Our April Fools’ Album Picks
Photo: MTV News

April Fools' Day is possibly the most hilarious (and torturous) 24 hours of the year, a day filled with plastic dog poop, really awful pranks that result in moderate-to-severe head injuries and guilting and shaming those closest to you. Or, at least, that's how it is here at MTV headquarters.

So, in the spirit of the day — and in an attempt to avoid being Maced by MTV News Director of Operations Jonathan Goldner (that dude's hilarious) — I've holed myself up in my office and have decided to grind out a list of the funniest albums of all time. These are the musical equivalents of plastic dog poop ... records that must surely be a joke (perhaps even a mean-spirited one), because there really is no other explanation for their existence.

As a side note, just because I find all these albums to be hilarious doesn't mean they're terrible. In fact, looking at the list again, I'm struck by how many of them I actually like. Still, that's beside the point. April 1 is a cruel day, and I must roll with the punches. So, for your April Fools' Day pleasure, may I present the greatest musical pranks of all time — a handful of records that probably aren't meant to be laughed at, but, as Q-Tip once said, sometimes you've gotta laugh to keep from crying.

Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music (1975): Either the funniest album of all time or the worst (or probably both), Lou Reed's ear-splitting, dissonant and downright atonal double album (!) was greeted with reviews that compared it to "the tubular groaning of a galactic refrigerator" and "a night in a bus terminal" upon its initial release. Anyone who made it through the album's four noisy, feedback-drenched sides probably agreed — they probably also believed that Reed was either joking or had gone completely insane. Reed himself maintained the album was not a joke (he reportedly also claimed it "invented" heavy metal), though in a 2002 interview, he did admit, "I was serious about it. I was also really, really stoned." We're laughing with you, Lou.

Bob & Doug McKenzie, The Great White North (1981): Toqued up Canadian brothers (as played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) record comedy/concept album about beer, back bacon and black holes, land an improbable cameo by Rush's Geddy Lee, inexplicably score a hit single ("Take Off") as a result. All very funny. The fact that this won the Canadian Grammy for Comedy Album of the Year? Hilarious.

Neil Young, Trans (1982): Imagine Neil Young — hirsute, warbly godfather of grunge — singing almost entirely through a Vocoder. Now imagine he's singing songs with titles like "Computer Age," "Transformer Man" and "Computer Cowboy." Slap a goofy, "Tron"-esque cover on that nightmare, and you've got Trans, an album that befuddled pretty much, well, everyone. Most thought it was an elaborate joke; others believed it was Young at his most satirical, poking fun at the soulless, electro-pop that dominated the decade. Regardless, his record label — Geffen — wasn't pleased, and thanks to this album (and 1983's goofy, 25-minute long Everybody's Rockin'), they sued Young for releasing "uncharacteristic, uncommercial" records. For that reason alone, you need to listen to this.

Ween, 12 Golden Country Greats (1996): OK, for starters, this is a Ween album, recorded using legendary Nashville session musicians like Hargus "Pig" Robbins and Russ Hicks. There are songs featuring Muhammad Ali samples and songs with titles like "Piss Up a Rope" and "Mr. Richard Smoker." Oh, and despite the title, there are only 10 tracks on 12 Golden Country Greats.

Beastie Boys,Country Mike's Greatest Hits (1998): Hey, another country piss-take ... and this one is due to severe head trauma! Sometime between the release of 1994's Ill Communication and 1998's Hello Nasty, Mike D was hit on the head and lost all his memory. According to fellow Beastie Adam Yauch, while he was in the grips of amnesia, D believed himself to be a crooner named Country Mike. Acting on a psychologist's advice, the Beasties played along, recording an album of country cuts with titles like "Don't Let the Air Out of My Tires" and "Country Delight." Some appeared on the 1999 Sounds of Science anthology; the rest have become much-sought Beasties' nuggets. Roughly 90 percent of this is actually true, BTW.

Beck, Midnite Vultures (1999): Do you like party-dude, popping-and-locking Beck, or serious, guy-and-an-acoustic-guitar Beck? Well, if you prefer the former, then boy you must love this album. Sadly, most didn't ... mostly because, for the first time in his entire career, people weren't sure if Beck was joking or not. And while the jury's still out, it's hard to think of anyone being serious while thrusting through tracks like "Sexx Laws" or "Hollywood Freaks." And don't even get me started on album closer "Debra," a gut-busting exercise in libidinous bleating and pleading. Beck hasn't been nearly as funny at any point before (or after).

The Bloodhound Gang, Hooray for Boobies (2000): This album is called Hooray for Boobies. What more do you need to know?

Coheed and Cambria, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (2005): Possibly the goofiest thing Coheed have ever done, and given everything they've done, well, that's saying something. From the doomy riffs of "Welcome Home" to the overarching (and overwrought) story line to the hidden tribute to Led Zeppelin that closes the record, this is prog rock at its most hilarious (to say nothing about Claudio Sanchez's hair or the fact that the band toured behind the album with a winged guillotine onstage). The fact that no one in the band seems to be laughing along with the listener transports this into the realm of high art.

Trans Am, T.A. (2002): Washington, D.C.'s Trans Am have always excelled at pointing out the rather ridiculous extremes of genres like prog and post-rock, but on T.A., they push the pointing into overdrive. Positively bathed in '80s synth sheen and featuring feathered and airbrushed liner notes, it's a completely hilarious send-up, one that also includes brilliantly stoopid joints like "Party Station" and "Different Kind of Love," not to mention a drunken impression of Derek Fisher lifted off someone's answering machine. You have to be smart to be this dumb.

Questions? Concerns? Hit me up at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.

• Beastie Boys
• Beck
• Neil Young
• Coheed and Cambria

Coheed and Cambria
Photo: Equal Vision Records

Blame it on George Lucas: Just when you thought the saga was over, Coheed and Cambria are coming back with more. And this time, it's an origin story.

Thanks to singer Claudio Sanchez's work on the band's albums-translated-as-comics-series "The Amory Wars," Coheed and Cambria have been inspired to do a "prequel" album of sorts. (Learn more about the comic series from Sanchez himself on our Splash Page blog.) The LP will be about, well, Coheed and Cambria — as in the characters throughout the science-fiction mythology explored on the band's four albums thus far — only this time, it might make sense.

"So far, it's just songs," Sanchez said. "It's actually been a lot of fun. I've just been working on what it's about and sending it to [drummer] Chris [Pennie] on the Internet. Everything's very rough right now, but it's sounding pretty cool."

Sanchez has a working title for the album — which he refuses to reveal, since he doesn't want to be held to it just yet. "I get a lot of that," he said. "People will be like, 'But you said this.' Sorry." But if fans need to call it something, he said, "Amory Wars Prequel" will do for now.

The band is in the early stages of creating the prequel, a long way from recording any songs, but Sanchez estimates the album could be ready "in a year or so."

"I just need to find that extra nudge," he said. "I need someone to knock on my door and say, 'Look at this,' before I can really finish it up."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

• Coheed and Cambria

Alicia Keys
Photo: Columbia

Alicia Keys took home four trophies from the NAACP Image Awards, held at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium Thursday night. She won the Outstanding Album and Outstanding Female Artist prizes, as well as the top video and song awards. Other honorees included Chris Brown, Jordin Sparks, Denzel Washington and Janet Jackson. Washington and his "Great Debaters" co-star Jurnee Smollett won the Best Actor and Actress prizes for film, while Jackson received the Best Supporting Actress honor for her work in "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?" ...

As Britney Spears' father extended control over her affairs in Los Angeles on Thursday, a New York attorney attempted to undo them by taking the conservatorship to federal court. Claiming he represents the singer — despite a judge already deciding she's unable to retain counsel of her own just yet — attorney Jon Eardley filed a claim that the singer's conservatorship deprives her of her civil liberties, since she's been denied the right to meet freely with whom she chooses (as her father has the power to restrict visitors); make and receive phone calls (since a restraining order prevents manager Sam Lutfi from contacting her); drive a car (since her father hired security to do that for her); and gain access to money or credit cards (since her finances are being handled by her trust). "She is being confined ... to the private person of her own home," the suit reads. Eardley is represented by Lutfi's publicist, Michael Sands, who claims that the motion moves jurisdiction from Los Angeles Superior Court to the U.S. District Court, and voids the conservatorship: "Britney Spears has no conservatorship!" he said in a press release. However, the Los Angeles Superior Court responded, "This is an issue that will have to be litigated by the parties." ...

Paramore and Jimmy Eat World have rolled out dates for their much-anticipated co-headlining tour. The 20-date outing will take them from San Antonio on April 1 to Atlantic City, New Jersey, on May 2, with stops in California, Iowa, New York and elsewhere along the way. ...

Eddie Vedder has sketched out the itinerary for his first-ever solo tour, which he will stage in support of his Grammy-nominated "Into the Wild" soundtrack, according to Billboard.com. The Pearl Jam frontman will swing through Vancouver, British Columbia, on April 2, after which he'll play a smattering of shows in various California cities: Santa Cruz (April 5), Berkeley (April 7), Santa Barbara (April 10), Los Angeles (April 12-13) and San Diego (April 15). ... The Raconteurs are wrapping up their yet-untitled sophomore effort in Nashville, according to a recent post on their MySpace page. The post wasn't forthcoming with more details, although it did say, "They promise to release [the LP] as soon as they can." ...

U2 frontman Bono and British artist Damien Hirst raised $42 million for HIV/AIDS programs in Africa at a Sotheby's auction in New York on Thursday, according to The Associated Press. The (Red) Auction, co-organized by the Gagosian Gallery, sold pieces from some of the world's top contemporary artists. Sotheby's said model Christy Turlington bought a piece for $170,500. "We got serious about love, and not just the love of art, but the love of our brothers and sisters suffering from AIDS in the poorest places on the planet," Bono said, according to BBC News. ...

Coheed and Cambria, Incubus and Disturbed have been added to the roster for this year's Download Festival in England (June 13-15). They join a lineup that already features Kiss, Judas Priest, the Offspring, Motörhead, H.I.M, Children of Bodom, Rise Against, Lostprophets, Alter Bridge and In Flames. ... Aerosmith are starring in a new edition of "Guitar Hero" called, er, "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith." Due in the summer, the game will feature 30 or so songs by the Boston legends, as well as ones by bands that have opened for Steven Tyler's crew. ...

Chan Marshall — better known as Cat Power — has bulked up her tour schedule in support of her recently released album, Jukebox, according to Pitchfork. Following an April 10 show in Vancouver, British Columbia, she will hit up Seattle the following day and continue playing gigs through an April 20 show at Austin, Texas' South by Southwest fest. Two days later, she'll perform in Houston, after which she'll journey down to Mexico City for an April 23 performance. ... The National — whose last album, Boxer, made many critics' top 10 lists last year — have slipped out a live EP through Rhapsody, Pitchfork reports. The release, called Rhapsody Rocks NYC, contains four songs recorded at New York's CMJ Music Marathon last year. ...

