Search Posts

Follow Us

  1. Get the latest updatest in your favorite RSS feed reader.

In a fast-moving digital world where catchphrases and memes disappear 20 minutes after they're declared cool, it must be especially frustrating to be Kanye West. It has now been two months since he crashed Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, but the rest of the media world refuses to let West forget about it. West has apologized to Swift (both in public on national television and in a private phone conversation) and stayed out of the public eye since that fateful night at Radio City Music Hall, but it seems like any time anybody has an awards show, it crops back up again. In fact, getting interrupted during an awards show moment is now simply called "getting Kanye'd."

Case in point: On last night's Country Music Association Awards show, co-hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley were in the middle of a bit when they were interrupted by Grand Ole Opry legend Little Jimmy Dickens, who stepped up to the microphone and said, "I'll let you finish later. I know you had a nice video and all, but Taylor Swift made the best video of all time. Of all time!"

Just a few weeks ago, Katy Perry got into the act while she was hosting the MTV Europe Music Awards. During the announcement of the nominees for Best Urban Video, Perry dropped in once Kanye's name was announced and said, "I'mma let you finish, but this is the best awards show interruption of all time. Of all time!"

And a mere week after Kanye stormed his way into infamy, he was the butt of a handful of jokes at the Emmys, including Justin Timberlake slipping "I'mma let you finish" a speech and actor Ken Howard saying, "I will make my speech as brief as possible in the hope that it won't be interrupted by a congressman or a rapper."

In the wake of the initial incident, Kanye's visit to the stage became an incredible photo meme that still refuses to die and also crossed paths with the Joe Wilson "You lie!" incident (which is almost entirely forgotten by the rest of the world).

And it's not like Kanye invented the idea of crashing awards shows. Who could forget Ol' Dirty Bastard, Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford, "Soy Bomb" or any of the other legendary stage crashers? Kanye West's legacy as a producer and performer was already in tact, but now it looks like he'll have "The Kanye" at the top of his resumé for a while.

Click here for photos of notorious award show interruptions, including those from Kanye West and Soy Bomb!

Today is Election Day, which means that the polls are open and the races for your local school board, aldermen, state representatives and the like are coming to a close with the help of good old-fashioned democracy. There are a handful of notable races happening across the country today, notably for mayor of New York City (something of a foregone conclusion) and for governor of New Jersey (a hotly-contested race) and Virginia (which everybody believes will be something of an early referendum on the job that Barack Obama has been doing). There is also a same-sex marriage law up for grabs in Maine and a civil unions law at stake in Washington (in both situations, laws have been passed but the public has the opportunity to overturn the legislation).

This election cycle obviously hasn't had the same high-profile stars as last year's presidential election (nobody is interested in writing songs for the mayor of Boston), but that doesn't mean your Election Day needs to be completely devoid of tunes. On the contrary, there are plenty of songs that engage our democratic ideals and also happen to be catchy, like Serj Tankian's "Unthinking Majority" and Pink's "Dear Mr. President." Ghostface's "Run" isn't about a campaign, but wouldn't it make an amazing motivational song for voters anyway? Anybody with a more aggro approach to today can sink their teeth into Corrosion of Conformity's "Vote with a Bullet" or (hed) pe's "Represent." And in case you just want to relive last year's historic election, bust out Young Jeezy's "My President."

What's on your voting soundtrack today? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

This afternoon, the National Press Club got a visit from Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges, who stopped by one of the group's regular luncheons to plug the fundraising dinner for his Ludacris Foundation, advocate for leadership and service and perform "Get Back." (Just kidding on that last part.)

Though most people probably consider him the rapper behind "What's Your Fantasy" and "Money Maker" first and an actor from films like "Hustle & Flow" and "Crash" second, Luda was right at home behind the NPC podium. With his mother Roberta Shields by his side (she's the president of the Ludacris Foundation), the rapper joked about the possibilities of running for office (he's not interested in challenging Barack Obama in 2012) and plugged his work on "Law & Order." "'Gamer' is in theaters, too," he joked.

Once he got down to business, he spoke candidly about his involvement in philanthropy and defended the work of the hip-hop community for the betterment of communities across the country. He mentioned that his organization helped provide $100,000 to people who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina and ended up in his hometown of Atlanta. He also talked about how his music has crossed over into his philanthropic life, specifically citing the song "Runaway Love" (from his 2006 album Release Therapy), a tune about kids who escape their negative home life that lead to a partnership with the National Runaway Switchboard. "Any song I put out, I want to make it a movement, not just a single!" he said of "Runaway Love."

