Dave Grohl (file)
Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Officially, Lollapalooza ended Sunday night in Chicago's Grant Park, with dueling sets from the Killers and Jane's Addiction. Unofficially, it ended very early Monday morning, across town at venerable rock club the Metro, with a surprise show by Them Crooked Vultures.

To the unfamiliar, the Vultures might seem like an odd choice to close out Lolla weekend ... until you realize that they're made up of Foo Fighters frontman/ former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin legend John Paul Jones. And their gig at the Metro was their world premiere.

According to some reports, the Vultures actually turned down Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell's request to replace the Beastie Boys as headliners at the festival, opting to debut in front of some 1,100 super-psyched fans at the Metro, rather than 75,000 in Grant Park (tickets for the gig were announced via Foo Fighter/ QOTSA fan clubs). Meaning that, in a lot of ways, this was the most sought-after ticket in town.

Taking the stage just after midnight, the Vultures — Grohl on drums (of course), Homme on guitar and vocals, Jones on bass and keys and frequent QOTSA contributor Alain Johannes on guitar — ripped through 12 songs in 80 minutes, all taken from their upcoming debut, which may or may not be called Never Deserved the Future, and may or may not be hitting stores on October 23 (early "promo" videos touting both those facts were revealed over the weekend to be hoaxes perpetrated by QOTSA fans).

The songs, with appropriately Homme-ian titles like "Scumbag Blues," "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)," "Caligulove" and "Interlude w/Ludes," sounded pretty much how you'd expect, given the band's pedigree. They rocked, hard — Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot described them as "fresh, invigorating and just plain nasty" — delving off into psychedelic, reverb-filled excursions and exploring proggy territory, "both of the old-school Yes variety, and the more modern Tool flavor," according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Jim DeRogatis.

It's not known if Monday's Metro performance was a one-off event for the Vultures — there have been whispers of a full-blown tour, but a spokesperson for Homme had not responded to MTV News' request for comment at press time. Nor was it clear whether or not they'll have an album out in October.

Early Monday, a Crooked Vultures Twitter account, which had previously posted links to the band's official-looking Web site and the Metro's online ticketing site — posted a link to what appears to be the group's first bit of official merchandise: a Deserve the Future T-shirt. Cost: $30.

• The Lollapalooza 2009 Experience

• Vampire Weekend, Jane's Addiction, More At Lollapalooza 2009

• Foo Fighters
• Queens of the Stone Age
• Led Zeppelin

Jack White
Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Apparently no one informed White Stripes/ Raconteurs frontman Jack White that the country is facing dire jobless rates, because White just added a third band to his résumé. Not content to front just two bands at once, White has just unveiled his latest creation, the Dead Weather, a death-rattle blues quartet featuring White on drums and vocals, the Kills' Alison Mosshart on vocals, the Raconteurs' Jack Lawrence on bass and Queens of the Stone Age's Dean Fertita on guitar.

White debuted the band Wednesday night at a private party in Nashville, Tennessee, in front of 150 invited guests, according to a recap of the event on the Web site of White's Third Man Records, using the show to unveil the label's new offices/ record store/ photo studio/ performance stage in Music City.

The first public performance by the band included songs from its upcoming debut, Horehound, which was produced by White and is due out in June. The album was recorded over the course of three weeks earlier this year at the new Third Man Studio, which was, of course, designed "from the ground up" by White as well.

Attendees at Wednesday's shindig — which, according to The Associated Press, included Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride and the White Stripes' Meg White — exchanged their letter-pressed invitations for a limited-edition seven-inch vinyl pressing of the Dead Weather's debut single, "Hang You From the Heavens," which also features a cover of the new-wave classic "Are 'Friends' Electric?" originally by Gary Numan's 1970s band Tubeway Army.

In keeping with White's love of home-crafted musical curios, the bandmates hand-painted each of the 150 singles, which also included photo-booth pictures of the bandmembers. Both songs are currently available exclusively through iTunes.

"The idea was to do a seven-inch single and be done with it, but we started writing songs and something happened," White said, according to the AP, which also reported that the band plans to tour this year.

"Hang You From the Heavens" mixes the Stripes' signature fuzzed-out garage sound with some dinosaur-rock drumming from White and Mosshart's punchy blues singing. Over skuzzy, blown-speaker rock, Mosshart yelps, "I wanna grab you from the hair/ And hang you up from the heavens." The noisy Numan cover adds a 1960s psychedelic sheen to the robotic original, with watery vocals and woozy keyboards that have a vintage vibe but render the song almost unrecognizable.

The White Stripes have not toured since late 2007, when they canceled a string of dates following Meg White's bout of acute anxiety. It's unclear how the formation of this new band will impact the Grammy-winning duo's future. The normally prolific group, which has reportedly been working on new material, has not released a new album since 2007's Icky Thump, though they did give a wobbly performance on the February finale of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." A spokesperson for White could not be reached for comment at press time.

• The White Stripes
• Raconteurs
• The Kills
• Queens of the Stone Age

Jessica Simpson (file)
Photo: MJ Kim/ Getty Images

Jessica Simpson gets physical in the new issue of InStyle, breaking out her trainer's plan to "get your best body now!" But she turns inward as well, telling the magazine for its November issue — which hits racks Friday (check out the full cover here) — that, "I was the princess in the fairy tale — then reality came crashing in, and I learned that isn't always how life works." She insisted that "I am in complete control of my life" after going through her divorce with Nick Lachey and, while she didn't call out ex-boyfriend John Mayer by name, she did reveal, "I've had my heart broken since my divorce. That's OK. I believe you fall in love more than once and get your heart broken more than once. Trust me, I have cried myself to sleep." ...

Kanye West isn't exactly the kind of guy who needs an ego boost, but Jennifer Lopez and Pharrell puffed him up a bit anyway in recent interviews with MTV Europe. J. Lo says she finds West "to be a very smart businessman" and that his album faceoff with 50 Cent was "clever." "I think it's fun for publicity. ... It was really about a healthy competition between two amazing artists," said the singer — whose new album, Brave, unfortunately hasn't been faring too well in record stores. Pharrell is cheering West's Graduation — when asked if he's happy for West's success, the super-producer replied, "Absolutely. That album is a classic: flawless production; lyrically, he absolutely, absolutely took himself to another level. ... He is in the clouds with that album." ...

While he was at it, Pharrell also championed an entirely different musical act — Swedish garage-rockers the Hives, who he teamed with for their November 13 release, The Black and White Album. "Those are my guys," he said. "[They're] fun, they're smart, they have a great image, they love music." Pharrell, who knows a thing or two about turning the knobs, said he actually picked up a few tips from Hives frontman Pelle Almqvist. "Forget about it. He knows everything. I'm in the studio learning things from him." ...

While 50 may still be stinging from the aforementioned chart battle, he's reportedly moving on to something else — a new G-Unit project. The group has pegged December 18 as the release date for their sophomore effort, Shoot to Kill, and Funkmaster Flex will premiere the first single, "Wanna Lick" (featuring Lil' Kim), Friday on Hot 97, according to XXL magazine. "Cancel Christmas, it's over," 50 told the mag in regards to the much-anticipated release. ...

Sorry, Mariah fans — looks like her new album isn't coming out this year after all. While her record label confirmed that her yet-untitled follow-up to The Emancipation of Mimi would be dropping December 4, a label representative now says Carey is still recording and the date has not been solidified. ... Wyclef Jean helped rake in almost $250,000 as part of a charity-poker event he co-hosted Tuesday at the Vail ski resort in Colorado. Jean performed a handful of tunes as well, including renditions of two traditional songs, "La Bamba" (Mexico) and "Guantanamera" (Cuba). Thrice, Joey Fatone, Boyz II Men and others attended the Vail Hold'Em Poker Event for Your Cause, which involved celebrities competing to win money for their charities of choice. ...

Alicia Keys, KT Tunstall, Earth, Wind & Fire, Annie Lennox, Juanes, Junoon and Melissa Etheridge will perform at the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Concert slated for December 11 in Norway. Al Gore picked Etheridge for the event, which will serve as a salute to him and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their efforts to raise awareness about climate change. Gore and the panel won the Nobel Peace Prize last week. ... Speaking of Lennox, she got an unusual scare at her Tuesday concert in Boulder, Colorado, when a man wearing a gas mask and a cape turned up in the crowd toward the end of her show, according to "Access Hollywood." The singer reportedly dropped the mic and booked it backstage without addressing the crowd, though she returned to the stage after the man was removed. "That was really freakish and disturbing, whatever the hell it was. He owes me and my band a f---ing apology," Lennox lashed out on her blog. The man's name hasn't been released, since he has not been charged with a crime, and it's unclear if he will be, as he didn't actually get onstage. ...

Are Rihanna and Josh Hartnett an item? One would be led to think so after seeing the "30 Days of Night" actor's Thursday appearance on "The Morning Show With Mike and Juliet." When the hosts asked him to address rumors that he's dating Rih Rih, he started smiling and stuttering heavily. "No, no, come on, you guys," he said. "We weren't supposed to talk about these sort of things, were we? I thought we were going to come out here and talk about the movie. ... I can't really respond to things like that, because if I start responding to them, then everybody wants a response on everything." ... Francis Ford Coppola unleashed: The director is ripping into two of his "Godfather" actors, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, as well as Jack Nicholson, telling GQ that the Oscar-winners have become too apathetic. "They all live off the fat of the land," the esteemed director said, adding that he doesn't know "what any of them want anymore." The interview is featured in GQ's November issue, which hits newsstands Tuesday. ...

Radiohead will be chasing Rainbows — well, technically, their new album, In Rainbows — with an international tour next year, Billboard.com reports. The band is reportedly planning to hit the tarmac in May and continue playing sizeable venues through the end of the year. The trek would be unusual given that frontman Thom Yorke has voiced his distaste for international touring in the past, and the band played only select shows in the U.S. and Europe in summer 2006. ... Bruce Springsteen continued to speak out about his political beliefs at his Thursday night show at New York's Madison Square Garden, sounding off about wiretapping and infringements on the Bill of Rights. He also made an elliptical reference before performing the title track to his new Magic LP, saying the song was "not about magic but about tricks." Bono, Jon Stewart, James Gandolfini and R.E.M.'s Mike Mills were in attendance, RollingStone.com reports. ...

Josh Homme says Queens of the Stone Age could "blow through a whole record quick" with their new roster, according to Billboard.com. "Queens sounds better than it ever has live, but we're trying to figure out how to tour and how to [write and record], 'cause I think for everyone right now, the idea of creating something is even more enticing than going on the road," he told the site. In addition to Homme, the QOTSA lineup includes multi-instrumentalist Troy Van Leeuwen and drummer Joey Castillo, who joined the entourage in 2002, and two musicians who hooked up with the band earlier this year — keyboardist Dean Fertita, who has also toured with the Raconteurs, and Wires on Fire bassist Michael Shuman. ...

Johnny Marr, former guitarist for the Smiths and current axeman for Modest Mouse, has a new handle: professor of music. Manchester, England's University of Salford has given Marr the honorary title and tapped him to host workshops on music composition and performance, according to U.K. newspaper The Guardian. ... If you thought the Led Zeppelin roller coaster being constructed for the Hard Rock Park was out there, wait till you hear what else is in store: a mock Mount Rushmore sculpture called "Mount Rockmore" and featuring the likenesses of Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley. The 50-acre park — located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — is set to open in the spring. ...

