Blur's Damon Albarn
Photo: Appio

The material world is once again tapping into the untamed energy of Blur. Levi's has picked the band's rowdy new three-chord single, "Crazy Beat," for its latest jeans TV ad campaign.

The fuzz-laden song, produced by Fatboy Slim (a.k.a Norman Cook), could be a sequel to Blur's biggest U.S. hit, "Song 2." That track, from 1997's Blur, still gets radio play and has been used in multiple commercial spots. Ironically, Blur never wanted their record company to use "Song 2" or "Crazy Beat" to plug the band.

" 'Crazy Beat' was just a bit of fun we had with Norman," singer Damon Albarn said before a recent performance in New York. "When we were making this record it was nice to have a few moments where we just let our hair down and got dumb. 'Song 2' was exactly the same. We can rock, but we're not a rock band in the conventional sense. But in America, it's always been the thing that's been immediately taken out and used, and it's left people with a really inaccurate impression of what we actually do."

Since they don't usually "feel heavy-metal," Blur are annoyed at having to play "Crazy Beat" whenever they play on a TV talk show. They're even more upset that unwary consumers will buy Think Tank thinking the whole disc rocks.

"If you're going to put out a single that's highly unrepresentative of the album, people who go and buy the album are going to be disappointed," drummer Dave Rowntree said. "But if you put out something that will do less well commercially, but that represents the album, I think you'll disappoint less people."

In Europe, the first single from Think Tank was "Out of Time," a flowing, passionate cut more in line with the rest of the LP, as well as past Blur songs such as "The Universal," "To the End" and "No Distance Left to Run." The band had hoped the song would be the first U.S. single as well, but its record company wouldn't hear of it and is balking at the idea of releasing it as the second single.

The fact that Blur already shot a video for the song actually isn't helping their case — especially since the clip portrays war in a negative light.

"The video is the antithesis of the 'Top Gun' image of the American military machine," Albarn explained. "It focuses on the loneliness of somebody working on an aircraft carrier and the fact that a six-month tour of duty means that relationships break down and children go without their parents. That's the reality of it."

Albarn, who has actively opposed Western intervention in the Middle East, took the opportunity to launch into a speech about the evils of governmental propaganda. "America is good at being able to sell their youth an absolute lie in such a high-budget way that the difference between Hollywood and reality is very, very blurred. That's the very sinister thing about America. It's a great country, it's just not necessarily ruled by great people."

• Blur

Blur
Photo: Virgin

The Field Day Music Festival is back on in a new location and in an abbreviated form.

The event, which was moved from Calverton, New York, to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, because organizers were unable to secure the necessary permit for the former location, will now take place on Saturday.

The mainstage artists will be the Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Blur, Beck and Underworld. Second-stage acts include Spiritualized, Elliott Smith, Liz Phair, Bright Eyes, Gemma Hayes and the 22-20s, according to the festival's updated Web site. Formerly scheduled acts that now may not appear include N.E.R.D., the Roots, Sigur Rós, Thievery Corporation, Thursday, the Raveonettes, Dashboard Confessional, the Streets, Interpol and Beth Orton.

Tickets for the new show, which cost $80, went on sale via Ticketmaster on Wednesday (June 4). Tickets for the original show will not be valid at the new location. A note being sent to people who bought tickets to the Calverton show said refunds would automatically be credited to their credit cards.

The Field Day Music Festival ran into a snag last week when the police chief of Riverhead, New York, said that his force wasn't large enough to provide traffic enforcement for the 50,000 people that were expected for the event (see "Field Day Organizers Have Only Three Days To Find New Venue").

Although the town expected help from the Suffolk County police, they refused to assist, as did the state police, and so the county health commissioner denied the permit for the event. The county then told the promoter that he would need to hire an additional 200 officers for the event to continue, but the promoter was unable to do so, and on Tuesday night the Riverhead Town Board put an end to the proposal.

• Beastie Boys
• Radiohead
• Blur
• Beck
• Underworld

Not only has the Matrix reloaded, so has its soundtrack. Out this week, Matrix Reloaded: The Album features some familiar faces — Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie and Rage Against the Machine, as well as some new ones like Linkin Park, P.O.D. and the seemingly misplaced Dave Matthews Band.

Blur — minus founding member Graham Coxon — release Think Tank, with catchy tracks like "We've Got a File on You," and "Crazy Beat," this album's "Song 2."

Jack Johnson, not straying too far away from the alternative-folk sounds of Brushfire Fairytales, goes On and On this week while the indie super group the New Pornographers give an eager audience Electric Version featuring upbeat, quirky, catchy songs like "Chump Change," "Ballad of a Comeback Kid" and "July Jones."

More indie sounds are served up by Arab Strap with their Cherubs EP, the Decemberists' Castaways and Cut-Outs, Pleasure Forever's Alter and the Gossip's Movement.

Prince Paul's Politics of the Business features a slew of guests like Chuck D, Ice T, members of the Pharcyde and De La Soul, plus Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle. Meanwhile, MC Lyte also taps some comedic talent in the form of Jamie Foxx for her LP Da Underground Heat Vol. 1.

