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It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

The Sweet 16 round of the MTV Musical March Madness tournament is nearly complete, and many of the eight match-ups currently going down have razor-thin margins between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. There are a lot of huge bands — including Muse, Paramore and defending champs Coheed and Cambria — on the verge of elimination, but it's not too late to make a late surge and vote for your favorite band to advance to the Elite Eight (which will be announced on Wednesday, March 30).

Voting for all Sweet 16 match-ups will close on Tuesday, March 29 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

Midwest

» (9) Disturbed vs. (12) Patrick Stump

» (6) Coheed and Cambria vs. (7) Avenged Sevenfold

West

» (1) 30 Seconds to Mars vs. (5) Panic! at the Disco

» (2) Blink-182 vs. (3) Green Day

South

» (1) Linkin Park vs. (5) Paramore

» (2) Muse vs. (14) Tokio Hotel

East

» (4) The Strokes vs. (16) Sum 41

» (2) Radiohead vs. (3) My Chemical Romance

Check out Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice previewing the Sweet 16!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

Tags #MMM, March Madness, video

At exactly 12:57 p.m. Tuesday (March 29), I ventured outside of MTV headquarters here in Times Square expecting to see Thom Yorke standing on an overturned apple box, wearing a newsboy cap, hawking copies of "The Universal Sigh," the bizarre newspaper thingy Radiohead printed to promote the physical release of their The King Of Limbs album (at least, I think that's what it's for). Instead, I was greeted by a line of wild-eyed Radiohead fans, each frantically checking their mobile devices, then scanning the horizon for any sign of the band — after all, this was the exact spot where Yorke and Co. announced they'd be handing out copies of the paper — then returning their forlorn gazes to their mobile devices. Some of them even perched MacBooks on their chests, which seemed a little ridiculous.

Nonplussed, I decided to go get a sandwich. It was lunchtime after all.

When I returned, sandwich in hand, the line had vanished. "Had all the papers been handed out?" I wondered. Turns out they were just being distributed one block up. So I walked up there, waited in line for roughly one minute and was handed a copy of the paper by a girl wearing a satchel over her shoulder. My photo was taken and that was it. No tussles, no shouting mobs, no Thom Yorke dressed like a street urchin. Just a bunch of Radiohead fans waiting patiently in a line outside an Aeropostale store. "Universal Sigh" indeed.

Now back up at my desk, I'm paging through it (you can do the same here), feeling the dusty residue of newspaper ink coat my fingers. It is an oddly nostalgic thing, that feeling, and perhaps that was the reason Radiohead decided to print "The Universal Sigh" in the first place: It's a deliberately dusty ode to our (very recent) past, an overly wordy, artfully technophobic bomb lobbed at life in the 21st century. You cannot download it or upload it or even stream it. You have to read it.

Then again, if that's not why they decided to do this, well, then I'm at a loss. Filled with Yorke's overly-caffeinated e.e. cummings wordplay ("The book of/ the book of forgiveness/ the book of request/ the book of the dream/ that was ok"), actual lyrics from the Limbs album, short stories, a whole lot of post-apocalyptic scribblings and dense, dank artwork from Stanley Donwood, there seems to be no real point to "The Universal Sigh," which, come to think of it, might actually be the point indeed. Because if you are a fan of Radiohead, this is exactly the reason you love the band in the first place.

There's also one of those QR Codes on the back of the thing, which may unlock some secret content or something (apparently it allows you to download artwork, but I don't know how to work it, because I am old). But really, "The Universal Sigh" seems to have been drawn from the same place the band went to for their The King Of Limbs album: Namely, an insular, do-it-yourself-for-the-sake-of-doing-it world that only Radiohead (and their fans) seem to inhabit. As one of the latter, I welcome the latest edition to the family, even if I don't really understand it in the slightest.

And now it's on to my sandwich, ink-stained hands and all.

Tags Radiohead

Nobody knows you like your momma, or your daddy. Which is why when it comes to hiring a manager, many young singers go with the person who has always been there to help them navigate life's great obstacles (and wipe their noses, drive all night to auditions and make angry calls to jerk local reporters when they write mean things about their baby).

OK, so maybe they don't always choose to keep it all in the family, but at this point it's a wonder the modern class of "momager" and "dadager" parents/career guidance counselors haven't gotten their own reality show. Say, "Momager and Me" or "Manage This!"

We bring all this up because on Monday (March 28th), one of the all-time parent/kid professional teams, Beyoncé and her dad Matthew Knowles, called it quits after more than 15 years of multi-platinum success. By all accounts the split was amicable and B made all the right noise about how it was time to go out on her own and use the lessons her dad taught her to make it on her own.

(Click here for more photos of stars with their parents/managers, including Taylor Swift, Usher and Selena Gomez!)

