Britney Spears in "Slave 4 U"
Photo: Jive/Zomba

Valentine's Day — you either love it or hate it. It makes sweethearts swoon and others want to stab fat cherubs with a bow and arrow. Between the chocolate hearts, the red roses and the teddy bears shoved in our faces, the holiday stirs up a cocktail of emotions: happiness, despair, jealousy, grief, sadness, desire ...

MTV News has all your mood swings covered. In honor of this beloved and dreaded holiday, we're rolling out the Best Love Songs, Best Breakup Songs, Best Make-Out Songs and Worst Love Songs in recent memory. It's our Valentine's Day gift to you, minus the dinner-and-a-movie part. So slip into something comfortable, and stay for a while.

Lust is in the air tonight — impress your love with your vast knowledge of iPhone apps another night. Grab your valentine-of-the-moment and get your groove on.

10. Tweet (featuring Missy Elliott) - "Oops (Oh My)"
Follow along to this striptease with your crush tonight.

9. Rufus Wainwright - "Instant Pleasure"
Rufus swaps foreplay for instant gratification in this indie classic. Hey, at least he's direct with his intentions.

8. John Mayer - "Your Body is a Wonderland"
John sings about getting touchy-feely in this 2003 track. Even Alice is blushing.

7. Christina Aguilera - "Dirrty"
Christina takes it from the couch to the wrestling pit for full-on body contact.

6. The Donnas - "Take It Off"
I guess I can take off my shirt — I mean, coat. Only if you assist — I mean, insist. That came out funny. Is it a little hot in here?

5. MGMT - "Electric Feel"
Granted, most of us here at MTV News spaced out in bio class. But, we're pretty sure this "electrical eel" business is a reference to sex. We also know kids come from cabbage patches.

4. Nine Inch Nails - "Closer"
Get your freak on to the driving beats of this intense R-rated wonder. File this one under the "hot & heavy" category.

3. Kings of Leon - "Sex on Fire"
The Followill boys ignite our libidos with "Sex on Fire." Let the track consume you and your hookup hottie.

2. Chris Isaak - "Wicked Game"
This airy lullaby has been one of the dreamiest make-out songs on the planet for the past gazillion trillion years.

1. Britney Spears - "I'm a Slave 4 U" Brit snags the top spit-swapping spot for making us sweat along to this smash hit single.

Do you love it or are you just not that into our picks? Tell us why in the comment section below.

Now that you have the tracks to set the mood, you should gauge your plans with what the celebs are doing. No date? Don't forget that there are single, hot guys that you might have a chance with. Happy Valentine's Day!

• Valentine's Day: Best Make-Out Songs

• Chris Isaak
• Britney Spears
• John Mayer
• Christina Aguilera
• Nine Inch Nails

Linkin Park's <i>Minutes to Midnight</i>
Photo: Warner Bros.

Sixty-seven years ago Tuesday (May 15), McDonald's was founded. In the spirit of fast food, let's see — real quick-like — what helps turn this week's new releases into Happy Meals.

Time's a Wastin': For starters, Linkin Park serve their ominously themed third studio album, Minutes to Midnight — for which they spent 14 months in the studio and racked up a stupefying 100 demo songs. Rick Rubin put his Grammy-winning spit-shine on the LP and even let the bros use his 808 drum machine, which rap-rock crossover pseudo-brethren Beastie Boys used on License to Ill more than 20 years ago.
Happy Meal: The special edition comes with a Music Video Interactive DVD containing downloadable MP3s for all the tracks, plus videos, a "What I've Done" ringtone and much more.

Look, Up in the ...: Wilco's Sky Blue Sky is already drawing critical raves — duh, it's Wilco — and, were it born 30 years ago, would have fit comfortably on AOR radio. Their melancholic sixth release follows 2004's A Ghost Is Born, their first to crack the Billboard albums chart top 10 — and unless Rick James or Megadeth have something to say about it, this could very well be the second-biggest release dropping this week.
Happy Meal: Move over, LP — Wilco have a special edition of their own, and it also comes with a bonus DVD littered with surprises: a 45-minute documentary co-directed by Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, interview clips with the six bandmembers and more.

Still Getting His Freak On: Rick James had put the finishing touches on a new studio album before he passed in August 2004, and almost three years later, Deeper Still finally makes its way into stores. The set features 11 tracks, 10 of which James wrote or co-wrote and all of which he produced, even though the funk master had originally wanted it to be a double album consisting of 20 cuts.
Happy Meal: "Do You Wanna Play" is, according to a press release, "an unadulterated invitation to carnal pleasures," while "Secrets" and "Funk Wit Me" are equally intimate, to put it politely.

Give (It) Up: For their fourth effort, metalcore stewards Hopesfall huddled with Mike Watts — no, not the legendary punk bassist; Mike Watts, producer of like-minded bands like As Tall as Lions and As Cities Burn. The North Carolina group's latest includes "Swamp Kittens," "Cubic Zirconias Are Forever" and "Devil's Concubine."
Happy Meal: The brilliant Magnetic North cover art.

Playing Tag: Rawkus Records is back as you probably know, and the label is hoping it has a new Mos Def or Talib Kweli on its hands in newcomer Marco Polo. The NYC-by-way-of-Toronto rapper, who is a former member of the Beat Society and was named one of Urb's Next 100 artists, produced his first album all on his own.
Happy Meal: Guest spots by Masta Ace, Large Professor and Kool G Rap round out the release.

Wain's World: Speaking of self-produced albums, Rufus Wainwright's Release the Stars is the first he did completely by himself — although it was executive produced by Pet Shop Boys conspirator Neil Tennant. The emotional singer/songwriter also got assists on his fifth album from guest stars Richard Thompson, Joan Wasser and veteran Welsh stage actress Siân Phillips.
Happy Meal: Look no further than Wainwright's quintessential operatic heart-on-his-sleeve outpouring, which inevitably crops up again throughout his latest LP.

