Michael Jackson nabs dubious distinction of most foolish American

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - "King of Pop" Michael Jackson was selected as the most foolish American in a poll out ahead of April Fool's Day.

Eighty percent of those polled said Jackson, who has been in the media spotlight again since a British television documentary shed new light on his personal life, was the biggest fool in the country, according to pollster Jaff Barge who has the survey taken every year.

Jackson, 44, drew foolish reviews for, among other things, dangling his baby son out a window in Germany to show him to fans last year.

Boxer Mike Tyson came in a foolish second.

Limp Bizkit Changes Name to 'limpbizkit'

It looks like capitalization and spacing is no good any more for Fred Durst. He posted a message on Limp Bizkit's Web site saying the band will now be known as limpbizkit with no capitals and no space between words. He gives no reason for the change.

He seems to like playing around with words lately, given the changes he makes to the new album's title. This week he said it would not be called "Bipolar" but instead "Fetus More." He's changed his mind again and now he's calling it "The Search for Teddy Swoes." Durst promises "it will all make sense very soon my friends." He does clear one thing up, though. He says the song "Just Drop Dead" is NOT about Britney Spears. But the fact that he says it isn't makes it clear that it really is.

Did Britney make Fred go "crazy."

Madonna Hurt by 'Razzie' Award

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Material Girl has feelings, too.

Madonna is apparently not as tough as she seems. She told "Access Hollywood" that she was "totally hurt" by the bashing of "Swept Away," the movie she made with her husband, Guy Ritchie.

Madonna says she would work again with her husband "in a heartbeat" even though "Swept Away" was named the worst movie of the year and given a Golden Raspberry Award on March 22. Madonna also won a Razzie for "Worst Actress" and Guy Ritchie won "Worst Director."

She may have chance to redeem herself in an upcoming stint on "Will and Grace." Madonna plays a high-maintenance office worker who's a possible new roommate for Karen. Madonna says because of shooting the episode, she and Megan Mullally are now friends.

Great White to Reunite for One Song

LOS ANGELES - The rock band Great White plans to perform together for the first time since the band's Feb. 20 concert in Rhode Island resulted in a nightclub fire that killed 99 people.

Survivors of the group say they will perform one song at West Hollywood's Key Club on April 29 to raise money for a memorial fund in honor of their late guitarist, Ty Longley, the group's manager, Paul Woolnough, said Friday.

The charity concert will benefit the late guitarist's pregnant girlfriend, victim relief funds and students seeking art scholarships.

Great White has no other plans to perform again, Woolnough added, although surviving band members may make individual appearances at various other benefits.

Other bands in the Key Club lineup include the glam-metal group XYZ and 5 Cent Shine, of which Longley was a former member.

Longley, a 31-year-old Ohio native who had lived in Los Angeles for the last five years, was among the dozens who perished at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I. Investigators suspect the band's pyrotechnics ignited soundproofing foam.

A grand jury is investigating the case.

Longley listened to Great White in the late 1980s and idolized guitarist Mark Kendall, said Longley's sister, according to family members. He joined the band about four years ago.

Kendall and singer Jack Russell are the only members from the original lineup. The band had recently performed mainly as a nostalgia act at small venues after reaching the peak of its fame with the 1990 hit "Once Bitten, Twice Shy."

Moynahan Says Aye to 'Robot'

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Bridget Moynahan, who played Colin Farrell's love interest in "The Recruit," has signed on to star opposite Will Smith in "I, Robot," a Fox sci-fi thriller targeted for summer 2004.

She will portray a psychologist in the distant future with a specialty in robot psyches. She must aid a robot-phobic police detective (Smith) who's investigating a murder that seemingly violates the Laws of Robotics, which state that robots may not allow a human to come to harm.

Alex Proyas will direct from Jeff Vintar's adaptation of Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot" anthology.

Production should begin in May. The picture's current release date is July 2, 2004. However, it's possible that Fox will change its "I, Robot" date after Sony announced on Wednesday that "Spider-Man 2" will launch that same Friday.

Moynahan's other credits include "The Sum of All Fears," "Serendipity" and "Coyote Ugly."

Virus Forces Stones to Cancel China Shows

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones have canceled what would have been their first ever shows in China next week because of the killer bug sweeping through Southeast Asia, the group said on Friday.

