Ozzy Osbourne
Photo: Sergio Dionisio/ Getty Images

Will there be an Ozzfest in 2008?

It's a question thousands of metalheads have been asking themselves the last two-and-a-half months — ever since Warped Tour mastermind Kevin Lyman revealed that he'd be putting on his own metal shows this summer, the Rockstar Energy Mayhem festival, which will feature Disturbed, Slipknot, Mastodon, DragonForce, Machine Head, Suicide Silence and others.

So far, there's been little in the way of actual information coming from the Ozzfest camp, which, in recent years, has revealed the traveling heavy-metal circus' lineup and routing well before tax time.

On Tuesday morning (April 15), the question of whether Ozzfest would be returning for a 13th installment didn't come any closer to being answered. If anything, Tuesday's announcement from Ozzy Osbourne himself — that he'd be headlining a single, all-day gig in Canada, under the Monsters of Rock banner — only confused matters more.

Nonetheless, Ozzy will be anchoring the July 26 event, slated for Calgary, Alberta's McMahon Stadium, along with Judas Priest, System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, Priestess, the Cavalera Conspiracy, Voivod, Testament, 3 Inches of Blood and Zimmers Hole. The lineup is largely made up of Canadian bands, and reports suggest that the Dillinger Escape Plan will also be added to the bill. Tickets for the Monsters of Rock concert go on sale Friday.

So what does all this mean for Ozzfest? While none of the sources MTV News contacted could say for sure, one rumor at press time suggested that instead of being a traveling festival, Ozzfest will be scaled back to a two-day event in Dallas sometime in July. One source said that an Ozzfest announcement is expected to be made next week.

While not confirmed, rumor has it that Metallica will be playing this summer's Ozzfest, along with Osbourne and his backing band. Several others have been rumored for the gig, including Korn (perhaps reunited with drummer David Silveria and guitarist Brian "Head" Welch), Alice in Chains, Filter, Tankian, Bullet for My Valentine, Killswitch Engage, Dimmu Borgir and the Cavalera Conspiracy.

• Ozzy Osbourne
• Judas Priest
• Serj Tankian
• Shadows Fall

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Song Title of the Week:

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

Album Cover of the Week:

The "Barbie as the Island Princess" soundtrack

Other Notables:

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

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

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

New Releases:

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

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

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

Music DVDs:

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

Digital Releases:

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

Coming Attractions:

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

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

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

• Bizarre Christmas Albums

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

Serj Tankian
Photo: MTV News

It's six days until Serj Tankian's inaugural solo debut, Elect the Dead, hits record stores, and yet, the wild-eyed System of a Down frontman is already mulling his next album and the direction he wants to take with it. In fact, the dude's stockpiled about 4,500 songs he's written over the last few years from which to mine.

"They're not all like [the songs on Elect the Dead]," he said (see "System Of A Down Frontman Serj Tankian On Intimate Solo LP: 'I Believe In It' "). "They're not all rock or pop or anything like that. I've got classical music, electronic compositions, experimental songs, noise, punk, metal — I have a lot of different types of music because when I have free time, I write music, regardless of what project I'm working on at the time. I will always have more material than I can afford to release."

For album numero dos, Tankian is thinking he'd like to take his sound in a more orchestral direction, with jazz numbers interspersed throughout.

"I have some songs written and recorded for it, and I think it will be a more jazzy, orchestral record, which is kind of what I wanted to do with this [Elect the Dead]," he said. "If you strip down all these songs from Elect the Dead into their original form — with pianos, strings, acoustic guitars — they're very classically written songs, but they kind of asked for the rock instruments. I kind of ended up with a rock record without even anticipating it myself because the songs asked for those dynamics — of drums and guitars. So I started arranging them that way, and when I was done, I was like, 'Damn, I came up with a rock record again.' For the next one, I think I want it to be a really heavy, guttural record without the heavy instruments. That's the next challenge for me."

With System of a Down on an indefinite hiatus (see "System Of A Down Aren't Breaking Up — They're Going On Hiatus"), Tankian will surely have plenty of time to work on Elect the Dead's follow-up. Like the rest of his bandmates, Tankian felt it was time to take a break from System, so he could "make the record [he] was meant to make." And no, he hasn't been approached to work with Achozen, System bassist Shavo Odadjian's project with Wu-Tang Clan's RZA; or Scars on Broadway, the side project started by SOAD guitarist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan. Not yet, anyway.

