Ruinedmusic.com founders Bryan Bruchman and Mary Phillips-Sandy.
Photo: Bryan Bruchman

Like a lot of dot-com success stories, the idea for Ruined Music came over a casual lunch. Only, this was not businessmen or even buddies, but a couple discussing their relationship.

"We were talking about all the songs that we would not be able to listen to anymore if we were to break up," co-founder Mary Phillips-Sandy recalled. "Bryan [Bruchman, boyfriend and co-founder] is a musician. I love music. We made mixtapes for each other in the beginning. So there's a lot of music that we share and have shared as our relationship grew. And the list of songs that would be ruined would be a very long one."

(See what Ruined Music is all about, and watch Bono and others sound off on the songs they can't listen to anymore, in this video.)

Phillips-Sandy left the lunch still mulling over the topic and eventually put her thoughts to paper, writing the story of an early boyfriend who had ruined Simon & Garfunkel's "Cecilia" for her forever. As a writer and editor by day, she then convinced a few friends to write similar essays, which she and Bruchman began posting May 1 on the Web under the address RuinedMusic.com.

Within weeks, the two were being bombarded with essays, and they now post three new pieces a week from ruined-music victims around the world.

"The word of mouth has been really incredible," Phillips-Sandy said. "People love to talk about it and I think that really proves to us that it is in fact something that we all have in common."

In just over six months, RuinedMusic.com has amassed a sizable audience and become a favorite link for popular music blogs like Stereogum.

"I think there's an element of voyeurism for sure," Phillips-Sandy said. "People like to read about other people's tragedies. But there's also an element that people can relate to it and feel compassion. And a lot of the stories we've gotten have just been really funny, especially the ones from high school, awkward teenage things. There's a cringe factor, but the stories that we post are well-written, funny and a good read."

Although a majority of the essays chronicle bad breakups, Ruined Music's founders encourage all stories about music being ruined.

"People have sent us brief stories about people being in car accidents, where like, 'This song was playing while I rolled my car three times,' " Bruchman said. "Others are about friends, a relationship but not necessarily lovers. And just general time periods. A lot of songs associated with high school, where some people don't have the best experience."

"We had a great story from a guy who was performing at a high school talent show and he and his friends tried to cover the song and failed miserably, got booed off the stage and nowadays that song just makes him feel really lousy when he hears it," Phillips-Sandy added. "I guess the idea is that forces beyond your control can take away your enjoyment of a song, and that's not fair, so tell us about it and maybe you'll feel better."

And that, along with some good entertainment, is Phillips-Sandy and Bruchman's motivation for keeping RuinedMusic.com going.

"People have told us it's been cathartic," Phillips-Sandy said. "We've definitely heard that somehow telling your story, getting it out in public, being able to laugh about it, knowing you're not alone, that that can make things better for people. And if the site works that way for people, that's great, because no one should lose a song they like because of something someone else does."

And that includes actual musicians themselves. So, in an attempt to make a few of our favorite stars feel better, we decided to publish their ruined-music stories ...

Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach "I'll tell you a ruined song, dude. It was 'Look What the Cat Dragged In' by Poison. And it was when I was 16, I was losing my virginity. My mother walked in the room while that song was playing. It wasn't a very good experience. So 'Look What the Cat Dragged In' just reminds me of lying on my bed butt-naked and my mom looking at me like, 'Oh my God!' And I'm like, 'Oh my God!' Embarrassing."

Bono of U2 "A good friend of mine, DJ Howie B, was playing with us when we played Nuremberg [Germany]. And we played in this place in Nuremberg where all the Nazis were buried. And Howie B was very angsty about playing there. And I said, 'Look, music will chase the demons out of this place.' And he wasn't sure he could do it. And I said, 'Well, it's up to you, you know.' And my idea is, let's make fun of the Nazis. So I heard him go on, and he played [the Three Degrees'] 'When Will I See You Again.' And now I can't listen to that song without thinking about Nazis."

Brandon Flowers of the Killers "My ex-girlfriend, two girlfriends back, really liked to listen to Suede a lot. And they're a good band, but I can't listen to Suede without thinking of her, and I really don't want to think of her. That kind of has ruined Suede for me."

Keith Nelson of Buckcherry "I have an ex-girlfriend and her ringtone on my cell phone was 'I Walk the Line' by Johnny Cash. And every time she would call me the song would start playing, and I can't listen to the song anymore. It's been ruined."

Carl Newman of the New Pornographers "There was an album from the mid-'90s by a band called the Scud Mountain Boys called Dance the Night Away, which is this really mellow kind of heartbreaking record. And I listened to it all through this breakup and it served its purpose. And I loved it during that breakup, but then it was like, 'I will never listen to that album ever again,' 'cause if I did I knew it would take me back to this hideous place. Thank God for that album, but I just want it to disappear now."

Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters "God bless the Rolling Stones, but did they really have to do the Microsoft ad? Did they really need the money? Because now whenever I hear 'Start Me Up,' I think of Microsoft. It's just sad."

• Ruined Music: Bono, Others Feel Your Pain

• U2
• Scissor Sisters
• Papa Roach
• The Killers
• Buckcherry

The New Pornographers' Carl Newman
Photo: MTV News

Despite all their efforts to the contrary, the New Pornographers can't help but write summery sing-along anthems that make you want to blast the car stereo at full volume with the windows down.

"We tried to make it stranger," lead Pornographer Carl Newman said of their third and latest record, Twin Cinema, released in late August. "We thought if we put weird time signatures it would make it less summery. But I guess some people just got the summer in their heart."

They have worse problems, though, than not being able to shake their gift for infectious power pop. The Vancouver-based collective's biggest predicament has always been paradoxical: The larger and more successful the group gets, the more difficult it becomes to keep the band together.

While most of the band has settled into the role of permanent Pornographer, their booming female lead vocal, alt-country chanteuse Neko Case, has a successful solo career to contend with, and aloof songwriter Dan Bejar has commitment issues and a laissez faire attitude.

Forcing Bejar to contribute to the project has been a struggle since the band's second record, Electric Version, in 2000, but the Pornographers cajoled him into touring by inviting his eccentric solo project, Destroyer, to open up their recent fall tour.

"That's how we tricked him," Newman said with a grin. "Dan hasn't really been a solid part of the group for about five years, but [when we can], we basically just drag him onstage when he has to sing his own songs, and the rest of the time he just gets to hang around backstage and be a drunk. ... Did I just call him a drunk?"

