Jay-Z To Replace The Beastie Boys

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) - Jay-Z will make his U.S. festival debut when he replaces the Beastie Boys at the All Points West Music & Arts Festival in New Jersey.

The Grammy winner stepped in after the Beastie Boys were forced to cancel their opening night appearance July 31. The trio scrapped their current schedule because member Adam Yauch must undergo surgery and treatment for a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland.

The three-day festival at Liberty State Park in Jersey City also features Tool, Coldplay and more than 65 artists.

Eminem: Relapse

Official website: http://eminem.com

It has been a four-and-a-half year lapse since Encore, the last album Eminem recorded before checking in and out of rehab. Bursting back on the scene more bad-ass and more loathsome than ever, Em doesn't just prove he can slug it out with the rest of the Lil Waynes and Akons, he manages to make them sound like a bunch of nancy boys in comparison.

Relapse is an album laced with murder, misogyny and self-loathing. And if you sniffed hard enough, you might just catch the horde of drug references stewing in the music. Even before you pop the CD in, the theme of this album literally stares you in the face - from the pill mosaic CD art to the pill bottle cap CD picture, it's clear what Eminem's message on this album is. This cat's certainly had a rough period.

After the comedic opening sketch between Dr West and himself, Em brings out the knives with "3am", a song about the dehumanizing effects of drug and alcohol addiction..

In usual Em fashion, few are spared the brunt of his hate rants, best exemplified by the lighter (in comparison) feel of "We Made You", a track that seems to harken back to the less serious sound of his previous albums. Em thrusts a barb-wired lyrical tirade at his mother on "My Mom", condemning her as the impetus for his drug dependency.

I can't say I enjoyed "Insane", one of the better tracks on the album which lashes out against child rape and molestation. That would be akin to saying I revel in watching someone get hit by a truck. Then again, I did appreciate the irony and caustic wit infused in this vicious and visceral rap. Another track to look out for would be "Déjà Vu", where Em, in a most satirical stance, unravels his back story on overdosing, interacting with his daughter while in a zombie-like stupor, and having to hide his stash.

"Crack a Bottle" is definitely the tune on the playlist to groove to. Featuring Dr Dre and 50 Cent, this seemingly improvised track has the funkiest beat of those on the album. Sadly though, the lyrics are a pale shadow of the music, with directionless drivel underscored by an uninspired chorus: "So crack a bottle, let your body waddle/ don't act like a snobby model you just hit the lotto".

"Beautiful" features the only break from the rest of the anger-charged tracks. This confessional number marks Em's attempt to shovel rap angst into a pick-me-up ballad form. And the result comes across as weak, bordering on clichéd, superior only to the meaningless raving in "Old Time's Sake".

It seems that in Em's world, everyone's irredeemable. And listening to Relapse, you'll either construe the man as a poetic genius, or some thug on a self-indulgent, ego-stroking wordplay trip. As for myself, I'm still recovering from the temporary depression onset this album has brought.. What a trip.

Kid Rock, Alice In Chains, Skynyrd Rock Detroit

A pair of home town stadium concerts over the weekend gave Kid Rock and a couple of his support acts an opportunity to showcase new material for the 40,000 fans who attended each show. In Rock's case it was a reflective song called "In Times Like These" that he performed as the first encore on Saturday and Sunday at Comerica Park, the usual home of the Detroit Tigers.

Explaining that he usually doesn't play new work until it's been released, Rock told the crowd he felt this was "an important song" inspired by the tough economic times the country, and especially his home state of Michigan, were experiencing. "It's the truth, and we hope it's more inspirational than anything," Rock said before performing an acoustic version of the song, whose lyrics contain sentiments such as "I heard them say they're shutting Detroit down/But I won't leave 'cause this is my home town" and "Even though it's bittersweet and brings us to our knees/It makes us who were are in times like these." Rock was planning to follow-up 2007's triple-platinum "Rock N Roll Jesus" this fall but, as previously reported, has decided to take the project to producer Rick Rubin, which will likely mean a 2010 release.

The two are currently reviewing what Rock has in hand, including collaborations with rapper Lil Wayne and T.I., and plan to start recording after Rock and his Twisted Brown Trucker band wrap up their summer tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Rock also rolled out a variety of covers during the homestand, including the Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice," Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" (accompanied by video screen images of a selection of deceased music heroes), the Jackson 5's "ABC" in tribute to Michael Jackson, snippets of the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" and Sly & the Family Stone's "Everyday People" incorporated into other songs, and Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.," which closed each night's show.

The concerts were filmed and recorded, but Rock told Billboard.com that he has not made any definite plans for any sort of official release. Alice in Chains, which played on Saturday's bill in its first U.S. show of the summer, debuted "A Looking in View" from "Black Gives Way to Blue," the group's first album of new material in 14 years -- and first with new singer William DuVall -- as part of a 50-minute set dominated by favorites such as "Man in the Box," "Them Bones," Down in a Hole," "No Excuses," "Would" and "Rooster." Prior to the show all four band members joined Virgin/EMI executives at Detroit's Fox Theatre to preview the entire album for a gathering of music industry professionals.