On the "American Dreams" soundtrack, you'll find Stacie Orrico on a version of "My Boyfriend's Back" and Vanessa Carlton on "Wishin' and Hopin.' " Finally, something a little less wholesome: veteran punk band NOFX's War on Errorism which includes the ever-so-subtly titled song and video "Idiot Son of an A--hole."

Out Tuesday, May 6:

• Abdelli - Among Brothers (Real World)
• Acroma - Orbitals (Universal)
• Akatombo - Trace Elements (Swim)
• Allstonians - Bottoms Up (Fork in Hand)
• Amazing Device - Quiet Room (Tribunal)
• Anberlin - Blueprints for the Black Market (Tooth & Nail)
• Annihilator - Double Live Annihilator (The End)
• Anthrax - We've Come For You All (Sanctuary)
• Apes - Oddeyesee (French Kiss)
• Arab Strap - Cherubs (EP, Jetset)
• Argonaut - Shoot the Moon (Infect)
• Audrey Auld - Losing Faith (Reckless)
• Michael Baird - Gongs and Bells (Sharp Wood)
• Duster Bennett - Fingertips (Sanctuary)
• Big Ross/T-Rock - Ya'll Ain't Ready (Image)
• Bobby Birdman - Born Free Forever (Hush)
• Black Dynasty - Reality Check: Deep East (Community)
• Billy Blanks - Taebo Mix (Red Ball)
• Darryl Blood - This Isn't Goodbye (Bluesanct Musak)
• Tim Bluhm - Soft Adventure/Colts (California)
• Blur - Think Tank (Virgin)
  Buy Now: Think Tank (Virgin)
• Bone - Uses Wrist Grab (Cuneiform)
• Boz Boorer - My Wild Life (Raucous)
• Brave Combo - Box of Ghosts (Rounder)
• Breaking Pangaea - Phoenix (EP, Equal Vision)
• Breather Resist - Only in the Morning (Deathwish Inc.)
• Brady Brock - Warm American Sweater (In Music We Trust)
• California Oranges - Oranges & Pineapples (Darla)
• Camarosmith - Camarosmith (DeAd Teenager)
• Troy Campbell - American Breakdown (Loud House)
• Michael Carpenter & Kings Rd. - Kings Rd. Works (Not Lame)
• Champion - Come Out Swinging (Bridge Nine)
• Chap - Horse (Lo.)
• Circle of Dead Children - Human Harvest (Martyr)
• Patsy Cline - Dac Presents Patsy Cline (Coe Pop)
• Cobra High - Sunset in the Eye of the Hurricane (Cold Crush)
• Cobra Verde - Easy Listening (Muscle Tone)
• David Allan Coe - Whoopsy Daisy (Coe Pop)
• Cripple Bastards - Desperately Insensitive (Deathvomit)
• D+ - Deception Pass (KNW-Yr-Own)
• Da Entourage - Entourage, Vol. 2 (Universal)
• Damone - From the Attic (RCA)
• Death Threat/Over My Dead Body - Split (EP, Bridge Nine)
• Decemberists - Castaways and Cut-Outs (Kill Rock Stars)
• Dirty South Mafia - It's a Robbery (Attitude)
• DJ Feelgood - Across America (System)
• Dog Fashion Disco - Committed to a Bright Future (Spitfire)
• Down by Law - Windwardtidesandwaywardsails (Union Local)
• Bob Drake - 13 Songs and a Thing (Rer)
• Electrocute - Tribute to Your Taste (Emperor Norton)
• Matt Elliott - Mess We Made (Merge)
• Fall Out Boy - Take This to Your Grave (Fueled by Ramen)
• The Family Tree - Tree House Rock (All Natural)
• 54th Platoon - All or Nothin' (Fubu)
• 54th Platoon - 54th Platoon (Fubu)
• Flare - Hung (Le Grand Magistery)
• Fog - Ether Teeth (Ninja Tune)
• Forest Stream - Tears of Mortal Solitude (Earache)
• From Zero - My So Called Life (Arista)
• Front 242 - Pulse (Metropolis)
• Gasman - Remedial (Planet Mu)
• The Gathering - Souvenirs (The End)
• Ghetto Priest - Vulture Culture (On U Sounds)
• Goldfrapp - Black Cherry (Mute)
• The Gossip - Movement (Kill Rock Stars)
• Robin Guthrie - Imperial (Bellaire)
• Roger Hatfield & Eddie Howard - Naya (Red Ball)
• Steven Hero - Darkness and the Day (Artful)
• John Hiatt - Beneath This Gruff Exterior (New West)
• The Hidden Cameras - Smell of Our Own (Sanctuary)
• Hitchcock's Regret - Her Life in Reverse (Laughing Outlaw)
• Hollow Tip - Takin' No Shorts, Vol. 2 (Murder Creek)
• Doyle Holly - Together Again (Oms)
• Gary Pickford Hopkins - GPH (Angel Air)
• House - Put Here to Bleed (In Music We Trust)
• Mike Hurst - Drivetime (Angel Air)
• Imbue - Ritual in Bloom (Underground Inc.)
• Impaled - Medical Waste (Deathvomit)
• The Isley Brothers - Body Kiss (DreamWorks)
• Etta James – Let's Roll (Private)
• Je Suis France - Fantastic Area (Orange Twin)
• Jet - Dirty Sweet (EP, Elektra)
• Jack Johnson - On and On (Universal)
  Buy Now: On and On (Universal)
• John Kennedy - Kennedy Town (Laughing Outlaw)
• J-Sce the Mastermind - Brain Food (Buymai)
• Kentucky Headhunters - Soul (Audium)
• The Killing Tree - We Sing Sin (Eyeball)
• Rydah J Klyde - Prince of Da' Projects (Thizz)
• Brian Knight - Good Time Down the Road (Sanctuary)
• Krakatoa - We Are The Rowboats (Cuneiform)
• Victor Krummenacher - Nocturne (Pitch A Tent)
• Labrat - Ruining It for Everyone (Century Media)
• Lamb of God - As the Palaces Burn (Prosthetic)
• Larval - Obedience (Cuneiform)
• Last Rough Cause/Society's Rejects - Skins N' Punks (Step 1)
