Sound Bites: Britney, Run-D.M.C., Garbage

May 16 -- Britney Spears — She's No Tory

Britney Spears sent a note to British Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Tony Blair, wishing him good luck in the June 7 general election. Spears included an autographed photo, which, according to Britain's Daily Star, is hanging on the wall at party headquarters. Spears is not the first bubble gum pop singer to go Labour — former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell recently appeared in an election broadcast in support of the party.

Run-D.M.C. Raps for Respect in Britain

Rap act Run-D.M.C. will headline an anti-racism concert in London's Finsbury Park on July 21. The free show, called Respect, will also feature R&B and world music, though no other acts have been announced. The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said that signing the seminal rappers was "a great coup for London. One in three Londoners is from a minority ethnic community. Yet racism is a poison that still blights and destroys lives across our city every day, whether through racist violence or the impact of discrimination."

Garbage Sued for Allegedly Copying Song

Already in the middle of legal entanglements with its label, alternative rock act Garbage is now facing a new lawsuit. Helios Music Corporation filed the suit Friday at the U.S. District Court in California, claiming that Garbage's "I Think I'm Paranoid," from 1998's Version 2.0, copies "significant elements of both lyrics and music" of the 1967 song "Bend Me, Shape Me," by the American Breed. The band, meanwhile, is in the final stages of mixing its latest album, Beautiful Garbage, which is slated for a late summer release.