Britney Spears' midtown Manhattan lounge finally has a name: NYLA. The moniker is derived from the postal abbreviations for New York and her home state, Louisiana. ... Foxy Brown will soon head into the studio to work on her fourth album, Ill Na Na Part 2: The Fever. Though Brown is still lining up producers, she hopes to finish the LP in eight weeks and release it this summer. ... As further proof that Jay-Z can churn out records faster than anybody else in the biz, Chapter One: Greatest Hits — released overseas on Tuesday (April 2) — features blockbusters such as "Hard Knock Life," obscurities like "Wishing on a Star" and street favorites such as "Can't Knock the Hustle" and "Imaginary Player." No definitive word from Roc-A-Fella as to whether the album will ever find its way to the U.S. ...

Teen queen turned 21st-century Playboy model Tiffany will appear on Fox's "That '80s Show," though she won't be reprising her mall-magnet persona or perform her #1 hits such as "I Think We're Alone Now." Like her pictorial, Tiffany's role lands at the opposite end of teenybopper spectrum — she plays a punk in the episode, which is scheduled to air April 17. ... After wrapping up a headlining tour on April 7 in San Francisco, Tantric will head into Nashville and Los Angeles recording studios with producer Toby Wright (Korn, Alice in Chains) to begin work on their second album, due later this year. ... The The are getting the repeat treatment May 21 with the release of 45 RPM - The Singles of The The, which gathers the band's singles from the last 19 years and adds three new tracks to the double-disc collection. The best-of launches a reissue campaign that finds Soul Mining (1983), Infected (1986), Mind Bomb (1989) and Dusk (1993) receiving renewed life on July 2. ...

3.29.02

Fans who slept through Godsmack's ascent to their latest album, Awake, can revisit the Boston rockers' early days on Smack This!, a DVD retrospective due April 9. The collection features concert footage, backstage shenanigans and interviews with the band. ... That raging Cajun Mystikal is playing both sides of the fence. In the clip for his next single, the title cut off of his Tarantula LP, the New Orleans MC will play both an exterminator and his prey — spiders — thanks to the magic of special effects, according to his spokesperson. ...

Alanis Morissette, Cher, Kiss, Stevie Wonder, Little Richard and, yes, Michael Jackson are lined up to lend themselves to a special celebrating a half-century of the dance party series "American Bandstand," which debuted in 1952. "American Bandstand's 50th ... A Celebration" will air on ABC on May 3 and will be emceed, naturally, by Dick Clark, the show's host since 1956. ... After 11 years and seven albums together, indie rockers Unwound are throwing in the towel, citing an inability to tour with any consistency as the reason for their decision. The first band signed to the Kill Rock Stars label will play its last show Monday (April 1) in their hometown of Olympia, Washington, and its members, who'll pursue separate musical interests, plan on issuing albums of live material and previously unreleased tracks in the future. ...

Whoever said "three's a crowd" is about to get theirs. Revenge of the Triads — programmer/remixer Charlie Clouser (NIN, Marilyn Manson), A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and producer Jason Slater (Snake River Conspiracy, Brougham) — are in the studio working on their debut album, which they hope to release this summer. ... Ann and Nancy Wilson have reunited for the first Heart tour in nine years, which will kick off June 21 in Fargo and wrap August 8 in Seattle. Alice in Chains' Mike Inez will join the band on bass. ... Indie rock darlings Beulah will launch a month-long outing April 8 in Denver to promote last year's The Coast Is Never Clear. The tour will come to an end May 4 in the band's hometown of San Francisco.

• Britney Spears
• Foxy Brown
• Tantric
• Jay-Z
• Tiffany

Tiffany
Photo: MTV News

WEST HOLLYWOOD — After feeling trapped in the "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" stage for more than a decade, former mall-pop princess Tiffany has proclaimed her womanhood by posing nude for Playboy.

So is a similar move in Britney Spears' future?

"I don't think Britney would have to pose nude in Playboy," Tiffany said recently. "She is doing what she does in her videos and stage shows and has already established a sexy image."

Tiffany, on the other hand, may have paved the road for future teen queens musically, but she was never the vixen Spears and Christina Aguilera are considered to be.

