Hilly Kristal
Photo: Scott Gries/ Getty Images

Hilly Kristal, the founder of legendary New York punk-rock venue CBGB, died Tuesday from complications from lung cancer at age 75.

Kristal, who opened the now-defunct venue in 1973 in the then-gritty Bowery neighborhood in Manhattan, is credited with helping to launch the mid-'70s punk revolution with his championing of bands such as the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Television and Patti Smith. Following a final show in October 2006, Kristal had discussed plans to take the venue to Las Vegas (see "CBGB Owner Relocating Club — Urinals Included — To Vegas This Spring").

"I am very sorry that Hilly is gone," Blondie singer Deborah Harry said in a statement released to MTV News. "He was a big help to Blondie and to the New York music scene for many years. His club CBGB has become a part of New York lore and rock and roll history."

"Hilly was an integral part of the punk scene from 1974 until his death," said former Ramones drummer Mark Bell, a.k.a Marky Ramone. "He was always supportive of the genre and of bands like the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, and Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and will hold a prominent place in music history. We are all grateful to him and will miss him."

CBGB, which opened in December 1973, was officially called CBGB & OMFUG, which stood for "Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers." But it was the decision by the gruff, bespectacled and bearded Kristal to offer a residency to a then-obscure rock band called Television in March 1974 that helped kick open the door for a raft of bands that would spark the punk-rock movement across the globe.

Intent on showcasing bands playing original music, Kristal offered his stage to thousands upon thousands of young acts over its three-decade-long run. A fixture at the ramshackle club's front door, Kristal ran the club for all 33 years, overseeing its growth from punk's incubator to a tourist attraction — albeit one with legendarily putrid bathrooms and poster-caked walls — whose iconic logo can be seen on T-shirts all over the world.

According to his son, Mark Dana Kristal, Hilly "was suffering" a great deal during the final weeks of his life. "I think he thought he was going to get better, but he didn't. I just wanted him to be in less pain," he said.

As for his father's legacy, "He already has recognition for helping people with music," Mark said.

At a time when many experimental New York musicians didn't have a club to call their own, Kristal provided a kind of incubator that helped the bands find their sound, according to Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye, a longtime friend of Kristal's who used to live across the street from the club.

"He provided this place to play for a lot of disaffected musicians, and he did that by having an open-door policy," Kaye told MTV News. "The only real thing that was important for CBGB was that you played original music. If you did, he was willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and the time to figure out what the music was."

Kaye experienced that policy firsthand as a member of Smith's group, which played a seven-week, two-show-a-night residency at the club in spring 1975. Kaye said the residency was key in helping the band to "settle into" its musical style. "It's the kind of environment that musicians need, like [New York's] Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s, or 52nd Street in the 1940s when bebop was taking shape. Those times had venues where people could see who they are."

Even after the golden era of punk had faded, Kaye praised Kristal for keeping that open-door policy over the next 30-plus years, inviting a variety of acts to play and asking them back if they could draw a crowd. "I saw such varieties of music in that club," Kaye recalled of the long, dimly lit room where curious masses shuffled past Kristal's desk beside the front door toward the low, cramped stage in the back. There fans would find acts that hoped the club would become part of their legend — or at least add them to its storied history.

"Hilly always gave Sonic Youth a break, from the moment I walked in there looking for a gig," Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore told MTV News. "He knew I had been going there every night since 1977. I think we made $8 on a Tuesday night in front of hardly anyone [on that first gig], but Hilly was there, listening, and he told me that we could next play a Thursday night. He was fatherly in the truest sense, always having the time to talk with you without any condescension. Amid the chaos of Bleecker & Bowery, he was a figure of decency."

After the heyday of New York punk passed, the club continued its streak of booking bands that would go on to bigger and better things, as well as those who just wanted to get a taste of its storied past. That includes Living Colour, Guns N' Roses, Pavement, Elvis Costello, PJ Harvey, AC/DC, the Beastie Boys, the Cars, the Pixies, Soundgarden, the Police, Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney and Sonic Youth — who launched their summer 2006 tour at the club and filmed the video for "Do You Believe in Rapture?" there as an homage to the venue.

The club began to lose out on bookings by the mid-1990s to the raft of other venues in the city, and turned its attention to lesser-known punk and hardcore acts. But it still had an allure for newer groups that were aware of its history (or that wanted to celebrate its status), attracting acts such as Green Day, Good Charlotte, 30 Seconds to Mars, Blink-182, Hawthorne Heights, Devendra Banhart, Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, NOFX, Pearl Jam, Rancid, Linkin Park, Coheed and Cambria, the Dave Matthews Band and the Strokes. During the 1980s, it also expanded into a space next door, opening a gallery/shop that featured acoustic music and an underground "CB's Lounge" that also hosted shows.

"Sometimes you forget, in terms of the mythology, how great a place it was to see music," Kaye continued. "It had a great stage, a great sound system ... and [Kristal] was always there, at the front desk, seven days a week, rain or shine, watching the [crowds] come in. He was a great New York character. He was family."

Though the venue was shuttered last year after a bitter, protracted battle with the owner of the building that housed the club (see "CBGB Owner, Landlord Reach Accord: Club To Close On Halloween '06"), it closed with a flurry of farewell gigs (see "Flea Jams With Patti Smith, Punks Weep At CBGB's Last-Ever Show"). Kristal's daughter, Lisa Kristal Burgman, told MTV News she will continue her dad's work, as he directed, by working to revive the CBGB name. "There will be clubs, more than one," she said, adding that they may or may not be in New York.

Kristal Burgman, who was 18 when CBGB opened, said people might not realize that her dad was also a musician and songwriter. "He sang at Radio City Music Hall when he was very young in the men's chorus," she said. "He could hit a bass C and he had perfect pitch. He loved music and his whole life was about music. My favorite memories of him was when he'd play guitar and sing at my birthday parties. But what made CBGB unique was that it was not about a man starting a business to make money, it was about a man starting a business to give artists a chance to be heard and play their music."

CBGB attendees would often see Kristal sitting at his desk, strumming an acoustic guitar and humming or singing in his deep voice, no matter how loud the noise emanting from the stage.

Kristal exhaustively documented the club's layout before its closing, with an eye toward reopening it — the club's bar, stage and other fixtures were put into storage (see "CBGB's Last Hours"). "I have to fight [to keep the club open]," he told MTV News in 2006. "We should be right here. New York is a wonderful city in a lot of ways, and we're part of it. Not because of me. It's only because of what these musicians who played here say.

"I didn't make this reputation, they did," he continued. "I cannot let this thing down. I can't give up if I think we're right in being here."

A private memorial service is planned, with a public memorial to be held at a later date.

On Wednesday, outside the now-vacant 315 Bowery, where CBGB once stood, fans had erected a makeshift memorial. The wicks of a dozen or so candles flickered in the breeze caused by delivery trucks speeding past the intersection of Bleecker Street. Few signs of CBGB remain, except for some band stickers plastered across nearby lampposts, messages fans from around the world have etched into the building's metal shutters — and, of course, the street sign that says "Joey Ramone Place" (the official second name of that block of East 2nd Street). One of the notes scrawled on the shutters reads, "R.I.P. Hilly, we'll miss you." A handful of bouquets were strewn along the sidewalk, one atop an orange-and-purple baseball bat — perhaps a nod to the Ramones' "Beat on the Brat"?

One passerby, who stopped to snap photos of the shrine with his cellphone camera, said, "This is now a punk rock chapel."

[This story was originally published at 10:50 a.m. ET on 08.29.2007]

• Remembering CBGB

• The Ramones
• Blondie
• Talking Heads
• Patti Smith

Lily Allen
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Lily Allen has been forced to postpone six West Coast tour dates, as well as her previously announced appearance at this year's MTV Video Music Awards on September 9, as her work visa has been revoked. Allen's publicist said in a press release that authorities revoked the visa earlier this month when Allen was entering the U.S., and that because the reinstatement process is taking longer than expected, she won't be able to launch her tour September 6 in San Diego. There's no word yet on when the concerts — which were set to take place in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Seattle, among other cities — might be rescheduled. "I am so disappointed that I won't be able to come to the States at this time," Allen said in the press release. "I was really looking forward to playing these shows and being part of the Video Music Awards. I want my fans to know that I'll be back as soon as I possibly can." ...

Yung Joc has partnered with Rockport to launch the "Roc With Joc" contest, a multi-city talent search for the next aspiring music mogul. The search kicked off Thursday in Detroit and will make stops in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Atlanta, where contestants can call into radio stations to list their various skills. The Bad Boy rapper will then bring the finalists to the album-release party for his August 28 LP, Hustlenomics, after which the winner will hit the road with Joc to put their talents to the test. ...

Jordin Sparks has signed to — what else? — 19 Recordings/ Jive Records, the label run by "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller. Her lead single "Tattoo" — produced by Stargate (Beyoncé and Ne-Yo) and co-written with Amanda Ghost (James Blunt's "Beautiful," Beyoncé and Shakira's "Beautiful Liar") — will hit radio August 27, while her yet-untitled debut is set to street in November. ... Paris Hilton had another encounter of sorts with police on Thursday when she launched her new clothing line at Kitson, a Los Angeles boutique. The store was mobbed — cops and city workers were called to manage the crowd, and a traffic lane had to be shut down. ...

Jamie Foxx will portray another musician on the big screen — but this time, it's probably not someone you've heard of. In "The Soloist," which is based on a 12-part Los Angeles Times series, the actor will play a homeless schizophrenic who dreamed about playing at Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall. "Atonement" director Joe Wright and "Ghost Rider" producer Gary Foster are also on board for the DreamWorks flick. ... A video clip of Jack White playing a kung-fu Elvis Presley in the upcoming flick "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" is making the rounds online. The comedy, co-written by Judd Apatow, will also star John C. Reilly and Jenna Fischer. ...

