The Prodigy's Keith Flint
Photo: Jo Hale/ Getty Images

We couldn't get enough of them. Their songs were our soundtrack, and we laughed, danced, cried and loved along with them. They flashed across our radio and TV burning brightly... but where have they been lately? As you'll find out in this regular feature, sometimes the stories behind your favorite songs are more interesting than the hits themselves.

It was the mid 1990s, grunge was on the wane and the boy-band/girl-singer explosion was still on the horizon. Into the void came an undergreound genre of dance music dubbed "electronica" that had been bubbling up since the late-1980s rave scene in England. It was hyped in the U.S. as the next big thing and suddenly, for a lot of music fans, guys in flannel swinging dented guitars were out and faceless, pasty studio rats wearing flashlight eyeglasses and punching buttons on keyboards and computers were in.

For a few years there, electronica and techno gave a generation of geeky bedroom rock stars a chance to play to thousands of glow-stick waving fans, but the dance didn't last long, as U.S. — and much of the rest of the world's — taste again turned to the good ol' staples of teen pop, guitar rock and hip-hop.

So, whatever became of acts like Leftfield, Autechre, Roni Size, Aphex Twin, Orbital and the Future Sound of London? For the most part, they returned to their roots as club DJs and underground dance acts, releasing mix CDs, playing clubs and remixing other artists. Or, in the case of the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, they kept pumping out albums with the occasional crossover hit. We tracked down the latest intel on what became of some of the genre's biggest stars.

Who: The Prodigy

Biggest hit: "Firestarter"

Why do I know that name?: Even more than electronica stars the Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy were touted as the "band" that could possibly break the genre wide open. With provocative Mohawked and nose-ringed maniac Keith Flint as its frontman — a rarity in the anonymous electronica world — the group had a high-energy live show that verged on punk rock with a drum machine. It was all fueled by the massive breakbeat and old-school hip-hop sampling of producer Liam Howlett, who was joined in the group by dancer Leeroy Thornhill and MC Maxim Reality. After scoring a British #1 with its second album, 1995's Music for the Jilted Generation, the group gained international stardom in 1997 with the #1 U.S. and U.K. debut of The Fat of the Land, which featured the signature hits "Firestarter" and the controversial "Smack My Bitch Up." After an extended period of inactivity, Thornhill split in 2002 and Maxim and Flint were largely absent from 2004's attempted comeback album, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, which featured vocals from Oasis' Liam Gallagher and actress-turned-singer Juliette Lewis.

What now?: A greatest-hits collection, Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005, was released earlier this year and went platinum in the U.K. The band — now Maxim, Liam, Keith, a guitarist and a drummer — have played some sporadic U.S. dates in support of the two-disc set, with a pair of West Coast shows scheduled for November. According to a spokesperson, Prodigy are working on a new album due next year for a yet-undetermined label.

Who: Tricky

Biggest hit: "Christiansands"

Why do I know that name?: A former member of the Wild Bunch (which mutated into Massive Attack), Tricky rapped on MA's genre-defining 1992 Blue Lines album before he broke out with his 1995 debut, Maxinquaye, which is still considered one of the standard-bearers of the trip-hop movement. The murky album of gravely vocals and narcotic R&B had an underlying menace that was hard to pin down and would become Tricky's sonic signature. Featuring the vocals of female singer Martina, who helped reinvent Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos," the album turned Tricky into an instant electronica star. He went on to release a full album collaboration with the horrorcore U.S. rap group the Gravediggaz later that year and followed in 1996 with Nearly God, on which he worked with artists such as Björk and Neneh Cherry. He released another well-received album, Pre-Millennium Tension, later in 1996, and did remixes for everyone from Garbage to Yoko Ono to Elvis Costello. He recorded an album, Juxtapose, with Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs and Ruff Ryders' Grease in 1999. The guest-heavy BlowBack dropped in 2001 to tepid response, despite cameos from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis and John Frusciante and Live's Ed Kowalczyk.

What now?: Tricky released the stripped-down album Vulnerable in 2003 and appeared alongside Nick Nolte in the 2004 film "Clean." According to his Web site, he's finishing work on his directorial film debut, "Brown Punk," due in 2007, and producing new acts on his Brown Punk label.

Who: Goldie

Biggest Hit: "Timeless"

Why do I know that name?: A hybrid of a hip-hop menace with his gold teeth and rave superstar thanks to his magnetic stage persona, former breakdancer Goldie was the first big star of the electronica offshoot of jungle, which was centered on a speedy drum'n' bass sound. His 1995 debut, Timeless, opened with the trippy 20-minute epic of the same name, one of several stretched out, dark jams on the album. His 1998 follow-up SaturnzReturn was an ambitious two-disc set that featured the record-breaking nearly hour-long song "Mother."

What now?: After releasing a few mix CDs, Goldie has remained a fixture on the DJ scene around the world, but has retreated from releasing new albums under his name.

Who: Underworld

Biggest hit: "Born Slippy"

Why do I know that name?: Singer Karl Hyde and guitarist Rick Smith got together in the early 1980s and released two marginally successful albums as Underworld before finally hitting it big in 1993 after recruiting techno DJ Darren Emerson into the fold. The trio's combination of trancey groove and hard-hitting breakbeats layered with jagged guitars and more pop-oriented vocals spawned the classic hit "Born Slippy," which appeared on the soundtrack to "Trainspotting." The group, which also had a graphic-design firm called Tomato that did remix work for Björk and Depeche Mode and commercials for Nike and Pepsi, never again reached the heights of the ubiquitous "Born Slippy," releasing the live album Everything, Everything in 2000, after which Emerson split to return to his life as a DJ. The duo of Smith and Hyde released their first album as a two-piece in more than a decade, A Hundred Days Off, in 2002.