John Goodman left the Promises Malibu Alcohol and Drug Rehab Treatment Facility in Southern California — the rehab center where Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan also stayed — after being treated there for an undisclosed reason and undisclosed period of time, The Associated Press reports. The actor "took the necessary steps to remain sober the rest of his life," according to a statement issued by his publicist, Stan Rosenfield. Goodman earned an Emmy Award this year for his part in "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." ...

Joey Bishop, a comedian who was a member of Frank Sinatra's famed Rat Pack, died Wednesday night in Newport Beach, California, of multiple causes, AP reports. The actor, who appeared in the original "Ocean's Eleven" movie, was 89. ... AP also reports that Deborah Kerr, an actress who appeared in "The King and I" and "From Here to Eternity," died Tuesday in England after battling Parkinson's disease. She was 86.

10.17.07

C-Murder will be tried a second time on a second-degree murder charge, The Associated Press reports. A trial date has been set for February 11. The rapper, who was born Corey Miller, stands accused of the shooting death of 16-year-old Steve Thomas at a Louisiana nightclub on January 12, 2002. His 2003 conviction was tossed in March 2006 after prosecutors withheld criminal background information on witnesses from Miller's attorney. If convicted, he faces a mandatory life sentence without parole. ...

What would a day be like without Britney Spears news? Legal representatives for the singer and her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, were present at an ex-parte hearing called by his lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan on Wednesday (October 17), according to Us Weekly. Commissioner Scott M. Gordon sealed the courtroom for the one-hour Los Angeles Superior Court meeting, which pertains to the former couple's child-custody dispute. Spears and Federline were not present for the one-hour meeting in Los Angeles Superior Court but are required to be in court for a hearing on October 26. Relatedly, Spears is apparently making no secret of her distaste for Gordon, Us Weekly also reports. The singer was heard griping about Gordon at a department store in Beverly Hills late last week, allegedly ranting to her assistant, "I hate my judge. He is so mean. Just an old fart. He told me I was being catty with him, but he was being catty with me and paid me no respect at all. ... His job is to sit there and tell people what to do. And that's just so sad, because he gets off on it." She was also heard singing Rihanna's "Umbrella" while shopping in the store. The magazine also reports that Spears was seen wearing a zip-up jacket with the phrase "F--- Off Lover Boy" while driving in Malibu on Tuesday. ...

Well, maybe Brit should have listened to Lance Bass. He's speaking up about the troubled singer, telling GQ that he's been trying to get through to her. "I tried. I tried. She's my neighbor in Beverly Hills [California]. She lives next door. I tried to get in touch with her — I wanted to be that friend to help her. I don't think she's having any of her old friends anymore," he told the magazine for its November issue. Equally revealing, Bass said he disclosed to the pop star that he was gay years before he came out in public. He said he reached out to her after her quickie Vegas wedding in January 2004. "I felt bad for her," he said. "I knew she was about to go through a lot of crap. I felt the need to share something. So I sat her on my bed, and I'm like, 'Well, I'm gay!' " ...

"Hannah Montana" fans, get ready to see your hero in a whole new light — she's hitting the big screen ... and in 3-D! The upcoming movie "Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour" will get the 3-D treatment for a theatrical release that will play in theaters from February 1-7, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film will be shot during various stops on her 54-city tour, which starts Thursday in St. Louis. ...

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington broke his arm on Sunday during a concert in Melbourne, Australia. The band's Web site features a video showing the frontman's limb in a cast. Despite the injury, Bennington continued to perform with the Park, for their entire set. ... My Chemical Romance have booked a special gig at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey, for October 24. Tickets for the sold-out show went for $100 apiece, with all proceeds going to charity. In other MCR news, RollingStone.com reports that the band has put the finishing touches on a yet-untitled DVD surrounding its recent tour. The disc, reportedly due out early next year, will feature the group's full performance of The Black Parade in Mexico City. ...

Kanye West gave a surprise performance at a launch event for T-Mobile's Sidekick LX at Griffith Park in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. He played a batch of Graduation songs, after which DJ AM and Steve Aoki did some spinning. A slew of celebs turned out for the event: Nick Cannon, Bow Wow, Shia LaBeouf, Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler, Carmen Electra, Jack Osbourne, Wilmer Valderrama, JC Chasez, Frankie Muniz and, yes, even Chris "Leave Britney alone!" Crocker. ...

Rivers Cuomo has let slip what fans can expect on his just-announced demos compilation release. He told RollingStone.com that the release will have about 18 songs, including his original demo for Weezer's "Buddy Holly" — and, get this, a cover of Ice Cube's "The Bomb." He also said he'll be unveiling songs from an unfinished space-rock concept album. ... Apparently everyone in Kid Rock's camp isn't sharing in his Rock N Roll Jesus SoundScan spoils: His longtime manager, Ed "Punch" Andrews, has decided to retire, according to Billboard.com. Rock has reportedly found a replacement in Vector Management, which handles Bon Jovi, among others. ...

In September, Robert Plant dismissed a potential Led Zeppelin tour that would be held after their reunion gig at the O2 Arena in London on November 26 — but is Jimmy Page leaving the door open? He hinted as such in an interview with Canada's Winnipeg Sun, saying, "Let's do the O2 show, shall we? And then we'll speak to you afterwards." But, he added, "That's what we have on our horizon at this point. I know you want to hear other answers, but I'm afraid that's all I can give you." The guitar god was less vague about the prospect of new Zep material, saying he would be "really surprised" if there wasn't any. "We're musicians ... as we're playing we'll probably be coming up with all manner of things," he said. Bassist John Paul Jones also spoke with the newspaper, saying, "Basically, we are concentrating on this show. That's where all the energy is going. I mean, who knows, but one step at a time." ...

Cat Power, a.k.a. Chan Marshall, will take on Bob Dylan's "I Believe in You," James Brown's "Lost Someone," Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" and other classics on her second covers album, Jukebox. The January 22 release — which was previously titled Covers II, according to Billboard — also features a pair of originals: "Song to Bobby" and a new version of one of her older cuts, "Metal Heart." One would expect Marshall to perform the Dylan tune when she salutes His Bobness at an upcoming event called "I'm Not There: In Concert a Celebration of Todd Haynes' Film." My Morning Jacket, Calexico and Mason Jennings have also been tapped for the concert, which will take place November 7 at New York's Beacon Theatre. The movie, which stars Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and others, is due in theaters November 21. ...

Ryan Adams can't get enough of "October Road," apparently. The mercurial singer/songwriter's music is featured in the TV drama and its ad bumpers, and now he's ganging up with the cast for his new video. Adams plans to shoot a clip for "Follow the Lights" — a song included on his Tuesday EP of the same name — Sunday in Los Angeles, and it's due to premiere January 7 during the first episode of the show's second season. The collaboration marks the first time the cast of an ABC show has gotten together to take part in an artist's music video. ...

From the "Man, please don't do this" file, it seems George Lucas is entrenched in one of two planned "Star Wars" TV projects, a live-action spinoff, the Los Angeles Times reports. Lucas told the newspaper he has "just begun work" on the series, which, as he previously told MTV News, will be set between "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" and the original "Star Wars." He reiterated to the Times that the spinoff will focus on minor characters from the series, not Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. He also joked that the series would be about "the life of robots." ... Bleeding Through singer Brandan Schieppati has teamed with Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman, No Use for a Name guitarist Dave Nassie and ex-Distillers bassist Ryan Sinn to form a new band called the Innocent. The thrash-metal act has been working on material but there's no word yet on when it might record and release an LP. ...

For the second time in a month, Apple Inc. has done something it's not known for: dropped its prices. Effective immediately, the price for songs on iTunes without copy protection will drop from $1.29 to 99 cents. Apple started selling some DRM-free songs in May at a premium price. ...

Elliott Smith's girlfriend, Jennifer Chiba, cannot collect on the deceased indie-rock icon's estate even though he allegedly said he would make sure she was financially set for the rest of her life, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Chiba had sued Smith's estate in 2004, arguing that he had promised her as such and that, because they had lived together — and shared their earnings and property equally — she was entitled to a portion. But a split California appellate court ruled Tuesday that while she did have a "cohabitative agreement" with Smith, Chiba — who had been seeking more than $1 million — also had a recording management agreement and acted as an unlicensed talent agent. If she appeals, a state Supreme Court review could be possible.

• Jessica Simpson
• Jennifer Lopez
• Pharrell Williams
• Kanye West
• The Hives

Britney Spears
Photo: Hot Shots Worldwide / Splash News/ Newscom

Looks like there's finally some good news for Britney Spears. The singer has been passing her court-ordered random drug tests and has a 50/50 chance of regaining custody of her children, her lawyer Sorrell Trope told People. Also, while Spears has lots of court dates to keep track of these days, she has one less for her calendar this week — her arraignment on misdemeanor driving charges (for hit and run, causing property damage and driving without a valid California license). Though her arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday, a Los Angeles judge decided Tuesday (October 9) that Spears could have until October 25 to enter a plea. The judge also ordered the singer to be booked by police and show proof of that booking by her arraignment, according to a court clerk. Spears' next hearing in her custody case will be the following day, on October 26. ...

Kiefer Sutherland will serve 30 days in Los Angeles County Jail as part of a plea deal in his DUI arrest, The Associated Press reports. He must also enroll in an 18-month alcohol-education class and go to weekly alcohol-therapy sessions for six months. On Tuesday, Sutherland's attorney Blair Berk entered a no-contest plea on the actor's behalf for driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, though a second misdemeanor DUI charge was dropped. The actor was most recently arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles in September — he was already on probation for a DUI arrest stemming from 2004. He will be sentenced December 21. ...

Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Linkin Park and — yes, you're reading this right — Daughtry are tied for the most American Music Awards nominations this year, it was announced Tuesday. Each artist earned three nods for various categories. In terms of pop/rock, Akon, Timbaland and Timberlake are facing off for Favorite Male Artist; Beyoncé, Fergie and Avril Lavigne are vying for Favorite Female Artist; Linkin Park, Maroon 5 and Nickelback are competing for Favorite Band, Duo or Group; and Daughtry, LP's Minutes to Midnight and JT's FutureSex/LoveSounds are going head to head for Favorite Album. As for rap/hip-hop, Fabolous, T.I. and Young Jeezy are vying for Favorite Male Artist; Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Pretty Ricky and Shop Boyz for Favorite Band, Duo or Group; and Bone Thugs' Strength & Loyalty, T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P. and Jeezy's The Inspiration for Favorite Album. And on the soul/R&B front, Akon, Ne-Yo and T-Pain are up for Favorite Male Artist; Beyoncé, Fantasia and Rihanna are squaring off for Favorite Female Artist; Beyoncé's B'Day, R. Kelly's Double Up and JT's FutureSex/LoveSounds have been nominated for Favorite Album. There are also Favorite Artist categories for adult-contemporary music (Daughtry, Norah Jones and John Mayer); alternative rock (Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance and the White Stripes) and Latin music (Daddy Yankee, Juan Luis Guerra y 440 and Jennifer Lopez). Daughtry, Plain White T's and Robin Thicke have been noticed for Favorite Breakthrough Artist, while Carrie Underwood landed two country-music noms: for Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Album (Some Hearts). For the first time, the AMAs are opening up voting to the general public online — it began Tuesday on the AMA site and ends November 2. The show, to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be broadcast live at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on November 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. ...

