The Ying Yang Twins' <I>Chemically Imbalanced</I>
Photo: TVT Records

Tryptophan from the Thanksgiving turkey must be having its drowsy effects on record stores this week, for it's one of the slowest of the year. And expect December to be all about rap and reissues.

There are just about a dozen new CDs hitting stores, the same number of DVDs and even fewer re-releases. Here's a little bit of lovin' for most of them:

Yo-Yo'ing: Ying Yang Twins' Chemically Imbalanced should score the highest debut this week — they opened at #2 on the Billboard albums chart the last time — unless they're bested by the Clipse's long-awaited, Star Trak-backed Hell Hath No Fury. Both discs have gone through some changes, incidentally: Chemically Imbalanced, which features Wyclef, was originally called 2 Live Crew. And Hell Hath No Fury, which sports spots by Pharrell and Slim Thug, has bounced around more times than a Harlem Globetrotter dribble.

And the Beats Go On: Also hitting rap racks is La' Chat's fourth CD, Bad Influence, on which the lady gets a boost from Yo Gotti, Gucci Manne and Gangsta Boo. Old pals Three 6 Mafia didn't offer their help, though, what with her having signed to Three 6 rival Yo Gotti's Inevitable Entertainment.

On outer fringes of the hip-hop front lies Dan the Automator's Dan the Automator Presents 2K7 Instrumentals, the speechless answer to September's Dan the Automator Presents 2K7. That one found the beatman tinkering with tracks by Ghostface, E-40 and Lupe Fiasco.

And on the rap-reissue side, there's Public Enemy's Beats and Places, the subtitle to which pretty much says it all: Soulpower of the Unleashed and Unreleased. That one boasts a 2002 version of "Do You Wanna Go Our Way???" from San Francisco's Fillmore, "If I Gave You Soul (What Would You Do With It?)" and a couple of versions of "Air Conditioning."

No Longer Incubating: If Incubus' Light Grenades don't explode on the charts, it should at least be the best-debuting rock release you'll see this week. The band's fifth effort includes the head-scratchingly named "Pendulous Threads" and "Paper Shoes."

My Fair Lady: Our Lady Peace get the career-overview treatment this week with A Decade, reminding fans that they've had more #1 rock singles in Canada than any band ever. Two new songs, "Kiss on the Mouth" and "Better Than Here," accompany the decade-old group's first-ever best-of disc.

Foo's Ball: Speaking of firsts, the Foo Fighters just eked out their first-ever concert recording in the form of Skin and Bones earlier this month. But rather than releasing it as a CD/DVD package, the band's making fans go the extra mile by putting out a sold-separately video of the same name this week. You'll find five additional songs that didn't make the CD on here instead: "On the Mend," "Still," "See You," "What If I Do" and "Ain't It the Life."

The Other Fu: California boogie men Fu Manchu are slipping out just 3,000 copies of Hung Out to Dry, an EP that's serving as a preview of sorts to next year's yet-untitled 10th full-length. This one has two tracks from that LP, plus the original "Never Again" and a cover of Van Halen's "D.O.A." But best of all, the EP comes with a 7-inch single and is packaged in a gatefold sleeve.

Jonesin' for Indies?: Never to be overlooked are a few under-the-radar releases also happening this week. The never-say-die Figgs celebrate nearly two decades of existence with Follow Jean Through the Sea, which has 10 tracks and, like Fu's upcoming LP, is also their 10th. Pop-rockers Johnny Action Figure Asks the Room to Please Stop Spinning with a new effort. It's got the sunny "Lose Our Face," melodic "(This Is How I Look) When I Laugh at Death" and Neil Young-esque "Your Fortune's Gonna Leave You."

Wrapping It Up With Reissues: Last but not least, a swab of re-releases are also making their way into the racks. David Gilmour's On an Island, which originally debuted on the Billboard albums chart top 10, is being beefed up with a bonus DVD. That finds the Pink Floyd guitarist running through six songs as part of the AOL Sessions in April, plus it's got a new rendition of now-deceased bandmate Syd Barrett's "Astronomy Domine," which Gilmour tracked at London's famed Abbey Road in August.

A new NRBQ DVD — this one with the Whole Wheat Horns — culls vintage material by the batty cult fave. "Derbytown: Live 1982" showcases 16 live recordings from a Louisville, Kentucky, gig. And Candlelight Records continues hailing doom deacons Electric Wizard with Pre-Electric Wizard Rarities 1989-1993.

