Sub Pop Executive Vice President Megan Jasper gives MTV News a tour of the label's Seattle offices
Photo: MTV News

On The Record: 20 Years In 20 Records. Or 21. Whatever.

Back in April, Sub Pop Records celebrated either its 20th or 25th anniversary (or maybe its 27th?), depending on who's counting. It was cause for much celebration and even a bit of confusion, and not just because no one seems to be able to agree on just how old the label really is. This is typically Sub Poppian.

Started first as a 'zine in the early '80s, then inching closer to label-tude with the release of a compilation back in 1986, and finally becoming an actual record label (with an office and everything!) in '88, Sub Pop has grown against pretty much all odds, surviving and thriving thanks to a little bit of luck (or a lot), a complete lack of a business plan, and a stated — if jokingly so — goal of "world domination."

There have been boom times and bust times, and just about every single kind of time in between. Sub Pop went from being the "grunge" label — the hottest name in the game — to being the label no one wanted to be associated with in less than six years, and then it nearly went out of business. Then it didn't, and since the dawn of the new millennium (how dramatic!) it's flourished once again, posting gains in a time when most labels are complaining that the sky is falling and the seas are boiling. Times are good in Sub Pop Nation.

And if anyone can appreciate this, it's Megan Jasper. After all, she started as the receptionist at Sub Pop back in 1989. She was there for the good, the bad and the ugly. She's the one responsible for creating the great "grunge speak" hoax that fooled The New York Times back in 1992. She remembers Kurt Cobain and Chris Cornell bumming around the SP offices. She also remembers paychecks from the label bouncing during the lean years. She was fired because there was no money to pay her. And she was rehired. Now she's Sub Pop's executive vice president. This, too, is typically Sub Poppian.

This weekend, Jasper and her co-workers will celebrate the label's 20th (that's the official tally) anniversary, with a typically understated affair. They will throw concerts at Seattle's Marymoore Park (and in most of the city, for that matter), where bands old and new will play. The city is posting SP's iconic black-and-white flag atop the Space Needle. Label owner Jonathan Poneman just threw out the first pitch at a Mariners game. World domination does not seem all that inconceivable at this point.

So, to mark this occasion, I flew out to Sub Pop's offices in Seattle to do a news piece and talk to the people who made the label what it is today. While I was there, I marveled not just at the photo booth and the beer machine in the kitchen (cans of Rainier, 75 cents!), but at the warehouse, which was stuffed full of iconic and amazing records that shaped not just my youth, but the fortunes of the label as well.

And Jasper was nice enough to guide me through it all ... stopping in the warehouse to pick out her 20 favorite (and most important) Sub Pop records. (Check out some MTV News staffers' favorites in the Newsroom blog.) We figured it was a good way to showcase the label's impressive back catalog and pay tribute to the acts that have gotten Sub Pop through the past two decades. It was also a good way for me to fatten up my record collection.

Jasper's picks are below, along with my impressions from listening (or, in most cases, relistening) to them all. Also, even though she was supposed to pick 20 albums, Jasper went ahead and picked 21. How typically Sub Poppian of her.

Soundgarden's Screaming Life EP (1987, Sub Pop # 12)

A landmark not just because it's the debut EP from one of grunge's "big four," but also because without Soundgarden, there'd probably be no Sub Pop. Back in '86, Poneman, who was working as a radio DJ, caught a SG show, had some cash and wanted to put out their album. So at the insistence of guitarist Kim Thayil, he approached Bruce Pavitt, who had been releasing cassette tapes and comps as part of his "Subterranean Pop" 'zine. The two joined forces, and with Poneman's $20,000 investment, they started the label. And the rest, as they say, is history. As for the EP itself, well, there's plenty of yowling from frontman Chris Cornell, plus the debut of Thayil's famed "Drop-D" tuning and a recorded sermon from a 1950s preacher that producer Jack Endino found at a Seattle garage sale. Also, according to legend, opening track "Hunted Down" was the song you'd hear when you called the SP offices and were put on hold — meaning hundreds of creditors were kept at bay by the tune's heavy riffage while Pavitt and/or Poneman scrambled to find some cash. The power of proto-grunge at its most practical.

Mudhoney's Superfuzz Bigmuff EP (1988, SP #21)

'Honey frontman/maniac Mark Arm basically invented the so-called "Seattle Sound" with his previous band, Green River, but looking for something more (in his words, "a band that actually liked to practice"), he formed Mudhoney and blew everything up once again. Their debut single, "Touch Me I'm Sick," is probably the single greatest grunge anthem of all time (seriously), all fuzzed-out guitars and tape hiss and Arm's way-out wails. And on Superfuzz, they only honed their, ahem, craft. So we get big, lurching numbers like "Mudride" and "No One Has" (the guitars on the latter actually sound like they're drunk on Schmidt Beer, a local favorite based on its potency and, well, its cheapness); the heavy fretting of "In 'N Out of Grace"; and "If I Think," a tune that basically spawned every "let's slow it down for a minute" song for the next decade.

Nirvana's Bleach (1989, SP #34)

Perhaps you've heard of these guys. Taking the murky bludgeon of Mudhoney, stripping away some of Arm's machismo and adding some rather subtle pop flourishes, Nirvana's debut is as self-assured as anything they'd accomplish later, if not a little bit snottier. As the back of the album brags, er, states, Bleach was "recorded in Seattle ... for $600," though you'd never know it from the genuinely pretty "About a Girl" or the gnarly "Negative Creep." Sure, there are moments when Cobain (or, sorry, per the liners he's "Kobain" here) sounds like a bantamweight trying to flex his way out of a fight — like on "Love Buzz" — but there's no denying that there's something in his voice (of course, that could just be hindsight hearing it for me). I'm probably not alone in thinking that, either. With sales of more than 1 million copies, Bleach is not only Sub Pop's biggest seller to date, but also its only release to be certified as platinum.

Thee Headcoats' Heavens to Murgatroyd, Even! It's Thee Headcoats! (Already) (1990, SP #82)

Brit Billy Childish was Jack White back when White was still upholstering chairs and calling himself John Gillis, and this is him at his garage-y finest. With the help of his Headcoats (and his all-girl Headcoatees), he serves up a lightning-quick retroist romp, complete with hissy, temperamental production and pipelined guitars for days (album closer "Rusty Hook" is quite possibly the greatest White Stripes song not written by the White Stripes). The entire album never gets much deeper than lines like "Treat yourself with respect/ Be a Headcoat man," but, hey, that's still plenty sage for me.

Tad's 8 Way Santa (1991, SP #89)

Brutal, bludgeoning stuff from mountain man (and man-mountain) Tad Doyle, a former butcher who tipped scales and dropped jaws back in the early '90s as the frontman/mastermind behind Sub Pop's heaviest act. And Santa is Doyle at the height of his powers, in more ways than one. Taking its name from a type of acid blotter and featuring buzzing odes to meth-stained truckers and drunk driving, it's a big, dumb and dirty album, one made only bigger (and, quite possibly, dumber) thanks to the lawsuit that resulted when the subjects of its original cover — a tube-topped woman and a heavily mustachioed man who had recently become born-again Christians — sued Sub Pop for using their images without their consent. (Doyle claimed he found the photo of the couple at a thrift store.) All copies of the album were forced to be destroyed, and a new cover image — featuring the band standing next to some livestock at a county fair — was used instead. Re-reading this paragraph again, it's obvious to me that Tad was way more awesome than I remember.

Mark Lanegan's Whiskey for the Holy Ghost (1993, SP #132)

His first solo record (1990's The Winding Sheet) featured Cobain on backing vocals, and his full-time band (Screaming Trees) was one of Seattle's finest, but it's this, his second solo effort, that showcases Lanegan at his best. Recorded over a three-year period (sessions were so grinding that at one point, Lanegan nearly tossed the masters into a nearby lake), Whiskey is an intense listen, filled with beautifully sinister, nocturnal music. Songs like "Kingdoms of Rain" and "Beggar's Blues" echo with churchly organs and somber cellos, while Lanegan's voice pours over it all like Dewar's over ice. Genuinely beautiful stuff and an album that foreshadows the latter part of Lanegan's career, working alongside the likes of Josh Homme and Isobel Campbell.