• The Late B.P. Helium - Kumquat Mae (Orange Twin)
• Lazarus - Songs for an Unborn Sun (Temporary Residence)
• Leftover Salmon/Cracker - O Cracker, Where Art Thou? (Pitch A Tent)
• Lefty's Deceiver - Cheats (My Pal God)
• Liquid Sound - Inside the Acid Temple (Orchard)
• Marty Lloyd - Marigold (Razor & Tie)
• The Long Winters - When I Pretend to Fall (Barsuk)
• Lou E Lou - Trunk Muzic (East Co. Co.)
• Lowlights - Lowlights (Darla)
• Manic Hispanic - Mijo Goes to Jr College (Better Youth Organization)
• Maquiladora - What the Day Was Dreaming (Darla)
• Matchbox - Rockabilly Dynamos, Vol. 1 (Raucous)
• John Mayall - Rockin' the Roadshow (Sanctuary)
• Mayday - I Know Your Troubles Been Long (Bar/None)
• MC Lyte - Undaground Heat, Vol. 1 (Artist Direct/BMG)
• MC Mack - Macknificent (Basix)
• Ian McCulloch - Slideling (Spin Art)
• Money Black - 4 Da Money (Coast 2 Coast)
• Mt. St. Helens - You Are a Ghostly Presence (Divot)
• Mystifier - Profanus (Crash Music)
• Naglfar - Sheol (Century Media)
• Nail Within - Nail Within (The End)
• The Natural History - Beat Beat Heartbeat (Star Time)
• New Pornographers - Electric Version (Matador)
• NOFX - War on Errorism (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Noise Ratchet - Noise Ratchet (EP, Militia)
• Nucleus - Live In Bremen (Cuneiform)
• On the Rise - Burning Inside (Bridge Nine)
• One Mile North - Minor Shadows (Ba Da Bing!)
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (Virgin)
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Organisation (Virgin)
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Architecture and Morality (Virgin)
• Outrageous Cherry - Supernatural Equinox (Rainbow Quartz)
• Ozma - Spending Time On The Borderline (Kung Fu)
• Robert Palmer - Drive (Compendia)
• Papa Reu - Certified (Rue Musik)
• Pearlene - Murder Blues & Prayer (Dim Mak)
• Pipas - Cat Escaped (Matinee)
• Pleasure Forever - Alter (Sub Pop)
• Adam Power - More Juice (Laughing Outlaw)
• Prince Paul - Politics of the Business (Razor & Tie)
• Randy - Welfare Problems (Epitaph)
• Read Yellow - Read Yellow (EP, Fenway)
• Angie Reed - Presents the Best of Barbara Brockhaus (EFA)
• Rippingtons - Let it Ripp (Peak)
• Rob the Viking - Beats to Pillage and Conquer By (Battle Axe)
• Charlie Robison - Live (Sony)
• Phil Roy - Issues + Options (O.R. Music)
• Rubinoos - Crimes Against Music (Zip)
• The Sea and Cake - Glass (Thrill Jockey)
• Settlefish - Dance a While Upset (Deep Elm)
• Sin Ropas - Trickboxes on the Pony Line (Sad Robot)
• Sloane - Divine Soul (Orchard)
• Soilwork - Figure Number Five (Nuclear Blast)
• Sounds - Living in America (New Line)
• Stark Reality - Now (Stones Throw)
• Sumptin' Terrible - Sumptin' Terrible (Thizz)
• Sunride - Great Infiltration (People Like You)
• Bobby Sutliff - Perfect Dream (Not Lame)
• T Nutty - Last of the Flowheecanz (Murder Creek)
• Ten Grand - This Way to Rule (Southern)
• Tes - X2 (Lex)
• They Came from the Stars - What We Are Doing Here (Lo.)
• Third Grade Teacher - Third Grade Teacher (Pinch Hit)
• To Dream of Autumn - Kill Your Cul-De-Sac/WNYU Live (Magic Bullet)
• Tomahawk - Mit Gas (Ipecac)
• Scott Tuma - River 1 2 3 4 (Atavistic)
• Turbonegro - Scandinavian Leather (Epitaph)
• The Turbo AC's - Automatic (Gearhead)
• Uproar - And the Lord Said (Step 1)
• Via Tania - Under a Different Sky (Chocolate Industries)
• The Virtues - Ruminate (Zip)
• VU - Voices Underwater (Action Driver)
• The Waifs - Up All Night (Compass)
• Wakefield - American Made (Arista)
• Bob Welch - Three Hearts (One Way)
• Nancy White - Stickers on Fruit (Borealis)
• Wire - Send (Pink Flag)
• Worthless United - Nation Under (Now Or Never)
• Wumpscut: - Preferential Legacy (Metropolis)
• Young Black Brotha - Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (Young Black Brotha)
• Young Lay - Don't Get It Twisted: Remix Album (Young Black Brotha)
• Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer - Jalopy Go Far (Eyeball)
• Andrea Zonn - Love Goes On (Compass)
• Various artists - "American Dreams"soundtrack (Hip-o)
  Read: "Vanessa Carlton Does Dusty, B2K Do Temptations On 'American Dreams' LP"
• Various artists - ESPN Stadium Anthems (Hollywood)
• Various artists - Home Team Beats Rivals by 10 (Poprockit)
• Various artists - Lost Weekend Compilation (Zip)
• Various artists – Matrix Reloaded: The Album (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Matrix Reloaded LP To Feature Dave Matthews Remix, Linkin Park, Manson' "
• Various artists - Mind Motion Rocks (Savagement)
• Various artists - That's My Jam: Blazin Block Party (Logic)
• Various artists - Thought Sauce (BSI)
• Various artists - Zigilaytion (50. 50)