Nine Inch Nails have surreptitiously revealed on their Web site that a Year Zero remix album, Y34R Z3R0 R3M1X3D, is in the works. ... Beck has pumped out a new track, "Timebomb," his first new material since October's The Information. The song will be available exclusively on iTunes on Tuesday, then be made available to other digital outlets starting a week later. Interestingly, the single is not preceding an album — Beck doesn't have any LP plans at the moment. ... Flea joined Patti Smith onstage for a free outdoor concert at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California, on Thursday night. Playing to a massive crowd that virtually spilled over into the Pacific Ocean, the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist helped Smith burn through "Gloria," "Pissing in a River" and the show-closing "People Have the Power," as well as covers of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," Elvis Presley's "Love Me" and Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit." ...

After an investigation, what authorities originally thought was a sexual assault on a 15-year-old girl by a male college student during Tuesday's Dave Matthews Band concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York, has taken a bizarre turn. According to Albany TV station WNYT, the unidentified girl actually had consensual sexual contact with a 15-year-old male in the woods at the venue, and authorities said she was drunk at the time on alcohol provided by the mother of one of her friends. The woman, Lisa Vedder, reportedly bought a bottle of vodka on the way to the venue and provided it, in sports bottles, to her daughter and several friends. Vedder, 42, has been charged with three counts of unlawfully dealing with a child and could face additional charges of endangering the welfare of a child for providing the alcohol to her daughter. ...

Police are investigating the "suspicious" deaths of two men who attended Thursday's Ozzfest stop at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey. According to New Jersey State Police Captain Al Della Fave, paramedics were summoned to the venue at 3:15 p.m. to treat Raymond Guarino, 26, of Forked River, who went into cardiac arrest. Guarino was resuscitated on site and then transported to nearby Bayshore Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:25 p.m. Police, who searched his vehicle and found small amounts of cocaine and marijuana, have received information that Guarino ingested both drugs, as well as alcohol, during the concert. An autopsy is being performed, but it could be up to six weeks before toxicology results come in. Police believe that another concertgoer — Patrick Norris, 24, of Coram, New York — who died at the same hospital at 10 p.m., had also ingested the same combination of drugs and suffered cardiac arrest. Meanwhile, police arrested 83 people during Ozzfest's Thursday stop. Fifty-nine were charged with underage drinking, while 30 others were booked on a variety of charges. ...

Kid Rock's onetime DJ Uncle Kracker was arrested Friday morning (August 17) in Raleigh, North Carolina, and charged with a second-degree forcible-sex offense, The Associated Press reports. According to police spokesman Jim Sughrue, a 26-year-old woman complained that a man had committed an unwanted sexual act against her at the Ess Lounge, a downtown nightclub. Kracker, 33, whose real name is Matthew Shafer, was arrested at a nearby hotel and is being held at the Wake County Jail on a $5 million bond. There are no additional details regarding the arrest, and Kracker is due to appear in court Friday afternoon. ...

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler admonished Phil Spector's defense attorneys on Thursday, saying they made a "deliberate and egregious" violation of discovery rules pertaining to forensics expert Dr. Michael Baden's testimony. Without the jury present, Fidler said he would give an instruction to jurors at the end of the case to make sure they knew what happened.

08.16.07

Allure magazine didn't get its scheduled interview with Britney Spears, but it did complete its photo shoot, which features the star topless. (Check out excerpts right here.) The accompanying article is an amusing meditation on Britney's past, Dick Cheney (!) and the writer's experiences waiting for the interview to happen. For more, check out allure.com/go/britney. ...

Always bank on Jay-Z: The hip-hop mogul has topped Forbes.com's list of "Hip-Hop Cash Kings" after earning an estimated $34 million in 2006. 50 Cent ranks second with an estimated $32 million, and is followed by Diddy ($28 million), Timbaland ($21 million), Dr. Dre ($20 million), Eminem ($18 million), Snoop Dogg, Kanye West ($17 million), Pharrell ($17 million), Scott Storch ($17 million), Ludacris ($16 million), T.I. ($16 million), Outkast ($14 million), Lil Jon ($14 million), Ice Cube ($13 million), Jermaine Dupri ($12 million), Swizz Beatz ($12 million), Chamillionaire ($11 million), Game ($11 million) and Yung Joc ($10 million). ...

Joel Madden was caught in an interesting predicament on "Live! With Regis and Kelly" on Thursday morning (August 16) when Philbin let a little secret slip: the Good Charlotte frontman has a "surprise" for girlfriend Nicole Richie. "You're going to present her, maybe, with — did I hear the right thing, or should I not even talk about this?" Philbin said on the program, to which Madden, who was appearing on the show with his band, coyly replied, "Uh, what?" After Philbin clarified by saying, "A little ring or something," Madden answered, "I was hoping it would be a surprise, but now. ..." Philbin tried to change the subject after that, turning to Joel's brother Benji and asking who he is dating. Nicole is four and a half months pregnant with her and Joel's child. ...

A judge is allowing the four parties who are suing Brandy over the fatal multi-car crash she was involved in late last year to combine their civil-court cases, TMZ.com reports. The trial will start January 28. ...

Rock the Bells just got a little quieter. The show that was slated for Sunday at Sacramento, California's Sleep Train Amphitheatre — but wasn't set to feature Nas, Rage Against the Machine and the Roots, among others — has been scrapped due to poor ticket sales, The Sacramento Bee reports. The Saturday gig at San Francisco's McCovey Cove parking lot is still a go, and promoters just released 5,000 more tickets for the show. ...

Mike Jones, OK Go and the Rapture are getting a kick out of "MLS Represent," a new Major League Soccer/ Adidas campaign that is asking artists to come up with theme songs for MLS teams. The Polyphonic Spree, Meg & Dia, Barenaked Ladies, Kinky and Bad Brains are also involved in the effort, the results of which can be heard here. ... Elvis Costello covering Christina Aguilera? Why not? The esteemed singer/songwriter has contributed a rendition of Xtina's "Beautiful" to the "House" soundtrack, due September 18. ...

Serj Tankian recently debuted his new solo track "The Unthinking Majority" and accompanying video on his Web page, and now his System of a Down pals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan are following suit by getting their Scars of Tomorrow project rolling. "Accompanied by some great musicians, we are preparing to go into the studio really soon to record our debut album," Malakian wrote in a post on the band's just-launched MySpace page. ...

Blaqk Audio are setting out to prove that CexCells on the road. AFI's Davey Havok and Jade Puget will bring their recently released project to the masses with 13 North American dates starting August 30 in San Francisco and ending September 27 in Los Angeles. And in the event that you're in Southern California this week, the group will sign copies of its debut LP at Best Buy stores in West Hollywood and Oceanside on Friday and Saturday, respectively. ...

Seether have canceled two upcoming concerts — in Idaho Springs, Idaho (Saturday), and Southaven, Mississippi (August 24) — after frontman Shaun Morgan's brother Eugene passed away Monday. In a MySpace post, the band said Morgan's brother "was an awesome human being, the type of person you want to be around. He never failed to put a smile on the face of all who he met and left a lasting impression on all whose lives he touched." ...

A new Pearl Jam release? No way. The band got together with famed photographer and rock-doc director Danny Clinch for "Immagine in Cornice (Picture in a Frame)," a film that provides highlights of five concerts Eddie Vedder and the gang played in Italy last year. The flick also follows PJ as they travel through the country, and includes interviews and more. Fans who preorder the DVD on the band's site during a pre-sale on August 22 will get a bonus limited-edition tee. ...

Violent Femmes have a new blister to pick at: Founding bassist Brian Ritchie has sued Gordon Gano, claiming the singer wrecked the band's reputation by allowing its best-known song, "Blister in the Sun," to be used in a Wendy's commercial. Ritchie also alleges that he wasn't given credit for, and proper account of, some of the band's songs. Gano told The Associated Press that the suit was "a complete surprise. ... We just played a really, really good tour [in South Africa]." Ritchie is seeking unspecified damages, a ruling that would declare him to be half-owner of the Femmes' catalog, and an accounting of royalties. ...

Bruce Springsteen will release his first album in five years with the E Street Band on October 2. The 11-song Magic was produced by Brendan O'Brien (Velvet Revolver, Red Hot Chili Peppers), and features "Radio Nowhere," "You'll Be Comin' Down," "Livin' in the Future," "Your Own Worst Enemy," "Gypsy Biker" and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes." ... Eric Clapton dropped $120,000 this week for 12 paintings by graffiti artist Lee Quinones, RollingStone.com reports. Each painting portrays the artist shoplifting a different '70s album, from James Brown's Sex Machine to Isley Brothers' Get Into Something. ...

And the remakes keep coming: "The Shield" producer Kurt Sutter will write and direct a new take on Bruce Lee's landmark martial-arts flick "Enter the Dragon," to be called "Awaken the Dragon." The cast and shooting schedule have yet to be revealed. ... Phil Spector murder-trial defense witness Dr. Michael Baden's credibility was called into question on Wednesday when prosecutors scrutinized the fact that the forensics expert is married to defense attorney Linda Kenney Baden. ...

Legendary jazz drummer and bebop founder Max Roach died Wednesday night in New York. Roach, considered to be one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, worked with everyone from Duke Ellington and Sonny Rollins to Miles Davis and Charles Mingus.

