Muse really, really want to make it big in America. I mean, this a group whose singer/guitarist Matthew Bellamy recently told Spin magazine, "We'd like to be remembered amongst the best bands in the history of rock. It's necessary to have sustained success in this country for that to happen."

But the British band doesn't want it bad enough to cozy up to an endorsement from Fox News weeping head Glenn Beck, who was singing Muse's praises last month for what he saw as their apocalyptic, one-world order warning on their new album, The Resistance. No sooner had Beck big-upped his paranoid android buddies in the prog trio than he reported that their people called him and asked that he rescind his endorsement. Or did they? On Monday, we found out that Beck was just kidding when he claimed that Muse had put the kibosh on his kudos.

While a Beck endorsement might not put them over the top, popularity-wise, in the U.S., if their retraction request had been real, it would have put them in some impressive company in terms of bands who've asked conservative powerhouses to lay off using or praising their music. There was a flood of these no-thank-yous in last year's presidential election, most of them aimed at failed Republican nominee Senator John McCain.

The Vietnam war hero got pwned by no less than half a dozen acts during his presidential bid, from the Foo Fighters, Van Halen and Heart to John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne.

Classic rockers Boston also fired off an angry missive to Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, asking the former Baptist minister to stop using their 1975 hit "More Than a Feeling" during his rallies.

Then again, maybe if Hillary Clinton had gotten the smackdown from Celine Dion, things would have been different.

Foo Fighters have been on hiatus since their last tour wrapped, but they'll play one show this weekend out of civic duty. Rolling Stone reports that the band will play a short set this Saturday, July 4, on the South Lawn of the White House. Foos frontman Dave Grohl, who grew up in the Washington D.C. area and got his start playing in local hardcore band Scream, is no stranger to the political realm: He and his band played voting drives for the Obama campaign and expressed his ire over John McCain's use of "My Hero" during tour stops.

There are plenty of Foo Fighters songs that can act as inspiration tunes for President Obama ("My Hero" and "Best of You" among them), but there are a handful of tunes in the Foos catalog that they should probably avoid.

"Long Road to Ruin"
In the age of hope, this sentiment would probably be a little too pessimistic.
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By Eric Ditzian

After much hype — most of it joyfully, shamelessly self-created — Stephen Colbert touched down inside Iraq for the start of a week's worth of shows live from one Saddam Hussein's former palaces.

Monday night's pre-taped episode of "The Colbert Report" showcased the host at his bloviating best, heartily congratulating himself for his bravery one minute and aiming his satirical arrows at the usual political targets the next. Starting off with a cold open sketch that had Stephen kidnapped and secreted away to an undisclosed location, he arrived in Iraq only to be pelted — à la former President Bush — with shoes and to learn, much to his chagrin, that no alcohol is served in the country.

The show itself took place in a large auditorium in front of an all-soldier audience. As is usually the case when late night shows travel away from their home studios and to larger venues, this airing of the "Report" suffered somewhat from a lack of intimacy. Forced to project his voice and play to the crowd rather than to the camera, Stephen's opening jokes came off less like a late night monologue than some massive graduation speech.
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By Sohyung Kang

Like many of you, I spent much of the week eagerly anticipating last night's "American Idol" performance finale. A battle of opposites. A larger-than-life, flamboyant rocker pitted against a pocket-sized, understated boy-next-door. Two talented men, facing off in what appears to be a very close competition, maybe the closest since season two's Ruben Studdard vs. Clay Aiken matchup. It's got to be appointment television, right? Wrong. The show could not have been more boring.

Things more exciting than last night's show: C-SPAN. Watching a mouse trying to free itself from a trap. A romantic evening with John McCain. The most climactic part of the night was when the fembot Carrie Underwood stopped singing and the series premiere of "Glee" began.

In any case, here's how the finale breaks down:

Round 1: Adam's "Mad World" vs. Kris' "Ain't No Sunshine"

I was disheartened to find that the contestants had to perform songs they had already done during the season. If I wanted to sit through repeat performances of "Mad World" and "Ain't No Sunshine," I'd visit YouTube. There were only a few subtle changes to each respective performance. The most noticeable was Adam's wardrobe. I did a double take as he appeared onstage, initially believing him to be wearing a dress. That would have made the show infinitely more amusing. But no, it was just a giant cape. How disappointing. Read more...

During his address to Congress last night, President Barack Obama focused on the state of the economy, bringing a young and energetic voice to an otherwise grim situation. While he came off stern and concerned, the president offered uplifting statements as well, saying, "We will rebuild," and arguing the potential success of the $787 billion stimulus package, which has gone from a bill to a reality in recent weeks.

