Lil' Kim's <i>The Naked Truth</i>
Photo: Atlantic Records

The Truth Is Out: Lil' Kim's prison sentence might be garnering the raunchy rapper the most headlines, but that's not stopping her from cussing up a storm on The Naked Truth with tracks like "Shut Up Bitch" (intro), "Shut Up Bitch" (the proper song), "We Don't Give a F---" and My N---as." Other tracks include: "W.P.I.M.P.," "Spell Check" and "All Good."

Blood Work: The track list to Bloodhound Gang's Hefty Fine says it all, really: "Strictly for the Tardcore," "Balls Out," "Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo," "I'm the Least You Could Do," "Farting With a Walkman On," "Diarrhea Runs in the Family," "Ralph Wiggum," "Something Diabolical," "Overheard in a Wawa Parking Lot," "Pennsylvania," "Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss" and "No Hard Feelings."

Paulatics: Hip-hop, dancehall and reggae come together to form Sean Paul's Trinity, the third album by the Jamaican DJ. Shifting from high-profile producers like the Neptunes and Sly & Robbie to more obscure ones like Craig Parks and Michael Jarrett, Paul runs the risk of losing a few listeners this time around. Tracks include: "We Be Burnin'," "Temperature" and "Eye Deh a Mi Knee."

Crow Deluxe: Sheryl Crow fans, keep yer eyes peeled for a deluxe edition of the Lance Armstrong lover's latest, Wildflower, which is hitched with a bonus DVD featuring seven acoustic cuts. Main-album songs include: "Chances Are," "I Don't Wanna Know" and "Always on Your Side."

Christmas In September: Start the holiday season a few months early with these toasty chestnuts: The Regis Philbin Christmas Album and reissues of Nat King Cole's The Christmas Song, Al Green's Feels Like Christmas and Frank Sinatra's A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra.

Ante up with Joe McBride's Texas Hold'Em, Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals' Jacksonville City Nights, Junior Brown's The Austin Experience: Recorded Live at the Continental Club and Before the Devil, the new one from Black My Heart.

Song Titles Of The Week:

"Lighter Side of Global Terrorism" - Jello Biafra and the Melvins' Sieg Howdy

"Poppin' My Collar" - Three 6 Mafia's The Most Known Unknowns

"When Future History Became Current History" - Biology's Making Moves

New releases:

