Oh, these discs are coming out today too!

NEW CD RELEASES FOR APRIL 26, 2005

Acceptance Phantoms (Columbia/RED Ink)

Audio Caviar Transoceanic (Thump)

Cheryl Bentyne (Manhattan Transfer singer) Let Me Off Uptown (Telarc)

Debby Boone Reflections of Rosemary (Concord)

Brain Failure American Dreamer (guest members of Dropkick Murphys and the Unseen) (Thorp)

Tim Burgess (Charlatans vocalist) I Believe (U.S. release of 2003 UK album) (Koch)

Caesars Paper Tigers (w/new remix of "Jerk It Out") (Astralwerks)

Charivari A Trip to the Holiday Lounge (Rounder)

Jordan Chassan East of Bristol, West of Knoxville (Strong)

Chok Rock Big City Loser EP (Warp)

Coastline Sweet ‘n' Ripe (Landslide)

Steve Cole Spin (Narada)

Collective Soul From the Ground Up EP (all acoustic) (El Music Group)

The Complete Strategist We Care (Happy Home)

Mike Cruz Krash (Tommy Boy)

Jack DeJohnette Music in the Key of Om (Golden Beams/Kindred Rhythm)

Jack DeJohnette and Foday Musa Suso Music from the Hearts of the Masters (Golden Beams/Kindred Rhythm)

Discover America Psychology (Tooth & Nail)

DJ Spooky and Dave Lombardo (Slayer drummer) Drums of Death (guests Vernon Reid, Chuck D.; produced by Meat Beat Manifesto) (Thirsty Ear)

The Dresden Dolls The Dresden Dolls (re-release of 2004 debut) (Roadrunner)

Eau Claire Eau Claire EP (Clairecords)

eels Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (two CDs; guests Tom Waits, R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and the Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian) (Vagrant)

Feist Let It Die (Interscope)

Ben Folds Songs for Silverman (Epic)

The Frontline Now U Know (Rykodisc)

Josh Gracin Brass Bed (Hollywood)

Tracy Grammer Flower of Avalon (guest Mary Chapin Carpenter) (Signature Sounds)

Brian Haas The Truth About Hollywood (Hyena)

Hater (Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden) The 2nd (originally recorded in 1995 w/guest members of Ministry, Monster Magnet, Devilhead and more) (Burn Burn Burn)

Eric Heatherly The Lower East Side of Life (Koch)

Hiroshima Obon (Heads Up)

Hot Snakes Peel Sessions (recorded in 2004) (Swami)

Buddy Jewell Times Like These (Columbia)

Jim & Jennie & the Pinetops Rivers Roll on by (Bloodshot)

John Brown's Body Pressure Points (w/guests the Meditations on "Not Enough") (Easy Star)

Toby Keith Shock'n Y'all (DualDisc) (UMG Nashville)

Little Freddie King You Don't Know What I Know (Fat Possum)

Love as Laughter Laughter's Fifth (Sub Pop)

Luciano Jah Words (Sanctuary)

Lyrics Born Same !@#$ Different Day (CD/DVD combo; remixes of tracks from "Later That Day..." w/DJ Shadow, KRS-One, Morcheeba and more) (Quannum/Epitaph)

Mario Turning Point (DualDisc) (J Records)

Mountain Goats The Sunset Tree (Beggars Group)

Oliver Mtukudzi Nhava (Heads Up)

No Address Time Doesn't Notice (Atlantic)

Oz Noy Ha! (w/bonus live track and video) (Magnatude)

David Pack Travelin' Light (Concord)

The Perishers Let There Be Morning (Nettwerk)

Porcupine Tree Deadwing (guest Adrian Belew) (Atlantic)

John Prine Fair and Square (Oh Boy!)

Joel Rafael Band Woodyboye: Songs of Woody Guthrie (and Tales Worth Telling) Volume 2 (guests Jackson Browne, Arlo Guthrie, Van Dyke Parks and more) (Appleseed)

Red Stick Ramblers Right Key, Wrong Keyhole (Memphis International)

Jonathan Rice Trouble Is Real (Warner Bros.)

