Aaron Favila / AP

Filipino fans of pop star Lady Gaga hold slogans outside the concert venue before her performance in suburban Pasay, south of Manila, Philippines, May 21. Authorities in the conservative, majority Roman Catholic country approved the concerts, set for May 21, and Tuesday, but said they won't allow nudity or lewd acts. A religious group warned they will sue Lady Gaga and concert organizers if she sings "Judas" during her concert.

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

Conservative Christian groups hold placards to protest against the first day of singer Lady Gaga's concert in Manila, May 21. Protesters urged authorities to cancel the show because of the singer's overly sexual content and the use and abuse of religious symbols in her music. Lady Gaga's two-day concert ends May 22.

The show will go on, despite the protests in the Philippines against Lady Gaga. Another of her concerts, planned for June in Jakarta, Indonesia, has been cancelled due to a permit being denied. The sold-out concert was to be the largest of the tour, but concerns about her show corrupting young people led to the cancellation.

Full story from The Telegraph.

Jim Weber / The Commercial Appeal via AP

Claudio Sanchez, frontman for the rock band Coheed and Cambria, plays a few bars with his face during his performance at the Beale Street Music Festival, May 6, in Memphis, Tenn. The weather cooperated for a third straight day as crowds gathered to watch Coheed and Cambria and other acts like Bush, Herbie Hancock, and Wiz Khalifa.

Gerald Herbert / AP

Kermit Ruffins performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, La., May 6.

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Laurent Fievet / AFP - Getty Images

A fan of US pop diva Lady Gaga poses before her concert in Hong Kong on May 2. The eccentric star, who has a record number of almost 22 million followers on Twitter, kicked off her world tour in Seoul on April 27 and will play three concerts in Hong Kong followed by Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.

Jerome Favre / EPA

Joey, from Hong Kong, a fan of the US singer Lady Gaga, takes part in the 'Are U the DIVA' contest ahead of Lady Gaga's show in Hong Kong, China, on May 2. Lady Gaga is in Hong Kong for a series of four sold out shows at the AsiaWorld Arena. The singer's four tour dates in Hong Kong mark her second stop after kicking off in Seoul, Korea, on a 33 city world tour dubbed the 'Born This Way Ball' tour.

Jerome Favre / EPA

Fans of the US singer Lady Gaga, strike a pose as they arrive the venue of Lady Gaga's show in Hong Kong.

Laurent Fievet / AFP - Getty Images

Fans of US pop diva Lady Gaga strike a pose before her concert in Hong Kong on May 2. The eccentric star, who has a record number of almost 22 million followers on Twitter, kicked off her world tour in Seoul on April 27 and will play three concerts in Hong Kong followed by Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.

Lady Gaga's first concert in this world tour had some people in South Korea praying for its cancellation. 

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Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

Victoriana fan Jan Farmer poses outside Whitby Abbey during the Whitby Goth Weekend on April 28, in Whitby, England.

Whitby Gothic Weekend which was started in 1994 to celebrate all things dark and mysterious has become a twice yearly event for Goths. Whitby was partly chosen because Bram Stoker wrote his famous Dracula story in the fishing town with the Gothic Whitby Abbey as his inspiration. The weekend has now grown to include followers of Romanticism, Victoriana, Cybergoth and Steampunk and features music, dancing, drinking and shopping for all of those interested in alternative lifestyles.

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

Goths show off their make-up and dress.

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

Goths and Steampunks walk through Whitby during Whitby Goth Weekend.

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

Dracula's bride, alias Jean Pawson, adjusts the collar of Dracula, John Threfall.

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

A Goth peers from behind a gravestone.

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

Goths stand near the abbey.

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

A skeleton sits in the driver's seat of a hearse.

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

Goth Jimmy Clarke walks in the narrow fishermens' streets during Whitby Goth Weekend.

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US President Barack Obama high-fives television host Jimmy Kimmel, right, alongside Caren Bohan, center, of Reuters, President of the White House Correspondents Association during the White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., April 28. The annual event, which brings together President Barack Obama, Hollywood celebrities, news media personalities and Washington correspondents, featured comedian Jimmy Kimmel as the host.

The black-tie dinner, informally billed as the "nerd prom," is the biggest social event of the year for Washington media and gives presidents a chance to show a lighter side.

"I'm not going to attack any of the Republican candidates. Take Mitt Romney; he and I actually have a lot in common," the president said, telling the crowd of Hollywood celebrities and Washington power players that both men trailed their wives in national opinion polls.

Read the full story.

Slideshow: Stars at the 98th White House Dinner

Nicholas Kamm / AFP - Getty Images

Celebrities at the annual gathering include Reese Witherspoon, who showed off her baby bump; George Clooney, who had a big a laugh; and more.

Launch slideshow

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Kim Ludbrook / EPA

Two Burners jump on a trampoline at AfrikaBurn festival in the the Karoo desert, Tweefontein, South Africa, on April 26.

The AfrikaBurn festival is based on Burning Man in the United States and sees thousands of people gathering in the desert to construct a temporary community.

The event, which began in 2007, is part rave, part trance party, part Pagan gathering, part arts festival. Thousands of participants erect structures, share ideas, trade goods and burn effigies on the final night.

There must be no trace of humans after the event is finished and a sharing community is formed as there is no money allowed as participants have to bring their own food, water and tents.

--EPA

Kim Ludbrook / EPA

Two Burners drive a home-made trike at AfrikaBurn festival in the the Karoo desert on April 26.

