Photo: MTV News

• Gnarls Barkley
• Kid Sister
• Cobra Starship
• Fall Out Boy
• Girl Talk

Black Lips
Photo: MTV News

"This has been very, very different. I mean, we've only played in festivals to crowds of this many people." That's Black Lips' Jared Swilley, talking about the band's latest gig, one that finds them in unfamiliar territory — playing venues that hold several thousand people, as the opening act for some certifiable six-figure-selling rock stars, the Raconteurs.

I must admit: It was a bit disconcerting to see, of all bands, the lovably lecherous "bad kids" with the "dirty hands" from Atlanta in the support slot last Friday night (and all weekend long) at Manhattan's Terminal 5, a dance-turned-rock club that still has its black-and-chrome motif, fancy bars and disco ball in place. With weird sight lines and sound spots, and zero of the grit that's synonymous with the Lips, I'm still not sure Terminal 5 ought to be hosting rock bands. Mind you, the scruffy ATL-ers aren't complaining.

"We absolutely appreciate the Raconteurs taking us on tour with them — they've been great," said guitarist Ian St. Pé. Though he added they did receive an unexpected welcome to the tour a couple of weeks back, one with which they were unaccustomed. "They gave us a list of things we couldn't do — no setting guitars on fire, no touching the monitors, no spitting." Whoa. No spitting? Hard to believe that was not a deal-breaker for the Black Lips, especially for that salivating little rascal, guitarist Cole Alexander, whose hock-and-spit routine long ago became a trademark. No problem, said Cole. "Yeah, I just have to wipe up my spit. I don't want 'em to slip on it."

No such expectoration restrictions on Monday night in Hoboken, New Jersey, where the Lips were taking advantage of an off-night from the Raconteurs' trek to play their own show at the much more reasonably sized Maxwell's — a show attended, by the way, by Mr. Jack White himself. It was also a chance to play a more-than-40-minute set, and more songs from the Lips' last album, Good Bad Not Evil. Released nine months ago, the record is ridiculously deep in potential singles, and in fact, they've just released another. After somehow turning a song about a natural disaster into a good-time garage jam ("O Katrina!"), and their bluesy musings on hegemony ("Veni Vidi Vici"), the guys have returned with a track about a subject a little closer to home: Atlanta strippers. "It Feels Alright" — and its accompanying black-and-white video — serves up an homage to the boys' hometown and, as St. Pé explained, to a particular night spot known as Magic City. "It's an all-black strip club, where they'll showcase all the new rap songs that come out. They'll play 'em in the club for the girls to dance. It's a famous joint."

And then there's the matter of Black Lips' feature-film debut in director Roger Rawlings' "Let It Be," a fictional account of a band called the Renegades, reportedly loosely inspired by the Replacements, who "almost make it" in the formative years of indie music, the 1980s. While the guys say their taste in '80s music generally runs more toward hardcore bands like the Butthole Surfers, the Replacements and Hüsker Dü, they said they're up for the challenge of playing musicians, in a naturalistic way. "They purposely didn't want professional actors," explained Swilley. "They just wanted a real band. So it seems easy to just be ourselves in front of the camera."

First announced last winter, "Let It Be" has had some delays, but the Lips say it's still on track — though shooting may have to be pushed back to early next year because the boys' main order of business for the latter half of the summer (besides Swilley's impending wedding) will be situating themselves at a rented space in Atlanta and recording a new album. Though Alexander says they've only written "a couple of demos" so far, and drummer Joe Bradley says he's got "four or five" songs at different levels of completion in his head, they add that they are four independent writers and ideas come to them readily. St. Pé's not worried: "We'll be able to pump the album out, no problem."

On the live front, the band is looking forward to England's Glastonbury Festival at the end of June; August dates at Lollapalooza in Chicago and at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool with pals Deerhunter and King Khan; shows later in the year in India, Brazil and China; and maybe somewhere even more exotic. Black Lips' label, Vice Records, and its parent magazine have long had a reputation for guerrilla journalism in extreme locales. Last year, with their VBS.tv cameras in tow, the band played street gigs in Israel and Palestine, and Alexander said a show in Iraq has even been discussed. "We have a friend whose father is Iraqi and he smuggles people in the country. Or we could go in the Green Zone and play a U.S.O. show." Of course, that would be the safer option, but frankly, Red Zone is more Black Lips. "Like a guerrilla show," Cole reckoned. "They told me you can hire a militia, you go in with 'em, they start blasting guns, everybody freezes and you can, you know, play a show." Yikes.

If that all sounds like a pretty nonstop, breakneck schedule, that's nothing new. The old cliché "road warriors" certainly applies to Black Lips, and that's OK with them. After all, it wasn't that long ago that they were busting their asses for far less. As Swilley said: "Other jobs suck way worse." And finally, the Black Lips want you to give them a call on their hotline. The number is (949) 836-7407 (or TEN-SH0P). No joke.

"One of us will answer, for real, if we are on tour in America," St. Pé said. "Give us a call, and you will make our long-ass drives more fun."

See much more of my conversation with Black Lips at Rhapsody.com.

• John Norris Interviews... Black Lips

• Black Lips
• Raconteurs

Joel Madden in "Head Case"
Photo: MTV News

Joel Madden needs to see a shrink — in an upcoming episode of the new Starz comedy "Head Case," that is. The Good Charlotte frontman and new dad will appear on the February 13 episode of the show, which revolves around a judgmental psychotherapist (Alexendra Wentworth) who sees celebrity clients when she isn't out shopping. If you're already psyched for the show, go to Amazon.com's Unbox section to check out the original short-form episodes that launched it. ...

Thank your lucky stars — the Grammy Awards ceremony will go on this year as planned, according to an interim agreement announced Monday (January 28), The Associated Press reports. While the Grammy telecast was still good to go following last week's announcement that the striking Writers Guild of America would not protest it, the interim agreement means content for the show will be written under a WGA contract. "In the interest of advancing our goal of achieving a fair contract, the [WGA West] Board felt that this decision should be made on behalf our brothers and sisters in the American Federation of Musicians and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists," WGA West President Patric Verrone reportedly said in a statement. "Having our talented writers on the team further ensures the highest level of creativity and innovation, something our audience has come to expect every year," Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow reportedly said in a statement of his own. ...

Miley Cyrus' Saturday show in New Orleans had a bit of a hiccup when the singer otherwise known as Hannah Montana announced that she wasn't feeling well and left the stage, according to a video posted on TMZ.com. Cyrus returned to finish her set, albeit in a seat, and dad Billy Ray sang with her. ...

Rivers Cuomo, Adam Sandler, Tony Hawk, baseball player Nomar Garciaparra and Andy Samberg kicking around a soccer ball together on a Saturday afternoon? According to ESPN.com, that was the scene over the weekend when the celebs took the field at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, for Garciaparra and wife/ ex-soccer pro Mia Hamm's charity Celebrity Soccer Challenge. Cuomo scored his team's first goal, and he later reportedly said, "It was a dream come true. Passing with [the L.A. Galaxy's] Landon Donovan and going against Mia Hamm — it's just unreal. I was terrified, but I was so excited that the excitement overcame the terror." Milo Ventimiglia, Elisabeth Shue, Seth Meyers and others also participated in the event, the proceeds of which went to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles. ...

Jim Jones is reissuing his Harlem's American Gangster mixtape, hosted by Dame Dash and featuring the Byrd Gang crew, February 19. Fans are already familiar with the tape, which was previously available in limited form, but it has since been remixed, remastered and bolstered with new tracks, including "Rockefeller Laws." "Some people do soundtracks to the movies about Harlem," he said in a statement. "We do soundtracks to the streets of Harlem, which made us who we are today." His new studio LP will drop in the summer. ...

