T-Pain at the Grammy Awards on February 10
Photo: Vince Bucci/ Getty Images

T-Pain with a twang? Well, the Florida singer hasn't adjusted his vocoder to country ... yet.

But last week, T-Pain told MTV News at the Grammys that he was interested in recruiting country superstar Toby Keith to collaborate on his next album, 3 Rings, tentatively due September 30, the same day as Pain's birthday. The singer would be following in the footsteps of Nelly, who collaborated with country singer Tim McGraw on "Over and Over," from the St. Louis rapper's Sweat/Suit album.

"He's just different, man," T-Pain said about Keith. "And he sells a lot of records. [He laughs.] And he's rich, so I wanna be friends with him."

So far, Teddy P said he's only about two songs deep into the follow-up to his breakthrough album, Epiphany, which spawned the hits "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')," featuring Yung Joc, and "Bartender," featuring Akon.

Aside from Keith, Pain's Nappy Boy Entertainment artists Tay Dizm, Jay Lyriq and female trio Sophia Fresh are the only ones being considered for collaborations on the upcoming album.

But another eye-opening artist that T-Pain has his sights set on, he said, is rap-rocker Fred Durst. "Get it on," he said, laughing.

According to T-Pain, though, the idea isn't that much of a joke. "Really, to just do a T-Pain/ Limp Bizkit song, that would be awesome for me," he explained. "I actually want to do it. One of these days, I'm gonna bring out an entire rock and roll album. I'm already doing it, so it's gonna be nice."

• T-Pain
• Toby Keith
• Fred Durst

<i>The Green Days of Christmas: The Green Day Tribute</i>
Photo: Vitamin Records

We're still more than a week away from Halloween. It's currently 74 degrees in in New York. Turkeys of North America walk unafraid, knowing their fate won't be determined for more than a month. If all that isn't enough to get you in the Christmas spirit, well, then we don't know what is.

After all, in the minds of the good people in the record industry, 'tis already the season, as evidenced by the stream of Christmas albums trickling into stores (and the full-blown Yule tidal wave coming over the next few weeks). And if the first crop of releases is any indication, no niche market will go unserved during Xmas '07. Want overblown, orchestrated versions of "Silent Night" and "Ave Maria" to play during candlelit, sweater-clad dinners? Josh Groban's Noël has got you covered. Looking for a countrified "I'll Be Home for Christmas" to blast during trips to Wal-Mart? Check out Diamond Rio's A Diamond Rio Christmas: The Star Still Shines. Are you a 9-year-old girl (or a middle-age, slightly overweight woman who owns several porcelain dolls)? A Looney Tunes Sing-A-Long Christmas is the album for you.

Don't miss these bizarre Christmas-album covers.

And with sooo many Christmas albums on the docket, how do you differentiate between a solid-gold stocking-stuffer and a Kris-Kringling lump of coal? Well, that's where we come in. Being the Xmas album experts we are, we've developed a complex scoring system that awards points for everything that makes the genre great, including cringe-inducing covers of the classics and genuine WTF-ness. In keeping with the spirit of the season, we didn't deduct points unless it was completely unnecessary.

We then tallied the total points and determined an album's sheer "Christmas-ocity" (which is less of a word than it is a state of mind). The higher the score, the better the album. And since Christmas just can't come soon enough (unless you subscribe to the beliefs of any of the world's other major religions), we decided to share the results with you now. Merry October!

» Album Toby Keith's A Classic Christmas (Show Dog Nashville, in stores now.)

Everyone's favorite super-patriot is back with a double-barrelled blast of sheer Christmas intensity. Al Qaeda beware! Makes a great gift for 9/11 reactionaries, flag-wavers, anyone who refers to themselves as "the big dog."

Classics Covered Twenty, spread over two discs. The first disc is all about traditional numbers — "Silver Bells," "Frosty the Snowman" — while the second skips all the formalities and gets right on down to a whole lotta Christian-tude: 20 points

Album Art The big dog lounges in an easy chair, cowboy/Santa hat perched atop his bleached locks. His stubbly chin rests on his hand in a subtly cocky yet slightly compassionate manner. This is probably what Christmas is like down at the ranch in Crawford: 5 points

WTF-nessThis promotional video for the album, in which a somber-looking Keith takes potshots at "the industry" for its lack of support, says he made A Classic Christmas so his fans could "enjoy a little bit more of the big dog" during the holidays and then describes himself as "not a real, real religious guy as far as reading the Bible every day" and "not a great role model at being a Christian" is fairly disturbing in its awkwardness. Sort of makes you feel sorry for Keith. Sort of: 25 points

Total Christmas-ocity 50 points

» Albums The Green Days of Christmas: The Holiday Tribute to Green Day and ... And Christmas for All: The Holiday Tribute to Metallica performed by Santa Claws and the Naughty but Nice Orchestra, a Vitamin Records house band (both on Vitamin and in stores Tuesday)

A pair of tribute albums that promise "the jingle of bells and horns" instead of "the fast licks of guitar solos," perfect for aging fans of both bands and, now that we think about it, aging members of both bands, too.

Classics Covered (either album) Versions of "Jesus of Suburbia" (since he's the reason for the season) and "For Whom the Bell Tolls," cause it's got the word "bell" in the title: 2 points.

Album Art Bad Santa + bad snowman + underwhelming design = 2 points

WTF-ness: The whole tribute thing has been done to death, resurrected and then done to death again. But replacing Kirk Hammett's guitar solos with Santa-worthy sleigh bells is certainly a questionable call: one worth, say, 2 points.

Total Christmas-ocity 6 points

» Album Relient K's Let It Snow Baby ... Let It Reindeer (Capitol, in stores Tuesday)

Squeaky-clean Christian pop-punkers drop pun-a-riffic Christmas album, which is actually just a bonus-track-heavy version of their previous Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand release. Just what your 13-year-old cousin was hoping for!

Classics Covered Seven — including "Deck the Halls" and "Handel's Messiah" (!) — wrapped around four actually pretty great Relient K originals, including "I Celebrate the Day" and "I Hate Christmas Parties." Seven points for the originals + 1 for the original called "Santa Claus Is Thumbing to Town" = 6 points

Album Art Two cutesy, nondescript reindeer smooching against a baby-blue background. Sort of the visual representation of Relient K's entire musical output: 5 points

WTF-ness There is truly nothing WTF about Relient K, except pretty much everything: 5 points

Total Christmas-ocity 16 points

» Album: Larry the Cable Guy's Christmastime in Larryland (Warner Bros., in stores October 30)

America's pre-eminent authority on all things "Git-R-done" returns with his second Christmas album, which, according to Warner, is a pseudo-concept record about "Larry indulging in a fantasy about having his own Christmas radio special." Also, a sentence featuring the words "Larry," "indulging" and "fantasy" might be the most potent nightmare fuel we've ever been subjected to.

Classics Covered "Farting Jingle Bells," "Medley of Carols," "Nativity Scene" and "Nutcracker" (guess what that one's about?): 4 points

Album Art The disembodied head of Larry (who, it should be added, is looking more like Fred Durst every day) floats eerily in space, wearing a Santa hat and a camo cap, a sprig of mistletoe around his neck. It looks as if he is gasping for air. Now this is some nightmare fuel: 10 points.

WTF-ness This is a Christmas-themed, concept-comedy record about a fictional radio special, starring the guy from "Delta Farce": 100 points.