Strung Out: The High Strung have been touring libraries — yes, you, uh, read that right — to hype their third album, which is appropriate in light of the many fictional character sketches and narratives brought forth in Get the Guests. That includes "Rimbaud/Rambo," about a narrator weighing the romantic potential of both; "The Curator," about a museum employee who covers the walls with his own art; and "Arrow," which imagines what would happen if Cupid were to stick himself with one of his love spears.
Happy Meal: Song titles include "There Was No One Before You, There Was No One Before Me," "The Meddler" and — wait for it — "What a Meddler!"

Friendly Fire: Welsh rockers Funeral for a Friend — who recently toured with My Chemical Romance — churn out Tales Don't Tell Themselves this week, with a big assist from Foo Fighters producer Gil Norton. The band's third album features the first single, "Into Oblivion (Reunion)" — the video for which landed 14,000 views in its first 24 hours — "Out of Reach" and "On a Wire."
Happy Meal: Norton employs strings, French horns and a 26-piece orchestra on many of the tracks.

The genesis of Genesis: The band is back this summer — without Peter Gabriel, beware — and Rhino is hailing the reunion with a six-CD/six-DVD set, Genesis 1976-1982. The first of three box sets the label is planning features the band's five studio discs from that era, expanded with bonus tracks, remastered sound, unreleased videos, photo galleries, interviews and much more.
Happy Meal: Fans will go gaga over rare B-sides, EP tracks and more that are littered throughout the hefty set.

Metal Mayhem: On the topic of "genesis," Job for a Cowboy — who have made the rounds with Cannibal Corpse and are set for this summer's Sounds of the Underground Tour — are using that term as the title of their first album. The LP features weightily named songs like "Altered From Catechization," "Reduced to Mere Filth" and "Martyrdom Unsealed" and was mixed by Grammy-winning Megadeth collaborator Andy Sneap.

Sneap also reconvened with 'Deth for their 11th studio release, United Abominations, which Dave Mustaine and the gang churn out this week. Recorded in Los Angeles and England, the old-school throwback album recaps the band's classic track "À Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free)" with new vocals by Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia.

Happy Meal: Metalheads are always happy.

Odds 'N' Sods: Also this week, Zach Barocas is helping out his onetime Jawbox bandmate, post-punk icon J. Robbins, with a two-CD tribute comp, For Callum. The set has been crafted to raise funds for Robbins' son, who has spinal muscular atrophy, and it features contributions from Mission of Burma, David Grubbs, Jawbreaker and many more. It's only available at Catlick Records' Web site.

Also hard to find but available on Dischord's Web site is a remastered version of Fugazi's Red Medicine and a slew of entries in the Fugazi Live Series. The label is selling the remaining stock of CDs from the series, after which it plans to release the concert recordings digitally.

And speaking of digital releases, hip-hop producer and X-ecutioners collaborator Marshall Law has posted his 60-minute experimental mix, Testing the Waters, right here for free download.

Last but not least, Starbucks is exclusively releasing the collection Bluesville, featuring tracks by Albert King, Willie Dixon and other blues greats.

Song Title of the Week:

"And I Told Them I Invented Times New Roman" from Dance Gavin Dance's Downtown Battle Mountain

Other Notables:

Dungen's Tio Bitar: The Swedish psych-rockers take guitar noise to another level with their second disc, which also encompasses violin, flute, piano and organ, along with the usual bass and drums. Gustav Ejstes and company dish up "Ska Inte Tro Alt Det Ordnar Sig," "Mon Amour," "Familj," and other tracks you don't understand. Just don't let the artwork make you too dizzy.

Betty Davis' Betty Davis and They Say I'm Different: The funk and soul goddess — who counts Ice Cube and Herbie Hancock among her fans — gets some retro lovin' with her first reissues ever. Mrs. Miles Davis' first two albums — which she wrote and produced all on her own, like her other releases — feature three and four unreleased bonus cuts, respectively.

Tim Buckley's "My Fleeting House": There's another first in the archival world this week: the release of the only authorized Buckley DVD to date. The footage spans the entirety of his career (1967-'74) and includes 11 full songs and three partial performances, plus unreleased footage from "The Steve Allen Show," interviews with his collaborators and more.

New Releases:

· The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism (Ramseur)
· Balkan Beat Box - Nu Med (JDub)
· Before Their Eyes - Before Their Eyes (Rise)
· Blacktop Mourning - No Regret (Megaforce)
· Chaka Khan - Classikhan (Music World)
· Dance Gavin Dance - Downtown Battle Mountain (Rise)
· Dirty Sweet - ... Of Monarchs & Beggars (Seedling)
· Dungen - Tio Bitar (Kemado)
· Flatfoot 56 - Jungle of the Midwest Sea (Flicker)
· Funeral for a Friend - Tales Don't Tell Themselves (Atlantic)
· Great Northern - Trading Twilight for Daylight (Eenie Meenie)
· Howard Hewett - If Only (Machine Productions)
· The High Strung - Get the Guests (Park the Van)
· Hollywood Rose - Dopesnake (Cleopatra)
· Hopesfall - Magnetic North (Trustkill)
· The Horrors - Strange House (enhanced; Stolen Transmission)
· Ian Hunter - Shrunken Heads (Yep Roc)
· Rick James - Deeper Still (Stone City)
· Job for a Cowboy - Genesis (Metal Blade)
· JT and the Clouds - The City's Hot Yeah the City's Hot (Dishrag)
· Kari Kimmel - A Day in the Life (self-release)
· Lewis & Clarke - Blasts of Holy Birth (La Société Expéditionnaire)
· Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight (special edition comes with MVI DVD; Warner Bros./ Machine Shop) [Buy]
Read: "Linkin Park's Minutes To Midnight Preview: Nu-Metallers Grow Up"
· Harry Manx and Kevin Breit - In Good We Trust (Stony Plain)
· Marco Polo - Port Authority (Red Urban)
· Megadeth - United Abominations (Roadrunner) [Buy]
· Maria Muldaur - Naughty, Bawdy & Blue (Stony Plain)
· The Narrator - All That to the Wall (Flameshovel)
· The O'Jays - Imagination (Music World)
· Dolores O'Riordan - Are You Listening? (Sanctuary)
· Ozma - Pasadena (Reincarnate)
· The Phoenix Foundation - Horsepower (Young American)
· Pink Martini - Hey Eugene! (Heinz)
· The Race - Ice Station (Flameshovel)
· Fennesz Sakamoto - Cendre (Touch)
· The Shake - Kick It (Unicycle)
· Southerly - Storyteller and the Gossip Columnist (Greyday)
· Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars (Geffen) [Buy]
· Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (enhanced; Nonesuch) [Buy]

