"Get Rich or Die Tryin' " soundtrack
Photo: Interscope Records

Die Another Day: Whereas 50 Cent faced us head-on, albeit through a cracked mirror, on his Get Rich or Die Tryin' debut, the still-shirtless rapper has his back turned — and a baby in arms — on the soundtrack to the movie of the same name. To the delight of those protesting the movie's billboards, perhaps, the clean version of the soundtrack doesn't show a gun sticking out of 50's pants (but the explicit one does). Tracks include: "When It Rains It Pours" (50), "I'll Whip Ya Head Boy" (50 featuring Young Buck) and "When Death Becomes You" (M.O.P. featuring 50).

Hits Me Baby One More Time: Can't artists let their best songs speak for themselves? 'Parently not. If you've got a little extra gold lying around, you might want to splurge on the CD+DVD version of the Beastie Boys' Solid Gold Hits, which has a live video for "Brass Monkey," filmed at a sold-out Madison Square Garden show last October. Limp Bizkit take a less consumer-friendly approach by selling their CD and DVD separately, while Lenny Kravitz bests even that by making fans buy his Greatest Hits all over again: It's coming out as a limited-edition tour version with a bonus DVD.

Rap With a Twista: You just heard from Twista with last month's The Day After, but his pal Paul Wall's gotta pay the bills too, so they're dishing up the album again, screwed-and-chopped style (and with a purple album cover). The Alchemist is also taking a seemingly-innovative-but-in-reality-kinda-dull approach by re-releasing last year's 1st Infantry — in instrumental form.

Rick Rubin Everywhere: Sure, the perplexing producer has Melanie C and Sir Mix-a-Lot in his oeuvre, but Neil Diamond? That's right — Rubes spruced up the 12 songs on Diamond's first studio record in four years called, uh, 12 Songs. The Digipak version defies the album title with two bonus cuts: "Men Are So Easy" and an alternate take of "Delirious Love" with Brian Wilson. Incidentally, several bands Rubin has bonded with in the past also have releases coming out this week: the Beastie Boys, the Mars Volta, Limp Bizkit and Johnny Cash.

Song Title of the Week:

"Gods Are Fearing Men" (Filthy Thieven' Bastards' My Pappy Was a Pistol)

Other Notables:

The Mars Volta's Scab Dates: After their first record, the Mars Volta followed it up with a 43-minute live "EP" loosely based (read: improvised) around the same material. Now they're chasing March's Frances the Mute with Scab Dates, an even lengthier live collection of material from 2003-2005 that clocks in around 70 minutes. Only two studio albums in, and already two live releases that nearly total the time of the band's studio-recorded output? Gotta be a first.

Guided by Voices' Suitcase 2 - American Superdream Wow and Briefcase 2 - The Return of Milko Waif, Suitcase 2 Abridged: If Guided by Voices were a circus prop, they'd be one of those taxis the clowns pile out of indefinitely. Even though they broke up last year, they've managed to cull 100 more tracks for their fourth box (emphasis on the "Wow"). Two decades' worth of demos, sketches and live tunes are packed into this Suitcase, including the original version of "I Am Decided," which Kim Deal later recycled on her 1995 Amps record, Pacer. To make matters a little more frustrating, GBV are putting two exclusive tracks on Briefcase 2 - The Return of Milko Waif, Suitcase 2 Abridged, a separate set that is otherwise a distilled version of Suitcase 2. Plus there's a vinyl version of Briefcase 2 with an exclusive cut of its own, proving that, if you are in fact trying to be a GBV completist, you've completely lost your mind.

Peter Gallagher's 7 Days in Memphis and the various-artists collection The O.C. Mix 5: So if Ryan Atwood is a fish out of water in the O.C., what does that make Sandy Cohen in Memphis? A recording artist, apparently. The reception Peter Gallagher got after barreling out a cover of a Solomon Burke number in a recent episode "The O.C." must have been tremendous, because that's all the actor needed to hole up in Soulsville USA for 7 Days in Memphis — and it's all Epic Records needed to sign him. This week gets even soapier with The O.C. Mix 5, although that 12-track comp probably won't cater to the soul crowd; it features tastemakers like Gorillaz, Stars, Phantom Planet, Shout Out Louds and Kasabain.

New Releases:

• 501 Click - Code 501 (Sugar Water)
• The Advantage - Elf Titled (5 Rue Christine)
• Akron, Family and Angels of Light - Akron, Family and Angels of Light (Young God)
• The Alchemist - 1st Infantry: The Instrumentals (Koch)
  Read: "Lloyd Banks, Game, M.O.P. Join The Alchemist's 1st Infantry"
• Annihilator - Schizo Deluxe (Locomotive)
• Atomic Betty - Atomic Betty (Koch)
• AZ - A.W.O.L. - Version 1.5 (Fastlife)
• Beastie Boys - Solid Gold Hits (Capitol)
  Read: "Beastie Boys Join Hilary, ODB's Ranks With Greatest-Hits LP"
• Bell Orchestre - Recording a Tape of the Colour of the Light (Rough Trade)
• Jenny Bliss - See You Again (EP; V2)
• Brave Combo - Holidays (Rounder)
• The Brothas & Sistas - Woke Up This Morning: Theme From the HBO Hit Series "The Sopranos" (Passport Audio)
• Geoffrey Burgen - "The Chronicles of Narnia" soundtrack (Silva America)
• Kate Bush - Aerials (two CDs; Columbia)
• Calico System - They Live (Eulogy)
• Jeremy Camp - Live >> Unplugged >> Franklin, TN (BEC)
• Kenny Chesney - The Road and the Radio (BNA)
• Diane Cluck - Countless Times (Voodoo-Eros)
• Comet Gain - City Fallen Leaves (Kill Rock Stars)
• ConQuest - Queezy Baby (Sugar Water)
• D4L - Down for Life (Atlantic)
• Neil Diamond - 12 Songs (Digipak with additional tracks also available; Columbia)
• Dogs of Winter- Cut Down to the Quick (Exotic)
• Paul Duncan - Be Careful What You Call Home (Hometapes)
• Fenix TX - Purple Reign in Blood - Live (Drive-Thru)
  Read: "Fenix TX's Homage To Prince Gets Them A Cease-And-Desist Letter"
• Filthy Thieven' Bastards - My Pappy Was a Pistol (BYO)
• Floetry - Flo' Ology (Geffen)
• Robert Fripp - Love Cannot Bear (Discipline)
• Peter Gallagher - 7 Days in Memphis (DualDisc also available; Epic)
• Glass Joe - Glacious (Felonious)
• Grabs - Sex, Fashion, & Money (The Grabs Records)
• Gris Gris - For the Season (Birdman)
• Grizzly Bear - Horn of Plenty (with extra CD of bonus remixes; Kanine)
• Guce - Controversial (SMC)
• Harvey Danger - Cream and Bastards Rise (EP; Kill Rock Stars)
• Headlights - The Enemies (EP; Polyvinyl)
• Hella - Concentration Face/ Homeboy (with DVD; 5 Rue Christine)
• Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy (two CDs; SPV)
• Il Divo - The Christmas Collection/ Il Divo (limited edition; Columbia)
• Knut - Terraformer (Hydra Head)
• Cyndi Lauper - The Body Acoustic (DualDisc also available; Epic)
• Lil' Romeo - "Romeo! TV Show (The Season)" soundtrack (Koch)
• Limp Bizkit - Greatest Hitz (Geffen)
  Read: "Fred Durst Says Limp Bizkit Are About To Bring On The Gravy"
• Sheek Louch - After Taxes (Koch)
• Harry Manx - Mantras for Madmen (Dog My Cat)
• The Mars Volta - Scab Dates (live; GSL/Strummer/Universal)
• Marin Mazzi/ Jason Danieley - Opposite You (P.S. Classics)
• The Mean Reds - Together at Last and This Is Our Wedding (Record Collection)
• Mi & l'Au - Mi and l'Au (Young God)
• The No-Neck Blues Band - Qvaris (5 Rue Christine)
• Nonpoint - To the Pain (Beiler Bros.)
• Novatone - Time Can't Wait (Wax Orchard)
• Danny Owen - The Environmental Sounds of Crawford, Texas (Koch)
• The Pharcyde - Sold My Soul: The Remix & Rarities Collection (two CDs; The Funky Chemist)
• The Primeridian - Da All Nighta (All Natural Inc.)
• Purple City - Paris to Purple City (Babygrande)
• Eros Ramazzotti - Calma Apparente (Columbia)
• Relient K - Apathetic EP (Capitol)
• Ruts - Rhythmic Collision, Vol. 1 (Remixes) (Echo Beach)
• Sepultura - Live in São Paulo (two CDs; SPV)
• So I Had to Shoot Him - Alpha Males and Popular Girls (Crucial Blast)
• Tarantula A.D. - Book of Sand (Kemado)
• These Glass Eyes - House of Glass (Martyr)
• Tristeza - A Colores (Better Looking)
• Twista - The Day After - Chopped & Screwed by Paul Wall (Atlantic)
• Marshall Tucker Band - Carolina Christmas (Shout! Factory)
• Tanya Tucker - Live at Billy Bob's Texas (Image)
• Steve Tyrell - The Songs of Sinatra (Hollywood)
• Vandals - Shingo Japanese Remix Album (Kung-Fu)
• Windy & Carl - The Dream House/ Dedications to Flea (with limited-edition EP; Kranky)
• Young Buck - T.I.P. (Mass Appeal)
• Zu Vs. Mats Gustafsson - How to Raise an Ox (Atavistic)
• Various artists - A Quiet Revolution: 30 Years of Windham Hill (Windham Hill)
• Various artists - Blues Guitar Women (Ruf)
• Various artists - Gilles Peterson Digs America: Brownswood U.S.A. (Luv N Haight)
• Various artists - Putumayo Presents: Asian Lounge (Putumayo)
• Various artists - Stand-Ins for deciBels - A Tribute to the db's (Paisley Pop)
• Various artists - Thrasher Mag: Skate Rock, Vol. 12: Eat the Flag(DualDisc; Volcom)
• Various artists - "Beauty and the Beast: Of Love and Hope" soundtrack (Rykodisc)
• Various artists - "Cronicas" soundtrack (Palm)
• Various artists - "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " soundtrack (G-Unit/Interscope)
  Read: "New 50 Music Hits Airwaves; MC Admits That He Too Was Once A Window Shopper"
• Various artists - The O.C. Mix 5 (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - Smallville: The Metropolis Mix (Interscope)