"I didn't get any of that!" the 30-year-old singer said, pulling back her signature mane, a darker red than the "I Think We're Alone Now"-era Tiffany. "It was not appropriate for me to wear anything like a bustier or to be sexy. It was big hair and hoop earrings and jean jackets. There is no way I could pull off what Britney is pulling off now. It was a totally different time."

That time — an era of tight-rolled jeans and Hypercolor T-shirts — has followed Tiffany her entire life. Nothing, not even an album that garnered favorable comparisons to Alanis Morissette, could get rid of that late-'80s image. Well, almost nothing.

"Doing Playboy was frankly just a way to slap that mall-girl stigma in the face," Tiffany said. "There is no way you can look at these pictures and see that."

Tiffany's decision to pose for Playboy's annual music issue came out of frustrations surrounding her 2000 album, The Color of Silence.

"I was getting all of these great responses to the album from critics and things that I didn't expect, frankly, but because of my name, people really weren't open to booking me on shows," Tiffany said. "Radio wouldn't play my record, even though behind the scenes they were like, 'It's a great record, but just putting your name on it is gonna be a problem.' "

Tiffany's plan is hardly novel. Several celebrities have posed naked to raise their profile, including fellow '80s icon Belinda Carlisle of the Go-Go's. Tiffany has seen many of those issues, but chose not to consult artists who had posed previously.

"I bought a lot of issues of Playboy. I'm well-schooled," Tiffany joked. "For me, though, it was my own personal thing."

And it seems to be working. In recent weeks Tiffany has appeared on "Howard Stern" (of course) and on several other national television and radio programs.

"I'm gonna use this just to have the avenue to talk about my music, which, of course, is my [biggest] concern," she said. "Still, people aren't really interested in talking to me about my music, they are talking to me about being naked. Then I stick the music thing in there."

Tiffany is still plugging The Color of Silence, which she co-wrote and co-produced, and she is already at work on her next album. She is also hoping to break into acting, though it has been a struggle similar to her music career.

"I get scripts a lot that are approaching me from the mall-girl perspective," she said. "Now I am just waiting and seeing what else comes my way, maybe something really wild and crazy."

So "Crossroads 2" is out of the question?

• Tiffany

Eve and DJ Jazzy Jeff are heroes — they'll be honored by the Philadelphia chapter of the Recording Academy at their 2002 Heroes Awards ceremony on April 22 at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The event will benefit the academy's MusiCares Foundation as well as other programs to advance music education and musicians' welfare. ... Kiss bassist and irrepressible self-promoter Gene Simmons will be giving his famed tongue an onscreen workout in the film Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, which stars Tim Allen of "Home Improvement" fame (oh, of course). ... It's Aaron's Valentine Party (Come Get It) — yep, teenage ball o' fire Aaron Carter has his own 90-minute pay-per-view special lined up for February 16 on INDemand and DirecTV. "Aaron Carter's Valentine Party," shot at Baton Rouge, Louisiana's Riverside Centroplex, will also feature several performances by Carter's big Backstreet Boy brother, Nick. ...

Sign up these switch-hitters, stat — Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez are Hollywood's two most bankable musician/actors, notching up #1 and #2, respectively, on a survey of industry execs by The Hollywood Reporter. "Marky"-Mark Wahlberg feels the vibrations at #3, while Madonna, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Ice Cube, Janet Jackson, Cher and Courtney Love bubble under him, according to the Associated Press. ... Photogenic twin-brother act Evan and Jaron are through with being "Crazy for That Girl." They're writing songs for their next album, which could include a new track penned by Evan called "It's So Funny I Could Cry," according to VH1 Radio. ... Rollins Band will record their March 1 and 2 shows at Chicago's famed Metro Cabaret for their first live CD, due in the summer. Henry Rollins and cohorts will warm up for the gigs with dates in Towson, Maryland (February 25), Boston (26) and Buffalo (27). ...

Run-DMC will help kick off the NBA All-Star Weekend on Friday by appearing and performing at a charity auction party held at Philadelphia's Zanzibar Blue. Two nights after the event, which benefits the Inner-City Games Foundation's efforts to enrich young people's lives through sports and educational programs, the rap innovators will join Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Doug E. Fresh, EPMD, DJ Jazzy Jeff, MC Lyte, Public Enemy and Rakim at the Electric Factory's Old School All-Stars party. ... Fatboy Slim and Paul Oakenfold have released albums of their favorite beats, breaks and scratches on the UK label Music of Life. Fatboy's All Star Breakbeats and Oakenfold's Bust a Groove are fodder for DJs, rappers and producers who want a sneak peak into the superstar DJs' record collections and sound files. ...