The Vaselines' The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History (1992, SP #145)

Seriously screwy, supremely screwed-up indie pop from a pair of clever Scots. Formed on a whim, the Vaselines — Eugene Kelley and Frances McKee — released a pair of EPs and one full-length in the late '80s (all of which is collected here) then split up for no apparent reason to do nothing in particular. Cobain was a huge fan of their skewered work, covering a pair of songs ("Molly's Lips" and "Son of a Gun") on Nirvana's odds-n-sods collection Incesticide, and then — more famously, perhaps — during the band's "Unplugged" performance (doing "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam"). A gleefully warped record, one that only seems to be about three things: sex, bicycles and Jesus. Oh, and drugs too.

Sebadoh's Bakesale (1994, SP #260)

An honest-to-goodness indie-rock classic, Bakesale is full of heart-stopping (or, alternately, heart-breaking) songs of doubt, fear and loathing — both of yourself and your fellow man. Masterminds Lou Barlow and Jason Lowenstein are in top form throughout, from the beautiful "Dreams" and the Slint-y "Sh-- Soup" to the jangly "Give Up" and the classic "Rebound." And it's not as wussy as you might expect — OK, it sort of is, but at least the guitars sound plenty heavy.

Sunny Day Real Estate's LP2 (1995, SP #316)

By now, you probably know the drama surrounding this one — mercurial frontman discovers religion, breaks up the band before album is released, leaving other members high and dry (or in the Foo Fighters) — and all that you've heard about LP2 is correct. But also consider that it's a colossal achievement, one that positively redefined stop/start (and loud/quiet) rock and paved the way for a new musical movement a decade later. Over the course of nine songs, guitarist Dan Hoerner arpeggiates and creates walls of crisp, clean sound, while the rhythm section of Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith chug and prod each other along. And frontman Jeremy Enigk's eerie voice weaves through the din like a serpent ducking into holes. Songs like "8" and "Iscarabaid" are both epic and minute, macro-detailed and wide-angle huge. "8" gets positively stratospheric thanks to Hoerner and Enigk's interplay, and "5/4" rocks harder than any song about Jesus should be allowed to.

The Spinanes' Arches + Aisles (1998, SP #417)

For all the electronic bleep-bloop, spy-movie guitars and bossa-nova beats contained therein (truly, producer John McEntire's tech-y touch is all over this one), Arches is, at its core, a singer/songwriter album, one featuring the razor-sharp lyrics of frontwoman Rebecca Gates (OK, so it also sounds like a Stereolab side project). Witness her deft observations on tunes like "72-74," where she plots revenge with a Mont Blanc pen on "your mustachioed mad man," or "Love, the Laizee," which laments the "seersucker pressure" of a former lover.

The Murder City Devils' In Name and Blood (2000, SP #497)

Ah, the lean years ... when records like this were tossed out by the floundering label with the hope of latching on to something — anything. The Devils' third album is like a pulp crime novel brought to screaming life — booze, sex, ashtrays overflowing with butts galore. And then there are the liner notes, which feature gory and detailed crime-scene photos of the bandmembers' rather unique demises (hanging, blunt trauma, "abdominal goring with a broken bottle"). Plus, a cover of Neil Diamond's "I'll Come Running." If this record were released today, there is at least a 50 percent chance these guys would be Hot Topic godheads.

The Shins' Oh, Inverted World (2001, SP #550)

Oh, enhanced cash flow. James Mercer and his band of merry retroists ambled in from the desert surrounding Albuquerque, New Mexico, with an armload of sunny, amiable jangle-pop (the kind of stuff brooding 25-year-old sitcom-stars-turned-writer/directors just love) and Sub Pop found new — not to mention profitable — life. Of course, you know "New Slang," but there's plenty of gold here ("Weird Divide," "Know Your Onion!") and songs like "Your Algebra" and "The Past and Pending" (you know, the ones after "Slang" that you never listen to) only hint at the more nocturnal territory the band covered on last year's Wincing the Night Away.

The Postal Service's Give Up (2003, SP #595)

By everyone at Sub Pop's admission, this one just sort of fell into their laps, and some 900,000 copies later, it's the second biggest-selling album in the label's history. And no one seems to be able to figure out why.Intended as nothing more than a one-off collaboration between Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard and producer Jimmy Tamborello, Give Up has instead taken on a life of its own, and while it's difficult to listen to a song like "Such Great Heights" these days and not think of an ad for UPS, that doesn't mean there aren't some genuinely great moments on the album. Like when "Such Great Heights" bursts open with flourishes of mini-orchestras, or the split-second break in "We Will Become Silhouettes" or even closer "Natural Anthem," where everything comes unraveled in five short minutes. If anything, the album is really a testament to the skill of Tamborello, because if there's a vocal effect, drum pattern, synth flutter or low-end frequency he doesn't use on Give Up, I haven't heard it.

Iron + Wine's The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002, SP #600)

Sleepy lo-fi folk made by a bearded dude from Miami. If there's any indication of just how much Sub Pop has changed over the course of 20 years, this is it. The debut disc from the majestically hirsute Sam Beard, Creek came out of nowhere to earn near-universal acclaim. And it's not difficult to see why. Full of twinkly banjo ("Promising Light") and rusty slide guitar ("Faded From the Winter"), it's a remarkably accomplished introduction to the world. Full of scratches and pops, the screeches of fingers on frets and hushed lyrics, Creek is just as warm as I can presume Beam's beard gets during those balmy South Beach summers.

Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005, SP #655)

From the opening claptrap of "You Are a Runner, I Am My Father's Son" (herky-jerky piano, crashing cymbals, Spencer Krug's bizarro falsetto), it's clear Wolf Parade are zooming toward something — you're just not quite sure what. And while the voyage is nice — "Modern World," "Grounds for Divorce" and "Shine a Light" are all pleasant diversions — you know when you've arrived: with the blaring synth notes and pounding drums of "I'll Believe in Anything," a song that builds and crashes over and over again, creating great peaks of cymbal crashes and huge waterfalls of guitars. It's glorious, like 10 vistas or a dozen mountain ranges. And then, it's over, and the rest of the trip is kind of a bummer. But still, dude, that view from the top!

Love as Laughter's Laughter's Fifth (2005, SP #659)

LAL mastermind Sam Jayne has made a rather amazing anti-career out of not really trying all that hard, first as a guest on Beck's One Foot in the Grave album, then on a pair of K Records releases of his own. And that, uh, talent is on ample display here. There's an awful lot of wide-eyed, delightfully scruffy stuff here, from the opening track "In Amber," which sounds like a Heartbreakers' B-side and features a line about the Pauly Shore flick "Encino Man," and the truly excellent "Corona Extra," a lover's lament that boasts gently plucked acoustic guitar and a cheesy "crashing tide" sound effect. Effort is overrated anyway.

Sleater-Kinney's The Woods (2005, SP #670)

The final chapter in the career of one of America's finest bands, The Woods represents Sleater-Kinney at the brink. Recorded in the dead of winter at Dave Fridmann's Upstate New York studio, it's an album of quiet claustrophobia and less-than-quiet rage. They sound crazy and pissed off at their surroundings and each other, which is why we get feedback heavy freak-outs like "Wilderness" and the raging, 11-minute "Let's Call It Love." That S-K decided to call it quits after the album's release was probably pure coincidence, but it certainly casts a deathly pallor over the record now — like hearing a star collapse into itself, only with more distortion.

Band of Horses' Everything All the Time (2006, SP #690)

Strummy, spacey, sepia-tinged indie rock to purchase SUVs to (or "crossovers" or whatever they're called). South Carolina-bred Ben Bridwell does his roots proud, and there's a homespun warmth to everything on the record. "The Funeral" put them on the map, but it's far from the only great tune here — "Wicked Gil" is a stomper, "The Great Salt Lake" is a My Morning Jacket castoff and "Weed Party" is awesome because it sounds like the kind of song you'd make after attending a weed party.

Pissed Jeans' Hope for Men (2007, SP #730)

Squealing, abrasive, unapologetic noise punk from the pride of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Frontman Matt Korvette yowls his throat out on tracks like the sludgy "People Person" and the thrashing "Secret Admirer," plus there's odes to scrapbooking (that sound like they're being sung by the devil), ice cream and yuppies who play fantasy football. These guys are the future — or just the unruly bastard children of Mark Arm.

