John Mellencamp's hotly-anticipated self-titled debut album for Columbia Records will be in stores on Oct. 6th. On Oct. 7th (John's birthday), he'll sign autographs and meet his New York fans at the uptown Tower Records in Manhattan.

David Bowie is the latest artist to sign on for the soundtrack to the upcoming Rugrats film and has already recorded his contribution, "Skylife," which reunites him with former producer Tony Visconti. Bowie and Visconti worked on several classic albums including Space Oddity (1969) and Low (1977) but the two had a falling out during the '80s and had not been in a studio together since 1980's Scary Monsters (according to Billboard.)

More details have emerged about the new U2 retrospective, U2 - The Best Of 1980-1990, due out Nov. 3rd. The group recently headed back into the studio with producer Steve Lillywhite to enhance the previously released b-side track, "Sweetest Thing," by adding new vocals and instrumentation. The song was originally recorded as part of the sessions for The Joshua Tree, but was relegated to the flip side of the "Where The Streets Have No Name" single when "Thing" couldn't be completed in time to make the album. U2 plans to release the revamped version of "Sweetest Thing" as a new single on Sept. 29th. The new 14-track record is the first in a pair of 'greatest hits' albums from the band. U2 - The Best Of 1980-1990 will be available at a reduced cost when released as a limited edition double-CD, in which it will be packaged with a 15-track compilation of b-sides taken from U2's singles.

The Smithereens are the latest 80's group hoping to cash in on the current wave of 'college rock' comebacks with plans underway to release a live record and a studio album in the next few months as a part of their new deal with Velvel Records. "The working title for the new record is 'This Is The Way The World Ends, Baby," explains frontman Pat DiNizio, "and I'm approaching it in a more thematic way than with any record we've done before. It's going to be really strange and interesting, sort of somewhere conceptually between Stephen King's 'The Stand' and that Fox TV show, 'Millenium.'"

Wednesday night, the White House rocked with something other than scandal. We're talking real rock 'n roll music with a real rock star: Lou Reed. Stodgy old state dinners may never be the same. The Clintons were in fine form: the President smiling if slightly subdued; the first lady effusively greeting guests. They heard plenty of encouraging words, although Stevie Wonder was the only one to bear-hug both Clintons. "I told the president a long time ago that I was his friend," the singer said. "And I am of the belief that when you say you are someone's friend, it doesn't mean that you're a fair-weather friend. You're there all the time." Also attending were (actress/model) Paulina Porizkova and Ric Ocasek formerly of The Cars.

U2 have worked out an agreement with Polygram Records to release three 'Best Of' compilation albums for a whopping $50 million. The band, currently operates under the corporate umbrella of the Polygram-owned Island Records. According to Dot Music, the first two albums will be released Nov. 2nd on the Island label. The first is tentatively titled The Best Of U2: Volume One 1980-1990 and will contain around 15 tracks. It will be accompanied by a separate B-sides set which may appear as part of a limited edition double package or as a separate release. Volume Two is expected to arrive either the next Christmas or some time in the year 2000. Rock’s favorite Irish export has sold more than eighty-seven million albums worldwide to date.

Who says 80’s artists aren’t doing anything mentionable today? The MTV’s Video Music Awards proved there is still potential in longevity. Madonna picked up 5 awards for "Ray Of Light" and 1 for "Frozen." Will Smith was next in line, as he made his way to the podium two times to pick up kudos for two videos. His "Getting’ Jiggy With It" nabbed Best Rap Video and his "Just The Two Of Us" picked up Best Male Video. Aerosmith also turned four of its nominations into two awards for Best Rock Video for "Pink" and Best Video From A Film for "I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing" from Armageddon. Bjork (formerly of the Sugarcubes) was also an early winner as her "Bachelorette" video picked up the award for Best Art Direction In A Video. Last but not least, The Beastie Boys picked up the coveted Video Vanguard award.

When South Parks' Chef (Isaac Hayes) winds up on the wrong side of a bad legal judgment and suffers financially; Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny discover Chef is more than just the sultan of soul food but is also the creative force behind some of the most important moments in musical history. To help their friend, the people of South Park organize "Chef Aid," a benefit concert that becomes the music event of the decade. As word of Chef's plight spreads to the music industry, Master P, Primus (providers of the South Park theme music), Tim McGraw, Devo and other top music acts flock to South Park to help the man that has meant so much to them and the world.

Representatives for Joan Jett say the singer is doing well after collapsing at an ACLU banquet Tuesday night in Los Angeles. During the opening comments at the dinner honoring a Mercury Records executive, Jett crumpled to the floor and went into convulsions, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jett received treatment from a medical team on the scene and then returned to her hotel. On Wednesday, Jett appeared to have recovered from the incident and was feeling well enough to meet with several people in Polygrarn Records’ office in Los Angeles.