Kim Ludbrook / EPA

A burner wears a mask at AfrikaBurn festival in the the Karoo desert on April 26.

Kim Ludbrook / EPA

A Burner jumps over standing water after a huge storm at AfrikaBurn festival.

Kim Ludbrook / EPA

Werner Strauss rides his bicycle with LED lights after arriving at the AfrikaBurn festival in the the Karoo desert on April 26.

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Lee Jin-man / AP

South Korean Christians pray during a service as they call for the cancellation of a concert of U.S. pop star Lady Gaga at a church in Seoul, South Korea, April 22. Lady Gaga's April 27 concert in Seoul was banned to under-18s by the Korea Media Rating Board as the Gender Equality Ministry considers one of her songs to be performed at the show as "inappropriate" for minors.

Yang Kang-sam / AP

U.S. pop diva Lady Gaga waves upon her arrival in Seoul, South Korea, April 20.

Local media in Seoul said the ratings board had a particular objection to the song “Just Dance,” which was on the set list for the highly choreographed concert. The song had earned an over-18 rating from another censoring agency, something called the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s Commission on Youth Protection.

“Just Dance,” which is about drinking and dancing at a club, was listed under the commission’s “Harmful Content for Youth” category. Some 4,200 songs are reportedly banned by the South Korean government for children under 18. Lady Gaga has 35 songs on the list, including “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance.”

-- Reported by IHT, the global edition of The New York Times

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Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Phish, Lana Del Rey and Foster the People are just a small sample of artists preparing to drop rare vinyl come Record Store Day on Saturday. The annual event was conceived five years ago by a group of record store employees and pop music fans to put a spotlight on the 700 or so independent record store dealers in the U.S. It’s since grown into a major cultural happening, with hundreds of recording artists releasing collectible CDs and very limited edition vinyl (the latter of which has seen a major sales resurgence recently).

“It’s definitely put a spotlight on the music industry as a whole -- not just record stores but the entire music industry,” said Gary Gebler, owner of the Baltimore-based Trax on Wax. “It’s like Christmas in April for record stores."

-- By Tony Sclafani, msnbc.com contributor

Alex Brandon / AP

Owen Cooksley, age 8 from Philadelphia, looks at the album in his father's hand on the fifth annual Record Store Day at Main Street Music, April 21, in Philadelphia. On Record Store Day, new and limited edition vinyl records become available for the first time drawing buyers to their local record stores.

Alex Brandon / AP

Becky Blumenthal, from Philadelphia, right, waits to be one of the first people in the store on the fifth annual Record Store Day at Main Street Music, April 21, in Philadelphia.

Alex Brandon / AP

Mike Hughes, from Philadelphia, looks through the window as he waits in line on the fifth annual Record Store Day at Main Street Music in Philadelphia.

Alex Brandon / AP

Buyers browse the selections on the fifth annual Record Store Day at Main Street Music, April 21, in Philadelphia.

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Photos by Julia Robinson / Reuters

Singer Willie Nelson poses beside a statue of himself during its unveiling in downtown Austin, Texas April 20, 2012. The eight-foot bronze statue, which weighs about 2000 pounds, was created by sculptor Clete Shields.

People watch as Willie Nelson performs during the unveiling of his statue.

I’ve been a Willie Nelson fan for a while. His rendition of Fred Rose’s “Blues Eyes Crying in the Rain” from the “Red Headed Stranger” was my entry point into his music, and it still stops me every time it plays on the radio or glides through my iPod.

However, over the year I’ve come to appreciate the varied tapestry of Nelson’s songs and his ability to work with singers of all ages and backgrounds.  The most obvious collaboration to mention is his work with Waylon Jennings on “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys”. I like that song a lot, but I almost cry when I hear Willie sing with Ray Charles on “Seven Spanish Angles”, and I fall back in love with Emmylou Harris every time I hear her and Willie perform “Till I Can Gain Control Again”.

Nelson started many years ago as a song writer in Nashville. The songs he wrote back then have been recorded by many artists. My two favorites are Ray Price’s version of “Night Life” and Patsy Cline’s hauntingly sad version of “Crazy”.

Country music had a tough time during the 1980s, and Willie’s response was to join forces with Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash to form the country supergroup, The Highwaymen. Their signature song reminds of why I like story songs so much.

Well into his 70s, Nelson isn’t slowing down. He continues to record and tour with the likes of Norah Jones and Snoop Dogg. He is working with his son, Lukas on his latest album.

I’ve been lucky enough to see Nelson in concert three times. His shows are known for starting kind of slow, but then quickly gaining traction as he runs through his deep catalog of hits. Tonight is another Friday night, and I’m sure Willie and his band is either stepping on stage right about now, or about to be “On the Road Again”.

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Lee Celano / AFP - Getty Images file

Legendary music impresario Dick Clark as he hosts the "American Bandstand 50th...A Celebration" show,in Pasadena, Calif.

Slideshow: Dick Clark (1929-2012)

NBC

From "American Bandstand" to "New Year's Rockin' Eve," the man dubbed "America's Oldest Teenager" was a mainstay in American living rooms.

Launch slideshow

Dick Clark is one of those huge personalities that populated the summers of my youth. I saw him every day on the game show, “Pyramid” and then again every Saturday morning on “American Bandstand”. That show introduced me to most of the music that I came to know and enjoy.

TODAY news services report that famed television personality Dick Clark died of a heart attack Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, his spokesman confirms. Clark was 82.

Clark is best known for hosting long-running television shows such as "American Bandstand," the game show "Pyramid" and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve."

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