July 23, 2003 – The first five minutes of The Rules of Attraction, ablissfully unrepentant look at collegiate hedonism from PulpFiction screenwriter Roger Avary, are a barrage of twistedenergy: James Van Der Beek is dealing drugs and seducing nubilefreshmen; Jessica Biel is downing Jack Daniel's and taking on anentire football team; and a gorgeous loser played by ShannynSossamon is getting raped and vomited on by a townie while anaccomplice videotapes it all.

July 23, 2003 – By: Jon DolanRadicalizing Metal One Head at a Time No one associates Ozzfest with political activism--unless you count fighting for your rightful place in the line foroverpriced bottled water. This year, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello and System of a Down's Serj Tankian tried to change that.Their "Axis of Justice" center at each Ozzfest 2002 tour stop offered information on such issues as racism, human rights, globalization,and corporate crime. As the tour wound down, Morello and Tankian talked to Spin about "Axis" and rock politics in a post-9/11 world. Spin: Why do you think hard-rock fans are pigeonholed as apolitical? Serj Tankian: I think it has to do with the music being a bit more aggressive and people thinking that kids who participate inthis type of music are not thinking about justice or nonviolence in any way. But that's absolutely not true.

July 23, 2003 – By: Chris ZieglerThis Weezer show was a study in spirited schizophrenia, fitting fora band whose leader, Rivers Cuomo, loves to sing about personalitycrises. The set was heavy on Weezer tunes most likely to be foundon mix tapes (but where were "In the Garage" and "Pink Triangle"?),with Cuomo playing geek one song and guitar god the next. A blazing"Tired of Sex" blew away a meandering "Burndt Jamb" with a welcomewave of feedback; a snarly and raw "Hash Pipe" crashed into adeliberate and dignified "Only in Dreams," like the beefyjock-rockers probably ran over a shy Cuomo in some high schoolhallway long ago. But Cuomo doesn't want to be the guy who looksjust like Buddy Holly anymore. Tonight, his dapper suit and tie puthim a lot closer to Elvis Costello, and his gawky earnestness wasall Jonathan Richman.

July 23, 2003 – By: Chris NorrisAndrew Schuster is a very good worker: responsible, efficient,attentive to detail. He even does well on surprise job tests. Hegot one about three years ago, when he was patting down patrons atSt. Andrew's Hall, a storied Detroit nightclub that is surroundedby possibly the worst slums in America. The club hosts some of thecountry's more thug-oriented hip-hop nights and mosh-intensive rocknights. Weapons checks are, shall we say, an important part of theprocess. Staffers rely on frisking rather than metal detectors,which miss plastic shivs, fiberglass knuckles, and other popularaccessories. "I mean, you don't cup their junk or anything," Schuster says of crotch detail. "You just kinda put your forearm up there." This night, he felt a telltale rigidness--"The guy had jocked his gun." So Schuster responded accordingly: He punched the guy inthe face.

July 23, 2003 – By: Kate SullivanThey're every mother's nightmare, every schoolboy's dream. Butdon't call the Donnas punks, and don't mistake them for a gimmickband. After seven years of honing their chops, they just might bethe coolest band in America "I think we should be on the Anger Management Tour, 'cause we have a lot of anger to manage," Torry Castellano says, giggling. Castellano, thedrummer for the Donnas, is wearing excellent lip gloss and speaks in a candy-girly voice. Today, she and her bandmates are doing what they always do: driving aroundSan Francisco, looking for trouble. Anger management takes many forms for Castellano (a.k.a.

July 23, 2003 – By: Alex PappademasDave Grohl and his Foo Fighting clan have battled drugs,depression, and the hurricane that is Courtney Love. But could allthis torment somehow make One by One their ultimate sonicachievement? America's most famous ex-drummer candidly discussesthe future of the Foo When in Los Angeles, Dave Grohl and his girlfriend, Jordan Blum, stay in a rented house in Studio City, formerly occupied by goth pinup RoseMcGowan. For a place where Marilyn Manson may very well have slept, it's remarkably bright and cheery, and for a rock star's pied-à-terre, it's spotless--Grohl,33, is apparently a real hot dog with the Lemon Pledge and the vacuum when journalists aren't around. On the fridge: a Polaroid of Grohl holding a pair of Queen guitarist Brian May's underwear (long story), and some Magnetic Poetry ("Thou shalt marry rank peevishvixen").

July 23, 2003 – By: Amanda NowinskiRock stars are never on time. But when Darshan Jesrani and MorganGeist, two bashful vinyl geeks who cook up early '80spost-disco/house music in their bedroom studios, show up 45 minuteslate for an interview, you have to wonder: Did they misplace thebong, or are 10 million journalists crawling up their bums? Judging by public response, the answer seems to be the latter. For those looking for new directions in a tranced-out club scene, Metro Area is the best thing to happen to electronic music since the Roland 808 and really good Ecstasy.

July 23, 2003 – By: Christopher SchultzLive from Oxford, Mississippi Any other night in Oxford, Mississippi would've belonged to T-Model Ford. Seated in a plastic chair, the electric delta bluesman ground out an explosiveopening set, blasting through an hour of hard-scratching blues and proclaiming himself "the baddest guitar player in the world." But when the headliners got onstage,T-Model pushed up his eighty-something frame with his cane and, tossing it aside, danced with girls a quarter his age, a neat Jack Daniels clutched in his hand. The nightwas Wilco's. Wilco cast their spell even before they came onstage at the sold-out Library, Oxford's largest live-music venue: a recording of "Pure Imagination," not-quite-immortalized by the 1971 soundtrack to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, drifted over the 400 ticketholders as the lights dimmed.

July 23, 2003 – By: Chuck KlostermanThere was a time when Beck could've been accused of acting weirdfor the sake of acting weird. However, now that he's 31, he'sacting more mature and a little more human, which somehow makes himeven weirder. His excellent new album, Sea Change, is anearnest exploration of loss and primitive yearning, a departurefrom 1999's kitschy Midnite Vultures. Has the troubadour of'90s irony finally gone all-the-way sincere? Spin: Do you ever feel as though the media has turned on you?Beck: That the who has? Well, after Mellow Gold, everybody said you were cool. Then you made Odelay, and everyone said you were a genius.

July 22, 2003 – By: Alan LightEminem's sensitive portrayal of white Detroit rapper Jimmy"Rabbit" Smith in the feature film 8 Mile could very well behis ticket to respectability. But Spin finds that while thepop star may envision a more PG-13 persona, he still answers to anunrated voice inside his head WELL, HE'S RIGHT--it does feel pretty empty without him. It's a few hours before the MTV Video Music Awards, andthings are frantic inside Radio City Music Hall. Onstage, the show is getting its final run-through. Host Jimmy Fallon stumblesover the typos on his cue cards. Someone shouts into a walkie-talkie, "Is Puffy in the house?"--for once, it seems intended as areal question. Now it's Eminem's turn.