Lil Wayne performs at the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival
Photo: Paul Morigi/ Getty Images

BALTIMORE — Fans got more than they bargained for at this weekend's Virgin Mobile Festival — more Kanye, anyway.

Not content to close out the two-day festival with his headlining Sunday slot, Mr. West stormed the stage earlier in the day, joining Lil Wayne for a meeting of hip-hop's hottest. Maybe 'Ye was pulling double duty to outshine the legends (Bob Dylan, Iggy and the Stooges), big rock veterans (Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, Nine Inch Nails, Offspring), and upstarts (Paramore, Jack Johnson, Duffy) who took the Virgin stage over the weekend at Pimlico Race Course.

Rocking a Louis Vuitton backpack, West joined Weezy on Sunday afternoon to spit his verse from the "Lollipop" remix without skipping a beat. The collabo was the high-energy point of a blistering, better-late-than-never performance. Showing up a half-hour late for an hourlong set would be a cardinal sin for most artists, but Weezy more than made up for it. The crowd chanted his name and even booed briefly while waiting for his set, but it was all love once Lil Wayne hit the stage. Wayne came with a mix of old-school, new-school and a lot of gratitude. "How many of y'all got Tha Carter III?" he asked. "I f---in' appreciate you."

He even took time to honor Static Major, asking for a moment of silence for the late rapper and songwriter before jumping into the song that catapulted Wayne from an underground mixtaper to an undeniable mainstream superstar. After welcoming Kanye up for "Lollipop," Wayne wrapped his set with even more gratitude and some laughs, lip-syncing to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" before leaving the stage.

While Wayne's day was done, Kanye was just getting started. He returned to the stage later that night like a hurricane, shrouded in flashing lights and fog. Fans threw up their Roc-A-Fella diamonds early and held them high all night. No irony was lost on 'Ye, who made it a point to prove his authenticity before jumping into "Diamonds From Sierra Leone."

"I work real hard at this rapping sh--," he said. "This is real rap."

Kanye dove into a set spanning his entire career, from his most recent verse from Young Jeezy's "Put On" to his humble beginnings on "All Comes Down," asking fans to "scream so loud I can't hear the music" if they knew the song.

And, of course, 'Ye talked, touching on everything from his mother's death to Barack Obama's nomination to crime in the festival's host city of Baltimore. He freestyled as well, expressing his gratitude for fame and his frustration that comes along with it. The raw emotion was undeniable. "I lost my mama/ I went through so much drama/ I went through so much drama/ I'm for Obama," he rapped. He then described his journey over to Pimlico Race Course, noting the flashing blue lights above cameras stationed throughout the 'hood and being content with the fact that even though many Baltimore natives couldn't afford to attend the concert, they could still see and hear the show from the parking lot outside the gates. He also shouted out MySpace, the Internet and Lil Wayne before beginning "Touch the Sky."

West took a bit of a jab at the festival's schedule, specifically the choice concertgoers had to make between his performance and one from Nine Inch Nails happening at the same time at the other end of the park (a dilemma faced by fans at Chicago's Lollapalooza a week earlier). "It's not a black-or-white thing, it's not a rap-or-rock-and-roll thing," he exclaimed. "It's a good-music thing. We jam about good things from the heart. How can you pick between me and Trent Reznor?"

But at the end of the day, Kanye's focus all came back down to his fans. Again freestyling, 'Ye expressed his eagerness to please those who came out to support him. "I hope you had a good time ... f--- that, the time of your life!" And with diamonds high in the sky and screams that could be heard around the block, the crowd's enthusiasm matched Kanye's (no easy feat).

The day before, it was up to West's fellow Chi-Town native Lupe Fiasco, who had fans bobbing their heads and singing along to "Superstar" and "Kick, Push." Despite technical difficulties, Lupe aimed to please, shouting after his microphone problem was resolved, "Let's hype this bitch back up, all right?" Given the amount of crowd-surfing during his set and the volume of fans chanting his name when he left the stage, he seemed to succeed.

But the weekend wasn't all about hip-hop. The Foos, the Stooges, Paramore and NIN brought the rock, but the guitar heroes of the day might have been Stone Temple Pilots. Taking the stage later than expected (thanks, Weezy), STP seemed to be the picture of reunification. The band was completely in sync thanks to its current 65-date tour. The focus wasn't mainly on themselves, though. Scott Weiland shared the love, shouting out those sharing the bill. "What a great day of f---ing music!," he gushed. "How about Iggy and the Stooges? And Nine Inch Nails are coming up!" He also had love for the crowd. "What a sea of energy," he exclaimed just before the crowd sang and bobbed along to every note of the band's breakthrough hit "Plush."

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports. And send your own concert pics, videos and reviews to MTV News You R Here!

• Paramore, Lil Wayne, More At Virgin Mobile Festival 2008

• Lil Wayne
• Kanye West
• Young Jeezy
• Stone Temple Pilots
• Nine Inch Nails

Coldplay's <i>Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends</i>
Photo: Capitol

If rapper Lil Wayne was expecting his latest LP, Tha Carter III to spend a second-straight week as the nation's best-selling release, he definitely underestimated the sales prowess of British rockers Coldplay.

While Wayne's latest entered the previous week's chart at #1, with just over a million scans, Tha Carter III just couldn't maintain that sales pace and suffered a 69 percent dip in retail interest in week two, selling 308,500 copies. But that just wasn't enough for him to hold onto Billboard's pole position, as Coldplay's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends generated first-week scans of more than 721,200, bumping Wayne's opus to the chart's #2 slot. The latest set from Chris Martin and company is now the year's second-best performing debut, as well as the band's second consecutive career #1, following 2005's X&Y, which also opened at #1 but with 737,300 scans.

The last time the Billboard 200 saw back-to-back #1 debuts with sales of more than 700,000 was in 2000, when Britney Spears' Oops! ... I Did It Again sold 1.3 million, and Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP sold 1.8 million the following week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In addition to Coldplay's new one, a total of 16 other new releases enter next week's albums sales chart, with five opening in the top 10. Bowing at #3 with 188,400 sold, it's the soundtrack to the Disney Channel movie "Camp Rock," which features contributions from the Jonas Brothers and others. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, an expanded, two-disc re-release of the pop star's hit record, enters at #7, with 63,300 sold, while Katy Perry's One of the Boys opens at #9, selling 46,800 units. Lastly, coming in at #10, with 45,700 sold, is the latest from Offspring, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace.

The rest of the top 10 is rounded out by the 28th addition to the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series, which is #4 after selling another 81,000 units, and Plies' Definition of Real drops to #5, with second-week sales reported at nearly 67,700. Usher's Here I Stand follows at #6, selling 65,000 copies, while Disturbed's Indestructible falls four spots to #8, with 59,300 scans.

Elsewhere on the chart, British metallers Judas Priest's latest, Nostradamus, opens at #11, having sold 42,000 copies during its first week in stores. It marks the highest chart position for an album by the band in the U.S. Rapper Blood Raw's My Life: The True Testimony enters at #30, with 17,400 sold. 2 Pistols' Death Before Dishonor bows at #33, shifting nearly 15,800 copies. Wolf Parade's At Mount Zoomer follows at #46, with 12,900 units snatched up, while R&B chanteuse Chanté Moore's Love the Woman debuts at #110, having scanned 6,400 copies. The Hold Steady's Stay Positive enters the chart at #170, after selling close to 3,900 copies, and pop act Prima J's self-titled debut follows at #172, selling just 34 fewer units.