Reissues & Archival Notables:

• Johnny Cash - The Complete Sun Recordings 1955-1958 (three-CD box set; Time Life)
• Rosanne Cash - The Very Best of Rosanne Cash (Columbia/Legacy)
• Corm - Audio Flame Kit (Polyvinyl)
• Crowded House - Crowded House (DualDisc; Capitol)
• The Damned - Play It at Your Sister (three CDs; Castle/Sanctuary)
• John Entwistle - Rigor Mortis Sets In, Smash Your Head Against the Wall and Whistle Rymes (Sanctuary)
• Eurythmics - Ultimate Collection (Arista)
• Fleetwood Mac - Men of the World: The Blues Years (three CDs; Sanctuary)
• Guided by Voices - Suitcase 2 - American Superdream Wow (four CDs; Recordhead) and Briefcase 2 - The Return of Milko Waif, Suitcase 2 Abridged(two CDs; Recordhead)
• The Highwaymen - The Road Goes on Forever (limited-edition remaster with DVD; Capitol)
• Miranda July - 10 Million Hours in a Mile (Kill Rock Stars)
• King Cole Trio - Transcriptions (three CDs; Blue Note)
• Lenny Kravitz - Greatest Hits (limited tour edition with DVD; Virgin)
• John Lennon - Live Peace in Toronto, 1969 (gold CD; Mobile Fidelity)
• Bob Marley and the Wailers - Africa Unite: The Singles Collection (Island)
• Maximum Joy- Unlimited 1979-1983 (Crippled Di-- Hot Wax)
• Nickelback - Silver Side Up/ Live at Home - The 25th Anniversary Series (live; special edition; Roadrunner)
• R.E.M. - Document (DualDisc; Capitol)
• Sonny Rollins - Essential Sonny Rollins: The RCA Years (RCA)
• T. Rex - Dandy in the Underworld, The Slider, The T. Rex Wax Co. Singles: A's and B's 1972-77 and Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow EP (two CDs each; Rhino)
• Patti Smith - Horses/Horses (two CDs; Arista)
• Traffic - The Last Traffic Jam (DualDisc; Epic)
• The Tragically Hip - Hipeponymous (four CDs; Universal/Fontana)
• Venom - MMV (box set; Castle/Sanctuary)
• Steve Winwood - About Time (DualDisc; Epic)
• Zapp & Mr. Capone-e - Ol' Skool Music, Vol. 1 (Thump)
• Various artists - "The Warriors" soundtrack (A&M)

DVDs:

• 50 Cent - "Refuse 2 Die: The Unauthorized Biography" (New Line)
• Björk - "Medulla Videos" (Elektra)
• Lindsey Buckingham (with special guest Stevie Nicks) - "PBS Soundstage Presents: Lindsey Buckingham Live in Concert" (Koch Vision)
• Ray Charles - "50 Years in Music" (Image)
• Alice Cooper - "Good to See You Again - Live 1973: The Billion Dollar Babies Tour" (Shout! Factory)
• The Charlie Daniels Band - "The Charlie Daniels Band Live" (Koch)
• Game - "Chronicles of the Street" (Shoot II Films)
• Legendary Pink Dots - "A Dream Is a Dream" (live; Beta-Lactam Rin)
• Ute Lempter - "Blood & Feathers - Live from the Café Carlyle" (Koch)
• Limp Bizkit - "Greatest Videoz" (Geffen)
• Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Live at the Rainbow" (Island)
• The Offspring - "Complete Music Video Collection" (UMD Mini for PSP; Columbia)
• The Police - "Synchronicity Concert" (A&M/Universal)
• Sage Francis - "Life Is Easy" (Epitaph)
• Sepultura - "Live in São Paulo" (two DVDs; Warner Bros.)
• The Tragically Hip - "That Night in Toronto: Pierre & Franco" (Universal/Fontana)
• UFO - "Showtime" (live; two DVDs; SPV)
• Usher - "Truth Tour: Behind the Truth - Live in Atlanta" (available exclusively through Best Buy until February; three DVDs; Arista)
• The Who - "Tommy and Quadrophenia Live With Special Guests" (three DVDs; Rhino)
• Various artists - "All Access: DVD Magazine #10" (Kraze)
• Various artists - "Live 8: One Day, One Concert, One World - July 2nd 2005" (four DVDs; Capitol)

Coming Attractions:

November 15:

• Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi: Platinum Edition (Island)
  Read: "Mariah Carey Emancipating Mimi Again, With Bonus Tracks"
• Green Day - Bullet in a Bible (with DVD; Reprise)
• Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Madonna Making 'Spontaneous' And 'Unapologetic' Dance Music"

November 22:

• John Mayer Trio - Try! John Mayer Trio Live in Concert (Columbia)
  Read: "John Mayer Trio Geek Out With Live Album, Rolling Stones Jokes"
• Britney Spears - Britney Spears Remixed (Jive)
• System of a Down - Hypnotize (DualDisc also available; Columbia)
  Read: "System Of A Down Album Preview: Hypnotize Even Wilder Than Mezmerize"

November 29:

• Master P - Living Legend: Certified D-Boy (Gutter)
• Dave Matthews Band - Weekend on the Rocks (two CDs with DVD; RCA)
• Shakira - Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (Columbia)

• 50 Cent
• Beastie Boys
• Limp Bizkit
• The Mars Volta
• Johnny Cash

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey
Photo: Craig Sjodin

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey are doing a tribute to recognize the fourth anniversary of September 11 — they'll sing "America the Beautiful" prior to the start of the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins game on that day. Their performance will be televised on both CBS and FOX, live from FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, at 12:58 p.m. ...

