News Roundup: Trent Reznor, Eminem, M.I.A., Pearl Jam

--Trent Reznor spoke out against former protege Marilyn Manson, saying, "He is a malicious guy and will step on anybody's face to succeed and cross any line of decency. Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he's become a dopey clown." The Nine Inch Nails mastermind doesn't hold back. He recently dissed songwriting output of Prince and Rivers Cuomo. Reznor's Manson comment may be true, but he shouldn't be slagging anybody off for being an addict.

--Eminem and Jay-Z performed together last night at L.A.'s Wiltern Theater. The show, promoting the launch of "DJ Hero," saw the two team up for "Renegade." Judging by the footage, it was a solid performance. Eminem also played a mini-set of mostly new material. In other Em news, an MTV writer admitted what we already knew: the Bruno crotch thing at the MTV Movie Awards was staged. But it is funny they rehearsed it in an empty theater.

--M.I.A. is pushing fans to vote for independent European Parliment candidate Jan Jananayagam by offering a new song. The voting will occur June 4-7. As activism, this move should prove a lot more effective for the Sri Lankan singer than relying on Bill Maher.

--Pearl Jam performed a half-assed sludgy new track on the premiere of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (which still sounds weird) last night. The song is from the band's forthcoming album, Backspacer. The show was otherwise a respectable debut: the host was clearly nervous, and new announcer Andy Richter interrupted too much, but they're still working it out. Will Ferrell gave the Cone-zone tips for living in California, recommending a great Pasadena burger joint "called Burger King."