Bruce Springsteen's <i>Magic</i>
Photo: Sony

Last week, Kid Rock usurped Bruce Springsteen as the nation's best-selling recording artist. The Kid outsold Springsteen by nearly 40,000 copies to take control of the Billboard throne, thus relegating the pride of the Garden State to second-best status. But Springsteen has bounced back to remind everyone why they call him "The Boss."

It isn't by a big margin — approximately 250 records — but Springsteen will reclaim the album chart's coveted top spot next week, returning Magic, his 15th studio LP and first with the E Street Band since 2002's The Rising, to #1 for the second time in three weeks (it certainly doesn't hurt that the Boss and his band are on tour). Overall, it was a relatively anemic week for album sales, what with Springsteen's latest selling just under 77,300 units. Not since Daughtry's self-titled debut topped the chart back in January, with 65,400 scans, has an album sold so few and finished at #1.

According to the latest SoundScan totals, Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus will take second place on next week's chart, having sold 77,000 copies during its second week of commercial release. The album suffered a 55-percent sales dip, compared to the sales it had generated the previous week. Following Rock at #3 is Rascal Flatts' Still Feels Good, with 70,500 sold, while Josh Groban's Noël climbs six spots to #4, thanks to 63,800 scans.

Only two new releases will sneak into next week's top 10, the first being Jimmy Eat World's Chase This Light, which bows at #5 with 62,300 copies sold. The other is Santana's Ultimate Santana, which opens at #8 with reported sales of 56,500. The rest of the top 10 is full of familiar faces: Reba McEntire's Reba: Duets at #6 (59,000 copies sold); the "High School Musical 2" soundtrack at #7 (57,200); Kanye West's Graduation at #9 (53,600); and at #10, Colbie Caillat's Coco (49,600).

All told, there are 13 newcomers to next week's albums chart. After Jimmy Eat World and Santana, the highest-charting among them is R&B artist Angie Stone, whose The Art of Love and War generated sales of more than 44,600, entering the Billboard 200 at #11. Further down the chart, opening at #24 with 27,800 units snatched up, is the latest from Thrice, The Alchemy Index Vols. I and II, the first installments in the band's conceptual four-disc EP project. Coming in at #39 is self-proclaimed "Big Dog" Toby Keith and his A Classic Christmas LP; the disc sold 18,100 copies during its first week in stores.

R.E.M.'s R.E.M. Live follows at #72 with week-one sales of 11,500, while Michael W. Smith's It's a Wonderful Christmas bows at #78, with 10,600 scans. Gov't Mule's Mighty High enters the chart at #106 with 6,900 copies sold, while Kenna's Make Sure They See My Face debuts at #124, with sales of 5,800. Underworld return to the chart at #169, selling nearly 4,300 copies of its latest, Oblivion With Bells, immediately followed at #170 by Tiësto's In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza, which sold 4,200 units. Jimi Hendrix's Live at Monterey takes the #171 spot, with 4,190 scans, and the late Luther Vandross' four-disc box set, Love Luther, opens at #191, selling 4,000 copies.

• Jimmy Eat World Make A Comeback, Bruce Springsteen Tops The Charts

• Bruce Springsteen
• Kid Rock
• Jimmy Eat World
• Kanye West
• Matchbox Twenty

Kid Rock
Photo: Atlantic

Last week, it was all about the Boss. But this week, the Kid rules the roost.

For the first time in his nearly 17-year career, Kid Rock has a record at the top of the Billboard albums sales chart, as his Rock N Roll Jesus sold more than 172,000 copies during its first week in stores, summarily dethroning Bruce Springsteen's Magic, which drops the Boss' latest to #2, according to the latest SoundScan totals. Rock's previous releases came close, but never hit #1: 2003's Kid Rock bowed at #8 with 188,500 scans, while 2001's Cocky opened at #7 with 222,900 sold. Back in 2000, The History of Rock coasted to a #2 debut, with 456,500 units snatched up.

While it might be hard to believe, given the success he's had in the past, Rock N Roll Jesus is the Kid's first LP to open at #1. Harder to believe, perhaps, is how Jennifer Lopez's latest, Brave, fared on next week's top 200.

Before this week, none of J. Lo's previous releases had ever bowed lower than #10. Her first offering, 1999's On the 6, debuted at #8 with 111,500 scans, while 2001's J. Lo entered at #1, selling 272,000-plus units. Then, 2002's J to Tha L-O!: The Remixes followed suit, opening at #1 with sales reported at 156,000, and in that same year, This Is Me ... Then debuted at #6, with 314,000 sold. In 2005, Rebirth claimed the chart's #2 spot with 260,900 sold, and Como Ama una Mujer, which was released earlier this year, opened at #10 with 48,000 copies flying off store shelves.

