MTV Newsroom › Kyle Anderson

John Cena Recalls His Humble WrestleMania Beginnings

Posted 4/1/11 1:00 pm EST by in Television

This weekend, over 70,000 live fans and millions more at home will cast their eyes on WrestleMania XXVII, the biggest event of the year in professional wrestling. The show will be live from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and will be hosted by Dwayne Johnson (who has brought "The Rock" back to the WWE). The top matches include a tilt between two legends (Triple H versus the Undertaker), a six-person tag match starring an MTV personality (John Morrison, Trish Stratus and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi against Dolph Ziggler and LayCool) and the match for the coveted WWE Championship (current title-holder the Miz defending against John Cena).

Cena has been the perpetual headliner at WrestleMania for the better part of the past five years or so (he had been in one of the main events of each WrestleMania since 2005, and he has gone on last twice). But though he's the top guy in the company now, that was not always true. His first WrestleMania was back in 2004 when he opened up WrestleMania XX at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He took on the Big Show for the United States Championship, but before his music hit and he walked through the curtain into the arena, he admitted that he was a little bit distracted.

"I was worried my car was going to get towed," Cena admitted to MTV News at the WrestleMania press conference on Wednesday (March 30). "I was not allowed TK. It was cool because it was a moment of stardom wedged between reality. I truly love moments like that."

Being a WrestleMania veteran, Cena also offered newcomer Snooki some solid advice for her match. "I told her it's just like an afternoon at the shore," he said. "You're supposed to go out and have a good time, and if trouble starts, just keep swinging until the cops come."

What's your favorite WrestleMania moment? Let us know in the comments!

Tags , , ,

Crack 'Source Code' With Ozzy Osbourne And Paramore

Posted 4/1/11 11:00 am EST by in Music

The baseball season has begun, but the weather in most of the country still frustratingly refuses to move forward into actual spring. That's why this weekend might be best spent at your local cinema, and luckily there are plenty of options at your disposal. In addition to some still-around must-sees like "Jane Eyre" and "Rango," there is a lot opening this weekend. You could check out the haunted house movie "Insidious," which is directed and written by the team of James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the creators of the first "Saw" flick. There's also "Super," the dark indie action comedy featuring "The Office" star Rainn Wilson as a wannabe masked hero. Another option is "Hop," the animated adventure starring Russell Brand as the Easter Bunny. And if you're tastes are extra-indie, there's the action comedy "Cat Run," the devastating cyber-stalking flick "Trust," the Mexican circus documentary "Circo" (which features music by Calexico) and the mind-bending grindhouse homage "Rubber."

But the big event this weekend is "Source Code," the second feature from visionary director Duncan Jones (he created one of 2009's best films in "Moon"). The envelope-pushing sci-fi film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier who is repeatedly sent back in time to try to prevent a bomb from exploding on a train. It's a film full of mystery, action and jaw-dropping twists, and the cast gamely embraces the sometimes dense script.

In order to properly get yourself in the mindset of "Source Code," check out the soundtrack playlist below. It features a solid batch of songs about codes (Paramore's "Decode"), bombs (Rancid's "Time Bomb") and trains, beginning with Ozzy Osbourne's immortal "Crazy Train."


Tags , , ,

David Lee Roth Exits Van Halen: Wake-Up Video

Posted 4/1/11 9:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video

Could you imagine if Bono decided to leave U2 in pursuit of a solo career, and then the band carried on with the singer from Snow Patrol or something? It's impossible to consider, and yet something exactly like that happened on this day in 1985. Van Halen were arguably the biggest band in the world at the time, and they were coming off their fantastically successful album 1984 (which contained the huge crossover hits "Jump," "Panama" and "Hot For Teacher") and were selling out stadiums around the globe. But frontman David Lee Roth was not getting along with guitarist Eddie Van Halen, and the solo bug had already bitten him (he had already released his cover of "California Girls" to considerable acclaim). So on April 1, 1985, Roth quit Van Halen and moved on.

The two entities — Roth and the rest of Van Halen — went in significantly different directions. Van Halen recruited Sammy Hagar to replace Roth, and the band ultimately became bigger than they ever were, dropping huge albums like 1986's 5150 and 1991's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Roth had less success as a solo artist, though he remained popular on the live circuit. (He eventually walked away from music entirely, taking a job as an EMT near the turn of the century.) Of course, Roth eventually came back into the Van Halen fold (twice), and a new album from the band — their first with Roth in 27 years — is expected soon.

It's apparently an exit-centric day, as this is also my final day as the editor of the MTV Newsroom blog. It's been a great run, and like Roth, I'd like to think I'm exiting on a high note (though I have much warmer feelings to my co-workers than Roth had for the Van Halen brothers). In honor of both of our exits, crank up "Unchained."


