NOISE

On Suit Yourself, why is the cover of "Rainy Night in Georgia" only identified as "Track 12"?

Because I wanted people to listen to it instead of taking a chance that they heard it a million times and pass it by. We took a different, slower, more bluesy approach to it.

You are playing Johnny Cash's mother in an upcoming movie. How was your first experience as a thespian?

It was great. I enjoyed it. It was easy. I learned a lot. The other actors were really kind and helped me out.

On the new album, you have a song about Cash: "Johnny Met June."

I wrote it the morning Johnny died and the rest speaks for itself. The song was written in probably 20 minutes. I love Johnny's music, but I was inspired more by his individuality than anything.

She's French-Canadian, grew up singing in church, has an international fan base and wears men's fashions. She's Avril Lavigne. (You didn't think we were talking about that woman at Caesars, did you?) Now, it's trivia time!

—She and Marilyn Manson once painted each other's nails.

—She got kicked out of her hometown's bowling alley for skateboarding.

—She won't wear antiperspirant and instead sniffs her armpits and sprays herself with perfume.

—She's pants-ed Sum 41's Deryck Whibley at a New York bar.

—She sings the SpongeBob SquarePants theme on the movie soundtrack.

"In those days ... there weren't that many rock 'n' roll stars over 30. You didn't think it was going to go on that long. My dream was that maybe I could learn to be a record producer. ... That is really what I thought I would end up doing: being a record producer, or a songwriter.

"I never thought our trip was going to go on so long. I thought if it went on five years, in those days, that was really successful. We never thought about growing old doing it. That those songs have survived, and that I still hear them, is amazing. I never would have dreamt that."

From the forthcoming Conversations with Tom Petty by Paul Zollo, $24.95

How are the crowds in the U.S. different from crowds you're used to in Europe?

We don't have the crazy mosh pits that you guys have over here. I mean, we have mosh pits, but not when people try to kill each other. It's more like people standing upside down, jumping around, screaming, fist in the air and headbanging, stuff like that, in Europe. But I like both of them.

Some fans have accused you of selling out in the past. Has appearing on OzzFest invited more of those accusations?

We've always done things our own way. If you're selling out, that's a totally different story because you're going to do everything for the money. You cannot write a hit when you play aggressive music; it's really hard. We only do what we feel like. I don't care if people say we're selling out or not. I know where I'm coming from. I've played in heavy metal bands since '89, and people who are complaining about me for selling out were not even born that day, so they don't know what they're talking about. They should go back and suck their mama's titty, I don't care.

What is it about Sweden that produces so many heavy metal bands?

We've been able to do what we want without having any interference from the outside, basically. All the bands that I know are very good, talented musicians and they know how to write good songs. That's what it's about. And growing up in Sweden, we were supported by the government. We were allowed to play an instrument for free in school, an hour every week or twice a week or something like that. It's easy to get hold of rehearsal space and rehearsal studios. We were supported when it came to studio time in the beginning, to record demos and stuff like that. It was easy growing up and playing music.

Robert Cray (3.5 stars)


Twenty

Though purists have frequently persecuted him for his urbane, sophisticated and cosmopolitan presentation (like these are bad qualities?), few blues musicians keep a stiff upper lip better than Robert Cray. Twenty offers more evidence, not that any was needed, that Cray's music—no matter how slick—is built out of plenty of pain and poignancy.

Before Kanye West, Common was Chicago's most potent hip-hop force. Here are three memorable lines:

She got chills, they told her: that's where she would be next / Hurt mixed with anger, survival was a reflex / They lied and denied visits from her lawyer / But she was building as they tried to destroy her.

Why Bush acting like he trying to get Osama? / Why don't we impeach him and elect Obama?

Don't give no f--k who's your team or who you startin' with / Cameoed or charted with / I house niggaz like apartments with / Mic mechanisms / I dissect a rhythm / It's like Malcolm X-orcism.

Don't miss this reunion of Dinosaur Jr.'s '80s lineup, which included drummer Murph and bass player Lou Barlow. A rare chance for a new generation to experience leader J. Mascis' guitar-drenched classics "Freak Scene" and "Little Furry Things." Dinosaur Jr. didn't dissolve after Barlow's departure, but don't expect them to play Mascis gems like "Green Mind" or "Feel the Pain."