Chris Cornell
Photo: Sergio Dionisio/ Getty Images

NEW YORK — You may not have realized it, but you got a sneak peek of Chris Cornell's upcoming solo LP Scream on Thursday night — so long as you caught the series premiere of "Life on Mars," ABC's Americanized remake of the popular British cop drama, which stars Jason O'Mara, Michael Imperioli of "The Sopranos," Gretchen Mol and Harvey Keitel.

Cornell's tune, "Ground Zero," was not only featured in all the commercials leading up to Thursday night's premiere, but was also played over the pilot's action-packed opening sequence.

A few weeks ago, Cornell was in Brooklyn to shoot a video for the song, which, when finished, will feature tons of footage from "Life on Mars."

"We shot it on the street there, and we didn't have any extras or anything," Cornell told MTV News of the video for the September 11-inspired track. "It was really just a small crew and me, and a lot of it's just me on the streets of Brooklyn, intercut with footage from 'Life on Mars.' So it's kind of like I'm in the same neighborhood, and the footage was shot in a way so it can be intercut with footage from the show, which will have a vintage '70s feel to it. And I interacted with people on the street during the shoot, unbeknownst to them, so it was pretty funny. I'd just walk up to people and shake their hand or start talking to them. Everyone was really polite and didn't know what to do. Most of them were just trying to figure out what the hell we were doing down there."

But don't feel bad if you didn't recognize the former Soundgarden/Audioslave frontman's work. In fact, when fans actually get their hands on the Timbaland-helmed Scream they're going to immediately notice that the album sounds nothing like Cornell's past material. Beat-driven and sprinkled with elements of hip-hop, the album is a drastic departure for Chris — but to his ears, the record is just the next logical step in his ever-evolving career.

"For me, it was sort of a natural thing, to go out and make a record I hadn't made before," Cornell said. "It wasn't a situation where I sat for a long time and thought about what my next move should be. It was quick, and the idea came to me after Timbaland had done a couple of remixes from the Carry On album. It got back to me that he was actually a fan and was interested in doing original material, and I got on the phone with him, and I suggested we go make a whole album. He was interested in that idea, and before I knew it, we were in the studio."

Six weeks later, Cornell and Timbaland were finished writing Scream, and six months later, the record was completely tracked. Unlike Cornell's previous offerings, the disc is one "piece of music with orchestration that ties all the songs together and turns it into this album-oriented piece that, in some ways, I think is similar to albums of the '70s, where people still played an entire album at once."

While several tracks from the record are available for preview on sites like YouTube, Cornell said he's puzzled by the perception that Scream is a complete shift away from the sound his fans expect from him.

"It makes me happy that there's this perception that I have a group of fans that I'm now sort of throwing a curve at and what their reaction will be," he said. "But I've been in this situation so many times already that, to me, it doesn't really seem any different. When I put out [1999's] Euphoria Morning, my main goal was to create an album that sounded like nothing I'd done in Soundgarden, and I did that. And I got the same questions then. I also had that with Temple of the Dog, where I showed up with songs that weren't necessarily riff-based. And then, of course, the pairing of me and other members of Rage Against the Machine to do a band and everyone sort of speculating about what that would sound like — what Soundgarden and Rage fans would think. It feels like I've done this so many times that, when it's presented to me as being a departure and as being a new concept, I feel that's a misconception. I feel like that's my theme at this point."

According to Cornell, he wanted to be able to do things differently and learn a completely new style of songwriting. The idea of working with Tim excited him and helped him achieve the goal he's always strived toward: not repeating his past.

"It's the most prolific I've been in such a short period of time, because I was working with someone who does nothing but create music," Cornell explained. "I was told by other people to be prepared. I actually felt like they were concerned that I would be some rock guy who would come in and lag behind, because Tim is a workaholic. I knew that was the right partner to make an album with when I heard that, because I've always been that way and rarely have I been in a position where I worked with somebody else who had that type of focus. And when I listen to this album, it sounds nothing at all to me like other Timbaland productions."

Cornell said Scream is a record that combines various influences that "I don't think have ever been put together before." Working with Timbaland helped shape his lyrics as well, because the "mood of the music is so different from anything I've written, so it brought stories and characters out of me that never really had a voice before."

Before judging, Cornell challenges fans to listen to Scream in its entirety, because the album was designed to be an experience.

"It's a musical journey — like watching a great movie — where you sort of forget about the normal format and get lost in the experience of the album," he said, adding that he's already conceived another album's worth of material during his sessions with Timbaland. "We have a lot more songs than are on this record, and he's already talking about doing more. Every time we sat down to write a song, we'd come up with something we both really liked."

• Chris Cornell
• Timbaland
• Soundgarden
• Audioslave

Chris Cornell
Photo: Getty Images/ Frank Micelotta

Erstwhile Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell will be hitting the road next month with the unlikely collaborator from his forthcoming solo LP — producer du jour Timbaland — for a string of eight live gigs, the first of which is scheduled for October 17 in Denver.

The rocker, who worked with Timbaland on Scream over a six-month period, said the shows will be similar to those he played around the release of his first solo effort, 1999's Euphoria Morning.

