Snoop Dogg
Photo: Chris Farina/WireImage

While it may seem a little early to be thinking about your 2009 festival plans, next year's first major festival has just released its initial lineup. The sixth annual Langerado Music Festival will be taking place outside Miami from March 6-8. The event has been moved three times in as many years, finding a home this go-around in Bicentennial Park on Biscayne Bay. In the past, the park has been host to the Ultra Music Festival as well as the Warped Tour.

This year's lineup includes big names and an eclectic collection of supporting acts. Headlining the festival will be Snoop Dogg and Death Cab for Cutie. Additional acts include Dashboard Confessional, Gym Class Heroes, Girl Talk, Chromeo, Tokyo Police Club, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Thievery Corporation, Slightly Stoopid, Flogging Molly, Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids, Mute Math, Black Kids, the Faint, the Pogues, Zac Brown Band, Michael Franti & Spearhead, the Virgins and more. (For more information, head to the Langerado festival's site.)

The festival has grown significantly since it started in 2003. Similar to Bonnaroo in its early years, Langerado mainly focused on jam bands but has recently branched out to include a wider variety of acts, although jam-band-leaning artists, including the Disco Biscuits, Umphrey's McGee and Robert Randolph and the Family Band, will be performing.

Last year, the event was held at Big Cypress Indian Reservation in Florida's Everglades, which was host to Phish's Millenium New Year's Eve concert eight years ago. This year, instead of sharing land with the band, Langerado will be sharing dates: Phish's first reunion shows will take place the same weekend a few hundred miles north in Hampton, Virginia.

In addition to music, Langerado will offer local arts and crafts, food vendors and a variety of festival activities on-site at Bicentennial Park's 30 acres of waterfront.

• Snoop Dogg
• Death Cab For Cutie
• Dashboard Confessional
• Girl Talk
• Gym Class Heroes

Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba
Photo: MTV News

Chris Carrabba is only human: When people either criticize or hail his work with Dashboard Confessional, he takes it all in. And being human, there have been times when he's let some of that feedback influence the songs he's written and released over the years. But he won't be doing that anymore.

For Dashboard's forthcoming, yet-untitled LP, which has no official release date but is expected to drop before year's end, Carrabba said he reverted to his old creative methods by making the songs he wants to make.

"This record felt like, and still feels like, from the writing to the recording, a reclaiming of my own independence," Carrabba told MTV News' Tim Kash this week, before announcing his role on this fall's inaugural "Rock Band" Live Tour, which he's co-headlining with Panic at the Disco. "You begin to get yourself hung up on other people's expectations, and I don't think I do my best work when I think about what other people might think of the work I'm doing. When you do that, I think the process is robbed of its freedom a little bit. So I kind of found my way to an independent streak on this record. I was making the songs for the songs themselves and for me alone. I never played them for anyone else, and I didn't obsess about them too much. I'd write a song and move on, so there's a truthful feeling to the album."

Carrabba, who said he's still putting the finishing touches on the effort, said the writing and recording process has very much been a collaborative endeavor that's involved his entire band. This next record won't be, as so many DC records have been, a solo flight. And as much as his label would like to get the final product, he said he's not quite done with it yet.

"When I make a record, I finish it and I sit with it for a little while, and inevitably, I'll write a couple more songs and — it's happened just about every time — those other songs really shape the record, and almost every time, they've had the title track of the record," he said. "I don't close the door too early."

Carrabba said the new material is sounding "grandiose," which is an odd choice of words given earlier reports that the album has a more pop-centric vibe. Not so, he says — this one will be all "driving and energetic" rock.

"To me, it's a rock record in the vein of people that I've always loved like Weezer or the Pixies, but I guess those bands have great pop sensibilities. But to me, I view them as rock bands," he said. "If rock is popular at the time, it becomes pop. And I embrace pop music. But it doesn't sound poppier to me, so I just don't know if it is or it isn't. I'll take it if it is though, because I think people enjoy that."

Dashboard worked with producer Adam Schlesinger this time around, and Carrabba said it was Schlesinger's own work, as Fountain of Wayne's bassist, that inspired the band to seek him out.

"He's a fine producer in his own right, and I'd never worked with a producer who had written their own songs and had success with them," Carrabba said. "So I thought that that gave him a unique perspective on what I was doing, and I thought he might work as a good sounding board for the songs I've got. He taught me a lot, because he has a great sense of melody."

Lyrically, Carrabba said the new album focuses on his own life experiences. "I'm writing about the journey I have been on, and my life has taken me in some weird directions," he said. "Some have been great, some have been hard, and I looked to those things and to the people that surround me and have drawn stories out of those experiences. That's the one thing: When you write about what you know, as long as you keep living your life, you don't run out of creative impetus."

In addition to DC's next LP, Carrabba said he's been working on a mysterious side project, the details of which he's been asked to keep under his hat.

"I've been working with friends of mine from various bands that some people know about and some people don't — incredible musicians — and we've been doing something together," he said. "It's too soon to say how it is or what it means, but it's an eclectic and interesting group of people I'm excited about. It will be awhile before anyone hears anything, but it will be worth it when they do."

• Dashboard Confessional

Panic at the Disco
Photo: MTV News

You've been playing it in your basement for months, much to the chagrin of your parents and your girlfriend. Now, "Rock Band" will be coming to an amphitheater near you, along with Panic at the Disco and Dashboard Confessional. And if you're any good at the game, there's a chance that you, too, could end up rocking out onstage.

Panic and Dashboard are set to co-headline the inaugural "Rock Band" Live Tour, which kicks off October 5 in San Diego. The trek will hit 29 cities, wrapping up November 14 in Houston. Plain White T's and the Cab will be opening on all dates. Presale tickets go on sale August 1, and all remaining tickets will be available August 8.

On each date of the tour, "Rock Band" devotees who think they're up to the challenge can compete for a chance to take the main stage in between the bands' sets, where they'll rock through an entire song.

"It's the tour of your life, man," said Dashboard's Chris Carrabba, a self-professed "Rock Band" fan. "It's the greatest tour ever. We go and entertain you, but you also get a shot to get up onstage. The day you come to the show, you go to this area where they have gameplay, and you compete, head-to-head, against other players. And if you win, you get chosen to be onstage, playing in between bands, playing 'Rock Band.' "

Carrabba joked that he may even test his "Rock Band" skills with fans by entering some of the competitions.

"I went and got a fake ID with a different name, and I have a pair of sunglasses and a hat," he deadpanned. "[The game is] incredibly accurate. ... It's identical. And it's so intuitive for me, as a player, that I have become better at my instrument. It's gotten me a hotter girlfriend, it's made me better-looking, and I've made more money since playing it."

"Rock Band" Live will be Panic's first experience co-headlining a tour, and they're not so sure how that's going to work. "From what I hear, it's settled by the fist," bassist Jon Walker joked of determining the lineup. "That, or you pick out of a hat, which is not fun. We can run faster than Dashboard Confessional, so if it comes down to a foot race, it should be us."

Panic, who recently finished the Honda Civic Tour, said they'll be bringing a bigger, louder show to the stage for "Rock Band" and are hoping to go halfsies with Carrabba on a few backstage distractions.

"We're working stuff out with his management, and we're talking about splitting the cost of a Ping-Pong table to take out," Walker said. "Also, a Slurpee machine and a churro machine."

Dates for the "Rock Band" Live Tour, according to RockBandLiveTour.com:

» 10/5 - San Diego, CA @ San Diego Sports Arena
» 10/8 - Glendale, AZ @ Jobing.com Arena
» 10/9 - Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock Outdoors
» 10/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
» 10/11 - San Jose, CA @ San Jose State Event Center Arena
» 10/12 - Sacramento, CA @ Arco Arena
» 10/14 - Everett, WA @ Everett Events Center
» 10/16 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The E Center
» 10/17 - Denver, CO @ Broomfield Events Center
» 10/18 - Lincoln, NE @ Pershing Auditorium
» 10/19 - St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
» 10/21 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
» 10/22 - Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
» 10/23 - Ypsilanti, MI @ EMU Convocation Center
» 10/24 - Toronto, ON @ Arrow Hall
» 10/28 - Bridgeport, CT @ Arena at Harbor Yard
» 10/29 - Lowell, MA @ Tsongas Arena
» 10/31 - Washington, DC @ Patriot Center
» 11/1 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Spectrum
» 11/2 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
» 11/4 - Atlanta, GA @ Gwinnett Center
» 11/6 - Tampa, FL @ USF Sun Dome
» 11/7 - Miami, FL @ Bank United Center
» 11/8 - Gainesville, FL @ University of Florida O'Connell Center
» 11/9 - Orlando, FL @ UCF Arena
» 11/11 - Bossier City, LA @ CenturyTel Center
» 11/12 - Dallas, TX @ Nokia Theatre
» 11/13 - Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
» 11/14 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Arena

• Panic, Dashboard Co-Headline 'Rock Band' Live Tour
• Panic At The Disco Preach The Green Gospel To Fans

• Panic at the Disco
• Dashboard Confessional

Dashboard Confessional's <i>The Shade of Poison Trees</i> album cover
Photo: Vagrant Records

With Amazon's new DRM-free digital-music store up and running — and the first flurry of holiday releases descending on stores — we thought we'd pull together our own virtual record warehouse for all the music lovers out there. Happy hunting!

