Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee
Photo: Ray Mickshaw/ Fox

Anyone who watches "American Idol" knows the show has a long list of celebrity fans.

Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg, Rebecca Romijn, Rachel Bilson and Tori Spelling are among the famous faces caught by cameras at recent tapings. Even more, though, watch the show like the rest of us on their living room couches with the TiVo remote on near-constant pause to allow for maximum commentary.

Well, we couldn't score an invite to any of those viewing sessions, but we did track down a few celebs who were willing to share their pick for who's going to win this thing. And it appears there's no clear front-runner.

 Jessica Alba
"Katharine is gorgeous and has a great range. She looks like an 'American Idol.' My parents like Taylor. There's a lot of popular musicians or singers that couldn't do a quarter of what those singers do on 'American Idol.' ... I'll make dinner and have my parents and some friends over and we'll watch the show. If my family had a favorite 'American Idol,' Katharine definitely is the most appropriate. I think she can sell records and she has a beautiful voice, beautiful range, and she's a beautiful girl."

 Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy bassist)
"I did watch it in the past, but now I pretty much just watch 'American Inventor.' I watched the guy with the shaved head [Chris Daughtry] get kicked off, and I was like, 'Well, now the guy who looks like George Clooney is probably going to be the guy who wins.' Everyone tells me that he's the top runner, which just boggles my mind."

 Green Day
Singer Billie Joe Armstrong: "I don't know, but I had an idea. I think how America votes on 'American Idol,' the next presidential election they should vote in the same way and have a massive TV show that's once a week that keeps you updated. ... The new way of voting. Screw singers. Let's go for the politicians this time."
Drummer Tre Cool: "That's a good idea, Billie. And for 50 cents a pop, all those calls could pay for all the campaigning."

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 Tommy Mottola
"It's hard to predict. I think Taylor has this amazing vibe. He's like the ultimate entertainer. He's like a modern-day Huey Lewis and Michael McDonald, and he's got all of that wrapped up in one. Great, great singer, but really a great performer and a great entertainer. And I think Katharine, she has that magical gleam in her eye. She's got an incredible voice and she's got a presence that comes across like 'I could captivate the whole world.' So I think she has huge potential. I think both of them are really big potential stars."

 Papa Roach
Singer Jacoby Shaddix: "Honestly, I like Taylor, the guy with the gray hair. I think he's badass. Is that his name? I think he's tight."
Drummer Dave Buckner: "He sang really good. I saw his audition."

 Jaret Reddick (Bowling for Soup singer)
"I actually called it from the beginning. I don't want to jinx her, so I won't say her name, but I think I know who's going to win. I picked her really, really early on. I think they've given her a hard time every once in awhile, but I think she's a star."

 Sophia Bush ("One Tree Hill")
"I'm in love with McPhee. I think she's great. She's wonderful! Every time she's performed, she's knocked me off my feet."

 Dr. Luke (producer, Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone")
"I like the underdog in Taylor, but there's a lot of like, 'Yeah, wooh.' Not a lot of range. [Katharine's] more of a singer. I feel like I could do more with her than with him, but that's purely selfish reasons."

 Mitch Allan (producer, Bo Bice's "Real World"; former SR-71 singer)
"Taylor's got soul. The guy can sing. I'd work with him in a heartbeat."

 Beverly Mitchell ("7th Heaven")
"I've always been a Katharine McPhee fan. I think she's an amazing performer. She's got a great recording voice, and I think that on those aspects she's a little bit better than Taylor. I like Taylor. He's an amazing performer. I could see Taylor having his own long-lasting show in Vegas. You just want to see him. He's great to hear, but you really just want to see him because he brings such charisma to that stage."

 Chris Styles (producer, 50 Cent's "Disco Inferno")
"I'm going with Taylor. Yo, I liked his energy from the first time I saw him. He looked like an underdog. No one even thought he'd go this far."

 Andrew McMahon (Jack's Mannequin and Something Corporate singer)
"Well, all of us in Jack's Mannequin were rooting for Elliott because he is a good friend of our bass player, Dr. J. That being said, I'm pretty sure we've got the McPheever."

 Ryan Miller (Guster singer)
"Even though Taylor had me, the McPheever's gonna take it, because in the end, America knows he's just a wedding singer. And she's purty."

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

• Green Day
• Ciara
• Fall Out Boy
• Papa Roach
• Bowling For Soup

Andrew McMahon
Photo: MTV News

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California — Less than six months after undergoing two rounds of chemotherapy and a stem-cell transplant, Andrew McMahon accomplished a major milestone Wednesday night, playing his first full concert as a cancer survivor.

With his until-recently bald head and fragile face now covered in hair, the Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin singer took the Viper Room stage with a big smile and proceeded to entertain the capacity crowd with a high-energy show that included a cameo from Tommy Lee.