Recently, it was serendipity, not the promise of an opening gig, that helped fill other gaps in the Pornographers' lineup.

Eight years ago, Newman discovered he had an older, long-lost sister. When Newman met her daughter, his then-15-year-old niece, Kathryn Calder, he never dreamed she would be a potential bandmate. Fast forward several years and Pornos bassist John Collins was gushing about Calder's band, Immaculate Machine, unaware of the familial connections.

"When [Collins] started raving about how amazing she was, I would go see her band and think, 'She is really, really good,' " he said. Calder was soon added as a touring member of the Pornographers — an especially imperative role given Case's unpredictable availability.

But after years of critical praise, the commercial and monetary aspects have slowly started to catch up with the group. Twin Cinema debuted at the not-at-all-shabby #44 spot on the Billboard albums chart, and this tour has seen the band graduate to a swanky tour bus with two TV sets. They've even witnessed their fans rushing to the front of the stage just to get the best seat in the house.

"I used to do that when I was 18. Have we become one of those bands where the kids hang out on the barricades for three hours?" Newman asked with a mix of incredulousness and caution.

Endlessly prolific, the ginger-haired singer released his first solo record in 2004 under the moniker A.C. Newman, but said he'd like to put his individual efforts on hold and turn around another New Pornographers album as soon as possible. Plus he possesses a wealth of songs waiting in the wings — or at least half-songs.

"I'm actually trying to write [the next New Pornographers record] now. We're talking about recording it in the first half of 2006," he said. "I have this backlog of half-written songs, so when I start a new record, it's not like starting from scratch. Whenever I'm going through a mental block, I'll just sort through old demos I've recorded and go, 'Yeah, this is good.' "

Having recently relocated to New York, Newman joked that the move to the Big Apple would inspire "Billy Joel-esque, tense, urban songs like 'Summer in the City.'

"With each record I get more and more confident, but who knows? I wonder when I'm going to be one of those artists that becomes totally deluded and thinks it's their best album when it's actually their worst."

• The New Pornographers

Jim Jones' <I>Harlem: Diary of a Summer</I>
Photo: Koch Records

Jones' Diary: Jim issues Harlem: Diary of a Summer in multiple configs, including DualDisc form, with enhanced stereo and a 35-minute bonus DVD, plus additional videos. Tracks include: "Throw Back Muzic '86," "Speak in It" and "Tha Past" (featuring Dave Hollister).

2-Packed: Kurupt's Against the Grain brings back 2Pac on "My Homeboys (Back to Back)" and ushers in Roscoe and M.O.P. on "Jealousy." Other tracks include "Deep Dishes," "Anarchy '87" and "Can U Feel It" (featuring Potion).

Singing Along To Barney: Björk widens her ever-widening boundaries with the "Drawing Restraint 9" soundtrack, an abstract audio accompaniment to the film made by her longtime boyfriend, Matthew Barney. Tracks include "Ambergis March," "Vessel Shimenawa" and "Holographic Entrypoint."

Red Hot: The Bled's Found in the Flood, the Flaming Lips' "VOID: Video Overview in Deceleration" DVD, Leon Redbone's Live - October 26, 1992: The Olympia Theater, Paris, France, Chad VanGaalen's Infiniheart and Young Bleed's Rise Thru Da Ranks. Also sexy: the Big Screen's Left Coast Love Affair, the Lovemakers' Time of Romance and the New Pornographers' Twin Cinema.

Song Titles Of The Week:

"It's Not About Breaking Hearts, It's About Breaking Faces" (Bobaflex's Apologize for Nothing)

"540,000 Degrees Fahrenheit" (Fear Factory's Transgression)

Other Notables:

Hush's Bulletproof: Eminem, D12, Nate Dogg, Talib Kweli and, bizarrely, Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell, lend a hand on the Detroit rapper's debut, sprucing up a lineup fitted with "Real T.V." and "Woodpecker."

The various-artists DVDs "Burn to Shine: Chicago IL 09.13.2004" and "Spend an Evening With Saddle Creek": Ante up with Bright Eyes, the Faint and Rilo Kiley on the Saddle Creek set, or shine on with the Chicago-centric "Burn to Shine," which features live performances by Tortoise, Shellac and Wilco.

Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon's Sixty Six Steps: The guitarist and erstwhile Phish member get even more experimental on their second collabo, glancing over Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" with a Turkish banjo and Pete Seeger's "Living in the Country."

Chuck Leavell's Southscape and Dickey Betts & Great Southern's "Back Where It All Begins: Live at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" DVD: Rolling Stones pianist Leavell glosses over "Jessica," written by Allman Brother Dickey Betts, while Betts revisits that tune and a whole lot more on "Back Where It All Begins," a double disc recorded last year at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

New releases:

• Alycone - The Stars Are Real (System)
• American Princes - Little Spaces (Yep Roc)
• Amsterdam - The Sore Score (Aeria)
• Jasy Andrews - Little Girl (Versailles)
• Animosity - Empires (Black Market/ Metal Blade)
• August Born - August Born (Drag City)
• Bayside - Bayside (Victory)
• Beautiful Creatures - Deuce (Spitfire)
• Sarah Bettens - Scream (K's Choice singer; Hybrid)
• The Big Screen - Left Coast Love Affair (Undecided)
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl (RCA)
  
