In the unlikely event that you've missed the Jennifer Lopez media blitz of the past few weeks, you might be interested in knowing that she's got a new album out this week. This is Me ...Then covers the ground we've come to expect from J. Lo — danceable songs about the Bronx, love, and her being the same girl she's always been.

Snoop Dogg, on the other hand, has changed some over the years. On his latest album, he tells how he Paid Tha Cost to Be Da Boss.

Does This Look Infected? the follow-up to Sum 41's All Killer No Filler, trades in the bubblegum skate punk for more serious, though still rousing, songs from the boys.

As promised by drummer ?uestlove, the Roots' fifth studio album Phrenology is the Philadelphia hip-hop group's shortest, fastest, most aggressive record to date.

Coinciding with the Osbournes season premiere, firecracker Kelly unveils her debut album, Shut Up, while Busta Rhymes and System of a Down roll out It Ain't Safe No More and Steal This Album, respectively.

Finally, the "Paid in Full" soundtrack, featuring Cam'ron, Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel, shares shelf space with the previously hard to find Twoism EP by the Boards of Canada and a new release by Tupac Shakur, proving that even in his posthumous career, he's seen Better Dayz than his competition.

Out Tuesday, November 26:

• 2Pac - Better Dayz (2 CDs, Interscope)
  Read: "New Tupac Tracks Roll Out On Another Posthumous Double Album"
  
• Paula Abdul - Greatest Hits (Simply the Best)
  Buy Now: Greatest Hits (Simply The Best)
• All About Eve - Fairy Light Nights Two (United States)
• Artisokka - A Hiding Place in the Arbor (Shelflife)
• Atari Teenage Riot - Redefine the Enemy (Digital Hardcore)
• Baby - The Birdman (Cash Money/Universal)
  Read: "Cash Money's Baby Makes Video Plans With P. Diddy, Toni Braxton"
• Bad Brains - I & I Survived (Reggae Lounge)
• Chet Baker - Almost Blue (West Wind)
• Jeff Beck - Hi-Ho Silver Lining (Go)
• Beyond the Sixth Seal - Earth & Sphere (Lifeforce)
• Boards of Canada - Twoism (EP, Warp)
  
• Bodacious D.F. - Bodacious D.F. (Acadia)
• Brown Power - Bad Blood (Brown Power)
• Jeff Buckley - Grace EPs Box Set (5 CDs, Sony)
  
• Busta Rhymes - It Ain't Safe No More (J Records)
  Read: "Busta Borrows From Gilligan, Encourages Wildin' Out On New LP"
  
• Canned Heat - Live in Oz (United States)
• Ray Charles - Don't Put All Your Dreams in One Basket (Planet Media)
• Charlotte Church - Prelude: The Best of Charlotte Church (Sony)
• Cloven Hoof - Cloven Hoof (Castle)
• Colorsound - Colorsound (United States)
• DJ Hell - Electronic Body House Music (React)
• Drag the River - Live at the Starlight (Mars Motors)
• Dream Street - The Biggest Fan (Sony)
• DRI - Dirty Rotten CD (Beer City)
• The Dropscience - Dies Tonight (Happy Couples Never)
• Dru Hill - Dru World Order (Def Soul/Def Jam)
  Read: "Dru Hill Wow NYC Crowd, Ready Fans For Dru World Order"
  
• Bob Dylan & the Rolling Thunder Revue -- Bob Dylan Live 1975 (3 CDs, Sony)
• Erase the Grey - 27 Days (EP, Universal)
• Evergreen Terrace - Burned Alive by Time (Eulogy)
• Five - Hemophiliac Dream (EP, Tortuga)
• Flickerstick - Causing a Catastrophe Live (What Are Records)
• Green Pajamas - Northern Gothic (Camera Obscura)
• Grootna - Grootna (Acadia)
• Tracii Guns - Killing Machine (Big Eye)
• Richie Hawtin & Sven Vath - The Sound of the Third Season (novamute)
• Heartscarved - Epilogue (Tribunal)
• Hipp-E & Halo - Fabric 07 (Fabric)
• Holding on - Question What You Live for (Bridge Nine)
• Hope and Suicide - Razorblade Smile (EP, Ides of March)
• Icons of Filth - Nostradamnedus (Go Kart)
• Syleena Johnson - Chapter 2: The Voice (Jive)
• K-Ci & JoJo - Emotional (MCA)
  Read: "K-Ci & JoJo Talk New LP, Explain Pants-Dropping Incident"
  
