Ben Folds (file)
Photo: Amanda Edwards/ Getty Images

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Along with sharing a first name, Ben Folds, Ben Lee and Ben Kweller share the same attitude about their short-lived joint project, the Bens.

"We all learned something from it, because this is a day and age where ... there's a marketing reason behind everything," Folds, the eldest Ben, explained recently. "But this was just completely spontaneous, naive and wasn't intended to be anything and it ended up being really powerful."

Recorded in just three days, The Bens EP was supposed to be a souvenir for a Folds/Lee/Kweller tour, but ended up becoming one of hottest indie releases of 2003 (see "When Kweller, Lee And Folds Team Up, It's All About The Benjamins"), earning the trio record-deal offers and tour opportunities all over the world.

"We felt that and then realized, 'Now it's business,' and thought, 'Why don't we take the feeling that we got from that, 'cause it was really refreshing after years of bullsh-- in the music business, and carry it into our next projects?' " Folds said. "It's worked out. It's tempting to do [a lot more of] it, but it has to be done when it's like, 'Hey, are you in town? Well come by the studio.' It has to be like that. If it's, 'We've released a budget of this, this and this, and here is your deadline,' I don't know. I'd rather just leave it."

So, as of now, the Bens have no plans to record together again, although an onstage reunion could be in the cards for this summer. Folds and Lee are touring North America together, along with Rufus Wainwright, on what's being called the Odd Men Out Tour.

For Folds, the outing will be his first with a band in three years. Drummer Lindsay Jamieson and bassist Jared Reynolds, who play on Folds' new Songs for Silverman (see "Ben Folds Salutes Elliott Smith, Hosts Weird Al On New LP"), will be joining the piano man.

"Rocking 5,000 lame-asses with an acoustic piano is fun, but I decided it would be nice to have a band," Folds said. "We are happy to play a couple of Ben Folds Five songs, but the two guys I'm playing with, they own the new album and are playing all over it, so when we play that, it's hitting home."

Folds originally started Songs for Silverman without the band, but felt the songs needed them.

"I was playing piano, drums, bass and guitar and it was sounding a little uninspiring," Folds recalled. "I mean, the songs on the record, the production of the songs and the arrangements, are all about subtlety. If there's not chemistry there, there's not energy below the subtlety, and it's just going to suck. Me playing all the instruments, that's just too gray."

Before the Odd Men Out Tour kicks off August 3, Folds will wrap up a short Stateside trek with dates Tuesday in New York, Friday in Philadelphia and Saturday in Boston, and then head overseas for most of June and July.

The Odd Men Out Tour dates, according to Folds' Web site:

• 8/3 - Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap Filene Center
• 8/4 - Brooklyn, NY @ Celebrate Brooklyn, Prospect Park
• 8/5 - Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion
• 8/7 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Borgata Resort Spa and Casino
• 8/9 - Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
• 8/10 - Highland Park, IL @ Ravinia Festival
• 8/11 - Columbus, OH @ Promowest Pavilion
• 8/13 - Kansas City, MO @ City Market
• 8/14 - Tulsa, OK @ River Parks Amphitheater
• 8/16 - Denver, CO @ The Fillmore Auditorium
• 8/18 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern LG
• 8/19 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern LG
• 8/20 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
• 8/24 - Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery
• 8/26 - Woodinville, WA @ Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery

• Ben Folds

Ben Folds
Photo: MTV News

BEVERLY HILLS, California — If only iTunes charts meant as much as Billboard charts.

"I'd be on the front of People magazine every week," Ben Folds joked. "I have a real disproportionate Internet fanbase. On iTunes, it's me and the Boss."

In "the real world," a.k.a. record stores, though, Folds has pretty much tossed in the towel.

"You don't have to walk in the mall for very long to realize I'm not really in that world," Folds said during a promotional trip to Los Angeles last week that included, of all things, an in-store performance at Virgin Records. "The misconception is that because I write accessible music that I must be mainstream, but there's nothing mainstream anymore about being accessible. ... There has to be a story, and I got no story. Maybe I need to go out and date an actress or something."

Instead, Folds embraces his un-hipness outside of the Internet. For instance, the only known collaborator on his new album, Songs for Silverman, is parody specialist "Weird Al" Yankovic, who harmonizes with Folds on the ballad "Time."

"I love Al, but I know that doesn't add credibility in the indie world to have Al Yankovic singing on backup vocals," confessed Folds, who has been friends with Yankovic since the comedian directed his "Rockin' the Suburbs" video. "I don't give a sh--. He's a great singer. I don't collaborate with anyone for profile or cross-pollination marketing or whatever it is they call it. If I know someone that's talented, whether they're famous or not, then yeah."

Folds certainly demonstrated this philosophy last year, when he co-wrote and produced William Shatner's first album in 36 years and then toured with the actor. At the same time, he also won indie credibility by forming the Bens with Ben Kweller and Ben Lee — although he was careful to end the project before it became too big.

The singer/songwriter is taking the same downplayed approach to "Late," a heartfelt tribute to Elliott Smith on Songs for Silverman that could easily garner the same type of cred.

