There's something for every music fan to reap from this week's crop of new releases, including albums from pop stars, metal bands, an American Idol, hip-hop artists and a long-gone girl group.

Avril Lavigne tries to Let Go of the bubblegum pop-punk sound of her last album and let you know the real Avril with Under My Skin. The first single, "Don't Tell Me," and its accompanying video are already getting heavy rotation on radio and TV.

Meanwhile, Slipknot keep it heavy on the follow-up to 2001's Iowa, with Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). On the lighter side of things, former "American Idol" contestant Tamyra Gray, who once dreamed of winning the highly successful reality show, releases her debut album, The Dreamer, this week.

No stranger to referencing his image in his album titles, Everlast releases White Trash Beautiful this week, his first album since 2000's Eat at Whitey's.

Remember when Wilson Phillips asked you to "hold on for one more day"? That was 14 years ago, and the trio are back with their first album since 1992. California features the group covering the likes of Joni Mitchell, the Beach Boys and Linda Ronstadt, among others.

Out Tuesday, May 25:

• Ben Allison - Buzz (Palmetto)
• Amber Pacific - Fading Days (Hopeless)
• Ayreon - The Human Equation (Inside Out)
• Dave Brubeck - Private Brubeck Remembers (Telarc Jazz)
• Bumblebeez 81 - The Printz (Geffen)
  Buy Now: The Printz (Geffen)
  
• Tony C. and the Truth - Demonphonic Blues (Lava/Atlantic)
• Candido & Graciela - Inolvidable (Chesky)
• The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight (Koch)
  Buy Now: Long Gone Before Daylight (Koch)
  
• The Clinton Administration - Take You Higher (Magnatude)
• Danny Cohen - Dannyland (Anti)
• Graham Colton Band - Drive (Universal)
• Cormega - Legal Hustle 1 (Koch)
• Tim Eriksen - Every Sound Below (Appleseed)
• Everlast - White Trash Beautiful (Island)
• Philipp Fankhauser - Talk to Me (Memphis International)
• Felix Da Housecat - Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever (Emperor Norton)
  Buy Now: Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever (Emperor Norton)
  
• Holly Golightly - Down Gina's at 3 (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
• Tamyra Gray - The Dreamer (19)
• Hiromi - Brain (Telarc Jazz)
• Jinxed - Beyond the Obvious (One Eleven)
• Keane - Hopes and Fears (Interscope)
• LaShell Griffin - Free (Epic)
• Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin (RCA) Read: "Avril Lavigne: No Looking Back"
  Buy Now: Under My Skin (RCA)
  
• Lonestar - Let's Be Us Again (BNA)
• Sandra Luna - Tango Varon (Times Square)
• Torcuato Mariano - Diary (215 Music)
• Mulgrew Miller - Live at Yoshi's 1 (MAXJAZZ)
• Monster Magnet - Monolithic Baby (Sanctuary)
• PC Munoz and the Amen Corner - California (Beevine)
• Renee Olstead - Renee Olstead (143/Reprise)
• Pedro the Lion - Achilles Heel (Jade Tree)
• Julie Roberts - Julie Roberts (Mercury Nashville)
• Scatter the Ashes - Devout/ The Modern Hymn (Epitaph)
• Sharkey - Sharkey's Machine (Babygrande)
• Skillet - Collide (Lava/ Atlantic)
• Skinny Puppy - The Greater Wrong of the Right (SPV)
• Slipknot - Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (Roadrunner)
  Read: "Slipknot Album Preview: More Structured, But Still Programmed To Kill"
  Buy Now: Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses (Roadrunner)
  
• Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra - Tribute to a Generation: A Salute to the Big Bands of the WWII Era (Smithsonian Folkways)
• Spyro Gyra - The Deep End (Heads Up)
• John Stetch - Exponentially Monk (Justin Time)
• Tiles - Window Dressing (Inside Out)
• Toc - Loss Angeles (Inside Out)
• Wilson Phillips - California (Columbia)
• Rachel Z - Everlasting (Tone Center)
• Denny Zeitlin - Slickrock (MAXJAZZ)
• Various artists - Crunk'd (hosted by Greg Street) (Koch)
• Various artists - Nuevo Latino (Putumayo)
• Various artists - Tha Pac Album (Thump)
• DVD: Cyndi Lauper - Live at Town Hall (Epic)
• DVD: Matchbox Twenty - Show: A Night in the Life Of (Rounder)
• DVD: Troy Myth or Reality? (Eagle Rock)

June 1:

• Auf Der Maur - Auf Der Maur (Capitol)
  Read: "Ex-Hole Bassist Follows Orders From The Aliens In Her Head"
  
• Truth Hurts - Ready Now (Pookie)

• The Calling - Two (RCA)
  Read: "The Calling Returning With New LP, New Hired Hands"
• Corrs - Borrowed Heaven (Atlantic)
• Gene Simmons - A--hole (Sanctuary)
• Velvet Revolver - Contraband (RCA)
  Read: "Velvet Revolver Album Preview: GN'R + STP = Uphill Battle"

• Mobb Deep - Amerikaz Nightmare (Jive)
• Stevie Wonder - A Time 2 Love (Motown)

• Avril Lavigne
• Slipknot
• Tamyra Gray
• Everlast
• Bumblebeez 81

Paula Abdul plans to nail a beauty salon over a botched manicure. The "American Idol" judge's thumbnail had to be surgically removed after a severe nail infection, which she claims resulted when a manicurist poked her in the thumb at Chinoserie in Studio City, California. The salon, however, maintains that Abdul's claims are inconsistent with the dates and times she received beauty treatments. Abdul plans to sue for medicals bills and pain and suffering. ...