Flight of the Conchords' Flight of the Conchords (2008, SP #715)

Faux French new-wave ballads, goofy synth-pop songs, tired "lover-man" tunes aplenty — ladies and gentlemen, the full-length debut from the Grammy-winning comedy duo Flight of the Conchords! I am not the best person to write about this one, as I detest "funny" music (my favorite track here is probably "Au Revoir," since it's only 21 seconds long), so let's just move on, shall we?

The Gutter Twins' Saturnalia (2008, SP #761)

An album more than three years in the making, full of morose and melodramatic ruminations on life, death and the afterlife, by Lanegan and former Afghan Whigs lothario Greg Dulli. If you like the dark and desperate places the Whigs (who, I'm just now noticing, are strangely missing from this list) went, or the windswept desolation of Lanegan's stuff, well, then you probably already own this one. Songs like "Idle Hands" and "Circle the Fringes" are somber, eerie affairs, while album-closer "Front Street" is gorgeous, desperate and swooning. Basically, there are about 1 million emotions going on here ... none of them rosy. But what else would you expect from the Twins?

Questions? Concerns? Platinum plaques? Send 'em to me at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.

• Welcome To Sub Pop!

• Nirvana
• Soundgarden
• The Postal Service
• Iron & Wine
• The Vaselines

Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst
Photo: Jeff Gentner/ Getty Images

After all the work entailed by the simultaneous release of the analog-sounding I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and the electronica-tinged Digital Ash in a Digital Urn a little more than two years ago, Bright Eyes mastermind Conor Oberst says he wised up.

"I think we had enough of the double record last time," he laughed. "It was pretty hectic, and the tour that followed, to promote both albums, ended up being a lot on us. We're trying to be a little smarter this time around. The idea was definitely to make one strong album that made sense."

That album, Cassadaga, will land in stores on April 10 (see "Bright Eyes Completing Politics-Free Album At Nebraska Compound"); it will be preceded by an EP featuring the LP's lead single, "Four Winds," on March 6. Oberst — who worked with his Bright Eyes cohorts Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott, along with a ton of guest collaborators — says he began writing material for the record two years ago and headed into the studio last winter with more than 25 songs at his disposal. The 13-track LP was recorded off and on during 2006 and will include the cuts "No One Would Riot for Less," "Lime Tree" and "Soul Singer in a Session Band."

"The record is kind of about finding your own peace of mind, and it's somewhat about transitions and rebirth," Oberst explained. "It's into a lot of ideas about geographical location that have a sort of energy about them — where people concentrate their thoughts, whether it's meditation or prayer or something more like psychic energy.

"I tend to write about whatever's on my mind," he continued. "It's not really premeditated. Since we started with such a large pool of songs, we ended up with a pretty eclectic album, both sonically and thematically. I think it's less homogenous than certainly the last two records were."

All of the songs Oberst wrote for the disc were put to tape, he says. In time, those tracks that were left off the record will be released, perhaps as part of Bright Eyes' next LP. The songs on Cassadaga feature contributions from Tortoise drummer John McEntire, Rilo Kiley's Jason Boesel, Neva Dinova's Jake Bellows, Rachael Yamagata, M. Ward, Gillian Welch, Sleater-Kinney's Janet Weiss, the Like's Elizabeth "Z" Berg and several members of Eisley.

"These songs just came right out," Oberst said. "It's important to never rush it. You can't manufacture inspiration, so a lot of it is still a waiting game for me. There's still a lot of mystery to songwriting. I don't have a method that I can go back to — they either come or they don't.

"We worked a lot longer on this record than on our previous records, and we re-recorded a lot of the songs several times," he continued. "We'd record the song, listen to it and then say, 'Well, this can be better' or 'This song is better than this recording.' So we'd do it again, and that kind of freedom I think made for a better result. I'd like to think this album's a little more focused, a little more nuanced and more refined."

Bright Eyes will be touring soon to promote the Four Winds EP; that trek launches February 25 in Chicago and concludes March 10 in San Francisco. In late April the band will head out again for a full U.S. tour with openers Gillian Welch, Oakley Hall and McCarthy Trenching. But first Bright Eyes will film a video for "Four Winds," a performance-based clip to be directed by Patrick Daughters (Blood Brothers, Muse).

And there may be some exciting news for fans of Oberst's pre-Bright Eyes work this summer, the singer said.

The people at Saddle Creek — Bright Eyes' label, which was co-founded by Oberst — "are building this new venue and bar and office-space complex in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, right now, and it will be open for the summer," he explained. "We're trying to get something special for the grand opening."

The opening could feature a performance by erstwhile indie rockers Slowdown Virginia. And Oberst said that while nothing's been discussed yet, he thinks reuniting his former band, Commander Venus — which disbanded in 1997 after just two years — would make the night even more interesting.

"It would be very funny if that happened," he said. "I wouldn't imagine there's much of a demand for that reunion, but it's possible. We're all still around, but I doubt [guitarist] Robb [Nansel] would ever get onstage again." But Oberst says that reuniting with his other former outfit, Desaparecidos, is "certainly a possibility. I could see that happening at some point down the line."

• Bright Eyes
• Sleater-Kinney
• Rilo Kiley

Kanye West at Lollapalooza 2006
Photo: Getty Images/Roger Kisby

CHICAGO — With the temperature a fraction cooler than last year's triple digits and attendance more than doubling — to an estimated 170,000 people checking out 130 bands on nine stages over three days — Lollapalooza seems well on its way to establishing itself as one of the premier destination festivals in the country.

(Click here for photos of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye West, Panic! at the Disco and more of your favorites at Lollapalooza 2006.)

Organizers doubled the size of the festival — which took place along the lakefront here in Grant Park — during its second year as a non-touring fest. The two main stages were set up three-quarters of a mile apart on either side of the festival grounds, with the space between featuring seven smaller stages (including ones dedicated to comedy and kids' music) and a social-responsibility area focused on environmental issues. There was plenty of room for the crowd, which ranged from newborns passed out in strollers to teenagers and their parents sprawled out on blankets.

Lollapalooza featured more hip-hop this year than last (with Common, Lady Sovereign, Lyrics Born and Blackalicious joining headliner Kanye West) and plenty of indie-rock and jam bands spread out over each day's 10-hour schedule, making it nearly impossible to see it all, but we tried. Here's a diary of the highlights. ...

Day 1

11:26 a.m. As the gates open for the festival's first day, a clutch of fans sprint toward the far end of the grounds to get up front for Panic! at the Disco's set, some three hours later. They succeed, beating out four friends from Chicago who have been following the band all summer.

11:56 a.m. Walking past the Kidzapalooza stage, a sunshiny song called "Scrub a Dub" by the band ScribbleMonster bleeds out onto the midway, to the confusion of the kid-less throngs walking by.

12:06 p.m. Dax Riggs, singer of the twisted blues duo (augmented by a touring bassist) Deadboy & the Elephantmen, seems to be challenging Panic to a makeup throwdown with his heavy dark eyeliner.

12:27 p.m. Texan techno-punk duo Ghostland Observatory have the festival's best look so far, thanks to keyboardist/beatmaster Thomas Turner's flowing powder-blue cape.

1:52 p.m. It just seems like Aqualung — essentially Londoner Matt Hales — don't really belong here: The Coldplay-lite (if that's possible) sound comes off kind of limp for the chatty early afternoon crowd. Hales seems to get it, though. He thanks the crowd for cheering for a ballad about "abject misery," then busts a piano freestyle tune that turns things around. "You f---ing could be happy for all the things that are going for him ... he's English, so he's a sad bastard," Hales said. Funny, but a girl near the front still sneers, "Is that Chris Martin?" Hales finally redeems himself with a soaring cover of Queen's "Somebody to Love" (a very difficult song to pull off).

2:41 p.m. Panic! at the Disco bring it. With help from their limber, theatrical friends in the Lucent Dossier dance troupe, they take the stage with a circus flourish thanks to a made-up carnival barker and two naughty cabaret girls in lingerie and clown makeup. Guitarist Ryan Ross wins the fashion award, as usual, busting out a ruffled shirt, fancy red vest, tight black pants and dramatic spangly swirls of makeup on his cheek. The band throws in a tweaked-out cover of Radiohead's "Karma Police" and singer Brendon Urie gets a lapdance from a sexy cabaret clown during "But It's Better If You Do." Sadly, Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan doesn't make the dramatic entrance some had hoped for when Panic bust out their cover of the Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight."