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· The Alan Parsons Project - The Essential Alan Parsons Project (two CDs; Arista/Legacy)
· Betty Davis - Betty Davis and They Say I'm Different (Light in the Attic)
· Genesis - Genesis 1976-1982 (six CDs and six DVDs; Rhino)
· Jefferson Airplane - Sweeping Up the Spotlight: Live at the Fillmore East 1969 (RCA/Legacy)
· Moby Grape - Listen My Friends! The Best of Moby Grape (Epic/Legacy)
· The Remains - The Remains (Epic/Legacy)
· UB40 - Live at Montreux 2002 (Eagle)
· Chucho Valdéz & His Combo - The Complete 1964 Sessions (MVD Audio)
· Chucho Valdéz Trio - Jazz Bata (MVD Audio)
· Various artists - Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (Legacy)

Music DVDs:

· Tim Buckley - "My Fleeting House" (MVD Visual)
· Madonna - "The Wild Angel - The Unauthorized Story" (Eagle Vision)
· Garnett Silk - "Earth Day Celebration: A Reggae Tribute to Garnett Silk - Live 2003" (MVD Visual)
· TLC - "Now & Forever: The Video Hits" (La Face)
· Miroslav Vitous - "Live in Vienna" (MVD Visual)

Coming Attractions:

May 22: · Tim Armstrong - A Poet's Life (with bonus DVD; Hellcat)
· The Bravery - The Sun and the Moon (Island) [Preorder]
· KRS-One and Marley Marl - Hip Hop Lives (Koch) [Preorder]
· Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long (Octone) [Preorder]
Read: "Maroon 5 Back With 'Harder' Album After Adam Levine Gets Sick Of Partying"
· Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain (Epic) [Preorder]

May 29: · Les Claypool - "Fancy" DVD (Prawn Song)
· Danzig - The Lost Tracks of Danzig (two CDs; Megaforce) [Preorder]
Read: "Glenn Danzig Preps 'Final' Tour, Film, Box Set And, Uh, Dolls"
· R. Kelly - Double Up (Jive)
Read: "New R. Kelly LP Includes Akon, Jeezy, 'Flirt' — But No 'Closet' Till July"

June 5: · Chris Cornell - Carry On (A&M)
Read: "Chris Cornell Ready To Carry On As Solo Artist: 'I'm Best In My Own World' "
· Marilyn Manson - Eat Me, Drink Me (Nothing)
Read: "Marilyn Manson Reveals He Came Close To Suicide; LP 'Was My Salvation' "
· O.A.R. - Live From Madison Square Garden (two-CD set and two-DVD set; Everfine/Lava/Atlantic)

• Linkin Park
• Wilco
• Rick James
• Megadeth
• Rufus Wainwright

Adam Sandler in "Click"
Photo: Sony Pictures

If the Hollywood movie system sank into the sea, and indie flicks were the only ones left to watch, we'd be passing some pretty grim hours with dismal Sundance duds like "Brick" and "Down in the Valley." Hollywood has an honorable purpose — well, a useful one, anyway — and if there were more high-concept, star-driven mainstream comedies crafted with the cheery, professional cleverness of "Click," the world might be, if not a better place, at least a somewhat more entertaining one.

This movie's concept is so highly distilled, you could scribble it on one side of a Post-it Note and still have room on the back for a bullet-point bio of its star, Adam Sandler. He plays Michael Newman, a work-frazzled architect who slaves endless hours at his firm in pursuit of a partnership that's kept dangling just out of reach by his oily boss, Ammer (David Hasselhoff). In his obsession with advancement, Michael tends to neglect his beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) and their two winsome kids, for whom he's forever failing to build a tree house or show up at athletic events. Consumed with a desire to insure a better life for them in the future, he's robbing them of the family life they could have here and now.

Among the things that get on Michael's frayed nerves is the plethora of remote controls scattered around his living room. Every time he wants to change TV channels, he seems to pick up the wrong one, and suddenly the ceiling fans start to whirl, the garage door goes rolling up, or the nippers' toy cars and helicopters come leaping to life. At his wits' end, he sets out one night to find and buy a universal remote that will bring order to this domestic electrical chaos. It's late, though, and after cruising the local retail thoroughfares, he finds that the only store still open (and suddenly doing big-time business in movie product-placement) is Bed, Bath & Beyond. As you may know, this home-furnishings chain doesn't actually trade in consumer electronics; but after sparring with a pixilated BB&B employee (Nick Swardson, the gay roommate in "Art School Confidential," and one of the funniest characters in the film), Michael makes his way to an obscure door in the back of the store that bears a single word: "Beyond."