Atari and clothing designer Marc Ecko are hooking up to create "Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure," a video game based on hip-hop and graffiti art. The game is expected to premiere next summer. ... While Mike Watt, Bumblebeez 81, the Dresden Dolls and the Living Things are creating their own energy on the Solar Sound Stage of Lollapalooza, the stage itself will be powered entirely by the sun. The solar-powered grid providing power to the stage and the sound system is intended to introduce thousands of people to alternative energy sources. ...

Metallica received the Creative Voice Award at the performing-rights group ASCAP's Pop Music Awards on Tuesday. The award, presented during a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, was given to the bandmembers for their "artistic career achievements and for their work as advocates for all creatives." ... Renowned jazz drummer Elvin Jones died of heart failure Tuesday in a New Jersey hospital. He was 76. Jones first gained prominence as a member of Charles Mingus' band in the 1950s. In the 1960s, he joined John Coltrane's "classic quartet," playing on such famed recordings as A Love Supreme and Live at the Village Vanguard. ...

Punk beefcake Henry Rollins is starting a new record label focusing on rare and unreleased music from the Washington, D.C., area. "A couple of years ago, it hit me that there was some really cool music from my hometown of Washington, D.C., that was either out-of-print or unreleased and I should do something about that," Rollins wrote in his recent newsletter to fans. Dubbed District Line, the imprint's first releases will be Trouble Funk's Live & Early Singles and the compilation :30 Over DC, which features cuts by late-1970s D.C. bands such as the Slickee Boys, Half Japanese and the Nurses. ... Meanwhile, Rollins will take to the Los Angeles airwaves every Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. starting June 7. He's been working for radio station Indie 103.1 since this past Monday, offering his views on everything from music to politics. ...

Moby is among those involved in an upcoming film about Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, who hanged himself in 1980. The remaining members of the morose and influential U.K. band went on to form New Order. ... Southern California punks the Vandals, on board for the entire Warped Tour, will release their 12th album, Hollywood Potato Chip, June 29 on Kung Fu Records, the Los Angeles indie label owned by Vandals bassist Joe Escalante and guitarist Warren Fitzgerald. ...

The A&E channel will broadcast a two-hour documentary on Aerosmith on June 6 at 8 p.m. The show, "Aerosmith: You Gotta Move," will provide backstage footage from the group's recent tour and a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creation of the band's blues album, Honkin' on Bobo, which came out March 30. ... Four days after checking into a London rehab clinic, the Libertines' Pete Doherty claims to be on suicide watch, though thoughts of killing himself could not be further from his mind, he wrote on his Web site, www.babyshambles.com. Doherty was placed on the watch after hospital personnel noticed marks on his body. ...

5.18.2004

Good Charlotte have given the title The Chronicles of Life and Death to their follow-up to 2002's The Young and the Hopeless. The band is halfway through recording its third album in Los Angeles. The LP is expected to drop in late September. ...

Julia Volkova, one half of faux-mosexual Russian pop duo T.A.T.U., is pregnant. The father is longtime boyfriend karate champ Pasha Sidorov, who incidentally already has a wife and child. Volkova and singing partner Lena Katina plan to record another album after the baby is born. ... For the second year in a row, Eminem will play a key part in the Detroit Hip-Hop Summit. This year, Slim Shady is hosting the event and his group D12 are scheduled to attend. Also lending their support to Russell Simmons' organization in Detroit will be the G-Unit, the Ying Yang Twins, Doug E. Fresh, Layzie Bone and Reverend Run. The summit will take place on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.. ...

A judge ruled Monday that Eminem can proceed with his lawsuit against Apple Computer, advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day and MTV over an advertisement for iPod and iTunes that featured a 10-year-old boy rapping lyrics to Eminem's song "Lose Yourself." Despite not getting permission to use the Oscar-winning song from Eminem's movie "8 Mile," Apple ran the advertisement on MTV last summer. ... John Mayer helped the dreams of the senior class of Pennsburg High School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, come true on Saturday by making a special appearance at the prom. The school is the subject of the book "Wonderland: The Story of a Prom," which chronicles a year in the lives of several students who worked to get Mayer to play their prom. ...

