Lindsay Lohan's mother told People magazine that her actress/singer daughter has exchanged "promise rings" with her boyfriend, Wilmer Valderrama. "Wilmer's a sweetheart," Dina Lohan said. "He is very protective. He's basically Lindsay's first boyfriend. ... They're living publicly. They're going to make mistakes. They're going to have fights. It's normal behavior." For his part, Valderrama told the magazine that his relationship with Lindsay is "about trust." "She's a smart girl," he said. "She knows what's good for her." ...

50 Cent's G-Unit Clothing Company is releasing a line of women's wear. The company will launch its G-Unit Women's collection at the end of this month, with such items as T-shirts and blazers making their debut in stores this winter. The line, geared toward women ages 16-26, is for the female who is "street-refined with a definite taste for the better things in life," according to the line's creative director. ... Can't wait until October 19 for Korn's Greatest Hits Volume 1 to hit stores? Good news: The release date for the 19-track album, which features covers of Cameo's "Word Up" and Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall, Parts 1, 2, 3," has been pushed ahead two weeks and will now hit stores on October 5. ...

A Perfect Circle plan to release a collection of songs on Election Day about war, peace, love and greed. eMOTIVe will feature new material as well as covers of John Lennon's "Imagine," Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and Fear's "Let's Have a War." One of the new songs, "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums," will coincide with an animated video poking fun at Bush. "Remember, every single vote counts," singer Maynard James Keenan said in a statement Thursday (August 26). "It is important for us all to engage this political system and to be conscious of who is being chosen to speak for us. If you choose not to be involved with decisions that affect your life on a daily basis, in our opinion, you forfeit your right to complain about it later. Think for yourself. Question authority." ...

Tommy Lee is enrolling in college, and he's bringing a camera crew with him. Lee is teaming with NBC for an as-yet-untitled reality show that will chronicle his adventures going back to school. Details, such as which school he'll be attending, have not been announced. Lee's autobiography, "Tommyland," is due in October. ... Alice Cooper made a few comments to the media about the Vote for Change Tour being "treason" during a Canadian stop of his tour, and is now saying that his remarks were misinterpreted. "When I said that rock stars doing concerts for presidential candidates were guilty of treason, I clearly said treason against rock and roll, meaning against the spirit of rock and roll, not against the president or the government or the U.S.A.," Cooper said in a statement Thursday. "I said that people shouldn't vote for a presidential candidate just because a rock star says so, and that's true whether it's Bruce Springsteen or Alice Cooper." ...

Radiohead have remixed "Go to Sleep," from last year's Hail to the Thief, to benefit War Child, an organization that provides aid to children injured or misplaced in conflicts around the globe. The song, recorded live in Osaka, Japan, and reworked by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, can be purchased for download at Warchildmusic.com starting September 9. ... The new album from Austin, Texas' ... And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead has been pushed back until early 2005, despite it being completed since July. In other Trail of Dead news, according to a statement by lead singer Conrad Keely, the band has split with bassist Neil Busch because of his "severe health problems." ... Cake will launch their first headlining tour in three years October 5 in Los Angeles to promote Pressure Chief, which hits stores that day. The outing, with Northern State opening, wraps October 24 in Chicago. ...

Guster, Travis and Sixpence None the Richer's Leigh Nash are among the acts who have recorded covers of '70s songs for the soundtrack to the WB series "Everwood." Due October 19, the album will also feature previously released covers from Jason Mraz, Throwing Muses' Kristin Hersh and Stereophonics. ... Tantric had been wanting to record a cover for months but were undecided on a song. Singer Hugo Ferreira suggested turning on the radio and doing the first tune they heard. That was Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain," and now Tantric's cover has become the theme song for HBO's new series "Family Bonds," about bail bondsmen and bounty hunters, premiering September 19. Tantric, meanwhile, are hitting the road next month to promote their recently released album, After We Go. ...

8.25.04

Lions and tigers and Kermits, oh my?! A Muppets version of "The Wizard of Oz" has landed Ashanti to play the lead role of Dorothy, while Queen Latifah will be her Auntie Em. Other key parts of the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Wicked Witch of the West will be played by Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie and Miss Piggy. The made-for-TV movie also features a cameo by "Kill Bill" director Quentin Tarantino. ...