• Marilyn Manson
• Rob Zombie
• Rage Against the Machine
• Linkin Park
• P.O.D.

Beastie Boy Mike D at the 2003 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
Photo: BarryBrecheisen

INDIO, California — If not for the palm trees and smoldering temperatures, it would've been easy to forget that the Coachella festival was in the Southern California desert.

This past weekend, Queens of the Stone Age and Ben Harper gave homecoming performances of sorts (both are from nearby towns) and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Johnson and Black Eyed Peas made the two-hour drive from Los Angeles, but for the most part it was all about England, New York and Detroit. (Click to see photos from the festival.)

From England came Blur, Johnny Marr and Primal Scream, along with the bubbling-under Libertines, the Music, South, Badly Drawn Boy, Gomez, Groove Armada and countless DJs. New York brought Saturday's headliner, a standout show from the Beastie Boys, and fellow icons Sonic Youth, along with Interpol, Fischerspooner, the Rapture and the Mooney Suzuki. There's only two of them, but the White Stripes had no problem representing Detroit's garage scene, while the Von Bondies and Whirlwind Heat were two of the most talked about breakthrough bands on the bill.

Coachella featured more than 75 acts playing on five stages over two days. Here's a rundown on some of the more memorable performances:

• The Beastie Boys took the stage Saturday without their instruments, but DJ Mix Master Mike more than made up for it with his own ill communication, tweaking every track and mixing in beats from Missy Elliott's "Work It" and Erik Sermon's "React." The trio rapped parts of at least three new tracks, all of which had the hip-hop simplicity of their latest single, the anti-war anthem "In a World Gone Mad." Mostly, though, the set was heavy on party starters — "Root Down," "Body Movin'," "So What'cha Want," "Intergalactic" and even a bit of the old gem "Brass Monkey" — a sharp contrast to Adam "MCA" Yauch's political banter between songs. "At the next election, vote anyone but Bush," he said at one point.

• Like the Beasties, the Chili Peppers focused their headlining slot on keeping the sun-drenched festival-goers on their feet. Though the band mellowed some on last year's By the Way, their hit-filled live show Sunday was as energetic as ever. Short of sporting only socks, the guys were their old selves, jumping around like caged animals, spouting random dialogue and giving it away now.

• N.E.R.D.'s one-hour set on Saturday was a bit misleading, as the first half was all Spymob, the Minneapolis rock group that doubles as N.E.R.D.'s live band, performing Police-inspired songs from their upcoming debut. When Pharrell Williams and company finally came out, they played three songs before taking a break so friend Kenna could sing his new single. For a finale, Williams brought out Kelly Osbourne and Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am for "Rock Star," though Osbourne proved hardly that, running offstage midway through.

• "Who here doesn't like the Hives?" singer Pelle Almqvist asked, silencing the crowd. "Who here came for the Hives?" he followed to a deafening roar. "Point taken." Obnoxious confidence is part of their shtick, but he did make a point. Both the Hives Saturday and the White Stripes Sunday drew enormous crowds curious to hear two of last year's breakthrough bands.