Total Christmas-ocity 114 points

» Album Rick Springfield's Christmas With You (Gomer, in stores November 6)

The perfect gift for all you Rick Springfield fans out there (all 16 of you) ...

Classics Covered A whopping 14, including "The First Noel," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and the bizarre surf-themed "Deck the Halls (With Boughs of Longboards)": 14 points.

Album Art Rick sort of looks like a sad buccaneer drunkenly contemplating his failures on a Caribbean beach, a battered acoustic guitar and a tinsel-strewn Christmas tree his only company. A man alone in his thoughts and the world. Which, when you think about it, may be a pretty apt metaphor for his entire career post "Jessie's Girl": 20 points

WTF-ness The album kicks off with "Christmas With You," an "extremely moving original track ... dedicated to all of our fallen troops": 30 points

Total Christmas-ocity 64 points.

AlbumCaptain & Tennille's The Secret of Christmas (Retroactive Entertainment, in stores November 6)

Spend your Christmas with the creepy old guy in a captain's hat who's not your drunk uncle. And Tennille!

Classics Covered Six, though those are interspersed with seven originals by the Captain and/or Tennille, including "Daryl of the Bells" ("A musical trip through the mind of 'the Captain!' " a press release trumpets) and "Boogie Baby Christmas." 6 points for the classics, -7 points for originals = -1 point.

Album Art The stardust background. The Captain's denim dress shirt. The Captain's music-note tie. The Captain's strange resemblance to Jeffrey Jones. Tennille's strange resemblance to my Aunt Janice. 50 points!

WTF-ness It's Captain & Tennille. They pretty much invented the term: 50 points

Total Christmas-ocity 99 points

• Bizarre Christmas Albums

• Green Day
• Toby Keith

Fabolous' <i>From Nothin' To Somethin'</i>
Photo: Def Jam

When it comes to scoring a #1 debut, sometimes it's all about timing.

That's the lesson Grammy-nominated rapper Fabolous learned this week, since his latest album, From Nothin' to Somethin', was released on the very same day that one of country music's biggest names, Toby Keith, issued a fresh helping of his own material. Like Fabolous, a number of artists in recent years have discovered the hard way that America's a big country, and country's one of its most popular musical genres.

Unfortunately for Fab, that means his hunt for a #1 debut is very much still on. With 158,600 copies of From Nothin' to Somethin' scanned over the past week, Fabolous fell about 46,000 short of even threatening Keith's chart dominance. Toby's Big Dog Daddy netted nearly 204,500 scans, making his the latest LP to top the Billboard albums chart, according to the latest SoundScan totals.

However, the album is Fab's highest-charting debut, besting 2001's Ghetto Fabolous, which opened at #4 with 143,000 scans, and 2003's Street Dreams, which finished at #3 with 184,600 sold. Keith's Big Dog Daddy, on the other hand, is the country star's third #1 bow, joining 2002's Unleashed (which scanned more than 338,000 units) and 2003's Shock'n Y'all (with sales of 585,000).

But Fab and Keith weren't this week's sole newcomers to the chart's top 10. Rapper and mixtape maestro DJ Khaled's We the Best, which features guest spots from Lil Wayne, T.I., Akon, T-Pain, the Game, Young Jeezy and others, debuts at #8 with nearly 79,000 sold, while The Traveling Wilburys Collection, a box set chronicling the all-star group's history, sold a reported 77,300, to follow at #9.

The rest of the top 10 is populated by repeat customers, including, at #3, Paul McCartney's Memory Almost Full, which sold more than 106,500 units during its second week in stores. Maroon 5's It Won't Be Soon Before Long climbs one spot to #4, having sold 87,000-plus copies, while last week's #1, T-Pain's Epiphany, falls to #5, with sales reported at 82,000. Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight owns the #6 spot, scanning an additional 81,600, for a five-week grand total of 1.1 million. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad slips five chart positions to #7, with 81,200 sold, while Amy Winehouse's Back to Black holds at #10, with 73,700 units scanned.

Surprisingly, the latest offering from Queens of the Stone Age, Era Vulgaris, failed to bow in the chart's top 10, instead opening at #14 with sales of 51,600; the band's 2005 offering Lullabies to Paralyze sold nearly 97,000 copies, to open at #5. Just behind the Queens at #15 is Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, a compilation featuring artists like Green Day, U2, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, the Black Eyed Peas, Snow Patrol, and the Flaming Lips covering selections from the late John Lennon's solo catalogue; the set sold 48,900 units.

Enrique Iglesias' new one, Insomniac, makes its debut on next week's chart at #17, thanks to sales of more than 44,500, while Something to Talk About, a collaborative release from the late Gerald Levert and his father, Eddie Levert Sr., opens at #19. Paramore's Riot! follows at #20, with sales reported at 42,000, and coming in at #26 is The Definition of X: The Pick of the Litter, a greatest-hits collection from DMX, which sold 35,000.

Further down the chart, debuting at #137, is the third offering from Fair to Midland, Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True, which generated sales of 6,000. Reggae Gold 2007, a compilation featuring contributions from Sean Paul, Buju Banton, Elephant Man and others, opens at #152, with 5,700 sold, followed lastly at #163 by Paula Cole's Courage, which scanned 5,400 units.

• Fabolous
• Toby Keith
• DJ Khaled
• The Traveling Wilburys
• Queens of the Stone Age

LL Cool J
Photo: Jason Campbell

Ladies may love James Todd Smith — better known, of course, as hip-hop icon-turned-actor LL Cool J. But apparently not enough of those ladies ventured into record stores last week to pick up a copy of LL's 11th studio LP, Todd Smith. Instead, it was Rascal Flatts' adoring fanbase — female or otherwise — that stepped up to the proverbial plate for a second straight week, ringing up another 345,000 copies of the country trio's latest offering, Me & My Gang, to keep the Flatts on top of the next Billboard albums chart.

According to the latest SoundScan totals, those Rascals have surpassed the 1 million copies sold mark, making Me & My Gang 2006's year's sole release to break that barrier within two weeks. Last week, the disc opened at #1 with nearly 722,000 scans, which earned it the distinction of being the year's healthiest week-one sales performer. And that's all great news for Rascal Flatts. For LL, on the other hand, it's not so good.

With Todd Smith selling just 116,000 copies its first week out, J finds himself debuting at the chart's #6 opening — despite the album's inclusion of guests such as Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez, Jamie Foxx, Teairra Marí, 112, Ginuwine, Freeway, Mary Mary and Juelz Santana. It's not LL's finest opening; 2000's G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time bowed at #1 with 209,000 scans, and 2002's 10 debuted at #2 with sales of 154,000 plus. The most recent of his previous outings, 2004's The DEFinition, opened as Billboard's #4 entrant, selling more than 173,000 copies.

This week's #2 spot belongs to another of country music's most beloved artists: Toby Keith. His White Trash With Money is the week's highest-charting debut, with sales nearing 330,000. Right behind Toby is the 21st chapter in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series, which features hits from artists including Mariah Carey, the Pussycat Dolls, Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson and Fall Out Boy. That album scored week-two sales of 293,000 and change, slipping one spot to #3.

The soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical" holds the chart's #4 opening, with yet another 256,000 copies flying off store shelves — pushing total sales of the album past the 1.5 million sold mark during the disc's 14th week in stores. T.I.'s King drops two spots this week to #5, with 136,000 scans, while Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: Reflected, slides two to #7, racking up an additional 116,000 copies sold. Pink's fourth studio outing, I'm Not Dead, slips two to #8, selling close to 90,000 copies.

	Jay? Nas? Biggie? Pac? Find out where LL Cool J ranks in MTV's top 10 'Greatest MCs Of All Time.'

Canadian songwriter Daniel Powter's self-titled debut lands in the #9 slot, with week-one sales reported at little more than 89,000. Never heard of Powter? Well, his hit single "Bad Day" has become the exit theme for booted contestants on this season's "American Idol," so his top-10 debut comes as little surprise. James Blunt's Back to Bedlam follows at #10, with 83,000 scans.

There were a number of other noteworthy newcomers to the chart in what was a strong week for retail in general. Queen's Stone Cold Classics collection bows at #45 with 27,000 copies sold (The band also had an "Idol" connection, with their songs serving as the theme for last week's performances). In at #46 (selling just 77 fewer copies than Queen) is The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2, a 92-track box set featuring reissues of the Beatles' 1965 American releases The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help!, and Rubber Soul. The third album from Los Angeles hard rockers Buckcherry, 15, checks in at #48 with 26,000 scans.

Cam'ron Presents DukeDaGod - Dipset: The Movement Moves On, which features selections from Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Hell Rell and the rest of the Dipset clique, opens at #53 with 23,000 units sold. MTV2 Headbanger's Ball: The Revenge, a metal-heavy compilation featuring Mudvayne, Korn, Slipknot, Opeth, Lacuna Coil and a host of others, debuts at #60 with 21,000 scans. Built to Spill's You in Reverse follows at #63, selling 19,000 copies, while Saves the Day's Sound the Alarm bows at #67 with more than 18,000 scans. The Eagles of Death Metal's second LP, Death by Sexy, owns the #113 slot with 11,000 scans, and rockers Calexico open at #156 slot, selling almost 8,000 copies of their latest, Garden Ruin.

• LL Cool J
• Rascal Flatts
• Daniel Powter
• Toby Keith
• Cam'ron

LL Cool J’s <i>Todd Smith</i>
Photo: Def Jam

Cool as Ice: He's been there, back, there again and back again a few more times, but LL Cool J apparently still wants all the help he can get. The guest list for his Todd Smith LP speaks to the hip-hop icon's impressive stature: Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez, Jamie Foxx, Teairra Marí, 112, Ginuwine, Freeway, Lyfe, Ryan Roby, Mary Mary and Juelz Santana. That's not to mention producers Jermaine Dupri, the Neptunes, Scott Storch and Bink. Or the extra boost Ne-Yo gives LL with a bonus-track remix of the up-and-comer's "So Sick." Or Jesus, L.A. Reid and his barbers Jay and John, all of whom get props (and with respect to Christ, they are mad props indeed) in the credits.

Judas Mae C a Cutie?: Looking for some indie pop and a few tips on how to shoot a short film? Look no further than Death Cab for Cutie's "Directions" DVD, which is rife with videos — one for each track on the band's recent Plans, plus clips for two unissued cuts — as well as director's instructions, commentary, behind-the-scenes action, original sketches, alternate endings and production stills (each video has at least one bonus feature). The band enlisted a crew of rookie directors to handle the clips, although noted auteur Lance Bangs is the one behind "Talking Like Turnstiles."

L.A. punks the Mae Shi are going a similar route with their first DVD, "Lock the Skull, Load the Gun," for which they enlisted a fleet of art students and friends to direct 32 videos. Their video disc also has a documentary surrounding their Celebration tour, including footage of house parties, bar mitzvahs and other joyous shindigs.

The tone is just slightly more somber on Pimp C's "Pimptaliation" DVD, which, despite the funny title, documents the rapper trying to get back on his feet after being released from jail. Lightening the mood a little are Young Jeezy, Scarface, Lil' Flip and Pimp C's erstwhile UGK bud Bun B, all of whom head to the studio to record with C.

But who's more preoccupied with "breaking the law" than Judas Priest? The metal gods' "Live Vengeance '82" was tucked into limited runs of their 2004 Metalogy box set, but now the video's seeing a proper release as a standalone disc bursting with concert takes of "Screaming for Vengeance," "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" and "Living After Midnight."

Eagles Have Landed ... Again: Some of the new Eagles of Death Metal songs on Death by Sexy sound harmless (and hilarious) enough — "Cherry Cola," "The Ballad of Queen Bee and Baby Duck" — but rest assured, the so-called Dream Boys do have an ulterior motive (see for reference some other Sexy songs, like "I Gotta Feeling [Just Nineteen]" and "Bag O' Miracles"). The LP was recorded in 12 days by Eagles drummer Josh Homme (a.k.a. Carlo Von Sexron, J. Ho or, most recently, Baby Duck) and his Queens of the Stone Age amigo Alain Johannes.

Trackin' All Over the World: Everyone seems to be taking matters into their own hands this week. Ex-Nine Inch Nails drummer Jerome Dillon wrote, produced, performed and arranged almost every note of his new project Nearly's debut, Reminder. Based on a dream that haunted Dillon and broken into three four-song "movements," the record was laid to tape across the globe, from a hotel room in Amsterdam to a beach in Australia.

Another recent globe-trotter is Mr. Anonymous — better known as onetime Samples drummer Jeep MacNichol — who headed to Kingston, Jamaica, three times to craft his eponymous debut. There he hooked up with Sly and Robbie, Bounty Killer and members of Black Uhuru and the English Beat, who helped MacNichol "hang out under the palm trees ... and write lyrics all afternoon."

And there's good reason why the title to the latest effort by Paris' Gotan Project — Lunático — doesn't sound especially French. Not content recording around their villa natale, the quartet hauled its production equipment to Buenos Aires' Studio ION, a throne usually reserved for tango nobility. Ushering in some top Argentinean talent, GP also tapped Calexico for the first jingle, "Amor Porteno."

Speaking of 'Lexico, their fifth opus, Garden Ruin, slides into stores in digipak form and boasts songs like "Letter to Bowie Knife," "Panic Open String" and "Bisbee Blue." CD-buying fans, keep your eyes peeled: The initial pressing of the disc has a code that lets you download exclusive unreleased material online. Vinyl fans, rejoice: The black circle contains the exclusive-tracks code, plus a second code that enables you to download all of Garden Ruin gratis.

Song Titles of the Week:

"." from Pretty Girls Make Graves' Elan Vital

Other notables:

Built to Spill's You in Reverse and Christopher O'Riley's Home to Oblivion: An Elliott Smith Tribute: Fans will surely relate to "The Wait," having been patient for new BTS material for the past five years. But that song is actually featured at the end of the indie-rock heroes' new record; the first cut, "Goin' Against Your Mind," is only a couple of minutes long. Frontman Doug Martsch welcomes new guitarist Jim Roth and an organ-playing Sam Coomes over the course of the 10 tracks, which also includes "Conventional Wisdom," "Just a Habit" and "Mess With Time." Speaking of Coomes, right around the time he started up his still-thriving Quasi in 1996, he partnered with Elliott Smith for a separate project, Heatmiser. As it turns out, Smith is being hailed this week by noted pianist O'Riley, who previously gifted Radiohead with two sets of solo tributes. Hear O'Riley accent the classical-music influences in Smith songs like "Cupid's Trick" and "Stupidity Tries," and read his touching liner-note essay saluting the late, great songwriter.