• Abandoned Pools - Armed to the Teeth (Universal)
• Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Jacksonville City Nights (Lost Highway)
  Buy Now: Jacksonville City Nights (Lost Highway)
• Rusty Anderson - Undressing Underwater (Surfdog)
• Barlow Girl - Another Journal Entry (Word Entertainment)
• Drake Bell - Telegraph (Nine Yards)
• The Benjy Davis Project - The Angie House (Bogalusa)
• Tab Benoit - Voice of the Wetlands (Rykodisc)
• Jello Biafra and the Melvins - Sieg Howdy (Alternative Tentacles)
• Eric Bibb - A Ship Called Love (Telarc)
• Big Star - In Space (Rykodisc)
  Buy Now: In Space (Rykodisc)
• Biology - Making Moves (Vagrant)
• Bizzy Bone - Speaking Tongues (SMC)
• Blackalicious - The Craft (Anti)
  Read: "Blackalicious Fight 'Nerd Rap' Tag, Saying 'Let's Take It To The Stage' "
  Buy Now: The Craft (Anti)
• The Blackout Pact - Hello Sailor (Astro Magnetics)
• B-Legit - Block Movement (SMC)
• Black My Heart - Before the Devil (Eulogy)
• Blind Melon - Tones of Home: The Best of Blind Melon (Capitol)
• Bloodhound Gang - Hefty Fine (Geffen)
  Read: "Bloodhound Gang Pen New State Anthem For Pennsylvania"
  Buy Now: Hefty Fine (Geffen)
• Bona Fide - Soul Lounge (Heads Up)
• Toni Braxton - Libra (Blackground)
• Junior Brown - The Austin Experience: Recorded Live at the Continental Club (Telarc)
• Bruce Campbell - Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way (six-CD box set; Rykodisc)
• Vivian Campbell - Two Sides of If (Sanctuary)
• The Casanovas - The Casanovas (IROCK)
• Ray Cash - C.O.D.: Cash on Delivery (Sony Urban)
• Tom Chapin - Some Assembly Required (Razor & Tie)
• Bill Charlap & Sandy Stewart - Love Is Here to Stay (Blue Note)
• Cherish the Ladies - Woman of the House (Rounder)
• Cherryholmes - Cherryholmes (Skaggs Family)
• Bruce Cockburn - Speechless (Rounder)
• Sheryl Crow - Wildflower (Interscope)
  Buy Now: Wildflower (Interscope)
• The Detroit Cobras - Baby (Bloodshot)
• Grandaddy - Excerpts From the Diary of Todd Zilla (EP; V2)
  Read: "Grandaddy Can't Wait To Leave Home — But They Have To Finish Telling It Off First"
• Buddy Guy - Bring 'Em In (Jive)
• The High Strung - Moxie Bravo (Future Farmer)
• Ill Niño - One Nation Underground (Roadrunner)
• Wynona Judd - Her Story: Scenes From a Lifetime (live; with DVD; Curb)
• King of France - King of France (Echo)
• King's X - Ogre Tones (Inside Out)
• Lil' Kim - The Naked Truth (Atlantic)
  Read: "Lil' Kim's Wrath For 50, Foxy Has No Bounds On Naked Truth"
  Buy Now: The Naked Truth (Atlantic)
• Curt Kirkwood - Snow (Little Dog)
• Betty LaVette- I've Got My Own Hell to Raise (Anti)
• Ramsey Lewis - With One Voice (live; Narada)
• Maceo - Straight Out Da Pot (Big Cat)
• Mack 10 - Hustla's Handbook (Capitol)
• Kathy Mattea - Right Out of Nowhere (Narada)
• Joe McBride - Texas Hold'Em (Heads Up)
• Brad Mehldau - Day Is Done (Nonesuch)
• Sergio Mendes - Timeless (Concord)
• Miguel Migs - House of OM Presents: Get Salted, Vol. 1 (OM)
• Ministry - Rantology (remix album; Sanctuary)
• Mommy and Daddy - Duel at Dawn (Kanine)
• Morcheeba - The Antidote (Echo)
• Mr. Criminal - Sounds of Crime (Thump)
• My Ruin - The Brutal Language (Rovena)
• Jon Nicholson - A Lil Sump'm Sump'm (with DVD; Warner Bros.)
• Ric Ocasek - Nexterday (Sanctuary)
• P.J. Olsson - Beautifully Insane (Brash)
• Orange Sky - Upstairs (with bonus DVD; Granite)
• Sean Paul - The Trinity (DualDisc; Atlantic)
  Buy Now: The Trinity (Atlantic)
• The Persuasions - The Persuasions Sing U2 (Chesky)
• Regis Philbin - The Regis Philbin Christmas Album (Hollywood)
• Plastic Noise Experience - Noised (Van Richter)
• Project 86 - ... And the Rest Will Follow (Tooth & Nail)
• Reatards - Not F---ed Enough (Empty)
• Dianne Reeves - "Good Night, and Good Luck" soundtrack (Concord)
• Carmen Rizzo - The Lost Art of the Idle Moment (Fuel 2000)
• Emma Roberts - "Unfabulous! And More" soundtrack (Columbia)
• Boz Skaggs - Fade Into Light (DualDisc; Virgin)
• Anoushka Shankar - Rise (Angel)
• Smile Empty Soul - Anxiety (Lava)
• Supergrass - Road to Rouen (Capitol)
  Read: "New Supergrass LP: Born In A Barn, Literally"
• T-Bone - Bone-a-Fide (Flicker)
• Three 6 Mafia - The Most Known Unknowns (Columbia)
• Versus the World - Versus the World (Kung Fu)
• Roger Waters - Ça Ira (with DVD; SACD hybrid; Sony International)
• Gretchen Wilson - All Jacked Up (Epic)
• Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary (Sub Pop)
• Neil Young - Prairie Wind (with DVD; Reprise)
  Buy Now: Prairie Wind (Reprise)
• Various artists - Taste of Chaos (Image)
• Various artists - "Grey's Anatomy" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - "Las Vegas" soundtrack (Image)
• Various artists - "Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" soundtrack (Sparrow)
• Various artists - "Radio Disney: Move It!" (Walt Disney)
• Various artists - "Rent" soundtrack (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - "Serenity" soundtrack (Varèse)
• Various artists - "Veronica Mars" soundtrack (Nettwerk)

Notable reissues:

• Anti-M - Positively Negative (with bonus tracks; Topographic)
• The Band - A Musical History (six CDs; Capitol)
• Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection (Interscope)
• The Carpenters - Chronicles (box set; A&M)
• The Carter Family - 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection (Mercury Nashville)
• Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Capitol)
• Criteria - En Garde (Saddle Creek)
• Miles Davis - The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (six-CD box set; Columbia/Legacy)
• Al Green - Feels Like Christmas and Greatest Hits: Deluxe Edition (with DVD; Capitol)
• Mean Season - The Memory and I Still Suffer in Love (Indecision)
• Natalie Merchant - Greatest Hits (limited edition; Rhino)
• Thelonius Monk Quartet With John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall (Blue Note)
• Frank Sinatra - A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra (Capitol)
• Train - Essentially (Columbia)
• Wall of Voodoo - The Index Masters (Rykodisc)

DVDs:

• Blind Melon - "Live at the Metro" (Capitol)
• Elvis Costello - "The Right Spectacle: The Very Best of Elvis Costello" (Warner Bros.)
• The Sun - "Blame It on the Youth" (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - "Taste of Chaos" (Image)

Coming Attractions:

October 4:

• Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (DualDisc; Epic)
  Read: "Fiona Apple's Long-Delayed LP Slotted For October 4 Release"
  Buy Now: Extraordinary Machine (Epic)
• Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better (Epic)
  Read: "Set A Man On Fire, Name Next LP — Franz Ferdinand Do Whatever They Want"
  Buy Now: You Could Have It So Much Better (Epic)
• Nickelback - All the Right Reasons (Roadrunner)
  Read: "Nickelback Go The John Mellencamp Route For New Video"
  Buy Now: All the Right Reasons (Roadrunner)

October 11:

• Ricky Martin - Life (Columbia)
• Alicia Keys - Unplugged (J)
  Read: "Alicia Keys Taps Mos Def, Common For 'Inspired' 'Unplugged' "
  Buy Now: Unplugged (J)
• Story of the Year - In the Wake of Determination (Maverick)

October 18:

• Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel (Reprise)
• Ashlee Simpson - In Another Life
  Read: "Ashlee Remembers 'SNL' Incident But Forgets Boys On New LP"
• Thrice - Vheissu (Island)
  Read: "Thrice Going Underground — In A Sense — For Enigmatic Vheissu"
  Buy Now: Vheissu (Island)

• Lil' Kim
• The Bloodhound Gang
• Sheryl Crow
• Sean Paul
• Blackalicious

Bloodhound Gang
Photo: Bloodhoung Gang Official Site

The Bloodhound Gang's Jimmy Pop has a pretty exhausting life. In addition to being the nation's leading purveyor of songs about boobs and farts, he also has to devote ample time to making appearances on fellow Pennsylvania resident Bam Margera's "Viva La Bam" TV show, judging entrants in the Gang's "Online Concubine" contest, and, well, penning more songs about boobs and farts.

Which is why it's kind of amazing he found time for his newest role: public advocate.

Seems a few months back, while Jimmy and the rest of the gang were putting the finishing touches on their new album, Hefty Fine (due September 27), he became obsessed with his home state's anthem, which he considers rather lame. Seemed that it was time to change the tired tune, so, in a fit of inspiration (or something) he penned what he hoped would be the state's new anthem: the appropriately titled "Pennsylvania," which paid tribute to some of the Keystone state's finer points, like the copious amounts of Wawa convenience stores that dot its Interstates or the beautiful cinderblock art on display in front yards outside Philadelphia.

"You get tired hearing people talk about how great their hometown is. People from Cleveland are always bragging about being from Cleveland, people from Brooklyn always think they're the top of the food chain," he said. "We know where we live stinks, so I decided to write a song about that. And it turns out that under Pennsylvania state legislation, if you get enough people to sign legislation, you can have the state anthem changed."

So he started up a Web site, PennsylvaniaStateSong.com, asking fans to sign a petition to have the song played before the Pennsylvania State Assembly.

"Obviously it would never have gotten voted in, but at least the guys in the legislature would have to address it," Pop continued. "It would become part of the public record ... and then that record would probably sell more copies than any of our records did."

He's just being modest. The Bloodhound Gang's last album, 2000's Hooray for Boobies, sold more than 1 million copies, thanks to the frat-boy favorite "The Bad Touch" and its "You and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals/ So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel" hook. And their new one, Hefty Fine, should appeal to that same demographic, if first single "Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo" is any indication.

"We were trying to think of different ways to talk about sexual intercourse and all the body parts that go along with it. So it's full of all sorts of weird nouns and verbs," Pop explained. "Some people use the work 'boink,' so a penis could be a 'boink swatter.' There's also stuff like 'gut locker,' 'yippee bog,' you know, real highbrow stuff like that."

And speaking of highbrow, there's the matter of Hefty's album cover, which features a hirsute overweight man wearing a come-hither stare ... and not much else. It's just another notch on the Bloodhound's borscht belt, and Pop couldn't be prouder.

"Because of what we do, we get sued a lot, so we wanted to call our album Hefty Fine because of that. But 'Hefty Fine' can also mean 'fat and sexy,' so we found this guy who weighs in at about 400 pounds and had him pose for the cover," he laughed. "In the gay community, he's known as a 'bear chub,' because he's really hairy and he's fat. And often you can be one or the other, but he was both. Which is awesome."

Track listing for the Bloodhound Gang's Hefty Fine, according to Geffen:

• "Strictly for the Tardcore"
• "Balls Out"
• "Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo"
• "I'm the Least You Could Do"
• "Farting With a Walkman On"
• "Diarrhea Runs in the Family"
• "Ralph Wiggum"
• "Something Diabolical"
• "Overheard in a Wawa Parking Lot"
• "Pennsylvania"
• "Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss"
• "No Hard Feelings"

• The Bloodhound Gang

According to a spokesperson for Ashanti, the singer will no longer be opening for Mariah Carey on the Charmbracelet tour. New dates for the trek, which has been downsized, have yet to be announced. ...