Reggae/dancehall veteran Capleton — a former Def Jam artist whose past albums have featured collaborations with Q-Tip and Method Man — will release Still Blazing on February 26 through VP Records. The foul-mouthed "slackness" king-turned-Rastafarian is planning to tour behind the LP, which combines hardcore dancehall and old-school reggae flavor. ... Classic rockers Bad Company recorded their recent tour, which featured original singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke along with new members, for a live CD and DVD due in May. The releases will include two new songs and guest appearances by Slash and Journey guitarist Neal Schon on "Wishing Well" and "Crossroads." ...

Good golly, Little Richard will be inducted into the NAACP Hall of Fame at the civil rights organization's 33rd annual Image Awards ceremony, which takes place February 23 and will be broadcast March 1 on Fox. "Little Richard has distinguished himself as not only an unparalleled musical genius, but also as a unique and innovative performing artist — fusing pure vocal talent with exhilarating showmanship," NAACP President/CEO Kweisi Mfume said in a statement. ... Van Morrison wrote two songs and sings on one ("Sometimes We Cry") for the second album by his daughter, Shana Morrison. Due April 2, 7 Wishes blends elements of pop, rock and blues, her spokesperson said. ...Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin and Deep Blue Something will headline WorldSong 2002 - The Next Country Over, a concert to promote world peace and harmony during the Olympic Winter Games, on February 21 at the McKay Event Center in Orem, Utah. ...

02.05.02

Portly hellcats Tenacious D threaten to blow Kid Rock off the stage when they open four dates on the Bullgod's spring tour: March 22 in Indianapolis, Indiana; March 23 in Louisville, Kentucky; March 28 in Kansas City, Missouri and March 29 in St. Louis. The dynamic duo have a headlining tour in the works, according to their label. ... Outspoken Hole frontwoman and artists' rights advocate Courtney Love — currently embroiled in a legal battle with her former label, Geffen Records — will participate in a public interview with the L.A. Times on March 16 at the South by Southwest music conference. Singer/songwriter and former Band guitarist Robbie Robertson is the keynote speaker for this year's gathering, which will take place March 13-17 in Austin, Texas. ...

Jo Jo Brim, senior director of A&R at Def Jam/ Def Soul, had no comment whether or not Def Soul has hollered at the newly free-agented Mariah Carey, though he credit her "unprecedented" track record, "amazing voice" and "tremendous following" in saying that she would be a welcome commodity. "If something of that caliber were to happen, it could only mean great things for everybody involved," Brim said. ... Staind, Aerosmith and American Hi-Fi are tied at the top of the annual Boston Music Awards nominations list with seven each, while Godsmack and Cracktorch are loudly nipping at their heels with six. The awards will be doled out on April 11 at Boston's Orpheum Theatre, where those acts will vie for trophies alongside other multi-nommed local heroes such as Dropkick Murphys, the Sheila Divine, Scissorfight and LFO (go to boston.com for a complete list of nominees). ...

Flame-haired, stone-washed '80s mall-pop princess Tiffany ("I Think We're Alone Now") will appear in the altogether in the April issue of Playboy, which arrives on March 4. Yes, she still sings — her most recent album was 2000's The Color of Silence. ...Linkin Park's debut, Hybrid Theory, has been certified seven times platinum after moving 3 million copies in the last three months, according to the RIAA. Other acts earning shiny new plaques are Creed for Weathered (five times platinum) and Usher for 8701 (triple platinum), while Nelly Furtado's Whoa, Nelly!, Enrique Iglesias' Escape, Pink's Missundaztood, Shakira's Laundry Service and Michael Jackson's Invincible have been certified double platinum. ...

Following rapper TiLo's departure from his Methods of Mayhem last year, Tommy Lee has dispensed with the band, — name and all — and is flying solo for Never a Dull Moment, his second post-Mötley Crüe LP, which is set for release on May 21. "Hold Me Down" is the first single off the LP, which features guest appearances by Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger and Deftones singer Chino Moreno. ... Cypress Hill rhyme-roller B-Real recorded a cover of David Bowie's "Fame" with Lee for Never a Dull Moment, but the rapper's part had to be removed due to clearance issues. "Fame-02," sans B-Real, will still appear on Lee's LP. ...

