Philadelphia natives the Roots are relocating to New York City and not for the weather. They've been tapped to be the house band for 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,' picking things up with Jimmy right where the White Stripes will leave it with Conan. Forced to stay put, for the time being, in the city that never sleeps, the Roots themselves will sacrifice some shut-eye time to take on a couple extra-curricular activities.

Beginning on March 5 and extending all the way until June 23, the versatile collective will take on a 14-show residency at the Highline Ballroom. The series is entitled 'The Jam' -- and jam, yes they will. The Roots have always been known as the hip-hop band that could rap, that could rock, that could roll like that. Even when they were Philly kids, they crossed the Hudson frequently, most notably in 2000 when they struck up a residency at the Wetlands Preserve. That legendary, but now defunct, venue wouldn't let them leave -- when their residency expired, they began hosting weekly 'BlackLily' parties, featuring open-mic opportunities for female artists (including Macy Gray and Jill Scott). In other words, expect a slew of special guests and chaos both structured and unstructured. And because too much is never enough, drummer ?uestlove is set to host his own weekly residency at Poisson Rouge, beginning this spring.

Looks like the Roots are about to grow deep and go big in Manhattan.

"They're going to bring a whole new audience to the table, mainly young females we're not able to reach." --Questlove

In an recent interview, the Roots drummer explained the perks that come with touring with Gym Class Heroes.

• Yes have been forced to cancel their 40th anniversary tour due to singer John Anderson's health problems.

• Nine Inch Nails released a free EP download of songs by the opening bands on their Lights in the Sky tour, including tracks from Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Crystal Castles, Deerhunter and A Place to Bury Strangers.

• The Raveonettes Sharin Foo announced her pregnancy and will be replaced by her sister, Louise, on the band's summer tour.

• Snow Patrol have begun work on a new album in Ireland. The forthcoming effort will serve as the follow-up to 2006's platinum-selling 'Eyes Open.'

• Gnarls Barkley, the Roots and the Black Keys are among the acts lined up for the Southern Comfort Music Experience tour, which kicks off June 28 in Denver, Colorado.

The latest ...

• Against Me! made a public service announcement that urges people to "Stop! Take some time to think/Figure out what's important to you." It's kinda catchy.
  
• The Roots' ?uestlove gushed about Barack Obama. "He appeals to the hopeless romantic in all of us," he told Spinner. "But I don't want people to misconstrue Obama's hope for a winning lottery ticket. If people see Obama as the lottery ticket that will instantly solve their problems, I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen. A lot of the political changes is gonna happen within these people themselves."
  
• Arcade Fire and Superchunk have teamed up to play a few dates -- the shows have been deemed 'Change Rocks' -- in support of Obama.
  
• An ironic hipster t-shirt idea touting Barack Obama has gone terribly wrong.
• Find out which kind of campaign voter you are with this NY Times poll that suggests that if you eat granola and like, totally dig lattes, you're most likely an Obama person. Really?
• We found two very, um, interesting Hillary Clinton spoof videos. The first involves a Chilean Clinton impersonator and a Hilary Duff jam; The second, 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day,' 'Carrie' and 'Fatal Attraction.' We know, but just watch.
• Speaking of movies and candidates, check out this Barack/'Rocky' spoof. He looks good in a sweat suit.
• John Mellencamp, who previously supported John Edwards, played an Obama rally during the Pennsylvania primary. The result? Obama lost, and Clinton is still in it.

• The solo effort from Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson has been put on hold due to creative differences between the singer and her record label.

• Madonna will play an intimate show at New York City's Roseland Ballroom on April 30 in support of her forthcoming new album, 'Hard Candy.' The show will be broadcast on MSN on the same date.

• The Roots have added several dates to their just-launched North American tour, including supporting dates with Erykah Badu. The jaunt wraps on August 8 at the All Points West Festival in New Jersey.

Now it its sixth year, South Florida's Langerado Music Festival has announced the initial lineup for the March 6-9, 2008 event. Marquee artists include the Beastie Boys, R.E.M., Ben Folds, Ani DiFranco, 311, Phil Lesh and Friends, Matisyahu, the Roots, Built to Spill, Thievery Corp., Gov't Mule and Les Claypool. Previously held in the Fort Lauderdale area, this year Langerado moves to Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, which is located right off Florida's infamous "Alligator Alley." Big Cypress is most famous for being the site of the world's largest millennium concert on December 31, 1999, hosted by Phish.

"Moving to Big Cypress allows us to be able to do so much more with the festival, beyond the music," promoter Mark Brown tells Spinner. "The opportunity really exists for the fans to experience something special at this incredible location."

Legendary musicians, actors and 'I'm Not There' director Todd Haynes himself gathered last night at New York City's Beacon Theater to honor the music of Bob Dylan, and regale the enthusiastic crowd with truly unique covers of his songs.

While the evening's musical performances were mired by frequent sound problems and bouts of confusion on stage, the malfunctions only augmented the relaxed, almost dress-rehearsal approach to the evening that made possible the many spontaneous moments -- including Todd Haynes' speechless 'Wow' moments, and quick-witted former X frontman John Doe admitting that his wife printed out the words to 'Ballad of a Thin Man' so that he wouldn't be stuck on stage.

Cementing the "let's just chill" vibe, however, was a hoodied, unkempt gum-chewing Heath Ledger --who portrays one of six versions of Dylan in the film-- and his "friends": folk group Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, whose singer went shirtless, in dangerously low-cut pants for the event and told his "all-time favorite joke" about a a "toe-less Mexican named Roberto."

Highlights also included an unannounced performance from pint-sized country singer Tift Merritt, who, with the help of legendary guitarist Joe Henry, performed an intensely rousing rendition of 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall,' My Morning Jacket's true-to-themselves take on 'Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You' and the Roots' kinetic interpretation of 'Masters of War,' complete with a tuba solo, to name only a few.