Chris Daughtry
Photo: Charley Gallay/ Getty Images

Political conventions can get a little boring, what with the speeches and the banner-waving and the speeches. Luckily for Democrats planning to attend their party's convention in Denver later this month, Daughtry will be on hand to provide some rock relief.

Along with the Flobots and Everclear, Daughtry is scheduled to play a show called "Grammys Rock the Conventions," benefiting the Grammy Foundation's effort to shine some light on music education and the issues affecting the creative community. The bands will play host to an up-close-and-personal acoustic evening at the Democratic National Convention in Denver on August 26.

The initial lineup for the corresponding gig for the Republican convention on September 2 will have a bit less star power, however. The Recording Academy is providing the expected coronation of Senator John McCain with a show in Minneapolis titled "The Songwriters Circle: The Songs We Love," which will feature performances by Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James (Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take the Wheel") and up-and-coming singer/songwriter Greg Laswell ("What a Day"), with more songwriters to be announced soon.

While the Grammy events are nonpartisan, you can bet that there will be a fair amount of politicking and metaphorical stone-throwing (but hopefully no real stone-throwing) at some of the other shows being planned during the Republican convention. Rage Against the Machine will be hitting the Twin Cities for a September 3 show, while Rage guitarist Tom Morello, Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def, Billy Bragg and Steve Earle are scheduled to play the Service Employees International Union's "Take Back Labor Day" Festival on September 1.

And don't worry about missing out on the action yourself: MTV News and our Street Team '08 will be on the ground at both conventions to sort through all the speeches, streamers and ceremony to find the information you need to choose our next president.

• Daughtry
• The Flobots
• Everclear

Everclear
Photo: Tenth Street Entertainment

Mel Gibson and Martin Scorsese have nothing on Everclear leader Art Alexakis when it comes to controversial depictions of Jesus.

Want to peep a side of the son of God you've never seen before? Check out the low-budget video for Everclear's "Hater," in which a very fallible Jesus smokes, drinks, gambles, does squat thrusts with a cross on his back, knocks over baby strollers, cavorts with strippers (who get fed communion wafers from an unconventional place) and rolls up his smokes using pages from the Bible.

"A lot of people get it, some don't and some just don't like it," said Alexakis, a self-described devout Christian, of the clip for the first single from the band's upcoming album, Welcome to the Drama Club, due September 12. "It's not trying to debase Christianity or Christ. The 'Hater' Jesus is the farthest you can go from what someone who is spiritual might think Christ would be. It's about showing hate in any form whatsoever — and the fact is, it's totally a breakup song."

Ah, yes, the breakup. It's been a couple of years of breakups and breakdowns for Alexakis. In addition to parting ways with his longtime Everclear bandmates bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Greg Eklund, Alexakis split with his major-label home of nearly a decade, Capitol Records, as well as his third wife and declared bankruptcy.

Any or all of these events might explain lines like, "It's got me sad, I'm kinda stressed/ You got me feelin' anxious, I'm always depressed/ I don't want to play this game of tug of war/ I don't want to be with a hater like you anymore," from "Hater." Despite its vitriol, the song is a remarkably upbeat slice of classic Everclear: chunky guitars, instantly hummable chorus and that signature slightly sleepy Alexakis vocal.

The clip was shot on digital video for about $15,000, guerrilla style, on the streets of Alexakis' hometown of Portland, Oregon, without any permits, using a local actor and lots of unpaid help. It quickly jumped into the top 10 list of music clips on iFilm and created a flood of comments on Everclear's MySpace page and the MySpace page the band set up for the video's protagonist, Hater Jesus.

A fan named "starr" posted a message of support on the Everclear page recently, saying, "I was just wondering why some people would question your 'Hater' video but not question the day-to-day hate that the video does depict. Especially from organized religion! If it comes from a 'godly' person's mouth, it must be true, seems to be a lot of people's rationale. Maybe 'Hater' will make just one of those persons stop and think for a moment. I know that I did."

But Alexakis said he's also gotten some pretty heady condemnation from "about 5 percent" of the people who've seen the clip, some of which he chronicled on a blog on the Everclear page. "You want my money ... but you're no longer getting it ... because you're an enemy of my religion. ... You hate Christianity, and I hate liberalism," wrote one seemingly former fan, while another told the singer, "The new song 'Hater' is totally untrue. Man, you guys have no idea, just because some Christians are like that doesn't mean all of them are. ... And to say that God hates people ... that's ridiculous. ...You should seriously read the Bible, man. ... You got it seriously wrong, bro."

As Alexakis explains further on his band's MySpace blog, "This cretin in the vid is not Jesus, he is the anti-Jesus. He is [the] epitome of what most believers would say they revile about humanity, but when you look at the contradictions that exist in all of our lives, this guy is the true example of a human life without love."

Though he's essentially starting from scratch with a new band and a new indie label, Alexakis dismisses suggestions that the video is a naked — and fairly successful — publicity stunt. "A 44-year-old guy walking around with bleach-blond hair is a more naked ploy for attention than this," he laughed. "I knew it would piss a lot of people off and get a lot of attention, but I wasn't even sure if it would be positive attention."

