Lindsay Lohan (file)
Photo: Jason Squires

There's nothing too dramatic about this week's new releases, unless you count the soundtrack to Lindsay Lohan's new movie, "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen." The album features songs by Lohan herself, mostly, with additional tracks by A Simple Plan and Lillix.

In other soundtrack news, the music on the "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" album comes courtesy of Christina Aguilera, Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz, Mya and Cuban rappers Orishas.

The Indigo Girls let out All That We Let In this week alongside Lambchop's internal argument played out on two albums — Aw, C'mon and No, You C'mon — and singer/songwriter Eamon's debut album, I Don't Want You Back, featuring the track "F--- It (I Don't Want You Back)." Why doesn't this guy just tell us how he really feels?

Out Tuesday, February 17:

• All Night Radio - Spirit Stereo Frequency (Sub Pop)
• Amps for Christ - The People at Large (5 Rue Christine)
• Bagheera - Twelves (Asian Man)
• Bark Psychosis - Replay (United States Dist.)
• Bruisers - Singles Collection (Taang)
• Casual Dots - Casual Dots (Kill Rock Stars)
• The Casualties - On the Front Lines (SideOneDummy)
• Challenger - Give People What They Want in Lethal Doses (Jade Tree)
• Chromatics - Plaster Hounds (Gold Standard Laboratories)
• Chromeo - She's In Control (Vice/Atlantic)
• Cinderella - In Concert (Cleopatra)
• Chris Difford - I Didn't Get Where I Am (Navarre)
• Eamon - I Don't Want You Back (Jive)
  Buy Now: I Don't Want You Back (Jive)
  
• Evergreen Terrace - Writer's Block (Eulogy)
• External Menace - The Process of Elimination (Dr. Strange)
• The Fall-Outs - Summertime (Estrus)
• The Faraway Places - Unfocus on It (Eenie Meenie)
• Get F---ed - Get F---ed (Level-Plane)
• John Wesley Harding - Adam's Apple (Navarre)
• Peter Himmelman - Unstoppable Forces (Navarre)
• Indigo Girls - All That We Let In (Epic)
  Buy Now: All That We Let In (Epic)
  
• Lambchop - Aw C'mon (Merge)
• Lambchop - No, You C'mon (Merge)
• Masterplan - Colossus of Destiny (Total Energy)
• Monster Magnet - Monolithic Baby (SPV)
• Noxagt - The Iron Point (Load)
• OOIOO - Kila Kila Kila (Thrill Jockey)
• Pilot to Gunner - Get Saved (Arena Rock)
• Preston School of Industry - Monsoon (Matador)
• The Proclaimers - Born Innocent (Persevere)
• Rag Men - Rag Men (Eulogy)
• Stan Ridgway and Pietra Wexstun - Blood (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
• Scarling - Sweet Heart Dealer (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
• Peter Searcy - Couch Songs (Initial)
• Ben Sidran - Nick's Bump (Nardis/Liquid 8)
• Garrison Starr - Airstreams and Satellites (Vanguard)
• The Swan Silvertones - I'll Keep Loving Him (Liquid 8)
• Trans Am - Liberation (Thrill Jockey)
• Trapist - Ballroom (Thrill Jockey)
• Willard Grant Conspiracy - Regard the End (Kimchee)
• Wolfe - Delaware Crossing (Valley Entertainment)
• Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles (5 Rue Christine)
• Various artists – "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists – "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" soundtrack (J)
• Various artists - A Guitar Tribute to Sting (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Toby Keith, Vol. II (CMH)
• Various artists - The String Quartet Tribute to Incubus, Volume 2 (Vitamin)
• Various artists - A Tribute to Beastie Boys (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - A Tribute to Seal (Tribute Sounds)
• DVD: "War on Wax: Rivalries in Hip-Hop" (Image Entertainment)

• JC Chasez - Schizophrenic (Jive)
  Read: "JC Chasez Learns To 'Shake It' Like A Polaroid Picture On Schizophrenic"
  Buy Now: Schizophrenic (Jive)
  
• John Frusciante - Shadows Collide With People (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: Shadows Collide With People (Warner Bros.)
  
• Orgy - Punk Statik Paranoia (D1)
  Buy Now: Punk Statik Paranoia (D1)
  
• Rick Springfield - Shock Denial Anger Acceptance (Red Ink)

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

• BT - Music From and Inspired by the Film "Monster" (Digital Sound)

• Janet Jackson - Damita Jo (Virgin)
  Read: "Janet Jackson Making Sexiest Album Yet, Producer Says"
  Buy Now: Damita Jo (Virgin)
  

April 6:

• Rahzel - Rahzel's Greatest Knockouts (Readyrock)
  Buy Now: Rahzel's Greatest Knockouts (Readyrock)
  

• Eamon
• Monster Magnet
• Lambchop
• The Indigo Girls
• Cinderella

Amy Ray

On her solo debut, Stag, Amy Ray shows off her indie sensibilities with a rebellious fusion of punk, folk and pop that sounds different than even her most electric work as half the folk-rock duo the Indigo Girls.

