With four awards each, OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” and Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” were the top winners at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, presented last night (Aug. 29) at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

“Hey Ya!” won the prizes for best video of the year, best hip-hop video, best special effects in a video and best art direction in a video. “99 Problems,” which led the field with six nominations, took the awards for best rap video, best direction in a video, best editing in a video and best cinematography in a video.

After winning the video of the year honor, OutKast closed the show with an energetic medley of “Prototype,” “Ghetto Musick,” “Hey Ya!” and “The Way You Move.”

Other multiple winners were Usher’s “Yeah!” (best male video, best dance video) and No Doubt’s “It’s My Life,” which won the awards for best pop video and best group video.

It was a year of firsts for the 2004 MTV VMAs. This was the first year that the event was not held in New York or Los Angeles, the first without a host and the debut of a new VMA category: best soundtrack from a videogame, which went to “Tony Hawk’s Underground” (Activision).

The show opened with Jennifer Lopez introducing Usher, who performed a medley of “Confessions Part One” and “Yeah!,” with the latter song featuring appearances by Lil Jon and Ludacris.

Other performers at this year’s VMAs included Jessica Simpson, Jet, Hoobastank, Yellowcard, Christina Aguilera with Nelly, the Polyphonic Spree, Terror Squad featuring Fat Joe with Ying Yang Twins, Petey Pablo and the ubiquitous Lil Jon.

Maybe it was the fallout over the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake controversy at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show (which MTV produced), but this year’s VMAs were relatively sedate compared to previous incarnations of the show.

Although comedian Dave Chappelle joked that inviting him to be on a live TV show was MTV’s “biggest mistake since Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl,” ultimately there were no incidents likely to bring on the wrath of the Federal Communications Commission.

There were some surprises, but none of them were shocking. The most welcome unannounced performer was Stevie Wonder, who joined Alicia Keys and Lenny Kravitz on a powerful version of Wonder’s “Higher Ground.” Keys also sang her hit “If I Ain’t Got You” (which won the VMA for best R&B video), and later gave a tribute speech about the late Ray Charles.

Kanye West’s much-hyped “surprise” guest turned out to be Chaka Khan, who warbled her hit “Through the Fire” (and often did so off-key) during West’s performance of “Through the Wire.”

George W. Bush’s daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush (via satellite in New York) and Alexandra and Vanessa Kerry (daughters of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry) appeared together to stress the importance of voting. Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, John Mellencamp and Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee also discussed the issue during the broadcast.

Australian band Jet won the best rock video award for “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” Backstage in the press room, lead singer Nic Cester expressed surprise, “considering we spent only about 50 grand on the video, and everyone else spent like $2 million.”

Keys said backstage that her onstage collaboration with Wonder and Kravitz was “a dream come true.” She added of the performance, “I really wanted to do something special this year. It showed that all three of us singer/songwriters/producers could jam together for real.”

Source billboard.com.

Back in June, Aimee Mann played a three-night stand in Brooklyn. On November 2nd, she’ll release the fruits of those performances in the form of the Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse CD and DVD.

“There was a big crane and people bustling around wearing headsets,” Mann says of the filming, “and suddenly I felt like, ‘Oh, this had better be good.’ It was a ninety-degree New York night and the venue didn’t have any air conditioning. There were definitely some long periods where my manager would come up and say, ‘Your face is shiny. We need to powder you.’ And I’d have the indignity of having powder applied to my face in front of people.”

The DVD features interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, as well as performances of two new songs, “Going Through the Motions” and “King of the Jailhouse.” The CD set is abbreviated but also spans Mann’s solo career.

“I try to pick songs that I think people might possibly know, like a couple songs from the Magnolia soundtrack, any song that was released as a single or I played on David Letterman,” Mann says. “It’s hard to put a greatest hits together when you don’t have any hits — you have to aim in a different direction. But there’s songs I know that people request or sometimes there’s songs I feel like playing. My catalog is heavily skewed with super-slow ballads, so there’s a lot of those that made the cut.”