At the end, he took questions from the audience about his other charity work, violence in hip-hop ("Hip-hop doesn't cause violence — ignorance causes violence, and that's what I'm trying to combat," he said), his relationship status (he's taken, ladies) and his many nicknames. The best one that came out of the afternoon at the NPC? "I have many different nicknames, and LudaFEMA is one of them," he joked.

There aren't a whole lot of bands who came up in the 1980s and are still kicking around. Actually, strike that. There are plenty of bands who are still milking it (including Kajagoogoo!), but most of them are shells of their former selves or simply irrelevant in the 21st century. Even the bands who have retained their size (U2, Bruce Springsteen) have a hard time keeping their new material interesting. But even though they have 25 percent fewer members than they did at their peak, R.E.M. have still managed to keep things lively, thought-provoking and hugely anthemic. Since drummer Bill Berry left the band for health reasons in 1997, the group continued as a trio and constructed a series of quiet, underrated albums in Up, Reveal and Around the Sun. In 2008, they got back to their louder roots with the stunning Accelerate. They remain one of the most relevant and definitive socially-conscious rock bands, having stumped for Barack Obama during last year's election and standing up for gay rights.

Though they retain their relevance in the 21st century, R.E.M. will probably never be as big as they were in 1992, when on this day they released Automatic for the People. Though they had scored a big commercial crossover the previous year with Out of Time (and its accidentally massive single "Losing My Religion"), Automatic for the People represented the band at its commercial peak. The sad-eyed single "Everybody Hurts" was inescapable, but the rest of the album was really stunning: The pulsating "Drive," the head-nodding "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight," the haunting "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" and the positive jam "Man on the Moon." But the most magical track on the record also had a delightfully lo-fi, moving video, so enjoy "Nightswimming" and remember that three decades of relevance is harder than it looks.

By Elliott Wilson, Founder and CEO of RapRadar.com

Here today and gone tomorrow is the fate of the average rapper. But Young Jeezy has proven to be something special, which is why without a new album he still made MTV's Hottest MCs list for the third year in row.

Armed with an ad-lib for every occasion, he's the undisputed voice of the struggle, and we're all still recovering from his musical recession. An unlikely candidate to conduct Obama's victory soundtrack, he did just that and never lost his street edge or credibility.

Witnessing his evolution from trap star to superstar has been fantastic. He can tour with Lil Wayne, drop mixtape heat ("Trappin' Ain't Dead"), battle ATL peer Gucci Mane ("24-23") and go toe-to-toe with Hov ("Real as it Gets"), all with sustained confidence and charisma. A man of respect you'd be hard pressed to not root for, his upcoming fourth release, TM103 has got us fiendin' like a classic Jodeci song.

Simply put, Da Snowman can do no wrong.

It's hard to believe, but Foo Fighters have actually been around since 1995 (which means that frontman Dave Grohl has been with his own band nearly four times longer than he was with Nirvana), so it's only logical that they'll be putting 14 years worth of hits on a compilation that hits the streets on November 3. Greatest Hits brings together such smashes as "Everlong," "All My Life," "Learn to Fly" and "My Hero." But they've also added two new tunes to the mix. One is a song called "World Forward" and another called "Wheels" (which they originally premiered on the lawn of the White House during an Independence Day party hosted by Barack Obama). The video for "Wheels" just premiered this morning, and it's a low-key performance clip that puts the group in a large, romantically lit warehouse. It's not nearly as visually stunning as some of the Foo Fighters' other work, but it does have one notable prop that makes it particularly interesting: Those old-timey microphones.

It makes sense, because with a decade-and-a-half in, Foo Fighters are one of the more venerable brands in rock music. They've toured the world, sold-out stadiums, played numerous events and award shows, sold millions of records, made memorable videos and experimented over and over again while still remaining true to their core. "Wheels" is a reserved tune about the road, but at this point, there's no better group to explain the ways of the rock world than the dudes who have just about seen it all.

As part of his continued push to sell health care reform to the American public, Barack Obama did something that no sitting president has ever done before: He accepted the guest chair on "The Late Show with David Letterman" last night. The veteran host chatted with Obama about a number of issues, including the Joe Wilson incident, the current state of the economy and the recent suggestion by Jimmy Carter that the criticism of his presidency stems from race. Obama laughed off the idea that racism fueled any sort of vitriol. "I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election," he told Letterman.

"How long have you been a black man?" the host joked in response.

