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Robert Pattinson Was Never Normal: The MTV Quote Of The Day

Posted 7/23/09 5:00 pm EST by in Movies


"I live a nearly identical life, except for being recognized. It's not the worst thing in the world. I never did anything 'normal' before — and now, I get other people to do that for me."

-"Twilight" heartthrob Robert Pattinson, discussing the avalanche of fame he has received since first appearing as sparkling vampire Edward Cullen. Pattinson appeared with fellow "Twilight" stars Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner on a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2009, which kicked off in earnest today and also featured appearances from Johnny Depp and Seth Rogen. One question: If Pattinson has other people doing "normal" things for him, how did he end up getting hit by that cab?

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Solange Has A New Haircut And Underrated Videos

Posted 7/23/09 4:47 pm EST by in Music


As you may have heard, Solange Knowles has gone divorced herself from her long locks in favor of a shaved head. The motive is still unclear, but considering how gorgeous her mane was, it's not a great style choice. But you can still enjoy Beyoncé's sister as you remember her in her videos, the best of which is "T.O.N.Y." The track is from her 2008 album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, and it a completely underrated slice of neo-soul.

Based on Solange's career so far, you'd never know that her sister was the world's #1 R&B diva. She's put out two excellent but undervalued albums that really surf the edgy side of pop music. They shift from hip-hop grooves to jazzy soul numbers to rock interludes and back again on a dime, so they're not exactly easy listening. Still, wouldn't you think that her big sis would give her a leg up once in a while?

"T.O.N.Y." is a perfect jam that lets Solange's silky voice float on top of a bed of groovy piano and loose bebop percussion. While you're at it, enjoy the clip for "Sandcastle Disco" as well.

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Brooke White And Elvis Costello Are Kindred Spirits

Posted 7/23/09 4:24 pm EST by in Music, Television


Before rock critics start harassing me in the comments, hear me out.

Both Brooke and Elvis had infamous false starts on live television. Elvis freaked out NBC execs when he sang a few bars of "Less Than Zero" before ripping into "Radio Radio" on "Saturday Night Live" in 1977. Meanwhile, Brooke re-started "You Must Love Me" after having a brain fart over the lyrics on Andrew Lloyd Webber night.

Both Brooke and Elvis also love wearing hats. And both Brooke and Elvis released singles called "Radio Radio."

But don't assume Brooke's "Radio Radio" is a cover, kids. ("Idol" singers don't just do karaoke! I swear!) As Brooke White told us this week, the only thing her "Radio Radio" shares with Costello's is the title.

Ironically, this "Idol" title mix-up isn't the only one.

Brooke's first post-"Idol" album, High Hopes and Heartbreaks (out this week) also includes a song called "Hold Up My Heart," a name that's strikingly similar to another season seven "Idol" contestant's release, Michael Johns' "Hold Back My Heart." (Both Johns' and White's albums were produced by the same dude, Dave Cobb. Brooke swears it was just one of those happy accidents.)

But wait, there's more! Jordin Sparks' Battlefield also hit stores this week, just as her co-star Blake Lewis' new single "So Sad" debuted. The first line of his song? "Waking up in a battlefield."

[Slaps forehead!]

What's the problem, Idols?! Do producers hand you all the same thesaurus right after you watch your "America Hates You" montage on the elimination show? It's bad enough that the final "Idol" victory songs all sound the same. Let's try and keep the confusion down to a minimum post-Seacrest, okay?

(In all seriousness, though, Brooke White's new album is a fantastic throw-back to '70s singer-songwriters. And while she doesn't cover Elvis Costello, she does do a gorgeous rendition of the Kings of Leon tune "Use Somebody.")

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How The 'New Moon' Soundtrack Stacks Up Against Our Favorites: The Newsroom Poll

Posted 7/23/09 4:03 pm EST by in Music, Newsroom Poll, Poll


Welcome to the weekly Newsroom Poll, where we will give you a sneak peek into the lives and minds of some of the correspondents, writers, editors and producers here at MTVNews.com. Every week, they'll answer a poll question that will reveal some of what we talk about behind the scenes here in the newsroom. Enjoy!

This week, details surfaced about one of the most hotly anticipated albums of the fall. No, not Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 or Lil Wayne's Rebirth. We're talking about the soundtrack to "New Moon," which will likely feature contributions from Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Muse, Kings of Leon and Death Cab for Cutie. There was also the announcement of the soundtrack to "Jennifer's Body," the new Diablo Cody-penned horror film. With that, combined with the quarter-century anniversary of one of the finest film soundtracks ever constructed (that being Prince's Purple Rain), this week's question is: What is your favorite film soundtrack of all time? Check out what the Newsroom said below, and leave your own thoughts in the comments!