• The Bled - Found in the Flood (Vagrant)
  Buy Now: Found in the Flood (Vagrant)
• Björk - "Drawing Restraint 9" soundtrack (One Little Indian)
• Bobaflex - Apologize for Nothing (TVT)
• Boozoo Bajou - Dust My Broom (Studio K7)
• Broken Spindles - Inside/Absent (Saddle Creek)
• Bucho - Omit the Harsh (DIG)
• Cafe Soul Allstars - Love Pages (You Entertainment)
• Noam Chomsky - The Imperial Presidency: Sovereignty, Terror, and the "Second Superpower" (G7 Welcoming Committee)
• The Classic Struggle - Feel Like Hell (Metal Blade)
• Crazy Frog - Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits (Universal)
• Criteria - When We Break (Saddle Creek)
• Terry Cummings - Nothing Is What It Seems (Pyramid)
• Krishna Das - All One (live, features Def Leppard's Rick Allen plus a choir of 70 and an orchestra of 20; Triloka)
• Nob Dylan and His Nobsoletes - Positively 12 Stiff Dylans (Alternative Tentacles)
• El Michels Affair - Sounding Out the City (Fastlife)
• Every Time I Die - Gutter Phenomenon (Ferret)
  Buy Now: Gutter Phenomenon (Ferret)
• Fear Factory - Transgression (Calvin/ Liquid 8)
• Orenda Fink - Invisible Ones (one-half of Azure Ray; Saddle Creek)
• FJ & Living Souls - Ambient Africa (Eagle)
• Guy Forsyth - Love Songs: For & Against (Small & Nimble)
Creek)
• Nnenna Freelon - Blueprint of a Lady: Sketches of Billie Holliday (Concord)
• Friends of Dean Martinez - Live at Club 2 (Aero)
• Gabin - Mr. Freedom (Astralwerks)
• Richard Galliano - Ruby, My Dear (Dreyfus)
• The Get Quick - How the Story Goes (Rainbow Quartz)
• The Grates - The Ouch. The Touch. EP (Cherry Tree)
• Matthew Herbert - Plat du Jour (Accidental)
• Warren Hill - Pop Jazz (Pop Jazz)
• Hush - Bulletproof (Interscope)
• I Am Kloot - Gods and Monsters (Echo)
• I Wayne - Lava Ground (VP)
• Infusion - Six Feet Above Yesterday (Thrive)
• Jack's Mannequin - Everything in Transit (enhanced; Maverick)
• John Wilkes Booze - Telescopic Eyes Glace the Future Sick (Kill Rock Stars)
• Jim Jones - Harlem: Diary of a Summer (Koch)
  Buy Now: Harlem: Diary of a Summer (Koch)
  Read: "Jim Jones Goes 'Miami Vice' For New Clip"
• Josh Joplin - Jaywalker (Eleven Thirty)
• JT the Bigga Figga - Who Grind Like Us (Get Low)
• Judd & Maggie - Subjects (RCA)
• June - If You Speak Any Faster (Victory)
• Juvenile - Reality Check (UTP/Atlantic)
  Buy Now: Reality Check (UTP/Atlantic)
  Read: "Juvenile Gets Busy At The Holiday Inn; Making An Album>"
• Josh Kelley - Almost Honest (Hollywood)
• Kennedys - Half a Million Miles (Appleseed)
• Khanate - Capture & Release EP (Hydra Head)
• Steve Kimock Band - Eudemonic (Sci Fidelity)
• Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon - Sixty Six Steps (RCA)
• The Kronos Quartet and Asha Bhosle - You've Stolen My Heart: Songs From R.D. Burnham's Bollywood (RCA)
• Kurupt - Against the Grain (Death Row)
  Buy Now: Against the Grain (Death Row)
• Chuck Leavell - Southscape (Evergreen Arts)
• Lofty - In the Beginning (33rd Street)
• The Lost Patrol Band - The Lost Patrol Band (Burning Heart/ Epitaph)
• Lovemakers - Time of Romance (Cherry Tree/ Interscope)
• Lurker of Chalice - Lurker of Chalice (Southern Lord)
• Timo Maas - Pictures (Ultra)
• The Makers - Everybody Rise! (Kill Rock Stars)
• Masters at Work - The Kings of House (Studio K7)
• Delbert McClinton - Cost of Living (New West)
• Neal McCoy - That's Life (enhanced; 903)
• Hendrik Meurkens - Amazon River (Megaforce)
• Minus the Bear - Menos El Oso (Suicide Squeeze)
• Michael Martin Murphey - Storm Over the Rangelands: Cowboy Songs, Vol. 5 (Emergent/92e)
• Mossyrock - Zero to One Sessions (Nice & Smooth)
• Najee - My Point of View (Heads Up)
• New Buffalo - The Last Beautiful Day (Arts & Crafts)
• New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (Matador)
  Buy Now: Twin Cinema (Matador)
• Nural - Weight of the World (Hopeless)
• One Block Radius - Long Story Short (Avatar)
• Orange - Welcome to the World of ... Orange (Epitaph)
• Shane Owens - Let's Get on It (Rust)
• Ozomatli - Live at the Fillmore (with bonus DVD; Concord)
  Buy Now: Live at the Fillmorea (Concord)
• The Pale Pacific - Urgency (SideCho)
• Mike Park - North Hangook Falling (Sub City)
• Pitch Black [nz] - Ape to Angel (Waveform)
• Portastatic - Bright Ideas (Merge)
• Prurient - Black Vase (Load)
• Public Enemy featuring Paris- Rebirth of a Nation (Guerrilla Funk)
  Buy Now: Rebirth of a Nation (Guerrilla Funk)
• T. Raumschmiere - Blitzkrieg Pop (enhanced; Mute)
• Real McKenzies - 10,000 Shots (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Leon Redbone - Live - October 26, 1992: The Olympia Theater, Paris, France (Rounder)
• Amy Rigby - Little Fugitive (Signature)
• Robots in Disguise - Get Rid (Studio K7)
• Rogue Wave - 10:1 EP (Sub Pop)
• Rooftop Suicide Club - Always Like This (Stop Pop & Roll)
• Rupee - 1 on 1 (Atlantic)
• Sawyer Brown - Mission Temple Fireworks Stand (Curb)
• The Setup - The Pretense of Normality (GSR)
• Shark Soup - Fatlip Showbox (BYO)
• The Jason Sinay Band - The Jason Sinay Band (Tomato)
• Smash Mouth - All Star: The Smash Hits of Smash Mouth (Interscope)
  Buy Now: All Star: The Smash Hits of Smash Mouth (Interscope)
• Sons of Champlin - Hip Li'l Dreams (DIG)
• Spacehead - Live @ Hawkfest 2003 (United States Dist.)
• Stellastarr* - Harmonies for the Haunted (RCA)
• Tierney Sutton - I'm With the Band (Telarc)
• Swing Out Sister - Live (Shanachie)
• Syd Matters - Syd Matters (V2)
• Otis Taylor - Below the Fold (Telarc)
• Tenement Halls - Knitting Needles & Bicycle Bells (Merge)
• B.J. Thomas - Hooked on a Feeling - The Best Of (DualDisc release featuring new recordings of hits; Goldenlane)
• Tom & Joy - Antigua (Tommy Boy)
• Kevin Toney - 110 Degrees and Rising (Shanachie)
• Trick Pony - R.I.D.E. (Curb)
  Buy Now: R.I.D.E. (Curb)
• Turbonegro - Party Animals (Epitaph/ Burning Heart)
• Armin van Buuren - Shivers (Ultra)
• John Vanderslice - Pixel Revolt (Barsuk)
• Chad VanGaalen - Infiniheart (Sub Pop)
• Laura Viers - Year of Meteors (Nonesuch)
• Warlocks - Surgery (Mute)
• Jim Wilson - A Place in My Heart (Artemis)
• Ya' Boy - Rookie of the Year (SMC)
• YOB - The Unreal Never Lived (Metal Blade)
• Young Bleed - Rise Thru Da Ranks (West Coast Mafia)
• Yuns - Storyteller (Eastside)
• Joe Zawinul& The Zawinul Syndicate - Vienna Nights: Live at Joe Zawinul's Birdland (BirdJAM/BHM)
• Zox - The Wait (Armo)
• Various artists - "The Brothers Grimm" soundtrack (Milan)
• Various artists - Dimension Mix (Eenie Meenie)
• Various artists - "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" soundtrack (Shout! Factory)
• Various artists - "Four Brothers" soundtrack (Motown)
• Various artists - Live at Continental: Best of NYC, Vol. 2 (Continental NYC)
• Various artists - Timeless Soul Ballads (Sumday)
• Various artists - Tommy Boy Presents: Hip-Hop Roots (Tommy Boy)
• Various artists - "Undiscovered" soundtrack (Ashlee Simpson's in the film but not on the soundtrack; Lakeshore)

