Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
Photo: Picturehouse

All eyes will be on Jennifer Lopez when she launches her first-ever concert tour September 29 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Husband Marc Anthony will co-headline the trek, which will take them through the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Dates will be announced next week. Each set will include English- and Spanish-spoken songs, and $1 from every ticket sold will go toward financial-services company ING's school-fitness program for kids, Run for Something Better ... Kelly Clarkson told Reader's Digest for the magazine's August issue that she got her way with her new album after a public battle with RCA, but the singer says in a new post on her Web site that she regrets feuding with label head Clive Davis over My December. "Contrary to recent characterizations in the press, I'm well aware that Clive is one of the great record men of all time," reads the post. "He has been a key advisor and has been an important force in my success to date. I really regret how this has turned out and I apologize to those whom I have done disservice. I would never intentionally hurt anyone. I love music, and I love the people I am blessed to work with." ...

Who needs a clothing line when you can have an umbrella range — especially if you're Rihanna? The singer has done the inevitable by partnering with British company Totes for a collection perfectly suited for her "Umbrella" single. Take your pick right here. ... Pink couldn't stomach her planned gig at Athens' recent Fly BEEyond Festival — she came down with a bout with gastroenteritis and had to bail hours before going onstage, according to the show's promoter, Hot Beez. The show will not be made up, but ticket holders are being offered cash refunds. ...

"Hallows" be thy name: The final installment of the Harry Potter series racked up some big numbers over the weekend (surprised?). Scholastic says roughly 8.3 million copies of the book sold in the first 24 hours upon its release Saturday, with Borders, Amazon and Barnes & Noble all reporting more than 1 million copies sold each. The sales were impressive in the U.K., where the book sold 2.7 million copies in the first 24 hours, and in Canada, where it moved about 812,000 in its first 48 hours. Daniel Radcliffe had his own reason to celebrate Monday (July 23): The actor turned 18, gaining access to a fortune that is the U.S. equivalent of roughly $40 million. ...

Freestyle king Lil' Flip turned himself in on a felony charge of credit-card abuse on Saturday after authorities said he tried to buy a $671 Southwest Airlines ticket to Baltimore from Houston in June using an American Express card held by someone else. Flip, 26 (born Wesley Eric Weston Jr.), was booked and released on $2,000 bond, according to the Houston Chronicle. Lil' Flip's attorney and manager addressed the allegations on Monday. "Flip had absolutely no involvement with any sort of credit card fraud," Sandy Lal said in a statement. "He never personally handles any travel arrangements; that is left to promoters and travel agents." His attorney Stanley Schneider added: "A complete investigation will easily show that Lil' Flip is innocent of all charges and is actually a victim of a scam." ... Cops working the John Mayer concert at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania, were busy on Saturday, arresting 63 fans, according to The Patriot-News. Among the arrests were 46 for underage drinking; 14 for disorderly conduct; and three each for public drunkenness, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. ...

It's all about "The Simpsons Movie" this week, as the much-anticipated flick opens Friday, but some people haven't forgotten about the show's upcoming 19th season — namely Jack Black, Lionel Richie, Topher Grace and MTV News' own Kurt Loder, all of whom will be paying guest appearances. Black will voice the character of Milo, who scares Comic Book Guy by opening up a competing store. In other "Simpsons" news, Matt Groening has finally 'fessed up to where he got the idea for Marge Simpson's blue beehive. He told The New York Times Magazine in an interview published Sunday that her 'do was inspired by "The Bride of Frankenstein" and his own mom's hairstyle in the '60s. ...

The Arcade Fire aren't burning out anytime soon — the indie-rockers have extended their tour with LCD Soundsystem with four additional dates: September 30 in St. Paul, Minnesota; October 3 in Louisville, Kentucky; October 5 in Columbus, Ohio; and October 6 at New York's Randall's Island. ... The Shins are tacking a cover of Pink Floyd's "Breathe" onto their "Turn Me On" U.K. single. ...

The Reverend Al Sharpton is supporting New York State Senator Antoine Thompson's idea to penalize record companies that don't crack down on denigrating lyrics by pulling the state's public investments from them, The Associated Press reports. According to Thompson, about $3 billion of the state's pension fund is invested in the entertainment industry. ... Iconic indie label Sympathy for the Record Industry — which has issued albums by the White Stripes, Hole, Rocket From the Crypt and a slew of others over the years — is up on the block, according to Idolator.com. Owner Long Gone John is pricing the label and its "questionable/nebulous rights to nearly 750 releases by over 550 bands" at "$625,000, or $700,000 if I don't like you." ...

There have been some lineup changes in Perry Farrell's Satellite Party project. Former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt jumped ship last week, saying, "I have always felt uncomfortable with the direction of the lineup and live show. I truly do believe in the songs and music on the album, and I wish Perry Farrell and any musician that remains on tour all the best." Drummer Kevin Figg also opted to leave, but no reason was offered for his departure. In their place, Farrell has recruited Silvertide guitarist Nick Perri and drummer Jordan Plosky, who has worked with Ryan Cabrera in the past. ...

Babyface, Queen Latifah, Garth Brooks and others will perform at a concert to raise funds for a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on September 18. The event, set to take place at New York's Radio City Music Hall, will also feature previously announced artists Stevie Wonder, Robin Thicke and more. ... Jeff Beck's manager tells Billboard.com that, contrary to a report the site published Friday, the guitarist is not planning to tour with Jimmy Page and others as the Yardbirds this fall.

