MTV Newsroom – Gil Kaufman

Pete Wentz Picks His Lollapalooza Playlist

Posted 8/4/11 4:45 pm EST by Gil Kaufman in Fall-Out-Boy, Live Music, Lollapalooza

Pete Wentz

They say you can never go back home again. Not unless you're former Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz. Not only is he coming back to his childhood home of Chicago this weekend, but he's gearing up to play the biggest gig so far with his new band, Black Cards, at the city's signature summer blowout, Lollapalooza. The dinnertime slot on Friday's opening day of the three-day fest is a coming-out party of sorts for Wentz, whose former band never made it onto the bill once Lolla set down roots on the Chicago waterfront and was reborn as a destination event in 2005.

We caught up with Wentz as he was making this way through Los Angeles International Airport for his Thursday afternoon flight and chatted about coming home, playing in front of his family and friends and how he feels about the inevitable whispers about a potential on-stage FOB reunion (former singer Patrick Stump is also on the bill, playing the same stage at around the same time on Saturday).

"I'm pretty excited about it because Lollapalooza is kind of a big summer event in Chicago and I've been going the past couple of years and it's hot and fun and [co-founder] Perry [Farrell] has done a really good job of having a wide range of bands," said Wentz. "For me it's really exciting. I've never played it before and to be able to play and hang out with my friends and family and have them see me play is really cool."

While Wentz is psyched for the Lolla audience to hear the electro pop sounds of his new band – who will also play an after party set at his downtown bar, Angels & Kings – he ran down his list of must-see sets. Read More...

Tags Black Cards, Patrick Stump, pete-wentz

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Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Eminem To Vie For Best Video With a Message At VMAs

Posted 8/4/11 12:00 pm EST by Gil Kaufman in Eminem, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, VMAs

Katy Perry

Music videos can thrill, shock, confound and elate, but when they weave in a serious message they can also make a difference and teach us a little something. That's why MTV is proud to introduce a new category at this year's 2011 Video Music Awards, Best Video With a Message, which will spotlight clips from Lady Gaga, Pink, Katy Perry, Eminem, Taylor Swift and Rise Against that have a pro-social message.

The new category spotlights the intersection of music and social activism, highlighting artists who've made videos with positive messages that raise awareness of some of the most pressing issues facing today's youth, from bullying and LGBT discrimination to domestic violence and self-image struggles.

“During the past year, we’ve seen a remarkable number of artists create music videos that went above and beyond simply offering entertainment value,” said MTV President Stephen Friedman. “Instead, these artists used their influence and voices to explore deeply personal experiences and issues they were passionate about to create meaningful music that resonated with millions inspiring life anthems for their fans.”

Each clip nominated for Best Video with a Message will be accompanied by some action steps from MTV Act – MTV’s online platform designed to amplify youth efforts to make things better – where the MTV audience can learn more about and take action on the issue addressed.

Read on for the nominees. Read More...

Tags Eminem, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Pink, rise against, Taylor Swift, vma nomination, VMAs

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Amy Winehouse: I Knew She Was No Good

Posted 7/25/11 9:03 am EST by Gil Kaufman in Amy Winehouse, deaths

Photo by Gil Kaufman/MTV News

I've been to 50 shows, maybe 100, where I was assured I was seeing the next big thing. And most of the time, sadly, I was seeing something, but it wasn't big and it was hardly a thing.

But this one felt different.

There was something off about Amy Winehouse when I first laid eyes on her in March of 2007. Here was this latest British next big thing, a truly buzzed-about artist with a larger-than-life persona who shuffled out on stage and looked like a hyper-realized version of 1,000 other hipster chicks at that year's South by Southwest music festival in Austin.

From the big, retro gold doorknocker earrings, to the towering 1950s beehive with the blonde streak up front, the gold anchor necklace pendant, pin-up girl bicep tats and cat-eye mascara, Winehouse made an impression, sure.

But she was intensely shy, even awkward, on stage. That is, when she finally got to the stage.

She, of course, showed up horribly late, an almost unforgivable sin at SXSW, where showcases are run like clockwork. Her voice was as promised, a massive instrument, deep and rich, well-lived in for a woman in her early twenties. Too well lived-in, if I'm being honest. But that's what made her stand out. The whole wise-beyond-her-years effect. Though, looking back (and the thought might have occurred to me even then), I'm not sure it was wisdom that had rung those miles up.

Space Shuttle Launch Has Us On Interstellar Overdrive: An Atlantis Playlist

Posted 7/8/11 10:10 am EST by Gil Kaufman in beastie-boys, countdown, Katy Perry, muse

Space, it really is the final frontier. And with the Space Shuttle Atlantis due to blast off for the last-ever shuttle mission into the heavens on Friday morning (unless Mother Nature gets in the way), we were feeling all nostalgic about songs that glorify the deepness of the cosmos.

