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311 Evolve: Wake-Up Video

Posted 7/22/10 9:15 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Back in March, MTV News sent a pair of 311 superfans to 311 Day 2010, a multi-day experience in Las Vegas that was capped off by a five hour concert. The band has managed to maintain their incredible following over the course of the better part of two decades by staying connected to their followers (even before the era of social networking) and continuing to let their sound — a lively jumble of punk, metal, hip-hop and reggae — go wherever the party is leading it. On this day in 2003, the band dropped their seventh album Evolver, which was as fitting a title as the group could have conjured.

As any fan will tell you, if your only experience with 311 has been through their various hits on modern rock radio (like "Down," "Amber" or their cover of the Cure's "Love Song" from the soundtrack to "50 First Dates"), then you're only getting about 25 percent of what the group is actually capable of. After turning the amps way up for the loud, arena-friendly From Chaos (their 2001 album that contained some of their biggest anthems and may be the group's most accomplished work), Evolver saw the band's sound stretched out into otherwise under-explored areas. "Crack the Code" finds the band experimenting with dub, while "Beyond the Gray Sky" is the group at its most earnest and deeply personal. There's no shortage of hedonistic rock on Evolver ("Same Mistake Twice" and "Give Me a Call" are both massive numbers), but Evolver holds up because of the envelope pushing.

Of course, the album also contains one of the group's biggest hits in "Creatures (For a While)," a deeply funky track with a delightfully low-fi video.

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'So You Think You Can Dance' Recap: Billy Bell Catches The Injury Bug

Posted 7/22/10 8:00 am EST by in Television


By Sandrine Milet

It's starting to be a running joke on "So You Think You Can Dance." On Wednesday night (July 21), Nigel Lythgoe announced that for the third week in a row, another top dancer injured himself and will not be dancing. This time around, it was Billy Bell's turn.

My first thought was, "They have got to be kidding!" Nobody seems to know why this batch of contestants keeps falling apart, and Nigel stated that they'll be getting someone to come in and help with the warm-ups. Obviously the dancers aren't properly warming up, which is extremely vital when pushing the body the way they do. Should they also be taking dance classes alongside their rehearsals to maintain their strength and technique? And what about this season's format? Is it pushing the dancers too hard?

But it wasn't all injuries and confusion last night, as there was plenty of dancing. The five remaining dancers performed a routine with an All-Star, one with a fellow contestant and a solo that they choreographed. Most of them were very solid and entertaining performances, but lets just say it's starting to become very obvious who the leaders are and who is lagging behind.

Once again the judges (plus guest judge Kenny Ortega of "High School Musical" and "Newsies" fame) were repeating themselves when it came time to critiquing Jose, because at this point he's just not at the same level as all the other dancers. Although they admired his commitment in both his Sonya Tayeh contemporary routine with Allison and his Paso Doble with Adechike, he can only grow so much, technically speaking, in the short amount of time that the show gives him. He's a joy to watch, but his ungraceful feet and bent legs are starting to be distracting.

The four other dancers did excellent jobs battling the challenging routines that the choreographers threw at them last night. Lauren danced with All-Star Twitch in a NapiTabs (the code name given to the tag team of Tabitha and Napoleon) hip-hop routine that was outstanding. She was really able to break into the character and bring energy and power to the stage, proving she deserves to be the last girl in the competition. Later that night she performed a sexy samba with Robert, and she performed well, but the real compliments went to Robert.

It was Robert's 20th birthday last night (I can't believe he's that young), and he had lots to celebrate. After dancing the samba routine, Mia Michaels admitted that he actually looked like a samba dancer out there, and in his Tyce Diorio jazz routine with All-Star Lauren (which was very sizzling), the judges commended him for his fluid movements and solid dancing.

Kent had two amazing performances last night, just like the previous week. He first danced a Sonya Tayeh jazz routine with All-Star Kathryn, and Nigel admitted that he almost out-danced his All-Star partner for the second week in a row (although Mia still insisted that he needs to tone it down a notch with his animated face). And he ended the night with the show's first ever step routine, choreographed by Chuck Maldonado. It was originally supposed to be a duet with Billy, but All-Star Twitch stepped in at the last minute to help him out. And of course, the judges loved it! Can Kent really do it all?

Finally, we come to Adechike. He danced the Paso Doble with Jose, which was rewarded with a "valiant effort," but what he'll be remembered is his lyrical hip-hop routine he did with All-Star Comfort (choreographed by NapiTabs). It was moving, dramatic and one of the most heart-felt performances we've seen from Adechike thus far (he even was crying at the end). The judges were stunned at how real the performance was and how much it felt like they were watching a movie. Nigel really summed it up nicely when he explained, "That was an honest rendition of a beautifully choreographed piece."

