<![CDATA[Five For Fighting]]> http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/five_for_fighting/artist.jhtml (c) 2007 MTV Networks. (c) and TM MTV Networks. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See http://www.mtv.com/sitewide/mtvinfo/terms.jhtml for terms and conditions. http://www.mtv.com/sitewide/images/u/mtv-logo.gif MTV http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/five_for_fighting/artist.jhtml 65 44 Music en-us 15 <![CDATA[<i>Now! 22</i> Ends DMX's <i>Billboard</i> Winning Streak]]> Year of the Dog, Again is rapper's first LP to debut at #2.
By Chris Harris


DMX's <I>Year of the Dog, Again</I>
Photo: Sony Music

Until now, DMX had never known what it was like to finish second with a new LP.

The gravel-voiced, traffic-infraction-prone New York rapper's five previous studio discs all debuted at #1 on Billboard's albums chart. It's Dark and Hell Is Hot opened atop the chart in 1998 after selling more than 251,000 copies, while Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, released that same year, crushed the competition with 670,000 sales.

The trend continued in 1999 with ... And Then There Was X, which toppled the opposition with 698,000 scans, and 2002's The Great Depression followed suit with first-week sales of 440,000. The following year, Darkman X's Grand Champ topped the Billboard chart with sales of 312,000.

But the streak ends here. X's latest LP, Year of the Dog, Again just couldn't top the collective might of Rihanna, Chris Brown, Nick Lachey, Kelly Clarkson and more than a dozen other hitmakers — all of whom can be found on Now That's What I Call Music! 22, which takes #1 for a third time, selling 127,000 copies after slipping to #2 on the previous chart.

DMX didn't go quietly. Week-one sales of Year of the Dog, Again were reported at just fewer than 126,000 — putting X only 1,500 copies behind Now 22 — to score the rapper a second-place ribbon.

There's one silver lining to DMX ending his run at the hands of Now 22: He didn't lose out to a bunch of pint-sized singers. Kidz Bop 10 — featuring the Kidz Bop Kids' versions of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day," the All-American Rejects' "Move Along," and Rihanna's "S.O.S." — sold more than 116,000 copies its first week in stores to secure the #3 spot. Following at #4 is Stone Sour's Come What(ever) May — the first studio release in four years from the rock collective featuring members of Slipknot — which racked up close to 81,000 sales.

Previous chart champ LeToya suffered a second-week slump, as her self-titled debut took a 61 percent sales hit and posted just 65,000 scans to land at #5. Tom Petty's Highway Companion follows at #6 with 57,000 copies sold its second week in stores, and Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere finishes at #7 with 53,000 scans.

Five for Fighting's Two Lights opens at #8 with 52,000 units sold, while Pharrell's In My Mind slides seven spots to #9 with week-two sales of 51,000. Nickelback's All the Right Reasons, which has steadily climbed the chart in recent weeks, jumps two spots to #10 after racking up 44,000 scans its 44th week in stores. And after spending 24 consecutive weeks in the top 10, the soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical" slips to #11.

Panic! at the Disco will be celebrating this week — and not just because of their five MTV Video Music Awards nominations. After 34 weeks on the chart, the band's A Fever You Can't Sweat Out has surpassed the 1 million sold mark, moving more than 35,000 copies to land at #17 on the latest chart.

Lemonade, the latest from G. Love (who've shed the "& Special Sauce" part of their moniker) is the fifth of 10 new releases to crack the top 200, selling 19,000 units to debut at #39. The Pink Spiders open at #84 with their second outing, Teenage Graffiti, which sold 11,000 copies its first week out. Steely Dan's The Definitive Collection bows at #92 with 10,000 scans, followed at #121 by Powerman 5000's Destroy What You Enjoy with 7,000 copies sold.

Jeannie Ortega's No Place Like Bklyn opens at #128 with close to 7,000 sales, and Kill Hannah's Until There's Nothing Left of Us takes #179 with sales nearing 5,000. Christian-minded post-hardcore outfit Showbread's Age of Reptiles just makes the top 200 cut, debuting at #199 with 4,000 scans.

