Bloc Party's Kele Okereke performs at SXSW on Thursday
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/ Getty Images

AUSTIN, Texas — Every March, the music industry throws on a pair of shorts, slathers on the SPF 45 and heads on down to Austin for South by Southwest, a weeklong celebration of bands, BBQ and (sometimes free!) beer. It's a brutal bacchanal and music marathon powered by thousands of acts playing in hundreds of venues — at all hours — plus an unreal number of open bar tabs and fancy private parties.

Sleep is not exactly a top priority, so MTV News has dispatched three of its most tireless reporters into the fray. They'll be filing reports a few times each day (scroll down for the evening report), which will chiefly serve as a way of keeping you up to speed about what's going on deep in the heart of Texas, but also double as a convenient way — for us, anyway — of making sure everyone's still alive.

The Day

James Montgomery, MTV News writer: Just had my first totally random, totally awesome moment here at SXSW. I was waiting at a crosswalk on Congress Avenue when a dusty wood-paneled station wagon pulled up at the light and all the dudes inside, clearly in a band, clearly trying to look super-cool — think vintage vests, scraggly beards, wide-brim hats and bellbottoms straight out of Haight-Ashbury — were summarily laughed at by a gaggle of passing females. Next time get a tighter ride, bros.

Spent Thursday afternoon (March 15) baking in the sun at the Levis/Fader fort, where Interscope was debuting Queens of the Stone Age's upcoming Era Vulgaris record. Expect plenty of spooky, windswept guitars à la Lullabies to Paralyze — plus a whole lot of stompers circa their Songs for the Deaf era.

Then I headed over to Waterloo Records for an interview with Lily Allen, who was nice in an "I don't give a f----" kind of way. She talked about her plans to hit the studio in May and dismissed any notion of working with a producer du jour like Timbaland: "I don't want to be Nelly Furtado," she hissed. "And I don't want to spend $250,000 on a song I didn't write." She also got down to dissing the world-famous BBQ at Stubb's, declaring it "too gristly" (I would, respectively, have to disagree.)

Then it was back to the Fort for the Black Lips, who were missing a bassist ("He's still down in Mexico," one bandmember said) but still managed to fill the air with the kind of bludgeoning blooze-rock — and onstage French kissing — that they've been garnering much attention for in recent months. ...

Just back at the hotel for a minute, as I'm off to go interview the Cold War Kids at La Zona Rosa, then an evening filled with Elvis Perkins, Lo Fi Fink and (hopefully) the absence of heat stroke.

John Norris, MTV News correspondent:

"John Norris!!"

"Dude, I've been watching you since I was 5!"

"Nice to see you guys actually covering music!"

Ah yes — just a sampling of the greetings you get trying to shoot a news brief at 11 a.m. in the middle of Sixth Street on day #2 of SXSW. Who said they don't get up before noon at this festival? In fact, one person who was up early was none other than Chris Kirkpatrick. Yes, as in, formerly of 'NSYNC Chris Kirkpatrick ... though decidedly more tattooed than the last time I saw him. Chris has been to South By before but was ready to proclaim this one "maybe the wildest one yet." (Uh, totally awesome, bro.)

Other sights and sounds on a sunny Thursday in Austin:

"Nothing like a matinee. We're from Montreal. It's our first time in Texas. We want some chicken-fried chicken, whatever that is." · Canadian ambient rocker Patrick Watson, during a 1:45 p.m. set at Emo's

"We hope you find happiness and places to park." · Will Sheff, frontman for local band Okkervil River, to the packed afternoon crowd at Bourbon Rocks. Great band by the way: They've been playing SXSW for seven years and have a deservedly faithful following. Folk-rock sound that would not be out of place on a Bright Eyes bill.

"Doesn't that bicycle seat hurt your ass?" · The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne, to a cycling semi-drag queen (gray hair and beard, painted nails, tiara, butterfly thong and, apparently, breasts). Wayne was last seen on Sixth Street at SXSW 2006 as a pied piper in a huge bubble; this year he's a roving reporter for "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

Gil Kaufman, MTV News writer: Not a whole lot of time to file right now, as I'm putting in a marathon day of shows (Amy Winehouse, Daniel Johnston, El-P). But I wanted to share this gem from Wednesday night with you all: Sometimes even the most horrible band can teach you something.

