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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.


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'Drive Angry' With AC/DC, Deftones And Bret Michaels

Posted 2/25/11 12:30 pm EST by in Music


The Oscars are this weekend, which means that some of the greatest cinematic accomplishments of 2010 will be celebrated in an elaborate, star-studded ceremony live in Los Angeles (you should stay tuned to MTV News for the full boat of Oscar coverage, including a two hour live stream from the red carpet). The Independent Spirit Awards will also be handed out this weekend, so the world of independent film will also tip its hat to some landmark accomplishments.

But in case you don't care about the prestige attached to "The King's Speech" or the finer points of Natalie Portman's performance in "Black Swan," there are plenty of movies opening this weekend that will satisfy just about any film-going urge you might have. Does the idea of a lot of male nudity-based comedy turn you on? Then you'll need to buy a ticket to "Hall Pass," the Farrelly Brothers' latest gross-out comedy. If you'd rather indulge in a different brand of humor, you could catch up on "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" (which opened last week), and if you want to keep lining James Frey's pockets, then by all means cop a ticket to "I Am Number Four."

However, there's only one real choice this weekend, and that's "Drive Angry," the 3-D action extravaganza directed by Patrick Lussier ("My Bloody Valentine") and starring Nicolas Cage (who is already on a heck of a roll in 2011 thanks to "Season of the Witch"). The plot involves Cage's character escaping from Hell and reigning down vengeance on an evil cult, but all you have to know is that Cage shoots a lot of big guns and drives a lot of fast cars — and it's all in 3-D! You should always be in the mood for something like that, but just in case you need to get your dander up, check out the playlist below. It includes a bunch of tunes about driving, several about anger and another batch about Satan's playground — beginning with AC/DC's "Highway to Hell."


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With The Beatles Now Available, What Bands Still Aren't On iTunes?

Posted 11/16/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


The digital music world got a big break early on Tuesday (November 16), as Apple announced that more than seven years after the establishment of the iTunes Store (the premier digital music outpost on the Internet, responsible for over 10 billion songs sold), the Beatles are finally available for purchase. The legendary band's entire remastered catalog is now live on iTunes, with the bonus addition of an iTunes-specific box set that features all of the group's albums plus a ton of bonus content (including making-of footage and extended liner notes).

For the longest time, the Beatles were the major holdout on iTunes, as most other legendary bands made themselves fully available via the sales service. Led Zeppelin famously held out but eventually made their stuff available a few years back, and despite the fact that digital music has always made them nervous, you can get the entire Metallica collection on iTunes as well.

But what bands are still holding out? It's an interesting combination of artists.

AC/DC
The Australian hard rockers have always been extremely protective of their back catalog. They steadfastly refuse to put together a greatest hits album, and it has paid off, as their old albums (especially 1980's Back in Black) are constants in the charts. They have never made their music available through iTunes, and the only digital deal they've ever signed was with Verizon (where you could purchase their songs via Verizon phones).

Tool
Strangely, you can get just about any of the Tool side projects (including A Perfect Circle and Puscifer), but the band itself is nowhere to be found.

Mid-period Prince
Most of the important Prince albums (1999, Purple Rain, Batman) can be bought via iTunes, but a bunch of the mid-period albums (including Musicology and The Rainbow Children) aren't available.
Read More...

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MTV's World Cup Of Rock: Australia Vs. Italy

Posted 6/25/10 3:40 pm EST by in Music


It's MTV's World Cup of Rock! The World Cup is the greatest sporting event on the planet, a super-sized stage where legends are born with every strike of the ball, where infamy is just a moment away and where the dreams of millions live or die by the minute. That's why, in the spirit of the 2010 MTV Musical March Madness competition, we've created "The World Cup (Of Rock)," a FIFA-style tournament that takes 16 of the biggest nations — rock-wise (sorry Algeria) — and pits them against one another to determine just which is the most rockingly awesome. Heavyweights like the U.S.A., England, France and Germany are all here, but so are a handful of surprisingly strong sleeper countries. As the Cup progresses, we'll be unveiling the match-ups, and it's up to you to vote your favorites through. In the end, only one nation will be left standing: the world champion of rock.

Brazil and Portugal have moved on in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with only Group H still up for grabs. Spain, Chile and Switzerland are all still alive, which means this afternoon's matches should be thrilling affairs. Meanwhile, the MTV World Cup of Rock marches into the weekend with an excellent head-to-head featuring two powerhouses looking to move on.

Australia vs. Italy
These two squads are more even than you think, as most of their major exports err on the side of hard rock. So let's boil this down to a one-on-one match-up. In Italy's corner, the searing savagery of Lacuna Coil. On the other side of the pitch, Australia fields king-sized heavy metal legends AC/DC. Who will be loud enough to conquer? Only you can decide!