Who do you think is the favorite to win on "So You Think You Can Dance" this season? Let us know in the comments!

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Bun B And T-Pain's 'Trillionaire' Ups The Ante On Money-Based Boasts

Posted 7/21/10 5:30 pm EST by in Music


Houston hip-hop mastermind Bun B has a new album coming out on August 3 called Trill O.G., and like his best work (both as a solo artist and as one half of UGK), it's full of rugged rhymes, glossy production (courtesy of the likes of Boi-1da, DJ Khalil, the Neptunes and others) and some razor-sharp guest appearances by Young Jeezy, Drake, Raekwon and T-Pain. The latter provides the hook on the just-released single "Trillionaire," on which Bun brags about being "a self-made trillionaire."

In bragging about such incredible wealth, Bun B has left the middling economy in the dust and kicked the inflation level way, way up. To our knowledge, nobody has ever touted being worth one trillion dollars, which is the sort of money that even Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey have to dream about. So until somebody comes along and brands himself a quadrillionaire or a quintillionaire, Bun currently sits at the top of the pile as far as bragged-about riches go.

But how did we get to "Trillionaire"? It took a bit of time and a natural progression of increasingly large numbers.

Bing Crosby, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
Though riches were scarce during the Great Depression, great music flourished under challenging circumstances. "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" became a huge hit, and was so massive that both Crosby's version and a version by Rudy Vallee became chart-topping hits.

Marilyn Monroe, "One Silver Dollar"
Monroe was worth significantly more, but you have to start somewhere. Ironically, there were no silver dollars minted in 1959 when Monroe performed the song in the film "Some Like It Hot."

Dr. Dre, "The $20 Sack Pyramid"
In The Chronic's most memorable skit, two players compete on a game show where the modest prizes include a bag of marijuana and a gift certificate to the Compton Swap Meet. Hardly the riches that Dre would become used to, but for some, that's a massive prize.

The Twilight Singers, "Forty Dollars"
Hardly a fortune, but certainly enough for former Afghan Whigs and Twilight Singers frontman Greg Dulli to have a hot night out on the town. Read More...

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T.I. Didn't Watch 'True Blood' In Jail: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 7/21/10 4:30 pm EST by in Music


"It did make me worse in a sense. ... Putting me in prison took me off [a positive] path a little bit, and now I'm working to get back on that path — or at least back on the path to the extent that I was before I went in. I lost a little bit of my positive focus during that period of incarceration. Being in that environment and having those daily surroundings, it's going to affect you."

-Rapper and actor T.I., speaking to Complex magazine about how his stint in prison affected his outlook. The Atlanta native, who spent nearly a year in jail after cutting a plea deal on a federal weapons charge, said that his time behind bars shifted his focus and definitely derailed the momentum that he was building with his most recent albums T.I. vs. T.I.P. and Paper Trail. But he is back on track now, with a new album called King Uncaged hitting stores in September. He is also continuing his multi-pronged attack on all of culture, with a film called "Takers" also getting unleashed at the end of August.

Tip told Complex that he wasn't able to be close to music while he was in the joint. "I didn't listen much to records when I was in there," he said. "Music is what I do every day. That made me more homesick than anything." Instead, he caught up on television. "I watched series like 'Sons of Anarchy.' I'm a fan. It's another form of 'The Sopranos' to me. I watched football and ESPN," he said. But he couldn't get into the most popular show at his particular correctional facility: "True Blood." "I couldn't really watch it, but they got into that sh-- heavy," T.I. said. "The whole prison damn near shut down. They went crazy for it. There's a bunch of sex in it, so they were tuning in for that."

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Justin Timberlake Justifies The Existence Of 'Popology'

Posted 7/21/10 3:30 pm EST by in Music


They say a well-rounded education is the key to success, and if that truly is the case, the my schooling is woefully incomplete when it comes to the subject of pop. That's why we bring you "Popology," the guide to modern radio-friendly stars as seen through the eyes of a guy who grew up on punk and metal. In case you missed previous installments, catch up with Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Eminem and others here.

This week, Justin Timberlake breaks the glass ceiling.

As high as the heights were for boy bands at the turn of the millennium, the lows were just as profound. Success within the confines of a group didn't necessarily translate to victory on the open range known as the solo world (if you even got the opportunity to make your own album). There are warehouses all over the country stacked high with albums by the also-rans of the boy band era (they are right next to seventh-place finishers from "American Idol"). But when Justin Timberlake released Justified in 2002 and scored a string of huge hits, it looked for a moment like the path from pop group ubiquity to spotlight stardom was going to be smooth and free of pot holes.

