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By Zachary Swickey

One of the best things about today’s modern music world is the ease with which bands are able to record. Previously, bands would need to hoard bookoo cash in order to get precious studio time and present a professional sounding album. The line between amateur and professional has become radically blurred, and with major labels becoming more and more unnecessary when it comes to releasing a record, creativity has never flourished as much as it is today (just look at the output of Nine Inch Nails during their final, label-free years). Case-in-point, Crosses – or technically †††, which is not be confused with the Justice album, † – the new side project of Deftones crooner Chino Moreno. A band that probably wouldn’t be possible if they had to deal with the obstacles that music labels can often present.

Crosses is the brainchild between Moreno, his childhood friend (and ex-Far guitarist) Shaun Lopez and Chuck Doom. Lopez is also notable for salvaging the fifth Deftones record, Saturday Night Wrist, when he took over vocal production duties due to Moreno not seeing eye-to-eye with the effort’s legendary producer, Bob Ezrin. Moreno has also tackled side projects before with the ambient sounds of Team Sleep, who released one self-titled (and totally kickass) record back in 2005.

Moreno took his fans off guard with the release of Crosses’ debut EP, †, on August 2. No one was expecting to hear music from the project so soon or so inexpensively (only $5 for a high-quality download). Without the concerns of a label, Crosses are able to take as little or as much time on their recordings and can release them whenever the heck they feel like it, which is music to fans’ ears (pun intended) as labels are known to sit on albums for up to six months (and sometimes shelve them altogether). Read more...

Tags Bands We Like

For those who only know Joseph Gordon-Levitt from his excellent work in television and film over the past 20 years or so, do yourself a favor and expand your fandom by heading over to hitRECord.org, Gordon-Levitt's collaborative production company/community and passion project. On Monday night, the roughly seven-year-old operation celebrated its creative success with the 2011 Fall Formal, a live performance event at which Gordon-Levitt served as emcee and performer, along with guest appearances by supporters and friends Anne Hathaway, Neil Patrick Harris, Gary Oldman and Sia, along with an audience full of hitRECord members and enthusiasts.

The spirit of the evening was lighthearted and welcoming, with a vaudeville-esque lineup of readings, short films and musical numbers. Also, everyone in attendance was encouraged to record however much of the show they wanted. The video below, which features Gordon-Levitt, hitRECord artist the Metafictionis and Hathaway, will give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

Admittedly, I expected to be further charmed by Gordon-Levitt. He is just so darn talented and passionate and genuine, it's irresistible and inspiring watching him move smoothly from narrating to dancing, to singing, to drumming to improv'ing. He's an artist in every sense of the word, and while his name is attached to hitRECord and he emceed the program, it is obvious that Gordon-Levitt truly enjoys creating art that comes from a collaboration and collection of other equally talented individuals.

Also, when you get Oldman, Hathaway, Harris and Sia to come in and play with you during their time off, you know you are loved.

It was hard to pick a favorite moment, but when Oldman got up onstage to read a "Tiny Story" called "The Man With a Turnip for a Head," written by hitRECord artist Metaphorest, he brought down the house.

"It's going to be hard to top that," Gordon-Levitt told the crowd as Oldman left the stage. Yet somehow, I'm sure he will figure out a way to do just that for next year's event.

What do you think of Gordon-Levitt's passion project, hitRECord? Tell us in the comments!

Tags anne hathaway, Creative Performance, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sia, video

Would you buy a used car from Saul Goodman?

Okay, how about from Bob Odenkirk, the actor who plays the shadiest lawyer on the planet on "Breaking Bad?" The Black Keys seem to think you would, which might explain why they dressed Odenkirk up in the cheapest-looking polyester suit they could find and hired him to help hawk their upcoming Danger Mouse-produced album, El Camino.

Odenkirk does his damndest to get the right car in the frame during the fake one-minute ad allegedly shot in December 1996, but all he succeeds in doing is creating one of the best viral video album spots in recent memory.

Read more...

Tags Black Keys, Eminem

Well, we're a few weeks into the fall TV season and things are starting to settle down. After checking out a bunch of new shows, audiences are settling in with the shows they like. A few shows have emerged as bona fide hits (to varying degrees), including Zooey Deschanel's "New Girl" on FOX, ABC's "Suburgatory" and NBC's "Up All Night," others are pulling in respectable ratings (think "Pan Am," "Terra Nova" and "2 Broke Girls"), while a few others – NBC's "Whitney," for example – are underperforming but have enough support from their network to keep chugging along in hopes of finding an audience. "The Playboy Club" wasn't so lucky – NBC already canceled the '60s-set drama – and the futures of ABC's deflated "Charlie's Angels" and NBC's "Prime Suspect" are uncertain.

So what new shows are you grooving on this season? Vote in our poll below.

Did we forget your fave new show? Tell us all about it in the comments!

Tags Newsroom Poll, Television

Beyonce, who has normally kept mum on the details of her personal life, isn't shy about her pregnancy in the latest issue of Harper's Bazaar.

"It was important to me that I gave myself time to focus on becoming the woman I want to be, building my empire, my relationship, and my self-worth, before I became a mother," the star tells Harper's. "Now God has blessed us with the ultimate."

Beyonce and Jay-Z have been on the receiving end of baby rumors for years, so when the time came to announce it to the world -- at our own VMAs in August -- Knowles was going to make sure the reveal was picture perfect. "I put a lot of thought into how I wanted to unveil it. It was important to me that I was able to do it myself," she says of rubbing her bump on the red carpet in an orange Lanvin gown. "I was extremely nervous. It was the toughest red carpet I ever did. I decided to say nothing and proudly show my baby bump. I felt it was more powerful to see the love and enthusiasm as opposed to saying anything." More From Beyonce's Now-Historic Pregnancy Reveal >>> Read more...