"I wanted to get out and do some special shows for fans, where it's just the new record and introducing that live, which isn't really the first time I've done that," he said. "With Euphoria Morning, I played pretty much nothing but my first album for the first tour, and with the first Audioslave record, we toured for a year and did nothing but that record. This is also a very special record."

Cornell will not be playing any tracks from his previous offerings on this brief Verizon Wireless-sponsored West Coast run, which wraps in his hometown of Seattle November 2. Cornell plans on playing the entire LP, from the first note to the last, without any pauses between songs.

"This album, I think, needs to be performed from beginning to end, because on the record, once the music starts, it never stops," he explained. "So it's literally a situation where you start playing the record from the first song, and it's just an hour's worth of music that keeps going until it's done, and it's something that's difficult to present in this day and age. Everything is sound bites and one song at a time, and people sort of downloading one song at a time, and more than any album I've ever made, this is an album that's really designed to be listened to from beginning to end, in one sitting.

"I think the smartest thing for me to do is go out and perform it that way, so people get it, because people haven't really understood that yet," Cornell continued. "I've been talking about it in interviews, and people need to understand that it's a different thing. Musically, definitely, it's a departure, not only for me but maybe for anybody. People are asking me what kind of music it is, and there's no real answer for that."

Cornell's forthcoming disc sounds nothing like his fans might suspect. It mixes elements of hip-hop (compliments of Timbaland) and rock in a rather unique manner.

"The initial conception and perception of this record was mixing two worlds — rock and hip-hop, or beat-based music with fuzzy guitars," Cornell explained. "But it really isn't just that at all. It's a mixture of a lot of different influences."

Timbaland said he's "so excited to be on the road with Verizon and Chris," adding that he "can't wait for everyone to hear [this] great new music."

Over the weekend, Cornell was in Brooklyn, New York, shooting a video for "Ground Zero," a song inspired by the tragic events of September 11.

"To me, it's sort of about the lingering aspect of [9/11] that is used to kind of create support for things that haven't been very good for our country or the citizens of our country," said Cornell, who now resides in Paris. "I've felt like, with the Bush administration, whenever they're in crisis, they'll suddenly pull out a terror alert — a code-orange scenario, which I run into constantly, because I'm in airports so often. They don't ever have to say why, just that it's a matter of national security. And with the conservative right, part of the platform right now in the election is 'Be afraid of terror, be afraid of terrorists. Look at 9/11 — we need an administration and a president who knows how to go out, kick ass, take names and keep us safe.' That's what got us into Iraq in the first place. [That tactic] certainly helped, and I think [9/11 was] a key factor in Bush winning a second term. To me, the song is about how awful 9/11 was, but stresses that we've got to let go of that to move on peacefully."

Chris Cornell/ Timbaland tour dates, according to Cornell's publicist:

» 10/17 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
» 10/18 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Avalon Theater
» 10/19 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
» 10/24 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
» 10/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ House of Blues
» 10/26 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
» 10/31 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
» 11/2 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox

• Chris Cornell
• Timbaland
• Soundgarden
• Audioslave

Timbaland and Chris Cornell
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ WireImage

What would you get if you took one of the most iconic voices in modern hard rock and mixed it with one of the hottest producers of the past decade, known for his thick hip-hop beats and tricky time signatures?

If the singer is leather-lunged former Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell and the knob-twiddler is none other than Timbaland, well, you'd get ... songs that kind of sound like Chris Cornell singing over Timbaland beats. After months of hype and head-scratching among Cornell fans, the first results of the oddball pairing that both artists have said produced the best music of their careers were unveiled Tuesday on Matt Pinfield's radio show on New York's 101.9 FM. . (Take a look at other bizarre cross-genre collaborations in the MTV Newsroom blog.)

Cornell's Scream is due out in the fall, and based on the 30-second snippets of songs he previewed during the show, the results are sure to stir up controversy among the singer's fans. The first single, "Long Gone," opens with laser-effect keyboards over a Coldplay-like piano figure as Cornell's tweaked-out vocals echo in the background and an unmistakable Timbo stutter-step beat bubbles up.

Cornell told Pinfield that it was his brother-in-law Nick, a nightclub owner in Paris, who originally suggested Timbaland might be a good person to remix some songs from Cornell's previous solo album, Carry On. But Cornell said once he approached Tim, the producer wasn't into doing just a few songs — he wanted to make a whole album.

"He was super into that ... and we got into the studio and made a whole album," Cornell said of the LP, which they wrote and recorded in six weeks. "But then we went off in this direction of musically, sort of conceptually tying the whole thing together [so that] it almost harkens back to albums that I listened to when I was a kid, where the music never stops. It's really an album-oriented album."

More than any other album he's made, Cornell said Scream begs to be listened to on headphones all the way through. The title track at first seems like a more traditional Cornell offering, with an ominous, vaguely churchy-sounding buildup of keyboards and glitchy tick-tock rhythms, which again segue into one of Tim's patented funky drum-machine rhythms. Cornell said the theme of the song is about how in relationships, "we get sort of lost in the arguments and the fights about things that could easily just be talked about and ended."