Notable reissues:

• Oren Ambarchi - Triste (original LP plus remixes and a poster; Southern Lord)
• Pat Boone - Glory Train: The Lost Sessions (Oak)
• John Entwistle - Rigor Mortis Sets In (remastered; Sanctuary)
• John Entwistle - Smash Your Head Against the Wall (remastered; Sanctuary)
• Gentle Giant - Playing the Fool: 35th Anniversary Addition (DRT)
• Charles Mingus - A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry (remastered; Shout! Factory)
• Roy Orbison - I Can't Stop Loving You (Sumday Entertainment)
  Buy Now: I Can't Stop Loving You (Sumday Entertainment)
• Jerry Garcia - The Jerry Garcia Collection Vol. 1: Legion of Mary (Rhino)
  Buy Now: The Jerry Garcia Collection Vol. 1: Legion of Mary (Rhino)
• Rise Against - The Unraveling (remastered and remixed with bonus tracks; Fat Wreck Chords)
• Rufio - Perhaps, I Suppose ... - Deluxe Edition (with five bonus original demos; The Militia Group)
• Yes - The Word Is Live (three discs of live recordings from 1970-1988; Rhino)

DVDs:

• Bad Manners - "Don't Knock the Bald Heads" (Music Video Distributors)
• Dickey Betts & Great Southern - "Back Where It All Begins: Live at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" (Red Distribution)
• Deep Purple - "Inside Deep Purple 1969-1976: An Independent Critical Review" (two DVDs and a book; Classic Rock Legends)
• Dizzy Gillespie - "Live in London" (Kultur)
• The English Beat - "In Concert at the Royal Festival Hall" (Music Video Distributors)
• Flaming Lips - "VOID: Video Overview in Deceleration" (Warner Bros.)
• Human League - "Live at the Dome" (Music Video Distributors)
• Tom Jones - "Hits" and "Duets" (Tango Entertainment)
• Willie Nelson & Friends - "Live and Kickin' " (Lost Highway)
• Orgy - "Trans Global Spectacle: 1997 to 2004" (D1/DLC)
• T. Rex - "Inside T. Rex 1974-1977" (Classic Rock Legends)
• Shinedown - "Live From the Inside" (Atlantic)
• Beanie Sigel - "The B. Coming of Beanie Sigel" (Universal)
• Johnny Thunders - "Eve of Destruction" (Recall)
• Various artists - "Burn to Shine: Chicago IL 09.13.2004" (Trixie)
• Various artists - "Spend an Evening With Saddle Creek" (Recall)

Coming attractions:

August 30:

• Death Cab for Cutie - Plans (Atlantic)
  Read: "Death Cab For Cutie Living Up To The 'Death' Part On Next LP"
• Rihanna - Music of the Sun (Def Jam)
• Kanye West - Late Registration (Def Jam)
  Read: " 'Can He Do It Again?' -- Kanye West Says New LP Backs Up His Bragging"

September 6:

• 50 Cent - The Massacre (re-release; Interscope)
• Sarah McLachlan - Sarah McLachlan in Bloom (remix album; Arista)
• The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang (Virgin)
  Read: "Rolling Stones Announce World Tour, Unveil New Song"

September 13:

• David Gray - Life in Slow Motion (RCA)
• The Juliana Theory - Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat (Paper Fist/Abacus)
• Switchfoot - Nothing Is Sound (Columbia)
  Read: "Switchfoot Look Like California Raisins After Video Shoot"

• Jim Jones
• Björk
• Kurupt
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• Every Time I Die

Foxy Brown (file)
Photo: Thos Robinson

Although Jacki-O told MTV News that she came to blows with Foxy Brown at Miami's Circle House Studio on April 25, Foxy told Miami's 99 Jamz radio station that the scuffle never happened. Jacki-O has since released a dis track called "TKO" aimed at the Brooklyn, New York, MC, which includes such lines as "Mutha----a Fox, wack bitch, I'm a hunter/ Set fire to many tracks and bitch, you're just a runner/ I didn't wanna deck ya, but how your man let ya/ Come to 305 and run up on a chin checka." ...

The producers behind "Ray" are developing a Broadway musical based on the life of Ray Charles. The play will not involve Jamie Foxx or "Ray" director Taylor Hackford. ... Fugees rapper Pras will release his second solo album, Win, Lose or Draw, in June. Filmmaker Rob Minkoff ("The Lion King," "Stuart Little") is making his music video directorial debut with the first single, "Haven't Found," a remake of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Meanwhile, Pras' Guerrilla Entertainment is in pre-production on a film adaptation of Robert Beck's "Iceberg Slim." ...

Ghostface and Cameron Douglas, Michael Douglas' son, are co-starring in a television pilot called "Hollyhood." The show, currently being shopped around, marries the worlds of hip-hop and house music and juxtaposes ghetto glamour with Hollywood glitz. The program will include guest interviews, performances, comedy sketches and original songs from both Ghost and Cameron. The show is being produced by Jen Gatien, daughter of Peter Gatien, the fallen New York '90s club king who once owned Limelight and Tunnel. ... A week after Infinity Radio announced that it would turn a terrestrial San Francisco station over to an all-podcast format, satellite radio broadcaster Sirius has announced its own podcasting deal. The #2 satellite network has tapped the "father of podcasting," former MTV VJ Adam Curry, to produce a daily four-hour roundup of the best podcasts in the world. The program, "PodShow," will debut on May 13. ...

