Def Jam Records has pushed back the release of Ludacris' Red Light District to December 7. The album, which had been slated to drop November 23, features DMX, Trick Daddy, Nate Dogg and DJ Quik, among others. ... Chingy is looking for a new label home, according to sources close to the artist. The St. Louis native, who is currently signed to Capitol Records, recently parted with Ludacris' Disturbing Tha Peace imprint, and several labels appear to be interested in signing him. While Chingy is looking for a new label, he has no plans to leave Capitol at this time. In fact, the rapper's sophomore set, Powerballin', is still slated for release via that label on November 16. ...

The Neptunes' Pharrell Williams has co-created a line of Louis Vuitton eyewear with head designer Marc Jacobs. The sunglasses were unveiled during Fashion Week in Paris last week. ... Stevie Wonder has become close friends with Alicia Keys since performing with her at the MTV Video Music Awards and is talking about recording with the singer. "Between Alicia, Lenny Kravitz and myself, there's no telling what we might do musically together," Wonder said at Friday's Ray Charles tribute concert. "I'm hoping to release my next project, A Time to Love, next year. Watching what's happening in the world and the debates, it's time to have love in the world." ...

The Young Voter Alliance, an umbrella organization that includes the Young Democrats of America, the League of Pissed-Off Voters, the League of Hip-Hop Voters, MoveOn Student Action and National Stonewall Democrats, has enlisted the help of mixtape specialist/ Eminem tour DJ Green Lantern to craft a mix CD, Shade 45 Sirius Bizness, aimed at getting young people out to vote. ... Two of Paris Hilton's projects are progressing full steam ahead -- her album, now slated to come out on Warner Bros., which will also distribute her Heiress Records imprint, and her new season of "The Simple Life." Hilton's yet to decide on a title for the album, which has been reported as both Paris Is Burning and Stripped. And she's in the middle of locking down a variety of internships that she and pal Nicole Richie can complete for the show's third season. Details remain to be announced. ...

The new Queens of the Stone Age album is due in March, according to the band's official Web site. The album follows 2002's Songs for the Deaf. ... Why should G-Unit and Pharrell have all the footwear fun? Metallica have gotten into the shoe game with two lines of skate shoes from I-Path. Both versions of the shoe are available on the band's official Web site, www.metallica.com. ...

Ryan Cabrera has added several West Coast dates to his current tour. After two dates in Oregon, the outing will hit San Francisco on November 14, Hollywood on November 16, Las Vegas on November 17 and Anaheim, California, on November 18. ... Lil' Romeo, whose single "My Cinderella" was just released, will select a fan to be his "Cinderella" and star in his next video. Interested girls should attend Saturday's autograph-signing with Romeo and Master P at Wherehouse Records in Torrance, California. ...

Radiohead are getting ready to release "The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time," a 110-minute DVD that collects the Internet-only animations, short films and unreleased music that originally was broadcast on www.radiohead.tv, a Web site launched in conjunction with the band's last album, Hail to the Thief. Pre-orders are being taken on Radiohead's official site, www.radiohead.com. ... If you aren't privy to the world of Coheed & Cambria, then the title of their next album, Good Apollo: I'm Burning Star IV: Vol. One From Fear Through the Eyes of Men, might sound like nonsense. Actually, even if you're a fan of the conceptual metal band, the name of the follow-up to last year's In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 might be confounding. Hopefully when the album drops next summer, it will all make sense. ...

Madonna's English Roses collection -- her new brand of girl's apparel, dolls, jewelry and rainwear -- is currently launching in select Nordstrom stores, with some items also available on Nordstrom.com. Nordstrom is also creating an extensive in-store program around Madonna's brand, including fashion shows and tea parties. ... 311 have finished one song and have started several more for their eighth studio album, due in the spring. "We're going to work with David Kahne and Ron Saint Germain," singer Nick Hexum said. "David Kahne did those two new songs for the greatest-hits record and that was a great experience for me. He's such a great composer and rock and roll songwriter and player in his own right. I think it's kind of a dream team." Meanwhile, 311 will release the DVD "Live in New Orleans" on October 26. ...

Tegan and Sara are performing a free show at New York's SoHo Apple Store on October 16 at 3 p.m. The in-store kicks off their brief tour in support of their recently released album, So Jealous; the trek includes five Northeast dates, including another New York performance on October 21. The duo then head west to play the Bridge School Benefit concert -- which also features Sonic Youth, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ben Harper and Paul McCartney -- in Mountain View, California, on October 23-24. ... Thirteen years after disbanding, influential indie rockers Slint will reunite to curate and perform at the next All Tomorrow's Parties festival, February 25-27 in the U.K. The Louisville, Kentucky, group released just two albums, 1989's Tweez and 1991's Spiderland, before its members went on to play in Tortoise, the Breeders, King Kong and Palace. ...

Virgin Electronics is the latest company hoping to lure users away from Apple's iPod. Smaller than a deck of cards, the Virgin Player, available later this month, holds five gigabytes of music, one gig greater than the capacity of the iPod Mini. ... Apple, meanwhile, may not be resting on its laurels in the face of all this competition. The company is reportedly working on a 60-GB iPod -- with a color screen to display photos -- to be released in time for the holidays. An Apple spokesperson, however, wouldn't comment on the speculation. ... In other Apple news, a new TV spot for iTunes and iPod featuring U2 and their new single, "Vertigo," is set to premiere on Tuesday (October 12). iTunes is the only place to download the first single from the band's new album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, due November 23. ...

10.11.2004

Incubus, Hoobastank and Breaking Benjamin, each huge fans of the video game "Halo," have penned songs inspired by the game for the soundtrack to its sequel, "Halo 2." Incubus were so moved by the groundbreaking first-person shooter, they wrote an epic, four-part operetta, appropriately named "The Odyssey," for the LP, which streets on the same day as the game, November 9. ...