Aside from connecting on a musical level, Cornell said he and Timbaland share an affinity for constantly creating new material, which is why the pair were able to cook up so many songs so quickly. Unlike many of the other producers he's worked with over the years — most of whom he said he ignored — Timbaland struck Cornell as someone who "comes in with actual musical ideas. He's somebody who's also a musical genius and a songwriter and records in very unorthodox ways. ... He's sort of reinventing the way he does things at the same time as working with an artist. You can't compare him to anyone."

Cornell described the tune "Ground Zero" as having a style he's been trying to nail his entire career, with lyrics about trying to stop the people who use the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as an excuse to "do a lot of bad things." Amid handclapping, foot-stomping and Tim's beatboxing, Cornell sings, "When it all falls down/ And the law don't count/ And it don't seem fair/ And the people don't care," in his ragged voice, tinged with some soul-man flair.

The other songs Cornell unwrapped during the appearance were the life-on-the-road tune "Never Far Away," a pure Timbaland classic with a big, fat, Justin-worthy club beat and swirling keyboards that nearly drown out Cornell's silky "whoa, whoa" moans, and "Watch Out," a cowbell-clanging banger that wouldn't be out of place on a Pink or Britney album.

Cornell said the reaction so far from fans has been "really good" and that he feels like they're ready for artists to mix things up. "I just want to have fun with music and do what I'm inspired by and ... if I'm inspired by it, then someone else will be," he said. "If you get into a kind of comfortable corner, where you're doing what you're used to — you're doing what you know how to do — you can get locked in that corner and stuck there and you're done. That's never going to happen to me."

• Audioslave
• Soundgarden
• Timbaland
• Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell
Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

In a statement to the press announcing the imminent release of his sophomore solo album, Carry On, on Thursday (February 15) Chris Cornell confirmed months of rumors by announcing that he has left Audioslave.

"Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave," he said in a statement. "I wish the other three members" — guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk — "nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors."

That was the extent of Cornell's statement regarding his departure. But this afternoon, when MTV News spoke with Cornell about his decision to leave Audioslave, he said he had been thinking about leaving since the band finished recording its last effort, Revelations.

"It was clear to all of us we needed some time apart, and what that produces is anybody's guess," he said. "In my case, it produced a very prolific writing period, and getting back into writing songs on my own, liking what that means — which is sort of a freedom and time to just experiment with music to a degree I kind of like more — and making records that have everything I like about music in them. Audioslave was a very fresh collaboration because it was very much like a young band, where you all write together in a room. But my experience, in terms of songwriting and record-creating, is not like a 19-year-old guy in a rock band. For me to be satisfied, I think I need to be able to be on my own, in the long run."

The announcement comes just two weeks after Rage Against the Machine revealed they would be reuniting for this year's Coachella festival in Indio, California, on April 29, ending seven years of dormancy (see "Rage Against The Machine To Reunite For Coachella Festival"). It also raises speculation as to what the future holds for Rage — and whether a Soundgarden reunion could be in the works.

Rumors of Cornell's departure began last fall, when Audioslave elected not to tour behind last year's Revelations LP.

Earlier this month, Morello told MTV News that, for now, the Rage reunion would be a one-off, adding that his principal focus at the moment is his solo project, the Nightwatchman (see "Nightwatchman, Rage Reunion Have Morello Fired Up For Political Fights").

Morello said at the time that he wasn't sure what would become of Audioslave, saying that "Audioslave is currently not touring on the record" because "Chris [Cornell] did not want to tour. To me, it seems that the world needs songs of rebellion and revolution right now."

Just weeks before Rage were named one of Coachella's headlining acts, Morello demurred when asked by MTV News whether Audioslave was over, saying "[people] have been telling me Audioslave was breaking up for some time now. No new news there." He would not officially describe the band's status.

Cornell's album, which was helmed by producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Rolling Stones) and is the follow-up to 1999's Euphoria Morning, will be in stores May 1. The LP will contain 14 tracks, including "Safe and Sound," "Scar on the Sky" and a slow-grind cover of Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean."

In July, Cornell denied Audioslave-split rumors, months before the band issued Revelations (see "Chris Cornell Working On Solo LP — But Dismisses Rumors Of Audioslave Split").

"We hear rumors that Audioslave is breaking up all the time," he said. "Even in the beginning, when we were having business problems and we weren't necessarily going to be a band, we were still going to put out a record. We made a record and we loved it. I think that's where it starts — the idea that we sort of started on shaky ground. You would hope that by now, putting out our third record, people wouldn't be thinking that way or be worried about it. But it comes up. I always just ignore it."

Of course, Cornell's since had a serious change of heart. "It hadn't really crossed my mind until a few days ago that I really have no intention of being in this band," he said. "It's been asked before, but it wasn't ever clear in my mind before, and I didn't really see any reason why we couldn't be a band at some point. But now, my feelings are what they are, and I just wanted to get things out on the table and be clear about it."

Cornell said the split was amicable and that, as far as he's concerned, Audioslave is finished, "Unless they want to go find another singer and go make other Audioslave records — then maybe they can have two bands, with a different singer for Rage and a different singer for Audioslave, and they could go on tour and open for each other.