But underneath the screeching guitars and driving punk beats of guests such as Joan Jett, former Luscious Jackson drummer Kate Schellenbach, the Butchies and the Rock*A*Teens, you'll find a distilled Ray. She's a little less polite here and a lot more playful than when she operates within the confines of the Indigo Girls.

"This record was really about doing something raw," said Ray, who will release Stag on Tuesday on her 10-year-old Daemon Records label. "Folk can be raw too, but this has been about doing something really rock." Many of the 10 songs on Stag were rescued from a heap of castoffs determined un-Indigo. "Some of these songs I have been writing for a long time, but I couldn't get them to work out for the Indigo Girls," she said. "A lot of it is stuff I went back to — lyrics and ideas — and reworked." As always, the music has a message. This time out, Ray takes on the climate that creates hate crimes, gender politics, sexism in the macho music industry and herself.

On the most rollicking cut, the very un-Indigo punk-pop track "Lucystoners," Ray confronts the male-driven music business as personified by rock journalism icon Jann Wenner.

"Janny Wenner, Janny Wenner/ Rolling Stone's most fearless leader/ Gave the boys what they deserve/ But with the girls he lost his nerve," she taunts in the chorus.

It's her expression of the frustration women rockers have felt since what she's dubbed "the Lillith Fair backlash" set in.

"There just aren't a lot of opportunities for women in rock radio now," Ray said. "The thing I'm saying in 'Lucystoners' is that when the system fails you, you have to create your own system and make it so good that it is undeniable." Ray's willingness to flip the music industry the bird in "Stoners" is indicative of the rebellious spirit of Stag. The music isn't punk in the same vein as Sid Vicious, but the sensibilities are pure punk.

"To me, punk means doing things the way you want to do them, outside the mainstream," said Kaia Wilson of the Butchies, who played on five Stag tracks, including "Lucystoners." "Amy Ray is definitely a punk-rocker." On "Hey Castrator," the female narrator turns gender stereotypes upside down as she examines her own feelings of lust, which are every bit as potent as the next guy's. The poppy punk number features Jett, Schellenbach and Josephine Wiggs, former bassist for the Breeders.

"When Amy sent the song to us, her directions were: 'This is a punk/Partridge Family song,'" Schellenbach said. "It's got the driving punk beat and then this more melodious chorus. I've heard her say her musical influences included the Clash and the Replacements — and David Cassidy. So here it is." The mix of eclectic styles on Stag shouldn't surprise anyone, Schellenbach said.

"Most people think 'Indigo Girls' and they think acoustic guitars and folksy and rootsy. But if you listen to their music, there is a lot of stuff going on." Ray found making a record without her Indigo collaborator of 20 years, Emily Saliers, "difficult and different." Saliers is the more accomplished guitar player, and though the two write separately, they work out arrangements together.

"Emily usually plays the more intricate guitar stuff. I'm not used to having leadership on that. This was good because I had to make a lot of the decisions myself. I played some lead, and I had to show people how to play things. It was very satisfying." But Indigo fans shouldn't worry. Ray laughs when asked the inevitable "are you breaking up" question. "No way," she said. "There is something really magical about working with a partner for such a long time." The Girls will be back in the studio at the end of the summer, recording what Ray promises will be a folk album. But she's not ruling out another solo project.

"I am not limiting myself to a one-shot deal," she said. "If I write rock stuff that would be better on a solo record, then we'll see." Ray, backed by the Butchies, will stage a month-long club tour in April behind Stag.

• The Indigo Girls

The old guard of the gay and lesbian music scene met the new kids last night at The Manhattan Center in New York City for the 4th Annual Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards (GLAMA).

Established acts such as Melissa Etheridge and the Pet Shop Boys competed alongside such up-and-coming artists as the gritty queer rockers KAMYS and comedian-turned-smooth jazz warbler Lea DeLaria in over 25 categories covering everything from "Out Song" to DJ to Contemporary Spiritual (see "Indigo Girls, Etheridge Among Nominees For GLAMAs").

Nominated in seven categories but winning in only one (Producer Of The Year, with John Reynolds, for "Come On Now Social"), the Indigo Girls were a no-show for their single acceptance. Those who were present include Me'Shell N'degeocello, who took honors for both Female Artist and Album Of The Year for her LP "Bitter," and Joi Cardwell, who won her second award in the Dance Music genre for her hip-hop number "Last Chance For Love."

Other acts taking home GLAMAs include the recently-defunct pop-funk act Luscious Jackson, which grabbed the Pop award for its last album, "Electric Honey," and nouveau drag performer extraordinaire Kevin Aviance, who received recognition in the Video category for his MTV2 favorite, "Rhythm Is My Bitch."