Obama was game for the whole interview, which touched on serious issues as well as plenty of humor. He was even the subject of the evening's Top Ten list, which was "Top Ten Reasons President Obama Agreed To Be On The Late Show." The list, read by Letterman, included a handful of gems like, "Said 'Yes' without thinking, like Bush did in Iraq" and "We told him Megan Fox would be here."

The appearance on "The Late Show" last night marked the latest in a flurry of high-profile television appearances for the president, who is trying to drive the biggest health care reform bill in decades, which will certainly be the piece of legislation that will define this term of his presidency. He swept through interviews on CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and Univision, leaving Fox News out in the cold.

You know you've arrived when your name becomes a verb. But this is probably not the kind of fame Kanye West was looking for. Even though he was nowhere to be seen at Sunday night's Emmy Awards, 'Ye was on many people's lips as the phrase "pull a Kanye West" became the go-to shorthand for rude awards-show behavior.

Host Neil Patrick Harris whipped it out just a few minutes into the three-hour broadcast, quipping, "All right, it's my job to keep things moving tonight. I'm here to ensure everything runs smoothly. Here's hoping Kanye West likes '30 Rock.' "

The reference, of course, was to West's bum-rush of Taylor Swift at last weekend's VMAs, which has very quickly become an online punching bag and super-meme, as well as another badge of dishonor for the very "passionate" rapper.

Read more...

In the wake of the Kanye West stage-crashing incident at this past Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, the online world has been buzzing about West's actions, which clearly struck a nerve among the typing proletariat. There was the "Kanye interrupts Obama" clip (which made its way online seemingly moments after Kanye was ushered off the stage at Radio City Music Hall), and yesterday we took a look at the "Kanye intrudes on famous photos" meme (which only keeps growing). Though the man has apologized profusely and even vanished from his blog for a few days, the Web continues to pile on, partially in defense of Taylor Swift and partially because it only keeps getting funnier.

For example, you can now make Kanye drop in on any Web page you choose with Kanyelicious, which allow Kanye to crash just about any party he wants. (Really, it's just like Bacolicious, but that doesn't mean it isn't fantastic.)

Plenty of video has been generated as well. In another collision of Internet tropes, Kanye had a run-in with Keyboard Cat, which leaves the ivory-tickling kitty as confused and put off as Swift was on Sunday. He also decided to ruin Angry Emo Kid's day. Playing off the Obama interruption, it makes perfect sense that he would also drop in on one of George W. Bush's old addresses. You know who else was shocked by Kanye West? Harry Potter. And if Mario thinks he can just beat Bowser and the save Princess Toadstool, he's got another thing coming.

There are even mad geniuses out there plying fancier forms of craft, like the folks who mashed together Serena Williams' U.S. Open meltdown with the VMA incident. (Want the non-animated version? No problem.) But we keep coming back to ImaLetYouFinish.com, which keeps churning out photo montages that throws Kanye into protests, Cubs games and at least one horror movie.

Kanye West's stage-crashing appearance at Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards made the Internet explode with tweets, blog rants and at least one video mash-up. Reactions, condemnations and parodies move as quickly as people can conceive them.

Though West has repeatedly apologized (and finally called Swift himself yesterday, seemingly putting the beef to bed), the Web still hasn't forgiven him, and anybody with access to Photoshop is not going to let him off the hook that easily. West's interruption has created a meme that sees West interrupting any number of events, each time telling somebody that he'll let him or her finish and then talking about how much better something else is. For example, West drops in on Shaquille O'Neal shooting a foul shot and says, "I know you about to miss this free throw and I'm gonna let you finish, but Ray Allen has one of the best free throw percentages of all time!" He also dropped in on the moon landing, telling Neal Armstrong, "I'm really happy for you and I'm gonna let you finish, but Russia had one of the best space programs of all time!" He explains to Dr. King, "Last night I had one of the best dreams of all time!" And he even puts down Edward Cullen, saying, "Edward, I'm very happy for you and I'm gonna let you sparkle, but 'True Blood' has some of the best vampires of all time!"

Of course, like any good Internet meme, it eventually comes back to eat itself, as evidenced by this photo of Kanye interrupting his own interruption. And like any good Internet phenomenon, there's also a fake Twitter account that drops interruptions on various things, like "I'ma rent 'Signs' again but my haircut had some of the best crop circles of all time!" and "Yo @DrakkardNoir I'm really happy for your @DrakesKnee recovery, Ima let you finish but Ben Carson had one of the best surgeries of all time!"