Brooke Valentine's <I>Chain Letter</i>
Photo: Virgin

Stand back — there's about to be a "Girlfight" and a "Riot" among the artists included in this week's new releases.

R&B singer Brooke Valentine, featured on MTV's "You Hear It First," has been building major buzz around the release of her album Chain Letter, with the help of debut single "Girlfight." Lil Jon and Big Boi have her back on the song, while the late Ol' Dirty Bastard lent a hand to another track, "Blah, Blah, Blah."

Indie-pop up-and-comers the Kaiser Chiefs are ready to do battle with their LP Employment and its single "I Predict a Riot." The debut album from the Leeds, England-bred quintet combines classic Britpop sounds with dance-rock and undeniably catchy hooks.

The singles compilation Now 18 will also put up a strong fight this week. The album includes Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For?," Lindsay Lohan's "Rumors," Destiny's Child's "Soldier," Ashanti's "Only U," Omarion's "O," John Legend's "Used to Love U" and Good Charlotte's "I Just Wanna Live," among others.

Their last studio album was out in 2001, but Sweden's the Soundtrack of Our Lives are back this week with Origin Vol. 1. Trivium represent for metal with their second album, Ascendancy. Australian blues-infused outfit John Butler Trio release their second LP as well, called Sunrise Over Sea, while energetic Parisian dance-music duo Daft Punk put out their fourth album, Human After All.

Also out this week are albums by Keren Ann (Nolita), the Blind Boys of Alabama (Atom Bomb), Dishwalla (Dishwalla), Al Green (Everything's OK) and Long-View (Mercury).

Out Tuesday, March 15:

• Keren Ann - Nolita (Metro Blue/Blue Note)
• Avila Brothers - The Mood: Soundsational (Thump)
• Baby Bash - Super Saucy (Universal Motown)
• Ron E. Beck - Soul Cry (Thump)
• Biirdie - Morning Kills the Dark (Pop Up)
• Blind Boys of Alabama - Atom Bomb (Real World)
• Blood or Whiskey - Cashed Out on Culture (Punkcore)
• David Bowie - David Live (Virgin)
• David Bowie - Stage (Virgin)
• John Butler Trio - Sunrise Over Sea (Atlantic)
  Buy Now: Sunrise Over Sea (Atlantic)
  
• Celtic Fiddle Festival - Play On (Green Linnet)
• Coughs - Fright Makes Right (Load)
• Daft Punk - Human After All (Virgin)
  Buy Now: Human After All (Virgin)
  
• Matt Darey - Point Zero (Varese Sarabande)
• Devin Davis - Lonely People of the World, Unite! (Mousse)
• Dishwalla - Dishwalla (Orphanage)
• Dr. Dog - Easy Beat (National Parking)
• Eagles - Eagles (Rhino)
• Al Green - Everything's OK (Blue Note)
• Mary Haskell - Inspired Standards - Good for the Soul (Insight)
• Holy Shroud - Ghost Repeaters (Level-Plane)
• Hope 7 - Hope 7 (Trauma)
• Kaiser Chiefs - Employment (Universal)
  Read: "Kaiser Chiefs 'Predict A Riot,' Music Press Predicts Franz Ferdinand-Like Success"
  Buy Now: Employment (Universal)
  
• Kamelot - The Black Halo (Steamhammer US)
• Konks - The Konks (Bomp)
• Miranda Lambert - Kerosene (Epic Nashville)
• Nguyen Le Quartet - Walking on the Tiger's Tail (HighNote)
• Long-View - Mercury (Columbia)
• Los Lobos - Live at the Fillmore (Hollywood)
• Curtis Mayfield - Mayfield: Remixed — The Curtis Mayfield Collection (Rhino)
• Marian McPartland & Friends - 85 Candles — Live in New York (Concord)
• New Monsoon - Live at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival (SCI Fidelity)
• Gruff Rhys - Yr Atal Genhedlaeth (Sanctuary)
• Joanne Shenandoah - Skywoman (Silver Wave)
• The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Origins, Vol. 1 (Republic Records)
• Steely Dan - Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz Radio Broadcast (Concord)
• Paul Taylor - Nightlife (Peak/Concord)
• Tierra Santa - Apocalipsis (Locomotive)
• Trivium - Ascendancy (Roadrunner)
• Ultralyd - Chromosome Gun (Load)
• Urban Knights - VI (Narada Jazz)
• Brooke Valentine - Chain Letter (Virgin)
  Read: "Don't Mess With 'Girlfight' Singer Brooke Valentine: Lil Jon And Big Boi Have Her Back"
  Buy Now: Chain Letter (Virgin)
  