• Coldplay's Viva La Vida, Track By Track

• The Offspring
• Katy Perry
• Rihanna
• Lil Wayne
• Coldplay

T.I.
Photo: Getty Images/ Kevin Winter

T.I. adjusted his calendar Thursday (January 3) after an Atlanta judge postponed until February 19 a suppression hearing that had been scheduled for Thursday. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Grand Hustle rapper's lawyers are seeking to have evidence thrown out because they claim it was obtained as a part of an illegal search when T.I. (real name: Clifford Harris Jr.) was arrested in October for allegedly attempting to purchase illegal machine guns. Lawyers for the rapper filed a motion in November stating his vehicle had been searched without a warrant, consent or probable cause. He has been under house arrest awaiting trial after posting a $3 million bond in late October. ...

Chris Brown has hit a bump as he tours across the U.S. — the singer's set designer is suing him for breach of contract, according to TMZ. John Troxtel claims in a federal lawsuit he filed Christmas Eve that while he was paid for some of his labor, "extra work was required and requested." He says an oral agreement was made but that the touring company has refused to make good on its promise. Troxtel, who is seeking more than $1 million in damages, is also reportedly suing Brown for unjust enrichment. ...

Former B2K groupmates Dreux "Lil Fizz" Frederic and Jarell "J-Boog" Houston have released a statement through their publicist regarding the claims of sexual molestation Raz-B made against manager Chris Stokes in recent online videos. "We had nothing to do with the [videos], their release and/or their claims, we are unaware of any inappropriate behavior," the statement read. Raz-B later retracted and apologized for the accusations. Meanwhile, Raz-B's business partner had no comment on a new, recently surfaced tape of Raz-B, his brother Ricky Romance and Stokes, and said he didn't know when it was shot. ...

Nate Dogg suffered a stroke on December 19, according to a coordinator for the hip-hop crooner's recently formed gospel choir, Innate Praise. Reports had circulated that the longtime Snoop Dogg associate had been admitted to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in California after suffering a heart attack. Erica Beckwith, however, confirmed to MTV News that Nate Dogg was released on December 26 after being treated for a stroke and is currently in a medical-rehab facility to assist him in his recovery. ...

The Jonas Brothers have inked a fat deal with Live Nation, and it's being called the first of its kind for an up-and-coming group, according to Billboard. The multimillion-dollar agreement will see the band of brothers playing a jaw-dropping 140 shows at theaters and arenas over the next two years. Eight shows have been lined up so far for the Look Me in the Eyes Tour, in Tuscon, Arizona (January 31); Las Vegas (February 1); Los Angeles (February 2); Everett, Washington (February 5); Portland, Oregon (February 6); February 8 (Salt Lake City); El Paso, Texas (February 11); and San Antonio (February 12). ... Radiohead have, according to the U.K.'s The Times, agreed to a deal with iTunes — which some fans may have noticed, given that the band's In Rainbows album is now available through the online store. "In terms of digital income, we've made more money out of this record than out of all the other Radiohead albums put together, forever," Thom Yorke reportedly said about the release. ...

Bono has teamed with Hard Rock for a new tee that is benefitting the Wildlife Conservation Society's Conservation Cotton Initiative, which helps educate impoverished African farmers. The Bono Signature Series T-shirt, which will be available starting Monday at Hard Rock's terrestrial and online shops, is being made available via Edun, a socially conscious clothing company that Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, launched in spring 2005. ... Bright Eyes mainman Conor Oberst, who toured as part of the Vote for Change Tour in support of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004, performed at a rally for another Democratic contender, Senator Barack Obama, in Iowa on Tuesday. According to The New York Observer, Oberst played for a crowd of approximately 1,000 Obama supporters and at one point told them, "I met the next president of the United States earlier today." But that's hardly the only star Obama has on his side. Scarlett Johansson was a special guest at a rally for him in Iowa on Wednesday night, according to The Nation. She reportedly spoke with a group of young supporters in Des Moines. ...

The Facebook profile cited in many articles (including MTV News') about Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the late Benazir Bhutto's son, is a hoax, according to a statement from Farahnaz Ispahani of the Pakistan Peoples Party. "The statement that's on [the Facebook profile] is not his statement," he told The New York Times. "It seems genuine but according to Mr. Zardari, and we checked with him, the Facebook statement has not been written by Bilawal." ...

Foo Fighters are following in Justin Timberlake's footsteps — the band is participating in this year's "My Grammy Moment" segment for the February 10 awards ceremony. Unsigned instrumentalists — sorry, singers — are getting the chance to perform with Dave Grohl and the gang as part of an orchestra, with the winner being showcased as the featured instrumentalist. Interested? Record a performance video that is no longer than one minute and reflects your talent and submit it here. A Grammy Awards panel will choose 45 quarter-finalists, after which the public will narrow down the group to semifinalists who will perform with the five-time Grammy-nominated band. ... Christina Aguilera and Katie Holmes, starring side by side in a new flick? Rumors are circulating online that the two have been tapped for an upcoming comedy called "Humboldt Park," but Rene Rigal, who is executive producing the flick, told MTV News in regards to the castings, "We haven't heard anything as of yet." ...

Mark this one with a "WTF?" on your calendar: Keytar-wielding indie-rockers and former You Hear It First artists Mute Math will open for Matchbox Twenty and Alanis Morissette on their Exile in America tour, which runs from January 25 in Hollywood, Florida, through March 18 in Las Vegas. ... Hot Chip will pad their February 5 release, Made in the Dark, with a smattering of shows in April. The British electro-poppers will play nine gigs, from an April 10 one in Philadelphia through an April 24 show in San Francisco. ... Meanwhile, Ween are barreling on with their longest tour in three years. The band will play six gigs in January — from January 23 in Washington, D.C., through January 31 in Orlando, Florida — and is slated to play February 1-2 in St. Petersburg and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before jetting overseas. ...

Sketch-comedy duo Tim and Eric have a few friends you may know. Maroon 5 bassist Mickey Madden, Phantom Planet frontman Alex Greenwald and the Like singer/guitarist Z have chalked up covers of songs by the pair's fictional Casey and His Brothers group. Check 'em out on TimAndEric.com. ... Sean Penn will head the awards jury at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which is slated for May 14-25. According to AP, the "Into the Wild" director said "a new generation of filmmaking may have begun," and that there seems to be "a rejuvenation of cinema building worldwide." ...

The Offspring are nearly finished with the follow-up to 2003's Splinter. According to a post from frontman Dexter Holland on the punk-rockers' Web site, they're "taking a quick break from recording right now to be with our families. I've got two lyrics to do, a couple more to sing, and various musical tweaks and fixes to get done. Then, we'll be ready to mix." There's no release date for the album yet, but the Offspring "want to thank all our fans who have been so patient, and we want you to know that we've been in the studio nearly every day now for quite awhile working hard to make a great record," the post says. ...

Former Kid 'N Play frontman Christopher "Play" Martin was reportedly hospitalized over the weekend when his car was struck by another vehicle whose driver was wounded by a bullet. According to North Carolina's The News & Observer, the one-time rapper's car was struck after a man — suspected of fleeing from where a home robbery took place — was allegedly fired upon by local police. The man, identified as Raul Riva Aldamo, reportedly died as a result of the gunfire. Martin and his companion, Michelle Gonzales, were released from doctor's care on Wednesday, and according to a rep for Martin, he is at home recovering.

