It's a big day in Milwaukee, and not just because Festa Italiana kicks into high gear.

No, it's because Friday is also Bon Iver Day in the Brew City, thanks to an official proclamation from mayor Tom Barrett. It's quite an honor for the Wisconsin-born Justin Vernon, one bestowed upon him in part because — as Barrett's proclamation, uh, proclaims — "Bon Iver's music embraces Justin Vernon's Wisconsin heritage, as he has become an international ambassador for both Milwaukee and Wisconsin."

And while there's no word on just how the city plans on commemorating the day (Vernon will kick off his national tour later tonight with a sold-out show at Milwaukee's Riverside Theatre), we'd like to think they've lined-up a series of Bon Iver-centric events. But just in case they haven't, well, we've gone ahead and done it for them.

Here's how we hope Milwaukee plans on celebrating Bon Iver Day. Read More...

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By Zachary Swickey

It’s been three years since No Doubt “reunited” and announced their plans to get back in the studio and finally make the follow-up album to 2001’s Rock Steady (arguably their most ambitious record). A lot has happened to the group in those three years, including kids and marriages, which helps explain the slow progress. So here’s what we do know…

The most recent detail we have on the sixth album is that the group has teamed up with Major Lazer, the producing, recording, DJing machine made up of dubstep badasses Diplo and Switch, who have worked with the likes of M.I.A. and Beyonce. No Doubt posted a pic on Twitter of them hanging out with the super producers in the studio as they progress on the new track “Push and Shove.”

In a June 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, ND said the effort was only about two months away from completion. So what’s taken over three years? For starters, Gwen Stefani was pregnant when the group reunited and had a hard time writing music while awaiting her second taste of motherhood. So the group packed up their things and hit the road for a wildly successful tour that grossed over $34 million after venturing on 57 dates. Not bad, eh?

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With brutal 100+ degree temperatures stretching from the southwest all the way to the northeast today, most of the country is in the midst of a record shattering heat wave. Here at MTV HQ in New York City, the many billion tons of concrete are combining with the sweltering heat and humidity to create a nice brick oven effect that makes you feel like you are slow roasting just walking down the street. So that’s nice.

When it gets hot like this there are only a handful of things we want to do: have a beer by the pool, splash around at the beach or hide away in an air conditioned bunker. We imagine you feel the same, so we’ve put together a nice little heat wave playlist to get you through these tough times.

"Summertime," DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
It’s kind of become the go-to summer anthem, hasn’t it? Before Will Smith was the gigantic movie star he is today he was the Fresh Prince, and he and his buddy Jazzy Jeff were busy checking out girls who were “dressin’ less” and enjoying the kind of good-natured summer fun – BBQs, double-dutch jump rope, cruising around in your car – your mom would certainly approve of.

"Smooth," Santana
Any song that starts with the words “Man it’s a hot one / Like seven inches from the midday sun” is a good song for a day like today. The song debuted on the Billboard chart in early August of 1999 and carried the summer well into fall, spending 12 weeks at No. 1.

"Summer In The City," The Lovin’ Spoonfuls
This thing is the theme song of just about every urban resident in the U.S. right now, right? The track features a series of car horns and a jackhammer to convey what a summer in the city sounds like. That seems just about right to us. (It’s amazing how little things have changed since the summer of ’66, am I right?)

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Remember when George from "Seinfeld" declared it was the "Summer of George"? Well, it seems that Justin Bieber is declaring this summer (or at least the next month) the "Summer of Biebs." Hey, we're totally into the idea of some vacation time for him. We think that Bieber totally deserves some time off considering just how much of a whirlwind his life has been for the last couple years.

Now that he has some time on his hands, we're thinking up some (mostly brainless) ways for Bieber to fill up that ample free time. And, surprisingly, owling and planking did not make the cut.

He’s already pretty skilled at drums and guitar, so we're thinking that Bieber can maybe learn the underappreciated French horn. We'd love to see him wail on that thing.


Click for more hilarious photos of Justin's upcoming Summer activities!

Nothing says "I Love You" like a gift made with your own two hands and nothing really says "I Love You" like a crocheted piece of art. Bieber should take some time to work on a needlepoint gift for Selena.

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Damon Albarn

By Zachary Swickey

There are few notable artists that keep as busy as Damon Albarn. The mastermind behind trip poppers Gorillaz and English rockers Blur has revealed plans for a new album that will be recorded entirely in the Democratic Republic of Congo over just a one week period.

With Gorillaz on hiatus, Albarn has enlisted a slew of artists for the project, including some of the usual suspects: London DJ Darren Cunningham, old Gorillaz chum/production genius Dan the Automator, and XL label boss Richard Russell, who produced the late Gil Scott-Heron’s critically acclaimed final album. The effort is being recorded to benefit Oxfam’s long-time work in the Congo. Other expected contributors include Marc Antoine, Jo Gunton, Jneiro Jarel, Kwes and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.

