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Halloween weekend is finally upon us, which means that it's just about time to wrap things up and start going down your Halloween checklist. Costume? Check. Candy? Got it. Scary movies? And how. Something to distract you in case you want to avoid the inevitable horribleness the holiday sometimes brings? We hope you enjoy your bunker. In any event, be sure to have a safe and festive weekend celebrating ghouls and spirits, and just remember that once you get back to the grind on Monday, it'll be time to get in the mood for the proper holiday season, so get ready to crank up "All I Want For Christmas Is You" at maximum volume for two straight months. (This is an ideal reality, by the way.)

Before you get to all of that business, you should definitely catch up with all of the remarkable stuff that happened on the MTV Newsroom Blog this week. Get yourself up to speed, and have a spooktacular weekend.

» Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon are having a baby, and it will almost certainly be cuter than our morphing experiment.

» Kanye West is still basking in the glow of the triumphant premiere of the short film "Runaway," which managed to elevate him to a whole new level.

» Also, following the premiere of "Runaway," Kanye headed to Brooklyn for a party and brought Sway along with him.

» Taylor Swift released her new album Speak Now this week, and it entered the pantheon of great third albums.

» Speak Now could sell over 800,000 copies in its opening week, a number that will certainly be boosted by the tremendously glowing reviews.

» Only a few days after Katy Perry celebrated her wedding, she went ahead and partied on her birthday too.

» The trailer for Justin Bieber's upcoming film "Never Say Never" hit the Internet, and it features home movies, live footage and Bieber defying the laws of gravity.

» In a shocker, former "The Hills" star Audrina Patridge got voted off of "Dancing With the Stars," leaving us with nobody to root for.

» We had sort of a theme week here on the Newsroom Blog, as there was a lot of excitement surrounding the Corin Tucker Band's visit to New York. The biggest revelation? The former Sleater-Kinney member is a huge Twi-Hard.

» If you didn't care about "Tron: Legacy" before, then the teaser video for Daft Punk's new single "Derezzed" should make you a believer.

» Madonna is opening a series of gyms, and we're hoping a used car dealership is next.

» DJ Mag put out their "Top 100" list this week. Is your favorite EDM artist on it?

» Finally, one of the best things that happened all week was that the NBA came back, which meant that LeBron, Kobe, Dwight, Durant and Justin Bieber all got back into the nothing-but-net groove.

Tags daft-punk, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Madonna, Mariah Carey, sleater-kinney, Taylor Swift

If you happen to be in the Washington, D.C. area on Friday night (October 29), you'll have the last opportunity to catch the supremely excellent Corin Tucker Band live in concert for the time being (unless you live in Japan, where you'll have three chances to catch them on a short jaunt after Thanksgiving). The band, lead by former Sleater-Kinney singer/guitarist Corin Tucker, has been on the road for the past few weeks in support of 1,000 Years, the first recordings Tucker has made since the last Sleater-Kinney album in 2005. The shows have been tremendously dynamic affairs, full of ragged guitar crunch and moments of disarmingly simple beauty, mainly centered around Tucker's exquisite voice.

So with the album out and the road trip basically complete, what's next for Tucker? When MTV News asked her about what's next, she stuck her fingers in her ears like she didn't want to deal with the question. "My booking agent actually just called me and said, 'So, what's next?'" she laughed. "I just can't think that way. All I know is we're playing on Friday, then I'm back to taking the kids to school on Monday."

Tucker did note that she has profoundly enjoyed her time on the road and working with the band on 1,000 Years, which is why this experience begs the question: How close are we to her old band getting back together?

As Tucker noted, both of her former bandmates — fellow singer/guitarist Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss — have been busy with other productive projects. Brownstein was the longtime writer of a music blog for National Public Radio and is also writing a book called "The Sound of Where You Are." She also has a new band called Wild Flag (which also features Weiss) and has a sketch comedy show called "Portlandia" coming to the Independent Film Channel in January. In addition to Wild Flag, Weiss has been working as a drummer with a number of different groups, including Bright Eyes (and other variations of Conor Oberst's band), Stephen Malkmus' the Jicks and her longtime side project Quasi. And while all of those projects have been uniformly excellent and exciting, it will be good to have the ladies of Sleater-Kinney back together when they do decide it's time.

