Blog Posts by Matthew Perpetua

The doctor who performed Michael Jackson's autopsy told jurors in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray yesterday that he doubted the singer caused his own death.
Dr. Christopher Rogers, who had officially determined Jackson's death a
homicide in 2009, shot down the defense's claim that the King of Pop
had given himself the dose of the sedative propofol that resulted in his
death. "The circumstances from my point of view do not support
self-administration of propofol," Rogers said.

According to Dr.
Rogers, Jackson would not have had time to give himself the anesthetic
and stop breathing in the two-minute window Dr. Murray told police he
left the singer unattended. Rogers also noted that the amount of
propofol found in Jackson's blood was much higher than the relatively
small infusion of 25 milligrams that Murray told police he gave the
star.

Rogers told the jury that the lack of precise dosing
equipment in Jackson's bedroom made it easy for Murray to incorrectly

Indie rock veteran Jon Spencer has been a busy man since reuniting with the
Blues Explosion last year for a world tour in support of new reissues of their
six acclaimed albums. Rolling Stone caught up with the rocker to chat
about revisiting his body of work, his progress in putting together a brand new
record with the Blues Explosion, and his rockabilly side project Heavy
Trash.

You've been incredibly active lately.
When we put out the
back catalog, we started to tour a lot, all over the world. That wound up with a
really insane schedule this summer, which saw us playing shows in four different
continents, and two or three a week, so we were really traveling a lot of miles.
But we had some very, very nice shows and during all that time, we've been
slowly writing songs. I think it was inevitable that if we got back together and
started playing again, we would start writing songs and for me, that will always
be my favorite part of a show, the new material.

We started talking about

Amy
Winehouse's father has signed a
deal to pen a memoir for HarperCollins. Mitch Winehouse's book, Amy, My
Daughter, is projected for a worldwide release in summer 2012. The memoir
will focus on the late soul singer's life, from her childhood through her major
success and struggles with addiction.

Proceeds from the book will go to
the Amy
Winehouse Foundation, an organization being set up by the singer's father to
help those dealing with adversity, particularly young people facing troubles
with addiction.

Related
• Amy
Winehouse's Death: A Troubled Star Gone Too
Soon
• Musicians
Respond to Amy Winehouse's Death
• Photos: Amy
Winehouse Remembered
• Photos:
The Tumultuous Life Of Amy Winehouse
• The
Diva and Her Demons: Rolling Stone's 2007 Amy Winehouse Cover Story
• Up
All Night With Amy Winehouse: Rolling Stone's 2008 Story
• Video:
Behind the Feature: Claire Hoffman on Interviewing Amy Winehouse
• Photos:
Not Fade Away: Amy Winehouse and More Rockers Lost Before Their Time
• Video:
Amy

An attorney for Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician on trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, accused a crime scene investigator of conducting a shoddy examination of the bedroom where the pop star died in 2009.

Ed Chernoff, the head of Murray's defense team, was particularly confrontational during the testimony of
coroner's investigator Elissa Fleak, accusing of her of making "a
substantial number of mistakes" in her investigation of the singer's
quarters. Fleak denied Chernoff's claim, but did acknowledge that her
original hand-written notes were destroyed when they were transformed to
an official report, which she says is her standard practice. Chernoff
has suggested that Fleak changed her findings after the fact to match up
with the claims of other witnesses.

Related

• Timeline: The Trial of Dr. Conrad Murray
• Photos: Michael Jackson Remembered
• Photos: Michael Jackson's Funeral

Photo by Mario Anzuoni-Pool/Getty Images

Rod Stewart has signed a deal
with Random House to pen a tell-all memoir due out next year. Stewart
says that he intends to "hold nothing back" in the book, and will be
rather explicit in writing about his prolific love life. "Forget
skeletons in the closet; this one's going to be socks and knickers under
the bed," the singer said in a statement.

Photos: Random Notes

In
addition to opening up about his string of romances with various blonde
bombshells, Stewart's book is likely to touch on the various phases of
his long-running career in rock, his battle with thyroid cancer and his
youth in North London.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Marv Tarplin, the Motown guitarist and songwriter behind Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, died on Friday at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 70. His cause of death has not yet been determined.

Tarplin
began his career at Motown in the late Fifties as the guitarist in the
Primettes, a teenage girl group that later evolved into the Supremes. He
was drafted into Robinson's band, where he would go on to write the
memorable chord progression at the center of the group's classic hit
"Tracks of My Tears."

Photos: Random Notes

In addition to his work with Robinson, Tarplin collaborated with Marvin Gaye
on the hits "I'll Be Doggone" and "Ain't That Peculiar." The guitarist
never stopped working with Robinson, continuing to write, record and
perform with the singer until Tarplin's retirement in 2008.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel has been charged with murder,
conspiracy to murder and illegal possession of a firearm following a
lengthy interrogation by Jamaica's Major Investigation Taskforce.
According to police, Kartel and a group of other men conspired to kill
Barrington "Bossie" Burton, a 27-year-old music promoter. Burton was
murdered on July 11th while standing with friends in the Gregory Park
area of Portmore, Jamaica.

Kartel was arrested by the Jamaican
Constabulary Force on Friday and charged with possession of a small
amount of marijuana at a hotel room in Kingston, where he was staying
while filming his reality dating show, Teacha's Pet.

Photos: Random Notes

While
in custody, Kartel was brought to several of his regular haunts,
including a property in Kingston's Havendale district that was the scene
of a fire several weeks ago. The singer was detained through the
weekend in connection to an investigation of a partially burned,
decomposing body found in the

Kiss bassist Gene Simmons married Shannon Tweed, his girlfriend of 28 years and mother of his two adult children, at a ceremony in Beverly Hills on Saturday. The wedding, which was held outdoors at the Beverly Hills Hotel, was filmed for the couple's A&E reality show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels. A special episode focusing on the wedding is expected to air on the network on October 18th.

Photos: Over-the-Top Celebrity Weddings

The
wedding had 400 guests, including Hugh Hefner, Bill Maher and several
of Simmons' current and former Kiss bandmates. Kiss guitarist Paul
Stanley was a member of the rocker's wedding party.

Photo by Mark Sullivan/WireImage