• Khaled - Ya Taleb (Mondo Melodia)
• Kool G Rap - The Giacana Story (Koch)
  Read: "Kool G Rap LP Finally On The Way, Capone-N-Noreaga, Michael Stipe Included"
  
• Long Tall Shorty - Bird in the Hand (Acid Jazz)
• Jennifer Lopez - This Is Me ... Then (Epic)
  Read: "J. Lo Sets Release Date For LP After Song Leaks Out"
  
• Dave Martone - Demon's Dream (Lion Music)
• Paul McCartney - Back in the U.S. Live 2002 (2 CDs, MPL/Capitol)
  Buy Now: Back in the U.S. Live 2002 (EMI)
• Tim McGraw - Tim McGraw & the Dancehall Doctors (Curb)
• Kathleen Mock - Kathleen Mock (The Orchard)
• Mock Orange - First EP (Dead Droid)
• Mr. Boogie - Big Man (Familia)
• No Warning - Ill Blood (Bridge Nine)
• Kelly Osbourne - Shut Up (Sony)
  Read: "Kelly Osbourne Says 'Shut Up' And Dance On Upcoming LP"
  
• Primal Scream - Evil Heat (Epic)
  
• Promise - Believer (Indecision)
• Raised Fist - Dedication (Burning Heart)
• Ramallah - But a Whimper (Bridge Nine)
• Red Flag - Codebreaker T133 (Plan B)
• Don Rich - Come Back to Me (Jin)
• The Roots - Phrenology (MCA)
  Read: "?uestlove Talks New Roots, Common LPs?uestlove Talks New Roots, Common LPs"
  
• Roots Manuva - Badmeaningood Volume 2 (Ultimate Dilemma)
• Royce Da 5' 9" - Rock City (Game/Koch)
  
• Schizoid - All Things are Connected (Digital Hardcore)
• Scissorfight - Potential New Agent for Unconventional Warfare (Tortuga)
• Shadowkeep - Chaos Theory (LMP)
• Sharp Things - Here Comes the Sharp Things (The Orchard)
• Smashing Pumpkins - Earphoria (Virgin)
• Will Smith - Greatest Hits (Sony)
• Snoop Dogg - Paid Tha Cost to Be Da Boss (Priority)
  Read: "Snoop Quotes Pootie Tang And Cheers: 'Pimp, Pimp Hooray!' "
  
• Solo Project - Bend/Break (Rise)
• Space Tribe - Heart Beat (EFA-CAR)
• The Stanley Brothers - Echoes of Clinch Mountain (Country Stars)
• Star of Ash - Ilter Viator (Voices of Wonder)
• Star Queen - Faithbringer (Lion Music)
• Alice Stuart - All the Good Times (Arhoolie)
• Sum 41 - Does This Look Infected? (Island)
  Read: "Sum 41 Sober Up On Does This Look Infected?"
  