1.2.08

Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump has been named one of the un-sexiest men of 2007 by Boston alt-weekly The Phoenix. He lands at #95 on the list, right next to Larry King and Jon Heder. ...

Prodigy, who will start serving a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence on a charge of gun possession for which he was indicted in October, plans to issue his second solo album while behind bars. H.N.I.C. Part 2 will drop in March, feature production from Mobb Deep group mate Havoc and Alchemist, and be integrated with Voxonic technology, which converts a voice into hundreds of languages with near-perfect accuracy. Prodigy also released a statement regarding his upcoming sentence, saying, "Throughout my life, I have always lived through adversity. I'm a survivor. You don't understand the mental power that I have. While I'm locked up, I'm going to be writing lyrics, working on the script for my second feature film, 'Dope,' and finish writing an autobiography of my life, which will be finished by the time I'm released. My mind is going to be focused, and I'll have time to think and map out my entire plan. The experience will make me a tougher, stronger person. I'm gonna work on getting out faster, so I can get back to doing what I do best. When I get home, it's gonna be on!" ...

R.E.M. have christened their forthcoming album Accelerate and set an April 1 release date for the effort. The album was produced by Jacknife Lee (Bloc Party, Snow Patrol) and will feature "Until the Day Is Done," "Living Well Is the Best Revenge" and "Staring Down the Barrel of Middle Distance." Expect the band to tour in the spring. ... It's not like she was expecting an Oscar nomination, but a nod for the worst? In a poll conducted by AOL's Moviefone Web site, 58 percent of respondents gave Lindsay Lohan the dubious distinction of turning in the worst performance by an actress in 2007 for her role in "I Know Who Killed Me." Another one of Lohan's box-office bombs, "Georgia Rule," finished second among the more than 3.8 million voters, just behind the Eddie Murphy comedy "Norbit," as the biggest waste of $10. "Norbit" also earned the comedian the title of worst performance by an actor. ... Eddie Murphy and "Good Luck Chuck" producer Tracey Edmonds got hitched during an intimate New Year's Day ceremony on a private island in French Polynesia, according to People.com. Johnny Gill was reportedly Murphy's best man. ...

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke has hit back at the boss of his former label, EMI Music, after claims that the band had rejected a nearly $6 million advance for their new album while demanding the copyrights to older titles. In a December 29 post on the group's official Web site under the heading "FYI — if you care — for your information," Yorke wrote, "We did not ask for a load of cash from our old record label EMI to re-sign. That is a L I E. The Times in the U.K. should check its facts before it prints such dirt. What we wanted was some control over our work and how it was used in the future by them — that seemed reasonable to us, as we cared about it a great deal. [EMI boss Guy] Hands was not interested. So neither were we. We made the sign of the cross and walked away. Sadly." Yorke said the group was upset about the airing of "dirty laundry" in public. Separately, Yorke told BBC Radio 4 that releasing In Rainbows solely as a digital download — the physical album hit stores this week — would have been "stark raving mad" because 80 percent of fans still buy physical releases. "We didn't want it to be a big announcement about 'everything's over except the Internet, the Internet's the future,' 'cause that's utter rubbish," Yorke said. "And it's really important to have an artifact as well, as they call it, an object." Yorke, in one of his first public comments about the decision to release In Rainbows under a pay-what-you-wish scheme, explained that Radiohead had a "moral justification in what we did in the sense that the majors and the big infrastructure of the music business has not addressed the way artists communicate directly with their fans. ... In fact, they seem to basically get in the way. Not only do they get in the way, but they take all the cash." He also denied reports that In Rainbows was downloaded more than 1.2 million times in its first week, but, in keeping with the band's silence on sales, would not confirm how many times it was actually downloaded. "It's total nonsense. ... We're the only people who know, and it feels wrong to say exactly what happened," he said. "But it's been a really nice surprise and we've done really well out of it." ...

The presidential race will bleed over into late-night TV on Wednesday night (January 2) when David Letterman chats up Democratic contender Senator Hillary Clinton and Jay Leno welcomes Republican candidate Mike Huckabee on the respective comeback episodes of their shows. Chingy will perform on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," while Lupe Fiasco will play on the "Late Show With David Letterman," with Robin Williams also appearing. Letterman struck a deal with the Writers Guild of America that will allow him to return to air with writers, but Huckabee and Chingy will be crossing the picket line with their appearances on Leno's show, as the writers' strike continues. ... "L.A." Reid, Denzel Washington, Steven Spielberg, Brett Ratner, Billy Joel and others partied Sunday on a private yacht owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and Jon Bon Jovi and Robbie Robertson performed at the shindig, according to Fox News. ...

Staind's Aaron Lewis, along with members of Boston, Tesla, Stryper and other bands, will join host Dee Snider of Twisted Sister at the fifth anniversary Relief Fund Charity Concert, to be staged February 25 at Providence, Rhode Island's Dunkin' Donut Center. The event is being put on by the Station Family Fund, a group founded by survivors, family members and community members affected by the Station fire, the February 2003 nightclub tragedy that claimed 100 lives. Proceeds from the show will go to the survivors of the fire, many of whom did not qualify for Social Security benefits. ...

The lineup for Dave Mustaine's Gigantour 2008 has been revealed. The trek, to launch in mid-April and run through late May, will feature his band Megadeth, as well as In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy and High on Fire. ... P.O.D. have set an April 8 release date for When Angels & Serpents Dance, the band's forthcoming LP. The record will feature a guest appearance by Suicidal Tendencies mainman Mike Muir. ... Former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland's band, Black Light Burns, have begun work on material for their second album, which is set for release in early 2009. Borland said in a statement that the new stuff is "a lot more guitar-heavy than it is synth-heavy. The feeling/tone is a little more fun and weird compared to the darkness of the first album." The effort follows the band's debut disc, last year's Cruel Melody. ... Hatebreed were forced to postpone the final concert in their Stillborn Fest series after guitarist Frank Novinec broke his ankle. No word yet on when they'll make up the gig, which was supposed to happen Sunday in Rochester, New York. ...

A lawyer who previously represented Death Row Records boss Marion "Suge" Knight in a $130 million lawsuit over ownership of the onetime gangsta-rap powerhouse is asking a judge to set that judgment aside. According to the Los Angeles Times, in a hearing set for Wednesday attorney Dermot Givens is asking that the judgment be voided because of what he claims is new evidence that the plaintiff, singer Lydia Harris, and her imprisoned drug-dealing husband, Michael, allegedly duped a Los Angeles judge into ruling against Knight. The motion contends that Harris hid from the court that she had filed for bankruptcy five years before suing Knight and that she never claimed an ownership stake in Death Row during that legal proceeding. The motion also alleges that recent sworn testimony by the couple shows that Michael Harris, an alleged crack kingpin, was the real party of interest in her lawsuit against Knight; Michael Harris sued Knight in 1996 claiming he helped finance Death Row, and was awarded a $300,000 out-of-court settlement. Lydia Harris filed a separate suit in 2002 claiming that she and Knight started the label together and that he cheated her out of millions in profits. ...