The new band — guitarist Davey French, bassist Sam Hudson, keyboardist Josh Crawley and former Everclear drum tech Brett Snyder — were more willing to go in the direction Alexakis said he had in mind for the album, a mix of classic Everclear grunge-pop and melodic old-school '70s rock.

"It's more R&B influenced, but it definitely has that Everclear sound," Alexakis said of songs like "A Taste of Hell" and "Shine." "No one is going to mistake me for Bob Dylan. We write decent songs and we're a decent band.

"At this point, I don't own anything — no house, no car — but I don't really care," he continued. "After working on the MySpace page and seeing the response, I think we have a viable career, and I don't know if it will be bigger than before, and don't care. I just know I'll definitely enjoy it more this time."

• Everclear

Good Charlotte (file)
Photo: Jason Campbell

Good Charlotte fans, whether you're an optimist or a pessimist, they've got an album just for you. The band's new The Chronicles of Life and Death is available in two versions — "Life" and "Death." Both feature the same 10 songs, but each carries a different bonus track, so fans who want the best of both worlds will have to shell out the cash for two separate discs.

R.E.M. are releasing two versions of their 13th studio album, Around the Sun — a regular version and a special edition packaged in a box with a variety of posters. "Leaving New York" is the album's first single.

Fatboy Slim gets back in the game this week with Palookaville, his first studio album since 2000's Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars; the Barenaked Ladies get Barenaked for the Holidays, offering covers of holiday classics and an original composition, "Elf's Lament"; R&B crooner Raphael Saadiq drops Ray Ray on his own label, Pookie Entertainment; Cake release the Pressure Chief; De La Soul set The Grind Date; and hard rockers Helmet return from a seven-year absence with Size Matters.

Also out this week are albums by actors Minnie Driver (Everything I've Got in My Pocket) and William Shatner, who bravely titled his album Has Been. Musicians releasing albums include the Moldy Peaches' Kimya Dawson (Hidden Vagenda), the Explosion (Black Tape), Tom Waits (Real Gone), Everclear (Best of Everclear), Korn (Greatest Hits Vol. 1), Gene Simmons (Speaking in Tongues) and Blues Explosion (Damage).

Out Tuesday, October 5:

• C.C. Adcock - Lafayette Marquis (Yep Rock)
• Gabriela Anders - Last Tango in Rio (Narada)
• Anúana - Christmas Songs (Koch)
• DJ Baby Anne - Mixtress (Zone/System Recordings)
• Barenaked Ladies - Barenaked for the Holidays (Desperation/Warner Bros.)
• John Barrowman - Swings Cole Porter (First Night/Red Ink)
• John Bayless - Christmas Rhapsody (Koch)
• Jay Bennett - The Beloved Enemy (Undertow)
• Blues Explosion - Damage (Sanctuary)
• Bonk - Western Soul (Racing Junior)
• Cake - Pressure Chief (Columbia)
• Cantinero - Championship Boxing (Artemis)
• Cast Iron Filter - Falls of Rough (Wicked)
• Amy Correia - Lakeville (Nettwerk)
• Sean Costello - Sean Costello (Artemis)
• Kimya Dawson - Hidden Vagenda (K Records)
• Dennis DeYoung - The Music of Styx - Live With Symphony Orchestra (Rounder)
• DeVotchKa - How It Ends (Cicero)
• DJ Irene - Rockstar (Moist)
• De La Soul - The Grind Date (Sanctuary Urban)
• Deryl Dodd - Stronger Proof (DualTone)
• Dolorean - Violence in the Snowy Fields (Yep Roc)
• Dream Theater - Live at Budokan (Rhino)
• Minnie Driver - Everything I've Got in My Pocket (Rounder)
• Dry Kill Logic - The Dead and Dreaming (Psychodrama/Repossession)
• Katrina Elam - Katrina Elam (Universal South)
• Scotty Emerick - The Coast Is Clear (DreamWorks Nashville)
• Val Emmich - Slow Down Kid (Epic)
• Everclear - Best of Everclear (Capitol)
• The Explosion - Black Tape (Virgin)
• Fatboy Slim - Palookaville (Astralwerks)
  Read: "Infidelity, Smashed Face Force Fatboy Slim To Get Serious"
  Buy Now: Palookaville (Astralwerks)
• Fates Warning - FWX (Metal Blade)
• The Federation - The Federation (Virgin)
• Future Leaders of the World - LVL IV (Epic)
• Good Charlotte - The Chronicles of Life and Death (Epic)
  Read: "Good Charlotte Get Serious With The Chronicles Of Life And Death"
  Buy Now: The Chronicles of Life & Death (Epic)
• Helmet - Size Matters (Interscope)
• Hem - Eveningland (Rounder)
• Andrew Hill - Dance With Death (Blue Note)
• Robyn Hitchcock - Spooked (Yep Rock)
• Hope of the States - The Lost Riots (Epic)
• Hot Snakes - Audit in Progress (Swami)
• Impossebulls - Slave Education (Music Video Distributors)
• Liz Janes - Poison and Snakes (Asthmatic Kitty)
• Kaki King - Legs to Make Us Longer (Epic)
• Korn - Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (Sony)
  Read: "Korn Borrow Other People's Hits For Their Greatest-Hits LP"
  Buy Now: Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (Sony)
• The Late B.P. Helium - Amok (Orange Twin)
• Julie Lee - Stillhouse Road (Compadre)
• Th' Legendary Shack Shakers - Believe (Yep Roc)
• Lil' Tweety - All Eyes on Me (Thump)
• Samara Lubelski - The Fleeting Skies (The Social Registry)
• mewithoutYou - Catch for Us the Foxes (Tooth & Nail)
• Mono - Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined (Temporary Residence)
• David Morales - 2 Worlds Collide (Definity)
• Mosquitos - Sunshine Barato (Bar/None)
• Vincent & Mr. Green - Vincent & Mr. Green (Ipecac)
• Nightwish - Once (Roadrunner)
• Joe Poovey - The Late Great Me (Koch)
• Michel Portal and Richard Galliano - Concerts (Dreyfus)
• Q and Not U - Power (Dischord)
• R.E.M. - Around the Sun (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: Around the Sun (Warner Bros.)
• Nelson Rangell - All I Hope for Christmas (Koch)
• Paul Reddick - Villanelle (NorthernBlues)
• Suzzy and Maggie Roche - Why the Long Face? (Red House)
• Brenda Russell - Between the Sun and the Moon (Narada)
• Raphael Saadiq - Ray Ray (Pookie)
• William Shatner - Has Been (Shout! Factory)
• Kenny Wayne Shepherd - The Place You're In (Reprise)
• Judi Silvano - Let Yourself Go (Zoho)
• Gene Simmons - Speaking in Tongues (Simmons/Sanctuary)
• Nikki Sudden - Treasure Island (Secretly Canadian)
• Supersuckers - Live at the Magic Bag (MidFi Field)
• Tobymac - Welcome to Diverse City (ForeFront)
• Dan Treanor and Frankie Lee - African Wind (NorthernBlues)
• Tweenies - The Christmas Album (Koch)
• Uncut - Those Who Were Hung Hang Here (Paper Bag)
• Utada - Exodus (Island)
• Tom Waits - Real Gone (Anti/Epitaph)
• Way Out West - Don't Look Now (Distinctive)
• Matt Wertz - Twenty Three Places (Windmill)
• Wiggles - Rockin' Santa (Koch)
• Holly Williams - The Ones We Never Knew (Universal South)
• Various artists - "Around the Bend" soundtrack (Rhino)
• Various artists - Blues Lounge (Putumayo)
• Various artists - Brown Eyed Handsome Man: Saint Louis Salutes the Father of Rock & Roll (Undertow)
• Various artists - Christmas Grass Too (Koch)
• Various artists - Japan for Sale, Vol. 4 (Tofu)
• Various artists - Mary Had a Little Amp: Music's Biggest Stars, Childhood's Greatest Songs (Epic)
• Various artists - Maybe This Christmas Tree (Nettwerk)
• Various artists - "Saw" soundtrack (Koch)
• Various artists - A Songwriter's Tribute to George Strait (Compadre)
• Various artists - Take Action! Volume 04 (Hopeless)
• Various artists - Under the Influence: A Jam Band Tribute to Lynryd Skynyrd (Sanctuary)
• DVD: Alice Donut - "London, There's a Curious Lump in My Sack" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: The Exploited - "Beat 'Em All" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Samantha Fox - "All Around the World" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Master P - "Decisions" (Koch Vision)
• DVD: Meat Loaf - "Live With the Melbourne Symphony" (Sanctuary)

October 12:

• Camper Van Beethoven - New Roman Times (Vanguard)
• Celine Dion - Miracle (Sony)
• Duran Duran - Astronaut (Sony)
• Chris Isaak - Chris Isaak Xmas (Warner Bros.)

October 19:

• Michael Jackson - The Ultimate Collection (Sony)
  Read: "Michael Jackson's Ultimate Box Set Has Demos, Hits, Live DVD"
• Jimmy Eat World - Futures (Interscope)
  Read: "Jimmy Eat World Say If You Don't Like Futures Right Away, Don't Bother"
• Le Tigre - This Island (Universal)
• Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the Hill (Anti)
  Read: "Elliott Smith's Final Album Due In October"

October 26:

• Nick Cave - Abattoir Blues/ Lyre of Orpheus (Anti)
• Leonard Cohen - Dear Heather (Sony)
• Donnas - Gold Medal (Atlantic)
  Read: "The Donnas Take Charge With Gold Medal"
• Simple Plan - Still Not Getting Any (Lava)
  Read: "Simple Plan Less Simple On Second Album"