The quartet plays in Europe during August, then returns stateside for a short run that begins Aug. 22 in Pomono, Calif. On Friday night, meanwhile, Lynyrd Skynyrd offered a pair of songs from its upcoming "God & Guns," which, as previously reported, is also coming out Sept. 29. The group opened its set with "Skynyrd Nation," an uptempo ode to its fans, and also performed the album's first single, "Still Unbroken," a heavy rocker that singer Johnny Van Zant dedicated to deceased Skynyrd members Leon Wilkeson, Hughie Thomasson, Billy Powell and Ean Evans and accompanied with historical photos of the group and its album covers on the video screen.

Will 'New Moon' Soundtrack Include Thom Yorke And Kings Of Leon?

Director Chris Weitz reveals soundtrack possibilities in a recent interview.

By James Montgomery

"New Moon" director Chris Weitz recently gave an interview to movie site RottenTomatoes.com in which he talked about the status of the film — it's due in theaters November 20 — and spoke at length about the music he's lining up for the soundtrack.

Now, normally, soundtrack stories aren't that interesting ... but two things were different here. First, the "New Moon" album follows the mega-successful "Twilight" soundtrack (which featured a pair of new songs from Paramore and has sold more than 2.1 million copies to date) and second, Weitz mentioned that none other than Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and the Kings of Leon were interested in contributing songs.

For real.

"I am surprised at some of the bands that have said they're interested. It's kind of great," Weitz told the site. "The criterion will still always be what's right for the movie at that given moment, but Thom Yorke is interested; we might, if we're very lucky, get Kings of Leon to do something ... it's exciting to be able to have access to this kind of talent."

Speculation about just who would appear on the "New Moon" soundtrack has run rampant for months, with names like Kelly Clarkson and Coldplay being tossed about, but Yorke and the Kings of Leon?! They just seemed, well, different ... and yes, we know that Radiohead's "15 Step" featured prominently in the "Twilight" film (though was noticeably absent from the soundtrack album), but still ...

So we decided to find out for ourselves if Weitz was being serious. First, we reached out to Atlantic Records, who — along with music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas's Chop Shop Records — released the "Twilight" soundtrack, and will be doing the same for "New Moon." A spokesperson for the label told MTV News that he could not confirm the story, since the track list for the "New Moon" soundtrack was still being worked out.

We then reached out to reps for Yorke and the Kings of Leon, hoping they could shed some light on the "New Moon" situation. Turns out, they couldn't really.

Yorke's spokesperson told MTV News "not denying [the story], but there's nothing confirmed as yet." When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Kings of Leon told us "They like the film a lot, but it's a little too early to tell if they can be involved."

So, while we now know that the Kings of Leon like "New Moon," we're not any closer to figuring out if they — or Yorke — will appear on the soundtrack to the film. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Mew, another great band from Scandinavia

Mew, another great band from Scandinavia, and to leave you with an mp3 of The Zookeeper’s Boy from their most recent album And The Glass Handed Kites.

Mew are an indie rock band from Denmark who quickly became a huge success in their homeland when they emerged on the scene in 2003. At the Danish Music Critics Award Show of that year, Mew were awarded prizes for both "Album of the Year" and "Band of the Year".

The members of Mew first met in the seventh grade in Hellerup, Denmark. Before they could even play instruments, the ambitious youths -- singer Jonas Bjerre, guitarist Bo Madsen, bassist Johan Wohlert, and drummer Silas Graae -- were ready to make music together, although they initially failed as a band called Orange Dog. Madsen briefly spent time in the United States before the guys came back together in their late teens as Mew. Inspired by My Bloody Valentine, The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., the Pet Shop Boys, and Prince, the Danish quartet's first gig impressed a book-publishing agent in the audience so much that he promptly convinced his company to change their business plan and release Mew's debut album.

A Triumph for Man was issued in 1997 to critical acclaim. The band followed up three years later with Half the World Is Watching Me, released on their own newly created label, Evil Office. The album saw a limited release in Sweden before the band hooked up with Sony for an international deal. As a result of the deal, the album was ultimately pulled so that they could re-record their best work to date for a worldwide release.

The resulting well-received Frengers appeared in 2003. That same year, the band picked up Album of the Year and Band of the Year honors at the Danish Music Critics Awards. Mew's expansive pop dramatics and atmospheric sound were further elaborated on for album number four, And the Glass Handed Kites. Take a listen to The Zookeeper’s Boy from Mew’s fourth album And The Glass Handed Kites, released last year in Europe and this year in the US. Mew create complex and atmospheric sounds so give the track sufficient listening time and we promise you'll be rewarded.