Inside, he finds Morty, a mad scientist complete with lab coat, bow tie, shock-permed hair and a worktable full of inscrutable tools and tinkerings. (This ambiguous oddball could perhaps only be played — and therefore is — by Christopher Walken.) Morty hands Michael a slick-looking new universal remote-control handset (made by Sony, which is also releasing this movie) that turns out to deliver way more than Michael bargained for — it allows him to literally control his universe. Soon he's lowering the volume on barking dogs and jabbering acquaintances, fast-forwarding through an argument with his wife, using the language selector to eavesdrop on some Japanese architectural clients and putting his boss on pause in order to give him a few good bitch-slaps. Next, he discovers he can skip whole chapters of his life, and thus need no longer suffer through boring dinners with his parents (Henry Winkler and Julie Kavner). And when he hits the main-menu button, he can see his entire world, all the way back to childhood — with commentary, too, provided by James Earl Jones.

All of this is worked out with considerable invention. And when the story reaches the natural limit of its high concept (around the time Michael starts using the color control on his magical remote to do Hulk impressions), it segues smoothly into a sub-Dickensian mode, something akin to "A Christmas Carol," with Morty serving as all three of the ghosts of past, present and future. When Michael fast-forwards too far ahead in his life, he finds that he's become a middle-aged fat man, and that his wife has left him. After fast-forwarding way too far, he awakes to find himself an old man at death's door, with his son, Ben (Jake Hoffman), a now-grown architect himself, sitting by his hospital bed and telling him he's decided to cancel a honeymoon with his new bride in order to deal with a business problem. Michael, tragically aware at last of the many mistakes he's made in this area, is horrified. But being near death, what can he do?

"Click" holds no surprises for anyone familiar with sentimental mainstream Hollywood comedies. The pleasure of the movie is in watching it work out pretty much the way you'd hope it would. The writers, Steve Koren and Mark O'Keefe (and presumably Sandler, too), have fueled the picture with snappy patter and some sharp situational humor, and the director, Frank Coraci, who also worked with Sandler on "The Waterboy" and "The Wedding Singer," knows how long to let a laugh line linger, and when to shift emotional gears. Also notable are the makeup effects created by the great Rick Baker. It's one thing to transform a young character into a wrinkly senior citizen — we've seen it, thanks. But aging a character by just a decade or so — from, say, 35 to 45 — is a subtler thing, and Baker brings it off with remarkable delicacy. You can sense that there's been a change, but looking at the slightly altered face up on the screen, you may not be able to put your finger on exactly what it is.

"Click" is a well-made movie, and a pretty funny one. Adam Sandler is sweet, in his trademark way, and there are no flare-ups of the broad whininess that non-admirers find so irritating. It's a movie with a message, of course, and it's a Hollywood message — which doesn't necessarily make it contemptible. But we hear it coming long before Michael realizes how badly he's screwed things up in his pursuit of wealth and his determination to sidestep all of life's little annoyances. As Morty explains, it's not weird science that's wrecked Michael's existence: "You were fast-forwarding through life long before you met me."

 
"Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man": Master Class

There can't be many songwriters who don't slump in defeated wonderment before the lyrical grace of Leonard Cohen. In this unvarnished concert documentary, shot by the Australian filmmaker Lian Lunson at the Sydney Opera House in January 2005, U2 guitarist the Edge attributes to Cohen "an almost biblical authority." Singer Bono says, "He's our Shelley, our Byron." Possibly they overstate the case; possibly the opposite.

The concert was a Cohen tribute, organized by that invaluable record producer and cultural archivist Hal Willner. It brought together a disparate group of musicians — including Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Teddy Thompson and Antony Hegarty (of Antony and the Johnsons), along with U2 — to perform 13 of this great artist's many great songs. Apart from some offstage interview material, and a number of mesmerizing conversational interludes with Cohen himself, that's pretty much it. The stage set is minimal, the lighting is basic, and since we don't see much of the band (which includes fiddles, accordion, a glockenspiel and even a musical saw), our attention is entirely focused on the performers, a few of whom are extraordinary. And through them, of course, we are able to contemplate the magical, compressed eloquence of Leonard Cohen's words.

Rufus Wainwright, for example, a playfully sardonic performer and a true star, brings just the right rueful tone to "Everybody Knows":

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost

But remember when I moved in you
And the Holy Ghost was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

The high point of the show, however, at least until U2 comes on, is provided by Antony Hegarty. Wearing some sort of ripped fishnet smock over a white shirt, with his now-darkened hair swaying around his shoulders and his body fidgeting to some mysterious inner rhythm, this extraordinary singer all but disappears into "If It Be Your Will," rising back up again only at the end, when the song builds to a resounding gospel-style climax. Another true star.

Then U2 comes on, and we are forced to contemplate once again the possibility that there may not be anything of a musical nature that these guys can't do pretty darn well. Here, they back Leonard Cohen himself, which would seem to be an impossibility — the world-conquering arena-rock band and the 70-year-old Zen-monk recluse? The tune is another of Cohen's little classics, called "Tower of Song," and he sings it — or intones it, rather — while standing in sublime stillness in front of the band. Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., lay back on bass and drums, Bono mans a minimalist synthesizer, and the Edge ornaments Cohen's murmurous phrases with whispery slide-guitar lines. It's a consciously small and eerily gorgeous performance, especially when Bono weighs in with a low-key backing vocal toward the end. Worth the price of admission, as they say.

