"We are extremely disappointed that we will not be performing tonight in New York City but we, as a band, are not willing to cross the picket line made up of people that we work with on a daily basis," Hootie & the Blowfish said in a statement. "We expect to re-schedule this show in the very near future when circumstances are more favorable."

A collector's edition of The Flaming Lips [ tickets ]' 2002 album "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" hits stores on Sept. 29.

Besides all of the material included on the original album, the package features [three instances of "include" variations in one sentence; just trying to break it up]several bonus tracks that were previously unavailable in the U.S., including "Up Above the Daily Hum," the Japanese version of "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt 1" and "If I Go Mad," the B-side to the UK single "Do You Realize?."

Among the DVD video selections in the package are two versions of "Do You Realize?," one directed by Mark Pellington and the other by Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne.

Gladys Knight recently dubbed American Idol victor Ruben Studdard [ tickets ] "The Velvet Teddy Bear," and plush-maker Applause has taken the cue. The company will release 15-inch and 7-inch teddy bears based on Studdard in mid-September.

"It's got my signature, my jersey and my cap," Studdard told USA Today. "But it can't sing."

Lou Rawls [ tickets ], who recently signed to the Savoy Jazz label, issues an homage to Ol' Blue Eyes titled "Rawls Sings Sinatra on Sept. 9.

The complete song list is as follows: "Come Fly with Me," "Nice 'N' Easy," "All the Way," "Learnin' the Blues," "That's Life," "The Lady is a Tramp," "Summer Wind," "The Second Time Around," "My Kind of Town/Chicago," "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," "They Can't Take that Away from Me," "One for my Baby (And One More for the Road)."