• Lily Allen
• Beck
• Patti Smith
• Flea
• Dave Matthews

<i>Snoop Dogg Presents: The Big Squeeze</i>
Photo: Koch Records

For a week that's chock-full of new releases, there aren't too many big names to show for it: Beyond a new compilation thrown together by Snoop, Tom Morello's CD debut as the Nightwatchman, Joe's guest-heavy LP, a covers set by Patti Smith and the Arctic Monkeys' second album — which has been getting a surprisingly low-key response — there aren't too many fresh faces poised to chart.

But is this week really all that weak? Let's evaluate:

Various artists' Snoop Dogg Presents: The Big Squeeze
Strength: The Doggfather is unleashed, at least in some capacity, on almost every track on this collection, which primarily serves as a vehicle for Snoop to usher in his new buds, including JT Da Bigga Figga and Westurn Union. A spot by Katt Williams on "We Go Hard" might draw some extra ears too.
Weakness: While Snoop is asking us to open our minds to new talent, he's also cluttered the release with his crustier friends Kurupt, MC Eiht and the like — why not keep the focus on the promising newbies?

The Nightwatchman's One Man Revolution
Strength: Tom Morello can count on Rage Against the Machine fans to glom on to his solo project — even if it is acoustic, the politically charged content should cater to them. He's also got famed producer Brendan O'Brien (RATM, Pearl Jam) in his corner.
Weakness: While he's played scattered solo shows as the Nightwatchman in recent years, Morello has been staging select concerts secretly loaded with guests like Alanis Morissette, Slash and Perry Farrell, building momentum for the affair. Problem is none of those people appear on the disc, which sorely needs a guest — or three — boosting its profile.

Joe's Ain't Nothin' Like Me
Strength: Nas, Chamillionaire, Young Buck, Papoose and Fabolous drop verses on the latest LP by the Southern R&B singer, and production royalty Bryan-Michael Cox, Sean Garrett, Cool and Dre, and the Underdogs also help out.
Weakness: Joe's new single "If I Was Your Man" single hasn't been doing all that much damage on the charts, so while fellow R&B singers like Lloyd have been making strong debuts, Joe could fall short.

Arctic Monkeys' Favourite Worst Nightmare
Strength: After attracting some major buzz following their performance at South by Southwest last year, the Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was the fastest-selling rock debut in British history and made an impressive opening at #24 on the Billboard albums chart in the U.S. Their new one is faster and cops from Ennio Morricone's spaghetti-western soundtrack to "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."
Weakness: Have you heard a word about this album? Even its first single, "Brainstorm," has yet to make noise Stateside. Despite the band being all the rage last summer, the dreaded "sophomore slump" may be rearing its head once again.

Patti Smith's Twelve
Strength: Covers of songs by Nirvana, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and a slew of classic-rock bands might rekindle interest in the singer/songwriter's newer works. Smith has also been in the limelight after getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which could give her an extra assist.
Weakness: Her 2004 album, Trampin', opened at a flimsy #123. As important as Patti Smith is in the rock canon, is anyone still excited about her new material?

But as usual, even if there aren't any superstars hitting the racks this week, there are still plenty of below-the-radar releases worth keeping tabs on. Here are the top 10 incognito titles you should care about:

Dntel's Dumb Luck
Jimmy Tamborello is best known these days as one-half of the Postal Service, but he's been hammering away at this other project for some 13 years now. If that's not enough reason to check out this spacey release, guest appearances by Conor Oberst, Jenny Lewis, plus members of Grizzly Bear and the Moving Units should do the trick.

All Smiles' Ten Readings of a Warning
Jim Fairchild isn't wasting any time after the dissolution of Grandaddy last year. The guitarist, who also lends Earlimart some help with production from time to time, has become the first ex-Grandaddy member to step up with solo material. Recorded over sporadic sessions with drummers Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse), Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney), Danny Seim (Menomena) and others, Fairchild also takes a seat at the piano amid all the guitar buzz.

Various artists' In the Mind of Nitin Sawhney
You might know Sawhney's name from the wealth of big-name artists he has produced, including Massive Attack and Aqualung. But even if you don't, this comp will give you the sense that the electronic guru is worth noting — D'Angelo, Koop and Air tracks are also included, as is "Songbird," which Sawhney cut exclusively for the set.

Midnight Movies' Lion the Girl
Previously a trio, the Los Angeles quartet beef up with a new rhythm section and gang up with Nirvana producer Steve Fisk for their second outing. Singer Gena Olivier said in a press release that Lion is "an album about pure love"; songs include "Patient Eye," "Coral Den" and "Parallel Paramour."

Calvin Johnson & the Sons of Soul's Calvin Johnson & the Sons of the Soil
Speaking of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain's former Seattle buddy joins forces with Wolf Colonel's Jason Anderson, Yume Bitsu's Adam Forkner and Little Wings' Kyle Field to recap Johnson's greatest hits. That includes songs by a variety of Johnson projects — Dub Narcotic Sound System, the Halo Benders and the Go Team.

Cornelius' Sensuous
The Japanese electro-pop wunderkind started his career with one of the best-regarded indie albums of the 1990s, Fantasma, then finally followed it five years later with the widely panned Point. Now Cornelius is hoping to rebound with his third album, which is unfortunately being called a continuation of his last release. Oh well — even if it doesn't turn out so hot, at least you can enjoy a cover of the Rat Pack classic "Sleep Warm" and an interactive widget of Tokyo.

Various artists' SC100
Bloomington, Indiana, indie label Secretly Canadian gets some much-deserved love in the form of its 100th release. Helping blow out the candles are Swearing at Motorists, Damien Jurado and Early Day Miners — who largely owe their careers to the label, which is in its 11th year. Nikki Sudden tosses in a cover of June's "See(ing) Double" for good measure.

The Detroit Cobras' - Tied & True
One of the underground's strongest garage-rock bands barrels back with its first set of studio material in three years. Singer Rachel Nagy branches into soul territory while Greg Cartwright of the Reigning Sound helps out. Songs include "Leave My Kitten Alone," "(I Wanna Know) What's Going On" and "Nothing but a Heartache."

Transmission O's Memory of a Dream
Isis and Neurosis fans look no further — this Dutch band could be next in line to take up the sludge-metal torch. The plodding, long-lasting release — it clocks in at well over an hour — finds Today Is the Day major domo Steve Austin chipping in some support as the band slowly pummels its listeners into oblivion.

Lifesavas' Gutterfly
Portland, Oregon's blaxploitation-obsessed sophomores called on Fishbone, Dead Prez, Living Colour's Vernon Reid and others for their conceptual release, which finds fictional 'hood superheroes struggling in Razorblade City. (Fishbone's first studio album in six years, Still Stuck in Your Throat, also drops this week.)

Song Title of the Week:

"Man Needs a Woman or a Man to Be a Man" from Bill Callahan's Work on a Whaleheart

New Releases:

· Aa - gAme (two CDs; Gigantic)
· Alex Delivery - Star Destroyer (Jagjaguwar)
· All Smiles - Ten Readings of a Warning (Dangerbird)
· Ellen Allien - The Other Side Berlin (Deaf Dumb & Blind)
· Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake - From the River to the Ocean (Thrill Jockey)
· Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (Domino) [Buy Now]
· Assemblage 23 - Meta (Metropolis)
· Bassnectar - Underground Communication (Om)
· Between the Trees - The Story and the Song (Bonded)
· The Blow - Poor Aim: Love Songs (K)
· Blutch - Materia (At a Loss)
· Chuck Brown - We're About the Business (Raw Venture)
· Norman Brown - Stay With Me (Peak)
· Patrizio Buanne - Forever Begins Tonight (Republic)
· Bill Callahan - Work on a Whaleheart (Drag City)
· Michel Camilo - Spirit of the Moment (Telarc)
· Chinese Stars - Listen to Your Left Brain (Three One G)
· Cliks - Snakehouse (Tommy Boy)
· Confederate Railroad - Cheap Thrills (Shanachie)
· Contradiction - The Voice of Hatred (Locomotive)
· Cornelius - Sensuous (Everloving) [Buy Now]
· Dark Tranquillity - Fiction (Century Media)
· Detroit Cobras - Tied & True (Bloodshot)
· Dntel - Dumb Luck (Sub Pop) [Buy Now]
· Eccodek - Voices Have Eyes (White Swan)
· The Electric Soft Parade - No Need to Be Downhearted (Better Looking)
· Ensiferum - Victory Songs (Candlelight)
· Benjamín Escoriza - Alevanta! (World Music Network)
· Ibrahim Ferrer - Mi Sueño (Nonesuch) [Buy Now]
· Tim Finn - Imaginary Kingdom (Manhattan)
· Fishbone - Still Stuck in Your Throat (Sound in Color) [Buy Now]
· Sue Foley, Deborah Coleman and Roxanne Potvin - Time Bomb (Ruf)
· Front Line Assembly - Fallout (Metropolis)
· The F---ing Champs - VI (Drag City)
· Future Clouds & Radar - Future Clouds & Radar (two CDs; Star Apple Kingdom)
· Charlotte Gainsbourg - 5:55 (enhanced; Vice)
· Bebel Gilberto - Momento (Six Degrees)
· The Go Find - Stars on the Wall (Morr)
· God Module - Let's Go Dark (Metropolis)
· Buddy Greco - The Man and the Music (SRO)
· Gus Gus - Forever (Groove Attack) [Buy Now]
· Colin Hay - Are You Lookin' at Me? (Compass)
· Armand Van Helden - Guetto Blaster (Ultra)
· ILikeTrains - Progressive Reform (Beggars Banquet)
· Joe - Ain't Nothin' Like Me (Jive) [Buy Now]
· Calvin Johnson & the Sons of the Soil - Calvin Johnson & the Sons of Soul (K)
· Sunshine Jones - Seven Tracks in Seven Days (MVD Audio)
· Ralph Lawson - Fabric 33 (Fabric)
· Lifesavas - Gutterfly (Quannum Projects)
· Kalli - While the City Sleeps (One Little Indian)
· Kill the Romance - Take Another Life (Locomotive)
· Mando Diao - Ode to Ochrasy (enhanced; Mute)
· Keiko Matsui - Moyo (Shout! Factory)
· Maria McKee - Late December (Cooking Vinyl)
· Marillion - Somewhere Else (MVD Audio)
· McCarthy Trenching - McCarthy Trenching (Team Love)
· Messer Chups - Hyena Safari (AeroCCCP)
· Midnight Movies - Lion the Girl (New Line)
· Jane Monheit - Surrender (Concord)
· Kiko Navarro - Perceptions of Pacha (Swank)
· Nazanin - Someday (Bodog)
· New Years Day - My Dear (enhanced; TVT)
· The Nightwatchman - One Man Revolution (Epic) [Buy Now]
Read: "Nightwatchman, Rage Reunion Have Morello Fired Up For Political Fights"
· Nostradameus - Pathway (Locomotive)
· The Old Soul - The Old Soul (Friendly Fire)
· OOIOO - OOEYEOO: Eye Remix (EP; Thrill Jockey)
· Joel Ortiz - The Brick: Bodega Chronicles (Koch)
· Donny Osmond - Love Songs of the '70s (Decca)
· Pela - Anytown Graffiti (Great Society)
· Peder - And He Just Pointed to the Sky ... (Ubiquity)
· PlayRadioPlay! - The Frequency EP (Stolen Transmission)
· Polyrhythm Addicts - Break Glass ... (Babygrande)
· Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet (limited-edition version also available; Atlantic) [Buy Now]
Read: "Porcupine Tree's Wilson Talks Complex New LP, Project With Opeth's Akerfeldt"
· John Prine & Mac Wiseman - Standard Songs for Average People (Oh Boy)
· Rabbit in the Moon - Decade (two CDs; South Beat)
· Joshua Redmond - Back East (Nonesuch)
· REO Speedwagon - Find Your Own Way Home (Mailboat)
· Sa-Ra Creative Partners - The Hollywood Recordings (Babygrande)
· Saturday Knights - The Saturday Knights (EP; Light in the Attic)
· Secret Voices - No Time for Silence (1K)
· Brittany Shane - Brittany Shane (EP; self-release)
· Simply Red - Stay (self-release)
· Patti Smith - Twelve (Columbia) [Buy Now]
· Mavis Staples - We'll Never Turn Back (Anti-)
· Stinking Lizaveta - Scream of the Iron Iconoclast (At a Loss)
· Sunburned Hand of the Man - Z (Ecstatic Peace)
· Avey Tare & Kria Brekkan - Pullhair Rubeye (Paw Tracks)
· Jimi Tenor & Kabu Kabu - Joystone (Ubiquity)
· Test Your Reflex - The Burning Hour (RCA)
· Tilomo - Soft Lunch (1K)
· Toasters - One More Bullet (Stomp)
· Transmission O - Memory of a Dream (Candlelight)
· Two Cow Garage - III (Suburban Home)
· Vanna - Curses (Epitaph)
· Veils - Nux Vomita (enhanced; Rough Trade)
· Dale Watson - From the Cradle to the Grave (Hyena)
· Sara Wendt - Weightless With Love (EP; City Canyons)
· Deniece Williams - Love, Niecy Style (Shanachie)
· Young Galaxy - Young Galaxy (Arts & Crafts)
· Young Gods - Super Ready/ Fragmente (Ipecac)
· James Zabiela and Nic Fanciulli - One+One (Ministry of Sound)
· Various artists - A Tribute to Joni Mitchell (Nonesuch)
· Various artists - Ballads of the Book (Chemikal Underground)
· Various artists - In the Mind of Nitin Sawhney (District 6)
· Various artists - SC100 (Secretly Canadian)
· Various artists - Snoop Dogg Presents: The Big Squeeze (Koch) [Buy Now]
Read: "Snoop Says Rappers And Imus Are 'Two Separate Things'; Talks New Comp"
· Various artists - "Lucky You" soundtrack (Columbia)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material: · Anjani - Blue Alert (with DVD; Sony/Legacy)
· Arch Enemy - Black Earth (enhanced; Earsplit/Regain)
· Steve Austin - 800 Lb. Gorilla (UMe)
· The Band - The Best of a Musical History (deluxe edition comes with DVD; Capitol)
· Laura Branigan - Greatest Hits: The Best of Laura Branigan (Rhino)
· Leonard Cohen - Songs From a Room; Songs of Leonard Cohen; and Songs of Love And Hate (Sony/Legacy)
· Ella Fitzgerald - Lullabies of Birdland and Sweet and Hot (UMe)
· Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Shout! Factory)
· Genesis - Genesis: 1976-1981 (box set with six CDs and six DVDs; Rhino)
· Marduk - Dark Endless; Heaven Shall Burn; Opus Nocturne; Those of the Unlight (Regain)
· Dito Montiel - Dito Montiel (Rhino)
· Neil Sedaka - The Definitive Collection (Razor & Tie)
· Various artists - "Hope Floats" soundtrack (Capitol/EMI)

Music DVDs: · Abba - "Dancing Queen Interviews" (MVD Visual)
· Bell, Maggie & Midnight Flyer - "Live Montreux, July 1981" (MVD Visual)
· Blood Sweat & Tears - "Spinning Wheel" (MVD Visual)
· Tim Buckley - "My Fleeting House" (MVD Visual)
· Champion - "Different Directions: The Last Show" (with CD; Bridge Nine)
· Leonard Cohen - "Under Review 1934-1977" (MVD Visual)
· Destroy All Monsters - "Grow Live Monsters" (MVD Visual)
· Aynsley Lister - "Live!" (MVD Visual)
· Todd Snider - "The Devil You Know" (New Door)
· Stryper - "Greatest Hits: Live in Puerto Rico" (MVD Visual)
· War - "Loose Grooves: Funkin' Live in England 1980" (MVD Visual)
· Wisdom in Chains - "Die for Us Live" (MVD Visual)
· Various artists - "The American Folk Blues Festivals 1963-1966: The British Tours" (UMe)
· Various artists - "The Hollywood Sound" (Kultur)
· Various artists - "The Legendary Crooners" (Standing Room Only)

Coming Attractions:

May 1:
· Tori Amos - American Doll Posse (special edition comes with DVD; Epic) [Preorder]
Read: "Tori Amos Forms Anti-Bush Posse By Mutating Into Greek Goddesses"
· Ne-Yo - Because of You (Def Jam) [Preorder]
Read: "Ne-Yo Getting To Know Jennifer Hudson While He Waits For Britney"
· Various artists - "Spider-Man 3" soundtrack (Record Collection)
Read: " 'Spider-Man 3' Soundtrack Features Killers, Snow Patrol"

May 8:
· Björk - Volta (Atlantic) [Preorder]
Read: "Tsunami, Timbaland Help Shape Bjork's Forthcoming Volta"
· Bones Thugs-N-Harmony - Strength and Loyalty (Full Surface/ Interscope) [Preorder]
Read: "Bone Thugs Dropping Two New LPs; Second Disc To Feature Dre, Kanye, Mariah"
· Mike Jones - The American Dream (Ice Age) [Preorder]
· Elliott Smith - New Moon (two CDs; Kill Rock Stars) [Preorder]
· Bobby Valentino - Special Occasion (Def Jam) [Preorder]
Read: "Bobby Valentino Looks Out For The Ladies With New Album, Jean Line"

May 15:
· Megadeth - United Abominations (Roadrunner)
· Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight (Warner Bros.)
Read: "Linkin Park Finish Apocalyptic Album, Revive Projekt Revolution Tour"
· Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (enhanced; Nonesuch)

• Snoop Dogg
• The Nightwatchman
• Joe
• Arctic Monkeys
• Dntel

Grandmaster Flash at the 2007 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony
Photo: Scott Gries

NEW YORK — Maybe it was the honoring of hip-hop's first supergroup, or the potential clash of egos surrounding one of the hugest bands of the '80s, or even the induction of a group of alt-rock pioneers. Or perhaps it was the promise of appearances by Jay-Z, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha.

Whatever the reason, there was a buzz in the air on Monday night at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel for the 22nd annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony — one that surged through the thoroughly amped crowd (filled with actual stars) and kept the packed press room humming throughout the night.

(Watch Kurt Loder catch up with the latest Rock Hall inductees, plus members of Velvet Revolver and more, at the Monday night ceremony.)

How successfully that buzz translated into magic moments was another matter. Because the four-hour ceremony — which was rife with taped in-memoriam pieces (to the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, and Atlantic Records/R&RHOF co-founder Ahmet Ertegun), self-aggrandizing "retrospective" pieces and canned "classic performances" from HOF ceremonies past — had its fair share of confusing moments, although some certainly tried very hard to make it memorable.

Keith Richards — sporting a rather skeevy moustache ("I couldn't shave it off in time to get a tan on my upper lip," he sneered) and looking every bit like Jack Sparrow's sea-soaked dad — got things going in earnest, slumping over at the lectern and delivering a slurred, surprisingly sweet induction speech for the archetypal girl group, the Ronettes. And long-missing de la Rocha of the recently reunited Rage (see "Rage Against The Machine To Reunite For Coachella Festival"), who resembled an afro-sporting Adam Sandler, gave an impassioned speech honoring punk poetess Patti Smith, describing her as "fearless" and saying her words inspired him and a generation of musicians to "drop their textbooks and pick up Langston Hughes."