Unfortunately for Lopez, Brave becomes her first studio LP to debut outside the top 10, finishing the week with sales of 52,600 — which lands the offering at #12.

Beyond that, there weren't many newcomers to next week's top 200 — 17 in all, to be exact, with just four making it to the top 10. Following Rascal Flatts' Still Feels Good, which finished at #3 with sales of 96,300 and change, is the new one from LeAnn Rimes, Family, which sold 74,200 units to open at #4. Matchbox Twenty's Exile on Mainstream falls two spots to #5, selling another 71,600 copies, while Kanye West's Graduation climbs one spot to #6 with 71,000 sold. Reba McEntire's Reba Duets goes from #8 to #7, selling 67,500 copies, while the soundtrack to the Disney Channel's "High School Musical 2" follows at #9, having sold 65,800 units.

Sara Evans' Greatest Hits debuts on next week's chart at #8, having generated sales of nearly 66,500, and Josh Groban's Noel rounds out the top 10, selling 64,000 copies during its debut week.

Elsewhere on the chart, Alter Bridge's Blackbird debuts at #13 with sales coming in at around 46,900, with Eric Clapton's Complete Clapton following at #14 with 45,000 scans. The Naked Brothers Band's self-titled debut claims the #23 position with 34,300 copies sold, while Puddle of Mudd's Famous sold 31,200 copies, which lands the album at #27. Band of Horses' Cease to Begin claims the #35 slot with 20,600 scans, and Vanessa Carlton returns at #44 after selling 18,200 copies of her new one, Heroes & Thieves.

Meanwhile, Van Zant's My Kind of Country debuts at #57 with 15,400 scans, and coming in at #58, with 15,200 copies sold, is She Wants Revenge's This Is Forever. The late Luciano Pavarotti's Pavarotti Forever generated first-week sales of 5,100 to land at #148, while the score to this summer's blockbuster film "Transformers" opens at #172 with 4,300 sold. Lastly, debuting at #192 with 4,000 scans, is the latest from Swedish indie-pop rocker Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala.

• Kid Rock
• Bruce Springsteen
• Jennifer Lopez
• Rascal Flatts
• LeAnn Rimes

Bruce Springsteen's <i>Magic</i>
Photo: Sony

They don't call Bruce Springsteen "the Boss" for nothing.

With Magic, Springsteen's 15th studio album and his first with the E Street Band since 2002's The Rising, the pride of the Garden State freewheeled his way to Billboard's peak, easily notching the eighth #1 opener of his 34-year career.

The Boss faced virtually no competition in his quest for #1, selling more than 335,000 copies of his latest during the record's first week in stores, according to the latest SoundScan totals. The closest threat to the Boss' chart domination, the parents of last week's #1 LP, country trio Rascal Flatts, finished at #2 on next week's albums sales chart, having generated sales of 167,900 (on the nose) for Still Feels Good. Following the Flatts at #3 is another new entry, Matchbox Twenty's retrospective offering, Exile on Mainstream, which sold nearly 130,900 units.

He's got the #1 single in the nation, but 16-year-old rapper Soulja Boy's debut album, Souljaboytellem.com, will have to settle for #4 on next week's top 200, thanks to sales of more than 117,000. That was one of 28 new releases to debut on the chart, and one of five to enter in the top five. R&B artist J. Holiday's Back of My Lac' was another, opening at #5 with 105,000 scans. Annie Lennox's Songs of Mass Destruction is also new to this most recent chart, coming in at #9 with 78,300 copies sold.

Dropping four places to #6 this week is Keyshia Cole's Just Like You, which scanned another 93,900 copies, cutting just in front of Kanye West's Graduation, which slides two spots to #7 with 92,400 sold. Reba McEntire's Reba: Duets takes the #8 slot, with sales reported at 79,600. Rounding out the top 10, with 76,600 copies sold for the week, is the soundtrack to ""High School Musical 2." Surprisingly, 50 Cent's Curtis has been bumped from the top 10 after just three weeks: The album sits in the #17 position, with sales of just under 50,600.

Elsewhere on the chart, R&B artist Trey Songz' latest, Trey Day, just missed the top 10, debuting at #11 with 72,800 scans. Faith Hills' Hits bows at #12, selling 69,300 copies, while Brooks & Dunn's Cowboy Town claims the #13 spot, with 68,900 sold. Rocker John Fogerty's Revival follows at #14, with 64,900 scans, while Dashboard Confessional's The Shade of Poison Trees debuts at #18, with sales of close to 47,600. Alternative country band Cross Canadian Ragweed's Mission California opens at #30, selling 22,600 units.