Hard rockin' upstate New York quintet Gizmachi — the first signing to M. Shawn Crahan's Sanctuary Records imprint, Big Orange Clown (you know, because Crahan is Clown in Slipknot) — have been added to the second-stage lineup for this summer's Ozzfest. ... Canadian pop supergroup the New Pornographers have completed their third album, Twin Cinema, and have posted an MP3 of the title track on Matadorrecords.com. The group will release the album on August 23. It features 14 tracks, with names like "The Bleeding Heart Show," "Sing Me Spanish Techno" and "Falling Through Your Clothes." The Pornographers have also announced a handful of dates in support of Twin Cinema, which kick off June 23 in Hoboken, New Jersey. ...

British rapper Dizzee Rascal has launched his own record company, Dirtee Stank Records. Dizzee's already signed Leicester, England, rap trio Klass A to the label. The group's been "getting busy in the Dirtee Stank studios," according to Rascal's Web site. Klass A have been likened to N.W.A. ... Beastie Boys keyboardist Money Mark, DJ Logic and rocker Edgar Winter are among the acts slated to perform at Moogfest, the annual celebration of inventor Robert Moog's famous synthesizer. The event will be held May 31 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York. ...

Nellie McKay has collaborated with Cyndi Lauper on a song called "Bee Charmer" for McKay's next album, due in September. Meanwhile, McKay has landed her first movie role, in "Safety Glass," co-starring Mandy Moore, Amanda Peet and Michelle Williams. ...

05.05.2005

Nelly's 4Sho4Kids Foundation joined forces with Feed the Children on Monday (May 2) in St. Louis to help distribute three semi-tractor-trailer trucks' worth of food and supplies. Murphy Lee, Big Gipp, the St. Louis Rams' Marshall Faulk and ousted "American Idol" finalist Nikko Smith turned out to help the group, whose efforts will aid 1,200 families. ...

Justin Timberlake may have announced plans to join girlfriend Cameron Diaz and funny guy Mike Myers in "Shrek 3," but he's keeping mum on rumors that in real life he plans to join her at the altar. A report out of the U.K. claims the couple booked Nice, France's tony Grand-Hotel Du Cap-Ferrat for a secret wedding ceremony this coming weekend. Timberlake's publicist said he wouldn't comment on his client's personal life and that he was not aware of any plans for the singer to travel to France. ...

In what was likely the prosecution's second-to-last day of presenting its case in the Michael Jackson molestation trial, prosecutor Mag Nicola on Monday showed jurors phone records documenting dozens of phone calls made between the singer's staff and the accuser's mother around the time of Martin Bashir's damaging documentary. Prosecutors are expected to say in closing arguments that the calls show a frantic effort to cover up the damage done by "Living With Michael Jackson." Detective Robert Bonner said during cross-examination, however, that the calls are not traceable to Jackson himself. Also on Monday, a bank manager testified that Marc Schaffel, alleged to be one of the conspirators working on damage control, cashed checks from the singer in April 2003 for $1 million and $500,000. Schaffel has said he and Jackson had other business. ...

Common recently recorded a remix of his hit single "The Corner," according to his publicist, with Scarface and Mos Def. ... Linkin Park have a bone to pick with their record label, Warner Bros. In a statement issued Monday by the band's management company, Linkin Park claim the Warner Music Group, which last week announced plans to go public, stands to earn "more than $750 million" in the wake of its IPO, and that "only about $7 million" of that cash will be put toward Warner's operations, with the artists receiving nothing. The statement goes on to read that Linkin Park are concerned that "WMG's diminished resources will leave it unable to compete in today's global music marketplace," and as a result, they want out of their contract. But Warner disagrees with the band's mathematics, releasing a statement that reads, "While Linkin Park's talent is without question, the band's management is using fictitious numbers and making baseless charges and inflammatory threats in what is clearly a negotiating tactic." Linkin Park's follow-up to 2003's Meteora was scheduled to hit stores in spring 2006. No word on how this spat will affect those plans. ...

Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson and Fantasia are among the ladies featured on the upcoming Totally Hits 2005, due May 17. Missy Elliott guests twice by virtue of her protégés Ciara ("1,2 Step") and Tweet ("Turn Da Lights Off"), while Fat Joe, T.I., Trick Daddy and Fabolous round out the rap contingent. ... Mary J. Blige, Ludacris and Kanye West are all participating in the inaugural Vibe MusicFest. The festival will take place June 10-12 at Atlanta's Georgia Dome. T.I., Faith Evans and Big Boi of Outkast will also be on hand. ...

System of a Down are smack-dab in the middle of their "guerrilla" concert series — where they've been staging shows that are announced just days before the band arrives in town, with tickets usually only on sale at venue box offices — and the latest guerrilla date is scheduled for Tuesday in Chicago. A spokesperson for System confirms there will be a handful of new dates to be announced over the coming days. The band is also scheduled to play "Saturday Night Live" this weekend, with host Johnny Knoxville. ... According to their Web site, the Roots are augmenting their Gymnasium Invasion Tour. Floetry will join the group for a string of dates running from May 13 in Baltimore to June 15 in San Francisco. ...

On August 16, heavy-metal dinosaurs Stryper (an acronym for "Salvation Through Redemption Yielding Peace Encouragement and Righteousness"), the Christian rockers with an affinity for yellow-and-black spandex, will release Reborn, their first batch of new studio material since 1990's Against the Law. Original Stryper members Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (lead guitar) and Robert Sweet (drums) will be joined by new bassist Tracy Ferrie and are set to embark on a North American tour in support of the record this fall. Big3 Records also plans to release a live DVD by year's end. ... Social Distortion will hit the road on May 12 with punk upstarts Lost City Angels for a 15-city club run, according to Social D's Web site. The punk-rock vets will kick things off in Johnson City, New York, and hit Baltimore; Albany, New York; New Haven, Connecticut; Detroit; and Providence, Rhode Island, before taking the stage at the UC Davis Recreational Hall in Davis, California, on June 8. ...

Built to Spill have expanded their U.S. tour. Though the jammy beard-rockers won't release the follow-up to 2001's Ancient Melodies of the Future until the fall, the band will road-test its new songs starting Wednesday in Minneapolis. The 24-date tour will end — sort of — on May 29 in Salt Lake City. The group will go back to the studio and then head out for one last date, July 9 in Anaheim, California. ... When you think of former Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy, what comes to mind? Creepy cemeteries? Foggy London streets? Patchouli? How about sunny Lake Buena Vista, Florida? Because on May 12, that's where Murphy is kicking off his U.S. tour in support of his upcoming album, Unshattered. The goth god will hit up 12 cities on the tour, which concludes on May 28 in Anaheim, California. ...