Of course, it didn't shake out that way, and Timberlake has proven himself to be the exception to the rule. It didn't hurt that Timberlake hooked up with some of the hottest producers in music to build his unique blend of pop, R&B, rock and dance music. The Neptunes, who were the most in-demand name in the hip-hop world circa 2002 (and fresh off the gigantic success of chart-busting hits like Nelly's "Hot in Herre") built the bulk of Justified, including the singles "Like I Love You" and "Senorita." They lay the ground work for the rest of the album, which includes bits of spry funk and nods to just about every old school (except for Timberlake's own — save for the Brian McKnight-produced "Never Again," none of the songs on Justified sound like they would have made sense on No Strings Attached).

Unlike a lot of Neptunes productions from that era, the cuts on Justified hold up extremely well. Read More...

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Spotted: Smashing Pumpkins Raise The Roof In Florida

Posted 7/21/10 2:30 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wander through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

For a guy who has written so many songs about angst, rage and heartbreak, Billy Corgan smiles an awful lot. And why not? He and his band Smashing Pumpkins are not only in the middle of a hugely popular cross-country tour, but he is also in the middle of a wildly ambitious project that will see him released dozens of free songs over the next few years under the overarching title Teargarden by Kaleidyscope (which has been warmly greeted and eagerly devoured by fans). He remains involved in his hometown as well, as he will be performing a benefit concert this Tuesday, July 27 at the Metro in Chicago, with the proceeds going to pay for medical care for Madina Lake bassist Matthew Leone, who suffered severe brain trauma after trying to intervene in a fight between two people on the street last month. But on Tuesday night, the Pumpkins invaded Revolution in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for a killer set of new jams and stone cold classics.

Corgan wasn't the only star smiling, as Deborah Gibson (she of "Out of the Blue" and "Megashark Vs. Giant Octopus" fame) stopped by the Sirius-XM studio in New York to talk about upcoming projects and look incredibly hot, while Selena Gomez waved to fans on her way into the Ed Sullivan Theater for an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman." Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted" archive, which features over 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, the Jonas Brothers, Adam Lambert, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Madonna, Shakira and 50 Cent!

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Justin Bieber's 'Somebody To Love' Voted His Best Collaboration

Posted 7/21/10 1:30 pm EST by in Music


On Tuesday, the MTV Newsroom Blog wondered aloud about the best collaboration Just Bieber has ever been a part of. Though the 16-year-old singer only has a handful of songs to his name, he has managed to hook up with a number of high-profile artists and create a string of hits with other stars. In addition to the two songs he has recorded with mentor Usher (My World's "First Dance" and the remix to My World 2.0's "Somebody to Love"), he has shared track space with Ludacris ("Baby"), Jaden Smith ("Never Say Never"), Sean Kingston ("Eenie Meenie"), Jessica Jarrell ("Overboard") and Soulja Boy ("Rich Girl"). But which one of those tracks stood above the others as the favorite among fans?

The poll ended up being a two-horse race between "Baby" and the remix of "Somebody to Love." Even though "Baby" sits at number five on the Ultimate Chart, "Somebody to Love" won the day, taking 37 percent of the total vote. "Baby" finished in a distant second place with 24 percent, while "Never Say Never" (which only appeared on the soundtrack to "The Karate Kid") came in third with 16 percent of the vote.

Even though "Somebody to Love" features Usher, his presence didn't seem to help the popularity of "First Dance," his other tag-team with Bieber. That track only took in three percent of the total vote, earning it a spot in last place. Just above it was "Rich Girl" (four percent) and "Overboard" (seven percent), with "Eenie Meenie" in the dead center spot with eight percent.

Bieber is currently working on new music, and it's almost a certainty that he will be collaborating with many more artists in the future (including Dr. Dre, about whom Bieber tweeted earlier this week). Who else will Bieber hook up with in the studio? Will Usher join him once again? Will he work with Drake to create an ultimate Canadian superpower? Will he jam with Asher Roth, who has Bieber's skills as a rapper? Only time will tell.

Who should Justin Bieber collaborate with next? Let us know in the comments!

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Nicki Minaj's 'Your Love' Video Continues Trend Of Dying At The End

Posted 7/21/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


After a few weeks of teases and some intriguing still photos, the video for Nicki Minaj's chart-busting, Annie Lennox-sampling single "Your Love" finally premiered earlier today. As was expected of Minaj, the clip contains a number of eye-popping scenes based around Minaj both dressed as a geisha and engaging in an ethereal sword fight with another woman. The colorful, unusual video (directed by Hype Williams protegé Lil X, who has also been responsible for electric clips like The-Dream's "Love King," Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass" and Ying Yang Twins' "Wait (The Whisper Song)") recalls the type of visual stimulation that Missy Elliott (an MC Minaj is often compared to) used to churn out with startling regularity.