Then Smith, clad in nearly the same outfit she wore on the cover of her classic 1975 album Horses, took the stage, dedicated her award to her late husband (and MC5 guitarist) Fred "Sonic" Smith, and positively ripped through a set of tunes, including a cover of the Rolling Stones' anti-war screed "Gimme Shelter"; her biggest hit, "Because the Night"; and a stomping version of her "Rock N Roll N----r," which had everyone in the room — including the Reverend Al Sharpton, there to pay tribute to James Brown — wide-eyed and sort of headbanging. Oddly, Smith dedicated the song to her late mother, whom, she said, had told her it was "her favorite song of mine to vacuum to."

And while it would be tough to out-surreal Smith's appearance, the induction of Van Halen certainly gave her a run for her money. Ever since the 2007 class of HOF inductees was announced back in January (see "R.E.M., Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash Make Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame"), VH's enshrinement has been the subject of speculation: would feudin' frontmen David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar share the stage together? Will the long-rumored reunion tour actually happen? (The answer: probably not — see "Van Halen Reunion Tour Might Not Happen After All.") And after founding guitarist Eddie Van Halen checked himself into rehab last week (see "Eddie Van Halen Heading To Rehab"), who would show up to accept their award?

As it turned out, just Hagar and recently deposed bassist Michael Anthony appeared onstage, and anyone expecting fireworks was seriously disappointed. Both were humble and quite gracious in accepting their awards, both namechecked all of their former bandmates (even short-term singer Gary Cherone), and Hagar seemed truly touched by the honor.

"I can't tell you how much I wish everyone was here for this," he said. "It's hard for Mike and I to stand here and do this, but you couldn't keep me away from here with a shotgun. I am truly honored."

The Van Halen musical tribute consisted of a hardscrabble performance by Velvet Revolver on "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," followed by a surprisingly rocking Hagar/Paul Shaffer version of "Why Can't This Be Love." Apparently, efforts had been made to involve other Van Halen members in the performance. When asked after the show if Roth had been approached, Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland said, "We said that we would do [early Van Halen favorites] 'Jamie's Cryin' ' or 'You Really Got Me,' but he was pretty adamant about doing 'Jump.' But that song's not really us, and we don't have a keyboard player."

After Van Halen's spot, the house lights dimmed for Jay-Z, on hand to induct Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, the first hip-hop group to be honored by the Hall.

Jay — who read his speech from his BlackBerry — started off by quoting the opening missive from the group's groundbreaking 1982 anthem "The Message" (which the crowd surprisingly began chanting along with him), then dubbed the Furious Five "hip-hop's first supergroup," groundbreaking artists who paved the way for the hip-hop stars of today.

"Thirty years later rappers have become rock stars, movie stars, leaders, educators, philanthropists, even CEOs," he said, making a clear reference to himself. "None of this would have been possible without the work of these men."

Then the group — minus founding member Cowboy, who died in 1989 — took the stage, pausing to acknowledge the moment and recognize the breakdancers, MCs and graffiti artists with whom they shared the early days of hip-hop. "There was a time when journalists thought this culture was a fad," Flash enthused, "so this is significant." Then they got down to bringing the black-tie audience the sound of the Bronx, circa 1979.

And Flash began cutting records back and forth, and the Five strutted and bounced about the stage, and the opening notes of "The Message" began to make their way from the sonic bombast, and for the first — though certainly not last — time in Rock Hall history, the white linen tablecloths in the Waldorf's main ballroom began to ruffle and sway under the sonic force of truly booming bass. Hip-hop had entered the building earlier in the night — but this performance, this rattling moment, was its clarion call.

Somehow, Eddie Vedder found it in himself to follow all that, delivering a mumbled, humble speech about his love for R.E.M., stating that he listened to the group's landmark 1983 Murmur album "1,260 times ... even though you can't understand a f---ing thing [frontman Michael Stipe] is saying."

Then all four members of R.E.M. — including founding drummer Bill Berry, who left in 1997 — took the stage, looking dapper and every bit the alt-rock elder statesmen they've been anointed (Stipe's old-man reading glasses certainly contributed to that impression). Only Stipe and bassist Mike Mills spoke — Berry and guitarist Peter Buck looked on like proud parents — and they were gracious and self-effacing as ever, thanking seemingly every person who had helped them during their 27-year career.

And they played hits from throughout that career: "Begin the Begin" (from 1986's Life's Rich Pageant), "Gardening at Night" (from 1981) and were joined by Vedder for the later hit "Man on the Moon." The five were then joined by Smith for a romp through Iggy Pop and the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog" (which Stipe and Mills later confirmed was a subtle lobbying effort directed at the Hall, which has rejected the Stooges' induction for many years — (see "So How Do You Get Into The Rock Hall Of Fame?"), and closed the night with a rousing jam of Smith's anthem "People Have the Power," joined by an incongruous trio of guests: Richards, Hagar and Stephen Stills.

And while it was a long night, it was also probably the coolest in recent HOF memory. It took them long enough to recognize punk and — more notably — hip-hop, so you can't blame anybody if they wanted to stay up late and revel in it all.

• Grandmaster, R.E.M. Deck Rock Hall

• 2007 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Ceremony Inducts R.E.M., Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash And More

• Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
• R.E.M.
• Patti Smith
• Van Halen
• Jay-Z

Fans wait outside CBGB on closing night
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — A throng of reporters, cameramen, middle-aged punks in bomber jackets and porkpie hats, celebrities like Chloë Sevigny, Elijah Wood and Ed Burns, cigarette-scrounging panhandlers, the Hungry March Band and a Segway-riding man in a pink trench coat flooded the sidewalk outside 315 Bowery Sunday night.

It was the last night for seminal punk club CBGB, which is closing this week after a lengthy rent dispute ended with the building's owner, the nonprofit Bowery Residents' Committee, opting not to renew 76-year-old owner Hilly Kristal's lease.

The media folk were gunning for just the right shot — which they got when punk legend Patti Smith, CBGB's final performer, stepped outside into the crush to snap some Polaroids of the club's faded awning. The aged punks — who seemed to feel it was their right to be there even if they didn't have a ticket for the gig — wanted to be a part of rock and roll history and kiss one of the city's most beloved musical landmarks goodbye. The rest of the mob just wanted to party.

The police showed up too. The cluttered sidewalk choked off the flow of pedestrian traffic, forcing the club's security to constantly ask revelers to move along until something dawned on them — if the club was issued a ticket, "We won't have to pay it," as one employee declared.

At that moment, reality seemed to finally hit everyone who'd been standing outside the grimy club for hours in the brisk fall cold like a brick to the forehead — this was it. Tomorrow, CBGB would be boarded shut, its contents packed up for the club's impending move to Las Vegas. Kristal, the club's owner for all of its 33 years, has to be out by Halloween (see "CBGB Owner Relocating Club — Urinals Included — To Vegas This Spring").

Despite this heavy truth, the mood inside CBGB wasn't one of mourning, but of celebration. For most present, Smith's closing concert was about honoring the bastion of punk's fabled past, its lasting impact on a still-vital genre and all the bands whose careers the decrepit place helped to launch, including the Ramones, Blondie, Television and Talking Heads. American punk rock may not have been born here, but Kristal — who is battling lung cancer — certainly gave the genre its first big break (see "Good Charlotte, Audioslave, Blink-182 Weigh In On CBGB's Plight As Deadline Looms").

			Remembering CBGB Watch Bono, Beck and more share their favorite memories as the seminal punk club closes its doors.

Still, that didn't stop reporters from asking Smith whether she considered the event to be the equivalent of a punk-rock funeral during a brief press conference that preceded CBGB's swan-song gig. And Smith's response proved she still possesses plenty of punk-rock attitude: "That's too much of a f---ing stupid question for me to answer."

Smith, punk's poet laureate, stood at the edge of the club's sticker-coated stage, the rim of which has been worn away from years of hearty slam dancing, and talked about her favorite CBGB memory (the first time she set foot in the venue, to see Television in 1974), the prospect of playing the Las Vegas CBGB ("We had a job in Las Vegas four years ago and we sold 85 tickets and they canceled the show — I vowed never to return") and what the institution's closure means for the future of underground music ("CBGB is a state of mind. and what's going to happen is young kids all over the world are going to have their own f---ing clubs and they won't care about CBGB because they're going to have the new places, and the new places are always the most important.")

Backed by her longtime guitarist Lenny Kaye, drummer/bassist Jay Dee Daugherty, multi-instrumentalist Tony Shanahan, and, for most of the night's second set, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea on bass, Smith rocked the beer-swigging audience members, who were crammed uncomfortably close to each other in front of the stage and down the length of the club's bar. Television's Richard Lloyd took the stage for a rendition of his band's classic track "Marquee Moon." Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads wandered the crowd, as did E Street Band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt, who had battled to keep the club open amid a very public, venomous rent dispute (see "Public Enemy, Blondie Rally For Naught: CBGB Lease Expires").

Dozens of well-wishers approached Kristal at his private table to shake his hand and thank him for the musical legacy he's leaving, while Smith and friends ripped through two raw, impassioned 90-minute sets plus an encore. The night began with Smith's "Piss Factory," and included several apropos covers, including "Tide Is High," which was made popular by Blondie, the Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes," the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer," the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," the Who's "My Generation," and a medley of Ramones classics — "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Beat on the Brat," "Rock and Roll Radio" and "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker." Smith's voice was smoky, and the band was tight — but the show wasn't perfect.

Smith stumbled through several songs in the first set, cutting the band off and then taking it from the top after she forgot the words. She had to refer to lyric sheets, insisting, "It's not a result of old age. I had to do this 30 years ago. I'm not good at memorizing stuff. That's why I didn't become a mathematics genius."