Rappers Boyz N Da Hood return to the chart with their latest, Back Up N Da Chevy, which bows at #51 with 15,700 sold, while Los Temerarios' Recuerdos Del Alma follows at #59, selling 14,000 units. Wow Hits 2008, a compilation featuring the likes of Chris Tomlin, Third Day, Casting Crowns and more, debuts at #60, scanning 13,800 copies, while P.J. Harvey's White Chalk enters at #65, with 13,300 sold. Cult's latest, Born Into This, trails at #70, with 12,600 copies leaving the nation's record retailers, while The Very Best of Mick Jagger opens at #77, with sales of 11,900. Emery's I'm Only a Man follows Mick at #78, with 11,600 scans, and Nightwish's Dark Passion Play opens at #84, with 10,800 sold.

The soundtrack to "Why Did I Get Married?," featuring contributions from Keith Sweat, Babyface, Musiq and Beyoncé, sold nearly 10,600 units, landing the set at #86. The Best of Chicago: 40th Anniversary Edition enters the chart at #100, thanks to 7,800-plus scans, and popping up at #143 with 5,500 sold, is Spill Canvas' No Really, I'm Fine. Foxx's Street Gossip follows at #144 with 5,400 copies grabbed up, while Los Creadorez del Pasito Duranguense's Las Favoritas de ... Corridos, Rancheras y Más debuts at #156, selling 5,100 copies.

Reggaetòn specialist Tito El Bambino's It's My Time enters the chart at #167, with more than 4,800 scans, while Gloria Trevi's Una Rosa Blu opens at #169, with just under 4,800 copies sold. Lastly, with 4,000 scans, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' 100 Days 100 Nights just makes the top 200 cut, coming in at #194.

• Bruce Springsteen
• Matchbox Twenty
• Soulja Boy Tell'em
• J. Holiday
• Annie Lennox

Rob Thomas
Photo: MTV News

Taking a break from Matchbox Twenty, Rob Thomas is going the solo route, but that doesn't mean he'll be all alone in his endeavor. Like Gwen Stefani before him, Thomas' got a crew of collaborators to keep him company on ... Something to Be — even if the whole point was just to find himself.

"Stepping out solo, the question was, 'What's the difference? How is this not just another Matchbox record?' " Thomas said. "And that haunted me. It really scared me. But every time you make something new, it's a chance to discover something new about yourself."

What Thomas discovered, though, is that he likes working with others, especially if it's in an unexpected way. John Mayer, for instance, guests on the track "Streetcorner Symphony" — but not as a writer or vocalist.

"John is such a celebrated singer and songwriter that people don't realize he's probably one of the best guitar players in popular music today," Thomas said. "When he heard I was in the studio, he came by to have lunch and talk about music, and he heard this song, and I said, 'I think you would be great on this song.' And he said, 'Oh, I think so too,' so he just played for us. To not sing but to be John Mayer the guitar player, that was really exciting."

Thomas made so many tracks to choose from, it was hard to decide which songs ultimately would make the cut for ... Something to Be (see "Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas Happy To Be Scared Again As He Records Solo LP"). Some songs, such as "When the Heartache Ends" and "Problem Girl," he concedes, could easily have found their way onto a Matchbox record, but the point wasn't to duplicate his band's sound. He was trying to make this record "super diverse," but ultimately, the selection was, in some ways, determined by his invited guests.

"I wound up having Mike Campbell [from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers] playing guitar, and I'm not going to have Mike Campbell playing guitar and then not have it on my record," he said. "And it was exciting to have Robert Randolph [who plays lap-steel guitar on 'I Am an Illusion'] and [guitarist] Jeff Trott from Sheryl Crow's band and [bassist] Mike Elizondo from Dr. Dre's band, and just taking all these people who have no business being on a record together and making some sort of hybrid of something."

Bringing aboard guitarist Wendy Melvoin (from Prince & the Revolution and Wendy & Lisa), whom Thomas calls "the blood of this record" since she's on "pretty much every song," gave him an excuse to get a little funky on a few tracks. "If anyone else played it, I could get in trouble, because it's so Prince. But you can't yell at me, because it's her!" he laughed.

All the grabbing and borrowing from different genres doesn't mean the album, which comes out Tuesday, is necessarily groundbreaking. Nor would Thomas want it to be.

