“Amalgamut,” Filter’s third album, surfaced on July 30 and debuted at No. 32 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album features the singles “Where Do We Go From Here” and “American Cliché.” The latter track is due to hit radio stations on Sept. 10, according to the band’s official website.



Filter’s previous two albums--1995’s “Short Bus” and 1999’s “Title of Record"--have both gone platinum.

Tuesday, September 03, 2002

Judge quashes Napster’s bid for a comeback

A federal judge dealt what appeared to be the final blow to Napster on Tuesday (9/3), blocking German conglomerate Bertelsmann AG’s planned buyout of the once-popular file-swapping service.

A federal judge dealt what appeared to be the final blow to Napster on Tuesday (9/3), blocking German conglomerate Bertelsmann AG’s planned buyout of the once-popular file-swapping service.

Following the surprise decision, most of Napster’s remaining employees were reportedly laid off, including company founder Shawn Fanning and CEO Konrad Hilbers. The few remaining employees are expected to guide the company through its liquidation.



“As a result of the record companies’ and music publishers’ opposition, Napster’s creditors will be denied substantial repayment and the company will likely be forced into Chapter 7 liquidation,” Hilbers said in a statement. “As with most start-up technology businesses, Napster’s technology is of little value without the talented team that created it, so it is an occasion of loss on many levels.”

On Tuesday, a message on the Napster website read “Napster was here,” and featured a link that led to a cartoon graphic titled “Ded (sic) kitty, “ which displayed the company’s logo--a cat wearing headphones--on a tombstone.



A U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., found that Bertelsmann could not prove that it had reached a good-faith agreement with Napster. Bertelsmann valued its bid for Napster at $92 million, but offered up only $9 million in new funding. The balance of the bid consisted of secured loans the company made to Napster over the last two years.



“We accept the court’s decision that the sale of Napster’s assets to Bertelsmann has been denied and that the purchase will not proceed,” Bertelsmann said in a statement.



Napster, which once was the most popular file-swapping service, has been shuttered since July of 2001. A judge ordered the site closed in response to a lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America, a lobbying group that represents major labels.



Since its closure, peer-to-peer services such as Kazaa, Morpheus, Limewire and Audiogalaxy have grown in popularity.

Album Chart: Dixie Chicks, Coldplay, Eve make Top 10 debuts

Eminem’s return to No. 1 proves to be short-lived, as the Dixie Chicks’ latest claims the top slot on the forthcoming Billboard 200 album chart.

Eminem’s return to No. 1 proves to be short-lived, as the Dixie Chicks’ latest claims the top slot on the forthcoming Billboard 200 album chart.

“Home," the follow-up to the Dixie Chicks’ 1999 release “Fly,” sold almost 780,000 copies in its debut week to set a new record for the highest first-week sales of any female group in the history of sales-tracking organization SoundScan, according to the Dixie Chicks’ record label.



“The Eminem Show,” which bounced back to No. 1 last week, comes in at a distant second with one-week sales of about 175,000 copies, according to industry sources, while the former No. 2 entry--St. Louis rapper Nelly’s “Nellyville"--slips to No. 4. Between the pair of rappers is Avril Lavigne’s “Let Go,” which stays put at No. 3 for the second consecutive week.

Coldplay and Eve log back-to-back debuts, with Coldplay’s “Rush of Blood to the Head” entering at No. 5 after selling about 141,000 copies, and Eve’s “Eve-o-lution” coming in at No. 6 with sales of about 123,000 copies.



Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” and James Taylor’s “October Road” each lose two spots this week to land at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, while Clipse’s “Lord Willin’"--which debuted at No. 4 last week--sinks to No. 9.



The “Now That’s What I Call Music! 10” compilation drops from No. 7 to No. 10, bumping Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me” out of the Top 10 to No. 11.



A slew of albums debuting outside of the Top 10 include Lil’ Flip’s “Undaground Legend” at No. 12, Trina’s “Diamond Princess” at No. 14, Queens of the Stone Age’s “Songs for the Deaf” at No. 17, BBMak’s “Into Your Head” at No. 25, Montgomery Gentry’s “My Town” at No. 26, the “Barbershop” soundtrack at No. 30, Aimee Mann’s “Lost in Space” at No. 35, Daniel Bedingfield’s “Gotta Get Thru This” at No. 41, Stone Sour’s self-titled debut at No. 46, Jimmy Fallon’s “The Bathroom Wall” at No. 47, KISS’s “The Very Best of KISS” at No. 52, Devin the Dude’s “Just Tryin’ ta Live” at No. 61 and Silverchair’s “Diorama” at No. 91.

Monday, September 02, 2002

Street Date Sept. 3: Ozzfest 2002, The Rolling Stones

Also: Aaron Carter, Splender, Living Colour and more.

Also: Aaron Carter, Splender, Living Colour and more.

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Various artists - “Ozzfest 2002” (Epic)



This year’s annual Ozzfest outing, which winds to a close later this week, spawns its latest commemorative soundtrack. The collection features performances from namesake Ozzy Osbourne, System of a Down, Rob Zombie, P.O.D. and Drowning Pool, among others. A complete track listing is posted at Ozzfest’s official website.