3:25 p.m. The Blisters rock the biggest crowd at the Kidzapalooza stage all day. It doesn't hurt that they're tearing through covers of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop," the Flaming Lips' "She Don't Use Jelly" and Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." Oh, did we mention that the singer and drummer are Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy's sons? Proud papa Tweedy stands halfway back in the crowd with some of his bandmates, fairly anonymous in a straw hat, tinted shades and a bushy beard, mouthing some of the words to the Beatles' "Dear Prudence."

6:55 p.m. The Raconteurs make their Chicago debut in style, ripping into "Intimate Secretary" with leader Jack White wearing freaky white kabuki makeup. "Steady as She Goes" sounds so big it seems to echo off the buildings downtown, and White chops out some futuristic blues solos that send a few girls in the crowd into peasant-dress-spinning hippy dances. With only one album to draw from, the band slips in a pair of killer covers, a take on Sonny & Cher's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" and a chugging Southern-boogie version of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" that is one of the weekend's high points.

7:47 p.m. Playing one of their final shows before their announced breakup, Sleater-Kinney appear to be getting along just fine, hitting fans with some signature jagged guitar and yelping vocals on newer songs like "The Fox" and "What's Mine Is Yours" (see "Sleater-Kinney Announce 'Indefinite Hiatus,' Thank Fans For 'Passion And Loyalty' "). Guitarist Corin Tucker sings the line "Don't go away" during "Turn It On" — a sentiment fans can appreciate, with some of them chanting "don't leave us!"

8:34 p.m. Though they'd expressed awe at being one of the first night's closing acts, Death Cab for Cutie are on top of their game, drawing the day's second-biggest crowd (the Raconteurs took top honors) with wistful songs like "The New Year" and "Soul Meets Body," which serve as a nice send-off into the half-moon-illuminated night.

Day 2

12:15 p.m. This is not the best way to start the day: Be Your Own Pet singer Jemina Pearl, who spazzes around the stage during "Girls on TV" like she's stepping on an exposed electrical cord with wet feet, informs the audience that she just threw up halfway through the band's set. She blames it on heat sickness. "It wasn't that much. It tasted like watermelon," she lets the kids know. Thanks ...

12:34 p.m. Seems like Living Things singer Lillian Berlin might have changed his tune a bit since his anti-American onstage banter got him in trouble with Alter Bridge last month. During a bluesy take on their anti-war tune "Bombs Below," he yells "All hail the U.S. military!," and then he jumps off the stage into the audience and grabs a Navy seaman from the pit and throws his arms around him. A short time later, during "Bom Bom Bom," he shouts "We love America!" and, later still, "We salute our brothers and sisters in Iraq." OK, we get it. He also leads the crowd in a chant of "Peace! Peace!" Now that's more like it. ...

1:44 p.m. England's Go! Team put on a cheerleader camp for live hip-hop-soul junkies. Lead rapper/dancer Ninja bounces around in her cheer outfit during "Panther Dash" as the rest of the group swirls around her, trading off instruments, which include guitars, bass, keyboards, flute, xylophones, harmonica and two sets of drums.

2:30 p.m. Mike Patton is a freak. And between the white linen suit, the hair net and the smoothly flowing "Roll it up and smoke it" chorus of "Mojo," it's kind of hard to figure out what's going on with the former Faith No More singer's new group, Peeping Tom, a punk hip-hop/soul mash-up (see "Mike Patton's Agenda: Touring With Peeping Tom, Humiliating Mark Hoppus And Danny DeVito"). He can't quite match bandmate Rahzel's beatboxing skills (he busted out a bit of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army"), but Patton holds his own.

2:51 p.m. The members of 30 Seconds to Mars can't take their eyes off Coheed and Cambria, who bring a rare touch of prog-metal to one of the main stages.

3:34 p.m. And then there's Wolfmother. The Aussie trio punch up the way-back machine with their Led Zeppelin-meets-Black Sabbath riffery on songs like "Dimension" and "Mind's Eye," inspiring the biggest crowd of the day so far to indulge in the first crowd-surfing of the festival.

4:31 p.m. Gnarls Barkley are known for their sartorial flair, but no one could have predicted that the group would make their entrance in fresh tennis whites. Singer Cee-Lo, swinging a tennis racket, fronts a 13-piece band that includes a string section and three back-up singers, one of whom plays a racket with a drum stick during songs like "Who Cares" and the jam of the summer, "Crazy." Seemingly paying homage to the Raconteurs, who covered "Crazy" the day before, Barkley bust out their Motown-style cover of "There Is an End," written by the Greenhornes — the Ohio band whose rhythm section is moonlighting in the Raconteurs.

6:40 p.m. A dozen dancing alien girls, 12-foot tall Santas, spacemen, another dozen booty-shaking guys in Santa suits, Superman, Batman, the Flash and Wonder Woman, 50 giant blue balloons bouncing over the crowd, confetti guns, a bullhorn spewing green smoke and a giant confetti-filled balloon exploded over the stage using a leaf blower: Just a typical Flaming Lips set. Oh, and they played crowd favorites like "Race for the Prize," "Do You Realize??" and "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song," which singer Wayne Coyne asked the crowd to dedicate to Israel as a plea to stop bombing Lebanon.

8:38 p.m. Lolla runs like clockwork, but hometown hero Kanye West is making the crowd of nearly 60,000 wait.

8:39 p.m.He finally emerges to the strains of "Diamonds From Sierra Leone," running back and forth across the stage as tens of thousands throw up the Roc diamond hand signal. Kanye's DJ A-Trak busts out some space-age scratches during "Heard 'Em Say," but it wouldn't be Kanye without drama. The rapper is thrown off by sound problems and complains about coming home after touring the world and having to deal with his vocals cutting out. "Y'all embarrass me in front of my city?" he says. "There's gonna be some repercussions!" He gets over it and brings out protégé GLC and fellow Chicago rappers Twista and Common for cameos, as well as Lupe Fiasco, who skateboards onto the stage to trade verses on his hit, "Kick Push."

9:23 p.m. West's string section runs through a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" while Kanye attends to some backstage business, returning for a triumphant shout-along version of "Gold Digger" that can probably be heard blocks away. He doesn't say, but maybe it redeems the earlier sound problems, making Kanye the prince of his city for the night.

Day 3

11:59 p.m. What a way to wake up: Mucca Pazza, the punk-rock marching band, crowds the stage with more than 25 players, who spin, jump, run and skip while playing Dixieland rave-ups and doing high-energy mime skits alongside their cheerleader section.

12:53 p.m. Lolla founder Perry Farrell does his customary mini set of songs on the Kidzapalooza stage with guitarist Peter DiStefano. He brings on surprise guest Patti Smith, who doesn't seem to get the whole "kid" part of Kidapalooza, as she goes on to tell the mini rockers that "any a--hole can play guitar." She unveils a song she says she wrote the day before about the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese village of Qana. "How would you feel if 27 [of your children] were blown away by missiles and bombs?" she asks the crowd. The new, untitled song features lyrics such as "And the dead lay in strange shapes ... limp little bodies caked in mud ... small, small hands found in the road." At least it ended on a somewhat hopeful thought for the visibly shocked crowd: "The miracle is love."

2:26 p.m. English dance group Hot Chip prove that even five guys who look like rumpled college math teaching assistants can rock if they can kick out hot jams like "Boy From School."

3:37 p.m. 30 Seconds to Mars make a dramatic entrance in all-white outfits and creepy Kabuki masks. Singer Jared Leto takes his life into his hands by scrambling up the rigging to sing a song from 40 feet above the crowd.

6:35 p.m. Wilco win the award for inspiring the oddest singalong of the weekend when the crowd enthusiastically shouts out the line, "To the handshake drugs I bought downtown" during a set that features four new songs.

7:27 p.m. And Queens of the Stone Age win the award for the loudest set of the weekend. In fact, you can hear it all the way over at the stage Wilco is playing on: three-fourths of a mile away.

8:21 p.m. Perry Farrell promises that the Red Hot Chili Peppers will "take the cork off and blow it sky high." And while the veteran punk-funk band didn't bust out any of their signature outrageous costumes (though the crazy quilt of colors and patterns on Flea's pants and shirt was close), fans ate up funky versions of "Can't Stop," "Dani California," "Scar Tissue," "Readymade," "Me and My Friends" and short snippets of the Clash's "London Calling" and Neil Young's "Needle and the Damage Done." With more than 70,000 people undulating to "Give It Away," the Peppers indeed pulled the cork on what has quickly established itself as Chicago's newest summer tradition.