Walking down Sixth Street, you hear so much music bleed out of every hole-in-the-wall bar that it's hard to figure out who you're hearing, even if you consult your festival guide. British blues yelpers Kava Kava, with a lead singer who looked like Bo Bice on a bender, were totally unexceptional, except for this genius bit of technology: The keyboardist had a little LED display taped onto his instrument that said "read me" and scrolled the band's name over and over in red 2-inch-high letters. Genius.

P.S.: No truth to all those "Rage Against the Machine played a reunion show last night" rumors floating around Austin. Tom Morello's manager told me the axeman was in Los Angeles on Wednesday night and that the supposed show "couldn't have happened." Though Morello's show Thursday night at Parish — where he is slated to perform as his alias, the Nightwatchman — is being billed as featuring "special guests," so ... who knows?

The Evening

James Montgomery: Important SXSW Lesson, Number One: No matter how boring you think the Cold War Kids may be, do not — under any circumstances — avoid their live show, which from the sound of things will be one that fest vets will be talking about for remainder of the week. Of course, I wasn't there, having dipped out to go watch Lo Fi Fink goof around onstage for 20 minutes, but apparently — from the roughly 37 text messages I received about it — I missed an epic effort, culminating with a mega-jam involving hotly tipped folkster Elvis Perkins.

(Check out exclusive front-row footage of Morello's jam session with Slash, Perry Farrell and more, right here.)

Important SXSW Lesson, Number Two: No matter how inconsequential you think Tom Morello might be, do not — under any circumstances — skip out on a performance by his side project, the Nightwatchman, especially when said performance is billed as "featuring special guests." Sure enough, I missed out on another sure-to-be-blogged about highlight — but don't worry, other members of the MTV News crew were in the front row, cameras and notebooks in hand (see "Morello's SXSW Gig Turns Into Raucous All-Star Jam With Slash, Perry Farrell").

Important SXSW Lesson, Number Three: I am a huge dumbass.

Thursday night wasn't all bad though ... I did get to witness a blistering set of anthemic, honest-to-goodness punk rock from Gainesville, Florida's Against Me!. (Of course, I had to sit through 45 minutes of Jack's Mannequin to do it, so let's call it a Pyrrhic victory.)

The fiercely DIY quartet turned the punk community on its collective head in late 2005 when they announced that they had signed with — gasp! — a major label, but if their sweaty set at the Sire Records showcase was any indication, all those old wounds have healed. Many fists were pumped, many hard-charging choruses bellowed and many unfortunate tattoos revealed, and the band seemed to be having a ball unveiling songs from their upcoming album New Wave, which displayed a decidedly dance-y streak.

Hey, even comedian David Cross, who caught the show in his "official undercover celebrity uniform" (read: a flannel shirt and a ratty ball cap) approved. And if it's good enough for America's foremost indie humorist, then it's certainly good enough for you.

John Norris: Now that's the South by Southwest I know and love. After a kinda sleepy Wednesday on Sixth Street ("Pete Wentz Clones Descend, Lily Allen Warbles As SXSW Gets Under Way"), on Thursday night things were back to the Bourbon-Street-with-a-great-soundtrack vibe that defines this week in Austin. Not always easy to maneuver, especially when every block there's another two or three CDs shoved into your hand. And — note to the guy who said, "You probably just throw these things away" — rest assured I try to make a point of listening to each and every record that comes my way.

Anyway, making it to see four artists at four different clubs in five hours does require a plan, and that's what I and my friend Chris, who was in from New York, had. For the most part, it worked.

First stop: Norway's Sondre Lerche, a power pop guy whose records seem to just be getting better. Not only is his latest, Phantom Punch probably his best to date, it also brings him closest to one of his musical heroes, Elvis Costello. Sondre and his very tight band had the crowd at Antone's — part of a showcase for Astralwerks that also included Sparklehorse — rocking.