07.20.07

Jessica Simpson is a big spender, she recently admitted to Harper's Bazaar — big surprise there. But the singer/actress also revealed that while sister Ashlee "goes to a thrift store and can buy something for 20 bucks ... I have to go buy a black button-down at Barneys. For $900. Because it's a collector's item," she said in the magazine's August issue, which features Jessica on the cover. When asked which career she would pick if she had to choose between music and movies, she replied, "In my music career, there have been moments of failure, and with acting I haven't had that yet. But music is opening up my heart and every emotion inside of me." ...

Speaking of Ashlee, you might not want to wait around for that supposed Robert Smith collabo she's been raving about. "I would be hugely surprised if I end up working with Ashlee this year, but I haven't ruled it out," he told Billboard.com. He added: "I went to see her in 'Chicago.' ... I was impressed. The fact is, when she got onstage and sang, she was really good." ...

50 Cent has beef again — but this time, it isn't with a rival rapper. On Friday (July 20), he filed a lawsuit seeking at least $1 million in damages from online-ad company Traffix Inc. for using his image without permission in a graphic advertisement, Reuters reports. Even further, 50 says that the ad — which features a cartoon version of him and the message "shoot the rapper and you will win $5,000 or five ringtones guaranteed," according to the suit — promotes violence and threatens his safety. The suit cites the "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of the rapper's image and says it "quite literally calls for violence against" him. A lawyer representing Traffix declined to comment to Reuters. ...

"I'll just say no until I get my way, and I did," Kelly Clarkson told Reader's Digest for the magazine's August issue, in regards to conflicts with RCA over her new album My December. The singer added that label execs "hated 'Miss Independent' on my first album. ... The song I wrote that they hated the most was 'Because of You.' I fought and fought for it, it became successful and they finally got behind it." Clarkson also talked "American Idol," saying she did her own hair and makeup for the first half of the inaugural season. ...

Want a side of Ne-Yo with your Big Mac? If so, you're getting your wish — the R&B artist, along with Twista, Kenna and others, are going to be performing 10 free gigs at McDonald's restaurants ... in the parking lot. Billboard.com reports that the happy meal on wheels will begin Thursday at the Venice Beach Recreation Center in California, then hit up eight other cities before wrapping September 25 in Austin, Texas. ...

Lindsay Lohan turned herself in to police on Thursday in connection with her Memorial Day car accident, The Associated Press reports. Lohan was fingerprinted, photographed and booked on charges of driving under the influence and suspicion of misdemeanor hit-and-run at around 4 p.m. and was released about an hour later on $30,000 bail. Shortly after the Memorial Day crash, Lohan, 21, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving at a Los Angeles hospital, where she was taken for treatment. Police have still not revealed the results of tests on a substance they said at the time was believed to be cocaine found during the investigation. The singer/actress' blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash was above the California legal limit of .08, but police have not said how high it was. A court date was scheduled for August 24. ...

J.K. Rowling posted a long letter to fans on her Web site on Friday saying she felt "a heady mixture of excitement, nerves and relief." (To read the full missive, in which she doles out a long list of acknowledgements, you'll have to go to JKRowling.com, use a "port key" and do some digging.) ... Annie Lennox has pulled out the big guns for an AIDS-prevention fundraising song on her upcoming Songs of Mass Destruction album, due in October. The album will feature a self-described "powerful feminist anthem" titled "Sing," which has a chorus of 23 iconic female singers, among them Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Celine Dion, Fergie, Faith Hill, Pink, Dido, Shakira, Joss Stone and KT Tunstall. ...

The track list for James Blunt's forthcoming LP, All the Lost Souls, has been revealed. The disc, scheduled for a September 18 release, will boast 10 tracks: "1973," "One of the Brightest Stars," "I'll Take Everything," "Same Mistake," "Carry You Home," "Give Me Some Love," "I Really Want You," "Shine On," "Annie" and "I Can't Hear the Music." ... Afraid Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke might come down on you "like a ton of bricks"? Hopefully your name isn't Gordon Brown. Yorke is speaking out about carbon emissions in a new video post on TheBigAsk.com — the Web site for a climate-change virtual-march effort backed by Friends of the Earth. "I'm reminding my [member of Parliament] to remind [new British Prime Minister] Gordon Brown that he's committed to a bill to reduce our CO2 emissions double-quick-time, and if he doesn't, we're going to come down on him like a ton of bricks." ...

Korn avatars will perform the band's new single, "Evolution," in MTV's Virtual Pimp My Ride program this Monday, July 23. Fans will also be able to listen to the band's entire new album, Untitled, before it hits the streets July 31. In related news, Korn are said to be mulling a covers album, on which they'd tackle tracks including Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like a Hole" and "Love My Way" by the Psychedelic Furs. ... The Asbury Park Press reports that New Jersey State Police made 20 arrests on Wednesday at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, during a Tool concert. Police claim the arrests included charges of underage drinking and possession of marijuana but did not provide a more detailed breakdown of arrests. ...