Any overarching presidential speech of this decade would be remiss if it didn't include a plan for Iraq, Afghanistan and our troops. Beyond the overwhelming youth involvement and enthusiasm, there are a few things that stuck out as major promises in President Obama's campaign, like the planned 16-month troop pullout from Iraq. Democrats and young people across the nation applauded Obama for his plan, which was in strict opposition to that of former President Bush and, of course, opponent John McCain.

So when Obama gave the time frame of 19 months last night in his speech, there were a few furrowed brows. While the campaign promised 16 months, apparently the Pentagon and military officials argued for 23 months — and so, through a "meeting of the minds," as Obama called it, they arrived at a compromise of 19 months. Compromise? In Washington? Fresh. And certainly a departure from the more ... didactic and unilateral decision-making of our 43rd president. I think we can forgive the three-month difference in place of the bigger promise kept, which was to bring compromise, and a president who listens to his entire Cabinet before making a fair and balanced decision.
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By Garth Bardsley

If you just can't bear to wait any longer for Bono's "Spider-Man" musical — and who can, really? — maybe this will have to do: A small theater in London is currently rehearsing a brand-new show about the man John McCain called "the biggest celebrity in the world."

"Obama on My Mind" will begin performances at the small Hen and Chickens Theatre (yes, that's really what it's called) in London next month, and despite its lack of big-name stars, the creators feel confident it will attract legions of British Barack fans.

"I think Obama, because he's so huge and [because of] the fever around him, I think lots of people are going to come and see it," Tim McArthur, the musical's director, told The Associated Press. The show's U.S.-born creator, Teddy Hayes, describes it as a "humorous romp" that mixes several different types of music, including pop, gospel, jazz, tango and, uh, "some Motownish stuff."
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By Jayson Rodriguez

Battle lines were drawn between rappers this weekend. Diddy (along with Snoop Dogg) is a hard-core Pittsburgh Steelers fan, as he said on a video blog last week (which we can't link to, owing to his provocative language) before he headed down to Tampa, Florida, for all the festivities surrounding Super Bowl weekend.

We're guessing former G-Unit rapper Hot Rod rides for the Arizona Cardinals, since he is from Phoenix. But after Super Bowl XLIII, where the Steelers defeated the Cards 27-23, Hot Rod didn't return a text asking for a comment on the game. After all, this hasn't been a good year for Arizona: John McCain took an L in the presidential election, then Kurt Warner and company caught one on Sunday night.

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When MTV News' Sway headed down to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration, he was expecting it to be one giant party. And while it certainly was for some, he didn't do much besides rehearse for his gig as the MC of MTV's "Be the Change" Youth Inaugural Ball. Matter of fact, he didn't really leave his hotel room ... aside from one day, that is: when he took a moment to reflect on the historic impact of the events with his 84-year-old grandmother. He also reflected on the feeling in D.C. on that historic day, and on his interviews last year with Barack Obama.

"I managed to leave the hotel in the afternoon and meet up with my grandmother, Elsie Waters. ... She's the matriarch of my fam, and she made the pilgrimage to D.C. to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama. We met up at the Smithsonian, and we just talked about everything that was happening. I didn't know how to sum it all up, but she said so many things that were so right. Read more...

I wasn't in Iowa on that cold, bright morning in January of last year when President Barack Obama made his first improbable step to the White House. I watched from home, and like a lot of people, I was shocked that this freshman senator was able to pull off such an audacious feat against a two-time first lady whose coronation seemed all but assured by the pundits.

I wasn't on the campaign trail, where the quiet, steady confidence of a man whose story followed the arc of America's own crooked path to equality won over voters one by one, then by the thousands, then by the tens of thousands, then millions. The wins kept coming, and this insurgent campaign that was given long odds began to take shape. Watching as the usual suspects bashed and swatted at each other, saying and doing all the things that for the past five election cycles had soured me on what felt like the most mean-spirited and petty way to choose our leaders, I began to notice small things. Obama said he would try to run a cleaner campaign, one that didn't recede into negative attacks and political petulance. And, for the most part, he did. Read more...

By Garth Bardsley and Ryan Kroft

Washington, D.C., is all about acronyms this week. There's PEBO (President-elect Barack Obama), who tomorrow becomes the POTUS (President of the United States). And today, we had our first meeting with the PIC (Presidential Inaugural Committee), the hosts of tomorrow's Youth Inaugural Ball (YIB?), which will be broadcast live on MTV (Music Television!) tomorrow at 10 p.m.

The PIC representatives showed us exactly where Kid Rock, Kanye West and Fall Out Boy will be performing, and gave us the lowdown on where the brand-new president, Barack Obama, will appear and dance with his wife, Michelle. Since the guests of the ball are all youth who were dedicated to making Barack the 44th president of the United States, it's sure to be an emotional night. We also learned where we, as floor producers, will be as we help out the host of the show, Sway, along with our two guest reporters for the night, Usher and Rosario Dawson.
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