You've heard of Wavy Gravy and Cherry Garcia, now check out Death by Sharon and Ozzy's Carnivorous Carrot Cake. The Country Cow Creamery in Woodbridge, New Jersey, is serving Osbourne-inspired flavors of ice cream. Creamery co-owner Ed Dubroski Jr. sent an e-mail to the Osbournes in January offering to create an ice cream flavor for Sharon. The Osbournes accepted the offer and asked that one be created for Ozzy, too. Dubroski recently shipped five gallons of ice cream to the Osbournes along with a letter which producers told him would be read by Sharon on an episode of her talk show that will air on Wednesday. The flavors will be available in the Country Cow Creamery starting Wednesday. ... Damon Dash is no longer the only hip-hop mogul with his own vodka. Jermaine Dupri has purchased part ownership of 3 Vodka, a zero-carbohydrate vodka distilled from soy and endorsed by the American Vegetarian Association. ...

Andre and Big Boi of Outkast will kick off "Good Morning America" 's summer concert series on Friday with a free early-morning concert in New York's Bryant Park. The TV show's Friday series also includes Stevie Wonder (June 11), Ruben Studdard (June 25), Clay Aiken (July 2), Hilary Duff (July 16), Usher (July 30), Jessica Simpson (August 6), Black Eyed Peas (August 13) and Nelly (August 20). ... Nas' free show at New York's Central Park has been set for August 15. The concert will not be held on the Great Lawn, but as part of the city's eclectic Summerstage lineup. Nas has promised several special guests for the performance, though none have been announced yet. ... The Big Tymers will kick off a brief tour Saturday in Cincinnati. The Cash Money group will visit cities in the South and along the Atlantic seaboard, wrapping up June 11 in Washington, D.C. ...

3 Doors Down have joined the ranks of rockers with a cause. The group raised $90,000 at a concert at the Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, Alabama, on March 26, and distributed the funds to 16 Gulf Coast charities at a press conference on Monday in Mobile. At the conference, they also announced the creation of their new charity, the Better Life Foundation. Named after the band's six-times-platinum debut album, the foundation will benefit children and young adults with special needs. ... Perry Farrell will get together with Lollapalooza co-headliners the String Cheese Incident for a one-off performance by the Perry Farrell Incident at the tour's stop in Denver, the Cheese's hometown. Farrell has also reportedly expressed his desire to bring Lollapalooza to the U.K. ...

Something Corporate fans attending the band's show in Ventura, California, on Thursday may be immortalized for posterity. The band intends to film the show at the Ventura Theatre for inclusion in an upcoming DVD. ... Football fans will be running and gunning this season to the sounds of New Found Glory. The band's "This Disaster" is the first song confirmed for "Madden NFL 2005," which is expected to street in August. ...

"American Idol" creator Simon Fuller is launching a record label called 19 Recordings; the first release will be Tamyra Gray's The Dreamer (May 25). Tom Ennis, former record-label executive and current vice president of 19 Entertainment (which produces "Idol" and manages past winners), will run the label headquartered in New York and distributed through Universal Music. Gray will promote the release by performing two songs on the Wednesday episode of "Idol." ... Tenacious D will headline the latest in the Concerts for Kerry series. The June 6 show at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood will also feature the Naked Trucker and comedians Bob Odenkirk, Kevin Nealon, Fred Armisen and Laura Kightlinger, Jack Black's girlfriend. All proceeds go to John Kerry for President. ...

The Ruff Ryders are going pop and not disguising it one bit. Scottsdale, Arizona, singer LT will release her debut album this year on the spinoff label Ruff Pop. ... The repercussions from Atlantic Records' merger with sister labels Elektra and Lava resulted in roughly half the artists previously signed to the 57-year-old label being dropped. The artists caught in the downsizing were mostly lesser-known new artists, although Third Eye Blind, who sold more than 3.5 million copies of their debut album in 1997, are currently without a home. ...

Alex Nelson, who played guitar with metal band Lizzy Borden for a year in 1986, then joined again in 2002, died in a head-on car collision on Monday in Palm Springs, Florida. On Sunday in Los Angeles, the remaining bandmembers will perform some Lizzy songs with their new group Starwood in tribute to Nelson. ... Eighties Australian sensations INXS will issue the double DVD "I'm Only Looking" on June 29. The retrospective set includes music videos, concert footage, documentary clips and interviews. ... Ben Folds, Guster and Rufus Wainwright are joining forces for a package tour beginning June 18 in Highland Park, Illinois. The outing wraps July 15 in Pittsburgh. ...

Beck, Bright Eyes and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sparklehorse with the Flaming Lips, Tom Waits, Death Cab for Cutie and TV on the Radio have covered Daniel Johnston songs for the tribute record Discovered, Covered - The Late Great Daniel Johnston. Produced and curated by Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, the double disc, slated for August 24, will contain the original Johnston songs on the second disc. ... Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante plans on recording and releasing one full-length album a month for the rest of 2004. So far, six records are scheduled, beginning with The Will to Death, which hits stores June 22. The batch also includes a side project, Axtaxia, recorded with members of Fugazi (due August 10), three solo albums and a record with collaborator Josh Klinghoffer. ...

• Paula Abdul
• Metallica
• Bumblebeez 81
• Henry Rollins
• The Vandals

"Rising Stars" Photos

• Joss Stone
• T.I.
• Steriogram
• Bumblebeez 81

MTV.com Exclusive: Bumblebeez 81 Photos

• Bumblebeez 81