"I'm going to hit a period pretty soon where I don't talk about that song and let it explain itself," Folds said. "I've always had an allergy to someone who goes, 'Oh, I don't want to explain my songs,' but in this case, he's got friends and family, and I don't need to be the multimedia spokesman for the death of someone I knew for a couple of weeks. I really loved his music and I thought he was a great guy. And I was moved to write a song for him."

Aside from "Late," Songs for Silverman, like the Ben Folds Five records and Folds' debut solo album, Rockin' the Suburbs, mostly chronicles his conventional suburban life. Although he has covered Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Sh--" (an iTunes favorite), Folds is about as gangsta as, well, Yankovic.

"You don't sell sh-- for records by saying, 'Yeah, I'm 38 years old and I've got kids,' " Folds said. "That's death. But if it's the truth, then which death do you want to die? The bullsh-- death that's like, 'I'm going to be 25 years old for the rest of my life,' or the truth death. I'll take the truth death. And they can all f--- themselves."

The truth is that Folds loves his kids. He wrote "Still Fighting It" on Rockin' the Suburbs for his son, Louie, and "Gracie" from Songs for Silverman for his daughter.

"I write songs for a very small audience. In that case it was for one," Folds said. "A lot of times it's for no one; it's for me. Everyone has similar experiences, so I don't really write to the universal. 'Gracie' is a good example of that. It's just for Gracie. The first line is, 'I saw you when you came out.' That's a pretty graphic line for a kid, but I knew she'd think that is funny."

"Landed," the first single from Songs for Silverman — Folds' first album with a band since Ben Folds Five broke up — is about a close friend's divorce.

"He went through a really, really rough time with his horrible witch of a wife and then he got out of it," Folds explained. " 'Landing' just refers to his flight back to his hometown and so him coming back to being himself."

Don't expect to hear the song on the radio, though, Folds said, even if it is a top download on the Internet. Fans can also hear the track and others from Songs for Silverman live this summer on a tour with Rufus Wainwright.

The title of the trek? The Odd Men Out Tour.

• Ben Folds
• Elliott Smith

Amerie's <i>Touch</I>
Photo: Sony

While Amerie gave her fans All I Have as her debut, she's opting to let them Touch a more mature side of her this time around.

The R&B songstress worked again with Rich Harrison, who produced 2002's All I Have, though this time Amerie took more control over her album. She co-wrote all of the tracks on Touch, including the go-go-infused first single, "1 Thing." Amerie got a hand from big-name producers, including Lil Jon, Dre & Vidal, Red Spyda and others, but distanced herself from other mainstream R&B artists by featuring only one guest MC, Eve, who appears on one verse of the "1 Thing" remix.

Another artist keeping things simple on his new album is the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. His 13th studio album, Devils & Dust, a series of Springsteen's characteristic narrative songs, finds the artist working with only select members of his E Street Band, including violinist Soozie Tyrell and wife Patti Scialfa.

It's been four years since we heard from New Order, but that's nothing considering fans had to wait eight long years for 2001's Get Ready. With so many new bands drawing upon New Order for inspiration (Interpol, the Killers), it was high time the influential group released its new album, Waiting for the Sirens' Call.

Bay Area rapper Lyrics Born releases an album full of remixes of his 2003 debut, Later That Day ... , aptly titled Same !@#$ Different Day. The new release features eight remixes from the first album and five new tracks. Goth-inspired punk cabaret duo the Dresden Dolls, meanwhile, reissue their self-titled debut, this time with the backing of a bigger label.

Also out this week are albums by the Eels (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations), Feist (Let It Die), Ben Folds (Songs for Silverman), Porcupine Tree (Dead Wing), No Address (Time Doesn't Notice) and Johnathan Rice (Trouble Is Real).

Out Tuesday, April 26:

• Acceptance - Phantoms (Columbia/RED Ink)
• Amerie - Touch (Sony)
  Read: "Amerie Shoots Down Goody-Goody Image, Says 'I'm Not A Prude' "
• Cheryl Bentyne - Let Me Off Uptown (Telarc)
• Debby Boone - Reflections of Rosemary (Concord)
• Brain Failure - American Dreamer (Thorp)
• Tim Burgess - I Believe (Koch)
• Caesars - Paper Tigers (Astralwerks)
• Charivari - A Trip to the Holiday Lounge (Rounder)
• Jordan Chassan - East of Bristol, West of Knoxville (Strong)
• Coastline Band - Sweet N Ripe (Landslide)
• Steve Cole - Spin (Narada)
• Jack DeJohnette - Music in the Key of Om (Golden Beams/Kindred Rhythm)
• Jack DeJohnette and Foday Musa Suso - Music From the Hearts of the Masters (Golden Beams/Kindred Rhythm)
• Discover America - Psychology (Tooth & Nail)
• DJ Spooky Vs. Dave Lombardo - Drums of Death (Thirsty Ear)
• Dresden Dolls - The Dresden Dolls (Roadrunner)
  Read: "Dresden Dolls Making The World Safe For Punk Cabaret"
• Eels - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (Vagrant)
  Buy Now: Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (Vagrant)
  