Modest Mouse and the National have something special to jot down on their calendars: opening dates for R.E.M. The tour will launch after the release of Michael Stipe and the gang's April 1 album, Accelerate. The cities are as follows: Vancouver, British Columbia (May 23); Los Angeles (May 29); Berkeley, California (May 31); Morrison, Colorado (June 3); Chicago (June 6); Toronto (June 8); Raleigh, North Carolina (June 10); Columbia, Maryland (June 11); Mansfield, Massachusetts (June 13); Wantagh, New York (June 14); Philadelphia (June 18); New York (June 19); and Atlanta (June 21). ... Hot Chip, Spank Rock, Peaches and others are liberally reworking classic tracks by the Pharcyde, Masta Ace, Tone Loc and others for a new collection, Delicious Reimagined, due early this year. Raunchy electro-clash singer Peaches — who has collaborated with everyone from Pink to Iggy Pop — remixed Loc's "Wild Thing" almost 20 years after the song originally came out, adding her own new vocals along the way. ...

Hayden Panettiere spoke about the warrant for her arrest — which she was slapped with in the fall after confronting Japanese fishermen to protest the hunting of dolphins — at a related demonstration in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. According to The Washington Post, the "Heroes" actress and Save the Whales Again! Campaign spokeswoman told a crowd, "I was wearing a wetsuit and shoes. I was like, if I'm going to jail, I ain't going to jail in a bikini." ... peta2 has a few new friends you might know: MTV News' own John Norris, as well as the stars of "Rob & Big." Norris stars in a new online video for the youth animal-rights organization that explains why he went vegan, while Rob Dyrdek and Chris "Big Black" Boykin appear in an ad with their dog, Meaty, along with the statement "Have the Balls to Spay or Neuter Your Dog." ...

Black Lips have drooled out an exclusive iTunes Live Session EP that the so-called "flower punk" band recorded over the summer in San Francisco. The Lips are also in the running for Yahoo's User's Choice program, the winner of which will play a performance in the company's studio in Santa Monica, California. And they've also lined up a run that will start February 4 in Seattle and end March 22 in Atlanta. ... The second half of Thrice's four-disc concept album will be in stores in the spring. The Alchemy Index, Vols. III & IV: Earth & Air, is scheduled for release April 15. ... From Autumn to Ashes drummer Jeff Gretz recently suffered two broken bones in his foot and will be forced to sit out the band's tour for the next few months. Flood of Red's Graham Griffith will fill in for Getz for most of the tour's remaining stops. ...

New Kids on the Block fans are going to have to keep "Hangin' Tough" — despite reports over the weekend, the old-school boy band is not planning to stage a comeback. While the once-hugely popular teen heartthrobs' Web site has apparently relaunched, bandmember Danny Wood wrote on his MySpace page on Monday morning, "I wanted to address the rumors of the NKOTB Reunion Tour. There has been no talk of this and you are getting it from the source directly. ... You can't believe everything you read." Still, he added, "Never say never!" Let's keep our hopes up.

1.25.08

Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Whoopi Goldberg and Jessica Biel are among the celebs captured in a new Disney installment of work by esteemed Vanity Fair photographer Annie Leibovitz. In the images, Lopez is portrayed as Jasmine and Anthony as Aladdin in a "Whole New World" scene, while Biel is dressed as Pocahontas, running through a forest. "I was a huge Disney fan growing up as a kid, and Cinderella, Snow White, Pocahontas, Ariel — all those characters were huge for me," Biel said in a statement. The "Disney Dream Portrait Series" will be featured throughout the year at Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida. ...

Gnarls Barkley don't have a release date or name yet for their second album, but it's nearing completion, according to Billboard.com. Danger Mouse is busying himself with other projects in the meantime, including lending production to the Black Keys' Attack & Release; Martina Topley-Bird's The Blue God; and Shortwave Set's new LP, which is tentatively titled Replica Sun Machine. ...

Mary J. Blige recently spoke with MTV Base about the ongoing New York steroid probe in which she was recently named. "I really don't want to clear anything up, because I've been spoken about for so many years — rumors I'm pregnant, I'm a man, I'm this, I'm that, why? At the end of the day, I have nothing to prove to anyone. I am Mary and that's that." A report that surfaced in the Times Union last week claimed Blige was among tens of thousands of people who might have used or received prescribed shipments of steroids and injectable human-growth hormone in recent years, although law-enforcement officials said they don't have any evidence that laws were violated. ...

Krist Novoselic, the former Nirvana bassist who has been politically active in Seattle in recent years, has voiced his support for a 2008 presidential candidate, and it's ... Ron Paul? Novoselic alluded to the Republican long-shot candidate in his Seattle Weekly column earlier this month, saying, "The Internet is already doing this with campaign phenomenon like Howard Dean in 2004, and this year with Ron Paul." The Web site PoliticalBase.com shows that he made a $250 contribution to the candidate in mid-September. ...

Björk has nixed her planned appearance at the Big Day Out on Friday night (January 25) in Sydney, Australia. "Doctors have advised Björk to rest due to swelling of the vocal cords," Ken West and Vivian Lees, who produce and direct the festival, said in a statement posted on the Icelandic singer's Web site. "This is a great disappointment to Björk, who is on her first tour of Australia in 12 years." She is slated to rejoin Big Day Out on Monday for a show in Melbourne, followed by performances February 1 in Adelaide and February 3 in Perth. ...

The Reminder (Feist), Kala (M.I.A.), Neon Bible (the Arcade Fire), Cross (Justice) and Sound of Silver (LCD Soundsystem) have all made the cut as finalists for the Shortlist Music Prize. Also in the running are In Our Bedroom After the War (Stars), Sky Blue Sky (Wilco), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Spoon), Businessmen and Ghosts (Working for a Nuclear Free City) and Untrue (Burial). The winner will be announced in February. ... Dem Franchize Boyz will bounce back on April 1 with their third effort, Da Point of No Return, which is anchored by the first single, "Talkin' Out Da Side of Ya Neck." Also look for featured appearances by Mannie Fresh on "Mr. Feel Good" and Blaze on "Turn Heads." ...

Marvel Studios is the latest company to reach an agreement with the striking Writers Guild of America, it was announced Friday. "Marvel Studios' signing of an interim agreement with the Writers Guild is more good news for our membership," WGA East President Michael Winship and WGA West President Patric Verrone said in a joint statement. "Marvel is committed to fairly compensating their writers and now they can move forward with their planned production schedule." ... Yes! Will Ferrell has received the James Joyce award in Ireland, where he has been traveling with his dad and brother to trace their family roots, according to The Associated Press. The "Blades of Glory" actor accepted the award — which has been given to Jesse Jackson and others in the past — on Wednesday night and addressed more than 1,000 students at the University College Dublin. "As I perused my leather-bound volumes of 'Ulysses,' 'Finnegans Wake,' 'Dubliners,' 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,' standing in my mahogany library, a lot of feelings ran across my mind. Like: 'Damn, I should have read these books,' " he reportedly said. ...

My Morning Jacket — who sold out their June 20 show at NYC's Radio City Music Hall in just over 20 minutes — have arrived at a title for their new album. Evil Urges, the band's fifth LP, is due June 10. ... Bono hailed Bill Gates on Friday when the Microsoft chairman announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will spend $306 million on environmentally friendly technology and farming techniques to help aid millions of impoverished Africans. "It's a very special moment in time, I think, for Davos, and people here," Bono said in the Swiss city, according to The Associated Press. "This is Bill Gates' last trip to Davos as Microsoft leader, and I think it is an extraordinary thing that this man has not just changed the world once, but has now set aside the next act of his life to change the world again, and I think we should just mark this moment." ...

