Carrie Underwood's <i>Carnival Ride</i>
Photo: Arista

Everyone's an underdog when pitted against the sales might of someone like Carrie Underwood, who stole the "American Idol" title during the Fox series' fourth season.

After all, the bubbly blonde's debut album, 2005's Some Hearts, has been certified six-times platinum by the RIAA and remains the fastest-selling debut country album in the history of SoundScan. Not only that, but it's one of the best-selling LPs of the last two years. Some Hearts, which eventually yielded five #1 singles, debuted at #2 on Billboard's top 200 with 314,600 copies sold and has sold close to 6 million copies in the U.S. alone. It hasn't fallen out of the top 200 once since its initial release.

So let's face it — no one in the music business awoke this morning and was shocked to learn that Underwood's sophomore LP, Carnival Ride, opens at #1 on next week's albums sales chart with an impressive 527,000 in week-one scans.

Carnival Ride becomes the artist's first chart-topping bow, and she walked away with the win. Raising Sand, a collaborative offering from Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and bluegrass pioneer Alison Krauss, came closest to Underwood, opening at #2 with 112,300 sold, according to the latest SoundScan totals. That's a margin of nearly 415,000 albums separating #1 from #2.

Carnival Ride is now one of the best-selling debuts of 2007, following Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight (with 623,000 scans), 50 Cent's Curtis (691,000) and Kanye West's Graduation (957,000).

All told, 27 new releases enter next week's chart, with six finishing in the top 10. Right behind Plant and Krauss at #3 is the latest from country stud Gary Allan, Living Hard, which sold 69,200 copies. The politically charged debut solo album from System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, Elect the Dead, opens at #4, having sold 66,000 units. When asked during a recent MTV News interview about the prospect of debuting in the chart's top 10, Tankian said, "I'd be happy, but I just made the record I was meant to make — whatever it's going to do, it's going to do."

Coming in at #6, with sales reported at 61,900, is Coheed and Cambria's new one, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. Two: No World for Tomorrow. It marks the band's highest career debut, as well as its highest chart position. And returning to the chart at #9, thanks to sales of close to 56,900, is Seether's latest, Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces.

The rest of the top 10 is filled out by the usual assortment of artists: Josh Groban's Noel finishes at #5 with 65,400 sold, while Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus slides five spots to #7, selling another 61,000 units. Rascal Flatts' Still Feels Good follows at #8 with 57,000 scans, and coming in at #10 with 56,500 sold is the soundtrack to the Disney Channel flick "High School Musical 2."

Neil Young's Chrome Dreams II enters the chart at #11, having generated nearly 53,700 first-week sales, while La Vida ... Es un Ratico, the new one from Colombian singer/songwriter Juanes, comes in at #13 with 46,700 scans. Rapper Hurricane Chris' 51/50 Ratchet enters the top 200 at #24 with 26,200 units leaving store shelves, and with 24,800 copies sold, Say Anything's In Defense of the Genre debuts at #27. Ryan Adams and the Cardinals' Follow the Lights EP claims the chart's #40 spot with sales of 18,500, while Dwight Yoakam's Dwight Sings Buck finishes at #42 with 18,200 sold.

Steven Curtis Chapman's This Moment opens at #47 with 16,700 copies sold, and at #52, with 15,400 scans, is Shooter Jennings' The Wolf. Rob Zombie's Zombie Live comes in at #57 with 14,200 copies snatched up, and Ween's La Cucaracha sold 11,600 units to claim the #69 slot. Meanwhile, Cobra Starship's Viva La Cobra! enters at #80 with 10,600 scans, and at #89 with 9,500 copies sold is Little Brother's Getback. Rapper Trae's Life Goes On sold more than 7,500 copies its first week in stores, landing the album at #104, while the Temptations' Back to Front opens at #108 with 7,300 scans.

The soundtrack to the forthcoming video game "Guitar Hero 3" enters the top 200 at #147 with sales of 5,000-plus, just in front of Swedish metallers Soilwork and their latest, Sworn to a Great Divide, which sold just under 5,000 copies to take the #148 position. Relient K's second Christmas album, Let It Snow Baby ... Let It Reindeer, enters at #149 with 4,900 scans, and comedian Nick Swardson's Party finishes at #156 with 4,800 copies sold. Lastly, just making the cut at #200, is La Arrolladora Banda El Limón's Y Que Quede Claro, which generated a first-week total of 3,800.

• Carrie Underwood
• Serj Tankian
• Coheed and Cambria
• Kid Rock
• Seether

Carrie Underwood's <i>Carnival Ride</i>
Photo: Arista

Carrie 2: Carrie Underwood doesn't really need to put out a new album — after all, her 2005 debut, Some Hearts, has sold more than 1 million copies this year alone — but the former "American Idol" winner is jumping on her Carnival Ride anyway. Underwood gives the album-title theme a whirl on songs like "Wheel of the World," but the entire effort isn't all fun and games — she gets heavier on "Just a Dream," which revolves around a woman coping with the death of her soldier fiance. The country crock pot also contains a cover of "I Told You So," one of Randy Travis' earliest hits. Underwood said in a press release that the album title is apt because "it describes the wonderful craziness that I've been through over the past couple years."

'Round the World: Big things have also been happening to Coheed and Cambria, a band that deals with big concepts: In 2006, they went through lineup shifts and the death of frontman Claudio Sanchez's mother. But the group is going for a sense of finality with No World for Tomorrow, which concludes its long-running conceptual sci-fi saga. "I certainly feel a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders," Sanchez told MTV News over the summer. Fans will be on a quest for the deluxe edition, which has a bonus disc featuring animated projections the group used on tour, plus a video about the making of No World for Tomorrow, a deluxe booklet and more.

Serjical Procedure: While Coheed and Cambria's saga is ending, System of a Down singer Serj Tankian's adventure is only beginning. Elect the Dead, the first album he's stitched together — rather literally in some cases, as the limited-edition version comes wrapped in linen — features "humor, political stuff, ecological stuff, personal pain, transcending personal pain, transcending the material and physical — there's a lot of things, whatever I felt at the moment and whatever came through," Tankian told MTV News. If you're looking for an even more intimate side to Tankian, be sure to grab the limited version — it has acoustic versions of two tracks, artwork, poetry and codes to unlock exclusive content online.

Cobra Style: While Tankian is singing about the Dead, Cobra Starship are coming alive with Viva la Cobra!, the dance-punk act's second album. With songs like "World Has Its Shine (But I Would Drop It on a Dime)" and "Prostitution Is the World's Oldest Profession (And I, Dear Madame, Am a Professional)," frontman Gabe Saporta surely got goofy song-titling tips from their pals in Fall Out Boy — in no little coincidence, Cobra Starship penned their entire new effort while touring with FOB. In their defense, though, Saporta did recently tell MTV News, "You're damn right we're not serious."

Relying on Puns: Up for more cringe-inducing titular jokery? Look no further than Relient K's Let It Snow Baby ... Let It Reindeer, which is actually a resurrected version of the Christian rockers' Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand, an album that came as part of a combo pack with copies of 2006's Two Lefts Don't Make a Right... but Three Do. The Christian rockers wrap seven new songs — including "I'm Gettin' Nuttin' For Christmas" and the hidden song "Good King Wenceslas" — plus a reworked version of "Auld Lang Syne" onto the Christmas release. If that doesn't sound like a holiday treat to you, maybe you should give Larry the Cable Guy a call.

Story of the Hurricane: Speaking of calling on others, you know a rookie is destined for big things when he's able to rope in Game, E-40, Baby and Jadakiss onto his first release — and Hurricane Chris has done just that. Said players appear on the "Rachet Remix" of "A Bay Bay," the 51/50 Ratchet debut single that has brought the 18-year-old to the rap foreground. Chris is hoping his new single, "The Hand Clap," can match the success of "A Bay Bay," which reached #7 on Billboard's Hot 100, but if not, he can always resort to "Playas Rock," "Doin' My Thang" or "Walk Like That."

Zombie Lives: Like Hurricane Chris, Rob Zombie is making his album debut this week — his live-album debut, that is. Zombie captures highlights from his 2006 Educated Horses tour — reaching all the way back to White Zombie's "Thunder Kiss '65" and "Black Sunshine" — on Live, which also folds in the title tracks to his flicks "Devil's Rejects" and "House of 1000 Corpses." (Horror-movie fans should also take note of the "Saw IV" soundtrack, which features Avenged Sevenfold, Drowning Pool, Ministry, Sixx: A.M. and more.)

Still Seething: Seether put out a concert album last year — the acoustic One Cold Night — but are already back with a new studio LP, their third. "We've adopted an 'anything goes' attitude for this album," Shaun Morgan said in a statement. But the frontman, who went to rehab last year, added that, "This is not by any stretch of the imagination a concept album, nor is it a 'Woe is me, I'm sober' album."

Not in Shambles?: Pete Doherty, who also knows a thing or two about rehab, you could say, is back with his band Babyshambles, who are birthing their second effort this week. Shotter's Nation, which the band recorded in London with producer Stephen Street (Blur, Morrissey), boasts a guest appearance by Scottish folk legend Bert Jansch — on the final track, "The Lost Art of Murder" — and also includes "Crumb Begging," "French Dog Blues" and "Baddies Boogie."

Fallen "Idols"?: We can hear enough about "American Idol" contenders when they're on TV, but when it comes time for them to release material, some of them are actually making their albums hard to find. Elliott Yamin put out his NBC Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection in Target stores only last week, and now Bo Bice is delivering his new album, See the Light, exclusively to Wal-Mart. Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and ex-Allman Brothers Band keyboardist Chuck Leavell helped make sure Bice's second effort had a Southern touch.

