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Soundgarden: Then And Now

Posted 8/6/10 2:00 pm EST by in Music


Lollapalooza has been known for presenting the latest and greatest in cutting edge music since its inception way back in 1991, and while I am excited about seeing what's new in the world of rock, I'm most excited about the return of Soundgarden. Though Nirvana were more iconic and Pearl Jam sold more albums, Soundgarden will always be the band that best represented what "grunge" was supposed to sound like. The sludgy metal riffs, punked-up rhythms, angsty bellows and big hooks all added up to a brew that was a little bit of the past and — in 1992, at least, when Soundgarden first played Lollapalooza — a lot of the future.

After a 13-year hiatus, Soundgarden are back together for another run. I'm dubious of reunions, as most of the time they are designed to be a cash-grab that exploits the nostalgia of a group's biggest fans. So when I made my way to the Vic Theatre in Chicago on Thursday night (August 5) for only the band's second show since their break-up, I didn't know what to expect.

And then Chris Cornell entered.

With his long, curly metal locks back at full strength and an ensemble that included long board shorts and Chuck Taylors (an outfit similar to the one he wore on multiple photo shoots during the band's peak), Cornell opened up the show with a huge metal dirge in the form of "Searching With My Good Eye Closed," a fan-favorite deep cut from their 1992 album Badmotorfinger. It was clear the band were back to play the songs they loved and not necessarily their radio hits (though they played those, too). It was a bracing, refreshing, heavy night of music.

I last saw Soundgarden in 1996, when they appeared as the special surprise guest at a radio festival. What I didn't know they was that they were on the verge of breaking up and that their recently-released album Down on the Upside was considered a commercial and critical disappointment (though at the time, all I knew was that I really, really liked the song "Ty Cobb"). But they put forth the same level of passion, commitment and noise in 1996 as they did last night. These guys never lost a step — they just lost a few years.

I'll be honest: Soundgarden didn't play one of the songs I desperately wanted to hear (that would be "The Day I Tried to Live," though maybe they'll slip it into their festival-closing set this Sunday). But I definitely wandered out of the Vic feeling good, if only because Soundgarden proved it was possible to go home again (and do it really, really loudly).

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Lady Gaga, Green Day And Others Invading Lollapalooza (And The Newsroom Blog)

Posted 8/4/10 5:30 pm EST by in Music


This coming weekend is the best one of the summer for music fans, as the 2010 version of Lollapalooza will take over Grant Park in Chicago on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (August 6,7 and 8). This year's version of the festival — first conceived by Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell all the way back in 1991 — features some incredible heavy hitters in the music world, lead by headliners Lady Gaga, Green Day, a reunited Soundgarden, the back-in-the-saddle Strokes, Phoenix and Arcade Fire. The rest of the lineup is positively lousy with awesome live acts like B.o.B, the National, Erykah Badu, Against Me!, the Black Keys and MGMT (among dozens of others).

With a party that big, you know the MTV News crew will be there. Over the next few days, we'll be bringing you all of the latest reports, reviews, interviews and insights from the grounds of Grant Park. You'll be able to check out the latest words, photos, video and whatever else we can think of right here on the MTV Newsroom Blog (point your browser to our our special Lollapalooza tag to keep track of everything going on).

And in addition to the blog posts, you'll also be able to get up-to-the-minute reports on Twitter. MTV News' Kyle Anderson (@kylemtv) and James Montgomery (@positivenegativ) will be providing updates from the grounds and leading you to the best of our Lollapalooza coverage.

Of all the acts reporting for duty this weekend in Chicago, we're especially excited about the reunited Strokes, who have been gone for a minute but are back and better than ever. Their debut album Is This It remains one of the definitive musical statements of the young century, and tracks like "Hard to Explain" should sound delightfully anthemic blown up to festival size.

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Ashlee Simpson-Wentz Makes Her Broadway Debut In 'Chicago'

Posted 12/1/09 10:45 am EST by in Music


Ashlee Simpson-Wentz must have had one of the busiest years of her life in 2009. Not only did she have a new baby (Bronx Mowgli Wentz, who just celebrated his first birthday two weeks ago), but she also worked on the newly revamped "Melrose Place," did a guest spot on "CSI" and got her dancing shoes back on for another run in the Broadway play "Chicago." Simpson made her Broadway debut last night, returning to the role of Roxie Hart, the showgirl whose hunger for fame and fortune leads to murder.

Simpson first stepped into the role back in 2006, when she starred in "Chicago" in London's West End (the British version of Broadway). Her reviews for that performance were quite good, and her debut at the Ambassador Theater in New York was also received warmly. She is scheduled to remain in the cast of the hit show through February 7. (With eight shows a week, it's a good thing husband Pete Wentz is currently on a break from Fall Out Boy-related business.)