This will be Albarn’s second experience producing an album for Oxfam. He created a collaborative album with local artists of Mali in 2001, Mali Music. According to Russell’s Twitter, Albarn will once again team up with locals for his new Congo-based disc. Read More...

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Ed. Note: We are not implying that ALL Little Monsters insulted Adele on Twitter nor that Lady Gaga’s fans are the only people doing so (fans of Britney Spears and Katy Perry are in this particular game as well). The reason we chose to shine a spotlight on certain Monsters insulting Adele is because doing so is so incredibly inconsistent with Lady Gaga’s anti-bullying message.

Listen Little Monsters, we know you’re less than thrilled that Lady Gaga didn’t score as many nominations for the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards as you may have wanted or expected, but do you think she’d be pleased that you are attacking the appearance of a singer who did score some nods?

It’s less paws up than claws out. It’s also a pretty poor reflection of the message Mother Monster preaches.

After Adele, whose 21 is top-selling album of the year by far, scored an impressive seven VMA nominations, including Video of the Year, Best Female Video and Best Pop Video, and Gaga scored only one major nomination – Best Female Video for “Born This Way” – the pop star’s fans started getting personal on Twitter.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and we totally get not being happy when your favorite artist doesn’t get the love you think they deserve, but Adele’s weight has nothing to do with anything, and insulting it isn’t going to change Lady Gaga’s number of nominations and represents the kind of bullying that Gaga has decried.

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Lady Gaga

Mermaids aren't native to Nebraska, but that doesn't mean that Lady Gaga won't try and find a way to keep one alive in the landlocked state. According to reports and tweets out of the state, Gaga has been shooting something there. We're gonna go out on a limb and say it's her next music video, which we already know will include a mermaid. We're also gonna assume it's for the song "You And I."

Why are we going to make this guess? Well, Gaga has dropped a few hints along the way. First off, the name of her mermaid character in this next video is "Yuyi." Using some keen dissection skills, Yuyi looks an awful lot like the words “you” and “I” mashed together.

Just this week, Gaga sat down with Howard Stern and said that that she thinks “You and I” is the best song she’s ever written. But perhaps the biggest hint of all that she's shooting a video for "You And I" are the lyrics to the song, where she goes on and on about her "cool Nebraska guy."

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From Chris Brown to Nicki Minaj, the nominees for the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards have been tweeting up a storm. Following last night’s big announcement, many stars took to Twitter to express their gratitude for their nominations.

“I can't sleep...I'm so excited... It feels like every birthday/christmas/first kiss I ever had. Thanks so much for believing in me,” Katy Perry, who scored the most nominations with nine, tweeted.

“Gucci Gucci” singing newcomer Kreayshawn was similarly excited, tweeting, “Omg! Nominated for best new artist for the VMAs! Fanatical fantastical!!! Brah!!!”

Read on to check out what Bruno Mars, Perry, Cee Lo Green, Big Sean and Tyler, The Creator had to say about their noms and find out how to vote for the 2011 VMAs, after the jump.

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Katy Perry can’t believe she's up for nine Moonmen at next month’s 2011 Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. Like, how stoked is she?

"I can't sleep...I'm so excited... It feels like every birthday/christmas/first kiss I ever had. Thanks so much for believing in me," she tweeted. "I owe u."

While she's stunned she garnered so much attention from the VMA gods, she's also a bit surprised some of her pals didn't get as many or any nods at the annual party. After a flurry of tweets about her own nominations, she lamented the fact that a few other artists didn't manage a nomination.

So, who would she have included? "I do miss my RiRi, (s&m) Swifty, (back to dec) Kesha (blow) & Robyn (every vid!) Jessie J, (pricetag) in the/any categories," she tweeted. "#ohmanitstough."

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The nominations for the 2011 MTV video Music Awards just dropped. Katy Perry’s “Firework” leads with Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” hot on its heels. Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Chris Brown and Foster the People also scored multiple nominations.

But that’s not what you want to hear about! You want us to break down the surprises. Well, let’s start with what you’re all thinking: Where are Britney and Gaga? Earlier today, you let us know loud and clear that not only did you expect multiple nominations for Britney Spears and Lady Gaga, you anticipated that the princesses of pop would lead all nominees.

Well, they didn’t. Both superstars scored only one major nomination, Britney for Best Pop Video for “Till The World Ends” and Gaga for Best Female Video for “Born This Way.” Both also brought home nominations in technical categories like Best Choreography.

Read on for more and to vote in our poll of the biggest VMA nomination surprises. Read More...

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