Song Title of the Week:

"Manager and Coordinator of Prostitutes" by Les Georges Leningrad (on the Worried Noodles compilation)

Album Cover of the Week:

The "Barbie as the Island Princess" soundtrack

Other Notables:

Black Dice's Load Blown
Given the number of releases the red-hot experimental band from Brooklyn, New York, has put out in recent years, it's no surprise this collection got the name it did. This disc culls tracks that can be found on three of the group's 12-inch vinyl EPs — although, unusually, the third EP is actually dropping Tuesday (October 22) as well. The result is an overview of the output Black Dice have put out the last 18 months, and the disc includes "Kokomo," "Cowboy Soundcheck," "Toka Toka" and more.

Prefuse 73's Preparations
Guillermo Scott Herren goes by many names, but of all his music projects, this glitchy one has been catching on the most. Prefuse 73's fourth release follows 2005's Surrounded by Silence, and while the earlier effort featured a ton of outside artists — Ghostface, GZA and Blonde Redhead among them — this one only has a few guest spots, most notably one by Battles drummer John Stanier. But it also comes with a bonus disc, the 15-track Interrugnums, although it only comes with purchases of the physical release.

Castanets' In the Vines
On the topic of aliases, this act is also centered around one man: Raymond Raposa, the only constant member of the project. Born in San Diego but living in Brooklyn, Raposa regularly mixes up his cast of collaborators, sometimes amid a tour. This album features the likes of Jana Hunter, Nonhorse of Vanishing Voice and Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck, who come together to tell a story partially based on a Hindu fable about being trapped in an unavoidable fate. It also integrates stories of Raposa's adventures as a teen pro surfer and beyond.

New Releases:

· The 69 Eyes - Angels/Devils (two CDs; Caroline)
· Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Follow the Lights (EP; Lost Highway) [Buy Now]
· The Agony Scene - Get Damned (Century Media)
· Gary Allan - Living Hard (MCA Nashville)
· Audio Caviar - Transoceanic (Machine Productions)
· Avenger of Blood - Death Brigade (Heavy Artillery)
· Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation (limited edition comes with DVD; Astralwerks) [Buy Now]
· The Besnard Lakes - Vol. 1 (Jagjaguwar)
· Bo Bice - See the Light (available exclusively at Wal-Mart; StartArt) [Buy Now]
· Bizarre - Blue Cheese & Coney Island (Koch)
· Blue Sky Black Death - Hell Razah (Babygrande)
· The Bridge - The Bridge (Hyena)
· Tom Brosseau - Cavalier (Fat Cat)
· Carla Bruni - No Promises (enhanced; Downtown)
· Grayson Capps - Songbones (Hyena)
· Carbon/Silicon - The Last Post (Caroline)
· Cassius - 15 Again (Astralwerks)
· Castanets - In the Vines (Asthmatic Kitty)
· Steven Curtis Chapman - This Moment (Sparrow)
· The Cinematic Orchestra - Breathe (EP; Domino)
· Circle - Sunrise (No Quarter) [Buy Now]
· Cobra Starship - Viva La Cobra! (Fueled by Ramen) [Buy Now]
Read: "Cobra Starship Take Aim At Their Sudden Fame With Viva La Cobra!"
· Coheed and Cambria - No World for Tomorrow (Columbia) [Buy Now]
Read: "Coheed And Cambria Saga Comes To An End On No World For Tomorrow"
· Crime in Stereo - Crime in Stereo Is Dead (Bridge Nine)
· Justin Currie - What Is Love For (Rykodisc)
· Einstürzende Neubauten - Alles Wieder Offen (Potomac/Ryko)
· Euros Child - Miracle Inn (Wichita)
· Famouz - Ghetto Passport (World Jam)
· Far-Less - A Toast to Bad Taste (Tooth & Nail)
· The Forms - The Forms (Threespheres)
· Dave Gahan - Hourglass (also available with bonus DVD; Mute/Virgin)
· Ghost - Overture: Live in Nippon Yusen Soko (with DVD; Drag City)
· Hangar 18 - Sweep the Leg (Definitive Jux)
· Heart - Dreamboat Annie - Legendary Albums Live (Shout! Factory) [Buy Now]
· Helloween - Gambling With the Devil (SPV)
· Ty Herndon - A Ty Herndon Christmas (Pyramid)
· Daniel Higgs - Metempsychotic Melodies (Holy Mountain)
· Holy F--- - LP (Young Turks)
· Hurricane Chris - 51/50 Ratchet (J)
· I Like Trains - Elegies to Lessons Learnt (Beggars)
· Shooter Jennings - The Wolf (Universal South)
· Jesu - Lifeline (EP; Hydra Head)
· Juanes - La Vida Es un Ratico (live; limited-edition version comes with DVD; Universal Latino)
· Junk Science - Gran'Dad's Nerve Tonic (Definitive Jux)
· Karate - 595 (Southern)
· Knights of the Abyss - Juggernaut (Candlelight)
· Layo & Bushwacka - GU33: Rio (Global Underground)
· Lazarus - Hawk Medicine (Temporary Residence) [Buy Now]
· Little Brother - Get Back (ABB)
· Loop 2.4.3 - Batterie (Music Starts From Silence)
· Megan McCauley - Better Than Blood (Wind-Up)
· Moonspell - Under Satanæ (SPV)
· Mötley Crüe - Carnival of Sins Live (two CDs; Eleven Seven)
· Mountain Heart - Road That Never Ends: The Live Album (Rural Rhythm)
· The New Rivals - The New Rivals (SoBe)
· Of Hearts and Chainsaws - Touching Base With a Chainsaw (Tyburn)
· Lisa O'Kane - It Didn't Hurt (digipak; New Light Entertainment/ Universal)
· Orgone - The Killing Floor (Ubiquity)
· Oscar G - Nervous Nitelife: Space Miami (Nervous)
· Phosphorescent - Pride (Dead Oceans)
· Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (Rounder)
· Power Pill Fist - Kongmanivong (digipak; Graveface)
· Prefuse 73 - Preparations (two CDs; Warp)
· Realistic - Perpetual Memory Loss (Illegal Art)
· The Redwalls - The Redwalls (Mad Dragon)
· Saturday Looks Good to Me - Fill Up the Room (K)
· Say Anything - In Defense of the Genre (two CDs; J) [Buy Now]
· Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (Bloodshot)
· Scum of the Earth - Sleaze Freak (with DVD; Eclipse)
· Jon Secada - A Christmas Fiesta (Big3)
· Seether - Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces (Wind-Up) [Buy Now]
Read: "Seether Frontman Won't Respond To Amy Lee's Attack: 'I Just Refuse To Lower Myself To That Level' "
· Shaman - Reason (Locomotive)
· Siberian - With Me (Sonic Boom)
· Sick City - Nightlife (Trustkill)
· Skindred - Roots Rock Riot (Bieler Bros.)
· Smif N Wesson - The Album (Duck Down)
· Soft - Gone Faded (Academy Fight Songs) [Buy Now]
· Sole and the Skyrider Band - Sole and the Skyrider Band (Anticon)
· Stare Into the Sun - Whispers Turn to Howls (Reformer)
· Subtle - Yell & Ice (Lex)
· Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead (Serjical Strike/ Reprise) [Buy Now]
Read: "System Of A Down Frontman Serj Tankian On Intimate Solo LP: 'I Believe In It' "
· The Temptations - Back to Front (New Door/ UMe)
· These Are Powers - Terrific Seasons (Hoss)
· Thy Will Be Done - Was and Is to Come (Stillborn)
· Toolroom Knights - Mixed by Gabriel & Dresden (Toolroom)
· Tullycraft - Every Scene Needs a Center (Magic Marker)
· Tunng - Comments of the Inner Chorus (Thrill Jockey)
· Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride (Arista) [Buy Now]
· Victory Pill - Victory Pill (Corporate Punishment)
· Seth Walker - Seth Walker (Hyena)
· The Warlocks - Heavy Deavy Skull Lover (Tee Pee)
· Ween - La Cucaracha (Rounder)
· West Indian Girl - 4th & Wall (Milan)
· Witchcraft - The Alchemist (Candlelight)
· Yea Kid + Kid Static - Yea Kid + Kid Static (Jib Door)
· Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals (We Are Free)
· Dwight Yoakam - Dwight Sings Buck (New West)
· Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II (collector's edition comes with DVD; Reprise) [Buy Now]
· Rob Zombie - Zombie Live (Geffen) [Buy Now]
· Various artists - DJ Rekha Presents: Basement Bhangra (Koch)
· Various artists - Downtown San Francisco - Mixed by New Mondo (two CDs; Swank)
· Various artists - Free Yr Radio (Free Yr Radio/ Urban Outfitters; available through UO stores only)
· Various artists - Steve Aoki: Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles (Thrive)
· Various artists - Worried Noodles (two-CD box set with book by David Shrigley; Tomlab)
· Various artists - "Saw IV" soundtrack (Artists' Addiction)
· Various artists - "Barbie as the Island Princess" soundtrack (Koch)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· The Abyssinians - Satta Massagana (Heartbeat)
· At Vance - Chained (Locomotive)
· Gato Barbieri - Bahia (Fania)
· Ray Barretto - Greatest Hits (Fania)
· Black Dice - Load Blown (EP; Paw Tracks)
· Black Moth Super Rainbow - Falling Through a Field and Starting a People (digipaks; Graveface/ 70's Gymnastics Recording Co.)
· The Briefs - Greatest Story Ever Told (with DVD; BYO)
· Can - Anthology (two CDs; Mute) [Buy Now]
· Karen Dalton - Cotton Eyed Joe: The Loop Tapes - Live in Boulder 1962 (two CDs and one DVD; Delmore)
· Jermaine Dupri - Y'All Know What This Is ... the Hits (So So Def/ Island Urban) [Buy Now]
· Jacques Loussier - Jacques Loussier Plays Bach - Encore! (two CDs; Telarc)
· John Mellencamp - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection (Island/UMe) [Buy Now]
· Jacob Miller and Ray I - Natty Christmas (VP)
· Charles Mingus - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection (Verve)
· Relient K - Let It Snow Baby ... Let It Reindeer (Capitol) [Buy Now]
· Shadows Fall - Seeking the Way: Greatest Hits (Century Media)
· The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Jukebox Explosion (In the Red)
· T. Rex - Electric Jewels (Get Back)
· Paul Oakenfold - Greatest Hits & Remixes (two CDs; Ultra)
· Of Montreal - If He Is Protecting Our Nation ... Who Is Protecting Big Oil, Our Children? (EP; Polyvinyl)
· The Owls - Daughters and Suns (two CDs; Magic Marker) [Buy Now]
· Tamia - Between Friends/ A Gift Between Friends (two CDs; Plus 1 Llc)
· Various artists - The Christmas Spirit: The World's Favourite Hymns and Carols (two CDs; Decca)
· Various artists - A Holly Jolly Kids Christmas (Hip-O)
· Various artists - Putumayo Presents: New Orleans Brass (enhanced; Putumayo World Music)