Song Title of the Week:

"(This Is How I Look) When I Laugh at Death" from Johnny Action Figure's Asks the Room to Please Stop Spinning

New Releases:

· Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury (Star Trak) [Buy Now] Read: "Clipse's Pusha T Pushes Back After Album Is Delayed — Again" · Dan the Automator - Dan the Automator Presents 2K7 Instrumentals (Decon) [Buy Now] · The Figgs - Follow Jean Through the Sea (Gern Blandsten) · Fu Manchu - Hung Out to Dry (limited-edition EP with 7-inch; Liquor and Poker) · Incubus - Light Grenades (Epic) [Buy Now] Read: "Incubus' Mike Einziger Lends Agent Sparks A Hand Making The Best Brunch LP Ever" · Johnny Action Figure - Asks the Room to Please Stop Spinning (DRP) · Midlake - Milkmaid Grand Army EP (Basement Front) · La' Chat - Bad Influence (Inevitable) · Ying Yang Twins - Chemically Imbalanced (Collipark/TVT) [Buy Now] · Various artists - "The Fountain" soundtrack (Nonesuch)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· Electric Wizard - Pre-Electric Wizard 1989-1993 (Candlelight) · David Gilmour - On an Island (special edition with DVD; Epic) · Our Lady Peace - A Decade (Columbia) · Public Enemy - Beats and Places (Slam Jamz)

Music DVDs:

· Beenie Man and Capleton - "Spade Promotion Presents Tune After Tune" (Fox Love) · Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine - "Splash It All Over" (Cherry Red) · DJ Absolut - "The New Lifestyle" (Amalgam) · Foo Fighters - "Skin and Bones" (RCA) · John Hype and Beenie Man - "Chaka Chaka: John Hype - Beenie Inna Jungle: Special Edition" (Fox Love) · NRBQ & the Whole Wheat Horns - "Derbytown: Live 1982" (MVD Visual) · Psychobilly - "Behind the Music" (Cherry Red) · Various artists - "Hustle Up Latino Volumen Dos: ¡Representando La Calle!" · Various artists - "Super Mill Promotion Presents: Reggae's New Culture Generation" (Fox Love)

Coming Attractions:

December 5: · Ciara - The Evolution (enhanced; LaFace) [Preorder] Read: "Ciara Talks Single Life, Dreams Of Acting Like A Boy On Evolution" · Lil Scrappy - Bred 2 Die, Born 2 Live (Reprise) [Preorder] Read: "Lil Scrappy Enlists Eminem, 50, Lil Jon For 'Half Sorry, Half Party' LP" · Metallica - "The Videos: 1989-2004" (Warner Bros.) · Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape (Interscope) [Preorder] Read: "Gwen Stefani's New LP, The Sweet Escape, Set For December" · Various artists - Eminem Presents the Re-Up (Shady) [Preorder] Read: "Eminem, New Shady Artists Join 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks On The Re-Up" · Various artists - "Fast Food Nation" soundtrack (Park the Van)

December 12: · Mary J. Blige - Reflections (A Retrospective) (Geffen) [Preorder] Read: "Mary J.'s Greatest-Hits LP Brings Three New Songs, Brushes Off Rumors" · Fantasia - Fantasia (J) [Preorder] Read: "Fantasia Collaborates With Her American Idol, Aretha Franklin" · Ghostface Killah - More Fish (Def Jam) [Preorder] Read: "Ghostface Killah Warms Up Leftover Fish For Second 2006 Album" · Taylor Hicks - Taylor Hicks (RCA) [Preorder] Read: "Taylor Hicks Planning To 'Wamp' It Up With New Sound On Debut LP" · Bobby Valentino - Special Occasion (Def Jam) [Preorder] Read: "Bobby Valentino Asks Sean Garrett, Rodney Jerkins To Attend Special Occasion" · Young Jeezy - Thug Motivation 102: The Inspiration (Def Jam) [Preorder] Read: "Jeezy Waiting On Kanye For LP; Addresses Rumors Of Tour With Jay, Nas"

December 19:

· Katharine McPhee - TBD (RCA) · Mos Def - Tru3 Magic (Geffen) · Nas - Hip-Hop Is Dead ... The N (Def Jam) Read: "MTV News Exclusive: Nas Previews Hip-Hop Is Dead ... The N" · Styles P - Time Is Money (Ruff Ryders) · UGK - Underground Kingz (two CDs; Jive) Read: "Ex-Con Pimp C Juiced For UGK Album, Says He Has Lessons To Teach"

• Ying Yang Twins
• Clipse
• Foo Fighters
• Incubus
• La' Chat

Kid Rock (file)
Photo: Atlantic

No $575,000 lawsuit is going to keep Detroit badass Kid Rock down. The rocker is set to perform "America the Beautiful" at the Palace of Auburn Hills Sunday night, before Game 5 of this year's NBA Finals between the Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs. Naturally, Rock is a hardcore Pistons fan. ... Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, Ice Cube, India.Arie, Ciara, Chingy and Twista are among those scheduled to attend the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards on June 27 in Beverly Hills. Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis will be presented with the Heritage Award at the event. ...

In anticipation of Don't Quit Your Day Job, his first album on Kanye West's new label, Consequence is releasing a retrospective mixtape called A Tribe Called Quence 1995-2004. Consequence, a protégé of A Tribe Called Quest, will also be heard in the coming weeks alongside Andre 3000 on the Q-Tip single "Sexy," with Cam'ron on West's "Gone" and on his own single, "Clockin' My Style." ... Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan have recorded a new song called "Unplayed Piano" that will be available exclusively through iTunes beginning Tuesday with all proceeds going to the U.S. Campaign for Burma and Burma Campaign U.K.'s crusade to free Aung San Suu Kyi on her 60th birthday, June 19. The only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient led an international movement to end over 40 years of brutal military rule in the Southeast Asian country of Burma. ...