• Feist - Let It Die (Interscope)
• Fisher - The Lovely Years (Iris)
• Ben Folds - Songs for Silverman (Epic)
  Buy Now: Songs for Silverman (Epic)
  
• Tracy Grammer - Flower of Avalon (Signature)
• Brian Haas - The Truth About Hollywood (Sin-Drome)
• Hater - The 2nd (Burn Burn Burn)
• Eric Heatherly - The Lower East Side of Life (Koch)
• Hiroshima - Obon (Heads Up)
• Hot Snakes - Peel Sessions EP (Swami)
• Buddy Jewell - Times Like These (Columbia)
• Jim and Jennie and the Pinetops - Rivers Roll on By (Bloodshot)
• John Brown's Body - Pressure Points (Easy Star)
• Love as Laughter - Laughter's Fifth (Sub Pop)
• Luciano - Jah Words (Sanctuary)
• Lyrics Born - Same !@#$ Different Day (Quannum/Epitaph)
• Jo Dee Messina - Delicious Surprise (Curb)
  Buy Now: Delicious Surprise (Curb)
  
• Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree (Beggars Group)
• Oliver Mtukudzi - Nhava (Heads Up)
• New Order - Waiting for the Sirens' Call (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: Waiting for the Sirens' Call (Warner Bros.)
  
• No Address - Time Doesn't Notice (Atlantic)
• Oz Noy - Ha! (Magna Carta)
• Porcupine Tree - Dead Wing (Lava/Atlantic)
  Buy Now: Dead Wing (Lava/Atlantic)
  
• John Prine - Fair and Square (Oh Boy)
  Buy Now: Fair and Square (Oh Boy)
  
• Joel Rafael Band - Woodyboye: Songs of Woody Guthrie (and Tales Worth Telling) Volume II (Appleseed)
• Red Stick Ramblers - Right Key, Wrong Keyhole (Memphis International)
• Johnathan Rice - Trouble Is Real (Warner Bros.)
• Peggy Seeger - Love Call Me Home (Appleseed)
• Settlefish - The Plural of the Choir (Deep Elm)
• Frank Sinatra - Live From Las Vegas (Capitol)
  Buy Now: Live From Las Vegas (Capitol)
  
• Bruce Springsteen - Devils & Dust (Columbia)
  Buy Now: Devils & Dust (Columbia)
  
• Susie Suh - Susie Suh (Epic)
• Jimmy Thackery - Healin' Ground (Telarc)
• Emiliana Torrini - Fisherman's Woman (Rough Trade/Sanctuary)
• Us3 - Questions (Us3)
• Bobby Valentino - Disturbing Tha Peace Presents (Def Jam)
  Read: "Launching Bobby Valentino's Career Is All In A Day's Work For Ludacris"
• Jim Verraros - Rollercoaster (Koch)
• Various artists - Africa Remix (Milan)
• Various artists - Broadway Today: Broadway 1992-Now (Decca/Universal Classics)
• Various artists - Family Guy Live in Las Vegas (Geffen)
• Various artists - "Fever Pitch" soundtrack (Ryko)
• Various artists - Golden Slumbers: A Father's Love (Rendezvous)
• Various artists - "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - "King's Ransom" soundtrack (Ryko)
• Various artists - "Layer Cake" soundtrack (Virgin)

May 3:

• Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cold Roses (Lost Highway)
• Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth (Interscope)
  Read: "New Nine Inch Nails LP Takes Risks — By Being Accessible"
• Stevie Wonder - A Time to Love (Motown)

May 10:

• Dave Matthews Band - Stand Up (RCA)
• Spoon - Gimme Fiction (Merge)
• Weezer - Make Believe (Geffen)
  Read: "Weezer Album Preview: Wailing Guitars And New-Wave Ballads"

May 17:

• Def Leppard - Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (Mercury/Universal)
• System of a Down - Mezmerize (Sony)
  Read: "System Of A Down Album Preview: Band Pulls No Punches With The Pummeling Mezmerize"
• Various artists - American Idol Season 4: The Album (RCA)

• Amerie
• Bruce Springsteen
• New Order
• Lyrics Born
• The Dresden Dolls

• Ben Kweller
• Ben Folds
• Ben Lee

Ben Folds live at Coachella
Photo: John Shearer

INDIO, California — The Donnas have nothing on the Bens.

The three members really are named Ben, and you may have heard of them: Ben Folds, Ben Kweller and Ben Lee.

The solo singers officially became a group, or at least a side project, when they recorded four songs together in Nashville last month.

"There's some new wave on there, a piano ballad that Folds sings, a countryish song," Kweller said Saturday backstage at Coachella (see "Iggy, Beasties, White Stripes Lead Three-Pronged Invasion At Coachella"). "It's just all three of us writing songs; there's not any one particular sound. It's all three of us singing, big harmonies."