Music DVDs:

· Heart - "Dreamboat Annie - Legendary Albums Live" (Shout! Factory) [Buy Now]
· Yusuf Islam - "Yusuf's Café Session" (Hip-O)
· Carole King - "Welcome to My Living Room" (Rockingale)
· Ringo Starr - "Ringo Starr Live at Soundstage" (Koch) [Buy Now]
· Steeleye Span - "The 35th Anniversary World Tour 2004" (Park)

Digital Releases:

· Leigh Marble - Red Tornado (Laughing Stock)
· Arthur Russell - Four Songs by Arthur Russell (EP; Beggars Banquet)

Coming Attractions:

October 30:
· Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold (MVI also available; Warner Bros.) [Preorder]
· Backstreet Boys - Unbreakable (deluxe digipak also available; Jive) [Preorder]
· Mario - Go (J) [Preorder]
Read: "Mario Gets Back To Making Music With Akon, Timbaland, Neptunes"

November 6:
· Angels & Airwaves - I-Empire (Geffen)
Read: "Angels & Airwaves' Revolution Has Begun - Just Wait 29 Years, Tom DeLonge Insists"
· Chris Brown - Exclusive (deluxe edition comes with DVD; Jive) [Preorder]
Read:
· Jay-Z - American Gangster (Roc-A-Fella) [Preorder]
Read: "Jay-Z's American Gangster: A Guided Tour By Jigga, Jermaine Dupri, Pharrell And Others"

November 13:
· Alicia Keys - As I Am (J) [Preorder]
· The Killers - Sawdust (Island) [Preorder]
· Ja Rule - The Mirror (Murder Inc./ Universal) [Preorder]
Read: "Ja Rule Leaves Bitterness — And 50 Cent Beef — Behind On New Album"

• Bizarre Christmas Albums

• Carrie Underwood
• Coheed and Cambria
• Serj Tankian
• Cobra Starship
• Hurricane Chris

Britney Spears on the cover of September's <i>Allure</i>
Photo: Michael Thompson/ Allure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

08.15.07

Lindsay Lohan may be in rehab, but that hasn't stopped Maxim from featuring her on the cover of its 10th anniversary issue, which hits newsstands Tuesday. In the interview — which was conducted in mid-May, before both her DUI arrests — Lohan cites the obscure track "It's for You" by Out Hud as her go-to DJ song and shares her guilty pleasures: "Larry King Live," "Oprah" and junk food. When asked what she would bring to a remote island, she said: "I'd take an iPod, a good book and a friend, because I wouldn't want to be alone." While the Maxim shot dates back a few months, TMZ.com has posted a photo of a smiling Lohan the site says was taken Tuesday at the Cirque Lodge rehab center in Orem, Utah. The pic shows the actress on her way to a tanning center. ...

Foxy Brown turned herself in to New York police on Tuesday and was charged with assaulting her neighbor with a cell phone last month, according to authorities. The rapper was formally charged with felony assault, menacing, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon. Brown — who was charged for assault at a beauty-supply store in Florida in February and claimed to have been a victim of assault herself in June — is scheduled to appear in court September 26. Nonetheless, despite the legal issues, Brown still managed to find room on Tuesday to announce her departure from longtime recording home Def Jam in favor of Koch Records. A representative from Koch confirmed Brown has signed with the indie powerhouse and is scheduled to release her next album, Brooklyn's Don Diva, December 1. ...

Another subpoena was issued late Tuesday in the Britney Spears/ Kevin Federline child-custody battle, this one for former Spears assistant Shannon Funk. The singer's cousin Alli Sims and bodyguard Daimon Shippen have also been served with depositions. ... Paris Hilton's Hollywood Hills mansion was recently sold for $4.25 million, Us Weekly reports. ...

Remy Ma (born Remy Smith) appeared in a Manhattan, New York, courtroom on Tuesday in connection with a July 14 incident in which she is alleged to have shot her longtime friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph after a disagreement over money. Ma, who has been charged with attempted murder, assault and weapons possession, will remain free on $250,000 bail until November 29, according to her lawyer, Ivan Fisher, who said the prosecution is expected to hand down an indictment by that point. ...

If you've had enough of the "Chocolate Rain" shower, you might want to grab an umbrella — Tay Zonday and his notorious song are heading to the stage. The YouTube phenom will open for laptop wizards Girl Talk and Dan Deacon at Minneapolis' First Avenue on October 5. ... Hungry for new Jimmy Eat World material? The band will churn out Chase This Light — the follow-up to its 2004's gold effort, Futures — on October 16. The album's first single, "Big Casino," goes to radio later this month. Jimmy Eat World just wrapped their first trek through South Africa and are heading to Europe to play festivals, including Reading and Leeds, this week and next. ...

Jermaine Dupri is all too familiar with being in the recording booth, where he has created countless hit records for himself and others. But the legendary music man will soon been shown in a different type of booth — the ticket booth. Dupri recently shot a TV commercial for Dunkin' Donuts' "ordinary-people campaign" as a parking-lot attendant at Rutgers university. In the ad, Dupri simultaneously takes tickets and hosts a crunk party in his booth. ... Now he's really smiling: Jimmy Fallon got engaged to girlfriend Nancy Juvonen in New Hampshire over the weekend. It will be the first marriage for both. ...

Sorry, Radiohead fans — the band's next studio effort has bumped to 2008, RollingStone.com reports. ... Superdrag have reassembled their original lineup for six gigs in October and November, but before they play those shows, the band will hit up the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati on September 27. Superdrag frontman John Davis will double up by delivering the keynote address at the festival as well. ... Frank Black just put out his 93-03 retrospective release and has a new album due September 11 from his Black Francis alter ego, but he's not through yet — the Pixies frontman also recently recorded covers of Tom Waits; Roxy Music; and the Good, the Bad & the Queen songs for an exclusive live iTunes EP. The five-song session, which also features the Black originals "Massif Central" and "Manitoba," is available now. ...

Don Imus was sued by a member of the Rutgers university women's basketball team on Tuesday, the same day he settled a breach-of-contract suit with CBS — which now allows him to make a bid for a comeback at a new radio station. Kia Vaughn alleges slander and defamation of character in the suit, claiming Imus' inflammatory comments about the Rutgers team damaged her reputation. ... Michael Jackson was also sued on Tuesday, by his former entertainment lawyers who claim the singer owes them $113,750. Jackson agreed in arbitration last year to pay Lavely & Singer $180,000 in three installments, according to the law firm, but he didn't make the last payment before the July 31 deadline indicated in the settlement. ...

Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler said Tuesday that Phil Spector's defense violated discovery laws by withholding information after a pathologist introduced a new theory in the death of actress Lana Clarkson on Tuesday. Fidler cleared the jury from the courtroom after Dr. Michael Baden, who could be the defense's last witness, testified that Clarkson's spinal cord was not completely severed when she was shot, which supports the defense claim that she spit blood onto the music producer's jacket after shooting herself. But because Fidler declared that the defense had violated the rules of discovery, Baden's testimony was rendered inadmissible.

• Britney Spears In The September Issue Of 'Allure'

• Britney Spears
• Joel Madden
• Christina Aguilera
• Blaqk Audio
• Seether

Seether's Shaun Morgan
Photo: Benny Haber

Most of us would love to have a hit song written about us. Seether's Shaun Morgan isn't one of those people.

But that didn't stop his ex-girlfriend, Evanescence's Amy Lee, from penning "Call Me When You're Sober," a tune she later admitted was specifically written about her relationship with Morgan (see "Evanescence Set For Fall Tour; Amy Lee Reveals Inspiration Behind 'Sober' "). And the timing couldn't have been worse for Lee's damning revelation, coming just weeks after Morgan checked himself into rehab for treatment of "a combination of substances" (see "Seether Frontman Enters Rehab; August Tour Dates Canceled"). His rehab stint, coincidentally, began on the very same day the Evanescence track was delivered to the nation's rock radio stations.

