NOFX's El Hefe at the 2006 Vans Warped Tour
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

For years, the biggest knock on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been its unwillingness to recognize the contributions of artists that fall outside the standard definition of, well, "rock and roll."

In recent years, the Hall has taken steps to rectify the problem. The list of 2006 inductees included punk pioneers the Sex Pistols and Blondie, proto-metallers Black Sabbath and forward-thinking jazznick Miles Davis (see "Metallica Thud, Blondie Feud At Rock Hall Of Fame Ceremony"). And now an even more unlikely group of artists will be allowed inside the hallowed Hall: a bunch of sweat-stained and sunburned punks — or, more specifically, their guitars, Converse All Stars and hairspray.

Starting in January, an exhibit honoring Warped Tour — the longest-running touring rock festival and summertime celebration of piercings, Manic Panic and all types of punk rock — will display gear, clothing and various ephemera donated by the hundreds of artists that have graced Warped's many stages over the years.

"It's a great honor for the Hall to recognize the success of Warped, and I know it's a special thing for a lot of the bands," Warped founder Kevin Lyman told MTV News. "So many of them have donated their personal gear, because they realize how great this is. A lot of them have kids now, and so they looked at it like, 'Well, I don't know if I'll ever get into the Hall, but now at least my guitar will.' "

New-school acts like My Chemical Romance, New Found Glory and Gym Class Heroes all contributed items, as did a host of punk stalwarts, including NOFX, the Dropkick Murphys and the Bouncing Souls. And in keeping with the spirit of the tour, the list of donated items is particularly punk — from the Murphys' bagpipes and Anti-Flag's sneakers to a customized Millencolin beer bong.

"When we first reached out to Kevin about making this exhibit happen, we wanted to recognize the significant contributions Warped has made to the state of rock and roll," Todd Mesek, a spokesperson for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, told MTV News. "We wanted to explore just what the fest means and how it has developed so many artists. And so we set out to collect as many artifacts as we could from the past 12 years."

The Warped exhibit is scheduled to open sometime in late January at the Rock Hall's permanent home in Cleveland, and Lyman told MTV News that he's in the early stages of planning a show to coincide with the opening (the Used and Paramore are already on board to play, he said). And when the exhibit wraps — which should be sometime in June — the Hall plans to seal all the donated items in a special time capsule, which will be reopened in 25 years.

(Click here for a look at what goes on behind the scenes at the summer's craziest punk-rock circus.)

• Warped Tour 2006 Photos

• My Chemical Romance
• New Found Glory
• Gym Class Heroes
• NOFX
• Dropkick Murphys

NOFX's Fat Mike at Warped Tour in Uniondale, New York, on Saturday
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

For most bands, landing a coveted slot on the Warped Tour is like finding a golden ticket. But this year, bands have been dropping off the annual summer tour's 11th installment like flies.

From First to Last bolted just three weeks into the festival so frontman Sonny Moore could undergo surgery to remove a nodule on his vocal cords (see "From First To Last Singer Dispels More Rumors, Reveals Why Band Left Warped").

Then, Gatsby's American Dream dropped out. "There's no juicy gossip to report, we just need a break to be with our families at this time," the band said in a statement.

Next, it was Christian-leaning rockers Underoath, who bailed late in July, saying they needed to resolve some internal issues. "We're deeply frustrated and sorry for any inconvenience this has caused," the band said in a statement. "We felt it necessary to take some immediate time to focus on our friendship, as that's more important than risking it for the sake of touring at this time."

However, many have noted that the band was on the receiving end of a persistent string of gibes from NOFX frontman Fat Mike. Underoath did not grant MTV News' requests for an interview.

Earlier this week, Mewithoutyou announced that they, too, were leaving Warped, citing much-needed tour-bus repairs — the bandmembers, who bring their families on tour, travel in a special vegetable-oil-fueled bus (see "Mewithoutyou: Not Your Average Christian, Vegetable-Oil-Fueled, Flower-Flinging Rockers") — as well as frontman Aaron Weiss' lingering throat malaise.

"No bus, no touring — pretty simple math," they reasoned in a statement. The band's manager told MTV News that the band was playing on the SmartPunk stage (for which acts are not paid) and, after the bus issues, simply couldn't afford to continue the tour.

And then there were Spitalfield, who on Wednesday — with just five dates remaining before Warped '06's Sunday finale in Montreal — dropped out as well. Frontman Mark Rose told MTV News that guitarist Dan Lowder will be leaving the band in the fall.

"With our new record slated for an October 3 release, we were forced to face [replacing Lowder] right when the record came out or canceling a string of shows to get home and begin rehearsing with a fill-in guitar player," he said. The band chose the latter option.

"Spitalfield have been trying to get on the Warped Tour for four years," he added. "It's really disappointing to not be able to finish the dates on such a high-profile tour."

Later that day, gypsy-punk act Gogol Bordello dropped off, citing drummer Eliot Ferguson's need to seek medical treatment for cellulitis in his arm.