When Simpson made her debut as Roxie Hart in 2006, MTV News was there to check in on her and get some feedback about her performance. "Roxie's a fun character to play," she told MTV News' Tim Kash. "For me, it wasn't like I ever wanted to have my name in the papers. It was usually like, 'Oh, no!' But I know what the feeling is. And I know what the celebrity life is like, so I tried to bring a little comedy to that." Check out the original report below, which also features input from sister Jessica and a handful of British theater enthusiasts.

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The Great Chicago Fire Gets Its First Spark: Wake-Up Video

Posted 10/8/09 9:00 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Sometimes, it seems as though all of history is defined by disaster. Rarely does the collective conscious truly pay attention to the plight of the world unless cataclysmic events are involved — you need only look at the recent earthquakes and tsunamis that rocked Indonesia and Samoa for proof. October 8 lives in infamy for a number of reasons: Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in the history of the World Series on this day in 1956, the U.S. House of Representatives began impeachment proceedings for President Bill Clinton in 1998 and Crash Test Dummies put out a Christmas album in 2002. But today lives in infamy because it marked the beginning of the Great Chicago Fire, which ripped through the city in 1871. The apocryphal story says that a cow kicked over a lantern to start the blaze, which then ate through the mostly-wood metropolis. The unpredictable Chicago wind — coupled with the relatively spartan firefighting technology available at the time — kept the blaze going for three straight days until rain finally aided its containment. When it was over, 250 people had been killed and 18,000 buildings were destroyed, leaving over 100,000 people homeless.

The fire did a staggering $3 billion in damages, which makes it all the more incredible that Chicago ever recovered. But with the help of new mayor Joseph Medill and a lot of old-school elbow grease, the city came back in full force, culminating in the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, which put Chicago on the map as an international metropolis. As Chicago can tell you, fire is no joke — unless, of course, you're a member of Dragonforce.

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Chicago Didn't Get The Olympics, But They Still Have R. Kelly

Posted 10/2/09 1:31 pm EST by in Music


Unfortunately for the President, Oprah Winfrey and the residents of the city, Chicago will not be hosting the 2016 Olympics. The announcement came down this morning, and it's an especially bad beatdown for the Windy City, as it was the first nominee eliminated. Soon, the rest of the cities — including Tokyo and Madrid — before Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, won the competition, marking the first time that the Olympics will travel to South America. (The only continents left who haven't hosted an Olympics are Africa and Antarctica — the latter of which seems unlikely to change any time soon.)

Clearly, the U.S. is disappointed, but the city of Chicago is especially crestfallen (the footage of the disappointed crowds gathered to hear the announcement was heartbreaking). The Olympics is always a logistical nightmare for host cities, but they ultimately do an excellent job of boosting commerce and exposing urban centers to the world at large.

But Chicago shouldn't get too down about it. Despite not getting the Olympics, they've still got Lollapalooza, deep-dish pizza, Schuba's, Wrigley Field, that cool building from the cover of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco and R. Kelly. In fact, having R. Kelly is just like having the Olympics — he even sang at the opening ceremonies at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City! So Chicago, this video of Kelly's "I Wish" is for you.

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The Kids Want Vampire Weekend, Friendly Fires at Lollapalooza 2009

Posted 8/9/09 4:50 pm EST by in Lollapalooza


by Steven Roberts

CHICAGO -- It’s the final day of Lollapalooza, and we enjoyed some amazing performances this weekend despite adverse weather conditions. On Friday, fans endured the rain and enjoyed performances from Kings of Leon, Depeche Mode and Crystal Castles. They came back the next day to find the raindrops replaced by harsh sunrays, and an amazing performance by the always colorful Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, as well as a headbanging good time with Tool.

Well today fans came back for a second day of intense heat, and the final day of Lollapalooza. Sunday's line-up features some big name performances from punk godfather Lou Reed, The Killers, Snoop Dogg and of course Jane’s Addiction, but we wanted to hit the grounds at Grant Park to see what the kids were really excited to see.

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Atmosphere Moves the Crowd - and the Press Tent - at Lollapalooza

Posted 8/8/09 10:33 pm EST by in Lollapalooza


by Steven Roberts

Chicago - - I hope you’ve been enjoying our Lollapalooza coverage. Our small team has been hard at work trying to bring you the latest from the festival. It was hot as you know what today, but we love our jobs so you won’t hear us complaining. There is one thing that bothered me, though. Atmosphere was performing right outside of our media tent earlier, and he was ****ing killing it. Unfortunately, we couldn't go watch it.

The Chicago 2016 stage is right next to the media area, and it has hosted some impressive acts, including Gaslight Anthem and Depeche Mode. But Slug’s voice and Ant’s beats had our staff’s heads nodding as we worked. Other people in the area were actually looking over the fence, separating us from the Chicago stage, and nodding away.

