Paris Hilton
Photo: Getty Images

Paris has called off her engagement to Paris. After months of touting how she was looking forward to settling down and thinking about having a baby, Paris Hilton has dumped Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, saying that she's "just not ready for marriage." "I'm still young and have a very active career that I'm not prepared to give up," she said in a statement. Part of that career still involves Latsis, she said, because they will be business partners and have "movies in the works." "I love Paris," she said. "He is my best friend and it will be that way forever." ...

50 Cent says he's the hardest-working man alive — and really, who's going to argue with that? Not when he's got both a new movie and a new soundtrack coming out. On November 9, "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " hits theaters, and the day before that he'll be dropping the soundtrack, which features all new music from his entire G-Unit roster, including Mase, Mobb Deep, M.O.P. and 50 himself. "I created the music for the soundtrack while I was actually filming the movie," 50 Cent said. "I had a studio trailer with me and would record every day between takes." 50 executive-produced the album, with Dr. Dre, Sha Money XL and Hi-Tek also producing. The first single will be "Window Shopper." ... Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" has made digital-music history. The song has surpassed the 1-million mark in download sales, making it the first commercial digital download to do so. "It's always an honor to be recognized for your music," Stefani said, "and this is really the coolest. ... It really is bananas." ...

A judge has ordered Grammy-winning reggae star Buju Banton to go to trial on October 19 in connection with his alleged role in attacking a group of gay men in Jamaica last year. The 31-year-old dancehall singer is accused along with Horace Hill of beating six gay men in June 2004 at a home in the Red Hills Road area of Kingston, according to an Associated Press report. Both men have pleaded not guilty. For years Banton has been criticized by gay-rights advocates for his 1992 song "Boom Bye Bye," which has lyrics about shooting gay people. He was forced to cancel tour dates in the U.S. and Europe last year after protests. ... Usher, Mary J. Blige and Duran Duran helped Andre Agassi raise more than $10 million for his charitable foundation Saturday night, when they played at the Grand Slam for Children at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena. Celine Dion, Earth, Wind & Fire, Robin Williams and George Lopez were among the announced performers, while Barbra Streisand was a surprise guest. The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation assists at-risk youth in Las Vegas via schools, scholarship funds, summer camps and youth organizations. ...

Ryan Cabrera is heading out on the road again, this time with the Click Five (who toured with his ex Ashlee Simpson earlier this year) in tow. Cabrera's six-week trek kicks off October 18 in Anaheim, California, and runs through November 26 in Orlando, Florida. Meanwhile, Cabrera's new game show, "Score," where he teaches contestants how to write songs to score dates, debuts October 10 at 4:30 p.m. on MTV. ... David Banner and G-Unit's DJ Whoo Kid are both creating new and exclusive ringtones for UrbanWorld Wireless. "I'm bringing that Dirty South flavor in full force to this ringtone space," Banner said. ... Britney Spears is auctioning off furniture, clothing, jewelry and other items to raise money for the Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund. The items, including a jewel-encrusted bra, a Roberto Cavalli gown and a hand-carved wooden chandelier, went on the auction block Saturday at www.eBay.com/BritneySpears. ...

The body of Glenn Rambo, the former frontman for sludgy Louisiana grindcore outfit Soilent Green, was found Saturday afternoon in Violet, Louisiana. Rambo, a founding member of the band, was discovered inside his mother's home; she, too, was found dead. According to a Relapse Records spokesperson, Rambo and his mother were trapped inside the house by Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged through the area. ... Dropkick Murphys frontman Al Barr was hospitalized on Friday with what the band's Web site described as "severe stomach pains." No further information was available on his condition, but emergency surgery was performed. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery. Barr's illness has forced the band to postpone its Japanese tour. ...

The Dead Kennedys have pulled off the bill for Waking the Dead, a concert scheduled for October 29 at Los Angeles' Grand Olympic Auditorium. The band's been replaced in the lineup by Fear. Suicidal Tendencies, the Germs, Marky Ramone and Flipper are also expected to perform at the show. ... INXS will perform with their new frontman, J.D. Fortune, at the grand opening of the new Virgin Megastore in Hollywood. Gang of Four and Dredg will also play the late-afternoon rooftop show on October 17, while Virgin chairman Richard Branson will be on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Meanwhile, INXS are releasing a live concert — featuring their original singer, Michael Hutchence — as a digital download starting Tuesday. "INXS: Live at Barker Hangar" was recorded in May 1993. ...