As you might expect, Morgan wasn't thrilled with Lee's public airing of the pair's dirty laundry. For the last year, the song has "followed me around and haunted me," he said, and it chipped away at his reputation.

"People would say to me, 'Yeah, man, I know what you're going through,' and I was like, 'No, I don't think you do,' " Morgan explained. " 'Your ex-girlfriend didn't write a song about you, that millions of people have heard, saying you're a bad guy. As soon as that happens, buddy, come up and tell me you know what I'm going through.' "

Now, clean and sober, Morgan and his band are returning with their third studio outing, Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces, which is set for an October 23 release. But don't expect the LP to contain a response track.

"There isn't necessarily a response as there's a lament," the singer for the South African rockers said. "I was bummed out. I was really upset that she would say and do those things. In any relationship, I don't think it's right to say and do those things when people break up, and she obviously felt the need to go out there and make me sound like a complete a--hole. What can I do? I just refuse to lower myself to that level. But it was a painful thing and it got me down — people coming up to me on the street and referring to that song. But I didn't feel the need to write back and be mean."

Instead, the Howard Benson-produced Finding Beauty — which the band hopes to begin mixing next week — boasts "Breakdown," a song some might interpret as Morgan's answer to "Sober." But that's not the case.

"It isn't an aggressive song, and it isn't even an angry song — I would prefer to refer to it as a lament rather than an angry backlash," he said. "You couldn't tell that the song was about one person. It's probably more universal. I prefer to be a little more vague and respectful. There are some things I could have said and done too — there are always two sides to every story. And if anything, the song says, 'Fine. Go ahead and say those things.' But what's the point of telling my side? That's what the bloodthirsty want, and I don't care what the bloodthirsty want."

If there are any references on the disc about a failed relationship, Morgan said it will be about his most recent ex and not Lee.

"These songs are turning out to be somewhat more introspective, which is weird — you'd assume I'd be more pissed off and have more things to say," he explained. "I don't know how much I want to say and what I want to say. It's tough, because I know what the expectations are for this album and that people will be looking for that Amy Lee reference, and I am trying desperately not to have any. I just ended another truly, truly horrible relationship with somebody, so if there's anything about somebody on the record, it would be about her, not Amy. In retrospect, Amy and I, at our worst moments, were still better than this last girl and I at our best moments."

Sonically, Morgan said the record is more balanced than anything Seether have done before and far more cohesive — thanks, in part, to the fact that the band had much more time to write and came up with more than 50 tracks to choose from. When the album hits stores, expect it to feature at least 10 songs, including "No, Jesus Christ," "Rise Above This" and "FMLYHM," an acronym for "F--- Me Like You Hate Me."

"That element of our band, as people know it, is still there, but there have been several developments," Morgan said. "It's been more experimental with us. We tried to explore the actual process of songwriting and the process of writing songs that have good melodies that are sing-able, that lean more towards the pop side. And when I got pissed off, I got really pissed off, and there are certain moments on the album that I almost didn't recognize as being us because it was kind of brutal. But when I went into writing the songs, the label was sort of looking for 'Remedy' [from 2005's Karma and Effect] and obviously a song like 'Broken' [from 2004's Disclaimer II], and I said, 'Those songs have been written, because it was the right time and the right place to write them. For you to expect me to write something like that, it's just not possible.' "

Seether plan to spend much of the fall on the road touring in support of Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces. An arena tour, alongside Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin, has already been booked and will launch September 8 in Hutchinson, Kansas; gigs are scheduled through November 14 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

• Seether
• Evanescence

Seether's Shaun Morgan
Photo: Scott Weiner

Seether frontman Shaun Morgan has checked himself into an undisclosed rehabilitation center after having "admitted to himself and those close to him that he needs help and is making the proactive move to seek it," according to a press release from the band's label, Wind-Up Records.

Morgan's treatment has forced the band to cancel its August touring plans; Seether were scheduled to hit the road with Staind and Three Days Grace starting August 5 in Maryland Heights, Missouri, for a 16-date run that was set to wrap up August 30 in Birmingham, Alabama. However, Seether will appear with Alice in Chains, Buckcherry and a host of others on Saturday, for a gig at Columbia Meadows on Oregon's Deer Island.

According to the press release, following that gig, "all future plans have been placed on hold until further notice" because Morgan has "made a personal choice to attack what he sees as a dependence on a combination of substances."

"I'm deeply sorry that this news comes right before a planned tour, especially one that I was so excited about, and I hope that everyone understands," said Morgan in a statement. "I need help with addictions that I can't kick on my own. These things are making me sick, and could potentially harm me permanently, so I need to take care of them as soon as possible. I hope the tour goes well, and we hope to be on the road again soon. Thank you again for your understanding and support."

The release continues, "Over the last two years, Seether has performed in excess of four hundred shows. Compounded with the stresses of promoting and supporting [2005's Karma and Effect], and then recording and promoting [the band's latest, all-acoustic LP] One Cold Night without any form of an extended hiatus, Morgan has spread himself too thin and in turn made decisions he now regrets."

Seether planned to play acoustic sets on the Staind trek, and have been touring in support of One Cold Night, which was released July 11 and debuted at #50 on the Billboard albums chart a week later.

News of Morgan's voluntary rehabilitation comes two months after the departure of Patrick Callahan — the group's longtime touring guitarist, who was made a full-fledged member two years ago (see "Seether Lose Guitarist; Frontman Credits Stomach With Acoustic Night"). He played his final set with the group June 3 in Great Falls, Montana.

A spokesperson for Wind-Up would not disclose the nature of Morgan's substance-abuse problem, and declined to discuss which substances the singer is seeking treatment for.

• Seether

Thom Yorke's <I>The Eraser</I>
Photo: Xl Recordings

Call It What You Will: The debate rages on regarding Thom Yorke's The Eraser. Solo album? Not-so-solo album? When it comes to Radiohead, haven't people learned better than to bother with labels? After all, they dipped into The Eraser throughout their recent North American tour, introducing those tracks seamlessly with new ones of their own. For this week, just let the music do the talking. The Nigel Godrich-produced record includes "Analyse," "Atoms for Peace" and "Harrowdown Hill."

Light the Muse: The U.K. assault continues with Muse's Black Holes & Revelations and its equally grandiose-sounding "Starlight," "Invincible" and "Supermassive Black Hole." While Muse are still fresh in the States, they've been puttering around England for nearly 10 years now — which explains why you'll see them headlining the Glastonbury Festival on the bonus DVD. That extra disc comes with the first pressing only, although both editions were designed by Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd collaborator Storm Thorgerson.

Suffer Me Sufjan: If Sufjan Stevens keeps at the rate he's going, he'll have finished making an album for each state sometime in the early 22nd century. And it's not helping his cause that he's stopping to cobble together leftovers along the way: In addition to Illinois, the seemingly exhaustive 22-track disc he put out last year, now he's piling on 21 additional tracks from the sessions, including the typically long-winded "The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night by Saint Dararius and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies." Catch your breath and enjoy.

Seething in Concert: Keeping it much more simple are Seether, who strip down "Diseased," "Truth," "Broken" and "Remedy" for the acoustic-concert set One Cold Night. The CD has two versions of "The Gift," including an alternate mix, while the DVD compiles the February concert in Philadelphia with still images, an interview, the video for "The Gift" and behind-the-scenes clips.

Random Sightings (Emphasis on "Random"): Paul Wall, Ice-T and E-40 crop up in the same place this week, making guest appearances on the new ... Jamie Kennedy CD? Yup, you read it right — Kennedy's Blowin' Up with collaborator Stu Stone, which also has drop-ins by other, uh, big-name hip-hop talent like Kardinal Offishall, Gill T. Pleasure and Iceberg.

And yes, that's Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and hard-rock vet Joan Jett clashing alongside the quieter-than-thou Feist on Peaches' new record, which she endowed with the all-too-dead-on title Impeach My Bush. Don't forget to "Stick It to the Pimp" and "Rock the Shocker."

Also going from loud to soft is Greg Graffin, the Bad Religion frontman who goes the way of Neil Young and the Band on his solo album Cold as the Clay. He welcomes singer/songwriter Jolie Holland — another Anti artist — on two tracks and touches on some traditional fare like "Omie Wise" and "Talk About Suffering."

On the same token, Jimmy Tamborello stepped away from the Postal Service to craft Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake, which he's releasing under the moniker James Figurine. Tamborello recorded the techno-pop tracks in Germany but got some additional help from Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis and members of Kings of Convenience, Whispertown 2000 and other lesser-knowns.

And members of a litany of groups — Broken Social Scene, Sadies, Weakerthans and more — come together to form Hylozoists, a Toronto collective who say their debut is an "ideal accompaniment for a macabre carnival carousel." The instrumental La Fin du Monde includes "Warning Against Judging a Christian Brother," "If Only Your Heart Was a Major Sixth" and "Hearts and Harps."

Maximum Psych: Bands might not be name-dropping the Jesus and Mary Chain quite yet — seems like it's all the Cure and Joy Division these days — but with their early records in your collection, you'll be one step ahead of the retro hipsters. These remastered versions of the band's first five studio albums — Automatic, Darklands, Honey's Dead, Psychocandy and Stoned & Dethroned — have three videos apiece on the video flipside.

One band that had no trouble finding an audience for psychedelia were Phish, whose 2004 shindig at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, is immortalized in both three-CD and two-DVD form as Live in Brooklyn. The concert was simultaneously broadcast to movie theaters while it was performed and was the first the band played after announcing its impending breakup. Shine on, you crazy diamonds.