Cincinnati mayoral candidate Justin Jeffre will be joined by his former groupmates in 98 Degrees on Saturday at a campaign fund-raiser. "Newlyweds" star and Cincinnati native Nick Lachey will join brother Drew, Jeff Timmons and Jeffre at the city's Purgatory nightclub for just the second live performance by the group in four years. Jeffre told The Cincinnati Enquirer that the boy band will perform "Invisible Man" as a nod to how the local media has ignored his campaign. ... The settlement in a class-action suit brought against Apple by irate iPod owners was approved last week by a California judge. The agreement, which was tentatively approved in June, paves the way for owners of the first two generations of iPods to get either $25 in cash or $50 in credit at an Apple store, and for third-generation owners to get a replacement battery if theirs conks out. The settlement, which is valued at around $15 million, could affect up to 1.3 million iPod users. ...

Ruben Studdard and Chaka Khan are among the acts joining Yolanda Adams on the Yolanda Today Tour, which kicks off October 4 in Houston and wraps in early November in Miami. Adams' first album in four years, Day to Day, hit stores Tuesday (August 30). ... "Jimi Hendrix Live at Woodstock," a DualDisc DVD that captures the legendary guitarist's closing performance at the 1969 music festival in its entirety, is slated for release on September 13. The DVD set will also include the documentary "The Road to Woodstock" plus other bonus material. ...

Former Guided by Voices leader Robert Pollard has recorded his first movie soundtrack, for director Steven Soderbergh's indie murder mystery "Bubble." The low-budget drama, due out next year, features a cast of unknown actors playing employees at a doll factory. Pollard recorded two vocal tracks and eight instrumentals for the movie, some of which will appear on an EP, Music for Bubble, slated for release next month. ... "The Electrifying Conclusion," a DVD featuring the final live performance by Guided by Voices, which was recorded at Chicago's Metro on December 31, 2004, will hit stores on November 15. The band performed more than 60 songs during its last set, but it is unclear at this point which of those tracks will make the cut. ...

Hoover High School in Birmingham, Alabama, disinvited Louis XIV from performing at a post-football-game dance this past Saturday after parents objected to the band's explicit lyrics and album covers. The school's football team had played a nationally televised game on ESPN. ... No matter who ends up being the next lead singer of INXS, fans of the "Rock Star: INXS" show can get a serving of some of the most popular performances on the talent show with the upcoming Rock Star: A Night at the Mayan Theatre. The 17-track album, due September 20, features dreadlocked singer Jordis Unga doing the Who's "Baba O'Riley" and David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World"; sensitive belter Mig Ayesa singing Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"; and covers by the other finalists. ...

The Beta Band are putting out one last album, a career retrospective called The Best of the Beta Band, due October 4. The double CD includes tracks from all of their full-length albums, plus a complete live performance from their farewell show at Shepherd's Bush in London. The double DVD includes their videos, short films, live footage from the farewell tour and more. ...

08.29.2005

Ashlee Simpson has mapped out nine club shows this fall to help generate some buzz for her forthcoming LP, I Am Me, which lands in record stores on October 18. The first of those dates, according to Simpson's Web site, is set for September 21 in Portland, Oregon. The trek will end in New Orleans on October 9. ...

This fall, after a three-week break from the road, 3 Doors Down will head back out for 14 more gigs, according to the band's Web site, this time with Shinedown and Alter Bridge as the opening acts. The tour kicks off in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on September 29 and wraps in Columbus, Georgia, on November 9. ... On November 1, Blink-182 will drop a Greatest Hits album, with 16 classic Blink cuts, including "Dammit," "What's My Age Again?," "All the Small Things," "Adam's Song" and "Rock Show." The disc will also include a live version of "Man Overboard" as well as a previously unreleased cover of the Only Ones' "Another Girl, Another Planet." ...

Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has fired back at his former bandmates Slash and Duff McKagan, through his attorney. Two weeks ago, Slash and Duff filed a federal lawsuit against the singer, charging that Rose transferred the publishing rights to the band's back catalog without their permission and knowingly pocketed royalty payments that were owed to the rest of the band. But on Monday morning (August 29) Axl's attorney, Howard Weitzman, issued a statement characterizing the lawsuit as "frivolous" and "premature." He claims the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, which collects money for songwriters, issued a check for the band's collective royalties to Axl's publisher — a clerical error, he said. The check was returned and ASCAP was notified of the mistake. "Rather than pick up the telephone and contact Axl or his representatives, his former partners scurried to file a lawsuit that contained false statements about Axl rather then making an effort to learn the truth regarding ASCAP's mistake," the statement reads. "Slash and Duff have an unfortunate pattern over the past few years of filing sensational but baseless lawsuits for the purpose of generating anti-Axl propaganda." ...

The Deftones' forthcoming B-Sides & Rarities, a CD/DVD package that drops on October 4, will feature several previously released and hard-to-find covers, including versions of the Cocteau Twins' "Wax and Wane," Helmet's "Sinatra," Duran Duran's "The Chauffeur," Jawbox's "Savory," the Smiths' "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" and the Cure's "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep." The disc will also boast a previously unavailable acoustic version of "Digital Bath." ... Garbage have canceled the European leg of their current tour, deciding instead to wrap things up at the end of September in Australia. Dates had been scheduled for October in France, Belgium and the United Kingdom. According to a statement from the band's label, Garbage have "been constantly on the road since the beginning of March" and "feel they have somewhat overextended themselves and have mutually decided to conclude their tour at the end of September. The band wishes to extend their apologies to all Garbage fans in the territories involved and thank them profusely for their support." All tickets will be refunded. ...

Don't worry, it doesn't mean Erasure are breaking up, but frontman Andy Bell is going the solo route with his upcoming album, Electric Blue, due October 4. Bell is planning to support the album, which includes a duet with Jake Shears from the Scissor Sisters, with live dates in late 2005 and early 2006. ... You Hear It First alum Nellie McKay is graduating to her next album, the follow-up to her 2004 debut, Get Away From Me. Pretty Little Head, due January 3rd, features duets with Cyndi Lauper ("Beecharmer") and k.d. lang ("We Had It Right"), as well as songs about gay marriage ("Cupcake") and tenants' rights ("The Big One"). ...

Live will release their first Epic Records album, Songs From Black Mountain, in mid-November. The first single, "The River," will hit radio stations in mid-September. ... The law firm representing Patricia Santangelo — the New York mother of five who is countersuing the RIAA over a file-sharing accusation — has started a blog called "RIAA vs. the People." The site (recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com) will track the case as it progresses and has already posted a number of legal documents and a host of links to stories about Santangelo. According to lawyer Ray Beckerman, "We have set up this blog in order to collect evidence and input about these oppressive lawsuits." The recording industry has filed 13,000 lawsuits against Internet users since September 2003, with nearly 3,000 of those accused settling for an average of $4,000-$5,000. ...

• Jessica Simpson
• Nick Lachey
• 98 Degrees
• Ruben Studdard
• Guided By Voices

Mase (file)
Photo: Bad Boy

It's going to be a tight race for the top spot on the sales chart next week as Mase is welcomed back, Young Buck bursts outta cashville with his debut solo album, and R. Kelly is saved by happy people.

With his Mr. Rogers-inspired video for "Welcome Back," the first single off his album of the same title, Mase has made it perfectly clear that he's back and ready for another shot at chart-topping success. The rapper hasn't released an album since 1999's Double Up, after which he announced plans to retire from rap and devote himself to spirituality.