The same could also be said for Mute Math. The electronic outfit — and former "You Hear It First" artist — is a band that, it is said, is best appreciated live. Tonight, everyone packed into the Dirty Dog found out why.

No doubt one of the three or four "biggest" bands at SXSW 2007 is Bloc Party — hence their show at Stubb's amounted to a mob scene. Thankfully Chris and I got in about 10 minutes before they took the stage, to tear through close to an hour's worth of songs from the still-genius 2005 album Silent Alarm, plus the recently released record titled — as frontman Kele Okereke implored the crowd to shout out — A Weekend in the City. On a warm night like tonight, the amphitheatre setting of Stubb's is Austin's best venue to see music — and favorites like "Banquet" to the new stuff, including the sweetly nostalgic "I Still Remember," swelled through the night air.

Finally, when it's 1 a.m. and you need a final burst of energy, what better way than the Smiths-y jangle pop of Austin's Voxtrot? This was one of the most-seen bands at last year's South By, and with a new album on the way, Ramesh Srivastava and the boys sent the crowd at Emo's off into the Austin night feeling good.

It was a long night, and a great night, and I'm done.

Gil Kaufman: I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but while walking by the English showcase, I might have pretended to be from Leeds to squeeze in with some genuine Brits when they said the show was closed. Luckily, I snuck in, grabbed a soggy taco and got to see a mesmerizing, kinda scary acoustic set from mega-hyped British train wreck Amy Winehouse.

Impossibly thin with a towering black beehive hairdo and a sailor-worthy menagerie of tattoos, wearing tightly pegged jeans, a food-stained white undershirt and dirty pink ballet slippers, Winehouse played a four-song set that showed off her strong, soulful pipes on songs including her hit single, "Rehab." It was hard to ignore the deep scratches all over her left arm and her twitchy mannerisms, though.

Say what you will about the relevance of grunge progenitors the Melvins, but watching lead singer Buzz Osborne smash out dinosaur riffs while wearing a long black caftan covered in skulls and birds was the bomb. But the most important news of the day came during a brief set by beloved eccentric Daniel Johnston, who announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am not running for president today. I came here to this town today to rock this town."

The afternoon ended nicely with a ribcage-rattling set of thick hip-hop rock by El-P, who tried mightily to avoid cursing during a live broadcast on a local station. Unfortunately for them, he slipped up within the first five seconds he was on air.

Then, in the evening, I decided to check out a full set from Winehouse, and I'd like to take back (some) of what I said earlier; maybe she's just not an early riser. Dressed in the same get-up, but with a clean black T-shirt, she slayed an adoring, sweat-drenched crowd with a high-energy set that, unfortunately, started two hours later than advertised. But with her coquettish stage moves and dangerous-looking come-hither smile and teasing hand gestures — not to mention that smoky voice — all was forgiven.

After Amy, I checked out Minneapolis' Cloud Cult, who impressed with their Flaming Lips-style psychedelic rock, and the two onstage artists doing "action painting" during their set. James winced when I used the phrase "action painting," saying, "That sounds horrible!" I didn't tell him about the pregnant cello player with Christmas lights in her hair.

And finally, I caught up with an old pal, Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman, during Straylight Run's gig. Dressed in his signature board shorts, loose t-shirt and flip-flops, Lyman said he was just hanging out and doing a bit of business, hoping to check out Willie Nelson on Saturday. Now that's punk rock.

And if you'll excuse me, I've got to crash. I'm exhausted, officially.

Will James actually make it to one of these buzz shows? Can the rest of the fest beat John's stellar Thursday? And could anything out-weird Gil's "action painting" experience? Check back all week for our SXSW coverage!

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

[This story was originally published on 3.15.2007 at 8:44 p.m.]

• Five Coolest Things At SXSW 2007

• Kings Of Leon, Mastodon, Flava Flav, More Rock SXSW '07

• Amy Winehouse
• Queens of the Stone Age
• Lily Allen
• Black Lips
• Cold War Kids

Alchemist's <i>1st Infantry Deluxe</i>
Photo: Koch Records

As you can see, it's a pretty weak week for new releases — don't expect to see many new faces cracking next week's top 10 ... or 20, for that matter. In fact, it's so slow that we've decided to double up some of the latest rack contenders tag-team style and see who'd come out on top. It's probably the only time you'll see a margarita-swilling folk legend conspiring with death-metal cretins to body-slam a band of cabaret-loving punks.

