Fellow Beastie Boys superfans, have you had an extra spring in your step lately? Noticed the birds are chirping a little louder, a little more melodically? Is there silver lining on everything that comes in your path? That's because it's lead-up season: the all-encompassing promotional blitz (remember the infomercials and paper cups for Hello Nasty?) that takes effect before the drop of a new, long-awaited album by our favorite band.

And no, I'm not talking about their next re-release (but that's happening, too — 1994's Ill Communication will receive the same deluxe, remastered treatment on July 14 that 1988's Paul's Boutique and 1992's Check Your Head got earlier this year).

Rather, the trio announced last night on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" that their new album will be titled Hot Sauce Committee, refuting initial reports (likely the byproduct of a joke gone too far) that it would be called Tadlock's Glasses. They also mentioned that the album is completely finished and awaiting a September release.

Clips from two songs off the new album — "Lee Majors Come Again," in which the band offers up a nod to their past by rapping over a hardcore song, and an a cappella "B Boys in the Cut" — have made their way onto the Internet. A few very lucky fans received those tracks on 7" records with the Check Your Head vinyl package (and one lucky-ish fan scooped up a copy of the 7" for over $100 on eBay).

Until that fateful September day, the Beastie Boys will be hitting up festivals nationwide and have a headlining gig on September 24 at Los Angeles' legendary Hollywood Bowl. Here's hoping all this buildup doesn't amount to another To The Five Boroughs. (But seriously, Mike, Adam and Adam, I'll still love you forever. Seriously.)

Monday afternoon, I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Media Studies from Rutgers University. And then I booked it to Webster Hall.

See, Green Day were playing a (semi) secret show there, and luckily, my family understood that seeing Green Day could not wait ... and a celebratory post-grad dinner could.

Having had the opportunity to meet the guys just last Friday when I tagged along to an interview, I was extremely excited to see Green Day put their words into action as they played a good chunk of 21st Century Breakdown, which I have had on constant rotation since it came out five days ago.

Plus, the last time I saw Green Day perform, it was at Giants Stadium, a venue that holds thousands upon thousands of people. So, getting the chance to see them in a room with no more than a couple of thousand people was um, mind-blowing.

My friend Erin and I clinched spots up front to the left of the stage, where Billie Joe and Mike made frequent visits. I joined in with everyone else, singing and dancing and getting a high from the insane amount of energy in the room. Every so often I paused to think that I had been in my cap and gown just hours before, and that if Green Day were to play “Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)” I would have completely lost it. For better or worse, they didn’t.

My favorite moments from the show were when the guys played “King For a Day” and “21 Guns.” One old and one spankin’ new, both are up there on my list of favorite songs. Or when a fan made his way onto the stage and caught Billie Joe by surprise with a kiss, sang a chorus of “Longview” then dove back into the audience. I doubt I was alone in living through the guy’s five minutes of fame.

Needless to say, my night was unforgettable. Seeing Green Day at Webster Hall on the night I graduated from college is a memory that I'll have forever. The way I see it, the night was one big party -- part in celebration of Green Day’s new album, and more personally, my 21st century beginning in the "real world."

Not a bad way to end four years of hard work, huh? And, I still have a free dinner coming my way.

Last night, I sacrificed a night of sleep in the name of Green Day. And with only a few hours to go before I get my chance to meet them, I am shaking in my seat and trying to think of what I will possibly say to them in the event that I don’t pass out.

After hearing that the guys would be doing an album signing at the Best Buy in Midtown Manhattan on the day their 21st Century Breakdown album hit stores, and that wristbands to a meet-and-greet with the band would be handed out to the first 500 people to buy that album, well, I knew I would be there dark and early.

I began my adventure at 1:30 am when I took the last train of the night from my Jersey town into the city and grabbed my spot on the line at exactly 3am. As I got closer to Best Buy, I could already see people crowded around the corner of the store. I later learned that I was the 99th person in line. At first, I thought it was crazy that there had been nearly 100 people on the line by 3 am, but it's Green Day, and Green Day fans are crazy.

Take Rich for instance, the guy who nabbed the first place on line. He’s been waiting since 9am yesterday morning. That’s right ... he's been in line 24 hours and counting. Mad props to that dude. He was prepared ... me? Not so much. And you can read about my night on the mean streets of NYC after the jump.