Earlier this week the veteran rockers canceled two concerts scheduled for this weekend in Hong Kong, also as a result of the deadly and highly contagious pneumonia virus that has killed 54 people worldwide and infected around 1,500.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which scientists say is caused by a new virus strain, has forced the cancellation of holidays and business travel to many parts of Asia, in a blow to the region's already sickly economies.

The Rolling Stones were scheduled to play in Shanghai on April 1 and Beijing on April 4. Fans were flying in from all over the world to see the band's historic China concerts. The Stones have been trying to play China ever since 1978 when the government rejected their application.

"We are very sad and disappointed not to be able to do these concerts," Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger said in a statement. "We have been looking forward to the shows in China for so long and will reschedule them as soon as possible."

The statement cited travel warnings issued by both the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, as well as continued concerns expressed by local Chinese government officials, communities and individuals over large public gatherings.

The Stones have shuffled the dates of the remaining cities on the Asian leg of their "Licks" world tour. They will play the Indian cities of Bangalore on April 4 and Mumbai on April 7, both a week earlier than originally scheduled; and Bangkok on April 10, two days later than planned.

'Late Show' Host Letterman Returns from Illness

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian David Letterman will return next week to host his CBS late-night show for the first time since he was sidelined in late February by a case of shingles, the network said on Friday.

The 55-year-old star of the "Late Show with David Letterman" last appeared Feb. 25, when he complained on the air about the visible inflammation of his right eye, which turned out to have been caused by shingles, a viral infection related to chickenpox.

Actor Bruce Willis, tennis star John McEnroe and TV personality Regis Philbin filled in as the "Late Show" guest hosts for the rest of that week.

Repeats aired while the program was on a production hiatus the following week, and a parade of additional guests subbed for Letterman on those nights when his show was not preempted by CBS college basketball coverage.

Overall "Late Show" ratings during Letterman's absence, his first since recuperating from open-heart surgery in early 2000, were mixed, and CBS is hoping for a big tune-in for his first night back.

Guests will include comedian Billy Crystal and 18-year-old world whistling champion Michael Barimo. Letterman plans to host all episodes of his show throughout the week.

Insiders said swelling around Letterman's eye cleared up relatively soon, but lingering pain associated with the infection is what kept him away for so long.

Before his heart operation, Letterman had never missed an appearance in his more than 20 years of late-night television.

Michael Moore defends Oscar speech

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- Filmmaker Michael Moore said he almost decided not to turn his Oscar acceptance speech into a political statement.

"The thought crossed my mind that the easy way ... would be to soak up the love," Moore told about 1,000 students at the University of Rochester's Strong Auditorium Wednesday.

The documentary maker won his first Oscar Sunday for "Bowling for Columbine," an exploration of gun violence in America.

"I would have ridden the high right out of the building to the Vanity Fair party," he said. "The other voice (in my head) says, 'No, you have a responsibility. People are dying, and they're dying in your name."'

Moore was applauded when he won, and his fiery criticism of President Bush and the U.S.-led war on Iraq first drew cheers at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.

But a cacophony of boos followed as Moore shouted, "We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush. Shame on you!"

Outside the Strong Auditorium Wednesday, some protested the war in Iraq, while others protested Moore. One sign read: "Shame on you Moore."

Some 400 students watched his speech through a closed-circuit feed elsewhere on campus, while 200 others crowded outside the sold-out show, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported in Thursday's editions.

CHUM pop songs casualties of war

Iraq conflict sparks ban on peace, love tunes at AM station

By BILL BRIOUX -- Toronto Sun

TORONTO -- All we are saying is Give Peace A Chance -- to get on the radio.
John Lennon's anti-war anthem is among 20 songs pulled off the playlist of Toronto oldies radio station CHUM AM due to sensitivity over the war in Iraq. The list includes the usual suspects -- Revolution by The Beatles and War by Edwin Starr -- but also some syrupy ballads like Soldier Boy by The Shirelles and One Tin Soldier by The Original Caste (see complete list below).

The banned titles were posted yesterday on the CHUM-owned CP24 Web site.

Calls placed by The Sun to CHUM AM program director Brad Jones were not returned.

The Shirelles had a No. 1 hit with Soldier Boy in 1962. Original member Beverly Lee maintains that it was just a simple love song. "This song served as an anchor to many many loved ones throughout the Vietnam era," she said yesterday.

Lee and the current Shirelles are scheduled to appear at Casino Rama June 6 as part of a Dick Clark tour of rock 'n' roll bands. Their manager and musical director, John Hughes, has heard of no other radio station in North America blacklisting Soldier Boy. "It's not a pro-war song, it's a love song," he said.