Butch Walker has slapped together a new live album, but in case you're running low on funds these days, don't worry — he's posted the 24-track effort for free download at FriendsorEnemies.com. Devout fans can get the release with bonus tracks for $5.99. ... Portishead have firmed up their first album in 10 years. Third will drop April 29 and feature 11 songs, including "Nylon Smile," "Magic Doors" and "The Rip." ...

Yoko Ono has denied reports that she was planning legal action against singer Lennon Murphy, who has sought to trademark the name of her band, Lennon. In a letter to the technology blog BoingBoing, Ono explained that several years ago, Lennon Murphy sought Ono's permission to perform under her birth name, Lennon Murphy, which Ono did not object to. But later, without Ono's knowledge, the singer reportedly filed an application in the U.S. Trademark Office requesting the exclusive right to utilize the name "Lennon" for musical performances. Ono's attorneys asked Murphy's lawyers and manager to withdraw the registration, offering to cover all costs Murphy had incurred in filing for the trademark. When Murphy went ahead with the registration anyway, Ono said she did not sue Murphy, but had her attorneys notify the trademark office that Ono did not believe it was fair that Murphy be granted the exclusive right to the Lennon trademark for musical and entertainment services. Ono wrote, "I am really hurt if people thought that I told a young artist to not use her own name in her performances and had sought to sue her. I did no such thing. I hope this allegation will be cleared." ...

Borders Books is trying a new method to appeal to music downloaders. According to a press release, the retailer will roll out 14 new concept stores this year featuring "digital centers" that will allow customers to burn CDs and download music and books to most MP3 players, though not to iPods.

2.14.08

Avril Lavigne, who was once known as the "anti-Britney," now has nothing but sympathy for the pop star, as she reveals in the new issue of Maxim. "No one else has it as hard as Britney," she told the magazine. "I feel bad for her. How does she even think with all those flashbulbs? When I'm being followed, everything's thrown off. They run red lights. They cause accidents. She can't even walk to her car. F---ing stalkers." Lavigne, who has been known to flip off and spit on the paparazzi in the past, also said she's disgusted at speculation that she's pregnant with her first child. "Remember in high school when people would start fake rumors about you?" she asked. "Well, this isn't high school. It's like, the entire world." Check out more Avril photos from the mag's March issue at Maxim.com. ...

A Los Angeles judge decided Thursday (February 14) to extend the temporary conservatory powers that Britney Spears' father has over the singer's affairs — at least through the next hearing, on March 10. Jamie Spears had been granted control to oversee Britney's well-being and her estate earlier this month, along with co-conservator Andrew Wallet. Court-appointed investigator Samuel Ingham told the court Thursday that he had not finished his psychological evaluation of the singer and was granted an extension until the next hearing. Also by March 10, Britney must undergo a 730 evaluation to study her family to determine the best custody arrangements, Commissioner Reva Goetz decided. Goetz also named Britney's older brother, Bryan — who used to work on her former management team — along with New York estate attorney Ivan Taback as co-trustees for the singer's trust while she is considered unable to manage her own affairs. Meanwhile, Britney's current manager Sam Lutfi has yet to be served with a restraining order. The lawyers for the conservatorship concluded that Lutfi was intentionally avoiding being served because they'd already spent over 200 hours trying to reach him. A hearing about the restraining order is scheduled for February 22. ...

Beyoncé's father, Mathew Knowles, isn't too happy about Aretha Franklin scolding his daughter for comments she made about the Queen of Soul at Sunday's Grammy Awards. "Something this ridiculous — it's childish, it's unprofessional," he said in a statement on Thursday, according to People. "And it's a sad day when egos get bruised because somebody used the word 'king,' 'queen,' 'prince' or 'princess.' " Beyoncé introduced Tina Turner as "the queen" during the ceremony, after which Franklin released a statement in which she said, "I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyoncé. ... However, I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy." ...

Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Ricky Martin and others are voicing support for Alejandro Sanz after the cancellation of a concert he intended to play in Venezuela, Reuters reports. In 2004, the Latin American singer claimed President Hugo Chávez had tried to quash a campaign for a recall referendum against him. Sanz supporters are reportedly accusing Chávez of censorship in the wake of the concert cancellation. ... White Stripes are getting some extra lovin' at Best Buy, Pitchfork reports. The retail chain is selling a five-track EP surrounding the band's new single, "Conquest," that features all the accompanying B-sides that were previously available only on vinyl or in digital form. The EP comes free with the purchase of the band's Icky Thump album, or it can be bought separately. ...

Well, so much for all those reunion tours. A day after Billboard.com reported that the Police would be retiring for good after their upcoming North American trek comes news that the reunited Spice Girls likely won't go on either. Geri Halliwell — or Ginger Spice, to the fans — told the site she isn't anticipating a follow-up to the group's current run, which ends February 26 in Toronto. "It probably won't happen ever again," she said. "I'm still absolutely blown away that we did more than one show. So right now I'm thinking this is it. This is the last time you will ever get to see this Girl Power, the five Spices on the stage as one." Still, she added the requisite nugget of wisdom: "You can never say never." ...

The Smashing Pumpkins have dished up an unreleased track, "SuperChrist," for a limited-edition CD that will be made available March 1 at Guitar Center locations, according to Billboard.com. The compilation disc, which doesn't have a name, was curated by Billy Corgan and the gang — they picked acts that feature Guitar Center employees based on submissions from them. "SuperChrist" was a leftover track from the Pumpkins' 2007 album, Zeitgist, and the band has previously played it on tour. An accompanying video will premiere February 27 on MySpace. ... Guitar Center has another limited-edition goody too: a Roland RZA/Forat Custom MV8800 machine designed by the RZA and electronic trailblazer Bruce Forat. The hand-painted device features original artwork by the two, including allusions to the Wu-Tang Clan's recent 8 Diagrams LP. If you're interested in getting one, though, you'll have to throw down big bucks and act fast when they go on sale February 28: Only eight machines are being made available, and they cost a pricey $5,999 apiece. ...

Christina Aguilera has "never had more respect for the female body," the new mom told People for its new issue, which hits newsstands Friday. She added of her C-section to deliver her 4-week-old son, Max: "The hardest part was deciding on his birthday. I wanted to leave it up to fate, but at the same time I was ready to be done early!" The singer, who shared photos of her baby with the magazine, said she intends to start recording in her home studio this month. As for what she and husband Jordan Bratman have been spinning lately, she revealed: "Yesterday we had Led Zeppelin blaring through the house. Most new moms play Beethoven, but we're playing Metallica, Bob Marley, the Stones." ...

An interview with Michelle Williams in which she addressed her breakup with Heath Ledger, who died from an accidental drug overdose late last month, has just been published. "Obviously so much has changed for me in the last few months that I don't really have an idea of what my life is going to be," Williams told the U.K.'s Wonderland Magazine for what is said to be her last interview before the actor's death. "I thought I knew certain things and it turned out that I didn't, so I don't really try and anticipate so much anymore. I'm not making any bets on the future." ...

Chris Rock has been confirmed to appear the 2008 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, taking place June 12-15 in Manchester, Tennessee. He's just one of more than a dozen comedians set to perform at the fest — a list that also includes David Cross and Janeane Garofolo — but he's the only one that'll do his work from Bonnaroo's main stage (the same stage Kanye West, Pearl Jam and Metallica will appear on) in front of 80,000 somewhat-dazed-and-confused festival-goers. ...

Madonna premiered her directorial debut Wednesday at the Berlin Film Festival, but she said the flick didn't come without a "struggle." Madge and members of the "Filth and Wisdom" cast also held a press conference, during which she said, "One of the themes that I explore in the film is struggle, and if I look back to the beginning of my career, I can recall those moments of struggle like it was yesterday. There are aspects of [the characters'] struggle that I could relate to completely, and I could access that memory and put it into the story." ...

Moby is building anticipation for his upcoming album, Last Night, with an exclusive downloadable preview mix at RCRDLBL.com. Last Night, meanwhile, is due April 1. ... As it turns out, Moby has something in common with Norah Jones, Lou Reed, David Byrne and Scissor Sisters: a mutual distaste for the Iraq war. The musicians will come together March 18 — the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion — in New York for "Speak Up!: A Benefit Concert for Peace in Iraq & Justice at Home." The event will take place at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn. ...

Broken Social Scene have lumped more dates onto their upcoming world tour, Pitchfork reports. In addition to Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore, the band will also hit Taiwan, Mexico, Turkey, Luxembourg, Russia, the U.K., France, and the U.S. ... Battles are gearing up for some road action too: The band, adored by indie-philes, will play Bonnaroo June 12, after which it will swing through Washington, D.C., two days later, and then Philadelphia the day after that. ... Kristin Hersh, Cornershop's Anthony Saffery, Dirty Vegas' Steve Smith and others have concocted heartfelt covers of songs made famous by Joe Cocker, Bill Withers and others in time for Valentine's Day. Expansion Team Records just released Souvenirs, which contains the tracks, in CD and digital form. ...

Clear Channel Broadcasting — the media giant that owns the radio station that promoted the fatal Great White show in 2003 at the Station club in West Warwick, Rhode Island — agreed Wednesday to pay $22 million for more than 100 claims stemming from the fire that claimed 100 lives. According to The Boston Globe, the settlement is linked to Clear Channel's WHJY-FM, which ran ads for the show, where station DJ Michael Gonsalves was killed after introducing the band onstage. "We continue to be deeply saddened by the tremendous harm suffered by the victims, their families and the community as a result of this tragic fire," Andy Levin, chief legal officer of Clear Channel Communications, said in a written statement. "While Clear Channel had no role in causing or contributing to this fire, we are pleased to resolve these claims and, hopefully, contribute in some way to a sense of resolution for the affected victims and their families." The settlement comes on the heels of a $30 million tentative agreement reached three weeks ago with Rhode Island TV station WPRI-TV, whose photographer was accused of standing in the way of patrons attempting to escape the burning building. ...

Three people were arrested at Sunday's Grammy Awards on suspicion of using stolen passes to get access to the show. According to The Associated Press, Sebastian Bonner, 20, was arrested after he tried to enter the event at Los Angeles' Staples Center using one of nine stolen all-access passes. Courtney Mitchell, 30, and Pamela Clay, 44, were found with someone else's event ID card and arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property. Police believe the motive was a desire to see celebrities. "We eliminated that this wasn't something more serious than some people who wanted to see the Grammys who are star-struck," Commander Andrew Smith said. Police believe someone on the inside sold the IDs to friends and acquaintances. ... On Tuesday, Oklahoma State University forwarded a list of 11 student names to the Recording Industry Association of America, in compliance with a court order in the RIAA lawsuit accusing the students of unlawfully downloading copyrighted recordings using school servers. The students had filed a motion to quash their subpoenas, but the judge denied it and ordered the school to turn over their names. Wired.com reported that the move by OSU was the latest incidence of a university complying with the RIAA's newest tactic in combating illegal file-sharing.

