Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O performs at Lollapalooza 2009 on Saturday night
Photo: Rich Sancho/ MTV News

CHICAGO — First came the rain on Friday, then the heat on Saturday. But Lollapalooza breeds a hearty stock, so with slip 'n slides, togas and giant Chinese peasant hats in tow, out came the 70,000-plus for another day of music that was capped by fill-in headliners the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and doomy metal icons Tool.

Taking the place of the Beastie Boys, who had to drop out several weeks ago due to MC Adam Yauch's bout with cancer of the salivary gland, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought their always-colorful A-game, led, as usual, by fashion-forward singer Karen O, who took the stage in a kaleidoscopic, towering bird costume. Down on the south end, things couldn't have looked and sounded any more different, as Tool singer Maynard James Keenan stripped down to a pair of black workout shorts and moaned the lyrics to his band's turgid D&D metal as giant H.R. Giger-like images of giant bugs and morphing aliens were projected on the big screens.

Saturday dawned hot and steamy, with a chance of furnace blasts, as Friday's buckets of rain turned some parts of Grant Park into a fetid field of chocolate-colored slop that smelled like the elephant house at the zoo. English trio Band of Skulls had the honors of kicking off day two with a raucous set of dirty blues that included the stomper, "Death by Diamonds and Pearls." Also working early was nasal folkie Ezra Furman and his band, the Harpoons, who charmed with the quirky plea for personal space, "I Wanna Be Ignored," a sentiment lost on some of the golden-knee-high-gladiator-sandal-feather-mask-and-giant-sombrero-wearing masses.

It was hard to ignore the big crowd for the relatively unknown Thenewno2. The band is led by Dhani Harrison, who told us a bit later that his dad, late Beatle George Harrison, forbade him to attend Lollapalooza as a youth, and said he could go when he performed at it. Well, Harrison finally arrived, and his five piece band played a mind-expanding set of raga rock that swooped and swayed in psychedelic washes, mixing shoegazer noise with more contemporary glitch rock, and, of course, Harrison's eerily familiar voice.

The debut album by Miike Snow — which features the Swedish production duo known as Bloodshy & Avant (Britney Spears, Madonna) and American singer Andrew Wyatt — is full of catchy falsetto synth pop. But onstage, with the group wearing totally weather-inappropriate black satin jackets and black jeans, songs like "Silvia" and "Plastic Jungle" came off like throbbing techno rock brain teasers, ebbing and flowing with a hypnotic thrum.

Stomping around the stage like a petulant little girl, Norwegian rocker Ida Maria regaled the crowd with her many songs about drinking and its less appetizing aftermath ("Morning Light," "Louie"), bounding around in a shiny gold dress with what appeared to be a lengthy poem scrawled on one of her forearms. Minneapolis hip-hop crew Atmosphere drew a huge crowd on the south stage midday, with thousands of hands pumping in the air for "Puppets," and lots of knowing nods when lead rapper Slug threw in a lyrical reference to the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" in honor of the missing legendary crew.

In their Lollapalooza debut, England's Arctic Monkeys thrashed out of the gate with the trippy "This House Is a Circus" and pub-fueled bounce of "Fluorescent Adolescent," letting up a bit as they moved through a few too-slow songs before hitting their clattering stride again on the breakthrough hit, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor."

	Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Santigold, More At Lollapalooza 2009

Seemingly recovered from previous vocal problems, Santigold looked regal in an animal-print jumper and bejeweled crown as she reworked "You'll Find a Way," "Shove It" and "Say Aha," with dub and mashed-up live beats in front of an audience packed with girls wearing animal feathers in their hair and glittery golden eye shadow.

They were also decked out for Sweden's answer to Lady Gaga, Lykke Li, whose entire body pulsed like a pint-size percussion instrument. Moving in frenzied blur as if possessed by the rhythm, Li smashed a tambourine, struck a crash cymbal and honked on a kazoo during "Dance, Dance, Dance," and thrummed on her chest during the slinky "Little Bit."

The thrum was mind-zapping when sonic amoeba Animal Collective abandoned the more poppy song structures of their most recent album, Merriweather Post Pavilion and moved a blissed-out crowd with a set of loose, trancy falsetto incantations, trippy visuals and dense, throbbing bass and synthesized clicks. Singer Avey Tare often looked as if he himself was lost himself in the sonic brainwash.

The day also featured the melodic hardcore rantings of Chicago's own Rise Against, the hippie friendly jamming of Gomez, Coheed and Cambria's ear-shredding prog metal arias and some rocking blues from Ben Harper and the Relentless7.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs didn't shy away from the unenviable task of filling in for the Beastie Boys. Guitarist Nick Zinner tossed in a few bars of the B Boys' "So Watcha Want" at the end of the grinding, Led Zeppelin-like dirge "Phenomena." Dressed, as usual, in a colorful ensemble, singer Karen O danced like an indie disco queen during "Gold Lion" and the spiky "Honeybear," ably working the big stage with her larger-than-life persona and eliciting some knowing nods from likely newbies with the burbling intro to the band's recent hit, "Zero."

A quick 9 p.m. stroll past Perry's dance area, where, as was the case all day, thousands were jumping and twirling to the sounds of party music emerging from what looked like a giant flashing spaceship, yielded an earful of some seriously tweaked dancehall reggae moving into hardcore hippie techno. On the other main stage, though, there were no such glow-stick-twirling vibes, as Tool helped close out the night with a grinding, visual overload set of prog/industrial metal that brought out the faithful, many proudly wearing their weathered black Tool shirts.

"Stinkfist" got the majority of the dirty and exhausted crowd to wake up, and "Forty Six & 2" built slowly to an anthemic chorus that had the masses raising their voices along with Mohawked Keenan's unmistakable growl. Guitarist Adam Jones' work shredded faces, and appropriately enough, the video playing behind the band was a digital face being destroyed, just one of the band's signature disturbing visuals, which ranged from babies being born inside brains to quite a bit more things piercing eyeballs than would seem totally necessary.

They swayed and jumped, predictably going ballistic by the time "Schism" came on, with drummer Danny Carey tearing up his kit on the bridge to the final build. Ending with the bleak, ominous "Vicarious," Tool left without an encore, which seemed fine for the spent masses shuffling off into the humid night air.

• The Lollapalooza 2009 Experience

• Vampire Weekend, Jane's Addiction, More At Lollapalooza 2009

• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Tool
• Animal Collective
• Santigold

Jay-Z performs at the All Points West festival at Liberty State Park in New Jersey on Friday
Photo: Dove Shore/ Getty Images

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — If you didn't mind the (near constant) rain, the resultant mud, the trench foot or the indescribable odor of 10,000 soaking-wet Tool fans, well, then the second All Points West festival was genuinely great.