Feist, My Morning Jacket's Jim James, the New Pornographers' A.C. Newman, author Sarah Vowell, Grizzly Bear and others are coming together to help "to try to settle the debate: words or music — which is better?" The one-night-only shindig will go down August 26 at the Beacon Theatre in New York, be hosted by comedian and "Daily Show" contributor Demetri Martin and benefit the free writing programs put on by literary hipster supreme Dave Eggers' nonprofit tutoring program, 826NYC. ...

New Order over? Uh, that's news to Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris, who said they will carry on with the group even though departed bassist Peter Hook recently said on Xfm that the band was through. "We would have hoped he could have approached us personally first," they said in a statement to BBC News. "New Order have not split up, they continue to exist." ... The Cure are working on a three-hour documentary film to celebrate their 30th year as a band. The film, which would be released as a DVD, will chronicle the group's career. ...

A source tells RollingStone.com that Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck will tour as the Yardbirds with the band's original bassist and drummer starting in October. The source added that Eric Clapton, another former member, will not be participating. ... Testament inked a deal with Nuclear Blast onstage in front of 20,000 fans at a concert in Germany on Wednesday. A new album featuring original members Eric Peterson, Chuck Billy, Alex Skolnick, Greg Christian and new drummer Nick Barker (Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth) is on the way. ...

Onetime Flavor Flav love interest Brigitte Nielsen has checked into rehab to treat an undisclosed condition, according to manager Steven Tempone. The AP reported that Tempone said the towering blond actress and 44-year-old co-star of the "Strange Love" reality show, "[checked in] on her own free will and we're proud of her and wish her very well." ... According to the San Jose Mercury News, many Ozzfest fans who scored free tickets to this summer's heavy-metal extravaganza are deciding to stay home. The paper claims only about 50 percent of the people who had tickets to recent shows actually showed for the concert. About 18,000 were expected at Thursday's Ozzfest date at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, but the city took security precautions in the event that all 30,000 people who received free tickets made it out to the venue. ... Al Gore III, the 24-year-old son of former Vice President Al Gore, has been charged with possession of marijuana and prescription drugs, according to TMZ.com. He was arrested on July 4 in Laguna Niguel, California, after being stopped for speeding. ...

Fourteen years after three teens were sent to jail for the May 1993 murder of three 8-year-old boys in Arkansas, a lawyer for the so-called West Memphis Three has said new DNA evidence proves his clients' innocence. The Arkansas Times reported that police are conducting new interviews to determine how a hair from a stepfather of one of the boys ended up at the crime scene. Attorneys for the three convicted men — whose plight was highlighted on the 2000 Free the West Memphis 3 album on songs by Steve Earle, Tom Waits and late Clash leader Joe Strummer — said there was no DNA evidence at the scene that matches their clients'. The mother of one of the victims has stated recently that she now believes the three convicted men, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, are not guilty. ... One of the co-owners of the Station nightclub in Rhode Island, where 100 people were killed in a fire during a Great White show in 2003, has created a charity fund to help pay for educational expenses for children who lost parents in the blaze. The Providence Journal reports that club co-owner Jeffrey Derderian has asked people to set aside their anger over the tragedy and contribute to the Station Education Fund to help the 76 children, ages 4 to 23, who lost parents in the blaze.

• MTV Rough Cut: Daniel Radcliffe
• 'Harry Potter' Stars Don't Even Know How It Will End
• Jessica Simpson Steps Into 'Major' Role

• Jennifer Lopez
• Marc Anthony
• Kelly Clarkson
• P!nk
• Lil' Flip

Amerie's <i>Touch</I>
Photo: Sony

While Amerie gave her fans All I Have as her debut, she's opting to let them Touch a more mature side of her this time around.

The R&B songstress worked again with Rich Harrison, who produced 2002's All I Have, though this time Amerie took more control over her album. She co-wrote all of the tracks on Touch, including the go-go-infused first single, "1 Thing." Amerie got a hand from big-name producers, including Lil Jon, Dre & Vidal, Red Spyda and others, but distanced herself from other mainstream R&B artists by featuring only one guest MC, Eve, who appears on one verse of the "1 Thing" remix.

Another artist keeping things simple on his new album is the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. His 13th studio album, Devils & Dust, a series of Springsteen's characteristic narrative songs, finds the artist working with only select members of his E Street Band, including violinist Soozie Tyrell and wife Patti Scialfa.

It's been four years since we heard from New Order, but that's nothing considering fans had to wait eight long years for 2001's Get Ready. With so many new bands drawing upon New Order for inspiration (Interpol, the Killers), it was high time the influential group released its new album, Waiting for the Sirens' Call.

Bay Area rapper Lyrics Born releases an album full of remixes of his 2003 debut, Later That Day ... , aptly titled Same !@#$ Different Day. The new release features eight remixes from the first album and five new tracks. Goth-inspired punk cabaret duo the Dresden Dolls, meanwhile, reissue their self-titled debut, this time with the backing of a bigger label.

Also out this week are albums by the Eels (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations), Feist (Let It Die), Ben Folds (Songs for Silverman), Porcupine Tree (Dead Wing), No Address (Time Doesn't Notice) and Johnathan Rice (Trouble Is Real).

