By Akshay Bhansali
EDM super-group Above & Beyond has a tradition of epic recap mini-films of their Group Therapy parties around the world. With Group Therapy descending on Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium for three dates in just over a week, our good friends Tony, Paavo and Jono wanted to try something different this go around and asked us if we could help spread the word.
In short, they want you to help them make a film, L.A.!
Get all of the details below! Read More...
Posted 5/11/12 1:13 pm EST by MTV News in Music
By Zachary Swickey
The remaining members of the legendary rock group Queen might want to have a chat about whether or not they want to get into the hologram business. Drummer Roger Taylor insisted that it would never happen, but now guitarist Brian May pretty much says that’s exactly what is about to go down.
Following Tupac’s holo-appearance at Coachella this year, many people were speculating about which acts could utilize such an effect, with Queen being an obvious choice. However, drummer Roger Taylor was quick to suggest the group would never do such a thing.
"I don't want to sit up here with a hologram of my dear friend," Taylor told Rolling Stone. "Were somebody to use a hologram of Freddie, I don't think I would have an objection. But I don't want to. It just didn't sit too well with me."
However, in complete contradiction of that statement, the group is now set to use a similar special effect that will make it appear as if the late, great Freddie Mercury is onstage with them yet again.
Brian May told the BBC that the band has been working on the effect and will use it for their special performance at the West End musical of “We Will Rock You” on May 14. However, May stresses that the effect will be an “optical illusion of sorts” and not a hologram, but says, “People will come out saying, ‘Did we actually see Freddie?’”
Regardless of the confusion, May says the digital Mercury won’t be exactly like the projected image of Tupac that appeared with Dr. Dre and Snoop dog during their set at Coachella last month.
"It's a little unfortunate they did that thing with Tupac as we've been trying to make Freddie appear on the stage for quite a while," he told the BBC. "[That technique] is something we've looked at ourselves, but I think probably for a show that runs eight shows a week it's not really quite practical."
Looks like we’ll just have to see what exactly Queen has up its sleeve when the performance takes place on May 14 in London.
Posted 5/11/12 12:14 pm EST by John Mitchell in Christina Aguilera, Television, The Voice
By Zachary Swickey
If you kept up with the nail-biting second season of NBC’s “The Voice,” then you are already aware that Jermaine Paul was crowned this season’s winner. However, the real juicy backstory throughout the season has been the peculiar and seemingly bitter feud between Christina Aguilera and contestant Tony Lucca, who both appeared on “The Mickey Mouse Club” as kids.
It all started when Lucca first took the stage and Aguilera seemed to not recognize him.
But that was just the start. As the season continued, Aguilera became more and more critical of Lucca, specifically targeting him with particularly harsh (if not necessarily incorrect) criticism on multiple occasions. Of course, Lucca tried to be professional at first and ignore her unfavorable critiques; however, he did finally snap back, telling People, “I’m not going to let one person bring me down. Clearly that seems like part of her strategy.”
According to Dale Godboldo, a “Mickey Mouse Club” co-star from back in the day, Aguilera’s negative comments stem from the fact that she was actually taken with Lucca back in their Disney days and the feelings were not reciprocated.
“Christina was in love with him,” Godboldo revealed to TMZ. “But she wasn’t the only one. Britney was in love with him.”
"All of this ['The Voice'] madness was not brought on by Tony," he continued.
Feud or not, it seems like Aguilera is trying to bury the hatchet. During the show’s finale, Aguilera whispered something into Lucca’s ear. “She just wanted to clear the air a bit," Lucca said to Us Weekly.
"[She] apologize[d] that this became much more of a dramatic thing than she ever intended it. I said to her, 'I hope that we can be cool moving forward. I take pride in the fact that my whole career has been a career of integrity, and sound relationships,” he told the mag.
Posted 5/11/12 11:05 am EST by John Mitchell in Television
Forgive us if we're a little on edge, NBC is being weird about "Parks and Recreation" and ABC has yet to renew "Happy Endings," and it's making us a little crazy.
As the network upfronts draw near, we're learning which shows have been picked up for next season and which are being put out to pasture. NBC has already announced that "30 Rock" will return for an abbreviated, 13-episode final season. While we're a lil sad that the show is coming to a close, it does seem like the time is right to end the Emmy-winning sitcom. "Rock" has seen better days, though it has been on its game these last few weeks and, let's face it, even off-prime "30 Rock" is superior to most shows on network television. But we've always been fans of letting shows go out strong, before they've worn out their welcome – so farewell good friend, you will be missed.