"I think it would be too much like System if that were the case," he explained, "but I am looking forward to hearing [Scars on Broadway's] music. The stuff I've heard from Shavo is amazing though. The thing is, we're all friends. We started out together, and we formed this amazing band that we've been a part of for 11 years. We put out five records, and we're supportive of each other and what we're all doing."

For the foreseeable future, Tankian will be on his own — well, that's not entirely true. On Friday in Chicago, the setting for Serj's first live gig as a solo artist and the first date on Tankian's tour with opener the Nightwatchman (a.k.a. Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello), he revealed his backing band to the world: the Flying Cu--s of Chaos, or "FCC" for short. The group features Primus' Larry LaLonde and Buckethead collaborator Dan Monti on guitars, Mario Pagliarulo on bass, and others.

"The FCC stands for Federal Communications Commission, the agency that penalizes people, journalists, artists — people that cuss in the press," he said. "Not the politicians; they're obviously immune to it. So I thought it would be cool to make the FCC a cuss word. That way, they can penalize themselves."

Tankian and the FCC will soon head over to Europe, the singer said, to open for the Foo Fighters, who he teamed up with during the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards for a cover of the Dead Kennedys' "Holiday in Cambodia." He said he plans to spend much of next year on the road in support of Elect and also admitted that he's slightly nervous about playing live without System behind him.

"It's more like nervous-excitement energy, to get up and do it again with a different outfit and stuff," he said. "But I've been onstage at different events in the past with different bands by myself, so it won't be that bad. Yes, I'm a little excited, a little nervous, but it's what I do."

On Elect, Tankian does what he's always done — expressed his thoughts on political issues and "life in general." He said that "romantic relationships, the war in Iraq, hypocrisy over genocide denial, film, other music, poetry and other artists" all had a bearing on the project. But Tankian's political musings aren't anything new; he's long been one of the artists whom fans have relied on to take a stand on political issues. These days, speaking out is in vogue, with several artists finally publicly chiming in with their views and ire over the current state of the world. But why did it take so long for others to join the crusade?

"Part of it is the backlash from commercial culture on people that speak out, and I felt a lot of that after September 11 when I wrote 'Understanding Oil,' " an essay he posted on System of a Down's Web site soon after the attacks on New York, he said. "We had a lot of people dropping [System single] 'Chop Suey' from radio at the time because of that essay. There was a strong reactionism prevailing in the country, based on what happened on September 11, which is understandable. Years later, when we can look at things with more intellect, in a more balanced way, and see how our democracy's been hijacked into abusing our patriotism to do things in other countries — like occupying other countries, wreaking havoc in other places based on oil concerns or strategic geopolitical concerns — then we're a little more aware. People are saying, 'Yes, our name was abused to do all of these things, but I am not for those things anymore.' And that's where we're at right now. Public opinion has drastically changed, and a lot of artists are speaking out, which is encouraging. But it's always easier to speak out when public opinion is on your side."

Beyond touring and working on his next LP, Tankian recently teamed up with Wyclef Jean on a track called "Trouble Again" for the ex-Fugee's forthcoming offering, Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, which is due December 4.

"He sent me the track and said, 'Check it out, and let me know what you think and if you want to do something on this,' and I thought it was a very progressive song," Tankian said. "I like progressive music — things that change, tempo changes, parts that change. I thought it was a really great song, and I did my own poetic, rhythmical talking — if you want call that rap, go ahead, but I wouldn't — and some other little taglines here and there."

• Serj Tankian Channels The Great Beyond On Solo LP

• Serj Tankian
• System of a Down

Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins rehearse for the 2007 VMAs on Saturday
Photo: John Shearer/WireImage.com

LAS VEGAS — If you're wondering what tricks the Foo Fighters have up their collective sleeve for Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards performance, let's just say you'd be foolish to miss it. (Check out photos of the Foo Fighters rehearsing for Sunday's VMAs with Serj Tankian.)