Be sure to vote in all the games in the MTV World Cup of Rock! Which nation's stars rock the hardest and best? Only you can decide!

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'Iron Man 2' Requires Songs From AC/DC And Rage Against The Machine

Posted 5/7/10 10:00 am EST by in Music


It's a big day for fans of comic books, high-adrenaline action, gadgetry, physics and Robert Downey, Jr. (which takes care of just about everybody), as it's the release day for "Iron Man 2." Downey stars as the titular Iron Man, the metal-suited super hero created by billionaire weapons specialist Tony Stark. The sequel to the 2008 hit again sees Jon Favreau in the director's chair and welcomes back Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, while replacing Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle in the role of Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes and introducing Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Mickey Rourke as the villainous Ivan Vanko. Can Stark keep the government out of his business? Can he overcome the threat produced by Vanko? Will the Avengers assemble? And is everybody way more excited about the trailer for "Super 8" than this movie? You'll have to visit your local cinema to be sure.

But before you do, be sure to put yourself in the right frame of mind for all the hot metal-on-metal action of "Iron Man 2." In fact, feel free to use the video playlist below. It features a number of excellent tunes about weapons (MxPx's "Secret Weapon," Lair of the Minotaur's "War Metal Battle Master," Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "Weapon of Choice"), heroes (Foo Fighters' "My Hero," Enrique Iglesias' "Hero") and good old-fashioned metal (Quiet Riot's "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)," Judas Priest's "War"). There are also a few tracks from the guitar of Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine's "Sleep Now in the Fire," Audioslave's "Cochise"), who provided some six-string work for the film.

But the bulk of the film's soundtrack comes from AC/DC, who even produced a new version of "Shoot to Thrill" featuring plenty of footage from the movie. Click it on, turn it up and bang your head.

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The U.S. Olympic Hockey Team's Win Over Canada Was Fueled By Kings Of Leon

Posted 2/22/10 1:45 pm EST by in Sports


As we noted this morning, the United States men's Olympic hockey team overcame tremendous odds to defeat Canada by a score of 5-3 yesterday. The U.S. team will now advance to the top seed of the quarterfinals, adding another wrinkle to an already unusual Olympic tournament.

Much of the credit for the unlikely victory goes to goaltender Ryan Miller, whose day job is with the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and who racked up 42 saves in a tense and heated match-up. Of course, Miller didn't do it alone: He had support from his able-bodied teammates, as well as a hand from Angus Young and Jared Leto.

Like many elite Olympic athletes, Miller uses music to help get him into the game-time mindset. "It varies, but a lot of the time it's a lot of modern rock mixes," Miller told MTV News in Vancouver. "I've been listening to Kings of Leon for a long time — ever since they had mustaches and long hair, so I like that they've had some success. I like that 30 Seconds to Mars has new stuff out. I like Silversun Pickups, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, stuff like that."

Teammate Ryan Callahan — a forward who plays with the New York Rangers — likes it a little older and heavier. "I keep it more old-school and simple," Callahan said. "AC/DC and Metallica get me really pumped up and ready to go. I like listening to that stuff before the games."

The men play again on Wednesday, but on Monday (February 22), the women get the chance to continue the U.S. hockey run in Vancouver. The U.S. will play Sweden in a semifinal game, and you can bet that an eclectic mix will help the ladies get ready to play. "On my iPod, I like to listen to hip-hop," forward Kelli Stack told MTV News. "I have a lot of Lil Wayne, Drake, Jay-Z and Eminem. But in the locker room, it's a little bit of everything, so a little bit of hip-hop, a little bit of country."

What would you play in the locker room to get ready for an Olympic hockey game? Leave your ideas in the comments!

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The 'Iron Man 2' Trailer: AC/DC, Black Sabbath Bring The Heavy Metal

Posted 12/17/09 1:14 pm EST by in Music


The trailer for what is sure to be one of the biggest movies of 2010 hit the Internet last night, and it's a doozy. "Iron Man 2" welcomes back Robert Downey, Jr. as the titular Marvel Comics machine-assisted superhero and welcomes Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson to the fold. Based on the trailer, "Iron Man 2" will bring back everything that audiences loved about the first movie: Downey's indestructible charisma, inventive effects and lots of cool things blowing up.

It also brings back some excellent music. One of the fantastic aspects about the trailer for the first "Iron Man" film was that it went ahead and used Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" as a music cue. (As everybody knows, any use of a Black Sabbath tune automatically makes anything 62 percent more badass.) The "Iron Man 2" trailer brings the Sabbath song in for a callback at the very end but is mostly buoyed by the opening sequence, which is set to AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill." It's an excellent choice, as AC/DC also have that instant-badassifying quality that Sabbath has. Plus, they had a song on 2008's Black Ice called "War Machine," which hopefully will be used as Cheadle's entrance music in some scene in the film.