Actually, it was pretty great regardless of those things, a testament to the organizers who assembled a lineup that managed to outshine the deluges that flooded New Jersey's Liberty State Park all weekend. The brainchild of Goldenvoice, the same folks who bring you Coachella, APW lived up to the pedigree, delivering a lineup heavy on indie (both new and old), hip-hop and buzz bands, and positively top-heavy with headliners — Jay-Z (who filled in last minute for the Beastie Boys), Coldplay and Tool. It was so solid a schedule, full of so many can't-miss acts, that you almost didn't mind trekking through calf-deep mud to get from one stage to the next.

	Jay-Z, Coldplay, More At All Points West 2009

Of course, Friday night belonged to Jay-Z, who paid tribute to the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch (who is receiving treatment for glandular cancer), by launching into the B-Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," then stalked the APW main stage like a man possessed. Decked out in black (a.k.a. "the D.O.A. look"), backed by a cracking live band with two drummers, he tore through a succession of hits — "Blue Magic," "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," "Swagga Like Us," "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" — then paid homage to Michael Jackson with a performance of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" (which "Izzo" samples) and a speech. "If you take one thing from this concert, remember this: We don't mourn death, we celebrate life," he told the crowd.

During his encore, Jay gave the audience a sneak preview of his anticipated Blueprint 3 album by spitting a stray verse ("I taught n---as fishscale/ Now they want me to fish for them"), then ripped through a one-two-three wallop of his hugest tracks: "99 Problems," "Big Pimpin' " and "Hard Knock Life." He even shouted out some of the hipsters in the audience. (Note to all future festgoers: Do not wear tie dye to a Jay-Z set, lest you feel the wrath of Jigga's onstage banter.) It was Jay's first U.S. festival appearance, and he was most certainly making up for lost time.

Jigga wasn't the only highlight on Friday: Vampire Weekend put on brave faces and played through the downpour, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought their patented brand of spastic high-energy art rock, the National's rumble somehow managed to be more menacing than the rolling thunderclaps, and the Knux brought Run-DMC swagger to hipster nation.

Saturday was the day Tool fans invaded Liberty State Park, and as darkness descended, they prepared themselves for a performance by their mercurial masters. They were impatient — pity My Bloody Valentine, who drew the unenviable task of playing before Maynard and company, which meant they were booed mercilessly by the black-clad masses. When Tool finally emerged to the twisting strains of "Jambi," the bloodthirsty fans went ballistic, thrashing and pounding in time to the band's primal pulses.

Tool's set was aided by gruesome, gooey visuals (courtesy of guitarist/artist Adam Jones), all spasmodic gremlins and twitching amputees, that worked perfectly with the tense, druggy and downright-hazy dark metal. Frontman Keenan's keening, choked vocals on tracks like "Schism" and "Stinkfist" only added to the tension, though we're not quite sure what he was hoping to accomplish with his Salvador Dalí-esque mustache.

Saturday also featured standout sets by Toronto glitchers Crystal Castles, the Arctic Monkeys (who broke out the smoke machine), the Honey Brothers (a.k.a., "that band with Adrian Grenier from 'Entourage' in it") and high-impact pop from Brits the Ting Tings.

Speaking of Brits, it was Coldplay who closed out All Points West, with a set that managed to be both massive — they have, after all, sold something north of 50 million albums worldwide — and minimal, connecting with each member of the waterlogged masses who stuck around Sunday to see them perform (this is probably the secret to their success: Coldplay are very personable dudes).

Kicking off with a trio of tracks — "Life in Technicolor," "Violet Hill," the massive "Clocks" — Coldplay then got down to getting close to the crowd. Frontman Chris Martin saluted their dedication: "As four British people who grew up in the mud and the rain," he laughed, "we salute you for coming out to what can only be described as a mud Jacuzzi."

They got psychedelic ("Strawberry Swing"), trance-y ("God Put a Smile on Your Face") and goofy (Martin's sorta jig during "42"), and — much like Jay-Z — they paid tribute to both the Beastie Boys and Michael Jackson, the former with a ballady take on "Fight for Your Right (to Party)", the latter with a version of "Billie Jean," complete with Martin's Jacko-esque falsettos.

They closed All Points West with the somber, wobbly "The Scientist," as Martin promised the crowd that it would probably be a while until they heard from Coldplay again. We should be dry by then.

• Jay-Z, Coldplay, More At All Points West 2009

• Jay-Z
• Coldplay
• Tool

Jay-Z
Photo: Raymond Boyd/ Michael Ochs Archives/ Getty Images

Jay-Z has been tapped to replace the Beastie Boys at the All Points West festival in New Jersey. The Jigga man has agreed to step in to perform his first-ever set at a U.S. festival just days after it was announced that the B-Boys would have to drop out of four North American festival shows in light of Adam "MCA" Yauch's upcoming cancer treatment.

Jay will take the stage on July 31, opening night of the three-day event in Liberty State Park, topping a bill that will feature fellow headliners Tool and Coldplay, as well as sets from Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys and MGMT. While Jay has rocked audiences at the Glastonbury Festival in England, Denmark's Roskilde Festival and London's O2 Wireless Festival, this will mark the first time he will perform at a major U.S. festival.

Speaking of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the New York trio has agreed to step in to replace the Beasties at Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park the following weekend (August 7-9).

	Beastie Boys Career Retrospective

The Beasties announced on Monday that they would be canceling all of their upcoming shows and pushing back the release of their new album, Hot Sauce Committee, Part One, in order to let Yauch take a breather and receive treatment for cancer in his parotid gland, a salivary gland in the throat. In addition to Lolla and APW, the cancellations by the hip-hop trio include a headlining slot at the Osheaga Fest in Montreal and another at the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco; those events have not yet announced replacement headliners.

The addition of Jay to the APW lineup presents a potentially intriguing opportunity for the veteran MC to win over a rock audience by unveiling his collaboration with psychedelic rockers MGMT, who are slated to appear on his upcoming The Blueprint 3 album, according to a Reuters report. They join a reported list of collaborators that already includes Mr. Hudson, Rihanna, Drake and Kid Cudi. A spokesperson for Jay told MTV News that they could not confirm any of the potential collaborators at press time because the track listing for the album has not yet been confirmed.

APW organizers are offering refunds at the point of purchase for any July 31 single-day ticket holders wanting their money back in light of the Beasties' cancellation.

• Beastie Boys: A Career Retrospective

• Jay-Z
• Beastie Boys
• Coldplay
• Tool

The Killers' Brandon Flowers
Photo: John Shearer/ WireImage

Well, now we know all six. Last month, after four of this year's Lollapalooza headliners were revealed, event founder Perry Farrell told MTV News that he wasn't stressed by the premature leakage ... after all, he still had a pair of big-name bill-toppers to announce, and late Monday he did just that — and then some.