Tags Corin Tucker Band, corin-tucker, sleater-kinney, video

"I had this conversation, 'Kanye West is gonna hate me.' [But] I met him and it was, 'Oh, come here, I want you to look at these naked girls.' Kanye West is everything that I didn't think he was, and a genius."

-Buzz-building rap star Nicki Minaj, chatting about the greatness of Kanye West during a conversation with Sway on "RapFix Live." Though Minaj is a protegé of Lil Wayne, she has been working with West an awful lot as of late. She will be appearing on two of the tracks on West's upcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and also provided the opening narration for West's recently-premiered short film "Runaway." Still, when they first met, she was convinced that he wouldn't take her seriously. But she misread him and found him to be brilliant on many different levels.

"He doesn't limit himself," Minaj explained. "I heard him say the other day, not in these words, 'I'm not doing this for the masses, I'm not doing this for mainstream, you have to come to me, come get this art if you want it.' I think that's important for all artists to feel that way — we make so many changes because we want to please everybody. But at the end of the day, you can't please everybody."

West's album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will be hitting stores on November 22, the same day that Minaj's debut LP Pink Friday gets unleashed to the masses. There will be a healthy competition between the two of them on the charts, as each of their releases have a tremendous amount of heat surrounding them.

Tags nicki minaj, Quote

We're only a scant few days away from one of the most anticipated television events of the year in the premiere of "Conan" on TBS. Conan O'Brien has been legally barred from being on television since his final send-off on "The Tonight Show" back on January 22, but he returns to late night comedy when his show kicks off on Monday, November 8 at 11 p.m. with guests Seth Rogen, Jack White and the winner of a contest they are hosting at the show's official Web site (at the moment, Jack Nicholson has a pretty large lead over the rest of the entrants).

It is nearly impossible to not know that O'Brien is returning, as TBS is putting the full court press on plugging his big return to television. They got an actual blimp to fly over baseball stadiums during TBS' coverage of the playoffs, and ads featuring O'Brien are everywhere. But that's sort of a great thing, because that means there has been a lot more insight into the totally insane, borderline criminal fiasco that ended with Jay Leno back in the host's chair on "The Tonight Show" and Conan becoming everybody's favorite tweeting, rocking, Internet-ruling underdog.

O'Brien is on the cover of the current issue of Rolling Stone. In the interview, O'Brien talks about a number of things, including how his "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour" saved him from the depression that set in after he exited "The Tonight Show."

But the real great read this weekend is the excerpt of the forthcoming book "The War For Late Night" currently running in Vanity Fair. A true behind-the-scenes account written by Bill Carter (the same guy who penned "The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night" back when Jay Leno was first making trouble after hours), the story takes an amazingly candid look at the conversations and arguments that went on behind the scenes. It even takes you to the moment when O'Brien decides that he has to walk away from "The Tonight Show."

In the meantime, you can catch "Episode Zero" of "Conan" this Monday, November 1 at the Team Coco Web site. They'll run through a rehearsal version of the show live on the Internet, which will give you the first chance to see what the show might look and sound like. The late night universe will be getting more interesting over the next few weeks, as everybody gets involved in trying to one-up one another, and the last man standing will be considered the king of late night.

Tags Conan O'Brien, Late Night, Talk Shows

One of the highlights of Halloween is always the episode of NBC's "Today" that focuses on the holiday. While just about every daytime talk show host in the world is in some costume or another today, the "Today" crowd really kicks it up a notch every year. This morning (October 29) was a bit of a step down from previous years, but still created some great Halloween moments for next year's memory montage.

In the past, the cast has found a common thread among their costumes (most notable was the year they all dressed up as characters from "Star Wars"), though this year's was a little more scattered. Ann Curry dressed as eternally lost pilot Amelia Earhart, while Meredith Vieira appeared as Lady Gaga (who also performed an impressive dance sequence). Perhaps both of those ladies are strong and singular? It's possible that the whole theme could have been "female empowerment."