Tags , ,

MTV's Musical March Madness: My Chemical Romance Vs. Paramore

Posted 4/1/11 8:15 am EST by in Music

It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

This Final Four promises to be the closest and most intense in the history of MTV's Musical March Madness. Each of the four remaining bands could become the champion, but they'll have to overcome killer odds to do so. Which two bands will be left standing when the championship match goes down on Monday, April 4 (the same day as the NCAA men's basketball championship)? Only you, the fans, know for sure.

Voting for all Final Four match-ups will close on Sunday, April 3 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

(3) My Chemical Romance vs. (5) Paramore
My Chemical Romance are making their second straight appearance in the Final Four of MTV's Musical March Madness, having ended the Cinderella story that was Sum 41's run through the tournament to win the East region. They'll take on Paramore, who managed to top the always-dangerous Tokio Hotel to win the South. Which one of these bands will compete for the coveted Musical March Madness trophy? Your votes will decide it!

Watch Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice unveil the Final Four!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

Tags , , , , ,

MTV's Musical March Madness: Green Day Vs. Disturbed

Posted 4/1/11 7:45 am EST by in Music

It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

Now that was intense! The regional finals in MTV's Musical March Madness was as hard-hitting and cutthroat as it has ever been, and now only four bands remain standing. One of them will be crowned Musical March Madness champion, and each one makes a compelling case for that number one spot.

Voting for all Final Four match-ups will close on Sunday, April 3 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

(3) Green Day vs. (9) Disturbed
In the Elite Eight, Green Day took an early lead on spry rivals Panic! at the Disco, and though the Panic boys closed the gap towards the end, Green Day tapped into their veteran instincts and finished off their opponents for a decisive victory in the West. Meanwhile, Disturbed went 12 rounds with defending champs Coheed and Cambria. There were over a dozen lead changes and a handful of late surges by both squads, but in the end, Disturbed managed to topple Coheed and Cambria by an extremely slim margin to deliver the 2010 winners their first ever Musical March Madness loss. With the Midwest in their pocket, can Disturbed continue their winning ways, or will Green Day's momentum carry them into the finals? Your votes decide it!

Watch Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice unveil the Final Four!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

Tags , , , , ,

Lady Gaga's 'Judas' The Latest Pop Song To Take On Religion

Posted 3/31/11 3:30 pm EST by in Music

This week, Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" was finally knocked off the top of the Billboard Hot 100, but the next single from Born This Way seems ready to appear and take its place in the pantheon of her great singles. The lyrics to the song leaked this morning (Thursday, March 31), and as the title suggests, the track uses a lot of religious imagery to get the point across.

And while this isn't the first time Gaga has indulged in lyrics that reference religion (in fact, "Born This Way" has plenty of allusions to a higher power), but it is one of the sharpest. It might even ruffle some feathers (especially the line "Your Bible won't save you"), which would associate "Judas" with some of the most faith-baiting tracks in recent rock history.

Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"
West has managed to antagonize just about everybody under the sun. However, he actually managed to bring people together with "Jesus Walks," as it helped welcome religion back into contemporary hip-hop. That all happened even though the lyrics could be taken as West comparing his journey through the rap world as not unlike the second coming of Christ himself.

Depeche Mode, "Blasphemous Rumours"
Even though the members of Depeche Mode have regularly stated that the lyrics to "Blasphemous Rumours" weren't meant to be anti-religion, it still got banned from quite a few radio stations for the chorus, "I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours/ But I think that God's got a sick sense of humor/ And when I die I expect to find Him laughing."

Joan Osborne, "One of Us"
Osborne's big breakout hit (written by Eric Bazilian of the Hooters) raised some eyebrows in 1995 because the chorus attempted to humanize God ("What if God was one of us?/ Just a slob like one of us?"). Though it seemed relatively safe, that didn't stop the head of the Catholic League from publicly condemning the song and accusing Osborne of "Catholic baiting."
Read More...

Tags , , , , , ,

MTV's Musical March Madness: The Elite Eight!

Posted 3/31/11 1:30 pm EST by in Music

It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

Just when you thought MTV's Musical March Madness couldn't get any crazier, the Elite Eight has come around to raise the stakes. There have already been a number of lead changes and shifts in momentum in all four of the Elite Eight match-ups, and they will probably all go down to the wire when the voting closes Thursday night (March 31) at midnight. The Final Four will be revealed on Friday (April 1), and voting will run through the weekend leading up to Monday's (April 4) championship game. Any one of the bands left could win.

Voting for all Elite Eight match-ups will close on Thursday, March 31 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

Midwest

» (6) Coheed and Cambria vs. (9) Disturbed

West

» (3) Green Day vs. (5) Panic! at the Disco

South

» (5) Paramore vs. (14) Tokio Hotel

East

» (3) My Chemical Romance vs. (16) Sum 41

Watch the latest update on all the Elite Eight action!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

Tags , ,

Happy Birthday, Angus Young Of AC/DC!