Leonard Cohen's work, from the beginning of his creative life ("when I prayed to have some response to the things I thought were beautiful," as he recalls), has been a documentation of his passage through this world on his way to the next one, such as that may be. Given his advanced age, there's an unavoidably elegiac tone to this film. But Cohen leaves one last candle lit as his performance with U2 comes to a close:

Now I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be back
They're moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track
But you'll be hearing from me, baby, long after I'm gone
I'll be speaking to you sweetly
From a window in the Tower of Song

Check out everything we've got on "Click" and on "I'm Your Man."

Want trailers? Visit Movies on MTV Overdrive for the newest, scariest and funniest coming attractions.

Visit Movies on MTV.com for Hollywood news, interviews, trailers and more.

• "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man" Photos
• "Click" Photos

• U2
• Bono
• Rufus Wainwright
• Nick Cave
• Antony and the Johnsons

Beanie Sigel
Photo: Jason Campbell

If you're a real chart geek, we invite you to tune in Friday night at 5 p.m. ET for "Chart Attack," MTV News' weekly, in-depth look at what's charting where and why. Check out the Chart Attack Web page for more info.

In this week's chart and sales analysis, we synch up the "State Property" and "I Am Sam" soundtracks and survey a host of cinema-related albums from the last decade. Then we'll break out the mixing boards and the petri dishes for a little rumble through the musical lab with the Chemical Brothers.

For The Movies

Considering the rather "still" nature of next week's Billboard 200, any ripple on the weekly albums chart — no matter how slight — looks like a giant sales wave. Such a "tidal warning" was in effect for two of the (relatively) biggest movers and shakers on the chart, with the soundtracks to the films "State Property" and "I Am Sam" making the biggest splash.

"State Property," the soundtrack to the Roc-A-Fella feature starring rappers Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek, was the highest debuting LP on the new Billboard 200, as the record sold more than 52,000 copies to lay claim to the #14 spot on the charts. (see "Mary J.'s Reissue The Only 'Drama' In Stagnant Billboard Top 10"). Those figures should please Roc-A Fella chiefs Jay-Z and Damon Dash (both of whom appear in "State Property" in the guises of characters named "Untouchable J" and "Boss Dame") especially since, aside from Sigel's contributions, the album showcases up-and-comers Freeway, Sparks & Oschino and Young Guns Chris & Neef.

The "I Am Sam" soundtrack, which features the likes of Rufus Wainwright, Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper, and Sarah McLachlan covering Beatles classics such as "Across the Universe," "Mother Nature's Son," "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Blackbird," has managed to sell more than 158,000 copies during the past month and is firmly entrenched at #21 on the Billboard 200.

While Beatles cover tunes are always in vogue, the fact that this record's release comes in the wake of George Harrison's recent passing — not to mention the overwhelming success of the Beatles' 1 compilation (8.05 million sold to date) — gives the album a sense of sobriety, poignancy and immediacy, and its timing could make it one of the early surprises of the new year. With so few major releases in the next few months, "I Am Sam" could enjoy a healthy run on the charts, and it's a pretty safe bet that the LP will enjoy a longer life than the Michelle Pfeiffer/Sean Penn tearjerker that spawned it.

To ride the sales wave created by the "I Am Sam" and "State Property" soundtracks and get you primed for the Academy Awards on March 24, we figured we'd go ahead and take a look at some of the biggest-selling soundtracks and other notable movie albums of the SoundScan era, which dates back to 1991.

According to SoundScan, Whitney Houston's 1992 album for "The Bodyguard" remains the biggest-selling soundtrack, with sales in excess of 11.68 million copies. That figure is good enough to make "The Bodyguard" the fifth best-seller of the last decade, trailing only Shania Twain's Come On Over (14.17 million), Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill (13.90 million), Metallica (13.01 million) and Backstreet Boys' Millennium (11.97 million).

Of course, it should come as little surprise that the next largest-selling soundtrack of the last 10 years comes courtesy of "Titanic," the biggest-grossing film of all time. As we mentioned a few weeks back (see "Got Charts? Linkin Park, Shaggy, 'NSYNC Are 2001's Top-Sellers"), the "Titanic" soundtrack spent four months atop the charts in early 1998 and has gone on to sell more than 9.96 million copies.

Aside from those two, there are only a few other soundtrack LPs during the SoundScan era that have sold more than 4 million copies, as best we can tell: "The Lion King" (7.43 million), "City of Angels" (5.28 million), another Whitney Houston film, "Waiting to Exhale" (4.97 million), "Space Jam" (4.7 million), "Forrest Gump" (4.42 million), "Sleepless in Seattle" (4.15 million), and the "Armageddon" soundtrack (4.11 million).

That list may get a new addition in the next few weeks, as the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack currently stands at 3.8 million sold and is still averaging more than 50,000 copies sold per week. "O Brother" looks as if it could easily rack up another 1.2 million in sales during the next 12 months, especially if it wins the Grammy for Album of the Year. If that happens, the LP may end up as the fourth or fifth best-selling soundtrack of the last 10 years.

Other sizable soundtracks include "Pulp Fiction" (3.3 million), "Dangerous Minds" (3.28 million), "Men in Black" (3.06 million), "Romeo + Juliet" (3.03 million), "Coyote Ugly" (2.95 million), "Hope Floats" (2.71 million), "Aladdin" (2.47 million), "The Preacher's Wife" (2.39 million), "Friday" (2.35 million), "Tarzan" (2.34 million), "Pocahontas" (2.32 million), "Beauty and the Beast" (2.19 million), "Dr. Dolittle" (2.17 million), "Save the Last Dance" (2.1 million), "Murder Was the Case" (2.03 million), and "Soul Food" and "The Crow" (both 2.01 million).

The massive "Titanic" soundtrack notwithstanding, blockbuster films don't always translate into blockbuster soundtracks, as evidenced by the album sales for the "Star Wars - Episode 1: The Phantom Menace" LP. The film, the first installment in George Lucas' six-picture space opera, currently stands as the third highest-grossing film in U.S. history (trailing just "Titanic" and the 1977 original "Star Wars," according to The Hollywood Reporter), but the soundtrack has just sold 993,000 copies.