Out Tuesday, April 26:

• Acceptance - Phantoms (Columbia/RED Ink)
• Amerie - Touch (Sony)
  Read: "Amerie Shoots Down Goody-Goody Image, Says 'I'm Not A Prude' "
• Cheryl Bentyne - Let Me Off Uptown (Telarc)
• Debby Boone - Reflections of Rosemary (Concord)
• Brain Failure - American Dreamer (Thorp)
• Tim Burgess - I Believe (Koch)
• Caesars - Paper Tigers (Astralwerks)
• Charivari - A Trip to the Holiday Lounge (Rounder)
• Jordan Chassan - East of Bristol, West of Knoxville (Strong)
• Coastline Band - Sweet N Ripe (Landslide)
• Steve Cole - Spin (Narada)
• Jack DeJohnette - Music in the Key of Om (Golden Beams/Kindred Rhythm)
• Jack DeJohnette and Foday Musa Suso - Music From the Hearts of the Masters (Golden Beams/Kindred Rhythm)
• Discover America - Psychology (Tooth & Nail)
• DJ Spooky Vs. Dave Lombardo - Drums of Death (Thirsty Ear)
• Dresden Dolls - The Dresden Dolls (Roadrunner)
  Read: "Dresden Dolls Making The World Safe For Punk Cabaret"
• Eels - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (Vagrant)
  Buy Now: Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (Vagrant)
  
• Feist - Let It Die (Interscope)
• Fisher - The Lovely Years (Iris)
• Ben Folds - Songs for Silverman (Epic)
  Buy Now: Songs for Silverman (Epic)
  
• Tracy Grammer - Flower of Avalon (Signature)
• Brian Haas - The Truth About Hollywood (Sin-Drome)
• Hater - The 2nd (Burn Burn Burn)
• Eric Heatherly - The Lower East Side of Life (Koch)
• Hiroshima - Obon (Heads Up)
• Hot Snakes - Peel Sessions EP (Swami)
• Buddy Jewell - Times Like These (Columbia)
• Jim and Jennie and the Pinetops - Rivers Roll on By (Bloodshot)
• John Brown's Body - Pressure Points (Easy Star)
• Love as Laughter - Laughter's Fifth (Sub Pop)
• Luciano - Jah Words (Sanctuary)
• Lyrics Born - Same !@#$ Different Day (Quannum/Epitaph)
• Jo Dee Messina - Delicious Surprise (Curb)
  Buy Now: Delicious Surprise (Curb)
  
• Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree (Beggars Group)
• Oliver Mtukudzi - Nhava (Heads Up)
• New Order - Waiting for the Sirens' Call (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: Waiting for the Sirens' Call (Warner Bros.)
  
• No Address - Time Doesn't Notice (Atlantic)
• Oz Noy - Ha! (Magna Carta)
• Porcupine Tree - Dead Wing (Lava/Atlantic)
  Buy Now: Dead Wing (Lava/Atlantic)
  
• John Prine - Fair and Square (Oh Boy)
  Buy Now: Fair and Square (Oh Boy)
  
• Joel Rafael Band - Woodyboye: Songs of Woody Guthrie (and Tales Worth Telling) Volume II (Appleseed)
• Red Stick Ramblers - Right Key, Wrong Keyhole (Memphis International)
• Johnathan Rice - Trouble Is Real (Warner Bros.)
• Peggy Seeger - Love Call Me Home (Appleseed)
• Settlefish - The Plural of the Choir (Deep Elm)
• Frank Sinatra - Live From Las Vegas (Capitol)
  Buy Now: Live From Las Vegas (Capitol)
  
• Bruce Springsteen - Devils & Dust (Columbia)
  Buy Now: Devils & Dust (Columbia)
  
• Susie Suh - Susie Suh (Epic)
• Jimmy Thackery - Healin' Ground (Telarc)
• Emiliana Torrini - Fisherman's Woman (Rough Trade/Sanctuary)
• Us3 - Questions (Us3)
• Bobby Valentino - Disturbing Tha Peace Presents (Def Jam)
  Read: "Launching Bobby Valentino's Career Is All In A Day's Work For Ludacris"
• Jim Verraros - Rollercoaster (Koch)
• Various artists - Africa Remix (Milan)
• Various artists - Broadway Today: Broadway 1992-Now (Decca/Universal Classics)
• Various artists - Family Guy Live in Las Vegas (Geffen)
• Various artists - "Fever Pitch" soundtrack (Ryko)
• Various artists - Golden Slumbers: A Father's Love (Rendezvous)
• Various artists - "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - "King's Ransom" soundtrack (Ryko)
• Various artists - "Layer Cake" soundtrack (Virgin)

May 3:

• Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cold Roses (Lost Highway)
• Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth (Interscope)
  Read: "New Nine Inch Nails LP Takes Risks — By Being Accessible"
• Stevie Wonder - A Time to Love (Motown)

May 10:

• Dave Matthews Band - Stand Up (RCA)
• Spoon - Gimme Fiction (Merge)
• Weezer - Make Believe (Geffen)
  Read: "Weezer Album Preview: Wailing Guitars And New-Wave Ballads"

May 17:

• Def Leppard - Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (Mercury/Universal)
• System of a Down - Mezmerize (Sony)
  Read: "System Of A Down Album Preview: Band Pulls No Punches With The Pummeling Mezmerize"
• Various artists - American Idol Season 4: The Album (RCA)

• Amerie
• Bruce Springsteen
• New Order
• Lyrics Born
• The Dresden Dolls

New Order
Photo: MTV News

You can't get the question right. You're fumbling for the right words but all you can hear are the lyrics to "Age of Consent" over and over and over again in your brain ...

