<i>Arthur And The Invisibles</i>
Photo: Atlantic Records

With the recent news that album sales tumbled yet again in 2006 — this time a 4.9 percent decline from the previous year — it's no wonder '07 is off to such a slow start. Sure, major labels drag their feet every January, hoping to squeeze in a few more weeks of hibernation before climbing out of the cave. But with new Mos Def and Mario albums bumping to the spring (or beyond) at the last minute, 2007 doesn't exactly seem like a party the majors are waiting to get started.

With that in mind, it might be slightly less shocking that this week's "heavyweights" are Sloan, Ron Sexsmith and the Autumn Defense. All of whom could be outdone by a soundtrack, be it the Snoop-featuring one to "Arthur and the Invisibles" or Philip Glass' score to "Notes on a Scandal." Or, better yet, they could be one-upped by the book sales 50 Cent will likely amass with his new street-literature series, which also debuts in stores Tuesday (January 9).

But at least that leaves room for the colorfully named 7000 Dying Rats, PoPo and Chumbawamba — yes, they live! — to steal a little more of the limelight. That is, until another equally foreboding set of contenders — America and the Smithereens among them — storm their way onto store shelves next week.

The Sound of Soundtracks: Were it not for new songs by Snoop Dogg and Jewel, the "Arthur and the Invisibles" soundtrack would be little more than a score. Well, OK, there is a contribution from Elijah too, but the remainder of the disc was crafted by composer Eric Serra. So if you're just after Snoop's "Go Girl," you might want to try the single-download route instead.

Elsewhere in the wide, wonderful world of musical accompaniments, Disney hopes the "Jump In!" soundtrack does even half — or a third, or fourth — as well as the one to "High School Musical," which sold more than any other CD last year. The "Jump In!" soundtrack features Keke Palmer, N.L.T., T-Squad and other be-tween artists. In the meantime, the more recognizable Will.I.Am, 2Pac and Cypress Hill surface, along with Talib Kweli and Miri Ben-Ari, on the soundtrack to "Freedom Writers." And if you're still hearing composer Philip Glass' music from the buzzed-about "Notes on a Scandal," that's also available for your listening pleasure.

Green Days Are Here Again: Well, yes and no. Reprise recently secured rights to two of the group's early releases that had been originally issued by Lookout! Records, based in the band's Bay Area homeland. But while the latter label reissued 1,039/ Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk! in 2004, those re-releases went out of print shortly thereafter and are now being reserviced once again — in frill-free form — by Reprise. So, in other words, if you're a Green Day fan who's somehow managed to miss these two formative items, here's your third chance.

Flavas of the Week: In case you haven't caught up yet with two of rap's hottest burgeoning subgenres, TVT Records — home to the Ying Yang Twins and Pitbull — is serving up a couple of generous packages. Crunk Hits Vol. 3 cobbles together tracks by those artists, plus Lil Jon, Paul Wall, Akon, Lil Wayne and Three 6 Mafia. Hyphy Hitz, on the other hand, sticks it to the Bay Area, where the hyphy sound was born, with a set featuring Keak Da Sneak, Mistah F.A.B. and E-40. Get 'em while they're hot.

In Their Defense: From hyphy to alt-country — ah, such is the beauty of New Releases. If you're getting a bit impatient for Wilco's next opus, you can kill some time with the third effort by side project the Autumn Defense. Featuring bassist John Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, the band's self-titled CD is its first since 2003's Circles and finds the duo re-immersing itself into country-pop, lo-fi and other Byrds-like sounds.

Chumb Change: Just when you thought you'd never hear the name "Chumbawamba" again, the politically charged British troupe is back with its umpteenth effort, A Singsong and a Scrap. This time around, the crew has kept it mostly acoustic, eschewing the loops, samples and synths in favor of traditional secular English tunes. But don't worry: The "Tubthumping" group's four-part harmonies are still very much intact.

Canadian Comebackers: Ron Sexsmith gets a hand from none other than Kiefer Sutherland this week, as the singer/songwriter's Time Being drops on Ironworks Music, a label co-owned by Jack Bauer. But for the LP, which was previously available overseas, Sexsmith also ganged up with a band of Elvis Costello collaborators: producer Mitchell Froom, bassist Davey Faragher and drummer Pete Thomas. (Musos may recall that it was the Mojo magazine cover image of Costello holding Sexsmith's first LP that drew attention to the latter singer/songwriter.)