After the three-day studio session, the trio spent a week touring together in Australia. The Bens will likely hit the road again this summer when the EP is released via their individual Web sites and indie record stores.

The group came together with the help of another solo singer — no, not another Ben, but Evan Dando. "The first time I met him, he said, 'You have to meet my buddy Ben Lee, you guys are going to hit it off,'" Kweller said of Dando, who helped the former Radish singer launch a solo career. "So at [Dando's] wedding, he had me sit next to him and it was sort of like a blind date. And then Ben Lee introduced me to Ben Folds later."

For now the Bens project is just for fun, since Folds is recording his second post-Ben Folds Five studio album and Australia's Lee is working on material with Dan "the Automator" Nakamura.

Kweller, in the meantime, is still busy promoting Sha Sha, his second solo effort and first for Dave Matthews' ATO Records (see "Former Radish Singer Ben Kweller Mounts Comeback At Age 20"). After releasing the Weezer-like rock tunes "Wasted & Ready" and "How It Should Be (Sha Sha)" as the first two singles, he's dropping the piano-pop song "Falling" to show another side of his album.

"A lot of those songs are really autobiographical, all about change and leaving your parents' house for the first time and growing up in this, like, crazy city and being really scared and intimidated but at the same time being really inspired and looking forward to tomorrow," Kweller said of New York-centric Sha Sha. " 'Falling' was the epitome of what I was going through, sort of trying to convince yourself you're not falling when you really are. It's a really optimistic record, though. You don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but you don't care. You just have to give it your best."

Kweller, who left Monday for a Japanese tour but will return in time for June 13's Bonnaroo Music Festival, has already written 16 songs for his next album, which he plans to record in August.

"I just sing what comes in my head, like stream of consciousness," Kweller said. "It's better when you don't think about it, sort of like freestyling. The [songs] tell the future. It's cool."

• Ben Folds
• Ben Kweller
• Ben Lee

Beastie Boy Mike D at the 2003 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
Photo: BarryBrecheisen

INDIO, California — If not for the palm trees and smoldering temperatures, it would've been easy to forget that the Coachella festival was in the Southern California desert.

This past weekend, Queens of the Stone Age and Ben Harper gave homecoming performances of sorts (both are from nearby towns) and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Johnson and Black Eyed Peas made the two-hour drive from Los Angeles, but for the most part it was all about England, New York and Detroit. (Click to see photos from the festival.)

From England came Blur, Johnny Marr and Primal Scream, along with the bubbling-under Libertines, the Music, South, Badly Drawn Boy, Gomez, Groove Armada and countless DJs. New York brought Saturday's headliner, a standout show from the Beastie Boys, and fellow icons Sonic Youth, along with Interpol, Fischerspooner, the Rapture and the Mooney Suzuki. There's only two of them, but the White Stripes had no problem representing Detroit's garage scene, while the Von Bondies and Whirlwind Heat were two of the most talked about breakthrough bands on the bill.

Coachella featured more than 75 acts playing on five stages over two days. Here's a rundown on some of the more memorable performances:

• The Beastie Boys took the stage Saturday without their instruments, but DJ Mix Master Mike more than made up for it with his own ill communication, tweaking every track and mixing in beats from Missy Elliott's "Work It" and Erik Sermon's "React." The trio rapped parts of at least three new tracks, all of which had the hip-hop simplicity of their latest single, the anti-war anthem "In a World Gone Mad." Mostly, though, the set was heavy on party starters — "Root Down," "Body Movin'," "So What'cha Want," "Intergalactic" and even a bit of the old gem "Brass Monkey" — a sharp contrast to Adam "MCA" Yauch's political banter between songs. "At the next election, vote anyone but Bush," he said at one point.

• Like the Beasties, the Chili Peppers focused their headlining slot on keeping the sun-drenched festival-goers on their feet. Though the band mellowed some on last year's By the Way, their hit-filled live show Sunday was as energetic as ever. Short of sporting only socks, the guys were their old selves, jumping around like caged animals, spouting random dialogue and giving it away now.

• N.E.R.D.'s one-hour set on Saturday was a bit misleading, as the first half was all Spymob, the Minneapolis rock group that doubles as N.E.R.D.'s live band, performing Police-inspired songs from their upcoming debut. When Pharrell Williams and company finally came out, they played three songs before taking a break so friend Kenna could sing his new single. For a finale, Williams brought out Kelly Osbourne and Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am for "Rock Star," though Osbourne proved hardly that, running offstage midway through.

• "Who here doesn't like the Hives?" singer Pelle Almqvist asked, silencing the crowd. "Who here came for the Hives?" he followed to a deafening roar. "Point taken." Obnoxious confidence is part of their shtick, but he did make a point. Both the Hives Saturday and the White Stripes Sunday drew enormous crowds curious to hear two of last year's breakthrough bands.

• In their sharp formalwear, Interpol easily rivaled the Hives for best dressed. The NYC band conjured its swanky interpretation of Joy Division, combining bleak atmosphere with pop hooks, and delivered nearly flawless renditions of songs from Turn on the Bright Light. Despite going up against the Chili Peppers, Interpol generated a large crowd that even lingered for a good while in hopes of an encore that never came.