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

• Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye West And More Rock Out At Lollapalooza 2006

• Kanye West
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Panic at the Disco
• Gnarls Barkley
• Death Cab For Cutie

Sleater-Kinney
Photo: Brian Appio

After more than a decade of making impassioned, empowered punk rock, Sleater-Kinney have decided to go on "indefinite hiatus."

The influential Portland, Oregon-via-Olympia, Washington, trio made the announcement through their label, Sub Pop, on Tuesday (June 27) afternoon, by issuing a brief statement.

"We feel lucky to have had the support of many wonderful people over the years. We want to thank everyone who has worked with us, written kind words about us, performed with us and inspired us," the statement reads.

"But mostly, we want to extend our gratitude to our amazing fans. You have been a part of our story from the beginning. We could not have made our music without your enthusiasm, passion and loyalty. It is you who have made the entire journey worthwhile."

The announcement comes a few weeks after S-K unveiled a handful of summer shows, which have become a de facto farewell tour, kicking off on July 29 at the Mellwood Arts Center in Louisville, Kentucky, and wrapping up with an August 4 set at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. They'll play a final show in their adopted hometown of Portland on August 12 at the Crystal Ballroom.

Sleater-Kinney — first comprised of guitarists/vocalists Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein and drummer Lora MacFarlane — blasted out of Olympia's riot-grrrl scene with their self-titled 1995 debut, an impressive mix of vocal counter-melody and thrashy guitars that only hinted at bigger things to come. Over the next 10 years, they would replace MacFarlane with the hard-hitting Janet Weiss (in 1997) and ditch the stigma attached to the riot-grrrl label, instead creating a canon of arty, angsty and adventurous rock and roll that would win them legions of devotees — including famous fans like Pearl Jam, who frequently took the act on tour.

They released seven albums, including 1997's anthemic Dig Me Out, 1999's deeply introspective The Hot Rock and 2002's polished, politics-heavy One Beat. Their final LP — last year's abrasive and booming The Woods — demonstrated a sharp changed in direction, as Sleater-Kinney embraced the experimental ethos of producer David Fridmann (see "Sleater-Kinney Coming To Your Neck Of The Woods").

The trio most recently performed at the Coachella festival in Indio, California, in early May.

• Sleater-Kinney

Audioslave's <I>Out of Exile</I>
Photo: Interscope

After making history earlier this month by playing the biggest show ever by an American rock band in Cuba, Audioslave are preparing to take on the albums chart this week. The band is releasing its sophomore album, Out of Exile, which follows 2002's self-titled album.

After four long years of waiting for two-dimensional artists Gorillaz to deliver a studio follow-up to their 2001 self-titled album, the band composed of animated members 2-D, Russel, Murdoc and Noodle is back with Demon Days. Led by its first single, "Feel Good Inc.," the LP features two major changes — the absence of former producer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura and the presence of Danger Mouse in his place.

Common, king of conscious rap, is going back to his roots with his latest album, Be. After releasing 2002's highly experimental, sprawling Electric Circus, Common narrows his focus this time around, employing two main producers, Kanye West and J Dilla.

The Wallflowers are taking a cue from the title of their new album, Rebel, Sweetheart, defying the ever-changing climate of the mainstream with another straight-up rock and roll album that follows 2002's Red Letter Days.

Nikka Costa's long-awaited new album, Can'tneverdidnothin, hits stores this week on the heels of the single "Till I Get to You." Frank Sinatra's goddaughter is back, four years after the release of Everybody Got Their Something.

Former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus releases his third solo album, Face the Truth, while fiery female rock trio Sleater-Kinney follow up 2002's One Beat with The Woods. South African hard rockers Seether unleash their sophomore effort, Karma and Effect.

On the hip-hop side of new releases, there's the latest from Young Gunz (Brothers From Another), former Immature/IMX member Marques Houston (Naked) and B.G. (The Heart of tha Streetz).

In DVD news, fans of Dave Chappelle who are still reeling over the news that the next season of his "Chappelle's Show" will be postponed can comfort themselves with the DVD of season two.

Also out this week are albums by Belle and Sebastian (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds), Alkaline Trio (Crimson), Gucci Mane (Trap House), the Agony Scene (The Darkest Red), Death in Vegas (Satan's Circus), Shout Out Louds (Howl Howl Gaff Gaff), Pretty Ricky (Bluestars), Meat Beat Manifesto (At the Center) and Shelby Lynne (Suit Yourself).

Out Tuesday, May 24:

• The Agony Scene - The Darkest Red (Roadrunner)
• Alkaline Trio - Crimson (Vagrant)
• Amber Pacific - The Possibility and the Promise (Hopeless)
• Audioslave - Out of Exile (Interscope)
  Read "Audioslave's Morello Says New LP Feels Less Like Soundgarden + Rage"
  Buy Now: Out of Exile (Interscope)
• Walter Beasley - For Her (Heads Up)
• Belle and Sebastian - Push Barman to Open Old Wounds (Matador)
• B.G. - The Heart of tha Streetz (Koch)
• Ron Blake - Sonic Tonic (Mack Avenue)
• Blusom - The Metapolitan (Second Nature)
• Brian Bromberg - Choices (Artistry Music)
• The Dave Brubeck Quartet - London Flat, London Sharp (Telarc)
• Richard Cheese - Aperitif for Destruction (Surfdog)
• Freddy Cole - This Love of Mine (HighNote)
• Common - Be (Geffen)
  Read "Common Lets It Be On Upcoming Down-Home Album"
  Buy Now: Be (Geffen)
• Nikka Costa - Can'tneverdidnothin' (Virgin)
  Buy Now: Can'tneverdidnothin' (Virgin)
• Robert Cray - Twenty (Sanctuary)
• Death in Vegas - Satan's Circus (Fuel 2000)
• Tony DeSare - Want You (Telarc)
• Bruce Dickinson - Tyranny of Souls (Sanctuary)
• Jeff Golub - Temptation (Narada)
• Gorillaz - Demon Days (Virgin)
  Read "Cartoon Gorillaz Put A Muzzle On Danger Mouse, Damon Albarn"
  Buy Now: Demon Days (Virgin)
• Jackie Greene - Sweet Somewhere Bound (Verve)
• Drew Gress - 7 Black Butterflies (Premonition)
• Adam Guettel - The Light in the Piazza (Nonesuch)
• Head of Femur - Hysterical Stars (spinART)
• Marques Houston - Naked (Universal)
  Read "Omarion, Marques Team Up With 'Served' Director For More Films"
  Buy Now: Naked (Universal)
• Hank Jones - For My Father (Justin Time)
• Sara Lazarus - Give Me the Simple Life (Dreyfus)
• Little Milton - Think of Me (Telarc)
• Lucero - Nobody's Darlings (Liberty and Lament)
• Shelby Lynne - Suit Yourself (Capitol)
• Magic Arrows - Sweat Heavenly Angel of Death (Wobblyhead)
• Stephen Malkmus - Face the Truth (Matador)
  Read "Stephen Malkmus Hoping For Crunk Success With New LP"
  Buy Now: Face the Truth (Matador)
• Gucci Mane - Trap House (Big Cat)
• Hugh Masekela - Revival (Heads Up)
• Meat Beat Manifesto - At the Center (Thirsty Ear)
• Old Blind Dogs - Play Live (Green Linnet)
• Pretty Ricky - Bluestars (Atlantic)
• Seether - Karma and Effect (Wind-Up)
  Read: "Seether Frontman Shaun Morgan Is Very Angry"
  Buy Now: Karma and Effect (Wind-Up)
• SF Jazz Collective - SF Jazz Collective (Nonesuch)
• Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (Capitol)
  Read: "Shout Out Louds Out To Show Love Is The Same In Any Language"
  Buy Now: Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (Capitol)
• Sleater-Kinney - The Woods (Sub Pop)
  Read "Sleater-Kinney Coming To Your Neck Of The Woods"
  Buy Now: The Woods (Sub Pop)
• Maria Taylor - 11:11 (Saddle Creek)
• Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez - Red Dog Tracks (Back Porch)
• James Blood Ulmer - Birthright (Hyena)
• Wallflowers - Rebel, Sweetheart (Interscope)
  Buy Now: Rebel, Sweetheart (Interscope)
• Cedar Walton - Underground Memoirs (HighNote)
• Young Gunz - Brothers From Another (Roc-A-Fella)
  Read "Jay-Z Gives New Young Gunz Record A Presidential Push"
  Buy Now: Brothers From Another (Roc-A-Fella)
• Youth Group - Skeleton Jar (Epitaph)
• Miguel Zenón - Jíbaro (Marsalis Music)
• Various artists - "Cinderella Man" soundtrack (Decca)
• Various artists - "The Longest Yard" soundtrack (Universal)
• Various artists - "Lords of Dogtown" soundtrack (Geffen)
• Various artists - "Madagascar" soundtrack (Dreamworks)
• Various artists - Motown Remixed (Motown)
• DVD: "Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme" (Palm Pictures)
• DVD: "Brian Wilson Presents Smile" (Rhino Home Video)
• DVD: "Chappelle's Show - Season 2" (Paramount)