Jennifer Lopez is in negotiations to play the lead in the New Line comedy "Monster-In-Law," the story of an engaged woman whose romantic wedding plans are thrown into disarray after she meets her hellish mother-in-law. A director for the project has not yet been hired. ... Marilyn Manson canceled his show this past Saturday at the Gods of Metal festival in Mazda Palace in Milan, Italy, because he contracted a throat virus and was unable to sing. The show has been rescheduled for June 22. ...

Backstreet Boys' Howie Dorough and Kevin Richardson will meet with city officials in Huntsville, Alabama, on Thursday to discuss their interest in investing in a new hotel/entertainment complex. The two entertainers became interested in the idea of a downtown Huntsville complex a few years ago, which would have a hotel beside the city's Van Braun Center and the entertainment complex at the adjacent Market Square shopping center. A town hall-type meeting will be held at the city's Madison Square Mall around 4 p.m., where fans can ask questions about the proposal. ... Papa Roach drummer Dave Buckner got engaged on June 2 to Mia Tyler, daughter of Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler. No wedding date has been set. ...

Pint-sized heartbreaker Lil' Romeo will be featured on the June 16 episode of the PBS series "Zoom" (check local listings). The son of Master P will be interviewed by kid reporter Diane Rodriguez from Washington Heights, New York. ... Want to sit in the judge's chair? The "American Idol" office chairs used by judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson are being auctioned off to benefit cancer-related charities. Details have yet to be announced. ...

Mandy Moore is posting a new clip from her upcoming covers album, Coverage, every Friday on www.mandymoore.com. Recent additions include Elton John's "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" and Cat Stevens' "Moon Shadow," which Moore described as having "a childlike quality to it, that same quality of innocence and beauty." ... BT has set an August 19 release date for his latest studio album, Emotional Technology, featuring tracks with JC Chasez, actress Rose McGowan and others. The first single, "Somnambulist," which the electronic music wiz boasts has 6,178 vocal edits, recently hit airwaves. ...

Russell Simmons continues to show success in his Def Jam afterlife. Simmons' Def Poetry Jam took home the award for Best Special Theatrical Event at Sunday night's Tony Awards. ... Infantile humorists the Bloodhound Gang have one DVD out and another on the way. "One Fierce Beer Run" documents their world tour from 1996-97, when they visited Australia, Norway, Spain, Germany, New Zealand and other countries they probably couldn't place on a map. Meanwhile, the "Hooray for Boobies" DVD is in the works and a new album is expected to drop before the end of the year. ...

Dave Rowberry, keyboardist for the Animals ("House of the Rising Sun," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place") was found dead in his East London apartment Friday. Rowberry joined the group in 1965, a year after the band formed. Animals drummer John Steel said the 62-year-old Rowberry had a heart condition. ...

The Eagles have added an eight-date West Coast leg to their Farewell I Tour. The new stretch begins August 5 in Phoenix and wraps up August 24 in Seattle. Old favorites like "Hotel California" will stand alongside new single "Hole in the World." ... Dance rockers Hot Hot Heat have added nine dates to their current tour that supports their latest album, Make Up the Breakdown. The new leg, which includes festivals and a handful of shows with Los Angeles' Moving Units, begins June 28 in Syracuse, New York, and ends July 20 in Chicago. ...

On Thursday, Verizon Communications forked over the names of four subscribers to its Internet service the recording industry suspected of illegal file-sharing, thereby infringing on its copyrights. The day before, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a subpoena that required the company to do so. It's not yet known what the RIAA plans to do with the names. ...

06.06.03

Though he's out of the running for the ex-Guns N' Roses band Velvet Revolver, Sebastian Bach got his GN'R fix recently when he teamed up with former Guns drummer Steven Adler. Adler's band — which also features members of Slash's Snakepit, Ratt and Faster Pussycat — is called Adler's Appetite, to reflect its penchant for playing songs off of Appetite for Destruction. Bach took the mic during the group's set at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas on May 31. ...

Speaking of ex-Gunners, founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin has finished his sixth solo album, Like a Dog. Clips of two songs, "Hammerhead" and "Bomb," have been posted on his Web site. Meanwhile, Gilby Clarke, who replaced Stradlin in GN'R, will perform with Heart on "The Tonight Show" on Tuesday. ... Former Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons joined Eddie Vedder and his old mates onstage in Irvine, California, Tuesday for a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." Matt Cameron replaced Irons in 1998, just before the band embarked on a tour to support Yield. ...

Former Smiths singer Morrissey has begun working on his first album in five years. The Mozzer's follow-up to Maladjusted is due on the newly resurrected Attack label. ... "Creatures (For a While)" will be the first single from 311's new album, Evolver, due July 22. The song will hit the airwaves on June 30. ... Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am told the Los Angeles Times he's working on a second solo album, with appearances by KRS-One, MC Lyte and others. The project will be released on the London club label Barely Breaking Even. ... The Wallflowers will embark on an 18-date acoustic tour July 11 in San Diego. Jakob Dylan and company continue to support last year's Red Letter Days on the trek, which wraps July 27 in Boulder, Colorado. ...