It's almost too easy to toss the word "influential" in front of a band to hype up its place in the pop-music pantheon. Few acts deserve it, and the word is so damn relative. But the culture mill spits out thousands of new bands each year and inevitably even the most wanly creative gets the "influential" stamp if it can hang in there long enough.

So, then — what to call a band at the forefront of almost two and a half decades of pop, rock, punk and electronic music? All of your favorite records of the past decade owe patronage to this band in some way. What's the right word? Pick an adjective that's neither insulting (don't want them to feel like dinosaurs) nor sycophantic (the NME chose "godlike geniuses"). You want them to get it that you get it. You want them to take your questions seriously. You don't want to blow smoke in their collective asses. And, you've only got 20 minutes of their time.

Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Phil Cunningham of New Order walk into the Tribeca diner you've been waiting in this cold February afternoon. They are in good spirits, faintly jet lagged and very funny, here to talk about their new album, their eighth studio record, Waiting for the Sirens' Call. They look well for men who have spent the better part of three decades touring and recording, still DJing, still partying. Hook has a black eye. They crack jokes. They order drinks and fries. You quickly bury the "influential" question and the interview begins.

"What's with all the computers?" you want to know.

"On our last album, Get Ready, there wasn't much programmed stuff on it. But there was a reason for that," says Sumner, elaborating on the loopy, glitchy, computerized feel of Call. "Most of us hadn't worked with each other in five years and we didn't want a situation where one person sat at a computer and the rest sat there scratching their heads, bored, waiting to get finished. On this album, we decided to turn the computer on and started doing some tracks that are programmed. That's part of New Order's sound that we discovered from playing live again and didn't want to forget."

Some of the album's beats came from neither computer nor jam session. Sumner stole the dub drum line for the song "I Told You So" from a pirate radio station while on vacation in the Caribbean.

"Every year I go on holiday on a boat because I like boats," he explains. "I took a shortwave radio with me and could tune in to the different islands, picking up different styles of music from each island. I recorded it onto a MiniDisc and took it back and laid it all out on the computer and chopped it together. I like some of the beats that were over there because you hear all these taxis going around with these dancehall beats blaring out. I think they're really interesting but hard, tough rhythms. It was just an attempt to write in a different way and, obviously, once you've done it once you can't do it again."

"You'll have to go somewhere else on your holidays," Morris quips. "Where will you sail to next?" The band laughs. You laugh. They spend the interview nailing each others jokes.

Sirens' Call has 11 tracks. It includes nods to Kraftwerk on the first single, "Krafty" ("We always have a song that sounds like Kraftwerk, and usually when it's released to the public we have managed to come up with a better title," jokes Morris), and a duet with the Scissor Sisters' Ana Matronic called "Jetstream." But you've heard there is another album, a second New Order disc recorded and mixed, supposed to come out a year and half from now. For a band that often takes years in between records, could it be true?

"We need another two songs, then we finish it," explains Sumner.

"All the New Order fans complain so much we thought we would put two together," Hook says with a smile.

One New Order track that will probably never see the light of day is their collaboration with Gwen Stefani on her song "The Real Thing." Initially, Stefani had petitioned the band hard. She was doing a solo album. She wanted them to co-write a song with her. They agreed, returning to the studio multiple times to lay down tracks for her producers. And then, unceremoniously, all their work got dumped from the final version of the track. At first, the band felt slighted.

"I did a lot of work on it. I was told by the producers that it was great and fine," says Morris. "I thought 28 years as a musician should count for something, but obviously it didn't. I was annoyed."

"So I did a couple of interviews spouting off," adds Hook. "Then Gwen phoned me. ... It was fine, we sorted it out."

There is no bad blood now, says Morris. "I'm not bitter. Love Gwen. She's fine in my book."

Besides, who needs guest appearances on Gwen Stefani records. Recent bands like the Postal Service, Interpol and the Killers owe their sound and even their names to New Order (the "Killers" were a fake band in New Order's 2001 video for "Crystal"). On May 1, New Order will take the stage at Coachella, where, like the Cure last year and the Stooges the year before, they will be the resident granddaddies of cool, patriarchs of musical influence to half the bands on the bill. There it is. The "I" word. Sumner handles it gracefully.

"It's good if they're good. A band takes you as an influence but doesn't completely ape what your doing ..." he begins.

Morris cuts him off. "It's not like [the Killers, the Postal Service and Interpol] are Xeroxing New Order. These bands are actually doing something different with it. That's kind of what we did when we started."

"There is only one good thing about getting older in a band," adds Sumner, "and that's the fact that you end up with a really great set. We've got songs from [New Order precursors] Joy Division to this current album. It's pretty exciting to play, really."

This year, New Order and Joy Division will again be mythologized on film. Director/photographer Anton Corbijn is slated to direct a biopic based on the book "Touching the Distance" by Deborah Curtis, late wife of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. Tony Wilson, former head of Factory Records, will executive produce.