But rather than appear as Oprah in drag, Al Roker elected to show up on the show dressed as Superman (in a clever twist at the beginning, it was suggested that Matt Lauer — who was not present for any of this — was actually dressed as Roker who was in turn dressed as Superman). And then Natalie Morales showed up as Justin Bieber (in a costume that was perhaps a little too accurate). Ever thought you'd see Bieber and Superman together? You do now!

(Click here for the photos of the cast of "Today" dressed up for Halloween, including Meredith Vieira as Lady Gaga!)

Will Ferrell and Tina Fey also appeared on the show in costume (as their characters in the upcoming animated film "Megamind") and the show also held a costume contest that featured audience members dressed as the Flintstones and Jambi from "Pee-Wee's Playhouse").

(Click here for the photos of the cast of "Today" dressed up for Halloween, including Meredith Vieira as Lady Gaga!)

What did you think of the costumes on "Today"? Let us know in the comments!

Tags Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, photo, today

It's an extra spooky day in the MTV Newsroom, as we are donning costumes (though everybody seems to have worn the same "news reporter" outfit they tend to wear), comparing notes on our Halloween disasters and spinning some creepy tunes in between the breaking news stories. Musically speaking, Halloween is the best holiday of the year, as not only are there a number of songs solely dedicated to the holiday itself (Boris Pickett's "Monster Mash," Dave Matthews Band's "Halloween," basically everything in the Misfits catalog) but in most cases any old metal will do. (Here, have an example.) But for a truly great Halloween celebration that actually has some melody and some funk, you can't do anything but crank up Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

It's crazy to contemplate that "Thriller" is 30 years old, as it still sounds incredible fresh and vital. It's even more amazing that it was as big a hit as it was, as it has all the makings of a novelty hit (though a lot of Jackson's songs sort of had that problem — perhaps that's why "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied him so much). But "Thriller" doesn't sound like a wacky Halloween-only jam — it sounds like one of the freshest displays of funky R&B of the past few decades.

And of course, there's the video. What can be said about "Thriller" that hasn't already been said before? It's an incredible accomplishment that proved that music videos could function as both art ("Thriller" was incredibly technically advanced and exquisitely plotted) and commerce (Thriller remains one of the best-selling albums of all time). And you know what? It's genuinely scary. Even the dancing zombies have a certain irksomeness to them, but the key scene is that transition that Jackson makes from man to monster. It's still unnerving all these years later and deserves spin on this creepiest of holidays.

Tags Halloween, Michael Jackson, Thriller, video

It's Halloween weekend, which means you can count on a few things. People will be dressed as Lady Gaga, at least one person at the party your at will have sexualized a costume inappropriately (last year, it seemed like everybody was dressed as the slutty version of Hermione from "Harry Potter") and people will be standing around the block to get into their local cinema to see the latest batch of gore in the "Saw" series. The seventh film in the franchise, "Saw 3D," is sure to dominate the weekend with a fresh batch of buzzsaws, psychological trauma and three-dimensional splatter.

Amazingly, "Saw" has become such a dominant franchise that other movies are scared to open against it. If you're not into in-your-face dismemberment, your only other options at the movies are a handful of limited-release options like "Monsters," "Welcome to the Rileys" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" (though if you're seriously in the mood for a scare, you could catch up with "Paranormal Activity 2" or just pick up "Mirrors 2" on Blu-ray).

In order to properly prepare yourself for "Saw 3D," it's time to fire up the playlist below. It's chock full of balls-to-the-wall metal that focuses on murder (30 Seconds to Mars' "The Kill," Cypress Hill's "How I Could Just Kill a Man"), traps (Vincent Minor's "The Trap," No Doubt's "Trapped in a Box") and the character behind the horror (Radiohead's "Jigsaw"). There is also a healthy dose of songs from past soundtracks (including Mudvayne's "Forget to Remember") and the opening track: Linkin Park's "Waiting for the End." It works on two levels, as not only does it deal with the franchise's end but Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington also gets killed in the film.

Tags Dir En Grey, Linkin-Park, Saw 3D, video

For people who take Halloween really seriously, costume choices can be something of a mine field. Some people stick to the old favorites (vampires, clowns, slutty insects), but the truly bold go for something that captures the zeitgeist. Sure, your Christine O'Donnell-as-a-witch costume might not make any sense a year from now (nor will anybody remember who Christine O'Donnell is), but since Halloween comes around every year, you can afford to be as topical as you like.