John Graziano, the young Marine who was injured in Nick Hogan's car crash in late August, is on life support and will require lifelong care, Florida's St. Petersburg Times reports. According to documents obtained by the newspaper, the 22-year-old Graziano will, at best, be able to open and close his eyes from time to time. His mother is petitioning a judge to let her assume guardianship of her son, who remains in critical condition. A hearing will be held Wednesday. ...

Rehab was a "sobering" experience for Lindsay Lohan, she told In Touch in her first interview since leaving Utah's Cirque Lodge Treatment Center on Friday. The actress also insisted that while she went to the clubs right after finishing a rehab stint in July, she's not going to be rekindling her nightlife anytime soon — to avoid distractions, she'll be staying in Utah until she starts shooting the upcoming flick "Dare to Love Me." "Going out all the time was very self-destructive," she said. "Partying and having all of those pictures taken distracts from the work that I do. It's not why I started acting. I didn't get into acting to be written about. ... I want to act like a woman rather than a teenager. I am doing the best I can." Lohan also opened up about seeing her estranged father for the first time in more than three years, while at Cirque Lodge. "It was really good for me ... it was really important for me to get a connection back with my dad, because I hadn't had that in a while." And if you heard those rumors about Lohan developing a relationship with a man while in rehab ... well, apparently they were true. "Yes, I am seeing someone," she confirmed. "His name is Riley. I am really happy and taking it day by day." The Riley in question is Riley Giles, a 25-year-old snowboarder from California. Last but not least, just as Paris Hilton said she was committing herself to philanthropic efforts after her own debacle, Lohan revealed that she's trying to put together a December trip to Africa with the Red Cross. ...

"Hannah Montana" fans will want to change the channel from Disney to ABC on Tuesday night when Miley Cyrus breaks out a new duet with her father, Billy Ray, on "Dancing With the Stars." The two will perform "Ready, Set, Don't Go" on the results show, with the single hitting country-radio stations immediately afterward. ... What do Diddy, Panic! at the Disco's Ryan Ross and Fred Durst have in common? They've all earned the less-than-distinguished honor of being selected for Blender's "The 40 Worst Lyricists in Rock" list. Will.I.Am, Billy Corgan, Anthony Kiedis, Common, Dashboard Confessional, Timbaland and, of course, Kevin Federline, also make the (F) grade, with Sting landing in the #1 spot. The list appears in the magazine's November issue, which streets October 16. ... Kid Rock commented to Dave Letterman about his ex-wife Pamela Anderson's recent remarriage — she got hitched to Rick Salomon in Las Vegas over the weekend. After making a salty remark about the couple on "The Late Show With David Letterman," he quipped, "I wish them much happiness." ...

Wyclef Jean seems to be the go-to guy for special causes these days. After playing at "CGI and MTV Present: Giving - Live at the Apollo" late last month, he's now been tapped for another special performance, at supermodel Petra Nêmcová's upcoming Heart of Gold Ball benefit auction. The event, to take place Wednesday at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, will have various sports, travel and event packages up for auction. All proceeds will go to Nêmcová's Happy Hearts Fund, which supports education and medical and emotional support for children affected by natural disasters. ... Say what you will about those rumors of Britney Spears putting in an application for a fall-back bartending gig while staying at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, California, last week. The manager at the hotel's Cameo Bar tells MTV News that while Spears has been there in the past, anyone applying has to have one to two years of fine-dining experience and must pass a drug test. The manager didn't confirm whether Spears had in fact submitted an application. ...

Avenged Sevenfold will play a free gig at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California, on October 20. The set will be taped for later broadcast on MySpace's "The List." Want in? No problem. Just show up in your Halloween costume and get there early — entry to the show will be on a first-come, first-served basis. ... Jimmy Eat World are going all in with their new single "Big Casino," fashioning their Chase This Light album-release party after the gambling concept. On Monday, the band will turn Los Angeles' El Rey Theatre into a faux casino, with fans able to play poker, blackjack, craps and other games for prizes — a flyaway to see the band perform in another city, JEW merchandise, El Rey tickets and more. The band will end the evening with an intimate set as Chase This Light drops at midnight. Entrants will get gambling money and a commemorative poster. ...

Causes, a charity album benefiting three organizations working to stop the genocide in Darfur, will be released on iTunes on November 27 and feature exclusive and rare tracks from Bloc Party, the Shins, Bright Eyes, Animal Collective, the Cure, Death Cab for Cutie, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Travis and Spoon. All proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam America. The album will only be available on iTunes for 90 days, though a limited-edition CD can be ordered right here. ... Queens of the Stone Age are booked for "The Late Show With David Letterman" on Wednesday and are expected to perform their latest single, "3's & 7's." ...

R.E.M. are teeing up a new album for the spring, and what better place to reveal some of it than on ... CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360"? On Wednesday, Michael Stipe and company will perform "Until the Day Is Done," which will be synced up to clips of CNN's "Planet in Peril" environmental documentary. The song will also play over the doc's closing credits and appear on the band's yet-untitled spring LP. R.E.M. Live, a CD/DVD that stands as the band's first concert release, is due October 16. ... Hot Rod Circuit have called it a day. The band issued a statement about the split but didn't offer a reason for it. The boys thanked their fans for supporting them and said they'll miss playing live gigs. ... Senator Hillary Clinton's 60th birthday bash has just gotten a little bit sweeter: Elvis Costello will perform at the Thursday concert, to be held at New York's Beacon Theatre. Tickets range from $250-$2,300 for the bash, for which 2,800 people are expected to attend. Let's hope Costello isn't planning to jump out of a cake. ...

Capitol/Priority is putting some shine on classic rap material with a pair of releases from the vault. N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton is getting the 20th-anniversary treatment via a bonus-track-laden reissue due December 4. The set will feature five extras: a live version of "Compton's N the House" performed by Dr. Dre and MC Ren, and covers of Compton tracks by Snoop Dogg and C-Murder, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Mack-10 and WC. Also on the way is the label's Featuring ... Eazy-E, which pulls together his top collaborations and hard-to-find solo recordings. Four out-of-print tracks are getting new life on the disc, including his "Beverly Hills Cop III" soundtrack contribution, "Luv 4 Dem Gangsta'z," and a rare "We Want Eazy" remix. That disc hits stores December 4 too. ...

Jammie Thomas, the woman who was hit last week with the first-ever copyright infringement jury verdict, said she plans to appeal the $220,000 fine. She announced the decision on her MySpace page, explaining that her lawyer's appeal will take issue with the jury's decision that making songs available online violates copyright laws. "This would stop the RIAA dead in their tracks," she wrote. "Every single suit they have brought has been based on this making-available theory, and if we can win this appeal, they would actually have to prove a file was shared." At press time, Thomas announced that more than $3,800 had been raised so far on FreeJammie.com. ... TiVo has announced that it will offer users of its set-top boxes access to Rhapsody's library of more than 4 million songs. (Rhapsody is part of a joint venture with Viacom Inc., MTV's parent company.) TiVo subscribers with broadband boxes will be able to listen to music streamed over the Internet from Rhapsody in the coming months, though they won't be able to download songs through their TiVo box.

08.08.07

Mariah Carey has a suggestion for troubled young female celebs: Find your center. When asked by Glamour what words of advice she would give Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, she replied, "I wouldn't want to speak to those people specifically, but I would say you need to be very centered, and spiritually know where you're at, all the time. Don't read the tabloids. Don't be obsessed with what people are writing or saying. Live your life for you. My lifestyle has changed since making it. It's not a financial struggle, but I'm still struggling in a lot of ways." Carey graces the cover of the magazine's November issue. ...

Diddy has had a tumultuous few days — first he was sued by a former associate who claimed the hip-hop mogul owes him $19 million for work by the Notorious B.I.G., and then he accepted legal responsibility for his sixth child, The Associated Press reports. In the suit, James Sabatino claims he flew the late rapper to Miami in 1994 to play a gig and hit the studio — he recorded a 17-minute freestyle session, and 90 minutes of Biggie video was allegedly captured on video as well. Since Sabatino paid for the travel expenses and studio time, he says it was understood that the music and video belonged to him, even though a contract was never signed. Diddy claims the delay was due to Los Angeles police naming Sabatino as a person of interest in Biggie's death and that it might be misconstrued if people discovered Bad Boy had paid Sabatino. The ex-associate was later imprisoned on unrelated charges but continued trying to get the money from Diddy and was told it would be coming soon, the suit alleges. Sabatino is seeking $19 million for actual and punitive damages. While that dilemma recently emerged, Diddy put another one to rest when he took legal responsibility for his 15-month-old daughter, Chance — who is said to have factored into his split with ex-girlfriend Kim Porter. Diddy previously denied he had fathered the child of an Atlanta woman, Sarah Chapman, but has acknowledged that DNA tests have confirmed that he is the father. Diddy has arranged support terms and visitation over his daughter with Chapman. ...

Trent Reznor is a free man. According to a post on Nine Inch Nails' Web site, he and his band have fulfilled their contractual obligations to Interscope. "I've waited a long time to be able to make the following announcement: As of right now, Nine Inch Nails is a totally free agent, free of any recording contract with any label," he said in the post. "I have been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate. Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008. Exciting times, indeed." NIN were signed to TVT prior to joining Interscope in 1994. ...

Beanie Sigel's attorney says the rapper will surrender to authorities next week after an arrest warrant was issued for his failure to return a rented car, AP reports. Sigel (real name: Dwight Grant) is planning to face the charges on October 15, Fortunado Perri told the news service, elaborating that the Payless rental car — which was due back in August and reported stolen September 6 — is being covered. "Whatever money is owed to the company has been paid or will be paid shortly," Perri added. The car was returned to Payless on Friday as detectives were on their way to arrest Sigel at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdale. It is not yet known who returned the vehicle, which had accumulated $5,000 in late fees. ...

Paris Hilton's alleged bean spillage during VMA weekend aside, Christina Aguilera isn't doing too good a job keeping her supposed pregnancy under wraps. "Access Hollywood" reports that Aguilera picked out a baby registry at a trendy boutique in West Hollywood, California, on Saturday night. With husband Jordan Bratman and his mother and sister in tow, the singer shopped for blankets, bottles, bags and other items for what "AH" called an "upcoming baby shower." ...