• Foxy Brown
• The New Pornographers
• Ghostface Killah
• Jacki-O

Ja Rule and Charli Baltimore are setting out to be the hip-hop version of Mickey and Mallory — the clip for Ja's "Down Ass Chick," featuring Charli B-more, will be a takeoff of Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers," according to a source close to Ja. Over the course of the three-day shoot, which begins February 22 in L.A., he'll also film the remix video with Baltimore, Ashanti and Ashanti, according to Def Jam; Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti will direct both. ... If you're dreaming of becoming a professional DJ, it's time to take your skills out of the bedroom and into the classroom. For the next two months in New York City, celebrity DJs including Jam Master Jay, Kuttin' Kandi, Mista Sinista and Evil Dee will lead courses in disciplines such as battle, mixtape and performance (visit www.scratch.com for more information). ...

Indie music festival Noise Pop 2002 takes place next week (February 26-March 3) in San Francisco with performances by the Dismemberment Plan, New Pornographers and Big Star, among others, and to commemorate its decade-long tenure, a double-disc Ten Years of Noise Pop will be available locally and through the festival's Web site (www.noisepop.com). A portion of the proceeds from the album, which features cuts from past performers including Guided by Voices, the Flaming Lips and Creeper Lagoon, benefits the Popular Noise Foundation (www.popularnoise.org), a nonprofit charity that provides aid to the Bay Area music scene. ... Dixie Chick Natalie Maines will appear in the first celebrity edition of the TLC series "Trading Spaces," according to The Associated Press. Maines will race to redecorate a room in her mother's home (and vice versa) in 48 hours for $1,000 or less in an episode airing April 20. ...

P. Diddy, Rah Digga and female R&B quartet LovHer were among the guests who came out to support Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella family at a Roc-A-Wear fashion show in New York Thursday night. Jay and company partied up at the Metropolitan Pavilion while the men's and women's fall 2002 lines were introduced. ... "Rush Hour" star Chris Tucker will host the 33rd annual NAACP Image Awards on February 23 at the Universal Amphitheater. The ceremony, scheduled to air March 1 on Fox, will feature music-world appearances by Alicia Keys, India.Arie and the Isley Brothers as well as Steve Harvey, the Rock, Jamie Foxx and Angela Bassett. ...

There's nothing funny about the popular appeal of crossover heavyweight Jennifer Lopez — she'll be crowned Female Star of the Year by the film industry's power elite at the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas. She and previously announced Male Star of the Year Will Smith will be honored at a banquet next month in recognition of their drawing power at the box office. ... The soundtrack for Martin Scorsese's "The Last Waltz" — a filmed concert by the Band which featured a cavalcade of special guests including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Muddy Waters — will be remixed and released with bonus tracks on April 16. The movie will be released on DVD May 7. ...

Liverpool's arty synth-poppers Clinic will support their second album, Walking With Thee (due February 26), with a three-week Stateside jaunt that begins March 13 in Atlanta. The tour includes a showcase at music-biz conference South by Southwest on March 15. ... El Meswy, Spain's best-selling hip-hop artist, was in the studio recently recording Se Habla Español, his follow-up to 2000's Nadie. M-1 and Stic.man of Dead Prez were on hand to lend lyrical support to the as-yet-untitled project. ...

My Bloody Valentine founder Kevin Shields has recorded "Outro," an instrumental, for the compilation album You Don't Need Darkness to Do What You Think Is Right, which comes out April 1. Other artists who will appear on the LP include the Pastels, Future Pilot AKA and Jesus and Mary Chain partners Jim and William Reid recording as Sister Vanilla. ... Sting, Elton John, James Taylor and Ravi Shankar comprise the first wave of artists announced to perform at the Police-man's annual Rainforest Foundation Benefit Concert, which will take place at New York's Carnegie Hall on April 13. ...

02.15.02

Post-adolescent punks Sum41 are expected to begin working on the follow-up to last year's All Killer No Filler in late April, after their Tour of the Rising Sum sets in Texas on April 21, according to their publicist. The album is expected to surface late this year or early 2003. ... Eve, who's currently in Chicago filming "Barbershop" with Ice Cube, is ready to devote some time to her day job. Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti and his beatmaking cohort, 7, said they're gearing to go in the studio with Ruff Ryders' first lady at the end of the month. ... Nickelback, Default and Injected will head out on the spring 2002 incarnation of MTV's Campus Invasion Tour. An itinerary has yet to be announced. ...

Megaproducer Megahertz (P. Diddy, R. Kelly & Jay-Z, Nas) just completed a remix with P.O.D. of the band's "Youth of the Nation," the producer's rep said. ... FenixTX have dropped off the SnoCore Rock Tour due to scheduling conflicts, according to MCA Records. They have been replaced by Apex Theory. ... Face to Face will launch a national tour in April to support their new album How to Ruin Everything, which hits stores April 9 through Vagrant Records. The jaunt starts in Salt Lake City on April 4 and runs through May 3 in Scottsdale, Arizona. ... Industrial icons Ministry will release Sphinctour, a live album recorded during their 1996 tour, on March 19. The 11-track LP, which had been a widely circulated bootleg, includes harrowing cuts such as "Psalm 69," "Filth Pig" and "Thieves" and can be previewed at ministry.advancelisten.com. ...

Innovative prog-rocker Peter Gabriel is apparently "down wit' OPP" — he hooked up with Jersey hip-hoppers Naughty by Nature on a track called "Fight Back" for the group's guest-filled April 23 release, Iicons. ... Speaking of Naughty, the group's Treach was among the celebrities who hit New York hotspot Spa on Tuesday night to support Joi (Lucy Pearl), who performed songs off her next LP, Star Kitty's Revenge. The Goodie Mob's Cee-Lo (bandmate of Joi's husband, Big Gipp) and Kelis were also in attendance (click for photos from the performance). ...

