actor Michael Beck is 65. Actress Lisa Eichhorn is 62. Singer Tim Booth (James) is 54. Country singer Clint Black is 52. Country bassist Dave Buchanan (Yankee Grey) is 48. Bassist Rick Burch (Jimmy Eat World) is 39. Singer Natalie Imbruglia is 39. Rapper Cam’ron is 38. Singer Gavin DeGraw is 37.