• While "Song 2" and "Girls and Boys" generated the loudest response, Saturday's crowd was quite receptive to the moody and eclectic tracks a retooled Blur previewed from their forthcoming Think Tank. Frontman Damon Albarn dedicated a song to the late Joe Strummer during a set that mixed Think Tank tunes like the infectious "Crazy Beat" with Britpop classics like "Beetlebum."

• "Scottish people and the desert don't mix very well," Idlewild singer Roddy Woomble joked Saturday afternoon. The floppy-haired lads struggled against the sweltering heat as they began "Little Discourage" from 2000's 100 Broken Windows, but they'd found their places by the song's chorus, easing smoothly into several of the driving and emotive tunes from this year's The Remote Part and earlier tracks like "I'm a Message" and "Roseability."

• Damon Gough was dressed even more poorly for the weather, sporting the cap, beard and thick denim that have become synonymous with his Badly Drawn Boy persona. Gough, more than willing to show off his prowess with a guitar, harmonica and piano, even sang about playing Coachella. "I was told I was headlining the show," he crooned with his typical combination of wit, self-effacement and mock arrogance. "And I am, 'cause that's how I feel."

• Despite sound problems, Hot Hot Heat gave a blistering performance that brought over a herd of VIPs, including Tony Hawk and Kelly Osbourne, who were singing the catchy "Bandages" like everyone else when the show was over. The problems escalated as the night went on, and ended with the Libertines playing only two songs — not good for their first U.S. performance. Organizers squeezed them back in on Sunday so Stateside tastemakers could see the band British journalists are calling the next Strokes.

• Anyone expecting an explosion similar to their former band's musical bombast may have been disappointed by ex-At the Drive-In members Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez's set with the Mars Volta on Sunday. Latin rhythms and long percussive jams were the name of the game as Bixler's nearly Whitesnake-like falsetto soared over every hacky sack and Frisbee game on the far reaches of the field while Rodriquez split his time between barely distorted picking (with scarcely a metallic palm mute to be found) and effects-drenched noise.

• Ben Folds played only the keys in his largely improvisational set, which ended with the singer/songwriter bringing "Song for the Dumped" to a crawl and ad-libbing vulgar yet hilarious lyrics. In a similarly fun set Saturday, Ben Kweller played a little piano, too, spewing out some of the poppiest songs of the weekend.

• On Sunday, Jack White and Juliette Lewis took in an early show from bare-bones rockers the Von Bondies in the Mojave Tent. Later, Los Angeles' Rooney finally gave that stage something that sounded local, blending Beach Boys-like harmonies with Phantom Planet-like tunes (singer Robert Carmine is Jason Schwartzman's brother). And finally, Fischerspooner treated a packed tent to a theatrical show complete with choreographed routines from dancers in feather hair extensions and fishnet bodysuits. The only group that could compete with that kind of spectacle was the Blue Man Group, who closed out their visual orgy with a cover of the Who's "Baba O'Reilly."

• A legion of Smiths fans gathered to catch a glimpse of former guitarist Johnny Marr and his backup band the Healers on Sunday, with so many of them proudly rocking vintage Morrissey T-shirts and tattoos that it almost seemed as if Marr's post-Smiths work with Electronic and other artists had never happened. Despite being cut short by organizers, Marr delivered a laid-back but potent performance of swirling tunes punctuated by his smooth croon. Much-buzzed-about English upstarts the Music were even more psychedelic the night before, invoking the spirit of the Stone Roses and basking in the glow of an impressive light show.

• While a majority of the rock bands at Coachella pounded out fierce odes to the Velvet Underground and the Clash, there were a few who offered a soundtrack for enjoying the tranquil atmosphere of the venue. Ben Harper, Jack Johnson and G. Love & Special Sauce all gathered huge audiences who toasted warm beers to their blends of blues and folk.

• In the group's first performance in more than 25 years, the Stooges (with Mike Watt on bass) treated Sunday's crowd to classics like "TV Eye" and "Fun House." Even those who had no idea who the group was ("Iggy who?" a security guard near the stage asked a friend) were able to enjoy Iggy Pop's erratic stage demeanor.

• Though Ian MacKaye has been notoriously particular about when, where and how he'll be interviewed during the two decades he's run Dischord Records and played in bands like the Teen Idles, Embrace and Fugazi, the two question-and-answer sessions he submitted to at Coachella were total free-for-alls, with kids asking him about everything from straight edge to music, politics, tour stories and the time he was kicked out of Disneyland. One member of the crowd asked the 41-year-old punk icon why he was willing to appear at an expensive festival while Fugazi refuse to play shows with high door prices. "My friend Patti Smith was saying that anyone who has a chance to get in front of a microphone right now and say they're against war should do so," he replied.

• Is Dallas the next Detroit? Two of the most talked about Coachella performances came from that city's Polyphonic Spree, whose 23 members offered a truly original orchestral pop sound, and Eisley, the female-fronted rock quintet handpicked for Coldplay's summer tour.