Rapper Young Buck will release his debut solo album, Straight Outta Cashville, this week. The G-Unit member released Thuggin' Til the End in 2000 with rapper D-Tay, but gained notoriety when he appeared on G-Unit's debut album, Beg for Mercy, which went double platinum.

Despite all his legal troubles, R. Kelly is a happy man, and he's announcing it to the world via his newest release, the double album Happy People/ U Saved Me. The first album finds Kelly content and optimistic, while the second disc finds him turning to God for help with his troubles.

Rounding out the major hip-hop releases is an album from Pitbull, the young Cuban-American rapper who was featured in a freestyle spot on the Kings of Crunk album. His debut, M.I.A.M.I., hits stores Tuesday.

Indie rockers Guided by Voices are releasing their final album, Half Smiles of the Decomposed, this week. The Dayton, Ohio, group will tour behind the disc and then disband after 17 years.

Jason Mraz has found the "Remedy" for fans of his last album who are eagerly awaiting another release: a live album, called Tonight, Not Again.

Also out this week are albums from the Motown Philly boys Boyz II Men (Throwback), the saucy G. Love & Special Sauce (The Hustle), country sensation Tim McGraw (Live Like You Were Dying) and jazz man Chick Corea and his Elektric Band (To the Stars).

Out Tuesday, August 24:

• Aberfeldy - Young Forever (Sanctuary/Rough Trade)
• Geri Allen - The Life of a Song (Telarc)
• Keren Ann - Not Going Anywhere (Blue Note)
• Apostle of Hustle - Folkloric Feel (Arts & Crafts)
• Battery Cage - World Wide Wasteland (Metropolis)
• Beep Beep - Business Casual (Saddle Creek)
• Eric Bibb - Friends (Telarc)
• Boyz II Men - Throwback (Koch)
• Junior Brown - Down Home Chrome (Telarc)
• Capital D - Insomnia (All Natural)
• Vassar Clements - Livin' With the Blues (Acoustic Disc)
• Clinic - Winchester Cathedral (Domino)
• Comas - Conductor (Yep Roc)
• Chick Corea Elektric Band - To the Stars (Stretch)
• DJ Escape - Bangin 03 (Tommy Boy)
• Donovan - Beat Cafe (Appleseed)
• Dave Douglas - Bow River Falls (Koch)
• Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South (New West)
• E.S.T. - Seven Days of Falling (two discs, 215)
• Steve Earle - The Revolution Starts ... Now (Artemis)
• Endochine - Day Two (Fresh Tracks)
• Finn Brothers - Everyone Is Here (Nettwerk)
• Dora Flood - Highlands (Elephant Stone)
• Bill Frisell - Unspeakable (Nonesuch)
• Further Seems Forever - Hide Nothing (Tooth & Nail)
• G. Love & Special Sauce - The Hustle (Brushfire/Universal)
• Amos Garrett - Acoustic Album (Stony Plain)
• Groundtruther - Latitude (Thirsty Ear)
• Guided by Voices - Half Smiles of the Decomposed (Matador)
• Hot Rod Circuit - Reality's Coming Through (Vagrant)
• Ice City - Welcome to the Hood (Roc-A-Fella)
• Inouk - No Danger (Say Hey)
• Insomniacs - Switched On! (Estrus)
• Instruction - God Doesn't Care (Geffen)
• Jim Jones - On My Way to Church (Koch)
• Cledus T. Judd - Bipolar and Proud (Koch)
• Kidz Bop Kids - Kidz Bop Halloween (Razor & Tie)
• David Kilgour - Frozen Orange (Merge)
• James Last - With Strings Attached (Recall)
• LTNO Vs. Dead Sexy Inc. - Hellywood Sons (Cleopatra)
• Mase - Welcome Back (Bad Boy)
  Buy Now: Amerikaz Nightmare (Violator/Jive)
  Read: "Mase: The Second Coming"
• Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying (Curb)
  Buy Now: Live Like You Were Dying (Curb)
  
• Tift Merritt - Tambourine (Lost Highway)
• Ian Moore - Luminaria (Yep Roc)
• Jason Mraz - Tonight, Not Again - At the Eagles Ballroom (Elektra)
  Buy Now: Tonight, Not Again - At the Eagles Ballroom (Elektra)
  
• Nora O'Connor - Til the Dawn (Bloodshot)
• Tara Jane O'Neil - You Sound, Reflect (Quarterstick)
• Steve Oliver - 3-D (Koch)
• Overkill - Unholy (Recall)
• Alan Parsons - A Valid Path (Artemis)
• Pinetop Perkins - Ladies Man (M.C.)
• Pitbull - M.I.A.M.I. (TVT)
• R. Kelly - Happy People/ U Saved Me (Jive)
  Buy Now: Happy People/ U Saved Me (Jive)
  Read: "R. Kelly Album Preview: Dancing, Loving, Turning To The Lord"
• Radian - Juxtaposition (Thrill Jockey)
• Rich Robinson - Paper (Key Hole)
• Rosavelt - The Story of Gasoline (Gaff Music)
• Sadies - Favourite Colours (Yep Roc)
• Saxophone Summit - Gathering of Spirits (Telarc)
• The Sermon - Volume (Alternative Tentacles)
• Shades of Soul - Shades of Soul (Narada)
• Shark Quest - Gods & Devils (Merge)
• Terrorfakt - Cold Steel World (Metropolis)
• Testament - Days of Darkness (Recall)
• The Start - Initiation (Nitro)
• Jeff Timmons - Whisper That Way (SLG/Denon)
• Daby Toure - Diam (Real World)
• Twilight Singers - She Loves You (Birdman/One Little Indian)
• Butch Walker - Letters (Epic)
• Mike Watt - The Secondman's Middle Stand (Red Ink/Columbia)
• Charlie Watts & the Tentet - Watts at Scott's (Sanctuary Classics)
• West Indian Girl - West Indian Girl (Astralwerks)
• "We Will Rock You" original cast - "We Will Rock You" soundtrack (Capitol/EMI)
• Wiley - Treddin' on Thin Ice (XL/Beggars Banquet)
• Nancy Wilson - R.S.V.P. (Manchester Craftsmen's Guild)
• Young Buck - Straight Outta Cashville (Interscope)
• Zolar-X - Timeless (Alternative Tentacles)
• Various artists - Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster (Emergent Music)
• Various artists - Disney's Karaoke Series: Aladdin (Walt Disney)
• Various artists - Disney's Karaoke Series: Radio Disney Chart Toppers (Walt Disney)
• Various artists - Ultimate Beatdowns Vol. 1 (DRT)
• Various artists - "Wicker Park" soundtrack (Lakeshore)
• DVD: Joni Mitchell - "Refuge of the Roads" (Shout! Factory)

August 31:

• Björk - Medúlla (Elektra/ Asylum)
  Read: "Bjork Album Preview: Beautiful, Baffling and Bothersome Medúlla"
• Jill Scott - Beautifully Human: Words & Sounds 2 (Sony)
• Insane Clown Posse - Hell's Pit, Version 1 (Psychopathic)
• Insane Clown Posse - Hell's Pit, Version 2 (Psychopathic)
• Various artists - Passion of the Christ: Songs (Wind-Up)
  Read: "Scott Stapp, Lauryn Hill, P.O.D., MxPx Head Up 'Passion Of The Christ' LP"

September 7:

• Christine McVie - In The Meantime (Koch)
• Alan Jackson - What I Do (Arista)
• Anita Baker - My Everything (Blue Note)

September 14:

• Nelly - Sweat (Universal)
  Read: "Nelly Explains The Fine Line Between Sweat And Suit"
• Nelly - Suit (Universal)
• Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (Hip-O Records)
• Prodigy - Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned (Maverick)
  Read: "Twista, Kool Keith, Juliette Lewis Smack Up New Prodigy LP"

• Mase
• R. Kelly
• Pitbull
• Guided By Voices
• Jason Mraz

John Thompson, the attorney who helped get Howard Stern in hot water with Clear Channel and the FCC, has faxed a complaint to the FCC about a Mary J. Blige segment that aired on Sunday's edition of CBS' "60 Minutes." In a profile of the artist, Blige mumbled the word "sh--" under her breath during a vocal take in the studio. Thompson filed the complaint to FCC Chairman Michael Powell and his senior legal adviser. MTV's parent company, Viacom, also owns CBS. ...