The summer music-festival scene just got a bit less crowded. Less than two months after announcing their plan to host a three-day camping music festival on a 500-acre farm in Vineland, New Jersey, the forces behind Lollapalooza (C3 Presents) and England's Reading Festival (Festival Republic) have announced that they've pulled the plug on the event. Originally scheduled for August 8-10, the Vineland Festival, which never announced a lineup and had faced considerable opposition from area residents concerned about noise and traffic, will now attempt to launch in 2009. Organizers cited "overall festival traffic in the Northeast"— apparently referring to the just-announced All Points West Festival, which is scheduled for the same weekend in Liberty State Park, New Jersey, and is being coordinated by the people who bring you Coachella every year. Organizers also noted big bands touring the area around the same time as the reason for scrapping the event. ...

Heads up, straight-edge hardcore fans: Ex-Minor Threat drummer Jeff Nelson has thrown up for auction on eBay a bunch of rare and unique items from the band and other hardcore acts. Items include fliers, posters, 7-inches and more. ... Want your name to appear in a Saosin release? The band is launching a contest with mobile marketing company Mozes that will give fans the chance to have their name featured in the credits of the booklet that will accompany their forthcoming "Saosin Live" DVD/CD package. Interested? Text SAOSINDVD to 66937 and join the band's mobile list and follow the prompt. ... UB40 might want to rename themselves "UB39," at least for the time being: The British group, which was huge in the '80s, has lost its frontman. "No words can express how upset I feel today that I have been forced to make this decision," Ali Campbell wrote in a Friday post on his Web site. UB40 said in a statement of their own that they will continue without Campbell, a founding member of the band.

• Joel Madden
• Good Charlotte
• Rick Ross (Hip-Hop)
• Black Lips
• Rivers Cuomo

Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

• Amy Winehouse
• Black Lips
• Deerhunter
• Feist
• Bang Camaro

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl
Photo: Karl Walter/Getty Images

Foo Fighters have sketched out their 2008 tour plans, which include the band's first-ever show at Madison Square Garden in New York. Dates for the jaunt — the Foos' biggest one yet in the U.S. — are as follows, with more expected to be announced: Sunrise, Florida (January 16); Orlando, Florida (January 17); Birmingham, Alabama (January 19); Pensacola, Florida (January 20); Houston (January 22); Dallas (January 23); Memphis, Tennessee (January 25); Nashville (January 26); Fayetteville, Arkansas (January 28); Oklahoma City (January 29); Worcester, Massachusetts (February 18); New York (February 19); Philadelphia (February 21); Detroit (February 24); Chicago (February 25); and Minneapolis (February 27). The band will be trekking in support of September's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. ...

Chris Brown, John Legend, Queen Latifah and Wyclef Jean appear on various covers of Black Enterprise's December issue, which hit stands Tuesday (November 27) with five different covers. Mary J. Blige, Nick Cannon, Diddy, and Alicia Keys are also included on the magazine's year-end Hot List celebrating "bold innovators" under age 40. The issue hits newsstands Tuesday (November 27). ... Legend can't get enough of Baileys — first the singer/songwriter linked up with the liqueur maker for his Baileys Get Together Tour, and now there's a related hourlong special on the way. "Baileys Entertainment Presents Get Together With John Legend," which was taped earlier this month during a stop on the tour, will feature concert performances, interviews and exclusive behind-the-scenes clips with Legend and artists from his Homeschool Records label: Estelle, the James Gang and Vaughn Anthony. The program will air December 16 at 9 p.m. ET on TV One. ...

Kevin Federline — who only made $7,436 in 2006, news outlets reported after documents pertaining to his child-custody battle with ex-wife Britney Spears were released a few weeks ago — has nevertheless landed on the cover of Details magazine's "Power + Influence Issue." He and former Anna Nicole Smith boyfriend Larry Birkhead are tied for the seventh spot on the magazine's list of most-influential men under 45. "They emerged as unlikely candidates for Dad of the Year," Details says. ... A-list celebs Angelina Jolie and Don Cheadle, who have been in the limelight as much for their social-outreach efforts as they have for their movie roles, have been nominated for Spirit Awards. Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Sienna Miller will also be up for honors at the show, due to air live on the Independent Film Channel on February 23. ...

Lily Allen has announced that she was diagnosed with a heart murmur three months ago, BBC News reports. The 22-year-old told Grazia magazine that she found out about the condition when she recently switched doctors and that her recent 19-pound weight loss was a result of exercise and a diet change following the discovery. "I used to love nothing more than sitting in front of the telly with two packets of Ginger Nuts and two bags of milk-bottle sweets — and I'd devour the lot," Allen told the magazine. "But this heart thing has made me cut back on all that kind of crap," she said. "I now find that, because I am looking after myself, I don't feel like eating the bad stuff so much." ... Radiohead have finally announced some tour dates for 2008, according to Pitchfork. The group will reportedly play Germany's Southside Festival and Hurricane Festival, both of which are slated to take place June 20-22. It's not yet clear on which dates the band will perform. ... Rick Ross' second effort won't be happening this year, Billboard.com reports. According to the site, Trilla has moved from a December 18 release date to February 19. ...

Three detectives accused of covering up evidence in the Notorious B.I.G. case can be added as defendants in a wrongful-death lawsuit the late rapper's family filed against the City of Los Angeles, a judge ruled Monday. The Christopher Wallace family has argued that Los Angeles Police Department Risk Management Group detectives Stanley Nalywaiko and Stuart Maislin, along with detective Steven Katz, "failed to supervise or directly participated in the concealment of evidence in this case." U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper — who declared a mistrial in the case two years ago after determining Katz hid statements linking the Notorious B.I.G.'s death to two policemen, David A. Mack and Rafael Perez, said "the attempted concealment of evidence and failure to respond to officer wrongdoing is a central issue in this case," and that the family's request could be granted. The Wallace family's top attorney, Perry R. Sanders Jr., said the ruling "gives the family a chance to prove to the world that police were involved in the murder — and that high officials have covered up for those officers. The family is extremely pleased to have the opportunity to hold accountable some of the key people involved in the coverup." The Wallace family also asked that other defendants be added to the suit — that request was denied, although the estate will be able to file separate suits against the additional individuals. ...

Nine Inch Nails' new Remix.NIN.com Web site has launched despite coming under fire from their former record label, Universal. Controversy had erupted over the site, which was intended to be erected following last week's release of Y34RZ3R0R3MIX3D as a home for fans' mash-ups of NIN songs. ... Interpol have pumped out their first batch of official live recordings, exclusively via ThinkIndie.com. Their six-song, simply titled Live EP is available now and captures the band playing at London's Astoria on July 2. The tracks include "Obstacle 1," "Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down," "Pioneer to the Falls," "Mammoth," "Rest My Chemistry" and "The Heinrich Maneuver." ... The four members of the Bratz plan to give four girls something new to cheer about: $15,000 scholarships for college. Named after the group members — Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha and Jade — the scholarships will be awarded to the girls who create the best essays answering the question "What are you most passionate about in life, and how would you use this scholarship to help you grow?" Additional details on the Bratz Scholarship Contest are included in the just-released DVD "Bratz: The Movie." ...

Ghostface, Raekwon, Talib Kweli, Young Buck and others have piled onto Hi-Teknology 3, the latest collection from Cincinnati hip-hop producer Hi-Tek. The disc is due December 11, and its first single is "My Piano" (featuring Ghostface, Raekwon and Dion). ... Fat Joe is getting a big thank-you from In Arms Reach Inc., a nonprofit group that reaches out to New York children whose parents are or have been incarcerated. The rapper will be honored Thursday at a dinner and awards ceremony to be held at the City University of New York's City College. Trey Songz will perform at the event. "I'm proud to help bring awareness to this segment of youth, at a time when so many of our families in the minority community remain separated by the system," Fat Joe said in a statement. ... Alanis Morissette is slated for induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, according to the Globe and Mail. The 33-year-old Ottawa native will receive the award on March 7 as part of the Canadian Radio Music Awards in Toronto. ...