This year, there are a handful of key costumes that will be dominating the parties, parades and apple bobs around the country, and many of them happen to be in the MTV universe. Expect a ton of people to be dressed as cast members from MTV's hit reality show "Jersey Shore" (just like the MTV News staff and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco). You can also count on plenty of people masquerading as Lady Gaga (with many costume stores reporting that their Gaga variations are top sellers) and Justin Bieber. The beauty of these costumes is that they are so easy to execute. In the case of Gaga, all you need is a little bit of wacky make-up, a platinum blonde wig and a willingness to expose a little skin on your way to dressing like an alien (or just paying $100,000 for a dress made of meat, if you're into that). In Bieber's case, it's even simpler, as all you really need is a willingness to wear the wig, a pair of basketball sneakers and the ability to dance around a bit.

If pop culture is any indication, those costumes are already everywhere. Thursday night's (October 28) episode of "The Office" featured a character dressed as Gaga, and both Gaga and Bieber showed up on this morning's episode of "Today" (with Meredith Vieira as Gaga and Natalie Morales as Bieber).

What are you going as for Halloween? Let us know in the comments!

Tags Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, video

Halloween is this weekend, which means that many of you will be headed out to scare up candy, cause mischief and head to parties where women will most likely be dressed as sexy cats or slutty nurses. It's also the first Halloween since the premiere of MTV's hit reality series "Jersey Shore," which means that you will see a whole lot of people strutting around as Snooki or the Situation (in fact, Thursday night's episode of "The Office" featured Mindy Kaling dressed as everybody's favorite poof-wearing smoosh monster). You could certainly make your costume from scratch, but unless you really want to hit the tanning booth hard this weekend, there are official costumes available for Snooki, the Situation and DJ Pauly D.

Because we are committed to excellence here at MTV News, we got our hands on these particular outfits and decided to do some quality control research. Who better to judge the accuracy of these costumes than Jenni "JWoww" Farley, herself a "Jersey Shore" cast member? MTV News staffers Jocelyn Vena, James Montgomery and Kyle Anderson made the transformation into Snooki, the Situation and DJ Pauly D (respectively) and let JWoww decide whether or not they made convincing doppelgangers for her television pals.

Clearly, the costumes are decidedly accurate (though she obviously had some trouble with the tan level on those body pieces). The two wigs (one for Snooki, the other for DJ Pauly D) were especially convincing, as were the fake abs on the Situation. So know that if you're going out this weekend as your favorite GTL-er, JWoww approves of the official costumes (though she doesn't feel the same way about her costume, which is far too, uh, top heavy).

Which "Jersey Shore" cast member would you be for Halloween? Let us know in the comments!

Tags Halloween, Jersey Shore, JWoww, video

We take the Internet for granted, and it has become so integral to daily life that even people who can remember the time before it was everywhere can't really fathom how we got along without it. But when you think about it, the online universe has only really been something we consider a normal component of everyday existence for about 15 years or so. Online communication existed long before that, but it took several decades for the average person to catch up. In fact, the first steps toward the Internet began on this day in 1969, when the first online transmission was sent via ARPANET.

ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) was a cooperative project between a research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the United States Department of Defense. The idea was to design a network that would allow simple communication between computers. Though millions of computers are currently connected via the Internet today, that first network consisted of only four systems, one each at UCLA, Stanford, the University of Utah and the University of California Santa Barbara. The system had been in development since 1962, and by 1969 it was ready to transmit. The first ever message sent on this day in '69 was sent by UCLA student Charley Kline, who was trying to send the word "login" to the computer at Stanford. He got as far as "lo" before the system crashed on him.

Since then, online communication has made major leaps forward every few years or so. The first e-mail was sent by 1971, and by 1980 the number of linked computers had grown exponentially. The personal computer represented another leap forward, and when America Online became a must-have program for everybody in suburbia, the online world finally took over most of our daily lives. Now we're free to keep tabs on people from high school, read news about Mel Gibson and trade "Weird Al" Yankovic songs with each other. The future is now!

Tags Internet, video