Round One: Tricked-Out Magic

Alchemist and Elefant vs. Moby and Coachella: Alchemist is hoping to turn his fading 1st Infantry record — it's been out for almost two years — back into gold with a DVD-enhanced deluxe edition. New York dynamos Elefant are up to some mojo of their own with their second release, The Black Magic Show, taking on producer Don Gilmore (Good Charlotte, Linkin Park) and mixer Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Sonic Youth). In the other corner, Moby pours two bonus films, a cover of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" and a full CD of remixes into his "Live - Hotel Tour 2005" set, then gangs up with the cast of "Coachella: The Film" — including the Flaming Lips, Radiohead and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Winners:

When the other Coachella backups — Belle and Sebastian, Muse and Tenacious D — find themselves up against Al's impressive guests (Nas, Game and T.I.), it's time to ring the bell.

Round Two: Burnin' Up

The Fiery Furnaces and Just a Fire vs. Judge Jules and the Red Krayola: Native Chicago twosome the FF burn into this competition with their fourth opus, Bitter Tea, frothing over with songs like "The Vietnamese Telephone Ministry," "Police Sweater Blood Vow" and "Whistle Rhapsody?" Windy City cohorts Just a Fire — featuring members of June of 44 and Sweep the Leg Johnny — keep the temperature raised with their second record, Spanish Time. On the other end of the ring, pre-eminent DJ Judge Jules dishes up his first domestic release in almost 13 years with The Global Warm-Up Mix CD, which cobbles together tracks by lesser-known players like Signalrunner, Randy Katana and E-Craig; and the 40-year-old Red Krayola throw another iron in the fire with their ill-named Introduction, even if it is their first studio set in more than five years.

Winners: Fiery Furnaces and Just a Fire out-sweat the competition.

Round Three: Lunch Break

The Disco Biscuits and Banana Blender Surprise vs. Matthew Sweet and Marshall Chapman: Jam-rock spazz-outs the Disco Biscuits have the most colorful album cover this week with The Wind at Four to Fly, and their tag-team partners Banana Blender Surprise promise even more dietary goodness on their own double-disc affair, Paint the Town Brown, which culls together most of the band's old material. Matthew Sweet and the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs come together to recap some of their favorite '60s tunes by the Beatles, Neil Young and the Velvet Underground for Under the Covers, Vol. 1, while Chapman antes up with Mellowicious!, her first outing in nine years.

Winners: Sweet and Mellowicious! let their sugary tendencies get the better of them, and DB and BBS' continental breakfast makes them the new intercontinental champions.

Round Four: Getting Frisky

Animal Liberation Orchestra and Be Your Own Pet vs. the Lovely Feathers and Lizzie West: ALO put out a different version of Fly Between Falls last summer, but their new one has a fresh recording of "Walls of Jericho" — a song featured on Jack Johnson's recent live DVD — plus reworked takes of "Girl, I Wanna Lay You Down" and "Barbecue." Be Your Own Pet, in the meantime, keep it elementary on their Summer Sensation EP with tracks like "Bicycle, Bicycle" and "Fire Department." On the opposing side, the Lovely Feathers get up on their Hind Hind Legs digipak to name off a couple of their heroes on "Pope Jean Paul" and "Rod Stewart," while Lizzie West ropes in the White Buffalo to craft I Pledge Allegiance to Myself, on which she covers songs by Bob Marley and Steve Goodman.

Winners: Freedom fighters ALO and Be Your Own Pet claw through their opponents (with some help from Elefant, who hunt down the White Buffalo when the ref's not looking).

