Denver's Pepsi Center
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Four years ago in Boston, a little-known senator from Illinois made his debut on the national stage with a stirring keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention. This year, that senator, Barack Obama, will again give a pivotal speech at the DNC, but this time he'll be the headliner and his speech will be a historic acceptance of the Democratic nomination for the presidency.

More than 50,000 people will attend the convention — including 5,000 delegates and 15,000 reporters — which will take place Monday (August 25) through Thursday at Denver's Pepsi Center. The convention will be capped on Thursday by Obama's eagerly anticipated speech in front of 75,000 at INVESCO Field at Mile High during a free event open to the public.

Thursday will mark the first time since John F. Kennedy's 1960 address at Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum that a Democratic nominee has given his acceptance speech outside the convention's main floor. Given the image of youth and change that Obama has cultivated during the campaign season, the allusion to Democratic history is clearly intended to tug on heartstrings. The speech will also coincide with the 45th anniversary of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, another bit of serendipity that provides further emotional resonance for the man who has made history as the first black presidential nominee of either major political party.

But just what is the purpose of the gathering, and why are Democrats spending a reported $40 million-plus on the event? Some facts about the convention:

» Delegates from each of the 50 states meet at the Democratic National Convention every four years to select the Democratic candidates for president and vice president.

» The event, which typically takes place in a major city such as Chicago (11 times), Baltimore (eight) or New York (five), is not open to the public, but only to delegates, the press, party members and other invited guests. The Denver convention will take place on the 100th anniversary of the party's 1908 convention in that city.

» A complicated formula is used to determine how many delegates are invited from each state, using the number of votes cast in the past three elections. It looks something like this: (State's Democratic Vote/Total Democratic Vote) + (State's Electoral Vote/Total Electoral Vote)/ 2 X 3,000 = # of Delegates Per State. The formula ensures that heavily Democratic states have a higher number of delegates. Organizers expect 4,440 delegates to attend, with 4,235 casting votes.

» Thanks to his lead in elected delegates and superdelegates, Obama is expected to receive the nomination. Democratic Representative Loretta Sanchez, however, predicted that half of the Democrats in the House could cast their votes for Obama's former rival for the nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton. The Obama campaign has agreed to allow a floor vote at the convention to assuage Clinton supporters, though even Clinton has said she plans to vote for Obama.

» Delegates are not paid for their participation, and most will come at their own expense after being selected on a statewide level in a sometimes complicated process that involves some politicking of its own. Some as young as 19 will be participating for the first time alongside party veterans. The youngest delegate is Minnesota's David Gilbert-Pederson, 17, who is one of two delegates under 18 expected at the event; almost 15 percent of the delegates are 36 years old or younger.

» The incumbent party traditionally holds its convention after the challenging party's. The Republican convention will take place in Minneapolis-St. Paul during the first week of September. The conventions were pushed back this year due to the Olympics.

» House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be nominated to chair the convention, whose first day's theme will be "One Nation." On Monday's schedule: an address from Michelle Obama and a tribute to Senator Ted Kennedy.

» After a bruising primary season in which Senator Obama ran neck-and-neck with Senator Clinton, Democrats faced the possibility of a brokered convention, during which the nominee would not have been chosen until a vote at the convention. But that potentially divisive option was avoided when Clinton conceded the race to Obama.

» Michigan and Florida had their delegate votes docked for moving their primaries to January, but after much wrangling and back-and-forth, the two states were granted half-votes each at the convention.

» Tuesday's speakers include Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, all of whom had generated buzz as potential running mates. The theme is "Renewing America's Promise," and the keynote speaker will be former Virginia Governor Mark Warner. Senator Clinton will also give a speech during prime time, and the party's proposed national platform will be discussed and debated.

» Wednesday's theme is "Securing America's Future." Former President Bill Clinton will address the convention, as will vice presidential candidate Joe Biden. Former presidential candidate Bill Richardson is also among the speakers, as well as 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

» The final day's theme is "Change You Can Believe In." Obama will deliver his speech that evening.

» According to the DNC, California will have the biggest delegation at 503, with American Samoa pulling up the rear with 13 delegates. Journalists from more than 130 nations will converge on the event.

» Some terms you might hear during the convention:

At-Large Delegate: These are pledged delegates who are the very last to be elected on a statewide level and represent presidential candidates in proportion to the statewide vote the candidate received in the primary or caucus.

Credentials Committee: This group resolves any disputes over the seating of delegates and alternates to the convention.

Platform: This is the official statement of the party's position on a variety of important issues. Each issue included in the platform is called a "plank."

The convention won't be all politicians and funny hats, though. According to the New York Daily News there will be serious star power on-hand as well, including possible appearances by George Clooney, Madonna, Kanye West, Scarlett Johansson, Susan Sarandon, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino and Matt Damon.

James Taylor and Tony Bennett are performing at a fundraiser for Pelosi during the event, and Kanye West is reportedly hosting a gig in honor of the Recording Industry Association of America. Among the stars that could make appearances are Annette Bening and hubby Warren Beatty, Matthew Modine and Kerry Washington.