The Kaiser Chiefs didn't have to look far to find a director for their new video, "Modern Way" — lead singer Ricky Wilson took on the task. He got some help, though, from co-director Scott Lyon (Franz Ferdinand). "It's a gem, our favorite video so far," the band wrote on its Web site, noting that "Modern Way" will be the final single from Employment. The CD single will contain four new songs, which the Kaiser Chiefs recorded with producer Steve Harris. The band is also releasing a 90-minute DVD, due at the end of November, called "Enjoyment," and it's "loosely plotted" around the history of the bandmembers from childhood on. ...

Lawyers for CBGB and the New York punk club's landlord were back in New York City Civil Court Monday morning (October 3) to file another round of motions in what's shaping up to be a rather drawn-out legal battle. CBGB owner Hilly Kristal was served with an eviction notice at the beginning of last month, but hasn't budged — he continues not only to operate the hub of punk without a valid lease, but book more acts to perform there. The club's eviction has been stalled in court, and it appears Kristal won't be going anywhere for at least another month; both parties will return to court on November 7 for another hearing. But there were some developments Monday morning. The landlord's attorney filed a motion to withdraw "holdover" or eviction proceedings; instead, the landlord would like to bring an action of ejectment — a method by which a landlord can obtain possession of a property — in New York's Supreme Court. Kristal's attorney, Steven Sperber, moved to dismiss the holdover proceeding altogether, on the basis of a number of causes, including the fact that the building is not registered with the city as habitable space. Sperber also plans to respond to the landlord's petition to move the matter to the Supreme Court, but refused to discuss his strategy. ...

09.30.2005

Young Buck's court date in Los Angeles this week in connection with the melee at last fall's Vibe Awards was once again postponed, this time to October 25. The G-Unit rapper has already pleaded not guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. ...

When Burt Bacharach, the famous composer whose credits include "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "I Say a Little Prayer," announced last fall he was working with Dr. Dre, music fans might've assumed he was just getting senile in his old age (he's 77). Well, the music is now actually coming out. His new album, At This Time, due November 1, features three tracks with drum loops provided by Dre. Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Chris Botti also appear on the album. ... Attention Bright Eyes fans in the St. Louis area: Your show will go on. Two weeks after he announced he was canceling a show at St. Louis club the Pageant because of the venue's association with Clear Channel Communications, Bright Eyes' main man Conor Oberst has found a new (non-corporate) home for the November 12 gig: the Jesse Auditorium on the campus of the University of Missouri - Columbia. The bad news? Tickets to the Pageant will not be honored (though refunds are available). Tickets for the new show go on sale through Ticketmaster starting Friday (September 30). ...

Here's some good news for any of the almost 57,000 Switchfoot fans who picked up a copy of the band's newest disc, Nothing Is Sound, at a Christian retail outlet and then, after buying the LP, wondered, "Gee, why can't I import these tracks to my iPod?" Turns out you threw money down on a defective album. According to a spokesperson for EMI CMG, which distributes Switchfoot's albums to Christian retail only, a manufacturing defect in the CDs' content-protection technology prevented fans from burning copies of the album or transferring the tracks to portable MP3 devices. Hence, the company's pulled all of the copies that were out there, and is recalling all of those copies that have been sold. Those who bought one of the defective copies (they've got the Sparro Records logo on them) and would like a fresh copy of the disc can return to the point of purchase for a new one. ... New Jersey rock act Thursday, who're currently composing material for the follow-up to 2003's War All the Time, want their fans to help them battle breast cancer — by designing a T-shirt, through the Shirts for a Cure Project. Proceeds from the sale of the winning tee will benefit breast-cancer organizations. It doesn't hurt that the winner will also get a boatload of autographed Thursday swag, too. Designs should be e-mailed to thursday@shirtsforacure.com before October 4. ...