The majority of people who camped out came fully prepared with blankets, chairs and pillows. I brought a backpack containing cameras, a change of clothes and a PB&J sandwich. That's it. I’m not sure how, but somewhere in between talking to the people around me and tuning into my iPod, I fell asleep on the cold, hard cement for about 15 minutes. I wouldn’t do that for just any band.

At around 8am, Best Buy opened its doors and starting letting people in to buy the album and get a wristband. By this time, the line had grown to well near 500 people. I’m definitely glad I got there when I did.

Because now, even though I'm beyond tired and chugging Red Bulls to avoid crashing out, I’ve got my bright blue wristband on, and am mere hours away from being face to face with Billie Joe, Mike and Tre.

Jealous? I can’t blame you.

It all started last month, when Wentz revealed to us that he and Hoppus were collaborating on a ultra-limited flash-drive that would contain remixes and other cool stuff. He said the drives would be distributed one at a time, in mysterious and creative ways. And, then on Friday, that flash drive arrived in my mailbox.

There are only 100 of these things made -- Hoppus and Wentz have distributed them to their favorite people across the world, with the instructions that they must be given away -- and so far, they've been handed out via Twitter scavenger hunts, won in raffles and, um, dug up from beneath lifeguard stands in Santa Monica.

(You can follow all the action over on the Friends Or Enemies "Octo-Drive" blog.)

And now, it's our turn to give one away. And while we're not going to make you follow a bunch of 140-character clues or break out the sand shovel, we are gonna do something that requires both smarts and strength (though no actual digging): We're having a video essay contest!

Here, watch me explain the details in this video:

Okay, so if you couldn't watch the video (or you don't like looking at my goofy face), let me spell out the details for you: We're looking for video essays explaining WHY you should get the Octopus Drive -- the reason could really be anything, we're not that picky -- shoot 'em on your phone or web cam or whatever, and submit them to our You R Here site.

Let's keep them to 30 seconds or less -- I'm busy! -- and get them in by Wednesday at midnight EST. Oh, and make sure to include some way for me to get in contact with you, too. I'll go through the submissions and pick one lucky winner on Thursday.

With a little bit of persuasion -- and some creativity -- the Octopus Drive could be yours. Good luck and happy essaying!

(Oh, and thanks to the good folks at Mojo Labs for making all this flash-drive magic happen in the first place.)

It was full-speed ahead, all hits, no misses. Gwen and the guys looking (and sounding) like they hadn't missed a beat, despite the fact -- as Stefani pointed out -- that it was their "first show in five f---ing years."

Taking the stage to a super-heroic instrumental track (DUNNN-DAAA-DUNNNNNN!) and the delighted squeals of long-waiting No Doubt fanatics, the band made up for their half-decade hiatus. Wasting nary a word (aside from Stefani’s shouted instructions for the crowd to "put your hands in the air!"), they launched headlong into "Spiderwebs," all breezy horns and ska-stroked guitars, Stefani bobbing and weaving across the stage, bassist Tony Kanal and guitarist Tom Dumont popping in place and grinning like kids.

And the energy didn't let up for a second.

"Hella Good" was next, all bleepy and funky, followed by a breezy take on "Bathwater" and a dub-ified version of "Underneath It All." Stefani removed her white coat and stalked the stage, looking lithe in a wife-beater -- blue bra straps, too, if you're keeping score at home -- and baggy pants, shiny suspenders dangling behind her (the rest of the guys followed her lead, decked out in white from head-to-toe). Only after powering through four tunes did she stop and address the crowd, dropping the "five f---ing years" line" then joking, "I betcha didn't think I was really gonna do this ... I toldya so!" to gratuitous amounts of cheers.

From there, they worked their way through a new version of "Excuse Me Mr." (very Police-y, right down to the "Eeee-yo-ooohs!"), which segued into the dubby, stop-start intro to "Ex-Girlfriend" the entire band sounding tighter than the slots on casino floor. Then it was on to a sweet and soulful "Simple Kind Of Life," which Stefani introduced by saying "This is the first time I've sung this one since the two babies came out of my belly."