"I certainly don't have any animosity toward them, and I don't think anyone hates me," he continued. "And to be honest, I think those guys getting back and doing some Rage shows is great. I think one of the main reasons why I ever wanted a band like Audioslave was because of seeing Rage in 1996, and I thought they were one of the best live bands I had ever seen. That's why I wanted to do it. The thought of those guys playing shows and maybe becoming a band again I think is a great thing. There were times in Audioslave where I wondered whether those guys missed the visceral nature of the audience response that Rage would get. We had a different experience and a different crowd, but it was so specific to Rage, that kind of world that they were in, that I often wondered if they missed it."

Cornell said that Audioslave will issue a greatest-hits collection with some unreleased material at some point, "because whoever it is we owe it to will say, 'OK, we're going to put that out now,' because that's what labels do." He said he wasn't sure which label the best-of was owed to; the band released records through a partnership between Epic and Interscope.

And when asked about Soundgarden possibly reuniting, Cornell said it was doubtful. "I haven't received any phone calls from anyone in Soundgarden about a reunion since we broke up, nor have I called anyone," he said. "We were happy with how it ended. There was no unfinished business. Soundgarden wasn't a band where we broke up and everyone was like, 'I'm never f---ing talking to you again.' It wasn't like that. We've all talked to each other many times since then. Its something we don't feel we need to do."

[This story was originally published at 4:36 p.m. ET on 02.15.2007]

For more on Audioslave's historic gig in Cuba, see "History Made and Audio Saved — John Norris Reports From Cuba."

• Audioslave
• Chris Cornell
• Rage Against the Machine

Tom Morello performing as the Nightwatchman
Photo: Matthew Simmons/ Getty Images

Over the last four years, Tom Morello has been leading something of a double life.

To most folks, he's beenAudioslave's virtuoso guitarist — nothing more. But when his band hasn't been in a recording studio or rattling the rafters of packed arenas on the road, Morello has been moonlighting as a folk-singing activist, performing in small California coffeehouses and elsewhere under the moniker the Nightwatchman (see "Tom Morello Rages Against A New Machine On Solo Acoustic Tour").

And in that time, Morello has penned a number of protest songs, which he recorded last year with producer Brendan O'Brien (Incubus, Rage Against the Machine) over four days in an Atlanta studio. The end result, One Man Revolution, is Morello's first solo offering and drops April 24.

"The Nightwatchman is the black Robin Hood of 21st century music," the guitarist proclaimed. "This is material I am very proud of, and due to the troubled times we live in, it seemed like it was an appropriate time to get this music out. Some people might say it's kind of preaching to the converted, but frankly, the converted need a kick in the ass. Given the situation in our country and around the world, the fact that the White House is not ringed with pitchforks and torches means that people are not either paying enough attention or following through with how aghast they actually are."

According to Morello, the Nightwatchman "is a reaction against illicit wars, a reaction against first strikes, torture, secret prisons, spying illegally on American citizens. It's a reaction against war crimes, and it's a reaction against a few corporations that grow rich [off] this illicit war while people beg for food in the city streets" — in short, it's a figurative middle finger directed squarely at the Bush administration.

Likewise, a reaction to the current state of affairs inspired the revival of Morello's other rock collective, Rage Against the Machine. The band — Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, drummer Brad Wilk and frontman Zack de la Rocha — will reunite after seven years of dormancy, to close out this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 29. on April 29 (see "Rage Against The Machine To Reunite For Coachella Festival"). The three-day festival will also feature performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Arcade Fire, Interpol, the Arctic Monkeys, Ghostface Killah and Björk, among others. It will be Rage's sole reunion gig — at least for the foreseeable future.

According to Morello, Rage's re-formation seeks to "deliver a knockout blow to the Bush administration. And hopefully, one night in the desert is all it will take. They're teetering, so ..."

Morello said Coachella organizers have been trying to convince the band to re-form for the fest "for as many years as they've had the festival." While he has said in previous interviews that a Rage reunion was unlikely, and the band has continually turned down the Coachella offers, Morello said the time was just right for a Rage return.

"Is it coincidence that in the seven years that Rage Against the Machine has been away that the country has slid into right-wing purgatory? I think not," he said. "It occurred to all of us that the times were right to see if we can knock the Bush administration out in one fell swoop, and we hope to do that job well. This administration has done enough damage that it may take generations to undo. This is an administration that believes it's beyond the laws of the land, which is fine for emperors, but not so great for presidents. One thing this president isn't above is the laws of physics, and there is no action without reaction. And we're part of that reaction."

Morello isn't sure what the future holds for his Audioslave, saying that for the moment, the Nightwatchman is his principal focus. "To me, it seems that the world needs songs of rebellion and revolution right now. It's exciting, man," he said of the Coachella gig. The Nightwatchman will also be taking the festival's stage on April 28.

The Nightwatchman was born inside a coffeehouse in L.A. in front of "eight people and a whirring latte machine." Morello and a group of his songwriting friends would get together and perform for each other, which took some getting used to, the guitarist said.

"I have complete confidence standing with an electric guitar, rocking huge riffs in a full arena, but I was absolutely petrified playing in front of 12 people, anonymously, in these little coffee shops," he confided.

For Morello, the hardest thing about performing as the Nightwatchman was learning how to sing — on One Man Revolution, Morello's voice recalls a young Leonard Cohen, before the thousands of cigarettes and glasses of tequila.