Mann is winding up her summer tour. She finishes Sunday in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Aimee Mann tour dates:

8/27: Petaluma, CA, McNear’s Mystic Theater
8/28: Ventura, CA, Ventura Theater
8/29: San Juan Capistrano, CA, Coach House

Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse CD track listing:

The Moth
Sugar Coated
Driving Sideways
Amateur
Wise Up
Save Me
Stupid Things
Pavlov’s Bell
Long Shot
4th of July
Invisible Ink

Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse DVD track listing:

The Moth
Calling It Quits
Sugar Coated
Going Through the Motions
Humpty Dumpty
Amateur
Wise Up
Save Me
Stupid Thing
Pavlov’s Bell
Long Shot
4th of July
Red Vines
Invisible Ink
King of the Jailhouse
Deathly
Real Bad News

Source rollingstone.com.

The first in a series of Bob Dylan’s memoirs will be captured in “Chronicles: Volume One,” hitting shelves Oct. 12 via Simon & Schuster. The volume is comprised of “first-person narratives focusing on significant periods in Dylan’s life and career,” according to the publisher.

Simon & Schuster executive VP/publisher David Rosenthal describes “Chronicles: Volume One” as “extraordinary, revealing and surprising. It is a beautifully written, singular achievement.”

The 304-page book will carry a suggested retail price of $24 and feature a rare portrait on its back cover of Dylan from his early days in New York. A hardcover edition is expected in January.

Also arriving in October is Dylan’s “Lyrics: 1962-2001,” an updated version of a compendium first published in 1973 and revised in 1985.

Beyond the books, the 63-year-old music legend will be the subject of the tentatively titled Todd Haynes film “I’m Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan,” due sometime next year, as well as a Martin Scorsese-helmed documentary, provisionally titled “Bob Dylan Anthology Project.”

Dylan is in the midst of a minor-league baseball stadium tour with Willie Nelson that touches base tonight (Aug. 25) on Peoria, Ill.

Source billboard.com.

As he prepares for the final Guided By Voices tour, frontman Robert Pollard seems to be doing some housecleaning. Currently open for bidding on Web-auction site eBay are nine rare, autographed GBV/Pollard solo releases listed as “from Bob Pollard’s personal collection.”

The lots range from autographed vinyl copies of Guided By Voices albums “Mag Earwhig!” (Matador) and “Isolation Drills” (TVT) to the rarer vinyl collection “Earful O’ Wax” and the out-of-print bootleg “King’s Ransom.” The most expensive item listed is an original vinyl copy of Guided By Voices’ breakthrough album “Propeller,” with hand-glued cover art created by Pollard — asking price starts at $1,000.

As previously reported, GBV plans to break up following a New Year’s Eve concert at Chicago’s Metro. The band’s final album, “Half-Smiles of the Decomposed,” was on August 24th via Matador.

Source billboard.com.

Dave Matthews, Trey Anastasio and members of The Dead are telling their fans to “show up” on election day via a series of public service announcements produced by HeadCount, a not-for-profit nonpartisan group run entirely by volunteers.

The campaign, which includes three 30-second commercials as well as radio and Internet-based spots, will appear on TNT, TBS and other networks between now and election day. It can be viewed at www.headcount.org.

HeadCount is affiliated with nearly 30 national touring bands and has registered over 25,000 voters to date. It has a network of over 50 local voter registration teams, and also sent traveling teams on tour with Dave Matthews Band, The Dead and Phish this summer. Both Dave Matthews Band and The Dead made $15,000 contributions to HeadCount to help fund those efforts.

“Having Dave Matthews, Trey Anastasio and The Dead in television commercials and shooting them at Bonnaroo really captures what we’re trying to do as an organization,” said Andy Bernstein, HeadCount’s co-chair and the executive producer of the campaign. “We’re using the enormous power of music to get people to the polls in November.”

The public service announcements were developed by an in-house creative team, and produced in high-definition by Fossil Films in conjunction with Air Seal Land Productions. They were made possible by the generosity of Leo Hindery Jr., Steve Simon, Richard Simonds and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Blending seven hours of acoustic, bluegrass and progressive folk music, The 5th Annual Grassroots Music & Arts Festival is being held Sunday, August 29 at the legendary Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD.