Imaad Wasif's Imaad Wasif and Mountain Con's Sancho Panza: Occasional Yeah Yeah Yeahs collaborator and tour opener Wasif pulls a self-titled record out of his sleeve this week. Venturing into solo territory for the first time, the Alaska! and New Folk Implosion agent found inspiration in classical Eastern music, Swedish artist Hilma af Klint and a book by Truman Capote to craft songs like "Into the Static," "Tomorrow Is Ours" and "(Dandelion)." Rock band Mountain Con — actually five musicians and one DJ — also go the literary route with Sancho Panza, named after a character from Cervantes' "Don Quixote" who was promised an island for traveling with the klutzy adventurer.

Lucero's The Attic Tapes and Lambchop's The Decline of Country and Western Civilization Part II: The Woodwind Years: The Memphis, Tennessee, country-folk fellas have cranked out five proper releases, but early in their career they eked out a handmade set Alternative Press called "one of the top five home recordings ever." The new, spruced-up version has three additional early demos and two rare 7-inch tracks, including the band's cover of Jawbreaker's "Kiss the Bottle." Over in Nashville, like-minded country-folksters Lambchop have an archival collection all their own (we'll save space by not repeating the title). This set culls singles, B-sides, unreleased tracks and more from the band's 1994-1999 era, and a second comp spanning the latter years is due in the near future.

New Releases:

• The 303s - Lines of Parallel Minds (Cult Hero)
• Aloha - Some Echoes (Polyvinyl)
• Ark - State of the Ark (Rebel Group)
• Attacker - The Unknown (Sentinel Steel)
• Jeff Bates - Leave the Light On (RCA)
• Be Your Own Pet - Be Your Own Pet (Dim Mak)
• The Black Angels - Passover (Light in the Attic)
• Robert Bradley - What About That: New Year's Eve in Bloomington (two-CD live set; Kufala)
• Bratz - Genie Magic (Hip-O)
• Buckcherry - 15 (Eleven Seven)
• Built to Spill - You in Reverse (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: You in Reverse (Warner Bros.)
• Bullets and Octane - In the Mouth of the Young (RCA)
• Calexico - Garden Ruin (digipak; Quarterstick)
  Buy Now: Garden Ruin (Quarterstick)
• Crystal Skulls - Outgoing Behavior (Suicide Squeeze)
• The Danger O's - Little Machines (Blackout!)
• Brigitte DeMeyer - Something After All (BDM)
• Dixie Witch - Smoke & Mirrors (Small Stone)
• Drive By - I Hate Everyday Without You Kid (Riot Squad)
• Eagles of Death Metal - Death by Sexy (Downtown)
  Read: "Eagles Of Death Metal Frontman's 'Soft Boomerang Of Love' Takes Center Stage In Clip")
  Buy Now: Death by Sexy (Downtown)
• Eulorhythmics - Extended Play (All Natural)
• Euphoria - Precious Time (digipak; Zoë)
• Feathers - Feathers (Gnomonsong)
• Fightstar - They Liked You Better When You Were Dead (Deep Elm)
• Juan Diego Flórez - Sentimiento Latino (Decca)
• Sue Foley - New Used Car (Ruf)
• Gotan Project - Lunático (XL/ Beggars Banquet)
• Tre Hardson - Slimkid3's Cafe (Reggae Lounge)
• Hit the Lights - This Is a Stick Up ... Don't Make It a Murder (Triple Crown)
• Jesu - Silver (EP; Hydra Head)
• Toby Keith - White Trash With Money (Show Dog Nashville)
• Knights of the New Crusade - Knight Beat(Alternative Tentacles)
• Albert Lee - Road Runner (Sugar Hill)
• LKN - Postulate 1 (Greyday)
• LL Cool J - Todd Smith (enhanced; Def Jam)
  Read: "With Blige, J. Lo, Foxx On Board, LL Cool J's New LP Is A Guest Fest"
  Buy Now: Todd Smith (Def Jam)
• Benny Mardones - Let's Hear It for Love (Warrior)
• Edwin McCain - Lost in America (Vanguard)
• Mecca Normal - Observer (Kill Rock Stars)
• Mint - Magnetism (Funzalo)
• Moneen - The Red Tree (digipak; Vagrant)
• Mono - You Are There (Temporary Residence)
• Mountain Con - Sancho Panza (Hidden Peak)
• Mr. Anonymous - Mr. Anonymous (Kab America)
• Tim Murphy - Ain't No Shame (Big 7)
• Nearly - Straight to Nowhere (Kufala)
  Read: "Ex-NIN Drummer Welcomes You To His Nightmare — Reznor Responds"
• Negative Trend - Negative Trend (2.13.61)
• New Bruises - Transmit! Transmit! (Kiss of Death)
• Lee Newman - Happy Together: The '60s Songbook (SLK)
• On Thorns I Lay - Angeldust (Black Lotus)
• Christopher O'Riley - Home to Oblivion: An Elliott Smith Tribute (World Village)
• Parts & Labor - Stay Afraid (Jagjaguwar)
• Pinetop Seven - Beneath Confederate Lake (Empyrean)
• Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - Nothing but the Water (Hollywood)
• Daniel Powter - Daniel Powter (Warner Bros.)
• Pretty Girls Make Graves - Elan Vital (Matador)
  Buy Now: Elan Vital (Matador)
• Punchline - 37 Everywhere (Fueled by Ramen)
• Raffi - Quiet Time: Songs for a Pause, a Cuddle or a Nap (Rounder)
• Josh Ritter - The Animal Years (digipak; V2)
• Rosesdead - Stages (One Day Savior)
• Saves the Day - Sound the Alarm (Vagrant)
• Mark Schatz - Steppin' in the Boiler House (Rounder Select)
• Scissorfight - Jaggernaut (Tortura)
• Shonen Knife - Genki Shock! (digipak; Glue Factory)
• Throttlerod - Nail (Small Stone)
• Vandermark 5 - Free Jazz Classics Vol. 3 and Vol. 4 (Atavistic)
• Peter Walker - Young Gravity (Dangerbird)
• Imaad Wasif - Imaad Wasif (Kill Rock Stars)
• Whysall Lane - Whysall Lane (Blackball)
• Wilderness - Vessel States (Jagjaguwar)
• Tom Zé - Estudando O Pagode (Luaka Bop)
• Various artists - 5rc Sur la Mer Samp-le-Mer (5 Rue Christine)
• Various artists - Headbangers Ball: The Revenge (two CDs; Roadrunner)
• Various artists - "La Mujer de Mi Hermano" soundtrack (Nacional)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

• Avail - 4AM Friday, Dixie and Over the James (Jade Tree)
• The Beatles - The Capitol Albums Vol. 2 (available as four-disc, limited-edition brick or longbox set)
• Brian Eno + David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (enhanced; Nonesuch)
• Grateful Dead - Built to Last, Dead Set (two CDs), In the Dark and Reckoning (digipaks; Rhino)
• Tish Hinojosa - Retrospective (Varèse)
• Judas Priest - The Essential Judas Priest (two CDs; Columbia/ Legacy)
• Lambchop - The Decline of Country and Western Civilization Part II: The Woodwind Years (Merge)
  Buy Now: The Decline of Country and Western Civilization Part II: The Woodwind Years (Merge)
• Lucero - Attic Tapes (Liberty & Lament)
• Queen - Stone Cold Classics (limited edition; Hollywood)
• Saving Jane - Girl Next Door (Universal)
• Various artists - Journey Into Paradise: The Larry Levan Story (two CDs; Rhino)
• Various artists - The Tommy Boy Story, Vol. 1 (two CDs; Rhino)
• Various artists - Ultimate Disco 2 (Madacy)