Round Five: Location, Location

The Dresden Dolls and Stereophonics vs. Jimmy Buffett and Impaled Nazarene: Cabaret hasn't stopped Boston's Dresden Dolls from showing some skin on their Yes, Virginia ... digipak; just look to songs like "Sex Changes" and "First Orgasm" for proof. They get some help from the 'Phonics, who cram 20 nuggets into the two-disc Live From Dakota, which the Brits are putting out on their own Vox Populi imprint. Buffett heads to the Stereophonics' homeland with "Werewolves of London," which appears on the "Hoot" soundtrack; but things are noticeably grittier up north in Finland, where death-metal maniacs Impaled Nazarene send up "One Dead Nation Under Dead God" and "Goat Sodomy" as part of their Pro Patria Finlandia.

Winners: After the other side passes out from too many margaritas and too much animal intercourse, the Dresden Dolls and Stereophonics are the last ones standing.

Round Six: Evil vs. Good

Rye Coalition and Killing Joke vs. the Church and Dio: Indie-rock vets Rye Coalition stuck true to their roots and pulled off a heroic feat by nabbing Curses — their fourth, Dave Grohl-produced record — back from Interscope, breaking their contract with the major label but retaining ownership of the LP all the same (now the record's dropping on underground imprint Gern Blandsten). Backing up Rye are Killing Joke, who holed up in a basement in Prague and used tape-echo machines dating back to 1979 to craft their nine-track Hosannas From the Basement of Hell. On God's side are the Church, who recorded their Uninvited Like the Clouds last summer in Sydney; and Dio, who's Holy Diver Live gives him an excuse to recap hits like "Stand Up and Shout" and "Heaven and Hell," the latter of which he originally tracked with the very unholy Black Sabbath. (Completing the circle, Grohl played drums on Tenacious D's tribute track "Dio.")

Winners: Daniel Johnston — whose documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" precipitated this week's Welcome to My World: The Music of Daniel Johnston archival set — dives into the ring and pile-drives the Church and Dio. Who says Satan can't cheat?

Main Prize: Hogs all around for the winners! There's Demolition Doll Rods' There Is a Difference, plus reissues of the Knights' Hot Rod High and Mr. Gasser and the Weirdos' Hot Rod Hootenanny and Rods N' Rat Finks. Now that's a hootenanny.

Song Title of the Week:

"Cool and Unusual Punishment" from NOFX's Wolves in Wolves' Clothing

New Releases:

• Mindi Abair - Life Less Ordinary (GRP)
• Above & Beyond - Tri-State (Ultra)
• AFX - Chosen Lords (Rephlex)
• Ben Allison - Cowboy Justice (Palmetto)
• Karrin Allyson - Footprints (Concord Jazz)
• American Heartbreak - American Heartbreak (Liquor & Poker)
• Android Lust - Stripped & Stitched (Projekt)
  Buy Now: Stripped & Stitched (Projekt)
  
• Be Your Own Pet - Summer Sensation (EP; Ecstatic Peace)
• Adrian Belew - Side Three (Sanctuary)
• Anthony Braxton Quintet - Live at the Royal Festival Hall - London (2004) (Leo)
• Mel Brown and the Homewreckers - Blues - A Beautiful Thing (Electro-Fi)
• Richard Butler - Richard Butler (Koch)
• Marshall Chapman - Mellowicious! (Tallgirl)
• The Church - Uninvited Like the Clouds (Cooking Vinyl)
• Cities - Cities (digipak; Yep Roc)
• Cretin - Freakery (Relapse)
• Crime in Stereo - The Troubled Stateside (Nitro)
• A.J. Croce - Cantos (digipak; Seedling)
• Da Back Wudz - Wood Work Album (Universal)
  Buy Now: Wood Work Album (Universal)
  
• Demolition Doll Rods - There Is a Difference (Swami)
• Dio - Holy Diver Live (two CDs; Eagle)
  Buy Now: Holy Diver Live (Eagle)
  
• The Disco Biscuits - The Wind at Four to Fly (digipak; two CDs; Sci Fidelity)
• The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia ... (digipak; Roadrunner)
  Buy Now: Yes, Virginia ... (Roadrunner)
  
• Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing and a Curse (New West) http://www.mtv.com/music/#/music/artist/drive_by_truckers/albums.jhtml?albumId=1265189
• Elefant - The Black Magic Show (Kemado)
  Buy Now: The Black Magic Show (Kemado)
  