What now?: Hyde and Smith have voluntarily retrenched over the past few years, concentrating on their online "Riverrun Project," which debuted in 2005 as a series of download-only "packages" of music and digital photos, featuring the song suites "A Lovely Broken Thing," "Pizza for Eggs" and June's "I'm a Big Sister, and I'm a Girl, and I'm a Princess, and This Is My Horse." The pair have also collaborated with composer Gabriel Yared on the score for Anthony Minghella's upcoming film "Breaking and Entering," which stars Jude Law, Juliette Binoche and Robin Wright Penn. They're also scoring the new film from "Trainspotting" director Danny Boyle, "Sunshine." In addition to live broadcasts from their studio, the duo are also working on a new album.

Past Where Ya Been? Artist Profiles:

• "Where Ya Been? Grunge Edition: Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney"
• "Marvelous 3 Now Down To One, SWV End 10 Years Of Resting Their Voices"
• "Sammie Graduating To Comeback, Third Eye Blind Can See Clearly Now"
• "Vitamin C Juicing Up A Comeback, Fastball Heading Back To The Mound"
• "Dream Wake Up, 'Sex' Burns Marcy Playground"

• Electronica: Where Ya Been?

• The Prodigy
• Tricky
• Goldie
• Massive Attack

Boyd Tinsley's through playing second fiddle. This week Tinsley, best known as the violinist for the Dave Matthews Band, releases his solo album, True Reflections. He reworks Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" and is joined by pal Dave Matthews on the title track.

Underground heads can turn to Swollen Members' Bad Dreams Instrumentals or the Notwist's self-titled album, and the FTW constituency can tune in to the Suicide Machines as they light up their latest album, A Match and Some Gasoline, or Type O Negative's Life Is Killing Me.

Tricky gets Vulnerable this week. The British trip-hopper follows in his own tradition of including cover songs on his albums. This time he reinterprets the Cure's "The Love Cats" and XTC's "Dear God." Meanwhile, A Tribe Called Quest's Hits, Rarities and Remixes features "Award Tour," "Can I Kick It?," "Bonita Applebum" and some previously unreleased tracks like "Mr. Incognito" and "The Night He Got Caught."

Monica, who last was seen fighting with Brandy on "The Boy Is Mine," tells us what it was like After the Storm. Five years since her last album, Monica returns with the first single "So Gone," produced by Missy Elliott. Other guests on the album include DMX on "Don't Gotta Go Home" and Tyrese on "Go to Bed Mad." PMD's Awakening consists of tracks produced by Kutmasta Kurt, Pete Rock and DJ Honda, among others, plus collaborations with Fat Joe, B Real and, of course, Erick Sermon.

Now for some quick rock hits: Clutch release their first live album, Live at the Googolplex, while Death in Vegas trade in their electronica sounds for some good old-fashioned rock on Scorpio Rising. Liam, one half of the scowling Gallagher brothers from Oasis, appears on the title track, in full Beatles homage/rip-off regalia. Finally NYC "it" band the Fever release their Pink on Pink EP.

Out Tuesday, June 17:

• Bryan Adams - Live at the Budokan (A&M)
• Alchemist - Austral Alien (Relapse)
• All Girl Summer Fun Band - Summer of 98 (EP, Magic Marker)
• The American Analog Set - Promise of Love (Tiger Style)
• Amorphis - Chapter (Relapse)
• Animosity - Shut It Down (Tribunal)
• John Arch - Twist of Fate (EP, Metal Blade)
• Atomsmasher - Drop the Bomb (Rip Off)
• Jon Auer/Ken Stringfellow - Private Sides (EP, Arena Rock)
• Aurelie - Desde Que Naci (Swim)
• Bad Brains - Banned in DC: Bad Brains' Greatest Riffs (Caroline)
• Hank Ballard & the Midnighters - Best of the Best (Federal)
• The Banner - Posthumous (Blackout)
• Behemoth - Pandemonic Incantation (Season Mist America)
• Behemoth - Chaotica (Season Mist America)
• Madison Smartt Bell and Wyn Cooper - Forty Words for Fear (Gaff Music)
• Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys - It's Time! (Yep Roc)
• The Black Dahlia Murder - Unhallowed (Metal Blade)
• Bleu - Redhead (Red Ink)
• Bluestring - Bluestring (Flying Frog)
• Suzy Bogguss - Swing (Compadre)
• Brand New - Deja Entendu (Razor & Tie)
• Brand New Disaster - Maybe We Should Run (Tribunal)
• The Bug/Cutty Ranks - Gun Disease (EP, Rephlex)
• Calibretto - Dead by Dawn (Standard)
• Jack Casady - Dream Factor (Eagle)
• Johnny Cash - 20 All-Time Original Greatest Hits (TeeVee)
• Clem Snide - Soft Spot (Spin Art)
• Patsy Cline - Hall of Fame 1973 (Federal)
• Club 8 - Strangely Beautiful (Hidden Agenda)
• Clutch - Live at the Googolplex (Mega Force)
• Comets on Fire - Comets on Fire (Alternative Tentacles)
• Cranes - Live in Italy (Instinct)
• Criteria en Garde - Criteria en Garde (Initial)
• Julian Curry - Guide to Wine (Naxos)
• Death in Vegas - Scorpio Rising (Sanctuary)
• Deep Purple/Rainbow - Winning Combinations (Universal)
• Dirt Bike Annie - Show Us Your Demons (Dirtnap)
• D.O.A./Thor - Are U Ready (Sudden Death)
• Fats Domino - 20 Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Hits (TeeVee)
• The Drive-By Truckers - Decoration Day (New West)
• Duvall - Racine (Asian Man)
• Eastmountainsouth - Eastmountainsouth (DreamWorks)
• Ephel Duath - Painter's Palette (Earache)
• Faith & Disease - Passport to Kunming (Projekt)
• Fasts - Fasts (Pollution)
• Fatback Band - Remixes (Southbound)
• The Fever - Pink on Pink (EP, Kemado)
• Finger Eleven - Finger Eleven (Wind-Up)
• Firewater - Man on the Burning Tightrope (Jetset)
• Forty Foot Echo - Forty Foot Echo (Hollywood)
• Pete Francis - Untold (Hollywood)
• King Geedorah - Take Me to Your Leader (Ninja Tune)
• Green Carnation - Blessing in Disguise (Season Mist)
• Steve Hackett - To Watch the Storms (Inside Out)
• Hella - Bitches Ain't Sh-- But Good People (EP, Suicide Squeeze)
• High Strung - These Are Good Times (Tee Pee)
• Himsa - Courting Tragedy and Disaster (Prosthetic)
• Claire Holley - Dandelion (Yep Roc)
• The Honor System - Rise and Run (Suburban Home)
• Ilya - Poise Is the Greater Architect (Second Nature)
• In Flames - Trigger (EP, Nuclear Blast America)
• George Jones - Best of the Best: Hall of Fame 1992 (Gusto)
• Kid Gorgeous - This Feeling Gets Old (Uprising)
• Knockout Drops - Killed by the Lights (Mayhem)
• Andre Lee - Simple Dre (Mardis Gras)
• A Life Once Lost - Great Artist (Deathwish Inc.)
• Limbeck - Hi, Everything's Great (Doghouse)
• The Love Scene - Blood Is the New Black (EP, Fenway)
• Lullatone - Computer Recital (Audio Dregs)
• Mad Parade - Bombs and the Bible (Dr. Strange)
• Magic Magicians - Magic Magicians (Suicide Squeeze)
• Barbara Mason - Greatest Hits (Empire Musicwerks)
• Nicolas Matar - Sun Dance (Journeys By DJ)
• Minus - Halldor Laxness (Victory)
• Mogwai - Happy Songs for Happy People (Matador)
• Moneen - Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? (Vagrant)
• Monica - After the Storm (J)
  Read: "Monica Revises LP With Help From Missy Elliott"
  Buy Now: After the Storm (J)
• No Motiv - Lola (Vagrant)
• The Notwist - Notwist (Bubble Core)
• On Broken Wings - Some of Us May Never See the World (Eulogy)
• O.T.T. - Blumenkraft (EFA)
• Outrageous Cherry - Stay Right Here For a While (Rainbow Quartz)
• Passenger - Passenger (Century Media)
• Pele - Elephant (Polyvinyl)
• PMD - Awakening (Solid)
• Portorock Blades - Hijo de Gloria (Universal Latino)
• Mr. Quintron - Are You Ready for an Organ Solo (Three-One-G)
• Eros Ramazzotti - 9 (RCA)
• Rated R - Ghetto Psychic (Universal)
• Razor Skyline - Bitter Well (Cop)
• Rhythm Makers - Funk Grooves (Classic World)
• Rifles at Recess - Whisper in Tongues (Tribunal)
• Sam Roberts - We Were Born In A Flame (Universal)
• Chuck Roberson - Woman Wants a Freak (Ecko)
• Rufio - MCMLXXXV (NIT)
• Rune - End of Nothing (Willowtip)
• Michael Schenker - Arachnophobiac (Shrapnel)
• Peggy Scott-Adams - Busting Loose (Miss Butch)
• Matt Sharp - Puckett's Versus the Country Boy (EP, In Music We Trust)
• The Sick Lipstick - Sting Sting Sting (Tiger Style)
• Sightings - Absolutes (Load)
• Singapore Sling - Curse of the Singapore Sling (Stinky)
• Phoebe Snow - Natural Wonder (Eagle)
• Soldado Lil 40 Oz - Malt Lyrics (Cinsity)
• Soul Purpose - Breaking Records (Coup d'Etat)
• Soviettes - Soviettes (Adeline)
• Spitalfield - Remember Right Now (Victory)
• Statistics - Statistics (EP, Jade Tree)
• Stills - Rememberese (Atlantic)
• Suicide Machines - A Match and Some Gasoline (USA Side 1 Dummy)
• Swollen Members - Bad Dreams Instrumentals (Battle Axe)
• Telescopes - As Approved by the Committee (Committee to Keep)
• Testors - Testors Complete Recordings 1976-79 (Swami)
• This Day Forward - In Response (Equal Vision)
• Thyrane - Hypnotic (Century Media)
• Robert "Duke" Tillman - Still Thinking (Waldoxy)
• Tindersticks - Waiting for the Moon (Beggars Banquet)
• Boyd Tinsley - True Reflections (RCA)
• Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine (Inside Out)
• Devin Townsend - Infinity (Inside Out)
• Tractor Kings - Gone to Heaven (Mud)
• A Tribe Called Quest - Hits, Rarities and Remixes (Jive)
  Buy Now: Hits, Rarities and Remixes (Jive)
• Tricky - Vulnerable (Sanctuary)
• The Tyde - Twice (Sanctuary)
• Type O Negative - Life Is Killing Me (Roadrunner)
• UGK - Best Of (Jive)
• Ugly Duckling - Taste the Secret (Emperor Norton)
• Vico-C - 15 Canciones Favoritas (RCA)
• Virus Nine - Blastin' Away (Af)
• Von Bondies - Raw and Rare (Dim Mak)
• The Wailers - Wailers Wailers Everywhere/Out of Our Tree (Big Beat UK)
• Doug Wamble - Country Libations (Rounder)
• Johnny Winter - Winter Essentials 1960-1967 (Varese)
• Steve Winwood - About Time (Sci Fidelity)
• Woven - 8 Bit Monk (Interscope)
• Yonder Mountain String Band - Old Hands (Sci Fidelity)
• Various artists - 20 All Time Country Hits (King)
• Various artists - Ambulance (TVT)
• Various artists - American Heritage Music Set (King)
• Various artists - Black Music (LTM)
• Various artists - British Dance Bands, Vol. 2 (Naxos)
• Various artists - Closure (TVT)
• Various artists - Essential Patriotic Collection (King)
• Various artists - First Damned (Season Mist America)
• Various artists - Food for Woofers (SPG)
• Various artists - Hardest Hits (SPG)
• Various artists - Juke Joint Saturday Night, Vol. 2 (Ecko)
• Various artists - Legends of the Fiddle: 20 Bluegrass Favorites (King)
• Various artists - "Nine: The Musical" soundtrack (PS Classics)
• Various artists - Old School Funk Jams (Thump)
• Various artists - Punk Seven Inch CD, Vol. 1: 1988-1989 (Lookout)
• Various artists - Radio Waves of the 80's: Pop Hits (Universal)
• Various artists - Ready Steady Go: The Countdown Records Story (Big Beat UK)
• Various artists - Sequence Mixtape, Vol. 1 (Sequence)
• Various artists - Smokey Mountain Pickin': 24 Great Bluegrass Ins (Rural Rhythm)
• Various artists - Summer Booty Party Vols. 1,2,3 (DM)