Speaking of which, fans have been waiting for nearly an eternity for the "Pulse" double-disc by Phish's progenitors, Pink Floyd, to drop from the sky, and lo and behold, here 'tis. The footage was captured during the band's Division Bell tour in 1994 and was filmed at London's Earls Court during the band's 14-night residency there (try that one, Radiohead). The second disc features the band performing The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety, and was designed by the aforementioned Storm Thorgerson.

Song Title of the Week:

"Motor Driven Puppy Stabbers" from Indorphine's Glowsticks for Clubbing Baby Seals

Other Notables:

Cut Chemist's The Audience's Listening: With just two weeks to go before Jurassic 5 deliver their first studio album in almost four years, their former turntable master has just enough time to steal the spotlight with The Audience's Listening, his solo debut. The DJ hit the studio, cobbled together old samples and fused them with Brazilian and old-school beats for his new disc, which boasts "(My 1st) Big Break," "2266 Cambridge" and "Spat."

Kaada's Music for Moviebikers: Yet another record to be filed in the "Soundtracks to Films That Haven't Been Made Yet" category, the Norwegian experimentalist kept it fresh by hiring random folk musicians throughout Europe and recording the bulk of his record live instead of through programming. That resulted in more than 22 musicians participating on his instrumental disc, which includes "Julia Pastrana," "Mainstreaming" and "Retirement Community."

Various artists' Graciously: Label comps often slip through the cracks, but Wavelab Studio and Funzalo Records' new collection deserves some extra lovin'. All 12 songs — by Calexico, Robyn Hitchcock and Scout Niblett — are new and unreleased, and one-third of proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity's Musician's Village project in New Orleans.

New Releases:

• The Adored - A New Language (V2)
• Alcian Blue - Alcian Blue (Elephant Stone)
• All That Remains - The Fall of Ideals (Razor & Tie)
  Buy Now: The Fall of Ideals (Razor & Tie)
  
• Jessica Bailiff - Feels Like Home (Kranky)
• Betrayed - Substance (Equal Vision)
• Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys - Turntable Matinee (Yep Roc)
• Boy Hits Car - The Passage (Rock Ridge)
  Buy Now: The Passage (Rock Ridge)
  
• Bury Your Dead - Beauty and the Breakdown (Victory)
  Buy Now: Beauty and the Breakdown (Victory)
  
• Cairo Gang - Cairo Gang (Narnack)
• Cattle Decapitation - Karma Bloody Karma (Metal Blade)
• Jen Chapin - Ready (Hybrid)
• CSS - Cansei de Ser Sexy (Sub Pop)
• Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway (Earache)
• Cut Chemist - The Audience's Listening (Warner Bros.)
• D Block - The CD/ DVD Mixtape (Koch)
• Dead to Me - Cuban Ballerina (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Disaster Strikes - Liberty Toast (Alternative Tentacles)
• Johnny Dowd - Cruel World (Bongo Beat)
• Steve Earle - Live at Montreux 2005 (Eagle)
• The Early November - The Mother, the Mechanic and the Path (three-CD box set; Drive-Thru)
  Buy Now: The Mother, the Mechanic and the Path (Drive-Thru)
  
• Ramblin' Jack Elliott - I Stand Alone (Anti)
• William Lee Ellis - God's Tattoos (Yellow Dog)
• Evaline - Postpartum Modesty. A Portrait of Skin (EP; Maverick)
• Every Move a Picture - Heart = Weapon (V2)
• James Figurine - Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake (Plug Research)
  Buy Now: Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake (Plug Research)
  
• Fish Karma - The Theory of Intelligent Design (Alternative Tentacles)
• The Format - Dog Problems (Nettwerk)
  Buy Now: Dog Problems (Nettwerk)
  
• From a Second Story Window - Delenda (Metal Blade)
• Full Blown Chaos - Within the Grasp of Titans (Stillborn)
  Buy Now: Within the Grasp of Titans (Stillborn)
  
• The Gentlemen Homicide - Understanding the Words We Speak (Blood & Ink)
• John Gorka - Writing in the Margins (Red House)
• Greg Graffin - Cold as the Clay (Anti)
• The Hylozoists - La Fin du Monde (Boompa)
• Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers - Mine Is Not a Holy War (Cordless)
• Indorphine - Glowsticks for Clubbing Baby Seals (Rock Ridge)
• Kaada - Music for Moviebikers (Ipecac)
• Matt Keating - Summer Tonight (Kealon)
• Robert Earl Keen - Live at the Ryman: The Greatest Show Ever Been Gave (Koch)
• Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone - Blowin' Up (JKss)
  Buy Now: Blowin' Up (JKss)
  
• Khia - Gangstress (TME/ Phase One Communications)
  Buy Now: Gangstress (TME/ Phase One Communications)
  
• The Kilborn Alley Blues Band - Put It in the Alley (Blue Bella)
• Cheyenne Kimball - The Day Has Come (Epic/ Daylight)
  Buy Now: The Day Has Come (Epic/ Daylight)
  
• Chris Knight - Enough Rope (Emergent)
• Greg Laswell - Through Toledo (Vanguard)
• The Living End - State of Emergency (Adeline)
  Buy Now: State of Emergency (Adeline)
  
• The Lordz - The Brooklyn Way (Perfect Game)
• Bill Lupkin & Friends - Where I Come From (Blue Bella)
• Miranda Sound - Western Reserve (Sunken Treasure)
• Nick Moss and the Flip Tops - Live at Chan's (Blue Bella)
• Muse - Black Holes & Revelations (limited edition with DVD due same day; Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Muse Hope Fans Aren't Too Shocked By 'Genre-Morphing' New LP"
  Buy Now: Black Holes & Revelations (Warner Bros.)
  
• Anna Nalick - Wreck of the Day (Columbia)
• The North Atlantic - Wires in the Walls (We Put Out)
• Oneida - Happy New Year (Jagjaguwar)
• The Outline - You Smash It We'll Build Around It (Fearless)
• Peaches - Impeach My Bush (Kitty-Yo/ XL Recordings/ Beggars Group)
• Phish -- Live in Brooklyn (three CDs; Rhino)
  Buy Now: Live in Brooklyn (Rhino)
  
• Plaid - Greedy Baby (with DVD; Warp)
• Redding - Redding (Rock Ridge)
• The Remote - Too Low to Miss (Global Underground)
• Rhymefest - Blue Collar (J)
  Buy Now: Blue Collar (J)
  
• Seether - One Cold Night (with bonus DVD; Wind-Up)
  Read: "Seether Lose Guitarist; Frontman Credits Stomach With Acoustic Night"
  Buy Now: One Cold Night (Wind-Up)
  
• Shapes and Sizes - Shapes and Sizes (Asthmatic Kitty)
• Some Girls - Crushing Love (with DVD; Koch)
• Soul Asylum - The Silver Lining (Legacy)
  Buy Now: The Silver Lining (Legacy)
  
• Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras From the Illinois Album! (Asthmatic Kitty)
• Strapping Young Lad - The New Black (enhanced; Century Media)
  Buy Now: The New Black (Century Media)
  
• Striborg - Embittered Darkness/ Isles de Morts (Southern Lord)
• Tenebre - Heart's Blood (Candlelight)
• Torchebearer - Warnaments (Candlelight)
• Trendkill - No Longer Buried (Candlelight)
• Village of Dead Roads - Dwelling in Doubt (Meteor City)
• John Waite - Downtown Journey of a Heart (Frontiers)
• Butch Walker and the Let's Go Out Tonites - The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's Go Out Tonites (Red Ink)
  Read: "Butch Walker Works With Avril, Hot Hot Heat, Says Solo LP Won't Be 'Emo-Tastic' "
  Buy Now: The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's Go Out Tonites (Red Ink)
  
• Thom Yorke - The Eraser (XL)
  Read: "Thom Yorke Records Album Without Radiohead, Rejects 'Solo' Label"
• Various artists - The Backyardigans Groove to the Music (Nick)
• Various artists - Graciously (Wavelab/ Funzalo)
• Various artists - Hello Radio: The Songs of They Might Be Giants (Bar/ None)
• Various artists - I'm So Indicted (Capitol Steps)
• Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 22 (Sony)
• Various artists - The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson (Emergent)
• Various artists - Worship Jamz 2 (Razor & Tie)
• Various artists - "The Devil Wears Prada" soundtrack (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - "The Groomsmen" soundtrack (Rykodisc)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

• Marc Anthony - Grandes Éxitos: Sigo Siendo Yo (Sony International)
  Buy Now: Grandes Éxitos: Sigo Siendo Yo (Sony International)
  
• Booker T. & the MG's -- The Definitive Soul Collection (two CDs; Rhino)
• Solomon Burke - The Definition of Soul (two CDs; Rhino)
• Robert Callender - Musee de l'Impressionisme (Fallout)
• Canned Heat - Canned, Labeled and Shelved (two CDs; Music Avenue)
• Ray Charles -- The Definitive Soul Collection (two CDs; Rhino)
• Common People - Of the People/ By the People/ For the People From the Common People (Fallout)
• The Drifters -- The Definitive Soul Collection (two CDs; Rhino)
• Aretha Franklin - Live at Fillmore West (two CDs; Rhino)
• The Free Spirits - Out of Sight and Sound (Sunbeam)
• The Jesus and Mary Chain - Automatic, Darklands, Honey's Dead, Psychocandy and Stoned & Dethroned (DualDiscs; Rhino)
• Freedy Johnston - Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop - April 25th, 1998 (Shout! Factory)
• King Curtis - Live at Fillmore West (Rhino)
• Curtis Mayfield - The Definitive Collection (two CDs; Rhino)
• Michele - Saturn Rings (Fallout)
• The Open Mind - The Open Mind (Sunbeam)
• Otis Redding - The Definitive Collection (two CDs; Rhino)
• Tom Paxton - Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop - February 23rd, 1991 (Shout! Factory)
• Wilson Pickett - The Definitive Collection (two CDs; Rhino)
• Tim Rice & Friends - That's My Story (Sunbeam)
• Sam & Dave - The Definitive Collection (two CDs; Rhino)
• Snoop Doggy Dogg - The Doggfather (enhanced; with bonus DVD; Death Row)
  Buy Now: The Doggfather (Death Row)
  