"Popular music has been around a long time, and the hope of me creating something that's never been done before, it's probably not going to happen," he said. "And it's probably not going to be very good if I do. But I do believe I succeeded in doing something different for right now. I don't hear anything on the radio like this right now, and that's good enough for me."

• Rob Thomas
• Matchbox Twenty

Outkast's Andre 3000 performs at VH1's "Big In 03 Awards"
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

UNIVERSAL CITY, California — In a night dedicated to reality TV and Jessica Simpson's bowel movements, among other zany, year-end pop-culture tributes, it was a timeless, world-class a cappella performance by the venerable Al Green that gave everyone goose bumps at VH1's Big in 03 Awards.

As Green's "Let's Stay Together" filled the Universal Amphitheatre Thursday, presenters Katie Holmes and Bernie Mac began a waltz that inspired fans of even "The OC" to grab a partner and sway. Just minutes later, they'd be da-donk-da-donk-ing to Outkast's Andre 3000, who gave one of the year's most captivating — and most Pepto Bismol pink — live performances, with "Hey Ya!"

Airing November 30, the show that is a hodgepodge of music, movies, TV and politics doled out shiny trophies for offbeat honors such as Biggest Gay Hero and the Big Quote of 2003, which went to famed President Bush bad-mouther Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks.

"There's an old Texas expression," Maines said, accepting her award from Bill Maher. "If you don't have anything nice to say, go to London and say it in front of 2,000 people."

When speeches turned to war and politics, hosts Aisha Tyler and D.L. Hughley kept things chill by playing dress-up, both together and with others in attendance. At one point, Tyler, armed with a cell phone and a pink velour suit, and Tracy Morgan, clad in Red Sox gear, gave an "SNL"-worthy impression of Ben and J. Lo.

Earlier, on the anti-red carpet — it was powder blue — Morgan grew serious when talking about the recent molestation allegations against Michael Jackson.

"It makes me sad," he said. "I grew up with Michael's songs. I pray for him. I pray for everybody."

The blue-carpet buzz was also on Beyoncé, who arrived late from the Vibe Awards, held the same night, to claim the Big Entertainer of 2003 award; and no-show Hilton sister, Paris, and her recently uncovered sex tape. "Things could be better," said her sister, Nicky, wearing a fresh Australian tan and a white, down-to-there gown. "Paris is at home. With Tinkerbell [her diamond-studded Chihuahua]."

For a show centered loosely around trucker hats and guilty pleasures — like fantasizing about the Olsen twins — the music was seriously heavy. Opener Kid Rock, accompanied by arm candy Pamela Anderson, gave an explosive rendition of his current single, a cover of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love," swinging his stringy hair about and clawing at his plugged-in acoustic guitar.

Mid-show, Matchbox Twenty, taking a break from their More Than You Think You Are tour, received a standing O for a spine-tingling version of their hit single, "Bright Lights," which owed its rich sound to a full orchestra, frontman Rob Thomas' finger-slamming piano licks and guitarist Adam Gaynor's whacked-out chord progressions.

Perhaps nothing defines the year in pop culture better, though, than farm boy/ "Punk'd" host Ashton Kutcher receiving the award for Big Stylin' from his co-rat-packer P. Diddy. Well, either that or Hilary Duff, after beating out 50 Cent for the year's Biggest Breakthrough, eating nachos out of her trophy. Your pick.

• OutKast
• Hilary Duff
• Jessica Simpson
• Beyoncé
• Matchbox Twenty

Lil' Kim has been attached to star in a new movie, "National Lampoon's Bouncers," opposite Vivica A. Fox. The flick, which will start shooting before the end of the year in New York, was written and produced by Full Force, onetime songwriters and singing crew who also helped develop "House Party" and "House Party II." ...

The new album from Usher, Confessions, will now be released on November 18. Usher's fifth album was previously scheduled to drop on the singer's birthday, October 14. ... If you're a full-figured gal who can't seem to find bras that don't look like rocket launchers, fear no more — Queen Latifah's got your back. Adding lingerie spokesperson to her growing list of titles, she'll be promoting four new bras by Curvation that will up the comfort and style of plus-sized women. In turn, the company will contribute to the Lance Owens Foundation, her late brother's charity, which provides scholarships for kids. ...