Adam Rosenberg
This one is easy for me, though it may earn me a few behind-the-back snickers around the office. The soundtrack to "Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight" remains my favorite to this day. It dropped while I was in high school, and every track was something I wanted to go home and crank up to 11. Let's start with the face-melting crunch: Sepultura, Biohazard, Pantera, Megadeth, Ministry, Rollins Band, Machine Head, Filter, Melvins — it's enough to make a budding young metalhead's skull explode. "The Crow" soundtrack almost edges this one out for me, but "Demon Knight" ultimately wins for introducing me to Gravediggaz. The record's closing track, "1-800-Suicide," showed me the shock and awe that is hip-hop horrorcore. You heard me: Shock. And. Awe.
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Blink-182 Invade Las Vegas, Bring Smoothies

Posted 7/23/09 2:33 pm EST by in Concerts, Music


It's still plenty early here in Las Vegas (okay, so it's more like 10:30 am), and while the floor of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is pretty empty (a few haggard folks who probably didn't sleep, tired-eyed cocktail waitresses), there's still an energy in the place.

That's because tonight at the Joint (the club next door), Blink-182 kick off their massive summer tour. Which means that while the Hard Rock might not currently be packed with gamblers, it is being overrun by Blink fans. Kids in T-shirts and baggy shorts, girls in Blink tank tops, the occasional bemused father — they're all here, wandering the halls, waiting. It's T-minus 9 hours until doors open, and seriously, these kids look like they might explode. Right now, three of them are sitting across from me, talking about Travis Barker's Tweets.

Outside the Joint, a line of tour buses snakes around the building. One of them contains Mark, Tom and Travis. Security guards mill about, looking gruff. Merch guys are setting up tables. After years of hiatuses and side projects, this is really happening.

Oh, and even Starbucks is excited: They've prepared a special Blink-182 strawberry and banana shake ("+ eNergy," whatever that is) for the occasion. The kids are drinking it. It looks delicious.

T-minus 9 hours now. This is really happening. The kids are alright ... for now.

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Hollywood Hunks Versus Hipster Hotties: The Oh Snap! Poll

Posted 7/23/09 2:04 pm EST by in Movies, Poll


Summer movies used to be more easily defined, didn't they? You always knew that you were getting big action movies featuring ripped, macho guys thwarting terrorists, aliens or undead ghouls. These were men with names like Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Willis, Pitt and, uh, Smith. They were savvy and heroic, and always got the girl. If there was ever a skinny, nerdy guy involved, he was relegated to sidekick status, or he was a stooge sitting at a computer in the villain's secret hideout. These facts were set in stone (or rock hard abs) and nobody questioned them.

But lately, Hollywood has been overrun by geeks and hipsters, men who wear funky sneakers and quip well but would probably have an asthma attack before they were able to diffuse a bomb. Some of the biggest movies of the summer have been fronted by rather non-traditional leading men like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Shia LaBoeuf and Zach Galifianakis. Has Hollywood purged all of its macho leading men, or will the hunks return to claim the throne currently occupied by the nerds in the room? We hit the streets to ask: Do you prefer your movies with a macho hunk or a nerdy hipster?

The (highly unscientific) results reveal that 58% of those polled are in favor of the current trend and prefer the skinny hipster. But the 42% of you who still enjoy a good rippling bicep need not worry, as you've still got Channing Tatum, Christian Bale and Chris Pine to satisfy your pectoral cravings. And hey, "New Moon" (featuring hipster-hunk hybrids Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner) is only a few months away.

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The Gathering Of The Juggalos: Horrorcore, Wrestling And ... Ice Cube?

Posted 7/23/09 1:41 pm EST by in Music


There are only 13 days left until this year's "Gathering of the Juggalos," the annual festival thrown by horrorcore Detroit rappers Insane Clown Posse. This year's four day version begins on August 6 in Cave In Rock, Illinois, and features hours of music, DJ battles, professional wrestling, motocross, seminars and carnival rides. For those going (or for anybody contemplating attending this year), the group has unleashed a helpful 15 minute infomercial that runs through the highlights of the whole weekend.

As the video shows, this year's lineup has a few eyebrow-raisers. Obviously, the weekend is headlined by festival godfathers ICP, along with brothers-in-arms Twiztid, but the lineup is fleshed out by a who's who of "WTF?" guests: Coolio, Vanilla Ice, GWAR and Eminem cohort Bizarre will all be performing. (Bizarre is an especially strange case, considering the history that ICP has had with Slim Shady.) The comedy tent features sets from former MTV personality Pauly Shore, pro wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Good Times" star Jimmy "JJ" Walker.

But the one guest that really makes heads spin is Ice Cube. While Cube is no stranger to pandering (after all, he did make "Are We There Yet?"), it seems extremely odd that Cube would attach himself to ICP. While they've had a long, controversial career, they've never been considered members of the hip-hop community (which may be a reason they built their own scene that exists entirely outside of anything close to mainstream rap), and it's been suggested more than once that what they do is little more than hip-hop minstrelsy. Take a look at the Ice Cube from the early '90s and you'll see a guy not only hellbent on raging against whatever system dared to try to hold him down, but also railing to protect hip-hop (which is why he made the loudest, angriest music he could). Would the guy who cut "Bop Gun" want to hang with Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J? Difficult to call. (That being said, Cube isn't the first mainstream rapper to appear at the Gathering — he joins a list that includes Ice-T, Mack 10, Too $hort, Ying Yang Twins and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, among others.)