Related Artists ]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1538163/20060809/dmx.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1538163/20060809/dmx.jhtml 9 Aug 2006 10:28:00 EDT <![CDATA[New Releases: DMX, <i>Kidz Bop 10,</i> Stone Sour, Pink Spiders, Powerman 5000, Body Count & More]]> Also due Tuesday: new Vaux, Five for Fighting LPs; Clash DVD; Poison, Journey reissues.
By Kurt Orzeck


DMX's <I>Year of the Dog, Again</I>
Photo: Sony Music

Should Kidz Beware of Dog?: All five DMX albums have debuted atop the Billboard albums chart, making the gravelly voiced rapper the Grand Champ of rap (as he titled his last LP). But while he edged past A Perfect Circle and Erykah Badu the last time around, he's locking horns with a wave of pint-sized pests for his latest effort, Year of the Dog, Again.

With four cuts spruced up by Swizz Beatz — plus one produced by Scott Storch ("Give 'Em What They Want") and an intro cut with Dame Grease — X also beckoned Busta Rhymes for "Come Thru (Move)," Jadakiss and Styles P. for "It's Personal," and Amerie for "Dog Love." Janyce also appears on the latter track, but she's not the only fresh Bloodline artist on the album, with Bzr Royale and Jinx also representing X's label.

DMX has some worthy teammates in his corner, but could he be toppled by a krew of karaoke-krazed kiddies? That's what indie label Razor & Tie is hoping for the 10th installment of its most successful venture ever, Kidz Bop. Being released barely five months after the latest entry, this one has the buggers brushing up Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You," Pussycat Dolls' "Stickwitu" and Nickelback's "Savin' Me" over the course of its 18 tracks.

But if the kids want to pick on competitors their own size, they've chosen the right week to bop heads. The Doodlebops — who have a TV show on Playhouse Disney and made their live debut at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus — have sketched out two DVDs and a CD for release this week, immortalizing such gems as "Wobbly Whoopsy," "Gibble Gobble," "Cauliflower" and "I Want to Be Bigger."

And there's yet another juvenile in the mix: Rachel Piña Trachtenburg, the 12-year-old brainchild (of sorts) who tours with her parents as the nomadic Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. The "Off & On Broadway" DVD captures day-in-the-life and performance footage from the group, which crafts songs out of old slides they find at random yard sales.

Spider Men: On a related note, garage pop-punkers the Pink Spiders are a little older than the aforementioned competitors, but they're fighting wrinkles with their major-label debut, Teenage Graffiti. The "You Hear It First" artists — who recently played a show at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium after a ballgame — worked with ex-Cars frontman/ Weezer production guru Ric Ocasek and pre-eminent mixer Tom Lord-Alge for the effort, which features "Saturday Nite Riot," "Little Razorblade" and "Pretend That This Is Fiction."

And Now for Something Completely Brutal: This week's remaining heavyweights will have kids, dawgs and insects alike ducking for cover. First up is Stone Sour, the Slipknot ancillary affair that puckers up with its first studio release in four years. The band's hoping for more Grammy nominations with Come What(ever) May, which features the first single "Through Glass," plus "30/30-150," "Reborn" and "Zzyzx Road."

Powerman 5000 have also been away for a while — about three years and two months — but with a new lineup and label, a rebirth could re-energize their fanbase. With guitarists Adam 12 and M.33 being replaced by former Alien Ant Farm-er Terry Corso and Johnny Heatley (Half Cocked), Spider One and the gang will surely deafen the Pink Spiders with Destroy What You Enjoy, which features "Return to the City of the Dead," "Murder" and "All My Friends Are Ghosts."

Also on the metal front, Ice-T is strapping on his armor again for Murder 4 Hire, the first album by his revived Body Count in almost a decade. T also revives his feud with the fuzz on "Invincible Gangsta," the leadoff track that features the phrase "F--- the Cops," but he also has a few things to say about "The Passion of Christ," "Dirty Bombs" and "Relationships."

Chicago's Kill Hannah keep up the violence with their Atlantic record Until There's Nothing Left of Us and the tracks "Black Poison Blood" and "Love You to Death," and if you're up for even more gore, don't miss Ollabelle's Riverside Battle Songs — which was crafted by Amy Helm, daughter of drum legend Levon Helm — the American Black Lung's ... And They Rode Their Weapons Into War and Towers of London's Blood Sweat & Towers.

Seeming violent but much more tame are Five for Fighting, which is actually just one dude: John Ondrasik. His Two Lights has already drawn some VH1 attention with "The Riddle," and while FFF are best remembered for the post-9/11 staple "Superman (It's Not Easy)" (which was actually written before those events), Ondrasik has a few things to say about the state of the nation on "Freedom Never Cries" and "Johnny America."