Rock:

Dashboard Confessional, a.k.a. Chris Carrabba, is already 16 songs into his next LP, but first he has his fifth album, The Shade of Poison Trees, to worry about. The effort finds him returning to his earlier acoustic sound and was recorded over the course of 10 days in Florida with producer Don Gilmore (Good Charlotte, Linkin Park).

But it's doubtful DC will have much on Bruce Springsteen, who is kicking it with the E Street Band on disc for the first time with Magic. The Boss slipped out a vinyl version of his 15th studio outing last week, presumably so it would get Grammy Award consideration, however he made another last-minute adjustment by tacking "Terry's Song," a tune dedicated to recently deceased longtime assistant Terry Magovern, onto the CD.

Matchbox Twenty are hoping their hits collection Exile on Mainstream can climb into a decent spot on the Billboard albums chart — to give it some extra oomph, Rob Thomas and the crew have tacked six new Steve Lillywhite-produced tracks onto the set in the form of a bonus EP. Still, it's fair to say that some music fans are happy now that one of the most ubiquitous bands of the last 10 years has finally been "exiled."

And do the Cult still have appeal? They're about to find out as their first album in six years, Born Into This, hits stores. Don't be scared off by the "Savage Edition" of the disc — it has five bonus cuts ... and a sticker!

Rap:

It's hardly Kanye West vs. 50 Cent, but given the dearth of rap releases this week, we'll settle for a lesser hip-hop face-off. Boyz N Da Hood — whose self-titled debut made a big splash upon its release in 2005 — are counting on Yung Joc to help their new one equal those heights. The Atlanta squad's Back Up N Da Chevy has a couple of guest spots by Joc, and Rick Ross and Ice Cube also rear their heads.

Meanwhile, Soulja Boy is shooting for strong numbers with his solo debut, the clunky-titled Souljaboytellem.com. The rap/dance sensation — who managed to slip a performance of his red-hot "Crank That" tune into the VMAs — also features "Soulja Girl," "Bapes" and "Yahhh" on his first disc.

R&B:

Another rookie is stepping out this week: J. Holiday, who has already been riding two singles: "Be With Me" and "Bed." The crooner is also trying to make the ladies swoon with "Laa Laa" and "Betcha Never Had" — could Tuesday (October 2) turn out to be his new holiday?

Trey Songz is hoping to have his own Trey Day at record stores as his second LP drops. The singer gets help from some friends in high places, including Jim Jones, Danjahandz, Bryan-Michael Cox, Dre & Vidal and R. Kelly, who helps Trey get his "Grub On" by producing the hilariously named track.

Last but not least, Sharon Jones has a few years on her R&B peers — she's 51! — but the Georgia singer is finding herself in the limelight thanks to her Dap-Kings backing band recently lending its skills to Amy Winehouse and Kanye West. Their 100 Days, 100 Nights album is saddled with an hourlong bonus disc playfully titled Binky Griptite's GhettoFunkPowerHour.

Indie Rock:

PJ Harvey has been on a major label, Island, for almost her entire career, but she's nevertheless regarded as one of the most revered queens in indie rock. She takes a turn on her first studio outing since 2004's Uh Huh Her, forgoing electric guitar altogether and writing the entire album on piano. Harvey is shadowed by Eric Drew Feldman (Frank Black, the Polyphonic Spree) and Dirty Three drummer Jim White over the course of the 11 songs, which include "Dear Darkness," "When Under Ether" and "Grow Grow Grow."

While Harvey is deep into her career, Chicago psych-pop squad the 1900s are only getting started — they're stepping up with their Cold & Kind debut this week. Oddly enough, the septet's violin player, Andra Kulans, is also a part of the Quartet Parapluie, who have performed with everyone from Kanye West to Clay Aiken. The Fleetwood Mac-esque band features keys, piano, strings and more.

But if you're starving for some throwback indie rock, look no further than Hungry Beat, a compilation surrounding '80s Scottish post-punks Fire Engines. Listed by Franz Ferdinand as one of their biggest influences, the short-lived but recently reunited band's entire output can be found on the 16-track set, which encompasses their short LP, three singles and alternate takes.

Metal:

Rhino has put together one of the most symbolic metal releases ever: The Heavy Metal Box, a limited-edition set that has four CDs but, better yet, comes in a faux amplifier box with a Marshall knob that turns up to 11. Fitting for the nod to Spinal Tap, the package also features a song by the band, in addition to a litany of classics by Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Slayer.

While its packaging pales in comparison, Megadeth's Warchest is even more extensive, as it too has four CDs but tosses in a DVD as well. With more than six hours of tuneage by Dave Mustane's band of ever-revolving bros, the set — adorned by a 3-D ammunition belt on the front — boasts 33 unreleased cuts.

On the new-metal front, Om put on the brakes with Pilgrimage, its latest slice of doom. Recorded by Steve Albini and mastered by his Shellac bandmate Bob Weston, the album features just four songs — the fourth is actually a reprise of the first! — and enough chanting to make you think you've been transported to Tibet.

Soundtracks:

There's something in store for everyone this week, even fans who love listening to movie music. The "Dan in Real Life" soundtrack has 11 new compositions by Norwegian folk/pop luminary Sondre Lerche, including seven cue cuts from the Steve Carell comedy, as well as a collabo between Lerche and Regina Spektor ("Hell No") and a song by A Fine Frenzy ("Fever").

And hard-core muzos are frothing over the re-release of David Bowie's very rare 1993 effort, The Buddha of Suburbia, which he made as a complement to the BBC-produced miniseries based on the novel of the same name. While only the title song — featuring Lenny Kravitz on guitar — was used in the miniseries, Bowie said in a recent press release, "This album may well have been one of the most enjoyable projects that I've been involved with."

Holiday Music:

Tempting as Carnie Wilson's Christmas With Carnie and Vickie Winans' Happy Holidays From Vickie Winans may sound, if you're in the market for holiday music, look no further than Oh Santa!: New and Used Holiday Classics From Yep Roc Records. Tracks by the Apples in Stereo, Cities and Minus 5 will keep your indie cred in check as you're slapping bows onto gift bags.

Here are few more tips to keep in mind while you're stocking up on new discs:

Don't Count Your Vines Before They Hatch
· Remember "Get Free"? How about warbling Vines frontman Craig Nicholls? If you do, you probably recall critics dubbing them "the next Nirvana" — well, it looks like "the next Strokes" would have been more appropriate, as their former label Capitol has assembled the portentous The Best of the Vines.

Ungdomskulen Aren't as Scary as They Sound
· Sure, the Norwegian band is raucous and has a new album that sounds equally threatening — Cry-Baby — but its name actually means "middle school" in Norwegian.

Don't Mix Up Siouxsie and Mariee Sioux
· Siouxsie, who has collaborated in the past with the Banshees and Creatures, is dropping her first full-fledged solo release, Mantaray. Mariee Sioux is a folk singer/songwriter whose Faces in the Rocks is coming out through Grass Roots.

Don't Judge an LP by Its Cover
For the Kids Three! looks like a soft children's album, but it's actually loaded with some choice artists. Of Montreal, O.A.R., Moby, Blitzen Trapper and Rogue Wave also contribute to the disc, which is helping benefit the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.

Song Title of the Week:

"Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus" from Emery's I'm Only a Man

Album Cover of the Week:

Sunburned Hand of the Man's Fire Escape

Other Notables:

The Most Serene Republic's Population
The Canadian collective started making a name for itself by touring with Feist and Broken Social Scene, and the band is teeing up its next release on the Arts & Crafts label that is also home to those other acts. Produced by the band and inspired by its hometown of Milton, Ontario, the album features 13 tracks that seem to have a colorful story behind each, like "Sherry and Her Butterfly Net," "The Men Who Live Upstairs" and "Humble Peasants."