Rapper Ras Kass, serving time in a Los Angeles prison for a DUI violation, released an open letter to the hip-hop community over the weekend blasting his former record company, Priority Records, for failing to release his last two albums, Van Gogh and Golden Child. Ras promises four new records by the end of the year, courtesy of indie labels and bootleggers: The Re-Up, a compilation of outtake recordings; Catch Me If You Can, the album he recorded while a fugitive; and both lost Priority albums. ... The 10 finalists from "American Idol" spinoff "American Juniors" will release their first single Tuesday. The record includes two mixes of a cover of Kim Wilde's 1982 hit "Kids in America," and "One Step Closer," written by producer Cathy Dennis (Kelly Clarkson). ...

On the heels of their career-reviving song "Unwell," Matchbox Twenty have selected the upbeat track "Bright Lights" as their next single. The track hits radio next week; video plans remain in the works. ... Marilyn Manson and Exene Cervenka will exhibit pieces of their art at "Cruel and Unusual: An Exhibition to Benefit the West Memphis Three" from September 6-20 at Sixspace Gallery in Los Angeles. Ex-Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra will provide a taped lecture for the event. An opening-night reception will be hosted by Winona Ryder. ...

Beth Orton's B-sides and rarities collection, The Other Side of Daybreak, will include a cover of "O-O-H Child," made popular by the Five Stairsteps, as well as Roots Manuva's remix of "Daybreaker" and a live acoustic version of "Concrete Sky," among others. The album is due September 2. ... Following their stint on Ozzfest, which concluded July 30, and their current tour with Taproot, which runs through the end of the month, Revolution Smile will open European dates for A Perfect Circle and Deftones. Filling their Ozzfest void is Chimaira, who joined the tour last week. ...

The Very Best of the Grateful Dead, a 17-track career-spanning retrospective, is set for release September 16. The LP features favorites such as "Sugar Magnolia," "Fire on the Mountain" and "Ripple." ... Phantom Planet have lost their star drummer. On Monday, Jason Schwartzman posted on the band's Web site, www.phantomplanet.com, that he's left the band "to pursue other things," namely, acting (he had previously made a name for himself for his lead role in "Rushmore"). Phantom Planet were halfway through recording their follow-up to 2002's The Guest with producer Dave Fridmann when Schwartzman gave notice, so he will appear on the new album, due in January, but not on all of the songs. Phantom Planet have started rehearsing with a new drummer, Jeff Conrad, for their upcoming set at the Sunset Junction Street Fair in Los Angeles on August 24. In the meantime, the band's track "California" can be heard as the theme song for the "The OC," which premieres Tuesday (August 5) on Fox. ...

Superstar DJ Paul Van Dyk will promote his October 7 release, Reflections, with a U.S. tour beginning August 28 at New York's Central Park Summerstage and ending November 4 in Las Vegas. The follow-up to his 2000 studio album, Out There and Back, includes the overseas hit "Nothing But You." ... With the hipster gauge firmly redlined, Brooklyn, New York, indie label StarTime International, home to Northern State, the Natural History and Brendan Benson, has teamed up with Fader magazine and formed a new label called Stifle. Every four weeks a new 12-inch dance-rock single will surface. The first, Stifle001, due August 12, features two remixes of the French Kicks' "Close to Modern" by Eucho and DJ Smash. The Streets' "Weak Become Heroes," remixed by Röyksopp and 3 Friends featuring Lisa Shaw, will follow on September 9. Remixes of tracks by VHS or Beta, the Ends and Ted Leo are on the horizon. ...

08.04.2003

He's got the album, the DVD, the mixtapes, the tour, the videos, the shoe line — and now 50 Cent's got the clothes. In the ever-expanding 50 empire, the superstar rapper has launched his G-Unit clothing label in partnership with Ecko Unlimited. The first line — available now for the fall season — consists of five T-shirts emblazoned with different G-Unit logos. ... (Click for photos)

Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil turned himself in to Nevada police and posted a $1,000 bond, according to the Lyon County district attorney's office. Neil's attorney has yet to make arrangements for Neil to appear in court to face charges of misdemeanor battery for allegedly attacking a prostitute at a brothel last month, so no date has been set yet. ... N.E.R.D.'s follow-up to their Short List Prize-winning In Search Of ... is due November 18 and will be titled Fly or Die. ...

Sepultura's new record, Roorback, will come out August 26. The disc was produced by Steve Evetts at Mosh Studios in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and will include a cover of U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky." Select pressings will also feature a bonus CD consisting of covers of songs by Jane's Addiction, Massive Attack, Devo, Exodus and Hellhammer. Sepultura plan to tour North America in October. ... Killer Mike will join Baltimore Ravens star Jamal Lewis for Giving Back Day in the Park Saturday at Adamsville Recreation Center near Atlanta. They will hand out free school supplies to underprivileged children. ...