Pennywise have set an August 9 release date for their eighth album, The Fuse. The first single, "Disconnect," which lambastes a media-obsessed culture, will arrive at radio stations next week. ... Canadian rockers Our Lady Peace, who'll be appearing at the Live 8 show in Toronto, will release Healthy in Paranoid Times on August 30. The album is the group's first new studio release since 2002's Gravity. In additional to the conventional CD release, a DualDisc edition will also hit stores, featuring an in-depth look at the making of the LP. ... Stellastarr* are putting the finishing touches on their sophomore album, Harmonies for the Haunted. The New Yorkers are planning a September release. ...

Less than a month after they announced they'd be going on indefinite hiatus, three members of Floridian beard-core pioneers Hot Water Music have forged a new group called the Draft. According to Hot Water Music's Web site, the band features guitarist and singer Chris Wollard, bassist Jason Black and drummer George Rebelo. They've lined up their first gig, which goes down July 4 at Common Grounds in Gainesville. Hot Water Music's other member, singer/guitarist Chuck Ragan, has "decided to concentrate on life off of the road." ... Cee-Lo and Sean Lennon are among the guests on Esthero's new album, Wikked Lil' Grrrls, due June 28. The Canadian singer will promote the album with a tour kicking July off 2 in Seattle and wrapping up July 31 in Detroit. ...

Taking a break from recording their fifth studio album, Ganging Up on the Sun, in Nashville, Tennessee, Guster will return to their hometown of Boston to perform two shows with the Boston Pops. The orchestra will play classical pieces that have influenced the band, including "G Major" and "Dear Valentine," before joining the group on Guster tunes. The shows are scheduled for June 22 and 23, while the album is due in early 2006. ... O.A.R. have enlisted former Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison (who has produced No Doubt and Live) to oversee their second major-label album. Parliament's Bernie Worrell will guest on the material, which the band will debut on tour this summer. ...

Boston's Irish punkers the Dropkick Murphys will release The Warrior's Code on June 21 before heading out on the road as the co-headliners on this summer's Vans Warped Tour. The record will include the songs "Wicked Sensitive Crew," "Your Spirit's Alive" and "Last Letter Home." ... Brothers Dean and Gene Ween are prepping Shinola, a collection of "scraps, throwaways and outtakes," according to the band's Web site. No release date has been set. ...

06.16.2005

Destiny's Child will make one of their last television appearances at the 15th annual ESPY Awards, The Associated Press reports. The sports awards show, hosted by Matthew Perry, will tape at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on July 13 and air on ESPN July 17. The multiplatinum group stunned fans earlier this week when it announced it would disband at the end of its Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It world tour, which wraps in September. ...

More dates have been released for this summer's System of a Down/ Mars Volta tour. The 'fro-heavy trek, which kicks off August 4 in Long Beach, California, will now also hit Atlanta on August 19; Hampton, Virginia, on August 21; Baltimore on August 22; East Rutherford, New Jersey, on August 23; Philadelphia on August 26; and Toronto on September 1. ... Want to listen to what's on P. Diddy's playlist? Here's your chance — the rap mogul, along with Katie Holmes, Mary J. Blige, Renée Zellweger, Cyndi Lauper, Mischa Barton, Jessica Alba, Brittany Murphy and Hype Williams, have created playlists for custom-designed iPods to be auctioned off for charity. Style & Sounds: A Case for a Cause, which runs through Wednesday and benefits breast-cancer research, features cases decked out in fur, jewels, beads, belts and brass, designed by the likes of Betsey Johnson, Cynthia Rowley, Vivienne Tam, Max Azria of BCBG, Judith Leiber and Donna Karan, among others. The auction is live at ebay.com. ...

The judge who presided over Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial ruled on Thursday (June 16) that he's going to release almost every sealed court document in the case, since he had kept much of the material highly edited, even secret, in the interests of providing a fair trial. Since the amount of documents — from search warrants at the onset of the case to questions asked by the jury during deliberations — is so great, Judge Rodney Melville said, it will probably take a month. He told lawyers that he would consider their requests, if submitted by June 23, to keep any specific material unreleased. Melville is still considering whether to extend his decision to include releasing videos shown during the trial, and said he would issue a ruling later. ... JC Chasez is in the final few weeks of recording his second solo album. "In my heart it's the best stuff I've ever written," the 'NSYNC singer said. "This record is more focused, more about my heart. The last one was more sex, sex, sex; this one is more love, love, love." When asked if former flame Eva Longoria inspired any of the lyrics, Chasez tensed up and answered, "No ... maybe ... I don't know. They come from wherever they come from." ...

Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are overseeing a Luther Vandross tribute album that will include Mary J. Blige, Celine Dion, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard and others. "We got a call from Clive Davis, who thought it would be appropriate to put together his great music with a lot of great artists from today," Jam said. "Mary J. does 'Never Too Much' and really makes it her own. Celine does 'Dance With My Father,' and she lost her father earlier in the year, so she sings it with a lot of passion." ... Jam and Lewis are also working on the next record by longtime collaborator Janet Jackson. The producers recently left their Minneapolis studio to join Jackson in Jermaine Dupri's Atlanta studio. "Us and Janet always are busy with a ton of projects, and the chance to go to Atlanta was a chance to go back to the way we did the Control record 20 years ago, where we all sat in a room and vibed and came up with stuff," Jam said. ...