Ryan Bingham's Mescalito
The 25-year-old Texas singer/songwriter has found himself rubbing elbows with Ryan Adams and Willie Nelson as part of the Lost Highway roster, and now he's hoping to measure up to some high expectations with his first-ever album. Produced by and featuring guitar work by former Black Crowes member Marc Ford, the LP features "Ghost of Travelin' Jones," "Take It Easy Mama" and "Southside of Heaven" — not to be mistaken with Slayer's "South of Heaven," of course.

Demander's The Unkindness of Ravens
The Hold Steady tourmates hail from New York and have already made their mark with a five-song EP and an intriguing animated video, for their song "Hollis." Now it's time for the requisite debut album, The Unkindness of Ravens, which sounds like a proggier version of Sleater-Kinney or Fugazi. Tracks include "GMT," "Baixo," "Elijah" and "TKO Ravens."

New Releases:

· The 1900s - Cold & Kind (Parasol)
· The 5 Browns - Browns in Blue (Sony Classics)
· Amplified Heat - How Do You Like the Sound of That (Arclight)
· Apollo Heights - White Music for Black People (Manimal Vinyl)
· Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Scared Famous (Hall of Records)
· Ryan Bingham - Mescalito (Lost Highway)
· Boyz N Da Hood - Back Up N Da Chevy (Bad Boy)
· The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Bringing It All Back Home Again (The Committee to Keep Music Evil)
· Bring Back the Guns - Dry Futures (Feow!)
· Brooks & Dunn - Cowboy Town (Arista)
· Peabo Bryson - Missing You (Peak)
· Care Bears on Fire - I Stole Your Animal (available on iTunes and CDBaby.com; Daisy Explosion)
· Cross Canadian Ragweed - Mission California (Universal South)
· The Cult - Born Into This ("Savage Edition" comes with five bonus tracks and a sticker; Roadrunner/ New Wilderness)
· Will Dailey - Back Flipping Forward (CBS)
· Dashboard Confessional - The Shade of Poison Trees (digipak; Vagrant) [Buy Now]
Read: "Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba Is Back To His Old, Prolific Self"
· Demander - The Unkindness of Ravens (self-release)
· Division Day - Beartrap Island (Eenie Meenie)
· Emery - I'm Only a Man (Tooth & Nail)
· Erasure - Storm Chaser (EP; Mute)
· Falling Up - Captiva (BEC)
· Felix Da Housecat - Virgo Blaktro and the Movie Disco (Nettwerk)
· Five O'Clock Heroes - Bend to the Breaks (High Wire)
· John Fogerty - Revival (Fantasy)
· Ari Gold - Transport Systems (Gold 18)
· Merle Haggard - The Bluegrass Sessions (McCoury Music)
· PJ Harvey - White Chalk (Island) [Buy Now]
· Richard Hawley - Lady's Bridge (Mute)
· J. Holiday - Back of My Lac (Capitol)
· Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights (with bonus CD; Daptone) [Buy Now]
Read: "Sharon Jones Is Finally In The Spotlight — Thanks To Amy Winehouse Stealing Her Band"
· Junius - Junius (Radar/S.A.F.)
· Rob Kendt - I'm Not Sentimental (Ruby)
· Stacey Kent - Breakfast on the Morning Tram (Blue Note)
· Annie Lennox - Songs of Mass Destruction (Arista)
· Darlene Love - It's Christmas. Of Course (Shout! Factory)
· Kevin Michael - Kevin Michael (Atlantic)
· Mobius Band - Heaven (Misra)
· The Most Serene Republic - Population (Arts & Crafts)
· Nightwish - Dark Passion Play (Roadrunner)
· Om - Pilgrimage (Southern Lord)
· Over the Rhine - Snow Angels (Great Speckled Dog)
· The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes (Cherry Tree)
· Prong - Power of the Damager (13th Planet)
· Chuck Prophet - Soap and Water (Yep Roc)
· Raccoon - Another Day (Another Label)
· John Ralston - Sorry Vampire (Vagrant)
· Rosetta - Wake/Lift (digipak; Nocturnal)
· The Sadies - New Seasons (Yep Roc)
· Saint Bernadette - In the Ballroom (Exotic)
· Mariee Sioux - Faces in the Rocks (Grass Roots)
· Siouxsie - Mantaray (Decca)
· Skeletonwitch - Beyond the Permafrost (Prosthetic)
· Soldiers - End of Days (Trustkill)
· Soulja Boy - Souljaboytellem.com (Interscope)
· The Spill Canvas - No Really, I'm Fine (Sire)
· Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Magic (Columbia)
· Sunburned Hand of the Man - Fire Escape (Smalltown Supersound)
· Take - Earthtones & Concrete (Inner Current)
· Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez - Live From the Ruhr Triennale - October 2005 (Train Wreck)
· Trey Songz - Trey Day (Atlantic) [Buy Now]
· Trolleyvox - Your Secret Safe/ Luzerne (two CDs; Transit of Venus)
· Ungdomskulen - Cry-Baby (Ever)
· Nico Vega - No Child Left Behind (EP; MySpace)
· Frankie Valli - Romancing the '60s (Motown)
· We Are Wolves - Total Magique (Dare to Care)
· We the Kings - We the Kings (S-Curve)
· Phil Wickham - Cannons (INO/Columbia)
· Tim Williams - When Work Is Done (Dovecote)
· Carnie Wilson - Christmas With Carnie (B3E)
· Vickie Winans - Happy Holidays From Vickie Winans (Destiny Joy)
· Zimbabwe Legit - House of Stone (pH Music/ Pro Se)
· Various artists - For the Kids Three! (Nettwerk)
· Various artists - Global Drum Project (Shout! Factory)
· Various artists - Oh Santa!: New and Used Holiday Classics From Yep Roc Records (Yep Roc)
· Various artists - "Dan in Real Life" soundtrack (Capitol)
· Various artists - "The Heartbreak Kid" soundtrack (Plan R)
· Various artists - "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?" soundtrack (Atlantic)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· David Bowie - "The Buddha of Suburbia" soundtrack (Capitol/EMI)
· David Byrne - Live From Austin TX (New West)
· Cake - B-Sides and Rarities (Upbeat)
· J.J. Cale - Rewind: Unreleased Recordings (Time Life)
· Chicago - The Best of Chicago: 40th Anniversary Edition (limited-edition two-CD set; Rhino)
· Charlotte Church - The Charlotte Church Collection (three CDs; Sony Classics)
· Depeche Mode - Exciter and Ultra (each set comes with DVD; Rhino)
· Celine Dion - These Are Special Times: Collector's Edition (with DVD; Columbia/Legacy)
· Bob Dylan - Dylan (also available as a three-CD box set and a limited-edition three-CD box set with red cloth; Columbia/Legacy)
· Fire Engines - Hungry Beat (Acute)
· Eliza Gilkyson - Live From Austin TX (New West)
· Amy Grant - Greatest Hits (special edition comes with DVD; Sparrow/ EMI America)
· Faith Hill - The Hits (special edition comes with DVD; Warner Bros. Nashville)
· Mick Jagger - The Very Best of Mick Jagger (deluxe edition comes with DVD; Rhino)
· Matchbox Twenty - Exile on Mainstream (with bonus EP; Atlantic)
· Martina McBride - White Christmas (RCA)
· Megadeth - Warchest (box set with four CDs and one DVD; Capitol/EMI)
· Buddy Rich - Time Out (Lightyear)
· Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs (Capitol/EMI)
· Ike & Tina Turner - The Ike & Tina Turner Story: 1960-1975 (three-CD box set; Time Life)
· The Vines - The Best of the Vines (Capitol)
· Various artists - The Heavy Metal Box (limited-edition four-CD box set; Rhino)
· Various artists - Welcome to Miami: 30 Sizzling Dance Tracks (two CDs; Water Music)

Music DVDs:

· Trace Adkins - "Greatest Video Hits" (Capitol)
· Asia - "Fantasia: Live in Tokyo" (Eagle Vision)
· The Beatles - "The Unseen Beatles" (BBC Warner)
· Dierks Bentley - "Video Hits" (Capitol)
· David Byrne - "Live From Austin TX" (New West)
· Glen Campbell - "Good Times Again" (Time Life)
· Celtic Woman - "A Christmas Celebration: Live From Dublin" (Manhattan)
· Elton John - "Elton 60: Live at Madison Square Garden" (two DVDs; Island/Mercury)
· Mahavishnu Orchestra - "Live at Montreux 1974-184" (Eagle Eye)
· Ramones - "It's Alive: 1974-1996" (two CDs; Rhino)
· Various artists - "Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story" (Stax)
· Various artists - "Stax/Volt Revue: Live in Norway" (Stax)

Digital Releases:

· Scott Walker - And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball? (limited-edition CD hits stores October 9; 4AD)

Coming Attractions:

October 9:
· Kid Rock - Rock N Roll Jesus (Atlantic)
· Jennifer Lopez - Brave (Epic) [Preorder]
· She Wants Revenge - This Is Forever (Geffen)

October 16:
· Eve - Here I Am (Geffen)
Read: "Eve Fulfills Her 'Fantasy' With Robin Thicke, Says She's Still Cool With Dr. Dre"
· Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light (Interscope)
· Thrice - The Alchemy Index: Vols. I & II: Fire & Water (Vagrant)

October 23:
· Seether - Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces (Wind-Up)
Read: "Seether Frontman Won't Respond To Amy Lee's Attack: 'I Just Refuse To Lower Myself To That Level' "
· Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead (Serjical Strike/ Reprise)
Read: "System Of A Down Frontman Serj Tankian On Intimate Solo LP: 'I Believe In It' "
· Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride (Arista)

• Dashboard Confessional
• Soulja Boy Tell'em
• Bruce Springsteen
• PJ Harvey
• Trey Songz

Mariah Carey
Photo: Mariah Carey/Getty Images

Mariah Carey got a win in court last week when a federal judge decided that a copyright-infringement case against her had no merit. Singer Rachele Chafir had sued Carey in April 2006, claiming that Carey's hit "It's Like That" was copied from her song "Sexy" and lifted key pieces, including the music, for the chorus. Chafir, who copyrighted the song in 2004, claimed Carey had access to "Sexy" since it was available on a Web site, but U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood decided that wasn't proof Carey or her collaborators had gone to the Web site or lifted the material, which wasn't "strikingly similar" enough to be considered infringement. With "no genuine issues of material fact," Wood closed the case. "It was the right decision," Carey's lawyer Ilene Farkas told MTV News. "The record was clear in this case." Meanwhile, Carey is moving on with her yet-untitled follow-up to The Emancipation of Mimi, which her record label confirmed is now due December 4. ...

Going, going ... to Cooperstown. And with an asterisk on it. Baseball star Barry Bonds' record-breaking home-run ball, which was purchased two weeks ago in an online auction by hip-hop fashion mogul Marc Ecko, will be heading to the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum after all. Ecko bought the ball and launched a Web site giving fans the chance to vote on the ball's final destination: outer space or to Cooperstown, with or without an asterisk signifying Bonds' alleged steroid use in helping him become the all-time home-run king. The announcement was made Wednesday morning (September 26) on the "Today" show after a week of voting. According to Vote756.com, over 10 million votes were cast, of which 47 percent chose to send the tagged ball to the famed baseball museum. ...

The twisted saga of the investigation into the unsolved 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G. took another turn this week when Waymond Anderson, an inmate serving life for murder, recanted testimony in which he had implicated the Los Angeles Police Department in the rapper's murder. The Los Angeles Times reports that Anderson said in a recent deposition that he lied about LAPD involvement as part of a "scam" cooked up with two other convicts to get a big monetary settlement from the city of Los Angeles. Most shockingly, Anderson accused the rapper's family — which has filed a wrongful-death suit seeking damages from the city — and its lawyer of taking part in the scheme and offering to pay him a percentage of the settlement for false testimony against the LAPD. In the August 20 testimony, Anderson said he had never met the officers he implicated, despite earlier statements in which he described conversations with the two disgraced ex-LAPD cops. A lawyer for Biggie's family, Perry Sanders, called Anderson's allegations "100 percent, demonstrably false," adding yet another twist to the already-knotted-up story by saying that Anderson appeared to be changing his story at the behest of Chuck Philips, a Times reporter who has written extensively about the murder investigation and has questioned the theory of LAPD involvement. Phillips and the Times dismissed the allegations. ...

In other Biggie news, the recently released documentary "The Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life" follows the rapper's life from his early days to his death with interviews from many of the behind-the-scenes music-industry figures and friends who watched the rapper rise from a street-corner hustler to one of the biggest rap stars in the world. The film also features several minutes of previously unreleased footage shot by a bystander of the scene on the night Biggie was gunned down. The fan's video — which director Peter Spirer ("Beef," "Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel") said has been reviewed by authorities — doesn't capture the moment Biggie's car was shot at, but it does have audio of the shots and shaky footage of the chaotic aftermath. ...

Embattled football player Michael Vick is facing stricter release conditions after testing positive for marijuana earlier this month, The Associated Press reports. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson imposed the new conditions, which include restricting Vick to his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring and making him submit to random drug tests. He was ordered to continue participating in substance-abuse and mental-health counseling. Vick was put under pretrial release supervision in July, and the restrictions included refraining from the use of narcotic drugs or other controlled substances. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who pleaded guilty in August to federal dogfighting charges, is awaiting sentencing December 10 — and Vick's violation of the conditions of his release could be taken into consideration by the judge. He faces up to five years in prison for the federal charges, and has been indicted on additional state charges in Virginia as well. ...

A second woman has filed a lawsuit against Lil Wayne over a melee that broke out during one of his shows at Morgan State University in Baltimore in October. According to an AP story, Carlisa Dixon said she was impaled on a metal pole after the crowd surged to snatch up money that was being tossed from the stage. Dixon is seeking $1 million from Wayne's record label and touring companies, and another $1 million from the university, claiming she underwent surgery for a puncture wound as a result of the crowd surge. A lawsuit was filed in August by another woman who claimed she was trampled in the same money-throwing incident. A spokesperson for Wayne could not be reached for comment at press time. ...

A man died at a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Monday night in what police think may have been a crowd-surfing or moshing accident. The Canadian Press reports that Vancouver police say the man was unconscious when he was dragged out of the crowd at the Pacific National Exhibition Forum during the show and worked on by first-aid personnel on site before being transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have ruled out foul play. ... The Voodoo Music Experience is shifting locations, but just slightly. The fest, to take place October 26-28, has a new site in New Orleans City Park to accommodate ongoing restoration and improvement of the park. The shift brings the fest closer to Tad Gormley Stadium, where Voodoo was first held in 1999. ...

Do you march to Nelly's beat? The rapper is cobbling together a marching band for his performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards on October 13. Auditions will be held Sunday starting at 11 a.m. in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans and St. Louis, and Nelly is looking for girls who can play drums, tri-toms, bass drum, tuba or trumpet. Prospective players need to know how to perform his song "Grillz" and move to the beat of the song while playing their instruments. Final auditions will be held October 8 in Atlanta, and those who can't make the auditions in person can post a one-minute video clip on Nelly's drum-line-audition site. ... If you've been doubting Swizz Beatz's fashion sense, think again — Gap has tapped the hugely popular producer for its spring ad campaign. ...

VH1 Rock Docs picked up its first Emmy win on Monday as "DMC: My Adoption Journey" earned the award for News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming. The program, which revolves around the Run-DMC member's search for his birth mother, premiered in February 2006 and will re-air on VH1 on Saturday at 10 p.m. ... Have you already imported Babyface's Playlist into your own playlist? Then mark you calendar — the singer is putting together a tour in support of his recently released LP. Babyface will play a gig in the Philippines on October 13, followed by a stretch in Japan; after that he'll hit Oakland, California, on November 23, and Sparks, Nevada, the following day. ...

During a recent visit to "The Howard Stern Show," Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx spoke out about drummer Tommy Lee and his apparent departure from the band. He told Stern that Lee quit, and Sixx blamed the current legal problems the band is having with one of its former managers for the turmoil. Sixx said that, since Lee isn't the Crüe's frontman or chief songwriter, the band should be fine without him. He added that he harbors no ill will toward Lee. ... Snow Patrol keyboardist Tom Simpson was expected to appear in court in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday to answer to drug-possession charges filed against him this summer. While the charges weren't dropped, the prosecution doesn't intend on taking "further action," meaning the charges will either have to be re-raised again or dropped altogether. ...

Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard's side project Brad are getting back together for a one-night-only show on October 17 at New York's Webster Hall. The benefit event will also feature Billy Bragg and be hosted by Tim Robbins. It is being held to support Woody and Marjorie Guthrie, and the 40th anniversary of the Huntington's Disease Society of America, which was founded by Marjorie. ... Puddle of Mudd aren't ones for Southern hospitality, apparently. Frontman Wesley Scantlin has been banned from Memphis' Graceland after hopping in the pool in Elvis Presley's mansion during a tour on Monday. ...

The Eagles will perform on an awards show for the first time when they take the stage at the Country Music Awards, which will air November 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Carrie Underwood is also slated to perform. ... The Rolling Stones' recent tour didn't just carry the band to the top of Forbes' list of biggest-earning music acts — it landed them in the Guinness World Records, according to Reuters. The classic-rockers' A Bigger Bang tour took $437 million dollars to give them a new record, for the world's most successful music tour. ...

Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God will be teaming up for a late-fall co-headlining tour, which is set to kick off November 28 in Lowell, Massachusetts, with dates booked through December 17 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. DevilDriver and Soilwork will open on all dates. ... Chris Cornell has added another round of dates to his North American tour, which began in the spring. He has booked another 28 gigs, meaning the trek will continue through November 23, when he's expected to perform at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. ...

A photo from Elton John's collection has been pulled from a British gallery where it was to be displayed over concerns by police that it might be child pornography. The photo — which was taken by award-winning American photographer Nan Goldin — shows two young girls, one with her legs spread apart, and was to be displayed at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in northern England before it was seized by police, according to London's Times Online. John released a statement, explaining, "The photograph entitled 'Klara and Edda belly-dancing' (1998) is one of 149 images comprising the 'Thanksgiving' installation by renowned U.S. photographer Nan Goldin ... The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world [and] has been offered for sale at Sotheby's New York in 2002 and 2004, and has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid [Spain], New York, Portugal, Warsaw [Poland] and Zürich [Switzerland] without any objections of which we are aware."

09.25.07

While her fellow Black Eyed Pea Will.I.Am is hyping his new project, Songs About Girls, Fergie isn't slowing down with her own solo affair, last year's The Dutchess. The singer just shot a clip for the song "Clumsy" with directors Marc Webb (Diddy, the Pussycat Dolls) and Rich Lee (Chamillionaire, Dashboard Confessional). The surreal, humorous clip features Fergie falling head over heels — get it? — for love in various scenarios. ...

A House panel cast a congressional light on hip-hop lyrics on Tuesday (September 25), with David Banner and Master P giving sharply different views. The Associated Press reports that the latter rapper (real name: Percy Miller) told the Energy and Commerce subcommittee that he is determined to create clean lyrics. "I want to apologize to all the women out there. I was honestly wrong," he said of his prior material. Banner (real name: Levell Crump), on the other hand, defended his profane lyrics, saying, "Change the situation in my neighborhood, and maybe I'll get better." But while P and Banner didn't see eye to eye in terms of who is responsible for derogatory language in hip-hop, they agreed that the government shouldn't censor lyrics. "If by some stroke of the pen hip-hop was silenced, the issues would still be present in our communities. Drugs, violence, sexism and the criminal element were around long before hip-hop existed," Banner said. According to AP, the hearing was similar to the 1985 event in which late rocker Frank Zappa made a feisty appearance also railing against censorship. ...

Like the sound of the "Rocawear Arena" instead of the "Continental Airlines Arena"? Yeah, so does Jay-Z. The ambitious hip-hop mogul is bidding for the arena's naming rights, according to New Jersey's Star-Ledger. Although he is the co-owner of the New Jersey Nets and his Rocawar is a sponsor of the NBA team — which currently plays at Continental — sportswear maker Southpole has made the highest bid so far, $2 million. But there's a catch: The reason the name is up for grabs is because Continental is backing out of its deal with the arena, and both the Nets and hockey team the New Jersey Devils are planning to move to other venues. ...

Life isn't getting any easier for Britney Spears. Kim Robard-Rifkin, the reported woman whose car the singer hit in August — for which she was charged with two misdemeanors on Friday — has spoken out to CelebTV.com. "I was not surprised with the criminal charges — this is what happens when somebody hits your car and runs — especially when it is all caught on video," she said in a statement. Spears' former bodyguard Tony Barretto also spoke out on Monday, telling "Today" show host Matt Lauer that he had witnessed her using drugs on two occasions. While Barretto did not specify which drugs he supposedly saw her taking, he said both incidents occurred at a nightclub in Los Angeles, one at the table she was sitting at and the other in a private restroom. When Lauer asked him about a third incident in which he alleges to have seen her strung out in a Los Angeles hotel room, Barretto replied, "I did." ...

Sarah Silverman was surprised by the reaction that met her controversial VMA monologue, in which she flung derogatory insults at Britney Spears, among others, she told Us Weekly. Regarding one of her saltiest remarks — that Spears' kids "are the most adorable mistakes you will ever see" — Silverman replied, "The joke that everyone was upset about ... was the most innocuous joke. It never occurred to me that [it] would be deemed hurtful or over the line." She also told the magazine for its new issue, which streets Friday, "I don't want to get into feuds with girls half my age. I'm in it to be funny and not for the drama. It's embarrassing." ...

Look, up in the sky, it's a new Gnarls Barkley album! And as Cee-Lo recently told MTV News of the follow-up to St. Elsewhere, "It sounds otherwordly. ... It sounds like an original, if I do say so myself. The theme is progression and how there's a first time for everything. You just have to go for it." Beyond that, though, Cee-Lo didn't want to give up too much. Asked about collaborators, he demurred: "Danger Mouse is my special guest. He's my counterpart in the enigma of Gnarls Barkley." No duh — we meant, anyone else? "Let me continue to surprise you," Cee-Lo smiled. For those who caught Cee-Lo's take on Prince's "Darling Nikki" with the Foo Fighters at the VMAs, he wants fans to know that his performance at the show was supposed to be a surprise appearance with Amy Winehouse, "believe it or not." But since she had to bail from the show, he's saving that collaboration for a future appearance. ...

The Sex Pistols — who just tacked two more gigs onto their upcoming November reunion in London, according to BBC News — have another trick up their collective sleeve: A newly recorded rendition of their punk staple, "Anarchy in the U.K." The band entered the studio for the first time in 30 years to record the track, which will surface on "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock." ... As I Lay Dying clearly have more than a few gasps left — the metal band edged out Switchfoot, Jason Mraz and others to win the San Diego Music Award for Artist of the Year. AILD nabbed the same honor in 2005. ... Canadian singer/songwriter Patrick Watson and his band have pulled off an arguably more impressive feat: The Montreal quartet have nudged by Arcade Fire and Feist to land the Polaris Music Prize for Best Album. ...

Despite the recent head injuries sustained by guitarist Brent Hinds, Mastodon have booked a gig, opening for the Queens of the Stone Age on October 29 in Los Angeles. The band is also scheduled to appear at the Vegoose festival on October 27 in Las Vegas, where Hinds was jumped following Mastodon's performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Police claim Hinds was attacked outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on September 10 during an encounter with System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian and his friend William Hudson. According to police, Hudson assaulted Hinds, and Odadjian witnessed the incident. ... While at the VMAs, Mastodon told MTV News that they wrote their best song ever — even though it's not quite finished yet — while on the way to the big show. "It's pretty much the best record we've yet to write," guitarist Bill Kelliher said before singing a couple of the riffs with Hinds. "That's how it goes — du-duh-du-duh na-nah-nah. We wrote it in the car on the way over here, at least the intro of it. Part one. We're at the really beginning stages. It's going to be awesome, though. Everything we do is amazing." ...

The Game entered his expected not-guilty plea on Tuesday to three felony counts stemming from a pickup basketball game in Los Angeles in February. The rapper (real name: Jayceon Taylor) is free on $50,000 bail and has a pretrial hearing set for October 30. ... Jack Bauer might not be such a hero after all: Kiefer Sutherland was arrested early Tuesday morning for drunken driving in Hollywood, Reuters reports. The actor was pulled over after making an illegal U-turn and blew more than the .08 legal limit upon taking a breathalyzer test. He posted $25,000 bail at a Hollywood police station and is due in court on October 16. ...

The Phil Spector murder trial is in the hands of the jury now, but that hasn't stopped more bizarre developments from emerging in the case. According to AP, over the weekend, a threatening post appeared on a MySpace page possibly belonging to the music producer's wife, Rachelle. "I love Phil Spector!!! The Evil Judge Should Die!!!! Xoxo Chelle," read the post, a police spokesperson told the news outlet. The page, which features an image of Rachelle wearing a "Team Spector" tee, was referred to a sheriff's department unit that investigates such threats. The post has since been removed. ...

Amazon's new digital-music store is up and running, with songs going for 89 to 99 cents and albums selling for around $6-$10. The songs, which don't have copyright protections, can be burned onto CDs and copied to multiple computers. Record-label giants Universal and EMI, in addition to a flood of indie labels, are selling their songs through the site. ... A former trustee in James Brown's estate might have misappropriated up to $7 million of the late music legend's money, special administrators told a South Carolina judge on Monday. State Circuit Judge Jack Early told David Cannon, the former co-executor of Brown's will, to pay $400,000 and produce additional documents. Early also said Brown's family could pursue the claims. ...