May 31:

• Better Than Ezra - Before the Robots (Artemis)
• Maxïmo Park - A Certain Trigger (Warp)
• Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth (Epic)
  Read "Noel Gallagher Refuses To Watch New Oasis Video"

June 7:

• Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business (A&M)
  Read "Black Eyed Peas Team Up Again With Timberlake For New LP"
• Coldplay - X&Y (Capitol)
  Read "Coldplay Album Preview: X&Y A Complex Stadium-Rocker"
• White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan (V2)
  Read "White Stripes Album Preview: Confounding Satan Both Loud And Subtle"

June 14:

• Backstreet Boys - Never Gone (Jive)
  Read "Backstreet Boys Pick Power Ballad For Their Comeback Single"
• Brian Eno - Another Day on Earth (Hannibal)
• Foo Fighters - In Your Honor (RCA)
  Read "Foo Fighters Album Preview: Grohl Gets Grand On In Your Honor"

• Audioslave
• Gorillaz
• Common
• The Wallflowers
• Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney (file)
Photo: Appio

Lollygaggers queuing for nachos during Sleater-Kinney's sets on Pearl Jam's 2003 stadium tour might have asked themselves, "Who is this ferociously loud chick band?"

Those who took positive notice of the Olympia, Washington, punk-rock trio will be happy to know their visceral and passionate intensity has carried over to their new album, The Woods.

And those piqued and yearning for an in-person sonic ass-kicking will be pleased that the band will hit the road this spring a mere seven days after The Woods is released on May 24. The trek will kick off in nearby Seattle and finish June 30 in Atlanta.

A loud, raucous album of aggressive psych-rock jams, tempestuous free-form structures and Jimi Hendrix-like, molten-hot solos, The Woods — the group's seventh record — is a startling and disarming left turn.

And you can thank Eddie Vedder for that.

Opening up for Pearl Jam on their last tour left an impression on the group. Outside of playing to enormous, sometimes tepid audiences, it was all about the newfound acoustics.

"You start to imagine your music in a different way," guitarist/singer Carrie Brownstein said of playing to huge audiences in stadium-size venues. "You're so much sonically larger than you're used to. A lot of this record comes out of the way we were playing live on that tour."

Given the mainstream's current infatuation with all things indie, Sleater could have easily delivered a friendly record that would give "The O.C." 's Seth Cohen a new crush. Instead, they provided an unconventional and daring record that proves they're not afraid of taking risks.

"We just get tired of predictable music," Brownstein said. "We missed the thrill of turning something on and not knowing what's going to happen next. It's exciting when something scary, jarring or wrong happens in a song and it just makes you feel really alive for a moment."

The album was born not only of their goal to shake things up, but from a self-imposed boot camp that found them retreating to upstate New York with producer David Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev).

"We were going crazy out there, with the deer hunters and the snowmobilers," drummer Janet Weiss laughed. "It's a strange culture, it's not like you can really escape into your world. There's wild packs of dogs out there [and] you're really isolated and on edge. All three of us were in this raw space, and [the record] came out really urgent."

Recorded over five weeks at Fridmann's Tarbox studios, the album takes on a somber tone reflective of the wilderness. "The woods are a place that is inherently unadorned, full of depth and beauty and pockets that are really frightening," singer/guitarist Corin Tucker said. "Musically we wanted to go to those places and have a title that could house all of the sinister and dark qualities of the music right now."

Without identifying suspects, Brownstein said current trends in modern rock also shaped the record to an opposite degree, especially its first single, "Entertain." "It was written as a response to the watering down of art in our culture, feeling like it was getting benign," Brownstein said. "I just get really tired of a lot of retro nostalgia and music that's safe and isn't pushing a boundary in any way."

Naturally, the upcoming video for "Entertain" follows the dark-forest imagery and features the band chased by a rabid deer for reasons that are not quite clear. "We're also driving in a truck, and something happens and it's scary, but you're not sure why it's supposed to be scary," Weiss said.

As morose as the album's environment is and as miserable as their surroundings were, the experience was ultimately liberating, according to Brownstein. "The Woods means coming back from a dark point of near-chaos, disintegration, and on the journey back, trying to get something positive and illuminating out of it."

Sleater-Kinney tour dates, according to the band's publicist:

• 5/31 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theater
• 6/1 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
• 6/2 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
• 6/4 - San Francisco, CA @ Warfield
• 6/7 - Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse
• 6/8 - Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Ford Theater
• 6/9 - Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Ford Theater
• 6/15 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
• 6/16 - Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater
• 6/17 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
• 6/18 - Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
• 6/19 - Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
• 6/21 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
• 6/22 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
• 6/23 - New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
• 6/24 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
• 6/25 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 6/30 - Knoxville, TN @ Sundown in the City

The Woods track list, according to the band's publicist:

• "The Fox"
• "Wilderness"
• "What's Mine Is Yours"
• "Jumpers"
• "Modern Girl"
• "Entertain"
• "Rollercoaster"
• "Steep Air"
• "Let's Call It Love"
• "Night Light"

• Sleater-Kinney

Velvet Revolver's Scott Weiland and Slash (file)
Photo: Getty Images

Forget loved ones — ring in 2005 with Scott Weiland, Jadakiss, Mariah Carey or the Killers.

To help you avoid spending upward of $100 to experience New Year's Eve in a sweltering, crowded club while the DJ spins C+C Music Factory and dance remixes of adult contemporary tunes, here are some live music options taking place across the country:

Velvet Revolver In Las Vegas
Spike your New Year's Eve with a little Contraband, courtesy of the hard-rocking men of Velvet Revolver. Weiland, Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner will rock you all the way from '04 to '05 at the Joint in Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel. The night kicks off at 10 p.m. Tickets range from $128-$253 and can be purchased by calling (866) 80-SHOWS.

Jadakiss In Las Vegas
Jadakiss quits asking "Why" for one night to count down to midnight at Sin City's Caesars Palace. Resolve to party even harder next year as Jada takes the stage at Caesars' OPM nightclub for this 21-and-over bash. Doors open at 10 p.m., and $150 gets you a pass to the front of the line and party favors, while $175 gets you hooked up for a meet-and-greet with Jadakiss and party favors. Call (866) 80-SHOWS for tickets.

Mariah Carey In Las Vegas
After collaborating with Jadakiss on his track "U Make Me Wanna," Mariah Carey will share the same New Year's Eve location as the Kiss of Death rapper. Mariah will be on hand to host the opening of Caesars' new hot spot, Pure, with a champagne toast and countdown to midnight. The party starts at 10 p.m., and $150 gets you a ticket to party with the diva. Call (866) 80-SHOWS for tickets.

The Killers In Los Angeles
If you really want to make a Hot Fuss on New Year's Eve, Giant Village 2005 is the place to be. The fifth annual massive outdoor event will feature the Killers, the Crystal Method, Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed, Mark Farina and Jason Bentley on four stages on Wilshire Boulevard in downtown L.A. The party starts at 8 p.m. and rocks through 4 a.m. Ticket prices and options can be found at www.giantclub.com/nye2005.

Wilco, Flaming Lips And Sleater-Kinney In New York
The Windy City boys, the band in a bubble, and the bassless female indie-rock trio join forces to welcome 2005 from New York's main music stage: Madison Square Garden. MSG moves to alt-rock grooves beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $37.50-$57.50 and can be purchased via Ticketmaster.