James Brown's final recordings have been caught up in the legal feud over the late rock legend's estate, according to The Associated Press. Brown recorded an album in Los Angeles in summer 2006, but courtroom disputes over who should get his music royalties are preventing the release of the tracks. More than 50-60 additional unreleased songs recorded by Brown are also reportedly in the archives. ... The Jersey Boys have a bit of a problem on their hands. Tommy DeVito, ex-bassist of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons — on which the "Jersey Boys" story is based — is being sued by the widow of a man who also wrote a story about the group, according to TMZ. Donna Corbello says her late husband Rex Conrad Woodard's yet-unpublished book was the basis of the Broadway smash, and she is reportedly seeking a declaration that he is the volume's "joint owner" so she can get some of the future profits from the production. The suit was recently filed in a district court in Texas. ...

It's Hammer time all over again. MC Hammer is about to launch a new Web site that he hopes will rival YouTube as the online hub for sharing and watching dance videos, according to AP. He is the co-founder and chief strategy officer of DanceJam.com, which will go live later this month and profit from Internet advertising. Perhaps the site will reverse Hammer's hard luck — he filed for bankruptcy in 1996 with nearly $14 million in debts. ... Evan Farrell, an indie-rock bassist who played with the Magnolia Electric Co. on tour and, earlier this year, left the Rogue Wave fold, died the weekend of December 22-23 after sustaining injuries from a house fire in Oakland, California. He was 33. "He was a fixture in our community and a bright spot in all of our lives," Secretly Canadian, the label the Magnolia Electric Co. call home, said about Farrell in a statement. "He was exceptionally talented, funny and genuine."

• T.I.
• Chris Brown
• B2K
• Nate Dogg
• Jonas Brothers

Shakira on the cover of <i>Teen People</i>
Photo: Time, inc.

Shakira might have said that she's lucky her breasts are "small and humble" in "Whenever, Wherever," but there was a time when she considered getting breast-augmentation surgery because she was unhappy with her body, the singer reveals in the next issue of Teen People. The magazine's latest cover star also said that wasn't the only plastic surgery she looked into. "I considered ... all kinds of things. 'Maybe my eyebrows should be higher. Maybe my lips should be bigger.' " Eventually Shakira came to accept herself, despite all the insecurities. "I'm actually shy; I've just learned to hide it." But her hips don't lie — and her dancing reveals more skin than she sometimes would like to show. "It's not my hobby to show my belly! The moves I do when I perform require it. People of America, I want you to know that I wear clothes once in a while!" ...

Diddy introduced a select few to the next phase of Bad Boy Records Tuesday night in New York. Sean Combs held a small party at his Daddy's House studio and previewed music by newcomers Cheri Dennis and Yung Joc and veterans 8Ball and MJG. ... Jack White is preparing to unleash his brand-new band, the Raconteurs, on America — for one night, at least. On April 7, the band — which also features Detroit songwriter Brendan Benson and two-thirds of Cincinnati garage-rockers the Greenhornes — will play its first-ever U.S. gig at Irving Plaza in New York. Tickets go on sale Thursday at noon via Ticketmaster.com. The Rac's debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers, is due in stores May 16. ...

Nick Lachey has decided on a title and release date for his second album: What's Left of Me, due May 9. The title is the same as the first single, which recently hit the airwaves. ... Paul Wall has titled his fall release Ain't No 401K for a Hustla. Wall is also set to appear alongside Lil' Keke on The Day Hell Broke Loose 3 compilation, due in August. ... Pimp-C will release a DVD documenting his experiences being incarcerated during the Houston boom in 2005 and what has happened after his recent release. "Pimpalation: Return of the Trill," hosted by MTV News' Sway, is due April 11 and will be followed by a CD called Pimpalation on June 13. ... Foo Fighters will be featured in a pair of episodes of "The West Wing." The shows will air Sunday and April 9 at 8 p.m. on NBC. ... Notorious B.I.G.'s family will receive $1.1 million from the city of Los Angeles after the City Council on Wednesday approved the amount U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper awarded in January. The money covers the family's legal expenses in a civil trial that was ruled a mistrial last year when it was discovered that the Los Angeles Police Department withheld statements that linked two rogue LAPD officers, David Mack and Rafael Perez, to the rapper's shooting. ...

Could it really be over so soon? That's what former Howard Stern listeners across the East Coast and Midwest might have been asking themselves Wednesday morning (March 29) when they turned on their radios to find Stern replacement David Lee Roth absent. Yes, preliminary numbers for Roth have not been promising, but a CBS Radio spokesperson denied reports that the former Van Halen singer had been canned just three months into his gig, saying the motor-mouthed morning man was simply taking a few days off to travel back to New York after broadcasting from Miami Beach Monday and Tuesday. Roth is expected to be back on the air Friday. ... Elsewhere on the dial, Mighty Mighty Bosstones singer Dicky Barrett has attacked Los Angeles' Indie 103.1 after he was recently fired as host of the station's morning show. In a statement released by his publicist, Barrett said he was fired for expressing his dislike on air for a Morrissey song the station was spinning and for an unauthorized pro-choice conversation he had with a caller. Indie General Manager Dawn Girocco responded by saying Dicky was not as committed to the show as he needed to be. ...

After complaints and a lawsuit earlier this year from a Louisiana man, Apple Computer released a software update Wednesday that allows iPod owners to set a maximum volume on their players. The free download works with Nanos and fifth-generation models that play video, and it also allows parents to set a volume limit on their child's iPod and lock it with a special code. The free update is available at apple.com/ipod/download. ... On Monday a judge ordered Michael Jackson and his ex-wife Debbie Rowe to submit copies of legal papers missing from their divorce file, The Associated Press reports. The documents, concerning the custody of the pair's two children, include Rowe's 2001 motion to terminate parental rights and an emergency motion filed two years later seeking temporary custody as well as Jackson's filing opposing his ex-wife's custody motion. Attorneys for Jackson and Rowe have 30 days to turn over the paperwork. A hearing has been set for May 24. ...

As he awaits his murder trial, troubles keep mounting for famed "wall of sound" record producer Phil Spector. A former personal assistant has sued Spector for more than $5 million in Los Angeles, claming sexual harassment, according to an Associated Press report. Spector sued former assistant Michelle Blaine in September, alleging that she skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars from his accounts. Blaine hit back on Friday, saying that Spector authorized the payments to her, including those for a $700,000 house and that he sexually harassed her, sometimes appeared naked in front of her and once asked Blaine to find a prostitute for him. Blaine also claims that after Spector was charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson in 2003, the producer repeatedly proposed marriage to her as a way to block her from testifying against him. Spector's murder trial is slated to begin in September. ...

Eugene Landy, the show-business psychologist famous for his controversial relationship with troubled Beach Boys star Brian Wilson, died March 22 in Honolulu of complications from lung cancer, the Los Angeles Times reports. He was 71. Landy, who also worked with original shock rocker Alice Cooper and actor Rod Steiger, pioneered the concept of "24 hour therapy" when he began treating Wilson in the mid 1970s. Hired to work on Wilson's intense phobias and drug addictions, Landy took control of every aspect of the singer's life, monitoring him 24 hours a day and eventually acting as his manager and artistic collaborator, crossing an ethical line and eventually giving up his license to practice in California after admitting to a charge of unlawfully prescribing drugs in 1989. ...

Prolific songwriter Cindy Walker, known as the "dean of Texas songwriters," died of natural causes Thursday at the age of 87, according to The Los Angeles Times. Walker was known for the more than 500 sentimental, Western-flavored songs she wrote, performed by everyone from Roy Orbison ("Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)"), to Ray Charles ("You Don't Know Me"), with the latter covered by more than 75 artists, including Elvis Presley. Willie Nelson released an album-length tribute to Walker this month called You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker. Walker, often called the greatest living country music songwriter, was a charter member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997.