The entire band was showcased on a seriously fun cover of the Skatalites' "Guns of Navarone." Then Kanal and Dumont traded a goofy ska-shuffle on "Hey Baby" (Stefani also showcased her rather impressive hip-shaking techniques), then a racing version of the underrated "New," from the equally underrated 1999 flick "Go." All of which were received with overwhelming "WHOOO"s and the flashes of a million camera phones ... a couple of which Stefani also grabbed and snapped with.

Then, it was time to take this thing home. "Don't Speak" was as heart-wrenching today as it was 14 years ago, and Kanal -- in a delightfully retro move much in spirit with the evening -- thrust a lighter aloft and waived it side to side, a move mimicked by many in the audience. "Just A Girl" closed out the set, Stefani bounding and posing, the girls in the crowd screaming along to her every word. Then they embraced, thanked the crowd and departed.

Of course, there was an encore, featuring a smooth "Rock Steady," a fun take on "Different People" (complete with soul-review-style introductions of the entire band by Stefani) and then "Sunday Morning," which shook the Borgata floor.

And then, it was over, and the reunion was officially under way. One show in the bag, and what a show it was. No Doubt sounded great, brought the energy and looked like they were having an absolute blast (and the crowd did too). In fact, it felt as if they hadn't been away at all -- or, at least, not for five f---ing years.

Now, while we're not allowed to write about everything we saw (and heard) just yet, we'd be remiss if we didn't share one bit of top-secret studio story with you: Paramore are pretty terrible at basketball.

See, the "studio" they're working in is actually attached to Cavallo's house, and right next to it is a regulation hoop, which means that after laying down a vocal track, Hayley Williams can wander outside and shoot some free throws. Josh Farro can record a guitar solo, then drain some threes. This is theraputic ... a break from the monotony and minutiae of making an album.

And since they've been doing this for more than a month now, you would think they'd be getting pretty good at basketball. Well, you'd be wrong. And we have photographic proof of this, which you can see after the jump.

After wrapping up our interview, 60 percent of the band -- guitarists Farro and Taylor York, plus drummer Zac Farro -- headed out to the court to shoot some hoops (Williams went to the bathroom, bassist Jeremy Davis took a phone call on a skateboard), and invited me to play with them. Luckily, I had my camera.

You can click on the picture to see what happened next ... After clanging about 15 layups off the backboard, York decided his time would be better spent scaling the hoop, then swatting away jump shots. He didn't get a ton of work, though, because the Farro brothers were busy tossing up an assortment of bricks and airballs, much to the delight of Paramore's manager and Cavallo's studio crew.

It was 15 minutes of the most technically unsound basketball we had ever witnessed ... one-handed jumpers, six-inch verticals, dribbles off the foot ... just ugly (kind of like the just-wrapped Nuggets/Hornets playoff series). Pretty soon, everyone just gave up and got soft-serve ice cream from Cavallo's garage.

And that was probably a wise choice. Because ... sometimes, practice doesn't make perfect. Paramore could spend the next year at Cavallo's crib, and it's probably not going to change the following sentence: As basketball players, Paramore are a pretty great band.

This past weekend, MTV premiered "Camp'd Out: I'm Going to Performing Arts Camp," which featured three young hopefuls vying for stardom ... in an Upstate New York summer-camp performance of "Carousel." And it looks like Debbie — sorry, Deborah — Gibson has followed suit with her own haven on the other side of the country, called Deborah Gibson's Electric Youth. According to its Web site, the camp is "committed to offering the highest level of performing arts camp for serious young performers available in the industry."

Last night, Gibson and Ryan Black's 88's Cabaret hosted an Evening of Electric Youth with Deborah Gibson. It was described as "a benefit event for the Gibson Girl Foundation," which offers scholarships to her various performance clinics. Many a performer showed up, including other teen idols of past and present: Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block (who also sang alongside Gibson), Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys and Nolan Gerard Funk of "Spectacular."

But the star of the show appeared to be Gibson's stylist. According to photos of the event, Deborah Gibson's evening saw four costume changes.

At first, it seemed like a rather odd place — a suburb in the middle of nowhere — for a platinum-plus rock act to be hammering away on their new album, but it seems like the surroundings have only brought out the best in the guys (and gal), judging from their sunny demeanors, lack of haggard studio beards, and, well the six brand-new songs we heard.