"It was really a trial by fire for someone who had never sung and performed solo," he said. "I've, for 15 years, been playing loud experimental rock music, and have [reverted] to the purity and the commitment of this kind of acoustic music.

"I've always been attracted to music that was dark and heavy, and it has really dawned on me over the last five years that music doesn't have to be loud," he continued. "Guitars don't have to be played through Marshall stacks in order to make the heaviest and darkest music that happens on records like [Bruce] Springsteen's [brooding 1982 classic] Nebraska or the early Dylan records."

One Man Revolution, Morello said, boasts two kinds of songs — ones that were written for specific political issues and agendas, and others that could speak to other kinds of social injustice. He wrote "Union Song" for workers' rights, and was inspired to craft the track after performing during a steel-workers' rally.

" 'No One Left' was written in the aftermath of 9/11," he explained. "There were lots of songs written in the wake of 9/11, but no one wrote that song. No one wrote about how the loss of a daughter or of a father or of a mother knows no borders, knows no political or religious affiliation — that that pain is universal, and should inform decision-making. Many of the songs on the record come from a very different place. When I started writing lyrics, I just put the antenna up, and whatever came down — whether it's dark tales of bitterness and retribution like 'Battle Hymns' or prophecy like 'California's Dark' or existential warnings like 'House Gone Up In Flames' or 'Flesh Shapes the Day' — those are songs that I'm not sure where they come from, but it worries me a little that they come from inside of me.

"It comes from accepting something I always suspected," he continued. "I was the only black kid in an all-white town growing up. I was the only anarchist in a conservative high school. I was the only heavy-metal, punk-rock guitar player at Harvard University, and I was the only Harvard grad in an underground Hollywood band. Now, I am one of only a few committed activists in a commercialized pop-music world. And so, I think making this record was a very important step for me."

• Tom Morello
• The Nightwatchman
• Rage Against the Machine
• Audioslave

Rage Against the Machine
Photo: Epic

In addition to its eclectic, star-studded lineups, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has established a reputation for landing hot reunions — the Pixies and the Stooges among them. This year's coup is the reunion of thrashing political rockers Rage Against the Machine, who have not played together for seven years.

The fiery quartet will reunite for a headlining show at the eighth edition of the festival — which will expand to three days, April 27-29, this year — according to an announcement from organizers. A report in the Los Angeles Times said the show will be a one-off; a spokesperson for the band could not be reached to confirm its long-term plans, and a representative for Rage vocalist Zack de la Rocha said the singer will not be commenting on the reunion. Rage also headlined the fest's maiden 1999 edition.

Joining them on the bill as headliners are Coachella veterans Red Hot Chili Peppers, who headlined in 2003, and Björk, who played in 2002. Also on the bill for the Indio, California, festival are the Arcade Fire, Interpol, the Arctic Monkeys, Ghostface Killah, the Decemberists, Air, the Roots, Sonic Youth, Kings of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, Travis, Lily Allen, Lupe Fiasco, Willie Nelson and reunited lineups of the Happy Mondays and Crowded House.

Although rumors were rife about a Rage reunion in the days leading up to the announcement, guitarist Tom Morello downplayed them in an e-mail message to MTV News earlier this month. The group splintered in 2000, with Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk joining former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell in the group Audioslave while vocalist/rapper Zack de la Rocha all but disappeared from the music scene. Though de la Rocha has sporadically appeared at public events and recorded songs with DJ Shadow, Saul Williams and Blackalicious, his long-rumored solo album has not surfaced and he has made few public statements since the dissolution of Rage.

Other acts on the preliminary list of performers include the Good, the Bad and the Queen (Blur/Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn's new group), New Pornographers, Hot Chip, Grizzly Bear, Black Keys, Silversun Pickups, Fountains of Wayne, Regina Spektor, Jarvis Cocker, Placebo, Satellite Party (Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell's newish band), Stephen Marley, DJ Shadow, Konono No. 1, LCD Soundsystem, Nickel Creek, Damien Rice, Blonde Redhead, Peeping Tom, Placebo, Rufus Wainwright, the Rapture, Explosions in the Sky, Richie Hawtin, !!!, Felix Da Housecat, Pharaohe Monche, Gogol Bordello, Infected Mushroom, Brazilian Girls, Soulwax, Jack's Mannequin, We Are Scientists, Tiësto, Manu Chao, Brother Ali, José González, VNV Nation, CocoRosie, Comedians of Comedy, Justice, MSTRKRFT, Faithless, Julieta Venegas, Gotan Project, Paul van Dyk, Circa Survive, Ozomatli, Peaches, the Frames, Amos Lee and Peter, Bjorn & John.

Three-day passes for the festival will cost around $249, with tickets going on sale on Saturday. A limited number of one-day tickets will also be sold for $85 each.

The rest of the preliminary lineup features a mix of veteran performers such as Gillian Welch, Sparklehorse, Cornelius, Andrew Bird, the Coup and legendary Texas psychedelic warrior Roky Erickson and his band the Explosives. Also on the bill are emerging acts like Girl Talk, the Klaxons, the Kooks, CSS, Spank Rock, Tapes 'N Tapes, Fields, Tokyo Police Club, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Tilly and the Wall, Amy Winehouse, Avett Brothers, the Cribs, Digitalism, Erol Alkan, Evil Nine, the Noisettes, DJ Heather, the Feeling, Fratellis and Fair to Midland.