• Spinners -- The Definitive Soul Collection (two CDs; Rhino)
• Stevie Ray Vaughan - Live in Tokyo (Masterplan)
• The Who - Live From Toronto (two CDs; Immortal)
• Various artists - Brunswick Top 40 R&B Singles 1966-1975 (Brunswick)
• Various artists - Club Hits: The Platinum Collection (SPG)
• Various artists - Comic Strip Heroes: Music From Gotham City and Beyond (Silva)
• Various artists - Disco Fever: Turn the Beat Around (Time Life)
• Various artists - Irie Reggae: Best of Chill (Time Life)
• Various artists - Jamaica to Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-74 (Light in the Attic)

Music DVDs:

• Johnny Cash - "The Man in Black: Live in Denmark 1971" (Columbia/ Legacy)
• Confessor - "Live in Norway" (Season Mist)
• The Derek Trucks Band - "Songlines Live!" (Columbia)
• Tommy Emmanuel - "Live at Her Majesty's Theatre - Ballarat, Australia" (Favored Nations)
• Israel & New Breed - "Alive in South Africa (Integrity/ Columbia)
• Led Zeppelin - "On the Rock Trail" (Delta)
• Ozzy Osbourne & Black Sabbath - "On the Rock Trail" (Delta)
• Phish - "Live in Brooklyn" (two DVDs; Rhino)
• Pink Floyd - "Pulse" (two DVDs; Columbia) and "On the Rock Trail" (Delta)
• Various artists - "Afro-Punk" (Image Entertainment)
• Various artists - "Doo Wop: Vocal Group Greats Live" (Shout! Factory)

Coming Attractions: July 18:

• Alien Ant Farm - Up in the Attic (New Door)
  Preorder: Up in the Attic (New Door)
  
• The Bronx - The Bronx (digipak; Island)
• The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Don't You Fake It (Virgin)
  Read: "The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus: You Can Call Them Sellouts"
  Preorder: Don't You Fake It (Virgin)

July 25:

• Flogging Molly - Whiskey on a Sunday (DualDisc; Side One Dummy)
• Jurassic 5 - Feedback (Interscope)
• Pharrell Williams - In My Mind (Star Trak/ Interscope)
  Read: "Pharrell Williams: Fired Up"
  Preorder: In My Mind (Star Trak/ Interscope)

August 1:

• DMX - Year of the Dog, Again
  Read: "DMX Signs With Columbia, Will Release Long-Delayed LP This Spring"
  Preorder: Year of the Dog, Again (Columbia)
  
• Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May (Roadrunner)
  Read: "Slipknot's Taylor Gearing Up For Stone Sour LP — And Tenacious D Tribute"
• Various artists - Kidz Bop 10 (Razor & Tie)

• Thom Yorke
• Muse
• Sufjan Stevens
• Seether
• Peaches

Seether's Shaun Morgan
Photo: Joseph Cahill

None of the bands on this year's SnoCore tour were safe from the ruthless stomach flu that made the rounds during the two-month trek. But no one on the tour — which wrapped a little more than three months ago and featured South African rockers Seether along with Flyleaf, Shinedown and Halestorm — was hit harder than Shaun Morgan.

"I got so sick on SnoCore, but I could still sing, so we decided to, instead of canceling and pulling off the bill, just do acoustic sets," recalled Morgan, who fronts Seether. The band played at least three acoustic shows during the tail end of the tour, and Morgan said the response from the fans was one of overwhelming approval. "We've always had fans asking for acoustic music and acoustic albums, and we do a lot of acoustic sets at radio stations."

Some good did come out of Morgan's pain, suffering and frequent trips to the latrine: The acoustic sets inspired the band to record an acoustic LP. That album, One Cold Night, is scheduled to drop July 11. "Maybe I should eat some bad fish and see what happens after that," Morgan joked.

The two-disc CD/DVD package was taped February 22 at Grape Street Philadelphia. It features a dozen tracks culled from Seether's two full-length studio offerings: 2002's Disclaimer and 2005's Karma and Effect, both of which have gone gold. The DVD includes the live acoustic set, captured with 16 different cameras, plus behind-the-scenes footage, a 45-minute interview with the band, the video for "The Gift" and a making-of segment.

Fans can expect to hear unplugged versions of the band's hits "Gasoline," "Broken" and "Driven Under," as well as a cover of Pearl Jam's "Immortality." There's also "Tied My Hands," a fan favorite that the band often performs live and wrote as its previous incarnation, Saron Gas, before moving to the United States.

"We're excited," Morgan said about the acoustic endeavor. "It's something different from us, and it's part of the whole new philosophy we have, that we want to at least release an album a year — whether or not that's brand-new material or an EP or a covers album. We're going to start doing it the old-school way, where bands used to release music as often as they possibly could, because we're concerned that one day, when we're sitting on our couches, [we'll] look up at the shelf and ... I mean, I want to see more than three of four albums and the demise of a career. I want to see a back catalog of 30, 40, 50 albums.

"You look at Johnny Cash's discography and it's ridiculous," he continued. "That's more impressive to me than how many millions of dollars you made and how many albums you sold. What's more impressive to me is that he wrote enough songs to fill up 60 albums. That's awesome."

In accordance with the band's new mission, Morgan said Seether will spend the next two months writing material for their next studio endeavor, which he said should be in stores in March. "We bought ourselves some time with this acoustic album, because it will allow us to spend more time in the studio," he said.

Morgan said Seether have skeletons of at least 15 songs and plan to self-produce their next LP.

"You pay producers a lot of money for guidance, and that's all it is. It just seems the fee doesn't justify the involvement, so the last album we pretty much produced ourselves. [Producer] Bob Marlette," who has worked with Shinedown and Saliva, "will say the same thing. We just figured we would steer the ship ourselves this time."

Later this summer, Seether will take a break from recording to hit the road with Staind for a tour that Morgan said should run two months and start in August or September. Seether will split each of their sets into two halves: a batch of acoustic tracks and then a full-on, plugged-in finale.

"The original idea was to play twice in every city and play plugged in one night and acoustic the second night," he said. "It's a great dynamic that occurs. You know a song for years sometimes, or you're used to it in one form, and when you hear it acoustic, it almost seems more special. We love to play acoustic shows. The whole feeling of the show is different, the whole atmosphere is different, the way we approach the set. It's a fun way for us to diversify and not do the same thing every day."

When Seether do board the bus for this upcoming tour, they'll be doing so as a trio. On Wednesday, Patrick Callahan — the group's longtime touring guitarist, who was made a full-fledged member of the fold two years ago — "decided to part ways with the band." He played his final set with the group June 3 in Great Falls, Montana.

According to a posting on the band's MySpace page, "Seether has since decided not to replace [Callahan] at this time with another guitarist," and will instead "take it back to where it began and keep it running as a three-piece unit. If you have been to the shows over the past few weeks, you have noticed the change. We all think it is a positive one. We hope that the fans will understand and respect this issue without distorting it into a convoluted and nasty misunderstanding, as it wasn't. Seether wishes Pat all the best in his future endeavors."

• Seether

Ashlee Simpson
Photo: Geffen Records

Ashlee Simpson battled anorexia when she was younger, she reveals in the upcoming issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. When she was studying ballet as a preteen, she starved herself to keep her weight down, the singer told the mag. "It was about six months of not eating too much at all," she said. "I was 11 and 5 feet 2 and about 70 pounds." Her family helped pull her out of it, she said, forcing her to eat. "That really helped a lot." Now that she's grown up, she has a healthier self-image, and loves her curves. "I think it's sexy not to be a bone," she said. "It's sad when people get too weight-conscious and don't look in the mirror and see themselves as being as beautiful as they are." ... Meanwhile, Ashlee's director for her "L.O.V.E." video, Diane Martel, thinks it's sad when there's not enough time to make a video everything she originally imagined it could be. She'd hoped to have a lot more action in the clip, like having Ashlee slash a guy's shirt off with a sword, and have her fellow partygoers chain-saw furniture into pieces, but there was a "limited amount of time." "We had a samurai expert on set standing by, and my art director somehow found a grandfather clock at the last minute," Martel said. "Those ideas were all prepped and Ashlee was into all of them ... but I suppose time got the best of us and not the other way around." Still, she says, "Ashlee gave 100 percent, was very spontaneous and playful and extremely focused" and "we ended up with a great video." ...

The Inc. celebrated the release of the Collectables by Ashanti album with a party at New York's club Rome on Tuesday night. Ashanti, Ja Rule and Chris and Irv Gotti, fresh from their money-laundering acquittal, were all in attendance. ... Juelz Santana will perform at a benefit concert and toy drive for victims of Hurricane Katrina on December 17 at the Skate Key Entertainment Complex in the Bronx, New York. Reggae singer Sizzla and newcomer Deemi are also on the bill. ...

