While Britney Spears is sidelined with her bad knee, she's thinking about her next project -- a greatest-hits album. Due November 16, the still-untitled LP will include some new material as well as a limited-edition remix bonus CD. A new song will be the first single, which is slated to hit radio September 14. A separate greatest-hits DVD will be released on the same day. ...

The cover of Green Day's seventh album, American Idiot, lends itself to the political themes contained therein -- the artwork features a hand squeezing the blood out of a heart-shaped grenade. ... Avril Lavigne has announced four dates for her fall and winter tour. The first show is October 31 in Philadelphia. The pop rocker will also play Boston (November 1), Denver (November 14) and Glendale, Arizona (November 17). ...

Jennifer Lopez continues to work on her next record, due out by the holidays. She's enlisted Corey Rooney as a producer, according to her Web site. She's also recorded a cover of Dean Martin's "Sway" -- in both English and Spanish -- for the end titles of the flick "Shall We Dance?" ... A Perfect Circle are looking for the perfect video director. The band is holding a contest to find "the most creative, arresting and imaginative realization in film, animation or any visual medium" for its next single, "Blue." Those interested should sign up for the band's street-team mailing list at www.aperfectcircle.net, after which they will be sent the contest details and a special version of "Blue" to use in their video. One grand-prize winner will receive $1,000 and the chance to have the video included on an upcoming DVD. ...

Kimberly Mathers, the ex-wife of Eminem, was sentenced on Wednesday (June 30) to a year in prison for leaving a court-ordered drug treatment program without permission. According to a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Corrections, Mathers will only have to serve 140 days of the sentence. After her jail time is completed, she will be ordered to enter a drug treatment program. If she completes this, the remaining balance of her jail time will be suspended and she will go back on probation. If, on the other hand, she fails to finish the program, she will have to serve another year in jail. ... Lindsay Lohan's father, Michael Lohan, had another brush with the law on Tuesday when he was arrested at Nassau County Court in Mineola, New York. According to Suffolk County Police Lieutenant Kenneth Fasano, Lohan was at the courthouse to appear at a conference for unrelated charges. While at the courthouse, he was arrested for allegedly failing to pay a bill of $3,834.53 to Long Island's Oheka Castle where he had booked suites for April 12 and 13. Lohan was released from the Suffolk County Police Second Precinct on $250 bail. His court date has been set for August 26 at the First District Court in Suffolk County. ...

Carmen Electra wants to call your bluff -- she's hosting a strip-poker game to be aired on In Demand. The Strip Poker Invitational, to air July 18, will be a game of seven-card Texas Hold 'Em, played by six women for a shot at a $50,000 pot. ... Meanwhile, Carmen's hubby, Dave Navarro, is joining her for another set of games -- the couple are hosting the second annual awards show for gamers. G-Phoria, which takes place July 31 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, will air on G4techTV on August 6. ...

A little thing like the cancellation of Lollapalooza 2004 isn't about to stop the String Cheese Incident from touring. The group will play the 10,000 Lakes Festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, on July 4 before embarking on its own trek July 9. The String Cheese tour will kick off with two performances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, and run through August 21 in Raleigh, North Carolina. "Despite what the industry is saying," bassist Keith Moseley said, "we still believe people want to see live shows." ... Joe Barresi, who worked on the Queens of the Stone Age's self-titled, 1998 debut, is back in the QOTSA fold, assisting frontman Josh Homme in producing the next album, the follow-up to 2002's Songs for the Deaf. The LP is due before the end of the year. ...

Jimmy Eat World's still-untitled fourth album will come out in October. The follow-up to the band's self-titled 2001 disc was again produced by Mark Trombino. Jimmy Eat World entered a studio in Tempe, Arizona, earlier this year and finished mixing in the beginning of June. ... The Lost Boyz's Legal Drug Money was the album that propelled Mr. Cheeks' rap career, and now it's also the name of the Queens, New York, native's independent label. Cheeks' first release from his company is his third solo LP, Ladies and Ghettomen, which comes out in September. The first single features Truth Hurts and is called "It's Alright." ...

Gravelly voiced crooner Tom Waits has finished work on his forthcoming album, Real Gone. The LP, slated for an October 5 release on Anti Records, was written and produced by Waits and his wife, Kathleen Brennan. For the first time in Waits' career, there will be no piano on the album. ... Vans Warped Tour alums CKY canceled all remaining summer tour dates after bassist Vern Zaborowski was let go from the band due to personal and professional reasons. Chad Ginsburg filled in on bass for three shows this past weekend. The band will continue to work on its third album, the follow-up to 2002's Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild, while searching for a replacement. ...