DVDs:

• Death Cab for Cutie - "Directions" (Atlantic)
  Read: "Death Cab For Cutie Taking A Page From 50 Cent's Playbook "
• Judas Priest - "Live Vengeance '82" (Columbia/ Legacy)
• The Mae Shi - "Lock the Skull, Load the Gun" (5 Rue Christine)
• Pimp C - "Pimptaliation" (Asylum/ Rap-A-Lot)
• Sun Ra Arkestra - "Live in Oakland" and "Live at the Roadhouse" (Transparency)

Coming Attractions:

April 18:

• The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia ... (digipak; Roadrunner)
• NOFX - Wolves in Wolves Clothing (Fat Wreck Chords)
  Buy Now: Wolves in Wolves Clothing (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Various artists - "Coachella" (Epitaph)

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"
• Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Taking Back Sunday Say Debuting At #800 Wouldn't Bother Them")

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"
• 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 ..."
• Tool - 10,000 Days (Volcano)

• LL Cool J
• Death Cab For Cutie
• Pimp C
• Eagles Of Death Metal
• Calexico

Audioslave's <i>Out of Exile</i>
Photo: Interscope

For the first time in more than 10 years, Chris Cornell can lay claim to the country's best-selling record.

Out of Exile, the second studio offering from the Cornell-fronted Audioslave, will debut atop Billboard's albums chart with first-week sales of more than 263,000, scoring the band — which also features the instrument-playing components of the late Rage Against the Machine — its first #1, according to the latest SoundScan figures.

Audioslave's newest opus continues a recent retail trend of rock domination. Out of Exile becomes the sixth straight rock record to debut as Billboard's king of scans. The previous week, the Dave Matthews Band conceded the sales throne to metal act System of a Down's Mezmerize. With close to 170,000 scans (and a second-week sales decline of 63 percent), the last champ falls three spots to #4 on this most recent sales chart. The week before that, Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails passed the proverbial torch to Stand Up, DMB's newest LP, which will show up at #7 with sales of just over 100,000 this time around.

Three weeks ago, it was the Nails' With Teeth — now finishing out its fourth week at retail with scans of 41,000 and then some, to take the chart's #26 position — giving Bruce Springsteen's Devils & Dust the bump. The latest release from the Boss checks in at #39 on the most recent chart, with a fifth-week sales showing of close to 26,500. But rock's retail run all started back in mid-April with Something to Be, the solo debut from Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas — which continues to garner strong retail interest, with week-six sales of 46,000 and change, earning Thomas the chart's #23 rank.

Who says rock and roll is dead?

But for Audioslave, Out of Exile is a triumph on so many different levels. The album not only outperformed the band's debut — which opened at Billboard's #7, with first-week sales of just over 162,000 back in 2002 — it marks the first time since the 1994 release of Superunknown, the hit record from Cornell's former group Soundgarden, that the celebrated grunge vocalist finds himself on top. And for the rest of his band, Out of Exile becomes the third #1 debut of their musical careers: Rage Against the Machine's Evil Empire finished first with sales of close to 250,000 in 1996, while 1999's Battle of Los Angeles netted first-week sales of over 430,000, to take that week's #1.

Rapper Common's latest, Be, earns the week's second-best debut showing, coming in at #2 with sales of close to 185,000. Holding to the chart's #3 spot for yet another week is Mariah Carey's comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi, which netted week-seven scans of nearly 180,000.

The previous #2 falls three spots to #5: Country star Toby Keith's Honkytonk University suffered a 55 percent dip in sales, closing out its second week of retail availability with sales of 128,000 plus. Demon Days, the second full-length from virtual hip-hop group Gorillaz, will debut at #6 on the chart, with scans of 107,000, while alterna-metal act Seether turned out the band's strongest debut showing with their latest, Karma and Effect, which scored sales of nearly 82,000.

"American Idol" arbitrator Simon Cowell's boy-band discovery Il Divo jumps from the chart's #21 spot to its #9 position, thanks to an 80 percent sales increase that resulted in sixth-week sales of more than 79,000. The sales surge comes during the same week in which the group serenaded the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nominees at the Daytime Emmy Awards. Finishing at #10 is Gwen Stefani's solo debut Love, Angel, Music, Baby, which scores scans of more than 76,000 after spending 27 weeks on the chart.

For the first time since the release of The Massacre 13 weeks ago, rapper 50 Cent finds himself outside the chart's top 10. Fiddy takes #11 with sales of 75,000 plus, followed by country trio Rascal Flatts and their latest, Feels Like Today. A 42 percent sales increase on the heels of the band's appearance during last week's "American Idol" performance resulted in sales of just over 65,000, which was enough to score the band a #12 finish. Debuting at #13, the latest from R&B heartthrob Marques Houston, Naked; the album sold more than 64,500 copies.

"Idol" alum Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway holds to the top 15 at #14, with sales of nearly 62,000 — not bad for a disc that's been out for 26 weeks. And rounding out the top 15 with debut-week sales of 59,000 plus, the latest from Philadelphia rappers Young Gunz, Brothers From Another. But the Young Gunz were just one of several acts to debut high on the chart: Pretty Ricky's Blue Stars takes #16; B.G.'s Heart of Tha Streetz finishes at #21; Alkaline Trio's Crimson checks in at #25; and the latest disc from the Wallflowers, Rebel Sweetheart, comes in at #40.

Hitting Bottom

After just four weeks of release, Limp Bizkit's The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) has gone from bad to worse to it's over, Johnny. The record is dangerously close to falling off of the chart completely, diving 84 positions from #111 to #195. The album debuted at #24 before falling to #82 and then #111. Bizkit's record sustained a 43 percent decline in retail interest over the last week, spawning sales of just over 5,000 — bringing the album's four-week grand total to just over 63,000 (see "Limp Bizkit: What Happened?").

Scoring the week's biggest plummet is the Insane Clown Posse's The Calm, which tumbled 120 chart positions from #32 to #142. A 76 percent sales slip led to just over 7,200 scans. It was a sad week for the rap-rock world.

As Seen On TV

Gavin DeGraw's latest release climbs five chart positions to #92 on the heels of last week's appearance on "Live With Regis and Kelly." Chariot Stripped sold more than 11,000 copies, a 23 percent surge in sales. Likewise, Jimmy Eat World's Futures reappears in the top 200, taking #168 with sales of just over 6,000. Small potatoes, you say? Well, since the band only sold 3,000 plus copies of the disc the week before, sales of the album rose 87 percent. The Arizona emo specialists might want to thank their appearance last week on the WB's "One Tree Hill" finale for the boost.

More Movement

Simple Plan's Still Not Getting Any experienced a 15 percent sales increase on the strength of the hard-hitting — and much-requested — video for their single "Untitled," which examines the tragic results of driving drunk.