VIDEOS PULLED

The CHUM ban follows news that MTV Europe has yanked several music videos in an attempt to keep disturbing images and war themes off screens during the Iraqi conflict. Paul Hardcastle's 19 and Outkast's Bombs Over Baghdad are both verboten on MTV Europe for the duration of the war. So is Boom! by System Of A Down, an anti-war video depicting Iraq war casualties.

A stranger decision is yanking anything by The B52s, who have apparently been deemed inappropriate just because they're named after a fabled American bomber. Aerosmith's Don't Want To Miss A Thing (featuring scenes from the disaster movie Armageddon), Radiohead's Invasion and You, Me And World War Three by Gavin Friday are also benched, as is Billy Idol's Hot In The City (which features footage of an atomic explosion).

A spokesman for the digital network MTV Canada says they have not altered their playlist. "Canada is a different environment," said communications supervisor Alexis Walker.

CHUM-owned MuchMusic also has no such no-no list said public affairs vice president Sarah Crawford. "MuchMusic is not going to pretend that there is not a war going on," said Crawford, who notes that the station has already produced one MuchTalks war special. But she insisted that no specific artists or songs have been delisted for airplay during the war. "Basically, we don't come up with lists," she said, adding that she hasn't seen one e-mail from a viewer upset at any Much video content since the conflict began.

Much senior music programmer Craig Halket recalled that certain videos were yanked post 9/11 but he couldn't recall any band being blacklisted at this time.

"In a situation like this, it always comes down to a case-by-case basis," he said.
After 9/11, U.S. radio giant Clear Channel Communications sent their 1,200 stations a list of more than 150 songs deemed "questionable." Recommended for removal at that time were Steve Miller's Jet Airliner, R.E.M.'s It's The End Of The World As We Know It and Peter Paul and Mary's Leavin' On A Jet Plane. Even songs by artist killed in plane crashes, such as Ricky Nelson and Buddy Holly, were deemed disturbing, as, incredibly, was The Bangles' Walk Like An Egyptian.

April Fool's? Believe it or not, no.

WHAT THEY BANNED:

Soldier Boy by The Shirelles
Shotgun by Jr. Walker & The All Stars
The Universal Soldier by Donovan
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) by Cher
Abraham, Martin And John by Dion
Revolution by The beatles
Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones
In The Year 2525 by Zager And Evans
Give Peace A Chance By John Lennon
One Tin Soldier by The original caste
When I Die by Blood, Sweat and Tears
The Cruel War by Sugar And Spice
War by Edwin Starr
Live And Let Die by Paul McCartney
The Night Chicago Died by Paper Lace
Billy, Don't Be A Hero by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
Fighting On The Side Of Love by The T.H.P. Orchestra
The Dream Never Dies by The Cooper Brothers

Madonna blasts 'homogenized' pop

LONDON (AP) -- Madonna has blasted manufactured pop acts and a stream of TV talent searches, saying they're homogenizing the music world.

In excerpts released Thursday from an interview with British music magazine Q, the star accuses record chiefs of choosing new acts based on their marketing potential instead of their talent.

"I arrived at a different time, before the time of Svengalis holding talent searches -- finding a girl that looks right and can carry a tune and then figuring a way to market her," Madonna is quoted as saying in the May issue of the magazine.

Referring to singers Pink, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, she said: "I'm not saying those girls can't grow into something, but I really don't know where we're going with the world. Everything's so homogenized."

Madonna, who has gained immense success by astutely marketing her own image, joins other music veterans, including Elton John and George Michael, who have criticized talent quests like Pop Idol, a British reality television show in which viewers choose a winner to get a record contract. The U.S. version of the show, American Idol, is in its second successful season.

Madonna, 44, was also critical of young hopefuls who crave celebrity for its own sake, rather than wanting recognition of their abilities.

"It's the allure of this beautiful life. Drive this car, you're gonna be popular," she told Q, which goes on sale on April 1.

"It's a very powerful illusion and people are caught up in it, including myself -- or I was."

The singer rose to fame party because of her provocative image, but despite years of wearing revealing outfits she said she takes a firm line on what her own children should wear.

Asked if she felt able to stop her 6-year-old daughter Lourdes from dressing how she wants, she said: "I can and I do."