Indie-rock darlings Guided by Voices have written their final album. After the August 24 release of Half Smiles of the Decomposed, the Dayton, Ohio, group will tour, and then disband. However, frontman Robert Pollard will still write and record as a solo artist. "I've always said that when I make a record that I'm totally satisfied with as befitting a final album, then that will be it. And this is it," he said in a statement. "I love the guys in the band, but I'm getting too old to be a gang leader." ... Fifty-four-year-old singer/pianist Billy Joel was injured in a single-car accident in Bayville, New York, over the weekend, crashing into an unoccupied house and lacerating his left hand. It was Joel's third car accident in two years, but police say he wasn't intoxicated. Joel was on his way to pick up a pizza and ineffectively maneuvered a tricky part of the road. ...

Kid Rock wrapped up the first leg of his North American tour on Saturday in Universal City, California. However, he won't take much of a breather before he kicks off the second leg. A slew of new dates has been scheduled, from May 6 in Portland, Oregon, to June 26 in Noblesville, Indiana. ... The White Stripes took home top honors at the 13th annual Detroit Music Awards Friday night, for Best National Album (Elephant) and Best National Single ("Seven Nation Army"). Jack and Meg White beat out other Motor City stars such as Eminem, Kid Rock and Aretha Franklin. ...

Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe has ordered the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. to stop its hip-hop-themed marketing campaign for its Kool brand of cigarettes. As part of a 1998 settlement reached between the tobacco companies and 46 states, tobacco companies cannot market their products to children. Rowe, who oversees the enforcement of the settlement, says Brown & Williamson's rap iconography in its marketing was specifically targeting black youth. ... Good to gooooo! Elephant Man has been tapped by Puma for a TV ad campaign celebrating the shoe company's sponsorship of the Jamaican Olympic Association. The 30-second spot, set to Elephant Man's "All Out," features the dancehall artist and Jamaica's 200-meter junior-world-champion runner Usain Bolt passing a relay baton in and out of a Kingston, Jamaica, recording studio. ...

Metallica, the band that once declared war on Napster and Internet downloaders, have posted four more concerts from their archives on the Web site www.metallicavault.com. Fans who own the band's most recent disc, St. Anger, can unlock the site with a code inside the packaging, and download the shows for free. Metallica are currently on tour with Godsmack, and are selling board recordings of all the shows on www.metclub.com. ... More than 20 people were arrested for drug-related offenses Friday and Saturday at the Livestock 14 concert in Zephyrhills, Florida. The event featured performances by Hatebreed, Soil, Drowning Pool, Damageplan, Sevendust and others. There were two arrests for battery, one for driving under the influence and others for cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy possession. One man was arrested for housing four tanks of nitrous oxide inside his camper. Three people overdosed and an additional 12 were treated at a local medical center. ...

The Get Up Kids have hopped aboard the Honda Civic Tour, which also features Dashboard Confessional and Thrice. The jaunt kicks off May 13 in Portland, Maine, and runs through June 30 in Pittsburgh. ... Chimaira will miss Monday's Jägermeister Tour stop in Kansas City, Missouri, because of multiple bus problems with multiple buses. The band was traveling from Truesdale, Missouri, to the venue when its bus conked out. A temporary replacement was called in, but soon after the group boarded, it too broke down. Chimaira plan to hook up with another bus in time for their Tuesday show in West Des Moines, Iowa. Last year, the band had similar bad luck, surviving a bus accident and a video set fire. "It's the same sh--, different tour," frontman Mark Hunter said. "I don't think we can ever do a tour without some type of catastrophe." ...

Varg Vikernes, the Burzum frontman who is serving a 21-year prison sentence in Norway for the 1993 murder of a rival in the band Mayhem, has been sentenced to 14 more months in jail. His sentence was extended as a result of his failed escape attempt late last year, in which he was charged with car theft and possession of an AG3 automatic rifle and 700 bullets. ... Kittie have brought on Lisa Marx (ex-To See You Broken) as their new second guitarist. The band met Marx at a Seattle area Kittie show, and jammed with her soon after. Kittie's upcoming album, Until the End, is scheduled for release this summer. ...

Spacehog frontman (and hubby of Liv Tyler) Royston Langdon and ex-Blind Melon guitarist Roger Stevens have merged to create Sparticle, with drummer Rene Lopez rounding out the trio. The band has played a handful of shows, including dates at Austin, Texas' South by Southwest and in New York, while shopping around a three-song demo for a record deal. ... Alive and Amplified, the third album from New York garage rockers the Mooney Suzuki, is due August 10. Produced by hitmakers-for-hire the Matrix (Avril Lavigne, Hilary Duff), the LP follows 2002's Electric Sweat. ...

04.23.2004

The White Stripes were on hand Thursday to help Loretta Lynn celebrate the release of her new album, Van Lear Rose, at a party at Nashville's Hermitage Hotel. More than 500 guests attended, including Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith and Crystal Gayle. Jack White produced the album, which hits stores on Tuesday. ...

No vacations for Suge Knight. He was released from Mule Creek State Prison on Thursday around 5 a.m. and he immediately got on a plane to Los Angeles to join his family and close friends. On Friday morning, Knight dove right back into his CEO duties at Death Row, holding marketing and promotion meetings for the upcoming compilation LP he's trying to put together benefiting the families of U.S. troops in Iraq, as well as for Kurupt's Against the Grain LP. According to Tha Row, Kurupt's first single is "Stalkers." ... Eminem won a "cyber-squatting" lawsuit against a British company that had been using the rapper's likeness and music to sell mobile ringtones and photo messages. The company, Visitair, registered the domain name eminemmobile.com last year to sell the ringtones. As a result of the ruling, the domain name now becomes Eminem's possession, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, which arbitrated the suit. ...

Scott Weiland got a breather on Friday when his DUI trial was postponed. He's next due in court on May 11, two days before his band Velvet Revolver are set to launch their tour in St. Louis. ... Sting is releasing three separate videos — all shot by Nick Quested — for his new single, "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)," with each one for a different mix of the song. One of the mixes is a collaboration with Twista, another features Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas. The main storyline of each video centers around a Brooklyn, New York, warehouse party, with each of the clips showing different events taking place around the festivities. ...

Two days after he was indicted by a grand jury, Michael Jackson released a statement via his Web site asking the media to leave him alone. "As I release this statement there are helicopters hovering above my residence, reporters staking out and photographers lurking behind bushes, running rampant around my compound," wrote Jackson, who is living at a secluded estate in central Florida. "I am respectfully requesting that media organizations please respect my privacy and that of my children." ... In other Jackson news, media outlets covering his case, as well as the singer's lawyers, have asked the California Supreme Court to remove a gag order imposed on both sides. "The protective order bars those who are most knowledgeable about a criminal case that has garnered intense public interest from speaking to the public about the case, cutting off the best sources of truthful, timely information," a petition filed Friday read. ...

The 24th annual CMJ Music Marathon is set for October 13-16 in New York. Daytime events will be held at the Jacob Javits Center and the Westin Hotel in Times Square, while more than 50 venues will host the nightly performances. Participating artists have yet to be announced. ... The world's first charitable music download site will launch in June. Warchildmusic.com, an arm of the War Child organization, which helps children in war-torn countries, will feature exclusive tracks updated each month. The first crop will include tunes by Travis, Badly Drawn Boy and Spiritualized. ...