During the band's two-plus-hour rehearsal Saturday night (September 8) inside the Palms Casino Resort's Hot Pink Suite, the band jammed vigorously with a veritable who's who of rock and roll: Gnarls Barkley mastermind Cee-Lo, Queens of the Stone Age mainman (and avid poker player) Josh Homme, System of a Down's Serj Tankian and the one, the only, the legendary Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister, who arrived sporting tight black pants, black boots, a black leather jacket and a scowl.

The Dave Grohl-led rockers will also invite QOTSA multi-instrumentalist Troy Van Leeuwen, the Eagles of Death Metal's Brian "Big Hands" O'Connor and Jesse "The Devil" Hughes (who, according to Homme, is the proud owner of "the world's greatest mustache, second only to Tom Selleck"), and Atlanta metallers Mastodon, who'll join the band for an epic rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" (see "MTV VMA Race Is On: Justin Timberlake, Beyonce Lead Nominations").

Needless to say, the Foos set is going to be a tough one to top.

Tankian will also join the band Sunday night for a cover of the Dead Kennedys' "Holiday in Cambodia," while the gravelly throated Kilmister will handle lead vocals on two songs. That includes "Shake Your Blood" by Grohl side project Probot — Grohl will tackle drumming duties for that track, as he did on the studio version, which also featured Lemmy. They'll also perform a cover of Motörhead's "Overkill."

At one point during the relaxed and intimate rehearsal, Kilmister — whose four-string bass bears the words "Born to Lose, Out to Lunch" — taunted Foos guitarist Chris Shiflett for wearing earplugs. One couldn't help but feel like a fly on the wall in some basement where a group of old friends had gathered for a good-hearted jam session.

Grohl, who gnawed on the same piece of gum for the entire warm-up session, will stay behind the kit for a rendition of the Queens of the Stone Age's "I Wanna Make It Wit Chu." Grohl will of course be joined by Homme, Van Leeuwen, O'Connor and Cee-Lo, who is set to sing — but needs to learn the song's lyrics. The rapper had to refer to a lyrics sheet during the rehearsal but assured Homme he'd get them memorized before Sunday evening: "Don't worry, Joshua," Cee-Lo said with a wink and a smile.

Cee-Lo will inject some much-needed soul into one cover the Foos have become notorious for playing during their live shows: Prince's "Darling Nikki" (see "Foo Fighters 'Have No Idea' Why Prince Covered Their Song At Super Bowl"). After the boys ran through the song for the very first time, Cee-Lo — who had worked up a skull-covering sweat — and Grohl exchanged knowing grins. The cover was magic.

"That was sexy," Cee-Lo said to Grohl. And yes, it was certainly that.

(Cee-Lo's been a busy man in Vegas this weekend — in addition to jamming with the Foos, he's been meeting up with fans and trying his hand at poker.)

(Foo Fighters aren't the only ones who have been warming up for Sunday — check out Britney Spears rehearsing her big comeback, Kanye West testing out his intimate VMA suite and Nicole Scherzinger and Lil Wayne trying out their sexy preshow performance.)

Wait -- don't cash out on the VMAs just yet! From Britney's sultry comeback performance to the big winners, you saw it all -- well, almost everything! Get yourself even richer with our wall-to-wall show coverage, party reports, videos and loads more at www.VMA.MTV.com. For reports, photos, video and much, much more from previous VMAs, dive into the VMA archives.

• VMAs 2007: The Vegas Honeymoon

• Foo Fighters And Serj Tankian Rehearse For The 2007 VMAs
• Adrian Grenier, Nelly, Shia LaBeouf, Britney And More Stars Spotted In Vegas
• Paris Hilton, Diddy, Timbaland, Janet Jackson, More Hit The Vegas Party Scene

• Foo Fighters
• Serj Tankian
• Josh Homme
• Mastodon
• Cee-Lo

System of a Down's Serj Tankian
Photo: MTV News

Serj Tankian isn't an idiot. He realizes that when his solo debut, Elect the Dead, hits record shops this fall, critics and fans will be there to make the obvious comparisons to System of a Down, the band he's fronted going on 12 years.

Like the five albums in System's catalog, his will be a rock record, featuring those unmistakable, operatic pipes of his. But to his mind, that's where the similarities end.

(See Tankian talk about his first solo project.)