[This story was originally published at 7:45 a.m. ET on 1.22.2007]

• Rage Against the Machine
• Audioslave

Axl Rose
Photo: Rob Loud/ Getty Images

Back in October, Guns N' Roses' management issued a press statement addressing the release of the band's oft-delayed, $15-million, dozen-years-in-the-making album, Chinese Democracy. It said: "The only comment at this time is that there are 13 Tuesdays left between now and the end of the year" — insinuating, it would seem, that the LP could finally see the light of day before the end of 2006.

"It will come out this year," GN'R ringmaster Axl Rose has steadfastly insisted in interviews, during press junkets and even while unwinding at parties. He said so on Eddie Trunk's radio show in May, and repeated it after his appearance at the VMAs on August 31.

Those claims are supported somewhat by the fact that the band has been gigging since the spring, both in the U.S. and abroad (see "Guns N' Roses Hint At Democracy's Arrival, Add Tour Dates"). Granted, GN'R also toured in 2002, the last time album-release speculation reached this height (see "It's Extra Official: Promoter Says GN'R Tour Totally Off"). Several tracks purported to be either from the album or demo versions of songs from it leaked in February (see "Are Guns N' Roses Finally Coming Back? The Signs Are There ..."), which may lend some credence to his statements.

Sources close to Rose have supported his assertion, and in February, even former GN'R guitarist Slash told a British radio interviewer that he thought the album would be out this year — although he said March. Online rumors speculated a November 21 release — erroneously.

With just four Tuesdays left to go — one of them being the day after Christmas — and the band's label maintaining that no release date is at hand, things are looking pretty glum for GN'R fans hoping to find Rose's magnum opus under the tree. (While Tuesday releases are the industry standard, other days are possible: In 2004, Interscope Records rush-released Eminem's Encore on a Friday in a leak-beating maneuver.)

It could still happen. But, to paraphrase one of Michael Corleone's henchmen in "Godfather II," it will be "difficult, but not impossible."

Unless an ultra-top-secret marketing plan is in the works, the album would have to be released without the major promotional push such a hot-ticket item would normally have — an approach that failed dismally with Limp Bizkit's stealthy 2005 release of The Unquestionable Truth, Pt. 1, which debuted with a thud at #24 on Billboard's album chart with just 37,000 copies sold.

None of the national retailers contacted by MTV News said they were aware of an official release date, and several major-label personnel declined even to speculate on the possibility of such a release happening before the end of this year.

One executive, Carl Severson, a former staffer at metal powerhouse Roadrunner Records who currently runs Ferret Records (and fronts metalcore act Nora), said he's reasonably confident that the album won't appear in '06. "First of all, all the print advertisements would have to be done and turned in already [as required by magazines' publication deadlines] — and someone would have leaked those," he explained. "Even if they were to do television spots, they'd have to be turning them in right now, just to get them to run the week before Christmas. If it is coming out this year, it's pathetic."

That hasn't stopped online gambling sites like Bodog.com from getting in on the guessing game. There, one can bet on whether Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie will adopt again next year — and even what country the child will be from — and whether Chinese Democracy will hit stores "in its entirety" before the seal on 2007 is broken. As of Thursday (November 30), the odds were more or less equal.

"Basically, with wagers like this, you have to take into consideration as many sources as possible," said Bodog spokesperson Greg Godden when discussing the method by which his firm sets odds on various events. "Things like Rolling Stone, MTV News, the Billboard charts and that kind of stuff. We do offer a wager on it, with the 'Yes' option at minus-130 — which is basically the same thing as a 56-percent chance the album will be released this year."

The "No" option, he said, places minus-110 odds on the album's release, or a 52-percent chance the album will not surface. But most visitors to Bodog's site seem to "think it will come out some time this year," with most of the bets being placed favoring a 2006 release.

Others beg to differ.

"There's really no chance, bro," said José Mangin, format manager for Sirius Satellite Radio's Octane and Hard Attack channels. He considers the fact that he hasn't received an advance copy for on-air play a telling sign. "We're playing singles from albums that are coming out in February now — we were playing them in October. After all the millions of dollars the label has put into this project and this album, if it was coming out in December, I'd think they would at least want to give it proper promotion."

Of course, this is no normal album, and Axl has, in his own unique ways, been promoting the heck out of it for years, especially in the past few months. One could even argue that the album is more famous for its non-appearance than anything else.

"Everyone knows the name," said M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, who toured Europe with GN'R this summer (and formed some five years after Rose began work on Chinese Democracy). "It's already more famous as a record that hasn't been released yet: Everyone knows of Chinese Democracy, but no one has heard it. That's kind of crazy."

Shadows said he thinks it's unlikely that Chinese Democracy will come out this year, but it may come soon. "When you've got as much money as Axl, and with as many records as he's sold, he's probably just sitting there going, 'I don't need to release this record.' It does seem closer, though. A couple years ago, when people were saying it was coming out, I knew it wasn't. But now that the demos have been leaked, and I heard [go-to mixer] Andy Wallace is mixing it — you know when you've got Andy Wallace mixing stuff, it means it's getting closer, at least."

