Sure, Madonna's on the cover of the new

Vanity Fair, but if you look closely at the magazine, you might notice

Hole's Courtney Love stealing a bit of the Material Girl's

thunder in an ad spread for Versace clothing. Looking awfully similar to a

look Madonna sported three looks ago, Love pouts her best for the racy

spread in which she bares nearly all ... Another rocker taking the

fashion-spread angle is Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea,

who can be seen modeling some chic threads in the latest issue of Esquire. The blonde Pepper scowls and poses alongside actors John Goodman and Jeff

Bridges in an advertorial boost for the upcoming Coen brothers ("Fargo")

film, "The Big Lebowski," in which Flea co-stars ...

Punk-rooted singer/songwriter Elliott Smith has been nominated for

an Oscar for his song "Miss Misery," one of five Smith compositions in the

film Good Will Hunting (itself nominated for Best Picture). Smith

is currently working with producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf on the

follow-up to last year's Either/Or (Kill Rock Stars), which will

mark his debut for the DreamWorks label. . .

Following their multiple "Brat Awards" just weeks before, The Verve

were big winners again at Monday's annual Brit awards. The group took home

Best Album honors for 1997's Urban Hymns, as well as Best Group and

Best Producer. The group accepted its awards via satellite from a crosstown

London gig for a homeless organization. Prodigy won the Best Dance

Act award, the Eels took home Best International Newcomers and

Bjork won Best International Female, with Jon Bon Jovi

winning the male award and U2 the International Group award ... New

York mayor Rudolph Giuliani lashed out at National Academy of Recording

Arts and Sciences president Michael Greene on Monday, saying that he didn't

care if NARAS' Grammy awards hightailed it back to L.A. "If they want to go

back to L.A., they can," Giuliani said, according to Reuters, at his

weekly press conference, bringing to a head a strained relationship between

himself and Greene that began with a January decision to bump Giuliani as

an announcer of this year's Grammy nominees. Giuliani said he felt Greene

was verbally abusive toward one of his City Hall staffers. The Grammys will

take place at New York City's Radio Music Hall on Feb. 25 ...

"Fritz The Cat" illustrator Ralph Bakshi's 1981 history of American popular

music, "American Pop," will be released on home video/laserdisc for the

first time on March 31. The lushly illustrated, psychedelic flick spanning

four generations of music as seen through the eyes of budding musicians

features classic music from Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the

Doors, Lou Reed and Sam Cooke ... The second album

from sometimes Beastie Boys member Money Mark, Push the

Button, will be released in May. The 18-track trippy keyboards and

patched-together funk album features the tracks "Monkey Dot," "Tomorrow

Will Be Like Today," "Rock in the Rain," "I Don't Play Piano," "Destroyer"

and "Harmonics of Life" ... Songwriter Pete Droge, who first gained

attention several years ago with the song "If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill

Myself)" from his 1994 debut, Necktie Second, will release his third

album, Spacey and Shakin, in April. The 11-track effort is his first

for producer Brendan O'Brien's (Pearl Jam) 57 Records label.

O'Brien produced the album, which features the songs "Please the Ghost,"

"Eyes on the Ceiling," "Motorkid" and "Blink of a Kiss" ...

Idaho guitarist Dan Seta said the Southern California

slow-core combo are about to enter a studio to record an album for

Chicago-based Buzz Records. The album, which is set for release by late

summer, is the follow-up to last year's The Forbidden EP ... British

jungle king Goldie, who just released the double-CD

Saturnzreturn, is in the middle of shooting his feature-film

starring role in the action pic "Everybody Loves the Sunshine." The

gold-toothed studio rat plays a gay gangster in the film, which co-stars

fellow thespian/singer David Bowie ...