Damion Hall of the R&B group Guy called in to New York radio station WBLS-FM on Friday (June 6) to dispel rumors of his demise. "I'm definitely here, I'm alive and awake," Hall said. "It's amazing how people want to make up stories to create a rumor or for them to get some steam. ... Everybody that has been worried or confused, I am here, I'm alive, I'm well." ... The first glimpse of what a reunited original lineup of Duran Duran sounds like is available online, where an unmixed demo of the new song "What Happens Tomorrow" has been leaked. Sample lyrics: "We can't wait for a savior/ Only got ourselves to blame for this behavior." The band has yet to sign a label deal but has booked a few shows this summer, including a July 16 gig at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California, and a July 17 concert at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. ...

Versatile Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5 recently worked with songwriter James Michael on a song for the next Garbage album. Last year Michael and Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx co-wrote the Saliva single "Rest in Pieces." Afterward, Garbage's Butch Vig asked Michael to pen him a tune. ... "The Sopranos" star Jamie-Lynn Sigler will perform the national anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, while KC & the Sunshine Band will provide three songs of halftime entertainment for Game 4 on Wednesday, including the disco hits "Get Down Tonight" and "That's the Way (I Like It.)" The additions join previously announced performers Lisa Marie Presley, Jewel and Phish for the NBA Finals, which pit the San Antonio Spurs against the New Jersey Nets. ...

Four songs from the last concert John Entwistle played with the Who before he died will be released as a bonus disc of a live double-CD due July 22. The freebie will feature "I'm Free," "Young Man Blues," "Summertime Blues" and "I Don't Even Know Myself" recorded at London's Royal Albert Hall last year. The other two discs will be composed of a benefit show the band played for the Teenage Cancer Trust at Royal Albert Hall in November 2000. Guest appearances were made by Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, Bryan Adams, Oasis' Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Stereophonics' Kelly Jones. ...

• Ashanti
• Jennifer Lopez
• Lil' Romeo
• Marilyn Manson
• JC Chasez

Bloodhound Gang
Photo: Geffen

Bloodhound Gang singer Jimmy Pop is still writing lyrics for the group's fourth album, but guitarist Lupus Thunder can guarantee one line will make the record: "Hook me up with some of the sh-- that killed Elvis."

Still amused by the line, Thunder explained from his Los Angeles home on Monday how the lyric was greenlit. "[Pop] calls me from Philadelphia and reads me a line. If I laugh, he knows it's funny. If I don't, he changes it."

So it's Thunder the world has to thank for such musical landmarks as the 2000 hit "The Bad Touch" and 1996's "Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny."

Lupus said the Bloodhound Gang are about half done with the still-untitled follow-up to Hooray for Boobies and plan to finish recording it in Florida in January.

"I think there'll be more of the synth-pop stuff, because it was a big influence while we were touring," the guitarist revealed. "We were in Germany all the time and they're big on bad, what I call, techno. There's some good rock, some metal. Jim's working on trying to merge the two, like the way God Lives Underwater did it."

The group is still hoping to collaborate with 'NSYNC (see "'NSYNC, Weezer Invited To Join Bloodhound Gang"), but the only guest so far is Chris Sutton from Isabelle's Gift, one of two bands signed to Pop's Jimmy Franks Recording Company (the other is Finnish band Her, formerly Him).

While Pop has "locked himself in his room to play with synthesizers," Thunder has also launched his own label, Four-Seven Media. His first act, Gustavo, featuring Bloodhound Gang drummer Willie the New Guy, is currently searching for a new singer.

In the meantime, Lupus has signed Lansing, Michigan's Powerface, which he describes as groove-oriented rock, and is in talks to re-release Will Haven's debut EP and a new DVD from the Sacramento hardcore band.

"It started off as the drunken ramblings of me and my roommates," Lupus said of the label. "They thought I was just being drunk and stupid, but I was pretty serious about it. I figured now that I've earned some money, might as well spend it on something fun and help out some bands I actually like."

As for the Bloodhound Gang's own DVDs, the much-delayed "One Fierce Beer Run" and "Hooray for Groupies," Lupus said to expect the first around Christmastime and the second early next year.

"They're the death of all of us," he promised. "There's shots of us screaming at each other. A few good fights. There's me throwing up, which is not to be missed."

• The Bloodhound Gang

It's one of music's biggest nights, and thanks to the miracle of modern communication, we're taking you inside. Artists on the red carpet, in the house, and watching from the road are weighing in, blowing up our two-way pagers, and we're sharing their thoughts with you. Check the bottom of the page for the latest update from the trenches.

From: Usher, on tour in Germany, 12:23 ET Well, I'm trying to make the best of it, being that I'm not there to accept my award. I'm going forward with the best attitude. I hate that I'm not able to be there. I got the home team that's gonna keep me abreast of what's going on. I'm probably gonna have someone call me when the winner [is announced] so I can hear. I hate that I can't see Thandie Newton on the red carpet. I had a nice little gangsta outfit I was gonna wear. The wildest thing about it is that I had a gun holster on my outfit, but there's no gun in it. It was sick. It's time for y'all cats to beware. Y'all better beware because it's going down.