Tags Beyonce, Beyonce Pregnant

By Vaughn Trudeau Schoonmaker, with additional reporting by Matt Elias

MTV News caught up with Latin pop singer/songwriter Prince Royce as he was getting ready to warm up the stage for Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The 22-year-old singer's debut self-titled album went double-platinum in 2010, and he is currently prepping material to release two albums in the near future: one being his second Latin album and the other being his first full venture into English pop.

Having gained worldwide attention from his Latin cover of Ben E. King's classic "Stand By Me," the Bronx-born rising star has made it a long way from his poetry classes at age 14 that he credits with sparking his interest in songwriting.

Surrounded by tens of thousands of spectators each night, Prince Royce is out to prove that he has what it takes to join the ranks of the two stars he's currently on the road with.

"It's really an honor for me to be a part of this tour with Enrique and Pitbull -- these international pop stars, hip-hop stars, and for me just to be a part of it, it's really fun for me," Prince told MTV News. "These guys are hard workers."

Tags enrique iglesias, Opening Act, Pitbull

The Internet may actually melt down tonight. In a scenario not seen since a unicorn mated with a double rainbow and then bit its finger, Cher is slated to be in the audience of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" this week to cheer on her son, Chaz Bono.

Bono, who has had a remarkably solid run on the show despite some leg injuries, less-than-stellar dancing and early criticism from conservative groups about the inclusion of the first transgender dancer on the prime-time reality juggernaut, will also be getting some love from his stepmother, Rep. Mary Bono Mack, half-brother Chesare Bono, half-sister Georganne LaPiere Bartylak and girlfriend Jennifer Elia.

Chaz supporters and Cher fanatics have been waiting all season for the famously feather-loving movie star and pop icon to take a seat in the audience for the program. People magazine reported that Chaz confirmed the blessed news, spilling the beans that mommy dearest will watch the proceedings on Monday (October 10) night.

Read more...

Tags Chaz Bono, Cher

Beyoncé recently opened up about her pregnancy to Australia's "Sunday Night," and during the chat, it was revealed that Mama B is expected to give birth to her first baby with Jay-Z in February of next year.

With this info, we can now track the progress of Beyoncé's baby bump, currently clocking in at five months. She's even making it easy for us by including it in her music videos and performances.

As we all know, 2012 is a big year for world events, but this birth could certainly eclipse a number of them. So what's going down in 2012 that should be bigger than the birth of this child but might not be?

» The election of the next president. It's America's first family vs. the First Family of Hip-Hop and R&B!

» The Mayan apocalypse. The end of the world is expected to take place next December, but this centuries-old belief could be thwarted by the birth of this baby months prior.

» Possible Guns N' Roses reunion at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If anyone feels like backing out at the last minute (we're looking at you, anyone but Axl Rose!), we're sure Baby Carter/Knowles could broker the band's reconciliation and get everyone onboard.

» The Olympics in London. Of course, all anyone will be talking about is what this baby is wearing on the sidelines.

» The Queen's Diamond Jubilee. This occasion marks the 60 years Queen Elizabeth has been "watching the throne." Diamonds? B's baby already knows all about those — and he/she isn't even born yet!

Now that we know February is the big month, let the "Countdown" begin (get it???).

Will the birth of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's baby be 2012's biggest event? Let us know in the comments!

Tags Beyonce, Jay-Z, Pregnancy

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi

Here in the MTV Newsroom, we like to have a little bit of fun with the celebrities we talk with daily. So when 14-year-old Australian pop sensation Cody Simpson stopped by to talk about his new EP Coast to Coast, we knew he'd be game to play Two Truths & A Lie with our own Christina Garibaldi.

The teen singer-songwriter was a good sport and revealed to Christina that he was champion swimmer in his native Australia, puts ketchup on everything and broke his legs playing rugby! One of these things, however, is not true. Can you guess which one it is?

Check out the video below to find out!

Tags cody simpson, Two Truths & A Lie

By Zachary Swickey

Earlier this year, we saw the WTF pairing of the millennium when Jack White teamed up with the loud and crude Insane Clown Posse for a one-off track. In another perplexingly rando collab, it appears that the surviving members of The Doors have gotten together in the studio with dubstep king Skrillex.

The collaboration comes compliments of a new documentary, "RE:GENERATION," which finds five popular DJs/producers working with artists from five very different genres: Pretty Lights got country with Leann Rimes and Ralph Stanley; DJ Premeire joined Nas for a composition with the Berklee School of Music Orchestra; digital masterminds the Crystal Method spent two days in Detroit recording an R&B number with Martha Reeves; and super producer, Mark Ronson recruited Erykah Badu along with some members of the Dap Kings to join Trombone Shorty in his home town of New Orleans for a jazz tune.

Somewhat surprisingly, Doors guitarist Robby Krieger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek hit it off wonderfully with Sonny Moore – the 23-year-old we know was Skrillex. “[Sonny] plays his beat; all he had to do was play the one thing. I listened to it and I said, ‘Holy s**t, that’s strong,’” Manzarek told Rolling Stone. “Basically, it’s a variation on ‘Milestones’ by Miles Davis, and if I do say so myself, sounds f**king great, hot as hell,” he elaborated excitedly. Read more...

Tags skrillex, The Doors