Farrell unveiled the full Lollapalooza 2009 lineup — a list of more than 100 acts — including his two top-secret headliners: Tool and the Killers, who will join previously reported headliners the Kings of Leon, the reunited Jane's Addiction, the Beastie Boys and Depeche Mode (as in previous years — 2008's closing-night duel between Kanye West and Nine Inch Nails, for example — each night at Lolla 2009 will have two headliners).

Artists on the undercard include Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Rise Against, TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, the Decemberists and Ben Harper and Relentless 7. In keeping with previous years' Lolla lineups, there's also a strong undercurrent of electronic music (Thievery Corporation, MSTRKRFT, Crystal Castles and Simian Mobile Disco), hip-hop (Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, Rye Rye) and hotly tipped indie acts (Animal Collective, Band of Horses, Of Montreal, Deerhunter and Ida Maria).

Lollapalooza 2009 will take place August 7-9 in Chicago's Grant Park. A limited number of advance-price three-day passes are now available through Lollapalooza.com for $190. When those are gone, regular three-day passes will go on sale for $205. There are also VIP packages and private luxury cabanas available for the well-heeled members of the alternative nation.

The full lineup for Lollapalooza 2009:

Depeche Mode
Tool
The Killers
Jane's Addiction
Beastie Boys
Kings of Leon
Lou Reed
Ben Harper and Relentless 7
Thievery Corporation
Snoop Dogg
Rise Against
Andrew Bird
TV on the Radio
Vampire Weekend
The Decemberists
Neko Case
Sound Tribe Sector 9
Animal Collective
Band of Horses
Of Montreal
Arctic Monkeys
Coheed and Cambria
Ben Folds
Fleet Foxes
Silversun Pickups
Kaiser Chiefs
Crystal Castles
Bon Iver
Santogold
Atmosphere
Dan Auberbach
Cold War Kids
Deerhunter
Lykke Li
Robert Earl Keen
Peter Bjorn and John
Heartless Bastards
Gomez
Glasvegas
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Passion Pit
The Raveonettes
The Gaslight Anthem
The Airborne Toxic Event
White Lies
Ra Ra Riot
No Age
Asher Roth
Los Campesinos!
Bat for Lashes
Chairlift
Gang Gang Dance
The Virgins
Amazing Baby
Portugal. The Man
The Knux
Ida Maria
Delta Spirit
Friendly Fires
Manchester Orchestra
Constantines
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons
Hockey
Miike Snow
Alberta Cross
Hey Champ
Sam Roberts Band
The Henry Clay People
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Cage the Elephant
Living Things
The Low Anthem
Blind Pilot
Langhorne Slim
Other Lives
The Builders and The Butchers
Eric Church
Joe Pug
Kevin Devine
The Green Cards
Carney
Thenewno2

Featured electronic performers in Perry Farrell's electronica tent:

Bassnectar
MSTRKRFT
Simian Mobile Disco
DeadMau5
Boys Noise
KiD CuDi
Crookers
A-Trak
Hercules and Love Affair (DJ Set)
The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set)
LA Riots
Kaskade
The Glitch Mob
Hollywood Holt
Rye Rye
He Say, She Say
Car Stereo (Wars)
Dark Wave Disco
Moneypenny
Yello Fever
Animal Collective (DJ Set)

• Livin' Lollapalooza

• Lollapalooza 2008

• The Killers
• Tool
• Kings Of Leon
• Jane's Addiction
• Beastie Boys

Coldplay's Chris Martin
Photo: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

The All Points West Music & Arts Festival will return for a second year with a lineup that includes the Beastie Boys, Coldplay and Tool as headliners. The festival, held at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, will take place July 31 to August 2, with tickets on sale Friday.

Put on by Goldenvoice, the same promoters behind next month's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, APW will again present a heady mix of alt-rock and rap superstars, new-wave legends, rock, current indie and comedy in the 80-acre Jersey park that's just across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan with a clear view of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the New York skyline. Promoters said they are also transforming the Queen of the Valley stage into a Coachella-like tent to showcase DJs, electronic acts and comedy this year and are improving the site to be more accessible and comfortable for attendees.

And like Coachella, Stagecoach, Bonnaroo and Rothbury, APW will offer cash-strapped fans the option of buying three-day passes on a layaway plan.

Among the other acts on the bill are Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Neko Case, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys, Echo & the Bunnymen, My Bloody Valentine, MSTRKRFT and Fleet Foxes.

APW will take place one weekend before this year's Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, August 7-9, and the fests will reportedly share the Beastie Boys as a headliner (the Beasties are also scheduled to play Bonnaroo in June). Lollapalooza is expected to announce its lineup in several weeks.

The full lineup for APW:

Friday, July 31: Beastie Boys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, the National, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Q-Tip, the Pharcyde, Organized Konfusion, the Knux, Ra Ra Riot, Seasick Steve, Telepathe, Shearwater, Heartless Bastards, Flying Lotus, College Humor Live, Arj Barker, Eugene Mirman and Bo Burnham.

Saturday, August 1: Tool, My Bloody Valentine, Gogol Bordello, Arctic Monkeys, Neko Case, the Ting Tings, Yelle, Crystal Castles, St. Vincent, Tokyo Police Club, the Cool Kids, Kool Keith, Cage the Elephant, Chairlift, White Rabbits, Electric Touch, the Postelles, Black Gold, College Humor Live, Tim & Eric, Judah Friedlander and Jim Jeffries.

Sunday, August 2: Coldplay, Echo & the Bunnymen, MGMT, the Black Keys, Elbow, Silversun Pickups, Mogwai, We Are Scientists, Ghostland Observatory, the Gaslight Anthem, Etienne De Crecy, Lykke Li, Akron/Family, Steel Train, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, College Humor Live, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Showalter and Todd Barry.

• Coldplay
• Beastie Boys
• Tool
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• The Ting Tings

The Killers' Brandon Flowers
Photo: John Shearer/ WireImage

The longer Lollapalooza organizers wait to unveil the lineup for this year's festival, the more people will speculate. The Chicago Tribune and Billboard already leaked the news that the Beastie Boys, Depeche Mode, Kings of Leon and Jane's Addiction will be among this year's headliners.

And over the weekend, the Tribune added a few more names to that list: the Killers and Tool, who will reportedly fill out the remaining headliner slots for the three-day festival (August 7-9). Another act the paper says you can count on is the Decemberists, who might play their new concept album, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety, just like they did at South by Southwest.

