MTV Newsroom ›

By Zachary Swickey
What kind of band would release new music on a USB drive located inside the brains of a psychedelic, seven-pound gummy skull? Why, the Flaming Lips, of course. For reasons apparent only to them, they've been hard at work delivering new music each month of 2011 in unconventional ways ... last month, they released a (relatively straightforward) 12" EP with noise-pop darlings Neon Indian, and now, they've concocted gummy skulls. In a way, it makes perfect sense for a band that sold silver trembling fetus Christmas tree ornaments.

And on Wednesday (April 20), after months of gelatinous trial and error — and, in celebration of a different "holiday" — Lips' mastermind Wayne Coyne personally delivered the first set of skulls to Guestroom Records in the band's hometown of Oklahoma City ... at exactly 4:20 p.m. And I was there. Unfortunately, so were a lot of Lips other fanatics, meaning I didn't get my hands on one of the skulls (only 500 were made).

Still, it was a pretty cool opportunity to hang out with Coyne, who asked us to help carry the skulls inside the shop, and before purchases could be made, showed us an "making of" video on his iPhone.

"You know, we weren’t even sure a USB could survive what we wanted to do to it, so we had to test it out first," he told the room. "The drive has to be thrown in while the gumminess is above two hundred degrees. Of course, we had to eat our way in."

After it was clear that the five gummy skulls he had brought wouldn’t cut it, Coyne hopped right back in his truck to drive home and fetch more. Still, only a handful of skulls were sold, and there’s no telling when and where the rest might show up ... though perhaps they'll roll out more at any number of their upcoming weirdo-rock-freakouts, including a set of live shows at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery (capped off with a collaborative performance with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros inside of a bell tower) and an LP with Prefuse 73. Coyne has mentioned his desire to work with everyone from Jimmy Page to James Murphy. Oh, and could someone please let Lykke Li know they’re looking for her?

Tags Behind The Scenes, Flaming-Lips, Gummy Skulls

Three months ago, if you had told me that "American Idol X: F--- F---" was going to have a theme week about recent music, I would have said, "Yeah, and Katherine Heigl will make a good movie one day." But holy crap. That's exactly what "Idol" did Wednesday night. Sorry, Stevie Wonder. Your revenue stream off "Idol" royalties is going on a one-week hiatus. You'll live.

The show kicked off with a montage of auditions. Oh, the good old days, back when we thought Steven Tyler was a passionate judge and Casey Abrams was a goofy guy who'd never step to Jimmy Iovine. Our egomaniacs used to be so adorable when they were young.

Before I get interrupted by a random, pointless drum line, let me quickly remind you to catch our weekly post-performance interactive chat show, "Idol Party Live," at noon right here in this very blog. My co-host for the week will be Rolling Stone writer/superstar and all around hilarious dude Rob Sheffield.

Now on to the performances!

Paul McD and the Idol X Losers
Song: Pink's "So What"
Verdict: So What The Frick!

Hey, America! Remember the five girls you didn't care about enough to keep on "Idol"? They're back! Dare you to remember their names! (Psssst, the one inexplicably singing in a baby voice is Ashthon. The one dressed like sexy Olivia Newton-John at the end of "Grease" is Karen.) You all know that Naima Adedapo holds a special place in my heart, what with her high kicks and "boom fiyahs." But my love grew even deeper as she shed layers of clothing throughout the song, like a toddler overheating at a family function. I'd kill to watch a Naima reality show, although we probably wouldn't see much, given her propensity for tossing jackets over camera lenses.
Read more...

Tags American Idol

By Rya Backer

Paul McDonald was a favorite of ours on this season's "American Idol." His dance moves, bedazzled suits and singular vocals won us over early on, so we were sad to see him go last Thursday. But all those frowns turned into smiles really quickly when he swung by MTV News earlier this week — especially for me, since I learned that I (Jim's "Idol Party Live" co-producer) would take on the Q&A.

In addition to a winning (well, eighth place isn't that bad) smile, the26-year-old raspy-voiced rambler is very funny and, as we learned during the interview, very, very excited by the idea of pancake batter shooting out of his navel.

