MTV Newsroom › Kyle Anderson

The WrestleMania XXVII Press Conference: Sound And Fury

Posted 3/30/11 5:30 pm EST by in Television

I can't hear very well this afternoon, which I can mostly blame on John Cena. I didn't crank up his album You Can't See Me and blow out my ear drums, but rather, I was deafened by the crowd that gathered at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City for the WrestleMania XXVII press conference. Hosted by villainous play-by-play man Michael Cole, the event not only welcomed several dozen members of the media and some of the headliners from WWE's biggest show (which airs this Sunday, April 3 at 7 p.m. on pay-per-view) but also opened the doors for a group of rabid fans who brought their enthusiasm (and their chants) to Times Square.

I have been a fan of professional wrestling for years and plan on watching the big show this weekend. Hosted by Dwayne Johnson (returning to WWE as the Rock), WrestleMania XXVII promises to be fantastically over-the-top and wildly entertaining. The press conference presented a smaller version of the big show, as it trotted out main eventers John Cena, the Rock, Edge, the Miz, Alberto Del Rio, Triple H and "Jersey Shore" star Snooki to address the crowd about what they could expect this weekend. Though many of them (especially the Miz) were entertaining at the press conference, the real entertainment came from the crowd of fans.

Wrestling fans are a complicated bunch, as they don't always cheer for the heroes and heckle the villains (Alberto Del Rio, one of the top heels in the company, got a fantastically positive reaction). They even broke out chants, a staple of any pro wrestling show (in a great moment, they chanted the words "You are hot!" at WWE executive vice president Stephanie McMahon; later, they repeated the words "Next world champ!" at Del Rio). John Cena got by far the loudest and most polarizing reaction of the afternoon, and he weathered torrents of boos and chants of "You can't wrestle" while trying to talk about how much Wrestlemania meant to him.

In the end, we caught up with Cena and Triple H, who teased some surprises at WrestleMania and gave some advice to Snooki. Cena also told a great story about his first WrestleMania, which happened to be just down the street at Madison Square Garden back in 2004. He opened the show, though he was not entirely focused on the task at hand (a United States Championship match against the Big Show) because he was worried that his car would get towed (he was not yet big enough in the company to get good parking). But in the end, he picked up the Big Show, pinned him for a three count, won the title and returned to his not-towed car to return to his home in Massachusetts. It's further proof that WrestleMania is a great equalizer, and truly anything can happen. Stay tuned for more from our interviews and more on the biggest wrestling event of the year.

Tags , , ,

MTV's Musical March Madness: My Chemical Romance Vs. Sum 41

Posted 3/30/11 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!

The Elite Eight is now entirely open for business, with the East regional final representing the last of the new round of MTV's Musical March Madness. The winner will join the champs of the Midwest, West and South regions in the Final Four in a quest for all the marbles.

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

(3) My Chemical Romance vs. (16) Sum 41
One of the favorites even before the tournament started, My Chemical Romance have fulfilled much of their potential, as they have plowed through three rounds of the tournament besting the likes of titans like Rage Against the Machine and Radiohead. Standing in between them and their second straight appearance in the Final Four is Sum 41, the tournament's biggest underdog. They have defied their low seed by upsetting the top-seeded Arcade Fire, international superstars Coldplay and indie darlings the Strokes. MCR represent their strongest competition yet, but the Canadians seem game to take on anybody at any time. Who will end up in the Final Four? Your votes will decide it!

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 , , , ,

MTV's Musical March Madness: Paramore Vs. Tokio Hotel

Posted 3/30/11 12:30 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!

The regional finals in the Midwest and West are both already intense battles, and the match-up in the South will be no different. Both of the squads left in the South have incredibly intense followings, and this should be another extra-close contest.

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

(5) Paramore vs. (14) Tokio Hotel
Paramore might have delivered the most impressive performance of the tournament when they defeated Linkin Park in a nail-biting fiasco that came right down to the final minutes. That particular match-up grabbed more votes than any pairing so far, which is also impressive. For their efforts, Paramore will go head-to-head with Tokio Hotel for the right to advance to the Final Four. Tokio Hotel took out Muse in the Sweet 16, but Paramore poses their greatest challenge yet. Who will come out on top? Your votes will decide it!

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, Hammer!

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

Should you happen to run into Stanley Burrell today, give him an extra big hug and treat him to an ice cream soda, because the hip-hop star known to the rest of the universe as MC Hammer is celebrating his 49th birthday today. Hammer has had quite a roller coaster of a career, as he went from breakout success to bankruptcy and back again two or three times. It's an incredible trip that is still going strong.

Hammer grew up poor in Oakland, California, and first got into the entertainment business as a batboy and clubhouse assistant for the Oakland Athletics baseball team when he was only 11 years old (he was noticed by A's owner Charles Finley, who saw the young Hammer break dancing in the parking lot of the team's stadium). That's where he picked up his nickname, as people in the organization thought he looked like Hank Aaron (who was nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank"). Though he dreamed of being a professional baseball player, he ended up enlisting in the Navy and serving for three years.