• Patrick Wolf - Wind in the Wires (Tomlab)
• Various artists - DJ Afrowax Presents: eVolution (VI Music)
• Various artists - Drum Nation 2 (Magna Carta)
• Various artists - "NASCAR in 3D: The IMAX Experience" soundtrack (Shout! Factory)
• Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 18 (Epic)
• Various artists - "Robots" soundtrack (Varese Sarabande)
• Various artists - Soldiers of the 213 (Thump)
• Various artists - Subdivisions (Magna Carta)
• DVD: Asleep at the Wheel - "Live at Billy Bob's" (Image)
• DVD: Various artists - "Magic Moments: The Best of '50s Pop" (Shout! Factory)

March 22:

• Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (Atlantic)
  Read: "Franz Ferdinand Give Bloc Party A Leg Up"
  Buy Now: Silent Alarm (Atlantic)
  
• Moby -Hotel (V2/BMG)
  Read: "Moby Takes Aim At Nick And Jessica With 'Beautiful'"
  Buy Now: Hotel (V2/BMG)
  
• Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze (Interscope)
  Read: "Queens Of The Stone Age Keep LP, Tour Shrouded In Mystery"
  Buy Now: Lullabies to Paralyze (Interscope)

March 29:

• Beck - Guero (Geffen)
  Read: "Finished Version Of That Beck LP You Downloaded Due In March"
  Buy Now: Guero (Geffen)
  
• The Bravery - The Bravery (Island)
  Read: "The Bravery Bring Today's Technology To Yesterday's Sounds"
  Buy Now: The Bravery (Island)
  
• Will Smith - Lost & Found (Interscope)
  Read: "Will Smith Has 'Sumthin' For Eminem' On New LP, Due In March"
  Buy Now: Lost & Found (Interscope)

April 5:

• Faith Evans - First Lady (Capitol)
• Hot Hot Heat - Elevator (Sire)
  Read: "Hot Hot Heat's Ups And Downs Inspire Elevator"
• Various artists - Music from the O.C. Mix 4 (Warner Bros.)

• Brooke Valentine
• Kaiser Chiefs
• Daft Punk
• The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
• Al Green

Avril Lavigne, John Mayer, and Nelly announce 2003 Grammy nominations
Photo: MTV News

When nominations for the 45th annual Grammy Awards were announced Tuesday morning, reactions ranged from sincere congratulations to "What were they thinking?" (Click here for the list of nominees.)

Few readers writing to MTVNews.com's You Tell Us forum had sour sentiments about demure Norah Jones, the jazz-influenced singer/pianist who's got a chance to sweep the four biggest categories — Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist (see "Eminem, Avril Lavigne, Nelly, Norah Jones Nab Most Grammy Noms"). Jones is also among the eight artists who garnered five nominations. (Click for photos of this year's Grammy nominees.)

"I'm sooo happy for [Norah Jones]," wrote 18-year-old Lexi, from Seattle. "I know many people haven't heard her music, but those who have know how great it is. Big ups to the critics for giving this girl the credit she deserves."

Jones' Come Away With Me faces stiff competition from The Rising, Bruce Springsteen's return to form, and, to a lesser extent, The Eminem Show. Although the mainstream seems to have embraced the volatile rapper, with hardly a protest over his third major-label album or his fictionalized biopic "8 Mile," the Grammys might not be ready to bestow such a prestigious honor to a man who had a hit with a song that talks about killing the mother of his child and stuffing her in a trunk.

Then again, Eminem already has five golden gramophones in his trophy case (though none in the big four categories), and the Recording Academy did grant an Album of the Year Grammy to Steely Dan in 2001, for Two Against Nature, which featured the song "Cousin Dupree," about incest. But old guards like Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have always had Grammy odds in their favor, which is why Springsteen stands such a good shot. And even if The Eminem Show doesn't win for Album of the Year and "Without Me" doesn't lay claim to Record of the Year, Eminem is likely to make good on at least one of his other three nominations.