From: Slipknot's Paul Grey, at home in Iowa, 1:07 ET I'm not actually going because I'm sick. I'm here in Iowa. We just got back from Europe and there are four or five of us that have this stomach thing. There must be something weird in something we ate. I've just been lying here in bed for the last couple days. I was gonna fly out of here this morning, but I just couldn't do it. I was gonna just wear what I would normally wear — jeans and a T-shirt. That's what I wear everywhere. That's what I wear to funerals and weddings and everything. I'm gonna be watching because we got nominated. I don't know what our chances are, but I'll watch. Last year we got nominated for "Wait and Bleed," and this year for "Left Behind." I personally think System of a Down is gonna win, but hopefully we've got a chance. To me personally, just being nominated is cool enough. It's not gonna make my day if we win or kill me if we lose.

From Bubba Sparxxx, in transit, 3:29 ET I'm at the airport in ATL about to head to L.A. ... I'll probably go to Missy (Elliott)'s party tonight. ... I got a show with Ludacris and Busta tomorrow. I'll be landin' just as they start. ... I'll probably just catch it in the hotel room.

From: Bloodhound Gang's Jimmy Pop, at home in Philadelphia, 5:22 ET I actually am a Grammy voter. I voted for Slayer, Linkin Park, 'NSYNC, Sigur Ros, Depeche Mode, Nelly and some others. The only way I'm getting in there on my own accord is if they need someone to pass out programs. I would love to hear Charlotte Church present the Best Metal Record, open the envelope and say, "Slayer, for God Hates Us All." Do you think Christina Aguilera is going to show up dressed like a dude at this awards show too?

From: Papa Roach's Dave Buckner, at home in Sacramento, 5:46 ET I'm actually glad we didn't win Best New Artist last year, because that's like the kiss of death award. Didn't Men at Work win that, and then they were never heard from again? Last year, we were so busy touring that it didn't really hit me until after and they sent us the little certificate and medal in the mail. Then it finally hit me like, 'Wow, we were nominated for a Grammy.' Now I'm really proud of it. ... I'm hoping that Linkin Park doesn't win Best New Artist, because I want them to be around for more than a year.

From: comedian David Cross, on the road in Atlanta, 6:19 ET It's almost like they're having a race to see who can be more out of touch, the Grammys or the Oscars, and the Grammys always win. This year they've taken little baby steps toward not being as completely out of it as they have been in the past, ... and I also don't like awards shows. I think it's very fitting that the icon on top of the statuettes is an old Victrola. That's kind of perfect. I mean, where was Fugazi's The Argument? Where was that? Come on. I demand a recount ... or at least a count.

From: producer Rodney Jerkins, in an Atlanta studio with Toni Braxton, 6:23 ET Yes, indeed we are making hit after hit after hit! [We've] completed two songs already. The first song is called "Whatcha Need." It's up-tempo, real catchy and hot using my new sound called the Darkchild on-and-off knock, and we also did a sexy jazz mid-tempo [number] called "Do U Remember?" I'll be watching the awards.

From: Naughty by Nature's Treach, 7:14 ET Tonight I'll be meeting with the fashion stylist to figure out what we're wearing for the next part of our video shoot for "Feels Good" with 3LW, and then I'm going to the studio to hook up with Vinnie to do final edits for our album, iicons. We'll be watching the Grammys from the studio, and then I'm going home to sleep because I have to get up early tomorrow morning for Source "All-Access" taping.

From: Naughty by Nature's Vinnie, 7:17 ET I'll be in the studio doing the last clean mix to our album, iicons, so we can get the album mastered. We're looking forward to being a contender for next year's Grammys. Treach and I will be watching from the studio.

From: producer Mannie Fresh, in an Atlanta recording studio, 7:23 ET I'm in the studio working on my new album, Hood Rich. Hope y'all like it. Bless everybody in the world.

From: Phantom Planet's Alex Greenwald, in Los Angeles, 7:27 ET I definitely plan on watching, though it will probably be the first Grammy broadcast that I've ever watched. I've heard that Sade is up for a couple categories, and I hope she wins as many as she can because I've done a lot of great making out to her record. That's the only person that I've really listened to that I think should win.

From: Bloodhound Gang's Jimmy Pop, at home in Philadelphia, 8:34 ET How hot did Joey Fatone look? Hot. Oh my, the "Moulin Rouge" girls are more annoying than Charlie's Angels when they get together. I've slept with whores. They NEVER look like Mya. OK, they're done, I can turn the sound back on.

From: Noreaga, 8:58 ET I ain't doing sh--. Writing rhymes don't you get invited to things like that, so I don't go.