The recording industry is instituting new awards to recognize downloads. Beginning Monday, artists who have sold at least 100,000 downloaded singles will earn a gold award, while 200,000 or more downloaded tunes will receive a platinum award. Among those presently eligible are Outkast, Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, Usher, P. Diddy, Jessica Simpson, D12 and No Doubt. ... And while it applauds the artists who do legitimate business in the digital world, the recording industry continues to take aim at those who traffic in copyrighted files on the wrong side of the law. A new round of copyright-infringement lawsuits target 744 users of peer-to-peer platforms including eDonkey, Limewire, Grokster and Kazaa. ...

Producer Phil Spector, charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, has a new legal team again. Bruce Cutler, best known for representing mob boss John Gotti, has replaced Leslie Abramson, who told reporters, "If we wanted to be ethical and competent, we had to resign." ... The World Music Awards, usually held in Monte Carlo, are moving to Las Vegas this year and will be broadcast live September 15 on ABC. Usher, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Celine Dion and Josh Groban have all signed on to perform. ...

Ruben Studdard and Kimberly Caldwell will guest on the new FOX sitcom "Related by Family." Their episode, which airs in January, stars the former "American Idol" contestants as employees at a fast-food restaurant who break out into song praising the food. ... Just coming off the Warped Tour, Taking Back Sunday will continue to pound the pavement in support of their second album, Where You Want to Be. Following a few European shows, a fall tour will begin September 12 in San Francisco and end November 28 in Philadelphia. ...

The Beastie Boys have added a dozen dates to their fall tour, including shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia and Atlanta. The outing now runs until October 23 in Dallas, but more dates are still expected to be announced. The New York rappers will perform at an MTV2 Lifebeat benefit in Miami on Saturday before the tour kicks off on September 8 in Morrison, Colorado. ... A cross-section of artists and musicians, including Pearl Jam, Queensrÿche, comedian David Cross, Mudhoney, X's John Doe, and Grant-Lee Phillips are on board for the No Vote Left Behind Festival, taking place September 23-26 in venues all around Seattle. Proceeds from the festival will benefit the Democratic National Committee and other political action groups. ...

Want the Material Girl to get your cell phone into the groove? Madonna's now offering ring tones for sale on her Web site, along with other licensed mobile content like pictures of her striking a pose. Credit cards aren't necessary for the $2 tones, just a mobile phone number and handset type. Currently available tones include "Lucky Star," "Open Your Heart," "Beautiful Stranger," "Live to Tell" and "Frozen," among others. ... Fountains of Wayne, Godsmack, Guster, Howie Day, Aerosmith, Dropkick Murphys and Mission of Burma scored nominations for Album of the Year at the 17th annual Boston Music Awards. The ceremony will be held September 29 at the Avalon Ballroom in Boston. ...

U.N.K.L.E.'s second album, Never, Never, Land, will finally see a U.S. release on October 26. Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, Massive Attack's 3D, South's Joel Cadbury, Ian Brown and Brian Eno are among the guests on the album. ... Ben Kweller is slated to open for Incubus on the band's A Crow Left of the Murder tour, beginning September 24 in Memphis, Tennessee. His three-week stint ends October 12 in Richmond, Virginia. ... Mos Def and the Spirit Music Sextet will be performing at Central Park's Delacorte Theater in New York on Friday. The Emmy nominee will feature special guest Me'Shell Ndegeocello. ...

Kyle Gass, one half of Tenacious D, will be taking his side project Trainwreck out on the road starting next month. The band, which also features "Alias" actor Kevin Weisman on drums, kicks off its tour September 5 at the Moe Down Festival in Turin, New York. ... Fresh from their set at Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival, the New York Dolls will release a live album as an import on September 27. Pre-Crash Condition was recorded at London's Meltdown festival earlier this year. A DVD will complement the concert LP. ... Iconic rocker Bob Dylan will release "Chronicles: Volume One," the first in a planned three-book series of first-person narratives about his life and career, on October 12, according to Reuters. The first installment, which is 304 pages, will be followed one week later by a new edition of the collection of lyrics to almost every Dylan song, "Lyrics: 1962-2001." ...