Sure, we asked McDonald about his budding romance with actress Nikki Reed. And, of course, we asked him about what music he's working on. And yes, we had him explain his cameo in this music video. But we "Idol" fanatics wanted to know more. Like, who is his favorite member of TLC? What would the name of his debut album be? How could he have fixed the Spider-Man musical? All these questions and then some were answered in our weekly "10 Questions."

Check in with us Thursday at noon ET for more with Mr. McDonald (not this one) and talk with Jim Cantiello, who will be joined by music writer Rob Sheffield and Yahoo!'s Lyndsey Parker. Tweet your thoughts on tonight's performance show using the hashtag #idolparty, and you may be a co-star in Thursday afternoon's live broadcast!

What do you think is next for Paul? Let us know in the comments!

Tags 10 Questions, American Idol, Paul McDonald

"Weird Al" Yankovic has paid homage to some of the biggest names in the game, including Michael Jackson, Madonna, Nirvana, R. Kelly and (when it was 1996 and he was considered a big deal) Coolio. While many of his parodies through the years have poked fun at celebrities in lighthearted ways, much of the songs have focused on silly things in pop culture and not the celeb themselves.

So when Al leaked his latest parody, of Lady Gaga's chart-topping "Born This Way," the tone was a bit more, well, scathing. Instead of making fun of silly things, like going to drive-throughs (R. Kelly) or being like a surgeon (Madge), he instead only talks about the star herself.

In a blog post, Yankovic wrote that he had reservations about recording the track, due to its feel-good message, but later decided that proceeds from the sale would go to the Human Rights Campaign, trying to find a balance between the two songs' very different tones. Gaga was initially open to the idea, he wrote, asking to see what he had in mind. After hearing Al's final version of the track, she declined to give him the rights. Read more...

Tags Born This Way, Lady Gaga, weird al

The Black Eyes Peas have taught us so many things lately: how to use Legos as fashion accessories, how to use Lite-Brites as fashion accessories, how to bring club songs to the masses... Now they want to share the love through their Peapod Foundation. The group has announced plans to open a school in New York where teenagers will learn video and music production using professional equipment. They're teaming up with technology company Adobe, through the Adobe Foundation, to open the Peapod Adobe Youth Voice center in Lower Manhattan, which will offer classes to students aged 13 to 19, beginning in July.

That got us thinking about other celebrities who could take their hard-earned knowledge and turn their experiences into academic institutions benefiting the kids.

The Dr. Dre Academy of Time Management: This high-tech learning institute located in Compton, California, is perfect for the budding rapper/hip-hop producer who has a million ideas, but is in no hurry to rush their wares to market. You'll pick up tips from the good doctor on how to take your time working on an album until you get it just right. Special bonus: Adjunct professor W. Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses will sit in as a guest speaker for three weeks (please allow a four-hour window beyond the scheduled 11 a.m. starting time for Mr. Rose's arrival.)
Read more...

Tags The Black Eyed Peas

New West Week, spotlighting the re-energized L.A. hip-hop scene, is under way at MTV News, and when I originally pitched the concept of a New West Week I didn't have much of a big, grandiose plan.

I noticed that there were a bunch of young, up-and-coming artists in L.A. who didn't have much in common other than the fact that they weren't of the N.W.A/Dr. Dre lineage and were being overlooked. But the main reason I wanted to go out to Cali was because I thought Odd Future and Casey Veggies were dope.

I didn't know much about either act before last November. I'd seen a bunch of reviews from their Webster Hall show and our rock editor, James Montgomery, even stopped by to talk to me about them. I was familiar with some Mellowhype tracks that I had heard on a few blogs, and I only knew Tyler, the Creator from a remix of N.E.R.D's "Inside of Clouds" he'd done. I didn't know that those guys were a part of a larger group or even that Tyler rapped. Read more...

Tags Casey Veggies, hip-hop, L.A., New West, Odd Future, OFWGKTA

By Zachary Swickey
Last week, we marveled at actor Emile Hirsch's homemade, frequently skeevy video for Daft Punk's "Alive" and wondered, amongst other things, how he'd top himself the next time out. Would there be even more dudes without shirts?