• Alicia Keys
• Britney Spears
• Eddie Vedder
• Bono
• U2

Carrie Underwood's <i>Carnival Ride</i>
Photo: Arista

Everyone's an underdog when pitted against the sales might of someone like Carrie Underwood, who stole the "American Idol" title during the Fox series' fourth season.

After all, the bubbly blonde's debut album, 2005's Some Hearts, has been certified six-times platinum by the RIAA and remains the fastest-selling debut country album in the history of SoundScan. Not only that, but it's one of the best-selling LPs of the last two years. Some Hearts, which eventually yielded five #1 singles, debuted at #2 on Billboard's top 200 with 314,600 copies sold and has sold close to 6 million copies in the U.S. alone. It hasn't fallen out of the top 200 once since its initial release.

So let's face it — no one in the music business awoke this morning and was shocked to learn that Underwood's sophomore LP, Carnival Ride, opens at #1 on next week's albums sales chart with an impressive 527,000 in week-one scans.

Carnival Ride becomes the artist's first chart-topping bow, and she walked away with the win. Raising Sand, a collaborative offering from Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and bluegrass pioneer Alison Krauss, came closest to Underwood, opening at #2 with 112,300 sold, according to the latest SoundScan totals. That's a margin of nearly 415,000 albums separating #1 from #2.

Carnival Ride is now one of the best-selling debuts of 2007, following Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight (with 623,000 scans), 50 Cent's Curtis (691,000) and Kanye West's Graduation (957,000).

All told, 27 new releases enter next week's chart, with six finishing in the top 10. Right behind Plant and Krauss at #3 is the latest from country stud Gary Allan, Living Hard, which sold 69,200 copies. The politically charged debut solo album from System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, Elect the Dead, opens at #4, having sold 66,000 units. When asked during a recent MTV News interview about the prospect of debuting in the chart's top 10, Tankian said, "I'd be happy, but I just made the record I was meant to make — whatever it's going to do, it's going to do."

Coming in at #6, with sales reported at 61,900, is Coheed and Cambria's new one, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. Two: No World for Tomorrow. It marks the band's highest career debut, as well as its highest chart position. And returning to the chart at #9, thanks to sales of close to 56,900, is Seether's latest, Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces.

The rest of the top 10 is filled out by the usual assortment of artists: Josh Groban's Noel finishes at #5 with 65,400 sold, while Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus slides five spots to #7, selling another 61,000 units. Rascal Flatts' Still Feels Good follows at #8 with 57,000 scans, and coming in at #10 with 56,500 sold is the soundtrack to the Disney Channel flick "High School Musical 2."

Neil Young's Chrome Dreams II enters the chart at #11, having generated nearly 53,700 first-week sales, while La Vida ... Es un Ratico, the new one from Colombian singer/songwriter Juanes, comes in at #13 with 46,700 scans. Rapper Hurricane Chris' 51/50 Ratchet enters the top 200 at #24 with 26,200 units leaving store shelves, and with 24,800 copies sold, Say Anything's In Defense of the Genre debuts at #27. Ryan Adams and the Cardinals' Follow the Lights EP claims the chart's #40 spot with sales of 18,500, while Dwight Yoakam's Dwight Sings Buck finishes at #42 with 18,200 sold.

Steven Curtis Chapman's This Moment opens at #47 with 16,700 copies sold, and at #52, with 15,400 scans, is Shooter Jennings' The Wolf. Rob Zombie's Zombie Live comes in at #57 with 14,200 copies snatched up, and Ween's La Cucaracha sold 11,600 units to claim the #69 slot. Meanwhile, Cobra Starship's Viva La Cobra! enters at #80 with 10,600 scans, and at #89 with 9,500 copies sold is Little Brother's Getback. Rapper Trae's Life Goes On sold more than 7,500 copies its first week in stores, landing the album at #104, while the Temptations' Back to Front opens at #108 with 7,300 scans.

The soundtrack to the forthcoming video game "Guitar Hero 3" enters the top 200 at #147 with sales of 5,000-plus, just in front of Swedish metallers Soilwork and their latest, Sworn to a Great Divide, which sold just under 5,000 copies to take the #148 position. Relient K's second Christmas album, Let It Snow Baby ... Let It Reindeer, enters at #149 with 4,900 scans, and comedian Nick Swardson's Party finishes at #156 with 4,800 copies sold. Lastly, just making the cut at #200, is La Arrolladora Banda El Limón's Y Que Quede Claro, which generated a first-week total of 3,800.

• Carrie Underwood
• Serj Tankian
• Coheed and Cambria
• Kid Rock
• Seether

Carrie Underwood's <i>Carnival Ride</i>
Photo: Arista

Carrie 2: Carrie Underwood doesn't really need to put out a new album — after all, her 2005 debut, Some Hearts, has sold more than 1 million copies this year alone — but the former "American Idol" winner is jumping on her Carnival Ride anyway. Underwood gives the album-title theme a whirl on songs like "Wheel of the World," but the entire effort isn't all fun and games — she gets heavier on "Just a Dream," which revolves around a woman coping with the death of her soldier fiance. The country crock pot also contains a cover of "I Told You So," one of Randy Travis' earliest hits. Underwood said in a press release that the album title is apt because "it describes the wonderful craziness that I've been through over the past couple years."

'Round the World: Big things have also been happening to Coheed and Cambria, a band that deals with big concepts: In 2006, they went through lineup shifts and the death of frontman Claudio Sanchez's mother. But the group is going for a sense of finality with No World for Tomorrow, which concludes its long-running conceptual sci-fi saga. "I certainly feel a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders," Sanchez told MTV News over the summer. Fans will be on a quest for the deluxe edition, which has a bonus disc featuring animated projections the group used on tour, plus a video about the making of No World for Tomorrow, a deluxe booklet and more.

Serjical Procedure: While Coheed and Cambria's saga is ending, System of a Down singer Serj Tankian's adventure is only beginning. Elect the Dead, the first album he's stitched together — rather literally in some cases, as the limited-edition version comes wrapped in linen — features "humor, political stuff, ecological stuff, personal pain, transcending personal pain, transcending the material and physical — there's a lot of things, whatever I felt at the moment and whatever came through," Tankian told MTV News. If you're looking for an even more intimate side to Tankian, be sure to grab the limited version — it has acoustic versions of two tracks, artwork, poetry and codes to unlock exclusive content online.

Cobra Style: While Tankian is singing about the Dead, Cobra Starship are coming alive with Viva la Cobra!, the dance-punk act's second album. With songs like "World Has Its Shine (But I Would Drop It on a Dime)" and "Prostitution Is the World's Oldest Profession (And I, Dear Madame, Am a Professional)," frontman Gabe Saporta surely got goofy song-titling tips from their pals in Fall Out Boy — in no little coincidence, Cobra Starship penned their entire new effort while touring with FOB. In their defense, though, Saporta did recently tell MTV News, "You're damn right we're not serious."

Relying on Puns: Up for more cringe-inducing titular jokery? Look no further than Relient K's Let It Snow Baby ... Let It Reindeer, which is actually a resurrected version of the Christian rockers' Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand, an album that came as part of a combo pack with copies of 2006's Two Lefts Don't Make a Right... but Three Do. The Christian rockers wrap seven new songs — including "I'm Gettin' Nuttin' For Christmas" and the hidden song "Good King Wenceslas" — plus a reworked version of "Auld Lang Syne" onto the Christmas release. If that doesn't sound like a holiday treat to you, maybe you should give Larry the Cable Guy a call.

Story of the Hurricane: Speaking of calling on others, you know a rookie is destined for big things when he's able to rope in Game, E-40, Baby and Jadakiss onto his first release — and Hurricane Chris has done just that. Said players appear on the "Rachet Remix" of "A Bay Bay," the 51/50 Ratchet debut single that has brought the 18-year-old to the rap foreground. Chris is hoping his new single, "The Hand Clap," can match the success of "A Bay Bay," which reached #7 on Billboard's Hot 100, but if not, he can always resort to "Playas Rock," "Doin' My Thang" or "Walk Like That."

Zombie Lives: Like Hurricane Chris, Rob Zombie is making his album debut this week — his live-album debut, that is. Zombie captures highlights from his 2006 Educated Horses tour — reaching all the way back to White Zombie's "Thunder Kiss '65" and "Black Sunshine" — on Live, which also folds in the title tracks to his flicks "Devil's Rejects" and "House of 1000 Corpses." (Horror-movie fans should also take note of the "Saw IV" soundtrack, which features Avenged Sevenfold, Drowning Pool, Ministry, Sixx: A.M. and more.)

Still Seething: Seether put out a concert album last year — the acoustic One Cold Night — but are already back with a new studio LP, their third. "We've adopted an 'anything goes' attitude for this album," Shaun Morgan said in a statement. But the frontman, who went to rehab last year, added that, "This is not by any stretch of the imagination a concept album, nor is it a 'Woe is me, I'm sober' album."

Not in Shambles?: Pete Doherty, who also knows a thing or two about rehab, you could say, is back with his band Babyshambles, who are birthing their second effort this week. Shotter's Nation, which the band recorded in London with producer Stephen Street (Blur, Morrissey), boasts a guest appearance by Scottish folk legend Bert Jansch — on the final track, "The Lost Art of Murder" — and also includes "Crumb Begging," "French Dog Blues" and "Baddies Boogie."

Fallen "Idols"?: We can hear enough about "American Idol" contenders when they're on TV, but when it comes time for them to release material, some of them are actually making their albums hard to find. Elliott Yamin put out his NBC Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection in Target stores only last week, and now Bo Bice is delivering his new album, See the Light, exclusively to Wal-Mart. Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and ex-Allman Brothers Band keyboardist Chuck Leavell helped make sure Bice's second effort had a Southern touch.

Song Title of the Week:

"Manager and Coordinator of Prostitutes" by Les Georges Leningrad (on the Worried Noodles compilation)

Album Cover of the Week:

The "Barbie as the Island Princess" soundtrack

Other Notables:

Black Dice's Load Blown
Given the number of releases the red-hot experimental band from Brooklyn, New York, has put out in recent years, it's no surprise this collection got the name it did. This disc culls tracks that can be found on three of the group's 12-inch vinyl EPs — although, unusually, the third EP is actually dropping Tuesday (October 22) as well. The result is an overview of the output Black Dice have put out the last 18 months, and the disc includes "Kokomo," "Cowboy Soundcheck," "Toka Toka" and more.