Mya is taking two months off from recording this summer to teach inner-city kids through a charity she founded in Washington, D.C. "My background is dance, so we're gonna have a ball," she said. Mya is still looking at a late summer release for her next album, Control Freak, featuring Dr. Dre, Lil Jon and "just about every damn body." For the first single, Mya is leaning toward a dance track called "Let It Go." ... Ex-Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch is founding what he's calling a Head Home in India, where he will house leper children. "My eyes have been opened to children on the street and I feel like that is who I want and need to help," he said in a statement. Footage of his efforts can be viewed at headtochrist.com before it is turned into a documentary on his life. ...

The lives of 1960s folk-rocker Tim Buckley and his son, '90s not-quite-folk rocker Jeff Buckley, may soon be playing out on the big screen. A script about the famous father and son has been making its way around Hollywood, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The screenplay is based on music critic David Browne's 2001 book, "Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley." Both musicians made a mark on the musical landscape before their untimely deaths: Tim died of a heroin overdose in 1975 at 28, while Jeff accidentally drowned in the Mississippi River during a late-night swim in Memphis in 1997, at age 30. ... The Pixies, Bright Eyes and Elvis Costello have all been confirmed for the Newport Folk Fest, which takes place August 4-7 in Newport, Rhode Island. Emmylou Harris and Jim James of My Morning Jacket are also scheduled to perform. ...

If you couldn't make it to England for two recent reunion shows by '90s psychedelic rockers the Olivia Tremor Control, don't despair — the trippy troupe is planning a trio of Stateside gigs. The group will play Chicago's Subterranean on July 29 and hit the Bowery Ballroom in New York for a two-night stand (August 2-3), all with support from the reunited New Zealand pop group the Tall Dwarfs. The OTC-affiliated Cloud Recordings will reissue two classics from the Dwarfs, Weeville and Fork Songs, in late summer. ... "Bewitched" casts a spell with the Cars hit "Magic" in its TV spots, but the song isn't making the official soundtrack, out Tuesday. A slew of other magic-minded numbers will appear on the album, though, such as the Police's "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," Frank Sinatra's "Witchcraft," Ella Fitzgerald's rendition of the "Wizard of Oz" classic "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead," and original "Wicked" Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth's take on the Eagles' "Witchy Woman." Also on the soundtrack are songs by Talking Heads, R.E.M., Natalie Cole and Persephone's Bees, who have the first single with "City of Love." ...

After getting their start opening for Ashlee Simpson, You Hear It First artists the Click Five are moving on to open for Jesse McCartney for a series of dates at the end of June. After that, the suit-wearing pop-rockers will warm up the crowd for the majority of the Backstreet Boys' upcoming tour, starting July 22 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and ending August 14 in Boston. ...

• Kid Rock
• Janet Jackson
• Damien Rice
• Pennywise
• Our Lady Peace

Avril Lavigne
Photo: George Pimentel / Wire Image

While some bands continue to cancel Toronto dates over SARS fears, Canada's music elite, including Avril Lavigne, Sum 41 and Sarah McLachlan, are joining forces to battle the city's tourism troubles, which began when the disease broke out there earlier this year.

The acts will headline a June 21 concert that will also feature Barenaked Ladies, Our Lady Peace, Glenn Lewis, Remy Shand and the Tragically Hip, according to a spokesperson for the event.

Lavigne and the others will perform at either Toronto's Skydome or the adjacent Air Canada Centre, with all performances being broadcast on giant screens in both venues, which hold a combined 70,000 people.

"We rely on concerts to bring in a lot of tourists to Toronto in the summer, so the reason this was put together by various levels of government and promoters was [because] we saw an opportunity to give back to the city using Canadian acts, showing the world that Toronto is open for business," said Brett Gallagher, vice president of concerts for the Skydome. "[Those of us] living here are going [on with] our normal work days. We have to be smart about it, but we're still living life."

Since Toronto's outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in March, the disease has caused 27 deaths in the area and the tourism industry has lost approximately $763 million (see "SARS Continues To Affect Concerts, Promo Dates Worldwide").

The World Health Organization revoked a travel advisory to Toronto earlier this month, although the city has returned to a list of "areas with recent local transmission of SARS."

The announcement of the June concert comes on the heels of Kelly Clarkson, Lisa Marie Presley and others canceling Toronto appearances. Just this week, Staind called off an autograph session and concert with Cold over fears of the reemergence of the disease.

• Avril Lavigne
• Sum 41
• Sarah McLachlan
• Barenaked Ladies
• Our Lady Peace

Disturbed's David Draiman
Photo: Amy V. Cooper

Chicago rockers Disturbed have upset the Dixie Chicks' three-week run as chart champs, selling more than 283,000 copies of their second album to debut atop the Billboard 200 albums chart, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday.