Sexsmith's Canadian comrades Sloan have returned too, with Never Hear the End of It. The guys seem to be a little backed up: Their first release in three years features no less than 30 tracks, only one of which is shorter than a minute. The Beatles-esque band's eighth release features "Living With the Masses," "Before the End of the Race" and "Fading Into Obscurity."

Song Title of the Week:

"We Had 'Dying' in Our Name Before All Those Metalcore Co------ers Came Along" from 7000 Dying Rats' Season in Hell

Other Notables:

7000 Dying Rats' Season in Hell: What, the band name isn't convincing enough? Well then maybe soon-to-be grindcore classics like "Altar of Goat Skulls," "Death Hammer of the Bearded Ones" and "Balls of Bigotry" are enough to convince you? How about a rapid-fire cover of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid"? Still not feelin' it? Sheesh. Read on.

The PoPo's The PoPo: Originally due out late last year, this maiden release by Philadelphia's so-called "post-hip-hop" band also incorporates traces of punk and world music. Written and recorded in the group's basement, the iconoclastic effort features eight tracks, including "I Feel Mysterious Today," "London Falling" and "Funtimes on the Frontline."

Various artists' At the Crossroads: A Benefit for Homeless Youth: San Francisco street-youth support program At the Crossroads is getting a helping hand from the likes of Calexico, the Faint, Rogue Wave and others on this comp, the sales of which go toward the organization. The Scattered Pages chip in with a cover of the Smiths' "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want," while Creeper Lagoon, Thee More Shallows, Boyskout, Bettie Serveert and the Pink Mountaintops round out the release.

New Releases:

· 7000 Dying Rats - Season in Hell (HeWhoCorrupts) · The Autumn Defense - The Autumn Defense (Broadmoor) · Chumbawamba - A Singsong and a Scrap (Trade Root) · Philip Glass - "Notes on a Scandal" soundtrack (Rounder) · Ty Herndon - Right About Now (Pyramid) · Lang Lang - Dragon Songs (with DVD; Deutsche Grammophon) · Yo-Yo Ma - Appassionato (Sony Classics) · Erin McKeown - Sing You Sinners (Nettwerk) · Anna Netrebko - Russian Album (Deutsche Grammophon) · The PoPo - The PoPo (Buddyhead) · Ron Sexsmith - Time Being (Ironworks) · Sloan - Never Hear the End of It (Yep Roc) · Spanic Boys - Sunshine (Cinaps) · Sqad Up - We Here Now (Emergent) · Trashlight Vision - Alibis and Ammunition (Evo) · John Waite - Downtown ... Journey of a Heart (Rounder) · Various artists - At the Crossroads: A Benefit for Homeless Youth (Three Ring) · Various artists - My Chemical Romance: A Piano Tribute (Copycats) · Various artists - Rockabye Baby!: Lullaby Renditions of The Eagles (Baby Rock) · Various artists - Rockabye Baby!: Lullaby Renditions of Queens of the Stone Age (Baby Rock) · Various artists - "Arthur and the Invisibles" soundtrack (Atlantic) · Various artists - "Freedom Writers" soundtrack (Hollywood) · Various artists - "Jump In!" soundtrack (Disney)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· Meryn Cadell - Angel Food for Thought (Bongo Beat) · Green Day - 1,039/ Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (enhanced digipak; Reprise) and Kerplunk (Reprise) [Buy Now] · Ian Hunter - All the Good Ones Are Taken (American Beat) · Jefferson Airline - High Flying Bird: Live at the Monterey Festival (Music Avenue) · Graham Parker - Another Grey Area (American Beat) · Brian Setzer - The Knife Feels Like Justice/ Live Nude Guitars (American Beat) [Buy Now] · Various artists - Crunk Hits Vol. 3 (TVT) · Various artists - Hyphy Hitz (TVT)

Music DVDs:

· Black Oak Arkansas - "Live at Royal Albert Hall" (S'more) · Chet Baker - "Live at Ronnie Scott's London" (Image) · Nazareth - "From the Beginning" (S'more)

Coming Attractions:

January 16: · America - Here & Now (Burgundy) [Preorder] · The Smithereens - Meet the Smithereens! (Koch) · Various artists - "Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls" soundtrack (Atlantic)