D.C. punk band Fugazi have begun selling CDs of their live shows dating back to their maiden gig on September 3, 1987, via their Web site www.fugaziliveseries.com. In keeping with the band's ethos, the albums are reasonably priced at $8 for a single disc and $10 for a double-disc set. ... Liz Phair will headline the Chicks With Attitude Tour, traversing the country from August to September. Cardigans lead singer Nina Persson, Katy Rose and Charlotte Martin will also be aboard for the ride. ...

Best known for their banging but ridiculously titled "Shh ... (Hope Diggy)" two years ago, Apex Theory have not hung it up after the departure of singer Andy Khachaturian. Instead, guitarist Art Karamian will handle vocal duties as the band works on its next album. ... Auf Der Maur, the band fronted by former Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur, will support their self-titled debut, due June 1, by opening up for the Offspring. The trek begins May 11 in Minneapolis and wraps June 2 in New York. ... The pride of the Garden State stoner-rock scene, Monster Magnet, are set to release their sixth album, Monolithic Baby!, May 25. Following a tour of Europe with Gluecifer and the Quill, the band plans to embark on a North American tour. ...

• Mary J. Blige
• Guided By Voices
• Kid Rock
• Elephant Man
• Metallica

The Strokes' Julian Casablancas
Photo: MTV News

Leave it to sonic archeologists the Strokes to bring together two of rock's greatest G's — hard rock's GN'R and indie rock's GBV.

Current and former members of both bands appear in the video for the New York quintet's third single, "Someday," from their debut, Is This It, according to their publicist. Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum appear in a bar scene, specifics of which remain undisclosed.

Another scene takes place on a stage mimicking that of the game show "Family Feud," as was predicted by Strokes singer Julian Casablancas last month (see ) and recently confirmed by a source close to the band.

The Strokes are on one side of the set, which will look all too familiar to anyone who grew up during the program's early '80s peak. They'll face off against Guided by Voices, one of the Strokes' favorite bands. (The two groups shared a stage of a different sort late last year at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theatre.) The winner of this battle of the bands will be determined, as is customary on the show, by what the "survey says!"

The video was shot a few weeks ago in Los Angeles by director Roman Coppola, who also lensed clips for the band's two previous singles, "Last Nite" and "Hard to Explain." A release date for the video has not been set yet.

The Strokes will play a handful of dates with Weezer, Dashboard Confessional and Sparta, beginning July 17 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, before teaming up with the White Stripes for a trio of shows in New York and Detroit. Then it's off to the United Kingdom for three festivals in late August.

• The Strokes
• Guns N' Roses
• Guided By Voices

Ja Rule and Charli Baltimore are setting out to be the hip-hop version of Mickey and Mallory — the clip for Ja's "Down Ass Chick," featuring Charli B-more, will be a takeoff of Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers," according to a source close to Ja. Over the course of the three-day shoot, which begins February 22 in L.A., he'll also film the remix video with Baltimore, Ashanti and Ashanti, according to Def Jam; Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti will direct both. ... If you're dreaming of becoming a professional DJ, it's time to take your skills out of the bedroom and into the classroom. For the next two months in New York City, celebrity DJs including Jam Master Jay, Kuttin' Kandi, Mista Sinista and Evil Dee will lead courses in disciplines such as battle, mixtape and performance (visit www.scratch.com for more information). ...

Indie music festival Noise Pop 2002 takes place next week (February 26-March 3) in San Francisco with performances by the Dismemberment Plan, New Pornographers and Big Star, among others, and to commemorate its decade-long tenure, a double-disc Ten Years of Noise Pop will be available locally and through the festival's Web site (www.noisepop.com). A portion of the proceeds from the album, which features cuts from past performers including Guided by Voices, the Flaming Lips and Creeper Lagoon, benefits the Popular Noise Foundation (www.popularnoise.org), a nonprofit charity that provides aid to the Bay Area music scene. ... Dixie Chick Natalie Maines will appear in the first celebrity edition of the TLC series "Trading Spaces," according to The Associated Press. Maines will race to redecorate a room in her mother's home (and vice versa) in 48 hours for $1,000 or less in an episode airing April 20. ...

P. Diddy, Rah Digga and female R&B quartet LovHer were among the guests who came out to support Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella family at a Roc-A-Wear fashion show in New York Thursday night. Jay and company partied up at the Metropolitan Pavilion while the men's and women's fall 2002 lines were introduced. ... "Rush Hour" star Chris Tucker will host the 33rd annual NAACP Image Awards on February 23 at the Universal Amphitheater. The ceremony, scheduled to air March 1 on Fox, will feature music-world appearances by Alicia Keys, India.Arie and the Isley Brothers as well as Steve Harvey, the Rock, Jamie Foxx and Angela Bassett. ...

There's nothing funny about the popular appeal of crossover heavyweight Jennifer Lopez — she'll be crowned Female Star of the Year by the film industry's power elite at the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas. She and previously announced Male Star of the Year Will Smith will be honored at a banquet next month in recognition of their drawing power at the box office. ... The soundtrack for Martin Scorsese's "The Last Waltz" — a filmed concert by the Band which featured a cavalcade of special guests including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Muddy Waters — will be remixed and released with bonus tracks on April 16. The movie will be released on DVD May 7. ...

Liverpool's arty synth-poppers Clinic will support their second album, Walking With Thee (due February 26), with a three-week Stateside jaunt that begins March 13 in Atlanta. The tour includes a showcase at music-biz conference South by Southwest on March 15. ... El Meswy, Spain's best-selling hip-hop artist, was in the studio recently recording Se Habla Español, his follow-up to 2000's Nadie. M-1 and Stic.man of Dead Prez were on hand to lend lyrical support to the as-yet-untitled project. ...

My Bloody Valentine founder Kevin Shields has recorded "Outro," an instrumental, for the compilation album You Don't Need Darkness to Do What You Think Is Right, which comes out April 1. Other artists who will appear on the LP include the Pastels, Future Pilot AKA and Jesus and Mary Chain partners Jim and William Reid recording as Sister Vanilla. ... Sting, Elton John, James Taylor and Ravi Shankar comprise the first wave of artists announced to perform at the Police-man's annual Rainforest Foundation Benefit Concert, which will take place at New York's Carnegie Hall on April 13. ...

02.15.02

Post-adolescent punks Sum41 are expected to begin working on the follow-up to last year's All Killer No Filler in late April, after their Tour of the Rising Sum sets in Texas on April 21, according to their publicist. The album is expected to surface late this year or early 2003. ... Eve, who's currently in Chicago filming "Barbershop" with Ice Cube, is ready to devote some time to her day job. Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti and his beatmaking cohort, 7, said they're gearing to go in the studio with Ruff Ryders' first lady at the end of the month. ... Nickelback, Default and Injected will head out on the spring 2002 incarnation of MTV's Campus Invasion Tour. An itinerary has yet to be announced. ...

Megaproducer Megahertz (P. Diddy, R. Kelly & Jay-Z, Nas) just completed a remix with P.O.D. of the band's "Youth of the Nation," the producer's rep said. ... FenixTX have dropped off the SnoCore Rock Tour due to scheduling conflicts, according to MCA Records. They have been replaced by Apex Theory. ... Face to Face will launch a national tour in April to support their new album How to Ruin Everything, which hits stores April 9 through Vagrant Records. The jaunt starts in Salt Lake City on April 4 and runs through May 3 in Scottsdale, Arizona. ... Industrial icons Ministry will release Sphinctour, a live album recorded during their 1996 tour, on March 19. The 11-track LP, which had been a widely circulated bootleg, includes harrowing cuts such as "Psalm 69," "Filth Pig" and "Thieves" and can be previewed at ministry.advancelisten.com. ...