Both of Gap girl Joss Stone's albums continue to do well. Appearing in the clothing chain's television ads seems to be having a positive effect on the singer's LP sales. Mind, Body and Soul jumped 23 chart positions to #37, thanks to moving nearly 27,000 copies, a 38 percent spike. Meanwhile, her Soul Sessions jumped up in retail interest a whopping 45 percent, earning her the chart's #170.

One To Watch

Like lions in the wild stalking a herd of gazelles from afar and stealthily inching closer before striking, bands that have slowly climbed their way up, moving a few positions at a time here and there, are all over the chart. Flying under the radar, these bands — like My Chemical Romance before them — are ones to keep a watchful eye on, as they're likely to keep moving on up.

Take Hawthorne Heights, for instance. The band checks in this week at #96, climbing 13 chart positions thanks to a 21 percent sales increase. The band's Silence in Black and White sold nearly 11,000 copies, helping it penetrate the top 100 for the first time.

• Audioslave
• Dave Matthews Band
• System of a Down
• Nine Inch Nails
• Common

System of a Down's <I>Mezmerize</I>
Photo: Sony Music

Last week, Armenian prog-metal champs System of a Down invited all of America to what's sure to be one of 2005's heaviest social gatherings — a strictly "B.Y.O.B." affair called Mezmerize — and nearly half a million hungry rock fans turned out for the party.

With Mezmerize — the band's first studio offering in nearly three years — the Serj Tankian-fronted collective earns the second chart-topping debut of its decade-long career, according to the latest SoundScan figures. Just under 453,000 copies of the band's eclectic, hard-hitting fourth disc soared off record-store shelves during the album's first week of retail availability, making it System's biggest debut to date; 2001's Toxicity netted first-week scans of 222,000 plus, taking Billboard's #1 for that week.

Mezmerize isn't the year's strongest rock debut (last week, the Dave Matthews Band's Stand Up sold close to 465,000), but it's only the first of two releases System have planned to roll out in 2005. The band's latest is considered half of a double album called Mezmerize/ Hypnotize; the second part is slated for a fall debut.

More than 283,000 students enrolled in Honkytonk University this week, snapping up copies of country star Toby Keith's latest disc — which helped score him the chart's #2 spot. Holding on to the chart's third-place post for a third straight week is the new one from pop diva Mariah Carey, The Emancipation of Mimi, which achieved a week-six showing of 173,000 and change.

Last week's #1, the Dave Matthews Band's Stand Up, slips to #4 on the chart, with second-week scans of close to 158,000, reflecting a 66 percent decline in retail strength. Debuting at #5 is Nashville-born, Detroit-based R&B artist Kem and his newest collection of studio tracks, Album II. That record moved more than 140,000 copies during its first week at retail, robbing this season's "American Idol" finalists of a top-five debut. The latest "Idol" compilation, Season 4: The Showstoppers, comes in at #6 with almost 83,000 copies scanned.

Rapper 50 Cent's The Massacre continues on its path to 4 million sold, ranking at #7 with close to 81,500 scans. No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani's solo debut, Love, Angel, Music, Baby, slips one to #8 after 26 weeks at retail. Weezer's Make Believe slides seven spots to #9, with second-week sales of 75,000 plus.

From out of nowhere, a blast from the past checks in at #10. Def Leppard's double-disc hits collection Rock of Ages netted first-week scans of close to 66,000, making it one of the week's biggest surprises. Right behind Def Lep is the new one from Brooklyn, New York, rapper Memphis Bleek, 534, which sold over 60,000 copies to close out its first week at #11, just in front of Nine Inch Nails' With Teeth, which grabs the #12 spot with close to 57,000 scans.

Rob Thomas' solo album, Something to Be, clings to the top 20, securing a #13 spot with 55,000 copies scanned during its fifth week in stores. "American Idol" alum Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway — which continues to drum up retail interest after 25 weeks on the chart — experienced a 20 percent sales thrust this past week, earning the pop star the chart's #14 slot with more than 54,000 sold. Rounding out the top 15 is Loco Motive, the debut disc from Cowboy Troy, whose sound blends elements of country with hip-hop. The record sold just over 51,000, outperforming sultry R&B songstress Natalie's self-titled debut by less than 100 copies, relegating her to the chart's #16.

You Mean They're Still Making Records?
Limp Bizkit's latest offering, The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1), continues its gradual slide down Billboard's chart, sinking this week to #111 from last week's #82. The seven-track release from Fred Durst's rap-rock soldiers sold just under 9,000 copies, for a three-week total of (gulp) 58,000 and then some (see "Limp Bizkit: What Happened?"). Perhaps the release of the Insane Clown Posse's The Calm, which debuts at #32, hurt Bizkit sales this week; that disc sold close to 31,000.

Rock Newbies Faring Well
It's a good time to be a twentysomething rocker with a grudge. Take Fall Out Boy — their new record, From Under the Cork clings to the top 50 at #49, with third-week sales of 21,000 plus. Then there's My Chemical Romance's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, which continues to be one of the chart's most solid performers. The album experienced a 6 percent sales increase this week and takes #60 with 17,000-plus scans.

The self-titled debut from New York's the Bravery shot up 35 chart positions to #92, thanks to a 34 percent spike in retail interest. The album sold more than 10,000 copies during its eighth week on the charts. At #109 is the latest from Hawthorne Heights, The Silence in Black and White, which experienced a 35 percent sales increase — perhaps due to the popularity of the band's latest video, for the song "Ohio Is for Lovers." That album sold just under 9,000 copies.

May The Sales Force Be With You
The same week that the saga-ending "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," was released, the film's orchestral soundtrack experienced a slight rise in sales — though it falls three chart positions to #28. The John Williams-composed movie music sold more than 38,000 copies in its third week of release. Most impressive.

• System of a Down
• Kem
• Dave Matthews Band
• Toby Keith

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and Jay-Z (file)
Photo: Warner Bros.

Jay-Z will make his second trip to the top of the Billboard albums chart this year, and he's brought Linkin Park along for the ride.

Collision Course — the mash-up album that blends Jigga's rhymes and beats with the grinding guitars, explosive choruses and anguished lyrics of the nu-metal band — will come in at #1 on next week's chart, with first-week sales totaling more than 368,000 copies, according to SoundScan. The LP, which stems from MTV's "Ultimate Mash-Ups" show, follows the #1 debut by Jay and R. Kelly's Unfinished Business in November, and marks the rapper's seventh chart-topping debut overall.

For Linkin Park, the CD/DVD set, which also includes live footage of the two artists performing together in July, counts as their second #1 debut, following 2003's Meteora.

Collision Course will handily knock the previous top album, U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, down to #2. The band's latest album sold more than 288,000 copies last week for a two-week total of more than 1.1 million.

Former "American Idol" champ Kelly Clarkson will return to the top 10 with her second album, Breakaway. Her follow-up to last year's Thankful sold more than 250,000 copies.

Nas did much better in the first week with his new double album, Street's Disciple, than he did with its 2002 predecessor. The Queensbridge rapper's latest sold more than 231,000 copies last week to take the #5 spot, while God's Son moved just 156,000 after an abbreviated opening week due to online leakage.

A troubled year, complete with jail time, was little more than a stumbling block for rapper T.I., who bounced back into the top 10 with his third album, Urban Legend. If anything, being a fugitive helped the Southern rhymer's first-week sales: Where Urban Legend will come in at #7 with more than 192,000 copies sold, last year's Trap Music debuted higher but sold about 84,000 fewer copies.