'American Idol' Finalist Has Felony Past

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - It has almost become a routine to watch a new FOX reality show and wait to see what brand of criminal, amoral or controversial past behaviors made it past the network's background checks. The latest unsavory revelations involve Trenyce, one of the nine remaining finalists on the second season of "American Idol."

TheSmokingGun.com has obtained a mug shot photo of Trenyce, then still known as Lashundra Cobbins, stemming from an 1999 felony theft arrest. Cobbins was booked in Memphis, Tenn. on Oct. 6, 1999, but a Shelby County criminal court judge put her in a pre-trial diversion program, allowing her to expunge her record. According to TSG, Cobbins was upfront with producers about her past, so she'll remain on the show.

It's been a difficult season for "American Idol," which experienced its first glitch with the news that popular contestant Frenchie Davis once posed for nudie pictures on an adult web site. Frenchie's activities were, of course, totally legal, but the show wanted no part of a possible scandal (seeing as how while she posed for the pictures when she was a legal adult, the site catered to men looking for underage models) and removed all references to Frenchie from the show's website and removed the zaftig singer from the round of 32. Frenchie has landed on her feet, working as a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight."

This season's second " American Idol" blackeye came when former semifinalist Jaered Neale Andrews faced charges for assault after a November altercation outside a bar, which left a Pennsylvania man dead. Andrews remains free on $5,000 bail.

The series of entertaining FOX reality scandals began, of course, with accused wife-beater and non-millionaire Rick Rockwell of " Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire." Taheed Watson and Ytossie Patterson of " Temptation Island" raised ethical hackles when it was discovered that they went on the couple-splitting show despite a child. Earlier this year, " Joe Millionaire" faced minor embarrassment over the fetish film past of finalist Sara Kozer, while " Married by America" had to deal with a possible suitor who was already married."

Avril Lavigne Recalls Recording 'I'm With You'

Avril Lavigne's "I'm With You" continues to burn up the airplay charts. According to Radio & Records magazine, the song is currently the most-played track on Hot AC stations, the Number Three track on CHR stations, and the Number 22 hit at adult contemporary stations.

Lavigne says that when she first recorded "I'm With You," it sent chills down her spine. In fact, she says that every time she performs the song it still resonates for her. "When I went into the booth to sing it, I sang it through with just so much emotion I had, like, goose bumps going down my spine," Lavigne says. "It was really neat. When I sing that song, I just like to stand there in my own world. That song is...It's an important song to me. I like it."

Lavigne says she can relate to the lyrics of "I'm With You" because her dramatic and hectic life often leaves her alone at night. "I have alone feelings all the time because, 'cause I don't have a boyfriend and because I'm, like, I'm on the road," Lavigne says. "It's crazy when you got so much stuff going on during your days and then you go to, from all the drama, just you go back to your hotel room and you're just sitting there and it's, like, 'Whoa, I'm alone.' I've written so many songs about being alone."

Lennon-McCartney Non-Beatles Songs Covered For New All-Star Album

Singers from Cheap Trick and the B-52s are taking part in a new covers album titled From A Window: Lost Songs Of Lennon & McCartney. The 17-track album includes songs that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote for other artists--including Badfinger, Cilla Black, and Billy J. Kramer--but were never released by the Beatles themselves.

Graham Parker, the B-52's Kate Pierson, and Buffalo Tom's Bill Janovitz are each featured on several songs, while Cheap Trick's Robin Zander joins the band Johnny Society for P.J. Proby's "That Means A Lot."

From A Window comes out April 8, and the first single will be "Step Inside Love," a top-10 U.K. hit for Black that was written by McCartney. Parker, Pierson, Janovitz, and Johnny Society plan to tour in support of the album starting May 16 in Boston.

The full From A Window: Lost Songs Of Lennon & McCartney tracklisting, with original artists in parentheses, includes: "I'm In Love," Kate Pierson (the Fourmost); "I'll Keep You Satisfied," Bill Janovitz (Billy J. Kramer); "From A Window," Graham Parker (Billy J. Kramer); "Step Inside Love," Kate Pierson & Johnny Society (Cilla Black); "It's For You," Bill Janovitz (Cilla Black); "Bad To Me," Graham Parker (Billy J. Kramer); "That Means A Lot," Johnny Society with Robin Zander (P.J. Proby); "Hello Little Girl," Bill Janovitz (the Fourmost); "Love Of The Loved," Kate Pierson (Cilla Black); "Tip Of My Tongue," Graham Parker (Tommy Quickly); "Goodbye," Bill Janovitz (Mary Hopkin); "Come And Get It," Graham Parker (Badfinger); "A World Without Love," Bill Janovitz (Peter & Gordon); "One And One Is Two," Graham Parker (Billy J. Kramer); "Nobody I Know," Kate Pierson (Peter & Gordon); "Woman," Bill Janovitz (Peter & Gordon); and "I'll Be On My Way," Johnny Society (Billy J. Kramer).