Remember Jin? The onetime Ruff Ryders member declared "I Quit" a year ago, but now the Chinese-American MC is back with Emcee's Properganda (October 25), a 14-track album in which he asserts his love and respect for hip-hop history on songs like "Perspectives" and "Top 5 (Dead or Alive)." ... Alanis Morissette is putting out a greatest-hits album, and for her first single, she's planning to release the cover she did of Seal's "Crazy" for Gap's fall ad campaign, via a video she shot last week in Los Angeles with Meiert Avis. The Collection, due November 15, will include 19 songs, including tracks from her "MTV Unplugged" album and her contributions to soundtracks for "Dogma," "City of Angels" and "De-Lovely." "It was a torturous challenge to come up with the songs," she said. "Rather than seeing my songs as children, I view them as rooms in the big house that is my life. All of them are a snapshot of a period of time and a passage in my life." The Collection will also include behind-the-scenes footage, while a limited-edition two-disc set will feature an hour-long documentary. ...

A tribute album to late singer Elliott Smith, To Elliott From: Portland, is slated for release on February 7. Among the acts contributing covers to the set are the Decemberists, Helio Sequence, the Thermals, Crosstide and more. Elliott's former roommate, singer/songwriter Sean Croghan, covers the previously unreleased song "Hard Times." Ten percent of proceeds will go to the Elliott Smith Foundation's Free Arts for Abused Children program. ... Ozomatli, Blackalicious and Fishbone are among the acts that will perform at a Sublime tribute show on October 24 at the Music Box @ Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. Members of Sublime and other special guests will also take the stage. All proceeds will go to MusiCares' Musicians Assistance Program and hurricane relief efforts. ...

As if MySpace wasn't mind-numbingly addictive enough, the masterminds behind the leading online gathering place have announced several new features geared toward its college crowd. Current students, as well as alumni, will now have the ability to rate their professors, list their courses, link up with classmates and proudly display their Greek affiliation on their user profiles. And for you naughty kids who like to jones on your professor, you can now rate them on a hotness scale. ... Reel Big Fish's Scott Klopfenstein has been hospitalized in New Zealand, where he'll remain for an indefinite period of time. Doctors there have been running tests on the multi-instrumentalist and singer, according to the band's manager. Signs of Klopfenstein's condition first emerged a few weeks back, in the form of partial paralysis and blurred vision. At this point, doctors have determined his illness could be one of two things: Guillain-Barré or Miller Fisher syndrome, both being rare, acquired nerve diseases characterized by abnormal muscle coordination, paralysis of the eye muscles, absence of the tendon reflexes, generalized muscle weakness and respiratory failure — all of which could be preceded by a viral illness. Reel Big Fish will continue to tour Australia and will play in Hawaii on October 10. ...

• 50 Cent
• Gwen Stefani
• Buju Banton
• Ryan Cabrera
• Usher

Puddle of Mudd are catching Wonka fever. Like labelmate Obie Trice, Puddle will include five golden tickets in the first pressing of copies of their new album, Life on Display. The lucky winners will be flown to Hawaii to hang with the band for a day and watch their display of life during their next tour. ...

Korn fans will have to wait another week before they can Take a Look in the Mirror. The band's sixth album has been bumped a week to a November 25 release. ... A skateboard deck tagged by Metallica is going for $338, at press time, on an eBay auction to raise money for Amnesty International. An array of decks decorated by Audioslave, Dashboard Confessional, N.E.R.D. and Tony Hawk, among many others, are up for bid through November. More info is available at www.musicforhumanrights.com. ...

Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, known collectively as Tears for Fears, will release their first album together in 15 years this spring. The as-yet-untitled effort will follow 1993's Elemental and 1995's Raoul and the Kings of Spain, both of which were recorded without Smith. Tears for Fears scored big hits in the 1980s with "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout." ... Hyper-driven rocker Andrew W.K. has lined up a handful of East Coast tour dates in support of his second album, The Wolf, which dropped last month. The dates begin October 17 at a radio show in Norfolk, Virginia, and culminate with a CMJ showcase October 24 in Brooklyn, New York. ...

Revolution Smile drummer Jeremy White split with the band last week. Failure's Kelli Scott will temporarily replace him on three California dates of the Cold tour. Revolution Smile's remaining dates to support their debut, Above the Noise, have been canceled while they look for a permanent replacement. ... The Donnas were forced to scrap the remaining dates of their European tour due to drummer Torry's (Donna C)'s tendonitis. The quartet hopes she's well enough to play the Voodoo Music Festival in New Orleans on November 1, and Australia and New Zealand's Big Day Out touring festival in January. In the meantime, the group will start writing the follow-up to last year's Spend the Night. ... Other news from Big Day Out finds A Perfect Circle withdrawing from the lineup, which includes Metallica, the Strokes, Dandy Warhols and Flaming Lips. The jaunt runs from January 18 to February 1. ...

