Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha has joined A Perfect Circle. Although Iha didn't contribute to the band's new album, Thirteenth Step, he'll be onstage for the band's 12-date club tour, which begins July 26 in Denver. ... Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith will play detectives in a still-untitled action comedy scheduled to begin production in early winter. Pinkett Smith's husband, Will Smith, will produce the movie. ...

Beyoncé Knowles' upcoming musical comedy, "Fighting Temptations," will now hit theaters on September 19. The film -- in which Beyoncé co-stars with Cuba Gooding Jr. -- was expected to arrive in August. ... 'NSYNC and Vanessa Carlton will judge the new teen category in the annual International Songwriting Competition. The winner receives a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. ... "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is writing "I Don't Mean to Be Rude, But ...," a book offering his insight into the music industry. It's scheduled for publication December 2. ...

Don't know why Bad Brains are often called "America's Clash"? Then hearing singer H.R.'s political lyrics rendered atop a mix of punk and reggae on the hits collection Banned in DC: Bad Brains' Greatest Riffs is essential. Banned drops July 29. ... Vanessa Carlton will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Major League Baseball's All-Star Game on Tuesday in Chicago. Thirty-nine outs later, Amy Grant will sing "America the Beautiful" for the seventh-inning stretch of the 74th Midsummer Classic. ...

Ex-Blur guitarist Graham Coxon is finishing up a new solo album with producer Stephen Street, who worked on the first five Blur records, according to his Web site. Meanwhile, Blur start the second leg of their North American tour this weekend in Minneapolis in support of Think Thank, the Britpop band's first album since parting with Coxon. ... Gene Loves Jezebel have set an August 12 release date for their next album, Exploding Girls. The group is planning a U.S. tour for the fall. ...

Puretunes.com, a Spanish music download service launched in May that claims to abide by Spanish copyright laws, is the current focus of the RIAA's efforts to curb piracy. According to Reuters, the RIAA has filed suit against the company, claiming copyright infringement and unfair competition, and also alleges that Puretunes deceived its customers into believing the service was approved by Spanish recording artists. ... Big-name acts like the Rolling Stones, the Dixie Chicks and Cher have boosted concert ticket sales, which are up 24 percent so far this year. According to tour-industry trade magazine Pollstar, sales seem to be recovering from the slump they have been in since 2000; however, unfavorable weather may slow the outdoor concert and festival sales that are the heart of summer shows. ...

They're "feeling good, feeling great" and feeling like changing their minds. Outkast have switched up their original singles plans for the double LP Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. "She Lives in My Lap" will still be one of the first two initial offerings, but "Ghetto Musick" will be the second half of the double whammy. The album's release date has also been reset for September 9. ... "Awww baby"? More like "Awww fooey!" When Ashanti celebrated the release of her #1 album, Chapter II, at New York's Chelsea Piers on Wednesday, many of her invited guests cried foul over being forced by security to stand outside in long lines. VIPs Usher, Joe Budden, Fat Joe and Irv and Chris Gotti made it inside to partake in the revelry. ...

On August 5, A Perfect Circle drummer Josh Freese will release a jazz-influenced solo record called Strip Search on Magna Carta. Bass player Mike Elizonzo and guitarist Michael Ward join Freese on the album. ... Techno fans will have to wait two more weeks for Kraftwerk's new album, Tour de France. (After 17 years, what's another 14 days?) The LP's release date has been moved from July 22 to August 5. The electro duo's last album of new material was 1986's Electric Cafe. ... Speaking of delays, the State Property gang is still going to all be there, just a week later than expected. State Property Presents the Chain Gang Vol. II has been pushed back one week to August 12. ...

07.09.2003

Now that her first world tour has drawn to a close, Avril Lavigne and her fans can relive the memories with a live CD/DVD package due this fall. Expected in late September or early October, My World features songs recorded during the trek as well as video footage shot onstage and off. ...

Talk about elitist. Not everyone can hear Royksopp's remix of Coldplay's "Clocks," which will serve as the band's next single in the U.K. Only 1,000 copies will be made available there, but online at the band's official merchandise hub, www.coldplayshop.com, 100 fans will be "allowed" to purchase the song, if they're lucky enough to win a random drawing. Another 20 copies of the tune will be made available in the same fashion to the band's official fan club, In My Place. ... 3 Doors Down have signed on for "Experience Live at the Sky Church," a five-part concert series that will air in September. According to their Web site, 3DD -- currently on tour with Our Lady Peace -- have added dates to their summer tour and will continue on the road well into September. ...