That got us thinking about all the other contemporary artists who look to a parent (though almost all are mothers) for advice these days.

Usher
The woman for whom the term was practically coined, Jonetta Patton has felt the sing of being let go by her star client, only to be re-hired when waters had calmed.

Brandy and Ray J
Neither's music career is kicking that hard these days, but the siblings have starred in a series of reality shows that have kept them in the public eye thanks to the hard work of mom Sonja Norwood.

Waka Flocka Flame
Waka's mother, Debra Antney, is always by his side to defend him when things go wobbly for the rapper. The Mizay Entertainment head has lots of practice thanks to her work shepherding the careers of Nicki Minaj and Gucci Mane.
Read more...

Tags Beyonce, photo

"There's no home-team advantage for anybody, so we really need the support of our fans to come out, vote for us, give us that extra energy we need on the court to come up with this win, because it's going to be a hard one. I gotta be honest: I love Green Day. They're all great guys, so it's going to come down to the fans."

-Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus, running down the match-up between his band and Green Day in the MTV Musical March Madness Sweet 16. Hoppus sat down with MTV News' James Montgomery to talk about the showdown between the two California punk titans — a match that has remained close.

Hoppus has scouted his opponents well. "It's a really strong matchup. Each of them is amazing at their game," Hoppus said. "Billie [Joe Armstrong], he's always a team leader, always boxing out, always getting the tough scores. So, really, we're going to have to cover Billie as best as we can. I think that Travis [Barker] has Tre [Cool] pretty well covered. Me and Mike [Dirnt] I'd say is a dead heat. It's going to be who wants it more, for sure."

The bassist also noted that his team may be at a disadvantage even though they hold the higher seed. "Coming off of this break, before coming into this tournament, our live game is a little off right now, so we've been working on that a lot," he said. "Green Day obviously, they have their new [live] album, so they have their road chops up, so it's gonna be rough ... we're going to have to bring our best game for sure."

MTV's Musical March Madness is currently in the Sweet 16, and voting closes on all of the match-ups in the round on Tuesday, March 29 at midnight.

Tags Blink-182, March Madness, Mark Hoppus, video

Today marks the four year anniversary of "American Idol in 60 Seconds." Deep breath.

To celebrate, we've re-posted the first "Idol in 60 Seconds" I ever produced. (In 2008, most of my early recaps were taken down thanks to a change in our video encoding process.) It's funny to think that only a few hundred people saw this four years ago when it premiered.

As you can see, not much has changed in the snark-a-second formula. Hell, I'm still sitting at the same cluttered desk. (Seriously, MTV? Will you ever give me an actual office?)

The rest is history, as they say. By my count, I've done 101 more "60 Second" entries since, summarizing everything from :Project Runway" to "TRL," from Al Gore's "Live Earth" concerts to actual elections, from Paula Abdul's gonzo Bravo reality show to Kelly Clarkson's "My December" drama.

The recap segment has been praised by "Idol" winners, Bravo’s Andy Cohen and respected bloggers, whose work I practically worship. Wow.

And here's where I get even more sentimental.

Special thanks to MTV News' old editorial director Rob Mancini for having the initial "You should do a TV version of your 'Idol' recaps" idea. His direction — "Make'em a minute and tell me everything I need to know" — inspired everything.

Shout-out to then-executive producer Jim Fraenkel and Ryan Kroft for suggesting I host the recaps myself, even though I had no intention of being a TV personality.

Much love to MTV News bigwigs present and past, Dave Sirulnick and Ocean MacAdams, for suggesting we add a countdown clock to the proceedings.

Continued hugs to current senior Vice President Benjamin Wagner for letting me crank these out, even though the time and energy needed to produce them prevents me from being in the office during normal business hours.

I owe a lot to Wen-Ting Yang who edited the first segment with me. (Her sped-up footage, hyper-fast clip editing and freeze-frame "ding" at the end set the tone perfectly.) And I couldn't mention "Idol in 60 Seconds" without Joe DeShano, my old overnight editor who really helped shape the recaps even more.

My work wouldn't be seen without the tireless work of the entire MTV News department, from the digital producers to the PAs to the reporters who often write articles to support my videos.

In a serendipitous twist of fate, a freelancer named Brendan Kennedy taped the first recap with me. Little did I know that this day-player shooter, who I barely knew, would eventually be my professional soulmate. His creativity and support on our countless projects together ("MTV Detox," may you rest in peace) gave me the on-screen confidence to take my "Idol in 60 Seconds" recaps to insane new places (like my Gokey dance and bird flu recaps).

Most of all, I want to thank all of you who watched, re-watched, forwarded, tweeted, commented on and followed my "Idol in 60 Seconds" recaps through the years. I wouldn't be anywhere without your loyal clicks.