When they're not focused on penning songs about their sexual conquests, cars or whatever "Bohemian Rhapsody" is about, rock stars have often looked to the heavens for inspiration. Some have returned to that topic over and over again to great effect, including the original cosmic cowboy, David Bowie, who has written some of the best galaxy tunes of all time with "Space Oddity," "Ashes to Ashes," "Five Years," "Life on Mars" and "Starman."
Read More...

Tags David Bowie, Katy Perry, rolling-stones, space

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Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears? Which Tour Are You Looking Forward To The Most This Summer?

Posted 7/7/11 10:54 am EST by Gil Kaufman in Britney Spears, fleet foxes, Foo-Fighters, kings of leon, Lil Wayne, Live Music, Newsroom Poll, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Tour Dates, U2

Katy Perry

One shoots whipped cream out of her boobs and changes outfits seven times in one song. Another writhes on a giant guitar and closes her show by donning giant angel wings. Whether you're a Katy Perry fan or a Britney booster, the fact is these divas are leading a parade of major stars hitting stages this summer, and since we told you who our experts predict will rule the road during bikini season, now we want you to tell us who you've invested your cash in.

Will you plunk down your hard-earned cash to see Taylor Swift's country cutie act (once she gets over that nasty case of bronchitis, that is), will it be U2's gargantuan 360 Tour that will drain your bank account, or is your money on Perry and Spears?

If you're more of a hip-head, Lil Wayne is a lock to be somewhere near your neck of the woods this summer and Wiz Khalifa will surely burn one down within driving distance. If high-energy pop-punk is the thing, the Blink-182/My Chemical Romance double-bill aims to please, unless you prefer your rock more uncut, in which case Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket and Kings of Leon may be the right choice.

And, for the first time, glowstick-loving dance fans are not being left out in the cold thanks to the first-ever touring electronica festival, IDentity, which will hit amphitheaters in major markets with a host of big beat stars like Skrillex, Afrojack and Kaskade.

Then again, maybe we left someone off the list and there's some other tour your totally jacked about. We've done our homework, now it's your turn. Vote in our summer tours poll below. Read More...

Tags britney spears, Concerts, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Tours

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Kid Rock Sets Off Fireworks Before The Fourth Of July

Posted 7/5/11 10:40 am EST by Gil Kaufman in Kid-Rock, Live Music, rap

Photo by Gil Kaufman

Cincinnati -- Talk about the perfect bill on the perfect night. Kid Rock and old pal Sheryl Crow kicked off their summer tour on Saturday (July 2) in the Queen City with a three-hour marathon of Americana that had it all – fireworks, giant American flags, songs about lazy (mostly drunken) summer days and pontoon boats, multiple references to funny cigarettes, purple mountains majesty and, of course, a couple of Uncle Sam-loving strippers thrown in for good measure.

What better way is there to gear up for the 4th of July, right?

For the 15,500 at Riverbend Amphitheater, clearly there was nowhere else to be in the windup to patriotic weekend, despite oppressive heat and humidity that made goopy mascara run, sky-high hair droop and sweat to flow in torrents down a sea of butterfly-themed tramp stamps.

Swaggering out from underneath a titanic set of bull horns with glowing red eyes, a red-white and blue-decked Rock banged out "American Bad Ass" and "God Bless Saturday" in front of a rustic set that looked like a woodsy saloon in his native northern Michigan, complete with a stuffed bear wearing a dookie chain and a full-service, two-story bar with beer taps and bottles of Jim Beam lined up across the front. With a 10-piece band backing him, the rapper-turned-Bob-Segeresque heartland rocker quickly reminded fans of his roots with the Run-DMC-like "You Never Met a Motherf---er Quite Like Me," which got him so riled up he needed to take a minute to brush his hair and change hats before continuing the assault with "Cowboy."

Now, I've been going to shows for a long time now and while I can't recall ever seeing a stripper pole on stage, I've now seen a total of four over the past week at two different shows. So I was not surprised when a pair of poles popped up out of the floor and two exotic dancers materialized to shimmy as Rock put on a cowboy hat (a white one, if you can believe it) and told his tale of West Coast pimpin while flanked by two giant American flags.
Read More...

Tags Concerts, Kid-Rock, sheryl-crow

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Justin Timberlake's Myspace Buy-In Just Latest Curious Celeb Investment Deal

Posted 7/1/11 8:00 am EST by Gil Kaufman in Blink-182, Celebrity, Dr.-Dre, Fashion, Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake

Nobody wants to be just a singer or actor anymore. You're nobody in this world until you have your own product line, whether it be swim suits, cologne, nightclubs, top-shelf liquor brands or energy drinks.