The story also confirms that punk godfather Lou Reed has been asked to play a late-afternoon/ early-evening greatest-hits set. A spokesperson for the festival would not comment on the latest rumors and reiterated that the official lineup will be released on April 21.

The Tribune isn't the only Chicago paper speculating about the schedule. An article in the city's alt-weekly, the Chicago Reader, took a slightly more scientific approach to the task by looking at the festival's notorious blackout window for artists, which, according to writer Jessica Hopper, can bar an act from playing within 250 miles and 120 days of Lolla.

Using that logic, Hopper reverse-engineered a lineup by figuring out which acts appear to have Chicago-centric holes in their U.S. tours between April and Lollapalooza, or who might have priced out of Pitchfork's rival Chicago festival. On the basis of those parameters, Hopper offered up a possible return from Girl Talk, as well as potential sets from Bon Iver, No Age, Peter Bjorn and John, Animal Collective, Atmosphere, Bat for Lashes, Jason Mraz and Lykke Li. She even speculates that Taylor Swift — who has an apparently open spot on her tour on August 7 — could pop in, as well as hometown heroes Fall Out Boy, M.I.A. (who just confirmed her first post-pregnancy date for Coachella next month), PJ Harvey and maybe Lil Wayne, though he has a gig in nearby Hoffman Estates on April 10, 111 days before the festival.

• MTV News' Headlines Of The Day

• The Killers
• The Decemberists
• Tool
• Lou Reed

Tool's Maynard James Keenan
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Revered avant-metallers Tool have been nominated for several Grammy Awards over the years, and they've even won three: Best Metal Performance in 1997 and 2001; and Best Recording Package in 2006 for their most recent LP, 10,000 Days. This year, Tool were up for Best Hard Rock Performance again, for the 10,000 Days track "The Pot," but they lost the award to the Foo Fighters.

Not surprisingly, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan has long shunned the Grammys, and had never even been to the ceremony before Sunday night — despite the numerous nods to his band's work. So why the change of heart, Maynard?

"Well, it's the 50th anniversary, and my son's never been to the Grammys, and I've never been to one, so I figured it's probably time," Keenan told MTV News on the Grammy red carpet on Sunday. His date for the event was his 12-year-old son, Devo, who is a cellist for Ashes Divide, the band founded by Keenan's A Perfect Circle co-pilot, Billy Howerdel. "There are other things we could do, but this is very special, I think, and it will be the highlight of the year for him. I think he's pretty stoked about it. We're kind of easygoing."

The reclusive Keenan isn't the awards-show-going type, of course, but, just before heading inside Los Angeles' Staples Center, he admitted he was looking forward to the Foo Fighters' Grammy performance. "It's going to be tremendous," he predicted of the band's outdoor set, which featured a full orchestra conducted by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones.

But really, talking about the Grammys isn't exactly an exciting endeavor for Keenan, and as fans might expect, the enigmatic singer has a lot on his plate anyway. His idiosyncratic side project, Puscifer, is keeping him quite busy, and so is his Sedona, Arizona, winery, Merkin Vineyards. Late last year, Keenan — who is a passionate wine connoisseur — released a 2004 Nagual de la Naga, a 2004 Nagual del Sensei and a new Primer Paso.

And yes, there's also Tool's fifth studio album to think about. While he wouldn't say much about the forthcoming LP, Keenan did reveal that the band would soon be reconvening to start kicking around song ideas.

"We're going to start writing the new Tool record right away," he said.

That said, there's no time table for the disc — Keenan didn't say when he expected the band to start tracking the effort, when it might be ready for release or what it might sound like. But with Tool's touring schedule wide open for the foreseeable future, he said it's time for the band to buckle down. He also elaborated on Tool's creative process.

"The music always comes first," Keenan said. "We all get in a room, shut out all the extra noises from the other people and what goes on outside the room and just focus on the four of us, where we are that day. And then we just start making sounds."

• Tool
• Foo Fighters

Mary J. Blige's <i>Growing Pains</i>
Photo: Geffen Records

This is it, ladies and germs — the last batch of new releases you'll be able to buy leading up to all the gift-swappage a week from now. We know you've got some last-minute shopping to do, so without further delay, here's what's in store(s) this week:

Mary Christmas: Mary J. Blige doesn't really need to worry about competition — after all, every one of her studio releases has gone platinum, most more than once. One of her biggest successes was her last one, The Breakthrough, which has sold roughly 3 million copies since its December 20, 2005, release. Fitting to its handle, the follow-up, Growing Pains, bumped from mid- to late November, then settled on this December date — which, given her past success in the month, can't be a bad thing. But what's really up with the album name, especially given that we're talking about an artist who has been making music for more than 15 years? The normally proud Mary humbly told MTV News in October — without referring to herself in the third person! — that, "it's going to take probably a lifetime to get to a point in my life where I'm like, 'Oh, I'm perfect.' I don't think that will ever happen. So as long as I'm a human being and I'm not perfect, I'm able to say I'm having some growing pains." Look for production contributions from Ne-Yo, The-Dream and the Neptunes, as well as featured appearances by Usher ("Shake Down") and Ludacris ("Grown Woman"). Fans who preordered the singer's eighth studio disc got a download of her new single, "Just Fine," plus a bonus track "Mirror" (featuring Eve) and digital booklet.

Lupe on Ice?: Blige's smoking Pains is sure to cause Lupe Fiasco's "The Cool" some harm on the charts — the Chicago rapper's last effort, Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor, opened at #8 on the Billboard albums chart, while Blige's Breakthrough debuted at #1. Still, Lupe does have Snoop Dogg on his side — courtesy a guest appearance on the song "Hi-Definition" — and he's got a fresh Grammy nomination in his pocket too, as his tune "Daydreamin' " (featuring Jill Scott) is up for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Referring to a conversation he had with esteemed Princeton University professor Cornel West, he told MTV News in September that, "cool things are what's destructive and what's got us down and depressed. And if you can make it hip to be square, you might really affect some actual social change in the world. So this is like my attempt, very blatant, over-attempt [at that], by naming the album The Cool." Fans who preordered the album were treated to a limited-edition autographed vinyl, if they went the digital-download route, or a free T-shirt if they bought the physical album ahead of time.

Cha-Chingy: While Mary and Lupe are, for the most part, hoping to carry their new albums on their own strengths, Chingy has armed himself with a battalion of fellow rappers to help him storm the charts. Ludacris, Rick Ross, Ice Cube, Trey Songz, Amerie, Bobby Valentino, Anthony Hamilton and producers Cool & Dre all lend their skills on Hate It or Love It. You read that right: Ludacris. Chingy recently made peace with Disturbing Tha Peace, declaring to MTV News over the summer that he was "back with DTP like I ain't never went nowhere. It's all good." His hopeful collabo with Kanye West, on the other hand, apparently didn't pan out.