It's Like Watching A Car Wreck

Disgraced boxer Mike Tyson set to co-host with Jimmy Kimmell on ABC's Jimmy Kimmell Live all five nights next week.

SPINNING TO A LATER DATE

Columbia Pictures announcing it plans to push back the release date for its blockbuster sequel The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Tobey Maguire, from early May 2004 to July 2, 2004 to capitalize on the July 4 weekend. Meanwhile, Universal will now open director Stephen Sommers' monster movie, Van Helsing, on May 7.

Just call him A. Ranger.

Adrien Brody's surprise Oscar triumph Sunday night will certainly transform his acting career, but the 29-year-old Queens native - who's long been moonlighting as a hip-hop producer under the name A. Ranger - has equally high hopes for his music.

"Adrien is a fanatic," deejay Stretch Armstrong, one of Brody's musician friends, told The Post. "Music is just as important to him as acting."

Word on the street is he's pretty good, too.

Brody has played some demo tracks - which often marry heavy urban beats to Japanese or Middle Eastern music - for his pals P. Diddy and Jay-Z, and the rap world high rollers expressed interest in sampling them for their own songs.

Such an endorsement would be the equivalent of that gold statuette for Brody the mix master.

"He'd love to use his new power to work on the music for his movies," says Sky Nellor, another Manhattan deejay, who dated Brody for a few years and remains a close friend.

Brody certainly isn't the first movie star to want to make music - other actor-musicians include Keanu Reeves, Dennis Quaid and Brody's fellow Oscar-winner Russell Crowe - but unlike those guitar-slingers, Brody's axe of choice is a Korg Triton sampling keyboard.

Friends say Brody can recite entire raps by some of his favorite emcees, such as 50 Cent, Nas or Biggie Smalls.

And whenever he gets the chance, Brody loves to go clubbing.

"We go out downtown, anyplace there's a good deejay and attractive girls," says Armstrong. Some favorites include Tribeca Grand Hotel and Spa.

"You wouldn't recognize him in a club. He's completely on the low. Bobbing with his head to the music, probably with a hoodie on."

"Adrien is a really good dancer," says a New York scenester who dated Brody briefly last year.

"He's an attractive guy, you know. And he dances totally chill. He looks cool."

He's even taken his own turn on the decks - on Valentine's Day last year, Brody deejayed with Armstrong and soul singer Joi at Joe's Pub on Lafayette Street.

Just don't expect him to do it again any time soon.

"Deejaying live isn't really Adrien's thing," says his lawyer, Michael Guido, who's introduced him to hip-hop bigs like Roc-A-Fella's Damon Dash and Def Jam's Lyor Cohen.

"He wants to be in the studio, producing tracks and working with rappers."

Brody already has one cut out there - "This Ain't a Movie," on the soundtrack to his 1998 indie flick "Restaurant." Brody recorded it as A. Ranger and got the Rawcotiks to rap over it.

Though it sounds a little like Eminem, Marshall Mathers probably doesn't have to worry about the competition - Brody hasn't put out another song since.

Still, "Adrien was crazy excited about it," Nellor says. "That was his first taste of recording, and he wants more."

Brody is so devoted to his music, he even worked on it during the grueling six-month European shoot for "The Pianist."

As he was preparing to play a Holocaust victim, director Roman Polanski wanted Brody to feel what it's like to lose everything.

So he sold his car, got rid of his Manhattan apartment, broke up with Nellor and went on a crash diet to lose 30 pounds from his 160-pound frame.

"That Korg Triton was the one thing he kept," Nellor recalls. "He carted it from Paris to Berlin to Warsaw."

Brody used the keyboard to study the Chopin pieces he mimed in the film - and to compose a lot of his own music.

"Adrien was really affected by the movie, so [the music he made is] interesting, dark, gloomy stuff," says Armstrong, who compares Brody's "Pianist"-era tracks to the rich, syrupy trip-hop of Britain's Portishead and Tricky.