• In their sharp formalwear, Interpol easily rivaled the Hives for best dressed. The NYC band conjured its swanky interpretation of Joy Division, combining bleak atmosphere with pop hooks, and delivered nearly flawless renditions of songs from Turn on the Bright Light. Despite going up against the Chili Peppers, Interpol generated a large crowd that even lingered for a good while in hopes of an encore that never came.

• While "Song 2" and "Girls and Boys" generated the loudest response, Saturday's crowd was quite receptive to the moody and eclectic tracks a retooled Blur previewed from their forthcoming Think Tank. Frontman Damon Albarn dedicated a song to the late Joe Strummer during a set that mixed Think Tank tunes like the infectious "Crazy Beat" with Britpop classics like "Beetlebum."

• "Scottish people and the desert don't mix very well," Idlewild singer Roddy Woomble joked Saturday afternoon. The floppy-haired lads struggled against the sweltering heat as they began "Little Discourage" from 2000's 100 Broken Windows, but they'd found their places by the song's chorus, easing smoothly into several of the driving and emotive tunes from this year's The Remote Part and earlier tracks like "I'm a Message" and "Roseability."

• Damon Gough was dressed even more poorly for the weather, sporting the cap, beard and thick denim that have become synonymous with his Badly Drawn Boy persona. Gough, more than willing to show off his prowess with a guitar, harmonica and piano, even sang about playing Coachella. "I was told I was headlining the show," he crooned with his typical combination of wit, self-effacement and mock arrogance. "And I am, 'cause that's how I feel."

• Despite sound problems, Hot Hot Heat gave a blistering performance that brought over a herd of VIPs, including Tony Hawk and Kelly Osbourne, who were singing the catchy "Bandages" like everyone else when the show was over. The problems escalated as the night went on, and ended with the Libertines playing only two songs — not good for their first U.S. performance. Organizers squeezed them back in on Sunday so Stateside tastemakers could see the band British journalists are calling the next Strokes.

• Anyone expecting an explosion similar to their former band's musical bombast may have been disappointed by ex-At the Drive-In members Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez's set with the Mars Volta on Sunday. Latin rhythms and long percussive jams were the name of the game as Bixler's nearly Whitesnake-like falsetto soared over every hacky sack and Frisbee game on the far reaches of the field while Rodriquez split his time between barely distorted picking (with scarcely a metallic palm mute to be found) and effects-drenched noise.

• Ben Folds played only the keys in his largely improvisational set, which ended with the singer/songwriter bringing "Song for the Dumped" to a crawl and ad-libbing vulgar yet hilarious lyrics. In a similarly fun set Saturday, Ben Kweller played a little piano, too, spewing out some of the poppiest songs of the weekend.

• On Sunday, Jack White and Juliette Lewis took in an early show from bare-bones rockers the Von Bondies in the Mojave Tent. Later, Los Angeles' Rooney finally gave that stage something that sounded local, blending Beach Boys-like harmonies with Phantom Planet-like tunes (singer Robert Carmine is Jason Schwartzman's brother). And finally, Fischerspooner treated a packed tent to a theatrical show complete with choreographed routines from dancers in feather hair extensions and fishnet bodysuits. The only group that could compete with that kind of spectacle was the Blue Man Group, who closed out their visual orgy with a cover of the Who's "Baba O'Reilly."

• A legion of Smiths fans gathered to catch a glimpse of former guitarist Johnny Marr and his backup band the Healers on Sunday, with so many of them proudly rocking vintage Morrissey T-shirts and tattoos that it almost seemed as if Marr's post-Smiths work with Electronic and other artists had never happened. Despite being cut short by organizers, Marr delivered a laid-back but potent performance of swirling tunes punctuated by his smooth croon. Much-buzzed-about English upstarts the Music were even more psychedelic the night before, invoking the spirit of the Stone Roses and basking in the glow of an impressive light show.

• While a majority of the rock bands at Coachella pounded out fierce odes to the Velvet Underground and the Clash, there were a few who offered a soundtrack for enjoying the tranquil atmosphere of the venue. Ben Harper, Jack Johnson and G. Love & Special Sauce all gathered huge audiences who toasted warm beers to their blends of blues and folk.

• In the group's first performance in more than 25 years, the Stooges (with Mike Watt on bass) treated Sunday's crowd to classics like "TV Eye" and "Fun House." Even those who had no idea who the group was ("Iggy who?" a security guard near the stage asked a friend) were able to enjoy Iggy Pop's erratic stage demeanor.

• Though Ian MacKaye has been notoriously particular about when, where and how he'll be interviewed during the two decades he's run Dischord Records and played in bands like the Teen Idles, Embrace and Fugazi, the two question-and-answer sessions he submitted to at Coachella were total free-for-alls, with kids asking him about everything from straight edge to music, politics, tour stories and the time he was kicked out of Disneyland. One member of the crowd asked the 41-year-old punk icon why he was willing to appear at an expensive festival while Fugazi refuse to play shows with high door prices. "My friend Patti Smith was saying that anyone who has a chance to get in front of a microphone right now and say they're against war should do so," he replied.