Prefuse 73's Preparations
Guillermo Scott Herren goes by many names, but of all his music projects, this glitchy one has been catching on the most. Prefuse 73's fourth release follows 2005's Surrounded by Silence, and while the earlier effort featured a ton of outside artists — Ghostface, GZA and Blonde Redhead among them — this one only has a few guest spots, most notably one by Battles drummer John Stanier. But it also comes with a bonus disc, the 15-track Interrugnums, although it only comes with purchases of the physical release.

Castanets' In the Vines
On the topic of aliases, this act is also centered around one man: Raymond Raposa, the only constant member of the project. Born in San Diego but living in Brooklyn, Raposa regularly mixes up his cast of collaborators, sometimes amid a tour. This album features the likes of Jana Hunter, Nonhorse of Vanishing Voice and Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck, who come together to tell a story partially based on a Hindu fable about being trapped in an unavoidable fate. It also integrates stories of Raposa's adventures as a teen pro surfer and beyond.

New Releases:

· The 69 Eyes - Angels/Devils (two CDs; Caroline)
· Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Follow the Lights (EP; Lost Highway) [Buy Now]
· The Agony Scene - Get Damned (Century Media)
· Gary Allan - Living Hard (MCA Nashville)
· Audio Caviar - Transoceanic (Machine Productions)
· Avenger of Blood - Death Brigade (Heavy Artillery)
· Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation (limited edition comes with DVD; Astralwerks) [Buy Now]
· The Besnard Lakes - Vol. 1 (Jagjaguwar)
· Bo Bice - See the Light (available exclusively at Wal-Mart; StartArt) [Buy Now]
· Bizarre - Blue Cheese & Coney Island (Koch)
· Blue Sky Black Death - Hell Razah (Babygrande)
· The Bridge - The Bridge (Hyena)
· Tom Brosseau - Cavalier (Fat Cat)
· Carla Bruni - No Promises (enhanced; Downtown)
· Grayson Capps - Songbones (Hyena)
· Carbon/Silicon - The Last Post (Caroline)
· Cassius - 15 Again (Astralwerks)
· Castanets - In the Vines (Asthmatic Kitty)
· Steven Curtis Chapman - This Moment (Sparrow)
· The Cinematic Orchestra - Breathe (EP; Domino)
· Circle - Sunrise (No Quarter) [Buy Now]
· Cobra Starship - Viva La Cobra! (Fueled by Ramen) [Buy Now]
Read: "Cobra Starship Take Aim At Their Sudden Fame With Viva La Cobra!"
· Coheed and Cambria - No World for Tomorrow (Columbia) [Buy Now]
Read: "Coheed And Cambria Saga Comes To An End On No World For Tomorrow"
· Crime in Stereo - Crime in Stereo Is Dead (Bridge Nine)
· Justin Currie - What Is Love For (Rykodisc)
· Einstürzende Neubauten - Alles Wieder Offen (Potomac/Ryko)
· Euros Child - Miracle Inn (Wichita)
· Famouz - Ghetto Passport (World Jam)
· Far-Less - A Toast to Bad Taste (Tooth & Nail)
· The Forms - The Forms (Threespheres)
· Dave Gahan - Hourglass (also available with bonus DVD; Mute/Virgin)
· Ghost - Overture: Live in Nippon Yusen Soko (with DVD; Drag City)
· Hangar 18 - Sweep the Leg (Definitive Jux)
· Heart - Dreamboat Annie - Legendary Albums Live (Shout! Factory) [Buy Now]
· Helloween - Gambling With the Devil (SPV)
· Ty Herndon - A Ty Herndon Christmas (Pyramid)
· Daniel Higgs - Metempsychotic Melodies (Holy Mountain)
· Holy F--- - LP (Young Turks)
· Hurricane Chris - 51/50 Ratchet (J)
· I Like Trains - Elegies to Lessons Learnt (Beggars)
· Shooter Jennings - The Wolf (Universal South)
· Jesu - Lifeline (EP; Hydra Head)
· Juanes - La Vida Es un Ratico (live; limited-edition version comes with DVD; Universal Latino)
· Junk Science - Gran'Dad's Nerve Tonic (Definitive Jux)
· Karate - 595 (Southern)
· Knights of the Abyss - Juggernaut (Candlelight)
· Layo & Bushwacka - GU33: Rio (Global Underground)
· Lazarus - Hawk Medicine (Temporary Residence) [Buy Now]
· Little Brother - Get Back (ABB)
· Loop 2.4.3 - Batterie (Music Starts From Silence)
· Megan McCauley - Better Than Blood (Wind-Up)
· Moonspell - Under Satanæ (SPV)
· Mötley Crüe - Carnival of Sins Live (two CDs; Eleven Seven)
· Mountain Heart - Road That Never Ends: The Live Album (Rural Rhythm)
· The New Rivals - The New Rivals (SoBe)
· Of Hearts and Chainsaws - Touching Base With a Chainsaw (Tyburn)
· Lisa O'Kane - It Didn't Hurt (digipak; New Light Entertainment/ Universal)
· Orgone - The Killing Floor (Ubiquity)
· Oscar G - Nervous Nitelife: Space Miami (Nervous)
· Phosphorescent - Pride (Dead Oceans)
· Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (Rounder)
· Power Pill Fist - Kongmanivong (digipak; Graveface)
· Prefuse 73 - Preparations (two CDs; Warp)
· Realistic - Perpetual Memory Loss (Illegal Art)
· The Redwalls - The Redwalls (Mad Dragon)
· Saturday Looks Good to Me - Fill Up the Room (K)
· Say Anything - In Defense of the Genre (two CDs; J) [Buy Now]
· Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (Bloodshot)
· Scum of the Earth - Sleaze Freak (with DVD; Eclipse)
· Jon Secada - A Christmas Fiesta (Big3)
· Seether - Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces (Wind-Up) [Buy Now]
Read: "Seether Frontman Won't Respond To Amy Lee's Attack: 'I Just Refuse To Lower Myself To That Level' "
· Shaman - Reason (Locomotive)
· Siberian - With Me (Sonic Boom)
· Sick City - Nightlife (Trustkill)
· Skindred - Roots Rock Riot (Bieler Bros.)
· Smif N Wesson - The Album (Duck Down)
· Soft - Gone Faded (Academy Fight Songs) [Buy Now]
· Sole and the Skyrider Band - Sole and the Skyrider Band (Anticon)
· Stare Into the Sun - Whispers Turn to Howls (Reformer)
· Subtle - Yell & Ice (Lex)
· Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead (Serjical Strike/ Reprise) [Buy Now]
Read: "System Of A Down Frontman Serj Tankian On Intimate Solo LP: 'I Believe In It' "
· The Temptations - Back to Front (New Door/ UMe)
· These Are Powers - Terrific Seasons (Hoss)
· Thy Will Be Done - Was and Is to Come (Stillborn)
· Toolroom Knights - Mixed by Gabriel & Dresden (Toolroom)
· Tullycraft - Every Scene Needs a Center (Magic Marker)
· Tunng - Comments of the Inner Chorus (Thrill Jockey)
· Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride (Arista) [Buy Now]
· Victory Pill - Victory Pill (Corporate Punishment)
· Seth Walker - Seth Walker (Hyena)
· The Warlocks - Heavy Deavy Skull Lover (Tee Pee)
· Ween - La Cucaracha (Rounder)
· West Indian Girl - 4th & Wall (Milan)
· Witchcraft - The Alchemist (Candlelight)
· Yea Kid + Kid Static - Yea Kid + Kid Static (Jib Door)
· Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals (We Are Free)
· Dwight Yoakam - Dwight Sings Buck (New West)
· Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II (collector's edition comes with DVD; Reprise) [Buy Now]
· Rob Zombie - Zombie Live (Geffen) [Buy Now]
· Various artists - DJ Rekha Presents: Basement Bhangra (Koch)
· Various artists - Downtown San Francisco - Mixed by New Mondo (two CDs; Swank)
· Various artists - Free Yr Radio (Free Yr Radio/ Urban Outfitters; available through UO stores only)
· Various artists - Steve Aoki: Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles (Thrive)
· Various artists - Worried Noodles (two-CD box set with book by David Shrigley; Tomlab)
· Various artists - "Saw IV" soundtrack (Artists' Addiction)
· Various artists - "Barbie as the Island Princess" soundtrack (Koch)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· The Abyssinians - Satta Massagana (Heartbeat)
· At Vance - Chained (Locomotive)
· Gato Barbieri - Bahia (Fania)
· Ray Barretto - Greatest Hits (Fania)
· Black Dice - Load Blown (EP; Paw Tracks)
· Black Moth Super Rainbow - Falling Through a Field and Starting a People (digipaks; Graveface/ 70's Gymnastics Recording Co.)
· The Briefs - Greatest Story Ever Told (with DVD; BYO)
· Can - Anthology (two CDs; Mute) [Buy Now]
· Karen Dalton - Cotton Eyed Joe: The Loop Tapes - Live in Boulder 1962 (two CDs and one DVD; Delmore)
· Jermaine Dupri - Y'All Know What This Is ... the Hits (So So Def/ Island Urban) [Buy Now]
· Jacques Loussier - Jacques Loussier Plays Bach - Encore! (two CDs; Telarc)
· John Mellencamp - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection (Island/UMe) [Buy Now]
· Jacob Miller and Ray I - Natty Christmas (VP)
· Charles Mingus - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection (Verve)
· Relient K - Let It Snow Baby ... Let It Reindeer (Capitol) [Buy Now]
· Shadows Fall - Seeking the Way: Greatest Hits (Century Media)
· The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Jukebox Explosion (In the Red)
· T. Rex - Electric Jewels (Get Back)
· Paul Oakenfold - Greatest Hits & Remixes (two CDs; Ultra)
· Of Montreal - If He Is Protecting Our Nation ... Who Is Protecting Big Oil, Our Children? (EP; Polyvinyl)
· The Owls - Daughters and Suns (two CDs; Magic Marker) [Buy Now]
· Tamia - Between Friends/ A Gift Between Friends (two CDs; Plus 1 Llc)
· Various artists - The Christmas Spirit: The World's Favourite Hymns and Carols (two CDs; Decca)
· Various artists - A Holly Jolly Kids Christmas (Hip-O)
· Various artists - Putumayo Presents: New Orleans Brass (enhanced; Putumayo World Music)

Music DVDs:

· Heart - "Dreamboat Annie - Legendary Albums Live" (Shout! Factory) [Buy Now]
· Yusuf Islam - "Yusuf's Café Session" (Hip-O)
· Carole King - "Welcome to My Living Room" (Rockingale)
· Ringo Starr - "Ringo Starr Live at Soundstage" (Koch) [Buy Now]
· Steeleye Span - "The 35th Anniversary World Tour 2004" (Park)

Digital Releases:

· Leigh Marble - Red Tornado (Laughing Stock)
· Arthur Russell - Four Songs by Arthur Russell (EP; Beggars Banquet)

Coming Attractions:

October 30:
· Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold (MVI also available; Warner Bros.) [Preorder]
· Backstreet Boys - Unbreakable (deluxe digipak also available; Jive) [Preorder]
· Mario - Go (J) [Preorder]
Read: "Mario Gets Back To Making Music With Akon, Timbaland, Neptunes"

November 6:
· Angels & Airwaves - I-Empire (Geffen)
Read: "Angels & Airwaves' Revolution Has Begun - Just Wait 29 Years, Tom DeLonge Insists"
· Chris Brown - Exclusive (deluxe edition comes with DVD; Jive) [Preorder]
Read:
· Jay-Z - American Gangster (Roc-A-Fella) [Preorder]
Read: "Jay-Z's American Gangster: A Guided Tour By Jigga, Jermaine Dupri, Pharrell And Others"

November 13:
· Alicia Keys - As I Am (J) [Preorder]
· The Killers - Sawdust (Island) [Preorder]
· Ja Rule - The Mirror (Murder Inc./ Universal) [Preorder]
Read: "Ja Rule Leaves Bitterness — And 50 Cent Beef — Behind On New Album"

• Bizarre Christmas Albums

• Carrie Underwood
• Coheed and Cambria
• Serj Tankian
• Cobra Starship
• Hurricane Chris

Coheed and Cambria
Photo: Greg Watermann

Claudio Sanchez, the hay bale-haired frontman for progressive emo-rockers Coheed and Cambria, will never look back on 2006 fondly. It was a year wrought with lineup shifts, family deaths and hurdles aplenty. There was even a moment that the sci-fi-leaning concept band wondered if it should even bother carrying on.

In August, the band was forced to nix a European tour, following the departures of drummer Joshua Eppard and bassist Michael Todd, which put things in Coheed land in flux for a spell. In the spring, Todd returned to the fold, and Eppard was replaced by former Dillinger Escape Plan drummer Chris Pennie. Sanchez also lost his aunt, a social worker who'd counseled the band through several challenging times, to Alzheimer's disease; her death was a blow to the entire group.

"It's been an uphill battle," Sanchez explained. "Last year was terrible. It was an interesting time for this band and a very important time, because with all those experiences, I think we have created a very awesome album," the forthcoming Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow, which drops October 23. "We sort of rose from the ashes, which is something we never really had with any of the previous albums, which makes me feel like this is the strongest and makes for the best conclusion for the saga.

"Last year, we went through a lot, and I think, really, at the end of the day, it all helped kind of mold this album," Sanchez added. "Like [2005's Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness], where we kind of saw [the tale of Coheed and Cambria, an epic of love, death and deceit sprung from Sanchez's vivid imagination] from the writer's perspective, and how the writer's reality kind of affected the outcome of the story. This time around, it's pretty much that tenfold. This one's about everything we endured in 2006 and how that kind of translated over to the concept of Coheed and Cambria."

Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Shadows Fall), No World for Tomorrow features Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who was summoned — the day before the band was scheduled to begin tracking — to fill in for Eppard. Being able to bring the Coheed and Cambria saga to a close has been rather relieving for Sanchez.

"I certainly feel a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders," he said. "Now I am thinking about what will happen in the future, about the prequel album, possible spinoffs." (Sanchez also hinted at bigger things coming down the pike for Coheed, including a possible film adaptation, either live-action or animated, of the albums' overall concept.) "It is nice to know I am closing the center of the whole mythology. Now, with this album, it has been established that, although the [upcoming] prequel is just as important, these four bodies of work really kind of stamp it. They make the mythology."

Surprisingly, despite all the headaches and heartaches the band has experienced in the last 12 months, the album isn't as dark as you might imagine and boasts a few heavy numbers, à la "Welcome Home."

"In writing the lyrics, I found certain lines that, instead of being so on the dark side of things, almost felt very hopeful," the singer said. "To quote some of the lyrics, 'Raise your hands high, young brothers and sisters/ There's a world's worth of work and a need for you.' It's almost like we've gone through all these changes, and we want our fans to know that we have endured and will continue. At the same time, on the conceptual side of things, it's the end of the story, the end of everything, so it's almost, in a weird way, tricking a following into their own demise ... if that makes any sense."

The band has been previewing at least one of the new songs, the disc's likely first single, "The Running Free," during this summer's Warped Tour, and the response has been positive. Look for the record to also contain the cuts "Mother Superior," "The End Complete," "Gravemakers and Gunslingers," the album's title track and "Justice and Murder," a tune inspired by Sanchez's aunt.

"She had a very interesting role in Coheed, especially after [the release of 2002's The Second Stage Turbine Blade], when Coheed actually disbanded for a second due to extensive touring and such. ... We were so overloaded, we kind of imploded," he said. "My aunt happened to be a social worker, a therapist, and we went to her and she helped us sort out our problems and helped us figure out what we wanted to do as a band, and thus, we endured and went on to [record 2003's In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3]. It was such a tragedy, because seeing her pass away and all that we endured in 2006, it was another brick in that wall. It made us wonder, 'Can we overcome this?' because we aren't going to have that help we had before."

For some of the tracks, Sanchez said he experimented with unfamiliar instrumentation, including organs and pianos, to create a sound he described as "Ray Charles on Quaaludes." A few of the songs were actually written on piano and later converted into very intricate guitar parts.

"Musically, I think our fans are going to really enjoy it because there are a lot of callbacks to the other albums," he explained. "But it's hard to say what will happen to this band when the concept is finished. There are so many avenues we could explore, if we really wanted to dive into the conceptual side of things. The solar system that I have created [with the Coheed saga] involves 78 planets, so there are worlds of things we could explore, as well as moving into another piece of fiction or whatever. We're artists — we can find an interesting way to move from this to another thing, if we chose to do that. If I were to say this is the end of Coheed and Cambria, I think our audience would be excited about it."

• Coheed and Cambria

Dillinger Escape Plan's Ben Wienman, Greg Puciato and Liam Wilson
Photo: Relapse Records

Last month, when the Dillinger Escape Plan revealed that founding drummer Chris Pennie had left the highly technical mathcore outfit to join progressive rockers Coheed and Cambria, no one wanted to believe it. The surprise move baffled the band's allegiant fans almost as much as it confused the Dillinger dudes, who started to wonder if Pennie had been fostering some strange, secret obsession with unicorns and minotaurs.

"We found out about him playing with Coheed on the Internet," explained guitarist Ben Weinman. "[Frontman] Greg [Puciato] forwarded me a link to an announcement, and I'm like, 'What?!?' At that point, though, he was just going to record with them — it wasn't like he wasn't going to play with us, but we were questioning keeping him in the band every day because it was embarrassing. But obviously, we felt that his talent was so needed for the band that we tried to make it work, and we let him go through this little midlife crisis or whatever it was, because we never thought he'd join that band over this band. It doesn't make sense. They're not Linkin Park. If you're going to sell out, sell out, you know?

"It's unbelievable, and the funny thing is, before all of this started going down, he used to make fun of that band, left and right," Weinman continued. "He'd imitate [Coheed frontman Claudio Sanchez's] voice and would say, 'They f---ing suck' and all this sh--. It's funny, because everybody just looks at us like, 'Huh?' And we had the same reaction. The other day, we were hanging out with [(+44) kitman] Travis Barker, [and] the guy we have playing drums with us now [Stolen Babies' Gil Sharone] is good friends with him, and he's a big Dillinger fan, and he's like, 'What happened to your drummer?' We told him, 'He quit and joined Coheed,' and he just looked so confused."

But Weinman said there wasn't one specific reason behind Pennie's departure. It had nothing to do with internal strife or a difference of opinion within the band. It wasn't a matter of not liking the direction Dillinger's new material was going in. It just was.

According to Weinman, Pennie also came under fire from the band's label, Relapse Records, for working with other bands on their records without first clearing it with them — for instance, Pennie lent his talents to the forthcoming Idiot Pilot LP Wolves.

"We're contractually obligated to a record label, and when you are in a contract you can't just go playing with other bands without getting permission," he explained. "That's just how it is. You can't just go playing on people's records and not deal with the business side of it. Chris would do that all the time and didn't want to deal with the legal side of it and didn't understand why he had to. We were breaching our contract because of it. Really, at the end of the day, he ended up doing a session gig with Claudio for something he was working on for a soundtrack, and I guess [Coheed] were looking for a new drummer and they asked him to play. I guess they offered him a bunch of money."

Ultimately, though, Pennie didn't record a single note for Coheed's upcoming album, No World for Tomorrow. Instead, the band recruited Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins for the task, leaving Pennie "a fill-in drummer for Taylor Hawkins. He's basically the f---ing live player for that dude."

Now that Dillinger have found a replacement for Pennie in Sharone, Weinman said the band can once again focus on finishing Ire Works, the much-anticipated follow-up to 2004's Miss Machine, which is being produced out in California by Steve Evetts (Sepultura, He Is Legend) and is being earmarked for an October release.

"When Chris hears our record, he's going to feel like a real a--hole," Weinman said, with confidence. "He blew it. This guy Gil we have playing on this, his drumming is unbelievable on this record. Some of the best drumming we've ever had on any of our records. And now, Gil is going to be known as the guy for this kind of thing. This would have been the record that set Chris up as a drumming dude — as a session guy, a clinic guy — and now, Gil's already got all these companies doing ads based on him playing on this record."

Dillinger Escape Plan will tour in support of Ire Works this fall. First, they'll head over to Europe for a run of gigs with Meshuggah, and the guitarist said the plan, for now, is to bring the same package over to the States this winter. As for how the record sounds? Weinman said fans can expect it to be "just as diverse as" Miss Machine.

"On this record, it's just sort of like a combination of almost everything we've done in the past, but on overdrive," he said of the album, which will include the tracks "Black Bubblegum," "Death's Head Moth" and "Saigon Whore." "Everything is just right. We figured it out. And everything is pretty emotional, too. Everything's really super angry, even when the music isn't all that aggressive. With these songs it's like, 'Oh, you're about to get complacent with where you're at with this song,' and then, all of a sudden, it hits you in the ass again and jerks you around. It's like being on a f---ed-up roller coaster."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Belgian grindcore quintet Leng Tch'e have hired drummer Tony Van den Eynde to replace founding member Sven de Caluwé, who quit in June because he was no longer enjoying the gig. "Many people heeded the call when the word was out that we needed a new skinsman and it was a tough decision to make in the end," the band said in a statement. "But we believe Tony has all the skills to take us to the next level. His power and technique will baffle you all." The new Leng Tch'e lineup will debut later this month with two performances in Holland. ... Cleveland thrash band Skeletonwitch have finished recording their debut album, Beyond the Permafrost, which is scheduled for release September 18. The disc was recorded in June with producer Corey Smoot (GWAR, Municipal Waste). Skeletonwitch will tour with Withered from July 13 in Nashville through July 28 in Savannah, Georgia. This fall, the band will hit the West Coast with Nachtmystium. ...