From: Patti LaBelle, backstage at the Grammys, 9:17 ET I went to Grammy rehearsal, rested and came back to perform with the "Moulin Rouge" girls for the first time. I'll sleep tonight. It was AWESOMELY unbelievable! One of the highlights of my career, and I'm so happy they won!

From: Jermaine Dupri, backstage at the Grammys, 9:32 ET I'm just relaxed and chilled out to the show. I'm hitting every party and doing a lot of interviews. I haven't been in the audience yet, ... but backstage is fun. I love everybody, so I'm happy for all.

From: Mystic, at Grammy Awards, 10:39 ET The show has been great. Mary J. Blige was incredible. I'm a little off the floor, but with a good view. I'm having a ball. Great music and people watching. LOL! I've seen so many folks ... Musiq, Nate Dogg, Gwen, Blue Cantrell, Outkast ... everybody and their mama. LOL. Going to Erykah Badu's party, maybe the MCA mansion party. But I might go home and go to bed. Mom is my date, so it may be mellow.

Lindsay Pagano from her bedroom in Los Angeles, 10:57 PT I really like Nelly Furtado's outfit. And Britney's, she looks gorgeous tonight. I'm sooooo glad "Lady Marmalade" won... and it was a great performance... I'm a HUGE Christina fan! I was gonna' go to the after part tonight, but i have to go in the studio tomorrow to record a song called "United We Sing" with alot of the people who were at the Grammy's tonight... so I didnt wanna be tired.

Rodney Jerkins, in an Atlanta studio with Toni Braxton,11:08 ET I'm trying [to hang in there with the show]. I'm exhausted.

From: Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia of Grammy winners Deep Dish, leaving the Staples Center, 11:42 ET We won. We're hangin' with BT, and right now we're going to go party.

For more Grammy news, check out the MTV News Grammy Archive.

• Papa Roach
• Usher
• Slipknot
• Bubba Sparxxx
• The Bloodhound Gang

Bloodhound Gang
Photo: Geffen

How do you follow up an album that features cameos by porn star Chasey Lain and a high-on-crack Pac-Man? Well, if your adopted surname is Pop, then you recruit the hottest bands at the opposite ends of the pop music spectrum to guest star: say hooray for 'NSYNC and Weezer.

Notoriously naughty rap-rockers the Bloodhound Gang are actually friends with the clean-cut 'NSYNC, according to Gang leader Jimmy Pop, who recently attended one of their concerts and invited them to collaborate on his group's next album.

"Personally, I'd rather hang out with them than most bands," Pop said Tuesday from his home studio in Philadelphia. "They're really down-to-earth people. I thought it would be fun to mix it up and see what happens." 'NSYNC have yet to record with the Bloodhound Gang, but Pop is optimistic it will happen. "They're cool with it; we just need to make sure their people are cool with it," he said.

Pop's potential collaboration with Weezer singer Rivers Cuomo may be included on the follow-up to last year's Hooray for Boobies, or it may turn into a separate project.

Pop recently worked with Weezer on a trance remix of their hit single "Hash Pipe," spurring a discussion with Cuomo about starting a dance band. Pop described the proposed side project as "a Pet Shop Boys for 2001 that's not gay." "That's probably a better outlet [for my dance music dabbling], because the rest of the guys in the Bloodhound Gang would beat me up if all my songs sounded like Eiffel 65 or Alice Deejay," he said.

Whether or not Pop gets the dance project going, he said to expect some Euro-house influences showing up on the Bloodhound Gang's as-yet-untitled next album.

"We spent so much time in Europe, now everything is beginning to sound like Linkin Park meets the Vengaboys," Pop said. "We've always done hip-hop and punk, and throwing trance into it makes it sound a little more like Refused, but not as angry. Instead of being about the corruption of capitalism, it's about poop." The Bloodhound Gang, who formed in the early '90s and built a following with such releases as the Dingleberry Haze EP (1994) and Use Your Fingers (1995), recently returned to the studio to record five tracks they wrote last month in Orlando. They will return to Florida in August to write the remainder of the record, which should be out by January.

Famous for such tastelessly clever song titles as "I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks," Pop and crew are borrowing a page from Van Halen (remember For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge?) on a new track titled "Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo." "If you're an airplane pilot or a fireman, that's how you would spell 'f---' over the CB," Pop said. "You know, like when cops read off license plates?" The new album will differ from Boobies, which featured the hit single "The Bad Touch," in that Pop has finally moved on from his '80s music influences.

"When you're talking about music, the sounds you use are what make it sound '80s," Pop said. "[For this album] I got a bunch of German synthesizers, and the Germans build synthesizers like they build war machines. It'll probably end up sounding like 'Sprockets,' like a 1938 German cafe feel." Fans also shouldn't expect cameos from any adult entertainers on the new record ("Strippers aren't very good at performing," Pop said), though Pop hopes porn specialists Vivid Video will release the band's two upcoming home movies.