Those are all valid reasons for why Warped has had more bands drop out this year than in any other during its 11-year history.

Yet members of some bands say there is definitely a higher level of tension on this year's trek. While some blame the summer's sweltering temperatures and the pressures of spending two long, grueling months on the road, others say there's an old-punks-vs.-new-punks battle that has resulted in tension between bands.

Fat Mike, who has spent eight of the last 11 summers on Warped with both NOFX and cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, says the tension is due to all of the above.

"The thing is, a lot of bands sign up for this, and they have no idea what it's about, and how difficult it is if you're a smaller band," he said. "If you have to do this tour in a van, it's really, really difficult. Our whole goal on this tour is to have as much fun as we possibly can — that's what it's all about, so if you can [accomplish] that, it's a really great tour.

"A lot of bands are here to further their careers," he continued, "and that's not going to happen. You think a band goes on the Warped Tour and suddenly they get big? It's going to happen to somebody, but it doesn't make your career. There are 100 bands on the tour — with so many choices, the only people who are going to watch you are the people who [already] like you."

He went on to say that attitudes definitely have played a role. "From First to Last came on the tour like total rock stars, and everyone alienated them," he said. "And they were gone in a week or two."

Mike also admits that his constant mocking of Underoath got to them, but he doesn't think it was a reason for them to pull out of Warped. He attended one of the band's Bible-study sessions as a joke but claims he was nothing if not respectful.

"I didn't help their cause at all, but I wasn't the main reason either," he said. "They're a weird band. I was going to go after them as soon as I found out they were on the tour."

The no-longer-so-fat Mike also says he witnessed several of the younger bands on the tour copping what he called "rock star" attitudes because "they have a hit record that sells a few hundred thousand copies and they think everyone's there to see them. The older bands, we really don't care. We're just happy to still be around."

Thursday's Geoff Rickly, who is about to finish his third Warped, says the friction largely amounts to a battle between the old school and new school.

"The number of younger bands is much higher, and they seem to think they're the sh-- and all the older bands are has-beens or whatever," he explained. "I think there's an attitude of entitlement. Like, 'All these old bands don't even sell the amount of records we sell' and 'We should maybe be getting better slots' and 'We're the new sh--.' I kind of get that attitude from some of the younger bands, and that's too bad, I think. They don't even realize that when a band works hard for 10 years, there's a reason why they get respect. Just because you write a few pop songs and maybe get on the radio, you're not necessarily given the world."

While he says he's noticed tension between bands on every tour Thursday have ever done, the strain between some of this year's Warped bands is much more intense.

"I think there's, like, two sides to the tour, and those sides are tense with each other," he said. "There are the young, scream-y bands and the old punk-rock bands, and there are only a few bands that can float through both worlds, like us and Rise Against and Anti-Flag. I think, in general, the old guys are like, 'Dude, all these young punks think they know everything,' and all the young bands are like, 'Dude, all these old guys, all they care about is themselves, and they don't want to support anything new.' Each of them has a little bit of truth, and it's also a little bit overblown in their own heads. It just makes it a little tenser than it needs to be, I guess.

"There's been a lot of drama on the tour this year," he added. "The Warped Tour is just a pressure cooker because it's hot and long and seems like it never ends — it's 50 shows in 60 days. I think it pushes bands to a point that they're not quite ready to be at."

Some of that drama took place between Less Than Jake and Every Time I Die, after the long-running ska band mocked the screaming singing style of ETID's Keith Buckley — in ETID's hometown of Buffalo, New York, no less. Buckley responded by calling the band "washed-up."

"It's not going to stress me out," Buckley said. "I know they said something about us and we said something about them. When they found out we retaliated, they said, 'We didn't mean to upset anybody, we're just joking around.' And that's fine, but it's not like we know each other — I don't know them well enough to be joking around like that. All I know is they're making fun of us, and I had to say something back. But I guess once I said something back, they realized it was getting a little too out of control."

The beef has become so widespread that some bands on the tour are even parodying it. Fans hit various punk message boards to discuss comments Silverstein and Motion City Soundtrack were trading onstage — but according to drummer Paul Koehler of three-time Warped act Silverstein, it was all a joke intended to get people to lighten up.

"We did it because, here's all this other drama that's real on the tour, which people seem to be obsessed with, and we wanted to blow this thing up," Koehler said. "We'd make fun of each other's bands onstage, and we even wore T-shirts that said 'Motion Sh---y Soundtrack.' We came clean about it and told the kids not to believe everything they read on the Internet. That was the point we were trying to make, that all the drama on Warped is nonsense. It should just be about seeing good bands and having a good time."

Motion City frontman Justin Pierre said most of the bands on Warped need to loosen up, and should let barbs from the likes of Fat Mike roll off their backs.

"Fat Mike likes to f--- with people, and I don't really have a problem with that," he said. "Underoath and NOFX had a pretty big thing going on back and forth. He would rip on them for saying that everything they do, they do for Christ. But you need to have a sense of humor about things."

