Sad news to report this afternoon: Rumpus, the Harlequin Great Dane best known for his role in Lady Gaga's iconic "Poker Face" video, died earlier this month after taking a hike (an actual one, not the metaphoric kind) in his hometown of Los Angeles. He was just five years old.

According to TMZ, Rumpus' death was unexpected. His owner, Suzzane Kelleher-Duckett, told the Web site that the award-winning show dog appeared to be in good health, and showed no signs of injury after taking a lengthy hike. As such, an autopsy was performed on his body and results are expected soon.

Rumpus appeared poolside (along with his mother, Lava) in Gaga's Video Music Award-nominated "Poker Face" video, and also made cameos in her "Love Game," "Paparazzi" and "Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" clips, too. TMZ reported that he was also scheduled to appear in Gaga's upcoming "Bad Romance" video, but that role will now go to Lava instead.

According to the Web site run by Rumpus' breeder, Pacific Coast Harlequins, he enjoyed "hiking and trail riding … hit[ting] the trails 2-6 miles every day, rain or shine," and had recently filmed a commercial for Cesar dog food. He had also just sired a litter of six puppies with a fellow champion Dane named Gracie.

Those who worked with Rumpus recalled a star-crossed dog whose unbridled energy and free spirit made him a much sought-after talent. But those same eccentricities also came with a price. Just last month, "Poker Face" director Ray Kay told MTV News that he and Rumpus had a volatile relationship during their shoot, one that threatened to shut down the production entirely. But that, when the dog was on, there was no one better to work with. Or, you know, something like that.

"Never work with animals or children, that's the age-old Hollywood rule, and it's true. Things just don't go according to plan when you work with them, and that was true in our situation here. Those dogs just wouldn't sit still, and they wouldn't do what we wanted them to do," Kay told MTV News. "So there were two dog trainers on each side of the shot, trying to hold the dogs down in the position they were supposed to be in, but they just kept getting up, or like looking in the wrong direction … so, actually, we never got the shot in-camera the way it's shown in the video. We had to combine different takes of the dogs to get the shot the way it was in the video. "

Early Friday (October 9) morning, NASA fired the latest salvo in its ongoing war with the Mooninites, smashing a rocket into a lunar crater just because they felt like it.

OK, that's not necessarily true. The stated purpose of NASA's mission was to discover water ice buried beneath the surface of the moon, but we here in the MTV Newsroom would like to think that NASA's real intent was twofold. First, to get revenge for the infamous Mooninite invasion of Boston in 2007, and second, to remind those moon jerks that the Earth still is the big dog on the galactic block … and, well, if you can't run with the big dogs, YOU BETTER STAY ON THE PORCH.

So, in celebration of the Earth being #1 — and to rub it in the face of those lunar losers even more — we've made a playlist of our favorite "Moon" songs. Yeah, that's right, we're calling you out, Mooninites, and we await your inevitable rebuttal.

Ozzy Osbourne, "Bark at the Moon"
Prime solo-career cut from the Prince of Darkness. Featuring Jake E. Lee on lead guitar and Ozzy dressed as an awesome wolfman in the music video. Seriously, what else do you need to know?

Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Bad Moon Rising"
John Fogerty was right, there really was a bad moon on the rise … or at least there was until the folks at NASA laid down the intergalactic law. Bonus points for this song serving as the inspiration behind Chris Berman's nickname for the immortal Andre "Bad Moon" Rison.

Echo and the Bunnymen, "The Killing Moon"
Swoony, atmospheric post-punk with a message: The moon is a killer and must be stopped at all costs (or something like that). You probably remember this song from the opening sequence of "Donnie Darko," or from the roughly 10,000 cover versions that exist.

Feist, "My Moon, My Man"
Believe it or not, Canada has a space program, too (it's so adorable!), and this sexy, sumptuous tune is its official theme song. Okay, you got us: We made up the part about Canada having a space program.
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Even before she tweeted about me, I liked Pink a whole lot.

I had gotten to know her a bit last summer, when I was shooting "FNMTV" with Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz and some British guy. She was just about as nice as you'd imagine, cracking jokes and hanging out backstage. She was pretty much the most down-to-earth celeb I had ever met. She didn't come to the set with an army of handlers and hangers-on, demand a private dressing room or pout about her own make-up artist. She was just a normal person (albeit one who had sold something like 25 million albums worldwide). Oh, and she said I could call her Alecia, too.

