NOISE

Motorhead has been called the Worst Band in the World, the Meanest Band in the World, the Dirtiest Band in the World and the Loudest Band in the World. Which tag do you relish most?

It gets even better than that. We were called the Best Worst Band in the World. But I guess I'd pick loudest, wouldn't you? We are loud, but half the reason is that we're all deaf. The other reason is we like it loud anyway. But [earplugs] are for wussies. If you're gonna deafen the crowd the least you can do is suffer yourself.

You guys beat out Cradle of Filth, Hatebreed, Killswitch Engage and Slipknot for the 2005 Best Metal Performance Grammy (for a cover of Metallica's "Whiplash"). Did it feel good beating all those young punks at age 59? (Kilmister turned 60 in December.)

Yeah, it's kind of a cool thing. The only thing I had against it was that it wasn't for one of our songs. They managed to twist the knife even while giving us the f--king Grammy. The industry is still condescending toward people like us. I mean, we got the award the afternoon before the concert event, lumped in with the Latin-jazz bands and the Croatian folk dancers. We couldn't be seen on national television. My God, can you imagine?

You don't seem like the type to get frightened easily, but were you scared when they shackled you to a wall in a windowless cell after your 1975 drug bust in Canada?

It was in the midnight hours, and yeah, it was scary. I mean, I'd been arrested before but not to that extent. In America and Canada they're really a lot more heavy-handed than in England. I remember they gave me f--king meat loaf full of onions, which I hate.

with Manntis, Meldrum Where: House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. When: March 11, 8 p.m. Price: $25-$30. Info: 632-7600.

Long before the Dixie Chicks and the O Brother, Where Are Thou? soundtrack shined a spotlight on bluegrass music, Illinois native Alison Krauss was the genre's shining star. A few highlights from the 34-year-old vocalist and fiddle player's résumé:

• Signed to Rounder Records at age 14.

• Six top-10 charting country albums, including 1995's Now That I've Found You: A Collection, which reached No. 2 on the country chart and No. 13 on the Billboard 200.

• First bluegrass performer to go double-platinum (with Now That I've Found You).

• Twenty Grammy awards, more than any other female artist in history, most recently three this year for Best Country Album (Lonely Runs Both Ways), Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal ("Restless") and Best Country Instrumental Performance ("Unionhouse Branch").

• Contributed vocals to songs by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Clint Black, Vince Gill, Yo-Yo Ma and Phish, among others.

Call it a guilty pleasure if you must, but the world would be an unhappier place without the music of Bon Jovi. Ten BJ songs we're only slightly ashamed to stand behind:

1. "Runaway" (Bon Jovi, 1984)

2. "Livin' on a Prayer" (Slippery When Wet, 1986)

3. "Bad Medicine" (New Jersey, 1988)

4 "Wild Is the Wind" (New Jersey, 1988)

5. "Lay Your Hands on Me" (New Jersey, 1988)

6. "Born to Be My Baby" (New Jersey, 1988)

7. "Keep the Faith" (Keep the Faith, 1992)

8. "Something for the Pain" (These Days, 1995)

9. "It's My Life" (Crush, 2000)

10. "Wild in the Streets" (Slippery When Wet, 1986)

Athlete


Tourist (2.5 stars)

It's unusual to see a London quartet touring as the support act for an American band as vanilla as Switchfoot. But listening to Athlete's second album, it all makes sense: the eccentricities of 2003 debut Vehicles & Animals have been discarded in favor of a pleasant enough but wholly unexceptional sound. In short, British MOR.

10 Years


The Autumn Effect (2 stars)

It's like someone took Tool and put them through a strainer that removed all of the originality and excitement from their music. Singer Jesse Hasek copies all of Maynard James Keenan's vocal mannerisms while his band plays the same song over and over again. When's that new Tool album due again?

I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House


Live at Dante's (3 stars)

Four years after they debuted with first album Creepy Little Noises, this Portland outfit—which features two former Las Vegans—has proven it's more than just a catchy band name. This 13-track live set is a rollicking good time, as frontman Mike Damron leads the boys through a swampy, expletive-laced barroom stomp.