While Jones stands as the artist with the smallest presence at radio compared with fellow new-artist nominees R&B songbird Ashanti, singer/songwriter Michelle Branch, sensitive guy John Mayer and pop-rocker Avril Lavigne, most of you think the latter stands as her fiercest competition.

"I think Avril Lavigne definitely deserves Best New Artist," wrote 14-year-old Ashley of Thief River Falls, Minnesota. "She's worked so hard and accomplished so much this year."

"There is no doubt that Avril Lavigne should win Best New Artist," echoed 14-year-old Danielle, from Somerset, New Jersey. "She writes her own music, had three top 40 songs in 2002, sold over 4 million copies of her debut, Let Go, and hates Britney Spears. What more could you want in a Best New Artist?"

While statistics may garner gold records, they don't necessarily translate to a Grammy. Awards are (theoretically) doled out to those who demonstrate genuine artistry in their work. And that's Avril Lavigne, isn't it?

"Avril has no business being nominated for as much as she was," disagreed 19-year-old Andrea. "As far as music and creativity go, Britney is more creative — and you know that's a stretch, especially since Britney is nothing but manufactured bubble gum. Avril may have had something going with her and her ties but let's face it, MTV, that's all she has had."

After yesterday's announcement of the nominations, Lavigne has a lot more attached to her, namely a monumental mistake when she mispronounced David Bowie's last name. When reading the list of artists up for the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, she mispronounced Bowie as "bow-wie" (rhymes with oh, wowee!). An unnerving hush immediately enveloped Madison Square Garden.

"Am I the only person who realizes what a poser Avril Lavigne is?" queried 22-year-old Kim, from Denver. "First of all, she botched the pronunciation of David Bowie, one of the most influential musicians of our time. ... Does Avril know anything about music? ... My point is, although everyone seems to be touting Avril Lavigne as some new prodigy, the fact is that she is not a true musician or artist and is just as fake and untalented as Britney Spears."

And here we thought Avril was the anti-Britney.

While Mayer's the only guy among the gals in the Best New Artist pack, his fans warn not to count him out just because he's outnumbered.

"John Mayer deserves to win the Grammy for Best New Artist," declared 18-year-old Tiffany Johnson, from Austin, Texas. "He is just on a different level from the rest of the nominees. The guy is brilliant."

Nelly, who's up for Album of the Year, Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Album honors, among others, is feeling the brunt of haters. For the nearly 5 million copies of Nellyville sold, the St. Louis rapper seems to have just as many, if not more, detractors.

"I want to know what the Grammy folks see in Nelly," demanded 19-year-old Jason Curtis of Seattle. "Everyone is hypnotized by his so-called 'skills,' which are by no means good. As far as I'm concerned, Nelly doesn't deserve a Grammy."

It wasn't all trash talk directed at the St. Louis rapper, however. Many have their fingers crossed that the Band-Aid bearing MC will leave with even more gold than he came in with.

"I'm really anticipating seeing Nelly take home the Grammy for best album," wrote 14-year-old Linzi, from Sandusky, Michigan. "I mean, his music is totally hot, and I'm pretty sure that I don't know anyone who isn't into Nelly."

Linzi, meet 21-year-old James, from New Haven, Connecticut.

"It is clear once again that the awards honor what is popular, not what is good," James began. "Nelly has sunk so far down in the talent pool that he's left rapping about sneakers and some sort of heat wave that has apparently swept Nellyville. Talk about meaningless music. Seriously, if it's that hot in 'herre,' then drink a glass of water. Don't make a freakin' song about it."

Fellow hip-hopper Petey Pablo, up for Best Rap Album with Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry, faced some harsh reactions, with fellow nominee Mystikal also catching some heat.

"I am very upset to see that Pete Pablo has been nominated for Best Rap Album," expressed 25-year-old Curtis, from Tallahassee, Florida. "Also, Mystikal's Tarantula album was very disappointing. How come someone like Trick Daddy or Cee-Lo never gets nominated? He is pure trash, and I understand why people like Jay-Z protest the Grammys. If we want to make it mainstream for all these old white people, let's nominate Will Smith. Even though his album sold probably 200 copies, he does not curse."

Such outrage over those who were nominated couldn't rival the furor over those who were left out: uber-producers the Neptunes and anyone from the neo-garage school, such as the Hives, the Vines, the Strokes or the White Stripes.