Want to be Paris Hilton? There's a Halloween costume of the hotel heiress available on Buycostumes.com. The outfit includes a blue stretch denim lace-up tank top, matching ruffle skirt, removable "Hello My Name is Paris H." badge, and a stuffed puppy. The "Paris Heiress" costume isn't the only celeb outfit that's available -- there's one for Kelly Osbourne wannabes as well, with a black jacket and attached pink tie and pinstriped black Capri pants. ... The long-talked-about movie Outkast's Andre 3000 and Big Boi are filming for HBO now has a title: "My Life in Idlewild." The flick is currently being shot in Wilmington, North Carolina. The duo have said they're in the process of recording a batch of new songs together for the film's soundtrack. ...

The video for Prince's song "Cinnamon Girl" doesn't premiere until next week, but it's already causing quite a stir. The clip, directed by video vet Phil Harder, features "Whale Rider" star Keisha Castle-Hughes as an Arab-American girl who is fed up with the anti-Arab sentiments she encounters in everyday life. The video concludes with Castle-Hughes' character fantasizing about exploding a bomb in an airport as a result of her frustrations. ... Christina Aguilera has begun work on both an English and a Spanish-language album. In the meantime, her first live DVD, "Stripped Live in the U.K.," is due Tuesday. ...

Fourteen-year-old professional skateboarder and snowboarder Ryan Sheckler paid $4,000 for a guitar signed by Blink-182 in an auction at Tony Hawk's Stand Up for Skate Parks benefit last week in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Pamela Anderson paid $6,000 for a date with David Spade and $2,750 for a bike signed by X-Games champion Mat Hoffman. Blink and Spade both performed at the benefit, which attracted such guests as Trent Reznor and Benicio Del Toro. ... Following in the footsteps of their future tourmates Good Charlotte, Sum 41 will perform at the Tower Records in New York's Greenwich Village on the day their new album comes out. The Canadian quartet will perform selections from Chuck and sign autographs on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ...

The legislative tide turned against the recording industry Friday when a bill that would facilitate slapping peer-to-peer networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus with lawsuits was effectively killed in Washington. The bill, known as the Induce Act, sought to hold liable anyone who induces another to infringe on copyrights, but the Senate Judiciary Committee passed on it. ... The only thing thicker than the stifling hot air at Spaceland in Los Angeles on Saturday was the mustache on Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse "The Devil" Huge. Actually, what was even thicker than that were the beats, provided by both Joey Castillo and surprise guest drummer Josh Homme, who sat at a second drum kit right next to Castillo. Among those taking in the show were Homme's squeeze, Distillers singer Brody Dalle, and ex-Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri, who was fired from the band earlier this year after a falling-out with Homme. ...

The first 500,000 people to buy copies of the PS2 video game "The Urbz: Sims in the City" will get a free iTunes card that will allow them to download three exclusive tracks from the Black Eyed Peas. The tracks include one new Peas song recorded in "Simlish," the fictional language used in the world of the Urbz, and a remix of their single "Let's Get It Started," also recorded in Simlish. These songs and other exclusive tracks are featured in the video game, which also boasts the hip-hop group as characters. ... Master P, who played with the American Basketball Association's Las Vegas Rattlers last season, has joined the Long Beach Jam. The rap mogul trained extensively over the summer and was invited to the Sacramento Kings' pre-training camp workouts. ... Meanwhile, P will guest star on an upcoming episode of "CSI: NY," for a story line involving a hip-hop artist stabbed to death after winning a DJ contest. The episode, called "Grand Master," airs on CBS October 20 at 10 p.m. ET. ...

Pharrell Williams and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham have contributed to Vanessa Carlton's second album, Harmonium, due November 9. The singer's boyfriend, Third Eye Blind singer Stephan Jenkins, produced the project. ... Continuing their trek around the U.S. in support of their new album, This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In), Chevelle will open a handful of dates for Korn, who are currently touring behind an album of their own, Greatest Hits, Volume 1. Chevelle join the tour November 11 in Fresno, California, and stay on until the November 24 show in Minneapolis. More dates are expected soon. ...

The first two albums from the Hives, 1997's Barely Legal and their 1998 EP, A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T, both originally available on Gearhead Records, are being reissued through Burning Heart/ Epitaph. The albums will see the light of day on October 26. ... When guitarist Terry Balsamo left the company of Scooter Ward for the opportunity to play with Evanescence earlier this year, it seemed like Cold were fast on the retirement trail, but things seem to be heating up for the Jacksonville, Florida, band. With a new label deal with Atlantic in place (ties with Geffen were severed in March), the group plans to start pre-production on the tentatively titled And a Sad Song Lives On this week. ...

The documentary "Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley" will premiere Saturday at New York's Two Boots Pioneer Theater as part of the CMJ Music Marathon. The movie features interviews with the late singer's family, friends and bandmates. ... Rap stars, take note: even indie rockers are getting into the mixtape game. Grandaddy have put together their own mixtape, Below the Radio. Due October 19, the collection includes some of the band's favorite tracks by Beck, Snow Patrol, Earlimart and Pavement, in addition to a new Grandaddy song titled "Nature Anthem." The group's fifth album is scheduled for a spring 2005 release. ...

It's Sammy Hagar's birthday this week, which means it's time for his annual Cabo Wabo Meltdown in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The six-day event started this weekend, with free performances by Nickelback's Chad Kroeger, Smash Mouth, Van Halen's Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith, Jerry Cantrell, the Cult's Billy Duffy, and Kenny Chesney. ...