03.28.2006

Mariah Carey's been dreaming of a Broadway Christmas since late 2004, when she originally announced plans for a holiday musical, and now she's finally making progress with her plan. "I don't want to mention anything definitive until things are signed," she told MTV Radio, "but there's a very big company that just signed on to develop the project with me." Carey said the musical — which she'll create, produce and star in — will incorporate music from her 1994 album, Merry Christmas, as well as new material. "It's probably going to be a movie first," she said. "I don't want to say a television movie, because it's not like a cheesy network movie, but then it's going to be made for the Broadway production. So the [TV movie] will set the stage for the stage." ...

It was nothing but royalty Monday night in New York as a king, queen and prince came together for the premiere of "ATL." T.I. (the King of the South), Queen Latifah and former Prince of Bel Air Will Smith (with Jada Pinkett) joined Jay-Z, Usher, DJ Drama, Tisha Campbell and Duane Martin at the Tribeca Theater. Latifah's longtime friends and business partners Shakim Compere and Lance "Un" Rivera were also on hand. ...

Jessica Simpson is moving up in the world — at least as far as FHM's annual list of 100 Sexiest Women is concerned. While Scarlett Johansson nabbed the top spot, Simpson catapulted from #16 on last year's list to #4 this year. Other singers making the top half of the chart include Paris Hilton (#11), Lindsay Lohan (#14), Beyoncé (#18), Shakira (#20), Jennifer Lopez (#26; she was #1 in 2000 and 2001), Mariah Carey (#28), Mandy Moore (#31), Christina Aguilera (#37), Gwen Stefani (#40) and Kelly Clarkson (#50). Hilary Duff, the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie and Stefani were new entries this year, but Britney Spears, who was #1 in 2004, was nowhere to be found (Check out photos of FHM's Sexiest Women.). ... Since Lindsay Lohan's upcoming movie "A Prairie Home Companion" (in theaters June 9) focuses on a radio show, it's only natural that the soundtrack would include some of the songs performed on said show. Out May 23, the soundtrack will feature performances from castmembers Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly and Lohan herself, who contributes "Frankie & Johnny." ...

Not every singer on "American Idol" is a pop-star hopeful or graduate of the performance competition, as recent appearances by Stevie Wonder and Barry Manilow have proven. This week the show hopes to shake things up even further with belly-dancing Shakira, who will perform "Hips Don't Lie" with Wyclef Jean on Wednesday night's elimination episode. ... And forgive us if this one sounds familiar, but Simon Cowell is at it again. After expanding his stranglehold on U.S. viewers with his "American Inventor" show earlier this month, the acerbic "Idol" judge is adding a third show to his empire: "America's Got Talent." Open auditions will begin next month for the NBC show, which will be open to performers of all ages and talents — from singers and dancers to jugglers and magicians, according to Reuters. The show will have a celebrity three-judge panel (it will not include Cowell) and the winner will take home a $1 million prize. ...

Live singer Ed Kowalczyk has released a statement in support of "American Idol" contestant Chris Daughtry, who sang a cover of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" last week with an arrangement similar to the version recorded by Live — but without giving the band credit. "We wish Chris the best of luck in the competition," Kowalczyk said. "I thought he did a great job with the song. There's no doubt he's a talented performer and I hope he goes far." Live, meanwhile, will hit the road beginning April 22 in Providence, Rhode Island, in support of their seventh studio album, Songs From Black Mountain, due May 9. ... Travis Barker and DJ AM will take their experimental show to San Francisco April 7 and New York April 13 and 14. VIP packages for the shows are available at StubHub.com and will benefit the Race to Erase MS. ... Chamillionaire and Lil' Flip are teaming for the Texas Boyz Tour, which kicks off March 30 in San Diego and wraps up early this summer. Chamillionaire has recorded several remixes of his new single, "Ridin'," featuring rappers ranging from the Game to Bun B to Fabolous. ...

In a post on Evanescence's official message board Sunday, singer Amy Lee wrote that she and new guitarist Terry Balsamo were in the studio finishing mixes on the group's upcoming album. "We'll be done mixing [the new album] next week! I can hardly believe it, we've been working on this album for so long," Lee wrote. "The stuff sounds so good. ... Wow, what a trip this has been." The singer said Balsamo is "doing really well" after the stroke he suffered in November and that she's busy trying to figure out the order of the songs on the still-untitled album. "It's going to be hard to hold this music in all summer," Lee said. "I really want to thank you guys again for being so patient — I know it's gonna be worth it." A spokesperson for the group confirmed the post and added that the album is slated for release in the fall, with a tour to follow. ...

The Offspring's Dexter Holland is turning into some sort of bionic man or something. In late 2004 he completed a 10-day solo flight around the globe, subsisting only on Doritos and beef jerky. And for an encore — and for charity — he decided to take on the Los Angeles Marathon. Running on behalf of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal organization aimed at using DNA testing to free the unjustly convicted, Holland finished in a little more than five hours, good enough for 7,900th place — but not better than Oprah Winfrey's 1994 Washington, D.C., marathon time of 4 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds, which was Holland's stated goal. Still, he raised money for a good cause and is happy with his efforts. "I hit a wall at about 16 miles," Holland wrote on Offspring.com, "but I'm glad I was able to finish. I shouldn't have eaten those tacos for breakfast! I didn't beat Oprah's time, but I challenge her to a rematch." ...

If you asked Alanis Morissette, she might say, "Isn't it ironic ... a little too ironic?" Victor Willis, 54, the singer who dressed as the policeman in '70s disco juggernaut the Village People, faces up to five years in prison after his arrest Sunday. He was booked for bailing on a plea deal he cut last year following an arrest on charges of possessing cocaine and a gun. Willis — who left the group in 1980 — had agreed to a maximum of 16 months in jail on the original charge, but when he goes to court Tuesday (March 28) he's looking at four years and four months on the original charges and a possible eight additional months on new drug charges, according to a Reuters report.

[This story was originally published at 12:47 pm E.T. on 03.29.2006]

• Shakira
• Diddy
• Eightball & MJG
• Michael Jackson
• Brian Wilson

Birdman's <I>Fast Money</I>
Photo: Universal

His new album doesn't hit stores for almost two months, but Kanye West is already making his presence felt in record stores. The rapper/producer's skills are featured on new albums from three R&B, soul and hip-hop up-and-comers this week.

West produced "I Changed My Mind," the first single from R&B newcomer Keyshia Cole's debut album, The Way It Is. Cole, who also enlisted jailed MC Shyne for the track, had once gotten her musical tutelage from none other than MC Hammer. For soul singer Leela James, Kanye collaborated on a pair of tracks on her debut album, A Change Is Gonna Come. James, who defines her sound as "back-porch soul," also worked with Raphael Saadiq and Wyclef Jean on the disc. North Carolina-bred hip-hop trio Little Brother, meanwhile, got a nod from West on "I See Now," a track off The Chittlin Circuit 1.5.