J.D. Kimball, the original singer for the '80s power metal band Omen, died on Friday after a three-year fight with cancer. Kimball appeared on four of the band's releases, Battle Cry, Warning of Danger, Nightmares and The Curse. He left the band in 1987. ... Dancehall producers Fat Eyes will release A Dancehall Twofer: Fat Eyes Deelite and Dancehall Attack, a compilation of tracks they produced for Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and others, on October 21. A separate Fat Eyes collection, Dancehall Deelite, featuring Buju Banton, Morgan Heritage, Sizzla and others, will be released the following week. ...

Sarah McLachlan will release a new EP, Acoustic Live EP 2003, exclusively through Apple's iTunes Music Store on October 21. The record includes two songs from her upcoming LP, Afterglow, including the single "Fallen," plus three older tunes. ...

10.06.2003

Jersey City, New Jersey, police think the shots fired outside a Doubletree Hotel on September 10 allegedly targeting 50 Cent could be linked to the rapper's feud with Lil' Kim, according to the New York Daily News. The newspaper reports that police are investigating Damion "World" Hardy, a 28-year-old ex-con who is also reportedly Kim's boyfriend. 50 and Kim have been engaged in a war of words ever since 50 pulled out of Kim's video for "Magic Stick," a hit record he wrote for her. Only hours before the incident, 50 was on New York's Hot 97 unleashing a scathing freestyle dis directed at Kim. ...

Ludacris will be serving up Chicken-N-Beer on Tuesday — literally. Beginning this week, patrons of the Gladys Knight & Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles restaurant in Atlanta can order the "Ludacris Special," which includes two chicken breasts, two legs or two thighs with sides of macaroni and cheese, collard greens and a cold Bud Light. ...

The performance lineup for the American Music Awards has beefed up to include Sheryl Crow, Outkast, Ruben Studdard and nominees Kid Rock (Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Album), Ricky Martin (Favorite Latin Artist) and Clay Aiken (Favorite Male Artist). The 31st annual American Music Awards, which has already slated Ashanti, Hilary Duff, Metallica and Britney Spears to perform, will air November 16 on ABC. ... Though Hell on Earth promised a live suicide as part of their act this weekend, whether or not they actually delivered is a matter of debate. The little-known Florida metal band had planned to let a terminally ill friend commit suicide onstage, but when local authorities filed an injunction against the group, the band decided to host the suicide at a separate, undisclosed location, which would be broadcast over the Internet. But that, too, ran into difficulties, when Hell on Earth's Web site was locked up due to a flood of data, which the operator of the host site characterized as a denial-of-service attack. No video was shown on the Web page, and no suicides were reported in the St. Petersburg area, according to the St. Petersburg Times, though an Internet shock jock for www.radiofreesatan.com claims he has video of what purports to be a man committing suicide, but even he says he doesn't believe it's real. ...

The digital age catches up with Guns N' Roses when three of the band's home videos get reissued on DVD. "Welcome to the Videos," originally released on VHS in 1998, and "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II," both issued in 1992, are slated to come out on DVD on October 28. ... November 4 is the date that feels most right for Bon Jovi to release their reworked greatest-hits set This Left Feels Right. A dozen new versions of hits such as "Wanted Dead or Alive," "Bad Medicine" and "Everyday" are paired with new tunes "Last Man Standing" and "Thief of Hearts." In other Bon Jovi news, singer and namesake Jon and his wife Dorothea are expecting their fourth child this spring, according to www.BonJovi.com. ...

A double album from Led Zeppelin's frontman is on the way. Sixty Six to Timbuktu, due November 4, features all of Robert Plant's solo singles, along with material from Listen and the Band of Joy, groups he was in prior to joining Led Zeppelin in 1968. ... Alleged drunk driver Diana Ross' trial has been postponed from December 9 to January 14. ... Despite the loss of founding member Charlie Colin, Train aren't off the rails of their current U.S. tour. The bassist has been replaced by Johnny Colt, formerly of the Black Crowes. Colin and the band parted on good terms and the possibility of working together in the future has not been ruled out. ...