Innovative prog-rocker Peter Gabriel is apparently "down wit' OPP" — he hooked up with Jersey hip-hoppers Naughty by Nature on a track called "Fight Back" for the group's guest-filled April 23 release, Iicons. ... Speaking of Naughty, the group's Treach was among the celebrities who hit New York hotspot Spa on Tuesday night to support Joi (Lucy Pearl), who performed songs off her next LP, Star Kitty's Revenge. The Goodie Mob's Cee-Lo (bandmate of Joi's husband, Big Gipp) and Kelis were also in attendance (click for photos from the performance). ...

Fuel have issued a cease and desist order to Toyota, corporate sponsors of the Fuel the Music Tour, demanding Toyota stop using that title for the rock outing. The band, who says it has fought to make a name for itself and wants it protected, was alerted after confused fans began emailing its Web site inquiring about the outing because a magazine ran an ad for the event on the same page as a picture of the group, who are not involved. ... A London High Court judge has ruled that Robbie Williams will have to pay 25 percent of the royalties from his "Jesus in a Camper Van" — around $75,000 — to Woody Guthrie's publisher, Ludlow Music. Williams, who admitted to parodying Guthrie's "I Am the Way" on the track, will also have to pick up Ludlow's legal fees, which amount to another $75,000.

• Ja Rule
• Charli Baltimore
• Ashanti
• Jam Master Jay
• The New Pornographers

Black Crowes' Chris Robinson
Photo: V2

SEATTLE — More than 200,000 music fans braved rainy patches and crowded performance areas to pour into the multivenue Seattle Center grounds Friday through Monday for the 31st annual Bumbershoot festival. The $16-per-day ticket price — for such acts as David Lee Roth, Cake, Guided by Voices and Mos Def, along with scores of smaller-caliber bands and a plethora of artists in nearly every creative medium — proved a bargain.

The weekend kicked off with a Memorial Stadium hip-hop showcase featuring Mos Def, Jurassic 5 and Dilated Peoples. Dilated kicked out the jams with a high-energy set of favorites and a sneak preview of their upcoming album, Expansion Team. Seeming loath to release the stage to the next act, they led the massive crowd in a bouncing call-and-response session of hip-hop aerobics.

The energy came down a notch when J5 hit the stage. Although they delivered an easygoing vibe, the Los Angeles collective demonstrated less SoCal chill and more urban grit in person than they do on record. Turntablists DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist pumped addictive beats and the audience responded appropriately.

Perhaps the night's biggest surprise was headliner Mos Def, who Mos Definitely ran half an hour late. The reason became apparent when he hit the stage. The artist sometimes considered hip-hop's conscience has begun playing more rockcentric shows, and this one required a full backing band. Once the beats-happy crowd got used to the idea, wah-wah guitar and all (the less enthusiastic headed for the exits), hundreds jumped for classic tracks off last year's Black on Both Sides filtered through a Hendrix/Chili Peppers/Rage Against the Machine kaleidoscope. Mos' band contained members of black rock groups Funkadelic, Living Colour and Bad Brains.

A different sort of rock emerged from the same stage Saturday, when the bluesy, whisky-soaked Black Crowes played to an equally packed stadium. Frontman Chris Robinson is an anomaly in the current climate of shoegazers and Fred Durst-y nü-metallers: a reborn, Southern-fried Jagger, all sexy prancing and dirty lyricism. Barefoot and clad in a voluminous red scarf, unbuttoned-to-the-navel shirt and second-skin bell-bottoms, Robinson (and band) delivered a hard-charging selection of tracks from the Crowes' recent Lions before pleasing the crowd with older favorites such as "Remedy" and "Hard to Handle."

Lines snaked around the Key Arena for joke-rockers Ween, who indulged their astonishingly enthusiastic fans with such inspiring ditties as "Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)," "Waving My Di-- in the Wind" and the always-endearing, country-tinged "Piss Up a Rope."

Many shows saw as many as 500 ticket holders left grumbling in line as venues reached their capacity, a problem the festival tried to alleviate by requiring free, limited-number wristbands (available at kiosks) for the more popular shows.

On the other end of the Center, quietly elegiac rockers Low and the aching, otherworldly cult figure Cat Power played to a rapt audience in the Opera House. Even the notoriously skittish Power was buoyant, running through gorgeously stripped-down covers of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and "Free Bird." Power posed the rhetorical question "What would Keith Richards do?" as she exited the stage with Richards-esque hip swivels.

David Lee Roth whiplashed a full arena straight back to 1984 as the festival hurtled forward Sunday, proving himself just as loud, lewd and double-jointed as ever. Rock's long-reigning showman doused the audience in Jack Daniels and belted out Van Halen classics while showcasing his genital area and undiminished mid-air toe-touching abilities.

On Monday, a far more subdued Cake followed G Love and Special Sauce with a solid set of new and old. After enlisting a large portion of the high-energy crowd as backing singers, the group introduced "mountaineer dancers" Project Bandaloop, whose acrobatic Spider-Man antics above the band provided the set with its finale.

High-wire acrobatics like these — not to mention underground heroics, top-40 hall-of-famers and surprise guests, including former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, who joined Los Angeles rockers Bluebird for three songs on Friday in the Liquid Lounge — are what keep Bumbershoot fans coming back for more after three decades.

• The Black Crowes
• Mos Def
• David Lee Roth
• Jurassic 5
• Guided By Voices

Ginuwine
Photo: Epic Records

Now that's what you call a #1 album.

Now That's What I Call Music — Vol. 6, a compilation of recent hits from the likes of Shaggy, Jennifer Lopez, Coldplay, U2, Destiny's Child and Creed, has ridden its star power and familiar tunes to the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart.

The sixth edition in the Now series sold more than 525,000 copies last week to debut at #1, according to figures released by SoundScan on Wednesday (April 11). Last week's #1 album, the posthumous Tupac Shakur collection Until the End of Time, fell to #2 after selling 243,000 copies in its second week in stores.

Now That's What I Call Music — Vol. 6 is the second album in the Now series to reach #1. Vol. 4, which included tracks from Britney Spears, Eiffel 65, Marc Anthony, Macy Gray and Blink-182, spent three weeks at #1 last summer, while Vol. 5, featuring Sisqó, 'NSYNC, Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson and 3 Doors Down, peaked at #2 in November (and is at #55 this week).

To date, the six volumes in the Now series have sold more than 13 million copies in the U.S. since the first one was issued in November 1998. All of the Now records have managed to crack the Billboard top 10.

Three other records debut in the new Billboard 200, led by R&B singer Ginuwine, whose third album, Life, enters at #3 with 152,000 copies sold. Live in New York City, the concert album cut by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band during their 10-night stand at Madison Square Garden last June — also the source of an HBO concert special that premiered Saturday — debuts at #5 on the charts after selling 114,000 copies.

The last of the Top 10 debuts comes courtesy of the late rapper Big Pun, whose Endangered Species sold 80,000 copies last week to draw a bead and drop a beat on the #7 spot. Species is the second album released from Pun's archives since his death in February 2000; Yeeeah Baby entered the album chart at #3 last April.

Rounding out the Billboard Top 10 are Shaggy's Hotshot at #4 (147,000 copies sold), the Dave Matthews Band's Everyday at #6 (92,000), Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water at #8 (78,000), Dido's No Angel at #9 (78,000), and 112's Part III at #10 (76,000).

Other albums set to debut in the new Billboard 200 include: Run-D.M.C.'s Crown Royal at #37, Cappadonna's The Yin and the Yang at #51, Journey's Arrival at #56, Yukmouth's Thug Lord: The New Testament at #71, Rammstein's Mutter at #77, the Monster Booty collection at #95, the "Kingdom Come" soundtrack featuring Kirk Franklin at #125, Bond's Born at #157, Guided By Voices' Isolation Drills at #168 and Alkaline Trio's From Here to Infirmary at #199.