• Is Dallas the next Detroit? Two of the most talked about Coachella performances came from that city's Polyphonic Spree, whose 23 members offered a truly original orchestral pop sound, and Eisley, the female-fronted rock quintet handpicked for Coldplay's summer tour.

• Coachella would not be complete without surprises, and while Radiohead rumors proved untrue, Perry Farrell did pop into the tiny Gobi Tent for a surprise DJ set that mixed house music with the kind of tropicalia he explored on his solo album. Farrell's appearance makes him the only artist to play every Coachella.

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

• Beastie Boys
• Badly Drawn Boy
• Black Eyed Peas
• Blur
• Fischerspooner

Blur's Damon Albarn
Photo: MTV Europe

Over the past 12 years Blur have amassed a string of quirky, melodic hits in England, many of which helped define the '90s Brit-pop movement. In the U.S., however, the band's only big song has been "Song 2," a short guitar-blaring stomper with a titanic riff and an unforgettable "wooo-hooo" shout-along. In 1997, the cut was used in numerous television commercials and many alternative radio stations still regularly play the track.

Blur are hoping history repeats itself, and it sounds like they've been making a concerted effort to improve their chances. Their new U.S. single, "Crazy Beat," might as well be called "Song 3." Produced by Fatboy Slim (a.k.a. Norman Cook), the cut is propelled by an explosive guitar rhythm and a crashing beat, and embellished with whirring sound effects and an electronic voice that repeats the track's title. While "Crazy Beat" may again endear Blur to an audience that likes its rock muscular, the track wasn't originally meant to be the kind you air guitar to while jumping on the bed.

"It started off in such a different way," frontman Damon Albarn explained. "The nearest thing I could compare it to is a really bad version of Daft Punk [a French disco house group]. So, we got sick of it and then put in that descending guitar line over it to rough it up a bit."

A conceptual video for the song was shot by Shynola at the end of March at Ealing Studios in London and premiered on MTV.com Thursday (check out the video for "Crazy Beat" here).

American listeners will probably always associate Blur circa 2003 with "Crazy Beat," but the track is the least representative cut on the group's new record, Think Tank, which comes out May 6.

The rest of the disc is filled with songs that are alternatively sweeping and melodic and spacious and artsy. Some sound like German bands such as Can and Neu! Others are reminiscent of Albarn's side project, Gorillaz, which is the main reason why founding guitarist Graham Coxon quit Blur after recording just one song with them, the moody "Battery in Your Leg." Coxon, who always resented Albarn's commitment to Gorillaz, was unhappy with the dancey direction the group seemed to be taking and bailed after the group hooked up with Fatboy Slim.

"I think we just grew apart," said Albarn, who previously had been best friends with Coxon. "I'd known him since he was 12, so it was one of the hardest things I've been through, but I'm very, very glad I did it because I think it's been a positive thing for both of us. But I do miss him terribly."

Without Coxon's presence, Blur's aesthetic changed radically. Instead of using skewed, scrawling guitar to drive the songs, the band relied on electronic loops and Alex James' sonorous bass playing.

"The rocking stuff [in the past] was more Graham than me, so we took a very different approach," Albarn said. "We started with a throw-the rulebook-out kind of thing. We'd already broken the basic rule of a band which is 'don't split,' so yeah, we recorded in any way we could."

Think Tank isn't a tight, compact record that reveals its purpose on first listen. It's sprawling, a little unfocused and lacks a strong guitar presence. The disc may not sound like anything old Blur fans are used to, but it reflects the creative environment in which the band found itself. Albarn played the few guitar parts on the record. Since then, ex-Verve guitarist Simon Tong has been hired to play with the band live.

"We started out not really prepared to be a three-piece band," Albarn said. "But we just got on with it, and having one less contributing character changed the whole sound and made it in some ways easier to realize the potential of the songs. We were forced to go with our instincts, so that's what we've done."

• Blur

Beastie Boys' Mike D
Photo: MTV News

The summer festival season just got a bit more crowded with the announcement of a superstar two-day camping/concert event called the Field Day Festival. Among the major acts announced for the June 7-8 show in Calverton, New York, so far are Radiohead, Beastie Boys, Beck, Dashboard Confessional, Liz Phair, the Roots, Blur, N.E.R.D. and the Streets, according to an event spokesperson.

The inaugural event at the new concert facility at Enterprise Park will feature multiple stages with music from noon until late at night, as well as art installations, food vendors, a technology tent, body painting, palm reading and on-site camping. (Calverton is approximately 70 miles east of Manhattan on Long Island.) Single-day, two-day and two-day-with camping tickets for the event go on sale on Friday. Capacity for each day of the event is approximately 60,000.