And while we can't say anything about the new tunes just yet (but know that they do, in fact, rock pretty hard), we do have one rather HUGE bit of news that we can break to you: a release date for the record!

When? Well, read on to find out!

Okay, so get out your calendars. Turns out, according to the band — and confirmed by their labels, Fueled By Ramen and Atlantic — the follow-up to Riot! will be hitting stores this September.

There's no word on a title, or a first single (though Hayley Williams did say that one of the songs we heard "sure sounds like" it's gonna be the first one out of the gate), but fans can look forward to hearing a couple of the new songs this summer, on Paramore's tour with No Doubt.

That's about all we can tell you right now. But trust us, there's going to be plenty more from our studio visit in the coming weeks, so, be on the lookout for a whole bunch of news about the new album, straight from Paramore themselves, over on MTVNews.com

Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got to get back to that soft-serve.

I'm quick to pat myself on the back. Each of the new MCs I said that you guys should watch out for in 2009 have been carving their own lane in hip-hop. Sure, two of them almost retired, Asher Roth put his foot in his mouth and Charles Hamilton is kinda eccentric, but they're all on their way to becoming household names.

Wale is working with just about everybody considered good in music, from Lady Gaga to TV on the Radio, Asher released a solid debut album, and Kid Cudi is releasing phenomenal music. While I hate to say it — and stop patting myself on the back — I definitely missed the brightest star of the bunch.

Drake's buzz had been building on the Internet for a while, but I honestly wasn't that big a fan of his singing and rapping. But the more I hear his mixtape, So Far Gone — and the fact that DJs play a selection of Drake songs every hour here in New York — the more I find myself singing along.

I honestly haven't seen a buzz about someone this big since 50 Cent's rise, or the rise of Drake's mentor Lil Wayne, who has given his protégé plenty of useful advice.

"You know, as far as myself, I write — I really write." Drake told us recently. "... I take my time. I write and it's just about me getting my thoughts out. ... Wayne told me something really important one day. I said, 'How do you find those thoughts so quick?' He said, 'It's not about making things up — you don't have to worry about making things up if you're really writing from an honest perspective, your thoughts are in there, you just have to locate them.' So he's like, 'You shouldn't stress about making up witty stuff. It's not about that — it's just about finding how you really feel and locating it and saying it like you're a rapper so you know how to make it rhyme,' " Drake said. "When he told me that, that's kind of where I get my influence with Wayne from — just saying things that people wouldn't normally be able to transfer from mind to mouth."

I've been a fan of Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim for a couple of years now, so when I heard the band's song "Lessons Learned," from their recent Grand LP, blaring on mtvU from the television above my desk, I got very excited. And when I looked up and watched the video, I saw the duo stripping as they walk through Times Square (coincidentally achieving full nudity right outside of MTV headquarters!).

If you haven't seen it yet, well, you need to: When the two are down to just their underwear and you think they won't go all the way, they do. And in light of such a proud display of the human body, I decided to look back at a few other artists who have been brave enough to bare it all for the world to see.

Blink-182, "What's My Age Again?"
We all remember when Mark, Tom and Travis ran through the streets in nothing but thongs in this video, which is now a decade old. But they did remove the thongs for some scenes, like the one where they go streaking through a taping of a talk show. Hot stuff, boys!

No Doubt, "Hey Baby"
No, you haven't missed a shot at catching Gwen in the flesh. In this video, drummer Adrian Young strips down as he performs a gymnastics routine, mid-video — guess the other members weren't as keen to let it all hang out!

Britney Spears, "Womanizer"
Britney knows how to get a reaction, so starting and ending her comeback video with scenes of the pop princess completely naked in a steamy room wasn't that much of a shock, really (and she'd done it years earlier in "Toxic").

Robbie Williams, "Rock DJ"
Then of course, there was Robbie Williams, who took the whole concept waaay off the charts. In this clip, Williams goes from removing his clothes to removing his skin (well, thanks to special effects anyway), followed by muscles, tendons and all, until he is a skeleton. Sexy? Not for long!

Did we miss any? Tell us your favorite naked videos below!