For Guided by Voices, the famously prolific rockers from Dayton, Ohio, Isolation Drills is their first album to appear on the Billboard 200 after a decade and a half of underground acclaim.

• Ginuwine
• Bruce Springsteen
• Big Punisher
• Guided By Voices
• Shaggy

Guided By Voices'<BR>Robert Pollard
Photo: Clay Patrick McBride

With 16 years and several dozen recordings under his belt, it's a little late to say that 43-year-old singer Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices has matured. But "better late than never" is still a perfect way to describe GBV's Isolation Drills, released Tuesday (April 3).

Written while Pollard drove cross-country after the end of last year's Do the Collapse tour, Isolation Drills was inspired by the loneliness of that solo road trip and the dissolution of his home life.

A heavier touring and promotion schedule in recent years drove a wedge through the singer's family, forcing him and his wife to separate after two decades of marriage and a pair of kids. Songs such as "Fine to See You" and "The Brides Have Hit Glass" touch on this sensitive subject as obscurely as can be expected from anyone familiar with such trademark GBV song titles as "The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory" and "Game of Pricks." "I wrote a lot of poems at the end of our tour for Do the Collapse, because a lot of things were going down in my life," Pollard said. "I was kind of introspective and feeling kind of weird. ... Going through the desert in Texas and Arizona, I was inspired to write. I was actually writing lyrics [while] driving like 90 m.p.h. in the desert ... you know, looking for armadillos."

That's not to say the follow-up to 1999's Do the Collapse is without the rocking pop songs that have made Guided By Voices' sweet sonic nuggets arguably the next best thing to Cheap Trick's eponymous 1977 debut.

Isolation Drills flaunts two singles out of the box, which Pollard said are "better pop songs than anything I wrote on the last record." They are the bold "Glad Girls," for commercial radio, and the multi-hook-laden "Chasing Heather Crazy," for the hipper, more discriminating college airwaves. An animated video for "Glad Girls," the chorus of which was originally recorded during 1995's Alien Lanes sessions, is in production, according to the band's publicist.

Though those two tunes may be the best in Pollard's opinion, they're not his favorites. That honor goes to the heartrending "Twilight Campfighter" and the monogamy-questioning "Fair Touching" — a sure sign that his thematic tastes have developed, even if his onstage antics — which most always involve high kicks, mic swings, and a cooler of Bud — still rival even the most rambunctious punk.

Besides Pollard's home address, other changes have swept through the GBV camp.

Though he pounded away in the studio, drummer Jim MacPherson has opted to remain at home with the family, rather than hit the road with Pollard, bassist Tim Tobias and guitarists Doug Gillard and Nate Farley. Jon McCann of Canada's the American Flag replaces him behind the kit. But lineup changes are usually temporary in GBV, as evidenced by former guitarist Tobin Sprout's guest stint on piano on Isolation Drills' "Fine to See You." Another change sees Rob Schnapf (Foo Fighters, Beck) behind the studio boards where former-Cars-frontman-turned-producer Ric Ocasek sat for the recording of Do the Collapse.Schnapf was easier to work with in the studio than Ocasek was, Pollard said.

"I was impressed with all the things [Schnapf] had done," Pollard said. "There was a lot of diversity there. I want diversity, so let's get this guy. And then I met him, and he's a really cool, laid-back guy. ... Flannel-shirt-wearin' type guy. ... Beer drinker, that was important." Pollard's ability to relate to Schrapf translated to better studio communication. "Ric was a little bit intimidating, just his presence. He's a totally good guy, but he's Ric Ocasek. There wasn't much discussion — if he said something, [I was like], 'Yeah, of course, you're Ric.' "With Rob, I felt less intimidated because he's more like me," Pollard continued. "He drank beer with us, and we discussed things, and if I didn't like something, I said [so]. Whereas with Ric, I just didn't know how to tell him I didn't like something. He's had so many hits, how dare I tell him I didn't like something? And that's totally my fault, though. I just think [this time] it was more laid-back, and the performance was more comfortable." While Guided By Voices is Pollard's main vehicle for his prolific songwriting, it's far from his only mode of transport. Side-projects and solo albums abound, and his Fading Captain series plans to issue approximately one release per month for the rest of 2001. A vinyl version of last year's Hold on Hope EP, re-titled Daredevil Stamp Collector, is its most recent offering, featuring the original demo version of "Hold on Hope." Two singles and an LP from Robert Pollard & His Soft Rock Renegades (Pollard, MacPherson and former bassist Greg Demos) are also expected by mid-summer, as is a single and album from the Airport Five (Pollard and Sprout).

Pollard, his brother Jim (also a former GBVer) and Farley make up the experimental Howling Wolf Orchestra, who hope to release their second album later this year. Finally, a collaboration seemingly created in the fantasies of every self-respecting indie-rocker, between Pollard and Superchunk's Mac McCaughan, is also in the works.

As if that's not enough, Pollard's already visualizing his next official Guided By Voices album, a self-described "prog rock" effort. But GBV playing alongside other prog outfits, such as Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, might still be a ways away. "It's only prog in the sense that the songs are going to be long," Pollard said. "They're going to be like suites, with a lot of changes. It's gonna be good; there'll be no keyboards or anything like that.

"I'm into making longer songs now," he continued. "Fewer songs, longer songs. We started off putting 28 songs on a record — songs that were a minute long — and so we should end up with a short amount of songs that are very long. Then we've covered the whole spectrum." Guided By Voices on tour, according to their publicist:

• 4/2 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
• 4/4 -Santa Cruz, CA @ Catalyst
• 4/6 - Los Angeles, CA @ House of Blues
• 4/7 - San Diego, CA @ Brick by Brick
• 4/8 - Tempe, AZ @ Nita's Outdoors
• 4/10 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
• 4/13 - Dallas, TX @ Trees
• 4/14 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's BBQ
• 4/25 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House
• 4/27 - Syracuse, NY @ Armory High
• 4/28 - Albany, NY @ Valentine's
• 4/30 - Winooski, VT @ Higher Ground
• 5/1 - Boston, MA @ Paradise
• 5/3 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
• 5/4 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
• 5/5 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 5/7 - Pittsburgh, PA @ The Beehive
• 5/8 - Columbus, OH @ Little Brothers
• 5/9 - Indianapolis, IN @ Birdy's
• 5/11 - Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
• 5/12 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
• 5/15 - Memphis, TN @ Last Place on Earth
• 5/16 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
• 5/18 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
• 5/19 - Baltimore, MD @ Fletchers

• Guided By Voices

Television's <i>Marquee Moon</i> was released in 1977.

Visionary '70s band Television — who are reuniting in England next month for their first show since 1993 — also have scheduled a U.S. show for May at the Noise Pop Chicago festival.

The five-day festival, to be held in the Windy City from May 9 to 13, will feature Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo and Creeper Lagoon, the festival's publicist said Wednesday (March 21).

Other confirmed performers are Anti-Pop Consortium, Autechre, the BellRays, Couch, Eleventh Dream Day, Goldfrapp, Jah Wobble & Deep Space, Konishi Yasuharu of Pizzicato Five, Luke Vibert, Mike Ladd, Saul Williams, Sonic Sum and Suicide.

More bands will be announced. For updates, fans can check www.noisepop.com.

Yo La Tengo and Eleventh Dream Day will play the opening event, at Metro on May 9.

Television's first scheduled show is set for April 8 at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands, England. They also have shows in Gijon, Spain, scheduled for April 12 and in London on April 15.

The band — singer/guitarist Tom Verlaine, guitarist Richard Lloyd, bassist Fred Smith and drummer Billy Ficca — was at the center of New York's CBGB punk scene in the 1970s. Television broke up in 1978, after releasing their second album, Adventure. They regrouped to record 1992's Television but disbanded the following year.

• Television
• Guided By Voices
• Yo La Tengo