The riff-wielding quartet has come a long way in its short career. Disturbed's 2000 debut, The Sickness, while eventually selling more than 2.6 million copies, took nearly two months to crack the chart after its release.

What's even more impressive is that Disturbed's first-place showing came without an unavoidable, playlist-friendly video. The clip for the LP's first single, "Prayer," encountered restrictions because it was deemed insensitive by some in the wake of 9/11 (see "Disturbed Refuse To Re-Edit 'Prayer' Video For Airplay"). The curbing proved irrelevant, however, as radio embraced the song and Disturbed's camp used well-placed TV ads to show fans portions of the apocalyptic clip, which is included as a bonus on the disc.

Disturbed's chart debut pushes the Dixie Chicks' Home and Avril Lavigne's Let Go down to #2 and #3, respectively. Nelly's Nellyville holds on to #4 for a fourth straight week, while Eminem's The Eminem Show slides past it to #5.

The "Growing Pains" hurt so good for Ludacris' posse, Disturbing Tha Peace. The Dirty South sextet take the #6 position with their debut LP, Golden Grain, which sold more than 95,000 copies.

If Lifehouse were nondescript with their last album, No Name Face, its follow-up, Stanley Climbfall, is becoming a household name — at least to the more than 74,000 folks who bought it last week. Jason Wade and company land at #7 with more than 74,000 copies sold, thanks in part to the first single, "Spin."

Softie soprano sax player Kenny G's Paradise lands at #9, while Enrique Iglesias' Spanish-language album, Quizas, takes the #12 slot to round out the week's top-20 debuts. Quizas follows Iglesias' immensely successful English-language Escape, which sold more than 3 million copies.

The remainder of the week's top 10 includes Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, dropping one spot to #8, and former #1 country boy Toby Keith's Unleashed, falling five spots to #10, while also breaking the 1 million mark in total sales.

A reissue of John Mayer's 1999 debut EP, Inside Wants Out, comes in at #22 with more than 35,000 in sales, while the singer/songwriter's full-length debut, Room for Squares, sits just a few places ahead at #19.

With the band on a U.S. tour through October 24, Our Lady Peace's Gravity makes a mighty chart leap from #70 to #51 after seeing an increase in weekly sales of more than 3,000 copies. And former underground darlings turned You Hear It First buzz band Interpol reaped the benefit of nationally televised exposure coupled with critical fawning, moving from #187 to #158 with Turn on the Bright Lights.

Other notable chart debuts include Natalie Cole's Ask a Woman Who Knows at #32; Disneymania, featuring A*Teens, Aaron Carter and 'NSYNC covering Disney staples, at #61; Nickelback hand-holders Theory of a Dead Man's self-titled debut at #85; Chicago's OK Go's eponymous LP at #107; and Built to Spill frontman Doug Martsch's solo venture, Now You Know, at #177.

For a feature interview with Disturbed, check out "Disturbed: Naked On A Platter."

• Disturbed
• Enrique Iglesias
• Norah Jones
• Our Lady Peace
• Natalie Cole

Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida
Photo: Theo Wargo/WireImage.com&#160;

DETROIT — When a band name-checks Jack Kerouac and writes an entire album based on the works of author Ray Kurzweil, the last thing most of its fans would expect is a dissertation on professional wrestling.

That's what Our Lady Peace's fans received during the opening night of the band's tour Wednesday at the State Theatre.

"So, we have this friend of ours. He's a tough motherf---er. He spends most of his days in the gym, working out, working out on every muscle, working on his brain," lead singer Raine Maida told the 3,000-capacity crowd.

"At night, he might live in a cage or in a ring this size. He's not your average wrestler. He has some serious skills and he's a true wrestler, not like these pretty boys. He's the real deal."

The quintet, including a touring guitarist/keyboardist, blasted into Chris Benoit's World Wrestling Entertainment theme song, "Whatever," in the middle of the two-hour set.

Our Lady Peace could have played anything and the fans would have accepted it, even though OLP took the stage more than 90 minutes late. Dubbed "an evening with," which translates to "no opener," with a 7:30 p.m. showtime, the Canadian band hit the stage close to 9 p.m.

But it was a dramatic entry for Our Lady Peace, who arrived onstage in darkness, save blinking lights on the soundboard. The opening song, "All for You," began with an explosion of bright white lights that lit the band from behind.

The lights rarely focused on the band and instead beamed parallel to the stage, behind the group, portraying the musicians as giant silhouettes on the ornate walls. It offered a nightclub feel, where Our Lady Peace were almost the background. In a rare moment, spotlights cascaded on the band during "Right Behind You (Mafia)."

Overhead lights brightened the main floor as fans drowned Maida in his own choruses in songs like "Superman's Dead" or the anthemic "Innocent." The crowd punched their collective fists in the air during "Innocent" as if the chorus was a war cry and waved their arms during "Clumsy," in which Maida sings, "I'll be waving my hand watching you drown/ Watching you scream/ Quiet or loud."

Each time Maida tried to speak, the rabid audience's deafening screams overthrew the singer, who is married to pianist/chanteuse Chantal Kreviazuk. He smiled as he waited for the noise to die down, and midway through "Superman's Dead," he stopped and addressed the crowd.