McMahon referenced his recent battle with leukemia McMahon referenced his recent battle with leukemia (see "Something Corporate Singer In Remission After Stem-Cell Transplant") only slightly throughout his uplifting, often hilarious between-song banter, such as when he caught a whiff of marijuana in the room. "Ah, someone's smokin' the sweet stuff," he said. "I can't do that — it comes in pill form."

Before the show, McMahon spoke with the same humorous spirit.

"I'm like a Neanderthal all a sudden," he said, rubbing in his hand through his beard. "They put me on testosterone, so it's growing fast. My voice is getting lower by the day. No, but it's definitely a transition. You come back different than you were before. I'm definitely a lot leaner than I was. I can't break 120 pounds to save my life, but I've come to terms with it."

McMahon is still on some medication, but says he's nearing 100 percent.

"I have [bad] moments every now and again, but for the most part, I'm energized up," he said. "Now it's like getting back the muscles I lost. It's like, you can only lie in bed for so many months. So I started working out again, and I cripple myself once or twice just trying to raise the bar a little bit.

"Every day is kind of a new adventure and we get a little bit further," he continued. "But the progress has definitely been noticeable on a weekly basis, and we hope it continues in that direction. Obviously, I'm not out of the woods completely — stuff can still happen. So I try not to let the fact that I feel good and have energy keep me from being careful about everything."

McMahon admitted, however, that he was pushing himself to the limit with Wednesday's show, in which he played Everything in Transit, the Jack's Mannequin debut he released last fall, from beginning to end.

"I've always wanted to do that with an album and never done it," he said. "But this record has more of a flow than anything I've done before and more of an intentional plotted story line."

As McMahon and his Jack's Mannequin band neared the end of the record, the singer brought up "Mr. Thomas Lee" for "You Can Breathe." "Tommy played the drums on most of the record and did it in a day," McMahon told the crowd. "So I'm surprised he remembered it."

Jack's Mannequin, sans Lee, will be playing a few more shows around Southern California over the coming months, with a full tour being scheduled for summer.

In the meantime, McMahon's giving a big push to his first single, "The Mixed Tape," for which an animated video was released in the fall while the singer was hospitalized.

For starters, McMahon performed the song on an upcoming episode of "One Tree Hill" in which Hilarie Burton's character hosts a cancer benefit concert. The song is also the first single from the soundtrack, due February 7. "Music used to be my main focus in life, now it's music and raising cancer awareness, so it seemed like a good opportunity," McMahon said.

While in Wilmington, North Carolina, filming the show, he also shot a new video for the song, starring Burton.

"I drop a package off at her house with a mixtape in it and a flier for a Jack's Mannequin show, so I guess I'm the stalker dude trying to get the girl to come see the show — which I have done before," McMahon said of the video's concept. "She's listening to the tape, painting, and then ends up seeing the flier and coming in at the end of the show."

Although he had to make a cross-country drive to shoot the video (his doctors wouldn't allow him to fly), McMahon thoroughly enjoyed the process.

"Everything I've done lately has revolved around my illness and recovery, and it's nice to be doing some things now that are really just about promoting the record, and things I would be doing otherwise," he said. "I'm glad to be in a little bit more of a normal stride."

For more on Andrew McMahon, check out the feature "Fighting for His Life."

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

• Something Corporate

Andrew McMahon
Photo: MTV News

SANTA MONICA, California — When Andrew McMahon knocked on his piano bench in the studio last week, he wasn't tapping out a rhythm.

The Something Corporate singer, who was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia in May and received a stem-cell transplant from his sister in August, is now in remission and, knock on wood, in the process of a full recovery.

"I have a doctor's appointment every week and they check my blood counts. Everything has been good, and then in another 50 days or so they'll test my bone marrow," McMahon explained. "I was already in remission [from two rounds of chemotherapy] once I went in to get the transplant ... and the idea is that you send in the new good cells that will ultimately pick up where the old ones left off, but actually if there is anything [cancerous] left in there, they are supposed to kill it off as well."

McMahon originally thought he would have to undergo a bone-marrow transplant, but his doctors were able to extract the cells from his sister's blood, a less painful procedure, especially for the donor.

"It's like a regular blood transfusion, which doesn't really hurt, but the way that it all transpired [was frightening]," he explained. "The guy rolls a cart into the room with dry ice and these bags of stem cells and all these people are around and they pump it into you. I was a little shaky with what was going on. They kept on saying, 'Oh, it's really uneventful, it's really uneventful.' And me and my whole family are in the room going, 'What's going on?!' It was definitely a weird time."

The recovery process is a long one, and McMahon is still rail-thin, hairless and exhausted.

"I got finished with the transplant and everything was smooth sailing, as has kind of been the staple of both my hospital visits, and then at the end I got really sick again and came home really sick for like a week or so, but recovered," he said. "This is definitely a little bit of a slower process than just doing the chemo, because you're essentially adopting a new immune system."

Last week, though, McMahon gathered the strength to return to the studio where he recorded his solo album, Jack's Mannequin's Everything in Transit, which was released on August 23, the same day he had his transplant.