• Monica
• Tricky
• Boyd Tinsley
• Type O Negative
• Mogwai

Paul Oakenfold
Photo: Cleopatra

After keeping his star-studded studio album under wraps since last summer, superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold chose the high-profile Winter Music Conference to spill the beans — or, in this case, the beats — on Bunkka.

Due June 18, the record includes a bevy of hip-hop, rock and pop stars, along with the banging "Southern Sun," which Oakenfold dropped into his sets throughout the electronic music festival earlier this week in Miami, according to his Maverick Records spokesperson.

Nelly Furtado and Tricky add their signature voices to "The Harder They Come," and Perry Farrell adds his to "Time of Your Life." Ice Cube raps on "Get Em Up," and Crazy Town's Shifty Shellshock rocks a rhyme on "Starry Eyed Surprise" (see "Crazy Town Ready To Record Second LP").

Asher D of So Solid Crew is the voice behind Bunkka's first single, "Ready Steady Go," which will hit radio in May. Other guests include author Hunter S. Thompson, singer/songwriter Grant Lee Philips and newcomers Tiff Lacey, Emiliana Torrini and Carla Warner, who sings on "Southern Sun."

Former Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan recorded a track with the DJ, who is also a respected remixer and producer, but his spokesperson said it did not make the album.

Oakenfold is talking to directors about the video for "Ready Steady Go" and lining up tour dates. He has five dates booked for next month, including the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 28. More dates will come, his spokesperson said.

Last year, Oakenfold produced the "Swordfish" soundtrack (see "Paul Oakenfold Travels From 'Planet' To 'Planet' ") and toured with Moby's Area:One (see "Area:One Fest: Outkast, Moby Do Post-Lollapalooza Rave In Maryland").

Bunkka track list, according to Maverick:

• "Ready Steady Go" f/ Asher D
• "Southern Sun" f/ Carla Warner
• "Time of Your Life" f/ Perry Farrell
• "Hypnotized" f/ Tiff Lacey
• "Zoo York"
• "Nixon's Spirit" f/ Hunter S. Thompson
• "Hold Your Hand" f/ Emiliana Torrini
• "Starry Eyed Surprise" f/ Shifty Shellshock
• "Get Em Up" f/ Ice Cube
• "Motion" f/ Grant Lee Philips
• "The Harder They Come" f/ Nelly Furtado and Tricky

Paul Oakenfold tour dates, according to Maverick:

• 4/18 - Evanston, IL @ McGaw Hall
• 4/19 - Mississauga, ON @ Hershey Center
• 4/20 - Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena
• 4/26 - San Francisco, CA @ Cow Palace
• 4/28 - Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

• Paul Oakenfold
• Nelly Furtado
• Ice Cube
• Tricky
• Perry Farrell

Perry Farrell
Photo: Amy V. Cooper / MTV.com

After a four-year hiatus, pioneering music festival Lollapalooza will return to the summer concert calendar in 2002.

Jane's Addiction frontman and solo artist Perry Farrell is leading the revival with fellow Lollapalooza founders William Morris Agency and his former manager Ted Gardner, Farrell's spokesperson said Monday (November 26).

Organizers have not made any official offers to bands, though WMA Senior Vice President Peter Grosslight told the Los Angeles Times there are several acts that would fit in with Lollapalooza's ideals.

"We're seeing bands that are meaning something to kids without great support from radio," Grosslight said. "There is a sort of new alternative scene, so to speak." Grosslight's office said they would have more details later this week.

Lollapalooza, which launched in 1991 with a bill that included Jane's Addiction, Butthole Surfers and Nine Inch Nails, provided the blueprint for the many festivals that emerged in the later part of the decade, including Ozzfest, the Lilith Fair and the Warped Tour.