His album, he maintains, is "different." But, in the same breath, Tankian admits it's hard for him to describe the differences between his own solo material and that of System's, "because I am so attached to this project." But lyrically speaking, "there's a lot more intimacy, because it's just me. Musically, I think tone-wise, there are a lot of instruments — there are layers of pianos and strings and weird synth stuff. There's a lot of guitars and lots of different affected guitars, heavy guitars — way too many guitar tracks. It's just a different vibe. There's maybe a song or two that may be reminiscent of some of the System stuff, but I think [this material] takes a lot of new directions."

Of course, with System on an indefinite hiatus (see "System Of A Down Aren't Breaking Up — They're Going On Hiatus"), Tankian said he's had plenty of time to work on Elect the Dead — when he's not busy running his own record label, Serjical Strike, that is. And like the rest of the band, he's used his time wisely. While he plans to release future solo efforts, he doesn't rule out a return to SOAD.

"We're all doing our own things right now and just taking time off ," he said. "System's always been there. We've been a band for 11 years. We're five albums in, and we're all friends. So anytime we want to get together and work, it's there for us. Otherwise, we're doing our own things."

Venturing out on his own has been an idea Tankian has fostered for some time, he said. For years, he's been stockpiling material not knowing what he'd do with it.

"I write music every day — for film, for video games, for whatever — and most of the songs I write, I don't know where they're going to end up, so I just keep on writing," he explained. "I like putting out different types of records. I like dabbling in many different things. But I had never done a full solo record. I had never written full songs for me to sing, where I play all the instruments and produce it myself. So I had all these songs that I felt really strong about, that I thought that I should be performing myself and not have them as songs for other people or for film or anything else. And that's [how] Elect the Dead came about. It's been a fun, liberating process for me."

The LP will feature 11 tracks in all, including "Honking Antelope," "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," "Lie, Lie, Lie," "The Unthinking Majority" and the likely first single, "Empty Walls." And, as the title suggests, Elect the Dead has a political side to it. But that's not to say Tankian's album is a preachy attack on the current state of global affairs.

"It deals with everything in my daily life, whether it's my daily ritual or interactions with people, politics, economics — anything in the world that touches me is an influence and comes through in the music, whether I know it or not," he said. "There's humor, political stuff, ecological stuff, personal pain, transcending personal pain, transcending the material and physical — there's a lot of things, whatever I felt at the moment and whatever came through."

The album ends with the title track, an acoustic number that's "the heaviest song on the entire thing, because it's emotionally really heavy." While Tankian would rather leave the title open to interpretation, he did offer up what it meant to him: "It means that we should channel the wisdom of not just the physical and material world but the one beyond to really make the right choices, because we've really f---ed up," he said.

While Tankian composed the material on Dead, he didn't record the LP all by his lonesome. Opera singer Ani Maldjian lends her voice to three of the album's tracks, while Dan Monti pitched in on guitars and bass. For the drum tracks, Tankian called on his System chum John Dolmayan and Bryan "Brain" Mantia, who's done time with the likes of Primus and Axl Rose's latest incarnation of Guns N' Roses.

"They both ripped it," he enthused of the two drummers. "We had so much fun in the studio. They were just monsters. They just killed the skins. It was phenomenal watching them work."

Tankian said working on Dead was one of the more memorable highlights of his career and that "the excitement I had making this record was the same excitement I felt when we were making the first System record. That exploration, that high energy — not that it wasn't exciting making the other System records. It was just a new thing, a new direction, and so is this."

At the moment, Tankian said he's assembling a backing band he'd like to take on the road with him this fall. "We will do all radio shows, and then there will be a full tour next year," he explained. "It's a new thing. There's a little nervous excitement about it, but it's also an interesting adventure. You have to do things you've never tried in life, because you've only got one chance. You have to go for it — you have to go for it hard. Otherwise, it's not worth it."

So does Tankian think System fans will welcome Elect the Dead with open arms? Well, he's not sure, really. But then again, that doesn't matter much to him either.

"This is what I did in this period of time, and I'm excited about it, and I believe in it, and I don't like doing anything that's not new, creative and quality," he said. "So, if they dig it, great. If they don't, it's all good. I like it — that's what counts."

• Serj Tankian Channels The Great Beyond On Solo LP

• Serj Tankian
• System of a Down

Audioslave's Tom Morello
Photo: William Thomas Cain/ Amanda Edwards/ Getty Images

Tom Morello and Serj Tankian are best known for their rock and roll accomplishments, but their latest triumph is a journalistic one.