Again, I’m not complaining. I finished writing and editing a video for one blog, and I sat in my chair nodding my head along. Then I went to go shoot an interview and performance for another, and I see a sea of people with their hands in the air waving them like they just don’t care. As we walked by Dhani Harrison – yup George’s son – even pointed out how amazing they were.

After the shoot, I ran to go see the Minneapolis hip-hop duo – with a camera of course. People in the crowd were rocking to the beat, under the intense sun, fixed on Slug’s every word as he made his way around the stage. I wanted to stay and get lost in it all as well, but I had work to do… an interview with Lykke Li.

Hey, I’m not complaining.

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Lollapalooza 2009 Friday Fan Favorites

Posted 8/8/09 3:43 pm EST by in Lollapalooza


by Steven Roberts

CHICAGO -- It's day 2 at Lollapalooza 2009, and despite the rain yesterday, the Chicago festival kicked off in style thanks to performances by Depeche Mode, Kings of Leon, Bon Iver and Crystal Castles. Today, the sun is out in full effect, so we decided to catch up with a few fans around Grant Park and ask what some of their favorite sets were from Friday. Not surprisingly for a festival that has everyone from Tool to Bon Iver on the bill, the answers were all over the place.

Speaking of Tool, a bunch of that dark rock band's fans were filing into the park as the gates opened, and they were dead-set on reserving their spot for tonight's headlining performance. Many of them were also fans of Depeche Mode, and they had rave reviews about that classic English synth pop band's headlining performance Friday night.

The Walkers traveled all the way from Vancouver, Canada, and they were happy they saw Depeche Mode perform. "Their new song 'Wrong' is just awesome," said John. His companion, Larissa added, "that was meant to be live."

The Kings of Leon co-headlined on the opposite end of the park, and there were just as many fans still buzzing about their performance. "It was really fun, everyone was singing along, dancing and it was a good time," said Danielle, who traveled with friends and family in a 13-hour car ride from New Jersey.

And finally there were the fans that watched Kid Cudi close the show at Perry's dance zone. Perry's is an area set up where DJ's can spin, essentially creating an all-day rave in the middle of the festival grounds. Grant and Nathan, both 16, said that they spent all 12 hours of their day there, and Kid Cudi capped off their amazing day. Nathan was still blown away - or on something, it was hard to tell.

"It was crazy, yo. He was unbelievable live," he said.

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JD Pumps Up the Crowd at Lollapalooza Pre-Party

Posted 8/7/09 12:30 pm EST by in Lollapalooza


By Steven Roberts

Jermaine Dupri got a head start on the party here at ?Lollapalooza last night when the Atlanta impresario DJed a set last night at Underground ?here in Chicago.

Last year Katy Perry took the stage at Underground for own Pre-Lolla celebration at ?Underground. The pop pin-up unexpectedly performed "Ur So Gay," "Hot n Cold" and - what would a Katy Perry show be without - "I Kissed a Girl" to packed house. While the crowd certainly wasn't expecting the JD to hit the stage, they were hyped to hear how good of a DJ the So So Def head honcho was.
I actually was enjoying the previous DJ. I don't know the guys name, but he spun some tracks I hadn't heard in years. When is the last time you heard Hi-Five's "I Like The Way (Kissing Game)?" But as the clock struck midnight, and the crowd began to fill in, it was evident that they hadn't come to hear sped up early 90's R&B jams - their loss.

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Hey Is That...?

Posted 8/7/09 11:14 am EST by in Lollapalooza


by Steven Roberts

My fellow MTV News teammates ?and I arrived in Chicago yesterday and we've started to settle into our rooms at the Hilton - yup we got ?HBO - preparing for Lolapalooza. The three-day festival features performances by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, Snoop Dogg and Tool among others. There are also a variety of other bands performing throughout the weekend. And luckily for us our hotel is located on ?Michigan Avenue, conveniently across the street from Grant Park where Lolla is held.

It's so convenient that every band seems to be staying here ?too. There are guys walking around lugging their equipment and checking into their rooms. The only thing is we can't seem to make out who any of them are. I ?mean we're sure they're in a band. They wear tight jeans, tattered t-?shirts and have long, unkempt hair, but again, that's generally every ?rock band.

We get back from dinner last night, and the hotel lobby is full of guys who look ?like they're in a band. I'm the hip-hop guy here, so I'll admit I'm not that familiar with some of the smaller acts, but I'll be damn if any of you guys can recognize Portugal. The Man or Animal Collective casually walking by either. So we're standing around going "oh that's the ?guys from..." "Yeah they look really familiar," and "there goes ?Vampire Weekend."

I actually saw Vampire Weekend open for the Clipse about 2 years ago at Columbia University, so I would recognize those oxford shirts and boat shoes anywhere.

I guess the cool thing about Lolla is that by the end of the weekend we'll up on a whole host of new bands. So Monday when we see them walk by we can say "good show."

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