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Rolling Stones, “Remastered Series” (ABKCO)



On the day the legendary British rock pioneers kick off their latest world tour, ABKCO releases a new batch of digitally remastered versions of the group’s early albums. The label is reissuing a total of 22 albums, including “Let It Bleed,” “Beggars Banquet,” “Hot Rocks” and “Out of Our Heads,” as well as four U.K. albums previously unavailable in the United States. The label’s website features additional details.



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Aaron Carter - “Another Earthquake!” (Jive)

Though he’s still in his early teens, this is Carter’s fifth album. “Summertime,” the first single from “Another Earthquake,” features the Baha Men. The video is streaming at Jive Records’ GetMusic website.





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Splender - “To Whom It May Concern” (J)



Three years after the release of its debut album, “Halfway Down the Sky"--which spawned the hits “Yeah, Whatever” and “I Think God Can Explain"--this New York quartet returns with sophomore effort. Mark Endert (Fiona Apple, Tonic, Vertical Horizon, The Ours) produced the album, which is streaming at the band’s official website.



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Living Colour - “Vivid [Remastered]” (Sony/Legacy)



As a reunited Living Colour works on its first new album in nine years, Legacy reissues the group’s 1988 debut, which features the breakthrough hit “Cult of Personality.” The digitally remastered re-release includes five bonus cuts not found on the original. Details and sound clips are posted at Legacy’s official http://www.sonymusic.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+smo.custom2.Page?disc=sid_085985&t=legacy%2fselect >website.





Other new releases:



Barry Adamson - “The King of Nothing Hill” (Mute)

Ben Allison - “Peace Pipe” (Palmetto)

Amazing Transparent Man - “The Death of the Party” (Hopeless)

The Belles - “Omerta” (The Get Up Kids guest) (Lakeshore)

Bouncing Souls/Anti-Flag - “Bouncing Souls/Anti-Flag” (BYO)

Djinji Brown - “Sirround Sound” (Seven Heads)

C.O.C.O. - “The Sound” (K)

Common Rider - “This Is Unity Music” (Hopeless)

Cradle of Filth - “Live Bait for the Dead” (Abracadaver)

Dubtribe Sound System Vs. Chillifunk Recordings - “Heavyweight Soundclash” (Shadow)

George Duke - “Face the Music” (BPM)

Fessor’s Big City Band - “Swing City” (Storyville)

The Forgotten - “Control Me” (BYO)

Darin Gray - “St. Louis Shuffle” (Family Vineyard)

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - “Chillout Sessions” (Wrasse)

Little Wings - “Light Green Leaves” (K)

Bill Miller - “A Sacred Gift” (Paras Recordings)

Moistboyz - “III” (Ipecac)

Bif Naked - “Purge” (Her Royal Majesty’s/Atlantic)

The Negro Problem - “Welcome Black” (Image Entertainment)

Ben Neill - “Automotive” (Six Degrees)

Joe Nichols - “Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other” (RMG)

Nightmares on Wax - “Mind Elevation” (Warp)

No Knife - “Riot for Romance” (Better Looking)

Nocturnal Rites - “Shadowland” (Century Media)

Ozric Tentacles - “Live at the Pongmaster’s Ball” (Madfish)

Alice Peacock - “Alice Peacock” (Columbia)

The Residents - “Demons Dance Alone” (East Side Digital)

Seldom Seen - “Thug Fest” (East Side)

Sing-Sing - “The Joy of Sing-Sing” (Manifesto)

Sunz of Man - “Savior’s Day” (D3)

Tangerine Dream - “Inferno” (TDI)

Tarwater - “Dwellers on the Threshold” (Mute)

Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez - “Let’s Leave This Town” (TMG)

Thee Human Ego Maniacs - “Sin, Win & Grin” (Electrovenus)

Pam Tillis - “It’s All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis” (Epic)

Mia Doi Todd - “The Golden State” (Columbia)

The Derek Trucks Band - “Joyful Noise” (Columbia)

Unstable Ensemble - “The Liturgy of Ghosts” (Family Vineyard)

Various artists - “The Future Sound of the London Underground” (Lakeshore)

Various artists - “The Songs of Pink Floyd” (Cleopatra)

Various artists - “Voodoo Roux Deux” (Waveform)

Various artists - “Welcome to the Machine - The Electronic Tribute to Pink Floyd” (Vitamin)

Counting Crows take to the road behind ‘Hard Candy’

Counting Crows are set to tour North America this fall in support of their new album, “Hard Candy,” which hit stores in July.

Counting Crows are set to tour North America this fall in support of their new album, “Hard Candy,” which hit stores in July.

The first portion of the tour is dominated by appearances in support of The Who. Counting Crows will open for the British rockers in Irvine, Calif.; Los Angeles; Dallas; St. Paul, Minn.; Mansfield, Mass; and Toronto. The remainder of the outing focuses on the college circuit.



“Hard Candy” was produced by Steve Lillywhite (U2, Peter Gabriel), and includes contributions from Leona Naess (the girlfriend of Crows’ frontman Adam Duritz) and Matthew Sweet.



The band has instituted some fan-friendly changes this year, including an in-house ticketing system and a concert taping policy similar to that of jam band Phish. Details are posted at the band’s official website.