During the second, stronger set, a newly energized Smith swayed back and forth and bounced across the grungy stage as the band tackled tunes like "Redondo Beach," "Free Money" and "Pissing in a River." The entire audience seemed to sing her words back at her, as they danced atop chairs and tables under the neon light of the beer signs hanging from the dingy ceiling.

Flea, who turned 44 at the stroke of midnight, was treated to a thunderous and heartfelt "Happy Birthday," supplied by Smith's band and the crowd. After a few political rants in which Smith implored the crowd to take action to change the world — specifically referencing the environment and the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay — she concluded with a high-voltage rendition of "Gloria," at times replacing the "Gloria! G-L-O-R-I-A!" chorus with "Hey ho, let's go!," a fitting homage to the Ramones.

Before she left the stage, Smith played a somber "Elegie," which concluded with a list of the many musicians who have died in the years since they'd played CBGB, including Joe Strummer, Johnny Thunders and Joey Ramone. The moment brought tears to her eyes, and many in the crowd paused to consider the gravity of the club's closing before they strode out the entrance for the very last time. Some tore mementos from the walls as they left.

This week, Kristal will pack up as much of the club as he can with plans of re-creating a CBGB franchise in Las Vegas this spring. CBGB's lease with the BRC expired on August 31, 2005, but the club continued to operate for several months before both sides reached an agreement that mandates Kristal vacate the premises by October 31, 2006 (see "CBGB Served With Eviction Notice").

Last week the Bowery Residents' Committee's executive director, Muzzy Rosenblatt, refused an interview request from MTV News to discuss what the future might hold for the CBGB space.

• Remembering CBGB

• Patti Smith, Punk Fans Bid Farewell To CBGB

• Patti Smith
• Flea
• Tony Shanahan
• Lenny Kaye
• Richard Lloyd

Accused child pornographer R. Kelly was warned by a Chicago judge Monday to stay away from accused child molester Michael Jackson. Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan told the singer, who had asked the court's permission to attend next month's Grammy Awards, that despite penning Jackson's last single, "One More Chance," he's not to associate with him while in Los Angeles. Kelly has to be back in Chicago by February 18. ...

After a hearing Wednesday to determine if C-Murder will get a new murder trial, the rapper's attorneys said the court finally let them go through the police report, which they described as being "neither full nor complete." They said police neglected to tell them about yet another witness who had given a statement that the rapper was not involved in the shooting. C-Murder was convicted in September of killing a man at a nightclub MC battle in Louisiana. The hearing will resume on February 19. ...

James Brown was arrested and charged with criminal domestic violence Wednesday (January 28) in Aiken, South Carolina. The Godfather of Soul, who was to attend a bond hearing at 3 p.m. (two hours after being booked), served a two-and-a-half-year prison term after a 1988 arrest on drug and assault charges. He was convicted of a drug-related offense in 1998. ...

The White Stripes will release a 7-inch in Europe of their next single, "There's No Home for You Here," which will be available on import. The record will be backed by a 10-minute version of "Ball and Biscuit," recorded at Electric Lady studios. ... Godsmack have decided to release their acoustic EP on March 16. The disc was originally supposed to come out late last year, but the band delayed it because it didn't want to cannibalize sales of its most recent album, Faceless. Godsmack begin a tour with Metallica on March 2 in Phoenix. ...

On Wednesday, Courtney Love got a second continuance, until February 11, to address the misdemeanor drug charges against her, which stem from an early October incident. The former Hole singer asked for more time to see if her case qualifies for a program that would give her more rehab instead of jail time, so that she could bring in an outside attorney from Washington, D.C. The city's attorney's office said that if she does not qualify for the Prop. 36 program, they will set a trial date at the next hearing. ... Having teamed with jewelers M. Fabrikant & Sons, Russell Simmons' wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, is designing two lines for her own Simmons Jewelry Company. No word yet on when the high-priced accessories will become available. ...

Beastie Boys' Mike D and DFA recording artist Tim Sweeney will be joined by the B-52's' Fred Schneider, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" fashion guru Carson Kressley and other celebrity DJs for the annual benefit party for the ARChive of Contemporary Music, on February 11. Tickets for the show at S.O.B.'s are $125. ... New York's Eyejammie Fine Arts Gallery, which last month featured an exhibition centered on Run-DMC, will next month have a photographic tribute to women in hip-hop. "Work It! Images of Women in Hip-Hop" exhibits photos of the most prominent women in the genre's history. It runs from February 20 to March 13. ...

Less than 48 hours after recording a concert Sunday in San Francisco, the Thrills released five of the songs on an EP titled From KFOG to iPod exclusively for Apple's iTunes Music Store. The songs, including the single "One Horse Town," can be downloaded for $4.95 or 99 cents each. ... '70s punk poetess Patti Smith will release her first album for Columbia Records on March 30. The still-untitled disc will be her first since 2000's Gung Ho. ... Default's next single, "Throw It All Away," will be sent to radio next month. On Super Bowl Sunday, the Canadian rockers will play an acoustic show during halftime at the club Dream in Washington, D.C. Default begin a tour with Evanescence on February 11. ...

New York University's Elmer Holmes Bobst Library has acquired a collection of papers from Richard Hell. Hell was a writer, photographer, musician and otherwise cultural fulcrum in the burgeoning punk scene of late 1970s New York. His collection consists of diaries, manuscripts, letters, photographs, posters, videos and other materials that will be open to scholars this time next year. ... Elvis Presley fans can now buy a piece of history ... a two-inch piece to be exact. A New Jersey company is selling snips of a 1954 master tape of "That's All Right" and nine other songs online at www.elvismastertape.com for $495. While the memorabilia fascinates some Presley fans, some musicologists are angered at the destruction of the original recording and even question its authenticity. ...

01.27.2004

Do they make formal wear in Kevlar? 50 Cent has signed on to perform at the 46th annual Grammy Awards, set for February 8. The rapper is up for five awards, including Best New Artist and Best Rap Album. The show will be broadcast live on CBS, and MTV News’ live pre-show, “Backstage at the Grammys,” kicks off at 7 p.m. ET. ...

Beyoncé will perform her Grammy-nominated single "Crazy in Love" at the 53rd annual NBA All-Star Game, set for February 15 in Los Angeles. She joins previously announced artists Christina Aguilera, who'll sing the national anthem, and Outkast, who'll perform their pair of current hit singles during player introductions. ... Meanwhile, Beyoncé has signed on to be the spokesperson for Tommy Hilfiger's new fragrance, to be launched in the fall, it was announced Tuesday (January 27). In addition to appearing in ads, she'll work with Hilfiger on the fragrance concept, which will be targeted at 15- to 25-year-olds. ...

The international Pepsi ad featuring Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Pink as gladiators and Enrique Iglesias as an evil emperor is now available online. Though it wasn't meant to be distributed in the U.S., the commercial, in which the pop stars sing a revamped version of Queen's "We Will Rock You," can be seen at www.popgal.net and www.worldofbritney.com. ... P. Diddy has officially been cast in the Broadway production of "A Raisin in the Sun." Audra McDonald ("It Runs in the Family") and Phylicia Rashad ("The Cosby Show") will co-star in the play, which opens in March. ...

Jury selection started Monday in a civil case being brought against P. Diddy by his former chauffer. Wardel Fenderson is seeking $3 million from the rap mogul and Bad Boy Entertainment, alleging that Diddy and his bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones forced him to flee the scene of a nightclub shooting at Club New York in 1999. P. Diddy was acquitted of criminal wrongdoing in that case but rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow was convicted of assault and reckless endangerment and is in the middle of serving an eight-year sentence. ... Rock and roll legend Little Richard has signed on as the keynote speaker and headline performer at this year's South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. Both appearances take place March 18 in Austin, Texas, with the speech that morning at the Austin Convention Center and his concert that night at the Austin Music Hall. Previously announced featured speaker Antonio "L.A." Reid has canceled his appearance. ...

Courtney Love appeared in a Beverly Hills court Tuesday sporting her usual "just woke up" look to address felony drug charges stemming from an overdose in October. The former Hole singer, who voluntarily entered rehab before the court could order it, is trying to find out if she's eligible for a program that would give her more rehab instead of jail time. After meeting privately with Love, the judge decided more investigation was needed and continued her felony case until February 11. She's due back in court Wednesday to address the misdemeanor drug charges against her. ...

The Super Bowl will be over by February 4, but that doesn't mean Xbox Live players won't be able to play in their own championship games. Starting that day, 100 randomly selected live-action Xbox players will get to play a game of "ESPN NFL Football" with Big Boi from Outkast. It's part of a larger promotion to be unveiled in future months that will pit players against various celebrities in live, online matches. ... U.K. music rag NME has announced the nominees for its annual awards. Radiohead were nominated five times, including for Best Album for their 2003 release, Hail to the Thief. Other prominent nominees include the Darkness (Best Live Band), the White Stripes (Best Single for "Seven Nation Army") and the Strokes (Best Album). ...

There's more to an Orange County soundtrack than No Doubt and the Offspring, as the forthcoming Music From the O.C.: Mix 1 can attest. Due March 30, the first LP in what promises to be a series features Phantom Planet's "California," the track used as the theme to "The O.C," alongside contributions from Jet, Joseph Arthur, Dandy Warhols and Turin Brakes. ... Fans will be a prominent feature in the clip for "Ya'll Want a Single," the next single from Korn's latest album, Take a Look in the Mirror. The video, which follows the previous single "Right Now," was shot in Los Angeles on Friday by director Andrew Jenkins, a newcomer to the video world after having previously worked on TV commercials. ...