In comparison, the more hi-fi sci-fi of the "Matrix" soundtrack has sold more than 1.46 million copies to date, even though it was issued the same year as "The Phantom Menace." Other movie albums that have outspaced "SW: TPM" include: "Evita" (1.97 million), "The Wedding Singer" (1.95 million), "The Commitments" (1.88 million), "Moulin Rouge" (1.75 million), "Charlie's Angels" (1.66 million), "Set It Off" (1.59 million), "Batman Forever" (1.58 million), "Selena" (1.56 million), "Mission Impossible 2" (1.44 million), "Rush Hour" (1.40 million), "Rugrats - The Movie" (1.39 million), "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (1.37 million), "Romeo Must Die" (1.37 million), "Godzilla - The Album" (1.36 million), "Wild Wild West" (1.35 million), "Pokémon" (1.29 million), "Shrek" (1.27 million), "Bulworth" (1.23 million), "Philadelphia" (1.16 million), "Phenomenon" (1.10 million), "The Player's Club" (1.02 million) and "The Nutty Professor" (1.02 million), among others.

Even if a film is named Best Picture of the Year at the Academy Awards, that doesn't necessarily mean that the soundtrack will be as successful — or even get much of a push. Recent Best Picture winners who enjoyed favorable soundtrack returns include the aforementioned "Titanic" and "Forrest Gump" albums, as well as "Braveheart" (1.32 million), "Dances With Wolves" (1.26 million), and, to a lesser degree, "Gladiator" (540,000), "Schindler's List" (381,000) and "The English Patient" (211,000). Recent Oscar-winning films with soundtrack slackers include "American Beauty" (77,000), "Silence of the Lambs" (45,000) and "Unforgiven" (14,000).

In terms of directors, you can usually count on quality returns from the soundtracks to Cameron Crowe films. Crowe, who wrote for Rolling Stone during the '70s, has had a hand in shaping several auspicious soundtracks, including the grunge-filled "Singles" LP (1.68 million). His two subsequent films, "Jerry Maguire" (659,000) and "Almost Famous" (662,000), did not fare quite as well — and his most recent flick "Vanilla Sky" has produced a soundtrack that has sold just 115,000 copies during the past two months. However, Crowe can take comfort in the fact that the "Almost Famous" soundtrack is beginning to develop a life beyond first run, as — thanks to the promotional magic of cable and special-edition DVDs — the LP is actually selling more copies per week now than it was five months ago.

As for actors/actresses, several soundtracks from Julia Roberts' movies have done quite well over the last decade, dating back to "Pretty Woman" (1.40 million), and including "My Best Friend's Wedding" (1.93 million), "Runaway Bride" (1.42 million) and "Notting Hill" (1.33 million). Of course, not all of Roberts' film soundtracks have done as exceptionally well, with "The Mexican" selling just 14,000 copies and the "Erin Brockovich" soundtrack — the film for which Robert won a Best Actress Academy Award — notching just 11,000 in sales to date.

Cooking With Chemical Brothers

While Julia Roberts and celluloid make for quite an explosive combination, the U.K. dance-music duo known as the Chemical Brothers have developed a rep for mixing their own potent brand of sound potables. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons have returned to the American (non-periodic) charts with a new album, Come With Us, which sold 30,000 copies last week to define its physical properties at #32 on next week's Billboard 200.

Come With Us was the third highest chart entry of the week (behind the "State Property" soundtrack and the Essential Barbra Streisand collection at #15) and debuted at the same position the duo's previous effort, Surrender, did in June 1999. However, Surrender sold more than 42,000 copies out of the gates and has gone on to total more than 402,000 copies — becoming the Chemical Brothers' second best-selling album in the U.S., behind only 1997's Dig Your Own Hole (756,000), yet far ahead of their 1995 debut, Exit Planet Dust (331,000) and 1998's mix album Brothers Gonna Work It Out (165,000).

While it's hard to gauge what sort of half-life the Chemical Brothers' Come With Us will have, chart longevity will undoubtedly play a role, as evidenced by the duo's earlier records. While Exit Planet Dust never managed to crack the Billboard 200, Dig Your Own Hole landed at #14 in April 1997 (after selling 48,000 copies its first week) and went on to log more than six months on the chart, thanks to the singles "Block Rockin' Beats" and "Setting Sun."

In contrast, Surrender spent just 14 weeks on the Billboard, 200, despite the nifty, Escher-esque video for "Let Forever Be," a track that, like "Setting Sun," featured Oasis' Noel Gallagher on vocals. As disappointing as that may seem, it marked a significant upward chart swing from Brothers Gonna Work It Out, which debuted at #95 and spent just that one week in the top 100 and one month in the top 200.

If the Chemical Brothers can "dig in" and hold on through the summer with Come With Us, then the album should do at least as well as Surrender. Until then, look for the Chemical Brothers to keep stirring it up in the clubs and on wax until they can finally discover that missing ingredient for platinum-plated starpower — a fluke crossover hit the size of Moby's "South Side" or Fatboy Slim's 'The Rockafeller Skank."

[In SoundScan we trust. All figures, unless otherwise noted, are according to SoundScan's audited sales numbers and reflect sales as of press time.]

• Beanie Sigel
• Memphis Bleek
• Rufus Wainwright
• Sheryl Crow
• Ben Harper

Dave Matthews
Photo: Brady Wolfe

Dave Matthews, Rufus Wainwright and Jackson Browne will perform songs by Neil Young at an awards ceremony for the legendary rocker Tuesday in Beverly Hills, California.

