Force of Hobbit

Anyone who's waded through fantasy-infused Yes albums like ''Tales From Topographic Oceans'' shouldn't be terribly surprised to learn that the prog-rock group's high-pitched singer, Jon Anderson, is a stone ''Lord of the Rings'' fanatic with a love for all things Middle-earthy. ''I just reread [Tolkien] last year when I heard they were doing the movie,'' says Anderson, whose muse was reignited by the experience: ''I got together with a musician who works on 17th-century music, and we wrote half a dozen songs that we sent to the producers.''

Sadly, the tunes arrived too late to be considered for inclusion in the film. Will the music possibly be considered for the ''LOTR'' sequels (now in production)? New Line, the film's production company, declines to comment -- which may be construed as a, er, roundabout way of saying maybe.

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