For his part, Kevin Lyman, Warped's founder, says that on average he loses three bands each summer, but he hasn't noticed any tension between any of the bands beyond the situation that unfolded between Fat Mike and Underoath.

"The thing with Mike and Underoath really got kind of blown up," he said. "It was more like they both have very strong opinions, and most of it was done in good fun. But Fat Mike tortures everyone — he tortures me all day long. There are a lot of bands out here who are having trouble. I don't like it, but it's been a bizarre year. We've never had a year like this, but there have been reasons why these bands pulled out."

A few years ago, Lyman noted, several bands got into an all-out brawl. "But there's been nothing like that," he said. "Where's this tension? Come into the parking lot. Everyone's having a great time. You have 900 people on the road, so obviously not everyone's going to like each other. There are seven parties every night, and card games.

"Maybe there is tension," he added, laughing. "I think it's the sexual type."

• Pink Spiders, Gym Class Heroes And More At Warped Tour 2006

• From First To Last
• Less Than Jake
• Mewithoutyou
• NOFX
• Thursday

AFI
Photo: James Minchin

Prior to the release of 2003's Sing the Sorrow, an album that helped shoot AFI from relative obscurity into the musical mainstream, the Northern California hardcore quartet was largely considered an underground act. But with Decemberunderground, the band's seventh studio offering, AFI have proven they're anything but. Following a solid performance during last week's MTV Movie Awards, the androgynous rockers' latest album has helped elevate the band to unfamiliar heights, earning the first Billboard-topping debut of its 15-year career.

Decemberunderground sold more than 182,000 copies during its first week out, ousting the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way from the album-sales throne it held for two weeks. According to SoundScan, the initial tally for AFI's latest nearly doubles the debut of the band's previous effort — Sing the Sorrow debuted at #5 with 96,000 scans more than three years ago. That album has gone on to sell 1.1 million copies.

"It's an amazing feeling to have something that you believe in so strongly, that is so much a part of you, touch so many people," frontman Davey Havok commented in a press release issued late Tuesday. "But it was truly our fans that did this. They have brought us this recognition and we are deeply honored. I am truly elated not just for us but for them as well. This is one for the team."

But the Dixie Chicks didn't go down without putting up a fight. Taking the Long Way slides one spot on the chart to #2, with sales coming in at close to 175,000. And while AFI put up the strongest debut, 25 other fresh releases crack the next Billboard top 200 — with four discs bowing in the top 10.

Opening at #3 is rapper Yung Joc's inaugural LP New Joc City, which put up first-week sales of more than 148,000, besting Ice Cube's latest, Laugh Now, Cry Later, by nearly 4,000 copies. Cube controls the #4 spot, followed at #5 by the soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical," with close to 87,000 scans. The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium is at #6 with 86,000 units sold.

The soundtrack to the box office-busting animated film "Cars," featuring tracks from Sheryl Crow, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley, debuts in the #7 slot with 68,000 in sales, followed at #8 by chart regulars Rascal Flatts' Me & My Gang with week-10 scans reported at just under 66,000. Rihanna's Girl Like Me climbs two spots to #9, moving more than 51,000 units, followed at #10 by the 21st installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series, which netted another 49,000 in retail sales.

The rest of the chart is spattered with newcomers, including Terror Squad's DJ Khaled and his Listennn. . .The Album, which claims #12 with 44,000 copies sold — just behind Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere, which jumps three spots to #11 with nearly 48,000 scans. Gnarls Barkley's "Star Wars"-inspired performance at the MTV Movie Awards must have been persuasive, as sales of the disc received a 32 percent boost in the televised ceremony's wake.

The double-disc Warped Tour '06 compilation, featuring tracks by Underoath, NOFX, Helmet, Saves the Day and Motion City Soundtrack, among others, opens at #27, selling 30,000 copies during its first week in stores. Koast II Koast, the latest from the Kottonmouth Kings, follows at #39 with 21,000 scans, while Head Automatica's sophomore outing, Popaganda, debuts at #69 with close to 15,000 week-one sales. Zero 7's Garden lays claim to the #94 position after generating sales of around 11,000, while Cheap Trick's Rockford takes the #101 spot with close to 11,000 scans.

Elvis Costello is back in action with River in Reverse, which sits at #103 after more than 10,000 copies were snatched up during the album's first week in stores. Donavon Frankenreiter's Move by Yourself follows at #105 with 10,000 scans, just in front of Katie Melua's Piece By Piece, in at #108 with sales nearing 10,000.

SMACK: Streets Music Arts Culture & Knowledge — The Album, Volume 1, the first official release in the popular street DVD series, comes in at #120 with 8,000 units sold. The CD/DVD set boasts contributions from DMX, B.G., PNC and Juvenile, Redman, Eric Sermon and Keith Murray. The Bouncing Souls' The Gold Record opens at #141 with nearly 7,000 in sales. Paul Oakenfold's A Lively Mind ends the week with 6,000 scans, for a #145 debut, while (hed) pe's Back 2 Base claims the #154 slot with 6,000 sales.