Rock the Vote will hold an event called the Ballot Bash during the first night of the convention; it will feature sets from Fall Out Boy, N.E.R.D. and Jakob Dylan, with an afterparty DJ'd by Nick Cannon. In addition, Rage Against the Machine will be playing a gig during the DNC — as well as during the Republican convention the following week — as part of a larger protest called the "Tent State Music Festival to End the War." Daughtry, Everclear and the Flobots will play a show sponsored by the Grammy Foundation during the DNC as well. Other acts playing during the convention include Death Cab for Cutie, Cold War Kids and Moby.

And don't worry about missing out on the action: 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. And head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election. And after history is made in Denver, MTV News will help you make sense of it all in "Obama Decoded," premiering Friday, August 29 at 7:30.

• Fall Out Boy
• Daughtry
• N.E.R.D.
• The Flobots

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

Flobots
Photo: Marina Chavez/60 Cycle Media

You probably already know this, but "Handlebars" — the now-ubiquitous rock-radio tune from Denver, Colorado, collective Flobots — isn't exactly about the skill required to ride a bicycle without using your hands.

"The song is about the idea that we have so much incredible potential as human beings to be destructive or to be creative. And it's tragic to me that the appetite for military innovation is endless, but when it comes to taking on a project like ending world hunger, it's seen as outlandish. It's not treated with the same seriousness," Flobots MC Jonny 5 (a.k.a. Jamie Laurie) said.

"The lyrics came to me as I was riding a bike home from work with my hands in the air — I had just learned how to do it — and I felt triumphant, but at the same time, I knew there were people at that moment who were being bombed by our own country. And I thought that was incredibly powerful. We have these little moments of creativity, these bursts of innovation, and every time that happens, that innovation is used to oppress and destroy people. So it struck me as beautiful and tragic at the same time."

Whoa, dude. And while that sort of talk isn't exactly common for the bands that usually occupy the rock-radio charts (like, uh, Nickelback), it's not as if Flobots are your average rock-radio act in the first place. Formed in the Mile High City three years ago by a pair of lyricists (Jonny and Brer Rabbit), their ranks have swollen to include a viola player (Mackenzie Roberts), a trumpeter (Joe Ferrone), a lead-pipe rhythm section (drummer Kenny Ortiz and bassist Jesse Walker) and a guitarist schooled in the way of funk (Andy Rok). The traditional three-piece, this isn't.

"Denver really is a music mecca. There's a ton of bands, an incredible array of venues and every genre is alive and well. The hip-hop scene is incredible, the rock scene and the indie scene are incredible, but there's a whole lot of bands that exist between those genres — hip-hop with Latin indigenous instrumentation or folk-hop — the whole gambit," Jonny 5 explained. "And our band represents the spirit of the city. ... The fact that we got on alternative radio, we're really at the outer edge of it. I think it stands out. If people hear 'Handlebars,' they go, 'What is this?' "

And at the moment, plenty of people are doing just that. The song sits at #3 on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock chart (behind only Weezer's "Pork and Beans" and some Seether song), and its hook — 5's boast that he "can ride my bike with no handlebars" — is quickly becoming a staple catchphrase in cubicles from coast to coast.

"This is real exciting for us. We've been a band for three years, just performing locally, and to just have a song that everyone in the country is hearing, and this chorus that seems to be stuck in everyone's head, it's pretty incredible," 5 said. "We have a friend who works in an office in L.A., and he asked his friend, 'Hey, do you know how to make this computer print on Windows XP?' and his friend goes, 'No, but I can ride my bike with no handlebars.' And he said, 'You've heard that song?' and everyone turned around in their chairs and went, 'Are you kidding?!? Everybody's heard that song!' "

And while the Flobots are enjoying the success that comes with a modicum of success — they're booked for the rock-radio summer-festival circuit, and on Tuesday, Universal Republic will reissue their sophomore album, Fight With Tools — 5 is also wary of making sure that fans don't miss his group's message.

Which is why, in addition to talking all about "Handlebars," he's also quick to put in a plug for Flobots.org, the band's nonprofit organization, which aims to recruit fans for community-service projects and teach music classes at the Denver Children's Home. Like we said, this isn't your typical rock-radio act.

"If I were to pick our two biggest underlying principles, one of them is that music is powerful, probably more powerful than most people have acknowledged. And we have set up structures to harness that power — Flobots.org — and the mission is to use music to mobilize and engage people," 5 said. "And the second principle is engaging and being positive. We engage everything in the world that's negative and go, 'All right, how can we take it to someplace positive?'

"I mean, our album is called Fight With Tools for a reason. ... It's also the concept of the record. We're saying there's a war going on for your mind, and we have the chance to fight for our minds using the tools that are within us," 5 added. "And 'Handlebars' is part of that. I mean, I'm sure there are people who hate pop radio and they see us as a part of that ... but I think if they dig deeper, they'll see there's a lot more to us."

• The Flobots

Raconteurs, Metallica More Are On Fire At The 2008 KROQ Weenie Roast In L.A.

• Raconteurs
• Metallica
• Bad Religion
• The Flobots
• Ludo