• Erasure - Union Street (Mute)
  Buy Now: Union Street (Mute)
  
• The Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea (digipak also available; Fat Possum)
• The Frauds - The Frauds (High Wire)
• Ian Gillian - Gillian's Inn (DualDisc; Immergent)
• Jon Dee Graham - Full (Freedom/ City Hall)
• Gram Rabbit - Cultivation (Stinky)
• Eddy Grant - Reparation (Ice)
• Hil St. Soul - Soulidified (Shanachie)
• Monica Huggett and Richard Savino - Essential Giuliani Vol I (two CDs; Koch)
• Ihsahn - The Adversary (Candlelight)
• Impaled Nazarene - Pro Patria Finlandia (The End)
• Sherman Irby - Black Warrior (Black Warrior)
• Judge Jules - The Global Warm-Up Mix CD (Koch)
• Junkie XL - Today (Ultra)
• Just a Fire - Spanish Time (Sick Room)
• Kaiser George & the Hi-Risers - Transatlantic Dynamite! (Spinout)
• Kalas - Kalas (digipak; Tee Pee)
• Mat Kearney - Nothing Left to Lose (Aware/ Columbia)
• Killing Joke - Hosannas From the Basement of Hell (Cooking Vinyl)
• Michael Leviton - My Favorite Place to Drown (Ace Fu)
• Eric Lewis & Andy Ratliff - Only Home I've Had (Madjack)
• The Lovely Feathers - Hind Hind Legs (digipak; Equator)
• Lylas - Lessons for Lovers (Fictitious)
• Maritime - We the Vehicles (Flameshovel)
• Muallem - Frankie Splits (digipak; Compost)
• Mugison - Little Trip (Ipecac)
• Ann Nesby - In the Spirit (Shanachie)
• NOFX - Wolves in Wolves Clothing (Fat Wreck Chords)
  Buy Now: Wolves in Wolves Clothing (Fat Wreck Chords)
  
• Mark O'Leary/ Uri Caine/ Ben Perowsky - Closure (Leo)
• People Under the Stairs - Stepfather (two CDs; Basement)
• Phoenix Mourning - When Excuses Become Antiques (Metal Blade)
• The Red Krayola - Introduction (Drag City)
• Vernon Reid & Masque - Other True Self (Favored Nations)
• Rhino Bucket - & Then It Got Ugly (Acetate)
• Rye Coalition - Curses (with bonus DVD; Gern Blandsten)
• Harmonica Shah - Listen at Me Good (Electro-Fi)
• Sick of It All - Death to Tyrants (Abacus)
  Buy Now: Death to Tyrants (Abacus)
  
• Silent Civilian - Rebirth of the Temple (Mediaskare)
• Spank Rock - Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo (Big Dada)
• Spice 1 - Life After Jive (Real Talk Entertainment)
• Stereophonics - Live From Dakota (two CDs; Vox Populi/ V2)
  Buy Now: Live From Dakota (Vox Populi/ V2)
  
• Stoley P.T. - Lesson #1 (In Music We Trust Records)
• Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - Under the Covers, Vol. 1 (Shout! Factory)
  Buy Now: Under the Covers, Vol. 1 (Shout! Factory)
  
• The Tango Saloon - The Tango Saloon (Ipecac)
• Tony Terry - Changed! (Koch)
• Lizzie West & the White Buffalo - I Pledge Allegiance to Myself (Appleseed)
• Rob Whitlock - Sketchin' 2 (Sketchin')
• Various artists - Pure Joy (Koch)
• Various artists - Putumayo Presents: Paris (Putumayo)
• Various artists - Seventeen: The Best New Music (Hear It First!) (BMG Strategic Marketing)
• Various artists - "Hoot" soundtrack (Mailboat)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

• Aiden - Our Gang's Dark Oath (Victory)
• The Alchemist - 1st Infantry Deluxe (with DVD; Koch)
  Buy Now: 1st Infantry Deluxe (Koch)
  
