LOS ANGELES — There's a lot more than the Best Rock Performance Grammy nomination on Johnny Rzeznik's mind these days — the Goo Goo Dolls frontman is writing songs for a film soundtrack and his pop-rock band's next album.

Rzeznik, who penned the Grammy-nominated "Black Balloon" (RealAudio excerpt), said lately he's been holed up in his home studio.

"That's what a lot of it is about, just sitting around and making noise that makes you happy, and then hopefully it forms into something," Rzeznik said from his home Friday. "I go through a zillion ideas, and I just keep playing them and playing them and they kind of evolve. Then I take them to the band and flesh out the arrangements, and then one day, they turn into songs. And then you're like, 'Holy smokes — it's a song.' "

Though Rzeznik said it is unlikely that a new Goo Goo Dolls album will arrive before the end of the year, he said there's a good chance fans will hear some of his work on an upcoming film soundtrack. He declined to name the project but said he has met with the director to discuss his contribution.

"I like doing soundtracks," said Rzeznik, who penned the Goo Goo Dolls'

hit "Iris" (RealAudio

excerpt) for the "City of Angels" soundtrack (1998). "I just kind of hang around, talk to the director and sort of get a feel for what's going on. And then sit in my room and bang stuff out.

"Sometimes it doesn't work," he continued. "I did a couple that [were] like, 'I can't do this, I can't relate to this, I don't understand this.' "

The Goo Goo Dolls struck gold with "Iris." The song was nominated in two of the top categories at last year's Grammy Awards — Record of the Year and Song of the Year. It also received a nod for Best Pop Performance by a group. Though they lost in all three categories, the Goo Goo Dolls have another shot at a Grammy this year with "Black Balloon."

The song, which appeared on 1998's triple-platinum Dizzy Up the Girl, was not intended to be released commercially, Rzeznik said.

Their competition for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group includes Garbage, Hole, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Santana. "If I have to lose to anybody, I hope it's Santana, " Rzeznik said. The veteran rock band is up for "Put Your Lights On," a collaboration with rapper Everlast.

After last year's awards, Rzeznik wore a T-shirt that read "I was nominated for three Grammys, and all I got was this lousy shirt."

"I'm thinking about changing the three to a four, and having on the back of the shirt, "I'm sick of this sh--,' " he said.

Apart from Grammy nominations, Rzeznik was pleased that the Goo Goo Dolls will achieve another milestone: They will make their debut Jan. 31 on "Sesame Street." The taped episode features the band performing a reworked version of its #1 hit, "Slide," retitled "Pride." The new lyrics, aimed at the show's young viewers, feature the lines, "You helped your mother bake a pie, you fell and didn't cry." Elmo appears with the band on air guitar.

"I was really glad we got to do something like that — I grew up watching Sesame Street," Rzeznik said. "I got to meet Grover. He was always my favorite. You get so sucked into them. They are so alive and so real that you just forget that there's a large man with his hand up the butt of this puppet."