Big Seller In The Making?: Despite Lupe and Chingy's new releases, Blige might actually face the stiffest competition from Jaheim and his fourth effort, The Making of a Man — after all, its predecessor, Ghetto Classics, topped the Billboard albums chart upon its release in 2006. Likely to give the New Jersey R&B singer a big boost are collaborations with R. Kelly, Babyface and Keyshia Cole; as well as covers of Luther Vandross and Bobby Womack classics. "Being a man means to walk like Christ," Jaheim said in a press release. "You have to want that change. If you sacrifice, He'll give you everything you are looking for. When you're taken through the storm, the only thing you can do is write about it ... get your pain off. So I'm going to take this story and change somebody's life." Jaheim's own life has seen some changes lately too — according to the release, he has "adopted a new lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise habits," bought a new house and "for the first time in his life, he finds himself truly in love."

Silver-Screen Sounds: "There Will Be Blood" and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" have been getting lots of love as the film world delves deep into awards season, with both titles scooping up Golden Globe nominations last week. As it turns out, soundtracks for both sinister movies are hitting stores this week — via the same label, Nonesuch. One of the most unusual aspects of Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd" seems to be the singing performances by Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen, all of which are captured on the musical accompaniment. But Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood might grant the soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson's flick even greater commercial success, as he wrote the instrumental score. "I tried to write for the scenery and the story rather than specific 'themes' for characters," Greenwood said in a statement. "Only a couple of the parts were written for specific scenes — I was happier writing lots of music for the film/story."

Raw Appeal: Stores are crazy enough as it is, with all the holiday shopping going on — but they might get a little more violent this week as wrestling fans clothesline each other on their way to the cash registers, with copies of "WWE Raw" - Greatest Hits: The Music in their mitts. The disc teems with the theme songs for the Rock, John Cena, Chris Jericho and other beefcakes — and the project is nothing to scoff at, given that five WWE Music Group releases have debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard albums chart. Plus, Rick Rubin was involved in the project, oddly enough. "I've been a lifelong fan of WWE," he revealed in a statement.

Another Kiss: While we're on the subject of guys who like to dress up and wear makeup, Kiss are breaking out the last installment in their "Kissology" series this week. The massive, four-disc "Volume Three 1992-2000" is loaded with 10-plus hours of material from the rock titans, including a November 1992 show in Detroit; their 1995 "MTV Unplugged" performance and accompanying behind-the-scenes material; another Detroit gig, from '96; five songs as part of their 1996 VMA performance; a 1998 show at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium; songs they performed at the '99 premiere of the movie "Detroit Rock City"; a 2000 show in New Jersey; and, for good measure, the famed Coventry 1973 gig in New York that marked their first show in makeup that was captured on camera. Talk about a never-ending Kiss.

A Shorter Tool: Unlike Kiss, Tool aren't taking the exhaustive approach with their new DVD. The band's long-awaited "Vicarious" disc has an extended cut of the video for the title track, crack commentary from comedian David Cross, a making-of featurette and some live clips.

Rivers' Deluge: Weezer wouldn't be a band without Rivers Cuomo, of course — for proof, look no further than Alone - The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, a compilation of his demos that provided the foundation for the band's material. "By Christmas 1990, I had wheedled my mother, finally, into co-signing for a credit card and bought a Tascam 688 home-recording unit and began a steady stream of demo-making that has continued in various forms, on various machines and in various locations around the world until the present time and place, October 2007. In my home in Los Angeles, I make my demos on the Dell laptop computer which I am now writing," he wrote in the package's extensive liner notes. Among the 16 demos are "Buddy Holly," "Dude, We're Finally Landing" and "I Was Made For You."

Song Title of the Week:

"Go Go Gadget Flow" from Lupe Fiasco's "The Cool"

Album Cover of the Week:

Bram Tchaikovsky's Strange Man, Changed Man

Other Notables:

Keller Williams' 12
You'll never guess how many releases the guitarist has put out over the course of his 20-plus-year career. We'll give you a clue: It's a number between 11 and 13 and has something to do with the title of his latest disc. For the innovative 12 — which Williams called his "hitless greatest hits" comp in a statement — he cherry-picked one song from each of his previous releases and chalked up one newly recorded track.

Doug Levitt's Diaries: Eastbound Edition
A guy decides to spend six weeks touring on a Greyhound Bus so he can get better acquainted with common folk and tell their stories. That's, in a nutshell, this singer/songwriter's Greyhound Diaries: Eastbound Edition project, which surfaced in the form of a series of videos on the Web starting December 10, and a four-song iTunes EP that came out Monday. Expect a related full-length album in the spring.

The Dig's Good Luck and Games
The New York band actually has this up on the group's Web site or MySpace page as a free download, but after Thursday, you'll have to resort to buying the release, which will also be available at CD Baby. The effort — which was produced by Pavement and Ramones collaborator Bryce Goggin — was preceded by the rock group's prior to LPs, Boston Rock 'N Roll and Quiet Parade. Dig it.

New Releases:

· Mary J. Blige - Growing Pains (Geffen) [Buy Now]
Read: "Mary J. Blige Says She's 'Just Fine' With Her New Album, Losing 'Umbrella' To Rihanna"
· Chingy - Hate It or Love It (Disturbing Tha Peace)[Buy Now]
· Kirk Franklin - The Fight of My Life (Gospocentric)
· Jonny Greenwood - "There Will Be Blood" soundtrack (Nonesuch)
· Jaheim - The Making of a Man (Atlantic/ Ghetto Hoodz)
· Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's "The Cool" (Atlantic) [Buy Now]
Read: "Lupe Fiasco's Cool World: Tragedy Meets 'Mad Poppy Beats'"
· Various artists - "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" soundtrack (Nonesuch)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· Rivers Cuomo - Alone - The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo (Geffen) [Buy Now]
· Bram Tchaikovsky - Strange Man, Changed Man (Hip-O-Select)
· Trisome 21 - 25 Years (limited-edition two-CD set; Alfa Matrix)
· Keller Williams - 12 (Sci Fidelity)
· Various artists - Def Jam Sessions, Vol. 01 (Def Jam)
· Various artists - "WWE Raw" - Greatest Hits: The Music (Columbia/ WWE Music Group)

Music DVDs:

· Chuck Berry - "Maybellene - Impact: Songs That Changed the World" (SRO Entertainment) [Buy Now]
· Vivian Campbell - "Lead Master Class" (Music Sales)
· Aretha Franklin - "Respect - Impact: Songs That Changed the World" (SRO Entertainment) [Buy Now]
· Kiss - "Kissology: The Ultimate Kiss Collection, Vol. 3: 1992-2000" (five-DVD box set; VH1 Classics) [Buy Now]
· The Moody Blues - "The Moody Blues Live: Lovely to See You" (HD DVD; Image Entertainment)
· Roy Orbison - "Black & White Night" (HD DVD; Image Entertainment)
· Chuck Rainey - "The Legendary Bass of Chuck Rainey" (Music Sales)
· Three 6 Mafia - "Adventures in Hollywood" (Columbia)
· Tool - "Vicarious" (Jive) [Buy Now]
· Shania Twain - "Any Man of Mine - Impact: Songs That Changed the World" (SRO Entertainment) [Buy Now]
· Various artists - "Band Aid: Do They Know It's Christmas? - Impact: Songs That Changed the World" (SRO Entertainment)

Digital Releases:

· Benzos - Coup d'état (free self-release )
· Michael Brook - "Into the Wild" score (available exclusively on iTunes; Lakeshore)
· The Dig - Good Luck and Games (EP) [Buy Now]
· Eisley - Like the Actors (Warner Bros./ Reprise; available exclusively on iTunes)
· Doug Levitt - Diaries: Eastbound Edition (digital e-book with four-song EP; available on iTunes)
· Ozomatli - Live From SoHo (available exclusively on iTunes)
· Silverchair - The Greatest View EP (available exclusively on iTunes) [Buy Now]
· Gordon Withers - Jawbox on Cello: A Benefit for Cal Robbins (; Ioda)

Coming Attractions:

December 25:
· Various artists - "High School Musical 2": Non-Stop Dance Party (Disney)
· Various artists - "Young Frankenstein: The New Mel Brooks Musical" (Decca Broadway)

January 1:
· Radiohead - In Rainbows (TBD/ATO) [Preorder]
· Various artists - "Elvis: Viva Las Vegas" soundtrack (Sony)

January 8:
· Sia - Some People Have Real Problems (Monkey Puzzle) [Preorder]
· Testament - Demonic and Hammer of the Gods reissues (Prosthetic) [Preorder]
· Various artists - ... And All the Pieces Matter: Five Years of Music From "The Wire" (Nonesuch)

• Mary J. Blige
• Lupe Fiasco
• Chingy
• Tool

Eagles' <i>Long Road Out of Eden</i>
Photo: Eagles Recording Co.

Ouch. She couldn't do it again.

Despite early projections — which, based on first-day sales figures, had beleaguered pop star Britney Spears' first studio LP in four years opening at #1 on next week's Billboard albums chart — it simply wasn't meant to be. That's thanks to an 11th-hour reversal of Billboard's policy to not include albums sold exclusively through one retailer in the top 200 (see "Britney Spears' Blackout Denied #1 Debut On Billboard Chart After Last-Minute Rule Change").

Instead, the Eagles' first studio LP in 28 years, Long Road Out of Eden, will take the chart's peak position, with sales of nearly 711,000 copies, despite only being sold in Wal-Mart. That more than doubles the 290,000 scans generated by Spears' Blackout, which fell more than 40,000 short of experts' earliest sales estimates. Eden is the Eagles' first release — apart from a few compilations — to debut at #1 since the mostly live Hell Freezes Over, which also entered on top back in 1994, with 266,700 copies sold. Eden is the band's sixth release to bow at #1, and one of 2007's best debuts, joining Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride, which racked up 527,000 in its first week; Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight (with 623,000 scans); 50 Cent's Curtis (691,000); and Kanye West's Graduation (957,000).

So rather than score the fifth #1 debut of her career, Spears finds herself in a position she's never been in before: second place. Before Blackout's release, all four of Brit's previous outings debuted at #1: 1999's ... Baby One More Time (with 120,600 sold), 2000's Oops! ... I Did It Again (with 1.3 million), 2001's Britney (with 745,700) and 2003's In the Zone (609,400).

But Brit and the Eagles weren't the only newcomers to next week's chart. In fact, four other new albums will enter the top 10, and in all, 22 LPs will enter this latest chart, during what was a rather strong week for record sales, according to the latest SoundScan totals.

Following Britney at #4, with 93,800 copies snatched up during week one, is the latest eponymous offering from California rockers Avenged Sevenfold. The band's previous outing, 2005's City of Evil, opened at #30 with 33,000 sold. Coming in at #5 with 83,600 scans is Josh Turner's Everything Is Fine, and bowing at #7, thanks to sales of 81,100, is the sixth studio LP from the Backstreet Boys, Unbreakable. The band's previous offerings fared better, for the most part. While 1997's Backstreet Boys debuted at #29 with 40,000 scanned, 1999's Millennium took the #1 spot with 1.2 million sold, and 2000's Black and Blue also opened at #1, selling 1.6 million. The band's 2005 LP, Never Gone, entered at #3 with 291,000 sold.

Underwood's Carnival Ride is wedged between Brit and Avenged Sevenfold at #3, with sales of 170,100, and at #6, it's Raising Sand, a collaborative offering from Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and bluegrass revivalist Alison Krauss, selling another 81,200 units in its second week. Josh Groban's Noël drops three spots to #8, with 76,100 sold. Meanwhile, Italian singer Andrea Bocelli takes the chart's #9 position, having scanned 67,500 copies of his retrospective The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere release. Rascal Flatts' Still Feels Good rounds things out at #10, with 53,200 copies flying off store shelves.

Elsewhere on the chart, V Is for Vagina, the long-awaited debut album from Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan's side project, Puscifer, debuts at #25, with sales reported at more than 26,500. Rappers Playaz Circle follow at #27, having sold 26,100 copies of their new one, Supply and Demand, while Baby Bash's Cyclone enters at #30, with 25,800 scans. R&B stalwart Will Downing's After Tonight fills the #37 slot, with 21,500 in week-one sales, and rapper Project Pat's Walkin' Bank Roll checks in at #47, with 17,200 copies grabbed up.

After months of delays, Otep's The Ascension finally makes its debut on the top 200, entering at #81 after selling more than 10,200 copies. Armor for Sleep's Smile for Them follows at #93 with 9,400 scans, while the various-artists soundtrack to the Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There" opens at #95, with 9,200 copies sold. Levon Helm's Dirt Farmer takes over the #102 position, with more than 8,600 copies scanned, and Thursday's Kill the House Lights enters the chart at #113, with 7,700 in sales.

Saves the Day return to the chart at #119, with their latest, Under the Boards, selling 6,700 copies, while the Insane Clown Posse's Jugganauts: The Best of ICP takes the #124 spot with 6,300 scans. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra's EP — which, like the Eagles' new release, is being sold exclusively at Wal-Mart — follows at #132 with 5,800 copies sold, while Taking Back Sunday's Notes From the Past enters at #141 with 5,600 scans. Lastly, opening at #153 with nearly 5,100 copies sold, is Graham Colton's Here Right Now.