Saturday's lineup includes Radiohead, Beck, Underworld, Spiritualized, Thievery Corporation, Beth Orton, Dashboard Confessional, Interpol, Liz Phair, Tortoise, Thursday, the Raveonettes, Ben Lee, My Morning Jacket, Gemma Hayes and 22-20s.

Beastie Boys, Sigur Rós, the Roots, Blur, the Streets, Elliott Smith, N.E.R.D., Peanut Butter Wolf, Blackalicious, Le Tigre, the Music, Polyphonic Spree, Luna, the Sea and Cake, Particle, Ours, and the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players round out Sunday's performers.

The general admission show will be Radiohead's first North American gig in nearly two years and the first scheduled performance behind their upcoming album, Hail to the Thief (June 10) (see "New Radiohead Album, Hail To The Thief, Due In June").

A donation of $1 from every ticket will be made to a variety of nonprofit arts and political organizations, including the East End Arts Council, the Community School of the Arts and Students for a Free Tibet.

• Beastie Boys
• Beck
• Radiohead
• The Roots
• Blur

Massive Attack's frontman Robert Del Naja (a.k.a. 3D)
Photo: Virgin

Internet child pornography charges against Massive Attack's frontman Robert Del Naja (a.k.a. 3D) have been dropped because of insufficient evidence, British police said in a statement.

Del Naja was arrested February 25 as part of Operation Ore, the Internet sting in England that nabbed the Who's guitarist Pete Townshend and over 1,500 others who used credit cards to pay for access to child pornography sites (see "Pete Townshend Arrested In Child Porn Investigation").

Shortly after he was arrested, the artist issued the statement, "I have never looked at child pornography in my life. I am fully cooperating with the police and I would ask everyone not to judge me prematurely."

During the investigation, detectives seized computer equipment and a quantity of suspected drugs from Del Naja's home in Avon and Somerset, England, police said. His computer gear has been returned, but he remains on police bail for allegations of possession of a controlled drug, according to the statement.

Before being fingered in the porn probe, De Naja and Blur vocalist Damon Albarn teamed up to publicly protest the military campaign in Iraq (see "U.K. Artists Sign Petition Opposing Invasion Of Iraq").

Massive Attack's latest album 100th Window was released February 11. The group is currently in Japan, and will begin a European tour April 8. The tour will run through July 24.

• Massive Attack
• The Who
• Blur

Blur
Photo: Virgin

They're best known for their nonsensical, high-propulsion 1997 rocker "Song 2" and their love for the bottle, but these days Blur have taken on a more serious and sobering tone.

The band recently self-released its first new song in almost three years, "Don't Bomb When You Are the Bomb," a quirky blend of electronic experimentation and Krautrock aesthetics produced by Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim). The cut, which won't be on the band's next record, came out as a white label 7-inch with Arabic writing on the vinyl, and while the lyrics aren't really enlightening ("Don't bomb when you're the bomb-ba-bomb-bomb-bomb"), the song is part of the band's protest of the conflict in the Middle East.

"I feel there's so much misconception surrounding Arabic culture in general," frontman Damon Albarn explained. "I decided to translate the lyrics on the song [into Arabic] because I thought it was an appropriate message. And I sort of proved my point because all of the reviews of it in Britain called it an anonymous 7-inch accompanied by mysterious Arabic writing. Well, it's not mysterious. All you need to do is get somebody who speaks Arabic, and they'll translate it for you. It forces people to consider that issue, which for me is one of the most pressing issues of our time — a cross-cultural understanding."

"Don't Bomb When You Are the Bomb" is virtually guitar-free, and many have speculated that the band's next album, due in May, will be largely electronic. Old Blur fans needn't panic.

"It's definitely a rockin' record," Albarn said. "It goes from punk rock to hip-hop to prog rock. Two tracks we've already finished doing with Norman are amongst the most rock-oriented tracks we've ever done. Neither of us wanted to play on [his] past glories. He's a devotee of the Clash, and I love the Clash, and that was where our tastes met."

And like the Clash did, these days Albarn has been using music as a vehicle to address the current state of the world.

"It's an uplifting record with a lot of finely crafted pop songs, but hidden in there are very direct references to my fears and loathings," he said. "I spent six weeks over there [while the band was recording in Morocco], and I learned that the average Joe in the street anywhere in the Arab world has the same kind of fears and reservations about the current situation as we do. It's an inescapable fact that a war is being staged at the moment without any of the common people's consent on either side of the fence."

Some fans are surprised Albarn has turned all political; he thinks it's more surprising others haven't pursued the same path in a post-9/11 world.

"We've all had to stomach a type of horror which we maybe thought we'd never experience in our lifetime, and it's now become a part of everyday life," said. "So I would have thought the responsibility of any open-minded artist would be to try to make some sort of sense out of the chaos we're all involved in.

"I don't know where the Michael Stipes of the world have gone," he continued. "I sat next to him at last year's European MTV awards, and I was wearing a 'Stop the War in Afghanistan' T-shirt, and he just walked out when I started ranting. He had no interest, and I just don't understand that. A man who has built his integrity on speaking out has gone very, very quiet."