Posted 3/31/11 12:30 pm EST by in Music

Today's birthday wishes go out to Angus Young of AC/DC, and though he is now 56 years old, the guy really is forever young. It isn't just because of his trademark school boy uniform (though that's certainly a big help), but it's also because of his lively concert performances and almost juvenile take (in the best way possible) on rock and roll.

AC/DC formed way back in 1973 when he was only 18 years old, and Young has been the group's lead guitarist since its inception. They instantly became huge in their native Australia, and it was mainly because of Young's incredible approach to music. He took blues riffs and melted them down, bent them in half, twisted them around and knocked them back out again with an incredible balance of power and grace. Those riffs helped turn giant slabs of proto-metal like "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," "Highway to Hell," "Let There Be Rock" and "Back in Black" into huge hits and genre staples.

Though they've been playing music together for nearly 40 years, AC/DC remain an incredible presence in rock and roll. Their last studio album, 2008's Black Ice, was a big seller, and their accompanying world tour was extremely well-received. A lot of that has to do with Young's remarkable guitar work and manic energy (he still bounds around the stage like a crazed animal, still kicking and spinning better than any other rock star walking). AC/DC sort of had some lost years in there, but albums like 1995's Ballbreaker and 2000's Stiff Upper Lip have some gems — including "Satellite Blues," which comes from the latter album.


Tags , , ,

Katy Perry's 'E.T.' Dethrones Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way'

Posted 3/31/11 10:30 am EST by in Music

This week will be remembered forever as the end of the reign of "Born This Way." After debuting in the top spot and spending six weeks there, the lead single from Lady Gaga's upcoming album of the same name has dropped to number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Katy Perry's "E.T." takes its place on top after seven weeks, picking up a ton of airplay in the past week. Expect the track to stick around for a while, especially considering the video for "E.T." premieres tonight (Thursday, March 31) at 7:53 p.m. ET on MTV and MTV.com.

Perry wasn't the only star to change the game in the top 10, as Wiz Khalifa stormed the upper echelon of the chart with "No Sleep." Khalifa, who previously topped the chart with "Black and Yellow" and also has his "Roll Up" at number 29, just released his major label debut Rolling Papers and appears to have resonated with a number of different audiences.

Speaking of crossovers, Chris Brown's "Next to You" (his tag-team with Justin Bieber) made a strong debut this week at number 26. The chart-topping status of Brown's new album F.A.M.E. should make him a fixture on the chart for the better part of the rest of the season. Brown sits just head of Tinie Tempah's "Written in the Stars," which has picked up a lot of attention thanks to its status as the theme song of WrestleMania XXVII (which airs this Sunday, April 3).

Finally, pay attention to the fact that Taylor Swift's "Mean" is back on the chart. Though she has been quiet on the Hot 100 lately, expect Swift to make a big splash as the months roll on into summer.

Tags , ,

Kris Kross Get Totally Krossed Out: Wake-Up Video

Posted 3/31/11 9:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video

Wake-Up Video has been a staple of the MTV Newsroom blog since the summer of 2009, and each morning it delivers a little slice of music history alongside a music video that is meant to get the blood flowing in the first hours of the day. (Then again, sometimes it's just a bunch of nonsense about how cool "The X-Files" was.) So how is it that the series has gone this long without an appearance by Kris Kross? Luckily, today marks the anniversary of the release of the pre-adolescent hip-hop duo's debut album Totally Krossed Out, as it hit the streets on this day in 1992. Actually, it's possible that the album may have dropped two weeks earlier on March 17, as research points to both dates being accurate. But considering how fast and loose everybody played with release dates back in '92, let's call it today.)

Kris Kross consisted of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, a pair of juvenile rappers discovered by a not-that-much-older Jermaine Dupri in a mall in Atlanta. Dupri signed the pair when they were only 11 years old and not only produced their debut album Totally Krossed Out but also helped developed their individual personalities and their clothing styles, which consisted of wearing their clothes backwards. Though their rhymes were safe as milk (they had a single called "I Missed the Bus"), they were still skilled enough to be initially embraced by the hip-hop community and also sell as huge crossover stars.

Totally Krossed Out went on to sell four million copies, though puberty was not kind to Kris Kross. Their follow-up, 1993's Da Bomb, sold respectably, their star was already fading, and by the time they got to 1996's more adult-sounding Young, Rich and Dangerous, the luster had worn off. Both members of Kris Kross still work in the music business, but they still remain the kids who brought "Jump" to the world.


Tags ,

12345678910
SPONSORS
AD:
©2013 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.