Hardcore metal musclemen Throwdown have posted two new songs, "Holy Roller" and "S.C.U.M.," on their MySpace page. Both tracks come from the band's upcoming album Venom & Tears, which is scheduled for release August 7. "We kinda went back to our roots as far as what got us into playing music, rather than sticking to what got us into hardcore," said vocalist Dave Peters in a statement. Throwdown are currently headlining the Ernie Ball Stage on the Warped Tour, and will remain there until the tour ends August 25 in Los Angeles. ...

New York metalcore bruisers It Dies Today will begin selling raffle tickets today to help fight leukemia. The tickets can be purchased at the band's merch table on the Warped Tour. Prizes include Fernandez guitars, Burton snowboarding gear, It Dies Today limited edition T-shirts and other merch. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and a specific child in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who is battling the disease. Frontman Jason Wood is from Grand Rapids and chose the charities because of a recent experience with the disease. "My best friend, Chad Harjar, passed away from leukemia last year, and it really affected me because of how close we were and how similar our life aspirations were. We were in bands together and we were really ready to go some place. I joined It Dies Today a few months after his death, and he was the person who I wanted to share the experience with the most." The It Dies Today raffle will continue through August 10 in Buffalo, New York. ...

Alter Bridge, the band featuring three former members of Creed, have signed to Universal Republic Records and will release their new album in the fall. And, they swear, it won't sound anything like their former band. "The material we've been working on is really aggressive and I think it's the best work we've ever done," said guitarist Mark Tremonti in a statement. "We're very excited about beginning this chapter in our lives and career." Alter Bridge's debut One Day Remains came out in 2004. ... Heaven and Hell have added several shows to their fall tour, which they claim will be their last dates together before the members part ways. The fall tour launches September 5 in Binghamton, New York, and runs through October 6 in Irvine, California. As previously mentioned, Queensrÿche and Alice Cooper will open. After the tour, singer Ronnie James Dio is expected to work on a new album with his band Dio, and guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler are expected to begin work with Ozzy Osbourne on a new Black Sabbath record. ...

To coincide with the Heaven and Hell Tour, on August 28 Queensrÿche will release Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensrÿche. The package will be available in single and double disc sets. Both feature 17 career-spanning tracks and the 2-CD set features 15 rare and previously unreleased recordings including the newly written "Justified," recorded with original guitarist Chris DeGarmo, who left the band in 1997. ... 36 Crazyfists have signed with Ferret Music and plan to release a new album in 2008. ... Montalvo, California's The F---ing Wrath have completed their debut album, Season of Evil, which is scheduled for release in August. An extensive tour will follow. ...

Members of Exodus, Death Angel and Forbidden are planning to attend the July 14 premiere of the film "Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal" in San Francisco. "I am totally stoked," said Exodus guitarist Gary Holt. "After all, San Francisco was the birthplace of this monster called thrash metal, and it is only fitting that it receives a proper showing right where it all started. After seeing the movie, all I could say was it's about time; and it couldn't have been done any better." ... Slipknot guitarist Mick Thompson plays a guest solo on the tenth album by Malevolent Creation, Doomsday X, which comes out July 17. A video of the studio recording sessions can be seen at SlickDrummer.com, where the new record can be streamed in its entirety.

• Dillinger Escape Plan
• Throwdown
• It Dies Today
• Coheed and Cambria
• Alter Bridge

T.I.
Photo: Evan Agostini/ Getty Images

T.I. candidly discusses his relationship with the mother of his kids, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, in the August issue of Vibe, which is set to hit newsstands next week. The Atlanta rapper confirmed to MTV News in May that he and Cottle had broken up, but the couple have since reconciled and, as T.I. put it in the Vibe interview, "she means to me what my mother meant to me as a kid." He added, "Somebody that you know is consistently there, has your best interests at heart, and if ain't nobody else there in the world, [she] gon' be there. [Tiny's] filled that spot in my life." ...

Have Britney and Kevin's divorce proceedings hit a snag? People reported that a source close to Federline told the magazine K-Fed is holding off from signing the final papers because he is concerned about Spears' recent behavior. The couple reached an agreement in March that would extend their current arrangement of joint legal and physical custody of their two sons. But the source told People that reports of Spears partying post-rehab have spurred Federline to make sure that the divorce arrangement would make it easier for him to potentially limit her access in case her behavior troubles him in the future. ...

Japanese kids sporting witch costumes and waving magic wands checked out the Tokyo premiere of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on Thursday. "Japanese fans are the best!" said Daniel Radcliffe, who was cheered by the masses, The Associated Press reported. ...

Eve was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to wear an electronic-monitoring device after pleading no contest to a DUI charge on Thursday (June 28), according to "Entertainment Tonight." She must also go to 10 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and enroll in a three-month alcohol program. The monitoring device tests for alcohol intake on an hourly basis. ...

Phil Spector was weaker than actress Lana Clarkson, who could have shot him more easily than he could have shot her, forensics expert Vincent DiMaio testified on Thursday in the music producer's murder trial, AP reported. DiMaio said Clarkson probably fired the gun in "a spontaneous reaction of some sort. Stupid. Based on alcohol." Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson grilled the defense witness for more than two hours, accusing him of "cherry-picking" and "manipulating" facts. Pointing at Spector, DiMaio said, "Look at Mr. Spector. He has Parkinson's features. He trembles." ...

Beastie Boys have stretched out their upcoming tour in support of The Mix-Up, adding extra gigs in Boston (August 5), New York (August 10), Denver (August 17), Los Angeles (August 20) and San Francisco (August 24). ... Cartel are also shipping out for a trek surrounding their eponymous August 21 CD. The band shoves off from Chicago on August 20 and sticks to the tarmac until an October 10 gig in Charlotte, North Carolina. ...

Wyclef Jean, Cassie, Michael Strahan, James Blunt, Leonardo DiCaprio and a host of other celebs joined club and restaurant proprietor Unik Ernest on Wednesday night to celebrate his birthday at Gin Lane and PM in Manhattan, New York. The festivities, sponsored by Fed Ex and Klipsch Audio, kicked off with a private dinner and auction for Ernest's foundation, Edeyo. For the auction, Tommy Hilfiger donated tickets to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Dream Concert he, Russell Simmons, Quincy Jones and others will be staging at Radio City Music Hall on September 18 — the event will feature Stevie Wonder, Robin Thicke and more. After that, DJ Juske took over at the afterparty, where Steve Nash, Rebecca Gayheart and Phillip Bloch were spotted. ...

Johnta Austin has penned tracks for everyone from Mariah Carey to Enrique Iglesias, and now he's getting some payback via guests on his first-ever solo release, Ocean Drive. Mary J. Blige — whose "Be Without You" collaboration with Austin and others earned them a Grammy — partners with him on "Hood Love"; Jadakiss lends support on "Turn It Up"; and DJ Unk spots Austin on the album's first single, "Video." ...

Korn's Family Values Tour is expanding with a second stage, set to feature Five Finger Death Punch, Invitro, Twin Method and other to-be-announced acts. It will also host a "Guitar Hero II" competition, with eight finalists facing off in each city the trek hits. The tour embarks July 20 in St. Louis and ends September 2 in Irvine, California. ... The Used have been forced to pull out of their remaining June shows and all their July shows, including a Warped Tour run, while singer Bert McCracken has surgery on a node on one of his vocal cords. According to a post on the band's Web site, in addition to the surgery, McCracken's doctors have advised him to rest without singing, after which he is expected to make a full recovery in about five weeks. The band hopes to hit the road again in September. In the meantime, the Used have launched a new application on their homepage that allows fans to make a ringtone out of any song on their three studio albums. ...

Coheed and Cambria have reportedly recruited the Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins to play drums on their new album, No World for Tomorrow. The band is working on the LP with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has worked with the Foos in the past. The album, which is set for release this fall, is the last chapter in the ongoing saga of Coheed and Cambria Kilgannon, the main characters in a story that wraps all the band's concept albums into one. ... Robert Plant has dismissed rumors that Led Zeppelin will play a one-off reunion show for a memorial concert honoring Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who passed away late last year. Reports have insisted that Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones would enlist John Bonham's son Jason for the gig — they recruited him for Atlantic's 40th anniversary gig in 1988 — but Page claims he hadn't heard anything about the rumored reunion, adding, "If there was one, then there wouldn't be enough doctors to support it." ...

Depeche Mode singer David Gahan is readying his second solo album. Hourglass is due to land in stores this October and follows 2003's Paper Monsters. The album will be more electronic than his first effort, and Gahan said the music exudes an "urgency ... and a feeling of spontaneity." ... Who knew Michael Moore and Sacha Baron Cohen were mutual admirers? In an interview with AP, the "Sicko" director said Baron Cohen told him at the Toronto International Film Festival that Moore had given him the courage to carry out his confrontational antics through his Borat character. "If he says I was an inspiration for those things, I now have to up the ante for him," Moore said. ...

A federal grand jury indicted former boy-band mogul Lou Pearlman on five bank-fraud charges on Wednesday, claming that he defrauded a bank out of $20 million. AP reported that Pearlman was indicted on three counts of bank fraud, and single counts of mail and wire fraud, for allegedly getting millions in bank loans using documents from a fake accounting firm. He is expected to be transferred from California to Florida in two weeks to face the charges. ... Even Apple's competitors are getting in on the iPhone action. eMusic, the second-biggest digital-music service behind iTunes, has cheekily offered Apple boss Steve Jobs a free lifetime subscription to its service for his new iPhone. The move came as a thank you for Jobs' recent decision to remove digital-rights management software from some of iTunes' offerings; all of eMusic's songs are DRM-free. Also, in honor of Friday's iPhone unveiling, eMusic is offering 35 free tracks to anyone who signs up for a trial run of their service at eMusic.com/phone.

06.27.07

Usher has more than just a new album on his plate — he's about to become a father for the first time. In a statement the singer and his fiancee Tameka Foster issued to The Associated Press on Wednesday (June 27), the couple said: "We are extremely excited at this point in our lives planning our wedding and the joy that comes with expecting our first child together. We hope people will be happy for us and respect our privacy during this happy period in our lives." The baby, which is due in the fall, will be the fourth child for recently divorced stylist Foster. ...

Ready to Scream? Dates have been announced for this year's Screamfest, which will feature T.I., Ciara, Yung Joc, Lloyd and T-Pain. The jaunt begins August 3 in New Orleans, continues through the rest of the month and ends with a pair of shows September 1-2 at Universal City, California's Gibson Amphitheatre. ...