Out Tuesday, June 21:

• All Good Funk Alliance - On the One (Sunswept)
• Amici Forever - Defined (RCA Victor)
• Eric Benét - Hurricane (Reprise)
• B.G. - Life After Cash Money: Chopped and Screwed (Koch)
• Birdman - Fast Money (Universal Motown)
  Read: "Baby Keeps It Down-Bottom With Fast Money"
• Tracy Bonham - Blink the Brightest (Rounder)
• Boom Bap Project - Reprogram (Rhymesayers)
• Boyz N da Hood - Boyz N da Hood (Bad Boy)
• Wade O. Brown - All Night, All Love (Groove United/33rd Street)
• Laura Cantrell - Humming by the Flowered Vine (Matador)
• Chicago Blues Harmonica Project - Diamonds in the Rough (Severn)
• Cintron - Back in the Day (Ark 21)
• Corey Clark - Corey Clark (Bungalo)
  Read: "Corey Clark Nabs Scott Storch, Peas Members For His 'Hot To Death' LP"
• Clutch - Robot Hive/Exodus (DRT Entertainment)
• Keyshia Cole - The Way It Is (A&M/Interscope)
  Read: "Keyshia Cole Has Kanye, Shyne On LP, Proof That Stalking MC Hammer Pays Off"
• Billy Corgan - The Future Embrace (Reprise)
• DBG'Z - P'hissed Off! (Bungalo)
• Down to the Bone - Spread Love Like Wildfire (Narada)
• Dredg - Catch Without Arms (Interscope)
  Read: "Stone Age Success Means Brighter Future For Prog-Rockers Dredg"
• Dropkick Murphys - The Warrior's Code (Epitaph)
• Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart - Communion Bread (Funzalo)
• Eldissa - What a Difference ... Disco Meets Acoustic Lounge (Le Maquis/Dreyfus)
• Evergreen Terrace - Sincerity Is an Easy Disguise in This Business (Eulogy)
• Foreign Born - In the Remote Woods (EP, StarTime International)
• Gothminister - Empire of Dark Salvation (Dancing Ferret)
• John Hiatt - Master of Disaster (New West)
• Chris Hillman - The Other Side (Sovereign Artists)
• Leela James - A Change Is Gonna Come (Warner Bros.)
• Mark Knopfler - One Take Radio Sessions (EP, Warner Bros.)
• Patti LaBelle - Classic Moments (Def Jam)
• Left Alone - Lonely Starts & Broken Hearts (Epitaph)
• Little Brother - The Chittlin Circuit 1.5 (Koch)
• Lost Boyz - Forever (Contango)
• Luca - You Win Again (Funzalo)
• Master P - Ghetto Bill: The Best Hustler in the Game (Koch)
• Mayday - Bushido Karaoke (Saddle Creek)
• Me'Shell Ndegeocello Presents the Spirit Music Jamia - Dance of the Infidel (Shanachie)
• Method Man Presents Street Life - Street Education (X-Ray)
• Stina Nordenstam - The World Is Saved (V2)
• The Offspring - Greatest Hits (Sony)
• Ol' Dirty Bastard - The Definitive Ol' Dirty Bastard Story (Rhino)
• On Broken Wings - It's All a Long Goodbye (Eulogy)
• David Poe - Love Is Red (The LAB)
• Prodigal Sunn - Return of the Prodigal Sunn (Free Agency/Godz Inc.)
• Ra - Duality (Universal)
• Ratchets - Heart of Town EP (Hell Bent)
• Redwalls - De Nova (Capitol)
  Read: "Redwalls Bring The Sound Of Liverpool To Lake Michigan"
• Sasha - Fundacion NYC (Global Underground)
• Special Generation - Take It to the Floor (reissue, Bungalo)
• Al Stewart - A Beach Full of Shells (Appleseed)
• Stutterfly - And We Are Bled of Color (Maverick)
• Télépopmusik - Angel Milk (Capitol)
• Kevin Toney - 110 Degrees and Rising (Shanachie)
• Trini - Like No Other (reissue, Empire)
• The Vanity Project - The Vanity Project (Flagship)
• Gene Watson - Then and Now (Koch)
• Matthew West - History (Universal South)
• Wiggles - Sailing Around the World (Koch)
• Without Gravity - Tenderfoot (One Little Indian)
• Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice - XIAO (Troubleman Unlimited)
• Various artists - Bam Margera Presents: Viva la Bands (456 Enterprises)
  Read: "Skater Bam Margera's Latest Trick: Making Bands Blow Up"
• Various artists - Instrumental Icons: Music of Lil Jon (Fastlife)
• Various artists - Look at All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime (Cornerstone)
• Various artists - Ultimate Trance Remixed (Water Music)
• Various artists - "Herbie Fully Loaded" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - "My Summer of Love" soundtrack (Milan)
• Various artists - "Rize" soundtrack (Social Capital)
• DVD: "Foo Fighters: Guardian Angels" (Chrome Dreams)
• DVD: "Placebo: Androgyny" (Chrome Dreams)
• DVD: Blindside - "Ten Years Running Blind" (DRT Entertainment)
• DVD: Cruxshadows - "Shadowbox" (Dancing Ferret)
• DVD: Kool Keith - "Global Enlightenment Part 1" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Lamb of God - "Killadelphia" (Epic)
• DVD: Sarah Jane Morris - "In Concert" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Ian Parker - "Whilst the Wind: Live" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Various artists - "Metalmania 2004" (Music Video Distributors)

June 28:

• DMX - Here We Go Again (Ruff Ryders)
  Read: "Mase Advises DMX To Rap Again, Wait For The Lord's Call"
• Fountains of Wayne - Out-of-State Plates (Virgin)
  Read: "Fountains Of Wayne To Spout 26-Song Rarities Collection, Tour In June"
• Longwave - There's a Fire (Red Ink)

July 5:

• R. Kelly - TP3 Reloaded (Sony)
• Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
• Various artists - "Fantastic Four" soundtrack (Wind-Up)

July 12:

• All-American Rejects - Move Along (Interscope)
• Black Dahlia Murder - Miasma (Metal Blade)
• Bow Wow - Wanted (Sony)

• Corey Clark
• Keyshia Cole
• The Offspring
• Ol' Dirty Bastard
• Clutch

My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way (file)
Photo: Getty Images

MILWAUKEE — It being Sunday and all, My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way figured he'd throw in a few benedictions between amped-up hits by his New Jersey punk band. But church never sounded, or looked, quite like this. "Let me hear you say hell yeah, Milwaukee!" Way shouted over and over during his band's twilight set, which closed the show on the second night of this summer's Vans Warped Tour.

"Let me hear you say f--- yeah!" he said in a preacher's cadence, stretching out his healing hands as he strode across the stage wearing a very un-priestly vestment of black bondage pants, a black jacket and a black T-shirt with a photo of Bela Lugosi on it. At the very least, most sermons don't contain quite so many four-letter words starting with "f," or pleas to spit in the face of rock stars that ask female fans to lift their shirts.

But those kinds of contradictions are what Warped is all about. One minute you're watching a bunch of lunatics in loin cloths and combat boots calling themselves Bad Fathers play spazz-out punk rap tunes and just a few yards away you catch Phoenix's Greeley Estates shredding their throats during one of the most intense emo sets of the day. Along the way you might wander by MxPx and No Use for a Name playing some classic pop punk, Bedouin Soundclash mixing in a bit of ska and dub and Valient Thorr playing, well, it's hard to say. But it was something kind of scary along the lines of the Black Crowes meet Motörhead in tight trousers, bushy beards and lots of talk about the planet Venus.

The great equalizer? It doesn't matter if you're a veteran act like the Offspring or a band called Dork, just about everyone gets 30 minutes to do their thing, and, more than any other tour out there, it's almost impossible to tell the bands from their fans in the audience.