Want to live just like Ozzy and Sharon? Your chance is about to arrive. The Osbournes are planning to auction art, furniture and collectibles from their homes in Southern California and England, with a portion of proceeds going to the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Foundation. Items up for sale include Jack Osbourne's black leather bedroom furniture, a cast-iron crucifix that was hung in Ozzy's den and other memorable objects that appeared on "The Osbournes." The auction will be held November 30-December at the Gibson Guitar Showroom in Beverly Hills — although bids can also be placed by phone or online — and Ozzy will also perform a related benefit show at Los Angeles' Staples Center the first night. Expect to hear plenty more from Ozzy in the near future, by the way: In addition to his upcoming tour with Rob Zombie, he'll likely be headlining Ozzfest next year, according to Billboard. When asked if he would be at the top of the bill, he said, "As far as I know." He did not say whether the fest would be free again, stipulating that it was Sharon's decision. He did, however, say he's still up for recording a new Black Sabbath album, though the band's plans are up in the air. ...

Amy Winehouse, the Arctic Monkeys, Paul McCartney and Kylie Minogue were honored at the annual Q awards on Monday (October 8). Winehouse's Back to Black earned Best Album, the Monkeys were named Best Act in the World Today, Macca was awarded as a Q Icon and Minogue landed Q Idol honors. ... Speaking of Winehouse, producer Mark Ronson tells RollingStone.com, "As soon as I finish up the Daniel Merriweather record, I am going back into the studio with Amy Winehouse to work on her new record. ... She is actually dying to go back into the studio already. ... She can't go in November because she is on tour, so we are figuring it out." Winehouse's second album, Back to Black, hit U.S. stores in March. ...

A new book claims that Bono's daughter, Jordan Hewson, was nearly kidnapped by Irish criminals as part of an abduction plot 10 years ago, according to The Irish Examiner. Author Frances Cahill, daughter of murdered crime boss Martin Cahill, says in her recently released book, "Martin Cahill, My Father," that her dad stopped the alleged plot, through which five other Irish criminals were hoping to get a multimillion-dollar ransom from the singer (the U.S. equivalent of roughly $8 million). "He told them it was a bad idea," Cahill reportedly writes in the book. "Martin had nothing against Bono's family. They had never done him any harm and he wasn't going to get involved." ...

Deftones have begun work on the follow-up to last year's Saturday Night Wrist, which took the band more than three years to record and release. According to a MySpace post from the guys, they've been working on the effort since late July and will maintain a blog to document the recording process. ... In addition to the standard CD version of their new self-titled album, Avenged Sevenfold will also be releasing a MVI version of the effort on October 30. The interactive DVD will feature a making-of featurette, a studio tour, pre-encoded MP3s of all the tracks, an animated short and more. ...

Cribs bassist Gary Jarman was hospitalized over the weekend and has been treated for blood poisoning, his publicist confirmed to MTV News. It's believed the rocker contracted the condition after accidentally cutting himself with the strings of his bass during a recent gig. He had complained of pains in his arms on Saturday but managed to make a gig in Sheffield, England, that same night. He was admitted early Sunday morning and is doing fine, according to his publicist. ... Want to get down and dirty with Moby? Stop by New York's Hiro Ballroom on Thursday night when he, Juan McClean, Stretch Armstrong and DFA artist Alex Frankel christen his new DJ series, called "Degenerates." Moby will tinker around with new material as part of the residency, which is expected to be ongoing and will encompass additional DJs. ...

Jena, Louisiana, Mayor Murphy R. McMillin is lashing out over John Mellencamp's new track "Jena," which the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-nominated rocker recently wrote and posted online (with an accompanying video) in support of the Jena Six. "The town of Jena has for months been mischaracterized in the media and portrayed as the epicenter of hatred, racism and a place where justice is denied," McMillin reportedly told AP. "However, the Mellencamp video is so inflammatory, so defamatory, that a line has been crossed and enough is enough. ... I do not want to diminish the impression that the hanging of the nooses has had on good people. I do recognize that what happened is insulting and hurtful. ... [But] to put the incident in Jena in the same league as those who were murdered in the 1960s cheapens their sacrifice and insults their memory." Prior to the mayor's reaction, Mellencamp discussed his intention behind the track via a post on his site. "The song is not written as an indictment of the people of Jena but, rather, as a condemnation of racism," he wrote. ...

Bruce Springsteen defended his anti-war stance in an interview with "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday, telling correspondent Scott Pelley that it would be "unpatriotic" not to speak out on his new album, Magic, and accompanying tour. "It's unpatriotic at any given moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to someplace that you love so dearly and that has given me so much," Springsteen said. "I still feel and see it as a beacon of hope and possibility. That part of America is live and well." He also sounded off on other political issues of the day, saying, "When people think of the American identity, they don't think of torture. They don't think of illegal wiretapping. They don't think of voter suppression. They don't think of no habeas corpus. No right to a lawyer ... you know. Those are things that are anti-American." ...

Not too long ago, the thought of a Police reunion tour was inconceivable. Now comes news that the rock legends, who are currently on tour in Europe, might throw together a new studio effort while they're at it. "I would see it as a challenge, to make an absolutely brilliant pop album at this stage of our career, and that would be something quite remarkable," guitarist Andy Summers told reporters in Dublin, Ireland, over the weekend, according to AP. But he added that the trio have not discussed the project in detail and that the reunion tour is "all-devouring." ...

Maybe the third time will indeed be the charm for Pamela Anderson, who married Rick Salomon — perhaps best known for making that sex tape with Paris Hilton — on Saturday in Las Vegas. Anderson wore a white denim Valentino dress, People reports, and the vows were squeezed in between the 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. shows of Hans Klok's "The Beauty of Magic," which Anderson is a part of, at the Planet Hollywood resort. It's Anderson's third marriage and Salomon's second.

• Britney Spears' Ongoing Saga: What's Next?

• Britney Spears
• Lindsay Lohan
• Justin Timberlake
• Beyoncé
• Diddy

Mariah Carey
Photo: Mariah Carey/Getty Images

Mariah Carey got a win in court last week when a federal judge decided that a copyright-infringement case against her had no merit. Singer Rachele Chafir had sued Carey in April 2006, claiming that Carey's hit "It's Like That" was copied from her song "Sexy" and lifted key pieces, including the music, for the chorus. Chafir, who copyrighted the song in 2004, claimed Carey had access to "Sexy" since it was available on a Web site, but U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood decided that wasn't proof Carey or her collaborators had gone to the Web site or lifted the material, which wasn't "strikingly similar" enough to be considered infringement. With "no genuine issues of material fact," Wood closed the case. "It was the right decision," Carey's lawyer Ilene Farkas told MTV News. "The record was clear in this case." Meanwhile, Carey is moving on with her yet-untitled follow-up to The Emancipation of Mimi, which her record label confirmed is now due December 4. ...

Going, going ... to Cooperstown. And with an asterisk on it. Baseball star Barry Bonds' record-breaking home-run ball, which was purchased two weeks ago in an online auction by hip-hop fashion mogul Marc Ecko, will be heading to the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum after all. Ecko bought the ball and launched a Web site giving fans the chance to vote on the ball's final destination: outer space or to Cooperstown, with or without an asterisk signifying Bonds' alleged steroid use in helping him become the all-time home-run king. The announcement was made Wednesday morning (September 26) on the "Today" show after a week of voting. According to Vote756.com, over 10 million votes were cast, of which 47 percent chose to send the tagged ball to the famed baseball museum. ...

The twisted saga of the investigation into the unsolved 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G. took another turn this week when Waymond Anderson, an inmate serving life for murder, recanted testimony in which he had implicated the Los Angeles Police Department in the rapper's murder. The Los Angeles Times reports that Anderson said in a recent deposition that he lied about LAPD involvement as part of a "scam" cooked up with two other convicts to get a big monetary settlement from the city of Los Angeles. Most shockingly, Anderson accused the rapper's family — which has filed a wrongful-death suit seeking damages from the city — and its lawyer of taking part in the scheme and offering to pay him a percentage of the settlement for false testimony against the LAPD. In the August 20 testimony, Anderson said he had never met the officers he implicated, despite earlier statements in which he described conversations with the two disgraced ex-LAPD cops. A lawyer for Biggie's family, Perry Sanders, called Anderson's allegations "100 percent, demonstrably false," adding yet another twist to the already-knotted-up story by saying that Anderson appeared to be changing his story at the behest of Chuck Philips, a Times reporter who has written extensively about the murder investigation and has questioned the theory of LAPD involvement. Phillips and the Times dismissed the allegations. ...

In other Biggie news, the recently released documentary "The Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life" follows the rapper's life from his early days to his death with interviews from many of the behind-the-scenes music-industry figures and friends who watched the rapper rise from a street-corner hustler to one of the biggest rap stars in the world. The film also features several minutes of previously unreleased footage shot by a bystander of the scene on the night Biggie was gunned down. The fan's video — which director Peter Spirer ("Beef," "Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel") said has been reviewed by authorities — doesn't capture the moment Biggie's car was shot at, but it does have audio of the shots and shaky footage of the chaotic aftermath. ...

Embattled football player Michael Vick is facing stricter release conditions after testing positive for marijuana earlier this month, The Associated Press reports. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson imposed the new conditions, which include restricting Vick to his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring and making him submit to random drug tests. He was ordered to continue participating in substance-abuse and mental-health counseling. Vick was put under pretrial release supervision in July, and the restrictions included refraining from the use of narcotic drugs or other controlled substances. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who pleaded guilty in August to federal dogfighting charges, is awaiting sentencing December 10 — and Vick's violation of the conditions of his release could be taken into consideration by the judge. He faces up to five years in prison for the federal charges, and has been indicted on additional state charges in Virginia as well. ...

A second woman has filed a lawsuit against Lil Wayne over a melee that broke out during one of his shows at Morgan State University in Baltimore in October. According to an AP story, Carlisa Dixon said she was impaled on a metal pole after the crowd surged to snatch up money that was being tossed from the stage. Dixon is seeking $1 million from Wayne's record label and touring companies, and another $1 million from the university, claiming she underwent surgery for a puncture wound as a result of the crowd surge. A lawsuit was filed in August by another woman who claimed she was trampled in the same money-throwing incident. A spokesperson for Wayne could not be reached for comment at press time. ...

A man died at a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Monday night in what police think may have been a crowd-surfing or moshing accident. The Canadian Press reports that Vancouver police say the man was unconscious when he was dragged out of the crowd at the Pacific National Exhibition Forum during the show and worked on by first-aid personnel on site before being transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have ruled out foul play. ... The Voodoo Music Experience is shifting locations, but just slightly. The fest, to take place October 26-28, has a new site in New Orleans City Park to accommodate ongoing restoration and improvement of the park. The shift brings the fest closer to Tad Gormley Stadium, where Voodoo was first held in 1999. ...

Do you march to Nelly's beat? The rapper is cobbling together a marching band for his performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards on October 13. Auditions will be held Sunday starting at 11 a.m. in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans and St. Louis, and Nelly is looking for girls who can play drums, tri-toms, bass drum, tuba or trumpet. Prospective players need to know how to perform his song "Grillz" and move to the beat of the song while playing their instruments. Final auditions will be held October 8 in Atlanta, and those who can't make the auditions in person can post a one-minute video clip on Nelly's drum-line-audition site. ... If you've been doubting Swizz Beatz's fashion sense, think again — Gap has tapped the hugely popular producer for its spring ad campaign. ...