Are radio programmers out of touch with what listeners want to hear? Of the 10 top-selling singles of 2003, only a couple were radio hits. Here's the list, according to recently released data: Clay Aiken's "This Is the Night"/"Bridge Over Troubled Water" at #1 with 948,155 copies, followed by Ruben Studdard's "Flying Without Wings"/"Superstar" (728,243), Kid Rock's "Picture" (392,489), "American Idol" finalists' "God Bless the USA" (309,655), Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday" (141,360), Korn's "Did My Time" (132,967), the Eagles' "Hole in the World" (121,376), Mariah Carey's "Through the Rain" (116,785), Aaliyah's "Miss You" (98,358) and Jewel's "Intuition" (96,142). ...

While finishing up an as-yet-untitled book of poetry, former Smashing Pumpkins/ Zwan frontman Billy Corgan has begun working on his forthcoming solo debut with some help from Bon Harris, a founding member of the industrial dance band Nitzer Ebb. ... A coffee-table book celebrating the 20-year legacy of Pacific Northwest punks the Melvins is set for a March 2 release. "Neither Here, Nor There" features comments from the bandmembers and their friends and includes a compilation CD. After two decades, the band is still kicking, too. A short West Coast tour is in the works. ...

Gov't Mule will open eight dates on Kid Rock's upcoming tour. In the meantime, the band has started working on its first studio album since bassist Allen Woody died in August 2000. The LP will be released in the fall on Dave Matthews' ATO Records. ... And speaking of Matthews, his Dave Matthews Band will receive the Chairman's Award at the NAACP Image Awards ceremony March 6 in Los Angeles for their support of environmental causes and "dignified representation of people of color." FOX will broadcast the program March 11. ...

The Pharcyde's Imani and Bootie Brown have reunited for the group's first album in four years. Humboldt Beginnings, featuring the single "Choices," is due in April and will be promoted with a tour. ... Hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari is working on her debut LP for Universal Records. So far Ari, who plays on about 90 percent of Kanye West's College Dropout LP, has tracks completed with Anthony Hamilton, Scarface and West. ...

Iron Maiden experienced luck of the Spinal Tap variety during their stint at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. Tuesday night's show had to be canceled because the venue accidentally booked the band for the same time it had scheduled a Xerox convention. And on Saturday evening, Maiden had to cut their set short because someone poured a beer on the soundboard, causing it to short circuit. ... Metallica have added a second night in Los Angeles to their lengthy North American tour. The band will now play the L.A. Forum on March 5 and 6. Tickets for the second show will go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. ... Swedish new wave-leaning quintet the Sounds are heading Stateside for their first U.S. headlining tour, starting February 15 in Milwaukee and ending March 28 in Atlanta. Along for the 30-date trek will be Kill Hannah and Ima Robot. ...

• R. Kelly
• James Brown
• The White Stripes
• Courtney Love
• Godsmack

Protesters march through New York City on March 22, 2003
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Policemen standing near Madison Square Garden were stocked with bags of plastic handcuffs just in case demonstrators got unruly, as they did at Thursday's rally in Times Square when 21 people were arrested.

In the end, their fears were justified. After the four-hour march from Times Square to Washington Square Park was over, hundreds of protesters refused to leave the park. They spilled into the streets, blocking traffic and causing riot police to take action. As of 6:45 p.m., 91 protesters had been arrested and more than 11 police had been sprayed with mace, officials said.

The agitators marred an otherwise peaceful and spirited demonstration that drew around 200,000 people who spanned 30 city blocks. The protesters were visibly appalled by the "shock & awe" campaign in Baghdad, but during the march they were there to be heard and seen, not to cause trouble. (Click for photos from the protest.)

And while there were plenty of eccentrics — '60s survivors with gray, bushy beards, a couple wrapped in fake bloody bandages, a woman on roller skates wearing a Raggedy Ann outfit and clown nose — most of the protesters were regular folks. Some had children on their shoulders, other dragged dogs on leashes. Most were in high spirits, smiling and making small talk as they marched through the sun-splashed streets. A few celebrities also attended, including singer Patti Smith and actors Roy Scheider, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, the Associated Press reported.

More than 2,000 police were on duty, and undercover cops carried cell phone-sized radiation detectors as Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly watched the march from 35th Street, the AP reported.

The march began in Times Square and progressed downtown to Washington Square Park. Protesters raised signs that said things like "Invasion is for Nazis and Martians," "George Bush is a weapon of mass destruction" and "Look daddy, I made a war." Many chanted catchy phrases like "Bombs are dropping while you're shopping" and "Bush and Hitler, just the same/ The only difference is the name."

"I came out today because I think this is our last option," said 20-year-old Rae Donovan, who contributed to an impromptu sit-in at 21st Street that temporarily stalled the march. "I don't think anyone will listen unless we actually come to the streets. It's the only thing we have left."

People of various ethnicities joined the march, including a large number of Arab Americans. "I think the whole notion of a 'shock & awe' campaign is terrible," said 26-year-old Jawad Saleh. "It's deliberately designed to frighten people and to kill large numbers of people and create a large amount of destruction in order to cower people. This is an evil policy. And the events have made things much more difficult for Arab Americans."

"This is not just a war about American imperialism and profit and a war for oil," added 22-year-old Laura Barisonzi. "It's also about attacks on our immigrants here."

Along the path of the march, a handful of Bush supporters dotted the crowd. Some exchanged angry words with protesters, but there were no physical confrontations.

"I understand there will be anti-war rallies," said 29-year-old Danny Tyminsky, who carried a pro-Bush sign. "You gotta have them. But they should happen before the war. Now that we're at war, people need to rally behind our troops and not forget what happened at the [World] Trade Center [on September 11]."

The day included a few light moments as well. Protesters giggled as one group chanted: "D-A-D-D-Y/ We know how you got your job/ Your daddy, your daddy/ Bush, it was your daddy." Another batch of marchers spoofed Ludacris' popular rap song "Move B----" by shouting "Move Bush, Get out the way." And at one point, in an area crowded with press cameras, a woman on the sidelines turned to her companion and said, "We might be on TV. Do you think your wife will see you with me?"

When protestors reached Washington Square Park, they were met by a policeman on a megaphone telling them to vacate the premises and go home. Many did, but thousands remained in the park waving their signs, cheering and blowing whistles. In one corner, two hippies playing a banjo and a guitar led the crowd in a sing-along of "This Land Is Your Land" and "This Little Light of Mine," while on the other side of the park, people with pots, trashcan lids, cowbells and drums staged a drum-in.

At 5 p.m. there were still demonstrators in the park, and police chased away some protestors who had continued protesting on a side street.

In Washington, a few hundred protesters marched through the streets, and then gathered in front of the White House chanting "No blood for oil." And overseas, tens of thousands of protesters in London, Japan and elsewhere continued to cry out against the war.

Pro-Bush rallies were staged in Lansing, Michigan, and in Millington, Tennessee.

Despite the growing anti-war movement, polls maintain that the vast majority of Americans now support the war against Iraq. And in the Bush administration, the anti-war cries seem to be falling on deaf ears. But that's clearly not going to stop the masses from gathering in the coming days.

"Change takes a while before everyone feels the effects of it," said 40-year-old Richie Richardson. "If we don't do this today, what about the next war? We may not be able to change this war, but we may have an impact that will shorten it. And we may have an impact that will tell our politicians that next time they think about doing something like this, the consequences might be different at the polls on election day."

 Let your politicians know what you think: You Tell Them

 Back To Conflicts In The Middle East

• Patti Smith

Phil Spector
Photo: philspector.com

The arrest of the renowned record producer Phil Spector on a murder charge on Monday was one of the most startling true-crime bulletins out of the music business since the similar arrest, in 1961, of country star Spade Cooley, for kicking to death his estranged wife in front of their 14-year-old daughter.

There have been many great rock-and-pop producers — Rick Rubin, for example, who's done some of the best of the Red Hot Chili Peppers albums; and Butch Vig, best known for his work with Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins. But none of them has changed the sound of popular music as much as Phil Spector did. Over the years since he made his greatest records, however, Spector has become an increasingly odd and isolated character.

Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1940, Spector became a jazz piano and guitar prodigy. After his father committed suicide, and he moved with his mother to Los Angeles, he scored his first hit record with his own group, the Teddy Bears, in 1958. The song was called "To Know Him Is to Love Him," a phrase taken from his father's tombstone. (It was also a 1987 hit, in a trio version, by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt.)

Spector went on to create and record some of the greatest girl-group and post-doo-wop records of the early 1960s — the Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" and the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You" among them. (These songs have subsequently been covered by everyone from the Beach Boys to Patti Smith and the Ramones).

Spector's records were recorded in a style that became known as the "Wall of Sound." Working in a very small Hollywood studio called Gold Star, he would assemble massive groups of studio musicians — three guitarists, two bassists, two or three pianists, drummers, percussionists — to create an enormous mono sound that would burst through radio speakers of the time like rock and roll thunder. These epochal hits (later saluted in a famous three-minute Steadicam shot in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas") heralded an era in which the producer became the star. They were so universally popular that the writer Tom Wolfe, then at the height of his own pop-analytical powers, was motivated to profile Spector, in a 1965 magazine article, as "The First Tycoon of Teen." Spector was only 21 years old, and he was a millionaire. At the time, he said, "I have a tremendous yearning — a yearning to be respected, a yearning to be accepted. I see this in teenagers — a yearning to do things, to be someone, to be important and to be recognized." His own work, he said, "is an emotional music for an emotional generation."

The Ronettes had started out as go-go dancers at a New York discotheque called the Peppermint Lounge (one of the Beatles' first stops on their first visit to the U.S. in 1964). Spector eventually married Veronica (Ronnie) Bennett, the group's leader. Much later, in a 1983 documentary by filmmaker Binia Tymieniecka that aired on England's Channel Four (from which I will liberally quote hereafter), she said of her ex-husband: "I think Phil was a very normal person at the beginning of his career. But as time went on, they started writing about him being a genius. And he said, 'Yeah, I am a genius.' And then they would say, 'He's the mad genius.' And so he became the mad genius."