"It's cool to see kids going from watching the Offspring to something new like Hawthorne Heights, right?" said tour founder Kevin Lyman backstage as the sun was setting and vendors began dismantling their tents. Taking off on his customized lowrider bicycle, which, along with mini motorcycles and longboard skateboards, was the preferred means of backstage locomotion, Lyman smiled as he surveyed another successful outing of his decade-old creation.

While there was plenty of the flavor of the day emo and screamo from the likes of Silverstein, Bleed the Dream and Hawthorne Heights, there was also the hard-to-categorize set from punk supergroup the Transplants. The band played a diabolical mix of rap, punk, dub and drum'n'bass that got the audience hyped. Bobbing his mowhawked head so furiously it looked like he was bashing a cymbal with it to double his already insane torrent of beats, Travis Barker led the band into the new song "Madness," with Tim Armstrong and Rob Aston switching off on gravely vocals on a classic from their first album, "Diamonds and Guns."

One of the day's most theatrical sets belonged to Avenged Sevenfold, who took the stage amid a thick dry-ice fog and chants of "A7X" from their adoring fans. With a double guitar attack and the high-flying theatrics of pumped-up, mirror-shade-wearing singer M. Shadows, the group mixed a bit of Misfits/ Danzig horrorcore with straight-up hardcore, blitzkrieg guitar solos and lyrics worthy of a Dungeons and Dragons game on new tunes such as "Beast and the Harlot."

And though they were among the veteran acts on the bill, the Offspring were Warped newbies, on their first outing with the trek. Touring in support of their greatest-hits album, the classic So Cal punkers gave the audience exactly what it wanted with hits like "Why Don't You Get a Job?," their huge breakthrough, "Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)," and what amounts to their "Free Bird," the rousing "Self Esteem."

The thousands of fans who braved nearly eight hours of brazen punk on this perfect 75 degree day were rewarded just before 9 p.m., when My Chemical Romance played to the biggest crowd of the day. With just 30 minutes to make their case, MCR blasted out of the gate with their breakthrough "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)," which, like nearly their entire set, broke out into an audience chant-along. With a stage full of his peers looking on, Way relished the role of conquering hero, returning to Warped as a headliner and making the audience jump and shout along to his band's current hit, "Helena," and closing with a crowd-pleasing version of "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison."

And now, in honor of Warped's 10th anniversary, we present the inaugural Warpie Awards:

• Most punk-rock move to get invited into the family: The Shira Girl stage. Founder Shira Girl bum-rushed last year's Warped with a guerrilla stage setup outside the tour and this year she had her own stage, which added some much-needed estrogen to the mostly male affair.

• Rebel yell of the day: Greeley Estates singer Ryan Zimmerman, who sounded like a cat drowning in a steel drum. Honorable mention goes to From First to Last's three vocalists, who brought a bit of opera to their emo.

• Giving new meaning to the phrase "extreme sports": Avenged Sevenfold, for hitting the Major League Baseball batting cages. If only more baseball players took batting practice in hoodies, studded belts, lip rings and wallet chains.

• T-shirt message of the day: In a sea of clever tees, "Drink apple juice 'cuz OJ will kill you" stood out. Runner-up prize goes to the 2-year-old budding punk with the black shirt that read, "When I grow up I want to be a sick boy."

• Best prop: The dude who dragged a taxidermied chicken around all day and waved it like he just didn't care.

• Too-soon award: To thetruth.com booth, whose DJ managed to get the kids moving to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." If only for a minute.

• Get no love award: The Marines, who were dissed profanely from the stage by at least two bands for having a recruiting booth at the previous date.

• ... is the new black award: Pink. It said so right on that guy's T-shirt, "Tough guys wear pink."

• Best cover: Atreyu, who turned Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" into a screamo anthem (the band recorded it for the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" soundtrack) as they got a sea of hundreds windmilling their T-shirts over their heads while flashing devil horns with the other hand.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• My Chemical Romance
• Transplants
• The Offspring
• Atreyu

My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way (file)
Photo: Jason Campbell

The Vans Warped Tour has officially announced the lineup and itinerary for the 11th annual edition of the punk/skating tour. As previously reported by MTV News, the bill for the oldest touring festival in the U.S. will be topped by the Offspring and My Chemical Romance, along with the Transplants, MxPx, All-American Rejects, Dropkick Murphys, Thrice, Atreyu and Senses Fail.

The 48-date tour, which kicks off on June 17 at the Germain Amphitheatre in Columbus, Ohio, will snake its way across the country through mid-August, wrapping up on August 14 at the Englishtown Raceway in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Discount tickets will be available on the Warped Web site beginning March 15.

For the full itinerary, see "Warped Tour Organizers Cave, Announce Full Itinerary Two Weeks Early."

New attractions for 2005 include the Amateur Skate Jam (a daily contest judged by pro skaters for local amateur skaters, who will compete for prize money) and, for the first time, fans can also vote daily on the tour's Web site on which band they would like to see play for an extra 10 minutes.

Making their return are such popular attractions as Reverse Day Care (an air-conditioned area where kids can drop off their parents), the Codes of the Cutz hip-hop tent and the Girlz Garage stage. Organizers are also encouraging attendees to donate items for local homeless shelters through Punk Junk, an on-site donation center.

Other bands confirmed to perform so far: A Thorn for Every Heart, Academy Is, Amber Pacific, Armor for Sleep, Avenged Sevenfold, Bedouin Sound Clash, Billy Talent, the Bled, Bleeding Through, Boys Night Out, the Briefs, a Change of Pace, Dead 60's, Emery, the Explosion, the Fight, From First to Last, Funeral for a Friend, Gatsby's American Dream, Go Betty Go, Gratitude, Greeley Estates, Gym Class Heroes, Halifax, Hidden in Plain View, Hopesfall, HorrorPops, Hot Rod Circuit, Juliette and the Licks, Kinison, Left Alone, Lost City Angels, Mae, Matchbook Romance, the Matches, Midtown, Millencolin, Motion City Soundtrack, Near Miss, Plain White T's, Reggie & the Full Effect, Relient K, Rufio, Saosin, Silverstein, Skindred, Something Corporate, the Starting Line, Street Dogs, Strike Anywhere, Stutterfly, Throw Rag, Tsunami Bomb, the Twenty Twos, Yesterday's Rising and ZAO.

For a feature on My Chemical Romance, check out "My Chemical Romance: They're Okay (Promise)."

• My Chemical Romance
• The Offspring
• Transplants
• MxPx
• The All-American Rejects

The Offspring (file)
Photo: Columbia

In the end, it was sheer necessity, combined with a whole bunch of demand, that forced Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman to reveal the full list of 2005 dates for the annual trek. Sometimes, marketing plans just go out the window.

"We were hoping to hold off announcing the dates until the first of March, but the demand of the kids on the Internet made us put them out there," Lyman said. "The kids are prodding, they're on the Web sites. Their dads work at the venues, and find out when the venue is hosting Warped, and the kids put it out there and it pops up on a Web site."

Lyman had previously revealed the first three dates of the tour, along with a few of the headliners (see "On This Summer's Warped Tour: Offspring, MCR, MxPx — And On-Stage Weddings"), but now visitors to WarpedTour.com can check out not only the full itinerary, but also the list of all 45 acts confirmed for this summer's jaunt, from the Academy Is ... and the All American Rejects to the Unseen and Underoath.