06.29.04

Courtney Love was more than five hours late for her New York court appearance (for third-degree assault and reckless-endangerment charges) on Monday, causing the judge to give her a stern warning that a bench warrant for her arrest was nearly issued. Love, who begged court officers to let her smoke in the courtroom, was also admonished for talking to another defendant handcuffed to a bench, as well as to spectators in the courtroom. She also complained to the courtroom sketch artist that her nose appeared too large in the sketches for her liking. Outside of the courthouse, Love told reporters that she was pregnant -- and was smoking a cigarette when she made the announcement. Her next hearing on the charges is September 7. ...

"Ray," the Ray Charles biopic starring Jamie Foxx, is scheduled to hit the big screen October 29. The legendary soul singer died June 10, while the film was in production. ... Christina Aguilera has a new song -- but it's not for her upcoming record. She recorded "Hello" for a Mercedes-Benz ad campaign in Europe to promote the new A series, and while the TV spots won't be seen in the U.S., the full-length version of the jingle can be heard at follow-your-own-star.com. ...

We'll have to wait a little bit longer for the release of R. Kelly's Happy People/ U Saved Me. According to his label, the R. will be dropping his album on August 24 now. ... Rapper Mystikal, currently serving a six-year sentence for sexual battery, will release a greatest-hits album on July 27, The Prince of the South. The collection will include two new songs. ...

Midtown's Gabe Saporta took headbanging to the next level at Friday's 101X radio show in Austin, Texas. During the set, the bassist's strap snapped and his instrument struck guitarist Tyler Rann in the back of the head. Despite an overwhelming display of blood, Rann, who was hustled off to a local hospital, suffered only a few lumps and cuts. ... The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) and the National Sexual Assault Hotline are teaming up to celebrate their respective 10-year anniversaries, with the compilation For the Next X: A Benefit CD for RAINN, due July 27. The LP features contributions from RAINN co-founder Tori Amos, Michelle Branch, Dar Williams, Charlotte Martin, Matchbox Twenty and the Indigo Girls. ...

David Lee Roth will perform with the Boston Pops during the July 4 celebration on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston. The orchestra, conducted by Keith Lockhart, will back Roth for "California Girls" and "Jump" before launching into Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" as the fireworks go off. ... Four Chicago dates on Prince's Musicology tour were postponed because NPG drummer John Blackwell suffered a death in the family. Concerts that had been planned for Monday, Tuesday (June 29) and Wednesday were rescheduled for July 22, 23 and 24, and the June 26 concert will now happen on August 3. ...

Mos Def, the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am, the Roots' ?uestlove, Raphael Saadiq, De La Soul and others have remixed and reconstructed songs by the Isley Brothers for the album Taken to the Next Phase (Reconstructions). Highlights of the disc, due August 10, include "Tell Me When You Need It Again, Pts. 1 & 2" by Will.I.Am, "That Lady (Part 1 & 2) by ?uestlove and "Groove With You" by Mos Def. ... Trick Daddy is finishing up work on his new LP. The album, Thug Matrimony, is due out in October. ...

Kelly Osbourne plans to incorporate more of a 1980s sound on her next album. In an interview with AP Radio, Ozzy's 19-year-old daughter, whose first single was a cover of Madonna's 1986 chart-topper "Papa Don't Preach," said that she didn't really like rock and preferred '80s pop. ... Props and furnishings from the "Real World San Diego" house are being auctioned off to raise money for the nonprofit San Diego Film Commission Foundation. The auction begins Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. after the season finale airs and can be found on www.sdfilm.com and on eBay. ...

The Donnas have entered the studio to begin their follow-up to Spend the Night. They're working with producer Butch Walker (Avril Lavigne) for the as-yet-untitled record, which is due this fall. ... Mobb Deep have pushed back the release of their next album, Amerika's Nightmare, until August 10. The duo of Havoc and Prodigy plan to shoot their next video, the Kanye West-produced "Throw Your Hands," in July. ... Bow Wow Wow are kicking off their first tour in six years -- with No Doubt drummer Adrian Young behind the kit. Young is filling in for the band's original drummer, Dave Barbarossa, who has prior commitments in the U.K. "It's a dream come true to play with a band I grew up idolizing," Young said. "I feel like a kid back in the sandbox." Bow Wow Wow's trek begins on July 15 in New York. ...