The rest of next week's top 10 will find Eminem's Encore slipping two spots to #4 (with more than 248,000 copies sold); Shania Twain's Greatest Hits dipping three places to #6 (195,000); Now That's What I Call Music! 17 dropping a pair to #8 (168,000); Destiny's Child's Destiny Fulfilled sliding from #4 to #9 (164,000); and Toby Keith's Greatest Hits 2 losing five places to #10 (141,000).

Being an American Idol, or even an almost-Idol, isn't what it used to be.   As the televised talent show gets ready to vault into its fourth season, past winners and runners-up haven't packed the punch that they once did at retail. While Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway did better than every new album except one last week, it couldn't top her debut. Not only did last year's Thankful take the top slot after week one, it even beat out the mighty 50 Cent to get there. Amid the 50 frenzy, when Get Rich Or Die Tryin' was still in the top five, the pop singer sold 50,000 copies more than the rapper's CD/DVD set The New Breed — and that wasn't even during the inflated, holiday shopping season.

Clarkson's not the only Idol to have her follow-up land further down the chart than her debut. Season-two winner Ruben Studdard, a.k.a the Velvet Teddy Bear, suddenly isn't as cuddly anymore. Where once Rube topped the chart with Soulful, selling more than 416,000 copies in its first week, Studd's second effort, I Need An Angel, placed at #20. Next week, the soul goes south, down to #43, a 57 percent drop-off.

Most recent Idol Fantasia was the first winner not to have a #1 debut. Her Free Yourself bowed in at #8, and will fall to #21 in its second week.

Despite his lovably large ears and good-boy mannerism, folks aren't achin' for Clay like they used to, either. Aiken's Merry Christmas With Love has been on a steady decline since it debuted at #4 three weeks ago. Next week it falls to #13, while other non-pop holiday offerings from Mannheim Steamroller and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra both improved in both chart position and weekly sales.

On the Move After just one week, Gwen Stefani's Love, Angel, Music, Baby will vacate the top 10, a surprising slip for the No Doubt singer, considering the media attention heaped upon the star-studded solo album. It slides eight spots down to #15. By comparison, No Doubt's last effort, The Singles 1992-2003, spent its first two weeks at #2 and #8.

Precious Metal The Recording Industry Association of America issued 13 multi-platinum, 11 platinum, and 25 gold albums for certified sales shipments last month (gold = 500,000 copies sold; platinum = 1,000,000). Nelly scored on both the Sweat and Suit fronts, with the former earning a gold and platinum award, and the latter lauded for its gold, platinum, and double-platinum status.

JoJo's self-titled debut was certified platinum, while Alter Bridge's One Day Remains and Finger Eleven's eponymous LP both crossed the half-million threshold. More than two years after its release, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot earned Wilco their first gold record.

• Jay-Z
• Linkin Park
• U2
• Kelly Clarkson
• Nas

Beenie Man was moved from the Spanish Town Hospital in St. Catherine to the private St. Joseph's Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, on Thursday after undergoing surgery following his single-car accident earlier that morning. In a statement, police said they believe Beenie Man was speeding in his Hummer and not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, which occurred along a stretch of the Mandela Highway that was under construction. He is expected to stay in the hospital for at least three weeks. ...

Ron O' Neal, who starred as the uptown drug dealer Youngblood Priest in the 1972 blaxploitation classic "Superfly," died Wednesday night after a lengthy bout with cancer. He was 66. While the film was criticized for glorifying the lifestyle of the inner-city drug dealer, O'Neal's character was celebrated by a generation of rap stars, such as Snoop Dogg, who mimicked his sartorially regal street style in his music videos. ... Willie Nelson and Toby Keith will perform at the Super Bowl XXXVIII pre-game show on February 1 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. They join previously announced acts Aerosmith and Josh Groban. ...

A hearing held on Thursday to determine whether C-Murder will get a new murder trial has been postponed until Wednesday. According to the rapper's attorney, the court is awaiting testimony from one of the key prosecution witnesses who appeared in the original trial. The witness was expected to appear at the hearing, but the prosecution claimed that it could not locate her to serve her with a subpoena. The defense is now trying to track the witness down to do so. In the previous hearing on December 12, prosecuting attorneys argued that they did not know that the witness was a convicted felon and had no method of finding out this information because her criminal record had been expunged. At the hearing this week, it was established that the witness' criminal record was on file, accessible, and had been there for over a year. ...

Aaron Carter, singer and brother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, dropped his request for legal emancipation from his parents after meeting with a family lawyer on Sunday. The request stemmed from allegations that his mother, Jane Carter, had taken more than $100,000 from his bank account without permission. Only two days later, Jane, who separated from Aaron's, father, Robert in March, was arrested for assaulting her estranged husband's new girlfriend, Ginger Elrod. Carter allegedly broke a window to get into her husband's home and then attacked Elrod, pulling her from the bed by her hair and beating her. ... Michelle Branch and Gavin DeGraw are going to college — 18 of them, in fact. They, along with newcomers Joe Firstman and Michael Tolcher, will hit the road this spring on the Virgin College Megatour. Besides the performances, concertgoers can experience an interactive village and receive special giveaways. A full itinerary is expected to be announced next month. ...

The 14th Annual Tibet House Benefit concert hosted by composer and artistic director Philip Glass will feature ex-Talking Heads singer David Byrne, Kinks frontman Ray Davies, Bright Eyes, Keb' Mo', Yo La Tengo as well as a few surprise guests. The show will take place on February 25 at New York's Carnegie Hall. ... R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst will appear on the debut album from Now It's Overheard, a band fronted by Oberst's bandmate, guitarist Andy Lemaster. The album, called Hold on Love, is due March 9. ...

SoCal punks Pennywise will hit the road once again to support From the Ashes, their seventh album, which dropped in September. The five-week trek begins January 21 in Atlanta and runs through February 29 in Minneapolis. Guttermouth, Bleed the Dream and Stretch Arm Strong will open the shows. ... A new collection of music from late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia and mandolin virtuoso David Grisman, Been All Around This World, will be released on March 23. The seventh release culled from collaborations between the two will include covers of Bob Dylan's "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" and James Brown's "It'll Go Crazy." ...

Following a successful reunion tour last fall, Primus will play another 14 shows starting February 24 in Kansas City, Kansas, and running through March 13 in Washington, D.C. The band is playing with its original lineup for the first time since 1996. ... Skye Sweetnam, whose single "Billy S." was featured on last summer's "How to Deal" soundtrack, will release her debut album, Noise From the Basement, on April 20. The 15-year-old co-wrote and recorded the album in the basement of her parents' home with 21-year-old multi-instrumentalist James Robertson. Included are a cover of Blondie's "Heart of Glass" and the girl-power anthem and first single "Number One," which Eric Valentine (Good Charlotte) co-produced. ...

01.15.2004

P. Diddy received the Entrepreneur of the Decade Award from the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition on Wednesday night. Exactly which decade wasn't mentioned, but we're assuming it was related to Diddy's decade-long stewardship of Bad Boy Records. The award was presented on the closing night of Jackson's Wall Street Project Conference, a gathering to discuss minorities in business. Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, Andre Harrell (Diddy's former Uptown Records boss) and Doctor Dre ("Yo! MTV Raps") were also in attendance. ...