Van Halen have spilled out loads more 2008 dates for their ongoing reunion trek. The additional gigs will be held in San Antonio (January 24); Dallas (January 26); Denver (February 1); New Orleans (February 8); Orlando, Florida (February 14); Jacksonville, Florida (February 16); Tampa, Florida (February 18); Charlottesville, Virginia (February 22); Fort Wayne, Indiana (March 3); Cincinnati (March 5); Raleigh, North Carolina (March 7); Baltimore (March 9); Manchester, New Hampshire (March 11); East Rutherford, New Jersey (March 13); New York (March 17); Hershey, Pennsylvania (March 19); Pittsburgh (March 21); Providence, Rhode Island (March 24); Uncasville, Connecticut (March 26); Atlantic City, New Jersey (March 28); Columbus, Ohio (April 1); Chicago (April 3); Grand Rapids, Michigan (April 5); and Milwaukee (April 7). ... Ozzy Osbourne is even more controversial than his fans thought. According to NBC News affiliate KGET, the metal god inspired an emergency ordinance in Bakersfield, California, prior to his playing in the city for fear that he would repeat some of his notorious behavior onstage. Back in 1982, weeks before Osbourne was to perform in Bakersfield, then-Mayor Mary Kay Shell "advised the council [that] a musical rock star scheduled to perform in Bakersfield in June sometimes makes it a practice to bite the head off a bird during or at the conclusion of his performance," according to KGET. The council then adopted an ordinance prohibiting the killing of animals during theatrical performances — or the Ozzy Osbourne Ordinance, as it was called at the time. ...

Janet Jackson fans, get psyched for '08: The singer is prepping a tour and has penciled in her new album for February, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Her yet-untitled debut for Island Def Jam will be executive produced by L.A. Reid — not boyfriend and Island Urban prez Jermaine Dupri. ... New York hip-hop personality Angie Martinez survived an ugly car crash late last week as she readied her first annual Angie Martinez Hair Show and Beauty Expo over the weekend at the Hammerstein Ballroom. The Hot 97 on-air jock told MTV News she fell asleep at the wheel of her car and crashed over a median before colliding with several cars. Martinez was uninjured except for a slight limp. Her two-day expo brought out Missy Elliott, Lil Mama, Nina Sky, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana and others. Cassidy, Trey Songz and Fabolous performed. ...

The Black Crowes have pegged March 4 as the release date for their first new studio album in seven years, Warpaint. The disc will feature 10 songs written by Chris and Rich Robinson — plus a cover of "God's Got It" by Reverend Charlie Jackson — and come out through the band's Silver Arrow Records label. It will also help usher in two new Crowes, guitarist Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars and keyboardist Adam MacDougall. In related news, Dickinson is re-forming his side project the Word with fellow Allstars Chris Chew and Cody Dickinson, John Medeski and Robert Randolph. The group, which also reunited in 2005 for Bonnaroo, has lined up four December gigs, in Hartford, Connecticut (26th); New York (27th); Philadelphia (28th); and Washington, D.C. (29th). ...

For years now, American festival promoters have shamelessly borrowed from English fests like Glastonbury in setting up multi-day destination events like Bonnaroo and Coachella. Now, Festival Republic — the promoter behind three of the biggest English festivals: Reading, Leeds and Glasto — is getting together with the promoters of the revived Lollapalooza, Austin, Texas' C3 Presents, to put on the Vineland Music Festival on a privately owned 500-acre farm in New Jersey on August 8-10. No lineups have been announced yet, but in a press release, organizers promised a "weekend of pure unadulterated rock and roll pleasure" with a "heady mix of the greatest bands in the world, energy charged sets; new rising stars and the freshest acts hitting the stages before the press have had a sniff of them." Melvin Benn, managing director of Festival Republic, said last month that he had secured a site in Jersey and was eager to join the fray in America with his own camping fest. "It hasn't gone unnoticed that American promoters keep coming over and seeing my shows, so I thought, 'Crikey!, I need to get over there and do something before there's no room left." ...

With Army of Anyone on hiatus, singer Richard Patrick has revived his former band Filter. A new album is in the works and could be in stores early next year, he announced on his MySpace page. "I am totally cramming on a new Filter record," he said. "I'm working with some amazing people — all new people. This is absolutely the most amazing stuff I've ever done, and I'm really proud of it." ... Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor's cover band, the DumFux, have booked a gig at the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines, Iowa, for December 31. On a Pale Horse and Scrue are also on the bill. Tickets for the show will set you back $15. ...

Mario Gutierrez, guitarist for Los Angeles death/thrash metallers Engrave, died late last week of gunshot wounds he sustained during an argument with his brother-in-law, according to the Los Angeles Times. Gutierrez, 37, was reportedly shot and killed in El Sereno, California, at about 10:45 p.m. on Thursday. Police said Gutierrez and his brother-in-law got into an argument during the family's Thanksgiving gathering over a remark the brother-in-law had made about Gutierrez's wife, according to the Times. The argument reportedly escalated to pushing and shoving, and eventually spilled out onto the street, where Gutierrez was shot. The 27-year-old brother-in-law turned himself in to the police a few hours later. ...

Carson Daly is going it alone. The host of "Last Call With Carson Daly" has announced that he will be the first late-night talker to go back on the air since the writers' strike started on November 5. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Daly is expected to start taping new episodes this week and will begin airing them next week.

11.26.07

Wildfires broke out in Malibu, California, again over the weekend, and among those impacted were Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, who lost a home due to the flames, and Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, who had a close call when the fires burned his roof and singed some of his property. According to a report on KCAL-TV, Rose's assistant said the rocker "was with the hose everywhere" on his property, fighting to save his home. The Los Angeles Times reports that Flea said in a text message that his $4.8 million home in Corral Canyon was "burnt to a crisp" by the fires on Saturday morning. According to TMZ.com, a second, $10 million Malibu home owned by Flea — the one in which he currently resides — did not burn. The one that did was a $4.8 million house that the bassist rents and currently has up for sale, the site reports. ...

Mary J. Blige is slated to perform at an upcoming Lifebeat benefit event honoring Stephen Hill, executive vice president of entertainment and music programming at BET. "Live Beats: A Night of Musical Mayhem and Tonal Terror Fashioned by Fun(k)," set to take place December 4 at New York's Highline Ballroom, will salute the Lifebeat board member for his work in fighting AIDS/HIV. Proceeds from the event will go to Lifebeat, and a related contest will give the winner a chance to play onstage at the venue with Blige's 10-piece backing band. For more info, go to Lifebeat.org. Adding to her good-Samaritan cred, Blige also played last week at a homeless-initiatives benefit show hosted by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and staged by the Staples Center Foundation at the city's Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE. ...

Ho ho huh? Nelly Furtado has ganged up with members of AFI, LCD Soundsystem, the Faint, Panthers, the Horrors, Terror and the Black Lips for an upcoming charity release by Canadian hardcore-punk princes F---ed Up. The track is featured as the B-side on the band's new holiday single, and all proceeds will go to the George Herman House, a Toronto transitional-housing and life-skills program supporting women with mental-health issues. In more conventional news, Furtado has piled together a CD and DVD for her recent Get Loose World Tour. The items, both called Loose the Concert, will drop December 4 and feature 11 and 17 selections, respectively, from the trek. The DVD features a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" as well as 30 minutes of documentary material ...

If you think Furtado's collaborative affair is out there, try this one on for size: Pete Wentz + Perez Hilton. The Fall Out Boy bassist and gossip guru have joined forces to create a new tee for Wentz's Clandestine Industries. They've come up with a name for it — "I Love Being a Sh--talker" — but are staging a contest to determine the design. The shirt will be sold at the new Clandestine Industries store in Chicago and on the company's Web site, ClandestineIndustries.com, and the winner will get a tee signed by Wentz and Hilton. The deadline to submit an original design is December 14, and the winner will be named seven days later — go to FriendsorEnemies.com for the 411 on how to enter. ...