VH1 Rock Docs picked up its first Emmy win on Monday as "DMC: My Adoption Journey" earned the award for News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming. The program, which revolves around the Run-DMC member's search for his birth mother, premiered in February 2006 and will re-air on VH1 on Saturday at 10 p.m. ... Have you already imported Babyface's Playlist into your own playlist? Then mark you calendar — the singer is putting together a tour in support of his recently released LP. Babyface will play a gig in the Philippines on October 13, followed by a stretch in Japan; after that he'll hit Oakland, California, on November 23, and Sparks, Nevada, the following day. ...

During a recent visit to "The Howard Stern Show," Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx spoke out about drummer Tommy Lee and his apparent departure from the band. He told Stern that Lee quit, and Sixx blamed the current legal problems the band is having with one of its former managers for the turmoil. Sixx said that, since Lee isn't the Crüe's frontman or chief songwriter, the band should be fine without him. He added that he harbors no ill will toward Lee. ... Snow Patrol keyboardist Tom Simpson was expected to appear in court in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday to answer to drug-possession charges filed against him this summer. While the charges weren't dropped, the prosecution doesn't intend on taking "further action," meaning the charges will either have to be re-raised again or dropped altogether. ...

Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard's side project Brad are getting back together for a one-night-only show on October 17 at New York's Webster Hall. The benefit event will also feature Billy Bragg and be hosted by Tim Robbins. It is being held to support Woody and Marjorie Guthrie, and the 40th anniversary of the Huntington's Disease Society of America, which was founded by Marjorie. ... Puddle of Mudd aren't ones for Southern hospitality, apparently. Frontman Wesley Scantlin has been banned from Memphis' Graceland after hopping in the pool in Elvis Presley's mansion during a tour on Monday. ...

The Eagles will perform on an awards show for the first time when they take the stage at the Country Music Awards, which will air November 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Carrie Underwood is also slated to perform. ... The Rolling Stones' recent tour didn't just carry the band to the top of Forbes' list of biggest-earning music acts — it landed them in the Guinness World Records, according to Reuters. The classic-rockers' A Bigger Bang tour took $437 million dollars to give them a new record, for the world's most successful music tour. ...

Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God will be teaming up for a late-fall co-headlining tour, which is set to kick off November 28 in Lowell, Massachusetts, with dates booked through December 17 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. DevilDriver and Soilwork will open on all dates. ... Chris Cornell has added another round of dates to his North American tour, which began in the spring. He has booked another 28 gigs, meaning the trek will continue through November 23, when he's expected to perform at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. ...

A photo from Elton John's collection has been pulled from a British gallery where it was to be displayed over concerns by police that it might be child pornography. The photo — which was taken by award-winning American photographer Nan Goldin — shows two young girls, one with her legs spread apart, and was to be displayed at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in northern England before it was seized by police, according to London's Times Online. John released a statement, explaining, "The photograph entitled 'Klara and Edda belly-dancing' (1998) is one of 149 images comprising the 'Thanksgiving' installation by renowned U.S. photographer Nan Goldin ... The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world [and] has been offered for sale at Sotheby's New York in 2002 and 2004, and has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid [Spain], New York, Portugal, Warsaw [Poland] and Zürich [Switzerland] without any objections of which we are aware."

09.25.07

While her fellow Black Eyed Pea Will.I.Am is hyping his new project, Songs About Girls, Fergie isn't slowing down with her own solo affair, last year's The Dutchess. The singer just shot a clip for the song "Clumsy" with directors Marc Webb (Diddy, the Pussycat Dolls) and Rich Lee (Chamillionaire, Dashboard Confessional). The surreal, humorous clip features Fergie falling head over heels — get it? — for love in various scenarios. ...

A House panel cast a congressional light on hip-hop lyrics on Tuesday (September 25), with David Banner and Master P giving sharply different views. The Associated Press reports that the latter rapper (real name: Percy Miller) told the Energy and Commerce subcommittee that he is determined to create clean lyrics. "I want to apologize to all the women out there. I was honestly wrong," he said of his prior material. Banner (real name: Levell Crump), on the other hand, defended his profane lyrics, saying, "Change the situation in my neighborhood, and maybe I'll get better." But while P and Banner didn't see eye to eye in terms of who is responsible for derogatory language in hip-hop, they agreed that the government shouldn't censor lyrics. "If by some stroke of the pen hip-hop was silenced, the issues would still be present in our communities. Drugs, violence, sexism and the criminal element were around long before hip-hop existed," Banner said. According to AP, the hearing was similar to the 1985 event in which late rocker Frank Zappa made a feisty appearance also railing against censorship. ...

Like the sound of the "Rocawear Arena" instead of the "Continental Airlines Arena"? Yeah, so does Jay-Z. The ambitious hip-hop mogul is bidding for the arena's naming rights, according to New Jersey's Star-Ledger. Although he is the co-owner of the New Jersey Nets and his Rocawar is a sponsor of the NBA team — which currently plays at Continental — sportswear maker Southpole has made the highest bid so far, $2 million. But there's a catch: The reason the name is up for grabs is because Continental is backing out of its deal with the arena, and both the Nets and hockey team the New Jersey Devils are planning to move to other venues. ...

Life isn't getting any easier for Britney Spears. Kim Robard-Rifkin, the reported woman whose car the singer hit in August — for which she was charged with two misdemeanors on Friday — has spoken out to CelebTV.com. "I was not surprised with the criminal charges — this is what happens when somebody hits your car and runs — especially when it is all caught on video," she said in a statement. Spears' former bodyguard Tony Barretto also spoke out on Monday, telling "Today" show host Matt Lauer that he had witnessed her using drugs on two occasions. While Barretto did not specify which drugs he supposedly saw her taking, he said both incidents occurred at a nightclub in Los Angeles, one at the table she was sitting at and the other in a private restroom. When Lauer asked him about a third incident in which he alleges to have seen her strung out in a Los Angeles hotel room, Barretto replied, "I did." ...

Sarah Silverman was surprised by the reaction that met her controversial VMA monologue, in which she flung derogatory insults at Britney Spears, among others, she told Us Weekly. Regarding one of her saltiest remarks — that Spears' kids "are the most adorable mistakes you will ever see" — Silverman replied, "The joke that everyone was upset about ... was the most innocuous joke. It never occurred to me that [it] would be deemed hurtful or over the line." She also told the magazine for its new issue, which streets Friday, "I don't want to get into feuds with girls half my age. I'm in it to be funny and not for the drama. It's embarrassing." ...

Look, up in the sky, it's a new Gnarls Barkley album! And as Cee-Lo recently told MTV News of the follow-up to St. Elsewhere, "It sounds otherwordly. ... It sounds like an original, if I do say so myself. The theme is progression and how there's a first time for everything. You just have to go for it." Beyond that, though, Cee-Lo didn't want to give up too much. Asked about collaborators, he demurred: "Danger Mouse is my special guest. He's my counterpart in the enigma of Gnarls Barkley." No duh — we meant, anyone else? "Let me continue to surprise you," Cee-Lo smiled. For those who caught Cee-Lo's take on Prince's "Darling Nikki" with the Foo Fighters at the VMAs, he wants fans to know that his performance at the show was supposed to be a surprise appearance with Amy Winehouse, "believe it or not." But since she had to bail from the show, he's saving that collaboration for a future appearance. ...

The Sex Pistols — who just tacked two more gigs onto their upcoming November reunion in London, according to BBC News — have another trick up their collective sleeve: A newly recorded rendition of their punk staple, "Anarchy in the U.K." The band entered the studio for the first time in 30 years to record the track, which will surface on "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock." ... As I Lay Dying clearly have more than a few gasps left — the metal band edged out Switchfoot, Jason Mraz and others to win the San Diego Music Award for Artist of the Year. AILD nabbed the same honor in 2005. ... Canadian singer/songwriter Patrick Watson and his band have pulled off an arguably more impressive feat: The Montreal quartet have nudged by Arcade Fire and Feist to land the Polaris Music Prize for Best Album. ...

Despite the recent head injuries sustained by guitarist Brent Hinds, Mastodon have booked a gig, opening for the Queens of the Stone Age on October 29 in Los Angeles. The band is also scheduled to appear at the Vegoose festival on October 27 in Las Vegas, where Hinds was jumped following Mastodon's performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Police claim Hinds was attacked outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on September 10 during an encounter with System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian and his friend William Hudson. According to police, Hudson assaulted Hinds, and Odadjian witnessed the incident. ... While at the VMAs, Mastodon told MTV News that they wrote their best song ever — even though it's not quite finished yet — while on the way to the big show. "It's pretty much the best record we've yet to write," guitarist Bill Kelliher said before singing a couple of the riffs with Hinds. "That's how it goes — du-duh-du-duh na-nah-nah. We wrote it in the car on the way over here, at least the intro of it. Part one. We're at the really beginning stages. It's going to be awesome, though. Everything we do is amazing." ...

The Game entered his expected not-guilty plea on Tuesday to three felony counts stemming from a pickup basketball game in Los Angeles in February. The rapper (real name: Jayceon Taylor) is free on $50,000 bail and has a pretrial hearing set for October 30. ... Jack Bauer might not be such a hero after all: Kiefer Sutherland was arrested early Tuesday morning for drunken driving in Hollywood, Reuters reports. The actor was pulled over after making an illegal U-turn and blew more than the .08 legal limit upon taking a breathalyzer test. He posted $25,000 bail at a Hollywood police station and is due in court on October 16. ...

The Phil Spector murder trial is in the hands of the jury now, but that hasn't stopped more bizarre developments from emerging in the case. According to AP, over the weekend, a threatening post appeared on a MySpace page possibly belonging to the music producer's wife, Rachelle. "I love Phil Spector!!! The Evil Judge Should Die!!!! Xoxo Chelle," read the post, a police spokesperson told the news outlet. The page, which features an image of Rachelle wearing a "Team Spector" tee, was referred to a sheriff's department unit that investigates such threats. The post has since been removed. ...

Amazon's new digital-music store is up and running, with songs going for 89 to 99 cents and albums selling for around $6-$10. The songs, which don't have copyright protections, can be burned onto CDs and copied to multiple computers. Record-label giants Universal and EMI, in addition to a flood of indie labels, are selling their songs through the site. ... A former trustee in James Brown's estate might have misappropriated up to $7 million of the late music legend's money, special administrators told a South Carolina judge on Monday. State Circuit Judge Jack Early told David Cannon, the former co-executor of Brown's will, to pay $400,000 and produce additional documents. Early also said Brown's family could pursue the claims. ...

The Cult will headline the fall installment of the Jägermeister Music Tour, which is set to launch October 17 in Pala, California, and run through mid-December, with the full list of dates coming soon. Rounding out the bill will be Vietnam, the Cliks and Action Action. ... Former L7 leader Donita Sparks is going out on her own with her debut solo effort, Transmiticate, due January 22. The effort, which will feature her new backing band, the Stellar Moments, shifts away from the grunge and metal sounds that defined L7 and tinkers with more pop and dance elements. ...