For more on everything "Iron Man 2"-related, check out Splash Page, MTV Movies' definitive source for all things comic-related (they've already got a shot-by-shot analysis of the trailer that is a must-read for fans), and if you need more AC/DC in your life (and who doesn't?), enjoy "Anything Goes."

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The 'New Moon' Playlist: Death Cab For Cutie, AC/DC And Duran Duran Howl For You

Posted 11/20/09 12:35 pm EST by in Movies, Music


"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is out in theaters now, and is already breaking records and attracting all sorts of fervor about the ending, whether it's better than the first film and what the possibilities are for "Eclipse" (which is set to release in June of 2010 but is already being buzzed about in the "Twilight" fan community). The "New Moon" soundtrack has also been tearing up the Billboard album chart, selling half a million copies in only five weeks of release on the back of Death Cab for Cutie's excellent, moody new single "Meet Me on the Equinox." The rock-centric soundtrack also features tunes by Muse, Thom Yorke, the Killers, OK Go, Editors, Band of Skulls and Grizzly Bear. It's an excellent batch of songs that compliments the film about as well as a soundtrack can, making it the perfect companion piece.

But here in the MTV Newsroom, we like things to be just a little bit louder, which is why we've put together a "New Moon" video playlist that packs a little extra adrenaline and gives the werewolf and vampire love story an added bit of punch. AC/DC's "If You Want Blood (You Got It)" provides a little bit of blood-sucking thump, while the squall of Mudhoney's "Suck You Dry" will psych you up for your next vampire baseball game. Ozzy Osbourne is there, of course, because he likes to "Bark at the Moon." And what song better describes the eternal Edward Cullen than Bruce Springsteen's "Dead Man Walkin'"?

Check out the complete video playlist below, starting with Lita Ford's "Kiss Me Deadly," which sums up the spirit of "New Moon" about as well as an '80s metal star could.

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Anvil Prove Heavy Metal Dreams Do Come True

Posted 6/10/09 11:42 am EST by in Music



Life has not been kind to Canadian metal veterans Anvil. Despite mad respect from their 1980s peers and a brief blip of hair-era popularity (during which they played some massive headbanging shows in Europe and released the then-brutally heavy and influential Metal on Metal), the scrappy rockers have had a rough go of it. But thanks to the hit indie documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" — which, if you haven't seen it, is exactly like "This Is Spinal Tap," except funnier and with real dudes — the band is suddenly flying high.

And things just got a bit better. Hard rock icons AC/DC have tapped Anvil to open a pair of stadium shows for them this summer in Boston (Gillette Stadium, July 28) and New Jersey (Giants Stadium, July 31).

According to a press release about the gig, "Anvil band members Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner will see their dreams come true as they are set to open for one of the greatest hard rock bands in the world, AC/DC, for the two biggest shows on their Black Ice World Tour. This opportunity marks a stellar comeback for the 30 year-old band that continues to reach new heights with the success and continued expansion of their documentary and recent features in Newsweek and Rolling Stone."

Thanks to the success of the movie, Anvil are back on the road and have played more than two dozen "Anvil Experience" dates so far this year, which combine live concerts with screenings of the movie. Multiple big name fans have come out of the woodwork to praise them. One of the more unlikely supporters is Coldplay's Chris Martin, who gave them major props in a recent interview on his band's Web site, in which he called the movie, "brilliant … wonderful."

There aren't many feel good stories in music these days, but this is one of them. If you love music — especially if it's loud — you owe it to yourself to check these guys out.

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AC/DC Post Behind-The-Scenes Clip From 'Rock 'N Roll Train' Video Set

Posted 10/23/08 1:57 pm EST by in Uncategorized


On Tuesday, AC/DC released Black Ice, the iconic Aussie band's first studio LP in more than eight years, available exclusively through Wal-Mart. On Thursday, the band posted an online clip featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of their new video, "Rock 'N Roll Train."

Shot on August 15 in London, the video gives fans a first taste of the band's latest album, which, if early sales estimates are accurate, could end up selling 800,000 copies its first week on store shelves.

Directed by David Mallet, the video — filmed largely in front a green screen — was shot with four Red cameras, which have a resolution that exceeds 35 mm film but with the dynamic range of traditional cameras. Several fans were invited to be part of the production, and the video even features a few unintelligible words from frontman Brian Johnson. As one fan put it as he walked into the studio, "The boys are back."

MTV News will be attending this weekend's secret AC/DC show, so check back on Monday for our full report on that experience.

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