January 23: · Clinic - Visitations (Domino) [Preorder] · Dustin Kensrue - Please Come Home (digipak due same day; Equal Vision) · Madonna - "Confessions Tour" DVD (Warner Bros.) [Preorder]

January 30: · Alkaline Trio - Remains (Vagrant) [Preorder] · Norah Jones - Not Too Late (Blue Note) [Preorder] · Katharine McPhee - Katharine McPhee (RCA) [Preorder] Read: "Katharine McPhee's LP: A Little Bit Pussycat Dolls, A Little Bit Mariah"

• Green Day
• Snoop Dogg
• The Autumn Defense
• Philip Glass
• 7000 Dying Rats

What happens when you try to balance the love and hate in your life? Just ask Papa Roach, whose Lovehatetragedy comes out Tuesday (June 18). The follow-up to Infest features the single "She Loves Me Not" and finds frontman Jacoby Shaddix (f.k.a. Coby Dick) grappling with marital strife.

As the guitar player for Alice in Chains and friend of their late frontman, Layne Staley, Jerry Cantrell is also familiar with moody music. He serves up Degradation Trip, his first album since 1998's Boggy Depot.

On a lighter note, Wyclef Jean's not hiding his enthusiasm that Masquerade hits stores this week, while Guided By Voices and their Universal Truths and Cycles share shelf space with Our Lady Peace's Gravity, Paulina Rubio's Border Girl and Paul Oakenfold's Bunkka, which features Nelly Furtado, Perry Farrell, Ice Cube and Tricky.

Finally, a bunch of Essentials and Anthology albums from greats such as Alice Cooper, Devo and Cameo hit shelves as well. Word up.

Out Tuesday, June 18:

• A*Teens - Pop 'Til You Drop (MCA)
• Ace Troubleshooter - The Madness of the Crowds (Tooth & Nail)
• Gerald Albright - Groovology (GRP)
• Eric Alexander - Summit Meeting (Milestone)
• Ambrosia - Essentials (WSM)
• American Death Ray - Smash Radio Hits (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
• Anastacia - Freak of Nature (Epic)
• Jade Anderson - Dive Deeper (Columbia)
• Atom & His Package - Hamburgers (EP, File 13)
• Average White Band - Essentials (WSM)
• Anita Baker - Best of (Rhino)
• Bananarama - Essentials (WSM)
• Belly - Sweet Ride: Best of Belly (Rhino)
• The Brothers Creeggan - Sleepyhead (Nettwerk)
• Jonathan Butler - Surrender (Warner Bros.)
• Cameo - Anthology (Mercury)
• Jerry Cantrell - Degradation Trip (Roadrunner) Read about it ... Jerry Cantrell Conjures Ghost Of Alice In Chains On New LP
• Charlatans U.K. - Songs from the Other Side (Beggars Banquet)
• Margaret Cho - Notorious C.H.O. (Nettwerk)
• Chumbawamba - Readymades (Universal)
• Club 8 - Summer Songs (Hidden Agenda)
• Alice Cooper - Essentials (WSM)
• The Cripples - Dirty Head (Dirtnap)
• Da Outfit - Lost Underground (Supa Tree)
• Devo - Essentials (WSM)
• Disarray - In the Face of the Enemy (Eclipse)
• DJ Kool - Let Me Clear My Throat (reissue, American Recordings)
• Ike Dirty - Dirty's Way (Select)
• Duraluxe - Suitcase (Hidden Agenda)
• Archie Eversole - Ride Wit Me Dirty South Style (MCA)
• The Fairlanes - Monumento (Asian Man)
• Julia Fordham - Concrete Love (Vanguard)
• Fury - Resurrection (EP, Jade Tree)
• Peter Gabriel - Long Walk Home: Music from "Rabbit-Proof Fence" (Real World)
• Guided By Voices - Universal Truths and Cycles (Matador)
• The Hellacopters - Cream of the Crap Vol. 1 (Gearhead)
• Robin Holcomb - Big Time (Warner Bros.)
• Ghoti Hook - Retrospective (Tooth & Nail)
• Hot Snakes - Suicide Invoice (Swami)
• Incantation - Blasphemy (Necropolis)
• Inkblot - Love Your Mother (Audio Dregs)
• Rick James - Anthology (Motown)
• Wyclef Jean - Masquerade (Columbia) Read about it ... Wyclef Jean Gets Sexy On Upcoming Masquerade
• Michael Jones - Pianoscapes - Deluxe Edition (Narada)
• Joy Electric - Art & Craft of Popular Music (BEC/ Tooth & Nail)
• Jucifer - I Name You Destroyer (Velocette)
• Knuckle Sandwich - Nice (Resurrection A.D.)
• Looper - Snare (Mute)
• Lovespirals - Windblown Kiss (Projekt)
• Brad Martin - On the Wings of a Honky Tonk Angel (Epic)
• MC Breed - New Breed (Ichiban)
• Medication - Prince Valium (Sin-Drome)
• Mewithoutyou - [A –-> B] Life (Tooth & Nail)
• Joe Molland - This Way Up (Parasol)
• Joseph Patrick Moore - Alone Together (Root Cellar)
• Aaron Neville - Millennium Collection: 20th Century Masters (A&M)
• No Use for a Name - Hard Rock Bottom (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Paul Oakenfold - Bunkka (Perfecto/ Maverick) Read about it ... Nelly Furtado, Ice Cube Add Flavor To Oakenfold's Bunkka
• Ohio Players - Funk on Fire: Anthology (Mercury)
• OTEP - Sevas Tra (Capitol)
• Our Lady Peace - Gravity (Columbia) Read about it ... Our Lady Peace Are Putty In Producer Bob Rock's Hands
• Papa Roach - Lovehatetragedy (DreamWorks) Read about it ... Papa Roach Distance Themselves From Rap-Metal Peers On New LP
• Pere Ubu - St. Arkansas (SpinART)
• The Proclaimers - Best of (Capitol)
• Chuck Prophet - No Other Love (New West)
• Paulina Rubio - Border Girl (Universal) Read about it ... Paulina Rubio Hoping To Cross Over Border Like Shakira
• Seven & Sun - Back to the Innocence (Atlantic)
• Silvercrush - Stand (Redline)
• Simple Minds - Cry (Eagle/ Red Ink)
• Leni Stern - Finally the Rain Has Come (LSR)
• Alice Stuart - Can't Find No Heaven (Burnside)
• David Sylvian - Camphor (Virgin)
• Dulcie Taylor - Diamond & Glass (Black Iris)
• Tricky - A Ruff Guide to Tricky (Island/ UME)
• Various artists - The Bottle Let Me Down (Bloodshot)
• Various artists – "Daniela" soundtrack (EMI Latin)
• Various artists - Excursions - A Journey Into Chill Out (Water Music)
• Various artists - Exposure III (4 Foot 11)
• Various artists - "Minority Report" score (DreamWorks)
• Various artists – "The Scorpion King" score (Varèse Sarabande)
• Various artists – "Victor Victoria" soundtrack (Rhino)
• Various artists - 2002 Warped Tour Compilation (Side One Dummy)
• Various artists – "Yankee Doodle Dandy" soundtrack (Rhino)
• Violent Femmes - 20th Anniversary Edition (Rhino)
• The Vogues - Five O'Clock World (Park South)
• Ben Weasel - Fidatevi (Lookout!)
• Whiskey Rebels - Whiskey Rebels (GMM)

• Boy George - Night Out (Moonshine)
• Epidemic - Epidemic (Elektra)
• Ozzy Osbourne - Live at the Budokan (Epic) Read about it ... Osbournes Wreak Havoc On Japan In Budokan DVD Extras
• Play - Play (Columbia)
• Will Smith - Born to Reign (Columbia) Read about it ... Will Smith Drops Samples For Guitars On Born To Reign
• Sonic Youth - Murray Street (Geffen)
• Vida Blue - Vida Blue (Elektra)

• Aerosmith - O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits (Columbia)
• Cypress Hill - Stash (Columbia)
• Nas - From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes (Columbia)
• Jerzee Monét - Love & War (DreamWorks) Read about it ... Jerzee Monét: Workin' For Her Big Break
• Jessica Simpson - This Is the Remix (Columbia)
• Various artists - "Men in Black 2" soundtrack (Sony) Read about it ... Will Smith Preps Next LP, New Tracks For 'MIB2'
• Various artists - So So Def Presents: Definition of a Remix (So So Def/ Columbia)

• Silverchair - Diorama (Atlantic) Read about it ... Silverchair Craft U.S. Diorama, Plan New York Dates