None of those festival tours, however, have featured as broad a musical focus as Lollapalooza, with the possible exception of Moby's Area:One tour, which took the nickname "Moby-palooza" when it launched last summer.

Tool, Korn, Snoop Dogg, Tricky, Orbital, Eels and James performed at the last Lollapalooza, in 1997 (see "Lollapalooza Launches In Florida").

• Perry Farrell
• Jane's Addiction
• Tool
• Snoop Dogg
• Tricky

Michelle Branch
Photo: Warner Bros.

Nurse Abby Lockheart has just been dumped. She is in the middle of the rather painful process of moving her stuff out of her ex-boyfriend's apartment. And to make matters worse, Cake's "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," a song about the things a man is looking for in a woman, is playing on the radio.

On "ER," popular music is becoming a bigger part of the story line with every episode.

"It adds something to the show every time we use it," "ER" supervising producer and writer Scott Gemmill said. "It's amazing what music can bring to a scene."

There's a new movement in television toward an increase in the use of trendy music, and it extends far beyond the crowded halls of the "ER."

Tune in to "The West Wing" and you might hear some Tricky. Watch "Providence" and you could hear Remy Zero's "I'm Not Afraid."

"The District" is blasting cutting-edge hip-hop like it's BET. If you caught the series premiere of "Crossing Jordan," you may remember John Hiatt's "Thirty Years of Tears."

Television's oldest networks appear to be drawing from the musical formula of newcomers Fox and the WB, whose shows "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek" have often championed up-and-coming artists.

"It comes from who is writing the shows," Gemmill said. "We're not that old. I like to think we're just as young and hip. And that stuff more and more is getting into our shows."

J.J. Abrams, the creator of "Felicity" and this year's new "Alias," is at the forefront of the movement. In just the first episode of "Alias," he pulled music from Vertical Horizon, Sinead O'Connor, Cat Stevens, Supreme Beings of Leisure, Peter Gabriel, Gus and the Stereo MC's. He's also a musician himself, and composed the show's techno theme.

"Music is as important or more important than anything in movies or TV," Abrams said. "I don't know how you tell stories without music."

As Abrams and others work their way into the game, Fox and the WB continue to showcase new artists, with the latter in particular becoming more music-driven with each new show.

So far this year, "Felicity" has featured songs from former Whiskeytown frontman Ryan Adams and neo-psychedelic popsters Essex Green. "Charmed" has used music by Tantric, Depeche Mode and Stevie Nicks. Michelle Branch, Poe and P.O.D. have been used on other WB programs.

"Smallville," the network's much-talked-about new series about the teenage years of Clark Kent, included songs from Lifehouse, Jude, Stereophonics and the Calling in Tuesday's premiere.

That show's use of music has already proved effective, according to Allan Johnson, TV critic for the Chicago Tribune. "It really gave the series a modern slant to a story that has been around for more than half a century. I thought it enhanced the show's 'Dawson's Creek' aspect that really works."

Leonard Richardson, the director of music for the WB, said each show on the network has its own music supervisor whose job it is to set their scenes with the most fitting music out there.

"I think we're more aggressive about getting the hottest music than some other places, because our demographic is so young," Richardson said. "Music plays such a big part in our dramas, not just 'Dawson's' and 'Felicity,' but 'Gilmore Girls' and 'Smallville' as well."

The WB pulled a major musical stunt a few years ago when it helped break Paula Cole by using her song "I Don't Want to Wait" as the theme to "Dawson's Creek." The singer later won the Best New Artist Grammy.

Since then, punk funnymen Nerf Herder were commissioned to write the theme to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and Public Enemy's Chuck D was asked to compose the theme for "Dark Angel." This year, "Undeclared" snagged the Dandy Warhols' "Solid" for its theme.

Other shows have taken the "Malcolm in the Middle" approach to showcasing hip music. That show features original music composed by They Might Be Giants. Other bands composing for TV this year are David and Don Was of Was (Not Was) ("The Education of Max Bickford") and Ween ("Inside Schwartz").

"Ed" used Foo Fighters' "Next Year" for its theme last season, and replaced it this season with "Moment in the Sun," by New York indie rock band Clem Snide.

Producers for "Ed" first asked Clem Snide to write a new theme for the show, but after passing on three different tunes, they opted to have the band re-record "Moment in the Sun," which originally appeared on its summer album, The Ghost of Fashion.

"It's kind of odd it ended up being the 'Ed' theme song because I wrote it two years ago and it's a very sarcastic song," Clem Snide frontman Eef Barzelay said. "It was my reaction to Jewel, who was so ubiquitous at the time I wrote it. I just hate Jewel, I don't hate many singers or songwriters, but something about her bugged me. So I wrote the song as if I were Jewel."

So far, the band has run into mixed reactions about the theme song. "It's funny, we just checked out the 'Ed' chat room and they all really miss the Foo Fighters," Barzelay said. On the other hand, National Public Radio heard about the song before it even aired and had the band perform it on one of its programs.

Clem Snide are happy to make the extra money from the theme song, but aren't quite sure they want to be the next Rembrandts, whose "I'll Be There for You" was an unavoidable hit when it became the "Friends" theme.

"You have to be careful what you wish for," Barzelay said. "In a way it would be great because our record is kind of strange, and you would have a bunch of normal people buying it, which would be really cool. But if I had to play that song every show the rest of my life, that might be a bit of a drag."

Songs can explode off television sets without being theme songs, points out Anne Klein, the music supervisor for the "The West Wing," "Third Watch" and "ER."