When he got out, he got down to the business of music. He first formed a Christian hip-hop group and then formed his own record label where he sold singles out of the trunk of his car. That lead to 1987's Feel My Power, his first solo album, which performed well. But he became an absolute superstar with 1990's Please Hammer, Don't Hurt'Em, which contained the smash single "U Can't Touch This." That turned him into a household name and made his songs, dance moves and even his clothes ubiquitous. To get a sense of how big a star he was, how many artists have had a type of pant named after him?

Hammer followed up Please Hammer, Don't Hurt'Em with 1991's successful Too Legit to Quit, but by the time 1994's The Funky Headhunter reached store shelves, tastes in hip-hop had already shifted. He spent the rest of the '90s bouncing around the music industry, re-discovering his faith and filing for bankruptcy. But he has made an impressive comeback in the past few years, getting involved in television production and mixed martial arts. His signature will always be "U Can't Touch This," but at 49, Hammer continues to push the evolution of his own narrative.


Tags ,

MTV's Musical March Madness: Green Day Vs. Panic! At The Disco

Posted 3/30/11 10:30 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!

With the Midwest regional final already in play, it's time to move on to the West. The two bands who are competing in the Elite Eight have both come through some devastating match-ups featuring a lot of late-game heroics and back-breaking runs. It should be a thrilling finish no matter who comes out on top.

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

(3) Green Day vs. (5) Panic! at the Disco
Green Day may have started the Musical March Madness tournament quietly, but they have been putting together a string of dominating performances as of late. They came back to defeat U2 in the second round and then fell behind early to Blink-182 before opening up a commanding lead at the finish. Their opponents are Panic! at the Disco, who went wire-to-wire with top-seeded 30 Seconds to Mars in the Sweet 16 and put together an incredible comeback to defeat them. With that kind of momentum, can they be stopped? Or will Green Day take their place in the Final Four? Vote and find out!

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 , , , ,

MTV's Musical March Madness: Disturbed Vs. Coheed And Cambria

Posted 3/30/11 9:30 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!

MTV's Musical March Madness has arrived at the regional finals, where the eight remaining bands will go through one more rigorous contest in an effort to get to the Final Four. Which of the Elite Eight bands will end up in the Final Four? You have just under 48 hours to decide what the rest of Musical March Madness looks like.

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

(6) Coheed and Cambria vs. (9) Disturbed
Now this is some serious business. Defending champs Coheed and Cambria had to go through the ringer and pull off some last-second heroics in order to topple Avenged Sevenfold in the Sweet 16. They run up against a dominating Disturbed squad, who have taken out the top-seeded Foo Fighters and then laid waste to a very spry Patrick Stump. Can Coheed and Cambria continue their winning ways, or will Disturbed deliver the New York band's first ever Musical March Madness defeat? Who will earn the right to represent the Midwest in the Final Four? Your votes decide it!

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 , , , ,

Iron Maiden Unleash The Beast: Wake-Up Video

Posted 3/30/11 8:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video

Iron Maiden have built a career out of delivering fantastically savage riffs with a healthy dose of horror movie imagery and just enough tongue-in-cheek self-awareness. Of all the metal bands to take technical mastery really seriously, they are one of the few who also commit to crafting truly sharp songs, and they began the transition from robotic automatons to full-blooded rock icons on this day in 1982 when they released their third album The Number of the Beast.

The Number of the Beast marked the vocal debut of Bruce Dickinson, who replaced former singer Paul Di'Anno (who was fired because of performance issues and drug and alcohol abuse). Dickinson had previously been the frontman of Samson, another band that came up as a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, a movement that helped shape the worldwide metal community and inspired the likes of Metallica and Anthrax (among many others). While Samson was an excellent band, Iron Maiden was something else entirely, a group who had already embraced a visual aesthetic (solidified by their official "mascot," an undead creature named Eddie) and delivered powerful songs built for maximum impact.

Though they wouldn't grab a true crossover hit until 1984's Powerslave (which contained the hit "2 Minutes to Midnight"), The Number of the Beast is not only considered to be Iron Maiden's greatest album but also one of the greatest metal albums ever created. It contains the iconic tracks "Run to the Hills" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (both of which still pop up in most Iron Maiden set lists when the band plays live) as well as the title track, which had an absolutely killer video.


Tags ,

MTV's Musical March Madness: The Sweet 16!

Posted 3/29/11 5:30 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!

The Sweet 16 round of the MTV Musical March Madness tournament is nearly complete, and many of the eight match-ups currently going down have razor-thin margins between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. There are a lot of huge bands — including Muse, Paramore and defending champs Coheed and Cambria — on the verge of elimination, but it's not too late to make a late surge and vote for your favorite band to advance to the Elite Eight (which will be announced on Wednesday, March 30).