Philly's own Boyz II Men and Daryl Hall & John Oates will provide entertainment at the NBA's All-Star Saturday Night February 9 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. City High, also from the Philadelphia area, will perform the national anthem before the All-Star Hoop-It-Up tournament, which will see Justin Timberlake and Brian McKnight take the court. ... Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, rocker Patti Smith and Brazilian pop singer Bebel Gilberto have joined David Bowie, Nawang Khechog and the Tibetan monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery on the list of performers scheduled for the 12th annual Tibet House Benefit Concert on February 22 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Bowie and his model wife, Iman, are the Honorary Chairs of the event.

Cake, Nikka Costa and the Roots are among the artists lined up to perform at the Ice House in the Mountain Dew Ice Village in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Olympic Games this month. Cheap Trick, Coolio, Pennywise, Lit, Perry Farrell, BT, George Clinton, Black Eyed Peas, Common, Talib Kweli, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, LFO, Fishbone, Save Ferris, Digable Planets, Dishwalla, Dance Hall Crashers and Mystic also perform on various nights from February 8 to 24. ...

Singer/songwriter Ryan Adams, supporting September's Grammy-nominated Gold, will launch a 10-date tour on February 25 in Los Angeles. The outing, which hits the likes of San Francisco, Chicago and Detroit, wraps March 18 in Boston. ... Robert Moog and Apple Computer, Inc. will each receive a Technical Grammy later this month. Moog invented the Moog synthesizer in 1965 and has been an innovator in analog electronic instruments since, while Apple is known for bringing computer technology into recording studios. ... John Forte, a contributing rapper on the Fugee's The Score and the founder of Wyclef Jean's Refugee Camp All-Stars, will release his second solo album, the hip-hop- and folk-oriented I, John, on April 23.

• Eve
• DJ Jazzy Jeff
• Aaron Carter
• Madonna
• Marky Mark

Portly hellcats Tenacious D threaten to blow Kid Rock off the stage when they open four dates on the Bullgod's spring tour: March 22 in Indianapolis, Indiana; March 23 in Louisville, Kentucky; March 28 in Kansas City, Missouri and March 29 in St. Louis. The dynamic duo have a headlining tour in the works, according to their label. ... Outspoken Hole frontwoman and artists' rights advocate Courtney Love — currently embroiled in a legal battle with her former label, Geffen Records — will participate in a public interview with the L.A. Times on March 16 at the South by Southwest music conference. Singer/songwriter and former Band guitarist Robbie Robertson is the keynote speaker for this year's gathering, which will take place March 13-17 in Austin, Texas. ...

Jo Jo Brim, senior director of A&R at Def Jam/ Def Soul, had no comment whether or not Def Soul has hollered at the newly free-agented Mariah Carey, though he credit her "unprecedented" track record, "amazing voice" and "tremendous following" in saying that she would be a welcome commodity. "If something of that caliber were to happen, it could only mean great things for everybody involved," Brim said. ... Staind, Aerosmith and American Hi-Fi are tied at the top of the annual Boston Music Awards nominations list with seven each, while Godsmack and Cracktorch are loudly nipping at their heels with six. The awards will be doled out on April 11 at Boston's Orpheum Theatre, where those acts will vie for trophies alongside other multi-nommed local heroes such as Dropkick Murphys, the Sheila Divine, Scissorfight and LFO (go to boston.com for a complete list of nominees). ...

Flame-haired, stone-washed '80s mall-pop princess Tiffany ("I Think We're Alone Now") will appear in the altogether in the April issue of Playboy, which arrives on March 4. Yes, she still sings — her most recent album was 2000's The Color of Silence. ...Linkin Park's debut, Hybrid Theory, has been certified seven times platinum after moving 3 million copies in the last three months, according to the RIAA. Other acts earning shiny new plaques are Creed for Weathered (five times platinum) and Usher for 8701 (triple platinum), while Nelly Furtado's Whoa, Nelly!, Enrique Iglesias' Escape, Pink's Missundaztood, Shakira's Laundry Service and Michael Jackson's Invincible have been certified double platinum. ...

