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Today, we wish a very happy birthday to '80s dance-pop diva and "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul. Obviously her current job has grabbed most of her career-based headlines, but most people forget how many huge hits she has had (including "Cold Hearted" and "Straight Up"). But had she never started a singing career or gotten the "Idol" gig, she probably would have ended up being a legend based solely on her dance work, having been a Laker Girl and later a choreographer for Janet Jackson. And even when radio was not kind to her, she still found film work (she designed the cheerleading sequences in "American Beauty" and also thought up the Burger King's touchdown dance from a few years back).

We love Paula, and we love that "Opposites Attract" exists. It's a fantastic R&B roller-skating jam with a great chorus, but we've always wondered why it isn't thrown back in her face during terrible "Idol" auditions. Perhaps it's something that is always edited out, but if Paula says something negative about a contestant (which is rare, we know), wouldn't the best comeback be, "What should I have done instead — a duet with a rapping cartoon cat?" Then again, this clip won a Grammy for Best Video, so maybe it's not an insult that holds water.

Tags Birthdays, Paula-Abdul, Wake-Up Video

Perry Farrell does it to us every year. Yes, his brainchild Lollapalooza is one of the best rock deals for the money every summer, with more than 100 bands playing right on the Chicago lakefront in beautiful Grant Park. But whoever maps out the schedule grid must be a masochist, because this year's lineup has more than its share of conflicts that are going to force some serious musical Sophie's choices. I have already begun stewing over the ones that are trying to break my heart.

Friday is not so bad. Yes, I'd like to see White Lies, but I'll probably choose Jersey punk outfit the Gaslight Anthem. And as much as I've always wanted to check out nutso electronic duo Crystal Castles, by evening I'll probably need to be soothed by the dulcet tones of Fleet Foxes. The headliner spot is an easy one for me, since I just caught Kings of Leon but haven't seen Depeche Mode in six years, and I know their show will have a bit more flash than the Followill brothers' more straight-ahead set.
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Tags beastie-boys, Lollapalooza, Lou Reed, perry-farrell, Snoop-Dogg, The Killers, Tool

If I've ever had a complaint about Beck, it's that the guy is not nearly as prolific as he should be. I've always imagined that there are rooms full of songs that he has never shared with us that are every bit as good as the stuff he has officially released. But that all could change. His official site will be undergoing an overhaul over the next month, and when it relaunches it will have a new section called "Record Club."

According to his peeps, whenever one of the Beck's musically inclined friends is in Los Angeles and has a bit of free time (some of the names that are dropped in the press release include Devendra Banhart, MGMT, Jamie Lidell and producer Nigel Godrich), they've been invited to drop into his home studio to record an entire classic album in one day, with no rehearsals or arrangements ahead of time.

"Record Club will be an ongoing experiment visitors to the site will be able to follow from week to week," read the release announcing the Club. "Due to the time constraints involved in recording a record in a day, an album will be chosen to be covered and used as a framework for the proceedings." The first experiment will be the 1967 classic The Velvet Underground & Nico. No announcement has been made yet about when fans will start hearing the results, but according to plans, one track per week will be uploaded once the site relaunches.

Here's hoping that Beck and his pals decide to delve into Funkadelic's 1971 classic Maggot Brain, the Rolling Stones' twisted 1967 mindwarp Their Satanic Majesties Request, *NSYNC's No Strings Attached (just for the challenge) and Metallica's black album (with Banhart on vocals, of course). What classics do you hope Beck and his buds put down on wax?

Tags Beck, MGMT, Nigel Godrich, Velvet Undergruond

I had mixed feelings when I read in the Los Angeles Times this morning that two-time music industry washout Carly Smithson (you remember her — she was the tattooed Irish lass from the seventh season of "American Idol" whose husband looked like The Enigma) has formed a band with three former members of mope rockers Evanescence. They call themselves Fallen. Some think Smithson's ejection from "Idol" came too early, but clearly Rocky Gray, John Lecompt and Evanescence co-founder Ben Moody think the timing was just perfect.

Visual resemblance to Evanescence singer Amy Lee aside, Smithson is up for the gig if only because she sang the band's smash "Bring Me To Life" on last year's "Idol" tour (she also has the same vampire tan as Lee). And lord knows guitarist/songwriter Moody has finesse with crafting poppy tunes, thanks to his post-Evanescence work with Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Chris Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson.

Smithson's genius move got us thinking: What other "Idol" flameouts might have a second shot fronting lead-singerless bands?

Velvet Revolver: The hard rock act featuring ex-members of Guns N' Roses had some success, but more than their share of headaches with Stone Temple Pilot Scott Weiland. Hello Constantine Maroulis! He's got the Broadway chops, the hair and is — most importantly — drama-free.
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Tags American Idol, destinys-child, Evanescence, N Sync, Velvet-Revolver

The senior who slid the phrase "F--- All Y'All" onto the cover of the Shaker Heights High School yearbook has managed to pull off one of the great subliminal pranks of all time. As we know all too well, rock and roll is rife with subtle messages and "backmasking," dating back to the Beatles' "Paul Is Dead" conspiracy 40 years ago. Here are our favorite subliminal messages in rock history.