• System of a Down - Steal this Album (Sony)
  Read: "From-The-Vault System Songs Have New Political Relevancy"
  
• Tony Touch - Last of the Pro-Ricans (Sequence)
• Unknown Hinson - Rock N Roll is Straight from Hell (Capitol)
• Until the End - Let the World Burn (Eulogy)
• Witches - On Parade (Fall of Rome)
• Various artists -- "The Beautiful Game" soundtrack (Decca U.S.)
• Various artists - Covered in Chains: A Tribute to Alice in Chains (Big Eye)
• Various artists - "Evelyn" soundtrack (Decca U.S.)
• Various artists - Metallica Tribute: MetalliClash (Reverberations)
• Various artists -- "Paid in Full" soundtrack (Def Jam)
• Various artists - "Star Trek: Nemesis" soundtrack (Varèse Sarabande)
• Various artists - "The Wild Thornberrys" soundtrack (Nick/Jive)

• DVD Miles Davis - "The Miles Davis Story" (Columbia Legacy Jazz)
• DVD Herbie Hancock - "Future2Future Live" (Columbia Legacy Jazz)
• DVD Jimmy Eat World - "Jimmy Eat World" (DreamWorks) Read: "Jimmy Eat World Plan Headlining Tour, Live DVD"
• DVD Lenny Kravitz - "Lenny Live" (Virgin)
• DVD Slipknot - "Disasterpieces" (Roadrunner) Read: "See World Through Slipknot's Eyes With 'Disasterpieces' "
• DVD Various artists - "Queen + The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert" (EMI)

• Charli Baltimore - The Diary (You Think You Know)
  (Murder Inc./Def Jam)
  Read: "Charli Baltimore's Working All Night And Needs Pink"
• Mariah Carey - Charmbracelet (MonarC/Island/Def Jam)
  Read: "Mariah Carey Insists She Just Needed Sleep, Taps Family History For New Clip"
  Buy Now: Charmbracelet (MonarC/Island/Def Jam)

• Aaliyah - I Care 4 U (Universal)
  Read: "Aaliyah LP Will Have Hits, Six New Songs, DVD Of Her Videos"
  
• DJ Envy - Block Party (Epic)
• Whitney Houston - Just Whitney (Arista)
  Buy Now: Just Whitney (Arista)

• Dashboard Confessional - Unplugged 2.0 (Vagrant)
   Buy Now: Unplugged 2.0 (Vagrant)
• Nas - God's Son (Columbia)
    Read: "Nas Sets Release For God's Son, Pooh-Poohs Jay-Z's Challenge"
• New Order - Retro (Box Set, Warner Bros.)
• S Club - Don't Stop Movin' (Universal)

• Jennifer Lopez
• Snoop Dogg
• Sum 41
• Kelly Osbourne
• Busta Rhymes

Flickerstick
Photo: Jason Campbell

No wonder Flickerstick are grinning ear to ear. The Dallas rock quintet, who won VH1's "Bands on the Run" reality show for unsigned acts, recently inked a deal with Epic Records, which will re-release the band's album Welcoming Home the Astronauts, augmented with the new song "Smile."

The label will release the remixed and remastered version of Astronauts on October 16, according to an Epic spokesperson. Tom Lord-Alge (Blink-182, Marilyn Manson) will remix the disc, whose first single, "Beautiful," is scheduled to surface at radio beginning September 11. Radio listeners nationwide have already been requesting "Beautiful" as well as "Coke," another of the album's tracks, and both songs have been receiving airplay.

As part of the grand prize, VH1 footed the bill for a video for "Smile," a fan favorite that is now in rotation on the channel. The winners also received $50,000 in cash and $100,000 worth of equipment.

Flickerstick found themselves in the midst of a bidding war among several major labels after being announced as winners in July (see "Flickerstick's Career On Fire After 'Bands On The Run'").

The group will continue touring colleges throughout the fall and plans on staging a national headlining jaunt around the release of the album.

• Flickerstick

Flickerstick
Photo: Jason Campbell

Sold-out gigs, screaming autograph seekers, groupies — it comes with the territory of being a rock star. Although such amenities are usually reserved for bands who reach stardom on the heels of a platinum album or two, Dallas' Flickerstick are enjoying the perks while still selling the bulk of their CDs from the trunk of a car.

Flickerstick, winners of VH1's reality series "Bands on the Run," became bona fide rock stars without the benefit of a label deal (though an industry bidding war will soon change that situation). For eight weeks, the alt-rock quintet competed against three other unsigned bands by performing in cities across the U.S. and selling merchandise along the way. Merch sales and ticket revenue determined who would be eliminated, and a battle of the bands with a $5,000 purse ultimately decided the outcome.