"We used an Amanda Ghost song on 'ER' last year that we got an incredible response to," Klein said. "People were calling from all around the world. It changed her career. Her label went with that as the single instead of something else they were going to use."

Klein has already fielded several phone calls about Abandoned Pools, the relatively unknown debut solo project from Eels rocker Tommy Walters. His song "L.V.B.D." was played and the Abandoned Pools name was mentioned by Dr. Greene's daughter on last week's episode of "ER." "Almost everything gets tons and tons of phone calls," Klein said. "It's nice."

The trend of using popular music on television exploded about three years ago when electronic music starting hitting the airwaves, Klein said. "It made it easy for action shows to use songs as scores," she said. "That was our first big opportunity to use the Crystal Method and Fatboy Slim in a cool way."

Before the electronic music boom, though, there was "Miami Vice," the show that really illustrated the kind of impact popular music could have, the Tribune's Johnson said.

"I'll never forget how 'In the Air Tonight' in the pilot of 'Miami Vice' was so effective in telling volumes about what was going on in that scene," Johnson said. "Ever since 'Miami Vice,' using popular music for both TV shows and commercials lures in a particular audience, one that could be younger and hipper and lend to the given show's demographics."

"Alias"'s Abrams, who jumped from film to television after writing such screen gems as "Armageddon" and "Regarding Henry," credits both movies and music videos for showing TV producers how to fuse images with music. "As TV has become increasingly like film, it is sort of a natural progression for TV to use music in the same kind of way," he said.

Although using popular music has become more ... popular, Klein noted that it is not easy for everyone to get in on the party. Sitcoms with non-stop laugh tracks and some dramas have it especially hard. "There's no place in the White House where they listen to music," Klein said. " 'Third Watch,' where the characters are sitting around the firehouse, has the biggest opportunity for new music."

Every show can benefit from new music, however, through the use of promotional ads. ABC received praise for its use of Coldplay's "Yellow" in advertising its entire roster last winter. The network also helped break the song along the way.

This fall, NBC used Enya's red-hot "Only Time" for commercials for "Friends" and "Frasier." Staind's "It's Been Awhile" was used in promos for "UC: Undercover," while "Smallville" used Perry Farrell's "Song Yet to Be Sung."

"There's definitely a race [between the networks]," Abrams said. "We're all looking for great music and wanting to ride the wave of a hit single. You get a 'Kiss Me' [from Sixpence None the Richer] and it happens to hit just at the right time and the soundtrack sells and the show benefits. But that's as much about luck as finding the perfect song for the moment."

• Michelle Branch
• Tricky
• Depeche Mode
• Stevie Nicks

Tricky
Photo: Jason Campbell

After spending August on the European festival circuit, Tricky will blow back to the U.S. for a fall tour beginning September 19 in Chicago.

Promoting the recently released Blowback, the electronic music mastermind has lined up dates in the Midwest and South. More shows may be added, according to his management.

Tricky recently broke through to a more mainstream audience, thanks to his collaborations with Live singer Ed Kowalczyk.

The two scored a summer hit with "Evolution Revolution Love" from Blowback, and are currently climbing Billboard's Modern Rock singles chart with "Simple Creed," from Live's forthcoming V (see "Live Turn Tracks Written In Smelly Locker Rooms Into Aggressive V").

Jamaican prodigy Hawkman, who sings on "Evolution Revolution Love" and several other Blowback tracks, will join Tricky on the tour. His debut album, produced by Tricky, is due early next year.

Blowback is Tricky's first album since 1999's poorly received Juxtapose.

Tricky's tour dates, according to Hollywood Records:

• 8/17 - Weeze, GER @ 15th Bizarre Festival
• 8/18 - Weston Park, UK @ V2001 Festival
• 8/19 - Chelmsford, UK @ V2001 Festival Hylands Park
• 8/21 - Zurich, SWI @ X-Tra Limmathaus
• 8/23 - Luxembourg, LUX @ Den Atelier
• 8/24 - Dronten, NET @ Lowlands Festival
• 8/25 - Hasselt, BEL @ Pukkelpop Festival
• 9/19 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
• 9/20 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew's Hall
• 9/24 - New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
• 9/25 - Houston, TX @ Numbers
• 9/26 - Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Live
• 9/27 - Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
• 9/29 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
• 9/30 - Kansas City, MO @ Madrid Theatre
• 10/1 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre

• Tricky

Tricky
Photo: Hollywood Records

Like Jenny Craig or Subway-commercial guy Jared Fogle, Tricky's life changed when his diet did.

The peculiar electronic-music producer saved himself from insanity by dropping dairy, sugar, yeast and canned foods under doctor's orders, and by switching to macrobiotic products.

Tricky recovered from a severe depression to create a stellar advertisement for his life-changing diet in Blowback, arguably the best album of his decade-long career.

"I went through a lot of mad stuff," Tricky said from his New York studio in May. "This is the first time I've relaxed in three years and you kind of hear that on the record." Unlike the collections of broken beats and twisted words that comprised Tricky's earlier albums, Blowback is total ear candy. On it he works with a slew of hit makers including Alanis Morissette, Live's Ed Kowalczyk, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Cyndi Lauper. He even remade "Wonder Woman." It's a far cry from 1999's Juxtapose, the nadir of Tricky's dark and dreary phase.

"I was in a state of insanity," Tricky said of his life following that album's release. "I was seeing a psychiatrist and that didn't work. It was all about my diet. It's hard to stay on it. I broke it last night and feel sick as f---." Tricky also credits his recovery to his desire to bring new sounds to the world.