• Coachella would not be complete without surprises, and while Radiohead rumors proved untrue, Perry Farrell did pop into the tiny Gobi Tent for a surprise DJ set that mixed house music with the kind of tropicalia he explored on his solo album. Farrell's appearance makes him the only artist to play every Coachella.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• Beastie Boys
• Badly Drawn Boy
• Black Eyed Peas
• Blur
• Fischerspooner

Alicia Keys and Angie Stone will sing "America the Beautiful" during the NBA All-Star pre-game show on Sunday, before Elton John takes the court to perform "Philadelphia Freedom." ... Our condolences go out to Slayer vocalist and bassist Tom Araya, whose father died Wednesday night of a heart attack. The group has canceled its Friday (February 8) show in Dallas and may postpone or cancel other dates as well. ... A court date scheduled Wednesday for rapper Capone was adjourned until March 19. The MC is facing second-degree assault charges stemming from an alleged altercation involving a gun at a Queens, New York, nightclub in September. ...

The entire "Queen of the Damned" soundtrack — featuring new tracks penned by Korn's Jonathan Davis and interpreted by Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, Disturbed's David Draiman, Wayne Static of Static-X and Jay Gordon of Orgy — is available for preview at WBR.com via streaming audio. The album is due February 19. ... Ben Folds will embark on his first solo piano tour February 25 in Iowa City, Iowa. The 17-date outing, to support last year's Rockin' the Suburbs and his new single and video, "Still Fighting It," ends March 20 in Los Angeles. ... Marc Anthony will deliver Mended, his second English-language album, to stores on March 26. ...

Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough will host a one-hour meet-and-greet February 16 at the Rock & Sports Experience, a weekend event held at the Washington Convention Center and sponsored by Washington, D.C. radio station Hot 99.5 FM. Dorough will promote awareness of the autoimmune disorder lupus via his Dorough Lupus Foundation, which provides financial assistance to victims who cannot afford treatment and aids in research of the disease, which took his sister's life in 1998. ... Mindless Self Indulgence and Dillinger Escape Plan will fight for marquee space when they jump aboard the System of a Down tour, which kicks off Valentine's Day in Las Vegas. ...

Soul Coughing will release a greatest-hits album, Lust in Phaze, on April 9. Along with radio favorites like "Soundtrack to Mary" and "Rolling," the album will include Ruby Vroom outtake "Buddha Rhubarb Butter," "Unmarked Helicopters" from the "X-Files" compilation Songs in the Key of X, a Propellerheads remix of "Super Bon Bon" and a live version "Casiotone Nation." ... Cornershop will attempt to break a record for the longest remix ever when their official Web site (www.cornershop.com) streams a dynamic, continuously mixed version of "Spectral Mornings" for 24 hours beginning February 12. The song, in its original 15-minute form with Oasis' Noel Gallagher on guitar, appears on Cornershop's Handcream for a Generation, which is now due April 9. ...

Turntablist ensemble the X-ecutioners will kick off a two-month tour to support their second album, Built from Scratch, at the South by Southwest music conference on March 14 in Austin, Texas. The trek wraps May 6 in Los Angeles. ... Hardcore band Speedealer will release their third album, Second Sight, on Palm Pictures on May 14. The record was produced by ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted and features heartwarming songs such as "Leave Me Alone," "Slowly Burning Alive" and "Kill Myself Tonight."... Pro File 1, a collection of remixes by Meat Beat Manifesto (a.k.a. Jack Dangers) due February 19, will include the famed sound manipulator's takes on Nine Inch Nails' "Closer," David Bowie's "You've Been Around" and others. Pro File 2, featuring Frankie Bones remixes, is due in May. ...

02.06.02

Eve and DJ Jazzy Jeff are heroes — they'll be honored by the Philadelphia chapter of the Recording Academy at their 2002 Heroes Awards ceremony on April 22 at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The event will benefit the academy's MusiCares Foundation as well as other programs to advance music education and musicians' welfare. ... Kiss bassist and irrepressible self-promoter Gene Simmons will be giving his famed tongue an onscreen workout in the film Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, which stars Tim Allen of "Home Improvement" fame (oh, of course). ...

It's Aaron's Valentine Party (Come Get It) — yep, teenage ball o' fire Aaron Carter has his own 90-minute pay-per-view special lined up for February 16 on INDemand and DirecTV. "Aaron Carter's Valentine Party," shot at Baton Rouge, Louisiana's Riverside Centroplex, will also feature several performances by Carter's big Backstreet Boy brother, Nick. ... Sign up these switch-hitters, stat — Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez are Hollywood's two most bankable musician/actors, notching up #1 and #2, respectively, on a survey of industry execs by The Hollywood Reporter. "Marky" Mark Wahlberg feels the vibrations at #3, while Madonna, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Ice Cube, Janet Jackson, Cher and Courtney Love bubble under him, according to the Associated Press. ...