Fuel have issued a cease and desist order to Toyota, corporate sponsors of the Fuel the Music Tour, demanding Toyota stop using that title for the rock outing. The band, who says it has fought to make a name for itself and wants it protected, was alerted after confused fans began emailing its Web site inquiring about the outing because a magazine ran an ad for the event on the same page as a picture of the group, who are not involved. ... A London High Court judge has ruled that Robbie Williams will have to pay 25 percent of the royalties from his "Jesus in a Camper Van" — around $75,000 — to Woody Guthrie's publisher, Ludlow Music. Williams, who admitted to parodying Guthrie's "I Am the Way" on the track, will also have to pick up Ludlow's legal fees, which amount to another $75,000.

• Ja Rule
• Charli Baltimore
• Ashanti
• Jam Master Jay
• The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers
Photo: Shannon Oksanen

AUSTIN, Texas — Power-pop sextet the New Pornographers got a little Kink-y Friday night during their South by Southwest showcase at La Zona Rosa.

After playing a string of songs from their debut album, Mass Romantic, the group surprised the audience by bringing up conference keynote speaker Ray Davies, the Kinks' frontman, and launching into his legendary band's "Starstruck." The onstage collaboration with Davies seemed fitting for a project that is collaborative in nature: The New Pornographers are the brainchild of songwriters Carl Newman, also the force behind Zumpano, and Dan Bejar (Destroyer), but are most notable for the vocals of indie-rock/country chanteuse Neko Case. Members of the Evaporators and Limblifter round out the lineup, and so far, the combination has been magic — Mass Romantic, released last year, took home the honor for Best Alternative Album at last month's Juno Awards, Canada's equivalent to the Grammys. At Friday's show, the group — which got its name from evangelist Jimmy Swaggart's reference to rock as "the new pornography" — opened with "The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism." The uptempo pop number warmed up the crowd for a show of musically similar songs, full of '70s and '80s pop references and described as Cheap Trick mixed with Gary Numan.

Case sent congratulations from the stage to the band's keyboardist Blaine Thurier, who won Best Narrative for his indie movie "Low Self-Esteem Girl" at South by Southwest's film festival. Thurier wrote and directed the film, a dramedy about a girl on a quest for confidence. The band went on to play other songs from Mass Romantic, including the title track and "Mystery Hours," but chose not to do any tunes from their numerous other bands. A little later in the evening the Manchester peppy pop band Brassy took the stage. Featuring the rapping/singing/cheerleading of Muffin Spencer, sister of Jon Spencer of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Brassy are the kind of band you can't stop yourself from dancing to. They have very simple lyrics and beats, mostly regarding how much cooler they are than every other band, but put on an interesting stage show.

Because each of their songs is an average of two beat-packed minutes, Brassy were able to work in all 14 songs and three interludes from Got It Made into their hour-long set. Highlights included "Work It Out," Spencer going solo on "No Competition" and "B.R.A.S.S.Y." In case the crowd didn't know, Spencer yelled from the stage that Brassy "stole the show," "rocked the house" and "tore the roof off this f---er." The only thing missing was breakdancing.

Brassy closed out the evening chanting about themselves and making the kids in La Zona Rosa dance uncontrollably — all in all, a successful show.

• The New Pornographers
• Brassy

Jurassic 5
Photo: Interscope

When the electronica revolution hit Austin, Texas' South By Southwest festival four years ago, it was hard to picture how anonymous DJ culture was going to coexist with four nights of indie rock, Americana and roots music.

But now, even though the electronica invasion has faded somewhat from public consciousness, you're almost as likely to see a rapper or button-pushing mixer during the fest as you are a standup bass player or string-tie-wearin' Tex-Mex combo.

When the 14th annual music gathering kicks off Wednesday, it will have the usual wide variety of acts — 1,000 total. But as far as creative director Brent Grulke is concerned, at this point beats and boots are just business as usual in this music Mecca.

"The interaction between electronic music and hip-hop now represents a really significant part of the festival in a way that was virtually nonexistent a few years ago," said Grulke, who has been involved with the festival every year of its existence.

Part music-industry confab, part band showcase and all about schmoozing, SXSW is the kind of place where you can see ya'llternative singer/songwriter Sally Timms playing just a few doors down from ghetto tech star DJ Assault.

Its 8,000-plus registered attendees will descend on the college town and state capital to stumble from venue to venue, drink beer, eat barbecue and check out panels on such topics as, "How Do You Publicize a Mike Watt in a Britney Spears World?" "It's not just the numbers [of hip-hop groups] involved," Grulke said. "We now have very established talent that performs, we have two of our largest venues, Stubb's and the Austin Music Hall, with entire nights dedicated to hip-hop this year." Among the big names on tap for this year are twangy singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams, who will debut some of the material from her upcoming album, Broken Butterflies, (due in the spring) and the Black Crowes, in town to preview songs from their upcoming album, Lions (May 8).

Also performing are hip-hoppers Jurassic 5, the Liks and Black Eyed Peas; local rockers Fastball; experimental turntablist DJ Spooky; and a rare show from ex-Tina Turner hubby Ike Turner with his Ike Turner Revue.

Psychedelic popster Robyn Hitchcock will head up a reunited version of his late-'70s psych-pop band the Soft Boys, and Juliana Hatfield will take the stage for a reunion with her mid-'80s Boston pop rock group the Blake Babies.

Other acts performing on more than 40 stages include bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs, Los Angeles rock 'n' soul act the Bellrays, arty poppers the New Pornographers, Japanese pop punkers Ex-Girl, Canadian live house band the New Deal, turntablists X-ecutioners, world beat star Thomas Mapfumo, Latin all-star band Los Super Seven and Los Angeles punk rockers Texas Terri & the Stiff Ones.

Grulke said the festival also will feature one of the biggest slates to date of world music acts. Joining such international rock bands as Aterciopelados (Colombia), Coccoon Pit (Japan), the Gift (Portugal) and Yao (China) will be more than 70 other acts spanning the globe, including Moroccan reggae group Sawt el Atlas, world beat singer Henri Dikongue (Cameroon), Hungary's DJ Pozsi and hip-hoppers Pepe Deluxe (Finland).

SXSW's star-making mythos has been overstated in the past, but it is a good opportunity for bands to get in front of what is arguably one of the biggest concentrations of U.S. music media. No pressure, right? Just imagine if it was among your first-ever U.S. performances. That's the case for English hip-hop/punk group Brassy, who will have played just five shows in this country before unleashing their Digital-Hardcore-meets-Luscious-Jackson sound on the media elite Friday night.