Now that Brody owns an Oscar, it might be hard for him to carve out time for his hobby.

"He definitely wants to devote more time to his musical side," Guido says. "But now every film director is going to be calling him. We'll see if he has the time."

DAVE'S BEEN OUT SICK FOUR WEEKS

Fourteen guest hosts (counting Luke Wilson Wednesday night) have subbed for David Letterman since he took ill with a bad case of shingles in late February. And they've generally done a good job for people with no experience hosting a late-night show.

But this week, after sitting through a passable Paul Shaffer on Monday and an oddly disconcerting Bill Cosby on Tuesday, the guest-host thing feels like it's getting old.

And on Internet chat rooms and bulletin boards, some of Dave's fans are beginning to wonder if their hero intends to return at all.

Undoubtedly adding to their uncertainty is the fact that they have heard nothing from Dave himself.

The intensely private "Late Show" host isn't given to issuing public statements even at the best of times. And this time around, he has chosen to maintain total silence since he took ill. The few statements that have come out on his behalf have come only from his publicists or his doctor.

Yesterday marked four weeks since Bruce Willis stepped in at the last minute Feb. 26 as the first sub.

If Dave's absence stretches to five weeks, it will just about equal the time he was absent for emergency quintuple bypass surgery in January and February 2000.

But insiders say he's anxious to come back, although an exact date for his return is impossible to determine just now.

"Dave will be back - we just don't know when," said a spokesman for Letterman, 55.

And the medical books confirm that shingles around the eyes can be a stubborn condition that can take weeks to throw off.

Quite likely, according to the medical texts, it's the pain and discomfort associated with a condition like Dave's that is preventing him from returning to work just yet.

"Obviously, we want him back in the chair as soon as he's ready, but his health comes first," a CBS spokesman said yesterday.

Durst Rethinking Next Bizkit Album

Limp Bizkit next Flip/Interscope album will likely not arrive on May 13 as was previously expected, according to frontman Fred Durst. Writing on the band's web site, Durst also said the new album's title could change at any minute. "The new Limp Bizkit CD is NOT called 'BIPOLAR,'" he said. "It is NOT called 'LESS IS MORE.' It is called 'FETUS MORE' until I decide it shouldn't be. Whatever I'm feeling it is on the day the artwork is due then that will be the FINAL title."

On Monday, the group will return to the studio to record three new songs. "We just can't stop the creative process," Durst said. "As soon as we think we're done some other phat ass riff come[s] barreling out of our amps. Next thing you know we have ANOTHER song. So there. It ain't over till it's over."

It now appears more likely that Limp Bizkit's recent collaborations with Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg may appear on the new album. As previously reported, the band will unveil the song "Crack Addict" and "one surprise song" Sunday (March 30) during World Wrestling Entertainment's Wrestlemania XIX. Limp Bizkit will be joined on-stage by guitarists Head from Korn and Mike Smith from Snot, although a permanent replacement for departed axeman Wes Borland has yet to be named.

Durst also asked fans to phone his manager to give their suggestions as to what type of song should be released as the new album's first single. "I'm feeling the majority of everyone wants us to drop a super heavy 'TRADITIONAL' Limp song first and some people want something TOTALLY opposite," he said. "I'd like to hear what you think."

Backstreet Boys Put Next Album On Hold

The Backstreet Boys have put their next studio album on hold, despite initial plans to begin work on the set this month. "As a group, we have decided not to record our next album at this time," the band said in a statement. "We are not breaking up, but individually we are currently at different places in our lives, and our hearts and minds are focused in other areas. All of us are getting along great and are supporting each other in our individual endeavors."

"When the timing is right, we will record another Backstreet Boys album," the statement continued. "We would like to thank our fans for their continued support and love throughout our career."

Earlier this month, group member Howie Dorough told Billboard he had written 12 songs on his own and another 15 with the other members of the Backstreet Boys. "I'm hoping to have the new album out at least by September, [but] I'd like it to be by the summer," he said.

As previously reported, the group in November filed a massive lawsuit against Jive parent Zomba, seeking to dissolve its contract. Dorough said earlier this month that he expects the suit to be settled amicably. "I think eventually it's all going to work out," he said.

It is not known what future projects the group members hope to tackle. Kevin Richardson just wrapped a run in the Broadway version of the musical "Chicago," and Nick Carter recently wrapped a tour in support of his Jive solo debut, "Now or Never."