Britney Spears will appear at the 2004 Teen Choice Awards, which are taping August 8 in Universal City, California, and will air August 11 on FOX. Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are hosting the show, which will also feature appearances by Jennifer Garner, Jimmy Fallon, Mischa Barton, Christina Applegate, Anne Hathaway, Wilmer Valderrama, Chad Michael Murray, Tyra Banks and Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Teens can vote for the awards at www.teenpeople.com/teenchoice. ... Britney's little sister, Jamie Lynn, is starring in a new live-action comedy series on Nickelodeon called "Zoey 101," in which she'll play a 13-year-old attending a newly coed beachside boarding school. In the premiere episode, Jamie Lynn's character, Zoey Brooks, aims to make the basketball team, much to the chagrin of the boys already on the team. The show, shot on location in Malibu, California, will air on Sundays starting in early 2005. ...

Filmmaker Michael Moore's controversial "Fahrenheit 9/11," whose box-office receipts total more than $100 million, will be screened in the overwhelmingly pro-Bush Crawford, Texas, home of the president's vacation ranch. Via his Web site, Moore extended an invitation for Bush to join the expected 1,000 people at the screening. "The premiere will give us a chance to serve up some chips, salsa and a whole lot of truth," Moore wrote. "And let's face it, you've got some of the funniest lines in the film." ... Rapper Loon will appear in court on September 8 for a preliminary hearing on his charge of one count of assault with a deadly weapon. The MC missed a June 3 preliminary hearing at Beverly Hills Superior Court and a bench warrant was issued for June 30. Loon and co-defendant William Reyes turned themselves in that day. ...

Katy Rose is using the Chicks With Attitude Tour with Liz Phair and the Cardigans to promote her new single, "I Like." "It's a very powerful song," Rose said. "We usually open the show with it. It's basically saying that maybe I could like myself one day and maybe I could like you one day, because anything can happen, really." ... Rooney are returning to the studio next month with Keith Forsey, who produced the band's self-titled debut, to record the follow-up. In the meantime, the band has released separate exclusive live tracks to Napster and Rhapsody! and is encouraging radio stations to play "Pop Stars," although it will not be an official single. "It's about the candy-coated glossy poppy music," singer Robert Carmine said. "It was written like three or four years ago at the peak of all that Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys [stuff]." ...

Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic's first book, "Of Grunge & Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy!," will hit bookshelves on September 15. One part memoir, one part political platform, Novoselic tells the story of his musical and political coming-of-age. ... OK Go are giving bands the OK to go political. Lead singer Damian Kulash has written a how-to guide for bands interested in becoming politically active. His "How Your Band Can Fire Bush," a manifesto/resource guide, can be found at www.okgo.net, and provides tools for bands to talk to their fans and the press about politics. For your Bush-bashing convenience, Kulash has also included a two-page fact sheet of what President Bush has and has not accomplished while in office. ...

The Polyphonic Spree's two-week tour to promote the release of their second album, Together We're Heavy, will begin August 13 in Chicago. Seven East Coast dates stand between the kickoff and the trek's finale, August 25 in New York. ... Sorry, ladies -- Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Barrett has married his girlfriend of more than two years, Molly Terrence. The couple were wed during an impromptu ceremony in Las Vegas on July 21, in a ceremony that included Barrett's fellow bandmates and some friends. Reel Big Fish had been in town for a show at the House of Blues, and finish up their tour this week before they head off to Hawaii for another wedding -- that of their bassist, Matt Wong. ... Following their departure from Geffen Records in March, Cold have inked a deal with Atlantic Records and have completed eight songs for their follow-up to 2003's Year of the Spider. Producer Dave Fortman is expected to join the band when Cold hit a Massachusetts studio to record the new material. ...

7.26.2004

First-time voters are up for grabs in the upcoming presidential election, according to a poll conducted by Pace University on behalf of Rock the Vote. The poll reveals that 33 percent of those who have registered to vote since the 2000 election consider themselves Republicans while 35 percent consider themselves Democrats. Half of these new voters say that they would vote for John Kerry, while 40 percent say they would vote for George W. Bush. ...

Missy Elliott lent a hand to Christina Aguilera as she recorded her remake of yet another disco classic, Rose Royce's "Car Wash," for the upcoming movie "Shark Tale," which hits theaters October 1. The dynamic duo's joint is joined by tracks from Ziggy Marley and Sean Paul; Mary J. Blige, and Will Smith. The soundtrack is due September 27. ...

U2 may consider rush-releasing their upcoming album, tentatively titled Vertigo, on Apple iTunes. In an interview with the U.K.'s The Daily Telegraph, Bono said that if the music stolen recently during a photo shoot appears on the Internet, they would "release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops by the end of the month." The album was otherwise slated for a fall release. U2's label, Interscope, did not have a comment at press time. ... One of LL Cool J's trademarks is his affinity for hats, so it's only right that after 20 years in the game he now gets to design his own. New Era has announced that Cool J has just signed on for its 59Fiftyat50 celebrity campaign, where such artists as Spike Lee, Cam'ron and Fabolous get to conceptualize their own fitted ball caps. MTV's La La and DJ Green Lantern will also design hats for the company. ...

Dame Dash has the money, now he's got the time, too. The Roc-A-Fella boss is launching a collection of luxury watches called Tiret New York. Prices for the bejeweled timepieces will range from $18,000 to $175,000. ... Dry your eyes, Phishheads. Your hearts may be broken at the news of Phish's retirement and you may not be able to make their final shows in Vermont, but there's still hope. The Coventry festival, August 14-15, can be heard live on XM Satellite radio and seen in select Regal, Edwards and United Artists movie theaters. ...

In an encore of his Winter Music Conference performance in Miami this past March, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs will reteam with dance DJs Erick Morillo and Steve Lawler for a one-off show in Pacha, Ibiza, off the coast of Spain on August 9. "The show we did together in Miami at the Winter Music Conference was absolutely jaw-dropping," Morillo said. "I am sure this will be another one for the record books." ... The legacy of the Ramones lives on forever in the new documentary "End of the Century." Following its premiere at New York's Tribeca Film Festival in May, the film will screen at a half dozen theaters, including New York's Angelika Film Center and the Landmark Theatres in Berkeley, California; San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, DC, in August and September, before showing in an expected 22 cities in October. For dates and locations visit the band's official site, www.ramones.com. ...

Guitarist Scott Ian said on his Web site that Anthrax's upcoming greatest-hits album is scheduled for release November 23. Anthrax fans chose which tracks would be re-recorded for the album. Favorites including "Among the Living," "Caught in a Mosh" and "Belly of the Beast" are expected to make the final cut. ... Ministry's Evil Doer North America Tour will kick off in Las Vegas on September 7. The band will be joined on the road by guests My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. There will be more featured guest artists announced throughout the tour and more dates added weekly. The tour will run through November 22. ...

All City, the second album from female rap trio Northern State, is slated to drop August 17. For the follow-up to 2002's Dying in Stereo, the New York group collaborated with hip-hop heavy-hitters the High & Mighty and the tightie-whitie-wearing Har Mar Superstar. The album will be prefaced by the first single, "Girl for All Seasons." ... Erudite singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen will release his eleventh studio album, Dear Heather, on September 28. His first album of new material since 2001's Ten New Songs includes 12 new compositions and one live track, a cover of the country-western standard "Tennessee Waltz." ...