Photogenic twin-brother act Evan and Jaron are through with being "Crazy for That Girl." They're writing songs for their next album, which could include a new track penned by Evan called "It's So Funny I Could Cry," according to VH1 Radio. ... Rollins Band will record their March 1 and 2 shows at Chicago's famed Metro Cabaret for their first live CD, due in the summer. Henry Rollins and cohorts will warm up for the gigs with dates in Towson, Maryland (February 25), Boston (26) and Buffalo (27). ...

Run-DMC will help kick off the NBA All-Star Weekend on Friday by appearing and performing at a charity auction party held at Philadelphia's Zanzibar Blue. Two nights after the event, which benefits the Inner-City Games Foundation's efforts to enrich young people's lives through sports and educational programs, the rap innovators will join Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Doug E. Fresh, EPMD, DJ Jazzy Jeff, MC Lyte, Public Enemy and Rakim at the Electric Factory's Old School All-Stars party. ... Fatboy Slim and Paul Oakenfold have released albums of their favorite beats, breaks and scratches on the UK label Music of Life. Fatboy's All Star Breakbeats and Oakenfold's Bust a Groove are fodder for DJs, rappers and producers who want a sneak peak into the superstar DJs' record collections and sound files. ...

Reggae/dancehall veteran Capleton — a former Def Jam artist whose past albums have featured collaborations with Q-Tip and Method Man — will release Still Blazing on February 26 through VP Records. The foul-mouthed "slackness" king-turned-Rastafarian is planning to tour behind the LP, which combines hardcore dancehall and old-school reggae flavor. ... Classic rockers Bad Company recorded their recent tour, which featured original singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke along with new members, for a live CD and DVD due in May. The releases will include two new songs and guest appearances by Slash and Journey guitarist Neal Schon on "Wishing Well" and "Crossroads." ...

Good golly, Little Richard will be inducted into the NAACP Hall of Fame at the civil rights organization's 33rd annual Image Awards ceremony, which takes place February 23 and will be broadcast March 1 on Fox. "Little Richard has distinguished himself as not only an unparalleled musical genius, but also as a unique and innovative performing artist — fusing pure vocal talent with exhilarating showmanship," NAACP President/CEO Kweisi Mfume said in a statement. ... Van Morrison wrote two songs and sings on one ("Sometimes We Cry") for the second album by his daughter, Shana Morrison. Due April 2, 7 Wishes blends elements of pop, rock and blues, her spokesperson said. ...Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin and Deep Blue Something will headline WorldSong 2002 - The Next Country Over, a concert to promote world peace and harmony during the Olympic Winter Games, on February 21 at the McKay Event Center in Orem, Utah.

• Alicia Keys
• Angie Stone
• Elton John
• Slayer
• Capone -N- Noreaga

Eddie Vedder
Photo: MTV News

Eddie Vedder, Sarah McLachlan, the Black Crowes and 14 other artists will deliver their takes on Beatles classics for the soundtrack to the Sean Penn drama "I Am Sam."

The album, due January 8, also features Ben Folds, the Wallflowers, Paul Westerberg, Nick Cave and Ben Harper, among others, according to a V2 Records spokesperson.

All of the covers were recorded for the soundtrack album and eight are featured in the movie, which stars Penn as Sam, a mentally handicapped father fighting to keep custody of his seven-year-old daughter, Lucy.

"I Am Sam," due in theaters December 28, has several other references to the Beatles, including a courtroom scene where Sam compares himself and his daughter to the songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Vedder, a friend of Penn's who contributed two tracks to his film "Dead Man Walking" in 1996, was one of the first artists to sign on for the soundtrack, recording "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," the spokesperson said.

The Wallflowers recorded "I'm Looking Through You" at a Santa Monica studio owned by Jackson Browne, who also sang on the track.

The first single from the album is still under consideration, the spokesperson said.

The "I Am Sam" track list, according to V2:

• Sarah McLachlan - "Blackbird"
• Aimee Mann and Michael Penn - "Two of Us"
• The Wallflowers - "I'm Looking Through You"
• Rufus Wainwright - "Across the Universe"
• Ben Harper - "Strawberry Fields Forever"
• Eddie Vedder - "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away"
• The Black Crowes - "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds"
• Ben Folds - "Golden Slumbers"
• Paul Westerberg - "Nowhere Man"
• Nick Cave - "Let It Be"
• Stereophonics - "Don't Let Me Down"
• Heather Nova - "We Can Work It Out"
• The Vines - "I'm Only Sleeping"
• Howie Day - "Help!"
• Grandaddy - "Revolution"
• Chocolate Genius - "Julia"

• Sarah McLachlan
• Pearl Jam
• The Black Crowes
• The Beatles
• Ben Folds

Ben Folds
Photo: Sony

Ben Folds will be rockin' the suburbs on his first-ever solo tour — and visiting some major metropolitan areas, too.