"How did Dr. Dre get nominated in the Producer of the Year category, while the Neptunes were ignored?" wondered Venni, 18, from Blacksburg, Virginia. "Dre didn't do anything in 2002. Every single song on the radio was produced by the Neptunes."

OK, Venni may be exaggerating a bit, though Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are responsible for Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You," Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and Mystikal's "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)," all of which are Grammy-nominated.

"I'm surprised the new 'the' bands didn't get major nods," typed an aghast CJ, 18, from Newmarket, New Hampshire. "I'm sad that the White Stripes were shafted, when overrated Avril Lavigne gets all the credit. Well, the Grammys are pretty lame either way."

If the nominations aroused such fervent feelings in these folks, they'd better be prepared for the shock of February 23. While some surprises can be expected with the nods, utter jaw-droppers like the over-the-hill Jethro Tull winning for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance in 1988 are unmatched.

Stay tuned and stay calm.

For a look back at previous big Grammy winners, red carpet photos and much more, visit our Grammy News Archive.

• Eminem
• Norah Jones
• Nelly
• Dixie Chicks
• Bruce Springsteen

Soundtrack of Our Lives
Photo: Universal

NEW YORK — At their show Sunday night at Bowery Ballroom, Swedish band Soundtrack of Our Lives didn't have to announce that they were the crowd's new favorite band, a la the Hives. They let their music and performance do all the talking.

Like many of their country mates, Soundtrack are tight and energetic onstage, but they don't play storming garage rock. They can be as loud and rambunctious as their peers, matching duel guitar riffs with charged vocal melodies and turbulent drum fills, but they're just as capable of being mellow and introspective, pairing spare organ and piano lines with Ebbot Lundberg's radiant vocals.

At moments, they touch upon the ragged majesty of early Rolling Stones, the Who and Love, and there are also doses of the Beatles and Big Star in their blood, though Soundtrack never sound blatantly derivative. On their albums, Soundtrack of Our Lives are musically diverse, confident and colorful (see "Soundtrack Of Our Lives' Story Reads Like Behind The Music"). In concert, they're even more so.

Lundberg, a mystical, hefty figure with a beard and hippie-length hair, wore a flowing black robe; guitarist Mattias Barjed had a jacket decorated with the Union Jack; and second guitarist Ian Person and bassist Ake Karl Kalle Gustafsson were both clad in blue denim. Balding drummer Fredrik Sandsten was dressed in a patterned collared shirt that made him look like a schoolteacher with little fashion sense. Cumulatively, they may have looked like the kind of throwbacks that played Dungeons & Dragons through high school. But they rocked with flair and boundless energy.

Lundberg sang with power and conviction and frequently gestured with his hands, while the guitarists spun, leapt, windmilled, dropped to their knees and snapped the necks of their instruments back and forth in a manner that was impressively uniform, but not choreographed. And Sandsten twirled his drumsticks between his fingers during pauses and swirled them in flashy spirals between beats.

Soundtrack of Our Lives mostly played material from their first U.S. release, Behind the Music, and they also tossed in a few songs from their two previous European albums. Though the crowd wasn't familiar with them, the fans reacted just as favorably, even if they didn't sing along.

The band opened the show with the billowing, enigmatic "Broken Imaginary Time," an organ-driven song that included the line, "You're such a lightweight after all, you're such a nobody at all." Just when the crowd was sufficiently tranced out, the group launched into "Infra Riot," the first song from Behind the Music. As the mystical guitar intro yielded to the galvanic main riff, Soundtrack kicked into full action, bouncing and bounding around the small club stage as if they were Guns N' Roses at Madison Square Garden.

Their set was tight and professional, though never overly rehearsed. Lundberg may be the dynamic frontman, and it was a trip to see the bulky guy standing on the bass drum hitting a cymbal with his mic, but his bandmates were almost as charismatic, playing solos on their knees, their backs or leaning against one another, fingers flying across their fretboards.

After a spirited rendering of "Still Aging," all the members left the stage except Lundberg and touring keyboardist Olle Hagberg, who performed the aching and somber "Tonight" before being rejoined by the rest of Soundtrack for "Instant Repeater," from their first album, 1996's Welcome to the Infant Freebase. For the Oasis-like "Nevermore," Barjed wielded a double-neck guitar and Lundberg unscrewed the microphone and sang into the separated sections.

