Rock News: Music's high and low notes

KELLY CAN FLY

R. Kelly was cleared to leave Illinois to perform in Miami over the weekend. The singer was ordered to surrender his passport and avoid illegal contact with minors. Kelly is free on bail after being indicted in June on child pornography charges in Chicago. The indictment, on 21 counts of child pornography, is based on a videotape prosecutors contend shows Kelly in a sex act with a 13-year-old girl. Kelly claims he's not the man in the videotape. Kelly faces a possible sentence of 15 years in prison and $100,000 in fines. His next court date is scheduled for Sept. 20.

NEW CLAPTON ALBUM

Superstar guitarist Eric Clapton has a two-disc live album and a new DVD ready for release. "One More Car, One More Rider" is scheduled to come out Nov. 5 on Reprise/Duck records.

The live audio recordings are from the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Budokan Hall in Tokyo. The DVD is audio and visual from the L.A. shows. The discs will be packaged separately and together.

The material includes such Clapton staples as "Layla," "Cocaine," "Wonderful Tonight," "Sunshine of Your Love," and "Tears in Heaven" as well as the newer material "Reptile," "Change the World," and "My Father's Eyes." The whole thing ends with a cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The band consists of Nathan East (bass), Steve Gadd (drums), Andy Fairweather Low (guitar), Greg Phillinganes and Billy Preston (keyboards), and former E Street Band member David Sancious (keyboards and guitar).

BONNAROO ALBUM ON TAP

The biggest jam band festival of 2002, Bonnaroo, will be documented by a two-CD live album scheduled for Sept. 24 release on Sanctuary records. The festival, organized by Superfly productions and held in Manchester, Tenn., drew a sellout crowd of 75,000 fans. Performers include headliners Widespread Panic in one of the last shows with the band's late guitarist Michael Houser playing "Tallboy." West Coast rappers Jurassic 5 ("Countdown"); jazz pianist/vocalist Norah Jones ("Nightingale"); rock duo Ween ("Bananas and Blow"); Phish's Trey Anastasio ("Last Tube"); the String Cheese Incident ("Search"); and Phil Lesh and Friends with fellow Grateful Dead bandmember Bob Weir ("Tennesee Jed") also are on the CD. Songs from Ben Harper, Les Claypool's Frog Brigade, Soulive, moe., and Gov't Mule also are included on "Bonnaroo 2002."

IT'S AN EMINEM WORLD AT MTV

Bruce Springsteen set the tone at last week's MTV awards with his solemn reading of "The Rising," but Eminem stole the show, winning four awards, cursing out Moby and getting booed by the crowd at Radio City Music Hall. The Detroit rapper's "Without Me" won the awards for video of the year, best male and best rap video, and best direction. The clip, directed by Joseph Kahn, shows Eminem as a comic book superhero and ridicules Moby, Elvis Presley and Osama bin Laden. Eminem also performed live on the show, doing "White America" and his current hit "Cleaning Out My Closet."

Britney Spears gave the "Artist of the Millennium" award to Michael Jackson without commenting on which millennium Jackson dominated. Jacko, who was celebrating his 44th birthday, accepted the award graciously without launching into the anti-music business tirades in which he recently was engaged.

EMINEM BACK ATOP BILLBOARD CHART

Eminem is No. 1 again on the Billboard Top 200 this week in the summer-long battle with rapper Nelly. "The Eminem Show" climbed back into the top spot after "Nellyville" edged it out last week. "Nellyville" hung onto second position, followed by Avril Lavigne with "Let Go" and "Lord Willin'" from Clipse, which debuted at No. 4. Bruse Springsteen's "The Rising" slipped to the five slot in its fourth week on the chart, followed by James Taylor's "October Road," the "Now 10" compilation, Linkin Park's "Reanimation," "Unleashed" by Toby Keith and "Come Away With Me" from Norah Jones.