The co-founders of the Axis of Justice political organization recently scored a rare interview with Mumia Abu-Jamal, the Pennsylvania activist and author who has been on death row since his controversial murder trial in 1982.

"He's a difficult person to interview as he only gets two 15-minute telephone calls a week," Morello said. "So it has to be planned pretty meticulously, but we were able to get it done and it was pretty great."

The interview will air Friday on the Axis of Justice Radio Network, but Morello offered a preview Tuesday.

"What surprised me most was how he's so well-versed on so many topics," the Audioslave guitarist explained. "We talked about everything from foreign affairs to the latest intricacies of the Iraq situation, to a very interesting discussion of activism and the arts."

Since Mumia was convicted, several artists have spoken out in support of a retrial — including Sting, Mos Def and Bad Religion — but perhaps no one more than Morello's former band, Rage Against the Machine. The band played a massive Mumia defense-fund concert with the Beastie Boys in 1999 and even visited him on death row around that time (see "Weeding Through The Rhetoric: What's The Rage/Beasties Benefit About?").

"The thing I felt then and is certainly evident on our interview is how alive and vibrant this guy is," Morello said. "He's an author of four or five books, he's more literate about current affairs than any of the talking heads on CNN, he's a voracious reader and someone very much engaged in the world and trying, even though he's behind bars, to change the world. It was pretty inspirational."

Jamal was a member of the Black Panther Party and a radio journalist who had alleged police violence against minorities when he was arrested in 1981 for the shooting of a Philadelphia police officer. Jamal contended he was set up and evidence, such as the recantation of a key eyewitness, has since surfaced suggesting the same. The American Lawyer legal journal called his trial "grotesquely unfair" and his sentencing hearing "clearly unconstitutional."

In January, however, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia, issued a decision that could lead to a retrial. "The next round of legal doing is trying to get new legal evidence introduced," Morello explained. "For instance, there was another guy who confessed."

Despite the new updates, Jamal only lightly touched on his own politics in his interview with Morello and Tankian.

"He does not wallow in self-pity," Morello said. "His main efforts are about changing the outside world, not groveling to improve his own situation, although he is adamant about his innocence."

The interview instead addressed the prison system, government oppression, racism, social-justice movements and Hurricane Katrina.

"He talked about how class and race are almost taboo topics in the American media and then Katrina thrust them onto everyone's television for a few days," Morello said. "And what would have happened if it happened in Georgetown or Bel Air."

The interview will air Friday at 7 p.m. on KPFK in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, online at KPFK.org. The show will also be archived at AxisofJustice.org, and a podcast will be available at Feeds.Feedburner.com/AxisofJustice/pod.

Tankian and Morello have been hosting weekly Axis of Justice Radio Network shows for three years and have interviewed a number of controversial figures, including Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky and Professor Griff of Public Enemy. The show also features a variety of music.

"The purpose is to expose our audience to rebel music of different genres and let people know there's a tether between Bob Dylan and Rage and Pete Seeger and System of a Down and Public Enemy," Morello said.

And speaking of rebel music, Morello's Nightwatchman side project will perform March 25 in San Francisco and in Washington, D.C., later in the spring. There are no plans for an album, however.

"When the Nightwatchman is called to serve, he will answer," Morello said, laughing. "I enjoy doing it for benefit causes. It feels very organic and Woody Guthrie-esque."

• Tom Morello
• Serj Tankian
• Audioslave
• System of a Down

Ashlee Simpson (file)
Photo: Getty Images/Peter Kramer

Ashlee Simpson's tour is over, but she might still be willing to give you a private show if you can pony up the dough — the big dough, as in $35,000 a song. That's the going rate to get the singer to play your birthday, as she did on Friday night at New York's Cipriani restaurant for one lucky 14-year-old, whose daddy just so happens to be wealthy fashion mogul Silas Chou, a bigwig at Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors who could easily afford the $145,000 price tag for the Willy Wonka-themed fest. ...