Following rapper TiLo's departure from his Methods of Mayhem last year, Tommy Lee has dispensed with the band, — name and all — and is flying solo for Never a Dull Moment, his second post-Mötley Crüe LP, which is set for release on May 21. "Hold Me Down" is the first single off the LP, which features guest appearances by Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger and Deftones singer Chino Moreno. ... Cypress Hill rhyme-roller B-Real recorded a cover of David Bowie's "Fame" with Lee for Never a Dull Moment, but the rapper's part had to be removed due to clearance issues. "Fame-02," sans B-Real, will still appear on Lee's LP. ...

Philly's own Boyz II Men and Daryl Hall & John Oates will provide entertainment at the NBA's All-Star Saturday Night February 9 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. City High, also from the Philadelphia area, will perform the national anthem before the All-Star Hoop-It-Up tournament, which will see Justin Timberlake and Brian McKnight take the court. ... Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, rocker Patti Smith and Brazilian pop singer Bebel Gilberto have joined David Bowie, Nawang Khechog and the Tibetan monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery on the list of performers scheduled for the 12th annual Tibet House Benefit Concert on February 22 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Bowie and his model wife, Iman, are the Honorary Chairs of the event.

Cake, Nikka Costa and the Roots are among the artists lined up to perform at the Ice House in the Mountain Dew Ice Village in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Olympic Games this month. Cheap Trick, Coolio, Pennywise, Lit, Perry Farrell, BT, George Clinton, Black Eyed Peas, Common, Talib Kweli, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, LFO, Fishbone, Save Ferris, Digable Planets, Dishwalla, Dance Hall Crashers and Mystic also perform on various nights from February 8 to 24. ...

Singer/songwriter Ryan Adams, supporting September's Grammy-nominated Gold, will launch a 10-date tour on February 25 in Los Angeles. The outing, which hits the likes of San Francisco, Chicago and Detroit, wraps March 18 in Boston. ... Robert Moog and Apple Computer, Inc. will each receive a Technical Grammy later this month. Moog invented the Moog synthesizer in 1965 and has been an innovator in analog electronic instruments since, while Apple is known for bringing computer technology into recording studios. ... John Forte, a contributing rapper on the Fugee's The Score and the founder of Wyclef Jean's Refugee Camp All-Stars, will release his second solo album, the hip-hop- and folk-oriented I, John, on April 23. ...

02.04.02

Kid Rock and girlfriend Pamela Anderson ducked into New York City's Mercury Lounge Thursday night for a quick glimpse of unsigned Boston quartet Mappari. Perhaps Rock and the "V.I.P." star were still clocking Detroit time, as music industry showcases by Virgin Records' Moth and Mammoth's the Full Nine had the club filled two hours earlier and after only a few measures, the unassuming pair left as hurriedly as they arrived. ... Fabolous and one of hip-hop's founding fathers, DJ Kool Herc, will be at Macy's in Manhattan's Herald Square on Monday (February 4) starting at 5:30 p.m to help The Source celebrate the publication of its 150th issue. P. Diddy's clothing company, Sean John, designed a T-shirt to commemorate the hip-hop magazine's milestone. ...

Bassist Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins), bassist Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle), drummer Samantha Maloney (Hole/Mötley Crüe) and guitarist Radio Sloan (the Need) have formed the Chelsea, and they'll rotate instruments and share vocal duties when they hit the stage at Los Angeles' Spaceland on Wednesday. The quartet, which is named for the New York hotel made infamous by the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious and girlfriend Nancy Spungen, plans to hit a recording studio in the next few weeks. ... Lenchantin's APC bandmate, guitarist/mastermind Billy Howerdel, is writing songs for the follow-up to A Perfect Circle's debut album, Mer de Noms. ...

Santana's follow-up to his Grammy-sweeping, diamond-plus-selling 1999 LP, Supernatural, will be titled Shaman, according to VH1 Radio. The album, due in June, will feature a collaboration with operaman Placido Domingo. ... Adam Ant will be spending Valentine's Day in court to face charges stemming from an incident in a London pub last month. The singer, who suffers from manic depression, was charged with possession of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence as well as criminal damage and one charge of committing actual bodily harm after he allegedly brandished a fake gun and was committed to a psychiatric hospital following his January 12 arrest.

• Tenacious D
• Staind
• Linkin Park
• Kid Rock
• Hole