In 1966, Spector made what may have been the greatest record of his career, "River Deep - Mountain High," by Ike and Tina Turner. (Actually by Tina Turner — Ike wasn't invited to participate.) The record bombed, and Spector was stunned. His wife, Ronnie, said he became abusive, keeping her a virtual prisoner in their mansion and, at one point, threatening to have a hit man kill her. She once told me that she and Cher — who was at the time married to Spector acolyte Sonny Bono — would secretly sneak out to rendezvous at a sidewalk mailbox and share lamentations.

Phil Spector moved on. He did a cameo as a cocaine dealer in the 1969 hippie-hit movie "Easy Rider." He produced the John Lennon hit "Imagine," and the ex-Beatle's classic Plastic Ono Band album. He also produced George Harrison's first post-Beatles solo outing, All Things Must Pass.

But his last even semi-substantial hit (and "hit" is putting it too grandly) was the under-appreciated 1980 Ramones album, End of the Century. The Ramones — a great American band who'd never had a hit — figured Spector was the guy they needed, because he was a producer from the era they most revered. Phil was not appreciative. "If you need a big-name producer," he said, "go find one. If you want Phil Spector to produce you, then I'll consider it." (Modesty was a concept with which he was unacquainted: He once referred to other producers as "amateurs, students and bad clones of yours truly.")

Spector's collaboration with the Ramones was ill-starred. Johnny Ramone complained that Phil spent 12 hours contemplating the opening chord of "Rock and Roll High School." And Dee Dee Ramone said, "He wasn't the most friendly guy I've ever met. He tried to be friends, but then he had guns on him, and he wouldn't let me out of his house for a couple of days. I never met anybody [else] like him and I hope I never do."

The subject of Phil and guns inevitably arises in any discussion of the man. Guns, and bodyguards, with guns of their own. At his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, he walked out onto the stage surrounded by three very heavy-looking gentlemen, each of whom had one hand stuck menacingly into his tuxedo jacket — gripping a gat, apparently. Phil, who was obviously ripped, yammered on and on about this and that — so long that the late, ill-tempered show producer, Bill Graham, ran out onstage and slammed a note onto the speaker's podium encouraging him to shut up and move on. Spector finally relented, and reeled off to leave the stage. There were a few steps to walk down, however, and when he reached the last one, he stumbled, and went hurtling off into the arms of whoever caught him.

Spector, in his long latter-days, became a famous recluse. He did contemplate making a comeback in the mid-'90s, after seeing Celine Dion singing a version of "River Deep - Mountain High" on TV one night. But after spending a month in the studio with the singer, he stormed off, ranting about Dion's handlers and their lack of respect for his legendary talents. ("You don't tell Shakespeare what plays to write," he groused, "or how to write them.") He recently told the British writer Mick Brown that he was taking medication for schizophrenia ("But I wouldn’t say I'm schizophrenic"). "I have devils inside," he said, "that fight me."

All of Phil Spector's greatest work is collected in a 1991 box set called Back to Mono. It's still available. I gave it five stars in a Rolling Stone review at the time, and believe me, it rules. If John Frusciante of the Chili Peppers is now investigating this kind of music — very much based in black vocal harmonies — I think that's a sign it may never die. But then I think it'll never die anyway. As for Phil Spector himself, one of the great creators of rock and roll music, I wish him the best in his latest turmoil (see "Producer Phil Spector Arrested In Connection With Slaying"). But I recall that Spade Cooley got life.

—Kurt Loder

• Phil Spector
• The Beatles
• Patti Smith
• The Ramones
• The Beach Boys

Blink 182's Tom DeLonge
Photo: MCA

While those within sightline of a TV can catch P.O.D., Ja Rule, O-Town, Sum41 and City High performing on "MTV's New Year's Eve 2002" and Blink-182, Pink, Busta Rhymes and others ring in the new year on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" (see "Pink, Blink, Busta Ready For New Year's Eve With Dick"), those in search of activities away from the tube needn't look far.

With special New Year's Eve shows popping off around the country like so many magnums of bubbly at midnight, finding a suitable place to get your celebration on shouldn't be a problem. From Guns N' Roses' Great Pumpkin-like return to the Las Vegas strip (see "Guns N' Roses Ante Up For Another New Year's Eve In Vegas") to New York's indie rock double fantasy of the Strokes and Guided by Voices to Macy Gray's serving up soulful insanity at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, the artists will be there when the clock strikes 12. Will you?

Here's a rundown of some of the shows scheduled for New Year's Eve:

• Guns N' Roses @ Hard Rock Hotel - The Joint in Las Vegas, NV
• Macy Gray @ House of Blues in West Hollywood, CA
• Stone Temple Pilots @ Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL
• Train, Better Than Ezra, the Verve Pipe @ House of Blues in Chicago, IL
• Guided by Voices, the Strokes @ Apollo Theatre in New York, NY
• Barenaked Ladies @ Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL
• Lennon, Living Color, Drivin' N' Cryin' @ Coca Cola Roxy Theatre in Atlanta, GA
• Smash Mouth @ Planet Hollywood in New York, NY
• Kittie @ Ryan's Ballroom in Combined Locks, WI
• Hootie and the Blowfish @ House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC
• Patti Smith @ Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY
• Cheap Trick, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise @ Navy Pier in Chicago, IL
• Billy Idol, Paul Oakenfold @ House of Blues in Las Vegas, NV
• The Isley Brothers @ Fox Theatre in Detroit, MI
• The Disco Biscuits @ Electric Factory in Philadelphia, PA
• Page McConnell (of Phish), Kid Koala, Bullfrog, Oteil Burbridge, Russell Batiste @ Roseland in New York, NY
• Phil Lesh & Friends, Ratdog, Derek Trucks Band, DJ Logic, Crusader Rabbit @ Henry J. Kaiser Arena in San Francisco, CA
• They Might Be Giants, Mighty Mighty Bosstones @ Bohager's in Baltimore, MD
• Primer 55 @ Orbit Room in Grand Rapids, MI
• The Sheila Divine @ Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA
• Reverend Horton Heat, Waco Brothers @ Metro/Smart Bar in Chicago, IL
• Los Straitjackets @ Oneida Casino in Green Bay, WI
• Yo La Tengo @ Majestic Theatre in Detroit, MI
• Days of the New @ Rooster Tail in Detroit, MI
• Tomahawk, Melvins, Dan the Automator @ Slim's in San Francisco, CA
• Evan Dando & Rebel Crue 2002 @ Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ
• Paul van Dyk, Sasha, Jimmy Van M, Richard "Humpty" Vission, Sandra Collins, Derrick Carter, Derrick May, Joey Beltram, Roc Raida, Z-Trip, DJ Swamp, more @ Los Angeles Sports Arena in Los Angeles, CA

• Guns N' Roses
• Macy Gray
• Stone Temple Pilots
• Patti Smith
• Kittie

Joey Ramone
Photo: MTV

With punk rock progenitors the Sex Pistols and the Ramones sharing the 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination ballot with more populist acts such as Jackson Browne and Tom Petty, this year's end-of-ceremony jam session could be an anarchic sight to behold.

The committee might not be brave enough to elect both punk acts; and though seminal, the Pistols, who recorded only one album proper in their short career, might be too anti-establishment for the typically conservative Rock Hall. By contrast, the Ramones recorded tirelessly for two decades — exerting considerable influence on everyone from U2 to Green Day — and have the sympathy of the industry following the death of singer Joey Ramone, who succumbed to lymphoma on April 15 (see "Punk Pioneer Joey Ramone Dead At 49").

Last week, around 1,000 members of the nominating committee received the 2002 Hall of Fame ballot, which also includes first-time nominees Talking Heads, funk-soul icon Isaac Hayes, alt-country maverick Gram Parsons, '60s teen-pop singer Gene Pitney, R&B girl group the Chantels and doo-wop acts the Dells and the "5" Royales.

The 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot will also include repeat nominees AC/DC, Patti Smith, Brenda Lee, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Sabbath, the latter of whom may decline their nomination, as they have in years past (see "Ozzy Tells Rock Hall To Forget About Black Sabbath").

Artists become eligible for the Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria includes "the influence and significance of the artist's contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll," according to the organization.

This year's selection process began last spring when a group of around 60 industry professionals made up of record executives, lawyers, managers, journalists and musicians convened to brainstorm potential nominees, said the Hall of Fame publicist. A laundry list of names was pared down to the 16 nominees.

Between five and eight final inductees are typically chosen by the committee, which is made up of a pool of 1,000 voters from throughout the music industry.

Inductees for the class of 2001 were Aerosmith, Steely Dan, Queen, Michael Jackson (solo), Paul Simon (solo), Solomon Burke, Ritchie Valens, the Flamingos, James Burton and Johnnie Johnson (see "Aerosmith Thrilled, Steely Dan Unimpressed At Rock Hall Ceremony").

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Cleveland, Ohio.

• The Ramones
• The Sex Pistols
• Talking Heads
• Gram Parsons
• Tom Petty

Warning: These Album Covers May Contain Explicit Content

• The Beatles
• The Mamas & The Papas
• Moby Grape
• Jimi Hendrix
• John Lennon

2007 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Ceremony Inducts R.E.M., Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash And More

• Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
• R.E.M.
• Van Halen
• Pearl Jam
• Velvet Revolver

R.E.M., Van Halen Lead Rock And Roll Hall 2007 Inductees

• R.E.M.
• Van Halen
• Patti Smith
• Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
• The Ronettes

Patti Smith, Punk Fans Bid Farewell To CBGB

• Patti Smith