Young is being honored by the People for the American Way Foundation with the Spirit of Liberty Lifetime Achievement Award at their annual reception at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, according to organizers.

Aside from making poignant music as a solo artist and with the groups Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Canada-born performer has launched two of the largest annual benefit concerts, Farm Aid (see "Neil Young, Martina McBride, Willie Nelson Give Farm Aid 2001 A Patriotic Air") and the Bridge School Benefit (see "Matthews, Pearl Jam, R.E.M. Give Peace A Chance At Bridge School").

Matthews, Wainwright, Browne, T-Bone Burnett and songstress Sam Phillips will each perform a Young song and a song of his or her own at the ceremony.

The People for the American Way Foundation will also present "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, "Boys Don't Cry" director Kimberly Peirce and filmmaker Kevin Smith ("Dogma," "Clerks") with Defender of Democracy Awards at the ceremony. The foundation launched 20 years ago to promote diverse democratic values.

Matthews, whose namesake band will begin recording their next album in January (see "Dave Matthews Band Eyeing Next LP, Revisiting 'Lillywhite Sessions' "), is in Los Angeles this week with Soulive, the hip-hop/jazz trio that opened for the Dave Matthews Band on a string of dates last spring. Matthews is singing and playing guitar on a cover of Ani DiFranco's "Joyful Girl" for Soulive's upcoming album, Next. Glen Ballard (Dave Matthews Band, Jewel) is producing the track.

• Dave Matthews Band
• Dave Matthews
• Neil Young
• Rufus Wainwright

John Lennon
Photo: Capitol

Although John Lennon was a man of peace, many of his songs were created during wartime — the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the culture war. Still, his words of tolerance and love reflected with hope and faith in the goodness of mankind, no matter how rotten it appeared at any given moment.

When Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and producer Ken Ehrlich planned a benefit concert to pay tribute to the former Beatle, they intended to use the proceeds to fight for gun control and help end youth violence — a noble cause to commemorate the noted pacifist (see "Lennon Tribute To Air Live From NYC; Dave Matthews, More Sign On"). "Come Together: A Night for John Lennon" was to take place September 20 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, Lennon's adopted home and the city in which he was assassinated.

When terrorists flew two Boeing 767 airplanes into the twin towers September 11, however, demolishing the buildings and killing thousands, the date, name and focus of the benefit changed.

"He had a prophetic ability to be way ahead of most of us," actor Kevin Spacey said backstage after Tuesday night's "Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words & Music," which was broadcast live on TNT and the WB. Spacey hosted the event and even sang a dramatic version of Lennon's "Mind Games."

While the event featured stars from past eras — Lou Reed performed a punk-rock version of "Jealous Guy" and Cyndi Lauper sang "Strawberry Fields Forever" from Central Park's Strawberry Fields garden — most of the evening's entertainers — including Dave Matthews, Stone Temple Pilots, Marc Anthony, Alanis Morissette, Shaggy, Craig David, Yolanda Adams and Shelby Lynne — were thoroughly contemporary.

"We were very concerned about having stars that represent this generation, because I wanted to make sure we can communicate to the young," Ono said from the press room shortly before showtime. She added that the evening's message took on extra urgency after September 11. "When the attack happened, I was really in a shock, just like I was in a shock when John passed away," she said. "It was so sudden. It reminded me very strongly of that day. I think most of us are still in shock. So it was very important for us to do this show in New York City."

The artists' mixed moods of melancholy and elation carried through the event. Contemporary gospel vocalist Yolanda Adams, who opened the show with a heartfelt version of "Imagine" backed by keyboardist (and Beatles sideman) Billy Preston, described the atmosphere.

"These are all wonderful performers, so there's a lot of love," she said. "But we are all setting into the fact that a lot of people's loved ones are still lost and missing, so it was pretty somber."

The evening was a musical eye-opener for some artists. Twenty-year-old English R&B heartthrob Craig David, for example, who sang a sultry version of "Come Together," acquired a solid appreciation of Lennon's craft.

"It's massively valuable to understand how he structured harmonies," David said. "His music was catchy and he was a great songwriter lyrically."

Dancehall pop star Shaggy, who closed the night with "Give Peace a Chance," was even more moved by Lennon's words.

"I looked at them closely for the first time and was like, 'That brother was deep,'" he said. "It saddens me, because I listen to music today and there's nothing like that. Everybody's talking about bling-bling and the artists are driving cars they don't own and houses they ain't finished paying for yet in these videos. There's no substance in music. It's so driven by how high some chick's miniskirt is or how low her cleavage is. You gotta give it to John Lennon. He believed in what he believed in whether you cared or not."

The tribute's highlights included Dave Matthews performing a gripping solo acoustic rendition of "In My Life," Stone Temple Pilots rocking out a flamboyant and gravel-voiced version of "Revolution," Alanis Morissette singing the melancholy "Dear Prudence" and Natalie Merchant playing a ruminative "Nowhere Man." Lennon's son Sean was joined by Rufus Wainwright and Robert Schwartzman for "This Boy," and by Moby and Wainwright for "Across the Universe."

"His political ideas, his social ideas, his ideas about love and the brotherhood of mankind are universal," said Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland. "His music continues to be relevant no matter what decade it is. Those ideas will continue to be important so long as people feel the love he spoke about."

For more information on and audience reaction to the attacks, including tips on how you can help, see "9.11.01: Moving Forward".

• John Lennon
• Lou Reed
• Stone Temple Pilots
• Dave Matthews Band
• Dave Matthews

Mos Def
Photo: Priority

The Black Crowes, Mos Def, Ween and David Lee Roth are among approximately 500 artists slated to perform during Seattle's 31st annual Bumbershoot festival over the Labor Day weekend. Mos Def, Dilated Peoples and Jurassic 5 will kick it all off August 31 at the Hip-Hop 101 showcase. The festival will be held at the 74-acre Seattle Center.