"I had this idea when I was in the hospital," McMahon explained. "It seems like every year I always have different people come and ask for a Christmas song and it seemed strangely appropriate for me this year because Christmas is the time that I am supposed to be sort of back and up and running and whatnot. So I just wrote a song about returning from this very interesting journey and kind of getting back to normal and getting back to work and my regular life."

The song is called "The Lights and Buzz" and also addresses the irony of spending the winter holiday in sunny California.

"Truth be told a lot of people are just going to be discovering the Jack's record when they hear this, so I kind of made it the winter companion to the summer album," McMahon said. "Like the record, [the song] is about coming home, but just kind of coming home from a different circumstance."

"The Lights and Buzz," which will surface online and/or on a holiday compilation later this year, will be credited to Jack's Mannequin and was recorded by the same team behind McMahon's solo album, including producer Jim Wirt (Incubus, Hoobastank).

"It has some trippy sounds," McMahon said. "It's kind of got more of a Radiohead vibe than a lot of the stuff we've done. We wanted to experiment a little bit just 'cause we didn't have any expectations or anything."

McMahon's next return to the studio will likely be with the rest of Something Corporate sometime next year, but before then, he wants to give Everything in Transit the promotion he thinks it deserves.

"It's hard, because I feel like I've got this record that I'm so psyched on and I want so many people to hear and unfortunately with radio and stuff, a lot of times you have to give to get," McMahon said. "You've got to be able to go out and play a show for the station and do this and that, and I want to, but at this exact second, I can't travel. ... But my hope is that I can start working back into at least somewhat of a schedule where I can be doing promotion."

For more on McMahon's battle with leukemia, check out "Andrew McMahon: Fighting For His Life."

• Something Corporate

• Something Corporate

Something Corporate's Andrew McMahon (file)
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Andrew McMahon, singer for punk piano balladeers Something Corporate, has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphatic Leukemia and is being treated at a Los Angeles-area hospital, according to a statement released by his publicist.

At the time of his diagnosis, McMahon had been gearing up to tour with his side project, Jack's Mannequin, in support of their "semi-autobiographical" debut album, Everything in Transit. That tour, as well as any future dates with Something Corporate (including a stint on this summer's Warped Tour) have been postponed until further notice.

McMahon's doctors expect him to make a full recovery from the disease, which, according to the National Cancer Institute, is the most common type of leukemia in young children and adults over the age of 65. Treatment methods include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and bone marrow transplantation, though it was not clear what type of treatment McMahon was undergoing.

When MTV News caught up with McMahon in March at the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas, he had just wrapped up a year and a half of touring with Something Corporate but was itching to take Jack's Mannequin out on the road.

"We've been enjoying playing dive bars," he said of his side project. "I think we're going to play the Promenade [outdoor mall] in Santa Monica as street musicians, to have fun with it and use it as an opportunity to go backwards a bit," he said. "Something Corporate has a few thousand kids at every show, and this is a way of experiencing the feeling of being in an intimate club and getting a [look at another] side of what I really love about being a musician."

Everything in Transit, which will hit stores in August, was recorded in bits and pieces between Something Corporate gigs and documents McMahon's wild times on the road and the way people and places change when you've been away from home for so long.

"Basically, the album came out of finally returning home and seeing how much it changed since I'd left. Something Corporate started while we were in high school, and we got signed the year after I graduated. So I got on the road immediately. And this record is about coming home," McMahon said. "I wanted to do something that read like a story. I came home and just started writing. I wrote the first track for it back in December, and when [Something Corporate] took a break, I decided to embrace it. This record didn't take long to record. As corny as it sounds, it actually took a lot longer to live."

• Something Corporate

• Jay-Z
• Jay-Z/ Linkin Park
• Good Charlotte
• New Found Glory
• Something Corporate

A title and release date have been set for the collaboration between seemingly infallible singer R. Kelly and seemingly retired rapper Jay-Z. The Best of Both Worlds: Unfinished Business will hit stores on October 26 and include songs like "Big Chip," "Never Let Me Die" and "The Return." The two heavyweights first paired up for an album in 2002. Meanwhile, their joint tour this fall will now kick off on September 29 in Rosemont, Illinois. ...

Britney Spears launched her perfume, Curious, on Tuesday by meeting and greeting fans who bought her product line at Macy's in New York. The singer — who did not appear at the VMAs in Miami or the final performance by the kids attending her Britney Spears Camp for the Performing Arts in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, as she was ordered by her doctor not to fly — posed for pictures, signed autographs and gave a brief speech to the Big Apple crowd. "I'm very excited about it," Spears said. "It's very sensual smelling. It's got a little bit of a vanilla musk to it, but not too sweet. It's very sexy, ladies. I seriously suggest to be sexy, to go out and get it, seriously." At the event, Spears was clad in high heels, just days after her mother posted on Britney's Web site that her daughter was ordered by her doctor to wear only Ugg boots or sneakers, due to her knee injury. ...