Perhaps the most jarring thing about the video is the fact that Minaj is bested at the conclusion of it. That is becoming something of a theme in music videos this year. While the concept of offing yourself at the end of a clip isn't new (Jay-Z executed himself years ago at the close of the "99 Problems" video, Madonna doesn't survive to see the end of "What It Feels Like for a Girl" and Axl Rose is (seemingly) dead at the end of "Estranged"), Minaj is the third major hip-hop artist to exit the mortal coil in a high-profile video this year.

Labelmate Drake did it for his "Find Your Love" clip, which cast him as a guy pursuing a forbidden love in Jamaica. Though he believes he can get away with it, the woman ends up double-crossing him and he gets executed for his troubles. (Though it should be noted that you don't actually see Drake die at the end of the clip, which resulted in a number of arguments and a great deal of speculation on the Internet.)

Erykah Badu's video for "Window Seat" not only attracted attention because the singer stripped nude in public on the streets of downtown Dallas, but also because she is shot dead at the close of the clip in a vague reenactment of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Her death at the end of the clip was made all the more jarring by the fact that she was naked in a public place. Months after its premiere, the clip for "Window Seat" still resonates.

While the stakes of "Your Love" are not as high as they are in "Find Your Love" or "Window Seat," it's still a lasting image and possibly part of a greater trend.

Who will be the next artist to depict his or her own death in a video? Let us know in the comments!

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Taylor Swift Joins Garth Brooks, Method Man On List Of Unlikeliest Concept Album Authors

Posted 7/21/10 11:30 am EST by in Music


Good news for fans of Taylor Swift: She will have a new album called Speak Now out on October 25. Swift's third album (and the follow-up to the mega-platinum juggernaut Fearless) is a concept album of sorts, as each song will find Swift addressing a different particular person. Each song will end up being a specific confession to a particular individual. "Through the past two years, I've been through a lot of things that I have been dying to write about and talk about," she told the world via a Ustream chat. "There were a lot of things that I wanted to say in the moment but couldn't, and this album is my opportunity to do that."

Though the structure is pretty loose compared to the complicated narratives embedded within the albums of, say, Coheed and Cambria, but it's an overarching concept nonetheless. Swift will be joining an interesting club of unlikely artists who nevertheless ventured into a universe normally owned by prog rock and orchestral wankery. Here are her peers in that group.

Garth Brooks
Perhaps the most unlikely (and most notorious) concept album project in history, Garth Brooks' alternate universe album stands as an amazing event in music history. In 1999, Brooks assumed the persona of his alter-ego Chris Gaines, an Australian rock star with a massive back story involving car accidents, drug addiction and an entire career's worth of albums. He released one album, called Greatest Hits, which was supposed to be a compilation of Gaines' best work from the breadth of his career. It was awfully strange to see one of the best-selling artists of all time go so deep into his own alternate universe, and the fact that he left Gaines behind after the promotion for the album was done was telling.

Method Man
Proving once and for all that perhaps there is such a thing as smoking too much marijuana, Method Man's second solo album Tical 2000: Judgment Day featured an album-length story line about the coming apocalypse and the post-destruction world that was left behind. Read More...

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'Inception' Soundtrack Couldn't Have Happened Without Johnny Marr

Posted 7/21/10 10:30 am EST by in Music


The box office-dominating, mind-bending film "Inception" is remarkable in a number of different ways. The story is dark and complex, the images are incredible, the effects game-changing and the performances sharp and mysterious. But one of the aspects of the film that really sticks is its sound design and music. Composer Hans Zimmer put together an incredible soundscape using a slew of orchestral tricks, a key Edith Piaf song and some choice guitar work by none other than former Smiths guitarist (and current Cribs axe man) Johnny Marr.

Marr came in late to the proceedings (most of the work on the music was already done when Zimmer tapped him to do it), but he added a number of nuances that added to the noir-romantic feel of the movie. In fact, Marr's work on one particular passage ended up becoming attached to Leonardo DiCaprio's character, morphing into his haunted, longing theme. Though subtle, Marr's work became a big part of DiCaprio's character and, in turn, a huge part of an extremely complex film.

According to Zimmer, bringing in Marr was a wish that happened to become real. "What happened was I kept writing this tune, and I kept hearing Johnny Marr play it," Zimmer told MTV News' Kara Warner at the premiere of "Inception" last week. "Finally, I said to Chris [Nolan], 'What do you think of this idea? I'm like channeling Johnny Marr by now.' And he said it was a great idea."

Had Zimmer and Nolan not brought in Marr (who declared the project "a dream come true"), the entire film might have felt different. "I don't think anybody else could have done it," Zimmer said of Marr's work. "It wouldn't have worked otherwise, and I was willing to throw out the tune if he said no."

What did you think of the music in "Inception"? Let us know in the comments!

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