Fans of Los Angeles ska act Hepcat are mourning the passing of bassist Dave Fuentes, 36. While details are scarce, the band did issue a statement, saying, "We are sad to announce that our brother, beloved bandmate and amazing friend, David Fuentes, is no longer with us. He will be missed by everyone but especially everyone in the Hepcat family." He leaves a wife, Yohanna, and two sons, Andrew, 7, and Darren, 3. A memorial fund has been established to help his family. ... A special-effects technician working on the set of the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" was killed when a truck carrying a camera platform rammed into a tree on Monday in London, AP reports. Filming was not taking place at the time of the accident, which is under investigation.

• Mariah Carey
• Notorious B.I.G.
• Lil Wayne
• The Smashing Pumpkins
• Killswitch Engage

Photo: MTV News

• Foo Fighters
• Queens of the Stone Age

Today Is The Day's Steve Austin
Photo: Wade Gosselin

If nothing else, Today Is the Day are an excellent breeding ground for up-and-coming musicians. Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer Brann Dailor played on Today Is the Day's 1999 album, In the Eyes of God — with Kelliher on bass — and Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton guested on 2002's Sadness Will Prevail. Also, former Esoteric drummer Marshall Kilpatric rocked with the Nashville noise-metal group between 2001 and 2003.

But with Today Is the Day's upcoming album, Axis of Eden (scheduled for September 18), frontman Steve Austin hopes his band will finally be able to break out of the underground and spread its chaotic music and message to a larger audience.

"It seems to me like a lot of people are finding out about us through these other bands, and they're going, 'Wow, this seems like a seminal thing. I wonder what this sh--'s about?' " Austin explained. "So, maybe they'll check out our new record, which, in my opinion, is the best ... thing we've ever done. And, hopefully, it will blow these people away and open a new dimension for them."

Austin, who just finished mixing Axis of Eden, says the new material is eclectic and intense, incorporating elements of extreme metal, psychedelia and even world music. "No song is like the last, and it's a crazy sonic journey," Austin said. "It's really hard to pin down or describe, but I love it because it's like a big, wild art project."

Axis of Eden will be the first Today Is the Day album since 2004's Kiss the Pig, and a lot has happened in those three years. The group has been through four drummers: Mike Rosswog (ex-Circle of Dead Children), who played on Kiss the Pig, quit because he didn't want to tour; Jeff Lohrber played in the group for eight months but left in November 2005 because of "personal and music differences with Austin"; and Graham Leduc stayed just long enough to record demos for Axis of Eden before taking off. However, it's the band's newest drummer, Derek Roddy (ex-Hate Eternal, Malevolent Creation), who really has Austin jazzed.

"He does some of the most extreme and inventive extreme playing I've ever heard," Austin said. "His style is his own and you can't pin him down to one genre of music. He's so super-versatile it blows my mind and allows us to do things musically we previously couldn't do. And he's so dedicated. When he first contacted me, I said, 'Do you want to hear a copy of the songs before you commit to doing it?' and he said, 'No, are you kidding me? We're doing this. I'm down. I'm not just gonna play in the studio. I love Today Is the Day and I want to make it clear that I'm in this band and doing sh-- with you.' And I was like, 'Damn, that's exactly what I need.' "

Austin started writing songs for Axis of Eden three years ago and began tracking late last year. By January, the album was mostly finished, and he has spent the last seven months fine-tuning the songs, which include "No Lung Baby," "Free at Last," "If You Want Peace, Prepare for War" and "IED." While Today Is the Day delved into politics on Kiss the Pig, the new record is an even more scathing indictment of modern society and the current administration.

"This album definitely has a military and militant feeling to it," he said. "I'm just trying to expose what's really going on right now with planet Earth. The title is obviously a play on the term 'axis of evil,' and it's a reference to the religious right in America and the power and control they have over things that are going on within government."

For Austin, the jarring rhythmic changes, schizophrenic style shifts and overall intensity of Axis of Eden is a reflection not only of the turbulence and volatility he sees domestically and internationally, but also of the radical mood swings he undergoes on a daily basis.

"This album has some pretty brain-concussion-causing moments," he said. "It's disturbing but yet lulling at the same time, and that's because, pretty much, that's my life. It seems to run at either extreme highs or extreme lows. Even though things are good in the Austin camp, I still feel like we, as a family, are still fighting the struggle every day against 'The Man' and everything that's going on in the world. It seems like it never ends, but you've just gotta stay at the forefront and be honest and true with what you're doing and not give up the fight."

Having fulfilled Today Is the Day's contract with Relapse Records, Austin will release Axis of Eden on SuperNova Records, the label he launched in October. On August 7, the label will precede the new record with numerous releases: a reissue of the band's 1994 album, Willpower; a live DVD from the Willpower tour; a self-titled live DVD from a 1996 concert in New York; and an album by Austin and bassist Chris Debari's punk side project Taipan. Also that day, SuperNova will release the self-titled debut by New Jersey band Diesel Theory. Albums by SuperNova's other bands, Christine and Defcon 4, will follow, and on September 13 in Boston, the label will launch a tour featuring Today Is the Day, Taipan, Christine and Defcon 4. Dates are scheduled through October 16 in Nashville.

Even if Today Is the Day don't break into the mainstream with their new release, judging by the tour plans, Austin might have a promising future as a crafty label man. "Taipan's going to open the show and play a 25-minute punk-rock set, because we really want people to see Christine and Defcon 4," Austin said. "So, if people go, 'Hey, I gotta check out Taipan,' they'll already be there and they have to see the other two bands as well."

The rest of the week's metal news:

We all know Metallica have been busy working on their next album with producer Rick Rubin (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slayer), but little has been revealed about the thrash icons' first collection of new songs since 2003's St. Anger. But at least one dude outside the band has heard some of the fresh stuff: Velvet Revolver's Matt Sorum. In a recent RollingStone.com interview, Sorum said his good pal Lars Ulrich has played him some of the new songs. "I turned and looked at him and I said, 'Master that sh-- and put it out.' It's ridiculous," Sorum said. "The demos were sick. Eight-minute songs, all these tempo changes, crazy fast. It's like, 'Dude, don't get slower when you get older, but don't get faster!? How are you going to play this live?' I dig it. I'm really excited for them." ...

There's a whole heap of Ozzfest news to report this week. First off, Mondo Generator, the band fronted by former Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri, has dropped off the trek, citing "matters beyond the band's control." While he didn't get into specifics, Oliveri said in a statement that, "We tried everything in our power to make things work so that we could remain on tour, but it is impossible for us to continue touring at this time." He apologized for letting down the fans and thanked the Osbournes for giving the Generator a slot on the second-stage bill. Meanwhile, a broken-down bus prevented Nile from performing during Ozzfest's Tuesday stop in Phoenix. The band rejoined the tour Thursday in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Lastly, Warped Tour organizer Kevin Lyman has aired his feelings about the trek's free tickets, telling The Kansas City Star, "It allowed Ozzy Osbourne to get one more paycheck out of [Ozzfest], to be 100 percent honest." Lyman didn't hold back, going on to comment about tour founder Sharon Osbourne: "[She's] a smart person, but basically that's what it is. It's a ploy, straight-up. ... She was struggling to put [together a bill] because she keeps charging more and more and selling less and less tickets. The attendance of that tour has been dropping for many years, and she keeps having to spend more on the talent to get people to the shows." ...

Slayer's Kerry King plans to relaunch his clothing line, KFK Industries, but with a new name: KFK Ministries. He plans to release several T-shirts, stickers and skullcaps through the company. In related news, Slayer's entire catalogue will be reissued sometime in the near future, through Sony BMG's Legacy imprint. There's no word yet on when those LPs will be in stores, or what new material they might feature. ... Swedish metal merchants Soilwork have titled their next studio offering Sworn to a Great Divide. The October set, the vocals for which were produced by Strapping Young Lad mastermind Devin Townsend, will feature 11 tracks, including "Breeding Thorns," "I, Vermin" and "As the Sleeper Awakes." ... A severe neck prolapse that is causing numbing in his right arm has sidelined Dimmu Borgir drummer Hellhammer, who will miss the band's upcoming European festival appearances. Hellhammer is expected to seek treatment, which may involve surgery, for his condition. In his place will be Tony Laureano, who played for Dimmu during the band's Ozzfest 2004 stint. ...

All That Remains are putting the finishing touches on their first DVD. The release will boast footage from two of the New England metal outfit's live shows, along with music videos, fan and band interviews, and other leftover footage, some of which dates back to 2004. Expect the DVD in stores sometime in the fall. ... After five years, Abacus Records has officially ceased operations, and portions of the former Century Media imprint will now be folded back into the label, with some Abacus bands transferring over to the latter. Details regarding the shakeup are few, but we'll keep you posted as information is released. ... Dying Fetus have a new drummer in Trey Williams, who has worked with Covenance, Severed Head and Tortured in the past. He replaces Duane Timlin, who was fired due to unspecified "touring difficulties." ...

A Life Once Lost and August Burns Red will join forces in September for a run of U.S. gigs. So far, just 10 dates have been confirmed: The first is set for September 7 in Portland, Maine, and the jaunt runs through September 16 in Poughkeepsie, New York. ... Calico System have called it a day. Guitarist Rick Giordano said in a statement that it just "didn't make sense" for the St. Louis metallers "to remain a band anymore. Music rules, but the music business sucks and had taken its toll on all of us." He promises a farewell tour somewhere down the line but wasn't sure when the trek would commence — he mentioned fall as a possibility. Original guitarist Shawn Keith also got in his own two cents about the split. "When we got signed back in 2003, everything about the music and scene was completely different," he said in a statement. "You did not have MySpace to blow your band up and you actually had to have a record deal before any type of hype could be built around your band other than touring. We booked DIY tours early on before we were signed and put in the work. It was a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but at the end of the day, when everything is pointing against you, then you just have to simply say, 'It is time to move on.' " He added that he and drummer Erik Ramsier quit the band months ago to pursue other projects. ...

Fans of Florida death-metal extremists Hate Eternal will soon see a fresh face behind the drumkit. The band has added Jade Simonetto to the fold — he replaces Derek Roddy, who left the Hate more than a year ago because of internal strife within the group. Frontman Erik Rutan said in a statement that he's been working with Simonetto for six months now, "and his incredible skill and dedication to extreme drumming and groove has made him the perfect drummer for Hate Eternal. We jell on everything from all the old songs to the new, and the [creative] process has been amazing." Hate Eternal have been working on material for their next LP, which is being eyed for an early 2008 release. ... An October 9 release date has been set in stone for Overkill's forthcoming album, Immortalis. An announcement regarding an East Coast tour around the record's release is expected in the coming weeks. ...

The Henge, the debut solo album from Zombi's Steve Moore, will hit stores in October. Moore self-recorded the LP, which will feature "Infinite Resignation," "Dead Tide" and "Cepheid." "This album represents a turning point in my writing — a subtle shift in direction that is only apparent when considering the album as a whole," he said in a statement. "While no track is too far removed from the harmonic language I create through my work with Zombi, this album gives me a chance to expand my tonal palette by experimenting with different instrumentations." ... The lineup continues to take shape for next year's Maryland Deathfest, which is scheduled for May 24-25 at the Sonar in Baltimore. So far, the 'fest's organizers have booked Behold ... the Arctopus, Impaled, Squash Bowels, Coffins and the Day Everything Became Nothing. ... In other festival news, the Indianapolis Metal Fest has been scheduled for September 22 and will take over two venues in Indiana's capital: the KOC Grand Ballroom and Birdy's Bar & Grill. So far, Obituary, Full Blown Chaos, Daath, Beneath the Sky, Hemlock and Single Bullet Theory have been confirmed for the lineup.