• Eagles
• Britney Spears
• Avenged Sevenfold
• Backstreet Boys
• Carrie Underwood

Sean Penn
Photo: Philip Cheung/ Getty Images

The raging Southern California wildfires that intensified over the weekend are threatening the homes of a number of stars who reside in Malibu. Mel Gibson, Jennifer Aniston, Tom Hanks, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, James Cameron, Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn, Rob Reiner, David Geffen, David Duchovny, Mark Hamill, Olivia Newton-John and Bill Murray are among the stars who have been evacuated or whose homes are potentially in jeopardy. ...

Fall Out Boy have "an album's worth of material" good to go but aren't ready to put out their fifth LP just quite yet, frontman Patrick Stump told Billboard.com. "There's always something that hits me, like a sense of urgency — now is the time for an album — and we're not there yet," he said. "I just get this kind of wanderlust of some kind to go back into a studio. It's always a very defined point." Stump added that the band's Infinity on High, which came out in February, hasn't worn out its welcome yet. "I don't really feel like we're done with this one yet," he said. "I feel like it's still in its cycle. There's a lot of songs on it I'm really proud of." Meanwhile, in regards to the new material, Stump said there are "lots of bizarre ideas" in the mix, "everything from folk to ... actually, I was experimenting with piano phases, like Steve Reich, the composer. There'll be some weird stuff, but at the end of the day, it's probably just gonna be a pop record." Stump also said he recently filmed a guest spot for an episode of "Law & Order" that will air in February. ...

Beyoncé's tour comes to a close November 12 in Taiwan — so, fittingly, she's decided to put out a concert DVD eight days later. "The Beyoncé Experience Live!," recorded at Los Angeles' Staples Center on September 2, features her performances of "Survivor" with the reunited Destiny's Child and "Upgrade U" with beau Jay-Z. It has more than two hours' worth of content in total. ... Tool's long-promised "Vicarious" DVD will be in stores December 18 and include an extended cut of the video for the title track, bonus material and special packaging. ...

The jury trial of Vincent "Don Vito" Margera — Bam Margera's uncle — on two counts of sexual assault on a child is slated to begin Tuesday. Margera is on trial for allegedly groping three underage girls at an autograph signing in August 2006 in Colorado. The jury in the trial was slated to be seated on Monday (October 22), according to a court spokesperson. ...

Ozzy Osbourne has heart — he's donating all his net profits from his November 30 show at Los Angeles' Staples Center, including ticket sales and merch, to the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program run by his wife. ... Korn frontman Jonathan Davis has beefed up his upcoming solo tour with additional dates — the trek will get under way November 9 in Hartford, Connecticut, and run through December 11 in Las Vegas. In related news, ex-Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery is now an ex-Korn guitarist too. He has been replaced by Shane Gibson after being forced to leave the band's current "B---h We Have a Problem" run due to a family emergency. ...

Want to get your hands on some Gorillaz stickers, badges and a "Choose Pazuzu" patch? Then make sure to pick up the special-edition version of their upcoming D-Sides collection, which has bumped from a November 6 release date November 20. The special set will also come in a glossy box and have two exclusive prints by Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett. ... The ever-outlandish Mars Volta fans are going to be required to wear costumes to the one-off show they'll play at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on New Year's Eve. The band's next album, The Bedlam in Goliath, drops January 29. ...

The hip-hop promoter who was allegedly attacked by three of Diddy's bodyguards reportedly served the hip-hop mogul on Friday with papers over the rough-up, although they were reportedly having none of it. According to TMZ, James Waldon tried to hand Diddy papers at his Sean Jean store in New York, but his bodyguards apparently smacked them to the ground before eventually retrieving them. They reportedly chased away Waldon, who alleges in his $5 million suit that three of Diddy's bodyguards attacked him after he chatted with the Bad Boy boss at the Box nightclub in New York. ... Relient K have parted ways with drummer Dave Douglas, who will bolt after the group's tour winds down in late December, it was revealed in a Friday post on the band's Web site. No explanation has been given for the departure of Douglas, who had been in Relient K for seven years. Douglas was quoted in the post as saying he will be devoting most of his time to his Gypsy Parade project. ...

Seems there's trouble in the world of CKY. Apparently a physical altercation recently broke out between various members of the group, and they've taken to MySpace to air their dirty laundry. In a post from guitarist Chad Ginsburg, he claims he broke his foot at a gig in St. Louis, and that frontman Deron Miller "has quit CKY to pursue his own band." He added that he, along with drummer Jess Margera, will carry on as CKY. Of course, Miller has a different side to the story. He claims he didn't quit the band, but, "after the San Diego show, I started getting really depressed and couldn't eat or sleep, so of course, I started drinking more and more moderately." According to Miller, he overheard several of his bandmates talking smack about him in St. Louis, and heard some "extremely personal, painful things that were mostly untrue and stupid." Miller said he confronted the rest of the band, after which "a fight broke out. I slapped Jess' hat off of his head and [Miller was jumped] after I put on my backpack to leave the bus." He said he left the band's tour to "detox" and is considering returning to the fold "if I can get and return some apologies, because let's face it, CKY [carrying on] would both be laughable and illegal." Miller also warned that if any of the songs he wrote for the band's forthcoming album end up on the LP, he'd take legal action. ...

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can't get enough of each other — the couple are putting together a series for HBO, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The two are creating their first production project, a drama that will chronicle workers in an international aid organization who are assigned to dangerous areas. The series doesn't have a name yet, but it will be written by Scott Burns, who produced Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and co-wrote "The Bourne Ultimatum." ...

Cake are hitting the road for the latest edition of their Unlimited Sunshine Tour series in support of their recently released B-Sides and Rarities compilation. The tour, which kicks off November 28 with a show in Anaheim, California, will also feature performances by Brazilian Girls, Detroit Cobras, Oakley Hall, King City and Agent Ribbons. ...

Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson's divorce is almost officially over — the ex-couple have filed their divorce papers in Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to TMZ. A judge might sign off on the papers later Monday. Robinson filed for divorce in November, and he will share joint custody with Hudson of their only child, son Ryder. ... Lance Hahn, the J Church bassist who also originally fronted the San Francisco punk band, died Sunday from complications arising from kidney disease, according to Austin360.com. He was 40. In July, a tribute album called Let's Do It for Lance! was released to help raise money so Hahn, who had no health insurance, could pay his medical bills. ...

