Foo Fighters

Bono still believes that pop music can change the world--specifically, the Third World. Focusing on the issue of the huge sums owed the World Bank by Third World countries for development loans, the U2 singer is trying to organize a massive event to draw attention to a proposal that those debts be forgiven or restructured, allowing impoverished developing nations to devote more resources to the needs of their populace and less to loan repayments.

Dude! The Foo Fighters are opening for the Atomic Punks at Paladino's in Tarzana on Friday night, and we've got the poop. Turns out, the Foosters are boosters of the Punks, a Van Halen cover band that'll make you wanna dance the night away. Righteous.... Speaking of good parties, Balboa at the Grafton threw a shebang on Tuesday. Among those who already scoped out the new Sunset Strip bar and restaurant are Tori Spelling, Patrick Muldoon and Nelly Furtado. Say what?

* Bjork, Oasis, Foo Fighters, the Strokes, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Sasha & Digweed, Mos Def, Paul Oakenfold and Dilated Peoples are among the performers at the 2002 Coachella Arts & Music Festival in Indio on April 27-28. Tickets on sale Saturday ... On sale Saturday: Blink-182, Green Day and Jimmy Eat World join forces April 20 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre and April 24 at the Forum ... Lucinda Williams visits the Wiltern Theatre on April 25. Tickets on sale Sunday ...

Are the Foos through? A wave of panic coursed through offices of RCA Records, which is awaiting the fourth album from consistent million-sellers the Foo Fighters. Reports had it that leader Dave Grohl was putting the band on indefinite hiatus to become the full-time drummer for the band Queens of the Stone Age. At the same time, a wave of elation hit Interscope Records, which is awaiting the third album from the Queens, which have yet to achieve a big breakthrough. Hold on, says Grohl.

MOVIES George Says Good Night: Property from the estate of the late George Burns--including photographs and memorabilia from his entertainment career as well as decorative art, furniture, awards and personal objects--will be auctioned at Sotheby's Beverly Hills showroom on Oct. 10.

Album of the Year Foo Fighters, "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace" Vince Gill, "These Days" Herbie Hancock, "River: The Joni Letters" Kanye West, "Graduation" Amy Winehouse, "Back to Black" This startlingly diverse list suggests behind-the-scenes power plays (Nashville wants more acknowledgment for its elite, like Gill), lifetime achievement gestures (for Hancock and maybe the Foos) and a great uncertainty about the legacy of this moment in pop.

A big rock show is not to be taken lightly, and many fail. The few that excel understand it's about more than volume and flashing lights, laser beams and smoke bombs. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters knows it's mostly about connection, and for more than two hours at the Forum in Inglewood on Wednesday, he delivered on an epic scale, showing great instincts not just as a rocker but as a real fan.

With their Weezer-like power pop barreling out of the starting blocks, the Benjamins have good reason to rejoice. Found on the Wisconsin quartet's new "The Art of Disappointment," the track "Sophia on the Stereo" was the most-requested single on the College Music Journal chart during its first week of release (Feb. 27-March 6).

If I were a higher-up in the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, I'd be kneeling right now and thanking whatever I worship for Taylor Swift. The 18-year-old country crossover queen didn't give the best performance during Wednesday night's hour-long live Grammy nominations special from the Nokia Theatre, but she did embody what makes a likely Grammy winner this year -- as well as what makes a hope-generating star in a music industry on the skids. Swift, who co-hosted the special telecast along with a perpetually amused LL Cool J (who had a good moment poking fun at best new artist nominees the Jonas Brothers right to their faces)

The No. 1 song in the United States, according to iTunes' singles chart and the Billboard Hot 100, is "We Are Young" by Fun., a New York-based pop-rock group with a flair for anthemic choruses and a precious approach toward typography. (Yes, the period is part of the band's name.) As the latest entrant in a hit parade otherwise dominated by up-tempo dance music, "We Are Young" feels pretty anomalous; it comes from a different, decidedly slower place than Rihanna's "We Found Love" or "Sexy and I Know It" by LMFAO.