Nelly will team with Ronald Isley, radio personality Tom Joyner, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona and Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services Tommy Thompson for the third annual Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day. Slated for Tuesday, the event stresses the importance of regular health-care visits. Health fairs and other events will be held nationwide, while Joyner's morning radio show will feature a candid interview with Nelly and his sister Jackie, who suffers from leukemia. ... The driver of the van involved in a fatal crash that also injured rapper Twista on September 7 will not be charged with any crime, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The driver, Twista's cousin, Otis Bankhead, suffered from fatigue, causing the van to hit the median and flip several times. Six passengers, none of whom were wearing seatbelts, were ejected, causing the death of one man, Arthur Dixon, Twista's friend and bodyguard. ...

It might come as no surprise to those who watched Whitney Houston perform a tribute to Clive Davis at the World Music Awards on Wednesday: The singer is reteaming with her longtime mentor and producer. Davis, who discovered Houston, will oversee her seventh studio album, which she's recording for Arista, making this the first time they've collaborated in five years. ... Fans who caught R.E.M. at their secret show in London Wednesday were treated to a surprise appearance by Radiohead's Thom Yorke. As they've done in previous encounters, Yorke and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe duetted on R.E.M.'s "E-Bow the Letter," with Yorke singing the lines that were performed by Patti Smith in the studio version. ...

Megadeth are getting ready to hit the road in support of their new album, The System Has Failed. The 22-date tour kicks off October 22 in Reno, Nevada, and ends November 20 in Minneapolis. It's also the first venture for the newest incarnation of the band, which now features Dave Mustaine, drummer Nick Menza and former members of King Diamond and Iced Earth. ... Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix recently became a papa for the second time. On Monday, in Sacramento, California, his wife gave birth to a boy named Jagger. The couple has another son named Mikale. ...

Josh Partington has been working on his side project, Firescape, for the past few months, and now the Something Corporate guitarist is ready to show you how he spent his summer vacation. The band will showcase some of its new material on a club tour beginning September 19 in Tempe, Arizona. ... Ten years after Rick Rubin signed Jonny Polonsky to his American Recordings label, the producer has enlisted the singer/songwriter to engineer the upcoming System of a Down album, which Rubin is producing. Polonsky, who performed with System's Serj Tankian and others at a recent Axis of Justice benefit, is also releasing The Power of Sound, his first full-length album since 1996's Hi My Name Is Jonny, on September 21. ...

Krist Novoselic is going on tour — a book tour, that is, for his new political coming-of-age work, "Of Grunge and Government, Let's Fix This Broken Democracy!" The former Nirvana bassist will hit 11 Virgin Megastores, starting September 20 in Sacramento, California, and ending October 9 in Chicago. ... On their fall tour that begins September 23 in Boston, Rye Coalition are expected to premiere songs from their forthcoming album, Secret Heat, which was produced by Dave Grohl. Secret Heat follows 2002's Steve Albini-produced On Top. ...

Sean Penn is narrating an audiobook version of Bob Dylan's "Chronicles: Volume 1," which will be released October 12. The book and audiobook are the first in a series of the singer/songwriter's self-penned personal histories, and will comprise six hours on four cassettes/five CDs. ... Just days after the news of Jeremy Hummel's departure from Breaking Benjamin, the band has found a new drummer. BC, formerly of (Hed) PE, has joined the fold for the band's fall tour. ...

9.15.2004

Limp Bizkit are getting back to the fundamentals for their next album. Not only have they re-enlisted guitarist Wes Borland into their ranks, but Fred Durst and company are again working with producer Ross Robinson, who helmed their 1997 debut, Three Dollar Bill Y'all, as well as albums for Korn and Slipknot. ...

Ex-Creed frontman Scott Stapp is being sued by a former business associate for failing to repay $60,000 he borrowed to pay Beverly Hills, California, doctor David Kipper — known for his controversial rehab techniques — for services rendered in 2002. The doctor developed a bad reputation earlier this year when Ozzy Osbourne filed a complaint with the Medical Board of California, claiming that Kipper over-prescribed addictive antipsychotics and tranquilizers. ... Old-school gospel vets are up in arms over Kanye West's nomination for Best Gospel Rap Album for The College Dropout at the annual Stellar Awards. The nod is due to the single "Jesus Walks," though some Stellar officials say that the lyrics to the other tunes on West's debut could offend some listeners. ...

Bow Wow is talking with various networks about shooting a reality show following his life in music and movies as well as "me and my mother living in my house," the rapper said recently. Bow just started recording his fourth album, which marks a return to working with Jermaine Dupri. "I really want this album to be about me going back home with So So Def and being back with JD, so we're just going to play that really big," he said. ... BET on-air personality Free hosted her second annual Break! Celebrity Pool Tournament in New York Tuesday night. Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Nelly, Jermaine Dupri, Denzel Washington, Magic Johnson and Russell Simmons were among those in attendance at the charity event that raised more than $75,000 for the Free4Life Foundation, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for young people in Boston's inner-city neighborhoods. ...