The made-up metal deities, Kiss, have announced plans to launch their own Internet Service Provider later this month to correspond with the release of their Psycho Circus album. For a monthly fee, users will be hooked up with Kiss-customized Internet access including unlimited web access, Kiss e-mail addresses, personal web pages, chat rooms, and more. The service will also serve up multimedia Kiss nuggets like news, auctions, contests, streaming video from the band’s tour, live chats, and more.

One of the breakout hits on So So Def Bass All Stars Volume II was INOJs seductive "Love You Down." On Volume III due out Oct. 6th, INOJ returns with a heartstopping interpretation of Cyndi Lauper’s "Time After Time." "Time After Time" shipped to radio on July 21st and was the #1 most added record at Top 40 radio. The second single from So So Def Bass All Stars Volume III will be "When I See Your Smile" by Ricky Bell (New Edition and Bell Biv Devoe.)

The Rolling Stones’ new live album No Security is said to be scheduled for release in the U.S. on Nov. 17th, according to Billboard. The recordings are from several American shows on the Bridges To Babylon world tour. The publication reports that the release will include songs such as "Sister Morphine" and "Memory Motel" which are not featured on any previous live Stones record.

Tommy Lee was released from the L.A. County lockup this weekend alter serving 16 weeks of his six month sentence for spousal abuse. The rocker was reportedly let out very late Friday night. According to an Internet post by bandmate Nikki Sixx, Lee is expected to soak up some sun for a week or two before settling down to prepare for the group’s pending tour. Motley Crue will be hitting the road to support the album Greatest Hits which features two new tracks, "Bitter Pill" (formerly the title track before a change of plans), and "Enslaved." The album is scheduled for an Oct. 27th release.

Chaka Khan received the Lena Horne Award for outstanding career achievements at The 1998 Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards on Thursday. This show was co-hosted by LL Cool J.

The Beastie Boys will join the ranks of Madonna, R.E.M., David Bowie, and Peter Gabriel when the band picks up a Video Vanguard Award at this years MTV Video Music Awards next week. The Beasties will be rewarded for a careers worth of videos that range from party boy romps like "She’s On It" to the impressionist animation of "Shadrach" to pop culture spoofs like "Sabotage" and "Intergalactic."

BowieNet, David Bowie’s bold venture into the online marketplace, launched Monday with a cybercast that included appearances by Ani DiFranco, Spacehog, the Jesus and Mary Chain and a surprise turn by Bauhaus. The performance, which also included appearances by the Specials and the Jayhawks, marked the launch of www.davidbowie.com, the performers official website/Internet service provider. The service will offer the usual official site nuggets (news, music and video flIes, studio cameras, personal messages from the artist, etc.), and will also offer users Internet access, davidbowie.com email addresses and tech support.

Saying it would create a hazard for her and her child, Madonna filed an affidavit on Monday to halt construction of a YMCA building near her Lincoln Center residence in New York City. Madonna’s sworn statement was part of a lawsuit filed against the YMCA in a New York court room two weeks ago aimed at halting plans for the residential high-rise, according to The Associated Press. As part of her affidavit, Madonna cited last month’s fatal accident in New York’s limes Square, when one person was killed when scaffolding fell into a residential building adjacent to the construction site.

Former band members Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante are suing Deborah Harry, Chris Stein, James Destri and Clement Burke to stop the Blondie reunion album No Exit from being released, according to a 07/25/98 New York Post story. They claim that they are part of a previous partnership and the Blondie reunion can’t legally go on without them. Blondie is mixing its eagerly anticipated new album, No Exit, due out February 1999. Sources close to the band say the current band members have known about the lawsuit for months, and that it will not delay the release of the album. No Exit marks the first original record from the band in more than 16 years.

New Kids On The Block called it quits after their 1994 curtain call, Face The Music, tanked miserably. Now with clones the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync, (among others) currently commandeering the pop music airwaves, the climate seems ripe for the reappearance of Jordan Knight (now 28), the unofficial leader of the group. Knight, who inked a seven album deal with Interscope Records in 1996, will see the release of his as-yet-untitled solo debut next January. He recently spent several weeks in a Minneapolis recording studio with legendary R&B producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Prince, Boys II Men), mixing four of the album’s 10 tracks, including the first single, "A Different Party." Knight plays keyboards on several songs on the album, which he describes as R&B-flavored but with elements of hip-hop and alternative as well.

Word still abounds about a new New Order release in 1999. Until then a New Order box set, tentatively titled Recycle, is on the horizon. Meanwhile, none of the band members have any intentions of quitting their post-New Order projects. Electronic’s third LP, now titled Twisted Tenderness, will surface in January; Peter Hook is polishing up Monaco's sophomore release; and The Other Two, who have labored over the follow-up to their 1993 debut for four years, have reportedly finished their sophomore album as well.