Folds is scheduled to hit the road in support of his new album, Rockin' the Suburbs, on September 7 in Carrboro, North Carolina, near the piano man's native Chapel Hill, according to his publicist. The five-week trek winds down October 15 in Los Angeles. The former Ben Folds Five frontman's New York show (September 13) will be part of the annual CMJ Music Marathon (see "Coldplay, Ben Folds Tagged For CMJ Marathon").

Joining Folds onstage will be Chapel Hill chums Snooz (guitar/keyboard), Millard (bass) and drummer Jim Bogios, who previously pounded the skins for Sheryl Crow and the Dixie Chicks.

Rockin' the Suburbs, set for release on September 11, is the first offering from any Ben Folds Five member since the band broke up in October (see "Ben Folds Will Be Rockin' The Suburbs In September").

Before embarking on the outing, Folds will play concerts on Friday and Monday in his adopted home of Australia, a one-off gig in Atlanta on August 10, and three U.K. shows (two as part of the V2001 Festival) August 18-20. After performing for North America, he's off to Japan for a handful of gigs beginning November 9.

Ben Folds' North American shows, according to his publicist:

• 8/10 - Atlanta, GA @ On the Bricks
• 9/7 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
• 9/8 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
• 9/9 - Pittsburgh, PA @ M (formerly Metropol)
• 9/11 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 9/12 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
• 9/13 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
• 9/15 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
• 9/16 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
• 9/18 - Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
• 9/19 - Atlanta, GA @ Coca Cola Roxy Theatre
• 9/20 - Nashville, TN @ 328 Performance Hall
• 9/21 - New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
• 9/27 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
• 9/29 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah State Fairpark
• 9/30 - Pontiac, MI @ Clutch Cargo
• 10/3 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
• 10/4 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
• 10/6 - Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
• 10/9 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
• 10/10 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox
• 10/11 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
• 10/14 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
• 10/15 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre

• Ben Folds

Ben Folds
Photo: Katrina Dickson

Forget street cred, Ben Folds is much more likely to get his props from the strip mall and cul-de-sac crowd with his solo album Rockin' the Suburbs, which drops September 11.

The 12-track LP is the first offering from any member of the quirky, piano-based pop trio Ben Folds Five following their break-up in October (see "Ben Folds Five Calls It Quits").

Rockin' the Suburbs finds an older, more musically sophisticated Folds exploring the end of relationships, both romantic and otherwise, as some fans observed firsthand when he premiered the new material live last week at a handful of low-key club shows in San Diego, Tucson, Albuquerque and Denver.

"Annie Waits," with a pounding piano melody, tells the tale of a woman anticipating a phone call that will never come, and "Gone" and "Losing Lisa" are straightforward, more sentimental "songs for the dumped," to draw a comparison to the raucous break-up tune found on Ben Folds Five's second album, 1997's Whatever and Ever Amen. "The Ascent of Stan," "Fred Jones Part 2" and "Still Fighting It," with its chorus of "Everybody knows it hurts to grow up," each bid farewell to youth.

Despite the somber sentiments, Folds still finds room to revert to what brought BFF their early acclaim with "Underground," the breakthrough single and alternative anthem from the group's 1995 self-titled debut. The title track, which serves as Rockin''s first single, is typical Folds at his finest, expelling — albeit with tongue-in-cheek sarcasm — white, male, middle class teen angst aided by a meaty guitar riff and bouncy melody.

Folds harbors no regrets for dissolving BFF and rarely speaks with his former bandmates. "We saw a lot of each other for six years, so we aren't rushing to do any barbecues anytime soon," he said recently. Without bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jessee, Folds played all the instruments on Rockin' the Suburbs himself — a feat which afforded him a lot of musical freedom while also proving somewhat laborious.

"It's really nice, but it's hard, too," he said. "It's a really difficult thing to do. [I think it's rare] when someone played all the instruments and it's been successful — not commercially but artistically. So, while it's free, you really have to be on it to make sure it works.

"It was a bit of a marathon, actually; it was a six-month process that, with a band, could have been a month." The course began at the end of last year at Krell Studios in Adelaide, Australia, where he's been living since getting married in 1999 (see "Ben Folds' Solo Debut Nears Completion"). Just months after announcing his band's break-up, flying solo in the studio halfway around the world from Ben Folds Five's old stomping grounds of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, proved therapeutic.

"It was good for me to be away from everything," he said. "I was away from the [music] business, business relating to the break-up of the band. All of that stuff didn't affect me. I was so isolated." Folds is preparing to play a few promotional dates in the U.K. and Japan before embarking on a U.S. tour in September, his publicist said. He's also been tapped to perform at the annual CMJ Music Marathon in New York September 13-16 (see "Coldplay, Ben Folds Tagged For CMJ Marathon").

• Ben Folds

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MTV.com Exclusive: Ben Folds Photos 10.20.2006

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Radiohead, Common, Matisyahu, More At The 2006 Bonnaroo Music And Arts Festival

• Radiohead
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MTV.com LIVE: Ben Folds 02.18.2005

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The Bens: You Hear It First Photo Gallery

• Ben Folds
• Ben Kweller
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2003 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

• Beastie Boys
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• Ben Harper
• Blur