Posted 1/30/09 7:12 pm EST by MTV News in Miscellaneous, Sneak Peek
By April Richardson
Morrissey, former lead singer of the legendary Smiths, huge influence on bands like the Killers and Fall Out Boy and one of the headliners at this year's Coachella festival, will release his latest single, "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris," on February 9. It's a great song, but that's not what I want to address here. What I need to deal with is MORRISSEY BEING NAKED on the inner sleeve artwork.
See the naughty artwork, after the jump!
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Posted 1/30/09 5:42 pm EST by Tim Kash in Fighting, Lil Wayne
The first time I ever flew to New York was about six years ago, to interview an artist whose single "In Da Club" had just dropped.
Six years on, 50 Cent is still going hard. He's arguably the most internationally successful hip-hop artist in the game — 50 has elevated himself beyond the world of rap into movies, philanthropy, clothing and above all, business! But with all the executive swagger that 50 has, one thing he never steps away from is beef.
I doubt anyone — any artist, anyway — in music has ever had as much rivalry as 50 Cent, and that's just with other recording artists! From the LOX, Fat Joe, Nas, Irv Gotti, DJ Khaled, Ja Rule, Kanye West, T.I., Camron, Diddy, Game, Cassidy, Young Buck, R. Kelly (50 dissed him at SummerJam), Big Pun, Jay-Z ... from his early record "How to Rob," 50 has never been afraid to go at anyone, whether jokingly or seriously. Even Oprah wasn't safe!
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Posted 1/30/09 5:05 pm EST by MTV News in Headlines Of The Day
There's a lot going on in the world that doesn't necessarily get addressed in our Newsroom blog. Here's a look at some top stories making headlines today.
Rick Ross isn't too impressed with 50 Cent's new dis track, "Officer Ricky (Go 'Head Try Me)." How do you feel about this latest war of words in the rap world?
A lot of you are upset about the Danity Kane split. Dawn Richard thinks Diddy is too.
"Twilight" alert! Check out the story behind the newly surfaced, and quite revealing, Robert Pattinson photos.
Is Jackie Chan dramatic enough to play Mr. Miyagi in Will Smith's upcoming "Karate Kid" remake? Original Kid Ralph Macchio weighs in.
Game-players: How psyched are you for Activision's "DJ Hero"?!?
By Joseph Patel
The best four hours of live music I've ever experienced took place at the Coachella festival in 2004. It was a Pixies/ Radiohead/ Kraftwerk/ TV on the Radio back-to-back-to-back-to-back string of sets that only Coachella or a European festival could have offered. The Empire Polo fields in the California desert have been sacred ground for U.S. music festivals ever since Coachella's inception in the fall of 1999, and that spring afternoon in 2004 — my fifth time at the festival — was so epic, I have yet to return.
My day started much earlier than the Pixies' set but that's what I remember kicking off my "Afternoon Not to Be Forgotten." The Pixies' reunion tour had started about two weeks earlier, and I had already seen them three times, having flown myself to Minnesota to catch their first reunion show. (Yes, I know I have a raging battle with the concept of moderation.) I needed to see them with 40,000 people, and it was wonderful. Not a bad appetizer for Radiohead, who took the stage just as the last bits of purple sunset were ducking out of site in the desert sky. They made a majestic offering to the gods. They're one of the best live bands in existence right now and, fan or not, they're worth seeing. I suspect that is why they're performing on the Grammys, to give those who have never seen them a little taste.
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Posted 1/30/09 4:52 pm EST by MTV News in MTV News, Super Bowl
By Christina Garibaldi
One of the many perks of working at MTV News is the people you get to meet and talk to. Yet only a few have ever gotten me really excited, like my teen dreams the Backstreet Boys, Yankees slugger Derek Jeter, and now ... Poison frontman/ "Rock of Love" star Bret Michaels!
Well, I didn't actually get to talk to Bret directly, but he did leave me a pretty kick-ass voicemail. See, yesterday, two of my co-workers were talking about doing a phone interview with Michaels about his picks for the Super Bowl (since he's a Pennsylvania native but an Arizona resident, that's a bit of a dilemma — read what Bret's got to say about it here).
Upon hearing that, I was completely envious and begged just to listen in. I mean, who wouldn't want to talk to him? Isn't every girl's guilty pleasure a little "Rock of Love"? Well, it certainly is mine.