November 2:

• AFI - AFI (Nitro)
• A Perfect Circle - Emotive (Virgin)
• Duran Duran - The Singles 1986-1995 (Capitol)
• Various Artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 17 (Capitol)

• Good Charlotte
• R.E.M.
• Fatboy Slim
• De La Soul
• Helmet

50 Cent
Photo: Amy V. Cooper

50 Cent doesn't seem to like change.

After debuting at #1 with Get Rich or Die Tryin' and holding on for two weeks, he was briefly brushed aside by R. Kelly and Norah Jones. The short stint at #2 must've been about as comfortable as wearing a Kevlar vest on a muggy August afternoon, because the bullet-riddled rapper quickly reclaimed the top spot and stays there for a second week on the new Billboard 200 albums chart.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' sold another 279,000 copies last week, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday (March 19), bringing his six-week total to more than 3.2 million copies. As long as "In Da Club" continues to be a staple in da clubs, 50 Cent's reign looks to be a lengthy one.

Jones continues to benefit from her Grammy sweep, holding on to #2 with Come Away With Me after selling more than 243,000 copies last week. R. Kelly, also capitalizing on his media attention, though in a different way, moves up a spot to #3 with Chocolate Factory. The LP's hit single, "Ignition," paved the way for another 128,000 in sales to bring the album past the 1 million mark.

Bay Area punks AFI probably aren't following the directive of their album Sing the Sorrow, since it's the chart's highest debut, landing at #5 with more than 96,000 copies sold. Having paid their dues since 1991, the melodic punks can attribute much of their success to the single "Girl's Not Grey" and fawning media accolades for their most accessible album yet, which was given a sheen by producers Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins) and Jerry Finn (Green Day, Blink-182).

Killer Mike, signed to Outkast's Aquemini imprint, brings up the rear of the top 10 with Monster, which sold more than 79,000 copies in its first week. Many fans got their first taste of Killer on Outkast's "The Whole World," which earned him a Grammy, while others simply like the fit of his hit single "A.D.I.D.A.S."

R&B group Blackstreet's first album in four years, Level II debuts at #14 (52,000), while Diamonds on the Inside by the funky and folky Ben Harper comes in at #19 (46,000).

The rest of the top 10 includes: the Dixie Chicks, whose backlash over Natalie Maines' derogatory comment about President Bush had just two days to impact sales of Home, at #4 (123,000); the soundtrack to "Chicago" up three spots to #6 (94,000) and likely to climb higher if the flick does well at Sunday's Academy Awards; Fabolous' Street Dreams slipping four to #7 (92,000); Kid Rock's Cocky at #8 again (92,000), pushing him past 3 million; and Evanescence down two spots from last week's #7 debut (91,000).

Other notable debuts include Evolve by D.I.Y. folk singer Ani DiFranco at #30; Everclear's first full-length in three years, Slow Motion Daydream, at #33; Christian pop-punkers Relient K's Two Lefts Don't Make a Right, But Three Do at #38; the latest two-disc retrospective from the Clash, Essential Clash, at #99; and the soulful, beat-bountiful A Little Deeper by Ms. Dynamite, who claimed the U.K.'s Mercury Prize in September, at #179.

For a feature interview with 50 Cent, check out "50 Cent: Money To Burn."

• 50 Cent
• AFI
• Fabolous
• Everclear
• Kid Rock

The whole world will love it when Outkast cohort Killer Mike makes that sound as he unleashes his inner Monster and the first single, "AKshon."

Meanwhile, Muggs, best known as the DJ for Cypress Hill, steps away from the tales of drug romps and urban life to take on his own album, Dust, which features understated cameos by Everlast and Amy Trujillo.

Punk band AFI deliver their first major-label release, Sing the Sorrow. The album, co-produced by Butch Vig and Jerry Finn, features driving tracks like "Bleed Black" and "Dancing Through Sunday" as well as lighter fare like "The Great Disappointment."

Folk/punk singer Ani DiFranco releases Evolve, which contains an epic 10-minute song, "Serpentine," while folk/funk artist Ben Harper issues Diamonds on the Inside, which includes the James Brown-like number "Bringing the Funk" and the Bob Marley-inspired tune "With My Own Two Hands."

The first single off of Everclear's Slow Motion Daydream, "Volvo Driving Soccer Mom," is a good gauge of the tone of the rest of the album, which features such songs as "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "I Want to Die a Beautiful Death."

Finally, Ms. Dynamite from the U.K. releases A Little Deeper, the album featuring the single "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" as well as other tunes that seamlessly combine her talent for both singing and rhyming, like "Seed Will Grow," "Put Him Out" and "All I Ever." Dyno-mite!