Third Eye Blind, LeAnn Rimes and Tracy Chapman are among those slated to perform at the two-day One World One Heart festival, sponsored by Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Rock the Vote. Other artists scheduled to play the fest, to be held August 23-24 in Bethel, New York, include George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic and Hootie and the Blowfish's Darius Rucker. ... Canadian pop-punkers Gob want you to be in the video for "Oh! Ellin," the second single from their latest album, Foot in Mouth Disease. Interested parties should show up at Vancouver's Clark Park Tennis Courts on Wednesday morning. ...

• Lil' Kim
• Usher
• Queen Latifah
• Matchbox Twenty
• The Grateful Dead

Matchbox 20
Photo: Atlantic

From their first hit, "Push," to their latest singles "Disease" and "Unwell," Matchbox Twenty have made a name for themselves by singing about troubled relationships.

In reality, the majority of the band is happily married, but singing about being stable and content doesn't exactly make for dramatic material, so the band has learned the fine art of turning (mostly) good fortune into song fodder.

"We're the Dr. Phil of rock," frontman Rob Thomas said. "There's hopeful themes on this record, even with some of the titles 'Unwell' and 'Disease.' But even songs like 'Unwell,' they have a positive undertone to them."

Though the title of Matchbox Twenty's More Than You Think You Are sounds like a self-help book, those positive undertones aren't obvious given the dark song titles. "I had a lot of [alternative] titles," guitarist Adam Gaynor joked, "like 'Smile,' 'Thumbs Up' and 'I'm a Really Happy Boy.' "

Then there's the subject matter. The mid-tempo "Unwell," their latest single, takes on paranoia and insecurity, while "Disease" and its corollary, "Downfall," are more about dysfunctional relationships.

"The difference is, on 'Disease' it's the woman who's at fault," Thomas explained, "and on 'Downfall' it would be me who is at fault. 'Disease' is just kind of a commentary on those bad relationships that you can't get out of, even though you're in it, and you know it's wrong, you can't seem to make that break. And on 'Downfall,' from the outside, it would seem like a really good relationship, but you always have that feeling in the back of your head that you're going to f--- it up somehow."

So the songs aren't that positive after all, Thomas acknowledged, but you don't need to be in a bad place to be able to imagine less-than-perfect circumstances. Part of his job, he said, is to draw upon past experiences and document moments that can reveal larger meaning.

"Sometimes those moments last as long as a fight or a bad feeling about something in a part of a day, and it affects you," he said. "And you want to sit down and get that out and dissect it. ... Sometimes you follow it to another conclusion, sometimes you take just a minute of it and turn it into a whole other story, but it's just a matter of taking fact and fiction and putting them together.

"When you write a novel, you have the luxury of ... going into detail," he continued. "In a song, you don't. ... You have the rhythm, you have the tone, and the lyrics become the synopsis, like Cliffs Notes of all you want to say."

And just in case the band wasn't affording its members enough room to express all they wanted to say, many of them are dabbling with side projects. Thomas, of course, keeps the highest profile, having lent his pipes as well as songwriting skills to Santana, Mick Jagger, Willie Nelson and, most recently, Enrique Iglesias. Now solo albums are in the works for Thomas, drummer Paul Doucette and guitarist Kyle Cook, who has a sideline band, the New Left.

"There's a song on the record called 'Could I Be You' that Paul wrote for his solo thing," Thomas said. "He played it on the bus while we were on tour, and I was like, 'Oh, no, you've got to save that. That's got to come over to our side.' "

Rather than solo ventures splintering the band apart, Matchbox Twenty's members encourage each other to explore outside projects as a way to keep their skills sharp. "We look at that to be our strength in the future," Thomas said. "It makes us want to make another record, to stay together longer, see what happens."

It also keeps the pressure off a primary songwriter to come up with the majority of the songs, they said, having recently survived the sophomore curse with the success of More Than You Think You Are, which they jokingly refer to as their "difficult third record." Still to come? "The hard-to-read fourth record, the transcendental fifth record and the murky sixth record," Thomas joked.

"At this point, we're making music for our fans," Thomas said. "Our fans know who we are. We're about songs, we're about trying to give you an album of great songs that hopefully you can start at one and go all the way to 12 and not press 'skip.' You can drive to it and you can incorporate it into the soundtrack of your life, which is the great thing about music. We made a record that's important to us, and somewhere ... someone's putting it into their car and it's a part of their life now. And that really gets us off."