Unsound, a compilation featuring From First to Last, Matchbook Romance, Converge and Bad Religion, takes the #172 spot with more than 5,000 scans, outselling Hopelessly Devoted to You, Vol. 6, a collection featuring tracks by Thrice and Avenged Sevenfold, by 23 copies (the latter finishes at #173). It's Alive, the latest from the Todd Rundgren-fronted New Cars, debuts at #193 with 5,000 copies sold.

Appearing on the "American Idol" finale two weeks ago really paid off for Live, whose latest album, Songs From Black Mountain, finally makes the chart five weeks after its initial release. With sales of 18,000 (a 570 percent increase), Live's album occupies the #52 spot.

• AFI
• Ice Cube
• Yung Joc
• DJ Khaled
• Dixie Chicks

T.I.
Photo: Jason Campbell

It looks like there just weren't enough fresh albums to inspire many trips to the record store last week.

Not a single new release will crack the top 40 on the next Billboard albums chart. Nine newcomers debut within the chart's top 200, but the rundown of the nation's biggest sellers remains largely unchanged from the previous list, with country trio Rascal Flatts spending a third straight week at #1 thanks to sales of their Me & My Gang coming in at just over 143,000.

According to the latest SoundScan totals, the Dresden Dolls put up the week's highest opening performance. The band's sophomore disc, Yes, Virginia ..., bows at #42 with 19,000 scans. Wolves in Wolves' Clothing, the latest offering from veteran punks NOFX, debuts at #46 with sales nearing 18,000. The Drive-By Truckers' new one, A Blessing and a Curse, comes in at #50 after selling close to 17,000 copies.

Southern hip-hop duo Da Backwudz's Wood Work opens at #94 with over 9,000 sales, and rapper Pastor Troy's Stay Tru debuts at #150 with 6,000 scans. Singer/songwriter Mat Kearney's Nothing Left to Lose makes its mark in the #161 spot, after selling close to 6,000 copies, while gospel singer Anthony Burger's Best of Anthony Burger comes in at #188 with sales of 5,000 and change. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs' collaborative Under the Covers, Vol. 1 pops up at #192 with close to 5,000 copies sold. Blood in Blood Out, by rappers Amb, just makes the cut, selling just shy of 5,000 to claim #199.

In all, the top 200 releases racked up close to 3.1 million in total sales — a drop of nearly 2 million from the previous week. Only a handful of albums scored sales increases — Rod Stewart's 2005 release, Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook, Vol. IV, is among them, returning to the chart at #58 thanks to a 253 percent sales boost and close to 15,000 copies sold. The legendary singer's appearance last week on "American Idol" also helped sales of his 2004 album, Stardust ... The Great American Songbook, Vol. III, which reappears following a long Billboard lull. That album occupies the #113 spot, selling more than 8,000 copies — a 226 percent increase in retail movement.

Sales of Fort Minor's The Rising Tide jumped up by 45 percent, ending the week with nearly 9,000 scans, which sent the disc soaring 89 chart positions to #104. The band recently released its latest single, "Where'd You Go," to rock radio and video outlets.

All of the albums that make up the top 10 suffered a sales slip from the previous week. While the Flatts LP holds the #1 slot, retail interest waned 58 percent during its third week in stores. The 21st installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series — featuring hit singles from Mariah Carey, Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson and Fall Out Boy — climbs one spot to #2 despite a 56 percent sales lag, racking up 130,000 scans. The soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical" moves from #4 to #3, with 116,000 copies sold, while Toby Keith's White Trash With Money follows at #4 with week-two sales of 109,000.

T.I.'s King hangs tough at #5 with 86,000 copies sold, just in front of Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: Reflected, which netted another 59,000 scans. James Blunt's Back to Bedlam follows at #7, with sales nearing 54,000, while Shakira's Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 claims the #8 spot after moving 52,000 copies. Canadian songwriter Daniel Powter's self-titled debut holds at #9, selling 47,000 discs its second week in stores. Pink rounds out the top 10 with 42,000 copies of I'm Not Dead sold.

• T.I.
• P!nk
• Shakira
• Rascal Flatts
• The Dresden Dolls

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

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

Round One: Tricked-Out Magic

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

Winners:

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

Round Two: Burnin' Up

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

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

Round Three: Lunch Break

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

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

Round Four: Getting Frisky

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

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

Round Five: Location, Location

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

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

Round Six: Evil vs. Good

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

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

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

Song Title of the Week:

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

New Releases:

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

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

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

DVDs:

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

Coming Attractions:

April 25:

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

May 2:

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

May 9:

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

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

Thursday's Geoff Rickly
Photo: John Shearer

It's never too early to start planning for next summer. At least if you're Kevin Lyman it's not.

While most of the country begins to break out the winter wear, the founding father of the Warped Tour is already making plans for next year's summertime pop-punk extravaganza, having just announced the first slew of acts that'll be braving the heat and taking the stage at a venue near you.