The Cult will headline the fall installment of the Jägermeister Music Tour, which is set to launch October 17 in Pala, California, and run through mid-December, with the full list of dates coming soon. Rounding out the bill will be Vietnam, the Cliks and Action Action. ... Former L7 leader Donita Sparks is going out on her own with her debut solo effort, Transmiticate, due January 22. The effort, which will feature her new backing band, the Stellar Moments, shifts away from the grunge and metal sounds that defined L7 and tinkers with more pop and dance elements. ...

Fans of Los Angeles ska act Hepcat are mourning the passing of bassist Dave Fuentes, 36. While details are scarce, the band did issue a statement, saying, "We are sad to announce that our brother, beloved bandmate and amazing friend, David Fuentes, is no longer with us. He will be missed by everyone but especially everyone in the Hepcat family." He leaves a wife, Yohanna, and two sons, Andrew, 7, and Darren, 3. A memorial fund has been established to help his family. ... A special-effects technician working on the set of the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" was killed when a truck carrying a camera platform rammed into a tree on Monday in London, AP reports. Filming was not taking place at the time of the accident, which is under investigation.

• Mariah Carey
• Notorious B.I.G.
• Lil Wayne
• The Smashing Pumpkins
• Killswitch Engage

Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba
Photo: Marina Chavez

Before the release of 2006's Dusk and Summer, Chris Carrabba made fans of his band Dashboard Confessional wait three long years for a new album. In 2003, the band had issued A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar, which earned Carrabba a major label deal — but then, nothing.

It wasn't like Chris, when you consider that emo's poster child released two studio LPs and three EPs between 2000 and 2003. Carrabba said he didn't mean to make his fans wait (see "Secrets? Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba Has A Few About Dusk And Summer"). He blames signing with Interscope Records for the album lag.

"I got really spooked being on a major, and it took me a long time to come to grips with that," he told MTV News recently. "It was like, 'How do you do this without being soul-sucking?' "

But Carrabba plans to make up for lost time — and make it up to his faithful followers — by doing things the way he used to, back when he first started out.

"I did take a break, and I beat myself up over it and I didn't like it," he said. "With Dusk and Summer, I had never been in the 'machinery' quite like that. I have to admit, it's not quite as bad as people can make it out to be, but it's certainly not as good as the way I had done it before."

Carrabba returns to form with The Shade of Poison Trees, Dashboard's fifth studio LP, which hits stores on October 2. And if that isn't enough, the man said he's already thinking about his next record.

"I'm about 16 songs into it," he explained. "It usually takes me between seven and 10 songs before I'll say, 'This is going to be an album.' I usually write somewhere between 20 and 40 songs when I'm making a record ... but it's always very clear to me that it's only those 12 songs or whatever that'll make the final product. Other songs become lost immediately. I think of it like stretching before you lift weights. It's about getting back in the process and sweeping away the cobwebs."

There are no plans yet to record the new tracks, he said. He hopes to write more and then hit the studio as soon as he returns from a fall tour with former Dashboarder John Ralston and Say Anything's Max Beemis, which kicks off September 28 in Baltimore and runs through November 14 in New York. He wouldn't estimate a possible release date for the LP, but is anxious to get to work on it. And yes, he'd like to work once again with producer Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne), who helmed The Shade of Poison Trees and Dusk and Summer.

Carrabba wrote Shade over a 10-day period, and recorded it in just three weeks. But no one knew the album was even in the works until last month, when Carrabba finally spilled the beans. The disc predominantly features Carrabba on acoustic guitar, along with the rest of his band on a handful of tracks. The singer had been trying to find a home for one of its songs, "The Rush," for four years. So why keep Shade a secret?

"I'm not sure I was keeping it a secret," he said. "I was making this record, and I enjoyed the autonomy. It wasn't like this clandestine operation — the impulse hit us to work on something, and everybody was free, so, it was just, 'Let's go do this record, and see what becomes of it.' ... I had secretly hoped that I would kind of get to release a record [the way I used to] ... to do the job and really be invested with our energy, but not have a lot of fears and thoughts.

"I think that I may have held onto it a bit longer before telling anyone I'd done it because I wanted to be able to release it in a low-key manner," Carrabba continued. "It really did feel right, and it still feels right — holding it that close to my chest. It's supposed to be a personal thing for my fanbase and I wanted them to know before anyone else — almost including the record label."

Carrabba repeated the same claim he's made about pretty much every record he's ever crafted before: This one's the most personal of the bunch (see "Carrabba: Dashboard's Next LP Will Be Really Confessional").

"I think I thought I was being open after A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar, and I thought when I was writing Dusk and Summer that I was still being open about things, but I've had time to reflect, and I realize I put a little guard up," he said. "I hid behind poetry or guitar sounds or something. I wasn't less personally invested in the album; there was just a guard I didn't realize was up. And there was still a guard up — maybe a hair — with Shade, but I feel this is the album that brought me back to that place where I could be a little bit more clearly honest with myself, and so I took it and ran with it."

He knows what his fans expect of him and feels he delivers on Shade.

"People dig on me for being honest," he said "They don't want illusion. If they want that, they can listen to some hip band with tighter pants than I wear."

• Dashboard Confessional

Kevin Federline and Britney Spears
Photo: Getty Images/ Matthew Simmons

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline finalized their divorce Monday (July 30) in Los Angeles Superior Court, The Associated Press reports. "They are divorced. Everything is finalized," Spears' lawyer Laura Wasser said after the hearing. A court commissioner signed the orders for dissolution of marriage, child custody and an alimony agreement, the latter of which won't be made public unless an enforcement issue arises. The child-custody order — which details the former couple's timeshare schedule and transportation matters — was sealed for the time being for safety reasons, pending a hearing slated for August 14. ...

Could a 17-second snippet of a song called "Candy Shop" be a leak from Madonna's upcoming album? Fans speculate that it's of a track Madonna was working on with either Timbaland or Pharrell — but reps for none of the three camps would confirm. "I have no comment about the song 'Candy Shop,' " Madonna's longtime rep Liz Rosenberg told MTV News. "Madonna has studio time booked and is continuing to work on her new CD. The songs are not mixed, and until that time, we can't finalize the track list." The yet-untitled album is due later this year. ...

Christina Aguilera scratched two shows in Australia slated for Saturday and Monday due to the flu — more specifically, a viral upper-respiratory tract infection. "I want to personally apologize to all of my fans for having to cancel my last two shows here in Melbourne," the singer said in a statement. "Thank you for all of the continued love and support and I hope to perform for you all again next time." In the statement, the singer didn't address ongoing pregnancy rumors. ... Lindsay Lohan is "in a very good place right now," her mother Dina told reporters Monday outside a New York courthouse, where she was battling with Michael Lohan over custody of three of their children. Lindsay's exact whereabouts are still unknown. ...

According to Jermaine Dupri, fans will have to wait a while longer for new Janet Jackson music — she's not going to be featured on the "Rush Hour 3" soundtrack. The producer posted a message on his MySpace page saying, "To answer all questions about [the] 'Rush Hour 3' soundtrack, I ended up not doing it 'cause the movie takes place in Paris and a lot of the music didn't fit. So all of you looking for that Janet record, you gotta wait till she's finished with the new album. Sorry." ...

Desert gold: Paul Wall is shoving off to the Persian Gulf for his second USO tour. "Being a part of a USO tour and performing for the troops is amazing," Wall said. "It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and to forget what's happening overseas," he said in a statement. "This is my way of letting them know I realize what they're sacrificing and am truly grateful." ... The Black Eyed Peas will headline the "Jerusalem Rocks!" festival, set to take place September 9 in Israel. The multi-culti act will be joined by Arrested Development and various local acts. ...

Korn's Jonathan Davis has one thing to say to Devo's Jerry Casale: no hard feelings. Responding to the flap that ensued over Korn's fake movie trailer that appeared to cop Devo's "de-evolution" concept, Davis said in a statement to Rolling Stone: "Korn never claimed to be the first to expose de-evolution, our hats are going off to Devo for that." He added, "They are pioneers for sure! However, we are glad to see that our efforts have them speaking up again! It's good to have them back." Davis closed with a requisite plug: "In the meantime, our researchers continue to uncover key evidence of de-evolution at the highest levels (EvolutionDevolution.com)." ...

Chamillionaire, Forest Whitaker and Babyface were among the attendees at Russell Simmons' eighth annual Art for Life event Saturday night. The charitable festivities took place in East Hampton, New York, and raised $1.4 million for underprivileged children in New York. ... Polow Da Don, Mark Ronson and Timbaland protégé Nate "Danjahandz" Hills were among those who made it on Vibe's 14th annual Juice list. Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama graces the cover. ... Damon Dash hobnobs with Ashton Kutcher, Sofia Coppola and Renée Zellweger on Vanity Fair's 68th Best-Dressed List, which appears in the magazine's September issue. George Clooney was named to the list's Hall of Fame, while Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie made it to the couples list — surprised? ...

Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin and bassist Duff McKagan joined ex-GN'R drummer Steven Adler and his Adler's Appetite for a couple of Appetite for Destruction songs during a concert at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California, on Saturday. Slash, who had made it to the venue earlier that evening, did not end up performing during the quasi-reunion. The gig was scheduled in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the release of the band's 1987 debut, Appetite for Destruction. ... Peter Hook threatens offhandedly in a post on his MySpace page that he might take his former New Order bandmates to court, now that they've decided to continue performing as the band without him. He says Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris shouldn't assume they "have the rights to do anything New Order-ey" because he has "still got a third." ...

Metric will swing through the States for a three-week trek starting September 19 in Philadelphia and winding down October 9 in Seattle, RollingStone.com reports. The indie-rockers will record their fourth album in November. ... Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba will ship out for his first solo trek in five years on September 14 in Rochester, Michigan. With Augustana and John Ralston in tow, Carrabba will conclude the extensive trek November 14 in New York. ... The Offspring have parted ways with drummer Atom Willard and recruited Saves the Day's Pete Parada to take his place. Parada will make his debut with the Offspring next month when they perform at the Summer Sonic festival in Japan. Willard, in the meantime, has moved over fulltime to Angels & Airwaves. ...

It was a rough weekend for aging rock legends. First, Kiss singer/guitarist Paul Stanley had to sit out a show in San Jacinto, California, on Friday night after suffering a bout of tachycardia, which caused his heart to speed up to twice its normal rate. On his Web site, Stanley, 55, explained that during a rehearsal for the show, "my heart spontaneously jumped to 190-plus beats per minute, where it stayed for over an hour, necessitating paramedics to start an IV and give me a shot to momentarily stop my heart and get it into a normal pattern." The rest of the group played as a trio in Stanley's absence ...

The news was a bit better for Ozzy Osbourne, who was treated at and released by a Denver hospital over the weekend. Reuters reports that a statement from Osbourne's management on Sunday read: "Ozzy Osbourne had a minor outpatient procedure at Rose Medical Center late last night. He was released early this morning and is doing well." Osbourne, 58, is expected to perform at Monday's Ozzfest in Kansas City, Missouri. KUSA-TV in Denver reported that the surgery, which took place after Saturday's Ozzfest show, was for a blood clot in Osbourne's leg. He had complained of leg pain prior to the gig. ... Is Kelly Osbourne following in Ashlee Simpson's footsteps? Ozzy's daughter is joining the cast of "Chicago" at the Cambridge Theatre in London's West End for a seven-week run. She'll play Mama Morton, the matron of Cook County Jail. ...

Atlanta metallers Daath are stuck in Denver, meaning they'll miss some more Ozzfest dates. According to the bandmembers, they missed last week's stops in Phoenix and Oklahoma City because the airport shuttle bus they rented to get from city to city during the summer tour had broken down. Plans have been made to rent the band an RV, but complications with the vehicle haven't been resolved. There's no word yet on when Daath will return to the tour. ... DevilDriver have joined this summer's Ozzfest, taking over the second-stage slot abandoned last week by Mondo Generator. ... In the meantime, New York metal act Bloodsimple have been added to a competing fest: the Family Values Tour. They'll play the second stage. ...

Al Gore III, son of the the former vice president, pleaded guilty on Monday to two felony and three misdemeanor counts of drug possession stemming from his arrest while driving in Orange County, California, earlier this month. He agreed to enter a nine-month drug program, and the charges could be dropped if he finishes it. ... Visionary filmmaker Ingmar Bergman died Monday on an island off the coast of Sweden. He was 89. Woody Allen once called the director — three of whose films won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film — "probably the greatest film artist ... since the invention of the motion picture camera," according to The Associated Press.

07.27.07

As Kelly Clarkson fans know, the singer wrote or co-wrote every track on her new album My December — but they probably don't know just how quickly. "I've written every song in 15 to 20 minutes. It has to come out of me like that, or it won't at all," Clarkson told Self for its August issue cover story. "It's not even that hard a thought process for me." She revealed to the magazine that she has a microphone hooked up to her computer, which she keeps by her bed so she can record music when a song pops into her head. She has drafts of 150 new songs saved. Check out behind-the-scenes video from the cover shoot on Self.com. ...

A Britney Spears bodyguard is facing a battery charge after wrestling with a pair of men who were trying to photograph the singer with her children in Las Vegas on Thursday, The Associated Press reports. Cesar Julio Camera was issued a misdemeanor battery summons after allegedly grabbing and punching one photographer and pushing another into a wall. Spears and Kevin Federline are involved in divorce proceedings in California that include restrictions on traveling out of state with the children, according to AP. ...

Have a burning "Harry Potter" question for J.K. Rowling? Look out for the J.K. Rowling and the Open Book Tour Sweepstakes launching Monday — 1,000 fans will get a pair of tickets to an evening with the author on October 19 at New York's Carnegie Hall. Rowling will read from "Deathly Hallows," answer questions and autograph copies of the volume. Go to publisher Scholastic's Web site for details. ...

Kid Rock is priming his first studio album in four years — and on the release, he finds room to take a jab at ex-wife Pamela Anderson, Billboard.com reports. The album — due October 9 and tentatively titled Rock'n'Roll Jesus — closes with the country song "Half Your Age," in which Rock says he's found a younger girlfriend who's "twice as hot." The LP also includes a mash-up of Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," and is dedicated to Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, who passed away last year. Kid Rock told Billboard he wants the album to make people feel as if they were "going to church drunk on Saturday night." ... Beck and Jamie Lidell have ganged up for a direct-to-disc recording session at a studio in East Los Angeles, Pitchfork reports. ...

Fall Out Boy already have more songs in the can — and they look to Green Day for inspiration, Billboard.com reports. "I've got a bunch of songs written, but I think I'm going to wait a while before we release it, because I'm still really proud of [Infinity on High] and I want to kind of give it some space," singer/guitarist Patrick Stump told the outlet. He also said Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's declaration that he didn't want to play "four-chord punk-rock for the rest of his life," according to Stump, has impacted the band's outlook. "They're really just true to what they are, and so that's how we are," he said. "I think we'll change stylistically, but at the end of the day, that's just something you wear. You're still yourself." ...

The Spice Girls have added three more dates to their upcoming reunion tour. The shows, in Vancouver, British Columbia (December 2); San Jose, California (December 4); and Shanghai, China (January 8), join a roster of 11 previously announced dates, with the Vancouver gig now serving as the tour's opening night. ... She Wants Revenge will return to record stores this fall with their sophomore LP, This Is Forever. The album drops October 9 and will feature 13 tracks, including "Written in Blood," "She Will Always Be a Broken Girl" and "Pretend the World Has Ended." ...

Forensic pathologist Werner Spitz sparred with the prosecution in the Phil Spector trial on Thursday, repeating the claim that actress Lana Clarkson's gunshot wound was self-inflicted, the Los Angeles Times reports. He said the force of the gunshot in her mouth caused blood to spray out of her mouth and nose — which then landed on the music producer's jacket several feet away. When asked why blood wasn't found on the floor, furniture or elsewhere after it sprayed, Spitz said he couldn't comment on the death scene because he had only seen photos of Spector and Clarkson's clothing and relied on reports made by other experts. ...

A man accused of shooting Ray Davies in a 2004 holdup is off the hook for now — prosecutors dropped the charges after the Kinks frontman didn't show up in a New Orleans court on Thursday, AP reports. It was the second time prosecutors dropped armed-robbery and aggravated-battery charges against the man because Davies wasn't in court. Davies told AP prosecutors didn't notify him about the trial until a few days ago and that he didn't have time to get from London to New Orleans. "I am very disappointed with the way this case has been handled," he said. "I intend to pursue it further." ...

David Bowie is celebrating the 35th anniversary of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars with an innovative alternate-album-cover contest on his Web site. ... Led Zeppelin are getting a whole lot of love via a new batch of reissues, Billboard.com reports. The best-of collection Mothership is due November 13 and will be followed a week later by spruced-up versions of the DVD concert film "The Song Remains the Same" and its accompanying soundtrack. Configurations of each release will have additional content, some of which is previously unreleased. ...

According to a report from Interfax, a Russian nongovernmental news agency based in Moscow, most heavy-metal songs are about murder and suicide — so says Serbsky State Research Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry professor Fyodor Kondratyev. "Having researched 700 most popular heavy-metal songs revealed that half of them is about murder, 7 percent is positive about suicide, and 35 percent preaches a variety of Satanist ideologies," Kondratyev said, in broken English.