Peggy Seeger Love Call Me Home (Appleseed)

Settlefish The Plural of the Choir (Deep Elm)

Stars Are Falling/Skylines Split EP (Blood & Ink)

Susie Suh Susie Suh (produced by Glen Ballard) (Epic)

Jimmy Thackery Healin' Ground (Telarc)

Tiger Bear Wolf Tiger Bear Wolf (Hello Sir)

Tom & Joy Esquisse (Tommy Boy)

Emiliana Torrini Fisherman's Wife (Sanctuary)

TRU The Truth (Koch)

Us3 Questions (Us3.com/Megaforce/Rykodisc)

Bobby Valentino Disturbing tha Peace Presents (Island Def Jam)

Jim Verarros Rollercoaster (Koch)

The Virginia Sisters Last Pathetic Fool (Not Lame)

Weird War Illuminated by the Light (Drag City)

Z-Trip Shifting Gears (w/Chuck D., Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, Aceyalone, Lyrics Born and more) (Hollywood)

VA Africa Remix (Milan)

VA Broadway Today (Universal Classics)

VA Golden Slumbers II: A Father's Love (w/new songs from Solomon Burke, Phil Collins, Dave Matthews, Smokey Robinson and more) (Rendezvous)

VA Putumayo Presents: Mali (Putumayo)

OCR Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit! (Koch)

OST Family Guy - LIVE in Vegas (animated TV series) (Geffen)

OST Fever Pitch (Rykodisc)

OST Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film based on the Douglas Adams novel; starring John Malkovich and Mos Def) (Hollywood)

OST King's Ransom (Rykodisc)

OST L4yer Cake (w/Duran Duran, the Cult, Starsailor, Joe Cocker and more) (Virgin/EMI)

OST Sahara (Rykodisc)

DVD Black Beach Weekend (hip-hop documentary) (Fuel)

DVD Ultimate Critical Review: Argent, Nirvana and Rainbow (Classic Rock)

What a great double bill!!

TOUR BUDDIES

John Mellencamp and John Fogerty hitting the road together for a summer tour kicking off June 24 in Cincinnati.

Lucas screws us again!!

Star Wars gets uber-boxed

George Lucas announced over the weekend that not surprisingly, a box set of all six Star Wars films will be coming out next year. Although the supplements are far from complete, the films will be the versions currently available on DVD, and supplemental discs may contain deleted scenes from the original trilogy.
In related news, digitally projected versions of Episode III will contain more footage than traditionally projected versions.

"The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity I need! My name in print! That really makes somebody! Things are going to start happening to me now."

Universal celebrates The Jerk

Currently available only as a fullscreen featureless release, The Jerk is finally getting respect with the upcoming The Jerk: 26th Anniversary Edition from Universal Home Entertainment.

The DVD releases will present the film in anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Extras include a trailer, production notes, and two featurettes.

The DVD is coming out on July 26th with a suggested retail price of $19.98.

Get well soon, George!!

Comedian George Lopez Has Kidney Transplant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Lopez was recovering on Monday from a successful kidney transplant surgery using an organ donated by his wife, his publicist said.

Lopez, who stars in the ABC sitcom "George Lopez," needed the transplant because of a genetic condition that caused his kidneys to deteriorate, publicist Ann Gurrola said. She said the surgery was not urgent for Lopez, who turned 44 on Saturday.

"It came to a point where his kidneys weren't operating at the full capacity that they needed to," Gurrola said, adding that both Lopez and his wife, Ann, were doing well after the operations.

Both George and Ann Lopez testified at the Michael Jackson child molestation trial. The couple befriended Jackson's young accuser at a Hollywood comedy camp in 2000 and lent him support when he was diagnosed with cancer.

The more they deny it, the more you know it's true!!

Huffman Denies Tension Among 'Housewives'

Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman has rubbished reports the TV show's leading ladies despise each other following a series of bitter rows. The actresses - Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher and Nicolette Sheridan - have been plagued by claims their time on-set is being hindered by constant squabbling and walk-outs. But former Sports Night star Huffman - who plays Lynette Scavo on the show - has blasted the newspaper coverage, insisting they're all very close. She says, "We're all friends. We all get along. I love going to work."