Motion City Soundtrack, Thursday, Rise Against, From First to Last and venerable punks NOFX are the first confirmed bands for Warped '06, but Lyman said fans can expect more announcements in the very near future. So you can stop e-mailing him now.

"I get bombed with e-mails from kids wanting to know what bands are going to be on the tour, so [we'll] start letting it out now slowly. The only problem is it gets other bands' managers and agents calling relentlessly," he said. "I read a lot of the e-mails from fans, and if I had more time, I would answer them. Warped is always a community, and we're always trying to keep information going out, [but] it's actually fun to read the rumors kids start of who will be the next bands announced."

While the popular Internet rumors this year involve everyone from a reunited Operation Ivy to Marilyn Manson (!) taking the stage at Warped, Lyman said — for the moment at least — there have been no more acts booked for the tour. But that doesn't mean he wants fans to stop all the speculating. Just keep it reasonable.

"Fans would never see some of these bands on Warped because they want too much money and we would have to raise ticket prices," he said. "It never gets old to have fans e-mailing me with suggestions ... the only thing I don't like is when bands get their fan clubs to keep e-mailing me the same name over and over again. This year a band called Showbread is taking it way too far."

Fans (and anyone not in Showbread) can look forward to another round of Warped lineup announcements sometime around Thanksgiving, and soon after that Lyman and Co. will have the routing all mapped out too.

As if Lyman wasn't busy enough already, there's still the matter of the 2006 Taste of Chaos Tour, which gets under way February 15 and features Thrice, Deftones, Atreyu and Story of the Year, among others. Venues will be announced next week.

"Taste is going to be massive this year. We're thinking of ways to make it better all the time," Lyman said. "Like right now I'm in working in London, bringing double-decker buses around to promote British bands and some charities for the U.K. leg of the tour. I'm trying to just have to figure out how to make them go faster than 45 mph. And I'm sure there will big stuff like that going on for Taste in the States, too."

• Motion City Soundtrack
• Thursday
• NOFX
• Thrice
• Deftones

Velvet Revolver (file)
Photo: Dan Winters

Usher has been rocked at retail.

Selling more than 256,000 copies of Contraband in its first week out, Velvet Revolver will take Mr. Entertainment down a peg on next week's Billboard albums chart. The hit single "Slither," a ready-made fanbase and a boatload of press combined to give the band — which includes former members of Guns N' Roses and ex-Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland — a #1 placement for its debut album.

Proof that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, Contraband beat the combined first-week sales of the latest releases by both GN'R and STP (both were greatest-hits collections) by more than 41,000 copies.

Usher's Confessions shouldn't take the hit to heart. The more than 170,000 copies it sold last week has bumped the album's total sales beyond the 4 million mark. Usher may not be far from the hot seat for too long, since a re-release of the album, with at least three new songs, is on the horizon, according to producer Jermaine Dupri (see "Usher, Alicia Keys Record Duet").

Avril Lavigne's Under My Skin is showing some staying power after three weeks on the chart. Without a U.S. tour, only a smattering of radio festivals and emphasis given to just one, three-month-old single ("Don't Tell Me"), the album will slip one spot to #3, having sold more than 121,000 copies.

Another steadfast woman, country singer Gretchen Wilson, is showing similar staying power with Here for the Party, which will step back one place to #4, with more than 91,000 copies sold in its fifth week on shelves.

The #7 spot has been seeing a bit of 311 recently. Less than a year after their latest studio album, Evolver, debuted there, the reggae-inspired quintet's decade retrospective, Greatest Hits '93-'03, will follow suit, albeit with 23,000 fewer copies sold.

Perhaps fans gearing up for this year's Warped Tour, kicking off June 25, did so with the 2004 Warped Tour album. Featuring a sampling from this year's lineup — New Found Glory, NOFX, Thursday, Yellowcard and others — the 52-track LP sold more than 60,000 copies to take the #8 spot.

The remainder of next week's top 10 finds Prince's Musicology continuing its strong showing, though receding one spot to #5 (with more than 72,000 copies sold); Hoobastank's The Reason holding on to the #6 spot for the third straight week and selling more than 66,000 copies; D12's D12 World falling two spots to #9 (59,000); and Slipknot's Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) dropping five places to #10 (58,000).

Los Lonely Boys and the Black Eyed Peas continue to benefit from recent exposure. Trailed by a spate of great reviews while on their current tour, the Texas trio's self-titled debut has been on a hot streak in the last three weeks, moving from #31 to #23 to #13; while the Black Eyed Peas' "Let's Get It Started," the theme to this year's NBA Finals, helped Elephunk advance seven spots to #14 with 43,000 copies sold adding to its 1.3 million total.

Even a marriage to J. Lo couldn't spark sales for Marc Anthony. The Latin singer's latest, Amar Sin Mentiras, released just days after he wed Jennifer Lopez, will place at #26, 23 spots higher than his last Spanish-language LP, 2001's Libre, though with 17,000 fewer copies.

Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand are still tolling the bell for the aggro nü-metal that once dominated radio airwaves. After more than two months in stores, both bands' albums, Good News for People Who Love Bad News at #21 and Franz Ferdinand at #43, have shown steady improvement in the last three weeks.

Other notable chart debuts include country trio SheDaisy's Sweet Right Here at #16; punk chanteuse PJ Harvey's Uh Huh Her at #29; SoCal punk vets and Warped Tour headliners Bad Religion's The Empire Strikes First at #40; the Calling's second album, Two, at #54; Punk-O-Rama Vol. 9, featuring Pennywise, Rancid and the Bouncing Souls, at #67; Sonic Youth's Sonic Nurse at #70; A--hole, the new solo album from Kiss' Gene Simmons, at #86; Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, the major-label debut by New Jersey emocore group My Chemical Romance, at #103; and turntablists the X-ecutioners' Revolutions at #118.

• Usher
• Velvet Revolver
• Avril Lavigne
• Gretchen Wilson
• 311

Something Corporate (file)
Photo: Chapman Baehler

According to Josh Partington, the best part of "Revolution on Canvas" — a compilation of poems and essays by the Something Corporate guitarist and members of Rx Bandits, Finch, Taking Back Sunday, NOFX, A Static Lullaby and other groups — is who isn't in its pages.

"There's no Fred Durst in this book," Partington said, "no huge rock stars. And that's cool because it takes away a little bit of the intimidation about poetry.

"If you read a poem by Bruce Springsteen and didn't like it," he continued, "you might think you were wrong for not liking it. Like, if you don't like a Sylvia Plath poem, you must not be getting something, because it's Sylvia Plath after all. 'Revolution' gets rid of the intimidation and lets kids decide on their own."

Some proceeds from "Revolution on Canvas," due February 14 from Ad Astra Books, will go to the National Center for Family Literacy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the literacy skills of kids and their parents. The book also offers members of such emo-leaning bands as From Autumn to Ashes, Moneen, Midtown, Further Seems Forever and Hey Mercedes a forum to express themselves outside their usual medium.

"Songwriting and poetry are quite similar," Partington said. "That's probably why the book makes so much sense. Our generation really doesn't have any professional poets. It's as though all the 21st-century poets are musicians. In that regard, I think the book's so rad because I'm a fan of most of those bands, so it's great to see them outside of a songwriting context. When you're writing lyrics, you're kind of limited by how the melody goes. This book shows how much deeper a lot of musicians and songwriters can be beyond their recordings."

Partington, who had been writing poems all his life, was finally published by former Rx Bandits member Rich Balling, who edited "Revolution on Canvas." "The Doctor's Waiting Room" is an introspective six-stanza piece in rhymed couplets, while "Burnt Vacant Red," with a looser rhyming structure, was "one of those poems that came out of being lost through a relationship," Partington explained.

No plans for an audio version of "Revolution on Canvas" have been made. But that didn't stop Partington, Nightfall's Marc McKnight and members of A Static Lullaby and Rx Bandits from recording their poems as spoken-word pieces backed by music for a possible companion EP to a subsequent volume. Partington, who co-writes most of Something Corporate's songs with singer Andrew McMahon, doesn't imagine ever turning either poem into a full-fledged song, however.

"It's not an impossibility, but I'm one of those people who, when it comes to writing a song, writes a song," he explained. "I'm not very good at turning things into songs. But I like a lot of the phrasing in 'Burnt Vacant Red.' It's some of my best writing."

Something Corporate have just released "Ruthless," the second single from their third album, North. Following a pair of mid-February shows, the band will co-headline a seven-week tour with Yellowcard beginning in March.

• Something Corporate
• NOFX
• Rx Bandits
• Finch
• A Static Lullaby

Good Charlotte
Photo: Epic

Good Charlotte, Pennywise and Sum 41 have always been known more for their practical jokes than their practical advice. That may soon change.

Next year these bands, Green Day, NOFX, Alkaline Trio and others will unite to raise political awareness and encourage pop-punk fans to vote in the next presidential election — against George Bush. The groups will each contribute a track to the compilation Rock Against Bush and take part in at least one show on a tour organized and funded by NOFX singer/bassist Fat Mike, who also owns the label Fat Wreck Chords.

"About a year ago I decided to use my influence to get bands together to speak out about the president," Fat Mike said. "I think it's our responsibility as citizens and musicians to do so. He's wrecking the country and the world. He's starting wars for no reason, our economy is in the toilet, he's ruining the environment, and he does things like cut taxes when we need money."

Green Day, NOFX and Alkaline Trio will record new songs for the album. The other groups haven't yet announced whether their tracks will be new cuts, remixes or previously released tunes. The album should be in stores by April or May.

There will be two legs of the Rock Against Bush Tour. The first will take place around the release of the album, and the second will occur closer to the election. At the shows, Fat Mike's Punkvoter.com political organization will set up voter registration booths, and the bands that play will encourage kids to take part in the voting process.