While Time has yet to decide if J.K. Rowling will best Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore and others for Person of the Year, the "Harry Potter" author has earned her place as the Entertainer of the Year in another magazine, Entertainment Weekly. The publication said she deserves the honor for getting "people to tote around her big, old-fashioned printed-on-paper books as if they were the hottest new entertainment devices on the planet." Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, George Clooney and Will Smith also made EW's list of 25 top entertainers of the year. ...

Linkin Park plan to keep touring in 2008, and they'll be bringing Coheed and Cambria along for the ride. So far, just two dates have been announced for the groups' tour leg: February 16 in Detroit and February 18 in Manchester, New Hampshire. More dates will be revealed in the coming weeks. ... Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood's instrumental score to the upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson film "There Will Be Blood" is due in stores December 18. The movie hits theaters eight days later. The score includes material Greenwood wrote for a previous orchestral piece, "Popcorn Superhet Receiver," which will debut in concert in the U.S. in January when he participates in New York's Wordless Music Series. ... U2's Bono and the Edge surprised about 200 fans on Friday at the small London venue Union Chapel with a 20-minute, four-song acoustic set. According to a report on the band's Web site, the duo played "Stay," "Desire," "Angel of Harlem" and the recently unearthed rarity "Wave of Sorrow," which had never been played live and for which the Edge played keyboards. The gig was part of the Little Noise Sessions put on by Mencap, a group that aids people with learning disabilities. ...

Hulk Hogan said he was totally unaware that his wife of 24 years, Linda Marie Bollea, had recently filed for divorce when asked to comment on Friday by the St. Petersburg Times. According to the paper, Linda filed a petition for the dissolution of their marriage last Tuesday, unbeknownst to her husband. After learning of the development, the wrestler then reportedly thanked the reporter for the "great information" and hung up, calling back five minutes later to say he'd been "kind of shocked" by the news. "You caught me off guard. My wife has been in California for about three weeks," Hogan reportedly said. "Holy smokes. Wow, you just knocked the bottom out of me. I just pulled over to the side of the road for five minutes to find out what was going on here." According to The Associated Press, Linda Bollea requested alimony and child support for their 17-year-old son, Nick Bollea, as well as a share of the family's two multimillion-dollar properties in Florida, in her divorce petition, which calls the marriage "irretrievably broken." The couple married in 1983 and have two children, 19-year-old singer Brooke Hogan and Nick, who was involved in an August car crash that left a passenger critically injured. ...

The critics and moviegoers might be loving "American Gangster," but one New York City Drug Enforcement agent apparently isn't so fond of the film. According to TMZ.com, ex-agent Gregory Korniloff is threatening legal action against the movie's studio, Universal, for what he claims are "false and defamatory statements." In a recently filed cease-and-desist letter filed by his attorney, Korniloff demands a retraction of statements made in the movie, which allegedly presents several misleading facts and incorrectly states that a third of NYC DEA agents were convicted on charges related to gangster Frank Lucas. The now-retired agent was the case agent for the DEA and, as the letter reportedly states, "personally participated in the search of Lucas' house ... and the arrest of Lucas on that same day."

It was another rough weekend for Amy Winehouse. First, according to Reuters, the singer's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, was denied bail and ordered to remain in custody until at least January 18 after appearing in a London court on Friday, charged with allegedly beating up a bartender. Fielder-Civil and another man, Michael Brown, were slated to stand trial this month in the case, in which they are accused of roughing up pub landlord James King last June. But the trial was recently delayed after police arrested Fielder-Civil and accused him of conspiracy to obstruct justice in the assault case. The news was hardly better for Winehouse, who reportedly showed up 45 minutes late for her gig Saturday night at London's Hammersmith Apollo, at which point some fans were already asking for refunds. NME reported that there was a loud chorus of boos by the time Winehouse finally took the stage and things only got worse from there, including a bit where her famous towering beehive almost toppled over and fell off. At one point, looking bored, she walked offstage and let her backup singers take over lead vocals. During the show's encore she left again, midway through a song, and didn't return. ...

The mystery surrounding AlbumSix.com just keeps growing. The site, believed by many to be a stealth Weezer affair, was under scrutiny again, when the bandmembers posted on its official Web site last week that they have no affiliation with it or any news it purports to have. Weezer also disputed the site's claims that the next album would be called Tout Ensemble and that it already has an official release date. According to a post on AlbumSix, "Weezer and Geffen Records have no affiliation with www.albumsix.com. ... We are honestly surprised how long this lasted. We expected that the media would contact Interscope or Weezer, and they would squash things immediately. But somehow, we slipped through the traditions of journalism. ... We never expected anyone to believe it. We thought we'd get a few Weezer fans on the boards to get excited, but we never actually thought we'd become a legitimate news source. We can't say we blame the media. Viral marketing is the hot new thing. However, we hoped you learned a lesson. ... We are extremely excited about the new Weezer album and are glad to see that everyone seems to share our excitement. We will be anxiously awaiting the real release date and title of album six along with everybody else. Until then, thanks for playing." Weezer offered a "well played" to the people behind the site. ...

Break out your lighters: Extreme are reuniting for a world tour and new album next year. The group broke up 11 years ago but got together in 2004-'06 for a brief re-formation. Guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, who is slated to produce the group's yet-untitled LP, said that in light of the inclusion of the band's song "Play With Me" in "Guitar Hero," "We realized, not only are the people starved for rock 'n' roll, so are we," according to a press release. "Let's eat," he added. ... The Romantics have filed a lawsuit against the makers of the "Guitar Hero" video game series, claiming a cover band tapped to record the act's signature song for the game sounds too much like the original, according to AP. The band's "What I Like About You" appears in "Guitar Hero Encore, Rocks the '80s," and, after declining permission to allow game manufacturer Activision to use the song in the game, the re-recorded version sounds too similar to the original. The band is seeking a cut of royalties produced through sales of the game. ...

The reunited Spice Girls want to set the record straight. After an e-mail went out over the weekend claiming that the group had scrapped a planned gig in Buenos Aires, Argentina, due to high demand for other dates, a spokesperson said the e-mail was a fake and the gig is penciled in for February. A statement on the group's Web site reads, "The Spice Girls would like to make it clear that they have not canceled their Buenos Aires show. ... A story has appeared on several Web sites that includes a fake e-mail and competition from the girls. The fake e-mail claims that due to the demand so far in the U.K. and the U.S. this show is going to be canceled. ... The e-mail goes on to say that they will be running some competitions for their South American fans to travel to the U.K. to watch a show. This is not the case and this email is 100 percent unofficial and has nothing to do with the Spice Girls." ...

A judge set a February 25 court date for faded 1980s pop star Boy George, who has been accused of falsely imprisoning a 28-year-old male escort by chaining him to a wall in his London apartment in April. George (born George O'Dowd), 46, spoke only to confirm his name in court on Thursday, and was released on bail and ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim, according to reports.

• Foo Fighters
• Lily Allen
• Fat Joe
• Alanis Morissette
• Slipknot

Kanye West and 50 Cent at the 2007 VMAs on Sunday
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Ladies and gentlemen, at long last, your 2007 New Releases main event:

While they were quiet enough onstage when they appeared together at Sunday night's VMAs — Kanye, after the show, not so much — both rappers have said their piece about the widely anticipated matchup between 50's Curtis and Kanye's Graduation. Fiddy recently insisted to MTV News that "I will be #1 on September 11," while the confident 'Ye has said the face-off was his idea in the first place.

But while each MC is probably envisioning himself as the chart-topper, how's the betting line shaping up? Let's take a look:

50 Cent:

· Fif's 2003 debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin', has sold a hefty 7 million copies to date; the 2005 follow-up, The Massacre, has moved 5 mil.