Fans of progressive Americana have particular reason to rejoice, as this year

The state of Illinois filed suit against the Dave Matthews Band yesterday (Aug. 24) for allegedly dumping up to 800 pounds of liquid human waste from a bus into the Chicago River, dousing a tour boat filled with passengers.

The lawsuit accuses the band and one of its bus drivers of violating state water pollution and public nuisance laws. It seeks $70,000 in civil penalties.

“Our driver has stated that he was not involved in this incident,” a band spokesperson said in a statement, adding, the band “will continue to be cooperative in this investigation.”

According to the lawsuit, on Aug. 8 a bus leased by the band was heading to a downtown hotel where members were staying. As it crossed the Kinzie Street bridge, the driver allegedly emptied the contents of the septic tank through the bridge’s metal grating into the river below.

More than 100 people on an architecture tour were showered with foul-smelling waste. The attorney general’s office said no one was seriously injured.

“This incident may be unique, but that does not lessen the environmental or public health risks posed by the release of at least 800 pounds of liquid human waste into a busy waterway and onto a crowded tour boat,” Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a statement.

After the incident, the boat’s captain turned the vessel around and took passengers back to the dock. Everyone received refunds, and the boat was cleaned with disinfectant.

Source billboard.com.

Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, comedian David Cross, Queensryche, X’s John Doe and producer/multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion are among the acts confirmed to perform at No Vote Left Behind, a festival/political fundraiser to be held Sept. 23-26 at a variety of Seattle venues. The full lineup is still being finalized; tickets go on-sale Sept. 10.

Other early confirmations include Grant Lee Phillips, John Vanderslice, Pansy Division, Delays, Kinski, Robbers On High Street, El Vez, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and members of Nada Surf and the Long Winters. Participating venues include the Showbox, the Crocodile Cafe, Sunset Tavern and Graceland.

A kick-off event will be held Sept. 10 at Neumo’s, featuring Sir Mix-A-Lot, Outtasite and Children Of The Revolution.

Proceeds from No Vote Left Behind will fund donations to the Democratic National Committee, progressive candidates in congressional races and like-minded political action groups.

“There are a lot of other great organizations that are using music to increase voter turn-out and register voters,” says NVLB’s Chris Olson. “We want to use music more directly as a fundraising tool. We really want to be a partisan voice in the music community working for regime change.”

Source billboard.com.

Loretta Lynn, Wilco, Franz Ferdinand and the Killers are among 73 artists whose latest albums made the “Longlist” of initial nominations for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize, which honors critically acclaimed albums that have not yet been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for U.S. shipments of 500,000 copies.

The list will be winnowed to 10 finalists by late September, with the winner to be crowned Nov. 10 at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles during a concert featuring nominees.

Nominees and winners are chosen by a panel of Listmakers which this year includes Norah Jones, the Dixie Chicks, John Mayer, Jack Black, Jim Jarmusch, the Cure’s Robert Smith, System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian and the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am.

To be eligible, an artist’s latest album must have been released between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004. Other artists on the “Long List” include TV On The Radio, Dizzee Rascal, Ghostface Killah, Bebel Gilberto, Caf

Nashville rockers Kings of Leon will release their second album, A-Ha Shake Heartbreak, in January. The band reteamed with producer Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Counting Crows) to record the follow-up to 2003’s Youth and Young Manhood earlier this summer in Studio City, California.
“We played so many shows and saw so much stuff, that when we got time off, it was just pouring out,” says drummer Nathan Followill of the five-week, twelve-song recording stint, which yielded the likes of “Pistol of Fire,” “Razz,” “Soft” and “Milk.” “On the last record there were no expectations, because we had no fans and we had never made music before,” Followill says. “On this one we knew what we wanted, and we were very comfortable and confident.”

Kings of Leon — Nathan and brothers Caleb (guitar, vocals) and Jared (bass), and cousin Matthew (guitar) — have broadened their sound from the bluesy roots of Youth and Young Manhood, and the new material reflects such diverse influences as Run-DMC, Talking Heads and the Ronettes. “There are definitely songs on there that you hear and think, ‘That’s the Kings of Leon,'” Nathan says, “and then there are songs that take three or four listens to realize that it’s us.”

Kings of Leon will head out on an East Coast U.S. tour in October.

Source rollingstone.com.