Also on the bill are Taj Mahal, Rufus Wainwright, Neko Case, Loretta Lynn, Marshall Crenshaw, Meshell Ndegéocello, Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Built to Spill, Cat Power, Low, Reverend Horton Heat, Galactic, the Rollins Band, King Sunny Adé and His African Beats, Jon Brion and the Funky Meters.

The So Many Roads tour, featuring Ratdog, Rusted Root and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, will converge with Bumbershoot on September 2. Additions to the festival this year include an electronic-music venue called the Electro-Deck, a street-dance stage and a new indie-rock hub at Experience Music Project's Sky Church. Tickets go on sale Friday via bumbershoot.org.

• The Black Crowes
• Mos Def
• Ween
• Dilated Peoples
• Jurassic 5

Pet Shop Boys
Photo: Sire

Music fans wondering "What's a Wotapalava?" will have to wait until next year to find out. The gay-themed summer touring festival has canceled 18 shows this July and August because organizers were unable to find an appropriate high-profile headliner, according to the tour's publicist.

Originally, Sinéad O'Connor had agreed to take top billing, but on May 30 she dropped off the tour because of "unforeseeable family commitments." After spending a month searching for a replacement, Pet Shop Boys member and Wotapalava founder Neil Tennant postponed the event, which was suffering from poor ticket sales, until next year.

"We have made this decision with the greatest of reluctance," Tennant said in a statement. "But it seems impossible to proceed without a complete lineup of artists. We look forward to coming to America next year." In addition to O'Connor, the festival was scheduled to feature Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, the Magnetic Fields and Rufus Wainwright on its main stage. A second stage would have included DJs such as Junior Vasquez and Danny Tenaglia.

• Pet Shop Boys
• Sinéad O'Connor
• Soft Cell
• Magnetic Fields
• Rufus Wainwright

Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant  
Photo: EMI

Pet Shop Boys member Neil Tennant has announced the dates for his Wotapalava festival, which will feature his band along with Sinéad O'Connor, Soft Cell, Rufus Wainwright and Magnetic Fields.

The 17-date amphitheatre tour will begin July 13 in Miami's Bayfront Amphitheatre and zigzag across the country to conclude August 11 at Woodlands Pavilion in Houston.

The antithesis of Ozzfest, Wotapalava — an English expression meaning "what a fuss about nothing" — is a gay-themed event sponsored by PlanetOut.com and Gay.com. One dollar from each Wotapalava ticket, which range in price from $40 to $70, will benefit a national gay-advocacy group and local charities (to be announced later).

"Wotapalava will be a celebration of individuality and the freedom to be what you want to be," Tennant said in a statement. "This is not exclusively an issue of sexuality. It's about having the power to live as you want." Beside the main performances, Wotapalava will feature a second stage of lesser-known, yet-to-be-announced acts. Following the headliners' final encores, the event will turn into an after-hours dance party featuring renowned club DJs.

Busy as they've been organizing Wotapalava, Pet Shop Boys have found time to write the music and lyrics for "Closer to Heaven," a West End musical that opens May 31 at the Arts Theatre in London. Wotapalava dates, according to the event's publicist:

• 7/13 - Miami, FL @ Bayfront Amphitheatre
• 7/15 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
• 7/18 - Wantagh, NY @ Jones Beach Amphitheatre
• 7/20 - Boston, MA @ FleetBoston Pavilion
• 7/21 - Washington, DC @ Merriweather Post
• 7/22 - Holmdel, NJ @ P.N.C. Bank Arts Center
• 7/25 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion
• 7/27 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre
• 7/28 - Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
• 7/29 - Tinley Park, IL @ Tweeter Center
• 7/31 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
• 8/3 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
• 8/4 - Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• 8/5 - Chula Vista, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre
• 8/8 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Centre
• 8/10 - Schertz, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• 8/11 - Houston, TX @ Woodlands Pavilion

• Pet Shop Boys
• Sinéad O'Connor
• Soft Cell
• Rufus Wainwright
• Magnetic Fields

Smash Mouth's Steve Harwell
Photo: Eufloria

Baha Men's upbeat "Best Years of Our Lives" will be joined by songs from Smash Mouth, Rufus Wainwright and Leslie Carter on the "Shrek" soundtrack, due May 15.

The Baha Men cut goes to radio April 24, but it can already be heard in trailers for the computer-animated film, which features the voice of Mike Myers as a nasty ogre who eventually learns the meaning of love.

Smash Mouth offer a cover of the Monkees classic "I'm a Believer," while Carter contributes the title track from her debut album, Like Wow! Wainwright delivers a version of Leonard Cohen's mournful "Hallelujah." The disc also includes previously released material from Smash Mouth ("All Star"), the Eels ("My Beloved Monster") and the Proclaimers ("I'm On My Way").

The film, due May 18, also features the voices of Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow and Eddie Murphy, whose character, Donkey, sings a version of "I'm a Believer."

• Baha Men
• Smash Mouth
• Leslie Carter
• eels
• Rufus Wainwright

Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Amy Winehouse, More At Coachella 2007

• Arctic Monkeys
• The Jesus & Mary Chain
• Stephen Marley
• Satellite Party
• Jane's Addiction

"Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man" Photos

• U2
• Beth Orton
• Rufus Wainwright

"Bring 'Em Home Now" Concert In New York

• Peaches
• Rufus Wainwright
• R.E.M.
• Devendra Banhart
• Bright Eyes

Weekend Premieres Around Sundance: Beasties, Biel, The Edge, More

• U2
• Rufus Wainwright
• Beastie Boys