"This May, it's coming up to 25 years since he died," says Sumner. "So if there is a film made about him, we'll get involved and make sure it's an accurate portrayal. It's a great way to remember him, I think. People have this way of remembering him as a depressed person because of his lyrics, and some of the photographs that came out before he died, with his head in his hands, unshaven. Those famous photographs were taken a week before he died, and that's not our impression of Ian. If we can get [out] our impression of what he was really like through the film, I think we will be really happy about it."

That impression includes vitality and joy, things New Order felt Michael Winterbottom's film "24 Hour Party People" got right about their early days in Manchester.

"It's nice to be put in a film while I'm still alive," says Hook, "which is one of the plus points of it. I like the way he played up on the humor part. We've been through the black and the miserableness of it; it's quite nice to make light of it."

As for New Order, they just look forward to doing what they have done since the beginning: making music.

"It is a challenge to play to a new audience," Hook says. "But we're playing our hearts out, we're working hard."

They're out of fries. The ice cubes in their drinks have melted. Their manager needs them at a magazine in a few minutes. You shake their hands and say goodbye. Next time you see them, they'll be onstage, no doubt, influencing some new fan to pick up their album, start a band, just as they've done, show after show after show.

— Gideon Yago

• New Order

New Order
Photo: Kevin Westenberg

Did you find 1995's Best of New Order unsatisfying? Did the movie "24 Hour Party People" have you itching for more New Order rarities? Well, if you live in the U.S. consider yourself S.O.L.

Though they're slated for release overseas, neither New Order's forthcoming box set nor their new greatest hits CD, Here to Stay, are slated to land in U.S. stores, due to the band's current wrangling with parent label WEA.

Last year when New Order released their seventh studio album, Get Ready, it seemed like nobody was all that ready for their return. After an eight-year hiatus, the post-punk pioneers got a tepid reception, barely marking up the Billboard albums chart before falling off entirely.

And even though a chorus of critics hailed Get Ready as one of the best albums of 2001, it took the release of Michael Winterbottom's homage to No Wave Manchester, "24 Hour Party People," to put New Order back on the proverbial map.

Today New Order are riding on a full tank of pop-culture clout with a new generation of freshly minted fans. However, despite the swell of renewed interest, none of WEA's affiliated labels — such as Atlantic, Warner Bros. and Rhino — has stepped forward to put out the rarities-riddled box set or the new greatest-hits collection, which features period remixes.

A rep from New Order's U.S. management accused the record companies of lacking a spine. "If record companies and radio can't exploit bands, then they don't know how to handle them. I think it's systematic of the whole industry, not just one company. These companies can only handle radio fodder, although I don't know what that says about the whole business itself."

WEA had no comment except to reiterate that it will be releasing Here to Stay internationally and that New Order still have a label relationship with Warner Bros. in the United States.

Track listing for Here to Stay:

• "Ceremony"

• "Blue Monday" (original 12-inch mix)

• "Confusion" (Arthur Baker 12-inch mix)

• "Thieves Like Us"

• "Perfect Kiss" (original 12-inch mix)

• "Shellshock"

• "Bizarre Love Triangle" (Shep Pettibone 12-inch mix)

• "True Faith" (original 12-inch mix)

• "Touched by the Hand of God" (original 12-inch mix)

• "Crystal"

• "60MPH"

• "Here to Stay"

—Gideon Yago

• New Order

New Order
Photo: Warner Bros.

For many years over the past two decades, New Order crafted cynical synth-pop that radiated with alternative dancefloor chic. But on Get Ready, the band's first record together in eight years, New Order have done something they haven't tried since their pre-Order days.

They've rocked out.

While the album still shimmers and shivers with electronic textures, it's anchored by organic instrumentation and galvanic grooves. "60 Miles an Hour," Get Ready's second single, sounds like a beefier spinoff of the band's hit "Blue Monday," and "Rock the Shack" is a cross between the Stooges and the Rolling Stones.

"Dance music tends to be a solitary affair," bassist Peter Hook said from his home in Manchester, England. "People work on a computer for a while, then bring something in. But getting back together after being apart for six years, we wanted to play as a group, which is more of what rock music is about."

Some of the music on Get Ready is reminiscent of the songs Hook, drummer Stephen Morris and guitarist Bernard Sumner (then Bernard Albrecht) created as members of Joy Division. The pioneering goth/post-punk band came to an end in 1980 when singer Ian Curtis hanged himself.

At that point, the group changed its name to New Order, and after two familiar-sounding singles, dramatically shifted its musical direction. Now, after decades of running from the past, New Order find themselves returning to their roots.

"It wasn't a conscious decision," Hook said. "It's just that as we played together, it made us feel a bit like how we felt when we were in Joy Division. We were beginning again quite fresh, really getting the energy from the guitars and from the clicking of playing together."

As unusual as it is to hear New Order rocking steady, it's equally surprising to find the band getting along after years of tension and acrimony. Especially since the group's demise in 1993 was accompanied by the collapse of its label, Factory, and its dance club, the Hacienda, both of which left the group in a state of financial disarray.

But it's that very angst that makes Get Ready such a powerful disc — not that the bandmembers were at each other's throats again. In fact, they got along so well they were worried they wouldn't be able to summon the artistic venom they were after. But the specters of the past provided more than enough fuel as the band's acerbic muse.