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama phoned in to New York hip-hop radio station Hot 97 on Wednesday to chat it up with jock Angie Martinez on her afternoon show. Although the Illinois politician didn't waver too far from his campaign platform — better education, better health care and more jobs — he did reveal his musical playlist. "I'm old-school and generally I'm more of a jazz guy," he told Martinez. "But having said that, I'm current enough that on my iPod I got a little bit of Jay-Z, a little bit of Beyoncé. A little bit. I don't want to pretend I know as much as my [children]. I'm falling behind rapidly." ...

Fall Out Boy, Jennifer Lopez, Fergie, and Usher will perform at the fourth annual Fashion Rocks concert, which is scheduled for September 6 at Radio City Music Hall as part of New York Fashion Week. "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven will host the event, which will also feature appearances by Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Ludacris and more. ... Andre 3000 is dropping a batch of songs Tuesday — but don't expect to hear him singing all of them. The Outkast member picked 14 songs he wrote and produced for "Class of 3000" — the Cartoon Network show that revolves around Sunny Bridges, a character he voices — and bundled them for the soundtrack. The tracks feature the voices of kids and characters from the series, including Bridges. ...

It was diva night Tuesday at the BET Awards, where "Dreamgirls" co-stars Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson each took home two trophies. B won Best Female R&B Artist and Video of the Year for "Irreplaceable," and Hudson snagged Best New Artist and Best Female Actress. Ne-Yo won Best Male R&B Artist, Gnarls Barkley got Best Group, T.I. again won Best Hip-Hop Artist and "The Last King of Scotland" star Forest Whitaker won Best Male Actor. Other winners included Ludacris (for his collabo with Mary J. Blige, "Runaway Love"), Birdman and Lil Wayne (Viewer's Choice for "Stuntin' Like My Daddy") and Diana Ross (Lifetime Achievement). The show also featured tributes to James Brown and Gerald Levert, as well as performances by Hudson (with Jennifer Holliday), Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland with Eve and 50 Cent. ...

The sheriff who was criticized for briefly allowing Paris Hilton to leave jail for house arrest explained his actions just hours after Hilton was released from jail on Tuesday. According to a Reuters report, Sheriff Lee Baca suggested that he made the controversial move because he feared for Hilton's life. While he did not explicitly say Hilton had been in danger of harming herself, Baca said, "I think we all in this room know something about suicide. As the sheriff of this county, I'm not going to let any inmate die in our jails if I know something that can be done that solves the medical problem. ... What's worth more? Serving time in the county jail for driving on a suspended driver's license or a person losing their life?" A spokesperson for Hilton would not comment on Baca's remarks. ...

A former medical examiner testifying for Phil Spector's defense said Wednesday that Lana Clarkson was an aging actress who was out of work and battling depression and health problems — and that after studying her e-mails, medical records and other evidence, he concluded her death was a suicide. Vincent DiMaio said Clarkson had broken her wrists in an accident in 2002; that she had been taking Vicodin; that she wrote to one of her doctors that she "was at the end of her rope and could not function"; and that she noted in an August 21, 2002, day planner entry, "First sober day." DiMaio also debated the prosecution's reconstruction of Clarkson's death on Wednesday. He disagreed with the contention that bruises on her tongue were caused by a gun being forced into her mouth, saying expanding gases from the gunshot were the likely cause. He also refuted the notion that Clarkson's body had been moved, presumably by Spector; DiMaio argued that the pressure of gunshot gases can cause a body to move after death. ...

The lineup for the free Live Earth show on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will include Lenny Kravitz, Pharrell, Macy Gray and a host of homegrown talent. Meanwhile, the gig planned for Istanbul, Turkey, has been axed, reportedly due to a lack of interest and too few sponsors. One of the event's co-founders, former Vice President Al Gore, has announced that he will attend the New Jersey leg of the worldwide environmental awareness event on July 7. ... Shadows Fall will be playing a not-so-secret MySpace Secret Show Thursday at Pearl Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. The bill also features the Probates, the Uncomfortables and Hot Black. ...

Morrissey has canceled concerts this week in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia due to a throat infection. A half-hour into his show in Boston Tuesday night the singer was unable to continue performing — he had already explained to the crowd that he was ill, saying, "Unfortunately it will not just be the emotions cracking tonight but my voice as well." His tour is scheduled to resume Saturday night in New York. ... In addition to a slate of U.S. dates in support of his self-titled 2006 album, Ben Kweller has announced a three-night run at Southpaw, in Brooklyn, New York, during which he'll play a different record straight through each night. It will be Sha Sha on July 30, On My Way on July 31 and Ben Kweller on August 1. ...

Foxy Brown, who was cited for missing a probation meeting on Friday, showed up four hours late for a probation meeting Tuesday. According to New York's Daily News, the rapper arrived with five bodyguards and, in a move that riled other ex-cons, was hustled in and out by security guards helping her avoid photographers. ... Don't go to your doctor saying you have "video game addiction" symptoms just yet. On Wednesday, the American Medical Association chose a milder measure over a previously prepared report that would have encouraged the term to be included in a manual of psychiatric witnesses, according to AP. "While more study is needed on the addictive potential of video games, the AMA remains concerned about the behavioral, health and societal effects of video game and Internet overuse," AMA President Dr. Ronald Davis said. "We urge parents to closely monitor children's use of video games and the Internet."

• T.I. And Twista Grill Up Smokin' Summer Clips

• Beyoncé, 50 Cent, Jennifer Hudson, More At The 2007 BET Awards
• "Dreamgirls"

• T.I.
• Wyclef Jean
• Cassie
• Usher
• Coheed and Cambria

Fergie
Photo: MTV/ Getty Images

Fergie previewed her solo show Tuesday night with a private concert for contest winners at Franklin High School in Seattle. Her 20-date Verizon VIP Tour — which is skipping paper tickets in favor of cell phone photo-message passes — officially kicks off May 21 with a show in Pittsburgh. Following shows in cities including Cleveland (May 23), Atlanta (June 2), Dallas (June 6) and New York (June 21), the tour will wrap up July 24 in Portland, Oregon. Fergie is also Seventeen's June cover girl, and contributed a "Letter to Me at 17" to the magazine. The 32-year-old calls out her 17-year-old self's "giant bangs" and "bad perm" but congratulates her for not compromising her principles or disrespecting her body. "Sure, you'll be a giant flirt and wear sexy clothes, but you'll never take it to an unhealthy level and act on it," she says in the note. Fergie also warns young Stacy about the rough patches ahead (massive debt, drug addiction) and tells her to stay strong for the big bright spots in her future (Black Eyed Peas, solo success, Josh Duhamel). "Don't worry," she concluded. "You'll always come back to your roots." ...

Paris Hilton is "ready to face the consequences of violating probation," she said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon (May 9) by her attorney, according to The Associated Press. "I do not expect to be treated better than anyone else who violated probation. However, my hope is that I will not be treated worse." The heiress, who has retained a new attorney, DUI specialist Richard Hutton, said she felt the "need to correct what I believe are misperceptions about me." She added that she is not "above the law." ...

Jay-Z swung by New York's City Hall on Wednesday to watch his mother receive a proclamation from the City Council for her "outstanding contributions to the community," AP reports. Gloria Carter oversees the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund, which offers higher-education aid and mentoring programs for disadvantaged youth, and she helped victims of Hurricane Katrina recover in Houston in 2005. "Very proud of her," Jay-Z said as they left the Council Chambers. ... Diddy, Nelly Furtado and Tom Jones have joined the lineup for the Concert for Diana, a July 1 event that will be held at Wembley Stadium in London to commemorate what would have been the late Princess of Wales' 46th birthday. Kanye West, Pharrell, Elton John, Lily Allen, Joss Stone and Duran Duran are also on the bill. ...

Akon has released a statement in the wake of a video that surfaced online and allegedly featured him dancing suggestively with an underage girl onstage in Trinidad. His statement also comes amid sponsor Verizon pulling out of Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape tour, which the rapper has been a part of. "I want to sincerely apologize for the embarrassment and any pain I've caused to the young woman who joined me onstage, her family and the Trinidad community for the events at my concert in Port of Spain on April 12," he said in the statement. "It was never my intention to embarrass or take advantage of my fans in any way, especially those under the age of 18. That is why we tried to make sure that the club did not admit anyone under 18 in the audience. Somehow, that standard was not met. Again, I apologize to those concerned and to all my fans and I pledge to all that we will strive to make sure this type of incident does not happen again." A spokesperson for Verizon confirmed to MTV News that the company has backed out of not just the Stefani tour but a new V Cast cell phone campaign that was set to feature Akon. The spokesperson stated the decision was made for a variety of reasons, not solely the underage-dancing incident. ...

A third woman has now testified that Phil Spector pulled a gun on her in the past, AP reports. Stephanie Jennings said in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday that the record producer previously threatened her with a gun and held her hostage in a hotel room. When she called 911, "[Spector] made the comment that, 'You can call your mom all you want, she can't help you now,' " Jennings said, adding that he didn't realize she was calling the emergency number. Spector was gone by the time police arrived, according to Jennings, and they didn't take her claims seriously. "They were treating me as if I was a call girl," she said. Jennings said she did not press charges and that Spector later invited her to subsequent parties. ...

Katharine McPhee and Kelly Rowland performed a musical tribute to the Bee Gees on Tuesday night as the group was honored at the BMI Pop Awards. The Gibb brothers were saluted as BMI Icons at the event, which was held in Beverly Hills, California. ... Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith is ganging up with an unlikely ally — ex-Black Sabbath frontman Glenn Hughes — for a performance at West Hollywood, California's Whisky a Go Go on June 2. The two worked together on Hughes' solo project from last year, Music for the Divine. This is the singer's first performance in support of the album. ...

Mandy Moore will perform "Extraordinary" on the season finale of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on May 20. The "Makeover" team will spend the two-hour show rebuilding the home of a single mother with two adopted, HIV-positive sons and lending a hand at Camp Heartland, which helps children with HIV. ... Chrisette Michele, who was featured on singles by both Jay-Z ("Lost One") and Nas ("Can't Forget About You") earlier this year, will open for Musiq Soulchild on tour. The two hit the road beginning July 6 in Baltimore and make stops in cities including Chicago (July 11), Philadelphia (July 20) and Los Angeles (August 4) before wrapping things up August 6 in San Francisco. ...

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will be in Los Angeles Thursday and Friday shooting scenes for "The Great Buck Howard," a film starring John Malkovich, Tom Hanks and Emily Blunt. CYHSY will play themselves in the film and contribute new songs as well. ... Is Ozzy Osbourne taking a tip from Stephen Colbert and the Decemberists? The Ozzman is asking fans to craft the video for his new single, "I Don't Wanna Stop," using performance footage of him and his band that was shot on green screen from seven angles. The winning entry will be serviced as the official clip for the song. Get your hands on the hi-res footage right here. ... Coheed and Cambria are beginning recording sessions for their next LP with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Stone Sour) in Los Angeles. Bassist Michael Todd, who left the band last August citing unspecified "personal reasons," has returned to the fold, and will contribute to the tentatively titled No World for Tomorrow. The disc should surface this fall, and will be the final chapter in the ongoing saga of Coheed and Cambria Kilgannon, the main characters in a story that wraps all the band's concept albums into one.