"We did that festival in the summer and the same amount of people showed up," Maida said about the 89X (CIMX-FM) Birthday Bash in Pontiac, Michigan, on June 1. "You sang your hearts, souls and asses off. Detroit, we know you got it in you, so let's tear the roof off this place."

He returned to "Superman's Dead," leading the audience in an a cappella sing-along of the line, "Doesn't anybody ever know?" Maida responded, "That sounded so good, let's do it again." After the second time, the State Theatre was aglow as Our Lady Peace forcefully returned to the music.

While climbing on the base of one of the knight sculptures which bookend the stage, Maida teased the audience during the hit "Starseed" by reaching down into the crowd and pulling his hand back quickly before anyone could touch him.

Parking lots surrounding the State Theatre — in Detroit's theater district — were peppered with license plates from Ontario, just across the Detroit River. Several fans shook Canadian flags at Our Lady Peace as the main floor moved forward and back, like waves of an ocean.

It was a sort of homecoming for new guitarist Steve Mazur, a native of Port Huron, Michigan, more than an hour north of Detroit.

"All I have to say is, we all know that this is Steve's hometown," Maida said. "But Detroit, man, the way you guys are making us feel, we all feel like we're from Detroit. Thank you very much."

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

• Our Lady Peace

Papa Roach
Photo: DreamWorks

Papa Roach must have mixed emotions about the first-week chart position of their new album, Lovehatetragedy.

The California quartet has got to enjoy the fact that their second album will land in the #2 slot on next week's Billboard 200 albums chart with more than 135,000 copies sold, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday (June 26). The follow-up to 2000's Infest just marginally bested Korn's Untouchables (132,000) to become the country's best-selling rock album. However, even combined sales of the two rock LPs couldn't top the total of The Eminem Show. The rapper's third major-label LP has been affixed to the #1 position for five weeks, yielding a grand total of more than 3.3 million copies.

Wyclef Jean's Masquerade earned the honor of becoming the second-highest chart debut, landing at #6. The Fugee's third solo album, fueled by a pair of videos for "PJ's" and "Two Wrongs," sold more than 81,000 copies. Canadian rockers Our Lady Peace scored the highest chart debut in their seven-year career with Gravity, which will come in at #9 with more than 66,000 copies sold.

Paulina Rubio's sixth LP, Border Girl, the Mexican pop singer's first English language album, will leave its mark at #11, thanks to the single "Don't Say Goodbye" and her ultra-"hip" image displayed in the windows of retail shops nationwide. Jerry Cantrell's Degradation Trip, the second solo outing by the former Alice in Chains guitarist, and pop singer Anastacia's Freak of Nature round out the chart's top 40 debuts.

Five-spot jumps by Avril Lavigne and Pink make the attitude-infused ladies the biggest gainers in the top 10. Lavigne's Let Go moves from #10 to #5, and hasn't left the chart's uppermost echelon since its release three weeks ago. Missundaztood, meanwhile, re-enters the top 10 from its previously held #15 slot on the coattails of its third single, "Just Like a Pill."

The remainder of next week's top 10 will consist of Totally Hits 2, slipping a spot to #4; Ashanti's self-titled debut making an identical move to #7; and P. Diddy & Bad Boy Records' We Invented the Remix conceding three spots to #8.

The soundtrack to "Lilo & Stitch," the runner-up for tops at the box office in its opening weekend, will make the largest chart leap. After debuting at #57, the LP will rocket 41 spots to #16 and increase its weekly pull by nearly 50 percent.

Three albums in the top 40 will take more than 20-slot slides, with New Found Glory's Sticks & Stones, which debuted last week at #4, leading the downturn with a 21-spot dip. Former first-placer Alan Jackson's Drive and The Osbourne Family Album will both dive 22 places, to #34 and #35, respectively; while David Bowie's Heathen falls farthest, from #14 to #37.

Other notable debuts on next week's chart include the Swedish pop quartet A-Teens' Pop 'Til You Drop! at #45; the double-LP compilation 2002 Warped Tour at #55; dance-music DJ Paul Oakenfold's Bunkka at #65; rapper Archie Eversole's Ride Wit Me Dirty South Style at #83; rapper B Rich's 80 Dimes at #100; Ozzfest vets Otep's Sevas Tra at #145; and indie rock stalwarts Guided by Voices' Universal Truths and Cycles at #160.

For full-length features on Eminem and Korn, check out "Eminem: The Gift And The Curse" and "Korn: The Untouchables."

• Papa Roach
• Korn
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Our Lady Peace
Photo: Columbia

Sometimes you just can't stop the Rock.

Bob Rock, that is.

Canadian rockers Our Lady Peace learned that lesson this winter when they flew to the famed producer's studio in Maui, Hawaii, to record two new tracks for a live album and returned home with their entire fifth album, Gravity, due Tuesday.

"We recorded a song with Bob, and it was amazing," Our Lady Peace singer Raine Maida explained. "The vibe was so intense. By the time we were ready to leave, he said, 'Look guys, if you think you have the material, I say we make a record, 'cause there's something special going on.' It's kinda heavy when a producer is asking you. The passion he was showing was like, 'F--- yeah. We gotta do this.' And it was done in like 10 weeks, which is so short for us."