Out Tuesday, March 11:

• 40 Grit - Nothing to Remember (Metal Blade)
• AFI - Sing the Sorrow (DreamWorks)
  Buy Now: Sing the Sorrow (DreamWorks)
• Buju Banton - Friends for Life (VP)
• The Be Good Tanyas - Chinatown (Nettwerk)
• Walter Beasley - Go With the Flow (N-Coded)
• Bettie Serveert - Log 22 (Hidden Agenda/Parasol)
• Blackstreet - Level II (DreamWorks)
  Buy Now: Level II (DreamWorks)
• Bobby Blue Band - Blues at Midnight (Malaco)
• Mira Calix - Skimskitta (Warp/Lex)
• Dennis Chambers - Outbreak (ESC)
• Peter Cincotti - Peter Cincotti (Concord)
• Cooler Kids - All Around the World (DreamWorks)
• Ani DiFranco - Evolve (Righteous Babe)
  Buy Now: Evolve (Righteous Babe)
• DJ Icey - Different Day (Zone/System)
• Dressy Bessy - Little Music (Kindercore)
• Drunk Horse - Adult Situations (Tee Pee)
• Everclear - Slow Motion Daydream (Capitol)
  Buy Now: Slow Motion Daydream (Capitol)
• Fiction Plane - Everything Will Never Be OK (MCA)
• Firesign Theatre - All Things Firesign (Artemis)
• Celso Fonseca - Natural (Six Degrees Travel Series)
• Kenny Garrett - Standard of Language (Warner Bros.)
• Gibson Brothers - Bona Fide (Sugar Hill)
• Ben Harper - Diamonds on the Inside (Virgin)
  Buy Now: Diamonds on the Inside (Virgin)
• Aubrey Haynie - The Bluegrass Fiddle Album (Sugar Hill)
• Vincent Herring - All Too Real (High Note)
• Dave Hole - The Live One (Alligator)
• Jack Ingram - Electric: Extra Volts (Sony)
• Jenifer Jackson - So High (Bar/None)
• Joe Jackson - Volume 4 (Restless/Rykodisc)
• Steve James - Fast Texas (Burnside)
• Killer Mike - Monster (Aquemini/Columbia)
  Buy Now: Monster (Aquemini/Columbia)
• Ute Lemper - But One Day (Decca/Universal Classics)
• Little Hatch - Rock With Me Baby (APO)
• Jeff Lorber - Philly Style (Narada Jazz)
• Lunik - Ahead (Nettwerk America)
• Machine Head - Hellalive (Roadrunner)
• Mad Caddies - Just One More (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Meanest Man Contest - Merit (EFA-CAR)
• The Melvins - 26 Songs (Ipecac)
• Craig Morgan - I Love It (Broken Bow)
• Ms. Dynamite - A Little Deeper (Interscope)
  Read: "Ms. Dynamite To Drop A Little Deeper In March"
  Buy Now: A Little Deeper (Interscope)
• Muggs - Dust (Anti/Epitaph)
• Peter Ostroushko - Coming Down From Red Lodge (Red House)
• Kelly Joe Phelps - Slingshot Professionals (Rykodisc)
• Phillips & Driver - Togetherness (Bar/None)
• The Planets - Classical Graffiti (Angel Classics)
• Nelson Rangell - Look Again (A440)
• Marty Raybon - Full Circle (Doobie Shea)
• Relient K - Two Lefts Don't Make a Right ... But Three Do (Gotee)
• Yves Robert - In Touch (ECM)
• Roomful of Blues - That's Right! (Alligator)
• Sidecar - You're Killing Me (Three Mileage)
• Frank Sinatra - Beginnings and Show Stoppers (Brentwood)
• Jim Snidero - Strings (Milestone)
• Solea - Even Stranger (3 Milege)
• Soulthieves - Microphone in the Sugar Bowl (Soulthieves)
• Super Soul - 40 Acres and a Moog (Metatronix)
• Louise Taylor - Velvet Town (Signature Sounds)
• Turin Brakes - Ether Song (Source/Astralwerks)
• U.S. Bombs - Covert Action (Hellcat)
• Unloco - Becoming I (Maverick)
• Jody Watley - Midnight Lounge (Shinbone Alley/Shanachie)
• Jessica Williams - All Alone (MAXJAZZ)
• Various artists - "Agent Cody Banks" soundtrack (Hip-O)
• Various artists - Bass Busters: Booty Party (Pandisc)
• Various artists - Bass Busters: Techno Bass Jamz (Pandisc)
• Various artists - Celtic Compass (Compass)
• Various artists - Chillout 2003 (Nettwerk)
• Various artists - "The Hunted" soundtrack (Varese Sarabande)
• Various artists - Later (2 CDs, Surge)
• Various artists - "Laurel Canyon" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - Projekt: Gothic (Projekt)
• DVD - DJ Quik - "Visualism: The Art of Sound Into Vision" (Image Entertainment)

March 18:

• Allman Brothers Band - Hittin' the Note (Sanctuary)
• Stephen Malkmus - Pig Lib (Matador)
• Various artists - Atticus: Dragging the Lake 2 (USA Side 1 Dummy)

March 25:

• Air - City Reading (Astralwerks)
  Read: "Air Create Soundtrack For 'City,' Plan 10,000 Hz Legend Follow-Up"
• Celine Dion - One Heart (Sony)
• Les Nubians - One Step Forward (Higher Octave)
• Linkin Park - Meteora (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Linkin Park Expand Meteora's Musical Horizons ... In 40 Minutes Or Less"
  Buy Now: Meteora (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 12 (Virgin)

April 1:

• The White Stripes - Elephant (V2)
  Read: "White Stripes To Put Their Best Trunk Forward On April Fool's Day With Elephant"
• Robbie Williams - Escapology (Virgin)
  Buy Now: Escapology (Virgin)

April 8:

• Russell Crowe and 30 Odd Foot of Grunts - Other Ways of Speaking (Artemis)
• Godsmack - Faceless (Universal)
  Read: "Godsmack's Visions Of Spinal Tap, Dio, Worse Prompt A Change"
• Lisa Marie Presley - To Whom It May Concern (Capitol)
• Yo La Tengo - Summer Sun (Matador)

April 15:

• Thicke - Cherry Blue Skies (Interscope)
  Read: "Robin Thicke: Mixing The Beatles, Zeppelin And Hendrix With Jay-Z"

• Ms. Dynamite
• AFI
• Killer Mike
• Ben Harper
• Everclear

The Chemical Brothers have lined up a tour in support of their latest album, Come With Us, marking the British duo's first Stateside jaunt in two-and-a-half years. The seven-date trek begins April 15 in Washington, D.C., and heads Westward to wrap on April 27 at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California. ... "Rub You the Right Way," "My, My, My" and 15 other Johnny Gill hits comprise his Ultimate Collection, due March 26. New Edition's "Can You Stand the Rain," which Gill sang after replacing Bobby Brown in the group, is also included. ...

Get your earplugs — Motörhead and Morbid Angel are touring together this spring. The first date is April 11 in Dallas and the journey runs through May 18 in Anaheim, California. ... Victoria Beckham, a.k.a. Posh Spice of Spice Girls fame, is expecting a second child in September, according to Reuters. Son Brooklyn Joseph Beckham was born in March 1999. ... Soulfly have bumped the release date of their third album from May 21 to June 25. ...

Slayer guitarist Kerry King makes a guest appearance on the title track of Hatebreed's Perseverance, which comes out March 26. ... K's Choice, the Belgium band behind the 1996 single "Not an Addict," will release their fourth album, Almost Happy, April 23. ... 10, the 10th mix album from drum'n'bass producer DB, is due March 19. The follow-up to The Secret Art of Science includes tracks from Goldie and Optical. ...

02.21.02

Toya, the "I Do!!" songstress out of the Nelly/St. Lunatics camp, will shoot a video for her next single, "No Matta What (Party All Night)," at the end of the month. ... Elsewhere in protégé news, Tina Novak, the first artist She'kspere signed to his own Spere Records label, will release Been Around the World on April 23. ... Goo Goo Dolls have set an April 9 release date for Gutterflower, their proper follow-up to 1998's Dizzy Up the Girl. The album's first single, "Here Is Gone," will be released to radio and video outlets in early March. ...

The soundtrack to "The Scorpion King," which includes tracks from Godsmack, P.O.D., Hoobastank and Nickelback, among others, can now be sampled online at scorpionkingmusic.com. The LP is scheduled for release on March 26 ... Also due March 26 is a live album documenting last year's Pledge of Allegiance Tour. The disc features multiple tracks by System of a Down ("Chop Suey!," "Bounce," "Toxicity"), Slipknot ("People = Sh--," "The Heretic Anthem," "New Abortion") and Mudvayne ("Under My Skin," "Pharmaecopia"), and cuts by No One and American Head Charge. ... Having recently opened for Creed, Tantric are gearing up for a headlining tour with Mesh and Daysleeper opening. The stint will begin in Philadelphia on March 10 and end in San Francisco on April 7. ...

  Eels will release their fifth album, Souljacker, on March 12 and support the LP with a tour that begins March 16 in Austin, Texas, and runs through April 10 in Los Angeles. ... British buzz band Starsailor will launch a two-week club tour February 28 in Toronto. The trek, supporting the January release Love Is Here, wraps up March 16 in Dallas, one night after the band performs with Neil Finn, Ed Harcourt and Actual Tigers at South by Southwest. ... Belle and Sebastian are packing up their kilts and hitting the road. The Scottish darlings will kick off the U.S. leg of their bi-continental tour on April 28 at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California, and hit Austin, Philly, Boston, New York, Detroit and Chicago before wrapping up in Atlanta on May 13. ...

Everclear frontman Art Alexakis will kick off a 16-date solo tour March 21 in Detroit. Alexakis is also producing an album for Flipp, the singer said on Everclear's official Web site. ... Electronic music veterans Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin and Erick Morillo will headline Destination - NYC, an all-night concert at the South Street Seaport in New York City on March 2. Three days later, Cox will DJ and sign copies of his latest mix album, Global, at the Virgin Megastore in NYC's Union Square at 6 p.m. ...