GLAMA was organized in 1995 to recognize the work of out gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender recording artists and strives to promote the breadth of gay and lesbian musical talent. Winners are selected primarily via Internet and a board comprised of music industry figures.

For more info on the winners, check out GLAMA.com.

• The Indigo Girls

The Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, the Pet Shop Boys, and Luscious Jackson are among the artists vying for honors at the fourth installment of the Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards (GLAMA), to be held on April 24 at the Manhattan Center in New York.

• Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) - "Go"
• Toshi Reagon - "Happy And Satisfied"
• Frank & John Navin (The Aluminum Group) - "Miss Tate"
• Meg Hentges - "This Kind Of Love"
• Me'Shell N'degeocello - "Grace"

• Catie Curtis - "A Crash Course In Roses"
• Indigo Girls - "Come On Now Social"
• Irene Farrera - "Soy De Ti"
• Me'Shell N'degeocello - "Bitter"
• The Aluminum Group - "Pedals"

• Hedwig & The Angry Inch
• Indigo Girls
• Luscious Jackson
• The Aluminum Group
• The Butchies

• Catie Curtis
• Mary Gauthier
• Meg Hentges
• MeShell Ndgeocello
• SONiA of disappear fear
• Toshi Reagon

• Casey Collins
• Dave Hall
• Fred Hersch
• Michael Holland
• Scott Free

• Luscious Jackson
• Hedwig & The Angry Itch
• London Suede
• Indigo Girls
• Meg Hentges
• The Butchies

• Doria Roberts
• Luscious Jackson
• Me'Shell N'degeocello
• Scott Free
• Toshi Reagon

• Dave Hall
• Irene Farrera
• Mary Gauthier
• SONiA of disappear fear

• The Butchies - "Population 1975"
• SONiA of disappear fear - "Grass For The Lamb"
• Catie Curtis - "What's The Matter?"
• Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls) - "Trouble"
• KAMYS - "Trade"

• Boy George
• Casey Collins
• Joi Cardwell
• Kevin Aviance
• Pet Shop Boys

• Susan Morabito
• DJ Kirby
• David Knapp
• Julian Marsh

• Melissa Etheridge
• The Indigo Girls

Fans attending the Indigo Girls' three-night stand at New York's Beacon Theatre earlier this week were treated to a Lilith Fair-style hootenanny, as local heroine Joan Osborne joined the Atlanta duo on stage for a number of songs each night.

• 10/13 - New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
• 10/15 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Convention Hall
• 10/16 - Amherst, MA @ Mullins Center
• 10/22 - Athens, GA @ University Of Georgia
• 10/23 - Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
• 10/24 - Mobile, AL @ Mitchell Center
• 10/26 - Austin, TX @ Backyard
• 10/27 - Austin, TX @ Backyard
• 10/28 - Dallas, TX @ Bronco Bowl
• 10/30 - Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Blues
• 10/31 - San Diego, CA @ SDSU Open Air Theatre
• 11/1 - Phoenix, AZ @ Union Hall
• 11/2 - Claremont, CA @ Bridges Auditorium
• 11/4 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theatre
• 11/5 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theatre
• 11/6 - Berkeley, CA @ Berkeley Community Theatre
• 11/7 - Berkeley, CA @ Berkeley Community Theatre
• 11/10 - Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Arena
• 11/11 - Bellingham, WA @ Mount Baker Theatre
• 11/12 - Seattle, WA @ Seattle Center
• 11/13 - Pullman, WA @ Beasley Coliseum
• 11/14 - Eugene, OR @ Hult Center
• 11/16 - Boise, ID @ Bank Of America Center
• 11/17 - Logan, UT @ Spectrum Arena
• 11/18 - Laramie, WY @ Arts & Science Auditorium
• 11/19 - Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium

-- Brian Ives

• The Indigo Girls
• Joan Osborne

Sheryl Crow, Joan Osborne, Me'Shell N'degeocello, and Luscious Jackson's Kate Schellenbach will be among the artists turning up on the new effort from the Indigo Girls when the album arrives next month.

• 8/11 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Amphitheater
• 8/19 - Chicago, IL @ The World
• 8/22 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheater
• 8/24 - Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheater
• 8/25 - Minneapolis, MN @ Canterbury Park
• 8/26 - Bonner Springs, KS @ Sandstone Amphitheater
• 8/28 - Denver, CO @ Fiddlers Green
• 8/29 - Denver, CO @ Fiddlers Green
• 8/31 - Edmonton, AB @ Commonwealth Stadium

• Sheryl Crow
• The Indigo Girls
• Joan Osborne

The Indigo Girls are tapping a host of female performers for a tour that promises to offer what Indigo Girl Amy Ray is calling "a socialist experiment in rock and roll."