• Today is the Day
• Mastodon
• Metallica
• Velvet Revolver
• Queens of the Stone Age

Timbaland and Justin Timberlake
Photo: Michael Buckner/ Getty Images

Electronic Arts calls the annual announcement of the soundtrack for "Madden" "the most important showcase for music industry icons." The company's boast, delivered in a press release hitting on Thursday morning (June 28), presumably was meant to also include the phrase "in video games."

Regardless, the advance "Madden" tracklist EA provided to MTV News indicates that the Queens of the Stone Age, Daddy Yankee, and Timbaland will be enjoying that showcase. This summer's "Madden NFL 08" will include a 29-song soundtrack, including previously unreleased songs from Atreyu, Murs, the Hives and Yellowcard. The mix, as it's been for years, is a little bit hip-hop, a little bit rock.

"The annual goal of the 'Madden NFL' soundtrack is to give unprecedented exposure to new artists, bring established stars to a whole new level, and single-handedly define the sound of the coming year via the biggest sports franchise in video game history," said EA executive Steve Schnur.

Schnur has spoken to MTV News regularly about his efforts on EA's soundtracks (see "EA Offers Up Snoop, Peas Tracks; Exec Talks Future Of Video Game Music"). In an interview a year ago about the "Madden 07" soundtrack, he suggested that the days of a fixed soundtrack for that game might be over. Online consoles, he said, would allow EA to supply gamers with a constantly updating musical score for their "Madden" play. "By the time 'Madden 2008' comes out, we should be able to deliver some of the exciting ideas here," he said. "We're going to have a much deeper 24/7 relationship with 'Madden' gamers" (see "Soundtrack For 'Madden NFL 07': New Tracks From Audioslave, Sparta").

A year later, however, that vision of a malleable "Madden" soundtrack remains in the future tense. Maybe "Madden 09"?

This year's edition of the game will ship on all major gaming platforms on August 14.

Full tracklist for "Madden NFL 08":

»Airbourne — Runnin' Wild"
»Atreyu — "Becoming the Bull"
»The Bravery — "Believe"
»Brother Ali — "Whatcha Got"
»Daddy Yankee — "Impacto"
»Datarock — "The New Song"
»Earl Greyhound — "S.O.S."
»Enter Shikari — "OK, Time for Plan B"
»From Autumn to Ashes — "Daylight Slaving"
»Hellyeah — "You Wouldn't Know"
»The Hives — "Tick Tick Boom"
»Jupiter One — "Countdown"
»MIMS — "Cop It"
»Murs — "Dreadlocks"
»O-Solo — "Monsta"
»Operator — "Soulcrusher"
»Ozzy Osbourne — "I Don't Wanna Stop"
»Pharoahe Monch (featuring Showtyme) — "Desire"
»Pitbull (featuring Don Omar) — "Fuego" (remix)
»Queens Of The Stone Age — "3's & 7's"
»Red1 (featuring Afu-Ra) — "Dem No Worry We"
»Shadows Fall — "Redemption"
»Swizz Beatz — "It's Me Snitches"
»Sum 41 — "Underclass Hero"
»Team Shadetek (featuring 77Klash & Jahdan) — "Brooklyn Anthem"
»The Used — "The Ripper"
»Timbaland (featuring Justin Timberlake) — "Release"
»Yellowcard — "Fighting"
»Zion I & the Grouch — "Hit 'Em"

• Justin Timberlake
• Timbaland
• Queens of the Stone Age
• Swizz Beatz
• Daddy Yankee

Fabolous' <i>From Nothin' To Somethin'</i>
Photo: Def Jam

When it comes to scoring a #1 debut, sometimes it's all about timing.

That's the lesson Grammy-nominated rapper Fabolous learned this week, since his latest album, From Nothin' to Somethin', was released on the very same day that one of country music's biggest names, Toby Keith, issued a fresh helping of his own material. Like Fabolous, a number of artists in recent years have discovered the hard way that America's a big country, and country's one of its most popular musical genres.

Unfortunately for Fab, that means his hunt for a #1 debut is very much still on. With 158,600 copies of From Nothin' to Somethin' scanned over the past week, Fabolous fell about 46,000 short of even threatening Keith's chart dominance. Toby's Big Dog Daddy netted nearly 204,500 scans, making his the latest LP to top the Billboard albums chart, according to the latest SoundScan totals.

However, the album is Fab's highest-charting debut, besting 2001's Ghetto Fabolous, which opened at #4 with 143,000 scans, and 2003's Street Dreams, which finished at #3 with 184,600 sold. Keith's Big Dog Daddy, on the other hand, is the country star's third #1 bow, joining 2002's Unleashed (which scanned more than 338,000 units) and 2003's Shock'n Y'all (with sales of 585,000).

But Fab and Keith weren't this week's sole newcomers to the chart's top 10. Rapper and mixtape maestro DJ Khaled's We the Best, which features guest spots from Lil Wayne, T.I., Akon, T-Pain, the Game, Young Jeezy and others, debuts at #8 with nearly 79,000 sold, while The Traveling Wilburys Collection, a box set chronicling the all-star group's history, sold a reported 77,300, to follow at #9.

The rest of the top 10 is populated by repeat customers, including, at #3, Paul McCartney's Memory Almost Full, which sold more than 106,500 units during its second week in stores. Maroon 5's It Won't Be Soon Before Long climbs one spot to #4, having sold 87,000-plus copies, while last week's #1, T-Pain's Epiphany, falls to #5, with sales reported at 82,000. Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight owns the #6 spot, scanning an additional 81,600, for a five-week grand total of 1.1 million. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad slips five chart positions to #7, with 81,200 sold, while Amy Winehouse's Back to Black holds at #10, with 73,700 units scanned.

Surprisingly, the latest offering from Queens of the Stone Age, Era Vulgaris, failed to bow in the chart's top 10, instead opening at #14 with sales of 51,600; the band's 2005 offering Lullabies to Paralyze sold nearly 97,000 copies, to open at #5. Just behind the Queens at #15 is Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, a compilation featuring artists like Green Day, U2, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, the Black Eyed Peas, Snow Patrol, and the Flaming Lips covering selections from the late John Lennon's solo catalogue; the set sold 48,900 units.

Enrique Iglesias' new one, Insomniac, makes its debut on next week's chart at #17, thanks to sales of more than 44,500, while Something to Talk About, a collaborative release from the late Gerald Levert and his father, Eddie Levert Sr., opens at #19. Paramore's Riot! follows at #20, with sales reported at 42,000, and coming in at #26 is The Definition of X: The Pick of the Litter, a greatest-hits collection from DMX, which sold 35,000.

Further down the chart, debuting at #137, is the third offering from Fair to Midland, Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True, which generated sales of 6,000. Reggae Gold 2007, a compilation featuring contributions from Sean Paul, Buju Banton, Elephant Man and others, opens at #152, with 5,700 sold, followed lastly at #163 by Paula Cole's Courage, which scanned 5,400 units.

• Fabolous
• Toby Keith
• DJ Khaled
• The Traveling Wilburys
• Queens of the Stone Age

Fabolous' <i>From Nothin' to Somethin'</i>
Photo: Def Jam

A decade ago Tuesday (June 12), inter-league play was introduced into Major League Baseball, tearing down the wall that prevented American and National League teams from competing outside the World Series — and giving migraines to fans who hate designated hitters.

So what more appropriate place to celebrate the 10-year anniversary than in a column about new CDs (talk about inter-league play!)? Well, ESPN, probably — but we're going to have a little fun anyway by pitting disparate artists from different genres against each other and seeing what happens. Let's play ball!

Fabolous vs. Queens of the Stone Age
Fab was wise to wait a week before finally releasing his forever-delayed From Nothin' to Somethin' — last week he would've be up against Rihanna, Daddy Yankee and T-Pain, whereas this week he's got the hip-hop playing field pretty much all to himself. Having said that, Rih Rih and T-Pain actually both pay a visit on Fab's LP — as do Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, Akon, Ne-Yo and basically every other major rapper you can name.

But QOTSA have a few friends too — namely affiliate Mark Lanegan and Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, both of whom tag along with the band as it ushers in its new Era Vulgaris. Trent Reznor, another pal of frontman Josh Homme, collaborated with the band as well, but their resulting song — called "Era Vulgaris," actually — is being reserved for bonus-track purposes. Speaking of which, Best Buy has a bonus all its own — a cover of Billy Idol's "White Wedding."

Betting Line: Fab unloads a ton more discs than QOTSA, but "White Wedding"? Come on. Homme gives a better interview too.

DJ Khaled vs. Enrique Iglesias
Miami hip-hop is staying hot thanks in part to DJ Khaled, whose 99 Jamz WEDR radio show is the most popular one in the city. He's hoping his hometown success translates across the rest of the country with his sophomore album, We the Best — which comes almost exactly a year after he dropped his Listennn ... The Album debut. He's got a ton of friends in tow to ensure chart appeal: T.I., Game, Lil Wayne, Akon, Ludacris, Ja Rule, Rick Ross, Juelz Santana and Young Jeezy — and that's not even the whole list.

Also banging out of MIA this week is Iglesias — he wasn't born in Miami (Madrid, Spain, can claim that honor) but is based there. Wayne is buds with him too, apparently — Weezy crops up on "Push," a new track featured on the singer's three-years-in-the-works Insomniac. There aren't nearly as many guests on the 15-track bilingual album as on Khaled's LP — although producer Sean Garrett does help out — but the rap DJ still has a little catching up to do, as Enrique has already dished out more than 40 million copies of his albums over the course of roughly a decade.

Betting Line: Enrique, who loves smack talk, will likely bring the smackdown.

DMX vs. Tia Carrera
He acts, she acts — except the "she" in question is actually a "they." That's right: Tia Carrera (not Carrere, for those of you who are paying close attention) are a blues-metal band from Austin, Texas. TC's new Heaven/Hell release is only an EP, but that's still more fresh material than you'll get from DMX this week. While he's working on a new studio album called Soul of a Man, former label Def Jam has taken the time to issue a 20-track best-of comp — but there aren't any goodies on The DEFinition of X: Pick of the Litter.

Betting Line: X isn't someone you ever want to mess with — in the record racks or anywhere else — and even though Tia Carrera (the band) isn't really the actress, they should still have to live down this movie.

Tupac Shakur vs. Sonic Youth
Like DMX, 'Pac is getting stuck with an archival release with no new material: Beginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988-1991, which is a straight reissue of the set. Sonic Youth are pouring plenty of treats onto a reissue of their own — a deluxe-edition version of their iconic indie-rock album, Daydream Nation. Dropping 19 years after it was first issued — why didn't the label just wait a year on the reissue and make it an even 20? — the album now features live versions of all the songs featured on the LP, studio bonuses and covers of Beatles, Mudhoney, Captain Beefheart and Neil Young tunes. If you're still not convinced, Daydream Nation was one of the first 200 albums chosen by the Library of Congress to be included in the National Recording Registry. So there ya go.