So today was the big day — and although, unfortunately, I couldn't listen in, my two co-workers had a little surprise for waiting for me. Once the interview was over, I went back to my desk and found the voicemail light blinking, and this is what I heard.
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Posted 1/30/09 4:08 pm EST by MTV News in Charity
White Stripes drummer Meg White has donated one of her drum kits to benefit Detroit music-scene vet Jim Shaw, who is battling cancer.
The kit — the one featured in the band's classic "The Hardest Button to Button" video, directed by Michel Gondry — is one of several items being auctioned at the fundraiser held in Detroit on February 7. The auction will take place at C-Pop Gallery from 6 to 9 p.m., and unspecified "movie & bands" will be at Magic Stick at 8 p.m.
Other items up for grabs include rock photographs (including truly amazing archive shots of Iggy Pop and the Misfits) and artwork.
Posted 1/30/09 4:03 pm EST by Jocelyn Vena in Detox
On the new Web show "MTV Detox," our pop-culture superfan Jim Cantiello recaps the wildest happenings from the network's prime-time programming. Stream the show on your mobile phone and on MTV.com. New episodes air Sunday-Thursday at 11 p.m. ET.
On Thursday night's "Detox," Lil Mama — actually we mean famed Lil Mama impersonator and viral video sensation, Britney Houston — stopped by and helped Jim recap another mind-blowing episode of "America's Best Dance Crew." Also on hand for the crazy antics was Dawn Richard of Danity Kane and "Making the Band" fame, who knocked Jim's socks off and bumped Nolan Gerard Funk down the list of favorite "Detox" guests. Wanna know why? Check out the show at the Remote Control blog.
Posted 1/30/09 2:49 pm EST by MTV News in N.A.S.A.
By Akshay Bhansali
Curiosity brought me to Le Poisson Rouge in New York City last night for the release of N.A.S.A.'s first album, The Spirit of Apollo. Come to think of it, it brought MTV News correspondent Kim Stolz there as well. Why? Well, the debut album from N.A.S.A. (stands for North America, South America) — made up of DJ Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon — features Chuck D, Spank Rock, M.I.A., Lykke Li, David Byrne, DJ AM, Santogold, Kanye West, Kool Keith, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O, Method Man, Sizzla and the Cool Kids ... and yes, the list goes on and on. Not bad for a first record from a yet-unheard-of recording pair.
Based solely on the guest roster of The Spirit of Apollo, one would think the music gods commanded "LET THERE BE LIGHT!" and this record was conjured up. But really, as the duo say on their MySpace page: "The Spirit of Apollo is an ongoing creative collaboration between two lifelong music aficionados, Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon, and their friends, friends of friends and musical heroes."
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Posted 1/30/09 12:26 pm EST by MTV News in Canada, gene-simmons
By Matt Harper
Gene Simmons: rock god, legendary lothario, reality TV "star" ... and now, savior of the Canadian music scene? Yep, in a somewhat baffling move, the Kiss bassist has partnered with Universal Canada to (re-)form Simmons Records: an all-Canadian imprint hoping to search out and recruit unsigned Canuck music acts.
Now, as a Canadian (who's lived in New York for about three years), this news made me feel fairly conflicted. On one hand, who am I to criticize someone aiming to pump money into the Canadian economy, especially by supporting an arts and culture scene that is 100 percent worthy. On the other hand, there is an air of condescension surrounding this whole venture. In a recent impassioned response to an Idolator post, Simmons bluntly stated his reasons for coming to the rescue of the hard-working but apparently overlooked Canadian musicians: "Why here? Because you DO have the talent. And now, you have a WAY. ME."
Posted 1/30/09 12:14 pm EST by James Montgomery in Coachella
It's beginning to feel like I write this same thing every single year (and, lo and behold, I have), but, wow, the lineup for Coachella 2009 is super underwhelming. Again.
Perhaps it's due to the inflated expectations from previous years, or the constant stream of hype, speculation and false-starts that accompanies the unveiling of the lineup each and every winter, but once again, I am let down by the spate of bands the promoters at Goldenvoice have lined up for Coachella '09. For the second year in a row, there are no big-ticket reunions (long a 'Chella staple), no "Man-I-gotta-see-'em" headliners (Paul McCartney, probably playing stuff from his crummy electronic side-project! The Killers! The Cure!). There is Franz Ferdinand. And the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And, Amy Winehouse, provided she makes it until April. Oh, and there is Leonard Cohen, who should actually be pretty rad now that I think of it.