Lisa Germano, Jane Siberry, Heart's Ann Wilson, Luscious Jackson's Kate Schellenbach, The Breeders' Josephine Wiggs, Mecca Normal's Jean Smith, Come's Thalia Zedek, Lourdes Perez, and Gail Ann Dorsey (who has played with David Bowie and Tears For Fears) will all be on board for the 12-date tour, which kicks off on August 19 in Portland, Maine. The Indigos are hoping for a harmonious convergence of the differing style and approaches represented by each of the artists who will share the stage. Or as Ray said in a statement released to announce the tour, the plan is to "gather a bunch of musicians from different musical genres who are relatively unfamiliar with each other… throw them on a tour bus together… drop them off at a rock club, and see what happens."

If you want to see what happens (and see opening acts Shonen Knife and Buffalo Daughter), here's where to look:

• 8/19 - Portland, Maine @ State Theater
• 8/20 - Burlington, Vermont @ Memorial Auditorium (w/Buffalo Daughter)
• 8/22 - Cleveland, Ohio @ The Agora (w/Buffalo Daughter)
• 8/24 - Detroit, Michigan @ State Theater (w/Buffalo Daughter)
• 8/25 - Chicago, Illinois @ The Riviera (w/Buffalo Daughter)
• 8/26 - Chicago, Illinois @ The Riviera (w/Buffalo Daughter)
• 8/27 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin @ Rave (w/Shonen Knife)
• 8/28 - Minneapolis, Minnesota @ First Avenue (w/Shonen Knife)
• 8/30 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ Bogart's (w/Shonen Knife)
• 9/1 - Norfolk, Virginia @ Boathouse (w/Shonen Knife)
• 9/2 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania @ Electric Factory (w/Shonen Knife)
• 9/3 - New York, New York @ Roseland

• Lisa Germano
• Heart
• The Indigo Girls
• Luscious Jackson
• Shonen Knife

Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha, Dead Kennedy Jello Biafra, Indigo Girl Amy Ray, X's Exene Cervenka, and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana and Sweet 75 will be among the artists and activists participating in a college lecture tour this fall.

Actor Woody Harrelson and MTV VJ Kennedy will also be on board for the Spitfire tour, which plans to visit college campuses this fall for a six-stop run with Novoselic as moderator. Tour organizers are hoping to launch the tour in mid-October, and so far have solidified one date at the University of Florida on October 27.

The musicians, actors, and activists have agreed to speak at one or more of the tour's six dates, with four speakers turning up at each date. Each speaker will be given 15 minutes to speak freely followed by a one-hour question and answer session.

Admission will be free to college students.

• The Indigo Girls
• Nirvana
• Rage Against the Machine
• X

John Popper obviously couldn't wait for Blues Traveler to kick off this year's H.O.R.D.E. festival on July 10 in East Troy, Wisconsin, and decided to pay a little visit to the Lilith Fair when it rolled into Pasadena, California, last weekend.

During the concert, the Blues Traveler frontman was invited onstage by the Indigo Girls' Emily Saliers, whom had originally asked Popper to play with the duo during a chance meeting at a hotel lobby. Popper obliged and laid harmonica licks into the Girls' "Power of Two."

Popper and the Indigo Girls were then joined by Lilith-mates K's Choice and Shawn Colvin for a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World," before the ensemble grew to include tour founder Sarah McLachlan and comedian Ellen DeGeneres for the Girls' anthemic "Closer To Fine."

As we previously reported (see "Joan Osborne Readies New Magazine, Album") Popper writes about first meeting Saliers and his entire Lilith experience in an article for a new magazine, "Womanly Hips."

The Lilith Fair, which features McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, the Indigo Girls, Sinead O'Connor and Me'Shell Ndegeocello on-board for this leg, will roll into Oklahoma City on July 1.

• Blues Traveler
• The Indigo Girls

While artists on other high-profile summer tours may face the threat of flying shoes or bottles that come hurtling from the audience, performers on Lilith Fair live with the danger of being pelted by sunflowers.

Such was apparently the case last weekend, as "Variety" reports that the tour's stop at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California found Natalie Merchant taking a handful of sunflowers (an offering from a fan) squarely in the mouth.

The errant toss reportedly prompted Merchant to say, "That hurt like hell, but they are beautiful."

"Variety" notes that the incident didn't damper Merchant or her set, which was heavy with material from her latest album "Ophelia."

Merchant and Sarah McLachlan, the Indigo Girls, Sinead O'Connor, and their fellow Lilith performers will next play Oklahoma City on Wednesday and Bonner Springs, Kansas on Thursday (for a complete itinerary, see and to see where Lilith and every other summer tour will be, check out our Tour Tracker).

• Natalie Merchant
• Sarah McLachlan
• The Indigo Girls
• Sinéad O'Connor