We cannot say we feel the same about "Parks and Recreation." NBC has yet to announce exactly what it is going to do about the middling-rated, critically adored sitcom, but popular consensus seems to be that the network will announce a shortened final season for the Amy Poehler vehicle as well. This is not OK.
"Parks" ended its fourth season last night with a game changer episode. Poehler's Leslie Knope was elected to the Pawnee city council, a move that could easily reinvigorate the sitcom and open the door to a host of new storylines. It remains one of the best shows on television and enjoys a cult following, but the shift it introduced gives "Parks" the opportunity to do something that the more insular "Community" and "30 Rock" have always had trouble doing: welcoming new viewers.
A problem with "Rock" and, more so, "Community" is that both have grown more and more meta the longer they've been on the air, making it hard for new viewers to understand the jokes or find affection for the characters. "Parks" doesn't suffer from this problem, and could thrive with the right promotion and time slot. (It would perhaps do better on, say, Wednesday, where it wouldn't face off against CBS' unstoppable "Big Bang Theory"-anchored comedy block.)
We get that network TV is a business, but we think it would be a mistake for NBC to scrub itself entirely of its most acclaimed shows. The network is developing a lot of comedies and it's going to need something proven to anchor them. "Parks" may not be a ratings bonanza, but it has been a consistent performer. Paired with the right shows, it still has enough life in it to be a hit.
Posted 5/10/12 1:33 pm EST by John Mitchell in Adele
Adele fans should start getting excited, the press shy singer is set for her very own hour-long NBC special called "Adele Live in London with Matt Lauer," which will air next month.
According to a statement from Sony Music Entertainment, Adele will sit down for an exclusive interview with the newscaster to talk about the incredible success of her record-breaking album, 21, and how it has changed her life. The pop star is famously press shy and has had a difficult time adjusting to the level of public attention she has received since the release of the Grammy-winning, mega-selling second album.
The special will air on June 5 at 8 p.m. EST and will be punctuated by several performances from her successful "Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall" DVD, including "Set Fire to the Rain," "Chasing Pavements," "Someone Like You" and "Rolling in the Deep." After just one week of release, "Live at Royal Albert Hall" became the best-selling music DVD of 2011, giving Adele the honor of being the first artist in Nielsen SoundScan history to have the year's number one album, the year's number one single and the year's number one music DVD.
"We are thrilled to partner with Adele on her first-ever network special and are excited to give our viewers an opportunity to see this truly influential artist perform live, in her hometown, from the historic Royal Albert Hall in London," Doug Vaughan, senior vice president of Special Programs and Late Night Programming for NBC, said in the statement.
Check out "Set Fire to the Rain" from "Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall":
Posted 5/9/12 3:34 pm EST by John Mitchell in no doubt
No Doubt is ramping up for the release of their first album in eleven years and are taking fans behind the scenes in a series of webisodes documenting the making of the set, the first of which was premiered by the band yesterday on its website.
"Over the past few months, Gwen, Tony, Tom and Adrian have been recording together and filming the process at producer Spike Stent's studio in Santa Monica, California," the band writes in the introductory post.
The album is actually years in the making. The band began initial work on the record in March 2008, after Gwen Stefani wrapped the tour behind her second solo album, The Sweet Escape. Songwriting on the effort reportedly got off to a slow start because, according to a post from Stefani, she was distracted by her second pregnancy, and was delayed further when the band, energized by being in the studio together for the first time since the sessions behind 2001's Rock Steady hit the road in 2009 for a massively successful greatest hits tour.
>> No Doubt Return With New Album In September
The band spent the majority of 2010 quietly cutting demos in Kanal's studio in personal studio in Hollywood before joining Stent at his studio in early 2011 to officially begin tracking the effort. Progress has been slow but steady since then, and the band has been waiting for the right time to release the album. That time, it seems, is September 25.
In the webisode below, we see the recording process behind the song "Push & Shove." It's a really interesting look at the inner working of a functioning band (I feel like we're too used to hearing stories about bands at war and backstage battles) who seem really pleased to be creating together again.
Welcome back, No Doubt. We're thrilled to hear (literally) that things sound better than ever.
Watch:
Posted 5/9/12 2:10 pm EST by MTV News in Music, Tour Dates
By Zachary Swickey
Haven’t you always dreamt about vacationing on a train through Canada while fist-pumping to some of your favorite electronic dance music artists, including Skrillex and Diplo? Well, you may now live out that fantasy as the producer/DJ masterminds have joined forces with EDM acts Pretty Lights and Grimes for a good old fashioned railroad tour.