Jennifer and Kate?!?! In the same movie?!?!? Oh my gawd!!!!!!!

Jennifer Connelly Thinks Big for 'Little Children'

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Connelly is in negotiations to join Kate Winslet in "Little Children" for New Line Cinema.

Todd Field, the filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated 2001 drama "In the Bedroom," is set to direct the adaptation of the Tom Perrotta novel. Field and Perrotta are co-writing the screenplay.

The novel revolves around a group of weird, suburban characters and their relationships with children. There's a bisexual feminist addicted to Internet porn (Winslet), a stay-at-home dad who resists his wife's ambitious plans for him, an uptight supermom who schedules sex with her husband and a pedophile fresh out of prison.

Connelly, who won an Oscar for best supporting actress for "A Beautiful Mind," most recently starred in "House of Sand and Fog" and "The Hulk." Her other credits include "Requiem for a Dream" and "Mulholland Falls." She next appears in Walter Salles' "Dark Water."

The only movie I saw this weekend was "The Assassination Of Richard Nixon" and you can read my reveiw tomorrow in 'The Couch Potato Report.'

'Interpreter' Translates to Box-Office Win

LOS ANGELES - Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn's "The Interpreter" translated into solid box-office as the United Nations thriller debuted with $22.8 million to top the weekend for Hollywood.

The weekend's other main debut, Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet's romantic comedy "A Lot Like Love," had a so-so opening of $7.7 million, coming in at No. 4, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Expanding nationwide after two weeks in limited release, Stephen Chow's action comedy "Kung Fu Hustle" was No. 5 with $7.3 million, lifting its total domestic gross to just over $8 million.

Anthony Anderson's kidnapping comedy "King's Ransom," so bad it was not screened beforehand for critics, finished in 10th place with just $2.4 million.

In limited release, the documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" opened strongly with $70,000 at three theaters. The film offers an inside portrait of the corporate scandal at the energy company.

Overall business was down for the ninth-straight week, with the top 12 movies taking in $83.4 million, off a fraction from the same weekend last year.

"The Interpreter," directed by Sydney Pollack, stars Kidman as a U.N. translator at the center of an assassination plot after she overhears a death threat against an African dictator. Penn co-stars as a federal agent.

Reviews generally were positive, with critics calling "The Interpreter" an unusually brainy thriller.

"I think audiences were anxious for any good, solid story," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, which released "The Interpreter."

"The Interpreter" was a rare triumph for older audiences, with the over-35 crowd making up 60 percent of the film's viewers. The under-25 audience that drives most of the box office was divided among several movies, including "The Amityville Horror" and "A Lot Like Love."

"You look at the demographic and go, how can 'The Interpreter' be No. 1? But if you put the right movie in the marketplace, the older audience will go," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"A Lot Like Love," which received mixed reviews, fell short of distributor Disney's hopes that it would hit $10 million over opening weekend. Considering Kutcher's solid box-office history, including the current hit "Guess Who," the performance of "A Lot Like Love" was another sign of audience disinterest in what Hollywood has had to offer the last two months.

The slump has left the industry limping into its busy summer season, with such big titles as "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," "Kingdom of Heaven" and "The Longest Yard" due out in May.

"There hasn't been that breakout picture the public's jumping to see yet, but it'll happen. It's just around the corner," said Chuck Viane, Disney head of distribution.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Interpreter," $22.8 million.
2. "The Amityville Horror," $14.2 million.
3. "Sahara," $9 million.
4. "A Lot Like Love," $7.7 million.
5. "Kung Fu Hustle," $7.3 million.
6. "Fever Pitch," $5.45 million.
7. "Sin City," $3.7 million.
8. "Guess Who," $3.5 million.
9. "Robots," $3.3 million.
10. "King's Ransom," $2.4 million.

Me wanna go!

Pixies, Weezer, Panic Set for Lollapalooza

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - The Pixies, Weezer, Widespread Panic, the Killers, the Arcade Fire, Liz Phair), the Black Keys and Death Cab For Cutie are among the acts that will play the reconfigured Lollapalooza festival, which will take place July 23-24 in Chicago's Grant Park.