· His initially leaked Curtis songs weren't so well-received, and first single "Ayo Technology" has only peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 — even though the track features another superstar, Justin Timberlake (and a rapping super-producer, Timbaland, to boot).

· 50 has hit a few obstacles lately: His pre-VMA poolside concert was cut short after it nearly became an underwater concert. In August, he trashed the G-Unit offices in New York after his Robin Thicke collaboration "Follow My Lead" was leaked. And, after promising to stop writing music if West beats him, he later got wet feet and reneged.

Kanye West:

· 'Ye's 2004 debut, The College Dropout, has sold 2.5 million copies; 2005's Late Registration has moved roughly the same number. Yeah, Fiddy definitely has 'Ye's "number" in terms of album sales.

· But on the other hand, West has done a much better job tearing up the charts lately. His first Graduation single, "Stronger," is sitting comfortably at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Barry Bonds," which was leaked in August, has also been getting strong reception.

· Apparently Graduation is both "whiter" and "blacker" — talk about expanding your demographic!

Well, no matter what happens, after all is said and done, it's good to know that the MCs are willing to put aside their differences for the good of hip-hop. And this week is certainly going to be good for hip-hop.

Song Title of the Week:

"Peter Lorre Overture" from World/Inferno Friendship Society's Addicted to Bad Ideas

Album Cover of the Week:

Tie between Modeselektor's Happy Birthday! and Gang Gang Dance's Rawwar

Other Notables:

The Black Lips' Good Bad Not Evil
Notorious for spewing fluids from multiple orifices, the Lips have been a part of way-underground garage-rock labels Bomp! and In the Red but are dishing up their new album on the red-hot Vice Records. The psych-garage freaks have come up with a perplexing new song, "Katrina," which was written the night the band learned that a hurricane of the same name had destroyed New Orleans. The jangly, cheery track only has a handful of lines, including: "O Katrina, why you gotta be mean?/ You saw a highway down in New Orleans/ I can't believe what I saw on the TV screen/ O Katrina, why you gotta be mean?" The subject matter on the rest of the album, while delivered with the band's patented "flower pop," is equally bleak: Songs deal with one bandmember finding his mother's body, juvenile-detention centers and a fatal car accident, which is captured in "How Do You Tell a Child That Someone Had Died."

The Good Life's Help Wanted Nights
While the Lips actually enlisted a local Atlanta bartender to help produce their fifth effort, this Nebraska crew also went the boozy route for their fourth one. Main man Tim Kasher based the songs — including first single "Heartbroke" and "You Don't Feel Like Home to Me" — around a small-town bar and had been intending to use them as the soundtrack to a screenplay he didn't finish until recently. The Saddle Creek album was produced by — who else? — label regular Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, the Faint).

Pinback's Autumn of the Seraphs
And there's just no keeping Rob Crow down. The indie-rock guru — who put out a solo album, Living Well, earlier this year, despite his myriad other projects — has tossed together another installment in his best-known band's oeuvre. The San Diego band's fourth album, recorded in its home studios, features drumming by former Rocket From the Crypt and No Knife members and features "How We Breathe," "Subbing for Eden" and "Blue Harvest." The initial run will come with a bonus disc featuring three additional new studio recordings.

New Releases:

· 40 Cal. - Broken Safety 2 (Koch)
· 50 Cent - Curtis (G-Unit/Interscope)
Read: "50 Cent Explains Last Week's Blowup, Says 'I Will Be #1 On September 11' "
· Akron/Family - Love Is Simple (with DVD; Young God)
· Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (Domino)
· Axe Riverboy - Tu Tu to Tango (Minty Fresh)
· B5 - Don't Talk, Just Listen (Bad Boy)
· Baby Elephant - Turn My Teeth Up (Godforsaken)
· The Birthday Massacre - Walking With Strangers (Metropolis)
· Bizzy Bone - Trials & Tribulations (Real Talk)
· Black Francis - Bluefinger (Cooking Vinyl)
· The Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil (Vice)
· Eugene Blacknell - We Can't Take Life for Granted (Luv N Haight)
· Kenny Chesney - Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates (RCA)
· Vic Chestnutt - North Star Deserter (digipak; Constellation)
· Cloak/Dagger - We Are (Jade Tree)
· C.O.C.O. - Play Drums + Bass (K)
· Alberta Cross - The Thief & the Heartbreaker (Geffen)
· The Deadly Syndrome - The Ortolan (Dim Mak)
· Ani DiFranco - Canon (Righteous Babe)
· Dirty Projectors - Rise Above (Dead Oceans)
· Downchild - Live at the Palais Royale (Linus/Koch)
· Enuff Z'nuff - Tonight, Sold Out (Crash)
· Eulogies - Eulogies (Dangerbird)
· Figurines - Where the Deer Wore Blue (Control Group)
· Film School - Hideout (Beggars Banquet)
· Gang Gang Dance - Rawwar (EP; Social Registry)
· Giacomo Gates - Luminosity (with DVD; DoubleDave)
· The Go! Team - Proof of Youth (Sub Pop)
· The Good Life - Help Wanted Nights (Saddle Creek)
· Grand National - A Drink & A Quick Decision (digipak with bonus tracks not featured on digital release; Recall)
· Grayskul - Bloody Radio (Rhymesayers)
· Ha Ha Tonka - Buckle in the Bible Belt (Bloodshot)
· Hatesphere - Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes (EP; Steamhammer)
· Joe Henry - Civilians (Anti-)
· Hot Hot Heat - Happiness Ltd. (with DVD; Reprise)
· Jenny Hoyston - Isle Of (Southern)
· Icarus Witch - Songs for the Lost (Cleopatra)
· Jupiter Rising - Electropop (Chime)
· Kane, Welch, Kaplin - Kane, Welch, Kaplin (Compass)
· Kenna - Make Sure They See My Face (Interscope)
· Sander Kleinenberg - This Is Sander Kleinenberg (Ultra)
· Le Loup - The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly (Hardly Art)
· Devin Lima & the Cadbury Diesel - Mozart Popart (111)
· Scott Matthews - Passing Stranger (Republic)
· Modeselektor - Happy Birthday! (BPitch Control)
· Oakley Hall - I'll Follow You (Merge)
· Orange - Escape From L.A. (Hellcat)
· Adrian Orange and Her Band - Adrian Orange and Her Band (K)
· Para One - Epiphanie (Naive/Ryko)
· Picastro - Whore Luck (Polyvinyl)
· Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs (Touch and Go)
· Pitch Black - Revenge (Travio)
· Emma Pollock - Watch the Fireworks (4AD)
· Qui - Love's Miracle (Ipecac)
· Raging Speedhorn - Before the Sea Was Built (SPV)
· Rainman - Bigga Than Life (Chime)
· Red Stick Ramblers - Made in the Shade (Sugar Hill)
· Johnathan Rice - Further North (Reprise)
· Shakra - Infected (Locomotive)
· Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills (Merge)
· Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release (Interscope)
· Taken by Trees - Open Field (Eleven Music)
· Chris Volz - Redemption (Rock Ridge)
· X-Press 2 - Makeshift Feelgood (Tommy Boy)
· Kanye West - Graduation (Roc-A-Fella)
Read: "Kanye West And Lil Wayne Counting On 'Barry Bonds' For A Hit Single"
· Wiley - Playtime Is Over (Big Dada)
· Ann Wilson - Hope & Glory (Zoë/Rounder)
· Wooden Shjips - Wooden Shjips (Holy Mountain)
· World/Inferno Friendship Society - Addicted to Bad Ideas (Chunksaah)
· Michael Yonkers Band - Grimwood (De Stijl)
· Zoroaster - Dog Magic (Southern Lord)
· Various artists - Choices EP II (Ubiquity)
· Various artists - Grey's Anatomy - Original Soundtrack 3 (Hollywood)
· Various artists - Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of the Rolling Stones (Baby Rock)
· Various artists - Sowing the Seeds: The 10th Anniversary (two CDs; Appleseed)
· Various artists -- "Dedication" soundtrack (Commotion/Koch)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· Joan Baez - Carry It On (Vanguard)
· Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True - Deluxe Edition (two CDs; Hip-O/UMe)
· Ani DiFranco - Canon (Righteous Babe)
· Genesis - Turn It on Again: The Hits - The Tour Edition (two CDs; Rhino/Atlantic)
· June Panic - Songs From Purgatory: The Complete Recordings of June Panic - 1991-1996 (Secretly Canadian)
· Mono - Gone: A Collection of EPs 2000-2007 (Temporary Residence)
· The Alan Parsons Project - Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Deluxe Edition (two CDs; Island)
· Sonny Rollins - The Sound of Sonny (Riverside)
· Billy Joe Shaver - Storyteller: Live at the Bluebird 1992 (Sugar Hill)
· Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Seven Miles Out of Town (Varèse Sarabande)
· Trisha Yearwood - Greatest Hits (MCA Nashville)
· Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth and the Collected Works of Young Marble Giants (three CDs; Domino)
· Various artists - Cinematic: Classic Film Music Remixed (Six Degrees)
· Various artists - The Commitments - Deluxe Edition (two CDs; Geffen)
· Various artists -- Four Decades of Folk Rock (four-CD box set; Time Life)
· Various artists - I'm Beginning to See the Light: Dance Hits From the Second World War (Legacy)
· Various artists - Monster Ballads Xmas (Razor & Tie)
· Various artists - The Pop Parade: Hits of the '40s, '50s & '60s (three CDs; Shout! Factory)
· Various artists - Sentimental Journey: Hits From the Second World War (Legacy)
· Various artists - When Rhythm Was King (Heartbeat)
· Various artists - "The War: A Ken Burns Film" soundtrack (four-CD box set also includes I'm Beginning to See the Light; Sentimental Journey and Songs Without Words: Classical Music From the War; Legacy)