Actress Valerie Bertinelli announced on Tuesday that she is divorcing her husband of 24 years, Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen. "Yes, that's true. They have been separated for four years and it's amicable," Bertinelli's spokesperson told The Associated Press. Bertinelli, who has a 14-year-old son with Van Halen, cited irreconcilable differences in the divorce petition filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday. ... Tina Turner was honored recently at the Kennedy Center, and Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and Queen Latifah paid tribute at the black-tie gala, which will be broadcast December 27 at 9 p.m. on CBS. Queen Latifah sang "What's Love Got to Do With It" with members of the audience, including first lady Laura Bush and Robert Redford; Melissa Etheridge sang "Nutbush City Limits" and "River Deep, Mountain High"; while Beyoncé started singing "Proud Mary" "easy" but ended it "rough," Tina-style. Other performers and presenters at the Kennedy Center Honors, which also paid homage to Tony Bennett, Redford, actress Julie Harris and dancer and teacher Suzanne Farrell, included John Legend, Al Green, k.d. lang, Diana Krall, Quincy Jones and Willie Nelson. ...

Snoop Dogg, Gavin DeGraw and Rascal Flatts have joined the list of performers for the Radio Music Awards, which will air live from Las Vegas on December 19 at 9 p.m. on NBC. Ciara, Sean Paul, Lifehouse, Steve Harvey, Anna Nalick, Crossfade and Shinedown are among the artists scheduled to appear. ... In news that will no doubt leave European music fans feeling doubly bummed, both Yellowcard and My Morning Jacket have scrapped their Euro tour plans thanks to their respective ailing frontmen. Yellowcard called off their tour when Ryan Key developed a nodule on his vocal cords, which, according to a post on the band's Web site, required immediate rest. "If we don't take care of it now, there is a serious risk of surgery," the statement read, "which could put us out of commission for some time." Meanwhile, according to MyMorningJacket.com, Jim James was felled by "health complications related to pneumonia," which forced the band to cancel its jaunt, which was scheduled to begin in January. Both bands pledge to make up the dates, and both lead singers are expected to make full recoveries. ...

Seether, fresh off this fall's Audioslave trek where the band shared opening duties with 30 Seconds to Mars, will headline the 2006 Sno-Core Tour. Shinedown, Flyleaf and Halestorm are also on the bill. So far, just 13 dates have been confirmed for Sno-Core, which launches January 20 in Lubbock, Texas; dates run through February 25 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Additional shows will be added over the next few weeks. ...

12.06.2005

On Monday in Los Angeles, Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell and his wife, Vicky, welcomed into the world their second child, a son named Christopher Nicholas. Lil' Chris was born at 7:08 p.m. and weighed in at 8 pounds, 6 ounces. The couple already have a 14-month-old daughter, Toni. ...

There's a lot of recording going on at the Brown household. Bobby Brown, wife Whitney Houston and their kids are all recording albums of their own, according to Bobby, who simply described his effort as taking it back to the top. "My sound is Bobby Brown, I don't change for nobody." ... Reggaeton king Daddy Yankee is joining the likes of Nelly, Jay-Z and 50 Cent and signing on to launch his own sneaker under the Reebok umbrella. "I'm truly honored to be able to share my uniqueness and creativity with the rest of the world through my deal with Reebok," said Yankee, who's working on a new album slated to come out next year. ...

Simple Plan will be going head-to-head with gamers for the latest Xbox Live Game With Fame event on Thursday. The Canadian rockers will be challenging fans to the underground street-racing game "Need for Speed: Most Wanted" for two hours starting at 1 p.m. ET. "We're always playing Xbox on our bus. Our fans better get ready because I play 'Need for Speed' all the time," singer Pierre Bouvier warned. If you're up for the challenge, you can track the band down at gamertag simplegwf. ...

A two-disc compilation featuring unreleased material from more than 30 bands will precede the new edition of the Taste of Chaos Tour, which is set to kick off in late February. The album, called Best of the Taste of Chaos, hits stores on January 24 and includes tracks from some of the acts on this year's TOC bill — Deftones, Thrice and Story of the Year — as well as bands that were on previous incarnations of the trek. Songs from the likes of Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, the Dillinger Escape Plan, the Used, Avenged Sevenfold and Underoath also made the track list. ...

Super Bowl fans will not only get a taste of old-school rock with previously announced halftime act the Rolling Stones, but some Motown as well, courtesy of Stevie Wonder. The legendary singer has signed on to perform during February 5's pregame show at Detroit's Ford Field, The Associated Press reports, with more acts expected to be announced shortly. ...

"Rock Star: INXS" runner-up Marty Casey and his band the Lovehammers will release their self-titled debut album on January 24, featuring the single "Trees." The Chicago group will hit the road as INXS' opening act beginning January 18 in Vancouver, British Columbia. ...

The Prodigy are prepping a two-disc singles set for February 28 entitled Their Law - The Singles 1990-2005. The collection will feature a 50-page booklet alongside all the group's top-20 singles, plus the previously unreleased tracks "Razor," "Back 2 Skool," "Voodoo Beats" and a remix of "Under My Wheels." On the same day, a 33-track DVD set of the same name will hit stores with live clips and videos of songs such as "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Firestarter." ...

Jane Wiedlin revealed at the VH1 Big in '05 Awards over the weekend that her former bandmates are back together and working on a top-secret Go-Go's project. Wiedlin is also singing in a new band called the Downtown Sensation that performs classic jazz songs by such legends as Ella Fitzgerald. ...

The Eels are releasing a live album from their performance this summer at Town Hall in New York. Eels With Strings: Live at Town Hall, due February 21, will feature several tracks from 2005's Blinking Lights and Other Revelations as well as covers of Bob Dylan's "Girl From the North Country," Johnny Rivers' "Poor Side of Town" and the Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina." A DVD with the same title and release date will also include nine additional tracks, including a take on Prince's "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man." ...

• Ashlee Simpson
• Juelz Santana
• Beyoncé
• Yellowcard
• Seether

Seether
Photo: Getty Images

When he was growing up in South Africa, Seether frontman Shaun Morgan was a huge fan of grunge and alternative hard rock, but he didn't get to see many of his favorite bands in concert, since few ever came to his homeland. That's why Morgan is especially stoked that Seether are opening up for Audioslave on their current U.S. tour, which launched Saturday in Bakersfield, California, and runs through November 19 in Las Vegas.

"I spent so much of my childhood wishing I could see bands I was into, so now to be actually touring with parts of Rage [Against the Machine] and parts of Soundgarden is really amazing," he said. "Plus, now Audioslave are actually doing some Soundgarden and Rage songs, so at least, in some way, I'm finally going to be able to see those bands, too."

Sometimes it's a letdown for a band to open for its heroes. Even if the group thoroughly enjoys watching the show, it can be a huge disappointment if the crowd is either apathetic or absent during the opener's set. Of course, that's not likely to be a problem for Seether, whose single "Remedy" has become a mainstay at radio. As much as Morgan insisted the song be the album's first single, he never expected it to become a hit.

"In the past, we'd released a bunch of ballads as singles," he said. "So this time we wanted to be represented with something heavier, but we were really, really surprised that a song like 'Remedy' would actually be accepted by people."

"Remedy" was the easiest song Morgan wrote for Seether's second studio album, Karma and Effect. The main riff for the tune came from an old jam tape, and after he dusted it off and stuck it in a tape recorder, the song pretty much created itself. "I wrote it in a couple minutes and took it to the band," he said. "Then I slapped down some lyrics and that's it. It was done."

"Truth," the follow-up single, was far harder to write. The track, which is just being added to radio stations across the country, wasn't even slated for the record at first since no one was really into it. But once Seether had written 20 songs, they decided to return to "Truth." Every day after they recorded drum tracks for the rest of the record, they spent one or two hours on the song, and gradually their dedication paid off.

"If it didn't make the album we wouldn't have minded much," Morgan said. "But I'm glad we were able to make it work. We added the descending riff after the main part was done and then we finished the song in the studio. The whole thing is composed of bits and pieces that might not have made it on the record, but it came together so well, we decided to make it a single."

Last month, Seether shot a bizarre video for the song with Dean Karr, who also did the clip for "Remedy" and has previously worked with Marilyn Manson and Godsmack, among others. The clip was set in an abandoned chemical factory and inspired by the film "Fight Club." Only, instead of humans slugging it out, the grapplers in the video are childhood icons such as the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Uncle Sam and a jack-o'-lantern.

"When Dean showed us the treatment I thought, 'I've never seen anything like this before, and I've never heard of anything like this before,' " Morgan said. "So, we figured it would be a good thing for us to do."

You might even recognize some of the fighters' moves. That's because one is played by the Rock's cousin, who also happens to be his stunt double, and another is Tito Ortiz, former star of the "Ultimate Fighting Championship." The clip also features Boni Yanagisawa, the American female karate champion and onetime Demi Moore double, as well as bodybuilder Iris Kyle.

"I used to be a huge fan of professional fighting," Morgan said. "I thought the Ultimate Warrior was the coolest cat around. I kind of lost track of it after a while, though, because it's the kind of thing you have to invest a lot of time in and I don't have that kind of time anymore. But right now, if at any given time 'Ultimate Fighting' is on any channel, we'll definitely turn it on so we can see a couple guys beat the crap out of each other."

• Seether

Fall Out Boy
Photo: Island

Fall Out Boy are going primetime this fall, appearing on the October 26 episode of the WB's "One Tree Hill," according to the show's producers. The guys will be playing themselves and will perform the song "Dance, Dance" during a beach scene. The group shot the episode early last month. ...