Christina Aguilera's previously unreleased "That's What Love Can Do" will be featured on a new compilation available only at Target stores. Justin Timberlake is also included on the six-song sampler. ... While finalizing their DVD, Weezer are also writing and demoing songs for a new album, the follow-up to last year's Maladroit, which Rick Rubin is slated to produce. Fans who can't wait can catch new Weezer material on the Petra Haden benefit 7-inch (a live version of "Why Bother?"), as well the upcoming Green Day tribute A Different Shade of Green ("Worry Rock") and the Buddyhead-assembled compilation Gimmie Skelter ("You Won't Get With Me Tonight"). ...

Hanson will showcase several songs from their upcoming fourth album on an acoustic tour beginning August 9 in Towson, Maryland. The 13-date outing wraps August 28 in West Hollywood. ... Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck and associate Killah Priest, Ruff Ryders newcomer Jinn, JT the Bigga Figga and Planet Asia will participate in the next in Hip-Hop Summit, which will take place July 24-26 at Seahawks Stadium in Seattle. For the first time the event will include an expo. ... Actor-turned-rapper Vishiss hasn't let the cancellation of UPN's "Platinum" slow him down. The Detroit native is following his first single, "Battle Rhyme"/"Killin Spree," with a collabo featuring Planet Asia and DJ Revolution. ...

Silken-voiced rapper Q-Tip is recording his third, as-yet-untitled LP. The former member of A Tribe Called Quest recorded but never released the album Kamaal the Abstract, but his solo debut, Amplified, came out in 1999 and featured the single "Vivrant Thing." ... "Beef," a documentary on rivalries between rappers, will drop on DVD in September. Narrated by actor Ving Rhames, "Beef" covers famous battles between KRS-One and MC Shan, Jay-Z and Nas, Tupac and Biggie, and the headline-grabbing feud between Ja Rule and 50 Cent. ... Sarah McLachlan will be featured on the first single from Darryl "DMC" McDaniels' debut solo album, Checks, Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll, due in September. "It's transforming," the Run-DMC rapper said. "It's gonna change music, not just rap." ...

Jazzy Jeff is reprising his producer role for Jill Scott's second studio album, due later this year. "Her first album allowed her to go all over the world, so she got a lot of knowledge, she got a lot of good, she got some bad," he said. "She's just really telling her story, and that's what I love." ... DJ Premier is launching his own record label, Year Round Inc. "It's bringing back the rawness of hip-hop," the Gang Starr turntablist said. "It doesn't sound like a lot of the stuff that's out now. ... We call the new stuff Tinkerbell music because it doesn't have the raw sound what hip-hop sounds like. It doesn't sound like it's from the ghetto these days." ... Similarly, Grandmaster Flash is launching his own imprint, Adrenaline City Entertainment, and writing a book about DJing. "I'mma do it like if I'm talkin' to my 3-year-old daughter. You know, 'Once upon a time ...' " he said. "I'm gonna start from the beginning, 'cause so many of you guys in the media start things in the middle or from the end. It's gotta go back to the Kool Herc years, 'cause there was somebody before me." ...

Kid Capri has signed four artists to his new No Kid'n Records, including rappers Red Handed and R&B singer Natalie. The pioneering hip-hop DJ has also launched his own clothing line, Rogish Street Threadz, and bought a tour bus. "I do 250 shows a year," he said. ... Finch will hit the studio in October to record their second album. "We are going to spend the summer writing," guitarist Randy Strohmeyer said. "We are slow writers. We spent a year writing What It Is to Burn." ... Ben Harper graced the stage twice Tuesday night at the three-hour, double-encore Pearl Jam concert at Madison Square Garden. During the first encore, Eddie Vedder beckoned Harper to the mic during the improv ending to "Daughter," and later, during the second encore, Vedder and Harper alternated lyrics to "Indifference." ... A public memorial will be staged in early August for Barry White, who passed on Friday due to kidney failure. Organizers have yet to settle on a location. ...