"I've got nothing against things like Britney Spears," he explained. "My daughter loves her. She is a totally positive artist. Things like Eminem aren't the opposite. He does songs about 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys and stuff, but, with no disrespect to him at all, he's exactly like the Backstreet Boys except there's only one of him. It's pop music. It's pop art. There needs to be more art on the radio and MTV." Blowback, released Tuesday, is not a collaborative showcase (see "Tricky Works With Chili Peppers, Morissette, Kowalczyk on Blowback"). Tricky tries to combine different worlds on the album, as when Jamaican prodigy Hawkman and soul singer Ambersunshower tag team on "Over Me" or England-bred Tricky's own distinguished voice tears into Nirvana's "Something in the Way." It may be arty, but it's also the most commercial music Tricky has released. "Evolution Revolution Love," with Kowalczyk and Hawkman, is climbing rock-radio charts, and the producer hopes to expose his new sounds to a wider audience by touring in the fall as an opener for a bigger act (he's hoping for Tool).

"I'm the luckiest man alive, because I can do anything I want," Tricky said. "Some people in England won't like this album because they prefer the darker, stranger stuff. If my name is associated with pop, they're going to not listen to it. I might be called a sellout if I get radio play. All I know is, my music is more honest than most."

• Tricky
• Alanis Morissette
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Cyndi Lauper
• Live

Slipknot
Photo: Roadrunner

Music by Slipknot, Moby, the Black Crowes and many other indie-label artists will be available for sharing in the upcoming paid-subscription version of Napster, the company said Tuesday.

Napster has reached a deal with more than 150 indie imprints in the U.K. and Europe — including V2, Roadrunner and Beggars Group — whose rosters include such artists as Fear Factory, Coal Chamber, Tricky, Underworld, Badly Drawn Boy and Paul Oakenfold.

"We're very close to moving to a new phase of Napster," founder Shawn Fanning said Tuesday (June 26) in a London press conference. "This agreement is a very important step along the way." The new version of Napster, which CEO Hank Barry said will launch by the end of the summer, is expected to include some major-label content via a deal with MusicNet, a joint venture involving EMI, Warner Music Group and BMG. The major-label songs will be available only from MusicNet's centralized servers, not through Napster's file-sharing system, Barry said.

When it launches in late summer or early fall, MusicNet will also be available via America Online and through software from MusicNet's co-owner, RealNetworks (see "Labels Announce Joint Venture To License Music"). The service is expected to include both streaming and downloadable music for a monthly fee.

Unlike the MusicNet material, music covered by the new indie-label deal can be shared on Napster, with the company promising to compensate indie artists and labels via subscription fees and song-tracking technologies.

Barry said Napster has not reached any decision on how much users will have to pay for its service. In the past, Barry has said that users who want access to MusicNet will have to pay more than Napster's base fee.

"Napster is a great way to discover new music and is an exciting model for the future," producer/DJ Oakenfold said in a statement released by the company. "It puts the focus back on the music itself rather than the creative packaging or clever marketing. It is good that it has at long last become legitimate and the artists and their labels will get paid." One potential obstacle to the indie-label deal is the issue of music publishing rights, Barry said. Napster is still trying to reach a deal with the publishers who control the rights to most popular songs. Publishers need to be compensated separately from record companies, who control the rights to recordings rather than the compositions that make them possible.

Barry said Napster will not launch its new service until it reaches a deal with publishers.

Tuesday's deal follows an appeals court's refusal on Monday to reconsider its ruling that Napster violated copyright laws (see "Appeals Court Ruling Means Napster Filters Stay Put").

Also on Monday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — the organization behind the Academy Awards — became the latest organization to file a copyright infringement suit against Napster.

The academy's lawsuit accuses Napster of allowing users to share recordings of live performances from recent Academy Awards ceremonies, including Björk's "I've Seen It All" and Bob Dylan's "Things Have Changed," according to academy lawyer David Quinto.

A Napster spokesperson had no comment on the lawsuit.

(For complete coverage of the Napster saga, check out MTV News' "Napster Files.")

• Slipknot
• Moby
• Tricky
• Paul Oakenfold
• The Black Crowes

Slipknot
Photo: Roadrunner

Music by Slipknot, Moby, the Black Crowes and many other indie-label artists will be available for sharing in the upcoming paid-subscription version of Napster, the company said Tuesday.

Napster has reached a deal with more than 150 indie imprints in the U.K. and Europe — including V2, Roadrunner and Beggars Group — whose rosters include such artists as Fear Factory, Coal Chamber, Tricky, Underworld, Badly Drawn Boy and Paul Oakenfold.

"We're very close to moving to a new phase of Napster," founder Shawn Fanning said Tuesday (June 26) in a London press conference. "This agreement is a very important step along the way." The new version of Napster, which CEO Hank Barry said will launch by the end of the summer, is expected to include some major-label content via a deal with MusicNet, a joint venture involving EMI, Warner Music Group and BMG. The major-label songs will be available only from MusicNet's centralized servers, not through Napster's file-sharing system, Barry said.

When it launches in late summer or early fall, MusicNet will also be available via America Online and through software from MusicNet's co-owner, RealNetworks (see "Labels Announce Joint Venture To License Music"). The service is expected to include both streaming and downloadable music for a monthly fee.

Unlike the MusicNet material, music covered by the new indie-label deal can be shared on Napster, with the company promising to compensate indie artists and labels via subscription fees and song-tracking technologies.

Barry said Napster has not reached any decision on how much users will have to pay for its service. In the past, Barry has said that users who want access to MusicNet will have to pay more than Napster's base fee.