Prince, "Darling Nikki"
The 1980s version of Prince was a dance-crazed sex maniac who hadn't yet found the Lord. Or had he? At the end of "Darling Nikki," one of the filthiest songs Prince has ever recorded, there's a bit of garbled speech that translates to "Hello, how are you? I am fine, because I know that the Lord is coming soon" when played backwards.
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Tags Class of '09, Frank Zappa, iron maiden, J. Geils Band, Prince, U2

Every graduating class has a handful of cultural milestones that will forever be etched into their high school memories (ours included the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Sisqo's "Thong Song"). For the Class of '09, those milestones include the rise of Twitter, the debate over same-sex marriage and the hardcore buzz surrounding "Twilight."

(Click here for the rest of the Class of '09's cultural milestones, plus more video devoted to this year's historic graduating class!)

As a part of MTV News' Class of '09 Week, we'll be celebrating high school graduation season with stories and memories of graduation from your favorite celebrities, but we're also looking for input from you! This is your chance to represent for your peers in the class of '09. We're looking for the best video of you explaining what you think the defining factors of your generation are. What are your goals, dreams and aspirations? What issues and roadblocks do you plan on overcoming? We'll pick out the best answer and fly the winner to New York for lunch with Sway and a taping of the brand new MTV series "It's On with Alexa Chung." The winning video will also appear on MTVNews.com and may even air on MTV!

Want to enter? Just go to your.mtv.com to create a user account and upload your video (which should be no longer than three minutes). We're looking for the clearest, most original answer to the question, "What are the defining factors of your generation, and how are these factors reflected in the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the class of '09?"

Tags Barack-Obama, Class of '09, twilight, Twitter

Revelers at the Bacardi B-Live concert at the M2 Ultra Lounge got a surprise twist of Matt and Kim late last night.

Over 1,500 people were sipping on Bacardi and Coke cocktails and grooving to tunes provided by A-Trak, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Drop the Lime, DJ AM and AutoErotique when Matt and Kim hopped on stage unexpectedly. Matt and Kim are touring with the Bacardi B-Live tour, but they were left off of last night's lineup and kept a secret.

There were some cheers in the crowd, but the audience mostly seemed stunned and confused once they started playing. The band played the first real instruments the crowd had heard all night, and the fans clearly weren't ready for it.

Kim Schifino was all smiles though, and kept the energy going by standing on her drum kit and dancing in between songs. Matt Johnson handed her the microphone near the end of the set and immediately regretted it.

"Boys, you're probably going to catch something in here," Kim said. "Just go with it."

They wrapped up the raucous night with their latest single "Daylight," which also happens to be the tune used in the newest Bacardi commercial.

Tags DJ AM, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Matt and Kim

Last night on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," Al Roker fired the latest shot in his mini-feud with Heidi and Spencer Pratt. The "Today" show co-host said he had no idea who "Speidi" was when he was told he would be interviewing them (he joked that he expected to see Tobey Maguire instead). But the real laughs came when he accused the "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" stars of coming under the influence of certain natural forces in the jungle. "They were in the Costa Rican jungle, and they probably had some slug that climbed into their head through their ear and ate through their brain," Roker told Fallon.

So what do you think: Has Roker ended the conflict or have Heidi and Spencer gotten the best of America's favorite meteorologist?

Tags Al Roker, Jimmy Fallon, Speidi

By Jett Wells

In promoting his new album and U.S. debut, Britain's Auto-Tune phenomenon Mr. Hudson greeted press and industry folk at a private listening event at New York's Spotted Pig restaurant last night. The intimate crowd of 20 VIPs celebrated Mr. Hudson's arrival on domestic shores with a few cocktails and a first listen to his debut album Straight No Chaser.

Mr. Hudson (neé Ben Hudson) was discovered by Kanye West, and the two have collaborated on a handful of projects. Mr. Hudson has co-produced Kanye hits like "Flashing Lights" and added back-up vocals to "Say You Will" and "Amazing." In return, Kanye co-produced Hudson's album and dropped in for a guest spot on the single "Supernova."

Although Hudson is very proud to have worked with Kanye, he doesn't want to live in his shadow. "I didn't want people to think I was some British [expletive] picked up by Kanye," Hudson said. "I'm my own man."

That's not to say he doesn't value his work with West. "My proudest moments were in Hawaii when we first started recording." Although this is Hudson's second album overall, he still feels funny being in the spotlight. "I've spent more time driving the bus and handing out fliers than doing this."

Hudson's Straight No Chaser is set to drop August 3, and the new single "Supernova" will be available for digital download on July 20.

Tags Kanye West, Mr. Hudson

Today is a significant day for trailblazing women. On June 18, 1873, Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote in the previous year's election. Women wouldn't get the right to vote in this country until 1920, though the court battle gave Anthony the widest audience she had ever had. She never did pay the fine.

In 1983, 110 years later, another revolutionary woman made headlines, as Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. Her mission, aboard the Challenger space shuttle, lasted six days and made 97 orbits of Earth. Ride also became the youngest American in space.

How do we celebrate these great women? We honor the first female-centric video aired on MTV. Pat Benatar's "You Better Run" was the second clip ever aired on the station during its launch day in 1981.

"You Better Run" came from Benatar's 1980 album Crimes of Passion, which also contained her biggest single, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."

Tags Pat Benetar, Women