Internet presales begin on April 1 (a full 77 days before the first Warped show), but Lyman doesn't see the accelerated schedule as a bad thing. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"It's good to see this kind of demand, it means kids want to go to the Warped Tour this summer," he laughed. "It's probably the day they stop doing that that I'm going to worry about things."

Warped Tour dates, according to tour organizers:  

• 6/17 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheatre
• 6/18 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheatre
• 6/19 - Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
• 6/21 - St. Louis, MO @ UMB Bank Pavilion
• 6/22 - Kansas City, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• 6/24 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Center Lot
• 6/25 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Center
• 6/26 - San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• 6/28 - Las Cruces, NM @ N.M.S.U. Practice Field
• 6/29 - Peoria, AZ @ Peoria Sports Complex
• 6/30 - San Diego, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre/ UCSD Field
• 7/1 - Long Beach, CA @ Cal State Long Beach
• 7/2 - San Francisco @ Pier 30/32
• 7/3 - Ventura, CA @ Seaside Park
• 7/4 - Fresno, CA @ Selland Arena Lot
• 7/6 - Long Beach, CA @ Cal State Long Beach
• 7/7 - Marysville, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
• 7/8 - Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre Lot
• 7/9 - George, WA @ Gorge Amphitheatre Lot
• 7/10 - Saint Helens, OR @ Columbia Meadows
• 7/12 - Vancouver, BC @ Thunderbird Stadium
• 7/14 - Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
• 7/15 - Bozeman, MT @ Gallatin County Fairgrounds
• 7/16 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah State Fairgrounds
• 7/17 - Denver, CO @ Invesco Field at Mile High
• 7/20 - Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• 7/21 - Cleveland, OH @ Tower City Amphitheatre
• 7/22 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center Lot
• 7/23 - Chicago, IL @ Tweeter Center
• 7/24 - Minneapolis, MN @ Metrodome
• 7/26 - Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Six Flags P.A.C.
• 7/28 - Quebec, QC @ Colisee Pepsi Parking Lot
• 7/29 - Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean-Drapeu
• 7/30 - Barrie, ON @ Molson Park
• 7/31 - Pontiac, MI @ Pontiac Silverdome
• 8/1 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion
• 8/3 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheater Lot
• 8/4 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jacksonville Fairgrounds
• 8/5 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Vinoy Waterfront Park
• 8/6 - Orlando, FL @ Tinker Field
• 8/7 - Pompano Beach, FL @ Pompano Beach
• 8/8 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• 8/9 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• 8/10 - Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion Lot/ Meriweather Post
• 8/11 - Foxboro, MA @ Foxboro Stadium
• 8/12 - Philadelphia, PA @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
• 8/13 - New York, NY @ Randall's Island
• 8/14 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Englishtown Raceway  

• The Offspring
• MxPx
• My Chemical Romance
• Transplants
• Fall Out Boy

The Offspring (file)
Photo: Columbia

Even as much of the Northeast finds itself in the middle of a bone-chilling cold snap, it's never too early to start thinking about those balmy summer months — especially if you're a fan of the Warped Tour. Details for the 2005 version are piling up faster than that snow drift outside your window.

Just-announced acts on this summer's tour include the Offspring, Fall Out Boy, MxPx, the Dropkick Murphys, No Use for a Name, Atreyu, Strung-Out, Mest and Hawthorne Heights. They'll join previously confirmed acts the Transplants, My Chemical Romance and Thrice on the tour's 11th annual jaunt (see "Warped Tour Just Ended, But Next Year's Trek Is Already Taking Shape").

"We always try to pick bands for the tour based on what the kids are telling me. Kids e-mail me all the time with suggestions, and if I get enough of them, I'll get in touch with the band," Warped founder Kevin Lyman said. "Like with the Offspring, who have never played the tour, a kid e-mailed me and was like, 'Why can't you guys work this out?' And I went, 'You know what? You're right.' "

Lyman also said that the tour will kick off on June 18 in Columbus, Ohio, at the Germain Amphitheater, then head to Milwaukee's Marcus Amphitheatre on the 19th and UMB Bank Pavilion near St. Louis on the 21st. More dates will be announced soon.

There are also plans for Warped 2005 to include "at least one" honest-to-goodness wedding. In December, Lyman put out the call for couples looking to get hitched onstage, and the response he got was enough to convince him that he needed to get something started.

"Like most things with Warped, the idea of a wedding started off as a joke. But when I posted on WarpedTour.com, we got such a response that I had to give it a real look," Lyman said. "So now I'm contacting bands to see if they know any ordained ministers. I figure there's got to be some punk-rock ministers out there."

Lyman also is finishing up the Warped Tour 10th Anniversary film, which he's compiled with the help of hundreds of amateur videographers across the country. The film features live performances shot by fans at each of the first 10 editions of Warped, and is due in stores "sometime later this year."

• The Offspring
• My Chemical Romance
• MxPx
• Fall Out Boy
• Dropkick Murphys

No Doubt's <i>Tragic Kingdom</i>
Photo: Trauma/Interscope

The No Doubt archives suffered a loss this week when the dress Gwen Stefani wore on the cover of Tragic Kingdom, the band's 1995 breakthough LP, was stolen from the Orange County, California, museum where it was on temporary display.

The red vinyl dress was reported stolen from the Fullerton Museum Center on Tuesday, where it was a part of the exhibit "The Orange Groove: Orange County's Rock n' Roll History," which runs through May 22. According to a statement released by the band's label, the dress was likely stolen between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday.

The dress was on a mannequin and mounted on a stage three-and-a-half feet high that was surrounded by plexiglass.

"It probably would have taken two people: one as a lookout, one to take it," said Sergeant Steve Matson of the Fullerton Police Department. "We're focusing in on possibly two females that may have been involved, and we're in the process of taking yearbooks to people who work at the museum to see if they can identify them."

"Someone must have given this some thought to vault [the stage] during daylight business hours," said "Orange Groove" curator Jim Washburn. "We're trying to figure out how this was accomplished. It's awfully selfish, almost sociopathic, to think that your interest in the band matters more than anyone else who would want to see it," he said.

Stefani's dress was a central item in the exhibit, which celebrates the musical legacy of the O.C. and coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar, which was created in Fullerton. Other No Doubt items in the collection are band photos, instruments and awards, including their 2003 Grammy for "Underneath It All" and 1997 MTV Video Music Award for "Don't Speak."

Guitars from the Offspring, Mike Ness of Social Distortion (whose axe was featured on the cover of the band's 1990 self-titled album) and items from the O.C.'s folk, hippie and punk scenes are also included.

The theft of Stefani's dress — which had been on loan to the Hard Rock Café in the past — marks the first time anything has been stolen from the museum in 17 years, according to Washburn. The museum decided to publicize the robbery on Tuesday in hopes that it would expedite the return of the dress.

"Our foremost priority in this matter is the safe return of the dress, as it means a lot to the band," Interscope Records said in the statement.

The Fullerton Police Department is currently investigating the theft, but the label has asked that anyone with information on the whereabouts of the dress contact the police department at (714) 738-5336 — or return it to the museum's after-hours drop-off box, "no questions asked."

[This story was updated at 4:28 p.m. ET on 01.12.2005]

• Gwen Stefani
• The Offspring
• Social Distortion

Warped Tour in Kansas City, KS 06.22.2005

• The All-American Rejects
• Atreyu
• Matchbook Romance
• My Chemical Romance
• The Offspring

Inland Invasion Concert Photos California 9/14/02

• blink-182
• Pennywise
• The Offspring
• The Sex Pistols
• Bad Religion