Taking a page from Mumford & Sons’ "Railroad Revival" tour – which found them performing sets on train stops with Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show – the “Full Flex Express" tour will make six stops across Canada.
All of the acts will travel on an assumingly rambunctious private passenger train together between each of the stops. Each show will feature multiple stages in a “festival event,” according to a press release of the tour. KOAN Sound and Tokimonsta are also included on the bill.
If we’re lucky, we may eventually get a rad documentary out of the journey, as Mumford & Sons did with their railroad trek. “Big Easy Express” was shot by iconic music video-directing vets The Malloys, and chronicled the unique railway tour.
The train will head out immediately following Skrillex’s headlining slot at this year’s Camp Bisco Festival in New York.
"Full Flex Express" tour dates:
7/13 - Toronto, ON - Fort York
7/14 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Blues Fest
7/15 - Montreal, QC - Parc Jean Drapeau
7/18 - Winnipeg, MB - Shaw Park
7/20 - Edmonton, AB - Kinsmen Park
7/22 - Vancouver, B.C. - PNE Coliseum
Posted 5/9/12 1:03 pm EST by MTV News in Music
By Zachary Swickey
Fiona Apple is gearing up to finally treat us to her first album since 2005’s critical fave Extraordinary Machine, and now we have all the details on the deluxe edition of her release: The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do (and yes, that’s the entire album title).
The fourth album of her 16-year career will be coming out June 19 on Clean Slate/Epic Records with the first single, “Every Single Night,” now available digitally on iTunes. Of course, you’ll receive the song immediately if you pre-order the album, which will be available on CD, 180-gram vinyl, digitally, and in a deluxe CD/DVD package that we now have details on.
The deluxe version comes with a few notable goodies, including the bonus track “Largo” (undoubtedly an ode to the LA venue, Largo, where Apple occasionally performs surprise sets), a DVD that contains five songs from her performance at SXSW in March, a fold-out poster and a book filled with lyrics, drawings, sketches and personal photos.
The five live tracks from SXSW include “Every Single Night” and “Anything We Want" from the upcoming Idler Wheel; “Fast As You Can” and “A Mistake” off When the Pawn… and the Tidal track “Sleep to Dream.”
Additionally, you’re not going to want to miss Apple on her first proper national tour in several years when it comes through your town this summer. Check out the dates below. Read More...
Posted 5/9/12 10:07 am EST by John Mitchell in Rihanna, Tweet Beat
Rihanna sparked concern among her fans last night when she responded to a fan questioning her day-long Twitter silence (the pop star is avid in her use of the medium) with an Instagram photo of an IV in her arm.
"What da f**x good?! You been quiet all day," the fan observed. Rihanna responded with the photo below:
Rihanna, Instagram
The pic comes just days after Rihanna reportedly opted out of final rehearsals for her "Saturday Night Live" appearance this weekend, saying she was sick. That same day, she tweeted that she wasn't feeling well.
But fan's can rest easy that she is on her way home to LA – hopefully to get some rest. Early this morning, Rihanna tweeted a photo of herself getting ready to board a private jet from New York to Los Angeles. "My ride home NY days LA nights," she tweeted, adding the hashtag, "#itwuzreal."
Rihanna, Instagram
Posted 5/8/12 2:28 pm EST by John Mitchell in Adele, Rihanna, Tweet Beat
Rihanna loves Adele. Adele loves Rihanna. But the 21 belter did not get a pair of boobies from the Talk That Talk pop star for her birthday. Got it?
Adele took to Twitter this morning to put an end to a widespread rumor that known lover of the erotic arts Rihanna sent her a birthday cake on May 5, her 24th birthday, in the shape of, um, a bare female bust.
The story goes something like this: Sometime Saturday, Adele was milling about her north London flat (bear with our attempt at British-ness here), as she's wont to do, when she received a caller. Much to her surprise, the mystery visitor came bearing gifts – specifically a cake in the shape of nude female breasts from Rihanna. But wait! There was a card too, which read, " Happy Birthday to my lover, Adele, the baddest b**ch around. Have the best freaking Bday. Cake cake cake xxx."
The story seemed plausible enough. After all, if you were going to get a boob cake from any pop star, it would almost certainly be Rihanna, who is known for her naughty sense of humor and occasionally risqué behavior. But alas, it wasn't meant to be…
While Rihanna did wish the "Rolling in the Deep" Grammy winner a very happy birthday on Twitter, Adele shot down the rumor, tweeting, "Had a lovely birthday, thanks for all the messages. I got a blossom tree! I didn't get a cake from Rih Rih & I'm not engaged, blah blah x"
Oh well. Maybe next year.