While a lack of medical benefits has been the bane of many signed artists, that may soon be a problem of the past. As part of a union pact, all five major U.S. record companies have agreed to provide health care for all of their musicians. In the past, artists who didn't earn enough in album royalties weren't eligible for coverage. The pact could take effect before the end of the year. ... If you thought the Rolling Stones' greatest-hits package 40 Licks was a must have, you might also want "Four Flicks," a four-DVD set of live Stones footage, which goes on sale November 11. Three discs feature recent full concerts from Madison Square Garden in New York, Twickenham Stadium in London and the Olympia Theater in Paris. The final disc features two Stones documentaries, "Licks Around the World" and "Tip of the Tongue." ...

• Puddle Of Mudd
• Korn
• Metallica
• Buju Banton
• Tears for Fears

• Sean Paul
• Wayne Wonder
• Buju Banton
• Bounty Killer
• Bob Marley

The whole world will love it when Outkast cohort Killer Mike makes that sound as he unleashes his inner Monster and the first single, "AKshon."

Meanwhile, Muggs, best known as the DJ for Cypress Hill, steps away from the tales of drug romps and urban life to take on his own album, Dust, which features understated cameos by Everlast and Amy Trujillo.

Punk band AFI deliver their first major-label release, Sing the Sorrow. The album, co-produced by Butch Vig and Jerry Finn, features driving tracks like "Bleed Black" and "Dancing Through Sunday" as well as lighter fare like "The Great Disappointment."

Folk/punk singer Ani DiFranco releases Evolve, which contains an epic 10-minute song, "Serpentine," while folk/funk artist Ben Harper issues Diamonds on the Inside, which includes the James Brown-like number "Bringing the Funk" and the Bob Marley-inspired tune "With My Own Two Hands."

The first single off of Everclear's Slow Motion Daydream, "Volvo Driving Soccer Mom," is a good gauge of the tone of the rest of the album, which features such songs as "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "I Want to Die a Beautiful Death."

Finally, Ms. Dynamite from the U.K. releases A Little Deeper, the album featuring the single "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" as well as other tunes that seamlessly combine her talent for both singing and rhyming, like "Seed Will Grow," "Put Him Out" and "All I Ever." Dyno-mite!

Out Tuesday, March 11:

• 40 Grit - Nothing to Remember (Metal Blade)
• AFI - Sing the Sorrow (DreamWorks)
  Buy Now: Sing the Sorrow (DreamWorks)
• Buju Banton - Friends for Life (VP)
• The Be Good Tanyas - Chinatown (Nettwerk)
• Walter Beasley - Go With the Flow (N-Coded)
• Bettie Serveert - Log 22 (Hidden Agenda/Parasol)
• Blackstreet - Level II (DreamWorks)
  Buy Now: Level II (DreamWorks)
• Bobby Blue Band - Blues at Midnight (Malaco)
• Mira Calix - Skimskitta (Warp/Lex)
• Dennis Chambers - Outbreak (ESC)
• Peter Cincotti - Peter Cincotti (Concord)
• Cooler Kids - All Around the World (DreamWorks)
• Ani DiFranco - Evolve (Righteous Babe)
  Buy Now: Evolve (Righteous Babe)
• DJ Icey - Different Day (Zone/System)
• Dressy Bessy - Little Music (Kindercore)
• Drunk Horse - Adult Situations (Tee Pee)
• Everclear - Slow Motion Daydream (Capitol)
  Buy Now: Slow Motion Daydream (Capitol)
• Fiction Plane - Everything Will Never Be OK (MCA)
• Firesign Theatre - All Things Firesign (Artemis)
• Celso Fonseca - Natural (Six Degrees Travel Series)
• Kenny Garrett - Standard of Language (Warner Bros.)
• Gibson Brothers - Bona Fide (Sugar Hill)
• Ben Harper - Diamonds on the Inside (Virgin)
  Buy Now: Diamonds on the Inside (Virgin)
• Aubrey Haynie - The Bluegrass Fiddle Album (Sugar Hill)
• Vincent Herring - All Too Real (High Note)
• Dave Hole - The Live One (Alligator)
• Jack Ingram - Electric: Extra Volts (Sony)
• Jenifer Jackson - So High (Bar/None)
• Joe Jackson - Volume 4 (Restless/Rykodisc)
• Steve James - Fast Texas (Burnside)
• Killer Mike - Monster (Aquemini/Columbia)
  Buy Now: Monster (Aquemini/Columbia)
• Ute Lemper - But One Day (Decca/Universal Classics)
• Little Hatch - Rock With Me Baby (APO)
• Jeff Lorber - Philly Style (Narada Jazz)
• Lunik - Ahead (Nettwerk America)
• Machine Head - Hellalive (Roadrunner)
• Mad Caddies - Just One More (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Meanest Man Contest - Merit (EFA-CAR)
• The Melvins - 26 Songs (Ipecac)
• Craig Morgan - I Love It (Broken Bow)
• Ms. Dynamite - A Little Deeper (Interscope)
  Read: "Ms. Dynamite To Drop A Little Deeper In March"
  Buy Now: A Little Deeper (Interscope)
• Muggs - Dust (Anti/Epitaph)
• Peter Ostroushko - Coming Down From Red Lodge (Red House)
• Kelly Joe Phelps - Slingshot Professionals (Rykodisc)
• Phillips & Driver - Togetherness (Bar/None)
• The Planets - Classical Graffiti (Angel Classics)
• Nelson Rangell - Look Again (A440)
• Marty Raybon - Full Circle (Doobie Shea)
• Relient K - Two Lefts Don't Make a Right ... But Three Do (Gotee)
• Yves Robert - In Touch (ECM)
• Roomful of Blues - That's Right! (Alligator)
• Sidecar - You're Killing Me (Three Mileage)
• Frank Sinatra - Beginnings and Show Stoppers (Brentwood)
• Jim Snidero - Strings (Milestone)
• Solea - Even Stranger (3 Milege)
• Soulthieves - Microphone in the Sugar Bowl (Soulthieves)
• Super Soul - 40 Acres and a Moog (Metatronix)
• Louise Taylor - Velvet Town (Signature Sounds)
• Turin Brakes - Ether Song (Source/Astralwerks)
• U.S. Bombs - Covert Action (Hellcat)
• Unloco - Becoming I (Maverick)
• Jody Watley - Midnight Lounge (Shinbone Alley/Shanachie)
• Jessica Williams - All Alone (MAXJAZZ)
• Various artists - "Agent Cody Banks" soundtrack (Hip-O)
• Various artists - Bass Busters: Booty Party (Pandisc)
• Various artists - Bass Busters: Techno Bass Jamz (Pandisc)
• Various artists - Celtic Compass (Compass)
• Various artists - Chillout 2003 (Nettwerk)
• Various artists - "The Hunted" soundtrack (Varese Sarabande)
• Various artists - Later (2 CDs, Surge)
• Various artists - "Laurel Canyon" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - Projekt: Gothic (Projekt)
• DVD - DJ Quik - "Visualism: The Art of Sound Into Vision" (Image Entertainment)

March 18:

• Allman Brothers Band - Hittin' the Note (Sanctuary)
• Stephen Malkmus - Pig Lib (Matador)
• Various artists - Atticus: Dragging the Lake 2 (USA Side 1 Dummy)

March 25:

• Air - City Reading (Astralwerks)
  Read: "Air Create Soundtrack For 'City,' Plan 10,000 Hz Legend Follow-Up"
• Celine Dion - One Heart (Sony)
• Les Nubians - One Step Forward (Higher Octave)
• Linkin Park - Meteora (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Linkin Park Expand Meteora's Musical Horizons ... In 40 Minutes Or Less"
  Buy Now: Meteora (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 12 (Virgin)

April 1:

• The White Stripes - Elephant (V2)
  Read: "White Stripes To Put Their Best Trunk Forward On April Fool's Day With Elephant"
• Robbie Williams - Escapology (Virgin)
  Buy Now: Escapology (Virgin)

April 8:

• Russell Crowe and 30 Odd Foot of Grunts - Other Ways of Speaking (Artemis)
• Godsmack - Faceless (Universal)
  Read: "Godsmack's Visions Of Spinal Tap, Dio, Worse Prompt A Change"
• Lisa Marie Presley - To Whom It May Concern (Capitol)
• Yo La Tengo - Summer Sun (Matador)

April 15:

• Thicke - Cherry Blue Skies (Interscope)
  Read: "Robin Thicke: Mixing The Beatles, Zeppelin And Hendrix With Jay-Z"