And while it makes perfect sense for a wildman rocker like Sammy Hagar to launch a line of high-end tequila, or for beatmeister Dr. Dre to launch a line of booming headphones and laptops, sometimes those celebrity/brand marriages are a bit murkier.

Case in point: the announcement this week that Justin Timberlake has bought a minority stake in once-hot social networking site Myspace and that he'll be taking on the role of creative visionary at the relaunched company, which was bought at a fire sale by a West Coast tech firm. Yes, Timberlake has proven to be a triple threat as actor, singer and label boss, not to mention a fashion maven with his William Rast clothing line.

That got us thinking about other male music stars who've made bold deals with companies that might have seemed bizarre at first, but turned out to be among the best moves they've ever made.

50 Cent and Vitaminwater: Laugh all you want, but 50 has been savvy all along about his non-music ventures. From his G-Unit sneakers and clothing line to various PlayStation games, book imprints and RGX Body Spray, 50 has always looked for new opportunities. None has paid off like his deal with Glaceau, which hooked up with the rapper for the Formula 50 supplement drink. When Coca-Cola purchased Glaceau for more than $4 billion in 2007, 50 was estimated to have earned more than $100 million on the deal.
Read More...

Tags 50 cent, Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, myspace, Travis Barker, Will.I.Am.

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Mötley Crüe Celebrate 30 Years of Debauchery with a Hearty 'F**k You'

Posted 6/27/11 1:30 pm EST by Gil Kaufman in Live Music

Credit: Gil Kaufman, MTV News

Cincinnati – Always about as subtle as a flaming, spiked sledgehammer to the sternum, Mötley Crüe mince no words with the title of their current summer tour: "30 Years of Crüe … F**k You."

And because I somehow missed out on seeing the band in their heyday, I felt it was my duty to celebrate three decades of decadence with the boys on Sunday night at the packed Riverbend Amphitheater, because, well, you never know.

Though I didn't pack a handy flask of Jim Beam in the boot of my jeans to bust out at just the right moment (that would be during "Dr. Feelgood," FYI) and I was not sporting a full back tat of the Shout at the Devil album cover (I spotted three, in addition to countless massive Theatre of Pain inkings), I dutifully took my place among the masses tossing up the horns for 90 minutes of pyro-fueled mayhem.

Only bassist Nikki Sixx came out rocking the classic Native American ghoul face paint, but when singer Vince Neil raised his bedazzled microphone and stalked the stage in his sliver American flag leather pants for the set opening "Shout at the Devil," the on-stage flame-throwers were so intense you could almost smell the layers of eye shadow being burned off the faces of the fist-pumping ladies in the front rows.

What followed was exactly what you'd expect from a Crüe show, which is to say a non-stop barrage of rock thuggery and expletive-laden exhortations from a group whose debt to punk speed and attitude and conventional hard rock has long since outstripped their early pretty-boy glam look.
Read More...

Tags motley-crue

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Lollapalooza Schedule Creates Headaches: Muse Vs. Coldplay?

Posted 6/7/11 1:55 pm EST by Gil Kaufman in Coldplay, Eminem, Foo-Fighters, Live Music, Lollapalooza

It's the best and worst moment of every U.S. festivalgoer's life: schedule day. On the one hand, you can't wait to see when your favorite bands are playing and then start planning your long weekend. On the other, you dread the sight of two of your absolute faves playing on opposite sides of the mile-long field at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME!

In which case Tuesday (June 7) morning was either a huge relief or a major bummer if you're planning on trekking to Chicago on August 5 for Lollapalooza. First, the good news: With the exception of a few headliner conflicts, the schedule is actually one of the most fan-friendly rundown in years.

Yes, Muse and Coldplay are playing at the same time on Friday night, which will probably cause major headaches for thousands of fans of falsetto-driven, pomp and circumstance English rock. (To say nothing of the fact that party hardy DJ Girl Talk and excellent post rockers Ratatat are also playing at the same time as the headliners, which may pull some Lollers in yet more directions.)

But the rest of the day has a pretty open schedule that allows for some decent stage hopping. If you start the day off with some solid indie rock courtesy of Wye Oak, it's just a hop, skip and jump to latest English lad rock sensations the Vaccines, with perhaps a stop-off for some psychedelic bits from the Delta Spirit, a touch of hippie-pop from Grace Potter & the Nocturnals and new-wave reminiscing with Foster the People, at which point things pile up a bit.

Awesome Smiths-inspired rock from the Smith Westerns, or English rap from Tinie Tempah? Brainy rock from the Mountain Goats or the latest from Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz's new band, Black Cards? Noise avalanche from Sleigh Bells or arty stomp from a Perfect Circle?
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Tags Coldplay, Lollapalooza, muse

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