BY JOHN M. JAMES

After countless years and a few false starts, Axl Rose and his next generation of Guns N' Roses are stepping out into the sunlight next month. No news yet of American tour dates, but the band has announced the new line-up will debut Aug. 17 in Tokyo and weave through England and Belgium for the next few weeks. Dropping like a summer blockbuster movie, the band has collected a colorful past, thickened recently with the addition of guitarist Richard Fortus, formerly of Love Spit Love and the Psychedelic Furs. Also backing Rose in this new stage assault are Tommy Stinson of The Replacements, Brian Mantia of Primus, Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails, and Chris Pitman of The Replicants. ... On Tuesday Linkin Park is releasing Reanimation, a new CD that revisits and reinterprets their entire Hybrid Theory album with the help of more than 20 friends from the Hip Hop and electronic landscape. Striving to stretch the material far from their original sessions are featured artists like Aceyalone, Kutmasta Kurt, Pharoahe Monch, Jay Gordon of Orgy, Black Thought of The Roots, Chali 2Na of Jurassic 5, and Aaron Lewis of Staind. Vinyl purists can also find Reanimation as a limited edition two-LP set. ... News of the new Duncan Sheik album, due Aug. 27 on the Atlantic imprint, sets the stage for an intriguing collaboration between a blossoming songwriter and a seasoned one. The album, Daylight, features "On Her Mind," co-authored with Mick Jones of Foreigner. ... You know the music -- you just can't name exactly where it stuck hard in your memory. Drift back, my friend, and get comfortable in front of your childhood television. Black and white or color, it really doesn't matter. Chances are you were well basted in the crazy, jumping melodies of so many cartoon classics -- many from the mad genius of Raymond Scott and His Orchestra. On Tuesday a new collective calling itself the Raymond Scott Orchestrette releases Pushbutton Parfait, a CD of radical new reinterpretations of Scott's wild jive lunacy. The collection of musicians saluting this often overlooked genius include players who cite They Might Be Giants, Cab Calloway, David Byrne and Ben E. King in their backgrounds. The material selected for revision includes both Scott's cartoon classic and later electronic compositions. ... The long awaited soundtrack to the Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony-nominated Broadway production Topdog/Underdog hits store shelves on Tuesday. The MCA issue features new music from principal actor Mos Def, as well as the strange blending of Blues and Rap selections by Muddy Waters, James Brown, Son House, DMX, Wu-Tang Clan, and Jay-Z. ... Two upcoming musical projects of note are funding worthwhile charities. Due in early September, Red House Records is set to release Going Driftless: An Artist's Tribute to Greg Brown, featuring an all-woman list of contributors. Benefiting the Breast Cancer Fund of San Francisco, the set includes artists ranging from Ani DiFranco and Victoria Williams to Iris Dement and Gillian Welch. Also into the charitable spirit is Blur and Gorillaz founder Damon Albarn, as he shares his travels with the musical people of West Africa's Mali nation. As part of the "On the Line Project" that celebrates life along the zero meridian line, Albarn met, played and recorded over 40 hours with many of the area's best musicians. Titled Mali Music and released Aug. 6 on the Honest Jon's Records/Astralwerks label, the CD raises funds for the charity Oxfam.

Releases Coming Tuesday
And like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change... Disco Biscuits ­ Bisco Lives 2 (Hydrophonics) recently recorded on their jam-happy spring tour; DJ Bam Bam ­ Do You Like It Hard? 100% Pure Hardhouse (Topaz); The Enemies ­ Seize the Day (Lookout) featuring Neurosis bassist Dave Edwardson; Fear Factory ­ Concrete (Roadrunner) long lost recordings from 1991; Filter ­ The Amalgamut (Reprise); Flipp ­ Volume (Popularity/Artemis) all new brash pogo Punk on the new boutique label formed by Art Alexakis of Everclear; Beth Orton ­ Daybreaker (Heavenly/Astralwerks) highly anticipated new album featuring guests Johnny Marr of The Smiths, Emmylou Harris, Ryan Adams and The Chemical Brothers; Graham Nash ­ Songs For Survivors (Artemis) his first solo album in 15 years; The Natural History ­ The Natural History (Star Time) EP; Dave Pirner ­ Faces & Names (Ultimatum Music) debut solo album from the Soul Asylum singer/songwriter with guests keyboardist Billy Preston and guitarist Chris Whitley; Snot ­ Alive! (Hip-O) recorded in 1998, prior to lead singer Lynn Strait's tragic death; String Cheese Incident ­ On the Road (Sci-Fidelity) three-CD live collection; Linda Thompson ­ Fashionably Late (Rounder) her first new album in 17 years, reunited with ex-husband Richard on "Dear Mary."

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