• Ms. Dynamite
• AFI
• Killer Mike
• Ben Harper
• Everclear

Shaggy
Photo: MCA Records

SAN DIEGO — We have seen the future of reggae, and its name is...Steven Seagal? OK, so the action-movie figure may not be the salvation of Jamaican music. The actor did manage a couple of surprisingly dexterous turns on electric guitar Monday during the 10-hour Bob Marley Day Celebration held in a full San Diego Sports Arena. "This proves how powerful this music is," former Black Uhuru vocalist Don Carlos said, as he added Seagal to his band for "Living in the City." Nearly 20 years after Robert Nesta Marley died of cancer, reggae's most influential and charismatic figure still has no successor. His legend lives on, however, embodied here in headliner Bunny Wailer, who along with Marley and the late Peter Tosh formed the original Wailers trio, and Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths, two of the I-Threes (the third was Rita Marley, Bob's wife), who backed the group that became known in the 1970s as Bob Marley & the Wailers.

And reggae's future appears assured, if not exactly secure, thanks to the success of second-billed Shaggy, the Jamaican-born dancehall singer whose four-million-selling Hotshot recently left Jennifer Lopez behind to top the pop album chart. The divide between Bunny Wailer and Shaggy was especially pronounced, contrasting the old and the new as well as the sacred and the profane.

A notoriously elusive live performer, the deeply spiritual Wailer has re-entered the arena to take on the sex-stressing "slackness" of dancehall acts such as, well, Shaggy. Wailer, now 52, celebrated his renewed purpose with a remarkably frisky performance, even as he opened on a devout note by invoking both Jesus Christ and Jah Rastafari.

While maintaining a positive tone throughout, Wailer, backed by the Reggae Star band and the Psalms vocal trio, didn't rely solely on redemption songs. His smooth rock-'n'-groove stylings and "cool runnings" demonstrated the appeal of vintage reggae, although without the wildly creative edge Marley once provided.

Shaggy, meanwhile, displayed creative wildness along with a couple of moments of deep respect for the reggae genre: he covered the Melodions' "Rivers of Babylon" and Marley's "Thank You Lord." Mostly, though, he took on an R&B par-tay attitude that all but demanded concertgoers throw their hands in the air and wave 'em like they just didn't care it wasn't quite reggae.

Shaggy did manage to work reggae dancehall vocals — hip-hop's quick-paced, more tuneful Caribbean cousin — into his teen-oriented pop settings, playing off of smooth-singing Rayvon and, on the megahit "It Wasn't Me," sweet-talking Ricardo "RikRok" Ducent. He also relied on samples ranging from the ridiculous (Mungo Jerry inspired an unseasonal "In the Summertime") to the sublime (Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" provided the in and out to Shaggy's lover-man signature, "Boombastic").

Striking something of a balance between the two was Buju Banton (Mark Myrie), a onetime loose cannon who shot to (in)fame with the homophobia-shouting "Boom Boom, Bye-Bye." Banton is now a Wailer-style convert, and he awkwardly tried to work some dancehall energy into a reverent set: "It's not an easy road," he sang, tellingly.

Also contrasting were dub poet Mutabaruka and rub-a-dub poet Capleton, the latter grandly introduced by announcer Makeda Dread as "the prophet of Jamaica." Emerging in the 1980s, Mutabaruka has continued as a sober voice of reason, making his views known here on "System Is a Fraud" and the vegan-radic "Junk Food." Capleton, a product of the '90s, countered with a far more manic style.

Don Carlos and Toots & the Maytals were more subdued in their sets. Carlos and his Shiloh band evoked the fully developed '80s sound of Black Uhuru, the band he founded and saw through various lineups.

Toots Hibbert tended reggae's ska roots as well as its northern ones: 1960s soul and R&B. Toots showed flashes of his old Otis Redding-styled showmanship, but even "Pressure Drop" suggested a worn-out soul revue.

In separate sets, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths "spread the gospel of reggae music," in Griffiths' words; the born-again Mowatt was more literal in that regard. The pair teamed up as "the I-Twos" for a moving version of what Mowatt called "the international anthem," Marley's "One Love."

• Bob Marley
• Bunny Wailer
• Shaggy
• Capleton
• Buju Banton