When you're a Dylan, you make your own timeline, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Jakob Dylan took four years to deliver his latest album, Breach. The long-anticipated follow-up to the Wallflowers' Bringing Down the Horse will be in stores in September, with the first single, "Sleepwalker," hitting radio in August. Produced by Michael Penn and Fiona Apple's manager Andy Slater, the opus will contain eleven tracks, including a duet between Dylan and Elvis Costello, as well as guest appearances by the mighty Frank Black, the Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell and producer/musician Jon Brion . . .

What Madonna wants, Madonna gets. Angered that web pirates were posting her latest single on the Internet last month the Material Mom has decided to release her latest single from her forthcoming album Music earlier than expected. The title track could be sent to radio as early as July 6, pending the singer's approval. The release date for the album, produced by Ray of Light knob-twirler William Orbit and world-beat maven Mirwais is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 22. With that out of the way, Madonna can now concentrate on her new digs. After her rented Kensington mini-mansion was broken into two weeks ago, the singer shelled out $15.87 million for a four-story residence in the upscale Belgravia district, a stone's throw from Harrods . . .

Despite a witness recanting his testimony on Monday, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony member Stanley Howse was convicted yesterday of pointing an assault rifle at a man. A Van Nuys, Calif., Superior jury deliberated for a single day before reaching the guilty verdict on Thursday and a judge will decide Howse's fate during his July 14 sentencing hearing. The Grammy-winning rapper, known as Flesh-N-Bone, faces up to nineteen years and eight months in the slammer following his conviction. Howse was found guilty of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and for being a convicted felon in possession of firearms. Howse will return to the courtroom on Tuesday to face additional felony charges including another charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and resisting arrest last January, when he reportedly arrived at the home of a family member with a loaded shotgun and refused to leave . . .

The Black Crowes are now flying with Virgin, having signed a world-wide deal with Richard Branson's V2 Records. According to a spokesperson for the band, the Crowes have been writing new songs, and are expected to return to the studio following their summer tour with Jimmy Page. The band's V2 debut is slated for release next spring. "We appreciate all the interest from other labels, but we're especially happy to be at V2," guitarist Chris Robinson said. "Let's face it, you can't get hurt by having Richard Branson's private island and personal residence there available to us." Not to mention all the free Virgin Cola they can drink . . .

Representatives from two generations of country music were the big winners at the TNN Awards on Thursday. Perennial winner George Strait took home [yaaawn] five more awards, including top prize, Entertainer of the Year. Newcomer Brad Paisley continues to rack up awards for work on his debut album Who Needs Pictures. Paisley took home three awards for Song of the Year and CMT Video of the Year (both for "He Didn't Have to Be") and the Discovery Award, which is given to new artists. Other winners included Faith Hill (Female Artist of the Year) and Kenny Rogers, who won Career Achievement Award . . .

The weapons possession case against Sean "Puffy" Combs proceeded Wednesday in Manhattan Criminal Court, though the rapper wasn't present. Bad Boy Entertainment rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow and Combs' bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones attended the pre-trial hearing, as did Comb's attorney Benjamin Brafman. Judge Charles Solomon heard the Manhattan Assistant D.A. Matthew Bogdanos and counsel for Barrow debate the admissibility of evidence in the case that identified Barrow as the alleged gunman in the Dec. 27 nightclub shooting for which Barrow faces attempted murder charges and Combs faces a weapons possession rap. Barrow and Jones are due back in court on June 21 at 2 p.m. . . .

No Doubt and their tour partners, Lit and Black Eyed Peas will hook up with the Vans Warped tour for one show only on July 11 in Minneapolis, MN. No Doubt co-headlined the first year of the tour with Sublime in 1995, while Lit and Black Eyed Peas were featured on the 1999 tour. Weezer will also play the first eight dates of the tour, beginning with the June 23 kick-off in Fresno, CA and winding up July 1 in San Francisco. The band also has some upcoming West Coast dates that will take them through Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco . . .

'N Sync's second annual Challenge for the Children charity basketball game will take place on July 29 at St. John's University in New York. Those invited, but not yet confirmed for the event, include Britney Spears, Rosie O'Donnell, Pink, Method Man, Usher, Kobe Bryant and many others. The 'N Sync boys founded Challenge for the Children in 1999 to offer financial support for children's programs and charities throughout the country. Last year's event in Atlanta, with Brian McKnight, Blackstreet and John Secada, raised over $100,000 . . .