• Animal Liberation Orchestra - Fly Between Falls (Brushfire)
• Banana Blender Surprise - Paint the Town Brown (two CDs; Freedom)
• Chuck Berry - Definitive Collection (Universal)
• Oscar DeLeon - Millennium Collection (Universal)
• Cornell Dupree - Night Fever: The Versatile Sessions (Empire Musicwerks)
• First Choice - It's Not Over: The Greatest Hits of First Choice (Koch)
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer - The Birth of a Band - Isle of Wight Festival, Sat August 29th, 1970 (DualDisc; Eagle Rock)
• The Ghouls - Dracula's Deuce (Sundazed)
• Buddy Holly - Definitive Collection (Universal)
• Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up: The Best of Instant Funk (Koch)
• Daniel Johnston - Welcome to My World: The Music of Daniel Johnston (High Wire)
• The Kickstands - Black Boots and Bikes (Sundazed)
• The Knights - Hot Rod High (Sundazed)
• Jerry Lee Lewis - Definitive Collection (Universal)
• Mae - The Everglow (special edition with DVD; Tooth & Nail)
  Buy Now: The Everglow (Tooth & Nail)
  
• Ed McCurdy - A Ballad Singer's Choice (Empire Musicwerks)
• Marian McPartland - ... With You in Mind (DRG)
• Mr. Gasser and the Weirdos - Hot Rod Hootenanny, Rods N' Rat Finks and Surfink! (Sundazed)

DVDs:

• Herbie Hancock - "Possibilities" (Magnolia)
• Moby - "Live - Hotel Tour 2005" (with CD; Mute)
• Trina - "Live and Uncut ... Sex, Money and Jewels" (SMC)
• Yes - "9012 Live" (Image Entertainment)
• Young Jeezy - "Hoodz: Street Code - Young Jeezy" (Hoods DVD Magazine)
• Zyklon - "Storm Detonation Live" (Candlelight)
• Various artists - "Coachella: The Film" (Epitaph)

Coming Attractions:

April 25:

• Godsmack - IV (Republic)
  Read: "Godsmack Finishing Up 'Killer' Fourth LP, Working On Football Theme"
  Buy Now: IV (Republic)
  
• Rihanna - A Girl Like Me (Def Jam)
  Read: "Rihanna Getting In Touch With Her Rock Side For Next LP"
  Buy Now: A Girl Like Me (Def Jam)
  
• Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Taking Back Sunday Say Debuting At #800 Wouldn't Bother Them"
  Buy Now: Louder Now (Warner Bros.)

May 2:

• Lil' Flip - I Need Mine (Sony Urban)
• Mobb Deep - Blood Money (Interscope)
  Read: "Mobb Deep, 50 Cent Get Tattoos To Prove Their Loyalty"
  Buy Now: Blood Money (Interscope)
  
• Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam (J)
  Read: "Pearl Jam, Post-'Therapy': 'The Sex Is Better Than Ever!' "
• Thursday - A City by the Light Divided (Island)
  Read: "Thursday Frontman Says He Doesn't Want To Exploit My Chemical Romance, But ..."
  Buy Now: A City by the Light Divided (Island)
  
• Tool - 10,000 Days (Volcano)
  Buy Now: 10,000 Days (Volcano)
  

May 9:

• The Isley Brothers - Baby Makin' Music (Island)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (two CDs; limited edition with DVD also available; Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Chili Peppers Stoked About New Album, Possible Kanye Tour"
  Buy Now: Stadium Arcadium (Warner Bros.)
• Snow Patrol - Eyes Open (A&M)
  Read: "Snow Patrol Turn 'Candy-Assed' Music Into Beastly Arena Rock"
  Buy Now: Eyes Open (A&M)
  

• The Alchemist
• The Dresden Dolls
• Moby
• Rye Coalition
• Elefant

Daniel Johnston in "The Devil and Daniel Johnston"
Photo: Monica Dee

Imagine for a moment that you're a documentary filmmaker, fortunate enough to land one of independent music's most creative people as your next subject. The story of his life is fascinating, the music and paintings he's created promise a feast for your film's visuals and soundtrack, and artists from Beck to Death Cab for Cutie to Johnny Depp will give you free publicity with their endless shout-outs to him.