Music DVDs:

· Mindless Self Indulgence - "Our Pain Your Gain" (Metropolis)
· Lionel Richie - "Live in Paris" (deluxe edition comes with CD; Island)
· Sublime - "The Ultimate Bundle for the Ultimate Sublime Fan" (two CDs and one CD; MVD Visual)
· U2 -- "PopMart Live from Mexico City" (limited edition comes with bonus DVD; Island)

Digital Releases:

· A.I. - Sex & Robots (A.I.)
· Marie Digby - Start Here (exclusive iTunes EP; Hollywood)
· Karmina - The Kiss (CBS)
· Louis XIV - The Distances From Everyone to You (EP; Atlantic)
· Meisterfakt - Down on My Ass (Kitty-Cuts)
· Mew - Live Session (exclusive iTunes EP; Columbia)

Coming Attractions:

September 18:
· Chamillionaire - Ultimate Victory (Motown)
Read: "Chamillionaire Ditches Bad Attitude; Hooks Up With Snoop, Busta For LP"
· Mya - Liberation (Motown)
Read: "Mya Gives Up Grudges And Ego, Picks Up Relationship Wisdom On Liberation"
· KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic (Virgin)

September 25:
· Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (RCA)
Read: "Dave Grohl May Be Fond Of String Quartets, But Foo Fighters Haven't Gone Soft"
· PJ Harvey - White Chalk (Island)
· Hell Rell - For the Hell of It (Koch)

October 2:
· Dashboard Confessional - The Shade of Poison Trees (digipak; Vagrant)
· J. Holiday - Back of My Lac (Capitol)
· Soulja Boy - Souljaboytellem.com (Interscope)

• Kanye Lectures On The Importance Of Graduation

• Pamela Anderson And Tommy Lee's Whirlwind VMA Weekend

• 50 Cent
• Kanye West
• Black Lips
• The Good Life
• Pinback

Bloc Party's Kele Okereke performs at SXSW on Thursday
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/ Getty Images

AUSTIN, Texas — Every March, the music industry throws on a pair of shorts, slathers on the SPF 45 and heads on down to Austin for South by Southwest, a weeklong celebration of bands, BBQ and (sometimes free!) beer. It's a brutal bacchanal and music marathon powered by thousands of acts playing in hundreds of venues — at all hours — plus an unreal number of open bar tabs and fancy private parties.

Sleep is not exactly a top priority, so MTV News has dispatched three of its most tireless reporters into the fray. They'll be filing reports a few times each day (scroll down for the evening report), which will chiefly serve as a way of keeping you up to speed about what's going on deep in the heart of Texas, but also double as a convenient way — for us, anyway — of making sure everyone's still alive.

The Day

James Montgomery, MTV News writer: Just had my first totally random, totally awesome moment here at SXSW. I was waiting at a crosswalk on Congress Avenue when a dusty wood-paneled station wagon pulled up at the light and all the dudes inside, clearly in a band, clearly trying to look super-cool — think vintage vests, scraggly beards, wide-brim hats and bellbottoms straight out of Haight-Ashbury — were summarily laughed at by a gaggle of passing females. Next time get a tighter ride, bros.

Spent Thursday afternoon (March 15) baking in the sun at the Levis/Fader fort, where Interscope was debuting Queens of the Stone Age's upcoming Era Vulgaris record. Expect plenty of spooky, windswept guitars à la Lullabies to Paralyze — plus a whole lot of stompers circa their Songs for the Deaf era.

Then I headed over to Waterloo Records for an interview with Lily Allen, who was nice in an "I don't give a f----" kind of way. She talked about her plans to hit the studio in May and dismissed any notion of working with a producer du jour like Timbaland: "I don't want to be Nelly Furtado," she hissed. "And I don't want to spend $250,000 on a song I didn't write." She also got down to dissing the world-famous BBQ at Stubb's, declaring it "too gristly" (I would, respectively, have to disagree.)

Then it was back to the Fort for the Black Lips, who were missing a bassist ("He's still down in Mexico," one bandmember said) but still managed to fill the air with the kind of bludgeoning blooze-rock — and onstage French kissing — that they've been garnering much attention for in recent months. ...

Just back at the hotel for a minute, as I'm off to go interview the Cold War Kids at La Zona Rosa, then an evening filled with Elvis Perkins, Lo Fi Fink and (hopefully) the absence of heat stroke.

John Norris, MTV News correspondent:

"John Norris!!"

"Dude, I've been watching you since I was 5!"

"Nice to see you guys actually covering music!"

Ah yes — just a sampling of the greetings you get trying to shoot a news brief at 11 a.m. in the middle of Sixth Street on day #2 of SXSW. Who said they don't get up before noon at this festival? In fact, one person who was up early was none other than Chris Kirkpatrick. Yes, as in, formerly of 'NSYNC Chris Kirkpatrick ... though decidedly more tattooed than the last time I saw him. Chris has been to South By before but was ready to proclaim this one "maybe the wildest one yet." (Uh, totally awesome, bro.)

Other sights and sounds on a sunny Thursday in Austin:

"Nothing like a matinee. We're from Montreal. It's our first time in Texas. We want some chicken-fried chicken, whatever that is." · Canadian ambient rocker Patrick Watson, during a 1:45 p.m. set at Emo's

"We hope you find happiness and places to park." · Will Sheff, frontman for local band Okkervil River, to the packed afternoon crowd at Bourbon Rocks. Great band by the way: They've been playing SXSW for seven years and have a deservedly faithful following. Folk-rock sound that would not be out of place on a Bright Eyes bill.