Though the contest ended with them receiving a grand prize of $50,000 cash, $100,000 worth of equipment from Guitar Center, an A&R showcase and a music video budget, Flickerstick would've felt victorious even without all that.

"We were the winners of the show, regardless of the outcome, about five or six weeks into [VH1's broadcast]," guitarist Corey Kreig explained. "We started touring and saw that people were really loving us, individually, personally and musically as a band. We considered ourselves winners then. If we had been kicked off we still would've felt like we were winners because we walked out of it with a fanbase and with people interested in our music." Though Flickerstick may forever be known as the band VH1 broke, they don't seem to mind the stigma. Getting their music to the masses is what matters most, they said, and the masses have responded. Sold-out shows have become the norm for the band, and the company manufacturing the group's independently released Welcoming Home the Astronauts is having trouble keeping up with demand.

The band sells 80 to 100 copies at any given show, averaging 500-700 copies a week, their manager said. They've sold more than 10,000 copies so far, though they had barely moved 2,000 before the first episode of "Bands on the Run" aired.

In those days, Flickerstick worked the Dallas/Austin music circuit vigorously, performing locally and touring briefly whenever their day jobs would permit.

"We were just playing regionally in Texas," singer Brandin Lea said. "We were a hardworking band doing it independently and trying to make something happen. And then this came along and changed everything." After hearing a demo of "Talk Show Host" on a Billboard-produced unsigned band compilation, VH1 producers approached Brandin and his brother, bassist Fletcher Lea, for a program about fraternal bandmembers. Although that show never got off the ground, the group was offered an audition for "Bands on the Run," and six levels of tryouts later they landed a slot on the series.

Ever since they were revealed as the winners on July 8, the music industry has been abuzz about Flickerstick.

While in New York last week for three area shows, the group met with several major labels, and a contract is expected to be announced shortly. Whichever label they sign with, Flickerstick plan to revamp a few tracks on Welcoming Home the Astronauts and give it the proper nationwide release they feel it deserves.

Unlike most bands negotiating their first label deal, the ball was definitely in Flickerstick's court. What other unsigned artist brings to the table thousands of fans already familiar with the bandmembers and their music, some even knowing by heart all the words to the hooky "Beautiful," the moody psychedelic epic "Direct Line to the Telepathic" and other songs depicted in the series? Although having every aspect of their lives documented by a camera crew 24 hours a day did wonders for Flickerstick's visibility, the warts-and-all approach took its toll on the members' personal lives.

Going into the series, before their drunken frolicking with female fans became public information, Fletcher and guitarist Rex "El Dangeroso" Ewing were married and Kreig had a steady girlfriend. Now Ewing and Kreig are no longer with their significant others and Fletcher is in the process of repairing his fractured relationship. On top of that, drummer Dominic Weir, the band's resident playboy, has seen his seemingly hypnotic power over the opposite sex dwindle since the show began airing.

"I'm a whore," the drummer said, quoting the usual reaction he now receives from ladies. "I heard that about 25 times in a 30 minute period in Alabama. 'Hey, you're the whore!' " "Yeah, Dominic has gotten a little flack," Brandin said. "But we're really surprised that we don't get a lot more. We really expected there to be some people who are really down on our behavior, and there really hasn't been much of that. I know with Beastie (co-frontman of competing band Soulcracker), the guy is getting death threats and people try to kick his ass everywhere he goes." Once their current tour, their longest ever, winds down, Flickerstick will finally be able to play with their new toys from Guitar Center, which are waiting for them at home. The video for "Smile" premiered on Sunday's final episode of "Bands on the Run," and their songs are already receiving airplay nationwide.

"Although the show has ended, we're just starting," Brandin said. "You know us, you know our names — now we're going to play the real game." MTVi's parent company, Viacom, also owns VH1.

• Flickerstick