One of these things just doesn't belong — Bonnie Raitt, Rick James, George Thorogood & the Destroyers, the Doobie Brothers, War and No Doubt are scheduled to perform at the 20th annual SunFest in West Palm Beach, Florida. The art and music festival takes place May 1-5 (visit www.sunfest.com for more information). ... "Final Rinse," a film featuring Sebastian Bach and Joey Ramone, will be screened in Los Angeles on February 22 and 26. The movie also features performance footage by the Last Hard Men — a group featuring Bach, the Breeders' Kelley Deal and Jimmy Flemion of the Frogs — plus Biohazard, the Dictators, Slaughter and others.

• The Chemical Brothers
• Johnny Gill
• Motörhead
• Soulfly
• Slayer

Everclear
Photo: Capitol

ASBURY PARK, New Jersey — It's called the Civic Tour, after the Honda automobile, but the attitude and style of Saturday's show, featuring Everclear and American Hi-Fi, was more reminiscent of a muscle car.

That is, loud, fast and sometimes outrageous.

Starting with blistering renditions of "So Much for the Afterglow," "Heroin Girl" and "Nehalem," headliners Everclear turned in a spirited set at the Convention Hall that was alternately ferocious and fun.

Following such hits as "Santa Monica," "Father of Mine" and "I Will Buy You a New Life," bassist Craig Montoya sang lead on a rehearsal-style version of David Bowie's "Suffragette City" to close the show. Coaxed back for an encore, the band treated the crowd to "Rock Star," with singer Art Alexakis inviting dozens of fans onstage and dubbing them the "Everclear Dancers." The experience was reaffirming for diehard Everclear fans who were fearful that the band had grown too sedate on the recent Songs From an American Movie, Vol. One: Learning How to Smile and Songs From an American Movie, Vol. Two: Good Time for a Bad Attitude. "I was kind of hoping that they didn't go completely pop," 17-year-old Joanna Kelly of Brooklyn, New York, said, referring to songs like "A.M. Radio," which came early in Everclear's set. "But they stayed true to themselves." The Portland, Oregon, band — whose lineup also includes drummer Greg Eklund — has enjoyed a string of uptempo, melodic rock hits that explore the themes of parental abandonment and drug addiction. Saturday's show, which included assistance from three additional musicians on guitar, keyboards and percussion, offered fans a fairly even sampling from throughout the band's nine-year career.

"They mixed in a lot of old songs with the new songs," said Adam Butterfield, 20, of Jackson, New Jersey. "I'd thought they'd be soft, but no, they rocked." The evening was not without hitches, however. The sound mix for Everclear's set was often muddy, and feedback was especially a problem on "A.M. Radio," but they got off easy compared to the other bands on the bill.

American Hi-Fi frontman Stacy Jones could hardly be heard through the mix. The former Letters to Cleo and Veruca Salt drummer and his bandmates performed in front of a flaming bird backdrop similar to the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am logo, alternating between power ballads and energetic rockers, including the Boston quartet's hit "Flavor of the Weak." The Mayfield Four, from Spokane, Washington, churned out a dense set of earnest grunge-informed songs, capped by a cover of the Who's "Baba O'Riley." Muscular, tattooed singer Myles Kennedy swung his guitar at the mic stand and sent it flying to close the band's set.

Show openers Flipp, a cartoonish punk band from Minneapolis, are fronted by Brynn Arens, whose black-and-white makeup, red lipstick, spiked hair and pinstriped suit made him look like a cross between Al Capone, Johnny Rotten and Two-Face. Arens ended each song by giving audience members the middle finger, while Flipp's bass player, decked out in a faux-leather body suit and sporting a purple spiked Mohawk, donned a jet pack that shot sparks during a solo.

The group led the audience through a hyped-up rendition of John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and later returned to clown around with Everclear on "Suffragette City." As for the Honda Civic, few in the audience seemed to notice or care that the tour was sponsored by Honda, despite the orange and black Civic, painted to resemble the cover of Everclear's Songs From an American Movie, Vol. Two, on display near the entrance of the hall.

"The bands have to make money, and it's better than paying $50 at the door," said 38-year-old Scott Vincelette of Sparta, New Jersey. Admission was $25 for the show, and approximately 1,200 attended — far from a sellout. "Now, I wish I didn't have to pay $3 for a cup of water." The tour concludes July 30 in Davis, California.

• Everclear
• American Hi-Fi
• The Mayfield Four

X
Photo: Elektra

If Pennywise singer Jim Lindberg has his way, Gwen Stefani will do her best Exene Cervenka and Art Alexakis will do his best John Doe for an X tribute album.

No Doubt, Everclear, Social Distortion, Blondie and Hank Williams III are among the artists Lindberg hopes to enlist to cover songs by the seminal Los Angeles punk band for the project, expected next year.

"I have trouble thinking anyone's going to turn us down," Lindberg said last week.