The craziest thing about that infomercial? The fact that it juxtaposes hardcore wrestling and violent rap music with stuff like waterslides and helicopter rides, proving that no matter how hardcore they are, sometimes clowns just want to have fun.

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Madonna Teams With Lil Wayne On New Compilation?

Posted 7/23/09 12:27 pm EST by in Music


Two years ago, Madonna signed a huge contract with Live Nation while still owing albums to Warner Bros., her longtime label. She'll be officially free of her contract on September 29 when she releases Celebration, her third greatest-hits compilation. The set will feature an as-yet-undetermined number of hits from her 27-year career, including her first single "Everybody" and hits like "Vogue" and "4 Minutes." A portion of the album was curated by fans via her manager's Twitter account, and it will feature two new tracks: The upcoming single "Celebration" and a new song called "Revolver" that is rumored to be a collaboration with Lil Wayne (though a track with that title has been floating around the Internet for a while, and it only features Madonna). The album cover (below) was created by Mr. Brainwash, a street artist best known for his grotesque parody paintings of celebrities.

The possibility of a Lil Wayne collaboration is intriguing. As much as Madonna has been tapped into the dance and R&B worlds for the length of her storied career, she's always been a little bit tone-deaf when it comes to hip-hop (just listen to her rap on "American Life" for proof). But on last year's Hard Candy, Madonna started to turn things around: She collaborated with Timbaland, the Neptunes and Danja on tracks that retained much of her cutting-edge dance pedigree and peppered it with a bit of street swagger. Here's hoping she enjoyed the Weezy collaboration so much that she looks into other duets. Wouldn't a Madonna/Jay-Z collaboration absolutely kill? Or her and 50 Cent (they've both produced songs called "Candy Shop," after all)?

What do you think: Is Madonna just jumping on the band wagon or does she seem to legitimately enjoy hip-hop? What rapper should be her next collaborator? Let us know in the comments or head over to Your.MTV.com to make yourself heard!

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The Killers Join MTV And UNICEF To Combat Sex Trafficking

Posted 7/23/09 11:40 am EST by in Music


The new video for the Killers' "Goodnight, Travel Well" (from last year's Day and Age) shares a lot of similarities with past Killers videos: It's a lush, cinematic affair that compliments their epic songwriting nicely. But the thing that sets "Goodnight, Travel Well" apart from their past work is that it represents the second in a series of clips produced by UNICEF and MTV EXIT, both of whom are working towards fighting human trafficking around the world. It follows last year's video for Radiohead's "All I Need."

"Goodnight, Travel Well" focuses on international sex trafficking, an abhorrent practice that deeply troubles the band. "We are deeply shocked and appalled that women and children are forced into such exploitative situations," they said in a statement. "We hope that through MTV's efforts and this powerful video that millions of people across the world learn about this tragic form of modern-day slavery."

Launched in 2004, MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) is a worldwide campaign that brings together musicians and human right workers to fight human trafficking around the world. In addition to the Killers and Radiohead, participating bands include R.E.M., the White Stripes and Placebo.

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Wale Brings A Bit Of D.C. To NYC At Svedka Show

Posted 7/23/09 11:11 am EST by in Concerts, Music


By Steven Roberts

With in the past year, I've been to four Wale shows. That's a lot, especially for a guy who still doesn't have a proper studio album out (though he'll rectify that on September 22 when Attention: Deficit hits the streets).

Granted, half of the shows I attended were for work, but I kind of know the show inside and out at this point. With that said, I seem to enjoy myself each time.

Last night I caught his "world famous" (as he likes to call it) show at the Private Park atop the Hudson Hotel in New York City for the first installment of the Svedka Vodka Sessions. This wasn't the typical crowd of people I normally see at a Wale show. Generally the audience consists of a bunch of kids from the New York downtown scene, and while that contingent was represented, there were many more folks I don't often see: Women. Classy women, dressed in heels, some who loved Wale and some who just wanted to have a good time. But no matter what their motive, everybody got the same thing I get every time I catch the show, which is a thorough taste of just who this D.C. MC is.

D.C. is known for two things musically: Marvin Gaye and go-go music. Wale has said that he was raised on go-go, and that he wants to bring a little piece if D.C. with him everywhere. That is a tall task, especially given how specific go-go is to the nation's capital and is invisible everywhere else, but I'm always amazed to see New Yorkers clapping along to the percussion.

Tonight was no different. This was probably the most intimate show I've attended, but the place was still packed with people — fans and first timers alike — clapping, dancing, singing and rapping along. It's hard enough snapping photos for the blog with a cup of vodka in one hand, so imagine how difficult it is with people dancing around as well.

All in all, it's great to hear and see Wale grow as an artist. His audience has become more diverse, and people are starting to embrace his city's sound. I guess the show is really starting to become world famous.

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