For all you kids who'd love you some Bo Bice, the "American Idol" finalist and his hometown band, Sugar Money, have released an exclusive single for the launch of GarageBand Podcast Studio, the first Web-based tool to record, mix and publish a podcast. "Papion" by Bo Bice & Sugar Money is now available through GarageBand.com. ... Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue, 36, is recuperating after successful surgery on Friday at a Melbourne, Australia, hospital to treat an early form of breast cancer, according to a Reuters report. The singer's doctors said they are confident that they caught the cancer in time. Australian clinics are reporting a deluge of women coming in for breast exams in the wake of Minogue's diagnosis. ...

As Michael Jackson's defense attorneys start to wind up their case, they attempted to drive home on Monday (May 23) their argument that the accuser's mother is a gold-digger after the singer's money. A social-services employee testified that the mother did not declare on her welfare application the charitable contributions her family had received for her son's cancer costs, and did not mention the settlement her family had received from JC Penney, despite a question on the form that asked "Has anyone in the family received a court settlement?" The social-services worker said this constituted welfare fraud. The accuser's aunt on his father's side also took the stand on Monday, saying that she had heard on TV there was a need for blood for her nephew, so she organized a blood drive. But, the aunt said, the mother had complained to her about it, saying she didn't need the blood, she needed money. ... According to a spokesperson for System of a Down, frontman Serj Tankian has been working on material for masked funk axeman Buckethead's forthcoming album. Buckethead, he of the failed Guns N' Roses reincarnation of a few years back, sent Tankian some instrumentals, and asked the singer to help enhance the tracks with different vocalists, including poet Saul Williams. ...

In what can be attributed to an extreme act of facial-hair bias, the Darkness have parted ways with mustachioed bassist Frankie Poullain. Actually, the reason for the split appears to be rather tame. In a posting on the band's official site, TheDarknessRock.com, the band cites "musical differences" as the cause for Poullain's departure, adding that "a replacement will be named within [the] coming months." The Darkness are currently in the studio, working on the follow-up to 2003's Permission to Land with Cheap Trick and Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker. ... Two members of Bobby Brown's entourage were hospitalized on Monday for treatment of knife wounds after a fight erupted at Justin's Restaurant and Bar in Atlanta, according to The Associated Press. Brown was performing at a weekly open-mic event at the restaurant owned by P. Diddy when two of his people got involved in an altercation. The suspects fled immediately after the fight. Authorities say the singer was not involved, and the cause for the fight was not immediately known. Both men remain in stable condition. Meanwhile, Diddy and his Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group are cooperating with authorities in the criminal investigation. ...

Willie Nelson is going reggae. His next album, Countryman, includes covers of Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" and "Sitting in Limbo" as well as duets with Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals. Other reggae-infused country tunes on the album, due August 2, include "I'm a Worried Man," written by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, as well as nine originals, such as "Darkness on the Face of the Earth," "I've Just Destroyed the World" and "I Guess I've Come to Live Here." ... British rockers Def Leppard will release Yeah! on September 20, according to the band's Web site. An album's worth of cover tunes (22, to be precise), the disc will include Def Lep adaptations of Thin Lizzy's "Don't Believe a Word," David Bowie's "Drive-in Saturday," Blondie's "Hanging on the Telephone," MC5's "Kick Out the Jams," Roxy Music's "Street Life," Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "American Girl" and the Police's "Roxanne." ...

E has mapped out a June tour for his band the Eels, which will kick off on June 15 in San Francisco. The 13-date trek, in support of Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, will hit Seattle, Detroit, Philadelphia and Boston before coming to a close on June 30 in New York. ... Morrissey hardly seems the type to make a fuss on his birthday, but the legendary mope-rock pioneer celebrated his 46th in style Sunday night catching psychobilly band Tiger Army, who were playing one of five sold-out nights at the House of Blues in Hollywood. Tiger Army leader Nick 13 dedicated a cover of "The Loop" to his idol, who was sitting in the balcony. ...

05.20.2005

Britney Spears might be more of a practicing Baptist or sometime Kabbalist, but she also gives props to the pope in a new video tribute. She joins 'NSYNC, Monica, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry in reading inspirational prayers, stories and poems from the late Pope John Paul II in a clip available for download at popejpII.navio.com. ...

