Briefly: Alan Jackson, Michael Moore, David Byrne, Alicia Keys
Tim McGraw 's perch atop the U.S. album chart--where he's sat for the last two weeks--has been taken over by fellow country crooner Alan Jackson .
Jackson's "What I Do" sold about 178,000 copies during its first week in stores to lead the latest Billboard 200 album chart, pushing McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" to the No. 2 slot.
Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company" drops one place to No. 3, while Anita Baker's "My Everything" debuts at No. 4. Filling out the Top 5 is the hits compilation "NOW That's What I Call Music! Vol. 16."
"Songs and Artists That Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11," an album compiled by filmmaker Michael Moore, will feature tracks by Bruce Springsteen , Bob Dylan, The Clash, Pearl Jam, Zach de la Rocha (formerly of Rage Against the Machine) and System of a Down, among others.
"When I make a film, I take my portable CD case and place in it a series of albums which contain music that reflects the mood I am in and the reasons that are motivating me to make this film," Moore said in a prepared statement. "The songs on this CD are either the actual songs that made up our 'on-the-scene' soundtrack, or they are by artists whom I have listened to over the years and have given me much inspiration."
The set is due in stores on Oct. 5, the same day Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 is released on DVD.
David Byrne and legendary Brazilian singer/songwriter Gilberto Gil are set to perform a Sept. 21 benefit show at New York City's Town Hall. Proceeds will be earmarked for Creative Commons, a non-profit organization that promotes more flexibility in the interpretation of artists' copyrights.
Alicia Keys has canceled her world tour's planned October stop in Jakarta, Indonesia, due to the recent al Qaeda-linked suicide bombing of the Australian Embassy in that city.
- Artist Links:
Jay-Z's 'Empire State of Mind' the latest in a long tradition of sports anthems [November 2009]
Weekend Ticketing: U2, Tim McGraw, Bon Jovi, AFI, Jack's Mannequin [November 2009]
Bruce Springsteen plans more full-album shows for New York [November 2009]
Album Chart: Michael Jackson lands posthumous No. 1 [November 2009]
Alicia Keys to perform at Latin Grammys [November 2009]
Tim McGraw furthers 2010 'Voice' trek [November 2009]



