"That's the beauty of this band," Gaynor explained. "I don't worry about this band in that regard, because there are so many writers. It's really about the overall production and sound we're trying to achieve, that to me is the real tug of war, not, 'OK, we need material. Rob, go lock yourself away. Paul, go figure something out. I'll be here.' The material is going to be there. There's lots of things going on. There's no peace for Matchbox Twenty."

• Matchbox Twenty

Matchbox Twenty's Paul Doucette
Photo: Atlantic

Matchbox Twenty drummer Paul Doucette got a big break the day before the band launched its tour with Sugar Ray.

The drummer broke his hand in a fit of anger during a dress rehearsal and has been playing in pain for two weeks. "It definitely makes me look like a complete idiot," lamented Doucette. "It wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done."

Doucette, who co-designs the band's light shows, had been up for three nights ironing out kinks in the staging, but just 24 hours before their first show, an April 25 gig in New Orleans, the presentation was still plagued with problems. Tired and anxious, the drummer took out his frustration by throwing an ill-fated punch at a garbage can.

"I actually thought about it for a second before I did it," Doucette said. "Sometimes the tops of the cans are aluminum and they give, but this one was hard as a rock and it broke my hand."

At first he didn't realize the extent of the injury. The knuckles on his right pinky and ring finger were extremely swollen, but Doucette could still move his fingers, so he figured he was OK.

"Everyone was a bit panicked," he said, "but I was like, 'As long as I can hold a stick, I can play. I'll just play real light.' I took ibuprofen and I started icing it before we went on. There's a song in the set where I play piano, and I had more problems doing that than playing drums. I actually had to alter a part because I can't use my pinky."

Since the pain hadn't subsided more than a week after the injury, Doucette saw a doctor, who X-rayed the hand and determined the drummer had suffered a "boxer's break," a fracture of the bones on the knuckles frequently caused by a punch that lands wrong. The doc suggested Doucette take some time off so the bones could heal properly, but the stubborn drummer has continued without missing a beat.

"I'm not gonna make it worse by playing," he said. "It's just not gonna get any better. It will just heal the way it is. But I can almost make a fist now, so I figure it will be fine."

Matchbox Twenty will remain on tour with Sugar Ray through July 6 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The band's next single will be "Bright Lights." Frontman Rob Thomas is currently writing for Pink's next album and wrote a still-untitled track for Santana and Marc Anthony, which will appear on the "Havana Nights" soundtrack.

• Matchbox Twenty

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne at the American Music Awards Monday night
Photo: Kevin Winter/ABC/ImageDirect

Eminem would have walked away from Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium with the most American Music Awards Monday night, had he walked in to begin with.

The rapper led all other artists with four wins at the 30th annual event (see photos from the red carpet), making good on the four categories in which he was nominated: Favorite Male Artist, Pop/Rock; Favorite Male Artist, Hip-Hop/R&B; Favorite Album, Pop/Rock and Favorite Album, Hip-Hop/R&B. The last two wins stemmed from his latest album, The Eminem Show, which was the best-selling LP of 2002.

Actor Mekhi Phifer accepted the Favorite Hip-Hop/R&B album award for his "8 Mile" co-star, who said that even though Eminem wasn't there, he was there in spirit ... or at least on the celly.

"Hey y'all, this is Eminem on the phone," Phifer said from the podium with his mobile in hand.

Eminem wasn't the only VIP that was MIA. Two-time winners Creed and the Dixie Chicks were also absent from the ceremony. The rockers nabbed trophies for Favorite Band, Duo or Group in the Pop/Rock category, and Favorite Artist in the Alternative Music class; while the country trio wound up with wins for Favorite Band, Duo or Group and Favorite Album (Home) in the country category.

Of the attendees, Ashanti, who began the evening with the most nominations — five — stole the glory with her two wins: for Favorite New Hip-Hop/R&B Artist and New Pop Artist.

The event was hosted by the Osbourne family, who stamped their trademark cursing on the evening. Daughter Kelly served double duty by performing her single "Shut Up," while papa Ozzy observed from the wings.

Christina Aguilera performed "Impossible" and "Beautiful" from her album Stripped, and Ja Rule and Bobby Brown performed "Thug Lovin'," which appears on Ja's The Last Temptation. Other performances were given by Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, Missy Elliott, Matchbox Twenty, and Tim McGraw and Elton John, who opened the show with a duet of John's "Tiny Dancer."