As it turns out, the answer is no. There's nary a bare-chested guy in Hirsch's brand-new music video, for Eminem's 2000 track "Kill You" (give him credit for choosing a song from the last decade this time around). But there is one seriously cute cat, some dogs, illicit catnip use, a mean-spirited middle-aged woman and even a cameo from the director herself.

What does Hirsch's video have to do with Em's ultra-violent track (in which he fantasizes about raping his mother and murdering his ex-wife)? Well, nothing, really. Instead, Eminem is played by Kiki, a gray and white cat, who battles a pair of dogs who dare infringe on her(?) turf, hits the catnip hard and even attempts to smother her owner while she sleeps. Still, it's filled with clever nods to Em's lyrics — when he spits "They say I can't rap about coke no more," Kiki traipses around some empty Diet Coke bottles, and when he laments "Here we go again, we're out of medicine," Kiki thrashes around in her last bit of catnip — and, at the video's end, there's even a cat bath, which, it should be noted, Kiki handles it with like a pro.

Clearly, much like Hirsch, this isn't her first music video. And hopefully, it won't be her last, either.

Tags Eminem, Kitties!, Tributes

By Patrick Hester

From what we can tell of Beyoncé's upcoming single, reportedly called "Girls (Who Run the World)," based on the version that leaked this week, it's quite the female-empowerment track. With B chanting, "I'm repping for the girls who taking over the world/ Have me raise a glass for the college grads," the thumping, Caribbean-flavored song seems bound to be a club banger this year. But it also inspired us to compare it to her earlier songs that encourage women to stand up for themselves and never take second best.

"Why Don't You Love Me": This late I Am ... Sasha Fierce single sees Beyoncé questioning her lover for not appreciating her assets. In each verse, she boasts about her beauty, brains, moves and more. Despite the lament, the song implies that it's the man's problem if he doesn't realize the value of his woman.
Read more...

Tags Beyonce, Girls (Who Run The World)

Given that the theme of this week's "American Idol" is "Songs from the 21st Century," it's only natural that the Top 7 are being mentored by Bruce Springsteen, a guy who's about as 21st century as Spanish Influenza.

Then again, we'd expect nothing less from "Idol," which, in its tenth season, has tossed common sense by the wayside. The judges seem hell-bent on praising even the most underwhelming of talent (shout-out to Haley Reinhart!), or preserving their chances with ill-advised saves (shout-out to Casey Abrams!), even if that strategy eventually comes back to bite them — and the show — in the butt (shout-out to Pia Toscano!) There's been the bats--t "mentoring" of Will.I.Am, who seems incapable of making sense, host Ryan Seacrest's constantly evolving hairstyles, and, of course, terrifying performances from folks like Constantine Maroulis and Iggy Pop.

In short, this season has been a mess, to the point where making Springsteen the mentor during "Songs from the 21st Century" week almost makes sense. Still, we'd be remiss if we didn't point out that there are a whole lot of other artists the "Idol" folks could've booked this week ... most of whom were not born during the Truman administration. Don't get us wrong, none of them could carry the Boss's Jersey Jock, but they're at least, you know, 21st Century. Who'd we pick? Read on to find out!

Read more...

Tags American Idol, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Bieber

By Jessica Hyndman

There's nothing quite as timeless, or bad-ass, as the classic "hot chick on a motorcycle" photo. It's become a quintessential ploy in not only selling bikes, but solidifying any woman's hardcore reputation. Lady Gaga has dutifully spun this time-honored masterpiece modern by turning herself into a motorcycle for the cover of her highly-anticipated "Born This Way" album. In honor of her immortalization as a chopper, we've dug through the past to present some great females on bikes. From Jessica Alba to Megan Fox, motorcycles are an integral part of the tough-chick status.

Angelina Jolie has forever ingrained her position at the top of the list of bike riding bad-ass women. Few can forget her moves in the "Tomb Raider" series or self-performed stunts in "Salt," and she actually rides outside of the big screen with-or-without husband Brad Pitt.

Megan Fox became the new-age ultimate biker babe when "Transformers 2" hit theaters. Carrying over the rugged image of Mikaela Banes working under the hood of a car, Fox hops on the back of an orange Aprili toting co-star Shia LaBeouf. Read more...

Tags Born This Way, Lady Gaga, Motorcycle