"Doesn't that bicycle seat hurt your ass?" · The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne, to a cycling semi-drag queen (gray hair and beard, painted nails, tiara, butterfly thong and, apparently, breasts). Wayne was last seen on Sixth Street at SXSW 2006 as a pied piper in a huge bubble; this year he's a roving reporter for "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

Gil Kaufman, MTV News writer: Not a whole lot of time to file right now, as I'm putting in a marathon day of shows (Amy Winehouse, Daniel Johnston, El-P). But I wanted to share this gem from Wednesday night with you all: Sometimes even the most horrible band can teach you something.

Walking down Sixth Street, you hear so much music bleed out of every hole-in-the-wall bar that it's hard to figure out who you're hearing, even if you consult your festival guide. British blues yelpers Kava Kava, with a lead singer who looked like Bo Bice on a bender, were totally unexceptional, except for this genius bit of technology: The keyboardist had a little LED display taped onto his instrument that said "read me" and scrolled the band's name over and over in red 2-inch-high letters. Genius.

P.S.: No truth to all those "Rage Against the Machine played a reunion show last night" rumors floating around Austin. Tom Morello's manager told me the axeman was in Los Angeles on Wednesday night and that the supposed show "couldn't have happened." Though Morello's show Thursday night at Parish — where he is slated to perform as his alias, the Nightwatchman — is being billed as featuring "special guests," so ... who knows?

The Evening

James Montgomery: Important SXSW Lesson, Number One: No matter how boring you think the Cold War Kids may be, do not — under any circumstances — avoid their live show, which from the sound of things will be one that fest vets will be talking about for remainder of the week. Of course, I wasn't there, having dipped out to go watch Lo Fi Fink goof around onstage for 20 minutes, but apparently — from the roughly 37 text messages I received about it — I missed an epic effort, culminating with a mega-jam involving hotly tipped folkster Elvis Perkins.

(Check out exclusive front-row footage of Morello's jam session with Slash, Perry Farrell and more, right here.)

Important SXSW Lesson, Number Two: No matter how inconsequential you think Tom Morello might be, do not — under any circumstances — skip out on a performance by his side project, the Nightwatchman, especially when said performance is billed as "featuring special guests." Sure enough, I missed out on another sure-to-be-blogged about highlight — but don't worry, other members of the MTV News crew were in the front row, cameras and notebooks in hand (see "Morello's SXSW Gig Turns Into Raucous All-Star Jam With Slash, Perry Farrell").

Important SXSW Lesson, Number Three: I am a huge dumbass.

Thursday night wasn't all bad though ... I did get to witness a blistering set of anthemic, honest-to-goodness punk rock from Gainesville, Florida's Against Me!. (Of course, I had to sit through 45 minutes of Jack's Mannequin to do it, so let's call it a Pyrrhic victory.)

The fiercely DIY quartet turned the punk community on its collective head in late 2005 when they announced that they had signed with — gasp! — a major label, but if their sweaty set at the Sire Records showcase was any indication, all those old wounds have healed. Many fists were pumped, many hard-charging choruses bellowed and many unfortunate tattoos revealed, and the band seemed to be having a ball unveiling songs from their upcoming album New Wave, which displayed a decidedly dance-y streak.

Hey, even comedian David Cross, who caught the show in his "official undercover celebrity uniform" (read: a flannel shirt and a ratty ball cap) approved. And if it's good enough for America's foremost indie humorist, then it's certainly good enough for you.

John Norris: Now that's the South by Southwest I know and love. After a kinda sleepy Wednesday on Sixth Street ("Pete Wentz Clones Descend, Lily Allen Warbles As SXSW Gets Under Way"), on Thursday night things were back to the Bourbon-Street-with-a-great-soundtrack vibe that defines this week in Austin. Not always easy to maneuver, especially when every block there's another two or three CDs shoved into your hand. And — note to the guy who said, "You probably just throw these things away" — rest assured I try to make a point of listening to each and every record that comes my way.

Anyway, making it to see four artists at four different clubs in five hours does require a plan, and that's what I and my friend Chris, who was in from New York, had. For the most part, it worked.

First stop: Norway's Sondre Lerche, a power pop guy whose records seem to just be getting better. Not only is his latest, Phantom Punch probably his best to date, it also brings him closest to one of his musical heroes, Elvis Costello. Sondre and his very tight band had the crowd at Antone's — part of a showcase for Astralwerks that also included Sparklehorse — rocking.

The same could also be said for Mute Math. The electronic outfit — and former "You Hear It First" artist — is a band that, it is said, is best appreciated live. Tonight, everyone packed into the Dirty Dog found out why.

No doubt one of the three or four "biggest" bands at SXSW 2007 is Bloc Party — hence their show at Stubb's amounted to a mob scene. Thankfully Chris and I got in about 10 minutes before they took the stage, to tear through close to an hour's worth of songs from the still-genius 2005 album Silent Alarm, plus the recently released record titled — as frontman Kele Okereke implored the crowd to shout out — A Weekend in the City. On a warm night like tonight, the amphitheatre setting of Stubb's is Austin's best venue to see music — and favorites like "Banquet" to the new stuff, including the sweetly nostalgic "I Still Remember," swelled through the night air.

Finally, when it's 1 a.m. and you need a final burst of energy, what better way than the Smiths-y jangle pop of Austin's Voxtrot? This was one of the most-seen bands at last year's South By, and with a new album on the way, Ramesh Srivastava and the boys sent the crowd at Emo's off into the Austin night feeling good.

It was a long night, and a great night, and I'm done.

Gil Kaufman: I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but while walking by the English showcase, I might have pretended to be from Leeds to squeeze in with some genuine Brits when they said the show was closed. Luckily, I snuck in, grabbed a soggy taco and got to see a mesmerizing, kinda scary acoustic set from mega-hyped British train wreck Amy Winehouse.

Impossibly thin with a towering black beehive hairdo and a sailor-worthy menagerie of tattoos, wearing tightly pegged jeans, a food-stained white undershirt and dirty pink ballet slippers, Winehouse played a four-song set that showed off her strong, soulful pipes on songs including her hit single, "Rehab." It was hard to ignore the deep scratches all over her left arm and her twitchy mannerisms, though.

Say what you will about the relevance of grunge progenitors the Melvins, but watching lead singer Buzz Osborne smash out dinosaur riffs while wearing a long black caftan covered in skulls and birds was the bomb. But the most important news of the day came during a brief set by beloved eccentric Daniel Johnston, who announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am not running for president today. I came here to this town today to rock this town."

The afternoon ended nicely with a ribcage-rattling set of thick hip-hop rock by El-P, who tried mightily to avoid cursing during a live broadcast on a local station. Unfortunately for them, he slipped up within the first five seconds he was on air.

Then, in the evening, I decided to check out a full set from Winehouse, and I'd like to take back (some) of what I said earlier; maybe she's just not an early riser. Dressed in the same get-up, but with a clean black T-shirt, she slayed an adoring, sweat-drenched crowd with a high-energy set that, unfortunately, started two hours later than advertised. But with her coquettish stage moves and dangerous-looking come-hither smile and teasing hand gestures — not to mention that smoky voice — all was forgiven.

After Amy, I checked out Minneapolis' Cloud Cult, who impressed with their Flaming Lips-style psychedelic rock, and the two onstage artists doing "action painting" during their set. James winced when I used the phrase "action painting," saying, "That sounds horrible!" I didn't tell him about the pregnant cello player with Christmas lights in her hair.

And finally, I caught up with an old pal, Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman, during Straylight Run's gig. Dressed in his signature board shorts, loose t-shirt and flip-flops, Lyman said he was just hanging out and doing a bit of business, hoping to check out Willie Nelson on Saturday. Now that's punk rock.

And if you'll excuse me, I've got to crash. I'm exhausted, officially.

Will James actually make it to one of these buzz shows? Can the rest of the fest beat John's stellar Thursday? And could anything out-weird Gil's "action painting" experience? Check back all week for our SXSW coverage!

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

[This story was originally published on 3.15.2007 at 8:44 p.m.]

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