"I don't know anything about it," said lead singer/guitarist Muffin Spencer, 32, an expat American who said she left the U.S. 14 years ago because she thought British bands were more interesting. "We met with our former publishing company and there was a little old man there who said it [SXSW] is a place to go and get smashed on tequila, which sounds fine." Spencer, younger sister of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion leader Jon Spencer, said she thinks the festival will be a good chance for critics who might have missed the recent U.S. release of the band's full-length debut, Got It Made, to check out their energetic live show. The 17-track album features such break-beat pop as "Work It Out" and the band's electro-punk anthem "No Competition." Grulke said one thing that won't be as prominent in the festival's sprawling trade-show area this year is the proliferation of dot-com booths that sprung up like weeds last year. "A lot of those companies that didn't know what their business agendas were are gone," Grulke said.

• Jurassic 5
• DJ Assault
• The Mekons
• Lucinda Williams
• The Black Crowes

Nelly Furtado
Photo: Eric Johnson

Nelly Furtado and Barenaked Ladies were the big winners at the Juno Awards Sunday night, with the "I'm Like a Bird" singer winning four awards and the quirky pop-rockers taking home three.

"I'm Like a Bird" won Best Single, while Furtado won Best New Solo Artist, Best Songwriter and a share of the Best Producer award at Canada's version of the Grammys, according to the Toronto Sun. Furtado's debut, Whoa, Nelly!, has been slowly climbing the Billboard 200 albums chart since its release in October.

Barenaked Ladies won both Best Album and Best Pop Album for Maroon, which spawned the hit "Pinch Me." The band also won Best Group.

The Tragically Hip, which have been one of Canada's biggest-selling groups despite their inability to crack the U.S. market, won Best Rock Album for Music@Work, while Neil Young scored the Best Male Artist award. Singer/songwriter Jann Arden won the award for Best Female Artist.

The New Pornographers — a power-pop group including country singer Neko Case and Zumpano singer/guitarist Carl Newman — picked up Best Alternative Album for Mass Romantic, while Eminem beat out 'NSYNC for Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic) for The Marshall Mathers LP (see "New Pornographers Searching For Salvation On Mass Romantic").

Barenaked Ladies joined Arden, singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer and country singer Terri Clark in a tribute to politically outspoken folk-rocker Bruce Cockburn, who was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

• Nelly Furtado
• Barenaked Ladies
• Eminem
• Neil Young
• The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers
Photo: Shannon Oksanen

Country singer/songwriter Neko Case owns one of the more creative minds in the New Pornographers — a pop group of sorts, comprising mostly Canadian artists, who launch a 10-date tour Friday (February 16) with Midwest, East Coast and Canadian stops.

But for the band's debut album, Mass Romantic, Case said she was eager to turn off her creative tap and simply belt out what her friends asked her to.

"I just went into it very open-mindedly," said Case — who last year released her own acclaimed Furnace Room Lullaby — from her home in Chicago. "I was really excited to do it that way. Just to have somebody be my Svengali and go, 'All right young lady: Sing like a Germanic space babe from 1981.' " "Germanic space babe" may not be the first thing that comes to mind with the songs on the album, unless that suggests ultra-melodic, richly produced power pop.

Mass Romantic, which has been steadily finding an audience since its quiet release in November, cascades with sing-along choruses, reams of backing vocals and off-kilter keyboards.

Case's fellow Pornographers include fellow singers, songwriters, guitarists and keyboard players Carl Newman (Zumpano) and Dan Bejar (Destroyer), bassist and producer John Collins (Thee Evaporators), keyboardist and filmmaker Blaine Thurier (Thee Evaporators) and drummers Kurt Dahle (Limblifter) and Fisher Rose. The bunch started laying down tracks informally several years ago, without knowing at the time they'd eventually have enough for an album.

"The whole record is about some vague kind of search for salvation, I suppose," Newman said recently from Vancouver, British Columbia, where most of the players are based. "It's about drugs and alcohol. Staying up all night. Looking for answers in strange places." Newman peppered the songs with "yeah"s, "ya know"s and "man"s to create a party-rock vibe, but the lyrics between are more elliptical. "Mass Romantic," powered by a snappy guitar riff, closes out on a vague refrain about "this boy's life under the electrical lights." Buried in the middle of the song is the title character, a Foster Grant-wearing, books-on-tape-listening fool "speaking on the themes of stolen virtue missing from the radio." "In a way, maybe that line's about the record itself," Newman said. "I guess good songs are missing from the radio, in my opinion. Also, once again I come back to it: [It's] a good combination of vowels and consonants. I'm really into the sounds of words before the meaning. To me that's the most important part." The album is just one of numerous recent projects for Case, who launched her music career as drummer for the punk band Maow. At the same time the New Pornographers disc was released, she returned to her drumming roots to put out The Other Women by the Corn Sisters, her country duo with guitarist/singer Carolyn Mark. Meanwhile, she just finished recording an album of her own work with Giant Sand and Calexico.

While Case sings lead on several of the New Pornographers' tracks, she splits her time onstage between the spotlight and her role on backup vocals. The band is touring the United States and Canada through the end of February.

Singing a quarter of the band's four-part harmonies "requires a lot of presence of mind, so I have to be careful," she said. "And I also play tambourine, which I vowed I would never do. When you're young and in a band, you're like, 'I'm not gonna be the guitar player's girlfriend holding that tambourine. Gross. I'm gonna play the drums.' " On the Beach Boys-y "Body Says No" Case and the band weave verses about aliens, history and psychedelia among the soaring chorus of "Man, can you believe/ She didn't need me — / Anymore than I need needed her, too? "The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism," a song as catchy as a tune from a Broadway musical, pits a jaunty pop melody against lyrics about a guy in "salvation holdout central" refusing help for his drinking.

Not that he necessarily needs it, Newman said.

"I didn't think anybody had ever written a song that really captured the joy of being really smashed," he said. "I think there's a reason people become alcoholics, so I thought I'd show the other side of the coin. It's not all just sadness. It's also fun. Some people think it's a ridiculous subject matter for a bouncy pop song, but not to me, really." New Pornographers tour dates, from the band's publicists:

• 2/16 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
• 2/17 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
• 2/18 - Philadelphia, PA @ UpStage
• 2/19 - New York, NY @ Brownies
• 2/20 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs
• 2/21 - Ottawa, ON @ Babylon
• 2/22 - Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Music Hall
• 2/23 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
• 2/24 - London, ON @ Call the Office
• 2/25, Chicago IL @ The Hideout

• The New Pornographers
• Neko Case

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Killers, Raconteurs And More At The Virgin Festival 09.23.2006

• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Raconteurs
• The Killers
• The Flaming Lips
• The Who