Also on the bill are Cake, Dashboard Confessional, Dinosaur Jr., Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs, Louis XIV, Tegan & Sara, M83, Los Amigos Invisibles, Blue Merle, the Redwalls, the Changes, Dandy Warhols, Digable Planets, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Billy Idol), the Bravery and Blonde Redhead.

The lineup was announced Friday in Chicago. Lollapalooza 2005 will be produced by Capital Sports & Entertainment and Charles Attal Presents -- the brain trust behind the successful Austin City Limits (ACL) festival -- along with Lollapalooza owners the William Morris Agency and Perry Farrell.

"This lineup is a cross between ACL and Coachella," Attal told Billboard of the event, which will feature more than 70 acts on five stages. "It's the ACL model that we're bringing to Chicago."

That model, Attal says, is a lower-than-expected ticket price, local food vendors, accessible stage layout and set times, as well as an amenity-heavy backstage vibe. "You've got to send a message," Attal says. "You take care of the bands, you take care of the music consumer who's buying the ticket, and they'll come back for more."

Earlier this month, 2,000 Internet presale tickets sold out in 80 minutes, according to Capital Sports' Charlie Jones.

"Whether or not that was a true indicator of the strength of this brand or the result of press leaks with the bands, we'll never know," Jones said. "But people who took that bet with us will get a fancy souvenir ticket."

True story: I have never heard "Danny's Song."!

Loggins, Messina Reuniting for Summer Tour

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina will embark on their first tour as a duo in nearly 30 years with the Loggins & Messina Sittin' in Again Reunion Tour.

The outing has about 40 dates on the books, beginning June 24 at the Idaho Center in Boise. The route includes arenas, amphitheaters, casinos and other venues.

In conjunction with the tour, Columbia/Legacy will on May 24 release "The Best: Loggins & Messina Sittin' in Again," featuring such hits as "Your Mama Don't Dance," "Danny's Song" and "Angry Eyes."

After eight successful albums together between 1972 and 1977, including two live sets, the duo went their separate ways, touring for the last time in 1976. Messina says he and Loggins had reservations about embarking on a full-blown tour, but found that old wounds had healed.

"One of the sore spots was, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kenny and his incredible voice, and part of the problem was not thinking I could live up to that," Messina told Billboard. "And, not to speak for Kenny, but I found out he experienced the same thing with me and my instrumentation."

A benefit show last year at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, Calif., was the catalyst for the tour.

"Things just sort of flowed together," recalled Loggins. "I'd been playing a lot of these songs, like 'Danny's Song' and 'House at Pooh Corner' alone for years, and when Jimmy came in, I remembered who we were. Something magic happens when the two of us sing together."

The artists will perform their hits together and solo, and a special "sittin' in" segment will feature special guests in some markets. "If we're in Nashville and Michael McDonald is free, or Rusty Young, or Clint Black, we hope they can get on stage and sit in," said Messina.

Hey, remember the 80's?

Nicks, Henley Lining Up Tour Plans

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Stevie Nicks and Don Henley have begun confirming dates for a summer tour.

Five shows are on tap so far, beginning June 3 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. The tour will feature Nicks and Henley performing in solo and collaborative settings.

VIP ticket packages are available for the first five shows via ILoveAllAccess.com (http://www.iloveallaccess.com). The top-level package sells for $385 per ticket, including a seat in the first 10 rows, exclusive merchandise and a variety of on-site perks. The $195 package offers a ticket in the first 20 rows plus the merchandise.

Before the Henley trek, Nicks will play a four-night stand at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas beginning May 10, under the moniker "Dreams." Backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony last month in New York, the artist said the show would consist of "favorite songs, which you don't always get to do. This is a chance for me to go back through all those many, many years and pick out a few songs I haven't always done."

As for Henley, he will rejoin the Eagles for a new round of touring after the Nicks run, beginning Aug. 11 in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Here are Nicks/Henley's tour dates:

June 3: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
June 4: Holmdel, N.J. (PNC Bank Arts Center)
June 8: Mansfield, Mass. (Tweeter Center)
June 10: Wantagh, N.Y. (Jones Beach)
June 13: Hershey, Pa. (Giant Center)