Tags American Idol, video

Even though Britney Spears has sold over 100 million albums worldwide over the course of her decade-plus career, she still seems like something of an underdog every time she releases a new project. Perhaps it's because of the fickle nature of pop music, or perhaps it's because nobody can believe that Spears continues to top herself over and over again. Her eighth album Femme Fatale hits stores today (Tuesday, March 29) and is the follow-up to her ultra-successful and boundary-pushing 2008 release Circus. Is this yet another home run for Spears?

According to the critics, she has done it again. "On Femme Fatale, her seventh studio album and plainly one of her best, the erstwhile teen-pop princess is less the center of sonic attention than the occasion and enabler for a dozen of the age's most accomplished record producers to show off their wildest moves from behind a plastic Britney mask," wrote the Los Angeles Times' Carl Wilson in a three-star review. "The star serves mainly to illuminate their eccentric orbits with her considerable glow. She's been shamed, stalked, bullied, rehabbed and ruled a bad mother by a court of law. There's something glorious about answering with a victory dance, but it's on the grave of any figment of innocence."

In fact, many critics seem to be zeroing in on how Spears is able to transcend her limitations on Femme Fatale. "Britney always brings one undervalued asset to the table: her reedy, preshrunk voice — probably the single most maligned instrument in music this side of the vuvuzela," wrote Entertainment Weekly's Adam Markovitz. "Spears is no technical singer, that's for sure. But backed by Martin and Dr. Luke's wall of pound, her vocals melt into a mix of babytalk coo and coital panting that is, in its own overprocessed way, just as iconic and propulsive as Michael Jackson's yips or Eminem's snarls."

Rolling Stone gave Femme Fatale four stars, and critic Jody Rosen was thoroughly impressed with Spears' ability to subvert pop tropes while still using them to her advantage. "Femme Fatale may be Britney's best album; certainly it's her strangest. Conceptually it's straightforward: a party record packed with sex and sadness," Rosen wrote. "On nearly every track, Britney's voice is twisted, shredded, processed, roboticized. Maybe this is because she doesn't have much of a voice; it's certainly because she, more than almost any other pop diva, is simply game."

Even indie stalwart Spin had positive vibes to send Spears' way. "A few adventurous loops and gauzy midtempo moments stand out — the dubstep meltdown on 'Hold It Against Me,' will.i.am's wackadoo beatfest 'Big Fat Bass,'" wrote critic Caryn Ganz in a seven-dot review.

What do you think about the new Britney Spears album? Let us know in the comments!

Tags britney spears, reviews

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.

Courtney Love recently brought back her Hole (they dropped an album in 2010 called Nobody's Daughter) but didn't really get the old band back together. Former band members have sued one another and sniped at each other in the press, but on Monday night (March 28th), everybody put their differences aside to celebrate ground-breaking drummer Patty Schemel and the new documentary "Hit So Hard: The Life and Near Death of Patty Schemel." Love appeared with Schemel, bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur and guitarist Eric Erlandson for the first time in years, and everybody was all smiles surrounding the premiere of the movie. Though that isn't the original lineup of the band, many consider it to be the group's "classic" lineup, as it was the quartet who supported the breakout album Live Through This (bassist Kristen Pfaff died shortly after the album was recorded) and also delivered the underrated masterpiece Celebrity Skin. Love teased the idea of recording with the quartet again, but like many things related to Hole, nothing is certain.

They weren't the only stars under the bright lights, as Justin Bieber continued his tear through Paris and Cee Lo Green brought his freaky funk to the O2 Academy in Birmingham, England. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted" archive, which includes over 500 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, the Jonas Brothers and Madonna!

Tags Courtney-Love, hole, photo, Spotted!

Frost the cupcakes and get the trick candles ready, because it's time to wish dynamic rock frontman and Lollapalooza godfather Perry Farrell a very happy birthday. The diverse rocker is now 52 years old and is still going strong as the frontman of seminal band Jane's Addiction. But on this special day, it's time to look back at one of his more underrated projects.

When it came time for Jane's Addiction to call it quits, Farrell staged the first Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for the band in the summer of 1991 (that tour also featured Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nine Inch Nails, Living Colour, Ice-T and Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Violent Femmes and Fishbone). With the band in his rearview, Farrell formed a new combo called Porno for Pyros (which also featured Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins). The group released its first self-titled album in the spring of 1993 to big sales, mostly on the back of the heavy-rotation single "Pets" (a fantasy narrative about aliens visiting Earth and keeping humans captive as house pets). The band toured extensively and also notched a high-profile slot at Woodstock '94 (that was the one with the mud, not the one with the bonfires).