Seether will follow up their current Karma and Effect hit "Remedy" with "Truth." Dean Karr (Queens of the Stone Age, Marilyn Manson), who directed the "Remedy" video, just shot the "Truth" clip in Los Angeles. ... Maroon 5 have set a September 20 release date for the CD/DVD Live - Friday the 13th. Meanwhile, the band will perform with Kanye West on Thursday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as part of the NFL season kick-off festivities. ... Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger has produced the debut EP from Agent Sparks, which features his brother, Ben Einziger. Not So Merry is due September 20 on Immortal Records. Copies preordered at www.immortalrecords.com will be delivered autographed. ...

Cee-Lo and producer Jazze Pha will release a collaborative album called The Happy Hour on Pha's Sho'Nuff Recordings (via Capitol) in November. The duo just shot a video in Atlanta for the title track. Nate Dogg, Keith Sweat and Guy's Aaron Hall guest on the album. ... The Wallflowers played to a flash-mob audience at the House of Blues in West Hollywood on Thursday. The free show was part of a nationwide concert series sponsored by Sony Pictures Digital and Ford. Fans can register at FusionFlashConcerts.com to be alerted about future shows featuring Louis XIV, Pete Yorn, Yellowcard and Frankie J in select U.S. cities. ...

Backstreet Boys A.J. McLean and Howie Dorough have offered their services — and their mugs — to be the new faces of Fight for Children, a nonprofit aimed at furthering the educational opportunities for urban youth. They'll be featured as part of the new "Create, Promote, Invest - We're Fighting for You" campaign, which will be unveiled during Fight for Children's San Tropez Summer Soiree in Long Island, New York, on Saturday. ... "American Idol" auditions in Memphis, Tennessee, slated for September 5 have been scrapped so the city can focus its efforts on aiding the evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. "Out of respect for the city's citizens, their public services, and the need to focus public safety on the victims, this decision was made," "Idol" producers said in a statement. More than 10,000 evacuees are currently finding refuge in Memphis. ...

Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell and dancehall artist Matisyahu are set to perform on Chabad's annual "L'Chiam - To Live" telethon later this month. This marks the Los Angeles Jewish group's 25th year of organizing the event, which helps provide food, clothing, shelter and hope to people from all walks of life. Also slated to participate are "Joey" co-stars Matt LeBlanc and Drea De Matteo and surf-rock guitar legend Dick Dale. The event will be broadcast September 25 and can be seen live on the Internet at www.tolife.com. ... Camp Freddy guitarist Billy Morrison revealed through the group's Web site that the all-star cover band — featuring Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney, Velvet Revolver's Matt Sorum and Donovan Leitch — will perform a charity gig at West Hollywood's Key Club on September 29 to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. ...

The Bloodhound Gang are launching a New York scavenger hunt to promote their forthcoming LP, Hefty Fine, due September 27. Fans of the quirky rock band can put their knowledge to good use as they attempt to solve puzzles that will lead them to other clues hidden throughout the East Village. Prizes include BHG merchandise, show tickets and even pitchers of beer. Of course, all this fun will come at a price: The cost to partake in the hunt is $30. ... Bruce Springsteen is extending his North American acoustic concert trek through the fall, adding 17 gigs spanning 11 states, mostly in the East, including Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Florida. The additional leg of the tour will kick off October 6 in Rochester, New York, and wrap November 21 Trenton, New Jersey. ...

Apparently, when he's not picking fights with dudes in other bands, breaking up with rail-thin supermodels and, in general, creating a ruckus, ex-Libertines and current Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty likes to use his finger like a pen and write words in the air in front of his face. Or at least that's what his latest venture would suggest. Doherty's launched a reality-TV-esque Web site, BalaChadha.com, which (for a fee) will provide his fans with a window into the rocker's life — and yes, it's disturbing. ... Synth-rockers Metric might be gearing up to release their Live It Out (October 4), but singer Emily Haines is also looking forward to releasing the solo material she's been amassing over the past few years. Haines has enough material for two albums but is unsure what form the records will take. "It's not like, 'Oh, now I'm doing a solo project.' These songs just needed to be recorded. I've been carrying them around for a long time. It was just a good process of getting down these really spare tunes, trying to feel like Bowie in an empty room." ...

09.01.2005

You just can't keep the R. away from the cameras. Last week, in between performing at the MTV Video Music Awards and partying in celebration of the event, R. Kelly shot a video for "Slow Wind" on the outskirts of Miami with director Little X. And on Thursday (September 1) in his hometown of Chicago, Kells is shooting the clip for his reggaeton record "Burn It Up." ...

Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani, 50 Cent, Eminem, U2, Destiny's Child and Usher were among the big winners at the 2005 World Music Awards, held Wednesday night at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Carey took home three awards, for Best-Selling Pop Female Artist, Best-Selling R&B Artist, and Female Entertainer of the Year; while Em nabbed Best-Selling Pop-Rock Artist and Best-Selling Rap/Hip-Hop Artist. Destiny's Child, who opened the show, claimed several awards, including Best-Selling Pop Group, Best-Selling R&B Group, and the title of the World's Best-Selling Girl Group of All Time. The Killers were bestowed with the honor of Best-Selling New Group, and Carlos Santana was presented with the Legend Award. The show will air September 13 on ABC. ... Expect ESPN's "College GameDay" to give extra love this season to Ohio State. Nick Lachey, an Ohio native and dedicated fan of all the state's sports teams, has signed on to be a regular contributor to the show. Nick will host feature segments as well as make onsite appearances, joining Chris Fowler and analysts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit. ...

On September 20, three days before what would have been Ray Charles' 75th birthday, a new collection of Charles collaborations featuring Mary J. Blige, Ruben Studdard and Angie Stone will hit stores. Charles actually started the album, titled Genius and Friends, six years before last year's Genius Loves Company, which won the Album of the Year Grammy. Alicia Keys' Super Bowl performance of "America the Beautiful" alongside a video of Charles singing the song in 2001 will also be included on the album, which Ahmet Ertegun, who first signed Charles in 1957, made a bedside promise to Charles to finish. ... The initial round of performers for the 2005 Pop Montreal festival has been announced. Beck, Foxy Brown, Kings of Leon, Interpol, Annie, Metric, Devin the Dude and Black Mountain are among the acts who will play at venues throughout the city during the fest, which runs from September 28 through October 2. ...

An electric guitar belonging to slain Damageplan and Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was one of several fresh pieces of rock and roll memorabilia installed Wednesday evening at the Hard Rock Cafe in San Antonio, Texas. According to a Hard Rock spokesperson, Abbott's girlfriend Rita Haney and brother/bandmate Vinnie Paul Abbott were on hand for the unveiling, which was followed by a performance by Drowning Pool. ... Metallica's Kirk Hammett will be collaborating with the Flux Quartet at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco on September 15. The performance, of a piece composed specifically for Flux, will feature Hammett improvising on an electric guitar. "Flux and Kirk are a perfect fit for this innovative and aleatoric composition," said Saul Gropman, a classical guitarist and the artistic director of the Morrison Artists Series at San Francisco State University. "Flux has an 'anything goes' spirit, and Kirk's broad improvisational skills bring this piece together as a magical marriage of two styles." ...

Fans of massive-haired frontmen, science-fiction concept albums, free guitars and name-brand clothing, rejoice: Coheed and Cambria have the perfect contest for you. The space-rockin', comic-book jockin' quartet are joining forces with Taylor guitars and Atticus clothing for a free-stuff bonanza in celebration of the band's new album, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness. Fans can win a guitar signed by the band, a boatload of Atticus clothing and a copy of Coheed's LP by entering at the group's Web site, CoheedAndCambria.com. ... Echo & the Bunnymen, who are releasing a new album called Siberia on September 20, are hitting some slightly warmer climes on their upcoming late fall tour to support it. The 16-date trek kicks off on November 18 in Washington, D.C., and wraps December 9 in San Diego. ...

The Presidents of the United States of America are planning a new tour — or what they like to call a "campaign" — to promote their latest album, Love Everybody. The Seattle trio's nine-date trek starts September 16 in Spokane, Washington, and wraps October 4 in New York. ...Blues icon R.L. Burnside has died at the age of 78 in Memphis, his label announced Thursday. The Mississippi singer/songwriter/guitarist began singing and playing guitar as a young man, and throughout the '70s and '80s he toured with his family band, dubbed the Sound Machine, made up of sons Joseph and Daniel and son-in-law Calvin Jackson. In 1996 he teamed with indie-rock blues group Jon Spencer Blues Explosion for A Ass Pocket of Whiskey. A fund has been set up to benefit his widow, Alice Mae. For more information, visit www.fatpossum.com. ...

• Fall Out Boy
• Seether
• Maroon 5
• Cee-Lo
• Louis XIV

MTV.com Exclusive: Seether

• Seether

Seether live at Grape Street in Philadelphia, PA 02.22.2006

• Seether

Nokia Unwired @ Hard Rock Live: Seether 08.02.05

• Seether

Buzzfest Photo Gallery

• Fall Out Boy
• Audioslave
• Nickelback
• Seether
• Cold

Seether live at Buzzfest at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Houston, TX 10.30.2004

• Seether

Seether live at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, KS 08.04.2004

• Seether

Seether live at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ October 17, 2003

• Seether

WXTM Radio XFEST Concert: Tower City Amphitheatre, Cleveland, OHIO

• Cold
• Seether
• Smile Empty Soul
• (hed) pe
• Staind

2003 Atlanta Music Midtown Festival

• LL Cool J
• Seether
• Saliva
• Ashanti
• Ben Harper

Seether Photos: Live at the WCCC Rock Expo in Hartford, CT

• Seether