Ciara, Monica And Nina Sky In Mashantucket, Connecticut
Ciara brings her "Goodies" to Mashantucket, Connecticut's Foxwoods Resort Casino on New Year's Eve, celebrating the night with Nina Sky and Monica at the casino's Fox Theatre. The night kicks off at 10:30 p.m. Tickets range from $55-$70 and can be purchased at www.foxwoods.com.

• Jadakiss
• The Killers
• Ciara
• Mariah Carey
• Wilco

Everything new is old again as Black Sabbath's Past Lives, a double live album of '70s material, hits shelves Tuesday (August 20). The LP features such classics as "Sweet Leaf," "War Pigs" and "Iron Man" in addition to the haunting "Symptom of the Universe" and the 10-minute "Megalomania."

Rocker girls Sleater-Kinney release One Beat, the follow-up to 2000's All Hands on the Bad One, while the Murderdolls, a side project of guitarists Joey Jordison of Slipknot and Tripp Eisen of Static X, exhume their raucously macabre Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls.

The Black Crowes also offer up a live double album, appropriately entitled Live. Finally, comedian Andy Dick and his band the Bitches of the Century are sure to win over fans with endearing tunes such as "Love Ninja (The Stalker Song)," "C--k & B---s," and "I'll F--- Anything That Moves." No way, Andy! You?

Out Tuesday, August 20:

• Ah Nee Mah - Grand Circle (New Pacifica)
• Amber - Naked (Tommy Boy)
• Anchor & Breakdance Vietnam - Anchor Vs. Breakdance Vietnam (EP, Triple Crown)
• Ape Breaks - Volume 1 (Ubiquity)
• Ape Breaks - Volume 2 (Ubiquity)
• Armik Lost in Paradise (Paras Group/ Bolero)
• Eric Bachmann - Short Careers: Music from Ball of Wax (Merge)
• Bad Boy Joe - Ultimate House Mega Mix (What If Prod.)
• Berlin - Voyeur (iMusic)
• Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (Beggars Banquet)
• Big Tray Dee - General's List (Empire Musicwerks)
• Frank Black - Black Letter Days (SpinART)
• Frank Black - Devil's Workshop (SpinART)
• The Black Crowes - Live (2 CDs, V2)
• Black Sabbath - Past Lives (2 CDs, Sanctuary)
    Read:
   
  
• Blindside - Silence (Elektra)
• Bowling for Soup - Drunk Enough to Dance (Silvertone)
• Calhouns - Made in the Dirdy South (Empire Musicwerks)
• Kirstin Candy - Another Sweet Mess (Liquid 8)
• Capital D With the Molemen - Writer's Block (All Natural)
• Seana Carmody - Struts and Shocks (Kimchee)
• Cash Money Millionaires - "Undisputed" soundtrack (Cash Money)
    Read: "Lil' Wayne, Big Tymers, Bubba Sparxxx On 'Undisputed' Disc"
• Neko Case - Blacklisted (Bloodshot)
• Cephalic Carnage - Lucid Interval (Relapse)
• Clipse - Lord Willin'' (Arista)
    Read:
• Wolf Colonel - Something/Everything! (K)
• Julee Cruise - The Art of Being a Girl (Water)
• Dark Tranquility - Damage Done (Century Media)
• Diamond Rio - Completely (Arista)
• Andy Dick & the Bitches of the Century - Andy Dick & the Bitches of the Century (Milan)
    Read:
• Dissection - The Somberlain (Century Media)
• DJ Acucrack - Dope King (Underground Inc.)
• Drive By Truckers - Alabama Ass Whuppin' (Terminus)
• Dubtribe Sound System - Chilifunk Recordings (Shadow)
• Explorers Club - Raising the Mammoth (Magna Carta)
• Dino Felipe - Xanaconversex (Schematic)
• Future Bible Heroes - Eternal Youth (Instinct)
• Gordon Gano - Hitting the Ground (Instinct)
    Read:
• Great Lakes - The Distance Between (Orange Twin)
• Hellecasters - Essential Listening Vol. 1 (Hightone)
• Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights (Matador)
• Mike Johnson - What Would You Do (Up)
• Katatonia - Dance of December Souls (Century Media)
• Kidz Bop - Kidz Bop 2 (Razor & Tie)
• King Britt - Philadelphia Experiment Remixed (Ropeadope)
• Lady May - May Day (Arista)
   Read: "Lady May: Savage Hip-Hop Straight From the Suburbs"
• L.A. Guns - Waking the Dead (Spitfire)
• Lava Baby - Big Muff (Liquid 8)
• Lovers - Starlit Sunken Ship (Orange Twin)
• Maná - Revolución de Amor (Warner Bros. International)
• Manishevitz - Private Lines (EP, Jaguwar)
• Denison Marrs - Then is the New Now (Word)
• Angie Martinez - Animal House (Elektra)
• Mecca Normal - The Family Swan (Kill Rock Stars)
• The Mekons - Oooh! (Out of our Heads) (Quarterstick)
• Motion Man/ Kut Masta Kurt - Clearing the Field (Threshold)
• Mudhoney - Since We've Become Translucent (Sub Pop)
   Read:
   
  
• Murderdolls - Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls (Roadrunner)
   Read:
   
  
• Nile - In Their Darkened Shrines (Relapse)
• Nocturne - Paradise Wasted (Underground Inc.)
• Non - Children of the Black Sun (Mute)
• John Oates - Phunk Shui (Beyond)
• Orbital - Work 89-02 (FFRR/ WSM)
• June Panic - Baby's Breadth (Secretly Canadian)
• Paralysed Age - Into the Ice (Dancing Ferret)
• Penance - Proving Ground (Martyr)
• Phantomsmasher - Phantomsmasher (Ipecac)
• Grant Lee Phillips - Ladies' Love Oracle (Zoe)
• Plain White T's - Stop (Fearless)
• Pluxus - European Onion (Rocket Girl)
• Pulp - We Love Life (Sanctuary/ RoughTrade)
• Radian - Rec.Extern (Touch & Go)
• Rivulets - Thank You Reykjavik (EP, BlueSanct)
• Thom Rotella - A Day in the Life (V2)
• Schneider TM - Zoomer (Mute)
• Seether - Disclaimer (Wind-up)
• Sera - Sera (Liquid 8)
• Sidonie - Let It Flow (Rainbow Quartz)
• Skhool Yard - New Way of Thinking (Threshold)
• Sleater-Kinney - One Beat (Kill Rock Stars)
   
  
• Anthony Smith - If That Ain't Country (Mercury Nashville)
• Rose Smith - Dawnraiding (Paras Group)
• Sonia Dada - Barefoot Soul (Calliope)
• Souljahz - Fault Is History (Squint)
• Spoon - Kill the Moonlight (Merge)
• The Standard - August (Touch & Go)
• Andy Stochansky - Five Star Motel (Private Music)
• Sugar Shack - Spinning Wheels (Estrus)
• Sunscreem - Ten Mile Bank (Radikal)
• Tegan & Sara - If It Was You (Vapor/ Sanctuary)
• Satoshi Tomiie - Nu Breed (Global Underground)
• The Turbo A.C.'s Damnation - Overdrive (Blackout!)
• Various artists - Alert Vol. 1 (Sony)
• Various artists - Dexter's Laboratory: Home Boy Genius (Rhino)
• Various artists ? "Fear Dot Com" soundtrack (Varèse Sarabande)
• Various artists - Barrio Latino 3 (2 CDs, George V)
• Various artists - Hed Kandi: Base Bar 2002 (Hed Kandi)
• Various artists - La Maison de l'Elephant (Milan)
• Various artists - Mad Mike Presents: Mototrax Vol. 1 (Sanctuary)
• Various artists - Mastercuts Bar Social: Discotheque (Studio K7)
• Various artists - Plea for Peace Vol. 2: Take Action (Sub City)
• Various artists - "Possession" soundtrack (RCA Victor)
• Various artists - Put Your Hands Up! The Tribute Concert to Chuck Brown (Raw Venture)
• Various artists - TV Land Presents: Favorite Theme Songs (Rhino)
• Various artists - Urban Renewal Program (Chocolate Industries)
• Various artists - We Love New York (RCA Victor)
• Victory at Sea - The Good Night (Kimchee)
• Wauvenfold - 3Fold (Tiger Style)
• Kelly Willis - Easy (Rykodisc)
• Lee Ann Womack - Something Worth Leaving Behind (MCA Nashville)
• Yonder Mountain String Band - Mountain Tracks Volume 2 (Frog Pad)

• Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash - Distance Between (Ultimatum)
• BBMak - Into Your Head (Hollywood)
   
  
• Beenie Man - Tropical Storm (Virgin)
• Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head (Nettwerk/ Capitol)
   
  
• The Dillinger Escape Plan - Irony Is a Dead Scene (EP, Epitaph)
• Dixie Chicks - Home (Open Wide/ Monument/ Columbia)
• Eve - Eve-olution (Ruff Ryders/ Interscope)
   Read: "Eve, Alicia Keys Team Up For Some 'Gangsta Love'"
   Buy Now: Eve-olution (Ruff Ryders/ Interscope)
  
• Gus Gus - Attention (Moonshine)
• Aimee Mann - Lost in Space (Superego)
   
• Ms. Jade - Girl Interrupted (Beat Club/ Interscope)
   Read:
• Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf (Interscope)
   Read: "Queens Of The Stone Age Flex Their Star Power"
   Buy Now: Songs for the Deaf (Interscope)
  
• Silverchair - Diorama (Atlantic)
   Read: "Silverchair Craft U.S. Diorama, Plan New York Dates"
• Stone Sour - Stone Sour (Roadrunner)
   Read: "Corey Taylor Insists His Other Band Is No Slipknot Jr."
   