• Britney Spears
• Kevin Federline
• Paul Wall
• Damon Dash
• Guns N' Roses

Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba
Photo: Marina Chavez

When organizers of the Bamboozle Festival decided it was time to expand their enterprise, there was only one logical place to go — and only one logical name for their newest project.

"We're heading to California, and we're putting on a show we're calling the Bamboozle Left, because, obviously, it's on the Left Coast. And because we left New Jersey," laughed John D'Esposito, CEO of Mac Cruise Entertainment, which staged the first two Bamboozles. "And because we're moving to California, we're going to do things Hollywood-style. We're doing it big time."

And he's not kidding: The inaugural Bamboozle Left — to be held October 14-15 on the campus of Cal Poly in Pomona — will feature 45 bands, including Dashboard Confessional, Plus-44, Jack's Mannequin, Brand New, Thrice and 30 Seconds to Mars. A ticket presale starts Tuesday, with a single-day ticket costing $33 ($60 for a two-day pass).

It's a lineup that rivals May's Bamboozle East, which featured Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday and the All-American Rejects (see "Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack Good To Go For Bamboozle '06"). And D'Esposito said that, much like the other Bamboozle — which featured a surprise set by Method Man (see "Look Out, Emo Kids: Method Man To Bring The Ruckus To Bamboozle '06") — the Left Coast version will also pack a few surprises.

"There will be special guests, though I can't say who. But keep in mind that it's going to be Hollywood-themed," he laughed. "Our goal with both Bamboozles is to provide fans with a big, diverse lineup. We're not afraid to have artists like Method Man appear. We're not afraid to take some risks."

But what does the West Coast expansion mean for fans of the original Bamboozle? Well, nothing, really. D'Esposito said plans are still running full speed ahead for a third edition of the fest, to be held once again at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. And he's not stopping there, either.

"We're thinking that we should try to expand even further. There's talk of having a Bamboozle Island somewhere next year," D'Esposito laughed. "And we're planning a hard-rock sister festival to Bamboozle for later this year. We're not going to try and limit ourselves."

• Dashboard Confessional
• (+44)
• Thrice
• 30 Seconds To Mars

Johnny Cash's <i>American V: A Hundred Highways</i>
Photo: Lost Highway

Johnny Cash's American V: A Hundred Highways earned the #1 spot on Billboard's albums chart with 88,000 copies sold during a slow holiday week at retail — overall sales for the nation's top 200 albums were down by nearly 450,000 units, according to SoundScan.

Had Chris Carrabba waited seven days to release his latest studio offering, Dusk and Summer, he may have finally scored that Billboard-topping debut that's eluded Dashboard Confessional, who opened at #2 on the previous albums chart with 134,000 copies sold — right behind the first-place finisher India.Arie with Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship.

American V was one of only four new releases to crack the top 200 this week, and one of only two to debut in the chart's top 10. The latest Rick Rubin-helmed release from the late music legend contains "Like the 309," the final song Cash wrote and recorded before his September 2003 death. A Hundred Highways is the first of Cash's acclaimed American recordings to reach the top 20 on the Billboard 200.

The Sufferer & the Witness, the fourth studio release from Chicago punks Rise Against, scores the #10 spot after selling more than 48,000 during its first week of release.

The two other newcomers to the chart include the soundtrack to last weekend's #1 film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." The record opens at #24 with sales of 30,000 and change. Latin sensation Diana Reyes' Las No. 1 de la Reina bows at #143 with 6,000 scans.

Nelly Furtado came close to returning to #1 this week, following the chart-capping success of her Loose two weeks prior. But the album came up 7,000 copies short of swiping the rug out from under Cash, climbing one spot to #2 with 81,000 discs scanned. India.Arie's Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship follows at #3 with nearly 69,000 sales, just in front of the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way, which stays put at #4 with sales of 57,000 and then some.

Gnarls Barkley climb one spot to #5 after selling close to 56,000 copies of their St. Elsewhere last week, while Rihanna's A Girl Like Me drops one to #6 with over 55,000 sales. Rascal Flatts' Me & My Gang comes in at #7 with close to 55,000 scans. And in at #8 is the soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical," which continues to rack up sales. Close to 52,000 people grabbed a copy this past week, bringing the disc's six-month sales total to over 2.6 million.

And what of Carrabba, you wonder? Well, Dashboard's Dusk and Summer slid seven spots on this week's chart to #9. Week-two sales of the LP dropped a fairly standard 63 percent, to finish with just under 50,000 scans.

Check out "MTV News RAW: Johnny Cash" to watch one of the music legend's last interviews.

And see "How Nelly Furtado Got Her Ghetto Pass" for an in-depth look at Loose.

• Johnny Cash
• Rise Against
• Dashboard Confessional
• Nelly Furtado
• Gnarls Barkley

India.Arie's <i>Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship</i>
Photo: Universal

Close, but no cigar.

Chris Carrabba — the man behind Dashboard Confessional — told MTV News last month that debuting at #1 on the Billboard albums chart wasn't a goal, but he did admit that "it would be cool to look back at, as it's something of an accomplishment." It was more important, he added, "to still be on the charts after a year" (see "Secrets? Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba Has A Few About Dusk And Summer").

Still, one can't help but wonder what's going through the songwriter's mind as the new SoundScan totals reveal Dashboard's latest, Dusk and Summer, is the band's second-straight LP to miss that magical mark — bowing at #2 with just over 134,000 first-week sales. Three years ago, A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar sold 122,000 copies to also debut at #2, behind Alan Jackson's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.

This time around, it wasn't a country icon who pulled the rug out from under Carrabba's feet, but soul artist India.Arie, who claims the Billboard crown with her third release, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship.

India.Arie's latest is also her first chart-topping debut. Voyage to India (2002) debuted at #6 with 110,000 discs sold, and her inaugural offering, Acoustic Soul (2001), bowed at #10 with 76,000-plus scans. Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship racked up 161,000 in week-one sales — not a runaway victory, but enough to keep Dashboard Confessional at bay.

India.Arie and Dashboard are the only newcomers to crack the top 10 on the latest chart, while a dozen other new releases make the top 200 cut.

Nelly Furtado's Loose, which debuted at #1 the previous week, slips to #3 with 99,000 units sold, followed by the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way at #4 with more than 78,000 scans. Rihanna's A Girl Like Me scored a 14 percent sales boost, moving 62,000 copies and climbing seven spots to #5.

Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere rises two to #6 with sales of more than 60,000, while Rascal Flatts' Me & My Gang claims the #7 spot with 59,000 scans. Busta Rhymes' The Big Bang slips three to #8 with 58,000 copies sold, and the soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical" comes in at #9 with nearly 58,000 sales. Rounding out the top 10 is the soundtrack to the animated feature "Cars," which sold over 50,000 copies its fourth week in stores.

Shawnna, an MC from the south side of Chicago who calls blues guitarist Buddy Guy "Dad," notches the third-highest opening on the chart. Her Block Music takes the #13 slot with 47,000 scans, followed at #16 by Hank Williams Jr.'s That's How They Do It in Dixie: The Essential Collection, which netted week-one sales nearing 39,000.

The Snoop Dogg-produced Cali Iz Active — the latest from Tha Dogg Pound, featuring Snoop, Daz Dillinger and Kurupt — debuts at #28, with more than 30,000 units scanned. Lostprophets follow at #33 with Liberation Transmission, racking up 27,000 sales. Ray Cash's debut LP, Cash on Delivery, opens at #41 with 24,000 scans while II, the new one from punk quartet Billy Talent, pops up at #134 with 7,000-plus copies sold. The soundtrack to the Broadway musical "Tarzan," which features music by Phil Collins, opens at #170 with over 5,000 copies sold.

• India.Arie
• Dashboard Confessional
• Shawnna
• Tha Dogg Pound
• Lostprophets

'Rock Band' Live Tour Lands In Vegas

• Panic at the Disco
• Dashboard Confessional
• Plain White T's

MTV.com Exclusive: Dashboard Confessional Photos 06.16.2006

• Dashboard Confessional

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Angels & Airwaves, More At 2006 KROQ Weenie Roast

• Angels & Airwaves
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Wolfmother
• Matisyahu
• Atreyu

MTV.com LIVE: Dashboard Confessional Photos 09.21.2004

• Dashboard Confessional

Jack Black, The Osbournes, More At 'School Of Rock' Premiere

• Dashboard Confessional
• Tenacious D
• Linkin Park
• Incubus
• Kelly Osbourne

Dashboard Confessional, live at Roseland Ballroom in NYC, 9.4.03

• Dashboard Confessional

• Dashboard Confessional

Dashboard Confessional Photos

• Dashboard Confessional