The winners of the 30th annual American Music Awards:

• Favorite Male Artist - Pop or Rock: Eminem
• Favorite Female Artist - Pop or Rock: Sheryl Crow
• Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop or Rock: Creed
• Favorite Album - Pop or Rock: Eminem, The Eminem Show
• Favorite New Artist - Pop or Rock: Ashanti
• Favorite Male Artist - Hip-Hop/R&B: Eminem
• Favorite Female Artist - Hip-Hop/R&B: Mary J. Blige
• Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Hip-Hop/R&B: Outkast
• Favorite Album - Hip-Hop/R&B: Eminem, The Eminem Show
• Favorite New Artist - Hip-Hop/R&B: Ashanti
• Favorite Male Artist - Country: Tim McGraw
• Favorite Female Artist - Country: Martina McBride
• Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Country: Dixie Chicks
• Favorite Album - Country: Dixie Chicks, Home
• Favorite New Artist - Country: Carolyn Dawn Johnson
• Favorite Artist - Alternative Music: Creed
• Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary Music: Celine Dion
• Favorite Artist - Latin Music: Enrique Iglesias
• Favorite Artist - Contemporary Inspirational Music: Avalon
• Favorite Soundtrack: "Spider-Man"
• Fan's Choice Award: Nelly
• Coca-Cola New Music Award: Moe Loughran

• Eminem
• Creed
• Dixie Chicks
• Kelly Osbourne
• Ozzy Osbourne

Matchbox 20
Photo: Atlantic

Matchbox Twenty — a little bit disco, a little bit rock and roll?

For their latest video, "Disease," Rob Thomas and the boys transform New York, and especially Times Square, into a roller disco heaven where neon signs and disco balls bounce off city lights.

"I thought it would be a cool idea to try to turn the whole city of New York into a giant roller disco," drummer Paul Doucette said.

"So we called the mayor and said, 'Hey, Mike. Listen, we're going to turn the city up, bring it down, party it out,' " guitarist Adam Gaynor said.

Finding just the right skaters, though, wasn't quite as easy. Sure, Central Park is practically littered with roller skaters on weekends, but Matchbox Twenty wanted to find skaters who were as acrobatic as they were graceful. One such skater, dubbed "Jose the skating cat," got all the star solo turns, but several others appear in the group scenes.

"In Manhattan now, there's this unbelievable underground roller disco scene," Thomas said. "We went out and cast these kids, some of whom were from this off-Broadway show that's a roller disco show, some of whom are just Wednesday-night-at-the-Roxy skaters, street skaters. There's a whole other world that goes on in the middle of the city that people don't know about."

Director Phil Harder's (Cornershop, Local H) casting tapes almost ended up constituting the bulk of the video, Thomas said, to show the range of ability — "the bad, the good, and the ugly, just throw it all in."

Some of the skaters auditioning went beyond ugly, or at least good taste. "There's this one woman who shows up, and she can't really skate," Gaynor said, "and she's going and doing her thing, and all of a sudden her thing falls out of her shirt."

"And Adam's like, 'She's hired!' " Thomas joked.

"And I'm like, 'No,' actually, 'pretty disgusting,' " Gaynor corrected him. "And she still can't skate, but now she's not tucking it back in because [she's wearing a] really weird, loose, open-sleeved thing. And everybody's like, 'You can turn [the music] off now. Stop, just stop.' I can't sleep anymore."

"Because of this woman's breast flopping in the wind?" Thomas asked.

"Flopping around, and she's not touching it, she won't put it in," Gaynor said, shaking Doucette as if he were the woman. "Tuck it in! Tuck it in!"

Matchbox Twenty decided against the casting tape idea once they found their star skater Jose, figuring that he could embody the disco essence of "Disease," with the band's performance bits portraying the more rock elements.

"It was really disco when we started," Thomas said of the song (see "Matchbox Twenty Wrestle With Deer, Mick Jagger's Needs To Make New LP"). "It wound up being somewhere between Studio 54 and Monsters of Rock. As far as singles go, it was the most poppy and the most rock that we had ever done."

"It took us awhile to figure out the proper balance of the disco and the rock thing," Doucette said. "It was really disco, and then it was really rock, and it didn't really seem to work either way, and we kept going back and forth trying to find a middle ground, and then we finally got it, or at least we think we got it."

"It was one step away from being, 'Hey, baby ... hey, baby ... hey,' " Thomas sang.

"Once you put that groove on a song, it feels disco," Doucette said. "There's nothing you can do about it."

• Matchbox Twenty

2003 MTV Asia Awards

• Avril Lavigne
• Linkin Park
• Matchbox Twenty
• Robbie Williams
• Shaggy

Clive Davis' Pre-Grammy Party, L.A., CA 02.26.02

• Mya
• Backstreet Boys
• Kid Rock
• N.E.R.D.
• Busta Rhymes

• Matchbox Twenty
• Train