Kelly Clarkson will perform in New York's Central Park on Saturday afternoon. The concert is part of Allure magazine's Beauty Live event, which will include a beauty village filled with free makeovers, product samples, expert skincare advice and more, with proceeds benefiting the Skin Cancer Foundation. ... You might associate Mötley Crüe with strip clubs and hard liquor, but frontman Vince Neil is actually more of a fine-wine guy — so much so that he's making his own. Vince Vineyards will release its first two wines this spring — a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2003 Sonoma Chardonnay — which will be available in Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Nashville, Tennessee; and New York (national distribution will follow). "I have enjoyed great wine for most of my life and wanted to create something other wine lovers could experience and appreciate," Neil said. "Our first two releases are both amazing wines and I can't imagine enjoying fresh seafood or grilled steak with anything else." ...

Add Madonna to the list of well-wishers hoping for a speedy recovery for Kylie Minogue, who is undergoing breast-cancer surgery this week. "I was saddened to learn about Kylie's diagnosis," Madonna posted on her Web site. "I'm so grateful that they found it early. Aside from being tremendously talented, Kylie's a fighter and I know this is a battle she will win." Madonna also called the news "yet another reminder for all women to have annual mammograms." ... Meanwhile, a judge in Mons, Belgium, has frozen royalties for "Frozen" in that country — until a plagiarism lawsuit against Madonna is resumed next month. Composer Salvatore Acquaviva is suing the Material Mom, accusing her of lifting the melody of her 1998 hit from his 1993 song "Ma Vie Fout L'camp" ("My Life's Getting Nowhere"). Madonna's lawyer Fabienne Brison denied the charge, telling Belgian television station RTL, "Just because there are similarities between two songs, it doesn't mean it has been plagiarized." ...

Cut Chemist has ripped it up for Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, and now the DJ is getting busy on a solo LP. The album, The Audiences' Listening, is due this fall, and he describes it as a mix of Brazilian samba, rock and hip-hop beats, electro and samples — lots of samples. "The album is hip-hop in the sense that it's cut-and-paste, and there's a lot of turntablist stuff on there," he said. "You really get a feel of me going through records to put this together." ... The Offspring have one new song called "Can't Repeat" slated for their upcoming greatest-hits collection, due June 21. The Offspring's Greatest Hits will also include "Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)," "Self Esteem," "All I Want," "Gone Away," "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" and "Defy You." The DualDisc version will include an acoustic performance of "Dirty Magic." The group is also releasing a music-video collection, due out July 5, which will include the band-produced rarities "Da Hui" and "Cool to Hate" as well as live television performances. ...

The String Cheese Incident will headline the Big Summer Classic 2005 tour, which launches July 2 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver and wraps up later in the month. Keller Williams, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Yonder Mountain String Band, Umphrey's McGee and New Monsoon are also on the bill. ... Street Drum Corps, a street-drum exhibition that No Doubt's Adrian Young and Bad Religion's Brooks Wackerman have previously participated in, will perform at the California and Arizona dates of this summer's Vans Warped Tour, from June 29 to July 7. SDC will perform a 15-minute set five times a day on its own stage. Each performance will feature a special guest joining the group. ...

Louis XIV shot a video for "God Killed the Queen" Thursday night in Los Angeles, where fans were invited to be in the crowd for the live-performance scenes, if they "dressed to impress." The clip was directed by the collective Made by Robots, and it's supposed to have a "Sid & Nancy," rock-and-roll-mayhem-at-the-Chelsea-Hotel feel to reflect the band's glam-punk vibe. Meanwhile, the group's tour with the Killers, which was to start Monday in St. Louis, is now slated to kick off Wednesday in Chicago. The Monday St. Louis and Tuesday Louisville, Kentucky, dates were postponed by the Killers for "personal reasons," according to Louis XIV's Web site. ... A remix of "Shed Your Skin" by Tom Morello, a live performance of "Ramblin' Round" with Ani DiFranco and a collaboration with Michael Stipe on "I'll Give You My Skin" are among the tracks featured on the Indigo Girls' new Rarities collection, due June 14. Covers of "Clampdown" from 1999's Burning London - The Clash Tribute, and "Uncle John's Band" from 1991's Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead are also included. ...

• Ashlee Simpson
• Kylie Minogue
• Serj Tankian
• eels

Vampire Weekend, Paramore, N.E.R.D., & More Rock SXSW 2008

• Kaki King
• Mike Farris
• R.E.M.
• The Von Bondies
• The Raveonettes

MTV.com Exclusive: Serj Tankian

• Serj Tankian