Gravity takes its name from the line "You're falling out of reach/ Defying gravity/ I know you're out there/ Somewhere out there" in the album's first single, "Somewhere Out There," currently #8 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Maida said the album, too, defies gravity, in that it takes the band in the opposite direction it was heading on 2001's Spiritual Machines.

"It really is the antithesis of what Spiritual Machines was. It was a very information-heavy, very futuristic record concept-wise and lyrically. This record has felt so grounded. It's very real. A song like 'Bring Back the Sun,' we only recorded it four or five times and just took one take. No overdubs. There's a lot of that kind of vibe. It's very grounded, and [the title] Gravity suits."

The album's straightforwardness can be credited to Rock, who's known for capturing a band's live energy in the studio. It helped that Our Lady Peace, who recorded their previous albums in Toronto with producer and friend Arnold Lanni, were eager to work with Rock.

"We had a talk with him before [and said], 'We don't need to make one that sounds like our last four,' " Maida said. "We love [Metallica's] Black Album, the simplicity of it. Rock licks and rock songs. It wasn't like we were fighting against someone changing our sound. We were open to it."

Maida was also open to Rock's ideas about his lyrical approach, which were in line with the simplified beats and guitar hooks. It was the first time he had a producer influence his writing.

"He told me some great James Hetfield stories about pushing him to simplify sh--, not be so big with words," Maida said. "I tend to be more ethereal. My whole fear is once you start talking about yourself it comes off as really pretentious. He understands that but knew there's a way to do it. You need people to connect with what you talk about on a very visceral level, and he said to do that you almost have to feel like you're giving too much up and have that nervous energy when you're singing."

As a result, Gravity sounds like a diary (most of the tracks are about relationships) with a rock and roll soundtrack. "Sorry," in particular, seems soaked in honesty, with lyrics like, "I'm sorry I can't lie/ I wasted too much time/ Drowning, I've been blind."

The album also possesses a sort of evolutionary spirit, in part because the longtime guitarist Mike Turner quit midway through recording and was replaced by Detroit native Steve Mazur.

"We were limited by our guitar player," Maida said. "We always wanted to be a rock band, and all the songs I write are rock songs, but he was much more of an atmosphere guy. We never had a guitar player that could step out there and be at one with his instrument. Like a Jimmy Page, someone who has a voice. Now we have that."

Maida said Mazur's presence is especially obvious in Our Lady Peace's live show. So far the group has played only a few dates, but it has a month of shows lined up beginning next week. Although Gravity has been circulating on the Internet for only a few weeks, the band's loyal fanbase already seems to have fallen for the record.

"We just did our first three club shows, and these kids are singing all the new songs," Maida said. "They're calling out songs. It's amazing. I don't even know some of the lyrics yet. All of a sudden these kids are singing all the lyrics and I'm f---ing them up. It's what any band wants. You don't want kids singing just the single. You make records 'cause you want them to dig the whole record."

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Josey Scott
Photo: Columbia/IDJMG/Roadrunner

"I didn't know Krusty the Clown was going to be playing drums," one bandmember said to another.

"Yeah, well I didn't know Jesus Christ was going to be the singer today," the first target retorted, shifting the focus to the luxuriously locked frontman.

"Well, I didn't know that the Undertaker was going to be singing a verse," the would-be messiah snapped back.

Although the preceding exchange sounds like a discussion amongst a fictitious supergroup, it was actually a snippet of the between-take banter on the set of the video for "Hero," the second single from the "Spider-Man" soundtrack.

The Krusty percussionist was in fact Our Lady Peace's Jeremy Taggart, the pseudo-savior was Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, and the undead pro wrestler was played convincingly by Saliva singer Josey Scott.

"It was a lot of fun," Scott said of the March 24 video shoot in Vancouver. "There were a lot of laughs, a lot of humor between us."

If while watching the clip your spider sense begins to tingle, indicating that there's something not quite right, trust your instincts. Things aren't as they seem in the Nigel Dick-directed clip, which just as easily could've been helmed by Spidey nemesis Mysterio, the master of illusion.

For starters, the musicians weren't actually atop a skyscraper as they appear to be in the clip. They're only a few feet off the ground. Dick (Oasis, Britney Spears) designed the rooftop set in an airplane hanger and enveloped it with green screens — later replace by CGI magic — to give the impression that the group is scores of stories above street level.

And the guys seen playing the instruments aren't really the ones responsible for the song's sound. Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron pounded the skins in the studio the day before the shoot but couldn't attend, so Taggart stepped in.

Kroeger, who penned the song with assistance from Scott, performed the bass tracks on record, though his brother and Nickelback bandmate Mike rounded out the lineup in the video. And while Scott is seen strumming an acoustic guitar in the clip, he actually doesn't play anything and just adds some backing vocals on the song itself.

The only bandmember with audio-video consistency is guitarist Tyler Connolly of Theory of a Dead Man, who added a stinging solo in the studio and appears as himself in the clip.