Song Title of the Week:

"George Romero Will Be at Our Wedding" from Showbread's Art of Reptiles

Other Notables:

Various artists' Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited: Serge Gainsbourg is name-dropped left and right these days, but to many Americans, that's all he is: just a name. Michael Stipe, Franz Ferdinand, Cat Power and others are trying to change all that with this collection of reworked songs by the French neoclassical musician. Placebo, Tricky, the Rakes, the Kills and Marianne Faithfull also chime in on the disc, which has already been released overseas.

Poison vs. Journey reissues: The '80s titans go head-to-head this week with three and five revitalized albums, respectively. Poison's first three multiplatinum records — Flesh & Blood, Look What the Cat Dragged In and Open Up and Say ... Ahh! — arrive in 20th anniversary packages, with unreleased and rare bonus tracks. In the other corner, Journey's Departure, Escape and Greatest Hits also come with bonuses, while Infinity and Evolution are straight reissues.

TRS-80's Mystery Crash: The Chicago electro-rockers have been cranking out music for nearly 10 years — and hopping from label to label ever since — but they're hoping their music will get recognized beyond fleeting appearances in Coca-Cola and Nike commercials. The bandmembers — some of whom have been friends since high school — have also created tunes for NPR's "This American Life" and seen their songs used in "CSI."

New Releases:

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

  • Audio Adrenaline - Adios: The Greatest Hits (Forefront)
  • Count Basie - One O'Clock Jump: The Very Best of Count Basie (Columbia/ Legacy)
  • Eddie Boyd - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  • Brecker Brothers - Sneakin' Up Behind You: The Very Best of the Brecker Brothers (Arista/ Legacy)
  • Rosemary Clooney - Come On-A My House: The Very Best of Rosemary Clooney (Bluebird/ Legacy)
  • Johnny Copeland - An Introduction to Johnny Copeland (Fuel)
  • Snooks Eaglin - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  • Dizzy Gillespie - Night in Tunisia: The Very Best of Dizzy Gillespie (Bluebird/ Legacy)
  • Daryl Hall & John Oates - The Philadelphia Years (Varèse Sarabande)
    Buy Now: The Philadelphia Years (Varèse Sarabande)
  • Billie Holiday - God Bless the Child: The Very Best of Billie Holiday (Columbia/ Legacy)
  • Lightnin' Hopkins - An Introduction to Lightnin' Hopkins (Fuel) and The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  • Journey - Departure, Escape, Evolution, Greatest Hits and Infinity (Columbia/ Legacy)
  • Memphis Slim - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  • Ronnie Milsap - The Essential Ronnie Milsap (two CDs; RCA/ Legacy)
  • Buck Owens - 21 #1 Hits: The Ultimate Collection (Rhino)
  • Charlie Parker - Charlie Parker for Lovers (Verve)
  • Poison - Flesh & Blood, Look What the Cat Dragged In and Open Up and Say ... Ahh! (Capitol)
    Buy Now: Flesh & Blood, Look What the Cat Dragged In and Open Up and Say ... Ahh! (Capitol)
  • Elvis Presley - Elvis: Live, Elvis: Movies and Elvis: R&B (BMG Strategic Marketing)
  • Otis Rush - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  • J.D. Short - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  • Steely Dan - The Definitive Collection (Geffen)
  • Sunnyland Slim - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  • Allen Toussaint - Life, Love and Faith and Southern Nights (Water)
  • Sarah Vaughan - Send in the Clowns: The Very Best of Sarah Vaughan (Columbia/ Legacy)
  • Dinah Washington - Dinah Washington for Lovers (Verve)
  • Robert Pete Williams - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  • Sonny Boy Williamson - The Best of Sonny Boy Williamson (Fontana)
  • Various artists - The Best of Classic Country '70s (Time Life)
  • Various artists - Billboard #1s: The '70s (Rhino)
  • Various artists - No Limit Records: Greatest Hits (Priority)
  • Various artists - Rap It Up (three-CD box set; Thump)

Music DVDs:

  • Chris Botti - "Chris Botti Live With Orchestra & Special Guests" (with CD; Columbia)
  • Jimmy Buffett - "Live at Wrigley Field" (Bayside)
  • The Clash - "Rude Boy" (Epic/ Legacy)
  • Alice Cooper - "The Nightmare Returns" (Geffen)
  • Dissection - "Rebirth of Dissection" (Escapi)
  • Doodlebops - "Dance & Hop With the Doodlebops" and "Rock & Bop With the Doodlebops" (Lionsgate)
  • Pitbull - "Mr. 305: The Pitbull Story" (Clanagan)
  • Elvis Presley - "Aloha From Hawaii" and " '68 Comeback" (BMG Heritage)
  • The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players - "Off & On Broadway" (Sarathan)