Originally dubbed Leonard Cohen Afterworld, the indie film about finding Kurt Cobain's ghost is now being called Trip. Starring Jared Leto and Selma Blair, the film's initial title was lifted from a lyric in the Nirvana song "Pennyroyal Tea" (which Cobain lifted from the book by Stefan Banz). Loosely based on the events following Cobain's death when thousands of people made a pilgrimage to Seattle to attend his funeral, the film is currently being shot in Seattle and is scheduled to be released later this year by New Line Cinema . . .

Motley Crue is scheduled to kick off their Maximum Rock Tour, which also includes hard driving Megadeth and Anthrax on June 24 in Sacramento, but they might be doing it without recent addition Randy Castillo on his drum stool. Last weekend Castillo was rushed to the hospital for emergency stomach surgery, and has been recuperating ever since. "I'm not at liberty to say the nature of his illness -- that's personal -- but I can tell you he hasn't rehearsed with the band all week," said Ashley Smith, spokesperson for the band. "We are confident, however, that he'll be OK by the 24th." Just in case he isn't, the Crue have contacted Hole drummer Samantha Mahoney, who is willing and able to take over the sticks. Hole's Web site confirmed the news, claiming that drummer began rehearsing with the band on June 13 . . .

A witness testifying against Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's Stanley "Flesh-N-Bone" Howse has changed his story. Tarrance Vickers previously claimed Howse threatened him with an AK-17 rifle the day after Christmas, but now the alleged victim is backing out of his story. During testimony on June 12, he contradicted statements he made to police at the time of the reported attack, denying his claim to police that Howse pulled a gun out of a baby crib, loaded it and pointed it at him. "No way," Vickers said. "I didn't say none of that to any of the officers." To keep things interesting, on June 13 Vickers brother Fred Nelson threw another monkey wrench into the proceedings and contradicted everything his brother had told the court the previous date. A jury will begin the unenviable task of deliberating on the trial today . . .

After a week's worth of visitors passed through his Paisley Park Studios on guided tours, the artist known once again as Prince capped his return with "Prince: A Celebration," a three-and-a-half-hour show before a sold-out crowd at Minneapolis' Northrop Auditorium Tuesday night. The evening was primarily filled with lengthy funk-soul jams, though the Purple one did manage to pull out a number of classics like "Purple Rain," "Delirious" and "Raspberry Beret," which he originally recorded when he was royalty the first time around. The list of guests who joined Prince on stage included frequent collaborator Larry Graham (formerly of Sly and the Family Stone), rappers Doug E. Fresh and Q-Tip, sax player Maceo Parker and R&B singer Angie Stone . . .

Rapper Tupac Shakur is being posthumously celebrated yet again with the release of an album of his poetry. The as-yet-untitled spoken word album, due out sometime in September, will feature readings by Mos Def, K-Ci and Jo-Jo of Jodeci, actors Jasmine Guy and Danny Glover and poet Sonya Sanchez. All readings will be from Shakur's book of poetry, The Rose That Grew From Concrete, which was published late last year. Producing the independent album is Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur, along with his teacher and former manager, Leila Steinberg . . .

Just to show you how consequential the art of jamming really is, the creators of Jambands.com and the owner of Wetlands Preserve are staging the first annual Jammy Awards at New York's Irving Plaza on June 22. Awards will be given out in a variety of categories including Best Studio Release, Best Live Album, Jam of the Year and Road Tripper of the Year. In addition, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and the Grateful Dead will all be inducted into the Jammy Hall of Fame. The program will be interspersed with live performances by extended jam enthusiasts including Disco Biscuits, featuring Primus leader Les Claypool, who will be performing a Davis tune, and Frogwings, who feature members of the Allman Brothers Band, as well as buzz band Soulive, who have snared former-Miles Davis guitarist John Scofield to play with them on a funky homage to P-Funk. For more information, visit www.jambands.com . . .