"We're trying to build a coalition of kids 18 to 25," Fat Mike said. "We want punks and other disenfranchised young people to vote as a block, which no one has ever done before. Kids are the biggest group of people that don't vote. We want to change that."

Fat Mike applauds Rock the Vote, which has long been urging youths to show up at the voting booth on election day, but he feels their nonpartisan methods are flawed. "They don't tell kids why to vote or who to vote for," he said. "The punk scene is very united. We're gonna get every punk-rock band together, and I think we can take over the country and change the world."

Plans call for the shows to be free and staged mostly at college campuses. Since there may be some logistical problems with calling the jaunt Rock Against Bush, Fat Mike admits he may have to change the name. "Certain colleges won't advertise it as Rock Against Bush, and a lot of radio stations won't mention the name either. So we may just call it the Punkvoter tour or something, but to us it will always be Rock Against Bush."

All proceeds from the Rock Against Bush album will go toward print and television ads that will encourage punks to oust Bush from office. "We're just going to put true facts on TV," he said, "and one or two famous punk rockers will be reading them."

With profits from the disc being funneled into advertising, funds for the tour will be limited, but Fat Mike said he's prepared to pick up most of the cost. "I'm planning on losing a lot of money, but I don't care. This is something I really believe in."

• Good Charlotte
• Green Day
• Pennywise
• Sum 41
• NOFX

John Ritter, star of "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," died on Thursday evening after a coronary artery tore while he was on the set of the show. Ritter, who earned an Emmy for playing Jack Tripper on the sitcom "Three's Company," was 54. ...

The release date of the upcoming G-Unit album, Beg for Mercy, has been pushed back two weeks to November 18. But that's not the only alteration 50 Cent and company have made within the last few days. Don't call the first single from the LP "Teach You How to Stunt" anymore. The official title is now "Stunt 101." ... Beck hit the studio this week with longtime collaborators the Dust Brothers to begin recording the follow-up to 2002's Sea Change. The album is due next year, but in the meantime, fans can catch the singer in the new White Stripes video, "The Hardest Button to Button," and in the film "Southlander," featuring Beth Orton, Hank Williams III and Laura Prepon, due on DVD October 7. Steve Hanft, who directed the film, is also helming two new Beck videos for an upcoming DVD. ...

The new issue of Blender magazine features an interview with R. Kelly, who discusses how pending child-porn charges have destroyed his image. "Osama bin Laden is the only one who knows exactly what I'm going through," he said. ... Brazen dance music group Fannypack will follow up their smash single "Cameltoe" with "Things," which should surface at radio in early October. Both songs are from the quintet's debut album, So Stylistic, which dropped in July. ...

After playing a few radio festivals, Alien Ant Farm will begin a tour with reggae-influenced rap-metal band 311. The tour will begin October 15 in San Francisco and run at least through the middle of November. Alien Ant Farm's sophomore disc, truANT, came out August 19. 311's latest, Evolver, was released July 22. ... An eight-disc Black Sabbath box set featuring all of the band's material recorded with Ozzy Osbourne will hit shelves November 4. Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978) includes remastered versions of Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master of Reality, Vol. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die! The set also features a DVD with previously unreleased footage. ...

The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, will play two shows at Harlem's historic Apollo Theater on November 21 and 22. The gigs will commemorate the 40th anniversary of his classic album Live at the Apollo. A host of celebrity guests will be announced at a press conference on Thursday. ... Mr. Biggs is planning on doing it way big — again. The Isley Brothers plan to put out a remix album early next year, according to their camp. The only name linked to the project so far is King Britt. His spokespeople say he's been enlisted to revamp "Footsteps in the Dark." ...

Bon Jovi have recorded an album's worth of acoustic versions of their greatest hits with producer Pat Leonard (Madonna). Due November 4, This Left Feels Right features "Wanted Dead or Alive," "Keep the Faith" and "It's My Life," among others, plus two new songs, "Last Man Standing" and "Thief of Hearts." ... Mark Lanegan, formerly of Screaming Trees and currently with Queens of the Stone Age, will release an eight-song EP November 4, about two months before his sixth full-length solo album, Bubblegum, is due. Here Comes the Weird Chill (Methamphetamine Blues, Extracts & Oddities) will feature unreleased older material. ...

Although they've been screwing up a lot longer, skate punks NOFX are scheduled to drop the DVD "Ten Years of F---ing Up" on October 7. The VHS version came out in 1994, so maybe next year we'll get the two-decade version from the band whose latest sardonic affair, The War on Errorism, was released in May. ... The Dandy Warhols are giving fans the chance to show off their film skills with a new contest. Use "We Used to Be Friends" and "You Were the Last High" in a video or short film and you could be flown to the Dandy Warhols' Odditorium in Portland, Oregon, to hang with the band. Details are available at www.ifilm.com or www.dandywarhols.com. ...

Ben Folds, the Indigo Girls and the Dixie Chicks will headline the Honor the Earth Foundation concert October 10 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte, North Carolina. ... Members of the bands Killswitch Engage, Unearth and the Acacia Strain are playing together in the side project Burn Your Wishes. There is no album information yet, but the group has shot a video for its song "Fall Away." ...