• Lil' Romeo - Game Time (Universal/No Limit) Read about it ... Lil' Romeo Battles His Evil Twin On B-Ball Court
• Swizz Beatz - G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories (DreamWorks) Read about it ... Swizz Beatz Unveils Metallica/Ja Rule Track, Sets 'Guilty' Single
• The Vines - Highly Evolved (Capitol) Read about it ... The Vines Branch Out On Highly Evolved Tour

• Beth Orton - Daybreaker (Astralwerks) Read about it ... Beth Orton Tours, Breaks Day With Ryan Adams, Chemical Brothers
• Various artists - "Topdog/Underdog" soundtrack (MCA) Jay-Z, DMX, Wu-Tang, Mos Def Bone Up 'Topdog/Underdog' LP

• Papa Roach
• Wyclef Jean
• Jerry Cantrell
• Paulina Rubio
• A*Teens

Chumbawamba
Photo: Casey Orr

CHICAGO — Chumbawamba will celebrate their 20th anniversary in January by doing what they do best — waxing political on an album that explores new territory for the tubthumping anarchist rave rockers.

The as-yet-untitled release will combine dance tracks with samples of British folk tunes, singer Dunstan Bruce said Tuesday at the Chicago Underground Film Festival at the famed Biograph Theater. His remarks accompanied the Stateside premiere of Chumbawamba's documentary, "Well Done. Now Sod Off."

"The last album flopped terribly," Bruce said of 2000's WYSIWYG (see ). "It was a real cut-and-paste album. This is more a collection of songs. It's more of a post-punk album than an in-your-face album."

WYSIWYG's poor sales cost the Chumbas their European record deal with EMI, though their American label, Universal Records, is scheduled to release their new album early next year — a shocker even to Bruce.

"Universal must have a lot of copies [of WYSIWYG] in a warehouse somewhere," he joked. In all seriousness (which with this band, as their documentary shows, isn't terribly serious), Chumbawamba have quit trying to top the charts with another "Tubthumping."

"We've given up trying to figure out what makes a radio-friendly single," Bruce said. "We've tried and it doesn't work. We don't know, so we just do what we want to do." As fellow singer Alice Nutter says in "Sod Off," "We get a lot of crap for being a one-hit wonder, but we always expected to be a no-hit wonder."

Like all the band's previous recordings, the new album features political statements likely to stir up controversy, at least in their British homeland. One track attacks U.K. law enforcers for shooting and killing a man they believed was armed, but who was actually carrying a table leg in a paper bag.

"Well Done. Now Sod Off" explains Chumbawamba's nonconformist ideals and chronicles the eight-member punk collective through their years of communal living and political activism, which peaked at 1998's Brit Awards when they doused England's deputy prime minister with water.

Directed by Ben Unwin, "Sod Off" is as much comedy as political statement, however. Bruce and cohorts are hilarious as they reminisce about their shoplifting contests — who could steal the strangest item? — before each gig. Bruce also laughs his way through several reviews and letters slamming Chumbawamba. One critic wrote, "Everyone should hear this album to know what horrible music sounds like." Another ended a sarcastic review, "Well done Chumbawamba. Now sod off!" — hence the film's title.

According to Bruce, the group originally planned to release a compilation of their videos until the Sex Pistols' "The Filth and the Fury," Fugazi's "Instrument" and Radiohead's "Meeting People Is Easy" inspired them to do a documentary: "Besides, our videos aren't that good anyway."

"When we had the success with 'Tubthumping,' a lot of people thought that was our first album. We wanted to let people know we had a huge history," Bruce added. "And now when our kids think we were really square, we can say, 'This is what I did for the punk war.' "

Chumbawamba will continue to show "Well Done. Now Sod Off" at film festivals for the rest of the year. Next year they hope to broadcast it on television overseas.

• Chumbawamba

Chumbawamba, a.k.a. the original "Tubthumpers," have just hit stores with a new album titled "WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)."

The album features 22 new tracks including the first single, "She's Got All The Friends," and a rather interesting cover, as the group chose to rework the Bee Gees' 1967 song "New York Mining Disaster 1941," recorded long before the brothers Gibb donned white suits and went disco.

According to Chumbawamba guitarist Boff, he and the rest of the group really appreciate that particular song, since most people forget what the Bee Gees did in their pre-disco days.

"To me it's just like an English folk song with some political lyrics, and it's a beautiful tune and everything," Boff told the MTV Radio Network.