"You don't get many chances in the world, and you don't want to throw them away," Hook explained. "We worked very hard for our chances, and to lose Factory and the Hacienda through no fault of our own was very, very upsetting. I think the energy of the record came from the freedom of getting our music back after it being so nearly lost."

That energy and enthusiasm are evident throughout the record. "Crystal," the first single, is ebullient and enigmatic, driven by a brooding bassline, clattering drum machines, sandpaper guitars, singing keyboards and ultra-pop vocals. The video, which adheres to New Order's tradition of never featuring the actual bandmembers, depicts a young band kicking out the jams.

In the studio, New Order had some help in the fun factory. "Rock the Shack" was a collaboration with Primal Scream vocalist Bobby Gillespie and guitarist Andrew Innes. "Turn My Way," with its ethereal vocals and melancholy atmospheres, features guest vocals by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who also played live with the band on Moby's Area: One tour earlier this year (see "Primal Scream, Billy Corgan Get Ready To Help Out New Order").

"I've known Billy since he was 15," Hook said with a laugh. "He came to see us in Chicago and wanted to meet us because he said he was a big Joy Division fan. Five years later, he was in the Smashing Pumpkins and they were huge. We've kept in touch through the years. So when we wrote 'Turn My Way,' Bernard said, 'This would sound really good with Billy on it.' So we rang him up, and he more or less came running."

If Get Ready is well-received Stateside, the group plans to return for an extensive U.S. tour. In the meantime, the band will play dates across Europe and continue working on new material. New Order have already got four songs in the can and will release an EP next year called New Order Vs. Chemical Brothers, a collaboration with the popular electronic duo.

With his band back on track and enjoying itself for the first time in years, Hook is grateful for everything he's experienced, even the low points.

"The greatest thing that ever happened to me was when New Order stopped and I got thrown out into the cold, hard world right when we basically didn't have any money," he said. "It really was a character-building experience. It's widened my horizons and made me more confident in myself and made me enjoy life more. After a couple years away from New Order we learned to appreciate the good things."

• New Order

Joy Division
Photo: Warner Bros. Records

British post-punk legends Joy Division will receive the box-set treatment in August with a collection that includes both of their albums as well as singles, B-sides and rarities from the gloom-rockers' short but illustrious career.

The four-disc set, Heartandsoul, appeared in the United Kingdom in 1998. This marks its first U.S. release. Disc one contains the band's 1979 debut Unknown Pleasures and singles including "Digital." Disc two features Closer, which Joy Division finished recording shortly before lead singer Ian Curtis hung himself in 1980, and the band's signature song "Love Will Tear Us Apart." Disc three contains the band's first EP, An Ideal for Living, and radio sessions previously unreleased in the United States. The final disc culls previously unavailable live material from four concerts.

Following Curtis' death, surviving members Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris went on to form New Order. All three musicians helped select the contents of Heartandsoul, according to their U.S. manager. New Order will release their first album in eight years, Getready, on October 16 (see "Primal Scream, Billy Corgan Getready To Help Out New Order").

The band will also make four appearances with Moby's Area:One festival tour. They'll be joined by former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who guests on the Getready track "Turn My Way." Area:One dates featuring New Order:

7/31 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
• 8/2 - Vancouver, BC @ Thunderbird Stadium
• 8/3 - George, WA @ The Gorge
• 8/5 - Devore, CA @ G.H. Blockbuster Pavilion

• Joy Division
• New Order

New Order's Bernard Sumner
Photo: Donald Christie

New Order will ask fans to Get Ready, the title of their first album in eight years, on October 16.

The veteran electro-rock group recently added a last-minute collaboration with Primal Scream to the LP, according to their management. The track is called "Rock the Shack." Get Ready also features guest appearances by the Chemical Brothers, on an as-yet-untitled track, and former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, on "Turn My Way" (formerly "Shipwreck of a Broken Man").

Corgan will also join New Order on selected dates of Moby's Area: One festival tour, according to a publicist for the tour. More details will be announced later.

Another newcomer will also be on stage with the band. U.K. guitarist Phillip Cunningham will temporarily replace Gillian Gilbert, who is taking a break to care for her and New Order drummer Stephen Morris' 18-month-old daughter, who is recovering from a serious illness.

"Crystal," mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent (Massive Attack, Spice Girls), is the first single from Get Ready and will be released mid-July.

Other producers and mixers on the album, recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in Wiltshire, England, include Steve Osborne (Paul Oakenfold, U2) and David Kahne (Sugar Ray, Sublime, Paul McCartney). In other New Order news, plans to release a live DVD filmed at a 1981 New York show and at Britain's Reading Festival in 1998 have been put on hold, the band's management said.

New Order also includes singer/guitarist Bernard Sumner and bassist Peter Hook, who, along with Morris, were part of the legendary post-punk outfit Joy Division, which ended with the suicide of singer Ian Curtis in 1980.

• New Order
• Primal Scream
• The Smashing Pumpkins
• The Chemical Brothers

Moby
Photo: MTV News

The full dimensions of Moby's Area: One festival were revealed Monday (April 23), as the electro-rocker announced new performers as well as dates and venues for his musically diverse roadshow.