"We're going to suggest certain songs, and if they want to do something else, that's fine. Certain songs just fit — I can really hear Social Distortion doing 'White Girl' and No Doubt doing 'Your Phone's Off the Hook (But You're Not).' We'll just make suggestions and hopefully they'll be into it.

"I'm just hoping it comes out really cool and it's something [X] can get some enjoyment out of," he said.

Long-time X fan Lindberg said he decided to make the album after a similar effort, to which Pennywise was contributing a track, stalled. Pennywise recorded a version of "We're Desperate," with Lindberg and Cervenka trading vocals, for that album, but ended up using it for the sixth Punk-O-Rama compilation. Punk-O-Rama 2001, due June 5, also features unreleased tracks by such bands as NOFX and Descendents.

Pennywise will release Land of the Free? on June 19 and assume their headlining spot on the Vans Warped Tour June 22.

• X
• Pennywise
• No Doubt
• Everclear
• Social Distortion

Everclear
Photo: Capitol

The Led Zeppelin show Art Alexakis sang about in Everclear's "A.M. Radio" [RealVideo] didn't have a corporate sponsor, but like the man said, times have changed. The Portland rockers will headline the second leg of the Civic Tour, sponsored by Honda.

In addition to playing nine shows, with American Hi-Fi and the Mayfield Four opening, the members of the band — singer/guitarist Alexakis, bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Greg Eklund — each designed a custom paint job for a 2001 Civic Coupe. All three cars feature the black and orange version of the U.S. flag that graced the cover of their most recent album, Songs from an American Movie, Vol. II: Good Time for a Bad Attitude, according to the auto manufacturer.

Blink-182, who are headlining the first leg of the tour, also designed the graphics for a Civic Coupe. Showing surprising restraint for a group obsessed with scatological humor, their version boasts a simple black band logo against a silver paint job (see "Blink-182 To Kick Off Civic Tour 2001").

Everclear Civic Tour 2001 tour dates, according to American Honda Motor Co.:

• 6/29 - Phoenix, AZ @ Web Theater
• 7/2 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Salt Air
• 7/5 - Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre
• 7/10 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
• 7/14 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Convention Hall
• 7/18 - Hartford, CT @ Webster Theater
• 7/28 - San Diego, CA @ Price Center Ballroom
• 7/29 - San Bernardino, CA @ Citrus Pavilion
• 7/30 - Davis, CA @ UC Davis Recreation Hall

• Everclear
• American Hi-Fi

Everclear's Art Alexakis
Photo: EMD/Capitol

Taking a detour from their two-month outing with Matchbox Twenty and Lifehouse, Everclear recently filmed the video for their version of the Van Morrison classic "Brown Eyed Girl." Filming took place April 5-6 in Los Angeles, with Everclear singer-guitarist Art Alexakis serving as both the clip's director and star, the band's publicist said. The frontman took on the role of a limo driver opposite co-star Marla Sokoloff, of television's "The Practice." Andy Dick and Lin Shaye, the sun-soaked old woman from "There's Something About Mary," have cameos in the video.

"Brown Eyed Girl" is the third single from Everclear's fourth album, Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How To Smile, released in July. The band's latest album, Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude, which features the singles "When It All Goes Wrong Again" and "Out of My Depth," arrived in November.

Once production wrapped, Everclear rejoined Matchbox Twenty and Lifehouse in El Paso, Texas, to resume their tour. Following a Southern excursion, Everclear will embark on a five-date college jaunt beginning April 27 at West Virginia's Wesleyan College, according to their publicist, before going to Europe and returning Stateside for a string of summer dates. A July 7 appearance at Milwaukee's Summerfest is the only confirmed date thus far.

Here are Everclear tour dates, according to the band's publicist.

With Matchbox Twenty and Lifehouse:

• 4/7 - El Paso, TX @ University of Texas at El Paso, Don Haskins Center
• 4/8 - Lubbock, TX @ United Spirit Arena
• 4/10 - Dallas, TX @ Reunion Arena
• 4/11 - Houston, TX @ Compaq Center
• 4/13 - Birmingham, AL @ BJCC Arena
• 4/14 - Nashville, TN @ Gaylord Entertainment Center
• 4/16 - Raleigh, NC @ Entertainment & Sports Arena
• 4/17 - Charlotte, NC @ Independence Arena
• 4/18 - Atlanta, GA @ Phillips Arena
• 4/20 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ National Car Rental Center
• 4/21 - Orlando, FL @ TD Waterhouse Centre
• 4/22 - Tampa, FL @ Ice Palace
• 4/24 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Arena
• 4/25 - Trenton, NJ @ Sovereign Bank Arena

• 4/27 - Buckhannon, WV @ West Virginia Wesleyan College
• 4/28 - Clarion, PA @ Clarion University, Tippin Gymnasium
• 4/29 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ TBA
• 4/30 - York, PA @ York College, Wolf Gymnasium
• 5/1 - Olean, NY @ St. Bonaventure University, Reilly Center Arena

• Everclear