"Will it come out? Hard to say," speculated Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello. "Axl is clearly talented ... and troubled: a combination often found among the best lead singers. If he can overcome his fears about the album's relevance or commercial prospects or whatever the underlying problem is, and just release it, then we would all be glad to hear it and can get on with our lives."

Indeed, while anticipation for the album remains remarkably high for a dozen-odd-years-in-gestation work, one wonders just how long Rose can tantalize his fans with false alarms before they stop caring.

"I'd like to say that I believe it will come out this year. But this has got to be, what, the fourth or fifth or maybe-even-more-than-that time that this has been announced as coming out," said Kelli Malella, Metal Blade Records' director of publicity and a longtime GN'R fan. "Part of me thinks, 'OK, they're touring so it's got to be coming out,' but they've done that a couple of times already. So if I put my money on it, I think it will be delayed again. I guess I've just lost hope."

Shawn Callahan, drummer for GN'R cover band Appetite for Destruction, is similarly pessimistic. "I mean, maybe there's a 50-50 chance it comes out before the end of the year, but I'm still skeptical," he sighed. "A lot of this might just be hype, but I think it remains to be seen if people will be buying this album."

And after all the buildup, how could the album not be disappointing? Mangin said the listener response to the leaked tracks (which Octane was playing before the label sent a cease-and-desist letter) was meek, at best. "It really didn't get a huge, like, 'Oh my God, this is awesome [reaction],' " he said. "No one was flooding the phone lines or the e-mails, saying they need it and they can't stop waiting for it."

"Do we really care at this point?," wondered Slipknot's Shawn "Clown" Crahan. "No disrespect, but I stopped looking at my calendar when the real [original] band was done. That was the real excitement. That was the real magic. That was the real truth. I'm kind of bored with it."

Severson agreed, adding that Axl may have tinkered the album to death.

"There's absolutely no way that it's going to be good enough to merit 10 years in the making," he said. "You know why [Axl has] changed producers [so many times]? Because the material's not good enough and he keeps trying someone who's going to fix it. He keeps trying to get the right record."

"I think after you take a certain amount of time, you might start feeling a little insecure about it," Shadows added. "You feel like it's never quite done. To me, it doesn't really matter at this point how good it is. A lot of people are going to say it wasn't worth the wait. I think it will be a great record, and I think for people to embrace it, they're just going to have to take it for what it is. It's just a rock record, and they need to listen to it like that. You can totally overthink sh--."

Of course, anything is possible with Axl Rose — including another dozen years of overthinking sh--. The album could appear tomorrow — or on Christmas Day or New Year's Eve or 2010, or never. It's hard not to think that the mystique surrounding Chinese Democracy — the thrill of anticipation, Axl's quixotic rebelliousness, the album's sheer elusiveness — is as much, if not more, of its appeal as the music.

"Axl is his own dude," Mangin said. "He's going to do what he wants. And I respect that."

• Guns N' Roses
• Limp Bizkit
• Avenged Sevenfold
• Audioslave
• Slipknot

Chris Cornell
Photo: David Livingston/ Getty Images

According to Chris Cornell, fans should expect a few surprises from his second solo studio LP when it lands in stores in March — like, say, his cover of Michael Jackson's 1982 hit "Billie Jean."

"I didn't plan on it," he said with a chuckle. "It just sort of happened organically. I changed the music quite a bit, I didn't touch the lyrics. And it's not a joke. I took a completely different approach to it, musically. It's like when Johnny Cash did [the Soundgarden song] 'Rusty Cage,' " on Cash's 1996 LP Unchained, "and people started calling me and leaving messages saying, 'I heard the Johnny Cash version and the lyrics are really, really great.' No one ever told me that before. Ever. Not once. This is kind of like that. It does that to this song, because it's really an emotional song.

"The lyrical content is kind of panicky, because — well, it's a pretty bad thing, someone coming and lying to you, saying you're the father of their kid and you're not."

Cornell, who has played the cover during live gigs in Europe, said the track has to be heard to be believed. But in truth, the cover is rather apropos. The lyrics the Audioslave frontman wrote for the 12 cuts on the follow-up to 1999's Euphoria Morning deal with all kinds of relationships (see "Chris Cornell Working On Solo LP — But Dismisses Rumors Of Audioslave Split").

The rocker, who began recording the LP four weeks ago and is just about finished with it, said one song — "She'll Never Be Your Man" — tells the story of a guy "whose woman leaves him for another woman, which is sort of hard to deal with because men know how to compete with other men for something like a woman and a relationship."

Not that Cornell's speaking from experience. "I know a couple of different people who were married and their wives left them for women," he explained. "It's like a special kind of weird dis, in a way. It's never happened to me, but just in thinking about it and hearing stories about it, it's like, 'Maybe I was so bad, not only did she dump me, she gave up men entirely?' "

There's also "Arms Around Your Love," which is about "a guy whose girl leaves him for another guy, but she didn't really want to — it was just that he was such a loser," Cornell said. "And now, this guy's got to deal with seeing her around with someone else. That song should really be called 'You're an Idiot.' Maybe it will be when it ends up on the record."