An auction of articles from the estate of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash brought in more than $1.2 million in its first day. A custom-made guitar that Cash, who passed away last September, used on tour, took in $131,200. There are 773 lots up for auction, including an inscribed photo of Elvis Presley which sold for $18,000, a few of the singer's black jackets, a 1987 Rolls-Royce and a grand piano that was featured in Cash's "Hurt" video. All proceeds from the auction, which continues through Thursday, go to the Cash estate. ... Rocker-turned-politico Krist Novoselic and punk stalwart Henry Rollins will bring the rock to the "Political Rockers" category at The New Yorker Festival, October 1-3 in New York. The former Nirvana bassist and hardcore hothead are scheduled to speak at the New York Public Library on October 2. ...

Phish's 2003 two-day festival known as IT is coming to DVD on October 12. Half of the double-disc set was recorded at the show in Limestone, Maine, while the other half features interview clips, a photo gallery and the 90-minute TV special that aired on PBS in August. ... An album featuring finalists for the fourth annual Shortlist Music Prize will be released October 26, a few weeks before the November 10 award ceremony in Los Angeles. The finalists will be announced on September 20. ...

... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead are hitting the road for a fall tour beginning October 7 in Austin, Texas. Tour dates have been announced for cities in the U.S. and Canada through November 12, when the band will wrap things up in Dallas. ... After their track "Complicated" appeared on the soundtrack to "The Punisher," Tallahassee, Florida, quintet Submersed are preparing to drop their debut album. In Due Time, set for September 28, was co-produced by former Creed/current Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti, who befriended Submersed guitarist Eric Friedman in 1999. Submersed will open for Alter Bridge on their North American tour, which begins September 23. Their first single, "Hollow," is expected to surface at radio this week. ...

Breaking Benjamin have broken it off with drummer Jeremy Hummel. In a letter posted on the fan site www.shallowbay.com, Hummel claims he was handed his walking papers for no specific reason by singer Ben Burnley. Hummel and Burnley formed the band in 2000. ... Dirty Vegas are getting ready to drop their next album, One, with the first single, "Walk Into the Sun," heading to radio at the end of September. One is driven by a more organic approach, with live instrumentation, including an eight-piece orchestra. Tracks include "Save Me" and "Human Love." ...

• Jay-Z
• R. Kelly
• Britney Spears
• Nelly
• Twista

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong (file)
Photo: Reprise/Warner

Green Day will toast the release of American Idiot on Tuesday, but perhaps an even bigger cause for celebration these days is the 10-year anniversary of their breakthrough LP, Dookie.

The modern-day classic not only launched the Bay Area punk trio into the mainstream, it opened the door to a mid-'90s wave of popped-up punk and provided a launching pad for the current crop of melodic pop-punkers.

"[Dookie] changed my life," confessed Good Charlotte's Joel Madden. "It made me want to start Good Charlotte. ... Right after that record came out, we were like, 'We have to start a band in our garage right now and play shows ... like Green Day."

Madden is hardly alone in his fondness for the influential album that spawned the hits "Longview," "Basket Case," "Welcome to Paradise" and "When I Come Around." For Good Charlotte and peers like Simple Plan, New Found Glory, Sum 41 and Yellowcard, their first taste of Dookie was an introduction to the sneering, snotty, nihilistic world of punk rock, much like the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks and the self-titled debuts by the Ramones and the Clash were for the generation before them.

"After I listened to Green Day, it opened a whole new world to me about punk music," New Found Glory's Steve Klein explained. "I wanted to hear all these different bands just from hearing that record."

	Green Day's Dookie 10 years later

"I was about 14 when Dookie came out," echoed Sum 41's Deryck Whibley. "I remember seeing the video for 'Basket Case' for the first time. I had never heard of Green Day, and then this video came on TV one day. I was so blown away by it. It was so cool. It had so much energy and it was so different. I'd never seen anything like it before. From then I was instant fan."

So great was the impact Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool had on the impressionable young minds of rock's future that first-time Dookie stories are told in the kind of vivid detail reserved only for life-altering experiences.

"I came home from school one day, turned on MTV, and the 'Longview' video was the first video I saw," explained Good Charlotte's Billy Martin. "I still had my backpack on and I was standing up. I couldn't sit down because I wanted to wait until the video was over. It was captivating."

Until Green Day ushered in Dookie in early 1994, the mainstream rock marketplace had nothing in stock that could compare to the album's invigorating brew of disaffected young angst, teen rebellion and emotional confusion. Unlike Nirvana's hopelessly downtrodden Nevermind, released three years earlier, Green Day's 14-song opus was playful in its challenge of convention. Where Kurt Cobain was miserable thanks to his ill-fitted place in a post-yuppie society, Billie Joe wouldn't let society set him back.

"Dookie was kind of like the next coming of rock and roll after Nirvana," noted Something Corporate's Josh Partington. "After Nevermind, that was probably the next quintessential album that came out that you had to own to really know what was happening in music."