"Rock Me Amadeus" singer Falco died in a traffic accident in the

Dominican Republic on Friday night. The 40-year-old singer, who also had a

hit with the song "Der Kommissar," was killed when his sport utility

vehicle was struck by a bus, according to Associated Press reports

... Because too much is never enough, Interhit Records has announced plans

to release an album of dance remixes of the Celine Dion song "My

Heart Will Go On," the love theme from the mega-hit film "Titanic." U.K.

dance act Deja Vu are the guilty party and the CD maxi-single

entitled "My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme From TITANIC) -- The Dance Mixes"

will feature an electronic HiNRG "Definitive Mix" and a more

house-influenced "Fired-Up Mix" ... -- ATN staff report

Color="#720418">[Wed., Feb. 11, 1998, 9 a.m. PST]

Following the lead of Oasis, Australian grunge boys Silverchair have released a multi-CD box-set of material, just two albums into their career. Although the five-CD set is not available in the U.S., Australian and Canadian fans can marvel at the limited-edition treats on Freak Box, which contains all four of the singles from their 1997 Freak Show album, an interactive CD-ROM, live tracks and an interview disc ... Folk songstress Joni Mitchell's upcoming album is tentatively titled Taming the Tiger and is currently scheduled for a May release ... Joan Osborne, Sarah McLachlan and Dave Matthews are among the artists who will appear on a syndicated radio program highlighting goth writer Anne Rice's latest effort, "Violin: A Ghost Story." The special, which began airing on Monday, will air in various areas through Feb. 22 ...

Spearhead leader Michael Franti has recorded the score for the original HBO film "Always Outnumbered." The movie, which stars Laurence Fishbourne, is based on a novel by Walter ("Gone Fishin' ") Mosley begins airing on March 21. Along with scoring the film, based on Mosley's "Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned" novel, Franti has a cameo as a musician. The film also features Natalie Cole, Laurie Metcalf, Bill Nunn and Cicely Tyson ... Look for a sequel to last year's Gary Numan tribute, Random, entitled Random 2, on March 10. The sequel to the "Cars" singer tribute features tracks from Robert Armani, DJ Hell, Greenhaus, Mike Dearborn, Dave Angel, Steve Stoll and Alex Hazzard ...

A tribute to German electronic pioneers Can entitled CFS (Can Forgery Series) is scheduled for release on the Dust Brother's Nickel Bag Records in midsummer. Tracks from Beck, the Geraldine Fibbers, the defunct L.A. pop band That Dog, Komeda, Congo Norvell and the Radar Bros. are scheduled for inclusion ... Reggae super producers Sly and Robbie will release Friends on March 24. The album from the renowned producers (Peter Tosh, Mick Jagger) features the track "Night Nurse," with vocals by former Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall, as well as a cover of Lionel Richie's "Penny Lover." The pair also offer up their spin on the "Theme From Mission Impossible" and the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" ...

On Friday, Bruce Springsteen jumped onstage for a half-dozen encores with Steve Earle during a show at Sea Bright, N.J.'s Tradewinds nightclub. In addition to Earle's "Guitar Town," "I Ain't Ever Satisfied" and "Johnny Come Lately," the band kicked out Carl Perkins' "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby," as well as the Rolling Stones' "Sweet Virginia" and "Dead Flowers" ... If you thought it was odd to see Bob Dylan receiving the Kennedy Center Medal of Honor last year, picture this: On Sunday night, former Creedence Clearwater Revival leader John Fogerty played for President Bill Clinton at the annual Festival at

Ford's (Theater) gala event. Among those reported to be rocking to

Fogerty's white-hot and scathing "Fortunate Son" was Senate

Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., who told the Washington

Post that it was a particularly favorite song of his ...

On Wednesday, G. Love is scheduled to film the video for "I-76" off

his Yeah, It's That Easy album during halftime at a hometown

Philadelphia 76ers game. "I-76" in part pays tribute to such 76er greats

as Moses Malone and Julius "Dr. J" Erving ... Next month,

the curators of bad taste at Rhino Records will release a new collection of

exceptionably horrid tracks called '70s Party Killers. Among the

cuts programmed to drive you to the brink are Bo Donaldson and the

Heywoods' "Billy Don't Be A Hero" and "The Night Chicago Died" by Paper

Lace ... Mack 10 will unleash his latest long-player, The Recipe, on his own Hoo Bangin label this May, with pals Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes and Ol' Dirty Bastard lending a helping rap ... -- ATN staff report [Tues., Feb. 10, 1998, 9 a.m. PST]