The collaboration stemmed from a Nickelback/Saliva tour several months ago. Kroeger and Scott discussed working together on a song, and when the road trip ended they finally had time to put their plan into action.

"[Chad] played a part of the song 'Hero' and it immediately [piqued] my interest," Scott recalled. "So we started messing with that — arranged some of the vocals, harmonies and stuff, and went in and cut a demo for it right away."

The pair played all the instruments for the track's rough cut and a few weeks later enlisted the services of Cameron and Connolly as well as a string quartet. As soon as the individual parts were recorded, Scott said the group knew it had hit the right mark.

"During the mixdown, we all knew we had something really, really special — especially for 'Spider-Man,' to go along with the hero theme and all of that. It was really coming together. We knew it was a really dope idea."

Scott added that future collaborations were a possibility since there was a handful of songs he and Kroeger had played with in Vancouver. But when pressed for details, he was as tightlipped as if he were protecting a superhero's secret identity.

"There are about two or three we had worked on," he revealed before adding, "but I'm not at liberty to discuss them."

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Sum41's Deryck Whibley
Photo: MTV

Toronto rockers Our Lady Peace lead the pack of nominees for the 12th annual MuchMusic Video Awards, which will be broadcast live September 23 from the Canadian music network's Toronto studios. In addition to performing at the event, the quartet will vie for eight awards for their videos "In Repair" and "Life," according to a MuchMusic publicist.

"In Repair" will contend for Best Video, Best Rock Video, Best Director and Best Post-Production honors, as well People's Choice Awards for Favorite Video by a Canadian and Favorite Canadian Group. Competing against its Spiritual Machines album-mate in the Best Post-Production category, "Life" is up against videos by Big Wreck ("Inhale"), Default ("Wasting My Time"), Edwin ("Rush") and Sugar Jones ("How Much Longer") in the Best Cinematography category.

Hip-hop collective Baby Blue Soundcrew and reggae-rapper Snow trail OLP with five nominations split between two videos each. The Soundcrew's "Money Jane" (featuring Kardinal Offishall, Sean Paul and Jully Black) and "Love 'Em All" (featuring Choclair and Mr. Mims) will square off for Best Rap Video along with Offishall's "Bakardi Slang," Mastermind's "Bump!" and Swollen Member's "Lady Venom."

Snow's "The Plumb Song" racked up four nods, including one for Best Pop Video, while "Everybody Wants to Be Like You" is in the running for the MuchMoreMusic Award.

Nelly Furtado and Sum41, two artists who've successfully crossed the border this year with their respective albums, Whoa, Nelly! and All Killer No Filler, come in with four nominations each, including People's Choice Favorite Video by a Canadian and Best International Video nods shared by Furtado's "I'm Like a Bird" and Sum41's "Fat Lip/Pain for Pleasure." Five-girl pop group Sugar Jones also have four nominations, Best Pop Video and Best Cinematography for "How Much Longer" among them.

Other MuchMusic Video Award performers include Shaggy, Coldplay, Staind, Incubus, Outkast, B4-4, and Baby Blue Soundcrew.

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Nelly Furtado
Photo: Eufloria

Newcomer Nelly Furtado leads a strong field of international success stories announced Wednesday as nominees for this year's Juno Awards, Canada's equivalent to the Grammys.

Victoria, British Columbia, native Furtado walked off with nominations for Best Single ("I'm Like a Bird"), Best Pop Album (Whoa Nelly!), Best New Solo Artist, Best Songwriter and Best Producer. Whoa Nelly!, Furtado's debut, also received a nomination in the Best Recording Engineer category. The Barenaked Ladies garnered four nominations, including Best Group, Best Album and Best Pop Album (Maroon), and Best Single ("Pinch Me"), while bandmembers Steven Page and Ed Robertson got a nod in the Best Songwriter category.

Canadian boy-band heroes the Moffatts, a group of brothers that includes 16-year-old triplets, were nominated for Best Group and Best Pop Album (Submodalities), and their album also received production nods for Canadian producer Bob Rock and engineer Randy Staub.

SoulDecision were given three major nominations, for Best Album (No One Does It Better), Best Single ("Faded") and Best Group. Snow, best known for his 1993 hit "Informer," was recognized in the Best Pop Album (Mind on the Moon), Best Male Artist and Best Songwriter categories.

Other Canadian artists with three nominations include the Tragically Hip and the Matthew Good Band. Finger Eleven are up for Best Rock Album for The Greyest of Blue Skies — also nominated in the Best Producer category — and Best Video ("Drag You Down"). Rockers Our Lady Peace ended up with two nods — their late-1999 effort, Happiness ... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch, will compete for the Best Album award, and their clip for "Thief" is up for Best Video. Girl rockers Kittie were nominated in the Best New Group category, as were Vancouver, British Columbia, band Nickelback. The awards ceremony, which will feature live performances by Furtado, the Moffatts and SoulDecision, among others, will be staged on March 4 in Hamilton, Ontario.

For a full-length interview with Furtado, check out the MTVi News feature "Nelly Furtado: Teen Pop Goes Global."

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• Our Lady Peace

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• Our Lady Peace

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