Voting for all Sweet 16 match-ups will close on Tuesday, March 29 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

Midwest

» (9) Disturbed vs. (12) Patrick Stump

» (6) Coheed and Cambria vs. (7) Avenged Sevenfold

West

» (1) 30 Seconds to Mars vs. (5) Panic! at the Disco

» (2) Blink-182 vs. (3) Green Day

South

» (1) Linkin Park vs. (5) Paramore

» (2) Muse vs. (14) Tokio Hotel

East

» (4) The Strokes vs. (16) Sum 41

» (2) Radiohead vs. (3) My Chemical Romance

Check out Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice previewing the Sweet 16!

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 , ,

Britney Spears' Femme Fatale: The Reviews Are In!

Posted 3/29/11 12:30 pm EST by in Music

Even though Britney Spears has sold over 100 million albums worldwide over the course of her decade-plus career, she still seems like something of an underdog every time she releases a new project. Perhaps it's because of the fickle nature of pop music, or perhaps it's because nobody can believe that Spears continues to top herself over and over again. Her eighth album Femme Fatale hits stores today (Tuesday, March 29) and is the follow-up to her ultra-successful and boundary-pushing 2008 release Circus. Is this yet another home run for Spears?

According to the critics, she has done it again. "On Femme Fatale, her seventh studio album and plainly one of her best, the erstwhile teen-pop princess is less the center of sonic attention than the occasion and enabler for a dozen of the age's most accomplished record producers to show off their wildest moves from behind a plastic Britney mask," wrote the Los Angeles Times' Carl Wilson in a three-star review. "The star serves mainly to illuminate their eccentric orbits with her considerable glow. She's been shamed, stalked, bullied, rehabbed and ruled a bad mother by a court of law. There's something glorious about answering with a victory dance, but it's on the grave of any figment of innocence."

In fact, many critics seem to be zeroing in on how Spears is able to transcend her limitations on Femme Fatale. "Britney always brings one undervalued asset to the table: her reedy, preshrunk voice — probably the single most maligned instrument in music this side of the vuvuzela," wrote Entertainment Weekly's Adam Markovitz. "Spears is no technical singer, that's for sure. But backed by Martin and Dr. Luke's wall of pound, her vocals melt into a mix of babytalk coo and coital panting that is, in its own overprocessed way, just as iconic and propulsive as Michael Jackson's yips or Eminem's snarls."

Rolling Stone gave Femme Fatale four stars, and critic Jody Rosen was thoroughly impressed with Spears' ability to subvert pop tropes while still using them to her advantage. "Femme Fatale may be Britney's best album; certainly it's her strangest. Conceptually it's straightforward: a party record packed with sex and sadness," Rosen wrote. "On nearly every track, Britney's voice is twisted, shredded, processed, roboticized. Maybe this is because she doesn't have much of a voice; it's certainly because she, more than almost any other pop diva, is simply game."

Even indie stalwart Spin had positive vibes to send Spears' way. "A few adventurous loops and gauzy midtempo moments stand out — the dubstep meltdown on 'Hold It Against Me,' will.i.am's wackadoo beatfest 'Big Fat Bass,'" wrote critic Caryn Ganz in a seven-dot review.

What do you think about the new Britney Spears album? Let us know in the comments!

Tags ,

Happy Birthday, Perry Farrell!

Posted 3/29/11 10:30 am EST by in Music

Frost the cupcakes and get the trick candles ready, because it's time to wish dynamic rock frontman and Lollapalooza godfather Perry Farrell a very happy birthday. The diverse rocker is now 52 years old and is still going strong as the frontman of seminal band Jane's Addiction. But on this special day, it's time to look back at one of his more underrated projects.

When it came time for Jane's Addiction to call it quits, Farrell staged the first Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for the band in the summer of 1991 (that tour also featured Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nine Inch Nails, Living Colour, Ice-T and Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Violent Femmes and Fishbone). With the band in his rearview, Farrell formed a new combo called Porno for Pyros (which also featured Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins). The group released its first self-titled album in the spring of 1993 to big sales, mostly on the back of the heavy-rotation single "Pets" (a fantasy narrative about aliens visiting Earth and keeping humans captive as house pets). The band toured extensively and also notched a high-profile slot at Woodstock '94 (that was the one with the mud, not the one with the bonfires).

Their second album Good God's Urge was even more eclectic and envelope-pushing, and it also rocked a little bit harder than the debut. Released in the spring of 1996, Good God's Urge dove deep into darker sonic soundscapes and found Farrell focusing even more of his lyrical energy on mythology and the supernatural. The single "Tahitian Moon" is emblematic of Good God's Urge, as it features a blistering guitar riff, some island grooves and Farrell's ethereal voice. It's a killer song with a great video, and it's a perfect way to celebrate Farrell's birthday.


Tags , , , , ,

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