The album, which Cornell said has its "gospel and R&B" moments, will also feature the tune "Disappearing Act," an acoustic version of which appears in the upcoming movie "Bug," directed by William Friedkin ("The Exorcist") and starring Ashley Judd. The album cut is going to be a plugged-in rendition, while the film version was recorded in Cornell's living room.

In fact, Cornell revealed it was writing "Disappearing Act" and "You Know My Name," the theme from the upcoming James Bond film "Casino Royale," that inspired him to release a second solo LP. The songs are also part of the reason why Audioslave — who issued their third album, Revelations, two months ago — won't be touring anytime soon (see "New Audioslave LP: 'Led Zeppelin Meets Earth, Wind & Fire' ").

"I started working on songs for the James Bond film and that song for 'Bug,' and I started writing more and more and more, and decided that I was going to make another record, right away," he said. "I had a lot of song ideas I wanted to work on, and I kind of want to get back to making my own records and touring for a while. But I mean, we made three records in four and a half years. Three of the four of us have had children since we became a band. We don't have any touring plans at all.

"I like the idea of making some music," he continued. "This coming year will be the 20th anniversary of me being a recording artist, so I am looking forward to the idea of putting out another record and going out, doing my own tour and playing everything from my entire history. There's a lot there. It's actually staggering when I think about it."

• Chris Cornell
• Audioslave
• Soundgarden

• U2
• Foo Fighters
• The Flaming Lips
• Blondie
• Billy Idol

Weezer's Rivers Cuomo
Photo: Karl Walter/ Getty Images

In a current Miller Brewing Company ad campaign, various manly men — including actor Burt Reynolds, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis and wrestler Triple H — sit inside a steel cage and debate various tenets of "Man Law."

Well, Weezer might not be as tough as those guys, but they're not taking what they perceive as some sand in the face from Miller lying down.

On Friday, the band filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Miller, alleging that the brewing company used its name in a "grossly misleading and deceptive" manner in a series of advertisements that ran in Rolling Stone magazine and a host of other publications late in 2004.

At the heart of the suit is a two-page ad that displayed a series of concert ticket stubs — including one from a 2002 Weezer show in Concord, California — under the heading "Rock Without the Souvenir. That's Like Beer Without Taste."

The problem, as far as Weezer see it, is that neither Miller nor Young & Rubicam (the advertising agency responsible for the campaign) obtained the band's permission to use its name, and has caused the group to be associated with the promotion of alcoholic beverages, which Weezer "did not, and do not, consent to."

The bandmembers also balked at having their name used in association with other bands featured in the ad (concert tickets by acts like Elvis Presley, Bon Jovi, Devo and, um, Less Than Jake are also featured), which has "further damaged" their reputation.

"The 'Weezer' name has been associated with other bands and musical performers with whom [the band] do not want to be associated with in any advertisement," the suit alleges. "The defendants have, without any right, title or authorization, misappropriated the valuable 'Weezer' name."

The suit seeks damages equal to three times the revenue Miller generated as a result of the advertisements, an amount which at the present time is unknown but, according to the suit, is "believed to be in the millions of dollars." Frontman Rivers Cuomo — who, as the suit reveals, is the "sole owner" of the Weezer name and trademark — would also be entitled to damages equal to three times Miller's revenue.

Audioslave, who were also featured in the ad, filed a similar lawsuit against the beer company last year (see "Audioslave, Miller Beer In Legal Brew-Haha Over Magazine Ad"). It is not known if any of the other artists featured in the advertisement plan on filing suits against Miller, who when contacted by MTV News had no comment on the lawsuit.

Per additional papers filed on behalf of Weezer, the case will be heard before a jury, though there is no date set for the trial.

The band is essentially on hiatus, although its status fluctuates regularly (see "Rivers Cuomo Says Weezer Are 'Done' For Now — Again").

• Weezer
• Elvis Presley
• Bon Jovi
• Less Than Jake
• Audioslave

Soundgarden: Where Ya Been?

• Soundgarden
• Chris Cornell
• Audioslave

The 48th Annual Grammy Nominees

• Mariah Carey
• Kanye West
• John Legend
• 50 Cent
• Black Eyed Peas

Lohan, Cannon, Simpson, Teutuls And More At VH1 Big In '05 Awards

• Lindsay Lohan
• Jessica Simpson
• Bo Bice
• Nick Cannon
• Kelis

Buzzfest Photo Gallery

• Fall Out Boy
• Audioslave
• Nickelback
• Seether
• Cold

"ReAct Now: Music & Relief" Disaster Relief Benefit Concert Photos

• Kelly Clarkson
• Game
• Alicia Keys
• Nine Inch Nails
• David Banner

Live 8 Around The World: Good Charlotte, Bjork, Green Day and More

• Audioslave
• Shakira
• Good Charlotte
• Björk
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Foos, Audioslave, Interpol, Killers Play Weenie Roast 2005

• Transplants
• My Chemical Romance
• Interpol
• Bloc Party
• The Killers

Audioslave Live In Havana, Cuba 05.06.2005

• Audioslave

Audioslave live at Roseland Ballroom in NYC 04.30.2005

• Audioslave

Jane's Addiction, Audioslave, The Donnas Rock Lollapalooza Launch

• Jane's Addiction
• Audioslave
• The Donnas
• Incubus
• Jurassic 5