Although Dookie was Green Day's major-label debut, following 1991's 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour and 1992's Kerplunk, the band never compromised itself or its music for a mainstream audience. Curse words were peppered throughout Dookie's first single, "Longview," censors be damned. When Armstrong's vocals went mute it only added intrigue to the slacker anthem. When Green Day didn't agree with what Spin magazine wrote about them, Armstrong burned an issue onstage. And when a mud fight broke out at Woodstock '94, did anyone really think these guys would behave themselves?

"I remember he said 'masturbation' in ['Longview'], and I was like, 'No way!,' " recounted Good Charlotte's Martin. "Green Day didn't care. They were just doing their thing and there was nothing like them on TV."

By the fall of 1994, Dookie was on its third single, "Welcome to Paradise," and the album remained a staple in the Billboard 200 albums chart's top 10, more than seven months after its release. Green Day's success allowed other bands such as Rancid and the Offspring find a mainstream embrace for their albums ... And Out Come the Wolves and Smash, respectively, and before long, the mid-'90s punk revival was in full swing.

"These guys were snarling, these guys were punk rock," said Todd Morse of hardcore punk vets H20. "When I first saw them on TV, I was like, 'Hey, that's not fair. That's what I do. How come now that's cool?' "

Like any band capable of causing a pop-culture sea change, Green Day circa Dookie transcended their influence on music to have an impact on fashion. The Sex Pistols had their safety pins, the Ramones brought back the leather motorcycle jackets, and for Nirvana it was flannel shirts. Green Day's contribution to any teen rocker's wardrobe was the striped sweater.

"The 'When I Come Around' video was the first time ever saw the trend of the striped sweater," recalled Something Corporate's Partington. "I remember like two weeks later, every kid in school was wearing a striped sweater, including me."

These days, Green Day have traded in the their colorful sweaters for somewhat darker attire that suits the tone of their new punk opera, American Idiot (see "Green Day Album Preview: Politics, Dynamics And A Rock Opera"). Although their wardrobe has changed, what's inside hasn't.

"They're still a bratty band," said Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman, who first met the trio while he was still booking shows in Los Angeles — and wanted to beat them up. "I remember working in the L.A. clubs, and these bratty kids showed up. They had such attitude, but as soon as they played, it was like, 'Anything I can do to help you guys ...'

"They're still bratty," he reiterated. "They haven't changed in 10 years. They're just older brats."

For more on Green Day and their new album, American Idiot, check out the feature "Anatomy Of A Punk Opera."

• Green Day
• Good Charlotte
• Something Corporate
• Sum 41

Blink-182 are lending a tattooed helping hand to Tony Hawk. On October 3, the band will play a benefit show for Stand up for Skateparks, a charity that builds skate parks for kids in low-income communities. The concert is just part of an afternoon-long fund-raiser for the Tony Hawk Foundation, Stand up for Skateparks' sponsor. The event will be held at the Pinz Bowling Alley in Studio City, California. Tickets start at $500. In other Blink news, they're scheduled to appear September 17 at the mtvICON tribute to the Cure. The event, hosted by Marilyn Manson, will take place in London. ...

It's Modest Mouse's party and they'll bring the indie-rockers if they want to. Despite some minor setbacks last year, the All Tomorrow's Parties festival has rallied and the Pacific-Northwest rockers are curating the event. Set for November 6 and 7 in Long Beach, California, Modest Mouse will headline the first night while the Flaming Lips and the Shins will perform the following day. Many more bands are expected to be announced. ... Kid Rock and Staind will top the bill at the 11th annual Bocktoberfest on October 16 at the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas, home of the Lone Star State's very own Shiner Bock. Nickelback played the festival last year. ...

While recording "Lonely This Christmas" for the soundtrack to the '60s remake "Alfie," Joss Stone shared some studio time with a Rolling Stone. Stone and Mick Jagger covered the song, a hit single for glam rockers Mud in 1974. Stone also recorded a cover of the movie's title track, which was written by pop purveyors Burt Bacharach and Hal David. ... New Found Glory, Something Corporate and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are among the bands banging out Christmas-themed tunes for A Santa Cause: It's a Punk Rock Christmas. A portion of the proceeds from the compilation, due November 2, go to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. ...

A Perfect Circle's next album, eMOTIVe, is due on Election Day, November 2. To fit with the LP's political positioning, it features 10 covers of civic-minded tunes such as John Lennon's "Imagine," Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love and Understanding," Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and Black Flag's "Gimme Gimme Gimme." A video for one of the two new songs on the album, "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums," is posted on the band's Web site. Later in November, APC will release their remix/DVD album, aMOTION. ...

October 20 begins Helmet's comeback tour in support of their first album in seven years, Size Matters. The trek, which kicks off in Vancouver, British Columbia, dips into the United States before heading eastward to wrap November 10 in Toronto. ... It's been awhile since we've heard from Powerman 5000, but that's all about to change. On October 26, the band will release The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Vol. 1, a collection of B-sides and rarities recorded between 1991 and 1996. They've also got three new songs on the soundtrack to the wrestling video game "WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw." And Powerman promise a new studio album in early 2005. ...