Anyway, at the time, she was still writing her Funhouse album, and she talked about the struggles she was having, about working long hours with Butch Walker to try and get the songs just right. She said it was going to be her most personal album (dealing mostly with her separation from husband Carey Hart) and that she was hoping her fans would be willing to listen. Needless to say, I didn't hold out much hope.

But luckily, I am a terrible judge of these things. Nearly a year after its release, Funhouse is a hit, selling more than 4 million copies around the world and giving Pink her first-ever Billboard Hot 100 #1. Still, she wasn't a household name here in the States, and that bothered me. I decided to turn my weekly Bigger Than The Sound column into an appreciation of Pink's career, her fearlessness and her bravado. I expected to hear from a few of her fans, but I didn't expect to hear from Pink herself.

Only I did. Earlier today, Pink tweeted a thank you to me (okay, and New York Times critic Jon Pareles, too). It was very sweet, and earned me a whole bunch of new Twitter friends. And it was just more proof that Pink — er, Alecia — really is about as nice as you'd imagine. Perhaps even more so.

Want to stay up on everything going on in the world of music, movies and celebrity? Follow us @mtvnews!

"Zombieland" — a horror-comedy flick starring Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and (inexplicably) that girl from "Little Miss Sunshine" — hits theaters today, and since we're huge fans of gore, head injuries, violence, quips and Jesse Eisenberg, we've compiled a special playlist for the occasion. The undead have been a common theme in pop music for decades, from the Zombies to White Zombie to Michael Jackson's brain-eating-tastic "Thriller." These are our favorite zombie tunes — 13 of them, in fact, because that's extra spooky.

The Cranberries, "Zombie" - A crushing, angry song about the ethno-political violence that racked Northern Ireland for more than 30 years. It's not exactly easy listening, but it's also probably the most popular "zombie" song ever written, so we've included it here. Seriously, if you are of a certain age (say, 25-30), you can remember hearing this tune on the radio — or seeing the video on MTV — every 15 minutes or so. In your he-e-e-e-a-a-a-a-d, indeed.

The Cramps, "Zombie Dance" - Their four-decade reign of campy, S&M-tinged terror came to a close when frontman Lux Interior died earlier this year, but if you wanted a two-minute primer on everything the Cramps were about, well, then look no further than "Zombie Dance." Primal, Tiki-God pounding? De-tuned buzzsaw guitars? Lux's virile, deep-voiced vamping? It's all here.

The Fleshtones, "I Was a Teenage Zombie" - Psycho, lo-fi skuzz from Queens' finest garage rock outfit, "Teenage Zombie" is the title track to a no-fi 1987 horror flick that has (thanks largely to its soundtrack) become a genuine cult classic. The "Teenage Zombie" video — featuring go-go girls and plenty of guitars — earned steady rotation on MTV back in the day.

The Hooters, "All You Zombies" - Mawkish, generic '80s power balladry from Philadelphia's finest white-dude group not named Hall & Oates. This song isn't actually all that great — I think it's about events in the Old Testament — and there's nary a member of the undead to be seen in the video, either, but, hey … it's got "zombies" in the title!

The Magnetic Fields, "Zombie Boy" - A subtly creepy tune about romancing (okay, humping) the dead, sung by a guy — Stephin Merritt — who's so droll that he might actually be dead.

Michael Jackson, "Thriller" - Perhaps you've seen the video?
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This is a blog about Hayley Williams' tank top. You know, the microscopic, blue "Varsity League" one she wore last night during Paramore's performance on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien." This one:

This is not meant to be a fashion critique (mostly because, well, that's me on the right), nor is it some pervy paen to exposed midriffs (honest). No, I'm writing this because I was there when Williams bought the tank top in question last week, at a Franklin, Tennessee, Goodwill shop.

See, Paramore were showing MTV News around their hometown at the time, and they were adamant about taking me and producer Akshay Bhansali to Goodwill, a place where they used to bum around before band practice (and also the place where they purchased most of the stuff you'll see in the artwork for their Brand New Eyes album, which hits stores today). So, naturally, we obliged them, and after a pretty epic bike ride through downtown Franklin, we found ourselves in the parking lot of Goodwill, and the band wanted to do some shopping.