The enthralled audience sang along with the single "Sister Surround" as Barjed and Person banged their heads like members of Metallica. Then for "21st Century Rip Off" Lundberg jumped into the crowd and roamed the club floor, dancing with audience members before coaxing everyone on the floor to sit down while he improvised and the band vamped.

For a full-length feature about the Swedish rock scene, check out "Swede Devotion: Life After The Hives."

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

• The Soundtrack Of Our Lives

Soundtrack of Our Lives
Photo: Universal

You can't underestimate the range and influence of American television programming. The French giggle weekly while watching "Friends," Israelis are regularly titillated by "Baywatch" and Swedish rock group Soundtrack of Our Lives even named their new album after VH1's most popular program.

The band chose the title Behind the Music because as they were working on their latest album, they saw a number of parallels between themselves and the TV show.

"In every program every artist has the same f---ing problems," said singer Ebbot Lundberg. "Nothing's so original, and we kind of felt that way when we were working on the album. We were like, 'Right now, we're in a dead end. How are we going to be fresh and new, and what's new even?' So we tried to pick the best stuff that we did and take it a little bit further."

In addition to feeling creatively stifled, the members of Soundtrack were experiencing the type of conflict that makes "Behind the Music" producers wring their hands with delight.

"It was around the turn of the century, and we were totally exhausted and close to splitting up," Lundberg explained. "We were disoriented and not getting along. People suggested we bring in some other producer, and I had been mostly in charge of the production [before that], so it became like totally sh--. But we recharged for the new 21st century and regained our energy."

That's an understatement. Behind the Music, the third full-length album from Soundtrack of Our Lives (their first in America), is spirited and gushing with passion. It's full of kinetic garagey riffs but suffused with classic rock melodies that make the songs catchier than those of many of their Swedish rock peers. Lundberg cites Love, early Rolling Stones, the MC5, the Beatles, the Stooges and Black Flag as influences and said he seeks to create something new and exciting by combining the best of everything that inspired him.

"Basically you long for something that you're missing," he said. "There are not that many good records or bands around, so you have to create your own so you can discover what you're basically missing and what you want to hear. We want to save the world or the music industry from sh-- music, bring back the old sprit and renew rock 'n' roll."

A lofty goal, but Soundtrack of Our Lives just might be up to the task. The first single from Behind the Music, "Sister Surround," is an upbeat and poppy cut with ragged, bluesy guitars and an infectious chorus that belies the song's dark subject matter.

"It's basically about some weird girl that was hanging around our guitarist," Lundberg said. "She was a wretched person, and it's about being locked up in a mental hospital in a way. I don't know what happened to her. She just disappeared. It's a sad story."

Though they've just recently arrived on the U.S. radar, like many of the hot Scandinavian bands, Soundtrack of Our Lives have been around for a while. They formed in 1995 and released two records, Welcome to the Infant Freebase (1997) and Extended Revelation for the Psychic Weaklings of Western Civilization, but their history dates back even further.

Between 1986 and 1993, Lundberg and Björn Olsson were in the experimental garage-rock band Union Carbide Productions, and when that group broke up the two were asked to write music for ski and skateboard movies.

"We wrote songs, but at first we didn't want to form a new group," Lundberg said. "But then we said, 'Yeah, let's do another band together.' I was producing a band called New Universe at the time, so we got their organ player (Martin Hederos) and guitarist (Ian Person) and a couple of other guys and wrote about 40 songs during 1995."

The group's current lineup — Lundberg, Hederos, Person, guitarist Mattias Bärjed, bassist Ake Karl Kalle Gustafsson and drummer Fredrik Sandsten — was finalized only after a certain amount of tension and conflict, and though the six bandmembers sometimes argue, they've found a way to channel all their energy, anger and joy into music.

"It's a fine line you have to draw," Lundberg concluded. "We've been through a lot of stuff, and I think we found the right way to go through all these things. We just want to survive. We don't want to f--- up. We want to build and build and do better and better albums and not ever lose our identity. That's all any band should really hope for."

For more on the Swedish invasion, check out "Swede Devotion: Life After The Hives."

• The Soundtrack Of Our Lives

• The Hives
• Sahara Hotnights
• The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
• The (International) Noise Conspiracy
• Division Of Laura Lee

2003 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

• Beastie Boys
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Ben Folds
• Ben Harper
• Blur