After vacating the ranks of Mushroomhead, his band for the last dozen years, J. Mann has launched Fractured Transmitter. The imprint's first release will be an EP which contains a solitary 21-minute song, "I," by Swedish metal weirdos Meshuggah. It's due September 14. ... Celestial electronic outfit M83 are down a man. Now solely guitarist Anthony Gonzalez, the project's third album, Before the Dawn Heals Us, is due January 25. The lead single will be the track "Don't Save Us From the Flames." The French artist will begin his inaugural North American tour, backed by a three-piece band, on Monday in Philadelphia. ...

9.09.2004

A trademark-infringement suit proceeded against Britney Spears on Thursday (September 9) in a San Diego court, where athletic-clothing company Lite Breeze expanded its lawsuit over the use of the phrase "In the Zone." The company claims Spears' use of its slogan as the title of her last album is causing marketplace confusion, and Lite Breeze filed a motion to add Britney's clothing company, Britney Brands, as a co-defendant. Lite Breeze attorney Kathleen Walker said she anticipates the trial will start next year...

Britney's mom, meanwhile, is coming to her defense regarding the singer's recent no-shows at her performing-arts camp and the Video Music Awards. Lynne Spears wrote on the singer's Web site that her daughter was "devastated" that she couldn't make it to the camp because of her doctor's orders, which is why she tried to watch it on a satellite feed. "After 15 minutes into the show, the connection was lost," Spears wrote. "The camp promised to send Britney a tape of the entire performance so she could watch it. We were able to get the connection back up during the dance later that night, and Britney was able to talk to all the campers for a little bit." The singer's mother also made light of all the rumors about her daughter's impending wedding to Kevin Federline, saying that, "if you believe the press, Britney and Kevin have been scheduled to be married every weekend since they got engaged. It all really makes me laugh." ...

In yet more Britney news, a commercial for her Curious perfume — starring the singer in a steamy hotel situation — is slated to debut September 17 on her newly launched Elizabeth Arden Web site. Even steamier, Spears has designed a corset called A Man's Dream for an upcoming lingerie auction hosted by Frederick's of Hollywood to benefit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Susan Sarandon is hosting the event, which takes place in Los Angeles on October 20. Fans wanting to bid on corsets designed by celebs — including Spears, Sarandon, Geena Davis and Edie Falco — can also bid online at www.fredericks.com. ...

Gwen Stefani's solo record, still untitled, now has a release date. According to No Doubt's Web site, her debut is due November 23. ... Lance Bass is appearing in the movie he produced after all. "Lovewrecked," starring Amanda Bynes, just finished principal photography and will feature the 'NSYNC singer in a cameo role as "Dan," a cell-phone-toting assistant to the manager and publicist for the rock star marooned on a tropical beach with Bynes' character. Bass shot his scenes in the Dominican Republic. ... There's nothing lamer than having your favorite CD labeled with a black Sharpie (except perhaps paying $17.98 for it), so Green Day are giving their fans a solution. For $7.99, they'll sell you a five-pack of blank CD-Rs emblazoned with the color artwork from each of the band's four albums, plus one disk that features a rare band photo. ...

R. Kelly is heading a benefit concert for the Congressional Black Caucus on Friday in Washington, D.C. The concert, part of the Annual Legislative Conference, hopes to raise money for scholarships. "I'm privileged and honored to be invited to help such a distinguished group raise money for such a worthy cause," Kelly said in a statement Thursday. "I can't think of anything more important to support than education." ... As if marrying Dave Navarro weren't enough, Carmen Electra is hunting down the most delectable guys in America. She's hosting Bravo's upcoming reality competition "Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model." The show is slated to last eight episodes, starting October 12, and will involve 15 men competing for a one-year contract with the IMG modeling agency. ...

Velvet Revolver's Scott Weiland and Duff McKagan are getting into the restaurant biz. They're joining forces with Fuel frontman Brett Scallions to open Snitch, a New York club and restaurant that'll cater to both insomniacs and rockers alike by remaining open 24 hours on the weekends. ... "No Quarter: Unledded" — a concert film chronicling the 1994 reunion of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant — is finally being released on DVD. The repackaged album of the same name will also be available on CD; both are due October 26. The film originally premiered on MTV and features the pair performing 17 tracks, such as "Kashmir" and "When the Levee Breaks," in a variety of locations including Marrakech, Morocco and London. The DVD will also include the extra track "Black Dog," filmed at the American Music Awards, and the bonus video "Most High," a 13-minute interview with Page and Plant. ...