Blur recorded 26 tracks for the upcoming record and are in the process of whittling them down to a single CD of material. The band and its label are contemplating making the remaining cuts available online to fans who purchase the disc.

The album is the band's first since the departure of guitarist Graham Coxon, who left last year before the recording session in Morocco. Albarn handled most of the remaining axe duties for the disc, but the band plans to hire a touring guitarist when they hit the road.

"There were certain ultimatums given after many different approaches to make the thing work, but he's still on the record," Albarn said, hinting at Coxon's battles with drinking. "We did manage two days of very successful recording all together, and he's on there amongst the best bits on the record."

Albarn said Coxon left Blur on his own volition, and that while the two haven't spoken in awhile, he hopes that time will heal their wounds.

"I've known him since he was 12, so I would sincerely hope that at some point we'll be talking again, otherwise that's a lifetime friendship wasted," Albarn said. "Graham just genuinely wants to pursue a far more low-key life in every aspect — the way he records, where he lives, how he conducts his life. He's been through a very tough time, and hopefully he's coming out the other end now."

— Jon Wiederhorn, with additional reporting by Gideon Yago

• Blur

Blur
Photo: Virgin

When you wanna make a statement, you kinda need something to say.

The name of Blur's new single, "Don't Bomb When You Are the Bomb," could suggest the formerly apolitical band is taking a stand against Western military intervention in the Middle East. But the lyrics merely consist of the track title being repeated over and over in a half-sedated voice.

Moreover, since frontman Damon Albarn first talked about the song in March, it likely wasn't written about mounting tensions with Iraq, even though the singer has recently teamed up with Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja to design advertisements opposing British involvement in a U.S. attack on Iraq (see "U.K. Artists Sign Petition Opposing Invasion Of Iraq").

That said, the song is spacey and experimental enough that Blur fans will find cause for celebration. "Don't Bomb When You Are the Bomb" was quietly released as a 7-inch white label single marked with Arabic writing but nothing to indicate the name of the artist.

BBC Radio 1 disc jockey Steve Lamacq was the first to play the song. Introducing it on his "Evening Session" show, he said, "You have to hear this. It's the most out-there thing Blur have done. If this is a sign of what the next album will sound like, then it opens the door for all sorts of possibilities."

The cut starts with electronic percussion that sounds like it was recorded underwater, and builds with a simple minor-key synth melody. About a minute into the track, Blur kick into a slappy backbeat and a shimmering wall of feedback guitar as Albarn starts singing.

More dubby keyboard gurgles and wild sound effects follow before Albarn again urges listeners not to bomb if they are the bomb. The song ends with a disjointed synth passage over a syncopated beat.

"Don't Bomb When You Are the Bomb" is one of 17 songs already mixed for Blur's next record, bassist Alex James wrote on the band's Web site. William Orbit is with the band is in Devon, England, touching up some of the material. The still-untitled disc was mostly produced in Morocco by Fatboy Slim and will feature additional production by Stephen Street, who worked on Blur's Parklife (1994).

The new Blur album, due in early 2003, will feature minimal contributions by guitarist Graham Coxon, who left Blur earlier this year after the band's management asked him not to show up for the Morocco sessions.

• Blur

Blur's Damon Albarn and Dave Rowntree
Photo: MTV

Massive Attack's Robert "3D" Del Naja wants nothing to do with a potential military attack.

Del Naja joined Blur/Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn and producer extraordinaire Brian Eno (U2, David Bowie) in signing a petition that voices opposition to British involvement in a military strike on Iraq, according to a spokesperson for the Campaign for Nuclear Development.

The document was delivered to 10 Downing Street, home to the office of Prime Minister Tony Blair, on Wednesday.

"Under the present circumstances, we believe an invasion of Iraq would be unjustifiable and could have potentially horrific ramifications," the petition reads. "It would open a Pandora's box which may be impossible to close. ... We urge the British government to announce that it will not support any military assault being planned by the U.S.A. and will listen to both world opinion and the clear views of its own electorate."

Albarn and Del Naja, who have designed and placed ads in the U.K. weekly New Musical Express intended to raise awareness to the issue of Britain's participation in a U.S.-led attack on Iraq, have sided with the CND and the Stop the War coalition. The organizations are staging an anti-war demonstration in London on September 28.

• Massive Attack
• Blur
• Brian Eno

MTV Exclusive: Blur Photos

• Blur

Blur Photos: Live from Field Day, 2003

• Blur

Pink, Good Charlotte, Foo Fighters, More Rock The Weenie

• P!nk
• Blur
• Good Charlotte
• Sum 41
• The Used

Radiohead, Beasties, Blur, More For Field Day

• Liz Phair
• Bright Eyes
• Spiritualized
• Beastie Boys
• Radiohead

2003 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

• Beastie Boys
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Ben Folds
• Ben Harper
• Blur

Blur: Live Performance Photos At SXSW

• Blur