Forget "golden tickets." Fans of Beck can win one of his pets. The folksy rocker is giving away his pet bunny rabbit Rocket (seen in the video for "Lonesome Tears") in celebration of the upcoming release of his Sea Change DVD. Fans are being asked to submit an essay through Beck's Web site (www.beck.com) on why they should be entrusted with Beck's animal. One person will win Rocket while four others will win autographed copies of the DVD. The deadline for entry is February 3. ... Benji and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte will appear on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" Thursday (January 15) at 7 p.m. ET to discuss their song "Hold On" and its video, which features real people whose lives have been affected by suicide. ...

The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne will face the music and several questions on March 19, when he is the subject of the SXSW Interview, at this year's South by Southwest Music Conference, set for March 17-21 in Austin, Texas. Artists performing this year include Liz Phair, David Cross, N.E.R.D., Papa Roach and the Walkmen. ... A new song by Duran Duran, "Sunrise," a Chemical Brothers remix of Kylie Minogue's new single, "Slow," and remixes of Sting's "Never Coming Home" and Elton John's "Are You Ready for Love" will be featured on the soundtrack to "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," which comes out February 10. The record will also include Jamelia's U.K. hit "Superstar," the Fischerspooner vs. Billy Squier medley "Everybody Wants You to Emerge," the Basement Jaxx's "Good Luck" and songs by Junior Senior, OK Go and Liz Phair. ...

Fans can catch Nick Lachey's role as crooner Tom Jones on "American Dreams" sooner than expected. The episode of the NBC series on which he appears has been bumped from a March airdate to February 15. ... Fresh off the launch of his record label, BME Recordings, Lil Jon is heading back to the studio next week to begin work on the third Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz album. According to his spokesperson, the album is called Crunk Juice and is scheduled for a September release. Crunk Juice is also the name of Jon's forthcoming energy drink. ...

The Donnas are working on their next album, the follow-up to 2002's Spend the Night, with producer Scott Litt (R.E.M., Incubus). The ladies expect to drop an LP in August. ... Queen's 1976 single "Bohemian Rhapsody," Johnny Cash's 1969 prison album Johnny Cash at San Quentin and Led Zeppelin's 1969 self-titled debut are among the 33 recordings newly inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. A total of 639 titles have been honored since 1973. ...

Anthrax are looking for a few good metalheads for the video for "What Doesn't Die," the next single off their latest album, We've Come for You All, which dropped in May. At 6 p.m. on Monday, the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles should be teeming with fans eager for cameos in the clip, which was conceived by comedian Brian Posehn, best known for his work on the short-lived but long-heralded HBO series "Mr. Show With Bob and David." ... Former Smashing Pumpkins and Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur and her band Auf Der Maur have been tapped to open up for A Perfect Circle on a European tour that starts January 20 in Lisbon, Portugal. Auf Der Maur's self-titled debut, prefaced by first single "Followed the Waves," is scheduled to drop May 4. ...

Former Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland is being tried in Northampton Crown Court in England for sexually abusing a mentally impaired 17-year-old boy who took drum lessons at his house in December 2002. The drummer faces one charge of attempted rape and five counts of indecently assaulting the teen. A second man, 22-year-old Spiros Laouitaris, is charged with four counts of indecent assault in the same incident. Both defendants deny the allegations. The boy's parents encouraged him to take drumming lessons to improve his self-esteem, and after their son took lessons with Holland for a while, they allowed the boy to spend nights at the drummer's house. The boy's parents first found out about the alleged molestation from a letter he sent them. The trial will continue Friday. ... James Lawrence, guitarist for British indie band Hope of the States, was found hanged at Real World studios, a recording studio near Bath, England, owned by Peter Gabriel. Lawrence's body was found Thursday at around 4:30 a.m. Hope of the States were planning to release their debut album in the spring. ...

The British music industry is taking a page from its U.S. counterpart and is cracking down on illegal file-sharing. On Tuesday Andrew Yeates, the director general of the British Phonographic Industry, said the organization intends to increase awareness of the unlawful practice and enforce its copyrights if the warnings are ignored. ...

• Beenie Man
• Aaron Carter
• Michelle Branch
• Toby Keith

Alicia Keys (file)
Photo: J Records

Music piracy may be rampant, but during the holiday season, burned CDs just don't cut it as a gift. So consumers lined up at record stores in droves over the past week to purchase the hottest albums for their friends and family.

Alicia Keys will top the Billboard albums chart for the second time in three weeks, moving nearly 370,000 units of her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, according to SoundScan figures. That's over 120,000 more copies sold than Ruben Studdard's debut album, Soulful, which drove Keys down to #2 last week. On next week's chart, Studdard will drop to #8 with sales of almost 245,000. Studdard's dip reflected a 41 percent sales decrease from last week's figure of 416,000, making him the only act in the top 25 to fall. By comparison, Studdard's "American Idol" rival, Clay Aiken, saw sales of his Measure of a Man increase 35 percent, with more than 212,000 units sold.

Holiday shoppers purchased top country, pop, R&B and hip-hop records in near-even numbers. Keys eclipsed country crooner Toby Keith in sales by fewer than 400 copies. Keith, who will place at #2 on next week's chart, sold almost 369,500 copies of Shock'n Y'All to jump up two chart positions.

Compilation albums are always popular items for folks who don't habitually buy records, which most likely accounts for why four of the top 10 albums are greatest-hits collections. The top seller once again is Now That's What I Call Music! 14, which sold more than 354,000 and will place at #3. Other popular comps were Sheryl Crow's The Very Best of Sheryl Crow at #7 with more than 266,000 copies sold, No Doubt's The Singles 1992-2003 at #9 with over 235,000 and Rod Stewart's As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook Volume II, which sold over 221,000 copies to land at #10.

Even after 13 weeks on the shelf, Outkast's Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below remains a popular stocking stuffer. The home of the ubiquitous "Hey Ya!" saw a 55 percent sales jump to clamber two notches up to #4 (334,000). Josh Groban's Closer will take the #5 slot (almost 318,000) and Hilary Duff will nab #6 with Metamorphosis (over 274,000).

All of the top five acts had sales over 300,000 and all of the 13 highest charters sold more than 200,000. As much money as that will generate for Christmas bonuses, same-week sales are down from last year, when the top three artists sold over 400,000 and the highest 17 moved more than 200,000.

Rock bands will continue to dip on next week's chart. The only rock records from this year to make the top 20 are Blink-182, whose untitled LP makes it to #16 (155,000); Evanescence, whose Fallen reaches #19 (148,000); and Nickelback's The Long Road, which climbs eight notches to #20 (142,000).

As a year draws to a close, there are typically few chart debuts. The exceptions this week are mellow R&B singer Joe, whose And Then ... will enter at #26 (122,000); Jay-Z protégé Memphis Bleek, whose third disc, M.A.D.E., will debut at #35 (101,000); and Wu-Tanger Raekwon, whose The Lex Diamond Story will check in at #102 (44,000).

• Alicia Keys
• Ruben Studdard
• Toby Keith
• OutKast
• Jay-Z

Kanye West, Destiny's Child, Linkin Park, Jay-Z: Live 8 Philadelphia

• Black Eyed Peas
• Destiny's Child
• Kanye West
• Kaiser Chiefs
• Will Smith