After shooting more than 500 hours of tour footage since the release of 1996's One Fierce Beer Coaster, the Bloodhound Gang have finally put together a pair of two-hour videos. "One Fierce Beer Run," from their 1996-1997 tours, and "Hooray for Groupies," from 1999-2000 outings, will be released this year, Pop said.

"We tried to put everything in there, whether it be sex or us getting in fistfights on the bus," he said.

In other Bloodhound Gang movie news, a possibly cleaner movie, "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," will feature the band's "Jackass" on its soundtrack (see "'Jay And Silent Bob' Lure PJ Harvey, Bloodhound Gang"). The tune was originally recorded for the "Jackass" television show's soundtrack, which was canned, and it was also at one time slated for the "American Pie 2" soundtrack.

• The Bloodhound Gang
• *NSYNC
• Weezer

PJ Harvey
Photo: Island

PJ Harvey, Bloodhound Gang, Marcy Playground and Stroke 9 are among the artists lined up for the soundtrack to "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," the upcoming movie from "Dogma" auteur Kevin Smith.

Power-poppers Stroke 9, who scored a modern rock radio hit last year with "Little Black Backpack," offer up the first single, "Kick Some Ass," on July 3. The characters of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) will appear in the song's video, according to Universal Records.

"Jay and Silent Bob" focuses on foul-mouthed stoner Jay and the usually, well, silent Silent Bob, characters from "Dogma" and each of the other films in Smith's New Jersey chronicles, "Clerks," "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy." The film is due August 24, with the soundtrack coming out August 14.

Stroke 9 are working on their self-titled second album, the follow-up to Nasty Little Thoughts, with producer and former Talking Head Jerry Harrison.

• PJ Harvey
• The Bloodhound Gang
• Stroke 9
• Marcy Playground

Mischievous musicmakers the Bloodhound Gang say they'd rather not play in Boise, Idaho, than bow to a promoter's demands that they rein in their stage antics and leave out the show's fiery finale.

The band said Wednesday (December 5) it has canceled its Monday show at Boise's Riverside Ballroom after receiving a six-page fax from promoter Bravo Entertainment detailing the behavior it did not want the band to repeat.

"The band decided to cancel this date rather than conform to the community's conservative standards by compromising their integrity and level of entertainment in their live shows," the Gang said in a statement issued through their publicists.

In the memo, Bravo Entertainment warned that "Boise, Idaho can be a very conservative community" and that some of the Bloodhound Gang's stage antics would likely be in violation of Idaho state law.

Bravo said it was particularly concerned about recent shows in which the Bloodhound Gang paid or encouraged audience members to expose themselves or vomit, urinate or defecate onstage. The promoter, which said it could have been found liable for the band's questionable behavior, also asked the band not to perform the finale to its show closer, "Magna Cum Nada," during which the band typically torches various gear.

"We truly believe artists should be free to express themselves at their shows," Bravo Entertainment co-owner Paul Thornton said Wednesday, "but if we don't take due diligence and make sure that one of the acts we book is not going to break the law, then we could be held responsible.

"We tried to be as proactive as possible," he added, "and we hoped that the band would sign the addendum and agree not to have people taking off their clothes or urinating onstage. We hoped that they would agree to that, and were shocked when they didn't." Bravo Entertainment had been under pressure by local officials about the show, which was originally scheduled for Boise's Western Idaho Fairgrounds Expo Building but moved to the Riverside Ballroom two weeks ago.

The Idaho Statesman reported that Ada County Commissioner Roger Simmons denied licensing the venue because of past problems with the promoter, including noise-ordinance complaints related to a past Santana concert and a Vans Warped Tour stop also handled by Bravo.

Thornton said lawyers for Bravo were preparing to file a formal complaint against Simmons with the Idaho attorney general's office, but had no plans to seek a civil suit. Bravo has alleged that Simmons denied the license in a closed meeting without consulting of other two county commissioners, which is a violation of the state's open-meeting laws.

"Those allegations are absolutely false," Simmons said Wednesday (December 6). "Everything was done legally, as I was the only commissioner in town when the issue came up. But the decision had nothing to do with the band. "I do find it interesting," he added, "that a promoter who has been handling the concert for the past two months would suddenly come in at the last minute and say that he is just finding out what the Bloodhound Gang is all about. It seems that the Ada County Commission is being dragged into a situation that obviously involves just Bravo and the band." As for the Bloodhound Gang, the group is slated to wrap its North American tour on December 14 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

• The Bloodhound Gang

The Sacramento-based band Oleander has just completed a video for its cover of The Cure's seminal alternative hit "Boys Don't Cry," and the clip stars none other than Bloodhound Gang leader Jimmy Pop.

In the video, which was directed by Cousin Mike, Pop plays a nerdy guy in an apartment who is surrounded by members of Oleander performing the song loud enough to make him cry.

In a recent interview with Oleander, frontman Thomas Flowers said that it was both his love for The Cure, as well as his own punk rock ethic, that made him try and convince the rest of Oleander to record the track.

"[We did it] 'cause it's punk rock," Flowers said.