PJ Harvey is hitting the road this fall for a nationwide tour to promote her latest album, Uh Huh Her. Harvey had previously hit the West Coast in August and is this time concentrating on other regions of the U.S., starting October 1 in Minneapolis and closing out in Detroit on October 14. ... On November 2, Capitol Records will release Acoustic, an album of acoustic recordings by John Lennon. Songs on the disc include a live version of "Imagine" as well as versions of "Dear Yoko" and "Love." Of the 17 tracks on the record, seven are being released commercially for the first time. ... The lineup for the 18th annual Bridge School Benefit has been announced. Paul McCartney, Sonic Youth and Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals are among the musicians joining event founder Neil Young on October 23 and 24 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. The Bridge School teaches children with severe speech and physical impairments. ...

• blink-182
• Modest Mouse
• Kid Rock
• Joss Stone
• Something Corporate

Yellowcard (file)
Photo: Appio

NEW YORK — Fans of safe and sentimental melodic pop-rock were treated to the best of both worlds Thursday, when Something Corporate and Yellowcard hit the Roseland Ballroom stage near the end of their six-week co-headlining tour. Where Something Corporate mostly played amidst an air of soul-baring and introspection, Yellowcard's cheer and bravado helped dissipate any gray clouds that may have hovered overhead.

With three flags marked by upside-down hearts hanging from the rafters and spotlights almost always fixed on Andrew McMahon's upright piano at center stage, Something Corporate's set alternated between songs about being in and out of love from their 2002 debut, Leaving Through the Window, a pair of EPs and their latest album, North.

Far from wallowing in the sorrow of breakup songs, the fans merrily shared their misery, making the band's cover of the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony," which featured a guest appearance by Yellowcard violinist Sean Mackin, an especially poignant sing-along.

The mostly female crowd stayed cued up for Something Corporate's hit single "Space," which bled into its follow-up, "Ruthless." The outnumbered male members of the audience held onto their honeys just a little tighter (an attempt at self-preservation?) as the lights dimmed for the chugging post-dumped realization "Only Ashes"; while the hard-core fans showed their colors by joining McMahon on the over-10-minute rarity "Konstantine."

"I don't give a sh-- if you download any damn song," McMahon said of the longtime live staple that only made it onto a Japanese import last year. For the past three years the band has built its reputation on a nearly nonstop touring schedule made possible by its loyal fanbase. "Who cares about record sales anyway?"

It wasn't all bummers, however. Bassist Clutch wore a pirate outfit for no apparent reason other than it matched the Jolly Roger flag draped on his amp. "Drunk Girl," for "all the drunk people out there," also added a bit of levity that escalated to fist-pumping cheers for the young-adult anthem "21 and Invincible." And what was even more surprising than McMahon jumping on his piano keys was the remarkable tunefulness he displayed while doing it.

The set's penultimate song, a cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya!," really showed how jocular the quintet could be. Following the male crowd members' response of "ice cold" to McMahon's query of "What's cooler than cool?," the shaggy-haired frontman posed the question to the ladies before taking a grand leap from atop his upright to end the song.

"We know this is cheesy," McMahon said near the end of the tune, "but we're having fun doing it."

Props to Yellowcard for keeping the excitement high with a minimal lag between sets. While some of the Floridians' fare can be as anguished as their tourmates', Yellowcard's onstage energy prevented the set from being mired in misery. Violinist Mackin was unable to stay still for more than a few seconds, sprinting to and fro about the stage while doing a fleet-footed jig to accompany his furious fiddling, and guitarist Ben Harper and bassist Pete Mosley took turns launching themselves off their Marshall stacks.

Toward the end of their set, Mackin kicked off a cover of Nirvana's "Dumb" by sawing off some chords that seemed to ring truer in the ears of the parents in attendance. Singer Key, stripped of his guitar, stood center stage with hands in pockets and crooned the tune amidst a dull hum of voices and a sea of cell phones held aloft.

Compared with Something Corporate's sparse inverted-heart splattered backdrop, Yellowcard's brightly colored airbrushed palm trees resembled souvenir T-shirts from a boardwalk vendor. But that's Yellowcard's hometown of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, at least the perception that can be garnered from the songs that comprise Yellowcard's latest album, especially its hit-single title track, which singer/guitarist Ryan Key introduced with memories of typical Thursday nights spent drinking Milwaukee's Best on the beach beside a bonfire.

Judging from Yellowcard's songs like "Miles Apart," "Believe" and "Life of a Salesman," even the most shattered of hearts can be mended with good friends, family and, of course, a shot of raucous rock and roll.

The Something Corporate/ Yellowcard tour ends Sunday, after which Something Corporate will go it alone through mid-May, while Yellowcard prepare to set out on the Vans Warped Tour June 25.

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

• Yellowcard
• Something Corporate

Andrew McMahon's Career In Photos

• Something Corporate

Warped Tour 10th Anniversary Show at Foxboro Stadium in Boston 08.20.2004

• Good Charlotte
• New Found Glory
• Bad Religion
• Rancid
• Less Than Jake

Something Corporate live in Chicago, IL April 23, 2004

• Something Corporate

MTV Exclusive: Something Corporate Photos

• Something Corporate