Datarock vs. Katatonia
The debut album by Datarock — Datarock Datarock, no self-promotion there! — has cemented the Norwegian dance-pop band abroad since the LP's release two years ago. Now the sucker — with its references to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and love letter to Laurie Anderson — is finally hitting the States. "In Norwegian, you would call a computer a 'data machine' ... but in English, 'data' means information, which is even more appropriate because Datarock is essentially the product of 30 years of the information society," Fredrik Saroea," one-half of the duo, said in a statement. Too much in-for-ma-tion!

Veteran doom/goth-metal band Katatonia, from neighbor-to-the-east Sweden, take a, uh, slightly milder approach than Datarock. In a recent statement surrounding the band's recent The Great Cold Distance LP, singer Jonas Renkse said: "While embracing this album, one must know that it will only help to increase the coldness between us. It's a devious life. And this is a soundtrack to it." Now they're dishing up Live Consternation, a CD/DVD set that captures Katatonia's performance at the Summerbreeze Festival in Germany last year and includes Cold tracks as well.

Betting Line: Songs like "Computer Camp Love," "Night Flight to Uranus" and "I Used to Dance With My Daddy" give Datarock the edge.

Would the above list not make for a killer sequel to the "Judgment Night" soundtrack?

Song Title of the Week:

"Woof & Warp of the Quiet Giant's Hem" from Blitzen Trapper's Wild Mountain Nation

Album Cover of the Week:

Child Abuse's Child Abuse

Other Notables:

Pig Destroyer's Phantom Limb "The most deranged metal songs we could come up with." That's what singer J.R. Hayes said in a statement about the extreme-metal band's latest LP, which features "Rotten Yellow," "Girl in a Slayer Jacket" and "Thought Crime Spree." The quartet — which features a sound/noise manipulator but not a bassist, if you can believe it — included signed CD booklets with preordered copies of the disc.

Wooden Wand's James & the Quiet
This songwriter, whose parents named James Jackson Toth, sometimes plays with NYC psych-folk unit Vanishing Voice — or with his own band, which confusingly also plays under the same Wooden Wand moniker. (Adding to the insanity, two members of Vanishing Voice perform on this release, even though it's being credited to Wooden Wand — the man and the band, we presume.) That'll be cleared up soon enough, as this is expected to be the last release Toth will put out under the Wooden Wand alias. None of this seems to have bothered members of Sonic Youth, who have nearly taken him/them in as their own — Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace is the label releasing this album, and Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley lent a hand for it.

Blitzen Trapper's Wild Mountain Nation
In case the band and album names don't already give you the sense that you're lost in the woods somewhere, the conceit is furthered by song titles like "Badger's Black Brigade," "Country Caravan" and "Wild Mtn. Jam." The Portland, Oregon, six-piece is putting out this effort all on its own — but recent and upcoming gigs with Modest Mouse and the Hold Steady should boost Blitzen Trapper's profile. Just don't tell Santa!

New Releases:

· A Perfect Murder - War of Aggression (Victory)
· Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem - Big Old Life (Signature)
· Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation (Lidkercow)
· Block - The Last Single Guy (Sona Blast!)
· Blue Scholars - Bayani (Rawkus)
· Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles - Diamonds in the Dark (Sugar Hill)
· Cherryholmes - Cherryholmes II: Black and White (Skaggs Family)
· Child Abuse - Child Abuse (Lovepump United) [Buy Now]
· Chow Nasty - Super (Electrical) Recordings (Omega)
· Paula Cole - Courage (Decca) [Buy Now]
· The Conformists - Three Hundred (54-40 or Fight)
· Crunchy Black - From Me to You (Asylum)
· Damnation A.D. - In This Life or the Next (Victory)
· Datarock - Datarock Datarock (Nettwerk)
· John Doe - A Year in the Wilderness (Yep Roc)
· Fabolous - From Nothin' to Somethin' (Def Jam) [Buy Now]
Read: "Fabolous' 'All-Stars' Jay-Z, Jeezy, Rihanna Make LP Somethin' To Be Reckoned With"
· Fair to Midland - Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True (Republic)
· Firescape - Dancehall Apocalypse (Red Ink) [Buy Now]
· The Gaslight Anthem - Sink or Swim (XOXO)
· Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd - After the Night Falls and Before the Day Breaks (Darla)
· Michael Hearst - Songs for Ice Cream Trucks (Bar/None)
· Jon T. Howard - Time for Something New (Mettafour)
· I Hate Sally - Don't Worry Lady (Density)
· Enrique Iglesias - Insomniac (Interscope) [Buy Now]
· Joan as Police Woman - Real Life (Cheap Lullaby)
· Katatonia - Live Consternation (with DVD; Peaceville)
· Toby Keith - Big Dog Daddy (Show Dog Nashville)
· DJ Khaled - We the Best (Terror Squad/ Koch)
· Eddie Levert Sr. & Gerald Levert - Something to Talk About (Atlantic)
· Little Texas - Missing Years (Montage)
· The Lodger - Grown-Ups (Slumberland)
· Mad Juana - Acoustic Voodoo (Azra)
· Jono Manson - Summertime (Sunset)
· The Mission U.K. - God Is a Bullet (Cooking Vinyl)
· Abra Moore - On the Way (Sarathan)
· Laurie Morvan Band - Cures What Ails Ya (Screaming Lizard)
· Napalm Death - Punishment in Capitals (Eagle Rock)
· Mark Olson - The Salvation Blues (Hacktone)
· Paramore - Riot! (MVI album with bonus CD due same day; Fueled by Ramen)
· People Noise - Ordinary Ghosts (self-released)
· Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb (Relapse)
· Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris (Interscope) [Buy Now]
Read: "Queens Of The Stone Age Usher In A 'Positively Dirty' New Era"
· Mark Ronson - Version (Red Ink)
· Saturna - Some Delicious Enemy (Nexus Underground) [Buy Now]
· Scissors for Lefty - Underhanded Romance (Eenie Meenie)
· SoCalled - Ghettoblaster (JDub)
· Spyro Gyra - Good to Go-Go (Heads Up)
· Takeovers - Bad Football (Off) [Buy Now]
· Tia Carrera - Heaven/Hell (EP; Arclight)
· Tuatara - East of the Sun (Fast Horse)
· David Vandervelde - Nothin No (EP; Secretly Canadian)
· Wooden Wand - James & the Quiet (Ecstatic Peace)
· Various artists - Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur (two CDs; Warner Bros.)
· Various artists - "Nancy Drew" soundtrack (Bulletproof)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material: · Bad Manners - Stupidity (SOS)
· The Bongos - Drums Along the Hudson (Cooking Vinyl)
· Buckethead/ Travis Dickerson - Chicken Noodles, Gorgone and Death Cube K Tunnel (TDRS)
· Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison - Deluxe Edition (with DVD; Jive)
· James Cotton - Vanguard Visionaries (Vanguard)
· Dick Dale - Checkered Flag; King of the Surf Guitar; Mr. Eliminator; and Summer Surf (Sundazed)
· DMX - The DEFinition of X: Pick of the Litter (Def Jam) [Buy Now]
· Yvonne Elliman - Simple Needs (EP; Eborhythm)
· Moe. - Warts & All 5 (three-CD box set; Fat Boy)
· Nada Surf - Karmic (Hi-Speed Soul) [Buy Now]
· O'Death - Head Home (Ernest Jenning)
· Tupac Shakur - Beginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988-1991 (Koch) [Buy Now]
· Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation - Deluxe Edition (two CDs; Geffen/UMe)
· Andy Summers - Synaesthesia (Times Square)
· Keith Sweat - Sweat Hotel Live (Shout! Factory)
· Traveling Wilburys - The Traveling Wilburys Collection (two CDs and one DVD; deluxe edition due same day; Rhino)
· Dan Zanes and Friends - How to Grow a Family Band Gift Set (six-CD box set with book; Ryko)

Music DVDs:

· Black Sabbath - "Up Close and Personal" (Hurricane) [Buy Now]
· Deep Purple - "Live at Montreux 2006" (Eagle Vision) [Buy Now]
· Keith Sweat - "Sweat Hotel Live" (Shout! Factory) [Buy Now]
· Various artists - "Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built" (Rhino)
· Various artists - "Glastonbury" (two DVDs; Velocity)

Digital Releases:

· The Dilettantes - 101 Tambourines (in stores July 10; StrangerTouch)
· Metric - Grow Up and Blow Away (available exclusively on iTunes until June 26, when it is properly released; Last Gang) [Buy Now]

Coming Attractions:

June 19: · Mandy Moore - Wild Hope (Firm) [Preorder]
· Tomahawk - Anonymous (Ipecac)
Read: "Tomahawk Actually Starting To Sound Like An American-Indian Band"
· White Stripes - Icky Thump (Warner Bros.) [Preorder]
Read: "White Stripes Reveal Icky New Album Details"

June 26: · Beastie Boys - The Mix-Up (Capitol) [Preorder]
· Kelly Clarkson - My December (RCA) [Preorder]
Read: "Kelly Clarkson On Her Revealing New LP: 'I'm Not Even This Open With Boyfriends!' "
· Metric - Grow Up and Blow Away (Last Gang) [Preorder]

July 3: · Kelly Rowland - Ms. Kelly (Columbia) [Preorder]
· T.I. - T.I. vs. T.I.P. (Atlantic)
Read: "T.I. Taking On T.I.P. With Help From Eminem, Justin Timberlake"
· Velvet Revolver - Libertad (RCA) [Preorder]
Read: "Scott Weiland Pumped For Velvet Revolver LP, Solo Collabo With Pharrell"

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• Jay-Z
• Beyoncé
• Britney Spears
• Boys Like Girls
• Common

2007 VMA: Foo Fighters And Guests Live From The Fantasy Suites

• Foo Fighters
• Gnarls Barkley
• System of a Down
• Mastodon
• Queens of the Stone Age

50, Kanye, Diddy, Lil Wayne, Eve, Adam Levine Set For 2007 MTV Video Music Awards

• Rihanna
• Fall Out Boy
• Timbaland
• Justin Timberlake
• Foo Fighters

MTV.com Exclusive: Queens Of The Stone Age

• Queens of the Stone Age

Linkin Park, Korn, Incubus, More At Weenie Roast '07

• Linkin Park
• Korn
• Incubus
• 30 Seconds To Mars
• Bad Religion

AFI, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, More At San Diego's Street Scene

• Kanye West
• RZA
• Wolfmother
• She Wants Revenge
• Queens of the Stone Age

Dare to Wear

• Gwen Stefani
• Snoop Dogg
• Christina Aguilera
• Mudvayne
• Mary J. Blige

Kanye, Common, Red Hot Chili Peppers, More To Perform At Lollapalooza '06

• Kanye West
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Death Cab For Cutie
• Queens of the Stone Age
• Common

Ozzfest: A Look Back

• Rob Zombie
• Mudvayne
• Iron Maiden
• Black Label Society
• Andrew W.K.

The 48th Annual Grammy Nominees

• Mariah Carey
• Kanye West
• John Legend
• 50 Cent
• Black Eyed Peas