The only problem? Goodwill wouldn't let us film inside the store (something about a corporate policy), so we stashed our cameras and went inside with Williams and Co., and watched as they selected a whole bunch of fairly redonkulous junk, including a muscle shirt, an amazingly shiny winter jacket, and, of course, that blue tank top. At the time, Williams said she bought most of her onstage clothes at Goodwill, but, to be honest, we didn't believe her. After all, she's a burgeoning rock icon. Surely, her stage gear didn't come from the recycling bin.

Except when it does. And Paramore's performance on "The Tonight Show" is proof. Personally, I've always thought it was pretty cool when bands strode on stage wearing the same stuff they bummed around in on the tour bus — there's an air of authenticity to it, or something like that — but I never pegged Paramore as being a band like that. Now I know different. And it makes me like them even more (if that's even possible). And, on a whole different level, it's pretty amazing to think that perhaps last night, some kid in Franklin (because, honestly, the tank top in question is so tiny it could've only come from a child), tuned into "The Tonight Show," watched Paramore play, and thought to him- or herself "Wait, that's my tank top!"

Rock and roll dreams come in all shapes and sizes, after all.

Hayley Williams' car is truly amazing, and not just because it's a total junker that your 16-year-old sister would drive for a month before smashing into the mailbox while attempting to back out of the driveway (though, you know, that is a pretty big reason).

No, Williams' car — a six-year-old Mazda affectionately known as Ms. Anne — is amazing because it's a sort of time-capsule of her entire life, both before and after she became the lead singer of a mega-successful pop-punk act who just made one of the year's finest albums, Brand New Eyes.

Inside and out, Williams has plastered Ms. Anne with band stickers, buttons, plastic action figures, homemade art and the occasional inspirational message. It's positively loaded with tchotchkes and trinkets (seriously, it's sort of a T.G.I. Fridays on wheels), each representing a moment or memory from her past, present, or even future.

Case in point: A sticker slapped on her bumper by Michigan punk act the Swellers, who had previously crashed at Williams' house, are now her labelmates on Fueled By Ramen, and, starting next week, will share the stage with Paramore when they kick off their Brand New Eyes tour next week. Past, present and future — all on one strip of vinyl.

But that's just one tiny piece of the (much bigger) picture. Read more...

It's pretty safe to say that Paramore are the biggest rock stars in Franklin, Tennessee, which is why it's rather strange that they can wander its picturesque streets (or ride around them on bikes) without receiving as much as a wayward glance from anyone.

It's as much a testament to their humble demeanors and overall lack of flash (frontwoman Hayley Williams' preferred method of transport? A Huffy bike she bought at a thrift store) as it is to Franklin itself. The town is a hamlet of Nashville, and, as such, is populated by a bizarre number of country artists (including Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban), NASCAR drivers, and, uh, Cyruses (Miley and otherwise). So, really, Paramore aren't really that big of a deal around these parts.

Not to mention they're locals, born and raised (for the most part) in and around Franklin. People know them here, have seen Williams ride around on her bike for years, and can remember the Farro brothers when they were just two tiny terrors. All of this only adds to their anonymity. Paramore are just a group of Franklin kids that made good.

So, anyway, that's why, when myself and producer Akshay Bhansali spent yesterday with the band in Franklin, we were amazed by just how un-bothered Paramore were ... how free they were to roam, to ride bikes up to the local Goodwill (see evidence below), to eat BBQ and cupcakes. And how willing they were to open their homes to us.

Over the coming days, we'll be rolling out footage from our trip — trust us, there's some amazing stuff ahead — all leading up to September 29, the day Paramore's Brand New Eyes album hits stores. Consider this blog (and the photos) an appetizer for the main course.
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Five random thoughts while looking at the cover of Vampire Weekend's brand new album, Contra (which will be released on January 12, 2010).

1) If there's a better way to sum up Vampire Weekend's entire musical output — nay, the totality of their aesthetic and world view — than with a picture of a towheaded Connecticut WASP wearing a piqued Polo, well, then I am not aware of it.

2) Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. Brrring!

3) This photo is amazing because, though it looks like it was taken at somebody's graduation party at Tavern on the Green in, say, 1983, there is still roughly a 50 percent chance that it was actually taken last week in some bar in Williamsburg or Silverlake. In fact, it would not shock me if the latter were the case, and the photographer was actually Terry Richardson or the Cobra Snake ...

4) … and, to that end, are Vampire Weekend really trying to say that everything — music, fashion, you name it — is cyclical, and as such, they are not plundering the mines of Peter Gabriel or Paul Simon, but rather, ushering their worldbeat-embracing pastel tones back into the mainstream? That they're just doing the inevitable, and that time marches on, forever, in some endless, looping infinity sign, and there is no way of knowing if we're on the downstroke or the upswing of the helix, and that none of that really matters, since we're all going to die someday anyway?

5) Clambakes!

What did you do on Sunday?

Well, if you were Jay-Z or Beyoncé (or Beyoncé's sister Solange), then you braved the be-jorted masses in Brooklyn to check out Grizzly Bear's set down at the Williamsburg Waterfront.

Yes, that's right: In perhaps the summer's biggest fish-out-of-water moment (aside from Kanye at Nine Inch Nails last week) Jigga and B waded into the epicenter of Hipster Nation on Sunday, sending texters and Twitters into a veritable frenzy as they grooved to the hazy, lazy sounds of Grizzly Bear at the final JellyNYC Pool Party of 2009.

Perhaps fittingly, they wore their Bedford Avenue best (Jay in dark shades and a gingham shirt, Bey channeling her inner Debbie Gibson), and by all accounts — i.e. roughly 100,000 Tweets and a few shaky YouTube clips — they were really into the show, drinking booze out of plastic cups (just like us!) and bobbing their heads to the beat (and during GB's sun-dappled "Ready, Able," Jay even threw his hands in the air as if he didn't care). Apparently, Solange is really into the Grizz, and brought Jay and Bey out to the show, which is pretty awesome and gives us hope for a Grizzly Bear/Jigga collabo on The Blueprint IV (which should see the light of day sometime in 2015).

Of course, not everyone shared our enthusiasm. Even though the show was free -- you know, as in "anyone can attend" -- their appearance set blogs ablaze with (predictably hand-wringing) posts, most of which seemed to posit that Grizzly Bear were now officially "over" because Jay and Beyoncé decided to check out the show (you know, despite the fact GB's Veckatimest debuted at #8 on the Billboard albums chart earlier this year).

This sort of ruined our post-weekend high, though we did get a laugh out of one Brooklyn Vegan commenter, who summed up all the hullabaloo thusly: "Do people write about me like this when I show up at Big Daddy Kane or Del La Soul or Dead Prez?"

Good point, dude.

Monsters of Folk is the rather awesomely-named project currently occupying the time of all your favorite shaggy troubadours (the official roster: Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, My Morning Jacket's Jim James, M. Ward and jack-of-all-trades Mike Mogis), and despite their insistence to the contrary — modesty and scruffiness do go hand-in-hand, after all — they are 100 percent a "supergroup."

We can understand why the Monsters would object to being saddled with the title. After all, while the idea of a supergroup may seem pretty sweet ("Dude, it'll be like an All-Star team ... but a band!"), it turns out that the overwhelming number of them are actually pretty lousy (GTR? Zwan? The Firm?), the end result of poor planning and even poorer ego management.

Luckily, the Monsters are not terrible, as evidenced by their self-titled debut, which is due on September 22. Over 15 well-worn, strummy tracks (festooned with the occasional electro burble) they explore folk-y topics like religion, politics and — of course — life on the open road, the latter of which is especially fitting, considering they're gearing up to tour the U.S. and Europe later this year.

And, of course, we told them this, which is why they finally agreed to not only talk about some of history's greatest supergroups, but to rate them as well. So watch the Monsters weigh in on acts like Damn Yankees (let's just say Oberst isn't the biggest fan) and the Traveling Wilburys, plus non-musical supergroups like the Justice League and the 1992 USA Men's National Basketball team (aka "The Dream Team"). You'll be shocked to hear how much James actually knows about hoops.