Coming Attractions:

August 8:

August 15:

August 22:

Related Artists ]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1537537/20060731/dmx.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1537537/20060731/dmx.jhtml 1 Aug 2006 06:00:00 EDT <![CDATA[Five For Fighting House-Sitter Stabbed]]> Caretaker is in serious condition.
By Alyssa Rashbaum


Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik (file)
Photo: Columbia

A caretaker looking after the California home of Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik was attacked and stabbed 13 times by a man who broke into the musician's home.

According to The Associated Press, authorities said the attacker apparently broke into Ondrasik's San Fernando Valley home through a dog door on Wednesday evening. The assailant stabbed caretaker Carlos Canton, 43, and then fled the scene. Canton and his wife were watching Ondrasik's house.

A detective investigating the attack told the AP that "it is likely the suspect had entered the residence while the people were gone and when they returned from walking the dog, [the suspect] surprised him." He further noted that it may have been a random burglary that was disrupted, and that Canton could have been stabbed "just to facilitate the burglar's escape."

Authorities said on Thursday that the caretaker is in serious condition. No arrests have been made, and Ondrasik was not at home when the attack took place.

Related Artists ]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1489824/20040730/five_for_fighting.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1489824/20040730/five_for_fighting.jhtml 30 Jul 2004 11:39:00 EDT <![CDATA[New Releases: Incubus, 'Barbershop 2' Soundtrack, Five For Fighting, Walkmen, Lostprophets, Kenny Chesney & More]]>
Incubus (file)
Photo: Epic

Amid their calls for (presumably) the current administration to "step down, step down" in their single "Megalomaniac," Incubus step right up into the top slot of this week's new releases with A Crow Left of the Murder.

The video for "Megalomaniac," directed by Floria Sigismondi (Marilyn Manson, Christina Aguilera), mirrors its lyrical message with images damning the war in Iraq.

The soundtrack to "50 First Dates," the new Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore movie, is composed primarily of cover songs of popular '80s hits reworked by the likes of Wyclef Jean and Eve, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Jason Mraz, and Elan Atias with Gwen Stefani. Meanwhile, the "Barbershop 2" soundtrack features Mary J. Blige, Chingy, the Clipse, G-Unit, Sean Paul and Mobb Deep.

Five for Fighting drop The Battle of Everything, featuring the lead single, "100 Years," alongside the Walkmen's Bows and Arrows.

Finally, the Lostprophets Start Something ... just as we finish.

Out Tuesday, February 3:

  • Aros - Train Song (Songlines/ Big Daddy)
  • Astral Doors - If the Son and the Father (Locomotive Music)
  • Moya Brennan - Two Horizons (Decca)
  • Cat on Form - Set Them on Fire With Their Own Matches (Southern)
  • Centro-Matic - Flashes and Cables (Misra)
  • Kenny Chesney - When the Sun Goes Down (BNA)
  • The Church - Forget Yourself (Cooking Vinyl)
  • Citizens Here and Abroad - Ghosts of Tables and Chairs (Omnibus)
  • The Clocks - Black Box (Zip)
  • Harry Connick Jr. - Only You (Columbia)
  • The Crumbs - Last Exit (TKO)
  • Jimmy Dawkins - Tell Me Baby (Fedora)
  • Destruction Unit - Self Destruction of a Man (Empty)
  • Dismantled - Post Nuclear (Metropolis)
  • Dollar Store - Dollar Store (Bloodshot)
  • Easterly - Easterly (Not Lame)
  • Electrelane - The Power Out (Too Pure)
  • Electro Group - Ummo (Omnibus)
  • Elephant Micah - The United States of Elephant Micah (BlueSanct)
  • Fillmore Slim - Funky Mama's House (Fedora)
  • Five for Fighting - The Battle for Everything (Aware/Columbia)
  • Gadget - Remote (Relapse)
  • Serge Gainsbourg - Aux Armes et Caetera (Sunnyside)
  • In Strict Confidence - Holy (Metropolis)
  • Incubus - A Crow Left of the Murder (Epic/Immortal)
    Read: "Incubus Experiment With New Sounds On Crow Left Of The Murder"
    Buy Now: A Crow Left of the Murder (Epic/Immortal)
    To hear Incubus’ new album, check out MTV.com’s "The Leak."
  • Tim Kirker - Like Distant Sounds (Fishhead)
  • Last Autumn's Dream - Last Autumn's Dream (Frontiers)
  • Jens Lekman - Maple Leaves (Secretly Canadian)
  • Lion Fever - Lustre (Dim Mak)
  • Lostprophets - Start Something (Columbia)
  • Microphones - Live in Japan February 19th, 21st, and 22nd, 2003 (K)
  • Moca - Wroooooooam (Blue Flame)
  • Moth Spy - Sueno Azul (Americans Are Coming)
  • Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed (4AD)
  • Off the Record - Nothing New (New School)
  • The Olivia Tremor Control - Music From the Unrealized Film Script (Cloud)
  • Owls - Our Hopes and Dreams (Magic Marker)
  • Eddi Reader - Sings the Songs of Robert Burns (Compass)
  • Reincidentes - Cosas de Este Mundo (Locomotive Music)
  • Sheek the Shayk - Hour of the Seventh Moon (Laughing Outlaw)
  • Summer Hymns - Value Series Vol. 1: Fool's Gold (Misra)
  • Sunny & the Sunliners - Sharing Those Rock & Roll Memories (Freddie)
  • Super XX Man - Vol. VII: My Usual Way (Lelp Recordings)
  • Heidi Talbot - Distant Future (Compass)
  • Threshold - Critical Energy (Inside Out Music)
  • Vaz/ The Seawhores - Vazzed in a Sea of Whores (Essay)
  • Ray Vega - Squeeze Squeeze (Palmetto)
  • Vocokesh - Tenth Corner (Strange Attractors)
  • The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows (Record Collection)
  • The Washdown - Yes to Everything (Lookout)
  • X - Evil Rumours (Laughing Outlaw)
  • Various artists - "50 First Dates" soundtrack (Maverick)
  • Various artists - "Barbershop 2 - Back in Business" soundtrack (Interscope)
    Read: "Mary J. Blige, G-Unit Cuts On 'Barbershop 2' Soundtrack"
  • Various artists - Body & Soul: Duets (Time Life)
  • Various artists - "Lion King 1 1/2" soundtrack (Walt Disney)
  • Various artists - Interpreting Björk (Hush)
  • Various artists - Rykodisc 20th Anniversary (Rykodisc)
  • Various artists - Soul Comes Home: A Celebration of Stax Records (Sony)

February 10:

February 17:

  • BT - Music From and Inspired by the Film "Monster" (Digital Sound)
  • Indigo Girls - All That We Let In (Sony)
  • Lambchop - Aw C'mon (Merge)
  • Lambchop - No, You C'mon (Merge)

February 24:

March 2:

  • Black Sabbath - Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970-78 (Rhino)
  • Cee-Lo - Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine (Arista)
  • The Get Up Kids - Guilt Show (Vagrant)
  • Hootie and the Blowfish - The Best of Hootie and the Blowfish 1993-2003 (Atlantic)

March 30:

April 6:

  • Rahzel - Rahzel's Greatest Knockouts (Readyrock)

Related Artists ]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1484747/20040202/incubus.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1484747/20040202/incubus.jhtml 2 Feb 2004 09:20:00 EST <![CDATA[Five For Fighting - Chances]]> Five For Fighting - Chances

Chances

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=437904 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=437904 22 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EDT <![CDATA[Five For Fighting - Superman]]> Five For Fighting - Superman

Superman

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=14163 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=14163 21 Jun 2007 12:00:00 EDT <![CDATA[Five For Fighting - The Riddle]]> Five For Fighting - The Riddle

The Riddle

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=92014 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=92014 14 Jun 2006 12:00:00 EDT <![CDATA[Five For Fighting - The Devil in the Wishing Well]]> Five For Fighting - The Devil in the Wishing Well

The Devil in the Wishing Well

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=37518 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=37518 28 Oct 2004 12:00:00 EDT <![CDATA[Five For Fighting - 100 Years]]> Five For Fighting - 100 Years

100 Years

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=29424 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=29424 19 Mar 2004 12:00:00 EST <![CDATA[Five For Fighting - Easy Tonight]]> Five For Fighting - Easy Tonight

Easy Tonight

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=16654 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1165649&vid=16654 17 Jun 2002 12:00:00 EDT