  

• Trina - Diamond Princess (Slip-N-Slide/ Atlantic)
   Read: "Diamond Princess Trina Recruits Tweet For 'No Panties' Single"
• Viva Death - Viva Death (Vagrant)

• Cassius - Au Rêve (Astralwerks)
• Ladytron - Light & Magic (Emperor Norton)
• Nine Days - So Happily Unsatisfied (Epic)
• OK Go - OK Go (Capitol)
• Shadows Fall - The Art of Balance (Century Media)
   Read: "You Hear It First: Shadows Fall"

• Black Sabbath
• Murderdolls
• Andy Dick
• Clipse
• Sleater-Kinney

On May 28, look for the long-threatened publication Gene Simmons' Tongue to be sitting on magazine shelves next to your favorite music rags. Earlier this year, the Kiss bassist said the mag will feature a letter column called "Tongue Lashings," the overseas section "Foreign Tongue," the food guide "Forked Tongue" and the gossip section "Tongue in Cheek." ... Bob Dylan will star as an imprisoned blues musician whose manager helps him make a jailbreak to perform one last show in the upcoming movie "Masked and Anonymous." Dylan's first major acting role in 15 years will be directed by "Seinfeld" producer/director Larry Charles. ...

Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted and former Black Crowes guitarist Audley Freed will augment Gov't Mule's lineup for five dates, beginning April 17 in New York City and ending April 21 in Madison, Wisconsin. The trek, launching April 11 in Atlanta, supports The Deep End Volume 1, Gov't Mule's latest album and first since the August 2000 death of bassist Allen Woody that features guest bassists Flea, Bootsy Collins, Mike Watt and John Entwistle, among others. ... Deep Purple, the Scorpions and Ronnie James Dio will play 38 U.S. dates, beginning May 1 in San Diego and ending August 4 in Los Angeles. Deep Purple are touring with new keyboardist Don Airey, who replaced founding member Jon Lord last month. ... The thinking girl's girl group, Sleater-Kinney, are in the studio working on the follow-up album to 2000's All Hands on the Bad One. The still-untitled album is slated for an August release. ...

04.03.02

It was a dual celebration for Ashanti Tuesday night in New York — she ushered in the release of her self-titled debut and toasted her sister's 13th birthday. Among those popping bottles and shaking it up on the dancefloor at the Embassy were Ja Rule, Queen Pen, DJ Envy and Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti
(click for photo of the event.)

Pink, Papa Roach, Kid Rock, Train, Shakira, Nas and X-ecutioners are among the artists paying respect to Aerosmith on the second installment of mtvICON, scheduled for broadcast April 17. In addition to testimonials from last year's ICON, Janet Jackson, Fred Durst, Method Man, Sum41, Ja Rule and Nelly will stage a video recreation of the Aerosmith's classic collaboration with Run-DMC, "Walk This Way." ...

Fabolous plans to hit the studio within a month's time to begin work on his new LP, tentatively titled Street Dreams, and he said that August is the earliest the album could conceivably drop. In the meantime, the Brooklynite is contemplating shooting a third video from Ghetto Fabolous, "Trade It All," with Jagged Edge. ... Tommy Lee went all out for his video for "Hold Me Down," the first single off his solo album, Never a Dull Moment, due May 21. The clip, directed by Dean Karr (3 Doors Down, Dave Matthews Band), features Lee frolicking among members of Cirque Du Soleil. ...

Marilyn Manson will display some of his paintings at an art exhibition at the Tamara Bane Gallery in Los Angeles in August, the rocker said on his official Web site, where some of his work is available to view. Manson also said that he will play a character named "Christina" in a movie called "Party Monster," which is set in the late '80s and based on a true story about a party organizer who announces on television that he killed his drug dealer and roommate. ... Ten Years and Running, a greatest-hits album from MxPx, will be released on May 21, a month before the band heads out on the Warped Tour. The collection includes two new tracks and new version of their classic "Punk Rawk Show." ...

Roberta Flack will join India.Arie in a performance of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" during a concert special for the Oxygen network called "India.Arie Up Close and Personal," scheduled to tape Thursday at the New York City nightclub Exit. The show will air May 3. ...Stevie Wonder will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award and Garth Brooks will receive the Hitmaker Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards dinner June 13 in New York City. Previously announced inductees this year include Michael Jackson, Sting and recent Oscar winner Randy Newman.

• Kiss
• Papa Roach
• Ashanti
• Dio
• Nelly

Radiohead's Thom Yorke
Photo: Capitol

Radiohead's "Live in Dublin" concert video will have its theatrical U.S. premiere this fall as part of a traveling film festival that will also include documentaries on hip-hop, early punk and electronica.

The HIQI Film Series, which kicks off September 14 in New York, consists entirely of music films, documentaries, shorts and videos.

Along with "Live in Dublin," which was filmed November 2000 for an MTV special, the festival will show Radiohead's video for Amnesiac's "I Might Be Wrong."

The HIQI (pronounced "hickey") festival will also premiere "Word," a New York hip-hop documentary featuring Eminem, Dead Prez, Company Flow and MOP, and "Try This at Home," a documentary on Olympia, Washington's indie-rock scene focusing on Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney and Quasi.

Electronic-music visionaries including Carl Cox, Sven Vath and Orbital will hit the big screen in a documentary on the desert rave scene titled "Synergy: Visions of Vibe."

HIQI will also revive several classic films on the tour, including "The Blank Generation," a 1976 documentary on New York's punk and new wave scenes featuring performances by Talking Heads, Television, Ramones, Blondie and Patti Smith shot at the legendary club CBGB.

The 1978 film "Rockers," considered reggae's "A Hard Day's Night," includes music by Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Burning Spear and Inner Circle.

"Driver 23," a documentary on Dan Cleveland's Minnesota metal cult band Dark Horse, and its sequel, "The Atlas Moth," will both be shown, along with the metal favorite "Heavy Metal Parking Lot."

Festival shorts will include the Dandy Warhols' "The End of the World as We Knew It" (starring Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland), "Monkey Vs. Robot," "Secret Asian Man" and "Rolling Man." New Order's "Crystal" video and Bob Marley's "I Know a Place" clip will also be shown.

Details of the HIQI Film Series have been announced for only about half the cities it will hit. The event's Web site (www.hiqi.com) will post information in coming weeks about stops in San Diego; Sacramento, California; Olympia; Seattle; Miami; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; and Madison, Wisconsin.

HIQI Film Series dates, according to the festival's spokesperson:

• 9/14-27 - New York, NY @ Pioneer Theater
• 9/21-10/4 - Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Showcase
• 9/21-10/4 - Atlanta, GA @ Cinefest
• 9/28-10/4 - Minneapolis, MN @ Sound Unseen
• 10/5 -11 - Portland, OR @ Clinton Street Theater
• 10/5-11 - Austin, TX @ Landmark Dobie
• 10/19-25 - San Francisco, CA @ Red Vic
• 10/26-11/1 - Chicago, IL @ Landmark Century

• Radiohead
• Eminem
• Elliott Smith
• Dead Prez
• Company Flow

MTV.com LIVE: Sleater-Kinney Photos 03.04.2005

• Sleater-Kinney