In other jam band news, IMAX films has commissioned Jammy producer Peter Shapiro to produce and be the musical director of All Access, a film to grace IMAX screens in the Spring of 2001. Shapiro has shot most of it already, including duet performances by Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas, and George Clinton and Mary J. Blige (who offer a medley of P-Funk songs). Other highlights include the Roots performing with B.B. King and Phish's Trey Anastasio, as well as solo performances by Macy Gray, Moby and Kid Rock. Still on the list are performances between Sting and Cheb Mami, as well as Dave Matthews performing with Al Green. "I think real magic comes when you take two artists of equal stature, who are very different and put them together," Shapiro said. "That's what I tried to do for the movie, as well as the Jammys" . . .

The same week that Celine Dion started taking prenatal vitamins for the impending birth of her child, she signed on to become a spokesperson for LiFizz (pronounced "life is") Vitamins. The vitamin company is owned by pro golfer Jesper Parnevik, who plans to spend upwards of $19 million to market his revolutionary vits. According to a spokesperson for the company Dion was playing a round with Parnevik, who turned her on to the fizzy supplements. "Like many people, I don't find taking vitamins a lot of fun," Dion said in a statement. "But with LiFizz, it's different. The first time I tried them I liked LiFizz so much that I ordered 144 cartons for my people to take on tour." But Celine won't be taking her fruit flavored supplements on the road anytime soon, as her management reports that the singer won't be performing for the next three years . . .

Creed may be devout Christians, but they didn't do much faith healing this week after lead singer Scott Stapp was felled by laryngitis on June 10, just before the band's show at the GM Place in Vancouver. The group was also forced to cancel its June 12 show in Seattle, as well as its June 13 show in Portland. According to the band's rep, Stapp had been fighting a bacterial infection all week, finally succumbing to it Saturday night. If all goes well, Creed will return on June 15 in San Jose. The band plans to reschedule the Seattle show for June 21, but it looks unlikely that they will find a way to make up the Vancouver and Portland shows . . .

Scott Stapp isn't the only one suffering from an infection. Oasis was forced to pull the plug on their show in Hamburg Tuesday night because Liam Gallagher contracted an infection of the upper respiratory system. The show will be rescheduled on June 22. It is not clear whether Liam's condition was exacerbated by his brother calling him "Monkey Boy" in an interview with BBC's Radio One . . .

In other Oasis news, eleven months after leaving the group, guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs has begun work on the solo work that he alluded to at the time of his defection last August. So far he's recruited former Stone Roses bassist Gary "Mani" Mounfield, who is currently playing bass for Primal Scream to come in and help as soon as the Primals wind up their current U.S. tour. Arthurs has tapped former Oasis producer Owen Morris to twirl the knobs, and so far the duo have demoed nine tracks at the infamous Rockfield Studios in Wales, where Mani will join them later. So far there the guitarist doesn't have a record deal . . .

Well, the NYPD might not be down with Bruce Springsteen, but the RIAA has the Boss's back. "Bruce Springsteen is an artist who has always been a moral leader and an articulate voice for those people who don't often get heard," said RIAA President Hilary Rosen. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York and the New York Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police have called for a boycott of Springsteen's current string of ten Madison Square Garden shows because of his new song "American Skin (41 Shots)," which references the killing of Amadou Diallo by four New York policemen last year. "The President of the Fraternal Order of Police should be grateful that we live in a country where an artist's voice can express ideas that challenge the system," Rosen continued . . .

DMX is claiming his innocence in last week's hit-and-run accident in New York City. "An important and fundamental premise of the American judicial system is the presumption of innocence -- that is, until proven guilty," the rapper said via a statement. The driver of the other car involved in the accident claimed DMX crashed into her car and then adamantly refused to pay for any damages. DMX claims that he offered to work out a "mutually agreeable solution of the situation," but that the other driver seemed intent on making him pay for all damages. No charges have been filed at this point . . .

Documentary visionary Ken Burns, who directed ambitious (and lengthy) films on the Civil War and Baseball for PBS, is turning his attention to the history of jazz. Jazz will air in January 2001 as a ten-part, nearly twenty-hour monster. Columbia/Legacy and Verve have signed on with the program to provide a multitude of musical offerings, including a five-disc box set and single-disc compilation of music featured in the series, as well as a series of twenty-two compilations from individual artists highlighted in the film . . .

Johnette Napolitano, Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner, Josh Rouse and David & David's David Ricketts are among the guests popping up on blue-collar singer-songwriter Matthew Ryan's upcoming second album, East Autumn Grin, due Aug. 15. Ryan recruited his friends to play trumpet (Pirner), piano (Ricketts) and sing (Napolitano, Rouse). Ricketts previously produced Ryan's debut, May Day, in 1997 . . .

Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood has revealed to Belgium's Humo and Holland's Oor magazines that the band has recorded enough songs with producer Nigel Godrich to release two albums. The first, which will have about ten to eleven tracks, is expected to come out on schedule this fall, followed by a second a year later. Though Radiohead had about thirty songs in the can, they nixed the idea of a double album because "We want to avoid the classic rock & roll traps," Greenwood told Humo. "Even the best double albums . . . would have been even better if half the songs had been deleted . . . If the White Album had been one single album, no one would dare say Sgt. Pepper's is the best Beatles record." As of yet, the upcoming fourth album remains untitled. Song titles include "How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found," "Kid A," "Everything in Its Right Place," "Everyone (National Anthem)," "Motion Picture Soundtrack," "Idioteque," "Morning Bell" and "Nothing to Fear (Egyptian Song)." Two tracks feature an extensive string section, one track includes backing by a jazz band and another, with the aid of ProTools, has Thom Yorke singing backwards. Now all they have to do is figure out how to pull that last one off live . . .

Sean "Puffy" Combs has been added to the list of stars set to appear at the 31st Annual Songwriter's Hall of Fame Induction Awards and Dinner at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. Combs will present an induction award to James Brown, who will have a song of his covered by Bobby Womack. Meanwhile, Isaac Hayes will be on-hand to present Curtis Mayfield's wife, daughter and manager with the late soul legend's award. Ben E. King will also be on hand to sing "Stand By Me" for inductees Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who penned the song . . .

Sisqo interrupted his tour with 'N Sync recently to work on filming scenes for a new Miramax movie, Getting Over Allison. The film, which stars Kirsten Dunst and Ben Foster, tells the story of a young man who rebounds from a relationship by falling for his best friend's sister. Sisqo has a small but dialogue-heavy role in the film, which will hit theaters next year. The "Thong Song"-singer rejoined 'N Sync on Friday night for their concert in Pasadena . . .

"This time it's for real -- I'm pregnant," Celine Dion said in a statement Friday. "And we thank God for the great joy we've been given." Two weeks ago a spokesperson for the singer confirmed that she was having fertility treatments in New York hospital, and on Friday Dion's management released a precious missive that confirmed the conception: "In three weeks, if all goes well, we'll hear the heart of our baby, inside of my tummy." She also explained that Dion's manager/hubby Rene Angelil, who had surgery last year to remove a cancerous lump on his throat had received an update on his condition, and the tests results showed there was no cancer . . .

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis has carved out some time between tour dates to spin records for the upcoming Alicia Lawhon fashion show. The festivities benefit the Friendly House in Los Angeles, the first residential treatment facility for women (which was the model for Betty Ford Center). Kiedis -- who has been clean and sober himself for three years -- has agreed to provide the evening's music, while actress Ione Skye will emcee the show, which will be held on June 25 at the tony 360 Restaurant. The public is invited, and for a mere $25 you can see Lawhon's new folkloric line of clothes inspired by her native Mexico, get a load of Kiedis' record collection (which leans heavily towards old Iggy), help Friendly House, and get your own goodie bag. For more information, call 323-666-5031 . . .

Yes, Bon Jovi are everywhere these days but no, it's not 1987. With their first album in five years due June 13, the Jersey boys are making the rounds on the radio and TV circuits with a notable stop on the roof of the EdSullivan Theater where The Late Show With David Letterman is taped. The boys will perform their first single from Crush, "It's My Life," to air on CBS the same day. And if you're wondering what the band's been up to you all this time, you can be sure Howard Stern will find out when Bon Jovi guest on the jock's show June 14 . . .

With Noel Gallagher busy writing tunes for his solo project, Oasis are carrying on. They have not only rescheduled their Paris gig, which was cancelled following Noel's departure, but will put on a free show June 21 at the annual Fete de la Musique 2000, an International music festival. The band will appear at the Place de la Republique, a 40,000-capacity, open-air arena with fellow festival performers David Hallyday and Shola Ama.

BILL CRANDALL, ANDREW DANSBY, CHRISTINA SARACENO, GABRIELLE SCHAFER, RICHARD SKANSE, JAAN UHELSZKI, JENNIFER VINEYARD
(June 17, 2000)