05.08.2007

Avril Lavigne is launching a new merchandise line in conjunction with her new album The Best Damn Thing — and she wants you to be part of it. The singer has teamed with Buzznet.com for the "Get Dressed by Avril" merch-model search, which kicked off Tuesday (May 8) right here. Lavigne is set to choose the winner, who will appear regularly on her Web site. To enter, fans need to take a photo of themselves in an Avril T-shirt and upload it to the site. The deadline to enter is May 21. ...

Nick Cannon knew how to turn up the romance when he popped the question to girlfriend Selita Ebanks Monday night. He took her for a ride in a chauffeured Rolls-Royce Phantom to New York's Times Square — right across the street from the MTV offices — where "Selita, will you marry me?" MTV's giant high-definition screen. Afterward, they celebrated with family and friends at a nightclub and ended the evening on a private jet back to L.A. She said yes, of course. ... The 50th annual Grammy Awards will be held Sunday, February 10, at Los Angeles' Staples Center, 50th Celebration Ambassador Quincy Jones and Joss Stone announced Tuesday. The show will air live on CBS. ...

Justin Timberlake is plenty busy with his own solo stuff these days, but in the meantime, 'NSYNC are being sued for more than $10 million for alleged copyright infringement, according to TMZ.com. Musician Troy Alexander claims, in a lawsuit filed in Las Vegas federal court Monday, that he met in 1990 with representatives at Jive Records — which 'NSYNC later signed to — and introduced the label to the song "Up Against the Wall." According to TMZ, a Jive representative said they were not aware of the claim. ...

After a Tuesday morning (May 8) court appearance, Busta Rhymes is free to drive ... for the time being. Rhymes' lawyer said a judge ruled against a prosecution motion to suspend the rapper's license following a driving-while-intoxicated arrest last week — in which a second breathalyzer test showed Rhymes was under the legal limit. Rhymes' attorney Scott Leemon also filed a sealed motion asking that the judge deny the prosecution's request to consolidate two assault cases that the MC is currently facing. Leemon detailed the defense's case in both incidents in an attempt to have them tried separately, noting that "Busta does have a valid defense to these charges." The judge will rule on the motions on July 10. Leemon said he also rejected two non-jail plea offers from the prosecution on Rhymes' DWI and driving with a suspended license cases as well as a plea in the assault cases that would have sent Busta to jail for one year . ...

My Chemical Romance canceled their Sunday night show in Portland, Maine, due to "continuing issues with their recent food poisoning," according to a post on the band's MySpace page. Members of the band and of support act Muse canceled and postponed several shows last week due to illness but the bands did play at the Bamboozle festival in New Jersey on Saturday. ... Fergie and John Legend are among the artists who will be hitting the stage bright and early in the coming weeks as part of the "Good Morning America" Friday morning concert series. The early-A.M. performances, which are held in New York's Bryant Park, kick off May 18 with Rascal Flatts. Fergie (May 25), Daughtry (June 1), Robin Thicke (June 8), Miley Cyrus (June 22), John Mayer (July 20) and Legend (August 3) are on this year's lineup. ...

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is still two and a half months away, but Amazon announced Tuesday that it has already taken 1 million pre-orders for the epic series' seventh and final book. The sixth title, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," also hit the milestone, but "Deathly Hallows" did it 79 days faster. ... Paris Hilton has rehired veteran publicist Elliot Mintz just a few days after she fired him. Following a night out of reconciliation on Monday, Mintz, 62, told Reuters that he was back on the job after getting canned over the weekend. Hilton blamed Mintz's bad advice after she received a 45-day jail sentence for a probation violation linked to an alcohol-related reckless-driving offense last year. ...

Jerry Cantrell and other members of Alice in Chains, Ace Frehley (Kiss), and Slipknot's Joey Jordison and Paul Grey will also play as part of the Black Tooth Band for the "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott all-star concert and auction, to be held May 17 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California. ... Ex-Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar has sold an 80 percent interest in his Cabo Wabo Tequila for a whopping $80 million, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Hagar's drink is the second-best-selling premium tequila in the U.S., having sold 147,000 cases last year. ...

My Morning Jacket aren't kidding around: The guitar band will be playing with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra when it performs August 5 at Chicago's Lollapalooza. "It is hard to even think of them as youth," singer Jim James said in a statement. "They hit with diamond-like precision. Pow!" ... Incubus have unveiled their summer touring plans, which include a 39-date North American outing that kicks off July 10 in Los Angeles. The tour will run through September 8 in Chula Vista, California. ... The Sydney, Australia, leg of the July 7 Live Earth global concert will be held at Aussie Stadium and will include performances by Crowded House, Jack Johnson, Wolfmother, John Butler Trio, Paul Kelly, Toni Collette & the Finish, Missy Higgins, Eskimo Joe, Sneaky Sound System, Ghostwriters and Blue King Brown. ...

All That Remains have been added to the lineup for the July 14 Sounds of the Underground stop in Sayreville, New Jersey. The tour will also feature bands including Shadows Fall, Every Time I Die, Chimaira, Gwar and the Number Twelve Looks Like You. ... Guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz will sit out Killswitch Engage's upcoming European tour while he continues to recover from back surgery, the band said in a statement. Dutkiewicz, who has been on the mend since January, is expected to be in shape by the time this summer's Warped Tour kicks off on June 29 in Pomona, California. In other Killswitch news, the band will be joined by Coheed and Cambria for a pair of Warped Tour off-date gigs, set for July 10 in Las Vegas and July 17 in New Orleans. ... Original Kilgore members Jay Berndt, Brian McKenzie, Bill Southerland and Jason "Smitty" Smith will reunite for a May 19 gig at Jake's Bar in Providence, Rhode Island. The show will act as a benefit for breast cancer and will be the band's first live performance in nearly a decade.

• Fergie
• Paris Hilton
• Jay-Z
• Diddy
• Nelly Furtado

New Found Glory's Jordan Pundik
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

When an event has been around for 13 years, it's usually time to shake things up. And while Ozzfest chose to do that by going free, the Vans Warped tour opted to piece together one of its most diverse rosters to date.

The tour, which will kick off June 28 at Chula Vista, California's Coors Amphitheater, is currently slated to play 45 shows through an August 25 date in Los Angeles with a lineup that includes Coheed and Cambria, Bad Religion, New Found Glory, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Cute Is What We Aim For, Bayside and Canadian rapper K-os.

Among the other groups that will be on the road with Warped all summer are Amber Pacific, Circa Survive, Tiger Army, Escape the Fate, Hot Rod Circuit, Big D and the Kids Table, Paramore, Gallows, the Matches, the Fabulous Rudies, Meg and Dia, All Time Low, Bleed the Dream, the Unseen, Escape the Fate, Spill Canvas, Evaline, Bless the Fall, Boys Like Girls, My American Heart, Vincent Black Shadow, Throw the Fight and Pepper.

Tour founder Kevin Lyman said he had plenty of options to choose from when putting together the roster. "We received over 4,000 submissions, so in booking the tour this year I felt that a diverse lineup was in order," he said in a press release announcing the dates. "The tour has always been a place to explore and discover new music. This year's lineup has old school, emo, punk, screamo, hip-hop, more ska than you have seen in a long time and everything in between. If you're open-minded, this will be a great show."

Members of the online Warped community will get their annual shot at Internet presale tickets starting April 1, where they'll be offered a ticket and a copy of the Warped Tour double-disc compilation for $19.99.

Among the other acts scheduled to play select dates are: A Static Lullaby, the Actual, Agent Orange, Alesana, Alkaline Trio, the Almost, Anberlin, As Cities Burn, As I Lay Dying, the Automatic, Biffy Clyro, the Briefs, the Briggs, Buck O Nine, Cinematic Sunrise, the Confession, the Dear and Departed, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Envy on the Coast, the Fall of Troy, Family Force 5, Fishbone, Flogging Molly, the Fold, Funeral for a Friend, the Graduate, Haste the Day, Hawthorne Heights, Human Abstract, I Am Ghost, Madina Lake, Mayday Parade, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, New Year's Day, Norma Jean, Parkway Drive, Pennywise, Pistolita, Play Radio Play, POS, Poison the Well, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Set Your Goals, So They Say, the Starting Line, Straylight Run, Supernova, the Toasters, Underoath, the Used, Valencia, The Vandals and Yellowcard.

More bands and dates are expected to be added in coming months.

Warped Tour dates, according to the tour's spokesperson:

· 6/28 - Chula Vista, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre
· 6/29 - Pomona, CA @ Los Angeles County Fairgrounds
· 6/30 - Ventura, CA @ Seaside Park
· 7/1 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
· 7/3 - Vancouver, BC @ Thunderbird Stadium
· 7/5 - Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
· 7/7 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah State Fairgrounds
· 7/8 - Denver, CO @ TBA
· 7/11 - Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
· 7/12 - Las Cruces, NM @ NMSU Practice Field
· 7/13 - Selma, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
· 7/14 - Dallas, TX @ TBA
· 7/15 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Center
· 7/18 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
· 7/19 - Jacksonville, FL @ Metropolitan Park
· 7/20 - Saint Petersburg, FL @ Vinoy Waterfront Park
· 7/21 - Miami, FL @ Bayfront Amphitheatre
· 7/22 - Orlando, FL @ Tinker Field
· 7/23 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
· 7/24 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
· 7/25 - Washington, DC @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
· 7/26 - Scranton, PA @ Montage Mountain Amphitheatre
· 7/27 - Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
· 7/28 - Tinley Park, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
· 7/29 - Minneapolis, MN @ HHH Metrodome
· 7/31 - Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
· 8/1 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Centre
· 8/2 - Cleveland, OH @ Tower City Amphitheatre
· 8/3 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
· 8/4 - New York, NY @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
· 8/5 - Englishtown, NJ @ Raceway Park
· 8/7 - Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
· 8/8 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion
· 8/9 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center Lot
· 8/10 - Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lakes Field
· 8/11 - Oshawa, ON @ Park Place
· 8/12 - Montreal, ON @ Parc Jean-Drapeau
· 8/14 - St. Louis, MO @ UMB Bank Pavilion
· 8/15 - Bonner Springs, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
· 8/17 - Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
· 8/18 - Seattle, WA @ Gorge
· 8/19 - Saint Helens, OR @ Columbia Meadows
· 8/23 - Fresno, CA @ Selland Arena
· 8/24 - Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
· 8/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ Home Depot Center

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