Imagine that your subject has documented much of his own existence and is so eager for your movie that he's made all of his footage and music available to you.

Now imagine that your subject is a manic-depressive, mental hospital regular — someone who could go off the deep end as sure as he could suddenly sing the most beautiful song you've ever heard. Welcome to the world of Jeff Feuerzeig.

"He has hurt people. He crashed his father's plane once when he thought he was Casper the Friendly Ghost," said Feuerzeig, who directed the new rockumentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston." "He tested me. We were at George Harrison's vigil in Central Park when George Harrison passed away. It was very sad. Daniel is probably the world's biggest Beatles fan. We went to the vigil, and Daniel just didn't want to be there that day.

"He pointed at the roof of the Dakota, where John Lennon used to live, and he said to me, 'What would you do if I jumped off that building?' " the director said. "I looked him in the eye, and I said, 'I'd film it.'

"Then he respected me."

Respect is one thing 42-year-old singer/songwriter Johnston has never had any trouble acquiring. Happiness, however, has proven to be more elusive. Living in the basement of his parents' Virginia home in the '80s, he used a cheap boombox and an old piano to compose hundreds of melodic, intricate songs often interrupted by his mother's shrieks that he should get a real job. The tapes eventually found their way into the hands of some influential people, and Johnston seemed on the verge of stardom, even as he worked a day job at his local McDonald's.

Then Daniel Johnston lost his mind.

"He's like (the Beach Boys') Brian Wilson or (Pink Floyd's) Syd Barrett because he suffers from manic-depression," Feuerzeig said. "But when you listen to Pet Sounds, there's no warning label that says 'This music was written by a guy who was mentally ill.' And when you listen to Daniel Johnston, you shouldn't listen to it in that way either."

After numerous incidents that saw him running away with the circus, vanishing among the homeless, and harming others while trying to save them from the devil, Johnston's hospital stays became more permanent in the early '90s. Around the same time, grunge took over the music industry, and one of the world's biggest rock stars began giving shout-outs to an obscure man in a padded room.

"Those raw recordings, and their lyrics, were so strong that they touched people like Kurt Cobain," the director said. "He wore Daniel's frog T-shirt [from Johnston's album] Hi How Are You on the MTV Video Music Awards, and he was Kurt Cobain's favorite singer/songwriter."

Now after decades of bidding wars, flirtations with success, and near-fatal setbacks, things have come full circle. What remains is a gifted madman and his enormous catalog of infectious pop songs. And it's all documented in a film that is as beautiful, random and unsettling as its subject.

"[Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes] had the day off, and he said, 'I'm getting seven cavities filled. Why don't you interview me in the chair?' " the director said of one of the film's bizarre moments. "In between each cavity in his horrible mouth, in between the drilling, we would ask a few questions."

Another odd call: Feuerzeig's decision not to interview Johnston for the film. "I made an internal monologue out of his tapes because, no, Daniel is not interviewed in his own film," he said. "Daniel cannot host his own film like R. Crumb did in the movie 'Crumb' or Isaac Mizrahi did in 'Unzipped.' ... Daniel Johnston cannot do that. Thank God he recorded those tapes, and we are able to experience his journey in the moment. Because let's face it: Sound is much more important than picture."

If you want to depict creative madness, it seems, you have to go down some unpredictable paths. Appropriately, "Devil" is filled with animated paintings, grainy video and Johnston's own obsessive recordings capturing moments like the time his unrequited crush said "I love you" into his tape recorder. Now that the nearly 15-year process of making the film is finished, Feuerzeig once again finds himself proving that he is worthy of Johnston's respect.

"I'm just happy that he's alive to see it happen and to see the film," Feuerzeig said. "He's excited that 'The Devil and Daniel Johnston' is coming out into theaters and that people all over the world can now listen to him and collect his drawings. His art is really exploding.

"He tours the world, he goes to festivals all over Europe, and there are thousands of kids who know all his songs and do sing-alongs," the director said. "He does sold-out shows all over the United States, and he's not dangerous anymore because he's medicated. He stays on his meds and he's fine."

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