Their second album Good God's Urge was even more eclectic and envelope-pushing, and it also rocked a little bit harder than the debut. Released in the spring of 1996, Good God's Urge dove deep into darker sonic soundscapes and found Farrell focusing even more of his lyrical energy on mythology and the supernatural. The single "Tahitian Moon" is emblematic of Good God's Urge, as it features a blistering guitar riff, some island grooves and Farrell's ethereal voice. It's a killer song with a great video, and it's a perfect way to celebrate Farrell's birthday.

Tags Birthday, janes-addiction, Lollapalooza, perry-farrell, Porno for Pyros, video

Last year, a relatively unknown rapper from a city not traditionally known for hip-hop graduated from the mixtape circuit to the mainstream and became one of the biggest names in the business. That rapper was Drake, the cerebral MC from Toronto who immediately established himself as a major player. This year, that ascension story belongs to Wiz Khalifa, the Pittsburgh-based rapper who went from underground favorite to mainstream superstar almost immediately. In the wake of his chart-topping hit "Black and Yellow" (which was adopted by fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the team's run to the Super Bowl) comes his major label debut Rolling Papers, a stout collection of ear-bending rhymes and smokey beats.

But does the album live up to the considerable hype surrounding Khalifa's arrival? All signs point to yes. "The Pittsburgher's debut on Atlantic is lyrically limited to getting high, stealing chicks, and blowing cash," wrote Brad Wete in Entertainment Weekly in a B+ review. "Yet it burns with an underdog's passion and a champion's spite. Marijuana may not be legal, but Rolling Papers surely will be enjoyed and passed around among Wiz's fans."

Rolling Stone also approved of Khalifa's approach, and critic Jon Dolan appreciated his reinvention of some tropes. "On Rolling Papers, Khalifa manages to give life to those kinds of cash-gorged perma-baked clichés by warmly luxuriating in the space between pop's fresh-faced exuberance and hip-hop's easy arrogance — between skater and playa, Bieber and Biggie," he wrote. "Khalifa hustled for years to get his big break, suffering record-label indignities, releasing mixtapes and using Twitter to build a following. When he raps, 'I don't wanna wake up,' on 'Wake Up,' you can't help but hope his dream lasts a while."

USA Today was slightly more lukewarm but ultimately gave Rolling Papers the benefit of the doubt. "Khalifa is certainly likable enough with his laid-back flow and knack for catchy rhymes over melodic beats," wrote critic Steve Jones. "But he is limited thematically, with almost every song extolling the virtue of weed, women and the good life. All of that footloose fun is cool and all. The only problem is that there are only so many clever ways to describe the hedonism."

Still, plenty of people seem on board with Khalifa — even the British. "Apart from some of the tedious subject matter, [Rolling Papers is] the sort of rap that deserves mainstream attention as it's musically thoughtful and endearing beyond the dancefloor," wrote BBC Music critic Lloyd Bradley. "These are the sort of songs that mainstream hip-hop needs, and would probably find much more entertaining than what tends to get pushed at it."

And David Jeffries of the All Music Guide really nailed it. "Rolling Papers casts Khalifa as a more earthbound and approachable version of Kid Cudi, or Curren$y for the masses, both of which are meant as compliments," he wrote. "While it's misrepresented by its single and the mixtapes that surround it, it is purposeful mood music, perfect for bong loading or just hanging out."

What do you think of Wiz Khalifa's new album? Let us know in the comments!

Tags reviews, Wiz Khalifa

The 1994 film "The Crow" is considered a cult classic for a number of different reasons. Star Brandon Lee (son of legendary martial artist and actor Bruce Lee) died during the making of the movie, creating an eerie parallel with his father and forever preserving Lee in the body of the Crow character. The film itself was a fantastically moody, violent supernatural revenge tale, full of noir touches that fully showcased the skills of director Alex Proyas (who would later go on to direct the moody sci-fi fantasies "Dark City" and "I, Robot"). But "The Crow" became notorious in rock circles for having one of the greatest soundtracks of the era. That soundtrack was released on this day in 1994.

The soundtrack to "The Crow" features some of the biggest rock acts of the era, including Stone Temple Pilots (who launched the single "Big Empty" from the album, which also appeared on their second album Purple, released several months later in 1994), Nine Inch Nails (covering the Joy Division classic "Dead Souls"), Rage Against the Machine (doing a re-recorded version of their b-side "Darkness of Greed") and Pantera (tackling Poison Idea's "The Badge"). The cumulative effect was an air of darkness and foreboding, which provided a perfect tag team partner for the movie itself.

Both the film and the soundtrack were a great success, and they each spent time on top of their respective sales charts. In addition to all the hard rock, the soundtrack also featured a ton of goth tracks from the likes of the Cure, My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult and Jesus and Mary Chain. In honor of one of the greatest movie-related collections of the '90s, check out Jesus and Mary Chain's "Happy When It Rains."

Tags The Crow, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The-Cure, video