It was a scary moment for punk godmother Patti Smith during a show at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on Sunday, when the 60-year-old singer took a fall and almost hit the edge of the stage during a show, according to a report. During an encore of her signature tune "Rock N Roll N-----," England's NME reports that Smith tripped on a speaker and fell on her face, cutting her elbow and laying on the ground for a few "agonizing" seconds. Smith allegedly joked about the fall, saying, "I'm not even f---ing embarrassed because I've done far worse," perhaps alluding to the scary fall she took in 1977 in Tampa, Florida, when she tripped off a stage and broke two vertebrae in her neck. ...

Country legend Porter Wagoner has been diagnosed with lung cancer and has been hospitalized in serious condition in Nashville, according to The Associated Press. Wagoner, 80, known for his rhinestone-dripping stage outfits and blond pompadour, is a Country Music Hall of Famer whose hits include "Misery Loves Company," "Green, Green Grass of Home" and "Skid Row Joe." He helped launch the career of Dolly Parton when he hired her as a duet partner in 1967, and Parton has said she wrote the smash hit "I Will Always Love You" (famously covered by Whitney Houston) in Wagoner's honor. ...

Police in Johannesburg, South Africa, have arrested five people in connection with the murder of reggae singer Lucky Dube, who was shot and killed during an attempted carjacking on Thursday. Reuters reports that the men were arrested in an early morning raid on Sunday, during which stolen goods were found in the house in which they were captured.

10.19.07

If you thought Jay-Z was a little premature in announcing his "retirement" four years ago, you're not alone. The hip-hop mogul admits in a new interview with XXL that he "pulled the retirement ripcord too many times." He added, "I want to never say that again. ... People looking at me like, 'Please shut up.' I was looking at [my retirement movie] 'Fade to Black' the other day. I was embarrassed. I couldn't watch. I'm not playing with you. I had to turn it off. I was cringing." On November 6, Jay-Z will issue American Gangster LP — the second album he has put out since making the "retirement" announcement in 2003. ...

Prosecutors in Philadelphia have withdrawn charges against Beanie Sigel after the rapper resolved a dispute over a rental car he had kept long past its return date, The Associated Press reports. Sigel (born Dwight Grant) had rented a 2007 Nissan Altima from Payless Car Rental in July but didn't return the vehicle by its August 13 due date. He also failed to contact the rental company. The car was reported stolen September 6 and was later returned October 5, just as detectives headed to Sigel's home to inquire about the car. Sigel has accumulated $5,000 in late fees, but he has since paid them, which caused prosecutors to withdraw the charges. ...

A Kurt Cobain biopic based on "Heavier Than Heaven," the widely praised 2001 biography of the late Nirvana singer written by Seattle journalist Charles Cross, will be executive produced by Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, according to Variety. The script for the yet-untitled film is slated to be written by "Kite Runner" screenwriter David Benioff, and Universal Pictures is funding the film. The producers have not addressed whether they have the rights to Nirvana's music for the film or which parts of Cobain's life it will cover. ...

Naomi Watts has officially pecked her way into the "Birds" remake, Variety reports. The actress is the first castmember to be announced for the new take on the Alfred Hitchcock classic, while "Casino Royale" director Martin Campbell is reportedly in talks to helm the flick, which will be produced by Michael Bay and is eyeing a 2009 theatrical release. Watts will play Melanie Daniels, a role originally taken on by Tippi Hedren, who recently sounded off to MTV about her distaste for the controversial project. ... What would Fashion Week in Southern California be like without Paris Hilton? The heiress helped close out Petro Zillia's closing show, dubbed "So L.A.," Thursday night in Culver City — although she apparently missed her sister Nicky's spring Chick collection earlier in the week. ...

Bruce Springsteen, Joss Stone, KT Tunstall, Bob Dylan and others are featured on Serve2, a recently released Hard Rock International compilation disc that benefits the Artists Against Hunger & Poverty arm of the World Hunger Year project. Unreleased tracks by those artists — plus Mat Kearney, O.A.R., the Hold Steady and more — will be featured on the set, which is available at Hard Rock Cafes. ... In addition to reuniting for some upcoming shows in November, it appears the Verve have been busy cooking up some new tunes, with the possibility of a new album in 2008. Bassist Simon Jones wrote in his blog that among the band's first new tracks in a decade are the songs "Sit and Wonder," "Judas," "Appalachian Springs," "Mona Lisa" and "Rather Be." ... U.K. shoegazers Swervedriver are also re-forming, bringing their 10-year hiatus to a close. The group is planning a worldwide tour for early next year. ... American Music Club will deliver The Golden Age — their second post-reunion effort, in fact — February 5. The track list hasn't been revealed yet. ...

Hellyeah have set November 13 as the release date for "Below the Belt," their new live DVD. The set will feature footage from the day the hard-rockers got together for the first time, along with performance footage from the making of their album, their first studio sessions and live clips from their world tour. The DVD will also boast personal interviews, as well as a few surprises. ... Irate Aerosmith fans are filing a lawsuit against the band for nixing its September 26 concert on the Hawaiian island of Maui last month, according to The Honolulu Advertiser. The class-action suit claims the band bailed from the sold-out show so it could play a bigger one in Chicago instead; that the late cancellation was unnecessary; and that it caused many fans to lose money they spent — somewhere between $500,000 and $3 million in total — on plane tickets, car rentals and hotels. The suit was filed on behalf of all ticket holders, and, under state law, plaintiffs could be eligible for triple their losses in damages and up to $5,000 if age 62 or over. ...

Stone Roses mastermind Ian Brown is giving his music a classical makeover by enlisting an orchestra to rework his hits. The singer's fifth solo release, The World Is Yours, was released last month, and Brown plans to play a set of classical concerts to put an interesting twist on his famous works. More details will be revealed in the coming weeks. ... Eels are putting out a 10th anniversary best-of set and a collection of rarities, both of which will feature a DVD and land in stores January 15. The sets will be called Meet the Eels: Essential Eels Vol. 1, 1996-2006 and Eels Useless Trinkets: B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996-2006. ...

South African reggae star Lucky Dube was shot and killed in an apparent carjacking attempt on Thursday in Johannesburg, South Africa. AP reports that Dube, 43, died when he tried to drive away during the incident and crashed into a tree after being shot twice by two unknown male assailants. Dube's son had reportedly gotten out of the car shortly before the singer was shot.

[This story was originally published at 11:26 am E.T. on 10.22.2007]

• Fall Out Boy
• Beyoncé
• Tool
• Black Sabbath
• Ozzy Osbourne

Lollapalooza: Through the Years Retrospective

• Pearl Jam
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Rage Against the Machine
• Tool
• Alice in Chains

• Missy Elliott
• Snoop Dogg
• Tricky
• Bush
• Tool