Newish metal groups Motograter and Mushroomhead will tour together starting in October. Motograter's self-titled debut came out May 27. Mushroomhead's next disc, XIII, will be released October 14. ... The Steve Miller Band will celebrate the Tuesday release of Young Hearts Complete Greatest Hits with a Saturday benefit performance for and at the Fender Museum of Music and the Arts, in Corona, California. The album features "The Joker," "Take the Money and Run" and other favorites. ...

After getting a two-grand credit from the music-download Web site www.musicrebellion.com, a lobbying group is offering to pay 12-year-old Brianna LaHara's settlement with the RIAA. LaHara's mother was one of 261 people to receive copyright-infringement lawsuits from the recording industry. She was the first to pay her way out of a court appearance. ...

9.11.2003

Although other release dates have been bandied about, this one's official — Britney Spears' upcoming fourth album is slated to hit stores November 18. The album may include such tracks as "Early Mornin' " (produced by Moby), "The Answer" (P. Diddy), "Shadow" (The Matrix), "Outrageous" (R. Kelly), "Me Against the Music" (RedZone), "Brave New Girl" (previously called "Brave Girl"), "Touch of My Hand" and "Every Time," though a track list has yet to be determined. ...

Kirk Hammett doesn't play a double-necked guitar ... except when he's doing his best Jimmy Page impersonation. Metallica dressed up like Led Zeppelin for an Esquire photo shoot in July for the magazine's 70th anniversary issue, which hits newsstands this week. ... Destiny's Child's Michelle Williams has finished her second gospel record. The as-yet-untitled album will be released in early December. ...

R.E.M. paid tribute to Warren Zevon at their Los Angeles performance on Wednesday night. Singer Michael Stipe dedicated the song "Find the River" to Zevon, who died in L.A. on Sunday from lung cancer. R.E.M. played with Zevon in the side project Hindu Love Gods, who released a self-titled album in 1990. R.E.M had worked with Zevon on his 1987 album, Sentimental Hygiene, as well, serving as Zevon's band on most of the album. ... Sparklehorse have signed on to open for R.E.M. on their tour, from September 23 in New Orleans to October 4 in New York. Afterwards, the band will resume recording its fourth album in singer Mark Linkous's North Carolina studio. ... Pete Yorn, who will pick up for Sparklehorse on the R.E.M. tour for two weeks, has booked a headlining trek for the rest of October. British pop-rockers Minibar will open on Yorn's tour, which begins October 14 in Nashville and ends October 28 in Syracuse, New York. ...

Def Jam hosted the first of its monthly DJ appreciation parties Wednesday night at the Big Apple's Club New York. Such spinners as Kid Capri and Red Alert ventured out to party. ... The previously unreleased Stone Temple Pilots song "All in the Suit That You Wear" will be included on the band's greatest-hits album, Thank You, which comes out November 4. The 16-track disc will also feature an acoustic version of "Plush." ...

Two Black Sabbath books that cumulatively cover the group's entire history will be rocking the shelves in time for Christmas. The first, "How Black Is Your Sabbath," chronicles Ozzy's years with the band, ending when he was kicked out. Graham Wright, who was drummer Bill Ward's assistant in the '70s, assembled the book. The other Sabbath tome, "Never Say Die!," was written by Garry Sharpe-Young, and documents the band's post-Ozzy years from 1979 to 1997. ... Rock and roll workhorses 3 Doors Down have extended their tour and look to stay busy throughout the end of the year. Newly confirmed dates begin October 16 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. ...

Sugar Ray and Elton John are among the performers slated for the annual Brian Wilson and Friends concert, taking place October 16. John will sing a duet with the Beach Boys mastermind. Proceeds will benefit the Carl Wilson Foundation, named for the Beach Boy who died of cancer in 1998. ... The folks that let Adam Ant out of a mental hospital earlier this summer might want to reconsider their decision. The '80s new waver plans to dress up like a gorilla and run around London on September 21. Ant hasn't exactly gone bananas, though. He's among those participating in the Great Gorilla Run, a public-awareness effort to draw attention to the endangered ape's plight. Ant also rerecorded his "Stand and Deliver" for the Save the Gorilla benefit album, the proceeds from which go toward the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. ...

The sued file-sharer who settled with the RIAA earlier this week is already reaping the benefits of celebrity. Twelve-year-old Briana LaHara, whose mother settled the copyright infringement suit for $2,000, has been given that amount's worth of free downloads by musicrebellion.com to show that legitimate download services exist. …

• G-Unit
• Beck
• R. Kelly
• FannyPack
• NOFX

Warped Tour 2006 Photos

• Bouncing Souls
• The Academy Is...
• Armor For Sleep
• The Buzzcocks
• Cartel

Warped Tour Photos in Kansas City, MO 07.26.2004

• New Found Glory
• Avenged Sevenfold
• Bad Religion
• Sugarcult
• Story Of The Year