At a New York press conference, Moby heralded the addition of a side stage that will feature artists from the DJ/electronic scene, including Paul Oakenfold, Carl Cox, the Orb and Timo Maas. Also scheduled to play under the air-conditioned tent that will serve as the second stage are Detroit techno pioneers Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. "Without them I wouldn't be here," Moby said.

The tour will also feature Outkast and Incubus headlining East Coast shows, while new-wave rockers New Order will hook up on West Coast dates (see "Outkast, New Order Join Moby's Area: One Package"). Philly hip-hoppers the Roots and French dance-pop act Rinôçérôse will also play the festival's main stage, while up-and-coming singer Nelly Furtado is scheduled join up for a few dates as well (see "Songbird Nelly Furtado Takes Flight With Moby's Area: One").

Moby said he drew inspiration for Area: One from "the celebratory and eclectic nature" of European festivals like Glastonbury and Reading. "Spending time at European festivals, you realize what makes them so exciting is their eclecticism," Moby said. "I figured, 'Why can't we do that in the States?'" Also announced Monday were the charities that will benefit from a portion of the festival's proceeds. LIFEbeat and Greenpeace will be the primary beneficiaries for the event, but Moby said he also plans to involve local charities at each show. Festival officials have not settled on a ticket price, but said it would be around $40.

Addressing security concerns that have plagued other summer festivals, Moby said he felt confident that Area: One would be incident-free. "Between myself and Nelly Furtado, I can't imagine there'll be too much stage-diving," he joked.

Moby also said that although he's got new material he's itching to play, fans probably won't hear it during his Area: One sets. "I'm a populist at heart when it comes to performing. I don't want to play 45 minutes of material no one has ever heard so people can stand around and pretend to be interested," he said.

Area: One festival dates, according to the tour's promoter:

• 7/11 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
• 7/13 - Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion
• 7/14 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
• 7/15 - Wantagh, NY @ Jones Beach Amphitheater
• 7/18 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center
• 7/19 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
• 7/20 - Montreal, QC @ Parc Des Iles
• 7/22 - Toronto, ON @ The Docks
• 7/24 - Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
• 7/25 - Tinley Park, IL @ Tweeter Center
• 7/26 - St. Paul, MN @ Midway Stadium
• 7/28 - Denver, CO @ Mile High Stadium
• 7/31 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
• 8/2 - Vancouver, BC @ Thunderbird Stadium
• 8/3 - George, WA @ Gorge
• 8/5 - Devore, CA @ Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion

• Moby
• Nelly Furtado
• OutKast
• New Order
• Incubus

Nelly Furtado
Photo: Eric Johnson

Moby's Area: One tour has taken on yet another dimension with the addition of Canadian pop singer Nelly Furtado.

She'll join Moby, the Roots, Incubus, Carl Cox, Paul Oakenfold, New Order and other yet-to-be-named artists for the roving dance-rap-rock-pop festival, a spokesperson for Furtado's label, DreamWorks, said Friday (April 20).

Furtado will wrap up her own headlining tour (see "Whoa, Nelly Furtado Plans U.S. Tour ") before popping in on the Area: One festival between July 11 and 28. Her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, currently perches at #31 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

The Area: One tour, which kicks off July 11 in Washington, DC and wraps up August 5 in Los Angeles, marks Moby's first foray into the summer-festival circuit. Area: One will hit 16 North American cities.

All details concerning Area: One, including the full artist lineup, dates, venues and sponsorship, will be announced Monday (April 23) at a New York press conference.

• Nelly Furtado
• Moby
• New Order
• The Roots
• Incubus

Outkast
Photo: Arista

Moby's inaugural Area: One roving concert festival is taking shape with the addition of hip-hop duo Outkast and electro-rock group New Order to a lineup that includes previously announced acts Incubus and Paul Oakenfold.

Rap ensemble the Roots and techno DJ Carl Cox have also been added to the bill, according to Moby's publicist.

"My reason for doing this is that there is a lot of music in the world that I love that does not always get the appropriate exposure," Moby said in a press release.

Area: One will play amphitheaters in 16 cities beginning July 11. The itinerary won't be announced until later this month — a press conference will take place April 23 in New York — though the tour is scheduled to wrap up on August 5 in Los Angeles (see "Moby Taps Incubus, Oakenfold For Summer Festival").

The revolving lineup will have Incubus and Outkast playing East Coast dates and New Order playing West Coast dates.

Dubbed "Mobypalooza" by fans, the tour will feature a main stage and an air-conditioned tent complete with a unique surround-sound speaker system. Some of the shows' proceeds will be donated to local charities.

"I'm looking forward to it," Oakenfold said Thursday (April 5). "It'll be exciting to be in America just traveling around in the summer." Although Oakenfold is a longtime Moby fan, the two dance-music luminaries had not met until Moby contacted him about performing.

"He got in touch personally," Oakenfold said. "I got email from him the other day thanking me. His last album has done so well; it's good for dance music in general." New Order, who are recording with Oakenfold collaborator Steve Osborne, have not performed in America in nearly a decade. The British group will release its first album since 1993's Republic in September (see "Corgan, Chemicals On Tap For New Order LP").

Moby, who toured for two years in support of his 1999 album, Play, which has sold more than two million copies in the United States, is working in his New York home studio on his next album. Area: One will be his only live performances in America this year, according to his spokesperson.

• Moby
• OutKast
• New Order
• Paul Oakenfold
• Incubus