"Napster is a great way to discover new music and is an exciting model for the future," producer/DJ Oakenfold said in a statement released by the company. "It puts the focus back on the music itself rather than the creative packaging or clever marketing. It is good that it has at long last become legitimate and the artists and their labels will get paid." One potential obstacle to the indie-label deal is the issue of music publishing rights, Barry said. Napster is still trying to reach a deal with the publishers who control the rights to most popular songs. Publishers need to be compensated separately from record companies, who control the rights to recordings rather than the compositions that make them possible.

Barry said Napster will not launch its new service until it reaches a deal with publishers.

Tuesday's deal follows an appeals court's refusal on Monday to reconsider its ruling that Napster violated copyright laws (see "Appeals Court Ruling Means Napster Filters Stay Put").

Also on Monday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — the organization behind the Academy Awards — became the latest organization to file a copyright infringement suit against Napster.

The academy's lawsuit accuses Napster of allowing users to share recordings of live performances from recent Academy Awards ceremonies, including Björk's "I've Seen It All" and Bob Dylan's "Things Have Changed," according to academy lawyer David Quinto.

A Napster spokesperson had no comment on the lawsuit.

(For complete coverage of online music, check out Sonicnet Music News' "Napster Watch.")

• Slipknot
• Moby
• Tricky

Tricky
Photo: Hollywood Records

How did the hodgepodge of musicians that includes Alanis Morissette, Live's Ed Kowalczyk, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Cyndi Lauper end up on trip-hop wizard Tricky's new record? "They wanted to work with me," the Bristol, England-bred producer said in his thick accent. "I'm very easy." "Easy" is not a word usually associated with the former Massive Attack contributor whose moniker describes the bizarre beats he made famous with his 1995 debut, Maxinquaye, and as a producer on Björk's Post. Tricky claims his collaboration process is straightforward, but he admits his music never has been. Following the critically-acclaimed Maxinquaye, he released a succession of deep, dark records swollen with multi-layered noises and lyrics of self-destruction. His most recent LP, 1999's Juxtapose, was the work of a man literally on the brink of insanity.

After Juxtapose was released, Tricky went into severe depression and began seeing a psychiatrist. "I was sick," he said last week from his New York City home. "The psychiatrist was useless. And then I found a doctor who straightened my diet. I don't eat no dairy, no sugar, no yeast, nothing out of cans." Fortunately, Tricky was able to put the depression behind him. Along with it went his creepy tunes. On June 26, Tricky will release Blowback, what he calls "the album everyone thought I wouldn't make." "It's definitely the most ear-friendly of all my albums," he said. "I feel like I've been sitting around for a couple of years complaining about what's on MTV and the radio. You can only do that for so long. If you want to hear good music on the radio, you need to make an album." For the first time in years, Tricky is getting airplay. "Evolution Revolution Love," his elevating new single with vocals by Kowalczyk and Jamaican prodigy Hawkman, is getting early love from VH1 and stations such as Los Angeles' influential KROQ. Wait until programmers hear "Excess," the contagious opening track from Blowback, featuring a surprisingly funky Morissette doing backing vocals. Or Tricky and Chili Peppers Flea and John Frusciante's "Wonder Woman" theme. Or the haunting take on Nirvana's "Something in the Way." "I don't really care [what my label releases as singles]," Tricky said. "I'm happy with everything on there." One song that won't be released is the original version of "Diss Never" Tricky did with Morissette that her label, Maverick Records, would not let on the album. (He recorded a drastically different version, called "Diss Never [Dig Up We History]" with Hawkman that is on the album.) "Maverick is being really funny about it, which is weird because they're supposed to be an artist-friendly label run by an artist," Tricky said. "It was one of my favorite songs on the album." Guy Oseary, who co-owns Maverick with Madonna, said they did not want to give out a song that prominently featured Morissette because at the time of negotiations, Maverick had not worked out her contract and were not sure when her next album would be released.

"It was nothing against the song or the artist," Oseary said. "We let them have another track instead." Tricky has collaborated with artists before — everyone from Blur's Damon Albarn to Neneh Cherry to Garbage — but this album has fans a bit perplexed. When word got out about Kowalczyk's contribution, Tricky chat rooms were flooded with bitter messages.

"He wasn't very well received for some reason," Tricky said. "But I don't know Live's history. I don't care if they're credible or not. What he does with me is going to be different than what he does with his band. If you're a good person, I'll go into the studio with you. I don't know much about the Chili Peppers either. I'm a fan of their aura, how they proceed as a thinking band, but I don't got none of their albums." Along with Flea and Frusciante on "Wonder Woman," Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis and Frusciante contribute to a track called "Girls." It is one of the few guest spots on the album — aside from Hawkman's lyrics, which are mostly his own — that Tricky didn't write himself. "But [Kiedis] kind of copied my style and I was cool with that," Tricky said.

Tricky wrote "Evolution Revolution Love" with the intention of having a female sing the chorus. He changed his mind the minute he heard Kowalczyk's version.

"It's a song about different people from different planets and how they all feel the same thing," Tricky said. "Me and Hawk and me and Ed are very different, but we come from the same experiences. Everyone's alike in some way." That must explain Tricky's connection to Kurt Cobain. "I don't know much about Nirvana, but Kurt's words have stuck with me for a long time," he said. "All through the years I can still remember lyrics to certain songs. There's not many artists that are like that." Tricky plans to support Blowback with a North American tour in the fall. Prior to that he'll head to Los Angeles to play the Playboy Mansion on June 14 and the Palace on June 15, and then he'll do a show at New York's Irving Plaza on June 18.

• Tricky
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Alanis Morissette
• Live

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

Tricky Flipbook

• Tricky