College rockers Weezer [ tickets ] have scrapped the sessions that they began recording with producer Rick Rubin [ tickets ] last year, but have spent the last month laying down tracks for their fifth studio album.

Rubin "has become more of a 'mentor' figure for the sessions, after having had a tremendous impact on [frontman] Rivers [Cuomo] and the band in '03, helping re-organize the band's then somewhat confused recording priorities, and being a wonderful and positive influence on Rivers, helping him 'find his way' both personally and in songwriting again," said a recent posting on the band's website.

"The sessions with Rick ... have been shelved in favor of the fresh start that commenced 3 weeks ago in the current sessions. This was done mainly in response to Rivers regaining his sense of momentum with his songwriting, and not feeling right about continuing with the incomplete recordings from December. In effect, the band is now producing itself, as it did on Pinkerton and Maladroit, but this time they have a wise shoulder to lean on if and when need be."

Mercury Nashville has set a Nov. 9 release date for Shania Twain [ tickets ]'s "Greatest Hits." The 21-track set will feature three new songs, including two versions of "Party of Two"--one with vocals by Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath and one with country artist Billy Currington.

Korn [ tickets ] is now scheduled to issue the best-of set "Greatest Hits Vol. 1" on Oct. 5, two weeks earlier than first planned.

The first single from the 16-track album is a cover of Cameo's 1986 single "Word Up!" It also features a cover of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall, Parts 1, 2, 3," and a Dante Ross remix of "Freak on a Leash."

Organizers of two Canadian Beenie Man [ tickets ] concerts that were scheduled to take place in London and Toronto, Ontario, have called off the shows, citing "ongoing concerns and pressures regarding Beenie Man's controversial lyrical content," according to Canadian news reports.

The dancehall musician also was recently scratched from the lineup of a Miami concert associated with the MTV Video Music Awards after gay rights groups protested the artist, whose lyrics have included the lines "come execute all the gays" and "queers must be killed."

Earlier this month, Beenie Man issued an apology that read: "Certain lyrics and recordings I have made in the past may have caused distress and outrage among people whose identities and lifestyles are different from my own," he said. "I offer my sincerest apologies to those who might have been offended, threatened or hurt by my songs."